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American Morning

President Bush heads to the upper Midwest for campaigning; 'Deep Dish Politics;

Aired October 20, 2004 - 08:33   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: And good morning, and welcome back, everybody. We're reporting to you live this morning from Union State Station here in Chicago, where they have the capacity to handle some 700 trains a day. And you've seen pictures of that 112-foot high vaulted glass skylight that is just above us. Of course, Chicago, the architecture, Jack was just talking about, also famous in lots of movies. We've got some shots from "The Untouchables." You remember that scenes with the baby carriage, here it is, Union Station, and then of course the giant staircase.
You remember the scene with the baby carriage, woman struggling, shootout.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Sure do, yes, 1987, right around the corner.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. We've running up and down that staircase all morning.

HEMMER: Yes, day is starting to break here, commuter traffic picking up as well.

A bit past 7:30 local time in Chicago, as our tour continues this week.

What's coming up in the next 30 minutes?

O'BRIEN: Well, we've got some Chicago flavor in our political coverage this morning. We get the local media's take on the election. We call it deep dish politics. We're going to talk this morning about early voting and whether it could lead to abuses.

Also, we'll talk about how Senator Kerry's side is bringing 9/11 into the campaign.

HEMMER: And we mentioned Union Station here. In a moment, what is it that makes the landmark so special for Chicago? Historical perspective on this structure with one of the folks from Amtrak and the real insiders here at Union Station. Two huge columns behind us. In one column, a woman is holding a rooster. In another column, she's holding an owl, and we're not quite sure why. But we're going to search for an answer and give it to you in about 10 minutes, too.

O'BRIEN: All right, before we get to that, though, we're going to get a look at the headlines this morning. Heidi Collins has got that for us. Hey, Heidi, good morning again.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Soledad.

That shot that you just showed from the movie "The Untouchables" was in Montana. I worked as a horse wrangler. Our boss was the sailor who was shot and fell down the stairs. He was a stunt man in L.A. His name was Rusty. A couple other buddies that I wrangled with were actually Canadian Mounties that were along the Canadian border that you saw in that movie. So got to love that.

Want to get to the news now, though, this morning.

U.S. Marines say they destroyed a command-and-control post in the Iraqi city of Falluja. American troops say it's part of an ongoing airstrike operation in the area targeting members of the Zarqawi network.

And awaiting word of humanitarian aid worker Margaret Hassan. CARE International says it is suspending its humanitarian work in Iraq as a result of the kidnapping.

New findings about the collapse of the World Trade Center. The Commerce Department has released a report detailing what happened to the structure of the Twin Towers during the terrorist attack, including how the fire spread and literally melted the buildings. The final copy of the report will be released to the public by January.

And in California, officials working this morning to see if personal information was compromised after a hacker broke into a University of California Berkeley computer system. The person may have accessed names and Social Security numbers of about 1.4 million Californians. Officials say it is the worst attack of its kind at the school.

Let's send it back now to Bill once again and Union Station.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi, thanks, back indoors here.

Want to talk about election 2004, 13 days away now. President Bush heads to the upper Midwest for campaigning. The president departed the White House a few moments ago. First stop today is Iowa, then on to Minnesota and the state of Wisconsin.

And Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House now this morning.

Good morning there, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, those are all states that he narrowly lost to Gore four years ago by just several thousand votes.

Now, yesterday, President Bush was in the state, of course, that sealed his victory by 537 votes, the state of Florida. His 31st visit there. It was a day that both of the candidates were accusing the other of using a new and different dirtier campaign strategy, using scare tactics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to carry Florida and win a great victory on November 2nd.

MALVEAUX: President Bush, on a three-stop bus tour, barnstormed through the all-important state of Florida, relentless in his attacks.

BUSH: The senator is relying on a litany of complaints, and old- style scare tactics.

MALVEAUX: With just days, not week, now until the election, the president is playing both offense and defense. While he continues to hit senator John Kerry on what he calls inconsistencies on Iraq and weakness on terror, the president is now also responding to Kerry's charges on issues that seem to be resonating with voters.

The growing debate over who is responsible for the shortage of flu vaccine. The president ignored a reporters question at a local restaurant whether he bore the burden, but at a rally in St. Petersburg, he defended his administration's handling of the crisis.

