Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Interview with Dan Senor; 15 Children Released From Seized Russian School; Interview with Terry McAuliffe
Aired September 01, 2004 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We're looking south right along Seventh Avenue right outside of Madison Square Garden. A beautiful day here in New York City. We'll see what transpires now on day three of the Republican National Convention.
And welcome back, everyone. And good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer live inside the garden here.
In a moment, defending the war in Iraq has become a main point of this convention. And the president was talking about it this week with his remarks about the catastrophic success. We'll talk to the former U.S. spokesperson in Iraq, Dan Senor, about what all of that means.
Also ahead, an update on what's happening with the Kerry campaign. The Democratic Committee chairman is our guest, Terry McAuliffe; coming up in a few minutes, in fact. Is it true that a major shakeup may be in the works for the Kerry campaign? And if so, what is that shakeup? We'll try and get some answers for you.
Back over to Heidi Collins again. Heidi -- good morning to you on a Wednesday.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Terry McAuliffe is standing right here. We will be talking with him, Bill, in just a moment.
Meanwhile, we want to check some of the other stories now in the news.
A major standoff under way at an elementary school near Russia's border with Chechnya. Just hours ago, Russian forces, backed by tank, encircled the building, where as many as 400 people are reportedly being held. That's according to Russian news media reports. And President Vladimir Putin is holding an emergency security meeting now to discuss the situation. We'll keep you updated on all of that.
And within the past hour, CNN has learned a group of hostages in Iraq has been released. This video is just coming in to us now. A Kuwaiti company says the seven truck drivers, including three Kenyans, three Indians and an Egyptian man, were freed after being held by captors for more than a month. The men are now expected to arrive in Kuwait in just about two hours.
Authorities in Nepal issued a curfew on Katmandu several hours ago to curb a wave of angry protesters sparked by yesterday's killings of 12 Nepalese hostages in Iraq.
Meantime, the fate of two French journalists being held captive there is still unknown. The deadline for France to meet the kidnappers' demand to lift the ban on head scarves in schools may have been extended to today.
A little bit of lighter news now; good news, in fact, for Red Sox fans, but a humiliating blow to the Yankees. The team endured a whopping 22-0 loss against the Cleveland Indians last night, the worst defeat in its 101-year history, narrowing the Yankees' lead over Boston to three and a half games. Ouch!
Bill -- back to you.
HEMMER: Yes. September 1, Yankees...
COLLINS: Not a good day to remember for them.
HEMMER: Yes, beaten up for a couple weeks right now, not good news here in New York. Thank you, Heidi.
Back here in Madison Square Garden right now, I want to turn our attention now to what's happening in Iraq. Four mortar rounds exploded near the Green Zone near the convention center. That's where the Iraqi National Council is holding its first meeting today. No casualties reported there.
Also, the interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, is condemning an attack on the politician, Ahmed Chalabi. Chalabi is OK. How much, though, will the situation in Iraq affect this election? That's a key question for Dan Senor. He served as the coalition spokesperson in Iraq for about 15 months' time. I talked with him a few moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: How much is this vote in November a referendum on Iraq?
DAN SENOR, FMR. COALITION SPOKESMAN IN IRAQ: I think it's one of the central issues in the campaign as the overall war on terrorism. Iraq is a big piece of it. Afghanistan is a big piece of it. The extent to which President Bush is committed to dealing with threats before they become imminent to the United States is central in this campaign. Senator Kerry has a different view.
So, I think the overall approach to dealing with the war on terrorism, of which Iraq is certainly a big piece.
HEMMER: Senator Kerry. You mentioned him. He makes his speech today right around noon Eastern Time down in Tennessee. He will argue that the president did not have a plan for the peace. Can you understand that argument given what's happening today in Iraq?
SENOR: Well, I can tell you what's happened over the last year while I was there. We said we needed to form an Iraqi Governing Council in the summer. We formed it on time. We had a plan to work with the Iraqis to pass an interim constitution, an unprecedented constitution for that part of the world. It was passed on time. We had a plan for early June to form an interim government. It occurred on time. We had a plan to hand over sovereignty to the Iraqis by the end of June. It happened ahead of schedule.
Now, we've had a national conference in Iraq on plan, and in January we'll have elections in Iraq.
So, there is a plan to give Iraq political sovereignty. It's already happened. Move the process forward, continue to consolidate that victory, build on that, and we're moving forward.
HEMMER: But what about the plan for taking care of what's happening now? Go back to my original question. Can you understand the complaints on behalf of Democrats, who say there was no plan from the Pentagon or the White House or Central Command about taking care of things now in Iraq?
SENOR: There certainly was a plan. I think you have to have a set of strategic goals, and then you have to have some tactical flexibility. You've got to be focused on handing over a representative government to the Iraqi people that at some point is able to defend itself with support from us.
