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Saddam Hussein Receives Death by Hanging; Last-Minute Campaigning

Aired November 05, 2006 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Death by hanging -- Saddam Hussein gets his sentence, what he shouted in court and what Iraqis shouted in the streets. We'll take you there live.
President Bush calls the verdict a milestone as he logs miles himself in last minute mid-term madness.

And a popular and powerful pastor confesses to a lifelong sexual problem, calling himself a deceiver and a liar. The story live from Colorado.

Hello and welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Fredericka Whitfield.

All that and more after this check of the headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADDAM HUSSEIN, FORMER IRAQI PRESIDENT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Long live the people! Down with the traitors!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: One verdict, two very different reactions in Iraq. Saddam Hussein and two others sentenced to hang for their roles in a brutal crack down in the 1980s. Many Iraqis broke curfew in Baghdad to celebrate the verdict, while there were angry protests in Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR LARRY STOCKSTILL, NEW LIFE CHURCH: The fact is, I am guilty of sexual immorality and I take responsibility for the entire problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Words of confession and an apology from disgraced Reverend Ted Haggard in a letter read by another pastor at Colorado's New Life Church. In the letter, Haggard admits to a lifelong sexual problem. A male prostitute went public last week claiming to have had sex with Haggard. A special church overseers board dismissed Haggard yesterday.

Keeping control or a sweeping upset? Republican and Democratic candidates are doing their final campaigning ahead of Tuesday's mid-term elections. Both parties wait to see what impact America's involvement in Iraq will have on the results, results you will only see live here on CNN.

Local, county and federal officials, even the bomb squad, rushed to Pittsburgh's Hines Field overnight. Surveillance cameras spotted two men climbing the football stadium's fence around 2:00 a.m. It turned out that both were college students and they have been charged with criminal trespass and conspiracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUSSEIN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Damn you and your court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Judgment day for Saddam Hussein, found guilty and sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Saddam Hussein's trial is a milestone in the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law. It's a major achievement for Iraq's young democracy and its constitutional government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Today, a verdict heard around the world -- Saddam Hussein found guilty of ordering scores of people killed in a single Iraqi town more than 20 years ago. Pending appeal, the former Iraqi death squad is to die by hanging.

In Baghdad and elsewhere, Iraqis defied a curfew to celebrate the verdict or, in the case of Saddam's supporters, to call for revenge. Hours later, though, no sign of the chaos that many people had feared.

In a moment, we'll get to President Bush's reaction from CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, who's traveling with the president.

But we start with our coverage in Baghdad, with CNN's John Roberts -- and, John, was this the same defiant Saddam Hussein in court today that we have seen over the past 10 months?

JOHN ROBERTS, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred.

Yes, it was classic Saddam Hussein, the same defiance, the same fierce defiance and anger that he has shown at every step along the way of this trial and the other trial that's underway now, as well.

He came into the courtroom arguing, angry at his handlers. He refused to stand up when the judge delivered the verdict. The judge forced him to stand up by putting a couple of guards, one on each elbow, and lifting him to his feet as he pronounced that Saddam Hussein was guilty and would get the death penalty -- death by hanging, even though Saddam Hussein has said, as a former military commander, he should receive death by firing squad.

A couple of other players also received the death sentence -- Saddam Hussein's brother-in-law, who was the head of the feared Mukhabarat, the Iraqi intelligence service, as well as his former chief judge. Another player, the former vice president of Iraq, Taha Yassin Ramadan, received a life sentence. Three other minor players, local Baath Party officials from the Dujail area, where these killings were ordered by Saddam Hussein, received 15 years in prison. Another one, Fred, was set free today.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, this sentence immediately goes to the appellate court.

Give us an idea of the timetable here.

ROBERTS: There's a couple of timetables that are hard and fast in Iraqi rule -- Iraqi law, rather. One is that this has to be referred to the appellate court within 10 days. The other is from the time that the appellate court makes its ruling, if it upholds this court's ruling, the execution has to take place within 30 days.

But in the center of that process there's a big unknown here, Fred, because there is no specific timetable that the appellate court has to adhere to in considering this case.

Now, it's not likely that they're going to rehear testimony or bring in people who have testified, witnesses, if you like. But they will review the entire trial process to make sure that it was fair and correct. And, again, no specific time period on that. They could literally take as long as they want, within reason.

