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American Morning
Undecided Voters Respond to Answers They Heard from Kerry and Bush; '90-Second Pop'
Aired October 01, 2004 - 09:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There you go. Beautiful shot this morning of Central Park, looking down over that other building, Time Warner Center, that we work at. About 56 degrees they tell me here. So if you live here in New York, you've got a good day ahead of you.
Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. And in just a few minutes, we're going to go back to Columbus, Ohio and Bill Hemmer. He's going to be telling us about the feedback he got from a focus group that watched the debate last night, something different that we're doing here at CNN. What did the candidates say to get the best reactions and the worst? We'll find out in just a moment.
Also, Sanjay Gupta, looking at the worst-case scenario when it comes to the president's health, an assassination attempt. He'll tell us about procedures that changed after the attempt on Ronald Reagan's life.
But first we want to take a moment to check the stories now in the news once again with Rick Sanchez.
Good morning, Rick.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, good morning, Heidi.
This is the guy who really started the militant Islamic movement. And he's putting out a call today, according to reports on Al Jazeera Television, for continued attacks on coalition forces. This is a message. It's believed to be from the top leader of al Qaeda, other than Osama bin Laden. We told you about the story about a half hour ago. It's the Arabic news channel, Al Jazeera, airing a brand-new audiotape which it says is from Ayman Al Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's top deputy. The speaker says, quote, "If we are captured or we are killed, then you should carry on the fight. He also calls this the century of Islamic resistance." The audiotape, by the way, was not yet been verified.
Previously sealed information in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case could be released today. Select documents and evidence from the case will be made public by the Eagle County Sheriff's Department. The NBA star's interview and the arrest affidavit could be included in this material. Prosecutors in the case are also preparing to release more records according to sheriff's officials this morning.
Massachusetts officials are also trying to coax a great white shark. They're doing their best to try to get it to leave this lagoon and go back into the sea. The shark has been trapped in a lagoon near Cape Cod since last week and is now showing signs of stress. There's word this morning that fishery officials are going to use nets and electronic repellents to free the 1,700 pound animal. And what's amazing about the story is that it's almost turning into an exhibit with people going by and lining up just to see this incredible creature. That's something you won't see in Ohio, Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: You're so right about that. Listen, those waters are going to get cold very soon now off the coast of Massachusetts, and that shark will find its way out, I guarantee you on that, Rick.
Back here on the campus of Ohio State University, in a moment here, going to give you some staggering numbers so far in this election 2004 to let you know just how critical both sides believe this state is to winning the White House in 2004.
Speaking of the campaigns, in Tampa, Florida, Frank Buckley is with the Kerry side. John King is with the Bush side. In Tampa, Florida, let's start this hour with Frank Buckley in Tampa.
Frank, good morning, there.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Senator Kerry's aides pumped up this morning. They believe the debate went very well last night. They say the senator had a number of objectives and he achieved them all, primary among them, to put President Bush on the defensive about the war in Iraq, the war on terror, and to make the case to the American people that Senator Kerry could be the stronger commander in chief.
He also knew that he was going to have to play a little bit of defense on this issue of inconsistency on his own Iraq policy. President Bush hammering away for months now on this idea that Senator Kerry said that he voted for funding post-war Iraq before he voted against it. He knew that was going to come up. Here's how he responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talk about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse? I believe that when you know something's going wrong, you make it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Kerry aides are also seizing on a comment that President Bush made during the debate last night that they say will help them make the pivot now to domestic issues coming up in the domestic issues debate. You'll recall Senator Kerry during the debate listed a number of things that he said he would do to make America safer in the area of homeland security. Here's part of President Bush's response to that:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Now Kerry aides say they are going to start that debate today using the president's comments. They will make the argument, or try to make the argument, that it's the president's tax cuts that took money away from vital domestic programs. That's the way they're going to start moving this debate forward. They say that they want to start framing the domestic issues debate starting today. A rally last night, Senator Kerry very happy and supporters very happy with the outcome of the debate last night. A similar rally planned for later today here in Tampa -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Frank, thanks for that. I want to go across the state to Miami and our senior White House correspondent. There is John King there this morning.
John, hello.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill. Bush campaign aides concede that Senator Kerry probably wanted to score this like a debate match. They believe, however, the president did enough, some say more than enough, to defend himself politically on the two key issues they thought coming into the debate, who will the American people trust, No. 1, to handle the war in Iraq, No. 2 to handle the broader war on terrorism.
As Frank just noted, the president's strategy was obvious from the very beginning, he continued his relentless, some say overly redundant in the debate setting, attack on Senator Kerry, saying he's had a number of conflicting positions, changing positions, shifting positions when it comes to the war in Iraq.
The president's message essentially to the American people in the debate last night was this, as you listen to Senator Kerry tonight call the war a colossal mistake, call it a diversion from the war on terrorism, remember this, that's the same senator who voted in favor of giving the president the authority to wage that war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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. What message does that send our troops? What message does that send our allies? What message does that send the Iraqis?
