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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

John Kerry Goes Goose-Hunting; Dana Reeve Speaks Out in Support of Kerry; Britain Redeploys Regiment in Iraq; Interview with a Spy Master

Aired October 21, 2004 - 17:00   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.


WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. One candidate shows off his shotgun and a secret weapon.
DANA REEVE, WIFE OF LATE CHRISTOPHER REEVE: John Kerry like Christopher Reeve believes in keeping our hope alive.

BLITZER: The other brings out a not so secret weapon.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT: My personal opinion is that his new camel jacket is an October disguise.

BLITZER: With just 12 days to go until the election, a high- powered debate. The White House communications director Dan Bartlett faces off with Kerry campaign adviser Joe Lockhart. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): On the trail. Hunting for geese or swing voters? Kerry aims for the undecided while Bush targets his base.

In harm's way. Britain redeploys a regiment, a boost for Bush. A big risk for Blair.

Inside the CIA. Is al Qaeda about to attack?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to do it. They're going to come at us again.

BLITZER: He's hung up his cloak and dagger. Now a spy master speaks out.

The fall of Castro. A prelude to the real thing? Fresh questions about his hold on power.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, October 21, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: He took some potshots for his hunting trip, but Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry went from camouflage to science and health care today and got a big shot in the arm in a very dramatic campaign event. Our national correspondent Frank Buckley is live on the campaign trail in Columbus, Ohio -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Senator John Kerry appeared moved as he was introduced before his speech here on stem cell research by Dana Reeve, the wife of the late actor Christopher Reeve who just passed away more than a week ago very suddenly from heart failure. Mrs. Reeve making a point that this was her idea to appear here on behalf of John Kerry, not the Kerry campaign's idea, but certainly she was very welcome as Senator Kerry tried to present himself as the candidate who would most support science and research.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Senator John Kerry appeared with the wife of the late actor Christopher Reeve, a friend of Kerry's and an advocate for increased stem cell research.

REEVE: I'm here today because John Kerry, like Christopher Reeve, believes in keeping our hope alive.

BUCKLEY: Kerry calls for expanding stem-cell research and increasing funding. He is critical of President Bush who approved federal funding but limited it to existing stem cell lines.

SEN. KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You get the feeling, my friends, you really get this feeling that if George Bush had been president during other periods of American history he would have sided with the candle lobby against electricity. He would have been with the buggymakers against the cars and the typewriter companies against the computers.

BUCKLEY: While the Kerry campaign appealed to swing voters and women with the stem cell speech, a goose-hunting trip earlier in the day was designed to reassure voters in swing states like Ohio that Kerry, like many of them, is a hunter, too. Bush campaign officials called it pure photo-opportunism. The head of the NRA suggested Kerry is no friend of gun owners.

WAYNE LAPIERRE, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: I don't know what happened in the blind today, but I'll tell you this, I know John Kerry's not shooting straight with the American public on guns and hunting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BUCKLEY: Now Senator Kerry tonight is in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but he will be back to Ohio. A campaign adviser telling us that Senator Kerry or Senator Edwards his running mate or Teresa Heinz Kerry will be in Ohio every day next week. The Democrats working hard to try to take away Ohio from the Republican column. No Republican president has ever achieved the presidency without winning the state of Ohio -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I think it's fair to say at this late stage in the campaign, everything John Kerry or George Bush does right now has a political purpose. Clearly, they're not going to get the ardent NRA voters, but who are they really going for in this photo opportunity, the hunting earlier today?

BUCKLEY: Well, there are sportsmen in many of the battleground states. In Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in Missouri, in Florida, in West Virginia. A number of the battleground states people hunt. It's a common pastime among the people in all these states and the point here is to say, look, John Kerry is like you in many ways that you may not know that he was the -- that you may not know that he is like this. You may not know that he hunts, that he's been hunting since he was 12 and 13 years old. That was the point of today's exercise. You're right, Wolf. It wasn't just that he happened to decide to go goose- hunting today. He went goose-hunting today for a political purpose, but that purpose was to say you may not know some things about John Kerry and one of them is that he likes to hunt.

BLITZER: All right. Frank Buckley reporting for us, thanks very much.

Let's bring in Dana Bash. She's also on the campaign trail of Pennsylvania. Dana, fill us in on the president's bit.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. The president just finished a rally here in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Thousands came out to hear the president in the rain and he was trying to appeal to an area here where there are conservatives that appeal to his conservative base and his message definitely matched that. He had a new twist on what he likes to call Senator Kerry which is a big government liberal and he essentially tried to give him a little dig at what he was wearing today when he went hunting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Can you imagine being more liberal than Ted Kennedy? He can run, he can even run in camo, but he cannot hide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now the president has an uphill battle. His senior aides even admit here in Pennsylvania he has worked harder here than any other state. He's been here now 40 times in order to try to win this state that he lost four years ago. Earlier today he made another visit to try to appeal to social conservatives, the Catholic voters who were very important here. He met with the archbishop of Philadelphia. He is somebody who has told the Catholics that he believes that they should be voting on one issue and one issue only and that is whether the candidate is opposed to abortion. Obviously that means President Bush. And, Wolf, earlier today the president did make a pitch for his health care plan. That was aimed at some of the moderate Republicans who voted against him four years ago, those who he also needs back in order to win this state again.

BLITZER: Dana Bash in Hershey, Pennsylvania, thank you very much.

The first lady, Laura Bush is brushing off comments about her work experience made by Teresa Heinz Kerry. The wife of the Democratic presidential candidate yesterday formally apologized for remarks in a newspaper interview saying she had forgotten that Mrs. Bush once worked as a school teacher and librarian. Asked about that today the first lady said and I'm quoting now, "it didn't hurt my feelings. She didn't have to apologize. I know how tough it is."

Coming up shortly we'll have a campaign clash here on this program. The White House communications director Dan Bartlett. He'll debate Joe Lockhart, a senior adviser to the Kerry campaign.

Some British troops in Iraq are being redeployed to help American forces. That's a risky new mission and it's stirring some controversy back home and bringing new risks in for the Prime Minister Tony Blair. Our European political editor Robin Oakley reports from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR (voice-over): At the request of the U.S. military, the Black Watch, a British regiment are on the move north, freeing up more U.S. troops for a possible assault on Falluja. The defense secretary wouldn't say exactly where the Black Watch will go, when they will get there or how long they will stay, but he confirmed that with medics, signaling or other support, 850 troops will be involved.

GEOFF HOON, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: The chiefs of staff advised me that UK forces are able to undertake the proposed operation, that there is a compelling military operation or justification for doing so and that it entails a militarily acceptable level of risk for UK forces.

OAKLEY: The redeployment had been supported earlier at a meeting of Tony Blair's cabinet, well aware they were being accused of serving President George Bush's political needs. So the military, too, was enlisted to remind the British public which election they had in mind.

GEN. MICHAEL WALKER, CHIEF, UK DEFENSE STAFF: The decision is both militarily sensible and it contributes to our overall strategic aim of ensuring that elections can take place in January '05 in Iraq.

OAKLEY: Opposition from British lawmakers was less vehement than that which greeted Mr. Hoon's first hints on Monday but several worried the U.S. military was too careless of civilian casualties and that by freeing up more U.S. troops, potentially to pound Falluja Britain would face a new risk.

NEIL GERRARD, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: It is impossible to go into a town like Falluja with bombs and heavy armor and not cause innocent civilian casualties on a significant scale and we are going to be blamed for that because of this deployment.

OAKLEY: Ministers are bending every sinew to insist that the decision to redeploy British troops was taken on military, not political grounds. But analysts say Mr. Blair could still face a political cost. Many of his own parliamentarians were angered by what they see as a step too far and if British casualties increase as a result, then the pressures on Mr. Blair can only increase. Robin Oakley, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on the story. Our Web Question of the Day is this: Was Britain's decision to redeploy troops in Iraq affected by the upcoming U.S. election? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

A U.S. sergeant today was sentenced in connection with the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal. Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick was ordered to spend eight years in prison. He also was reduced in rank to private, ordered to forfeit his pay, and given a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army Reserve. Frederick entered a guilty plea yesterday to charges he abused Iraqi detainees at the prison outside of Baghdad.

You know how hard to get a flu shot this year. Coming up, why some experts worry it's not going to be much better next year.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to come and get us again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: ... why a former CIA spymaster is so worried about the future. David Ensor spoke with him.

