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CNN LIVE SATURDAY
Christian Churches Bombed in Baghdad; eBay Opens 'Brick & Mortar' Business in Beverly Hills
Aired October 16, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN LIVE SATURDAY straight a head, but first a quick look at what's happening right now in the news.
Two U.S. soldiers were killed and two injured today when a pair of U.S. helicopters crashed in Baghdad. There is no word yet on the cause.
And this looks pretty bad, but there were only minor injuries in the derailment today of a train carrying chemicals near Los Angeles. Four homes were damaged and about 30 others had to be evacuated.
Good evening, I'm Carol Lin and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Before we get down to business, I want to show you some breaking news. A live picture now of Interstate 95, the main north-south corridor along the East Coast just above Baltimore, Maryland shut down because of a major accident. We don't know yet how many cars have been involved but clearly the rain slick roads have something to do with what happened there. We're staying on it this hour.
In the meantime, Christians in the crossfire in Iraq. Explosions at five churches in Baghdad. Our Brent Sadler talks to church-goers about the fear and anger in that community. And also, this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You never once said to yourself, I wish I hadn't voted for that war resolution?
SEN. JOHN KERRY, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I -- it wasn't -- because you see...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: ... and the answer to that question, you heard a little bit of it and the rest of Candy Crowley's exclusive interview with John Kerry is also straight ahead. In the meantime, police have shutdown Interstate 95 near Baltimore, Maryland, because of multiple accidents. We were just showing you that picture of the north and southbound lanes completely closed. Police are saying it's unclear right now just how many vehicles are involved or what caused those crashes. Another live picture where you can see some of the details of what happened just in the last hour. Still don't know how many people are injured or killed.
And then there is the race for the White House that's winding down. Seventeen days and counting and both candidates are working to convince voters they are the right person for the job. From now until November 2 you're going to see the campaign trail leads to the swing states where the race are considered just way too close to call. Fourteen key states that have 151 electoral votes, states like Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, and every vote counts this time around. A "Time" magazine poll out today finds the race is in a dead heat. Forty-eight percent of likely voters support the president. Forty-six percent back Kerry.
Senator Kerry is in the swing state of Ohio today. The Democratic campaign stopped in Xenia. Kerry is in Wakefield this evening and tomorrow on the road to Columbus. Joe Johns is traveling with John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Senator John Kerry back in battleground Ohio with its highly-prized 20 electoral votes picking up on the flu vaccine shortage, his most extensive comments to date, accusing the administration of ignoring red flags and warning signals that a problem was on the way, seeking to link the issue to the administration's broader approach to problem-solving.
KERRY: The president's own secretary of health admitted that getting FDA approval in time for this year's flu season was doubtful. Now, believe it or not, it gets worse than that.
(LAUGHTER)
KERRY: Just like Iraq, just like with the economy, a top administration official is now saying that even when the benefit of hindsight, the administration wouldn't have done anything differently. It just -- folks, you got to scratch your head and say, you know, this guy is never in doubt, but frequently in error.
JOHNS: On balance, many outside observers say the problem is not with the Bush administration but with regulations on vaccines put in place during the 1990s.
Turning to jobs in the economy, Senator Kerry once again on the attack here in Ohio, a state that is very sensitive to the issue of job loss. He took on the Treasury secretary John Snow for recent comments quoted in a Findly, Ohio newspaper, indicating that in Snow's view the president's record on job loss is essentially a myth.
KERRY: This is the "Findly Courier," right here, front page. And in the front page, there's a nice picture of a nice Republican gathering. And underneath it, it says "Treasury Secretary Praises President's Economic Record; Denounces Myth of Job Losses." Let me ask you, is your job loss a myth, Mike?
Does anybody here believe it's a myth that Ohio has been losing jobs? So what is this administration trying to sell to you?
JOHNS: This is Senator Kerry's 21st visit to Ohio. He will spend the night here, then onto a much sunnier Palm Beach, Florida.
Joe Johns, CNN, Xenia, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Now in about 30 minutes you can see on a one-on-one conversation with John Kerry. CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley sat down with him yesterday and talked about everything from Iraq to the economy. That is about 30 minutes from now, right here on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
In the meantime, John Kerry's going to be campaigning in Florida. President Bush is already there. He stopped off at the cities of Sunrise, West Palm Beach and Daytona Beach. Elaine Quijano is on the campaign trial with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the battleground state of Florida, President Bush came armed with retooled attack lines, targeting Senator John Kerry's vote nearly one year ago today against the $87 billion bill to fund troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At a time of great challenge in the world, the commander in chief must stand on principle, not the shifting sands of political convenience.
