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American Morning
Candidates Head for Florida and First Presidential Debate
Aired September 29, 2004 - 08:00 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.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The candidates head for Florida and the first presidential debate. Bush or Kerry, who has the edge?
A remarkable scene in Beijing -- 45 North Koreans making a plunge for freedom. But not all make it.
And if you or your children should ever take a ride in outer space, it could because of this odd looking thing. The plane and what it does on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad.
Some of the news making headlines this morning. The presidential candidates have focused all week on the first of their three debates. Jeff Greenfield is with us this morning to talk about each candidate's style, what to expect and then who benefits from all those rules. Oh, 32 pages or so.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, 32 and counting, too.
Also, lessons from last year's flu outbreak. A lot of people got sick and many died, in part because of a strain that was not included in the vaccine. So, then, what to do this year when it's time to get the shot.
Sanjay checks in on that topic a bit later this hour.
COLLINS: And Jack Cafferty joining us now.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It be Wednesday, "Things People Say." Coming up in the "Cafferty File," which actor says that changing diapers is not unlike a NASCAR pit stop?
And who Gwyneth Paltrow says is the exception to drunk, super popular girls in America who sleep with tons of people.
COLLINS: Wow!
CAFFERTY: Girls that we were all trying to meet when I was much younger and never could.
COLLINS: Oh, man. All right, Jack.
I can't wait for that.
All right, we're going to check on the stories now in the news, though, this morning, once again, with Rick Sanchez -- hi, Rick.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we've got some new pictures coming in from Philadelphia we're going to share with you. These just in. In fact, expert -- expect some serious delays getting to work in Philly. Remnants of hurricane Jeanne dumped more than six inches of rain in and around the city. Now, these images are just coming in within the last couple of minutes. And we've been monitoring the feeds to get them. The weather causing thousands of power outages, we're told. Also, you can see what it's doing to traffic and to some of the trees and foliage in the area.
Many area schools are closed for the day. There are reports of at least one death as a result of the floods. And we will keep an eye on that throughout the course of the morning for you here.
U.S. warplanes are swooping down on suspected insurgent targets in Baghdad. It's not clear if anybody was hurt in the air strikes. The U.S. military has mounted almost daily operations in and around Sadr City in recent weeks. The area is a stronghold of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Authorities in Miami are on high alert, we're told, ahead of tomorrow's presidential debate. Homeland security and FBI officials are warning that the University of Miami could be a possible terror target. That's quoted in the "Wall Street Journal." Agencies reiterate the alert is a precaution and there is no specific terrorist threat in Miami.
Two men who both claim they are the rightful owners of Barry Bond's 700th home run ball are going to meet in court this morning. One fan is suing the other fan, who ended up with the ball. He says he stole it from him during the free-for-all scramble. A similar dispute three years ago ended with a judge ordering both sides to split the money that's raised after selling the ball. Of course, it may be argued that there were no plans to sell the ball, Bill, and that'll be another case we'll tell you about.
HEMMER: You think they've got issues now, wait until you get to 755 and then 756.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
HEMMER: That'll be a battle.
SANCHEZ: That'll be fun to watch.
HEMMER: Yes.
Thank you, Rick. We want to get back to Campaign 2004 now. Both the president and the senator are heading to Florida today before tomorrow night's first presidential debate.
Two reports to start this hour. Both camps with us today.
Frank Buckley with the Kerry campaign. He's in Wisconsin.
Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House.
Let's start with Frank in Dodgeville, Wisconsin -- Frank, good morning.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Senator Kerry's aides tell us that he is fired up as he prepares to go to Florida. Here in Wisconsin, he's been studying the issues, he's been reading and resting and participating in mock debates as he prepares for tomorrow's real thing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): Senator John Kerry remained out of view at this resort in rural Wisconsin as he prepared for tomorrow's debate.
JOE LOCKHART, KERRY CAMPAIGN: He's got to demonstrate knowledge of the issues, strength and leadership qualities, but also a difference. I mean this is a choice. This is a choice between the president's failed foreign policy and a new direction.
BUCKLEY: While Kerry prepared, his running mate, Senator John Edwards, campaigning in Pennsylvania, tried to frame the debate as a critique of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We know what needs to be done in Iraq, but the honest truth is, in order to do it, we're going to have to have a fresh start with a new president. It cannot be done. George Bush made this mess and he can't fix it.
BUCKLEY: The Kerry campaign also began airing an ad in battleground states featuring President Bush on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM KERRY CAMPAIGN AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There he goes again. George Bush said Iraq was mission accomplished. Sixteen months later, he still doesn't get it.
BUCKLEY: Despite the campaign's continuing offensive on President Bush and the war in Iraq, polling still shows a majority of voters believe Bush can better handle the issue. Kerry advisers say the debate will sway voters their way when the senator appears side- by-side with the president.
SUSAN RICE, KERRY ADVISER: President Bush has given the American people no idea how he's going to get us out of this mess. It's that reality that the president is trying to obscure by making up ridiculous charges about John Kerry's past and his positions on Iraq.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BUCKLEY: And what Kerry aides want to do, again, is to stress Kerry's knowledge, strength and leadership. That's what they want to project. At the same time, they want to put President Bush on the defensive about Iraq, while offering voters a better alternative, a better plan moving forward -- Bill.
