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CNN Live Saturday
Game One of World Series Begins Today; Bold New Comic Deals With Issue Of AIDS; Displaced Kurds Attempt To Reenter Life Back In Kirkuk
Aired October 23, 2004 - 14:00 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.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 pm on the East Coast, 11:00 am out west. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, 10 days left until the election and the candidates are making every minute count. We're on the campaign trail, too, trying to keep up.
Plus, the quest to end the curse gets underway. Game one of the World Series is tonight. And we'll go live to Fenway Park.
And a comic book character with an illness and something to prove. We'll meet her and her superhero partner.
All those stories in a moment, but first here are the top stories.
A car bombing has left at least 10 Iraqi policemen dead and several others wounded in Western Iraq. It happened outside a U.S. Marine base near Ramadi. No U.S. casualties have been reported.
As the votes are still being counted in Afghanistan's presidential election, there's news of a suicide attack in capital of Kabul. Six people were wounded, 2 of them were international peacekeepers. The blast went off in a popular shopping district.
After 6 months aboard the International Space Station, an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut prepar to head home. The 2, along with another cosmonaut who spent 8 days at the station are scheduled to leave for Earth later today. Their ride will be in a Russian Soyuz space capsule.
No suspects so far in a break-in at the Bush-Cheney campaign office in Cincinnati, Ohio. Police say someone smashed a window and stole about $300 cash from the office on Friday. The broken window has since been replaced.
We begin this hour on the campaign trail. The battle for the Oval Office now in its final days. And you guessed it, it's still too close to call. President George W. Bush leads Senator John Kerry by just 3 percentage points in our poll of polls, an average of national polling.
And as we close in on November 2, the pace on the campaign trail is frantic. Both Bush and Kerry are shaking a lot of hands today. Kerry is spending much of the day in Colorado and New Mexico. We begin in Pueblo, Colorado with CNN congressional corespondent Ed Henry, who is traveling with the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In this final sprint, John Kerry is focusing in on only about a dozen battleground states still up for grabs, including Colorado, a Bush state in 2000. Kerry aides believe that they can carry it if they turn out the Hispanic vote. So Kerry appeared at a rally today alongside Ken Salazar, a Hispanic Democrat who is leading in the U.S. Senate race here.
Also, the rally was in Pueblo, Colorado, which has the largest concentration of Hispanic voters in the state. And at this large rally, Kerry fired back at the president who in his Saturday radio address accused Kerry of having a fundamental misunderstanding of the war on terror.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president keeps going around the country trying to scare people. He talks about only one thing, the only thing he wants to talk is terror, the war on terror, national security. Well, let me tell you something. If that's a debate we want to have, I'm prepared to have that debate because I can wage a better war on terror than George Bush has.
HENRY: Despite those comments on national security, Kerry zeroed in on the domestic agenda and mocked President Bush's performance in the recent debates.
KERRY: You know, when it comes to jobs and health care, and all these other things and that debate, I kept hearing the president say, lean over that podium and kind of look at you real nice like, and he'd say, it's hard work. It's hard work. Well, I've got news for you, Mr. President. I'm ready to relieve you of the hard work.
HENRY: Kerry completes his Western swing with a stop today in Los Corusas, New Mexico where he also hopes to rally Hispanic voters. Then it's on to the mother of all battleground states, Florida, where Kerry has a series of events on Sunday. Ed Henry, CNN, Pueblo, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD; And as Kerry makes his way toward Florida, his runningmate, Senator John Edwards, is already on the trail in the Sunshine State. Right now, he's at a Fresh Start for America rally in St. Petersburg. Earlier Edwards campaigned in Orlando.
And speaking of Florida, the president is there. He's made 4 stops in Florida, in the Sunshine State today. Right now, you're looking at a live picture of him in Melbourne, Florida. And in a moment, we'll have a live report from there.
So with just 10 days to go, and the race apparently deadlocked, what do President Bush or Senator Kerry need to do to seal the deal? And can we learn anything definitive from all of these polls that are floating around?
With me from Washington, CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein with the "Los Angeles Times." Good to see you, Ron.
RON BROWNSTEIN, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Hi, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD; All right. Well, the only thing consistent about these many polls is that it is a tight race, there's something between one and three-percentage point margin of error. Some of them showing Kerry up front, some of them showing Bush up front. How, if at all, is this impacting the real pace of the campaigning just with 10 days left?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, a couple of things. In fact, there are patterns in the polling right now. By and large, President Bush has been ahead in most of the polling in October, indeed in most of the polling since the Republican Convention. There have been very few that have had John Kerry with the lead, although there have been some.
On the other hand, almost all of the polls have had President Bush still under 50 percent in his support, and many of them have had an under 50 percent in his job approval. So the Republicans look at these numbers and they say look, John Kerry is behind even after he's done well in the debates, even when the news is bad in Iraq. That suggests voters are resistant about turning to him.
Democrats look at the numbers and say no matter where the race is, President Bush usually is below 50, which is usually a sign of trouble for the incumbent. That means voters are hesitant about re- electing him. There's some truth in each of that, each of those analyses, and that's why it's such an uncertain period heading into the final 10 days.
WHITFIELD: And in recent days, we've seen President Bush has been focusing on the Catholic vote in Pennsylvania, for example, while Kerry has been focusing on women and Hispanics out West.
As both candidates of these candidates are criss-crossing the nation, are we seeing that their campaign strategies are primarily being dictated by their constituency, or perhaps are they likely in the next few days to kind of turn on one another, continue to lambast one another, whether it be through these televised ads or otherwise?
BROWNSTEIN: I think you will see both, and a third thing, where the brutal math of reaching 270 electoral college votes really takes over. I mean, these candidates are narrowing their focus to a very few states. There are probably 10 states, or 11 that are plausiblely in play. And the real number may be only half.
John Kerry, for instance this week is in places like Nevada and Colorado, that they are trying very hard to put into play, but which aren't easy for Democrats. The president keeps banging at the door in Pennsylvania, where the last poll had him 5 points behind, and which is very much of an uphill climb for Republicans.
There really are an extraordinarily few number of states that are in danger of shifting hands from 2000, and as a result you're seeing these candidates in the same terrain over and over, literally crossing each others' steps. You see John Edwards and the president, John Kerry, Dick Cheney all returning to the same through battlegrounds, but so few are realistically in play for either side.
WHITFIELD: And one of those battlegrounds, a very important one particularly, Ohio. Look at this CNN/USA Today poll with showing Kerry in the lead with 48 percent over Bush with 47 percent. No Republican president to win without clinching Ohio.
The Bush campaign knowing this, are they instead, then, going to perhaps focus on other battleground states, surrendering Ohio, or might we been seeing there still going to be some emphasis from the Bush/Cheney folks on Ohio?
BROWNSTEIN: Certainly a lot of speculation among Democrats, because the president's been scarce in Ohio the month of October, although he has been there this week, and they're talking about coming back.
Ohio, historically, has voted slightly more Republican than the nation overall in almost every election over the last 50 years. So what you're seeing in these polls is a real divergence from that historical pattern, where John Kerry is running better in Ohio than he is nationally.
Now, with Kerry running well in Ohio and running close in Florida, it's Democrats this time, I think, who are talking more about the possibility that their candidate could lose the popular vote and still squeeze out an electoral college majority. Certainly if he wins Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, Kerry would be in a very strong position to win, whatever happens in the national popular vote.
But Florida, again, is very tight terrain, perhaps leaning slightly toward Bush in the way that Ohio seems to be leaning slightly toward Kerry.
WHITFIELD: An incredible horserace indeed. All right. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, let's focus now on the Republican side. It's all Florida, all day for President Bush. He's got 4 stops there today. And CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the Bush campaign and joins us from Jacksonville -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred that's right, 4 stops in one day. There's a live picture of the president in Melbourne, Florida.
Earlier today, however, the picture came from Fort Myers. That is where the president made a dramatic entrance, said only an incumbent can pull off Marine One going into the ballpark. You see that actually, Marine One's theme song was playing at the time, the crowd burst into applause. And then the theme from the movie "Top Gun" announced the president's arrival.
Now, ironically Marine One, the chopper, landed in left field in a park in which the beloved team of Senator John Kerry, the Boston Red Sox actually do their spring practice. They, of course, going to the World Series. But it certainly doesn't seem to make a difference with that crowd. They were very enthusiastic.
President Bush traveling with the first lady, as well as Florida's governor, his brother, Jeb Bush. The message very clear in all 4 stops here, is that Senator kerry is not fit to be commander in chief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: He used to understand that Saddam was a major source of instability in the Middle East, after all, he said so. And when he voted to authorize force, the Senator must have recognized the nightmare scenario that terrorists might somehow access weapons of mass destruction. Senator Kerry seemed to have forgotten all of that, as his position has evolved during the course of the campaign. You might call it election amnesia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Kerry camp quickly responding to that, their own statement saying voters aren't going to have amnesia when it comes time to vote on election day.
