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Lou Dobbs Tonight

Millions Flee From Hurricane Ivan; CBS News, Dan Rather Stand by Bush Story

Aired September 15, 2004 - 18:00   ET

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

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


LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, millions are fleeing Hurricane Ivan as it begins its furious assault on our Gulf Coast. Ivan could cause massive damage to communities along hundreds of miles of coastline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: If you want to do a comparison, it is the size of Frances, but the impact of Charley.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: We'll have live reports from the Gulf. We'll also go to the National Hurricane Center for the very latest on Hurricane Ivan. And Governor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana is our guest.

And in the eye of another storm, CBS and Dan Rather stand by their story about President Bush's military service, but did CBS ignore warnings about the authenticity of the documents it used? We'll have that report tonight.

And further fact or fiction? Explosive allegations about President Bush and his family. Author Kitty Kelley will be here to discuss her new controversial book, "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty."

In Exporting America tonight, U.S. aerospace firms are exporting technical knowledge and jobs. American aerospace workers are paying a terrible price.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you're definitely being laid off. On January 1, 2003, I handed in my badge and I walked out the front door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: Tonight, the documentary "American Jobs."

ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Wednesday, September 15. Here now for an hour of news, debate and opinion is Lou Dobbs.

DOBBS: Good evening.

Tonight, the U.S. Gulf Coast will bear the full fury of Hurricane Ivan. Tropical storm-force winds and rain are already pounding the States of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and the panhandle of the State of Florida.

The massive hurricane will slam into the coastline at about 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time with what many fear will be devastating force. The hurricane is barreling towards the Gulf Coast at 14 miles an hour. It has sustained winds now of 135 miles an hour. It remains a Category 4 storm.

NOAA buoy 75 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico today recorded 50- foot-high waves. Ivan is not only powerful, it's extremely large. Hurricane-force winds are extending more than 100 miles from its center.

We have full coverage of the storm tonight. With us Rick Sanchez in Panama City, Florida, Rob Marciano is in Mobile, Alabama, Jacqui Jeras at the CNN Weather Center will have the very latest on the position of Ivan, and the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, will join me tonight.

We go first to Rick Sanchez in Panama City -- Rick.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have just gotten some confirmation on something which we had heard before from some of the Bay County sheriff's officers here in this area, Lou, and that is the sad news we report tonight of what is the first fatality of this storm. It happened just blocks from where I'm standing right now in an area known to the locals here as Thomas Drive.

We've had a lot of tornadic activity in the past hour or so. In fact, we've been under a tornado warning. Not anymore. Our tornado warning now is now in the neighbor county here just to our west, Gulf County.

But officials are now confirming that someone who was living in a structure died, when the structure fell on him, from trauma. They're not being very specific, other than to say that the gentleman succumbed to the tornado and the effect of the tornado on his particular structure.

There have also been reports that there is other damage in that area as a result of the tornado. There had been a report that a sheriff's deputy had been injured. We have been trying to confirm that report as well.

But the very latest, once again, Lou, to report from here is the sad news that we have our first fatality of Ivan happening right here in the area of Panama City Beach confirmed to us only moments ago.

Lou, back to you.

DOBBS: Rick, thank you very much.

Rick Sanchez reporting from Panama City.

Hurricane experts are predicting now that Ivan will smash into the Gulf Coast near Mobile, Alabama. That area is already being lashed by massive waves and powerful winds. Rob Marciano reports from Mobile now -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Lou, we just had a wind gust of 64 miles an hour, so almost at hurricane strength here. Winds coming out of the East quite strongly, and the storm is that way, due south by about 150 miles just off the shoreline, moving 14, 15 miles an hour. It will be here in eight to 10 hours.

Not only the winds are an issue. A tornado watch, like Rick mentioned -- a tornado watch out until 2:00 a.m. There have been numerous tornado warnings up. On top of that it is the storm surge.

Look over my shoulder here. This is the Mobile River. It dumps into Mobile Bay. Storm surge expected in the bay anywhere from 12 to 18 feet. Just below us from Mobile River is a street called Water Street, and we expect this street to be covered with water, with water coming all the way up to this hotel. Right now, we're on the fourth floor. We do expect the storm sewage to come this high.

The last time we had a storm anywhere near this strength was in 1979, Hurricane Frederick. That was a Category 3 storm. Lou, we expect this one to be much more worse. Right now, Mobile, Alabama, ground zero.

Back to you.

DOBBS: Rob, thank you very much.

Let's go live now to the CNN Weather Center. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is there and has the very latest for us on this massive hurricane -- Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Lou, the center of the storm is about 125 miles away from the coastline at this hour. It's packing winds at 135 miles per hour, making it a powerful Category 4 hurricane. The hurricane-force winds should be arriving likely about an hour from now. Tropical storm-force winds already in place.

We'll show you the radar picture now and show you the outer bands, which have been affecting the area throughout the afternoon hours, and we're particularly concerned about a line of storms that has been moving in around the Panama City area. It's extending on up towards Pensacola and then over towards Mobile as well.

The forecast track of this storm is staying right on target, but it has picked up a little bit of forward speed. So we may see this making landfall earlier rather than later, maybe just after the midnight hour. As it makes its way inland then, it will start to slow down and it will weaken very significantly, but the problem with it slowing down is that we're likely going to see some very extensive flooding across all of the Southeast -- Lou.

DOBBS: Jacqui, thank you very much.

Jacqui Jeras from the CNN Weather Center. More than a million people have now evacuated low-lying areas of Louisiana, but at least 100,000 people are unable or unwilling to flee. Governor Kathleen Blanco says those people are putting their lives at risk. Governor Blanco joins me now from Baton Rouge.

Governor, good to have you here.

BLANCO: Thank you, Lou.

DOBBS: Your citizens are facing an extraordinary, a daunting threat tonight. Those 100,000 people -- is there anything that you can do about them right now at this late hour?

BLANCO: Well, the only thing we can do now, Lou, is ask them to get into shelters that give them as much security as possible in their local areas, wherever they are. Certainly, we have some brave souls who believe that they can withstand all of the dangers that these hurricanes present to us, but they do forget that we've got rising water problems, we've got lots of wind damage, hard-driving rains, and tornadoes, as we've seen.

DOBBS: The levee system around Louisiana, like Pontchartrain, that area, it looks as though the storm has spared the region the worst possible scenario. It's still unclear, of course, right now. What is your best assessment?

BLANCO: We have people checking those levees, and they've been checking them regularly. There's always a concern that a levee might break, and then we would have real disaster on our hands. But we have experienced rising waters in many locations.

We're asking people who have evacuated to be very patient before they begin their return in the aftermath of the storm because some of their home sites might not be approach able by vehicles, and we're asking people to be patient, stay safe, and we want to ride this hurricane out without any fatalities.

DOBBS: Is it your sense that you are prepared with your emergency service people, your public safety officers to withstand the storm?

BLANCO: We have a very sophisticated office of emergency preparedness here in Louisiana. We've had so many storm experiences through the years, and, each time we go through this, we get a little bit better. Life is not perfect, you cannot protect people who don't want to be protected.

But I think that our local officials have done a superb job. We did a massive evacuation within 24 hours. That's -- I don't think we've ever seen such a large evacuation here in this state.

We also received a large number of people from our neighboring states, from Mississippi, from Alabama. I visited one of our shelters this afternoon and found lots of people who were from our neighboring states as well. DOBBS: New Orleans, Governor, is the only city where the Red Cross has refused to set up emergency shelters. Are you calling upon other volunteer agencies to help out there?

BLANCO: Well, we will have an emergency shelter, as the mayor mentioned, over in the Super Dome. It's actually for people who are -- who have medical conditions, but -- and we're hoping it's a very temporary shelter there.

DOBBS: Well, Governor, we wish, obviously, you, the people of Louisiana, all of those in the Gulf Coast region where the storm is going to hit all of the very best. We thank you for your time, Governor.

BLANCO: Thank you, Lou. We're also concerned about what it's going to do to our coastline. We're constantly worried about losing more of our wetlands, as we've seen has happened in many hurricanes.

DOBBS: Indeed, Governor. Thank you very much.

Governor Kathleen Blanco.

Still ahead here, much more on Hurricane Ivan. Tonight, I'll be joined by the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, who will give us his very best judgment about the direction of this hurricane, whether it will make landfall and when.

Also ahead, CBS and Dan Rather are standing by their story on President Bush and his National Guard service, but did the network ignore warnings in its evidence that it might indeed be a forgery? Republicans are demanding answers.

And is Senator Kerry fighting a losing battle against President Bush? I'll be joined by David Gergen who's advised four presidents, Republican and Democrat, in his distinguished career in public service.

All of that and a great deal more still ahead here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: A leading lawmaker today called for a congressional investigation into the CBS News story about President Bush's National Guard service. Congressman Christopher Cox, a Republican of California, said CBS News intended to influence the outcome of the election by using what he called, quote, "apparently forged documents," end quote. CBS News and Dan Rather stand by their story, despite reports they ignored warnings about the authenticity of the documents.

Jeanne Meserve reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Linda James was one of the experts CBS asked to authenticate copies of the documents. She says the quality was poor, and she had questions about the signatures and typography. I asked her if she advised CBS not to air the story.

