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Bush Stumps for Missouri Candidate; Bomb "How To" Removed from Government Site; Ransom Demanded for Abducted U.S. Soldier; Art Buchwald Writes Book About Hospice Experience; Art Buchwald Defies Death, Leaves Hospice To Write Yet Another Book, "Too Soon to Say Good-Bye"
Aired November 03, 2006 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: And I'm Don Lemon. A bombshell of biblical proportions or a dirty political trick? A prominent evangelical leader steps aside after a gay male prostitute goes public with claims of a sexual liaison.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips, on special assignment. Why is it special? Because he'll always have Paris; we'll always love Art Buchwald. And we're talking about his new book, "Art Buchwald: Too Soon to Say Good-Bye". The only person I've ever known to check out of hospice -- Art.
ART BUCHWALD, AUTHOR/COLUMNIST: Well, probably you're the -- I'm the only one. There are some other people have stepped out of it, too.
PHILLIPS: But they didn't write a book.
BUCHWALD: No, they didn't. It was interesting, because a hospice is a house of death. People don't think of it as a place where you go for less pain unless...
PHILLIPS: And you're not feeling any pain now, because we're about to talk about your life, about your new book, and all those amazing friends that came to visit you, right?
BUCHWALD: A lot of them.
PHILLIPS: Who's the most famous?
BUCHWALD: John Glenn was probably the most famous.
PHILLIPS: We're going to talk about John Glenn and everybody else, coming up.
BUCHWALD: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Don and Fredricka, we're going to be talking with Art Buchwald throughout the next couple of hours. You won't want to miss it. LEMON: All right, Kyra. President Bush hit the campaign trail first thing this morning. He woke up in Missouri, where he's trying to help Republican Senator Jim Talent win a second term. Talent could use the assist. According to the most recent CNN poll by Opinion Research Corporation, he's locked in a dead heat with Democrat Claire McCaskill.
CNN's Elaine Quijano is traveling with the president and is in the Show Me State for us.
Hi, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Don.
That's exactly right; the Senate race here in the state of Missouri could not be any closer. You cited those poll numbers, showing that dead heat between Republican Senator Jim Talent and his Democratic challenger, Claire McCaskill. So Senator Talent is hoping that President Bush's visit here to the Show Me State will give a boost to his campaign.
Now at this hour, the president is stumping in Joplin, Missouri. Earlier today, he was here in Springfield, Missouri, and he really tried to energize the GOP faithful with some tried and true GOP messages on lower taxes and also national security.
The president today pointed to the new unemployment rate that's out, 4.4 percent, as an example, he says, of why tax cuts work.
Now the president's overall goal, really, is to try to reach out to that all-important conservative base. The president offered another defense of his Iraq policy, reiterating his belief that Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism and that Democrats do not have a plan for success, in prevailing in the overall war on terror.
Now, the president did have a new chant meant to fire up the partisan crowd just four days before the election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's still time for the Democrats to tell the American people their plan to prevail in this war on terror.
So if you happen to bump into a Democrat candidate, you might want to ask the simple question, "What's your plan?" If they say they want to protect the homeland, but oppose the Patriot Act, ask them this question, "What's your plan?"
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, even as the president was speaking outside the event here in Springfield, a small group of protesters gathered to demonstrate against the president's Iraq war policies. It's, of course, Iraq that has dragged down President Bush's approval ratings, which continue to hover in the 30s. And the issue of Iraq, as well, is the singular issue that makes Republicans nervous about their re- election prospects.
Nevertheless, President Bush has not shied away from talking about Iraq. We expect him to continue doing so. But the White House is well aware of the political reality, the president's itinerary reflecting that. He is staying away from some crucial swing states. And, instead, focusing on those areas that he actually won, states that he actually won, states that he won back in the presidential election in 2004 -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Elaine Quijano, traveling with the president in Springfield, Missouri, thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well, Don, a prominent evangelical pastor, an outspoken opponent of gay marriage, now accused in an alleged gay sex scandal. The Reverend Ted Haggard has temporarily stepped down from the pulpit of his 14,000-member Colorado church.
The acting pastor says Haggard has admitted to some indiscretion but not to all of the allegations against him. Before he stepped aside, Haggard denied the accusations by a man who describes himself as a gay male escort. He says Haggard paid him for sex.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. TED HAGGARD, PASTOR, NEW LIFE CHURCH: I've never said that I'm perfect. But I haven't had sex with a man in Denver. And I've been faithful to my wife.
