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CNN Live At Daybreak
Battleground Ohio; Afghan Election; Fight For Iraq; Stem Cell Battle; Clashing Images
Aired October 05, 2004 - 05:30 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.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well 28 days to go before the national election and the two men who could be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office are heading for a showdown. Who do you think will do a better job in tonight's vice presidential debate?
Well a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup Poll taken over the weekend asked more than 1,000 registered and likely voters, and it seems they are about evenly split. Forty-two percent picked John Edwards, 40 percent Dick Cheney. Fifteen percent, well, they just aren't sure. The poll has an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.
Rallying their supporters, that's what John Edwards and Dick Cheney will do before and after their debate in Cleveland, Ohio. Edwards flew in last night and warms up today with a noontime town hall meeting outside the city. Late tonight, he'll hold a rally at Case Western University after debating Cheney there.
The vice president comes to Cleveland later this afternoon. Dick Cheney plans to talk to supporters at the airport. He'll also hold a post debate rally. Cheney has been practicing in Wyoming.
So who is your choice for vice president and why is he the better man? That takes us to our e-mail "Question of the Day," why do you think your V.P. choice will win the debate? Drop us a line at DAYBREAK@CNN.com and we'll read those responses on the air.
Before, after and during, CNN is, of course, bringing you live debate coverage tonight. It all starts at 7:00 Eastern Time from Cleveland.
The campaign spotlight is on Ohio, but not just because of the debate, the Buckeye State is seen as a major battleground in the presidential race. Why Ohio?
Well CNN's Chris Lawrence went to Dayton to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The battle for Ohio's undecided voters is being fought block by block, one home at a time.
CHAD COONS, UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm not too fond of Kerry, but I'm not too fond of Bush's economy.
LAWRENCE: Chad Coons and his cousin are both carpet installers who say expenses are up and business down under President Bush.
COONS: But he's trying to keep us safe, which, as in Kerry and my point doesn't want to keep us safe.
LAWRENCE: Precinct 11H is a small slice of Dayton, just a little more than 500 registered voters, but evenly split.
(on camera): In the last three presidential elections, the man who won this precinct also went on to win the state. And that's important to both men, because it's been over 40 years since any candidate lost Ohio and went on to win the White House.
(voice-over): Here, no vote can be taken for granted.
SUSAN BLAYLOCK, DEMOCRAT VOTING REPUBLICAN: I'm a registered Democrat, but I am voting Republican.
LAWRENCE: Susan Blaylock's husband lost his job since President Bush took office, but Blaylock says she won't vote for Kerry.
BLAYLOCK: I think he thinks because of his military record that's what's going to get him in.
LAWRENCE: But down at the neighborhood's only bar, owner Ed Reichert says business is so bad he just has to vote for Kerry.
ED REICHERT, VOTING FOR KERRY: I believe firmly in a lot of the Republican political platform, but I have to vote with my pocketbook. I have to eat before I can protest.
LAWRENCE: And it's voters like these crossing party lines, and making last-minute decisions that could swing an election from one side to the other.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Dayton, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Now to the presidential election in Afghanistan, the landmark vote is just four days away. Twenty-three candidates are in the race to become the nation's first popularly elected president, and one of the candidates is a woman.
Our senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports now from Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Down a dark corridor to a small election office filled with volunteers, Massouda Jalal is making history as the first ever Afghan woman to run for president.
MASSOUDA JALAL, AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Three years back, I couldn't even dream about being a presidential candidate. AMANPOUR: With less than a week to the election, this 41-year- old mother of three begs for more TV time, organizing grassroots support, strategizes with her running mate.
JALAL: No fundamental change has been taken place. It's still women are not participating equally in political, social, economical and cultural life of the country. It's still women are not equally participating in the decision making power. It's still Afghan women are not participating equally in the leadership of the country.
AMANPOUR: So while she's a long shot to win, her candidacy is all about change.
(on camera): Here in the capital Kabul, girls are being educated and women can find work. But in the vast majority of Afghanistan, in the countryside, women still can't even leave their homes without permission from their fathers or their brothers. Still, a source of hope, according to the U.N., is that 41 percent of the voters they've registered are, in fact, women.
(voice-over): On this busy market street, women are excited about voting and about Massouda.
"She's capable and deserves to be a candidate," says this shopper.
But in this bakery run by war widows, they shriek at the very thought.
"At no time could a woman become the leader of our country. Never," says Royal (ph).
But these war widows say they'll vote for anyone, except those candidates close to the warlords who kept this country fighting for 25 years.
