Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Baghdad Blasts; Presidential Debate Preview; Screening the Airport Screeners
Aired September 30, 2004 - 06:29 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."
George W. Bush and John F. Kerry get a chance tonight to defend their own positions and point out each other's weaknesses. This debate in Florida will focus on foreign policy and security. CNN's live coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern.
One of the Italian women abducted in Iraq three weeks ago and released this week is holding a news conference in Rome to talk about her experiences. That's coming up at the 8:00 a.m. Eastern hour. We'll be following that later.
Scientists are warning of a small or moderate eruption of Mount St. Helens in the next few days. When the volcano south of Seattle erupted in 1980, 57 were killed.
Cleveland Indians pitcher Kyle Denney was wounded in the leg last night when a bullet was fired into a team bus in Kansas City, Missouri. Police have no suspects in the shooting, which occurred as the bus was taking players to the Kansas City airport after a game with the Royals. Denney was the starting pitcher in that game. Team physicians removed the bullet from his right calf.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: We now have confirmation of what's happening in Baghdad. The death toll there continues to climb this morning. There have been car bombs and at least one roadside explosion.
CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler is live in Baghdad to tell us more.
What do you know right now -- Brent?
BRENT SADLER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
A series of insurgent attacks against a variety of targets in and around Baghdad over these past few hours. A car bomb detonated in Abu Ghraib district of Baghdad. That was the first of a series of explosions. One U.S. trooper killed in that car bomb attack, as well as two Iraqi policemen. And then just within the last couple of hours, two car bombs more or less detonating simultaneously while Iraqi officials were conducting a ceremony marking the reconstruction of a water treatment plant or a pumping plant here in the Iraqi capital. Two car bombs detonated there. We don't have a clear idea of the casualty numbers yet, but certainly loss of life and a large number of wounded, we understand.
At about the same time, within a kilometer of that blast, another car bomb attack; this time against a checkpoint. Again, more loss of life, more casualties among Iraqi security personnel.
Also overnight, another U.S. airstrike, a precision airstrike, according to U.S. officials, against the insurgent hotbed of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top terror suspect, is thought to be hiding out.
This is all part of a sustained counter-offensive ahead of planned elections in January to try and create more stability. But as the U.S. and Iraqi officials say that their forces push harder and harder, clearly we're seeing today the insurgents striking back -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent, I'm going to ask you a question you probably don't know the answer to. But a U.S. convoy was targeted in one of those blasts. Do we have word of any U.S. casualties?
SADLER: No, we don't. It's still unclear whether or not that convoy was passing or providing some sort of security for this ribbon- cutting ceremony for the reopening of the water plant. We don't know if it was aimed at -- the car bomb was aimed at the Iraqi officials or the U.S. convoy or a combination of both. It's still too early to say -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent Sadler live from Baghdad this morning, thank you.
Let's talk about the presidential elections. Thirty-three days until the elections and a defining debate, perhaps the most important of three, set for tonight.
The first big presidential debate is tonight, and the candidates will have to be alert to avoid breaking any of the numerous rules. This first one was agreed to by Bush and Kerry, but not by the networks. The first rule is no television camera shots from behind and not cutaways.
Also, other than a handshake, no approaching each other. There will be no props. The candidates can only ask rhetorical questions, not direct questions. There will be no pledges. Each candidate must use his own makeup artist. No risers to make them look taller. A coin toss will determine who gets the first question. There will be two-minute answers and one-and-a-half-minute rebuttals.
And here's more of what you can expect tonight. The moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer, will motion the candidates to take their places behind their respective 48-inch tall podiums. Before they do that, President Bush and Senator Kerry will shake hands, and then they'll walk to their respective lecterns, which will be placed 10 feet apart. And then it's showdown time -- or is it?
Let's head live to Washington and our political analyst, Ron Brownstein.
Good morning.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.
COSTELLO: OK, we've heard the hype. The candidates are studying. They're going through these mock debates. We've also heard of the stifling rules applied to this debate. Will voters really learn anything new?
BROWNSTEIN: Sure. I think they will inevitably by seeing the two men on the same stage. There are a lot of rules. I was sitting here wondering how they're going to enforce them all. Will they have those, like, t-shirt guys like on Jerry Springer, you know, to put George Bush or John Kerry back in their place if they walk out of the penned area or ask each other a question?
Essentially, the tradeoff here was the Kerry campaign wanted more debates and the Bush camp wanted more restraints on the debates. And both sides got what they want.
But I do believe that inevitably, with approximately at least 50 million people watching -- that's what it's been in the past. We have a poll out today which has an incredible 90 percent saying they -- of voters saying they intend to at least see some of it. I think people are going to be exposed to more information about the candidates, about the differences between them, especially with the backdrop of what we see today on the news in Iraq and have seen for the last several weeks.
