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American Morning
Kerry Preps for Debate in Wisconsin; Jay Leno Will Pass "The Tonight Show" Torch to Conan O'Brien; Interview with Stephen Battaglio.
Aired September 28, 2004 - 9:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And getting their positions lined up. What messages should the president and Senator Kerry send leading into the first debate a day and a half away?
The devastation in Florida from four hurricanes. The price tag to taxpayers could be many billions more.
And a White House mystery four decades old: John F. Kennedy and his mysterious doctor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's only one word for it. It's weird.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: What treatment was JFK getting, and was there a medical cover-up in the days of Camelot? Looking for answers this hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning. Nine o'clock here in New York. Heidi Collins along with us again today.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Some of the other stories we're watching in getting ready for Thursday night, what are the candidates now getting ready to do to make their case to the American people? First debate Thursday evening. We'll hear from Bill Schneider about some new poll numbers, too. Results on the president, the issue of Iraq, all that coming up in a few moments here.
COLLINS: Also, NBC anointing Conan O'Brien to take over "The Tonight Show" when Jay Leno retires a few years from now. We'll talk to Toure about why it might be a great strategic move for the network and also look at a potential battle between Conan and Jon Stewart.
It could happen.
HEMMER: Viewers get -- yes, viewers get five years, they get warmed up to the idea.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: This isn't going to happen until 2009, right?
HEMMER: That's right.
COLLINS: We like to project.
CAFFERTY: They could all be dead by now.
HEMMER: Leno had a great line.
CAFFERTY: You could be doing "The Tonight Show."
HEMMER: Yes, maybe. He said, "I'm going to be 59 in 2009. I promised my wife I'd take her to dinner before I turn 60."
COLLINS: Oh, isn't that nice?
HEMMER: So she'll have...
CAFFERTY: That's why he's being replaced. It's material like that.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: CNN's "Question of the Day" has to do with a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll showing that CBS has suffered a credibility problem in the wake of that Dan Rather story. How do they restore it? How do they get it back? Once lost, it can be a tough assignment. Am@cnn.com.
HEMMER: So true. Thank you, Jack.
Want to get to Rick Sanchez here in the studio, other stories now top of the hour.
Rick, good morning.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, thanks a lot, Bill.
We're going to start with an Olympic fallout. Gymnast Paul Hamm says he's willing to relinquish his gold medal if the court rules against him. Now, Hamm spoke with us last hour from Switzerland. Arbitrators, as you know, there are looking into complaints from a South Korean gymnast who says the medal should have been his, but for scoring mistakes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HAMM, U.S. GOLD OLYMPIC MEDALIST: It was definitely a fair hearing. Everyone got their chance to say what they needed to. You know, we definitely got to say our facts and get everyone's answers out. And I think it went pretty well.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: A decision is expected in about two weeks. Hamm says he'll try to forget about the controversy until then.
Palestinian sources say that a group that abducted a CNN producer could release him within hours. Riad Ali was pulled out of a taxi by armed militants yesterday. The Palestinian prime minister and several militant groups have condemned this abduction. CNN president Jim Walton says the network is working actively for Ali's safe return home.
$7.1 billion, that's how much money is going to be spent in Florida and other states for hurricane relief. In fact, all told, that number could eventually grow to $12 billion to be shared by many of the organizations that are involved in recovery efforts.
Many people in the region are still trying to get day by day in search of things like water and ice still. Hurricane Jeanne's remnants are now being felt as far away as the northeast. And we're going to have more on that coming up in weather.
And you may not be able to call them greenbacks, at least not for much longer. New $50 bills with red, blue and yellow ink are going to be circulating starting today. The change is designed to prevent counterfeiting. A new $20 with pastel colors was released last fall, and a redesigned $100 Bill is scheduled for next year.
There you go. All the colors in the rainbow.
Heidi, back over to you.
COLLINS: It's so pretty. I like pretty money. All right, Rick, thanks so much.
The candidates gearing up for the first presidential debate Thursday in Miami. Senator John Kerry's in Wisconsin today, where he has no scheduled appearances as he preps for the big event.
Frank Buckley, also in Wisconsin with the Kerry campaign, joining us now.
Hello to you, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi.
Senator Kerry preparing for this debate on Thursday and the two that will follow. His aides describe these debates as the most important of his political life.
As a challenger, he has to prove to the American people that he can be a better president than President Bush. And some new poll numbers suggest that so far, he hasn't made that case to a majority of Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): As Senator John Kerry campaigned for votes in Wisconsin...
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America needs a real conversation about our future.
BUCKLEY: ... a new CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll was indicating President Bush has an eight-point lead now among likely voters, an 11- point lead among registered voters. Kerry, who is at a rural Wisconsin resort primarily to prepare for Thursday's debate, used his one campaign stop to continue his criticism of President Bush on Iraq.
KERRY: The mission was not accomplished when he said it. He didn't know it and didn't understand it. It's not accomplished today. And he's still trying to hide from the American people.
