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CNN Live At Daybreak
Highlights of Last Night's Final Presidential Debate
Aired October 14, 2004 - 05:00 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The presidential debates are over. Who do you think won round three?
It is Thursday, October 14.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, the first round of polls after last night's final presidential debate give John Kerry the nod over George W. Bush. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll finds 52 percent of 511 respondents say Kerry won; 39 percent give Bush the victory.
A drive-by shooting in central Baghdad early today leaves a journalist dead. An interior minister says the woman worked for a Kurdish-owned television station. The minister says a judge was also killed nearby about the same time.
Iran has promised Iraq another $10 million in aid. That pledge comes at the end of a two day Iraq donor conference in Tokyo. Potential donor nations have been reluctant to pledge funds because of the violence in Iraq.
To the forecast center now and Chad -- good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
Did you sleep at all last night?
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: I figured not.
COSTELLO: I was watching the debates and then I switched over to the Yankees game and the Yankees won.
MYERS: Right. And they're still yelling "Sweep!" up here, by the way.
COSTELLO: Oh, man. But they're going back to Boston so (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
MYERS: I'm not sure they're going to get the game in on Friday?
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: Cold, windy, ugly, gray. It may not be -- yes. They may be postponing one of those games. That would not be a whole lot of fun, especially for all those folks who already bought tickets and are planning on a great Friday night outside.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Hang on America, there are just 19 days left until November 2. The candidates back on the campaign trail today, hoping to carry their message forward from last night's debate. But which candidate got his message across during the debate?
A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll taken right after George Bush and John Kerry finished talking may be welcome news for Senator Kerry. 52 percent of 511 people polled thought Kerry did a better job. 39 percent thought Bush came out on top.
And as you can see, the results came close to being the same in all three debates. Social Security, health care and abortion, those were some of the issues that the candidates dealt with in their final meeting.
CNN's Judy Woodruff takes a look at how they matched up on the home front.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last debate of the campaign and the first without Iraq as its centerpiece.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has turned his back on the wellness of America.
WOODRUFF: Pocketbook issues dominated this discussion -- jobs, taxes, health care.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A plan is not a litany of complaints. And a plan is not to lay out programs that you can't pay for.
WOODRUFF: One last time, they tussled over taxes.
KERRY: Under President Bush, the middle class has seen their tax burden go up and the wealthiest tax burden has gone down. Now that's wrong.
BUSH: People listening out there know the benefits of the tax cuts we passed. If you have a child, you got tax relief. If you're married, you got tax relief. If you pay any tax at all, you got tax relief.
WOODRUFF: Staying on message, their lines of attack now familiar.
KERRY: This president, incredibly, rushed us into a war, made decisions about foreign policy, pushed alliances away.
BUSH: You know, there's a mainstream in American politics and you sit right on the far left bank. As a matter of fact, your record is such that Ted Kennedy, your colleague, is the conservative senator from Massachusetts.
WOODRUFF: But this debate also, perhaps, gave Americans new insight into the men who would lead them, touching on matters of faith and personal belief.
BOB SCHIEFFER, MODERATOR: Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?
BUSH: You know, Bob, I don't know. I just don't know. I do know that we have a choice to make in America, and that is to treat people with tolerance and respect and dignity.
KERRY: We're all god's children, Bob, and I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was. She's being who she was born as.
WOODRUFF: They faced off on abortion, on education and on immigration. The president defending himself against Kerry's charge the borders are less secure than before 9/11. But the end note of this debate season was a light one, with both men asked what they had learned from the women in their lives.
BUSH: To stand up straight and not scowl.
KERRY: I can sometimes take myself too seriously. They surely don't let me do that.
WOODRUFF: Judy Woodruff, CNN, Tempe, Arizona.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: During the debate, CNN gauged the reactions of a group of undecided voters in Columbus, Ohio, one of the crucial battleground states; Ohio, that is.
Bill Hemmer looks at the audience meter.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: we picked out two segments from the previous debate here, one from the president, one from Senator Kerry, where we could truly see the meter move.
For the president, we want to show you a sample here when he talked about crime and gun laws in the U.S.
Watch now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Now, I believe law abiding citizens ought to be able to own a gun. I believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure that guns don't get in the hands of people that shouldn't have them. But the best way to protect our citizens from guns is to prosecute those who commit crimes with guns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: You can watch the meter move on that. Now, for Senator Kerry, when he talked about the minimum wage, we watched a strong spike and a steady spike for him, too.
