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American Morning
Thousands Pay Last Respects to Ronald Reagan in Capitol Rotunda
Aired June 10, 2004 - 07:30 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back everybody. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. A beautiful day here in New York City.
Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C. We're going to check in with him in just a few moments.
Also this morning we'll get you caught up on the G8 Summit where President Bush is trying to get world leaders to go along with his greater vision for the Middle East. He's having some trouble as well and the president is also preparing his eulogy for Ronald Reagan. We'll take a look at that.
Also this morning, a new national poll by the Los Angeles Times is out. It was conducted din the days after the death of Ronald Reagan. We'll talk to political analyst Ron Brownstein who writes for the "Times" and find out which candidate is moving ahead, at least in the polls.
All that's coming up this morning but first let's head it right back to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C.
Bill good morning again.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Soledad, thank you. The wait as far as we can gauge it at this point is about four hours in length.
It dropped down to a shorter time period because there were fewer people in line in the middle of the night, as you can understand. Right now about four hours based on the people we are talking to in the line behind us.
That line very extensive and very long snakes its way for about three hours until you reach the first point. That's where people get their bags checked. They are cleared to walk then up to the Capitol Building, where the wait extends about another hour past that.
I talked to one person in line just a short time ago. I asked him how much longer he has. And he says, 'It does not matter, and I have no clue, because the wait for me is not important."
I'm going to talk to some people here, David and Susan Martinez from Columbia, South Carolina. They have brought their four children also here to Washington, D.C. And good morning to you. I know you just got back from going inside and viewing the casket of Ronald Reagan. What did he mean to you?
SUSAN MARTINEZ, PASSED BY REAGAN CASKET: Well, I thought he was a great president. We really appreciated his godly character and his moral fiber. And he was someone that we could set up before our four children as a good example.
HEMMER: Yes. Why'd you bring your children today, David?
DAVID MARTINEZ, PASSED BY REAGAN CASKET: He was the great example that we wanted to set before them. I mean, this is something that they can remember, I mean, and be part of history.
HEMMER: Yes. Susan what was it like inside as you passed the casket?
S. MARTINEZ: It was solemn, but it was lovely and peaceful and calm. And it was just -- it was great.
HEMMER: Yes. We're watching live pictures of the casket now. We're showing our viewers. And you can show us the commemorative card that you were given. For our viewers, what does it say on there?
S. MARTINEZ: The Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan and his birth date and the 40th president, and it was a final tribute. So, it was a nice surprise as we were walking out of the building.
HEMMER: And that's a memento that will be held for a long time, I would imagine.
S. MARTINEZ: Yes, right.
HEMMER: Thank you, the Martinez family from Columbia, South Carolina. Thanks for sharing.
D. MARTINEZ: Thank you.
HEMMER: This will continue throughout the day today. About this time tomorrow, Soledad, they expect to wrap things up; so about 24 hours from now.
But as we saw in California, with the number of people who showed up there in Simi Valley, the hours were extended for a period of about four hours in length longer than originally planned. We'll see if there are any plans for that here in Washington. But clearly, that's an answer that won't come for another day or so.
Live coverage again later tomorrow. Former President Ronald Reagan's state funeral ceremony takes place again here in Washington in the National Cathedral. Special coverage from us here at CNN. It starts at 10:00 Eastern Time. That's 7:00 back in Simi Valley.
We have a lot to cover this morning. Many more stories to come -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Yes, no question about that, Bill. All right, thanks.
Well, President Bush heads back to Washington later today to pay his respects to Ronald Reagan, but first he is finishing up his meetings with world leaders at the G8 Summit in Georgia.
White House correspondent Dana Bash live for us this morning in Savannah, Georgia.
Dana -- good morning.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
And when President Bush leaves here in Georgia, as soon as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, he and Mrs. Bush are going to go straight to the Capitol, the White House says, so that he can pay his respects to President Reagan, of course, lying in state, as we've been talking about all morning. And also, Mr. Bush and his wife will be paying a condolence call to Nancy Reagan, after they pay their respects to President Reagan.
So, they are going to be involved in the ceremonies a little bit on Thursday, or at least in their own personal way.
Friday morning, it will be much more official. Mr. Bush will be giving one of the eulogies at the memorial service, of course, for President Reagan at National Cathedral. And aides say he's been working on the draft of this for several days. In fact, first he gave some ideas his aides the day that President Reagan died. But they say that although he obviously knew President Reagan personally, he will be giving this speech as a president on behalf of a grateful nation -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Dana, a quick question for you. At Sea Island, President Bush met with the interim Iraqi president. What came out of their meeting? And what was the tenor of their meeting?
BASH: Well, as far as the White House is concerned, this was the ultimate meeting for them in terms of symbolism, in terms of the pictures. This is President Bush meeting with the Iraqi interim president. And as President Bush said during this meeting, this is something that if someone would have told him a year and a half ago would have happened, he wouldn't have believed them.
So, this is really the photo-op of the summit, as far as the White House is concerned.
