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CNN Live At Daybreak

GOP Convention Gets Underway Today; "TIME" Magazine Profiles Bush; Olympic Scorecard

Aired August 30, 2004 - 06:30   ET

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


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


COSTELLO: Sixty-four days to go until the election. We are counting down to November 2nd when America votes.
It is the Republicans' turn in the spotlight today, however. They're kicking off their national convention in New York, a day after protesters staged huge rallies against President Bush.

Let's go live to Madison Square Garden and CNN's Kareen Wynter. Good morning, Kareen.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And those rallies are expected to continue ever day this week, every day of the convention, as protesters hammer home their message.

Switching topics just a bit, political experts believe President Bush's mission this week, what he wants to accomplish -- three central themes that he'll focus on: Iraq, the economy, and terrorism -- as he takes the stage here behind me Thursday night and makes his national presidential pitch to an audience of thousands.

Now, behind me on this Monday morning, the convention hall is slowly, slowly starting to come to life. You can see, in addition to the media, dozens of volunteers on the floor getting things in order for today's session, where President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney's names will be placed in nomination.

Now, in the backdrop of all of this, of course: security.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTER (voice over): This is just a glance at what $80 million in security looks like, a cost to safeguard the 2004 GOP convention. Ten thousand NYPD officers have been joined by thousands more federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing everything we can conceivable do to make sure that people are safe and secure. But as is the case in life, there are no guarantees at all.

WYNTER: Bomb-sniffing dogs, security cameras and high-tech surveillance equipment are just a few of the safety measures in place as the spotlight shines on Madison Square Garden.

The Republicans are getting ready to roll into their big week, but party faithfuls have no choice but to share some of the spotlight with diehard protesters. Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters, along with a few famous names, marched their way along the convention site in opposition to President Bush and the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER: The majority of this country opposes this war. The majority of this country wants the Bush administration out of office.

WYNTER: Police say some 200 people were arrested on various charges.

President Bush, who is out on the campaign trial, isn't expected to arrive in the Big Apple until Wednesday evening. However, late Sunday afternoon, Vice President Dick Cheney did a walk-through inside the garden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And while the population in Boston is nowhere close to that here in New York, we're seeing some similarities, Carol, between the RNC and DNC; namely, in the businesses in downtown New York. Here in Manhattan, some businesses are closed. Those that are open, workers, we're told, encouraged their employees to take the week off just to cut down on some of the congestion. You can imagine the traffic situation as this week gets into full swing.

COSTELLO: I don't even want to imagine it, Kareen. Kareen Wynter reporting live from Madison Square Garden this morning, thank you.

President Bush does have his work cut out for him this week, especially in 17 so-called showdown states. Let's concentrate on Pennsylvania this morning.

A new poll is out from CNN, "USA Today" and Gallup. It shows likely voters are evenly split over Bush and John Kerry. They both have 47 percent support. Ralph Nader has 2 percent. So, the heat is on.

Joining us live by phone from Pennsylvania this morning, Republican Congresswoman Melissa Hart, and from Philadelphia, Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah.

Welcome to you both.

REP. MELISSA HART (R), PENNSYLVANIA: Good morning.

REP. CHAKA FATTAH (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Pennsylvania gave Al Gore a victory by just over 4 percent. Congresswoman Hart, what do undecided and independent voters want to hear this week?

HART: I think what they're going to hear, and that is that the Republican Party is a wide-open party. It is really run by a lot of folks across the country who are very interested in leadership, and that's the one thing that's really important. We're going to state our party's principles, the things that we're going to do. Unlike the Democratic Party, which has a platform that nobody's even read and don't follow, the Republican Party stated what we've been able to accomplish: the education reforms, the leadership in the war on terror, taking charge. What we have to do is make a decision and stick with it, and this president certainly has done that.

COSTELLO: Congressman Fattah, the speakers highlighted in primetime at the RNC are moderates. The more conservative speakers will be on the podium during the day when less people watch. A good strategy?

FATTAH: Well, look, I think that it's not just the show that they put on, but the work. If you're one of the millions of Americans who are waking up this morning and you've been unemployed for a long period of time, if you're one of the 45 million without health insurance or one of the 35 million in poverty, look at the results. They've done worse with this economy than any president since Hoover.

And so, it's not this show in New York; it's what's going on in your hometown. And in Pennsylvania, the reason why the president -- you saw the numbers in the latest poll. Pennsylvanians are not fooled by the talk and the rhetoric of this administration. They've been looking at the results, and Americans are going to be able do something about changing the course of the country on the first Tuesday in November.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman Hart, the protests in New York looked massive over the weekend. Will they make a difference as people watch this convention?

HART: I doubt it. I spoke with some police officers, and I'm in New York, and they were all saying that the protesters, the estimates turned out to be a lot less than expected. I spoke with an aide to Mary Bloomberg and I spoke with Governor Pataki.