No, the way to win this is to be steadfast and resolved, and to follow through on the plan that I just outlined. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: At a rally after the debate, the president, just like Senator Kerry, turning his focus to domestic issues as well. As Frank Buckley just said, the Kerry campaign will seize on President Bush's remarks, say his tax cuts left not enough money to spend on homeland security. The president saying he's looking forward to the debate on domestic policy, because in his view, Senator Kerry will raise the American people's taxes.
So, Bill, the debate continued even after the debate. President Bush today heading to Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
HEMMER All right. John, thanks for that. That second debate a week from today, in fact, in St. Louis, Missouri.
Meanwhile, last night we had a chance to see a group of undecided voters, not scientific, but in realtime, we were able to gauge men and women and how they responded to the answers they heard from John Kerry and George Bush.
Here's what we found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER (voice-over): They were 22 mostly undecided voters in a critical battleground state, brought together on the campus of Ohio State University. They were truckers and teachers, accountants and retirees. CNN equipped them with handheld touch pads to gauge their reactions in realtime. The women were measured with a yellow line, the men with a blue line. Senator Kerry won strong approval when he suggested the president took the fight to the wrong enemy.
KERRY: We can't leave a failed Iraq, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake of judgment to go there and take the focus off of Osama bin Laden. It was.
HEMMER: President Bush then scored high marks when he suggested that Senator Kerry was not backing U.S. allies.
BUSH: I mean, you can't expect to build an alliance when you denigrate the contributions of those who are serving side by side with American troops in Iraq.
HEMMER: Later, strong words from the senator about those killed in Iraq sent the meters lower.
KERRY: More in July than June. More in August than July. More in September than in August.
HEMMER: Then a strong rebuttal by the president was not well received.
BUSH: You cannot lead the war on terror if you keep changing positions on the war on terror and say things like, well, this is just a grand diversion. It's not a grand diversion. This is an essential that we get it right.
HEMMER: Reaction from our focus group was generally mixed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think after this, leaning a little more towards Kerry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight it kind of made me lean a little more towards Bush.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was very even. Neither party made their point much above the other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: A bit of a sample from last night. One very interesting thing: For the first 20 minutes of this debate, the women were much more strongly in favor of George Bush than John Kerry based on those meters. But that changed somehow at 9:30 Eastern time. Then they went toward John Kerry.
But in the home stretch, in the final 15 minutes of the 90-minute debate last night, the women then went back to George Bush. What all this means, we're not quite sure. It was a bit of an experiment last night. But we can say, as we canvassed that group of 22, most of the men and women we talked to last night here in Columbus, Ohio, thought last night's debate, number one, was a tie.
One week to go for debate number two. Back to New York...
COLLINS: Yeah, and Bill really quickly, remind everybody about how the meters work. They were allowed to push the meter button whether it was a one or a 10, you know, positive or negative...
HEMMER: That's right.
COLLINS: ... as many times as they wanted from everything that they heard, right?
HEMMER: That's right. Yeah, from one to 10, 10 being the strongest positive reaction, one being the strongest negative reaction, five right in the middle, neutral.
It was amazing how many flatlines we saw when people were essentially bored with what they were hearing. But Heidi, not one time for either man did those meters go below a four. In essence, there was not a whole lot of negative reaction with what either man talked about last night. Interesting stuff.
COLLINS: Yeah, it definitely is. All right, Bill. Thank you so much.
You know, all this week in a special series, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has taken us inside the White House for a look at America's first patient. Sanjay joins us now from the CNN Center with the final installment on all of this. Sanjay, good morning to you.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
This morning, we look at the worst-case scenario: an assassination attempt. When President Reagan was shot, there were no contingency plans for medical emergency. How the White House handled his shooting 23 years ago has changed the way subsequent presidents have prepared for the worst.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): March 30th, 1981, 2:25 p.m. Six shots ring out as President Reagan leaves a Washington hotel. A Secret Service agent pushes President Reagan into his limousine, as would-be assassin John Hinckley is wrestled to the ground. President Reagan arrives at George Washington University Hospital minutes later, near shock.
DR. JOSEPH GIORDANO, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV. HOSP.: He collapsed. The blood pressure was 70, very low, and we put him on the gurney, and the residents immediately start IVs and got fluid in him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president has been shot once in the left chest.
GIORDANO: We were watching the blood come out of the chest tube, and a very significant amount came out. And there was no question in my mind that he had to go to surgery.
GUPTA: 3:24 p.m., President Reagan is wheeled into the operating room and placed under anesthesia. At the White House, a desire to show the world there is no leadership vacuum that might be exploited by an enemy.
ALEXANDER HAIG, FMR. SECY. OF STATE: As of now, I am in control here in the White House.
GUPTA: 6:45 p.m., President Reagan emerges from a successful operation to stop his internal bleeding and remove the bullet lodged near his heart.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has the president turned over control or authority to the vice president?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been no cause for that to take place.