BUSH: I know there are some here worried about the flu season. I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots.

MALVEAUX: Another critical issue for seniors, an important voting bloc, the future of Social Security. Kerry said the Bush administration is planning to privatize the program.

BUSH: I will do what I said I will do -- we will keep the promise of Social Security for all our seniors.

MALVEAUX: Important among the young voters, the worry of a wartime draft.

BUSH: We will not have a draft. We'll keep the all-volunteer army. With your help on November 2nd, the people of America will reject the politics of fear and vote for an agenda of hope and opportunity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Bill, the Bush campaign sent out an urgent e-mail to its supporters, imploring each one of them to bring two voters to the polls. We expect President Bush will talk about his economic plan today, specifically how it will benefit those in rural areas of the Midwest -- Bill.

HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks, 13 days and counting at the White House this morning -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks.

We are talking politics this morning. We call it deep dish politics in honor of our visit here to Chicago. We are back with our panel this morning. We've got Jim Warren. He is with the "Chicago Tribune." Debra Pickett is with the "Chicago Sun-Times," and Teri O'Brien, my cuz Teri, is with WLS Radio.

Let's get right to it. We've been talking about problems reported in the early voting that's gone on. Across country, some limited problems, but of course, Chicago, and Illinois overall, there were some major problems in the 2000 election. What are the concerns this time around? Jim, why don't you start with that.

JIM WARREN, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": First of, Soledad, it's great to look up and know that the 8:25 Amtrak to Kansas City is on time, so thanks for bringing us here.

O'BRIEN: Sure, glad to help.

WARREN: In the year 2000, everybody focused on Florida, but in fact, the greatest number of irregularities, the biggest overcount, about 125,000 votes, was right here, mostly in the city of Chicago, and had to do part mechanical, part human failings.

I think the problems we now see are going to be repeated. The problems that one saw there are going to be repeated, largely because of an antiquated punch card system, which is mostly used in Chicago. About 30 million Americans are going to use the punch card system. And in a state like Ohio, which all the political pundits say is critical, three out of four voters will use the punch card system. So even though we now have this new mishmash, a lot of new electronics, we have touchscreens, we just haven't figured out any uniformity yet.

O'BRIEN: It does seem odd, Debra, to have the juxtaposition between some of the highest technology in this election, and also, I mean, back to the hanging chads and the punch cards. They haven't changed that?

DEBRA PICKETT, "CHICAGO-SUN TIMES": Absolutely, and here in Cook County, the county government has just started shopping for a new system. So reform is still a good ways ago.

O'BRIEN: Probably won't make it before this election.

PICKETT: Yes, probably not, even for last minute shoppers, that's a little tight.

O'BRIEN: Teri, let's talk a little bit about some of the political ads that we've seen. We've seen two -- I've seen two. One, the Democrats are pushing the Christian Breitweiser ad. She, of course, lost her husband -- right, and she lost her husband in 9/11, and she talked about how she voted for the president and how disappointed she has been with what's gone with the 9/11 Commission.

Then you have a teenage girl who's lost her mom in 9/11, and that's a focus for the Republicans, obviously, and she talks about her feelings about the election and upcoming. So what do you think is the prospect of both of these ads really grabbing people's hearts and minds, maybe hearts more than anything, and swaying voters? TERI O'BRIEN, WLS RADIO: The Ashley ad is by a 527. It's not an official ad. It's very difficult to watch that ad without welling up in tears. I was uncomfortable with that at first. But now, I think it's probably a good thing, because a lot of people still seem to have a September 10th mentality. We need something to get rid of that.

Now the Breitweiser ad, and please, don't think I begrudge her solace that she gets from doing the work she's done, but it contains an absolute lie in the add. She says we're not safer, that as we found out from the 9/11 Commission, when in the report says exactly the safer, that we safer, but we are not safer. So she misstates...

O'BRIEN: That's a little splitting hairs.

Do you think these ads, though, Jim, at the end of the day, do they make a difference?

WARREN: I think they could in one or two locales, but there's also the nation saturation and people being overdosed.

O'BRIEN: We're close to the end here.

