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American Morning
All the Big Domestic Issues Later on Stage Tonight; Two U.S. Missions to Rescue Hostages in Iraq
Aired October 13, 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's all about jobs, taxes and health care, all the big domestic issues later on stage tonight. George Bush, John Kerry, one last chance to talk to millions of voters.
Two U.S. missions to rescue hostages in Iraq. What did American intelligence know? And how close did they get?
Lining up for the flu shot. Vaccine shortages so great even those most at risk may have to go without this year.
And now molten lava on Mount St. Helens. What's next for the volcano? On this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
Another beautiful day here in New York City. Good morning, everyone. Welcome, I'm Bill Hemmer.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins, in for Soledad today.
They are getting ready in Tempe, Arizona. Today is the third and final presidential debate, with domestic issues now the focus. With a look at tonight's strategy and how it differs from the previous debates. Also talk with Carlos Watson about what each candidate must accomplish.
HEMMER: Also today from California, all the anticipation of what the defense would present in the Scott Peterson trial coming to a screeching halt. Get this, we'll look at why the trial is now being delayed, and what prosecutors will do in the week they have off. They've adjourned court basically until next week. So we'll talk about that and try to figure out why.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: This guy is obviously guilty. Let's put him in the electric chair and let's move on to the next case.
COLLINS: And Jack's here now.
CAFFERTY: The Supreme Court is going to take a look at whether or not it is legal as to whether or not to execute a juvenile. And wait until you hear the case the arguments are based on. It is horrendous, with a capital "Horrend," coming up.
HEMMER: Or an 'H.' Thank you, Jack.
COLLINS: All right, Jack, thank you. We want to check on the stories now in the new with Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center this morning.
Daryn, hello.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
Three more American soldiers have been killed in a roadside explosion in Iraq. Military sources say an improvised explosive device blew up late last night in eastern Baghdad. Meanwhile, Iraq is calling on dozens of countries to pay up on more than $13 billion promised in aid. Only a billion dollars has been delivered so far. Delegates from 55 countries are gathered in Tokyo for a two-day conference.
The Capitol Hill office of Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton is closed this morning over worries of a possible terrorist attack. Senator Dayton is citing what he's calling top secret intelligence reports on national security as the reason. The Capitol Police say the senator is well within his rights, but they reiterate that they have not received word of any specific threat. Dayton's office will open when Congress reconvenes after the election.
Let's head west, Mount St. Helens is taking the path of least resistance. Lava breaking through the surface. Inside the crater yesterday, if you look down deep, you can see the orange stuff. It's going on around the dome to form a new one. Official say the earthquake activity quieted down as the magma cooled. Scientists believe an eruption like 1980 is unlikely.
And finally, they're glowing in New York City. The Yankees taking an early lead over the Red Sox in the quest to win a World Series. New York's Mariano Rivera flew back from a family funeral in Panama to close out the 10-7 game. Boston had came back from an eight-run deficit after the Yankees Mike Mussina had pitched six perfect innings. The teams meet again tonight in New York, and Houston at St. Louis for NLCS, for the National League folks to get started as well.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Unbelievable. All right, great game.
Daryn, thanks so much for that.
President Bush and Senator John Kerry getting set for tonight's duel in the desert. Their third and final debate could be the most important now.
Kelly Wallace is outside the debate hall in Tempe, Arizona.
Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. The stakes certainly very, very high, and Senator John Kerry going in with an advantage. Most polls showing him leading on most domestic issues, but both candidates tonight targeting very different audiences.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're not going to go alone like this president did.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me just -- I got to answer this.
WALLACE (voice-over): Expect another tough and testy showdown like last week in the Show-Me State, with President Bush repeatedly mentioning the 'l' word.
BUSH: That's what liberals do.
WALLACE: And Senator Kerry the 'm' word.
KERRY: I'm fighting for the middle class.
WALLACE: Because team Kerry thinks the race will be decided by middle-class swing voters. Team Bush thinks it will come down to turnout among Republicans, especially social conservatives, and so two very different strategies on the top issues expected to dominate tonight. Issue one, jobs. Senator Kerry will hammer away at the decline in jobs for middle-class workers.
KERRY: First president in 72 years to lose jobs.
WALLACE: While the president will paint his rival as a taxer and spender.
BUSH: He voted 98 times to raise taxes. I mean, these aren't makeup figures.
WALLACE: Issue two, health care. Expect the senator to say health care premiums for the middle class have skyrocketed, up more than 60 percent.
KERRY: I have a plan to lower the cost of health care for you.
WALLACE: And expect something like this from Mr. Bush.
BUSH: It's the largest increase in federal government health care ever.