Now as you know, Fred, Florida is a critical state for the president. This is the place that has been ravaged by hurricane damage. The president delivering millions of dollars in aid. This is also a place where his bother, Governor Jeb Bush, enjoys a 70 percent approval rating.
Now President Bush is focusing, targeting and counting on the Hispanic vote, the Jewish vote, elders, the senior vote, these are the type of groups he's been working hard to generate the support that he needs to put him over the top.
Interestingly enough, however, Fred, the big issue here, of course, is the dramatic increase in voter registration. These numbers coming from the "St. Petersburg Times" showing that since 2000, election 2000, 1.5 million new voters have been registered, that is an 18 percent increase. It has broken down to a 13 percent increase for Republicans, a 12 percent increase for Democrats and a whopping 39 percent increase for independents. That is really a very important number. The president, of course, trying to reach the independent voters.
Something that may also kind of throw a monkey wrench into all of this, there's a 36 percent increase among the black vote, African- Americans and three out of four black voters are registered Democrats. So it will be interesting to see how that turns out -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president, that independent number particularly significant, because Ralph Nader is on the ballot in 34 states and D.C.
Well, Vice President Dick Cheney is on the road now in the desert southwest. He's at a rally in Farmington, New Mexico. And later he heads to Grand Junction, Colorado.
Cheney has been focusing on the war on terror in his latest campaign stops. Yesterday during a stop in iowa, Cheney blasted Senator John Kerry, saying he lacks President Bush's clear-eyed approach.
Well the Cardinals are in Beantown for the World Series and so is our Larry Smith.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Game one of the World Series coming up this evening. You may have heard that this is all about hitting, but I'll tell you why pitching will be the big key in this year's fall classic.
WHITFIELD: Also ahead, displaced Kurds head home to Kirkuk in an effort to reclaim their homes and their history.
And later, the legal battle behind the presidential election. Armies of lawyers are assembling. Their goal is to avoid a repeat of 4 years ago. But can they pull it off? That's coming up on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: As fans begin making their way toward Fenway Park for tonight's game 1 of the World Series, Boston Police are hoping to avoid scenes like these after the Red Sox stunned the Yankees. The city's mayor says more officers will be posted around bars near the stadium. Celebrations turned tragic Thursday morning when a college student was struck and killed by a pepper spray projectile fired by police, several other people were hurt.
Well, the first pitch of this potentially historic World Series will be tossed in a few hours. Will the Sox take their next step toward reversing the curse, or will the Cards deal them a game one loss? CNN sports reporter Larry Smith joins us now with a live report from Boston --Larry.
SMITH: Well Fredricka, already it's electricity outside Fenway Park here. Thousands of fans milling around, buying souvenirs and doing wahtnot, getting ready for tonight's game one.
It's a chilly New England afternoon that will only get colder tonight. Game time temperature 47 degrees for game 1. The Cardinals this evening.
Now it's the National Leauge Champion Cardinals versus the American League Champion Red Sox. St. Louis in the fall classic for the first time since 1987 a year after Boston made its last appearance.
But again, you talk about the Red Sox, you talk about the curse of the Bambino. The great Babe Ruth traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees back in 1920, and Boston has not won a World Series since.
But as you mention, the first team to come back, ever, from a 3-0 deficit in the baseball playoff series, and they did it against their hated rival Yankees. Well, this self-proclaimed band of idiots, the Boston Red Sox, they believe that this is their year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN MILLAR, RED SUX 1ST BASEMAN: This is going to rewrite history. This could be a part of history, to be a part of this atmosphere. I don't think there's a group of guys that deserves it more, because of the guys that have been released, because of the guys that haven't been drafted, because of the grinders, and your superstars. It's a great mix.
TONY LARUSSA, CARDINAL'S MANAGER: I mean, it's a time for both fans to be selfish and both teams to be selfish. You know, they want to win for all of the reasons, but we have a clubhouse full of guys that have never had a World Series ring. So you know, we're going to try and be greedy and selfish just like they are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Well, the Red Sox may have beaten the Yankees to get here, but it's the 4th time in a row they've reached the World Series, only to take on the winningst team in the season. St. Louis Cardinals have that distinction, after they beat the Houston Astros to get here from the National League Championship series.
Woody Williams goes for St. Louis. He's the starting pitcher versus Tim Wakefield, the senior member of this Boston Red Sox team.
And what a story he was, Fredricka, in the league championship series, scheduled to start a couple of times, but gave up his starting role to help a beleagueured bull pen get through in relief work and help urge this team on. This Red Sox team, certainly playing as a team trying. And now they've got to try to shut down the bats.
Both teams very strong offensively. So it may come down to pitching, whoever's arms hold out the longest could be the one who comes out champion in the end. Let's go back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, starting with what could be a very long evening tonight. Larry Smith in Boston.
Well, time for a quick look at some stories across America now. So much for pin-striped loyalty. The Red Sox win over Yankees prompted a New York restaurant owner to temporarily change the name of his landmark establishment. Mickey Mantle's is now known as Ted Williams Bar and Grill, triggering no shortage of angry calls from the Yankee faithful.
American Airlines says it will furlough 650 matainance workers in Kansas City and St. Louis, 450 pilots are also affecting by a cost cutting measure. American also plans to trim its flight schedule 5 percent by next year.
The Dave Matthews is trying to clean up a big stink it caused in Chicago. The city is suing the band, because one of its charter buses emptied its septic tank on a passing tour boat on the Chicago River. The band is hoping a pair of $50,000 donations to the city will put the matter to rest.
And Charlie Brown's buddy Linus would be proud of this great pumpkin. It weighs 700 pounds and was supposed to be moved to a different California farm this weekend.
Well, winter is coming in Iraq, and that means problems for thousands of displaced Kurds living in tents. Ahead, what the U.S. military and Iraqi governments are doing to help.
And later, a comic book takes on the AIDS issue and shows its readers what it takes to be a true hero. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Now an update on the fight for Iraq. It's been another day of bloody fighting that's left many peoople dead in suicide bombings. At least 12 Iraqis were killed in 2 car bombings. One of the blasts happened near a U.S. base in northwest Iraq. 10 local policemen were killed in that incident.
Meantime, the U.S. says a key member of the al Zawahiri terror organization has been arrested. He was seized in a raid on Falluja along with 5 suspected terrorists.
And the fate of aid worker Margaret Hassan remains unknown. She was kidnapped Tuesday and appeared in a video pleading for her life. Hassan is director of CARE International in Iraq and holds British and Iraqi citizenships.
For decades, Kurds in Northern Iraq suffered under the regime of Saddam Hussein. Since his downfall, life remains hard for many Kurds. CNN's Jane Arraf spoke with Kurd families living at an abandoned army camp in Kirkuk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the most precious thing Mustafa Ahmed Mustafa owns, these documents in a plastic bag. They're 40 years old, blackened and shredding, but they say his Kurdish grandfather owned land near Kirkuk.
They arrested my father and put him in jail. They broke four of his fingers. After that, they forced us to leave Kirkuk, he said.
That was 1987. He came back from Kurdish-controlled Iraq two months ago and found that his house had been destroyed and Arab families had been resettled on his land.
Mustafa and his wife, Dulsati Alli (ph), are better off than most of the 3,000 families who live in this sprawling camp. He works as a laborer and has started building a house illegally on this city property. There's no running water, though, and although they have a new fridge, there's no electricity. When the kids get sick, there's no doctor here. Dulsati (ph), who is 26 and expecting a 4th child, says although conditions were a lot better in the camp in the Kurdish controlled area they were in, she considers this city home.
To help entrench the Kurdish identity of oil-rich Kirkuk, U.S. officials say they Kurdish parties encouraged displaced Kurds to return here before a planned census, now canceled.
(on camera): More than 2,000 families live in this abandoned army camp. They say they want better living conditions, but they also say Kirkuk is their home and they have no plans to leave.
(voice-over): The U.S. military, working through the Iraqi government, has taken on bringing in electrical lines and trying to provide water. These Kurds say they trust only the United States to keep them safe.
Nabat Mohammed (ph), named her baby girl Neshtiman (ph) which means homeland, for Kirkuk. If she had had a boy, she would have named him George Bush, she tells us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator): We're worried that if the Americans leave here, Saddam and his regime will come back. If the Americans leave, they need to take us with them.
ARRAF: In the same way the coalition forces rid they them of Saddam, the coalition has to help establish a real Iraqi government that can help them finally go back to their homes, they say. Jane Arraf, CNN, Kirkuk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Here at home, millions of new voters, new voting technology and a very tight race. Is it a recipe for disaster on election day? We'll look at the problems, and the lawyers already lined up to do battle.
Plus, the defense takes its turn in the Scott Peterson trial. A look at what surprises they might have under their belt. Stay with us.
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WHITFIELD: Now in the news, high-rise buildings in Tokyo shook and swayed earlier today as a series of strong earthquakes rocked parts of Japan. At lest 3 strong quakes struck a region in the northwest area of the country. The biggest had a magnitude of 6.8. At least 4 deaths and several hundred injuries have been reported by local media.