Along the path you're going to deal with ambiguities and deal with problems. Anyone who has had experience with these situations understands that. President Bush certainly understands that, and that's what's occurring on the ground.
HEMMER: And there was a mention earlier in the week about a catastrophic success. The president referred to that. Yesterday, he came back out and said essentially on the entire war on terror that it will be won in due time.
In Iraq today -- and I know you're much more on the civil side than the military side -- when it comes to Iyad Allawi, how much respect does that man have in Iraq today?
SENOR: He has very significant respect. We've seen polls that show very high approval ratings. People are giving him a real honeymoon period here.
But I also think it's important to recognize Prime Minister Allawi has seized on the central issue for the Iraqis, the one they care most about, which is security. If there were an election campaign held in Iraq today, the bumper sticker would say, "It's security, stupid." And he has made this his focus. He's working with us in building up the Iraqi security services and building up the Iraqi intelligence services.
Every time there's a major bombing or attack, he's the first one on the scene. He played a key role in ending the standoff in Najaf. So, he is definitely resonating in that regard.
HEMMER: If you look at Najaf then and take that as one incident, and look at the long list of other matters to be taken care of in Iraq today, where do you go to after Najaf when it comes to Ramadi and Fallujah? And how long does the list get after that?
SENOR: Well, I think the most significant threat is northwest of Baghdad, with regard to the cities you pointed out, which are the foreign fighters that have been coming in, the professional terrorists, members of the al Qaeda network that are operating in that part of Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Dan Senor earlier today, from a coalition spokesperson here in New York.
Now Heidi again -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Bill, I want to update you once again on the situation in Russia in an area called Ossensa (ph) -- or Ossetia, that is. We are getting reports from the Russian news agency, ITAR-TASS that apparently this hostage situation is changing. We're being told about 15 children may have been released there.
As we earlier reported to you, several people were held hostage. Our latest number is telling us that possibly 100 people are still inside that school there. It is the first day of school in this area; again, the Russian region of Ossetia.
So, we have Ryan Chilcote standing by. He's in Moscow. He's going to update us on this situation.
But once again the latest now, we're learning that possibly 15 children have been released. So, hopefully some progress there. We'll keep you updated on that story.
Meanwhile, Senator John Kerry is campaigning in Tennessee today. Kerry arrived in Nashville last night. He speaks today at the American Legion Convention.
Last night at the Republican Convention, Arnold Schwarzenegger put the war on terror front and center in the Bush re-election effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: If you believe -- if you believe that this country, not the United Nations, is best hope for democracy, then you are Republican!
(APPLAUSE)
And, ladies and gentlemen, if you believe that we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism, then you are Republican!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Here now with the Democratic response to the latest from the GOP Convention, Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Good morning to you. Thanks for coming over.
TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: Heidi, good morning.
COLLINS: You heard what Arnold Schwarzenegger said. If he describes what a Republican is, what's a Democrat?
MCAULIFFE: Pro-job growth, pro-health care, pro-education. I mean, last night, Heidi, was supposed to be their night. It was supposed to be compassion. Yet, Arnold Schwarzenegger not once did he mention the word "jobs," did he mention the middle-class, did he mention health care. He referenced the word "me" 11 times, only talked about George Bush six times. So, it was an interesting speech last night.
If last night was about compassion, there was nothing compassionate about what's going on inside Madison Square Garden. Their message is not resonating across America. This convention is not working for them, because they're not talking about the issues that people want this campaign to be about.
COLLINS: Well, something is working. We're looking at some of the poll numbers now. Getting back to the Swift Boat issue, which everyone continues to talk about.
MCAULIFFE: Right.
COLLINS: We've seen some changes there in those poll ratings, as well as the fund-raising. What about the recent employment of Joe Lockhart for the Kerry campaign? Is that in reference to the Swift Boat ads?
MCAULIFFE: Well, obviously we're about 62 days away from the election. We've always said, as John Kerry has always said to me, now there is all hands on deck. I've got to tell you, John Kerry has run a magnificent campaign. Mary Beth Cahill, all of the people involved in the Kerry for president had a magnificent -- you know, they ramped up the nomination by March 10. They had a great spring offensive. And as you know, we had a great convention.
So, we're going to start to bring in people to compliment as we head into the general election. We leave here obviously on Friday. Senator Kerry goes out to Ohio and to battleground states, 60 days, get our message out there. But there's a stark contrast between George Bush and John Kerry about taking this country forward.
COLLINS: Some people would say, now critics, of course, would say that the reaction from the Kerry campaign to the Swift Boat ads is slow and ineffective.
