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American Morning
President Bush With a New Line of Attack; Another U.S. Weapons Inspector, Same Conclusion: No WMD in Iraq
Aired October 07, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush with a new line of attack, sharpening his focus on John Kerry before the next critical debate.
Another U.S. weapons inspector, the same conclusion: no WMD in Iraq.
Interrogators piecing together Saddam Hussein's state of mind before Iraq fell. It is a portrait of a man obsessed.
And a victory for Kobe Bryant in his civil case. His accuser could pay with her name. All ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
COLLINS: Good Thursday morning, everybody. Bill and Soledad are off today. Rick Sanchez is here with us.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to be here once again.
COLLINS: Yes. It's still dark outside, but it will get brighter in a moment.
Some of the other stories that we are following this morning, less than four weeks to go to the presidential campaign, and Both sides are nervous about an October surprise, whether it's catching Osama bin Laden or a terrorist attack. What are the events, large and small, that could change the election? We have Kelly Wallace with us this morning. She's going to take a look at that.
SANCHEZ: Here's a story much of America is talking about, significantly New Yorkers, by the way, those people you see from time to time walking behind us. Can Howard Stern change radio the way Ted Turner changed television? We're going to look at stern's plan to take his show to satellite radio with a man who's written many books on the new media, Ken Auletta.
And by the way, Jack Cafferty is off again this morning, but Andy Borowitz is here with our Question of the Day and many other tidbits.
COLLINS: We will talk to him in just a moment, but we want to turn now to Kelly Wallace. She's joining us this morning for all the stories now in the news today.
Good morning to you, Kelly. KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Good morning to you, Rick. And good morning, everyone.
We begin in Iraq, and news of more American casualties. The U.S. military says a soldier died late last night from injuries suffered during a bombing near Fallujah. Two other Americans were wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, there are reports this morning of a loud explosion in Baghdad. New video from the scene shows smoke rising near the green zone. The U.S. military says it is investigating.
In early morning, a car bomb ripped through the central Pakistan city of Multan. At least 39 people were killed, but that number is expected to rise, because some 2,500 people were in the area at the time of the attack. Hospitals have been put in an emergency mode to treat the dozens of wounded.
Important health news. A team of U.S. scientists trying to determine if a possibly tainted flu vaccine can still be used. British official have put a hold on some 50 million doses, citing contamination issues at the vaccine plant in Liverpool, England. A group from the Food and Drug Administration is now negotiating with their British counterparts to see if any of those doses could be released.
And a former NFL player is wanted in relation to a shooting at home of entertainers Siegfried and Roy. Police say there a warrant is out for Cole Murdoch Ford, a former Oakland Raiders kicker. Police say Cole owns the van from which a gunmen fired shots at the Las Vegas home last month.
That's a quick look at the headlines. Now back to Heidi and Rick. I was going to say Bill. Rick -- Rick, Rick, Rick.
SANCHEZ: The Rick, Bill thing, with a little bit of a Minnesotan accent. More on that later.
Tomorrow night's debate is supposed to be mostly about domestic policy, as I'm sure you know. However, as I'm also sure you know, all the talk of late has been about Iraq from the respective stump speeches.
Let's get a report from each camp now. We're going to begin with Elaine Quijano. She's at the White House, and then we're going to go to Frank Buckley in Colorado. He's in Colorado.
Elaine, again, we begin with you. Good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick.
President Bush came out swinging hard yesterday against Senator John Kerry on domestic issues, including taxes and health care. But also on the issues of Iraq and terrorism. Now yesterday, at two campaign stops, the first one in Pennsylvania, the second in Michigan, the president blasted Senator Kerry's position on terrorism, saying that the senator approaches the world with a September 10th mindset, more reactive than proactive. Now the president made no mention of new report by the Iraq Survey Group, which found no evidence of stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when the U.S. invaded last year. Still, Mr. Bush is standing by his decision, insisting that after September 11th, the country had to assess every potential threat in a new light.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation awakened to an even greater danger, the prospect that terrorists who killed thousands with hijacked airplanes would kill many more with weapons of mass murder. We had to take a hard look at every place where terrorists might get those weapons. One regime stood out, the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Meantime, the president hits the campaign trail once again today. He will make a stop in the battleground state of Wisconsin before moving on to St. Louis, ahead of tomorrow's debate -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Elaine Quijano, following that part of the story. Now let's go to the other, this to Frank Buckley, with Senator Kerry in the Denver suburb of Inglewood, Colorado.
Good morning, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.