MIKE JONES, ACCUSER/MALE ESCORT: It's been hard for me because emotionally I just don't want to destroy someone, but this story needs to be out because it's so wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Haggard also resigned as head of the National Association of Evangelicals.
The attorney for his church tells "The Denver Post" that Haggard's decision to step aside is in no way an admission of guilt, but is in keeping with church policy.
The accuser says he went public because of Haggard's support for an amendment banning gay marriage in that state.
And later this hour, I'll speak with the president's former point man on matters of faith. David Kuo, even wrote a book about his experience dealing with evangelicals and the White House. He'll weigh in on the allegation against Haggard straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Now, there's a ransom demand. CNN has confirmed that a group believed to be holding an American soldier wants money, $250,000. That's what the family of Army Specialist Ahmed al-Taai was told will free their son.
Witnesses say the Arabic interpreter was nabbed from a Baghdad residence October 23. Specialist al-Taai was born in Iraq and has a wife and relatives there. No official response from the Army on the ransom demand.
Were Saddam Hussein's secret nuclear recipes posted on the Web by Uncle Sam? CNN's Jamie McIntyre is at the Pentagon with potentially explosive details about that -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, the U.S. government has shut down a web site after inquiries from "The New York Times", because it may have contained information that amounted to a "how to" make a nuclear bomb.
The director of national intelligence, his office, has closed down the web site, saying, quote, "While strict criteria has already been established to govern posted documents, the material currently on the web site, as well as the procedures used to post new documents, will be carefully monitored before the site becomes available again."
The treasure trove of documents from the era of Saddam Hussein had been posted on the U.S. military web site. The Foreign Military Studies Office, a place where scholars could review documents, both in English and Arabic, that came from Saddam Hussein's regime.
The release of these documents had been pushed for by some members of the Congress who felt that perhaps independent analysis would provide more links to Saddam and weapons of mass destruction.
But despite the guide lanes that were supposed to prevent anything that would be damaging from being posted on the site, documents reviewed by "New York Times" and shown to experts worried them to the point where, when "The New York Times" raised the question with the office of the director of the national intelligence late last night, the immediate reaction was to shut the web site down and conduct a review.
LEMON: Jamie, another subject that's also in your bailiwick, there were reports of plans to send the military dog trainer involved in that Abu Ghraib scandal back to Iraq for duty. He was redeployed after the scandal, and now we understand the plans to send him back have been scrapped. What's going on with that?
MCINTYRE: Well, this is another case, actually, where inquiries from the news media have resulted in the government doing an about face. This was a Specialist Santana (sic) Cardona, who was convicted in the Abu Ghraib scandal of using his military working dog to intimidate prisoners.
He was not given jail time. He did serve a 90-day sentence of hard labor, and he's paying back a fine. But he was not mustered out of the Army. Instead, he remains with his unit.
Now his unit was sent to Iraq. But when questions were raised whether it was a good idea to sent him back, the U.S. military decided while he was in Kuwait to just keep him there. They're not going to send him to Iraq on further review. They've decided that he might be a target for insurgents because of the notoriety of this case. And, therefore, he might also pose a danger to his fellow soldiers. So his deployment to Iraq has been stopped. He's remaining in Kuwait while the U.S. Army decides exactly where to send him next -- Don.
LEMON: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon for us. Thank you, Jamie.
WHITFIELD: Washington's VIPs, when they visit Iraq, they tend to drop in unannounced. Well, today, it was the national intelligence director making the official rounds of Baghdad.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just yesterday, the U.S. military said there had been a 41 percent decrease in sectarian attacks in Iraq. But cautioned that a week a trend does not make, and that has proved to be the case.
So violence in November continues. In the past three days, and we're only three days into the month, there has been the death of 11 U.S. military personnel. The military saying that just yesterday, Thursday, four U.S. soldiers were killed in and around the capital.
And out in that volatile western Al Anbar province, where the -- an existing stronghold of the insurgency, four Marines were killed from enemy fire yesterday alone.
It comes as well, amid news, and further information, on that missing U.S. soldier that was abducted on October 23. His family in the United States telling CNN that they have been asked for a ransom of $250,000. That request made through a third party. They say they also requested proof of life. At the moment that is, according to the family in the U.S., where things stand.
