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CNN Live At Daybreak
Abduction in Baghdad; 'Hot Topics'; 'Daybreak Scorecard'
Aired October 20, 2004 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In Baghdad this morning, Margaret Hassan was on her way to work when gunmen blocked the road and took her captive. Her abductors have yet to make any demand. Hassan runs CARE International's operations in Iraq.
And as CNN Karl Penhaul reports, her kidnapping comes at a pivotal time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Snatched by kidnappers and captured on camera. Just hours after aid worker Margaret Hassan was taken hostage, this proof of life was passed to Arabic-language broadcaster Al-Jazeera.
Hassan is director of CARE International's operations in Iraq. She is a dual British-Iraq citizen, who has lived and breathed aid work in the country for half her life. So far, no clues about the kidnappers' identities, no explanation why, no demands.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We'll do whatever we can, obviously. This is someone who has actually lived in Iraq for 30 years. This is someone who is immensely respected, married to an Iraqi, someone who is doing her level best to help the country. And I think it shows you the type of people we are up against, that they were prepared to kidnap somebody like this.
PENHAUL: Hassan's kidnapping comes as Blair considers a conversational order to redeploy British troops to more volatile areas near Baghdad. That could free up more U.S. Marines for a possible assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And Karl did tell us earlier that CARE International has now suspended its operations in Iraq.
Iraq is the main issue on the campaign trail, but one of George Bush's biggest supporters says the president made a mistake. Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson says he warned the president that Iraq would be a disaster.
Robertson recounted their conversation pre-war with CNN's Paula Zahn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT ROBERTSON, FOUNDER, CHRISTIAN COALITION: He was the most self-assured man I ever met in my whole life. You remember, Mark Twain said, he looks like a contented Christian with four aces. I mean, he was just sitting there, like, I'm on top of the world.
And I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war. Deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, Mr. President, you'd better prepare the American people for casualties. Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties. Well, I said, it's the way it's going to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Robertson says he understands that the president can't admit to making any mistakes because his political opponents would make a big deal out of it.
George Bush and John Kerry are hitting the road again today and hitting on different topics. Bush's focus will be on the economy. He's heading from Washington to the upper Midwest, making stops in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. As for Kerry, the war on terror is topping his agenda. He is giving a speech in Iowa before he heads on to Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Of course, the candidates are getting plenty of support from their wives. Laura Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry have been hitting the talk show circuit. The first lady paid a visit to "Regis and Kelly," while Kerry's wife appeared on "The View." And they talked about everything from pancakes to playing the supporting role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATE: All of those events that you go to where you're pancake flipping or whatever, you don't really eat. In fact, I'm looking forward to going to an event where I actually get to sit down and eat.
TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SEN. JOHN KERRY: I think a first lady, or a first man eventually, I hope, first gentleman, would be, first and foremost, to support their spouse in the sense that person who is the president is under tremendous pressure, tremendous scrutiny, sometimes a lot of stress, and sometimes also a lot of flattery, in which case the spouse has to pop the balloon a little bit and keep him just humble enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So the attack of the potential first ladies continues. We call it that, because that's what it's become in this charged political season.
Chuck Todd from "The National Journal's" "Hotline" live in D.C. this morning to talk more about the first lady, first ladies, or potential -- I guess one is a first lady and one is a potential first lady and one is a potential second first lady. CHUCK TODD, EDITOR, "THE HOTLINE": Yes, I guess so.
COSTELLO: Chuck, these touchy-feely...
TODD: Someday we're all going to have to call them spouses, first spouse, second spouse, right?
COSTELLO: I know. When will that day come, I wonder? But anyway, back to the topic at hand, these touchy-feely appearances by the women behind the men, do they really resonate with voters?
TODD: Do they resonate? Probably not as much as we might think they do, but they do matter a little bit, because of who is watching those programs. I mean, look, the No. 1 swing voting group, if you had to break it down by demographic and you sliced up the entire electorate, most pollsters would tell you the No. 1 swing voter group is married white women between the ages of 35 and 55. And that's who watches these shows, "The View," and these are folks -- these are women with children.
And so if you want to figure out how to reach them, they're busy, you know, they don't necessarily have time in the mornings or in the evenings, but sometimes can hit them and talk to these folks in those mid-morning shows or those noon shows.
COSTELLO: Interesting. You know, I have noticed that the -- I guess the gentle Laura Bush, because she seems like such a very nice woman, she has sort of stepped up in her rhetoric a little bit, while Teresa Heinz Kerry, who is a little more feisty, has really toned it down. Tell us more about that strategy.
TODD: Well, I think it's -- well, first of all, Laura Bush is enormously popular. I had one pollster say that, you know, she's maybe the most popular first lady since Lady Bird Johnson, who just -- it cuts across party lines. Everybody -- nobody has a bad thing to say about her.
And the Bush campaign has always been comfortable using their political capital. And so she's got favorable ratings in the 70s, so they figure it's not a big deal if she loses a few rating points with some Democrats if you can get her to go on the attack a little bit, because Democrats would be afraid to attack that.