QUIJANO: The president says Kerry's no vote on the troop money was prompted not by principal as the senator has said but by politics during the Democratic primaries in the face of tough competition by anti-war candidate Howard Dean. The Kerry camp fired back, pointing to an internal Defense Department memo from one year ago in which Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld posed questions about the Bush administration's approach to the war on terror.
In the meantime in Florida where a new "Washington Post" poll showed a neck-and-neck race, a gasp during the president's final stop in the city of Daytona Beach.
BUSH: We will not have an all-volunteer Army.
QUIJANO: The president quickly and emphatically corrected himself, attempting to squash rumors his administration would bring back the draft.
BUSH: Let me restate that. We will not have a draft.
QUIJANO (on camera): As for the Bush campaign strategy here in Florida and in other swing states, aides say it's to have the president venture into Democratic territory as he did today in Sunrise and West Palm Beach, Florida, and try to capture votes there. A lot at stake here in Florida with 27 electoral votes up for grab. The president is expected it make several more visits to this state in the days to come. His next trip to Florida is to the gulf coast of this state next week.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, Daytona Beach, Florida. (END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, the Justice Department has opened several investigations into election-related issues. It is preparing to send, for example, about 1,000 federal observers to monitor the upcoming vote. Now, that's nearly twice the number of observers that were dispatched to watch for problems in the last presidential election.
And the race could get -- well, could it get any hotter? A new poll of Florida voters shows George Bush and John Kerry tied. Each is likely to get 48 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, a new battle is brewing over Florida's voting machines. Our John Zarrella has that report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): These images, county canvassing board members straining to figure out voter intent on a punch card with a hanging Chad came to symbolize the 2000 election fiasco in Florida. That election also put an end to punch cards in Florida and open the door to new technology, electronic voting machines. But four years later, U.S. Representative Robert Wexler says he's not buying what elections officials are selling.
REP. ROBERT WEXLER (D), FLORIDA: Effectively, they're telling us, or asking us to believe that these are the first machines in the history of mankind that will never ever have a problem. I think people said that about the Titanic.
ZARRELLA: In a federal lawsuit that, after months of delays is finally going to trial next week, Wexler charges that with these electronic touch screen machines, there's no way to guarantee that the person you vote for is the person being recorded by the machine. And because the machines don't come with printers, there's no paper trail to look at for a recount.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My vote will be casts once I push this vote button.
ZARRELLA: State elections officials argue that e-machines have an audit capability and have built-in redundancies to avoid system failures and are secure from tampering.
GLENDA HOOD, FLORIDA SECRETARY OF STATE: There have been no votes lost. There have been no problems with the equipment that has been purchased by those counties.
ZARRELLA: Experts on voting machine technology say paper does add a comfort level but it is still not fool-proof.
KIMBALL BRACE, ELECTION DATA SERVICES: We know from Florida that in 2000 that a recount exercise in itself can be problematic.
ZARRELLA: Fifteen counties use touch screen machines. That's half of Florida's nearly 10 million registered voters. The remainder use an optical system which scans a paper ballot. With two weeks to go before the election, Wexler's legal team acknowledges fitting the machines with printers won't happen.
(on camera): But if they win, they say the judge could order the 15 counties to switch to optical systems. County elections officials say any change this late in the game would be next to impossible to accomplish.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: There was more violence in Iraq today. Two U.S. helicopters crashed in Baghdad, killing two U.S. soldiers and injuring two others. The cause of that crash is under investigation now.
And U.S. warplanes are again pounding targets in the rebel stronghold of Falluja. Small arms fire is being reported in the eastern part of that city.
And in the northern town of Mosul, a U.S. soldier died today of wounds he received on Friday.
And south of Qaim, two U.S. soldiers, one Marine and an Iraqi, were killed last night by a suicide car bomb.
And explosions are ripping through Christian churches in four Baghdad neighborhoods. Ironic, considering the Muslim holy month of Ramadan started yesterday, marking a time of charity and fasting. The sectarian violence have Christians in Iraq worried and looking for their own exit strategy. Our Brent Sadler reports on the blast from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): St. George's Roman Catholic Church, Baghdad, one of five churches blasted by powerful bombs, gutted by fire but no casualties, the latest in a series of attacks on Iraqi Christians. In August, though, car bombers struck four other churches in the capital, killing 12 people and injuring 61 others.
Fear is cumulative. Anguish is mounting. Last month, the machine gun slaying of seven men sent shutters through Iraq's dwindling communities of Christian believers. Part of a systematic and brutal campaign, they say, perpetrated by suspected Islamic extremists.
"Yes, there's fear," says this mourner. "There's worry and there's immigration and escape."
