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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
President Bush Prepares to Give State of the Union Address
Aired January 28, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: The State of the Union. This is a special edition of CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT.
Live from Capitol Hill: Connie Chung.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening from Washington.
Tonight, in less than an hour, President George W. Bush goes before Congress, the nation and the world to give his assessment of the State of the Union, to make his case before the American people on a number of issues. The president will leave the White House shortly and travel by motorcade to Capitol Hill. At 9:01, he will address a joint session of Congress, Vice President Cheney, Cabinet members, justices of the Supreme Court, the military and foreign dignitaries.
His State of the Union comes at a critical time in our country, when the nation may be going to war, when most Americans are more concerned about the economy, and when George Bush's approval ratings in polls have dropped since they were sky-high at this time just last year.
President Bush is still at the White House at this hour. Tradition dictates that presidents start their State of the Union addresses with a discussion of domestic issues. Will that hold true tonight, at a time when Mr. Bush has the onerous task of talking about war?
Our CNN senior White House correspondent, John King, joins us now with details -- John, good evening.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Connie.
CHUNG: Unlike last year, the axis of evil speech, there's a different set of circumstances for the president this year, right?
KING: A very different set of circumstances.
The president faces the urgent challenge tonight of preparing the nation for the possibility of war in Iraq within weeks from now. And the president does so at time you might say he is much more human in terms of his standing in the polls. At last year's speech, when he uttered that now-famous axis of evil line, the president was just four months removed from the September 11 attacks, still sky-high in the poll. Now you have a great deal skepticism in the polling. You also have an emboldened Democratic Party. They are being much more openly partisan and critical of the president, so a very different political climate. As one prominent pollster in Washington put it, last year, the wind was at his back. Now it's a bit in his face.
CHUNG: Will he start with domestic issues?
KING: He will.
That is tradition. And it, of course, is a political priority of this administration. Yes, there could be a war with Iraq, but the president wants to convince the American people, first and foremost, he is acting on their top concerns. The emphasis will be, of course, on the economy. The president is selling his $674 billion tax cut as the prescription to get an economy he will say is already rebounding. But the president will say it needs that tax cut to go even more.
Next, the president will say it is time to end years of bipartisan squabbling and finally pass a prescription drug benefit for elderly Americans. And he will talk about reauthorizing the 1996 welfare reforms in a section of the speech dedicated to what the president calls compassionate conservatism, also in that part of the speech, new initiatives to help drug addicts and children.
CHUNG: John, when he deals with the issue of the war, is he going to provide evidence?
KING: The president will provide some evidence, we are told. And it will begin a folding-out, an unfolding, if you will, from the administration of the evidence.
In making the case for possible war, Mr. Bush will say no final decision yet, but he will say that anyone who thinks the inspections process in Iraq is working is wrong. The president will say that there is intelligence showing fresh ties between Iraq and al Qaeda. He also will say there is fresh intelligence that Iraq is, even in recent days, moving things and hiding things to keep those -- evidence from the inspectors on the ground in Iraq.
And the president, most of all, will try to pressure allies, countries like France, making the case that they signed on to the United Nations resolution that sent those inspectors in. Now they must back it up. If he can show the evidence that Saddam Hussein is cheating, Mr. Bush will tell the allies they must keep their word to move on from diplomacy to what the resolution says is -- quote -- "serious consequences," which is, of course, would mean military confrontation.
CHUNG: Now, John, if he provides all of this evidence, is it aimed at the American people or is it aimed at the allies?
KING: Well, both audiences.
The president's task, first and foremost, is to convince the American people, who are showing increasing skepticism about possible war. The president wants to convince the American people that he is weighing this very carefully and that, if he decides on the military option, that the American people should trust him and believe he is following the right course.
In terms of convincing the allies, the president, of course, speaks to a global audience tonight. But one of the things he will announce in his speech is that Secretary of State Colin Powell is prepared to deliver a speech to the United Nations. And in that speech, we are told, there will be specific references to all that intelligence, the evidence the United States says makes clear that Saddam Hussein is cheating again and lying again. It is Secretary's Powell's job, first and foremost, to get the allies on board. Still a tough sell, but that sell begins here tonight.
CHUNG: All right, John King at the White House, we'll come back to you again a little bit later.
