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American Morning

Ohio GOP Gov. Alleges Voter Fraud; Peterson Defense Moves to Conclusion

Aired October 26, 2004 - 08:00   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: One week to go, no room for error. The candidates making the final push for every last vote.
Three hundred and eighty tons of missing explosives in Iraq, but exactly when did they disappear? A key question with a possible election impact.

And Scott Peterson's parents called to the witness stand, now trying to explain a huge pile of cash.

All that ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Welcome back, everybody.

We are truly in the home stretch of this long campaign. This morning, we look at some last minute strategies. We're also going to talk about Ohio. Lots of lawyers there and a lot of concern that that state is going to be the Florida of 2004. We're going to find out just what Ohio's governor thinks of that.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this hour, Jeff Greenfield back with us talking about the political aftershocks of Chief Justice William Rehnquist's cancer diagnosis from the weekend. Does the future of the court now become a central issue in this campaign, with seven days to go? And, if so, which side is driven to the polls more than the other, if that is the case?

Jeff has some thoughts on that, in a moment.

O'BRIEN: And Jack's got the "Cafferty File" ahead -- good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up in the "Cafferty File," Soledad, perhaps the only human being who ever actually saw the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. He's very old. And we'll tell you which major city in the U.S. has the lowest crime rate, which has the highest crime rate. The answers may surprise you, or maybe they won't. But we've got to put something in there because that's what we have to do.

HEMMER: I've seen it. It's very surprising, too. O'BRIEN: I haven't seen it, so.

HEMMER: I'll keep my mouth shut.

O'BRIEN: Yes. I'll take a guess.

Yes?

CAFFERTY: It's not a national secret.

HEMMER: Yes, well.

CAFFERTY: Well, it is for now.

O'BRIEN: Let's get to the top stories, shall we?

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Heidi's got a look at the headlines for us this morning -- good morning, again.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, guys.

Iran may be closer to reconsidering aspects of its nuclear program. Iranian officials have been in talks with some European countries, discussing a possible incentive package. But Iranian officials say although they're willing to meet with the representatives, they will not give up the nuclear program entirely. Iran says it uses nuclear energy to run its power plants.

The price tags for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be going up. According to officials cited in the "Washington Post," the Bush administration is reportedly planning to ask for an additional $70 billion in emergency funding. That would push the total war cost to $225 billion. If he is reelected, President Bush would submit the budget proposal to Congress early next year.

In Virginia now, authorities have recovered all 10 bodies from the plane crash of a NASCAR family. Ten people from the Hendrick Motor Sports Group were killed Sunday on their way to a Virginia speedway. Crews had to use all terrain vehicles to reach the crash site. Authorities are, of course, working now to find the cause of the crash.

American dollars being turned down in Cuba. The government there announced yesterday U.S. money will not be accepted at stores and businesses. Officials said the move is designated -- or designed, that is -- to protect against American penalties on banks that send American dollars to Cuba. So what could the change mean for your wallet? Well, Andy Serwer is coming up in just a little bit. He's going to talk about that, minding your business.

HEMMER: It could be very significant for Cubans who have them, too, at this point.

COLLINS: Right. That's for sure. HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

The election one week away, seven days and counting on the calendar. The battle for the swing states still remaining intense. President Bush yesterday stumping for votes in Iowa and then Colorado. Today he's in Wisconsin and then back in Iowa. Tomorrow, he'll be in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.

Senator John Kerry campaigned in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania yesterday. Today, the senator is in Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico. He spends tonight later in Iowa and tomorrow he'll campaign in Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio there, crisscrossing the country.

Both campaigns showering attention on the Buckeye State, that being Ohio, one of the key battleground states that could swing this election.

The governor, Republican Bob Taft, back with us here from Columbus, Ohio this morning.

Governor, welcome back here.

Nice to have you, as always.

GOV. BOB TAFT (R), OHIO: Bill, my pleasure.

HEMMER: I don't know if you saw the front page of "The Washington Post" this morning, but a big front line story about the problems that are anticipated in Ohio.

Based on what you have seen to this point, Governor, is there anything that would raise a red flag for you come November 3?

TAFT: Well, we've had a lot of fraudulent voter registrations already, mostly by those 527 groups. There will be unprecedented scrutiny of this election on both sides. There'll be more election monitors and judges than we have ever seen before. We have four counties where you have more voters registered than you have 18 and over population.

So it's a real concern and we need to make sure that our election is accuser, that everybody's vote counts and that people who are not eligible to vote don't vote. So we're hoping that because of the level of scrutiny, it will be an accurate count for the State of Ohio.

HEMMER: You said an awful lot in your answer. Take me to these four counties specifically.

What can the state do to make sure that voter fraud is not present if you have more people registered than actually vote in that county?

TAFT: Well, the important thing is that the election workers will be trained to make sure that a voter is a citizen, 18 and over, and a resident of the precinct and county where they plan to vote. But in about 3,600 precincts, at least, I know the Republican Party will have election judges inside the polling place just to monitor, to make sure that people who are not eligible to vote are challenged by the poll workers.

