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American Morning
John Kerry Campaigns in Cincinnati, Ohio; Video Shot by Hostage-Takers of School in Beslan, Russia Released
Aired September 08, 2004 - 09:30 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: Well, welcome back. Almost 9:30. Get you to Cincinnati, watching Senator John Kerry about to make his speech in a few moments about Iraq. Also, Carlos Watson, in a moment, talks about the significance.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Bill, the emotional toll in Russia from the Beslan school massacre now being made even worse by video shot inside the school by the terrorists. We'll have a report on that.
HEMMER: What a tough, tough story it is.
WALLACE: Tough, indeed.
HEMMER: Russia's still reeling, too.
Wall Street now -- opening bell. Dow 30 starting today at 10,342, up 82 points in trading yesterday. Alan Greenspan talks today, so keep an eye and an ear on that. Nasdaq markets at 1858, your opening mark. Still below 1900, but not a bad day yesterday -- up about 14 points in trading at the Nasdaq.
In the meantime, want to go to the CNN Center and Daryn Kagan there. Daryn, good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, good morning to you.
We have news of two more American troops killed in Iraq this morning. Within the course of this war, the U.S. war toll has risen to 1,004. The attacks come as clashes rage in Fallujah. U.S. forces are launching strikes down on suspected insurgent hideouts. Hospital officials say at least two people were killed.
Residents of Florida today getting some much needed help. Less than an hour ago, President Bush signed a $2 billion bill to help with the damage caused by Hurricanes Charley and Frances. The money will be used for direct aid to families, infrastructure, repairs, and for emergency food and shelter.
As you heard Bill mention, Democratic Candidate John Kerry attacking President Bush's handling of war in Iraq. Senator Kerry will be giving an address any minute this morning. He's in Cincinnati at the same hall where President Bush outlined his case for war in Iraq in 2000 -- in October of that month, 2002. The speech is set to begin any moment. And former chess champion Bobby Fischer may be calling a check on the U.S. Fischer has been fighting a deportation order. He is wanted in the U.S. for violating economic sanctions by playing a chess match in Yugoslavia in 1992. Just hours ago, a court ruled that Fischer can stay in Japan until his lawsuit is heard. That could take as long as a year.
HEMMER: Wow, that story's not over yet.
Hey, what coming up at 10:00, Daryn?
KAGAN: We have a ton. Of course, if Senator Kerry doesn't get in your show, we will have parts of his speech. Also, Patricia Cornwell, the best-selling author, stops by. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is back in a new book. And she stops by to talk about that.
HEMMER: "Body of Evidence," I believe.
KAGAN: Yes.
HEMMER: Yes. Thank you, Daryn. See you then -- Kelly?
WALLACE: Thanks, Bill.
Turning again to Russia -- the country says it is ready to launch preemptive strikes on terrorist bases anywhere in the world. The announcement comes in the aftermath of the school hostage-taking that ended with more than 300 people dead and as new, chilling video from inside the school is shown to the public.
Matthew Chance is live in Beslan, Russia. Good morning, Matthew. What is the latest from there?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, as well, Kelly.
The two official days of mourning across Russia have come to an end. But of course, this community in southern Russia, in Beslan, is still crushed with grief. The funerals are still taking place of the hundreds of people who were killed in a special field that's been set aside on the outskirts of Beslan.
And as you can see behind me, people are still coming to school number one here in the center of town, where the hostage siege took place, in order to pay their respects to the hundreds of people who died -- many of them, of course, children.
As all this is happening, new and chilling video has been shown to the Russian public as well, apparently filmed by the hostage-takers which shows the conditions in which those hostages were being kept. It's video that has increased and deepened, if that's possible, the sense of pain and the sense of grief that people in this town and country are feeling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): The chilling images appear to have been shot by the hostage-takers in the first hours of the siege of Beslan. The cramped conditions and the looks of sheer terror on the faces of the victims, young and old, is horrifying to watch.
One grandmother turns away when the camera is pointed at her. She's clearly terrified. The children are still dressed in their new school uniforms. It was the first day of class for them. Later, they'd stripped down their underwear, as the summer heat made temperatures unbearable and they were denied any water.
Survivors, like the school sports teacher, says this was pure evil, nothing less, and the people who did it, worse than animals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The taps were broken off. So, the only option children had was to drink their own urine. One boy was bayonetted for asking for a drink. These people were worse than animals.
CHANCE: The videotape seems to have been meant to show the Russian hostage negotiators the high stakes in this school siege. Explosive devices are shown strung from the basketball hoops in the gymnasium where most of the hostages were being held.
A female militant is shown holding a pistol and draped in black. Only a narrow slit reveals her humanity. So little of that shown to the hostages themselves.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Kelly, it's tough looking at these pictures, knowing which is more difficult: the sort of knowledge of the sort of mental image of what happened inside this school, the fact that so many died; or actually seeing the images of the suffering of those people inside the gymnasium, which is right here behind me.
Certainly for many people in Beslan, it's compounded the sense of anger, that they felt anyway, toward the Russian government, among others, that the siege wasn't handled in the best of possible ways -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Matthew, that video horrifying the United States, the entire world. Matthew Chance, thank you for bringing us that update from Beslan, Russia.
Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: All right, to different topics now. And at this hour, awaiting John Kerry, his address in Cincinnati. The topic there is Iraq.
And meanwhile, this morning, both candidates spouting off about whose plan is better for dealing with the war on terror and Iraq. Carlos Watson, our political analyst, has some thoughts on that this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
When John Kerry talks about Iraq this morning, how does he win on this issue?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's not clear that he'll win, but he has at least got to close the gap. Right now, the president's opened up a double-digit lead in terms of who voters trust on this issue since the convention.
And right now, you hear Kerry with a new tact, arguing that the cost of the war, financial and otherwise, is hurting the U.S. -- not only abroad, but domestically here at home -- that the money is not available for health care. It's not available for job training. It's not available for other things. And again, it's reminiscent of some of the advice from President Clinton over the weekend, which is focus your energies domestically.
HEMMER: But even Democratic strategists will say that John Kerry is not to put the focus on him, and that what he needs to do. Does Iraq help him do that?
WATSON: He would argue that he's shining a light on President Bush's failed policies, and that he's shining that light in such a way that voters in Ohio who may be jobless, that voters in Missouri who don't have health care, that those folks can understand that the war in Iraq has not only had costs abroad in terms of our relationship with our allies or even the death toll, but it's also had a cost in terms of which policies and programs we can pursue at home.
HEMMER: Going back to yesterday, what you do make of Dick Cheney's comments about John Kerry as president, how he would take on the war on terror?
WATSON: It's tough language, but again, it's representative fundamentally if the administration that feels that there's an important distinction on how they would keep the country safe and what John Kerry -- who they call a flip-flopper -- would do.
Now, here's what I think is interesting is how the Democrats respond. So often, they've been slow to respond; we saw that in August. Now they have responded. You saw John Edwards hit that card.
