Chris Matthews Nicolle Devenish Hardball

MSNBC Transcripts Hardball with Chris Matthews for Oct. 5 Read the transcript to the 10:30 p.m. ET Show Updated: 1:22 p.m. ET Oct. 6, 2004 Guest: Nicolle Devenish,

Let‘s go right now to the Chris Jansing, who is in the so-called spin room. I don‘t know how you can spin when you walk in a room called the spin room. It‘s too obvious.

She‘s with Bush-Cheney campaign communications director Nicolle Devenish—Chris.

CHRIS JANSING, NBC CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we used to call it the so-called spin room, Chris. But we don‘t even pretend that anymore. This is the spin.

But let‘s talk to Nicolle.

It‘s great to see you. Thanks for coming by.

NICOLLE DEVENISH, BUSH-CHENEY ‘04 COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Any time.

JANSING: The conventional wisdom was that the vice president had to stop—some of the polls, which show that the president lost the first debate in Miami. John Kerry was gaining ground on the Republicans. Did Dick Cheney do that tonight?

DEVENISH: Well, I disagree with part of the premise, but I think that the Democrats are wandering around behind me dazed and confused. This was a decisive victory for Dick Cheney. I think this was where the rubber met the road.

I think this is where John Edwards got first client that he couldn‘t defend. And that record that the vice president had down cold, he was able to really impeach the credibility of every political attack John Edwards launched tonight.

JANSING: Well, let‘s talk about some of the specific attacks.

First, the war on Iraq, did he really make the case that this is part of the war on terror, because that Democrats have said very clearly and some of the American people are having trouble buying the fact that we went to Iraq has made us safer.

DEVENISH: Well, I think the Democrats are so desperate now. They have convoluted their own position so much.

And, look, two questions that John Edwards wasn‘t able to answer tonight. He wasn‘t able to answer Gwen‘s very appropriate and very legitimate question about what exactly the global test was. The second was an inability to articulate whether, 27 days before Election Day, he thinks and Kerry thinks that the invasion of Iraq and the removal of Saddam Hussein made us safer. Our record is clear. We do believe that.

Americans understand that our country is safer here and American cities are safer with Saddam Hussein out of power.

JANSING: What about the accusation that this administration is not being straight with the American people? There have been so many questions raised now about what‘s going on in Iraq. Can this administration continue to defend the progress that‘s being made?

DEVENISH: Well, look, I think that what the Kerry-Edwards ticket would like you to believe is that optimism and truth-telling can‘t coexist.

But we see plenty of debate within the administration. And we talk these policies through. But what wasn‘t truthful, what was the most dishonest thing we saw tonight was that John Edwards tackled with lies and political attacks and Dick Cheney was able to block those tackles with facts and substance.

JANSING: Well, let‘s talk about some of the facts: 45 million Americans without health care. We are standing in the city with the highest poverty rate. Do you think Dick Cheney really made the argument to a Clevelander who has lost his manufacturing job that the way to get more jobs is to be more business friendly?

DEVENISH: Well, I think he did.

And here‘s something else. We are in Ohio. We‘re in a crisis state for medical malpractice. And John Edwards, this was one fact that you would think he would have straight. He did not have his facts straight when he talked about the real savings and the real economic impact of an out-of-control and broken-down medical liability system. So I think people in Ohio will be most disturbed by the distortions that came out of John Edwards tonight.

This is a state that knows, that lives with the results of a broken medical liability system, and John Edwards just gave them spin and political attacks.

JANSING: Nicolle Devenish, communications director for Bush-Cheney ‘04, thanks very much—Chris, back to you.

MATTHEWS: Thank you, Chris Jansing.

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