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American Morning
Najaf Stalemate; Interview With Senator Elizabeth Dole; McGreevey Scandal
Aired August 20, 2004 - 8:59 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, everyone, on a Friday. Soledad's out resting. Heidi Collins with us here in New York.
And good morning to you again.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Watching Iraq again, the ongoing standoff there in Najaf. Demands have been issued by both Iraqi officials and by Muqtada al-Sadr. Neither side shows any sides of budging. In a moment, live to Iraq to find out what's happening today.
COLLINS: Also, the Kerry-Edwards ticket may be making inroads into a traditionally Republican state. That state North Carolina. In a moment, we'll talk to Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole to see what the Bush-Cheney ticket needs to do to fend off the Democrats.
HEMMER: Also, we'll talk to a man this hour who says he was fired from his job in Florida because he failed to show up for work the day Charley was set to hit. His reason, he went to pick up his 81-year-old mother from an evacuation zone. We'll also get response from his former bosses as well on that story. The fallout continues in Florida.
COLLINS: All right. Jack is here now.
Hello.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Senator Kennedy in Massachusetts apparently somehow identified as a potential security threat and denied permission to board an airplane flight in the United States on three different occasions. Eventually they got it sorted out. But either the system is overly protective or it's not working very well at all.
Who would you like to see on a no-fly list if you could write your own? Am@cnn.com, we'll read some of them later.
HEMMER: All right, Jack.
Straight to Iraq right now, specifically Najaf. It has been another night of heavy fighting there. Radical cleric Muqtada al- Sadr, his followers remain defiant. John Vause is live in Baghdad. We want to get an update on what's happening in Najaf.
John, also, what are you hearing about Micah Garen? He's the kidnapped French-American journalist being held.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hello again, Bill.
It looks like there is some good news to report on the situation with Micah Garen. We're hearing from an al-Sadr aide, a senior al- Sadr aide that Garen should be released soon. They say that he is in good health.
They don't know exactly where he is. But this appears to be good news, because if you cast your mind back to last week, a British journalist was kidnapped whilst in Basra, Brandon -- James Brandon was kidnapped. And al-Sadr's people, the same aide who is now saying that it looks positive for Garen is now saying that -- that he interviewed with the Brandon case. And he is now saying that Garen should be released relatively soon.
HEMMER: John, now, what about Najaf? We were speaking earlier with a spokesperson from the Army. They say more action overnight. Is there much progress, though, at this point today, 24 hours later?
VAUSE: No. What we saw overnight was a very, very heavy bombardment in and around the Imam Ali mosque area. We also saw heavy fighting in the cemetery area.
We have a death toll from the Iraq Health Ministry, 77 Iraqis killed in that 24-hour period. Now, that number is mainly Iraqi civilians. It may include a few members of the Mehdi Militia, but usually they are taken care of, their bodies are taken to a separate area. So, that is a very, very high death toll in the last 24 hours.
The Iraqi government says that this is, in fact, a clearing operation around the Imam Ali mosque. And we heard from the interim Iraqi prime minister a short time ago in an interview on the BBC World Service, saying that there are no plans to attack the Imam Ali mosque. No offensive is planned, and that he is now extending the olive branch to Muqtada al-Sadr. So, we keep getting this to and fro, these conflicting reports. One moment we're just hours away from a military showdown, and then hours later we're having talk of olive branches being extend -- Bill.
HEMMER: And with that, John, take it a step further. How many believe in Iraq today that any of these offers have been true?
VAUSE: Well, that's a really good question. It's difficult to know.
One of the problems that we're dealing with here, especially with Muqtada al-Sadr, he has something like 300 -- literally 300 spokespeople working on his behalf. They're giving out conflicting signals in all of this.
What we're hearing from Muqtada al-Sadr's people is they're refusing to negotiate with the Iraqi interim government. They do not believe that they're representative. They do not believe that they have the authority to hold negotiations. Instead, they want to negotiate with that newly-appointed interim assembly that was voted on here and appointed earlier this week. They believe that is representative of the people of Iraq. But it seems that the demands coming from these two groups, from the Iraqi government and the Iraqi assembly, are pretty much identical. And so, we're getting into the situation where each side seems to be playing some kind of different game here.
Demands are put out, demands are met, and then more conditions are placed on them. Really, we're right back where we were almost two weeks ago -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right. John, thanks. John Vause, again in Baghdad -- Heidi.
COLLINS: We want to get some numbers to you now. The race for president is a dead heat. A new CBS poll shows Senator John Kerry supported by 46 percent of registered voters, President Bush by 45 percent. That's with Ralph Nader on the ballot.
It's a setback, though, for Senator Kerry, who led by five percentage points after the Democratic convention. CBS reports a shift among Independents, veterans and Catholics.