LINDA JAMES, DOCUMENT EXAMINER: I believe I did say it that way, but my main was to caution them not to use the handwriting part because there was incomplete evidence and that I could not authenticate these documents for them.

MESERVE: Emily Will, another document examiner consulted by CBS, says she called the network before the "60 Minutes" broadcast to reiterate what she called serious concerns about the documents' authenticity.

"I said flatly and clearly and plainly that I had a lot of questions. If you run this on Wednesday, on Thursday, you're going to have hundreds of document examiners asking you these questions."

CBS also asked Marcel Matley, another examiner, to review the documents.

DAN RATHER, CBS ANCHOR: Document and handwriting examiner Marcel Matley analyzed the documents for CBS News. He says he believes they are real.

MESERVE: But Marcel Matley tells CNN, "I could not verify the documents were authentic or inauthentic. I could only verify that the signatures came from the same source as other verified documents."

Other experts with whom CNN has consulted have serious doubts that the signatures match or that the documents were typed in the early '70s.

CBS has not revealed its sources, but that didn't stop the White House from pointing fingers.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I believe that the Democrats and the Kerry campaign are behind these old recycled attacks on the president's service, absolutely.

MESERVE: On Capitol Hill, Republican Congressman Roy Blunt circulated a letter saying CBS had become part of a campaign to deceive the public and defame the president. He urged the network to retract the story. Other Republicans raised a hue and cry for a congressional investigation.

SEN. ROBERT BENNETT (R), UTAH: A deliberate attempt on the part of a forger to change the course of an election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: It is unclear if congressional hearings will ever take place, but, meanwhile, the woman who was secretary to the purported author of the memos tells "The Dallas Morning News" she never typed them, and she thinks they are fake, though she says they do accurately reflect the thinking of her boss at the time.

And, meanwhile, no comment from CNN. We've been waiting all day for a statement. It has not materialized yet -- Lou.

DOBBS: That comment from CBS. I suppose we will have that just as soon as it does become available.

Jeanne Meserve, thank you very much.

Turning now to Iraq, it was another bloody day of violence as insurgents launched a new wave of attacks. The U.S. military said two more Marines have been killed in Al Anbar Province. That's west of Baghdad. Officials gave no details.

In Ramadi, Marines killed 11 Iraqis in fierce fighting with insurgents. There were no American casualties reported.

Southeast of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded, killing an Iraqi National Guard soldier and a civilian. Then other people were wounded in the explosion.

Still ahead here tonight, the presidential candidates are appealing to a critical voting bloc in this election -- Latinos. We'll have the latest on what is now a critical juncture in this presidential campaign. Former presidential adviser David Gergen is my guest.

And then, a sensational new book on the Bush family's rise to power, its personal scandals and triumphs. I'll be talking with can author Kitty Kelley about the book's revelations and the controversy it has created within its first week of release.

And then, Hurricane Ivan sending millions of people fleeing the Gulf Coast. The eye of the monster storm is now just hours away from making landfall. We'll have the very latest for you on where and when it will hit. I'll be talking with Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center. We'll have live reports for you as well from Mobile, Alabama, and Panama City, Florida, two cities directly in the path of this monster hurricane.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT continues with more news, debate and opinion. Here now, Lou Dobbs.

In our Campaign Journal tonight, both presidential candidates today making a pitch to a critical voting bloc in this election -- Latino voters. President Bush spoke at a Hispanic Heritage Month event held at the White House. President Bush promised to do more to help Latinos succeed in this country in business and education.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As we celebrate this month, our mission, our goal, our deepest desire is for every child -- every child -- including those whose parents speak -- don't speak English as a first language, to be able to realize the promise of this country by making sure the public schools have high standards in excellence in every classroom. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: Senator Kerry will be addressing the congressional Hispanic Caucus tonight. Earlier in the day, he launched a stinging new attack on President Bush's handling of the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN F. KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has created more excuses than jobs. His is the excuse presidency. His is the excuse presidency -- never wrong, never responsible, never to blame. President Bush's desk isn't where the buck stops. It's where the blame begins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: A new poll suggests Senator Kerry could be struggling in one traditionally Democratic state. "The Minneapolis Star-Tribune" poll finds Senator Kerry's lead in Minnesota has shrunk from 50 percent to 41 percent. Support for President Bush has increased 3 percentage points since a poll taken back in March.

My next guest says Senator Kerry is running out of time to elevate his campaign. David Gergen has extraordinary insight to offer into presidential politics, having advised four presidents -- Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. He is also director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School in Boston. David Gergen joins me tonight from Boston.

David, good to have you with us.

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Thank you. Thank you, Lou, for those kind words.

DOBBS: Longtime Democratic insider Tony Coelho today said that the Kerry campaign is straightforwardly in chaos. How would -- would you agree with his assessment?

GERGEN: In chaos. Pretty strong. Pretty strong phrase. I think that it's flat as a campaign. It's -- he does not have a message that's resonating with the public very well.

It's true that President Bush's lead coming out of the convention has shrunk some from, say, around the 10 percent mark to what appears to be around 5 percent nationwide, but, in several states now, what you find is that, in the upper Midwest, which were Gore states the last time around, they seem to be slipping away from John Kerry, Wisconsin being the lead state there. Iowa -- I was just in Iowa over the weekend. That may be slipping away from John Kerry. Minnesota you just mentioned, Lou.

If John Kerry were to lose those states, it's basically over. So he has to rally. And George Bush is playing on Kerry's territory. He's forcing him to do this, and I do think time is of the essence now. I think he has to turn this around before the debates, and if -- Tony Coelho is a good reader of what's going on in Democratic politics. If he says the internal campaign is in chaos, that's a signal that there's more scuffling going on inside than we even realize.

DOBBS: Coelho went on to say that the Kerry campaign does not have a Karl Rove, who is --everyone concedes is very effective at what he does. Do you agree with that?

GERGEN: I do agree with that, and when you -- you talk to Democratic insiders, and they say they've been talking to the Kerry campaign. They usually say they've been talking to John Kerry himself, and I say, well, when you can't talk to the candidate, who do you talk to, and they said, well, we're not sure quite who to talk to.

Now Mary Beth Cahill is there, but she's surrounded by so many others that there doesn't seem to be one strategist behind it. Lou, I think it's not just a question of having a campaign manager, but having a strategy that's clear-cut, that you stick to, you have discipline.

So here's -- you know, at the Democratic convention, John Kerry had been accused of flip flopping a lot, kept on wavering. He goes to the Democratic Convention. The essence of the Democratic Convention is about enhancing his credentials as commander in chief. Two or three weeks later, Democrats are saying now let's get to the real issue in this campaign -- the economy. Now which one is it that he's trying to run on?

DOBBS: This morning, Don Imus asked Senator Kerry what was his plan for Iraq, and Senator Kerry replied to Don Imus that the question should be put before George Bush. What do you think of that response? How would you assess it? Is it an effective campaign approach?

GERGEN: I think it's totally inadequate, given where he is. If you were 10 points ahead, perhaps he could get away with the old Nixon formulation about Vietnam, you know, I've got a secret plan to win in Vietnam, but he's not 10 points ahead.

He has to -- what has been, I think, the single biggest weakness of the Kerry campaign has become -- that he's -- his rhetoric and his votes on Iraq have struck many, many voters as being incoherent, and they don't understand what he thinks about Iraq or what he thinks ought to happen in the future, and I think the absence of a framework for a -- the war on terrorism and what to do about Iraq is coming back to plague this campaign.

You cannot -- as the Democratic challenger, when deaths are accumulating in Iraq, you know, when the place seems to be closer and closer to the edge of real chaos itself, you can't as a Democratic candidate say, well, you know, let's talk about the economy. We've got to -- he's got to talk about both. He needs a strategy for the war on terrorism, and it has to include Iraq.

DOBBS: Do you have a clear understanding of the Bush Administration's strategy on Iraq?

GERGEN: No. And you've got a good point there. I don't know exactly -- I mean, I know they want to have elections, and I have a sense of what they're going to do after the elections in January, if we hold them, but at least I do think this: I think the president is clearer about his overall strategy on the war on terror and where Iraq fits into that. He's at least clear about what he wants to create at least as a stable Iraq and, hopefully, a Democratic Iraq.

Now, listen, Lou, I think that, as a general proposition, both of these campaigns have been very backward-looking. We don't have a clear sense from either of them how are we really going to solve the deficit problem budget-wise, how are we going to solve the problem of trade deficits and these overseas jobs that are being, as you've pointed out so many times -- how are we going to solve the energy problem, how are we going to win the war on terrorism?

I don't think either of these campaigns has been as comprehensive or as clear as they need to be. Whoever wins is going to have a big job on their hands.

DOBBS: And the national media, all of us, focusing retrospectively to National Guard service, U.S. Navy service 35 years ago. The national media bears great culpability in all of this, does it not?

GERGEN: Well, it does. I think that we in the national media have made way too much of the Vietnam issue. I think we've been willing to go along with a lot of this, and, of course, now you just had the piece about CBS and the struggles going on there.

I -- my sense of this CBS story -- maybe I'm wrong about this, Lou, but my sense of the CBS story is it's been a blessing in disguise for George W. Bush because a lot of the national news media is not giving the kind of sensational coverage to Kitty Kelley or to the Sy Hirsch books that might have come otherwise.