The secretary of state Colin Powell is now in Japan as part of his latest trip to Asia. Powell arrived in Tokyo earlier today. The focus of his trip is to try to get stalled 6 party talks involving North Korea's nuclear program moving again. Powell travels to travel to China and South Korea after his stop in Japan. With ten days to go until the presidential election, President Bush and Senator Kerry are in almost nonstop campaign mode. Bush is making four campaign stops today in the battleground state of Florida. Kerry is campaigning in Colorado and New Mexico before heading to Florida as well. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Ten days before the election and already there are voting problems across the country. To begin, all eyes are on Florida. Congressman Robert Waxler, a Democrat from there, is suing the state over its new paperless electronic voting machines. Waxler wants all counties to produce paper trails of peoples votes in case a recall is needed.
Also a probe is under way in Florida after an early test of its voting progress exposed some problems. In Ohio, a court battle looms over provisional ballots at issue how to handle voters who show up at the wrong polling places. Also in the buckeye state, election officials have found 1,000 suspicious voter registration applications that could led to prosecution for fraud.
And in Georgia, election officials in Fulton county, where Atlanta is located, say they may have received up to 3,000 fake voter registration applications that were collected in exchange for money. An investigation is continuing.
On November 2nd, both political parties will be sending thousands of legal observers to the battleground states. What exactly will they be watching out for and what could it mean for the election? Peter Viles takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When this story left off, two former secretaries of state, James Baker for the Republicans, Warren Christopher for the Democrats, were leading rival armies of lawyers that fought from Florida all the way to the Supreme Court. So nobody should be surprised those armies are back and they're bigger. Lawyers by the thousands, the 2004 election now a legal as well as a political contest.
ELLIOT MINCBERG, PEOPE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY: We hope to have as many as 25,000 volunteers, of which we hope 5,000 will be lawyers and law students at polls, predominantly in minority areas on election day.
VILES: That army of lawyers is in addition to the two huge legal teams the campaigns are putting together to fight a legal battle that has already begun. Lawsuits in Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Missouri, Colorado, all focus on the same new issue, what are the exact terms under which a voter who is not found on the list of registered voter can under a new federal law cast a provisional ballot. In Ohio, Democrats are fighting Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell on the issue.
DAVID SULLIVAN, DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEY, OHIO: We're interested in making sure it's easy for people to vote. The Republicans seem to be interested in making it harder for people to vote.
VILES: In Florida, the Bush team already claiming Democrats are trying to win the election in court and not at the ballot box.
HAYDEN DEMPSEY, REPUBLICAN ATTORNEY, FLORIDA: If you look in every single battleground state around the country, you're going to see almost identical litigation and what's striking is that they waited until the very eve of election to bring these law suits, even though they're challenging statutes that passed in most cases years ago.
VILES: Another new area of legal dispute, how to recount votes from electronic machines that leave no paper trail, a key issue, guess where, Florida.
VILES ( on camera): Now Democrats now say they have a legal team of volunteers that numbers 10,000 or more lawyers. Republicans are not saying how many lawyers they have rounded up, but there is no reason to believe that either side will be out manned or outgunned in the courtroom. Peter Viles, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well you see there is reported problems in Florida, Ohio and even in Georgia. Will this election cycle be a repeat of what we all experienced in 2000? For some insight lets turn to Daniel Seligson, editor of ElectionLine.org. All right good to see you Daniel.
DANIEL SELIGSON, EDITOR, ELECTIONLINE.ORG: Good afternoon. How are you?
WHITFIELD: Well are we looking at the makings of a repeat of at least what we saw in Florida in 2000?
SELIGSON: I think the big question is will we have another Florida. I don't think we'll have another Florida in that we'll have the same situation that we had. Florida's problems were based on ballot design, recount rules, whether or not a statewide recount would be triggered. Most of those things have been dealt with. We don't have punch cards in Florida any more.
WHITFIELD: No punch cards but with now with this electronic voting at least in the early voting stages we're already seeing some problems and people are expressing they want something on paper, something to prove who they voted for just in case there is a recount.
SELIGSON: Right, well opponents of this paper less touch screen voting says there is no independent record, there is no voter verified audit trail. So in the event of a recount you're essentially using the same data source to count what the machine has essentially already given you.
WHITFIELD: Except that computers go down I think that's what a lot of those voters are expressing, they don't trust them. SELIGSON: Right well there are different redundant memories in these machines that keep the vote count in different places. I don't think a computer breakdown would necessarily lose a vote count. That's something that the makers of machines have anticipated.
WHITFIELD: OK and you saw in that report Ohio and Georgia already experiencing some fraudulent voter registration applications. Is it something that we've really seen during every election year, it is just that now it's highlighted because of what America experienced in 2000?
SELIGSON: I think so. I think in the sort of end game leading up to Election Day we get these accusations back and forth every year. I think these rise to the level of a national concern because of what happened in 2000, because of how competitive this race is going to be and because of the stakes that are involved, and the lawsuits we had last time around. So I think both parties are seeking some kind of early advantage making accusations back and forth.
WHITFIELD: Ohio, among those states, with provisional balloting, why is this a problem?
SELIGSON: Well basically what Ohio had in place was a rule that required voters to be in the correct polling place. Other states such as Georgia, the voter can be anywhere in their county. So what Ohio Democrats are saying, and I think the lawsuit was brought by Democratic groups and labor organizations, was that why do our voters have to handle the burden of potentially a mistake that was made by the bureaucratic system. They've been told the wrong place to vote.
WHITFIELD: It sounds like it would promote a lot of confusion among voters.
SELIGSON: Well keep in mind there shouldn't be too many provisional voters. Provisional votes represent a breakdown in the system. A voter who believes that they are registered should know where to go and should be on the list.
WHITFIELD: Do you think this is unnecessary that so many attorneys are already starting to assemble in anticipation of a potential repeat?
SELIGSON: You know, necessary isn't really the question so much as this is more of a rallying cry for Democrats. They don't want to get fooled again, as the who would say they are in place. They don't want to be caught short if there needs to be any legal activity on the day after Election Day and it's expected that Republicans would follow suit. We just don't know how many they have out there.
WHITFIELD: All right, is it your expectation that we are going to see a case where we will not know the winner of the outcome of November 2nd right away that it is something that may take days or perhaps even weeks?
SELIGSON: It's very difficult to say at this point. You can imagine the scenario where the margin of victory is 2,000 say but there's 5,000 provisional votes outstanding. We can't know the victor until they can determine whether those votes can be counted and who they were voted for.
So we could have scenarios around the country, it is really hard to say at this point. I think everyone is going to be a lot more careful about trying to come out with a result on November 2nd before midnight than maybe they were four years ago. That could contribute to some kind of delay as well.
WHITFIELD: All right Daniel Seligson editor of ElectionLine.org, thanks so much.
SELIGSON: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well an exploration of the new electronic voting technology, will it be a boom or a bust? Find out at the top of the hour on "Next@CNN."
Fighting to conquer HIV, how one California man is turning to the pages of a comic book to help.
And later, journeys to the White House over the last 144 years, don't miss some famous photos from campaigns past.
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WHITFIELD: The national flu vaccine shortage has forced Lake county, Illinois, to close down its flu shot clinic, leaving many seniors and children unprotected. The Chicago Bears football team, they were offered shots and several players got them, and many people are now unhappy about that. The head of the Lake county health department says he's outraged that a group of young, fit professional athletes were offered the vaccine. A Bears official says only those players with asthma-type conditions received the shot and many players declined.
When you think about comic books, images of cartoon characters usually spring to mind right? Well now Green Arrow Comics are becoming the first to tackle the very serious topic of HIV. Miguel Marquez takes a closer look at the inspiration behind the plot twist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIQUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He's a modern- day Robin Hood, a superhero fighting injustice since 1941, and now the Green Arrow has a new sidekick in training with something to prove.
JUDD WINICK, CARTOONIST: We're telling a story about a horrible situation and someone rising above it.
MARQUEZ: Nia Dearden a 17-year-old former run away and former prostitute who tests positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Nia Dearden exists only in paper and ink. Part of the inspiration for her is drawn from realty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's awesome. MARQUEZ: Judd Winick, a cartoonist, writer and animator came up with the HIV positive story line from a very "real world" experience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the true story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: True story.
MARQUEZ: In 1994, Winick appeared in season three of MTV's "the real world." his roommate was Pedro Zamora, an AIDs activist who eventually died from the disease. Now from the Green Arrow past, present, fiction and reality come together.
WINICK: Pedro tested positive at 17, Mia tested positive at 17.
MARQUEZ: Winick also says, that like his real life, real world friend, Mia will announce her HIV status to her entire high school student body.
WINICK: I figured one hero story should follow another.
MARQUEZ: Green Arrow is owned by DC Comics which is part of Time Warner, which also owns CNN. For those who read the series the HIV story is an example of what it takes to be a hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's positive that she's overcoming a lot of what she's come from.