WHITFIELD: And so meantime, let's talk about the reaction there. We're going to get a chance to talk with Arwa Damon in a moment to find out what the reaction is among Iraqi citizens. You have been embedded with U.S. troops there several times. Give me an idea of what the reaction just might be from there, what their expectations are from this kind of verdict.

ROBERTS: Well, you know, Fred, we've been locked up in our compound for the past 36 hours because of curfews. There was a shut down on embeds with U.S. forces. So we weren't able to go out with any of them this weekend.

But there's a couple of commanders who I do know that I e-mailed with. And their basic reaction was that they thought that this was the right verdict, that it really is a victory for the nascent democracy here in Iraq.

The big concerns, though, were what does this mean for the future in terms of violence here in the country? Will there be stepped up Sunni against Shia violence? Will the Shias see this now, this death penalty against Saddam Hussein, as a license to attack the Sunnis? And will U.S. troops get caught in the middle of all that?

So there are growing concerns about what this verdict might mean for the future of this country, in terms of the violence, which is really beginning to tear some of these neighborhoods, towns and villages apart -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, John Roberts, thanks so much for that update from Baghdad.

Stay safe.

And tonight at 8:00 Eastern, John Roberts is still in Baghdad with a special election edition of "THIS WEEK AT WAR." He looks at how the daily bloodshed in Iraq just might be influencing Tuesday's vote.

Meantime, more reaction now from Iraqi citizens themselves.

As promised, here's CNN's Arwa Damon, reporting that some are jubilant, others outraged and some are just completely astonished.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixty- four-year-old Jassim Radhi says he went through a roller coaster of emotions as he heard the judge read out the words -- the court has sentenced the defendant, Saddam Hussein, to execution by hanging. The expression on his face said more than his words.

JASSIM RADHI, BAGHDAD RESIDENT (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): It's not easy to suppress my feeling right now. He was a leader who ruled the country for 35 years and then to see him in a cage defending himself. But I think it's a lesson for every leader.

DAMON: Like most residents of Baghdad, he spent the day indoors with his daughter, abiding by a government curfew and fear of potential violence in Baghdad's streets.

But residents of Baghdad's Shia Sadr City brazenly defied curfew, spilling into the streets as soon as Saddam's sentence was read, chanting, "Saddam Got Death! Die, Baathists!"

"This is a great day for the Iraqi people," one man screams over the blaring horns.

Small scale celebrations in the country's Shia south. For many of Iraq's Shia community, oppressed by Saddam's regime for decades, this historic day brought long-awaited closure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): As far as I'm concerned, Saddam Hussein caused my father's death because he executed my eldest brother. This verdict is revenge for me.

DAMON: But in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, it was a bitter moment for those still loyal to the toppled leader.

"We really love and miss you," this man says, "covering his face."

(on camera): Throughout the duration of the trial, Iraqis have said to us that they have been too consumed by the daily violence to be paying much attention to their former leader. In reaction to today's verdict, one Iraqi said to me, "The day that I will really celebrate will be the day that I can live without fear."

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Calling the trial of Saddam Hussein a milestone and major achievement for democracy, President Bush pledges to continue to support the Iraqi government.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us live from Nebraska, where Mr. Bush is campaigning for candidates in Tuesday's elections -- and, Suzanne, does the president consider this a significant sign of progress for Iraq?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Bush certainly is painting it that way. The president spoke earlier today, talking about this really being a very significant sign of the will of the Iraqi people.

The president and the administration really using this verdict to make the case on two points. First, that despite not finding weapons of mass destruction, that removing Saddam Hussein from power was the right thing to do. And, secondly, of course, making the argument here that Iraqi people ultimately will be in control of their own destiny, that they have the power to actually form a government, a government that will eventually work for the people of Iraq.

President Bush from earlier this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: During Saddam Hussein's trial, the court received evidence from 130 witnesses. The man who once struck fear in the hearts of Iraqis had to listen to free Iraqis recount the acts of torture and murder that he ordered against their families and against them.