Instead, you know, you're treating it -- it's your fourth story, and, tonight, with Kitty Kelley, you're putting her on the air, but you're not sensationalizing it, and it's -- and those books, which -- many Democrats had hoped the Kitty Kelley book and Sy Hirsch book would be the turning point after the conventions. They're just not having the kind of bounce they would, I think, partly because of the brouhaha over CBS.

DOBBS: In part, but the Kitty Kelley book at least is, by whatever deflection there may be in the public arena, already shooting to number one in the bestseller list.

GERGEN: It is that. It is that. But, you know, that happens -- I don't see it happening -- I don't see it effecting the polls yet, Lou. Maybe it will.

DOBBS: And we'll be finding out from Kitty Kelley, David, whether that was part of her motivation in writing the book.

David Gergen, as always, thank you for being here.

GERGEN: Lou, it's always a privilege here. DOBBS: That brings us to the subject of our poll tonight: Which presidential candidate do you believe would best fulfill his campaign promises for the next four years -- President Bush, Senator John Kerry or Ralph Nader? Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results coming up here later.

Taking a look now at some of your thoughts on the issue of Broken Borders, many of you wrote in about my interview with "TIME" magazine's editor at large James Steele earlier this week. His special report, the cover story of "TIME" magazine this week, revealed alarming new figures about the massive influx of illegal aliens into this country, an invasion, in fact, of some three million, according to the "TIME" magazine estimate.

Janice Wood of Mobile, Alabama, "Thank you for covering the 'TIME' magazine story on the invasion of America. This is shocking. It should wake up apathetic Americans. How sad and shameful that politicians have sold out America for their own selfish gain."

Michael Keeley in Niwot, Colorado, "Lou, we should not be surprised that illegal aliens are invading us from Mexico. Our government leaders have given them the green light by sending the message that we are complacent on enforcing immigration laws, we'll give them free medical care, and are now talking about giving them driver's licenses, amnesty, the right to vote and Social Security benefits."

Brian Anderson in Schaumburg, Illinois, "From what I am seeing about our broken borders and rights for illegal aliens, I'm thinking maybe I should take a vacation to Mexico. When I get into Mexico, I should renounce my American citizenship and sneak into America as an illegal alien. That way, I would have free health care and a driver's license. Heck, by the time I can afford to go to Mexico in this economically, they may be giving illegal aliens a free car to drive and free car insurance as well."

We love to hear from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs@cnn.com. And please send us your name and address. Each viewer whose e-mail is read on this broadcast each evening receives a free copy of my new book "Exporting America."

Returning to the top story here tonight, Hurricane Ivan is barreling toward the Gulf Coast. Already tropical force winds are being felt along the coast. The center of this now Category 4 hurricane is expected to reach the coast late tonight, or early tomorrow morning.

For the very latest now, I'm joined by Max Mayfield. He's the director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Max, this storm is still at a Category 4.

MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Lou, it hasn't shown any signs of weakening whatsoever. It's still a solid Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. And that's capable of causing extreme damage and obviously, loss of life if we're not careful. DOBBS: Governor Blanco of Louisiana is concerned about, obviously, her citizens, another 100,000 of them remain in low-lying areas by the best estimates. Do they have some good news about where landfall will be here by your best estimate?

MAYFIELD: Right. It looks like it's staying on our forecast track. So this is certainly not the worst-case for New Orleans by any means. I would think the biggest concern there is with the low-lying areas outside of the levees, that St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish, and even on south side of Lake Pontchartrain, I'm sure they're going to have some wave breaking over the seawall there, and some flooding, but it should not be the disaster that, you know, some people might have thought that New Orleans would have.

The real concern is going to be near and to the east of where the center crosses the coastline. It looks like it's headed up into Alabama. On the east side there, we can easily have 10 to 16 feet of storm surge. And it could very well push all the way up into the northern part of Mobile Bay. And that surge, and the wave action will impact the entire eastern -- or all the way through the Florida panhandle.

DOBBS: Our reporter there, Rob Marciano in Mobile, the winds obviously are really strong right now. That looks to you right now to be the epicenter, if you will, of landfall?

MAYFIELD: Well, the center will probably ease on to the Alabama coast there, here shortly after midnight, but it's such a large hurricane that it's really going to impact a large area. And now they have East-Northeast winds in Mobile. When the eye gets up to the coastline and the winds come from the south, that's when that storm surge is really going to push over the barrier islands and up into the bay.

If people get out in that eye of the hurricane, they need to be very, very careful. They've go, don't forget the back side is yet to come.

DOBBS: Max Mayfield, we thank you very much. Director of the National Hurricane Center. Thank you, sir.

MAYFIELD: Thank you. You bet.

DOBBS: Just ahead here, we'll have much more on this deadly storm. We'll have live reports from Panama City and Mobile, Alabama, as Hurricane Ivan begins to batter the Gulf coast.

Also ahead here, an inside look at one of the most powerful families in American politics. Kitty Kelley, the author of the controversial new book, "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty" she's our guest.

Also, they cost this country $5 billion in lost revenue every year: corporate expatriots and the effort underway now in our nation's capital to actually make them pay their fair tax share. And later, our continuing look at the documentary "American Jobs" "Exporting America." Tonight, the downward spiral of Boeing, how jobs and expertise and intellectual capital are being exported abroad. We'll take a look at jobs lost and a community changed forever tonight. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: We're going to be talking with author Kitty Kelley and her fascinating new book, "The Family: The Story of the Bush Dynasty," but more now on this rapidly developing storm, Hurricane Ivan. Tonight, Hurricane Ivan is barreling toward the Gulf Coast at about 14 miles per hour. Ivan will make landfall some time after midnight tonight. Officials are already reporting 2 deaths. Rick Sanchez, now, has the latest for us from Panama City, Florida -- Rick.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you know what it confirms, Lou, is often what gets lost to a lot of people, and that is that the danger in hurricanes is not necessarily confined to the area where the hurricane-force winds are. We're well away from those hurricane-force winds, and we can now confirm, as you mentioned, that there is a second fatality.

Earlier in the show, we mentioned someone had died off of Thomas Road, which is only about two blocks from here. They say it was a result of some type of trauma caused by the structure. That was in the east side.

Now we're also confirming on the north side of town there's been yet another fatality, also same situation, as a result of a tornado. Officials are telling us, as a matter of fact here in Bay County that there were a bevy of tornadoes that came in about an hour ago. It was about the same time that we were reporting that we had seen things changed just here behind us.

So that's the latest in Bay County, Panama City Beach. Lou, back to you.

DOBBS: And Rick Sanchez, and all the people there will be facing the fury of the storm later. And Rick, we want to welcome you to CNN. Rick Sanchez joining us today, in fact.

Hurricane Ivan will slam into the Gulf coast near Mobile, Alabama. Rob Marciano is in Mobile tonight. Rob, what's the situation like right now?

MARCIANO: Winds still sustained, Lou, at about 35 miles an hour. We have had gusts as high as 64 earlier. But 30 miles an hour, just to give you an idea -- sustained, not even tropical-storm force yet. So still have a long way to go as far as how bad it's going to get.

Right now, the winds are in my face, out of the east. Storm is that way. As the storm approaches, if it comes at us from our west, those winds will eventually turn southeast and get stronger.

Take a look at this building behind me. They build it in '94. The locals call those the sails. I am told sustained winds of 135 miles an hour is about all they can take, so that will be interesting, to say the least, as far as what will happen to that building.

Besides the wind, obviously, the storm surge. Behind me is the Mobile River. It dumps on the into Mobile Bay. There's a causeway over there that takes you over towards the Florida panhandle. At times, that causeway is pretty close to the water. And with the storm surge expected to be anywhere from 12 to 18 feet, we could easily see that storm surge, which includes I-10, over water (sic) as this storm approaches from the west later on tonight and tomorrow morning.

Waves offshore, Lou, like you mentioned earlier in the program, 50-foot waves at some of the buoys. That translates to about 20 to, possibly, 30-foot waves crashing onto the shoreline, that on top of the storm surge. I don't even want to look at what some of the barrier islands are going to be like come tomorrow morning.

DOBBS: Rob, thank you very much. Rob Marciano in Mobile, Alabama. We want to say that we want you, of course, and all of our colleagues, and everyone in the path of this hurricane to be as safe as possible. Hurricane Ivan, we'll be bringing you the latest development throughout the evening here on CNN.

Turning to an explosive new book on the dominant family in American politics, the Bush family. In it, Kitty Kelley claims the current president snorted cocaine at Camp David, and first lady Laura Bush sold marijuana in college. Those are just among some of the milder revelations. The book is called "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty."

Kitty Kelley joins me now. And Kitty, it is good to have you here.

KITTY KELLEY, AUTHOR: Thank you, Lou.

DOBBS; I want to say that this book, I think, is a fascinating read. I can understand why there's some controversy about it. A spokesman for the Bush/Cheney campaign, Kitty, said, "Kitty Kelley is a discredited purveyor of trash, she's smeared the Republican family, now she's peddling garbage about the current first family." Why would you do such a thing?

KELLEY: Is that all they said?

DOBBS: No, it isn't.

KELLEY: Actually, I think Reagan Republicans are going to love this book. And one Reagan Republican that helped contribute to it was Peggy Noonan. She really made me understand -- she contrasted and compared the presidencies of Ronald Reagan to George Herbert Walker Bush.