Democratic reforms in the broader Middle East, however, Soledad, is what topped the White House agenda over the last several days. And yesterday, the G8 adopted an initiative calling for things like promoting literacy and entrepreneurship in the Middle East.
And to help get Arab leaders here to the summit, the White House bowed to some pressure by inserting some language saying that they promised to continue working to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But what the White House says that they are happy about is that they put language in there saying that it's important that Arab leaders stop, in their words, using the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as an excuse not to promote reforms in their own countries, not to allow them to go on.
However, it's important to note that there were a couple leaders who were not there from the Arab world, which does put into question just how successful these pushes for change are actually going to be -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, and I would imagine that's something that's really only going to be seen in retrospect, right, Dana?
BASH: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Dana Bash joining us this morning. Thanks, Dana, appreciate it.
BASH: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: This week, politics has taking a back seat to presidential tributes, but the party of Ronald Reagan cannot be happy about a new national poll, which shows Senator John Kerry with his biggest lead to date over President Bush.
Joining us this morning from Washington to talk about the latest polls and also the affect that Reagan's passing may have on the campaign is CNN's political analyst, Ron Brownstein, of the "L.A. Times."
Nice to see you, Ron. Thanks for being with us.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with these poll numbers that some people, I think, are highlighting as pretty interesting -- 51 percent to 44 percent, Senator Kerry leading George Bush in a two-way match-up. What do you make of those numbers?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think they're more about President Bush at this point than about Senator Kerry. What we found in our poll that as many as one-third of Americans say they still don't know enough about John Kerry to know whether he would be a better president than President Bush.
On the other hand, what you see very clearly in the poll is a growing kind of current in which Americans are looking for change. We had nearly three-fifths of those we contacted saying the country was on the wrong track, always an ominous sign for the incumbent.
And perhaps most dramatically, 56 percent of those polled said they wanted the country to go in a new direction, distinct from the course that President Bush has set. Those are the kind of numbers that are driving this result and presenting the threat to President Bush at this point.
O'BRIEN: President Bush has clearly said that he identifies with the former president, Ronald Reagan. And many of the people around him say that he is essentially the heir to the Reagan legacy. Is it too soon to see whether this is reflected in the polls or not? But I'm wondering if that strategy of identifying strongly with a clearly beloved president who's now deceased at a time when a nation is paying tribute to that president, is that working among voters?
BROWNSTEIN: I think it's factually accurate in many respects and probably politically not especially relevant. I think most analysts would agree that George Bush, both in the particulars of his agenda, whether it's the tax cuts, the kind of moral right and wrong language on foreign policy, and many others, the environment, does probably have more in common with Ronald Reagan than he does with his own father, George H.W. Bush. But I'm not sure that is a comparison than is really particularly relevant to voters.
My sense has been -- and I was out last weekend in Minneapolis talking to voters -- is that George Bush is being judged largely against what people expected when he came in. And to some people, he's tougher, more resolute, more decisive, stronger than they expected. And others see him as more stubborn, ideological, even arrogant.
In our poll, voters were much more likely to say John Kerry is a flip-flopper but by more than 3-1 they were more likely to describe George Bush as ideological and stubborn. I think those are the comparisons that are actually relevant to Americans.
O'BRIEN: The economy is picking up, 250,000 jobs last month. The president is exploiting all of that. We see that in the ads, you know, mentioning all of that growth.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And yet, again, if you look at the poll numbers, you don't see an overwhelming bump-up from that. Is it just that it's too early, that people haven't really put their arms around those numbers now?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think there are probably a couple things at work here. One is historically there is a lag between economic improvement in fact and economic improvement in the perception of the public. Second, Iraq is a big cloud hanging over everything. The anxiety about the way things are going in Iraq, I think, is clearly affecting the national mood on all issues and coloring the perception of President Bush. And, third, there has been contrary economic news coming out at the same time, primarily the concern about gas prices that has somewhat mitigated the effects of the job numbers.
O'BRIEN: Ron Brownstein joining us this morning, CNN's political analyst, also with the "Los Angeles Times," a political correspondent there. Nice to see you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: And I guess we'll just keep watching the numbers and see how it's going. Appreciate it. BROWNSTEIN: Five more months of it.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that's right.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, we're about to meet a man and his wife. He says the police told him his wife was dead, but then he called her and proved them wrong.
Also ahead this morning, Martha Stewart's lawyers are asking a judge to throw out her conviction. Coming up in our next hour, Jeff Toobin tells us why the judge is seriously considering that request.
Those stories are all ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: It's hard to imagine how you would react if what happened to Claude Pellegrini the other day happened to you. He says that Chicago police officers came to his home and then mistakenly told him that his wife had been struck and killed by a train. Well, it turns out she's alive and well.
The city's transit authority released a statement in its defense saying that -- quote -- "Several questions were asked of the homeowner, who indicated that his wife matched the description of the deceased. Mr. Pellegrini asked which hospital the woman was in, and our officers indicated that the woman in question was deceased. At no time did the officers tell Mr. Pellegrini that his wife was deceased."