HEMMER: Also in that article in the "Post" this morning, the secretary of state, Ken Blackwell, talked about hiccups that Ohio will experience.

What is he talking about, Governor?

TAFT: Well, I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about, but we are going to have a large number of provisional ballots cast, as well. We had about 100,000 last time. It could be at least twice that many this time. So those ballots can't be counted until a week to 10 days after the election. It takes a lot of time to make sure those are valid ballots. Where there's a question about someone's registration, they'll vote a provisional ballot. It will be set aside and counted later. So if the election is close in Ohio, and we believe it will be close, it's possible we won't know the results for a number of days.

HEMMER: What is your sense of how many lawyers will represent both sides come November 2?

TAFT: Probably too many lawyers on both sides.

HEMMER: Do you have the number? Is it in the thousands or not?

TAFT: I don't know. It's probably in the hundreds on both sides in the State of Ohio.

HEMMER: Then can a lawyer actually prevent somebody from voting?

TAFT: Well, if you have someone who is an attorney or not an attorney who's qualified to be a monitor or a judge inside the polling place, if they have reasonable cause to believe a voter is ineligible to vote, they can ask the poll worker to challenge that voter. And then it's up to the poll worker whether or not to do so.

HEMMER: And there have been challenges already, about 35,000 at one point, lodged by the Republicans. I think the number has been winnowed down a little bit, maybe to 25,000 at this point.

TAFT: Well, we have...

HEMMER: That sound right to you?

TAFT: Well, yes, that's about right. A lot of these voters don't have addresses. When they send the postcard out to them, after they register, that comes back undeliverable. You're talking about thousands of cases like that all across the State of Ohio.

HEMMER: And is there a factor of intimidation involved in that, Governor, do you believe?

TAFT: Absolutely not. When you have more people registered to vote than you have people in a county, you've got an issue with election fraud. So both sides are monitoring this. And I really believe that the election in Ohio will be accurate, will be fair, because we've never had this kind of scrutiny. It could be the most honest election in Ohio's history for that reason, not that we've had any problems in the past. We've had a good election system.

But this level of scrutiny is unprecedented. I think the voter turnout will be unprecedented. There will be some lines and some delays at the polls because of the numbers of voters. But the level of scrutiny, I think, assures us that ultimately, at the end of the day, we're going to have a good count.

HEMMER: One last thing here, and I don't have much time. The last polling numbers we have from the folks at Gallup take us back about six days. Senator Kerry leading George Bush by 1 point. Kick the spin to the curb.

Who's leading in your state, do you believe?

TAFT: Well, we knew it would come down to this, Bill. It's just a battleground state and it's going to be neck and neck, wire to wire. We've got about 70,000 volunteers on our side. We've made two million phone calls. It's a turnout issue right now. We know we're going to carry the state for the president because of his strong record on terrorism and the economy is improving. We picked up 5,500 jobs last month.

So things are moving in the right direction. But it's going to be extremely close.

HEMMER: Bob Taft is the governor in Ohio.

Thank you.

TAFT: Thank you.

HEMMER: Seven days and counting.

All right -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: New controversy this morning over the nearly 400 tons of missing explosives in Iraq. Yesterday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said the explosives went missing from the Al-Qaqaa Storage Facility after the fall of Baghdad and under the watch of coalition troops.

But an NBC report says that crews traveling with troops arrived just one day after Baghdad's demise and that the explosives were already gone.

Former U.N. weapons inspector David Albright spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer about the type of damage these explosives could do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: If you consider the USS Cole bombing, I mean there is enough of this high explosives to do over 1,200 of those bombings, similar to the Cole. And so it is a lot. And when I listened to the latest statements from the Pentagon that you reported that somehow this high explosive disappeared before the Marines got there, I'm just as troubled. I mean it says they didn't even notice it was gone and it would imply that since it went missing before they got there, that Saddam Hussein may have planned to disperse this high explosive to insurgent groups.

And so it may all be in the hands of insurgents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: That was former U.N. weapons inspector David Albright.

The missing explosives will no doubt be the topic once again today on the campaign trail -- Bill.

HEMMER: Let's get to California now and Scott Peterson's double murder trial.

The defense nearing the end of its case.

And Kimberly Osias is live in Redwood City to take us through what happened yesterday and what's forecast for today -- good morning, there.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.

Well, more wire taped phone conversations may be played again in open court today, as defense attorney Mark Geragos plans to wrap up the double murder trial of Scott Peterson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS (voice-over): On the witness stand Monday, Scott's own parents, Lee and Jackie Peterson, both offering alternative expectations for their son's behavior on the day he was arrested in San Diego with two I.D.s and $15,000 cash in his car. His mother testified he had sold his car to his brother and she had given the cash to Scott.