The poll also shows, in effect, among veterans since the convention, Kerry's lead slipping now, with President Bush with a bigger lead. Senator Kerry is fighting back against those saying he lied about his war record. In fact, yesterday he accused President Bush of using surrogates to attack his Vietnam-era record. And he fired back at the Republican assault.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact that the president won't denounce what they're up to tells you everything that you need to know. He wants them to do his dirty work. Thirty years ago, official Navy reports...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Senator Kerry says the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor in Texas, Bush's home state. And later this morning, Kerry will release a new commercial detailing more of his war experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people attacking John Kerry's war record are funded by Bush's big money supporters. Listen to someone who was there, the man whose life John Kerry saved.
JIM RASSMANN, U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES, VIETNAM: They blew me off the boat. All these Vietcong were shooting at me. I expected I'd be shot. When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Navy documented John...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The Bush campaign won't condemn the attack commercials, but it does condemn Kerry's charge as "absolutely and completely false."
HEMMER: At this hour, Senator Kerry is scheduled to speak to potential voters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kerry expected to talk about the economy, his choice for selecting John Edwards as his running mate. Our guest now knows North Carolina better than most. Elizabeth Dole, Republican senator from the Tar Heel State, with me from D.C.
And Senator, good morning to you. Nice to have you back.
SEN. ELIZABETH DOLE (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Hey, Bill. Good to be with you.
HEMMER: What is your position with what Senator Kerry said yesterday about trying to get the White House, trying to get the president to get these ads off the air?
DOLE: Well, the president has said that he would like to see all the 527s, so-called third-party ads, off the air. And you know, I was just in North Carolina. As you said, John Kerry is speaking this morning. And I would like to see him go to Fort Bragg, to go to Camp Lejeune, to our military bases to talk to military families about a statement that he made.
You know, he -- he supported the resolution for war in Iraq. And then he turned around and voted against the $87 billion to support the troops, like the armored vests and the up-armored Humvees, and said he was proud of that vote. I would like him to explain that to our military families in North Carolina, and the fact that he said that this is a complicated situation.
I don't think it's complicated. Our families would not think supporting the troops with necessary supplies is complicated.
But his -- his 20 years in the -- in the Senate is not focused on. You know, we'd like to know about the votes in the Senate. For example, the fact that when Ronald Reagan was moving forward with so many initiatives to end the Cold War, he voted against all of those key initiatives. So, if he's not going to talk about his record, I think we're going to have to educate people about that Senate record.
HEMMER: Let me just get back to the point. So, based on your answer, these ads will stay on the air then, is that right?
DOLE: Well, what I'm saying is my understanding is the president has said he'd like to see all of these 527s off the air.
HEMMER: Let's talk about your home state. You brought it up. The "Raleigh News & Observer" poll just out recently shows that race a lot tighter than a lot had thought after the Democrats got out of Boston with their convention. Three points for Bush over Kerry. Is that that tight in your home state, with John Edwards being from North Carolina?
DOLE: I think that North Carolina will definitely go for George Bush and Dick Cheney. In fact, in October of 2000, the president was four points ahead of Al Gore. And he won by 13 points in that election.
Obviously, they've had their convention. They -- through the primaries, they've been on the air a lot, and beating on the president.
Now we're moving into our convention. And clearly, you know, the president's positions on traditional values, on tax relief, on providing the resources necessary to win the war on terror, his strong, principled leadership, his moral clarity in leading this war on terror, this is what North Carolinians relate to. And I think clearly he will win the state.
HEMMER: Well, that poll was from the "Raleigh News & Observer" in your home state.
DOLE: Yes.
HEMMER: CBS News has a poll out. Interesting findings here. Now, "Talk about whether or not you're supporting John Kerry or George Bush because you like the man or because you do not like the man running against." For the candidate, 49 percent say they're voting for John Kerry. Against the opponent, a vote against George Bush, essentially, 46 percent.
On the Republican side, 80 percent say they will vote for George Bush because they will vote for him as a candidate. Only 15 percent because they say it's a vote against John Kerry. What do you make of these numbers?
DOLE: Well, you know, I think the -- I'm not one to be analyzing polls in depth. What I want people to do is to focus on the leadership qualifications. And when you -- when you look at the fact that -- that President Bush has exercised strong, principled leadership, both with our economy -- the economy is moving forward steadily -- and with regard to the war on terror.
On the other hand, John Kerry has -- has been very ambivalent in terms of the -- the war on Iraq. There's -- there's a documentary that I would refer people to. It's kerryoniraq.com.