I came away with a real appreciation for Ronald Reagan that I had not had before when I started doing the research on the Bush family, comparing him to George Herbert Walker, so I do have a new appreciation of Reagan in this book. DOBBS: You have an appreciation of Reagan. And I must say you brought in this book, at least to me, an appreciation of Prescott Bush, Senator Bush. You revealed a picture of him that I really didn't appreciate, an extraordinarily positive one. You obviously talk about his drinking, his alcoholism, foibles and flaws as we all have them, but a remarkably positive portrait.

KELLEY: From a man who really grew into his office. He started out as a social, very prosperous, limited, provincial man who cared really only about his status at Yale, but when he became a United States senator, if you think that it's any measure of a man on how you stand on the issues of your day, he stood up.

DOBBS: He stood up to McCarthy.

KELLEY: Civil rights.

DOBBS: Absolutely.

KELLEY: Civil rights before civil rights was passed.

DOBBS: Now, before we get unaccustomedly (ph) saccharine on you and take a little of the bite away from Kitty Kelley, which no one would ever want to do, the fact is you have been charged -- for example, David Gergen, just now who has advised four presidents, one of the foremost political thinkers in the country says that Democrats have been relying upon, amongst others, your book to turn the tide in this election. Was that your intent in writing?

KELLEY: No, not my intent in writing it at all. That's putting an awful lot of pressure on a writer, and I can't think of the last time a book ever influenced an election although I do think this book is relevant to Republicans and to Democrats.

DOBBS: I do, too. I couldn't agree with you more. One of the charges, one of the most sensational charges is that President Bush snorted cocaine at Camp David when his father was president, and the principal source for that is, I take it, Sharon Bush, denies at all ever telling you that.

KELLEY: Not a principal source, but she did confirm it. I know she is denying it now. I had a four-hour lunch with her that was witnessed by her publicist at the time, Lou Colasuonno...

DOBBS: Her publicist?

KELLEY: Her publicist and she was in the midst of a divorce, and I think now great pressure is being put on her and put on her children by the grandparents -- that's Bush Sr. and Barbara Bush, and I don't blame her for retracting it, but she can't retract it, because it was witnessed by an independent witness.

DOBBS: What if I told you this, that after I read your book, that in point of fact I had a more positive impression of George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, and Prescott Bush, certainly, than I did before. Would you be surprised? KELLEY: No, I wouldn't be surprised but you have surprised me from the very beginning. First of all, you're one of the few who has not caved to White House pressure, so am I surprised to be sitting here with the most admired man in broadcasting? Yes, I am. I'm surprised. Everybody else has fallen to the side, but I wouldn't be surprised, although I would ask you why a positive impression of George Herbert Walker Bush?

DOBBS: Because you showed more humanity in the man than I gave him credit for, frankly. A man who was steadfast...

KELLEY: You did read it!

DOBBS: Yes, I did read it. And the fact is -- one of the most shocking revelations to me, and perhaps I shouldn't admit this occurred in the earliest pages, I think it's even in your introduction, in which you talk about the executive order by which the records of President George Herbert Walker Bush and his then governor son upon ascending the presidency, was able to seal the records and remove from the National Archives, the rights, and responsibility, and control over those presidential papers. That to me is the blockbuster. Perhaps I have a perverse outlook on these things but that to me is unAmerican and it disturbs me mightily.

KELLEY: Well, and you're looking at the long run which is history and history will not be able to be written unless people stand forward now and challenge that executive order. By that executive order, George W. Bush has locked up his records, all of his records as governor, all of his father's records -- that includes everything on Iran-Contra, and even Clinton's records. And this doesn't mean that they can be released in ten years or 30 years, I mean, the process used to be that the National Archives made them available within a few years. Not now.

DOBBS: Twelve years? It is 12 years.

KELLEY: Yes.

DOBBS: Kitty Kelley, we are out of time. You've written, I think, just an extraordinary read. It's fascinating. There is something here for everyone, from gossip, from innuendo, some would suggest even slander -- not in the legal sense, but there's also great history, and a great story told. Kitty Kelley, thank you very much.

KELLEY: Thank you. I appreciate it.

DOBBS: Good to have you with us. All the best.

Coming up next, a critical American industry being shipped piece by piece to the lowest foreign bidder, leaving tens of thousands of American workers out of jobs. Another disturbing segment from the new documentary "American Jobs" here next. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: The documentary "American Jobs" is a moving look at the very real impact of the exporting of American jobs on countless middle-class families across this country. Tonight we bring you another very troubling segment of this important documentary focusing on the exporting of jobs and the exporting of critical technical knowledge in the aerospace industry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE FROM "AMERICAN JOBS")

KENNETT BIVENS, ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: My name is Kennett Bivens and I worked for Boeing approximately two years. Jets fascinated me at a young age. Watching Scotty on "Star Trek," the man was -- he could fix anything and he was an engineer, and I thought that was the coolest thing you could be.

CHARLES CRAFT, MACHINIST: My name is Charles Craft. I've been working at Boeing for a little over 18 years. I'm a machinist, I machine small and complex aluminum parts.

BILL DUCOVICH: My wife remembers the days when she was in elementary school and they let all the classrooms out to the play field to see the first 747 fly overhead. Her uncle worked at Boeing. Her dad worked at Boeing. I actually punched rivets at the Boeing company when I was in college.

BIVENS: They gave me the ability to join the flying club, BFA (ph) and I was learning how to fly. I was on the softball team, and everybody there, we played music together. Everybody was like this giant family. It was an amazing place.

MARK BLONDIN, MACHINISTS UNION: Several years ago, one of their leaders made the statement that this is not a family operation, this is a team, and like any team, we can replace the players. That was a very bold statement and something that really shocked this community, because many of us looked at it as a family company.

BIVENS: October 25, 2002, two days after my birthday, I was called into my boss's office and explained that I was being given a warning that day, meaning that it's a warning that my job is in jeopardy and I'm at good risk of losing my position at the Boeing company.

DUCOVICH: There's a design center in Moscow, Russia, that employs more than 800 engineers and other technical workers. They are doing the work that was previously done in facilities in the Puget Sound.

BIVENS: And then a couple months later I got my two-week notice and say, yes, you're definitely being laid off. And January 1st, 2003, I handed in my badge and I walked out the front doors of the Everett Building (ph).

It was probably one of the hardest days of my life.

(SINGING "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL")

DUCOVICH: A decade ago, there was no concern over Airbus Industries. BLONDIN: After 9/11 Airbus lost very, very few employees while Boeing shed 50 percent of its workforce.

DUCOVICH: Last year for the first time Airbus Industries sold more commercial aircraft in the world than the Boeing Company did. Once the world leader in the sale of commercial aircraft, now we're No. 2.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To compete with Airbus in the future, Boeing is betting heavily on the 7E7, a new, fuel-efficient aircraft, made of advanced lightweight materials. For the first time, Boeing will be globally sourcing the design and manufacturing of the wing and other major components.

STAN SORSCHER, SPEEA UNION: This will be the first large commercial airplane with an all-composite wing.

DUCOVICH: Wing technology at the Boeing Company was prized so much that you can look back just 10, 15 years ago and they would not allow you to take a picture of the wing in the factory.

BLONDIN: The wing section and part of the body section up here in the center section is going to Japan and that equates to, I believe, about 35 percent, which is about equal to what we're going to get here in the United States. That is the most work ever given to the Japanese.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before allowing Japanese airlines to order the new Boeing 7E7, the Japanese government demanded that a large section of the plane be made in Japan. Countries around the world are leveraging their airline's buying power to get jobs and technology from Boeing.

CRAFT: We just give our brand-new technology to foreign companies with the idea that maybe someday they'll buy an airplane from us? These countries are going to eventually start building their own airplanes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOBBS: Well, for more tonight on the exporting of American jobs, I'll be a guess on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" at 8:00 Eastern here. I'll be debating Columbia professor Jagdish Bhagwati. He launched a personal attack against me for criticizing the exporting of American jobs to cheap foreign labor markets. That's "PAULA ZAHN" tonight at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

Still ahead, Martha Stewart's latest plea, a vow to re-claim her life. We'll bring you the details of today's surprising announcement and much more.

Still ahead. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: It was a down day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrials fell 87 points, the Nasdaq dropped 19. The S&P 500 fell 8 points.

Martha Stewart says she's ready to go to prison -- she wants to go to prison. She announced today that she wants to begin serving her five-month prison sentence so she can get on her life and put what she calls "this nightmare" behind her. Stewart's attorneys are, of course, continuing their appeal while she is in prison.

Still ahead, the results of our poll tonight, a preview of what's ahead tomorrow. A reminder to check our Web site for the complete list of companies we've confirmed to be "Exporting America." Cnn.com/lou.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: Something of a lopsided result in our poll tonight: 10 percent of you voting, saying you believe President Bush would best fulfill his campaign promises over the next four years; 85 percent say Senator John Kerry; 5 percent Ralph Nader.

Thanks for being with us here tonight. Please join us tomorrow. Hurricane Ivan bearing down on the Gulf coast. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin will be joining us tomorrow evening, as will Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO. We'll be talking about the power of American business and a staggering new list of American businesses exporting American jobs. He's our guest, we hope you'll be with us.

For all of us here, good night from New York, a special edition of "ANDERSON COOPER 360," full coverage of Hurricane Ivan, is next.