GUPTA: But there was a need in the 48 hours following surgery, according to Dr. William Knaus, an intensive care physician who treated President Reagan.
DR. WILLIAM KNAUS, TREATED PRESIDENT REAGAN: I think if that day after surgery, you know, Vice President Bush had walked in and said, you know, I'm taking over now, I think it would have been absolutely appropriate. I don't think any medical person -- I certainly would not have questioned it. I would think it absolutely the logical thing to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GUPTA (on camera): And Dr. Knaus told us President Reagan was disoriented after his operation, which is common. But the thing is the Reagan White House never mentioned it and did not turn over power to the vice president. The goal was to give the impression to the nation and to the world that all was normal, or as close to normal as possible under the circumstances.
Let me add, as well: The 25th Amendment is signed by the president, if he is conscious. The vice president can also assume power with the support of the cabinet if the president has been shot.
We're going to have a lot more on the first patient first on "HOUSE CALL." That's tomorrow morning at 8:30 Eastern. And then, the full primetime special, that's called "The First Patient," that airs Sunday night at 9:00 Eastern. And Heidi, everyone else, I hope you watch.
COLLINS: Yeah, we certainly will. And boy, I remember just like yesterday exactly where I was when Ronald Reagan was shot.
GUPTA: Exactly.
COLLINS: Unbelievable stuff. All right, Sanjay, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Want to get a look at the weather now for the day ahead. Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the very latest on the forecast. Looking pretty nice pretty much across the country.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Rob, thanks so much for that.
Still to come: One of the biggest companies in the world tells its executives they got to stop drinking on the job. Andy's minding your business on that. He'll explain.
Plus, singer Melissa Etheridge's new project has less to do with music, more to do with laughs. "90-Second Pop" -- we're sorting it out ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: "90-Second Pop" for a Friday now. And here to play with us on this Friday, B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly." Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And Josh Elliott, staff writer for "Sports Illustrated." We are going to be talking a little sports here.
JOSH ELLIOTT, STAFF WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": I know.
COLLINS: Not football, but we'll talk a little baseball in a minute.
Sarah, I want to start with you, though. We just heard some music from Melissa Etheridge.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: That's right.
COLLINS: She apparently is going to move to the sitcom area now about an unconventional family. And she is going to apparently play a music teacher who is gay but living with a straight man. Some would say, hey, isn't there a show already like that kind of in reverse?
BERNARD: I know. It sounds like "Will & Grace," right?"
COLLINS: Right.
BERNARD: Flipped around. Well, I was so surprised that she didn't go the reality show route. So, I think it's kind of quaint that she's chosen a sitcom. But this is really noteworthy, because there are so few out-gay actresses on a network show -- this is going to be a really big deal -- and playing a character who is a lesbian not in the closet.
COLLINS: But Ellen DeGeneres, didn't she kind of pave the way for that?
BERNARD: She did. And actually Melissa Etheridge did some cameos on "Ellen."
COLLINS: Right.
BERNARD: And I was going to say, one of the big questions is, I mean, we don't really know if she can act or not. I mean, that was pretty much her...
COLLINS: True.
BERNARD: ... and that's the only showcase.
ELLIOTT: I mean, "Will & Grace" is such a well-acted show. And so I think if all you -- I mean, you know, Ellen wasn't, and that's why it went the way of the do-do. That's what I wonder, is will the show be...
BERNARD: And she can actually be an actress.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Right.
ELLIOTT: Yes.
SIGESMUND: Well, you know...
BERNARD: Well...
SIGESMUND: I was going to say, the show actually does not have a commitment from a network yet. It's just sort of -- it seems like a trial balloon right now. And also, I'm a little worried, because, you know, she is an icon. She's a gay icon. She's one of the few female gay women out there.
COLLINS: All right.
SIGESMUND: But that might not be enough.
COLLINS: We'll keep our eyes open on this one.
BERNARD: She's actually in another movie called "Southern Comfort" she's filming with Demi Moore, Alan Cummings (ph).
COLLINS: So, we'll get a sense of it then.
BERNARD: That's right.
COLLINS: All right.
BERNARD: And she plays a transgendered man.
COLLINS: OK. OK. And speaking of movies...
ELLIOTT: All right.
COLLINS: It's kind of a segue there. B.J., we're talking about the weekend movies now. We've got "Ladder 49."
SIGESMUND: Right.
COLLINS: And also "Shark Tale." I've got to tell you, very, very excited at our house.
SIGESMUND: Well, you a very young child. "Shark Tale" is the biggest fall release of all time. Dreamworks is trying to create another franchise in the vein of "Shrek" or "Finding Nemo." It's opening in 4,000 theaters. It's got the voices of Will Smith, Rene Zellweger, Angelica -- I'm sorry -- Angelina Jolie.
COLLINS: Right.
SIGESMUND: A lot of huge names attached to this film. The reviews have been not that great. It's no Nemo. The reviews have been a little...
COLLINS: It ain't know no Nemo.
SIGESMUND: It might be more family-oriented. It might be better for young kids than really for teenagers, older kids and adults.