Watch here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: We have fought to try to raise the minimum wage in the last years. But the Republican leadership of the House and Senate won't even let us have a vote on it. We're not allowed to vote on it. They don't want to raise the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the minimum wage value it has been in our nation in 50 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That's fascinating, isn't it? Twenty-four men and women registered those reactions with a handheld device. They pushed a button when they felt strongly about something. They pushed another button when they did not feel strongly about something. We're going to have much more from Bill Hemmer in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.
Over the years, presidents and presidential hopefuls have come up with interesting catchphrases to underscore their message.
Chad, I want you to join in on this.
MYERS: All right, I'm ready.
COSTELLO: OK.
We're going to look at some of the more memorable catchphrases.
John Kerry has had two this year. You've probably heard them. One was "bring it on" and the other was "help is on the way," remember?
MYERS: Right. Yes, yes.
COSTELLO: Those have gone by the wayside.
In 2000, George Bush ran as "a reformer with results." That really didn't stick, either, because I didn't even remember that one upon doing the research.
MYERS: And I didn't get it, no.
COSTELLO: Bill Clinton's big lines were "put people first" -- and this one you'll remember, Chad -- "building a bridge to the 21st century."
MYERS: Sure. Sure, right.
COSTELLO: That was -- oh, this is the best one. Ronald Reagan, of course, came up with this one. He said, "It's morning in America."
MYERS: I liked Ronald Reagan when he said, "We must not look to the government to solve our problems, government is our problem."
COSTELLO: That was a good one.
MYERS: That was.
COSTELLO: And how about Walter Mondale's "Where's the beef?"
MYERS: Yes, remember that old lady doing that, "Where's the beef?"
COSTELLO: It will be lost, though.
MYERS: Yes, it was good.
COSTELLO: Jesse Jackson, he's still known for his mantra, "Keep hope alive."
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: And, of course, that brings us to our e-mail Question of the Morning, Chad. We're asking people this morning, what is your favorite campaign slogan? Or come up with your own. Actually, that would be much more interesting from our viewers...
MYERS: That would be good.
COSTELLO: ... because, as you know, they're very funny. Come up with your campaign slogan for either John Kerry or George Bush. It is your choice. E-mail your responses to daybreak@cnn.com, daybreak@cnn.com.
And, of course, we'll read some of those clever phrases on the air and maybe they'll be picked up by the Democrat or Republican Party.
MYERS: And the one that says I knew JFK and you know JFK, that's already been taken.
COSTELLO: Yes, that's already done.
MYERS: That's done.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: In News Across America now, the tour bus involved in a fatal accident over the weekend in Arkansas never should have been on the road. That's the finding of a Transportation Safety Board investigation. Officials say the bus was in such bad physical shape it would not have passed inspection. But Illinois transportation officials say it did pass inspection less than two months ago. Fourteen people died in this crash.
An important hearing on the Michael Jackson child molestation case is set for today. The defense will petition evidence, including the names of confidential informants working for the prosecution. They'll also attempt to have Jackson's $3 million bail reduced.
A colossal waste of money, that's what one senator is calling last year's anniversary party for the Transportation Security Administration. An internal report shows the agency spent nearly half a million dollars on the party. The report also says TSA executives received bonuses that were larger than in any other federal agency.
Yaser Hamdi says he is not bitter about being jailed for three years in the United States. But Hamdi, once accused by the Bush administration of being an enemy combatant, says he's innocent. Having renounced his U.S. citizenship, Hamdi was released this week in Saudi Arabia, where he was interviewed exclusively by CNN.
Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has been covering the story.
What did he say -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, he was interviewed by our producer, Rida Said. Rida tells me that Yasser was quite dazed still. He appeared to be very much in awe of everything that his father had to say. His father, Esam, very -- appeared very tired from the last few days. That his father seemed very much sort of in control of the situation in the house. This is what he said that he would be doing when his son came back, that he would be sort of making his son a productive member of Saudi society again.
His father described the homecoming as very emotional, saying he was crying when he greeted his son, they were both weeping. Yasser himself said it was incredible to come home, that he was very, very happy, very happy to be with his family, very happy, he said, to be in an Islamic society. He said that it was very, very good to be back in Saudi Arabia and that he wished that his detention had been shorter, that he should have been released sooner.
