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American Morning

'State of the Ballot'; 'Minding Your Business'; '90-Second Pop'

Aired October 27, 2004 - 07:31   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Right about 7:30 here in New York. Good morning, everyone. Good to have you along with us today. Good morning, my dear.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

HEMMER: Are you all right?

O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm doing all right.

HEMMER: OK.

O'BRIEN: I'm here.

HEMMER: In a few minutes -- so am I -- we'll look at the gathering signs that this year's election will be decided in the courts. Maybe or maybe not. Two of the lawyers that fought it out four years ago, back with us today, David Boies and Ted Olson, looking at scenarios that could send this election to a similar state of uncertainty. So, we'll get their views in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: Also coming up this morning, "90-Second Pop." Life is getting even simpler for Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. I'm sure you're dying to know that. We're going to talk about their continuing adventure, starting out on, yes, on a Greyhound bus. And we're going to take a look at where they might wind up.

HEMMER: Do you think we should swap jobs with them for a week? Swap it out for a little bit? Would you like that?

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) more than enough.

HEMMER: I like that idea.

Here is Heidi Collins again looking at the news this morning.

Good morning -- Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, guys. And good morning to you, everybody.

Prime Minister Sharon wants a landmark victory, but faces a rebellion among some of his party members. The Israeli Parliament voted yesterday to back the prime minister's withdrawal plan from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. But a number of ministers are threatening to resign unless the plan is put to a referendum. In Boston, a former U.S. attorney will lead an independent investigation now into the shooting death of a Red Sox fan by police. Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral yesterday for Victoria Snelgrove. She was kidnapped by a pepper spray pellet. It was fired when police tried to control the crowd after the Red Sox beat the New York Yankees.

And election officials may be hoping for a different kind of turnout next Tuesday. "USA Today" reports more than half a million poll workers are still needed across the country. Officials say many workers are elderly and often don't have experience with voting machines or election rules. Some officials are recruiting college students and government workers to do just that.

What were you saying? It's a week away, right?

HEMMER: So we've got to put that on the list now, do we?

COLLINS: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

COLLINS: On the list, huh?

HEMMER: Let's talk about that now. Six days to go before Americans go to the polls, and both candidates certainly are getting ready to play overtime just in case we go the way we did four years ago. Attorney David Boies made the case for Al Gore back in 2000. He's got a new book out now. It's called "Courting Justice." David Boies, my guest in D.C., we meet again.

David, good morning to you.

DAVID BOIES: Good morning. How are you?

HEMMER: I'm doing fine, thanks. Former Solicitor General Ted Olson and also part of the Bush legal team from four years ago, Ted is in New York.

And good morning, Ted. Good to have you with us as we continue our series, "State of the Ballot."

Gentlemen, let's get it started here. David, you first. Handicap this election for us next Tuesday. What is the chance now that you believe that Ted Olson and David Boies are going to square off again this year?

BOIES: I hope not. I think there's some possibility that this will end up in the courts, but I think probably both Ted and I know that that is not the right way to resolve these elections. And we certainly hope that we will avoid that.

I think you have some of the same circumstances. You have you a very close election. You have an election that may come down to one or two states, Florida being very key. You have a lot of charges of partisanship going back and forth. But I think you have a lot of things going on trying to resolve those issues before the election, and I hope that's successful.

HEMMER: Well, just to be clear, "I hope not" is not a handicap or a yes or a no.

BOIES: It's not. It is not.

HEMMER: This is a murky area, right?

BOIES: It's a murky area.

HEMMER: Let me get to Ted Olson for a second here. Yesterday in the op-ed piece in "The New York Times," you wrote in part, once again the election may outlast Election Day. Where do you see the possibilities, Ted, for litigation this time?

TED OLSON, FORMER U.S. SOLICITOR GENERAL: Well the possibilities are large. I agree with David that I think both sides hope that it will not happen, and that there will be a resolution of the election on Election Day.

But the possibilities with new systems of provisional ballots, potential disputes over voter identification, the registration on the day of voting in one state or at least one state, there are possibilities for litigation. I hope that it will not happen.

I hope that the lawyers and the candidates on both sides recognize that the public is going to be watching. Lawyers have a responsibility to file documents in good faith if they have to file them at all. And they have some responsibility for the legitimacy of the charges that they file. This is a presidential election, and I think both sides have to act in the most responsible fashion.

HEMMER: On the outside, this is the impression I think a lot of Americans are getting. And there's a newspaper article here in a New York paper that calls this the legal equivalent of Gettysburg. David, when you see thousands of lawyers gearing up in various states across the country, does it not appear that people are just looking for a fight come next Tuesday?