COSTELLO: Oh, but, Ron, you know, we've been soliciting e-mail this morning. Many of our viewers are skeptical, because of one of these debate rules, the one about rhetorical questions. Let's do the dictionary definition of "rhetorical" right now.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
COSTELLO: It's the art of persuasion through language. So, what exactly does that mean? And how does it apply to a debate?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I mean, we're going to have to figure it out. You know, I mean, obviously they're going to press against the limits, especially Senator Kerry who is trailing in all national polls going into the debate and has the incentive to push President Bush, particularly on the president's portrayal of what is happening in Iraq.
Now, on the other hand, the president has had a very effective rhetorical question on the campaign stump for months in which he, you know, basically says that even knowing what he knows now, he believes the world is better off because of the decision to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein. Senator Kerry, do you agree? And I've got to think that the White House wants to find a way to pose that simple question somehow within the rules tonight.
COSTELLO: Let's put another definition of rhetorical up. This is from Plato, and it's much more beautifully-written.
BROWNSTEIN: Oh!
COSTELLO: This one says, rhetoric is the art of winning the soul by discourse. Are we going to be getting any of that tonight?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I'm reminded of Lyndon Johnson, who said, you know, when you have the other fellow by a certain part of his anatomy, the heart and mind follows. He wasn't talking about the soul.
I think that -- really, I think what we're going to have tonight is a critical opportunity for Senator Kerry. You know, in 1960 and 1980 and 2000, Carol, the candidate who was losing in the Gallup poll walking on to the stage at the first debate -- John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush -- was ahead in polling soon thereafter and went on to win in November. Lots of other races, '84, '88, '92 and '96, where it didn't matter that much, but it has been a turning point on some occasions.
And clearly, what Kerry has to find a way to do is take advantage of the doubts that do exist over how things are going in Iraq and the president's policies.
I think one of the most striking numbers that we all see in every poll that has come out in the last couple of weeks, as violence has increased in Iraq, support for the war and support for the president's handling of the war has eroded. But still despite that, most voters usually by double-digit margins say they prefer Bush over Kerry to handle the issue going forward. That's the kind of judgment that Senator Kerry has to find a way to begin chipping away at tonight.
COSTELLO: So, a betting man or woman would say that Kerry will be the first one to break the rules.
BROWNSTEIN: I would be with you there.
COSTELLO: All right, Ron Brownstein joining us live from Washington this morning, thank you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: What's for breakfast at your house? Coming up, a walk down the cereal aisle will soon look a little different.
And how well do you trust those baggage screeners at the airport, you know, when they search through your luggage apparently looking for, you know, bombs and stuff? Well, some allegedly were looking for something else.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let's head live to Miami now. Bill Hemmer is there live to cover the debates tonight.
And, Bill, we've been getting a lot of e-mail from our viewers, and they're not so sure about these debates. I just want to read one.
This is from Bob from Orange County, Indiana. He says: "I'll watch the debate tonight, if you want to call it that."
And that's been the sentiment reflected in many of our e-mails this morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. How about the rules, huh, Carol? I'll give you a couple of them here, all right, for this debate tonight?
COSTELLO: Oh, we've been talking about that all morning long, Bill, especially about the rhetorical questions.
HEMMER: Only rhetorical questions. No pledges. No walking around the podium. No props. Right? The lecterns are at 50 inches high, placed 10 feet apart. Stools of equal height with backs and footrests. Do you have a back and footrest on your chair there in Atlanta, Carol?
COSTELLO: Oh, no, no, let's go back to the podium for just a second, because it's 48 inches high as the candidates stand behind them, but from the audience...
HEMMER: Right.
COSTELLO: ... they have to envision it as 50 inches high.
HEMMER: I see. Hey, listen, it's hot and steamy in Miami, I've got to tell you, Carol. And they are really getting ready for this debate tonight here on the campus of the University of Miami. It is all the talk around the place as the first head-to-head match-up goes down later tonight.
What does each man have to do to be successful? We'll talk to Rudy Giuliani this morning, Madeleine Albright today. Sunshine State politics are also a factor. We'll talk to Florida Senator Bob Graham.
Also from the Florida secretary of state. That used to be the position held by Katherine Harris. Now Glenda Hood has that job. The former president, Jimmy Carter, on Monday had a scathing editorial in "The Washington Post." So, we'll get to that this morning as well.
We've got a packed show for you, three hours and counting, Carol. And as I said, it is hot and steamy here in southern -- I think we dropped into Jakarta overnight or something.
COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness! HEMMER: It feels like we're right on the equator.
COSTELLO: Well, I hope not.
