ABC / Yahoo Interview 8 Major GOP Candidates
Neither Michele Bachmann nor Jon Huntsman wanted to weigh in on allegations of sexual harassment levied against rival Herman Cain, but both had plenty to say about their own candidacies and why they want to defeat President Obama.
ABC News and Yahoo are interviewing every major Republican candidate a year out from election day 2012.
Watch Interviews with the GOP field at http://abcnews.go.com/politics throughout the day.
Jon Huntsman “Herman Cain can deal with it however he chooses to deal with it, but I’m worried about the 13 or 14 million unemployed, I’m concerned about those who are worried we’re losing our position in the world,” former Utah Gov. and U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman said.
He was interviewed from Coral Gables, Florida by ABC’s Sharyn Alfonsi.
“It takes all of the oxygen out of the room,” Huntsman said of Cain. “Far be it from me to give Herman Cain any advice, but eventually he’ll address these issues.”
In a lightning round of personal questions, Huntsman said his worst job ever was as a dishwasher in a Japanese restaurant because he also had to clean toilets. And on who would play him in a movie, Huntsman, known for his dry wit, said, “I’m not going to say Lloyd Christmas from ‘Dumb and Dumber,’” although that was clearly the first thing that popped into his mind.
Watch the Huntsman interview and learn about his New Hampshire -focused strategy here.
Michele Bachmann
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann struggled to find anything on which she agreed with President Obama.
“I agree with the fact that he didn’t have a new Marine One helicopter made,” Bachmann told ABC’s Ron Claiborne in Charleston, South Carolina, referring to the presidential helicopter. Obama did purchase a new limousine, she said but decided to forego having a new “outrageously expensive” helicopter made.
Preliminary contracts for an updated Marine One fleet in 2009 put the price tag for each chopper at $400 million, roughly the same price as the president’s Boeing 747 jetliner, Air Force One. “That was a good move that he made,” she said.
Bachmann talked about a range of issues, including Iran and Israel, where she sounded hawkish. “I will not do as this president has done and put daylight between the United States and Israel. That was a foolish decision. I also will put every military option we have on the table to deal with an Iran that seeks a nuclear weapon,” she said. During her lightning round, Bachmann said that if it were up to her, she might put Ronald Reagan on Mt. Rushmore. But some other contenders in her mind: James Garfield, who was only in office for a short while, but was the last President to come from the House of Representatives, and Calvin Coolidge, in office during the roaring ’20s.
Read more about Michele Bachmann’s interview.
Here’s the schedule:
-Terry Moran to interview Ron Paul in Clute, Texas at 11 am ET
-Christiane Amanpour to interview Rick Perry in Austin, Texas at 11:15 pm ET
-George Stephanopoulos to interview Mitt Romney in Chicago, Illinois at 12:15pm ET
-John Berman to interview Rick Santorum in Manchester, New Hampshire at 2:00 pm ET
-Jonathan Karl to interview Herman Cain in Scottsdale, Arizona at 2:30 pm ET
-Jake Tapper to interview Newt Gingrich in Washington, DC at 3:00 pm ET