And a look at this, a sudden fall -- look at this -- and broken bones, rekindling speculation about Fidel Castro's health and Cuba's future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As health and government officials scramble to cope with this year's flu crisis, next year's flu vaccine supplies are already in some serious doubt.

Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is live from the CNN Center in Atlanta -- Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there are indications that next year, once again, there could be a struggle to get a flu shot to everyone who needs one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Will these long lines stretch all the way to next year's flu season? After regulators said it could be contaminated, nearly half the nation's supply of flu shot had to be thrown out this year. And now there are signs that the same factory won't be able to make any shots next year. In a conference call with investors, the CEO of Chiron, the company that made the flu shot, said, "The situation remains fluid. We're determined -- to return to the U.S. market as a reliable supplier of flu vaccine as soon as is feasible."

If Chiron doesn't get back on track, that could leave the U.S. for the second year in a row with just one company making the vaccine for the entire country.

DR. JERRY AVORN, AUTHOR, "POWERFUL MEDICINES": We probably should not be in a position where we are so dependent on one or two companies for a product that is literally life saving.

COHEN: The government is now on the hunt for other suppliers. A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control said all options are open. The government is already inspecting a Canadian drug manufacturing plant to see if it's up to U.S. standards.

Over the past four years, several pharmaceutical companies have gotten out of the flu shot business.

AVORN: Companies have felt that this is not a profitable area, and one by one, most of the vaccine manufacturers of many kinds have dropped out to pursue more lucrative products.

COHEN: That's prompted some experts to say the government ought to take over the production of flu shots itself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): So, one of the big questions for next year is going to be: Are there any more pharmaceutical companies that want to make flu shots, and can they gear up in time -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.

The flu shortage has some towns looking for unusual and creative ways to keep all of us healthy. Bloomfield, New Jersey, for example, is one of them. That's where we find our Mary Snow. Mary, tell us what's happening.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, imagine you're a town of 47,000 resident, 20 percent of them are senior citizens, and you only have a few hundred vaccines to hand out. So,how do you distribute them? Well, the town of Bloomfield, New Jersey, decided to hold a lottery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need proof of residency.

SNOW (voice-over): Living in Bloomfield, New Jersey, is a must to enter this unusual lottery. The prize for 300 winners: a flu shot. Bloomfield officials decided a lottery would be best to ration its flu vaccine supplies and avoid the long lines seen elsewhere for its 8,000 senior citizens and other high-risk individuals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You take your chances. That's it. And have lots of Kleenex.

SNOW: Bloomfield's lottery is not only the talk of the town, but a talking point on the campaign trail.

KERRY: Just today we learned that a town in New Jersey is being forced to use a lottery system to decide who's going to get a flu shot.

I think we ought (INAUDIBLE) for the flu shot. I mean, we really took that extra step in trying to do something that was right.

SNOW: Bloomfield does not buy its vaccines from Chiron, the vaccine maker forced to halt production because of contamination concerns. It gets them from Aventis, the only other vaccine supplier to the United States, and the first shipment came in before the public health crisis began.

MAYOR RAYMOND MCCARTHY, BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY: Maybe we have to do some better planning and -- in our healthcare system here in America.

SNOW: Some 60 million doses of flu vaccine are expected to be produced by January, down from last year's 87 million. Health experts say the shortage is driving demand.

TREVOR WEIGLE, BLOOMFIELD HEALTH DIRECTOR: I think there's no turning back now. We're going to see a whole new dynamic about the demand for flu vaccine from now on like we've never seen before in this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (on camera): And as for the demand here in Bloomfield, New Jersey, about 1,100 people showed up today to register for the lottery. Winners will be chosen next week. And town officials say they've been getting calls from other parts of the country asking about how this lottery process was done -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Mary Snow reporting for us. Thanks, Mary, very much.

The presidential campaigns on overdrive and the rhetoric heating up. Key players for both President Bush and Senator Kerry, they'll join me live. Certainly a serious debate. That's coming up.

Also this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no perfection in my business. If we're right 40 to 50 percent of the time, we're doing very, very well. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A rare interview indeed. A CIA spymaster goes on the record on terror and the chances of an attack before the election. He speaks to our David Ensor.

And the Cuban leader taking a tumble. We'll get a live update on how he's doing after this remarkable, remarkable fall. Lucia Newman in Havana will join us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Twelve days until the election. New polls showing the race, what a surprise, still very much a dead heat. We have representatives from both campaigns joining us now live. Dan Bartlett is the White House communications director. Joe Lockhart is senior adviser to the Kerry campaign.

Gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us.

And, Dan, I'll begin with you. First, Nancy Reagan, then Ron Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger this week, now Dana Reeve, the widow of Christopher Reeve, all saying: Please, please, Mr. President, ease up those restrictions on embryonic stem cell research.

You've got a problem in this area, don't you?

DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: In fact, no, Wolf. In fact President Bush was the first president of the United States to ever allow for stem cell funding in the first place. The Clinton administration didn't allow it, but this president did.

But he did it in a way that was responsible. He did it in a way that looked at the ethical and moral guidelines as well as the scientific potential that is there. He has dramatically increased funding for science, He has dramatically increased funding for adult stem cell research. He's been the first president to launch the whole prospect of federal funding for stem cell research.

And I think the type of demagoguery we've seen from Senator Kerry on this is deeply irresponsible. To suggest that President Bush is blocking stem cell funding is an outrageous claim. And then Senator Edwards, the vice presidential running mate, for him to actually suggest to millions of Americans who are looking for hope to say when John Kerry is president that people in wheelchairs will now walk? That's the type of grasping and desperate politics we're seeing in the final days of this campaign.

BLITZER: A lot of people, Joe, thought that was sort of cruel, for John Edwards to raise that kind of hope.

JOE LOCKHART, SR. KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Well, I think he was just reflecting what Christopher Reeve said when he was alive, to talk about the hope of stem cell.

Listen, we're political people, so I don't think you should really listen that closely to us. Look at the people who really are impacted by this, the families. Michael J. Fox and his family. Dana Reeve, who gave an amazing statement today. They know that this president is standing in the way of doing the real research.

Look at the scientific community. The vast majority of scientists have been highly critical of this president for going out, on the one hand saying, "Oh, I'm not against this," but then putting so many blocks in the way so that you can't do it.

This is a question of science. And America has always been about sort of breaking into new frontiers, and this president is putting the brakes on it.

And listen, I think Dana Reeve could say it better than anyone sitting in this chair or any of the politicians.

BLITZER: Even Senator Orrin Hatch, Dan, says: You know what? It's time to take another look at the limitations on embryonic stem cell research. He's an excellent conservative, he's anti-abortion rights for women.

What do you say to someone like Orrin Hatch?

BARTLETT: Well, I say to all Americans, just like President Bush understands it, he wants to find cures for these diseases. He's the first president to open the door to this type of research.

And it's very critical we do this. And the scientific community has a very important voice in this, and President Bush has listened to that voice, and that's why we have funding in the first place.

But there are other voices we have to listen to, too. It's our moral and ethical compass that we follow as a country. These are very complex ethical and moral dilemmas that we face, and it's important that we get it right. And President Bush struck the right balance on this.

Now, we're having stem cell research. We have dramatic increases in adult stem cell research, for example. He's doubled the budget for the NIH. He more than anybody wants to see cures for these diseases.

But it's important we do it the right way, and President Bush has charted the correct course in this regard.

BLITZER: Joe Lockhart, the vice president, Dick Cheney, basically ridiculed John Kerry today for going goose-hunting. He said he put on what he called an October disguise, buying that camouflage outfit. Was John Kerry -- what was he doing out there?

LOCKHART: Well, let me just go back to the stem cell issue. I think, no one's criticizing where the president is as far as his moral beliefs, but we obviously believe that he's standing in the way of science, and so does the scientific community. And that's a big problem.

Listen, you know, the vice president's been out there trying to scare people every day. We're not quite sure what he's up to. John Kerry's been a hunter all his life. He's certainly been a hunter a lot longer than George Bush has been a rancher, because I think he just started that when he was running for president.

But, listen, they can say whatever they want. I saw the NRA out there today. The NRA represents about 4 million people in this country. There are 4 million members. They're not going to vote for us. We're fine. But there are about 40 million gun owners. And I think, when you get past the, sort of, fringe group there, we're going to get a lot of support from gun owners, because John Kerry, all his life, has been a hunter and respects the rights of gun owners.

BLITZER: All right, what wrong with that argument, Dan?