But they've got to do two important things, Bill. First and foremost, you can just hit back once; it's got to be a continuous stream. It's got to be something that you continue to talk about over two weeks, three weeks, and really drive home a point and drive home a message.
The second thing that you'll notice Republicans do very well, is they build an echo chamber. President Bush doesn't say something by himself. Rather, Dick Cheney is echoing it as well. Leaders of the Congress are saying it. You hear it on blogs. You see it on conservative talk radio. There's a coordinated message, and Democrats right now are missing that when they make a point. So, this retort by John Edwards is important, but if it's just a hollow voice, or rather a single voice, it's not going to be enough. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Carlos Watson, political analyst, earlier today. Watching the scene there at the Museum Center in Cincinnati. Senator Kerry about ready to speak there. We'll watch it for you here -- Kelly?
WALLACE: And Bill, while we wait for Senator Kerry, let's get a look at weather for the day ahead. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest.
Chad, will we see any sunshine in New York City?
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Market update right now -- watching the big board now. Nine minutes into the day of trading, off about 16 points for the Dow 30. All this coming, of course, ahead of Alan Greenspan's testimony before the House Budget Committee later today.
Also, big news today out of Delta Airlines. Says it's cutting six to 7,000 jobs over the next year-and-a-half, closing its hub in Dallas/Ft. Worth. But even with all the cost cutting, Delta says, bankrupt is still a, quote, "real possibility."
Alan Greenspan talks; we are listening.
WALLACE: Absolutely. And tough news for workers out there.
HEMMER: That it is.
WALLACE: Still to come, an important story for parents with kids in college. If you have kids in college, you will want to watch this. There is a scary and dangerous new trend in what students are doing to stay awake for those long study sessions. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with that.
HEMMER: Also on a Wednesday, "90-Second Pop" -- the Donald is back tomorrow night. The corporate climbers getting back in line. We'll check it out in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Prescription drugs, like Ritalin and Aderrall, are commonly used to treat attention deficit disorder, but they're also being misused by a growing number of growing college students.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now with the details.
Sanjay, sounds like a big concern.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly can be. Colleges and universities starting up, gearing up around the country, students gearing up as wall for all of their studying, trying to stay up late. A lot of people resort to caffeine. Others are resorting to a popular prescription drug. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): At the time, Stephanie didn't think the was doing anything wrong. But every year, when she went back to college, she also went back to using a drug.
STEPHANIE, RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE: I used Aderrall. When I took it to study, I would just stay at the library for hours, until I had everything done and I knew everything front to back.
GUPTA: Aderrall is actually a stimulant, and was approved in 1996 to treat attention deficit hyperactivity order.
But the problem is, Stephanie was never diagnosed with ADHD. She simply got the Aderrall from a friend, and she's not alone.
DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: This is an attractive drug to the college-age set, because the barrier is so low to use. Think about it, many of their peers have been on it their whole life, didn't hurt them, helps them study. Why not?
STEPHANIE: It was pretty easy for me to get it through people I knew, and people I knew that took it.
GUPTA: That's because In 2001 alone, prescription for drugs like Aderrall increased 15 percent.
In a recent statement Shire Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Aderrall said, "Ultimately parents, patients and school personnel are necessary partners with physicians and Shire in ensuring that Aderrall and Aderrall XR are used appropriately in patients diagnosed with ADHD. But without a doctor's supervision, ensuring that you're taking the right dose is tough, and that may put you at risk for serious side effects.
PINSKY: What we would see for people using high doses, the same thing we see with other amphetamines, which is brain damage, chronic memory disturbances and chronic depressions.
GUPTA: Other side effects can include high blood pressure, insomnia, heart arrhytmias and stroke, possibly addiction.
Despite the risks, though, Stephanie has no regrets.
STEPHANIE: For some people who I know who are kind of like myself, who get distracted really easily when it comes to things like that, I probably would probably recommend it, but definitely not to everybody.
GUPTA: Now that she's recently graduated, she has no plans to use the drug in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And you might be wondering how they get these drugs in the first place. Well, a lot of times they do come from legitimate prescriptions and people share those prescriptions, or a lot of times, they'll actually fake symptoms of ADHD, is what some students have told us as well, to try and get a prescription. But campus health professionals becoming a little wiser to this now.
WALLACE: Sanjay, but how are these drugs different than drinking caffeine pills or drinking lots Red Bull to keep yourself awake?
GUPTA: Well, the thing about caffeine, and we talked about that specifically, it certainly can keep you awake. Caffeine is a stimulant in that way, but it also gives you the jitters, sometimes may not make you as focused as you like.
Drugs like Aderrall, especially for students, it will keep you in "the zone," is a term a lot of students told us, still keep you focused and not give you the jitters at the same time. So good for studying or staying up late.
WALLACE: Sanjay, thanks so much. Great to see you.
GUPTA: Thanks.
WALLACE: Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: All right, politics a major focus for us. Today, watching John Kerry about ready to give his speech in Cincinnati, Ohio. The main topic, we're told, is Iraq. Back in a moment here, break on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: As promised, in Cincinnati, and Senator John Kerry now being introduced, expected to be a very strong speech, criticizing the war effort in Iraq. Let's go to Cincinnati now at the museum center, the same location where President Bush made a significant speech prior to the war, no doubt why the senator has chosen this location to deliver this address today. Senator Kerry on the stump, now in Cincinnati.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you so much. Thank you for a wonderful Cincinnati, wonderful Ohio warm and generous welcome. I appreciate it enormously. And, like you, I'm so respectful and so in awe of the courage and the patriotism of Robin O'Brien (ph).
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (OFF-MIKE)
KERRY: Will you all join me with Robin O'Brien (ph) -- will you all join me in saying thank you to Robin O'Brien (ph), for her wonderful...
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Kerry! Kerry! Kerry!
KERRY: Ladies and gentlemen, please. Ladies. Please, everybody.
Thank you. Thank you very, very much.
One of the things that Gil (ph) and all of our troops are fighting for as they fight in Iraq is freedom. And I have nothing but the greatest respect for people's right to have their opinions and to express them here in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
That's who we are as Americans.
And I might add, it's a terrific tactic of the Bush team: They love to disrupt, they love to interrupt, they don't want America to hear the truth. But we will talk the truth.
(APPLAUSE)
I think that more than anything -- I really believe this very deeply, I honestly respect the differences of opinion and the emotions that people feel. We all respect them.
You know, I once stood up and spoke about what I thought our government was doing that was wrong, and so many of our generation believed deeply in that right.
But I think what we need more than anything today in this great country of ours is a conversation, a talk, Americans to Americans, not about how we divide each other.
And we need leadership that doesn't look for the lowest common denominator of America, but the highest common denominator. Bring us together, bring us together.
(APPLAUSE)
And these are troubling times. They are times of emotion. They tug at the emotions of all Americans.
