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Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

Aired December 29, 2007 - 22:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: An icon of democracy snuffed out in the streets of Pakistan. We have new images of Benazir Bhutto's final moments. Plus, what does it mean for the future of a region on the front line of the U.S. war on terror?

It was a Christmas Eve massacre of unimaginable brutality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We allege that McEnroe spoke to each child and apologized for what he was about to do. The evidence will show that McEnroe then shot each child in the head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Tonight, new and horrific details about why a daughter, allegedly, helped kill three generations of her own family.

Once every four years, the political universe turns its eyes to the state of Iowa. The caucus is almost here. We'll take you there to see who's gaining, who's slipping and who's really taking the gloves off.

MP3 players were popular gift this is Christmas. Many of them went to children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The stuff that was on here was despicable. It was horrific and something that I would never in the innocence of my child to be stolen like that. And it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Now Wal-Mart's got some explaining to do, after selling an MP3 loaded with porn. All that and more coming up this hour. You're in the NEWSROOM.

And welcome to the NEWSROOM. Right now, we want to show you some new and graphic images coming in to CNN from Pakistan. These are still photos that are being shown on Pakistani television. They appeared to show the sport utility vehicle that was carrying Benazir Bhutto when she was assassinated. There is a lot of damage, as you can see, at the outside of the SUV. You can also see the blood that covers the seat on the inside. Another new photo shows what could be a gunman at the scene of the Benazir Bhutto assassination. The picture is being aired on Pakistani television.

Look closely, you can see a man wearing sunglasses, possibly holding a gun. CNN is not independently confirmed the authenticity of this photograph, as we said, it is airing, though, on Pakistani television. And as we have been reporting, we also have this final video the moments before Bhutto was killed. The video appears to show a hand holding a gun, firing several times in Bhutto's direction. Among the many unanswered questions following Benazir Bhutto's death is who will succeed her as the leader of Pakistan's peoples' party. Now, were learning it could be her son. He's only 19.

Joining me by phone from Islamabad tonight, Simon Robinson. They report over "Time Magazine" who is breaking the story tonight. Thank you for joining us, sir. And please tell us about this son and your sources telling us he will lead the party?

SIMON ROBINSON, TIME MAGAZINE: Well, Pakistan Peoples Party meet today, Sunday, to discuss the future of the party, which obviously is crucial now given the assassination of its beloved leader. I spoke with lots of PPP members yesterday, and even early in the morning, there was a lot of debate about who the new leader should be. It's seemed last night, and I had this confirmed by one senior PPP official, that there is a last will and testament of Benazir Bhutto, and a letter that she wrote, perhaps, after the assassination attempt on her in late October or mid-October when she arrived back in Pakistan after self-imposed exile.

She wrote that in the case that she was killed, and according to this official, that will and that letter indicates that, she wants her 19- year-old son, Bilawal, to succeed her. There's some debate about whether that will happen absolutely immediately. Obviously, there are elections too for January 8th. If they go ahead and there's no guarantee that will happen given the violence in the country. It's possible that the PPP will put someone else up in the role of potential prime minister. And that person is likely to be Makhdoom Amin Fahim, who is a long time Bhutto loyalist, and kind of led the party while Benazir was in exile.

But it seems likely that this young teenage son, the only son of Benazir, will certainly be viewed as the future of the party and according to another official, who wouldn't confirm that he will be the new leader. But he said that he's certainly the future leader, and he will be groomed over the next couple of years. I mean, this is a kid who only just recently went to Oxford to start studying. And he's likely perhaps to be groomed by Makhdoom Amin Fahim, this potential prime minister. And also, his father, Asif Ali Zardari, who a lot of people thought might take on the role of leader. But according to the official who I spoke with, turned down the job in deference to his late wife.

GRIFFIN: So, Simon, just to recap, the 19-year-old son would head the party almost assuring a Bhutto name on the party, which is the Bhutto party, practically. But if they do win elections, that will be a senior official in that party who becomes the prime minister and not this 19-year-old son.

ROBINSON: Right. It would be a short-term thing. I think to get them through the election.

GRIFFIN: Right.

ROBINSON: And perhaps, sometime in the coming months or maybe it would even be a year down the track, the son would be given more and more responsibility. But having him as the head of the party which is, obviously, a very, very powerful, powerful position, and having the Bhutto name, that is the crucial thing.

