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CNN Live At Daybreak
U.S. Offensive in Samarra; Recapping Last Night's Presidential Debate
Aired October 01, 2004 - 05:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe I'm going to win because the American people know I know how to lead.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in being strong and resolute and determined. And I will hunt down and kill the terrorists wherever they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is the day after.
Did the first presidential debate help make up your mind?
It is Friday, the first day of October.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news...
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just a little example of what's going on here...
COSTELLO: That's right. Gunmen in the alleys and on the rooftops. It's happening right now in Iraq. A major offensive on the streets of Samarra near a famous mosque.
Our Jane Arraf is there embedded with the 1st Infantry Division.
We will hear from Jane live in about eight minutes.
It's back on the road for the presidential candidates after last night's debate. President Bush heads to the critical State of Pennsylvania for a rally this morning in Allentown, and then later he's on to New Hampshire.
Senator John Kerry is staying in the Sunshine State. He's got an afternoon rally in Tampa and one later this evening in Kissimmee.
Crank up the tabloids. Today in Eagle, Colorado, the sheriff's office plans to release previously sealed documents and evidence related to the sexual assault case against NBA star Kobe Bryant.
To the forecast center now.
Chad is taking the day off.
Good morning -- Rob Marciano.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol Costello.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: One more day off the election calendar. Two more presidential debates to go. There are now 32 days until election day in America. No harsh words, well, not too harsh, but plenty of accusations and rebuttals in presidential debate number one. Last night's 90 minute face-off focused on homeland security and international affairs and we all know what when international affairs is brought up we're talking Iraq.
Our Dan Lothian looks at what the candidates had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In their first face-off in Florida, Senator John Kerry accused the president of diverting his attention from the real war on terror by going into Iraq.
KERRY: The president just talked about Iraq as a center of the war on terror. Iraq was not even close to the center of the war on terror before the president invaded it. This president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment.
LOTHIAN: President Bush responded by portraying Kerry as a candidate trying to have it both ways.
BUSH: First of all, what my opponent wants you to forget is that he voted to authorize the use of force and now says it's the wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place. I don't see how you can lead this country to succeed in Iraq if you say wrong war, wrong time, wrong place.
LOTHIAN: It's a phrase the president would use repeatedly, attempting to show how Kerry's mixed message would send the wrong message to world leaders.
Kerry did acknowledge making mistakes, but gave a defense.
KERRY: When I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talked about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?
LOTHIAN: As both campaigns worked their war rooms, sending out rapid fire responses and fact checks, and as hundreds of people protested outside, two interesting moments from the candidates. First, after Kerry gave a laundry list of how he would deal with homeland security, President Bush saw an opening.
BUSH: I don't think we want to get to how he's going to pay for all these promises. It's like a huge tax gap and -- anyway, that's for another debate.
LOTHIAN: Then when the president seemed to imply that Iraq attacked the U.S., Senator Kerry pounced on it.
KERRY: Saddam Hussein didn't attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us. Al Qaeda attacked us.
LOTHIAN: Even though the president at times seemed to be frustrated, no one appeared to land fatal blows in this first round.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Coral Gables, Florida.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: People over at Gallup got on the phones immediately after the debate. They interviewed 615 registered voters who watched. The sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points. But let's head to the numbers now.
Asked, "Who did the best job?," 53 percent said John Kerry, 37 percent said George Bush. Asked their opinion of Kerry after the debate, almost half replied "more favorable," while 13 percent replied "less favorable." And it would seem that a lot of people have already made up their minds. 41 percent say they had no change in their opinion of the senator. Asked their opinion of the president, 62 percent said no change, 21 percent replied "more favorable" while 17 percent said "less favorable." We want to point out this poll does not reflect the views of all Americans, but only the views of those who watched the debate.
CNN was with some undecided voters in Ohio watching the presidential debate. Modern technology allowed Bill Hemmer to follow their reactions to what the candidates were saying as they spoke.
When Bush spoke about his rival and even made a joke, the audience reacted positively. A note, the yellow line represents women; the blue line you're going to see men.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I admire the fact that he served for 20 years in the Senate, although I'm not so sure I admire the record. I won't hold it against him that he went to Yale. There's nothing wrong with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Just a sample for you.