And, as it has been for almost all of the past century, tonight's address will be given in the chamber where the House of Representatives meets. Members of the Senate will file in from the Senate chamber, on the opposite side of the Capitol Building.
And standing right there, from the perfect vantage point, in Statuary Hall is our congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl.
Now, Jonathan, I know that there are two expectations, essentially, that Democrats will expect one thing when they hear the president speak and the Republicans will expect another thing. And some of the Republicans actually will be a bit critical regarding domestic policy. Tell us about it.
JONATHAN KARL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly.
First, for the Democrats here, Connie, the Democrats are saying that, with the nation facing the twin prospects of war and the fear of recession, that the State of the Union, in the Democratic mind, is anxious. They're looking for some reassurance from the president on both score. But don't expect Democrats to be easily convinced here.
They've already been out with what they called a prebuttal, taking serious very issue with the president, attacking him both on domestic policy and on his handling of the war on terrorism.
But as for Republicans, what Republicans are looking for, more than anything, up here is for the president to come out and, more forceful than he's done so far, make the case for war against Iraq, a decision that they expect that he will make within the coming weeks and a case they do not believe that he has made forcefully or strongly enough to convince the American people and to convince our allies abroad. So, Republicans will be looking for that.
And on the domestic issue, Connie, there are some Republicans that need some convincing here about the big tax cut the president is planning to propose.
Meanwhile, we are here in Statuary Hall. And this is the place where you will have the entire power center in Washington walk through. You are going to see about 535 or so members of Congress come through this hall. You will see almost all of the president's Cabinet. You will see the top military leaders in the country, including the joint chiefs of staff. You will see members of the Supreme Court coming through here, attending the biggest night of the year, really, in Washington.
Now, there will be some absences here. There will, by tradition, be a member of the Cabinet, the president's Cabinet, that will not be in attendance in case something catastrophic were to happen. And, also, a member of the Republican, Republican Roy Blunt, he will not be here for the very same reason.
One key person in all of this, though, will be the sergeant at arms, the person that will introduce the president. We caught up with him earlier today to talk with him about the preparations that have been made for this incredible night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILSON LIVINGOOD, HOUSE SERGEANT AT ARMS: My first couple times, I was very nervous.
KARL (voice-over): As the House sergeant at arms, Bill Livingood will utter that famous phrase.
LIVINGOOD: Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States.
KARL: This will be his ninth time.
LIVINGOOD: I remember my first time I went in there. One of my co-workers is standing at the door. And he said to me -- and it's the words, Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States. As I walk in he said, "Now, Bill, remember, it's Mr. President, the speaker of the United States." And I went, oh, my God. I said oh, no.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Started unloading the bellies on the truck.
KARL: But before Livingood takes to the House floor, days of preparation go into broadcasting the president's speech to the world.
CRAIG BROFFMAN, POOL PRODUCER: We actually began setting up for the job on Friday, when we ran the thousands of feet of cable. And then we brought our production truck in on Saturday and spent all day setting up Saturday, putting the cameras in the room, setting up all the audio gear.
TINA TATE, DIRECTOR, HOUSE RADIO TV GALLERY: And we've gone from initially a four-camera setup in the chamber to now eight cameras that the networks bring in and two cameras that they share and offer from the House recording studio. So, it's a much more complex event than it has been.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does Carolyn (ph) talk directly to the camera people to find faces?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BROFFMAN: And we rehearse where is everybody going to be seated in the chamber. And throughout the speech, we like to show pictures of some familiar faces, people who are relevant to what the president is talking about.
KARL: Even with all that meticulous planning and rehearsal, things don't always go as planned.
TATE: One of the biggest glitches was, the wrong speech was inserted into the teleprompter for one of President Clinton's speeches. And it was noticed almost immediately. And if you watch the tape, Clinton stops just briefly, but you do not see him miss much of a beat. And if you don't know it's happening, you really can't see. It's quite a performance.
The majesty of that room and the feeling of electricity in that room when the president walks in and the sergeant at arms announces, "Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States," is something that makes you shiver. And if it doesn't, you shouldn't be doing this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KARL: And, Connie, the sergeant at arms has been practicing those eight words that he will utter to introduce the president. We expect he'll get that right as well -- back to you.
