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American Morning

Recapping the VP Debate; Rodney Dangerfield Dies at 82; Fraud, Mismanagement in Florida Voter Registrations; Ripple Effect of Flu Vaccine Shortage

Aired October 06, 2004 - 08:33   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. Good morning from Cleveland. Hello Cleveland! Our final day here in northern Ohio, talking about again the talk from last night, the vice- presidential debate.
If there were hits and misses, you can count on the guys from "CROSSFIRE" to catch each and every one. Paul Begala, Tucker Carlson with me in a moment here. They are blogging, too, at cnn.com.

Also, Florida has a brand new election controversy this year. Thousands who thought they were registered to vote now finding out they are not. Republicans and Democrats pointing fingers yet again. We'll get you caught up on that story from the Sunshine State.

Back to New York now and again with Heidi Collins. Heidi, good morning back there.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Bet you wish you were in the Sunshine State there this morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Slightly warmer than here, yeah.

COLLINS: Yeah, all right, well, thanks so much.

Also this morning, Sanjay Gupta is going to be talking with us about the shortage of flu vaccines. What will be the impact when flu season comes around? And what should Americans do now if they were planning on getting a flu shot? We'll ask the doctor in just a moment.

For now, though, in the news this morning -- the United States has vetoed a resolution calling for Israel to stop its attacks in Gaza. Despite the veto, the U.S. has called on Israel to end its latest incursion into Gaza as soon as possible.

Israeli Military continued its offensive this morning. Some 80 people have been killed in the region since Israel launched retaliatory attacks there more than one week ago.

Sudan is facing international pressure now to immediately stop the violence in Darfur. Five days after his heart procedure, British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived today in Sudan to put pressure on the Sudanese government to end the crisis. Meanwhile, the U.S. and U.N. expressed concern that African Union troops will not get to Sudan until next year. A new study shows a link between hormone pills and blood clots. Researchers say estrogen progestin supplements doubles the chance that post-menopausal women will develop blood clots in the legs or lungs. The risk is even higher for women who are overweight or in their 60s. The study can be found in "The Journal of the American Medical Association."

Willie Nelson on Capitol Hill this morning. The country singer asking the government to do more to help family farmers. Nelson is a founder of Farm Aid. It's a group that strives to protect small community agriculture.

All right, back now to Bill, who I once have seen wear a cowboy hat. Right, Bill?

HEMMER: Years ago, Heidi. Seven-and-three-eighths, by the way, in case you're buying.

COLLINS: OK, yeah, I am buying.

HEMMER: That's my hat size. Thanks.

The jabs flying so fast and furious last night in this debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. I want to introduce you to our "CROSSFIRE" folks now -- Tucker Carlson, Paul Begala, up early. These guys will give you guys a run for your money last night?

PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Oh, they were great.

HEMMER: This was sharp, and it was smart. And it was direct, and it was critical. One of the zingers now for our viewers at home from Dick Cheney. Listen and watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your hometown newspaper has taken to calling you "Senator Gone." You've got one of the worst attendance records in the United States Senate.

Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of the Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they are in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: What were you thinking when you heard that zinger last night?

TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Ouch! Ouch! Spanked him!

I mean, you know -- it points up, I think, actually a valid -- something valid -- a valid criticism of John Edwards, which is, you know, he doesn't show up for work. Sort of a big deal, it seems to me. But more than that, it was just a wonderful rhetorical moment. Dick Cheney is a tough guy. I wouldn't want to debate him at all. BEGALA: It showed a lot of toughness on Cheney's part. It wasn't true was the problem. It was completely factually false. They sat for three hours at a prayer breakfast three years ago.

And more importantly, when Cheney says, "I go up there every Tuesday," he does something no vice president does: he only meets with Republicans. That's why he never met John Edwards. He only meets with the Republican conference. He doesn't meet with both parties the way all his predecessors did.

HEMMER: We had one zinger from Dick Cheney. Here's how John Edwards reached back deep into the history of Dick Cheney as a member of the House in the 1970s. Listen now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He was one of 10 to vote against Head Start. One of four to vote against banning plastic weapons that can pass through metal detectors. He voted against the Department of Education. He voted against funding for Meals on Wheels for seniors. He voted against a holiday for Martin Luther King. He voted against a resolution calling for the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Anything he leave out?

CARLSON: Hard to imagine. The U.S. Congress, by the way, was never in charge of Nelson Mandela's incarceration. And good for him for voting against the Department of Education. Dick Cheney is a conservative. And unlike a lot of people in the Bush administration, he's actually an ideological conservative.

Totally fair to hit him on his record. I don't think -- you know, some of that's not so embarrassing. Again, I wish more people would have voted against the Department of Education.

BEGALA: Every one of those assertions is factually true. I mean, those -- that is Dick Cheney's voting record.