COLLINS: Because Nemo, there was death and destruction right from the beginning.
BERNARD: Right. That was kind of upsetting.
COLLINS: It was very traumatic to some kids.
SIGESMUND: Yes. And this one is more steered toward younger kids.
COLLINS: OK.
BERNARD: I think it's amazing how many celebrities they've packed into this one movie. And it's amazing how much they get paid. They got -- do you know that the people in "Shrek 2," Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy, they got $10 million...
SIGESMUND: Ten million.
BERNARD: ... just to lend their voices for that.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
ELLIOTT: For, like, a day.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
BERNARD: For a day's work or something.
COLLINS: Unbelievable. Unbelievable. What about "Ladder 49?"
SIGESMUND: In "Ladder 49," this is the more adult choice this weekend. This is about a team of firefighters. Joaquin Phoenix is in it. John Travolta plays his boss. It's very melodramatic, they say. It's about, you know, the trials and tribulations of fighting fires. A lot of the footage that you've seen in trailers and on commercials looks dangerously close to the footage that we saw around 9/11, which may be a turnoff to some people.
COLLINS: Yes.
SIGESMUND: I'm expecting this movie to be No. 2 this weekend, far below "Shark Tale."
COLLINS: B.J., Sarah and Josh, thanks, guys, as always. Have a great weekend, OK?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Still to come, Andy's "Minding Your Business." The top bosses at one company are told, it's time to stop drinking. Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It's the world's largest brewer, but soon its workers won't be able to drink the flutes of their labor. With that, and a check on the market, Andy Serwer is here, Minding Your Business once again.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
It's a crying shame, crying in their beer for those people over there in Belgium. We'll talk about that.
Let's go to the markets first, check out the Dow. Dow is recovering, up 34 points, as Merck recovers. Merck is up 40 cents after that terrible day yesterday. What else is going on? Peoplesoft fired its CEO Craig Conway. That stock is up $1.34. Always, Heidi, the CEOs nightmare. You get fired, and the stock goes up. They hate that. USAir and the pilots agreeing on a new contract. That's big news. We'll be reading about that.
Now getting to this beer thing here, InBev, which is the giant Belgian brewer, and they make Stella Artois (ph), which I believe is Bill Hemmer's beer of choice.
COLLINS: I heard something about that.
SERWER: Also Beck's and other beers. They used to be able to drink at lunch, in the lunchroom. And the CEO, John Brock, has banned drinking -- beer drinking.
Look, there's the guy. He's got a beer himself. No one else can drink beer.
COLLINS: Not anymore.
SERWER: You know, I mean, this is bad stuff, you know, because if you're at, say, Ben and Jerry's, you're allowed to eat ice cream, Starbucks, you drink your coffee. And you know, you can't drink beer anymore.
COLLINS: Yes, but it doesn't make you drunk.
SERWER: Oh, yes there is that minor detail.
COLLINS: Andy Serwer, thanks so much for that.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, young voters could decide the election, but this girl's a little too young to vote. Find out how she's going to the extra effort to get people motivated, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Every Friday we profile someone who makes the extra effort to help others, and today we hear from Eve Mueller (ph) of affiliate WBNS in Columbus, Ohio, about a young girl who's raising political awareness among her classmates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.
EVE MUELLER (ph): Essence Cheatum (ph) is one of her names. "Madam President" is the other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody knows we have a debate coming up.
MUELLER: Her pro-Kerry group at Duxbury (ph) Park Alternative Elementary School meets every Tuesday, sacrificing hula hoop, hopscotch and football at recess to talk about fun things like...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Medicare.
MUELLER: And?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Toxic waste.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a student that I think comes around once in a lifetime. She's so driven and passionate about her beliefs.
MUELLER: They researched the issues, and always do a little Bush bashing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pinocchio.
MUELLER: Now Essence's effort has prompted a pro-Bush group to form at the school, but they haven't yet had a meeting. There's a debate in two weeks, and all kids will vote here November 2nd. Sure, the votes don't count, but the effort does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's why I actually kind of started this group. Because I wanted to kind of like make a difference in the school.
Have to go, bell rung.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Oh, good for her. Well, that was Eve Mueller from affiliate WNBS of Columbus, Ohio.
And that is it for us here at the set of AMERICAN MORNING.
Jack Cafferty, Andy Serwer, see you guys Monday.
SERWER: On the flip-flop.
CAFFERTY: See you a week from Monday. I'm on vacation next week.
COLLINS: Oh, we will miss you terribly.
SERWER: Oh, Jack, how are we going to carry on?
COLLINS: Meanwhile, though, we're going to check in with bill hemmer. He is standing by in Columbus, Ohio.
What are we going to do? He's not going to be with us, Bill.
HEMMER: I'm telling you, Jack. Call us every morning, will you?
CAFFERTY: Yes, I will. HEMMER: No chance.