BUCKLEY: But the new poll suggests criticism of the war in Iraq may not be working. More Americans believe President Bush can better handle Iraq. On terrorism, 61 percent believe in Bush, to 34 percent for Kerry.
Kerry aides say the criticism on Iraq will continue, believing it helps Kerry maybe the case that President Bush can't fix problems if he won't acknowledge them. An argument they can also apply to domestic issues like the economy.
KERRY: Income's going down and he just doesn't care. He's out of touch with the average American's problems because he keeps fighting for Halliburton and Enron and all those big companies. And we need a president who fights for the average person.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: And Kerry advisers discount this poll. They say it's out of sync with other recent national polls, and they say they look forward to this ongoing debate about Iraq. It will be front and center, they say, at the debate on Thursday. They believe President Bush will be on the defensive, having to answer questions about his management of the war in Iraq.
Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin, no public events scheduled as Senator Kerry continues with his debate prep -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Frank, any idea what exactly Senator Kerry is doing to prepare for that first debate coming up on Thursday?
BUCKLEY: Well, we're told he's doing a lot of reading. Reading a lot of President Bush's past speeches.
He's watched some videotapes of President Bush in past debate settings to see how President Bush comes across in debates and what he does. And he's engaging in mock debates himself. Playing the role of President Bush is Greg Craig, who was a senior White House counsel during the Clinton administration. And playing the role of Jim Lehrer, the moderator, is Bob Shrum, the political adviser. A whole bunch of other folks from the campaign there, assisting during these mock debates. Perhaps the most important adviser in the room, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Senator Kerry's wife.
COLLINS: And also studying his opponent ever so closely. All right. Frank Buckley live from Wisconsin this morning. Thanks, Frank.
HEMMER: Well, the new poll numbers are out. Good news for the White House, too, heading into that first debate on Thursday evening.
Bill Schneider our guest now in Dallas this morning.
And Bill, good morning to you there.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: On the screen for our viewers, let's go through two of the first ones we're talking about. Who can handle responsibilities of commander in chief? Bush 67 to 49 over John Kerry. Another question, a clear plan for Iraq, Bush 52 percent over John Kerry's 30 percent.
Senator Kerry spent a week, if not more, talking about the issue of Iraq. Why can he not make better headway on this issue?
SCHNEIDER: Well, you would think he would, because there's been a lot of bad news coming out of Iraq, horrifying developments. And he announced a four-point plan for resolving the situation there.
Bush came back negatively and positively. Negatively by saying another Kerry position on Iraq, this must be his ninth. And positively, the president tried to reassure voters the situation is under control.
He appeared before the United Nations General Assembly, and the interim prime minister spoke to the American Congress. Those developments, negative and positive, appear to have blunted the impact of the bad news coming out of Iraq.
HEMMER: So the president Thursday night tries to hold onto these numbers. What does Senator Kerry try to do to turn them around?
SCHNEIDER: Well, here's something interesting. In 2000, people thought that issues were more important than personal qualities, like leadership skills and vision, when they were voting for president between Bush and Al Gore. But this year, they say personal qualities are more important than issues.
Now, the voters who say they're voting on the issues tend to prefer John Kerry. Personal qualities, they tend to favor George Bush.
You know, President Clinton in 2002 made an interesting statement. After that midterm election he said, "Strong and wrong beats weak and right," meaning that he thought Bush was wrong but he came across as a strong character. And his advice to Democrats, which is still very important, is if people don't think you're strong, even if they agree with you and think you're right, they're not going to vote for you.
HEMMER: What about expectations? How do they play out on Thursday?
SCHNEIDER: Very important, because a lot of Washington insiders believe expectations are high for Kerry. People think he's smarter than Bush and he'll out-debate Bush.
Take a look at this poll. We asked people, "Who do you think is going to do a better job in the debate?" And the answer is Bush, 52, Kerry 39.
What that means is, people expect President Bush to win the debate. Expectations are high for him.
Why? Well, duh, he's the president. And people expect the president to be on top of the situation, which means the expectations are really higher for Bush. He's got to be the one who performs and matches those expectations.
HEMMER: Well, here's an interesting question, too, that we posed in our debate on the screen for our viewers. "Will debates make much difference in your vote?" Only 18 percent say yes, which in a tight race could make the difference in this election.
But if you notice the decline going back to 1996, do the debates no longer matter? Or do they no longer matter as much as they once did -- Bill.
SCHNEIDER: What we're looking at here is evidence of the small number of undecided voters and the intense division of the electorate. Even more divided than in the Clinton years.
Eighteen percent can make a difference if there's a strong tide pulling them in one direction. You know, that 18 percent of people who still aren't clear exactly how they're going to vote and are going to be watching those debates, the campaigns are spending tens of millions of dollars chasing them through every cornfield in Iowa and every factory in Ohio. They're a very big prize.
HEMMER: Thank you, Bill.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
HEMMER: In Dallas today.