Now let's take a look at the positive reaction when Kerry spoke about his plan in dealing with Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KERRY: Soldiers know over there that this isn't being done right yet. I'm going to get it right for those soldiers, because it's important to Israel, it's important to America, it's important to the world, it's important to the fight on terror. But I have a plan to do it. He doesn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In the next hour of DAYBREAK we'll show you which statements provoked a negative response. Pretty interesting, huh? But we do want to know what you thought of the first presidential debate. So e-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. Who do you think won? If you can call a winner a winner. Daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
The candidates have two more chances to face off in a debate. They'll meet a week from today in St. Louis and in Arizona on October 13. But first, vice presidential candidates Dick Cheney and John Edwards will debate in Cleveland this coming Tuesday.
Throughout the night, our international desk has been following some dramatic developments in the Iraqi city of Samarra.
Jane Arraf is there and tells us of a major military offensive going on. Bullets have been ricocheting down the streets. Gunfire can be heard in her report. Dozens of Iraqis have been killed. And here's what she told us just a short time ago.
We don't have that right now, because we're having trouble. We had Jane live but we lost her because she's embedded with the 1st Infantry Division. When we get her back on the phone, of course, we'll bring her to you live.
Now for some news across America this morning.
Anthrax fears in Florida, but so far no danger. The FBI is searching for suspects after suspicious letters were received by several government officials in Broward County, Florida. White powder was found in the 11 letters. There was no note, but each envelope was postmarked in Memphis, Tennessee. Early tests show that the powder was not any kind of poison.
The search is on for a nuclear bomb off the coast of Georgia. A retired Air Force pilot claims he dropped the bomb from his crippled b47 bomber 46 years ago. Bomb detection teams are looking for underwater radioactive clues near Savannah.
Michael Moore is no longer welcome at one Washington area university. A planned speech at George Mason University in Virginia was canceled after a Republican state senator objected to his appearance. The senator was upset that state funds were being used to pay Moore's $35,000 speaking fee. Moore says he plans to show up anyway.
And these stories are still in our large breakfast platter this morning. Who's going to win a powerful uncivil war in Spain? The new socialist government is up against the country's entrenched Catholic tradition. The issue? Gay marriage. More on that live from Madrid in seven minutes.
And how the first presidential debate is playing out overseas, particularly in the Middle East. We'll take you live to Jerusalem for that reaction in 23 minutes.
And before this first hour is up, the miracle pain medication called Vioxx and why so many arthritis patients are walking away from it if they can.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: We've been telling you about the situation in Iraq this morning, specifically in Samarra.
We have Jane Arraf on the phone right now.
She embedded with the 1st Infantry Division.
There has been fighting there all morning long.
Jane -- are you there and what can you tell us?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am, Carol.
There's been intense fighting, for the past 14 hours, in fact. We're at the Ali al-Hadi Mosque, a most spectacular place, holy to Shia Muslims around the world.
Iraqi forces have just blasted the doors open of this mosque to take control of it again. As you can hear, there's still some gunfire around. But one of the Iraqi National Guard is telling me, one of the Iraqi special forces, excuse me, is telling me that they found numerous weapons here. They found machine guns on the roof and they have weapons, guns and other weapons laid out here in the mosque.
There has been intense fighting around here. We were taking fire for over an hour at a hotel near here. There are small hotels ringing this. Normally, this is thronged with pilgrims who come to the shrine. Today it is absolutely deserted except for the very bizarre sight of U.S. soldiers all the way on the road leading to the shrine and Iraqi soldiers inside -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting, Jane, that you say Iraqi forces are going inside that mosque and battering down the door.
Where are the American troops as this is going on? ARRAF: Well, they're certainly around. And American special forces did have a role in breaching the defenses of this mosque. But this is seen as -- the head of the Iraqi special forces here is telling me that it was an Iraqi operation and certainly the mosque courtyard is full of these special forces.
That is what they tried to do here in Samarra and in Najaf and in other places, to show that this is an Iraqi operation, not an American one, that Iraqis are retaking control of this city -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And there have been reports of deaths of insurgents.
Can you tell us more about that?
ARRAF: Yes. We have reports of dozens of deaths of insurgents. Here around the mosque, there were at least two killed. In fact, just outside here there is a body of a suspected insurgent still lying in the street.
There was quite a lot of gunfire around here, as well as air strikes, and possibly they have been trying to call in mortar fire. They keep taking fire from some of the hotels around the area. It's a very difficult place to wage a battle. The tanks will not fit on these narrow streets and this is (AUDIO GAP).
COSTELLO: Oh, we're going to lose Jane now.
But that was Jane Arraf reporting live from Samarra.