We've got to run, have a great weekend. Here's Carol Lin at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
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 - 09:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: There you go. Beautiful shot this morning of Central Park, looking down over that other building, Time Warner Center, that we work at. About 56 degrees they tell me here. So if you live here in New York, you've got a good day ahead of you.
Just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. And in just a few minutes, we're going to go back to Columbus, Ohio and Bill Hemmer. He's going to be telling us about the feedback he got from a focus group that watched the debate last night, something different that we're doing here at CNN. What did the candidates say to get the best reactions and the worst? We'll find out in just a moment.
Also, Sanjay Gupta, looking at the worst-case scenario when it comes to the president's health, an assassination attempt. He'll tell us about procedures that changed after the attempt on Ronald Reagan's life.
But first we want to take a moment to check the stories now in the news once again with Rick Sanchez.
Good morning, Rick.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, good morning, Heidi.
This is the guy who really started the militant Islamic movement. And he's putting out a call today, according to reports on Al Jazeera Television, for continued attacks on coalition forces. This is a message. It's believed to be from the top leader of al Qaeda, other than Osama bin Laden. We told you about the story about a half hour ago. It's the Arabic news channel, Al Jazeera, airing a brand-new audiotape which it says is from Ayman Al Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's top deputy. The speaker says, quote, "If we are captured or we are killed, then you should carry on the fight. He also calls this the century of Islamic resistance." The audiotape, by the way, was not yet been verified.
Previously sealed information in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case could be released today. Select documents and evidence from the case will be made public by the Eagle County Sheriff's Department. The NBA star's interview and the arrest affidavit could be included in this material. Prosecutors in the case are also preparing to release more records according to sheriff's officials this morning.
Massachusetts officials are also trying to coax a great white shark. They're doing their best to try to get it to leave this lagoon and go back into the sea. The shark has been trapped in a lagoon near Cape Cod since last week and is now showing signs of stress. There's word this morning that fishery officials are going to use nets and electronic repellents to free the 1,700 pound animal. And what's amazing about the story is that it's almost turning into an exhibit with people going by and lining up just to see this incredible creature. That's something you won't see in Ohio, Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: You're so right about that. Listen, those waters are going to get cold very soon now off the coast of Massachusetts, and that shark will find its way out, I guarantee you on that, Rick.
Back here on the campus of Ohio State University, in a moment here, going to give you some staggering numbers so far in this election 2004 to let you know just how critical both sides believe this state is to winning the White House in 2004.
Speaking of the campaigns, in Tampa, Florida, Frank Buckley is with the Kerry side. John King is with the Bush side. In Tampa, Florida, let's start this hour with Frank Buckley in Tampa.
Frank, good morning, there.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Senator Kerry's aides pumped up this morning. They believe the debate went very well last night. They say the senator had a number of objectives and he achieved them all, primary among them, to put President Bush on the defensive about the war in Iraq, the war on terror, and to make the case to the American people that Senator Kerry could be the stronger commander in chief.
He also knew that he was going to have to play a little bit of defense on this issue of inconsistency on his own Iraq policy. President Bush hammering away for months now on this idea that Senator Kerry said that he voted for funding post-war Iraq before he voted against it. He knew that was going to come up. Here's how he responded.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talk about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse? I believe that when you know something's going wrong, you make it right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Kerry aides are also seizing on a comment that President Bush made during the debate last night that they say will help them make the pivot now to domestic issues coming up in the domestic issues debate. You'll recall Senator Kerry during the debate listed a number of things that he said he would do to make America safer in the area of homeland security. Here's part of President Bush's response to that:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Now Kerry aides say they are going to start that debate today using the president's comments. They will make the argument, or try to make the argument, that it's the president's tax cuts that took money away from vital domestic programs. That's the way they're going to start moving this debate forward. They say that they want to start framing the domestic issues debate starting today. A rally last night, Senator Kerry very happy and supporters very happy with the outcome of the debate last night. A similar rally planned for later today here in Tampa -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Frank, thanks for that. I want to go across the state to Miami and our senior White House correspondent. There is John King there this morning.
John, hello.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill. Bush campaign aides concede that Senator Kerry probably wanted to score this like a debate match. They believe, however, the president did enough, some say more than enough, to defend himself politically on the two key issues they thought coming into the debate, who will the American people trust, No. 1, to handle the war in Iraq, No. 2 to handle the broader war on terrorism.
As Frank just noted, the president's strategy was obvious from the very beginning, he continued his relentless, some say overly redundant in the debate setting, attack on Senator Kerry, saying he's had a number of conflicting positions, changing positions, shifting positions when it comes to the war in Iraq.
The president's message essentially to the American people in the debate last night was this, as you listen to Senator Kerry tonight call the war a colossal mistake, call it a diversion from the war on terrorism, remember this, that's the same senator who voted in favor of giving the president the authority to wage that war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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. What message does that send our troops? What message does that send our allies? What message does that send the Iraqis?
