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American Morning
Election Air Wars; Eisner's Title Shortened
Aired March 04, 2004 - 08:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The White House starts unveiling its re-election war plan. Millions of dollars in campaign ads and the first volleys fired in the battleground states.
A high profile trial that's been more than a year in the making. Attorneys now pouring everything they've got into finding the right jury for Scott Peterson.
And a bare knuckles fight at Disney brings down the king of the kingdom. We'll explain ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Eight o'clock here in New York.
Good morning.
Good to have you with us along on this Thursday morning.
There's a town in Vermont, a tiny little ski town called Killington, that wants to be part of New Hampshire. It may sound like a joke, but apparently the folks who went to the polls this week did not think it that way. They voted to actually secede from Vermont and go join the folks in New Hampshire. We're going to get more on that in a moment here, the cross border war there.
O'BRIEN: They're not that close to the border.
HEMMER: Yes, about 26 miles. That would be a heck of a little...
O'BRIEN: So it would be a little bit of a haul. Well, we'll see what happens.
HEMMER: That we will.
O'BRIEN: People say it's actually not going to be as easy as just voting for it to happen.
Also this morning, has the Pentagon overestimated how much troops and Iraqi forces can do to contain the anger in Iraq?
We're going to hear from Barbara Starr on the effectiveness of the U.S. plan in just a few moments.
HEMMER: And that death toll from the bombing two days ago is just staggering.
O'BRIEN: Yup.
HEMMER: Some say anywhere from 187 to 271 people. Wow.
Jack Cafferty with us again -- good morning, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill.
Coming up on the Cafferty File, we'll tell you about a man who chose a longer prison sentence so he wouldn't have to quit smoking. And we will share questions with you from a final exam at the University of Georgia which are guaranteed to make you rethink the definition of higher education, emphasis on the word high. You won't believe -- you just won't believe it. I mean it's mind boggling...
HEMMER: Unbelievable.
CAFFERTY: ... the stuff that's on a final exam at a university.
O'BRIEN: Can you give us a clue? Like, give us a hint. Hint.
CAFFERTY: Like how many halve are there in a basketball game.
O'BRIEN: Well, actually -- yes, I get that.
HEMMER: You can help with that.
CAFFERTY: If I was paying tuition there, I would be looking for someone.
HEMMER: We'll talk to University of Georgia.
CAFFERTY: University of Georgia?
HEMMER: University of Georgia is the mascot, the dog, at the University of Georgia.
CAFFERTY: University of Georgia?
HEMMER: University of Georgia, yes, a little dog. They've had five or six of them for years.
CAFFERTY: Well, you know what? We're going to start -- we're thinking about starting a new feature on Fridays, too, on the Cafferty File.
HEMMER: Yes?
CAFFERTY: A mutant of the week.
O'BRIEN: Ooh, I like that.
CAFFERTY: The viewers write in and they have suggestions for who should be the biggest mutant any given week. We...
HEMMER: You got a short list?
CAFFERTY: We, well, not yet, but we may start this. We may...
O'BRIEN: I like that.
CAFFERTY: Yes, we may do that.
O'BRIEN: Your choice, mutant of the week.
CAFFERTY: Well, at the end I'll make the choice, but we'll let 'em...
O'BRIEN: Well, obviously.
CAFFERTY: We'll let 'em think they have a role.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jack.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's go to our top story this morning. The only person convicted so far in the September 11 terrorist attacks will get a new trial. A German court today overturned the conviction of Mounir El Motassadeq. The Moroccan man was found guilty last year of aiding the 9/11 hijackers. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Many people around the world apparently don't feel safer and are blaming the war in Iraq. A new international poll finds that Americans are evenly split on whether the terror threat has increased because of the Iraq war. But the majority of those living in Europe, Canada and Mexico say the war has made things worse and that they don't feel any safer.
An attorney for WorldCom's former CEO says that his client will be cleared of all charges. Bernard Ebbers pleaded not guilty yesterday to a long list of federal charges stemming from the biggest corporate fraud case in U.S. history. He's free on $10 million bail.
The battle over same-sex marriages is being waged on both coasts now. New York's attorney general has urged officials to stop same-sex weddings until state courts can rule on their legality. That's after the mayor of New Paltz, New York began marrying same sex couples last week. Meanwhile, a county in Oregon is beginning to grant gay marriage licenses. That happened yesterday. Oregon's governor has asked for a legal opinion in the matter.
Authorities in Texas say they made an eye popping discovery during a routine stop. Officers stopped an 18 wheeler and another car that was trailing it late last night in the Houston area. They say they were getting inconsistent stories from the two drivers when a drug sniffing dog detected something. Well, officers found more than a million bucks tucked away beneath the cab of the rig. Now both men are in custody.
HEMMER: Wow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Back to politics. One eye on the Democratic veep stakes, another on the coming air wars.
Former White House advisor David Gergen back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING, live in Watertown, Massachusetts, talking about the campaign ahead.
David's also a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
Good to have you back here and good morning to you.
DAVID GERGEN, PROFESSOR, HARVARD'S KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT: Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: The ad war starts today.
Listen to a portion of one of the ads now and we'll talk about it in a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM BUSH-CHENEY '04 CAMPAIGN AD)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know exactly where I want to lead this country. I know what we need to do to make the world more free and more peaceful. I know what we need to do to make sure every person has a chance at realizing the American dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: The images and the words very flattering, very positive. There's a formula to this. You start positive now and then a little bit later you start sizing yourself up against your opponent.