GRIFFIN: Right.

ROBINSON: Because, there have only been two leaders of this party in 40 years. One was his grandfather, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was hanged in -- by a military ruler in 1979. And then, his mother Benazir Bhutto. So as you say, the party is the Bhutto's and to a large extent, the Bhutto's are the party and that name, still has incredible power and vote and kind of gathering abilities in this country.

GRIFFIN: Very good. Simon Robinson, "Time Magazine," reporting that a 19-year-old son of Benazir Bhutto could possibly be named as the Pakistan Peoples Party leader very soon. Thank, Simon, from Islamabad.

Adding to the shock and uncertainty facing Pakistan, the growing debate over how Benazir Bhutto was killed. Was it a gunshot, an explosion? Something else? CNN's Matthew Chance reports from the scene of the attack.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENTS: Bullets, a suicide bombing or an accidental blow to the head? Inflicting angst of how Benazir Bhutto died. Witnesses spoke of a gruesome scene.

SHERRY REHMAN, BHUTTO AIDE: She did fall, slumped right into the guard the minute she was shot. And there was a huge amount of blood, as I said. She had blood soaked more than one vehicle and several peoples' clothes, so she was bleeding by the gallon.

CHANCE: Well, this is the exact place where Benazir Bhutto's life was so suddenly snatched away. You see that people have scattered flower petals on the tarmac and had come to pay their respects. Thousands came to this park in Rawalpindi to hear her speak. She finished addressing the crowd and was already leaving when she decided to show her face once more. It proved to be a tragic mistake.

Hidden among the supporters, a gunman steps out. Firing at her vehicle, then detonating a suicide bomb. Sherry Rehman, Bhutto's close aide, was one car behind and also injured in the attack.

REHMAN: She was also shot from the left. We heard three shots being fired into the air. We all ducked for cover as we have been trained to do now after all these attacks. And as soon as we ducked, we heard the blast which completely lifted up the car. And the -- one of the doors and windows shattered.

CHANCE: Shattered, too, hopes of Benazir Bhutto rescuing Pakistan from the ethnic, religious and sectarian chaos that has engulfed it. While all this is now, of course, a crime scene where more than 20 other people were killed along with Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan's government is pointing at a radical Islamist warlord linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban. But amongst Benazir's supporters, there's anger at the authorities, the more was not done by them to protect her. There's particular fury as official suggestions, Bhutto, died after slamming her head against the car and not by shrapnel or gunshots as her supporters maintain.

REHMAN: This is an offense to a grieving nation and family and friends because she was shot. I have seen the bullet wound at the back of her head where it went in, where it came out. To say that she was concussed from the sunroof is dangerous nonsense they're absolving themselves of responsibility for providing her better security when we kept asking her to do so.

CHANCE: And in a shocked Pakistan, millions are looking for someone to blame. Matthew Chance, CNN, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: The Islamic militant that the Pakistani government has on its suspect list in the killing of Bhutto is Baitullah Mehsud. What we know about him. We are learning from CNN's John Vause. He is in Karachi right now. John, is this figure well-known in Pakistan?

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he is very much so, but there's not a lot known about Baitullah Mehsud. He is in the mid 30s. He is a senior leader with the Pakistani Taliban. He is camera shy. He doesn't give a lot of interviews. He is very averse to publicity. But according to U.S. Intelligence sources, he has very strong ties to Osama Bin Laden and was fiercely Anti-Bhutto. In fact, before Benazir Bhutto returned from her self-imposed exile back in October, Mehsud, apparently spoke to local reporters and he said that there would be suicide bombers waiting to greet her. He later denied ever saying that. Much like a spokesperson has now denied these accusations against him. This spokesperson saying, quote, "We would never strike a woman."

Also, in another interview, Mehsud allegedly said only through Jihad can we bring peace to the world. Now, as his name suggest, he is the leader of the Mehsud Tribe. One of the largest in Waziristan in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan bordering the Afghanistan border. Now, this is one of the same tribe that the Musharraf government has tried to cut those very controversial peace deals with to end years of fighting them with many argue. Those peace deals just simply haven't worked. They've only emboldened the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters now operate freely in those areas. And this does go to the very murky nature of Pakistani politics. One the hand, Mehsud is being accused by the Pakistani government of carrying out the most high profile, the most prominent political assassination in Pakistani history. But also, on the other hand, the government is willing to try and cut a deal with this very same people, Drew.