No, the way to win this is to be steadfast and resolved, and to follow through on the plan that I just outlined. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: At a rally after the debate, the president, just like Senator Kerry, turning his focus to domestic issues as well. As Frank Buckley just said, the Kerry campaign will seize on President Bush's remarks, say his tax cuts left not enough money to spend on homeland security. The president saying he's looking forward to the debate on domestic policy, because in his view, Senator Kerry will raise the American people's taxes.
So, Bill, the debate continued even after the debate. President Bush today heading to Pennsylvania and New Hampshire.
HEMMER All right. John, thanks for that. That second debate a week from today, in fact, in St. Louis, Missouri.
Meanwhile, last night we had a chance to see a group of undecided voters, not scientific, but in realtime, we were able to gauge men and women and how they responded to the answers they heard from John Kerry and George Bush.
Here's what we found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER (voice-over): They were 22 mostly undecided voters in a critical battleground state, brought together on the campus of Ohio State University. They were truckers and teachers, accountants and retirees. CNN equipped them with handheld touch pads to gauge their reactions in realtime. The women were measured with a yellow line, the men with a blue line. Senator Kerry won strong approval when he suggested the president took the fight to the wrong enemy.
KERRY: We can't leave a failed Iraq, but that doesn't mean it wasn't a mistake of judgment to go there and take the focus off of Osama bin Laden. It was.
HEMMER: President Bush then scored high marks when he suggested that Senator Kerry was not backing U.S. allies.
BUSH: I mean, you can't expect to build an alliance when you denigrate the contributions of those who are serving side by side with American troops in Iraq.
HEMMER: Later, strong words from the senator about those killed in Iraq sent the meters lower.
KERRY: More in July than June. More in August than July. More in September than in August.
HEMMER: Then a strong rebuttal by the president was not well received.
BUSH: You cannot lead the war on terror if you keep changing positions on the war on terror and say things like, well, this is just a grand diversion. It's not a grand diversion. This is an essential that we get it right.
HEMMER: Reaction from our focus group was generally mixed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think after this, leaning a little more towards Kerry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tonight it kind of made me lean a little more towards Bush.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought it was very even. Neither party made their point much above the other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: A bit of a sample from last night. One very interesting thing: For the first 20 minutes of this debate, the women were much more strongly in favor of George Bush than John Kerry based on those meters. But that changed somehow at 9:30 Eastern time. Then they went toward John Kerry.
But in the home stretch, in the final 15 minutes of the 90-minute debate last night, the women then went back to George Bush. What all this means, we're not quite sure. It was a bit of an experiment last night. But we can say, as we canvassed that group of 22, most of the men and women we talked to last night here in Columbus, Ohio, thought last night's debate, number one, was a tie.
One week to go for debate number two. Back to New York...
COLLINS: Yeah, and Bill really quickly, remind everybody about how the meters work. They were allowed to push the meter button whether it was a one or a 10, you know, positive or negative...
HEMMER: That's right.
COLLINS: ... as many times as they wanted from everything that they heard, right?
HEMMER: That's right. Yeah, from one to 10, 10 being the strongest positive reaction, one being the strongest negative reaction, five right in the middle, neutral.
It was amazing how many flatlines we saw when people were essentially bored with what they were hearing. But Heidi, not one time for either man did those meters go below a four. In essence, there was not a whole lot of negative reaction with what either man talked about last night. Interesting stuff.
COLLINS: Yeah, it definitely is. All right, Bill. Thank you so much.
You know, all this week in a special series, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has taken us inside the White House for a look at America's first patient. Sanjay joins us now from the CNN Center with the final installment on all of this. Sanjay, good morning to you.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
This morning, we look at the worst-case scenario: an assassination attempt. When President Reagan was shot, there were no contingency plans for medical emergency. How the White House handled his shooting 23 years ago has changed the way subsequent presidents have prepared for the worst.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): March 30th, 1981, 2:25 p.m. Six shots ring out as President Reagan leaves a Washington hotel. A Secret Service agent pushes President Reagan into his limousine, as would-be assassin John Hinckley is wrestled to the ground. President Reagan arrives at George Washington University Hospital minutes later, near shock.
DR. JOSEPH GIORDANO, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV. HOSP.: He collapsed. The blood pressure was 70, very low, and we put him on the gurney, and the residents immediately start IVs and got fluid in him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president has been shot once in the left chest.
GIORDANO: We were watching the blood come out of the chest tube, and a very significant amount came out. And there was no question in my mind that he had to go to surgery.
GUPTA: 3:24 p.m., President Reagan is wheeled into the operating room and placed under anesthesia. At the White House, a desire to show the world there is no leadership vacuum that might be exploited by an enemy.
ALEXANDER HAIG, FMR. SECY. OF STATE: As of now, I am in control here in the White House.
GUPTA: 6:45 p.m., President Reagan emerges from a successful operation to stop his internal bleeding and remove the bullet lodged near his heart.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has the president turned over control or authority to the vice president?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been no cause for that to take place.
GUPTA: But there was a need in the 48 hours following surgery, according to Dr. William Knaus, an intensive care physician who treated President Reagan.