Meanwhile, on Mrs. Kerry, her favorable -- I mean, she's a very polarizing person. People either love her or hate her. There is no in between with her. And the Kerry campaign knows it, and so they've been actually putting her in states that are either already in the bag for them or they may not win. And...
COSTELLO: See, that's interesting what you say about Teresa Heinz Kerry, because I remember back when Clinton was running, and Hillary Clinton was also a very polarizing figure. But that really didn't matter when it came to election time. Will it be different with Teresa Heinz Kerry?
TODD: Oh, I don't think it matters as far as a voter's concern, but it does matter in this. And, look, in these final days, when you need as many surrogates campaigning in as many states as you possibly can to fire up the troops, you know, Laura Bush is basically 10 times bigger of an asset than Mrs. Kerry. And that's really what this comes down to.
Is it going to matter to somebody, to some undecided voter? No. But it does matter in how you can use her to help fire up the troops. And she's just not the best campaigner.
COSTELLO: Chuck Todd from "The National Journal's" "Hotline" live for us in D.C. this morning. Thank you, Chuck.
TODD: You got it. Thanks.
COSTELLO: Coming up, you know it's a rivalry with a big one on the line when riot police line the field. We're talking about the play that kicked this Red Sox-Yankees game into high drama. What a game!
And those memorable machines from days gone by. We're talking jalopies and hot rods from TV's yesteryear. What's the most popular vehicle on a TV show, you ask? We're going to tell you.
But first, here's a look at what's making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's time to take a quick look at the international markets now. Tokyo's Nikkei down more than 182 points, the London FTSE down 33, the Paris CAC down just under 30 points.
Time to talk baseball. Oh, the Red Sox-Yankees series has been as good as advertised; in the end, that is. Exciting games, at least some of them, the last couple, plenty of comebacks and, oh, some great stories.
Take a look at the front page of the "New York Post." The Yankees certainly could use the Babe or even his ghost to show up once again. They say he still he rattles around the Yankee Stadium.
Our sports contributor, Chris Cotter, is here to take a look at this bizarre game last night.
CHRIS COTTER, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: What a game!
COTTER: I love it. And I love the fact that people in New York now are nervous. I didn't think fans would be that nervous, you know, coming back to New York for two games, six and seven. All right, so Boston won a couple of games up there to bring it back to, as you said, the house that Babe built. No reason to worry. These are the Red Sox. We always beat the Red Sox.
The Red Sox come back and win. Here, you see the celebration. Now it's three in a row. And now you start to think, well, yes, but no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. Well, I'll tell you this: No team has ever come back to even force a game seven from a 3- 0 deficit, and only three teams had ever come back to even force a game six.
COSTELLO: And what dramatic fashion. Curt Schilling is pitching. His ankle is bleeding because he has a problem with a tendon in his ankle.
COTTER: Right...
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: And he does a great job. The old Curt Schilling was back.
COTTER: Yes, he was unbelievable last night, Curt Schilling. He goes seven innings. And they were hoping to get maybe five innings from him, because their bullpen was all worn out. He goes seven, and he gives them a lift because you could bring in Arroyo then in the eighth inning. He did a wonderful job, and Keith Foulke to come in and close it out.
Boston has all of the momentum now, but it's still the Yankees. It's like the ripe -- the universe is still ripe right now. The Yankees are supposed to beat Boston. They're supposed to beat them in seven. I think a lot of Yankee fans are actually still confident they'll win. They almost revel in the fact that...
COSTELLO: Well, I don't know.
COTTER: They're almost reveling in the fact that Boston now feels they can win.
COSTELLO: Well, before we go on with that line of thought, let's take a look at the controversial play of the game.
COTTER: OK.
COSTELLO: The bottom of the eighth inning, Arroyo is pitching. There was a little grounder thing from A-Rod.
COTTER: Yes, a little number down the right side.
COSTELLO: And take a look at what happens in this video. Chris, take it away.
COTTER: You have Bronson Arroyo there, the pitcher, delivers to A-Rod. A little number down the right side.
Now, Arroyo goes to tag him out, and A-Rod punches the ball out of his glove. You'll see it there. That's an illegal move. You can't do that in baseball. You can't have any action that would obstruct a play in terms of knocking a ball out of a player's hands or purposely knocking it out of the glove. If he would have just run into him and the ball would have fallen out, then that's legal within the game. But you can't use your hands to purposely swat one out.
COSTELLO: I think we have a still shot of this, too. Why would A-Rod do something like that? It's kind of out of character, isn't it?
COTTER: Well, I don't think it's so bad at all. I think this is just him being competitive, trying to knock a ball out so that's he safe.
COSTELLO: Cheating?
COTTER: I mean, if you get caught, you get caught. If you don't get caught or for some reason the umpires call you safe, as they did initially on this play, hey, then you're right back in the game. It's a completely different ballgame.
COSTELLO: Yes, because Jeter scored.
COTTER: I don't blame him at all for doing it. He's going to be out anyway. So you try anything you can. He didn't punch him in the face. He punched him in the glove. The guy has got a leather glove on. But if he'd of just, you know, taken a right hook right to him there on the first baseline, then I would have said, A-Rod.