WALLACE: Issue three -- make it issues. Social issues, like embryonic stem cell research and abortion. Senator Kerry, a pro- abortion rights Catholic, treading very cautiously.
KERRY: I cannot tell you how deeply I respect the belief about life and when it begins.
WALLACE: And the president with a guaranteed hit with his base.
BUSH: The culture of life is really important for a country to have that's going to be a hospitable society.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And in the end, the true winner might not necessarily be the one getting the higher marks for style and substance, but the one who wins over more of his audience and gets more of them to the polls on November 2nd -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, that is the key.
Kelly, though, there are some analysts who say the third and final debate really is the one that matters because it's what voters will remember when they go to the polls.
WALLACE: It is, Heidi. It's going to have that lasting impression in their minds, and the challenge is big really for both men, including President Bush, of course. Many believe he did not have a very good performance in debate No. 1, a little bit better in debate No. 2. He's got to show he's presidential and in command.
But also for Senator Kerry, who everyone says has some very good performances in those first two debates, but hasn't, quote, sealed the deal yet. He has to sort of win over, again, undecided voters who Team Kerry think could decide this race -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And they have until November 2nd -- I think that's the date, right? -- to decide.
All right, Kelly Wallace, Tempe, Arizona this morning.
Kelly, thank you.
HEMMER: All right, let's size it up now. What does each candidate need to accomplish tonight in their face-to-face meeting? Carlos Watson, our analyst from Phoenix, Arizona, this morning. Carlos, good morning to you.
First of all, John Kerry, the challenger, you say, don't fumble.
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POL. ANALYST: You know, Bill, so often debates are decided by a major gaffe on one side or the other. We clearly saw that with Gerald Ford in 1976, with the first President Bush in 1992. And frankly, this year, the most notable thing that's happened in the debate is the president fumbling in the first one with his grimaces. So the first thing John Kerry has got to do is not fumble, don't make that kind of gaffe.
HEMMER: John Kerry also very well known to say he has a plan, often directing people to his Web site at John Kerry dot-com. You say offer a tangible plan. Explain that.
WATSON: Bill, he's got to use anecdotes. He's got to make it very clear and very tangible to these undecided voters what life under a Kerry administration would mean for their kids who may be in school, for a parent who may be retired in terms of Social Security, or Medicare, or even for themselves, they think about jobs and a change in the economy. So anecdotes are going to be very important here in making his plan not just an abstraction, but really a tangible plan.
HEMMER: No. 3 for John Kerry, pose a rhetorical question. Like what? Got any ideas?
WATSON: Well, you've heard him try out one -- do you want more of the same? And I bet you, you'll that again and again, Bill. But remember, no one was better at this than Ronald Reagan in 1980. But Bill Clinton wasn't bad in 1992, when he said, change or more of the same. So he's got to frame a rhetorical question at the beginning and certainly in his final closing that summarizes whether or not you want another four years of President Bush's leadership.
HEMMER: All right, let's talk about the president then. You say be articulate and clear. Articulate what?
WATSON: Well, you know what's so interesting here, often we talk about substance, but for the president, I think particularly for some of the moderate Republicans and independent voters, the issue of style is important here. Him coming across as articulate and clear is ultimately important in him being perceived as an active, smart and well-informed manager. So I think his articulation will be important in this debate.
HEMMER: No. 2, outline a second-term agenda. Will we hear that tonight?
WATSON: Well, you know what, I think you'll see him go a long ways. And not only does he need to talk about what he has done in the first four years, but remember, this is a president who has an extraordinarily active domestic agenda, from taxes to education to health care. But you're also going to need him to say that I've got a lot that I want to do in the second term. His father did not do that in 1992.
HEMMER: In the spirit of Vince Lombardi, just win, huh? Well, that was kind of Al Davis like, right, just win baby.
WATSON: Just win, baby. You know, it would be tough for the president ultimately to win the election if he has seen not having won any of the debates, which all of them will be watched by north of 40 million people. So when all is said and done, he's got to do a lot of things. But ultimately, Vince Lombardi, Al Davis, you've got to just win.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carlos.
Later tonight here on CNN, a reminder to our viewers, just about 12 hours away from our primetime coverage, starting at 7:00 Easter Time. That debate officially gets underway at 9:00 eastern. We will be there for it -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And so will first lady Laura Bush. In fact, she's been on the campaign trail, a trail she says isn't all that negative, just competitive. She spoke last night with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that's just a fact of life in politics. And you know it is when you throw your hat in the ring, that that's what it's going to be like, especially for this big job, for the president of the United States, but really for any Palestinian race. I mean, ask anybody who runs for school board or, you know, there's a part of a political race, the competitive part, that is always a little bit nasty, and that's just the way it is. That's just competition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Mrs. Bush says she will continue to focus on education as first lady if her husband wins a second term.