She is embedded with the 1st Infantry Division. And as you heard, they just broke into a mosque, Iraqi forces, that is, where they found machine guns. And we have word that about 90 insurgents have been killed.
When we can get back to Jane, of course we will.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Drug maker Merck could be in a serious -- could be in serious financial trouble after pulling one of its most popular drugs off store shelves. The company's value dropped by a whopping $25 billion -- that's 27 percent -- after it announced the recall of the arthritis drug Vioxx. We'll have more on the recall coming up later and DAYBREAK.
A former Pittsburgh Steelers player died in a head-on collision after leading police on a 40-mile chase through upstate New York. Justin Strzelczyk played for 10 years in the NFL before being released in 2000. The case started after Strzelczyk was involved in a hit and run accident.
In money news, Kmart may be moving its headquarters to Atlanta from its home in Troy, Michigan. The "Detroit News" reports that the retailer is being drawn to the South by lower taxes and lower operating costs.
In culture, former president Jimmy Carter is celebrating his 80th birthday today. In his honor, the Carter Center here in Atlanta is hosting a 13-hour piano concert by Roger Williams. Carter is the third oldest living president. Gerald Ford is the oldest. He's 91.
In sports, the New York Yankees clinched another division title with a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins. It's the Yankees' seventh straight American League East crown and their 100th win of the season. They are only the fourth team in history to have three straight 100 win seasons.
Oh, you want to jump around with them, don't you -- Rob.
MARCIANO: I certainly do. It's a loaded deck. There's no talent on that team.
COSTELLO: Oh, no.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Supporters of a federal same-sex marriage ban have suffered another defeat. The House voted against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The measure failed by 49 votes. President Bush, who supports the amendment, says he's disappointed with the outcome. Twenty-seven Republican representatives broke with the president to oppose the amendment. The Senate defeated a similar measure back in July.
But this morning in Spain, the government there is debating whether to approve its own gay marriage measure. But can a predominantly Catholic country like Spain break with the church, which calls gay marriage a virus on society?
For that, we're joined by CNN's Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman -- good morning, Al.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, Spain, once one of the most socially conservative states in Europe, taking big steps this morning that apparently will send a message it's no longer that way. As you say, Carol, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the socialist prime minister, at this hour is meeting with his cabinet, the socialist ministers, across town at their weekly Friday cabinet meeting, where they are expected to approve a bill that will authorize gay marriage.
That would be same-sex marriage, two men, two women could adopt children. They would have the same financial rights in terms of inheritance and pension as heterosexual couples. This bill would then be sent to parliament, where the socialist government says it's got enough support, they expect it to pass, and they expect this to be in place and that we will be seeing same-sex homosexual marriages by the year 2005.
As you mentioned, Carol, the very powerful Roman Catholic Church in Spain is alarmed and they are making a very vociferous campaign against this latest initiative -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, they really called it a virus?
GOODMAN: That was from the words of one of the senior clerics at a news conference just last week. The prime minister has heard this when he was in church just a couple of months ago at a major church ceremony in northwest Spain. The archbishop there said, told the prime minister. Very unusual that the archbishop would make such a statement right during a church service. He said that marriage is essentially heterosexual, it's the basis for the family, he said. He said any rupture of the family means the breakdown of society.
Now, how did Spain get to be like this? Well, 30 years ago, Carol, under the dictate of Francisco Franco, being a homosexual was a crime. You could go to jail. No kissing among men or women on the streets, among same-sex people, on the streets.
But all of that has changed in Spain's really rapid move to democracy. Their economic level has come up. A recent poll just showed that 62 percent of Spaniards are in favor of this initiative allowing homosexual marriage -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
Al Goodman reporting live from Madrid, Spain this morning.
Thank you.
So, what's hot on the Web this morning?
A sleeping giant may soon be awakened. Just ahead, news about Mount St. Helens.
And the presidential debate was the butt of all jokes on late night television. If you missed it, we'll take a look at late night laughs ahead.
And our e-mail Question of the Morning, the debate, the presidential debate, what did you think? Who do you think won? E- mail us. The address is daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time to check out our Web clicks this morning.
MARCIANO: What are you doing so...
COSTELLO: Rob Marciano, you are very far away from me.
MARCIANO: It's this big printer. It looks like it came from 1982 when we were doing this.
COSTELLO: Here, we'll bend down and move it.
MARCIANO: OK.
COSTELLO: It's time for our Web clicks. And we're going to talk about it while we move the printer out of the way. We're always interested to know what you're clicking onto on cnn.com.