Senator Kerry is here at a hotel resort. He is resting. He is practicing and focusing on the issues expected to come up in the second presidential debate. It's a strategy the campaign used leading up to the first presidential debate, one they feel really helped Senator Kerry in his performance, and it's a strategy they hope will work once again leading up to this second presidential debate on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator John Kerry prepared for the next presidential debate at this resort in Colorado, leaving it to his running mate to respond to a blistering criticism of Kerry leveled by President Bush.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The problem is, of course, when you've got the same old tired ideas, the same old false attacks, the same old tired rhetoric, there are no new ideas, there are no new plans.
BUCKLEY: As Senator Kerry preps in private, advisers say his positive reviews in the first debate have raised expectations, but they also assert that President Bush has even more riding on the second clash. MIKE MCCURRY, KERRY ADVISER: And President Bush did not have a good night, and he practically has to go in and hit a home run now for him to really be able to say that he's done in these debates what he needs to do.
BUCKLEY: And while the next debate will include domestic policy issues, foreign policy questions will also be asked in the town meeting format. And Kerry advisers believe the report that went to Congress yesterday, indicating Saddam Hussein did not have WMD stockpiles at the time of the invasion, will have a featured role in the debate.
MCCURRY: This is a damning report. It's one that will probably dominate a lot of the discussion of foreign policy, because it casts such a negative comment about the reasons in which the administration said to America we were going to war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: And the debate prep taking place here at this hotel in a converted ballroom, converted into a town hall-style setting. Greg Craig, the former Clinton administration attorney, playing the role of President Bush. Staffers from the campaign playing the role of audience members who will ask the questions in this debate.
And later today, Rick, Senator Kerry is traveling to St. Louis -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: I always thought it would be great to have a camera in those preps to see what they really talk about.
All right, Frank Buckley in Colorado, thanks so much for that report.
You know, we're just one day away from round two of the presidential debates. Tomorrow night, President Bush and Senator Kerry are going head-to-head. Right, you'll see it, as you've come to expect, on CNN. Our primetime coverage begins at 7:00, with Wolf Blitzer, Paula Zahn, Anderson Cooper, and then our entire CNN election team.
Heidi, back over to you.
COLLINS: Now to Iraq and the political fallout from a new CIA report that says there were no WMD stockpiles in Saddam Hussein's Iraq at the time of the U.S. invasion. David Kay is the former chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The Bush-appointed weapons hunter, if you will, Charles Dulfur (ph), said the United States was almost all wrong on Iraq. What is new in this report that we're seeing?
DAVID KAY, FMR. CHIEF U.S. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Well, I think in terms of lines of analysis, conclusions, there's nothing new. There's new evidence, and particularly important, I think is the evidence with regard to how Saddam beat the sanction regime and the participation of European, former Soviet Union countries and China, in helping ship prohibited goods to them. That's new and that's important data because it relates to other countries that maybe are trying to develop weapons of mass destruction.
COLLINS: Right, in fact, President Bush said yesterday that there was a real risk that Saddam Hussein could pass along this information to other terrorist networks. And Secretary of State Colin Powell also said this.
Let's listen in. I'll get your comment on the backside here.
COLIN POWELL, SECY. OF STATE: If anybody wants to bet that when he finally got out from under those sanctions, he would not have returned to development of weapons of mass destruction and their production, that's a bet the president of you United States was not going to take.
COLLINS: So while Charles Dulfur did report that there had were no weapons of mass destruction, he did say that Saddam Hussein aspired to make nuclear weapons. Do you agree? Was this a risk?
KAY: I think he did aspire to make the weapons. I'm worried that you make too much out of that, because as the Dulfur report said, and as we found earlier, we found no actual plans to resume weapons of mass destruction production.
The more serious danger is I think the one the president pointed to, and that's that in the environment of corruption and decay that was Iraq during the last five years, there was a real danger not so much that Saddam would pass along the secrets of weapons of mass destruction, but scientists and engineers in their desperate desire to better themselves, to keep their families alive, might well have sold those secrets.
We do, after all, have the case of A.Q. Khan (ph) in Pakistan, who for 20 years sold secrets of nuclear weapons production to countries around the world, and it took about 18 years before we discovered it and managed to stop it.
COLLINS: Also a "Washington Post" editorial today in the paper that points out that no president really could have known then what we know now, if you will. Do you agree with that, that as long as Saddam Hussein remained in power, there really was no way to know whether or not he had those weapons?
KAY: That's absolutely true that you couldn't have known what we knew then. We have now for about 18 months we've had 1,700 very good and capable inspection personnel running over Iraq to the extent they can in the deteriorating security service.
I think, however, we could have known more than we did know. And quite frankly, I think the most meaningful conclusion of the report of the Dulfur report is the failure of our intelligence services, and the intelligence services of other Western countries. We need to take that lesson to heart, so our next president doesn't have to go through the same trauma that this one has, when you turn out your reasons for going to war to be so different than the actual facts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Once again, former Iraq U.S. weapons inspector David Kay there.