BARTLETT: Well, I think what you're seeing here is that, what Senator Kerry is trying to do here, in the last days of the campaign, is something he's been unable to do for the entirety of this presidential campaign, and that's to actually connect with voters.

And here we are in the final days. And Mike McCurry, his spokesman, a great guy, says, "Well, we're trying to show the real John Kerry here."

And I think that's the problem here. We never know who the real John Kerry is. And camouflage can't disguise a record that shows where he comes from. He comes from the far left in mainstream politics. He has a record in which doesn't stand up for the type of values and things that people in Ohio and throughout the Midwest stand for. And now he's trying, through a photo-op, to demonstrate something that he's not. And I think it's going to be seen through by the voters in Ohio and the other parts of the country.

BLITZER: We'll take a break. But, Joe, go ahead and respond to that.

LOCKHART: Well, listen, I think, if that's the case then a lot of Americans are being fooled, because he has got strong support. He's ahead in Ohio. And listen, you can put all the labels you want on him, left bank of American politics -- I mean, it just isn't the case.

When America watched John Kerry in the debates, they saw a man who was strong in the political mainstream. And that's why he won all three debates. And they can yell all they want and put as many labels on him as they want. None of them stick.

BLITZER: All right, guys, stand by. We're going to take a quick break. We've got a lot more to discuss, including President Clinton. He's about to head back to the campaign trail after surgery. What impact, if any, will that have on this election?

I'll continue our discussion with Joe Lockhart and Dan Bartlett.

An accident in Cuba raising new questions about the future of Cuba without Fidel Castro. We'll tell you what happened to the communist dictator. Plus securing America in the age of terrorism. We'll get the perspective of a former CIA spy master. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're back with the White House communications director, Dan Bartlett, and senior Kerry campaign adviser Joe Lockhart.

Joe, word is your former boss the president of the United States is about to go campaigning for John Kerry beginning Monday in Philadelphia. How's he doing? What will he be doing during the duration?

LOCKHART: Well, he's doing well.

I talked to him yesterday. He's recuperating very well, I think. He's going to be with John Kerry at a rally in Philadelphia on Monday, a lunchtime rally. We expect a big crowd, an enthusiastic crowd. I think he's going to do that event and then see how he feels. And if he feels up to it, he may do one or two events around the country on his own as a way of both energizing the Democratic base in this country and reaching out to those undecided voters.

And I think a lot of the undecided voters look back pretty fondly to the era of 23 million jobs, a surplus and peace in the world. I think they will want to see him and hear from him again.

BLITZER: Are you worried about Bill Clinton coming back to the campaign trail, Dan?

BARTLETT: Well, we obviously wish him a speedy recovery, but the fact that they're rolling Joe's old boss off the surgery table and on to the campaign trail I think shows that there are some serious problems for John Kerry, that he's underperforming with critical parts of their own constituency in the Democratic Party.

And the fact that they are having to bring him out so quickly I think demonstrates some of the concerns. But, at the end of day, this comes down to the two men who are on the ballot. And that's President Bush and John Kerry. I know he still has the talking points from five years ago. But the fact of the matter is, the issues are today and the visions and the records of these two gentlemen, and that's why President Bush is going to be victorious on Election Day.

BLITZER: There's also word, Joe, that Al Gore is going to be campaigning for John Kerry in Florida. What's that about?

LOCKHART: Well, I think there's a lot of people down in Florida who feel like their vote wasn't counted last time. There's a lot of affection for Al Gore down particularly in South Florida. And I expect him to go out and do what he can to help the ticket.

I would disagree respectfully with Dan. We're doing quite well with our base and we're not really worried about that, which is why I think we are -- this is such a close race, because I think both sides have done a good job of talking to their base. It's now about the people in the middle. And the people in the middle are decidedly negative on this president. And we're finishing making our argument to them. And we expect that, on Election Day, they're going to come our way.

BARTLETT: Well, Wolf, just to point out, I think, if Al Gore is going to Florida, we may pick up his airfare, because I think it just helps President Bush.

This guy has gotten so far outside the mainstream with some of these vitriolic campaign speeches he's giving on behalf of Senator Kerry, I think he's made himself irrelevant and not credible on the big issues of the day. And I think it's quite surprising that they would want to enlist his help in such a close race.

LOCKHART: Well, Dan, let me tell you where to send the check.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Well, does he have a point, though, Joe, that the vice president, former vice president, with MoveOn.org, has really moved to the left side of the Democratic Party, as opposed to being the new Democrat that he once was?

LOCKHART: Listen, I think Al Gore remains a new Democrat.

I think he should get credit for being a early and consistent skeptic of some of the shifting rationales for why we went to war in Iraq. And I know that makes the White House uncomfortable, that there was someone calling them on it from the beginning, but I think he will be a very effective campaigner for us. And we are looking forward to it.

BLITZER: There's, Dan, a lot of criticism now of certain members of your Cabinet, Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, Tom Ridge, the secretary of homeland security.

Democrats, including people from Kerry on down in the Kerry campaign, saying they should be doing their work, dealing with the issues that they're supposed to be dealing with, instead of doing campaigning in key battleground states, like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. What say you?

BARTLETT: Well, that's exactly what they're doing. They're doing their job, particularly Tommy Thompson in the situation with the flu vaccines. He's out communicating to the public, as are other members of the health community, to make sure they have all the facts available to get through this period.

With the issue of Condi Rice, the bottom line is she's a top foreign policy adviser to the president. She's not getting involved in politics. But she's out there talking to the public and to the press about the conduct of this war, about the goals we're achieving and the progress we're making and why it is so important. She has steered all of the way clear of issues of politics and Senator Kerry, as would be appropriate, and as has Tom Ridge. So I think this is more of a concern again. This kind of flailing that we're seeing here in the final days of this campaign, where they're grasping to anything they can cling to, to try to attack the president.

The focus is President Bush and John Kerry. That's where this debate will be decided and that's where the focus will be.

BLITZER: OK, Joe Lockhart, go ahead and respond.

LOCKHART: Well, let me flail and grasp a little bit here, Wolf.

(LAUGHTER)

LOCKHART: I wish Tommy Thompson would get more vaccines and had prepared for this flu crisis a little better, but let me put that aside for a second.

The national security adviser has traditionally not gone out and done political work. I've never heard of a national security adviser doing it. If you look at the schedule that the White House put out for Dr. Rice, she only went exclusively and is only going exclusively to battleground states. Now, there are coincidences in the world, but I don't believe them in politics, and the same for Tom Ridge. He's been all over the battleground states.

There's important work to be done here. I think the American people would sleep a whole lot better if these guys hung around Washington a little more, did their jobs, and stopped trying to save their own jobs.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Dan, go ahead and respond.

BARTLETT: The American people are going to sleep a lot better with President Bush as commander in chief, because he's going to fight this war on offense and he's going to win the war on terror. And he has far superior policies than Senator Kerry could ever imagine or ever have in his record.

So, that's where the focus of this campaign is and that's where the American people will make this decision.

BLITZER: Joe, a question on Teresa Heinz Kerry and her remarks about a real job supposedly that the former -- that the current first lady never really had.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: She apologized for that. Mrs. Bush was very gracious and generous, I think you will agree today, in saying, you know, it's not a big deal.

But a lot of people are going to be angry about that. I think you acknowledge that was a blunder.

LOCKHART: Oh, sure. Mrs. Kerry said she made a mistake. You make mistakes in campaigns.

And I think the real test of character is what to do once you've made the mistake. And I think in this case you have an example of two women who should be admired, who handled this with class and dignity, Mrs. Heinz Kerry and saying listen, I messed up. I'd forgotten about that. And the first lady, who couldn't have been more gracious.

Listen, I don't think there's anybody on our side who is ever going to say a bad word about Laura Bush. She's a great first lady. She's someone to be admired. You know, I think that the Bush-Cheney campaign yesterday couldn't wait to jump on this. I understand Karen Hughes almost knocked over the cart on the plane trying to get back to the press to tell them about how bad this was and what a terrible gaffe it was and how this would snowball into an avalanche.

Listen, I think that the two women involved here have an understanding, have a certain class, and this isn't an issue.

BLITZER: All right, Dan Bartlett, we're almost out of time, but go ahead.

BARTLETT: No, I think he raises a very good point.

It's always revealing about how people respond to these things. And Mrs. Kerry did respond the appropriate way, unlike Senator Kerry last week, when he made the inappropriate comment to the Cheney family about the daughter and he couldn't bring himself to say it was inappropriate for bringing it up. So I think there is something revealing there. But you're right. It was appropriate for her to apologize. And, as always, Mrs. Bush was very gracious in accepting it.