MARQUEZ: When it says overcoming obstacles is what defines a hero. In this case a 17-year-old HIV positive sidekick may be able to do what his real world friend died trying to do, conquer HIV.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: With two weeks down and four and a half months to go, Alexis Stewart talks about how her mother is coping with prison life and prison food.
Plus will Scott Peterson take to the stand? We'll talk about what it would take for the defense to put him there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Martha Stewart is two weeks into her five-month prison sentence for lying about her stock. How are things going so far? Well Larry King talked with Stewart's daughter, Alexis to find out. So what does her mother, who thinks nothing of making her own marshmallows, say about prison food?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXIS STEWART, MARTHA'S STEWARTS DAUGHTER: I'm sure she could give them quite a few pointers, but I think that the budget is so limited, that you know, I'm not sure how much change they'd be willing to make. LARRY KING: What does she say about the food?
STEWART: It's not very good.
KING: Airplane?
STEWART: It's not just that it's airplane. I think airplane would be better. It's just -- it's terrible, and you know, it's not going to affect her that badly, because she's only there for five months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: After Martha Stewart gets out of prison, she'll spend five months under house arrest.
Well the defense of Scott Peterson took a major hit this week, when his attorneys put an expert witness on the stand who was supposed to single-handedly destroy the prosecution's case. Instead, the man had jurors knick snickering and laughing as he begged the prosecutor to cut him some slack.
Well joining us to talk about it from Cleveland Ohio, civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi.
WHITFIELD: Hello. And from New York, civil defense attorney Richard Herman. How do you like the gavel coming down, the drama.
RICHARD HERMAN, CIVIL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. We missed you.
WHITFIELD: I missed you guys, too. All right Richard, let's begin with you. What happened? This testimony was supposed to help seal this defense case or at least set the pace of what they're trying to achieve.
HERMAN: Well, in my opinion, Fredricka, they didn't even need to put on a defense case here. But since they took the opportunity to do it, the first couple expert witnesses were great. Apparently, they put on a medical expert who was not prepared, who while he was on direct examination testified exactly the way Geragos wanted him to, and his ultimate finding was that the baby was born sometime around December 29th, which would have basically freed Scott Peterson.
However, on cross-examination, like we saw throughout the prosecution case, this witness was not prepared, and he basically had a meltdown on the stand and ended up begging for forgiveness.
WHITFIELD: What a disaster.
HERMAN: Unbelievable. But, but, the day is not over. Dr. Weicht and Dr. Henry Lee are going to be two additional medical experts who will take the stand this week. They are impeccable, their reputations are incredible and they will not have a meltdown, I guarantee you that. WHITFIELD: Well Avery, before we get to them, how ever how does the defense recover from that? Because that is going to indelible moment for the jurors. They're going to say wait a minute, do these guys not have their act together?
FRIEDMAN: Well I think that's a very good observation, Fredricka. The difficulty here is that the weeks' testimony was to crescendo to the doctor here, and what happened was that, he was prepared, but I think it wasn't a question of preparation. I think David Harris, the assistant district attorney did such a good job in showing that the expert testimony was utterly baseless.
It was based on the wrong data, and what happened is that that crescendo with good witnesses at the beginning of the week, they wound up like the New York Yankees, starting strong and then bombing out at the end. So we will have to see what happens.
HERMAN: A low blow. That's a low blow.
WHITFIELD: They were expecting some sort of scientific evidence to be produced. None was. They really can't revisit that topic at all, can they, even if Dr. Lee comes on the stand. I mean they are going to have to let that notion go right, Richard?
HERMAN: No Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Really?
HERMAN: Two out of the three medical experts for the prosecution testified that the baby was born full time. Dr. Henry Lee and Dr. Cyril Weicht will both come on and they will testify point bland that the baby was born full term.
WHITFIELD: I love it that you're nodding. You're not in agreement. What is the matter with this?
FRIEDMAN: You have conflicting experts for the defense, one saying it was not born as they originally argued or stated in the opening statement. Mark Geragos is in trouble unless he does something dramatic in this last week of the defense, and this is the last week, he's got some real, real problems and we're looking to finish the case before Election Day.
WHITFIELD: And everyone agrees dramatic would be Scott Peterson himself taking the stand. It almost seems like there's no way that would happen.
HERMAN: No way.
WHITFIELD: Are they going to be forced in the position where they have to?
FRIEDMAN: Well I don't think so. I think the reality is that Scott Peterson really could clarify a lot of things but frankly, the New York Yankees would be going to the World Series before we'd ever see Scott Peterson take the stand. That will not happen in this case. HERMAN: He cannot answer away, he can not answer away why he told some people he was fishing and other people he was playing golf.
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: And he certainly can't answer away why he was 400 miles away when his wife's remains washed up on the shore. There are too many pitfalls for him. He will absolutely get convicted if he takes the stand and Geragos should resign from the bar if he puts him on the stand.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. OK same state, different case, different players here. Michael Jackson his team of lawyers filing a complaint, saying that it is supposed to be heard by the superior court November 4th, after Election Day. But anyway the complaint the District Attorney Tom Sneddon and his deputies are so bias that Michael Jackson can't possibly get a fair trial because of Sneddon's "personal animosity" towards Jackson. Is this a valid and sound argument to make, Avery?
FRIEDMAN: Well you know what's interesting is since when are district attorneys not biased? I mean, it would be a great argument if they were arguing the judge were biased, but the fact the district attorneys have shown a bias against Michael Jackson, holy smokes, if that were a basis to get Sneddon knocked out, every prosecutor in the country would be knocked out for that reason. It's ridiculous.
WHITFIELD: And Richard, the prosecutors are saying there is a lack of evidence on this kind of motion or complaint.
HERMAN: There's as much chance of Jackson getting Sneddon recused in this case as us seeing Professor Avery Friedman moon walking out of the studio today.
FRIEDMAN: You might see that.
HERMAN: Moonwalk on out, Avery.
FRIEDMAN: You might see that.
WHITFIELD: I'd love to see that. We'll put that on the air when indeed it happens.
FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right Avery Friedman and Richard Herman, thanks so much guys. Always good to see you.
FRIEDMAN: Wonderful and same to you.
HERMAN: Take care.
WHITFIELD: All right see you next weekend.
When we come back, images from the campaign trail. You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY. And we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A Victoria's Harry Truman brandishes a newspaper reading "Duey Defeats Truman." And Richard Dixon wipes sweat from his brow during a debate with John F. Kennedy. Here is some of the most enduring images in American politics. And just part of the story told in the book "On the Campaign Trail." The long road of presidential politics, here's a quick look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGLAS SCHOEN, EDITOR, "ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL:" This book is the history of American presidential campaigns through images. It's the story of how we campaign, how we choose our leaders and ultimately the story of America. We started in 1860 because the two-party system basically evolved around the 1856 or 1860 election, with the Republicans holding the majority of the victories. Every campaign and every candidate since really the turn of the century took the so- called whistle stops tour, in an era when there was no television and radio was in its inform, this was an enormously important and earth shattering undertaking.
You really get a sense as to the way the candidates presented themselves, and the certain sense the timeless traditions that ran through campaigns. There were two images that strike me. The first was the picture of Lyndon Johnson in 1964, with his tie open, his hands on his head, sitting at his desk, and you just had the sense of a defeated man. The other image, and it's one that exists in stark contrast, is the image of John F. Kennedy in 1960, relaxed, looking at himself on TV, the picture of supreme confidence.
And those two images for me really evoke the men, the circumstances they faced, and ultimately a good part of who they are. The whole point of this is that there's a lot of fun, that candidates kiss babies, meet sports stars, spend time with their friends and family on the train. People who start in the process keep coming back.
Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for vice president in 1920. He emerges at the president in 1932. Obviously Richard Nixon lost in '60. He's elected in '68. John F. Kennedy tried to become vice president in 1956. He was elected president in '60. Al Gore tried to run for president in 1988. He's nominated for vice president in 1992. I mean, even Arnold Schwarzenegger was campaigning with the first George Bush in the 1988 election and we all know what happened to him this year in California.
We found the superman image that was in the '76 or '80 election and really what we were trying to do with that final image was to suggest that there is both an aspect of ritual, there is an aspect of finality and frankly an aspect of the absurd in the whole process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY at the top of the hour it is "Next @ CNN." On "CNN Live Saturday" at 4:00 Eastern one women's dream to help a group of Jews leave Baghdad. And at 5:00 Eastern "People in the News" profiling Colin Powell. And independent candidate Ralph Nader. But first Daniel Sieberg with a preview of "Next @ CNN."
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ahead on "Next @ CNN" how safe is your ballot. And you can look at the promise of electronic voting and some of the potential problems. Also what are pythons doing in the Florida Everglades? We will tell you how they got there and why they worry wild life officials. Those stories and a lot more coming up right after a check of the headlines from the CNN newsroom.
WHITFIELD: President Bush and Senator Kerry continue campaigning in cities and towns in key battleground states. In Florida today Mr. Bush told supporters his rival has a case of "election amnesia." Concerning his stands on Iraq. Senator Kerry told a crowd in Quell, Colorado that Bush is going around the country trying to scare people.
