Gov. Christie Whitman Interviewed on Dole Campaign

Aired April 27, 1996

WOLF BLITZER: Now joining us is New Jersey's governor - Christine Todd Whitman. Governor Whitman, thanks so much for joining us on Inside Politics Weekend. I'm glad you made it down the New Jersey Turnpike. Did you drive down or fly?

Gov. CHRISTIE WHITMAN (R-NJ): No, we flew.

BLITZER: I know you say you don't want to be the vice presidential running mate. But what if Senator Dole were to come to you and say, `Governor, we really need you.' Is there any opening there, is there any opening that you might be willing to reconsider?

WHITMAN: No, Wolf, there really isn't. I have said that I want to stay as governor of New Jersey for some very real reasons. One of them is I'm having a very good time. I love it. It's a great job. And secondly because I really believe in what we're trying to do and it's going to take some time to finish it off. You can't do it all in 2-1/2 years. There is no one person that's going to make that kind of a difference to a presidential candidate, and Bob Dole doesn't need any particular individual. He has got his choice of a lot of extraordinarily capable people and will be picking someone that's going to add to the strength. But it's going to be Bob Dole against Bill Clinton, that's really going to be the election.

BLITZER: But the polls all show that there's this huge gender gap that on men he's doing all right, but when it comes to women he's so far behind. What if he needs you, you're a woman, and obviously New Jersey is a key battleground state that's up for grabs right now.

WHITMAN: But I have a gender gap, too. I think what we're seeing is the problems the Republican party has had to a degree. It's not as huge as many people would like to believe it is, but it's still there and I have seen that, too. So, just putting a woman on the ticket isn't going to convince other women that you're suddenly doing the right thing for them. I believe the Republicans just need to get their message out because what they've been doing - whether it's at the state level or the federal level - has been very supportive of women and their concerns and needs as family providers and wage earners and business creators, and all those things.

BLITZER: So, who's your candidate? Who should he pick as his vice presidential running mate?

WHITMAN: Oh, I wouldn't give him any one name. I would like to see him pick someone who is obviously identifiable to the rest of the country, as having had executive experience, someone who is a governor or was a governor or another elective office that has required managing people, putting together a budget, and delivering programs.

BLITZER: Someone outside the Beltway.

WHITMAN: Someone outside the Beltway. I think that's important.

BLITZER: So, you must have a name or two that comes to your mind.

WHITMAN: Well, there is- you know, you have Engler and you have Voinovich, and you have Tommy Thompson, Carol Campbell is a former governor. There are just a whole host of people who I think would be superb. Jim Edgar-

BLITZER: Given the social conservatives in the Republican party, can he pick someone who supports a woman's right to have an abortion?

WHITMAN: Absolutely. I believe that without question. The majority of the party believes that you can differ on this, that the good and honest people differ on that issue, that it's not a political litmus test, and that even those who are pro-life, as are those who pro-choice, could support candidates on either side.

BLITZER: Governor Pataki of New York says he's going to work to try to get the abortion plank out of the Republican platform. Do you support him on that issue?

WHITMAN: I've been working for a long time in discussions and with people in groups to recognize that you can be a good Republican and be pro-choice. I think we ought to focus our attention on preventing unwanted pregnancy, that's a thing that we can all agree on, and support groups that work to that, and will help women after they get pregnant if they can't live at home, find them a place to live during pregnancy so they can bring the child to term, or those who can't raise a child or are scared of the adoption services. That's where we should focus our attention, not on the issue of choice.

BLITZER: So, how hard a fight will you make, pro-choice Republicans, to change the platform, you personally, how hard a fight.

WHITMAN: I will be there for this. I think we have to as a party, not because the platform necessarily in and of itself means that much because no one has really read all 64 pages of it. But this has become a litmus test, this has become such a signature issue, that unless we send a signal that you can be pro- choice and be a good Republican, we're going to lose a lot of votes in the fall.

BLITZER: Did President Clinton do the right thing when he vetoed the late term abortion legislation?

WHITMAN: I would have supported that. Not because I think the technique is anything that we want to see, but because it's only used in cases that are extreme medical emergencies. And I have to have government determining for a doctor what procedures they can do when there really are good medical reasons to do something. It's so rarely used that that is not the issue we ought to be focusing on. We ought to be focusing on preventing unwanted pregnancies, period, the end.

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BLITZER: So, when you say you'll support it, you think the president did the right thing.

WHITMAN: I would have supported the veto.

