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Interview With Condoleezza Rice; Remembering Ronald Reagan; Stem Cell Research
Aired June 07, 2004 - 11:30 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: ... led by big points from Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. That's game one. Game two tomorrow in L.A.
Meanwhile, to the other coast, that's where we find President Bush going to the G-8 Summit, Sea Island, Georgia, off the coast of Savannah.
In Savannah, Georgia is where we find our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
I think we have Suzanne. Are you with us?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I am.
KAGAN: OK, go ahead. Go ahead.
MALVEAUX: Well, we're here at, of course, President Bush is at Sea Island, Georgia, where the G-8 Summit is going to begin officially on Tuesday, but with a preview, joining us, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Thank you very much for being with us.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Nice to be with you.
MALVEAUX: First and foremost, let's talk about Reagan. I understand that back in his term you were a Soviet specialist, you were just getting started. You were one of the few people who actually talked about his philosophy before it became popular. Tell me a little bit about what did you believe in Reagan and what do you think his legacy will be?
RICE: Well, Ronald Reagan was such an inspiration to me. And I was a young Soviet specialist, really almost just out of graduate school when he became the president. And I remember, like all Soviet specialists, I assumed the status quo was the status quo, that there would always be a Soviet Union, that communism would always be a fixture of international politics, and that meant you were condemning a lot of people to live under tyranny.
And Ronald Reagan because he spoke so clearly about the fact that communism would end up on the ash heap of history. And I remember, Suzanne, in academic circles, people would say oh my goodness, how undiplomatic, how can he say something like that, this is so unrealistic, and in fact it turned out to be true.
And what inspired me was it let me know what happens when the American president is willing to speak in clear terms about liberty and freedom. It also, for people behind the Iron Curtain, was a tremendous boost. So many of them now say I believed that I would always live in tyranny until President Reagan said what he said then I realized that the end of communism might come. So he was an enormously important figure in international politics and a great inspiration to me personally.
MALVEAUX: And will you be attending the memorial services later in the week, Wednesday or Friday?
RICE: I certainly hope to. I certainly hope to. I was just recently at the Reagan Library and had a chance to see Mrs. Reagan, who is also just a real paragon of strength and tells you what it's like to have that kind of relationship. And so it's a great sadness for the country, but it's a chance to remember what Ronald Reagan and indeed, Nancy Reagan, meant to this country.
MALVEAUX: Back to the issue at hand in terms of here at the G-8 Summit. I know that the U.N. Security Council resolution, that you're fairly close to getting something that both sides are happy with. Secretary Powell, as well, and the Iraqi prime minister exchanging those letters over security matters. What is the sticking point at this point? Is it the fact that France and China and some of the others feel that they should have veto power in terms of the multinational force, or is that something that can be worked out?
RICE: I think it's just a matter of time. I really do expect that we're going to have a resolution in the next few days. And in fact, President Chirac said as much, and Chancellor Schroeder recently said the same thing.
There had been an issue of how we would recognize Iraqi sovereignty, what would be the relationship of the multinational force to the Iraqi sovereign government. We have an exchange of letters that works that out with the Iraqi government, puts in place a mechanism by which these issues can be discussed, puts in place a mechanism by which policy issues, even on sensitive military -- offensive military operations can be dealt with. So I think we have the understanding with the Iraqis. I expect that that should be good enough for the international community.
MALVEAUX: Now we know that France, Russia and some of the others have said they are not willing to commit the troops to this effort. What does this mean beyond symbolism in practical terms once you have that resolution?
RICE: Well, for the Iraqi government, this is a clear statement from the international community that they are acknowledged as the government of Iraq. The soon to be sovereign government of Iraq, that the international community is behind them, that whatever our differences in the past everybody now understands that the key is an Iraq that is prosperous and moving forward. It really closes a page, closes a book on the past and starts the future. Yes, we don't expect that there are going to be large numbers of new foreign forces, but in fact, the really important thing that the international community needs to do is to support the multinational force that is there and to train Iraqis to deal with their own security affairs. They've made clear that they believe that they can make a contribution to their own security, and that's what we want to do, not so much the issue of bringing in foreign forces.
MALVEAUX: And in this resolution is it still the administration's intention that U.S. forces would be there until the political process is complete inside of Iraq, which is by 2006?