BOIES: I think when you have as many lawyers that are involved on both sides, there is a danger that they all try to find something to do. On the other hand, many, in fact most, the vast majority of the lawyers that you are seeing are going out to do the poll watching that you were talking about earlier. That is, they're not going out to litigate; they're going out to be at the polls to try to make sure everything runs smoothly.

So, when you see these numbers like tens of thousands of lawyers that each side has, most of those people are not going to be involved in litigation under any circumstances.

HEMMER: I know both of you have said if both sides agree to the rules ahead of time a lot of these problems could be resolved ahead of time as well. But I'm curious to know, Ted, how many of these rules have not been decided at this point?

OLSON: Well, we have a few more days before the election, and some of them are still being litigated in the courts. In fact, quite a number of them. But hopefully most of them will be resolved.

I think that one of the things -- one of the reasons why David and I are in so much agreement on this that we think not just the candidates and the candidates' supporters, but the lawyers have a responsibility to act with justice and fairness and responsibility because the American people are watching. We are citizens of the United States. We care as much as everyone that this is done right, and that it is not resolved in the courts but resolved at the ballot box.

HEMMER: Well, what you're saying, there is a better spotlight now or a stronger spotlight on the election workers this time around, too, would you agree?

OLSON: Oh, absolutely. I think that the media -- CNN's a part of it, of course -- is going to be watching very, very carefully. And if people pull any underhanded stunts or cheap tricks to try to change the number of people who show up at the polls or stuff ballot boxes or do any of those things, the public are going to be watching.

And it's important to understand that there are criminal laws involved. Voting in a presidential election is a serious responsibility, and people have a responsibility to uphold the law.

HEMMER: I want to put you guys both on the record. I need a one-city answer. David, where are you going to be next Tuesday night?

BOIES: I'm going to be in New York.

HEMMER: New York? Ted?

OLSON: Well, I'm going to be in New York, too, as it turns out, not because of anything in connection with the election.

HEMMER: This city has at least three airports. Thank you, gentlemen. David Boies and Ted Olson with us today.

BOIES: Thank you.

OLSON: Thanks.

HEMMER: All right. Bye-bye -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, there are lots of Americans who are going to vote for the very first time next week. But Beatrice Woods (ph) of Colorado has been voting for American presidents since 1928. That's when she backed Herbert Hoover.

Well, now she's 100 years old. She says character and knowledge are the most important traits in a good leader. She voted for Democratic Franklin Roosevelt four times, but she's also voted for some Republicans, including Thomas Dewey and Richard Nixon. This year, she's voting for John Kerry. She's voted for the winner in the last 11 of 19 elections.

HEMMER: Nice. Democracy at work. Twenty-one minutes before the hour.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, another airline flies right into chapter 11. Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead.

HEMMER: Also, the story that just keeps on giving. Ashlee Simpson says acid reflux ruined her voice Saturday night. But in Hollywood and in New York, could that actually help her career? "90- Second Pop" has a shot at that in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Jack has got the "Question of the Day." Good morning again.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How do you doing? Mercifully six more days and it will all be over. Time, though, running out for an October surprise. Candidates on both sides are worried the opponents might come up with tricks up their sleeves at the last minute that would give them an advantage. Speculation has ranged from the Bush administration suddenly producing Osama bin Laden to an attack like the Madrid train bombings that influenced Spain's elections last spring.

Here's the question: What do you think will be this election's October surprise?

Mel writes, Cornwell-on-Hudson: "This year's October surprise would be that the state of Florida had its election procedures and practices down and clearly stated and that they were accurate and independently verifiable. That wouldn't just be a surprise; that would be a miracle."

Charlie in Windsor Locks, Connecticut: "I think the biggest October surprise will be the Red Sox winning the World Series. As a Yankee fan, what can surprise anyone more than that?"

Hey, how about those Red Sox, Shane (ph)? Shane (ph) is our boom operator, and he's just a degenerate Yankee fan. And each time this morning when I ask him, hey, about those Red Sox, his response was a two-word expression and the second word is "you." And I can't tell you what the first word is. There is Shane (ph). Wait until next year, Shane (ph).

Brent in Laramie, Wyoming: "October surprise? Jack wakes up after a vision and becomes liberal and supports Ralph Nader, who wins a stunning victory."

HEMMER: No chance! CAFFERTY: Brian in Westport, New York: "Linus finally meets the Great Pumpkin."

And James in Glenview, Illinois: "The entire nation wakes up and finds the presidential campaign was just a dream, and we still have 12 months to go until the election."

HEMMER: Say it ain't so. Good stuff. Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: We want to get to Andy right now. Another major airline is joining the ranks of the bankrupt. Wow! This list keeps on getting longer and longer.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It sure does.