At least fourteen people were killed in three separate acts of violence.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired October 23, 2004 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 2:00 pm on the East Coast, 11:00 am out west. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, 10 days left until the election and the candidates are making every minute count. We're on the campaign trail, too, trying to keep up.
Plus, the quest to end the curse gets underway. Game one of the World Series is tonight. And we'll go live to Fenway Park.
And a comic book character with an illness and something to prove. We'll meet her and her superhero partner.
All those stories in a moment, but first here are the top stories.
A car bombing has left at least 10 Iraqi policemen dead and several others wounded in Western Iraq. It happened outside a U.S. Marine base near Ramadi. No U.S. casualties have been reported.
As the votes are still being counted in Afghanistan's presidential election, there's news of a suicide attack in capital of Kabul. Six people were wounded, 2 of them were international peacekeepers. The blast went off in a popular shopping district.
After 6 months aboard the International Space Station, an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut prepar to head home. The 2, along with another cosmonaut who spent 8 days at the station are scheduled to leave for Earth later today. Their ride will be in a Russian Soyuz space capsule.
No suspects so far in a break-in at the Bush-Cheney campaign office in Cincinnati, Ohio. Police say someone smashed a window and stole about $300 cash from the office on Friday. The broken window has since been replaced.
We begin this hour on the campaign trail. The battle for the Oval Office now in its final days. And you guessed it, it's still too close to call. President George W. Bush leads Senator John Kerry by just 3 percentage points in our poll of polls, an average of national polling.
And as we close in on November 2, the pace on the campaign trail is frantic. Both Bush and Kerry are shaking a lot of hands today. Kerry is spending much of the day in Colorado and New Mexico. We begin in Pueblo, Colorado with CNN congressional corespondent Ed Henry, who is traveling with the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In this final sprint, John Kerry is focusing in on only about a dozen battleground states still up for grabs, including Colorado, a Bush state in 2000. Kerry aides believe that they can carry it if they turn out the Hispanic vote. So Kerry appeared at a rally today alongside Ken Salazar, a Hispanic Democrat who is leading in the U.S. Senate race here.
Also, the rally was in Pueblo, Colorado, which has the largest concentration of Hispanic voters in the state. And at this large rally, Kerry fired back at the president who in his Saturday radio address accused Kerry of having a fundamental misunderstanding of the war on terror.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president keeps going around the country trying to scare people. He talks about only one thing, the only thing he wants to talk is terror, the war on terror, national security. Well, let me tell you something. If that's a debate we want to have, I'm prepared to have that debate because I can wage a better war on terror than George Bush has.
HENRY: Despite those comments on national security, Kerry zeroed in on the domestic agenda and mocked President Bush's performance in the recent debates.
KERRY: You know, when it comes to jobs and health care, and all these other things and that debate, I kept hearing the president say, lean over that podium and kind of look at you real nice like, and he'd say, it's hard work. It's hard work. Well, I've got news for you, Mr. President. I'm ready to relieve you of the hard work.
HENRY: Kerry completes his Western swing with a stop today in Los Corusas, New Mexico where he also hopes to rally Hispanic voters. Then it's on to the mother of all battleground states, Florida, where Kerry has a series of events on Sunday. Ed Henry, CNN, Pueblo, Colorado.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD; And as Kerry makes his way toward Florida, his runningmate, Senator John Edwards, is already on the trail in the Sunshine State. Right now, he's at a Fresh Start for America rally in St. Petersburg. Earlier Edwards campaigned in Orlando.
And speaking of Florida, the president is there. He's made 4 stops in Florida, in the Sunshine State today. Right now, you're looking at a live picture of him in Melbourne, Florida. And in a moment, we'll have a live report from there.
So with just 10 days to go, and the race apparently deadlocked, what do President Bush or Senator Kerry need to do to seal the deal? And can we learn anything definitive from all of these polls that are floating around?
With me from Washington, CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein with the "Los Angeles Times." Good to see you, Ron.
RON BROWNSTEIN, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Hi, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD; All right. Well, the only thing consistent about these many polls is that it is a tight race, there's something between one and three-percentage point margin of error. Some of them showing Kerry up front, some of them showing Bush up front. How, if at all, is this impacting the real pace of the campaigning just with 10 days left?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, a couple of things. In fact, there are patterns in the polling right now. By and large, President Bush has been ahead in most of the polling in October, indeed in most of the polling since the Republican Convention. There have been very few that have had John Kerry with the lead, although there have been some.
On the other hand, almost all of the polls have had President Bush still under 50 percent in his support, and many of them have had an under 50 percent in his job approval. So the Republicans look at these numbers and they say look, John Kerry is behind even after he's done well in the debates, even when the news is bad in Iraq. That suggests voters are resistant about turning to him.
Democrats look at the numbers and say no matter where the race is, President Bush usually is below 50, which is usually a sign of trouble for the incumbent. That means voters are hesitant about re- electing him. There's some truth in each of that, each of those analyses, and that's why it's such an uncertain period heading into the final 10 days.
WHITFIELD: And in recent days, we've seen President Bush has been focusing on the Catholic vote in Pennsylvania, for example, while Kerry has been focusing on women and Hispanics out West.
As both candidates of these candidates are criss-crossing the nation, are we seeing that their campaign strategies are primarily being dictated by their constituency, or perhaps are they likely in the next few days to kind of turn on one another, continue to lambast one another, whether it be through these televised ads or otherwise?
BROWNSTEIN: I think you will see both, and a third thing, where the brutal math of reaching 270 electoral college votes really takes over. I mean, these candidates are narrowing their focus to a very few states. There are probably 10 states, or 11 that are plausiblely in play. And the real number may be only half.
John Kerry, for instance this week is in places like Nevada and Colorado, that they are trying very hard to put into play, but which aren't easy for Democrats. The president keeps banging at the door in Pennsylvania, where the last poll had him 5 points behind, and which is very much of an uphill climb for Republicans.
There really are an extraordinarily few number of states that are in danger of shifting hands from 2000, and as a result you're seeing these candidates in the same terrain over and over, literally crossing each others' steps. You see John Edwards and the president, John Kerry, Dick Cheney all returning to the same through battlegrounds, but so few are realistically in play for either side.
WHITFIELD: And one of those battlegrounds, a very important one particularly, Ohio. Look at this CNN/USA Today poll with showing Kerry in the lead with 48 percent over Bush with 47 percent. No Republican president to win without clinching Ohio.
The Bush campaign knowing this, are they instead, then, going to perhaps focus on other battleground states, surrendering Ohio, or might we been seeing there still going to be some emphasis from the Bush/Cheney folks on Ohio?
BROWNSTEIN: Certainly a lot of speculation among Democrats, because the president's been scarce in Ohio the month of October, although he has been there this week, and they're talking about coming back.
Ohio, historically, has voted slightly more Republican than the nation overall in almost every election over the last 50 years. So what you're seeing in these polls is a real divergence from that historical pattern, where John Kerry is running better in Ohio than he is nationally.
Now, with Kerry running well in Ohio and running close in Florida, it's Democrats this time, I think, who are talking more about the possibility that their candidate could lose the popular vote and still squeeze out an electoral college majority. Certainly if he wins Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, Kerry would be in a very strong position to win, whatever happens in the national popular vote.
But Florida, again, is very tight terrain, perhaps leaning slightly toward Bush in the way that Ohio seems to be leaning slightly toward Kerry.
WHITFIELD: An incredible horserace indeed. All right. Ron Brownstein, thanks so much.
BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, let's focus now on the Republican side. It's all Florida, all day for President Bush. He's got 4 stops there today. And CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the Bush campaign and joins us from Jacksonville -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred that's right, 4 stops in one day. There's a live picture of the president in Melbourne, Florida.
Earlier today, however, the picture came from Fort Myers. That is where the president made a dramatic entrance, said only an incumbent can pull off Marine One going into the ballpark. You see that actually, Marine One's theme song was playing at the time, the crowd burst into applause. And then the theme from the movie "Top Gun" announced the president's arrival.
Now, ironically Marine One, the chopper, landed in left field in a park in which the beloved team of Senator John Kerry, the Boston Red Sox actually do their spring practice. They, of course, going to the World Series. But it certainly doesn't seem to make a difference with that crowd. They were very enthusiastic.
President Bush traveling with the first lady, as well as Florida's governor, his brother, Jeb Bush. The message very clear in all 4 stops here, is that Senator kerry is not fit to be commander in chief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: He used to understand that Saddam was a major source of instability in the Middle East, after all, he said so. And when he voted to authorize force, the Senator must have recognized the nightmare scenario that terrorists might somehow access weapons of mass destruction. Senator Kerry seemed to have forgotten all of that, as his position has evolved during the course of the campaign. You might call it election amnesia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Kerry camp quickly responding to that, their own statement saying voters aren't going to have amnesia when it comes time to vote on election day.
Now as you know, Fred, Florida is a critical state for the president. This is the place that has been ravaged by hurricane damage. The president delivering millions of dollars in aid. This is also a place where his bother, Governor Jeb Bush, enjoys a 70 percent approval rating.