Today, the victims of this regime have received a measure of the justice which many thought would never come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, Fred, this verdict comes just 48 hours before the mid-term elections, so there are some skeptics who are asking whether or not the timing of this verdict, perhaps, in a little bit too convenient for the Bush administration, perhaps smells of politics.

Now, I asked Press Secretary Tony Snow this morning whether or not there was any kind of coordination between the U.S. government and the Iraqi government in releasing the timing of this verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You've got to be kidding me. The way I put it yesterday on the plane is you've got to be smoking rope. I mean this is -- the idea that somehow the Iraq judiciary is going to time a verdict to coincide with American elections, no. It doesn't work that way.

The Iraqis operate on their own timetable. And they've also been doing their own process. So, no, I think it's preposterous to think that this has some coordination with the American elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And, Fred, of course, the question is whether or not this really is going to have any impact on the mid-term elections. As you know, Republicans struggling to keep their majorities in both the House and the Senate. Republicans as well as Democrats speaking out on the talk shows terrorism. Republicans praising this verdict, as well as the Democrats. But the Democrats playing it down a little bit. They are trying to still focus on what they say are the failures of the Bush administration in the Iraq war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DW), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: There's a special place reserved in hell for Saddam. That's the only think I think will matter. But I don't think it will have any impact on the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And, Fred, it is telling that President Bush is going to be speaking in this district. It is the 3rd Congressional District in Nebraska. This is one of the reddest Republican districts in the country. But it is a very tight race, for a House race, of course. So the president is going to be here to rally the party faithful -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much.

Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president there in Nebraska. The next stop, Kansas.

Thanks so much.

Planned or not, how the Saddam Hussein verdict just might impact Tuesday's vote.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. TED HAGGARD, FORMER EVANGELICAL LEADER: The pain that you and I and my family have experienced over the past few days, I'm so sorry for the circumstances that have caused shame and embarrassment to all of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A stunning admission from troubled Minister Ted Haggard, read today in church by a fellow pastor.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sean Callebs in front of Haggard's former church. We'll have a live report coming right up.

WHITFIELD: And so what is it about Ohio?

The candidates for U.S. Senate are pounding the pavement there in a last minute push before election day.

You're in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STOCKSTILL: The accusations that have been leveled against me are not all true, but enough of them are true that I have been appropriately and lovingly removed from ministry. Our church's overseers have required me to submit to the oversight of Pastor Jack Hayford and Pastor Tommy Barnett.

Those men will perform a thorough analysis of my mental, spiritual, emotional and physical life. They will guide me through a program with a goal of healing and restoration for my life, my marriage and my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Not at all your ordinary Sunday morning services at New Life Church, not when a letter of confession from disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard is read by a leading pastor before the Evangelical congregation. And a new admission makes the scandal even more sordid.

Our Sean Callebs is live from Colorado Springs -- and, Sean, did this confession catch the congregation by surprise this morning?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, without question. A lot of tears here today, a very emotional time for the congregation here today, a very swift and stunning fall from grace from one of the nation's leading Evangelicals, Ted Haggard.

Now, Haggard was accused just a few days ago of having a three year long homosexual affair, as well as drug use.

Now, today before the congregation, it was one of Haggard's long time friends and actually the overseer of the committee that threw Haggard out of the pulpit who read Haggard's mea culpa to the congregation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STOCKSTILL: My dear New Life Church family, I am so sorry. I'm sorry for the disappointment, the betrayal and the hurt. I'm sorry for the horrible example I've set for you. The fact is, I am guilty of sexual immorality. And I take responsibility for the entire problem. I am a deceiver and a liar. This is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Now, Haggard has denied having the homosexual affair and the accuser failed a lie detector test on the subject. However, the Reverend Larry Stockwell still says he has his doubts. He said while he interview Haggard over the past couple of days, Haggard showed a repeated pattern of deception.

Now, the accuser, Mike Jones, a former gay prostitute in Denver, says he chose this timing on purpose just before the mid-term election. Think about it -- the Evangelical Christians represent about 30 million Americans. That breaks down to about one out of every 10 people in the United States.

They represent a very powerful voting bloc. And Jones wanted them to think about this scandal when they went to the polls.

So, will it have an impact on Tuesday?

