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Recap of Day Two of Convention; Interview With Jerry Springer; Search Continues for Lori Hacking

Aired July 28, 2004 - 9:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Democrats keep the volume pumped up here in Boston as they get ready to nominate their candidate. One of the new faces in the Democratic Party, Barack Obama. What was his impact on the second night of the convention?
Teresa Heinz Kerry, controversial, colorful and clearly hip with the delegates here. And now come the candidates. John Edwards getting ready for his speech tonight. Will it be his time to shine? A look forward on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING. From the Democratic National Convention in Boston, here's Bill Hemmer.

HEMMER: And good morning again, everyone. Our third hour from Boston on this Wednesday morning. Just a bit past 9:00 here in the Northeast. Our coverage, special coverage of the Democratic convention continues now. And today, the Democrats really get down to business.

The roll call vote coming later when John Kerry officially expected to be nominated for president. New names, old names in the lineup last night, including Teresa Heinz Kerry, Ron Reagan, Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama, former candidate Howard Dean, and the senior center from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy.

John Kerry watched his wife's speech from a hotel room in Philadelphia. He plans on making a big entrance in Boston a bit later this afternoon. He will enter the city from the harbor, riding a water taxi, we're told. Kerry expected to have some of his old Navy crewmates from the Vietnam War with him as he arrives.

For us this morning, some guests that are always interesting, and entertaining, too. The Reverend Al Sharpton is coming up this hour. We'll find out what he thought about Barack Obama's speech last night. Also the speech President Bush gave to the Urban League last week. Al Franken is here this hour, and so, too, is Jerry Springer.

So as the third hour rolls on, good morning again to my partner back in New York today, Heidi Collins.

Good morning, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you as well, Bill.

News from Iraq this morning, too. A massive car bombing in the city of Baquba. An extremely deadly explosion there. Sixty-eight people have been killed. We'll have much more on that story.

There are also overnight developments from Utah in the search for Lori Hacking. We'll talk to a reporter from Salt Lake City on that story as well.

For now, though, Jack is here.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm reading your e-mails this morning on what you think the first thing Congress ought to do in response to the 9/11 Commission report. It's Congress that eventually will have to act on this thing. And at first, they said, well, we can't be bothered until next year. Now at least they're talking about maybe doing something.

Now, if we can just give them a little more guidance, what you think ought to be priority number one. Am@cnn.com.

COLLINS: All right. Great question, as always.

And now we send it back to Bill in Boston.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi.

Again, the headline today and later tonight is John Edwards taking the stage tonight to make his case for putting Democrats back in the White House in '04. And in the spotlight last night, a rising young store -- star, rather, a possible first lady and a political veteran. Bob Franken knows these conventions all too well.

Bob, good morning to you.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And the theme here, Bill, as you know, it has been be positive or else. Well, tonight we're going to get a real taste of it: the vice presidential candidate, who has made a whole campaign out of making nuts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": John Edwards is coming into the building. He's here to get the feel of the podium.

FRANKEN (voice-over): John Edwards made a late-night tour of the hall as the Edwards family got ready to take center stage. The new faces of the party, along with last night's keynoter, the son of a black Kenyan and white American woman, now a Senate candidate, Barack Obama.

BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS SENATE CANDIDATE: In no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

(APPLAUSE)

FRANKEN: The Democrats also showed they could be sentimental so- and-sos for the old faces. SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: America needs a genuine uniter, not a divider who only claims to be a uniter!

(APPLAUSE)

FRANKEN: President Bush has united the Democratic Party.

HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I may not be the nominee, but I can tell you this: for the next 100 days, I'll be doing everything that I can to make sure that John Kerry and John Edwards take this country back for the people who built it.

(APPLAUSE)

FRANKEN: Which would give Teresa Heinz Kerry a forum as first lady.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: My right to speak my mind, to have a voice, to be what some have called opinionated...

(APPLAUSE)

HEINZ KERRY: ... is right I deeply and profoundly cherish.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Well, she certainly made that absolutely clear, about as clear as the Democrats had been about their overriding passion to defeat George W. Bush -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Bob. Thanks for that. Bob Franken here in Boston at the FleetCenter.

Jerry Springer is in Boston this week. He's a delegate to the convention from the state of Ohio. Long before that outrageous talk show started, Springer was actually mayor of Cincinnati. That was about 30 years ago. Now he's thinking about a run for governor.

A bit of a novelty here this week in Boston, but he wants to be a lot more than that. We talk to him at a rally this week in Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: As you come back into the arena...

JERRY SPRINGER, TALK SHOW HOST: Yes?

HEMMER: ... you have a completely different persona now. You're not the TV commentator, you're not the former mayor. You're the talk show host.

SPRINGER: They work as waitresses and...

HEMMER: And how do you close that -- that credibility gap?

SPRINGER: Well, that would be my job. If I decide to become a candidate, I'll obviously stop the show. And that will give me a year and a half between the end of the show and Election Day to make my case to the people.

If I'm articulate, if I have good ideas, people will like them. No one is going to say, gosh, he's got good ideas, yeah, he's right, he'd be a great governor, but I want to teach him a lesson because of that show.

No. People are going to be concerned about their own families. If I'm good, I'll get elected. If I'm not good, I'll lose. And that's the way it ought to be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, "JERRY SPRINGER SHOW": He loves people.

SPRINGER, "JERRY SPRINGER SHOW": What? He doesn't love people. He killed people!

SPRINGER: Say what you want about my show. My show didn't shut down one factory, it didn't close one school, it didn't under-fund anyone's health insurance. You know what I mean? It's irrelevant.

The show's a joke. But people's lives, that's serious. And that's why they'll vote for someone who would bring them good change.

HEMMER: There is a report out that said you contributed, what, $500,000...

(CROSSTALK)

SPRINGER: Yes.

HEMMER: Was that...

SPRINGER: Over a year, yes.

HEMMER: The past year?

SPRINGER: Year and a half, yes. Yes, I give a lot money to the party, because I really believe in this. See, I don't think politics should be a career.

If you want, need a career, go get a job. Politics, it's like religion. It's a passion. It's something you really care about. You want to do some good.

It shouldn't be because, gee, I want to put something on my resume or I need a job. The reason politicians become intellectually dishonest is because it is their career. They have to win the next election in order to put food on their table.

But if you make your money doing something else, then you can be totally honest in politics. I have no hidden agenda.

Vote for me (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

My concern is not about winning. I'm pretty certain I could do that. What I really spend my time worrying about is, once I'd be governor, do we really have a plan to fix the state?

I don't want to do this if I don't have a really good plan for the people of Ohio. That's what this is about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: He is almost treated like a rock star throughout the city. People follow him everywhere. In the interest of fair disclosure, 20 years ago Jerry Springer and I were colleagues. I was 20 years young at that point, and Jerry Springer was still red hot about the issue of politics way back then.

Our live coverage of the DNC continues later tonight. A bit of a preview for you of what's happening on CNN. Anderson's back tonight, Anderson Cooper, "360," 7:00 Eastern; "America Votes 2004" is at 8:00 with Wolf Blitzer. Larry comes back at 9:00 on "LARRY KING LIVE," and later we'll get back into the broadcast here in Boston.

Wolf is back at 10:00 on "America Votes." Aaron Brown takes over from New York at 11:00 with a convention edition of "NEWSNIGHT." Then Larry, another double dip for him back at midnight live here from the FleetCenter. A whole big day for you planned for you here.

We'll be here to watch all of it, Heidi. Also, Al Sharpton is our guest in a matter of moments here. Back to you now in New York.

COLLINS: All right, Bill. We'll wait for that. Thanks so much.

At least 68 people are dead in the worst attack since the handover of power in Iraq. A suicide car bomb detonated at a recruitment center in Baquba today about 30 miles north of Baghdad. Hundreds of men were waiting to apply for jobs with the Iraqi police force. All 21 people on a bus passing the center at the moment of the explosion were killed.

Today is the 30-day anniversary of the handover of power. Secretary of State Colin Powell this morning called the bombing "an attempt by murderers to deny the Iraqi people their dream."

Just about 10 minutes after the hour now, and time for a look at some of today's other headlines with Daryn Kagan.

Daryn, hello.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, good morning once again. We are going to start with Iraq. And the first U.S. soldier charged with murder in Iraq could be a step closer to court-martial.

Captain Rogelio Manule (ph) may -- has appeared before a military tribunal at a U.S. Army base in Germany. The military is looking into what role he played in the shooting of an Iraqi man during a hunt for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Let's focus here on the U.S. The start of Michael Jackson's child molestation trial is being pushed back. A judge sided with defense attorneys yesterday, agreed to delay the trial until next January. It had been scheduled to begin in September. The judge conceded he been overly optimistic in scheduling that start date.

NASA has approved a pre-design -- actually, make that a redesign of the space shuttle fuel tank following the Columbia disaster. The new design eliminates the foam that detached from the Columbia last year, causing the damage that led to the shuttle's disintegration. Foam will still cover most of the tanks, but it will replaced by heaters in the area where the tank attaches to the spacecraft.

And finally, there is a lot of cleanup being done in parts of southern New Jersey today. A tornado packing winds of 110 miles an hour damaged several billings and knocked down trees and power lines yesterday. There were some minor injuries, but none were serious.

So what can folks in New Jersey and across the country expect in terms of the weather? Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Specialized search teams will look for a missing young woman in Utah today, but Lori Hacking's family is asking volunteers to cut back on their efforts. KSL radio host, Doug Wright, has focused his attention on the search, the family and the investigation. He is live in Salt Lake City for us this morning.

Doug, hello to you. Can you update us...

DOUG WRIGHT, KSL RADIO HOST: Good morning.