HEMMER: Frank, thanks for that, live in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
To the Bush campaign now at the White House.
Here's Suzanne -- good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Of course, the next 48 hours is critical for the president. He's going to be visiting the Lake Wales area of Florida to survey the damage from hurricane Jeanne. Now, of course, it just cannot be overstated the importance of this. This is in central Florida, a fast growing swing area. It could be critical to a Bush win. It has been the fourth visit now in the last six weeks to this critical state.
This state pounded, of course, by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. Now, President Bush, each time he goes there, as the occasion will be today, he will stand beside his brother, Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida, and he will offer federal assistance. So far he has asked for some $12 billion.
Now, Democrats are crying foul, saying this is all about politics. The Bush campaign says it is part of the president's job. And still many questions remain about just what kind of impact this is all going to have on the voting that happens in Florida.
Now, later today, President Bush will travel to Miami. His advisers say that he is very confident. He is ready to go for those debates on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY MATALIN, SENIOR ADVISER, BUSH CAMPAIGN: We feel like we're in a good position in this debate, again, because the president knows what he thinks, why he thinks that the way that he does, what he wants to do in the future, where he wants to lead the nation. And that stands in stark contrast to his opponent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, a senior Republican official I spoke with said that tomorrow President Bush, all he has to do is come across as knowledgeable, likable and connect with the American people and not mispronounce the names of some foreign leaders, as he does on occasion. But he says his opponent Kerry's task is much more ominous, that he has to do something fundamentally different to change his position in the polls -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks for that.
It sounds like you've got a bad tractor there at the White House.
All right.
That's too noisy.
Suzanne, thanks.
Let's go to Heidi now across the room.
COLLINS: Very noisy, that's for sure.
Well, what can we expect, though, from the two candidates when they square off tomorrow night?
Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is weighing in on that this morning -- hi, Jeff.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COLLINS: Obviously we know that both of these gentlemen are polished debaters. But they have some very different styles. Talk to us about their differences here.
GREENFIELD: They are. They match up in a very different way. President Bush, his biggest talent in a debate is to stay relentlessly and relentlessly on message. We saw this back in 1994 when he was running for governor and debated Ann Richards, the governor who had a reputation as a very skilled communicator.
COLLINS: Right.
GREENFIELD: And every time she raised an issue about his business background or his lack of experience, Bush just simply said this is a diversion. I want to talk about my four issues, and did it again and again and again and won the governorship.
With John Kerry, you get somebody who literally has been debating since he was in prep school. He debated when he was at Yale. And he's a fellow who knows the techniques of more formal debating, how you take a question and turn it to your advantage, how you hear what your opponent says and says well, that's interesting but.
And I think those are two very different kind of skills. When Kerry was debating Governor Weld in '96, his toughest reelection campaign, they were two debaters who debated the same way.
Kerry's problem is he's one kind of debater facing a different kind. And whether you can change your strategy to match the fact that you're facing a different opponent is a real challenge.
COLLINS: Yes, you've got to be quick on your feet.
But given what you say now about that, who do you think actually has the benefit here? Who's going to be better?
GREENFIELD: Well, I don't do predictions, Heidi. But what I can tell you is that the format probably favors the president because the strategists for both sides have wrung just about every ounce of spontaneity out of this debate. There's no chance to ask each other questions, which probably favors Kerry, because he's -- he is quicker on his feet. He's more -- he's either articulate or glib, depending on whether you like him or not.
And Bush has a problem. We saw that in his "Meet The Press" interview with Tim Russert. We saw that earlier this year at his -- one of those few press conferences. He can get tongue tied.
And so a debate format that stresses formality -- two minutes here, one minute here, probably favors the president.
COLLINS: And, boy, so many formalities. We've been talking for days now about this 32-page book of rules, if you will.
Let's talk about a couple of them now. Podium distance, buzzer placement to room temperature. I mean they're actually discussing how hot or cold they're going to allow it to be.
GREENFIELD: Yes.
COLLINS: Which details are going to benefit which candidate?
GREENFIELD: Well, as I say, the whole -- all of the rules and all of the formats that formalize the procedure, that make spontaneity less likely, those favor Bush because it means that you can hone your message, come back to it and there's no chance for the opponent to say all right, look, we've heard that sound bite now three times. Let me ask you something, you know, did you know, did you listen to the CIA and the State Department when they told you that Iraq would be a mess if you didn't have enough troops? That kind of question, which Kerry is probably better at summing up a lot.
He can't, he won't be able to do that except rhetorically.
So I do think the format, as I said, favors the president.
COLLINS: And what about what we're hearing about this morning now, one of the main contentions that now the television networks have is hey, there is a rule in there that says you are not going to be allowed -- you at the networks are not going to be allowed to take reaction shots as the other candidate is speaking.
GREENFIELD: Right.