All of this as the country braces for a big day on Sunday. The first verdict against Saddam Hussein, the country's former dictator. This trial, the first of many, you'll recall, began on October 19 last year. Saddam faces charges of crimes against humanity. If found guilty, he could face the death sentence, death by hanging.
On Sunday, according to court officials, we should hear both the verdict and the sentencing for Saddam and his seven co-defendants.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Nine months of testimony and high courtroom drama. Now comes judgment day. It's the crimes against humanity trial of Saddam Hussein. A verdict is expected on Sunday. Saddam Hussein faces death by hanging if found guilty by the Iraqi high tribunal.
The charges: mass killing and torture, related to a massacre of Shiites in Dujail back in 1982. Whatever the outcome, Iraqis are bracing for a furious and violent reaction throughout that country. LEMON: It's getting close. It's the final weekend before election day. Get ready for the political ground war. Direct mail, phone banks, door to door campaigning. Candidates are looking for an edge in the hottest races. We go inside the last-minute efforts, straight ahead, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
PHILLIPS: Specking of politics, who's the best person to talk to this time this season? Humorist Art Buchwald.
What do we have coming up after the break, Art?
BUCHWALD: You didn't tell me I had a break.
PHILLIPS: We've got to take a break. Are you ready?
BUCHWALD: I'm ready.
PHILLIPS: We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Art Buchwald has made us laugh for decades at his take on politics, people and the oddities of life. Now, recently, he has been laughing right in the face of death, as only he can do.
CNN's Kyra Phillips is live in Washington, where Art has invited the CNN NEWSROOM, as well as the rest of the world, Kyra, right into his home.
Hi, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: You mentioned a lot of interesting words there describing Art Buchwald. And I couldn't think of a more perfect person, Don, for this to happen to.
He checks into hospice, and then he checks out of hospice. Not only that, but he writes a book about it. Well, I want to share a little bit about how we met, his life, and how he's taught me that, you know what? Dying isn't such a scary thing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome back.
BUCHWALD: Thank you. Are there any messages?
PHILLIPS (voice-over): He's being hailed as the celebrity of death.
(on camera) So, Art, I've known you for 20 years. Where do we start?
BUCHWALD: Where do we start? Well, we start at a heck of a place. It's a hospice.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Are you laughing too? Well, that's exactly what Art Buchwald wants.
BUCHWALD: I remember the first month, all my buddies showed up, all of them. It was like Radio City Music Hall. They used to say at the beginning, "Have you seen the Lincoln Memorial and Art Buchwald?"
PHILLIPS: It's true. When Art decided he'd had it with dialysis, his doctors told him he had less than three weeks to live. So he checked into hospice.
Everyone came to say good-bye: Mark Wallace, Ethel Kennedy, Tom Brokaw, Ben Bradley, Walter Cronkite, the queen of Swaziland. And, yes, me.
No, I'm not one of Art's famous friends. I mean, look at his life. Betty Bacall and Humphrey Bogart persuaded Art's wife, Ann, to marry him. Lucille Ball brought her kids over to visit. Hanging out with Paul Newman, Duke Ellington and Eddie Fisher was just another day in the life of Artie.
But I was one very lucky college student, given a pretty challenging assignment: interview Art Buchwald and live to tell about it. The year, 1989. My headline, "Columnist Buchwald: The Laughs Started Here".
BUCHWALD: Very nice article. I hope you got an "A" in it.
PHILLIPS: I may not have received an "A" on that article, but I did earn something far more valuable: a friendship, a pen pal, a mentor. And a man that continues to teach me life lessons.
(on camera) Do you find it funny that you check into a hospice and your doctors actually say you're doing better?
BUCHWALD: Well, I don't find it funny. I find it funny about all the things that have happened to me since I've been there. It's an unbelievable experience, because after 2 1/2 months, I've had a chance to say good-bye to everybody in my life, everybody, in every walk, from my orphan asylum days, to the Marine Corps, to USC, to Paris, to today. And I've gotten 3,000 or 4,000 letters now from people.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Growing up an orphan, Art used humor to cope. He never imagined it would define his career. He joined the Marines to become a man. He went to USC to become a writer. Then Art bought his one-way ticket to Paris to become famous. It worked.