GRIFFIN: Very interesting. John Vause in Karachi. Thanks for joining us, John. And CNN covers this story from all the angles. Tomorrow, John, is going to be reporting from Benazir Bhutto's ancestral home. That is where a possible successor to Bhutto could be named in her party.

Meantime, Bhutto's violent death has thrown Pakistan's political process in to crisis. CNN terrorism analyst, Peter Bergen, says if the attack truly was the work of al Qaeda, it would not be the first time terrorists have used assassins against prominent Muslim leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER BERGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cairo, Egypt, 1981. A military parade presided over by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat. Shots are fired. Chaos ensures, Sadat is dead. His murder begins the modern era of assassination by Islamist militants. This one carried out by Egypt's Jihad group which would later morph into al Qaeda. Sadat's killing was judged a triumph by the militants. They deemed Sadat a traitor for negotiating with Israel. Buoyed by that success, the militants turn their sites to Afghanistan.

When in 1991, al Qaeda dispatched an assassin to Rome to kill the exiled king of Afghanistan. A secular figure, popular with ordinary Afghans. The assassin stabbed the aging monarch but the king survived. September 9th, 2001, again an Afghan target. Al Qaeda strikes. This time against, Ahmed Shah Massoud, leader of the northern alliance, which was battling the Taliban, who then ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist. Al Qaeda members disguised as TV reporters killed Massoud with a television camera rigged with explosives. The attack didn't attract much world attention until two days later when al Qaeda launched the most deadly terror attack in history.

We now know that Massoud assassination was al Qaeda's curtain raiser for the 9/11 attacks. Now, it seems Pakistan is in their sites. Following calls for attacks against General Pervez Musharraf by al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, militants mounted two suicide operations against Musharraf in December 2003. He narrowly avoided being killed. Benazir Bhutto was not so lucky. The militants hope that this will create chaos in Pakistan in which they can thrive. Over the past days, riots around the country have killed scores. Pakistan and the world are waiting to see if the militants' dream of a shattered Pakistan will be realized.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: And Peter Bergen joins me now from Karachi. And Peter, we'll take it up where you left off. Does this appear to be creating the kind of crisis that al Qaeda could feed on in Pakistan? BERGEN: Sadly, there's been a great deal of violence all around the country over the last couple of days, Drew. By the government's official figures, something like 40 death, but in fact, the real figure, I'm sure, it's much, much higher. Just reading the Pakistani newspapers. In every single major city, there's been major disturbances and, of course, political unrest in Pakistan. I think it does help the militants.

Their aim is to hold the Democratic process, great conflict, allow the safe haven in the federally administered tribal areas that continue to flourish and with the whole Pakistani political elite very much focused on that. What's going to be next in the Pakistani political process that gives the militants, I think room to breathe, unfortunately.

GRIFFIN: We are reporting tonight, Peter, that the Pakistan Peoples Party could have another Bhutto in charge. Possibly as early as today there in Pakistan. What do you make of that and does that lead further away from a crisis point, if this party comes through with, indeed, a cohesive unit heading into these possible elections?

BERGEN: Well, I think, whether or not they have a cohesive unit going into these elections. I'm not quite sure that they're going to happen on January 8th, the schedule, because Nawaz Sharif, gathered the main opposition leaders. He said his party is going to boycott -- you know, having stating these elections without Benazir Bhutto is sort of like putting on hamlet without hamlet. Yes, they may be able to put the son in as the leader of the party, but as age 19, he can't blame that he has any great political experience. It's really an interim measure. It still doesn't really allow the PPP, the Pakistan Peoples Party, that room to maneuver, really for a serious election coming up on January 8th.

The party itself is declared 40 days of mourning that implies that they're not really geared for the election either. Many of these decisions, Drew, will take place over the next 24 to 48 hours. On Monday, there's going to be consultations with the political parties by the government, as well as meetings with the Pakistani Electoral Commission and these kinds of decision will likely to come within the next 36 to 48 hours period.