HEMMER: What is this?

SERWER: ATA. We talked about this a little bit yesterday. The nation's 10th largest airline filing for bankruptcy yesterday. It's going to be selling its slots at Midway, where it has a very big presence to AirTran. High fuel costs, debt, competition and it's not surprising that this company is going to be in chapter 11.

Let's take a look at the other carriers already there. Another one bites the dust. Wasn't that a Queens song? It sure was. We've got four of them here.

And now let's talk about Delta Airlines. It looks like they're staving off bankruptcy, got some financing yesterday from American Express and also from a bondholder group. But they still have the big one to do, which is the billion dollar in wage concessions they need to get from the pilots. We're going to be watching that this week, because they are getting right down to the wire on that one.

Let's talk a little bit about the markets yesterday.

HEMMER: Yes, they were flying yesterday.

SERWER: Absolutely. The Dow up 138 points yesterday. Insurance stocks rebounding with that deal with Marsh and McLennan and AIG. Those are stocks that moved to the upside. Tech stocks are still moving as well.

Meanwhile yesterday, our friend, Purnomo Yusgiantoro...

HEMMER: Who?

SERWER: Purnomo Yusgiantoro, we like to put his picture up. He's the head of OPEC. He's from Indonesia. And he has a suggestion for the United States and for President Bush. He thinks we should release more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease prices.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

SERWER: I don't think that's going to happen, but, in any event, we appreciate your input, sir. And we'll see what's going to happen next with oil prices. They're staying up.

HEMMER: There's a psychological aspect to that.

SERWER: Oh, absolutely. It's a lot of brinksmanship there. You guys got some oil. Why don't you release it? Because we don't have anymore to pump. And back and forth we go. Still the price is around 55 bucks.

CAFFERTY: Don't they have anything to worry about in Indonesia these days? I mean, is that...

SERWER: He's also the minister of mines in Indonesia.

CAFFERTY: Yes. Well, go find a shaft and fall into it.

SERWER: That was a setup.

O'BRIEN: You knew that was coming.

SERWER: I did. Absolutely did.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, remember these gals? Paris and Nicole? Well, they had trouble milking cows on the "Simple Life." So, would you trust them with a stapler or even the fax machine? "90- Second Pop" is just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: No chitchat before we get to the segment. Time for another all-new edition of "90-Second Pop." Here's the cast in order of appearance this morning. Andy Borowitz, he is the brains and the beauty behind "TheBorowitzReport.com. Sarah Bernard is contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent.

SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: I think Toure is the brains (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

O'BRIEN: And the brains and the beauty.

TOURE, CNN POPULAR CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Behind "The Borowitz Report?"

O'BRIEN: "The Borowitz Report." Good morning.

BERNARD: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Why are we playing "Footloose?" Does anybody know? Am I missing a reference? OK. We're just going to go with it.

BERNARD: I love it.

TOURE: Paris Hilton is footloose across America?

O'BRIEN: Oh, OK.

BERNARD: There you go! Good one.

O'BRIEN: Paris and Nicole, season three (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BERNARD: That's right.

O'BRIEN: She's going to move into an office now. The milking of the cows wasn't gross enough.

BERNARD: No. Now we're going to see her in some cubicle. It's hard to imagine.

O'BRIEN: The fax machine.

BERNARD: Well, this time instead of in an Airstream trailer, they're actually going to get on a Greyhound bus. And Paris is not going to be driving this time, which is probably good for everyone. The scene is that they're going to be doing internships all over the country, some in white-collar places, some in blue-collar places.

Now, my favorite tidbit about this is that they asked "The Wall Street Journal" if the girls could spend some time there, and they, of course, said no.

O'BRIEN: They're like, oh, not a chance.

(CROSSTALK)

BERNARD: But they did offer them some...

O'BRIEN: Sure, do you want to write anything?

BERNARD: Yes. A-1 story for you guys. But I would just like to say that I could use some help filing and do all of those things. So, if Paris wants to be an intern in "New York" magazine...

O'BRIEN: And she can come right here to CNN and be my intern, too.

TOURE: Isn't her 15 minutes over?

ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Thank you, thank you.

TOURE: She has no talent. She is not pretty. She's tacky.

BOROWITZ: Plus she is also...

TOURE: Hello?

BOROWITZ: She is now...

BERNARD: Ouch!

BOROWITZ: She is spreading herself so thin, like, I just read she is not even going to appear in her new sex tape. She's just executive producing it.

BERNARD: But she's casting for it, right?

BOROWITZ: It's unreal to me.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the Food Network. They're looking for their new star.

BOROWITZ: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I had no idea that they actually did that.