Joining us this morning from Chicago to talk about a fairly emotional ordeal is Claude Pellegrini and his very much alive wife, Leanna.
Nice to see you both. Thanks for being with us.
I'm sure you're very much relieved, Claude. I mean, one can hardly imagine something like this happening. But take me back to the very beginning. There was a woman who was hit by a train. Having difficulty identifying this woman, the police come to your door. What happened?
CLAUDE PELLEGRINI, THOUGHT HIS WIFE WAS DEAD: Well, they rang my door, and they said, "Police." And my first reaction was, 'What did I do now?' And they said, "You did not nothing, we have to talk to you."
So, I opened up my door. There was two Chicago Ridge police officers. There was two Metro train officers. And they asked me if Leanna lived here, and I said, 'Yes.' And they said, "Does she have short red hair?" I said, 'Yes.' And they said, "Is she about 5'2?" And I said, 'Yes.'
They said that there was an accident at the Chicago Ridge Metro train station, and that they found a set of keys by the body of the person that was hit, that they tried to go from car to car in the parking lot opening up locks. And it turns out that these keys opened my wife's car doors and her trunk, but it wouldn't start the ignition.
O'BRIEN: Eventually they said -- eventually you said, "Well, let me call the hospital." And they sort of essentially said...
C. PELLEGRINI: Well, no, what I...
O'BRIEN: ... "Well, don't bother, because she's deceased."
C. PELLEGRINI: Well, basically what I said was, 'Is she OK? Can I see her?' And the Metro officer said, "Well, actually, sir, she's deceased." And they wanted me actually to go to the morgue and identify the body. And then there was a couple of little things that they said, like they said the ignition key had a microchip on it, and I know, you know, these cars are too old; that, you know, neither one of our cars have microchips on the ignition key.
And then I -- you know, I asked, 'What time was the accident?' And they said it was 8:30. And I know my wife catches the 7:18 Metro train out of Chicago Ridge. So, I said...
O'BRIEN: So, some things started to not add up for you. You went to the phone and decided to call Leanna just to check in. And when she answered the phone, you must have been pretty surprised.
Leanna, what was your reaction when your husband said, "I thought you were dead?"
LEANNA PELLEGRINI, HUSBAND TOLD SHE WAS DEAD: I said, 'What? What are you talking about?' I was surprised. I was shocked.
O'BRIEN: You had 10 pretty shocking minutes between when you first got the news and when you finally got word from your wife that actually she was just fine. I know you've been considering some kind of legal action against the police. Why?
C. PELLEGRINI: Well, not against the police, per se, but against the Metro police. We're actually exploring all of our options. OK. And the reason is, OK, if I was a police officer or a detective or somebody investigating a death, I wouldn't go to the person's house and say, hey, your husband or your wife, whatever the situation is, is dead, unless I absolutely knew for sure who that person was. I thought they acted irrationally. They -- I mean, I almost had a heart attack.
O'BRIEN: The department says what they said. They never said your wife was deceased. They say, in fact -- this is a statement from the Metro Police Department: "In fact, the officer suggested that he call his wife." They never specifically said, "your wife was deceased."
C. PELLEGRINI: They never -- no, they didn't.
O'BRIEN: Even -- and obviously...
C. PELLEGRINI: No, they... O'BRIEN: ... this would be an argument back and forth, but some people would say, as disturbing and shocking as it was, it was an honest accident. They were trying to track down this woman who, I believe, is still unidentified. And seeing the key fit in the car, sort of matched the description of your wife, seemed pretty close to your wife. They were trying to bring you this terrible information as quickly as possible, you shouldn't fault them. What do you say to people who say that?
C. PELLEGRINI: Well, when they say that they did not tell me that my wife was deceased that makes me a little more upset, because my words were to them, 'Can I see her?' And they said, 'Actually, sir, she's deceased." That was the Metro cop's exact words. And the Chicago Ridge police didn't really say anything.
And then they wanted me to go, like I said, they wanted me to go to the morgue and identify the body. And that's when they said the accident was about 8:30. I had said, 'Let me call my wife.' And the Metro cop kind of shook his head. And then I said, 'Let me call my wife.'
And then I picked up the phone, dialed it, my wife's direct extension, and she answered the phone. I says, 'You're supposed to be dead.' And she said, "What are you talking about?" And then I told her, and then I put her on the phone with the Metro officer and he basically only asked her, 'Do you have your car keys?" And when my wife responded yes, they said, "Well, we're sorry."
O'BRIEN: Yes, clearly a mistake had been made. Well, you know what?
C. PELLEGRINI: Yes, I mean, for them to say...
O'BRIEN: No matter and however this ends up legally for you, whatever you decide to pursue, I am sure at the end of the day you are very grateful that it turned out the way it did. Claude Pellegrini and Leanna Pellegrini, thanks for joining us with your pretty odd story. We appreciate it.