COLLINS: ... exactly on where the search does stand this morning?

WRIGHT: Yes. Again, volunteers -- general volunteers, amateurs, as it were, have been disinvited to participate with great gratitude from the family. And now those who are professional, those who are familiar with the hills, those who are familiar with the terrain of Utah, are up there, everything from ATVs to those who are out professionally on the ground looking. They're out there searching for Lori or for Lori's body today.

COLLINS: What has the community been saying about this case? Do they think Mark Hacking is guilty?

WRIGHT: Yes, I think over the last several days there has been a real shift in attitude, I think particularly in light of the web of lies and deceit that we found out about last week. And then I think, also, the information that came out just in the last day or so from her co-workers at the bank where she worked, saying that she got that very distressing phone call last Friday and left work early, obviously distressed. And this web of lies that continues to unfold.

This morning in Utah, our station broke a story. And it sounds minute, but yet it's kind of important in our community, particularly with their religious background. Apparently, the last person who may have seen Lori Hacking alive was a convenience store employee.

They may have been coming home from that housewarming that they attended on -- on Sunday night. And when Mark and Lori went in to the store, Mark had an opportune moment to ask the clerk to sell him cigarettes, and asked that the clerk make sure that his wife not see the transaction. For a young Mormon couple, that is extremely usual, and, again, just one of those little, strange, weird things that underscores just how many lies Mark was living.

COLLINS: Interesting. I want to ask you also about the forensic tests. Now, as you know, police said that an arrest could actually be made if those forensic test results come back and their suspicions are confirmed. Any idea when these tests will be done? It's been a couple of days now.

WRIGHT: Yes. I talked to Dwayne Baird, who's the public information officer with Salt Lake City Police Department, and I've known him for years and he's always shot pretty straight with me. But he said that we're all too conditioned by the television shows that we enjoy and it just doesn't happen that fast.

I really don't know when those tests will come back. But they're testing some pretty suspicious and some fairly nasty stuff, from what I understand.

COLLINS: All right. Doug Wright from KSL, thank you so much. We certainly appreciate your time this morning.

All right. Going to send it back now to Bill in Boston.

And the Reverend Al Sharpton on his way over to talk to you, correct?

HEMMER: Yes, he's standing by here. You're exactly right, Heidi. In a moment here, the Reverend Al Sharpton is taking here. He takes to the stage later tonight in Boston, never known for holding back. We'll ask him whether or not he's softening his tone tonight. I think that's a "No."

Also ahead, the one-time king of pop will have to wait a while for his trial to start. A look at that is coming up. And much more from Boston ahead in this edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Just a bit past 15 minutes past the hour back in Boston.

Tonight, we'll hear from another of John Kerry's formal Democratic rivals, the Reverend Al Sharpton, speaking to the delegates in primetime. We always know he speaks his mind. Reverend Al Sharpton is our guest now here in Boston.

Good morning to you. Nice to see you.

REV. AL SHARPTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning.

HEMMER: Yesterday, Dick Cheney said this about how he says America will shape up if John Kerry's president. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our opponents have a different vision for the economy. They talk about jobs, yet they never explain how they would put a single American back to work. Their big idea for the economy? Raise our taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Is that the reality?

SHARPTON: Absolutely not. I think that Mr. Kerry has put out a real concrete program on 10 million new jobs by producing manufacturing jobs. He's been very specific.

You're listening to a vice president who said that we lost three million jobs, after we had a surplus of jobs under Bill Clinton. So I think that this is ridiculous. He's trying to reduce this to some bumper sticker slogan of raising taxes, which is not at all part of the Democratic proposal.

HEMMER: In recent weeks, there's been a bit of a controversy between the White House and the NAACP. At the end of last week, President Bush went to Detroit, spoke to the Urban League. This is part of his message there. Here's President Bush from last Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote. But did they earn it? And do they deserve it?

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Take that last comment. Do they deserve it? And, if so, why?

SHARPTON: You know, I was there at that speech. And he asked certain questions. That was one of them.

I intend to answer him tonight in my speech. I hope President Bush is listening, because I couldn't answer him there, given the program. I will answer him tonight.

HEMMER: Why not -- can you answer that for us this morning, a bit of a preview?

SHARPTON: Well, just part of it tonight -- this morning. The rest I'll do tonight.

HEMMER: Go ahead.

SHARPTON: And this part of it is -- and I think that we do vote for who's earned it. And you really have to be very careful about who has done what to earn it. I don't think anyone can make an argument that George Bush has earned the African-American voter, or, for that matter, the larger vote. But I'll elaborate on that tonight.

HEMMER: All right. OK. We'll take that for now.

SHARPTON: All right.

HEMMER: Barack Obama last night in primetime, the keynote speaker. Delegates apparently responding to him with overwhelming enthusiasm. Part of his speech from last night. We'll talk about his future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shave the truth about why they are going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never, ever go to war without any troops to win the war, secure the peace and earn the respect of the world.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: In addition to that, he says he has hope for America because he has hope for a skinny kid with a funny name. Many people have said coming into the convention he's the future of your party. After last night, is he?

SHARPTON: I think he's certainly a great part of the future. I think Obama has proven himself in Illinois with the primary. I think he'll be elected.

And the he did it the right way. He built a grassroots organizations as (ph) state senator, and I think that he will certainly be a part of the future of this party.

HEMMER: In your speech tonight, are you going to mention this? You only checked in on the four of diamonds on the deck of cards for the Democratic Party.

SHARPTON: Well, it's better than being a joker.

(LAUGHTER)

SHARPTON: And it's certainly -- I'm...

(VIDEO GAP)

CAFFERTY: "... for a straight up-and-down vote on each of the commission's recommendations, and that he hopes his Republican colleagues will join him."

When pigs fly upside down that will happen. (AUDIO GAP)

"First George Bush was against the 9/11 Commission then he was for it, flip-flop. Then he didn't (AUDIO GAP). Then they're going study it. Now they're going to act on it a bit sooner. Flip-flop. All of these Bush flip-flops occurred because of (AUDIO GAP) concerned about doing the right thing than the president and his ilk seemed to be."

People don't like the fact they went on vacation and said they didn't have time to do anything until next year.

An update on a story from last week. Remember Natasha? Natasha may be the missing link.

We told you about her. All we had was still picture. Well, now we have home movies.

There she is. Pretty thing. Don't you think?

She lives in a safari park near Tel Aviv. She apparently got a bad case of the flu, and when she recovered, she started walking around on her hind legs, upright, like us humans do. The rest of the monkeys are looking at her out of the corner of their eye, because most of them walk on all fours. But she walks like this.

COLLINS: It's wild, isn't it?

CAFFERTY: This could -- this could be Darwin's long-sought missing link in the genetic scheme of things.

COLLINS: Look at that.

CAFFERTY: They say there may be a medical reason for all of this. Anyway...

COLLINS: Interesting. I wonder if the other monkeys feel kind of inferior.

CAFFERTY: Well, we'll get our research team on that.

COLLINS: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Get an answer for you right away.

COLLINS: It's important stuff. All right. Thank you so much, Jack.

Still to come this morning, we've got your Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop."

Donald Trump is no "Apprentice" when it comes to making money. But you won't believe what he's asking for now.

Plus, Siegfried and Roy decide their future on the Las Vegas strip. All that and more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. That's the FleetCenter, of course, in Boston that you've been seeing since Monday. But I'm Heidi Collins in New York.

Coming up in the next half-hour, we'll look at the Michael Jackson case, which took another turn yesterday. The judge issuing a key ruling, and he's considering another one.

We're also learning much more about the prosecution's theory in the case. Going to tell you all about that.

But for right now, it's back to the FleetCenter and Bill Hemmer.

Hey, Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Thanks.

Every morning at this time, 9:30 a.m. Eastern, we're "On the Floor" again this morning at the FleetCenter in Boston. What stories are our political reporters chasing, and what are they hearing here in Boston?

Say hello again. National correspondent Kelly Wallace with us today, up late last night, back early today. Ron Brownstein, CNN political analyst from the "L.A. Times," and Joe Johns, a congressional correspondent, also with us "On the Floor" as well.

Good morning to all three of you.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

RON BROWNSTEIN, "L.A. TIMES": Good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

HEMMER: First of all, from the delegates, based on the Barack Obama speech last night, what was their reaction? What did they tell you after that?

WALLACE: So much electricity in this room. And one sign of how good he was, at the end of the night, 1:00 in the morning, looking for signs, you could find "Kennedy" signs, "Teresa" signs. No "Barack Obama" signs to be found.

HEMMER: That suggests, what, that they...

WALLACE: Everybody's grabbing it, because something big happened here. And people say, "Knocked my socks off. Very real." And the Illinois delegation, people saying he did so well in the primary, but not just with African-Americans and not just with liberal Democrats, but with sort of other blue collar swing workers. That would be key for John Kerry. HEMMER: But did they not -- did they not expect that, though, the keynote address?

JOHNS: Well, the thing about this that was really interesting is that, here's a guy coming in, he was already overexposed. He had been on all the networks, everyone had seen him, everyone had heard about him. And then he got up on the podium. And, in fact, a lot of people were saying he still was able to meet those pretty high expectations.

And people were saying things like, "I would vote for him for president tonight. The Democratic Party doesn't have anybody else like this." And in a lot of ways, it's very true.

HEMMER: Would you say it's a homerun?

JOHNS: It was pretty much of a homerun. A lot of people thought they saw a little bit of history here last night.

BROWNSTEIN: Although more about him, I think, in the long run than about John -- more impact on his career than on this presidential race. Really, he was very effective. I'm not really sure he was that relevant to the -- the ultimate decision in November.

