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Sources Say Arafat's Situation Extremely Grave; How the Reelection is Viewed Around the World; Voter Registration 9.3 Percent Better Than 2000, but Percentage of Young Voters Who Cast Ballots Remained the Same
Aired November 04, 2004 - 10:27 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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There are a lot of issues riding on the question of Arafat's health, and those implications ripple across the region.
Earlier this morning, I discussed the situation with CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Christiane, let's start first with the health status of Yasser Arafat. There seem to be conflicting reports coming out of Paris.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, my sources have been consistently telling me since last week -- and these are sources with close ties to the Palestinian leadership -- that his situation is extremely grave, very serious, and rapidly deteriorating. And now they're saying that it is being described by Palestinians, very few of them who have access to the hospital in Paris, that Yasser Arafat is, quote, "very critical."
We're told he was rushed to the ICU at the Paris hospital unconscious, and that, as early as this morning, he was still unconscious. That's according to my sources. He certainly has a very grave situation, but most particularly, I'm being told -- and I have been told this for the past week -- that he is not in control of his mental faculties.
He's unable to focus on any substantive matters. He's unable to issue orders or make any kind of sort of decorations -- that would be decorations of government or any such thing. And yet, people in Paris around him are putting out statements that this is precisely what he's doing.
So, there seems to be a bit of a power play, a power struggle underway, and at same time, we've heard no definitive medical diagnosis yet from the doctors there.
KAGAN: Well, let's talk about the power situation right now, in terms of who's leading the Palestinian people now, and once Yasser Arafat does go -- because at a certain point he will -- who comes next?
AMANPOUR: Well, there are provisions in the Palestinian basic law which say that if the president of the Palestinian Authority dies or is medically incapacitated, he has to be deemed incapacitated by doctors. And in either case, those powers would be transferred for a period of 60 days to the speaker of their council, their legislative council.
Now, Palestinian leaders who are right now continuing what business of government there is in the Palestinian territories, want that clarity. They want the doctors to pronounce so that they can proceed with clarity and transparency. And at the moment, business is being conducted by Abu Ala and Abu Mazen, the current and the former prime ministers, who both have divided the PLO portfolio and the Palestinian Authority portfolio. So, things are proceeding politically in that way.
But Arafat loyalists, we're told -- some of whom are around him in Paris -- want to keep issuing orders and communiques, for the moment, in his name, talking to, you know, ministries. And also crucially, there apparently is a very huge bank account, according to my sources, which could have anywhere from a couple hundred million to $1 billion in it and which Arafat solely, we're told, controls.
So, there's a political power struggle, there's this financial situation, and there's no Palestinian/Israeli peace process. So, that's going to be a big challenge for the American government as whether Arafat wins -- or rather, dies, or he;s incapacitated to get some kind of peace process back on track.
KAGAN: A lot of questions still to be answered and a lot of events to unfold. Christiane, thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: In Afghanistan just moments ago, Hamid Karzai delivered a speech as his country's first president chosen by popular election. Yesterday, a joint Afghan/United Nations panel dismissed allegations of voter fraud and formally declared the U.S.- backed candidate the winner of this historic election. President Karzai's speech included a renewed a pledge to fight drug trafficking in his country. We'll follow that.
Here's another big story we're following on this day on this morning -- after formally winning reelection, President Bush is meeting right now, in fact, with his cabinet. Many observers expect his second term to usher in major changes in this inner circle, part of what you're looking at right now.
At the top of the hour, he's due to hold a news conference when he leaves the White House for some R&R at Camp David presidential retreat. Of course, we will bring you that news conference as it happens here straight up at 11:00.
Now, despite months of bitterly partisan campaigning, you may be surprised by the national reaction of President Bush's reelection. According to a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 51 percent of Americans surveyed are pleased with the outcome of Tuesday's election, 38 percent describe themselves as upset, nine percent say it simply doesn't matter.
KAGAN: So, how is the reelection viewed around the world? We're going to take a global sampling from Britain to Baghdad.
Let's begin in London with CNN's Diana Muriel. Diana, hello.
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.
Well, the idea of four more years of a Bush administration sinking in here in Britain with British newspapers this morning for the most part going with this headline: "Four more years." "The Guardian" newspaper, "The Daily Telegraph" -- which is seen as a right-wing-leaning newspaper -- "The Times," and indeed "The Financial Times" all have this phrase, "Four more years," on their front page.
But "The Guardian" supplement perhaps is more indicative of what this newspaper editorially, at least, believes. Let me show you what they have here. It's an entirely black page with, in very small type, the words, "Oh God," written right in the center of the page.