I went to North Carolina yesterday and played this for our folks down there because I think it's important to see the ambivalence, the evolutionary steps that he took in terms of putting his finger up to the wind to see which way it was blowing. When Howard Dean seemed to be foremost during the primaries, he moved to the Dean position on Iraq. It's a very ambivalent record. And I think that people need to see this and understand it. Because it's -- his own words, really, go against his being a strong leader.
HEMMER: All right. From North Carolina, Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole, my guest in D.C. Thanks for your time. And again, Senator Kerry in your home state today, in the city of Charlotte at this hour -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Now, to the Athens and the Olympic games, where 16- year-old American gymnast Carly Patterson has made history. Patterson started the night with a highly-difficult vault and landed out of bounds. But that was history.
By the time she got to floor ex., an impressive error-free program assured her Olympic gold in the women's individual all-around competition. No American gymnast, in fact, has won gold in the women's all-around since Mary Lou Retton -- you remember her -- back in the 1984 Los Angeles games. Patterson actually spoke with Retton after her win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLY PATTERSON, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: In the car ride, I talked to Mary Lou.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did she say?
PATTERSON: She said she knew I could do it, and she knew I had it in me. And she's just really proud and excited for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Patterson now preparing to compete for another gold medal on the balance beam during individual apparatus competition.
It is now 11 minutes after the hour. Time for a look at some of today's other news with Betty Nguyen.
Hi, Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.
9/11 Commission Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton is expected to face a House committee today. Hamilton is testifying before the Judiciary Committee on privacy and civil liberties since the September 11th terrorist attacks. His meeting is set to get under way within the hour.
The pretrial hearing for the Michael Jackson child molestation case is expected to continue today. The stepfather of Jackson's accuser testified yesterday that an offer was made to the family in exchange for their appearance in a video designed to restore Jackson's reputation.
An inventory taking at an energy department office in New Mexico has uncovered another case of missing data involving nuclear weapons. The nationwide inventory was ordered a month ago after a similar incident occurred at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The three copies of a controlled removable device, they were reported missing yesterday. All classified work involving data storage devices at the New Mexico office has been halted, pending an investigation.
And you'll want to take a look at this. In Pennsylvania, residents are digging out from a major hail storm. Listen to that pounding. You are looking at pictures taken with a home video camera.
Severe thunderstorms yesterday dropped dime-size hail throughout the Pittsburgh area. Gusts up to 60 miles per hour also knocked down trees and downed power lines. Luckily, though, there were no reports of any injuries or damage.
Definitely not something we're used to seeing in August -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. And obviously that video shot from inside someone's home.
NGUYEN: Right. Smart person.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Yes. Betty, thanks so much for that.
We're going to get to the weather now. Chad Myers standing by at the CNN Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: OK, Chad. Thanks.
HEMMER: There is new word today from Iraq by the journalist held captive by militants. Get you an update out of Iraq on that in a moment.
COLLINS: And last week, New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey's wife watched as he announced he was gay. How shocked was she? How long did she know?
HEMMER: Also, when Hurricane Charley hit last week, many people became separated from their pets. Now there's some help in getting them back together, ahead in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The governor of New Jersey, Jim McGreevey, is still planning to step down November 15, as he announced last week, with his wife by his side. But what is unclear is what happens now to McGreevey's marriage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS (voice-over): They were the picture of a happy family. James and Dina McGreevey selling the image of the Garden State as a family-friendly destination.
GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY (D), NEW JERSEY: Come out and see what's new in New Jersey.
COLLINS: Married for nearly four years, they appeared in public a close-knit family. The announcement he was gay caught everyone by surprise, apparently even his wife.
MCGREEVEY: For this I ask the forgiveness and the grace of my wife. She has been extraordinary throughout this ordeal. And I am blessed by virtue of her love and strength.
COLLINS: Dina stood faithfully by his side as he admitted what he called a crisis of identity.
GEORGE ZOFFINGER, FRIEND OF GOVERNOR: We all have issues in families that, you know, are sometimes very difficult to deal with. In this particular case, I can't imagine anything more difficult than telling your wife what Jim McGreevey had to tell his wife.
COLLINS: One of Dina's friends, Lori Kennedy, told the "Newark Star-Ledger" newspaper that Dina considered not attending, but decided to show her support at the last minute. Kennedy said, "She did not know before that he was gay. And if you saw her that night, when she found out, you'd know that. She was totally shocked. Never in a million years did she know."
What's ahead for the McGreevey family not even their close friends know for sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: McGreevey does have one child with his wife Dina, and another child with his first wife, who was a Canadian librarian -- Bill.
HEMMER: In a moment here, 20 minutes past the hour, a Florida man evacuates his mother before Hurricane Charley hit says he got fired for it. We'll talk to him and his former employer in a moment here on that story.