Is that the way you see it?
GERGEN: Well, exactly, and you do warm and fuzzy up in front and he's also stressing not only his leadership, which is a key and critical theme for this election, but he's also stressing his likability in this ad. And the Democrats hope to make the -- I mean the Republicans hope to make the best of both themes, to paint John Kerry as not a leader and as not very likable.
So that's the early part. But it's really interesting to watch on this campaign, Bill, that even as the air wars start and are warm and fuzzy, beneath the surface the Internet war has also started in. That's a brawl. They're on the Internet, each side is really going after hammer and tong the other side, painting the other one as very (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: Why do you do it online, then, that way? Is it safer there? Is it -- are you more protected there? I'm not quite sure I follow why. GERGEN: Well, a couple, for a couple of reasons. The new laws now require the candidate to put his, actually have his voice on the ad. So that you'll notice in all of these President Bush ads, he says, "I'm President Bush and I approve this ad."
In that new environment, this new legal environment that has accompanied the changes in our campaign funding laws, putting new restrictions on, you simply won't see, I think, a lot of the kind of negative ads we've seen in the past. For example, the Willie Horton ad that ran against Michael Dukakis so effectively by the Bush campaign some years ago, by the senior Bush campaign, I don't think you'll ever seeing this campaign. It was a very tough negative ad, one of the most toughest ones in all of ad history.
There was something called the daisy ad that Lyndon Johnson ran against Barry Goldwater. He just ran it once, but it suggested Goldwater was a little crazy and he was going to get us in a nuclear war.
You won't see that in this, but you might -- the Internet is a place where anything goes. It's, you know, it's a free, open and brawlish kind of place.
HEMMER: David, listen, one of the things we're talking about today is a bit of an uproar caused by some of the images in the ads referring to 9/11. Some of the families apparently not happy with that at all.
GERGEN: Sure.
HEMMER: It's our e-mail question of the day, as well.
What is your take on that, fair criticism? Or how do you not do this in the shadow of 9/11?
GERGEN: I think that's a -- I think it is fair to use 9/11, though you have to be very careful not to exploit the emotions of the families. But you -- how can you tell the story of the Bush administration with -- and leave out 9/11? That's the core of what happened.
If he's reelected, the single most important reason why is because of the days and weeks that followed 9/11, how he responded, because that was his finest leadership moment.
So they have to tell it, but they have to be very careful here. They've got a convention coming up in New York very close to ground zero. With a lot of firemen and a lot of policemen around, they've got to salute, but they have to be careful not to exploit.
HEMMER: Interesting perspective.
GERGEN: And that's a, it's a fine line.
HEMMER: Let's talk about the vice presidency for John Edwards.
GERGEN: Sure.
HEMMER: Or, sorry -- wow, John Kerry. We may not get an answer on this until the summertime, maybe June, about a month before the Democratic convention. You've mentioned Hillary Clinton. You've mentioned Evan Bayh out of Indiana.
GERGEN: Right.
HEMMER: Hillary Clinton was with Lou Dobbs last evening.
Listen to how she said she approaches the possibility of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE")
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: That is totally up to the nominee and I don't think I would ever be offered. I don't think I would accept. Obviously I want to do everything I can to see John Kerry elected president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: In a word or two, David, how critical is this decision for him and would Hillary Clinton even do it?
GERGEN: Well, this is clearly one of the biggest decisions that he has to make as a presidential candidate. It is the one that shows the mettle of the candidate. Does he choose someone who is truly going to offer the country a future president or does he choose someone who is only there for electoral votes?
I think that George W. Bush helped himself enormously when he reached out to Dick Cheney. He did need those three electoral votes in Wyoming, that's for sure, although they came in pretty helpful in the end. But he was reaching for someone of national stature, just as Bill Clinton did when he reached for Al Gore back in '92. In both cases, those choices elevated the stature of the presidential candidate himself. It showed that he was going to choose big people. And the reason that Hillary Clinton would have to be on his list as a potential candidate is that she is someone of the largest national stature of any of the other Democrats around. And so that you at least have to consider her.
I think, you know, there's a good chance he'll go to someone of a regional quality such as an Evan Bayh or see -- retest John Edwards in the Middle West. The Midwest is a pivotal area here. States like Ohio are ground zero in a political wars, if you would like.
HEMMER: Yes.
GERGEN: So he will test somebody in the Midwest, but I think he also will have to be looking at this question, shouldn't I choose someone of national stature, isn't that what the country is looking for, someone who can step in in the event that, god forbid, something would happen to the president?
HEMMER: Always a pleasure. Thank you, David.
GERGEN: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: David Gergen there in Watertown.
You've got it -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The board of directors of the Walt Disney Company says it "remains unanimous" in its support of the company's management team and of beleaguered CEO Michael Eisner. But Eisner's title has been shortened after an important vote by Disney's shareholders.
Jen Rogers of CNN Financial News has this report from Philadelphia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Eisner lost his grip on the board he had led for nearly 20 years. The late evening announcement Wednesday came after angry Disney shareholders were heard loud and clear.
MICHAEL EISNER, DISNEY CEO: We decided, the board decided that this movement in America to separate the non-executive chairman and the CEO was something that we should -- have been considering and getting our company into a contemporary governance. And we did it today. We heard our shareholders, who seemed to be interested in that. And so we went ahead and did it.
ROGERS: The move came after 43 percent of shareholder votes went against Eisner.