"The Guardian," you have to remember, is the newspaper that urged its readership to write to voters in Ohio in the United States and ask them to vote for the Democratic challenger, John Kerry. This was met with very mixed reactions and some very strong reactions in the United States. Many people writing e-mails, writing to the newspaper, accusing the newspaper of urging its readers to interfere with another country's election, and that wasn't going down very well.
"The Independent" newspaper also comes out with the phrase "Four more years," but on the front page they print a series of photographs of issues that they identify very closely with George Bush -- namely, Guantanamo Bay, the war in Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Christian fundamentalism, and of course oil, with oil still at around $50 a barrel.
And perhaps one of the most contentious of the front pages that we have here in Britain this Thursday is that of the "Daily Mirror," which has, "How can 59 million people be so DUMB?" And inside, its editorial, "The Mirror" saying that if people of other nations had voted, then George Bush would likely to have lost by a landslide.
A selection of what the newspapers here in Britain are saying this morning, the first day after George Bush was elected for a second term as the president of the United States -- Daryn?
KAGAN: All right. A look at what others are thinking. Diana, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Well now, to Baghdad and the reaction there -- or perhaps the lack thereof. CNN Baghdad Bureau Chief Jane Arraf is joining us now from the Iraqi capital. Hello, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Rick.
Well, compared to the British reaction that Diana Muriel was pointing out in those headlines, it's pretty sedate here. In fact, the election reaction and the election results weren't even the main headline in most of the newspapers. And those it was said that whoever wins will work with Iraqis, and Iraqis will work with him.
Now, we were talking to the people out in the streets, and essentially the reaction was, compared to when we were asking them before the election, when a lot of them said they didn't want Bush to win, they said they're essentially glad he won. They don't particularly like him. Some of them really don't like him. But at least they know where he's coming from.
And as for the troops out there, still 130,000 American troops in Iraq, the Marines in Falluja, a lot of them that we talked to, that others talked to there, saying that they were glad that Bush had won. He supports the military.
And others were more philosophical. One Army sergeant told us that he voted for Kerry, but it appeared for some reason that God wanted Bush to win -- Rick?
SANCHEZ: Jane Arraf, following that story out of Baghdad. We thank you, Jane.
KAGAN: Well, you can imagine there must be a lot of soul- searching going on among the Democrats this morning.
SANCHEZ: To say the very least. After losing the battle for the White House, along with seats in both Houses of Congress, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says, and we quote here, "We have lost just about everything that we can lose."
Joining us in Washington is Democratic strategist Jenny Backus. She's the former head of communications for the Democratic National Committee. Jenny, thanks so much for joining us. I'd like to split this into two parts: themes and people. Which would you like to do first?
JENNY BACKUS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You choose.
SANCHEZ: All right, let's do themes. Gay marriage.
BACKUS: OK.
SANCHEZ: On the issue of gay marriage, do you think it's possible that Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, had as much to do with the defeat of Senator Kerry than anything or anyone else?
BACKUS: No, I disagree on that. I think that some of that theme and some of the other themes that you saw a lot of in the Republican mail and in some of the sort of under the radar screen rhetoric, I think that that -- I think that was sort of distracting noise. And I think it was sort of an attempt to keep people's eye off the ball.
SANCHEZ: But don't the polls -- but Jenny, don't the polls show that people went out and voted on social issues just about more than anything else, and that they feared or were told that this was going to become a Sodom and Gomorrah?
BACKUS: No, I don't think that at all. I think -- I think that that's what the Republicans wanted people to do. I think this election was extremely close. I mean, probably 115, 116 million people came out to vote. I think that you saw an extremely tight electoral college. It came down to one state.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you this then.
BACKUS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: If you took that issue off the table, do you think John Kerry would have won?
BACKUS: No, actually, I think -- look, I think John Kerry should have won, and I think we came really close and we didn't. But the bottom line is that that issue is -- I mean, you're playing into what the Republicans trap is. That's a made-up issue to by the Republicans. It's a made up issue to divide this country. It's a made-up issue to take people's focus off whether or not their kids are going to go and fight in Iraq, whether or not they're going to get a job.
SANCHEZ: Let's turn that -- let's turn that into theme two, then...
BACKUS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: ... whether their kids are going to go and fight in Iraq. Does the Democratic party now become the anti-war party, or should they, in your estimation?