RICE: Well we're there with the consent of the Iraqi government. But I expect that we will be there until the Iraqis can take care of their own security needs, certainly the end of the political transition, which will be the creation of a permanent government at the end of 2005, beginning of 2006 is a kind of natural time to review this, but we'll see. The Iraqis are really, I think, delighted to be receiving sovereignty, to have the occupation end, and that's what we're all focused on right now.
MALVEAUX: And the other priority, of course, is getting the greater Middle East initiative out at the G-8 Summit. I know that the president wants to see democratic reforms in that region. He will be meeting with Arab leaders, noticeably absent, however, leaders from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and some others. There are some concerns that this is at least being perceived as the U.S. imposing its own brand of democracy. How are you going to overcome that perception here?
RICE: I believe we've gone a long way to overcoming what was an initial perception that was never right. The president, even in his White House speech, talked about the need for all of this to have indigenous roots. And in fact, the Arab foreign ministers and then at the Arab Summit there was a really fine statement about the need for reform.
Everybody understands there needs to be change in the Middle East. There's a demographic bow wave coming at the Middle East of young, undereducated, underemployed people who don't have a future and therefore are going to be extremist in their orientation if you can't find a way for them to pursue their aspirations and their hopes.
This is not the United States and the G-8 doing something to the Middle East, this is working with the Middle East. I think the statement will be clear about that from the G-8. It draws heavily on what the Arabs themselves have said. We have conversations with Egypt and with Saudi Arabia about the need for change. But the important thing is change needs to come to the Middle East, and that's what this G-8 will affirm.
MALVEAUX: Good luck. Thank you very much, Dr. Rice, for your time.
RICE: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: We appreciate it. RICE: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Back to you.
KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux. And, Suzanne, thank you, and thank you to Condi Rice as well.
Flags and flowers, prayers and praise, at tributes across the country, mourners remembering the man they called Dutch. Today and tomorrow, friends and admirers can pay their final respects to Ronald Reagan at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California.
That's where we find our David Mattingly -- David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, the procession from the funeral home in Santa Monica this morning will take a little less than an hour before it gets here. The funeral home has been a location where hundreds of people have been gathering over the past couple of days to express their sorrow for the passing of our President Ronald Reagan.
And this is the closest they have been able to get so far, that's why thousands of people are now expected to come here to Simi Valley for the public viewing of the closed presidential casket here at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. That's going to start happening at noon today.
And the closest people have been able to get here so far has been at the bottom of the hill. At the entrance to the facility here, people have been coming by, leaving flags and lots of flowers. The Reagan family, by the way, has now asked that people, in lieu of flowers, to contribute to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Fund.
We have some new information about what's going to be happening in private services when the family does arrive here with that funeral procession here to the library. All branches of services will be participating in ceremonies, in those private ceremonies before the public viewing takes place.
The casket will be placed in the main lobby here at the library, and an Honor Guard will be posted. And that's where the Honor Guard will stay for 30 hours throughout the night and into tomorrow evening before the casket is taken to Washington, D.C., Daryn.
And already we've been hearing some rehearsals, a lot of activity going on up here. The Marine Corps Band actually rehearsing a short time ago a few bars of "Hail to the Chief" and "My Country 'tis of Thee." So a very solemn day here, but still a lot of room for (INAUDIBLE) passing of Ronald Reagan -- Daryn.
KAGAN: David Mattingly in Simi Valley, thank you.
Mr. Reagan's Midwestern roots, since his death, well wishers have been gathering at Eureka College in Illinois, that was Ronald Reagan's alma mater. In events throughout the week, the school will honor its most famous alumnus. Our Jonathan Freed is at the school with more on the Reagan Museum, which is there.
Hello.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
We are indeed here outside on the campus at Eureka College. We're in central Illinois. And where we're standing is the Ronald Reagan Peace Garden. Now, we're going to explain the significance of that in just a second.
But while we get to that, I would like to introduce Dr. Brian Sajko who is the curator of the Ronald Reagan Museum here on campus.
Thanks for being here.
DR. BRIAN SAJKO, CURATOR, RONALD REAGAN MUSEUM: Thank you.
FREED: Let's start by showing people what has appeared here on campus in the last couple of days.
SAJKO: Right. Well hours after his death, people started arriving and placing items. I mean a full range of items, some jelly bellies, his favorite jellybean, for example.
FREED: Right.
SAJKO: A number of votive candles are lit here. I remember a mother and her younger daughter were placing some items and the mother was explaining about the Cold War to her daughter, so kind of a history lesson.
FREED: That's right. And the centerpiece of this is the bust of Mr. Reagan.
