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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Presidential Candidates Ready for Final Fight; Interview With Bill Maher; Defense Rests in Peterson Trial
Aired October 26, 2004 - 19:00 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.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: One week left, and both candidates sharpen their swords and strategies, readying for a final fight.
360 starts now.
Seven days to go, and the race and the rhetoric heats up. Bush and Kerry zero in on the same states, jousting about Iraq, missing weapons, and who's really ready to lead.
Hundreds of lawyers, contested ballots, dimpled chads, not again. What are the chances this election will end up like the last one? Maybe more than you think.
Bill Maher, he voted for Nader in 2000, now he's begging him to get out of the race. Tonight, we go 360 with the comedian who always speaks his mind.
The Scott Peterson trial, the defense rests. But why so soon? And what happened to those promises of revealing the real killer?
Howard Stern takes on the FCC, ambushing its chairman on a radio call-in program, a satellite showdown that had listeners laughing.
And who stabbed Elvis? A beloved neighborhood alligator shows up alive, with a knife stuck in its head. A Florida mystery that has neighbors howling mad.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening again.
You know how stray lyrics get stuck in your head sometimes? Well, with just seven days to go before we're asked to elect the next president, there are a bits of old songs we've had on the brain for the last couple of hours, "The days dwindle down to a precious few," and "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing."
Take a look at this map of the United States of America. To President Bush and Senator Kerry, it might as well look like this, the swing states of America. In the precious few days left before November 2, those are the only states candidates will focus on, looking for every possible vote.
As always, we're covering all the angles. Tonight we begin with Candy Crowley and the Kerry camp.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Looking to swing the not-yet-swung, to convince the not-yet-decided, John Kerry tries to ease doubts about his own leadership and raise them about the president's.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Mr. President, what else are you being silent about? What else are you keeping from the American people?
CROWLEY: Refurbishing well-worn lines with the day's news, Kerry tried to wring a little more juice out of yesterday's headlines about the missing 380 tons of explosives in Iraq.
KERRY: Terrorists could be helping themselves to what has been called, I quote -- and this is by the people who reported them missing -- "the greatest explosives bonanza in history."
No wonder the president thinks, and said the other day, that whether or not we're going to be safe is, quote, "up in the air."
CROWLEY: Added to a long list of items the candidate delineates now on a daily basis.
KERRY: Time and again, this president has made the wrong decisions. Time and again, he has chosen the wrong path. In virtually everything that he has said, and everything that he has done, the president has demonstrated to the American people and to countries around the world that have been pushed away from the United States, he has demonstrated that he is divorced from reality in Iraq.
CROWLEY: The campaign is so sure it's onto something, it rustled up an ad on the missing ammo. And in the four hours it took to fly from Wisconsin to Nevada, Kerry upped the stakes.
KERRY: ... because this administration didn't take the time, didn't plan, didn't think that they need to guard the ammo dumps. Those ammo dumps have been looted and raided. And our kids, American young forces, are being shot at from weapons stolen from the ammo dumps that this president didn't think were important enough to guard.
CROWLEY: Kerry is finished with his so-called closing argument speeches now, and the campaign reverts to more standard last-minute fare at his rallies like this one here in Nevada. There will be star attractions, of course. Look for Bruce Springsteen coming to a rally near you.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, the good news is the same as the bad news. Whether you can't get enough of polls and margins of error and campaign commercials and spin and pots and kettles calling one another black, or if you've had enough, either way, it'll all be over in a week, we think. But it's going to be one heck of a hectic week.
Senior White House correspondent John King reports from the Bush campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rolling through farm country one week out, the race as close as can be, yet the incumbent upbeat as he looks to close the deal.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're headed in the right direction in America.
KING: Here in Wisconsin and in much of the country, it's a tough sell. The economy is OK, not great most places. Day-to-day news from Iraq often discouraging, to say the least. But Mr. Bush is the voice of optimism.
BUSH: Iraq's going to have elections. Think about how far that country has come in a brief period of time from the days of torture chambers and mass graves.
KING: This dairy farm a perfect stop for a campaign looking for favorable local coverage in the final days.
BUSH: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) only you'll come and milk them.
KING: A little playful banter with reporters here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, who's responsible for the weapons...
KING: But later, no answer, just a stare, when asked about 380 tons of missing explosives in Iraq.
Senator Kerry calls it more proof of administration incompetence. The vice president called Senator Kerry an armchair general who attacks first, checks the facts later.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is not at all clear that those explosives were even at the weapons facility when our troops arrived in the area of Baghdad. John Kerry doesn't mention that. Nor does he mention the 400,000 tons of weapons and explosives that our troops have captured and are destroying.
KING: At his afternoon stops, the president also answered, but only indirectly.
BUSH: My opponent has no plan, no vision, just a long list of complaints. But a Monday-morning quarterback has never led any team to victory.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KING: Seven days out, seven days out now, and the Bush team claims momentum. Aides say on Wednesday the president will deliver a direct and a detailed appeal to Democrats to cross over and support his candidacy, even in Michigan, a state Mr. Bush lost by 5 percentage points four years ago, but a state where, Anderson, both campaigns say the polls have tightened significantly in recent days.
COOPER: All right, John King in Iowa. Thanks, John.
A quick news note now. And California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's technique for being in two places, his own state and on Friday, Ohio, campaigning for the president at more or less the same time. It seems he has a secret weapon. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: To me, it is very important that we send the state in the right direction. Therefore, my job is to stay here. Now, I can squeeze in a quick trip, because I have my own plane (UNINTELLIGIBLE) quickly shoot into Ohio and back. And so there is a way of doing that, but I do not want to go and hop around from state to state, because the people did not elect me to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So he's only going to do the one state, but there's his top time-management tip, get yourself some wings.
As you heard from both Candy and John, those missing weapons provided both sides with ammunition on the campaign trail today. Both sides have a couple things right. The amount, 380 tons. The location, a storage facility south of Baghdad. Where it gets a little fuzzy is that timeline of when the weapons went missing, and who was supposed to be looking after them.
CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre tries to clear things up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Pentagon acknowledges there was a window of about six weeks after the invasion of Iraq when it's possible the stockpile of high explosives could have been stolen from the sprawling al Qa Qaa facility south of Baghdad.
But Pentagon officials argue it's more likely the explosives were moved as part of the prewar dispersal ordered by Saddam Hussein. That would have come sometime after March 3, 2003, the last time the International Atomic Energy Agency checked that security seals placed on the bunkers were intact, and before the war actually began March 20.
On April 10, 2003, the day after the fall of Baghdad, troops from the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division reached the site. No weapons under IAEA seal were found, but the soldiers were advancing on Baghdad, and officials acknowledged they didn't conduct a thorough inspection.
Some time in the next month, May 2003, the IAEA says it relayed concerns to the U.S. government about the stockpile falling into the wrong hands. Finally, on May 27, more than six weeks after the April visit, a special U.S. exploitation team looking for weapons of mass destruction searched all 32 bunkers and 87 buildings. Again, the stockpile was not found.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: Pentagon officials concede that the facility was not completely secured between April 10 and May 27, but they scoff at the idea that this huge amount of explosives, which would have taken at least 38 10-ton trucks to get out, could have been sneaked out while the U.S. troops were still operating in the area, Anderson.
COOPER: OK. Jamie McIntyre, thanks, from the Pentagon.
The investigation into the execution of 49 Iraqi soldiers begins with some surprising accusations. Here's a news note. Today, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi blamed, in part, the U.S.-led coalition for the massacre of the soldiers. Allawi said there was, quote, "major negligence by the multinational forces," but he would not elaborate. The soldiers were without any protection when insurgents forced them off buses and shot them all to death.
If you were waiting for Scott Peterson to take the witness stand, do not hold your breath. Today his defense rested. And what took the prosecution five months to tell, Mark Geragos laid out in just six days. For nearly half a year now, the Peterson murder trial seemed to crawl at a snail's pace. That is all about to change.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What promised to finish with a bang ended with a whimper. Defense attorney Mark Geragos rested the defense case following the testimony of a Modesto police officer about a burglary in Scott and Laci Peterson's neighborhood two days after she was last seen, the defense implying that burglars may have had something to do with her disappearance.
Six days of testimony, 14 witnesses. The problem, say legal analysts, is Geragos promised to stand and deliver. He didn't.
CHUCK SMITH, LEGAL ANALYST: He said that he was going to prove that the baby was born alive. Not one whit of evidence about that. He said he was going to turn this into an eyewitness case. We have not heard testimony from one single eyewitness.
DORNIN: Expectations were high for the often-flamboyant Geragos, who seemed to score more points for his client during the state's case. Even the defendant's family agreed. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truth stands on its own. You know, we got enough of our case when the prosecution's case was on.
DORNIN: Many of the big issues of this trial have been decided behind closed doors. That's where legal analysts say Geragos may have lost his bid to present evidence he considered important to the case. He put Peterson's parents on the stand to provide an alibi for some of Peterson's odd behavior. Analysts questioned whether the defense strategy to humanize Peterson worked.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: By putting on the parents, it raises the question even larger, why didn't Scott testify? And again, the jury's instructed not to consider that. But it's human nature to look at this man 10 feet away who has the answers to all these questions and ask, Why didn't he tell us what happened?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: Prosecutors plan to put eight rebuttal witnesses on the stand tomorrow afternoon, then they're going to send the jury home. On Friday, there's likely to be a battle over whether the jury should consider a second-degree murder charge if it determines that Laci Peterson's killing was not predetermined. Defense attorney Mark Geragos, of course, expected to fight that.
Closing arguments are likely to run right through election day, and deliberations are schedule for November 3, Anderson.
COOPER: Rusty, thanks. We're going to look at all sides of this case with Gloria Allred, attorney for Amber Frey, and Jayne Weintraub, a criminal defense attorney, a little later on 360.
The LAPD calls a convicted rapist the city's most prolific killer. That tops our look at what's happening right now cross- country.
L.A. prosecutors have charged this man, his name is Chester Dwayne Turner, with 10 counts of murder. Detectives say DNA evidence links him to the killings. He is suspected in at least a dozen other murders between 1987 and 1998.