And when asked about that key question, that key issue, of course, the United States says that Yaser Hamdi was picked up in Afghanistan in December 2001 with a Kalashnikov, with a group of armed combatants. They said that he was an enemy combatant. When asked about that, Yasser said that he was innocent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASER HAMDI, FORMER DETAINEE: I believe that I'm not an enemy combatant and I am an innocent person. And I was proving this all the time for them. I answered all the questions that they asked me very seriously and I answered very -- I was cooperative and gave them all the details. And the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest justice level in the United States, they ruled in my favor, which gave us the proof that I am an innocent man. And if I was not an innocent man, I would not be speaking with you at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And he said his message for the American public, the American government, was that they should take the situation of other Saudi detainees in U.S. custody, possibly in Guantanamo Bay, should take their situation seriously and consider quickly what to do with them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, Nic, what does he feel about America? Does he like the United States?
ROBERTSON: He appears to be, obviously, very, very relieved to be back home with his family. He doesn't appear to bear any animosity against the United States. He said that when he was captured that he realized his situation was very, very serious. And he didn't complain about them. He didn't complain about his confinement. He didn't complain about the way in which he was detained here.
His point was that he thought that he should have been dealt with sooner, that he was innocent, that he had been released because he was innocent and he believed that his case should have been considered sooner.
So if there's anything that he appeared to complain about, it was the length of his detention, which he felt should have been shorter -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, I guess I'm wondering if he has any allegiance to Osama bin Laden or to al Qaeda.
ROBERTSON: You know, he was -- our producer, Rida Said, did ask him why he had gone to Afghanistan in the first place. And his father intervened and said look, we don't want to answer that question. Currently, Yasser is in a process of being interviewed by the Saudi authorities and for legal advice, they've been advised not to go into those issues.
They did say that they would talk further about this in the future.
So there were clearly some things that one would expect to be answered. But at this stage, the family is not saying anything. They say there's still legal proceedings involving Saudi authorities. So we'll have to wait on that at the moment -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Nic Robertson live this morning for DAYBREAK.
You can bet both sides will be closely monitoring results after the election November 2. At 31 past the hour, we'll tell you about some possible voter irregularities that are already raising red flags across the country.
At 36 minutes past, we'll take you live to Baghdad, where the Iraqi government is issuing an ultimatum to the residents of Falluja now.
And at 42 minutes past, dueling lawsuits surround a popular talk show host and one of his staff members.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
One Iraqi civilian was killed when a bomb went off in front of an Iraqi National Guard base in Mosul earlier today. At least four Iraqi Guardsmen were injured.
A Russian Soyuz rocket is heading for the international space station. American astronaut Leroy Chiaou will be one of two men to take up residence in the station for the next six months.
In money news, Apple is making a lot of money on the iPod. The company posted its highest quarterly earnings in nine years, thanks, in part, to the company's successful iPod. Apple says it sold more than two million iPods in the last budget quarter.
In culture, Starbucks is expanding its custom music concept. The coffee giant will put on demand CD burning stations in 45 outlets in Seattle and Austin next month. The first Starbucks Hear Music coffeehouse opened in Santa Monica, California earlier this year.
In sports, another post-season win for the Yankees. The Yanks beat the Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez 3-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the American League championship series. Game three Friday in Boston. Pedro Martinez just can't win against the Yankees -- Chad.
It's psychological.
MYERS: Who's the daddy?
COSTELLO: That's right.
MYERS: Hey, good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Chad, stay around. We have our "Late Night Laughs" segment coming up. MYERS: Oh, all right.
COSTELLO: You ready?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Comedians, of course, have had a field day making jokes at the candidates' expense surrounding the debates. But this time, Chad, it was our turn to take a jab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN," COURTESY CBS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Have you seen the way CNN is promoting their coverage of the debates?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Promoting it?
LETTERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean?
LETTERMAN: It's fascinating. CNN has been running this promotional announcement all day regarding the debate.
Watch this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Tempe, Arizona, it's the third and final presidential debate. Don't miss this historic event, as Bob Schieffer welcomes to the stage George W. Bush, John Kerry and a special surprise guest. See it all live here on CNN.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
MYERS: That was funny except the little CBS eye was in the little promo the whole time.
COSTELLO: I don't think they could take that out of the video they lifted from CBS.
MYERS: I guess. That was funny.
COSTELLO: It was.
So what's hot on the Web, you ask?
Well, how about some bar hopping firemen, who are in mighty hot water this morning. We've got the details in our Web clicks segment.
And The Question of the Day -- what is your favorite campaign slogan from this year? We want to hear from you. Or is there a campaign slogan? I don't even remember one. E-mail us now. The address, daybreak@cnn.com, daybreak@cnn.com.