And the number one most clicked on story -- move a little closer. Come close to me.
MARCIANO: You've got to stop, you just it, Carol. We're both married now.
COSTELLO: I think all of the young women in the audience are going, "Go for it, Carol!"
MARCIANO: Oh, that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Mount St. Helens.
COSTELLO: Anyway, the number one clicked on story is "Mount St. Helens Likely To Erupt Now." And just reading the first graph is kind of scary. "the flurry of earthquakes at Mount St. Helens intensified further. One scientist put the chance of a small eruption happening in the next few days at 70 percent."
MARCIANO: Wow! We don't even go that far in the weather business to say it's going to rain...
COSTELLO: No.
MARCIANO: ... the chances for rain at 70 percent.
COSTELLO: That's very true.
MARCIANO: So that's, I'm assuming probably on the north side, which is where it's least populated there. So...
COSTELLO: Hopefully it's the least populated.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: You know, you forget that 57 people died in 1980 when the thing erupted before.
MARCIANO: It's because a lot of those people just refused to leave. I mean that's...
COSTELLO: Yes. Just like in hurricanes.
MARCIANO: Yes. Well, there's, you know, you get those old timers and sometimes they're stubborn.
Anyway, they've got plenty of warning this go around and I'm sure it's not going to be as bad as 1980. That seems to be the case.
COSTELLO: Well, let's hope not.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Let's hope not.
The number three clicked on story about the presidential debate and who won the first debate. And I'm sure many of you have an opinion because, of course, that's our e-mail Question of the Morning, who do you think won the debate, President Bush or Senator John Kerry?
For late night comedians, it didn't matter who won the debate, but who provided more material.
Let's watch some of Jon Stewart's analysis from last night's "Daily Show."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL)
JON STEWART, HOST: As for the famously verbose Senator Kerry, his main task tonight would be concision, the ability to directly convey a strong and consistent message.
Ladies and gentlemen, the first question of the night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM LEHRER, MODERATOR: Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11 type terrorist attack on the United States?
KERRY: Yes, I do. But before I answer further, let me thank you for moderating. I want to thank the University of Miami for hosting us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Smoke 'em if you've got 'em. It's going to be a long night!
STEWART: Bush painted a portrait of the evil we're up against.
BUSH: This is a global effort. We're facing a -- a group of folks who have such hatred in their heart...
STEWART: Group of folks? We're facing a group of folks? A group of folks is what you run into at The Olive Garden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Nobody spins it like Jon Stewart, huh?
COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding.
MARCIANO: Did you see the debate on...
COSTELLO: Yes, I did.
MARCIANO: You have to. It's part of your job. I got to sleep.
COSTELLO: Oh, plus, you know, I love politics. It's just so interesting. But I found myself waiting for some gaffe to happen, which I felt guilty about. And, of course, there were no great gaffes from either candidate. But you find yourself sitting there looking for little weird things to happen instead of really listening to what they had to say.
MARCIANO: Right. Well, they're so polished now and it's such a staged event, it seems like. But there'll be more, right? They've got two or three others.
COSTELLO: Two more.
MARCIANO: All right.
COSTELLO: The vice presidential debate should be interesting.
MARCIANO: Yes, that'll be...
COSTELLO: That's next week.
MARCIANO: Those are always pretty good.
COSTELLO: Allrighty.
Iraq, of course, dominated the first presidential debate. Just count the number of times Iraq was mentioned, and we did, Rob.
MARCIANO: How many?
COSTELLO: Iraq was mentioned 97 times in 90 minutes. The official transcript also shows 9/11 was mentioned seven times, Osama bin Laden 14 times, Saddam Hussein 29 times, weapons of mass destruction 31 times and terror, the word terror was used 44 times. And, again, you might ask how do we know this? Because somebody, actually, it was Brian Bell, our executive producer, who...
MARCIANO: Oh, so this isn't a service. This is somebody at CNN that did this?
COSTELLO: Yes, Brian did this. He sat down and actually counted the words.
MARCIANO: Is that true, Brian? That's amazing to me.
COSTELLO: Because he's so passionate about his job.
MARCIANO: He's on top of it.
COSTELLO: He certainly is. That's why we love Brian.
Thank you, Brian.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
They're right in the thick of it, U.S. soldiers on the front lines in Iraq. But when it comes to politics, there's no easy choice. We'll look at which candidates have earned their votes ahead.