Spotsylvania, Virginia, now, teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo makes a deal to avoid the death penalty. Malvo, now 19 years old, faces life in prison for shooting to death a man and attempting to kill a woman during the shooting spree that terrorized the Washington area in the fall of 2002. Malvo entered what's known as an Alfred plea, not admitting guilt, but acknowledging there was overwhelming evidence against him. He's already serving one life sentence. He could still face the death penalty in other shootings.
La Jolla, California, now. A baby seal died after an alleged attack. A witness says four meanspirited beachgoers jabbed the animal and burned it with cigarettes when it came ashore. Hard to believe. Officials say the only evidence of injury is from a fishing net. Animal activists want a full investigation. And Dallas, Texas, prison sendoff. A judge throws a party, complete with cake and balloons -- there are the balloons -- to welcome a former fugitive back to her court and sentences him to life in prison. They even had a cake. The man was convicted in absentia for assaulting his girlfriend, captured last week. You can imagine, he did not like the celebration, saying it may be fun for others, but not for him.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
So are you ready for the 360 challenge? Later in the program, I'm going to ask you three questions that test your knowledge of today's news. If you watched the show closely, you should be able to get them all right. If you're first to e-mail us all three correct answers, we'll send you a 360 T-shirt. Stay tuned. Challenge is coming up.
Also ahead tonight, spokesmen from the Bush and Kerry campaigns square off against Iraq, the latest polls, and what strategies each is relying on with just seven days to go. That's in a moment.
Plus, the bulge divided, or divulged, I should say. What was that thing on Bush's back on debate night? President explains in his own words, ahead.
We'll also get Bill Maher's take, find out what he thinks about the bulge, the battle, and the sprint to the finish. He joins us live a little later.
First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, it is down to this. What seemed at times like an endless presidential race is in its final week, that is, if there's no recount. CNN's latest average of national polling, the poll of polls, has President Bush leading Senator Kerry 49 percent to 47 percent, well within the margin of error.
For some insight on the campaign's last-minute strategies, we turn to Bush-Cheney communications director Nicolle Devenish, she's in Arlington, Virginia, and in Washington, Kerry-Edwards senior adviser Chad Clanton.
Appreciate both of you being on the program.
Nicolle, let me start off with you. Recently, Dick Cheney has said, I think yesterday, he said, he called Iraq a remarkable success story. If voters don't believe that, should they vote for John Kerry?
NICOLLE DEVENISH, BUSH-CHENEY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I don't think voters should vote for John Kerry under any circumstance, because I think this president has made clear that even when you don't agree with him, you know where he stands. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the work of our men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan has been an outstanding success, and we are safer here in America because of their efforts.
And the choice in this election is between someone who believes that you fight the war on terror, that the commitment we made in the days and weeks after 9/11 is to fight the war on terror on the streets and in the cities of Iraq and Afghanistan, or to face the enemies here in America's cities. And I know what Chad's going to say. He's going to launch a cheesy attack about the way this war was carried out.
But, you know, we're past the point in the campaign. We're down to the wire where people want serious answers, and they want to talk about serious differences on the big issues.
COOPER: Chad...
DEVENISH: And again we saw the John Kerry attacks ripped from "The New York Times."
COOPER: Chad, what they say about your candidate is that he's basically a Monday morning quarterback. We've heard that all day long on the campaign trail. Is that true?
CHAD CLANTON, KERRY-EDWARDS SENIOR ADVISER: No, absolutely not. I think Dick Cheney calling Iraq a remarkable success is a real insight to the number one problem with the Bush administration. We know that it was a catastrophic mistake to go into Iraq alone. We know that we've lost over 1,000 U.S. troops over there. We know that attacks against U.S. troops are increasing every month.
COOPER: But Chad...
CLANTON: We know also...
COOPER: ... what they're saying is basically that Kerry only has criticisms to make, he doesn't have solutions to give.
CLANTON: No, he has a solution, and it starts with telling the American people the truth. We have a president and a vice president that continue to paint a very rosy scenario of what's happening there. Until we tell the truth, we can't take the real steps needed to, you know, correct the problems there, get the allies onboard. And on top of that...
(CROSSTALK)
CLANTON: ... a real, a real, a real...
DEVENISH: ... are you talking about, allies like Tony Blair? I mean, I'm not sure which allies Chad thinks are missing. I have a hunch that maybe it's the French.
CLANTON: Right now, we're bearing 90 percent of the cost and casualties because of the way George Bush went in alone.
DEVENISH: And that's only if you think an Iraqi casualty isn't a tragedy. But, you know, we have a difference...
CLANTON: Well, not at all, not at all.
DEVENISH: ... of opinion, Anderson.
COOPER: No, Nicolle, you, you're, you're, you're, you're saying that the Iraqis are our allies as well, and that's why it's not 90 percent of the casualties. That's a line Republicans use.
DEVENISH: Well, well, and Anderson, this is the real difference. I mean, I feel that way because we honor and respect Prime Minister Allawi as an ally in the war against terror. Chad's candidate, John Kerry, insulted him and basically...
COOPER: Well, well, you're, you're...
DEVENISH: ... questioned his credibility.
(CROSSTALK)
CLANTON: Prime Minister Allawi said that terrorists are flooding into Iraq like never before. Something that wasn't happening...
DEVENISH: Yes, yes, but see, the problem with that, Chad, is...
CLANTON: ... before we went in alone. before we went in alone. It's a real problem...
COOPER: OK, let me, let me...
CLANTON: Now it is a new front in the war on terror. It's the new Afghanistan because of the way George Bush went in alone, and because of the way he's mismanaged this war. It is on the ballot on November the 2nd. John Kerry would have new credibility, new plans. It starts with...
DEVENISH: New credibility...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: We're going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
CLANTON: Maybe if we weren't giving Halliburton all these contracts...
COOPER: We're going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
CLANTON: ... you're asking people (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: ... Halliburton, we're going to, we're going to try something new tonight. We're now allow each of you to ask a question to the other. It's, we're going to call it, what shall we call it, answer the question, we'll call it. See if you actually answer each other's questions, because rarely do you actually answer other people's. Nicolle, let's start off with you. You get to ask Chad any question, Chad will get 30 seconds to answer.
DEVENISH: I'd love a blow by blow of what their morning message meeting is like. Who flips through "The New York Times" and says, I got one, A6, I've got one? And what were you going to talk about if "The New York Times" hadn't produced a message for you yesterday, Chad?
COOPER: Chad, 30 seconds.
CLANTON: Well, we continue to talk about the big choice. It's a fresh start versus more of the same. Let me put it in Texas talk. If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting.
DEVENISH: Are you even from Texas?
CLANTON: We've gotten, we've gotten, we've gotten enough from this administration. We have record deficit, record job losses, record high health insurance costs. Look, we need a fresh start. We need a new direction in this country. That's what John Kerry's offering.
Now do I get to ask my question?
COOPER: Yes, yes, you have seven seconds less. But, yes, you get to answer your question now.
CLANTON: My question is very simple. We all know that being president is the hardest job in the world. Yet President Bush can't admit a single mistake he's ever made. Nicolle knows the president well. Nicolle, do you know any mistake that the president's made?
DEVENISH: Oh, Chad, you gave me an easy one, and one that I was ready for. This president, and this is a great difference. You know, there was a real important moment in the president's convention speech where he said, whatever your strengths are, as president you're going to need them, and whatever your weaknesses are, every single one of them, everyone will know. Now, his president takes responsibility for every single action that takes place on (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CLANTON: What about the 380 tons of high-grade explosives he lost?
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), let her finish, let her finish.
CLANTON: OK.
DEVENISH: Well, look, this president takes responsibility for every single action made in his administration. And he said that while he's president, his focus is on success in Iraq, his focus is on growing the economy...
COOPER: OK.
DEVENISH: ... and he'll let history judge the mistakes for what they were.
COOPER: I gave you a few, I, a few extra seconds since Chad interrupted. I appreciate both of you joining us. DEVENISH: Thanks, Anderson.
COOPER: Chad Clanton, Nicolle Devenish, thanks very much.
President Bush is doing some explaining about his first debate appearance. Here's a quick news note. Remember this thing, the bulge? Well, there are plenty of theories about the bulge on President Bush's back during the September 30 debate. Some Internet bloggers speculated president was wired to get help from his campaign staff. Mr. Bush poked fun at those rumors earlier today on ABC's "Good Morning America." Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA," ABC)
CHARLES GIBSON, HOST: What the hell that was on your back in the first debate.
BUSH: Well, you know, Karen Hughes and Dan Bartlett had rigged up a sound system.
GIBSON: You're getting in trouble.
BUSH: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) said that they, I don't know what that is. I mean, it is, it is, yes, it's, it's, it's a, I'm embarrassed it's a poorly tailored shirt.
GIBSON: It was the shirt?
BUSH: Yes, absolutely.
GIBSON: There was no sound system back there. There was no...
BUSH: Of course not.
GIBSON: ... electrical signal. There was...
BUSH: I mean, what does, how does electric, please explain to me how it works, so if maybe if I were ever debate again I could figure it out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, the president went on to call the rumors absurd. Bill Maher will weigh in on that probably a little bit later on tonight when he joins us.
360 next, election night legal SWAT teams, will Ohio become the next Florida? Will the lawyers drag out the final results? We'll take a closer look at the possible scenarios.
Also tonight, Howard Stern taking on the head of the FCC. Find out who won in a war of words.
And a little later, mystery gator attack. This time, they're looking for the person who stabbed the animal, didn't kill it, just stabbed it. Very strange. And in a moment, today's 360 challenge. How closely have you been following today's news? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's been a tough couple of years for Florida. The last four years, the, they've been the butt of jokes since the recount. Some of have even called that state home of electile dysfunction. But all that ridicule might come to an end next Tuesday, when the stigma of voting problems could go to another state, the possible next victim of raw politics. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Hanging, pregnant, dimpled, remember that, swing door or trichads? Remember the 2000 debacle, 36 days of confusion ended by the Supreme Court? Well, if you think that was bad...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Count every vote!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Count every vote!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Count every vote!
COOPER: ... take a look at what's brewing right now in Ohio.
According to "The Washington Post," Ohio's voter registration rolls contain more than 120,000 duplicate names, and review of these rolls reportedly found a murder victim and two suspected terrorists among the eligible.