And America's new Olympic sweetheart in Athens, we'll tell you who that is. And for our Olympic quiz in a moment here, according to the Olympic creed, the most important thing for athletes in the Olympics games is to compete fairly, take part, be victorious or abide by the rules? The answer after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Before the break, we asked you, according to Olympic creed, Jack, the most important thing for athletes in the Olympic games is to compete fairly, take part, be victorious or abide by the rules? The answer is B. The Olympic creed states that the most important thing in the games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not to triumph, but to struggle.
COLLINS: It goes on.
HEMMER: It continues -- really?
CAFFERTY: Oh, please. I'm going to cry.
HEMMER: The essential thing is not to conquer but to have fought well.
CAFFERTY: You know what I'm having trouble about?
COLLINS: What?
CAFFERTY: How about if they say, here's a gold medal, and they give them a gold medal, instead of giving them something that's 92.5 percent silver.
HEMMER: That's right. Here's you're gold medal with silver.
CAFFERTY: I mean, come on.
HEMMER: Say hello to America's newest sweetheart. Carly Patterson, 16 years young. She won the gold last night in the women's all-around after amazing performances on the balance beam and the floor exercise. Patterson's the first American woman to win gold in that event since Mary Lou Retton did it 20 years ago, L.A. 1984.
Also yesterday, Michael Phelps won his fourth gold medal in the 200-meter medley. He did it in Olympic record time, too. Just smoked the field.
A short time ago -- turn away if you don't want this, by the way -- the U.S. Women's softball team...
CAFFERTY: A little late now.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: You know, I'm just reading -- 3-0. So far, no team has been able to score a run against the U.S. team. And team USA leads in the medal hunt with 36, China at 33, Russian in third place at 22.
That's the update from Athens.
COLLINS: We're going to check in with Jack now, the pooh-pooher of the Olympics, and the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: No, that's not it at all.
COLLINS: OK.
CAFFERTY: It's just that I -- one, I get up too early, and, two, they're not in the same place every day. They're all over the lot. They've got some on this network and some on I guess NBC...
HEMMER: But you know the way NBC packages it in prime time, you know when to tune in. You know when the big events are coming.
COLLINS: Seven to midnight.
HEMMER: They've been doing it for 20 years.
COLLINS: Pooh-pooh.
CAFFERTY: Nothing makes you smile anymore if you're a taxpayer than to see a bureaucrat get snagged by the bureaucracy. And it happened to Senator Kennedy in Massachusetts.
Three times he was stopped at the airport and not allowed to board a flight between Boston and Washington. Apparently he turned up on some watch list as a potential security problem. It took a while to get it unraveled. Now the senator's fine, like he's supposed to. But we asked, since it was Friday, if you could make up your no-fly list, who would you put on it?
Lori in Littleton, New Hampshire, writes: "Actually, Jack, I would like to see you stranded for a while, just due to the fact that you're trashing Ted Kennedy. With what he's done for the U.S. in his 40-plus years of service, it's perfectly all right that Tom Ridge gives him an apologetic phone call."
Amy in Cleveland, Ohio: "I would love to see my soon-to-be ex- boss on the no-fly list. She's busy jetting off to exotic locales four times a year. I recently quit to run my own business because I would rather have to declare bankruptcy and move back in with my mother than to work one day for her."
I wonder if your mother feels that strongly about it, Amy.
And George -- George in Chicago: "Grounding Kennedy was a great start. But if the no-fly list is meant to protect the country from those who would do it harm, then let's get all members of Congress off those airplanes. I can't think of a group more dangerous to the interests and well being of the average American."
And by the way, they still haven't done anything about the 9/11 report.
And Dan in Floral Park, New York: "The losing American Idols, the New York Mets, O.J. Simpson, and anyone who claims to deliver news fair and balanced."
That would be presumably the staff of the "F" word network down the street here.
HEMMER: And they don't know Jack.
CAFFERTY: And that, too.
Join us this weekend for "IN THE MONEY," which we'll be taping with big smiles on our faces in about an hour-and-a-half. In time of war, political spin kicks into high gear, especially when it comes to the military records. There's just a lot of mud-slinging going on about this.
Some of our most important presidents never fired a gun, never wore a military uniform. We're going to look at the American presidents and their military records and see if it all means anything.
It's this weekend on "IN THE MONEY." It airs Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00. Hope you can join us for that.
HEMMER: With a smile on your face.
CAFFERTY: A big smile.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
"90-Second Pop" in a moment here, Friday edition straight ahead. Twenty-seven years ago this week, the king of rock 'n' roll left the building. His legend lives on, now playing on Broadway, in fact. And rumors of a breakup, now reports of a wedding for these two, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired August 20, 2004 - 8:59 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, everyone, on a Friday. Soledad's out resting. Heidi Collins with us here in New York.