KAY: Well, the CIA report also paints a surprising picture of Saddam Hussein. Since last December, the former dictator has been held in isolation revealing himself to a single debriefer. The report shows he hoped for improved relations with the United States. He believed it would be prestigious to be a friend of America. At the same time, he was enjoying his status as its enemy. Saddam is fond of U.S. movies and literature. One of his favorite books, Hemmingway's "The Old Man in the Sea." But he feared a U.S. attack and says he only used a phone twice after 1990 to avoid being found.
Rick now, back to the desk.
SANCHEZ: All right, thanks, Heidi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Following the controversy of whether the vice presidential candidates have met prior to Tuesday's debate -- we're sure you've heard about that -- first lady Laura Bush made things perfectly clear on "The Tonight Show" about her relationship with Teresa Heinz Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: You've met Teresa Kerry.
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We met at the debate.
LENO: That was the first time you met?
BUSH: That was the first time we've met. And I could tell we had a lot in common. We even chose the same color suits to wear for that night.
LENO: That's right. I had a joke, but I didn't do it, and I can't remember what it was. But that's right, you had the same outfit.
BUSH: Yes, exactly. So now, I'm just want to announce today, let people know, I'm going to be wearing a blue suit Friday night.
LENO: Blue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Sometimes you have to do that here on the show because you like to wear... SANCHEZ: Funky colors? Is that what you're trying to insinuate. Go ahead, say it.
By the way, the debate is tomorrow night in St. Louis. Expect to see it all right here.
COLLINS: Of course.
And still this morning, shock jock Howard Stern cuts ties with commercial radio and heads into orbit with a new multimillion dollar deal, unbelievable money. Will the move change the industry, though? We'll talk about that.
SANCHEZ: How about this, an October surprise: Could events orchestrated or unforeseen suddenly tip the balance in the presidential election?
COLLINS: And exclusive pictures from above Mount St. Helens. They're all ahead, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A federal judge rejected a request by Kobe Bryant's accuser to keep her name out of the media during her civil lawsuit against the NBA star. The judge ruled the parties must, quote, "appear as equals before the court." Attorneys for the 20-year-old woman say she's been the subject of death threats and sordid publicity for more than a year now. Well, Bryant's lawyers say she shouldn't be able to bring what they call a false accusation without being identified.
Coming up in the next hour on AMERICAN MORNING, we'll talk about the case with CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
SANCHEZ: All right, here we go. Howard Stern says that he's seen the future, and it's in satellite radio. This is a major decision which may signal a proverbial paradigm shift in the entire industry. Insiders say this is huge. Here is what Mr. Stern has to say about his five-year, multi, multi, multimillion dollar deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, RADIO PERSONALITY: I changed radio when I got into this 20-something years ago, and I'm going to change radio again. I'm going to make satellite radio, hopefully, the most important media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Ken Auletta is the media critic for "The New Yorker." He's also the author of "Media Man," a book I have in my hand and had the pleasure of reading last night as I was going to sleep.
Maybe it's overused, Paradigm shift. Some would argue Ted Turner made what was a paradigm shift in news and in television in general. Is that what Howard Stern could possibly do for satellite radio? KEN AULETTA, "THE NEW YORKER": Well, that's his hope, and that's what he said, but they're paying him $100 million a year to try and do that. And maybe it will succeed.
When Turner started the Superstation, cable had no programming, and he promised them he would deliver programming. And one of the things he did, he went out and bought sports teams in order to provide free sports programming on the Superchannel. It worked. CNN, he said, we're going to provide 24-hours news, and it provided something new. It was a paradigm shift, as you say. Now, will this be a similar one? I don't know.
SANCHEZ: Now here's the deal. Howard Stern has given up a lot to do this. I mean, this is a gamble. What if his listeners can't figure out how to get to him?
AULETTA: He's got $500 million extra over a five-year contract. He's not giving up a lot.
SANCHEZ: So you're telling me, he's guaranteed this money.
AULETTA: According to news reports, he's guaranteed $100 million a year for five years.
SANCHEZ: So the gamble is for satellite radio then.
AULETTA: Of course, it's a huge gamble, by the way. I mean, they are gambling that by hiring Howard Stern, they will jack up their revenues and subscribers. See, the problem with satellite radio, and one of the reasons why we don't know whether it's going to work or not, it is totally almost totally dependent on monthly subscriber costs of, between $10 or $13, depending which of the two service you choose, and advertising is very hard to do, because it's not local; it's a national service.
SANCHEZ: So you need a commitment from people.
AULETTA: You need a commitment from people, and the $13 a month.
SANCHEZ: How many people does Howard Stern have to bring over for them to break even?