WARREN: And also in a world of TiVo and clickers people, you know, moving right on to another channel and taking a look.

In a few places which are real close, it's possible that some votes are switched, but it also could be ads in places like Florida, which touch upon sensitive subjects like the flu vaccine and claims that the president wants to privatize Social Security. But by and large, even though we in the media tend to be obsessed with ads and there supposed potency, I think Americans, particularly with TiVo and with clickers, are getting a lot smarter and are just saying, OK, enough, and obviously, as we know, so many folks have already made up their mind seemingly.

O'BRIEN: Jim Warren, and Debra Pickett and Teri O'Brien, nice to see you guys again.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.

Let's get a break here. In a moment, one of the new shows on TV is a hit. Why are advertisers then dropping it like a hot potato. Andy explains in a moment, "Minding Your Business," and the rich history of Union Station. Al Capone once roamed its halls. Today, the station only half the building it used to be, and we mean that literally. We'll explain in a moment as we continue live in Union Station after this, on the road with AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: You are looking at a beautiful live picture of the Shedded (ph) Aquarium along Lake Michigan. Our Chicago visit next will take us to the Field Museum, which is right around there. We are going to meet Sue, the largest and most complete T-Rex ever discovered. We're also going to take a look at the multimillion- dollar O'Hare expansion project, plus actor Jim Belushi, a Chicago native, will stop by to make sure that we hit all the city's hotspots. I know that Bill and Jack certainly have. All that and much, much more. That's tomorrow in the Windy City -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.

Union Station, what a great place this is. Want to talk a little bit more about it right now as promised with an Amtrak spokesperson here. Marc Magliari is my guest now.

Good morning, Marc. Nice to see you here. What a great hall, huh?

MARC MAGLIARI, AMTRAK SPOKESMAN: Glad you're here on behalf of our 19,000 employees and 25 million passengers.

HEMMER: Well, thank you for the invitation here. I want to talk a little more about Union Station, but unfortunately there is a real tough afterthought we consider today in Madrid, Spain, going back to March 11th with the attacks there. Some surveillance videotape has been released that literally shows the explosion, and it is quite graphic, and one can only imagine the events of that day based on this videotape. As we reflect on Madrid, what can you say today to passengers on Amtrak about the way security has changed for your company?

MAGLIARI: Well, it's a very different world now than it was before 9/11, and certainly since Madrid, and our passengers will notice some of the differences. I think you've shown some of the tape earlier. There's a much more visible police presence at our stations. And you'll see things that are going on to make things safer, and there's some things you probably won't see. But we're working with federal officials and local police agencies to make travel as safe as it can be.

HEMMER: Well, let's talk about the great hall. I'm looking up here. I see a woman holding an owl and a woman holding a rooster over here. I'm not quite sure what they mean. Explain.

MAGLIARI: Before 24/7 was the term, railroads were always 24/7, and those two statues represent day and night. That's why one's holding an owl for night and a rooster for day.

HEMMER: Well, if there were three main stations here about early '70s, I think. Dearborn Station was taken down. Another station known as Central Station was taken down. Do you see a day where Union Station meets the same fate?

MAGLIARI: No, never. We are the steward of the station. Amtrak owns it, and we have no intention of doing anything but develop the station further. Right now we have as many trains coming in and out of the station as we did during World War II, about 300 trains a day.

HEMMER: What do you think is so special about this location? I mean, I can walk in and see a number of things, but you're here almost every day.

MAGLIARI: You see tourists every day going to "The Untouchables" stairs you showed a few moments ago. People from around the country go and take pictures of that stairway. People come into this room and remember how great stations used to be in communities, while stations were their primary front doors. The problems was stations were privately owned by the freight railroads, and they were paying property taxes on them. So there was incentive for those freight railroads, unfortunately, to tear them down. We've owned this station now in total since the '80s. And we have no plans to do anything but make it even better. That was why we spent so much money in '91, to make it as pretty as it is.

HEMMER: Where did you get these wooden benches? These things are giants?

MAGLIARI: These are original to the station, and they move around a lot, because this room is used for wedding receptions and all sorts of big events. So sometimes they're here, and sometimes they are not.

