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American Morning
Officials Say Arafat in Critical Condition; Republicans Celebrate While Democrats Pick Up the Pieces; New Flu Vaccine Research; New "Sports Illustrated" Photography Book
Aired November 04, 2004 - 09:30 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: Opening bell on Wall Street, right on cue at 9:30 Eastern time here. Soledad, hello. Hit me again. A bit of a rally yesterday, up triple digits, 100 points yesterday -- 10,137 is your opening mark there. Nasdaq MarketSite, we are back over 2,000 -- 2,004 is where we start, 20 points to the positive in trading from yesterday.
Thank you.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You are welcome. Anytime.
It is exactly half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Democrats in Congress now weighing their options now that they are even more in the minority in both houses. In a few minutes, we're going to take a look at what those Republican gains mean when it comes to the Democrats' political strategy.
HEMMER: Also, some of the greatest moments in sports history seen through the lens of "Sports Illustrated." Our Frank Deford joins us in a few minutes. He wrote the introduction to this great book out there now, talking about the magazine's new retrospective and how "SI" came to set a new standard in sports journalism, and that they did.
O'BRIEN: You love that book. And so, I'm going to wrap it up and give it to you for Christmas. So, now you know.
HEMMER: Thank you. You're off the hook.
O'BRIEN: Let's check in now with Daryn with what's in the news this morning. Hey, Daryn. Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
Now in the news -- after his big reelection win, President Bush is set to meet with his cabinet in just about a half hour from now. It's the president's first cabinet meeting since August. Among the issues to be discussed: keeping Americans safe and shaking up Social Security. After the meeting, Mr. Bush heads off to Camp David for some downtime.
A militant group holding three U.N. hostages in Afghanistan has reportedly extended its deadline. That is according to the Associated Press. The group reportedly telling Afghan officials they will decide by Friday whether to kill the three captives. The group of a splinter of the ousted Taliban regime. A U.n. spokesman says the U.N. is doing all it can to help free those hostages.
To southern California now, an elderly driver must stand trial for a crash that left 10 people dead. Eighty-seven-year-old George Weller was behind the wheel when he plowed into the Santa Monica Farmer's Market last year. He will be tried on 10 counts of manslaughter. Weller could face up to 18 years in prison if he is convicted on all charges.
And a former Yankees coach is moving up in the ranks and across town. Willie Randolph has been hired to manage the Mets. The official announcement will be made at a news conference this afternoon. Randolph was a bench coach for the Yankees. He even played with them as a second baseman -- boy, did he play. Now, he spent his final season playing for the Mets in 1992.
Soledad, the guy knows how to win -- six-time all-star, two World Series rings as a player, four as a coach. Hopefully it will transfer...
O'BRIEN: I was going to say let's hope he can take some of that and...
KAGAN: Little of the magic...
O'BRIEN: ... give it off the other guys. What's coming up for you this morning at 10:00, because you're a busy girl today.
KAGAN: I am a busy girl. And we're going to be talking about what the Democrats do now. We're going to be talking about the Democratic strategists -- how do you get candidates that people want to vote for? That is just ahead.
O'BRIEN: That is sort of the $54,000 question today, isn't it?.
KAGAN: Multimillion question.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, really. Thanks, Daryn.
Senior Palestinian officials telling CNN now that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is in critical condition this morning. Arafat being treated as Percy Military Hospital in Paris. That's where we find CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney who joins us with more. Good morning to you. It's been going back and forth on his status. What do you know right now?
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we are expecting within the next hour or so is a statement from the hospital. Now, this was a statement we were supposed to have heard about four- and-a-half hours ago, and that has been postponed indefinitely.
What we do know is that Yasser Arafat suffered a setback yesterday while undergoing medical tests. He is in intensive care. And Palestinian sources here in Paris saying he is in critical condition, going in and out of consciousness.
But all these statements we are hearing -- and indeed, conflicting reports from Ramallah, as well, saying that he's merely sedated and not at all in a critical condition -- really do not amount to anything until we hear from the doctors. And that is what is giving here around the hospital behind me a sense of heightened activity, as press and media wait for news of that statement as to his condition.
We do know he was admitted here last Friday. He does have a low blood cell count and some malfunction with his digestive system. And it was to that end that he was undergoing further medical tests here yesterday when he suffered this apparent setback.
So, no news of yet except to say that he is apparently in critical condition, going in and out of conscious. But until we hear from the doctors, we won't be able to report any further on that -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Watching and waiting in Paris and around the world today. Fionnuala Sweeney for us this morning in Paris. Thank you for that report -- Bill?
HEMMER: Let me get back to Congress right now, Soledad,, and the fight for the Hill. Republican gains extending their power in both chambers and leaving Democrats just flat-out blue today. More from Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senate Republicans broke out the champagne after a stunning sweep on Election Night. Republicans see it as repudiation of Democratic efforts to block President Bush's agenda. Their biggest prize -- beating the Democratic leader, Tom Daschle.