Republicans have already filed 35,000 challenges to voters' eligibility in Ohio, and at least one lawsuit has been about the weight of the paper that voters used to register.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: A lot of people say Ohio will be the new Florida in 2004. Very much in contention. It's a major state. It's a large state.
COOPER: But it's not just Ohio. Both camps have already filed lawsuits in Michigan, Missouri, Colorado, and, of course, Florida. And come November 3, more could come.
KERRY: We will fight tooth and nail to make sure that this time, every vote is counted, and every vote counts.
COOPER: The Kerry camp has already set up six so-called SWAT teams of lawyers around the country with fueled-up jets ready to contest any election. And in Florida, this man, David Boies, Al Gore's lawyer in 2000, has already been hired.
In Ohio alone, Republicans will have some 3,600 people to monitor the election. Why that many? Well, because Ohio still uses those pesky paper ballots, meaning that once again, this election could end up hanging by a chad. For how long? That depends on raw politics. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, joining me to guide us through all this, CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
Jeffrey, good to see you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Anderson.
COOPER: You think this is going to be a mess Tuesday night?
TOOBIN: You know, I think the odds are pretty strong that we will be in court well before noon on Tuesday. There will be lawsuits filed during the day well before even the polls close.
COOPER: Really?
TOOBIN: Oh, absolutely. We, you know, the Democrats say, you know, we originally planned for 10,000 lawyers, but we're actually going to have closer to 15,000 lawyers.
COOPER: Fifteen thousand lawyers.
TOOBIN: Fifteen thousand lawyers. And you, everyone knows enough about lawyers that if you send that many lawyers out, they will find problems.
COOPER: They got to do something.
TOOBIN: Absolutely.
COOPER: A lot of billable hours.
TOOBIN: And also, you know, I'm spending a lot of time talking to lawyers on both sides, and you can hear their voices vibrating with rage already. They are just loaded for bear.
COOPER: Rage over?
TOOBIN: Rage over what they regard as, the Democrats regard as continuing unfairness, mostly against African-Americans, Republicans enraged about the Democrats using the legal system, playing the race card, for an election they can't win at the polls.
COOPER: So as long as there are close elections, I mean, is this, is this with us for the foreseeable future?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, the, Congress tried to solve the problem in part by passing the Help America Vote Act in 2002. What that's done is simply impose another layer of law, another law to fight about. I mean, we have 50 different legal systems in each -- you know, each state has its own legal system for counting votes. But within states, Pennsylvania, a very important state, has five different voting systems, all of which are susceptible to litigation and recounts.
And this time, unlike last time, the lawyers are ready up front. They had to scramble before. Now, they're ready to go.
COOPER: Yes, unbelievable. Jeff's all fueled up, ready to go. All right, Jeffrey Toobin...
TOOBIN: Our jets are ready, too.
COOPER: Thanks very much, Jeff.
A historic vote by Israel's parliament tops our look at what's happening around the world in "The Uplink."
For the first time, the Knesset has voted to pull Israeli troops and settlements out of Gaza and part of the West Bank.
Now, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan won by a wide margin, 67- 45, with seven abstentions. Several politicians are calling for a national referendum on the plan. One even says he'll resign if it doesn't happen.
Southern Thailand, at least 78 people died after a protest. The victims had been arrested during this demonstration on Monday, reportedly suffocated when they were loaded onto trucks for a five- hour trip to army barracks. Six others were killed in the protest over the arrest of several Muslim men accused of selling guns.
Havana, Cuba now. Hasta la vista to shopping with the American dollar. President Fidel Castro says starting November 8th, he'll ban transactions with the dollar in response to tighter U.S. sanctions on the communist country. Also under the rule, tourists and Cubans exchanging dollars for pesos will face a 10 percent surcharge.
Taipei, Taiwan. A food fight in parliament already known for fistfights. Taiwan's lawmakers have now resorted to hurling food at each other. One minute they were having lunch, then all of a sudden food started flying as they debated whether Taiwan should spend billions on U.S. weapons. Just another day in Taiwan's parliament. That should be a reality show, Taiwan's parliament.
That's tonight's "Uplink" for you.
Seven days to go and the race and the rhetoric heats up. Tonight, we go 360 with the comedian who always speaks his mind.
The Scott Peterson trial. The defense rests, but why so soon? And what happened to those promises of revealing the real killer?
And are you ready for the 360 challenge? If you think you know news, get ready to take our current events quiz. Details ahead when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, Bill Maher says he vote for Ralph Nader in 2000 because he was young and silly. Four years later and a week before the election, the political satirist is putting his youthful transgressions behind him. He thinks there's too much at stake for the country next Tuesday.
And while you may not agree with what he says, you are perhaps bound to laugh along the way. We hope so, at least. Joining me now from Los Angeles, Bill Maher, host of HBO's "Real Time." Hey, Bill, how's it going?
BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": Thank you very much. Yes, youthful indiscretions.
COOPER: Yes, well, four years ago. You've aged considerably since then. What do -- first of all, President Bush came out and says that was probably his shirt rumpled up in that bulge in the debate. What do you think that was?
MAHER: You mean the back -- the thing in his back?
COOPER: Yeah.
MAHER: I think, you know, sometimes he gets his messages directly from Jesus, and sometimes you've got to have Karl Rove in on the picture. So I don't know, but you know, you mentioned Ralph Nader -- I actually think Ralph Nader is going to help John Kerry, because I think so many people are so afraid that Ralph Nader is going to tip this election that it will energize more people that are going to vote for Ralph Nader who wouldn't have come out anyway.
COOPER: Do you really think so?
MAHER: I really do. Because for a guy who is polling, you know, at about half a percentage point, he gets an awful lot of press. You guys talk about him a lot, and the Democratic base is so energized this year. I think a lot of people who are so scared that this election is going to go the wrong way and Ralph Nader's going to tip it, I think he may actually be having more people come out than if he wasn't running.
COOPER: I'm going to talk to him on Monday night. I'll put your theory to him and see what he has to say.
MAHER: OK.
COOPER: ... about it. I know because you got down on your knees begging him to drop out, you and Michael Moore, but I guess that didn't work.
MAHER: It didn't work, but I think it may work out in the end.
COOPER: Well, I want to ask you, 56 percent -- you support John Kerry, you've been very vocal about that -- 56 percent of Americans say in the recent CNN-"USA Today" Gallup poll that the country's going in the wrong direction. Why can't your guy close the deal? I mean, if 56 percent of the country think -- if 56 percent of Americans think the country is in the wrong direction, how come John Kerry isn't way out in front?
MAHER: That's a great point. You know, and the fact that he's campaigning now with Bill Clinton only I think brings out to light even more, because you know Bill Clinton could have closed the deal.
I don't know, you know, because he's playing from the old Al Gore playbook, which is to not differentiate yourself so much from the Republican. First of all, they should have made the issue 9/11. You know if the situation were reversed and the Republicans were running against President Al Gore, this whole election would be about 9/11 happened on your watch, I don't want to hear about any excuses, this was your problem. Somehow the Republicans get a mulligan on 9/11. Well, we let it happen once. Won't happen again.
And the other thing is that John Kerry just doesn't call President Bush out on his stuff. This election is all about fear. I would have liked to have seen John Kerry every time this election became about the terrorists and the wolves attacking us say, you know what, folks? What you really have to fear is the environmental devastation this president has wrought. That is really what is going to probably kill you in the end.
COOPER: But what about -- but I mean, is part of the problem John Kerry's record? I mean, the Republicans will say, look, you know, this guy had 20 years in the Senate and really didn't accomplish very much.
MAHER: Well, I mean, that's a matter of debate. I think he probably did accomplish much. I think when he was -- when George Bush was on the couch thinking in Texas, this guy was working on terrorism in the BCCI scandal, for example.
But you know, any senator is at that sort of disadvantage, because you can always go over a record and make it look like the guy didn't do much or voted for taxes three billion times. Whatever they're saying.
COOPER: Who do you think's run a better campaign?
MAHER: That -- the Republicans. I mean, the fact that George Bush with such a weak hand -- he is playing such a weak hand. You're right. People think that the country's on the wrong track. Even people who support Bush say in the next term, if he wins another term, they want it to be different than this term.
So, I would have to say that the Republicans are better at running a campaign. I don't think they're better at governing.
COOPER: Are you sick of this election? Are you ready for it to be over?
MAHER: No, I'm never sick of it. I mean...
COOPER: What, because it's good material -- it's good material for you?
MAHER: Yeah. I mean, it's going to be a great letdown when this ends. It's been a fun election, and I haven't seen an election or covered one in my lifetime where so many people were so interested. That's the nice thing about this election. For whatever reason, and I guess it is 9/11 and terrorism, people really care. I mean, President Bush, I got to give him that much. He brings out people, because hate is a terrible thing to waste.
COOPER: Well, I think we're going to see a lot of people coming out in the polls for and against the president, for and against Senator Kerry. And we'll see who wins. Bill Maher, it's always good to talk to you. I love the show, "Real Time," on HBO. Thanks.
MAHER: Oh, thank you, Anderson. I appreciate it.
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, Scott Peterson's fate soon to be in the hands of the jury. The defense rest its case today. Did it hurt or help the prosecution?
Also tonight, a far lighter story. An alligator attacked and beloved neighbors rally around their rather unusual mascot. That is a knife sticking out of the alligator's head, yes.
And in a moment, today's 360 challenge. How closely have you been following today's news? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time now for today's "360 Challenge." Be the first to answer all three questions correctly, win a 360 T-shirt.
No. 1, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, says when he campaigns for Bush it will be in what state?
No. 2, President Bush says that bulge on his back in the first presidential debate was a what?
And no. 3, did political satirist Bill Maher vote for Bush, Gore or Nader in the 2000 election?
Take the "Challenge" and log on to cnn.com/360, then click on the answer link. Answer first, we'll send you a 360 T-shirt.
Find out last night's "Challenge" winner and tonight's answers coming up later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: In "Justice Served" tonight, the Scott Peterson murder trial.
Six days after it began, Peterson's defense rested today. While prosecutors called more than 170 witnesses to the stand, Mark Geragos only had 14 to testify.