C. PELLEGRINI: Thank you.
L. PELLEGRINI: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: A short break. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Forty-nine minutes past the hour. It's time to take a look at some of today's other news with Heidi Collins.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. We want to get straight to Iraq this morning. Good morning, everybody. American forces holding back in the city of Najaf. Witnesses say fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked a police headquarters there. Iraqi police asked for assistance, but U.S. commanders say they need to learn to handle these situations on their own. American forces have agreed to re-supply the police with ammunition.
At the Scott Peterson trial, a neighbor testified she saw the Peterson's dog walking alone on the morning Laci vanished, and that there was no sign of Laci. Two relatives of Laci's told the jury Scott Peterson acted oddly in the days and weeks after he reported his wife missing. The trial continues today in Redwood City, California.
Gunmen attack in northern Afghanistan, 11 Chinese workers are dead, four more injured. The Chinese embassy is confirming the deaths. Twenty-one gunmen opened fire on security guards about 35 miles south of the town of Kunduz. The reason for the attack is still unclear.
A massive fire in Arizona is moving quickly toward the border of New Mexico. It's exactly what firefighters don't what. Some 5,500 acres of national forests have already been scorched. Hundreds of firefighters have been working since Tuesday now to tame the flames. No reports of casualties, but residents in the area are on alert for possible evacuations.
And pop star Britney Spears hurt her knee while she was shooting a video in New York. The 22-year-old ended up in the hospital and had to have surgery. Jive Records says Spears got hurt after she finished shooting outdoor scenes for her new single, "Outrageous," with rapper Snoop Dogg. Spears is scheduled to go on tour in less than two weeks. What are we going to do?
O'BRIEN: I love hearing you say, Snoop Dogg! That just cracks me up.
COLLINS: Snoop Dogg.
O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi, thanks.
COLLINS: You bet.
O'BRIEN: Well, not so fast. That's what lawmakers are saying to one company that wants to protect America's borders. With that, plus a preview of the market this morning, Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."
Snoop Andy, what up?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Snoop Andy, yes. Well, I'll tell you what up. Remember last week we talked about the Department of Homeland Security awarding Accenture, that consulting company based in Bermuda, a $10 billion contract to provide a virtual border in the United States, basically passport control, a high-tech deal. A congressional committee, however, voted yesterday, saying it didn't want Accenture to do it. They're trying to block this, because the company is an expat based offshore doing this to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
The company says, well, it's kind of early here, because it has to go through the full House and Senate before it is, in fact, law.
But, you know, I'm not the most jingo guy in the world, but there's something that doesn't quite look quite right when a company based overseas is doing our border control.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, if they've got the best technology that could save people's lives and prevent terror attacks?
SERWER: True. But there are two other companies, Lockheed and Computer Science, has put in a bid, too.
O'BRIEN: They could do it, too.
SERWER: Yes. So, interesting story, I think.
O'BRIEN: A market preview?
SERWER: Just quickly. Yesterday we were down. And then today we should be bouncing back a little bit higher. A department store merger happening, and oil prices have stabilized.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks. We'll continue to chat with you about business this morning.
SERWER: OK.
O'BRIEN: And still to come, let's head out to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C.
Bill -- good morning again.
HEMMER: Hey, Soledad. Good morning again.
For eight long years, Ronald Reagan helped dominate this town, and now his body has come back for America to say one final good-bye. Much more as our coverage continues in a moment from Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Time now for Jack and the "Question of the Day."
Good morning again.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: God morning, Soledad.
Thousands of people lined the streets in Washington, D.C. in that heat and humidity for hours yesterday to get a glimpse of the procession of former President Reagan's casket. Two hundred thousand people are expected to pay their respects to the casket lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda by tomorrow morning. In California, 100,000 people filed through the Reagan Presidential Library all night long in Simi Valley. Some of them waited in line as long as seven hours.
So the question we're fiddling with this morning is: Who would you wait in line hours to see? And here is some of what you've written.
Jeremy writes: "Billy Graham. Regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof, he's a messenger of peace, compassion and temperate understanding that is much needed in today's world."
Craig in Odessa, Florida: "I'd wait hours in line to see our troops come home safely."
Brian -- oh, I skipped on, I'm sorry. Brian writes: "Muhammad Ali."
M. in Fort Lauderdale says: "I'd like to be the first to answer next Monday's 'Question of the Day.' Yes, the Reagan week was completely overdone by the press."
And Dave weighs in from Japan with this: "Me? Maybe Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Kennedy or Lincoln. My Japanese girlfriend? A.J. from the Backstreet Boys. Five hours at Narita Airport to get a 15- second glimpse of that tattooed, no talented jarhead."
AM@CNN.com.
O'BRIEN: He's dating an 18-year-old? A.J. of the Backstreet Boys. Is it our friend Dave in Tokyo?
CAFFERTY: Indeed it is.
O'BRIEN: All right, Dave, interesting. All right, thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, by the thousands, as Jack mentioned, they are paying their final respects to former President Reagan. Coming up this morning, a Republican senator elected right in the middle of the Reagan revolution talks to Bill. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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Aired June 10, 2004 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back everybody. It is just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. A beautiful day here in New York City.
Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C. We're going to check in with him in just a few moments.