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R-VA), NATL. REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL CMTE.: The message to the Democrats is stop the obstruction, stop the pass interference, stop the delays, stop the filibustering. Move forward.
HENRY: Majority Leader Bill Frist flew around the country to celebrate with his winning candidates. With 55 seats, it's now easier for Frist to push through the president's second-term agenda: more tax cuts, conservative judges, tort reform, and an energy bill.
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: Comprehensive energy policy -- we lost it by one vote on the floor of the United States Senate at a time when the price of oil was $50 a barrel.
HENRY: Democrats were stunned after also losing seats in the House and falling short in the presidential fight.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: We have lost just about everything that we can lose.
HENRY: They will now try to pick up the pieces, starting with a new leader to replace Daschle. That's likely to be Harry Reid of Nevada. Democratic strategists say the party needs to walk a fine line, agree with the president some, but fight back, as well. JACK QUINN, FMR. CLINTON WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: By working with the president, among other things. And when they can't work with the president, by standing up and expressing their disagreements with him clearly, forcefully, and with respect.
HENRY (on camera): It looks like Senate Democrats, at least for now, are taking a more conciliatory approach to their relationship with President Bush. Harry Reid is known as somebody who works across the aisle with Republicans.
Ed Henry, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Also now, the new roll call on the Senate side, 55-45 favor Republicans, and on the House side, 231 to 200.
President Bush speaking with reporters later today, expected from Washington at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. We'll have it for you when that happens there in D.C. -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: President Bush saying he's going to unite the country, but will he be able to do it over the next four years? In a CNN/"USA Today"/ Gallup poll, nearly a quarter of those polled are enthusiastic about a second Bush term, a third optimistic about it, 19 percent say they're pessimistic, nearly a quarter say they're afraid.
So, where do we go from here? CNN political analyst and "Los Angeles Times" columnist Ron Brownstein joins us again. Nice to see you. We have just been talking and talking and talking. Now it's over, let's talk a little bit more.
Unifying is the theme, and we certainly heard President Bush say that in his victory speech yesterday. But frankly, he doesn't have to. Do you think he goes for more unity, or do you think he's going to start talking to and focusing on the people who, frankly, elected him?
RON BROWNSTEIN, COLUMNIST, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, that is the challenge. I mean, to some extent, President Bush may be a prisoner of his own success. He was elected, by and large, with the support of -- with overwhelming support among his Republican coalition, his conservative coalition, and they are coming to Washington, these new senators elected with the same support, with a very clear agenda.
And by and large, the things that they want to do, do not lend themselves easily to cooperation with Democrats or, for that matter, expanding the Republican support among some of the moderate swing voters in the northeast and the Midwest that remained out of their reach.
So, if President Bush does want to move in this direction, to some extent he has to fight against the current that brought him back for this second term. O'BRIEN: Republicans have now claimed a mandate for their agenda, including tax cuts and tort reform and an energy bill that will allow some drilling in an arctic region that's protecting a refuge.
Do you think all of those things go through.
BROWNSTEIN: I think it's still going to be tough. You know, they still need 60 votes in a Senate to break a filibuster. And part of what's happening here really is a generational replacement in which moderate to conservative southern Democrats are being replaced by conservative southern Republicans.
In the Senate, there have been nine open seats in the Senate in the last two elections from the south -- one-third of all the Senate seats in the southern region. And the Republican have now won all of them. So, there are fewer people to sort of make deals across the aisle, but they still may be a few votes short on some of these priorities. On others, I suspect that those last few votes may come their way because of Democrats who watch what happen, particularly in the region, Tuesday night.
O'BRIEN: In retrospect, what have the Democrats now learned -- not only from the margin of victory in the popular vote that the president had, but also what happened in the House and the Senate?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think the lesson is pretty clear, that they have to be able to compete better in the culturally conservative parts of the country -- the rural areas of the Midwest and the south.
John Kerry I don't think lost this campaign so much as President Bush won it. Kerry, as a northeastern Massachusetts senator, simply wasn't able to put in play any southern state except Florida. And that left him with too few options to reach 270.
At the end of the campaign, he was competing really for only three states that President Bush won last time: New Hampshire, Ohio, and Florida. And when he couldn't get over the hump with rural voters in Ohio, he simply couldn't make it to the White House. They have to be able to put some more of that vote back in play, and that may require a candidate who is more accessible to culturally conservative Americans.
O'BRIEN: Can Democrats also learn something from the Republican strategy? They talked a little bit about how they had friends and neighbors mobilize others to bring in the vote -- again, back to the myth that the more people who voted, the better that would be for the Republicans. That was essentially exploded by the fact that the Republicans just did a better job getting people with connections to each other to turn out the vote.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I mean, both sides turned out a big vote. You know, I think if you look at Ohio as really the place where this election was decided, John Kerry increased Al Gore's margin in the Cleveland area by a third. He one the three big suburban swing counties. And he was trumped because President Bush generated an enormous vote in exurban fast-growing counties, in rural counties, small towns -- very similar, Soledad, to 2002 (sic).