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 15, 2004 - 18:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, millions are fleeing Hurricane Ivan as it begins its furious assault on our Gulf Coast. Ivan could cause massive damage to communities along hundreds of miles of coastline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO (D), LOUISIANA: If you want to do a comparison, it is the size of Frances, but the impact of Charley.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: We'll have live reports from the Gulf. We'll also go to the National Hurricane Center for the very latest on Hurricane Ivan. And Governor Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana is our guest.

And in the eye of another storm, CBS and Dan Rather stand by their story about President Bush's military service, but did CBS ignore warnings about the authenticity of the documents it used? We'll have that report tonight.

And further fact or fiction? Explosive allegations about President Bush and his family. Author Kitty Kelley will be here to discuss her new controversial book, "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty."

In Exporting America tonight, U.S. aerospace firms are exporting technical knowledge and jobs. American aerospace workers are paying a terrible price.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you're definitely being laid off. On January 1, 2003, I handed in my badge and I walked out the front door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: Tonight, the documentary "American Jobs."

ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Wednesday, September 15. Here now for an hour of news, debate and opinion is Lou Dobbs.

DOBBS: Good evening.

Tonight, the U.S. Gulf Coast will bear the full fury of Hurricane Ivan. Tropical storm-force winds and rain are already pounding the States of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and the panhandle of the State of Florida.

The massive hurricane will slam into the coastline at about 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time with what many fear will be devastating force. The hurricane is barreling towards the Gulf Coast at 14 miles an hour. It has sustained winds now of 135 miles an hour. It remains a Category 4 storm.

NOAA buoy 75 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico today recorded 50- foot-high waves. Ivan is not only powerful, it's extremely large. Hurricane-force winds are extending more than 100 miles from its center.

We have full coverage of the storm tonight. With us Rick Sanchez in Panama City, Florida, Rob Marciano is in Mobile, Alabama, Jacqui Jeras at the CNN Weather Center will have the very latest on the position of Ivan, and the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, will join me tonight.

We go first to Rick Sanchez in Panama City -- Rick.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have just gotten some confirmation on something which we had heard before from some of the Bay County sheriff's officers here in this area, Lou, and that is the sad news we report tonight of what is the first fatality of this storm. It happened just blocks from where I'm standing right now in an area known to the locals here as Thomas Drive.

We've had a lot of tornadic activity in the past hour or so. In fact, we've been under a tornado warning. Not anymore. Our tornado warning now is now in the neighbor county here just to our west, Gulf County.

But officials are now confirming that someone who was living in a structure died, when the structure fell on him, from trauma. They're not being very specific, other than to say that the gentleman succumbed to the tornado and the effect of the tornado on his particular structure.

There have also been reports that there is other damage in that area as a result of the tornado. There had been a report that a sheriff's deputy had been injured. We have been trying to confirm that report as well.

But the very latest, once again, Lou, to report from here is the sad news that we have our first fatality of Ivan happening right here in the area of Panama City Beach confirmed to us only moments ago.

Lou, back to you.

DOBBS: Rick, thank you very much.

Rick Sanchez reporting from Panama City.

Hurricane experts are predicting now that Ivan will smash into the Gulf Coast near Mobile, Alabama. That area is already being lashed by massive waves and powerful winds. Rob Marciano reports from Mobile now -- Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Lou, we just had a wind gust of 64 miles an hour, so almost at hurricane strength here. Winds coming out of the East quite strongly, and the storm is that way, due south by about 150 miles just off the shoreline, moving 14, 15 miles an hour. It will be here in eight to 10 hours.

Not only the winds are an issue. A tornado watch, like Rick mentioned -- a tornado watch out until 2:00 a.m. There have been numerous tornado warnings up. On top of that it is the storm surge.

Look over my shoulder here. This is the Mobile River. It dumps into Mobile Bay. Storm surge expected in the bay anywhere from 12 to 18 feet. Just below us from Mobile River is a street called Water Street, and we expect this street to be covered with water, with water coming all the way up to this hotel. Right now, we're on the fourth floor. We do expect the storm sewage to come this high.

The last time we had a storm anywhere near this strength was in 1979, Hurricane Frederick. That was a Category 3 storm. Lou, we expect this one to be much more worse. Right now, Mobile, Alabama, ground zero.

Back to you.

DOBBS: Rob, thank you very much.

Let's go live now to the CNN Weather Center. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is there and has the very latest for us on this massive hurricane -- Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Lou, the center of the storm is about 125 miles away from the coastline at this hour. It's packing winds at 135 miles per hour, making it a powerful Category 4 hurricane. The hurricane-force winds should be arriving likely about an hour from now. Tropical storm-force winds already in place.

We'll show you the radar picture now and show you the outer bands, which have been affecting the area throughout the afternoon hours, and we're particularly concerned about a line of storms that has been moving in around the Panama City area. It's extending on up towards Pensacola and then over towards Mobile as well.

The forecast track of this storm is staying right on target, but it has picked up a little bit of forward speed. So we may see this making landfall earlier rather than later, maybe just after the midnight hour. As it makes its way inland then, it will start to slow down and it will weaken very significantly, but the problem with it slowing down is that we're likely going to see some very extensive flooding across all of the Southeast -- Lou.

DOBBS: Jacqui, thank you very much.

Jacqui Jeras from the CNN Weather Center. More than a million people have now evacuated low-lying areas of Louisiana, but at least 100,000 people are unable or unwilling to flee. Governor Kathleen Blanco says those people are putting their lives at risk. Governor Blanco joins me now from Baton Rouge.

Governor, good to have you here.

BLANCO: Thank you, Lou.

DOBBS: Your citizens are facing an extraordinary, a daunting threat tonight. Those 100,000 people -- is there anything that you can do about them right now at this late hour?

BLANCO: Well, the only thing we can do now, Lou, is ask them to get into shelters that give them as much security as possible in their local areas, wherever they are. Certainly, we have some brave souls who believe that they can withstand all of the dangers that these hurricanes present to us, but they do forget that we've got rising water problems, we've got lots of wind damage, hard-driving rains, and tornadoes, as we've seen.

DOBBS: The levee system around Louisiana, like Pontchartrain, that area, it looks as though the storm has spared the region the worst possible scenario. It's still unclear, of course, right now. What is your best assessment?

BLANCO: We have people checking those levees, and they've been checking them regularly. There's always a concern that a levee might break, and then we would have real disaster on our hands. But we have experienced rising waters in many locations.

We're asking people who have evacuated to be very patient before they begin their return in the aftermath of the storm because some of their home sites might not be approach able by vehicles, and we're asking people to be patient, stay safe, and we want to ride this hurricane out without any fatalities.

DOBBS: Is it your sense that you are prepared with your emergency service people, your public safety officers to withstand the storm?

BLANCO: We have a very sophisticated office of emergency preparedness here in Louisiana. We've had so many storm experiences through the years, and, each time we go through this, we get a little bit better. Life is not perfect, you cannot protect people who don't want to be protected.

But I think that our local officials have done a superb job. We did a massive evacuation within 24 hours. That's -- I don't think we've ever seen such a large evacuation here in this state.

We also received a large number of people from our neighboring states, from Mississippi, from Alabama. I visited one of our shelters this afternoon and found lots of people who were from our neighboring states as well. DOBBS: New Orleans, Governor, is the only city where the Red Cross has refused to set up emergency shelters. Are you calling upon other volunteer agencies to help out there?

BLANCO: Well, we will have an emergency shelter, as the mayor mentioned, over in the Super Dome. It's actually for people who are -- who have medical conditions, but -- and we're hoping it's a very temporary shelter there.

DOBBS: Well, Governor, we wish, obviously, you, the people of Louisiana, all of those in the Gulf Coast region where the storm is going to hit all of the very best. We thank you for your time, Governor.

BLANCO: Thank you, Lou. We're also concerned about what it's going to do to our coastline. We're constantly worried about losing more of our wetlands, as we've seen has happened in many hurricanes.

DOBBS: Indeed, Governor. Thank you very much.

Governor Kathleen Blanco.

Still ahead here, much more on Hurricane Ivan. Tonight, I'll be joined by the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, who will give us his very best judgment about the direction of this hurricane, whether it will make landfall and when.

Also ahead, CBS and Dan Rather are standing by their story on President Bush and his National Guard service, but did the network ignore warnings in its evidence that it might indeed be a forgery? Republicans are demanding answers.

And is Senator Kerry fighting a losing battle against President Bush? I'll be joined by David Gergen who's advised four presidents, Republican and Democrat, in his distinguished career in public service.

All of that and a great deal more still ahead here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: A leading lawmaker today called for a congressional investigation into the CBS News story about President Bush's National Guard service. Congressman Christopher Cox, a Republican of California, said CBS News intended to influence the outcome of the election by using what he called, quote, "apparently forged documents," end quote. CBS News and Dan Rather stand by their story, despite reports they ignored warnings about the authenticity of the documents.

Jeanne Meserve reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Linda James was one of the experts CBS asked to authenticate copies of the documents. She says the quality was poor, and she had questions about the signatures and typography. I asked her if she advised CBS not to air the story.

LINDA JAMES, DOCUMENT EXAMINER: I believe I did say it that way, but my main was to caution them not to use the handwriting part because there was incomplete evidence and that I could not authenticate these documents for them.