DR. WILLIAM KNAUS, TREATED PRESIDENT REAGAN: I think if that day after surgery, you know, Vice President Bush had walked in and said, you know, I'm taking over now, I think it would have been absolutely appropriate. I don't think any medical person -- I certainly would not have questioned it. I would think it absolutely the logical thing to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GUPTA (on camera): And Dr. Knaus told us President Reagan was disoriented after his operation, which is common. But the thing is the Reagan White House never mentioned it and did not turn over power to the vice president. The goal was to give the impression to the nation and to the world that all was normal, or as close to normal as possible under the circumstances.
Let me add, as well: The 25th Amendment is signed by the president, if he is conscious. The vice president can also assume power with the support of the cabinet if the president has been shot.
We're going to have a lot more on the first patient first on "HOUSE CALL." That's tomorrow morning at 8:30 Eastern. And then, the full primetime special, that's called "The First Patient," that airs Sunday night at 9:00 Eastern. And Heidi, everyone else, I hope you watch.
COLLINS: Yeah, we certainly will. And boy, I remember just like yesterday exactly where I was when Ronald Reagan was shot.
GUPTA: Exactly.
COLLINS: Unbelievable stuff. All right, Sanjay, thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: Want to get a look at the weather now for the day ahead. Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the very latest on the forecast. Looking pretty nice pretty much across the country.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Rob, thanks so much for that.
Still to come: One of the biggest companies in the world tells its executives they got to stop drinking on the job. Andy's minding your business on that. He'll explain.
Plus, singer Melissa Etheridge's new project has less to do with music, more to do with laughs. "90-Second Pop" -- we're sorting it out ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: "90-Second Pop" for a Friday now. And here to play with us on this Friday, B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly." Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And Josh Elliott, staff writer for "Sports Illustrated." We are going to be talking a little sports here.
JOSH ELLIOTT, STAFF WRITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": I know.
COLLINS: Not football, but we'll talk a little baseball in a minute.
Sarah, I want to start with you, though. We just heard some music from Melissa Etheridge.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: That's right.
COLLINS: She apparently is going to move to the sitcom area now about an unconventional family. And she is going to apparently play a music teacher who is gay but living with a straight man. Some would say, hey, isn't there a show already like that kind of in reverse?
BERNARD: I know. It sounds like "Will & Grace," right?"
COLLINS: Right.
BERNARD: Flipped around. Well, I was so surprised that she didn't go the reality show route. So, I think it's kind of quaint that she's chosen a sitcom. But this is really noteworthy, because there are so few out-gay actresses on a network show -- this is going to be a really big deal -- and playing a character who is a lesbian not in the closet.
COLLINS: But Ellen DeGeneres, didn't she kind of pave the way for that?
BERNARD: She did. And actually Melissa Etheridge did some cameos on "Ellen."
COLLINS: Right.
BERNARD: And I was going to say, one of the big questions is, I mean, we don't really know if she can act or not. I mean, that was pretty much her...
COLLINS: True.
BERNARD: ... and that's the only showcase.
ELLIOTT: I mean, "Will & Grace" is such a well-acted show. And so I think if all you -- I mean, you know, Ellen wasn't, and that's why it went the way of the do-do. That's what I wonder, is will the show be...
BERNARD: And she can actually be an actress.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Right.
ELLIOTT: Yes.
SIGESMUND: Well, you know...
BERNARD: Well...
SIGESMUND: I was going to say, the show actually does not have a commitment from a network yet. It's just sort of -- it seems like a trial balloon right now. And also, I'm a little worried, because, you know, she is an icon. She's a gay icon. She's one of the few female gay women out there.
COLLINS: All right.
SIGESMUND: But that might not be enough.
COLLINS: We'll keep our eyes open on this one.
BERNARD: She's actually in another movie called "Southern Comfort" she's filming with Demi Moore, Alan Cummings (ph).
COLLINS: So, we'll get a sense of it then.
BERNARD: That's right.
COLLINS: All right.
BERNARD: And she plays a transgendered man.
COLLINS: OK. OK. And speaking of movies...
ELLIOTT: All right.
COLLINS: It's kind of a segue there. B.J., we're talking about the weekend movies now. We've got "Ladder 49."
SIGESMUND: Right.
COLLINS: And also "Shark Tale." I've got to tell you, very, very excited at our house.
SIGESMUND: Well, you a very young child. "Shark Tale" is the biggest fall release of all time. Dreamworks is trying to create another franchise in the vein of "Shrek" or "Finding Nemo." It's opening in 4,000 theaters. It's got the voices of Will Smith, Rene Zellweger, Angelica -- I'm sorry -- Angelina Jolie.
COLLINS: Right.
SIGESMUND: A lot of huge names attached to this film. The reviews have been not that great. It's no Nemo. The reviews have been a little...
COLLINS: It ain't know no Nemo.
SIGESMUND: It might be more family-oriented. It might be better for young kids than really for teenagers, older kids and adults.