AULETTA: I don't know the exact number, but it's a large number of people. On the other hand, he has huge listenership. So he has the potential to do for satellite radio what Milton Beryl did for television.
SANCHEZ: Let's look at the other side of this. What happened to commercial broadcasting as a result of this paradigm shift?
AULETTA: Well, Infinity Radio, which airs Howard Stern on many of its station, which is owned by CBS and Viacom, obviously takes a hit in the neck from this. I mean, they are hurt by that, but they have 13 or 14 months to try and come up with an alternative to Howard Stern. Howard Stern is taking a risk, and the radio -- satellite radio is taking an even bigger risk financially. But Howard Stern is cushioned in that risk because he's getting paid a lot of money.
SERWER: Let me ask you this -- I think this is interesting, talk about how things are shifting -- will satellite radio -- because apparently they've signed Anthony and Opie, one of those shows that's a bit risque, to say the very least -- will satellite radio become the place where people go for this type of thing that many of us are a little uncomfortable with listening to when we're driving our kids to school?
AULETTA: Well, that's what Howard Stern says. Howard Stern says that this gives him the freedoms from government regulations in terms of indecency. He can curse at will, now. He can tell his off-color jokes at will.
SERWER: Right. And somebody is paying for it.
AULETTA: You bet.
SERWER: Yeah.
AULETTA: But you know, when Ted Turner started CNN, he was saying I will have more freedom, too, but it's a different kind of freedom. I will have -- instead of a half-hour newscast at night, I'll have 24 hours of freedom to give you news anytime you want. That paradigm shift worked for CNN.
SERWER: Great parallel. "Media Man's" the name of the book. Ken Auletta, thanks so much for being with us.
AULETTA: My pleasure.
SERWER: Great conversation. Heidi, over to you.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, pile on the blankets, because keeping cozy this winter could lighten your wallet. Boy, that's for sure. We'll talk about it next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: With oil, unfortunately, at all-time highs, get ready for a very expensive winter if you need home heating oil. Andy Serwer is here now "Minding Your Business" on this not good news.
SERWER: Yeah. I mean, I'm sorry to be the bearer of it.
First of all, oil hits a record again yesterday. We're now at, let's check it, $52.53 for a barrel, up 60 percent so far this year. And here's the bottom line: There is no question that these higher oil prices are going to have a negative impact on the economy. We really haven't seen this yet that much, but it is going to happen.
Case in point: higher heating oil costs this winter. And this is from a new Energy Department study that came out yesterday, showing that the average American family will be paying $1,223 for heating oil this winter. That's up from $953 last year. The difference is $270. That's $270 right out of your pocket to the heating oil company. You're already paying more for gasoline, of course. And you know, there is just no question that this stuff is going to hurt the economy and trickle back through to retailing. And it's interesting to me, because you know, oil companies have these deals where you can prepay for your heating oil.
And here is a case in point. In Maine, for instance, if you had bought your heating oil, it would have been $1.39 a gallon this summer. It's now $1.66.
COLLINS: Shoot. Maybe some people took advantage of it.
SERWER: Yeah. But of course, you have to have the $1,000 up front to do that, and not all families have that kind of money sitting around.
COLLINS: Absolutely not. All right. Andy, we'll be thinking about that as the temperatures get cooler, that's for sure.
SERWER: Bundle up!
COLLINS: Yeah. Thanks, Andy.
SANCHEZ: Well, Jack Cafferty's out and Andy Borowitz is here with our "Question of the Day." And you're talking about science -- your favorite topic!
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Well, not really science -- the Nobles. It's related, related.
You know, every year during Academy Award season, we spend weeks being obsessed with who is taking home the Oscars. Well, no such trivial concerns today. The Noble Peace Prize Committee will announce the winner of that ultimate honor tomorrow.
Now, the prize is given to the person or persons who has most advanced the cause of peace in the year just passed. But it has also been criticized for being used to make a political statement.
Now, the 194 nominees are secret, but most of the Noble buzz is about the IAEA's Mohamed ElBaradei, Weapons Inspection Chief Hans Blix, and former Senator Sam Nunn.
So, our question to you today is: Who should win the Noble Peace Prize and why? E-mail us now at am@cnn.com.
SERWER: Elton John!
BOROWITZ: Do you know who was not on the list this year? Talk about shockers, Jack Cafferty did not make the list.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing!
BOROWITZ: He's a perennial.
SERWER: He's a peaceful guy. BOROWITZ: He's a perennial guy on that list.
SERWER: Has never won.
COLLINS: And he's always overlooked...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: And maybe if he wasn't on vacation? All right, Andy, thanks so much.
SANCHEZ: Gets no votes in his home, either.