GRIFFIN: And we'll look forward to you reporting over those next few days, Peter. Peter Bergen from Karachi, Pakistan. Thank you so much.

Benazir Bhutto's influence stretched far beyond Pakistan. We're going to take a look at what she symbolized to women around the world and we'll also talk to a woman who called her a friend.

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GRIFFIN: Conspiracy and corruption charges aside, Benazir Bhutto was a symbol of hope to many Muslim women. CNN's Kara Finnstrom takes a look at her legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. MAJJIDA AHMED, BHUTTO FAMILY FRIEND: I still don't believe that this person that was so larger than life is gone.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Ahmad practices medicine in California. She says her husband has known Benazir Bhutto's husband since childhood. And she last saw the slain leader several months ago.

AHMED: It's like a hole in your heart. And it just bleeds.

FINNSTROM: Dr. Ahmad knew the private side of the world leader with movie star status who was struggling to balance her public role with that of wife and mother.

AHMED: She loved to talk about her children. She made sure that homework was done. This was a side of this woman that very few people knew.

FINNSTROM: What the world did see was Bhutto's championing of women causes on world platforms.

BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PRIME MISTER OF PAKISTAN: Our election has given women all over the Muslim world the moral strength to declare that it is socially correct for a woman to work and for a woman to be a mother.

FINNSTROM: Bhutto said her father, a former prime minister himself, encouraged her to set aside the traditional Muslim views of a women's role. She did just that. Attending Harvard and Oxford, serving as prime minister twice. Promoting Democracy and despite an attempted assassination in October, pursuing a return to power.

BHUTTO: They don't believe in women governing nations, so they will try to plot against me, but these are risks that must be taken. I'm prepared to take them.

AHMED: She gave the women of Pakistan their identity. That is her final legacy. That we have the ability, if we try, we will succeed.

FINNSTROM: But Bhutto's legacy for women is as complex as Bhutto herself.

EDINA LEKOVIC, ISLAMIC CENTER OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: I look at her as a flawed figure. I think that she was a huge symbol in terms of being the first Muslim woman head of state in the modern times and that's extremely powerful to me. But at the same time, she had an extremely checkered past, as many politicians do, and she was surrounded by corruption allegations.

FINNSTROM: Allegations that included using her office for profit and laundering money. Bhutto denied them. Muslim-American women at this mosque in L.A. honored the leader. In spite of what many also consider a failure, that in the face of opposition, she failed to enact real changes for Pakistani women. These members of the youngest generation of Muslim-American women want empowerment everywhere. Their hope, Bhutto's life will inspire other Muslim women to step forward.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A person, Muslim country that was doing all those pioneering (INAUDIBLE). America hasn't had a female president yet.

FINNSTROM: Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Many people called Benazir Bhutto a friend. Amy Wilentz is one of them. In just three weeks ago, the two had tea together discussing, both the excitement and danger of the return to Pakistan. Amy, thanks for joining us from Los Angeles, I believe. I want to get you to react to the news tonight that we are hearing, that the 19-year-old son of Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal, could assume control or head this party.

AMY WILENTZ, AUTHOR & JOURNALIST: Well, he's a little bit young, I think, to do that. He's just off to Oxford. He's studying political science. She told me, that she had hoped he would be a doctor when we last spoke. So, I'm a little confused by the immediate accession of such a young person to such an important position of power in the party, even if his name is Bhutto.

GRIFFIN: Yes but these are interesting. She supposedly left a will saying that her son should take over the party and yet told interviewers that she also hoped her children wouldn't go into the political family business, so that does seem to be a little bit conflicting.

WILENTZ: Well, she always had that feeling.

GRIFFIN: Yes. When you spoke to Benazir Bhutto, tell me about how she felt about returning to Pakistan, especially about the danger that seemed to be inherent.

WILENTZ: Well, she wanted to deny that there was any danger. She was only too well aware, of course, then she had been told by President Musharraf and by President Bush that there was an enormous threat against her and she knew this, but she wanted to deny it. I think she felt very responsible toward her children and didn't want to be rushing into some situation where their mother was really threatened. Plus, she wanted to have the courage to go back and so, she had to block it out. And that's what she said to me. She said, I'm just blocking out those thoughts.