And good morning to you again.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Watching Iraq again, the ongoing standoff there in Najaf. Demands have been issued by both Iraqi officials and by Muqtada al-Sadr. Neither side shows any sides of budging. In a moment, live to Iraq to find out what's happening today.
COLLINS: Also, the Kerry-Edwards ticket may be making inroads into a traditionally Republican state. That state North Carolina. In a moment, we'll talk to Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole to see what the Bush-Cheney ticket needs to do to fend off the Democrats.
HEMMER: Also, we'll talk to a man this hour who says he was fired from his job in Florida because he failed to show up for work the day Charley was set to hit. His reason, he went to pick up his 81-year-old mother from an evacuation zone. We'll also get response from his former bosses as well on that story. The fallout continues in Florida.
COLLINS: All right. Jack is here now.
Hello.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Senator Kennedy in Massachusetts apparently somehow identified as a potential security threat and denied permission to board an airplane flight in the United States on three different occasions. Eventually they got it sorted out. But either the system is overly protective or it's not working very well at all.
Who would you like to see on a no-fly list if you could write your own? Am@cnn.com, we'll read some of them later.
HEMMER: All right, Jack.
Straight to Iraq right now, specifically Najaf. It has been another night of heavy fighting there. Radical cleric Muqtada al- Sadr, his followers remain defiant. John Vause is live in Baghdad. We want to get an update on what's happening in Najaf.
John, also, what are you hearing about Micah Garen? He's the kidnapped French-American journalist being held.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hello again, Bill.
It looks like there is some good news to report on the situation with Micah Garen. We're hearing from an al-Sadr aide, a senior al- Sadr aide that Garen should be released soon. They say that he is in good health.
They don't know exactly where he is. But this appears to be good news, because if you cast your mind back to last week, a British journalist was kidnapped whilst in Basra, Brandon -- James Brandon was kidnapped. And al-Sadr's people, the same aide who is now saying that it looks positive for Garen is now saying that -- that he interviewed with the Brandon case. And he is now saying that Garen should be released relatively soon.
HEMMER: John, now, what about Najaf? We were speaking earlier with a spokesperson from the Army. They say more action overnight. Is there much progress, though, at this point today, 24 hours later?
VAUSE: No. What we saw overnight was a very, very heavy bombardment in and around the Imam Ali mosque area. We also saw heavy fighting in the cemetery area.
We have a death toll from the Iraq Health Ministry, 77 Iraqis killed in that 24-hour period. Now, that number is mainly Iraqi civilians. It may include a few members of the Mehdi Militia, but usually they are taken care of, their bodies are taken to a separate area. So, that is a very, very high death toll in the last 24 hours.
The Iraqi government says that this is, in fact, a clearing operation around the Imam Ali mosque. And we heard from the interim Iraqi prime minister a short time ago in an interview on the BBC World Service, saying that there are no plans to attack the Imam Ali mosque. No offensive is planned, and that he is now extending the olive branch to Muqtada al-Sadr. So, we keep getting this to and fro, these conflicting reports. One moment we're just hours away from a military showdown, and then hours later we're having talk of olive branches being extend -- Bill.
HEMMER: And with that, John, take it a step further. How many believe in Iraq today that any of these offers have been true?
VAUSE: Well, that's a really good question. It's difficult to know.
One of the problems that we're dealing with here, especially with Muqtada al-Sadr, he has something like 300 -- literally 300 spokespeople working on his behalf. They're giving out conflicting signals in all of this.
What we're hearing from Muqtada al-Sadr's people is they're refusing to negotiate with the Iraqi interim government. They do not believe that they're representative. They do not believe that they have the authority to hold negotiations. Instead, they want to negotiate with that newly-appointed interim assembly that was voted on here and appointed earlier this week. They believe that is representative of the people of Iraq. But it seems that the demands coming from these two groups, from the Iraqi government and the Iraqi assembly, are pretty much identical. And so, we're getting into the situation where each side seems to be playing some kind of different game here.
Demands are put out, demands are met, and then more conditions are placed on them. Really, we're right back where we were almost two weeks ago -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right. John, thanks. John Vause, again in Baghdad -- Heidi.
COLLINS: We want to get some numbers to you now. The race for president is a dead heat. A new CBS poll shows Senator John Kerry supported by 46 percent of registered voters, President Bush by 45 percent. That's with Ralph Nader on the ballot.
It's a setback, though, for Senator Kerry, who led by five percentage points after the Democratic convention. CBS reports a shift among Independents, veterans and Catholics.