COSTELLO: Do you realize that Little Leaguers might be watching you right now, and you're advocating cheating?
COTTER: Go for it, dudes. I mean, as long as you don't punch him in the face...
COSTELLO: Chris Cotter! Chris Cotter!
COTTER: ... do anything you can to win...
COSTELLO: Oh, that's terrible. But...
COTTER: ... almost within the rules of the game.
COSTELLO: But I must say his action caused quite a scene in the Yankee stands.
COTTER: Yes.
COSTELLO: The Yankee fans threw stuff on the field. The riot police had to come down at the end of the game.
COTTER: And not unlike Boston fans a couple of years ago when they did the same thing. They did. You know, this is one of those things where these games have been five hours long. And I'm watching this thing last night thinking, 'Oh, well, this is going swimmingly. We're going to be done here in about two hours and 45 minutes.' Then all of this in the eighth inning with the umpires meeting and the riot police coming down, the fans are throwing baseballs on the field.
I will say this about the umpires. That call that we just saw, they met afterward and talked about it and got it right. Earlier in the game, there was a homerun that they originally called a double. They met and got it right. The umpires had a tough night, a stressful night last night, but in the end they got it right. So I tip my hat to them.
COSTELLO: All right. Well, we'll see what happens with game seven.
COTTER: Oh, yes, this is as good as it gets. It really is.
COSTELLO: Yes, it is. Thanks for coming in, Chris. We appreciate it.
COTTER: You bet.
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:45 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
At least eight people died when a commuter plane crashed in northeast Missouri. Five others are still missing this morning. At least two managed to survive.
In money news, the Social Security Administration announced a 2.7 percent increase in benefits. That's about $25 for benefits-eligible Americans. But many of you won't see that money. You can blame it on higher Medicare premiums.
In culture, ABC's racy "Desperate Housewives" may be a big hit with viewers, but some advertisers are bailing out. Tyson Foods, Lowe's and Kellogg pulled their commercials after criticism from a traditional family values group.
In sports, Major League Baseball on the radio. A deal is in place with XM Satellite Radio that would put almost all of the games on the satellite service. The 11-year deal is slated to begin next season.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Let's head live to Chicago to check in with Bill and Soledad to see what's coming up for them on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
Some of the headlines we're working on this morning, it's day three in Chicago. Today, we are in Union Station. It is, of course, one of the busiest stations in the world. And one of the questions here, as it is around the world, is how to avoid any kind of terror attack? We're looking specifically today about the repeat of the Madrid bombings. Surveillance systems, unlike anything in the world, are now on the horizon here in Chicago. We're going to talk about that this morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And what a great train station it is, too. O'BRIEN: It's beautiful.
HEMMER: We're in the Great Hall. We're going to show you throughout the morning, Carol, just how wonderful the architecture is here and how proud the people of Chicago are to have it, too.
Also, the flu shot shortage. More shots could be on the way. Some say the announcement is political. We'll talk to the head of the CDC to find out what the truth is in this, and if January is too late for that arrival. So we'll get to that.
O'BRIEN: And we are counting down to the election, 13 days to go. Is Senator Kerry now paying the price for his comments about Mary Cheney? And is the president going to privatize social security? We've got a chat with Cambor (ph) and May (ph) this morning. That and much, much more, of course, as we report to you live from Union Station here in Chicago. That's ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
COSTELLO: All right, we look forward to it. We'll see you guys in 10 minutes.
O'BRIEN: We'll see you then.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
From babe magnets to family sedans, we'll take a ride down history lane through the courtesy of Fred's two feet and see who is worthy of TV Land's list of the Top 10 TV cars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: There it is, the powerful Mach 5, which is the best TV Land car. And just who was Racer X anyway? Oh, I digress.
Now back to the task at hand. TV land has picked the Top 10 TV cars of all time from The General Lee to "Starsky & Hutch's" Grand Torino. They are all there.
Tom O'Neil was there, too. He's produced tonight's Top 10 show on TV Land.
I cannot wait to see this.
TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, "IN-TOUCH WEEKLY": This is a hoot. Why do we care so much about our TV cars?
COSTELLO: I don't know.
O'NEIL: But we really do, don't we?
COSTELLO: Yes. We've been asking viewers to send us their favorite TV car, and you cannot believe how many e-mails we've gotten this morning.
O'NEIL: We put up the question at TVLand.com, and we were stormed with responses, I think because these are really undervalued and underrated characters on these shows. KITT had a personality. He actually spoke. That's how much of a character he was.
COSTELLO: That was such a bad show.
O'NEIL: I know. But it was about the car. It wasn't about the show. And what was so great about this is, you know, you can go back to my mother, the car in the 1960s, to talking cars, but KITT actually drove this thing, too.
COSTELLO: Wow! Look at that.
O'NEIL: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: And "Starsky and Hutch," who could forget that? In fact, somebody e-mailed us this morning they loved that car because no matter what happened to it, it always looked showroom new.
O'NEIL: Yes, and a lot of jumping cars all over this special. About half of our Top 10 are vroom-vroom jumping cars.
COSTELLO: So, what are the criteria for getting into the top 10?