BACKUS: I think a really interesting thing happened, Rick, in this election, and it's something that I hope the Democrats stay with -- and I know I'm going to be working on it -- which is, the Democratic party, and under John Kerry, became a party of strong foreign policy and strongly supporting the military. And I think that that's something that you will see continuing forward.
George Bush and his political people wanted to sort of paint the Democrats into these old labels that people saw. And I think one of the most important and powerful and significant things you saw the Democrats doing was to talk strongly about how they've served this country and to be...
SANCHEZ: So, it sounds like the answer to your question -- the answer to you question is that, no, they're not going to be...
BACKUS: Well, no. We're going to be the party that holds this president accountable. This president is conducting a war in the wrong way. We don't want our kids sent overseas to fight and die in a war that this president doesn't have a plan to end.
SANCHEZ: Point well taken.
BACKUS: But we're not going to let the Republicans turn us into -- you know, into these scary stereotypes that you saw in their mail pieces and in some of their advertising.
SANCHEZ: Point well take, Jenny. But let's move on, because I'm running out of time.
BACKUS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: And let's try and get to the people. I've got four here that...
BACKUS: OK.
SANCHEZ: Try to give me a brief comment on what you think their role is and what they're going to be able to accomplish in the next four years. And we're going to start with Senator Kerry.
BACKUS: Senator John Kerry, he's going to stay in the Senate. I think you're going to see him move into a role that you saw John McCain move into -- I mean, senators who run for president, who put down markers in the sand about what this country can do and not do better...
SANCHEZ: Hillary Clinton?
BACKUS: ... see him -- Hillary Clinton is going to do a great job in the Senate. She's someone that the party looks to. She has a very strong policy, especially on military issues. I think you're going to see a lot from her in the coming days.
SANCHEZ: Bill Clinton?
BACKUS: Bill Clinton is always a strong force in our party. He's also -- all of these people that you're describing are people that can hold this president accountable for -- unfortunately think some of the mistakes that we will probably be making.
SANCHEZ: Barack Obama?
BACKUS: Oh, Barack Obama -- Barack Obama is someone who inspires millions of Americans. I mean, I don't know if you remember his speech at that convention. I think he's going to come into the Senate, and you're going to see -- both he and Ken Salazar from Colorado. They are some of the luminaries of the party.
SANCHEZ: Quintessential question, $60,000 question as they say, of those four people I mentioned, or perhaps someone I failed to mention, who will come out as the leader of this party either now or four years from now?
BACKUS: I think that's going to be a process that's going to hopefully keep you guys at CNN very interested.
SANCHEZ: Is that a cop-out, Jenny?
BACKUS: Never. Never.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Jenny. We certainly appreciate you being with us.
BACKUS: Thanks for having me. SANCHEZ: All right.
KAGAN: It's a process.
SANCHEZ: A process?
KAGAN: A process, yes.
SANCHEZ: In other words, I'm not willing to say?
KAGAN: Yes, there you go. An interpretation at the bottom of the screen.
Well, they were asked and told and urged to homes, in clubs, and on their campuses, so did they deliver?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my first year of voting, so they got me in here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Still to come, young Americans at the polls.
KAGAN: Plus, he was on the run for days when it was time to give up. When it was time give up, he was determined to make the evening news.
SANCHEZ: And then coming up, lecturing in the lion's dens. Not a good idea. They get mad at stuff like that, don't they? We'll see. We'll explain. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everyone. Rick Sanchez here with Daryn Kagan.
KAGAN: Nice to see you.
SANCHEZ: Likewise.
KAGAN: Nice to see Rhonda Schaffler.
SANCHEZ: Let's see another old friend of ours.
KAGAN: Hi, Rhonda.
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
KAGAN: We want to take another look at stories making news coast to coast.
SANCHEZ: And we begin in Atlantic City, New Jersey. All bets are on after a month-long strike. Service workers are back on the job this morning. Their approved five-year contract with local casinos. The deal provides free health care and boosts wage and benefits pensions as well.
KAGAN: In Oxford, Ohio, television station WLWT became a key player in the arrest of a suspected killer. Police say that Steve Hickman contacted News 5, WLWT, and agreed to surrender to a camera operator. Officers posed as photographers, and Hickman was arrested without incident.
SANCHEZ: And then in Ventura, California, another example of a suspected criminal caught by television. An alleged rape victim identified her attacker when she spotted him on the TV show "Blind Date." Police have been searching for the suspect for 13 months. He's due to be arraigned today.