HEMMER: About ten minutes past the hour, Heidi. CNN has learned that U.S. forces tried twice to rescue two Americans and one British citizen held hostage in Iraq.
Barbara Starr from the Pentagon with more on this.
Barbara, good morning there.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
Indeed, unsuccessful hostage rescue attempts for those being held and then executed by the network of Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): The first rescue attempt came when Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley and British hostage Ken Bigley were still alive after being kidnapped September 16th from their Baghdad home. The second attempt, a source with direct knowledge said, came after Armstrong was beheaded around September 20th. The official told CNN a lot of people had a lot of sleepless nights trying to find them.
Bigley was killed last week after attempting to escape after some three weeks in brutal captivity. An official confirmed the attempt to rescue the hostages from the Abu Musab Al Zarqawi network involved deployment of U.S. military, as well as other government personnel.
The U.S. rescue teams on two separate occasions went to locations in Baghdad, based on intelligence that indicated the hostages were being held there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: But, Bill, they came up with what the source calls dry holes. When they went to both locations, there was evidence that somebody had been there, but they were empty when the rescue teams got there. Nobody knows if the hostages were never there at all or if they were moved -- Bill. HEMMER: Also the U.S. military has said they believe Zarqawi is responsible for some of these beheadings, he carrying out it himself. Is there any suggestion that they were close to Zarqawi in these raids?
STARR: Well, of course, they don't really know, because they haven't found him yet.
But of course, one of the things that has continued to be very interesting to watch is the belief that Zarqawi was in Baghdad at some point for the execution of one of the hostages, that he himself was on one of those videotapes and responsible for one of the executions. The working theory of course had been that Zarqawi was hiding out in Fallujah, that Sunni Triangle stronghold west of Baghdad, but all indications are at some point he must have traveled to the capital city, because he appeared on that videotape that was believed to be taken in Baghdad. But now, no one knows where he is -- Bill.
HEMMER: A story that apparently is still developing. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thanks for that -- Heidi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: As you may have heard, AMERICAN MORNING on the move. Next week Soledad O'Brien comes back, and we're taking the show on the road to this place. What is that place?
HEMMER: Chicago. Monday morning, starting Monday through Friday, all week next week, broadcasting live from the major Windy City landmarks. And we'll take the pulse of Chicago in this election year, too. So Monday, AMERICAN MORNING on the road in Chicago, all week. We'll have a good time, too.
COLLINS: Yes, that's going to be a blast.
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: Well, still to come today, though, there is finally some good news on oil prices and what it might mean for you at the pump. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."
HEMMER: Also the Peterson trial on a holding pattern again. We'll tell you what the issue is this time, in a moment.
COLLINS: And people are lining up for flu shots. But there really aren't enough to go around. So what can you do to avoid getting the flu altogether? We're going to talk with the head of the CDC, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: With flu vaccine suddenly in short supply, hundreds of seniors in Sarasota, Florida were waiting in line yesterday, hoping to get their flu shot. You can see them there. The extreme shortage means that many high-risk patients, including the elderly, will be unable to get influenza vaccine this year. Still, the Centers for Disease Control is taking steps to ensure the remaining flu vaccine gets to those who need it most. CDC director Julie Gerberding is joining us now from Atlanta to explain a little bit more on this.
Doctor, good morning to you. Thanks for being here.
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: Good morning.
COLLINS: A little bit of unusual step, I would imagine, that health officials are actually talking about regulating some 22 million doses now that are coming in to this country. Who is not going to be able to get a flu shot this season?
GERBERDING: Well, right now, we're asking healthy people to step aside and not receive the flu shot this year, but we're doing everything we can to get the 22 million doses we have left to distribute to those people who need them the most. Of course, that includes children and people over 65 years of age, and anyone with a medical condition.
COLLINS: In fact, we want to make sure everyone understand this high-risk group again -- children, elderly, pregnant women, nursing home residents and certain health care workers. We see it on the screen now.
But how many people in this high-risk group are not really going to be able to get it? Because it seems like however many you have left over to give, there's just as many people who really need that vaccine. Are the numbers going to lineup?
GERBERDING: Well, you know, we are experiencing shortages. As the vaccine becomes available from the manufacturer, some of those shortages will be alleviated. We're asking people to be patient, but also to be persistent. We'll have vaccine coming out over the next several weeks, and the local health officials in the community are the ones who can best help people figure out where are the doses available to them.
COLLINS: But those same local health officials and doctors as well are going to try to decide who fits into that high-risk category? How are they going to do that? How can they be sure that those shots are going to the right people?