Geragos wants the jury to believe someone else abducted and killed Laci Peterson. The question is, did he succeed in creating reasonable doubt?
Joining us in "Justice Served" from the courthouse, Gloria Allred, the attorney for Amber Frey and from Miami defense attorney, Jayne Weintraub.
Good to see both of you.
Gloria, let me start off with you. At the start of this trial, if I remember correctly, Mark Geragos said, he would prove that Peterson was innocent.
Did he do that?
GLORIA ALLRED, AMBER FREY'S ATTORNEY: Anderson, he said he would prove that Scott Peterson was stone cold innocent. I think all he's proven is that Scott Peterson is stone cold. Whether or not he's innocent is something the jury's going to have to decide. But I think the defense case as presented was a big disappointment. It was a bust.
COOPER: Jayne, let me get to -- I mean, he didn't need to say that. All he needed to do was create reasonable doubt.
Why did he say he was going to prove stone cold innocence and in Gloria's opinion not deliver.
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, Gloria's opinion, thankfully, won't matter to the jury, because the first thing the judge will instruct the jury is what the lawyers say is not evidence and should not be considered evidence, ladies and gentlemen. And we as trial lawyers know that you're not allowed to consider what Mark Geragos said. More importantly, half the promises of the prosecution weren't met and they're the ones with the burden. They're the ones who have to deliver according to our constitution and they failed flat on their face.
So, if Mark Middle East; War; Violence; Government; Politics in the opening statement, big deal. He didn't misstep when it came to the evidence, did he Anderson? He certainly has raised reasonable doubt.
ALLRED: Anderson...
COOPER: Gloria.
ALLRED: Anderson, I think it is a big deal if Scott -- if Mark Geragos made promises in his opening statement to the jury and then didn't deliver. And he did make promises and didn't deliver.
WEINTRAUB: He did deliver, Gloria.
ALLRED: And my educated guess is that that likely would be pointed out by the prosecution when they get to their final argument. By the way, it's interesting who wasn't testifying for the defense. No Dr. Lee.
WEINTRAUB: Another thing the constitution prohibits us from discussing and considering.
ALLRED: No Cyril Wecht. No Scott Peterson. And No Amber Frey, that Mark Geragos said he was going to call.
WEINTRAUB: She's worthless and week, why call her up?
ALLRED: Why didn't Scott Peterson testify?
COOPER: Wait. But Jayne -- but, Jayne, it was very unlikely that Scott Peterson was ever going to testify.
WEINTRAUB: Scott Peterson, couldn't testify for two reasons. One, he had nothing to say. He had nothing to benefit that the jury has not heard. The jury heard the best of Scott Peterson when they heard him surreptitiously recorded and saying things to people that he loved at the time like Amber and his brother, I didn't do it. Oh my god, how could this guy think I did it. I would never harm her.
COOPER: Well, wait Jayne. You think those -- you think those tape recordings in which he was caught in multiple lies served him well.
WEINTRAUB: I don't think those tape recordings did, but those never have anything to do with his complicity in her death. And that's what this case is about. Has the prosecution proved a premeditated murder?
Have they even proved a killing?
We don't even know where what the cause of death is or where she died.
ALLRED: There's no best of Scott Peterson, there's only worst of Scott Peterson as evidence by his own voice.
WEINTRAUB: But not as a murder.
ALLRED: May I finish, Jayne, please.
COOPER: Let Gloria finish.
ALLRED: As evidenced by his own voice on the tapes that Amber Frey made at the request of the police, those taped conversations with Scott Peterson. Even in the one tape that the defense just presented with Scott Peterson on the phone with his brother, Scott Peterson and this was the morning of his arrest, Scott Peterson's voice was so flat. No affect, no emotion about the fact that two bodies had just washed up.
WEINTRAUB: And that's shows he's a killer?
ALLRED: And it could have been that that was his pregnant wife and his son, but does he get upset? Does he get emotional? Does he even drive back to the scene where the bodies have been discovered? No.
COOPER: Jayne, the prosecution plans calling eight rebuttal witnesses tomorrow. Who do you think they are going to call? WEINTRAUB: I think that it's going to be a battle of the experts, Anderson. And I think, that's the best thing Mark has done, because he will be able to argue that they had to call rebuttal because it wasn't clear. And the experts in this case have all raised reasonable doubt. Look, telling your best friend or a girlfriend or your mother-in-law that you're pregnant, you know what, Anderson?
I've had kids and I'll bet if you asked Gloria, she'll tell you the same thing, it's pretty reliable when a woman tells her best friend she's pregnant, you can bet she is. And yet, everybody wanted to make fun of it. It's going to be expert witnesses that will be testifying. It will be police officers that will come back to make reason and excuses why the other cops lied
COOPER: We got to end it there. Jayne Weintraub, good to talk to you. Gloria Allred, always good to have you on the show. Thanks very much.
ALLRED: Thanks, Anderson.
WEINTRAUB: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Coming up next, the answers to the "360 Challenge," plus an alligator attacked, neighbors want to know who stabbed Elvis. That's what they called this alligator.
And also tonight, Howard Stern vs. the head of the FCC. A war of words on the airwaves, kind of an ambush thing. Find out who won.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: When the words "alligator" and "attack" appear in the same headline, it's normally a person who's the victim of the reptile's vicious jaws, but not in the story you're about to hear. This time the victim was a Florida alligator named Elvis, a much-loved carnivore who was the target of a disturbing and very puzzling crime "Inside the Box." Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Elvis, it seems, has left the building, the block and the backyard pond.
No, not that Elvis. Elvis the alligator. People who live at the Oak Ford Country Club in Sarasota County were stunned to see their reptilian resident floating in a pond with a knife sticking out of his head.
The county called the state conservation commission, who called a croc hunter who captured Elvis. But why would someone commit such a horrible crime? Why would anyone want to harm Elvis? Sarasota sheriffs say they don't know.
CAPT. STEVE BURNS, SARASOTA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Even though the animal is dangerous, it's still -- he's still defenseless in that regard of an injury like that, just serves no purpose and it is just cruelty.
COOPER: And if you think the neighbors were overjoyed to see the end of Elvis, locals say, quite frankly, that's a crock.
KATHY MUNKELWITZ, NEIGHBOR: I guess he's going to have to go, which is sad. I'd like to see him without the knife in his head, alive somewhere.
COOPER: TV viewers, it seems, have a great affection for alligators. "Miami Vice" fans will remember that a friendly gator named Elvis guarded Sonny Crockett's houseboat, and only a month ago we chased after Chucky, the Alabama alligator who got a taste of freedom from his home at the zoo following Hurricane Ivan.
Chucky's tale had a happy ending, but Elvis, he had the 15 minutes of fame befitting a friend "Inside the Box."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, Sarasota County sheriffs say whoever attacked Elvis committed a felony, could do some jail time. Florida officials, wildlife officials say they'll decide in the coming days whether Elvis will live or die.
In tonight's "Current," the match we've been waiting for. Howard Stern takes on his nemesis, FCC Chairman Michael Powell. Stern says the FCC is subjectively slapping indecency fine on him while sparing others. This morning, while Powell was interviewed on a San Francisco radio show, guess who called in? And the shock jock started off by accusing the son of the secretary of state of using family connections to get his job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, TALK SHOW HOST: It's not a cheap shot to say to you that your father got you your position, and I'll tell you why. Guys like me who came from nowhere, out of nothing, who worked their way up and committed themselves to broadcasting and a career in broadcast have to answer to you. And it is in question as to how you got to where you got to. And let's face it, you got to the head of the FCC -- you got to the front of the class the way George W. Bush got out of the draft.
And it's completely fair for me to question, because you're the guy sitting there telling me I'm guilty of saying something and Oprah Winfrey isn't, and I wish you'd address that.
MICHAEL POWELL, FCC CHAIRMAN: The only thing that I would say...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: All right, clearly, we're having a problem with our audio there. Michael Powell spoke back to Howard Stern, defending his position, saying he deserved the job he had, that he was clearly qualified, that he was an attorney and had served in many other important positions before getting this job. We're sorry the audio just dropped out.
Stern, who's leaving commercial radio for satellite radio next year, says he doesn't think Powell personally hates him, but believes the government uses a double standard when it comes to deciding what's indecent.
360 next, some uplifting news. How you can get a big boost to your step. We're going to take that to "The Nth Degree."
And 360 challenge. Here's another look at tonight's question. Number one, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says when he campaigns for Bush, it will be in what state?
Number two, President Bush says that bulge on his jacket -- his back in the first presidential debate was a what? Presidential debate.
And number three, did political satirist Bill Maher vote for Bush, Gore or Nader, or was he undecided in the 2000 election? The answer, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time for the answers to today's 360 challenge.
Number one, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says when he campaigns for Bush, it will be in what state? The answer, Ohio.
Number two, President Bush says that bulge on his back in the first presidential debate was a what? He says it was the shirt, or his shirt.
And number three, did political satirist Bill Maher vote for Bush, Gore or Nader in the 2000 election? The answer, Nader.
The first person to answer all three questions correctly will be sent a 360 T-shirt. Tune in tomorrow to find out if you are the one. And last night's winner, Anita Grenda -- that was my sound effect -- Anita Grenda of Atlanta, Georgia. Another 360 challenge and another chance to win tomorrow. There she is. That's what Anita looks like. Thanks, Anita, for playing.
Tonight, real news to "The Nth Degree."
Never mind the election, we'll continue to cover it and all, but you know, what does it mean in the end? Selecting the next president of the United States, influencing the future of the entire planet? Yeah, yeah. There's something really important going on.
Physicists at a university in the Netherlands have used magnetism to make things levitate. Don't believe it? This, you doubting Thomases, is a floating frog. It's a matter of applying a diamagnetic force of about 10 Teslas, and some other equally impressive sounding abracadabra we don't understand in the least. And Bob's your uncle, you're airborne.
It works with bugs, for those who don't fancy floating frogs, or drops of water. Even fruits and vegetables.
Obviously, this is just the beginning. Look ahead, perhaps not so many years as all that, on the weekends instead of hanging around, you'll be able to hover. No more chairs, no more sofas. Our houses will be entirely different and totally devoid, we would think, of ceiling fans. At least let's hope so.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
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 26, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: One week left, and both candidates sharpen their swords and strategies, readying for a final fight.