But first, a look at what the editorial pages are saying about last night's debate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 October 1, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe I'm going to win because the American people know I know how to lead.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in being strong and resolute and determined. And I will hunt down and kill the terrorists wherever they are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is the day after.
Did the first presidential debate help make up your mind?
It is Friday, the first day of October.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news...
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just a little example of what's going on here...
COSTELLO: That's right. Gunmen in the alleys and on the rooftops. It's happening right now in Iraq. A major offensive on the streets of Samarra near a famous mosque.
Our Jane Arraf is there embedded with the 1st Infantry Division.
We will hear from Jane live in about eight minutes.
It's back on the road for the presidential candidates after last night's debate. President Bush heads to the critical State of Pennsylvania for a rally this morning in Allentown, and then later he's on to New Hampshire.
Senator John Kerry is staying in the Sunshine State. He's got an afternoon rally in Tampa and one later this evening in Kissimmee.
Crank up the tabloids. Today in Eagle, Colorado, the sheriff's office plans to release previously sealed documents and evidence related to the sexual assault case against NBA star Kobe Bryant.
To the forecast center now.
Chad is taking the day off.
Good morning -- Rob Marciano.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol Costello.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: One more day off the election calendar. Two more presidential debates to go. There are now 32 days until election day in America. No harsh words, well, not too harsh, but plenty of accusations and rebuttals in presidential debate number one. Last night's 90 minute face-off focused on homeland security and international affairs and we all know what when international affairs is brought up we're talking Iraq.
Our Dan Lothian looks at what the candidates had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In their first face-off in Florida, Senator John Kerry accused the president of diverting his attention from the real war on terror by going into Iraq.
KERRY: The president just talked about Iraq as a center of the war on terror. Iraq was not even close to the center of the war on terror before the president invaded it. This president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment.
LOTHIAN: President Bush responded by portraying Kerry as a candidate trying to have it both ways.
BUSH: First of all, what my opponent wants you to forget is that he voted to authorize the use of force and now says it's the wrong war at the wrong time at the wrong place. I don't see how you can lead this country to succeed in Iraq if you say wrong war, wrong time, wrong place.
LOTHIAN: It's a phrase the president would use repeatedly, attempting to show how Kerry's mixed message would send the wrong message to world leaders.
Kerry did acknowledge making mistakes, but gave a defense.
KERRY: When I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talked about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?
LOTHIAN: As both campaigns worked their war rooms, sending out rapid fire responses and fact checks, and as hundreds of people protested outside, two interesting moments from the candidates. First, after Kerry gave a laundry list of how he would deal with homeland security, President Bush saw an opening.
BUSH: I don't think we want to get to how he's going to pay for all these promises. It's like a huge tax gap and -- anyway, that's for another debate.
LOTHIAN: Then when the president seemed to imply that Iraq attacked the U.S., Senator Kerry pounced on it.
KERRY: Saddam Hussein didn't attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us. Al Qaeda attacked us.
LOTHIAN: Even though the president at times seemed to be frustrated, no one appeared to land fatal blows in this first round.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Coral Gables, Florida.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: People over at Gallup got on the phones immediately after the debate. They interviewed 615 registered voters who watched. The sampling error is plus or minus 5 percentage points. But let's head to the numbers now.
Asked, "Who did the best job?," 53 percent said John Kerry, 37 percent said George Bush. Asked their opinion of Kerry after the debate, almost half replied "more favorable," while 13 percent replied "less favorable." And it would seem that a lot of people have already made up their minds. 41 percent say they had no change in their opinion of the senator. Asked their opinion of the president, 62 percent said no change, 21 percent replied "more favorable" while 17 percent said "less favorable." We want to point out this poll does not reflect the views of all Americans, but only the views of those who watched the debate.
CNN was with some undecided voters in Ohio watching the presidential debate. Modern technology allowed Bill Hemmer to follow their reactions to what the candidates were saying as they spoke.
When Bush spoke about his rival and even made a joke, the audience reacted positively. A note, the yellow line represents women; the blue line you're going to see men.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I admire the fact that he served for 20 years in the Senate, although I'm not so sure I admire the record. I won't hold it against him that he went to Yale. There's nothing wrong with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Just a sample for you.