Now a half century, more than 8,000 newspaper columns, and a Pulitzer Prize later, Art Buchwald is still using humor to cope, happily: planning his funeral, eating McDonald's every day, and reveling in all the gifts he's gotten since his life went into overtime.
BUCHWALD: This is Pete Carroll. And he gave me his autograph, because I want USC to win a game once in a while. Thank you.
PHILLIPS (on camera): Give me a "fight on," Artie. BUCHWALD (singing): Fight on for USC.
OK.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): At 81, instead of dying, Art says he's having the time of his life, which includes giving each one of his nurses a heck of a time.
BUCHWALD (on camera): What do you love the most about him?
JACKIE LYNSEY, BUCHWALD'S NURSE: His sense of humor. His sense of humor.
PHILLIPS: Art, what do you love the most about your favorite nurse?
BUCHWALD: She beats me up.
PHILLIPS: You beat him up?
BUCHWALD: Yes. She doesn't give me breakfast and she beats me up.
PHILLIPS: Is that true?
LYNSEY: If you call giving him a good bath beating him up, yes. Doesn't he look good?
PHILLIPS: So what's it like having Art here at the hospice?
ROGER SULLIVAN, HOSPICE VOLUNTEER: It is never a dull moment, never. He is quite the guy. And we are going -- I'd say he keeps us all very busy. He's got friends from all over the world. Calls come from all over the world. Just amazing. Packages come in, fruitcakes come in, flowers come in. So that's an amazing experience to have him here.
PHILLIPS: And Art is still amazing us all. He checked out of hospice in June. He's still writing his column. And now he has finished what may or may not be his final book. Art Buchwald, "Too Soon to Say Good-Bye: I Don't Know Where I'm Going, I Don't Even Know Why I'm Here."
Well, we all know. He's sticking around to spend more time with his kids and grandchildren. He's proving to all of us it's OK to die, and you can do it with dignity.
And, oh, yes, he wants to keep us laughing and all his lady friends guessing just a little bit longer.
BUCHWALD: I always liked women. I liked them better than boot camp.
Women are funny. If they know that you have a feeling about them, they have feelings about you. I mean, this is -- it's the most oddest thing, two people crossing in the night. PHILLIPS (on camera): Do you think it's your good looks? Do you think it's your sexy self? Do you think it's your sense of humor? What is it?
BUCHWALD: Mostly luck.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So do you think you developed actually more charm while you were in the hospice? There were a lot of lady friends that visited you.
BUCHWALD: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Could you -- could you keep track of them?
BUCHWALD: I couldn't keep track of them, but why did they come so late? Where were they when I need them?
PHILLIPS: Now, you received a lot of awards for staying alive.
BUCHWALD: Yes, what happens to you is, if you stay alive and you're in a hospice and everybody knows you there, they say, "Well, let's give an award for being alive."
So the French embassy gave me the Legion of Honor. The national hospice people gave me an award. And I just sat in the hospice accepting everything they wanted to give me. What the heck?
PHILLIPS: You were spoiled rotten, weren't you?
BUCHWALD: I was spoiled rotten. People sent me food. When you're in the hospice, that's the one thing that people like to do, is bring food. So I settled for food and gossip. You had to bring gossip when you came to visit me in the hospice.
PHILLIPS: How about we gossip some more after the break? Does that sound good?
BUCHWALD: Sure.
PHILLIPS: We're going to talk with Art more and, of course, plug his book for the next what, three hours?
BUCHWALD: Yes, whatever -- will they have time to go out and buy it?
PHILLIPS: Absolutely. We want everyone to go buy the book. Actually, it goes on sale next week, on election day. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And we're back with Art Buchwald, talking about his new book. "Art Buchwald: Too Soon to Say Good-Bye, I Don't Know Where I'm Going, I Don't Even Know Why I'm Here". You know why you're here.
BUCHWALD: I'm here because I'm not dead. If I was dead, I wouldn't be here.
PHILLIPS: You are using your humor in a much different way. In the past, you were making fun of presidents, talking about how everybody was screwing up in Washington.
BUCHWALD: Yes, yes, yes.
PHILLIPS: Your topic has changed a bit.
BUCHWALD: Well, death is a very scary thing. And the reason why people laugh is they're afraid of it. They're afraid to discuss it. They're afraid it's going to happen. And when it does happen to other people, it's a very terrible time.