COLLINS: And the networks are saying well, journalistically, that is not fair. We're going to take the shots that we need to take.
GREENFIELD: Well, there are two things about that, quickly. One is sometimes the most devastating thing that can happen in a debate is when you don't know you're on camera. When Dan Quayle was being blasted by Lloyd Bentsen in '88, you're no Jack Kennedy, the real damage was as the camera picked up Dan Quayle and his Adam's apple was bobbing up and down as though he were a kid being chastised.
The famous thing in 1992 when President Bush looked at his watch, suggesting, you know, I'm a little bored.
Now, if the networks take those shots, here's this. The Bush campaign has been hinting that if the rules aren't followed, they retain the option of not even participating in the second and third debate.
COLLINS: Really?
GREENFIELD: I don't take that seriously, because I think politically that would be very difficult to sustain.
COLLINS: Devastating, yes.
GREENFIELD: But it shows you how much these campaigns care about literally every last detail.
COLLINS: Absolutely.
GREENFIELD: Yes.
COLLINS: No question about it.
Well, it is fascinating and we'll see how fascinating tomorrow night.
GREENFIELD: OK.
COLLINS: Jeff Greenfield, thanks so much for your time.
GREENFIELD: You got it.
COLLINS: And the debate between President Bush and Senator Kerry is set, as we said, for tomorrow night in Miami. It begins at 9:00 Eastern. CNN's live coverage, though, will begin at 7:00 Eastern.
And watch AMERICAN MORNING as we prepare for the first presidential debate. We'll be live in Miami Thursday morning and bring you voter reaction from Columbus, Ohio on Friday -- Bill.
HEMMER: Eleven minutes past the hour.
Back to Chad again, watching the remnants of Jeanne.
She is still out there.
Chad -- good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Certainly.
Good morning, Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Still to come, the government comes up with a new way to help fight the battle of the bulge in kids. We're going to talk to the U.S. surgeon general about that.
HEMMER: Also in a moment here, the new space race. How much is at stake for the winner of the so-called X Prize in California?
COLLINS: And an exclusive look at a mad dash for freedom. We'll let you know how far they got, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announcing two new grants yesterday, set to be issued to communities across the nation to put the president's Healthier U.S. initiative into action. That's 22.
The question, how these grants can help in the growing battle against childhood obesity.
And that's our topic this morning for the U.S. surgeon general.
Dr. Richard Carmona my guest here in New York City.
Nice to see you, doctor.
Good morning to you.
DR. RICHARD CARMONA, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Good to see you, too, Bill.
HEMMER: How did we get here regarding childhood obesity?
CARMONA: It's taken a while. It's really a generational change. From the time I was a child, we see that children have become more sedentary. We see schools eliminating physical activity because of budget and other constraints. A lot more time on TVs instead of out in the playgrounds playing ball. The emergence of single parent families. Less supervision for our children.
HEMMER: Has that taken a generation or has that taken maybe more than that?
CARMONA: Probably more than that. Certainly several decades it's happened. It didn't happen overnight. But we are realizing the unappreciated consequences of that cultural change now in nine million children who are overweight or obese, diabetes, hypertension in children. It can be catastrophic unless we do something.
HEMMER: Some numbers for you. Obesity rates, just in the past 20 years, two decades, it has tripled among adolescents. Is that right?
CARMONA: Yes, that's correct.
HEMMER: Is it also true, lone in three kids is overweight?
CARMONA: That's correct.
HEMMER: One in six is obese?
CARMONA: That's correct.
HEMMER: What's happening here?
CARMONA: Again, the culture has changed. We see children are becoming more sedentary. We see indiscriminate eating. We see snacking on foods that are not so good to snack on. We see kids going to school not making healthy choices.
So when you look at all of the factors over time, it's not surprising that we're ending up with overweight kids who are becoming sick with diabetes, hypertension and eventually other medical problems.
HEMMER: What can the government do on this?
CARMONA: Well, the government's doing a lot of things. You know, the president's initiative, the Healthier U.S., started a couple of years ago and that starts with raising the health literacy, having people understand we have a problem. The government partnering with private industry through many programs, like the Shape America's Youth Program, where we are putting dollars, we're putting technical assistance into communities to help them appreciate these factors and change those factors so our children can be healthy.
HEMMER: But when does the issue go back to the home? When do you start knocking on the door and telling mom and dad it's their job, too?
CARMONA: Well, we're knocking. We're knocking right now. It certainly is part of the responsibility of the parents. The parents, besides being a parent unit, they're leaders. They're mentors. Children's behavior is shaped by their parents, shaped by their teachers, shaped by the communities they grow up in. We understand that.
Getting the message out and making sure that everybody understands that even if you're not a mom or a dad, if you intersect with a child's life, you have responsibility for that child.
HEMMER: Let me go to the State of Arkansas. The first state, right, to implement a health report card for its schoolchildren?
CARMONA: Yes.
HEMMER: Do you like this idea?
CARMONA: It is a good idea. And I think that we need more reportable outcomes. It's something that the president really is passionate about, that if we're going to spend taxpayers' dollars, we need to know how it's being spent, what are the outcomes and then taking that information, the best practices, and making sure that other people can use it for a healthier America.