CHUCK SMITH, PROSECUTION LAWYER: I'm not convinced that a jury is going to conclude that mom went and got more than $10,000 in cash money instead of electronically transferring or writing a check and all the other simple ways that people deal with money.

OSIAS: The prosecution believes that Peterson was fleeing to Mexico. It was just days after the bodies of an adult and a fetus washed ashore. Monday, the defense tried to prove that Peterson was only attempting to avoid reporters and private investigators he believed were following him.

Taped phone conversations between Scott Peterson and his brother Joe were played in court.

SCOTT PETERSON: I don't think I should come play golf. I think I'd better skip it because I don't think I want a picture of me in the press.

OSIAS: Once again, Peterson's attorney, Mark Geragos, tried to refute and poke holes in the prosecution's case. In opening arguments, he promised proof of his client's stone cold innocence. Observers say he has yet to provide a strong alternative theory for the murders of Peterson's pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son.

PAULA CANNY, LEGAL EXPERT: We all want a home run, but really the most effective cases are presented single, single, single, single and eventually you get to the home run.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS: The defense is expected to rest today, with closing arguments slated for the 1st and the 2nd. Jury deliberations are also scheduled for the 3rd, the day after Election Day -- Bill.

HEMMER: Kimberly, is it possible the judge will allow these jurors to consider second degree murder? And if so, what is the significance of that?

OSIAS: That is definitely a bone of contention, Bill. Second degree in California is the default position. Attorneys can push to ratchet it up to first degree -- that is with premeditation -- or down to involuntary manslaughter. It is expected that Geragos is really going to kind of roll the dice and hope for all or nothing. Now, prosecutors may push for second degree just to get some kind of conviction. But this, of course, will be really bandied about in closed door sessions, and some in open door, in open court on Friday.

HEMMER: So then the judge could allow jurors to consider it if prosecutors push for it, then? Is that right?

OSIAS: That's excellent right, Bill. But it is expected that it will be definitely heated.

HEMMER: Kimberly Osias, thanks, in Redwood City for us this morning -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Weather now and Jacqui Jeras, who's in for Chad Myers, who's off today.

She's at the CNN Center for us -- hey, Jacqui, good morning again.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Soledad, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: The final crash report of American Airlines Flight 587 due out today. Human error long been the focus of that investigation. But why do some people still think terrorism could be to blame?

O'BRIEN: Also, new campaign tactics to get your vote. Carlos Watson calls one of them "the Tupperware party for the new millennium." He's going to explain that just ahead. HEMMER: Also, will the illness of Chief Justice Rehnquist be on your mind when you enter the voting booth a week from today? Jeff Greenfield stops by to tell us why it should be or should not be.

Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING live in New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The nation's chief justice is battling thyroid cancer, but the Supreme Court expects 80-year-old William Rehnquist to be back on the bench next week after throat surgery last weekend. His illness has put the aging court in the spotlight during the final days of this presidential campaign.

Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield has some thoughts on that.

Let's first begin with the future of the Supreme Court becoming a campaign issue now that the chief justice's health is an issue.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I doubt it. I think it should because it is actually probably as serious a power as any president has. You put somebody on the bench for life who can basically, with four other justices, tell the president and the Congress you can't do what you're doing.

Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford are still having influence over our government because their nominees are still on the bench.

The reason that I doubt that it's going to have a significance is that the issues that the Supreme Court is most heavily involved in that really pushes buttons -- abortion, school prayer, the rights of criminal suspects -- people who have strong views on those views know how they're going to vote anyway. And the fact that there's a Supreme Court justice up I don't think really makes much difference.

O'BRIEN: Have the candidates been very clear on who they would pick should -- and this is a huge hypothetical -- should they have to replace the chief justice?

GREENFIELD: Well, it's not that hypothetical. We've gone 10 years without a vacancy. You have to go back to the 1820s to find a period that long. And just, you know, four of these guys are all -- oh, I think almost all of them are over 70. So it's not so hypothetical. I think they have been. President Bush says he doesn't have a litmus test, but he says he admires Justices Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Those are the two most conservative justices on the court. And when you talk about strict construction, you're talking about judges who will not, for instance, say, yes, there is a right to privacy in the constitution.

John Kerry has said flatly, I've got a test and I will not appoint any judge who will overturn "Roe v. Wade." This shows you, by the way, how blinkered our thinking is. Basically, when we debate the Supreme Court, we're talking about one issue, and that's abortion. But where this court has really made policy is in limiting the power of the federal government as opposed to the states, of saying, for instance, the commerce clause doesn't give the government the right to regulate every part of our economy.

But the only one we ever talk about is what will they do about abortion. But I think we know that these guys would appoint very different judges.

O'BRIEN: Putting the election aside, just how difficult and tenacious and contentious would the debate be, then, over a new justice? Ugly?