I think how it matched up nicely for Edwards is that it painted Cheney as a sort of heartless corporate robotic automaton, and Cheney didn't exactly give us a lot of warmth in the debate. He didn't look like a guy who cares very much about children and Head Start, did he?

HEMMER: Let me stop you there. Before we came on the air, you said there was one focus the Democrats had focused on -- not this prayer breakfast in February of 2001, but something else. What is that?

BEGALA: Cheney said very directly, categorically, "I have never suggested that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11." Now, Edwards left that unanswered. I think that was a mistake. It was a huge opportunity now. There's a lot of videotape, including just a few -- just one year ago on "Meet the Press" where Dick Cheney directly said that Iraq was the heart of the terrorist base who struck us on 9/11. Cheney should have never said that. Edwards should have picked up on it. I mean, Cheney is going to be in a lot of trouble as all of us and the networks review our tape and watch Cheney again and again make the suggestion that he said he didn't.

HEMMER: As the thing continues -- I know you guys are blogging on cnn.com -- you found one moment last night very curious: the issue of gay marriage and...

CARLSON: Yeah, I thought Edwards -- you know, Edwards, who's obviously a very skilled debater, choose his words carefully, went out of his way to say, oh, yeah, by the way, how's your gay daughter? You know, your daughter is gay, Dick Cheney.

I thought it was a very uncomfortable moment. Had it been a dinner party, I would have put my head toward my plate and waited for it to pass, held breath.

HEMMER: What are you suggesting? Dick Cheney should have done that? Or...

CARLSON: No, I think Dick Cheney actually handled it well by saying, you know, thank you for commenting -- complimenting my gay daughter. But I just thought it was a very strange and very uncomfortable almost cringe-making thing for John Edwards to say. I don't see the political calculation behind it. I don't think he gets anything out of saying that. I though it was weird.

BEGALA: Yeah, I don't like bringing anybody's family into it. Gwen Ifill opened the door by referring generically to Cheney's family, but yeah, I'm with Tucker. I don't like talking about anybody's kids.

HEMMER: We got to go. Thanks, guys, and we'll see you Friday night, all right...

CARLSON: Thanks.

HEMMER: ... in St. Louis. You got it.

BEGALA: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: There's plenty more from where that came from, too. Right here, these guys later today, 4:30 Eastern time here on CNN, 1:30 on the west coast on "CROSSFIRE."

Also on Friday, round two for the presidential debates. The candidates meet again in St. Louis. Our primetime coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern in St. Louis. The official debate gets underway at 9:00 Eastern -- again, for 90 minutes -- on Friday night.

Once again, though, in this election, the State of Florida will play a big role in choosing the next president. And once again, there is already controversy over which voting procedures there will work and which will not. Twenty-seven days and counting.

John Zarrella is in Florida this morning now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to elections, Florida just can't seem to steer clear of controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should receive your card in about three to four days, OK? Days, excuse me -- three to four weeks.

ZARRELLA: Following Monday's deadline to register for the November election, it appears thousands of people who thought they were good to go are not, because they didn't fill out the form completely.

One small example, nearly 50 people in Miami-Dade County didn't check the citizenship box on the form. If you didn't mark the box, state elections officials say you are not registered. State Representative Kendrick Meek argues that checking the box is not necessary as long as the form is signed.

Florida's elections director says fingers should be pointed elsewhere.

DAWN ROBERTS, FLORIDA ELECTIONS DIRECTOR: And quite frankly, the outrage should be these third-party groups that are just being so sloppy about registering voters. And it's going to be the people that suffer.

ZARRELLA: Third-party groups may have been more than sloppy. In at least one instance, there's suggestion pigs of fraud. About 1,500 copies of voter registration forms, many from Florida A&M University, also known as FAMU, and Florida State University, FSU, were received by the Leon County supervisor of election in Tallahassee. All were marked Republican.

Elections officials say they contacted a large number of the applicants. Most said they had left the party preference blank. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating.

(on camera): Most elections officials say they expect turnout in November to be nothing short of staggering.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: We consider a swing state, a battleground state, no question about it. Twenty-five electoral votes four years ago. They gained two in the past four years because of a million new people living now in the State of Florida, one of the country's biggest prizes come November 2nd.

Back to New York yet again. Here's Heidi. Good morning there. COLLINS: Yeah, good morning, Bill. We're looking for some prizes on the weather map today, as well. So, Chad Myers standing by going to tell us more about that -- Chad?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right, Chad, thanks so much for that.

One of Hollywood's funniest men has died. Comedian Rodney Dangerfield, he died Tuesday of complication following heart surgery. Sibila Vargas as more now of Rodney Dangerfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rodney Dangerfield, like many other performers, used the Ed Sullivan stage as a catapult to stardom. But unlike others, it was there that his image was created.

RODNEY DANGERFIELD, COMEDIAN: I was in "The Ed Sullivan Show," and the fourth time I was there, I heard people talking. No respect. Respect me. If you don't want to respect -- I don't care what she was before, she's with me. Show some respect.