SAJKO: Yes, artist Lonnie Stewart put this together when the garden was dedicated in 2000 here on campus.
FREED: That's right, and his daughter was particularly fond of the likeness, I think, right?
SAJKO: She was. And when she began to spoke, or when Maureen began to speak, she actually mentioned, the sun broke through the clouds, and she said the sun always shines on Ronald Reagan. It was great.
FREED: OK, now why is this called the Peace Garden?
SAJKO: Well, it's named the Peace Garden after President Reagan's 1982 graduation speech here, which has come to be known as the Eureka Speech, because he proposed the START Treaty with the Soviet Union. So it was considered the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
FREED: That's right, challenged them to arms reduction talks. SAJKO: That's right.
FREED: OK, and you have a real keepsake of the Cold War in here in a big way, a piece of the Berlin Wall itself.
SAJKO: Yes. Yes, the Federal Republic of Germany gave this to us as a gift. It's oriented so it's west-east. And so on the west side, here you've got the graffiti, for example, and on the east side, it's blank because the barbed wire wouldn't let people that close.
FREED: OK. So basically, as we look back at the exhibit here, we can see plenty of flags, we have jellybeans. You're expecting a lot more people to come through, aren't you?
SAJKO: Yes. And there's also the museum. So a lot of people come here and it's really sort of a special private place to say good- bye to President Reagan.
FREED: All right. Dr. Brian Sajko, curator of the Reagan Museum here at Eureka College, thank you very much for being with us today.
SAJKO: Thank you.
FREED: All right, Daryn, we'll send it back to you.
KAGAN: All right, Jonathan, thank you for that.
More now about Ronald Reagan's presidency and for that we turn to a couple of experts. And I literally mean a couple, because they are Gerald and Deborah Strober, co-wrote two books about Reagan's years in the White House. And they're joining us live from New York City.
Strobers, good morning, thanks for being with us.
GERALD STROBER, AUTHOR, "REAGAN": Good morning, Daryn.
DEBORAH STROBER, AUTHOR, "REAGAN": Good morning.
KAGAN: We brought you on because we wanted to hear some of the stories that you have been able to develop and cull about relationships that Ronald Reagan had with certain people. And I'd like to start with Tip O'Neill, just because it's an example of Washington in a time and a type of relationship that does not seem to exist anymore.
G. STROBER: Well, it was Tip O'Neill, they would argue during the day and then have a drink and trade Irish stories at night. There was civility in Washington those years. And, as you suggest, Daryn, this has gone by the boards and now there's almost 100 percent animosity 24/7.
KAGAN: And what was it about Ronald Reagan that he was able to do that and still achieve his political goals, keep them in mind and yet separate them from the person on the other side?
D. STROBER: It was partly his enormous charm, his enormous personal decency. This was a man without guile. So even if you disagreed, as Gerry just said, during the daytime, he was just such a likable, decent human being. People were drawn to him.
KAGAN: Gerald Ford, another former president, shared a story with you.
G. STROBER: Well, Gerald Ford was very honest with us. He's a wonderful man, highly decent person, one of the probably most decent people to ever serve as president, but he felt that he would have made a better president than Ronald Reagan and should have received the nomination in 1980. He didn't. History was very different. We'll never know what it would have been like had Gerald Ford had one or two terms in addition to his succeeding Richard Nixon.
KAGAN: Let's take this on the international stage. Mikhail Gorbachev, talk about their relationship.
D. STROBER: OK. Well, they were the Cold War adversaries. Gorbachev came to Reykjavik with his own agenda. He was not going to give in. Reagan charmed him. He had charmed him earlier, a year before in Geneva where he said let's go down by the lake, let's just the two of us talk, no note takers, no anybody, and I think that made a tremendous impression on Gorbachev. So when they got to Reykjavik, and even though some of his critics dismissed it as a failure, Gorbachev left Reykjavik knowing that he was going to have to do something economically to survive and that he couldn't eventually survive economically.
KAGAN: And finally, Margaret Thatcher.
G. STROBER: A great relationship, both on the personal and political level. Thatcher was upset with the invasion of Grenada. She had not been informed beforehand. And as we discovered, because of a fluke, a fax that was sent to the British Foreign Office ended up in a factory because the State Department had the wrong fax number.
KAGAN: You've done stories like these or books like these, these oral histories, not just on Ronald Reagan, but on JFK, on Richard Nixon, as well. Where would you rate the Reagan stories in all that in terms of interest and the fun and the fascination of putting together that project?