And so, I think so far, the protests have been overblown as far as the estimates of how many people came in. I don't think they're going to be affecting anything. You know, everybody has the right to speak, and I'm pleased that the city of New York has provided that.

But you know, to respond to my colleague, you know, jobs growth and loss in Pennsylvania is even in 2001. We've had an attack on this country like no one has ever seen before. We've had an economic slowdown that had nothing to do with the president. In fact, it began before he took office. Yet, Pennsylvania's jobs are steady from before -- you know, from the beginning of his first term.

It's important to note, you know, that there are economic cycles that have nothing to do with the president. This president has done so much to increase, for example, the money that people take home. The tax burden on Pennsylvanians has gone down about, oh, 30 percent on the federal level for a lot of lower-income Pennsylvanians.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman, let me interrupt... HART: It's important to note that.

COSTELLO: Let me interrupt for a second to allow Congressman Fattah to respond, not only to that, because we want to talk about the number of jobs created, not very many in light of what President Bush promised in the year 2000. And also, I want to talk to you, Congressman Fattah, about the protesters there. There were tens of thousands of them.

FATTAH: Well, Carol, it's Congressman Fattah, and I'm from Philadelphia. It's early in the morning, but it's not early in this administration. They've been through four years, and they have not created the jobs. Under Clinton, we had 23 million new jobs. Under this administration, they have yet to create their first net new job. That is that they're about almost two million short of the jobs that did exist in our economy before President Bush took office.

So, part of the reason why you see people protesting is they disagree with the policies. They are tired of seeing Americans die in Iraq or in Afghanistan. They're concerned about some of the questions about why we went off to war in Iraq in the first place and being misled. But they have a right to protest.

But the biggest protest that anyone can have is to cast their vote on Election Day. And that's what people in Pennsylvania and across the country are, I think, anxious to do. And they'll be glad when the parties, Democrats and Republicans, get finished with their conventions, and we can get down to elections.

Because if you're satisfied with what Bush has done, all you have to do is re-elect him. If you want a different direction -- and every poll we've seen says the country is on the wrong track. If they want a different direction, they have one alternative, and that is to elect John Kerry and make a change in the direction of our country.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman Hart, the last word.

HART: Well, first of all, since the recovery began, there have been a million new jobs created. And if Americans want a new direction, they can pick John Kerry. But we have no idea what direction he'll go in since he's really been on every side of every issue.

COSTELLO: Congressman Melissa Hart and Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah joining us live this morning. Thanks to you both.

Let's head live to New York now to check in with Bill Hemmer, who is covering the convention for us.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

Day one here, and on "AMERICAN MORNING" we've rounded up just about everybody we can think of, I think. The mayor is with us at the top of the hour to talk about what happened over the weekend, how things are going security-wise throughout the city here. Michael Bloomberg, one of our many guests.

This is Dick Cheney who was here late yesterday afternoon getting a check of the stage and the sound system set up in Madison Square Garden. Dennis Hastert, the House speaker, is our guest. Senator Elizabeth Dole, we'll talk to her.

We'll also talk to the Democratic Senator Zell Miller. He is speaking in favor of George Bush at this convention. We'll get his thoughts today. Also, Democratic reaction, former presidential candidate Wesley Clark will stop along as well.

Also, Carol, we would be remiss not to talk about Athens and what happened over the weekend. The gold medalist, the American Paul Hamm, is back here in the U.S. He still has that gold medal, but that doesn't mean the questions aren't still circulating around him, too. So, we'll get his thoughts on that.

I'm going to be here at Madison Square Garden, Carol. Heidi Collins is going to be back on our plaza level at Time Life Studios. Jack Cafferty and Andy Serwer are going to be at the CNN Diner. We've got the whole city covered for you starting today.

COSTELLO: Oh, I'd love to be in that diner.

HEMMER: And I'm looking forward to hearing you tonight on CNN Radio, by the way, so good luck on that.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much.

HEMMER: Sure.

COSTELLO: 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on CNN Radio. Thank you, Bill. We'll get back to you in about 40 minutes.

HEMMER: Sure.

COSTELLO: The war, the economy, the campaign, "The World According to George Bush." It is the convention week's special report in "TIME." One of the magazine's correspondents joins me next at 42 minutes past the hour.

And the games may be over, but has the controversy come to a close? An Olympic recap at 50 minutes past.

But first, a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: On the day the Republican National Convention begins, "TIME" magazine is going inside the mind of George Bush. It's a fascinating article done face-to-face with two "TIME" reporters.

So, let's head live to New York and Mitch Frank.

Good morning, Mitch. He's from "TIME" magazine. MITCH FRANK, "TIME" MAGAZINE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, can you boil it down? What is "The World According to George Bush?"

FRANK: Well, really George W. Bush doesn't look back. That's mostly what it's about.