KAGAN: And in Covina, California, Jim Blake is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of his pet dog, Dolly. The dog was stolen out of his Porsche while Blake was eating breakfast at a local deli. He said he'd rather have lost his Porsche than his doggie.
SANCHEZ: Didn't you just about hear everybody saying it was the young people who were going to go out and vote in big huge numbers and it was going to make the difference in this thing?
KAGAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: They were certainly heavily courted from the very, very beginning.
KAGAN: And with explicit directions, "Vote or Die" and Rock the Vote, but did young people show up for their date at the polls? We'll examine those numbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. What we'd like to do is take a look at some of the voting patterns of two groups in this election. First, the Hispanic vote. CNN exit polling showed that President Bush made a significant gain among Hispanic voters nationwide, getting 44 percent this year, compared to 35 percent in 2000. Republicans say a conservative social agenda is winning over Hispanic voters, as we had alluded to before. There was also a feeling that John Kerry had a tough time connecting with some Hispanic voters.
And a veteran of the New Mexico politics say that poll numbers should serve as a wakeup call to the Democratic Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYMOND SANCHEZ, NEW MEXICO DEMOCRAT: Do not take this group of people for granted. Their values are the same as everyone else's values. Start talking about the values that we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: And now looking at those younger voters, voter registration activists in both the major presidential campaigns courted the 18 to 29-year-old age group. And a group behind the push said that it worked. Those voters turned out a 9.3 percent better rate than in 2000. But the percentage of young voters who cast ballots was about the same as four years ago.
Let's take a look at the voter breakdown by age groups in Tuesday's election. The pie chart showing the percentage of 18 to 29- year-olds voters, comparable to 60 and older.
Joining us from New York to talk about younger voters, Mrs. Jehmu Greene, president of Rock the Vote.
Jehmu, good morning.
JEHMU GREENE, PRESIDENT, ROCK THE VOTE: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: Have you gotten some sleep since Tuesday?
GREENE: We're trying, yes.
It's really important that everyone understand that young voters did turn out. And so that means we're still working, because so many reporters are getting it wrong. If you look at key states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, young people made up 20 percent, 21 percent of the electorate. These voters are the reason that this race was contested, that it came down, you know, to the last few minutes. And, you know, young voters who stood in line for seven hours, who, you know, voted for the first time really, I think, are getting a disservice when it's kind of being put out there that they didn't vote when they came out in -- really in droves all over the country.
KAGAN: Jehmu, we're one minute from seeing some videotape that was shot in the White House with President Bush and his cabinet, so I am going to will break away in a moment.
But first, I want to ask you, how do you then encourage those first-time voters to keep coming back, because an overwhelming number of those voters did want John Kerry? How do you get them that you didn't get you wanted, but you still need to participate in the process?
GREENE: Well, I think the best way to do that is to make sure that the media recognizes that they did turn out and vote. I think that's the best way to keep someone cynical, and probably not have them participate, if the media is not even recognizing the large numbers of young people who turned out. This is a record turnout for young voters. So that's the first thing that needs to happen.
And then the second thing is to hold all of the elected officials accountable to the issues that these voters came out to talk about -- jobs, rising costs of college tuition, the war in Iraq, the possibility of a military draft. All of these issues, we are going to work at Rock the Vote to make sure that they don't forget that young voters turned out, They came out in record numbers, more so than in over a decade, and they are part of the electorate. They need to be an important part of the legislation that's going to move forward from now.
KAGAN: And I know you will still be out there working.
Jehmu Greene from Rock the Vote, get some rest, my friend. You've been working hard.
GREENE: Will do.
KAGAN: We're going to go now to a tape that was shot within the White House. This is President Bush, meeting with his cabinet. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just met with my cabinet. And I'm proud of every person here. They've done a great job for the country. I've reminded them that, even though our election just ended, we've still got work to do. I talked about an agenda that we will complete, and an agenda that we will take forward. And I made it clear to them I was glad the election was over. And reminded them that we're here for a reason.
And, to a person, they understand that it's such an honor to serve America. It's a privilege to sit around this table, and that we will all continue to do the people's business.
Anyway, I want to thank them all for their hard work. I am -- when I told the people that I put together a fantastic group of men and women, I meant every word of that. And I want to thank them all for their service.
Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Just some brief words from President Bush there, after meeting with his cabinet, a cabinet that we're getting word could be changing significantly, and word of that could be coming as early as the next 10 minutes.