Now let's take a look at the positive reaction when Kerry spoke about his plan in dealing with Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KERRY: Soldiers know over there that this isn't being done right yet. I'm going to get it right for those soldiers, because it's important to Israel, it's important to America, it's important to the world, it's important to the fight on terror. But I have a plan to do it. He doesn't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In the next hour of DAYBREAK we'll show you which statements provoked a negative response. Pretty interesting, huh? But we do want to know what you thought of the first presidential debate. So e-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. Who do you think won? If you can call a winner a winner. Daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
The candidates have two more chances to face off in a debate. They'll meet a week from today in St. Louis and in Arizona on October 13. But first, vice presidential candidates Dick Cheney and John Edwards will debate in Cleveland this coming Tuesday.
Throughout the night, our international desk has been following some dramatic developments in the Iraqi city of Samarra.
Jane Arraf is there and tells us of a major military offensive going on. Bullets have been ricocheting down the streets. Gunfire can be heard in her report. Dozens of Iraqis have been killed. And here's what she told us just a short time ago.
We don't have that right now, because we're having trouble. We had Jane live but we lost her because she's embedded with the 1st Infantry Division. When we get her back on the phone, of course, we'll bring her to you live.
Now for some news across America this morning.
Anthrax fears in Florida, but so far no danger. The FBI is searching for suspects after suspicious letters were received by several government officials in Broward County, Florida. White powder was found in the 11 letters. There was no note, but each envelope was postmarked in Memphis, Tennessee. Early tests show that the powder was not any kind of poison.
The search is on for a nuclear bomb off the coast of Georgia. A retired Air Force pilot claims he dropped the bomb from his crippled b47 bomber 46 years ago. Bomb detection teams are looking for underwater radioactive clues near Savannah.
Michael Moore is no longer welcome at one Washington area university. A planned speech at George Mason University in Virginia was canceled after a Republican state senator objected to his appearance. The senator was upset that state funds were being used to pay Moore's $35,000 speaking fee. Moore says he plans to show up anyway.
And these stories are still in our large breakfast platter this morning. Who's going to win a powerful uncivil war in Spain? The new socialist government is up against the country's entrenched Catholic tradition. The issue? Gay marriage. More on that live from Madrid in seven minutes.
And how the first presidential debate is playing out overseas, particularly in the Middle East. We'll take you live to Jerusalem for that reaction in 23 minutes.
And before this first hour is up, the miracle pain medication called Vioxx and why so many arthritis patients are walking away from it if they can.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: We've been telling you about the situation in Iraq this morning, specifically in Samarra.
We have Jane Arraf on the phone right now.
She embedded with the 1st Infantry Division.
There has been fighting there all morning long.
Jane -- are you there and what can you tell us?
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am, Carol.
There's been intense fighting, for the past 14 hours, in fact. We're at the Ali al-Hadi Mosque, a most spectacular place, holy to Shia Muslims around the world.
Iraqi forces have just blasted the doors open of this mosque to take control of it again. As you can hear, there's still some gunfire around. But one of the Iraqi National Guard is telling me, one of the Iraqi special forces, excuse me, is telling me that they found numerous weapons here. They found machine guns on the roof and they have weapons, guns and other weapons laid out here in the mosque.
There has been intense fighting around here. We were taking fire for over an hour at a hotel near here. There are small hotels ringing this. Normally, this is thronged with pilgrims who come to the shrine. Today it is absolutely deserted except for the very bizarre sight of U.S. soldiers all the way on the road leading to the shrine and Iraqi soldiers inside -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting, Jane, that you say Iraqi forces are going inside that mosque and battering down the door.
Where are the American troops as this is going on? ARRAF: Well, they're certainly around. And American special forces did have a role in breaching the defenses of this mosque. But this is seen as -- the head of the Iraqi special forces here is telling me that it was an Iraqi operation and certainly the mosque courtyard is full of these special forces.
That is what they tried to do here in Samarra and in Najaf and in other places, to show that this is an Iraqi operation, not an American one, that Iraqis are retaking control of this city -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And there have been reports of deaths of insurgents.
Can you tell us more about that?
ARRAF: Yes. We have reports of dozens of deaths of insurgents. Here around the mosque, there were at least two killed. In fact, just outside here there is a body of a suspected insurgent still lying in the street.
There was quite a lot of gunfire around here, as well as air strikes, and possibly they have been trying to call in mortar fire. They keep taking fire from some of the hotels around the area. It's a very difficult place to wage a battle. The tanks will not fit on these narrow streets and this is (AUDIO GAP).
COSTELLO: Oh, we're going to lose Jane now.
But that was Jane Arraf reporting live from Samarra.
She is embedded with the 1st Infantry Division. And as you heard, they just broke into a mosque, Iraqi forces, that is, where they found machine guns. And we have word that about 90 insurgents have been killed.
