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American Morning
Florida Voting Glitches; New Polls; Magnificent Mile
Aired October 19, 2004 - 9:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Nationwide, President Bush with a slight lead in the polls. But are there numbers to make John Kerry smile, too?
National focus on the Senate race here in Illinois. We're going to hear from Barack Obama and Alan Keyes this morning.
Breaking Republican ranks in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger now backing new stem cell research.
And the last at-bat heroes of the major leagues. Red Sox and Astros feeling great on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From Water Tower Park next to the campus of Loyola University in Chicago, this is AMERICAN MORNING on the road with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: And the sun's come out. It's going to be a beautiful day here in Chicago.
Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yesterday we were along the Chicago River. Today we have moved on location to Loyola University's Water Tower campus, right along the Magnificent Mile. It turns right along Michigan Avenue, which is Soledad's favorite part of Chicago we found out yesterday.
O'BRIEN: So far. I've only been here a day, but so far yes.
HEMMER: Because she found some shopping, right?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, actually, I had lunch right over there, Bistro 110. And then I moved next door for an ice cream sundae over at Ghirardelli. And then I went shopping along the Magnificent Mile. A pretty nice afternoon.
HEMMER: You still have more damage to do today.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I do.
HEMMER: But it's only Tuesday.
O'BRIEN: I'm going to the museums. You know, the whole nine yards.
HEMMER: A lot of politics we'll talk about again today. Two weeks from today is the big vote 2004. Early voting, though, started yesterday in Florida, continues for the next few weeks there.
Are there any problems right now? You know, this was the new system that Florida put into place, and a number of other states, too, to try and help out with the vote this time around.
Also, Bill Schneider looking between the lines and the numbers of some potentially important information, latest polling numbers, too. So we'll get to Bill Schneider back in D.C. on that.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the defense continues its case in the Scott Peterson trial. Serious questions being raised about that cement that the prosecution says was used in the murder. Also, a controversy over a network analyst from this trial is now possibly working for the defense. We're going to get to all of that this morning.
HEMMER: Interesting story, too, yes.
Also, Jack is with us, as well.
Good morning, Jack. How are you?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Bill, Soledad.
We're reading e-mails this morning. And I've got a great story to tell you in a little while about a guy who was a sky marshal on a flight into Chicago. He met this flight attendant. They agreed to have dinner when the plane landed in Chicago.
They went to dinner, then they went to the hotel, they got up the next morning. They had a very nice time.
He asked if she could see her again. She said, "Well, no, because I'm getting married this afternoon." Wait until you find out who she married. That's coming up when you get to the e-mail segment a bit later. Just an unbelievable story.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
HEMMER: Chicago secrets, cool.
O'BRIEN: What a tease, huh?
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Suffice it to say, that guy had a better night in Chicago than I did last night.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you know what? Oh, no.
HEMMER: He was in bed at 7:00. He blew us off for the game.
How are you doing, Heidi? Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm doing well.
HEMMER: We all have our gloves on.
COLLINS: It's tropical. No problem.
All right. Want to get to the news right away now.
President Bush getting ready to address supporters at a rally in St. Petersburg, Florida. It's one day after a speech in New Jersey in which the president criticized Senator John Kerry for being too weak on terrorism.
And senator Kerry hitting back, attacking the president's fiscal policies. Kerry will address Bush's plans to privatize Social Security at a stop in Pennsylvania this afternoon.
In Iraq now, the head of operations for the relief organization CARE has been abducted in Baghdad. Officials say the woman is Margaret Hassan. She is a dual Iraqi and British national who spent more than half her life in Iraq. A senior State Department official says the agency is helping with the investigation.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger broke with the state Republican Party on Monday. He endorsed Proposition 71, a $3 billion bond measure that would fund human embryonic stem cell research. If Proposition 71 is passed, it will give California researchers nearly $300 million annually for 10 years.
In baseball, Jeff Kent hit the game-winning three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Just the way you like to see it end, to give Houston Astros a 3-1 win over St. Louis. That is, if you're a Houston Astros fan, that's how you'd like to see it, 3-0. Astros lead the series 3-2 heading into Wednesday's game, six in St. Louis.
And Boston Red Sox beating the New York Yankees 5-4 in game five of the American League championship series. That's two in a row now. Game six tonight in New York.
The game lasted last night, though, 5 hours 49 minutes, making it the longest game in postseason history. But, you know, if I know Red Sox fans, they were watching until it was over. No question about it.
HEMMER: Oh, I'm certain. You know, overnight both these series got very interesting, did they not?
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: St. Louis thought they were going to blow out Houston, think again. And we all thought the Yankees were going to take care of Boston.
COLLINS: We did our best to watch from Harry Caray's last night.
HEMMER: Yes.
COLLINS: Pretty good time.
HEMMER: We stuck it out for awhile.
COLLINS: Yes -- not that long.