MCAULIFFE: Well, I think when they first came out you couldn't believe that this group of people would come out and attack the integrity of a man who served in Vietnam. It has come out in most publications that several of the gentlemen misled, deliberately lied. One gentleman said that he had seen of these types of activities in Vietnam. He then admitted, well, it was only hearsay. You know, let's make this election about what's going on in people's lives, jobs creation. We've got 45 million Americans today with no health insurance at all. George Bush under-funded the Leave No Child Behind by $9 billion. And we have a mess on our hands in Iraq.
Now, George Bush and his folks want to talk to about 35 years ago, because, as you know, he just announced that he miscalculated in Iraq, and he also said that we can't win the war on terror. So...
COLLINS: But did John Kerry not present himself as a Vietnam veteran in this campaign? Was that not very important to him?
MCAULIFFE: Absolutely. And all we ask is when you want to go and attack John Kerry, that's fine. This is politics. Just tell the truth! That's all we ask. You know, handing out band-aids with little Purple Hearts, it's disgraceful. They are mocking every man and woman who has put a uniform on in this country.
COLLINS: Another thing Arnold Schwarzenegger said last night -- quoting now: "One of my movies was called 'True Lies.' It's what the Democrats should have called their convention.'
What is your impression so far overall of the last two nights of the Republican Convention?
MCAULIFFE: A masquerade ball. The people they have up there speaking don't represent the platform of the Republican Party. The platform that they adopted on Monday is so far right, so extreme, out of the mainstream of America, and yet they put on these speakers. Not one of their speakers would or could be appointed a federal judge by George Bush, because they are not where George Bush is on all of these different issues.
COLLINS: Quickly before we let you go, what happens after the convention for the Kerry campaign?
MCAULIFFE: We are within 60 days to go. John Kerry heads out on Friday, hits the battleground states, 60 days, no looking back, taking our message -- John Kerry's message of jobs creation, how we're going to fix the health care system. John Kerry has promised to create 10 million new jobs his first term in office, cut the deficit in half, give everybody who wants to go to college a $4,000 tax break, reduce your health care premiums by $1,000.
Those are the issues that voters are dying for us to talk about, and we're going to talk about it, and we're going to take that message to them.
COLLINS: Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe.
MCAULIFFE: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Thanks for your time this morning.
MCAULIFFE: You bet.
COLLINS: Other news now. Hurricane Frances is still kicking it up in the United States here.
(WEATHER BREAK)
HEMMER: In a moment here, back to the diner. Jack is standing by with the "Voice of the Voter" today.
Also, a political spin on today's "90-Second Pop." The Bush twins made a splash last night here introducing their father. Their father introducing their mother. How did that play? We'll check it out, still to come this hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: It is one of the hottest places in all of New York City here, 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, right there in the northwest corner, the CNN Diner. It used to be the Tick Tock Diner, but -- well, we've kind of put some money inside there and changed it up and made the food a lot better, huh? And no one loves that more than Jack Cafferty, and the food is free.
Hey, Jack, good morning. How goes it inside over there?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It's just sizzling here, Bill, here at the CNN Diner. We're doing a special segment on the "Cafferty File" this week called the "Voice of the Voter". And earlier, we were out around town with our cameras, and we asked people if they felt this city was a terrorist target this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I feel pretty safe, because I think those who might make it a target want Bush to be president. When New York is a target for terrorists, that's obvious. That's been proven. But New York is a great city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The terrorist attacks were terrible, terrible things. And I have no doubt that al Qaeda would love to cause more damage to the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have to worry about getting robbed this week. Never. I have never felt so protected in all the 68 years I'm in New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: The question of the day has to do with whether or not President Bush, when he comes to Queens tonight where he'll watch Vice President Cheney's speech with a group of New York City firefighters, whether he'll be accused by the opposition of exploiting the memories of September 11. AM@CNN.com, if you care to weigh in. We'll read some of the responses later.
Heidi -- back to you. COLLINS: OK, Jack, thanks. We'll look forward to that.
Still to come this morning, Republicans are getting down at the GOP Convention. But you won't find the best party at Madison Square Garden. No. The inside scoop on the best shindigs in "90-Second Pop". It's all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This morning it's a little bit politics and a little bit rock 'n' roll. It sounds like (UNINTELLIGIBLE), doesn't it?
It's time to meet our "90-Second Pop" panel this morning. B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly," Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine, and Andy Borowitz, chairman, CEO of BorowitzReport.com.
Thanks, as always, you guys, for being here.
Sarah, I want to start with you.
SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Yes.
COLLINS: We know that there are some parties going on this week.
BERNARD: Just a couple.
COLLINS: And you guys have kind of been doing this inside scoop all week long so far. What has been the best party so far? What are the best ones yet to come?
BERNARD: Well, so the New York...
COLLINS: And why are we not there?
BERNARD: Why are we not there right now? I know.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Because we're us. Come on!