D. STROBER: Most fascinating of all, I think because Reagan was the most unusual of these people. He did not come, as we all know, from a political background. He was an actor. Some people dismissed him as a B actor. But he came into politics because of his great skills, not just oratorical, but intellectual skills. He was not that amiable dunce that he was dismissed as. He really is a complex human being who had a terrible childhood but then could tell interviewers that he had a Huck Finn existence, and he liked to pop jellybeans. So this is a very unusual character.
KAGAN: Gerald and Deborah Strober, thank you for sharing your stories with us today.
G. STROBER: Thank you. KAGAN: Thanks for being with us this morning.
The decline of Ronald Reagan's health and his eventual death are putting a controversy on the map again and also putting Nancy Reagan at odds with President Bush.
Up next in your 'Daily Dose' of health news the ethics over the battle over stem cell research.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Watching her husband suffer from Alzheimer's prompted Nancy Reagan to step into the ethical and moral debate over stem cell research. She became an advocate.
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with more on stem cell research in our 'Daily Dose' of health news.
Good morning to you.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
You know, stem cells tend to make news when there's been someone famous who feels that they could have helped someone with stem cell research, and that's the case here with Nancy Reagan, who's become an advocate for this kind of research.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): She came to the cause late in life.
NANCY REAGAN, WIDOW OF RONALD REAGAN: And now science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research which may provide our scientists with many answers they have had for so long been beyond our grasp. I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this.
COHEN: Nancy Reagan watched her husband suffer.
REAGAN: Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him.
COHEN: And has become one of the most well known advocates for this controversial research along with Christopher Reeves, who suffered a spinal cord injury which left him paralyzed, and Michael J.Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease.
MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR: Not only have you so wonderfully taken care of the president for all these years, but in no small fashion through your courage and conviction, you've taken care of us all.
COHEN: Mrs. Reagan has faced a hurdle Reeves and Fox didn't, she's had to publicly disagree with many of the leaders of her husband's own party, parting ways with the very constituency that supported him and her. That's because the type of stem cell research she supports requires the destruction of embryos, such as the ones in fertility clinics. And that led President Bush three years ago to authorize federal funding, but with extensive limitations.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Embryonic stem cell research offers both great promise and great peril.
COHEN: Researchers hope embryonic stem cells can be turned into neurons and then used to replace the type of neurons that are damaged by Alzheimer's. Or turned into virtually any type of human tissue to help people with a wide variety of diseases.
Mrs. Reagan's inspiration to take this bold stance came from watching her husband toward the end of his life.
REAGAN: We can't share the wonderful memories of our 52 years together, and I think that's probably the hardest part. And because of this, I'm determined to do what I can to save other families from this pain.
COHEN: To help ease that pain, she vows to continue the fight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And beyond the debate, beyond the politics of this, Elizabeth, let's talk about the science of it and exactly where are we in stem cell research, and has it actually helped somebody walk again or cure a disease or get beyond where they are at a certain medical stage?
COHEN: It's helped some rats.
KAGAN: OK.
COHEN: So if you're -- if you're a lab animal and you have Alzheimer's or you have a spinal cord injury, then this may be helpful to you. At the moment, stem cell research is not helping human beings. That is what they're looking for in years to come. It may be years and years to come. And some people would say that it's been delayed because of the political decisions around it.
KAGAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for a look at that.
COHEN: Thanks.
KAGAN: Appreciate that.
For more on stem cell research and Alzheimer's disease, you can go to our website, CNN.com/health.
And we'll have more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: To Houston now, a judge has postponed the first Enron criminal trial until August. Former Enron and Merrill Lynch executives face criminal charges in the Enron scandal. The six are charged with conspiracy for allegedly helping cook Enron's books and inflate its earnings. Enron went bankrupt in December of 2001 when its financial success proved to be a sham.
Let's check in on other business news. Susan Lisovicz is handling that for us from the New York Stock Exchange.
Hi -- Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: Yes, a little cheap, but you've got to drive all the way somehow to get there. That might make up a difference in the cost.
Susan, thank you.
LISOVICZ: Exactly. My pleasure.
KAGAN: We will see you tomorrow. Thank you so much.
We have some special coverage coming up at noon Eastern as President Reagan is -- his body is making his way from Santa Monica up to Simi Valley, California to the presidential library. Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien will be with you.
I'm Daryn Kagan. I will see you right here tomorrow morning.
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Aired June 7, 2004 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: ... led by big points from Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace. That's game one. Game two tomorrow in L.A.