BLITZER: Right now, obviously the Republican party is in turmoil. Senator Dole seems to have enormous problems - 20 points behind in the polls. Is one of the problems that he has the Buchanan, the Pat Buchanan element in the Republican party and the very, very tough campaign he just went through in order to get effectively the nomination?

WHITMAN: Well, first of all, I don't think the Republican party is in turmoil. I think we are amazingly strong and that Bob Dole is doing, has done and is doing a very good job at bringing people together. Obviously, everyone knows we went through a very strenuous primary, shall we say, or certainly an active primary. But if you look at it, the party has come out of that stronger.

I am a believer that there is nothing wrong with the primary system and even though you get just a small percentage of the voters, even Republican voters, out in primaries, Bob Dole won convincingly, in the vast majority of the primaries he won convincingly. And he is putting that together and I think he is going to be in very good shape as far as the Republican party is concerned.

BLITZER: Should Pat Buchanan have a prime time speech at the Republican convention in San Diego?

WHITMAN: I believe there's certainly a role for Pat Buchanan. I don't think that he necessarily should be given a prime time slot because he is not the candidate. He didn't win. This is Bob Dole's convention. This is about pulling the party together, healing it, and going out very unified and strong from San Diego in order to win against Bill Clinton. The focus has got to be- this is about the presidency, this is about defeating Bill Clinton, and whatever enhances that and promotes that is what we want to do. There is certainly a role for Pat Buchanan, there's no question. He is a Republican and has some support.

BLITZER: On the issue of the minimum wage which is dividing Republicans itself, House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, they seem to be struggling with their own party to come up with a cohesive stance. You favor an increase in the nation's minimum wage?

WHITMAN: Well, New Jersey has a minimum wage that is already above the national, so we're not going to be impacted.

BLITZER: You just went up to $5.05.

WHITMAN: We're five and five, $5.05, and have been there for a number of years, so I haven't been part of this discussion. What I want to see is action that will help people get to the point where they have a job that pays a living wage. Whether that's- My concern always in raising the minimum wage and what you have to balance is how many jobs is that going to preclude at the opening entry level. As we try to reform welfare and move people into jobs and into decent jobs, I don't want to see those jobs start to dry up because people aren't going to be hiring part-time or aren't going to be hiring as many entry level people. So you have to be careful there's a balance here.

And I believe that, as we look at other things that we can do to enhance people's economic stability, that comes down to I think tax cuts, to allow them to keep more of the money they earn. I believe it is child care credits. It may be raising the minimum wage as well as part of that overall package. But it has to be seen as a part of a package.

BLITZER: If you were in Congress, you'd vote to increase the minimum wage.

WHITMAN: Well, it depends on how it's being presented. We haven't seen a final bill yet.

BLITZER: From $4.25 to $5.15 over two years.

WHITMAN: But is it just a proposal that does that or does it include some other things. I'd want to see some other things included.

BLITZER: New Jersey is a relatively moderate state, moderate Republicans, not extreme. Is this notion that this Republican revolution over the past couple of years, since the November '94 elections, that there is this image out there among some critics, obviously, that they've been too extreme. Has that hurt Republicans in New Jersey?

WHITMAN: Well, the people kept a Republican majority in both Houses of my legislature last year. So, our legislature there is still in Republican hands. So that would indicate that the public is still very supportive. If you believe polls - and that's another part of that original question, of Bob Dole being behind 20 points as being significant - I'm not a great believer in that having been 20 points behind two weeks out on elections and done a little bit better than that. I don't think that it has had an impact yet, very negative.

There is obviously a perception that somehow Republicans are against a lot of things rather than promoting a lot of things. There's some of that. It's being hyped by certain people for a whole bunch of reasons and that's a concern. But, overall, people like and want the kinds of things that Republicans get elected on, two years ago and last year, which is smarter government, reduced taxes, and more jobs.

BLITZER: Well, as Bill Clinton has moved towards the center over this past year, he's really going after New Jersey big time. He is making a lot of visits to New Jersey.

WHITMAN: Absolutely. A lot of visits. He's going to be up there again in June. He's going to fight. It's going to be a battle ground state, no question.

BLITZER: So, if the only thing standing in the way of New Jersey's going for Bill Clinton is Governor Christine Todd Whitman, no way you're going to change your mind?

WHITMAN: That's not going to be the only thing. It's going to be performance against rhetoric and the people- Bob Dole is going to make a very strong campaign and I believe he's going to win New Jersey.

BLITZER: And very quickly, the Yankees moving to New Jersey?

WHITMAN: Well, if they want to come, we'll have them. But we're not going to go out and get into a bidding war for them.

BLITZER: Governor Whitman, thanks so much for joining us on Inside Politics Weekend.

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