You know, when we sat down with the president, he really was stressing that he has a vision for his second term, and it's very familiar to those who have paid attention to his first. He is going to stay on the war on terrorism. He sees that the Iraq war, although tougher than expected, is crucial to the future of America and to bringing about democracy in the Middle East.

So, he's a very unflinching president, even with all of this criticism going into this election.

COSTELLO: Yes, the two correspondents who asked very interesting questions, this question I really like: Can you really use an army to plant democracy in an Arab country? How did the president respond to that?

FRANK: Well, he believes in it absolutely. And we got the sense, you know, with the president, it's not so much this neoconservative philosophy some of his advisors believe in, and, you know, that this is really an aggressive way to remake the world. For the president, it's a matter of practicality. He really believes this is the best way to keep America safe from terrorism.

And so, to him, it's, you know, kind of a way to keep more planes from flying into more buildings.

COSTELLO: One quote is already making hay for the Democrats. I want to read the quote from "TIME" magazine from George Bush. When asked the question, what did he learn from Iraq? He said: "Had we had to do it all over again, we would look at the consequences of catastrophic success being so successful so fast that an enemy that should have surrendered or had been done in escaped and lived to fight another day."

Here's what John Edwards had to say in response to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I understand the president is now describing his Iraq policy as a catastrophic success. I, like most Americans, have no idea what that means. But it is long past time for this president to accept personal responsibilities for his failures and for his performance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, what did the president really mean by "catastrophic success?" FRANK: Well, what he was trying to say was they were not prepared to take Baghdad and to take control of the country as quickly as they did. They really thought that this would be a much more long, drawn-out battle. They thought Saddam would engage them more fully. And they thought the armies would stand up, which is kind of a surprise, because if you think back to the first Gulf War, the Iraqi army pretty much folded there. The thought was they would be a lot tougher this time in defending their homeland.

And so, they were not prepared for the fact that a lot of the members of this army kind of dropped their uniforms and guns and ran off, only to re-emerge in the postwar chaos that we're still dealing with today.

COSTELLO: Kind of a new tactic for the Republicans, because they really haven't come out to say they've made many mistakes in orchestrating the war in Iraq.

FRANK: Well, this has been kind of a calculated strategy all week, the president telling some other newspapers that he had made some miscalculations in Iraq. It's the first time he's made any sort of concession of any mistakes. And it's an effort to kind of soften his image going into the convention. It's to say, yes, I've made mistakes, but I still have a strong vision for the country.

You know, the question is whether people are really willing to accept those explanations, while the fighting and the casualties are still going on.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Mitch Frank from "TIME" magazine, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

FRANK: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:46 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

France says it won't give in to the demands of Iraqi insurgents, who are holding two French journalists hostage. The militants are threatening to kill the hostages unless France gets rid of a law banning Muslim head scarves in public schools. French officials say the law will stay in place.

In Russia's breakaway region of Chechnya, official election results show the Kremlin's favorite candidate is going to win the presidency. The vote comes on the heels of two jetliner crashes that many have blamed on Chechen separatists.

In money news, prices at the pump have edged up ever so slightly. The average cost for a gallon of self-serve regular rose a half a penny over the past two weeks.

In culture, it was a big night for OutKast and Jay-Z, who each won four Moon Men at the MTV Video Music Awards. The show was relatively low-key as far as MTV goes with many performers and presenters using their airtime to encourage viewers to vote in the upcoming election.

In sports, Eli Manning will have to wait a while before becoming the so-called savior of the New York Giants. The team has announced that veteran Kurt Warner will be their starting quarterback when the season opens up on September 12.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.

The Olympics were full of drama. And now that the games have come to a close, we'll take a look back at the highs and lows, including the bizarre moment that interrupted the men's marathon. Did you see that? We'll show you more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Summer Games have come to a close, 103 medals for the United States and just about as much controversy as well. Did I say that right? I don't know.

CHRIS COTTER, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: It sounded good to me.

COSTELLO: Good, I'm so glad. Chris Cotter, our sports analyst, is here. And of course, Chad is going to join us.

So, let's talk about the Olympics. And you know, my favorite topic has always been the men's basketball team. How embarrassed are they going to be when they get back here?

COTTER: I don't think -- I think it will go away. You know, because NBA fans are NBA fans. And I think American basketball fans will see this and kind of, you know, maybe hide their eyes a little bit and say, oh, that's not that important to us anyway. We're more interested in the NBA.

So, they won the bronze medal. I think it's a team that was not constructed very well in terms of being able to win on the international scene. And you can't just send NBA players anymore without having your team built to be able to succeed, and I think that's the problem.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Isn't this like the all-star game? You put a bunch of great players together, but they don't play like a team. If you would have picked any one NBA team and sent the whole team over there that knew how to play together, I think we probably would have had better results.