HEMMER: But would you take Arkansas' example and spread it over 49 states?
CARMONA: Not necessarily, because there's cultural differences. But looking at models and part of what we're doing with, for instance, the Shape America's Youth Program, is to develop a registry nationally so that you can get online and actually look at best practices among states and cities in the country and see what'll fit best in your community.
HEMMER: I wish you the best of luck.
CARMONA: Thanks very much.
HEMMER: It's a big issue and it's important, too.
CARMONA: Thanks.
HEMMER: Richard Carmona, the U.S. surgeon general.
CARMONA: Thanks a lot.
HEMMER: Nice to see you in person.
OK -- Heidi.
COLLINS: A massive rush for freedom in China. Exclusive CNN pictures show 45 North Koreans scaling the wall around the Canadian embassy in Beijing. All of them got in except for one, who was pulled from a tree and detained. And it is still not clear if the others will be allowed to leave China. But the fact that the case is now public could help their cause.
Unreal video there.
Still to come this morning, a somewhat surprising request from John Walker Lindh, more than two years after he pleaded guilty to helping the Taliban. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: President Bush and John Kerry both heading to Florida today for tomorrow's debate, of course.
Last night, though, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart had some insights into the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL)
JON STEWART, HOST: With the election five weeks away, Senator John Kerry has sharpened his focus on the president's Iraq policy and the stubbornness with which he defends it.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He actually said in an interview that I think is coming out this week, but it was quoted yesterday, that if he had it all to do over again, he'd go land on that aircraft carrier in that same flight suit and stand up there and say "mission accomplished."
STEWART: Why are you so tanned?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: A lot of folks having fun with that.
COLLINS: Maybe it's either makeup or a spray tan stuff.
HEMMER: A Georgia report yesterday said John Kerry is on orange alert. A funny line.
CAFFERTY: That's not bad.
COLLINS: That's a good line.
CAFFERTY: But why, why, look. Yes.
COLLINS: Wow!
CAFFERTY: That's the before and after.
Why would the people in his campaign allow this to happen? And his explanation was he got this way one hour of throwing a football around in at sundown.
HEMMER: A football game Friday night, yes.
CAFFERTY: At sundown, which is when you can get a real nasty burn, as we all know. I mean wouldn't somebody say senator, you look a little orange?
COLLINS: Maybe it was the wind surfing.
HEMMER: Huh?
COLLINS: Maybe the wind surfing.
CAFFERTY: Yes, right.
HEMMER: We'll see how he looks tomorrow night.
What's up?
CAFFERTY: Cell phones in the -- hmm?
HEMMER: What's up?
CAFFERTY: I wonder if he'll be a shade lighter. This is what people will be watching for now, what color is John Kerry during the debates?
Cell phones in schools. It's a problem. Teachers say kids use them to cheat on tests, they try and sneak little conversations with their friends. They send those, what do they call them...
COLLINS: Text messages.
CAFFERTY: Text messages back and forth.
So the -- I don't know what any of that stuff is. But the question is what should be done in terms of restrictions on cell phone use in schools.
James in White Oaks, Texas: "I'm a police officer. Cell phones in schools not. I can tell you they cause numerous problems. Among those is theft. People will steal anything of a technical nature, phones in the school or in the office. If someone needs to contact a student, let them call the school office. Kids don't need pagers or phones or PDAs in school."
Diane writes: "Personally, I want my child to have a cell phone with her. Cell phones have changed lives. Look at Columbine and the World Trade Center. If my child, god forbid, gets into a situation over her head, I know she has a lifeline to me."
Anthony in Sydney, Nova Scotia: "What should be the restrictions on cell phones in schools? Cell phones should be banned, not just from schools, but from everywhere. I'm tired of cell phones ringing constantly during meetings, being subjected to --"
I'm not going to read the rest of that. It's too long and boring.
Andrea in Columbus, Ohio.
Shorter and better, Anthony, and you've got it and we'll read the whole thing next time.
Andrea in Columbus, Ohio: "What in the world do kids need to have cell phones in school for anyway? Who would be calling them in school? Parents can't call the office anymore? Why? In my day we had to walk 15 miles to get to a pay phone and it was uphill both ways and we were grateful."
HEMMER: Yes, we were.
CAFFERTY: Well, see, and Anthony, that's the one of the missives that we're most interested in here.
HEMMER: Well done.
COLLINS: So just like my grandpa.
CAFFERTY: Huh?
COLLINS: So just like my grandpa. He always said that. HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: In a moment here, it's September. President Bush has a lead in the polling. But some people say that may actually present a problem for him. A look at that in a moment here.
Also, today is a big day in the quest for the first ever commercial space flight. We'll get you out to the Mohave Desert live and find out what the stakes are all about and how high they go.
Back in a moment after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Just sign up for AMERICAN MORNING Quick News at cnn.com/am.
Still to come now this morning, John Walker Lindh pleaded guilty to helping the Taliban. Now, he's asking President Bush for some help.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired September 29, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: The candidates head for Florida and the first presidential debate. Bush or Kerry, who has the edge?