BOROWITZ: They do. Well...

O'BRIEN: What are they looking for? I can't cook. Can I be the star?

BOROWITZ: Well, you know, they're...

O'BRIEN: I can microwave.

BOROWITZ: This is like their attempt to do a reality show. It's like a search for a new...

BERNARD: Right.

BOROWITZ: To me, like, if you're going to do a reality show, like on Food Network, it should be like "Survivor" or Outback Steakhouse. I think that would be so much better.

O'BRIEN: Blooming onions.

BOROWITZ: Well, that's exactly -- that's the challenge.

O'BRIEN: Blooming onions, that's what you eat at Outback Steakhouse.

BOROWITZ: But they're got -- I mean, they've already got the Iron Chef, the Naked Chef. I think, you know, the biggest food star out there is going to be out of prison in five months.

BERNARD: I was going to say that.

BOROWITZ: I think the prison chef.

O'BRIEN: Recently released and furloughed chefs.

BOROWITZ: And she's going to have so many awesome microwave recipes. I just think this is the time. This is the prison show. BERNARD: Well, remember, she's been picking crab apples and making jelly out of it in prison. So I think she could actually do a whole thing on prison, you know, food.

BOROWITZ: Right. And she has been working in a kitchen the size of our kitchens. So, I mean...

BERNARD: Right. I have another suggestion, though. What about the super-size me guy, Morgan Spurlock (ph)? Do you think that maybe he could come on and do investigative shows of all different fast food places?

TOURE: Interesting.

BOROWITZ: Or the forensics show would be good.

BERNARD: Oh!

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: What is in this?

BERNARD: Yes.

BOROWITZ: Got a high school cafeteria.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Ashlee Simpson.

TOURE: Well, I mean, everybody else is.

O'BRIEN: So, how much do you think she hurt her career?

TOURE: I'm thinking not at all.

O'BRIEN: Really? You don't think...

TOURE: I mean, like, she got "The Today Show" out of it. We're all talking about it.

O'BRIEN: We're talking about acid reflux, yes.

BOROWITZ: That's right.

TOURE: There's a whole new level of attention on Ashlee Simpson. I mean, like, Jessica and Ashlee are dumb, but Joe Simpson, their dad, is brilliant. So they can be as dumb as they want...

O'BRIEN: You really believe that?

TOURE: ... because Joe will get them out of any problem they get or any...

O'BRIEN: But don't the fans sort of think, I mean, she was basically cheating, right?

TOURE: Right. O'BRIEN: And as much as she talks about acid reflux and she went blah, blah, blah, she hasn't addressed the whole she was lip-syncing issue.

BOROWITZ: Well...

TOURE: You know, it's funny, because it's so modern, right, to be like, well, I had acid reflux. It's like...

O'BRIEN: I know. It's just gross.

TOURE: No, I mean, it wasn't really even considered a disease five years ago. Now we understand, like, it's actually a stomach problem.

BOROWITZ: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

TOURE: You know, so it's so modern, but it's like I don't believe for a second that it was your disease, which I believe, but it's not your disease why you were lip-syncing on Saturday night?

BERNARD: It's just this game. You know, we have to ask the dad. He's got to give us some pathetic excuse, and we have to take it, but we didn't. And that's why it just keeps going.

BOROWITZ: You know, I was just in Las Vegas yesterday. And they had these Radio Music Awards. And she actually gave this live performance, very energetic, prone voice, and since then there have been renewed calls for her to start lip-syncing again.

O'BRIEN: Actually, I heard, seriously, that wasn't so good.

BOROWITZ: No, it wasn't that good. It's sort of like me in the shower, actually.

BERNARD: You want to do her track next time?

BOROWITZ: I think, yes, why not? Why not? I did notice that she had some bulge in the back of her jacket.

O'BRIEN: What Jack Cafferty likes to call the satellite dish.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: I am willing to be the celebrity spokesperson for acid reflux, if anyone is listening.

BERNARD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I feel the pain, you know.

BOROWITZ: I'm sure, I'm sure.

BERNARD: Yes. O'BRIEN: It's sad. It is a sad, tragic thing. You guys, as always, thanks.

Let's go back to Bill.

HEMMER: A lot of plugs for Pepsid AC over there. Thank you, gays.

A break here. In a moment, did the president mislead Americans about hundreds of tons of missing Iraqi explosives? Or is John Kerry guilty of Monday morning quarterbacking? Kamber and May, part of our next hour on AMERICAN MORNING when we roll on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Halloween is not until Sunday, but the Boston Red Sox want to start putting away their World Series demons early. Did one of their star pitchers get the job done? A look at that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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 27, 2004 - 07:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Right about 7:30 here in New York. Good morning, everyone. Good to have you along with us today. Good morning, my dear.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

HEMMER: Are you all right?