HEMMER: Great place to come to work. Marc Magliari, thank you very much, with Amtrak.

MAGLIARI: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: Back over to Soledad now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks. Still to come this morning, one of ABC's new TV shows is scoring big ratings, so why do some advertisers want absolutely nothing to do with it? Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back. AMERICAN MORNING coming to you from Chicago, Illinois.

Andy Serwer here "Minding Your Business." Markets taking it on the chin yesterday, because of the insurance company problems, among other things. Now we've got a TV show that may be in some trouble over there on ABC. You've got it all.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I got it all. Let's talk about the markets, first of all, Jack. Yesterday, stocks were down, as you mentioned, even with a couple blue chips, like IBM and Motorola going up, oil going down, insurance scandal really taking its toll. "Spitzerities," they're calling it on Wall Street, as he continues his investigation. That's the New York State attorney general. Futures down this morning, though, as the price of oil goes back up, and so we go.

I want to do a couple TV stories here this morning. First of all, this show is racy, it's steamy, and it is a hit. I'm talking about ABC's "Desperate Housewives." And really it's all about MILVs, isn't it. That's moms I'd like to view, Jack, mom's I'd like Interesting stuff there.

CAFFERTY: You just love playing with hand grenades, don't you?

SERWER: Yes, there you go. The American Family Association, this is a self-proclaimed watchdog group, is pressuring advertisers like Tyson Foods and Lowe's, and they have pulled ads from the show.

Now what happens here usually, though, Jack, is when something like this happens, the ratings go up because of the controversy, and then the advertisers come in, exactly. "Married With Children," case in point.

Another little TV story here is a little gizmo called TV Be Gone. This is a new little clicker invented by an inventor named Mitch Altman, and it's a universal remote on a key chain. This guy is going to give you these things. You walk by a TV, and you can just can zap it. What the heck is the use of this thing?

CAFFERTY: And we don't want those widely circulated. I mean, we don't want anyone turning this program off.

SERWER: No, and this guy Mitch Altman says he hasn't own a TV since 1980. Let me tell you something, Mitch, you've been missing a lot of stuff, OK?

CAFFERTY: Yes, doesn't know what he's missing.

SERWER: "Desperate Housewives," AMERICAN MORNING, all kinds of great stuff.

CAFFERTY: There you go. That's right. Don't be using that remote thing to turn your TV off. Andy will come to your house...

SERWER: I'll get you.

CAFFERTY: ... and discuss it with you.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Thanks, Andy.

All right, it's Wednesday, means we're talking about things people say, and today it's a special edition of things people say, devoted entirely to Chicago, beginning with this: "Based on the weather of the last couple of days, Chicago is an October sort of city, even in spring." That was Nelson Algren, who works for "Newsweek" magazine.

Richard Jeni, a comic, says, "I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, gee, I'm enjoying the crime and poverty, but it's just not cold enough. Why don't we go West?"

"The Blues Brothers": "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it." H.L. Lincoln: "I give you Chicago. It's not London and Harvard. It's not Paris and Buttermilk. It's American in every chitterling and spare rib. It's alive, from snout to tail."

"I don't have any great love for Chicago. What the hell, a childhood around Douglas Park isn't very memorable. I remember the streetfights, how you were afraid to cross the bridge because the Irish kid on the other side would beat your head in. I left Chicago a long time ago." That's the King of Swing, Benny Goodman. He said that in 1976.

And one of my very favorites, in fact, I used to sign my radio shows off with this back in Reno, Nevada when I was a mere lad: "You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun." Al Capone. And we'll have more from Al in the next. We're going to do a couple of these. We've got another set of them coming up a little bit later.

Back to guys.

O'BRIEN: Why is it not surprising that Jack signed off that way at all?

HEMMER: Because he's a wee lad.

CAFFERTY: Just seemed like an appropriate little piece of philosophy.

HEMMER: Well done.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.