When we can get back to Jane, of course we will.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Drug maker Merck could be in a serious -- could be in serious financial trouble after pulling one of its most popular drugs off store shelves. The company's value dropped by a whopping $25 billion -- that's 27 percent -- after it announced the recall of the arthritis drug Vioxx. We'll have more on the recall coming up later and DAYBREAK.
A former Pittsburgh Steelers player died in a head-on collision after leading police on a 40-mile chase through upstate New York. Justin Strzelczyk played for 10 years in the NFL before being released in 2000. The case started after Strzelczyk was involved in a hit and run accident.
In money news, Kmart may be moving its headquarters to Atlanta from its home in Troy, Michigan. The "Detroit News" reports that the retailer is being drawn to the South by lower taxes and lower operating costs.
In culture, former president Jimmy Carter is celebrating his 80th birthday today. In his honor, the Carter Center here in Atlanta is hosting a 13-hour piano concert by Roger Williams. Carter is the third oldest living president. Gerald Ford is the oldest. He's 91.
In sports, the New York Yankees clinched another division title with a 6-4 win over the Minnesota Twins. It's the Yankees' seventh straight American League East crown and their 100th win of the season. They are only the fourth team in history to have three straight 100 win seasons.
Oh, you want to jump around with them, don't you -- Rob.
MARCIANO: I certainly do. It's a loaded deck. There's no talent on that team.
COSTELLO: Oh, no.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Supporters of a federal same-sex marriage ban have suffered another defeat. The House voted against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The measure failed by 49 votes. President Bush, who supports the amendment, says he's disappointed with the outcome. Twenty-seven Republican representatives broke with the president to oppose the amendment. The Senate defeated a similar measure back in July.
But this morning in Spain, the government there is debating whether to approve its own gay marriage measure. But can a predominantly Catholic country like Spain break with the church, which calls gay marriage a virus on society?
For that, we're joined by CNN's Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman -- good morning, Al.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, Spain, once one of the most socially conservative states in Europe, taking big steps this morning that apparently will send a message it's no longer that way. As you say, Carol, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the socialist prime minister, at this hour is meeting with his cabinet, the socialist ministers, across town at their weekly Friday cabinet meeting, where they are expected to approve a bill that will authorize gay marriage.
That would be same-sex marriage, two men, two women could adopt children. They would have the same financial rights in terms of inheritance and pension as heterosexual couples. This bill would then be sent to parliament, where the socialist government says it's got enough support, they expect it to pass, and they expect this to be in place and that we will be seeing same-sex homosexual marriages by the year 2005.
As you mentioned, Carol, the very powerful Roman Catholic Church in Spain is alarmed and they are making a very vociferous campaign against this latest initiative -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, they really called it a virus?
GOODMAN: That was from the words of one of the senior clerics at a news conference just last week. The prime minister has heard this when he was in church just a couple of months ago at a major church ceremony in northwest Spain. The archbishop there said, told the prime minister. Very unusual that the archbishop would make such a statement right during a church service. He said that marriage is essentially heterosexual, it's the basis for the family, he said. He said any rupture of the family means the breakdown of society.
Now, how did Spain get to be like this? Well, 30 years ago, Carol, under the dictate of Francisco Franco, being a homosexual was a crime. You could go to jail. No kissing among men or women on the streets, among same-sex people, on the streets.
But all of that has changed in Spain's really rapid move to democracy. Their economic level has come up. A recent poll just showed that 62 percent of Spaniards are in favor of this initiative allowing homosexual marriage -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
Al Goodman reporting live from Madrid, Spain this morning.
Thank you.
So, what's hot on the Web this morning?
A sleeping giant may soon be awakened. Just ahead, news about Mount St. Helens.
And the presidential debate was the butt of all jokes on late night television. If you missed it, we'll take a look at late night laughs ahead.
And our e-mail Question of the Morning, the debate, the presidential debate, what did you think? Who do you think won? E- mail us. The address is daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.
And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time to check out our Web clicks this morning.
MARCIANO: What are you doing so...
COSTELLO: Rob Marciano, you are very far away from me.
MARCIANO: It's this big printer. It looks like it came from 1982 when we were doing this.
COSTELLO: Here, we'll bend down and move it.
MARCIANO: OK.
COSTELLO: It's time for our Web clicks. And we're going to talk about it while we move the printer out of the way. We're always interested to know what you're clicking onto on cnn.com.