Woman or man, voters say the winner of these elections will, above all, be the one they believe can keep the peace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now many people say that that person is Hamid Karzai, the current transitional president. And he has basically been appointed and in power here by the Loya Jirga ever since the fall of the Taliban. So he's well known. He has a lot of support from the U.S., from the international community.
He had one rally here or rather in a neighboring province today. That amounts to his only rally, because the last time he tried to go out, there was an assassination attempt on him. So it's a very dicey situation. The violence is threatening, in some areas, the Election Day. So everybody is sort of a little bit nervous about what they might find on Saturday -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Christiane, while many people really celebrate this female candidate for running in this election, how realistic are her chances of winning?
AMANPOUR: Well not that realistic, she is a long shot, but she has insisted that she should run. It's her right, she says, under the constitution. And that hers is as much a real candidacy as a symbolic one. And you know she herself has said that while she has the opportunity to run for president and she is educated and she is fairly sophisticated, the majority of women in Afghanistan simply are not. And even after the Taliban, things have not got better for so many women in Afghanistan.
And that is going to be the subject of our next report which we'll have later today -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Christiane Amanpour, thank you for that.
And Christiane's next report will be the fate of Afghan women nearly three years after the fall of the Taliban, is life any better today? Be sure to tune in to DAYBREAK tomorrow for that story.
The American who governed Iraq after the invasion last year reportedly says the U.S. made two big mistakes that hurt the military campaign. According to "The Washington Post," former Ambassador Paul Bremer says U.S. did not deploy enough troops to Iraq and the military did not contain the violence and looting after Saddam Hussein's ouster. "The Post" cites a West Virginia speech where Bremer said -- quote -- "we paid a big price for not stopping it because it established an atmosphere of lawlessness...We never had enough troops on the ground."
So let's talk more about developments in Iraq, and our senior international editor David Clinch joins us with much more on all of this.
Those remarks, I think a lot of people found them very surprising to come from Paul Bremer.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: They do. Perhaps surprising. I mean he's acknowledging something, which I think a lot of the U.S. military have been saying, that at a crucial point when there was a high degree of lawlessness developing after the U.S. ousted the regime, there were not enough troops to apply security throughout the entire country. And it is still, nevertheless, interesting to hear him say this.
NGUYEN: During a presidential election.
CLINCH: Exactly, during this time period. And these issues which, as you said, in many ways are old issues, the issues of how many troops should have been on the ground then and other issues we'll talk about in a minute, the weapons of mass destruction. These old issues have, in many ways, been supplanted in this present presidential election environment by the current level of violence. But of course many people saying that this current level of violence is at exactly and precisely a result of that decision about how many troops went in the first place. And of course many people saying that the man who made that decision about how many troops would go in the first place or the key person, Donald Rumsfeld, he also had some interesting things to say yesterday about this old issue of weapons of mass destruction. Saying, really, for the first time, that in his opinion the pre- invasion intelligence about weapons of mass destruction was wrong, plain wrong. He says he doesn't know why it was wrong, but he said it was wrong. An interesting development from Rumsfeld who has continually, in the past few months, said that he still thought that was open to debate.
Now that of course relates to an interesting coincidence this week that is that the weapons of mass destruction group, led by a man named Charles Duelfer. We sort of have forgotten about this issue,...
NGUYEN: Right.
CLINCH: ... but he's been busy putting together a report.
NGUYEN: That report is about to come out.
CLINCH: That's going to come out tomorrow. Now we don't really know exactly what's going to be in it. Strong indications that there won't be much in terms of any evidence of weapons of mass destruction. But some reporting today that the Bush administration may find some things in that report which they may try to use as an indication intelligence that Saddam didn't have weapons but was ready, waiting and prepared to click back these weapons of mass destruction programs.
NGUYEN: Which is what Condoleezza Rice said over the weekend.
CLINCH: Exactly. Her indication saying, yes, maybe we were wrong about stockpiles, but the Bush administration still sticking to the idea that he was ready and willing and able to reinstitute those programs if he wanted to. We'll be watching that report tomorrow very, very closely.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. It's going to be very interesting to see what they find.
Thank you, David Clinch, appreciate that.
CLINCH: All right -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well here are some stories making news "Across America" this morning.
A great white shark that had been trapped in a shallow lagoon near Cape Cod for two weeks is finally free. Scientists have been working for days to coax the 1,700-pound shark out. And it wiggled into open waters on Monday, good thing.
In Louisiana, rain, sleet and snow may not keep the mail carrier away, but flying bullets certainly will. The Postal Service stopped home delivery to a part of a street in Shreveport, this, after a little girl was shot and a mail carrier was almost hit when neighbors were shooting at each other. The neighbors declared a truce, but mail carriers, well, they aren't buying it.