A remarkable scene in Beijing -- 45 North Koreans making a plunge for freedom. But not all make it.
And if you or your children should ever take a ride in outer space, it could because of this odd looking thing. The plane and what it does on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad.
Some of the news making headlines this morning. The presidential candidates have focused all week on the first of their three debates. Jeff Greenfield is with us this morning to talk about each candidate's style, what to expect and then who benefits from all those rules. Oh, 32 pages or so.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, 32 and counting, too.
Also, lessons from last year's flu outbreak. A lot of people got sick and many died, in part because of a strain that was not included in the vaccine. So, then, what to do this year when it's time to get the shot.
Sanjay checks in on that topic a bit later this hour.
COLLINS: And Jack Cafferty joining us now.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It be Wednesday, "Things People Say." Coming up in the "Cafferty File," which actor says that changing diapers is not unlike a NASCAR pit stop?
And who Gwyneth Paltrow says is the exception to drunk, super popular girls in America who sleep with tons of people.
COLLINS: Wow!
CAFFERTY: Girls that we were all trying to meet when I was much younger and never could.
COLLINS: Oh, man. All right, Jack.
I can't wait for that.
All right, we're going to check on the stories now in the news, though, this morning, once again, with Rick Sanchez -- hi, Rick.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we've got some new pictures coming in from Philadelphia we're going to share with you. These just in. In fact, expert -- expect some serious delays getting to work in Philly. Remnants of hurricane Jeanne dumped more than six inches of rain in and around the city. Now, these images are just coming in within the last couple of minutes. And we've been monitoring the feeds to get them. The weather causing thousands of power outages, we're told. Also, you can see what it's doing to traffic and to some of the trees and foliage in the area.
Many area schools are closed for the day. There are reports of at least one death as a result of the floods. And we will keep an eye on that throughout the course of the morning for you here.
U.S. warplanes are swooping down on suspected insurgent targets in Baghdad. It's not clear if anybody was hurt in the air strikes. The U.S. military has mounted almost daily operations in and around Sadr City in recent weeks. The area is a stronghold of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Authorities in Miami are on high alert, we're told, ahead of tomorrow's presidential debate. Homeland security and FBI officials are warning that the University of Miami could be a possible terror target. That's quoted in the "Wall Street Journal." Agencies reiterate the alert is a precaution and there is no specific terrorist threat in Miami.
Two men who both claim they are the rightful owners of Barry Bond's 700th home run ball are going to meet in court this morning. One fan is suing the other fan, who ended up with the ball. He says he stole it from him during the free-for-all scramble. A similar dispute three years ago ended with a judge ordering both sides to split the money that's raised after selling the ball. Of course, it may be argued that there were no plans to sell the ball, Bill, and that'll be another case we'll tell you about.
HEMMER: You think they've got issues now, wait until you get to 755 and then 756.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
HEMMER: That'll be a battle.
SANCHEZ: That'll be fun to watch.
HEMMER: Yes.
Thank you, Rick. We want to get back to Campaign 2004 now. Both the president and the senator are heading to Florida today before tomorrow night's first presidential debate.
Two reports to start this hour. Both camps with us today.
Frank Buckley with the Kerry campaign. He's in Wisconsin.
Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House.
Let's start with Frank in Dodgeville, Wisconsin -- Frank, good morning.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Senator Kerry's aides tell us that he is fired up as he prepares to go to Florida. Here in Wisconsin, he's been studying the issues, he's been reading and resting and participating in mock debates as he prepares for tomorrow's real thing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY (voice-over): Senator John Kerry remained out of view at this resort in rural Wisconsin as he prepared for tomorrow's debate.
JOE LOCKHART, KERRY CAMPAIGN: He's got to demonstrate knowledge of the issues, strength and leadership qualities, but also a difference. I mean this is a choice. This is a choice between the president's failed foreign policy and a new direction.
BUCKLEY: While Kerry prepared, his running mate, Senator John Edwards, campaigning in Pennsylvania, tried to frame the debate as a critique of President Bush's handling of the war in Iraq.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We know what needs to be done in Iraq, but the honest truth is, in order to do it, we're going to have to have a fresh start with a new president. It cannot be done. George Bush made this mess and he can't fix it.
BUCKLEY: The Kerry campaign also began airing an ad in battleground states featuring President Bush on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM KERRY CAMPAIGN AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There he goes again. George Bush said Iraq was mission accomplished. Sixteen months later, he still doesn't get it.
BUCKLEY: Despite the campaign's continuing offensive on President Bush and the war in Iraq, polling still shows a majority of voters believe Bush can better handle the issue. Kerry advisers say the debate will sway voters their way when the senator appears side- by-side with the president.
SUSAN RICE, KERRY ADVISER: President Bush has given the American people no idea how he's going to get us out of this mess. It's that reality that the president is trying to obscure by making up ridiculous charges about John Kerry's past and his positions on Iraq.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
BUCKLEY: And what Kerry aides want to do, again, is to stress Kerry's knowledge, strength and leadership. That's what they want to project. At the same time, they want to put President Bush on the defensive about Iraq, while offering voters a better alternative, a better plan moving forward -- Bill.