So what I dealt with is my relationship to death, and the relationship with people who came to see me in the hospice, what they thought, what I thought.
And I had some funny, funny things. Like the first thing people did when they came in was say, "You look great. You look absolutely great! I never saw you look so great."
And the second was, "I can't stay too long. I have to go home and do my taxes."
And another one was, "Geez, Christ, this hospice, they don't have any parking."
So I made up a slogan that parking -- dying is easy, parking is impossible.
PHILLIPS: Well, I remember one day I came to visit you, I had to take the bus, because I couldn't drive in the snow. And it was one of those crazy snowy days, and George Stevens looked at you and says, "Gee, Artie, I hope you don't get snowed in here today."
BUCHWALD: Yes, some of the stuff comes out in jokes. People have to deal with jokes, you know? George said that it was a fraud; I wasn't really going to die.
PHILLIPS: A lot of people think you're faking it. Mike Wallace said you're doing this all for the attention.
BUCHWALD: Yes, well, that's what you have friends for, to say you're faking it.
PHILLIPS: Well, as you can imagine, we've received a number of e-mails. May I throw a few of these at you?
BUCHWALD: Yes.
PHILLIPS: All right. Gail in Houston, Texas: "Leave it to you to rise up like the phoenix, Art. Now that you are out of hospice, do you have a list of fun things you'd like to do?"
BUCHWALD: Yes.
PHILLIPS: They are?
BUCHWALD: Oh, he wants to know what I want to do?
PHILLIPS: Yes, Gail wants to know the fun things that you're going to do now.
BUCHWALD: Well, I can make fun of George Bush again. And I thought when I was going to die that I wouldn't have time to have -- make fun of him. But now I look every night and see him, see that we're winning the war, and the whole works. So yes, I can do that. And other kind of thing.
PHILLIPS: Well, you started writing your column again from the hospice. Was that kind of weird?
BUCHWALD: Well, it wasn't weird because I was writing about experiences there. Apparently, people were very interested. It was an interesting thing.
PHILLIPS: I like the "Stand-By For Heaven." You wrote that you were on standby for heaven.
BUCHWALD: Yes, I went out to Dulles and I had an airplane reservation to go to heaven. But unfortunately, the day I went out there to take the plane, they said it was canceled. So I had to be on standby. So I stayed at the airport. I was still here.
You know, there's one thing a friend of mine said, which is quite good, he says, everyone of us has an old telephone connection with God. And if your phone doesn't answer, you have more time to spare. That's what I think happened here. And the other thing is, another friend said to me, when you die, you either say you're going home -- that means you're ready to die.
PHILLIPS: Right.
BUCHWALD: But when you're not ready to die, you say, "I got to go to the office."
PHILLIPS: Or you go live on CNN?
BUCHWALD: Oh, CNN, that's the last place. After CNN, there's no place to go except to heaven. And the fact that CNN wants to do me means that I'm still alive.
PHILLIPS: And we are going to talk more about Art Buchwald, his life, his new book, we're going to talk with your family coming up, and your grandchildren. And we have a few surprise guests coming up later, too, that we're going to talk with them. And take a few more e- mails. Sound good? All right. More of Art Buchwald straight ahead. Fred and Don.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Glad he's in total agreement, ready for more.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Yeah, and he is running the show there.
All right, Kyra, thank you.
PHILLIPS: He says he always -- (AUDIO GAP)
LEMON: All right, we'll see you guys on.
WHITFIELD: We'll guess at what she said.
LEMON: The Bush administration and the evangelicals.
WHITFIELD: A former White House player says it was not exactly the marriage that many people thought. That coming up in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Plus, an American soldier missing, searching the dusty, dangerous streets of ancient Baghdad. CNN's John Roberts rides with troops as they look for one of their own. That's ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A breaking story we're following out of West Virginia. A state trooper has been shot. It took place in the proximity of a number of schools in the area. So all of the schools in the area of Follansbee (ph), West Virginia, are now in lockdown.
It's unclear the condition of the state trooper. That state trooper has been taken to a state hospital. We understand it not to be a life-threatening injury. The shooter is still at large.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Democrats predicted the tax cuts would not create jobs. They predicted the tax cuts would not increase wages. And they predicted that the tax cuts would cause the deficit to explode. Well, the facts are in. Tax cuts have led to a strong and growing economy. And this morning, we got more proof of that. The national unemployment rate has dropped to 4.4 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And, for a more detailed look now at the big jobs report the president was talking about, let's go to Cheryl Casone live at the New York Stock Exchange -- Cheryl.