Las Vegas police are backing off the hate crime label first given to a drive-by shooting last month at the home of Siegfried and Roy. Witness told a policeman fired four shots, told police that is, a man fired four shots and shouted that the two entertainers should get out of the country. Police say that wasn't enough to constitute a hate crime.
It's a stem cell stalemate. Although the issue of stem cell research has been around for awhile, but what do voters think? Coming up in five minutes, stem cells, the state and science.
Also, the running mate debate takes on new meaning, but who is the favorite? In 13 minutes, Dick Cheney and John Edwards get their one and only chance to go head to head in Ohio.
And that gets us to our e-mail "Question of the Day," why will your vice presidential choice win the debate?
But first though, want to look at what else is making news on this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Your news, money, weather and sports. The time right now is 5:44 Eastern. Here is what's new this morning.
We're expecting the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to announce this year's Nobel Prize winner for physics any moment now. Here is a live picture as we wait for that announcement in Stockholm, Sweden. At least two Americans are considered to be strong candidates for the $1.3 million award. The chemistry prize will be announced tomorrow.
Geologists say another round of small earthquakes rocked Mount St. Helens throughout the night. And they now believe yesterday's two small eruptions were really just precursors for a much larger explosion that could happen soon.
In money, the Supreme Court says Visa and MasterCard can no longer keep banks from offering American Express and Discover. Justices agreed Visa and MasterCard violated federal antitrust laws.
In culture, Anne Frank could be the first person ever granted Dutch citizenship posthumously. The Dutch parliament is taking up the matter today. The Jewish teen wrote about her wish to become Dutch in her famous wartime diary.
In sports, Scottie Pippen is calling it quits. Reports say the 17-year NBA veteran will announce his retirement later today. Pippen shared six NBA titles as Michael Jordan's teammate with the Chicago Bulls. He played in just 23 games last year due to injuries, but boy was he great in his heyday.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and is he still rich?
NGUYEN: Yes, definitely. MYERS: Yes.
NGUYEN: And will be for quite some time.
MYERS: Absolutely. When you have that much money, you can retire any time you want to.
Hey, good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Back to you -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, thank you, Chad.
Like the economy and gay marriage, stem cell research could become a key Election Day issue in several states. Numerous measures that approve funding for research have made their way on to the November ballot. And Senator John Kerry is also taking up the issue with criticism over the federal guidelines on research.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The hard truth is that when it comes to stem cell research, this president is making the wrong choice to sacrifice science for extreme right wing ideology, and that's unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: CNN's Thelma Gutierrez takes a look at the battle over a California bill that would be the biggest in the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine a world without disease.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parkinson's, heart disease.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cure is for HIV/AIDS.
GUTIERREZ: It sounds far-fetched, but many scientists believe some cures may be within reach.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm opening the liquid nitrogen freezer.
GUTIERREZ: They say the key is in stem cell research, developing ways for healthy cells to replace damaged cells.
Adult stem cell research has a proven track record in the treatment of some diseases, like blood cancers, but there are limitations. For example, no success so far in developing better treatments for diabetes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are the actual vials of stem cells.
GUTIERREZ: It's the use of embryonic stem cells, those taken from human embryos, that has huge medical potential for curing diseases like diabetes. But some people fear the technology in this research could lead to human cloning, a debate at the heart of one of California's November ballot initiatives.
It's called Prop 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.
DR. VINCE FORTANASE, PROP 71 OPPONENT: This is a cloning bill. This bill will fund cloning.
DR. LARRY GOLDSTEIN, PROP 71 SUPPORTER: They like to use the word "cloning" as a weapon to scare people.
GUTIERREZ: Prop 71 would authorize $3 billion in state funds for research which is currently excluded from federal funding. Research that would allow creation of new embryonic stem cell lines.
FORTANASE: They're being disingenuous and devious.
GUTIERREZ: Dr. Vince Fortanase leads the opposition to Proposition 71. He says this wording could pave the way for private biotech companies to develop human cloning technology at the expense of California taxpayers.
FORTANASE: What they don't tell you is the words "somatic cell nuclear transfer," which is the definition of cloning, according to the National Academy of Science.
GUTIERREZ: Dr. Larry Goldstein, a leading scientist in stem cell research, says the opposition is using scare tactics. He says current state law forbids human reproductive cloning, and the initiative clearly states there will be no funding for that purpose.
GOLDSTEIN: The technology of nuclear transfer could, in principle, be misused to try to clone a person. We don't ban technologies for fear of misuse.
GUTIERREZ: Real estate developer Robert Klein kicked in more than $2 million of his own money to back Prop 71.