BLITZER: All right, Joe, you get the last word.

LOCKHART: Oh, listen, I think it was unfortunate that the Cheneys were upset with that comment. I'd remind Dan that this first was put into the political process by Mr. Cheney -- by Vice President Cheney himself.

And I think that, you know, if we want to talk about flailing and grasping, any time you want to change the subject away from the economy, jobs, health care, the price of gas, no flu vaccine, you get these sort of silly Washington stories. They're pretty good at it, but you know what? The voters will understand. That's why we're going to win this thing.

BLITZER: We'll see what the voters decide on November 2, or perhaps not. Maybe it will take a few extra days.

LOCKHART: Don't do that us to, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll soon find out.

Joe Lockhart, thanks very much.

Dan Bartlett, thanks to you as well.

BARTLETT: Thanks, Wolf.

LOCKHART: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: A good, serious discussion here on this program.

Infiltrating al Qaeda. We'll hear from a former CIA spymaster -- this is something you don't often hear -- about what the U.S. may be trying to do to get information from the terrorist network. Our David Ensor spent time with him. You'll want to stick around for this.

And trouble for Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro. Find out why the dictator needed a trip to the doctor's office. We'll tell you how he's doing.

Now here's Paula Zahn with a look ahead to a CNN special event.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.

Tonight, we find ourselves in Clark County, Ohio, a beautiful area in a key showdown state, a big prize with 20 electoral votes. And tonight at 8:00, we will reveal the latest presidential poll numbers in Ohio, where all signs point to the race being a cliffhanger.

We'll also have two big political names representing the campaigns. Voters here will get a chance to question former New York City Police Chief Bernard Kerik from the Bush campaign and General Wesley Clark from the Kerry camp. It should be an interesting night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As Americans focus their attention on a hotly contested election, is al Qaeda focusing its attention on another attack against the United States?

Our national security correspondent David Ensor joining us now with some extraordinary insight from someone who just until a few weeks ago was in the top ranks of the CIA -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, senior CIA officials very seldom give interviews. And for the head other clandestine service in the CIA to give an interview is extremely rare.

The recently departed spymaster Jim Pavitt ran the CIA operations for five years. He was at the CIA 31 years. As a young officer, he was once captured inside East Berlin and beaten up by the KGB. I asked him, what are the chances this country could face major terrorism in these weeks before the presidential election?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES PAVITT, FORMER CIA DEPUTY OPERATIONS DIRECTOR: I think the prospects of that are very high. They're going to come get us again.

Now, whether it is going to be in the next two weeks before the election, I can't predict. Frankly, I don't think anyone can predict. But I do believe that the threat is as genuine today as it was when I left CIA in early August of this year.

ENSOR: Was there evidence at that time to suggest a particular interest in attacking the United States prior to the election?

PAVITT: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think there was both chatter about that. And I think there was some information that suggested they would come at us against targets which were important, New York City, Washington, D.C., other major capitals.

ENSOR: Does the United States have spies inside the senior leadership of al Qaeda?

PAVITT: I'm not going to comment on a question that could simply make collecting intelligence more difficult.

ENSOR: Johnny Walker Lindh, an American, got into the Taliban and he got into, he claims, a meeting where Osama bin Laden was present. If he could do that, why couldn't the CIA do that?

PAVITT: The honest answer is, we did have people like that. But what we didn't have was someone who sat next to Osama bin Laden and knew exactly what he was going to do.

ENSOR (voice-over): Pavitt reacted sharply to reports some administration officials have said the intelligence they got from the CIA before the war in Iraq was overly optimistic. And he decried leaks of intelligence reports, suggesting the president was warned how tough Iraq would be.

(on camera): Is there bad blood at this point between the White House and Langley?

PAVITT: Well, there's a lot of the blame game right now. And I don't think it's good for our nation. I don't think it's good for intelligence. I don't think it's good for policy.

And if it were up to me, I would find some way to stop it. For those who would say that the CIA is somehow attempting to undermine the president or that there is -- that's just nonsense. That's absolute -- our job is to serve the president of the United States.

ENSOR (voice-over): I asked Pavitt about a long delayed CIA inspector general's report on mistakes made before 9/11. Sources say there's been foot-dragging because the report names names and wants to punish certain CIA personnel. They include the woman who failed to put two future hijackers, Khalid al-Midhar, Nawaq al-Hamzi, on the watch list as soon as she could have.

PAVITT: I think it would be absolutely wrong to take people who were on the front line in the war on global terror, who were working 16- to 18-hour days seven days a week day in and day out trying to stop this from happening, to take those people and to single them out for some sort of reprimand or punishment because, on the 11th of September, we were attacked.

ENSOR (on camera): But what about accountability? I mean, if the CIA gets it wrong, shouldn't there be consequences?

PAVITT: Well, think there have to be consequences, yes. I don't disagree with that at all. In our business, things go wrong. If you do everything as well as you can and something still goes wrong, then that's the nature of the business. And if there has to be punishment, if you will, then it belongs with the man at the top. That would be me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's really amazing stuff.

David, why did he sit down and give you this interview? It's not every day the head of clandestine operations, or the former head, sits down with a reporter on television.

ENSOR: Well, that's right.

And there's hardly anyone out there speaking up for the clandestine service, in the view of Jim Pavitt, which he notes has taken a battering over 9/11 and Iraq. He describes it as almost a calling, almost like the priesthood. And he is fiercely loyal to America's spies.

As a new director takes charge of the CIA, Porter Goss, and as politicians over on the Hill debate reorganizing intelligence, he wants to make sure they don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. And he says he wants to speak up for what he regards as America's unsung heroes -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Very interesting. David, thanks very much.

We're going to have much more of this interview tomorrow at noon Eastern here on CNN. Good work. Thanks very much.

Fidel Castro has ruled Cuba since the 1950s, now a very public fall touching off speculation about Cuba's future. We'll tell you what happened, what's happening now and how he's doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There are new questions about the health of Cuban President Fidel Castro, who fell yesterday, breaking a knee and an arm.

Our Havana bureau chief, Lucia Newman, joining us live with more -- Lucia.

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Wolf.

Well, the incident took place late last night. Now the Cuban government is going out of its way to assure both friends and foes that President Castro is OK after taking what could only be described as a spectacular fall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWMAN (voice-over): Cuba's 78-year-old president had just walked off the stage after giving a speech to graduating art teachers when he tripped. Looking shaken, Fidel Castro took the microphone to explain that he had probably broken his knee and fractured an arm, a diagnosis that was later confirmed.

FIDEL CASTRO, CUBAN PRESIDENT (through translator): But, as you can see, I can still speak. Even if I'm put in a cast, I can continue to work.

NEWMAN: Castro even joked he was anxious to see the photograph of his fall, which he predicted would probably appear on the front pages of the international media.

Here in Cuba, no photo, only a short statement to the official press. The communist leader, who's held power longer than any head of state in the world, is keenly aware his health has long been the subject of speculation. Three years ago, he fainted while making a speech, fanning rumors he was suffering from something more serious. At times, he has looked pale and thin and disappeared from public eye for long periods.

At others, he's had difficulty walking. Castro's exact state of health is treated as a state secret here. Thursday morning, the top Communist Party leadership would only comment briefly about the fall.

RICARDO ALARCON, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT (through translator): He's fine. He's a man of great strength and vitality. And I'm sure he'll recover very quickly.

NEWMAN: For those waiting impatiently for Castro to go, another disappointing false alarm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWMAN: For his part, President Fidel Castro seems to relish watching his opponents both here and abroad suffer every time that he seems to bounce back from the rumors that he is dead, which he tries to prove are being grossly exaggerated -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Lucia Newman in Havana -- thank you, Lucia.

Here in Washington, a State Department spokesman was asked about U.S. reaction to Mr. Castro's injuries and whether whoever succeeds him might have a policy more to Washington's liking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: It would be highly speculative for me to say that at this point, except to note that we do think the people of Cuba deserve democracy. They, like everybody else in the world, deserve a chance to choose their own fate and future, and that the secretary of state co-chaired an effort on behalf of this administration last year to identify what we could do to hasten that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Richard Boucher also was asked if he wished President Fidel Castro a speedy recovery, to which he replied, no, adding he wanted to leave the topic of Castro's health alone.