BERNARD: We've got work to do. Well, the parties at this convention are very different from the ones in Boston, mostly because of the lack of Hollywood celebrities, which have made them a lot less fun, perhaps I should say.
The party last night was actually the one that sort of attracted the most star watchers. It called the Creative Coalition event, which was actually kind of an entertainment industry non-partisan group for social and political advocacy. And that was at a club in West Chelsea, believe it or not. There were the Baldwin brothers. You had John McCain. You also had actors like Alan Cummings (ph). So that was a real mixture...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: The Baldwin brothers, that's pretty interesting.
BERNARD: Yes, exactly.
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": I just can't get over the juxtaposition of all of these, you know, Republicans partying in a town so known for its liberalness, you know, so filled with Democrats.
COLLINS: I thought you were trying to say Republicans can't party.
BERNARD: Yes, they can!
BOROWITZ: Do you know where I went?
SIGESMUND: We know the Republicans can party.
BOROWITZ: I went to an awesome party last night hosted by this group called Swift Boat Veterans for Disco.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I hear.
BOROWITZ: They're unbelievable. The cowboy was there.
BERNARD: But the real (UNINTELLIGIBLE) celebrities, actually the ticket this week is to follow the Bush twins around.
COLLINS: Well...
BERNARD: And that's really the most important thing. And on Sunday they actually kicked off their week with a red carpet appearance at Roseland.
COLLINS: Yes.
BERNARD: So they're actually the draw. And everyone is trying to follow them around. And on Thursday night, there's going be one last party called the New Generation event, and that's going to be hosted by Emma Bloomberg, daughter of Michael Bloomberg, Emily Pataki, daughter of George Pataki, Christi Whitman (ph)...
COLLINS: OK.
BERNARD: ... and also Bush twins will make their final good-bye to the city.
COLLINS: Very good. All right. Speaking of the Bush twins, B.J., last night...
SIGESMUND: Let's talk about them.
COLLINS: Last night they were on.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
COLLINS: OK. We want to go ahead and let's listen to just a little chunk. SIGESMUND: Sure.
COLLINS: And you can tell us what you think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNA BUSH, DAUGHTER: You know, all those times when you're growing up and your parents embarrass you? Well, this is payback time on live TV!
(APPLAUSE)
LAURA BUSH, DAUGHTER: Take this. I know it's hard to believe, but our parents' favorite term of endearment for each other is actually "Bushie." And we had a hamster, too. Let's just say ours didn't make it.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Your thoughts?
SIGESMUND: Yes. You know what? Some of those jokes kind of fell flat on the audience. But this has really been a coming-out week for the Bush girls. Their star has arrived. You know, as Sarah was mentioning, they were greeted at the Roseland event with the red carpet and paparazzi. And they wore -- you know, they had the look. They had jeans and high heels.
And then last night, you know, they looked so great on the air. And the Republican Party is not known for its young, hot chicks. So...
BOROWITZ: They are so cool. I mean, you know, instead of those "choose or lose" t-shirts, they're wearing these t-shirts that say, "choose your booze." And they're really great. I just think that's so great.
BERNARD: I think they were actually criticized a little bit last night for being too casual, I would say, in their conversation.
BOROWITZ: No.
BERNARD: But I think that it was actually good. I think it was a good attempt to personalize some of the stuff, you know, talk about their parents like they're real people (AUDIO GAP).
COLLINS: Andy, quickly, we've seen a lot of celebrity supporters. We were talking about this as far as the Democrats go. When you look at the Republicans, you see a little of that. What does it say, though, about the actual candidates respective of those celebrity supporters?
BOROWITZ: Well, I just think the Democrats are a little bit more high-octane in the celebrity world. I mean, we've talked about the Baldwins before. I actually use something...
COLLINS: Does that matter?
BOROWITZ: Well, it matters to me, because I just care about celebrities. But I use something called the Baldwin-omoter (ph) when I judge a convention. The Democrats had Alec Baldwin, who, you know, has been a movie star in a lot good movies. And we have here, I guess, Stephen Baldwin, who I'm not sure actually exists. Is that a real Baldwin brother?
SIGESMUND: He's been in movies, but I don't think of him as a movie star.
BERNARD: Yes, he's a Baldwin (UNINTELLIGIBLE) guy.
BOROWITZ: I believe he was in "The Flintstones" and "Viva Las Vegas."
COLLINS: Sounds very good. Thanks for bringing that up. Andy Borowitz, Sarah Bernard, B.J. Sigesmund, thanks so much, guys.
Bill -- back to the garden.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, thanks.
In a moment here, he may not be the most popular figure in the race for the White House, but there is no question and no doubt about how valuable the vice president, Dick Cheney, has been for the Republican ticket. A preview of one of the most anticipated speeches later tonight. We'll have it for you, top of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING live in Madison Square Garden.