ROBERT KLEIN, CHAIRMAN, PROP 71: Proposition 71 is very personal to me, because my youngest son, Jordan, has juvenile diabetes. And my mother is dying with Alzheimer's.
GUTIERREZ: Klein says the research underwritten by Prop 71 has the potential to cure chronic diseases.
KLEIN: Ten to 13 years worth of research on the most promising research to cure Parkinson's, Alzheimer's heart disease, diabetes, by the best scientists in the world.
TOM BORDONARO, PROP 71 OPPONENT: It's misleading. It is giving people false hope in embryonic stem cell research.
GUTIERREZ: Tom Bordonaro is a former California assemblyman.
BORDONARO: Long time no see.
GUTIERREZ: For 27 years, he's been confined to a wheelchair. He says nothing would make him happier than if a cure was found for spinal cord injuries, like his own, but he says Prop 71 isn't the answer.
BORDONARO: It's a total boondoggle for venture capitalists who don't want to spend the private dollars in an area that is a long shot for any type of human treatment.
GUTIERREZ: Robert Klein says he wants society to take the chance to offer his son and other families a ray of hope.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That report was from CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
The California bill would mean $3 billion for research over the next 10 years. Federal funding for stem cells accounts for about $25 million annually.
Dick Cheney and John Edwards prepare to do battle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People keep telling me that Senator Edwards got picked for his good looks, his charm, because he's sexy and has great hair. And I said, "How do you think I got the job?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: They are putting their best faces forward, but have they considered the running mate redo? Our Jeanne Moos has the makeover story ahead.
And of course our e-mail "Question of the Day," why do you think your vice presidential choice will win the debate? We'll read some of your responses ahead.
This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It's hard to say whether tonight's debate will really impact what voters do on Election Day, but one thing is for sure, it will be an interesting showdown. About the only things these two men have in common is the stage they'll be sharing.
Here is Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prepare for mouth- to-mouth combat. Toothy grin versus slightly twisted grimace, a demeanor that attracts detractors on the web.
"The New York Daily News" likened Dick Cheney to Darth Vader.
JAMES EARL JONES, VOICE OF DARTH VADER: Don't make me destroy you.
MOOS: And John Edwards to Robin.
BURT WARD, ACTOR: No policeman is going to give the Batmobile a ticket.
MOOS: The boy wonder has hair that's flattered by the breeze, while not even a hurricane could disturb Dick Cheney's hairdo.
But that leaves Edwards open to the disparaging nickname, the Breck Girl. Rush Limbaugh's Web site even features a composite. Who knew good hair could end up being political split ends?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think of the close relationship that Senator Kerry and Edwards share?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you implying? That he's a beautiful man with the hair of a pony?
MOOS: A pony pitted against a Clydesdale.
CHENEY: People keep telling me that Senator Edwards got picked for his good looks, his charm, because he's sexy and has great hair. And I said, "How do you think I got the job?"
MOOS: While "People" magazine once named Edwards sexiest politician, "New York Magazine" once proposed a makeover for Dick Cheney, consulting experts who recommended removing bags from under his eyes, trimming his waistline, getting porcelain veneers on his teeth, and new angular eyeglasses.
We can only imagine how the vice president would respond.
CHENEY: Enough foolishness.
MOOS: When it comes to verbal fencing, Darth Vader's powers could render a debate opponent speechless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vader, release him.
JONES: As you wish.
MOOS: When Darth meets the boy wonder, don't expect a powwow, just a pow!
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: And that brings us to our e-mail "Question of the Day," why will your vice presidential candidate win tonight? We got lots of interesting responses.
This person says when will the U.S. recognize that you don't have to be a bully to be strong. I'll pick Edwards over Cheney any time. And by the way, Edwards has more experience in national politics than Bush had when he became president. So why are the Republicans mounting off on that issue?
This other person writes, I believe Mr. Cheney will win the debate because of his vast experience over Senator Edwards. Edwards looks like a cheap salesman trying to get you to buy something that you don't want.
And this person says John Edwards has spent his life defending the average American against large companies and special interests. Everything that Dick Cheney is the epitome of. Behind the door energy agendas, Halliburton and his ties to big business, John Edwards is a fresh breath of air and does not carry any of the old baggage that old politicians have and owe to people who got them there and have kept them there.
And this last response, Cheney, this comes from Herb in Texas. He says Cheney is a better vice presidential candidate -- not candidate, he is vice president. But he said Cheney is better because he is qualified to be president. And quite simply, Edwards isn't even close.
Of course we appreciate all those responses today to our e-mail "Question of the Day."
Well the vice presidential candidates prepare to clash over the issues. In the next hour, we'll talk more about the Cheney-Edwards match up.
From Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK for Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 5, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well 28 days to go before the national election and the two men who could be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office are heading for a showdown. Who do you think will do a better job in tonight's vice presidential debate?
Well a CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup Poll taken over the weekend asked more than 1,000 registered and likely voters, and it seems they are about evenly split. Forty-two percent picked John Edwards, 40 percent Dick Cheney. Fifteen percent, well, they just aren't sure. The poll has an error margin of plus or minus three percentage points.
Rallying their supporters, that's what John Edwards and Dick Cheney will do before and after their debate in Cleveland, Ohio. Edwards flew in last night and warms up today with a noontime town hall meeting outside the city. Late tonight, he'll hold a rally at Case Western University after debating Cheney there.
The vice president comes to Cleveland later this afternoon. Dick Cheney plans to talk to supporters at the airport. He'll also hold a post debate rally. Cheney has been practicing in Wyoming.
So who is your choice for vice president and why is he the better man? That takes us to our e-mail "Question of the Day," why do you think your V.P. choice will win the debate? Drop us a line at DAYBREAK@CNN.com and we'll read those responses on the air.
Before, after and during, CNN is, of course, bringing you live debate coverage tonight. It all starts at 7:00 Eastern Time from Cleveland.
The campaign spotlight is on Ohio, but not just because of the debate, the Buckeye State is seen as a major battleground in the presidential race. Why Ohio?
Well CNN's Chris Lawrence went to Dayton to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The battle for Ohio's undecided voters is being fought block by block, one home at a time.
CHAD COONS, UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm not too fond of Kerry, but I'm not too fond of Bush's economy.
LAWRENCE: Chad Coons and his cousin are both carpet installers who say expenses are up and business down under President Bush.
COONS: But he's trying to keep us safe, which, as in Kerry and my point doesn't want to keep us safe.
LAWRENCE: Precinct 11H is a small slice of Dayton, just a little more than 500 registered voters, but evenly split.
(on camera): In the last three presidential elections, the man who won this precinct also went on to win the state. And that's important to both men, because it's been over 40 years since any candidate lost Ohio and went on to win the White House.
(voice-over): Here, no vote can be taken for granted.
SUSAN BLAYLOCK, DEMOCRAT VOTING REPUBLICAN: I'm a registered Democrat, but I am voting Republican.
LAWRENCE: Susan Blaylock's husband lost his job since President Bush took office, but Blaylock says she won't vote for Kerry.
BLAYLOCK: I think he thinks because of his military record that's what's going to get him in.
LAWRENCE: But down at the neighborhood's only bar, owner Ed Reichert says business is so bad he just has to vote for Kerry.
ED REICHERT, VOTING FOR KERRY: I believe firmly in a lot of the Republican political platform, but I have to vote with my pocketbook. I have to eat before I can protest.
LAWRENCE: And it's voters like these crossing party lines, and making last-minute decisions that could swing an election from one side to the other.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Dayton, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Now to the presidential election in Afghanistan, the landmark vote is just four days away. Twenty-three candidates are in the race to become the nation's first popularly elected president, and one of the candidates is a woman.
Our senior international correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports now from Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Down a dark corridor to a small election office filled with volunteers, Massouda Jalal is making history as the first ever Afghan woman to run for president.
MASSOUDA JALAL, AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Three years back, I couldn't even dream about being a presidential candidate. AMANPOUR: With less than a week to the election, this 41-year- old mother of three begs for more TV time, organizing grassroots support, strategizes with her running mate.
JALAL: No fundamental change has been taken place. It's still women are not participating equally in political, social, economical and cultural life of the country. It's still women are not equally participating in the decision making power. It's still Afghan women are not participating equally in the leadership of the country.
AMANPOUR: So while she's a long shot to win, her candidacy is all about change.
(on camera): Here in the capital Kabul, girls are being educated and women can find work. But in the vast majority of Afghanistan, in the countryside, women still can't even leave their homes without permission from their fathers or their brothers. Still, a source of hope, according to the U.N., is that 41 percent of the voters they've registered are, in fact, women.
(voice-over): On this busy market street, women are excited about voting and about Massouda.
"She's capable and deserves to be a candidate," says this shopper.
But in this bakery run by war widows, they shriek at the very thought.
"At no time could a woman become the leader of our country. Never," says Royal (ph).
But these war widows say they'll vote for anyone, except those candidates close to the warlords who kept this country fighting for 25 years.
Woman or man, voters say the winner of these elections will, above all, be the one they believe can keep the peace.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Now many people say that that person is Hamid Karzai, the current transitional president. And he has basically been appointed and in power here by the Loya Jirga ever since the fall of the Taliban. So he's well known. He has a lot of support from the U.S., from the international community.