HEMMER: When a game lasts an entire weekend, though, you've got to call it off sometime.
COLLINS: True. We have work to do.
HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.
With early voting already under way in a number of states, include Florida, all eyes on that state, yet again. Will there be a repeat performance of the 2000 election? Here's John Zarrella watching things there at a regional polling facility in Plantation, Florida.
Hey, John. How goes it so far? Good morning.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Hey, you got your reservation book for Florida for November 3?
HEMMER: I hope you're wrong.
ZARRELLA: You still may -- yes, you still may need it. We are at one of the -- in Broward County, one of the four regional voting sites here in Broward County, Florida.
Yesterday, the first day of voting in Florida. And the headline, of course, in the morning paper today, "The Miami Herald," talking about the hiccups in the voting process in the state of Florida.
Now, you know, everybody seems to want to see Florida stumble. And, of course, there were some problems yesterday. People did stand in long lines for hours in some places. But overall the problems were not widespread.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): They have early voting in Florida. Supervisors of elections heard the two words that make them cringe, technical glitch.
BRENDA SNIPES, BROWARD COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS: I do see that the first day of early voting we do have some technical things that need to be worked out. And I think that's just almost the nature of the beast. But we're on top of it.
ZARRELLA: In a state much maligned for its seeming recent inability to run a problem-free election, the issues elections officials statewide dealt with were more spotty than chronic. While voting machines worked, support equipment didn't always. In Broward County, voters stood in line for more than one hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's easier to get a flu shot than to vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very first day. I've been here since a quarter after 8:00 this morning.
ZARRELLA: Computers at several of the 14 polling places open in Broward County were not talking to computers at the supervisor's office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem here is that there is a problem with the connection with the mainframe computer.
ZARRELLA: Across the state, there were a variety of issues. Some technical, but not all.
In Orange County, which includes Orlando, computers went down for 10 minutes. Reason unknown.
In Palm Beach County, a state legislator said she was not given a complete absentee ballot. And in Duval County, the supervisor of elections resigned, citing health reasons.
And while the state began to vote, in a Broward County federal courtroom a trial began to determine whether electronic voting machines used in 15 counties comply with state statutes in the event of a recount. U.S. Representative Robert Wexler, who brought the suit, charges there's no way to know voter intent because the machines do not offer a paper trail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, Wexler says he understands that it's way too close to the election time to change election devices right now. But what he hopes will happen is that, if he wins, the judge will order monitors into the precincts and into the counties where there are electronic voting machines to make sure that if anything falls or anything goes wrong, that it will not go unnoticed.
Now, as far as the early voting today, much different than yesterday. At least here, quiet this morning. Not a lot of people. Not sure if it was just an early rush, Bill, yesterday, or if people were scared off by some of the long lines and the delays -- Bill.
HEMMER: Yes. Curious now about exit polling. Are the parties doing that at this point, too, based on day one?
ZARRELLA: No, no, no. We have not seen any of that out here. Although we do see some people with research pads, you know, out periodically. But -- and the monitors that are out at all of the precincts to make sure that things are going well.
But no real evidence that anybody's doing any exit polling. Although, of course, it is going to be and is considered to be very, very tight here in Florida -- Bill.
HEMMER: Indeed. Hey, John, thanks for that. John Zarrella in Florida this morning -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The latest CBS-"New York Times" poll shows President Bush ahead among likely voters. The president has a two-point lead over Senator John Kerry. But that lead is within the four-point margin of error.
Bill Schneider is CNN's senior political analyst. And he joins us this morning from Washington to talk a little bit about those new numbers.
Hey, Bill, good morning. Nice to see you.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you back.
O'BRIEN: Oh, thank you very much. It's nice to be back.
Those poll numbers are much closer than some of the other ones that we have been reporting. Does that mean, in your mind, that these polls overall are just pretty much unreliable, since they kind of keep going back?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, well, I would say that you have to look at all the polls together. And what they show together is a slight Bush lead.
This poll you just showed was a two percent lead. There are other polls showing four, six, eight percent. All of them are slowing a slight Bush lead.
Each poll is within the margin of error. But put them together and I think you would say Bush may be ahead right now by a nose. But remember, there's two weeks to go to Election Day.
O'BRIEN: You always say that, there's still time to go. The president clearly has an advantage when it comes to talking about terror. But when you look at a question in the poll about the economy, where you see that 39 percent now say they think the economy is getting better, that's down from September's 47 percent. Do you think that those numbers indicate that the economy is going to play a bigger role in the election than many maybe previously thought?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it could. There's plenty of evidence that people are dissatisfied with the way things are going right now in the country.
In addition to those numbers we just saw on the economy, Americans are very unhappy about gasoline prices. A majority, a growing majority say the country, things in the country are off on the wrong track, they're not going in the right direction.
They believe that President Bush's policies have decreased the number of jobs. They are dissatisfied with the way things are going in Iraq. People are just unhappy with the direction of the country.