HEMMER: We'll see you at the top of the hour, OK?
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bill.
One cereal maker wants to make your breakfast healthier. But will you buy it?
Carrie Lee has our business buzz this morning. She's live at the Nasdaq Marketsite.
Good morning -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
General Mills, the No. 2 cereal maker, is going to announce plans to switch all of its cereals to whole-grain products. That's what "USA Today" is reporting. We're talking about cereals like Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms. About 40 percent of General Mills Big G line is going to switch over the next three months. And nutritionists say whole-grain flours are far healthier than refined cornmeal or wheat flour. Among other things, it gives you more fiber.
The company says the cereals taste the same. I guess consumers will give the true taste test. The other 60 percent of GM cereals, like Cheerios, Wheaties and Total, are already whole grain. It will be interesting to see, Carol, if Kelloggs, the big competitor, follows with a similar move.
The bottom line, a lot of cereal and food companies are starting to produce healthier foods.
COSTELLO: I love that. I love that.
LEE: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Carrie Lee, live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.
LEE: OK.
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:45 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
A number of explosions have rocked multiple targets across Baghdad this morning. A suicide car bomb was detonated near a U.S. military site. At least three people there were killed, including a U.S. soldier. More than three dozen people are feared dead in a string of later bombings.
SpaceShipOne has one more hurdle to clear before claiming that $10 million X-Prize. The craft has made a successful flight into space. Now, the ship has to make one more space flight in the next two weeks to win the big prize.
In money news, the price of crude oil slipped slightly after unexpected news that U.S. reserves are up. Also helping prices: progress in talks in oil-rich Nigeria, where a rebellion had threatened a supply shutdown.
In culture, Japanese women are getting cuddly with the new boyfriend pillow. The pillow is shaped like a great, big arm to offer balance and comfort for supposedly lonely women. Oh, that's so sad. I'm sorry, it is. The company is working on a model for men, and that one is shaped like a woman's lap.
In sports -- let's talk sports. Los Angeles Dodges outfielder Milton Bradley is done. He was suspended for the remaining five games of the season after a bottle-throwing incident on Tuesday night. Bradley threw the plastic bottle into the stands after a fan tossed it onto the field in his direction.
Hi -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, one of our viewers was saying that he really didn't toss it at the fan. He tossed it at the ground. And I was just watching this video kind of closely, and I could see the same thing.
COSTELLO: Yes. But you cannot throw anything towards the fans watching the game. That's a big no-no.
MYERS: Certainly not a chair like last week, right?
COSTELLO: Nothing. You just can't do that.
MYERS: Exactly.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
It probably makes you feel a lot safer when you see those federal screeners at the airport check your baggage, and then they rifle through it. But some of those airport screeners searching your luggage for bombs are looking for other things that tick, like Rolex watches.
Ben Mutzabaugh, travel writer for USAToday.com, is here to tell us how you can make sure your valuables make it to your final destination.
But first off, Ben, what happened at La Guardia and at JFK with these TSA screeners?
BEN MUTZABAUGH, USATODAY.COM TRAVEL REPORTER: Yes, Carol, that's been a talker among air travelers, not surprisingly. What happened is you apparently had some screeners who, of course, had access to all of passengers checked luggage. That's part of some new -- of the new federal security regulations since 9/11. And what they did in La Guardia is they not only checked for bombs, they took these bags to secure areas where the bags were never supposed to be, and they actually took out Rolexes and in some cases some designer suits. And, you know, they really pilfered some baggage there.
COSTELLO: That's just -- I mean, they took a lot of stuff!
MUTZABAUGH: They did.
COSTELLO: Like they executed a search warrant, and when they went into one guy's house it was like a candy store.
MUTZABAUGH: Yes.
COSTELLO: Designer duds, Gucci bags, Rolex watches.
MUTZABAUGH: Yes. And I think that's every traveler's worst nightmare. And, of course, you know, that's something we don't have the option of checking of our bags or not. We all, you know, have to or at least, you know, have to go through security.
One of your options would be to not check your luggage. But, you know, if you're taking a long trip and you have numerous bags, you don't really have much of a choice.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Tell us what the TSA is saying about this.
MUTZABAUGH: Well, I talked to the TSA yesterday, and this is something I wrote about in my column today at USAToday.com. But the TSA says that this is restricted to a very, very small portion of their screeners. And I think in the past we've been pretty quick to jump on these stories. They are something that resonates pretty strongly with a lot of air travelers.
But yet, the way the TSA explains it and I'm inclined to agree, that you have maybe 20-30 screeners out of a 45,000 workforce who have been implicated in such measures. So, the problem doesn't appear to be very widespread. But, of course, when you're having Rolexes taken and suits especially when they're stolen from Joan Rivers and Susan Lucci and some of these other high-profile celebrities, it does make big news.