GERBERDING: Well, again, we're asking clinicians and the people who are sponsoring clinics across the country to really try to screen people for these high-risk conditions. And again, it's the children between the ages of six and 23 months that we're worried about the most, people with those chronic and serious medical conditions, and then people 65 and older. So those are fairly easy screening criteria. And we're hoping that folks will just cooperate with that. So far, we're very pleased with the cooperation that we are seeing.
COLLINS: Quickly, how big of a public health crisis, if you will, could this be this year?
GERBERDING: Well, you know, flu is unpredictable, and it's just too early in the season to say whether we're going to have a particularly mild season or a severe season. So we've got to be prepared, and we're just doing everything we can to get those doses to the people who need them the most.
COLLINS: Dr. Julie Gerberding of the CDC, thanks for your time here this morning.
GERBERDING: Thank you.
HEMMER: About 20 minutes past the hour. Tonight is round three for the candidates. We'll talk to the insiders from both campaigns, try to tap into the strategy for both men tonight. Also, later, don't forget, later tonight, 12 hours away, our primetime coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern, Phoenix, Arizona, back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Want to get to Andy Serwer, first check of the market news. Good news for investors anyway. Oil, do I hear $55 a barrel?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No, we didn't get it.
What?
HEMMER: Did we ever tip there yesterday at $55.
SERWER: No.
HEMMER: But it's back down?
SERWER: Yes, it's at 52. We lost a couple dollars.
I like the fact that you're following commodity prices, Bill. It's good for you.
All right, the price of oil dropped a little bit yesterday. This morning actually we're down to $52 a barrel. That's some good news, didn't stop the bleeding on Wall Street, though. A little bit of a downtick here, as you can see.
And this morning, we're going to be talking about a couple of tech bellwethers. Bellwethers is the operative word. First of all, Intel, the chip giant, announced profits are up 15 percent. That's the good news. The bad news is demand for PCs, chips and PCs, still slack.
Let's move on to the second tech bellwether, Yahoo!. Yahoo! announcing its profits tripled, mostly because it sold it's stake in rival Google. Google coming up later on the program, down the road that is, in terms of reporting its reports.
Now, where does the word bellwether come from?
HEMMER: How about it?
SERWER: OK, how about that. I bet you don't know.
A wether, Jack, a wether or sheep which leads the flock with a bell around its neck.
CAFFERTY: I knew that.
SERWER: No, you didn't. You thought it had something to do with weather. It's not even spelled weather; it's W-E-T-H-E-R.
HEMMER: I like it.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Thank you so much, Andy.
SERWER: OK, for that.
CAFFERTY: He's right, I didn't know that.
SERWER: You didn't know that?
CAFFERTY: No, I didn't know that.
COLLINS: "Cafferty File" and...
CAFFERTY: And now that I know it, I plan to forget it as quickly as possible.
SERWER: You'll never forget it.
CAFFERTY: I lived 61 years without knowing it, and I'm going to go the rest of the way.
SERWER: A sheep with the bell around its neck.
CAFFERTY: All right, serious stuff here. Listen up, kids, in 1993, when he was 17 years old, Christopher Simmons and a 16-year-old accomplice broke into Shirley Crook's (ph) home in Missouri. They kidnapped her, they drove her to a railroad bridge. While she was still alive, she was bound and gagged, and then thrown off into the bridge into the river where she was drowned. Her body was found the next day. Simmons was sentenced to be executed. And now the Supreme Court of the United States is going to decide whether he should be.
Give me a call. My number is -- I'll be glad to help you with this. Lawyers for Simmons want his sentence overturned, saying that he was a -- quote -- "troubled youth" at the time of this, that he was emotionally unformed and impulsive. They are currently 72 juveniles on death row, 22 have been executed in this country since 1976. And the question is this, should juveniles be subjected to the death penalty? AM@cnn.com.
SERWER: How old was he, did they say that?
CAFFERTY: Seventeen at the time.
SERWER: Seventeen -- well, that's pretty close to being a grownup, isn't it?
COLLINS: I bet the victim's family just can't imagine.
CAFFERTY: It's not a crime of passion. It's not something that happened during a -- this was a premeditated, cold, calculated -- you know, they kidnapped her, they put her in the car, they bound her, gagged her, drove her to a bridge, and then just pitched her in the river while she was still alive. Like I said, if you guys at the high court would like to call me, I can give you a hand with this one.
SERWER: He has an opinion.
COLLINS: I bet they will.
Jack Cafferty, thanks for that.
And still to come this morning, we do have your Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop."
The one-time King of Pop goes after Slim Shady's latest spoof. But is Michael Jackson just making things worse?
Plus, move over Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, there's a new brat pack in town, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 13, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's all about jobs, taxes and health care, all the big domestic issues later on stage tonight. George Bush, John Kerry, one last chance to talk to millions of voters.