Between 10 and 30,000 Iraqi Christians are reported to have left the country in 18 months of killings and bombings.
(on camera): Christians make up a tiny fraction, just three percent of Iraq's majority Muslim population. Many are now running scared from attacks like this, fleeing communities where they say they could once practice their faith in peace. (voice-over): Now, Christians face escalating hostility from hard line Islamic groups who accuse them of being sympathetic to western occupiers. Amma (ph), a Christian too afraid to reveal his identity, quit his job with westerners after a death threat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found a notice paper in the garage. Its contents, a warning not to deal or work with Americans and Jews.
SADLER: It's not just their faith that's under attack, their very way of life, too. Christian owners of liquor stores have been attacked. Music stores bombed. The way women dress harshly criticized or punished. Mounting pressure also to renounce their religion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's written in the threat, be a Muslim, you will be safe.
SADLER: But for many Christians, to stay and survive in Iraq today is no longer a sensible option. They say they're afraid and exposed. Many more wanting to leave because there's no reliable security to protect them.
Brent Sadler, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And breaking ranks in Iraq, the U.S. military has launched three separate probes after members of a South Carolina base reserve unit allegedly refused to carry out a refueling mission. They said it was too dangerous. What does the military say? Well, tonight I'm going to speaking a U.S. military spokesperson about that investigation and what has happened to those reservists.
And still to come tonight, they went to war for payback. But what some members of the New York National Guard found in Iraq has left them with doubt. Up next, Charlie Company on the front lines.
Plus, a fight at Fenway. Will a rain delay help the Boston Red Sox overcome their biggest baseball rival? We're going to go there live.
And later, retail on Rodeo Drive. Oh, that one! The fastest growing company in U.S. history becomes -- well, goes from cyberspace to the streets of Beverly Hills. I'm going to explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Well, behind the casualties of war, there are always the personal stories on the front lines. New Yorkers have known their share of pain in the weeks since the September 11 attacks. Many went to Iraq, and what they've seen and accomplished since then has made them appreciate life even more. Our Jane Arraf brings us their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): This isn't what many of them expected. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop there!
ARRAF: In their other lives, these are policemen, nurses, carpenters, lawyers, but these members of the New York National Guard have been put in the thick of battle in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's taking fire from Impala and the ally south of the -- that we need to go up.
ARRAF: In Samarra, the Second Battalion 108th infantry regiment retook a sector of the city near the Golden Mosque.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That 54 Golden, keep an eye on those balconies.
ARRAF: After nearly 14 hours of fighting, Charlie Company helped secure the ancient city center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are narrow city streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well done, well done.
ARRAF: It won them praise from the top U.S. general in Iraq, but they paid a heavy price. Sergeant Michael Yavoni was the only U.S. death in the fight for Samarra. He was the second soldier from Charlie Company killed since unit deployed in February. At least seven others have been wounded badly enough to be sent home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Treating people you don't know is one thing. Treating all your friends is another and I've done it repeatedly. You know I had other...
ARRAF: Medic Andrew Flynn is so haunted by the wounded friends he's treated, he says he doesn't want to be a medic anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean it's -- when you join the Army, it's not what you expect, you know. You're ready to do whatever, but when you join the National Guard, you expect to be going to drills and having fun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This unit was the first actual military unit on the ground at Ground Zero, September 11th. And then after that, a lot of these kids that were here today are the same kids that were in the airports, in the subways, down the streets of New York. And they came here willing.
ARRAF: They're still willing but like Edwin Hernandez increasingly skeptical that they're fighting terrorism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be blunt, we wanted payback. But then the mission changed because we're here to help the people help establish stability to the country.
ARRAF: Part of stability is helping to ease the misery they say they see in Iraqi families.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I can't -- it sounds like M.S. She's going to need to see a doctor.
ARRAF: There was nothing Sergeant Calluchio (ph) could do for this girl, who has symptoms of multiple sclerosis. Her fathers they can't afford the injections that would control her tremors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beta 3, this is Viking 6, be advised, we're pulling our soldiers out of that intersection and putting them...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got our -- they got on the end of this right here. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) took fire.
ARRAF: At 44, Sergeant Mark Forbes is the oldest member of the National Guard here. Some of the youngest men deployed with them are still teenagers.
SGT. MARK FORBES, U.S. ARMY: I look after them. I worry about them. I don't always tell them and show them, but I do. When I went home on leave, I was a nervous wreck.
ARRAF: It's camaraderie that makes up for a lot of things. Since 9/11, a lot of these New Yorkers say they've been waiting to do their part for their country. And here, despite the losses and the hardship in one of the most difficult places in Iraq, they believe they are.
Jane Arraf, CNN, Samarra.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Now, we've got some news from around the world.