COTTER: You know the best results we could have had? Take American players that are playing professionally overseas in Turkey and Italy and have them represent the United States, because they're used to playing in international styles.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's a good idea. OK, we must mention the women's performance in these Olympic Games, because they were stellar. COTTER: Yes, from a team perspective. I mean, whether it's the soccer team and Mia Hamm and Brandy Chastain and that whole group kind of going out winners, that was a great story, to the basketball team dominating to the softball team allowing just one run in their entire run to the gold medal, they were dominating.

And then you had Dawn Staley, the basketball player, carrying the flag into the opening ceremonies and Mia Hamm carrying it out for Team USA in the closing ceremonies. So, a great Olympics for American women, I think.

COSTELLO: Oh, that gave me chills. It did.

Let's talk about the Paul Hamm controversy. Will he ever have to give his gold medal back?

COTTER: Well, this has become a farce. I mean, this guy for the FIG who sends a letter to the USOC saying, we think you should give back the medal, because you weren't the rightful, you know, gold medal winner. This is a classic case of passing the buck. Just to take responsibility for your own group's incompetence in terms of not being able to judge this correctly and stop asking him to send the medal back. He's the gold medal winner, and leave it at that.

COSTELLO: Oh, Chris, (INAUDIBLE).

COTTER: It's a joke. This guy is a joke. You screwed up and all of your people screwed up, and now you're trying to pass the blame onto somebody else.

COSTELLO: I think most Americans would probably agree with Mr. Chris Cotter.

Let's talk about the men's marathon, because something freaky happened in the midst of it.

COTTER: Yes, it's crazy. And Chad, you're a big auto racing fan. You remember last year...

MYERS: The same guy.

COTTER: ... in the British Grand Prix, this guy runs out onto the track and cars. You know, Formula One cars are having to dodge him.

COSTELLO: Wow!

COTTER: You'll see here during the Olympic marathon, the final event of the Olympics, here's a Brazilian runner, who is in the lead at the time...

COSTELLO: Unbelievable!

COTTER: ... and this religious zealot from Ireland, a former priest who has been, I guess...

COSTELLO: Defrocked.

COTTER: ... yes, defrocked -- thank you very much -- deciding to push him off course.

Now, he wins bronze, and he's actually very happy. You see him there at the finish line. He's very pleased to win the bronze medal. And he said afterward -- at first he said, this cost me the gold. But then after reflecting upon it, he said, you know what? I'm happy to win bronze. And I don't think he would have won gold anyway, because he was being caught at the time.

But still, it's remarkable that this same individual who ran out on the race course at a Formula One race last year now runs out on the marathon.

COSTELLO: Where will he turn up next?

MYERS: Maybe a NASCAR race.

COSTELLO: I hope not.

MYERS: Because those guys can't stop as well as the FIA guys can.

COTTER: They won't stop either.

COSTELLO: Thanks, guys. We're going to take a break. We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Back to our e-mail question of the day: Will the protesters in New York have a political impact on the November election? Your responses are filling up the DAYBREAK in-box this morning.

MYERS: Yes, it sure is. I think Gary got something really pretty close here from Tampa: "It depends on how much coverage you give us. The media plays an important part of politics because it's the only way viewers that don't actually live in New York City can see what's actually going on there."

That's probably pretty close.

And from Melanie: "Of course, protesters can make a difference. Grassroots efforts make a difference in every political election."

And from Dana in Lexington, Kentucky: "Elections won't be affected. But wasn't it a beautiful and peaceful display of democracy in action?"

And then Jeremy had a completely opposite idea: "Protesters are hippies, fruits, nuts and flakes. Enough said."

And I'll give this one to Jack Cafferty, because maybe he can use it later. COSTELLO: Yes, he'd make hay with that.

MYERS: Anyway, and the rest of them were just very basically all over the board. Yes, they would; no, they wouldn't. We had a lot more yeses than nos, to tell you the truth.

Here are the questions from Friday to give you this beautiful CNN DAYBREAK coffee mug, the one that we'll pack and ship off to you. And it will take about six or eight weeks, because we use pony express.

Here you go. Name one of the three ways that Holly Firfer told us you can boost your emotional energy. It's an emotional rescue. Holly suggested keep a journal, express your emotions and be social.

And who starred in Steven Spielberg's full-time, full-length, first big movie, "Duel," now available on DVD?

COSTELLO: Yes, you were wrong.

MYERS: Dennis Weaver.

COSTELLO: It's Dennis Weaver.

MYERS: Dennis Weaver.

And the winner, Andrew Weideger, or Weideger, from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Congratulations, Andrew.

Now your questions for today. What is the name of the statue that artists received at the MTV Music Awards? You just said it a few minutes ago. And how many Olympic gold medals did the United States win at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens?

COSTELLO: Oh, it's an easy one.

MYERS: We'll have the winner tomorrow.

COSTELLO: Daybreak@cnn.com -- daybreak@cnn.com.