So why is Bush ahead, even by a nose? I think the answer in a single word is terrorism. The one issue that the president has that he's running on, that he spoke about yesterday in New Jersey, where people do put him a mile ahead of John Kerry, is who can better protect the country. And so far, that seems to be putting President Bush ahead, despite all this dissatisfaction with the way things are going.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, and maybe this is related, as well, you and I have spoken about this before, the job approval number hovers somewhere around 44 percent. You've said in the past that this is a number many people, many analysts look to, to see about the electability of an incumbent. What's the problem here?
SCHNEIDER: The problem is that presidents don't get re-elected with a 44 percent job approval rating. I should mention that other polls, "The Washington Post"-ABC News poll, has a 54 percent job approval rating. So go figure.
But if the president's rating is below 50, he ought to be having a lot of trouble getting reelected. And that's why the Kerry people have hope that what they need to do is establish Kerry's credibility on the terrorism issue. Allow him to cross the threshold so people believe, certainly they believe Bush will keep the country safe.
But once they believe Kerry will also keep the country safe, then all these other issues, health care, jobs, gasoline prices, then they'll come into play. Because with a 44 percent job approval rating, President Bush should be in serious trouble.
O'BRIEN: Can I ask you a quick question about the draft? The issue of the draft keeps coming up, despite that the president has said, has assured that he will not reinstate the draft.
A third of the country thinks that actually the draft will come back if President Bush is reelected. Where is this coming from? Is this the Kerry campaign essentially raising this issue?
SCHNEIDER: Well, the Kerry campaign raises the possibility that there may be a draft. They don't say Bush has a plan to reinstate the draft. But on a couple of occasions Senator Kerry and a lot of Democrats have said that, with the over-extension of the military, there may be no choice but to go back to a draft.
Now, this drives Republicans nuts. The Republican leadership of Congress brought up a bill to reinstate the draft simply in order to kill it, to show that they had no intention of bringing back the draft. But a lot of Democrats -- I'm thinking of Charles Rangel, whom I interviewed just last week, who said it is impossible to be for this war in Iraq and against the draft.
Because the view is, the United States is so over-extended with troops, that sooner or later the president, if he's reelected, would have to bring back the draft. And that worries not just a lot of younger voters, but also their parents, who faced the draft when they were of draft age.
O'BRIEN: Well, Bill, as you always say, still got a couple of weeks to go, don't we? Bill Schneider for us this morning.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, we do.
O'BRIEN: Nice to see you as always. Thanks. SCHNEIDER: Thank you.
HEMMER: We'll check in tomorrow again on that.
In the meantime, checking today the weather and Chad Myers at the CNN Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Thanks. We'll check back in with you about 30 minutes from now.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, you know what I did yesterday?
HEMMER: What's that?
O'BRIEN: I went along the Magnificent Mile. I did a little shopping. Did a fair amount of eating. A lot of eating, I should say.
HEMMER: And you enjoyed that.
O'BRIEN: I enjoyed every moment of it. In fact, this morning we take a look at one of the most famous boulevards in the world. And, of course, it is a place that tourists like ourselves are certain not to miss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Location, location, location. They don't call it the Magnificent Mile for nothing. This stretch of North Michigan Avenue is retail heaven, a shopper's paradise.
The idea was first conceived nearly 100 years ago when local developers sought to transform an Indian trading post into a major commercial center, similar to the Champs Elysee in Paris. Loyola University's campus here is just a stone's throw from such city landmarks as the Water Tower and the John Hancock Center, which when built in 1970 was the world's tallest building.
The school is ranked among the top 25 national universities by U.S. News and World Report for offering a best value education. Two note worthy alums, CNN's Susan Candiotti and actor-comedian Bob Newhart.
Chicago's Water Tower is one of the few buildings to survive the great Chicago fire in 1871. Today, it stands as a symbol of the Second City, which to many Chicagoans is second to none.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: A lot of shopping to be done here in this great city. And, of course, lots of really interesting architecture to take a look at, as well.
HEMMER: Yes, certainly is. That's the pumping station right there, Soledad, across the street from the Water Tower Park, which is on location here. Survived the great fire more than 130 years ago. And really a great place, Chicago.
O'BRIEN: Yes. It's been a wonderful visit.
Still to come this morning, the Senate race between Barack Obama and Alan Keyes is really anything but tight. The polls have Keyes down by nearly 50 points. But this morning the Republican tells us why he thinks he's going to win anyway.
HEMMER: Also this morning, the Scott Peterson trial. Yesterday there may have been more drama outside the courtroom than inside of it. We'll explain that, too, as AMERICAN MORNING continues from Chicago on this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: That is a scene from inside the pumping station in Water Tower Park. And here we are right outside. That's the back of where our location is, on the campus of Loyola University.
Welcome back, everybody. Nice to have you from the Windy City.