Still to come this morning, lots of pundits like to make predictions about the presidential race, but our own Jeff Greenfield says that when it comes to 2004, the crystal ball is cracked. We're going to take a look at that as AMERICAN MORNING rolls on from Chicago.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired October 20, 2004 - 08:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, and welcome back, everybody. We're reporting to you live this morning from Union State Station here in Chicago, where they have the capacity to handle some 700 trains a day. And you've seen pictures of that 112-foot high vaulted glass skylight that is just above us. Of course, Chicago, the architecture, Jack was just talking about, also famous in lots of movies. We've got some shots from "The Untouchables." You remember that scenes with the baby carriage, here it is, Union Station, and then of course the giant staircase.
You remember the scene with the baby carriage, woman struggling, shootout.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Sure do, yes, 1987, right around the corner.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. We've running up and down that staircase all morning.

HEMMER: Yes, day is starting to break here, commuter traffic picking up as well.

A bit past 7:30 local time in Chicago, as our tour continues this week.

What's coming up in the next 30 minutes?

O'BRIEN: Well, we've got some Chicago flavor in our political coverage this morning. We get the local media's take on the election. We call it deep dish politics. We're going to talk this morning about early voting and whether it could lead to abuses.

Also, we'll talk about how Senator Kerry's side is bringing 9/11 into the campaign.

HEMMER: And we mentioned Union Station here. In a moment, what is it that makes the landmark so special for Chicago? Historical perspective on this structure with one of the folks from Amtrak and the real insiders here at Union Station. Two huge columns behind us. In one column, a woman is holding a rooster. In another column, she's holding an owl, and we're not quite sure why. But we're going to search for an answer and give it to you in about 10 minutes, too.

O'BRIEN: All right, before we get to that, though, we're going to get a look at the headlines this morning. Heidi Collins has got that for us. Hey, Heidi, good morning again.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Soledad.

That shot that you just showed from the movie "The Untouchables" was in Montana. I worked as a horse wrangler. Our boss was the sailor who was shot and fell down the stairs. He was a stunt man in L.A. His name was Rusty. A couple other buddies that I wrangled with were actually Canadian Mounties that were along the Canadian border that you saw in that movie. So got to love that.

Want to get to the news now, though, this morning.

U.S. Marines say they destroyed a command-and-control post in the Iraqi city of Falluja. American troops say it's part of an ongoing airstrike operation in the area targeting members of the Zarqawi network.

And awaiting word of humanitarian aid worker Margaret Hassan. CARE International says it is suspending its humanitarian work in Iraq as a result of the kidnapping.

New findings about the collapse of the World Trade Center. The Commerce Department has released a report detailing what happened to the structure of the Twin Towers during the terrorist attack, including how the fire spread and literally melted the buildings. The final copy of the report will be released to the public by January.

And in California, officials working this morning to see if personal information was compromised after a hacker broke into a University of California Berkeley computer system. The person may have accessed names and Social Security numbers of about 1.4 million Californians. Officials say it is the worst attack of its kind at the school.

Let's send it back now to Bill once again and Union Station.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi, thanks, back indoors here.

Want to talk about election 2004, 13 days away now. President Bush heads to the upper Midwest for campaigning. The president departed the White House a few moments ago. First stop today is Iowa, then on to Minnesota and the state of Wisconsin.

And Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House now this morning.

Good morning there, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, those are all states that he narrowly lost to Gore four years ago by just several thousand votes.

Now, yesterday, President Bush was in the state, of course, that sealed his victory by 537 votes, the state of Florida. His 31st visit there. It was a day that both of the candidates were accusing the other of using a new and different dirtier campaign strategy, using scare tactics.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to carry Florida and win a great victory on November 2nd.

MALVEAUX: President Bush, on a three-stop bus tour, barnstormed through the all-important state of Florida, relentless in his attacks.

BUSH: The senator is relying on a litany of complaints, and old- style scare tactics.

MALVEAUX: With just days, not week, now until the election, the president is playing both offense and defense. While he continues to hit senator John Kerry on what he calls inconsistencies on Iraq and weakness on terror, the president is now also responding to Kerry's charges on issues that seem to be resonating with voters.

The growing debate over who is responsible for the shortage of flu vaccine. The president ignored a reporters question at a local restaurant whether he bore the burden, but at a rally in St. Petersburg, he defended his administration's handling of the crisis.

BUSH: I know there are some here worried about the flu season. I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots.