360 starts now.
Seven days to go, and the race and the rhetoric heats up. Bush and Kerry zero in on the same states, jousting about Iraq, missing weapons, and who's really ready to lead.
Hundreds of lawyers, contested ballots, dimpled chads, not again. What are the chances this election will end up like the last one? Maybe more than you think.
Bill Maher, he voted for Nader in 2000, now he's begging him to get out of the race. Tonight, we go 360 with the comedian who always speaks his mind.
The Scott Peterson trial, the defense rests. But why so soon? And what happened to those promises of revealing the real killer?
Howard Stern takes on the FCC, ambushing its chairman on a radio call-in program, a satellite showdown that had listeners laughing.
And who stabbed Elvis? A beloved neighborhood alligator shows up alive, with a knife stuck in its head. A Florida mystery that has neighbors howling mad.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: Good evening again.
You know how stray lyrics get stuck in your head sometimes? Well, with just seven days to go before we're asked to elect the next president, there are a bits of old songs we've had on the brain for the last couple of hours, "The days dwindle down to a precious few," and "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing."
Take a look at this map of the United States of America. To President Bush and Senator Kerry, it might as well look like this, the swing states of America. In the precious few days left before November 2, those are the only states candidates will focus on, looking for every possible vote.
As always, we're covering all the angles. Tonight we begin with Candy Crowley and the Kerry camp.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Looking to swing the not-yet-swung, to convince the not-yet-decided, John Kerry tries to ease doubts about his own leadership and raise them about the president's.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Mr. President, what else are you being silent about? What else are you keeping from the American people?
CROWLEY: Refurbishing well-worn lines with the day's news, Kerry tried to wring a little more juice out of yesterday's headlines about the missing 380 tons of explosives in Iraq.
KERRY: Terrorists could be helping themselves to what has been called, I quote -- and this is by the people who reported them missing -- "the greatest explosives bonanza in history."
No wonder the president thinks, and said the other day, that whether or not we're going to be safe is, quote, "up in the air."
CROWLEY: Added to a long list of items the candidate delineates now on a daily basis.
KERRY: Time and again, this president has made the wrong decisions. Time and again, he has chosen the wrong path. In virtually everything that he has said, and everything that he has done, the president has demonstrated to the American people and to countries around the world that have been pushed away from the United States, he has demonstrated that he is divorced from reality in Iraq.
CROWLEY: The campaign is so sure it's onto something, it rustled up an ad on the missing ammo. And in the four hours it took to fly from Wisconsin to Nevada, Kerry upped the stakes.
KERRY: ... because this administration didn't take the time, didn't plan, didn't think that they need to guard the ammo dumps. Those ammo dumps have been looted and raided. And our kids, American young forces, are being shot at from weapons stolen from the ammo dumps that this president didn't think were important enough to guard.
CROWLEY: Kerry is finished with his so-called closing argument speeches now, and the campaign reverts to more standard last-minute fare at his rallies like this one here in Nevada. There will be star attractions, of course. Look for Bruce Springsteen coming to a rally near you.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, the good news is the same as the bad news. Whether you can't get enough of polls and margins of error and campaign commercials and spin and pots and kettles calling one another black, or if you've had enough, either way, it'll all be over in a week, we think. But it's going to be one heck of a hectic week.
Senior White House correspondent John King reports from the Bush campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rolling through farm country one week out, the race as close as can be, yet the incumbent upbeat as he looks to close the deal.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're headed in the right direction in America.
KING: Here in Wisconsin and in much of the country, it's a tough sell. The economy is OK, not great most places. Day-to-day news from Iraq often discouraging, to say the least. But Mr. Bush is the voice of optimism.
BUSH: Iraq's going to have elections. Think about how far that country has come in a brief period of time from the days of torture chambers and mass graves.
KING: This dairy farm a perfect stop for a campaign looking for favorable local coverage in the final days.
BUSH: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) only you'll come and milk them.
KING: A little playful banter with reporters here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, who's responsible for the weapons...
KING: But later, no answer, just a stare, when asked about 380 tons of missing explosives in Iraq.
Senator Kerry calls it more proof of administration incompetence. The vice president called Senator Kerry an armchair general who attacks first, checks the facts later.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is not at all clear that those explosives were even at the weapons facility when our troops arrived in the area of Baghdad. John Kerry doesn't mention that. Nor does he mention the 400,000 tons of weapons and explosives that our troops have captured and are destroying.
KING: At his afternoon stops, the president also answered, but only indirectly.
BUSH: My opponent has no plan, no vision, just a long list of complaints. But a Monday-morning quarterback has never led any team to victory.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KING: Seven days out, seven days out now, and the Bush team claims momentum. Aides say on Wednesday the president will deliver a direct and a detailed appeal to Democrats to cross over and support his candidacy, even in Michigan, a state Mr. Bush lost by 5 percentage points four years ago, but a state where, Anderson, both campaigns say the polls have tightened significantly in recent days.
COOPER: All right, John King in Iowa. Thanks, John.
A quick news note now. And California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's technique for being in two places, his own state and on Friday, Ohio, campaigning for the president at more or less the same time. It seems he has a secret weapon. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: To me, it is very important that we send the state in the right direction. Therefore, my job is to stay here. Now, I can squeeze in a quick trip, because I have my own plane (UNINTELLIGIBLE) quickly shoot into Ohio and back. And so there is a way of doing that, but I do not want to go and hop around from state to state, because the people did not elect me to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So he's only going to do the one state, but there's his top time-management tip, get yourself some wings.
As you heard from both Candy and John, those missing weapons provided both sides with ammunition on the campaign trail today. Both sides have a couple things right. The amount, 380 tons. The location, a storage facility south of Baghdad. Where it gets a little fuzzy is that timeline of when the weapons went missing, and who was supposed to be looking after them.
CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre tries to clear things up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Pentagon acknowledges there was a window of about six weeks after the invasion of Iraq when it's possible the stockpile of high explosives could have been stolen from the sprawling al Qa Qaa facility south of Baghdad.
But Pentagon officials argue it's more likely the explosives were moved as part of the prewar dispersal ordered by Saddam Hussein. That would have come sometime after March 3, 2003, the last time the International Atomic Energy Agency checked that security seals placed on the bunkers were intact, and before the war actually began March 20.
On April 10, 2003, the day after the fall of Baghdad, troops from the 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division reached the site. No weapons under IAEA seal were found, but the soldiers were advancing on Baghdad, and officials acknowledged they didn't conduct a thorough inspection.
Some time in the next month, May 2003, the IAEA says it relayed concerns to the U.S. government about the stockpile falling into the wrong hands. Finally, on May 27, more than six weeks after the April visit, a special U.S. exploitation team looking for weapons of mass destruction searched all 32 bunkers and 87 buildings. Again, the stockpile was not found.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: Pentagon officials concede that the facility was not completely secured between April 10 and May 27, but they scoff at the idea that this huge amount of explosives, which would have taken at least 38 10-ton trucks to get out, could have been sneaked out while the U.S. troops were still operating in the area, Anderson.
COOPER: OK. Jamie McIntyre, thanks, from the Pentagon.
The investigation into the execution of 49 Iraqi soldiers begins with some surprising accusations. Here's a news note. Today, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi blamed, in part, the U.S.-led coalition for the massacre of the soldiers. Allawi said there was, quote, "major negligence by the multinational forces," but he would not elaborate. The soldiers were without any protection when insurgents forced them off buses and shot them all to death.
If you were waiting for Scott Peterson to take the witness stand, do not hold your breath. Today his defense rested. And what took the prosecution five months to tell, Mark Geragos laid out in just six days. For nearly half a year now, the Peterson murder trial seemed to crawl at a snail's pace. That is all about to change.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What promised to finish with a bang ended with a whimper. Defense attorney Mark Geragos rested the defense case following the testimony of a Modesto police officer about a burglary in Scott and Laci Peterson's neighborhood two days after she was last seen, the defense implying that burglars may have had something to do with her disappearance.
Six days of testimony, 14 witnesses. The problem, say legal analysts, is Geragos promised to stand and deliver. He didn't.
CHUCK SMITH, LEGAL ANALYST: He said that he was going to prove that the baby was born alive. Not one whit of evidence about that. He said he was going to turn this into an eyewitness case. We have not heard testimony from one single eyewitness.
DORNIN: Expectations were high for the often-flamboyant Geragos, who seemed to score more points for his client during the state's case. Even the defendant's family agreed. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The truth stands on its own. You know, we got enough of our case when the prosecution's case was on.
DORNIN: Many of the big issues of this trial have been decided behind closed doors. That's where legal analysts say Geragos may have lost his bid to present evidence he considered important to the case. He put Peterson's parents on the stand to provide an alibi for some of Peterson's odd behavior. Analysts questioned whether the defense strategy to humanize Peterson worked.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: By putting on the parents, it raises the question even larger, why didn't Scott testify? And again, the jury's instructed not to consider that. But it's human nature to look at this man 10 feet away who has the answers to all these questions and ask, Why didn't he tell us what happened?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: Prosecutors plan to put eight rebuttal witnesses on the stand tomorrow afternoon, then they're going to send the jury home. On Friday, there's likely to be a battle over whether the jury should consider a second-degree murder charge if it determines that Laci Peterson's killing was not predetermined. Defense attorney Mark Geragos, of course, expected to fight that.
Closing arguments are likely to run right through election day, and deliberations are schedule for November 3, Anderson.
COOPER: Rusty, thanks. We're going to look at all sides of this case with Gloria Allred, attorney for Amber Frey, and Jayne Weintraub, a criminal defense attorney, a little later on 360.
The LAPD calls a convicted rapist the city's most prolific killer. That tops our look at what's happening right now cross- country.
L.A. prosecutors have charged this man, his name is Chester Dwayne Turner, with 10 counts of murder. Detectives say DNA evidence links him to the killings. He is suspected in at least a dozen other murders between 1987 and 1998.