What we need to do is lower our voices and listen to each other about the real choices that we face as a nation.
Yesterday, in Iraq, we marked the most incalculable loss of all. Yesterday, we reached a tragic milestone: More than 1,000 of America's sons and daughters gave their lives in service to our country; more than 1,000 sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, who will never come home to live the lives that they dreamed of.
We honor them. We pray for them. We pray for their families.
And we owe it to their memory and to all of our troops to do what's right in Iraq and what's right here at home. (APPLAUSE)
I also want to speak directly to the more than 150,000 troops who are currently serving and risking their lives as far away as in Iraq or Afghanistan, and to the sons and daughters like Gil O'Brien (ph), that Robin just talked about, who have served once, who are here now but who are going to go back.
KERRY: Your country is proud of you. You are the most dedicated, capable military that we've ever had in our history. We are united as a nation in support for you. We pledge to stand with you and with your families, as you are standing on the front lines for ours.
You're the best of America and you perform magnificently every single day. We thank you for your service and for your sacrifice.
(APPLAUSE)
Twenty-three months ago, President Bush came right here to this great civic and educational institution in this great city, to ask the American people for our support. And he promised then to make the right choices when it came to sending young Americans to Iraq.
Here in Cincinnati, he said that if Congress approved the resolution giving him the authority to use force, it did not mean that military action would be unavoidable. But he chose not to give the weapons inspectors the time they needed, not just to get the job done, but to give meaning to the words "going to war as a last resort."
(APPLAUSE)
Here in Cincinnati, he promised to lead a coalition, but he failed to build the kind of broad, strong, real coalition, and he rushed to war without a plan to win the peace.
(APPLAUSE)
Here in Cincinnati, from this hall, on that night, he spoke to the nation and he promised, quote, "If we have to act, we will take every precaution that is possible, we will plan carefully, we will act with the full power of the United States military, we will act with allies at our side, and we will prevail."
But then George W. Bush made the wrong choices.
KERRY: He himself now admits he miscalculated in Iraq. But in truth, his miscalculation was ignoring the advice that he was given, including the very best advice of America's own military.
(APPLAUSE)
When he didn't like what he was hearing, he even fired the Army chief of staff.
His miscalculation was going to war without taking every precaution, without giving the inspectors time. His miscalculation was going to war without planning carefully and without the allies that we should have had at our side.
As a result, America has paid nearly 90 percent of the bill in Iraq. Contrast that with the Gulf War, where our allies paid 95 percent of the costs.
George W. Bush's wrong choices have led America in the wrong direction in Iraq and they have left America without the resources that we need so desperately here at home.
(APPLAUSE)
The cost of the president's go-it-alone policy in Iraq is now $200 billion and counting. $200 billion for Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford after-school programs for our children. $200 billion for Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford health care for our veterans. $200 billion dollars for Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford to keep the 100,000 police officers we put on the streets during the 1990s.
We're here today to tell them they're wrong.
It's time to lead America in a new direction.
(APPLAUSE)
When it comes to Iraq, it's not that I would have done one thing differently from the president; I would have done almost everything differently from the president.
(APPLAUSE)
I would have given the inspectors the time they needed before rushing to war. I would have built a genuine coalition of allies and made sure that every soldier that was put in harm's way actually had the equipment and the body armor that they needed.
KERRY: I would have listened to our senior military leaders in this country, and I would have listened to the bipartisan advice that was given by the Congress of the United States.
And if there's one thing that I learned from my own experience in a war, I would never have gone to war without a plan to win the peace.
(APPLAUSE)
I would not have made the wrong choices that are now forcing us to pay nearly the entire cost of this war: $200 billion that we're not investing in education and health care, job creation here at home; $200 billion for going it alone in Iraq.
That's the wrong choice. That's the wrong direction. And that's the wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE) And while we're spending that $200 billion in Iraq -- that's to this date; it will go on -- 8 million Americans are looking for work here in America: 2 million more -- 2 million more than when George W. Bush took office. And we're told that we can't afford to invest in job creation and job training here at home.
But for the Bush administration, helping Americans find a good job has never been the top priority. The first time that we really heard anything much about jobs has been in the last few months of this campaign. And I suggest to you that once every few months just before an election is not enough.
At that convention in New York last week, they actually told us that out-sourcing jobs was good for America. Now, that should not come as a surprise to you, because that's exactly what they've been doing for the last four years and that's exactly what they intend to do for the next four years.
That's the wrong choice. That's the wrong direction for America. That's the wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
As president, I intend to set a new direction. And it's one that's based on just fundamental, good old, mainstream American values and common sense. Here's common sense: I will close the tax loopholes that actually ask you, with your tax money, to reward companies that ship the jobs overseas and, instead...
(APPLAUSE)
And instead, we're going to do something else that leaps out at you in its common sense. We're going to take that money from the money that's encouraging people to go overseas and we're going to reward the companies that create and keep the good jobs right here in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
Because of this president's wrong choices we're spending $200 billion in Iraq, while the costs of health care are going through the roof. And we're told we don't have the resources to make health care affordable and available to all Americans, we don't have the resources to reimburse Medicare enough, we can't help the hospitals hire more nurses, we can't help people be able to afford to get it.
Americans now 45 million strong have no health insurance at all: 5 million more than the day George W. Bush took office.
KERRY: And after four years of action, four years of nothing, four years of no action, four years of no concern, four years of no meetings at which they really pulled people together and say, "How do we solve this problem together as Americans?" four years of no mention of those who are struggling to afford health care, suddenly the president finally told us last week that he actually had a plan. Well, if you were wondering what it was, you only had to wait 24 hours to find out, because the very next day he raised the Medicare premiums by 17 percent; the biggest increase in Medicare in the history of our country.
(APPLAUSE)
And here's the kicker: A lot of that money is nothing more than a windfall transferred payment from your pockets right into the health care companies and the HMOs. They're charging 17 percent more for Medicare while making America pay $200 billion for a go-it-alone policy in Iraq.
That's the wrong choice. That's the wrong direction. That's the wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
As president, I will set a new direction. George W. Bush believes that when it comes to health care the big drug companies come first, the insurance companies come second and you come last. Well, I'm going to put you first.
(APPLAUSE)
Our plan is a real plan. I invite anybody listening, go to Johnkerry.com. It includes all the ways we're going to deal with children, with seniors, with health care. And it actually -- contrary to what the president who, once again, is misleading America, running around the country talking about tort reform -- it also includes a provision of medical malpractice and tort reform. So we will take on the waste and the greed in the health care system.
And you know what? We're going to save the average family up to $1,000 a year on their premiums. Our plan is going to help...
(APPLAUSE)
And we don't just focus on the people who don't have the health insurance. We focus on the people who have it and lower their costs. And we focus on American business.