WALLACE: Expectations also always so high for a keynote speaker. And so many have failed. So big pressure. He met those expectations.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Yes. Very good.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Let's move forward to today.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

HEMMER: John Kerry is going to come to the Boston Harbor. There is a boat ride that is planned. What's the intent of this? How will it unfold, and what's the strategy behind it?

BROWNSTEIN: I think after 48 hours one thing is pretty clear here, that the overwhelming goal of this convention is to present John Kerry as a strong leader who will keep the nation safe in the age of global terror. And that within that, the overwhelming argument they are making for that case is his experience in Vietnam, far more than his Senate career.

They're basically saying they have his crewmates, who will be with him today, leading up to a group of generals who will be endorsing him at primetime tonight, basically making the case that John Kerry made decisions under fire that saved our lives, and, therefore, in a pinch, in the White House, you can trust him to make the right decision.

Now, what's interesting is the Republicans are trying very hard to build a different frame through which to assess Kerry, and they want to focus on that political career. They're releasing a video right after we get off the air this morning that will argue that he has vacillated and shifted positions on Iraq, and they're trying to make the opposite case, that his political career shows he can't be trusted in a pinch, he tries to straddle issues.

WALLACE: I'm waiting for someone to say it's the national security, stupid...

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, right.

WALLACE: ... as opposed to it's the economy, stupid, because this is it. And the Democrats will say for the first time, in their view, they're saying Democrats are trying to challenge Republicans on national security.

All the events, why we saw John Kerry hitting hard on the September 11th Commission yesterday, the framework for his speech tomorrow, it is all about how he can challenge President Bush. Because, ultimately, it is going to come down to, do they believe John Kerry will keep America safer?

HEMMER: Quickly here, that's this afternoon. Later tonight, John Edwards is on stage. You were here last night, after midnight, when he came out here and essentially got the lay of the land, right?

WALLACE: It's so interesting. Coming in here, getting a feel for the FleetCenter, standing at the podium. You saw his aides pointing at the teleprompter. He's a guy who doesn't really want to use the teleprompter, and trying to get comfortable.

You know him, Joe.

JOHNS: Right.

WALLACE: He wants...

JOHNS: Yes. I went through North Carolina with him. This is his opportunity now to use those trial lawyer skills, which he has honed so well, to make the case for why he should be vice president of the United States.

And he's also introducing himself to this crowd. You know, these are the foot soldiers of the Democratic National Party.

HEMMER: Speaking (ph) to the choir.

JOHNS: Right.

BROWNSTEIN: And this is why he was picked. He probably is not going to be able to deliver -- excuse me -- a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the South. It's to make a case, it's to be an advocate, it's to do the job of vice president.

He's good at it. He's good at being a campaigner. This is his biggest opportunity to show he can deliver on a big stage.

HEMMER: We've got to run -- Kelly.

WALLACE: You're not going to see attack dog, though. Aides say you can draw a contrast without drawing blood.

HEMMER: Thanks, Kelly.

Thanks, Ron.

Thanks, Joe.

Good to see you.

Later today on AMERICAN MORNING -- actually, tomorrow, on Thursday -- let's look forward to that -- as the convention builds towards its finale, we're talking to Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state, also speak with some of John Kerry's children, some of his former Navy crewmates, who we expect crossing the harbor later today. That's here in Boston tomorrow.

Today, though, with more, back in New York, here's Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Bill. Thanks.

Michael Jackson's sexual molestation case has been postponed now by the judge until January of next year. And as CNN's Miguel Marquez reports, bizarre new claims were made in yesterday's court action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The case against Michael Jackson began as (ph) a Santa Barbara County assistant district attorney when the king of pop spoke about his love for children in a British documentary that aired on ABC in February 2003.

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: It's not sexual. We were going to sleep. I tucked them in. We put -- I put little like music on and do a little story time. I read a book. It's very sweet.

MARQUEZ: Prosecutors revealed a central theory behind their case against Jackson, who stands accused of lewd and attempted lewd acts against a child under 14, giving a child alcohol to assist in those acts and conspiracy. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The prosecution argued that a documentary in which Jackson's accuser appears was an attempt by the pop star to "justify his interest in pre and post-pubescent boys." The prosecution continued that the film created a firestorm of negative publicity for Jackson and that it represented a complete and utter ruin of his image, his empire and his career. Prosecutors contend that Jackson, in an attempt to exonerate himself, hoped to get the boy and his family on tape to quell the firestorm.

Jackson says prosecutors wanted to tape the statements using his own cameraperson at a location outside of California. It was during this period that prosecutors say Jackson conspired to keep the boy away from his mother, controlled people and events and tried to pressure the family to record the statement releasing Jackson from any wrongdoing. Defense lawyers argue that during this time Jackson's accuser and the accuser's mother were treated to extended stays at Jackson's Neverland Ranch, to a Miami vacation, a hotel room in Calabasas, California, with unlimited use of credit cards, and that the accuser and his mother left Neverland Ranch and then returned.

(on camera): Defense lawyers also contend the prosecutor's office acted outrageously before a grand jury by badgering witnesses and misleading jurors. Jackson's lawyers asked Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville to throw out all the charges against the pop star. The judge indicated he would rule on dismissing the grand jury charges in the near future.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Santa Maria, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of today's other news with Daryn Kagan.

To Iraq, right, Daryn?

KAGAN: Heidi, good morning to you. Yes, we're going to begin with Secretary of State Colin Powell. He is condemning today's suicide bombing in the Iraqi city of Baquba. Iraqi officials say the attack killed almost 70 people and injured at least 56 others. Powell called the blast an attempt to deny the Iraqi people their dream.

And in the northern city of Mosul, U.S. troops raising the American flag over one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces. The building is now a U.S. consulate office, the third one in Iraq so far.

The 9/11 Commission report is selling out as fast as copies can be printed. Another 200,000 copies of the book version of the report on the 9/11 attacks have been ordered. That brings the total number of copies now in print to 800,000. The commission Web site received over 50 million hits.

New Jersey authorities are working to determine if a newly discovered body is that of a missing 16-year-old. Brittney Gregory disappeared on July 11. A body believed to be hers was found in a shallow grave yesterday. Police are awaiting autopsy results before commenting on the discovery. A family acquaintance is charged with her murder.

And finally, on a much, much lighter note, a sign of mid summer just like the pictures from last year and the year before. Some 50,000 people expected to visit Cincoteague Island, Virginia, watching for the annual wild pony swim. This is the 79th annual crossing across the channel. After the swim, the cowboys will herd the ponies and their foals to a carnival ground where the baby ponies will be auctioned tomorrow.

And with that, we'll toss it back to Bill in Boston -- Bill.

HEMMER: Nice tradition. Hey, Daryn, what's coming up at 10:00 when we go off the air here?

KAGAN: Bill, a lot more news, especially focusing on the controversial and the political. Michael Moore is taking his movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11," to Crawford, Texas. He has invited President Bush, who is on vacation there, to come to a screening. If that's going to happen, I don't know. But we will be going live to Crawford, Texas, to follow that story.

Back to you.

HEMMER: OK. Thank you, Daryn. Look forward to that, then. You got it.

In a moment here, I'll talk to the comedian and liberal talk show host, Al Franken, long-time supporter of John Kerry. He'll tell us what he thinks Kerry needs to do to make the case on Thursday night.

Also, "90-Second Pop" in a moment. Think TV stars are paid too much? You ought to hear Donald Trump's asking the price now -- or his asking price, rather, for "The Apprentice."

Back in a moment. Our coverage continues from Boston after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back to Boston. He is offbeat, often irreverent, but informant as well, they say on the left, Al Franken, author of "Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right." He's also the host of his own show on Air America Radio, a long-time John Kerry supporter, my guest here in Boston.

Good morning.

AL FRANKEN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Do you agree with Arianna Huffington? She essentially wrote a piece that said the platform here is anger management. Is that the case in Boston?

FRANKEN: Well, I think the platform probably isn't -- is never all that important. I mean, witness the compassionate-conservative platform that we saw in 2000. I think what's important is America getting to know John Kerry.

You know, a majority -- judging by the polls and the president's approval rating, the majority of Americans are very skeptical about re-electing him as president. They've made the decision that he probably doesn't deserve a second term, but that the -- Kerry's got to start closing the deal. And I think he's timed it perfectly, and that's what he's going to do tomorrow night.

HEMMER: You mentioned the poll numbers, too. You can pay attention to a lot of polls. We were watching "The Washington Post" from yesterday and again today...

FRANKEN: Yes.

HEMMER: ... showing in the last month that John Kerry has actually lost ground on nearly every major issue.

FRANKEN: Right.

HEMMER: And they're looking at that to see how that plays out after the speech on Thursday night.

FRANKEN: Right.

HEMMER: But you talk about the convention, anger management, platform, keeping things controlled. Is there a risk here of coming off without any headlines, becoming too boring, to the point where people do not pay attention?

FRANKEN: No. I think actually one of the main things that Kerry has to do is show that he can run a convention. Because I think that Americans look at the convention and say, "If you can run a smooth convention, that's sort of a test on whether you can run the government." So I think that actually -- not only is it a very smoothly-run convention so far, Barack Obama and President Clinton have given very powerful speeches and set up -- and I'm sure Edwards will tonight, and I'm sure he'll set up Kerry for Thursday night.

HEMMER: I'm flipping through the dial on my TV last night.

FRANKEN: Yes.

HEMMER: And I don't see a minute of this convention on broadcast television.

FRANKEN: Yes. Yes, that's a sin. It's crazy.

HEMMER: Network television...

FRANKEN: Crazy.

HEMMER: ... has not -- they covered one hour on Monday night. What does that do when cannot take your message to tens of millions of Americans this week out of Boston?