A number of members of the congregation we talked to said probably not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cried through the whole thing because we know Pastor Ted well and we know he's hurting. And we know -- he knows he's hurt us and, you know, it hurts when your brother has done something that -- we know he's in pain, but like Pastor Roth said, he's -- he's in a good place. He's better off this week than he was last week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This church is not about one man. He's a great man and he made a self-admitted mistake. But we exist to serve god and we exist to give god glory and this church is going to continue to do that, no matter what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And what we are hearing from the congregation is they can differentiate between the man and the teachings of the Evangelical Church.

One note, one final note, Fred. We did speak to one of the leading academicians on the Evangelical movement in the United States and he differs. He believes this could have a very significant impact on Tuesday, and here's why. He says a lot of Evangelicals feel disenfranchised right now, one, with the Bush administration, and, secondly, with the Republican Party. And this is one more reason for distrust -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sean.

So in this letter, Haggard admits to deceiving and lying to everyone, including himself.

But did he spell out in detail in that letter, as well, about whether or not this homosexual relationship took place, indeed, with this former prostitute?

CALLEBS: You know, that's a great question because it's very ambiguous. We specifically asked the Reverend Larry Stockstill, who headed up this oversight committee, that question and he said they didn't go into it for personal reasons.

He gave us the impression that Haggard didn't talk about it, even to the members of the overseer committee. But remember, Haggard has admitted to receiving a massage from Jones and he says that enough is reason for immorality and is enough to remove him as the power -- from the powerful position here at his church that he started about 21 years ago.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much.

Sean Callebs in Colorado Springs.

Two days and continuing until mid-term elections and candidates are trying to hone in on victory in the home stretch.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Bob Franken in Columbus, Ohio, where the Republicans are thinking of Yogi Bera, who says it's not over until it's over.

WHITFIELD: I knew that was coming.

Well, plus, how Saddam Hussein and Iraqis reacted to his death sentence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Back now to our complete election coverage.

Ohio has been a battleground in past elections and it's no different this year. Iraq and local scandals have Republicans looking over their shoulders leading up to Tuesday.

Our Bob Franken is live in the heart of the Buckeye battleground of Columbus -- and, Bob, I wanted to say it with you, it ain't over until it's over, in unison.

What is at issue here?

FRANKEN: Well, Ohio is always considered the bellwether. And the way things look now, if the Republicans do any better than horrible in the state this time, they will have accomplished quite a bit.

For instance, in the Senate Democratic race, Sherrod Brown, the Democratic candidate for Senate, is enjoying leads in the polls that range anywhere from 6 to 9 percent. He's really quite confident as he pulls down to the close. But, the Republican, DeWine, is saying that his poll numbers are actually pulling up, that he had suffered even a worse loss before.

So the Republicans are continuing on a formidable, legendary, almost, get out the vote campaign. In years past, particularly in Ohio, they have a thing they call the Go TV program. And it has just produced miracles for the Republicans. But they're going to need miracles, as you said.

There are all kinds of corruption scandals that the Republicans nationwide have been suffering that really have an Ohio base, like just resigned Congressman Bob Ney, who was convicted already for bribery related charges. He just resigned on Friday, leaving the Republican chairman of the state to ask why he waited so long. He's considered an embarrassment to the party.

There was another corruption scandal that involved the Ohio governor, Bob Taft, who's not running this time. He ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and was fined $4,000. The man who's trying to replace him, the secretary of state, is way behind in the polls.

So this is a state that, unless the polls are very, very wrong, is going to be a real bonanza for Democrats and a real trouble spot for Republicans -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know, Bob, corruption being one thing. There is also some criticism, even within the Republican Party, people who are saying money hasn't been delivered or promised to certain candidates like it should have, which may be the case of DeWine, that he could have used more financial backing from the Republican Party to help him in those numbers.

FRANKEN: Well, the Republicans aren't saying that. What you're talking about, of course, is the national Republican Party deciding that among the states it would not put more money into a Senate campaign is Ohio, because as much money as they have, there's still finite amounts. And they decided that it would be better used elsewhere, in races that are even closer.

But the Republicans also say that DeWine, Mike DeWine has a very, very big war chest of his own, so he doesn't really have to worry about that.

And if you look at the TV sets, believe me, you can believe that. It's just wall to wall ads from both sides.

WHITFIELD: All right, Bob Franken, thanks so much, from Columbus, Ohio, the Buckeye State.

