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King Abdullah Pardons Victim of Brutal Rape; Iranian Nuclear Fuel: Russia Delivers First Shipment to Iranian Plant; America Votes 2008

Aired December 17, 2007 - 12:00   ET

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

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Royal pardon. Saudi Arabia's king commutes the sentence of a woman who was gang-raped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This woman in Saudi Arabia wanted the right to walk in the street, to drive a car, to vote, like all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Putin's future -- the outgoing Russian president lays out his plans in a speech to his party's Congress.

CLANCY: McCain's momentum. The Republican presidential candidate hopes to build on endorsements from a U.S. senator and two key newspapers.

MCEDWARDS: And Capello's challenge. The Italian coach faces the daunting task of restoring England's football fortunes.

It is 8:00 p.m. in Riyadh, it's noon in New York.

Hello and welcome to our report seen around the globe.

I'm Colleen McEdwards.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy.

From Riyadh to Rotterdam, Manchester, England, to Manchester, New Hampshire, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

No beatings and no time behind bars. A royal pardon has ended a months-long legal nightmare for a Saudi gang-rape victim.

MCEDWARDS: A Saudi newspaper says King Abdullah stepped in and lifted a sentence that had outraged the western world and renewed criticism of the kingdom's treatment of women.

CLANCY: And the White House among those welcoming the news which came on the first day of the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

MCEDWARDS: Our Isha Sesay is in the holy city. She joins us now with more on this. Isha, this is a pardon, it's not an overturning of the verdict or anything that strong. So you sort of wonder whether this is anything beyond this case alone.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, that's a question a lot of people are asking, what it will mean for other victims of sexual assault because, as you say, this was a pardoning, it wasn't an overturning of the verdict. The people are already questioning the significance of the king's decision. As you said, this decision coming on the first day of the Hajj, but Saudi officials telling CNN that no link should be made between the timing of the decision and the annual Muslim pilgrimage.

This is a case that has sparked international criticism, as you say. Human Rights Watch just last month asked for this verdict to be quashed and for all charges to be dropped against the woman. Now, on the (INAUDIBLE), that has taken place. We haven't gotten reaction the woman herself, but we have heard from her husband, who says that he's very pleased and is thanking the king on his behalf and on his wife's behalf -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Let's talk about the Hajj for a minute, Isha. You are there, security is always a concern whenever there are this many people in one place.

How are the preparations -- how have they been going?

SESAY: Well, preparations have been going very, very smoothly. We spent a day with security forces yesterday. We went to the central command center. We also took to the skies with the Saudi air force to see them actually conduct a security sweep.

And the one thing we keep hearing from everyone is they have, over the years, learned an incredible amount and know how to handle this gathering. They have all the security preparations in place. They have cameras everywhere, Colleen.

Every step of this pilgrimage, virtually every step, will be caught on camera. There were checkpoints every where. Even the Boy Scouts are involved in the security operations.

They have over 50,000 people working on the scale of the operation. We don't know how much it all costs, but what they tell us is no price is too high when it comes to securing the pilgrims that are here in Mecca City -- Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: Isha Sesay, thank you very much. Appreciate it, Isha.

Back to that Saudi rape case. You know, it is the lead story on the Arabic section of our Web site. So if you want more, do go there. It's news from the region, told in its own voice. You can find it at cnnarabic.com.

CLANCY: And coming up in about a half hour's time, we're going to be talking with Ebtihal Mubarak. She's a young journalist who's also interested in women's rights and human rights, and she's going to explain to us why this case is seen as kind of a mixed bag by a lot of people that are interested in that.

MCEDWARDS: You know, I'm curious whether she knows what's going to happen to this victim's lawyer, because he had his license revoked just for daring to try to appeal this. And I think from what we've learned, nobody knows quite yet whether he's going to have his license reinstated or not. But he's vowing to keep fighting for other women in Saudi Arabia.

CLANCY: A little hint for you -- we're going find out at the half hour...

MCEDWARDS: Excellent. Good news.

CLANCY: ... because it may be good news, but like you say...

MCEDWARDS: Well, she'll know.

CLANCY: ... not quite certain.

All right. Let's check some of the other stories that are making news around the world this hour.