And I think what we saw, again, was that the Republican base and conservative independents will come out in large numbers to support this president.
And in effect, the Republican machine had a stronger fuel in that the attachment those voters felt for President Bush I think was probably a little stronger than some of those Democratic constituencies felt for John Kerry.
O'BRIEN: Ron Brownstein, joining us this morning, nice to see you. And we'll chat again. Thanks -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, new research suggesting it's possible to make a little flu vaccine go a long way. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here in New York now to tell us if it's a quick fix for the flu shortage.
Great to see you in person, by the way.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL ANCHOR: Well, thank you; great to see you in person, too.
HEMMER: What's the deal with this today?
COHEN: Well, this is really a fascinating study that's just come out in "The New England Journal of Medicine," probably won't help alleviate the situation that we're in currently with the shortage, but it could be a key to alleviating a shortage in the future. It would mean stretching out what flu shots you have, giving people less, so that you can spread it out to more people. It would also mean, changing the way the shot is given.
Now, this is the way the shot is given now, doesn't take explanation. We all know that needle goes right through your skin into the muscle. It's called an intramuscular injection.
However, if you change the way it's given and make it what's called an intradermal shot, meaning that it just goes between the layers of the skin, think about the way a TB skin test is done, and you kind of get a feeling for it. And speaking of feeling, it doesn't hurt as much, and it seems to actually be better. What happens is that the skin has some immune cells that can boost the effectiveness of the vaccine.
And let's see how effective the vaccine was. When a 40 percent dose, in other words, 40 percent of the usual dose, was given to the skin. it was equally effective as a regular dose for 18 to 60-year- olds, only 75 percent as effective for people over the age of 60.
Now in 20 percent of the regular dose was given, just 20 percent, it was equally effective for 18 to 40-year-olds. It wasn't so effective for people over the age of 40. So this approach may be more for people below the age of 60.
HEMMER: With the problems that we're having this year with the shortage, could you do that now? Could you lower the dose and extend supply, essentially, for more people.
COHEN: Well, there really haven't been enough studies, so chances the government is not going to just say, hey, one study, let's do this, let's start stretching out the supply and giving people 40 percent of the dose. That's probably not going to happen this flu season. And if doctors wanted to, technically they could, but they'd be kind of going out on their own, and so many would probably be hesitant to do that. And so probably not something for this flu season, but in the future, this really could be something that doctors rely on.
HEMMER: And so far, no great outbreaks.
COHEN: That's right, so far the flu season is looking pretty tame.
HEMMER: Good to see you, Elizabeth -- Soledad.
COHEN: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, one Senate candidate who lost says he's more than happy to go back to his day job, but he might not be allowed to. Andy is "Minding Your Business," just ahead.
Plus, "Sports Illustrated" hasn't always been fun and games. As Frank Deford puts it, the magazine introduced respectable sports journalism. We're going to talk to hit about "SI's" 50th anniversary, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Just a reminder that President Bush will be holding a news conference this morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, at the Eisenhower Building in Washington D.C. We're going to bring that to you live when it happens -- Bill.
HEMMER: For sports fans everybody, it is the magazine of record. "Sports Illustrated" now marking its 50th anniversary with a beautiful coffee table book. It's "The Ultimate Collection of Sportswriting Photography," and of course the swimsuits. Frank Deford, senior contributing writer here, to talk about the legacy of "SI."
Great book. Congratulations.
You did the introduction.
FRANK DEFORD, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Yes, a guy named Slater (ph) really is responsible, but...
HEMMER: All right, we'll talk about a few things that's few things happening with the magazine today. Let's start with you for a second. The magazine starts in the 1950s. You join 1960...
DEFORD: Two, right out of college.
HEMMER: 1962. What enabled this magazine to go into the next level when it comes to sports?
DEFORD: There was one editor responsible for it, a man Andre Laguerre, who of all things was a Frenchman. I mean, a French journalist understood American sports sufficient how to make "Sports Illustrated" work. Before that, it had been sort of embarrassed about being about sports.
HEMMER: What did he do that was so unique?
DEFORD: He said, look, if we're a sports magazine, then let's admit it, let's stop running cover like "The Chairman of Peck and Peck Goes Hunting," honest to God. And he started a cover of hard sports, and the thing that Laguerre really understood ahead of everybody else was that pro football was the coming sport.
HEMMER: Wow. Wow. You also talk about respectable sports journalism, saying this is the first time it ever was handled that way. Why was it not done at that point prior to?
DEFORD: Previously, I think people looked upon sports, and it was called "The Toy Shop" in most newspapers, so it was always over in the corner.
Now all of a sudden, you've got a magazine, a publication devoted completely to sports. So all of a sudden, we're not the sideshow; we're the whole circus tent. And we were able to present sports in a very, very professional and even upper-class way. We wrote sports the same way that you wrote health, politics, science, religion.
HEMMER: You took it seriously, too, and gave it that shade.
DEFORD: Sports is a game, but that doesn't mean you can't write about it in a serious fashion.