SARAH TESLIK, INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS COUNCIL: Forty-three percent is astronomical in the investor world.
ROGERS: Former Senator George Mitchell will serve as chairman of the board. Michael Eisner remains CEO. While Eisner's power is certainly curbed, the move won't be enough for the men leading the campaign against him, former Disney board members Roy Disney and Stanley Gold.
STANLEY GOLD, FORMER BOARD MEMBER: The real solution is getting rid of Michael Eisner.
ROGERS: For now, Eisner keeps one job and he gave no hint he's planning on leaving the company entirely.
EISNER: I love this company.
ROGERS: Whether that love will be returned by shareholders is an open question.
Jen Rogers, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN: Disney's stock has climbed nearly 15 percent this year thanks, in large part, to the hostile takeover bid from cable company Comcast. Disney rejected that offer.
HEMMER: Jurors in the Martha Stewart trial return to work today, their first full day of deliberations. Yesterday, the jury asked to review testimony of the government's star witness and examined phone records from the day Stewart sold the ImClone stock in question. Stewart and her former broker, Peter Bacanovic, face conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges in connection with the sale of that stock. Many say the testimony of Doug Faneuil is what this case hinges on.
O'BRIEN: Right.
HEMMER: Deliberations continue today.
O'BRIEN: And his credibility. If they believe him, they vote to convict.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: We'll see.
Still to come this morning, more than a year after Laci Peterson's disappearance, jury selection in the murder trial of her husband Scott is about to begin. We're going to take you live to California for that.
HEMMER: Also, a former teammate of NBA star Jayson Williams, some of the most incriminating testimony yet in the Williams murder trial.
O'BRIEN: And disturbing racial slurs heard over a Chicago Fire Department radio now inflaming the community. A look at that's just ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: An eyewitness says Jayson Williams had his finger near the trigger of a shotgun just as it went off, killing a limo driver inside of his home. Ex-NBA player Benoit Benjamin, now with the Harlem Globetrotters, testified that he was three feet from Williams when Gus Christofi was shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hear the defendant say anything after the shooting? BENOIT BENJAMIN, WITNESSED FATAL SHOOTING: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was that? BENJAMIN: "What am I going to do? I just (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED) up my life." (END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: And Benjamin said Williams was cursing the victim. He testified that Williams had been drinking at dinner and Benjamin said he was so frightened by Williams' driving that night that he prayed to god for his own safety. That trial continues.
O'BRIEN: Prospective jurors in the Scott Peterson case are going to have to answer a lot of personal questions. A 30 page questionnaire will be handed out to prospective jurors today.
KFBK radio reporter Chris Filippi is covering the legal proceedings in Redwood City, California for us.
Nice to see you, Chris.
Thanks for being with us.
CHRIS FILIPPI, REPORTER, KFBK RADIO:
Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Once again we see this questionnaire. We saw it in the Martha Stewart case.
What exactly are the various sides looking for when they ask these questions of the prospective jurors?
FILIPPI: Well, both sides, of course, are very anxious to get a jury that they either think is going to convict or not convict, depending upon who they're representing. This is a very lengthy questionnaire, more than 120 questions. These questions really run the gamut. Some of the questions deal with opinions on extramarital affairs. One of the questions even asks prospective jurors what sort of bumper stickers they have on their car.
So they have a lot to talk about with these questions.
O'BRIEN: The judge ruled in favor of the prosecution by allowing evidence of what had been gathered by bugging Scott Peterson's phones. This is going to be heard by jurors now.
How important do you think that evidence is? How, what kind of a win is that for the prosecution?
FILIPPI: Oh, it's very important because it's highly unlikely that Scott Peterson's actually going to be called to testify. That would have to be the call of his lawyers. He can't be compelled to testify against himself.
So what that means is the jurors are actually going to get to hear Scott Peterson's voice and they're going to hear him talking to Amber Frey, talking to other people that he knows. So this is very important.
Also important to note that there's still a fight going on over the interviews that Scott Peterson did with various reporters. The defense does not want those to get in. That would be yet another opportunity for the jurors to actually hear Scott Peterson's voice at a time when he wasn't necessarily aware that he was being monitored that closely by police.
O'BRIEN: The judge, in fact, is supposed to rule on that, I think on Monday.
Is there any indication at this point yet on how the judge will go on that issue?
FILIPPI: It's always hard to predict how a judge is going to rule. But it seems like in this case the general rule of thumb has been unless there's some sort of misconduct, most of the evidence is getting in.
Now, once it gets in, the jurors can hear it. But, of course, Mark Geragos, the lead defense attorney, is certainly free to attack it in front of the jury. So that's something to wait for once the trial really gets going.
O'BRIEN: It's kind of interesting because, of course, all of this is going on in the public while there is no jury picked, so they're not sequestered. All this information is really out to potential jurors.
What kind of a problem do you think that presents?
FILIPPI: Yes, it's going to be very difficult to find a jury. We know this is going to be a long process. The lawyers tell us four weeks. I have a hard time believing that. Many of the experts I have been speaking with say it's going to be more like six to eight weeks. In fact, I've been talking to a lot of folks here in Redwood City and in San Mateo County. It's really hard to find someone who, one, has not heard about this trial, and then secondly, has not already made at least some opinion about the trial. So that's the challenge they're up against. It's going to be so difficult, in fact, that they're expected to call approximately 1,500 folks to go through this voir dire process. It's going to be very long.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
Chris Filippi of KFBK Radio joining us this morning.