Meanwhile, to the other coast, that's where we find President Bush going to the G-8 Summit, Sea Island, Georgia, off the coast of Savannah.
In Savannah, Georgia is where we find our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
I think we have Suzanne. Are you with us?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I am.
KAGAN: OK, go ahead. Go ahead.
MALVEAUX: Well, we're here at, of course, President Bush is at Sea Island, Georgia, where the G-8 Summit is going to begin officially on Tuesday, but with a preview, joining us, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
Thank you very much for being with us.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Nice to be with you.
MALVEAUX: First and foremost, let's talk about Reagan. I understand that back in his term you were a Soviet specialist, you were just getting started. You were one of the few people who actually talked about his philosophy before it became popular. Tell me a little bit about what did you believe in Reagan and what do you think his legacy will be?
RICE: Well, Ronald Reagan was such an inspiration to me. And I was a young Soviet specialist, really almost just out of graduate school when he became the president. And I remember, like all Soviet specialists, I assumed the status quo was the status quo, that there would always be a Soviet Union, that communism would always be a fixture of international politics, and that meant you were condemning a lot of people to live under tyranny.
And Ronald Reagan because he spoke so clearly about the fact that communism would end up on the ash heap of history. And I remember, Suzanne, in academic circles, people would say oh my goodness, how undiplomatic, how can he say something like that, this is so unrealistic, and in fact it turned out to be true.
And what inspired me was it let me know what happens when the American president is willing to speak in clear terms about liberty and freedom. It also, for people behind the Iron Curtain, was a tremendous boost. So many of them now say I believed that I would always live in tyranny until President Reagan said what he said then I realized that the end of communism might come. So he was an enormously important figure in international politics and a great inspiration to me personally.
MALVEAUX: And will you be attending the memorial services later in the week, Wednesday or Friday?
RICE: I certainly hope to. I certainly hope to. I was just recently at the Reagan Library and had a chance to see Mrs. Reagan, who is also just a real paragon of strength and tells you what it's like to have that kind of relationship. And so it's a great sadness for the country, but it's a chance to remember what Ronald Reagan and indeed, Nancy Reagan, meant to this country.
MALVEAUX: Back to the issue at hand in terms of here at the G-8 Summit. I know that the U.N. Security Council resolution, that you're fairly close to getting something that both sides are happy with. Secretary Powell, as well, and the Iraqi prime minister exchanging those letters over security matters. What is the sticking point at this point? Is it the fact that France and China and some of the others feel that they should have veto power in terms of the multinational force, or is that something that can be worked out?
RICE: I think it's just a matter of time. I really do expect that we're going to have a resolution in the next few days. And in fact, President Chirac said as much, and Chancellor Schroeder recently said the same thing.
There had been an issue of how we would recognize Iraqi sovereignty, what would be the relationship of the multinational force to the Iraqi sovereign government. We have an exchange of letters that works that out with the Iraqi government, puts in place a mechanism by which these issues can be discussed, puts in place a mechanism by which policy issues, even on sensitive military -- offensive military operations can be dealt with. So I think we have the understanding with the Iraqis. I expect that that should be good enough for the international community.
MALVEAUX: Now we know that France, Russia and some of the others have said they are not willing to commit the troops to this effort. What does this mean beyond symbolism in practical terms once you have that resolution?
RICE: Well, for the Iraqi government, this is a clear statement from the international community that they are acknowledged as the government of Iraq. The soon to be sovereign government of Iraq, that the international community is behind them, that whatever our differences in the past everybody now understands that the key is an Iraq that is prosperous and moving forward. It really closes a page, closes a book on the past and starts the future. Yes, we don't expect that there are going to be large numbers of new foreign forces, but in fact, the really important thing that the international community needs to do is to support the multinational force that is there and to train Iraqis to deal with their own security affairs. They've made clear that they believe that they can make a contribution to their own security, and that's what we want to do, not so much the issue of bringing in foreign forces.
MALVEAUX: And in this resolution is it still the administration's intention that U.S. forces would be there until the political process is complete inside of Iraq, which is by 2006?
RICE: Well we're there with the consent of the Iraqi government. But I expect that we will be there until the Iraqis can take care of their own security needs, certainly the end of the political transition, which will be the creation of a permanent government at the end of 2005, beginning of 2006 is a kind of natural time to review this, but we'll see. The Iraqis are really, I think, delighted to be receiving sovereignty, to have the occupation end, and that's what we're all focused on right now.