FRANKEN: I think it's -- it's a disgrace to the networks. You know, you hear this cliche that you've heard for years and years and years. So it's always disappointing to hear anchormen use it, which is, "Oh, well, it's just an infomercial."

Well, yes, it's an infomercial for something. And the infomercial it's for is for what -- is to tell you what the party stands for. And this -- these -- these are four of the eight most important days we're going to see until this election to determine the president of the United States. And the president of the United States determines, lately, when we go to war, and other things.

HEMMER: There's always cable.

FRANKEN: There's always cable. Some people can't afford cable, but thank god for cable.

HEMMER: You're a little subdued today.

FRANKEN: It's the morning. And also, you do that to me, Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you. Al Franken, here in Boston.

FRANKEN: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: We'll talk to you later, OK?

FRANKEN: Talk to you later.

Back no New York. Here's Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, he hit the nail on the head there, didn't he? All right, Bill. Thanks so much.

Want to check in with Jack now and the "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: We're all -- we're all subdued at this time of the day.

COLLINS: Oh.

CAFFERTY: The 9/11 Commission report came out Thursday. Congress immediately said, we have no time for this now, we're going on vacation for six weeks. Well, now they're trying to backpedal, and they're scrambling to come up with an acceptable response.

Here's an idea: why don't you sit down and do something about the recommendations?

Will, in Dripping Springs, Texas, "The question is, what's the first change you've made based on the 9/11 Commission report? Congressional ho-hum reaction to the 9/11 report is just another reason why term limits should be implemented. Lifer politicians no longer care about their constituents, only how much pork they can direct to their district so they can continue living the cushy life in D.C."

Joan in Delaware, Ohio, "The first suggestion I'd implement is to change leadership in the intelligence community by appointing the following: new intelligence post, either Colin Powell or John McCain, CIA Director Tom Kean, FBI Director Lee Hamilton." Those are the two co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission report. "And I would get President Bush and Senator Kerry to agree that this team stays in place for at least two years, regardless of who wins the election in November."

And Debbie in Enfield, Connecticut, "The first thing I'd do based on the 9/11 Commission reports is get rid of any politician who can't give up his or her vacation to review, discuss and implement the necessary recommendations. In the private sector, it is common for employees to have to reschedule vacations in the time of crisis."

Congress are employees. Congress is employees. Congress be employees.

COLLINS: They work there.

CAFFERTY: They work for us.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Yes. We don't work for -- they work for us.

SERWER: Get on the job. That's what you're trying to say.

CAFFERTY: Yes. Do something.

COLLINS: All right. One car company is tapping the brakes on its bling-bling strategy, while another one jumps onboard. With that, and a check of the markets, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" this morning.

So markets, any good news?

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: No, they're waffling. Stocks are waffling. They're flip-flopping, flipping, flopping. Look at that.

Oh, now it's up. Well, that's a good way to flip.

COLLINS: Not so much.

SERWER: What's going on this morning? Time Warner, our parent company, announcing better-than-expected profits, raising their profit outlook for the year. That stock is up 11 cents over $17. Whoopee!

Conoco Phillips...

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: We're waiting to get to $20 on that stock, aren't we?

CAFFERTY: Yes. Didn't it used to be $90?

SERWER: Hold my breath -- it did.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

SERWER: Conoco Phillips doubled its profit. It's an oil company. You've got to expect that.

Price of oil now at $42 a barrel. That's a 21-year record. The stock has gone from about $50 to $76 in one year. Boy, I wish I owned that one. Let's talk about cars, though. As Heidi mentioned, it's a tale of two car companies, one upscale, one going down-scale.

First of all, let's start with Hummer. An industry expert saying the new H3 is coming out and it's going to be cheap. A cheap Hummer, Jack.

CAFFERTY: There you go.

SERWER: It should be about $30,000. Let's do this. The first one, the H1, was $105,000, the H2 was $50,000. Now this new one could be as low as $30,000.

Why? Well, sales are down 25 percent this year. That's why.

Let's talk about Chrysler. They're moving upscale. They've got this new 300C class introduced in April. Look at those big -- you know why? This thing's...

CAFFERTY: That's a good looking car.

COLLINS: Yes.

SERWER: Oh. And it's got...

COLLINS: I just saw one this weekend.

SERWER: ... a Hemi V-8 340 horsepower. I mean, this thing is a beast, a sexy beast, though. It could cost as much as $40,000.

You get a Chrysler that costs more than a Hummer, Jack. Imagine...

CAFFERTY: I'm killing you, Lazar (ph). Just understand.

SERWER: OK.

Then we've got the Dodge Magnum, which is the station wagon version of the 300C. This is also -- they call this the "Evil Wagon," Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

SERWER: The evil...

CAFFERTY: All station wagons are evil, so...

SERWER: Evil.

CAFFERTY: It's a dumb car.

SERWER: It's a BMW, actually. It's a big mother wagon.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: Station wagon. Mercedes makes a station wagon. I mean, come on.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: You're going to get a Mercedes. What do you want a buy a station wagon? Get a Mercedes or get a station wagon. It shouldn't be a Mercedes station wagon.

SERWER: Or a Hummer.

COLLINS: They're rated very...

CAFFERTY: Or a Hummer.

SERWER: A cheap Hummer.

CAFFERTY: Unless they're cheap.

SERWER: A cheap Hummer. Very cheap.

COLLINS: Had to say that again.

All right. Still to come this morning, some "90-Second Pop." Siegfried and Roy have an (UNINTELLIGIBLE) day on the Vegas strip for years. Now they decided whether or not to carry on.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It is Wednesday, and it's time for "90-Second Pop." So we're rounding up the usual suspects this morning: B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly"; Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" Magazine; and Andy Borowitz, the man responsible for borowitzreports.com., just in case you were wondering.

SARA BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Intros are getting more and more dramatic.

ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORTS.COM: More grandiose. I like that.

COLLINS: Sarah, let's start with you. All right. We're talking about Donald Trump. He wants to make $18 million...

BERNARD: Yes. He wants...

COLLINS: ... an episode?

BERNARD: ... a little bit of a pay raise. I know.

COLLINS: I think that's an episode in itself.

BERNARD: Well, here's how he gets his math. He's figured out that since the "Friends" cast got $1.5 million each, right, and there were six of them, that should make him get $9 million. But his show is an hour, and theirs is only a half-hour. COLLINS: Oh...

(CROSSTALK)

BERNARD: So he should get $18. And, you know, I can understand him wanting all this. But what's really funny is that the whole point of reality TV for the networks was that it was supposed too be economical, right? It cost a lot less than sitcoms and dramas. And now what's happening, because when there's something good, everyone wants to do it again...

COLLINS: Sure.

BERNARD: ... is that it's just getting to be ratcheted up. And the producers, like Mark Burnett, are really the ones that are making the money. He's got $2 million an episode.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF WRITER, "US WEEKLY": This thing about Donald Trump, he was kidding. It was on the front page of "The Wall Street Journal."

BERNARD: He was kidding. Oh, no.

SIGESMUND: He was speaking in jest. He is -- he is going to get in the six figures per episode. He's not asking for $18 million.

But what this is indicative of, as Sarah says, is that reality stars are becoming more like the old-fashioned celebrities. Even Nicole Richie, who has everything in the world, demanded for "The Simple Life 2" that her pet -- her dog get a personal assistant...

COLLINS: Well, I mean, that's important.

SIGESMUND: ... herself. And all these -- all these stars are asking for all of these perks. So it is becoming more like the old television celebrity.

BOROWITZ: You know, I'm going get in trouble with Lou Dobbs for saying this, but I think we should outsource Donald Trump to India, because all he's doing is firing people. That can be done by a calling center in Bangalore. I really do think so.

BERNARD: You're right. Forget his $18 million.

BOROWITZ: Exactly.

BERNARD: Totally worthless.

BOROWITZ: No money...

CROWLEY: All right. Well, speaking of other countries, let's go to Germany, where, B.J., a German newspaper is saying Siegfried and Roy, not going to be able to take the stage ever again.

SIGESMUND: Right. Right. Their German rep is saying that Roy Horn has good and bad days. He's spending about six to eight hours in rehab per day.

He can walk about 100 or so steps at a time, and then he has to get back in his wheelchair. It's been about 10 months since the mauling. And now they're saying officially that the show will not go on.

BERNARD: He must be doing really not well, because I would think with a show that generated something like $57 million, you know, they would do anything to keep it going.

COLLINS: Right. And then what happens to Vegas without Siegfried and Roy?

SIGESMUND: I know. It's a major attraction there.

COLLINS: Really has been a staple there.

SIGESMUND: Yes. Yes. But you shouldn't worry, because there's going to be this show on in the fall, on Tuesday nights, in the "Frasier" timeslot...

BERNARD: That's right.

SIGESMUND: ... that is actually an animated show for adults about the Siegfried and Roy lions. This was conceived years ago, before the event, and Jeffrey Katzenberg has been the major force behind the show because, he, believe it or not, is a huge Siegfried and Roy fan. He's seen it 14 times.

BERNARD: I think that show's got like the worst idea.

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) toward the end of an era, I think, for show business legends. Because, also, Ryan Seacrest's show is also not going to continue.

SIGESMUND: Oh, let's have a moment for Ryan.

BERNARD: We should have a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for both of them together, right?

COLLINS: You guys, we're going to have to leave it there. We appreciate your time this morning, Andy, Sarah and B.J.

And Bill, back to you in Boston.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Thanks.

In a moment here on CNN, what's headed for Crawford, Texas? Daryn Kagan knows. She has that next here on "CNN LIVE TODAY."

AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment here, live in Boston, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

Aired July 28, 2004 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Democrats keep the volume pumped up here in Boston as they get ready to nominate their candidate. One of the new faces in the Democratic Party, Barack Obama. What was his impact on the second night of the convention?
Teresa Heinz Kerry, controversial, colorful and clearly hip with the delegates here. And now come the candidates. John Edwards getting ready for his speech tonight. Will it be his time to shine? A look forward on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: This is AMERICAN MORNING. From the Democratic National Convention in Boston, here's Bill Hemmer.

HEMMER: And good morning again, everyone. Our third hour from Boston on this Wednesday morning. Just a bit past 9:00 here in the Northeast. Our coverage, special coverage of the Democratic convention continues now. And today, the Democrats really get down to business.

The roll call vote coming later when John Kerry officially expected to be nominated for president. New names, old names in the lineup last night, including Teresa Heinz Kerry, Ron Reagan, Illinois Senate candidate Barack Obama, former candidate Howard Dean, and the senior center from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy.

John Kerry watched his wife's speech from a hotel room in Philadelphia. He plans on making a big entrance in Boston a bit later this afternoon. He will enter the city from the harbor, riding a water taxi, we're told. Kerry expected to have some of his old Navy crewmates from the Vietnam War with him as he arrives.

For us this morning, some guests that are always interesting, and entertaining, too. The Reverend Al Sharpton is coming up this hour. We'll find out what he thought about Barack Obama's speech last night. Also the speech President Bush gave to the Urban League last week. Al Franken is here this hour, and so, too, is Jerry Springer.

So as the third hour rolls on, good morning again to my partner back in New York today, Heidi Collins.

Good morning, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you as well, Bill.

News from Iraq this morning, too. A massive car bombing in the city of Baquba. An extremely deadly explosion there. Sixty-eight people have been killed. We'll have much more on that story.

There are also overnight developments from Utah in the search for Lori Hacking. We'll talk to a reporter from Salt Lake City on that story as well.

For now, though, Jack is here.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm reading your e-mails this morning on what you think the first thing Congress ought to do in response to the 9/11 Commission report. It's Congress that eventually will have to act on this thing. And at first, they said, well, we can't be bothered until next year. Now at least they're talking about maybe doing something.

Now, if we can just give them a little more guidance, what you think ought to be priority number one. Am@cnn.com.

COLLINS: All right. Great question, as always.

And now we send it back to Bill in Boston.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi.

Again, the headline today and later tonight is John Edwards taking the stage tonight to make his case for putting Democrats back in the White House in '04. And in the spotlight last night, a rising young store -- star, rather, a possible first lady and a political veteran. Bob Franken knows these conventions all too well.

Bob, good morning to you.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And the theme here, Bill, as you know, it has been be positive or else. Well, tonight we're going to get a real taste of it: the vice presidential candidate, who has made a whole campaign out of making nuts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": John Edwards is coming into the building. He's here to get the feel of the podium.

FRANKEN (voice-over): John Edwards made a late-night tour of the hall as the Edwards family got ready to take center stage. The new faces of the party, along with last night's keynoter, the son of a black Kenyan and white American woman, now a Senate candidate, Barack Obama.

BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS SENATE CANDIDATE: In no other country on Earth is my story even possible.

(APPLAUSE)

FRANKEN: The Democrats also showed they could be sentimental so- and-sos for the old faces. SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: America needs a genuine uniter, not a divider who only claims to be a uniter!

(APPLAUSE)

FRANKEN: President Bush has united the Democratic Party.

HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I may not be the nominee, but I can tell you this: for the next 100 days, I'll be doing everything that I can to make sure that John Kerry and John Edwards take this country back for the people who built it.

(APPLAUSE)

FRANKEN: Which would give Teresa Heinz Kerry a forum as first lady.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: My right to speak my mind, to have a voice, to be what some have called opinionated...

(APPLAUSE)

HEINZ KERRY: ... is right I deeply and profoundly cherish.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: Well, she certainly made that absolutely clear, about as clear as the Democrats had been about their overriding passion to defeat George W. Bush -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Bob. Thanks for that. Bob Franken here in Boston at the FleetCenter.

Jerry Springer is in Boston this week. He's a delegate to the convention from the state of Ohio. Long before that outrageous talk show started, Springer was actually mayor of Cincinnati. That was about 30 years ago. Now he's thinking about a run for governor.

A bit of a novelty here this week in Boston, but he wants to be a lot more than that. We talk to him at a rally this week in Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: As you come back into the arena...

JERRY SPRINGER, TALK SHOW HOST: Yes?

HEMMER: ... you have a completely different persona now. You're not the TV commentator, you're not the former mayor. You're the talk show host.

SPRINGER: They work as waitresses and...

HEMMER: And how do you close that -- that credibility gap?

SPRINGER: Well, that would be my job. If I decide to become a candidate, I'll obviously stop the show. And that will give me a year and a half between the end of the show and Election Day to make my case to the people.

If I'm articulate, if I have good ideas, people will like them. No one is going to say, gosh, he's got good ideas, yeah, he's right, he'd be a great governor, but I want to teach him a lesson because of that show.

No. People are going to be concerned about their own families. If I'm good, I'll get elected. If I'm not good, I'll lose. And that's the way it ought to be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, "JERRY SPRINGER SHOW": He loves people.

SPRINGER, "JERRY SPRINGER SHOW": What? He doesn't love people. He killed people!

SPRINGER: Say what you want about my show. My show didn't shut down one factory, it didn't close one school, it didn't under-fund anyone's health insurance. You know what I mean? It's irrelevant.

The show's a joke. But people's lives, that's serious. And that's why they'll vote for someone who would bring them good change.

HEMMER: There is a report out that said you contributed, what, $500,000...

(CROSSTALK)

SPRINGER: Yes.

HEMMER: Was that...

SPRINGER: Over a year, yes.

HEMMER: The past year?

SPRINGER: Year and a half, yes. Yes, I give a lot money to the party, because I really believe in this. See, I don't think politics should be a career.

If you want, need a career, go get a job. Politics, it's like religion. It's a passion. It's something you really care about. You want to do some good.

It shouldn't be because, gee, I want to put something on my resume or I need a job. The reason politicians become intellectually dishonest is because it is their career. They have to win the next election in order to put food on their table.

But if you make your money doing something else, then you can be totally honest in politics. I have no hidden agenda.

Vote for me (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

My concern is not about winning. I'm pretty certain I could do that. What I really spend my time worrying about is, once I'd be governor, do we really have a plan to fix the state?

I don't want to do this if I don't have a really good plan for the people of Ohio. That's what this is about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: He is almost treated like a rock star throughout the city. People follow him everywhere. In the interest of fair disclosure, 20 years ago Jerry Springer and I were colleagues. I was 20 years young at that point, and Jerry Springer was still red hot about the issue of politics way back then.

Our live coverage of the DNC continues later tonight. A bit of a preview for you of what's happening on CNN. Anderson's back tonight, Anderson Cooper, "360," 7:00 Eastern; "America Votes 2004" is at 8:00 with Wolf Blitzer. Larry comes back at 9:00 on "LARRY KING LIVE," and later we'll get back into the broadcast here in Boston.

Wolf is back at 10:00 on "America Votes." Aaron Brown takes over from New York at 11:00 with a convention edition of "NEWSNIGHT." Then Larry, another double dip for him back at midnight live here from the FleetCenter. A whole big day for you planned for you here.

We'll be here to watch all of it, Heidi. Also, Al Sharpton is our guest in a matter of moments here. Back to you now in New York.

COLLINS: All right, Bill. We'll wait for that. Thanks so much.

At least 68 people are dead in the worst attack since the handover of power in Iraq. A suicide car bomb detonated at a recruitment center in Baquba today about 30 miles north of Baghdad. Hundreds of men were waiting to apply for jobs with the Iraqi police force. All 21 people on a bus passing the center at the moment of the explosion were killed.

Today is the 30-day anniversary of the handover of power. Secretary of State Colin Powell this morning called the bombing "an attempt by murderers to deny the Iraqi people their dream."

Just about 10 minutes after the hour now, and time for a look at some of today's other headlines with Daryn Kagan.

Daryn, hello.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Heidi, good morning once again. We are going to start with Iraq. And the first U.S. soldier charged with murder in Iraq could be a step closer to court-martial.

Captain Rogelio Manule (ph) may -- has appeared before a military tribunal at a U.S. Army base in Germany. The military is looking into what role he played in the shooting of an Iraqi man during a hunt for radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Let's focus here on the U.S. The start of Michael Jackson's child molestation trial is being pushed back. A judge sided with defense attorneys yesterday, agreed to delay the trial until next January. It had been scheduled to begin in September. The judge conceded he been overly optimistic in scheduling that start date.

NASA has approved a pre-design -- actually, make that a redesign of the space shuttle fuel tank following the Columbia disaster. The new design eliminates the foam that detached from the Columbia last year, causing the damage that led to the shuttle's disintegration. Foam will still cover most of the tanks, but it will replaced by heaters in the area where the tank attaches to the spacecraft.

And finally, there is a lot of cleanup being done in parts of southern New Jersey today. A tornado packing winds of 110 miles an hour damaged several billings and knocked down trees and power lines yesterday. There were some minor injuries, but none were serious.

So what can folks in New Jersey and across the country expect in terms of the weather? Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Specialized search teams will look for a missing young woman in Utah today, but Lori Hacking's family is asking volunteers to cut back on their efforts. KSL radio host, Doug Wright, has focused his attention on the search, the family and the investigation. He is live in Salt Lake City for us this morning.

Doug, hello to you. Can you update us...

DOUG WRIGHT, KSL RADIO HOST: Good morning.

COLLINS: ... exactly on where the search does stand this morning?