An Israeli Army commander accused by his own troops of repeatedly shooting a 13-year-old Palestinian girl is cleared of any wrongdoing. He was suspended for poor leadership. Israeli soldiers shot the teenage girl nearly 20 times. They believe that she was trying to plant a bomb. Her mother insisted she was on her way to school.
At the Vatican, a very special day for Pope John Paul II. He was elected to head the Catholic Church 26 years ago today and that makes him the third longest serving pope. Well-wishers showered him with congratulatory wishes.
And hug and kisses all around after the Soyuz spacecraft docked with the International Space Station. Moments before, things were very intense when the Soyuz approached too quickly and the docking had to be done manually.
And still to come on CNN SATURDAY NIGHT, an exclusive interview with Senator John Kerry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KERRY: We gave the president the authority to load the gun, to hold the trigger, so to speak. We didn't tell him to shoot himself in the foot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Hear more of what he said to CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley. That's later.
Plus, Red Sox fans head back to Fenway Park tonight. But can their beloved Bosox battle back against their biggest rival. Up next, a live report from Boston.
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Batting practice can mean only one thing. We're close to playing baseball here at Fenway Park. I'm Mark McKay. All of the details next on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: It's nail-biting time in Major League baseball, postseason play. Today, the Houston Astros turned to ace pitcher Roger Clemens in a crucial game three of the National League championship series. The St. Louis cardinals lead that series two games to nothing but the Astros are fighting back. They're up 3-2 heading in to the seventh inning of today's game.
And in the American League championship series, the Boston Red Sox have their backs to the wall. They're down two games to none to the New York Yankees. CNN's Mark McKay is live at Fenway Park in Boston where it looks like tonight's game will be played after last night's rain out.
Hey there, Mark.
MCKAY: Hi, Carol. Yes, well, if you came to us 24 hours ago, we were being rained on. Tonight, just a bit cool, a few clouds in the air -- in the sky, but we are expecting the first pitch to fly on time, and get the game in tonight. A totally different scenario than it was last night as Game 3 was rained out -- being played tonight. And we want to get the expert opinion of "Sports Illustrated" senior writer Tom Verducci.
Tom, last night's rain out, help or hurt either team?
TOM VERDUCCI, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED" SENIOR WRITER: I think it's probably hurt the Yankees a little bit only because you win those first two games, you want to get right back out there and play. There was one off day. The rainout created a second off day. I think when you've got something going, you've got some momentum, you want to get right back out there. You know it's interesting, teams with a 2-0 lead win the series about 80 percent of the time, but Game 3, only win about 40 percent of the time. So the Red Sox have some probability numbers in their favor for Game 3.
MCKAY: They need all the help they can get at this point, I guess, Tom. Let's talk about the starting pitchers, a lot of similarities. Two right-handers, two 10-game winners through the regular season, but I guess in a lot of ways, they couldn't be more different. Let's start with Kevin Brown for the Yankees.
VERDUCCI: Yes, Kevin Brown, with all of the physical ailments he's had this year just has not been really sharp, hasn't -- just gotten enough innings under his belt this late in the season. And the Yankees have tried to turn him into a sinker ball pitcher because he's not throwing the ball as hard. So if he's able to throw sinkers tonight, you'll see a lot of ground balls. If not, I think he's in trouble if you see a lot of fly balls.
MCKAY: And the Yankees have had some luck hitting against Red Sox starter Bronson Arroyo, is that right?
VERDUCCI: Yes, it's interesting. They have hit Arroyo pretty well but they've never actually beaten him. I think Arroyo is the kind of guy who is a good match-up against the Yankees because he's a strike thrower and he keeps the ball in the ballpark. Yankees set a franchise record in home runs this year. Arroyo does not give up a lot of home runs. I think he's comfortable pitching in this park and he pitched a great game last time out against the Angels in the division series.
MCKAY: The Red Sox happy to be home after what's happened at Yankee Stadium. The second best record in the majors here at Fenway Park for Boston. I guess they're happy to be in the friendly confines.
VERDUCCI: They really are. I mean every team has a home field advantage, obviously, when they're home. But for the Red Sox, it's more than that. They become a much better offensive team in this ballpark. They like to throw the balls. Even the left-handed hitters, the ball is up against that Green Monster in the left field. Obviously, the crowd is going to be a factor tonight because they have just such tremendous support here.
MCKAY: "Sport Illustrated" senior writer Tom Verducci, we appreciate your insight.
Carol, we are ready for baseball. A little under two hours here at Fenway.
LIN: All right, stay dry. Thanks much, Mark.