And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's time to check our Web clicks as I prepare myself for some...
MYERS: A good thing you don't have Smell-A-Vision out there, because I don't know what that sludge is you're drinking, but my, oh, my, I can smell it over here.
COSTELLO: This is Starbucks coffee.
MYERS: Three shots of espresso.
COSTELLO: Which is normally great but we got it in our lunch room and it was cold when it came up.
MYERS: Oh, good.
COSTELLO: So lord only knows how long ago they brewed it.
MYERS: You have that going for you this morning.
COSTELLO: All right, well, let's check out our Web clicks.
MYERS: Is it even warm?
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: They put it in the microwave for me.
Thank you.
OK, let's check our Web clicks.
This is from Sacramento, California.
MYERS: Here's a lesson for you, kids. Don't go bar hopping on a fire truck.
COSTELLO: Why? Why would firefighters think to do this? Apparently they were taking city vehicles out to like strip bars and bars. They were hosting women on the fire trucks.
MYERS: Well, hosting isn't...
COSTELLO: Hosting. They were talking to them and learning things.
MYERS: There you go. That's a better word.
COSTELLO: Six firefighters were actually caught taking three city vehicles to a porn star costume ball. They just didn't realize it was wrong.
MYERS: Six were fired and 13 are under suspension. COSTELLO: Oh, ain't that a shame.
MYERS: Don't do this at home.
COSTELLO: Mount Saint Helens, the molten rock rising inside Mount Saint Helens is giving the peak an eerie red glow now at night.
MYERS: You can actually see the magma now. Yes, you can actually see it coming through the lava dome. We've had all of these steam eruptions, all of these thing where we go, oh, look, look, look, look and then nothing happens. Well, now the magma is actually coming to the top. So we actually are going to get maybe a little bit of a lava flow. We'll have to see.
COSTELLO: Hopefully it'll be a very tiny one.
MYERS: Yes, right.
COSTELLO: Macaulay Culkin, the star of "Home Alone," he's all grown up now and he's pleading not guilty to charges of illegally possessing marijuana and prescription medicine, like Zanax.
MYERS: He just looks, he looks like a guy that they dug out of bed in Iraq in that picture, doesn't he? Did you see that picture? Why...
COSTELLO: I refuse to comment on that, Chad.
MYERS: Why do they always have to make you take bad pictures of just somebody who did something a little bit wrong? I don't know, that was ugly. You weren't even looking at the picture. It was ugly.
COSTELLO: No, I skipped over that. Was it a mug shot?
MYERS: It was a mug shot. It was bad.
COSTELLO: Oh, well, who takes a good mug shot? The lighting in those places aren't the greatest.
MYERS: You would know. I'm sorry, she wouldn't know. Just kidding.
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye-Opener" now.
Mount Saint Helens isn't the only angry mountain in the world.
MYERS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: In Mexico, the Volcano of Fire is throwing up lava and ash. Do you know about this, too?
MYERS: Yes, this one's really big. This one is much bigger than Mount Saint Helens.
COSTELLO: You're kidding?
MYERS: No.
COSTELLO: Actually, the volcano has been leaking lava since last September but seismic activity has increased over the past few days. There have been 32 eruptions this week alone.
MYERS: Wow!
COSTELLO: And for those lonely dogs at home on Saturday night, a doggy dating service has opened in India.
MYERS: What?
COSTELLO: Yes. The Web site service helps owners find proper pairings for their pooches.
MYERS: Oh, OK.
COSTELLO: Actually, the main goal of the business is to find suitable matches for rare and expensive breeds so they can have beautiful pure bred babies.
In Singapore -- dogs. We're talking about dogs. In Singapore, they've developed a smart shirt that can detect medical emergencies. The idea is that sensors send signals to medical personnel if the wearer falls down. Inventors hope the shirt will allow older people to venture out of the house without fear of falling and not being able to get up.
MYERS: I've got nothing. Keep moving.
COSTELLO: Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Good idea.
The election clock is ticking in the race for the White House and to make sure all the votes get counted, well, will they all get counted? That's the question this morning.
Now, the pinstripers head to Beantown with a one game lead in the ALCS.
MYERS: One?
COSTELLO: Two. A two game lead.
MYERS: There you go. That was the story from yesterday.
COSTELLO: I'm still reeling from the dog story.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 14, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The presidential debates are over. Who do you think won round three?