And the number one most clicked on story -- move a little closer. Come close to me.
MARCIANO: You've got to stop, you just it, Carol. We're both married now.
COSTELLO: I think all of the young women in the audience are going, "Go for it, Carol!"
MARCIANO: Oh, that's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Mount St. Helens.
COSTELLO: Anyway, the number one clicked on story is "Mount St. Helens Likely To Erupt Now." And just reading the first graph is kind of scary. "the flurry of earthquakes at Mount St. Helens intensified further. One scientist put the chance of a small eruption happening in the next few days at 70 percent."
MARCIANO: Wow! We don't even go that far in the weather business to say it's going to rain...
COSTELLO: No.
MARCIANO: ... the chances for rain at 70 percent.
COSTELLO: That's very true.
MARCIANO: So that's, I'm assuming probably on the north side, which is where it's least populated there. So...
COSTELLO: Hopefully it's the least populated.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: You know, you forget that 57 people died in 1980 when the thing erupted before.
MARCIANO: It's because a lot of those people just refused to leave. I mean that's...
COSTELLO: Yes. Just like in hurricanes.
MARCIANO: Yes. Well, there's, you know, you get those old timers and sometimes they're stubborn.
Anyway, they've got plenty of warning this go around and I'm sure it's not going to be as bad as 1980. That seems to be the case.
COSTELLO: Well, let's hope not.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Let's hope not.
The number three clicked on story about the presidential debate and who won the first debate. And I'm sure many of you have an opinion because, of course, that's our e-mail Question of the Morning, who do you think won the debate, President Bush or Senator John Kerry?
For late night comedians, it didn't matter who won the debate, but who provided more material.
Let's watch some of Jon Stewart's analysis from last night's "Daily Show."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL)
JON STEWART, HOST: As for the famously verbose Senator Kerry, his main task tonight would be concision, the ability to directly convey a strong and consistent message.
Ladies and gentlemen, the first question of the night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM LEHRER, MODERATOR: Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11 type terrorist attack on the United States?
KERRY: Yes, I do. But before I answer further, let me thank you for moderating. I want to thank the University of Miami for hosting us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Smoke 'em if you've got 'em. It's going to be a long night!
STEWART: Bush painted a portrait of the evil we're up against.
BUSH: This is a global effort. We're facing a -- a group of folks who have such hatred in their heart...
STEWART: Group of folks? We're facing a group of folks? A group of folks is what you run into at The Olive Garden.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Nobody spins it like Jon Stewart, huh?
COSTELLO: Oh, you're not kidding.
MARCIANO: Did you see the debate on...
COSTELLO: Yes, I did.
MARCIANO: You have to. It's part of your job. I got to sleep.
COSTELLO: Oh, plus, you know, I love politics. It's just so interesting. But I found myself waiting for some gaffe to happen, which I felt guilty about. And, of course, there were no great gaffes from either candidate. But you find yourself sitting there looking for little weird things to happen instead of really listening to what they had to say.
MARCIANO: Right. Well, they're so polished now and it's such a staged event, it seems like. But there'll be more, right? They've got two or three others.
COSTELLO: Two more.
MARCIANO: All right.
COSTELLO: The vice presidential debate should be interesting.
MARCIANO: Yes, that'll be...
COSTELLO: That's next week.
MARCIANO: Those are always pretty good.
COSTELLO: Allrighty.
Iraq, of course, dominated the first presidential debate. Just count the number of times Iraq was mentioned, and we did, Rob.
MARCIANO: How many?
COSTELLO: Iraq was mentioned 97 times in 90 minutes. The official transcript also shows 9/11 was mentioned seven times, Osama bin Laden 14 times, Saddam Hussein 29 times, weapons of mass destruction 31 times and terror, the word terror was used 44 times. And, again, you might ask how do we know this? Because somebody, actually, it was Brian Bell, our executive producer, who...
MARCIANO: Oh, so this isn't a service. This is somebody at CNN that did this?
COSTELLO: Yes, Brian did this. He sat down and actually counted the words.
MARCIANO: Is that true, Brian? That's amazing to me.
COSTELLO: Because he's so passionate about his job.
MARCIANO: He's on top of it.
COSTELLO: He certainly is. That's why we love Brian.
Thank you, Brian.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
They're right in the thick of it, U.S. soldiers on the front lines in Iraq. But when it comes to politics, there's no easy choice. We'll look at which candidates have earned their votes ahead.
But first, a look at what the editorial pages are saying about last night's debate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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