I said, I'm going to try that, and I learned no respect, the character. And that came about then. And I wrote the first joke. "I played hide and seek; they wouldn't even look for me," you know?

VARGAS: It was Dangerfield's image -- a rumpled dark suit, red tie, and no respect.

DANGERFIELD: Twenty years ago, I'm working my club in New York, Dangerfield's, right? I'm about to do this show. As I'm walking on, some man says to me, "Hey, Rodney, before you go on, do me a favor, let me have your autograph and some more butter."

VARGAS: For a man who claims he got no respect, he did pretty well. Lucrative commercial work...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why'd you do it, Rodney, because Lite tastes great?

VARGAS: ... and film success, beginning with "Caddyshack" in 1980.

DANGERFIELD: My type of character -- put me where I don't belong. Like in "Caddyshack," I was a loud mouth in a country club. And it was a very -- humorous situations can derive from that.

You buy a hat like this, I'll bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh? Oh, it looks good on you, though.

"Back to School," put me in college and I don't belong there.

A little something for the kids. OK, take that. It's OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have any kids.

DANGERFIELD: No, because we're here. Get yourself some kids.

VARGAS: "Back to School" earned more than $50 million. Then there was a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 1981. Even a rap video...

(MUSIC -- RODNEY DANGERFIELD - "RAPPIN' RODNEY")

VARGAS: "Rappin' Rodney" became an MTV favorite in 1983. His film work continued with "Ladybugs," "Meet Wally Sparks," and "Little Nicky" with Adam Sandler.

During an appearance on stage at his New York nightclub, Dangerfield was asked why he doesn't appear there more often. In typical form, he answered, "I can't afford myself."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Rodney Dangerfield, dead at the age of 82. And he will be missed.

Still to come now on AMERICAN MORNING, the U.S. is hit with a sudden shortage in the flu vaccine supply. Who should be vaccinated, and who should wait? Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us next on that.

And were there hidden meanings behind some moments in last night's debates. Carlos Watson joins us with some under-the-radar stories, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: With flu season right around the corner, flu vaccine is suddenly in short supply. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN Center to tell us what it means for your annual flu shot.

Now, this was pretty surprising this morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it is pretty surprising.

You know, just last week, you and I were talking about the flu shot and encouraging people to go out and get it this year because there wasn't going to be a shortage like last year. But now two years in a row, there is going to be a shortage. This one coming because of one of the companies that makes the flu vaccine.

There's two major companies that make it. One of them had some problems. They actually had some suspension of their production capabilities yesterday. The company is called Chiron. It's actually a California-based company, but their production facility is in Liverpool, England.

And what they -- again, their production license is suspended. So, they are not going to be able to make as much vaccine as they thought they were going to be able to make. In fact, none of that is going to be able to get to the United States. Let's put some of these numbers in perspective, because a lot of people ask how many people get the flu vaccine, how many are needed. Take a look at the numbers. What they hoped to get this year was 100 million doses. Last season, they had 87 million doses. The number of doses lost because of this Chiron problem, about 46 to 48 million doses. That leaves us with a shortage, as you can see there, a pretty significant one at that.

Point worth making, as well, is that the problems over at Chiron are not brand new. Earlier this summer, they had some suspected problems that there might be some contamination of the viruses. But officials here in this country at that time thought it would only affect maybe a few million doses. This 44 to 46 million number, really very striking.

What the HHS people are saying right now is that those at the highest risk should go ahead and get vaccinated. Other people may have to wait, Heidi.

COLLINS: Let's talk about who is at the highest risk. We always hear about infants, and we hear about senior citizens. Can you give us a breakdown? I mean, who exactly are we talking about here?

GUPTA: Yeah, I mean, you are not going to be someone who is going to fall under the category of the highest risk, for example. I, on the other hand, might because I'm a doctor who takes care of patients.

Take a look at the list here. When you talk about highest risk: children age six to 23 months -- that's a new guideline, incidentally, that young, people getting vaccinated, is a new guideline, but they are still recommending that; adults age 65 and older; anybody with chronic illness of any sort; pregnant women; and people who can spread flu to those at highest risk. Again, I fall into that category.

As far as the children goes, a lot of people ask me: Are there going to be enough doses, especially for the very young? Tommy Thompson, HHS secretary, addressed that. This is what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY THOMPSON, HHS SECRETARY: Aventis is producing the pediatric vaccine, so the children -- the most vulnerable, those between six months and 23 months -- are going to be able to receive their share of the vaccine without any problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So, really, a few different options that they have now. One is that they can try to get some of the other companies in the country to try and produce more vaccine. They can encourage healthier people to try the FluMist, that's the nasal vaccine. Or they might try this final option, which is to actually get lower sort of doses of the vaccine. They're not quite as potent, but some studies have shown they work, as well.