It is Thursday, October 14.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, the first round of polls after last night's final presidential debate give John Kerry the nod over George W. Bush. A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll finds 52 percent of 511 respondents say Kerry won; 39 percent give Bush the victory.
A drive-by shooting in central Baghdad early today leaves a journalist dead. An interior minister says the woman worked for a Kurdish-owned television station. The minister says a judge was also killed nearby about the same time.
Iran has promised Iraq another $10 million in aid. That pledge comes at the end of a two day Iraq donor conference in Tokyo. Potential donor nations have been reluctant to pledge funds because of the violence in Iraq.
To the forecast center now and Chad -- good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
Did you sleep at all last night?
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: I figured not.
COSTELLO: I was watching the debates and then I switched over to the Yankees game and the Yankees won.
MYERS: Right. And they're still yelling "Sweep!" up here, by the way.
COSTELLO: Oh, man. But they're going back to Boston so (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
MYERS: I'm not sure they're going to get the game in on Friday?
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: Cold, windy, ugly, gray. It may not be -- yes. They may be postponing one of those games. That would not be a whole lot of fun, especially for all those folks who already bought tickets and are planning on a great Friday night outside.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Hang on America, there are just 19 days left until November 2. The candidates back on the campaign trail today, hoping to carry their message forward from last night's debate. But which candidate got his message across during the debate?
A CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll taken right after George Bush and John Kerry finished talking may be welcome news for Senator Kerry. 52 percent of 511 people polled thought Kerry did a better job. 39 percent thought Bush came out on top.
And as you can see, the results came close to being the same in all three debates. Social Security, health care and abortion, those were some of the issues that the candidates dealt with in their final meeting.
CNN's Judy Woodruff takes a look at how they matched up on the home front.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The last debate of the campaign and the first without Iraq as its centerpiece.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has turned his back on the wellness of America.
WOODRUFF: Pocketbook issues dominated this discussion -- jobs, taxes, health care.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A plan is not a litany of complaints. And a plan is not to lay out programs that you can't pay for.
WOODRUFF: One last time, they tussled over taxes.
KERRY: Under President Bush, the middle class has seen their tax burden go up and the wealthiest tax burden has gone down. Now that's wrong.
BUSH: People listening out there know the benefits of the tax cuts we passed. If you have a child, you got tax relief. If you're married, you got tax relief. If you pay any tax at all, you got tax relief.
WOODRUFF: Staying on message, their lines of attack now familiar.
KERRY: This president, incredibly, rushed us into a war, made decisions about foreign policy, pushed alliances away.
BUSH: You know, there's a mainstream in American politics and you sit right on the far left bank. As a matter of fact, your record is such that Ted Kennedy, your colleague, is the conservative senator from Massachusetts.
WOODRUFF: But this debate also, perhaps, gave Americans new insight into the men who would lead them, touching on matters of faith and personal belief.
BOB SCHIEFFER, MODERATOR: Do you believe homosexuality is a choice?
BUSH: You know, Bob, I don't know. I just don't know. I do know that we have a choice to make in America, and that is to treat people with tolerance and respect and dignity.
KERRY: We're all god's children, Bob, and I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian, she would tell you that she's being who she was. She's being who she was born as.
WOODRUFF: They faced off on abortion, on education and on immigration. The president defending himself against Kerry's charge the borders are less secure than before 9/11. But the end note of this debate season was a light one, with both men asked what they had learned from the women in their lives.
BUSH: To stand up straight and not scowl.
KERRY: I can sometimes take myself too seriously. They surely don't let me do that.
WOODRUFF: Judy Woodruff, CNN, Tempe, Arizona.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: During the debate, CNN gauged the reactions of a group of undecided voters in Columbus, Ohio, one of the crucial battleground states; Ohio, that is.
Bill Hemmer looks at the audience meter.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: we picked out two segments from the previous debate here, one from the president, one from Senator Kerry, where we could truly see the meter move.
For the president, we want to show you a sample here when he talked about crime and gun laws in the U.S.
Watch now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Now, I believe law abiding citizens ought to be able to own a gun. I believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure that guns don't get in the hands of people that shouldn't have them. But the best way to protect our citizens from guns is to prosecute those who commit crimes with guns.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: You can watch the meter move on that. Now, for Senator Kerry, when he talked about the minimum wage, we watched a strong spike and a steady spike for him, too.