Two U.S. missions to rescue hostages in Iraq. What did American intelligence know? And how close did they get?
Lining up for the flu shot. Vaccine shortages so great even those most at risk may have to go without this year.
And now molten lava on Mount St. Helens. What's next for the volcano? On this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
Another beautiful day here in New York City. Good morning, everyone. Welcome, I'm Bill Hemmer.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins, in for Soledad today.
They are getting ready in Tempe, Arizona. Today is the third and final presidential debate, with domestic issues now the focus. With a look at tonight's strategy and how it differs from the previous debates. Also talk with Carlos Watson about what each candidate must accomplish.
HEMMER: Also today from California, all the anticipation of what the defense would present in the Scott Peterson trial coming to a screeching halt. Get this, we'll look at why the trial is now being delayed, and what prosecutors will do in the week they have off. They've adjourned court basically until next week. So we'll talk about that and try to figure out why.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: This guy is obviously guilty. Let's put him in the electric chair and let's move on to the next case.
COLLINS: And Jack's here now.
CAFFERTY: The Supreme Court is going to take a look at whether or not it is legal as to whether or not to execute a juvenile. And wait until you hear the case the arguments are based on. It is horrendous, with a capital "Horrend," coming up.
HEMMER: Or an 'H.' Thank you, Jack.
COLLINS: All right, Jack, thank you. We want to check on the stories now in the new with Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center this morning.
Daryn, hello.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
Three more American soldiers have been killed in a roadside explosion in Iraq. Military sources say an improvised explosive device blew up late last night in eastern Baghdad. Meanwhile, Iraq is calling on dozens of countries to pay up on more than $13 billion promised in aid. Only a billion dollars has been delivered so far. Delegates from 55 countries are gathered in Tokyo for a two-day conference.
The Capitol Hill office of Minnesota Senator Mark Dayton is closed this morning over worries of a possible terrorist attack. Senator Dayton is citing what he's calling top secret intelligence reports on national security as the reason. The Capitol Police say the senator is well within his rights, but they reiterate that they have not received word of any specific threat. Dayton's office will open when Congress reconvenes after the election.
Let's head west, Mount St. Helens is taking the path of least resistance. Lava breaking through the surface. Inside the crater yesterday, if you look down deep, you can see the orange stuff. It's going on around the dome to form a new one. Official say the earthquake activity quieted down as the magma cooled. Scientists believe an eruption like 1980 is unlikely.
And finally, they're glowing in New York City. The Yankees taking an early lead over the Red Sox in the quest to win a World Series. New York's Mariano Rivera flew back from a family funeral in Panama to close out the 10-7 game. Boston had came back from an eight-run deficit after the Yankees Mike Mussina had pitched six perfect innings. The teams meet again tonight in New York, and Houston at St. Louis for NLCS, for the National League folks to get started as well.
Heidi, back to you.
COLLINS: Unbelievable. All right, great game.
Daryn, thanks so much for that.
President Bush and Senator John Kerry getting set for tonight's duel in the desert. Their third and final debate could be the most important now.
Kelly Wallace is outside the debate hall in Tempe, Arizona.
Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. The stakes certainly very, very high, and Senator John Kerry going in with an advantage. Most polls showing him leading on most domestic issues, but both candidates tonight targeting very different audiences.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're not going to go alone like this president did.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let me just -- I got to answer this.
WALLACE (voice-over): Expect another tough and testy showdown like last week in the Show-Me State, with President Bush repeatedly mentioning the 'l' word.
BUSH: That's what liberals do.
WALLACE: And Senator Kerry the 'm' word.
KERRY: I'm fighting for the middle class.
WALLACE: Because team Kerry thinks the race will be decided by middle-class swing voters. Team Bush thinks it will come down to turnout among Republicans, especially social conservatives, and so two very different strategies on the top issues expected to dominate tonight. Issue one, jobs. Senator Kerry will hammer away at the decline in jobs for middle-class workers.
KERRY: First president in 72 years to lose jobs.
WALLACE: While the president will paint his rival as a taxer and spender.
BUSH: He voted 98 times to raise taxes. I mean, these aren't makeup figures.
WALLACE: Issue two, health care. Expect the senator to say health care premiums for the middle class have skyrocketed, up more than 60 percent.
KERRY: I have a plan to lower the cost of health care for you.
WALLACE: And expect something like this from Mr. Bush.
BUSH: It's the largest increase in federal government health care ever.
WALLACE: Issue three -- make it issues. Social issues, like embryonic stem cell research and abortion. Senator Kerry, a pro- abortion rights Catholic, treading very cautiously.