HEMMER: We're going to put some pictures of them. And as we talk about them, your most vivid memories, what comes to mind.
DEFORD: Of the pictures.
HEMMER: Sure.
DEFORD: I think that the "Sports Illustrated" pictures...
HEMMER: Mark McGwire.
DEFORD: Yes, Mark McGwire, that was the largest selling cover in the history of the magazine.
HEMMER: Really?
DEFORD: Well, remember, when he broke Maris' record, I mean, the whole country was involved with him and Sammy Sosa that summer.
HEMMER: But more than a swimsuit issue.
DEFORD: Now, swimsuit issues are an entirely different thing altogether.
HEMMER: OK, just to be clear.
DEFORD: You are talking about the alpha and the omega, Mark McGwire and beautiful ladies in baiting soots.
HEMMER: Forty years ago, the first "Swimsuit Issue" was put out, 1964. There's a story that -- how did this come about. Tell it.
DEFORD: Serendipitous. We used to do travel stories, and they put that rather modestly dressed young lady on the cover, and sure enough, we got two or three letters, one from a librarian who said she would never put such pornography in her library again, and one from a father of a teenage son, who said, my God, what's happening, and the editor Laguerre, thought that was very funny, and in effect, he said, wait until next year. And so the next year, he showed a little more skin, and the thing just grew.
HEMMER: How many sales did you have in 1964? I imagine that was a driving force, right?
DEFORD: It popped up, but it didn't really catch on for another four or five years. It wasn't like the first issue comes out and everybody says, I got to have the swimsuit issue.
HEMMER: Kathy Ireland might be a different story.
DEFORD: Kathy Ireland, that was the biggest seller 1989, that was the 25th anniversary. And I had the unenviable job of going around on the airplane with the swimsuit models, and we did sort of like a dog and pony show. I was the only guy.
HEMMER: You know, I'm wondering, though, when, like yourself, when the respected reporters at "SI" are sitting around talking about the magazine, do you like the fact that the swimsuit issue is so associated with you, or would you rather not have that, well, I guess that perspective from so many readers?
DEFORD: Bill, it's something you have to endure, and I think most sensible persons can understand that over here can be the swimsuit issue, but that doesn't mean that I, for example who have covered an awful lot of women's sports, that in any way this blurs my vision of going an writing about...
HEMMER: Any time you talk about "SI," that issue comes up.
DEFORD: And they all say, hey, do you do the swimsuit issue? And you say, no or really, that's done by photographers. But it doesn't change your perspective. You can be -- you can look at, let's face it, pretty girls one day, but that doesn't mean you can't go out and cover magnificent female athletes the next day just as seriously as you do male athletes.
HEMMER: Nice to see you, Frank Deford.
DEFORD: Thank you, Bill. HEMMER: Thirty bucks by the way.
DEFORD: Yes, that's a bargain.
HEMMER: A bargain it is. Good to see you -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Tough job to be on that plane with all those swimsuit models.
Still to come this executive, beer executive Pete Coors lost his Senate bid Tuesday night. He may have lost his regular job as well. Andy's "Minding Your Business," just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Bad news for a beer magnate today, and can coffee drinkers predict an election. A look at that, plus a check of the markets.
Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning. Let's talk a little bit about stocks.
Stocks are trading down a little bit, not a surprise after yesterday, Soledad. Oops, now they're back up. See, I've to watch this thing like a hawk. OK, it's back up. Tomorrow, the big jobs number is out, and I think we're going to be in a bit of a holding pattern today.
Let's talk about Pete Coors, the beer magnate out of Colorado. He lost the election for the Senate seat there, Soledad, Republican candidate, and he said in his concession speech, "As I've said in my campaign, I'm not doing this because I need a job. I will now go back to having the greatest job in America, running a beer company."
Well, maybe not. Pete, did you check it out, your company is planning to merge with Molson, and if that merger goes through over the next couple of months, you won't be the chairman of the company anymore. I don't think we have to worry too much about Pete Coors paying the bills, but in any event, it's kind of a funny line there.
7-Eleven, I think we talked about this a couple of days ago.
O'BRIEN: Giving out coffee cups, so people as they got their coffee could pick the cup they wanted.
SERWER: Right, and either said, "I voted for Kerry," or "I voted for Bush." Well, If 7-11 voters were picking the election, pretty close, Soledad, look at that, just about dead on.
O'BRIEN: More reliable than some exit polls.
SERWER: Yes, absolutely. Florida was about the same. Nevada maybe a little bit closer. But what's interesting to me is Ohio. Uh- oh, Kerry would ever gotten Ohio if Slurpee slurpers only were allowed to vote. But you know, I think we're kind of done with these predictors.
O'BRIEN: We'll bring them back again in four years.
SERWER: Yes, indeed.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks -- Bill.
Oh, coming up, I should say, developments for President Bush's second term, his cabinet, will John Ashcroft be the first to resign? We've got news on that front, just ahead.