GREENFIELD: It would be a Pier Six brawl. Both sides, both liberals and conservatives have been sort of practicing for this with their fights over federal judge appointments to the court of appeals. But you're talking about a situation where if Rehnquist has to leave the bench and John Kerry is the president, he will appoint someone who will tilt the court differently. The same thing if one of the more liberal justices resigns.

So both liberals and conservatives see the Supreme Court as a major battle, even though the public may not be involved, whoever the nominee is.

O'BRIEN: Has that historically always been the case?

GREENFIELD: You know, it used to be. I'm talking about decades ago. But basically the Supreme Court nominations, sometimes they didn't even have hearings.

O'BRIEN: A little bit of rubber stamping.

GREENFIELD: Once the Supreme Court got into the modern version of really heavy policymaking -- outlawing school segregation, outlawing prayer and bible reading in public schools, expanding the rights of criminal suspects -- that's when we saw big fights. Lyndon Johnson couldn't get Abe Fortas elevated to chief justice. Richard Nixon had two straight nominees defeated. Reagan had Robert Bork defeated and I think you remember Clarence Thomas, who got confirmed by the narrowest margin in Supreme Court history.

So right now everybody has learned how to go to the barricades. And should we have a Supreme Court nomination on the table next year or the year after that, whichever, whoever is president, it's very hard to see how they're going to avoid bloodletting.

O'BRIEN: Well, they said Chief Justice Rehnquist is going to be back on the bench next week, after this surgery. He's 80 years old. So we'll see exactly how that happens.

Jeff Greenfield, as always, thanks.

GREENFIELD: OK.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it -- Bill.

HEMMER: In a moment here, the Brits think a beer guzzling cartoon donut addict would make a good president. We'll explain that ahead in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: We talk an awful lot about polls this time of year. One political poll that doesn't mean much, just done in good fun, 2,000 readers of Britain's "Radio Times" magazine have made their choice for president.

Number one, Homer Simpson. He beat out President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen in "The West Wing." Dr. Frasier Crane came in third, followed by Sergeant Bilko, "The Phil Silvers Show" and Gil Grissom from "CSI."

There you have it, Homer is number one, from the folks in London. That's why they can't vote, obviously.

O'BRIEN: Someone from "CSI."

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: All right, choosing the president.

Time to check in with Jack and the Question of the Day -- good morning.

CAFFERTY: I was just thinking about that Homer Simpson thing.

Ninety-six days it's been, 96 days since the 9/11 Commission issued its report on how to protect this country against terrorists. Congress has failed to adopt any of the major recommendations in that report. Nada. Originally, they said they couldn't possibly act until next year. They said they were much too busy. Then they took six weeks off.

Now they've got two bills that need reconciling before they can go on to the president for signature, but they've got to take two more months off. They won't be back until January of next year. You're paying these clowns for this.

Our question is what's an acceptable time frame for law makers to act on 9/11 Commission recommendations, which is a loaded question and it's working out just fine.

Rick writes from Ontario: "Would yesterday be too soon?"

Jim writes from Washington, D.C.: "Was it not acceptable -- what's not acceptable is a rush to a decision driven more by short- term political imperatives than considered policy decisions. Both Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean should cool down" -- those are the co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission -- "as should Jack Cafferty."

Bill writes from New York: "The deadline, what an appropriate word, was September 10, 2001."

And I've got somebody named Pop from Tampa, Florida on the Ashlee Simpson debacle: "Acid reflux didn't prevent Ashlee Simpson from announcing that her performance would not be live and it didn't cause her to lie about it afterwards. I suppose all the strange hopping around was caused by a flare-up of gout."

HEMMER: We look forward to that excuse.

CAFFERTY: I love our viewers on this program, she said.

O'BRIEN: She's just a human being.

CAFFERTY: Hmm?

O'BRIEN: "I'm just a human being."

CAFFERTY: Isn't she the same one who complimented the secretary of the interior...

O'BRIEN: No, her sister.

HEMMER: That was her sister.

CAFFERTY: ... on the nice job she did decorating the White House?

HEMMER: That was her sister.

O'BRIEN: It was her sister.

CAFFERTY: So genius runs in the family.

HEMMER: That's right.

O'BRIEN: Apparently so.

CAFFERTY: That was Jessica. Yes.

HEMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

Back to your point, though.

CAFFERTY: What?

HEMMER: Remember about a month ago we talked about this? Somebody had said in Washington, this Congress has met fewer days since any Congress since 1948.

CAFFERTY: Ever. Ever, yes. But they did...

HEMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CAFFERTY: They did find time to vote themselves a raise not too long ago, didn't they?

HEMMER: There's that.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. Most polls show a tight presidential race in Florida. The numbers, though, in one new survey show a clear lead and we'll look at that in a moment.

Also, three years after it crashed, why do some say American Airlines Flight 587 was brought down by terrorists, even though investigators focused on human error up to this point? A cause is released later today. We'll get to it in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired October 26, 2004 - 08:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: One week to go, no room for error. The candidates making the final push for every last vote.
Three hundred and eighty tons of missing explosives in Iraq, but exactly when did they disappear? A key question with a possible election impact.