O'NEIL: Well, we started with a list at TVLand.com among actual viewers of the network, and then we just started asking everyone in the industry and stars and friends. And actually, there was a consensus that formed, and I can't tell you what No. 1 is. We have to leave that for some suspense.
But the top four cars I will tell you. It includes KITT, The General Lee from "Dukes of Hazzard," The Batmobile.
COSTELLO: Yes, that's good, because a viewer wrote in: "We're a group of students who tune in to your show. While studying for an exam, we voted. We came to the conclusion that The Batmobile is the best car, because it's a chick magnet." Oh!
O'NEIL: Do you know The Batmobile was made for only $15,000.
COSTELLO: It looks like it.
O'NEIL: And its peak speed was 40 miles an hour. They had to fast-forward the film in order to make it look as if it went 120.
COSTELLO: Chad, read another e-mail for Tom.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, the family truckster from the movie, "Vacation," that was in quite a few of our e-mails, although I was thinking the Firebird Formula from "Chips." Remember, Erik Estrada, he had the Firebird Formula? The Firebird actually showed up a couple of times from "The Rockford Files" a couple of other the cars, and the "Ghostbusters" car...
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Really? So they used the same car for other series, Tom?
O'NEIL: No, no, no.
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: In some cases, they went through, I think, 16 cars on some of those -- maybe it was -- was it the "Starsky and Hutch" car? They actually had to go through 16, and they banged them up so much.
O'NEIL: Yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's why they always looked showroom new.
MYERS: And then every once in a while, you see one on the road. You know? You see a Grand Torino with a big...
O'NEIL: Oh, I know, I know. But let's talk about everybody's favorite car among those speedsters, The General Lee.
MYERS: Yes.
O'NEIL: We tried to get to the bottom of the mystery of why did those Duke boys go in and out of those windows when they entered and exited the car?
COSTELLO: Yes, why didn't they open the door?
O'NEIL: I know.
MYERS: Because it was a race car. They weld the doors shut.
O'NEIL: Well, the question is: Did they really weld the doors shut?
MYERS: Oh, no, of course not.
O'NEIL: Now, you will see Matt LeBlanc on our special, because we've got a lot of stars. And by the way, Chad, I know you're a NASCAR lover. We've even got drivers, Kurt Busch...
MYERS: Yes.
O'NEIL: ... Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle here.
MYERS: That's great.
O'NEIL: But you'll hear Matt LeBlanc say he thinks the doors were welded shut, because the car did so much jumping. And others say, no, no, no, those doors could open up, but the boys just had to go through the windows because it was a boy thing to do.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, it could be a safety issue, because is it legal to weld the doors shut on a car when you're using it in a working situation? See, I'm acting like a news person.
O'NEIL: This is TV.
MYERS: See, I'm not sure those were ever on real roads. I don't think The General Lee really got on roads.
What about, like, movies? And we were talking about the big black Trans Am from "Smokey and the Bandit." Was that eligible?
O'NEIL: No, this is all TV cars. So we had to stick to the beloved ones on television.
COSTELLO: Yes, TV cars, Chad.
MYERS: Oh, it is TV Land.
O'NEIL: TV. But here's a fun one. Here is one of the things I'll bet nobody noticed until we noticed it when we did this special. The car in "The Flintstones," did you ever notice that when Fred and Barney were in that car, it was a two-seater, but when Wilma and Betty and the kids, it's a four-seater? They pulled a fast one on us!
MYERS: Oh, it's a convertible.
O'NEIL: Yes.
COSTELLO: You're right. I never noticed that.
MYERS: And where are the seat belts?
O'NEIL: Isn't this a scandal? How come we weren't aware of this before?
COSTELLO: You know what else? It took me the longest time when "The Flintstones" song would say, you know, the line, powered by Fred's feet?
O'NEIL: Yes.
COSTELLO: For the longest time I could not figure out what that line meant as a child.
O'NEIL: Imagine how dirty Fred's feet were, too. And what was Bedrock? All downhill, you know? That was a gravity-defying car.
COSTELLO: So, Tom, your special is going to air on TV Land at what time? All different times?
O'NEIL: Well, yes, because it's cable. You know how they love to rerun these shoes. It debuts tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It airs again tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: Well, we look forward to seeing it. Tom O'Neil, many thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
O'NEIL: Thanks.
COSTELLO: What a lot of fun.
MYERS: Well, it's good fun. Rather than talking about the war and all of that, talk about something fun for a while.
COSTELLO: Yes. And it's Wednesday. Why not have fun?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Why not have fun any day actually?
MYERS: We're giving away a mug next.
COSTELLO: That's right. We'll be right back.
MYERS: Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: It's time to give away a coffee mug. We had the questions from yesterday, and there were a couple of good questions; a lot of good answers as well, not all of them right.
Readers of a British newspaper are being encouraged to write to voters where? The answer to that, Ohio. In fact, Clark County, Ohio. And according to the Zagat Survey, what is the average price per person for a dinner in New York? $37.45, that's the average.
Terri Rierson from Spirit Lake, Iowa, where I've actually been.
COSTELLO: Oh, congratulations, Terri.
"AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
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Aired October 20, 2004 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In Baghdad this morning, Margaret Hassan was on her way to work when gunmen blocked the road and took her captive. Her abductors have yet to make any demand. Hassan runs CARE International's operations in Iraq.
And as CNN Karl Penhaul reports, her kidnapping comes at a pivotal time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Snatched by kidnappers and captured on camera. Just hours after aid worker Margaret Hassan was taken hostage, this proof of life was passed to Arabic-language broadcaster Al-Jazeera.
Hassan is director of CARE International's operations in Iraq. She is a dual British-Iraq citizen, who has lived and breathed aid work in the country for half her life. So far, no clues about the kidnappers' identities, no explanation why, no demands.
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We'll do whatever we can, obviously. This is someone who has actually lived in Iraq for 30 years. This is someone who is immensely respected, married to an Iraqi, someone who is doing her level best to help the country. And I think it shows you the type of people we are up against, that they were prepared to kidnap somebody like this.
PENHAUL: Hassan's kidnapping comes as Blair considers a conversational order to redeploy British troops to more volatile areas near Baghdad. That could free up more U.S. Marines for a possible assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.
Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And Karl did tell us earlier that CARE International has now suspended its operations in Iraq.
Iraq is the main issue on the campaign trail, but one of George Bush's biggest supporters says the president made a mistake. Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson says he warned the president that Iraq would be a disaster.
Robertson recounted their conversation pre-war with CNN's Paula Zahn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT ROBERTSON, FOUNDER, CHRISTIAN COALITION: He was the most self-assured man I ever met in my whole life. You remember, Mark Twain said, he looks like a contented Christian with four aces. I mean, he was just sitting there, like, I'm on top of the world.
And I warned him about this war. I had deep misgivings about this war. Deep misgivings. And I was trying to say, Mr. President, you'd better prepare the American people for casualties. Oh, no, we're not going to have any casualties. Well, I said, it's the way it's going to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Robertson says he understands that the president can't admit to making any mistakes because his political opponents would make a big deal out of it.
George Bush and John Kerry are hitting the road again today and hitting on different topics. Bush's focus will be on the economy. He's heading from Washington to the upper Midwest, making stops in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. As for Kerry, the war on terror is topping his agenda. He is giving a speech in Iowa before he heads on to Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Of course, the candidates are getting plenty of support from their wives. Laura Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry have been hitting the talk show circuit. The first lady paid a visit to "Regis and Kelly," while Kerry's wife appeared on "The View." And they talked about everything from pancakes to playing the supporting role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATE: All of those events that you go to where you're pancake flipping or whatever, you don't really eat. In fact, I'm looking forward to going to an event where I actually get to sit down and eat.
TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SEN. JOHN KERRY: I think a first lady, or a first man eventually, I hope, first gentleman, would be, first and foremost, to support their spouse in the sense that person who is the president is under tremendous pressure, tremendous scrutiny, sometimes a lot of stress, and sometimes also a lot of flattery, in which case the spouse has to pop the balloon a little bit and keep him just humble enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So the attack of the potential first ladies continues. We call it that, because that's what it's become in this charged political season.
Chuck Todd from "The National Journal's" "Hotline" live in D.C. this morning to talk more about the first lady, first ladies, or potential -- I guess one is a first lady and one is a potential first lady and one is a potential second first lady. CHUCK TODD, EDITOR, "THE HOTLINE": Yes, I guess so.
COSTELLO: Chuck, these touchy-feely...
TODD: Someday we're all going to have to call them spouses, first spouse, second spouse, right?
COSTELLO: I know. When will that day come, I wonder? But anyway, back to the topic at hand, these touchy-feely appearances by the women behind the men, do they really resonate with voters?
TODD: Do they resonate? Probably not as much as we might think they do, but they do matter a little bit, because of who is watching those programs. I mean, look, the No. 1 swing voting group, if you had to break it down by demographic and you sliced up the entire electorate, most pollsters would tell you the No. 1 swing voter group is married white women between the ages of 35 and 55. And that's who watches these shows, "The View," and these are folks -- these are women with children.
And so if you want to figure out how to reach them, they're busy, you know, they don't necessarily have time in the mornings or in the evenings, but sometimes can hit them and talk to these folks in those mid-morning shows or those noon shows.
COSTELLO: Interesting. You know, I have noticed that the -- I guess the gentle Laura Bush, because she seems like such a very nice woman, she has sort of stepped up in her rhetoric a little bit, while Teresa Heinz Kerry, who is a little more feisty, has really toned it down. Tell us more about that strategy.
TODD: Well, I think it's -- well, first of all, Laura Bush is enormously popular. I had one pollster say that, you know, she's maybe the most popular first lady since Lady Bird Johnson, who just -- it cuts across party lines. Everybody -- nobody has a bad thing to say about her.
And the Bush campaign has always been comfortable using their political capital. And so she's got favorable ratings in the 70s, so they figure it's not a big deal if she loses a few rating points with some Democrats if you can get her to go on the attack a little bit, because Democrats would be afraid to attack that.
