Coleman Heats Up in the Hardball Hot-Seat

MATTHEWS: Welcome back to HARDBALL, on the road in Columbus, Ohio. Michael Coleman is now in his second term as mayor of Columbus, an important city in a crucial state in the battle for the White House. I will ask you the same question. What makes Ohio so hot as a target for both parties now for president? MICHAEL COLEMAN (D), MAYOR OF COLUMBUS: Well, it is the center of the universe when it comes to political judgment. There`s a lot of independents in the state of Ohio. Sometimes, they vote Republican. Sometimes, they vote Democrat. But they look at the candidate and they make their judgment accordingly. MATTHEWS: Well, why do you have two senators who are Republican and a Republican governor if you`re so independent here? COLEMAN: Well, I think that the Republican Party has been successful for a lot of reasons. One is, the Democrats haven`t put up real strong candidates. Secondly, they... MATTHEWS: Except for you. COLEMAN: Well, that`s right. MATTHEWS: You`re running, aren`t you? COLEMAN: I`m running for governor. MATTHEWS: And you`re going to be a change in the wind, huh? COLEMAN: That`s right. MATTHEWS: You`re going to turn things around. COLEMAN: I`m fed up with what`s going on in the state of Ohio. This state has really slid down and we`ve got to turn it around. And I`m running for governor because there`s no leadership. And the folks of Blackwell, Montgomery, Petro and Taft, all of them have been part of this state for the past 12 years. And they all have caused this state to crumble in many ways. And it is time to turn the state around and make it great again. MATTHEWS: Well, what do you do about a state -- and everybody in the country talks about this. It is called the Rust Belt, a bad phrase, but it`s used for parts of the country that build everything else in America, the factories, everything. We`re here in Ohio and places like Pennsylvania. If you get in as governor, can you really do anything in a state like this to turn the industrial part of this country around? COLEMAN: Well, absolutely. (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: Can you reindustrialize America? COLEMAN: Well, you have to -- you have to focus on technology jobs in the state of Ohio. You have to grow small business in the state of Ohio. You have to reengineer the economy in the state of Ohio. MATTHEWS: Right. COLEMAN: You need the help from the White House as well. MATTHEWS: Why, when I want to get my computer fixed, do I have to call Bombay? Why do I get a guy with an Indian accent somewhere in Calcutta fixing my computer for me on the phone? (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: Why do we have those kind of trade laws? COLEMAN: You need to have it right here in the state of Ohio. MATTHEWS: Well, how are you going to get that here? How are you going to get those jobs, those phone bank jobs, those boiler room jobs here? (CROSSTALK) MATTHEWS: All you have to do is be able to speak good English, answer a person`s question. Why do you have to go around the world to get those questions answered? COLEMAN: Well, you can get them right here in the state of Ohio. That`s the point. MATTHEWS: Why isn`t it happening? COLEMAN: Well, because of the leadership we`ve had, Taft, Blackwell, Montgomery, Petro. They have a been part of the old guard of the state of Ohio has caused this state to crumble over the past 12 years. It`s time for new leadership. And that`s what I wanted to provide. MATTHEWS: Big labor all came out last time for Kerry and said, we`re going to pound those guys. We`re going to turn this -- the Democrats are going to win states like Ohio. What happened to the power of labor, the power of an industrial state to be an industrial state, the real smokestack America? All it is, is places where people leave, isn`t it? COLEMAN: Yes. Like I tell you, for the past 12 years, because of the leadership we do have, Ohio is the No. 1 donor state between the ages of 18 and 44. They`re leaving the state of Ohio in droves. And we`ve got to turn that around. MATTHEWS: Can I make a statement? COLEMAN: Yes, sir. MATTHEWS: This is not a question. It`s a statement. COLEMAN: Yes. MATTHEWS: Your party, the Democrats, keep losing to Republicans over social issues like gay marriage and this Schiavo case thing. How are you going to stop that? COLEMAN: What is the question again? MATTHEWS: How are you going to stop people from voting on the basis of issues like Schiavo and abortion and gay marriage and start voting on jobs and trade? COLEMAN: Well, they need to vote on jobs and trade. MATTHEWS: How do you get them to do it? How do you turn their heads? (CROSSTALK) COLEMAN: Well, you got to talk to them. You got to go out into the communities, like I did. I went all over northwest Ohio in the small counties, in the red counties. MATTHEWS: Yes, while you`re out there, Don King is around there hopping everybody up on the issue of gay marriage. So, the black leaders are all pushing the Republican lever. You guys are losing. COLEMAN: Well, we`re going to win the state of Ohio. I`m going to win the state of Ohio, because people will see -- and they know. They know the state of Ohio. When you lose 280,000 jobs over a four-year period -- we`re the No. 1 donor state of young talent, where our school districts are in serious financial trouble, all because of the leadership we have now. People want new leadership in the state of Ohio. And it is time to turn the state around and make it great again. And I`m there to do it. MATTHEWS: Sounds good. Thank you. We`ll see how it works, Mayor Michael Coleman, a very popular mayor here of Columbus, a swing city in this state, not right, not left. It decides every time. -END-