SANCHEZ: John Ashcroft is right, smack dab at the center of that, isn't he? We'll be talking about that as well, and we'll be hearing from the president, as you mentioned, sometime around 11:05. We'll have it for you. Stay here, we're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 4, 2004 - 10:27 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: There are a lot of issues riding on the question of Arafat's health, and those implications ripple across the region.
Earlier this morning, I discussed the situation with CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Christiane, let's start first with the health status of Yasser Arafat. There seem to be conflicting reports coming out of Paris.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTL. CORRESPONDENT: Well, my sources have been consistently telling me since last week -- and these are sources with close ties to the Palestinian leadership -- that his situation is extremely grave, very serious, and rapidly deteriorating. And now they're saying that it is being described by Palestinians, very few of them who have access to the hospital in Paris, that Yasser Arafat is, quote, "very critical."
We're told he was rushed to the ICU at the Paris hospital unconscious, and that, as early as this morning, he was still unconscious. That's according to my sources. He certainly has a very grave situation, but most particularly, I'm being told -- and I have been told this for the past week -- that he is not in control of his mental faculties.
He's unable to focus on any substantive matters. He's unable to issue orders or make any kind of sort of decorations -- that would be decorations of government or any such thing. And yet, people in Paris around him are putting out statements that this is precisely what he's doing.
So, there seems to be a bit of a power play, a power struggle underway, and at same time, we've heard no definitive medical diagnosis yet from the doctors there.
KAGAN: Well, let's talk about the power situation right now, in terms of who's leading the Palestinian people now, and once Yasser Arafat does go -- because at a certain point he will -- who comes next?
AMANPOUR: Well, there are provisions in the Palestinian basic law which say that if the president of the Palestinian Authority dies or is medically incapacitated, he has to be deemed incapacitated by doctors. And in either case, those powers would be transferred for a period of 60 days to the speaker of their council, their legislative council.
Now, Palestinian leaders who are right now continuing what business of government there is in the Palestinian territories, want that clarity. They want the doctors to pronounce so that they can proceed with clarity and transparency. And at the moment, business is being conducted by Abu Ala and Abu Mazen, the current and the former prime ministers, who both have divided the PLO portfolio and the Palestinian Authority portfolio. So, things are proceeding politically in that way.
But Arafat loyalists, we're told -- some of whom are around him in Paris -- want to keep issuing orders and communiques, for the moment, in his name, talking to, you know, ministries. And also crucially, there apparently is a very huge bank account, according to my sources, which could have anywhere from a couple hundred million to $1 billion in it and which Arafat solely, we're told, controls.
So, there's a political power struggle, there's this financial situation, and there's no Palestinian/Israeli peace process. So, that's going to be a big challenge for the American government as whether Arafat wins -- or rather, dies, or he;s incapacitated to get some kind of peace process back on track.
KAGAN: A lot of questions still to be answered and a lot of events to unfold. Christiane, thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: In Afghanistan just moments ago, Hamid Karzai delivered a speech as his country's first president chosen by popular election. Yesterday, a joint Afghan/United Nations panel dismissed allegations of voter fraud and formally declared the U.S.- backed candidate the winner of this historic election. President Karzai's speech included a renewed a pledge to fight drug trafficking in his country. We'll follow that.
Here's another big story we're following on this day on this morning -- after formally winning reelection, President Bush is meeting right now, in fact, with his cabinet. Many observers expect his second term to usher in major changes in this inner circle, part of what you're looking at right now.
At the top of the hour, he's due to hold a news conference when he leaves the White House for some R&R at Camp David presidential retreat. Of course, we will bring you that news conference as it happens here straight up at 11:00.
Now, despite months of bitterly partisan campaigning, you may be surprised by the national reaction of President Bush's reelection. According to a new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 51 percent of Americans surveyed are pleased with the outcome of Tuesday's election, 38 percent describe themselves as upset, nine percent say it simply doesn't matter.
KAGAN: So, how is the reelection viewed around the world? We're going to take a global sampling from Britain to Baghdad.
Let's begin in London with CNN's Diana Muriel. Diana, hello.
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.
Well, the idea of four more years of a Bush administration sinking in here in Britain with British newspapers this morning for the most part going with this headline: "Four more years." "The Guardian" newspaper, "The Daily Telegraph" -- which is seen as a right-wing-leaning newspaper -- "The Times," and indeed "The Financial Times" all have this phrase, "Four more years," on their front page.
But "The Guardian" supplement perhaps is more indicative of what this newspaper editorially, at least, believes. Let me show you what they have here. It's an entirely black page with, in very small type, the words, "Oh God," written right in the center of the page.