Well, stay with CNN on election day. We'll bring you live updates and results all night.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn and Lou Dobbs are all part of the best political team on television. And at midnight, our coverage continues with a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE." Hear from election winners and losers across the country. And then Rick Sanchez and I will take you into the wee hours with complete results, as well.

Will Saddam Hussein's sentence have any effect on Tuesday's elections?

We'll look at that, coming up next.

Plus, Saddam fights back after the verdict is read. What he shouted to the court.

And...

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Is this going to be called the Iraq election? Some candidates hope so.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Half past the hour now. Here is what is happening in the news. Sentenced to death former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and two henchmen convicted of crimes against humanity for a bloody crackdown on Shiite civilians back in 1982. No execution date has been set pending an automatic appeal. More on Saddam's death sentence straight ahead.

Iraqi reaction to Saddam Hussein's death sentence was mixed mostly along ethnic and religious lines in Kurdish dominated northern Iraq the guilty verdict was met with cheers of approval. But in Sunni areas like Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. Thousands protested in defiance of a strict curfew in place.

Back here in the U.S. political candidates court the undecided voter as mid term elections near. The polls open in less than 48 hours. And you are looking at live pictures right now out of Grand Isle, Nebraska because so many of these campaigns are attracting high profile faces. This one, they're waiting for President Bush to campaign on behalf of candidates throughout that state. In about four minutes, CNN's senior analyst Bill Schneider weighs in on the over all deciding factors in many of the races across the country.

Ousted evangelical leader Reverend Ted Haggard calls himself a deceiving liar and admits to the sexual immorality that cost him his job. This morning, another pastor at the New Life Church read a letter from Haggard to the congregation. In it Haggard admits to what he called a lifelong sexual problem.

One of today's big stories, Saddam Hussein's impending execution. The former Iraqi leader's death sentence will be automatically appealed to an Iraqi appellate court. If the sentence is upheld, Saddam will be hanged. CNN's Aneesh Raman has more on today's verdict and Saddam's defiance all the way to the end.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At high noon defendant Saddam Hussein entered the courtroom and in mere moments became one of few former leaders convicted of crimes against humanity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Translator): The court has sentenced the defendant Saddam Hussein to execution by hanging.

RAMAN: Shouting ensued. The video from the court cut by officials. Those were the moments that guards at one point, as many as seven, surrounded Saddam. He called one a dog, another one stupid. As former dictator exited the courtroom a convicted man, old refrains echoed for a final time. Long live the people. Down with the traitors. Down with the conquerors.

Saddam Hussein was one of seven men convicted, among them his half-brother, sentenced to death. Death as well for the former chief judge of the revolutionary court, for the former Iraqi vice president, a sentence of life in prison. The trial stemmed from a bloody crackdown on the village in 1982 after Saddam survived an assassination attempt there. This is film from that day of Saddam interrogating locals. In the end a 148 men and boys were executed, hundreds were jailed. Many said witnesses in court tortured. It is a village where a year ago residents told me justice was all they wanted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (Translator): Saddam should be executed immediately for this.

RAMAN: Back then they could only dream of this day and that it has come brought celebrations on streets in Baghdad. Protests on Sunni streets in Saddam's hometown of Tikrit and weighty statements of promise from Iraq's prime minister.

NURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (Translator): There will be no more mass graves or wars or military coups or ethnic cleansing. We want Iraq where all Iraqis are equal before the law.

RAMAN: But with sectarian violence in parts of Iraq at an all- time high it seems still to be a tall order. One the government desperately hopes will be helped by the fact that Saddam Hussein, once president, then prisoner, then defendant, has now been sentenced to death for crimes against humanity.

Saddam's sentence has an automatic appeal, a process that can take as long as the appellate court wants. But if they affirm the death sentence Saddam must be hung within 30 days. The fact that he faces other trials, the court says, doesn't matter.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: John Roberts is in Baghdad as well with a special election edition of "This Week at War" tonight airing at 8:00 Eastern. He looks at how the daily bloodshed in Iraq just might influence Tuesday's vote.