O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm doing all right.

HEMMER: OK.

O'BRIEN: I'm here.

HEMMER: In a few minutes -- so am I -- we'll look at the gathering signs that this year's election will be decided in the courts. Maybe or maybe not. Two of the lawyers that fought it out four years ago, back with us today, David Boies and Ted Olson, looking at scenarios that could send this election to a similar state of uncertainty. So, we'll get their views in a moment here.

O'BRIEN: Also coming up this morning, "90-Second Pop." Life is getting even simpler for Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. I'm sure you're dying to know that. We're going to talk about their continuing adventure, starting out on, yes, on a Greyhound bus. And we're going to take a look at where they might wind up.

HEMMER: Do you think we should swap jobs with them for a week? Swap it out for a little bit? Would you like that?

O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) more than enough.

HEMMER: I like that idea.

Here is Heidi Collins again looking at the news this morning.

Good morning -- Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, guys. And good morning to you, everybody.

Prime Minister Sharon wants a landmark victory, but faces a rebellion among some of his party members. The Israeli Parliament voted yesterday to back the prime minister's withdrawal plan from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. But a number of ministers are threatening to resign unless the plan is put to a referendum. In Boston, a former U.S. attorney will lead an independent investigation now into the shooting death of a Red Sox fan by police. Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral yesterday for Victoria Snelgrove. She was kidnapped by a pepper spray pellet. It was fired when police tried to control the crowd after the Red Sox beat the New York Yankees.

And election officials may be hoping for a different kind of turnout next Tuesday. "USA Today" reports more than half a million poll workers are still needed across the country. Officials say many workers are elderly and often don't have experience with voting machines or election rules. Some officials are recruiting college students and government workers to do just that.

What were you saying? It's a week away, right?

HEMMER: So we've got to put that on the list now, do we?

COLLINS: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

HEMMER: Thank you, Heidi.

COLLINS: On the list, huh?

HEMMER: Let's talk about that now. Six days to go before Americans go to the polls, and both candidates certainly are getting ready to play overtime just in case we go the way we did four years ago. Attorney David Boies made the case for Al Gore back in 2000. He's got a new book out now. It's called "Courting Justice." David Boies, my guest in D.C., we meet again.

David, good morning to you.

DAVID BOIES: Good morning. How are you?

HEMMER: I'm doing fine, thanks. Former Solicitor General Ted Olson and also part of the Bush legal team from four years ago, Ted is in New York.

And good morning, Ted. Good to have you with us as we continue our series, "State of the Ballot."

Gentlemen, let's get it started here. David, you first. Handicap this election for us next Tuesday. What is the chance now that you believe that Ted Olson and David Boies are going to square off again this year?

BOIES: I hope not. I think there's some possibility that this will end up in the courts, but I think probably both Ted and I know that that is not the right way to resolve these elections. And we certainly hope that we will avoid that.

I think you have some of the same circumstances. You have you a very close election. You have an election that may come down to one or two states, Florida being very key. You have a lot of charges of partisanship going back and forth. But I think you have a lot of things going on trying to resolve those issues before the election, and I hope that's successful.

HEMMER: Well, just to be clear, "I hope not" is not a handicap or a yes or a no.

BOIES: It's not. It is not.

HEMMER: This is a murky area, right?

BOIES: It's a murky area.

HEMMER: Let me get to Ted Olson for a second here. Yesterday in the op-ed piece in "The New York Times," you wrote in part, once again the election may outlast Election Day. Where do you see the possibilities, Ted, for litigation this time?

TED OLSON, FORMER U.S. SOLICITOR GENERAL: Well the possibilities are large. I agree with David that I think both sides hope that it will not happen, and that there will be a resolution of the election on Election Day.

But the possibilities with new systems of provisional ballots, potential disputes over voter identification, the registration on the day of voting in one state or at least one state, there are possibilities for litigation. I hope that it will not happen.

I hope that the lawyers and the candidates on both sides recognize that the public is going to be watching. Lawyers have a responsibility to file documents in good faith if they have to file them at all. And they have some responsibility for the legitimacy of the charges that they file. This is a presidential election, and I think both sides have to act in the most responsible fashion.

HEMMER: On the outside, this is the impression I think a lot of Americans are getting. And there's a newspaper article here in a New York paper that calls this the legal equivalent of Gettysburg. David, when you see thousands of lawyers gearing up in various states across the country, does it not appear that people are just looking for a fight come next Tuesday?