Spotsylvania, Virginia, now, teen sniper Lee Boyd Malvo makes a deal to avoid the death penalty. Malvo, now 19 years old, faces life in prison for shooting to death a man and attempting to kill a woman during the shooting spree that terrorized the Washington area in the fall of 2002. Malvo entered what's known as an Alfred plea, not admitting guilt, but acknowledging there was overwhelming evidence against him. He's already serving one life sentence. He could still face the death penalty in other shootings.
La Jolla, California, now. A baby seal died after an alleged attack. A witness says four meanspirited beachgoers jabbed the animal and burned it with cigarettes when it came ashore. Hard to believe. Officials say the only evidence of injury is from a fishing net. Animal activists want a full investigation. And Dallas, Texas, prison sendoff. A judge throws a party, complete with cake and balloons -- there are the balloons -- to welcome a former fugitive back to her court and sentences him to life in prison. They even had a cake. The man was convicted in absentia for assaulting his girlfriend, captured last week. You can imagine, he did not like the celebration, saying it may be fun for others, but not for him.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
So are you ready for the 360 challenge? Later in the program, I'm going to ask you three questions that test your knowledge of today's news. If you watched the show closely, you should be able to get them all right. If you're first to e-mail us all three correct answers, we'll send you a 360 T-shirt. Stay tuned. Challenge is coming up.
Also ahead tonight, spokesmen from the Bush and Kerry campaigns square off against Iraq, the latest polls, and what strategies each is relying on with just seven days to go. That's in a moment.
Plus, the bulge divided, or divulged, I should say. What was that thing on Bush's back on debate night? President explains in his own words, ahead.
We'll also get Bill Maher's take, find out what he thinks about the bulge, the battle, and the sprint to the finish. He joins us live a little later.
First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories on CNN.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, it is down to this. What seemed at times like an endless presidential race is in its final week, that is, if there's no recount. CNN's latest average of national polling, the poll of polls, has President Bush leading Senator Kerry 49 percent to 47 percent, well within the margin of error.
For some insight on the campaign's last-minute strategies, we turn to Bush-Cheney communications director Nicolle Devenish, she's in Arlington, Virginia, and in Washington, Kerry-Edwards senior adviser Chad Clanton.
Appreciate both of you being on the program.
Nicolle, let me start off with you. Recently, Dick Cheney has said, I think yesterday, he said, he called Iraq a remarkable success story. If voters don't believe that, should they vote for John Kerry?
NICOLLE DEVENISH, BUSH-CHENEY COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: I don't think voters should vote for John Kerry under any circumstance, because I think this president has made clear that even when you don't agree with him, you know where he stands. And (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the work of our men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan has been an outstanding success, and we are safer here in America because of their efforts.
And the choice in this election is between someone who believes that you fight the war on terror, that the commitment we made in the days and weeks after 9/11 is to fight the war on terror on the streets and in the cities of Iraq and Afghanistan, or to face the enemies here in America's cities. And I know what Chad's going to say. He's going to launch a cheesy attack about the way this war was carried out.
But, you know, we're past the point in the campaign. We're down to the wire where people want serious answers, and they want to talk about serious differences on the big issues.
COOPER: Chad...
DEVENISH: And again we saw the John Kerry attacks ripped from "The New York Times."
COOPER: Chad, what they say about your candidate is that he's basically a Monday morning quarterback. We've heard that all day long on the campaign trail. Is that true?
CHAD CLANTON, KERRY-EDWARDS SENIOR ADVISER: No, absolutely not. I think Dick Cheney calling Iraq a remarkable success is a real insight to the number one problem with the Bush administration. We know that it was a catastrophic mistake to go into Iraq alone. We know that we've lost over 1,000 U.S. troops over there. We know that attacks against U.S. troops are increasing every month.
COOPER: But Chad...
CLANTON: We know also...
COOPER: ... what they're saying is basically that Kerry only has criticisms to make, he doesn't have solutions to give.
CLANTON: No, he has a solution, and it starts with telling the American people the truth. We have a president and a vice president that continue to paint a very rosy scenario of what's happening there. Until we tell the truth, we can't take the real steps needed to, you know, correct the problems there, get the allies onboard. And on top of that...
(CROSSTALK)
CLANTON: ... a real, a real, a real...
DEVENISH: ... are you talking about, allies like Tony Blair? I mean, I'm not sure which allies Chad thinks are missing. I have a hunch that maybe it's the French.
CLANTON: Right now, we're bearing 90 percent of the cost and casualties because of the way George Bush went in alone.
DEVENISH: And that's only if you think an Iraqi casualty isn't a tragedy. But, you know, we have a difference...
CLANTON: Well, not at all, not at all.
DEVENISH: ... of opinion, Anderson.
COOPER: No, Nicolle, you, you're, you're, you're, you're saying that the Iraqis are our allies as well, and that's why it's not 90 percent of the casualties. That's a line Republicans use.
DEVENISH: Well, well, and Anderson, this is the real difference. I mean, I feel that way because we honor and respect Prime Minister Allawi as an ally in the war against terror. Chad's candidate, John Kerry, insulted him and basically...
COOPER: Well, well, you're, you're...
DEVENISH: ... questioned his credibility.
(CROSSTALK)
CLANTON: Prime Minister Allawi said that terrorists are flooding into Iraq like never before. Something that wasn't happening...
DEVENISH: Yes, yes, but see, the problem with that, Chad, is...
CLANTON: ... before we went in alone. before we went in alone. It's a real problem...
COOPER: OK, let me, let me...
CLANTON: Now it is a new front in the war on terror. It's the new Afghanistan because of the way George Bush went in alone, and because of the way he's mismanaged this war. It is on the ballot on November the 2nd. John Kerry would have new credibility, new plans. It starts with...
DEVENISH: New credibility...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: We're going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
CLANTON: Maybe if we weren't giving Halliburton all these contracts...
COOPER: We're going to (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
CLANTON: ... you're asking people (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: ... Halliburton, we're going to, we're going to try something new tonight. We're now allow each of you to ask a question to the other. It's, we're going to call it, what shall we call it, answer the question, we'll call it. See if you actually answer each other's questions, because rarely do you actually answer other people's. Nicolle, let's start off with you. You get to ask Chad any question, Chad will get 30 seconds to answer.
DEVENISH: I'd love a blow by blow of what their morning message meeting is like. Who flips through "The New York Times" and says, I got one, A6, I've got one? And what were you going to talk about if "The New York Times" hadn't produced a message for you yesterday, Chad?
COOPER: Chad, 30 seconds.
CLANTON: Well, we continue to talk about the big choice. It's a fresh start versus more of the same. Let me put it in Texas talk. If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting.
DEVENISH: Are you even from Texas?
CLANTON: We've gotten, we've gotten, we've gotten enough from this administration. We have record deficit, record job losses, record high health insurance costs. Look, we need a fresh start. We need a new direction in this country. That's what John Kerry's offering.
Now do I get to ask my question?
COOPER: Yes, yes, you have seven seconds less. But, yes, you get to answer your question now.
CLANTON: My question is very simple. We all know that being president is the hardest job in the world. Yet President Bush can't admit a single mistake he's ever made. Nicolle knows the president well. Nicolle, do you know any mistake that the president's made?
DEVENISH: Oh, Chad, you gave me an easy one, and one that I was ready for. This president, and this is a great difference. You know, there was a real important moment in the president's convention speech where he said, whatever your strengths are, as president you're going to need them, and whatever your weaknesses are, every single one of them, everyone will know. Now, his president takes responsibility for every single action that takes place on (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CLANTON: What about the 380 tons of high-grade explosives he lost?
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), let her finish, let her finish.
CLANTON: OK.
DEVENISH: Well, look, this president takes responsibility for every single action made in his administration. And he said that while he's president, his focus is on success in Iraq, his focus is on growing the economy...
COOPER: OK.
DEVENISH: ... and he'll let history judge the mistakes for what they were.
COOPER: I gave you a few, I, a few extra seconds since Chad interrupted. I appreciate both of you joining us. DEVENISH: Thanks, Anderson.
COOPER: Chad Clanton, Nicolle Devenish, thanks very much.
President Bush is doing some explaining about his first debate appearance. Here's a quick news note. Remember this thing, the bulge? Well, there are plenty of theories about the bulge on President Bush's back during the September 30 debate. Some Internet bloggers speculated president was wired to get help from his campaign staff. Mr. Bush poked fun at those rumors earlier today on ABC's "Good Morning America." Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA," ABC)
CHARLES GIBSON, HOST: What the hell that was on your back in the first debate.
BUSH: Well, you know, Karen Hughes and Dan Bartlett had rigged up a sound system.
GIBSON: You're getting in trouble.
BUSH: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) said that they, I don't know what that is. I mean, it is, it is, yes, it's, it's, it's a, I'm embarrassed it's a poorly tailored shirt.
GIBSON: It was the shirt?
BUSH: Yes, absolutely.
GIBSON: There was no sound system back there. There was no...
BUSH: Of course not.
GIBSON: ... electrical signal. There was...
BUSH: I mean, what does, how does electric, please explain to me how it works, so if maybe if I were ever debate again I could figure it out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, the president went on to call the rumors absurd. Bill Maher will weigh in on that probably a little bit later on tonight when he joins us.
360 next, election night legal SWAT teams, will Ohio become the next Florida? Will the lawyers drag out the final results? We'll take a closer look at the possible scenarios.
Also tonight, Howard Stern taking on the head of the FCC. Find out who won in a war of words.
And a little later, mystery gator attack. This time, they're looking for the person who stabbed the animal, didn't kill it, just stabbed it. Very strange. And in a moment, today's 360 challenge. How closely have you been following today's news? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's been a tough couple of years for Florida. The last four years, the, they've been the butt of jokes since the recount. Some of have even called that state home of electile dysfunction. But all that ridicule might come to an end next Tuesday, when the stigma of voting problems could go to another state, the possible next victim of raw politics. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Hanging, pregnant, dimpled, remember that, swing door or trichads? Remember the 2000 debacle, 36 days of confusion ended by the Supreme Court? Well, if you think that was bad...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Count every vote!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Count every vote!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Count every vote!
COOPER: ... take a look at what's brewing right now in Ohio.
According to "The Washington Post," Ohio's voter registration rolls contain more than 120,000 duplicate names, and review of these rolls reportedly found a murder victim and two suspected terrorists among the eligible.