KERRY: I cannot tell you how deeply I respect the belief about life and when it begins.
WALLACE: And the president with a guaranteed hit with his base.
BUSH: The culture of life is really important for a country to have that's going to be a hospitable society.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And in the end, the true winner might not necessarily be the one getting the higher marks for style and substance, but the one who wins over more of his audience and gets more of them to the polls on November 2nd -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, that is the key.
Kelly, though, there are some analysts who say the third and final debate really is the one that matters because it's what voters will remember when they go to the polls.
WALLACE: It is, Heidi. It's going to have that lasting impression in their minds, and the challenge is big really for both men, including President Bush, of course. Many believe he did not have a very good performance in debate No. 1, a little bit better in debate No. 2. He's got to show he's presidential and in command.
But also for Senator Kerry, who everyone says has some very good performances in those first two debates, but hasn't, quote, sealed the deal yet. He has to sort of win over, again, undecided voters who Team Kerry think could decide this race -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And they have until November 2nd -- I think that's the date, right? -- to decide.
All right, Kelly Wallace, Tempe, Arizona this morning.
Kelly, thank you.
HEMMER: All right, let's size it up now. What does each candidate need to accomplish tonight in their face-to-face meeting? Carlos Watson, our analyst from Phoenix, Arizona, this morning. Carlos, good morning to you.
First of all, John Kerry, the challenger, you say, don't fumble.
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POL. ANALYST: You know, Bill, so often debates are decided by a major gaffe on one side or the other. We clearly saw that with Gerald Ford in 1976, with the first President Bush in 1992. And frankly, this year, the most notable thing that's happened in the debate is the president fumbling in the first one with his grimaces. So the first thing John Kerry has got to do is not fumble, don't make that kind of gaffe.
HEMMER: John Kerry also very well known to say he has a plan, often directing people to his Web site at John Kerry dot-com. You say offer a tangible plan. Explain that.
WATSON: Bill, he's got to use anecdotes. He's got to make it very clear and very tangible to these undecided voters what life under a Kerry administration would mean for their kids who may be in school, for a parent who may be retired in terms of Social Security, or Medicare, or even for themselves, they think about jobs and a change in the economy. So anecdotes are going to be very important here in making his plan not just an abstraction, but really a tangible plan.
HEMMER: No. 3 for John Kerry, pose a rhetorical question. Like what? Got any ideas?
WATSON: Well, you've heard him try out one -- do you want more of the same? And I bet you, you'll that again and again, Bill. But remember, no one was better at this than Ronald Reagan in 1980. But Bill Clinton wasn't bad in 1992, when he said, change or more of the same. So he's got to frame a rhetorical question at the beginning and certainly in his final closing that summarizes whether or not you want another four years of President Bush's leadership.
HEMMER: All right, let's talk about the president then. You say be articulate and clear. Articulate what?
WATSON: Well, you know what's so interesting here, often we talk about substance, but for the president, I think particularly for some of the moderate Republicans and independent voters, the issue of style is important here. Him coming across as articulate and clear is ultimately important in him being perceived as an active, smart and well-informed manager. So I think his articulation will be important in this debate.
HEMMER: No. 2, outline a second-term agenda. Will we hear that tonight?
WATSON: Well, you know what, I think you'll see him go a long ways. And not only does he need to talk about what he has done in the first four years, but remember, this is a president who has an extraordinarily active domestic agenda, from taxes to education to health care. But you're also going to need him to say that I've got a lot that I want to do in the second term. His father did not do that in 1992.
HEMMER: In the spirit of Vince Lombardi, just win, huh? Well, that was kind of Al Davis like, right, just win baby.
WATSON: Just win, baby. You know, it would be tough for the president ultimately to win the election if he has seen not having won any of the debates, which all of them will be watched by north of 40 million people. So when all is said and done, he's got to do a lot of things. But ultimately, Vince Lombardi, Al Davis, you've got to just win.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carlos.
Later tonight here on CNN, a reminder to our viewers, just about 12 hours away from our primetime coverage, starting at 7:00 Easter Time. That debate officially gets underway at 9:00 eastern. We will be there for it -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And so will first lady Laura Bush. In fact, she's been on the campaign trail, a trail she says isn't all that negative, just competitive. She spoke last night with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that's just a fact of life in politics. And you know it is when you throw your hat in the ring, that that's what it's going to be like, especially for this big job, for the president of the United States, but really for any Palestinian race. I mean, ask anybody who runs for school board or, you know, there's a part of a political race, the competitive part, that is always a little bit nasty, and that's just the way it is. That's just competition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Mrs. Bush says she will continue to focus on education as first lady if her husband wins a second term.