(NEWSBREAK)

CLANCY: Well, from a political power play to nuclear power, Moscow says its first shipment of nuclear fuel has been delivered to Iran. This fuel is designated for the power plant -- billion-dollar plant, actually -- being built by Russia, all under U.N. supervision.

Matthew Chance reports, though, the fuel delivery raising concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The milestone on the road to Iranian nuclear energy or a dangerous step towards weapons of mass destruction? Despite this worrying uncertainty, the start of fuel deliveries from Russia in Iran's first atomic power station at Bushehr could soon be operational. From the Russian Foreign Ministry, an assurance their decision to supply won't jeopardize global security.

"All fuel that will be delivered will be under the control and guarantees of the International Atomic Energy Agency," it says, "for the whole time it stays on Iranian territory." But that guarantee is unlikely to erase concerns in the United States and some European countries, even though a recent U.S. intelligence report said Iran had stopped trying to develop nuclear weapons in 2003.

Washington's concerned spent Russian fuel rods could be reprocessed in Iran to make a bomb. Confirming delivery, Iran insists they're only destined to generate electricity at Bushehr.

GHOLAM REZA AGHAZADEH (through translator): Currently, 95 percent of the Bushehr nuclear plant has been completed, and we can promise our people that next year, power generated by that plant will be put into Iran's power network.

CHANCE: The Iranian nuclear issue has been yet another source of diplomatic tensions between those countries seeking sanctions against the Iranians and the Kremlin resisting tougher international pressure to force Iran to curb its activities. Russian officials say it will take up to two months for the full delivery of nuclear fuel, but for an Islamic republic poised on the nuclear threshold, this first shipment is a crucial step.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCEDWARDS: Snow and icy conditions are wreaking havoc on travel across the northeastern United States. Flights have been canceled, sending a ripple through the nation's airline schedules. Some deicing going on there. At least one plane has already skidded off a runway, and the roads are an absolute mess.

Upstate New York State hit hard, but the Big Apple mostly spared from this round of snowstorms. There are still some flight delays in the city's airports, though, so if you are traveling, do check it out before you head out.

Roadways in many states are still treacherous. Thousands reportedly without power, especially in Connecticut and in New Jersey. Yikes.

CLANCY: Well, Amsterdam's famed Red Light District about to get a new look.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, the city's mayor has announced his plan to clean up this historic area.

CLANCY: Mayor Job Cohen says his plan will involve commercial redevelopment, along with a crackdown on pimps and petty crime.

MCEDWARDS: Cohen says the legalization of the sex trade has not had the effect that they hoped for, essentially reining in organized crime in the city, although prostitution will not be expressly prohibited. Officials say that the zoning and the other changes are going to reduce it, they say, by several tens of percent. Sort of an awkward phrase there, but a lot. They're hoping.

CLANCY: It's going to change the look at least of that part of Amsterdam for the better.

MCEDWARDS: Yes. Yes. People know it.

Well, coming up here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, who likes who?

CLANCY: In some respects, the U.S. presidential race is a popularity contest. We're going to tell you which candidates picked up some key endorsements over the weekend. MCEDWARDS: Also, England's new coach brings a record of success to a team that hasn't had much of its own lately.

CLANCY: And South African president Thabo Mbeki calling for party unity. The problem is the African National Congress is united -- just not behind him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

With 17 days and counting until the first votes are cast in the U.S. presidential nominating process, it's raining endorsements on Republican senator John McCain, and he can use all the help he can get.

CNN's Mary Snow is in Concord, New Hampshire, site of the first primary in the nation -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, Senator McCain really making the rounds here in New Hampshire to try to drum up support. He just left this political library after being endorsed by the New Hampshire Independents for John McCain. This, of course, came after -- on the heels of another big endorsement this morning. That from Democrat- turned-Independent senator Joseph Lieberman.

Senator Lieberman is also -- one of the things he has in common with Senator McCain is that while they have -- are on different sides of the political aisle, they have both had strong support for the war in Iraq. Senator Lieberman admitting today that his endorsement was unusual, but felt it was the right thing to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: When it comes to leading America to victory against the Islamist terrorists who attacked us on 9/11, there's no one better prepared than John McCain.

JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Joe Lieberman and I will look back some day with pride at the fact that we were able to work together and reach across the aisle to work for the betterment of future generations of Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now, that theme of bipartisanship is one that Senator McCain and Senator Lieberman both stressed as they are trying to convince Independent voters in this state to support John McCain in the New Hampshire primary. He did win here back in 2000, largely on the support of Independent voters. He is hoping to recreate that once again as his standing in the polls has not been in the front-runner status for the Republican Party, and this is a very important state for him to win if he's going to stay in the race -- Jim.

CLANCY: Well, it's very important for a campaign that needs the money as well. How did all of this come about? SNOW: Senator McCain said that he went to Joseph Lieberman and asked him, and he kidded about it, saying that he had his kneepads on and was kneeling just as a joke. But he said that Senator Lieberman had said that he wasn't planning to endorse anybody until after the primaries were over, but when he was asked, he decided that this is something that he was going to do.

He said none of the Democratic candidates had asked for an endorsement, and he said that he felt that McCain is the best candidate when it comes to foreign policy. And that's really why he says he's supporting him.

CLANCY: Mary Snow in frigid New Hampshire this day.

Mary, thank you very much.

SNOW: Sure.

Well, what does Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee think about his rise in popularity? And how does he view the political race for the White House thus far?

Hear what he has to say about that, and a lot more, to be sure, when the presidential hopeful talks to our own Larry King. For our U.S. viewers, that's Monday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. For our international viewers, that will be Tuesday at 10:00 hours Greenwich Meantime, right here on CNN.

MCEDWARDS: That should be interesting. He's on quite a run.

And, of course, presidential campaigns need more than endorsements. They need money, and a whole lot of it. And that is what Ron Paul is getting these days.

In fact, the Republican candidate says he raised more than $6 million on Sunday. The Republican congressman's campaign called the efforts a "money bomb." The idea was to raise as much money in one day as was possible. His previous one-day record, by the way, was $4.2 million. A spokesman says the average donation this time around, about 50 bucks.

CLANCY: Well, it looks like it's underneath the Christmas tree when we are talking about the Democrats. There's a little something for all the front-runners to cheer about and to be happy about.

Opening up this day in Iowa, the "Des Moines Register" endorsing Democrat Hillary Clinton. The statewide paper said that while challenger Barack Obama inspired manlation, Clinton inspired confidence.

But in the New Hampshire primary, which comes only five days after Iowa, the "Boston Globe" newspaper, widely read in neighboring New Hampshire, is picking Obama. And the other leading Democrat, John Edwards, about to pick up a key endorsement all his own. CNN has learned that Mari Culver, wife of Iowa governor Chet Culver, is going to be endorsing Edwards at an event in Des Moines within this hour. MCEDWARDS: All right.

Well, for the Clinton campaign, the support from Iowa's biggest newspaper could not have come at a better time. As Suzanne Malveaux tells us, the senator's husband may not be the only comeback kid in the Clinton family after all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dogged by bad press and bad weather, Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign looked like it was grounded. But then something happened. Clinton got the coveted endorsement of Iowa's most important paper, the skies cleared, and she took off. You couldn't get a better metaphor.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And if you stand up for me, I promise you, I will stand up and fight for you every single day that I'm president.

MALVEAUX: The makings of another Clinton morphing into the comeback kid? Well, it may be too soon to tell. But the nod from Iowa's "Des Moines Register" does help. It echoes her campaign's central theme, experience matters.

H. CLINTON: Well, I'm running because I think I can take the experience of my lifetime, particularly the work that I have done over the last 35 years, and put it to work for everybody.

MALVEAUX: She uses the argument mostly to set herself apart from her closest opponent, Barack Obama. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, is fine tuning the message. Mixing it with part flattery.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Obama is a person of enormous talent, you know, staggering political skills.

MALVEAUX: Part inquiry.

B. CLINTON: Who is the best agent of change? Not the best symbol, but the best agent.

MALVEAUX: And part zinger.

B. CLINTON: I mean, in theory, we could find someone who is a gifted television commentator . . .

CHARLIE ROSE, "THE CHARLIE ROSE SHOW": You think?

B. CLINTON: And let them run. They'd have only one year less experience in national politics.

MALVEAUX: Obama' comeback.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I was 20 points down, they all thought I was a wonderful guy. So, you know, obviously, things have changed.