Watch here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: We have fought to try to raise the minimum wage in the last years. But the Republican leadership of the House and Senate won't even let us have a vote on it. We're not allowed to vote on it. They don't want to raise the minimum wage. The minimum wage is the minimum wage value it has been in our nation in 50 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: That's fascinating, isn't it? Twenty-four men and women registered those reactions with a handheld device. They pushed a button when they felt strongly about something. They pushed another button when they did not feel strongly about something. We're going to have much more from Bill Hemmer in the 6:00 hour of DAYBREAK.
Over the years, presidents and presidential hopefuls have come up with interesting catchphrases to underscore their message.
Chad, I want you to join in on this.
MYERS: All right, I'm ready.
COSTELLO: OK.
We're going to look at some of the more memorable catchphrases.
John Kerry has had two this year. You've probably heard them. One was "bring it on" and the other was "help is on the way," remember?
MYERS: Right. Yes, yes.
COSTELLO: Those have gone by the wayside.
In 2000, George Bush ran as "a reformer with results." That really didn't stick, either, because I didn't even remember that one upon doing the research.
MYERS: And I didn't get it, no.
COSTELLO: Bill Clinton's big lines were "put people first" -- and this one you'll remember, Chad -- "building a bridge to the 21st century."
MYERS: Sure. Sure, right.
COSTELLO: That was -- oh, this is the best one. Ronald Reagan, of course, came up with this one. He said, "It's morning in America."
MYERS: I liked Ronald Reagan when he said, "We must not look to the government to solve our problems, government is our problem."
COSTELLO: That was a good one.
MYERS: That was.
COSTELLO: And how about Walter Mondale's "Where's the beef?"
MYERS: Yes, remember that old lady doing that, "Where's the beef?"
COSTELLO: It will be lost, though.
MYERS: Yes, it was good.
COSTELLO: Jesse Jackson, he's still known for his mantra, "Keep hope alive."
MYERS: Sure.
COSTELLO: And, of course, that brings us to our e-mail Question of the Morning, Chad. We're asking people this morning, what is your favorite campaign slogan? Or come up with your own. Actually, that would be much more interesting from our viewers...
MYERS: That would be good.
COSTELLO: ... because, as you know, they're very funny. Come up with your campaign slogan for either John Kerry or George Bush. It is your choice. E-mail your responses to daybreak@cnn.com, daybreak@cnn.com.
And, of course, we'll read some of those clever phrases on the air and maybe they'll be picked up by the Democrat or Republican Party.
MYERS: And the one that says I knew JFK and you know JFK, that's already been taken.
COSTELLO: Yes, that's already done.
MYERS: That's done.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: In News Across America now, the tour bus involved in a fatal accident over the weekend in Arkansas never should have been on the road. That's the finding of a Transportation Safety Board investigation. Officials say the bus was in such bad physical shape it would not have passed inspection. But Illinois transportation officials say it did pass inspection less than two months ago. Fourteen people died in this crash.
An important hearing on the Michael Jackson child molestation case is set for today. The defense will petition evidence, including the names of confidential informants working for the prosecution. They'll also attempt to have Jackson's $3 million bail reduced.
A colossal waste of money, that's what one senator is calling last year's anniversary party for the Transportation Security Administration. An internal report shows the agency spent nearly half a million dollars on the party. The report also says TSA executives received bonuses that were larger than in any other federal agency.
Yaser Hamdi says he is not bitter about being jailed for three years in the United States. But Hamdi, once accused by the Bush administration of being an enemy combatant, says he's innocent. Having renounced his U.S. citizenship, Hamdi was released this week in Saudi Arabia, where he was interviewed exclusively by CNN.
Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has been covering the story.
What did he say -- Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, he was interviewed by our producer, Rida Said. Rida tells me that Yasser was quite dazed still. He appeared to be very much in awe of everything that his father had to say. His father, Esam, very -- appeared very tired from the last few days. That his father seemed very much sort of in control of the situation in the house. This is what he said that he would be doing when his son came back, that he would be sort of making his son a productive member of Saudi society again.
His father described the homecoming as very emotional, saying he was crying when he greeted his son, they were both weeping. Yasser himself said it was incredible to come home, that he was very, very happy, very happy to be with his family, very happy, he said, to be in an Islamic society. He said that it was very, very good to be back in Saudi Arabia and that he wished that his detention had been shorter, that he should have been released sooner.