Still to come, in such a tight presidential race, could an October surprise tip the elections? A sneeze could tip this election. The scenarios that might lay ahead, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 7, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush with a new line of attack, sharpening his focus on John Kerry before the next critical debate.
Another U.S. weapons inspector, the same conclusion: no WMD in Iraq.
Interrogators piecing together Saddam Hussein's state of mind before Iraq fell. It is a portrait of a man obsessed.
And a victory for Kobe Bryant in his civil case. His accuser could pay with her name. All ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
COLLINS: Good Thursday morning, everybody. Bill and Soledad are off today. Rick Sanchez is here with us.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to be here once again.
COLLINS: Yes. It's still dark outside, but it will get brighter in a moment.
Some of the other stories that we are following this morning, less than four weeks to go to the presidential campaign, and Both sides are nervous about an October surprise, whether it's catching Osama bin Laden or a terrorist attack. What are the events, large and small, that could change the election? We have Kelly Wallace with us this morning. She's going to take a look at that.
SANCHEZ: Here's a story much of America is talking about, significantly New Yorkers, by the way, those people you see from time to time walking behind us. Can Howard Stern change radio the way Ted Turner changed television? We're going to look at stern's plan to take his show to satellite radio with a man who's written many books on the new media, Ken Auletta.
And by the way, Jack Cafferty is off again this morning, but Andy Borowitz is here with our Question of the Day and many other tidbits.
COLLINS: We will talk to him in just a moment, but we want to turn now to Kelly Wallace. She's joining us this morning for all the stories now in the news today.
Good morning to you, Kelly. KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Good morning to you, Rick. And good morning, everyone.
We begin in Iraq, and news of more American casualties. The U.S. military says a soldier died late last night from injuries suffered during a bombing near Fallujah. Two other Americans were wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, there are reports this morning of a loud explosion in Baghdad. New video from the scene shows smoke rising near the green zone. The U.S. military says it is investigating.
In early morning, a car bomb ripped through the central Pakistan city of Multan. At least 39 people were killed, but that number is expected to rise, because some 2,500 people were in the area at the time of the attack. Hospitals have been put in an emergency mode to treat the dozens of wounded.
Important health news. A team of U.S. scientists trying to determine if a possibly tainted flu vaccine can still be used. British official have put a hold on some 50 million doses, citing contamination issues at the vaccine plant in Liverpool, England. A group from the Food and Drug Administration is now negotiating with their British counterparts to see if any of those doses could be released.
And a former NFL player is wanted in relation to a shooting at home of entertainers Siegfried and Roy. Police say there a warrant is out for Cole Murdoch Ford, a former Oakland Raiders kicker. Police say Cole owns the van from which a gunmen fired shots at the Las Vegas home last month.
That's a quick look at the headlines. Now back to Heidi and Rick. I was going to say Bill. Rick -- Rick, Rick, Rick.
SANCHEZ: The Rick, Bill thing, with a little bit of a Minnesotan accent. More on that later.
Tomorrow night's debate is supposed to be mostly about domestic policy, as I'm sure you know. However, as I'm also sure you know, all the talk of late has been about Iraq from the respective stump speeches.
Let's get a report from each camp now. We're going to begin with Elaine Quijano. She's at the White House, and then we're going to go to Frank Buckley in Colorado. He's in Colorado.
Elaine, again, we begin with you. Good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick.
President Bush came out swinging hard yesterday against Senator John Kerry on domestic issues, including taxes and health care. But also on the issues of Iraq and terrorism. Now yesterday, at two campaign stops, the first one in Pennsylvania, the second in Michigan, the president blasted Senator Kerry's position on terrorism, saying that the senator approaches the world with a September 10th mindset, more reactive than proactive. Now the president made no mention of new report by the Iraq Survey Group, which found no evidence of stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq when the U.S. invaded last year. Still, Mr. Bush is standing by his decision, insisting that after September 11th, the country had to assess every potential threat in a new light.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation awakened to an even greater danger, the prospect that terrorists who killed thousands with hijacked airplanes would kill many more with weapons of mass murder. We had to take a hard look at every place where terrorists might get those weapons. One regime stood out, the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Meantime, the president hits the campaign trail once again today. He will make a stop in the battleground state of Wisconsin before moving on to St. Louis, ahead of tomorrow's debate -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Elaine Quijano, following that part of the story. Now let's go to the other, this to Frank Buckley, with Senator Kerry in the Denver suburb of Inglewood, Colorado.
Good morning, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.
Senator Kerry is here at a hotel resort. He is resting. He is practicing and focusing on the issues expected to come up in the second presidential debate. It's a strategy the campaign used leading up to the first presidential debate, one they feel really helped Senator Kerry in his performance, and it's a strategy they hope will work once again leading up to this second presidential debate on Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator John Kerry prepared for the next presidential debate at this resort in Colorado, leaving it to his running mate to respond to a blistering criticism of Kerry leveled by President Bush.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The problem is, of course, when you've got the same old tired ideas, the same old false attacks, the same old tired rhetoric, there are no new ideas, there are no new plans.