That will be a -- 1,500 people, that's a long process.
All right, thanks for being with us, Chris.
FILIPPI: You bet.
HEMMER: From Chicago, fire department officials investigating the usage of a racial slur over a department radio frequency. The latest incident happened on Monday of this week, the third time a racial slur has been heard over a radio in about a month's time. The situation had the mayor, Richard Daley, talking pretty tough yesterday about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR RICHARD DALEY, CHICAGO: He's being paid by people. Now, if he doesn't like being a fireman, he can quit. If he doesn't like people of a different race and color and religion and ethnic origin, he can quit. He should stand up, say I don't like my job and let -- I want to quit. But you don't hear too many firemen who want to quit. That's one of the best jobs in America. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That firefighter received a 90 day suspension for one of the previous incidents. The city's fire commissioner called those remarks "reprehensible" and "unacceptable" -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, vacating Vermont. We're going to take you to the ski town that wants to switch states.
Plus, take a look at this. That's Pete Rose. Yes, Pete Rose. He's finally getting into the Hall of Fame, kind of, sort of. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Killington is one of the top destinations for skiers in the East. But if you're trying to get there, you might have to put away the Vermont map, get out one for New Hampshire.
Dan Lothian has a report on why voters in Killington, Vermont want to switch states.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a picture perfect winter paradise, the ski resort town of Killington, Vermont. But behind this beauty, there's growing unrest over property taxes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really comes down to no taxation without representation.
LOTHIAN: Taking extreme measures, a majority of this town has now voted to secede from Vermont. They want to be part of neighboring New Hampshire, 25 miles away, hoping for lower taxes and more say in how their money is spent.
But not everyone wants a change of address.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was born and raised a Vermonter and I hope to always be.
LOTHIAN: The battle began seven years ago when the town, along with other communities considered wealthy properties, were tapped for taxes to help finance education across the state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up and do what is right.
LOTHIAN: Frustration and $20,000 spent on studying options put residents on the road to New Hampshire.
But some say not so fast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think we should just drop this, adopt a modern charter and look inward.
LOTHIAN: In the 1700s, Killington was chartered in New Hampshire. Now it's up to law makers in both states to decide whether to give the green light.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Advocates for succession say Killington sends $20 million to the state in taxes but only gets a million back.
HEMMER: A tidy little ski town, the highest elevation in the Northeast. I was up there a couple of weeks ago.
O'BRIEN: Yes, you were.
HEMMER: Six inches of fresh powder on the ground. Not an easy thing to do in the Northeast, where it's usually windy and full of ice.
Jack's back now with the Question of the Day -- good morning, Jack.
CAFFERTY: How you doing, Bill?
Images of ground zero and the September 11 terrorist attacks are featured in President Bush's new campaign ads. Families of the victims of that tragedy accuse the president of exploiting the events of September 11.
Now, last hour on AMERICAN MORNING, an advisor to the Bush campaign defended the spots, saying the imagery is appropriate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN HUGHES, BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISER: And I think it's very tasteful. It's a reminder of our shared experience as a nation. I mean September 11 is not just some distant tragedy from the past. It really defined our future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: The question is, is it appropriate to use these images of September 11 in political ads?
Here are some of the letters we've gotten. We've gotten a lot of response.
Oleg writes, "If it's appropriate for the Bush campaign to use September 11 images in their videos, it should be appropriate for the Kerry campaign to use the images of injured or killed American soldiers in Iraq."
Tony writes, "The president's use of ground zero images is a classic example of waving the bloody shirt tactic that was first used by Republicans after the Civil War. It's tasteless and tacky."
Pamela in Pinckney, Michigan: "The only thing Bush did right for five brief moments was right after September 11. It's the only thing he can run on. It's cheap to exploit the loss and despair for political gain, but then again, we're talking about Bush."
Lisa in Houston, Texas: "President Bush is a man of faith driven values. It surprises me that he would allow the ad campaign as a tool of his reelection. I like the man. I just don't like this decision he's made. He should reflect on it and make a change."
Rob in Fort White, Florida: "It's counterproductive for Bush because it reminds everyone of who let it happen in the first place and how he spent hours after the attacks flying around in circles. He's still stonewalling the panel that's trying to find out what went wrong so we can stop it from happening again."
And, finally, George writes this, from Quebec: "Watched Karen Hughes on your show fumbling around with excuses for this tasteless promo. The wishes of the surviving victims must be respected and I expect the ad will be pulled posthaste."
O'BRIEN: She didn't seem to be fumbling to me at all. She seemed that they have a very coherent...
CAFFERTY: Well, that's this man's opinion, you know?
O'BRIEN: No, I get that. But it...
CAFFERTY: The idea is to get their opinions. That's...
O'BRIEN: ... it seems like they have a very coherent response to any...
HEMMER: I thought David Gergen put it quite well, you can't avoid not discussing this topic, but it has to be done in a tasteful way.
O'BRIEN: Right.
HEMMER: And the Republicans are going to come to this city next August for their convention.
O'BRIEN: Right.
CAFFERTY: That's an interesting point, isn't it?
HEMMER: Um-hmm.
CAFFERTY: I wonder if the commercials will be different by then.
O'BRIEN: We'll see.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
In a moment here, news about if you're taking birth control pills unknowingly, you might be helping yourself fight off a future painful condition. What is that? We'll talk about it after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 4, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The White House starts unveiling its re-election war plan. Millions of dollars in campaign ads and the first volleys fired in the battleground states.