And we do it in a market way, in a responsible way. We invite business to be part of the solution. There's no mandate. There's no government program. There's no new bureaucracy. And we let Americans do what Americans want to do, which is choose their own doctor, choose their own plan, and have choices as to where to go, what to do.
(APPLAUSE)
And one of the things I'm proudest of, our plan automatically, immediately will cover all children in America, day one. You go to school, you're covered. You go to day care, you're covered. You go to child care, you're covered.
(APPLAUSE) I'll tell you, I am determined that when I am president, America will stop being the only industrial nation on this planet that doesn't yet accept that health care is not a privilege for the elected or the selected or the wealthy or the connected.
KERRY: Health care is a right for all Americans, and we're going to make it available to all Americans.
(APPLAUSE)
Because of George W. Bush's wrong choices, we're spending $200 billion in Iraq while we're running up the biggest deficits in American history, the biggest deficits announced yesterday and the biggest debt.
We've added more debt under George Bush, more debt to the national debt of our nation, than we added from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. And that threatens Social Security, and that's what Alan Greenspan told us the other day.
In fact, they're raiding the Social Security trust fund in order to pay for their mistakes in Iraq.
And at that convention in New York last week, guess what? George Bush said he actually had a new idea. And you know what it is? Do you know what his new idea is? It's actually the bad old idea of privatizing Social Security and cutting your benefits.
That's the wrong choice, wrong direction, wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
So as president, I will not privatize Social Security. I will not cut benefits. And I will not raise the retirement age, because when you've worked for a lifetime in America, America owes you what you've earned.
(APPLAUSE)
And because of this president's wrong choices in Iraq, we're spending $200 billion there instead of investing in making America energy independent.
George W. Bush's energy policy is to trust the big oil companies and the Saudis. In fact, a national news magazine just reported that a senior member of the Saudi royal family said that as far as they're concerned in the U.S. presidential election, it's Bush all the way.
Well, I want an America that relies on its own ingenuity, on our own intervention, not the Saudi royal family. And that's what we need.
(APPLAUSE)
KERRY: Now, let me tell you what we're going to do. We're going to do what we could have been doing four years ago and three years ago and two years ago and all of last year and all of this year. We're going to invest in technology and in the vehicles of the future. We're going to invest so that no young American in uniform will ever be held hostage to America's dependence on oil from the Middle East.
That's the right choice, that's the right direction, that's the right leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
And because of this president's wrong choices, we're spending $200 billion in Iraq, while we're told that we can't afford to do everything that we should be doing for homeland security. I believe it's wrong to be opening fire houses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
It's wrong to cut money for our first responders. It's wrong to let 95 percent of the cargo that comes into this country get by without ever being physically inspected.
That's the wrong choice, that's the wrong direction, that's the wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
So my friends, we're going to set a new direction for this country. We're going to defend this country here at home and we're going to do all we can possibly do in order to protect it from another terrorist attack. And we are going to make homeland security the kind of priority that it ought to be, not a political slogan.
(APPLAUSE)
My friends, today we are bearing the cost of the war in Iraq almost alone: $200 billion and counting.
Nearly two years after George W. Bush spoke to the nation from this very place, we know how wrong his choices were. He says he miscalculated. He calls Iraq a catastrophic success. But a glance at the front pages or a look at the nightly news shows brings home the hard reality: rising instability, spreading violence, growing extremism, havens now created that weren't there for terrorists who weren't even in the country before we went there.
And today even the Pentagon has admitted this very reality: that entire regions of Iraq are controlled by insurgents and terrorists.
KERRY: I call this course a catastrophic course that has cost us $200 billion because we went it alone, and we've paid an even more unbearable price in young American lives and the risks our soldiers take.
We need a new direction. We need statesmanship. We need leadership. We need the ability of a president with a fresh start and new credibility to open up the channels of communication.
We need to do a whole bunch of things in Iraq that this president could have done and hasn't even tried to do. We need to really bring our allies to our side because they do have a stake in the outcome of Iraq and one of the great failures of this administration is in not convincing the world of that reality.
(APPLAUSE)
We need to share the burdens, share the responsibility and the decision-making, share the reconstruction, reduce the cost to the American taxpayer and reduce the risk to the American soldier.
We need to train Iraqi military and police. We need to train them more rapidly. We need to behave like we really are a nation at war and we need to get other people to behave that way with us.
We need to get more people in greater numbers ready to take over the job of protecting their own country.
That's what I'll do as commander in chief, because that's the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, this president said one thing in his convention speech that's true. He said, "We all need to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations." But, you know, it's George W. Bush who has set low expectations and he's met them.
(APPLAUSE)
He doesn't believe that American can be strong in the world while we also make progress here at home. He believes that we have to choose one or the other, and that's a false choice and I reject it.
I believe we can lead in the world and lead America to greater progress and prosperity than we've ever known before.
(APPLAUSE)
Half a century ago, from here in Union Terminal, thousands of soldiers waved one last goodbye to their families before heading off to the Second World War. In that war their bravery and the leaders made the right choices and they brought victory over tyranny and they brought prosperity here at home.
When I'm president, America will once again stand up to our enemies without destroying or denying our best hopes here at home. We'll strengthen our military in order to meet new threats, but we'll also build and lead strong, new alliances around the world.
(APPLAUSE)
We will build a stronger America with good jobs and better wages. Not paying you less money than the job you had for the job you lost overseas, but pushing the curve of technology and creativity, doing stem cell research, alternative and renewable energy, doing the things that begin to open up the avenues and opportunities of the future.
(APPLAUSE)
With the right choices and the right leadership, we're going to set a new direction for America. We're going to build an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world.
As Franklin Roosevelt once said, "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." Well, I'll tell you, I believe there are no limits for tomorrow, but we need to make the right choices today. And with your help, we're going to restore the true greatness of our nation and we are going to set a new direction for the future.
Thank you. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
KAGAN: We've been listening in to Senator John Kerry. He is addressing a crowd in Cincinnati, Ohio, making the case that he believes that President Bush made the wrong decision to go to war, being critical of that decision, saying now it is time to lead America in a new direction, not only being critical of the decision, but Senator Kerry saying things like, it's not one thing he would have done differently in dealing with Iraq, it is everything he would have done differently.
On the opposite side, President Bush and the Bush administration have been very critical of Senator Kerry, saying that he is flip- flopping on his support, or lack of support for the war, pointing out the senator did vote for authorization for the president to go to war in Iraq in that vote in the Senate back in October 2002.
Fifty-five days left in this election, as Senator Kerry salutes the crowd there. Interesting that he chose Cincinnati to make this speech. This is the same place where President Bush, just about two years ago, addressed a crowd to make his case for going to war, back in 2002.
Also, Ohio, a key battleground state. And if there's any question of that, look at Senator Kerry's travel schedule. This is the sixth time in the last seven days that Senator Kerry has been in the state of Ohio.
We're going to have much more from the campaign trail ahead. Also more on President Bush.