The debate set for Thursday night in Miami. Our live coverage starts that night at 8:00. The debates get under way at 9:00 Eastern. And watch AMERICAN MORNING. We'll get ready for that first debate, as well. We'll be live in Miami come Thursday morning -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Tropical Depression Jeanne is climbing up the East Coast, bringing misery with it as it goes. A trailer park in South Carolina wiped out last night, apparently by a tornado spawned by Jeanne.
The northwestern corner of the state is under a flash flood watch now, too. Flooding knocked out power and shut down roads as the storm passed through Georgia. A state of emergency has been declared to deal with the flooding, damage and price gouging.
Remnants of Jeanne are still dumping rains. Bob Marciano is in for Chad this morning to give us the very latest. And all those pictures still really rotten.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Gee, thanks. All right, Rob. Thank you.
HEMMER: Going to get a break here in a moment. Part two of Dr. Gupta's weeklong series, "The First Patient," that's the title of the series. Today, the secrecy that shrouded JFK's health problems. What was inside the mysterious briefcase that traveled with the president? We'll open it up for the first time in years in a matter of moments.
COLLINS: Also ahead, if John Kerry wants to win the White House, there's one voting group he needs to shore up and shore up fast. We'll take a look.
HEMMER: Also, Conan O'Brien ready to ascend to the throne of late-night TV. So why the waiting period? We'll check it out next here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The entertainment world all abuzz about NBC's surprise announcement that Jay Leno will pass "The Tonight Show" torch to Conan O'Brien. But Leno's not leaving any time soon. There will be two presidential inaugurations and two Olympics before the change in 2009. We get more now from CNN pop culture correspondent Toure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Most of the entertainment world was shocked to learn that in 2009, Jay Leno will step down from the most coveted job in the talk show pantheon, hosting NBC's "The Tonight Show."
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Conan, it's yours. See you in five years, buddy.
TOURE: He'll be replaced by Conan O'Brien. The move was surprising because Leno has a reputation as a workaholic and was expected to stay at the desk as long as there was breath in his lungs.
LENO: You can do these things until they carry you out on a stretcher, or you can get out when you still -- you know, you're still doing good. TOURE: "The Tonight Show's" previous host, Johnny Carson, retired in his 60s, after 30 years in the job. Leno will step down after 17 years at work, just before he turns 60.
Leno joked that he would finally get to take his wife to dinner as NBC portrayed the move as Leno's call. But "New York Times" television writer Bill Carter said it's unlikely it was Leno's decision.
BILL CARTER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Twelve years ago, where they had really an embarrassing situation where they couldn't keep Letterman, and Letterman went on to another network and beat their brains in for awhile, they decided they better take care of this situation in advance.
TOURE: Back in March, when Leno signed a five-year contract extension, many thought that O'Brien would never get the big job. But Conan's edginess has won him a rabid college-age following. He's going to make the leap from 12:30 to "The Tonight Show," a move Letterman never got.
Now the question is, will Conan beat Dave?
(on camera): Well, that may never happen, because Dave is 57, has a new baby, and has had heart trouble. Some think that Comedy Central star Jon Stewart could be Letterman's heir apparent and that the next big late-night battle will be Conan versus Jon.
Toure, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And here to talk more about the big switch at NBC, "TV Guide's" Stephen Battaglio joining us now.
Stephen, so how big of a surprise was this? I mean, certainly a surprise to viewers at home?
STEPHEN BATTAGLIO, "TV GUIDE": It was. But back in May, after NBC signed a new deal with -- with Leno, Conan, who wasn't terribly happy about the fact that he would have to wait, or that Jay was signed through 2009, NBC did start talking to him right away about keeping him in the NBC family. And you know, it does make sense, because continuity is a big part of late-night TV.
This is -- this is a time of night that's very habit-driven for viewers. They like the comfort of seeing the same person there night after night, year after year. And you know, a lot of the people who are growing up watching Conan now at 12:30 will probably become "Tonight Show" viewers five years from now down the road.
COLLINS: Yes. So talk about that. I mean, he does have a younger audience. Do they see that? Does the network see that as quite an asset, moving him up in that timeslot and bringing those viewers with him? BATTAGLIO: He does extremely well with young viewers, 18 to 34. As they get older and get jobs and more responsibility, they're probably not going to be staying up as late. So it's a pretty smooth transition, I think, to take Conan and put him into "The Tonight Show" chair.
COLLINS: What's Conan got? I mean, he's done very well in the timeslot that he's in. In fact, I didn't realize reading some of this research that he has won pretty much every single ratings season over the 11 years he's been on the air.
BATTAGLIO: Well, he's had the benefit of "The Tonight Show," which is the dominant late-night franchise leading in to him. But you know, if you remember when Conan first started and replaced Letterman, who at the time, you know, it was seen as a great corporate blunder that NBC let Letterman get away...
COLLINS: A little rough.
BATTAGLIO: ... it was very rough. And Conan had, you know, week-to-week contracts almost. People -- everyone in television thought he was going to be fired tomorrow.