We're going to have to see how it pans out. But it's a problem this year again, Heidi, in terms of flu vaccine.

COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, look at those numbers you pulled up -- half the amount of vaccines from last year.

GUPTA: That's right.

COLLINS: All right. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for that.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COLLINS: Also talking this morning about what kind of market effects will result from the flu vaccine shortage. Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business" on that.

So, the company Chiron, stock is kind of just dropping.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Absolutely. Want to talk a little bit about Chiron, which is the company at the center of this controversy. A 23-year-old country from Emeryville, California. They make about 50 percent of the flu vaccine. The other 50 percent is made by a French company called Aventis.

Yesterday, as you suggest, Heidi, the stock fell 16 percent. This about 25 percent of this company's sales just knocked off the table. About 1.8 billion is the total sales figure for this company.

You know, people are asking me: Why is it that the flu vaccine is in the hands of a rather obscure biotech company in California, the other half from a French drug company? Why not in the hands of a Pfizer or Bristol-Myers, a big company?

And the reason why is flu vaccines are not a very good business. It's sort of like a public service. They are not very profitable. You think about it. The patient takes it once, as opposed to say a Lipitor where you're taking it every day. There's potential litigation. It's very hard to make. So, you can see why the big drug companies have short of shied away from it, which leaves it in the hands of these other ones.

And when you talk about the fact that there's not going to be enough flu vaccine out there, the impact on the economy could be considerable because of lost job time if people are sick. I mean, hundreds of thousands of people get the flu every year, so it could really be significant.

We're starting to see the ripple effect in the economy already a little bit. CVS, the big drugstore chain, announcing last night that they were going to be canceling their flu vaccine clinics that they had at over 3,000 stores.

COLLINS: They would kind of have to.

SERWER: Yeah. I mean, they just don't have the vaccine. You were going to be able to go in there for $20 and get the vaccine, and they hope probably buy a lot of stuff on the way out the door. But they just don't have the medicine at this point. COLLINS: All right. Andy Serwer, thanks so much for that.

SERWER: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Another side we didn't know about.

SERWER: Right.

COLLINS: Back now to Bill Hemmer, hopefully not getting too cold and not going to get the flu this year, we hope, Bill.

HEMMER: I'm with you there, Heidi. But listen, we're keeping warm -- trying, anyway.

From last night, what were the under-the-radar stories in that debate? Carlos Watson has a look at that. There are four on Carlos' list, and we'll get to it right after this.

Our coverage continues live in Cleveland in a moment on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back. Welcome back to Cleveland. Jack's on vacation. Back to Carlos Watson, though, filling in for Jack here in Cleveland.

You have some hidden meanings behind what we watched last night. You picked up four things. Number one: the third wheel. You say Gwen Ifill, the debate moderator, was critical last night. How so?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I thought so. Two reasons: One, Bill, she asked 25 percent more questions, so 20 instead of 16; and two, I thought her questions were more pointed, more aggressive. And frankly, they were broader. You heard about AIDS. You heard about poverty. You heard about Iran.

HEMMER: The second item is getting personal. You wonder if people picked up on the nuance when the issue of gay marriage came up between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. Explain what you mean there.

WATSON: One of the hottest, most contentious issues in this election; you'll see it on a dozen state ballots. They didn't spend a lot of time on it, but you saw Edwards very carefully saying out loud you've got a gay daughter. And you saw Cheney very carefully not going into a long explanation on it, but just saying I thank you for your concern.

A very steely quiet exchange between the two.

HEMMER: And I mentioned last hour, in our focus group down in Columbus, Ohio, hat was one of the sharpest rise in his favor for Dick Cheney throughout the 90-minute debate.

The main event -- it's October. Baseball playoffs are underway. How is this factoring into what we're watching today? WATSON: You know, I think there was a chance that we could have had over 40 million people watching, but I'm not sure because the Yanks were playing last night. And so, there was a chance that both sides lost some key eyeballs. They may have ended up in the 30s -- 30 million or so who watched.

HEMMER: That's interesting -- 62 million for the first presidential debate from last week.

The big picture -- you say this is a week of big deals.

WATSON: If you step back, although this debate was a big deal, there are five or six things going on. You've got two big debates. You've got the final jobs numbers coming out on Friday, the Afghan election -- and the big deal no one is talking about, on Friday the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. Watch what happens if someone has big commentary after that.

HEMMER: Interesting. And the economy, too -- you have the jobs picture.

WATSON: Sure.

HEMMER: And also, you have probably the whole focus for this debate at 4:00 this afternoon going back to the top of the ticket.

WATSON: And the president has got a big speech today. A lot going on.

HEMMER: Thank you, Carlos.

WATSON: Good to see you.