He had one rally here or rather in a neighboring province today. That amounts to his only rally, because the last time he tried to go out, there was an assassination attempt on him. So it's a very dicey situation. The violence is threatening, in some areas, the Election Day. So everybody is sort of a little bit nervous about what they might find on Saturday -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Christiane, while many people really celebrate this female candidate for running in this election, how realistic are her chances of winning?
AMANPOUR: Well not that realistic, she is a long shot, but she has insisted that she should run. It's her right, she says, under the constitution. And that hers is as much a real candidacy as a symbolic one. And you know she herself has said that while she has the opportunity to run for president and she is educated and she is fairly sophisticated, the majority of women in Afghanistan simply are not. And even after the Taliban, things have not got better for so many women in Afghanistan.
And that is going to be the subject of our next report which we'll have later today -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Christiane Amanpour, thank you for that.
And Christiane's next report will be the fate of Afghan women nearly three years after the fall of the Taliban, is life any better today? Be sure to tune in to DAYBREAK tomorrow for that story.
The American who governed Iraq after the invasion last year reportedly says the U.S. made two big mistakes that hurt the military campaign. According to "The Washington Post," former Ambassador Paul Bremer says U.S. did not deploy enough troops to Iraq and the military did not contain the violence and looting after Saddam Hussein's ouster. "The Post" cites a West Virginia speech where Bremer said -- quote -- "we paid a big price for not stopping it because it established an atmosphere of lawlessness...We never had enough troops on the ground."
So let's talk more about developments in Iraq, and our senior international editor David Clinch joins us with much more on all of this.
Those remarks, I think a lot of people found them very surprising to come from Paul Bremer.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: They do. Perhaps surprising. I mean he's acknowledging something, which I think a lot of the U.S. military have been saying, that at a crucial point when there was a high degree of lawlessness developing after the U.S. ousted the regime, there were not enough troops to apply security throughout the entire country. And it is still, nevertheless, interesting to hear him say this.
NGUYEN: During a presidential election.
CLINCH: Exactly, during this time period. And these issues which, as you said, in many ways are old issues, the issues of how many troops should have been on the ground then and other issues we'll talk about in a minute, the weapons of mass destruction. These old issues have, in many ways, been supplanted in this present presidential election environment by the current level of violence. But of course many people saying that this current level of violence is at exactly and precisely a result of that decision about how many troops went in the first place. And of course many people saying that the man who made that decision about how many troops would go in the first place or the key person, Donald Rumsfeld, he also had some interesting things to say yesterday about this old issue of weapons of mass destruction. Saying, really, for the first time, that in his opinion the pre- invasion intelligence about weapons of mass destruction was wrong, plain wrong. He says he doesn't know why it was wrong, but he said it was wrong. An interesting development from Rumsfeld who has continually, in the past few months, said that he still thought that was open to debate.
Now that of course relates to an interesting coincidence this week that is that the weapons of mass destruction group, led by a man named Charles Duelfer. We sort of have forgotten about this issue,...
NGUYEN: Right.
CLINCH: ... but he's been busy putting together a report.
NGUYEN: That report is about to come out.
CLINCH: That's going to come out tomorrow. Now we don't really know exactly what's going to be in it. Strong indications that there won't be much in terms of any evidence of weapons of mass destruction. But some reporting today that the Bush administration may find some things in that report which they may try to use as an indication intelligence that Saddam didn't have weapons but was ready, waiting and prepared to click back these weapons of mass destruction programs.
NGUYEN: Which is what Condoleezza Rice said over the weekend.
CLINCH: Exactly. Her indication saying, yes, maybe we were wrong about stockpiles, but the Bush administration still sticking to the idea that he was ready and willing and able to reinstitute those programs if he wanted to. We'll be watching that report tomorrow very, very closely.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. It's going to be very interesting to see what they find.
Thank you, David Clinch, appreciate that.
CLINCH: All right -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Well here are some stories making news "Across America" this morning.
A great white shark that had been trapped in a shallow lagoon near Cape Cod for two weeks is finally free. Scientists have been working for days to coax the 1,700-pound shark out. And it wiggled into open waters on Monday, good thing.
In Louisiana, rain, sleet and snow may not keep the mail carrier away, but flying bullets certainly will. The Postal Service stopped home delivery to a part of a street in Shreveport, this, after a little girl was shot and a mail carrier was almost hit when neighbors were shooting at each other. The neighbors declared a truce, but mail carriers, well, they aren't buying it.