I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. That does it for us this morning. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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 August 30, 2004 - 06:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COSTELLO: Sixty-four days to go until the election. We are counting down to November 2nd when America votes.
It is the Republicans' turn in the spotlight today, however. They're kicking off their national convention in New York, a day after protesters staged huge rallies against President Bush.

Let's go live to Madison Square Garden and CNN's Kareen Wynter. Good morning, Kareen.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

And those rallies are expected to continue ever day this week, every day of the convention, as protesters hammer home their message.

Switching topics just a bit, political experts believe President Bush's mission this week, what he wants to accomplish -- three central themes that he'll focus on: Iraq, the economy, and terrorism -- as he takes the stage here behind me Thursday night and makes his national presidential pitch to an audience of thousands.

Now, behind me on this Monday morning, the convention hall is slowly, slowly starting to come to life. You can see, in addition to the media, dozens of volunteers on the floor getting things in order for today's session, where President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney's names will be placed in nomination.

Now, in the backdrop of all of this, of course: security.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTER (voice over): This is just a glance at what $80 million in security looks like, a cost to safeguard the 2004 GOP convention. Ten thousand NYPD officers have been joined by thousands more federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're doing everything we can conceivable do to make sure that people are safe and secure. But as is the case in life, there are no guarantees at all.

WYNTER: Bomb-sniffing dogs, security cameras and high-tech surveillance equipment are just a few of the safety measures in place as the spotlight shines on Madison Square Garden.

The Republicans are getting ready to roll into their big week, but party faithfuls have no choice but to share some of the spotlight with diehard protesters. Sunday, tens of thousands of protesters, along with a few famous names, marched their way along the convention site in opposition to President Bush and the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

MICHAEL MOORE, FILMMAKER: The majority of this country opposes this war. The majority of this country wants the Bush administration out of office.

WYNTER: Police say some 200 people were arrested on various charges.

President Bush, who is out on the campaign trial, isn't expected to arrive in the Big Apple until Wednesday evening. However, late Sunday afternoon, Vice President Dick Cheney did a walk-through inside the garden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And while the population in Boston is nowhere close to that here in New York, we're seeing some similarities, Carol, between the RNC and DNC; namely, in the businesses in downtown New York. Here in Manhattan, some businesses are closed. Those that are open, workers, we're told, encouraged their employees to take the week off just to cut down on some of the congestion. You can imagine the traffic situation as this week gets into full swing.

COSTELLO: I don't even want to imagine it, Kareen. Kareen Wynter reporting live from Madison Square Garden this morning, thank you.

President Bush does have his work cut out for him this week, especially in 17 so-called showdown states. Let's concentrate on Pennsylvania this morning.

A new poll is out from CNN, "USA Today" and Gallup. It shows likely voters are evenly split over Bush and John Kerry. They both have 47 percent support. Ralph Nader has 2 percent. So, the heat is on.

Joining us live by phone from Pennsylvania this morning, Republican Congresswoman Melissa Hart, and from Philadelphia, Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah.

Welcome to you both.

REP. MELISSA HART (R), PENNSYLVANIA: Good morning.

REP. CHAKA FATTAH (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Pennsylvania gave Al Gore a victory by just over 4 percent. Congresswoman Hart, what do undecided and independent voters want to hear this week?

HART: I think what they're going to hear, and that is that the Republican Party is a wide-open party. It is really run by a lot of folks across the country who are very interested in leadership, and that's the one thing that's really important. We're going to state our party's principles, the things that we're going to do. Unlike the Democratic Party, which has a platform that nobody's even read and don't follow, the Republican Party stated what we've been able to accomplish: the education reforms, the leadership in the war on terror, taking charge. What we have to do is make a decision and stick with it, and this president certainly has done that.

COSTELLO: Congressman Fattah, the speakers highlighted in primetime at the RNC are moderates. The more conservative speakers will be on the podium during the day when less people watch. A good strategy?

FATTAH: Well, look, I think that it's not just the show that they put on, but the work. If you're one of the millions of Americans who are waking up this morning and you've been unemployed for a long period of time, if you're one of the 45 million without health insurance or one of the 35 million in poverty, look at the results. They've done worse with this economy than any president since Hoover.

And so, it's not this show in New York; it's what's going on in your hometown. And in Pennsylvania, the reason why the president -- you saw the numbers in the latest poll. Pennsylvanians are not fooled by the talk and the rhetoric of this administration. They've been looking at the results, and Americans are going to be able do something about changing the course of the country on the first Tuesday in November.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman Hart, the protests in New York looked massive over the weekend. Will they make a difference as people watch this convention?

HART: I doubt it. I spoke with some police officers, and I'm in New York, and they were all saying that the protesters, the estimates turned out to be a lot less than expected. I spoke with an aide to Mary Bloomberg and I spoke with Governor Pataki.