MALVEAUX: And the other priority, of course, is getting the greater Middle East initiative out at the G-8 Summit. I know that the president wants to see democratic reforms in that region. He will be meeting with Arab leaders, noticeably absent, however, leaders from Egypt, Saudi Arabia and some others. There are some concerns that this is at least being perceived as the U.S. imposing its own brand of democracy. How are you going to overcome that perception here?
RICE: I believe we've gone a long way to overcoming what was an initial perception that was never right. The president, even in his White House speech, talked about the need for all of this to have indigenous roots. And in fact, the Arab foreign ministers and then at the Arab Summit there was a really fine statement about the need for reform.
Everybody understands there needs to be change in the Middle East. There's a demographic bow wave coming at the Middle East of young, undereducated, underemployed people who don't have a future and therefore are going to be extremist in their orientation if you can't find a way for them to pursue their aspirations and their hopes.
This is not the United States and the G-8 doing something to the Middle East, this is working with the Middle East. I think the statement will be clear about that from the G-8. It draws heavily on what the Arabs themselves have said. We have conversations with Egypt and with Saudi Arabia about the need for change. But the important thing is change needs to come to the Middle East, and that's what this G-8 will affirm.
MALVEAUX: Good luck. Thank you very much, Dr. Rice, for your time.
RICE: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: We appreciate it. RICE: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Back to you.
KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux. And, Suzanne, thank you, and thank you to Condi Rice as well.
Flags and flowers, prayers and praise, at tributes across the country, mourners remembering the man they called Dutch. Today and tomorrow, friends and admirers can pay their final respects to Ronald Reagan at his presidential library in Simi Valley, California.
That's where we find our David Mattingly -- David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, the procession from the funeral home in Santa Monica this morning will take a little less than an hour before it gets here. The funeral home has been a location where hundreds of people have been gathering over the past couple of days to express their sorrow for the passing of our President Ronald Reagan.
And this is the closest they have been able to get so far, that's why thousands of people are now expected to come here to Simi Valley for the public viewing of the closed presidential casket here at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. That's going to start happening at noon today.
And the closest people have been able to get here so far has been at the bottom of the hill. At the entrance to the facility here, people have been coming by, leaving flags and lots of flowers. The Reagan family, by the way, has now asked that people, in lieu of flowers, to contribute to the Ronald Reagan Memorial Fund.
We have some new information about what's going to be happening in private services when the family does arrive here with that funeral procession here to the library. All branches of services will be participating in ceremonies, in those private ceremonies before the public viewing takes place.
The casket will be placed in the main lobby here at the library, and an Honor Guard will be posted. And that's where the Honor Guard will stay for 30 hours throughout the night and into tomorrow evening before the casket is taken to Washington, D.C., Daryn.
And already we've been hearing some rehearsals, a lot of activity going on up here. The Marine Corps Band actually rehearsing a short time ago a few bars of "Hail to the Chief" and "My Country 'tis of Thee." So a very solemn day here, but still a lot of room for (INAUDIBLE) passing of Ronald Reagan -- Daryn.
KAGAN: David Mattingly in Simi Valley, thank you.
Mr. Reagan's Midwestern roots, since his death, well wishers have been gathering at Eureka College in Illinois, that was Ronald Reagan's alma mater. In events throughout the week, the school will honor its most famous alumnus. Our Jonathan Freed is at the school with more on the Reagan Museum, which is there.
Hello.
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
We are indeed here outside on the campus at Eureka College. We're in central Illinois. And where we're standing is the Ronald Reagan Peace Garden. Now, we're going to explain the significance of that in just a second.
But while we get to that, I would like to introduce Dr. Brian Sajko who is the curator of the Ronald Reagan Museum here on campus.
Thanks for being here.
DR. BRIAN SAJKO, CURATOR, RONALD REAGAN MUSEUM: Thank you.
FREED: Let's start by showing people what has appeared here on campus in the last couple of days.
SAJKO: Right. Well hours after his death, people started arriving and placing items. I mean a full range of items, some jelly bellies, his favorite jellybean, for example.
FREED: Right.
SAJKO: A number of votive candles are lit here. I remember a mother and her younger daughter were placing some items and the mother was explaining about the Cold War to her daughter, so kind of a history lesson.
FREED: That's right. And the centerpiece of this is the bust of Mr. Reagan.
SAJKO: Yes, artist Lonnie Stewart put this together when the garden was dedicated in 2000 here on campus.