The issue of Iraq being used as both leverage and a liability leading up to Tuesday. Now with a guilty verdict and the death sentence for former leader Saddam Hussein how might that impact votes here. Political analyst Bill Schneider with us now. So, Bill, will it be a factor?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well it right ratchet up intensity on both sides of the Iraq debate, which of course is at the center of this midterm election campaign. You are going to find supporters of the war saying the rule of law triumphed here, they will see the possibility for reconciliation that the Iraqi prime minister talked about. Others will see disorder, division, protests, and they will say instability and violence will continue. What have we accomplished in Iraq? So what you are likely to see is intensification of the domestic political debate over this central issue.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring it home here in the states. The campaigning. President Bush continues to swing through certain states trying to influence the vote. How powerful is his presence especially like today in Grand Isle, Nebraska where he is expected to appear campaigning for various candidates there.

SCHNEIDER: Well Fredricka I should remind you that Nebraska, probably, I think it is the most Republican state.

WHITFIELD: Very pro-Bush.

SCHNEIDER: Yes, it is a very Republican state. That's where President Bush is along with Utah, I think the most Republican state in the country. He has been selecting very carefully districts and areas to campaign where he thinks he can bring out a strong Republican vote. Reaction to President Bush is strong on both sides. Whenever he appears he brings out both Democrats to vote for him in his party, and Republicans, rather, to vote for him in his party. And Democrats on the other side who are coming out to make a protest vote against President Bush and against the war in Iraq.

WHITFIELD: Overall, if the conventional wisdom was all politics are local. This midterm election seems to be changing the tide that all politics very national right now. SCHNEIDER: That's right. This is the first time I watched politics in this country for a long time as well as other countries. The United States is doing something it rarely does. We are having a parliamentary election where people are voting on national issues and they are voting for national parties. You hear voters; I've been to about a dozen congressional districts. They're going out and saying, "I'm voting for the Democrat. I'm voting for the Republican." Even if they like the candidate of the other party. They're trying to make a statement for or against President Bush and the war in Iraq by the way they vote. You are seeing ads urging people to vote Democrat. Vote Republican.

In other countries, it is conventional. When people vote they say I am voting labor, I'm voting socialist, I've voting conservative. In this country, people usually say I'm voting for this candidate or that. But this year it's different. They say I am voting Democratic, I am voting Republican.

WHITFIELD: Political analyst Bill Schneider thanks you so much. We'll be seeing a lot more of you too over the next couple days as folks head to the polls Tuesday. Thank you so much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Stay with CNN on Election Day. We'll bring you live updates and results all night. CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Paula Zahn and Lou Dobbs are all part of the best political team on television. At midnight our coverage continues with a special edition of "Larry King Live" hear from election winners and the losers all across the country.

Tuesday's elections won't just affect Congress. There could be quite the impacts on how judges do their job. Details straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Her mood isn't threatened by what she sees because she knows it is just her reflection. Researchers say she is the first elephant to demonstrate self-recognition. Elephants join an elite club of creatures including humans, dolphins and great apes able to recognize themselves in the mirror.

PROF. FRANS DE WAAL, EMORY UNIVERSITY (voice over): These species have a complex social system within which it is important to be cooperative and altruistic which requires them to take the perspective of somebody else. For example dolphins will lift a comrade up to the surface of the water to help them breathe. Elephants try to lift up individuals who have fallen down. And so they show more complex helping actions.

SIEBERG: It appears every elephant may not be capable of self- recognition. Of the three elephants in the study only Happy passed the mark test. Realizing the x was marked on her own head. But Emory researchers who conducted the study with the Wildlife Conservation Society at New York's Bronx Zoo say all of the elephants' antics including when one checked to see what's behind the mirror was enough to confirm their theory and inspire further research.

JOSHUA PLOTNIK, EMORY UNIVERSITY: This is a camera imbedded in the mirror looking at Happy on her first mark day. You see the mark on the right side of her head. She swings her trunk right up to it to touch it.

SIEBERG: If she thought the image she was seeing was another elephant what might she be doing?

PLOTNIK: She might actually reach her truck and try to touch the mark on the mirror itself.

SIEBERG: The emotional tendencies of elephants have long fascinated scientists and spectators alike.

DE WAAL: The grieving behavior the way that is described is that they find the bones of one among them. They smell them and they get in a depressed state it seems. That relates to attachment and attachment relates to complex sociality.