And Scott Peterson's parents called to the witness stand, now trying to explain a huge pile of cash.

All that ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Welcome back, everybody.

We are truly in the home stretch of this long campaign. This morning, we look at some last minute strategies. We're also going to talk about Ohio. Lots of lawyers there and a lot of concern that that state is going to be the Florida of 2004. We're going to find out just what Ohio's governor thinks of that.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this hour, Jeff Greenfield back with us talking about the political aftershocks of Chief Justice William Rehnquist's cancer diagnosis from the weekend. Does the future of the court now become a central issue in this campaign, with seven days to go? And, if so, which side is driven to the polls more than the other, if that is the case?

Jeff has some thoughts on that, in a moment.

O'BRIEN: And Jack's got the "Cafferty File" ahead -- good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up in the "Cafferty File," Soledad, perhaps the only human being who ever actually saw the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. He's very old. And we'll tell you which major city in the U.S. has the lowest crime rate, which has the highest crime rate. The answers may surprise you, or maybe they won't. But we've got to put something in there because that's what we have to do.

HEMMER: I've seen it. It's very surprising, too. O'BRIEN: I haven't seen it, so.

HEMMER: I'll keep my mouth shut.

O'BRIEN: Yes. I'll take a guess.

Yes?

CAFFERTY: It's not a national secret.

HEMMER: Yes, well.

CAFFERTY: Well, it is for now.

O'BRIEN: Let's get to the top stories, shall we?

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Heidi's got a look at the headlines for us this morning -- good morning, again.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, guys.

Iran may be closer to reconsidering aspects of its nuclear program. Iranian officials have been in talks with some European countries, discussing a possible incentive package. But Iranian officials say although they're willing to meet with the representatives, they will not give up the nuclear program entirely. Iran says it uses nuclear energy to run its power plants.

The price tags for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could be going up. According to officials cited in the "Washington Post," the Bush administration is reportedly planning to ask for an additional $70 billion in emergency funding. That would push the total war cost to $225 billion. If he is reelected, President Bush would submit the budget proposal to Congress early next year.

In Virginia now, authorities have recovered all 10 bodies from the plane crash of a NASCAR family. Ten people from the Hendrick Motor Sports Group were killed Sunday on their way to a Virginia speedway. Crews had to use all terrain vehicles to reach the crash site. Authorities are, of course, working now to find the cause of the crash.

American dollars being turned down in Cuba. The government there announced yesterday U.S. money will not be accepted at stores and businesses. Officials said the move is designated -- or designed, that is -- to protect against American penalties on banks that send American dollars to Cuba. So what could the change mean for your wallet? Well, Andy Serwer is coming up in just a little bit. He's going to talk about that, minding your business.

HEMMER: It could be very significant for Cubans who have them, too, at this point.

COLLINS: Right. That's for sure. HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

The election one week away, seven days and counting on the calendar. The battle for the swing states still remaining intense. President Bush yesterday stumping for votes in Iowa and then Colorado. Today he's in Wisconsin and then back in Iowa. Tomorrow, he'll be in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.

Senator John Kerry campaigned in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania yesterday. Today, the senator is in Wisconsin, Nevada and New Mexico. He spends tonight later in Iowa and tomorrow he'll campaign in Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio there, crisscrossing the country.

Both campaigns showering attention on the Buckeye State, that being Ohio, one of the key battleground states that could swing this election.

The governor, Republican Bob Taft, back with us here from Columbus, Ohio this morning.

Governor, welcome back here.

Nice to have you, as always.

GOV. BOB TAFT (R), OHIO: Bill, my pleasure.

HEMMER: I don't know if you saw the front page of "The Washington Post" this morning, but a big front line story about the problems that are anticipated in Ohio.

Based on what you have seen to this point, Governor, is there anything that would raise a red flag for you come November 3?

TAFT: Well, we've had a lot of fraudulent voter registrations already, mostly by those 527 groups. There will be unprecedented scrutiny of this election on both sides. There'll be more election monitors and judges than we have ever seen before. We have four counties where you have more voters registered than you have 18 and over population.

So it's a real concern and we need to make sure that our election is accuser, that everybody's vote counts and that people who are not eligible to vote don't vote. So we're hoping that because of the level of scrutiny, it will be an accurate count for the State of Ohio.

HEMMER: You said an awful lot in your answer. Take me to these four counties specifically.

What can the state do to make sure that voter fraud is not present if you have more people registered than actually vote in that county?

TAFT: Well, the important thing is that the election workers will be trained to make sure that a voter is a citizen, 18 and over, and a resident of the precinct and county where they plan to vote. But in about 3,600 precincts, at least, I know the Republican Party will have election judges inside the polling place just to monitor, to make sure that people who are not eligible to vote are challenged by the poll workers.