HEMMER: Break here. Back in a moment in Cleveland and New York. The group searching for WMD in Iraq puts out its final report today. Will that affect the race? And the president has a major speech on it next hour.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired October 6, 2004 - 08:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. Good morning from Cleveland. Hello Cleveland! Our final day here in northern Ohio, talking about again the talk from last night, the vice- presidential debate.
If there were hits and misses, you can count on the guys from "CROSSFIRE" to catch each and every one. Paul Begala, Tucker Carlson with me in a moment here. They are blogging, too, at cnn.com.

Also, Florida has a brand new election controversy this year. Thousands who thought they were registered to vote now finding out they are not. Republicans and Democrats pointing fingers yet again. We'll get you caught up on that story from the Sunshine State.

Back to New York now and again with Heidi Collins. Heidi, good morning back there.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Bet you wish you were in the Sunshine State there this morning, Bill.

HEMMER: Slightly warmer than here, yeah.

COLLINS: Yeah, all right, well, thanks so much.

Also this morning, Sanjay Gupta is going to be talking with us about the shortage of flu vaccines. What will be the impact when flu season comes around? And what should Americans do now if they were planning on getting a flu shot? We'll ask the doctor in just a moment.

For now, though, in the news this morning -- the United States has vetoed a resolution calling for Israel to stop its attacks in Gaza. Despite the veto, the U.S. has called on Israel to end its latest incursion into Gaza as soon as possible.

Israeli Military continued its offensive this morning. Some 80 people have been killed in the region since Israel launched retaliatory attacks there more than one week ago.

Sudan is facing international pressure now to immediately stop the violence in Darfur. Five days after his heart procedure, British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived today in Sudan to put pressure on the Sudanese government to end the crisis. Meanwhile, the U.S. and U.N. expressed concern that African Union troops will not get to Sudan until next year. A new study shows a link between hormone pills and blood clots. Researchers say estrogen progestin supplements doubles the chance that post-menopausal women will develop blood clots in the legs or lungs. The risk is even higher for women who are overweight or in their 60s. The study can be found in "The Journal of the American Medical Association."

Willie Nelson on Capitol Hill this morning. The country singer asking the government to do more to help family farmers. Nelson is a founder of Farm Aid. It's a group that strives to protect small community agriculture.

All right, back now to Bill, who I once have seen wear a cowboy hat. Right, Bill?

HEMMER: Years ago, Heidi. Seven-and-three-eighths, by the way, in case you're buying.

COLLINS: OK, yeah, I am buying.

HEMMER: That's my hat size. Thanks.

The jabs flying so fast and furious last night in this debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. I want to introduce you to our "CROSSFIRE" folks now -- Tucker Carlson, Paul Begala, up early. These guys will give you guys a run for your money last night?

PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Oh, they were great.

HEMMER: This was sharp, and it was smart. And it was direct, and it was critical. One of the zingers now for our viewers at home from Dick Cheney. Listen and watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your hometown newspaper has taken to calling you "Senator Gone." You've got one of the worst attendance records in the United States Senate.

Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of the Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they are in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: What were you thinking when you heard that zinger last night?

TUCKER CARLSON, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Ouch! Ouch! Spanked him!

I mean, you know -- it points up, I think, actually a valid -- something valid -- a valid criticism of John Edwards, which is, you know, he doesn't show up for work. Sort of a big deal, it seems to me. But more than that, it was just a wonderful rhetorical moment. Dick Cheney is a tough guy. I wouldn't want to debate him at all. BEGALA: It showed a lot of toughness on Cheney's part. It wasn't true was the problem. It was completely factually false. They sat for three hours at a prayer breakfast three years ago.

And more importantly, when Cheney says, "I go up there every Tuesday," he does something no vice president does: he only meets with Republicans. That's why he never met John Edwards. He only meets with the Republican conference. He doesn't meet with both parties the way all his predecessors did.

HEMMER: We had one zinger from Dick Cheney. Here's how John Edwards reached back deep into the history of Dick Cheney as a member of the House in the 1970s. Listen now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He was one of 10 to vote against Head Start. One of four to vote against banning plastic weapons that can pass through metal detectors. He voted against the Department of Education. He voted against funding for Meals on Wheels for seniors. He voted against a holiday for Martin Luther King. He voted against a resolution calling for the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Anything he leave out?

CARLSON: Hard to imagine. The U.S. Congress, by the way, was never in charge of Nelson Mandela's incarceration. And good for him for voting against the Department of Education. Dick Cheney is a conservative. And unlike a lot of people in the Bush administration, he's actually an ideological conservative.

Totally fair to hit him on his record. I don't think -- you know, some of that's not so embarrassing. Again, I wish more people would have voted against the Department of Education.

BEGALA: Every one of those assertions is factually true. I mean, those -- that is Dick Cheney's voting record.

I think how it matched up nicely for Edwards is that it painted Cheney as a sort of heartless corporate robotic automaton, and Cheney didn't exactly give us a lot of warmth in the debate. He didn't look like a guy who cares very much about children and Head Start, did he?