WRIGHT: Yes. Again, volunteers -- general volunteers, amateurs, as it were, have been disinvited to participate with great gratitude from the family. And now those who are professional, those who are familiar with the hills, those who are familiar with the terrain of Utah, are up there, everything from ATVs to those who are out professionally on the ground looking. They're out there searching for Lori or for Lori's body today.

COLLINS: What has the community been saying about this case? Do they think Mark Hacking is guilty?

WRIGHT: Yes, I think over the last several days there has been a real shift in attitude, I think particularly in light of the web of lies and deceit that we found out about last week. And then I think, also, the information that came out just in the last day or so from her co-workers at the bank where she worked, saying that she got that very distressing phone call last Friday and left work early, obviously distressed. And this web of lies that continues to unfold.

This morning in Utah, our station broke a story. And it sounds minute, but yet it's kind of important in our community, particularly with their religious background. Apparently, the last person who may have seen Lori Hacking alive was a convenience store employee.

They may have been coming home from that housewarming that they attended on -- on Sunday night. And when Mark and Lori went in to the store, Mark had an opportune moment to ask the clerk to sell him cigarettes, and asked that the clerk make sure that his wife not see the transaction. For a young Mormon couple, that is extremely usual, and, again, just one of those little, strange, weird things that underscores just how many lies Mark was living.

COLLINS: Interesting. I want to ask you also about the forensic tests. Now, as you know, police said that an arrest could actually be made if those forensic test results come back and their suspicions are confirmed. Any idea when these tests will be done? It's been a couple of days now.

WRIGHT: Yes. I talked to Dwayne Baird, who's the public information officer with Salt Lake City Police Department, and I've known him for years and he's always shot pretty straight with me. But he said that we're all too conditioned by the television shows that we enjoy and it just doesn't happen that fast.

I really don't know when those tests will come back. But they're testing some pretty suspicious and some fairly nasty stuff, from what I understand.

COLLINS: All right. Doug Wright from KSL, thank you so much. We certainly appreciate your time this morning.

All right. Going to send it back now to Bill in Boston.

And the Reverend Al Sharpton on his way over to talk to you, correct?

HEMMER: Yes, he's standing by here. You're exactly right, Heidi. In a moment here, the Reverend Al Sharpton is taking here. He takes to the stage later tonight in Boston, never known for holding back. We'll ask him whether or not he's softening his tone tonight. I think that's a "No."

Also ahead, the one-time king of pop will have to wait a while for his trial to start. A look at that is coming up. And much more from Boston ahead in this edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Just a bit past 15 minutes past the hour back in Boston.

Tonight, we'll hear from another of John Kerry's formal Democratic rivals, the Reverend Al Sharpton, speaking to the delegates in primetime. We always know he speaks his mind. Reverend Al Sharpton is our guest now here in Boston.

Good morning to you. Nice to see you.

REV. AL SHARPTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good morning.

HEMMER: Yesterday, Dick Cheney said this about how he says America will shape up if John Kerry's president. Listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our opponents have a different vision for the economy. They talk about jobs, yet they never explain how they would put a single American back to work. Their big idea for the economy? Raise our taxes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Is that the reality?

SHARPTON: Absolutely not. I think that Mr. Kerry has put out a real concrete program on 10 million new jobs by producing manufacturing jobs. He's been very specific.

You're listening to a vice president who said that we lost three million jobs, after we had a surplus of jobs under Bill Clinton. So I think that this is ridiculous. He's trying to reduce this to some bumper sticker slogan of raising taxes, which is not at all part of the Democratic proposal.

HEMMER: In recent weeks, there's been a bit of a controversy between the White House and the NAACP. At the end of last week, President Bush went to Detroit, spoke to the Urban League. This is part of his message there. Here's President Bush from last Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote. But did they earn it? And do they deserve it?

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Take that last comment. Do they deserve it? And, if so, why?

SHARPTON: You know, I was there at that speech. And he asked certain questions. That was one of them.

I intend to answer him tonight in my speech. I hope President Bush is listening, because I couldn't answer him there, given the program. I will answer him tonight.

HEMMER: Why not -- can you answer that for us this morning, a bit of a preview?

SHARPTON: Well, just part of it tonight -- this morning. The rest I'll do tonight.

HEMMER: Go ahead.

SHARPTON: And this part of it is -- and I think that we do vote for who's earned it. And you really have to be very careful about who has done what to earn it. I don't think anyone can make an argument that George Bush has earned the African-American voter, or, for that matter, the larger vote. But I'll elaborate on that tonight.

HEMMER: All right. OK. We'll take that for now.

SHARPTON: All right.

HEMMER: Barack Obama last night in primetime, the keynote speaker. Delegates apparently responding to him with overwhelming enthusiasm. Part of his speech from last night. We'll talk about his future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shave the truth about why they are going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never, ever go to war without any troops to win the war, secure the peace and earn the respect of the world.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: In addition to that, he says he has hope for America because he has hope for a skinny kid with a funny name. Many people have said coming into the convention he's the future of your party. After last night, is he?

SHARPTON: I think he's certainly a great part of the future. I think Obama has proven himself in Illinois with the primary. I think he'll be elected.

And the he did it the right way. He built a grassroots organizations as (ph) state senator, and I think that he will certainly be a part of the future of this party.

HEMMER: In your speech tonight, are you going to mention this? You only checked in on the four of diamonds on the deck of cards for the Democratic Party.

SHARPTON: Well, it's better than being a joker.

(LAUGHTER)

SHARPTON: And it's certainly -- I'm...

(VIDEO GAP)

CAFFERTY: "... for a straight up-and-down vote on each of the commission's recommendations, and that he hopes his Republican colleagues will join him."

When pigs fly upside down that will happen. (AUDIO GAP)

"First George Bush was against the 9/11 Commission then he was for it, flip-flop. Then he didn't (AUDIO GAP). Then they're going study it. Now they're going to act on it a bit sooner. Flip-flop. All of these Bush flip-flops occurred because of (AUDIO GAP) concerned about doing the right thing than the president and his ilk seemed to be."

People don't like the fact they went on vacation and said they didn't have time to do anything until next year.

An update on a story from last week. Remember Natasha? Natasha may be the missing link.

We told you about her. All we had was still picture. Well, now we have home movies.

There she is. Pretty thing. Don't you think?

She lives in a safari park near Tel Aviv. She apparently got a bad case of the flu, and when she recovered, she started walking around on her hind legs, upright, like us humans do. The rest of the monkeys are looking at her out of the corner of their eye, because most of them walk on all fours. But she walks like this.

COLLINS: It's wild, isn't it?

CAFFERTY: This could -- this could be Darwin's long-sought missing link in the genetic scheme of things.

COLLINS: Look at that.

CAFFERTY: They say there may be a medical reason for all of this. Anyway...

COLLINS: Interesting. I wonder if the other monkeys feel kind of inferior.

CAFFERTY: Well, we'll get our research team on that.

COLLINS: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Get an answer for you right away.

COLLINS: It's important stuff. All right. Thank you so much, Jack.

Still to come this morning, we've got your Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop."

Donald Trump is no "Apprentice" when it comes to making money. But you won't believe what he's asking for now.

Plus, Siegfried and Roy decide their future on the Las Vegas strip. All that and more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. That's the FleetCenter, of course, in Boston that you've been seeing since Monday. But I'm Heidi Collins in New York.

Coming up in the next half-hour, we'll look at the Michael Jackson case, which took another turn yesterday. The judge issuing a key ruling, and he's considering another one.

We're also learning much more about the prosecution's theory in the case. Going to tell you all about that.

But for right now, it's back to the FleetCenter and Bill Hemmer.

Hey, Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Thanks.

Every morning at this time, 9:30 a.m. Eastern, we're "On the Floor" again this morning at the FleetCenter in Boston. What stories are our political reporters chasing, and what are they hearing here in Boston?

Say hello again. National correspondent Kelly Wallace with us today, up late last night, back early today. Ron Brownstein, CNN political analyst from the "L.A. Times," and Joe Johns, a congressional correspondent, also with us "On the Floor" as well.

Good morning to all three of you.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

RON BROWNSTEIN, "L.A. TIMES": Good morning.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

HEMMER: First of all, from the delegates, based on the Barack Obama speech last night, what was their reaction? What did they tell you after that?

WALLACE: So much electricity in this room. And one sign of how good he was, at the end of the night, 1:00 in the morning, looking for signs, you could find "Kennedy" signs, "Teresa" signs. No "Barack Obama" signs to be found.

HEMMER: That suggests, what, that they...

WALLACE: Everybody's grabbing it, because something big happened here. And people say, "Knocked my socks off. Very real." And the Illinois delegation, people saying he did so well in the primary, but not just with African-Americans and not just with liberal Democrats, but with sort of other blue collar swing workers. That would be key for John Kerry. HEMMER: But did they not -- did they not expect that, though, the keynote address?

JOHNS: Well, the thing about this that was really interesting is that, here's a guy coming in, he was already overexposed. He had been on all the networks, everyone had seen him, everyone had heard about him. And then he got up on the podium. And, in fact, a lot of people were saying he still was able to meet those pretty high expectations.

And people were saying things like, "I would vote for him for president tonight. The Democratic Party doesn't have anybody else like this." And in a lot of ways, it's very true.

HEMMER: Would you say it's a homerun?

JOHNS: It was pretty much of a homerun. A lot of people thought they saw a little bit of history here last night.

BROWNSTEIN: Although more about him, I think, in the long run than about John -- more impact on his career than on this presidential race. Really, he was very effective. I'm not really sure he was that relevant to the -- the ultimate decision in November.