MALVEAUX: Another critical issue for seniors, an important voting bloc, the future of Social Security. Kerry said the Bush administration is planning to privatize the program.

BUSH: I will do what I said I will do -- we will keep the promise of Social Security for all our seniors.

MALVEAUX: Important among the young voters, the worry of a wartime draft.

BUSH: We will not have a draft. We'll keep the all-volunteer army. With your help on November 2nd, the people of America will reject the politics of fear and vote for an agenda of hope and opportunity.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Bill, the Bush campaign sent out an urgent e-mail to its supporters, imploring each one of them to bring two voters to the polls. We expect President Bush will talk about his economic plan today, specifically how it will benefit those in rural areas of the Midwest -- Bill.

HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks, 13 days and counting at the White House this morning -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks.

We are talking politics this morning. We call it deep dish politics in honor of our visit here to Chicago. We are back with our panel this morning. We've got Jim Warren. He is with the "Chicago Tribune." Debra Pickett is with the "Chicago Sun-Times," and Teri O'Brien, my cuz Teri, is with WLS Radio.

Let's get right to it. We've been talking about problems reported in the early voting that's gone on. Across country, some limited problems, but of course, Chicago, and Illinois overall, there were some major problems in the 2000 election. What are the concerns this time around? Jim, why don't you start with that.

JIM WARREN, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": First of, Soledad, it's great to look up and know that the 8:25 Amtrak to Kansas City is on time, so thanks for bringing us here.

O'BRIEN: Sure, glad to help.

WARREN: In the year 2000, everybody focused on Florida, but in fact, the greatest number of irregularities, the biggest overcount, about 125,000 votes, was right here, mostly in the city of Chicago, and had to do part mechanical, part human failings.

I think the problems we now see are going to be repeated. The problems that one saw there are going to be repeated, largely because of an antiquated punch card system, which is mostly used in Chicago. About 30 million Americans are going to use the punch card system. And in a state like Ohio, which all the political pundits say is critical, three out of four voters will use the punch card system. So even though we now have this new mishmash, a lot of new electronics, we have touchscreens, we just haven't figured out any uniformity yet.

O'BRIEN: It does seem odd, Debra, to have the juxtaposition between some of the highest technology in this election, and also, I mean, back to the hanging chads and the punch cards. They haven't changed that?

DEBRA PICKETT, "CHICAGO-SUN TIMES": Absolutely, and here in Cook County, the county government has just started shopping for a new system. So reform is still a good ways ago.

O'BRIEN: Probably won't make it before this election.

PICKETT: Yes, probably not, even for last minute shoppers, that's a little tight.

O'BRIEN: Teri, let's talk a little bit about some of the political ads that we've seen. We've seen two -- I've seen two. One, the Democrats are pushing the Christian Breitweiser ad. She, of course, lost her husband -- right, and she lost her husband in 9/11, and she talked about how she voted for the president and how disappointed she has been with what's gone with the 9/11 Commission.

Then you have a teenage girl who's lost her mom in 9/11, and that's a focus for the Republicans, obviously, and she talks about her feelings about the election and upcoming. So what do you think is the prospect of both of these ads really grabbing people's hearts and minds, maybe hearts more than anything, and swaying voters? TERI O'BRIEN, WLS RADIO: The Ashley ad is by a 527. It's not an official ad. It's very difficult to watch that ad without welling up in tears. I was uncomfortable with that at first. But now, I think it's probably a good thing, because a lot of people still seem to have a September 10th mentality. We need something to get rid of that.

Now the Breitweiser ad, and please, don't think I begrudge her solace that she gets from doing the work she's done, but it contains an absolute lie in the add. She says we're not safer, that as we found out from the 9/11 Commission, when in the report says exactly the safer, that we safer, but we are not safer. So she misstates...

O'BRIEN: That's a little splitting hairs.

Do you think these ads, though, Jim, at the end of the day, do they make a difference?

WARREN: I think they could in one or two locales, but there's also the nation saturation and people being overdosed.

O'BRIEN: We're close to the end here.

WARREN: And also in a world of TiVo and clickers people, you know, moving right on to another channel and taking a look.