Now President Bush is focusing, targeting and counting on the Hispanic vote, the Jewish vote, elders, the senior vote, these are the type of groups he's been working hard to generate the support that he needs to put him over the top.
Interestingly enough, however, Fred, the big issue here, of course, is the dramatic increase in voter registration. These numbers coming from the "St. Petersburg Times" showing that since 2000, election 2000, 1.5 million new voters have been registered, that is an 18 percent increase. It has broken down to a 13 percent increase for Republicans, a 12 percent increase for Democrats and a whopping 39 percent increase for independents. That is really a very important number. The president, of course, trying to reach the independent voters.
Something that may also kind of throw a monkey wrench into all of this, there's a 36 percent increase among the black vote, African- Americans and three out of four black voters are registered Democrats. So it will be interesting to see how that turns out -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president, that independent number particularly significant, because Ralph Nader is on the ballot in 34 states and D.C.
Well, Vice President Dick Cheney is on the road now in the desert southwest. He's at a rally in Farmington, New Mexico. And later he heads to Grand Junction, Colorado.
Cheney has been focusing on the war on terror in his latest campaign stops. Yesterday during a stop in iowa, Cheney blasted Senator John Kerry, saying he lacks President Bush's clear-eyed approach.
Well the Cardinals are in Beantown for the World Series and so is our Larry Smith.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Game one of the World Series coming up this evening. You may have heard that this is all about hitting, but I'll tell you why pitching will be the big key in this year's fall classic.
WHITFIELD: Also ahead, displaced Kurds head home to Kirkuk in an effort to reclaim their homes and their history.
And later, the legal battle behind the presidential election. Armies of lawyers are assembling. Their goal is to avoid a repeat of 4 years ago. But can they pull it off? That's coming up on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: As fans begin making their way toward Fenway Park for tonight's game 1 of the World Series, Boston Police are hoping to avoid scenes like these after the Red Sox stunned the Yankees. The city's mayor says more officers will be posted around bars near the stadium. Celebrations turned tragic Thursday morning when a college student was struck and killed by a pepper spray projectile fired by police, several other people were hurt.
Well, the first pitch of this potentially historic World Series will be tossed in a few hours. Will the Sox take their next step toward reversing the curse, or will the Cards deal them a game one loss? CNN sports reporter Larry Smith joins us now with a live report from Boston --Larry.
SMITH: Well Fredricka, already it's electricity outside Fenway Park here. Thousands of fans milling around, buying souvenirs and doing wahtnot, getting ready for tonight's game one.
It's a chilly New England afternoon that will only get colder tonight. Game time temperature 47 degrees for game 1. The Cardinals this evening.
Now it's the National Leauge Champion Cardinals versus the American League Champion Red Sox. St. Louis in the fall classic for the first time since 1987 a year after Boston made its last appearance.
But again, you talk about the Red Sox, you talk about the curse of the Bambino. The great Babe Ruth traded from the Red Sox to the Yankees back in 1920, and Boston has not won a World Series since.
But as you mention, the first team to come back, ever, from a 3-0 deficit in the baseball playoff series, and they did it against their hated rival Yankees. Well, this self-proclaimed band of idiots, the Boston Red Sox, they believe that this is their year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN MILLAR, RED SUX 1ST BASEMAN: This is going to rewrite history. This could be a part of history, to be a part of this atmosphere. I don't think there's a group of guys that deserves it more, because of the guys that have been released, because of the guys that haven't been drafted, because of the grinders, and your superstars. It's a great mix.
TONY LARUSSA, CARDINAL'S MANAGER: I mean, it's a time for both fans to be selfish and both teams to be selfish. You know, they want to win for all of the reasons, but we have a clubhouse full of guys that have never had a World Series ring. So you know, we're going to try and be greedy and selfish just like they are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Well, the Red Sox may have beaten the Yankees to get here, but it's the 4th time in a row they've reached the World Series, only to take on the winningst team in the season. St. Louis Cardinals have that distinction, after they beat the Houston Astros to get here from the National League Championship series.
Woody Williams goes for St. Louis. He's the starting pitcher versus Tim Wakefield, the senior member of this Boston Red Sox team.
And what a story he was, Fredricka, in the league championship series, scheduled to start a couple of times, but gave up his starting role to help a beleagueured bull pen get through in relief work and help urge this team on. This Red Sox team, certainly playing as a team trying. And now they've got to try to shut down the bats.
Both teams very strong offensively. So it may come down to pitching, whoever's arms hold out the longest could be the one who comes out champion in the end. Let's go back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, starting with what could be a very long evening tonight. Larry Smith in Boston.
Well, time for a quick look at some stories across America now. So much for pin-striped loyalty. The Red Sox win over Yankees prompted a New York restaurant owner to temporarily change the name of his landmark establishment. Mickey Mantle's is now known as Ted Williams Bar and Grill, triggering no shortage of angry calls from the Yankee faithful.
American Airlines says it will furlough 650 matainance workers in Kansas City and St. Louis, 450 pilots are also affecting by a cost cutting measure. American also plans to trim its flight schedule 5 percent by next year.
The Dave Matthews is trying to clean up a big stink it caused in Chicago. The city is suing the band, because one of its charter buses emptied its septic tank on a passing tour boat on the Chicago River. The band is hoping a pair of $50,000 donations to the city will put the matter to rest.
And Charlie Brown's buddy Linus would be proud of this great pumpkin. It weighs 700 pounds and was supposed to be moved to a different California farm this weekend.
Well, winter is coming in Iraq, and that means problems for thousands of displaced Kurds living in tents. Ahead, what the U.S. military and Iraqi governments are doing to help.
And later, a comic book takes on the AIDS issue and shows its readers what it takes to be a true hero. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Now an update on the fight for Iraq. It's been another day of bloody fighting that's left many peoople dead in suicide bombings. At least 12 Iraqis were killed in 2 car bombings. One of the blasts happened near a U.S. base in northwest Iraq. 10 local policemen were killed in that incident.
Meantime, the U.S. says a key member of the al Zawahiri terror organization has been arrested. He was seized in a raid on Falluja along with 5 suspected terrorists.
And the fate of aid worker Margaret Hassan remains unknown. She was kidnapped Tuesday and appeared in a video pleading for her life. Hassan is director of CARE International in Iraq and holds British and Iraqi citizenships.
For decades, Kurds in Northern Iraq suffered under the regime of Saddam Hussein. Since his downfall, life remains hard for many Kurds. CNN's Jane Arraf spoke with Kurd families living at an abandoned army camp in Kirkuk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the most precious thing Mustafa Ahmed Mustafa owns, these documents in a plastic bag. They're 40 years old, blackened and shredding, but they say his Kurdish grandfather owned land near Kirkuk.
They arrested my father and put him in jail. They broke four of his fingers. After that, they forced us to leave Kirkuk, he said.
That was 1987. He came back from Kurdish-controlled Iraq two months ago and found that his house had been destroyed and Arab families had been resettled on his land.
Mustafa and his wife, Dulsati Alli (ph), are better off than most of the 3,000 families who live in this sprawling camp. He works as a laborer and has started building a house illegally on this city property. There's no running water, though, and although they have a new fridge, there's no electricity. When the kids get sick, there's no doctor here. Dulsati (ph), who is 26 and expecting a 4th child, says although conditions were a lot better in the camp in the Kurdish controlled area they were in, she considers this city home.
To help entrench the Kurdish identity of oil-rich Kirkuk, U.S. officials say they Kurdish parties encouraged displaced Kurds to return here before a planned census, now canceled.
(on camera): More than 2,000 families live in this abandoned army camp. They say they want better living conditions, but they also say Kirkuk is their home and they have no plans to leave.
(voice-over): The U.S. military, working through the Iraqi government, has taken on bringing in electrical lines and trying to provide water. These Kurds say they trust only the United States to keep them safe.
Nabat Mohammed (ph), named her baby girl Neshtiman (ph) which means homeland, for Kirkuk. If she had had a boy, she would have named him George Bush, she tells us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator): We're worried that if the Americans leave here, Saddam and his regime will come back. If the Americans leave, they need to take us with them.
ARRAF: In the same way the coalition forces rid they them of Saddam, the coalition has to help establish a real Iraqi government that can help them finally go back to their homes, they say. Jane Arraf, CNN, Kirkuk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Here at home, millions of new voters, new voting technology and a very tight race. Is it a recipe for disaster on election day? We'll look at the problems, and the lawyers already lined up to do battle.
Plus, the defense takes its turn in the Scott Peterson trial. A look at what surprises they might have under their belt. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Now in the news, high-rise buildings in Tokyo shook and swayed earlier today as a series of strong earthquakes rocked parts of Japan. At lest 3 strong quakes struck a region in the northwest area of the country. The biggest had a magnitude of 6.8. At least 4 deaths and several hundred injuries have been reported by local media.