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Aired September 8, 2004 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, welcome back. Almost 9:30. Get you to Cincinnati, watching Senator John Kerry about to make his speech in a few moments about Iraq. Also, Carlos Watson, in a moment, talks about the significance.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Bill, the emotional toll in Russia from the Beslan school massacre now being made even worse by video shot inside the school by the terrorists. We'll have a report on that.
HEMMER: What a tough, tough story it is.
WALLACE: Tough, indeed.
HEMMER: Russia's still reeling, too.
Wall Street now -- opening bell. Dow 30 starting today at 10,342, up 82 points in trading yesterday. Alan Greenspan talks today, so keep an eye and an ear on that. Nasdaq markets at 1858, your opening mark. Still below 1900, but not a bad day yesterday -- up about 14 points in trading at the Nasdaq.
In the meantime, want to go to the CNN Center and Daryn Kagan there. Daryn, good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, good morning to you.
We have news of two more American troops killed in Iraq this morning. Within the course of this war, the U.S. war toll has risen to 1,004. The attacks come as clashes rage in Fallujah. U.S. forces are launching strikes down on suspected insurgent hideouts. Hospital officials say at least two people were killed.
Residents of Florida today getting some much needed help. Less than an hour ago, President Bush signed a $2 billion bill to help with the damage caused by Hurricanes Charley and Frances. The money will be used for direct aid to families, infrastructure, repairs, and for emergency food and shelter.
As you heard Bill mention, Democratic Candidate John Kerry attacking President Bush's handling of war in Iraq. Senator Kerry will be giving an address any minute this morning. He's in Cincinnati at the same hall where President Bush outlined his case for war in Iraq in 2000 -- in October of that month, 2002. The speech is set to begin any moment. And former chess champion Bobby Fischer may be calling a check on the U.S. Fischer has been fighting a deportation order. He is wanted in the U.S. for violating economic sanctions by playing a chess match in Yugoslavia in 1992. Just hours ago, a court ruled that Fischer can stay in Japan until his lawsuit is heard. That could take as long as a year.
HEMMER: Wow, that story's not over yet.
Hey, what coming up at 10:00, Daryn?
KAGAN: We have a ton. Of course, if Senator Kerry doesn't get in your show, we will have parts of his speech. Also, Patricia Cornwell, the best-selling author, stops by. Dr. Kay Scarpetta is back in a new book. And she stops by to talk about that.
HEMMER: "Body of Evidence," I believe.
KAGAN: Yes.
HEMMER: Yes. Thank you, Daryn. See you then -- Kelly?
WALLACE: Thanks, Bill.
Turning again to Russia -- the country says it is ready to launch preemptive strikes on terrorist bases anywhere in the world. The announcement comes in the aftermath of the school hostage-taking that ended with more than 300 people dead and as new, chilling video from inside the school is shown to the public.
Matthew Chance is live in Beslan, Russia. Good morning, Matthew. What is the latest from there?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, as well, Kelly.
The two official days of mourning across Russia have come to an end. But of course, this community in southern Russia, in Beslan, is still crushed with grief. The funerals are still taking place of the hundreds of people who were killed in a special field that's been set aside on the outskirts of Beslan.
And as you can see behind me, people are still coming to school number one here in the center of town, where the hostage siege took place, in order to pay their respects to the hundreds of people who died -- many of them, of course, children.
As all this is happening, new and chilling video has been shown to the Russian public as well, apparently filmed by the hostage-takers which shows the conditions in which those hostages were being kept. It's video that has increased and deepened, if that's possible, the sense of pain and the sense of grief that people in this town and country are feeling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) (voice-over): The chilling images appear to have been shot by the hostage-takers in the first hours of the siege of Beslan. The cramped conditions and the looks of sheer terror on the faces of the victims, young and old, is horrifying to watch.
One grandmother turns away when the camera is pointed at her. She's clearly terrified. The children are still dressed in their new school uniforms. It was the first day of class for them. Later, they'd stripped down their underwear, as the summer heat made temperatures unbearable and they were denied any water.
Survivors, like the school sports teacher, says this was pure evil, nothing less, and the people who did it, worse than animals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The taps were broken off. So, the only option children had was to drink their own urine. One boy was bayonetted for asking for a drink. These people were worse than animals.
CHANCE: The videotape seems to have been meant to show the Russian hostage negotiators the high stakes in this school siege. Explosive devices are shown strung from the basketball hoops in the gymnasium where most of the hostages were being held.
A female militant is shown holding a pistol and draped in black. Only a narrow slit reveals her humanity. So little of that shown to the hostages themselves.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Kelly, it's tough looking at these pictures, knowing which is more difficult: the sort of knowledge of the sort of mental image of what happened inside this school, the fact that so many died; or actually seeing the images of the suffering of those people inside the gymnasium, which is right here behind me.
Certainly for many people in Beslan, it's compounded the sense of anger, that they felt anyway, toward the Russian government, among others, that the siege wasn't handled in the best of possible ways -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Matthew, that video horrifying the United States, the entire world. Matthew Chance, thank you for bringing us that update from Beslan, Russia.
Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: All right, to different topics now. And at this hour, awaiting John Kerry, his address in Cincinnati. The topic there is Iraq.
And meanwhile, this morning, both candidates spouting off about whose plan is better for dealing with the war on terror and Iraq. Carlos Watson, our political analyst, has some thoughts on that this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
When John Kerry talks about Iraq this morning, how does he win on this issue?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's not clear that he'll win, but he has at least got to close the gap. Right now, the president's opened up a double-digit lead in terms of who voters trust on this issue since the convention.
And right now, you hear Kerry with a new tact, arguing that the cost of the war, financial and otherwise, is hurting the U.S. -- not only abroad, but domestically here at home -- that the money is not available for health care. It's not available for job training. It's not available for other things. And again, it's reminiscent of some of the advice from President Clinton over the weekend, which is focus your energies domestically.
HEMMER: But even Democratic strategists will say that John Kerry is not to put the focus on him, and that what he needs to do. Does Iraq help him do that?
WATSON: He would argue that he's shining a light on President Bush's failed policies, and that he's shining that light in such a way that voters in Ohio who may be jobless, that voters in Missouri who don't have health care, that those folks can understand that the war in Iraq has not only had costs abroad in terms of our relationship with our allies or even the death toll, but it's also had a cost in terms of which policies and programs we can pursue at home.
HEMMER: Going back to yesterday, what you do make of Dick Cheney's comments about John Kerry as president, how he would take on the war on terror?
WATSON: It's tough language, but again, it's representative fundamentally if the administration that feels that there's an important distinction on how they would keep the country safe and what John Kerry -- who they call a flip-flopper -- would do.
Now, here's what I think is interesting is how the Democrats respond. So often, they've been slow to respond; we saw that in August. Now they have responded. You saw John Edwards hit that card.