Also this morning we'll get you caught up on the G8 Summit where President Bush is trying to get world leaders to go along with his greater vision for the Middle East. He's having some trouble as well and the president is also preparing his eulogy for Ronald Reagan. We'll take a look at that.
Also this morning, a new national poll by the Los Angeles Times is out. It was conducted din the days after the death of Ronald Reagan. We'll talk to political analyst Ron Brownstein who writes for the "Times" and find out which candidate is moving ahead, at least in the polls.
All that's coming up this morning but first let's head it right back to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C.
Bill good morning again.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Soledad, thank you. The wait as far as we can gauge it at this point is about four hours in length.
It dropped down to a shorter time period because there were fewer people in line in the middle of the night, as you can understand. Right now about four hours based on the people we are talking to in the line behind us.
That line very extensive and very long snakes its way for about three hours until you reach the first point. That's where people get their bags checked. They are cleared to walk then up to the Capitol Building, where the wait extends about another hour past that.
I talked to one person in line just a short time ago. I asked him how much longer he has. And he says, 'It does not matter, and I have no clue, because the wait for me is not important."
I'm going to talk to some people here, David and Susan Martinez from Columbia, South Carolina. They have brought their four children also here to Washington, D.C. And good morning to you. I know you just got back from going inside and viewing the casket of Ronald Reagan. What did he mean to you?
SUSAN MARTINEZ, PASSED BY REAGAN CASKET: Well, I thought he was a great president. We really appreciated his godly character and his moral fiber. And he was someone that we could set up before our four children as a good example.
HEMMER: Yes. Why'd you bring your children today, David?
DAVID MARTINEZ, PASSED BY REAGAN CASKET: He was the great example that we wanted to set before them. I mean, this is something that they can remember, I mean, and be part of history.
HEMMER: Yes. Susan what was it like inside as you passed the casket?
S. MARTINEZ: It was solemn, but it was lovely and peaceful and calm. And it was just -- it was great.
HEMMER: Yes. We're watching live pictures of the casket now. We're showing our viewers. And you can show us the commemorative card that you were given. For our viewers, what does it say on there?
S. MARTINEZ: The Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan and his birth date and the 40th president, and it was a final tribute. So, it was a nice surprise as we were walking out of the building.
HEMMER: And that's a memento that will be held for a long time, I would imagine.
S. MARTINEZ: Yes, right.
HEMMER: Thank you, the Martinez family from Columbia, South Carolina. Thanks for sharing.
D. MARTINEZ: Thank you.
HEMMER: This will continue throughout the day today. About this time tomorrow, Soledad, they expect to wrap things up; so about 24 hours from now.
But as we saw in California, with the number of people who showed up there in Simi Valley, the hours were extended for a period of about four hours in length longer than originally planned. We'll see if there are any plans for that here in Washington. But clearly, that's an answer that won't come for another day or so.
Live coverage again later tomorrow. Former President Ronald Reagan's state funeral ceremony takes place again here in Washington in the National Cathedral. Special coverage from us here at CNN. It starts at 10:00 Eastern Time. That's 7:00 back in Simi Valley.
We have a lot to cover this morning. Many more stories to come -- Soledad. O'BRIEN: Yes, no question about that, Bill. All right, thanks.
Well, President Bush heads back to Washington later today to pay his respects to Ronald Reagan, but first he is finishing up his meetings with world leaders at the G8 Summit in Georgia.
White House correspondent Dana Bash live for us this morning in Savannah, Georgia.
Dana -- good morning.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
And when President Bush leaves here in Georgia, as soon as he arrives at Andrews Air Force Base, he and Mrs. Bush are going to go straight to the Capitol, the White House says, so that he can pay his respects to President Reagan, of course, lying in state, as we've been talking about all morning. And also, Mr. Bush and his wife will be paying a condolence call to Nancy Reagan, after they pay their respects to President Reagan.
So, they are going to be involved in the ceremonies a little bit on Thursday, or at least in their own personal way.
Friday morning, it will be much more official. Mr. Bush will be giving one of the eulogies at the memorial service, of course, for President Reagan at National Cathedral. And aides say he's been working on the draft of this for several days. In fact, first he gave some ideas his aides the day that President Reagan died. But they say that although he obviously knew President Reagan personally, he will be giving this speech as a president on behalf of a grateful nation -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Dana, a quick question for you. At Sea Island, President Bush met with the interim Iraqi president. What came out of their meeting? And what was the tenor of their meeting?
BASH: Well, as far as the White House is concerned, this was the ultimate meeting for them in terms of symbolism, in terms of the pictures. This is President Bush meeting with the Iraqi interim president. And as President Bush said during this meeting, this is something that if someone would have told him a year and a half ago would have happened, he wouldn't have believed them.
So, this is really the photo-op of the summit, as far as the White House is concerned.
Democratic reforms in the broader Middle East, however, Soledad, is what topped the White House agenda over the last several days. And yesterday, the G8 adopted an initiative calling for things like promoting literacy and entrepreneurship in the Middle East.