The poll also shows, in effect, among veterans since the convention, Kerry's lead slipping now, with President Bush with a bigger lead. Senator Kerry is fighting back against those saying he lied about his war record. In fact, yesterday he accused President Bush of using surrogates to attack his Vietnam-era record. And he fired back at the Republican assault.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact that the president won't denounce what they're up to tells you everything that you need to know. He wants them to do his dirty work. Thirty years ago, official Navy reports...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Senator Kerry says the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor in Texas, Bush's home state. And later this morning, Kerry will release a new commercial detailing more of his war experience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people attacking John Kerry's war record are funded by Bush's big money supporters. Listen to someone who was there, the man whose life John Kerry saved.
JIM RASSMANN, U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES, VIETNAM: They blew me off the boat. All these Vietcong were shooting at me. I expected I'd be shot. When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Navy documented John...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The Bush campaign won't condemn the attack commercials, but it does condemn Kerry's charge as "absolutely and completely false."
HEMMER: At this hour, Senator Kerry is scheduled to speak to potential voters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Kerry expected to talk about the economy, his choice for selecting John Edwards as his running mate. Our guest now knows North Carolina better than most. Elizabeth Dole, Republican senator from the Tar Heel State, with me from D.C.
And Senator, good morning to you. Nice to have you back.
SEN. ELIZABETH DOLE (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Hey, Bill. Good to be with you.
HEMMER: What is your position with what Senator Kerry said yesterday about trying to get the White House, trying to get the president to get these ads off the air?
DOLE: Well, the president has said that he would like to see all the 527s, so-called third-party ads, off the air. And you know, I was just in North Carolina. As you said, John Kerry is speaking this morning. And I would like to see him go to Fort Bragg, to go to Camp Lejeune, to our military bases to talk to military families about a statement that he made.
You know, he -- he supported the resolution for war in Iraq. And then he turned around and voted against the $87 billion to support the troops, like the armored vests and the up-armored Humvees, and said he was proud of that vote. I would like him to explain that to our military families in North Carolina, and the fact that he said that this is a complicated situation.
I don't think it's complicated. Our families would not think supporting the troops with necessary supplies is complicated.
But his -- his 20 years in the -- in the Senate is not focused on. You know, we'd like to know about the votes in the Senate. For example, the fact that when Ronald Reagan was moving forward with so many initiatives to end the Cold War, he voted against all of those key initiatives. So, if he's not going to talk about his record, I think we're going to have to educate people about that Senate record.
HEMMER: Let me just get back to the point. So, based on your answer, these ads will stay on the air then, is that right?
DOLE: Well, what I'm saying is my understanding is the president has said he'd like to see all of these 527s off the air.
HEMMER: Let's talk about your home state. You brought it up. The "Raleigh News & Observer" poll just out recently shows that race a lot tighter than a lot had thought after the Democrats got out of Boston with their convention. Three points for Bush over Kerry. Is that that tight in your home state, with John Edwards being from North Carolina?
DOLE: I think that North Carolina will definitely go for George Bush and Dick Cheney. In fact, in October of 2000, the president was four points ahead of Al Gore. And he won by 13 points in that election.
Obviously, they've had their convention. They -- through the primaries, they've been on the air a lot, and beating on the president.
Now we're moving into our convention. And clearly, you know, the president's positions on traditional values, on tax relief, on providing the resources necessary to win the war on terror, his strong, principled leadership, his moral clarity in leading this war on terror, this is what North Carolinians relate to. And I think clearly he will win the state.
HEMMER: Well, that poll was from the "Raleigh News & Observer" in your home state.
DOLE: Yes.
HEMMER: CBS News has a poll out. Interesting findings here. Now, "Talk about whether or not you're supporting John Kerry or George Bush because you like the man or because you do not like the man running against." For the candidate, 49 percent say they're voting for John Kerry. Against the opponent, a vote against George Bush, essentially, 46 percent.
On the Republican side, 80 percent say they will vote for George Bush because they will vote for him as a candidate. Only 15 percent because they say it's a vote against John Kerry. What do you make of these numbers?
DOLE: Well, you know, I think the -- I'm not one to be analyzing polls in depth. What I want people to do is to focus on the leadership qualifications. And when you -- when you look at the fact that -- that President Bush has exercised strong, principled leadership, both with our economy -- the economy is moving forward steadily -- and with regard to the war on terror.
On the other hand, John Kerry has -- has been very ambivalent in terms of the -- the war on Iraq. There's -- there's a documentary that I would refer people to. It's kerryoniraq.com.
I went to North Carolina yesterday and played this for our folks down there because I think it's important to see the ambivalence, the evolutionary steps that he took in terms of putting his finger up to the wind to see which way it was blowing. When Howard Dean seemed to be foremost during the primaries, he moved to the Dean position on Iraq. It's a very ambivalent record. And I think that people need to see this and understand it. Because it's -- his own words, really, go against his being a strong leader.