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 September 1, 2004 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We're looking south right along Seventh Avenue right outside of Madison Square Garden. A beautiful day here in New York City. We'll see what transpires now on day three of the Republican National Convention.
And welcome back, everyone. And good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer live inside the garden here.
In a moment, defending the war in Iraq has become a main point of this convention. And the president was talking about it this week with his remarks about the catastrophic success. We'll talk to the former U.S. spokesperson in Iraq, Dan Senor, about what all of that means.
Also ahead, an update on what's happening with the Kerry campaign. The Democratic Committee chairman is our guest, Terry McAuliffe; coming up in a few minutes, in fact. Is it true that a major shakeup may be in the works for the Kerry campaign? And if so, what is that shakeup? We'll try and get some answers for you.
Back over to Heidi Collins again. Heidi -- good morning to you on a Wednesday.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Terry McAuliffe is standing right here. We will be talking with him, Bill, in just a moment.
Meanwhile, we want to check some of the other stories now in the news.
A major standoff under way at an elementary school near Russia's border with Chechnya. Just hours ago, Russian forces, backed by tank, encircled the building, where as many as 400 people are reportedly being held. That's according to Russian news media reports. And President Vladimir Putin is holding an emergency security meeting now to discuss the situation. We'll keep you updated on all of that.
And within the past hour, CNN has learned a group of hostages in Iraq has been released. This video is just coming in to us now. A Kuwaiti company says the seven truck drivers, including three Kenyans, three Indians and an Egyptian man, were freed after being held by captors for more than a month. The men are now expected to arrive in Kuwait in just about two hours.
Authorities in Nepal issued a curfew on Katmandu several hours ago to curb a wave of angry protesters sparked by yesterday's killings of 12 Nepalese hostages in Iraq.
Meantime, the fate of two French journalists being held captive there is still unknown. The deadline for France to meet the kidnappers' demand to lift the ban on head scarves in schools may have been extended to today.
A little bit of lighter news now; good news, in fact, for Red Sox fans, but a humiliating blow to the Yankees. The team endured a whopping 22-0 loss against the Cleveland Indians last night, the worst defeat in its 101-year history, narrowing the Yankees' lead over Boston to three and a half games. Ouch!
Bill -- back to you.
HEMMER: Yes. September 1, Yankees...
COLLINS: Not a good day to remember for them.
HEMMER: Yes, beaten up for a couple weeks right now, not good news here in New York. Thank you, Heidi.
Back here in Madison Square Garden right now, I want to turn our attention now to what's happening in Iraq. Four mortar rounds exploded near the Green Zone near the convention center. That's where the Iraqi National Council is holding its first meeting today. No casualties reported there.
Also, the interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, is condemning an attack on the politician, Ahmed Chalabi. Chalabi is OK. How much, though, will the situation in Iraq affect this election? That's a key question for Dan Senor. He served as the coalition spokesperson in Iraq for about 15 months' time. I talked with him a few moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: How much is this vote in November a referendum on Iraq?
DAN SENOR, FMR. COALITION SPOKESMAN IN IRAQ: I think it's one of the central issues in the campaign as the overall war on terrorism. Iraq is a big piece of it. Afghanistan is a big piece of it. The extent to which President Bush is committed to dealing with threats before they become imminent to the United States is central in this campaign. Senator Kerry has a different view.
So, I think the overall approach to dealing with the war on terrorism, of which Iraq is certainly a big piece.
HEMMER: Senator Kerry. You mentioned him. He makes his speech today right around noon Eastern Time down in Tennessee. He will argue that the president did not have a plan for the peace. Can you understand that argument given what's happening today in Iraq?
SENOR: Well, I can tell you what's happened over the last year while I was there. We said we needed to form an Iraqi Governing Council in the summer. We formed it on time. We had a plan to work with the Iraqis to pass an interim constitution, an unprecedented constitution for that part of the world. It was passed on time. We had a plan for early June to form an interim government. It occurred on time. We had a plan to hand over sovereignty to the Iraqis by the end of June. It happened ahead of schedule.
Now, we've had a national conference in Iraq on plan, and in January we'll have elections in Iraq.
So, there is a plan to give Iraq political sovereignty. It's already happened. Move the process forward, continue to consolidate that victory, build on that, and we're moving forward.
HEMMER: But what about the plan for taking care of what's happening now? Go back to my original question. Can you understand the complaints on behalf of Democrats, who say there was no plan from the Pentagon or the White House or Central Command about taking care of things now in Iraq?
SENOR: There certainly was a plan. I think you have to have a set of strategic goals, and then you have to have some tactical flexibility. You've got to be focused on handing over a representative government to the Iraqi people that at some point is able to defend itself with support from us.
Along the path you're going to deal with ambiguities and deal with problems. Anyone who has had experience with these situations understands that. President Bush certainly understands that, and that's what's occurring on the ground.