COSTELLO: But aren't they installing cameras in some areas in the airports?
MUTZABAUGH: They are. Yes, they won't say which airports, but they have started to install security cameras, surveillance measures at some airports to keep tabs of these.
And something else they tell us that they hope will reassure travelers is that most of these people who -- most of these screeners who have stolen things and have done otherwise unsavory things to passengers' luggage, they've been turned in by other screeners.
So, the TSA tells me that they feel that the workforce as a whole is very good and full of a lot of integrity. And it's just a few bad workers who, at least by TSA's estimation, fortunately have been turned in by other people on the staff.
COSTELLO: All right, Ben Mutzabaugh from "USA Today" joining us on DAYBREAK this morning, and USAToday.com, your column. Thank you, Ben.
MUTZABAUGH: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, the best piece of advice Ben had: Do not pack your valuables in your checked baggage. Bring them on the plane with you.
We'll have much more when DAYBREAK returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: There may be an age requirement to vote, but there's no limit as to who can care about politics. Last hour we told you about Essence Cheaton. She's this 9-year-old Ohio girl who has organized an entire club at her school in the battleground state of Ohio to debate the issues and to support John Kerry. Classmates have nicknamed her "Madam President."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESSENCE CHEATON, STUDENT: That's why I actually kind of started this group, because I wanted to kind of, like, make a difference in this school.
MIKE WHITE, TEACHER: This is a student that, I think, comes around once in a lifetime. She's so driven and passionate about her beliefs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Awesome. From 9 to 90, Americans are fired up about the presidential election this year, so much, in fact, that some voters who haven't been to the polls in years are inspired this time around.
WBNS reporter Eve Mueller tells us what Ohio woman will break her 65-year absence from the polls to support her president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REV. DAVID SWAGGERTY, ORIA'S SON: Is there anything that you can think of we need to pay or need to look at paying in the next month?
EVE MUELLER, CNN AFFILIATE WBNS REPORTER (voice over): Ninety- year-old Oria Swaggerty's pastor helps pay bills each week. One day at church, his plea for people to register to vote spoke to her.
ORIA SWAGGERTY, VOLTING FIRST TIME IN 65 YEARS: I guess he's just dropped it in my heart to, you know, go and vote.
D. SWAGGERTY: As we all know, it's a very important election and everybody's responsibility.
MUELLER: Pastor David has more pull than most pastors have with their church members.
D. SWAGGERTY: I would like to think so.
MUELLER: He's also Oria's son. The last and only other time she went to the polls was 1940 during World War II. Why skip it all these years?
O. SWAGGERTY: I guess I just thought, well, my lone vote wouldn't mean nothing no way.
MUELLER: Her husband was a staunch Democrat, a West Virginia coal miner. So, naturally, she voted for:
O. SWAGGERTY: Roosevelt.
MUELLER: Now a widow, Oria spends time tending to her beautiful garden.
O. SWAGGERTY: Geraniums is my favorite.
MUELLER: And praying for leaders like President George W. Bush.
O. SWAGGERTY: I think that the president that we've got now is a good man. He's a praying man.
MUELLER: That's why the Republican will get her vote, her first in 64 years, only her second in her lifetime.
O. SWAGGERTY: I'm glad to get to go this time. And if God permits me to live longer until the next election, I'll vote again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That report from Eve Muller of our Columbus, Ohio, affiliate, WBNS.
We've been soliciting e-mail from you all morning long on if you're going to watch the debate.
And this was my favorite one of the morning from Sandy from Clearwater, Florida. She writes: "The candidates have been doing nothing but attacking each other in the commercials that they air on television and radio. I envision them just getting into a boxing ring, donning satin trunks and 10-ounce gloves. John would have the reach advantage, while George would just keep hitting below the belt, round after round hitting and missing John, round after round hitting and not missing George. I wonder what the odds makers in Las Vegas would say to that."
Very clever, Sandy. I enjoyed that one.
Chad, do you have one?
MYERS: I have one about rhetorical questions...
COSTELLO: Oh, good.
MYERS: ... from a professor in Wisconsin, who studies rhetoric. Here it is. "A rhetorical question is a question posed for effect rather than a question to which an answer is actually expected. It is a stylistic device rather than a true question. Usually the answer to the question is obvious, or the speaker answers the question himself."
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if those candidates adhere to that definition tonight.
MYERS: Thank you, Laura (ph), for that.
COSTELLO: We'll be right back with your mug winner after this.
Oh, and I want to remind you about our coverage of the presidential debate tonight. It starts tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. So be sure to join us then. DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Joanne Watts (ph) wins the mug. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired September 30, 2004 - 06:29 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."