WALLACE: Expectations also always so high for a keynote speaker. And so many have failed. So big pressure. He met those expectations.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Yes. Very good.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: Let's move forward to today.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

HEMMER: John Kerry is going to come to the Boston Harbor. There is a boat ride that is planned. What's the intent of this? How will it unfold, and what's the strategy behind it?

BROWNSTEIN: I think after 48 hours one thing is pretty clear here, that the overwhelming goal of this convention is to present John Kerry as a strong leader who will keep the nation safe in the age of global terror. And that within that, the overwhelming argument they are making for that case is his experience in Vietnam, far more than his Senate career.

They're basically saying they have his crewmates, who will be with him today, leading up to a group of generals who will be endorsing him at primetime tonight, basically making the case that John Kerry made decisions under fire that saved our lives, and, therefore, in a pinch, in the White House, you can trust him to make the right decision.

Now, what's interesting is the Republicans are trying very hard to build a different frame through which to assess Kerry, and they want to focus on that political career. They're releasing a video right after we get off the air this morning that will argue that he has vacillated and shifted positions on Iraq, and they're trying to make the opposite case, that his political career shows he can't be trusted in a pinch, he tries to straddle issues.

WALLACE: I'm waiting for someone to say it's the national security, stupid...

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, right.

WALLACE: ... as opposed to it's the economy, stupid, because this is it. And the Democrats will say for the first time, in their view, they're saying Democrats are trying to challenge Republicans on national security.

All the events, why we saw John Kerry hitting hard on the September 11th Commission yesterday, the framework for his speech tomorrow, it is all about how he can challenge President Bush. Because, ultimately, it is going to come down to, do they believe John Kerry will keep America safer?

HEMMER: Quickly here, that's this afternoon. Later tonight, John Edwards is on stage. You were here last night, after midnight, when he came out here and essentially got the lay of the land, right?

WALLACE: It's so interesting. Coming in here, getting a feel for the FleetCenter, standing at the podium. You saw his aides pointing at the teleprompter. He's a guy who doesn't really want to use the teleprompter, and trying to get comfortable.

You know him, Joe.

JOHNS: Right.

WALLACE: He wants...

JOHNS: Yes. I went through North Carolina with him. This is his opportunity now to use those trial lawyer skills, which he has honed so well, to make the case for why he should be vice president of the United States.

And he's also introducing himself to this crowd. You know, these are the foot soldiers of the Democratic National Party.

HEMMER: Speaking (ph) to the choir.

JOHNS: Right.

BROWNSTEIN: And this is why he was picked. He probably is not going to be able to deliver -- excuse me -- a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in the South. It's to make a case, it's to be an advocate, it's to do the job of vice president.

He's good at it. He's good at being a campaigner. This is his biggest opportunity to show he can deliver on a big stage.

HEMMER: We've got to run -- Kelly.

WALLACE: You're not going to see attack dog, though. Aides say you can draw a contrast without drawing blood.

HEMMER: Thanks, Kelly.

Thanks, Ron.

Thanks, Joe.

Good to see you.

Later today on AMERICAN MORNING -- actually, tomorrow, on Thursday -- let's look forward to that -- as the convention builds towards its finale, we're talking to Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state, also speak with some of John Kerry's children, some of his former Navy crewmates, who we expect crossing the harbor later today. That's here in Boston tomorrow.

Today, though, with more, back in New York, here's Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, Bill. Thanks.

Michael Jackson's sexual molestation case has been postponed now by the judge until January of next year. And as CNN's Miguel Marquez reports, bizarre new claims were made in yesterday's court action.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The case against Michael Jackson began as (ph) a Santa Barbara County assistant district attorney when the king of pop spoke about his love for children in a British documentary that aired on ABC in February 2003.

MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: It's not sexual. We were going to sleep. I tucked them in. We put -- I put little like music on and do a little story time. I read a book. It's very sweet.

MARQUEZ: Prosecutors revealed a central theory behind their case against Jackson, who stands accused of lewd and attempted lewd acts against a child under 14, giving a child alcohol to assist in those acts and conspiracy. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The prosecution argued that a documentary in which Jackson's accuser appears was an attempt by the pop star to "justify his interest in pre and post-pubescent boys." The prosecution continued that the film created a firestorm of negative publicity for Jackson and that it represented a complete and utter ruin of his image, his empire and his career. Prosecutors contend that Jackson, in an attempt to exonerate himself, hoped to get the boy and his family on tape to quell the firestorm.

Jackson says prosecutors wanted to tape the statements using his own cameraperson at a location outside of California. It was during this period that prosecutors say Jackson conspired to keep the boy away from his mother, controlled people and events and tried to pressure the family to record the statement releasing Jackson from any wrongdoing. Defense lawyers argue that during this time Jackson's accuser and the accuser's mother were treated to extended stays at Jackson's Neverland Ranch, to a Miami vacation, a hotel room in Calabasas, California, with unlimited use of credit cards, and that the accuser and his mother left Neverland Ranch and then returned.

(on camera): Defense lawyers also contend the prosecutor's office acted outrageously before a grand jury by badgering witnesses and misleading jurors. Jackson's lawyers asked Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville to throw out all the charges against the pop star. The judge indicated he would rule on dismissing the grand jury charges in the near future.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Santa Maria, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour now. Time for a look at some of today's other news with Daryn Kagan.

To Iraq, right, Daryn?

KAGAN: Heidi, good morning to you. Yes, we're going to begin with Secretary of State Colin Powell. He is condemning today's suicide bombing in the Iraqi city of Baquba. Iraqi officials say the attack killed almost 70 people and injured at least 56 others. Powell called the blast an attempt to deny the Iraqi people their dream.

And in the northern city of Mosul, U.S. troops raising the American flag over one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces. The building is now a U.S. consulate office, the third one in Iraq so far.

The 9/11 Commission report is selling out as fast as copies can be printed. Another 200,000 copies of the book version of the report on the 9/11 attacks have been ordered. That brings the total number of copies now in print to 800,000. The commission Web site received over 50 million hits.

New Jersey authorities are working to determine if a newly discovered body is that of a missing 16-year-old. Brittney Gregory disappeared on July 11. A body believed to be hers was found in a shallow grave yesterday. Police are awaiting autopsy results before commenting on the discovery. A family acquaintance is charged with her murder.

And finally, on a much, much lighter note, a sign of mid summer just like the pictures from last year and the year before. Some 50,000 people expected to visit Cincoteague Island, Virginia, watching for the annual wild pony swim. This is the 79th annual crossing across the channel. After the swim, the cowboys will herd the ponies and their foals to a carnival ground where the baby ponies will be auctioned tomorrow.

And with that, we'll toss it back to Bill in Boston -- Bill.

HEMMER: Nice tradition. Hey, Daryn, what's coming up at 10:00 when we go off the air here?

KAGAN: Bill, a lot more news, especially focusing on the controversial and the political. Michael Moore is taking his movie, "Fahrenheit 9/11," to Crawford, Texas. He has invited President Bush, who is on vacation there, to come to a screening. If that's going to happen, I don't know. But we will be going live to Crawford, Texas, to follow that story.

Back to you.

HEMMER: OK. Thank you, Daryn. Look forward to that, then. You got it.

In a moment here, I'll talk to the comedian and liberal talk show host, Al Franken, long-time supporter of John Kerry. He'll tell us what he thinks Kerry needs to do to make the case on Thursday night.

Also, "90-Second Pop" in a moment. Think TV stars are paid too much? You ought to hear Donald Trump's asking the price now -- or his asking price, rather, for "The Apprentice."

Back in a moment. Our coverage continues from Boston after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back to Boston. He is offbeat, often irreverent, but informant as well, they say on the left, Al Franken, author of "Lies and the Lying Liars who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right." He's also the host of his own show on Air America Radio, a long-time John Kerry supporter, my guest here in Boston.

Good morning.

AL FRANKEN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Do you agree with Arianna Huffington? She essentially wrote a piece that said the platform here is anger management. Is that the case in Boston?

FRANKEN: Well, I think the platform probably isn't -- is never all that important. I mean, witness the compassionate-conservative platform that we saw in 2000. I think what's important is America getting to know John Kerry.

You know, a majority -- judging by the polls and the president's approval rating, the majority of Americans are very skeptical about re-electing him as president. They've made the decision that he probably doesn't deserve a second term, but that the -- Kerry's got to start closing the deal. And I think he's timed it perfectly, and that's what he's going to do tomorrow night.

HEMMER: You mentioned the poll numbers, too. You can pay attention to a lot of polls. We were watching "The Washington Post" from yesterday and again today...

FRANKEN: Yes.

HEMMER: ... showing in the last month that John Kerry has actually lost ground on nearly every major issue.

FRANKEN: Right.

HEMMER: And they're looking at that to see how that plays out after the speech on Thursday night.

FRANKEN: Right.

HEMMER: But you talk about the convention, anger management, platform, keeping things controlled. Is there a risk here of coming off without any headlines, becoming too boring, to the point where people do not pay attention?

FRANKEN: No. I think actually one of the main things that Kerry has to do is show that he can run a convention. Because I think that Americans look at the convention and say, "If you can run a smooth convention, that's sort of a test on whether you can run the government." So I think that actually -- not only is it a very smoothly-run convention so far, Barack Obama and President Clinton have given very powerful speeches and set up -- and I'm sure Edwards will tonight, and I'm sure he'll set up Kerry for Thursday night.

HEMMER: I'm flipping through the dial on my TV last night.

FRANKEN: Yes.

HEMMER: And I don't see a minute of this convention on broadcast television.

FRANKEN: Yes. Yes, that's a sin. It's crazy.

HEMMER: Network television...

FRANKEN: Crazy.

HEMMER: ... has not -- they covered one hour on Monday night. What does that do when cannot take your message to tens of millions of Americans this week out of Boston?

