Return to Transcripts main page
Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Coverage of Democratic National Convention
Aired July 28, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening again from Boston. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The war in Iraq flares as Democrats convene, but will anyone say the I-word, Iraq, here tonight?
360 starts now.
Kerry comes to town surrounded by veterans. But how tough will he talk about the war on terror?
Tonight, John Edwards prepares for the speech of his life. Can he show America he's got what it takes?
Spin, spin, spin. Democrats and Republicans in tit-for-tat attacks. When will somebody tell these kids to quit?
Once a candidate himself. Reverend Jesse Jackson addresses the convention for the sixth time. Tonight, he joins us right after his speech.
He's been called the next JFK Jr. We go 360 with Chris Heinz, talking money, media, and the politics of power.
And watching you watching us watching them. Who are all those people behind us? Didn't anyone ever tell them it's not polite to stare?
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, live from the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
COOPER: And welcome back. As we have seen here this week, the Democrats are making a big show of unity, celebrating togetherness, trying to project an optimistic view of the future. But some days the reality of the outside world intrudes. Today is one of those days.
In Iraq, terrible violence. Four Americans killed, more than 100 Iraqis, including nearly 70, in this single sickening car bombing in Baqubah, one bomb, 70 lives. Those odds aren't good.
Iraq, however, is not a word you hear mentioned much here in Boston. Case in point, Howard Dean, the man who led the charge criticizing the war during the primaries, last night, he never said the I-word in his speech. Iraq, not once. In fact, over the last two days, in 108 speeches overall, the word "Iraq" was uttered in only about 13 of them. We'll see if that changes tonight, when John Edwards addresses the gathering, and tomorrow when John Kerry does as well.
Standing by for us are Frank Buckley, who's been following the man who would be president, and Dana Bash keeping track tonight of which way the spinners are spinning thing. And there is a lot of spinning going on. Reports from them in a moment.
First, Candy Crowley looks ahead at the convention's penultimate night. Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Monday night was pretty much about the past, Tuesday pretty much about the future. Tonight, pretty much about the here and now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): This Boston night belongs to the silver- tongued senator from the South, joined by his photogenic family, introduced by his wife, who has received five-star reviews for anti- star demeanor.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS'S WIFE: I think I have one of the easiest roles, because I've got great material to work with. I'm a little nervous, of course.
CROWLEY: Giving a little blue-collar patina to the blue-blooded John Kerry, John Edwards is the son of a mill worker. He may mention that. But number twos are about number ones. So mostly, John Edwards will talk about John Kerry, who finally made it to town aboard a slow boat to Charleston named the "Lulu E," a teensy bit outside the muscular image the Kerry campaign is hoping to conjure up to show voters he's tough too.
Beyond the debut of Edwards, there is official business here tonight, the nomination of John Kerry. Crazy hats, wild speeches, political Americana, no suspense. This is way past prime time, night- owl viewing.
And finally, some off-the-floor news. Teresa Heinz Kerry, the soft-spoken, outspoken billionaire ketchup heiress, went niche campaigning this morning. The African-American caucus, the Latino caucus, and this afternoon, the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender caucus.
TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: And so at least, if nothing else, you will have a mom in the White House. You can call me Mama T. any time.
CROWLEY: They kind of liked the ring of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.! (END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Let Teresa be Teresa. Mama T. will, in fact, be back here tomorrow night with her husband, John Kerry, when he accepts the nomination, Anderson.
COOPER: Candy, thanks very much.
It was Woody Allen who said, 80 percent of success is just showing up. Not completely true. It matters how you show up. And as Candy Crowley mentioned, today in Boston, the arriving John Kerry made quite a splash.
Frank Buckley has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Kerry came home to Boston, where on Thursday he'll accept his party's nomination for president.
He crossed Boston Harbor by boat, accompanied by 13 fellow Vietnam veterans, most of them former crewmates from Kerry's Navy swiftboats. The arrival, a photo op designed by the campaign to remind voters that Kerry has led men in war in the past, and to make the case he can lead America as commander in chief.
WESLEY CLARK (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every decision he's going to make concerning national security is going to be informed by his personal experience of hearing the bullets snap overhead, the thump of the mortars, and seeing the look on people's faces.
BUCKLEY: The arrival in Boston caps a week of campaigning across the U.S. Kerry now set to accept his party's nomination.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to my opportunity a little more than 24 hours from now to share with you and all of America a vision for how we're going to make this country stronger at home and respected in the world. That's exactly what we're going to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: And tonight, John Kerry is home here in Boston. We're told he's receiving visitors, a former Vermont governor, Howard Dean, among those people seen going into his home. Otherwise, no public events scheduled for John Kerry either today or tomorrow before he delivers his speech in prime time.
We're told he'll be resting his voice and making adjustments to his speech. Yes, he's still working on his speech. We are told, Anderson, that he'll continue to make adjustments to it probably right up until the moment he delivers it, Anderson.
COOPER: Going over and over again. And Frank Buckley, thanks very much.
Stepping up to the podium right now, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the crowd chanting "Jesse" as you can see. Let's listen in for a short time.
REV. JESSE JACKSON: Tonight the pendulum swings from pain to possibilities. From hurt to hope, from darkness to light, the line of progress is unbroken. In 1944, my father's generation served in the war, segregated battalions, duty without honor.
Ten years later, 1954, 335 years of legal race supremacy was ended, Brown v. Board of Education.
And 10 years later, Dr. King; the Public Accommodations Bill; Fannie Lou Hamer knocking on the door of Atlantic City.
Ten years later, 1984, the Rainbow presidential campaign in San Francisco, and we came alive; 1984, 2 million new voters; the Senate in '86; Bill Clinton in '92 and '96.
And now, 2004, Barack Obama symbolizes the line of progress and growth.
(APPLAUSE)
These movements enabled Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, Carter and Clinton to be great. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) generation of youth, Mayor Kilpatrick of Detroit, Congressman Harold Ford and Congressman Jackson Jr., and Congresswoman Lee and Congressman Meeks and Alicia Reece and Al Sharpton and Mabel Tang, Bobby Rush and Senator Tony Hill and Paul Wellstone...
(APPLAUSE)
Seeds sown, became fruits of joy. The pendulum swings, the morning cometh. In the darkness of 2000, the winners lost and the losers won. Jewish voters in West Palm Beach, immigrants stopped at the polls, a million black votes cast but not counted. This must never, ever happen again.
(APPLAUSE)
In the dark, our nation's record budget surplus turned into a $500 billion dollar deficit.
In the dark, a net loss of jobs in every state.
They ignored the genocide in the Sudan, and induced coup in Haiti.
And yet as the darkness abounds, hope abounds even more.
For the 44 million with out health care insurance, help is no the way.
For parents afraid to call the doctor for their children, because they cannot pay the bills, help is on the way.
For our seniors whose Social Security is at risk, who must choose between paying their rent or paying for the soaring costs of their prescription drugs, hold on, help is on the way.
The president speaks of leaving no child behind, but leaves 2 million children behind to protect the tax cuts for the top one percent.
Millions of youth today cannot afford tuition and cannot get a job. Every child, red, yellow, brown, black and white, deserves a constitutional right to an equal, high-quality public education.
Help is on the way.
(APPLAUSE)
In the dark, a president chooses tax cuts for millionaires, but job cuts for steelworkers, firefighters and police. The president talks of homeland security, but wants to let AK-47s and Uzis back on the street.
Hope comes in the morning for those Appalachia, where coal miners are dying every six hours from black lung disease. Hold on, hope cometh in the morning for our children who were sent to war in Iraq on bad intelligence and worse leadership.
(APPLAUSE)
Sent to fight a war that's foreign to our values, that leaves us weaker and less secure, sent to a war in Iraq -- the wars of mass deception are more apparent than weapons of mass destruction.
It is a moral disgrace, a moral disgrace. America deserve better.
(APPLAUSE)
It is a moral disgrace.
(APPLAUSE)
But a new day is dawning, a new America is turning pain to power because beyond the extreme right wing is a beautiful rainbow of all of God's children.
Out of the darkness of the bushes, we see the soaring of an authentic American eagle on the horizon.
When I campaigned for John Kerry's Senate seat in 1996, he was resolved in his convictions. He was cool under fire.
Dr. King said you measure the character of leaders in the fire of crisis. John Kerry stood in the valleys and shadows of death in the Mekong Delta. Though wounded, shot and bleeding, a lesser man might have said, "I'm lucky." and speed away when your comrades have fallen. He led his men back to the delta to save them. That's what leaving no one behind really means -- when you put your life on the line.
(APPLAUSE)
That's what it really means. No greater love than love of a fallen comrade.
John Kerry had the faith and God had the power in the exalted realm of valor under fire. In this campaign of courage and faith and leadership and honor, John Kerry stands alone. He deserves to be our next president. He deserves it.
(APPLAUSE)
John Kerry sees a new miracle through a door, not through a keyhole.
With studied intellect and keen insight, he saw talent and strength in John Edwards, a man from the South with hope and courage in his message; a man, John Edwards, whose journey is the best of American folklore. He inherited little, but worked hard and earned much, embodying hope and inspiration.
John Edwards dares to stand in the gap between rich and poor, black and white, urban and rural, a vision of a new America.
The Bible speaks of the difficulties of rich young rulers getting into the kingdom. It's because they are intoxicated by the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of privilege. But John Edwards understands using wallpaper for a windbreaker, not for decoration. He understands peanut-butter sandwiches and Kool-Aid.