HEMMER: Frank, thanks for that, live in Dodgeville, Wisconsin.
To the Bush campaign now at the White House.
Here's Suzanne -- good morning.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Of course, the next 48 hours is critical for the president. He's going to be visiting the Lake Wales area of Florida to survey the damage from hurricane Jeanne. Now, of course, it just cannot be overstated the importance of this. This is in central Florida, a fast growing swing area. It could be critical to a Bush win. It has been the fourth visit now in the last six weeks to this critical state.
This state pounded, of course, by hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. Now, President Bush, each time he goes there, as the occasion will be today, he will stand beside his brother, Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida, and he will offer federal assistance. So far he has asked for some $12 billion.
Now, Democrats are crying foul, saying this is all about politics. The Bush campaign says it is part of the president's job. And still many questions remain about just what kind of impact this is all going to have on the voting that happens in Florida.
Now, later today, President Bush will travel to Miami. His advisers say that he is very confident. He is ready to go for those debates on Thursday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY MATALIN, SENIOR ADVISER, BUSH CAMPAIGN: We feel like we're in a good position in this debate, again, because the president knows what he thinks, why he thinks that the way that he does, what he wants to do in the future, where he wants to lead the nation. And that stands in stark contrast to his opponent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, a senior Republican official I spoke with said that tomorrow President Bush, all he has to do is come across as knowledgeable, likable and connect with the American people and not mispronounce the names of some foreign leaders, as he does on occasion. But he says his opponent Kerry's task is much more ominous, that he has to do something fundamentally different to change his position in the polls -- Bill.
HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks for that.
It sounds like you've got a bad tractor there at the White House.
All right.
That's too noisy.
Suzanne, thanks.
Let's go to Heidi now across the room.
COLLINS: Very noisy, that's for sure.
Well, what can we expect, though, from the two candidates when they square off tomorrow night?
Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is weighing in on that this morning -- hi, Jeff.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COLLINS: Obviously we know that both of these gentlemen are polished debaters. But they have some very different styles. Talk to us about their differences here.
GREENFIELD: They are. They match up in a very different way. President Bush, his biggest talent in a debate is to stay relentlessly and relentlessly on message. We saw this back in 1994 when he was running for governor and debated Ann Richards, the governor who had a reputation as a very skilled communicator.
COLLINS: Right.
GREENFIELD: And every time she raised an issue about his business background or his lack of experience, Bush just simply said this is a diversion. I want to talk about my four issues, and did it again and again and again and won the governorship.
With John Kerry, you get somebody who literally has been debating since he was in prep school. He debated when he was at Yale. And he's a fellow who knows the techniques of more formal debating, how you take a question and turn it to your advantage, how you hear what your opponent says and says well, that's interesting but.
And I think those are two very different kind of skills. When Kerry was debating Governor Weld in '96, his toughest reelection campaign, they were two debaters who debated the same way.
Kerry's problem is he's one kind of debater facing a different kind. And whether you can change your strategy to match the fact that you're facing a different opponent is a real challenge.
COLLINS: Yes, you've got to be quick on your feet.
But given what you say now about that, who do you think actually has the benefit here? Who's going to be better?
GREENFIELD: Well, I don't do predictions, Heidi. But what I can tell you is that the format probably favors the president because the strategists for both sides have wrung just about every ounce of spontaneity out of this debate. There's no chance to ask each other questions, which probably favors Kerry, because he's -- he is quicker on his feet. He's more -- he's either articulate or glib, depending on whether you like him or not.
And Bush has a problem. We saw that in his "Meet The Press" interview with Tim Russert. We saw that earlier this year at his -- one of those few press conferences. He can get tongue tied.
And so a debate format that stresses formality -- two minutes here, one minute here, probably favors the president.
COLLINS: And, boy, so many formalities. We've been talking for days now about this 32-page book of rules, if you will.
Let's talk about a couple of them now. Podium distance, buzzer placement to room temperature. I mean they're actually discussing how hot or cold they're going to allow it to be.
GREENFIELD: Yes.
COLLINS: Which details are going to benefit which candidate?
GREENFIELD: Well, as I say, the whole -- all of the rules and all of the formats that formalize the procedure, that make spontaneity less likely, those favor Bush because it means that you can hone your message, come back to it and there's no chance for the opponent to say all right, look, we've heard that sound bite now three times. Let me ask you something, you know, did you know, did you listen to the CIA and the State Department when they told you that Iraq would be a mess if you didn't have enough troops? That kind of question, which Kerry is probably better at summing up a lot.
He can't, he won't be able to do that except rhetorically.
So I do think the format, as I said, favors the president.
COLLINS: And what about what we're hearing about this morning now, one of the main contentions that now the television networks have is hey, there is a rule in there that says you are not going to be allowed -- you at the networks are not going to be allowed to take reaction shots as the other candidate is speaking.
GREENFIELD: Right.