MALVEAUX (on camera): The feud over Obama's experience has heated up so much that some voters have dubbed it as "The Battle of Bill versus Barack."

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Dunlap, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, seen across the globe, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

MCEDWARDS: Still ahead this hour, England has a new football coach, and he has a squad to turn around, let me tell you. Is Fabio Capello equipped for the job? We're going to have some insight into this.

CLANCY: Plus, democracy for sale. Well, a symbol of it anyway. If you want to know how to buy one of a few copies of, yes, the real thing, the Magna Carta, we can tell you just ahead.

MCEDWARDS: How much money have you got?

CLANCY: It's going to take a little bit, Colleen.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to all of our viewers from all around the globe, including here in the United States this hour. You're with YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.

COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. Here's a look at some of the top stories that we're following for you.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accepting an offer from his protege. Putin told members of his United Russia party that he would accept the posting of prime minister. That's if Dmitry Medvedev is elected president. United Russia confirmed Medvedev as its candidate. That was just a week after Putin tapped him as his personal choice to succeed him.

CLANCY: Fabio Capello officially unveiled as England's new national football coach. The teem has had very little success winning in recent years. Obviously, a trend Capello is hoping to change. So are the people that hired him. The Italian has coached for numerous European squads, including Real Madrid.

MCEDWARDS: Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has pardoned the victim of a gang rape. Her case drew international attention after she was sentenced to jail and 200 lashes essentially for being alone with a man who wasn't a relative.

CLANCY: All right. Let's shift our focus now to South Africa where there is a tense power struggle underway as the ruling African national congress is preparing to elect its next leader. Now the current president, Thabo Mbeki, facing a very tough challenge from his deputy, Jacob Zuma. The bitter dispute has left the party's conference steeped in tension. Robyn Curnow is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Jacob Zuma's supporters are the most vocal. The singing and support for him continued inside the conference venue. Even when President Thabo Mbeki tried to acknowledge the 4,000 delegates meeting here in the north of South Africa.

MONDI MAKYANA, EDITOR, "SUNDAY TIMES": This is a very sad moment, I think, (INAUDIBLE). A very tragic figure sitting there, very lonely, knowing that the people do not want him. That the people actually want the man sitting next to him.

CURNOW: President Mbeki then spoke for the next two and a half hours. Only at the end did his speech mention the elephant in the room, the (INAUDIBLE) divisive suction battle between him and Jacob Zuma.

THABO MBEKI, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: If we are divided, what should we do to address this challenge? Given the naked truth that a divided ANC can never decide this historic responsibility to the masses of our people.

CURNOW: But all the people seem to want is his rival. Even after Mbeki's speech, the crowd erupted into a show of support for Zuma. The Zuma's war cry, (INAUDIBLE), which means bring me my machine gun. A rallying call for action and change that Mbeki's people can't seem to silence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Order!

MAKYANA: I think today the ANC are basically reading Mbeki's (INAUDIBLE) rights. And he should have read the signs a long time ago. But, unfortunately, he did not read the signs. And it's very surprising that he actually had to come to conference to be humiliated in this manner.

CURNOW: It's not over yet, though, for the South African president. He and his supporters could still convince the delegates that he should keep the ANC presidency.

These delegates have just finished listening to Thabo Mbeki's speech. And one wonders if they feel the weight of history on their shoulders because it is up to them in the next few days to choose between Jacob Zuma and Thabo Mbeki.

A choice that will continue to polarize South Africans even after the decision is made.

Robyn Curnow, CNN, Polokwane, South Africa.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MCEDWARDS: All right. Well let's take a closer look at Jacob Zuma, the man challenging President Thabo Mbeki for the leadership of the ANC. Zuma was ousted as South Africa's deputy president -- ousted by Mr Mbeki. That was back in 2005 -- because of allegations at the time of corruption and graft (ph). Those were charges he beat. And then, separately, he was acquitted in a rape trial. Zuma was jailed for 10 years at South Africa's notorious Robben Island for conspiring to overthrow white apartheid rule. He later went into exile. Zuma is an ethnic Zulu from KwaZulu-Natal. He was instrumental in mediating an end to violence between the ANC and the Zulu and Inkatha Freedom Party. That was in the 1990s.