Well, a different kind of competition going on, the race for the White House. Here's the homestretch, but will a third candidate stand in the way. Up next, John Kerry's thoughts on Ralph Nader and a whole lot more. CNN's exclusive interview with the senator straight ahead.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one thing my parents said is they would try not to always call us, oh, triplets. They would try to say individual names so that we weren't always lumped into one group.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LIN: Parenting multiples. Raising one teenager is hard enough but imagine raising seven all at the same time.
And later, from cyberspace to retail space, eBay opens its first store. But is it a marketing maneuver that's going to work?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Welcome back and here's a quick look at what's happening right now in the news.
U.S. warplanes are again dropping bombs on Falluja, and small arms fire is being reported in the eastern part of the city.
And NASA may have figured out what caused last month's crash landing of the Genesis spacecraft. Some design drawings for crucial switches may have been backwards.
Police have shutdown Interstate 95 near Baltimore, Maryland, because of dozens of accidents with some injuries. And it looks like, though, you can't tell from that shot, at least one of the lanes, whether it's north or southbound, we still don't know, but at one point, both north and southbound lanes on I-95 were closed. Police say it all started when a strong storm blew through the area just over an hour ago. We are keeping track of how many injuries or possibly deaths from that series of accidents.
And you'll probably hear a lot about the state of Ohio over the next 17 days. It is a battleground state in the presidential election, and no Republican has ever won the presidency without winning Ohio. Only two Democrats have managed to do so. And that is why President Bush and Senator John Kerry have made dozens of stops in the mid western state. John Kerry visited today, making stops in Xenia and Wakefield.
Now, yesterday, the Democratic contender sat down with CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: We're on the stage where you just gave an economic speech. I want to bring it down to one person, a middle-age guy, lives in Wisconsin. He doesn't have a job. John Kerry becomes president in January. His life changes February, March, April?
KERRY: Well, his life will change very quickly, providing Congress responds. There are immediate things that I can do with respect to trade policy, immediate things I can do in the regulatory system that will help. But the most important thing is to lower the cost of health care and to raise incomes for middle-class Americans -- put in place a $4,000 tuition tax credit, get $1,000 in to the pocket of Americans by lowering their health care premiums.
CROWLEY: But can you get in a job?
KERRY: Well, directly, day one, no, I'm not going to pretend that I can do that on day one. But what I can do is put in place policies that are going to expand the private sector of America, and I will do that. I'll do that by closing the tax loophole that encourages companies to go overseas. I'll do it by providing a manufacturing job credit which could have an immediate impact in helping companies here to expand here in America. I can do it by creating a fair playing field in trade so that companies are more inclined to stay here. And if you lower the cost of health care, Candy, you really make American companies more competitive and that's what I'm going to do.
CROWLEY: A lot of talk about the programs that we've heard you talk about now for two years. You will not -- in social security, you don't want to raise the age. You don't want to lower the benefits and you don't want to privatize. You want to increase veteran's benefits. You want to give another tax cut for the middle class.
KERRY: Correct.
CROWLEY: That's an awful lot of money and a lot of people are saying you are falling very short. Where are you are going -- you know, I know that you want to pay for a lot of it with those tax cuts but...
KERRY: Well, you can't pay for all of it from that. I've shown -- I've shown exactly where I'm going to pay for it. Principle No. 1 -- and I want Americans to hear this clearly -- principle No. 1 with which I'm approaching the budget, is we have to reinstate pay as you go and we have to be fiscally responsible. Now, every program you just listed, I've shown precisely how we're going to pay for it. We pay for it partly by rolling back the tax cut for people earning over $200,000 a year. I give a tax cut, cut to 98 percent of Americans. All the middle class America gets $1,000 tax credit for child care, a $4,000 tuition tax credit for college. And we lower the cost of health care.
I also close corporate tax loopholes. We have $40 billion going to Bermuda and other countries. We have incredible giveaways through the tax code that subsidize companies for going overseas. I don't want the American worker subsidizing the company that goes overseas. I want them to give the tax cut or break to a company that creates jobs here. I am going to cut 100,000 contractors from the federal government. I'm going to consolidate 70 different statistical agencies in to one. I'm going to consolidate 10 export agencies in to one.
So we're going to actually -- George Bush has the biggest government, biggest spending in American history. We can reduce the burden on the taxpayer and put money in to these things that are more valuable.
CROWLEY: Let me turn you to Iraq. Over the past couple of days, three car bombs in Baghdad, many deaths. We have the full-scale attack now on Falluja. When you came back from Vietnam, the word quagmire was used quite a bit. You said how do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake? You have called this war the wrong war, wrong time, wrong place, which says to me, mistake. Why do you think we have to stay in Iraq when you didn't think we should stay in Vietnam?