Plus, we're reminding you know, 11:00 a.m., President Bush holding a news conference. It's his first since the election. Of course it's only been a couple of days. AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 4, 2004 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Opening bell on Wall Street, right on cue at 9:30 Eastern time here. Soledad, hello. Hit me again. A bit of a rally yesterday, up triple digits, 100 points yesterday -- 10,137 is your opening mark there. Nasdaq MarketSite, we are back over 2,000 -- 2,004 is where we start, 20 points to the positive in trading from yesterday.
Thank you.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You are welcome. Anytime.
It is exactly half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Democrats in Congress now weighing their options now that they are even more in the minority in both houses. In a few minutes, we're going to take a look at what those Republican gains mean when it comes to the Democrats' political strategy.
HEMMER: Also, some of the greatest moments in sports history seen through the lens of "Sports Illustrated." Our Frank Deford joins us in a few minutes. He wrote the introduction to this great book out there now, talking about the magazine's new retrospective and how "SI" came to set a new standard in sports journalism, and that they did.
O'BRIEN: You love that book. And so, I'm going to wrap it up and give it to you for Christmas. So, now you know.
HEMMER: Thank you. You're off the hook.
O'BRIEN: Let's check in now with Daryn with what's in the news this morning. Hey, Daryn. Good morning.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.
Now in the news -- after his big reelection win, President Bush is set to meet with his cabinet in just about a half hour from now. It's the president's first cabinet meeting since August. Among the issues to be discussed: keeping Americans safe and shaking up Social Security. After the meeting, Mr. Bush heads off to Camp David for some downtime.
A militant group holding three U.N. hostages in Afghanistan has reportedly extended its deadline. That is according to the Associated Press. The group reportedly telling Afghan officials they will decide by Friday whether to kill the three captives. The group of a splinter of the ousted Taliban regime. A U.n. spokesman says the U.N. is doing all it can to help free those hostages.
To southern California now, an elderly driver must stand trial for a crash that left 10 people dead. Eighty-seven-year-old George Weller was behind the wheel when he plowed into the Santa Monica Farmer's Market last year. He will be tried on 10 counts of manslaughter. Weller could face up to 18 years in prison if he is convicted on all charges.
And a former Yankees coach is moving up in the ranks and across town. Willie Randolph has been hired to manage the Mets. The official announcement will be made at a news conference this afternoon. Randolph was a bench coach for the Yankees. He even played with them as a second baseman -- boy, did he play. Now, he spent his final season playing for the Mets in 1992.
Soledad, the guy knows how to win -- six-time all-star, two World Series rings as a player, four as a coach. Hopefully it will transfer...
O'BRIEN: I was going to say let's hope he can take some of that and...
KAGAN: Little of the magic...
O'BRIEN: ... give it off the other guys. What's coming up for you this morning at 10:00, because you're a busy girl today.
KAGAN: I am a busy girl. And we're going to be talking about what the Democrats do now. We're going to be talking about the Democratic strategists -- how do you get candidates that people want to vote for? That is just ahead.
O'BRIEN: That is sort of the $54,000 question today, isn't it?.
KAGAN: Multimillion question.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, really. Thanks, Daryn.
Senior Palestinian officials telling CNN now that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is in critical condition this morning. Arafat being treated as Percy Military Hospital in Paris. That's where we find CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney who joins us with more. Good morning to you. It's been going back and forth on his status. What do you know right now?
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we are expecting within the next hour or so is a statement from the hospital. Now, this was a statement we were supposed to have heard about four- and-a-half hours ago, and that has been postponed indefinitely.
What we do know is that Yasser Arafat suffered a setback yesterday while undergoing medical tests. He is in intensive care. And Palestinian sources here in Paris saying he is in critical condition, going in and out of consciousness.
But all these statements we are hearing -- and indeed, conflicting reports from Ramallah, as well, saying that he's merely sedated and not at all in a critical condition -- really do not amount to anything until we hear from the doctors. And that is what is giving here around the hospital behind me a sense of heightened activity, as press and media wait for news of that statement as to his condition.
We do know he was admitted here last Friday. He does have a low blood cell count and some malfunction with his digestive system. And it was to that end that he was undergoing further medical tests here yesterday when he suffered this apparent setback.
So, no news of yet except to say that he is apparently in critical condition, going in and out of conscious. But until we hear from the doctors, we won't be able to report any further on that -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Watching and waiting in Paris and around the world today. Fionnuala Sweeney for us this morning in Paris. Thank you for that report -- Bill?
HEMMER: Let me get back to Congress right now, Soledad,, and the fight for the Hill. Republican gains extending their power in both chambers and leaving Democrats just flat-out blue today. More from Ed Henry on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senate Republicans broke out the champagne after a stunning sweep on Election Night. Republicans see it as repudiation of Democratic efforts to block President Bush's agenda. Their biggest prize -- beating the Democratic leader, Tom Daschle.
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R-VA), NATL. REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL CMTE.: The message to the Democrats is stop the obstruction, stop the pass interference, stop the delays, stop the filibustering. Move forward.