CLANCY: The Palestinian Authority getting a major economic boost this day. The French foreign minister says international donors meeting in Paris have pledged $7.4 billion in assistance. Palestinian leaders say that figure tops their own expectations of about $5.5 billion. They requested the funds to try to help develop a viable economy and institutions to build the basis, the foundation for a future Palestinian state.

MCEDWARDS: Well, Palestinians and Israelis have agreed to redouble their efforts to try to lay the groundwork for that Palestinian state. The first major peace talks, of course, in years. But for some Israelis, there is a more pressing concern much closer to home. Ben Wedeman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This is the damage rocked by just one rocket fired from Gaza, which slammed into the Amar (ph) family home in the Israeli town of Stero (ph) last week. Barely a day passes without at least one rocket, and usually more, crashing into this town near the Gaza Strip. David Amargam (ph), the neighbor, says even if he wanted to go, he can't.

"What can I do," he asks. "Where can I live? I don't have any money."

Another neighbor, Shalom Hefa (ph), credits the piety of the family, which had hung photographs of famous rabbis on the walls, with the fact that more harm wasn't done. Credit goes to the holy man but not to Israel's politicians. Widely blamed for doing too little to protect the communities around Gaza.

"We don't have any leaders here," says Abi Suson (ph), who lives next door to the Amars. "They're all too busy dealing with corruption charges."

For four years, everyone in Abi's home has slept in the living room for quicker access to the house's secure room.

Police say the rockets from Gaza are becoming more powerful.

MICHAEL CARDASH, ISRAELI POLICE CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT: One thing we do find is the difference in the heights. Those, as I mentioned, at the beginning we were seeing uranium nitrate, which was a homemade explosives. Nowadays we are seeing TNT, which is the TNT which is probably being brought over the border and smuggled in.

WEDEMAN: The groups that launched the rockets eager to show off their weaponry.

"We're working to extend the range of the rockets to more than 18 kilometers," says this member of Islamic jihad. "We'll continue to fire these rockets until the last settler leaves Palestine."

Less than a kilometer from the Gaza border, in Steroit (ph) police station, the remnants of rockets past are on display.

Police say that more than 2,000 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel from Gaza since the beginning of this year. And senior Israeli military leaders warn that if that rocket fire does not stop, a major military operation in Gaza is inevitable.

Israel mounts regular incursions into Gaza, as well as frequent air strikes targeting militants involved in rocket attacks. But the rockets keep on coming. Leaving many Israelis to ask, not if Israel will invade Gaza, but when.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right. Let's go back to our top story now. A Saudi woman was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison and she was the victim of a gang rape. We're going to hear more from a journalist right now who's been covering this case even on a day when King Abdullah has granted her a royal pardon. We're talking about Ebtihal Mubarak. She is a reporter, a journalist, with Arab news. She joins us now.

A lot of people not surprised by this, but rather concern. A huge amount of international media attention seemed to have played a major role here. Why the concern among women's rights groups that this case took that to go ahead?

EBTIHAL MUBARAK, ARAB NEWS JOURNALIST: Pardon? I can't hear.

CLANCY: Why so much concern by women's groups there that -- on a day when this woman has received a pardon it took international media pressure to really prod Saudi Arabia into addressing this issue with justice?

MUBARAK: Well, due to the unfortunate self-censorship, self- censorship from the Saudi local media, that mislead the Saudi public on the case, the international media coverage of the rape victim did help a lot in that case. I was talking to a Saudi woman activist, Hosea Ioni (ph), and she was saying, as they all welcomed King Abdullah pardon, the rape victim, she was saying that how many cases will reach the international media and will have a pardon afterwards?

Some welcomed -- although they all welcomed the pardon, there are two points of view on the matter. Some were talking about the practicality of the pardon and were asking for strict legislation for rape cases. While others said that today is a historical day and that pardon sent a strong message to judges that they are under surveillance from the Saudi authorities.

CLANCY: So the concern right now is that it takes international pressure. Why -- what did the local media cover if they didn't cover the case? Certainly they published stories about it.

MUBARAK: They only -- when the case started a year and a half ago, there was extensive media coverage. But after the second verdict from more than double the sentence, from 90 lashes to 200 lashes and six months in prison, the Saudi newspapers chose to self-censorship themselves and they only published the ministry official statement that was distributed to the wires. So the SPA agency.