We're going to take you right away to Redwood City for the very latest on Scott Peterson's double murder trial. The defense now presenting its case this morning. Former San Mateo County prosecutor Dean Johnson is at the California courthouse to talk a little bit about the first day of testimony.
Nice to see you, Mr. Johnson. Thanks for begin with us. Let's get right to it.
We heard from the defense now. Did the defense make any headway in trying to basically circumvent what the prosecution is proposing, which is essentially that Peterson used homemade cement to weigh down his wife's body when he murdered, prosecutors say, his wife, Laci Peterson?
DEAN JOHNSON, FMR. SAN MATEO COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Well, yes, the defense made quite a bit of headway yesterday. They called their own cement expert to testify that Scott Peterson had previously claimed to his brother-in-law, Brent Rocha, that the cement that supposedly is missing, supposedly used for those anchors to hold down Laci Peterson, is, in fact, in the Peterson driveway.
O'BRIEN: Defense investigator Carl Jensen (ph) also on the stand. And he talked a little bit about a hotel in Carmel, California. And some of the testimony I thought was interesting.
He talked about the distance of that hotel from the beach. He talked about the steepness of that -- that trek down to the beach. Why is all of that relevant?
JOHNSON: It's important, because the prosecution has emphasized that Laci Peterson could not have gone for a walk on that fateful Christmas Eve day, because the condition of her pregnancy was such that she was no longer exercising. This was a trip to Carmel that the Peterson family had taken just a few days before, and detective -- or Inspector Jensen (ph) was able to testify that the activities that she was involved in during that time involved walking up and down steep steps, up and down from the hotel to the beach. She was apparently in fairly good physical condition and able to manage these walks, even when other members of the Peterson family could not.
O'BRIEN: Lots of drama outside the courthouse. And we heard from Michael Cardoza. He's a legal analyst, and apparently he's been holding mock Q&A sessions with Peterson.
Does that mean that he is now part of the defense team? And why was this so overwhelming for a lot of the analysts who were analyzing the analyst Cardoza's performance with Peterson?
JOHNSON: Well, yes, it does create a very difficult problem. One that may be addressed by the court of appeals ultimately. Michael Cardoza announcing that he, at the defense team's request, has interviewed Scott Peterson.
The question then becomes, first of all, how can Mr. Cardoza continue to be a news analyst and say that he has an objective perspective on the case, and at the same time be working with the defense team? Ultimately, that's up to you people, the reporters, to decide.
As Mr. Cardoza said, "You can decide whether I'm objective or not, and whether to use me or not. You can vote with your feet." And so we'll see how the media reacts to this dual role on the part of Mr. Cardoza.
O'BRIEN: Dean Johnson is a former San Mateo County prosecutor.
Nice to have you, sir. Thanks for being with us this morning.
JOHNSON: Thank you. My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: Get a break here in a moment. The daughter of a former president sues the Salvation Army. We'll explain that. Back in a moment here in Chicago on a Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAFFERTY: That was the Hancock building there on the left of the screen. It kind of disappeared out of view. We're broadcasting from a combination of locations in downtown Chicago.
The main set is on the campus of Loyola in Chicago. And we are at Carton's restaurant, about three blocks away.
The "Question of the Day," what's your best Chicago -- there's the Hancock building. I think it's second after the Sears Tower in height. And coincidentally, we've got an e-mail about that very address. David in Vero Beach, though, first, writes this: "Chicago's big secret is that it's not a city at all. Chicago is a big sports bar. Nothing more. Nothing less."
Here's the one from Emily in Madison, Mississippi. "The best view of Chicago is from the ladies room at the Signature Room at the top of the Hancock building. Sorry guys, I understand there are no windows in the men's room."
Amy writes from Alexandria, Virginia -- excuse me -- "I think you can rank a city based on the number of songs written about it. And Chicago is one of the most song-worthy cities in the country. I visit often. And I love it despite having driven on the Kennedy Expressway at rush hour."
And my favorite e-mail of this or any morning for as far back almost as I can remember comes from Jake in Alabama. He's a sky marshal. He met a flight attendant on a flight into Chicago in the '70s.
They had dinner. They spent the night together. They had a nice time.
The next morning he said, "Could I see you again?" She said, "Well, no, I'm getting married this afternoon."
And Jake writes this: "I asked if he was a nice guy and she said, 'Yes,' and she gave me his name. He was also a sky marshal and just happened to be my boss. I never said a word. But I almost choked every time he said how happy his wife was being married to him."
That made my morning. Back to you guys.
HEMMER: That is good. That is good.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Still to come this morning, the race most people are talking about because it doesn't seem to be much of a race at all: Barack Obama versus Alan Keyes. What is it that worries Obama about moving to the national stage? And why does Keyes still think he has got a shot at winning? We're going to hear from both of them just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 19, 2004 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Nationwide, President Bush with a slight lead in the polls. But are there numbers to make John Kerry smile, too?