A high profile trial that's been more than a year in the making. Attorneys now pouring everything they've got into finding the right jury for Scott Peterson.
And a bare knuckles fight at Disney brings down the king of the kingdom. We'll explain ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Eight o'clock here in New York.
Good morning.
Good to have you with us along on this Thursday morning.
There's a town in Vermont, a tiny little ski town called Killington, that wants to be part of New Hampshire. It may sound like a joke, but apparently the folks who went to the polls this week did not think it that way. They voted to actually secede from Vermont and go join the folks in New Hampshire. We're going to get more on that in a moment here, the cross border war there.
O'BRIEN: They're not that close to the border.
HEMMER: Yes, about 26 miles. That would be a heck of a little...
O'BRIEN: So it would be a little bit of a haul. Well, we'll see what happens.
HEMMER: That we will.
O'BRIEN: People say it's actually not going to be as easy as just voting for it to happen.
Also this morning, has the Pentagon overestimated how much troops and Iraqi forces can do to contain the anger in Iraq?
We're going to hear from Barbara Starr on the effectiveness of the U.S. plan in just a few moments.
HEMMER: And that death toll from the bombing two days ago is just staggering.
O'BRIEN: Yup.
HEMMER: Some say anywhere from 187 to 271 people. Wow.
Jack Cafferty with us again -- good morning, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bill.
Coming up on the Cafferty File, we'll tell you about a man who chose a longer prison sentence so he wouldn't have to quit smoking. And we will share questions with you from a final exam at the University of Georgia which are guaranteed to make you rethink the definition of higher education, emphasis on the word high. You won't believe -- you just won't believe it. I mean it's mind boggling...
HEMMER: Unbelievable.
CAFFERTY: ... the stuff that's on a final exam at a university.
O'BRIEN: Can you give us a clue? Like, give us a hint. Hint.
CAFFERTY: Like how many halve are there in a basketball game.
O'BRIEN: Well, actually -- yes, I get that.
HEMMER: You can help with that.
CAFFERTY: If I was paying tuition there, I would be looking for someone.
HEMMER: We'll talk to University of Georgia.
CAFFERTY: University of Georgia?
HEMMER: University of Georgia is the mascot, the dog, at the University of Georgia.
CAFFERTY: University of Georgia?
HEMMER: University of Georgia, yes, a little dog. They've had five or six of them for years.
CAFFERTY: Well, you know what? We're going to start -- we're thinking about starting a new feature on Fridays, too, on the Cafferty File.
HEMMER: Yes?
CAFFERTY: A mutant of the week.
O'BRIEN: Ooh, I like that.
CAFFERTY: The viewers write in and they have suggestions for who should be the biggest mutant any given week. We...
HEMMER: You got a short list?
CAFFERTY: We, well, not yet, but we may start this. We may...
O'BRIEN: I like that.
CAFFERTY: Yes, we may do that.
O'BRIEN: Your choice, mutant of the week.
CAFFERTY: Well, at the end I'll make the choice, but we'll let 'em...
O'BRIEN: Well, obviously.
CAFFERTY: We'll let 'em think they have a role.
HEMMER: Thanks, Jack.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's go to our top story this morning. The only person convicted so far in the September 11 terrorist attacks will get a new trial. A German court today overturned the conviction of Mounir El Motassadeq. The Moroccan man was found guilty last year of aiding the 9/11 hijackers. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Many people around the world apparently don't feel safer and are blaming the war in Iraq. A new international poll finds that Americans are evenly split on whether the terror threat has increased because of the Iraq war. But the majority of those living in Europe, Canada and Mexico say the war has made things worse and that they don't feel any safer.
An attorney for WorldCom's former CEO says that his client will be cleared of all charges. Bernard Ebbers pleaded not guilty yesterday to a long list of federal charges stemming from the biggest corporate fraud case in U.S. history. He's free on $10 million bail.
The battle over same-sex marriages is being waged on both coasts now. New York's attorney general has urged officials to stop same-sex weddings until state courts can rule on their legality. That's after the mayor of New Paltz, New York began marrying same sex couples last week. Meanwhile, a county in Oregon is beginning to grant gay marriage licenses. That happened yesterday. Oregon's governor has asked for a legal opinion in the matter.
Authorities in Texas say they made an eye popping discovery during a routine stop. Officers stopped an 18 wheeler and another car that was trailing it late last night in the Houston area. They say they were getting inconsistent stories from the two drivers when a drug sniffing dog detected something. Well, officers found more than a million bucks tucked away beneath the cab of the rig. Now both men are in custody.
HEMMER: Wow.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Back to politics. One eye on the Democratic veep stakes, another on the coming air wars.
Former White House advisor David Gergen back with us here on AMERICAN MORNING, live in Watertown, Massachusetts, talking about the campaign ahead.
David's also a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
Good to have you back here and good morning to you.
DAVID GERGEN, PROFESSOR, HARVARD'S KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT: Thanks, Bill.
HEMMER: The ad war starts today.
Listen to a portion of one of the ads now and we'll talk about it in a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM BUSH-CHENEY '04 CAMPAIGN AD)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know exactly where I want to lead this country. I know what we need to do to make the world more free and more peaceful. I know what we need to do to make sure every person has a chance at realizing the American dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: The images and the words very flattering, very positive. There's a formula to this. You start positive now and then a little bit later you start sizing yourself up against your opponent.
Is that the way you see it?