The secretary of state Colin Powell is now in Japan as part of his latest trip to Asia. Powell arrived in Tokyo earlier today. The focus of his trip is to try to get stalled 6 party talks involving North Korea's nuclear program moving again. Powell travels to travel to China and South Korea after his stop in Japan. With ten days to go until the presidential election, President Bush and Senator Kerry are in almost nonstop campaign mode. Bush is making four campaign stops today in the battleground state of Florida. Kerry is campaigning in Colorado and New Mexico before heading to Florida as well. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Ten days before the election and already there are voting problems across the country. To begin, all eyes are on Florida. Congressman Robert Waxler, a Democrat from there, is suing the state over its new paperless electronic voting machines. Waxler wants all counties to produce paper trails of peoples votes in case a recall is needed.
Also a probe is under way in Florida after an early test of its voting progress exposed some problems. In Ohio, a court battle looms over provisional ballots at issue how to handle voters who show up at the wrong polling places. Also in the buckeye state, election officials have found 1,000 suspicious voter registration applications that could led to prosecution for fraud.
And in Georgia, election officials in Fulton county, where Atlanta is located, say they may have received up to 3,000 fake voter registration applications that were collected in exchange for money. An investigation is continuing.
On November 2nd, both political parties will be sending thousands of legal observers to the battleground states. What exactly will they be watching out for and what could it mean for the election? Peter Viles takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): When this story left off, two former secretaries of state, James Baker for the Republicans, Warren Christopher for the Democrats, were leading rival armies of lawyers that fought from Florida all the way to the Supreme Court. So nobody should be surprised those armies are back and they're bigger. Lawyers by the thousands, the 2004 election now a legal as well as a political contest.
ELLIOT MINCBERG, PEOPE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY: We hope to have as many as 25,000 volunteers, of which we hope 5,000 will be lawyers and law students at polls, predominantly in minority areas on election day.
VILES: That army of lawyers is in addition to the two huge legal teams the campaigns are putting together to fight a legal battle that has already begun. Lawsuits in Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Missouri, Colorado, all focus on the same new issue, what are the exact terms under which a voter who is not found on the list of registered voter can under a new federal law cast a provisional ballot. In Ohio, Democrats are fighting Republican Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell on the issue.
DAVID SULLIVAN, DEMOCRATIC ATTORNEY, OHIO: We're interested in making sure it's easy for people to vote. The Republicans seem to be interested in making it harder for people to vote.
VILES: In Florida, the Bush team already claiming Democrats are trying to win the election in court and not at the ballot box.
HAYDEN DEMPSEY, REPUBLICAN ATTORNEY, FLORIDA: If you look in every single battleground state around the country, you're going to see almost identical litigation and what's striking is that they waited until the very eve of election to bring these law suits, even though they're challenging statutes that passed in most cases years ago.
VILES: Another new area of legal dispute, how to recount votes from electronic machines that leave no paper trail, a key issue, guess where, Florida.
VILES ( on camera): Now Democrats now say they have a legal team of volunteers that numbers 10,000 or more lawyers. Republicans are not saying how many lawyers they have rounded up, but there is no reason to believe that either side will be out manned or outgunned in the courtroom. Peter Viles, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well you see there is reported problems in Florida, Ohio and even in Georgia. Will this election cycle be a repeat of what we all experienced in 2000? For some insight lets turn to Daniel Seligson, editor of ElectionLine.org. All right good to see you Daniel.
DANIEL SELIGSON, EDITOR, ELECTIONLINE.ORG: Good afternoon. How are you?
WHITFIELD: Well are we looking at the makings of a repeat of at least what we saw in Florida in 2000?
SELIGSON: I think the big question is will we have another Florida. I don't think we'll have another Florida in that we'll have the same situation that we had. Florida's problems were based on ballot design, recount rules, whether or not a statewide recount would be triggered. Most of those things have been dealt with. We don't have punch cards in Florida any more.
WHITFIELD: No punch cards but with now with this electronic voting at least in the early voting stages we're already seeing some problems and people are expressing they want something on paper, something to prove who they voted for just in case there is a recount.
SELIGSON: Right, well opponents of this paper less touch screen voting says there is no independent record, there is no voter verified audit trail. So in the event of a recount you're essentially using the same data source to count what the machine has essentially already given you.
WHITFIELD: Except that computers go down I think that's what a lot of those voters are expressing, they don't trust them. SELIGSON: Right well there are different redundant memories in these machines that keep the vote count in different places. I don't think a computer breakdown would necessarily lose a vote count. That's something that the makers of machines have anticipated.
WHITFIELD: OK and you saw in that report Ohio and Georgia already experiencing some fraudulent voter registration applications. Is it something that we've really seen during every election year, it is just that now it's highlighted because of what America experienced in 2000?
SELIGSON: I think so. I think in the sort of end game leading up to Election Day we get these accusations back and forth every year. I think these rise to the level of a national concern because of what happened in 2000, because of how competitive this race is going to be and because of the stakes that are involved, and the lawsuits we had last time around. So I think both parties are seeking some kind of early advantage making accusations back and forth.
WHITFIELD: Ohio, among those states, with provisional balloting, why is this a problem?
SELIGSON: Well basically what Ohio had in place was a rule that required voters to be in the correct polling place. Other states such as Georgia, the voter can be anywhere in their county. So what Ohio Democrats are saying, and I think the lawsuit was brought by Democratic groups and labor organizations, was that why do our voters have to handle the burden of potentially a mistake that was made by the bureaucratic system. They've been told the wrong place to vote.
WHITFIELD: It sounds like it would promote a lot of confusion among voters.
SELIGSON: Well keep in mind there shouldn't be too many provisional voters. Provisional votes represent a breakdown in the system. A voter who believes that they are registered should know where to go and should be on the list.
WHITFIELD: Do you think this is unnecessary that so many attorneys are already starting to assemble in anticipation of a potential repeat?
SELIGSON: You know, necessary isn't really the question so much as this is more of a rallying cry for Democrats. They don't want to get fooled again, as the who would say they are in place. They don't want to be caught short if there needs to be any legal activity on the day after Election Day and it's expected that Republicans would follow suit. We just don't know how many they have out there.
WHITFIELD: All right, is it your expectation that we are going to see a case where we will not know the winner of the outcome of November 2nd right away that it is something that may take days or perhaps even weeks?
SELIGSON: It's very difficult to say at this point. You can imagine the scenario where the margin of victory is 2,000 say but there's 5,000 provisional votes outstanding. We can't know the victor until they can determine whether those votes can be counted and who they were voted for.
So we could have scenarios around the country, it is really hard to say at this point. I think everyone is going to be a lot more careful about trying to come out with a result on November 2nd before midnight than maybe they were four years ago. That could contribute to some kind of delay as well.
WHITFIELD: All right Daniel Seligson editor of ElectionLine.org, thanks so much.
SELIGSON: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well an exploration of the new electronic voting technology, will it be a boom or a bust? Find out at the top of the hour on "Next@CNN."
Fighting to conquer HIV, how one California man is turning to the pages of a comic book to help.
And later, journeys to the White House over the last 144 years, don't miss some famous photos from campaigns past.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The national flu vaccine shortage has forced Lake county, Illinois, to close down its flu shot clinic, leaving many seniors and children unprotected. The Chicago Bears football team, they were offered shots and several players got them, and many people are now unhappy about that. The head of the Lake county health department says he's outraged that a group of young, fit professional athletes were offered the vaccine. A Bears official says only those players with asthma-type conditions received the shot and many players declined.
When you think about comic books, images of cartoon characters usually spring to mind right? Well now Green Arrow Comics are becoming the first to tackle the very serious topic of HIV. Miguel Marquez takes a closer look at the inspiration behind the plot twist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIQUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He's a modern- day Robin Hood, a superhero fighting injustice since 1941, and now the Green Arrow has a new sidekick in training with something to prove.
JUDD WINICK, CARTOONIST: We're telling a story about a horrible situation and someone rising above it.
MARQUEZ: Nia Dearden a 17-year-old former run away and former prostitute who tests positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Nia Dearden exists only in paper and ink. Part of the inspiration for her is drawn from realty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's awesome. MARQUEZ: Judd Winick, a cartoonist, writer and animator came up with the HIV positive story line from a very "real world" experience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the true story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: True story.
MARQUEZ: In 1994, Winick appeared in season three of MTV's "the real world." his roommate was Pedro Zamora, an AIDs activist who eventually died from the disease. Now from the Green Arrow past, present, fiction and reality come together.
WINICK: Pedro tested positive at 17, Mia tested positive at 17.
MARQUEZ: Winick also says, that like his real life, real world friend, Mia will announce her HIV status to her entire high school student body.
WINICK: I figured one hero story should follow another.
MARQUEZ: Green Arrow is owned by DC Comics which is part of Time Warner, which also owns CNN. For those who read the series the HIV story is an example of what it takes to be a hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's positive that she's overcoming a lot of what she's come from.
MARQUEZ: When it says overcoming obstacles is what defines a hero. In this case a 17-year-old HIV positive sidekick may be able to do what his real world friend died trying to do, conquer HIV.
Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: With two weeks down and four and a half months to go, Alexis Stewart talks about how her mother is coping with prison life and prison food.
Plus will Scott Peterson take to the stand? We'll talk about what it would take for the defense to put him there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Martha Stewart is two weeks into her five-month prison sentence for lying about her stock. How are things going so far? Well Larry King talked with Stewart's daughter, Alexis to find out. So what does her mother, who thinks nothing of making her own marshmallows, say about prison food?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXIS STEWART, MARTHA'S STEWARTS DAUGHTER: I'm sure she could give them quite a few pointers, but I think that the budget is so limited, that you know, I'm not sure how much change they'd be willing to make. LARRY KING: What does she say about the food?
STEWART: It's not very good.
KING: Airplane?
STEWART: It's not just that it's airplane. I think airplane would be better. It's just -- it's terrible, and you know, it's not going to affect her that badly, because she's only there for five months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: After Martha Stewart gets out of prison, she'll spend five months under house arrest.
Well the defense of Scott Peterson took a major hit this week, when his attorneys put an expert witness on the stand who was supposed to single-handedly destroy the prosecution's case. Instead, the man had jurors knick snickering and laughing as he begged the prosecutor to cut him some slack.
Well joining us to talk about it from Cleveland Ohio, civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi.
WHITFIELD: Hello. And from New York, civil defense attorney Richard Herman. How do you like the gavel coming down, the drama.
RICHARD HERMAN, CIVIL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. We missed you.
WHITFIELD: I missed you guys, too. All right Richard, let's begin with you. What happened? This testimony was supposed to help seal this defense case or at least set the pace of what they're trying to achieve.
HERMAN: Well, in my opinion, Fredricka, they didn't even need to put on a defense case here. But since they took the opportunity to do it, the first couple expert witnesses were great. Apparently, they put on a medical expert who was not prepared, who while he was on direct examination testified exactly the way Geragos wanted him to, and his ultimate finding was that the baby was born sometime around December 29th, which would have basically freed Scott Peterson.
However, on cross-examination, like we saw throughout the prosecution case, this witness was not prepared, and he basically had a meltdown on the stand and ended up begging for forgiveness.
WHITFIELD: What a disaster.
HERMAN: Unbelievable. But, but, the day is not over. Dr. Weicht and Dr. Henry Lee are going to be two additional medical experts who will take the stand this week. They are impeccable, their reputations are incredible and they will not have a meltdown, I guarantee you that. WHITFIELD: Well Avery, before we get to them, how ever how does the defense recover from that? Because that is going to indelible moment for the jurors. They're going to say wait a minute, do these guys not have their act together?
FRIEDMAN: Well I think that's a very good observation, Fredricka. The difficulty here is that the weeks' testimony was to crescendo to the doctor here, and what happened was that, he was prepared, but I think it wasn't a question of preparation. I think David Harris, the assistant district attorney did such a good job in showing that the expert testimony was utterly baseless.
It was based on the wrong data, and what happened is that that crescendo with good witnesses at the beginning of the week, they wound up like the New York Yankees, starting strong and then bombing out at the end. So we will have to see what happens.
HERMAN: A low blow. That's a low blow.
WHITFIELD: They were expecting some sort of scientific evidence to be produced. None was. They really can't revisit that topic at all, can they, even if Dr. Lee comes on the stand. I mean they are going to have to let that notion go right, Richard?
HERMAN: No Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Really?
HERMAN: Two out of the three medical experts for the prosecution testified that the baby was born full time. Dr. Henry Lee and Dr. Cyril Weicht will both come on and they will testify point bland that the baby was born full term.
WHITFIELD: I love it that you're nodding. You're not in agreement. What is the matter with this?
FRIEDMAN: You have conflicting experts for the defense, one saying it was not born as they originally argued or stated in the opening statement. Mark Geragos is in trouble unless he does something dramatic in this last week of the defense, and this is the last week, he's got some real, real problems and we're looking to finish the case before Election Day.
WHITFIELD: And everyone agrees dramatic would be Scott Peterson himself taking the stand. It almost seems like there's no way that would happen.
HERMAN: No way.
WHITFIELD: Are they going to be forced in the position where they have to?
FRIEDMAN: Well I don't think so. I think the reality is that Scott Peterson really could clarify a lot of things but frankly, the New York Yankees would be going to the World Series before we'd ever see Scott Peterson take the stand. That will not happen in this case. HERMAN: He cannot answer away, he can not answer away why he told some people he was fishing and other people he was playing golf.
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
HERMAN: And he certainly can't answer away why he was 400 miles away when his wife's remains washed up on the shore. There are too many pitfalls for him. He will absolutely get convicted if he takes the stand and Geragos should resign from the bar if he puts him on the stand.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. OK same state, different case, different players here. Michael Jackson his team of lawyers filing a complaint, saying that it is supposed to be heard by the superior court November 4th, after Election Day. But anyway the complaint the District Attorney Tom Sneddon and his deputies are so bias that Michael Jackson can't possibly get a fair trial because of Sneddon's "personal animosity" towards Jackson. Is this a valid and sound argument to make, Avery?
FRIEDMAN: Well you know what's interesting is since when are district attorneys not biased? I mean, it would be a great argument if they were arguing the judge were biased, but the fact the district attorneys have shown a bias against Michael Jackson, holy smokes, if that were a basis to get Sneddon knocked out, every prosecutor in the country would be knocked out for that reason. It's ridiculous.
WHITFIELD: And Richard, the prosecutors are saying there is a lack of evidence on this kind of motion or complaint.
HERMAN: There's as much chance of Jackson getting Sneddon recused in this case as us seeing Professor Avery Friedman moon walking out of the studio today.
FRIEDMAN: You might see that.
HERMAN: Moonwalk on out, Avery.
FRIEDMAN: You might see that.
WHITFIELD: I'd love to see that. We'll put that on the air when indeed it happens.
FRIEDMAN: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right Avery Friedman and Richard Herman, thanks so much guys. Always good to see you.
FRIEDMAN: Wonderful and same to you.
HERMAN: Take care.
WHITFIELD: All right see you next weekend.
When we come back, images from the campaign trail. You're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY. And we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A Victoria's Harry Truman brandishes a newspaper reading "Duey Defeats Truman." And Richard Dixon wipes sweat from his brow during a debate with John F. Kennedy. Here is some of the most enduring images in American politics. And just part of the story told in the book "On the Campaign Trail." The long road of presidential politics, here's a quick look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGLAS SCHOEN, EDITOR, "ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL:" This book is the history of American presidential campaigns through images. It's the story of how we campaign, how we choose our leaders and ultimately the story of America. We started in 1860 because the two-party system basically evolved around the 1856 or 1860 election, with the Republicans holding the majority of the victories. Every campaign and every candidate since really the turn of the century took the so- called whistle stops tour, in an era when there was no television and radio was in its inform, this was an enormously important and earth shattering undertaking.
You really get a sense as to the way the candidates presented themselves, and the certain sense the timeless traditions that ran through campaigns. There were two images that strike me. The first was the picture of Lyndon Johnson in 1964, with his tie open, his hands on his head, sitting at his desk, and you just had the sense of a defeated man. The other image, and it's one that exists in stark contrast, is the image of John F. Kennedy in 1960, relaxed, looking at himself on TV, the picture of supreme confidence.
And those two images for me really evoke the men, the circumstances they faced, and ultimately a good part of who they are. The whole point of this is that there's a lot of fun, that candidates kiss babies, meet sports stars, spend time with their friends and family on the train. People who start in the process keep coming back.
Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for vice president in 1920. He emerges at the president in 1932. Obviously Richard Nixon lost in '60. He's elected in '68. John F. Kennedy tried to become vice president in 1956. He was elected president in '60. Al Gore tried to run for president in 1988. He's nominated for vice president in 1992. I mean, even Arnold Schwarzenegger was campaigning with the first George Bush in the 1988 election and we all know what happened to him this year in California.
We found the superman image that was in the '76 or '80 election and really what we were trying to do with that final image was to suggest that there is both an aspect of ritual, there is an aspect of finality and frankly an aspect of the absurd in the whole process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY at the top of the hour it is "Next @ CNN." On "CNN Live Saturday" at 4:00 Eastern one women's dream to help a group of Jews leave Baghdad. And at 5:00 Eastern "People in the News" profiling Colin Powell. And independent candidate Ralph Nader. But first Daniel Sieberg with a preview of "Next @ CNN."
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ahead on "Next @ CNN" how safe is your ballot. And you can look at the promise of electronic voting and some of the potential problems. Also what are pythons doing in the Florida Everglades? We will tell you how they got there and why they worry wild life officials. Those stories and a lot more coming up right after a check of the headlines from the CNN newsroom.
WHITFIELD: President Bush and Senator Kerry continue campaigning in cities and towns in key battleground states. In Florida today Mr. Bush told supporters his rival has a case of "election amnesia." Concerning his stands on Iraq. Senator Kerry told a crowd in Quell, Colorado that Bush is going around the country trying to scare people.
At least fourteen people were killed in three separate acts of violence.
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