GRIFFIN: Could it be possible for her to block out those thoughts? I'm just questioning why. Not only she did it, she stayed there after the October assassination attempt. And I mean, either crazy or unbelievably courageous to the very end. She has her half of her body sticking out the top of that car in a crowd.

WILENTZ: Well, she was very determined. I think she was very freaked out by the October attack. Did not expect to be welcomed in that way. And she did return to Dubai to her family for a weekend then, but then Musharraf declared emergency rule and she went back to Pakistan. She felt that this was her destiny, to be the leader of Pakistan. She wanted political redemption. She wanted to overcome the charges of corruption against her and to really become the leader she always intended to be. So, she had no choice really. I think she felt. And she loved the people and she loved the warmth of the people and that's why she stuck her head out of the car.

GRIFFIN: Yes. There are a lot of questions now about how she died. Who killed her, of course? And there's the question of the wounds on her body, which could be easily answered if the body was exhumed and there was some kind of an analysis done. Why will that not happen?

WILENTZ: Well, I think, in Islamic feeling, it's a little weird to take a body that's been buried out of the ground and bring it up again and have it looked at bunches of, you know, technocrats and technical peoples. I think, that's a bad feeling. I think the government has said they'll permit it, if the party is willing to do it. But I think, people really believe she was shot. And no one believes the story about the sunroof so I'm not sure, whether it will happen or not, this new examination.

GRIFFIN: Amy Wilentz, joining us from Los Angeles. Benazir Bhutto, your friend, our condolences to you.

WILENTZ: Thank you.

GRIFFIN: At this time, you must be feeling awful about your friend's assassination.

WILENTZ: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Thank you, Amy. The assassination of Benazir Bhutto has thrown much of Pakistan into uncertainty and that will affect one of America's foremost goals in the region. Hunting down Osama Bin Laden. We think we know where he is, so why can't we catch him?

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GRIFFIN: Osama Bin Laden purportedly releasing yet another audio tape and the timing is very interesting, especially with the assassination of Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the claim that al Qaeda may have been involved. This, again, raises two key questions. Where is this guy and why haven't we found him? CNN's Gary Nurenberg has that story.

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GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Six days after 9/11, President Bush said of Osama Bin Laden.

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: I want justice. And there's an old poster out West, as I recall that said, "Wanted, dead or alive."

NURENBERG: More than six frustrating years later, Bin Laden has not been captured or killed. He releases video and audio recordings at will, the most recent one, purportedly today. ROBERT GRENIER, FORMER CIA STATION CHIEF PAKISTAN: He is an important source of inspiration and of doctrinal guidance, if you will, to the movement. I think it is important that he be removed from the battlefield.

NURENBERG: United States officials believe Bin Laden is living in the mountains of western Pakistan, in an area described, in the July 2007 National Intelligence estimate as a safe haven for al Qaeda.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which is like saying somebody's in Virginia. It's a very big area of 40,000 something square kilometers. If you don't have really good intelligence about where he might be tomorrow, where he might be in an hour, you basically are unlikely to get him. The United States hasn't had that kind of information for several years now.

NURENBERG: And now the focus of the Pakistan government is elsewhere.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The military and the Intelligence Services are spread very thin. Having to cope with chaos in the country now and therefore unable to concentrate to the degree that we desire on attacking al Qaeda in the ways we would like them to attack al Qaeda.

NURENBERG: The Secretary of Defense was asked about the search for Bin Laden earlier this month.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are continuing the hunt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there any progress, Mr. Secretary?

GATES: I think that the progress will be the day that the president goes out in front and says that we have either captured or killed him.

NURENBERG: More than 2,300 days after 9/11, there is no indication that day will be any day soon. Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Three generations wiped out in a murderous Christmas Eve attack. The most shocking part, the crime allegedly committed by a family member. We have horrifying new details next.

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GRIFFIN: Prosecutors say it started as a typical Christmas Eve. Mom wrapping presents. The rest of the family relaxing in other rooms of the house, then gun fire rang out. Six members of the Anderson Family in Carnation, Washington, near Seattle, lay dead. Now, facing multiple first degree murder charges, a relative, Michele Anderson and her boyfriend, Joseph McEnroe. That's them, talking to the police, before their arrest. Apparently, McEnroe is still talking, this time to reporters.