George W. Bush and John F. Kerry get a chance tonight to defend their own positions and point out each other's weaknesses. This debate in Florida will focus on foreign policy and security. CNN's live coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern.
One of the Italian women abducted in Iraq three weeks ago and released this week is holding a news conference in Rome to talk about her experiences. That's coming up at the 8:00 a.m. Eastern hour. We'll be following that later.
Scientists are warning of a small or moderate eruption of Mount St. Helens in the next few days. When the volcano south of Seattle erupted in 1980, 57 were killed.
Cleveland Indians pitcher Kyle Denney was wounded in the leg last night when a bullet was fired into a team bus in Kansas City, Missouri. Police have no suspects in the shooting, which occurred as the bus was taking players to the Kansas City airport after a game with the Royals. Denney was the starting pitcher in that game. Team physicians removed the bullet from his right calf.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: We now have confirmation of what's happening in Baghdad. The death toll there continues to climb this morning. There have been car bombs and at least one roadside explosion.
CNN's senior international correspondent Brent Sadler is live in Baghdad to tell us more.
What do you know right now -- Brent?
BRENT SADLER, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
A series of insurgent attacks against a variety of targets in and around Baghdad over these past few hours. A car bomb detonated in Abu Ghraib district of Baghdad. That was the first of a series of explosions. One U.S. trooper killed in that car bomb attack, as well as two Iraqi policemen. And then just within the last couple of hours, two car bombs more or less detonating simultaneously while Iraqi officials were conducting a ceremony marking the reconstruction of a water treatment plant or a pumping plant here in the Iraqi capital. Two car bombs detonated there. We don't have a clear idea of the casualty numbers yet, but certainly loss of life and a large number of wounded, we understand.
At about the same time, within a kilometer of that blast, another car bomb attack; this time against a checkpoint. Again, more loss of life, more casualties among Iraqi security personnel.
Also overnight, another U.S. airstrike, a precision airstrike, according to U.S. officials, against the insurgent hotbed of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the top terror suspect, is thought to be hiding out.
This is all part of a sustained counter-offensive ahead of planned elections in January to try and create more stability. But as the U.S. and Iraqi officials say that their forces push harder and harder, clearly we're seeing today the insurgents striking back -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent, I'm going to ask you a question you probably don't know the answer to. But a U.S. convoy was targeted in one of those blasts. Do we have word of any U.S. casualties?
SADLER: No, we don't. It's still unclear whether or not that convoy was passing or providing some sort of security for this ribbon- cutting ceremony for the reopening of the water plant. We don't know if it was aimed at -- the car bomb was aimed at the Iraqi officials or the U.S. convoy or a combination of both. It's still too early to say -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Brent Sadler live from Baghdad this morning, thank you.
Let's talk about the presidential elections. Thirty-three days until the elections and a defining debate, perhaps the most important of three, set for tonight.
The first big presidential debate is tonight, and the candidates will have to be alert to avoid breaking any of the numerous rules. This first one was agreed to by Bush and Kerry, but not by the networks. The first rule is no television camera shots from behind and not cutaways.
Also, other than a handshake, no approaching each other. There will be no props. The candidates can only ask rhetorical questions, not direct questions. There will be no pledges. Each candidate must use his own makeup artist. No risers to make them look taller. A coin toss will determine who gets the first question. There will be two-minute answers and one-and-a-half-minute rebuttals.
And here's more of what you can expect tonight. The moderator, PBS' Jim Lehrer, will motion the candidates to take their places behind their respective 48-inch tall podiums. Before they do that, President Bush and Senator Kerry will shake hands, and then they'll walk to their respective lecterns, which will be placed 10 feet apart. And then it's showdown time -- or is it?
Let's head live to Washington and our political analyst, Ron Brownstein.
Good morning.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.
COSTELLO: OK, we've heard the hype. The candidates are studying. They're going through these mock debates. We've also heard of the stifling rules applied to this debate. Will voters really learn anything new?
BROWNSTEIN: Sure. I think they will inevitably by seeing the two men on the same stage. There are a lot of rules. I was sitting here wondering how they're going to enforce them all. Will they have those, like, t-shirt guys like on Jerry Springer, you know, to put George Bush or John Kerry back in their place if they walk out of the penned area or ask each other a question?
Essentially, the tradeoff here was the Kerry campaign wanted more debates and the Bush camp wanted more restraints on the debates. And both sides got what they want.
But I do believe that inevitably, with approximately at least 50 million people watching -- that's what it's been in the past. We have a poll out today which has an incredible 90 percent saying they -- of voters saying they intend to at least see some of it. I think people are going to be exposed to more information about the candidates, about the differences between them, especially with the backdrop of what we see today on the news in Iraq and have seen for the last several weeks.