CHERYL CASONE, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM: Hi there, Fred.
You know, lots of eyes on this jobs report, investor eyes, political eyes, and it could have an impact on consumers, as well. As President Bush said, the employment rate fell to 4.4 percent. That's the lowest level in five years. A separate survey showed the economy added 92,000 new jobs last month. That was fewer than expected. But job growth in August and September were revised significantly higher. A tight labor market is good for people looking for jobs, of course. And there was a jump in wages last month.
The combination, however, could raise inflation fears among Fed policymakers. Fred, that could mean an interest rate hike in the next few months or so. So it really depends how you look at this report when it comes to how you feel about it, actually.
WHITFIELD: So, what's the anticipation of how this might impact Tuesday's big election day?
CASONE: You know how voters view the economy, of course, is definitely going to influence how many people vote on Tuesday. You heard the White House already taking credit for the low jobless rate. Republicans say Americans are better off under their watch and they're sure to play up today's unemployment number in the final days before the election.
On the other side, Democrats say that low- and middle-income workers are still struggling, that good-paying jobs are being lost, replaced by low-wage workers. If voters see today's report as positive, it may offset some of the bad economic news that we've been dealing with over this past week. You know, including the weak GDP growth number we got, a slowdown in manufacturing, and worse-than- expected news on the housing front.
Now, according to the latest AP/IPSOS, poll, President Bush's approval rating on the economy stands at about 40 percent, near the lowest level of his presidency.
Stocks, here on Wall Street, got initial boost from the report, but the market has since turned lower. Let's take a look at the numbers. Right now, the Dow is turning lower by 34 points. And the Nasdaq is off by almost .25 of a percent. And that is the latest from Wall Street.
Coming up next hour, I'm going to tell you why seafood restaurants could become endangered species. Back to you, Fred and Don.
LEMON: The two parties have spent huge amounts of money on TV ads. Now it's time to convince people to head to the polls. And that means volunteers, lots of them. CNN's Bob Franken is standing by for us in one of the many battlegrounds, that's Columbus, Ohio.
Hey, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: Hello, Don.
What's interesting is with the huge, huge amounts of money available, there's still tactical decisions to be made, which states to send them to. It's not all going to get them. There are some selected states.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, it's a good day.
FRANKEN (voice over): In some cases they're taking money from one pocket and putting it into others. Republicans withholding resources, for instance, from Ohio Senator Mike DeWine, who has fallen behind. By contrast, both sides are sparing no expense in Missouri's Senate race where incumbent Jim Talent is in a fight truly too close to call.
In Montana, where the GOP's Conrad Burns is in the battle for his political life, President Bush tried to help Thursday. In Virginia, where the incumbent George Allen is still neck and neck with the Democrat, in spite of one campaign blunder after another. In Tennessee, where the crucial race is sometimes clouded by the issue of race.
In the battle for the House, Democrats need 15 seats to take control, and they're spreading their wealth, and hopes, to a growing number of districts. As many as 60 now gearing up for a final push, including this one here in Ohio, a genuine toss up.
(CAMPAIGN ADS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Deborah Pryce, and this is my message.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Mary Jo Kilroy, that is where I stand, and why I approved this message.
FRANKEN: But this goes way beyond the TV ads. Here, there, and everywhere, the ground war is spreading.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks again. We appreciate your support.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a Democratic household.
FRANKEN: Supporters of Democratic candidates, like Mary Jo Kilroy here, are going door to door trying to keep step with the Republicans in their highly successful 72-hour program to get out the vote.
MARY JO KILROY, (D) CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: All of us together can counteract this 72-hour program the Republicans are always bragging about.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll need you another couple of nights.
FRANKEN: It has made a difference for GOP candidates across the country, like Deborah Pryce.
DEBORAH PRYCE, (R) CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: We have the mechanism on the ground. We have it all locked and loaded. We just need to get the people to do the job.
FRANKEN: Much of that job is done out of sight, in direct mail centers, and in phone banks. They're calling from both parties.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we count on you for some volunteer time to help elect Mary Jo?