In a few places which are real close, it's possible that some votes are switched, but it also could be ads in places like Florida, which touch upon sensitive subjects like the flu vaccine and claims that the president wants to privatize Social Security. But by and large, even though we in the media tend to be obsessed with ads and there supposed potency, I think Americans, particularly with TiVo and with clickers, are getting a lot smarter and are just saying, OK, enough, and obviously, as we know, so many folks have already made up their mind seemingly.

O'BRIEN: Jim Warren, and Debra Pickett and Teri O'Brien, nice to see you guys again.

Bill, back to you.

HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.

Let's get a break here. In a moment, one of the new shows on TV is a hit. Why are advertisers then dropping it like a hot potato. Andy explains in a moment, "Minding Your Business," and the rich history of Union Station. Al Capone once roamed its halls. Today, the station only half the building it used to be, and we mean that literally. We'll explain in a moment as we continue live in Union Station after this, on the road with AMERICAN MORNING.

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O'BRIEN: You are looking at a beautiful live picture of the Shedded (ph) Aquarium along Lake Michigan. Our Chicago visit next will take us to the Field Museum, which is right around there. We are going to meet Sue, the largest and most complete T-Rex ever discovered. We're also going to take a look at the multimillion- dollar O'Hare expansion project, plus actor Jim Belushi, a Chicago native, will stop by to make sure that we hit all the city's hotspots. I know that Bill and Jack certainly have. All that and much, much more. That's tomorrow in the Windy City -- Bill.

HEMMER: Soledad, thanks.

Union Station, what a great place this is. Want to talk a little bit more about it right now as promised with an Amtrak spokesperson here. Marc Magliari is my guest now.

Good morning, Marc. Nice to see you here. What a great hall, huh?

MARC MAGLIARI, AMTRAK SPOKESMAN: Glad you're here on behalf of our 19,000 employees and 25 million passengers.

HEMMER: Well, thank you for the invitation here. I want to talk a little more about Union Station, but unfortunately there is a real tough afterthought we consider today in Madrid, Spain, going back to March 11th with the attacks there. Some surveillance videotape has been released that literally shows the explosion, and it is quite graphic, and one can only imagine the events of that day based on this videotape. As we reflect on Madrid, what can you say today to passengers on Amtrak about the way security has changed for your company?

MAGLIARI: Well, it's a very different world now than it was before 9/11, and certainly since Madrid, and our passengers will notice some of the differences. I think you've shown some of the tape earlier. There's a much more visible police presence at our stations. And you'll see things that are going on to make things safer, and there's some things you probably won't see. But we're working with federal officials and local police agencies to make travel as safe as it can be.

HEMMER: Well, let's talk about the great hall. I'm looking up here. I see a woman holding an owl and a woman holding a rooster over here. I'm not quite sure what they mean. Explain.

MAGLIARI: Before 24/7 was the term, railroads were always 24/7, and those two statues represent day and night. That's why one's holding an owl for night and a rooster for day.

HEMMER: Well, if there were three main stations here about early '70s, I think. Dearborn Station was taken down. Another station known as Central Station was taken down. Do you see a day where Union Station meets the same fate?

MAGLIARI: No, never. We are the steward of the station. Amtrak owns it, and we have no intention of doing anything but develop the station further. Right now we have as many trains coming in and out of the station as we did during World War II, about 300 trains a day.

HEMMER: What do you think is so special about this location? I mean, I can walk in and see a number of things, but you're here almost every day.

MAGLIARI: You see tourists every day going to "The Untouchables" stairs you showed a few moments ago. People from around the country go and take pictures of that stairway. People come into this room and remember how great stations used to be in communities, while stations were their primary front doors. The problems was stations were privately owned by the freight railroads, and they were paying property taxes on them. So there was incentive for those freight railroads, unfortunately, to tear them down. We've owned this station now in total since the '80s. And we have no plans to do anything but make it even better. That was why we spent so much money in '91, to make it as pretty as it is.

HEMMER: Where did you get these wooden benches? These things are giants?

MAGLIARI: These are original to the station, and they move around a lot, because this room is used for wedding receptions and all sorts of big events. So sometimes they're here, and sometimes they are not.

HEMMER: Great place to come to work. Marc Magliari, thank you very much, with Amtrak.