But they've got to do two important things, Bill. First and foremost, you can just hit back once; it's got to be a continuous stream. It's got to be something that you continue to talk about over two weeks, three weeks, and really drive home a point and drive home a message.
The second thing that you'll notice Republicans do very well, is they build an echo chamber. President Bush doesn't say something by himself. Rather, Dick Cheney is echoing it as well. Leaders of the Congress are saying it. You hear it on blogs. You see it on conservative talk radio. There's a coordinated message, and Democrats right now are missing that when they make a point. So, this retort by John Edwards is important, but if it's just a hollow voice, or rather a single voice, it's not going to be enough. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Carlos Watson, political analyst, earlier today. Watching the scene there at the Museum Center in Cincinnati. Senator Kerry about ready to speak there. We'll watch it for you here -- Kelly?
WALLACE: And Bill, while we wait for Senator Kerry, let's get a look at weather for the day ahead. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest.
Chad, will we see any sunshine in New York City?
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Market update right now -- watching the big board now. Nine minutes into the day of trading, off about 16 points for the Dow 30. All this coming, of course, ahead of Alan Greenspan's testimony before the House Budget Committee later today.
Also, big news today out of Delta Airlines. Says it's cutting six to 7,000 jobs over the next year-and-a-half, closing its hub in Dallas/Ft. Worth. But even with all the cost cutting, Delta says, bankrupt is still a, quote, "real possibility."
Alan Greenspan talks; we are listening.
WALLACE: Absolutely. And tough news for workers out there.
HEMMER: That it is.
WALLACE: Still to come, an important story for parents with kids in college. If you have kids in college, you will want to watch this. There is a scary and dangerous new trend in what students are doing to stay awake for those long study sessions. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with that.
HEMMER: Also on a Wednesday, "90-Second Pop" -- the Donald is back tomorrow night. The corporate climbers getting back in line. We'll check it out in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALLACE: Prescription drugs, like Ritalin and Aderrall, are commonly used to treat attention deficit disorder, but they're also being misused by a growing number of growing college students.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now with the details.
Sanjay, sounds like a big concern.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly can be. Colleges and universities starting up, gearing up around the country, students gearing up as wall for all of their studying, trying to stay up late. A lot of people resort to caffeine. Others are resorting to a popular prescription drug. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): At the time, Stephanie didn't think the was doing anything wrong. But every year, when she went back to college, she also went back to using a drug.
STEPHANIE, RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATE: I used Aderrall. When I took it to study, I would just stay at the library for hours, until I had everything done and I knew everything front to back.
GUPTA: Aderrall is actually a stimulant, and was approved in 1996 to treat attention deficit hyperactivity order.
But the problem is, Stephanie was never diagnosed with ADHD. She simply got the Aderrall from a friend, and she's not alone.
DR. DREW PINSKY, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: This is an attractive drug to the college-age set, because the barrier is so low to use. Think about it, many of their peers have been on it their whole life, didn't hurt them, helps them study. Why not?
STEPHANIE: It was pretty easy for me to get it through people I knew, and people I knew that took it.
GUPTA: That's because In 2001 alone, prescription for drugs like Aderrall increased 15 percent.
In a recent statement Shire Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Aderrall said, "Ultimately parents, patients and school personnel are necessary partners with physicians and Shire in ensuring that Aderrall and Aderrall XR are used appropriately in patients diagnosed with ADHD. But without a doctor's supervision, ensuring that you're taking the right dose is tough, and that may put you at risk for serious side effects.
PINSKY: What we would see for people using high doses, the same thing we see with other amphetamines, which is brain damage, chronic memory disturbances and chronic depressions.
GUPTA: Other side effects can include high blood pressure, insomnia, heart arrhytmias and stroke, possibly addiction.
Despite the risks, though, Stephanie has no regrets.
STEPHANIE: For some people who I know who are kind of like myself, who get distracted really easily when it comes to things like that, I probably would probably recommend it, but definitely not to everybody.
GUPTA: Now that she's recently graduated, she has no plans to use the drug in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And you might be wondering how they get these drugs in the first place. Well, a lot of times they do come from legitimate prescriptions and people share those prescriptions, or a lot of times, they'll actually fake symptoms of ADHD, is what some students have told us as well, to try and get a prescription. But campus health professionals becoming a little wiser to this now.
WALLACE: Sanjay, but how are these drugs different than drinking caffeine pills or drinking lots Red Bull to keep yourself awake?
GUPTA: Well, the thing about caffeine, and we talked about that specifically, it certainly can keep you awake. Caffeine is a stimulant in that way, but it also gives you the jitters, sometimes may not make you as focused as you like.
Drugs like Aderrall, especially for students, it will keep you in "the zone," is a term a lot of students told us, still keep you focused and not give you the jitters at the same time. So good for studying or staying up late.
WALLACE: Sanjay, thanks so much. Great to see you.
GUPTA: Thanks.
WALLACE: Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Bill, back to you.
HEMMER: All right, politics a major focus for us. Today, watching John Kerry about ready to give his speech in Cincinnati, Ohio. The main topic, we're told, is Iraq. Back in a moment here, break on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: As promised, in Cincinnati, and Senator John Kerry now being introduced, expected to be a very strong speech, criticizing the war effort in Iraq. Let's go to Cincinnati now at the museum center, the same location where President Bush made a significant speech prior to the war, no doubt why the senator has chosen this location to deliver this address today. Senator Kerry on the stump, now in Cincinnati.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you so much. Thank you for a wonderful Cincinnati, wonderful Ohio warm and generous welcome. I appreciate it enormously. And, like you, I'm so respectful and so in awe of the courage and the patriotism of Robin O'Brien (ph).
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (OFF-MIKE)
KERRY: Will you all join me with Robin O'Brien (ph) -- will you all join me in saying thank you to Robin O'Brien (ph), for her wonderful...
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Kerry! Kerry! Kerry!
KERRY: Ladies and gentlemen, please. Ladies. Please, everybody.
Thank you. Thank you very, very much.
One of the things that Gil (ph) and all of our troops are fighting for as they fight in Iraq is freedom. And I have nothing but the greatest respect for people's right to have their opinions and to express them here in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
That's who we are as Americans.
And I might add, it's a terrific tactic of the Bush team: They love to disrupt, they love to interrupt, they don't want America to hear the truth. But we will talk the truth.
(APPLAUSE)
I think that more than anything -- I really believe this very deeply, I honestly respect the differences of opinion and the emotions that people feel. We all respect them.
You know, I once stood up and spoke about what I thought our government was doing that was wrong, and so many of our generation believed deeply in that right.
But I think what we need more than anything today in this great country of ours is a conversation, a talk, Americans to Americans, not about how we divide each other.
And we need leadership that doesn't look for the lowest common denominator of America, but the highest common denominator. Bring us together, bring us together.
(APPLAUSE)
And these are troubling times. They are times of emotion. They tug at the emotions of all Americans.