Republicans have already filed 35,000 challenges to voters' eligibility in Ohio, and at least one lawsuit has been about the weight of the paper that voters used to register.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: A lot of people say Ohio will be the new Florida in 2004. Very much in contention. It's a major state. It's a large state.
COOPER: But it's not just Ohio. Both camps have already filed lawsuits in Michigan, Missouri, Colorado, and, of course, Florida. And come November 3, more could come.
KERRY: We will fight tooth and nail to make sure that this time, every vote is counted, and every vote counts.
COOPER: The Kerry camp has already set up six so-called SWAT teams of lawyers around the country with fueled-up jets ready to contest any election. And in Florida, this man, David Boies, Al Gore's lawyer in 2000, has already been hired.
In Ohio alone, Republicans will have some 3,600 people to monitor the election. Why that many? Well, because Ohio still uses those pesky paper ballots, meaning that once again, this election could end up hanging by a chad. For how long? That depends on raw politics. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, joining me to guide us through all this, CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
Jeffrey, good to see you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Anderson.
COOPER: You think this is going to be a mess Tuesday night?
TOOBIN: You know, I think the odds are pretty strong that we will be in court well before noon on Tuesday. There will be lawsuits filed during the day well before even the polls close.
COOPER: Really?
TOOBIN: Oh, absolutely. We, you know, the Democrats say, you know, we originally planned for 10,000 lawyers, but we're actually going to have closer to 15,000 lawyers.
COOPER: Fifteen thousand lawyers.
TOOBIN: Fifteen thousand lawyers. And you, everyone knows enough about lawyers that if you send that many lawyers out, they will find problems.
COOPER: They got to do something.
TOOBIN: Absolutely.
COOPER: A lot of billable hours.
TOOBIN: And also, you know, I'm spending a lot of time talking to lawyers on both sides, and you can hear their voices vibrating with rage already. They are just loaded for bear.
COOPER: Rage over?
TOOBIN: Rage over what they regard as, the Democrats regard as continuing unfairness, mostly against African-Americans, Republicans enraged about the Democrats using the legal system, playing the race card, for an election they can't win at the polls.
COOPER: So as long as there are close elections, I mean, is this, is this with us for the foreseeable future?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, the, Congress tried to solve the problem in part by passing the Help America Vote Act in 2002. What that's done is simply impose another layer of law, another law to fight about. I mean, we have 50 different legal systems in each -- you know, each state has its own legal system for counting votes. But within states, Pennsylvania, a very important state, has five different voting systems, all of which are susceptible to litigation and recounts.
And this time, unlike last time, the lawyers are ready up front. They had to scramble before. Now, they're ready to go.
COOPER: Yes, unbelievable. Jeff's all fueled up, ready to go. All right, Jeffrey Toobin...
TOOBIN: Our jets are ready, too.
COOPER: Thanks very much, Jeff.
A historic vote by Israel's parliament tops our look at what's happening around the world in "The Uplink."
For the first time, the Knesset has voted to pull Israeli troops and settlements out of Gaza and part of the West Bank.
Now, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan won by a wide margin, 67- 45, with seven abstentions. Several politicians are calling for a national referendum on the plan. One even says he'll resign if it doesn't happen.
Southern Thailand, at least 78 people died after a protest. The victims had been arrested during this demonstration on Monday, reportedly suffocated when they were loaded onto trucks for a five- hour trip to army barracks. Six others were killed in the protest over the arrest of several Muslim men accused of selling guns.
Havana, Cuba now. Hasta la vista to shopping with the American dollar. President Fidel Castro says starting November 8th, he'll ban transactions with the dollar in response to tighter U.S. sanctions on the communist country. Also under the rule, tourists and Cubans exchanging dollars for pesos will face a 10 percent surcharge.
Taipei, Taiwan. A food fight in parliament already known for fistfights. Taiwan's lawmakers have now resorted to hurling food at each other. One minute they were having lunch, then all of a sudden food started flying as they debated whether Taiwan should spend billions on U.S. weapons. Just another day in Taiwan's parliament. That should be a reality show, Taiwan's parliament.
That's tonight's "Uplink" for you.
Seven days to go and the race and the rhetoric heats up. Tonight, we go 360 with the comedian who always speaks his mind.
The Scott Peterson trial. The defense rests, but why so soon? And what happened to those promises of revealing the real killer?
And are you ready for the 360 challenge? If you think you know news, get ready to take our current events quiz. Details ahead when 360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, Bill Maher says he vote for Ralph Nader in 2000 because he was young and silly. Four years later and a week before the election, the political satirist is putting his youthful transgressions behind him. He thinks there's too much at stake for the country next Tuesday.
And while you may not agree with what he says, you are perhaps bound to laugh along the way. We hope so, at least. Joining me now from Los Angeles, Bill Maher, host of HBO's "Real Time." Hey, Bill, how's it going?
BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": Thank you very much. Yes, youthful indiscretions.
COOPER: Yes, well, four years ago. You've aged considerably since then. What do -- first of all, President Bush came out and says that was probably his shirt rumpled up in that bulge in the debate. What do you think that was?
MAHER: You mean the back -- the thing in his back?
COOPER: Yeah.
MAHER: I think, you know, sometimes he gets his messages directly from Jesus, and sometimes you've got to have Karl Rove in on the picture. So I don't know, but you know, you mentioned Ralph Nader -- I actually think Ralph Nader is going to help John Kerry, because I think so many people are so afraid that Ralph Nader is going to tip this election that it will energize more people that are going to vote for Ralph Nader who wouldn't have come out anyway.
COOPER: Do you really think so?
MAHER: I really do. Because for a guy who is polling, you know, at about half a percentage point, he gets an awful lot of press. You guys talk about him a lot, and the Democratic base is so energized this year. I think a lot of people who are so scared that this election is going to go the wrong way and Ralph Nader's going to tip it, I think he may actually be having more people come out than if he wasn't running.
COOPER: I'm going to talk to him on Monday night. I'll put your theory to him and see what he has to say.
MAHER: OK.
COOPER: ... about it. I know because you got down on your knees begging him to drop out, you and Michael Moore, but I guess that didn't work.
MAHER: It didn't work, but I think it may work out in the end.
COOPER: Well, I want to ask you, 56 percent -- you support John Kerry, you've been very vocal about that -- 56 percent of Americans say in the recent CNN-"USA Today" Gallup poll that the country's going in the wrong direction. Why can't your guy close the deal? I mean, if 56 percent of the country think -- if 56 percent of Americans think the country is in the wrong direction, how come John Kerry isn't way out in front?
MAHER: That's a great point. You know, and the fact that he's campaigning now with Bill Clinton only I think brings out to light even more, because you know Bill Clinton could have closed the deal.
I don't know, you know, because he's playing from the old Al Gore playbook, which is to not differentiate yourself so much from the Republican. First of all, they should have made the issue 9/11. You know if the situation were reversed and the Republicans were running against President Al Gore, this whole election would be about 9/11 happened on your watch, I don't want to hear about any excuses, this was your problem. Somehow the Republicans get a mulligan on 9/11. Well, we let it happen once. Won't happen again.
And the other thing is that John Kerry just doesn't call President Bush out on his stuff. This election is all about fear. I would have liked to have seen John Kerry every time this election became about the terrorists and the wolves attacking us say, you know what, folks? What you really have to fear is the environmental devastation this president has wrought. That is really what is going to probably kill you in the end.
COOPER: But what about -- but I mean, is part of the problem John Kerry's record? I mean, the Republicans will say, look, you know, this guy had 20 years in the Senate and really didn't accomplish very much.
MAHER: Well, I mean, that's a matter of debate. I think he probably did accomplish much. I think when he was -- when George Bush was on the couch thinking in Texas, this guy was working on terrorism in the BCCI scandal, for example.
But you know, any senator is at that sort of disadvantage, because you can always go over a record and make it look like the guy didn't do much or voted for taxes three billion times. Whatever they're saying.
COOPER: Who do you think's run a better campaign?
MAHER: That -- the Republicans. I mean, the fact that George Bush with such a weak hand -- he is playing such a weak hand. You're right. People think that the country's on the wrong track. Even people who support Bush say in the next term, if he wins another term, they want it to be different than this term.
So, I would have to say that the Republicans are better at running a campaign. I don't think they're better at governing.
COOPER: Are you sick of this election? Are you ready for it to be over?
MAHER: No, I'm never sick of it. I mean...
COOPER: What, because it's good material -- it's good material for you?
MAHER: Yeah. I mean, it's going to be a great letdown when this ends. It's been a fun election, and I haven't seen an election or covered one in my lifetime where so many people were so interested. That's the nice thing about this election. For whatever reason, and I guess it is 9/11 and terrorism, people really care. I mean, President Bush, I got to give him that much. He brings out people, because hate is a terrible thing to waste.
COOPER: Well, I think we're going to see a lot of people coming out in the polls for and against the president, for and against Senator Kerry. And we'll see who wins. Bill Maher, it's always good to talk to you. I love the show, "Real Time," on HBO. Thanks.
MAHER: Oh, thank you, Anderson. I appreciate it.
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, Scott Peterson's fate soon to be in the hands of the jury. The defense rest its case today. Did it hurt or help the prosecution?
Also tonight, a far lighter story. An alligator attacked and beloved neighbors rally around their rather unusual mascot. That is a knife sticking out of the alligator's head, yes.
And in a moment, today's 360 challenge. How closely have you been following today's news? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time now for today's "360 Challenge." Be the first to answer all three questions correctly, win a 360 T-shirt.
No. 1, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, says when he campaigns for Bush it will be in what state?
No. 2, President Bush says that bulge on his back in the first presidential debate was a what?
And no. 3, did political satirist Bill Maher vote for Bush, Gore or Nader in the 2000 election?
Take the "Challenge" and log on to cnn.com/360, then click on the answer link. Answer first, we'll send you a 360 T-shirt.
Find out last night's "Challenge" winner and tonight's answers coming up later.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: In "Justice Served" tonight, the Scott Peterson murder trial.
Six days after it began, Peterson's defense rested today. While prosecutors called more than 170 witnesses to the stand, Mark Geragos only had 14 to testify.