HEMMER: About ten minutes past the hour, Heidi. CNN has learned that U.S. forces tried twice to rescue two Americans and one British citizen held hostage in Iraq.
Barbara Starr from the Pentagon with more on this.
Barbara, good morning there.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
Indeed, unsuccessful hostage rescue attempts for those being held and then executed by the network of Abu Musab Al Zarqawi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): The first rescue attempt came when Americans Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley and British hostage Ken Bigley were still alive after being kidnapped September 16th from their Baghdad home. The second attempt, a source with direct knowledge said, came after Armstrong was beheaded around September 20th. The official told CNN a lot of people had a lot of sleepless nights trying to find them.
Bigley was killed last week after attempting to escape after some three weeks in brutal captivity. An official confirmed the attempt to rescue the hostages from the Abu Musab Al Zarqawi network involved deployment of U.S. military, as well as other government personnel.
The U.S. rescue teams on two separate occasions went to locations in Baghdad, based on intelligence that indicated the hostages were being held there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: But, Bill, they came up with what the source calls dry holes. When they went to both locations, there was evidence that somebody had been there, but they were empty when the rescue teams got there. Nobody knows if the hostages were never there at all or if they were moved -- Bill. HEMMER: Also the U.S. military has said they believe Zarqawi is responsible for some of these beheadings, he carrying out it himself. Is there any suggestion that they were close to Zarqawi in these raids?
STARR: Well, of course, they don't really know, because they haven't found him yet.
But of course, one of the things that has continued to be very interesting to watch is the belief that Zarqawi was in Baghdad at some point for the execution of one of the hostages, that he himself was on one of those videotapes and responsible for one of the executions. The working theory of course had been that Zarqawi was hiding out in Fallujah, that Sunni Triangle stronghold west of Baghdad, but all indications are at some point he must have traveled to the capital city, because he appeared on that videotape that was believed to be taken in Baghdad. But now, no one knows where he is -- Bill.
HEMMER: A story that apparently is still developing. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thanks for that -- Heidi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: As you may have heard, AMERICAN MORNING on the move. Next week Soledad O'Brien comes back, and we're taking the show on the road to this place. What is that place?
HEMMER: Chicago. Monday morning, starting Monday through Friday, all week next week, broadcasting live from the major Windy City landmarks. And we'll take the pulse of Chicago in this election year, too. So Monday, AMERICAN MORNING on the road in Chicago, all week. We'll have a good time, too.
COLLINS: Yes, that's going to be a blast.
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
COLLINS: Well, still to come today, though, there is finally some good news on oil prices and what it might mean for you at the pump. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."
HEMMER: Also the Peterson trial on a holding pattern again. We'll tell you what the issue is this time, in a moment.
COLLINS: And people are lining up for flu shots. But there really aren't enough to go around. So what can you do to avoid getting the flu altogether? We're going to talk with the head of the CDC, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: With flu vaccine suddenly in short supply, hundreds of seniors in Sarasota, Florida were waiting in line yesterday, hoping to get their flu shot. You can see them there. The extreme shortage means that many high-risk patients, including the elderly, will be unable to get influenza vaccine this year. Still, the Centers for Disease Control is taking steps to ensure the remaining flu vaccine gets to those who need it most. CDC director Julie Gerberding is joining us now from Atlanta to explain a little bit more on this.
Doctor, good morning to you. Thanks for being here.
DR. JULIE GERBERDING, CDC DIRECTOR: Good morning.
COLLINS: A little bit of unusual step, I would imagine, that health officials are actually talking about regulating some 22 million doses now that are coming in to this country. Who is not going to be able to get a flu shot this season?
GERBERDING: Well, right now, we're asking healthy people to step aside and not receive the flu shot this year, but we're doing everything we can to get the 22 million doses we have left to distribute to those people who need them the most. Of course, that includes children and people over 65 years of age, and anyone with a medical condition.
COLLINS: In fact, we want to make sure everyone understand this high-risk group again -- children, elderly, pregnant women, nursing home residents and certain health care workers. We see it on the screen now.
But how many people in this high-risk group are not really going to be able to get it? Because it seems like however many you have left over to give, there's just as many people who really need that vaccine. Are the numbers going to lineup?
GERBERDING: Well, you know, we are experiencing shortages. As the vaccine becomes available from the manufacturer, some of those shortages will be alleviated. We're asking people to be patient, but also to be persistent. We'll have vaccine coming out over the next several weeks, and the local health officials in the community are the ones who can best help people figure out where are the doses available to them.
COLLINS: But those same local health officials and doctors as well are going to try to decide who fits into that high-risk category? How are they going to do that? How can they be sure that those shots are going to the right people?