SIEBERG: In addition to better understanding animals, researchers hope the study results lead to improved conservation practices.

DE WAAL: It also tells us that elephants are special that they cannot be kept any, which way and those they need to preserve the fields also in Africa and Asia where they live.

SIEBERG: Perhaps Happy's behavior tells us more than meets the eye.

Daniel Sieberg, CNN, Atlanta.

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WHITFIELD: It may seem hard to believe there are other issues beyond control of Congress and local state houses in Tuesday's elections. In several states voters could limit the power of judges. In some cases, as Gary Nurenburg explains, jurists could be sued or sent to jail for their actions on the bench.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not dead yet!

GARY NURENBURG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The lengthy court battle over whether to withhold life support from a comatose Terry Schiavo angered many on each side and helped highlight growing discontent with the judicial process. Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor tells CNN that in recent years she sensed.

SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR, FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: Increasing indicators of unhappiness with judges. And it was erupting all over the country.

NURENBURG: The president taps into the frustration on the campaign trail.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE U.S: You think activist judges should be allowed to redefine our country and issue new laws from the bench? Vote Democrat.

NURENBURG: This year, voters in several western states face ballot initiatives that would limit judge's actions.

LOUIS JACOBSON, BALLOT MEASURE ANALYST, ROLL CALL: South Dakota is definitely the most radical of them.

NURENBURG: It is a state constitutional amendment that critics argue would apply to any one making judicial decisions even juries and school boards.

REBECCA LOVE KOURLIS, FMR. COLO. SUPREME CT JUSTICE: It would strip judges of the protection of judicial immunity and subject them to possible monetary fines and criminal sanctions.

RON BRANSON, JAIL4JUDGES: People are just finding that the judicial system just doesn't work.

NURENBURG: Ron Branson founded JAIL4JUDGES and thinks judges should be accountable for what they do on the bench.

BRANSON: If I violate the law I have to give an account. If you violate the law you have to give an account. Why should judges be above the law? That's what judicial immunity is.

NURENBURG: It is not the only judicial ballot initiative this year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Colorado has term limits on judges.

NURENBURG: The ten-year limit would immediately force five of the seven current Colorado Supreme Court justices to step down.

KOURLIS: They're extraordinary judges or not such good judges they would be swept out.

NURENBURG: Advocates of judicial restraint say they want to make the judiciary more accountable. Voters get to decide Tuesday.

Gary Nurenburg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Campaigns across the country welcoming the high- profile faces they can. And in Nebraska there you see President Bush. He is in Grand Isle, Nebraska, he is in a heavily Bush-supportive state there, very red state. Kind of preaching to the choir and has lots of friends there. He is arriving there after spending a little time in Crawford, Texas. He is going to spend some time here campaigning for folks in Nebraska then on to Kansas as well. We'll beat monitoring his comments there out of Nebraska.

Meantime, stories making news around the world including a possible political comeback in Nicaragua. That is straight ahead in THE NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: A public memorial going on this hour in California, remembering the men lost fighting a brutal blaze. They were killed over the past week and a half from the Esperanza wildfire. Right now a public memorial is being held for the five lost firefighters. An auto mechanic has been charged with arson and murder accused of starting that blaze.

Going global now, for world news, long lines in Nicaragua today as voting begins. Vying for a return to the presidency, Daniel Ortega. Ortega is leading in the polls but Washington opposes his return as it did in the 80s when U.S. backed opposition toppled him from power.

Israel's missile strikes on positions in northern Gaza continue today. The government says it is targeting rocket-launching squads. Palestinian medical sources say Israeli forces killed two people.

At the top of the hour, CNN continues its election coverage. Wolf Blitzer is live from New York with a special "Late Edition." Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much, Fred. Coming up right at the top of the hour. Our special "Late Edition America votes 2006." The White House press secretary Tony Snow talks about the challenges for President Bush and the Republican Party in the election homestretch.

And look at reaction to the Saddam Hussein sentence from the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, he will join us live. All that plus the best political team on television. All that coming up right at the top of the hour.

Back to you Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Looking forward to that. Thanks so much Wolf. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. That's it from THE NEWSROOM. Now time for Wolf Blitzer and the special "Late Edition."

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