Las Vegas police are backing off the hate crime label first given to a drive-by shooting last month at the home of Siegfried and Roy. Witness told a policeman fired four shots, told police that is, a man fired four shots and shouted that the two entertainers should get out of the country. Police say that wasn't enough to constitute a hate crime.
It's a stem cell stalemate. Although the issue of stem cell research has been around for awhile, but what do voters think? Coming up in five minutes, stem cells, the state and science.
Also, the running mate debate takes on new meaning, but who is the favorite? In 13 minutes, Dick Cheney and John Edwards get their one and only chance to go head to head in Ohio.
And that gets us to our e-mail "Question of the Day," why will your vice presidential choice win the debate?
But first though, want to look at what else is making news on this Tuesday morning.
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NGUYEN: Your news, money, weather and sports. The time right now is 5:44 Eastern. Here is what's new this morning.
We're expecting the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to announce this year's Nobel Prize winner for physics any moment now. Here is a live picture as we wait for that announcement in Stockholm, Sweden. At least two Americans are considered to be strong candidates for the $1.3 million award. The chemistry prize will be announced tomorrow.
Geologists say another round of small earthquakes rocked Mount St. Helens throughout the night. And they now believe yesterday's two small eruptions were really just precursors for a much larger explosion that could happen soon.
In money, the Supreme Court says Visa and MasterCard can no longer keep banks from offering American Express and Discover. Justices agreed Visa and MasterCard violated federal antitrust laws.
In culture, Anne Frank could be the first person ever granted Dutch citizenship posthumously. The Dutch parliament is taking up the matter today. The Jewish teen wrote about her wish to become Dutch in her famous wartime diary.
In sports, Scottie Pippen is calling it quits. Reports say the 17-year NBA veteran will announce his retirement later today. Pippen shared six NBA titles as Michael Jordan's teammate with the Chicago Bulls. He played in just 23 games last year due to injuries, but boy was he great in his heyday.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and is he still rich?
NGUYEN: Yes, definitely. MYERS: Yes.
NGUYEN: And will be for quite some time.
MYERS: Absolutely. When you have that much money, you can retire any time you want to.
Hey, good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Back to you -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right, thank you, Chad.
Like the economy and gay marriage, stem cell research could become a key Election Day issue in several states. Numerous measures that approve funding for research have made their way on to the November ballot. And Senator John Kerry is also taking up the issue with criticism over the federal guidelines on research.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The hard truth is that when it comes to stem cell research, this president is making the wrong choice to sacrifice science for extreme right wing ideology, and that's unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: CNN's Thelma Gutierrez takes a look at the battle over a California bill that would be the biggest in the country.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine a world without disease.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parkinson's, heart disease.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cure is for HIV/AIDS.
GUTIERREZ: It sounds far-fetched, but many scientists believe some cures may be within reach.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm opening the liquid nitrogen freezer.
GUTIERREZ: They say the key is in stem cell research, developing ways for healthy cells to replace damaged cells.
Adult stem cell research has a proven track record in the treatment of some diseases, like blood cancers, but there are limitations. For example, no success so far in developing better treatments for diabetes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are the actual vials of stem cells.
GUTIERREZ: It's the use of embryonic stem cells, those taken from human embryos, that has huge medical potential for curing diseases like diabetes. But some people fear the technology in this research could lead to human cloning, a debate at the heart of one of California's November ballot initiatives.
It's called Prop 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative.
DR. VINCE FORTANASE, PROP 71 OPPONENT: This is a cloning bill. This bill will fund cloning.
DR. LARRY GOLDSTEIN, PROP 71 SUPPORTER: They like to use the word "cloning" as a weapon to scare people.
GUTIERREZ: Prop 71 would authorize $3 billion in state funds for research which is currently excluded from federal funding. Research that would allow creation of new embryonic stem cell lines.
FORTANASE: They're being disingenuous and devious.
GUTIERREZ: Dr. Vince Fortanase leads the opposition to Proposition 71. He says this wording could pave the way for private biotech companies to develop human cloning technology at the expense of California taxpayers.
FORTANASE: What they don't tell you is the words "somatic cell nuclear transfer," which is the definition of cloning, according to the National Academy of Science.
GUTIERREZ: Dr. Larry Goldstein, a leading scientist in stem cell research, says the opposition is using scare tactics. He says current state law forbids human reproductive cloning, and the initiative clearly states there will be no funding for that purpose.
GOLDSTEIN: The technology of nuclear transfer could, in principle, be misused to try to clone a person. We don't ban technologies for fear of misuse.
GUTIERREZ: Real estate developer Robert Klein kicked in more than $2 million of his own money to back Prop 71.
ROBERT KLEIN, CHAIRMAN, PROP 71: Proposition 71 is very personal to me, because my youngest son, Jordan, has juvenile diabetes. And my mother is dying with Alzheimer's.