COLLINS: Including him.
BATTAGLIO: But -- yes. But he kept on working harder and doing really bold, funny stuff that critics began to notice for awhile -- after awhile and embraced. And now viewers have embraced it as well in recent years.
COLLINS: So they must have been concerned that other networks might have been interested in Conan O'Brien as well.
BATTAGLIO: If they did not make a deal with Conan, there's no question, ABC had expressed interest in him. Fox tried to sign him several years ago. They're not in the late-night game, and they'd like to get in it. And no question that they would have made an offer for Conan as well.
COLLINS: So what do you think about Toure's prediction there and the possibility that it could be Jon Stewart versus Conan O'Brien, of course years from now, in 2009?
BATTAGLIO: Jon Stewart is already -- you know, Viacom owns CBS, they own Comedy Central. Jon Stewart is signed to Comedy Central through 2008.
You know, I think, though, the lawyers could probably get together and make that happen if they wanted to. But you know, you never know with Dave and when Dave is going to hang it up. That seems to be one of the great mysteries at CBS as to when he would end it.
COLLINS: And you never really know with television overall, either, do you?
BATTAGLIO: That's right. COLLINS: All right. Stephen Battaglio, thanks so much for your time this morning.
BATTAGLIO: My pleasure.
COLLINS: Bill.
HEMMER: It's all about the demo.
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Heidi.
In a moment here, is she ready to blow? The reasons to keep a close eye on Mount St. Helens, now starting to come fast and furious.
Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The Mount St. Helens volcano acting the way she did before its last eruption in 1986. Scientists now recording small earthquakes at the rate of one or two a minute. Early testing do not show a buildup of magma.
They're speculating that the steam is building up inside from recent heavy rains, and that could lead to a small explosion. But something bigger has not been ruled out.
Fifty-seven people died, and a massive cloud of ash that affected global weather when Mount St. Helens went in 1980. There's a round- the-clock Web cam trained on the crater.
You can see the sun coming up just a little bit there. It looks like something from Scotland. The Loch Ness monster, magma. Keeping an eye.
Address is complex, too. Google at Gifford -- Gifford something -- Pinchot National Forest Web campaign shot. Got it now. OK...
COLLINS: It's the Pinchot National Forest. It's definitely not easy.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: ... for Mount St. Helens.
COLLINS: Cool, though, to check it out on the Web, right?
HEMMER: Very cool.
COLLINS: Hopefully it will not go.
HEMMER: Listen, you about to erupt?
CAFFERTY: No, no, no, no. COLLINS: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: I don't even have any minor vibrations going on.
CBS News, though, has suffered a bit of a blow to its credibility, the result of "Rathergate." According to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 55 percent of those questioned said they still have confidence in CBS's ability to report stories accurately, but 41 percent said they don't. And 26 percent, one in four questioned, think Dan Rather ought to be fired.
So the question is this: How can CBS restore confidence following the Rather scandal?
Mike writes now: "There you go again. For weeks, CNN and other networks beat the public over the head telling us what to think about CBS. In the end, you take a poll to confirm that we are thinking what we are told to think. There is nothing CBS can do to restore its credibility as long as that delicate commodity rests in the hands of its competitors."
Deb in New Paltz: "How can CBS restore confidence? You're assuming viewers have confidence in other news networks. Come on, we know the news is really a reality version of TV. If we want news, we read "The New York Times."
There's a good idea.
"Dan Rather's a industry icon. I have great respect and confidence in him."
Jose in College Station, Texas: "Intangibles like integrity and honesty are hard to define, but most of us know when they exist. They're hard to earn and almost impossible to recover. CBS News forgot to protect this precious asset when they got caught up in the chance to make news."
And Ted writes from Amarillo, Texas: "Let George W. fill in for Dan. He hasn't told the truth in four years, everyone knows it's political and he still has a job."
Ted, that's very harsh. And you're in the president's home state there in Texas.
COLLINS: Oh. Interesting to see where people's loyalties lie with something like this, too. You know, somebody like "The New York Times." Well, what about the Jayson Blair incident there?
CAFFERTY: You know, I've got a bit of a problem in this -- in this investigation. I mean, the producer makes -- apparently made a phone call to hook up the source of the documents with the Kerry campaign. I mean, you don't need an investigation to go much farther than that to say, hey, wait a minute, we're a news organization, this is beyond the bounds of what we do as journalists, and we're going to make some changes right now.
HEMMER: And the network said that was wrong.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Yes, the longer this thing hangs around -- now they've got Dick Thornburgh and these guys investigating. But the longer it hangs around, the more people like me will sit here and do this kind of stuff and draw attention to it. So...
HEMMER: Not even a vibration. Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Nothing.
COLLINS: Thanks, Jack.
Still ahead now, why can't John Kerry make inroads with the voting bloc that's supposed to be a slam dunk for Democrats?
