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American Morning
Headlines Making News 'Over There'
Aired March 07, 2003 - 07:52 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.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Time to go "Over There," check in with our man, Richard Quest, who, among other things this morning, tells us that the prime minister, Tony Blair, is a little the worse for wear. He is under a tremendous amount of pressure. His entire, it seems, political career wrapped up in his allegiance to President Bush and his determination to support this country as it attempts to disarm Saddam Hussein by force, if necessary.
So, Richard, have you had a chance to check on the prime minister's health? How is he doing?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they say that the prime minister is fighting-fit and is on a strong (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But the fact is the man is looking dreadful. No getting away from that.
The "Daily Telegraph" this week says, the fight in Blair shows the signs of battle fatigue, and it's all about his punishing schedule, Jack, because Tony Blair has basically been running around Europe. Somewhat unkindly, Nelson Mandela called him "America's foreign minister."
But what it has shown, of course, is that the prime minister is only human, and there's no getting away from it. He looks as if he's lost a large amount of weight. He's got puffy bags under the eyes that often makeup, and certainly that thing with MTV, he looked very -- I mean, there were lots of youngsters in the audience. Tony Blair looked like an old-age pensioner.
And here in the paper, you just see -- well, in fact, if we look at the video of when Tony Blair was elected back in 1997 in those early days of when he was first brought into office -- youthful, vibrant, virulent. And then suddenly, the years have taken its toll. Now the prime minister is simply looking gray, and not surprisingly, Jack, with what he's got to do.
He went to Madrid last week...
CAFFERTY: Yes.
QUEST: ... had a quick meeting, flew back, addressed his party conference, held another press conference, then went off to interview somebody else.
CAFFERTY: Hey, Richard, let's dont be making fun of people who have puffy bags under their eyes, OK? I just thought I'd mention that. I mean, we come by them honestly. It takes a long time to develop these. Now, you've got some new words in the dictionary that relate to the corporate world, business, high finance and Wall Street. Will you share a couple of those with us?
QUEST: Now, Jack, a stress puppy. What is a stress puppy? It's all part of the "Dictionary of Business and Management," and these are some great new words that you can use every day. A stress puppy is somebody who complains constantly about their stress, but apparently thrives on it anyway.
You've all heard about a brainstorming meeting, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Right.
QUEST: What about a blamestorming meeting?
CAFFERTY: Well, I guess I can figure out what that probably means, right?
QUEST: It's when a project's gone down the tubes and you have a meeting to find the scapegoat.
Also, the one -- you know, about an hour, a minute? Now we've got something called the, ohnosecond.
CAFFERTY: What is that?
QUEST: The ohnosecond is the length of time it takes you to push the send button by accident on an e-mail. Ohnosecond!
CAFFERTY: We've all been there, I think. What about this...
QUEST: And...
CAFFERTY: What about this grass ceiling?
QUEST: Yes, well, the glass ceiling, of course, is a very familiar problem for many women in corporate Britain and corporate America. The grass ceiling is the fact that women can't advance because they don't play golf with the men and thus improve their careers.
CAFFERTY: Well, you know, things are tough all over. Richard, we've got to run. It's always nice to see you on Friday. I look forward to our visits.
QUEST: Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Regards to the prime minister. Let's hope that he gets a little rest over the weekend. And I'll talk to you next Friday.
QUEST: Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Richard Quest reporting live from London.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired March 7, 2003 - 07:52 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Time to go "Over There," check in with our man, Richard Quest, who, among other things this morning, tells us that the prime minister, Tony Blair, is a little the worse for wear. He is under a tremendous amount of pressure. His entire, it seems, political career wrapped up in his allegiance to President Bush and his determination to support this country as it attempts to disarm Saddam Hussein by force, if necessary.
So, Richard, have you had a chance to check on the prime minister's health? How is he doing?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they say that the prime minister is fighting-fit and is on a strong (UNINTELLIGIBLE). But the fact is the man is looking dreadful. No getting away from that.
The "Daily Telegraph" this week says, the fight in Blair shows the signs of battle fatigue, and it's all about his punishing schedule, Jack, because Tony Blair has basically been running around Europe. Somewhat unkindly, Nelson Mandela called him "America's foreign minister."
But what it has shown, of course, is that the prime minister is only human, and there's no getting away from it. He looks as if he's lost a large amount of weight. He's got puffy bags under the eyes that often makeup, and certainly that thing with MTV, he looked very -- I mean, there were lots of youngsters in the audience. Tony Blair looked like an old-age pensioner.
And here in the paper, you just see -- well, in fact, if we look at the video of when Tony Blair was elected back in 1997 in those early days of when he was first brought into office -- youthful, vibrant, virulent. And then suddenly, the years have taken its toll. Now the prime minister is simply looking gray, and not surprisingly, Jack, with what he's got to do.
He went to Madrid last week...
CAFFERTY: Yes.
QUEST: ... had a quick meeting, flew back, addressed his party conference, held another press conference, then went off to interview somebody else.
CAFFERTY: Hey, Richard, let's dont be making fun of people who have puffy bags under their eyes, OK? I just thought I'd mention that. I mean, we come by them honestly. It takes a long time to develop these. Now, you've got some new words in the dictionary that relate to the corporate world, business, high finance and Wall Street. Will you share a couple of those with us?
QUEST: Now, Jack, a stress puppy. What is a stress puppy? It's all part of the "Dictionary of Business and Management," and these are some great new words that you can use every day. A stress puppy is somebody who complains constantly about their stress, but apparently thrives on it anyway.
You've all heard about a brainstorming meeting, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Right.
QUEST: What about a blamestorming meeting?
CAFFERTY: Well, I guess I can figure out what that probably means, right?
QUEST: It's when a project's gone down the tubes and you have a meeting to find the scapegoat.
Also, the one -- you know, about an hour, a minute? Now we've got something called the, ohnosecond.
CAFFERTY: What is that?
QUEST: The ohnosecond is the length of time it takes you to push the send button by accident on an e-mail. Ohnosecond!
CAFFERTY: We've all been there, I think. What about this...
QUEST: And...
CAFFERTY: What about this grass ceiling?
QUEST: Yes, well, the glass ceiling, of course, is a very familiar problem for many women in corporate Britain and corporate America. The grass ceiling is the fact that women can't advance because they don't play golf with the men and thus improve their careers.
CAFFERTY: Well, you know, things are tough all over. Richard, we've got to run. It's always nice to see you on Friday. I look forward to our visits.
QUEST: Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Regards to the prime minister. Let's hope that he gets a little rest over the weekend. And I'll talk to you next Friday.
QUEST: Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Richard Quest reporting live from London.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