HEMMER: And there was a mention earlier in the week about a catastrophic success. The president referred to that. Yesterday, he came back out and said essentially on the entire war on terror that it will be won in due time.
In Iraq today -- and I know you're much more on the civil side than the military side -- when it comes to Iyad Allawi, how much respect does that man have in Iraq today?
SENOR: He has very significant respect. We've seen polls that show very high approval ratings. People are giving him a real honeymoon period here.
But I also think it's important to recognize Prime Minister Allawi has seized on the central issue for the Iraqis, the one they care most about, which is security. If there were an election campaign held in Iraq today, the bumper sticker would say, "It's security, stupid." And he has made this his focus. He's working with us in building up the Iraqi security services and building up the Iraqi intelligence services.
Every time there's a major bombing or attack, he's the first one on the scene. He played a key role in ending the standoff in Najaf. So, he is definitely resonating in that regard.
HEMMER: If you look at Najaf then and take that as one incident, and look at the long list of other matters to be taken care of in Iraq today, where do you go to after Najaf when it comes to Ramadi and Fallujah? And how long does the list get after that?
SENOR: Well, I think the most significant threat is northwest of Baghdad, with regard to the cities you pointed out, which are the foreign fighters that have been coming in, the professional terrorists, members of the al Qaeda network that are operating in that part of Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Dan Senor earlier today, from a coalition spokesperson here in New York.
Now Heidi again -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Bill, I want to update you once again on the situation in Russia in an area called Ossensa (ph) -- or Ossetia, that is. We are getting reports from the Russian news agency, ITAR-TASS that apparently this hostage situation is changing. We're being told about 15 children may have been released there.
As we earlier reported to you, several people were held hostage. Our latest number is telling us that possibly 100 people are still inside that school there. It is the first day of school in this area; again, the Russian region of Ossetia.
So, we have Ryan Chilcote standing by. He's in Moscow. He's going to update us on this situation.
But once again the latest now, we're learning that possibly 15 children have been released. So, hopefully some progress there. We'll keep you updated on that story.
Meanwhile, Senator John Kerry is campaigning in Tennessee today. Kerry arrived in Nashville last night. He speaks today at the American Legion Convention.
Last night at the Republican Convention, Arnold Schwarzenegger put the war on terror front and center in the Bush re-election effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: If you believe -- if you believe that this country, not the United Nations, is best hope for democracy, then you are Republican!
(APPLAUSE)
And, ladies and gentlemen, if you believe that we must be fierce and relentless and terminate terrorism, then you are Republican!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Here now with the Democratic response to the latest from the GOP Convention, Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Good morning to you. Thanks for coming over.
TERRY MCAULIFFE, DNC CHAIRMAN: Heidi, good morning.
COLLINS: You heard what Arnold Schwarzenegger said. If he describes what a Republican is, what's a Democrat?
MCAULIFFE: Pro-job growth, pro-health care, pro-education. I mean, last night, Heidi, was supposed to be their night. It was supposed to be compassion. Yet, Arnold Schwarzenegger not once did he mention the word "jobs," did he mention the middle-class, did he mention health care. He referenced the word "me" 11 times, only talked about George Bush six times. So, it was an interesting speech last night.
If last night was about compassion, there was nothing compassionate about what's going on inside Madison Square Garden. Their message is not resonating across America. This convention is not working for them, because they're not talking about the issues that people want this campaign to be about.
COLLINS: Well, something is working. We're looking at some of the poll numbers now. Getting back to the Swift Boat issue, which everyone continues to talk about.
MCAULIFFE: Right.
COLLINS: We've seen some changes there in those poll ratings, as well as the fund-raising. What about the recent employment of Joe Lockhart for the Kerry campaign? Is that in reference to the Swift Boat ads?
MCAULIFFE: Well, obviously we're about 62 days away from the election. We've always said, as John Kerry has always said to me, now there is all hands on deck. I've got to tell you, John Kerry has run a magnificent campaign. Mary Beth Cahill, all of the people involved in the Kerry for president had a magnificent -- you know, they ramped up the nomination by March 10. They had a great spring offensive. And as you know, we had a great convention.
So, we're going to start to bring in people to compliment as we head into the general election. We leave here obviously on Friday. Senator Kerry goes out to Ohio and to battleground states, 60 days, get our message out there. But there's a stark contrast between George Bush and John Kerry about taking this country forward.
COLLINS: Some people would say, now critics, of course, would say that the reaction from the Kerry campaign to the Swift Boat ads is slow and ineffective.