COLLINS: And the networks are saying well, journalistically, that is not fair. We're going to take the shots that we need to take.
GREENFIELD: Well, there are two things about that, quickly. One is sometimes the most devastating thing that can happen in a debate is when you don't know you're on camera. When Dan Quayle was being blasted by Lloyd Bentsen in '88, you're no Jack Kennedy, the real damage was as the camera picked up Dan Quayle and his Adam's apple was bobbing up and down as though he were a kid being chastised.
The famous thing in 1992 when President Bush looked at his watch, suggesting, you know, I'm a little bored.
Now, if the networks take those shots, here's this. The Bush campaign has been hinting that if the rules aren't followed, they retain the option of not even participating in the second and third debate.
COLLINS: Really?
GREENFIELD: I don't take that seriously, because I think politically that would be very difficult to sustain.
COLLINS: Devastating, yes.
GREENFIELD: But it shows you how much these campaigns care about literally every last detail.
COLLINS: Absolutely.
GREENFIELD: Yes.
COLLINS: No question about it.
Well, it is fascinating and we'll see how fascinating tomorrow night.
GREENFIELD: OK.
COLLINS: Jeff Greenfield, thanks so much for your time.
GREENFIELD: You got it.
COLLINS: And the debate between President Bush and Senator Kerry is set, as we said, for tomorrow night in Miami. It begins at 9:00 Eastern. CNN's live coverage, though, will begin at 7:00 Eastern.
And watch AMERICAN MORNING as we prepare for the first presidential debate. We'll be live in Miami Thursday morning and bring you voter reaction from Columbus, Ohio on Friday -- Bill.
HEMMER: Eleven minutes past the hour.
Back to Chad again, watching the remnants of Jeanne.
She is still out there.
Chad -- good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Certainly.
Good morning, Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Still to come, the government comes up with a new way to help fight the battle of the bulge in kids. We're going to talk to the U.S. surgeon general about that.
HEMMER: Also in a moment here, the new space race. How much is at stake for the winner of the so-called X Prize in California?
COLLINS: And an exclusive look at a mad dash for freedom. We'll let you know how far they got, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announcing two new grants yesterday, set to be issued to communities across the nation to put the president's Healthier U.S. initiative into action. That's 22.
The question, how these grants can help in the growing battle against childhood obesity.
And that's our topic this morning for the U.S. surgeon general.
Dr. Richard Carmona my guest here in New York City.
Nice to see you, doctor.
Good morning to you.
DR. RICHARD CARMONA, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Good to see you, too, Bill.
HEMMER: How did we get here regarding childhood obesity?
CARMONA: It's taken a while. It's really a generational change. From the time I was a child, we see that children have become more sedentary. We see schools eliminating physical activity because of budget and other constraints. A lot more time on TVs instead of out in the playgrounds playing ball. The emergence of single parent families. Less supervision for our children.
HEMMER: Has that taken a generation or has that taken maybe more than that?
CARMONA: Probably more than that. Certainly several decades it's happened. It didn't happen overnight. But we are realizing the unappreciated consequences of that cultural change now in nine million children who are overweight or obese, diabetes, hypertension in children. It can be catastrophic unless we do something.
HEMMER: Some numbers for you. Obesity rates, just in the past 20 years, two decades, it has tripled among adolescents. Is that right?
CARMONA: Yes, that's correct.
HEMMER: Is it also true, lone in three kids is overweight?
CARMONA: That's correct.
HEMMER: One in six is obese?
CARMONA: That's correct.
HEMMER: What's happening here?
CARMONA: Again, the culture has changed. We see children are becoming more sedentary. We see indiscriminate eating. We see snacking on foods that are not so good to snack on. We see kids going to school not making healthy choices.
So when you look at all of the factors over time, it's not surprising that we're ending up with overweight kids who are becoming sick with diabetes, hypertension and eventually other medical problems.
HEMMER: What can the government do on this?
CARMONA: Well, the government's doing a lot of things. You know, the president's initiative, the Healthier U.S., started a couple of years ago and that starts with raising the health literacy, having people understand we have a problem. The government partnering with private industry through many programs, like the Shape America's Youth Program, where we are putting dollars, we're putting technical assistance into communities to help them appreciate these factors and change those factors so our children can be healthy.
HEMMER: But when does the issue go back to the home? When do you start knocking on the door and telling mom and dad it's their job, too?
CARMONA: Well, we're knocking. We're knocking right now. It certainly is part of the responsibility of the parents. The parents, besides being a parent unit, they're leaders. They're mentors. Children's behavior is shaped by their parents, shaped by their teachers, shaped by the communities they grow up in. We understand that.
Getting the message out and making sure that everybody understands that even if you're not a mom or a dad, if you intersect with a child's life, you have responsibility for that child.
HEMMER: Let me go to the State of Arkansas. The first state, right, to implement a health report card for its schoolchildren?
CARMONA: Yes.
HEMMER: Do you like this idea?
CARMONA: It is a good idea. And I think that we need more reportable outcomes. It's something that the president really is passionate about, that if we're going to spend taxpayers' dollars, we need to know how it's being spent, what are the outcomes and then taking that information, the best practices, and making sure that other people can use it for a healthier America.