BUCKLEY: As Senator Kerry preps in private, advisers say his positive reviews in the first debate have raised expectations, but they also assert that President Bush has even more riding on the second clash. MIKE MCCURRY, KERRY ADVISER: And President Bush did not have a good night, and he practically has to go in and hit a home run now for him to really be able to say that he's done in these debates what he needs to do.
BUCKLEY: And while the next debate will include domestic policy issues, foreign policy questions will also be asked in the town meeting format. And Kerry advisers believe the report that went to Congress yesterday, indicating Saddam Hussein did not have WMD stockpiles at the time of the invasion, will have a featured role in the debate.
MCCURRY: This is a damning report. It's one that will probably dominate a lot of the discussion of foreign policy, because it casts such a negative comment about the reasons in which the administration said to America we were going to war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: And the debate prep taking place here at this hotel in a converted ballroom, converted into a town hall-style setting. Greg Craig, the former Clinton administration attorney, playing the role of President Bush. Staffers from the campaign playing the role of audience members who will ask the questions in this debate.
And later today, Rick, Senator Kerry is traveling to St. Louis -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: I always thought it would be great to have a camera in those preps to see what they really talk about.
All right, Frank Buckley in Colorado, thanks so much for that report.
You know, we're just one day away from round two of the presidential debates. Tomorrow night, President Bush and Senator Kerry are going head-to-head. Right, you'll see it, as you've come to expect, on CNN. Our primetime coverage begins at 7:00, with Wolf Blitzer, Paula Zahn, Anderson Cooper, and then our entire CNN election team.
Heidi, back over to you.
COLLINS: Now to Iraq and the political fallout from a new CIA report that says there were no WMD stockpiles in Saddam Hussein's Iraq at the time of the U.S. invasion. David Kay is the former chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The Bush-appointed weapons hunter, if you will, Charles Dulfur (ph), said the United States was almost all wrong on Iraq. What is new in this report that we're seeing?
DAVID KAY, FMR. CHIEF U.S. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Well, I think in terms of lines of analysis, conclusions, there's nothing new. There's new evidence, and particularly important, I think is the evidence with regard to how Saddam beat the sanction regime and the participation of European, former Soviet Union countries and China, in helping ship prohibited goods to them. That's new and that's important data because it relates to other countries that maybe are trying to develop weapons of mass destruction.
COLLINS: Right, in fact, President Bush said yesterday that there was a real risk that Saddam Hussein could pass along this information to other terrorist networks. And Secretary of State Colin Powell also said this.
Let's listen in. I'll get your comment on the backside here.
COLIN POWELL, SECY. OF STATE: If anybody wants to bet that when he finally got out from under those sanctions, he would not have returned to development of weapons of mass destruction and their production, that's a bet the president of you United States was not going to take.
COLLINS: So while Charles Dulfur did report that there had were no weapons of mass destruction, he did say that Saddam Hussein aspired to make nuclear weapons. Do you agree? Was this a risk?
KAY: I think he did aspire to make the weapons. I'm worried that you make too much out of that, because as the Dulfur report said, and as we found earlier, we found no actual plans to resume weapons of mass destruction production.
The more serious danger is I think the one the president pointed to, and that's that in the environment of corruption and decay that was Iraq during the last five years, there was a real danger not so much that Saddam would pass along the secrets of weapons of mass destruction, but scientists and engineers in their desperate desire to better themselves, to keep their families alive, might well have sold those secrets.
We do, after all, have the case of A.Q. Khan (ph) in Pakistan, who for 20 years sold secrets of nuclear weapons production to countries around the world, and it took about 18 years before we discovered it and managed to stop it.
COLLINS: Also a "Washington Post" editorial today in the paper that points out that no president really could have known then what we know now, if you will. Do you agree with that, that as long as Saddam Hussein remained in power, there really was no way to know whether or not he had those weapons?
KAY: That's absolutely true that you couldn't have known what we knew then. We have now for about 18 months we've had 1,700 very good and capable inspection personnel running over Iraq to the extent they can in the deteriorating security service.
I think, however, we could have known more than we did know. And quite frankly, I think the most meaningful conclusion of the report of the Dulfur report is the failure of our intelligence services, and the intelligence services of other Western countries. We need to take that lesson to heart, so our next president doesn't have to go through the same trauma that this one has, when you turn out your reasons for going to war to be so different than the actual facts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Once again, former Iraq U.S. weapons inspector David Kay there.