Geragos wants the jury to believe someone else abducted and killed Laci Peterson. The question is, did he succeed in creating reasonable doubt?
Joining us in "Justice Served" from the courthouse, Gloria Allred, the attorney for Amber Frey and from Miami defense attorney, Jayne Weintraub.
Good to see both of you.
Gloria, let me start off with you. At the start of this trial, if I remember correctly, Mark Geragos said, he would prove that Peterson was innocent.
Did he do that?
GLORIA ALLRED, AMBER FREY'S ATTORNEY: Anderson, he said he would prove that Scott Peterson was stone cold innocent. I think all he's proven is that Scott Peterson is stone cold. Whether or not he's innocent is something the jury's going to have to decide. But I think the defense case as presented was a big disappointment. It was a bust.
COOPER: Jayne, let me get to -- I mean, he didn't need to say that. All he needed to do was create reasonable doubt.
Why did he say he was going to prove stone cold innocence and in Gloria's opinion not deliver.
JAYNE WEINTRAUB, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, Gloria's opinion, thankfully, won't matter to the jury, because the first thing the judge will instruct the jury is what the lawyers say is not evidence and should not be considered evidence, ladies and gentlemen. And we as trial lawyers know that you're not allowed to consider what Mark Geragos said. More importantly, half the promises of the prosecution weren't met and they're the ones with the burden. They're the ones who have to deliver according to our constitution and they failed flat on their face.
So, if Mark Middle East; War; Violence; Government; Politics in the opening statement, big deal. He didn't misstep when it came to the evidence, did he Anderson? He certainly has raised reasonable doubt.
ALLRED: Anderson...
COOPER: Gloria.
ALLRED: Anderson, I think it is a big deal if Scott -- if Mark Geragos made promises in his opening statement to the jury and then didn't deliver. And he did make promises and didn't deliver.
WEINTRAUB: He did deliver, Gloria.
ALLRED: And my educated guess is that that likely would be pointed out by the prosecution when they get to their final argument. By the way, it's interesting who wasn't testifying for the defense. No Dr. Lee.
WEINTRAUB: Another thing the constitution prohibits us from discussing and considering.
ALLRED: No Cyril Wecht. No Scott Peterson. And No Amber Frey, that Mark Geragos said he was going to call.
WEINTRAUB: She's worthless and week, why call her up?
ALLRED: Why didn't Scott Peterson testify?
COOPER: Wait. But Jayne -- but, Jayne, it was very unlikely that Scott Peterson was ever going to testify.
WEINTRAUB: Scott Peterson, couldn't testify for two reasons. One, he had nothing to say. He had nothing to benefit that the jury has not heard. The jury heard the best of Scott Peterson when they heard him surreptitiously recorded and saying things to people that he loved at the time like Amber and his brother, I didn't do it. Oh my god, how could this guy think I did it. I would never harm her.
COOPER: Well, wait Jayne. You think those -- you think those tape recordings in which he was caught in multiple lies served him well.
WEINTRAUB: I don't think those tape recordings did, but those never have anything to do with his complicity in her death. And that's what this case is about. Has the prosecution proved a premeditated murder?
Have they even proved a killing?
We don't even know where what the cause of death is or where she died.
ALLRED: There's no best of Scott Peterson, there's only worst of Scott Peterson as evidence by his own voice.
WEINTRAUB: But not as a murder.
ALLRED: May I finish, Jayne, please.
COOPER: Let Gloria finish.
ALLRED: As evidenced by his own voice on the tapes that Amber Frey made at the request of the police, those taped conversations with Scott Peterson. Even in the one tape that the defense just presented with Scott Peterson on the phone with his brother, Scott Peterson and this was the morning of his arrest, Scott Peterson's voice was so flat. No affect, no emotion about the fact that two bodies had just washed up.
WEINTRAUB: And that's shows he's a killer?
ALLRED: And it could have been that that was his pregnant wife and his son, but does he get upset? Does he get emotional? Does he even drive back to the scene where the bodies have been discovered? No.
COOPER: Jayne, the prosecution plans calling eight rebuttal witnesses tomorrow. Who do you think they are going to call? WEINTRAUB: I think that it's going to be a battle of the experts, Anderson. And I think, that's the best thing Mark has done, because he will be able to argue that they had to call rebuttal because it wasn't clear. And the experts in this case have all raised reasonable doubt. Look, telling your best friend or a girlfriend or your mother-in-law that you're pregnant, you know what, Anderson?
I've had kids and I'll bet if you asked Gloria, she'll tell you the same thing, it's pretty reliable when a woman tells her best friend she's pregnant, you can bet she is. And yet, everybody wanted to make fun of it. It's going to be expert witnesses that will be testifying. It will be police officers that will come back to make reason and excuses why the other cops lied
COOPER: We got to end it there. Jayne Weintraub, good to talk to you. Gloria Allred, always good to have you on the show. Thanks very much.
ALLRED: Thanks, Anderson.
WEINTRAUB: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Coming up next, the answers to the "360 Challenge," plus an alligator attacked, neighbors want to know who stabbed Elvis. That's what they called this alligator.
And also tonight, Howard Stern vs. the head of the FCC. A war of words on the airwaves, kind of an ambush thing. Find out who won.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: When the words "alligator" and "attack" appear in the same headline, it's normally a person who's the victim of the reptile's vicious jaws, but not in the story you're about to hear. This time the victim was a Florida alligator named Elvis, a much-loved carnivore who was the target of a disturbing and very puzzling crime "Inside the Box." Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Elvis, it seems, has left the building, the block and the backyard pond.
No, not that Elvis. Elvis the alligator. People who live at the Oak Ford Country Club in Sarasota County were stunned to see their reptilian resident floating in a pond with a knife sticking out of his head.
The county called the state conservation commission, who called a croc hunter who captured Elvis. But why would someone commit such a horrible crime? Why would anyone want to harm Elvis? Sarasota sheriffs say they don't know.
CAPT. STEVE BURNS, SARASOTA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Even though the animal is dangerous, it's still -- he's still defenseless in that regard of an injury like that, just serves no purpose and it is just cruelty.
COOPER: And if you think the neighbors were overjoyed to see the end of Elvis, locals say, quite frankly, that's a crock.
KATHY MUNKELWITZ, NEIGHBOR: I guess he's going to have to go, which is sad. I'd like to see him without the knife in his head, alive somewhere.
COOPER: TV viewers, it seems, have a great affection for alligators. "Miami Vice" fans will remember that a friendly gator named Elvis guarded Sonny Crockett's houseboat, and only a month ago we chased after Chucky, the Alabama alligator who got a taste of freedom from his home at the zoo following Hurricane Ivan.
Chucky's tale had a happy ending, but Elvis, he had the 15 minutes of fame befitting a friend "Inside the Box."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, Sarasota County sheriffs say whoever attacked Elvis committed a felony, could do some jail time. Florida officials, wildlife officials say they'll decide in the coming days whether Elvis will live or die.
In tonight's "Current," the match we've been waiting for. Howard Stern takes on his nemesis, FCC Chairman Michael Powell. Stern says the FCC is subjectively slapping indecency fine on him while sparing others. This morning, while Powell was interviewed on a San Francisco radio show, guess who called in? And the shock jock started off by accusing the son of the secretary of state of using family connections to get his job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, TALK SHOW HOST: It's not a cheap shot to say to you that your father got you your position, and I'll tell you why. Guys like me who came from nowhere, out of nothing, who worked their way up and committed themselves to broadcasting and a career in broadcast have to answer to you. And it is in question as to how you got to where you got to. And let's face it, you got to the head of the FCC -- you got to the front of the class the way George W. Bush got out of the draft.
And it's completely fair for me to question, because you're the guy sitting there telling me I'm guilty of saying something and Oprah Winfrey isn't, and I wish you'd address that.
MICHAEL POWELL, FCC CHAIRMAN: The only thing that I would say...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: All right, clearly, we're having a problem with our audio there. Michael Powell spoke back to Howard Stern, defending his position, saying he deserved the job he had, that he was clearly qualified, that he was an attorney and had served in many other important positions before getting this job. We're sorry the audio just dropped out.
Stern, who's leaving commercial radio for satellite radio next year, says he doesn't think Powell personally hates him, but believes the government uses a double standard when it comes to deciding what's indecent.
360 next, some uplifting news. How you can get a big boost to your step. We're going to take that to "The Nth Degree."
And 360 challenge. Here's another look at tonight's question. Number one, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says when he campaigns for Bush, it will be in what state?
Number two, President Bush says that bulge on his jacket -- his back in the first presidential debate was a what? Presidential debate.
And number three, did political satirist Bill Maher vote for Bush, Gore or Nader, or was he undecided in the 2000 election? The answer, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Time for the answers to today's 360 challenge.
Number one, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says when he campaigns for Bush, it will be in what state? The answer, Ohio.
Number two, President Bush says that bulge on his back in the first presidential debate was a what? He says it was the shirt, or his shirt.
And number three, did political satirist Bill Maher vote for Bush, Gore or Nader in the 2000 election? The answer, Nader.
The first person to answer all three questions correctly will be sent a 360 T-shirt. Tune in tomorrow to find out if you are the one. And last night's winner, Anita Grenda -- that was my sound effect -- Anita Grenda of Atlanta, Georgia. Another 360 challenge and another chance to win tomorrow. There she is. That's what Anita looks like. Thanks, Anita, for playing.
Tonight, real news to "The Nth Degree."
Never mind the election, we'll continue to cover it and all, but you know, what does it mean in the end? Selecting the next president of the United States, influencing the future of the entire planet? Yeah, yeah. There's something really important going on.
Physicists at a university in the Netherlands have used magnetism to make things levitate. Don't believe it? This, you doubting Thomases, is a floating frog. It's a matter of applying a diamagnetic force of about 10 Teslas, and some other equally impressive sounding abracadabra we don't understand in the least. And Bob's your uncle, you're airborne.
It works with bugs, for those who don't fancy floating frogs, or drops of water. Even fruits and vegetables.
Obviously, this is just the beginning. Look ahead, perhaps not so many years as all that, on the weekends instead of hanging around, you'll be able to hover. No more chairs, no more sofas. Our houses will be entirely different and totally devoid, we would think, of ceiling fans. At least let's hope so.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
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