CHUNG: All right, thank you, Jonathan. And we'll come back to you a little later, as we get closer to the president's arrival at the Capitol.
The Department of Homeland Security put the nation's threat level at yellow today, elevated, indicating a significant risk of terrorist attacks. The risk of a new terror attack is a big part of tonight's heightened security along the motorcade route from the White House to Capitol Hill and at the Capitol itself. We'll have more on that when we continue.
Despite all the political power gathered in the House chamber tonight, the main audience is you, the millions of Americans watching. The president today said he wants his speech to rally the American people to what he called some great causes.
Now, here's a look at the jobs he has cut out for him. Support for sending U.S. troops to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power has fallen from its peak of 74 percent two months after September 11 to a slim majority of 52 percent this weekend, according to CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup polling. On the economy, 64 percent approved of President Bush's handling a year ago. Now more Americans disapprove, 49 percent; and approve, 46 percent.
Of course, one good way to goose those numbers is simply to deliver this speech. It's just about a guarantee, as our CNN senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield, joins us now and tells us. Jeff, isn't that true? It is really very much the pattern that the day after the State of the Union, the president's approval ratings goes up.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: It's just inevitable, Connie.
I suppose, if a president got up and yelled, all power to Satan, approval ratings wouldn't go up. But short of that, given the pomp, the pageantry, and the seriousness, particularly in the last couple of years, people want to like the president under any circumstances. He's surrounded by all of the majesty of the government.
He's given 50 standing ovations. And, yes, his approval ratings will go up. And that won't tell us really all that much. The fact that his approval ratings have come down from the stratospheric highs of post-September 11 isn't a surprise.
What probably is worrying the White House is that, as you pointed out, the numbers have turned negative on the economy and there's a pessimism in the air. The right-track, wrong-track question, how do you think things are going, three-quarters of Americans said things were going in the right direction when Bush was inaugurated. Now it's less than 50 percent. And those are conditions that can be politically perilous.
CHUNG: So, he needs to concentrate on the economy, because he doesn't want to make the same mistake that his father did. Why don't you tell us about that?
GREENFIELD: Well, you've raised a really interesting problem, in a way. From the time George W. Bush watched his father defeated in 1992, he has been acutely aware of the cost of seeming passive on the economy. And that's why the president's out on the road all the time talking about economic programs.
I think the problem that he has tonight is that, with these war clouds hanging, with the possibility, maybe even a probability, that, within weeks, American forces will be on the ground in conflict in Iraq, it just makes it hard for people to pay attention to the domestic half of his speech, because people are going to wait, or are going to hear: Well, has he told us more about what Iraq is doing? Is there startling or persuasive new evidence to come out?
And the concentration on the part of the audience, both here and around the world, on the war part of the speech, could mute the economic message, no matter how effective the speech is.
CHUNG: Jeff, there has been so much media hype about the question of war and that the president has this onerous job of convincing the American people that war is necessary.
Do you believe -- because it seems to me as if there's a disconnect here, because, in fact, if the United States does go to war, the American people will support -- that's what we get -- 100 percent. We'll support the president. So, does he really need to convince the American people tonight? GREENFIELD: I don't know how many times we in the media overhype speeches: This is the speech of his life. It's got to be this. It's got to be that.
While the president isn't going to get 100 percent approval rating, when the United States is committed to war, the initial response of the citizenry is to back the troops and to back the president. And that only changes when and if the war goes badly, if there are great numbers of casualties, if there doesn't seem to be progress. A Korea or Vietnam situation withers away support.
But the idea that a speech is going to turn public opinion on the war, as opposed to what happens when and if we go to war, I think is wildly overstated. Yes, it would be helpful for him to ease some of the doubts that have been expressed. But this is an area -- uniquely, maybe -- where deeds matter a whole lot more than words, I think.
CHUNG: All right, Jeff Greenfield, always good to talk to you. Thank you.
When we come back: Will anyone in the world watch tonight's speech as closely as Saddam Hussein? And what will he tell his people about the speech? We will go live to Baghdad.
Our coverage of the president's State of the Union speech is now 45 minutes away.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: As we mentioned earlier, the Department of Homeland Security put the nation's threat level at yellow today, indicating a significant risk of terrorist attacks.