COSTELLO: Oh, but, Ron, you know, we've been soliciting e-mail this morning. Many of our viewers are skeptical, because of one of these debate rules, the one about rhetorical questions. Let's do the dictionary definition of "rhetorical" right now.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
COSTELLO: It's the art of persuasion through language. So, what exactly does that mean? And how does it apply to a debate?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I mean, we're going to have to figure it out. You know, I mean, obviously they're going to press against the limits, especially Senator Kerry who is trailing in all national polls going into the debate and has the incentive to push President Bush, particularly on the president's portrayal of what is happening in Iraq.
Now, on the other hand, the president has had a very effective rhetorical question on the campaign stump for months in which he, you know, basically says that even knowing what he knows now, he believes the world is better off because of the decision to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein. Senator Kerry, do you agree? And I've got to think that the White House wants to find a way to pose that simple question somehow within the rules tonight.
COSTELLO: Let's put another definition of rhetorical up. This is from Plato, and it's much more beautifully-written.
BROWNSTEIN: Oh!
COSTELLO: This one says, rhetoric is the art of winning the soul by discourse. Are we going to be getting any of that tonight?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I'm reminded of Lyndon Johnson, who said, you know, when you have the other fellow by a certain part of his anatomy, the heart and mind follows. He wasn't talking about the soul.
I think that -- really, I think what we're going to have tonight is a critical opportunity for Senator Kerry. You know, in 1960 and 1980 and 2000, Carol, the candidate who was losing in the Gallup poll walking on to the stage at the first debate -- John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush -- was ahead in polling soon thereafter and went on to win in November. Lots of other races, '84, '88, '92 and '96, where it didn't matter that much, but it has been a turning point on some occasions.
And clearly, what Kerry has to find a way to do is take advantage of the doubts that do exist over how things are going in Iraq and the president's policies.
I think one of the most striking numbers that we all see in every poll that has come out in the last couple of weeks, as violence has increased in Iraq, support for the war and support for the president's handling of the war has eroded. But still despite that, most voters usually by double-digit margins say they prefer Bush over Kerry to handle the issue going forward. That's the kind of judgment that Senator Kerry has to find a way to begin chipping away at tonight.
COSTELLO: So, a betting man or woman would say that Kerry will be the first one to break the rules.
BROWNSTEIN: I would be with you there.
COSTELLO: All right, Ron Brownstein joining us live from Washington this morning, thank you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: What's for breakfast at your house? Coming up, a walk down the cereal aisle will soon look a little different.
And how well do you trust those baggage screeners at the airport, you know, when they search through your luggage apparently looking for, you know, bombs and stuff? Well, some allegedly were looking for something else.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Let's head live to Miami now. Bill Hemmer is there live to cover the debates tonight.
And, Bill, we've been getting a lot of e-mail from our viewers, and they're not so sure about these debates. I just want to read one.
This is from Bob from Orange County, Indiana. He says: "I'll watch the debate tonight, if you want to call it that."
And that's been the sentiment reflected in many of our e-mails this morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. How about the rules, huh, Carol? I'll give you a couple of them here, all right, for this debate tonight?
COSTELLO: Oh, we've been talking about that all morning long, Bill, especially about the rhetorical questions.
HEMMER: Only rhetorical questions. No pledges. No walking around the podium. No props. Right? The lecterns are at 50 inches high, placed 10 feet apart. Stools of equal height with backs and footrests. Do you have a back and footrest on your chair there in Atlanta, Carol?
COSTELLO: Oh, no, no, let's go back to the podium for just a second, because it's 48 inches high as the candidates stand behind them, but from the audience...
HEMMER: Right.
COSTELLO: ... they have to envision it as 50 inches high.
HEMMER: I see. Hey, listen, it's hot and steamy in Miami, I've got to tell you, Carol. And they are really getting ready for this debate tonight here on the campus of the University of Miami. It is all the talk around the place as the first head-to-head match-up goes down later tonight.
What does each man have to do to be successful? We'll talk to Rudy Giuliani this morning, Madeleine Albright today. Sunshine State politics are also a factor. We'll talk to Florida Senator Bob Graham.
Also from the Florida secretary of state. That used to be the position held by Katherine Harris. Now Glenda Hood has that job. The former president, Jimmy Carter, on Monday had a scathing editorial in "The Washington Post." So, we'll get to that this morning as well.
We've got a packed show for you, three hours and counting, Carol. And as I said, it is hot and steamy here in southern -- I think we dropped into Jakarta overnight or something.
COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness! HEMMER: It feels like we're right on the equator.
COSTELLO: Well, I hope not.
HEMMER: We'll see you at the top of the hour, OK?
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bill.