HENRY: Majority Leader Bill Frist flew around the country to celebrate with his winning candidates. With 55 seats, it's now easier for Frist to push through the president's second-term agenda: more tax cuts, conservative judges, tort reform, and an energy bill.
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: Comprehensive energy policy -- we lost it by one vote on the floor of the United States Senate at a time when the price of oil was $50 a barrel.
HENRY: Democrats were stunned after also losing seats in the House and falling short in the presidential fight.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: We have lost just about everything that we can lose.
HENRY: They will now try to pick up the pieces, starting with a new leader to replace Daschle. That's likely to be Harry Reid of Nevada. Democratic strategists say the party needs to walk a fine line, agree with the president some, but fight back, as well. JACK QUINN, FMR. CLINTON WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: By working with the president, among other things. And when they can't work with the president, by standing up and expressing their disagreements with him clearly, forcefully, and with respect.
HENRY (on camera): It looks like Senate Democrats, at least for now, are taking a more conciliatory approach to their relationship with President Bush. Harry Reid is known as somebody who works across the aisle with Republicans.
Ed Henry, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Also now, the new roll call on the Senate side, 55-45 favor Republicans, and on the House side, 231 to 200.
President Bush speaking with reporters later today, expected from Washington at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. We'll have it for you when that happens there in D.C. -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: President Bush saying he's going to unite the country, but will he be able to do it over the next four years? In a CNN/"USA Today"/ Gallup poll, nearly a quarter of those polled are enthusiastic about a second Bush term, a third optimistic about it, 19 percent say they're pessimistic, nearly a quarter say they're afraid.
So, where do we go from here? CNN political analyst and "Los Angeles Times" columnist Ron Brownstein joins us again. Nice to see you. We have just been talking and talking and talking. Now it's over, let's talk a little bit more.
Unifying is the theme, and we certainly heard President Bush say that in his victory speech yesterday. But frankly, he doesn't have to. Do you think he goes for more unity, or do you think he's going to start talking to and focusing on the people who, frankly, elected him?
RON BROWNSTEIN, COLUMNIST, "THE LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, that is the challenge. I mean, to some extent, President Bush may be a prisoner of his own success. He was elected, by and large, with the support of -- with overwhelming support among his Republican coalition, his conservative coalition, and they are coming to Washington, these new senators elected with the same support, with a very clear agenda.
And by and large, the things that they want to do, do not lend themselves easily to cooperation with Democrats or, for that matter, expanding the Republican support among some of the moderate swing voters in the northeast and the Midwest that remained out of their reach.
So, if President Bush does want to move in this direction, to some extent he has to fight against the current that brought him back for this second term. O'BRIEN: Republicans have now claimed a mandate for their agenda, including tax cuts and tort reform and an energy bill that will allow some drilling in an arctic region that's protecting a refuge.
Do you think all of those things go through.
BROWNSTEIN: I think it's still going to be tough. You know, they still need 60 votes in a Senate to break a filibuster. And part of what's happening here really is a generational replacement in which moderate to conservative southern Democrats are being replaced by conservative southern Republicans.
In the Senate, there have been nine open seats in the Senate in the last two elections from the south -- one-third of all the Senate seats in the southern region. And the Republican have now won all of them. So, there are fewer people to sort of make deals across the aisle, but they still may be a few votes short on some of these priorities. On others, I suspect that those last few votes may come their way because of Democrats who watch what happen, particularly in the region, Tuesday night.
O'BRIEN: In retrospect, what have the Democrats now learned -- not only from the margin of victory in the popular vote that the president had, but also what happened in the House and the Senate?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think the lesson is pretty clear, that they have to be able to compete better in the culturally conservative parts of the country -- the rural areas of the Midwest and the south.
John Kerry I don't think lost this campaign so much as President Bush won it. Kerry, as a northeastern Massachusetts senator, simply wasn't able to put in play any southern state except Florida. And that left him with too few options to reach 270.
At the end of the campaign, he was competing really for only three states that President Bush won last time: New Hampshire, Ohio, and Florida. And when he couldn't get over the hump with rural voters in Ohio, he simply couldn't make it to the White House. They have to be able to put some more of that vote back in play, and that may require a candidate who is more accessible to culturally conservative Americans.
O'BRIEN: Can Democrats also learn something from the Republican strategy? They talked a little bit about how they had friends and neighbors mobilize others to bring in the vote -- again, back to the myth that the more people who voted, the better that would be for the Republicans. That was essentially exploded by the fact that the Republicans just did a better job getting people with connections to each other to turn out the vote.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, I mean, both sides turned out a big vote. You know, I think if you look at Ohio as really the place where this election was decided, John Kerry increased Al Gore's margin in the Cleveland area by a third. He one the three big suburban swing counties. And he was trumped because President Bush generated an enormous vote in exurban fast-growing counties, in rural counties, small towns -- very similar, Soledad, to 2002 (sic).
And I think what we saw, again, was that the Republican base and conservative independents will come out in large numbers to support this president.