National focus on the Senate race here in Illinois. We're going to hear from Barack Obama and Alan Keyes this morning.
Breaking Republican ranks in California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger now backing new stem cell research.
And the last at-bat heroes of the major leagues. Red Sox and Astros feeling great on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From Water Tower Park next to the campus of Loyola University in Chicago, this is AMERICAN MORNING on the road with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: And the sun's come out. It's going to be a beautiful day here in Chicago.
Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yesterday we were along the Chicago River. Today we have moved on location to Loyola University's Water Tower campus, right along the Magnificent Mile. It turns right along Michigan Avenue, which is Soledad's favorite part of Chicago we found out yesterday.
O'BRIEN: So far. I've only been here a day, but so far yes.
HEMMER: Because she found some shopping, right?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, actually, I had lunch right over there, Bistro 110. And then I moved next door for an ice cream sundae over at Ghirardelli. And then I went shopping along the Magnificent Mile. A pretty nice afternoon.
HEMMER: You still have more damage to do today.
O'BRIEN: Yes, I do.
HEMMER: But it's only Tuesday.
O'BRIEN: I'm going to the museums. You know, the whole nine yards.
HEMMER: A lot of politics we'll talk about again today. Two weeks from today is the big vote 2004. Early voting, though, started yesterday in Florida, continues for the next few weeks there.
Are there any problems right now? You know, this was the new system that Florida put into place, and a number of other states, too, to try and help out with the vote this time around.
Also, Bill Schneider looking between the lines and the numbers of some potentially important information, latest polling numbers, too. So we'll get to Bill Schneider back in D.C. on that.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the defense continues its case in the Scott Peterson trial. Serious questions being raised about that cement that the prosecution says was used in the murder. Also, a controversy over a network analyst from this trial is now possibly working for the defense. We're going to get to all of that this morning.
HEMMER: Interesting story, too, yes.
Also, Jack is with us, as well.
Good morning, Jack. How are you?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Bill, Soledad.
We're reading e-mails this morning. And I've got a great story to tell you in a little while about a guy who was a sky marshal on a flight into Chicago. He met this flight attendant. They agreed to have dinner when the plane landed in Chicago.
They went to dinner, then they went to the hotel, they got up the next morning. They had a very nice time.
He asked if she could see her again. She said, "Well, no, because I'm getting married this afternoon." Wait until you find out who she married. That's coming up when you get to the e-mail segment a bit later. Just an unbelievable story.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
HEMMER: Chicago secrets, cool.
O'BRIEN: What a tease, huh?
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Suffice it to say, that guy had a better night in Chicago than I did last night.
O'BRIEN: Oh, you know what? Oh, no.
HEMMER: He was in bed at 7:00. He blew us off for the game.
How are you doing, Heidi? Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm doing well.
HEMMER: We all have our gloves on.
COLLINS: It's tropical. No problem.
All right. Want to get to the news right away now.
President Bush getting ready to address supporters at a rally in St. Petersburg, Florida. It's one day after a speech in New Jersey in which the president criticized Senator John Kerry for being too weak on terrorism.
And senator Kerry hitting back, attacking the president's fiscal policies. Kerry will address Bush's plans to privatize Social Security at a stop in Pennsylvania this afternoon.
In Iraq now, the head of operations for the relief organization CARE has been abducted in Baghdad. Officials say the woman is Margaret Hassan. She is a dual Iraqi and British national who spent more than half her life in Iraq. A senior State Department official says the agency is helping with the investigation.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger broke with the state Republican Party on Monday. He endorsed Proposition 71, a $3 billion bond measure that would fund human embryonic stem cell research. If Proposition 71 is passed, it will give California researchers nearly $300 million annually for 10 years.
In baseball, Jeff Kent hit the game-winning three-run homer with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Just the way you like to see it end, to give Houston Astros a 3-1 win over St. Louis. That is, if you're a Houston Astros fan, that's how you'd like to see it, 3-0. Astros lead the series 3-2 heading into Wednesday's game, six in St. Louis.
And Boston Red Sox beating the New York Yankees 5-4 in game five of the American League championship series. That's two in a row now. Game six tonight in New York.
The game lasted last night, though, 5 hours 49 minutes, making it the longest game in postseason history. But, you know, if I know Red Sox fans, they were watching until it was over. No question about it.
HEMMER: Oh, I'm certain. You know, overnight both these series got very interesting, did they not?
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: St. Louis thought they were going to blow out Houston, think again. And we all thought the Yankees were going to take care of Boston.
COLLINS: We did our best to watch from Harry Caray's last night.
HEMMER: Yes.
COLLINS: Pretty good time.
HEMMER: We stuck it out for awhile.
COLLINS: Yes -- not that long.
HEMMER: When a game lasts an entire weekend, though, you've got to call it off sometime.