Meanwhile, on Mrs. Kerry, her favorable -- I mean, she's a very polarizing person. People either love her or hate her. There is no in between with her. And the Kerry campaign knows it, and so they've been actually putting her in states that are either already in the bag for them or they may not win. And...
COSTELLO: See, that's interesting what you say about Teresa Heinz Kerry, because I remember back when Clinton was running, and Hillary Clinton was also a very polarizing figure. But that really didn't matter when it came to election time. Will it be different with Teresa Heinz Kerry?
TODD: Oh, I don't think it matters as far as a voter's concern, but it does matter in this. And, look, in these final days, when you need as many surrogates campaigning in as many states as you possibly can to fire up the troops, you know, Laura Bush is basically 10 times bigger of an asset than Mrs. Kerry. And that's really what this comes down to.
Is it going to matter to somebody, to some undecided voter? No. But it does matter in how you can use her to help fire up the troops. And she's just not the best campaigner.
COSTELLO: Chuck Todd from "The National Journal's" "Hotline" live for us in D.C. this morning. Thank you, Chuck.
TODD: You got it. Thanks.
COSTELLO: Coming up, you know it's a rivalry with a big one on the line when riot police line the field. We're talking about the play that kicked this Red Sox-Yankees game into high drama. What a game!
And those memorable machines from days gone by. We're talking jalopies and hot rods from TV's yesteryear. What's the most popular vehicle on a TV show, you ask? We're going to tell you.
But first, here's a look at what's making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's time to take a quick look at the international markets now. Tokyo's Nikkei down more than 182 points, the London FTSE down 33, the Paris CAC down just under 30 points.
Time to talk baseball. Oh, the Red Sox-Yankees series has been as good as advertised; in the end, that is. Exciting games, at least some of them, the last couple, plenty of comebacks and, oh, some great stories.
Take a look at the front page of the "New York Post." The Yankees certainly could use the Babe or even his ghost to show up once again. They say he still he rattles around the Yankee Stadium.
Our sports contributor, Chris Cotter, is here to take a look at this bizarre game last night.
CHRIS COTTER, CNN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: What a game!
COTTER: I love it. And I love the fact that people in New York now are nervous. I didn't think fans would be that nervous, you know, coming back to New York for two games, six and seven. All right, so Boston won a couple of games up there to bring it back to, as you said, the house that Babe built. No reason to worry. These are the Red Sox. We always beat the Red Sox.
The Red Sox come back and win. Here, you see the celebration. Now it's three in a row. And now you start to think, well, yes, but no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit. Well, I'll tell you this: No team has ever come back to even force a game seven from a 3- 0 deficit, and only three teams had ever come back to even force a game six.
COSTELLO: And what dramatic fashion. Curt Schilling is pitching. His ankle is bleeding because he has a problem with a tendon in his ankle.
COTTER: Right...
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: And he does a great job. The old Curt Schilling was back.
COTTER: Yes, he was unbelievable last night, Curt Schilling. He goes seven innings. And they were hoping to get maybe five innings from him, because their bullpen was all worn out. He goes seven, and he gives them a lift because you could bring in Arroyo then in the eighth inning. He did a wonderful job, and Keith Foulke to come in and close it out.
Boston has all of the momentum now, but it's still the Yankees. It's like the ripe -- the universe is still ripe right now. The Yankees are supposed to beat Boston. They're supposed to beat them in seven. I think a lot of Yankee fans are actually still confident they'll win. They almost revel in the fact that...
COSTELLO: Well, I don't know.
COTTER: They're almost reveling in the fact that Boston now feels they can win.
COSTELLO: Well, before we go on with that line of thought, let's take a look at the controversial play of the game.
COTTER: OK.
COSTELLO: The bottom of the eighth inning, Arroyo is pitching. There was a little grounder thing from A-Rod.
COTTER: Yes, a little number down the right side.
COSTELLO: And take a look at what happens in this video. Chris, take it away.
COTTER: You have Bronson Arroyo there, the pitcher, delivers to A-Rod. A little number down the right side.
Now, Arroyo goes to tag him out, and A-Rod punches the ball out of his glove. You'll see it there. That's an illegal move. You can't do that in baseball. You can't have any action that would obstruct a play in terms of knocking a ball out of a player's hands or purposely knocking it out of the glove. If he would have just run into him and the ball would have fallen out, then that's legal within the game. But you can't use your hands to purposely swat one out.
COSTELLO: I think we have a still shot of this, too. Why would A-Rod do something like that? It's kind of out of character, isn't it?
COTTER: Well, I don't think it's so bad at all. I think this is just him being competitive, trying to knock a ball out so that's he safe.
COSTELLO: Cheating?
COTTER: I mean, if you get caught, you get caught. If you don't get caught or for some reason the umpires call you safe, as they did initially on this play, hey, then you're right back in the game. It's a completely different ballgame.
COSTELLO: Yes, because Jeter scored.
COTTER: I don't blame him at all for doing it. He's going to be out anyway. So you try anything you can. He didn't punch him in the face. He punched him in the glove. The guy has got a leather glove on. But if he'd of just, you know, taken a right hook right to him there on the first baseline, then I would have said, A-Rod.
COSTELLO: Do you realize that Little Leaguers might be watching you right now, and you're advocating cheating?