(APPLAUSE)
He understands grits and gravy. He understands the fear of (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He understands you and me.
We thank God that John Kerry chose John Edwards on that ticket. It makes hope and healing come alive...
(APPLAUSE)
... come alive, come alive.
John Kerry and John Edwards will reinvest in America and put America back to work.
They represent hope and healing for a new America. John Kerry and Edwards will fight for health care for all, for an environment where we can breathe free.
As I close, in 96 days, dark clouds will roll away. Children can rejoice; Lady Liberty will be unmasked and unshackled; we can sing again, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring." She can sing that song again.
(APPLAUSE)
Ray Charles can sing from the heavens, "America the Beautiful." Ray Charles can sing again.
The shackles will leave her arms. She can stretch forth in all of her splendor, free of crippled civil rights and civil liberties. She can proclaim again, "Give me your tired, give me your poor, your huddled masses who yearn to breathe free."
Come November, let the eagles fly to Washington. It's peace time. It's justice time. It's homecoming time. It's home-going time. It's time to bring our troops home and send Bush back to Texas.
(APPLAUSE)
Early as possible, bring the troops home. Send Bush to Texas.
It's time to send John Kerry and John Edwards to the White House this November. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive.
AUDIENCE: Keep hope alive.
Louder.
AUDIENCE: Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive.
I love you.
COOPER: This is the sixth time the Reverend Jesse Jackson has addressed the Democratic National Convention. He will join us live when 360 continues. We will get his feelings about his speech, how it went, and, of course, the fall campaign, as well.
Also, the man at center stage tonight, John Edwards makes his national debut at the podium. Should he talk up Kerry, or bash Bush? We'll talk -- we'll hear from the left and from the right. James Carville and Bob Novak step into the "CROSSFIRE." They are standing by live.
Also tonight, it is a cliche we've heard a lot, a rising political star. Well, we got one joining us live. Chris Heinz on (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on 360.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACK-EYED PEAS (singing): Let's get it started, let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, let's get it started in here.
COOPER: And that's the Black-Eyed Peas, "Let's Get It Started." They'll actually be performing at the grand finale here tonight.
Well, one of the big speeches tonight here, of course, in the FleetCenter, a courtroom master turned politician faces his biggest jury, the American public. John Edwards will give perhaps the biggest speech of his political life, making the case on why he and John Kerry should get the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
What will he say? CNN's Elaine Quijano has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Without mentioning the president or vice president by name, campaign sources say, Senator John Edwards will question their decisions on Iraq, taxes, and other issues when he delivers his convention speech.
The criticism will be leveled in the form of contrasts. With lingering questions about President Bush's own military service, Edwards will retell the story of how John Kerry saved another man in Vietnam, and will describe him as, quote, "decisive and strong," and then ask, "Aren't these the traits you want in a commander in chief?"
Another excerpt released by the campaign refers to American service personnel killed and wounded in Iraq, calling them "the best and the bravest," and saying, "They deserve a president who understand that on the most personal level, what they have gone through, what they have given, and what they have given up for their country."
Yet aides insist Edwards will strive for a positive tone, repeating a theme he's stressed on the campaign trail.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to reject this tired old hateful negative politics of the past.
QUIJANO: Tonight, Edwards' political skills will be put to the test.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Edwards needs to do a good job tonight, but not too good of a job. He's not trying to sell himself. He already did that during the primary campaign. His new job is to sell John Kerry. He's going to be doing that between now and November and maybe for the next four years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now, Senator Edwards spent most of the day here in his hotel room. Aides say he was with family and putting the finishing touches on his speech.
But late this afternoon, the senator actually left the hotel to go running along the Charles River. Aides say he is an avid runner. He likes to run on a regular basis, five or six miles per session.
But the senator actually yesterday did a walk-through of the FleetCenter to get a feel for what it was like behind the podium so it will not necessarily be completely unfamiliar to him when he arrives there tonight.
The senator also was dealing with a sore throat earlier this week, though. But when asked about it last night at the FleetCenter, he said it was OK and that he would be ready tonight, Anderson.
COOPER: Elaine Quijano, thanks very much.
Will Edwards deliver tonight? Will he mention two Americas again, that speech we heard a lot on the campaign? Let's step into the "CROSSFIRE," get feedback from CNN's James Carville and Robert Novak.
Gentlemen, thanks for being with us.
James, we're hearing that John Edwards will not mention President Bush by name. Is that a smart move?
JAMES CARVILLE, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I think (UNINTELLIGIBLE) very high expectations. I think he's going to give an absolutely brilliant speech. He's a very successful guy. I'm delighted with the pick. This crowd's very enthusiastic. And I'm really looking forward to it.
COOPER: Is he going to be a new speech? Because he gave that "Two Americas" speech an awful lot on the trail.
ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I don't think he's going to give the "Two Americas" speech. "Two Americas" speech is a very divisive speech. It's a populistic speech. He was running for the Democratic nomination. It's a different constituency he has now. So that's what's going to be interesting...
COOPER: What does he have to do tonight?
NOVAK: I think he, I think what he has to do is say some very nice things about John Kerry. Anderson, the, these vice-presidential candidates have have very little impact on elections. And I think this guy may have less impact than most. I don't think he has any clout in the South to speak of. He had very little bounce from his nomination, naming his nominations. Polls were unaffected.
And so this is a -- a media, the media is very excited about this. But I think it's not going to be nearly as interesting as Barack Obama last night, who really captured the imagination of these delegates.
COOPER: James, you are laughing.
CARVILLE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) going to do great. I mean, look, he's a very articulate guy, very successful, he's a very good pick for John Kerry. He's going to do a very good job tonight, do a very good job on the campaign trail.
COOPER: Does he do anything in the South for John Kerry, though? I mean, as Rob pointed out, not a big bounce.
CARVILLE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I think, I think we're (UNINTELLIGIBLE), what we're, you know, going to carry Florida. I think we got a real shot Virginia. We might, he might have a shot in North Carolina. We got a shot in Arkansas... COOPER: But were you surprised...
CARVILLE: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- we're not going to carry Alabama, no.
COOPER: Were you surprised he didn't get a bigger bounce, though?
CARVILLE: No, I think it's fine. I mean, we're going to our convention ahead. I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know, we're in good shape. I'm fine.
NOVAK: I don't think he has any impact in the South at all. I think he made a big mistake. He was on "LARRY KING" last week, and he said something he said elsewhere, he said first thing he's got to do is introduce himself to the people, then explain John Kerry, how he sees John Kerry. And then what the vision is.
I think that was all wrong. I don't think people care about John Edwards. They worry about John Kerry. He's got to push John Kerry, not his vision of John Kerry, but the Kerry campaign vision. He is a spear carrier, Anderson. He is not a major factor.
COOPER: James, Republicans have gone after John Edwards, saying he has no experience in national security.
CARVILLE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) experience in national defense and national foreign (UNINTELLIGIBLE) did President Bush get? He was a successful attorney. President Bush was an unsuccessful businessman. He is four times more qualified to be vice president than George W. Bush ever was to be president. And that's just a fact. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Bob (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because he knows it's a fact.
COOPER: John...
NOVAK: I'm not going to argue that he was governor of Texas or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or this guy's a U.S. senator. And it's very not important. But the point is he has a, he has very little -- about as little experience as any vice-presidential nominee on his own. But that's OK. It really doesn't matter.
The important thing of this convention is tomorrow night, when John Kerry tries to present himself to the country. There's some problem here. The American people not that happy with George W. Bush, but they haven't bought into John Kerry. John Kerry has to sell himself. And I don't think that John Edwards is going to be able to sell him. Whether John Edwards sells himself is, I think, irrelevant.
COOPER: Final word, James?
CARVILLE: You know what? John Edwards is going to do fine tonight. Senator Kerry is going to do fine tomorrow night. We got a strong ticket. This is an election that we're going to win.
COOPER: All right, we'll see if fine is good enough. James Carville, Robert Novak, thanks very much. NOVAK: Thank you, Anderson.
Democratic insiders also weighing in on the Edwards speech. In tonight's "National Journal" poll, 21 insiders say that Edwards should make the case for a Kerry presidency. Only one person told the "National Journal" that Edwards should take on President Bush.
That brings us to today's buzz. What do you think at home? In his speech tonight, John Edwards, what he should he do, make the case for Kerry, or take on President Bush? Log on to CNN.com/360, cast your vote. Results at the end of the program.
And for the daughters of John Kerry and John Edwards, there is no handbook or textbook to prepare them for extreme makeover they're getting. While they don't have a manual, they do have help from some women who were once in their place. And this morning, the graduates offered the incoming class a crash course on the raw politics of being kids of presidential running mates.
National correspondent Kelly Wallace has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Daughters helping daughters on how to cope when your dad's job changes from senator to member of the Democratic ticket.
KARENNA GORE SCHIFF, AL GORE'S DAUGHTER: It can be both an incredible privilege and also a bit of a roller-coaster ride.
WALLACE: And so Karenna and Kristin Gore hosted a brunch for women who are now in their shoes, Vanessa and Alex Kerry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not sure that Vanessa and I would have such strong voices if they hadn't sort of paved that path.
COOPER: And Kate Edwards.
KATE EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS'S DAUGHTER: Obviously, they've been through this a number of times. So they have been such a great resource for us. And they've reached out to us, and it's fantastic.