Plus, part two of our series, "The First Patient." It zeros in on JFK's health problems, his mysterious doctor and the briefcase he took everywhere.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 28, 2004 - 9:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And getting their positions lined up. What messages should the president and Senator Kerry send leading into the first debate a day and a half away?
The devastation in Florida from four hurricanes. The price tag to taxpayers could be many billions more.
And a White House mystery four decades old: John F. Kennedy and his mysterious doctor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's only one word for it. It's weird.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: What treatment was JFK getting, and was there a medical cover-up in the days of Camelot? Looking for answers this hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: Good morning. Nine o'clock here in New York. Heidi Collins along with us again today.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Some of the other stories we're watching in getting ready for Thursday night, what are the candidates now getting ready to do to make their case to the American people? First debate Thursday evening. We'll hear from Bill Schneider about some new poll numbers, too. Results on the president, the issue of Iraq, all that coming up in a few moments here.
COLLINS: Also, NBC anointing Conan O'Brien to take over "The Tonight Show" when Jay Leno retires a few years from now. We'll talk to Toure about why it might be a great strategic move for the network and also look at a potential battle between Conan and Jon Stewart.
It could happen.
HEMMER: Viewers get -- yes, viewers get five years, they get warmed up to the idea.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: This isn't going to happen until 2009, right?
HEMMER: That's right.
COLLINS: We like to project.
CAFFERTY: They could all be dead by now.
HEMMER: Leno had a great line.
CAFFERTY: You could be doing "The Tonight Show."
HEMMER: Yes, maybe. He said, "I'm going to be 59 in 2009. I promised my wife I'd take her to dinner before I turn 60."
COLLINS: Oh, isn't that nice?
HEMMER: So she'll have...
CAFFERTY: That's why he's being replaced. It's material like that.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: CNN's "Question of the Day" has to do with a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll showing that CBS has suffered a credibility problem in the wake of that Dan Rather story. How do they restore it? How do they get it back? Once lost, it can be a tough assignment. Am@cnn.com.
HEMMER: So true. Thank you, Jack.
Want to get to Rick Sanchez here in the studio, other stories now top of the hour.
Rick, good morning.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, thanks a lot, Bill.
We're going to start with an Olympic fallout. Gymnast Paul Hamm says he's willing to relinquish his gold medal if the court rules against him. Now, Hamm spoke with us last hour from Switzerland. Arbitrators, as you know, there are looking into complaints from a South Korean gymnast who says the medal should have been his, but for scoring mistakes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HAMM, U.S. GOLD OLYMPIC MEDALIST: It was definitely a fair hearing. Everyone got their chance to say what they needed to. You know, we definitely got to say our facts and get everyone's answers out. And I think it went pretty well.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: A decision is expected in about two weeks. Hamm says he'll try to forget about the controversy until then.
Palestinian sources say that a group that abducted a CNN producer could release him within hours. Riad Ali was pulled out of a taxi by armed militants yesterday. The Palestinian prime minister and several militant groups have condemned this abduction. CNN president Jim Walton says the network is working actively for Ali's safe return home.
$7.1 billion, that's how much money is going to be spent in Florida and other states for hurricane relief. In fact, all told, that number could eventually grow to $12 billion to be shared by many of the organizations that are involved in recovery efforts.
Many people in the region are still trying to get day by day in search of things like water and ice still. Hurricane Jeanne's remnants are now being felt as far away as the northeast. And we're going to have more on that coming up in weather.
And you may not be able to call them greenbacks, at least not for much longer. New $50 bills with red, blue and yellow ink are going to be circulating starting today. The change is designed to prevent counterfeiting. A new $20 with pastel colors was released last fall, and a redesigned $100 Bill is scheduled for next year.
There you go. All the colors in the rainbow.
Heidi, back over to you.
COLLINS: It's so pretty. I like pretty money. All right, Rick, thanks so much.
The candidates gearing up for the first presidential debate Thursday in Miami. Senator John Kerry's in Wisconsin today, where he has no scheduled appearances as he preps for the big event.
Frank Buckley, also in Wisconsin with the Kerry campaign, joining us now.
Hello to you, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Heidi.
Senator Kerry preparing for this debate on Thursday and the two that will follow. His aides describe these debates as the most important of his political life.
As a challenger, he has to prove to the American people that he can be a better president than President Bush. And some new poll numbers suggest that so far, he hasn't made that case to a majority of Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): As Senator John Kerry campaigned for votes in Wisconsin...
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: America needs a real conversation about our future.
BUCKLEY: ... a new CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll was indicating President Bush has an eight-point lead now among likely voters, an 11- point lead among registered voters. Kerry, who is at a rural Wisconsin resort primarily to prepare for Thursday's debate, used his one campaign stop to continue his criticism of President Bush on Iraq.
KERRY: The mission was not accomplished when he said it. He didn't know it and didn't understand it. It's not accomplished today. And he's still trying to hide from the American people.
BUCKLEY: But the new poll suggests criticism of the war in Iraq may not be working. More Americans believe President Bush can better handle Iraq. On terrorism, 61 percent believe in Bush, to 34 percent for Kerry.