MESERVE: Emily Will, another document examiner consulted by CBS, says she called the network before the "60 Minutes" broadcast to reiterate what she called serious concerns about the documents' authenticity.

"I said flatly and clearly and plainly that I had a lot of questions. If you run this on Wednesday, on Thursday, you're going to have hundreds of document examiners asking you these questions."

CBS also asked Marcel Matley, another examiner, to review the documents.

DAN RATHER, CBS ANCHOR: Document and handwriting examiner Marcel Matley analyzed the documents for CBS News. He says he believes they are real.

MESERVE: But Marcel Matley tells CNN, "I could not verify the documents were authentic or inauthentic. I could only verify that the signatures came from the same source as other verified documents."

Other experts with whom CNN has consulted have serious doubts that the signatures match or that the documents were typed in the early '70s.

CBS has not revealed its sources, but that didn't stop the White House from pointing fingers.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I believe that the Democrats and the Kerry campaign are behind these old recycled attacks on the president's service, absolutely.

MESERVE: On Capitol Hill, Republican Congressman Roy Blunt circulated a letter saying CBS had become part of a campaign to deceive the public and defame the president. He urged the network to retract the story. Other Republicans raised a hue and cry for a congressional investigation.

SEN. ROBERT BENNETT (R), UTAH: A deliberate attempt on the part of a forger to change the course of an election.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: It is unclear if congressional hearings will ever take place, but, meanwhile, the woman who was secretary to the purported author of the memos tells "The Dallas Morning News" she never typed them, and she thinks they are fake, though she says they do accurately reflect the thinking of her boss at the time.

And, meanwhile, no comment from CNN. We've been waiting all day for a statement. It has not materialized yet -- Lou.

DOBBS: That comment from CBS. I suppose we will have that just as soon as it does become available.

Jeanne Meserve, thank you very much.

Turning now to Iraq, it was another bloody day of violence as insurgents launched a new wave of attacks. The U.S. military said two more Marines have been killed in Al Anbar Province. That's west of Baghdad. Officials gave no details.

In Ramadi, Marines killed 11 Iraqis in fierce fighting with insurgents. There were no American casualties reported.

Southeast of Baghdad, a car bomb exploded, killing an Iraqi National Guard soldier and a civilian. Then other people were wounded in the explosion.

Still ahead here tonight, the presidential candidates are appealing to a critical voting bloc in this election -- Latinos. We'll have the latest on what is now a critical juncture in this presidential campaign. Former presidential adviser David Gergen is my guest.

And then, a sensational new book on the Bush family's rise to power, its personal scandals and triumphs. I'll be talking with can author Kitty Kelley about the book's revelations and the controversy it has created within its first week of release.

And then, Hurricane Ivan sending millions of people fleeing the Gulf Coast. The eye of the monster storm is now just hours away from making landfall. We'll have the very latest for you on where and when it will hit. I'll be talking with Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center. We'll have live reports for you as well from Mobile, Alabama, and Panama City, Florida, two cities directly in the path of this monster hurricane.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT continues with more news, debate and opinion. Here now, Lou Dobbs.

In our Campaign Journal tonight, both presidential candidates today making a pitch to a critical voting bloc in this election -- Latino voters. President Bush spoke at a Hispanic Heritage Month event held at the White House. President Bush promised to do more to help Latinos succeed in this country in business and education.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As we celebrate this month, our mission, our goal, our deepest desire is for every child -- every child -- including those whose parents speak -- don't speak English as a first language, to be able to realize the promise of this country by making sure the public schools have high standards in excellence in every classroom. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: Senator Kerry will be addressing the congressional Hispanic Caucus tonight. Earlier in the day, he launched a stinging new attack on President Bush's handling of the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN F. KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has created more excuses than jobs. His is the excuse presidency. His is the excuse presidency -- never wrong, never responsible, never to blame. President Bush's desk isn't where the buck stops. It's where the blame begins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOBBS: A new poll suggests Senator Kerry could be struggling in one traditionally Democratic state. "The Minneapolis Star-Tribune" poll finds Senator Kerry's lead in Minnesota has shrunk from 50 percent to 41 percent. Support for President Bush has increased 3 percentage points since a poll taken back in March.

My next guest says Senator Kerry is running out of time to elevate his campaign. David Gergen has extraordinary insight to offer into presidential politics, having advised four presidents -- Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. He is also director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Kennedy School in Boston. David Gergen joins me tonight from Boston.

David, good to have you with us.

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Thank you. Thank you, Lou, for those kind words.

DOBBS: Longtime Democratic insider Tony Coelho today said that the Kerry campaign is straightforwardly in chaos. How would -- would you agree with his assessment?

GERGEN: In chaos. Pretty strong. Pretty strong phrase. I think that it's flat as a campaign. It's -- he does not have a message that's resonating with the public very well.

It's true that President Bush's lead coming out of the convention has shrunk some from, say, around the 10 percent mark to what appears to be around 5 percent nationwide, but, in several states now, what you find is that, in the upper Midwest, which were Gore states the last time around, they seem to be slipping away from John Kerry, Wisconsin being the lead state there. Iowa -- I was just in Iowa over the weekend. That may be slipping away from John Kerry. Minnesota you just mentioned, Lou.

If John Kerry were to lose those states, it's basically over. So he has to rally. And George Bush is playing on Kerry's territory. He's forcing him to do this, and I do think time is of the essence now. I think he has to turn this around before the debates, and if -- Tony Coelho is a good reader of what's going on in Democratic politics. If he says the internal campaign is in chaos, that's a signal that there's more scuffling going on inside than we even realize.

DOBBS: Coelho went on to say that the Kerry campaign does not have a Karl Rove, who is --everyone concedes is very effective at what he does. Do you agree with that?

GERGEN: I do agree with that, and when you -- you talk to Democratic insiders, and they say they've been talking to the Kerry campaign. They usually say they've been talking to John Kerry himself, and I say, well, when you can't talk to the candidate, who do you talk to, and they said, well, we're not sure quite who to talk to.

Now Mary Beth Cahill is there, but she's surrounded by so many others that there doesn't seem to be one strategist behind it. Lou, I think it's not just a question of having a campaign manager, but having a strategy that's clear-cut, that you stick to, you have discipline.

So here's -- you know, at the Democratic convention, John Kerry had been accused of flip flopping a lot, kept on wavering. He goes to the Democratic Convention. The essence of the Democratic Convention is about enhancing his credentials as commander in chief. Two or three weeks later, Democrats are saying now let's get to the real issue in this campaign -- the economy. Now which one is it that he's trying to run on?

DOBBS: This morning, Don Imus asked Senator Kerry what was his plan for Iraq, and Senator Kerry replied to Don Imus that the question should be put before George Bush. What do you think of that response? How would you assess it? Is it an effective campaign approach?

GERGEN: I think it's totally inadequate, given where he is. If you were 10 points ahead, perhaps he could get away with the old Nixon formulation about Vietnam, you know, I've got a secret plan to win in Vietnam, but he's not 10 points ahead.

He has to -- what has been, I think, the single biggest weakness of the Kerry campaign has become -- that he's -- his rhetoric and his votes on Iraq have struck many, many voters as being incoherent, and they don't understand what he thinks about Iraq or what he thinks ought to happen in the future, and I think the absence of a framework for a -- the war on terrorism and what to do about Iraq is coming back to plague this campaign.

You cannot -- as the Democratic challenger, when deaths are accumulating in Iraq, you know, when the place seems to be closer and closer to the edge of real chaos itself, you can't as a Democratic candidate say, well, you know, let's talk about the economy. We've got to -- he's got to talk about both. He needs a strategy for the war on terrorism, and it has to include Iraq.

DOBBS: Do you have a clear understanding of the Bush Administration's strategy on Iraq?

GERGEN: No. And you've got a good point there. I don't know exactly -- I mean, I know they want to have elections, and I have a sense of what they're going to do after the elections in January, if we hold them, but at least I do think this: I think the president is clearer about his overall strategy on the war on terror and where Iraq fits into that. He's at least clear about what he wants to create at least as a stable Iraq and, hopefully, a Democratic Iraq.

Now, listen, Lou, I think that, as a general proposition, both of these campaigns have been very backward-looking. We don't have a clear sense from either of them how are we really going to solve the deficit problem budget-wise, how are we going to solve the problem of trade deficits and these overseas jobs that are being, as you've pointed out so many times -- how are we going to solve the energy problem, how are we going to win the war on terrorism?

I don't think either of these campaigns has been as comprehensive or as clear as they need to be. Whoever wins is going to have a big job on their hands.

DOBBS: And the national media, all of us, focusing retrospectively to National Guard service, U.S. Navy service 35 years ago. The national media bears great culpability in all of this, does it not?

GERGEN: Well, it does. I think that we in the national media have made way too much of the Vietnam issue. I think we've been willing to go along with a lot of this, and, of course, now you just had the piece about CBS and the struggles going on there.

I -- my sense of this CBS story -- maybe I'm wrong about this, Lou, but my sense of the CBS story is it's been a blessing in disguise for George W. Bush because a lot of the national news media is not giving the kind of sensational coverage to Kitty Kelley or to the Sy Hirsch books that might have come otherwise.

Instead, you know, you're treating it -- it's your fourth story, and, tonight, with Kitty Kelley, you're putting her on the air, but you're not sensationalizing it, and it's -- and those books, which -- many Democrats had hoped the Kitty Kelley book and Sy Hirsch book would be the turning point after the conventions. They're just not having the kind of bounce they would, I think, partly because of the brouhaha over CBS.