WALLACE: Tip number one, get ready for life as you know it to change.
KRISTIN GORE, AL GORE'S DAUGHTER: It's amazing how quickly things change, and all of a sudden the Secret Service are at your 10th-grade dance.
WALLACE: And, of course, don't forget to pace yourself.
SCHIFF: Because it can be very draining when every time you leave your room, there's a camera on you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you getting used to all the cameras?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is definitely a very new experience.
WALLACE (voice-over): After all, not every 20-something gets to meet and become friends with Ben Affleck and has to prepare a speech that will be seen on national television.
KATE EDWARDS: Yesterday I finally -- I was on the rug, I was in the press room on the floor, sort of writing, and I felt like I was in eighth grade again, you know, sort of, No, that doesn't sound right.
WALLACE: Maybe this final piece of advice from women who have done what they are about to do will help.
GORE: Just to keep doing what they are doing, to be themselves, you know, because they're so amazing, and they're so good at connecting with people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And the first of the daughters to try to keep in mind that advice, Kate Edwards, who heads to the podium just a little less than three hours from now to introduce her mother, Elizabeth, Anderson.
COOPER: And we'll have Chris Heinz on our program a little bit later on. Kelly Wallace, thanks very much for that.
Once a candidate himself, Reverend Jesse Jackson addresses the convention for the sixth time. Tonight, he joins us right after his speech.
He's been called the next JFK Jr. We go 360 with Chris Heinz talking money, media, and the politics of power.
And watching you watching us watching them. Who are all those people behind us? Didn't anyone ever tell them it's not polite to stare?
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back to the FleetCenter here in Boston, Wednesday night's special convention edition of 360.
The players are finally all in place, the production's leading man arrived in Boston today, though he'll be in the wings till act four, which, of course, comes tomorrow.
As for tonight, call it a long drum roll, but quite a lot more than that as well. After all, some pretty big supporting acts are on the bill this evening. Elizabeth Edwards will introduce her husband, John. Senator Bob Graham of Florida will speak, as will Reverend Al Sharpton, who was a competitor of John Kerry's for the Democratic Party's nomination. And Dennis Kucinich, who still is.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Welcome back to the FleetCenter here in Boston. Wednesday night special convention edition of 360. The players are finally all in place. The production's leading man arrived in Boston today, though he'll be in the wings until act four, which of course comes tomorrow.
As for tonight, call it a long drum roll, but quite a lot more than that as well. After all some pretty big supporting acts are on the bill this evening. Elizabeth Edwards will introduce her husband John. Senator Bob Graham of Florida will speak as will Reverend Al Sharpton, who was a competitor of John Kerry's for the Democratic Party's nomination and Dennis Kucinich, who still is, and then there was another powerful speaker who finished at the podium not long ago and has been good enough to come by to talk with us. Reverend Jesse Jackson will be speaking with us very shortly.
The GOP theme for the Democratic Convention has a bit of a reality show ring to it. They are calling it -- quote -- "The Democrats extreme makeover." Republicans today are taking dead aim at candidate Kerry on security issues and what they say are examples of him flip-flopping on his support for the war in Iraq. The chairman of the Bush/Cheney reelection campaign, Marc Racicot, joins me right now.
Marc, thanks very much for being with us.
MARC RACICOT, CHAIRMAN, BUSH/CHENEY '04: Thank you.
COOPER: What has surprised you most about what you have heard or not heard out of this convention?
RACICOT: Well, I think we began with the hope that, of course, that John Kerry's promise of focusing upon the issues and advancing his candidacy would be the most important part of the convention. It has, unfortunately, not been a convention that's delivered on that particular pledge. Even though there have been efforts to avoid saying the name George W. Bush, nonetheless there's been an awful lot of hyperbolic rhetoric from Ted Kennedy...
COOPER: So wait a minute. You're saying they have just been bashing the president. You said they haven't been speaking about the issues?
RACICOT: Well I think that they focused upon -- in any way they possibly can, whether it's with innuendo, by implication, by suggestion, right up front. I mean Howard Dean yesterday, Anderson, talked about the fact that the president -- although he couldn't call him a fascist he was more inclined to burn books than read them.
Ted Kennedy went on last night and talked about fear over and over and over again. He talked about the president not being a man wisdom and honor. It has been one night after another. And when they are not talking about bashing the president, they are talking about things that are just completely untrue. I mean even the fine presentation given by Mr. Obama last night was not factually correct. He was talking about the fact that we need to take care of the troops. That we need to make certain that reservists receive health care. Those are the things that the bill that John Kerry voted against provided for. So the fact of the matter is...
COOPER: So, you give the Democrats absolutely no credit for not being vitriolic against the president? I mean -- some of the things you mentioned are certainly things which I imagine at the Republican Convention we're going to be hearing, you know flip-flopping, waffling, those kind of words used about Candidate Kerry.
RACICOT: Well I think that if they've tried to tone it down I haven't seen overpowering evidence. And quite frankly, I have seen no evidence that they want to be confined by the truth of the matter. They just simply haven't addressed the issues in a way that's factually accurate.
COOPER: Are you making a pledge at the Republican Convention you guys are only going to be focused on the issues. You're not going to be focusing on Candidate Kerry.
RACICOT: I think what I'm telling you is that this president has a very positive agenda. That will be the focus of our convention and you will hear us talk about that very positive agenda throughout the course of our convention.
COOPER: You guys have set up this sort of high tech war room, which is obviously something which Bill Clinton kind of perfected, but you guys are kind of taking it to a different level. This is kind of real-time you know facts -- war facts and figures. Is it working?
RACICOT: Well we'll see, I guess. We think that the American people have a right to have all of the facts before them when they make a decision and when there are inaccuracies or misapprehensions that are conveyed to the American people we think that we ought to make certain that they understand when that occurs. We also think that the contrasts here that are being drawn are very important to the American people (UNINTELLIGIBLE) be a very, very clear choice for them in November.
COOPER: Marc Racicot, we appreciate you joining us tonight.
RACICOT: Thank you...
COOPER: Marc Racicot, we appreciate you joining us tonight. Thanks very much. We'll talk to you later on.
Back to the Democrats now. The Reverend Jesse Jackson has been deeply involved in the Democratic Party for a long time now as a supporter and organizer and a candidate for office himself. He's been a speaker at every one of the party's conventions, all six of them since 1984.
Reverend Jackson, we appreciate you very much for being here. Thanks very much.
REV. JESSE JACKSON, SUPPORTER, DEMOCRATIC PARTY: That was an interesting conversation you just had.
COOPER: Well we try to have interesting conversations here. I'm not going to give you a break, though. Let me ask you this here -- you said in your speech now, which we ran live, you said it is time to bring the troops home. John Kerry is not talking about bringing the troops home.
JACKSON: At the earliest time possible that should happen. Right now we have -- we've gone into a situation where we're losing lives, we're losing money, we're losing honor and the sand is sinking. So there must be a credible effort, as John wants to do, to have an international effort to begin to steer us out of there. We cannot go from invasion and -- to conquest. We're sticking with it, get out as quickly as we can.
COOPER: You say, you like to keep hope alive. You see no hope going on, on the ground in the Iraq today?
JACKSON: Oh, the killing continues. We're still losing lives - 900 plus, moving towards 1,000. More than 6,000 injured. Billion of dollars spent and the Middle East is less secure and more chaotic. Now we're less secure at home because now we've turned Iraq into a kind of breeding ground for official chaotic state of terrorism.
COOPER: Why aren't we hearing the word Iraq used on the speech? We did a little count -- of 108 speeches, only 13 speeches have used actually the word Iraq. I think you were going to use the word Iraq in your speech -- I'm not sure you actually ended up using it...
(CROSSTALK)
JACKSON: I did use the word Iraq and the country Iraq because the -- that was unity around fighting the Taliban, they hit us. We knew who their workers (ph) -- been funding them (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and it was a great coalition. Then we made this unilateral move to Iraq under the pretense there were weapons of mass destruction imminent threat. I do not blame John Kerry for giving President Bush the authorization to fight a war assuming that he would be prudent and wise in his judgment. That did not happen. We're embarrassed because there are no weapons of mass destruction, no imminent threat, no al Qaeda connection and now the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. So we're trapped in disgrace.
COOPER: But we're not hearing a lot of that here on the podium. I mean I think you can make the argument, a lot of people -- a lot of Democrats or a lot of people who supported Howard Dean early on were mobilized by their opposition to the war. At this convention, I mean the Republicans are saying look, this is a makeover convention. Is there any truth to that?
JACKSON: There is a real surge in this convention to come out of the war on Iraq because money spent there, in fact, should be reinvested here. But this is not going to be just an anti-war rally. This is a president of the country rally. I think the issue of the million votes disenfranchised in 2000 is a real big issue here. A lot of fear about voter insecurity this time. Second issue, about the economy, third about Iraq. Those are the issues you will hear over and over again, Iraq, the economy, and voter enfranchisement. COOPER: You use that million figure a lot and there are a lot of people who say that is, you know way, way over estimate. I mean there are you know a dozen different groups have a dozen different...
JACKSON: There are some who argue that it's even more than that and I'll tell you what happened. For example...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: But there are some who argue it is way less than that. I mean that a million is just an overstatement. I don't think -- let's not get hung up on that.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: How big of an issue is that looking back in 2000 for you here tonight. How much of an issue is it looking back at 2000?