Kerry aides say the criticism on Iraq will continue, believing it helps Kerry maybe the case that President Bush can't fix problems if he won't acknowledge them. An argument they can also apply to domestic issues like the economy.
KERRY: Income's going down and he just doesn't care. He's out of touch with the average American's problems because he keeps fighting for Halliburton and Enron and all those big companies. And we need a president who fights for the average person.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: And Kerry advisers discount this poll. They say it's out of sync with other recent national polls, and they say they look forward to this ongoing debate about Iraq. It will be front and center, they say, at the debate on Thursday. They believe President Bush will be on the defensive, having to answer questions about his management of the war in Iraq.
Meanwhile, here in Wisconsin, no public events scheduled as Senator Kerry continues with his debate prep -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Frank, any idea what exactly Senator Kerry is doing to prepare for that first debate coming up on Thursday?
BUCKLEY: Well, we're told he's doing a lot of reading. Reading a lot of President Bush's past speeches.
He's watched some videotapes of President Bush in past debate settings to see how President Bush comes across in debates and what he does. And he's engaging in mock debates himself. Playing the role of President Bush is Greg Craig, who was a senior White House counsel during the Clinton administration. And playing the role of Jim Lehrer, the moderator, is Bob Shrum, the political adviser. A whole bunch of other folks from the campaign there, assisting during these mock debates. Perhaps the most important adviser in the room, Teresa Heinz Kerry, Senator Kerry's wife.
COLLINS: And also studying his opponent ever so closely. All right. Frank Buckley live from Wisconsin this morning. Thanks, Frank.
HEMMER: Well, the new poll numbers are out. Good news for the White House, too, heading into that first debate on Thursday evening.
Bill Schneider our guest now in Dallas this morning.
And Bill, good morning to you there.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: On the screen for our viewers, let's go through two of the first ones we're talking about. Who can handle responsibilities of commander in chief? Bush 67 to 49 over John Kerry. Another question, a clear plan for Iraq, Bush 52 percent over John Kerry's 30 percent.
Senator Kerry spent a week, if not more, talking about the issue of Iraq. Why can he not make better headway on this issue?
SCHNEIDER: Well, you would think he would, because there's been a lot of bad news coming out of Iraq, horrifying developments. And he announced a four-point plan for resolving the situation there.
Bush came back negatively and positively. Negatively by saying another Kerry position on Iraq, this must be his ninth. And positively, the president tried to reassure voters the situation is under control.
He appeared before the United Nations General Assembly, and the interim prime minister spoke to the American Congress. Those developments, negative and positive, appear to have blunted the impact of the bad news coming out of Iraq.
HEMMER: So the president Thursday night tries to hold onto these numbers. What does Senator Kerry try to do to turn them around?
SCHNEIDER: Well, here's something interesting. In 2000, people thought that issues were more important than personal qualities, like leadership skills and vision, when they were voting for president between Bush and Al Gore. But this year, they say personal qualities are more important than issues.
Now, the voters who say they're voting on the issues tend to prefer John Kerry. Personal qualities, they tend to favor George Bush.
You know, President Clinton in 2002 made an interesting statement. After that midterm election he said, "Strong and wrong beats weak and right," meaning that he thought Bush was wrong but he came across as a strong character. And his advice to Democrats, which is still very important, is if people don't think you're strong, even if they agree with you and think you're right, they're not going to vote for you.
HEMMER: What about expectations? How do they play out on Thursday?
SCHNEIDER: Very important, because a lot of Washington insiders believe expectations are high for Kerry. People think he's smarter than Bush and he'll out-debate Bush.
Take a look at this poll. We asked people, "Who do you think is going to do a better job in the debate?" And the answer is Bush, 52, Kerry 39.
What that means is, people expect President Bush to win the debate. Expectations are high for him.
Why? Well, duh, he's the president. And people expect the president to be on top of the situation, which means the expectations are really higher for Bush. He's got to be the one who performs and matches those expectations.
HEMMER: Well, here's an interesting question, too, that we posed in our debate on the screen for our viewers. "Will debates make much difference in your vote?" Only 18 percent say yes, which in a tight race could make the difference in this election.
But if you notice the decline going back to 1996, do the debates no longer matter? Or do they no longer matter as much as they once did -- Bill.
SCHNEIDER: What we're looking at here is evidence of the small number of undecided voters and the intense division of the electorate. Even more divided than in the Clinton years.
Eighteen percent can make a difference if there's a strong tide pulling them in one direction. You know, that 18 percent of people who still aren't clear exactly how they're going to vote and are going to be watching those debates, the campaigns are spending tens of millions of dollars chasing them through every cornfield in Iowa and every factory in Ohio. They're a very big prize.
HEMMER: Thank you, Bill.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
HEMMER: In Dallas today.