GERBERDING: Well, again, we're asking clinicians and the people who are sponsoring clinics across the country to really try to screen people for these high-risk conditions. And again, it's the children between the ages of six and 23 months that we're worried about the most, people with those chronic and serious medical conditions, and then people 65 and older. So those are fairly easy screening criteria. And we're hoping that folks will just cooperate with that. So far, we're very pleased with the cooperation that we are seeing.
COLLINS: Quickly, how big of a public health crisis, if you will, could this be this year?
GERBERDING: Well, you know, flu is unpredictable, and it's just too early in the season to say whether we're going to have a particularly mild season or a severe season. So we've got to be prepared, and we're just doing everything we can to get those doses to the people who need them the most.
COLLINS: Dr. Julie Gerberding of the CDC, thanks for your time here this morning.
GERBERDING: Thank you.
HEMMER: About 20 minutes past the hour. Tonight is round three for the candidates. We'll talk to the insiders from both campaigns, try to tap into the strategy for both men tonight. Also, later, don't forget, later tonight, 12 hours away, our primetime coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern, Phoenix, Arizona, back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. Want to get to Andy Serwer, first check of the market news. Good news for investors anyway. Oil, do I hear $55 a barrel?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: No, we didn't get it.
What?
HEMMER: Did we ever tip there yesterday at $55.
SERWER: No.
HEMMER: But it's back down?
SERWER: Yes, it's at 52. We lost a couple dollars.
I like the fact that you're following commodity prices, Bill. It's good for you.
All right, the price of oil dropped a little bit yesterday. This morning actually we're down to $52 a barrel. That's some good news, didn't stop the bleeding on Wall Street, though. A little bit of a downtick here, as you can see.
And this morning, we're going to be talking about a couple of tech bellwethers. Bellwethers is the operative word. First of all, Intel, the chip giant, announced profits are up 15 percent. That's the good news. The bad news is demand for PCs, chips and PCs, still slack.
Let's move on to the second tech bellwether, Yahoo!. Yahoo! announcing its profits tripled, mostly because it sold it's stake in rival Google. Google coming up later on the program, down the road that is, in terms of reporting its reports.
Now, where does the word bellwether come from?
HEMMER: How about it?
SERWER: OK, how about that. I bet you don't know.
A wether, Jack, a wether or sheep which leads the flock with a bell around its neck.
CAFFERTY: I knew that.
SERWER: No, you didn't. You thought it had something to do with weather. It's not even spelled weather; it's W-E-T-H-E-R.
HEMMER: I like it.
SERWER: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Thank you so much, Andy.
SERWER: OK, for that.
CAFFERTY: He's right, I didn't know that.
SERWER: You didn't know that?
CAFFERTY: No, I didn't know that.
COLLINS: "Cafferty File" and...
CAFFERTY: And now that I know it, I plan to forget it as quickly as possible.
SERWER: You'll never forget it.
CAFFERTY: I lived 61 years without knowing it, and I'm going to go the rest of the way.
SERWER: A sheep with the bell around its neck.
CAFFERTY: All right, serious stuff here. Listen up, kids, in 1993, when he was 17 years old, Christopher Simmons and a 16-year-old accomplice broke into Shirley Crook's (ph) home in Missouri. They kidnapped her, they drove her to a railroad bridge. While she was still alive, she was bound and gagged, and then thrown off into the bridge into the river where she was drowned. Her body was found the next day. Simmons was sentenced to be executed. And now the Supreme Court of the United States is going to decide whether he should be.
Give me a call. My number is -- I'll be glad to help you with this. Lawyers for Simmons want his sentence overturned, saying that he was a -- quote -- "troubled youth" at the time of this, that he was emotionally unformed and impulsive. They are currently 72 juveniles on death row, 22 have been executed in this country since 1976. And the question is this, should juveniles be subjected to the death penalty? AM@cnn.com.
SERWER: How old was he, did they say that?
CAFFERTY: Seventeen at the time.
SERWER: Seventeen -- well, that's pretty close to being a grownup, isn't it?
COLLINS: I bet the victim's family just can't imagine.
CAFFERTY: It's not a crime of passion. It's not something that happened during a -- this was a premeditated, cold, calculated -- you know, they kidnapped her, they put her in the car, they bound her, gagged her, drove her to a bridge, and then just pitched her in the river while she was still alive. Like I said, if you guys at the high court would like to call me, I can give you a hand with this one.
SERWER: He has an opinion.
COLLINS: I bet they will.
Jack Cafferty, thanks for that.
And still to come this morning, we do have your Wednesday edition of "90-Second Pop."
The one-time King of Pop goes after Slim Shady's latest spoof. But is Michael Jackson just making things worse?
Plus, move over Demi Moore and Rob Lowe, there's a new brat pack in town, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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