FRANKEN: I think it's -- it's a disgrace to the networks. You know, you hear this cliche that you've heard for years and years and years. So it's always disappointing to hear anchormen use it, which is, "Oh, well, it's just an infomercial."

Well, yes, it's an infomercial for something. And the infomercial it's for is for what -- is to tell you what the party stands for. And this -- these -- these are four of the eight most important days we're going to see until this election to determine the president of the United States. And the president of the United States determines, lately, when we go to war, and other things.

HEMMER: There's always cable.

FRANKEN: There's always cable. Some people can't afford cable, but thank god for cable.

HEMMER: You're a little subdued today.

FRANKEN: It's the morning. And also, you do that to me, Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you. Al Franken, here in Boston.

FRANKEN: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: We'll talk to you later, OK?

FRANKEN: Talk to you later.

Back no New York. Here's Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy, he hit the nail on the head there, didn't he? All right, Bill. Thanks so much.

Want to check in with Jack now and the "Question of the Day."

CAFFERTY: We're all -- we're all subdued at this time of the day.

COLLINS: Oh.

CAFFERTY: The 9/11 Commission report came out Thursday. Congress immediately said, we have no time for this now, we're going on vacation for six weeks. Well, now they're trying to backpedal, and they're scrambling to come up with an acceptable response.

Here's an idea: why don't you sit down and do something about the recommendations?

Will, in Dripping Springs, Texas, "The question is, what's the first change you've made based on the 9/11 Commission report? Congressional ho-hum reaction to the 9/11 report is just another reason why term limits should be implemented. Lifer politicians no longer care about their constituents, only how much pork they can direct to their district so they can continue living the cushy life in D.C."

Joan in Delaware, Ohio, "The first suggestion I'd implement is to change leadership in the intelligence community by appointing the following: new intelligence post, either Colin Powell or John McCain, CIA Director Tom Kean, FBI Director Lee Hamilton." Those are the two co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission report. "And I would get President Bush and Senator Kerry to agree that this team stays in place for at least two years, regardless of who wins the election in November."

And Debbie in Enfield, Connecticut, "The first thing I'd do based on the 9/11 Commission reports is get rid of any politician who can't give up his or her vacation to review, discuss and implement the necessary recommendations. In the private sector, it is common for employees to have to reschedule vacations in the time of crisis."

Congress are employees. Congress is employees. Congress be employees.

COLLINS: They work there.

CAFFERTY: They work for us.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Yes. We don't work for -- they work for us.

SERWER: Get on the job. That's what you're trying to say.

CAFFERTY: Yes. Do something.

COLLINS: All right. One car company is tapping the brakes on its bling-bling strategy, while another one jumps onboard. With that, and a check of the markets, Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" this morning.

So markets, any good news?

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: No, they're waffling. Stocks are waffling. They're flip-flopping, flipping, flopping. Look at that.

Oh, now it's up. Well, that's a good way to flip.

COLLINS: Not so much.

SERWER: What's going on this morning? Time Warner, our parent company, announcing better-than-expected profits, raising their profit outlook for the year. That stock is up 11 cents over $17. Whoopee!

Conoco Phillips...

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: We're waiting to get to $20 on that stock, aren't we?

CAFFERTY: Yes. Didn't it used to be $90?

SERWER: Hold my breath -- it did.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

SERWER: Conoco Phillips doubled its profit. It's an oil company. You've got to expect that.

Price of oil now at $42 a barrel. That's a 21-year record. The stock has gone from about $50 to $76 in one year. Boy, I wish I owned that one. Let's talk about cars, though. As Heidi mentioned, it's a tale of two car companies, one upscale, one going down-scale.

First of all, let's start with Hummer. An industry expert saying the new H3 is coming out and it's going to be cheap. A cheap Hummer, Jack.

CAFFERTY: There you go.

SERWER: It should be about $30,000. Let's do this. The first one, the H1, was $105,000, the H2 was $50,000. Now this new one could be as low as $30,000.

Why? Well, sales are down 25 percent this year. That's why.

Let's talk about Chrysler. They're moving upscale. They've got this new 300C class introduced in April. Look at those big -- you know why? This thing's...

CAFFERTY: That's a good looking car.

COLLINS: Yes.

SERWER: Oh. And it's got...

COLLINS: I just saw one this weekend.

SERWER: ... a Hemi V-8 340 horsepower. I mean, this thing is a beast, a sexy beast, though. It could cost as much as $40,000.

You get a Chrysler that costs more than a Hummer, Jack. Imagine...

CAFFERTY: I'm killing you, Lazar (ph). Just understand.

SERWER: OK.

Then we've got the Dodge Magnum, which is the station wagon version of the 300C. This is also -- they call this the "Evil Wagon," Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

SERWER: The evil...

CAFFERTY: All station wagons are evil, so...

SERWER: Evil.

CAFFERTY: It's a dumb car.

SERWER: It's a BMW, actually. It's a big mother wagon.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: Station wagon. Mercedes makes a station wagon. I mean, come on.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: You're going to get a Mercedes. What do you want a buy a station wagon? Get a Mercedes or get a station wagon. It shouldn't be a Mercedes station wagon.

SERWER: Or a Hummer.

COLLINS: They're rated very...

CAFFERTY: Or a Hummer.

SERWER: A cheap Hummer.

CAFFERTY: Unless they're cheap.

SERWER: A cheap Hummer. Very cheap.

COLLINS: Had to say that again.

All right. Still to come this morning, some "90-Second Pop." Siegfried and Roy have an (UNINTELLIGIBLE) day on the Vegas strip for years. Now they decided whether or not to carry on.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It is Wednesday, and it's time for "90-Second Pop." So we're rounding up the usual suspects this morning: B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly"; Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" Magazine; and Andy Borowitz, the man responsible for borowitzreports.com., just in case you were wondering.

SARA BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Intros are getting more and more dramatic.

ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORTS.COM: More grandiose. I like that.

COLLINS: Sarah, let's start with you. All right. We're talking about Donald Trump. He wants to make $18 million...

BERNARD: Yes. He wants...

COLLINS: ... an episode?

BERNARD: ... a little bit of a pay raise. I know.

COLLINS: I think that's an episode in itself.

BERNARD: Well, here's how he gets his math. He's figured out that since the "Friends" cast got $1.5 million each, right, and there were six of them, that should make him get $9 million. But his show is an hour, and theirs is only a half-hour. COLLINS: Oh...

(CROSSTALK)

BERNARD: So he should get $18. And, you know, I can understand him wanting all this. But what's really funny is that the whole point of reality TV for the networks was that it was supposed too be economical, right? It cost a lot less than sitcoms and dramas. And now what's happening, because when there's something good, everyone wants to do it again...

COLLINS: Sure.

BERNARD: ... is that it's just getting to be ratcheted up. And the producers, like Mark Burnett, are really the ones that are making the money. He's got $2 million an episode.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF WRITER, "US WEEKLY": This thing about Donald Trump, he was kidding. It was on the front page of "The Wall Street Journal."

BERNARD: He was kidding. Oh, no.

SIGESMUND: He was speaking in jest. He is -- he is going to get in the six figures per episode. He's not asking for $18 million.

But what this is indicative of, as Sarah says, is that reality stars are becoming more like the old-fashioned celebrities. Even Nicole Richie, who has everything in the world, demanded for "The Simple Life 2" that her pet -- her dog get a personal assistant...

COLLINS: Well, I mean, that's important.

SIGESMUND: ... herself. And all these -- all these stars are asking for all of these perks. So it is becoming more like the old television celebrity.

BOROWITZ: You know, I'm going get in trouble with Lou Dobbs for saying this, but I think we should outsource Donald Trump to India, because all he's doing is firing people. That can be done by a calling center in Bangalore. I really do think so.

BERNARD: You're right. Forget his $18 million.

BOROWITZ: Exactly.

BERNARD: Totally worthless.

BOROWITZ: No money...

CROWLEY: All right. Well, speaking of other countries, let's go to Germany, where, B.J., a German newspaper is saying Siegfried and Roy, not going to be able to take the stage ever again.

SIGESMUND: Right. Right. Their German rep is saying that Roy Horn has good and bad days. He's spending about six to eight hours in rehab per day.

He can walk about 100 or so steps at a time, and then he has to get back in his wheelchair. It's been about 10 months since the mauling. And now they're saying officially that the show will not go on.

BERNARD: He must be doing really not well, because I would think with a show that generated something like $57 million, you know, they would do anything to keep it going.

COLLINS: Right. And then what happens to Vegas without Siegfried and Roy?

SIGESMUND: I know. It's a major attraction there.

COLLINS: Really has been a staple there.

SIGESMUND: Yes. Yes. But you shouldn't worry, because there's going to be this show on in the fall, on Tuesday nights, in the "Frasier" timeslot...

BERNARD: That's right.

SIGESMUND: ... that is actually an animated show for adults about the Siegfried and Roy lions. This was conceived years ago, before the event, and Jeffrey Katzenberg has been the major force behind the show because, he, believe it or not, is a huge Siegfried and Roy fan. He's seen it 14 times.

BERNARD: I think that show's got like the worst idea.

(CROSSTALK)

BOROWITZ: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) toward the end of an era, I think, for show business legends. Because, also, Ryan Seacrest's show is also not going to continue.

SIGESMUND: Oh, let's have a moment for Ryan.

BERNARD: We should have a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for both of them together, right?

COLLINS: You guys, we're going to have to leave it there. We appreciate your time this morning, Andy, Sarah and B.J.

And Bill, back to you in Boston.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Thanks.

In a moment here on CNN, what's headed for Crawford, Texas? Daryn Kagan knows. She has that next here on "CNN LIVE TODAY."

AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment here, live in Boston, after this.

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