And so, I think so far, the protests have been overblown as far as the estimates of how many people came in. I don't think they're going to be affecting anything. You know, everybody has the right to speak, and I'm pleased that the city of New York has provided that.

But you know, to respond to my colleague, you know, jobs growth and loss in Pennsylvania is even in 2001. We've had an attack on this country like no one has ever seen before. We've had an economic slowdown that had nothing to do with the president. In fact, it began before he took office. Yet, Pennsylvania's jobs are steady from before -- you know, from the beginning of his first term.

It's important to note, you know, that there are economic cycles that have nothing to do with the president. This president has done so much to increase, for example, the money that people take home. The tax burden on Pennsylvanians has gone down about, oh, 30 percent on the federal level for a lot of lower-income Pennsylvanians.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman, let me interrupt... HART: It's important to note that.

COSTELLO: Let me interrupt for a second to allow Congressman Fattah to respond, not only to that, because we want to talk about the number of jobs created, not very many in light of what President Bush promised in the year 2000. And also, I want to talk to you, Congressman Fattah, about the protesters there. There were tens of thousands of them.

FATTAH: Well, Carol, it's Congressman Fattah, and I'm from Philadelphia. It's early in the morning, but it's not early in this administration. They've been through four years, and they have not created the jobs. Under Clinton, we had 23 million new jobs. Under this administration, they have yet to create their first net new job. That is that they're about almost two million short of the jobs that did exist in our economy before President Bush took office.

So, part of the reason why you see people protesting is they disagree with the policies. They are tired of seeing Americans die in Iraq or in Afghanistan. They're concerned about some of the questions about why we went off to war in Iraq in the first place and being misled. But they have a right to protest.

But the biggest protest that anyone can have is to cast their vote on Election Day. And that's what people in Pennsylvania and across the country are, I think, anxious to do. And they'll be glad when the parties, Democrats and Republicans, get finished with their conventions, and we can get down to elections.

Because if you're satisfied with what Bush has done, all you have to do is re-elect him. If you want a different direction -- and every poll we've seen says the country is on the wrong track. If they want a different direction, they have one alternative, and that is to elect John Kerry and make a change in the direction of our country.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman Hart, the last word.

HART: Well, first of all, since the recovery began, there have been a million new jobs created. And if Americans want a new direction, they can pick John Kerry. But we have no idea what direction he'll go in since he's really been on every side of every issue.

COSTELLO: Congressman Melissa Hart and Democratic Congressman Chaka Fattah joining us live this morning. Thanks to you both.

Let's head live to New York now to check in with Bill Hemmer, who is covering the convention for us.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

Day one here, and on "AMERICAN MORNING" we've rounded up just about everybody we can think of, I think. The mayor is with us at the top of the hour to talk about what happened over the weekend, how things are going security-wise throughout the city here. Michael Bloomberg, one of our many guests.

This is Dick Cheney who was here late yesterday afternoon getting a check of the stage and the sound system set up in Madison Square Garden. Dennis Hastert, the House speaker, is our guest. Senator Elizabeth Dole, we'll talk to her.

We'll also talk to the Democratic Senator Zell Miller. He is speaking in favor of George Bush at this convention. We'll get his thoughts today. Also, Democratic reaction, former presidential candidate Wesley Clark will stop along as well.

Also, Carol, we would be remiss not to talk about Athens and what happened over the weekend. The gold medalist, the American Paul Hamm, is back here in the U.S. He still has that gold medal, but that doesn't mean the questions aren't still circulating around him, too. So, we'll get his thoughts on that.

I'm going to be here at Madison Square Garden, Carol. Heidi Collins is going to be back on our plaza level at Time Life Studios. Jack Cafferty and Andy Serwer are going to be at the CNN Diner. We've got the whole city covered for you starting today.

COSTELLO: Oh, I'd love to be in that diner.

HEMMER: And I'm looking forward to hearing you tonight on CNN Radio, by the way, so good luck on that.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much.

HEMMER: Sure.

COSTELLO: 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on CNN Radio. Thank you, Bill. We'll get back to you in about 40 minutes.

HEMMER: Sure.

COSTELLO: The war, the economy, the campaign, "The World According to George Bush." It is the convention week's special report in "TIME." One of the magazine's correspondents joins me next at 42 minutes past the hour.

And the games may be over, but has the controversy come to a close? An Olympic recap at 50 minutes past.

But first, a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: On the day the Republican National Convention begins, "TIME" magazine is going inside the mind of George Bush. It's a fascinating article done face-to-face with two "TIME" reporters.

So, let's head live to New York and Mitch Frank.

Good morning, Mitch. He's from "TIME" magazine. MITCH FRANK, "TIME" MAGAZINE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, can you boil it down? What is "The World According to George Bush?"

FRANK: Well, really George W. Bush doesn't look back. That's mostly what it's about.