HEMMER: But would you take Arkansas' example and spread it over 49 states?
CARMONA: Not necessarily, because there's cultural differences. But looking at models and part of what we're doing with, for instance, the Shape America's Youth Program, is to develop a registry nationally so that you can get online and actually look at best practices among states and cities in the country and see what'll fit best in your community.
HEMMER: I wish you the best of luck.
CARMONA: Thanks very much.
HEMMER: It's a big issue and it's important, too.
CARMONA: Thanks.
HEMMER: Richard Carmona, the U.S. surgeon general.
CARMONA: Thanks a lot.
HEMMER: Nice to see you in person.
OK -- Heidi.
COLLINS: A massive rush for freedom in China. Exclusive CNN pictures show 45 North Koreans scaling the wall around the Canadian embassy in Beijing. All of them got in except for one, who was pulled from a tree and detained. And it is still not clear if the others will be allowed to leave China. But the fact that the case is now public could help their cause.
Unreal video there.
Still to come this morning, a somewhat surprising request from John Walker Lindh, more than two years after he pleaded guilty to helping the Taliban. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: President Bush and John Kerry both heading to Florida today for tomorrow's debate, of course.
Last night, though, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart had some insights into the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL)
JON STEWART, HOST: With the election five weeks away, Senator John Kerry has sharpened his focus on the president's Iraq policy and the stubbornness with which he defends it.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He actually said in an interview that I think is coming out this week, but it was quoted yesterday, that if he had it all to do over again, he'd go land on that aircraft carrier in that same flight suit and stand up there and say "mission accomplished."
STEWART: Why are you so tanned?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: A lot of folks having fun with that.
COLLINS: Maybe it's either makeup or a spray tan stuff.
HEMMER: A Georgia report yesterday said John Kerry is on orange alert. A funny line.
CAFFERTY: That's not bad.
COLLINS: That's a good line.
CAFFERTY: But why, why, look. Yes.
COLLINS: Wow!
CAFFERTY: That's the before and after.
Why would the people in his campaign allow this to happen? And his explanation was he got this way one hour of throwing a football around in at sundown.
HEMMER: A football game Friday night, yes.
CAFFERTY: At sundown, which is when you can get a real nasty burn, as we all know. I mean wouldn't somebody say senator, you look a little orange?
COLLINS: Maybe it was the wind surfing.
HEMMER: Huh?
COLLINS: Maybe the wind surfing.
CAFFERTY: Yes, right.
HEMMER: We'll see how he looks tomorrow night.
What's up?
CAFFERTY: Cell phones in the -- hmm?
HEMMER: What's up?
CAFFERTY: I wonder if he'll be a shade lighter. This is what people will be watching for now, what color is John Kerry during the debates?
Cell phones in schools. It's a problem. Teachers say kids use them to cheat on tests, they try and sneak little conversations with their friends. They send those, what do they call them...
COLLINS: Text messages.
CAFFERTY: Text messages back and forth.
So the -- I don't know what any of that stuff is. But the question is what should be done in terms of restrictions on cell phone use in schools.
James in White Oaks, Texas: "I'm a police officer. Cell phones in schools not. I can tell you they cause numerous problems. Among those is theft. People will steal anything of a technical nature, phones in the school or in the office. If someone needs to contact a student, let them call the school office. Kids don't need pagers or phones or PDAs in school."
Diane writes: "Personally, I want my child to have a cell phone with her. Cell phones have changed lives. Look at Columbine and the World Trade Center. If my child, god forbid, gets into a situation over her head, I know she has a lifeline to me."
Anthony in Sydney, Nova Scotia: "What should be the restrictions on cell phones in schools? Cell phones should be banned, not just from schools, but from everywhere. I'm tired of cell phones ringing constantly during meetings, being subjected to --"
I'm not going to read the rest of that. It's too long and boring.
Andrea in Columbus, Ohio.
Shorter and better, Anthony, and you've got it and we'll read the whole thing next time.
Andrea in Columbus, Ohio: "What in the world do kids need to have cell phones in school for anyway? Who would be calling them in school? Parents can't call the office anymore? Why? In my day we had to walk 15 miles to get to a pay phone and it was uphill both ways and we were grateful."
HEMMER: Yes, we were.
CAFFERTY: Well, see, and Anthony, that's the one of the missives that we're most interested in here.
HEMMER: Well done.
COLLINS: So just like my grandpa.
CAFFERTY: Huh?
COLLINS: So just like my grandpa. He always said that. HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: In a moment here, it's September. President Bush has a lead in the polling. But some people say that may actually present a problem for him. A look at that in a moment here.
Also, today is a big day in the quest for the first ever commercial space flight. We'll get you out to the Mohave Desert live and find out what the stakes are all about and how high they go.
Back in a moment after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Just sign up for AMERICAN MORNING Quick News at cnn.com/am.
Still to come now this morning, John Walker Lindh pleaded guilty to helping the Taliban. Now, he's asking President Bush for some help.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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