COLLINS: True. We have work to do.
HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.
With early voting already under way in a number of states, include Florida, all eyes on that state, yet again. Will there be a repeat performance of the 2000 election? Here's John Zarrella watching things there at a regional polling facility in Plantation, Florida.
Hey, John. How goes it so far? Good morning.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. Hey, you got your reservation book for Florida for November 3?
HEMMER: I hope you're wrong.
ZARRELLA: You still may -- yes, you still may need it. We are at one of the -- in Broward County, one of the four regional voting sites here in Broward County, Florida.
Yesterday, the first day of voting in Florida. And the headline, of course, in the morning paper today, "The Miami Herald," talking about the hiccups in the voting process in the state of Florida.
Now, you know, everybody seems to want to see Florida stumble. And, of course, there were some problems yesterday. People did stand in long lines for hours in some places. But overall the problems were not widespread.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): They have early voting in Florida. Supervisors of elections heard the two words that make them cringe, technical glitch.
BRENDA SNIPES, BROWARD COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS: I do see that the first day of early voting we do have some technical things that need to be worked out. And I think that's just almost the nature of the beast. But we're on top of it.
ZARRELLA: In a state much maligned for its seeming recent inability to run a problem-free election, the issues elections officials statewide dealt with were more spotty than chronic. While voting machines worked, support equipment didn't always. In Broward County, voters stood in line for more than one hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's easier to get a flu shot than to vote.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very first day. I've been here since a quarter after 8:00 this morning.
ZARRELLA: Computers at several of the 14 polling places open in Broward County were not talking to computers at the supervisor's office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem here is that there is a problem with the connection with the mainframe computer.
ZARRELLA: Across the state, there were a variety of issues. Some technical, but not all.
In Orange County, which includes Orlando, computers went down for 10 minutes. Reason unknown.
In Palm Beach County, a state legislator said she was not given a complete absentee ballot. And in Duval County, the supervisor of elections resigned, citing health reasons.
And while the state began to vote, in a Broward County federal courtroom a trial began to determine whether electronic voting machines used in 15 counties comply with state statutes in the event of a recount. U.S. Representative Robert Wexler, who brought the suit, charges there's no way to know voter intent because the machines do not offer a paper trail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, Wexler says he understands that it's way too close to the election time to change election devices right now. But what he hopes will happen is that, if he wins, the judge will order monitors into the precincts and into the counties where there are electronic voting machines to make sure that if anything falls or anything goes wrong, that it will not go unnoticed.
Now, as far as the early voting today, much different than yesterday. At least here, quiet this morning. Not a lot of people. Not sure if it was just an early rush, Bill, yesterday, or if people were scared off by some of the long lines and the delays -- Bill.
HEMMER: Yes. Curious now about exit polling. Are the parties doing that at this point, too, based on day one?
ZARRELLA: No, no, no. We have not seen any of that out here. Although we do see some people with research pads, you know, out periodically. But -- and the monitors that are out at all of the precincts to make sure that things are going well.
But no real evidence that anybody's doing any exit polling. Although, of course, it is going to be and is considered to be very, very tight here in Florida -- Bill.
HEMMER: Indeed. Hey, John, thanks for that. John Zarrella in Florida this morning -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The latest CBS-"New York Times" poll shows President Bush ahead among likely voters. The president has a two-point lead over Senator John Kerry. But that lead is within the four-point margin of error.
Bill Schneider is CNN's senior political analyst. And he joins us this morning from Washington to talk a little bit about those new numbers.
Hey, Bill, good morning. Nice to see you.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you back.
O'BRIEN: Oh, thank you very much. It's nice to be back.
Those poll numbers are much closer than some of the other ones that we have been reporting. Does that mean, in your mind, that these polls overall are just pretty much unreliable, since they kind of keep going back?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, well, I would say that you have to look at all the polls together. And what they show together is a slight Bush lead.
This poll you just showed was a two percent lead. There are other polls showing four, six, eight percent. All of them are slowing a slight Bush lead.
Each poll is within the margin of error. But put them together and I think you would say Bush may be ahead right now by a nose. But remember, there's two weeks to go to Election Day.
O'BRIEN: You always say that, there's still time to go. The president clearly has an advantage when it comes to talking about terror. But when you look at a question in the poll about the economy, where you see that 39 percent now say they think the economy is getting better, that's down from September's 47 percent. Do you think that those numbers indicate that the economy is going to play a bigger role in the election than many maybe previously thought?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it could. There's plenty of evidence that people are dissatisfied with the way things are going right now in the country.
In addition to those numbers we just saw on the economy, Americans are very unhappy about gasoline prices. A majority, a growing majority say the country, things in the country are off on the wrong track, they're not going in the right direction.
They believe that President Bush's policies have decreased the number of jobs. They are dissatisfied with the way things are going in Iraq. People are just unhappy with the direction of the country.