KERRY: They're very different. This is a war on terror. That was a civil war, an ideological war.
CROWLEY: But you said there wasn't a terror threat, right?
KERRY: Well, there is now. That's the problem. The problem is that where there wasn't a connection to al Qaeda, now, you have this extraordinary magnet that's been created for jihadists who have crossed the border in the thousands. And it is a haven for terrorism now. And I have said...
CROWLEY: So we are staying...
KERRY: But I have also said since day one -- no, and what you have to do now, Candy, is make certain that is it isn't a mistake. And the way you make certain it isn't a mistake is to do it right, which is what I have said from day one. I believe you have to hold Saddam Hussein accountable. And I said from day one, there's a right way to do it, and a wrong way to do it. This administration in almost every decision chose the wrong way. I mean, look, how they went -- they went to war without giving our soldiers the body armor they need. They went to war without the Humvees that are armored. They went to war without adequate troops. Paul Bremer has said that. General Shinseki said that.
You have to be accountable for your decisions. The decision they made was to go to war without adequate planning to win the peace. Now, we're paying a price. I know how to win this peace. And we have to win it. And I'm determined to win it. And we have to win the war on terror. But I can fight a smarter, more effective war on terror than George Bush has. And I can bring allies to our side. George Bush has pushed people away and isolated America, rather than America joining with other people to isolate the radical extremists of Islam. I think that you have to separate them from the real Islam and religion. They haven't done that effectively. I will.
CROWLEY: How comfortable would you be if one of your political opponents used your daughter's sexual orientation to make a point of their own?
KERRY: I've said what I'm going to say about that yesterday. It was meant as a very constructive comment in a positive way. I respect their love for their daughter. And I respect who she is as they do.
CROWLEY: Do you understand why the Cheneys are upset, that this feels like an invasion of their privacy?
KERRY: They have talked about it themselves, publicly.
CROWLEY: But you know other gay -- other people with gay children, you could have mentioned them, but you specifically mentioned her.
KERRY: I think that people understand. They've become familiar with that particular situation. I think it was a way of saying look, she's who she is. I have great respect for her, great respect for them. It was meant constructively in terms of their love and affection for a person who is who she is. CROWLEY: Your buddy John McCain said it was inappropriate.
KERRY: Well, people have different opinions. I've said what I've said.
CROWLEY: Let me ask you about Ralph Nader. He was quoted in "The New York Times" today, saying that you are not your own man, that you have let George Bush push you to the right, that you're taking your liberal base for granted and that it doesn't say much for your character. Can you respond to that?
KERRY: What I want to do for America is the response is that. I want to provide health care to all Americans and I have a plan to do it. George Bush does not. I led the fight to stop the drilling in the Arctic wildlife refuge. I'm very proud of that accomplishment. I led the fight to stop Newt Gingrich from undoing the Clean Air Clean Water Act. I've fought against powerful interests my entire life and I'm not going to take a second seat to anybody including Ralph Nader in terms of my agenda for this nation, fighting to raise the minimum wage, fighting to guarantee equal pay for women, fighting to guarantee that the middle class gets a fair shake in their tax breaks not the corporations. If people want a change, and they want responsibility for the middle class in America, don't throw away your vote. There's only one choice here, either George Bush is going to be president or John Kerry.
CROWLEY: Have you talked to Ralph Nader since -- I know you saw him in early spring, maybe in late spring.
KERRY: No, I haven't had a chance to.
CROWLEY: Have you -- is anybody trying to talk him out of this because there's some Democrats that are worried he could make a difference.
KERRY: I've had no conversation with him. And I'm not aware of anybody who is.
CROWLEY: Are you worried?
KERRY: I'm confident the American people are going to look at this race as the most important election of our lifetime. There could be four justices of the Supreme Court at stake in this race. Certainly, fairness for middle class Americans who are increasingly squeezed. They've seen their income go down, $1,500. Their jobs going overseas. The jobs that replace them pay $9,000 less. If people want an economy that's fiscally responsible, and we want a future where we engage with other nations responsibly as we have in the past, there really is only one vote I think.
CROWLEY: You've said repeatedly throughout this campaign that George Bush misled the American people into Iraq. More recently, you came closer to the "l" word saying he's lied. Did George Bush deliberately distort intelligence information because he wanted to go to war in Iraq?
KERRY: Candy, I can't tell you that. I'm not -- I can't get into the intent.
CROWLEY: But do you think it's possible?
KERRY: What I know is this, that the president made a promise, a series of promises to America. He stood up in Cincinnati and he said to us, before we voted we will take every precaution. We will plan carefully. War is not inevitable. He said he would go through the U.N. and go through that process respectfully.