The results of our Web question of the day, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's our Web question.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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Aired October 21, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now. One candidate shows off his shotgun and a secret weapon.
DANA REEVE, WIFE OF LATE CHRISTOPHER REEVE: John Kerry like Christopher Reeve believes in keeping our hope alive.

BLITZER: The other brings out a not so secret weapon.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT: My personal opinion is that his new camel jacket is an October disguise.

BLITZER: With just 12 days to go until the election, a high- powered debate. The White House communications director Dan Bartlett faces off with Kerry campaign adviser Joe Lockhart. Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): On the trail. Hunting for geese or swing voters? Kerry aims for the undecided while Bush targets his base.

In harm's way. Britain redeploys a regiment, a boost for Bush. A big risk for Blair.

Inside the CIA. Is al Qaeda about to attack?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to do it. They're going to come at us again.

BLITZER: He's hung up his cloak and dagger. Now a spy master speaks out.

The fall of Castro. A prelude to the real thing? Fresh questions about his hold on power.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Thursday, October 21, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: He took some potshots for his hunting trip, but Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry went from camouflage to science and health care today and got a big shot in the arm in a very dramatic campaign event. Our national correspondent Frank Buckley is live on the campaign trail in Columbus, Ohio -- Frank.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Senator John Kerry appeared moved as he was introduced before his speech here on stem cell research by Dana Reeve, the wife of the late actor Christopher Reeve who just passed away more than a week ago very suddenly from heart failure. Mrs. Reeve making a point that this was her idea to appear here on behalf of John Kerry, not the Kerry campaign's idea, but certainly she was very welcome as Senator Kerry tried to present himself as the candidate who would most support science and research.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Senator John Kerry appeared with the wife of the late actor Christopher Reeve, a friend of Kerry's and an advocate for increased stem cell research.

REEVE: I'm here today because John Kerry, like Christopher Reeve, believes in keeping our hope alive.

BUCKLEY: Kerry calls for expanding stem-cell research and increasing funding. He is critical of President Bush who approved federal funding but limited it to existing stem cell lines.

SEN. KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You get the feeling, my friends, you really get this feeling that if George Bush had been president during other periods of American history he would have sided with the candle lobby against electricity. He would have been with the buggymakers against the cars and the typewriter companies against the computers.

BUCKLEY: While the Kerry campaign appealed to swing voters and women with the stem cell speech, a goose-hunting trip earlier in the day was designed to reassure voters in swing states like Ohio that Kerry, like many of them, is a hunter, too. Bush campaign officials called it pure photo-opportunism. The head of the NRA suggested Kerry is no friend of gun owners.

WAYNE LAPIERRE, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: I don't know what happened in the blind today, but I'll tell you this, I know John Kerry's not shooting straight with the American public on guns and hunting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BUCKLEY: Now Senator Kerry tonight is in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but he will be back to Ohio. A campaign adviser telling us that Senator Kerry or Senator Edwards his running mate or Teresa Heinz Kerry will be in Ohio every day next week. The Democrats working hard to try to take away Ohio from the Republican column. No Republican president has ever achieved the presidency without winning the state of Ohio -- Wolf.

BLITZER: I think it's fair to say at this late stage in the campaign, everything John Kerry or George Bush does right now has a political purpose. Clearly, they're not going to get the ardent NRA voters, but who are they really going for in this photo opportunity, the hunting earlier today?

BUCKLEY: Well, there are sportsmen in many of the battleground states. In Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in Missouri, in Florida, in West Virginia. A number of the battleground states people hunt. It's a common pastime among the people in all these states and the point here is to say, look, John Kerry is like you in many ways that you may not know that he was the -- that you may not know that he is like this. You may not know that he hunts, that he's been hunting since he was 12 and 13 years old. That was the point of today's exercise. You're right, Wolf. It wasn't just that he happened to decide to go goose- hunting today. He went goose-hunting today for a political purpose, but that purpose was to say you may not know some things about John Kerry and one of them is that he likes to hunt.

BLITZER: All right. Frank Buckley reporting for us, thanks very much.

Let's bring in Dana Bash. She's also on the campaign trail of Pennsylvania. Dana, fill us in on the president's bit.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. The president just finished a rally here in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Thousands came out to hear the president in the rain and he was trying to appeal to an area here where there are conservatives that appeal to his conservative base and his message definitely matched that. He had a new twist on what he likes to call Senator Kerry which is a big government liberal and he essentially tried to give him a little dig at what he was wearing today when he went hunting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Can you imagine being more liberal than Ted Kennedy? He can run, he can even run in camo, but he cannot hide.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now the president has an uphill battle. His senior aides even admit here in Pennsylvania he has worked harder here than any other state. He's been here now 40 times in order to try to win this state that he lost four years ago. Earlier today he made another visit to try to appeal to social conservatives, the Catholic voters who were very important here. He met with the archbishop of Philadelphia. He is somebody who has told the Catholics that he believes that they should be voting on one issue and one issue only and that is whether the candidate is opposed to abortion. Obviously that means President Bush. And, Wolf, earlier today the president did make a pitch for his health care plan. That was aimed at some of the moderate Republicans who voted against him four years ago, those who he also needs back in order to win this state again.

BLITZER: Dana Bash in Hershey, Pennsylvania, thank you very much.

The first lady, Laura Bush is brushing off comments about her work experience made by Teresa Heinz Kerry. The wife of the Democratic presidential candidate yesterday formally apologized for remarks in a newspaper interview saying she had forgotten that Mrs. Bush once worked as a school teacher and librarian. Asked about that today the first lady said and I'm quoting now, "it didn't hurt my feelings. She didn't have to apologize. I know how tough it is."

Coming up shortly we'll have a campaign clash here on this program. The White House communications director Dan Bartlett. He'll debate Joe Lockhart, a senior adviser to the Kerry campaign.

Some British troops in Iraq are being redeployed to help American forces. That's a risky new mission and it's stirring some controversy back home and bringing new risks in for the Prime Minister Tony Blair. Our European political editor Robin Oakley reports from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR (voice-over): At the request of the U.S. military, the Black Watch, a British regiment are on the move north, freeing up more U.S. troops for a possible assault on Falluja. The defense secretary wouldn't say exactly where the Black Watch will go, when they will get there or how long they will stay, but he confirmed that with medics, signaling or other support, 850 troops will be involved.

GEOFF HOON, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: The chiefs of staff advised me that UK forces are able to undertake the proposed operation, that there is a compelling military operation or justification for doing so and that it entails a militarily acceptable level of risk for UK forces.

OAKLEY: The redeployment had been supported earlier at a meeting of Tony Blair's cabinet, well aware they were being accused of serving President George Bush's political needs. So the military, too, was enlisted to remind the British public which election they had in mind.

GEN. MICHAEL WALKER, CHIEF, UK DEFENSE STAFF: The decision is both militarily sensible and it contributes to our overall strategic aim of ensuring that elections can take place in January '05 in Iraq.

OAKLEY: Opposition from British lawmakers was less vehement than that which greeted Mr. Hoon's first hints on Monday but several worried the U.S. military was too careless of civilian casualties and that by freeing up more U.S. troops, potentially to pound Falluja Britain would face a new risk.

NEIL GERRARD, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: It is impossible to go into a town like Falluja with bombs and heavy armor and not cause innocent civilian casualties on a significant scale and we are going to be blamed for that because of this deployment.

OAKLEY: Ministers are bending every sinew to insist that the decision to redeploy British troops was taken on military, not political grounds. But analysts say Mr. Blair could still face a political cost. Many of his own parliamentarians were angered by what they see as a step too far and if British casualties increase as a result, then the pressures on Mr. Blair can only increase. Robin Oakley, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Here's your chance to weigh in on the story. Our Web Question of the Day is this: Was Britain's decision to redeploy troops in Iraq affected by the upcoming U.S. election? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results for you later in this broadcast.

A U.S. sergeant today was sentenced in connection with the Abu Ghraib Prison abuse scandal. Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick was ordered to spend eight years in prison. He also was reduced in rank to private, ordered to forfeit his pay, and given a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. Army Reserve. Frederick entered a guilty plea yesterday to charges he abused Iraqi detainees at the prison outside of Baghdad.

You know how hard to get a flu shot this year. Coming up, why some experts worry it's not going to be much better next year.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to come and get us again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: ... why a former CIA spymaster is so worried about the future. David Ensor spoke with him.

And a look at this, a sudden fall -- look at this -- and broken bones, rekindling speculation about Fidel Castro's health and Cuba's future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As health and government officials scramble to cope with this year's flu crisis, next year's flu vaccine supplies are already in some serious doubt.

Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is live from the CNN Center in Atlanta -- Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there are indications that next year, once again, there could be a struggle to get a flu shot to everyone who needs one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Will these long lines stretch all the way to next year's flu season? After regulators said it could be contaminated, nearly half the nation's supply of flu shot had to be thrown out this year. And now there are signs that the same factory won't be able to make any shots next year. In a conference call with investors, the CEO of Chiron, the company that made the flu shot, said, "The situation remains fluid. We're determined -- to return to the U.S. market as a reliable supplier of flu vaccine as soon as is feasible."

If Chiron doesn't get back on track, that could leave the U.S. for the second year in a row with just one company making the vaccine for the entire country.

DR. JERRY AVORN, AUTHOR, "POWERFUL MEDICINES": We probably should not be in a position where we are so dependent on one or two companies for a product that is literally life saving.

COHEN: The government is now on the hunt for other suppliers. A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control said all options are open. The government is already inspecting a Canadian drug manufacturing plant to see if it's up to U.S. standards.

Over the past four years, several pharmaceutical companies have gotten out of the flu shot business.

AVORN: Companies have felt that this is not a profitable area, and one by one, most of the vaccine manufacturers of many kinds have dropped out to pursue more lucrative products.

COHEN: That's prompted some experts to say the government ought to take over the production of flu shots itself.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(on camera): So, one of the big questions for next year is going to be: Are there any more pharmaceutical companies that want to make flu shots, and can they gear up in time -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much.

The flu shortage has some towns looking for unusual and creative ways to keep all of us healthy. Bloomfield, New Jersey, for example, is one of them. That's where we find our Mary Snow. Mary, tell us what's happening.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, imagine you're a town of 47,000 resident, 20 percent of them are senior citizens, and you only have a few hundred vaccines to hand out. So,how do you distribute them? Well, the town of Bloomfield, New Jersey, decided to hold a lottery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need proof of residency.

SNOW (voice-over): Living in Bloomfield, New Jersey, is a must to enter this unusual lottery. The prize for 300 winners: a flu shot. Bloomfield officials decided a lottery would be best to ration its flu vaccine supplies and avoid the long lines seen elsewhere for its 8,000 senior citizens and other high-risk individuals.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You take your chances. That's it. And have lots of Kleenex.

SNOW: Bloomfield's lottery is not only the talk of the town, but a talking point on the campaign trail.

KERRY: Just today we learned that a town in New Jersey is being forced to use a lottery system to decide who's going to get a flu shot.

I think we ought (INAUDIBLE) for the flu shot. I mean, we really took that extra step in trying to do something that was right.

SNOW: Bloomfield does not buy its vaccines from Chiron, the vaccine maker forced to halt production because of contamination concerns. It gets them from Aventis, the only other vaccine supplier to the United States, and the first shipment came in before the public health crisis began.

MAYOR RAYMOND MCCARTHY, BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY: Maybe we have to do some better planning and -- in our healthcare system here in America.

SNOW: Some 60 million doses of flu vaccine are expected to be produced by January, down from last year's 87 million. Health experts say the shortage is driving demand.

TREVOR WEIGLE, BLOOMFIELD HEALTH DIRECTOR: I think there's no turning back now. We're going to see a whole new dynamic about the demand for flu vaccine from now on like we've never seen before in this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (on camera): And as for the demand here in Bloomfield, New Jersey, about 1,100 people showed up today to register for the lottery. Winners will be chosen next week. And town officials say they've been getting calls from other parts of the country asking about how this lottery process was done -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Mary Snow reporting for us. Thanks, Mary, very much.

The presidential campaigns on overdrive and the rhetoric heating up. Key players for both President Bush and Senator Kerry, they'll join me live. Certainly a serious debate. That's coming up.

Also this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no perfection in my business. If we're right 40 to 50 percent of the time, we're doing very, very well. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A rare interview indeed. A CIA spymaster goes on the record on terror and the chances of an attack before the election. He speaks to our David Ensor.

And the Cuban leader taking a tumble. We'll get a live update on how he's doing after this remarkable, remarkable fall. Lucia Newman in Havana will join us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Twelve days until the election. New polls showing the race, what a surprise, still very much a dead heat. We have representatives from both campaigns joining us now live. Dan Bartlett is the White House communications director. Joe Lockhart is senior adviser to the Kerry campaign.

Gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us.

And, Dan, I'll begin with you. First, Nancy Reagan, then Ron Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger this week, now Dana Reeve, the widow of Christopher Reeve, all saying: Please, please, Mr. President, ease up those restrictions on embryonic stem cell research.

You've got a problem in this area, don't you?

DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: In fact, no, Wolf. In fact President Bush was the first president of the United States to ever allow for stem cell funding in the first place. The Clinton administration didn't allow it, but this president did.

But he did it in a way that was responsible. He did it in a way that looked at the ethical and moral guidelines as well as the scientific potential that is there. He has dramatically increased funding for science, He has dramatically increased funding for adult stem cell research. He's been the first president to launch the whole prospect of federal funding for stem cell research.

And I think the type of demagoguery we've seen from Senator Kerry on this is deeply irresponsible. To suggest that President Bush is blocking stem cell funding is an outrageous claim. And then Senator Edwards, the vice presidential running mate, for him to actually suggest to millions of Americans who are looking for hope to say when John Kerry is president that people in wheelchairs will now walk? That's the type of grasping and desperate politics we're seeing in the final days of this campaign.

BLITZER: A lot of people, Joe, thought that was sort of cruel, for John Edwards to raise that kind of hope.

JOE LOCKHART, SR. KERRY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Well, I think he was just reflecting what Christopher Reeve said when he was alive, to talk about the hope of stem cell.

Listen, we're political people, so I don't think you should really listen that closely to us. Look at the people who really are impacted by this, the families. Michael J. Fox and his family. Dana Reeve, who gave an amazing statement today. They know that this president is standing in the way of doing the real research.

Look at the scientific community. The vast majority of scientists have been highly critical of this president for going out, on the one hand saying, "Oh, I'm not against this," but then putting so many blocks in the way so that you can't do it.

This is a question of science. And America has always been about sort of breaking into new frontiers, and this president is putting the brakes on it.

And listen, I think Dana Reeve could say it better than anyone sitting in this chair or any of the politicians.

BLITZER: Even Senator Orrin Hatch, Dan, says: You know what? It's time to take another look at the limitations on embryonic stem cell research. He's an excellent conservative, he's anti-abortion rights for women.

What do you say to someone like Orrin Hatch?

BARTLETT: Well, I say to all Americans, just like President Bush understands it, he wants to find cures for these diseases. He's the first president to open the door to this type of research.

And it's very critical we do this. And the scientific community has a very important voice in this, and President Bush has listened to that voice, and that's why we have funding in the first place.

But there are other voices we have to listen to, too. It's our moral and ethical compass that we follow as a country. These are very complex ethical and moral dilemmas that we face, and it's important that we get it right. And President Bush struck the right balance on this.

Now, we're having stem cell research. We have dramatic increases in adult stem cell research, for example. He's doubled the budget for the NIH. He more than anybody wants to see cures for these diseases.

But it's important we do it the right way, and President Bush has charted the correct course in this regard.

BLITZER: Joe Lockhart, the vice president, Dick Cheney, basically ridiculed John Kerry today for going goose-hunting. He said he put on what he called an October disguise, buying that camouflage outfit. Was John Kerry -- what was he doing out there?

LOCKHART: Well, let me just go back to the stem cell issue. I think, no one's criticizing where the president is as far as his moral beliefs, but we obviously believe that he's standing in the way of science, and so does the scientific community. And that's a big problem.

Listen, you know, the vice president's been out there trying to scare people every day. We're not quite sure what he's up to. John Kerry's been a hunter all his life. He's certainly been a hunter a lot longer than George Bush has been a rancher, because I think he just started that when he was running for president.

But, listen, they can say whatever they want. I saw the NRA out there today. The NRA represents about 4 million people in this country. There are 4 million members. They're not going to vote for us. We're fine. But there are about 40 million gun owners. And I think, when you get past the, sort of, fringe group there, we're going to get a lot of support from gun owners, because John Kerry, all his life, has been a hunter and respects the rights of gun owners.

BLITZER: All right, what wrong with that argument, Dan?