JACKSON: It's a big issue because the election was determined by the margin of disenfranchised voters. Before that, there were 500 Jewish citizens who voted for Gore and got Buchanan because of misalignment. The -- Gore was 145 votes down before the 5,000 (UNINTELLIGIBLE) counted and they didn't count the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) votes. So we know that by the margin of the court freezing the vote, it determined the outcome.
COOPER: You don't hear a lot of the candidates talking backwards. I mean Al Gore, you know he sort of jokingly referenced it, but he made a point I'm not dwelling on the past. Is there a danger of you bringing this up dwelling on the past?
JACKSON: Well, I was doing voter registration on the ground. President Gore -- well, former candidate Gore, he had the awesome burden of stopping the appeal by the Congress to the Senate, to at least assess what happened in Florida (UNINTELLIGIBLE) himself. The reality is...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... very much alive.
JACKSON: If the voter -- if voting enfranchisement had been honored, he would be president. So it must be a painful burden for him to bear.
COOPER: And it's something (UNINTELLIGIBLE) bring up tonight. Reverend Jackson, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you very much. Thanks.
JACKSON: Thank you, sir.
COOPER: Up next -- getting a little loud. They're playing "Living in America". Up next, 360, Chris Heinz, John Kerry's stepson is live with us to talk about the convention, the election, and really whatever else is on his mind. We'll see where the conversation goes. Also tonight, where did he go, Michael Dukakis, a hometown guy, one time a presidential candidate, nearly invisible. Is that intentional? And Republicans are making hey about it. We'll look at that.
And a little later going camera crazy, why some people here feel it's their duty to get in every single shot. We'll take that to the "Nth Degree" ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And we are back live here at the FleetCenter. Sly & the Family Stone, every day people playing. It has been one of the theme songs of this year's convention. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) all right, he's the golden boy for many Democrats and clearly a rising star in the party but for now Chris Heinz is focusing on his step dad's political future, not his own. For the past year and a half, the 31-year-old has been working the crowds and courting young voters to elect John Kerry in November. He's doing it with a flare for the spotlight, as well as a killer Arnold Schwarzenegger which he will refuse to do and Chris Heinz joins us now.
Thanks for being with us Chris.
CHRIS HEINZ, STEPSON OF JOHN KERRY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
COOPER: Were you pleased, "A" with your speech last night and with your mom's speech?
HEINZ: Well, I was pleased with my introduction. Yes, it was fun to do and then I was so pleased with my mother's speech. You know here in the FleetCenter from where I was, it looked like it was very well received and got a lot of great e-mails from friends who were supportive.
COOPER: I find it hard anytime people criticize my mom, I can only imagine what it is like for you. I mean people call your mom a liability, bossy, outspoken...
HEINZ: Yes.
COOPER: ... all sorts of things.
HEINZ: Right.
COOPER: Do you take it personally?
HEINZ: Most of the time, no. You know, we have been in politics for a while. We understand that it's a rough and tumble game. If it gets too personal it's disappointing.
COOPER: What do you think they don't -- I mean the people who say that, what do you think they don't get?
HEINZ: Oh I don't think that. I think that people who say that have an agenda and they are pushing it on to people who are just sort of looking and you know making -- trying to make an important judgment. And that's an opinion of my mom. I don't think it, you know, it relates to the facts particularly well. I think she is a wonderful warm person and I think she started to show that to the American people last night.
COOPER: John Edwards speaking tonight. Of course, his wife speaking tonight as well. There are some who say that you were not a big proponent of John Edwards being on the ticket initially. Is that true and if so, why?
HEINZ: Not at all. It just wasn't. I know -- all I can say is I know John asked me twice for input right after March 2 and once shortly before they made the decision. I told him the same name both times and I am very happy with the pick. It doesn't have anything to do with me. I just -- we just talked about why I thought what it was. I love John Edwards. I love his family. I am so excited they're on board.
COOPER: You said you told him the same name. Was it John Edwards or you're not wanting to say?
HEINZ: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
COOPER: All right. You initially joined the campaign basically as a fund-raiser...
HEINZ: Right.
COOPER: ... and yet, sort of your role has changed...
HEINZ: Right.
COOPER: What are you doing now? What do you see yourself doing in the months ahead?
HEINZ: Well, you know, there's a time in this process, as you know, where it's less about votes and more about going out there and selling John to people who can help us build a network of people for change. And fund-raising is a part of that. It's one of the early activities. It's a way for me to get to understand what we did.
And last fall when there was an active ground campaign I spent time with my sisters, going to college campuses, senior citizen centers, and other schools just to talk and answer questions. We're going to try to do the same thing. You know I imagine in a general election the scope of my communication might have to be a little bit bigger because we are trying to move the needle on a much larger scale. But we're just going to go and try and talk to voters, answer their questions, and get people excited about John.
COOPER: We'll be listening. Chris Heinz, thanks very much.
HEINZ: Thanks, Anderson.
COOPER: Good to see you.
HEINZ: Good to see you.
COOPER: Well, as the Democratic Party faithful gather in Boston to anoint Candidate John Kerry, one voice is missing from the proceedings, Michael Dukakis who was once the bay state's hometown hero, a former Massachusetts governor and in 1988, of course, the man who got the cheers and the presidential nomination. This year you'd have to look hard to find him around the FleetCenter. How quickly we forget.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm honored to be here tonight, to nominate my friend Michael Dukakis for president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
COOPER (voice-over): He was the man of the moment 16 years ago, following a long winded speech by Bill Clinton and one of the party's young guns. Michael Dukakis was anointed the nominee, the great hope of the Democratic Party. For him and them it all went terribly wrong. After leading George Bush by double digits in the polls, Dukakis lost the election and became a party pariah shunned by the Clinton and Gore campaigns in '92, '96 and 2000, and it's not much better in 2004 where John Kerry, his former lieutenant governor, is keeping him out of the limelight.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: So far, his most public appearance has been as a tour guide literally taking Democratic delegates on a walking tour around Boston. Tonight he'll be allowed on the stage, though briefly, a walk on with a group of other former nominees. Viewers may not have noticed Dukakis' absence but Republicans sure have. They post a daily Dukakis watch on an RNC Web site. Ouch.
Why is this former Democratic nominee being kept at bay in the bay state? After all, Jimmy Carter lost his bid for reelection in 1980 and he got to speak. And Al Gore came up short in 2000 and he spoke, as well.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: John Kerry doesn't want to be Michael Dukakis. He wants to be Teddy Kennedy. Michael Dukakis has disappeared. He has the image of loser to the Democratic Party.
COOPER: And so Dukakis, who now teaches political science at Northeastern University, is being remembered mostly for being ignored by his own party, possibly seen, but definitely not heard.
How quickly we forget.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, next on 360, what would the convention be without them? Waving, jumping, staring, why some people here feel they've got to be seen on television. All those people behind Dana Bash right there. Also tonight, comedians Lewis Black and Andy Borowitz are with us live to tell us what is so funny about what's going on here.
First -- that's them by the way -- they're not looking very funny there. First, today's "Buzz", in his speech tonight John Edwards should -- what should he do? Should he make the case for Kerry or take on President Bush?
What do you think? Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote. You still have a few moments. Results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
COOPER: And welcome back to the FleetCenter. Dennis Kucinich has just taken the stage. He's going to be addressing the crowd shortly. We spent a lot of time down on the floor here the last couple of days and being this close to the action, well it certainly has its plus side and its minus side, because while you are at home watching us outside the box, there are people also watching us inside the box and with nearly 150 TV cameras here there is pretty hard to miss them. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): It's not just what goes on in the foreground, that's me, but in the background as well. Check out the guy behind my right shoulder, this guy is a pro, day two of the convention and he's already got his on camera position down and talking to his friends to let them know. As quickly as we get rid of him, he's replaced by someone less professional at getting in the shot game.
And we, of course, are not the only program affected. Anywhere there's a camera there's magnet attraction. Technique varies of course. There's the stand and stare with and without cell phone. The lean and even the jump. Wow, let's see that one again.
(MUSIC)
COOPER: Sometimes you get everything at once. Behind Dana Bash the sign wave, the cell phone, hand waves and the best of the bunch, the big guy dancing head bob.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... that he would have done it differently and...
COOPER: Just part.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Let's see. Is anyone behind us now? They learned their lesson. Last night Jay Leno called Al Gore the 40-second president of the United States because Leno says he was president for exactly 40 seconds. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Clearly, the convention is serving up some "A" material for comics. Two of our favorites are with us right now -- Lewis Black of "The Daily Show" and humorist Andy Borowitz joins me now.
Lewis, I understand this is your first time of the floor. "The Daily Show", you're not even allowed on the floor...
LEWIS BLACK, COMEDIAN: They don't let me near anyone. This is pretty exciting, actually.
COOPER: Are you getting a lot of material here? What do you make of all of this?
BLACK: I think it's exhausting. I have never seen -- I don't even know what -- I get more of the material outside. Why would you pick the city of Boston, which is having a massive you know, public works -- why would you pick a city that basically is under siege itself? I mean you can't get around. No one seems to comprehend you can't get around traffic-wise.
COOPER: And a lot of Bostonians are upset about it. Andy, now I understand you're a little obsessed with Teresa Heinz.
ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST, AUTHOR: Totally obsessed. I mean she has me in the palm of her hands. Teresa Heinz Kerry to me is like a babe in a Bond movie. I mean she's got the sexy accent. I mean last night she had the red zipper thing and she likes to talk dirty and who doesn't love that, you know.
COOPER: She had you at shove it?
BOROWITZ: She had me at shove it.
BOROWITZ: By the way, which in Mozambique is the same as shalom.
COOPER: Oh is that right?
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: So it's what, it's like hello...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: I did not know that. It's very interesting.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Why are so many celebrities coming here? They are like all over the place. Have you seen them?
BLACK: The whole thing, like I said, it's creepy. You guys had Ben Affleck on. Stop it. Please stop it. Don't even bring me on, OK? It wouldn't bother me. Go -- there he is. He's over there. Let him be. Why Ben Affleck? The only good thing is, is he may end up you know running and...
COOPER: Well I'm not going to defend Ben Affleck because he once said something bad about me, but last night there was a love fest going on...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... between me and Ben Affleck, so all is forgotten.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACK: ... you know bring him on, but not here. This is...
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK: ... you got to keep some sense of proportion.
COOPER: What do you make of all these security precautions, Andy?
BOROWITZ: I think it's great. I feel very, very secure. I mean there was a Secret Service guy on in my shower this morning, which I didn't appreciate. But beyond that I mean you can't be too careful, right (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Are you optimistic given what you have seen and heard here so far about the Democrats' chance?
BLACK: The Democratic -- I think it basically boils down to who you are going to vote against.
COOPER: Is that right?
BLACK: I think that's the deal. I don't think there's any -- really anybody left to vote for so you kind of go, I don't want that.
COOPER: What about Kerry? What about Edwards?
BLACK: Well that's the thing. If you've got a Republican -- they are not really voting for Bush. They are going I don't want that.
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BOROWITZ: I think it comes down to who the Kucinich voters are going to go for. You know right now two out of three Kucinich voters are going for Kerry and the other one doesn't know...
(LAUGHTER)
BOROWITZ: ... so we're going to see.
COOPER: He's a hold-out.
BOROWITZ: Yes. That's the man. Kucinich is behind us right now and he is rocking.
COOPER: Last night there was a great moment on the show because Al Sharpton was here and then he got up and left and Bono came on too. You know Al Sharpton, a political rock star, Bono an actual bona fide rock star.
BOROWITZ: Although, who is doing the official music for the thing? Is it Bono or Springsteen? Because they both seem to be done. I say let Springsteen have the official music and Bono is going to be secretary of state. I mean that's fine. That's the way to solve it...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Is this your first convention?
BLACK: No, I've covered three of them, but from the outside. I am always standing around outside.
COOPER: Why don't they let you in?
BLACK: I think because they consider me edgy.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK: That's...
COOPER: Isn't edgy good, though, for Democrats?
BLACK: I don't know what he'll do. He's a wild card. He's crazy.
COOPER: Well we appreciate that you have controlled yourself here on this program tonight.
BLACK: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I admire you guys.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACK: You guys are good at this...
BOROWITZ: Can I just say one thing...
COOPER: Yes.
BOROWITZ: ... because you're not going to hear this at all -- bring it on. I just wanted to say that.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK: And I am glad you did...
COOPER: Andy Borowitz, Lewis Black, it's great to have you on the program. I'd love to have you back.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: All right, thanks guys. Time now for "The Buzz". Earlier we asked you, in his speech tonight John Edwards should -- what do you think? Should he make the case for Kerry or take on President Bush? Here's what you had to say.
More than 72,000 of you voted. Eighty-one percent of you said make the case for Kerry. Lewis Black is astounded. Only 19 percent said take on President Bush. Not a scientific poll, as Lewis is finding out, but it is your "Buzz".
And time for "The Nth Degree". Tonight a word to the wise to "The Nth Degree". Here's a bit of a mystery. The ratings for our convention coverage and for CNN's convention coverage generally have been quite good and thank you very much, by the way, appreciate it. But the network ratings, you know NBC, ABC, CBS, those guys, they have been kind of -- well how do we say this, lousy, as in -- kind of like as in down around the ankles low.
This is odd when you consider how expert the networks are at attracting viewers. I know it's cheeky for an upstart to offer advice, but frankly, guys, come on. You're not playing to your strengths. I used to work at ABC. I know this kind of thing. Just call it the Democratic National Convention.
Don't do that. You can't just call it that. Call it something else -- how about "FleetCenter Survivor", "The Tribe Has Spoken" or "The Democratic Contender" or how about "Last Candidate Standing" or another one, "The Amazing Presidential Race". That would get them in. What about "The Political Apprentice". Omarosa would be all over it, and "Who Wants To vote For My Dad". That could be another one.
Come on guys. You know how to give them the old razzle-dazzle in November. For instance, don't call it the ho-hum, you know the election. Oh, boring. Call it "Presidential Idol 2004". That might work.
Stepping up to the podium here tonight a lot of stars of the Democratic Party -- Bill Richardson, Al Sharpton and of course John Edwards.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: That's it for 360 tonight. Thanks for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow 7:00 Eastern Time. Tonight our live coverage continues, though, right now with Jeff Greenfield, Judy Woodruff and CNN's Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 28, 2004 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST: Good evening again from Boston. I'm Anderson Cooper.
The war in Iraq flares as Democrats convene, but will anyone say the I-word, Iraq, here tonight?
360 starts now.
Kerry comes to town surrounded by veterans. But how tough will he talk about the war on terror?
Tonight, John Edwards prepares for the speech of his life. Can he show America he's got what it takes?
Spin, spin, spin. Democrats and Republicans in tit-for-tat attacks. When will somebody tell these kids to quit?
Once a candidate himself. Reverend Jesse Jackson addresses the convention for the sixth time. Tonight, he joins us right after his speech.
He's been called the next JFK Jr. We go 360 with Chris Heinz, talking money, media, and the politics of power.
And watching you watching us watching them. Who are all those people behind us? Didn't anyone ever tell them it's not polite to stare?
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, live from the Democratic National Convention in Boston.
COOPER: And welcome back. As we have seen here this week, the Democrats are making a big show of unity, celebrating togetherness, trying to project an optimistic view of the future. But some days the reality of the outside world intrudes. Today is one of those days.
In Iraq, terrible violence. Four Americans killed, more than 100 Iraqis, including nearly 70, in this single sickening car bombing in Baqubah, one bomb, 70 lives. Those odds aren't good.
Iraq, however, is not a word you hear mentioned much here in Boston. Case in point, Howard Dean, the man who led the charge criticizing the war during the primaries, last night, he never said the I-word in his speech. Iraq, not once. In fact, over the last two days, in 108 speeches overall, the word "Iraq" was uttered in only about 13 of them. We'll see if that changes tonight, when John Edwards addresses the gathering, and tomorrow when John Kerry does as well.
Standing by for us are Frank Buckley, who's been following the man who would be president, and Dana Bash keeping track tonight of which way the spinners are spinning thing. And there is a lot of spinning going on. Reports from them in a moment.
First, Candy Crowley looks ahead at the convention's penultimate night. Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, Monday night was pretty much about the past, Tuesday pretty much about the future. Tonight, pretty much about the here and now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): This Boston night belongs to the silver- tongued senator from the South, joined by his photogenic family, introduced by his wife, who has received five-star reviews for anti- star demeanor.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS'S WIFE: I think I have one of the easiest roles, because I've got great material to work with. I'm a little nervous, of course.
CROWLEY: Giving a little blue-collar patina to the blue-blooded John Kerry, John Edwards is the son of a mill worker. He may mention that. But number twos are about number ones. So mostly, John Edwards will talk about John Kerry, who finally made it to town aboard a slow boat to Charleston named the "Lulu E," a teensy bit outside the muscular image the Kerry campaign is hoping to conjure up to show voters he's tough too.
Beyond the debut of Edwards, there is official business here tonight, the nomination of John Kerry. Crazy hats, wild speeches, political Americana, no suspense. This is way past prime time, night- owl viewing.
And finally, some off-the-floor news. Teresa Heinz Kerry, the soft-spoken, outspoken billionaire ketchup heiress, went niche campaigning this morning. The African-American caucus, the Latino caucus, and this afternoon, the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender caucus.
TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: And so at least, if nothing else, you will have a mom in the White House. You can call me Mama T. any time.
CROWLEY: They kind of liked the ring of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.! Mama T.! (END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Let Teresa be Teresa. Mama T. will, in fact, be back here tomorrow night with her husband, John Kerry, when he accepts the nomination, Anderson.
COOPER: Candy, thanks very much.
It was Woody Allen who said, 80 percent of success is just showing up. Not completely true. It matters how you show up. And as Candy Crowley mentioned, today in Boston, the arriving John Kerry made quite a splash.
Frank Buckley has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Kerry came home to Boston, where on Thursday he'll accept his party's nomination for president.
He crossed Boston Harbor by boat, accompanied by 13 fellow Vietnam veterans, most of them former crewmates from Kerry's Navy swiftboats. The arrival, a photo op designed by the campaign to remind voters that Kerry has led men in war in the past, and to make the case he can lead America as commander in chief.
WESLEY CLARK (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every decision he's going to make concerning national security is going to be informed by his personal experience of hearing the bullets snap overhead, the thump of the mortars, and seeing the look on people's faces.