What we need to do is lower our voices and listen to each other about the real choices that we face as a nation.
Yesterday, in Iraq, we marked the most incalculable loss of all. Yesterday, we reached a tragic milestone: More than 1,000 of America's sons and daughters gave their lives in service to our country; more than 1,000 sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, who will never come home to live the lives that they dreamed of.
We honor them. We pray for them. We pray for their families.
And we owe it to their memory and to all of our troops to do what's right in Iraq and what's right here at home. (APPLAUSE)
I also want to speak directly to the more than 150,000 troops who are currently serving and risking their lives as far away as in Iraq or Afghanistan, and to the sons and daughters like Gil O'Brien (ph), that Robin just talked about, who have served once, who are here now but who are going to go back.
KERRY: Your country is proud of you. You are the most dedicated, capable military that we've ever had in our history. We are united as a nation in support for you. We pledge to stand with you and with your families, as you are standing on the front lines for ours.
You're the best of America and you perform magnificently every single day. We thank you for your service and for your sacrifice.
(APPLAUSE)
Twenty-three months ago, President Bush came right here to this great civic and educational institution in this great city, to ask the American people for our support. And he promised then to make the right choices when it came to sending young Americans to Iraq.
Here in Cincinnati, he said that if Congress approved the resolution giving him the authority to use force, it did not mean that military action would be unavoidable. But he chose not to give the weapons inspectors the time they needed, not just to get the job done, but to give meaning to the words "going to war as a last resort."
(APPLAUSE)
Here in Cincinnati, he promised to lead a coalition, but he failed to build the kind of broad, strong, real coalition, and he rushed to war without a plan to win the peace.
(APPLAUSE)
Here in Cincinnati, from this hall, on that night, he spoke to the nation and he promised, quote, "If we have to act, we will take every precaution that is possible, we will plan carefully, we will act with the full power of the United States military, we will act with allies at our side, and we will prevail."
But then George W. Bush made the wrong choices.
KERRY: He himself now admits he miscalculated in Iraq. But in truth, his miscalculation was ignoring the advice that he was given, including the very best advice of America's own military.
(APPLAUSE)
When he didn't like what he was hearing, he even fired the Army chief of staff.
His miscalculation was going to war without taking every precaution, without giving the inspectors time. His miscalculation was going to war without planning carefully and without the allies that we should have had at our side.
As a result, America has paid nearly 90 percent of the bill in Iraq. Contrast that with the Gulf War, where our allies paid 95 percent of the costs.
George W. Bush's wrong choices have led America in the wrong direction in Iraq and they have left America without the resources that we need so desperately here at home.
(APPLAUSE)
The cost of the president's go-it-alone policy in Iraq is now $200 billion and counting. $200 billion for Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford after-school programs for our children. $200 billion for Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford health care for our veterans. $200 billion dollars for Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford to keep the 100,000 police officers we put on the streets during the 1990s.
We're here today to tell them they're wrong.
It's time to lead America in a new direction.
(APPLAUSE)
When it comes to Iraq, it's not that I would have done one thing differently from the president; I would have done almost everything differently from the president.
(APPLAUSE)
I would have given the inspectors the time they needed before rushing to war. I would have built a genuine coalition of allies and made sure that every soldier that was put in harm's way actually had the equipment and the body armor that they needed.
KERRY: I would have listened to our senior military leaders in this country, and I would have listened to the bipartisan advice that was given by the Congress of the United States.
And if there's one thing that I learned from my own experience in a war, I would never have gone to war without a plan to win the peace.
(APPLAUSE)
I would not have made the wrong choices that are now forcing us to pay nearly the entire cost of this war: $200 billion that we're not investing in education and health care, job creation here at home; $200 billion for going it alone in Iraq.
That's the wrong choice. That's the wrong direction. And that's the wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE) And while we're spending that $200 billion in Iraq -- that's to this date; it will go on -- 8 million Americans are looking for work here in America: 2 million more -- 2 million more than when George W. Bush took office. And we're told that we can't afford to invest in job creation and job training here at home.
But for the Bush administration, helping Americans find a good job has never been the top priority. The first time that we really heard anything much about jobs has been in the last few months of this campaign. And I suggest to you that once every few months just before an election is not enough.
At that convention in New York last week, they actually told us that out-sourcing jobs was good for America. Now, that should not come as a surprise to you, because that's exactly what they've been doing for the last four years and that's exactly what they intend to do for the next four years.
That's the wrong choice. That's the wrong direction for America. That's the wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
As president, I intend to set a new direction. And it's one that's based on just fundamental, good old, mainstream American values and common sense. Here's common sense: I will close the tax loopholes that actually ask you, with your tax money, to reward companies that ship the jobs overseas and, instead...
(APPLAUSE)
And instead, we're going to do something else that leaps out at you in its common sense. We're going to take that money from the money that's encouraging people to go overseas and we're going to reward the companies that create and keep the good jobs right here in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
Because of this president's wrong choices we're spending $200 billion in Iraq, while the costs of health care are going through the roof. And we're told we don't have the resources to make health care affordable and available to all Americans, we don't have the resources to reimburse Medicare enough, we can't help the hospitals hire more nurses, we can't help people be able to afford to get it.
Americans now 45 million strong have no health insurance at all: 5 million more than the day George W. Bush took office.
KERRY: And after four years of action, four years of nothing, four years of no action, four years of no concern, four years of no meetings at which they really pulled people together and say, "How do we solve this problem together as Americans?" four years of no mention of those who are struggling to afford health care, suddenly the president finally told us last week that he actually had a plan. Well, if you were wondering what it was, you only had to wait 24 hours to find out, because the very next day he raised the Medicare premiums by 17 percent; the biggest increase in Medicare in the history of our country.
(APPLAUSE)
And here's the kicker: A lot of that money is nothing more than a windfall transferred payment from your pockets right into the health care companies and the HMOs. They're charging 17 percent more for Medicare while making America pay $200 billion for a go-it-alone policy in Iraq.
That's the wrong choice. That's the wrong direction. That's the wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
As president, I will set a new direction. George W. Bush believes that when it comes to health care the big drug companies come first, the insurance companies come second and you come last. Well, I'm going to put you first.
(APPLAUSE)
Our plan is a real plan. I invite anybody listening, go to Johnkerry.com. It includes all the ways we're going to deal with children, with seniors, with health care. And it actually -- contrary to what the president who, once again, is misleading America, running around the country talking about tort reform -- it also includes a provision of medical malpractice and tort reform. So we will take on the waste and the greed in the health care system.
And you know what? We're going to save the average family up to $1,000 a year on their premiums. Our plan is going to help...
(APPLAUSE)
And we don't just focus on the people who don't have the health insurance. We focus on the people who have it and lower their costs. And we focus on American business.
And we do it in a market way, in a responsible way. We invite business to be part of the solution. There's no mandate. There's no government program. There's no new bureaucracy. And we let Americans do what Americans want to do, which is choose their own doctor, choose their own plan, and have choices as to where to go, what to do.