BOIES: I think when you have as many lawyers that are involved on both sides, there is a danger that they all try to find something to do. On the other hand, many, in fact most, the vast majority of the lawyers that you are seeing are going out to do the poll watching that you were talking about earlier. That is, they're not going out to litigate; they're going out to be at the polls to try to make sure everything runs smoothly.

So, when you see these numbers like tens of thousands of lawyers that each side has, most of those people are not going to be involved in litigation under any circumstances.

HEMMER: I know both of you have said if both sides agree to the rules ahead of time a lot of these problems could be resolved ahead of time as well. But I'm curious to know, Ted, how many of these rules have not been decided at this point?

OLSON: Well, we have a few more days before the election, and some of them are still being litigated in the courts. In fact, quite a number of them. But hopefully most of them will be resolved.

I think that one of the things -- one of the reasons why David and I are in so much agreement on this that we think not just the candidates and the candidates' supporters, but the lawyers have a responsibility to act with justice and fairness and responsibility because the American people are watching. We are citizens of the United States. We care as much as everyone that this is done right, and that it is not resolved in the courts but resolved at the ballot box.

HEMMER: Well, what you're saying, there is a better spotlight now or a stronger spotlight on the election workers this time around, too, would you agree?

OLSON: Oh, absolutely. I think that the media -- CNN's a part of it, of course -- is going to be watching very, very carefully. And if people pull any underhanded stunts or cheap tricks to try to change the number of people who show up at the polls or stuff ballot boxes or do any of those things, the public are going to be watching.

And it's important to understand that there are criminal laws involved. Voting in a presidential election is a serious responsibility, and people have a responsibility to uphold the law.

HEMMER: I want to put you guys both on the record. I need a one-city answer. David, where are you going to be next Tuesday night?

BOIES: I'm going to be in New York.

HEMMER: New York? Ted?

OLSON: Well, I'm going to be in New York, too, as it turns out, not because of anything in connection with the election.

HEMMER: This city has at least three airports. Thank you, gentlemen. David Boies and Ted Olson with us today.

BOIES: Thank you.

OLSON: Thanks.

HEMMER: All right. Bye-bye -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, there are lots of Americans who are going to vote for the very first time next week. But Beatrice Woods (ph) of Colorado has been voting for American presidents since 1928. That's when she backed Herbert Hoover.

Well, now she's 100 years old. She says character and knowledge are the most important traits in a good leader. She voted for Democratic Franklin Roosevelt four times, but she's also voted for some Republicans, including Thomas Dewey and Richard Nixon. This year, she's voting for John Kerry. She's voted for the winner in the last 11 of 19 elections.

HEMMER: Nice. Democracy at work. Twenty-one minutes before the hour.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, another airline flies right into chapter 11. Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead.

HEMMER: Also, the story that just keeps on giving. Ashlee Simpson says acid reflux ruined her voice Saturday night. But in Hollywood and in New York, could that actually help her career? "90- Second Pop" has a shot at that in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Jack has got the "Question of the Day." Good morning again.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How do you doing? Mercifully six more days and it will all be over. Time, though, running out for an October surprise. Candidates on both sides are worried the opponents might come up with tricks up their sleeves at the last minute that would give them an advantage. Speculation has ranged from the Bush administration suddenly producing Osama bin Laden to an attack like the Madrid train bombings that influenced Spain's elections last spring.

Here's the question: What do you think will be this election's October surprise?

Mel writes, Cornwell-on-Hudson: "This year's October surprise would be that the state of Florida had its election procedures and practices down and clearly stated and that they were accurate and independently verifiable. That wouldn't just be a surprise; that would be a miracle."

Charlie in Windsor Locks, Connecticut: "I think the biggest October surprise will be the Red Sox winning the World Series. As a Yankee fan, what can surprise anyone more than that?"

Hey, how about those Red Sox, Shane (ph)? Shane (ph) is our boom operator, and he's just a degenerate Yankee fan. And each time this morning when I ask him, hey, about those Red Sox, his response was a two-word expression and the second word is "you." And I can't tell you what the first word is. There is Shane (ph). Wait until next year, Shane (ph).

Brent in Laramie, Wyoming: "October surprise? Jack wakes up after a vision and becomes liberal and supports Ralph Nader, who wins a stunning victory."

HEMMER: No chance! CAFFERTY: Brian in Westport, New York: "Linus finally meets the Great Pumpkin."

And James in Glenview, Illinois: "The entire nation wakes up and finds the presidential campaign was just a dream, and we still have 12 months to go until the election."

HEMMER: Say it ain't so. Good stuff. Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: We want to get to Andy right now. Another major airline is joining the ranks of the bankrupt. Wow! This list keeps on getting longer and longer.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: It sure does.