Here is his mug shot and a quote we don't see often from a murder suspect. Keep in mind, it's the woman who is related to the victims but according to "The Seattle Times", McEnroe told the reporter, "I'm sorry that they're gone. They were my family, too, you know?" I hope wherever they're at, they're at peace. That's all I'm going to say about them. So three generations of one family gone and as chilling details of their final moments play out in court documents, it gets more heart wrenching. Here is James Lynch from our affiliate KCPQ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES LYNCH, AFFILIATE KCPQ: They were there. The Anderson children. 5-year-old, Olivia, and 3-year-old, Nathan. They watched as their mother and father were killed and they were the last to die.

DAN SATTERBERG, KING COUNTY PROSECUTOR: We allege that McEnroe spoke to each child and apologized for what he was about to do. The evidence will show that McEnroe then shot each child in the head from very close range.

LYNCH: In a morning news conference, King County prosecuting attorney Dan Satterberg laid out the evidence against Michele Anderson and Joe McEnroe. He says the couple seen here in exclusive Q13 Fox News video walked into the house and shot Wayne and Judy Anderson in the head. When her brother Scott Anderson arrived with his family, Michele and McEnroe are accused of shooting him, too. Then his wife, Erica, she manage to get to a phone and called 911, but before she could say a word, McEnroe ripped the phone from the wall and shot her two times. This is the tape of the dispatch sending deputies to the Anderson home.

911 DISPATCH: Yes, this is 1806 346th Ave NE, the Anderson residence. We can hear a lot of yelling in the background but the (INAUDIBLE) says, it sounds more like a party than actually any kind of heated argument. We left a message when we called back."

LYNCH: We now know deputies never made it to the house. An investigation is planned to see if the deputies acted appropriately. After the shootings, in a evolving plan to avoid detection, prosecutors say Anderson and McEnroe drove north toward Canada, then turned around and drove south toward Oregon. Then, for some unknown reason, returned to the scene of the crime. Again, this is Q13 Fox News exclusive video. Later, they confessed to the murders.

SATTERBERG: The defendants Michele Anderson and Joseph McEnroe drove up to the scene in their pickup truck. They claimed initially to be unaware of the murders. After being separated and interviewed at length, the two were eventually booked into jail. The loss is profound and immeasurable. It impacts not only those who knew the Andersons, but all of us who desire to live in a peaceful community.

LYNCH: Now, a convicted Anderson and McEnroe face life in prison without the possibility of parole or death by lethal injection. The King County Washington prosecuting attorney has 30 days to make that decision. James Lynch, CNN, Seattle. (END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Campaigning for president is hard work unless you are Fred Thompson. He says I ain't that guy. We'll chew on his comments in "Dog Bone Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: The Iowa caucuses are five days away. That's a perfect time to chew on some "Dog Bone Politics." Republican Fred Thompson, he told a questioner today, he is the right guy to serve as president, but he adds, if you want someone who loves to campaign, I ain't that guy. Thompson said, he gave up a lot to run for the White House and in his words, "I am not consumed by personal ambition. I will not be devastated if I don't do it. I'm not particularly interested in running for president."

It's getting rough between Iowa's Republican front runners, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee. Huckabee has stormed pass Romney in most Iowa polls despite being outspent by a margin of about 20 to one. Today, Huckabee ripped Romney's latest TV ads, which have attacked Huckabee's record as Arkansas government. Here's a quote in Huckabee's word. "Mitt doesn't have anything to stand on except to stand against."

Democrat Barack Obama says his first presidential campaign might be his last. He says, his wife Michelle told him recently, quote, "We are not doing this again." Obama says, his wife thinks, if he doesn't win the White House this time around, the two of them would be so out of touch with ordinary Americans by the time he has another chance. In his words, when you're in Washington for a long time, you lose touch.

Well, you have chewed on "Dog Bone Politics." Next, we'll give you more meat. We head to Iowa where the candidates are making the last- minute push towards the caucus. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: We've been watching it play out for months, but in five days, the Iowa caucuses could redefine the race for the White House. The candidates are not holding back. Tonight Republicans turn contentious Mike Huckabee taking issue with Mitt Romney, accusing Romney of being dishonest. And the Democrats, well three candidates, locked in a dead heat for first place in the Hawkeye state. For others, it is do or die.

CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joining us from Iowa tonight. Candy, literally down to the brass tacks now, days away in Iowa. Most Americans focusing on three or four days of football, not so much on politics. I guess the question is, is the strategy from here on in? How do you get, number one, your people to the caucus? And number two, how do you tell undecided, you're their person?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, and that is sort of the double-pronged mission that all of these candidates have. So, it's a sort of combination of rally and final arguments. So what you try to do with those that you know are going to come out for you, is make sure that, A, they have the means to get there. B, they still have the passion to get there. A lot of that is done on the bone, by the precinct captains that are in all of these precincts for all of these candidates. So, they kind of try to get the momentum going there to say, hey, it's coming up. It's really important. It's really close, you got to get there.

As far as the undecided are concerned, it is interesting, at least on the Democratic side, that there's a lot of talk now about electability. What these candidates seem to think is, that in the final closing drive, they need to show that they're the ones who can best fight whoever the Republican is, and get to the White House, because in the end, that's Democrats' biggest desire and that is, to take over the White House. So, talk today about whose electable, who isn't electability and some back and forth between the campaigns, but they also have to be a little bit careful here, because closing arguments generally are the time to talk positively about yourself. So, they're kind of walking this fine line.

GRIFFIN: Yes. And historical perspective now, because you've seen so much of this in Iowa. It seems very close this year. Am I just forgetting what happened in the last election?

CROWLEY: Well, you know, what's interesting is, it seems very close this year, but last time around, we pretty much thought we knew what was going to happen. And that is that Howard Dean would win. Now in the closing week of the Dean campaign, you did get a sense that something was a foul. That something was amiss in the campaign. But nonetheless, we went into that campaign saying, Oh, Howard Dean, he's got the money, he's got the passion. It is going to be him.

So these polls can be deceptive in a couple of ways. First of all, all of those undecided we just talked about. And second of all, can you get your supporter out? It's why they're on the phone, making that third and fourth call to identify caucus goers for specific candidate saying you have to go. And it's also why the polls at this point are a little bit unreliable. Nonetheless, you get the sense out here, with the drive of these candidates, with the kind of stepped up activity that their internal polls and some of the talents is, are showing it really is a very close race.

GRIFFIN: Finally, from inside the campaigns, Democratic side, Republican side. Is this a make or break for a Republican or a Democratic candidate? Do you see candidates leaving the field after Iowa?

CROWLEY: I do. I do see, particularly, on the Democratic side. It becomes very hard if you have a fourth or a fifth place showing. Maybe even a third place showing, depending on who it is, for a candidate to hang on. The exception to that would be, if you take a Joe Biden, who right now, the campaign says, we sense some momentum. What if he does better than expected? He is not expected to place in the top three. What if he should place third? That's momentum for him to go on. But if you place below that, it really becomes tough. First of all, to argue that your candidacy has viability, but second of all, to get the money that you need to go on because these primaries and the Nevada caucus, among others, come really rapidly after this Iowa caucus. There's not a lot of time to raise money. So, the people that come in first or second tends to have that momentum that really carries you a long way, because you get all that free media.

GRIFFIN: Candy, hang in there. Nevada is coming. You will be able to ditch that coat pretty soon. Thank you so much for joining us.

CROWLEY: Sure. Thanks, Drew.

GRIFFIN: And one notable absence in the fight for Iowa, John McCain, the senator. He is in New Hampshire. That's state holds its primary five days after Iowa and McCain's numbers have been climbing there. That has Mitt Romney worried and he's showing it. Here's CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From political road kill to road warrior, John McCain's straight talk express is on a role in New Hampshire. In the live free or die state, McCain insists, it isn't do or die time just yet.

Is this a must win for you?

JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is no such thing as do or die. We've been through that several times. But it's very important. New Hampshire is very important.

ACOSTA: With ten days and counting until the state's primary, McCain is bounding a come back at the expense of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Some polls show the two men neck and neck, which may plain why they are both going for the jugular.

MCCAIN: He's view it some way as a form of flattery and it's also hard to respond sometimes, because the position he has today, may not be the position he has tomorrow.

ACOSTA: The first shots were fired over the air waves. Earlier this week, Romney released this ad accusing McCain of being soft on immigration and taxes. McCain responded with a spot that quoted the now, infamous, anti-endorsement in the "Concord Monitor" newspaper, which labeled Romney a phony. The Romney campaign accused the Arizona senator of getting personal.