HEMMER: All right. From North Carolina, Republican Senator Elizabeth Dole, my guest in D.C. Thanks for your time. And again, Senator Kerry in your home state today, in the city of Charlotte at this hour -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Now, to the Athens and the Olympic games, where 16- year-old American gymnast Carly Patterson has made history. Patterson started the night with a highly-difficult vault and landed out of bounds. But that was history.
By the time she got to floor ex., an impressive error-free program assured her Olympic gold in the women's individual all-around competition. No American gymnast, in fact, has won gold in the women's all-around since Mary Lou Retton -- you remember her -- back in the 1984 Los Angeles games. Patterson actually spoke with Retton after her win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLY PATTERSON, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: In the car ride, I talked to Mary Lou.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did she say?
PATTERSON: She said she knew I could do it, and she knew I had it in me. And she's just really proud and excited for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Patterson now preparing to compete for another gold medal on the balance beam during individual apparatus competition.
It is now 11 minutes after the hour. Time for a look at some of today's other news with Betty Nguyen.
Hi, Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Heidi.
9/11 Commission Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton is expected to face a House committee today. Hamilton is testifying before the Judiciary Committee on privacy and civil liberties since the September 11th terrorist attacks. His meeting is set to get under way within the hour.
The pretrial hearing for the Michael Jackson child molestation case is expected to continue today. The stepfather of Jackson's accuser testified yesterday that an offer was made to the family in exchange for their appearance in a video designed to restore Jackson's reputation.
An inventory taking at an energy department office in New Mexico has uncovered another case of missing data involving nuclear weapons. The nationwide inventory was ordered a month ago after a similar incident occurred at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The three copies of a controlled removable device, they were reported missing yesterday. All classified work involving data storage devices at the New Mexico office has been halted, pending an investigation.
And you'll want to take a look at this. In Pennsylvania, residents are digging out from a major hail storm. Listen to that pounding. You are looking at pictures taken with a home video camera.
Severe thunderstorms yesterday dropped dime-size hail throughout the Pittsburgh area. Gusts up to 60 miles per hour also knocked down trees and downed power lines. Luckily, though, there were no reports of any injuries or damage.
Definitely not something we're used to seeing in August -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. And obviously that video shot from inside someone's home.
NGUYEN: Right. Smart person.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Yes. Betty, thanks so much for that.
We're going to get to the weather now. Chad Myers standing by at the CNN Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: OK, Chad. Thanks.
HEMMER: There is new word today from Iraq by the journalist held captive by militants. Get you an update out of Iraq on that in a moment.
COLLINS: And last week, New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey's wife watched as he announced he was gay. How shocked was she? How long did she know?
HEMMER: Also, when Hurricane Charley hit last week, many people became separated from their pets. Now there's some help in getting them back together, ahead in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The governor of New Jersey, Jim McGreevey, is still planning to step down November 15, as he announced last week, with his wife by his side. But what is unclear is what happens now to McGreevey's marriage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS (voice-over): They were the picture of a happy family. James and Dina McGreevey selling the image of the Garden State as a family-friendly destination.
GOV. JAMES MCGREEVEY (D), NEW JERSEY: Come out and see what's new in New Jersey.
COLLINS: Married for nearly four years, they appeared in public a close-knit family. The announcement he was gay caught everyone by surprise, apparently even his wife.
MCGREEVEY: For this I ask the forgiveness and the grace of my wife. She has been extraordinary throughout this ordeal. And I am blessed by virtue of her love and strength.
COLLINS: Dina stood faithfully by his side as he admitted what he called a crisis of identity.
GEORGE ZOFFINGER, FRIEND OF GOVERNOR: We all have issues in families that, you know, are sometimes very difficult to deal with. In this particular case, I can't imagine anything more difficult than telling your wife what Jim McGreevey had to tell his wife.
COLLINS: One of Dina's friends, Lori Kennedy, told the "Newark Star-Ledger" newspaper that Dina considered not attending, but decided to show her support at the last minute. Kennedy said, "She did not know before that he was gay. And if you saw her that night, when she found out, you'd know that. She was totally shocked. Never in a million years did she know."
What's ahead for the McGreevey family not even their close friends know for sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: McGreevey does have one child with his wife Dina, and another child with his first wife, who was a Canadian librarian -- Bill.
HEMMER: In a moment here, 20 minutes past the hour, a Florida man evacuates his mother before Hurricane Charley hit says he got fired for it. We'll talk to him and his former employer in a moment here on that story.