The debate set for Thursday night in Miami. Our live coverage starts that night at 8:00. The debates get under way at 9:00 Eastern. And watch AMERICAN MORNING. We'll get ready for that first debate, as well. We'll be live in Miami come Thursday morning -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Tropical Depression Jeanne is climbing up the East Coast, bringing misery with it as it goes. A trailer park in South Carolina wiped out last night, apparently by a tornado spawned by Jeanne.
The northwestern corner of the state is under a flash flood watch now, too. Flooding knocked out power and shut down roads as the storm passed through Georgia. A state of emergency has been declared to deal with the flooding, damage and price gouging.
Remnants of Jeanne are still dumping rains. Bob Marciano is in for Chad this morning to give us the very latest. And all those pictures still really rotten.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Gee, thanks. All right, Rob. Thank you.
HEMMER: Going to get a break here in a moment. Part two of Dr. Gupta's weeklong series, "The First Patient," that's the title of the series. Today, the secrecy that shrouded JFK's health problems. What was inside the mysterious briefcase that traveled with the president? We'll open it up for the first time in years in a matter of moments.
COLLINS: Also ahead, if John Kerry wants to win the White House, there's one voting group he needs to shore up and shore up fast. We'll take a look.
HEMMER: Also, Conan O'Brien ready to ascend to the throne of late-night TV. So why the waiting period? We'll check it out next here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The entertainment world all abuzz about NBC's surprise announcement that Jay Leno will pass "The Tonight Show" torch to Conan O'Brien. But Leno's not leaving any time soon. There will be two presidential inaugurations and two Olympics before the change in 2009. We get more now from CNN pop culture correspondent Toure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Most of the entertainment world was shocked to learn that in 2009, Jay Leno will step down from the most coveted job in the talk show pantheon, hosting NBC's "The Tonight Show."
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Conan, it's yours. See you in five years, buddy.
TOURE: He'll be replaced by Conan O'Brien. The move was surprising because Leno has a reputation as a workaholic and was expected to stay at the desk as long as there was breath in his lungs.
LENO: You can do these things until they carry you out on a stretcher, or you can get out when you still -- you know, you're still doing good. TOURE: "The Tonight Show's" previous host, Johnny Carson, retired in his 60s, after 30 years in the job. Leno will step down after 17 years at work, just before he turns 60.
Leno joked that he would finally get to take his wife to dinner as NBC portrayed the move as Leno's call. But "New York Times" television writer Bill Carter said it's unlikely it was Leno's decision.
BILL CARTER, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Twelve years ago, where they had really an embarrassing situation where they couldn't keep Letterman, and Letterman went on to another network and beat their brains in for awhile, they decided they better take care of this situation in advance.
TOURE: Back in March, when Leno signed a five-year contract extension, many thought that O'Brien would never get the big job. But Conan's edginess has won him a rabid college-age following. He's going to make the leap from 12:30 to "The Tonight Show," a move Letterman never got.
Now the question is, will Conan beat Dave?
(on camera): Well, that may never happen, because Dave is 57, has a new baby, and has had heart trouble. Some think that Comedy Central star Jon Stewart could be Letterman's heir apparent and that the next big late-night battle will be Conan versus Jon.
Toure, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And here to talk more about the big switch at NBC, "TV Guide's" Stephen Battaglio joining us now.
Stephen, so how big of a surprise was this? I mean, certainly a surprise to viewers at home?
STEPHEN BATTAGLIO, "TV GUIDE": It was. But back in May, after NBC signed a new deal with -- with Leno, Conan, who wasn't terribly happy about the fact that he would have to wait, or that Jay was signed through 2009, NBC did start talking to him right away about keeping him in the NBC family. And you know, it does make sense, because continuity is a big part of late-night TV.
This is -- this is a time of night that's very habit-driven for viewers. They like the comfort of seeing the same person there night after night, year after year. And you know, a lot of the people who are growing up watching Conan now at 12:30 will probably become "Tonight Show" viewers five years from now down the road.
COLLINS: Yes. So talk about that. I mean, he does have a younger audience. Do they see that? Does the network see that as quite an asset, moving him up in that timeslot and bringing those viewers with him? BATTAGLIO: He does extremely well with young viewers, 18 to 34. As they get older and get jobs and more responsibility, they're probably not going to be staying up as late. So it's a pretty smooth transition, I think, to take Conan and put him into "The Tonight Show" chair.
COLLINS: What's Conan got? I mean, he's done very well in the timeslot that he's in. In fact, I didn't realize reading some of this research that he has won pretty much every single ratings season over the 11 years he's been on the air.
BATTAGLIO: Well, he's had the benefit of "The Tonight Show," which is the dominant late-night franchise leading in to him. But you know, if you remember when Conan first started and replaced Letterman, who at the time, you know, it was seen as a great corporate blunder that NBC let Letterman get away...
COLLINS: A little rough.
BATTAGLIO: ... it was very rough. And Conan had, you know, week-to-week contracts almost. People -- everyone in television thought he was going to be fired tomorrow.
COLLINS: Including him.