COTTER: Go for it, dudes. I mean, as long as you don't punch him in the face...
COSTELLO: Chris Cotter! Chris Cotter!
COTTER: ... do anything you can to win...
COSTELLO: Oh, that's terrible. But...
COTTER: ... almost within the rules of the game.
COSTELLO: But I must say his action caused quite a scene in the Yankee stands.
COTTER: Yes.
COSTELLO: The Yankee fans threw stuff on the field. The riot police had to come down at the end of the game.
COTTER: And not unlike Boston fans a couple of years ago when they did the same thing. They did. You know, this is one of those things where these games have been five hours long. And I'm watching this thing last night thinking, 'Oh, well, this is going swimmingly. We're going to be done here in about two hours and 45 minutes.' Then all of this in the eighth inning with the umpires meeting and the riot police coming down, the fans are throwing baseballs on the field.
I will say this about the umpires. That call that we just saw, they met afterward and talked about it and got it right. Earlier in the game, there was a homerun that they originally called a double. They met and got it right. The umpires had a tough night, a stressful night last night, but in the end they got it right. So I tip my hat to them.
COSTELLO: All right. Well, we'll see what happens with game seven.
COTTER: Oh, yes, this is as good as it gets. It really is.
COSTELLO: Yes, it is. Thanks for coming in, Chris. We appreciate it.
COTTER: You bet.
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:45 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
At least eight people died when a commuter plane crashed in northeast Missouri. Five others are still missing this morning. At least two managed to survive.
In money news, the Social Security Administration announced a 2.7 percent increase in benefits. That's about $25 for benefits-eligible Americans. But many of you won't see that money. You can blame it on higher Medicare premiums.
In culture, ABC's racy "Desperate Housewives" may be a big hit with viewers, but some advertisers are bailing out. Tyson Foods, Lowe's and Kellogg pulled their commercials after criticism from a traditional family values group.
In sports, Major League Baseball on the radio. A deal is in place with XM Satellite Radio that would put almost all of the games on the satellite service. The 11-year deal is slated to begin next season.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Let's head live to Chicago to check in with Bill and Soledad to see what's coming up for them on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
Some of the headlines we're working on this morning, it's day three in Chicago. Today, we are in Union Station. It is, of course, one of the busiest stations in the world. And one of the questions here, as it is around the world, is how to avoid any kind of terror attack? We're looking specifically today about the repeat of the Madrid bombings. Surveillance systems, unlike anything in the world, are now on the horizon here in Chicago. We're going to talk about that this morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And what a great train station it is, too. O'BRIEN: It's beautiful.
HEMMER: We're in the Great Hall. We're going to show you throughout the morning, Carol, just how wonderful the architecture is here and how proud the people of Chicago are to have it, too.
Also, the flu shot shortage. More shots could be on the way. Some say the announcement is political. We'll talk to the head of the CDC to find out what the truth is in this, and if January is too late for that arrival. So we'll get to that.
O'BRIEN: And we are counting down to the election, 13 days to go. Is Senator Kerry now paying the price for his comments about Mary Cheney? And is the president going to privatize social security? We've got a chat with Cambor (ph) and May (ph) this morning. That and much, much more, of course, as we report to you live from Union Station here in Chicago. That's ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
COSTELLO: All right, we look forward to it. We'll see you guys in 10 minutes.
O'BRIEN: We'll see you then.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
From babe magnets to family sedans, we'll take a ride down history lane through the courtesy of Fred's two feet and see who is worthy of TV Land's list of the Top 10 TV cars.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: There it is, the powerful Mach 5, which is the best TV Land car. And just who was Racer X anyway? Oh, I digress.
Now back to the task at hand. TV land has picked the Top 10 TV cars of all time from The General Lee to "Starsky & Hutch's" Grand Torino. They are all there.
Tom O'Neil was there, too. He's produced tonight's Top 10 show on TV Land.
I cannot wait to see this.
TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, "IN-TOUCH WEEKLY": This is a hoot. Why do we care so much about our TV cars?
COSTELLO: I don't know.
O'NEIL: But we really do, don't we?
COSTELLO: Yes. We've been asking viewers to send us their favorite TV car, and you cannot believe how many e-mails we've gotten this morning.
O'NEIL: We put up the question at TVLand.com, and we were stormed with responses, I think because these are really undervalued and underrated characters on these shows. KITT had a personality. He actually spoke. That's how much of a character he was.
COSTELLO: That was such a bad show.
O'NEIL: I know. But it was about the car. It wasn't about the show. And what was so great about this is, you know, you can go back to my mother, the car in the 1960s, to talking cars, but KITT actually drove this thing, too.
COSTELLO: Wow! Look at that.
O'NEIL: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: And "Starsky and Hutch," who could forget that? In fact, somebody e-mailed us this morning they loved that car because no matter what happened to it, it always looked showroom new.
O'NEIL: Yes, and a lot of jumping cars all over this special. About half of our Top 10 are vroom-vroom jumping cars.
COSTELLO: So, what are the criteria for getting into the top 10?