This past summer, newspapers across the country had all but written McCain's political obituary. Much of his support had eroded over his backing of an Immigration Reform Bill in Washington that some conservatives labeled amnesty for the undocumented. McCain is now vowing to secure the borders first, but is urging compassion promising out one rally to help a woman who called herself an illegal immigrant who is struggling to obtain legal status. MCCAIN: These people also, are God's children. We all are created in God's image.

ACOSTA: Pollster, Andy Smith says, McCain is peeking at exactly the right time, in a state where he knows how to win.

ANDY SMITH, POLLSTER: But the fact that he had this built-up well of goodwill in the part of the voters in New Hampshire, allowed him to kind of get through that tough patch.

ACOSTA: Smith notes negative campaigning has worked in the past in this state. So, its no surprise McCain is taking swipes at Romney's deep pockets.

MCCAIN: You can't buy an election in the state of New Hampshire. Look at that.

ACOSTA: McCain may have to show voters he is willing to lock horns to win here again. As for that newspaper that ran that anti- endorsement, the "Concord Monitor" just announced its actual endorsement and it's John McCain. All of this momentum, his campaign says, is helping his war chest. It's another sign of life for the senator. The money is flowing again. Jim Acosta, CNN, Londonderry, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: A drought ridden southeast, getting so much needed rain but is it too much too quick? We'll go to the severe weather center next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: A soaking for the southeast. And boy, it needed it bad. Severe weather has never been so nice. Yes, the weekend storms in Georgia flooded roads, caused a lot of airport delays, but this is the kind of weather, state officials plagued by drought literally prayed for. Well, will their prayers keep getting answered? Let's go to Reynolds Wolf. He's in the severe weather center for CNN. And Reynolds, really, the governor here, did pray for rain. I don't know if he's taking credit for this, but we're getting a heck of a lot.

(WEATHER REPORT)

GRIFFIN: Well, imagine asking for an MP3 player for Christmas, getting one, but it's fully loaded. Fully loaded with porn and it happened to a little girl. You'll hear from her furious dad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: A Christmas gift with a shocking surprise. An MP3 video player loaded with porn. It ended up in the hands of a 10-year- old, Tennessee girl. Reporting from Cookeville, Nancy Amons, from our affiliate WSMV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DARRYL HILL, FATHER: It's obscene. It's just totally obscene.

NANCY AMONS, AFFILIATE WSMV: Darryl Hill's 10-year-old daughter was thrilled to find Santa had left this MP3 player under the tree, until she turned it on.

HILL: Within ten minutes, my daughter comes up the steps with tears in her eyes, crying.

AMONS: There were video clips of XXX rated sex scenes. The pornography that's on this MP3 player, it's so graphic. We can't even show you any part of it.

HILL: The stuff that was on here was despicable. It was horrific and something that I would never want the innocence of my child to be stolen like that and it was.

AMONS: The Hills had bought two players for their children. They came from this Wal-Mart store in Sparta, Tennessee. It turns out, one of the MP3 players, had been returned to the store from a previous owner. That owner loaded not only these sex clips but some graphic war scenes.

HILL: And you can actually see the people, the blood and stuff coming out of them, when they get hit by rounds.

AMONS: He had also loaded songs with lyrics about using drugs. The Hills want to know why Wal-Mart would sell used merchandise as new, in the first place, and violation of its own policies.

HILL: I mean it. If they're going to be a major retailer, they need to act like it.

AMONS: The Sparta Wal-Mart declined to comment referring us to Wal-Mart's corporate office.

HILL: I don't -- I don't really know that they could -- could satisfy me with only thing that they can do to get this hurt away, would be take the thoughts and images out of my daughter's head.

AMONS: The Hills say they have declined Wal-Mart's offer to replace the MP3 player. They've already bought their daughter a new one and are hanging on this one, until they talk to a lawyer. In Cookeville, Nancy Amons, Channel 4 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: Stranded at the airport. Almost all of us have been there, one time or another, but not for eight days. One family didn't exactly blend in after living there for more than a week. They say they lost their tickets. The airline shows no record of them ever being purchased.

I'm Drew Griffin. Thanks for joining me. CNN "SIU" is next.

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