Now, along the motorcade route from the White House to Capitol Hill, the Secret Service asked the media to turn off camera lights to avoid or to -- prevention, an implied fear of snipers.
CNN correspondent Mike Brooks joins us from across the Capitol Building tonight with some of the details that we can tell you about.
Mike, tell us, is there increased security than, for instance, last year?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Compared to last year, Connie, the security has been increased some.
There are some measures that they're taking tonight that have not been taken before. One of those is the addition of other jurisdictions from the Washington metropolitan area that are assisting the lead law enforcement agency in this, the United States Capitol Police. There is also an increased restricted airspace over the Capitol from 15 nautical miles to 30 nautical miles.
There also is an additional 250 FBI agents assisting the United States Capitol Police in keeping a security perimeter around the U.S. Capitol Building -- Connie.
CHUNG: Mike, hasn't there always been a no-fly zone around the area?
BROOKS: There is a restricted no-fly zone around the Capitol on a daily basis.
It's normally 15 nautical miles. For tonight's State of the Union message, it's been increased to 30 nautical miles. Any planes that stray into that no-fly zone could be intercepted by U.S. Air Force jets or U.S. Customs Service helicopters that can intercept low- flying aircraft, along with helicopters from the Metropolitan Police Department and the United States Park Police -- Connie.
CHUNG: Now, Mike, you have the Capitol Police chief there with you.
BROOKS: Yes, I do. We have with us tonight Chief Terrance Gainer, the United States Capitol Police chief.
Thank you very much for coming.
TERRANCE GAINER, CAPITOL HILL POLICE CHIEF: Good evening, Mike.
BROOKS: So far, we've heard that there are no terrorist threats to the State of the Union message. Is this true?
GAINER: That's absolutely true. And I think it's good to point that out.
But knowing that we could be attacked, that the terrorists on 9/11 tried to come here -- and, normally, they repeat their activities -- is one of the reasons that we are taking extra guard tonight.
BROOKS: And, tonight, unprecedented, 13 different law enforcement agencies here on the grounds of the Capitol to help protect the president and make sure this comes off safely.
GAINER: Those 13 law enforcement agencies from around the jurisdictions came in of their own volition. They're being paid from their own agencies to augment some 1,500 of our officers who are around here. So, as you mentioned, we have a big perimeter here to make sure this is safe during the address.
BROOKS: Now, the U.S. Capitol Police is the lead agency, being assisted by the United States Secret Service. So, it sounds like everyone's ready. You all have planned for the worst, but you hope for the best.
GAINER: That's right.
There was a lot of intelligence work that went in before this, a lot of planning, a lot of dress rehearsals over here. So, working with those agencies, this is going to be a safe place tonight.
BROOKS: Chief, thanks so much for joining us. GAINER: My pleasure.
BROOKS: And it sounds like we'll have a safe and secure State of the Union message.
GAINER: Thanks, Mike.
BROOKS: Thank you, chief -- Connie.
CHUNG: Thank you, Mike Brooks.
Tonight is the 70th time a U.S. president has gone before Congress to assess the State of the Union. This president will continue the practice started by President Reagan of showcasing special guests in the audience. The guests are called Skutniks after President Reagan singled out Lenny Skutnik, who pulled an airplane crash survivor out of the Potomac.
And CNN senior White House correspondent John King joins us again with tonight's Skutniks.
John, who is in the first lady's box tonight?
KING: Well, Connie, not any names known to Americans, with the exception of some presidential staffers and the vice president's wife. But among those in the box tonight will be some doctors that the president says need help from Congress to ease the burden of high malpractice insurance costs.
Also in the box: a recovering drug addict. The president will have a new initiative to help drug addicts. As well, you will see some tax families, the president calls them, people he goes back to the 2000 campaign with, those who would benefit, the president says, both individuals and small business owners, from his big tax cut.
Perhaps, the most poignant thing tonight, there will be empty seat in the box, first lady Laura Bush insisting on that, that seat to honor those killed in the September 11 attacks on the United States. And still one guest the White House will not disclose. There are some new initiatives in the president's speech tonight, one of them White House is billing as a major initiative. They won't give us the details of that -- one seat next to the first lady saved to highlight that initiative.
CHUNG: All right.