"The Guardian," you have to remember, is the newspaper that urged its readership to write to voters in Ohio in the United States and ask them to vote for the Democratic challenger, John Kerry. This was met with very mixed reactions and some very strong reactions in the United States. Many people writing e-mails, writing to the newspaper, accusing the newspaper of urging its readers to interfere with another country's election, and that wasn't going down very well.
"The Independent" newspaper also comes out with the phrase "Four more years," but on the front page they print a series of photographs of issues that they identify very closely with George Bush -- namely, Guantanamo Bay, the war in Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Christian fundamentalism, and of course oil, with oil still at around $50 a barrel.
And perhaps one of the most contentious of the front pages that we have here in Britain this Thursday is that of the "Daily Mirror," which has, "How can 59 million people be so DUMB?" And inside, its editorial, "The Mirror" saying that if people of other nations had voted, then George Bush would likely to have lost by a landslide.
A selection of what the newspapers here in Britain are saying this morning, the first day after George Bush was elected for a second term as the president of the United States -- Daryn?
KAGAN: All right. A look at what others are thinking. Diana, thank you.
SANCHEZ: Well now, to Baghdad and the reaction there -- or perhaps the lack thereof. CNN Baghdad Bureau Chief Jane Arraf is joining us now from the Iraqi capital. Hello, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Rick.
Well, compared to the British reaction that Diana Muriel was pointing out in those headlines, it's pretty sedate here. In fact, the election reaction and the election results weren't even the main headline in most of the newspapers. And those it was said that whoever wins will work with Iraqis, and Iraqis will work with him.
Now, we were talking to the people out in the streets, and essentially the reaction was, compared to when we were asking them before the election, when a lot of them said they didn't want Bush to win, they said they're essentially glad he won. They don't particularly like him. Some of them really don't like him. But at least they know where he's coming from.
And as for the troops out there, still 130,000 American troops in Iraq, the Marines in Falluja, a lot of them that we talked to, that others talked to there, saying that they were glad that Bush had won. He supports the military.
And others were more philosophical. One Army sergeant told us that he voted for Kerry, but it appeared for some reason that God wanted Bush to win -- Rick?
SANCHEZ: Jane Arraf, following that story out of Baghdad. We thank you, Jane.
KAGAN: Well, you can imagine there must be a lot of soul- searching going on among the Democrats this morning.
SANCHEZ: To say the very least. After losing the battle for the White House, along with seats in both Houses of Congress, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says, and we quote here, "We have lost just about everything that we can lose."
Joining us in Washington is Democratic strategist Jenny Backus. She's the former head of communications for the Democratic National Committee. Jenny, thanks so much for joining us. I'd like to split this into two parts: themes and people. Which would you like to do first?
JENNY BACKUS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You choose.
SANCHEZ: All right, let's do themes. Gay marriage.
BACKUS: OK.
SANCHEZ: On the issue of gay marriage, do you think it's possible that Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, had as much to do with the defeat of Senator Kerry than anything or anyone else?
BACKUS: No, I disagree on that. I think that some of that theme and some of the other themes that you saw a lot of in the Republican mail and in some of the sort of under the radar screen rhetoric, I think that that -- I think that was sort of distracting noise. And I think it was sort of an attempt to keep people's eye off the ball.
SANCHEZ: But don't the polls -- but Jenny, don't the polls show that people went out and voted on social issues just about more than anything else, and that they feared or were told that this was going to become a Sodom and Gomorrah?
BACKUS: No, I don't think that at all. I think -- I think that that's what the Republicans wanted people to do. I think this election was extremely close. I mean, probably 115, 116 million people came out to vote. I think that you saw an extremely tight electoral college. It came down to one state.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you this then.
BACKUS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: If you took that issue off the table, do you think John Kerry would have won?
BACKUS: No, actually, I think -- look, I think John Kerry should have won, and I think we came really close and we didn't. But the bottom line is that that issue is -- I mean, you're playing into what the Republicans trap is. That's a made-up issue to by the Republicans. It's a made up issue to divide this country. It's a made-up issue to take people's focus off whether or not their kids are going to go and fight in Iraq, whether or not they're going to get a job.
SANCHEZ: Let's turn that -- let's turn that into theme two, then...
BACKUS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: ... whether their kids are going to go and fight in Iraq. Does the Democratic party now become the anti-war party, or should they, in your estimation?
BACKUS: I think a really interesting thing happened, Rick, in this election, and it's something that I hope the Democrats stay with -- and I know I'm going to be working on it -- which is, the Democratic party, and under John Kerry, became a party of strong foreign policy and strongly supporting the military. And I think that that's something that you will see continuing forward.