HEMMER: What is this?

SERWER: ATA. We talked about this a little bit yesterday. The nation's 10th largest airline filing for bankruptcy yesterday. It's going to be selling its slots at Midway, where it has a very big presence to AirTran. High fuel costs, debt, competition and it's not surprising that this company is going to be in chapter 11.

Let's take a look at the other carriers already there. Another one bites the dust. Wasn't that a Queens song? It sure was. We've got four of them here.

And now let's talk about Delta Airlines. It looks like they're staving off bankruptcy, got some financing yesterday from American Express and also from a bondholder group. But they still have the big one to do, which is the billion dollar in wage concessions they need to get from the pilots. We're going to be watching that this week, because they are getting right down to the wire on that one.

Let's talk a little bit about the markets yesterday.

HEMMER: Yes, they were flying yesterday.

SERWER: Absolutely. The Dow up 138 points yesterday. Insurance stocks rebounding with that deal with Marsh and McLennan and AIG. Those are stocks that moved to the upside. Tech stocks are still moving as well.

Meanwhile yesterday, our friend, Purnomo Yusgiantoro...

HEMMER: Who?

SERWER: Purnomo Yusgiantoro, we like to put his picture up. He's the head of OPEC. He's from Indonesia. And he has a suggestion for the United States and for President Bush. He thinks we should release more oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to ease prices.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

SERWER: I don't think that's going to happen, but, in any event, we appreciate your input, sir. And we'll see what's going to happen next with oil prices. They're staying up.

HEMMER: There's a psychological aspect to that.

SERWER: Oh, absolutely. It's a lot of brinksmanship there. You guys got some oil. Why don't you release it? Because we don't have anymore to pump. And back and forth we go. Still the price is around 55 bucks.

CAFFERTY: Don't they have anything to worry about in Indonesia these days? I mean, is that...

SERWER: He's also the minister of mines in Indonesia.

CAFFERTY: Yes. Well, go find a shaft and fall into it.

SERWER: That was a setup.

O'BRIEN: You knew that was coming.

SERWER: I did. Absolutely did.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, remember these gals? Paris and Nicole? Well, they had trouble milking cows on the "Simple Life." So, would you trust them with a stapler or even the fax machine? "90- Second Pop" is just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: No chitchat before we get to the segment. Time for another all-new edition of "90-Second Pop." Here's the cast in order of appearance this morning. Andy Borowitz, he is the brains and the beauty behind "TheBorowitzReport.com. Sarah Bernard is contributing editor for "New York" magazine. And Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent.

SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: I think Toure is the brains (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

O'BRIEN: And the brains and the beauty.

TOURE, CNN POPULAR CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Behind "The Borowitz Report?"

O'BRIEN: "The Borowitz Report." Good morning.

BERNARD: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Why are we playing "Footloose?" Does anybody know? Am I missing a reference? OK. We're just going to go with it.

BERNARD: I love it.

TOURE: Paris Hilton is footloose across America?

O'BRIEN: Oh, OK.

BERNARD: There you go! Good one.

O'BRIEN: Paris and Nicole, season three (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

BERNARD: That's right.

O'BRIEN: She's going to move into an office now. The milking of the cows wasn't gross enough.

BERNARD: No. Now we're going to see her in some cubicle. It's hard to imagine.

O'BRIEN: The fax machine.

BERNARD: Well, this time instead of in an Airstream trailer, they're actually going to get on a Greyhound bus. And Paris is not going to be driving this time, which is probably good for everyone. The scene is that they're going to be doing internships all over the country, some in white-collar places, some in blue-collar places.

Now, my favorite tidbit about this is that they asked "The Wall Street Journal" if the girls could spend some time there, and they, of course, said no.

O'BRIEN: They're like, oh, not a chance.

(CROSSTALK)

BERNARD: But they did offer them some...

O'BRIEN: Sure, do you want to write anything?

BERNARD: Yes. A-1 story for you guys. But I would just like to say that I could use some help filing and do all of those things. So, if Paris wants to be an intern in "New York" magazine...

O'BRIEN: And she can come right here to CNN and be my intern, too.

TOURE: Isn't her 15 minutes over?

ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Thank you, thank you.

TOURE: She has no talent. She is not pretty. She's tacky.

BOROWITZ: Plus she is also...

TOURE: Hello?

BOROWITZ: She is now...

BERNARD: Ouch!

BOROWITZ: She is spreading herself so thin, like, I just read she is not even going to appear in her new sex tape. She's just executive producing it.

BERNARD: But she's casting for it, right?

BOROWITZ: It's unreal to me.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the Food Network. They're looking for their new star.

BOROWITZ: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I had no idea that they actually did that.