One cereal maker wants to make your breakfast healthier. But will you buy it?
Carrie Lee has our business buzz this morning. She's live at the Nasdaq Marketsite.
Good morning -- Carrie.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.
General Mills, the No. 2 cereal maker, is going to announce plans to switch all of its cereals to whole-grain products. That's what "USA Today" is reporting. We're talking about cereals like Trix, Cocoa Puffs, Lucky Charms. About 40 percent of General Mills Big G line is going to switch over the next three months. And nutritionists say whole-grain flours are far healthier than refined cornmeal or wheat flour. Among other things, it gives you more fiber.
The company says the cereals taste the same. I guess consumers will give the true taste test. The other 60 percent of GM cereals, like Cheerios, Wheaties and Total, are already whole grain. It will be interesting to see, Carol, if Kelloggs, the big competitor, follows with a similar move.
The bottom line, a lot of cereal and food companies are starting to produce healthier foods.
COSTELLO: I love that. I love that.
LEE: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Carrie Lee, live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.
LEE: OK.
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:45 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
A number of explosions have rocked multiple targets across Baghdad this morning. A suicide car bomb was detonated near a U.S. military site. At least three people there were killed, including a U.S. soldier. More than three dozen people are feared dead in a string of later bombings.
SpaceShipOne has one more hurdle to clear before claiming that $10 million X-Prize. The craft has made a successful flight into space. Now, the ship has to make one more space flight in the next two weeks to win the big prize.
In money news, the price of crude oil slipped slightly after unexpected news that U.S. reserves are up. Also helping prices: progress in talks in oil-rich Nigeria, where a rebellion had threatened a supply shutdown.
In culture, Japanese women are getting cuddly with the new boyfriend pillow. The pillow is shaped like a great, big arm to offer balance and comfort for supposedly lonely women. Oh, that's so sad. I'm sorry, it is. The company is working on a model for men, and that one is shaped like a woman's lap.
In sports -- let's talk sports. Los Angeles Dodges outfielder Milton Bradley is done. He was suspended for the remaining five games of the season after a bottle-throwing incident on Tuesday night. Bradley threw the plastic bottle into the stands after a fan tossed it onto the field in his direction.
Hi -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, one of our viewers was saying that he really didn't toss it at the fan. He tossed it at the ground. And I was just watching this video kind of closely, and I could see the same thing.
COSTELLO: Yes. But you cannot throw anything towards the fans watching the game. That's a big no-no.
MYERS: Certainly not a chair like last week, right?
COSTELLO: Nothing. You just can't do that.
MYERS: Exactly.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
It probably makes you feel a lot safer when you see those federal screeners at the airport check your baggage, and then they rifle through it. But some of those airport screeners searching your luggage for bombs are looking for other things that tick, like Rolex watches.
Ben Mutzabaugh, travel writer for USAToday.com, is here to tell us how you can make sure your valuables make it to your final destination.
But first off, Ben, what happened at La Guardia and at JFK with these TSA screeners?
BEN MUTZABAUGH, USATODAY.COM TRAVEL REPORTER: Yes, Carol, that's been a talker among air travelers, not surprisingly. What happened is you apparently had some screeners who, of course, had access to all of passengers checked luggage. That's part of some new -- of the new federal security regulations since 9/11. And what they did in La Guardia is they not only checked for bombs, they took these bags to secure areas where the bags were never supposed to be, and they actually took out Rolexes and in some cases some designer suits. And, you know, they really pilfered some baggage there.
COSTELLO: That's just -- I mean, they took a lot of stuff!
MUTZABAUGH: They did.
COSTELLO: Like they executed a search warrant, and when they went into one guy's house it was like a candy store.
MUTZABAUGH: Yes.
COSTELLO: Designer duds, Gucci bags, Rolex watches.
MUTZABAUGH: Yes. And I think that's every traveler's worst nightmare. And, of course, you know, that's something we don't have the option of checking of our bags or not. We all, you know, have to or at least, you know, have to go through security.
One of your options would be to not check your luggage. But, you know, if you're taking a long trip and you have numerous bags, you don't really have much of a choice.
COSTELLO: Exactly. Tell us what the TSA is saying about this.
MUTZABAUGH: Well, I talked to the TSA yesterday, and this is something I wrote about in my column today at USAToday.com. But the TSA says that this is restricted to a very, very small portion of their screeners. And I think in the past we've been pretty quick to jump on these stories. They are something that resonates pretty strongly with a lot of air travelers.
But yet, the way the TSA explains it and I'm inclined to agree, that you have maybe 20-30 screeners out of a 45,000 workforce who have been implicated in such measures. So, the problem doesn't appear to be very widespread. But, of course, when you're having Rolexes taken and suits especially when they're stolen from Joan Rivers and Susan Lucci and some of these other high-profile celebrities, it does make big news.