HEMMER: Let me stop you there. Before we came on the air, you said there was one focus the Democrats had focused on -- not this prayer breakfast in February of 2001, but something else. What is that?

BEGALA: Cheney said very directly, categorically, "I have never suggested that Iraq had anything to do with 9/11." Now, Edwards left that unanswered. I think that was a mistake. It was a huge opportunity now. There's a lot of videotape, including just a few -- just one year ago on "Meet the Press" where Dick Cheney directly said that Iraq was the heart of the terrorist base who struck us on 9/11. Cheney should have never said that. Edwards should have picked up on it. I mean, Cheney is going to be in a lot of trouble as all of us and the networks review our tape and watch Cheney again and again make the suggestion that he said he didn't.

HEMMER: As the thing continues -- I know you guys are blogging on cnn.com -- you found one moment last night very curious: the issue of gay marriage and...

CARLSON: Yeah, I thought Edwards -- you know, Edwards, who's obviously a very skilled debater, choose his words carefully, went out of his way to say, oh, yeah, by the way, how's your gay daughter? You know, your daughter is gay, Dick Cheney.

I thought it was a very uncomfortable moment. Had it been a dinner party, I would have put my head toward my plate and waited for it to pass, held breath.

HEMMER: What are you suggesting? Dick Cheney should have done that? Or...

CARLSON: No, I think Dick Cheney actually handled it well by saying, you know, thank you for commenting -- complimenting my gay daughter. But I just thought it was a very strange and very uncomfortable almost cringe-making thing for John Edwards to say. I don't see the political calculation behind it. I don't think he gets anything out of saying that. I though it was weird.

BEGALA: Yeah, I don't like bringing anybody's family into it. Gwen Ifill opened the door by referring generically to Cheney's family, but yeah, I'm with Tucker. I don't like talking about anybody's kids.

HEMMER: We got to go. Thanks, guys, and we'll see you Friday night, all right...

CARLSON: Thanks.

HEMMER: ... in St. Louis. You got it.

BEGALA: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: There's plenty more from where that came from, too. Right here, these guys later today, 4:30 Eastern time here on CNN, 1:30 on the west coast on "CROSSFIRE."

Also on Friday, round two for the presidential debates. The candidates meet again in St. Louis. Our primetime coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern in St. Louis. The official debate gets underway at 9:00 Eastern -- again, for 90 minutes -- on Friday night.

Once again, though, in this election, the State of Florida will play a big role in choosing the next president. And once again, there is already controversy over which voting procedures there will work and which will not. Twenty-seven days and counting.

John Zarrella is in Florida this morning now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to elections, Florida just can't seem to steer clear of controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should receive your card in about three to four days, OK? Days, excuse me -- three to four weeks.

ZARRELLA: Following Monday's deadline to register for the November election, it appears thousands of people who thought they were good to go are not, because they didn't fill out the form completely.

One small example, nearly 50 people in Miami-Dade County didn't check the citizenship box on the form. If you didn't mark the box, state elections officials say you are not registered. State Representative Kendrick Meek argues that checking the box is not necessary as long as the form is signed.

Florida's elections director says fingers should be pointed elsewhere.

DAWN ROBERTS, FLORIDA ELECTIONS DIRECTOR: And quite frankly, the outrage should be these third-party groups that are just being so sloppy about registering voters. And it's going to be the people that suffer.

ZARRELLA: Third-party groups may have been more than sloppy. In at least one instance, there's suggestion pigs of fraud. About 1,500 copies of voter registration forms, many from Florida A&M University, also known as FAMU, and Florida State University, FSU, were received by the Leon County supervisor of election in Tallahassee. All were marked Republican.

Elections officials say they contacted a large number of the applicants. Most said they had left the party preference blank. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now investigating.

(on camera): Most elections officials say they expect turnout in November to be nothing short of staggering.

John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: We consider a swing state, a battleground state, no question about it. Twenty-five electoral votes four years ago. They gained two in the past four years because of a million new people living now in the State of Florida, one of the country's biggest prizes come November 2nd.

Back to New York yet again. Here's Heidi. Good morning there. COLLINS: Yeah, good morning, Bill. We're looking for some prizes on the weather map today, as well. So, Chad Myers standing by going to tell us more about that -- Chad?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: All right, Chad, thanks so much for that.

One of Hollywood's funniest men has died. Comedian Rodney Dangerfield, he died Tuesday of complication following heart surgery. Sibila Vargas as more now of Rodney Dangerfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rodney Dangerfield, like many other performers, used the Ed Sullivan stage as a catapult to stardom. But unlike others, it was there that his image was created.

RODNEY DANGERFIELD, COMEDIAN: I was in "The Ed Sullivan Show," and the fourth time I was there, I heard people talking. No respect. Respect me. If you don't want to respect -- I don't care what she was before, she's with me. Show some respect.

I said, I'm going to try that, and I learned no respect, the character. And that came about then. And I wrote the first joke. "I played hide and seek; they wouldn't even look for me," you know?