And, John, I think a lot of us are thinking about what is going through the president's mind as he prepares for this moment as he addresses the nation. And I know you have with you former Reagan Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein and former Clinton Chief of Staff John Podesta. And they probably know full well what it's like when this moment approaches, John.
KING: And that is why we want to bring them in briefly to ask them, John Podesta and Ken Duberstein, two men who served Republican and Democratic presidents, respectively. Let me start with Ken Duberstein.
In a sentence or two, Ken, what is the challenge facing George W. Bush just a half-an-hour from now?
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, this is New Year's Day in Washington and this is the day to get resolution, resolutions passed to Congress, to announce where he is going to make his priorities for the year. There's electricity. There's excitement. This is his opportunity to speak to the nation, to Joe and Joanna Six-Pack. This is the night of real energy.
KING: But, John Podesta, a night of real energy, as Ken says, but also a night of challenge for the president. He could be sending men and women into war in Iraq within a period of weeks. How does he sell that?
JOHN PODESTA, FORMER CLINTON CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, absolutely.
It's a very serious night for the president. And I think that the American people, as the Democratic leader said yesterday, are anxious about this. And he's got to come forward and make the case that there's a clear and imminent danger from Saddam Hussein, if he needs to send in troops, and that he is going to do it in a way, I think, that keeps the international coalition together. That's what the American people want and expect.
And I think that's what the president will have to be speaking to tonight.
KING: Ken Duberstein, back when the resolution Congress passed authorizing the president to use all necessary means, including force, against Iraq, the administration refused to declassify any intelligence about Iraq and its weapons programs. Now the administration says it will do so in the coming days.
Is that sign that they're losing the argument and they need to make some of this sensitive information public?
DUBERSTEIN: No. I think this is the night and this is the reason why, in the days ahead, they need to make the sale, not just to Joe and Joanna Six-Pack, but to the allies and the citizens in Europe and around the world.
The best way to do that is by clear and compelling evidence. And I would expect, next week, when General Powell, secretary of state, goes to the U.N., that there will be a clear demonstration of what the problem is with Saddam Hussein and what we know and why we have to act as imminently as we're going to.
KING: And, John Podesta, you, of course, served in the Clinton administration, a proud Democrat. Democrats in recent days have been much more critical of this president than in any other time of a major speech like this, questioning his policy toward Iraq, also saying there's -- quote -- a "credibility gap, saying this president deliberately says one thing and then does another. Is this the most openly partisan moment of the Bush presidency?
PODESTA: Well, I think that, from the perspective of, if you're just measuring it by the Bush presidency, I think that the Democrats have gone out forcefully in recent days.
And I think they've done that because I think that they are really challenging the president's leadership on the economy, on health care and on other important domestic priorities. I think that, as the leader said yesterday, he's said a lot of things. And the reality has been quite different than what we said in his speech last year.
I think, on foreign affairs, the Democrats have generally been supportive of the president. But, again, they're trying to challenge him to really lay out the case on where he's headed on Iraq. This seems like the beginning of the end game. They want to know exactly what he has in store for the American people and really make the case that, if we need to use force, that force is the only option here.
KING: I wish we had more time, gentlemen.
John Podesta, former chief of staff for President Clinton, Ken Duberstein, former chief of staff for President Reagan, thank you both for your time.
And, Connie, as I toss back to you on Capitol Hill, we can tell our viewers it is tradition for one member of the Cabinet to stay away from the Capitol in a secure location in case of an attack on the Capitol. That Cabinet member tonight will be Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, an odd choice by the president, who is a Republican. Norm Mineta is a Democrat.
(LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: All right, John King, Thank you.
And we're going to leave Ken Duberstein's favorite American couple, Joe and Joanna Six-Pack, and go to CNN congressional correspondent Jonathan Karl, who has buttonholed the man who will literally be at the president's side tonight, escorting him in, fellow Texan, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay -- Jonathan.
KARL: Connie, Majority Leader DeLay, who joins us here, has been called the most powerful Republican in Washington, maybe with the exception of the president, the majority leader.
What is at stake here for the president in this speech tonight?
REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: Well, I think what is at stake is that he's got to show the American people the kind of leadership that he has exhibited over the last two years. And I know that he will.