(APPLAUSE)
And one of the things I'm proudest of, our plan automatically, immediately will cover all children in America, day one. You go to school, you're covered. You go to day care, you're covered. You go to child care, you're covered.
(APPLAUSE) I'll tell you, I am determined that when I am president, America will stop being the only industrial nation on this planet that doesn't yet accept that health care is not a privilege for the elected or the selected or the wealthy or the connected.
KERRY: Health care is a right for all Americans, and we're going to make it available to all Americans.
(APPLAUSE)
Because of George W. Bush's wrong choices, we're spending $200 billion in Iraq while we're running up the biggest deficits in American history, the biggest deficits announced yesterday and the biggest debt.
We've added more debt under George Bush, more debt to the national debt of our nation, than we added from George Washington to Ronald Reagan. And that threatens Social Security, and that's what Alan Greenspan told us the other day.
In fact, they're raiding the Social Security trust fund in order to pay for their mistakes in Iraq.
And at that convention in New York last week, guess what? George Bush said he actually had a new idea. And you know what it is? Do you know what his new idea is? It's actually the bad old idea of privatizing Social Security and cutting your benefits.
That's the wrong choice, wrong direction, wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
So as president, I will not privatize Social Security. I will not cut benefits. And I will not raise the retirement age, because when you've worked for a lifetime in America, America owes you what you've earned.
(APPLAUSE)
And because of this president's wrong choices in Iraq, we're spending $200 billion there instead of investing in making America energy independent.
George W. Bush's energy policy is to trust the big oil companies and the Saudis. In fact, a national news magazine just reported that a senior member of the Saudi royal family said that as far as they're concerned in the U.S. presidential election, it's Bush all the way.
Well, I want an America that relies on its own ingenuity, on our own intervention, not the Saudi royal family. And that's what we need.
(APPLAUSE)
KERRY: Now, let me tell you what we're going to do. We're going to do what we could have been doing four years ago and three years ago and two years ago and all of last year and all of this year. We're going to invest in technology and in the vehicles of the future. We're going to invest so that no young American in uniform will ever be held hostage to America's dependence on oil from the Middle East.
That's the right choice, that's the right direction, that's the right leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
And because of this president's wrong choices, we're spending $200 billion in Iraq, while we're told that we can't afford to do everything that we should be doing for homeland security. I believe it's wrong to be opening fire houses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
It's wrong to cut money for our first responders. It's wrong to let 95 percent of the cargo that comes into this country get by without ever being physically inspected.
That's the wrong choice, that's the wrong direction, that's the wrong leadership for America.
(APPLAUSE)
So my friends, we're going to set a new direction for this country. We're going to defend this country here at home and we're going to do all we can possibly do in order to protect it from another terrorist attack. And we are going to make homeland security the kind of priority that it ought to be, not a political slogan.
(APPLAUSE)
My friends, today we are bearing the cost of the war in Iraq almost alone: $200 billion and counting.
Nearly two years after George W. Bush spoke to the nation from this very place, we know how wrong his choices were. He says he miscalculated. He calls Iraq a catastrophic success. But a glance at the front pages or a look at the nightly news shows brings home the hard reality: rising instability, spreading violence, growing extremism, havens now created that weren't there for terrorists who weren't even in the country before we went there.
And today even the Pentagon has admitted this very reality: that entire regions of Iraq are controlled by insurgents and terrorists.
KERRY: I call this course a catastrophic course that has cost us $200 billion because we went it alone, and we've paid an even more unbearable price in young American lives and the risks our soldiers take.
We need a new direction. We need statesmanship. We need leadership. We need the ability of a president with a fresh start and new credibility to open up the channels of communication.
We need to do a whole bunch of things in Iraq that this president could have done and hasn't even tried to do. We need to really bring our allies to our side because they do have a stake in the outcome of Iraq and one of the great failures of this administration is in not convincing the world of that reality.
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We need to share the burdens, share the responsibility and the decision-making, share the reconstruction, reduce the cost to the American taxpayer and reduce the risk to the American soldier.
We need to train Iraqi military and police. We need to train them more rapidly. We need to behave like we really are a nation at war and we need to get other people to behave that way with us.
We need to get more people in greater numbers ready to take over the job of protecting their own country.
That's what I'll do as commander in chief, because that's the right way to get the job done and bring our troops home.
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You know, this president said one thing in his convention speech that's true. He said, "We all need to challenge the soft bigotry of low expectations." But, you know, it's George W. Bush who has set low expectations and he's met them.
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He doesn't believe that American can be strong in the world while we also make progress here at home. He believes that we have to choose one or the other, and that's a false choice and I reject it.
I believe we can lead in the world and lead America to greater progress and prosperity than we've ever known before.
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Half a century ago, from here in Union Terminal, thousands of soldiers waved one last goodbye to their families before heading off to the Second World War. In that war their bravery and the leaders made the right choices and they brought victory over tyranny and they brought prosperity here at home.
When I'm president, America will once again stand up to our enemies without destroying or denying our best hopes here at home. We'll strengthen our military in order to meet new threats, but we'll also build and lead strong, new alliances around the world.
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We will build a stronger America with good jobs and better wages. Not paying you less money than the job you had for the job you lost overseas, but pushing the curve of technology and creativity, doing stem cell research, alternative and renewable energy, doing the things that begin to open up the avenues and opportunities of the future.
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With the right choices and the right leadership, we're going to set a new direction for America. We're going to build an America that's stronger at home and respected in the world.
As Franklin Roosevelt once said, "The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." Well, I'll tell you, I believe there are no limits for tomorrow, but we need to make the right choices today. And with your help, we're going to restore the true greatness of our nation and we are going to set a new direction for the future.
Thank you. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
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KAGAN: We've been listening in to Senator John Kerry. He is addressing a crowd in Cincinnati, Ohio, making the case that he believes that President Bush made the wrong decision to go to war, being critical of that decision, saying now it is time to lead America in a new direction, not only being critical of the decision, but Senator Kerry saying things like, it's not one thing he would have done differently in dealing with Iraq, it is everything he would have done differently.
On the opposite side, President Bush and the Bush administration have been very critical of Senator Kerry, saying that he is flip- flopping on his support, or lack of support for the war, pointing out the senator did vote for authorization for the president to go to war in Iraq in that vote in the Senate back in October 2002.
Fifty-five days left in this election, as Senator Kerry salutes the crowd there. Interesting that he chose Cincinnati to make this speech. This is the same place where President Bush, just about two years ago, addressed a crowd to make his case for going to war, back in 2002.
Also, Ohio, a key battleground state. And if there's any question of that, look at Senator Kerry's travel schedule. This is the sixth time in the last seven days that Senator Kerry has been in the state of Ohio.
We're going to have much more from the campaign trail ahead. Also more on President Bush.
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