KAY: Well, the CIA report also paints a surprising picture of Saddam Hussein. Since last December, the former dictator has been held in isolation revealing himself to a single debriefer. The report shows he hoped for improved relations with the United States. He believed it would be prestigious to be a friend of America. At the same time, he was enjoying his status as its enemy. Saddam is fond of U.S. movies and literature. One of his favorite books, Hemmingway's "The Old Man in the Sea." But he feared a U.S. attack and says he only used a phone twice after 1990 to avoid being found.
Rick now, back to the desk.
SANCHEZ: All right, thanks, Heidi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SANCHEZ: Following the controversy of whether the vice presidential candidates have met prior to Tuesday's debate -- we're sure you've heard about that -- first lady Laura Bush made things perfectly clear on "The Tonight Show" about her relationship with Teresa Heinz Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW" HOST: You've met Teresa Kerry.
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We met at the debate.
LENO: That was the first time you met?
BUSH: That was the first time we've met. And I could tell we had a lot in common. We even chose the same color suits to wear for that night.
LENO: That's right. I had a joke, but I didn't do it, and I can't remember what it was. But that's right, you had the same outfit.
BUSH: Yes, exactly. So now, I'm just want to announce today, let people know, I'm going to be wearing a blue suit Friday night.
LENO: Blue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Sometimes you have to do that here on the show because you like to wear... SANCHEZ: Funky colors? Is that what you're trying to insinuate. Go ahead, say it.
By the way, the debate is tomorrow night in St. Louis. Expect to see it all right here.
COLLINS: Of course.
And still this morning, shock jock Howard Stern cuts ties with commercial radio and heads into orbit with a new multimillion dollar deal, unbelievable money. Will the move change the industry, though? We'll talk about that.
SANCHEZ: How about this, an October surprise: Could events orchestrated or unforeseen suddenly tip the balance in the presidential election?
COLLINS: And exclusive pictures from above Mount St. Helens. They're all ahead, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A federal judge rejected a request by Kobe Bryant's accuser to keep her name out of the media during her civil lawsuit against the NBA star. The judge ruled the parties must, quote, "appear as equals before the court." Attorneys for the 20-year-old woman say she's been the subject of death threats and sordid publicity for more than a year now. Well, Bryant's lawyers say she shouldn't be able to bring what they call a false accusation without being identified.
Coming up in the next hour on AMERICAN MORNING, we'll talk about the case with CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
SANCHEZ: All right, here we go. Howard Stern says that he's seen the future, and it's in satellite radio. This is a major decision which may signal a proverbial paradigm shift in the entire industry. Insiders say this is huge. Here is what Mr. Stern has to say about his five-year, multi, multi, multimillion dollar deal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, RADIO PERSONALITY: I changed radio when I got into this 20-something years ago, and I'm going to change radio again. I'm going to make satellite radio, hopefully, the most important media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Ken Auletta is the media critic for "The New Yorker." He's also the author of "Media Man," a book I have in my hand and had the pleasure of reading last night as I was going to sleep.
Maybe it's overused, Paradigm shift. Some would argue Ted Turner made what was a paradigm shift in news and in television in general. Is that what Howard Stern could possibly do for satellite radio? KEN AULETTA, "THE NEW YORKER": Well, that's his hope, and that's what he said, but they're paying him $100 million a year to try and do that. And maybe it will succeed.
When Turner started the Superstation, cable had no programming, and he promised them he would deliver programming. And one of the things he did, he went out and bought sports teams in order to provide free sports programming on the Superchannel. It worked. CNN, he said, we're going to provide 24-hours news, and it provided something new. It was a paradigm shift, as you say. Now, will this be a similar one? I don't know.
SANCHEZ: Now here's the deal. Howard Stern has given up a lot to do this. I mean, this is a gamble. What if his listeners can't figure out how to get to him?
AULETTA: He's got $500 million extra over a five-year contract. He's not giving up a lot.
SANCHEZ: So you're telling me, he's guaranteed this money.
AULETTA: According to news reports, he's guaranteed $100 million a year for five years.
SANCHEZ: So the gamble is for satellite radio then.
AULETTA: Of course, it's a huge gamble, by the way. I mean, they are gambling that by hiring Howard Stern, they will jack up their revenues and subscribers. See, the problem with satellite radio, and one of the reasons why we don't know whether it's going to work or not, it is totally almost totally dependent on monthly subscriber costs of, between $10 or $13, depending which of the two service you choose, and advertising is very hard to do, because it's not local; it's a national service.
SANCHEZ: So you need a commitment from people.
AULETTA: You need a commitment from people, and the $13 a month.
SANCHEZ: How many people does Howard Stern have to bring over for them to break even?
AULETTA: I don't know the exact number, but it's a large number of people. On the other hand, he has huge listenership. So he has the potential to do for satellite radio what Milton Beryl did for television.