George Bush and his political people wanted to sort of paint the Democrats into these old labels that people saw. And I think one of the most important and powerful and significant things you saw the Democrats doing was to talk strongly about how they've served this country and to be...
SANCHEZ: So, it sounds like the answer to your question -- the answer to you question is that, no, they're not going to be...
BACKUS: Well, no. We're going to be the party that holds this president accountable. This president is conducting a war in the wrong way. We don't want our kids sent overseas to fight and die in a war that this president doesn't have a plan to end.
SANCHEZ: Point well taken.
BACKUS: But we're not going to let the Republicans turn us into -- you know, into these scary stereotypes that you saw in their mail pieces and in some of their advertising.
SANCHEZ: Point well take, Jenny. But let's move on, because I'm running out of time.
BACKUS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: And let's try and get to the people. I've got four here that...
BACKUS: OK.
SANCHEZ: Try to give me a brief comment on what you think their role is and what they're going to be able to accomplish in the next four years. And we're going to start with Senator Kerry.
BACKUS: Senator John Kerry, he's going to stay in the Senate. I think you're going to see him move into a role that you saw John McCain move into -- I mean, senators who run for president, who put down markers in the sand about what this country can do and not do better...
SANCHEZ: Hillary Clinton?
BACKUS: ... see him -- Hillary Clinton is going to do a great job in the Senate. She's someone that the party looks to. She has a very strong policy, especially on military issues. I think you're going to see a lot from her in the coming days.
SANCHEZ: Bill Clinton?
BACKUS: Bill Clinton is always a strong force in our party. He's also -- all of these people that you're describing are people that can hold this president accountable for -- unfortunately think some of the mistakes that we will probably be making.
SANCHEZ: Barack Obama?
BACKUS: Oh, Barack Obama -- Barack Obama is someone who inspires millions of Americans. I mean, I don't know if you remember his speech at that convention. I think he's going to come into the Senate, and you're going to see -- both he and Ken Salazar from Colorado. They are some of the luminaries of the party.
SANCHEZ: Quintessential question, $60,000 question as they say, of those four people I mentioned, or perhaps someone I failed to mention, who will come out as the leader of this party either now or four years from now?
BACKUS: I think that's going to be a process that's going to hopefully keep you guys at CNN very interested.
SANCHEZ: Is that a cop-out, Jenny?
BACKUS: Never. Never.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Jenny. We certainly appreciate you being with us.
BACKUS: Thanks for having me. SANCHEZ: All right.
KAGAN: It's a process.
SANCHEZ: A process?
KAGAN: A process, yes.
SANCHEZ: In other words, I'm not willing to say?
KAGAN: Yes, there you go. An interpretation at the bottom of the screen.
Well, they were asked and told and urged to homes, in clubs, and on their campuses, so did they deliver?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my first year of voting, so they got me in here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Still to come, young Americans at the polls.
KAGAN: Plus, he was on the run for days when it was time to give up. When it was time give up, he was determined to make the evening news.
SANCHEZ: And then coming up, lecturing in the lion's dens. Not a good idea. They get mad at stuff like that, don't they? We'll see. We'll explain. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everyone. Rick Sanchez here with Daryn Kagan.
KAGAN: Nice to see you.
SANCHEZ: Likewise.
KAGAN: Nice to see Rhonda Schaffler.
SANCHEZ: Let's see another old friend of ours.
KAGAN: Hi, Rhonda.
(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)
KAGAN: We want to take another look at stories making news coast to coast.
SANCHEZ: And we begin in Atlantic City, New Jersey. All bets are on after a month-long strike. Service workers are back on the job this morning. Their approved five-year contract with local casinos. The deal provides free health care and boosts wage and benefits pensions as well.
KAGAN: In Oxford, Ohio, television station WLWT became a key player in the arrest of a suspected killer. Police say that Steve Hickman contacted News 5, WLWT, and agreed to surrender to a camera operator. Officers posed as photographers, and Hickman was arrested without incident.
SANCHEZ: And then in Ventura, California, another example of a suspected criminal caught by television. An alleged rape victim identified her attacker when she spotted him on the TV show "Blind Date." Police have been searching for the suspect for 13 months. He's due to be arraigned today.
KAGAN: And in Covina, California, Jim Blake is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of his pet dog, Dolly. The dog was stolen out of his Porsche while Blake was eating breakfast at a local deli. He said he'd rather have lost his Porsche than his doggie.