GUTIERREZ: Klein says the research underwritten by Prop 71 has the potential to cure chronic diseases.
KLEIN: Ten to 13 years worth of research on the most promising research to cure Parkinson's, Alzheimer's heart disease, diabetes, by the best scientists in the world.
TOM BORDONARO, PROP 71 OPPONENT: It's misleading. It is giving people false hope in embryonic stem cell research.
GUTIERREZ: Tom Bordonaro is a former California assemblyman.
BORDONARO: Long time no see.
GUTIERREZ: For 27 years, he's been confined to a wheelchair. He says nothing would make him happier than if a cure was found for spinal cord injuries, like his own, but he says Prop 71 isn't the answer.
BORDONARO: It's a total boondoggle for venture capitalists who don't want to spend the private dollars in an area that is a long shot for any type of human treatment.
GUTIERREZ: Robert Klein says he wants society to take the chance to offer his son and other families a ray of hope.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That report was from CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
The California bill would mean $3 billion for research over the next 10 years. Federal funding for stem cells accounts for about $25 million annually.
Dick Cheney and John Edwards prepare to do battle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People keep telling me that Senator Edwards got picked for his good looks, his charm, because he's sexy and has great hair. And I said, "How do you think I got the job?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: They are putting their best faces forward, but have they considered the running mate redo? Our Jeanne Moos has the makeover story ahead.
And of course our e-mail "Question of the Day," why do you think your vice presidential choice will win the debate? We'll read some of your responses ahead.
This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday morning.
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NGUYEN: It's hard to say whether tonight's debate will really impact what voters do on Election Day, but one thing is for sure, it will be an interesting showdown. About the only things these two men have in common is the stage they'll be sharing.
Here is Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Prepare for mouth- to-mouth combat. Toothy grin versus slightly twisted grimace, a demeanor that attracts detractors on the web.
"The New York Daily News" likened Dick Cheney to Darth Vader.
JAMES EARL JONES, VOICE OF DARTH VADER: Don't make me destroy you.
MOOS: And John Edwards to Robin.
BURT WARD, ACTOR: No policeman is going to give the Batmobile a ticket.
MOOS: The boy wonder has hair that's flattered by the breeze, while not even a hurricane could disturb Dick Cheney's hairdo.
But that leaves Edwards open to the disparaging nickname, the Breck Girl. Rush Limbaugh's Web site even features a composite. Who knew good hair could end up being political split ends?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you think of the close relationship that Senator Kerry and Edwards share?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you implying? That he's a beautiful man with the hair of a pony?
MOOS: A pony pitted against a Clydesdale.
CHENEY: People keep telling me that Senator Edwards got picked for his good looks, his charm, because he's sexy and has great hair. And I said, "How do you think I got the job?"
MOOS: While "People" magazine once named Edwards sexiest politician, "New York Magazine" once proposed a makeover for Dick Cheney, consulting experts who recommended removing bags from under his eyes, trimming his waistline, getting porcelain veneers on his teeth, and new angular eyeglasses.
We can only imagine how the vice president would respond.
CHENEY: Enough foolishness.
MOOS: When it comes to verbal fencing, Darth Vader's powers could render a debate opponent speechless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vader, release him.
JONES: As you wish.
MOOS: When Darth meets the boy wonder, don't expect a powwow, just a pow!
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: And that brings us to our e-mail "Question of the Day," why will your vice presidential candidate win tonight? We got lots of interesting responses.
This person says when will the U.S. recognize that you don't have to be a bully to be strong. I'll pick Edwards over Cheney any time. And by the way, Edwards has more experience in national politics than Bush had when he became president. So why are the Republicans mounting off on that issue?
This other person writes, I believe Mr. Cheney will win the debate because of his vast experience over Senator Edwards. Edwards looks like a cheap salesman trying to get you to buy something that you don't want.
And this person says John Edwards has spent his life defending the average American against large companies and special interests. Everything that Dick Cheney is the epitome of. Behind the door energy agendas, Halliburton and his ties to big business, John Edwards is a fresh breath of air and does not carry any of the old baggage that old politicians have and owe to people who got them there and have kept them there.
And this last response, Cheney, this comes from Herb in Texas. He says Cheney is a better vice presidential candidate -- not candidate, he is vice president. But he said Cheney is better because he is qualified to be president. And quite simply, Edwards isn't even close.
Of course we appreciate all those responses today to our e-mail "Question of the Day."
Well the vice presidential candidates prepare to clash over the issues. In the next hour, we'll talk more about the Cheney-Edwards match up.
From Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK for Tuesday morning.
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