HEMMER: Also in that article in the "Post" this morning, the secretary of state, Ken Blackwell, talked about hiccups that Ohio will experience.

What is he talking about, Governor?

TAFT: Well, I'm not exactly sure what he's talking about, but we are going to have a large number of provisional ballots cast, as well. We had about 100,000 last time. It could be at least twice that many this time. So those ballots can't be counted until a week to 10 days after the election. It takes a lot of time to make sure those are valid ballots. Where there's a question about someone's registration, they'll vote a provisional ballot. It will be set aside and counted later. So if the election is close in Ohio, and we believe it will be close, it's possible we won't know the results for a number of days.

HEMMER: What is your sense of how many lawyers will represent both sides come November 2?

TAFT: Probably too many lawyers on both sides.

HEMMER: Do you have the number? Is it in the thousands or not?

TAFT: I don't know. It's probably in the hundreds on both sides in the State of Ohio.

HEMMER: Then can a lawyer actually prevent somebody from voting?

TAFT: Well, if you have someone who is an attorney or not an attorney who's qualified to be a monitor or a judge inside the polling place, if they have reasonable cause to believe a voter is ineligible to vote, they can ask the poll worker to challenge that voter. And then it's up to the poll worker whether or not to do so.

HEMMER: And there have been challenges already, about 35,000 at one point, lodged by the Republicans. I think the number has been winnowed down a little bit, maybe to 25,000 at this point.

TAFT: Well, we have...

HEMMER: That sound right to you?

TAFT: Well, yes, that's about right. A lot of these voters don't have addresses. When they send the postcard out to them, after they register, that comes back undeliverable. You're talking about thousands of cases like that all across the State of Ohio.

HEMMER: And is there a factor of intimidation involved in that, Governor, do you believe?

TAFT: Absolutely not. When you have more people registered to vote than you have people in a county, you've got an issue with election fraud. So both sides are monitoring this. And I really believe that the election in Ohio will be accurate, will be fair, because we've never had this kind of scrutiny. It could be the most honest election in Ohio's history for that reason, not that we've had any problems in the past. We've had a good election system.

But this level of scrutiny is unprecedented. I think the voter turnout will be unprecedented. There will be some lines and some delays at the polls because of the numbers of voters. But the level of scrutiny, I think, assures us that ultimately, at the end of the day, we're going to have a good count.

HEMMER: One last thing here, and I don't have much time. The last polling numbers we have from the folks at Gallup take us back about six days. Senator Kerry leading George Bush by 1 point. Kick the spin to the curb.

Who's leading in your state, do you believe?

TAFT: Well, we knew it would come down to this, Bill. It's just a battleground state and it's going to be neck and neck, wire to wire. We've got about 70,000 volunteers on our side. We've made two million phone calls. It's a turnout issue right now. We know we're going to carry the state for the president because of his strong record on terrorism and the economy is improving. We picked up 5,500 jobs last month.

So things are moving in the right direction. But it's going to be extremely close.

HEMMER: Bob Taft is the governor in Ohio.

Thank you.

TAFT: Thank you.

HEMMER: Seven days and counting.

All right -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: New controversy this morning over the nearly 400 tons of missing explosives in Iraq. Yesterday, the International Atomic Energy Agency said the explosives went missing from the Al-Qaqaa Storage Facility after the fall of Baghdad and under the watch of coalition troops.

But an NBC report says that crews traveling with troops arrived just one day after Baghdad's demise and that the explosives were already gone.

Former U.N. weapons inspector David Albright spoke with CNN's Wolf Blitzer about the type of damage these explosives could do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ALBRIGHT, FORMER U.N. WEAPONS INSPECTOR: If you consider the USS Cole bombing, I mean there is enough of this high explosives to do over 1,200 of those bombings, similar to the Cole. And so it is a lot. And when I listened to the latest statements from the Pentagon that you reported that somehow this high explosive disappeared before the Marines got there, I'm just as troubled. I mean it says they didn't even notice it was gone and it would imply that since it went missing before they got there, that Saddam Hussein may have planned to disperse this high explosive to insurgent groups.

And so it may all be in the hands of insurgents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: That was former U.N. weapons inspector David Albright.

The missing explosives will no doubt be the topic once again today on the campaign trail -- Bill.

HEMMER: Let's get to California now and Scott Peterson's double murder trial.

The defense nearing the end of its case.

And Kimberly Osias is live in Redwood City to take us through what happened yesterday and what's forecast for today -- good morning, there.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.

Well, more wire taped phone conversations may be played again in open court today, as defense attorney Mark Geragos plans to wrap up the double murder trial of Scott Peterson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS (voice-over): On the witness stand Monday, Scott's own parents, Lee and Jackie Peterson, both offering alternative expectations for their son's behavior on the day he was arrested in San Diego with two I.D.s and $15,000 cash in his car. His mother testified he had sold his car to his brother and she had given the cash to Scott.