DOBBS: In part, but the Kitty Kelley book at least is, by whatever deflection there may be in the public arena, already shooting to number one in the bestseller list.

GERGEN: It is that. It is that. But, you know, that happens -- I don't see it happening -- I don't see it effecting the polls yet, Lou. Maybe it will.

DOBBS: And we'll be finding out from Kitty Kelley, David, whether that was part of her motivation in writing the book.

David Gergen, as always, thank you for being here.

GERGEN: Lou, it's always a privilege here. DOBBS: That brings us to the subject of our poll tonight: Which presidential candidate do you believe would best fulfill his campaign promises for the next four years -- President Bush, Senator John Kerry or Ralph Nader? Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results coming up here later.

Taking a look now at some of your thoughts on the issue of Broken Borders, many of you wrote in about my interview with "TIME" magazine's editor at large James Steele earlier this week. His special report, the cover story of "TIME" magazine this week, revealed alarming new figures about the massive influx of illegal aliens into this country, an invasion, in fact, of some three million, according to the "TIME" magazine estimate.

Janice Wood of Mobile, Alabama, "Thank you for covering the 'TIME' magazine story on the invasion of America. This is shocking. It should wake up apathetic Americans. How sad and shameful that politicians have sold out America for their own selfish gain."

Michael Keeley in Niwot, Colorado, "Lou, we should not be surprised that illegal aliens are invading us from Mexico. Our government leaders have given them the green light by sending the message that we are complacent on enforcing immigration laws, we'll give them free medical care, and are now talking about giving them driver's licenses, amnesty, the right to vote and Social Security benefits."

Brian Anderson in Schaumburg, Illinois, "From what I am seeing about our broken borders and rights for illegal aliens, I'm thinking maybe I should take a vacation to Mexico. When I get into Mexico, I should renounce my American citizenship and sneak into America as an illegal alien. That way, I would have free health care and a driver's license. Heck, by the time I can afford to go to Mexico in this economically, they may be giving illegal aliens a free car to drive and free car insurance as well."

We love to hear from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs@cnn.com. And please send us your name and address. Each viewer whose e-mail is read on this broadcast each evening receives a free copy of my new book "Exporting America."

Returning to the top story here tonight, Hurricane Ivan is barreling toward the Gulf Coast. Already tropical force winds are being felt along the coast. The center of this now Category 4 hurricane is expected to reach the coast late tonight, or early tomorrow morning.

For the very latest now, I'm joined by Max Mayfield. He's the director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Max, this storm is still at a Category 4.

MAX MAYFIELD, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Lou, it hasn't shown any signs of weakening whatsoever. It's still a solid Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. And that's capable of causing extreme damage and obviously, loss of life if we're not careful. DOBBS: Governor Blanco of Louisiana is concerned about, obviously, her citizens, another 100,000 of them remain in low-lying areas by the best estimates. Do they have some good news about where landfall will be here by your best estimate?

MAYFIELD: Right. It looks like it's staying on our forecast track. So this is certainly not the worst-case for New Orleans by any means. I would think the biggest concern there is with the low-lying areas outside of the levees, that St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish, and even on south side of Lake Pontchartrain, I'm sure they're going to have some wave breaking over the seawall there, and some flooding, but it should not be the disaster that, you know, some people might have thought that New Orleans would have.

The real concern is going to be near and to the east of where the center crosses the coastline. It looks like it's headed up into Alabama. On the east side there, we can easily have 10 to 16 feet of storm surge. And it could very well push all the way up into the northern part of Mobile Bay. And that surge, and the wave action will impact the entire eastern -- or all the way through the Florida panhandle.

DOBBS: Our reporter there, Rob Marciano in Mobile, the winds obviously are really strong right now. That looks to you right now to be the epicenter, if you will, of landfall?

MAYFIELD: Well, the center will probably ease on to the Alabama coast there, here shortly after midnight, but it's such a large hurricane that it's really going to impact a large area. And now they have East-Northeast winds in Mobile. When the eye gets up to the coastline and the winds come from the south, that's when that storm surge is really going to push over the barrier islands and up into the bay.

If people get out in that eye of the hurricane, they need to be very, very careful. They've go, don't forget the back side is yet to come.

DOBBS: Max Mayfield, we thank you very much. Director of the National Hurricane Center. Thank you, sir.

MAYFIELD: Thank you. You bet.

DOBBS: Just ahead here, we'll have much more on this deadly storm. We'll have live reports from Panama City and Mobile, Alabama, as Hurricane Ivan begins to batter the Gulf coast.

Also ahead here, an inside look at one of the most powerful families in American politics. Kitty Kelley, the author of the controversial new book, "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty" she's our guest.

Also, they cost this country $5 billion in lost revenue every year: corporate expatriots and the effort underway now in our nation's capital to actually make them pay their fair tax share. And later, our continuing look at the documentary "American Jobs" "Exporting America." Tonight, the downward spiral of Boeing, how jobs and expertise and intellectual capital are being exported abroad. We'll take a look at jobs lost and a community changed forever tonight. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: We're going to be talking with author Kitty Kelley and her fascinating new book, "The Family: The Story of the Bush Dynasty," but more now on this rapidly developing storm, Hurricane Ivan. Tonight, Hurricane Ivan is barreling toward the Gulf Coast at about 14 miles per hour. Ivan will make landfall some time after midnight tonight. Officials are already reporting 2 deaths. Rick Sanchez, now, has the latest for us from Panama City, Florida -- Rick.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you know what it confirms, Lou, is often what gets lost to a lot of people, and that is that the danger in hurricanes is not necessarily confined to the area where the hurricane-force winds are. We're well away from those hurricane-force winds, and we can now confirm, as you mentioned, that there is a second fatality.

Earlier in the show, we mentioned someone had died off of Thomas Road, which is only about two blocks from here. They say it was a result of some type of trauma caused by the structure. That was in the east side.

Now we're also confirming on the north side of town there's been yet another fatality, also same situation, as a result of a tornado. Officials are telling us, as a matter of fact here in Bay County that there were a bevy of tornadoes that came in about an hour ago. It was about the same time that we were reporting that we had seen things changed just here behind us.

So that's the latest in Bay County, Panama City Beach. Lou, back to you.

DOBBS: And Rick Sanchez, and all the people there will be facing the fury of the storm later. And Rick, we want to welcome you to CNN. Rick Sanchez joining us today, in fact.

Hurricane Ivan will slam into the Gulf coast near Mobile, Alabama. Rob Marciano is in Mobile tonight. Rob, what's the situation like right now?

MARCIANO: Winds still sustained, Lou, at about 35 miles an hour. We have had gusts as high as 64 earlier. But 30 miles an hour, just to give you an idea -- sustained, not even tropical-storm force yet. So still have a long way to go as far as how bad it's going to get.

Right now, the winds are in my face, out of the east. Storm is that way. As the storm approaches, if it comes at us from our west, those winds will eventually turn southeast and get stronger.

Take a look at this building behind me. They build it in '94. The locals call those the sails. I am told sustained winds of 135 miles an hour is about all they can take, so that will be interesting, to say the least, as far as what will happen to that building.

Besides the wind, obviously, the storm surge. Behind me is the Mobile River. It dumps on the into Mobile Bay. There's a causeway over there that takes you over towards the Florida panhandle. At times, that causeway is pretty close to the water. And with the storm surge expected to be anywhere from 12 to 18 feet, we could easily see that storm surge, which includes I-10, over water (sic) as this storm approaches from the west later on tonight and tomorrow morning.

Waves offshore, Lou, like you mentioned earlier in the program, 50-foot waves at some of the buoys. That translates to about 20 to, possibly, 30-foot waves crashing onto the shoreline, that on top of the storm surge. I don't even want to look at what some of the barrier islands are going to be like come tomorrow morning.

DOBBS: Rob, thank you very much. Rob Marciano in Mobile, Alabama. We want to say that we want you, of course, and all of our colleagues, and everyone in the path of this hurricane to be as safe as possible. Hurricane Ivan, we'll be bringing you the latest development throughout the evening here on CNN.

Turning to an explosive new book on the dominant family in American politics, the Bush family. In it, Kitty Kelley claims the current president snorted cocaine at Camp David, and first lady Laura Bush sold marijuana in college. Those are just among some of the milder revelations. The book is called "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty."

Kitty Kelley joins me now. And Kitty, it is good to have you here.

KITTY KELLEY, AUTHOR: Thank you, Lou.

DOBBS; I want to say that this book, I think, is a fascinating read. I can understand why there's some controversy about it. A spokesman for the Bush/Cheney campaign, Kitty, said, "Kitty Kelley is a discredited purveyor of trash, she's smeared the Republican family, now she's peddling garbage about the current first family." Why would you do such a thing?

KELLEY: Is that all they said?

DOBBS: No, it isn't.

KELLEY: Actually, I think Reagan Republicans are going to love this book. And one Reagan Republican that helped contribute to it was Peggy Noonan. She really made me understand -- she contrasted and compared the presidencies of Ronald Reagan to George Herbert Walker Bush.