And America's new Olympic sweetheart in Athens, we'll tell you who that is. And for our Olympic quiz in a moment here, according to the Olympic creed, the most important thing for athletes in the Olympics games is to compete fairly, take part, be victorious or abide by the rules? The answer after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Before the break, we asked you, according to Olympic creed, Jack, the most important thing for athletes in the Olympic games is to compete fairly, take part, be victorious or abide by the rules? The answer is B. The Olympic creed states that the most important thing in the games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not to triumph, but to struggle.
COLLINS: It goes on.
HEMMER: It continues -- really?
CAFFERTY: Oh, please. I'm going to cry.
HEMMER: The essential thing is not to conquer but to have fought well.
CAFFERTY: You know what I'm having trouble about?
COLLINS: What?
CAFFERTY: How about if they say, here's a gold medal, and they give them a gold medal, instead of giving them something that's 92.5 percent silver.
HEMMER: That's right. Here's you're gold medal with silver.
CAFFERTY: I mean, come on.
HEMMER: Say hello to America's newest sweetheart. Carly Patterson, 16 years young. She won the gold last night in the women's all-around after amazing performances on the balance beam and the floor exercise. Patterson's the first American woman to win gold in that event since Mary Lou Retton did it 20 years ago, L.A. 1984.
Also yesterday, Michael Phelps won his fourth gold medal in the 200-meter medley. He did it in Olympic record time, too. Just smoked the field.
A short time ago -- turn away if you don't want this, by the way -- the U.S. Women's softball team...
CAFFERTY: A little late now.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: You know, I'm just reading -- 3-0. So far, no team has been able to score a run against the U.S. team. And team USA leads in the medal hunt with 36, China at 33, Russian in third place at 22.
That's the update from Athens.
COLLINS: We're going to check in with Jack now, the pooh-pooher of the Olympics, and the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: No, that's not it at all.
COLLINS: OK.
CAFFERTY: It's just that I -- one, I get up too early, and, two, they're not in the same place every day. They're all over the lot. They've got some on this network and some on I guess NBC...
HEMMER: But you know the way NBC packages it in prime time, you know when to tune in. You know when the big events are coming.
COLLINS: Seven to midnight.
HEMMER: They've been doing it for 20 years.
COLLINS: Pooh-pooh.
CAFFERTY: Nothing makes you smile anymore if you're a taxpayer than to see a bureaucrat get snagged by the bureaucracy. And it happened to Senator Kennedy in Massachusetts.
Three times he was stopped at the airport and not allowed to board a flight between Boston and Washington. Apparently he turned up on some watch list as a potential security problem. It took a while to get it unraveled. Now the senator's fine, like he's supposed to. But we asked, since it was Friday, if you could make up your no-fly list, who would you put on it?
Lori in Littleton, New Hampshire, writes: "Actually, Jack, I would like to see you stranded for a while, just due to the fact that you're trashing Ted Kennedy. With what he's done for the U.S. in his 40-plus years of service, it's perfectly all right that Tom Ridge gives him an apologetic phone call."
Amy in Cleveland, Ohio: "I would love to see my soon-to-be ex- boss on the no-fly list. She's busy jetting off to exotic locales four times a year. I recently quit to run my own business because I would rather have to declare bankruptcy and move back in with my mother than to work one day for her."
I wonder if your mother feels that strongly about it, Amy.
And George -- George in Chicago: "Grounding Kennedy was a great start. But if the no-fly list is meant to protect the country from those who would do it harm, then let's get all members of Congress off those airplanes. I can't think of a group more dangerous to the interests and well being of the average American."
And by the way, they still haven't done anything about the 9/11 report.
And Dan in Floral Park, New York: "The losing American Idols, the New York Mets, O.J. Simpson, and anyone who claims to deliver news fair and balanced."
That would be presumably the staff of the "F" word network down the street here.
HEMMER: And they don't know Jack.
CAFFERTY: And that, too.
Join us this weekend for "IN THE MONEY," which we'll be taping with big smiles on our faces in about an hour-and-a-half. In time of war, political spin kicks into high gear, especially when it comes to the military records. There's just a lot of mud-slinging going on about this.
Some of our most important presidents never fired a gun, never wore a military uniform. We're going to look at the American presidents and their military records and see if it all means anything.
It's this weekend on "IN THE MONEY." It airs Saturday at 1:00, Sunday at 3:00. Hope you can join us for that.
HEMMER: With a smile on your face.
CAFFERTY: A big smile.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
"90-Second Pop" in a moment here, Friday edition straight ahead. Twenty-seven years ago this week, the king of rock 'n' roll left the building. His legend lives on, now playing on Broadway, in fact. And rumors of a breakup, now reports of a wedding for these two, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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