And in effect, the Republican machine had a stronger fuel in that the attachment those voters felt for President Bush I think was probably a little stronger than some of those Democratic constituencies felt for John Kerry.
O'BRIEN: Ron Brownstein, joining us this morning, nice to see you. And we'll chat again. Thanks -- Bill.
HEMMER: Soledad, new research suggesting it's possible to make a little flu vaccine go a long way. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen here in New York now to tell us if it's a quick fix for the flu shortage.
Great to see you in person, by the way.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL ANCHOR: Well, thank you; great to see you in person, too.
HEMMER: What's the deal with this today?
COHEN: Well, this is really a fascinating study that's just come out in "The New England Journal of Medicine," probably won't help alleviate the situation that we're in currently with the shortage, but it could be a key to alleviating a shortage in the future. It would mean stretching out what flu shots you have, giving people less, so that you can spread it out to more people. It would also mean, changing the way the shot is given.
Now, this is the way the shot is given now, doesn't take explanation. We all know that needle goes right through your skin into the muscle. It's called an intramuscular injection.
However, if you change the way it's given and make it what's called an intradermal shot, meaning that it just goes between the layers of the skin, think about the way a TB skin test is done, and you kind of get a feeling for it. And speaking of feeling, it doesn't hurt as much, and it seems to actually be better. What happens is that the skin has some immune cells that can boost the effectiveness of the vaccine.
And let's see how effective the vaccine was. When a 40 percent dose, in other words, 40 percent of the usual dose, was given to the skin. it was equally effective as a regular dose for 18 to 60-year- olds, only 75 percent as effective for people over the age of 60.
Now in 20 percent of the regular dose was given, just 20 percent, it was equally effective for 18 to 40-year-olds. It wasn't so effective for people over the age of 40. So this approach may be more for people below the age of 60.
HEMMER: With the problems that we're having this year with the shortage, could you do that now? Could you lower the dose and extend supply, essentially, for more people.
COHEN: Well, there really haven't been enough studies, so chances the government is not going to just say, hey, one study, let's do this, let's start stretching out the supply and giving people 40 percent of the dose. That's probably not going to happen this flu season. And if doctors wanted to, technically they could, but they'd be kind of going out on their own, and so many would probably be hesitant to do that. And so probably not something for this flu season, but in the future, this really could be something that doctors rely on.
HEMMER: And so far, no great outbreaks.
COHEN: That's right, so far the flu season is looking pretty tame.
HEMMER: Good to see you, Elizabeth -- Soledad.
COHEN: Good to see you.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, one Senate candidate who lost says he's more than happy to go back to his day job, but he might not be allowed to. Andy is "Minding Your Business," just ahead.
Plus, "Sports Illustrated" hasn't always been fun and games. As Frank Deford puts it, the magazine introduced respectable sports journalism. We're going to talk to hit about "SI's" 50th anniversary, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: Just a reminder that President Bush will be holding a news conference this morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time, at the Eisenhower Building in Washington D.C. We're going to bring that to you live when it happens -- Bill.
HEMMER: For sports fans everybody, it is the magazine of record. "Sports Illustrated" now marking its 50th anniversary with a beautiful coffee table book. It's "The Ultimate Collection of Sportswriting Photography," and of course the swimsuits. Frank Deford, senior contributing writer here, to talk about the legacy of "SI."
Great book. Congratulations.
You did the introduction.
FRANK DEFORD, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Yes, a guy named Slater (ph) really is responsible, but...
HEMMER: All right, we'll talk about a few things that's few things happening with the magazine today. Let's start with you for a second. The magazine starts in the 1950s. You join 1960...
DEFORD: Two, right out of college.
HEMMER: 1962. What enabled this magazine to go into the next level when it comes to sports?
DEFORD: There was one editor responsible for it, a man Andre Laguerre, who of all things was a Frenchman. I mean, a French journalist understood American sports sufficient how to make "Sports Illustrated" work. Before that, it had been sort of embarrassed about being about sports.
HEMMER: What did he do that was so unique?
DEFORD: He said, look, if we're a sports magazine, then let's admit it, let's stop running cover like "The Chairman of Peck and Peck Goes Hunting," honest to God. And he started a cover of hard sports, and the thing that Laguerre really understood ahead of everybody else was that pro football was the coming sport.
HEMMER: Wow. Wow. You also talk about respectable sports journalism, saying this is the first time it ever was handled that way. Why was it not done at that point prior to?
DEFORD: Previously, I think people looked upon sports, and it was called "The Toy Shop" in most newspapers, so it was always over in the corner.
Now all of a sudden, you've got a magazine, a publication devoted completely to sports. So all of a sudden, we're not the sideshow; we're the whole circus tent. And we were able to present sports in a very, very professional and even upper-class way. We wrote sports the same way that you wrote health, politics, science, religion.
HEMMER: You took it seriously, too, and gave it that shade.
DEFORD: Sports is a game, but that doesn't mean you can't write about it in a serious fashion.
HEMMER: We're going to put some pictures of them. And as we talk about them, your most vivid memories, what comes to mind.