I came away with a real appreciation for Ronald Reagan that I had not had before when I started doing the research on the Bush family, comparing him to George Herbert Walker, so I do have a new appreciation of Reagan in this book. DOBBS: You have an appreciation of Reagan. And I must say you brought in this book, at least to me, an appreciation of Prescott Bush, Senator Bush. You revealed a picture of him that I really didn't appreciate, an extraordinarily positive one. You obviously talk about his drinking, his alcoholism, foibles and flaws as we all have them, but a remarkably positive portrait.

KELLEY: From a man who really grew into his office. He started out as a social, very prosperous, limited, provincial man who cared really only about his status at Yale, but when he became a United States senator, if you think that it's any measure of a man on how you stand on the issues of your day, he stood up.

DOBBS: He stood up to McCarthy.

KELLEY: Civil rights.

DOBBS: Absolutely.

KELLEY: Civil rights before civil rights was passed.

DOBBS: Now, before we get unaccustomedly (ph) saccharine on you and take a little of the bite away from Kitty Kelley, which no one would ever want to do, the fact is you have been charged -- for example, David Gergen, just now who has advised four presidents, one of the foremost political thinkers in the country says that Democrats have been relying upon, amongst others, your book to turn the tide in this election. Was that your intent in writing?

KELLEY: No, not my intent in writing it at all. That's putting an awful lot of pressure on a writer, and I can't think of the last time a book ever influenced an election although I do think this book is relevant to Republicans and to Democrats.

DOBBS: I do, too. I couldn't agree with you more. One of the charges, one of the most sensational charges is that President Bush snorted cocaine at Camp David when his father was president, and the principal source for that is, I take it, Sharon Bush, denies at all ever telling you that.

KELLEY: Not a principal source, but she did confirm it. I know she is denying it now. I had a four-hour lunch with her that was witnessed by her publicist at the time, Lou Colasuonno...

DOBBS: Her publicist?

KELLEY: Her publicist and she was in the midst of a divorce, and I think now great pressure is being put on her and put on her children by the grandparents -- that's Bush Sr. and Barbara Bush, and I don't blame her for retracting it, but she can't retract it, because it was witnessed by an independent witness.

DOBBS: What if I told you this, that after I read your book, that in point of fact I had a more positive impression of George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, and Prescott Bush, certainly, than I did before. Would you be surprised? KELLEY: No, I wouldn't be surprised but you have surprised me from the very beginning. First of all, you're one of the few who has not caved to White House pressure, so am I surprised to be sitting here with the most admired man in broadcasting? Yes, I am. I'm surprised. Everybody else has fallen to the side, but I wouldn't be surprised, although I would ask you why a positive impression of George Herbert Walker Bush?

DOBBS: Because you showed more humanity in the man than I gave him credit for, frankly. A man who was steadfast...

KELLEY: You did read it!

DOBBS: Yes, I did read it. And the fact is -- one of the most shocking revelations to me, and perhaps I shouldn't admit this occurred in the earliest pages, I think it's even in your introduction, in which you talk about the executive order by which the records of President George Herbert Walker Bush and his then governor son upon ascending the presidency, was able to seal the records and remove from the National Archives, the rights, and responsibility, and control over those presidential papers. That to me is the blockbuster. Perhaps I have a perverse outlook on these things but that to me is unAmerican and it disturbs me mightily.

KELLEY: Well, and you're looking at the long run which is history and history will not be able to be written unless people stand forward now and challenge that executive order. By that executive order, George W. Bush has locked up his records, all of his records as governor, all of his father's records -- that includes everything on Iran-Contra, and even Clinton's records. And this doesn't mean that they can be released in ten years or 30 years, I mean, the process used to be that the National Archives made them available within a few years. Not now.

DOBBS: Twelve years? It is 12 years.

KELLEY: Yes.

DOBBS: Kitty Kelley, we are out of time. You've written, I think, just an extraordinary read. It's fascinating. There is something here for everyone, from gossip, from innuendo, some would suggest even slander -- not in the legal sense, but there's also great history, and a great story told. Kitty Kelley, thank you very much.

KELLEY: Thank you. I appreciate it.

DOBBS: Good to have you with us. All the best.

Coming up next, a critical American industry being shipped piece by piece to the lowest foreign bidder, leaving tens of thousands of American workers out of jobs. Another disturbing segment from the new documentary "American Jobs" here next. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: The documentary "American Jobs" is a moving look at the very real impact of the exporting of American jobs on countless middle-class families across this country. Tonight we bring you another very troubling segment of this important documentary focusing on the exporting of jobs and the exporting of critical technical knowledge in the aerospace industry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE FROM "AMERICAN JOBS")

KENNETT BIVENS, ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: My name is Kennett Bivens and I worked for Boeing approximately two years. Jets fascinated me at a young age. Watching Scotty on "Star Trek," the man was -- he could fix anything and he was an engineer, and I thought that was the coolest thing you could be.

CHARLES CRAFT, MACHINIST: My name is Charles Craft. I've been working at Boeing for a little over 18 years. I'm a machinist, I machine small and complex aluminum parts.

BILL DUCOVICH: My wife remembers the days when she was in elementary school and they let all the classrooms out to the play field to see the first 747 fly overhead. Her uncle worked at Boeing. Her dad worked at Boeing. I actually punched rivets at the Boeing company when I was in college.

BIVENS: They gave me the ability to join the flying club, BFA (ph) and I was learning how to fly. I was on the softball team, and everybody there, we played music together. Everybody was like this giant family. It was an amazing place.

MARK BLONDIN, MACHINISTS UNION: Several years ago, one of their leaders made the statement that this is not a family operation, this is a team, and like any team, we can replace the players. That was a very bold statement and something that really shocked this community, because many of us looked at it as a family company.

BIVENS: October 25, 2002, two days after my birthday, I was called into my boss's office and explained that I was being given a warning that day, meaning that it's a warning that my job is in jeopardy and I'm at good risk of losing my position at the Boeing company.

DUCOVICH: There's a design center in Moscow, Russia, that employs more than 800 engineers and other technical workers. They are doing the work that was previously done in facilities in the Puget Sound.

BIVENS: And then a couple months later I got my two-week notice and say, yes, you're definitely being laid off. And January 1st, 2003, I handed in my badge and I walked out the front doors of the Everett Building (ph).

It was probably one of the hardest days of my life.

(SINGING "AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL")

DUCOVICH: A decade ago, there was no concern over Airbus Industries. BLONDIN: After 9/11 Airbus lost very, very few employees while Boeing shed 50 percent of its workforce.

DUCOVICH: Last year for the first time Airbus Industries sold more commercial aircraft in the world than the Boeing Company did. Once the world leader in the sale of commercial aircraft, now we're No. 2.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To compete with Airbus in the future, Boeing is betting heavily on the 7E7, a new, fuel-efficient aircraft, made of advanced lightweight materials. For the first time, Boeing will be globally sourcing the design and manufacturing of the wing and other major components.

STAN SORSCHER, SPEEA UNION: This will be the first large commercial airplane with an all-composite wing.

DUCOVICH: Wing technology at the Boeing Company was prized so much that you can look back just 10, 15 years ago and they would not allow you to take a picture of the wing in the factory.

BLONDIN: The wing section and part of the body section up here in the center section is going to Japan and that equates to, I believe, about 35 percent, which is about equal to what we're going to get here in the United States. That is the most work ever given to the Japanese.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before allowing Japanese airlines to order the new Boeing 7E7, the Japanese government demanded that a large section of the plane be made in Japan. Countries around the world are leveraging their airline's buying power to get jobs and technology from Boeing.

CRAFT: We just give our brand-new technology to foreign companies with the idea that maybe someday they'll buy an airplane from us? These countries are going to eventually start building their own airplanes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DOBBS: Well, for more tonight on the exporting of American jobs, I'll be a guess on "PAULA ZAHN NOW" at 8:00 Eastern here. I'll be debating Columbia professor Jagdish Bhagwati. He launched a personal attack against me for criticizing the exporting of American jobs to cheap foreign labor markets. That's "PAULA ZAHN" tonight at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

Still ahead, Martha Stewart's latest plea, a vow to re-claim her life. We'll bring you the details of today's surprising announcement and much more.

Still ahead. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: It was a down day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrials fell 87 points, the Nasdaq dropped 19. The S&P 500 fell 8 points.

Martha Stewart says she's ready to go to prison -- she wants to go to prison. She announced today that she wants to begin serving her five-month prison sentence so she can get on her life and put what she calls "this nightmare" behind her. Stewart's attorneys are, of course, continuing their appeal while she is in prison.

Still ahead, the results of our poll tonight, a preview of what's ahead tomorrow. A reminder to check our Web site for the complete list of companies we've confirmed to be "Exporting America." Cnn.com/lou.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DOBBS: Something of a lopsided result in our poll tonight: 10 percent of you voting, saying you believe President Bush would best fulfill his campaign promises over the next four years; 85 percent say Senator John Kerry; 5 percent Ralph Nader.

Thanks for being with us here tonight. Please join us tomorrow. Hurricane Ivan bearing down on the Gulf coast. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin will be joining us tomorrow evening, as will Richard Trumka of the AFL-CIO. We'll be talking about the power of American business and a staggering new list of American businesses exporting American jobs. He's our guest, we hope you'll be with us.

For all of us here, good night from New York, a special edition of "ANDERSON COOPER 360," full coverage of Hurricane Ivan, is next.

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