CHUCK SMITH, PROSECUTION LAWYER: I'm not convinced that a jury is going to conclude that mom went and got more than $10,000 in cash money instead of electronically transferring or writing a check and all the other simple ways that people deal with money.

OSIAS: The prosecution believes that Peterson was fleeing to Mexico. It was just days after the bodies of an adult and a fetus washed ashore. Monday, the defense tried to prove that Peterson was only attempting to avoid reporters and private investigators he believed were following him.

Taped phone conversations between Scott Peterson and his brother Joe were played in court.

SCOTT PETERSON: I don't think I should come play golf. I think I'd better skip it because I don't think I want a picture of me in the press.

OSIAS: Once again, Peterson's attorney, Mark Geragos, tried to refute and poke holes in the prosecution's case. In opening arguments, he promised proof of his client's stone cold innocence. Observers say he has yet to provide a strong alternative theory for the murders of Peterson's pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son.

PAULA CANNY, LEGAL EXPERT: We all want a home run, but really the most effective cases are presented single, single, single, single and eventually you get to the home run.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS: The defense is expected to rest today, with closing arguments slated for the 1st and the 2nd. Jury deliberations are also scheduled for the 3rd, the day after Election Day -- Bill.

HEMMER: Kimberly, is it possible the judge will allow these jurors to consider second degree murder? And if so, what is the significance of that?

OSIAS: That is definitely a bone of contention, Bill. Second degree in California is the default position. Attorneys can push to ratchet it up to first degree -- that is with premeditation -- or down to involuntary manslaughter. It is expected that Geragos is really going to kind of roll the dice and hope for all or nothing. Now, prosecutors may push for second degree just to get some kind of conviction. But this, of course, will be really bandied about in closed door sessions, and some in open door, in open court on Friday.

HEMMER: So then the judge could allow jurors to consider it if prosecutors push for it, then? Is that right?

OSIAS: That's excellent right, Bill. But it is expected that it will be definitely heated.

HEMMER: Kimberly Osias, thanks, in Redwood City for us this morning -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Weather now and Jacqui Jeras, who's in for Chad Myers, who's off today.

She's at the CNN Center for us -- hey, Jacqui, good morning again.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Soledad, good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: The final crash report of American Airlines Flight 587 due out today. Human error long been the focus of that investigation. But why do some people still think terrorism could be to blame?

O'BRIEN: Also, new campaign tactics to get your vote. Carlos Watson calls one of them "the Tupperware party for the new millennium." He's going to explain that just ahead. HEMMER: Also, will the illness of Chief Justice Rehnquist be on your mind when you enter the voting booth a week from today? Jeff Greenfield stops by to tell us why it should be or should not be.

Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING live in New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The nation's chief justice is battling thyroid cancer, but the Supreme Court expects 80-year-old William Rehnquist to be back on the bench next week after throat surgery last weekend. His illness has put the aging court in the spotlight during the final days of this presidential campaign.

Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield has some thoughts on that.

Let's first begin with the future of the Supreme Court becoming a campaign issue now that the chief justice's health is an issue.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I doubt it. I think it should because it is actually probably as serious a power as any president has. You put somebody on the bench for life who can basically, with four other justices, tell the president and the Congress you can't do what you're doing.

Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford are still having influence over our government because their nominees are still on the bench.

The reason that I doubt that it's going to have a significance is that the issues that the Supreme Court is most heavily involved in that really pushes buttons -- abortion, school prayer, the rights of criminal suspects -- people who have strong views on those views know how they're going to vote anyway. And the fact that there's a Supreme Court justice up I don't think really makes much difference.

O'BRIEN: Have the candidates been very clear on who they would pick should -- and this is a huge hypothetical -- should they have to replace the chief justice?

GREENFIELD: Well, it's not that hypothetical. We've gone 10 years without a vacancy. You have to go back to the 1820s to find a period that long. And just, you know, four of these guys are all -- oh, I think almost all of them are over 70. So it's not so hypothetical. I think they have been. President Bush says he doesn't have a litmus test, but he says he admires Justices Scalia and Clarence Thomas. Those are the two most conservative justices on the court. And when you talk about strict construction, you're talking about judges who will not, for instance, say, yes, there is a right to privacy in the constitution.

John Kerry has said flatly, I've got a test and I will not appoint any judge who will overturn "Roe v. Wade." This shows you, by the way, how blinkered our thinking is. Basically, when we debate the Supreme Court, we're talking about one issue, and that's abortion. But where this court has really made policy is in limiting the power of the federal government as opposed to the states, of saying, for instance, the commerce clause doesn't give the government the right to regulate every part of our economy.

But the only one we ever talk about is what will they do about abortion. But I think we know that these guys would appoint very different judges.

O'BRIEN: Putting the election aside, just how difficult and tenacious and contentious would the debate be, then, over a new justice? Ugly?