So why is Bush ahead, even by a nose? I think the answer in a single word is terrorism. The one issue that the president has that he's running on, that he spoke about yesterday in New Jersey, where people do put him a mile ahead of John Kerry, is who can better protect the country. And so far, that seems to be putting President Bush ahead, despite all this dissatisfaction with the way things are going.
O'BRIEN: At the same time, and maybe this is related, as well, you and I have spoken about this before, the job approval number hovers somewhere around 44 percent. You've said in the past that this is a number many people, many analysts look to, to see about the electability of an incumbent. What's the problem here?
SCHNEIDER: The problem is that presidents don't get re-elected with a 44 percent job approval rating. I should mention that other polls, "The Washington Post"-ABC News poll, has a 54 percent job approval rating. So go figure.
But if the president's rating is below 50, he ought to be having a lot of trouble getting reelected. And that's why the Kerry people have hope that what they need to do is establish Kerry's credibility on the terrorism issue. Allow him to cross the threshold so people believe, certainly they believe Bush will keep the country safe.
But once they believe Kerry will also keep the country safe, then all these other issues, health care, jobs, gasoline prices, then they'll come into play. Because with a 44 percent job approval rating, President Bush should be in serious trouble.
O'BRIEN: Can I ask you a quick question about the draft? The issue of the draft keeps coming up, despite that the president has said, has assured that he will not reinstate the draft.
A third of the country thinks that actually the draft will come back if President Bush is reelected. Where is this coming from? Is this the Kerry campaign essentially raising this issue?
SCHNEIDER: Well, the Kerry campaign raises the possibility that there may be a draft. They don't say Bush has a plan to reinstate the draft. But on a couple of occasions Senator Kerry and a lot of Democrats have said that, with the over-extension of the military, there may be no choice but to go back to a draft.
Now, this drives Republicans nuts. The Republican leadership of Congress brought up a bill to reinstate the draft simply in order to kill it, to show that they had no intention of bringing back the draft. But a lot of Democrats -- I'm thinking of Charles Rangel, whom I interviewed just last week, who said it is impossible to be for this war in Iraq and against the draft.
Because the view is, the United States is so over-extended with troops, that sooner or later the president, if he's reelected, would have to bring back the draft. And that worries not just a lot of younger voters, but also their parents, who faced the draft when they were of draft age.
O'BRIEN: Well, Bill, as you always say, still got a couple of weeks to go, don't we? Bill Schneider for us this morning.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, we do.
O'BRIEN: Nice to see you as always. Thanks. SCHNEIDER: Thank you.
HEMMER: We'll check in tomorrow again on that.
In the meantime, checking today the weather and Chad Myers at the CNN Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Thanks. We'll check back in with you about 30 minutes from now.
O'BRIEN: All right. Well, you know what I did yesterday?
HEMMER: What's that?
O'BRIEN: I went along the Magnificent Mile. I did a little shopping. Did a fair amount of eating. A lot of eating, I should say.
HEMMER: And you enjoyed that.
O'BRIEN: I enjoyed every moment of it. In fact, this morning we take a look at one of the most famous boulevards in the world. And, of course, it is a place that tourists like ourselves are certain not to miss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Location, location, location. They don't call it the Magnificent Mile for nothing. This stretch of North Michigan Avenue is retail heaven, a shopper's paradise.
The idea was first conceived nearly 100 years ago when local developers sought to transform an Indian trading post into a major commercial center, similar to the Champs Elysee in Paris. Loyola University's campus here is just a stone's throw from such city landmarks as the Water Tower and the John Hancock Center, which when built in 1970 was the world's tallest building.
The school is ranked among the top 25 national universities by U.S. News and World Report for offering a best value education. Two note worthy alums, CNN's Susan Candiotti and actor-comedian Bob Newhart.
Chicago's Water Tower is one of the few buildings to survive the great Chicago fire in 1871. Today, it stands as a symbol of the Second City, which to many Chicagoans is second to none.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: A lot of shopping to be done here in this great city. And, of course, lots of really interesting architecture to take a look at, as well.
HEMMER: Yes, certainly is. That's the pumping station right there, Soledad, across the street from the Water Tower Park, which is on location here. Survived the great fire more than 130 years ago. And really a great place, Chicago.
O'BRIEN: Yes. It's been a wonderful visit.
Still to come this morning, the Senate race between Barack Obama and Alan Keyes is really anything but tight. The polls have Keyes down by nearly 50 points. But this morning the Republican tells us why he thinks he's going to win anyway.
HEMMER: Also this morning, the Scott Peterson trial. Yesterday there may have been more drama outside the courtroom than inside of it. We'll explain that, too, as AMERICAN MORNING continues from Chicago on this Tuesday morning.
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O'BRIEN: That is a scene from inside the pumping station in Water Tower Park. And here we are right outside. That's the back of where our location is, on the campus of Loyola University.