FRANKEN: One of the most interesting races of all is the one taking place in the West Palm Beach, Florida district that used to be a lock for the GOP's Mark Foley, the same Mark Foley whose e-mail scandal is causing problems for Republicans everywhere. A nearly $2 million GOP cash infusion on behalf of the write-in replacement seems to have paid off, incredibly, it's now a tossup.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And pity the poor person who would like to avoid all this, because the truth is Don, the candidates run, and you can't hide -- Don.
LEMON: You always have something interesting to say, Bob. Let's get back to the national GOP. They're not spending much money on the Ohio state Senate race, as you mentioned there in your story. Does that mean they're abandoning the incumbent, Republican Mike DeWine?
FRANKEN: There are those who would put that interpretation to it. Others would say that it's because DeWine has such a big war chest that he just doesn't need an infusion of new cash. But it is fact DeWine in polls, like the CNN poll, is now considered to be behind by about 8 points. That's a pretty big deficit this far into the campaign, Don.
LEMON: All right, Bob, thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: Well, the Bush administration and the evangelicals. A former White House player says it was not exactly the marriage that many people thought. That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.
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LEMON: I'll have a dry martini on the --
(LAUGHTER)
His humorous approach to life inspired a magazine to describe him as the Charlie Chaplain of the newspaper business. And Pulitzer Prize winning writer, and humorist, Art Buchwald has made us laugh with both his satire of politics and his own comic antics. Our very own Kyra Phillips is hanging out with Art in his home in Washington today, hanging out with him and it looks like his family as well.
Did I hear "huh-oh"?
PHILLIPS: We've got the whole family.
LEMON: Hi, family, how you doing?
PHILLIPS: Are these the most beautiful grandchildren you've ever seen? BUCHWALD: Yes, they are gorgeous.
PHILLIPS: This is Corbin and Tate.
BUCHWALD: Yes, they are the most beautiful I've ever seen.
PHILLIPS: Because they look just like you, right?
BUCHWALD: No, because they are just beautiful.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: And, Artie, you have told me, time and time again, when we talked in the hospice, that this is what it's all about. You've done amazing things in your life, but this is what you live for.
BUCHWALD: Well, that's -- the thing about the hospice, I was ready to go to heaven, but I was going to miss them so much if I did.
PHILLIPS: And Tamara?
TAMARA BUCHWALD, DAUGHTER IN LAW: Yes?
PHILLIPS: This is Tamara, Art's daughter-in-law. What do you think some of the most amazing moments have been for you, just this second part of Art's life?
T. BUCHWALD: Well, actually, the most amazing moment was when he left the hospice, that was definitely the most amazing moment -- and just having him back home, for the kids and for Joel, and myself.
PHILLIPS: Did it amaze you, all the people that came to visit? Give us a sense of who came through on a regular basis every day.
T. BUCHWALD: Well, his really good friends like Sue Bailey and Ethel Kennedy, and there were just regulars that came almost every day, and all his celebrity friends. But it didn't amaze me. He's done so much for so many people. It's to be expected.
BUCHWALD: You see, it's just interesting is that Tamara and Joel both decided to bring the children to the hospice. And it's a very interesting thing because some people don't want their grandchildren, their children, to see a place where people go to heaven. And they wanted it. And they went there. The hospice had toys. They didn't know where they were actually. But --
T. BUCHWALD: They still want to go back?
BUCHWALD: Tamara and Joel insisted that they be there.
PHILLIPS: And Corbin and Tate really -- they were a bright spot in that hospice.
T. BUCHWALD: They were, and we still take them back to visit the nurses. JOEL BUCHWALD, ART BUCHWALD'S SON: The nurses just love the kids there, it just brought life into the whole place.
BUCHWALD: We're having a dinner on the 10th of November, the hospice is giving to raise money for the hospice. And there's people from the hospice, employees, one of them is Jackie --
PHILLIPS: Jackie Lindsay, your nurse.
BUCHWALD: She's been there 38 years. She was my nurse for five months. She's going to sit at my table.
PHILLIPS: Joel, you grew up watching your dad's life, and meeting all these interesting people, but for you, it's been interesting to watch this second life he's taken on.