He's going to point out the kinds of challenges that the country faces and also let people know that we've met a lot of challenges and we're looking forward to meeting others. KARL: But now, on the economy, he can talk about what needs to be done, but you're the one that is going to have to make it happen here. And counting votes over on the Senate side, which you are going to have to deal with, it doesn't look like there is enough support for the president's tax plan.
DELAY: Well, I think the president knows and we have shown that the House and the president can do some pretty amazing things, as we did over the last two years.
But now that we have a Republican Senate, we can actually put these things on the president's desk and accomplish them. So, it's kind of an exciting time and we're looking forward to it.
KARL: But with the uncertainly of war, is there really much that can be done to boost the economy, as long as you have that cloud of war over the economy? Is that really the No. 1 thing the president has to do, is talk about Iraq?
DELAY: Oh, listen, we can chew gum and walk at the same time in this country.
If we create the atmosphere that allows American business to create the kind of jobs that they need to create and grow this economy, we'll be fine and we'll be able to support the war and support jobs in this country. The president understands that. And as long as people quit mis --underestimating him, they'll understand that, through his moral leadership, he'll be able to accomplish these things.
KARL: And just a quick last question. We just learned that the president has said that the member of the Cabinet that will not be here tonight is Norm Mineta, so that, if something catastrophic were to happen here, Norm Mineta, a Democrat -- a Democrat -- would be in charge of the government. How does that make you feel?
DELAY: Well, it shows the president is a bipartisan president. And who knows? Mineta may be a Republican now.
KARL: Maybe by now. Thank you very much.
DELAY: Thank you.
KARL: Majority Leader DeLay.
Connie Chung, back to you.
CHUNG: Jonathan, that would be news.
President Bush is not expected, as we said, to reveal any so- called smoking gun on Iraq tonight. White House officials say that will come when the administration presents new evidence to the U.N. next week. But the president will try to prepare the American people for a possible war with Iraq. Now, the question is: Will Iraqis be able to watch our president speak?
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson joins us now from Baghdad.
Nic, how much awareness is there in Baghdad that the president is speaking?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Connie, really very little awareness. The general public here would not even know about his State of the Union address.
Generally, the way President Bush is dealt with, if you will, in the newspapers here, very critical articles, editorials criticizing his policy, saying he's pushing the United Nations and pushing the war to world with Iraq, and even ridicule on the television this evening, just on the eve of this address. There was a puppet show ridiculing the president, ridiculing President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
In this parody, Margaret Thatcher asks President Bush, where are all your allies? And he says, well, there's America. There's the United States. There's Great Britain. There's London. There's England. There's Tony Blair. So, very much, here in the media, as far as the people see, President Bush a figure that is ridiculed at the moment, Connie.
CHUNG: Nic, as you were talking, we were watching the president's motorcade leave the White House and go to Capitol Hill. It's about a five- to seven-minute ride. And, of course, if you're the president, you don't have to stop for lights.
Nic, is it true that no one will be able to see the president's speech in Iraq? Is Iraqi television not carrying it at all?
ROBERTSON: It won't be on Iraqi television. Officials here in Baghdad, particularly the foreign ministry and the information ministry where I am, they scrutinize as much as they can, it is international media. CNN is on the television sets here. They will be watching. They will be listening. They will be taking notes. The general public, however, will not be exposed to it at all.
CHUNG: And Saddam Hussein just spoke. Can you tell us the substance of his speech?
ROBERTSON: The speeches he's been giving tonight, previous nights have been morale boosting to his military commanders calling on them, asking them how prepared they are, making sure their units have everything they need, telling them not to be afraid of the United States' buildup in Kuwait.
Also talking about the issue of traitors, that traitors shouldn't be feared and that people will know who they are. This is a moment where President Saddam Hussein also knows that he needs to appear on his television here to his audience, the Iraqis, as a very strong and very stable leader, Connie.
CHUNG: All right. Nic Robertson in Baghdad. Thank you.
Now Democrats are doing things a little bit differently this year. They're breaking with tradition by having a governor, Washington's Gary Locke, deliver their rebuttal tonight. And last night they gave what they called a prebuttal of which Jonathan Karl mentioned to us.
So let's go back to our Congressional correspondent. This time he's with the Democratic Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York -- Jonathan.