GERGEN: Well, exactly, and you do warm and fuzzy up in front and he's also stressing not only his leadership, which is a key and critical theme for this election, but he's also stressing his likability in this ad. And the Democrats hope to make the -- I mean the Republicans hope to make the best of both themes, to paint John Kerry as not a leader and as not very likable.
So that's the early part. But it's really interesting to watch on this campaign, Bill, that even as the air wars start and are warm and fuzzy, beneath the surface the Internet war has also started in. That's a brawl. They're on the Internet, each side is really going after hammer and tong the other side, painting the other one as very (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
HEMMER: Why do you do it online, then, that way? Is it safer there? Is it -- are you more protected there? I'm not quite sure I follow why. GERGEN: Well, a couple, for a couple of reasons. The new laws now require the candidate to put his, actually have his voice on the ad. So that you'll notice in all of these President Bush ads, he says, "I'm President Bush and I approve this ad."
In that new environment, this new legal environment that has accompanied the changes in our campaign funding laws, putting new restrictions on, you simply won't see, I think, a lot of the kind of negative ads we've seen in the past. For example, the Willie Horton ad that ran against Michael Dukakis so effectively by the Bush campaign some years ago, by the senior Bush campaign, I don't think you'll ever seeing this campaign. It was a very tough negative ad, one of the most toughest ones in all of ad history.
There was something called the daisy ad that Lyndon Johnson ran against Barry Goldwater. He just ran it once, but it suggested Goldwater was a little crazy and he was going to get us in a nuclear war.
You won't see that in this, but you might -- the Internet is a place where anything goes. It's, you know, it's a free, open and brawlish kind of place.
HEMMER: David, listen, one of the things we're talking about today is a bit of an uproar caused by some of the images in the ads referring to 9/11. Some of the families apparently not happy with that at all.
GERGEN: Sure.
HEMMER: It's our e-mail question of the day, as well.
What is your take on that, fair criticism? Or how do you not do this in the shadow of 9/11?
GERGEN: I think that's a -- I think it is fair to use 9/11, though you have to be very careful not to exploit the emotions of the families. But you -- how can you tell the story of the Bush administration with -- and leave out 9/11? That's the core of what happened.
If he's reelected, the single most important reason why is because of the days and weeks that followed 9/11, how he responded, because that was his finest leadership moment.
So they have to tell it, but they have to be very careful here. They've got a convention coming up in New York very close to ground zero. With a lot of firemen and a lot of policemen around, they've got to salute, but they have to be careful not to exploit.
HEMMER: Interesting perspective.
GERGEN: And that's a, it's a fine line.
HEMMER: Let's talk about the vice presidency for John Edwards.
GERGEN: Sure.
HEMMER: Or, sorry -- wow, John Kerry. We may not get an answer on this until the summertime, maybe June, about a month before the Democratic convention. You've mentioned Hillary Clinton. You've mentioned Evan Bayh out of Indiana.
GERGEN: Right.
HEMMER: Hillary Clinton was with Lou Dobbs last evening.
Listen to how she said she approaches the possibility of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "LOU DOBBS MONEYLINE")
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: That is totally up to the nominee and I don't think I would ever be offered. I don't think I would accept. Obviously I want to do everything I can to see John Kerry elected president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: In a word or two, David, how critical is this decision for him and would Hillary Clinton even do it?
GERGEN: Well, this is clearly one of the biggest decisions that he has to make as a presidential candidate. It is the one that shows the mettle of the candidate. Does he choose someone who is truly going to offer the country a future president or does he choose someone who is only there for electoral votes?
I think that George W. Bush helped himself enormously when he reached out to Dick Cheney. He did need those three electoral votes in Wyoming, that's for sure, although they came in pretty helpful in the end. But he was reaching for someone of national stature, just as Bill Clinton did when he reached for Al Gore back in '92. In both cases, those choices elevated the stature of the presidential candidate himself. It showed that he was going to choose big people. And the reason that Hillary Clinton would have to be on his list as a potential candidate is that she is someone of the largest national stature of any of the other Democrats around. And so that you at least have to consider her.
I think, you know, there's a good chance he'll go to someone of a regional quality such as an Evan Bayh or see -- retest John Edwards in the Middle West. The Midwest is a pivotal area here. States like Ohio are ground zero in a political wars, if you would like.
HEMMER: Yes.
GERGEN: So he will test somebody in the Midwest, but I think he also will have to be looking at this question, shouldn't I choose someone of national stature, isn't that what the country is looking for, someone who can step in in the event that, god forbid, something would happen to the president?
HEMMER: Always a pleasure. Thank you, David.
GERGEN: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: David Gergen there in Watertown.
You've got it -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The board of directors of the Walt Disney Company says it "remains unanimous" in its support of the company's management team and of beleaguered CEO Michael Eisner. But Eisner's title has been shortened after an important vote by Disney's shareholders.
Jen Rogers of CNN Financial News has this report from Philadelphia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michael Eisner lost his grip on the board he had led for nearly 20 years. The late evening announcement Wednesday came after angry Disney shareholders were heard loud and clear.
MICHAEL EISNER, DISNEY CEO: We decided, the board decided that this movement in America to separate the non-executive chairman and the CEO was something that we should -- have been considering and getting our company into a contemporary governance. And we did it today. We heard our shareholders, who seemed to be interested in that. And so we went ahead and did it.
ROGERS: The move came after 43 percent of shareholder votes went against Eisner.