COSTELLO: But aren't they installing cameras in some areas in the airports?
MUTZABAUGH: They are. Yes, they won't say which airports, but they have started to install security cameras, surveillance measures at some airports to keep tabs of these.
And something else they tell us that they hope will reassure travelers is that most of these people who -- most of these screeners who have stolen things and have done otherwise unsavory things to passengers' luggage, they've been turned in by other screeners.
So, the TSA tells me that they feel that the workforce as a whole is very good and full of a lot of integrity. And it's just a few bad workers who, at least by TSA's estimation, fortunately have been turned in by other people on the staff.
COSTELLO: All right, Ben Mutzabaugh from "USA Today" joining us on DAYBREAK this morning, and USAToday.com, your column. Thank you, Ben.
MUTZABAUGH: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, the best piece of advice Ben had: Do not pack your valuables in your checked baggage. Bring them on the plane with you.
We'll have much more when DAYBREAK returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: There may be an age requirement to vote, but there's no limit as to who can care about politics. Last hour we told you about Essence Cheaton. She's this 9-year-old Ohio girl who has organized an entire club at her school in the battleground state of Ohio to debate the issues and to support John Kerry. Classmates have nicknamed her "Madam President."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESSENCE CHEATON, STUDENT: That's why I actually kind of started this group, because I wanted to kind of, like, make a difference in this school.
MIKE WHITE, TEACHER: This is a student that, I think, comes around once in a lifetime. She's so driven and passionate about her beliefs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Awesome. From 9 to 90, Americans are fired up about the presidential election this year, so much, in fact, that some voters who haven't been to the polls in years are inspired this time around.
WBNS reporter Eve Mueller tells us what Ohio woman will break her 65-year absence from the polls to support her president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REV. DAVID SWAGGERTY, ORIA'S SON: Is there anything that you can think of we need to pay or need to look at paying in the next month?
EVE MUELLER, CNN AFFILIATE WBNS REPORTER (voice over): Ninety- year-old Oria Swaggerty's pastor helps pay bills each week. One day at church, his plea for people to register to vote spoke to her.
ORIA SWAGGERTY, VOLTING FIRST TIME IN 65 YEARS: I guess he's just dropped it in my heart to, you know, go and vote.
D. SWAGGERTY: As we all know, it's a very important election and everybody's responsibility.
MUELLER: Pastor David has more pull than most pastors have with their church members.
D. SWAGGERTY: I would like to think so.
MUELLER: He's also Oria's son. The last and only other time she went to the polls was 1940 during World War II. Why skip it all these years?
O. SWAGGERTY: I guess I just thought, well, my lone vote wouldn't mean nothing no way.
MUELLER: Her husband was a staunch Democrat, a West Virginia coal miner. So, naturally, she voted for:
O. SWAGGERTY: Roosevelt.
MUELLER: Now a widow, Oria spends time tending to her beautiful garden.
O. SWAGGERTY: Geraniums is my favorite.
MUELLER: And praying for leaders like President George W. Bush.
O. SWAGGERTY: I think that the president that we've got now is a good man. He's a praying man.
MUELLER: That's why the Republican will get her vote, her first in 64 years, only her second in her lifetime.
O. SWAGGERTY: I'm glad to get to go this time. And if God permits me to live longer until the next election, I'll vote again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That report from Eve Muller of our Columbus, Ohio, affiliate, WBNS.
We've been soliciting e-mail from you all morning long on if you're going to watch the debate.
And this was my favorite one of the morning from Sandy from Clearwater, Florida. She writes: "The candidates have been doing nothing but attacking each other in the commercials that they air on television and radio. I envision them just getting into a boxing ring, donning satin trunks and 10-ounce gloves. John would have the reach advantage, while George would just keep hitting below the belt, round after round hitting and missing John, round after round hitting and not missing George. I wonder what the odds makers in Las Vegas would say to that."
Very clever, Sandy. I enjoyed that one.
Chad, do you have one?
MYERS: I have one about rhetorical questions...
COSTELLO: Oh, good.
MYERS: ... from a professor in Wisconsin, who studies rhetoric. Here it is. "A rhetorical question is a question posed for effect rather than a question to which an answer is actually expected. It is a stylistic device rather than a true question. Usually the answer to the question is obvious, or the speaker answers the question himself."
COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if those candidates adhere to that definition tonight.
MYERS: Thank you, Laura (ph), for that.
COSTELLO: We'll be right back with your mug winner after this.
Oh, and I want to remind you about our coverage of the presidential debate tonight. It starts tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. So be sure to join us then. DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Joanne Watts (ph) wins the mug. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