BARTLETT: Well, I think what you're seeing here is that, what Senator Kerry is trying to do here, in the last days of the campaign, is something he's been unable to do for the entirety of this presidential campaign, and that's to actually connect with voters.

And here we are in the final days. And Mike McCurry, his spokesman, a great guy, says, "Well, we're trying to show the real John Kerry here."

And I think that's the problem here. We never know who the real John Kerry is. And camouflage can't disguise a record that shows where he comes from. He comes from the far left in mainstream politics. He has a record in which doesn't stand up for the type of values and things that people in Ohio and throughout the Midwest stand for. And now he's trying, through a photo-op, to demonstrate something that he's not. And I think it's going to be seen through by the voters in Ohio and the other parts of the country.

BLITZER: We'll take a break. But, Joe, go ahead and respond to that.

LOCKHART: Well, listen, I think, if that's the case then a lot of Americans are being fooled, because he has got strong support. He's ahead in Ohio. And listen, you can put all the labels you want on him, left bank of American politics -- I mean, it just isn't the case.

When America watched John Kerry in the debates, they saw a man who was strong in the political mainstream. And that's why he won all three debates. And they can yell all they want and put as many labels on him as they want. None of them stick.

BLITZER: All right, guys, stand by. We're going to take a quick break. We've got a lot more to discuss, including President Clinton. He's about to head back to the campaign trail after surgery. What impact, if any, will that have on this election?

I'll continue our discussion with Joe Lockhart and Dan Bartlett.

An accident in Cuba raising new questions about the future of Cuba without Fidel Castro. We'll tell you what happened to the communist dictator. Plus securing America in the age of terrorism. We'll get the perspective of a former CIA spy master. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're back with the White House communications director, Dan Bartlett, and senior Kerry campaign adviser Joe Lockhart.

Joe, word is your former boss the president of the United States is about to go campaigning for John Kerry beginning Monday in Philadelphia. How's he doing? What will he be doing during the duration?

LOCKHART: Well, he's doing well.

I talked to him yesterday. He's recuperating very well, I think. He's going to be with John Kerry at a rally in Philadelphia on Monday, a lunchtime rally. We expect a big crowd, an enthusiastic crowd. I think he's going to do that event and then see how he feels. And if he feels up to it, he may do one or two events around the country on his own as a way of both energizing the Democratic base in this country and reaching out to those undecided voters.

And I think a lot of the undecided voters look back pretty fondly to the era of 23 million jobs, a surplus and peace in the world. I think they will want to see him and hear from him again.

BLITZER: Are you worried about Bill Clinton coming back to the campaign trail, Dan?

BARTLETT: Well, we obviously wish him a speedy recovery, but the fact that they're rolling Joe's old boss off the surgery table and on to the campaign trail I think shows that there are some serious problems for John Kerry, that he's underperforming with critical parts of their own constituency in the Democratic Party.

And the fact that they are having to bring him out so quickly I think demonstrates some of the concerns. But, at the end of day, this comes down to the two men who are on the ballot. And that's President Bush and John Kerry. I know he still has the talking points from five years ago. But the fact of the matter is, the issues are today and the visions and the records of these two gentlemen, and that's why President Bush is going to be victorious on Election Day.

BLITZER: There's also word, Joe, that Al Gore is going to be campaigning for John Kerry in Florida. What's that about?

LOCKHART: Well, I think there's a lot of people down in Florida who feel like their vote wasn't counted last time. There's a lot of affection for Al Gore down particularly in South Florida. And I expect him to go out and do what he can to help the ticket.

I would disagree respectfully with Dan. We're doing quite well with our base and we're not really worried about that, which is why I think we are -- this is such a close race, because I think both sides have done a good job of talking to their base. It's now about the people in the middle. And the people in the middle are decidedly negative on this president. And we're finishing making our argument to them. And we expect that, on Election Day, they're going to come our way.

BARTLETT: Well, Wolf, just to point out, I think, if Al Gore is going to Florida, we may pick up his airfare, because I think it just helps President Bush.

This guy has gotten so far outside the mainstream with some of these vitriolic campaign speeches he's giving on behalf of Senator Kerry, I think he's made himself irrelevant and not credible on the big issues of the day. And I think it's quite surprising that they would want to enlist his help in such a close race.

LOCKHART: Well, Dan, let me tell you where to send the check.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Well, does he have a point, though, Joe, that the vice president, former vice president, with MoveOn.org, has really moved to the left side of the Democratic Party, as opposed to being the new Democrat that he once was?

LOCKHART: Listen, I think Al Gore remains a new Democrat.

I think he should get credit for being a early and consistent skeptic of some of the shifting rationales for why we went to war in Iraq. And I know that makes the White House uncomfortable, that there was someone calling them on it from the beginning, but I think he will be a very effective campaigner for us. And we are looking forward to it.

BLITZER: There's, Dan, a lot of criticism now of certain members of your Cabinet, Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, Tom Ridge, the secretary of homeland security.

Democrats, including people from Kerry on down in the Kerry campaign, saying they should be doing their work, dealing with the issues that they're supposed to be dealing with, instead of doing campaigning in key battleground states, like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. What say you?

BARTLETT: Well, that's exactly what they're doing. They're doing their job, particularly Tommy Thompson in the situation with the flu vaccines. He's out communicating to the public, as are other members of the health community, to make sure they have all the facts available to get through this period.

With the issue of Condi Rice, the bottom line is she's a top foreign policy adviser to the president. She's not getting involved in politics. But she's out there talking to the public and to the press about the conduct of this war, about the goals we're achieving and the progress we're making and why it is so important. She has steered all of the way clear of issues of politics and Senator Kerry, as would be appropriate, and as has Tom Ridge. So I think this is more of a concern again. This kind of flailing that we're seeing here in the final days of this campaign, where they're grasping to anything they can cling to, to try to attack the president.

The focus is President Bush and John Kerry. That's where this debate will be decided and that's where the focus will be.

BLITZER: OK, Joe Lockhart, go ahead and respond.

LOCKHART: Well, let me flail and grasp a little bit here, Wolf.

(LAUGHTER)

LOCKHART: I wish Tommy Thompson would get more vaccines and had prepared for this flu crisis a little better, but let me put that aside for a second.

The national security adviser has traditionally not gone out and done political work. I've never heard of a national security adviser doing it. If you look at the schedule that the White House put out for Dr. Rice, she only went exclusively and is only going exclusively to battleground states. Now, there are coincidences in the world, but I don't believe them in politics, and the same for Tom Ridge. He's been all over the battleground states.

There's important work to be done here. I think the American people would sleep a whole lot better if these guys hung around Washington a little more, did their jobs, and stopped trying to save their own jobs.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Dan, go ahead and respond.

BARTLETT: The American people are going to sleep a lot better with President Bush as commander in chief, because he's going to fight this war on offense and he's going to win the war on terror. And he has far superior policies than Senator Kerry could ever imagine or ever have in his record.

So, that's where the focus of this campaign is and that's where the American people will make this decision.

BLITZER: Joe, a question on Teresa Heinz Kerry and her remarks about a real job supposedly that the former -- that the current first lady never really had.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: She apologized for that. Mrs. Bush was very gracious and generous, I think you will agree today, in saying, you know, it's not a big deal.

But a lot of people are going to be angry about that. I think you acknowledge that was a blunder.

LOCKHART: Oh, sure. Mrs. Kerry said she made a mistake. You make mistakes in campaigns.

And I think the real test of character is what to do once you've made the mistake. And I think in this case you have an example of two women who should be admired, who handled this with class and dignity, Mrs. Heinz Kerry and saying listen, I messed up. I'd forgotten about that. And the first lady, who couldn't have been more gracious.

Listen, I don't think there's anybody on our side who is ever going to say a bad word about Laura Bush. She's a great first lady. She's someone to be admired. You know, I think that the Bush-Cheney campaign yesterday couldn't wait to jump on this. I understand Karen Hughes almost knocked over the cart on the plane trying to get back to the press to tell them about how bad this was and what a terrible gaffe it was and how this would snowball into an avalanche.

Listen, I think that the two women involved here have an understanding, have a certain class, and this isn't an issue.

BLITZER: All right, Dan Bartlett, we're almost out of time, but go ahead.

BARTLETT: No, I think he raises a very good point.

It's always revealing about how people respond to these things. And Mrs. Kerry did respond the appropriate way, unlike Senator Kerry last week, when he made the inappropriate comment to the Cheney family about the daughter and he couldn't bring himself to say it was inappropriate for bringing it up. So I think there is something revealing there. But you're right. It was appropriate for her to apologize. And, as always, Mrs. Bush was very gracious in accepting it.