KARL: That's right. How are you, Connie?
We have with us, Charlie Rangel, as you mentioned -- who is not only Democrat of New York, but he's somebody who has been to 32 State of the Union addresses?
REP. CHARLIE RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: That's right.
KARL: How is this one different?
RANGEL: Well, never before in the history of the United States have we ever been involved in a war that will be conducted by us, conducting a preemptive strike. And there has been no war that we've ever been the one that started it without evidence that our great nation was in imminent danger.
Now, as we see the American people demonstrating concern, this president is going to have to connect the dots and show why we should put hundreds of thousands of young people's lives at risk when Saddam Hussein, as evil as he may be, has not proven to be a threat to the United States of America.
KARL: Now, we know full well where you stand on this war, this potential war. But is there anything that the president could say tonight that would convince you of the need to go to war against Iraq?
RANGEL: You bet your life.
If he can show that Saddam Hussein is about to have another strike as the one that we have suffered, I would say take him out and the quicker the better.
KARL: Now, you've also been push his proposal to reinstate the draft, something that frightens some people. But if there were a military draft in this country, do you think it would be harder for the president to make the case for war?
RANGEL: Based on the evidence or lack of evidence that we have, it wouldn't be just the president, it would be the Congress of the United States. It's so easy to be cavalier in talking about we're going to send our troops over there, but when those troops are in your family, when they're part of your community, when you know who's there, when it's not just those that are not a part of the wealthy, not a part of the affluent, then it makes a difference that you talk about going to war. Make no question about it.
But, not withstanding that, if we are going to war, the question is who's going to be fighting the war? And I think that should be, like the president said, a shared responsibility.
KARL: Congressman Rangel, thank you for joining us.
RANGEL: Good to be here.
KARL: Good to see you here on Statuary Hall. And I believe we've got an aerial shot of this -- of Statuary Hall. It's really an incredible scene. About as close as we get to red carpet treatment here in Washington. Basically, every body we walk into -- we already saw -- we saw the vice president walk through just a few minutes ago and we will see basically every power player in Washington come through this hallway in the next half an hour or so.
Thank you so much.
RANGEL: Good to have you with us.
KARL: Connie, back to you.
CHUNG: Jonathan, have all of the senators and Supreme Court Justices filed through?
KARL: Not yet. We've seen a number of them come through.
What's interesting, Connie, is just a couple of minutes ago, Vice President Cheney walked in the opposite direction over to the Senate because what happens is all of the senators meet in the Senate chamber and then come and walk in the direction to the other side of the capitol, to the House chamber where the speech will take place.
So some of that has started to happen, but not all of it yet.
CHUNG: Jonathan, it appears as if the president is arriving at the Capitol now.
He will be speaking at 9:01 and some of the things that you won't hear the president talk about are the federal budget deficit. Last year he said our budget will run a deficit that will be smaller and shorter -- short term, but he will not speak about it this year because this year or next year, it will probably be about 200 to $300 billion.
You won't hear him talking about the 2004 election. There will probably be several of the Democratic potential candidates in the audience. He won't mention that.
He will not mention affirmative action.
He will not mention abortion.
I was talking to a historian, Doug Brinkley, and he believes that one of the strengths that Bush had -- has is being authentic, that he's not a phony, that he loves the American people, he loves our country and you will hear his authenticity tonight.
Now, still ahead, the president isn't the only one getting air time tonight. The Congress has its say, too, and we'll look at the politics of applause. Right after this.
We are now just a few minutes away from the State of the Union.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Some stunning shots of the Capitol and the White House.
Let us go back now to our senior White House correspondent John King who has some late information -- John.
KING: Well, Connie, we want to quickly fill you in on that mystery guest seated next to first lady Laura Bush in the box tonight. It will be a gentleman by the name of Peter Yevgeny (ph). He is from Uganda.
Why is he sitting next to the first lady? White House officials say in the president's speech he will announce a major new initiative to combat AIDS, to get medicine to AIDS victims, not only here in the United States but across the Caribbean and across Africa. The president will make that a new proposal in the speech tonight. And he will highlight a gentleman who the White House says has been a leader in trying to combat the AIDS scourge in Africa. One new initiative from the president to be included in the State of the Union address, now just moments away.
CHUNG: All right. John, thank you.