Welcome back, everybody. Nice to have you from the Windy City.
We're going to take you right away to Redwood City for the very latest on Scott Peterson's double murder trial. The defense now presenting its case this morning. Former San Mateo County prosecutor Dean Johnson is at the California courthouse to talk a little bit about the first day of testimony.
Nice to see you, Mr. Johnson. Thanks for begin with us. Let's get right to it.
We heard from the defense now. Did the defense make any headway in trying to basically circumvent what the prosecution is proposing, which is essentially that Peterson used homemade cement to weigh down his wife's body when he murdered, prosecutors say, his wife, Laci Peterson?
DEAN JOHNSON, FMR. SAN MATEO COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Well, yes, the defense made quite a bit of headway yesterday. They called their own cement expert to testify that Scott Peterson had previously claimed to his brother-in-law, Brent Rocha, that the cement that supposedly is missing, supposedly used for those anchors to hold down Laci Peterson, is, in fact, in the Peterson driveway.
O'BRIEN: Defense investigator Carl Jensen (ph) also on the stand. And he talked a little bit about a hotel in Carmel, California. And some of the testimony I thought was interesting.
He talked about the distance of that hotel from the beach. He talked about the steepness of that -- that trek down to the beach. Why is all of that relevant?
JOHNSON: It's important, because the prosecution has emphasized that Laci Peterson could not have gone for a walk on that fateful Christmas Eve day, because the condition of her pregnancy was such that she was no longer exercising. This was a trip to Carmel that the Peterson family had taken just a few days before, and detective -- or Inspector Jensen (ph) was able to testify that the activities that she was involved in during that time involved walking up and down steep steps, up and down from the hotel to the beach. She was apparently in fairly good physical condition and able to manage these walks, even when other members of the Peterson family could not.
O'BRIEN: Lots of drama outside the courthouse. And we heard from Michael Cardoza. He's a legal analyst, and apparently he's been holding mock Q&A sessions with Peterson.
Does that mean that he is now part of the defense team? And why was this so overwhelming for a lot of the analysts who were analyzing the analyst Cardoza's performance with Peterson?
JOHNSON: Well, yes, it does create a very difficult problem. One that may be addressed by the court of appeals ultimately. Michael Cardoza announcing that he, at the defense team's request, has interviewed Scott Peterson.
The question then becomes, first of all, how can Mr. Cardoza continue to be a news analyst and say that he has an objective perspective on the case, and at the same time be working with the defense team? Ultimately, that's up to you people, the reporters, to decide.
As Mr. Cardoza said, "You can decide whether I'm objective or not, and whether to use me or not. You can vote with your feet." And so we'll see how the media reacts to this dual role on the part of Mr. Cardoza.
O'BRIEN: Dean Johnson is a former San Mateo County prosecutor.
Nice to have you, sir. Thanks for being with us this morning.
JOHNSON: Thank you. My pleasure.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: Get a break here in a moment. The daughter of a former president sues the Salvation Army. We'll explain that. Back in a moment here in Chicago on a Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAFFERTY: That was the Hancock building there on the left of the screen. It kind of disappeared out of view. We're broadcasting from a combination of locations in downtown Chicago.
The main set is on the campus of Loyola in Chicago. And we are at Carton's restaurant, about three blocks away.
The "Question of the Day," what's your best Chicago -- there's the Hancock building. I think it's second after the Sears Tower in height. And coincidentally, we've got an e-mail about that very address. David in Vero Beach, though, first, writes this: "Chicago's big secret is that it's not a city at all. Chicago is a big sports bar. Nothing more. Nothing less."
Here's the one from Emily in Madison, Mississippi. "The best view of Chicago is from the ladies room at the Signature Room at the top of the Hancock building. Sorry guys, I understand there are no windows in the men's room."
Amy writes from Alexandria, Virginia -- excuse me -- "I think you can rank a city based on the number of songs written about it. And Chicago is one of the most song-worthy cities in the country. I visit often. And I love it despite having driven on the Kennedy Expressway at rush hour."
And my favorite e-mail of this or any morning for as far back almost as I can remember comes from Jake in Alabama. He's a sky marshal. He met a flight attendant on a flight into Chicago in the '70s.
They had dinner. They spent the night together. They had a nice time.
The next morning he said, "Could I see you again?" She said, "Well, no, I'm getting married this afternoon."
And Jake writes this: "I asked if he was a nice guy and she said, 'Yes,' and she gave me his name. He was also a sky marshal and just happened to be my boss. I never said a word. But I almost choked every time he said how happy his wife was being married to him."
That made my morning. Back to you guys.
HEMMER: That is good. That is good.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Still to come this morning, the race most people are talking about because it doesn't seem to be much of a race at all: Barack Obama versus Alan Keyes. What is it that worries Obama about moving to the national stage? And why does Keyes still think he has got a shot at winning? We're going to hear from both of them just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
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