J. BUCHWALD: It's been pretty phenomenal. It's been a roller coaster. The last year, it's been a roller coaster. But it's been great. There's nothing like the feeling -- because everybody was sort of prepared for him to die, so you get your head wrapped -- you get to a level where you can deal with that. Then all of a sudden, well, he's going to go on a vacation. We're putting death on hold. He's having a second life. It was like he's reborn. It's been great.
PHILLIPS: Was it strange to plan the funeral together?
J. BUCHWALD: Dad thinks it was a little harder for me than it was. I was simply trying to put it off because of logistical reasons, trying to get him in and out of the car and visit the funeral home. But there's this element of -- a little bizarre, I guess.
But yeah, it's something -- you do have to plan for it and you do have to do it.
PHILLIPS: And there's been a lesson in all this about that as well.
T. BUCHWALD: No expectations.
PHILLIPS: No expectations. Appreciating each day.
T. BUCHWALD: Every day, definitely.
PHILLIPS: So, what's it like to have ART back at home?
T. BUCHWALD: It's fantastic. It's busy. Always still busy.
PHILLIPS: So is he the mediator when you guys have -- he's shaking his head.
BUCHWALD: No, I'm not the mediator.
T. BUCHWALD: No, it's Joel and -- it's Art and me against Joel.
BUCHWALD: They treat me like a child.
PHILLIPS: They do? So what do you tell them?
BUCHWALD: Don't treat me like a child.
J. BUCHWAQLD: Well, it's like having three kids. But on the other hand, he's lived with us since we've been married so --
T. BUCHWALD: Before we were married.
J. BUCHWALD: Before we were married, that's right. So it's like extended family. We're all part of each other's families. And when -- there's a disagreement between Tamara and I, he acts as a tiebreaker. So we'll go to him. Because he's sort of the senior statesman, Tamara will buy into whatever he rules on.
PHILLIPS: So, Tamara, you always listen to Art, no matter what he says?
T. BUCHWALD: Yes.
J. BUCHWALD: But if I don't like his ruling, because he's my father, I simply ignore it.
BUCHWALD: Yeah, yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Are you OK being the elder statesman in this home for a little while longer?
BUCHWALD: I'm not an elder statesman. I feel like a kid. They want to know where I'm going, what time I'll be home.
PHILLIPS: So you have a curfew now?
BUCHWALD: A curfew. And they're -- all parents and grandparents will find their grandchildren, or their children, somewhere there's a power struggle. And when the power struggle is over, the grandparent finds that he's the boy, and they're the power.
PHILLIPS: It's amazing how things come around.
T. BUCHWALD: Yes.
J. BUCHWALD: He still has --
T. BUCHWALD: He has a big say.
J. BUCHWALD: He has a big say.
T. BUCHWALD: Definitely has a big say.
PHILLIPS: It's always been that way. We haven't known Art Buchwald in any other way. Joel, Tamara, Corbin, Tate, thanks, you guys.
We'll talk more about Art Buchwald's book, "Too Soon To Say Good- Bye: I don't know where I'm going, I don't know even know why I'm here."
This is a big reason why Art is here, especially for the family and the grandkids. We'll talk more. Fred and Don, we have a special guest coming up in the next hour. You won't want to miss it.
LEMON: Wow, we can't wait for that.
WHITFIELD: We will there be.
LEMON: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: We always love when Art talks politic. Of course, we're going to continue to talk politics here in the NEWSROOM. The incumbent lost his primary but he's leading the polls for re-election. What is going on in Connecticut? An update on the political drama, next in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: And a minister accused and a powerful organization loses its leader. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, Ted Haggard's role as leader of U.S. evangelicals, and how claims against him are affecting his supporters. We'll be right back.
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WHITFIELD: We're keeping a watch on a developing story out of Follansbee (ph). West Virginia. A state trooper has been shot there, in the proximity of some schools. That's why a number of schools in that area have been closed, at least temporarily. They're on lockdown. No one is being allowed to enter or leave.
The investigation is ongoing. Investigators are still looking for the alleged shooter involved in this. The West Virginia state trooper is believed to be hospitalized right now but not facing life- threatening injuries.
LEMON: All right, Fred, thanks.
Freeze warnings, gale warns, rain and snow. Rob Marciano, boy, do you have your hands full.
(WEATHER REPORT)
The Bush administration and the evangelicals. A former White House player says it was not exactly the marriage that many people thought. The next hour of the NEWSROOM in just two minutes.
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