BATTAGLIO: But -- yes. But he kept on working harder and doing really bold, funny stuff that critics began to notice for awhile -- after awhile and embraced. And now viewers have embraced it as well in recent years.
COLLINS: So they must have been concerned that other networks might have been interested in Conan O'Brien as well.
BATTAGLIO: If they did not make a deal with Conan, there's no question, ABC had expressed interest in him. Fox tried to sign him several years ago. They're not in the late-night game, and they'd like to get in it. And no question that they would have made an offer for Conan as well.
COLLINS: So what do you think about Toure's prediction there and the possibility that it could be Jon Stewart versus Conan O'Brien, of course years from now, in 2009?
BATTAGLIO: Jon Stewart is already -- you know, Viacom owns CBS, they own Comedy Central. Jon Stewart is signed to Comedy Central through 2008.
You know, I think, though, the lawyers could probably get together and make that happen if they wanted to. But you know, you never know with Dave and when Dave is going to hang it up. That seems to be one of the great mysteries at CBS as to when he would end it.
COLLINS: And you never really know with television overall, either, do you?
BATTAGLIO: That's right. COLLINS: All right. Stephen Battaglio, thanks so much for your time this morning.
BATTAGLIO: My pleasure.
COLLINS: Bill.
HEMMER: It's all about the demo.
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Thanks, Heidi.
In a moment here, is she ready to blow? The reasons to keep a close eye on Mount St. Helens, now starting to come fast and furious.
Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: The Mount St. Helens volcano acting the way she did before its last eruption in 1986. Scientists now recording small earthquakes at the rate of one or two a minute. Early testing do not show a buildup of magma.
They're speculating that the steam is building up inside from recent heavy rains, and that could lead to a small explosion. But something bigger has not been ruled out.
Fifty-seven people died, and a massive cloud of ash that affected global weather when Mount St. Helens went in 1980. There's a round- the-clock Web cam trained on the crater.
You can see the sun coming up just a little bit there. It looks like something from Scotland. The Loch Ness monster, magma. Keeping an eye.
Address is complex, too. Google at Gifford -- Gifford something -- Pinchot National Forest Web campaign shot. Got it now. OK...
COLLINS: It's the Pinchot National Forest. It's definitely not easy.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: ... for Mount St. Helens.
COLLINS: Cool, though, to check it out on the Web, right?
HEMMER: Very cool.
COLLINS: Hopefully it will not go.
HEMMER: Listen, you about to erupt?
CAFFERTY: No, no, no, no. COLLINS: Hi, Jack.
CAFFERTY: I don't even have any minor vibrations going on.
CBS News, though, has suffered a bit of a blow to its credibility, the result of "Rathergate." According to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 55 percent of those questioned said they still have confidence in CBS's ability to report stories accurately, but 41 percent said they don't. And 26 percent, one in four questioned, think Dan Rather ought to be fired.
So the question is this: How can CBS restore confidence following the Rather scandal?
Mike writes now: "There you go again. For weeks, CNN and other networks beat the public over the head telling us what to think about CBS. In the end, you take a poll to confirm that we are thinking what we are told to think. There is nothing CBS can do to restore its credibility as long as that delicate commodity rests in the hands of its competitors."
Deb in New Paltz: "How can CBS restore confidence? You're assuming viewers have confidence in other news networks. Come on, we know the news is really a reality version of TV. If we want news, we read "The New York Times."
There's a good idea.
"Dan Rather's a industry icon. I have great respect and confidence in him."
Jose in College Station, Texas: "Intangibles like integrity and honesty are hard to define, but most of us know when they exist. They're hard to earn and almost impossible to recover. CBS News forgot to protect this precious asset when they got caught up in the chance to make news."
And Ted writes from Amarillo, Texas: "Let George W. fill in for Dan. He hasn't told the truth in four years, everyone knows it's political and he still has a job."
Ted, that's very harsh. And you're in the president's home state there in Texas.
COLLINS: Oh. Interesting to see where people's loyalties lie with something like this, too. You know, somebody like "The New York Times." Well, what about the Jayson Blair incident there?
CAFFERTY: You know, I've got a bit of a problem in this -- in this investigation. I mean, the producer makes -- apparently made a phone call to hook up the source of the documents with the Kerry campaign. I mean, you don't need an investigation to go much farther than that to say, hey, wait a minute, we're a news organization, this is beyond the bounds of what we do as journalists, and we're going to make some changes right now.
HEMMER: And the network said that was wrong.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: Yes, the longer this thing hangs around -- now they've got Dick Thornburgh and these guys investigating. But the longer it hangs around, the more people like me will sit here and do this kind of stuff and draw attention to it. So...
HEMMER: Not even a vibration. Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Nothing.
COLLINS: Thanks, Jack.
Still ahead now, why can't John Kerry make inroads with the voting bloc that's supposed to be a slam dunk for Democrats?
Plus, part two of our series, "The First Patient." It zeros in on JFK's health problems, his mysterious doctor and the briefcase he took everywhere.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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