You know, when we sat down with the president, he really was stressing that he has a vision for his second term, and it's very familiar to those who have paid attention to his first. He is going to stay on the war on terrorism. He sees that the Iraq war, although tougher than expected, is crucial to the future of America and to bringing about democracy in the Middle East.

So, he's a very unflinching president, even with all of this criticism going into this election.

COSTELLO: Yes, the two correspondents who asked very interesting questions, this question I really like: Can you really use an army to plant democracy in an Arab country? How did the president respond to that?

FRANK: Well, he believes in it absolutely. And we got the sense, you know, with the president, it's not so much this neoconservative philosophy some of his advisors believe in, and, you know, that this is really an aggressive way to remake the world. For the president, it's a matter of practicality. He really believes this is the best way to keep America safe from terrorism.

And so, to him, it's, you know, kind of a way to keep more planes from flying into more buildings.

COSTELLO: One quote is already making hay for the Democrats. I want to read the quote from "TIME" magazine from George Bush. When asked the question, what did he learn from Iraq? He said: "Had we had to do it all over again, we would look at the consequences of catastrophic success being so successful so fast that an enemy that should have surrendered or had been done in escaped and lived to fight another day."

Here's what John Edwards had to say in response to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I understand the president is now describing his Iraq policy as a catastrophic success. I, like most Americans, have no idea what that means. But it is long past time for this president to accept personal responsibilities for his failures and for his performance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, what did the president really mean by "catastrophic success?" FRANK: Well, what he was trying to say was they were not prepared to take Baghdad and to take control of the country as quickly as they did. They really thought that this would be a much more long, drawn-out battle. They thought Saddam would engage them more fully. And they thought the armies would stand up, which is kind of a surprise, because if you think back to the first Gulf War, the Iraqi army pretty much folded there. The thought was they would be a lot tougher this time in defending their homeland.

And so, they were not prepared for the fact that a lot of the members of this army kind of dropped their uniforms and guns and ran off, only to re-emerge in the postwar chaos that we're still dealing with today.

COSTELLO: Kind of a new tactic for the Republicans, because they really haven't come out to say they've made many mistakes in orchestrating the war in Iraq.

FRANK: Well, this has been kind of a calculated strategy all week, the president telling some other newspapers that he had made some miscalculations in Iraq. It's the first time he's made any sort of concession of any mistakes. And it's an effort to kind of soften his image going into the convention. It's to say, yes, I've made mistakes, but I still have a strong vision for the country.

You know, the question is whether people are really willing to accept those explanations, while the fighting and the casualties are still going on.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Mitch Frank from "TIME" magazine, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

FRANK: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:46 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

France says it won't give in to the demands of Iraqi insurgents, who are holding two French journalists hostage. The militants are threatening to kill the hostages unless France gets rid of a law banning Muslim head scarves in public schools. French officials say the law will stay in place.

In Russia's breakaway region of Chechnya, official election results show the Kremlin's favorite candidate is going to win the presidency. The vote comes on the heels of two jetliner crashes that many have blamed on Chechen separatists.

In money news, prices at the pump have edged up ever so slightly. The average cost for a gallon of self-serve regular rose a half a penny over the past two weeks.

In culture, it was a big night for OutKast and Jay-Z, who each won four Moon Men at the MTV Video Music Awards. The show was relatively low-key as far as MTV goes with many performers and presenters using their airtime to encourage viewers to vote in the upcoming election.

In sports, Eli Manning will have to wait a while before becoming the so-called savior of the New York Giants. The team has announced that veteran Kurt Warner will be their starting quarterback when the season opens up on September 12.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.

The Olympics were full of drama. And now that the games have come to a close, we'll take a look back at the highs and lows, including the bizarre moment that interrupted the men's marathon. Did you see that? We'll show you more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Summer Games have come to a close, 103 medals for the United States and just about as much controversy as well. Did I say that right? I don't know.

CHRIS COTTER, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: It sounded good to me.

COSTELLO: Good, I'm so glad. Chris Cotter, our sports analyst, is here. And of course, Chad is going to join us.

So, let's talk about the Olympics. And you know, my favorite topic has always been the men's basketball team. How embarrassed are they going to be when they get back here?

COTTER: I don't think -- I think it will go away. You know, because NBA fans are NBA fans. And I think American basketball fans will see this and kind of, you know, maybe hide their eyes a little bit and say, oh, that's not that important to us anyway. We're more interested in the NBA.

So, they won the bronze medal. I think it's a team that was not constructed very well in terms of being able to win on the international scene. And you can't just send NBA players anymore without having your team built to be able to succeed, and I think that's the problem.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Isn't this like the all-star game? You put a bunch of great players together, but they don't play like a team. If you would have picked any one NBA team and sent the whole team over there that knew how to play together, I think we probably would have had better results.