VARGAS: It was Dangerfield's image -- a rumpled dark suit, red tie, and no respect.

DANGERFIELD: Twenty years ago, I'm working my club in New York, Dangerfield's, right? I'm about to do this show. As I'm walking on, some man says to me, "Hey, Rodney, before you go on, do me a favor, let me have your autograph and some more butter."

VARGAS: For a man who claims he got no respect, he did pretty well. Lucrative commercial work...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why'd you do it, Rodney, because Lite tastes great?

VARGAS: ... and film success, beginning with "Caddyshack" in 1980.

DANGERFIELD: My type of character -- put me where I don't belong. Like in "Caddyshack," I was a loud mouth in a country club. And it was a very -- humorous situations can derive from that.

You buy a hat like this, I'll bet you get a free bowl of soup, huh? Oh, it looks good on you, though.

"Back to School," put me in college and I don't belong there.

A little something for the kids. OK, take that. It's OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have any kids.

DANGERFIELD: No, because we're here. Get yourself some kids.

VARGAS: "Back to School" earned more than $50 million. Then there was a Grammy for Best Comedy Album in 1981. Even a rap video...

(MUSIC -- RODNEY DANGERFIELD - "RAPPIN' RODNEY")

VARGAS: "Rappin' Rodney" became an MTV favorite in 1983. His film work continued with "Ladybugs," "Meet Wally Sparks," and "Little Nicky" with Adam Sandler.

During an appearance on stage at his New York nightclub, Dangerfield was asked why he doesn't appear there more often. In typical form, he answered, "I can't afford myself."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Rodney Dangerfield, dead at the age of 82. And he will be missed.

Still to come now on AMERICAN MORNING, the U.S. is hit with a sudden shortage in the flu vaccine supply. Who should be vaccinated, and who should wait? Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us next on that.

And were there hidden meanings behind some moments in last night's debates. Carlos Watson joins us with some under-the-radar stories, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: With flu season right around the corner, flu vaccine is suddenly in short supply. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the CNN Center to tell us what it means for your annual flu shot.

Now, this was pretty surprising this morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it is pretty surprising.

You know, just last week, you and I were talking about the flu shot and encouraging people to go out and get it this year because there wasn't going to be a shortage like last year. But now two years in a row, there is going to be a shortage. This one coming because of one of the companies that makes the flu vaccine.

There's two major companies that make it. One of them had some problems. They actually had some suspension of their production capabilities yesterday. The company is called Chiron. It's actually a California-based company, but their production facility is in Liverpool, England.

And what they -- again, their production license is suspended. So, they are not going to be able to make as much vaccine as they thought they were going to be able to make. In fact, none of that is going to be able to get to the United States. Let's put some of these numbers in perspective, because a lot of people ask how many people get the flu vaccine, how many are needed. Take a look at the numbers. What they hoped to get this year was 100 million doses. Last season, they had 87 million doses. The number of doses lost because of this Chiron problem, about 46 to 48 million doses. That leaves us with a shortage, as you can see there, a pretty significant one at that.

Point worth making, as well, is that the problems over at Chiron are not brand new. Earlier this summer, they had some suspected problems that there might be some contamination of the viruses. But officials here in this country at that time thought it would only affect maybe a few million doses. This 44 to 46 million number, really very striking.

What the HHS people are saying right now is that those at the highest risk should go ahead and get vaccinated. Other people may have to wait, Heidi.

COLLINS: Let's talk about who is at the highest risk. We always hear about infants, and we hear about senior citizens. Can you give us a breakdown? I mean, who exactly are we talking about here?

GUPTA: Yeah, I mean, you are not going to be someone who is going to fall under the category of the highest risk, for example. I, on the other hand, might because I'm a doctor who takes care of patients.

Take a look at the list here. When you talk about highest risk: children age six to 23 months -- that's a new guideline, incidentally, that young, people getting vaccinated, is a new guideline, but they are still recommending that; adults age 65 and older; anybody with chronic illness of any sort; pregnant women; and people who can spread flu to those at highest risk. Again, I fall into that category.

As far as the children goes, a lot of people ask me: Are there going to be enough doses, especially for the very young? Tommy Thompson, HHS secretary, addressed that. This is what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY THOMPSON, HHS SECRETARY: Aventis is producing the pediatric vaccine, so the children -- the most vulnerable, those between six months and 23 months -- are going to be able to receive their share of the vaccine without any problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So, really, a few different options that they have now. One is that they can try to get some of the other companies in the country to try and produce more vaccine. They can encourage healthier people to try the FluMist, that's the nasal vaccine. Or they might try this final option, which is to actually get lower sort of doses of the vaccine. They're not quite as potent, but some studies have shown they work, as well.

We're going to have to see how it pans out. But it's a problem this year again, Heidi, in terms of flu vaccine.