O'NEIL: Well, we started with a list at TVLand.com among actual viewers of the network, and then we just started asking everyone in the industry and stars and friends. And actually, there was a consensus that formed, and I can't tell you what No. 1 is. We have to leave that for some suspense.
But the top four cars I will tell you. It includes KITT, The General Lee from "Dukes of Hazzard," The Batmobile.
COSTELLO: Yes, that's good, because a viewer wrote in: "We're a group of students who tune in to your show. While studying for an exam, we voted. We came to the conclusion that The Batmobile is the best car, because it's a chick magnet." Oh!
O'NEIL: Do you know The Batmobile was made for only $15,000.
COSTELLO: It looks like it.
O'NEIL: And its peak speed was 40 miles an hour. They had to fast-forward the film in order to make it look as if it went 120.
COSTELLO: Chad, read another e-mail for Tom.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, the family truckster from the movie, "Vacation," that was in quite a few of our e-mails, although I was thinking the Firebird Formula from "Chips." Remember, Erik Estrada, he had the Firebird Formula? The Firebird actually showed up a couple of times from "The Rockford Files" a couple of other the cars, and the "Ghostbusters" car...
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Really? So they used the same car for other series, Tom?
O'NEIL: No, no, no.
COSTELLO: No.
MYERS: In some cases, they went through, I think, 16 cars on some of those -- maybe it was -- was it the "Starsky and Hutch" car? They actually had to go through 16, and they banged them up so much.
O'NEIL: Yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's why they always looked showroom new.
MYERS: And then every once in a while, you see one on the road. You know? You see a Grand Torino with a big...
O'NEIL: Oh, I know, I know. But let's talk about everybody's favorite car among those speedsters, The General Lee.
MYERS: Yes.
O'NEIL: We tried to get to the bottom of the mystery of why did those Duke boys go in and out of those windows when they entered and exited the car?
COSTELLO: Yes, why didn't they open the door?
O'NEIL: I know.
MYERS: Because it was a race car. They weld the doors shut.
O'NEIL: Well, the question is: Did they really weld the doors shut?
MYERS: Oh, no, of course not.
O'NEIL: Now, you will see Matt LeBlanc on our special, because we've got a lot of stars. And by the way, Chad, I know you're a NASCAR lover. We've even got drivers, Kurt Busch...
MYERS: Yes.
O'NEIL: ... Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle here.
MYERS: That's great.
O'NEIL: But you'll hear Matt LeBlanc say he thinks the doors were welded shut, because the car did so much jumping. And others say, no, no, no, those doors could open up, but the boys just had to go through the windows because it was a boy thing to do.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, it could be a safety issue, because is it legal to weld the doors shut on a car when you're using it in a working situation? See, I'm acting like a news person.
O'NEIL: This is TV.
MYERS: See, I'm not sure those were ever on real roads. I don't think The General Lee really got on roads.
What about, like, movies? And we were talking about the big black Trans Am from "Smokey and the Bandit." Was that eligible?
O'NEIL: No, this is all TV cars. So we had to stick to the beloved ones on television.
COSTELLO: Yes, TV cars, Chad.
MYERS: Oh, it is TV Land.
O'NEIL: TV. But here's a fun one. Here is one of the things I'll bet nobody noticed until we noticed it when we did this special. The car in "The Flintstones," did you ever notice that when Fred and Barney were in that car, it was a two-seater, but when Wilma and Betty and the kids, it's a four-seater? They pulled a fast one on us!
MYERS: Oh, it's a convertible.
O'NEIL: Yes.
COSTELLO: You're right. I never noticed that.
MYERS: And where are the seat belts?
O'NEIL: Isn't this a scandal? How come we weren't aware of this before?
COSTELLO: You know what else? It took me the longest time when "The Flintstones" song would say, you know, the line, powered by Fred's feet?
O'NEIL: Yes.
COSTELLO: For the longest time I could not figure out what that line meant as a child.
O'NEIL: Imagine how dirty Fred's feet were, too. And what was Bedrock? All downhill, you know? That was a gravity-defying car.
COSTELLO: So, Tom, your special is going to air on TV Land at what time? All different times?
O'NEIL: Well, yes, because it's cable. You know how they love to rerun these shoes. It debuts tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. It airs again tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: Well, we look forward to seeing it. Tom O'Neil, many thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
O'NEIL: Thanks.
COSTELLO: What a lot of fun.
MYERS: Well, it's good fun. Rather than talking about the war and all of that, talk about something fun for a while.
COSTELLO: Yes. And it's Wednesday. Why not have fun?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Why not have fun any day actually?
MYERS: We're giving away a mug next.
COSTELLO: That's right. We'll be right back.
MYERS: Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: It's time to give away a coffee mug. We had the questions from yesterday, and there were a couple of good questions; a lot of good answers as well, not all of them right.
Readers of a British newspaper are being encouraged to write to voters where? The answer to that, Ohio. In fact, Clark County, Ohio. And according to the Zagat Survey, what is the average price per person for a dinner in New York? $37.45, that's the average.
Terri Rierson from Spirit Lake, Iowa, where I've actually been.
COSTELLO: Oh, congratulations, Terri.
"AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
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