And to help get Arab leaders here to the summit, the White House bowed to some pressure by inserting some language saying that they promised to continue working to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. But what the White House says that they are happy about is that they put language in there saying that it's important that Arab leaders stop, in their words, using the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as an excuse not to promote reforms in their own countries, not to allow them to go on.
However, it's important to note that there were a couple leaders who were not there from the Arab world, which does put into question just how successful these pushes for change are actually going to be -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, and I would imagine that's something that's really only going to be seen in retrospect, right, Dana?
BASH: Absolutely.
O'BRIEN: Dana Bash joining us this morning. Thanks, Dana, appreciate it.
BASH: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: This week, politics has taking a back seat to presidential tributes, but the party of Ronald Reagan cannot be happy about a new national poll, which shows Senator John Kerry with his biggest lead to date over President Bush.
Joining us this morning from Washington to talk about the latest polls and also the affect that Reagan's passing may have on the campaign is CNN's political analyst, Ron Brownstein, of the "L.A. Times."
Nice to see you, Ron. Thanks for being with us.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with these poll numbers that some people, I think, are highlighting as pretty interesting -- 51 percent to 44 percent, Senator Kerry leading George Bush in a two-way match-up. What do you make of those numbers?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think they're more about President Bush at this point than about Senator Kerry. What we found in our poll that as many as one-third of Americans say they still don't know enough about John Kerry to know whether he would be a better president than President Bush.
On the other hand, what you see very clearly in the poll is a growing kind of current in which Americans are looking for change. We had nearly three-fifths of those we contacted saying the country was on the wrong track, always an ominous sign for the incumbent.
And perhaps most dramatically, 56 percent of those polled said they wanted the country to go in a new direction, distinct from the course that President Bush has set. Those are the kind of numbers that are driving this result and presenting the threat to President Bush at this point.
O'BRIEN: President Bush has clearly said that he identifies with the former president, Ronald Reagan. And many of the people around him say that he is essentially the heir to the Reagan legacy. Is it too soon to see whether this is reflected in the polls or not? But I'm wondering if that strategy of identifying strongly with a clearly beloved president who's now deceased at a time when a nation is paying tribute to that president, is that working among voters?
BROWNSTEIN: I think it's factually accurate in many respects and probably politically not especially relevant. I think most analysts would agree that George Bush, both in the particulars of his agenda, whether it's the tax cuts, the kind of moral right and wrong language on foreign policy, and many others, the environment, does probably have more in common with Ronald Reagan than he does with his own father, George H.W. Bush. But I'm not sure that is a comparison than is really particularly relevant to voters.
My sense has been -- and I was out last weekend in Minneapolis talking to voters -- is that George Bush is being judged largely against what people expected when he came in. And to some people, he's tougher, more resolute, more decisive, stronger than they expected. And others see him as more stubborn, ideological, even arrogant.
In our poll, voters were much more likely to say John Kerry is a flip-flopper but by more than 3-1 they were more likely to describe George Bush as ideological and stubborn. I think those are the comparisons that are actually relevant to Americans.
O'BRIEN: The economy is picking up, 250,000 jobs last month. The president is exploiting all of that. We see that in the ads, you know, mentioning all of that growth.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And yet, again, if you look at the poll numbers, you don't see an overwhelming bump-up from that. Is it just that it's too early, that people haven't really put their arms around those numbers now?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I think there are probably a couple things at work here. One is historically there is a lag between economic improvement in fact and economic improvement in the perception of the public. Second, Iraq is a big cloud hanging over everything. The anxiety about the way things are going in Iraq, I think, is clearly affecting the national mood on all issues and coloring the perception of President Bush. And, third, there has been contrary economic news coming out at the same time, primarily the concern about gas prices that has somewhat mitigated the effects of the job numbers.
O'BRIEN: Ron Brownstein joining us this morning, CNN's political analyst, also with the "Los Angeles Times," a political correspondent there. Nice to see you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: And I guess we'll just keep watching the numbers and see how it's going. Appreciate it. BROWNSTEIN: Five more months of it.
O'BRIEN: Yes, that's right.
Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, we're about to meet a man and his wife. He says the police told him his wife was dead, but then he called her and proved them wrong.
Also ahead this morning, Martha Stewart's lawyers are asking a judge to throw out her conviction. Coming up in our next hour, Jeff Toobin tells us why the judge is seriously considering that request.
Those stories are all ahead, as AMERICAN MORNING continues right after this.
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O'BRIEN: It's hard to imagine how you would react if what happened to Claude Pellegrini the other day happened to you. He says that Chicago police officers came to his home and then mistakenly told him that his wife had been struck and killed by a train. Well, it turns out she's alive and well.
The city's transit authority released a statement in its defense saying that -- quote -- "Several questions were asked of the homeowner, who indicated that his wife matched the description of the deceased. Mr. Pellegrini asked which hospital the woman was in, and our officers indicated that the woman in question was deceased. At no time did the officers tell Mr. Pellegrini that his wife was deceased."