President Ford said in one of his State of the Union speeches, "I've got bad news and I don't expect much applause." Well, tonight the White House says the president's speech will run about 42 minutes, longer with applause.
And though the camera will spend most of its time on the president, members of Congress and others in the audience will also play a role applauding, or not applauding, as the case may be.
And our CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins us now with more on that side of tonight's performance. A rather irreverent look, I might say, Candy.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: What?
CHUNG: You?
Let me ask you one thing before you get into your story. There will be at least, what? Four of the six candidates for 2004 in the audience?
CROWLEY: Right. Four of the people who want the president's job will be listening to him tonight. On the Senate side you have Senator Carey from Massachusetts. Senator Edwards from North Carolina. Senator Lieberman from Connecticut. On the House side you have Richard Gephardt, the former Democratic leader of the House.
They've been in New Hampshire and they've been in Iowa, pretty much telling people whatever they want without being responded to back in the living rooms, but tonight's the president's night, as you know. This is why they call it the bully pulpit. And all they can do is sit in that audience, but they're not completely without recourse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): The State of the Union Address is a solemn moment in governance, a night of policy politics and, of course, kabuki theater.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States.
CROWLEY: The president, whoever he is, pretty much always gets a standing O when he walks in. Historical footnote, this ritual was put to the test the year this president was in the midst of an impeachment trial. The night is a one-man show and the most powerful people in Washington come to watch or not. Think of them all as human props in a theater where clapping and sitting are political acts.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I propose that we use one out of every $6 in the surplus for the next 15 years to guarantee the soundness of Medicare until the year 2020.
CROWLEY: When a Democrat is in the White House, Democrats who have the script and know when they're on stand up and yell approval unless the president runs away with the show, Republicans who also have the speech sit glowering in their seats. They reverse roles when the president is a Republican.
RONALD W. REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A federal government is too big and it spends too much money.
CROWLEY: Republicans up, Democrats down. Every once in a while the president hits the daily double. Everybody stands, an event so unusual, it has stopped the show more than once.
CLINTON: That was encouraging, you know. There was more balance on the seat, I like that!
CROWLEY: If all of this strikes you as theater of the absurd.
REAGAN: It took 300 people in my office of management and budget just to read the bill so that government wouldn't shut down.
CROWLEY: Sometimes they look like they think so, too. But all of the world's a stage and all of the men and women merely players.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: So what is there left to say at this point, Connie, other than let the show begin.
CHUNG: All right. Let's take a look, Candy. The -- I think we'll have a live camera on the House floor where a lot of people are arriving. There we go. Now what could this -- you what this is? That is the chair, the empty chair that Laura Bush had insisted that they keep empty in honor of the people who died of 9/11, and anyone else who was lost from a family. These are those special people that the president has designated will be honored, thought about, during this evening.
These are the House seats up there in the gallery, Candy. I'm sure you and I have been watching from those vantage points several times, haven't we.
CROWLEY: A long time now. I, in fact, unfortunately remember when Ronald Reagan started this tradition.
CHUNG: Yes. Now, there's Karen Hughes, senior White House adviser, and Dennis Hastert who will be sitting behind the president. Plus, of course, Vice President Cheney on his other side.
Let's bring in John King, our senior White House correspondent.
Do you have late information about the president and what he has to say -- John.
KING: Well, Connie, I want to clarify a point first we made earlier. I was told by a senior White House official that Norman Mineta, the Transportation secretary will be the cabinet member missing from tonight's speech as is tradition. For security reasons, now we are told there are two cabinet members who will not be there.
The Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta and the Attorney General John Ashcroft. It is Attorney General Ashcroft who has been designated by the president to step in the event of any security catastrophe on Capitol Hill and take over the reigns of the government. John Ashcroft, not the Democrat, Norm Mineta, designated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Speaker, the vice president and the United States Senate.
CHUNG: We are about 15 minutes away from the president's speech. You see Vice President Cheney coming into the House chambers now. Speaker Dennis Hastert was the one with the gavel.
And we will now -- and there is Majority Leader Frist. Hillary Clinton.
So we will go now to Judy Woodruff and to Aaron Brown as CNN special coverage of the State of the Union Address continues.
Good night everyone and thanks for joining us.
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