MCAULIFFE: Well, I think when they first came out you couldn't believe that this group of people would come out and attack the integrity of a man who served in Vietnam. It has come out in most publications that several of the gentlemen misled, deliberately lied. One gentleman said that he had seen of these types of activities in Vietnam. He then admitted, well, it was only hearsay. You know, let's make this election about what's going on in people's lives, jobs creation. We've got 45 million Americans today with no health insurance at all. George Bush under-funded the Leave No Child Behind by $9 billion. And we have a mess on our hands in Iraq.
Now, George Bush and his folks want to talk to about 35 years ago, because, as you know, he just announced that he miscalculated in Iraq, and he also said that we can't win the war on terror. So...
COLLINS: But did John Kerry not present himself as a Vietnam veteran in this campaign? Was that not very important to him?
MCAULIFFE: Absolutely. And all we ask is when you want to go and attack John Kerry, that's fine. This is politics. Just tell the truth! That's all we ask. You know, handing out band-aids with little Purple Hearts, it's disgraceful. They are mocking every man and woman who has put a uniform on in this country.
COLLINS: Another thing Arnold Schwarzenegger said last night -- quoting now: "One of my movies was called 'True Lies.' It's what the Democrats should have called their convention.'
What is your impression so far overall of the last two nights of the Republican Convention?
MCAULIFFE: A masquerade ball. The people they have up there speaking don't represent the platform of the Republican Party. The platform that they adopted on Monday is so far right, so extreme, out of the mainstream of America, and yet they put on these speakers. Not one of their speakers would or could be appointed a federal judge by George Bush, because they are not where George Bush is on all of these different issues.
COLLINS: Quickly before we let you go, what happens after the convention for the Kerry campaign?
MCAULIFFE: We are within 60 days to go. John Kerry heads out on Friday, hits the battleground states, 60 days, no looking back, taking our message -- John Kerry's message of jobs creation, how we're going to fix the health care system. John Kerry has promised to create 10 million new jobs his first term in office, cut the deficit in half, give everybody who wants to go to college a $4,000 tax break, reduce your health care premiums by $1,000.
Those are the issues that voters are dying for us to talk about, and we're going to talk about it, and we're going to take that message to them.
COLLINS: Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Terry McAuliffe.
MCAULIFFE: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Thanks for your time this morning.
MCAULIFFE: You bet.
COLLINS: Other news now. Hurricane Frances is still kicking it up in the United States here.
(WEATHER BREAK)
HEMMER: In a moment here, back to the diner. Jack is standing by with the "Voice of the Voter" today.
Also, a political spin on today's "90-Second Pop." The Bush twins made a splash last night here introducing their father. Their father introducing their mother. How did that play? We'll check it out, still to come this hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: It is one of the hottest places in all of New York City here, 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, right there in the northwest corner, the CNN Diner. It used to be the Tick Tock Diner, but -- well, we've kind of put some money inside there and changed it up and made the food a lot better, huh? And no one loves that more than Jack Cafferty, and the food is free.
Hey, Jack, good morning. How goes it inside over there?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It's just sizzling here, Bill, here at the CNN Diner. We're doing a special segment on the "Cafferty File" this week called the "Voice of the Voter". And earlier, we were out around town with our cameras, and we asked people if they felt this city was a terrorist target this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I feel pretty safe, because I think those who might make it a target want Bush to be president. When New York is a target for terrorists, that's obvious. That's been proven. But New York is a great city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The terrorist attacks were terrible, terrible things. And I have no doubt that al Qaeda would love to cause more damage to the United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have to worry about getting robbed this week. Never. I have never felt so protected in all the 68 years I'm in New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: The question of the day has to do with whether or not President Bush, when he comes to Queens tonight where he'll watch Vice President Cheney's speech with a group of New York City firefighters, whether he'll be accused by the opposition of exploiting the memories of September 11. AM@CNN.com, if you care to weigh in. We'll read some of the responses later.
Heidi -- back to you. COLLINS: OK, Jack, thanks. We'll look forward to that.
Still to come this morning, Republicans are getting down at the GOP Convention. But you won't find the best party at Madison Square Garden. No. The inside scoop on the best shindigs in "90-Second Pop". It's all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This morning it's a little bit politics and a little bit rock 'n' roll. It sounds like (UNINTELLIGIBLE), doesn't it?
It's time to meet our "90-Second Pop" panel this morning. B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly," Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine, and Andy Borowitz, chairman, CEO of BorowitzReport.com.
Thanks, as always, you guys, for being here.
Sarah, I want to start with you.
SARAH BERNARD, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Yes.
COLLINS: We know that there are some parties going on this week.
BERNARD: Just a couple.
COLLINS: And you guys have kind of been doing this inside scoop all week long so far. What has been the best party so far? What are the best ones yet to come?
BERNARD: Well, so the New York...
COLLINS: And why are we not there?
BERNARD: Why are we not there right now? I know.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Because we're us. Come on!