Joining us this morning from Chicago to talk about a fairly emotional ordeal is Claude Pellegrini and his very much alive wife, Leanna.
Nice to see you both. Thanks for being with us.
I'm sure you're very much relieved, Claude. I mean, one can hardly imagine something like this happening. But take me back to the very beginning. There was a woman who was hit by a train. Having difficulty identifying this woman, the police come to your door. What happened?
CLAUDE PELLEGRINI, THOUGHT HIS WIFE WAS DEAD: Well, they rang my door, and they said, "Police." And my first reaction was, 'What did I do now?' And they said, "You did not nothing, we have to talk to you."
So, I opened up my door. There was two Chicago Ridge police officers. There was two Metro train officers. And they asked me if Leanna lived here, and I said, 'Yes.' And they said, "Does she have short red hair?" I said, 'Yes.' And they said, "Is she about 5'2?" And I said, 'Yes.'
They said that there was an accident at the Chicago Ridge Metro train station, and that they found a set of keys by the body of the person that was hit, that they tried to go from car to car in the parking lot opening up locks. And it turns out that these keys opened my wife's car doors and her trunk, but it wouldn't start the ignition.
O'BRIEN: Eventually they said -- eventually you said, "Well, let me call the hospital." And they sort of essentially said...
C. PELLEGRINI: Well, no, what I...
O'BRIEN: ... "Well, don't bother, because she's deceased."
C. PELLEGRINI: Well, basically what I said was, 'Is she OK? Can I see her?' And the Metro officer said, "Well, actually, sir, she's deceased." And they wanted me actually to go to the morgue and identify the body. And then there was a couple of little things that they said, like they said the ignition key had a microchip on it, and I know, you know, these cars are too old; that, you know, neither one of our cars have microchips on the ignition key.
And then I -- you know, I asked, 'What time was the accident?' And they said it was 8:30. And I know my wife catches the 7:18 Metro train out of Chicago Ridge. So, I said...
O'BRIEN: So, some things started to not add up for you. You went to the phone and decided to call Leanna just to check in. And when she answered the phone, you must have been pretty surprised.
Leanna, what was your reaction when your husband said, "I thought you were dead?"
LEANNA PELLEGRINI, HUSBAND TOLD SHE WAS DEAD: I said, 'What? What are you talking about?' I was surprised. I was shocked.
O'BRIEN: You had 10 pretty shocking minutes between when you first got the news and when you finally got word from your wife that actually she was just fine. I know you've been considering some kind of legal action against the police. Why?
C. PELLEGRINI: Well, not against the police, per se, but against the Metro police. We're actually exploring all of our options. OK. And the reason is, OK, if I was a police officer or a detective or somebody investigating a death, I wouldn't go to the person's house and say, hey, your husband or your wife, whatever the situation is, is dead, unless I absolutely knew for sure who that person was. I thought they acted irrationally. They -- I mean, I almost had a heart attack.
O'BRIEN: The department says what they said. They never said your wife was deceased. They say, in fact -- this is a statement from the Metro Police Department: "In fact, the officer suggested that he call his wife." They never specifically said, "your wife was deceased."
C. PELLEGRINI: They never -- no, they didn't.
O'BRIEN: Even -- and obviously...
C. PELLEGRINI: No, they... O'BRIEN: ... this would be an argument back and forth, but some people would say, as disturbing and shocking as it was, it was an honest accident. They were trying to track down this woman who, I believe, is still unidentified. And seeing the key fit in the car, sort of matched the description of your wife, seemed pretty close to your wife. They were trying to bring you this terrible information as quickly as possible, you shouldn't fault them. What do you say to people who say that?
C. PELLEGRINI: Well, when they say that they did not tell me that my wife was deceased that makes me a little more upset, because my words were to them, 'Can I see her?' And they said, 'Actually, sir, she's deceased." That was the Metro cop's exact words. And the Chicago Ridge police didn't really say anything.
And then they wanted me to go, like I said, they wanted me to go to the morgue and identify the body. And that's when they said the accident was about 8:30. I had said, 'Let me call my wife.' And the Metro cop kind of shook his head. And then I said, 'Let me call my wife.'
And then I picked up the phone, dialed it, my wife's direct extension, and she answered the phone. I says, 'You're supposed to be dead.' And she said, "What are you talking about?" And then I told her, and then I put her on the phone with the Metro officer and he basically only asked her, 'Do you have your car keys?" And when my wife responded yes, they said, "Well, we're sorry."
O'BRIEN: Yes, clearly a mistake had been made. Well, you know what?
C. PELLEGRINI: Yes, I mean, for them to say...
O'BRIEN: No matter and however this ends up legally for you, whatever you decide to pursue, I am sure at the end of the day you are very grateful that it turned out the way it did. Claude Pellegrini and Leanna Pellegrini, thanks for joining us with your pretty odd story. We appreciate it.
C. PELLEGRINI: Thank you.
L. PELLEGRINI: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: A short break. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this.