BLITZER: All right, Joe, you get the last word.

LOCKHART: Oh, listen, I think it was unfortunate that the Cheneys were upset with that comment. I'd remind Dan that this first was put into the political process by Mr. Cheney -- by Vice President Cheney himself.

And I think that, you know, if we want to talk about flailing and grasping, any time you want to change the subject away from the economy, jobs, health care, the price of gas, no flu vaccine, you get these sort of silly Washington stories. They're pretty good at it, but you know what? The voters will understand. That's why we're going to win this thing.

BLITZER: We'll see what the voters decide on November 2, or perhaps not. Maybe it will take a few extra days.

LOCKHART: Don't do that us to, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll soon find out.

Joe Lockhart, thanks very much.

Dan Bartlett, thanks to you as well.

BARTLETT: Thanks, Wolf.

LOCKHART: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: A good, serious discussion here on this program.

Infiltrating al Qaeda. We'll hear from a former CIA spymaster -- this is something you don't often hear -- about what the U.S. may be trying to do to get information from the terrorist network. Our David Ensor spent time with him. You'll want to stick around for this.

And trouble for Cuba's leader, Fidel Castro. Find out why the dictator needed a trip to the doctor's office. We'll tell you how he's doing.

Now here's Paula Zahn with a look ahead to a CNN special event.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.

Tonight, we find ourselves in Clark County, Ohio, a beautiful area in a key showdown state, a big prize with 20 electoral votes. And tonight at 8:00, we will reveal the latest presidential poll numbers in Ohio, where all signs point to the race being a cliffhanger.

We'll also have two big political names representing the campaigns. Voters here will get a chance to question former New York City Police Chief Bernard Kerik from the Bush campaign and General Wesley Clark from the Kerry camp. It should be an interesting night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: As Americans focus their attention on a hotly contested election, is al Qaeda focusing its attention on another attack against the United States?

Our national security correspondent David Ensor joining us now with some extraordinary insight from someone who just until a few weeks ago was in the top ranks of the CIA -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, senior CIA officials very seldom give interviews. And for the head other clandestine service in the CIA to give an interview is extremely rare.

The recently departed spymaster Jim Pavitt ran the CIA operations for five years. He was at the CIA 31 years. As a young officer, he was once captured inside East Berlin and beaten up by the KGB. I asked him, what are the chances this country could face major terrorism in these weeks before the presidential election?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES PAVITT, FORMER CIA DEPUTY OPERATIONS DIRECTOR: I think the prospects of that are very high. They're going to come get us again.

Now, whether it is going to be in the next two weeks before the election, I can't predict. Frankly, I don't think anyone can predict. But I do believe that the threat is as genuine today as it was when I left CIA in early August of this year.

ENSOR: Was there evidence at that time to suggest a particular interest in attacking the United States prior to the election?

PAVITT: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think there was both chatter about that. And I think there was some information that suggested they would come at us against targets which were important, New York City, Washington, D.C., other major capitals.

ENSOR: Does the United States have spies inside the senior leadership of al Qaeda?

PAVITT: I'm not going to comment on a question that could simply make collecting intelligence more difficult.

ENSOR: Johnny Walker Lindh, an American, got into the Taliban and he got into, he claims, a meeting where Osama bin Laden was present. If he could do that, why couldn't the CIA do that?

PAVITT: The honest answer is, we did have people like that. But what we didn't have was someone who sat next to Osama bin Laden and knew exactly what he was going to do.

ENSOR (voice-over): Pavitt reacted sharply to reports some administration officials have said the intelligence they got from the CIA before the war in Iraq was overly optimistic. And he decried leaks of intelligence reports, suggesting the president was warned how tough Iraq would be.

(on camera): Is there bad blood at this point between the White House and Langley?

PAVITT: Well, there's a lot of the blame game right now. And I don't think it's good for our nation. I don't think it's good for intelligence. I don't think it's good for policy.

And if it were up to me, I would find some way to stop it. For those who would say that the CIA is somehow attempting to undermine the president or that there is -- that's just nonsense. That's absolute -- our job is to serve the president of the United States.

ENSOR (voice-over): I asked Pavitt about a long delayed CIA inspector general's report on mistakes made before 9/11. Sources say there's been foot-dragging because the report names names and wants to punish certain CIA personnel. They include the woman who failed to put two future hijackers, Khalid al-Midhar, Nawaq al-Hamzi, on the watch list as soon as she could have.

PAVITT: I think it would be absolutely wrong to take people who were on the front line in the war on global terror, who were working 16- to 18-hour days seven days a week day in and day out trying to stop this from happening, to take those people and to single them out for some sort of reprimand or punishment because, on the 11th of September, we were attacked.

ENSOR (on camera): But what about accountability? I mean, if the CIA gets it wrong, shouldn't there be consequences?

PAVITT: Well, think there have to be consequences, yes. I don't disagree with that at all. In our business, things go wrong. If you do everything as well as you can and something still goes wrong, then that's the nature of the business. And if there has to be punishment, if you will, then it belongs with the man at the top. That would be me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: It's really amazing stuff.

David, why did he sit down and give you this interview? It's not every day the head of clandestine operations, or the former head, sits down with a reporter on television.

ENSOR: Well, that's right.

And there's hardly anyone out there speaking up for the clandestine service, in the view of Jim Pavitt, which he notes has taken a battering over 9/11 and Iraq. He describes it as almost a calling, almost like the priesthood. And he is fiercely loyal to America's spies.

As a new director takes charge of the CIA, Porter Goss, and as politicians over on the Hill debate reorganizing intelligence, he wants to make sure they don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. And he says he wants to speak up for what he regards as America's unsung heroes -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Very interesting. David, thanks very much.

We're going to have much more of this interview tomorrow at noon Eastern here on CNN. Good work. Thanks very much.

Fidel Castro has ruled Cuba since the 1950s, now a very public fall touching off speculation about Cuba's future. We'll tell you what happened, what's happening now and how he's doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: There are new questions about the health of Cuban President Fidel Castro, who fell yesterday, breaking a knee and an arm.

Our Havana bureau chief, Lucia Newman, joining us live with more -- Lucia.

LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Wolf.

Well, the incident took place late last night. Now the Cuban government is going out of its way to assure both friends and foes that President Castro is OK after taking what could only be described as a spectacular fall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWMAN (voice-over): Cuba's 78-year-old president had just walked off the stage after giving a speech to graduating art teachers when he tripped. Looking shaken, Fidel Castro took the microphone to explain that he had probably broken his knee and fractured an arm, a diagnosis that was later confirmed.

FIDEL CASTRO, CUBAN PRESIDENT (through translator): But, as you can see, I can still speak. Even if I'm put in a cast, I can continue to work.

NEWMAN: Castro even joked he was anxious to see the photograph of his fall, which he predicted would probably appear on the front pages of the international media.

Here in Cuba, no photo, only a short statement to the official press. The communist leader, who's held power longer than any head of state in the world, is keenly aware his health has long been the subject of speculation. Three years ago, he fainted while making a speech, fanning rumors he was suffering from something more serious. At times, he has looked pale and thin and disappeared from public eye for long periods.

At others, he's had difficulty walking. Castro's exact state of health is treated as a state secret here. Thursday morning, the top Communist Party leadership would only comment briefly about the fall.

RICARDO ALARCON, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT (through translator): He's fine. He's a man of great strength and vitality. And I'm sure he'll recover very quickly.

NEWMAN: For those waiting impatiently for Castro to go, another disappointing false alarm.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWMAN: For his part, President Fidel Castro seems to relish watching his opponents both here and abroad suffer every time that he seems to bounce back from the rumors that he is dead, which he tries to prove are being grossly exaggerated -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Lucia Newman in Havana -- thank you, Lucia.

Here in Washington, a State Department spokesman was asked about U.S. reaction to Mr. Castro's injuries and whether whoever succeeds him might have a policy more to Washington's liking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: It would be highly speculative for me to say that at this point, except to note that we do think the people of Cuba deserve democracy. They, like everybody else in the world, deserve a chance to choose their own fate and future, and that the secretary of state co-chaired an effort on behalf of this administration last year to identify what we could do to hasten that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Richard Boucher also was asked if he wished President Fidel Castro a speedy recovery, to which he replied, no, adding he wanted to leave the topic of Castro's health alone.

The results of our Web question of the day, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's our Web question.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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