BERNARD: We've got work to do. Well, the parties at this convention are very different from the ones in Boston, mostly because of the lack of Hollywood celebrities, which have made them a lot less fun, perhaps I should say.
The party last night was actually the one that sort of attracted the most star watchers. It called the Creative Coalition event, which was actually kind of an entertainment industry non-partisan group for social and political advocacy. And that was at a club in West Chelsea, believe it or not. There were the Baldwin brothers. You had John McCain. You also had actors like Alan Cummings (ph). So that was a real mixture...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: The Baldwin brothers, that's pretty interesting.
BERNARD: Yes, exactly.
B.J. SIGESMUND, "US WEEKLY": I just can't get over the juxtaposition of all of these, you know, Republicans partying in a town so known for its liberalness, you know, so filled with Democrats.
COLLINS: I thought you were trying to say Republicans can't party.
BERNARD: Yes, they can!
BOROWITZ: Do you know where I went?
SIGESMUND: We know the Republicans can party.
BOROWITZ: I went to an awesome party last night hosted by this group called Swift Boat Veterans for Disco.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I hear.
BOROWITZ: They're unbelievable. The cowboy was there.
BERNARD: But the real (UNINTELLIGIBLE) celebrities, actually the ticket this week is to follow the Bush twins around.
COLLINS: Well...
BERNARD: And that's really the most important thing. And on Sunday they actually kicked off their week with a red carpet appearance at Roseland.
COLLINS: Yes.
BERNARD: So they're actually the draw. And everyone is trying to follow them around. And on Thursday night, there's going be one last party called the New Generation event, and that's going to be hosted by Emma Bloomberg, daughter of Michael Bloomberg, Emily Pataki, daughter of George Pataki, Christi Whitman (ph)...
COLLINS: OK.
BERNARD: ... and also Bush twins will make their final good-bye to the city.
COLLINS: Very good. All right. Speaking of the Bush twins, B.J., last night...
SIGESMUND: Let's talk about them.
COLLINS: Last night they were on.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
COLLINS: OK. We want to go ahead and let's listen to just a little chunk. SIGESMUND: Sure.
COLLINS: And you can tell us what you think.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNA BUSH, DAUGHTER: You know, all those times when you're growing up and your parents embarrass you? Well, this is payback time on live TV!
(APPLAUSE)
LAURA BUSH, DAUGHTER: Take this. I know it's hard to believe, but our parents' favorite term of endearment for each other is actually "Bushie." And we had a hamster, too. Let's just say ours didn't make it.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Your thoughts?
SIGESMUND: Yes. You know what? Some of those jokes kind of fell flat on the audience. But this has really been a coming-out week for the Bush girls. Their star has arrived. You know, as Sarah was mentioning, they were greeted at the Roseland event with the red carpet and paparazzi. And they wore -- you know, they had the look. They had jeans and high heels.
And then last night, you know, they looked so great on the air. And the Republican Party is not known for its young, hot chicks. So...
BOROWITZ: They are so cool. I mean, you know, instead of those "choose or lose" t-shirts, they're wearing these t-shirts that say, "choose your booze." And they're really great. I just think that's so great.
BERNARD: I think they were actually criticized a little bit last night for being too casual, I would say, in their conversation.
BOROWITZ: No.
BERNARD: But I think that it was actually good. I think it was a good attempt to personalize some of the stuff, you know, talk about their parents like they're real people (AUDIO GAP).
COLLINS: Andy, quickly, we've seen a lot of celebrity supporters. We were talking about this as far as the Democrats go. When you look at the Republicans, you see a little of that. What does it say, though, about the actual candidates respective of those celebrity supporters?
BOROWITZ: Well, I just think the Democrats are a little bit more high-octane in the celebrity world. I mean, we've talked about the Baldwins before. I actually use something...
COLLINS: Does that matter?
BOROWITZ: Well, it matters to me, because I just care about celebrities. But I use something called the Baldwin-omoter (ph) when I judge a convention. The Democrats had Alec Baldwin, who, you know, has been a movie star in a lot good movies. And we have here, I guess, Stephen Baldwin, who I'm not sure actually exists. Is that a real Baldwin brother?
SIGESMUND: He's been in movies, but I don't think of him as a movie star.
BERNARD: Yes, he's a Baldwin (UNINTELLIGIBLE) guy.
BOROWITZ: I believe he was in "The Flintstones" and "Viva Las Vegas."
COLLINS: Sounds very good. Thanks for bringing that up. Andy Borowitz, Sarah Bernard, B.J. Sigesmund, thanks so much, guys.
Bill -- back to the garden.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, thanks.
In a moment here, he may not be the most popular figure in the race for the White House, but there is no question and no doubt about how valuable the vice president, Dick Cheney, has been for the Republican ticket. A preview of one of the most anticipated speeches later tonight. We'll have it for you, top of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING live in Madison Square Garden.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