SANCHEZ: Didn't you just about hear everybody saying it was the young people who were going to go out and vote in big huge numbers and it was going to make the difference in this thing?
KAGAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: They were certainly heavily courted from the very, very beginning.
KAGAN: And with explicit directions, "Vote or Die" and Rock the Vote, but did young people show up for their date at the polls? We'll examine those numbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. What we'd like to do is take a look at some of the voting patterns of two groups in this election. First, the Hispanic vote. CNN exit polling showed that President Bush made a significant gain among Hispanic voters nationwide, getting 44 percent this year, compared to 35 percent in 2000. Republicans say a conservative social agenda is winning over Hispanic voters, as we had alluded to before. There was also a feeling that John Kerry had a tough time connecting with some Hispanic voters.
And a veteran of the New Mexico politics say that poll numbers should serve as a wakeup call to the Democratic Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYMOND SANCHEZ, NEW MEXICO DEMOCRAT: Do not take this group of people for granted. Their values are the same as everyone else's values. Start talking about the values that we have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: And now looking at those younger voters, voter registration activists in both the major presidential campaigns courted the 18 to 29-year-old age group. And a group behind the push said that it worked. Those voters turned out a 9.3 percent better rate than in 2000. But the percentage of young voters who cast ballots was about the same as four years ago.
Let's take a look at the voter breakdown by age groups in Tuesday's election. The pie chart showing the percentage of 18 to 29- year-olds voters, comparable to 60 and older.
Joining us from New York to talk about younger voters, Mrs. Jehmu Greene, president of Rock the Vote.
Jehmu, good morning.
JEHMU GREENE, PRESIDENT, ROCK THE VOTE: Good morning, Daryn.
KAGAN: Have you gotten some sleep since Tuesday?
GREENE: We're trying, yes.
It's really important that everyone understand that young voters did turn out. And so that means we're still working, because so many reporters are getting it wrong. If you look at key states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, young people made up 20 percent, 21 percent of the electorate. These voters are the reason that this race was contested, that it came down, you know, to the last few minutes. And, you know, young voters who stood in line for seven hours, who, you know, voted for the first time really, I think, are getting a disservice when it's kind of being put out there that they didn't vote when they came out in -- really in droves all over the country.
KAGAN: Jehmu, we're one minute from seeing some videotape that was shot in the White House with President Bush and his cabinet, so I am going to will break away in a moment.
But first, I want to ask you, how do you then encourage those first-time voters to keep coming back, because an overwhelming number of those voters did want John Kerry? How do you get them that you didn't get you wanted, but you still need to participate in the process?
GREENE: Well, I think the best way to do that is to make sure that the media recognizes that they did turn out and vote. I think that's the best way to keep someone cynical, and probably not have them participate, if the media is not even recognizing the large numbers of young people who turned out. This is a record turnout for young voters. So that's the first thing that needs to happen.
And then the second thing is to hold all of the elected officials accountable to the issues that these voters came out to talk about -- jobs, rising costs of college tuition, the war in Iraq, the possibility of a military draft. All of these issues, we are going to work at Rock the Vote to make sure that they don't forget that young voters turned out, They came out in record numbers, more so than in over a decade, and they are part of the electorate. They need to be an important part of the legislation that's going to move forward from now.
KAGAN: And I know you will still be out there working.
Jehmu Greene from Rock the Vote, get some rest, my friend. You've been working hard.
GREENE: Will do.
KAGAN: We're going to go now to a tape that was shot within the White House. This is President Bush, meeting with his cabinet. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I just met with my cabinet. And I'm proud of every person here. They've done a great job for the country. I've reminded them that, even though our election just ended, we've still got work to do. I talked about an agenda that we will complete, and an agenda that we will take forward. And I made it clear to them I was glad the election was over. And reminded them that we're here for a reason.
And, to a person, they understand that it's such an honor to serve America. It's a privilege to sit around this table, and that we will all continue to do the people's business.
Anyway, I want to thank them all for their hard work. I am -- when I told the people that I put together a fantastic group of men and women, I meant every word of that. And I want to thank them all for their service.
Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Just some brief words from President Bush there, after meeting with his cabinet, a cabinet that we're getting word could be changing significantly, and word of that could be coming as early as the next 10 minutes.
SANCHEZ: John Ashcroft is right, smack dab at the center of that, isn't he? We'll be talking about that as well, and we'll be hearing from the president, as you mentioned, sometime around 11:05. We'll have it for you. Stay here, we're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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