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American Morning
'Here's What I Don't Get'
Aired December 05, 2001 - 08:47 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART: Ridge also spoke of "a chemical weapons warning on the Eastern Seaboard." He also said it's going to stay, it's going to stay partly evil around Texas and Oklahoma while in the West, morning evil will give way to afternoon skullduggery.
JAY LENO: You know we love Geraldo, of course. Listen to this. He's so dramatic. Geraldo Rivera, this is his quote he said today. Geraldo said he is now carrying a gun and if he, he will personally shoot Osama bin Laden if he finds him. Geraldo said he will shoot bin Laden if he finds him. You know, if Osama also has a gun, this could work out OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Ooh, he doesn't like Geraldo, does he?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNNFI CORRESPONDENT: Did you see yesterday, apparently Geraldo reportedly is having trouble gaining access to the military operations, the front lines or whatever, and his new boss over there at Fox News, this Ayles (ph) guy, you may have heard of him...
ZAHN: Yes, yes.
CAFFERTY: ... apparently called Oliver North and said hey, can you grease the skids for our man Geraldo? He's having trouble getting access. And apparently, according to what I read in the paper, a military spokesman says Geraldo's papers are not in order and they won't be in order until this war is over, meaning we remember all the nights you sat on the air and, you know, were kissing Clinton on the lips and no, you're not going to cover the military and no, we're not going to cooperate with you.
So I don't know what they're paying Geraldo but Fox may not be getting his money's worth because he can't near the action, according to the paper.
ZAHN: Let's continue to watch. All right. What else do you have for us this morning?
CAFFERTY: As further evidence that I have absolutely no life beyond CNN, I'm sitting there yesterday with a clicker in my hand looking around and I stumbled across this town meeting in Orlando. President Bush down there in his governor -- in his brother's state, Jeb, of course, being the governor. And I've never seen the president of the United States any better. It was, I watched it for about an hour and it was all kinds of, you know, think on your feet, answer the questions.
Periodically he'd stop and pick up a ball bag and hit Tom Daschle in the head with it over the Educational Reform Bill, the stimulus package. At one point he was making fun of his mother's cooking. Watch the tape here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Our family wants to help out our country and we think that making families strong will make our country strong. My parents believe that eating meals together will do that. Is this something that you did when you were a kid and that you and Mrs. Bush believe in?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did eat with my family so long as my mother wasn't cooking. Wait a minute. Just kidding, mom. She was one of the great fast food cooks of all time. Just kidding mom. We ate a lot together. We did. And I think it's important to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZAHN: That must explain his love of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches today.
CAFFERTY: And he's got to be the only guy who can attack Barbara Bush and get away with it. Did you see his brother in the background going oh, don't do this?
ZAHN: Don't say that about mom.
CAFFERTY: On to another subject. A young kid in the audience asked him about the events of September 11 and it was the kind of comment, I think, that eventually will find its way maybe into the history books along with, you know, some of the other presidential quotes from days gone by that have gone on to become a part of the lexicon. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I grew up in a period of time where the idea of America being under attack never entered my mind. This is like your daddy and mother's mind probably. And I started thinking hard in that very brief period of time about what it meant to be under attack. I knew that when I got all the facts if we were under attack there would be hell to pay for attacking America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: Pretty good stuff, huh?
ZAHN: So this town meeting went on for, what, over an hour?
CAFFERTY: Oh, yes. There was...
ZAHN: There were nuggets like that throughout that?
CAFFERTY: And he was just terrific. I mean he, you know, granted it's a user friendly state, Florida. His brother runs it and I'm sure that, you know, a lot of the people in the audience were politically friendly. But I can just remember during the campaign watching him kind of stumble and fumble and have problems with syntax. And even after he was elected, before 9-11, you know, talk down there on the witness protection network, where I have my other life, about, you know, the guy scares me a little bit because in the spontaneous situation sometimes he reminded you a little of a loose cannon.
Since September 11, he has been rock solid. It's like he just rose to the occasion.
ZAHN: And it is the environment that he does best in.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
ZAHN: I mean remember the big debate during the campaign was do we make him do these, you know, serious policy wonk kind of things or do we place him with the people.
CAFFERTY: Right.
ZAHN: And inevitability...
CAFFERTY: And let him just be who he is.
ZAHN: ... those were the settings you saw him more and more in at the end of the campaign.
CAFFERTY: There'll be hell to pay for whoever attacked America. And there is. They're paying it right now.
A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, you'll like this, "Please tell us" -- this was the question -- "Please tell us how you would rate the honesty and ethical standards of the people in these different professions?" Now, these are the highest ranking.
ZAHN: Firefighters right up at the top of the list?
CAFFERTY: Not surprising.
ZAHN: That's not unexpected, sure.
CAFFERTY: Nurses, military, police. Pharmacists is a little interesting. I'm not sure what that's all about. Who would you think would be the lowest rated?
ZAHN: Oh, I have a couple of guesses here.
CAFFERTY: Go ahead. ZAHN: Are we right down, are we on that list...
CAFFERTY: We're not as bad as you might think.
ZAHN: ... with the dog catcher?
CAFFERTY: No, lawyers, though. Here are the words, lawyers, labor union leaders, insurance salesmen, advertisers, car salesmen. And journalists come in right in the middle, or not in the middle. Twenty-nine percent think we have high ethical standards.
Finally, I want to show you a piece of tape of arguably the best custody the Olympic torch will be in for its entire time in the United States. Watch this. Roll that video from Georgia there yesterday.
ZAHN: I heart it, but I don't see it yet.
CAFFERTY: I hear it, too. I can't see it. No, we still have the -- who is that masked woman? How about that? This was in Athens, Georgia, right?
ZAHN: Exactly. Where...
CAFFERTY: Now, how did you come to be a part of the torch bearing parade there?
ZAHN: Well, I am an Olympic booster, having covered two Winter Olympics in the prime time coverage in...
CAFFERTY: Look at this. They love you down there.
ZAHN: ... Albertville, going back two years in Lillehammer, Norway. Traveled all over the world interviewing Olympians as they trained.
CAFFERTY: That is so cool.
ZAHN: It was such a privilege.
CAFFERTY: Well, and as I said, the torch will never be in better care than it was yesterday.
ZAHN: Well, that is very kind of you.
CAFFERTY: That's pretty neat.
ZAHN: But I will tell you, every single person that carried that torch yesterday had an incredibly inspirational story to tell, because they're nominated. You have to write essays to have the privilege...
CAFFERTY: Oh, that's how. OK. So that's...
ZAHN: ... of carrying the torch.
CAFFERTY: How about that?
ZAHN: My mother must have written mine.
CAFFERTY: Yes, well, you did us all proud.
ZAHN: Thank you.
CAFFERTY: OK.
ZAHN: It was an absolute privilege.
Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
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