SARAH TESLIK, INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS COUNCIL: Forty-three percent is astronomical in the investor world.
ROGERS: Former Senator George Mitchell will serve as chairman of the board. Michael Eisner remains CEO. While Eisner's power is certainly curbed, the move won't be enough for the men leading the campaign against him, former Disney board members Roy Disney and Stanley Gold.
STANLEY GOLD, FORMER BOARD MEMBER: The real solution is getting rid of Michael Eisner.
ROGERS: For now, Eisner keeps one job and he gave no hint he's planning on leaving the company entirely.
EISNER: I love this company.
ROGERS: Whether that love will be returned by shareholders is an open question.
Jen Rogers, CNN Financial News, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN: Disney's stock has climbed nearly 15 percent this year thanks, in large part, to the hostile takeover bid from cable company Comcast. Disney rejected that offer.
HEMMER: Jurors in the Martha Stewart trial return to work today, their first full day of deliberations. Yesterday, the jury asked to review testimony of the government's star witness and examined phone records from the day Stewart sold the ImClone stock in question. Stewart and her former broker, Peter Bacanovic, face conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges in connection with the sale of that stock. Many say the testimony of Doug Faneuil is what this case hinges on.
O'BRIEN: Right.
HEMMER: Deliberations continue today.
O'BRIEN: And his credibility. If they believe him, they vote to convict.
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: We'll see.
Still to come this morning, more than a year after Laci Peterson's disappearance, jury selection in the murder trial of her husband Scott is about to begin. We're going to take you live to California for that.
HEMMER: Also, a former teammate of NBA star Jayson Williams, some of the most incriminating testimony yet in the Williams murder trial.
O'BRIEN: And disturbing racial slurs heard over a Chicago Fire Department radio now inflaming the community. A look at that's just ahead as AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: An eyewitness says Jayson Williams had his finger near the trigger of a shotgun just as it went off, killing a limo driver inside of his home. Ex-NBA player Benoit Benjamin, now with the Harlem Globetrotters, testified that he was three feet from Williams when Gus Christofi was shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hear the defendant say anything after the shooting? BENOIT BENJAMIN, WITNESSED FATAL SHOOTING: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was that? BENJAMIN: "What am I going to do? I just (OBSCENE WORD OMITTED) up my life." (END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: And Benjamin said Williams was cursing the victim. He testified that Williams had been drinking at dinner and Benjamin said he was so frightened by Williams' driving that night that he prayed to god for his own safety. That trial continues.
O'BRIEN: Prospective jurors in the Scott Peterson case are going to have to answer a lot of personal questions. A 30 page questionnaire will be handed out to prospective jurors today.
KFBK radio reporter Chris Filippi is covering the legal proceedings in Redwood City, California for us.
Nice to see you, Chris.
Thanks for being with us.
CHRIS FILIPPI, REPORTER, KFBK RADIO:
Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Once again we see this questionnaire. We saw it in the Martha Stewart case.
What exactly are the various sides looking for when they ask these questions of the prospective jurors?
FILIPPI: Well, both sides, of course, are very anxious to get a jury that they either think is going to convict or not convict, depending upon who they're representing. This is a very lengthy questionnaire, more than 120 questions. These questions really run the gamut. Some of the questions deal with opinions on extramarital affairs. One of the questions even asks prospective jurors what sort of bumper stickers they have on their car.
So they have a lot to talk about with these questions.
O'BRIEN: The judge ruled in favor of the prosecution by allowing evidence of what had been gathered by bugging Scott Peterson's phones. This is going to be heard by jurors now.
How important do you think that evidence is? How, what kind of a win is that for the prosecution?
FILIPPI: Oh, it's very important because it's highly unlikely that Scott Peterson's actually going to be called to testify. That would have to be the call of his lawyers. He can't be compelled to testify against himself.
So what that means is the jurors are actually going to get to hear Scott Peterson's voice and they're going to hear him talking to Amber Frey, talking to other people that he knows. So this is very important.
Also important to note that there's still a fight going on over the interviews that Scott Peterson did with various reporters. The defense does not want those to get in. That would be yet another opportunity for the jurors to actually hear Scott Peterson's voice at a time when he wasn't necessarily aware that he was being monitored that closely by police.
O'BRIEN: The judge, in fact, is supposed to rule on that, I think on Monday.
Is there any indication at this point yet on how the judge will go on that issue?
FILIPPI: It's always hard to predict how a judge is going to rule. But it seems like in this case the general rule of thumb has been unless there's some sort of misconduct, most of the evidence is getting in.
Now, once it gets in, the jurors can hear it. But, of course, Mark Geragos, the lead defense attorney, is certainly free to attack it in front of the jury. So that's something to wait for once the trial really gets going.
O'BRIEN: It's kind of interesting because, of course, all of this is going on in the public while there is no jury picked, so they're not sequestered. All this information is really out to potential jurors.
What kind of a problem do you think that presents?
FILIPPI: Yes, it's going to be very difficult to find a jury. We know this is going to be a long process. The lawyers tell us four weeks. I have a hard time believing that. Many of the experts I have been speaking with say it's going to be more like six to eight weeks. In fact, I've been talking to a lot of folks here in Redwood City and in San Mateo County. It's really hard to find someone who, one, has not heard about this trial, and then secondly, has not already made at least some opinion about the trial. So that's the challenge they're up against. It's going to be so difficult, in fact, that they're expected to call approximately 1,500 folks to go through this voir dire process. It's going to be very long.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
Chris Filippi of KFBK Radio joining us this morning.