Now, Candy, he didn't. He didn't let the inspectors finish their job. He didn't build a real global coalition. He didn't go to war as a last resort.
CROWLEY: But did he lie to get us to go long with him?
KERRY: Candy, I'm not -- I think that language is -- I've never used it and I'm not about to tonight. I think that he misled America in the statements he made about what he would do. And look, how can you call leaving 850,000 tons of ammunition unguarded planning carefully? How do you call not having enough troops and firing your Army chief of staff who tells you you're going it need 200,000 troops or more, and you basically retire him early? How do you call that listening and planning carefully? How do you send the troops without the body armor and the Humvees that are armored and without adequate -- and without the 4th Infantry Division in the north and all of the things we needed to make certain that this was successful? I believe this president rushed to war without a plan to win the peace, and America is paying an extraordinary -- hundreds of billions -- a $200 billion price, and more importantly, our young are at risk. I want those young properly protected and I'm going to put in place a policy that does it.
CROWLEY: Name me one mistake that you've made in the past three and a half years as a public policymaker.
KERRY: Gosh, I think I made a mistake in terms of the breadth of some of the programs that I had talked about in the primaries because the deficit was larger than we anticipated and we obviously couldn't afford it. So I've scaled them back since then.
CROWLEY: You never once said to yourself, I wish I hadn't voted for that war resolution?
KERRY: No, I...
CROWLEY: Not once?
KERRY: Because you see what we did, we gave the president the authority to load the gun, to hold the trigger, so to speak. We didn't tell them to shoot himself in the foot. We gave him an authority that he had to use properly. I would have wanted that authority if I was president because it was the only way Saddam Hussein ever responded to anything was with that threat of force. But I would have used it very differently and more responsibly. That's the difference.
CROWLEY: Last question, name two mistakes the Red Sox have made? KERRY: Oh gosh, about Grady Little not pulling Pedro a year ago and...
CROWLEY: Pretty painful.
KERRY: Maybe a trade here and there. It's -- you know -- but being a Red Sox fan is the way to kind of really be in touch with the ups and downs of life.
CROWLEY: Thank you, Senator. I appreciate it.
KERRY: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Up next, what can twins and triplets teach you? An insider's look into the pitfalls and pleasures of multiple births. Dr. Sanjay Gupta brings us some life lessons -- other life lessons everyone can use, maybe even the Boston Red Sox.
And later, eBay goes to Hollywood. Why is the world's biggest online auctioneer a mouse click away from Rodeo Drive? And what could it mean for online trading? Details straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Raising a child, as so many of you already know, is very hard work. But can you imagine raising triplets or even quadruplets? CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta checks in on how our own Soledad O'Brien and other families are handling the art of raising multiples.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Soledad's boys were born just minutes apart about, twins who will forever be remembered for their similarities in these pictures. Still, the hope is one day they will grow into individuals and that's a goal that experts often give to parents of multiples. Of the nine children in the Swick family, there is a set of quadruplets, all freshmen in high school and a set of triplets all college freshmen. Seven teenagers at once.
TARA SWICK, QUADRUPLET: It's nice having brothers and a sister that are the same age. You kind of know how the guys think that are your age and how they can talk to them about how the girls think.
GUPTA: Born in the late 1980s, the seven were part of an era of increased multiple births that has since tapered off. The Swicks used fertility drugs for all of the births. All of them are healthy and none of them are identical, but...
DREW SWICK, QUADRUPLET: It's pretty easy to tell us apart, so -- but as soon as they learn that we're quads, they have trouble with our names.
GUPTA: As for a sibling rivalry...
T. SWICK: You just kind of decide for yourself that it won't bother you if they're better at something, then you because you have your own thing that you're better than them at, so it's all good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One thing my parents did is they would try not to always call us, oh, triplets, come here. They would try to say individual names so that we weren't always lumped in to one group.
GUPTA: Parenting multiples may be a unique experience but financially caring for all seven may seem impossible.
TOM SWICK, FATHER OF QUADRUPLETS: I have an accounting degree. I mean the numbers don't add up. But the biggest thing you have to do is plan.
GUPTA: Over the years, the Swicks have learned to haggle, getting group prices on everything from eyeglasses to soccer uniforms to college tuition. But the most important life lessons...
MICHA SWICK, TRIPLET: From a young age had to learn to be unselfish with each other. You have to learn how to react to so many different personalities at the start of your life.
T. SWICK: Learning how to just do it on your own and not have to worry about your parents doing everything for you.
GUPTA: Learning how to manage such a large family may seem like an amazing feat, but to the Swick parents it's remarkably simple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you're a good parent with one or two, you'd probably be a good parent with more.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Amazing!