FREED: That's right, and his daughter was particularly fond of the likeness, I think, right?
SAJKO: She was. And when she began to spoke, or when Maureen began to speak, she actually mentioned, the sun broke through the clouds, and she said the sun always shines on Ronald Reagan. It was great.
FREED: OK, now why is this called the Peace Garden?
SAJKO: Well, it's named the Peace Garden after President Reagan's 1982 graduation speech here, which has come to be known as the Eureka Speech, because he proposed the START Treaty with the Soviet Union. So it was considered the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
FREED: That's right, challenged them to arms reduction talks. SAJKO: That's right.
FREED: OK, and you have a real keepsake of the Cold War in here in a big way, a piece of the Berlin Wall itself.
SAJKO: Yes. Yes, the Federal Republic of Germany gave this to us as a gift. It's oriented so it's west-east. And so on the west side, here you've got the graffiti, for example, and on the east side, it's blank because the barbed wire wouldn't let people that close.
FREED: OK. So basically, as we look back at the exhibit here, we can see plenty of flags, we have jellybeans. You're expecting a lot more people to come through, aren't you?
SAJKO: Yes. And there's also the museum. So a lot of people come here and it's really sort of a special private place to say good- bye to President Reagan.
FREED: All right. Dr. Brian Sajko, curator of the Reagan Museum here at Eureka College, thank you very much for being with us today.
SAJKO: Thank you.
FREED: All right, Daryn, we'll send it back to you.
KAGAN: All right, Jonathan, thank you for that.
More now about Ronald Reagan's presidency and for that we turn to a couple of experts. And I literally mean a couple, because they are Gerald and Deborah Strober, co-wrote two books about Reagan's years in the White House. And they're joining us live from New York City.
Strobers, good morning, thanks for being with us.
GERALD STROBER, AUTHOR, "REAGAN": Good morning, Daryn.
DEBORAH STROBER, AUTHOR, "REAGAN": Good morning.
KAGAN: We brought you on because we wanted to hear some of the stories that you have been able to develop and cull about relationships that Ronald Reagan had with certain people. And I'd like to start with Tip O'Neill, just because it's an example of Washington in a time and a type of relationship that does not seem to exist anymore.
G. STROBER: Well, it was Tip O'Neill, they would argue during the day and then have a drink and trade Irish stories at night. There was civility in Washington those years. And, as you suggest, Daryn, this has gone by the boards and now there's almost 100 percent animosity 24/7.
KAGAN: And what was it about Ronald Reagan that he was able to do that and still achieve his political goals, keep them in mind and yet separate them from the person on the other side?
D. STROBER: It was partly his enormous charm, his enormous personal decency. This was a man without guile. So even if you disagreed, as Gerry just said, during the daytime, he was just such a likable, decent human being. People were drawn to him.
KAGAN: Gerald Ford, another former president, shared a story with you.
G. STROBER: Well, Gerald Ford was very honest with us. He's a wonderful man, highly decent person, one of the probably most decent people to ever serve as president, but he felt that he would have made a better president than Ronald Reagan and should have received the nomination in 1980. He didn't. History was very different. We'll never know what it would have been like had Gerald Ford had one or two terms in addition to his succeeding Richard Nixon.
KAGAN: Let's take this on the international stage. Mikhail Gorbachev, talk about their relationship.
D. STROBER: OK. Well, they were the Cold War adversaries. Gorbachev came to Reykjavik with his own agenda. He was not going to give in. Reagan charmed him. He had charmed him earlier, a year before in Geneva where he said let's go down by the lake, let's just the two of us talk, no note takers, no anybody, and I think that made a tremendous impression on Gorbachev. So when they got to Reykjavik, and even though some of his critics dismissed it as a failure, Gorbachev left Reykjavik knowing that he was going to have to do something economically to survive and that he couldn't eventually survive economically.
KAGAN: And finally, Margaret Thatcher.
G. STROBER: A great relationship, both on the personal and political level. Thatcher was upset with the invasion of Grenada. She had not been informed beforehand. And as we discovered, because of a fluke, a fax that was sent to the British Foreign Office ended up in a factory because the State Department had the wrong fax number.
KAGAN: You've done stories like these or books like these, these oral histories, not just on Ronald Reagan, but on JFK, on Richard Nixon, as well. Where would you rate the Reagan stories in all that in terms of interest and the fun and the fascination of putting together that project?