CLANCY: So people were worried about . . .

MUBARAK: That was a self-censorship move, yes.

CLANCY: Well, all right. So people are concerned that cases like this, women's rights cases, aren't going to move ahead without international pressure?

MUBARAK: Well, as I told you, I've been talking to one of the women activists and she said she was saying that the pardon is very good move. But how much will human rights or women's rights cases will receive the international exposure outside? And she was saying that that might not be a practical solution. What we really need is a strict legislation of -- to rape cases and to women's rights in general.

CLANCY: All right. Very quickly, what can you tell us about the lawyer in this case? He literally had his license to practice law taken away as he defended this rape victim.

MUBARAK: Yes. An (INAUDIBLE) source informed us that the lawyer will retain his law license after the Hajj holiday and he will also -- all charges against him filed by a state prosecutor accusing him of stirring the media to confuse the judicial image and thus harm the country, all charges are going to be dropped also and he will gain his law license after the Hajj holidays. So that is confirmed, or was confirmed, yes.

CLANCY: Ebtihal Mubarak, I want to thank you very much as you continue to cover that case and tell us about it and relay some of the fears that people have and human rights groups and women's rights groups there in Saudi Arabia. Thank you.

All right. We're going to take a short break here. Coming up, endorsements a tradition in U.S. presidential politics.

MCEDWARDS: But do they still matter? We are going to bring in our political analyst, Bill Schneider, and ask him if endorsements are essential or archaic.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MC: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.

We want to talk a little more now about the U.S. presidential race and the story we're covering today, all these endorsements that candidates have racked up just in the last few days. Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, joins us now. He's in Washington with more on this.

Bill, how much do these endorsements really matter?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not as much as they used to because people have so many more sources of information than they did 20 or 30 years ago with the Internet and e-mails and everything like that. But they do matter in a close race and the races in New Hampshire and Iowa are very close in both political parties. And so if you only make a difference of 2 percent or 3 percent, hey, that's enough to win the election in these states.

Also they make a difference if voters find it hard to choose because so many of the candidates are so similar. You know, if they're trying to decide between say Romney and Giuliani and McCain, there are a lot of similarities there, or even Obama and Clinton. So voters kind of scratch their heads and one day they're for Clinton and one day they're for Obama and they see an endorsement and that can push them over for one of the candidates.

MCEDWARDS: How big a deal of this is for Hillary Clinton especially, I mean getting the coveted one in Iowa?

SCHNEIDER: That's important for her because "Des Moines Register" is widely read among Democrats in Iowa. Even more so, it has more clout than it does among Republicans. Her campaign has been struggling for a few weeks now. Really ever since that debate where she made -- she gave that answer about illegal immigrants. So she needs a boost. She needs something -- she needs some good news. And this was some very welcome good news for her.

MCEDWARDS: And Joe Lieberman. What's he up to here? I mean, I thought he was just going to kind of take a pass on this.

SCHNEIDER: Well, a lot of people did. This is a big surprise. He's obviously very close to John McCain. I believe they went -- they visited Iraq together. McCain is a Democrat -- is a Republican who has, in the past, had appeal to Democrats. And, of course, Joe Lieberman is a Democrat who has voted very often with Republicans, especially on the Iraq War. So there's a kind of commonality between the two of them.

The reason it raises eyebrows is Joe Lieberman was on the ticket with Al Gore in 2000.

MCEDWARDS: Exactly. Exactly.

SCHNEIDER: My God, the man who the Democrats nominated for vice president just eight years ago, seven years ago, is now endorsing a Republican? What's up with that? Well, it probably means more to Republicans than it does to Democrats because a lot of Democrats have given up on Joe Lieberman, who did not get elected in Connecticut as a Democrat. He relied on Republican votes to get elected.

But for Republicans, they may try to convince themselves, hey, John McCain can, once again, reach out to Democratic voters. But I don't know how many Democrats Joe Lieberman brings with him these days.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. Yes. Exactly.