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O'BRIEN: Forty-nine minutes past the hour. It's time to take a look at some of today's other news with Heidi Collins.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. We want to get straight to Iraq this morning. Good morning, everybody. American forces holding back in the city of Najaf. Witnesses say fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked a police headquarters there. Iraqi police asked for assistance, but U.S. commanders say they need to learn to handle these situations on their own. American forces have agreed to re-supply the police with ammunition.
At the Scott Peterson trial, a neighbor testified she saw the Peterson's dog walking alone on the morning Laci vanished, and that there was no sign of Laci. Two relatives of Laci's told the jury Scott Peterson acted oddly in the days and weeks after he reported his wife missing. The trial continues today in Redwood City, California.
Gunmen attack in northern Afghanistan, 11 Chinese workers are dead, four more injured. The Chinese embassy is confirming the deaths. Twenty-one gunmen opened fire on security guards about 35 miles south of the town of Kunduz. The reason for the attack is still unclear.
A massive fire in Arizona is moving quickly toward the border of New Mexico. It's exactly what firefighters don't what. Some 5,500 acres of national forests have already been scorched. Hundreds of firefighters have been working since Tuesday now to tame the flames. No reports of casualties, but residents in the area are on alert for possible evacuations.
And pop star Britney Spears hurt her knee while she was shooting a video in New York. The 22-year-old ended up in the hospital and had to have surgery. Jive Records says Spears got hurt after she finished shooting outdoor scenes for her new single, "Outrageous," with rapper Snoop Dogg. Spears is scheduled to go on tour in less than two weeks. What are we going to do?
O'BRIEN: I love hearing you say, Snoop Dogg! That just cracks me up.
COLLINS: Snoop Dogg.
O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi, thanks.
COLLINS: You bet.
O'BRIEN: Well, not so fast. That's what lawmakers are saying to one company that wants to protect America's borders. With that, plus a preview of the market this morning, Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."
Snoop Andy, what up?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Snoop Andy, yes. Well, I'll tell you what up. Remember last week we talked about the Department of Homeland Security awarding Accenture, that consulting company based in Bermuda, a $10 billion contract to provide a virtual border in the United States, basically passport control, a high-tech deal. A congressional committee, however, voted yesterday, saying it didn't want Accenture to do it. They're trying to block this, because the company is an expat based offshore doing this to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
The company says, well, it's kind of early here, because it has to go through the full House and Senate before it is, in fact, law.
But, you know, I'm not the most jingo guy in the world, but there's something that doesn't quite look quite right when a company based overseas is doing our border control.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, if they've got the best technology that could save people's lives and prevent terror attacks?
SERWER: True. But there are two other companies, Lockheed and Computer Science, has put in a bid, too.
O'BRIEN: They could do it, too.
SERWER: Yes. So, interesting story, I think.
O'BRIEN: A market preview?
SERWER: Just quickly. Yesterday we were down. And then today we should be bouncing back a little bit higher. A department store merger happening, and oil prices have stabilized.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks. We'll continue to chat with you about business this morning.
SERWER: OK.
O'BRIEN: And still to come, let's head out to Bill Hemmer in Washington, D.C.
Bill -- good morning again.
HEMMER: Hey, Soledad. Good morning again.
For eight long years, Ronald Reagan helped dominate this town, and now his body has come back for America to say one final good-bye. Much more as our coverage continues in a moment from Washington.
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O'BRIEN: Time now for Jack and the "Question of the Day."
Good morning again.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: God morning, Soledad.
Thousands of people lined the streets in Washington, D.C. in that heat and humidity for hours yesterday to get a glimpse of the procession of former President Reagan's casket. Two hundred thousand people are expected to pay their respects to the casket lying in state in the Capitol Rotunda by tomorrow morning. In California, 100,000 people filed through the Reagan Presidential Library all night long in Simi Valley. Some of them waited in line as long as seven hours.
So the question we're fiddling with this morning is: Who would you wait in line hours to see? And here is some of what you've written.
Jeremy writes: "Billy Graham. Regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof, he's a messenger of peace, compassion and temperate understanding that is much needed in today's world."
Craig in Odessa, Florida: "I'd wait hours in line to see our troops come home safely."
Brian -- oh, I skipped on, I'm sorry. Brian writes: "Muhammad Ali."
M. in Fort Lauderdale says: "I'd like to be the first to answer next Monday's 'Question of the Day.' Yes, the Reagan week was completely overdone by the press."
And Dave weighs in from Japan with this: "Me? Maybe Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Kennedy or Lincoln. My Japanese girlfriend? A.J. from the Backstreet Boys. Five hours at Narita Airport to get a 15- second glimpse of that tattooed, no talented jarhead."
AM@CNN.com.
O'BRIEN: He's dating an 18-year-old? A.J. of the Backstreet Boys. Is it our friend Dave in Tokyo?
CAFFERTY: Indeed it is.
O'BRIEN: All right, Dave, interesting. All right, thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Sure.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, by the thousands, as Jack mentioned, they are paying their final respects to former President Reagan. Coming up this morning, a Republican senator elected right in the middle of the Reagan revolution talks to Bill. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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