BOROWITZ: They do. Well...

O'BRIEN: What are they looking for? I can't cook. Can I be the star?

BOROWITZ: Well, you know, they're...

O'BRIEN: I can microwave.

BOROWITZ: This is like their attempt to do a reality show. It's like a search for a new...

BERNARD: Right.

BOROWITZ: To me, like, if you're going to do a reality show, like on Food Network, it should be like "Survivor" or Outback Steakhouse. I think that would be so much better.

O'BRIEN: Blooming onions.

BOROWITZ: Well, that's exactly -- that's the challenge.

O'BRIEN: Blooming onions, that's what you eat at Outback Steakhouse.

BOROWITZ: But they're got -- I mean, they've already got the Iron Chef, the Naked Chef. I think, you know, the biggest food star out there is going to be out of prison in five months.

BERNARD: I was going to say that.

BOROWITZ: I think the prison chef.

O'BRIEN: Recently released and furloughed chefs.

BOROWITZ: And she's going to have so many awesome microwave recipes. I just think this is the time. This is the prison show. BERNARD: Well, remember, she's been picking crab apples and making jelly out of it in prison. So I think she could actually do a whole thing on prison, you know, food.

BOROWITZ: Right. And she has been working in a kitchen the size of our kitchens. So, I mean...

BERNARD: Right. I have another suggestion, though. What about the super-size me guy, Morgan Spurlock (ph)? Do you think that maybe he could come on and do investigative shows of all different fast food places?

TOURE: Interesting.

BOROWITZ: Or the forensics show would be good.

BERNARD: Oh!

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: What is in this?

BERNARD: Yes.

BOROWITZ: Got a high school cafeteria.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Ashlee Simpson.

TOURE: Well, I mean, everybody else is.

O'BRIEN: So, how much do you think she hurt her career?

TOURE: I'm thinking not at all.

O'BRIEN: Really? You don't think...

TOURE: I mean, like, she got "The Today Show" out of it. We're all talking about it.

O'BRIEN: We're talking about acid reflux, yes.

BOROWITZ: That's right.

TOURE: There's a whole new level of attention on Ashlee Simpson. I mean, like, Jessica and Ashlee are dumb, but Joe Simpson, their dad, is brilliant. So they can be as dumb as they want...

O'BRIEN: You really believe that?

TOURE: ... because Joe will get them out of any problem they get or any...

O'BRIEN: But don't the fans sort of think, I mean, she was basically cheating, right?

TOURE: Right. O'BRIEN: And as much as she talks about acid reflux and she went blah, blah, blah, she hasn't addressed the whole she was lip-syncing issue.

BOROWITZ: Well...

TOURE: You know, it's funny, because it's so modern, right, to be like, well, I had acid reflux. It's like...

O'BRIEN: I know. It's just gross.

TOURE: No, I mean, it wasn't really even considered a disease five years ago. Now we understand, like, it's actually a stomach problem.

BOROWITZ: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

TOURE: You know, so it's so modern, but it's like I don't believe for a second that it was your disease, which I believe, but it's not your disease why you were lip-syncing on Saturday night?

BERNARD: It's just this game. You know, we have to ask the dad. He's got to give us some pathetic excuse, and we have to take it, but we didn't. And that's why it just keeps going.

BOROWITZ: You know, I was just in Las Vegas yesterday. And they had these Radio Music Awards. And she actually gave this live performance, very energetic, prone voice, and since then there have been renewed calls for her to start lip-syncing again.

O'BRIEN: Actually, I heard, seriously, that wasn't so good.

BOROWITZ: No, it wasn't that good. It's sort of like me in the shower, actually.

BERNARD: You want to do her track next time?

BOROWITZ: I think, yes, why not? Why not? I did notice that she had some bulge in the back of her jacket.

O'BRIEN: What Jack Cafferty likes to call the satellite dish.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: I am willing to be the celebrity spokesperson for acid reflux, if anyone is listening.

BERNARD: Yes.

O'BRIEN: I feel the pain, you know.

BOROWITZ: I'm sure, I'm sure.

BERNARD: Yes. O'BRIEN: It's sad. It is a sad, tragic thing. You guys, as always, thanks.

Let's go back to Bill.

HEMMER: A lot of plugs for Pepsid AC over there. Thank you, gays.

A break here. In a moment, did the president mislead Americans about hundreds of tons of missing Iraqi explosives? Or is John Kerry guilty of Monday morning quarterbacking? Kamber and May, part of our next hour on AMERICAN MORNING when we roll on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Halloween is not until Sunday, but the Boston Red Sox want to start putting away their World Series demons early. Did one of their star pitchers get the job done? A look at that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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