BUCKLEY: The arrival in Boston caps a week of campaigning across the U.S. Kerry now set to accept his party's nomination.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to my opportunity a little more than 24 hours from now to share with you and all of America a vision for how we're going to make this country stronger at home and respected in the world. That's exactly what we're going to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BUCKLEY: And tonight, John Kerry is home here in Boston. We're told he's receiving visitors, a former Vermont governor, Howard Dean, among those people seen going into his home. Otherwise, no public events scheduled for John Kerry either today or tomorrow before he delivers his speech in prime time.
We're told he'll be resting his voice and making adjustments to his speech. Yes, he's still working on his speech. We are told, Anderson, that he'll continue to make adjustments to it probably right up until the moment he delivers it, Anderson.
COOPER: Going over and over again. And Frank Buckley, thanks very much.
Stepping up to the podium right now, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the crowd chanting "Jesse" as you can see. Let's listen in for a short time.
REV. JESSE JACKSON: Tonight the pendulum swings from pain to possibilities. From hurt to hope, from darkness to light, the line of progress is unbroken. In 1944, my father's generation served in the war, segregated battalions, duty without honor.
Ten years later, 1954, 335 years of legal race supremacy was ended, Brown v. Board of Education.
And 10 years later, Dr. King; the Public Accommodations Bill; Fannie Lou Hamer knocking on the door of Atlantic City.
Ten years later, 1984, the Rainbow presidential campaign in San Francisco, and we came alive; 1984, 2 million new voters; the Senate in '86; Bill Clinton in '92 and '96.
And now, 2004, Barack Obama symbolizes the line of progress and growth.
(APPLAUSE)
These movements enabled Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, Carter and Clinton to be great. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) generation of youth, Mayor Kilpatrick of Detroit, Congressman Harold Ford and Congressman Jackson Jr., and Congresswoman Lee and Congressman Meeks and Alicia Reece and Al Sharpton and Mabel Tang, Bobby Rush and Senator Tony Hill and Paul Wellstone...
(APPLAUSE)
Seeds sown, became fruits of joy. The pendulum swings, the morning cometh. In the darkness of 2000, the winners lost and the losers won. Jewish voters in West Palm Beach, immigrants stopped at the polls, a million black votes cast but not counted. This must never, ever happen again.
(APPLAUSE)
In the dark, our nation's record budget surplus turned into a $500 billion dollar deficit.
In the dark, a net loss of jobs in every state.
They ignored the genocide in the Sudan, and induced coup in Haiti.
And yet as the darkness abounds, hope abounds even more.
For the 44 million with out health care insurance, help is no the way.
For parents afraid to call the doctor for their children, because they cannot pay the bills, help is on the way.
For our seniors whose Social Security is at risk, who must choose between paying their rent or paying for the soaring costs of their prescription drugs, hold on, help is on the way.
The president speaks of leaving no child behind, but leaves 2 million children behind to protect the tax cuts for the top one percent.
Millions of youth today cannot afford tuition and cannot get a job. Every child, red, yellow, brown, black and white, deserves a constitutional right to an equal, high-quality public education.
Help is on the way.
(APPLAUSE)
In the dark, a president chooses tax cuts for millionaires, but job cuts for steelworkers, firefighters and police. The president talks of homeland security, but wants to let AK-47s and Uzis back on the street.
Hope comes in the morning for those Appalachia, where coal miners are dying every six hours from black lung disease. Hold on, hope cometh in the morning for our children who were sent to war in Iraq on bad intelligence and worse leadership.
(APPLAUSE)
Sent to fight a war that's foreign to our values, that leaves us weaker and less secure, sent to a war in Iraq -- the wars of mass deception are more apparent than weapons of mass destruction.
It is a moral disgrace, a moral disgrace. America deserve better.
(APPLAUSE)
It is a moral disgrace.
(APPLAUSE)
But a new day is dawning, a new America is turning pain to power because beyond the extreme right wing is a beautiful rainbow of all of God's children.
Out of the darkness of the bushes, we see the soaring of an authentic American eagle on the horizon.
When I campaigned for John Kerry's Senate seat in 1996, he was resolved in his convictions. He was cool under fire.
Dr. King said you measure the character of leaders in the fire of crisis. John Kerry stood in the valleys and shadows of death in the Mekong Delta. Though wounded, shot and bleeding, a lesser man might have said, "I'm lucky." and speed away when your comrades have fallen. He led his men back to the delta to save them. That's what leaving no one behind really means -- when you put your life on the line.
(APPLAUSE)
That's what it really means. No greater love than love of a fallen comrade.
John Kerry had the faith and God had the power in the exalted realm of valor under fire. In this campaign of courage and faith and leadership and honor, John Kerry stands alone. He deserves to be our next president. He deserves it.
(APPLAUSE)
John Kerry sees a new miracle through a door, not through a keyhole.
With studied intellect and keen insight, he saw talent and strength in John Edwards, a man from the South with hope and courage in his message; a man, John Edwards, whose journey is the best of American folklore. He inherited little, but worked hard and earned much, embodying hope and inspiration.
John Edwards dares to stand in the gap between rich and poor, black and white, urban and rural, a vision of a new America.
The Bible speaks of the difficulties of rich young rulers getting into the kingdom. It's because they are intoxicated by the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of privilege. But John Edwards understands using wallpaper for a windbreaker, not for decoration. He understands peanut-butter sandwiches and Kool-Aid.
(APPLAUSE)
He understands grits and gravy. He understands the fear of (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He understands you and me.
We thank God that John Kerry chose John Edwards on that ticket. It makes hope and healing come alive...
(APPLAUSE)
... come alive, come alive.
John Kerry and John Edwards will reinvest in America and put America back to work.
They represent hope and healing for a new America. John Kerry and Edwards will fight for health care for all, for an environment where we can breathe free.
As I close, in 96 days, dark clouds will roll away. Children can rejoice; Lady Liberty will be unmasked and unshackled; we can sing again, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrims' pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring." She can sing that song again.
(APPLAUSE)
Ray Charles can sing from the heavens, "America the Beautiful." Ray Charles can sing again.
The shackles will leave her arms. She can stretch forth in all of her splendor, free of crippled civil rights and civil liberties. She can proclaim again, "Give me your tired, give me your poor, your huddled masses who yearn to breathe free."
Come November, let the eagles fly to Washington. It's peace time. It's justice time. It's homecoming time. It's home-going time. It's time to bring our troops home and send Bush back to Texas.
(APPLAUSE)
Early as possible, bring the troops home. Send Bush to Texas.
It's time to send John Kerry and John Edwards to the White House this November. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive.
AUDIENCE: Keep hope alive.
Louder.
AUDIENCE: Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive. Keep hope alive.
I love you.
COOPER: This is the sixth time the Reverend Jesse Jackson has addressed the Democratic National Convention. He will join us live when 360 continues. We will get his feelings about his speech, how it went, and, of course, the fall campaign, as well.
Also, the man at center stage tonight, John Edwards makes his national debut at the podium. Should he talk up Kerry, or bash Bush? We'll talk -- we'll hear from the left and from the right. James Carville and Bob Novak step into the "CROSSFIRE." They are standing by live.
Also tonight, it is a cliche we've heard a lot, a rising political star. Well, we got one joining us live. Chris Heinz on (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on 360.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACK-EYED PEAS (singing): Let's get it started, let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, let's get it started in here. Let's get it started, let's get it started in here.
COOPER: And that's the Black-Eyed Peas, "Let's Get It Started." They'll actually be performing at the grand finale here tonight.
Well, one of the big speeches tonight here, of course, in the FleetCenter, a courtroom master turned politician faces his biggest jury, the American public. John Edwards will give perhaps the biggest speech of his political life, making the case on why he and John Kerry should get the keys to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
What will he say? CNN's Elaine Quijano has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Without mentioning the president or vice president by name, campaign sources say, Senator John Edwards will question their decisions on Iraq, taxes, and other issues when he delivers his convention speech.
The criticism will be leveled in the form of contrasts. With lingering questions about President Bush's own military service, Edwards will retell the story of how John Kerry saved another man in Vietnam, and will describe him as, quote, "decisive and strong," and then ask, "Aren't these the traits you want in a commander in chief?"
Another excerpt released by the campaign refers to American service personnel killed and wounded in Iraq, calling them "the best and the bravest," and saying, "They deserve a president who understand that on the most personal level, what they have gone through, what they have given, and what they have given up for their country."
Yet aides insist Edwards will strive for a positive tone, repeating a theme he's stressed on the campaign trail.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to reject this tired old hateful negative politics of the past.
QUIJANO: Tonight, Edwards' political skills will be put to the test.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Edwards needs to do a good job tonight, but not too good of a job. He's not trying to sell himself. He already did that during the primary campaign. His new job is to sell John Kerry. He's going to be doing that between now and November and maybe for the next four years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now, Senator Edwards spent most of the day here in his hotel room. Aides say he was with family and putting the finishing touches on his speech.
But late this afternoon, the senator actually left the hotel to go running along the Charles River. Aides say he is an avid runner. He likes to run on a regular basis, five or six miles per session.
But the senator actually yesterday did a walk-through of the FleetCenter to get a feel for what it was like behind the podium so it will not necessarily be completely unfamiliar to him when he arrives there tonight.
The senator also was dealing with a sore throat earlier this week, though. But when asked about it last night at the FleetCenter, he said it was OK and that he would be ready tonight, Anderson.
COOPER: Elaine Quijano, thanks very much.