COLLINS: Yeah, I mean, look at those numbers you pulled up -- half the amount of vaccines from last year.

GUPTA: That's right.

COLLINS: All right. Sanjay Gupta, thanks for that.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COLLINS: Also talking this morning about what kind of market effects will result from the flu vaccine shortage. Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business" on that.

So, the company Chiron, stock is kind of just dropping.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Absolutely. Want to talk a little bit about Chiron, which is the company at the center of this controversy. A 23-year-old country from Emeryville, California. They make about 50 percent of the flu vaccine. The other 50 percent is made by a French company called Aventis.

Yesterday, as you suggest, Heidi, the stock fell 16 percent. This about 25 percent of this company's sales just knocked off the table. About 1.8 billion is the total sales figure for this company.

You know, people are asking me: Why is it that the flu vaccine is in the hands of a rather obscure biotech company in California, the other half from a French drug company? Why not in the hands of a Pfizer or Bristol-Myers, a big company?

And the reason why is flu vaccines are not a very good business. It's sort of like a public service. They are not very profitable. You think about it. The patient takes it once, as opposed to say a Lipitor where you're taking it every day. There's potential litigation. It's very hard to make. So, you can see why the big drug companies have short of shied away from it, which leaves it in the hands of these other ones.

And when you talk about the fact that there's not going to be enough flu vaccine out there, the impact on the economy could be considerable because of lost job time if people are sick. I mean, hundreds of thousands of people get the flu every year, so it could really be significant.

We're starting to see the ripple effect in the economy already a little bit. CVS, the big drugstore chain, announcing last night that they were going to be canceling their flu vaccine clinics that they had at over 3,000 stores.

COLLINS: They would kind of have to.

SERWER: Yeah. I mean, they just don't have the vaccine. You were going to be able to go in there for $20 and get the vaccine, and they hope probably buy a lot of stuff on the way out the door. But they just don't have the medicine at this point. COLLINS: All right. Andy Serwer, thanks so much for that.

SERWER: You're welcome.

COLLINS: Another side we didn't know about.

SERWER: Right.

COLLINS: Back now to Bill Hemmer, hopefully not getting too cold and not going to get the flu this year, we hope, Bill.

HEMMER: I'm with you there, Heidi. But listen, we're keeping warm -- trying, anyway.

From last night, what were the under-the-radar stories in that debate? Carlos Watson has a look at that. There are four on Carlos' list, and we'll get to it right after this.

Our coverage continues live in Cleveland in a moment on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back. Welcome back to Cleveland. Jack's on vacation. Back to Carlos Watson, though, filling in for Jack here in Cleveland.

You have some hidden meanings behind what we watched last night. You picked up four things. Number one: the third wheel. You say Gwen Ifill, the debate moderator, was critical last night. How so?

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I thought so. Two reasons: One, Bill, she asked 25 percent more questions, so 20 instead of 16; and two, I thought her questions were more pointed, more aggressive. And frankly, they were broader. You heard about AIDS. You heard about poverty. You heard about Iran.

HEMMER: The second item is getting personal. You wonder if people picked up on the nuance when the issue of gay marriage came up between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. Explain what you mean there.

WATSON: One of the hottest, most contentious issues in this election; you'll see it on a dozen state ballots. They didn't spend a lot of time on it, but you saw Edwards very carefully saying out loud you've got a gay daughter. And you saw Cheney very carefully not going into a long explanation on it, but just saying I thank you for your concern.

A very steely quiet exchange between the two.

HEMMER: And I mentioned last hour, in our focus group down in Columbus, Ohio, hat was one of the sharpest rise in his favor for Dick Cheney throughout the 90-minute debate.

The main event -- it's October. Baseball playoffs are underway. How is this factoring into what we're watching today? WATSON: You know, I think there was a chance that we could have had over 40 million people watching, but I'm not sure because the Yanks were playing last night. And so, there was a chance that both sides lost some key eyeballs. They may have ended up in the 30s -- 30 million or so who watched.

HEMMER: That's interesting -- 62 million for the first presidential debate from last week.

The big picture -- you say this is a week of big deals.

WATSON: If you step back, although this debate was a big deal, there are five or six things going on. You've got two big debates. You've got the final jobs numbers coming out on Friday, the Afghan election -- and the big deal no one is talking about, on Friday the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded. Watch what happens if someone has big commentary after that.

HEMMER: Interesting. And the economy, too -- you have the jobs picture.

WATSON: Sure.

HEMMER: And also, you have probably the whole focus for this debate at 4:00 this afternoon going back to the top of the ticket.

WATSON: And the president has got a big speech today. A lot going on.

HEMMER: Thank you, Carlos.

WATSON: Good to see you.

HEMMER: Break here. Back in a moment in Cleveland and New York. The group searching for WMD in Iraq puts out its final report today. Will that affect the race? And the president has a major speech on it next hour.

Back in a moment after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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