American Morning

Democratic consultant Victor Kamber in Las Vegas this morning, former RNC communications director Cliff May in Washington D.C.

Let’s talk about this, guys. Good morning. Nice to see you guys.

VICTOR KAMBER, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: Good morning.

CLIFF MAY, FMR. RNC COMM. DIR.: Good morning.

O’BRIEN: Cliff, we’re going to start with you — tough words for Syria from Condoleezza Rice. Let’s listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECY. OF STATE: The Syrians should recognize that they are a destabilizing factor right now in the Middle East, and they’re isolated. The Syrians need to recognize this is not a question about other people’s policies; this is a question about Syria’s policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O’BRIEN: Cliff, question goes to you. Will isolation work for Syria?

MAY: yes, I think the pressure, the isolation, I think it may work. I think it’s exactly right of the secretary of state to be putting pressure on Syria, to end its occupation of Lebanon. It’s treated Lebanon for too long like a colony. It’s attempted to swallow it. It’s squeezed money out of it. It’s had its agents all over there. And of course what we’ve had in recent days is the insurgency against the U.S. being plotted out of Syria, we’ve had the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister. I think that adds Syrian involvement clearly. And the most recent terrorist attack in Israel had Syrian fingerprints all over it. So it’s time to not court, Bashar Assad (ph), the dictator of Syria. It’s time to begin to apply real pressure, and I think Condi Rice is doing that.

O’BRIEN: Let’s talk about Lebanon. The government, as you both know, resigned, en masse in a way, on Monday. Egyptian president is calling for election reform. Iraq and the Palestinian territories had elections. Vic, doesn’t President Bush get a lot of the credit for all of these?

KAMBER: Well, he’s trying to get it. They’ve already coined a phrase, I guess it’s what, what domino democracy, they’re calling it. We have no stabilization in that part of the world. Look what’s happened in Iraq since the election, which is horrendous. And the two worst dictators on the list of 10 are our friends over there, and we’re not talking about democracy in Saudi Arabia; we’re not talking about democracy with Gadhafi.

So, you know, I think it’s a little too early to give plaudits and kudos to the president of the United States. It’s good that we’re out there, that we’re trying to help, but we really need to bring world leaders, other world groups into this if we’re hoping that democracy is going to flourish in that part of the world.

O’BRIEN: My guess is cliff doesn’t think it’s too early to give president of the United States, am I right.

MAY: I give most credit to the Lebanese who are out there marching every day. It’s what people are calling Seder (ph) Revolution, a kind of echo of the Orange Revolution in Kiev. I give the most credit to the people of Iraq who risked their lives to vote, but none of this would be happening had it not been for President Bush’s policies. Everybody understands that. And yes, we are pushing for democracy everywhere.

But, Vic, you can’t do it everywhere…

KAMBER: Saudi Arabia, Libya?

MAY: Yes, even in Saudi Arabia. And I’ve got problems with Saudi Arabia. They had a sort of elections. Women couldn’t vote yet, but they had local elections. They know things have to change.

Look at Egypt. Mubarak is now saying for the first time in their history, they will have contested elections. We have to keep the pressure there.

You’re right, Gadhafi is a dreadful guy, but he’s given up his weapons of mass destruction. Don’t stop the pressure there either. You’ve got to understand, Victor, there’s something going on in the Middle East, and give President Bush the credit he deserves for having been the catalyst for this revolution.

KAMBER: Until we have a stabilized Iraq, you cannot share credit until we have the stabilized situation, and we do not have a stabilized — an election does not provide stabilization or democracy, Cliff.

MAY: I’m for stabilization, I’m for beating the enemy in Iraq. That doesn’t mean what you suggested before, an exit strategy, let’s get out and leave the place to Zarqawi and the suicide bombers.

KAMBER: I’ve never said that Cliff, never said that.

MAY: You disagree with Ted Kennedy? You don’t want an exit strategy?

KAMBER: I’ve said to you we need to bring other parts of the world in, we need to have…

MAY: What do you mean other parts of the world in? Look, let me tell you something…

KAMBER: France, Germany.

O’BRIEN: Yes, and you’re taking it a whole other different direction, guys, an area we could definitely talk about, but we’re out of time. Thanks, as always, Victor Kamber, and also Cliff May joining us.

Nice to see you guys — Bill.