MAGLIARI: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: Back over to Soledad now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Bill, thanks. Still to come this morning, one of ABC's new TV shows is scoring big ratings, so why do some advertisers want absolutely nothing to do with it? Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

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JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome back. AMERICAN MORNING coming to you from Chicago, Illinois.

Andy Serwer here "Minding Your Business." Markets taking it on the chin yesterday, because of the insurance company problems, among other things. Now we've got a TV show that may be in some trouble over there on ABC. You've got it all.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I got it all. Let's talk about the markets, first of all, Jack. Yesterday, stocks were down, as you mentioned, even with a couple blue chips, like IBM and Motorola going up, oil going down, insurance scandal really taking its toll. "Spitzerities," they're calling it on Wall Street, as he continues his investigation. That's the New York State attorney general. Futures down this morning, though, as the price of oil goes back up, and so we go.

I want to do a couple TV stories here this morning. First of all, this show is racy, it's steamy, and it is a hit. I'm talking about ABC's "Desperate Housewives." And really it's all about MILVs, isn't it. That's moms I'd like to view, Jack, mom's I'd like Interesting stuff there.

CAFFERTY: You just love playing with hand grenades, don't you?

SERWER: Yes, there you go. The American Family Association, this is a self-proclaimed watchdog group, is pressuring advertisers like Tyson Foods and Lowe's, and they have pulled ads from the show.

Now what happens here usually, though, Jack, is when something like this happens, the ratings go up because of the controversy, and then the advertisers come in, exactly. "Married With Children," case in point.

Another little TV story here is a little gizmo called TV Be Gone. This is a new little clicker invented by an inventor named Mitch Altman, and it's a universal remote on a key chain. This guy is going to give you these things. You walk by a TV, and you can just can zap it. What the heck is the use of this thing?

CAFFERTY: And we don't want those widely circulated. I mean, we don't want anyone turning this program off.

SERWER: No, and this guy Mitch Altman says he hasn't own a TV since 1980. Let me tell you something, Mitch, you've been missing a lot of stuff, OK?

CAFFERTY: Yes, doesn't know what he's missing.

SERWER: "Desperate Housewives," AMERICAN MORNING, all kinds of great stuff.

CAFFERTY: There you go. That's right. Don't be using that remote thing to turn your TV off. Andy will come to your house...

SERWER: I'll get you.

CAFFERTY: ... and discuss it with you.

SERWER: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Thanks, Andy.

All right, it's Wednesday, means we're talking about things people say, and today it's a special edition of things people say, devoted entirely to Chicago, beginning with this: "Based on the weather of the last couple of days, Chicago is an October sort of city, even in spring." That was Nelson Algren, who works for "Newsweek" magazine.

Richard Jeni, a comic, says, "I think that's how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, gee, I'm enjoying the crime and poverty, but it's just not cold enough. Why don't we go West?"

"The Blues Brothers": "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it." H.L. Lincoln: "I give you Chicago. It's not London and Harvard. It's not Paris and Buttermilk. It's American in every chitterling and spare rib. It's alive, from snout to tail."

"I don't have any great love for Chicago. What the hell, a childhood around Douglas Park isn't very memorable. I remember the streetfights, how you were afraid to cross the bridge because the Irish kid on the other side would beat your head in. I left Chicago a long time ago." That's the King of Swing, Benny Goodman. He said that in 1976.

And one of my very favorites, in fact, I used to sign my radio shows off with this back in Reno, Nevada when I was a mere lad: "You can go a long way with a smile. You can go a lot farther with a smile and a gun." Al Capone. And we'll have more from Al in the next. We're going to do a couple of these. We've got another set of them coming up a little bit later.

Back to guys.

O'BRIEN: Why is it not surprising that Jack signed off that way at all?

HEMMER: Because he's a wee lad.

CAFFERTY: Just seemed like an appropriate little piece of philosophy.

HEMMER: Well done.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.

Still to come this morning, lots of pundits like to make predictions about the presidential race, but our own Jeff Greenfield says that when it comes to 2004, the crystal ball is cracked. We're going to take a look at that as AMERICAN MORNING rolls on from Chicago.

We're back in a moment.

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