That will be a -- 1,500 people, that's a long process.
All right, thanks for being with us, Chris.
FILIPPI: You bet.
HEMMER: From Chicago, fire department officials investigating the usage of a racial slur over a department radio frequency. The latest incident happened on Monday of this week, the third time a racial slur has been heard over a radio in about a month's time. The situation had the mayor, Richard Daley, talking pretty tough yesterday about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR RICHARD DALEY, CHICAGO: He's being paid by people. Now, if he doesn't like being a fireman, he can quit. If he doesn't like people of a different race and color and religion and ethnic origin, he can quit. He should stand up, say I don't like my job and let -- I want to quit. But you don't hear too many firemen who want to quit. That's one of the best jobs in America. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: That firefighter received a 90 day suspension for one of the previous incidents. The city's fire commissioner called those remarks "reprehensible" and "unacceptable" -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, vacating Vermont. We're going to take you to the ski town that wants to switch states.
Plus, take a look at this. That's Pete Rose. Yes, Pete Rose. He's finally getting into the Hall of Fame, kind of, sort of. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Killington is one of the top destinations for skiers in the East. But if you're trying to get there, you might have to put away the Vermont map, get out one for New Hampshire.
Dan Lothian has a report on why voters in Killington, Vermont want to switch states.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a picture perfect winter paradise, the ski resort town of Killington, Vermont. But behind this beauty, there's growing unrest over property taxes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really comes down to no taxation without representation.
LOTHIAN: Taking extreme measures, a majority of this town has now voted to secede from Vermont. They want to be part of neighboring New Hampshire, 25 miles away, hoping for lower taxes and more say in how their money is spent.
But not everyone wants a change of address.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was born and raised a Vermonter and I hope to always be.
LOTHIAN: The battle began seven years ago when the town, along with other communities considered wealthy properties, were tapped for taxes to help finance education across the state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up and do what is right.
LOTHIAN: Frustration and $20,000 spent on studying options put residents on the road to New Hampshire.
But some say not so fast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think we should just drop this, adopt a modern charter and look inward.
LOTHIAN: In the 1700s, Killington was chartered in New Hampshire. Now it's up to law makers in both states to decide whether to give the green light.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Advocates for succession say Killington sends $20 million to the state in taxes but only gets a million back.
HEMMER: A tidy little ski town, the highest elevation in the Northeast. I was up there a couple of weeks ago.
O'BRIEN: Yes, you were.
HEMMER: Six inches of fresh powder on the ground. Not an easy thing to do in the Northeast, where it's usually windy and full of ice.
Jack's back now with the Question of the Day -- good morning, Jack.
CAFFERTY: How you doing, Bill?
Images of ground zero and the September 11 terrorist attacks are featured in President Bush's new campaign ads. Families of the victims of that tragedy accuse the president of exploiting the events of September 11.
Now, last hour on AMERICAN MORNING, an advisor to the Bush campaign defended the spots, saying the imagery is appropriate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN HUGHES, BUSH CAMPAIGN ADVISER: And I think it's very tasteful. It's a reminder of our shared experience as a nation. I mean September 11 is not just some distant tragedy from the past. It really defined our future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: The question is, is it appropriate to use these images of September 11 in political ads?
Here are some of the letters we've gotten. We've gotten a lot of response.
Oleg writes, "If it's appropriate for the Bush campaign to use September 11 images in their videos, it should be appropriate for the Kerry campaign to use the images of injured or killed American soldiers in Iraq."
Tony writes, "The president's use of ground zero images is a classic example of waving the bloody shirt tactic that was first used by Republicans after the Civil War. It's tasteless and tacky."
Pamela in Pinckney, Michigan: "The only thing Bush did right for five brief moments was right after September 11. It's the only thing he can run on. It's cheap to exploit the loss and despair for political gain, but then again, we're talking about Bush."
Lisa in Houston, Texas: "President Bush is a man of faith driven values. It surprises me that he would allow the ad campaign as a tool of his reelection. I like the man. I just don't like this decision he's made. He should reflect on it and make a change."
Rob in Fort White, Florida: "It's counterproductive for Bush because it reminds everyone of who let it happen in the first place and how he spent hours after the attacks flying around in circles. He's still stonewalling the panel that's trying to find out what went wrong so we can stop it from happening again."
And, finally, George writes this, from Quebec: "Watched Karen Hughes on your show fumbling around with excuses for this tasteless promo. The wishes of the surviving victims must be respected and I expect the ad will be pulled posthaste."
O'BRIEN: She didn't seem to be fumbling to me at all. She seemed that they have a very coherent...
CAFFERTY: Well, that's this man's opinion, you know?
O'BRIEN: No, I get that. But it...
CAFFERTY: The idea is to get their opinions. That's...
O'BRIEN: ... it seems like they have a very coherent response to any...
HEMMER: I thought David Gergen put it quite well, you can't avoid not discussing this topic, but it has to be done in a tasteful way.
O'BRIEN: Right.
HEMMER: And the Republicans are going to come to this city next August for their convention.
O'BRIEN: Right.
CAFFERTY: That's an interesting point, isn't it?
HEMMER: Um-hmm.
CAFFERTY: I wonder if the commercials will be different by then.
O'BRIEN: We'll see.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
In a moment here, news about if you're taking birth control pills unknowingly, you might be helping yourself fight off a future painful condition. What is that? We'll talk about it after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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