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| WILLIAM BENNETT | |
 August 16, 2000  |
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Ray Suarez speaks with Empower America's Bill Bennett from the convention floor.
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WILLIAM BENNETT: I think he's a very impressive guy. It was a surprising pick, I think a very good pick. Joe is a man of deep intellectual curiosity -- open mindedness. I've worked with him on three issues: Persecution of the faithful around the world, school choice and school accountability and I suppose the most famous one, we've gone after Hollywood in some of its worst forms, some of the movies, music, and TV. RAY SUAREZ: Any times where you can remember that there have been tough calls to be made where he has either surprised you or stayed steady in the face of some very tough opposition? WILLIAM BENNETT: Yes. That's a great question. He stayed steady this Sunday, I thought, under some pretty tough questions. He was asked if he still supports school choice. He answered yes. Did he still support tort reform - that is, limiting damages -- he said yes. Would he still go after Hollywood for its excesses - yes. Was he still opposed to group preferences -- yes. The reason I think that's impressive is that this goes against the grain of a lot of thinking in the Democrat Party. And it goes against the very criticisms Al Gore and Clinton have made of us. Now they've got a Vice President who holds these views or at least is sympathetic to these views. RAY SUAREZ: Just as you find it remarkable that he is willing to hold those stands in the face of his party, do you find it also remarkable that you're at a convention praising a Democratic vice presidential nominee?
RAY SUAREZ: Empower America's Bill Bennett. Thanks a lot. WILLIAM BENNETT: Thank you, sir. |
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RAY
SUAREZ: Jim, joining me now is former Secretary of Education and head
of Empower America, Bill Bennett. 
WILLIAM
BENNETT: Absolutely. As I walked down here, people said are you on your
way to make the nominating speech? I said, no, I don't think so. But
I think we have to be able to do this. I mean, this is an impressive
man, and I'll say so. If he sticks to his convictions on these issues,
I think it will be good for, certainly good for the country, though
I imagine it's going to give some of the Gore people fits. We've already
had this little tête-à-tête with the Black Caucus.
Supposedly things were smoothed over -- but when you do an exhaustive
study of the Lieberman record, this is a guy who is absolutely against
racial preferences -- group preferences by race. And that is part of
the creed to a lot of folks here, so we'll see.