Will Edwards deliver tonight? Will he mention two Americas again, that speech we heard a lot on the campaign? Let's step into the "CROSSFIRE," get feedback from CNN's James Carville and Robert Novak.
Gentlemen, thanks for being with us.
James, we're hearing that John Edwards will not mention President Bush by name. Is that a smart move?
JAMES CARVILLE, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I think (UNINTELLIGIBLE) very high expectations. I think he's going to give an absolutely brilliant speech. He's a very successful guy. I'm delighted with the pick. This crowd's very enthusiastic. And I'm really looking forward to it.
COOPER: Is he going to be a new speech? Because he gave that "Two Americas" speech an awful lot on the trail.
ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I don't think he's going to give the "Two Americas" speech. "Two Americas" speech is a very divisive speech. It's a populistic speech. He was running for the Democratic nomination. It's a different constituency he has now. So that's what's going to be interesting...
COOPER: What does he have to do tonight?
NOVAK: I think he, I think what he has to do is say some very nice things about John Kerry. Anderson, the, these vice-presidential candidates have have very little impact on elections. And I think this guy may have less impact than most. I don't think he has any clout in the South to speak of. He had very little bounce from his nomination, naming his nominations. Polls were unaffected.
And so this is a -- a media, the media is very excited about this. But I think it's not going to be nearly as interesting as Barack Obama last night, who really captured the imagination of these delegates.
COOPER: James, you are laughing.
CARVILLE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) going to do great. I mean, look, he's a very articulate guy, very successful, he's a very good pick for John Kerry. He's going to do a very good job tonight, do a very good job on the campaign trail.
COOPER: Does he do anything in the South for John Kerry, though? I mean, as Rob pointed out, not a big bounce.
CARVILLE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I think, I think we're (UNINTELLIGIBLE), what we're, you know, going to carry Florida. I think we got a real shot Virginia. We might, he might have a shot in North Carolina. We got a shot in Arkansas... COOPER: But were you surprised...
CARVILLE: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- we're not going to carry Alabama, no.
COOPER: Were you surprised he didn't get a bigger bounce, though?
CARVILLE: No, I think it's fine. I mean, we're going to our convention ahead. I mean, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), you know, we're in good shape. I'm fine.
NOVAK: I don't think he has any impact in the South at all. I think he made a big mistake. He was on "LARRY KING" last week, and he said something he said elsewhere, he said first thing he's got to do is introduce himself to the people, then explain John Kerry, how he sees John Kerry. And then what the vision is.
I think that was all wrong. I don't think people care about John Edwards. They worry about John Kerry. He's got to push John Kerry, not his vision of John Kerry, but the Kerry campaign vision. He is a spear carrier, Anderson. He is not a major factor.
COOPER: James, Republicans have gone after John Edwards, saying he has no experience in national security.
CARVILLE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) experience in national defense and national foreign (UNINTELLIGIBLE) did President Bush get? He was a successful attorney. President Bush was an unsuccessful businessman. He is four times more qualified to be vice president than George W. Bush ever was to be president. And that's just a fact. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Bob (UNINTELLIGIBLE) because he knows it's a fact.
COOPER: John...
NOVAK: I'm not going to argue that he was governor of Texas or (UNINTELLIGIBLE) or this guy's a U.S. senator. And it's very not important. But the point is he has a, he has very little -- about as little experience as any vice-presidential nominee on his own. But that's OK. It really doesn't matter.
The important thing of this convention is tomorrow night, when John Kerry tries to present himself to the country. There's some problem here. The American people not that happy with George W. Bush, but they haven't bought into John Kerry. John Kerry has to sell himself. And I don't think that John Edwards is going to be able to sell him. Whether John Edwards sells himself is, I think, irrelevant.
COOPER: Final word, James?
CARVILLE: You know what? John Edwards is going to do fine tonight. Senator Kerry is going to do fine tomorrow night. We got a strong ticket. This is an election that we're going to win.
COOPER: All right, we'll see if fine is good enough. James Carville, Robert Novak, thanks very much. NOVAK: Thank you, Anderson.
Democratic insiders also weighing in on the Edwards speech. In tonight's "National Journal" poll, 21 insiders say that Edwards should make the case for a Kerry presidency. Only one person told the "National Journal" that Edwards should take on President Bush.
That brings us to today's buzz. What do you think at home? In his speech tonight, John Edwards, what he should he do, make the case for Kerry, or take on President Bush? Log on to CNN.com/360, cast your vote. Results at the end of the program.
And for the daughters of John Kerry and John Edwards, there is no handbook or textbook to prepare them for extreme makeover they're getting. While they don't have a manual, they do have help from some women who were once in their place. And this morning, the graduates offered the incoming class a crash course on the raw politics of being kids of presidential running mates.
National correspondent Kelly Wallace has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Daughters helping daughters on how to cope when your dad's job changes from senator to member of the Democratic ticket.
KARENNA GORE SCHIFF, AL GORE'S DAUGHTER: It can be both an incredible privilege and also a bit of a roller-coaster ride.
WALLACE: And so Karenna and Kristin Gore hosted a brunch for women who are now in their shoes, Vanessa and Alex Kerry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not sure that Vanessa and I would have such strong voices if they hadn't sort of paved that path.
COOPER: And Kate Edwards.
KATE EDWARDS, JOHN EDWARDS'S DAUGHTER: Obviously, they've been through this a number of times. So they have been such a great resource for us. And they've reached out to us, and it's fantastic.
WALLACE: Tip number one, get ready for life as you know it to change.
KRISTIN GORE, AL GORE'S DAUGHTER: It's amazing how quickly things change, and all of a sudden the Secret Service are at your 10th-grade dance.
WALLACE: And, of course, don't forget to pace yourself.
SCHIFF: Because it can be very draining when every time you leave your room, there's a camera on you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you getting used to all the cameras?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is definitely a very new experience.
WALLACE (voice-over): After all, not every 20-something gets to meet and become friends with Ben Affleck and has to prepare a speech that will be seen on national television.
KATE EDWARDS: Yesterday I finally -- I was on the rug, I was in the press room on the floor, sort of writing, and I felt like I was in eighth grade again, you know, sort of, No, that doesn't sound right.
WALLACE: Maybe this final piece of advice from women who have done what they are about to do will help.
GORE: Just to keep doing what they are doing, to be themselves, you know, because they're so amazing, and they're so good at connecting with people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And the first of the daughters to try to keep in mind that advice, Kate Edwards, who heads to the podium just a little less than three hours from now to introduce her mother, Elizabeth, Anderson.
COOPER: And we'll have Chris Heinz on our program a little bit later on. Kelly Wallace, thanks very much for that.
Once a candidate himself, Reverend Jesse Jackson addresses the convention for the sixth time. Tonight, he joins us right after his speech.
He's been called the next JFK Jr. We go 360 with Chris Heinz talking money, media, and the politics of power.
And watching you watching us watching them. Who are all those people behind us? Didn't anyone ever tell them it's not polite to stare?
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back to the FleetCenter here in Boston, Wednesday night's special convention edition of 360.
The players are finally all in place, the production's leading man arrived in Boston today, though he'll be in the wings till act four, which, of course, comes tomorrow.
As for tonight, call it a long drum roll, but quite a lot more than that as well. After all, some pretty big supporting acts are on the bill this evening. Elizabeth Edwards will introduce her husband, John. Senator Bob Graham of Florida will speak, as will Reverend Al Sharpton, who was a competitor of John Kerry's for the Democratic Party's nomination. And Dennis Kucinich, who still is.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: Welcome back to the FleetCenter here in Boston. Wednesday night special convention edition of 360. The players are finally all in place. The production's leading man arrived in Boston today, though he'll be in the wings until act four, which of course comes tomorrow.
As for tonight, call it a long drum roll, but quite a lot more than that as well. After all some pretty big supporting acts are on the bill this evening. Elizabeth Edwards will introduce her husband John. Senator Bob Graham of Florida will speak as will Reverend Al Sharpton, who was a competitor of John Kerry's for the Democratic Party's nomination and Dennis Kucinich, who still is, and then there was another powerful speaker who finished at the podium not long ago and has been good enough to come by to talk with us. Reverend Jesse Jackson will be speaking with us very shortly.
The GOP theme for the Democratic Convention has a bit of a reality show ring to it. They are calling it -- quote -- "The Democrats extreme makeover." Republicans today are taking dead aim at candidate Kerry on security issues and what they say are examples of him flip-flopping on his support for the war in Iraq. The chairman of the Bush/Cheney reelection campaign, Marc Racicot, joins me right now.
Marc, thanks very much for being with us.
MARC RACICOT, CHAIRMAN, BUSH/CHENEY '04: Thank you.
COOPER: What has surprised you most about what you have heard or not heard out of this convention?
RACICOT: Well, I think we began with the hope that, of course, that John Kerry's promise of focusing upon the issues and advancing his candidacy would be the most important part of the convention. It has, unfortunately, not been a convention that's delivered on that particular pledge. Even though there have been efforts to avoid saying the name George W. Bush, nonetheless there's been an awful lot of hyperbolic rhetoric from Ted Kennedy...
COOPER: So wait a minute. You're saying they have just been bashing the president. You said they haven't been speaking about the issues?
RACICOT: Well I think that they focused upon -- in any way they possibly can, whether it's with innuendo, by implication, by suggestion, right up front. I mean Howard Dean yesterday, Anderson, talked about the fact that the president -- although he couldn't call him a fascist he was more inclined to burn books than read them.