Well, it's the fastest-growing company in the nation. Not a family but a company, and now eBay is reaching beyond cyberspace. That's right, now you can shop in their retail store. But the question remains, is it going to work?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: eBay may be the darling of cyberspace commerce. eBay may now be coming to a corner near you. For now, though, you'll find the store not just anywhere but off Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Donna Tetrault has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONNA TETRAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nestled among the finest Beverly Hills has to offer is the company that's made its name on secondhand merchandise. And what would you expect from the very first eBay store located in one of the most glamorous cities on the planet? Celebrity memorabilia, of course.
GREG KUSCH, STORE MANAGER: With the Sony watchman, the average selling price is $23.37.
TETRAULT: The fastest-growing company in U.S. history is leaving cyberspace for a pricier retail space. In an effort to get more hands on with its customers who have something to sell.
KUSCH: The average person takes one to three pictures. We'll take 15 pictures of every item.
TETRAULT: eBay will then sell the product to the highest bidder and ship it out, taking a 29 percent cut of the final sale. The store manager says the store offers sellers something the net does not.
KUSCH: We get a lot higher price than the average person who's on eBay because we have the software that tells us when we should put it on, what time we should put it on, for how long. eBay has one, three, five, seven, and 10 day options. And you really have to have the little niche of when to do things on eBay to get the maximum price for that, which we have a formula for.
TETRAULT: But industry experts say this new marketing maneuver could be problematic.
PROF. MICHAEL KAMINS, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: I think it's going to shoot their credibility pretty quickly. It's going to go down because once again, you would suspect as a buyer that if the organization that's running the sale is bidding itself, there's a conflict of interest.
TETRAULT: Another problem says Kamins, the volume of products in the stores will never be able to compete with what's available online.
(on camera): But eBay doesn't see it that way and says it will open a thousand stores in the next decade. By next year, 200 stores will be under construction.
Donna Tetrault for CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Store manage Greg Kusch joins me on the telephone to tell me how things are going.
So, Greg, this is a store for sellers not necessarily for buyers, right?
KUSCH: Yes, that's correct, Carol. I wanted to clear one thing up and that is, we are -- we'll sell it on eBay. We're actually a drop- off store. We're not actually eBay but we are a trading assistant on eBay. And we do plan on having a thousand stores opened within five to 10 years. And we are in Beverly Hills and that's just going unbelievable. We're exploding in Beverly Hills and we're going to be franchising all across the nation. LIN: So you're not eBay itself. You're somebody who tries -- makes your money by helping sellers who want to get on eBay and get the best price?
KUSCH: Absolutely. That's exactly what we do. We have a formula that we created to get a high price for the items.
LIN: Got you. So that's what the 29 percent is paying for. So what kind of stuff do you have there?
KUSCH: We have everything from Cartier watches all the way down to baby cribs.
LIN: Really? A Cartier watch? Let's say a Cartier gold tank watch goes for about $11,000 retail. What do you have it for?
KUSCH: We can put it anywhere -- you know you could go anywhere -- it could go as high as $10,000.
LIN: Well, that's not much of a deal.
KUSCH: Yes. So if you go to wewillsellanything.com, that's our...
LIN: But I'm saying, Greg, that's not a deal. That's not a deal. I mean I can get a brand new one for $11,000. Why would I go through eBay to pay $10,000?
KUSCH: Well, that's on the other end of a buyer. It depends. If somebody may want a piece that they had, maybe it was sentimental to them for some reason, they'll pay that much. So it all depends.
LIN: It all depends. All right. What's the weirdest thing you have there?
KUSCH: The weirdest thing we have is we have a crypt next to Marilyn Monroe for sale...
LIN: A crypt?
KUSCH: ...at 30,000.
LIN: A space?
KUSCH: That's right. It's a double crypt.
LIN: You could be buried next to Marilyn Monroe?
KUSCH: That's right.
LIN: Thirty thousand?
KUSCH: Wewillselleverything.com and you'll be able to see all of that stuff.
LIN: Call us when you sell that one, will you, Greg? Thanks so much. KUSCH: Thank you very much.
LIN: Greg Kusch, thanks for clarifying our reporting out there in Beverly Hills.
All right, up next, at the top of the hour on CNN's "CAPITAL GANG," Mark Shields is here to tell us what the gang has.
Hey there, Mark.
MARK SHIELDS, CO-HOST, "THE CAPITAL GANG": Hey, Carol. Thank you. With only 17 days until Election Day, "THE CAPITAL GANG" will discuss the final debate. John Kerry's invoking Mary Cheney's name plus a hotly contested Senate race in Colorado. All of that and much more right here next on CNN.
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