SANCHEZ: Let's look at the other side of this. What happened to commercial broadcasting as a result of this paradigm shift?
AULETTA: Well, Infinity Radio, which airs Howard Stern on many of its station, which is owned by CBS and Viacom, obviously takes a hit in the neck from this. I mean, they are hurt by that, but they have 13 or 14 months to try and come up with an alternative to Howard Stern. Howard Stern is taking a risk, and the radio -- satellite radio is taking an even bigger risk financially. But Howard Stern is cushioned in that risk because he's getting paid a lot of money.
SERWER: Let me ask you this -- I think this is interesting, talk about how things are shifting -- will satellite radio -- because apparently they've signed Anthony and Opie, one of those shows that's a bit risque, to say the very least -- will satellite radio become the place where people go for this type of thing that many of us are a little uncomfortable with listening to when we're driving our kids to school?
AULETTA: Well, that's what Howard Stern says. Howard Stern says that this gives him the freedoms from government regulations in terms of indecency. He can curse at will, now. He can tell his off-color jokes at will.
SERWER: Right. And somebody is paying for it.
AULETTA: You bet.
SERWER: Yeah.
AULETTA: But you know, when Ted Turner started CNN, he was saying I will have more freedom, too, but it's a different kind of freedom. I will have -- instead of a half-hour newscast at night, I'll have 24 hours of freedom to give you news anytime you want. That paradigm shift worked for CNN.
SERWER: Great parallel. "Media Man's" the name of the book. Ken Auletta, thanks so much for being with us.
AULETTA: My pleasure.
SERWER: Great conversation. Heidi, over to you.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning, pile on the blankets, because keeping cozy this winter could lighten your wallet. Boy, that's for sure. We'll talk about it next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: With oil, unfortunately, at all-time highs, get ready for a very expensive winter if you need home heating oil. Andy Serwer is here now "Minding Your Business" on this not good news.
SERWER: Yeah. I mean, I'm sorry to be the bearer of it.
First of all, oil hits a record again yesterday. We're now at, let's check it, $52.53 for a barrel, up 60 percent so far this year. And here's the bottom line: There is no question that these higher oil prices are going to have a negative impact on the economy. We really haven't seen this yet that much, but it is going to happen.
Case in point: higher heating oil costs this winter. And this is from a new Energy Department study that came out yesterday, showing that the average American family will be paying $1,223 for heating oil this winter. That's up from $953 last year. The difference is $270. That's $270 right out of your pocket to the heating oil company. You're already paying more for gasoline, of course. And you know, there is just no question that this stuff is going to hurt the economy and trickle back through to retailing. And it's interesting to me, because you know, oil companies have these deals where you can prepay for your heating oil.
And here is a case in point. In Maine, for instance, if you had bought your heating oil, it would have been $1.39 a gallon this summer. It's now $1.66.
COLLINS: Shoot. Maybe some people took advantage of it.
SERWER: Yeah. But of course, you have to have the $1,000 up front to do that, and not all families have that kind of money sitting around.
COLLINS: Absolutely not. All right. Andy, we'll be thinking about that as the temperatures get cooler, that's for sure.
SERWER: Bundle up!
COLLINS: Yeah. Thanks, Andy.
SANCHEZ: Well, Jack Cafferty's out and Andy Borowitz is here with our "Question of the Day." And you're talking about science -- your favorite topic!
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Well, not really science -- the Nobles. It's related, related.
You know, every year during Academy Award season, we spend weeks being obsessed with who is taking home the Oscars. Well, no such trivial concerns today. The Noble Peace Prize Committee will announce the winner of that ultimate honor tomorrow.
Now, the prize is given to the person or persons who has most advanced the cause of peace in the year just passed. But it has also been criticized for being used to make a political statement.
Now, the 194 nominees are secret, but most of the Noble buzz is about the IAEA's Mohamed ElBaradei, Weapons Inspection Chief Hans Blix, and former Senator Sam Nunn.
So, our question to you today is: Who should win the Noble Peace Prize and why? E-mail us now at am@cnn.com.
SERWER: Elton John!
BOROWITZ: Do you know who was not on the list this year? Talk about shockers, Jack Cafferty did not make the list.
SANCHEZ: That's amazing!
BOROWITZ: He's a perennial.
SERWER: He's a peaceful guy. BOROWITZ: He's a perennial guy on that list.
SERWER: Has never won.
COLLINS: And he's always overlooked...
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: And maybe if he wasn't on vacation? All right, Andy, thanks so much.
SANCHEZ: Gets no votes in his home, either.
Still to come, in such a tight presidential race, could an October surprise tip the elections? A sneeze could tip this election. The scenarios that might lay ahead, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
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