D. STROBER: Most fascinating of all, I think because Reagan was the most unusual of these people. He did not come, as we all know, from a political background. He was an actor. Some people dismissed him as a B actor. But he came into politics because of his great skills, not just oratorical, but intellectual skills. He was not that amiable dunce that he was dismissed as. He really is a complex human being who had a terrible childhood but then could tell interviewers that he had a Huck Finn existence, and he liked to pop jellybeans. So this is a very unusual character.
KAGAN: Gerald and Deborah Strober, thank you for sharing your stories with us today.
G. STROBER: Thank you. KAGAN: Thanks for being with us this morning.
The decline of Ronald Reagan's health and his eventual death are putting a controversy on the map again and also putting Nancy Reagan at odds with President Bush.
Up next in your 'Daily Dose' of health news the ethics over the battle over stem cell research.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: Watching her husband suffer from Alzheimer's prompted Nancy Reagan to step into the ethical and moral debate over stem cell research. She became an advocate.
Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with more on stem cell research in our 'Daily Dose' of health news.
Good morning to you.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
You know, stem cells tend to make news when there's been someone famous who feels that they could have helped someone with stem cell research, and that's the case here with Nancy Reagan, who's become an advocate for this kind of research.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): She came to the cause late in life.
NANCY REAGAN, WIDOW OF RONALD REAGAN: And now science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research which may provide our scientists with many answers they have had for so long been beyond our grasp. I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this.
COHEN: Nancy Reagan watched her husband suffer.
REAGAN: Ronnie's long journey has finally taken him to a distant place where I can no longer reach him.
COHEN: And has become one of the most well known advocates for this controversial research along with Christopher Reeves, who suffered a spinal cord injury which left him paralyzed, and Michael J.Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's Disease.
MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR: Not only have you so wonderfully taken care of the president for all these years, but in no small fashion through your courage and conviction, you've taken care of us all.
COHEN: Mrs. Reagan has faced a hurdle Reeves and Fox didn't, she's had to publicly disagree with many of the leaders of her husband's own party, parting ways with the very constituency that supported him and her. That's because the type of stem cell research she supports requires the destruction of embryos, such as the ones in fertility clinics. And that led President Bush three years ago to authorize federal funding, but with extensive limitations.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Embryonic stem cell research offers both great promise and great peril.
COHEN: Researchers hope embryonic stem cells can be turned into neurons and then used to replace the type of neurons that are damaged by Alzheimer's. Or turned into virtually any type of human tissue to help people with a wide variety of diseases.
Mrs. Reagan's inspiration to take this bold stance came from watching her husband toward the end of his life.
REAGAN: We can't share the wonderful memories of our 52 years together, and I think that's probably the hardest part. And because of this, I'm determined to do what I can to save other families from this pain.
COHEN: To help ease that pain, she vows to continue the fight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: And beyond the debate, beyond the politics of this, Elizabeth, let's talk about the science of it and exactly where are we in stem cell research, and has it actually helped somebody walk again or cure a disease or get beyond where they are at a certain medical stage?
COHEN: It's helped some rats.
KAGAN: OK.
COHEN: So if you're -- if you're a lab animal and you have Alzheimer's or you have a spinal cord injury, then this may be helpful to you. At the moment, stem cell research is not helping human beings. That is what they're looking for in years to come. It may be years and years to come. And some people would say that it's been delayed because of the political decisions around it.
KAGAN: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you for a look at that.
COHEN: Thanks.
KAGAN: Appreciate that.
For more on stem cell research and Alzheimer's disease, you can go to our website, CNN.com/health.
And we'll have more after this.
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KAGAN: To Houston now, a judge has postponed the first Enron criminal trial until August. Former Enron and Merrill Lynch executives face criminal charges in the Enron scandal. The six are charged with conspiracy for allegedly helping cook Enron's books and inflate its earnings. Enron went bankrupt in December of 2001 when its financial success proved to be a sham.
Let's check in on other business news. Susan Lisovicz is handling that for us from the New York Stock Exchange.
Hi -- Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: Yes, a little cheap, but you've got to drive all the way somehow to get there. That might make up a difference in the cost.
Susan, thank you.
LISOVICZ: Exactly. My pleasure.
KAGAN: We will see you tomorrow. Thank you so much.
We have some special coverage coming up at noon Eastern as President Reagan is -- his body is making his way from Santa Monica up to Simi Valley, California to the presidential library. Kyra Phillips and Miles O'Brien will be with you.
I'm Daryn Kagan. I will see you right here tomorrow morning.
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