And when asked about that key question, that key issue, of course, the United States says that Yaser Hamdi was picked up in Afghanistan in December 2001 with a Kalashnikov, with a group of armed combatants. They said that he was an enemy combatant. When asked about that, Yasser said that he was innocent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YASER HAMDI, FORMER DETAINEE: I believe that I'm not an enemy combatant and I am an innocent person. And I was proving this all the time for them. I answered all the questions that they asked me very seriously and I answered very -- I was cooperative and gave them all the details. And the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest justice level in the United States, they ruled in my favor, which gave us the proof that I am an innocent man. And if I was not an innocent man, I would not be speaking with you at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And he said his message for the American public, the American government, was that they should take the situation of other Saudi detainees in U.S. custody, possibly in Guantanamo Bay, should take their situation seriously and consider quickly what to do with them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, Nic, what does he feel about America? Does he like the United States?
ROBERTSON: He appears to be, obviously, very, very relieved to be back home with his family. He doesn't appear to bear any animosity against the United States. He said that when he was captured that he realized his situation was very, very serious. And he didn't complain about them. He didn't complain about his confinement. He didn't complain about the way in which he was detained here.
His point was that he thought that he should have been dealt with sooner, that he was innocent, that he had been released because he was innocent and he believed that his case should have been considered sooner.
So if there's anything that he appeared to complain about, it was the length of his detention, which he felt should have been shorter -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, I guess I'm wondering if he has any allegiance to Osama bin Laden or to al Qaeda.
ROBERTSON: You know, he was -- our producer, Rida Said, did ask him why he had gone to Afghanistan in the first place. And his father intervened and said look, we don't want to answer that question. Currently, Yasser is in a process of being interviewed by the Saudi authorities and for legal advice, they've been advised not to go into those issues.
They did say that they would talk further about this in the future.
So there were clearly some things that one would expect to be answered. But at this stage, the family is not saying anything. They say there's still legal proceedings involving Saudi authorities. So we'll have to wait on that at the moment -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Nic Robertson live this morning for DAYBREAK.
You can bet both sides will be closely monitoring results after the election November 2. At 31 past the hour, we'll tell you about some possible voter irregularities that are already raising red flags across the country.
At 36 minutes past, we'll take you live to Baghdad, where the Iraqi government is issuing an ultimatum to the residents of Falluja now.
And at 42 minutes past, dueling lawsuits surround a popular talk show host and one of his staff members.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
One Iraqi civilian was killed when a bomb went off in front of an Iraqi National Guard base in Mosul earlier today. At least four Iraqi Guardsmen were injured.
A Russian Soyuz rocket is heading for the international space station. American astronaut Leroy Chiaou will be one of two men to take up residence in the station for the next six months.
In money news, Apple is making a lot of money on the iPod. The company posted its highest quarterly earnings in nine years, thanks, in part, to the company's successful iPod. Apple says it sold more than two million iPods in the last budget quarter.
In culture, Starbucks is expanding its custom music concept. The coffee giant will put on demand CD burning stations in 45 outlets in Seattle and Austin next month. The first Starbucks Hear Music coffeehouse opened in Santa Monica, California earlier this year.
In sports, another post-season win for the Yankees. The Yanks beat the Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez 3-1 to take a 2-0 lead in the American League championship series. Game three Friday in Boston. Pedro Martinez just can't win against the Yankees -- Chad.
It's psychological.
MYERS: Who's the daddy?
COSTELLO: That's right.
MYERS: Hey, good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Chad, stay around. We have our "Late Night Laughs" segment coming up. MYERS: Oh, all right.
COSTELLO: You ready?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Comedians, of course, have had a field day making jokes at the candidates' expense surrounding the debates. But this time, Chad, it was our turn to take a jab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN," COURTESY CBS)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Have you seen the way CNN is promoting their coverage of the debates?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Promoting it?
LETTERMAN: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean?
LETTERMAN: It's fascinating. CNN has been running this promotional announcement all day regarding the debate.
Watch this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Tempe, Arizona, it's the third and final presidential debate. Don't miss this historic event, as Bob Schieffer welcomes to the stage George W. Bush, John Kerry and a special surprise guest. See it all live here on CNN.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
MYERS: That was funny except the little CBS eye was in the little promo the whole time.
COSTELLO: I don't think they could take that out of the video they lifted from CBS.
MYERS: I guess. That was funny.
COSTELLO: It was.
So what's hot on the Web, you ask?
Well, how about some bar hopping firemen, who are in mighty hot water this morning. We've got the details in our Web clicks segment.