COTTER: You know the best results we could have had? Take American players that are playing professionally overseas in Turkey and Italy and have them represent the United States, because they're used to playing in international styles.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's a good idea. OK, we must mention the women's performance in these Olympic Games, because they were stellar. COTTER: Yes, from a team perspective. I mean, whether it's the soccer team and Mia Hamm and Brandy Chastain and that whole group kind of going out winners, that was a great story, to the basketball team dominating to the softball team allowing just one run in their entire run to the gold medal, they were dominating.

And then you had Dawn Staley, the basketball player, carrying the flag into the opening ceremonies and Mia Hamm carrying it out for Team USA in the closing ceremonies. So, a great Olympics for American women, I think.

COSTELLO: Oh, that gave me chills. It did.

Let's talk about the Paul Hamm controversy. Will he ever have to give his gold medal back?

COTTER: Well, this has become a farce. I mean, this guy for the FIG who sends a letter to the USOC saying, we think you should give back the medal, because you weren't the rightful, you know, gold medal winner. This is a classic case of passing the buck. Just to take responsibility for your own group's incompetence in terms of not being able to judge this correctly and stop asking him to send the medal back. He's the gold medal winner, and leave it at that.

COSTELLO: Oh, Chris, (INAUDIBLE).

COTTER: It's a joke. This guy is a joke. You screwed up and all of your people screwed up, and now you're trying to pass the blame onto somebody else.

COSTELLO: I think most Americans would probably agree with Mr. Chris Cotter.

Let's talk about the men's marathon, because something freaky happened in the midst of it.

COTTER: Yes, it's crazy. And Chad, you're a big auto racing fan. You remember last year...

MYERS: The same guy.

COTTER: ... in the British Grand Prix, this guy runs out onto the track and cars. You know, Formula One cars are having to dodge him.

COSTELLO: Wow!

COTTER: You'll see here during the Olympic marathon, the final event of the Olympics, here's a Brazilian runner, who is in the lead at the time...

COSTELLO: Unbelievable!

COTTER: ... and this religious zealot from Ireland, a former priest who has been, I guess...

COSTELLO: Defrocked.

COTTER: ... yes, defrocked -- thank you very much -- deciding to push him off course.

Now, he wins bronze, and he's actually very happy. You see him there at the finish line. He's very pleased to win the bronze medal. And he said afterward -- at first he said, this cost me the gold. But then after reflecting upon it, he said, you know what? I'm happy to win bronze. And I don't think he would have won gold anyway, because he was being caught at the time.

But still, it's remarkable that this same individual who ran out on the race course at a Formula One race last year now runs out on the marathon.

COSTELLO: Where will he turn up next?

MYERS: Maybe a NASCAR race.

COSTELLO: I hope not.

MYERS: Because those guys can't stop as well as the FIA guys can.

COTTER: They won't stop either.

COSTELLO: Thanks, guys. We're going to take a break. We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Back to our e-mail question of the day: Will the protesters in New York have a political impact on the November election? Your responses are filling up the DAYBREAK in-box this morning.

MYERS: Yes, it sure is. I think Gary got something really pretty close here from Tampa: "It depends on how much coverage you give us. The media plays an important part of politics because it's the only way viewers that don't actually live in New York City can see what's actually going on there."

That's probably pretty close.

And from Melanie: "Of course, protesters can make a difference. Grassroots efforts make a difference in every political election."

And from Dana in Lexington, Kentucky: "Elections won't be affected. But wasn't it a beautiful and peaceful display of democracy in action?"

And then Jeremy had a completely opposite idea: "Protesters are hippies, fruits, nuts and flakes. Enough said."

And I'll give this one to Jack Cafferty, because maybe he can use it later. COSTELLO: Yes, he'd make hay with that.

MYERS: Anyway, and the rest of them were just very basically all over the board. Yes, they would; no, they wouldn't. We had a lot more yeses than nos, to tell you the truth.

Here are the questions from Friday to give you this beautiful CNN DAYBREAK coffee mug, the one that we'll pack and ship off to you. And it will take about six or eight weeks, because we use pony express.

Here you go. Name one of the three ways that Holly Firfer told us you can boost your emotional energy. It's an emotional rescue. Holly suggested keep a journal, express your emotions and be social.

And who starred in Steven Spielberg's full-time, full-length, first big movie, "Duel," now available on DVD?

COSTELLO: Yes, you were wrong.

MYERS: Dennis Weaver.

COSTELLO: It's Dennis Weaver.

MYERS: Dennis Weaver.

And the winner, Andrew Weideger, or Weideger, from Virginia Beach, Virginia. Congratulations, Andrew.

Now your questions for today. What is the name of the statue that artists received at the MTV Music Awards? You just said it a few minutes ago. And how many Olympic gold medals did the United States win at the 2004 Summer Games in Athens?

COSTELLO: Oh, it's an easy one.

MYERS: We'll have the winner tomorrow.

COSTELLO: Daybreak@cnn.com -- daybreak@cnn.com.

I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. That does it for us this morning. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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