COLLINS: Because Nemo, there was death and destruction right from the beginning.
BERNARD: Right. That was kind of upsetting.
COLLINS: It was very traumatic to some kids.
SIGESMUND: Yes. And this one is more steered toward younger kids.
COLLINS: OK.
BERNARD: I think it's amazing how many celebrities they've packed into this one movie. And it's amazing how much they get paid. They got -- do you know that the people in "Shrek 2," Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy, they got $10 million...
SIGESMUND: Ten million.
BERNARD: ... just to lend their voices for that.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
ELLIOTT: For, like, a day.
SIGESMUND: Yes.
BERNARD: For a day's work or something.
COLLINS: Unbelievable. Unbelievable. What about "Ladder 49?"
SIGESMUND: In "Ladder 49," this is the more adult choice this weekend. This is about a team of firefighters. Joaquin Phoenix is in it. John Travolta plays his boss. It's very melodramatic, they say. It's about, you know, the trials and tribulations of fighting fires. A lot of the footage that you've seen in trailers and on commercials looks dangerously close to the footage that we saw around 9/11, which may be a turnoff to some people.
COLLINS: Yes.
SIGESMUND: I'm expecting this movie to be No. 2 this weekend, far below "Shark Tale."
COLLINS: B.J., Sarah and Josh, thanks, guys, as always. Have a great weekend, OK?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Still to come, Andy's "Minding Your Business." The top bosses at one company are told, it's time to stop drinking. Stay with us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It's the world's largest brewer, but soon its workers won't be able to drink the flutes of their labor. With that, and a check on the market, Andy Serwer is here, Minding Your Business once again.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
It's a crying shame, crying in their beer for those people over there in Belgium. We'll talk about that.
Let's go to the markets first, check out the Dow. Dow is recovering, up 34 points, as Merck recovers. Merck is up 40 cents after that terrible day yesterday. What else is going on? Peoplesoft fired its CEO Craig Conway. That stock is up $1.34. Always, Heidi, the CEOs nightmare. You get fired, and the stock goes up. They hate that. USAir and the pilots agreeing on a new contract. That's big news. We'll be reading about that.
Now getting to this beer thing here, InBev, which is the giant Belgian brewer, and they make Stella Artois (ph), which I believe is Bill Hemmer's beer of choice.
COLLINS: I heard something about that.
SERWER: Also Beck's and other beers. They used to be able to drink at lunch, in the lunchroom. And the CEO, John Brock, has banned drinking -- beer drinking.
Look, there's the guy. He's got a beer himself. No one else can drink beer.
COLLINS: Not anymore.
SERWER: You know, I mean, this is bad stuff, you know, because if you're at, say, Ben and Jerry's, you're allowed to eat ice cream, Starbucks, you drink your coffee. And you know, you can't drink beer anymore.
COLLINS: Yes, but it doesn't make you drunk.
SERWER: Oh, yes there is that minor detail.
COLLINS: Andy Serwer, thanks so much for that.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, young voters could decide the election, but this girl's a little too young to vote. Find out how she's going to the extra effort to get people motivated, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Every Friday we profile someone who makes the extra effort to help others, and today we hear from Eve Mueller (ph) of affiliate WBNS in Columbus, Ohio, about a young girl who's raising political awareness among her classmates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.
EVE MUELLER (ph): Essence Cheatum (ph) is one of her names. "Madam President" is the other.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody knows we have a debate coming up.
MUELLER: Her pro-Kerry group at Duxbury (ph) Park Alternative Elementary School meets every Tuesday, sacrificing hula hoop, hopscotch and football at recess to talk about fun things like...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Medicare.
MUELLER: And?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Toxic waste.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a student that I think comes around once in a lifetime. She's so driven and passionate about her beliefs.
MUELLER: They researched the issues, and always do a little Bush bashing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pinocchio.
MUELLER: Now Essence's effort has prompted a pro-Bush group to form at the school, but they haven't yet had a meeting. There's a debate in two weeks, and all kids will vote here November 2nd. Sure, the votes don't count, but the effort does.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's why I actually kind of started this group. Because I wanted to kind of like make a difference in the school.
Have to go, bell rung.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Oh, good for her. Well, that was Eve Mueller from affiliate WNBS of Columbus, Ohio.
And that is it for us here at the set of AMERICAN MORNING.
Jack Cafferty, Andy Serwer, see you guys Monday.
SERWER: On the flip-flop.
CAFFERTY: See you a week from Monday. I'm on vacation next week.
COLLINS: Oh, we will miss you terribly.
SERWER: Oh, Jack, how are we going to carry on?
COLLINS: Meanwhile, though, we're going to check in with bill hemmer. He is standing by in Columbus, Ohio.
What are we going to do? He's not going to be with us, Bill.
HEMMER: I'm telling you, Jack. Call us every morning, will you?
CAFFERTY: Yes, I will. HEMMER: No chance.
We've got to run, have a great weekend. Here's Carol Lin at the CNN Center in Atlanta.
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