And The Question of the Day -- what is your favorite campaign slogan from this year? We want to hear from you. Or is there a campaign slogan? I don't even remember one. E-mail us now. The address, daybreak@cnn.com, daybreak@cnn.com.
And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's time to check our Web clicks as I prepare myself for some...
MYERS: A good thing you don't have Smell-A-Vision out there, because I don't know what that sludge is you're drinking, but my, oh, my, I can smell it over here.
COSTELLO: This is Starbucks coffee.
MYERS: Three shots of espresso.
COSTELLO: Which is normally great but we got it in our lunch room and it was cold when it came up.
MYERS: Oh, good.
COSTELLO: So lord only knows how long ago they brewed it.
MYERS: You have that going for you this morning.
COSTELLO: All right, well, let's check out our Web clicks.
MYERS: Is it even warm?
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: They put it in the microwave for me.
Thank you.
OK, let's check our Web clicks.
This is from Sacramento, California.
MYERS: Here's a lesson for you, kids. Don't go bar hopping on a fire truck.
COSTELLO: Why? Why would firefighters think to do this? Apparently they were taking city vehicles out to like strip bars and bars. They were hosting women on the fire trucks.
MYERS: Well, hosting isn't...
COSTELLO: Hosting. They were talking to them and learning things.
MYERS: There you go. That's a better word.
COSTELLO: Six firefighters were actually caught taking three city vehicles to a porn star costume ball. They just didn't realize it was wrong.
MYERS: Six were fired and 13 are under suspension. COSTELLO: Oh, ain't that a shame.
MYERS: Don't do this at home.
COSTELLO: Mount Saint Helens, the molten rock rising inside Mount Saint Helens is giving the peak an eerie red glow now at night.
MYERS: You can actually see the magma now. Yes, you can actually see it coming through the lava dome. We've had all of these steam eruptions, all of these thing where we go, oh, look, look, look, look and then nothing happens. Well, now the magma is actually coming to the top. So we actually are going to get maybe a little bit of a lava flow. We'll have to see.
COSTELLO: Hopefully it'll be a very tiny one.
MYERS: Yes, right.
COSTELLO: Macaulay Culkin, the star of "Home Alone," he's all grown up now and he's pleading not guilty to charges of illegally possessing marijuana and prescription medicine, like Zanax.
MYERS: He just looks, he looks like a guy that they dug out of bed in Iraq in that picture, doesn't he? Did you see that picture? Why...
COSTELLO: I refuse to comment on that, Chad.
MYERS: Why do they always have to make you take bad pictures of just somebody who did something a little bit wrong? I don't know, that was ugly. You weren't even looking at the picture. It was ugly.
COSTELLO: No, I skipped over that. Was it a mug shot?
MYERS: It was a mug shot. It was bad.
COSTELLO: Oh, well, who takes a good mug shot? The lighting in those places aren't the greatest.
MYERS: You would know. I'm sorry, she wouldn't know. Just kidding.
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye-Opener" now.
Mount Saint Helens isn't the only angry mountain in the world.
MYERS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: In Mexico, the Volcano of Fire is throwing up lava and ash. Do you know about this, too?
MYERS: Yes, this one's really big. This one is much bigger than Mount Saint Helens.
COSTELLO: You're kidding?
MYERS: No.
COSTELLO: Actually, the volcano has been leaking lava since last September but seismic activity has increased over the past few days. There have been 32 eruptions this week alone.
MYERS: Wow!
COSTELLO: And for those lonely dogs at home on Saturday night, a doggy dating service has opened in India.
MYERS: What?
COSTELLO: Yes. The Web site service helps owners find proper pairings for their pooches.
MYERS: Oh, OK.
COSTELLO: Actually, the main goal of the business is to find suitable matches for rare and expensive breeds so they can have beautiful pure bred babies.
In Singapore -- dogs. We're talking about dogs. In Singapore, they've developed a smart shirt that can detect medical emergencies. The idea is that sensors send signals to medical personnel if the wearer falls down. Inventors hope the shirt will allow older people to venture out of the house without fear of falling and not being able to get up.
MYERS: I've got nothing. Keep moving.
COSTELLO: Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Good idea.
The election clock is ticking in the race for the White House and to make sure all the votes get counted, well, will they all get counted? That's the question this morning.
Now, the pinstripers head to Beantown with a one game lead in the ALCS.
MYERS: One?
COSTELLO: Two. A two game lead.
MYERS: There you go. That was the story from yesterday.
COSTELLO: I'm still reeling from the dog story.
This is DAYBREAK.
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