GREENFIELD: It would be a Pier Six brawl. Both sides, both liberals and conservatives have been sort of practicing for this with their fights over federal judge appointments to the court of appeals. But you're talking about a situation where if Rehnquist has to leave the bench and John Kerry is the president, he will appoint someone who will tilt the court differently. The same thing if one of the more liberal justices resigns.

So both liberals and conservatives see the Supreme Court as a major battle, even though the public may not be involved, whoever the nominee is.

O'BRIEN: Has that historically always been the case?

GREENFIELD: You know, it used to be. I'm talking about decades ago. But basically the Supreme Court nominations, sometimes they didn't even have hearings.

O'BRIEN: A little bit of rubber stamping.

GREENFIELD: Once the Supreme Court got into the modern version of really heavy policymaking -- outlawing school segregation, outlawing prayer and bible reading in public schools, expanding the rights of criminal suspects -- that's when we saw big fights. Lyndon Johnson couldn't get Abe Fortas elevated to chief justice. Richard Nixon had two straight nominees defeated. Reagan had Robert Bork defeated and I think you remember Clarence Thomas, who got confirmed by the narrowest margin in Supreme Court history.

So right now everybody has learned how to go to the barricades. And should we have a Supreme Court nomination on the table next year or the year after that, whichever, whoever is president, it's very hard to see how they're going to avoid bloodletting.

O'BRIEN: Well, they said Chief Justice Rehnquist is going to be back on the bench next week, after this surgery. He's 80 years old. So we'll see exactly how that happens.

Jeff Greenfield, as always, thanks.

GREENFIELD: OK.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it -- Bill.

HEMMER: In a moment here, the Brits think a beer guzzling cartoon donut addict would make a good president. We'll explain that ahead in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: We talk an awful lot about polls this time of year. One political poll that doesn't mean much, just done in good fun, 2,000 readers of Britain's "Radio Times" magazine have made their choice for president.

Number one, Homer Simpson. He beat out President Josiah Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen in "The West Wing." Dr. Frasier Crane came in third, followed by Sergeant Bilko, "The Phil Silvers Show" and Gil Grissom from "CSI."

There you have it, Homer is number one, from the folks in London. That's why they can't vote, obviously.

O'BRIEN: Someone from "CSI."

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: All right, choosing the president.

Time to check in with Jack and the Question of the Day -- good morning.

CAFFERTY: I was just thinking about that Homer Simpson thing.

Ninety-six days it's been, 96 days since the 9/11 Commission issued its report on how to protect this country against terrorists. Congress has failed to adopt any of the major recommendations in that report. Nada. Originally, they said they couldn't possibly act until next year. They said they were much too busy. Then they took six weeks off.

Now they've got two bills that need reconciling before they can go on to the president for signature, but they've got to take two more months off. They won't be back until January of next year. You're paying these clowns for this.

Our question is what's an acceptable time frame for law makers to act on 9/11 Commission recommendations, which is a loaded question and it's working out just fine.

Rick writes from Ontario: "Would yesterday be too soon?"

Jim writes from Washington, D.C.: "Was it not acceptable -- what's not acceptable is a rush to a decision driven more by short- term political imperatives than considered policy decisions. Both Lee Hamilton and Tom Kean should cool down" -- those are the co-chairs of the 9/11 Commission -- "as should Jack Cafferty."

Bill writes from New York: "The deadline, what an appropriate word, was September 10, 2001."

And I've got somebody named Pop from Tampa, Florida on the Ashlee Simpson debacle: "Acid reflux didn't prevent Ashlee Simpson from announcing that her performance would not be live and it didn't cause her to lie about it afterwards. I suppose all the strange hopping around was caused by a flare-up of gout."

HEMMER: We look forward to that excuse.

CAFFERTY: I love our viewers on this program, she said.

O'BRIEN: She's just a human being.

CAFFERTY: Hmm?

O'BRIEN: "I'm just a human being."

CAFFERTY: Isn't she the same one who complimented the secretary of the interior...

O'BRIEN: No, her sister.

HEMMER: That was her sister.

CAFFERTY: ... on the nice job she did decorating the White House?

HEMMER: That was her sister.

O'BRIEN: It was her sister.

CAFFERTY: So genius runs in the family.

HEMMER: That's right.

O'BRIEN: Apparently so.

CAFFERTY: That was Jessica. Yes.

HEMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

Back to your point, though.

CAFFERTY: What?

HEMMER: Remember about a month ago we talked about this? Somebody had said in Washington, this Congress has met fewer days since any Congress since 1948.

CAFFERTY: Ever. Ever, yes. But they did...

HEMMER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

CAFFERTY: They did find time to vote themselves a raise not too long ago, didn't they?

HEMMER: There's that.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack. Most polls show a tight presidential race in Florida. The numbers, though, in one new survey show a clear lead and we'll look at that in a moment.

Also, three years after it crashed, why do some say American Airlines Flight 587 was brought down by terrorists, even though investigators focused on human error up to this point? A cause is released later today. We'll get to it in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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