DEFORD: Of the pictures.
HEMMER: Sure.
DEFORD: I think that the "Sports Illustrated" pictures...
HEMMER: Mark McGwire.
DEFORD: Yes, Mark McGwire, that was the largest selling cover in the history of the magazine.
HEMMER: Really?
DEFORD: Well, remember, when he broke Maris' record, I mean, the whole country was involved with him and Sammy Sosa that summer.
HEMMER: But more than a swimsuit issue.
DEFORD: Now, swimsuit issues are an entirely different thing altogether.
HEMMER: OK, just to be clear.
DEFORD: You are talking about the alpha and the omega, Mark McGwire and beautiful ladies in baiting soots.
HEMMER: Forty years ago, the first "Swimsuit Issue" was put out, 1964. There's a story that -- how did this come about. Tell it.
DEFORD: Serendipitous. We used to do travel stories, and they put that rather modestly dressed young lady on the cover, and sure enough, we got two or three letters, one from a librarian who said she would never put such pornography in her library again, and one from a father of a teenage son, who said, my God, what's happening, and the editor Laguerre, thought that was very funny, and in effect, he said, wait until next year. And so the next year, he showed a little more skin, and the thing just grew.
HEMMER: How many sales did you have in 1964? I imagine that was a driving force, right?
DEFORD: It popped up, but it didn't really catch on for another four or five years. It wasn't like the first issue comes out and everybody says, I got to have the swimsuit issue.
HEMMER: Kathy Ireland might be a different story.
DEFORD: Kathy Ireland, that was the biggest seller 1989, that was the 25th anniversary. And I had the unenviable job of going around on the airplane with the swimsuit models, and we did sort of like a dog and pony show. I was the only guy.
HEMMER: You know, I'm wondering, though, when, like yourself, when the respected reporters at "SI" are sitting around talking about the magazine, do you like the fact that the swimsuit issue is so associated with you, or would you rather not have that, well, I guess that perspective from so many readers?
DEFORD: Bill, it's something you have to endure, and I think most sensible persons can understand that over here can be the swimsuit issue, but that doesn't mean that I, for example who have covered an awful lot of women's sports, that in any way this blurs my vision of going an writing about...
HEMMER: Any time you talk about "SI," that issue comes up.
DEFORD: And they all say, hey, do you do the swimsuit issue? And you say, no or really, that's done by photographers. But it doesn't change your perspective. You can be -- you can look at, let's face it, pretty girls one day, but that doesn't mean you can't go out and cover magnificent female athletes the next day just as seriously as you do male athletes.
HEMMER: Nice to see you, Frank Deford.
DEFORD: Thank you, Bill. HEMMER: Thirty bucks by the way.
DEFORD: Yes, that's a bargain.
HEMMER: A bargain it is. Good to see you -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Tough job to be on that plane with all those swimsuit models.
Still to come this executive, beer executive Pete Coors lost his Senate bid Tuesday night. He may have lost his regular job as well. Andy's "Minding Your Business," just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: Bad news for a beer magnate today, and can coffee drinkers predict an election. A look at that, plus a check of the markets.
Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning. Let's talk a little bit about stocks.
Stocks are trading down a little bit, not a surprise after yesterday, Soledad. Oops, now they're back up. See, I've to watch this thing like a hawk. OK, it's back up. Tomorrow, the big jobs number is out, and I think we're going to be in a bit of a holding pattern today.
Let's talk about Pete Coors, the beer magnate out of Colorado. He lost the election for the Senate seat there, Soledad, Republican candidate, and he said in his concession speech, "As I've said in my campaign, I'm not doing this because I need a job. I will now go back to having the greatest job in America, running a beer company."
Well, maybe not. Pete, did you check it out, your company is planning to merge with Molson, and if that merger goes through over the next couple of months, you won't be the chairman of the company anymore. I don't think we have to worry too much about Pete Coors paying the bills, but in any event, it's kind of a funny line there.
7-Eleven, I think we talked about this a couple of days ago.
O'BRIEN: Giving out coffee cups, so people as they got their coffee could pick the cup they wanted.
SERWER: Right, and either said, "I voted for Kerry," or "I voted for Bush." Well, If 7-11 voters were picking the election, pretty close, Soledad, look at that, just about dead on.
O'BRIEN: More reliable than some exit polls.
SERWER: Yes, absolutely. Florida was about the same. Nevada maybe a little bit closer. But what's interesting to me is Ohio. Uh- oh, Kerry would ever gotten Ohio if Slurpee slurpers only were allowed to vote. But you know, I think we're kind of done with these predictors.
O'BRIEN: We'll bring them back again in four years.
SERWER: Yes, indeed.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks -- Bill.
Oh, coming up, I should say, developments for President Bush's second term, his cabinet, will John Ashcroft be the first to resign? We've got news on that front, just ahead.
Plus, we're reminding you know, 11:00 a.m., President Bush holding a news conference. It's his first since the election. Of course it's only been a couple of days. AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment.
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