You know, a lot of people kind of watching Bill Clinton and, you know, waiting for him to really weigh in. This was such an interesting interview he gave on U.S. television. I mean, really, you know, he didn't -- he said a lot more delicately than I'll say it, but he essentially said, you can put just about anybody in the White House and they'd be better than Barack Obama, really getting at this experience factor question. I mean is this a sign of Bill Clinton starting to play the heavy here?

SCHNEIDER: Ah, yes. He is trying to get across the message that the Clinton campaign wants to get across, which is that Obama is difficult to elect because he doesn't have the experience, because he has problems on his background. They want to get that message out. They're trying to do it any way they can. When Bill Clinton speaks, Democrats listen.

But, of course, you know, he also reminds a lot of voters that Hillary Clinton is tied to the past, that she's part of the Clinton administration. A lot of the problems associated with that. A lot of Democrats want to make a clean break with the past and when they listen to Bill Clinton they may say, well, you know, this is pure Clinton style attack politics. We don't want to go back to that.

MCEDWARDS: Yes, that's the thing. It may make some Democrats nervous. I wonder what impact it has on voters, though, I mean, because, you know, people still really like him, don't they? Or what do the polls show?

SCHNEIDER: He's widely admired. As Bush's ratings have dropped, Bill Clinton's ratings have improved. He's a much mor popular figure really than his wife, although -- of course he's not running for president again. But he is admired in retrospect. And the Democrats really have to decide, OK, is that going to be enough for me to get me to vote for his wife?

MCEDWARDS: I got you. Bill Schneider, thank you very much for the analysis. Really appreciate it, Bill.

SCHNEIDER: Sure. OK, Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: And if you are looking for the most up to the minute political news, cnnpolitics.com is really a one-stop shop. Just everything is there. Really nice profiles of the candidates. You can get up to speed on who's who. There are so many of them, after all. The issues as well. Much more. It's all at cnnpolitics.com. Well, you may know this or you may not know this, but a Texas billionaire who once ran for president actually owns a copy of the Magna Carta. And I got to admit, I didn't know this. I didn't know it until today.

CLANCY: Yes, he bought it some time ago. Now, though, he wants to put it up for auction. It's going to be on the block today in New York. How much do you think the Magna Carta would draw at an auction? You may be surprised.

MCEDWARDS: A lot. Yes, we'll tell you.

CLANCY: We'll have the answer next.

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CLANCY: There it is.

MCEDWARDS: Gosh, it's right there. Yes, the only privately held copy of the Magna Carta going up for auction Tuesday in New York.

CLANCY: Texas billionaire Ross Perot selling the century's old manuscript which has been called the most important legal document in the English-speaking world.

MCEDWARDS: And this charter will not come cheap. It is likely to fetch upwards to $30 million. Max Foster looks at the reason for the hefty price tag.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): To fully understand Magna Carta, you need to come to this field a few miles west of London. It was here in 1215 that King John met with a group of rebellious barrens and bishops and signed up to a set of principles which has formed the foundations of English law.

The same principles will be used in the French revolution, in the American constitution, and in the European convention on human rights. Magna Carta contained the concept of individual liberty and freedom and said that no man, not even the king, was above the law.

Parts of the charter are still as relevant today as they always were. Think about the section which talks about no man being imprisoned without lawful judgment. And think about the current debate surrounding detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

And it's not just the principles of Magna Carta that have lasted all these centuries. So incredibly has some of the paperwork. Here at the British library, they still have two of the original copies of the documents that were signed in 1215.

The copy under the hammer in New York this week is a revised version from 1297. That it's on sale at all, though, came as a complete surprise to these American students visiting London. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I couldn't imagine that there is still a privately owned copy of the Magna Carta floating around the world. It seems really incredible that any one person should actually have it in their possession. It must be really incredible to actually own something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I personally hope the government or some charitable foundation gets a hold of it so everybody can enjoy seeing it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So much of our own constitution is based off of, you know, this Magna Carta. And we learn it in history the same as everybody else. It's pretty neat.

FOSTER: When King John came to his spot nearly 800 years ago, he thought it was just signing up to a peace agreement. Little did he know those sheets of paper would form the basis of law across the English-speaking world and beyond.

Max Foster, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: All right. Get your bids in early.

MCEDWARDS: Bid away, indeed.

That's it for this hour. I'm Colleen McEdwards.

CLANCY: I'm Jim Clancy. Stay with CNN.

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