Ted Kennedy went on last night and talked about fear over and over and over again. He talked about the president not being a man wisdom and honor. It has been one night after another. And when they are not talking about bashing the president, they are talking about things that are just completely untrue. I mean even the fine presentation given by Mr. Obama last night was not factually correct. He was talking about the fact that we need to take care of the troops. That we need to make certain that reservists receive health care. Those are the things that the bill that John Kerry voted against provided for. So the fact of the matter is...
COOPER: So, you give the Democrats absolutely no credit for not being vitriolic against the president? I mean -- some of the things you mentioned are certainly things which I imagine at the Republican Convention we're going to be hearing, you know flip-flopping, waffling, those kind of words used about Candidate Kerry.
RACICOT: Well I think that if they've tried to tone it down I haven't seen overpowering evidence. And quite frankly, I have seen no evidence that they want to be confined by the truth of the matter. They just simply haven't addressed the issues in a way that's factually accurate.
COOPER: Are you making a pledge at the Republican Convention you guys are only going to be focused on the issues. You're not going to be focusing on Candidate Kerry.
RACICOT: I think what I'm telling you is that this president has a very positive agenda. That will be the focus of our convention and you will hear us talk about that very positive agenda throughout the course of our convention.
COOPER: You guys have set up this sort of high tech war room, which is obviously something which Bill Clinton kind of perfected, but you guys are kind of taking it to a different level. This is kind of real-time you know facts -- war facts and figures. Is it working?
RACICOT: Well we'll see, I guess. We think that the American people have a right to have all of the facts before them when they make a decision and when there are inaccuracies or misapprehensions that are conveyed to the American people we think that we ought to make certain that they understand when that occurs. We also think that the contrasts here that are being drawn are very important to the American people (UNINTELLIGIBLE) be a very, very clear choice for them in November.
COOPER: Marc Racicot, we appreciate you joining us tonight.
RACICOT: Thank you...
COOPER: Marc Racicot, we appreciate you joining us tonight. Thanks very much. We'll talk to you later on.
Back to the Democrats now. The Reverend Jesse Jackson has been deeply involved in the Democratic Party for a long time now as a supporter and organizer and a candidate for office himself. He's been a speaker at every one of the party's conventions, all six of them since 1984.
Reverend Jackson, we appreciate you very much for being here. Thanks very much.
REV. JESSE JACKSON, SUPPORTER, DEMOCRATIC PARTY: That was an interesting conversation you just had.
COOPER: Well we try to have interesting conversations here. I'm not going to give you a break, though. Let me ask you this here -- you said in your speech now, which we ran live, you said it is time to bring the troops home. John Kerry is not talking about bringing the troops home.
JACKSON: At the earliest time possible that should happen. Right now we have -- we've gone into a situation where we're losing lives, we're losing money, we're losing honor and the sand is sinking. So there must be a credible effort, as John wants to do, to have an international effort to begin to steer us out of there. We cannot go from invasion and -- to conquest. We're sticking with it, get out as quickly as we can.
COOPER: You say, you like to keep hope alive. You see no hope going on, on the ground in the Iraq today?
JACKSON: Oh, the killing continues. We're still losing lives - 900 plus, moving towards 1,000. More than 6,000 injured. Billion of dollars spent and the Middle East is less secure and more chaotic. Now we're less secure at home because now we've turned Iraq into a kind of breeding ground for official chaotic state of terrorism.
COOPER: Why aren't we hearing the word Iraq used on the speech? We did a little count -- of 108 speeches, only 13 speeches have used actually the word Iraq. I think you were going to use the word Iraq in your speech -- I'm not sure you actually ended up using it...
(CROSSTALK)
JACKSON: I did use the word Iraq and the country Iraq because the -- that was unity around fighting the Taliban, they hit us. We knew who their workers (ph) -- been funding them (UNINTELLIGIBLE) and it was a great coalition. Then we made this unilateral move to Iraq under the pretense there were weapons of mass destruction imminent threat. I do not blame John Kerry for giving President Bush the authorization to fight a war assuming that he would be prudent and wise in his judgment. That did not happen. We're embarrassed because there are no weapons of mass destruction, no imminent threat, no al Qaeda connection and now the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. So we're trapped in disgrace.
COOPER: But we're not hearing a lot of that here on the podium. I mean I think you can make the argument, a lot of people -- a lot of Democrats or a lot of people who supported Howard Dean early on were mobilized by their opposition to the war. At this convention, I mean the Republicans are saying look, this is a makeover convention. Is there any truth to that?
JACKSON: There is a real surge in this convention to come out of the war on Iraq because money spent there, in fact, should be reinvested here. But this is not going to be just an anti-war rally. This is a president of the country rally. I think the issue of the million votes disenfranchised in 2000 is a real big issue here. A lot of fear about voter insecurity this time. Second issue, about the economy, third about Iraq. Those are the issues you will hear over and over again, Iraq, the economy, and voter enfranchisement. COOPER: You use that million figure a lot and there are a lot of people who say that is, you know way, way over estimate. I mean there are you know a dozen different groups have a dozen different...
JACKSON: There are some who argue that it's even more than that and I'll tell you what happened. For example...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: But there are some who argue it is way less than that. I mean that a million is just an overstatement. I don't think -- let's not get hung up on that.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: How big of an issue is that looking back in 2000 for you here tonight. How much of an issue is it looking back at 2000?
JACKSON: It's a big issue because the election was determined by the margin of disenfranchised voters. Before that, there were 500 Jewish citizens who voted for Gore and got Buchanan because of misalignment. The -- Gore was 145 votes down before the 5,000 (UNINTELLIGIBLE) counted and they didn't count the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) votes. So we know that by the margin of the court freezing the vote, it determined the outcome.
COOPER: You don't hear a lot of the candidates talking backwards. I mean Al Gore, you know he sort of jokingly referenced it, but he made a point I'm not dwelling on the past. Is there a danger of you bringing this up dwelling on the past?
JACKSON: Well, I was doing voter registration on the ground. President Gore -- well, former candidate Gore, he had the awesome burden of stopping the appeal by the Congress to the Senate, to at least assess what happened in Florida (UNINTELLIGIBLE) himself. The reality is...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... very much alive.
JACKSON: If the voter -- if voting enfranchisement had been honored, he would be president. So it must be a painful burden for him to bear.
COOPER: And it's something (UNINTELLIGIBLE) bring up tonight. Reverend Jackson, we appreciate you being with us. Thank you very much. Thanks.
JACKSON: Thank you, sir.
COOPER: Up next -- getting a little loud. They're playing "Living in America". Up next, 360, Chris Heinz, John Kerry's stepson is live with us to talk about the convention, the election, and really whatever else is on his mind. We'll see where the conversation goes. Also tonight, where did he go, Michael Dukakis, a hometown guy, one time a presidential candidate, nearly invisible. Is that intentional? And Republicans are making hey about it. We'll look at that.
And a little later going camera crazy, why some people here feel it's their duty to get in every single shot. We'll take that to the "Nth Degree" ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And we are back live here at the FleetCenter. Sly & the Family Stone, every day people playing. It has been one of the theme songs of this year's convention. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) all right, he's the golden boy for many Democrats and clearly a rising star in the party but for now Chris Heinz is focusing on his step dad's political future, not his own. For the past year and a half, the 31-year-old has been working the crowds and courting young voters to elect John Kerry in November. He's doing it with a flare for the spotlight, as well as a killer Arnold Schwarzenegger which he will refuse to do and Chris Heinz joins us now.
Thanks for being with us Chris.
CHRIS HEINZ, STEPSON OF JOHN KERRY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
COOPER: Were you pleased, "A" with your speech last night and with your mom's speech?
HEINZ: Well, I was pleased with my introduction. Yes, it was fun to do and then I was so pleased with my mother's speech. You know here in the FleetCenter from where I was, it looked like it was very well received and got a lot of great e-mails from friends who were supportive.
COOPER: I find it hard anytime people criticize my mom, I can only imagine what it is like for you. I mean people call your mom a liability, bossy, outspoken...
HEINZ: Yes.
COOPER: ... all sorts of things.
HEINZ: Right.
COOPER: Do you take it personally?
HEINZ: Most of the time, no. You know, we have been in politics for a while. We understand that it's a rough and tumble game. If it gets too personal it's disappointing.
COOPER: What do you think they don't -- I mean the people who say that, what do you think they don't get?
HEINZ: Oh I don't think that. I think that people who say that have an agenda and they are pushing it on to people who are just sort of looking and you know making -- trying to make an important judgment. And that's an opinion of my mom. I don't think it, you know, it relates to the facts particularly well. I think she is a wonderful warm person and I think she started to show that to the American people last night.
COOPER: John Edwards speaking tonight. Of course, his wife speaking tonight as well. There are some who say that you were not a big proponent of John Edwards being on the ticket initially. Is that true and if so, why?
HEINZ: Not at all. It just wasn't. I know -- all I can say is I know John asked me twice for input right after March 2 and once shortly before they made the decision. I told him the same name both times and I am very happy with the pick. It doesn't have anything to do with me. I just -- we just talked about why I thought what it was. I love John Edwards. I love his family. I am so excited they're on board.
COOPER: You said you told him the same name. Was it John Edwards or you're not wanting to say?
HEINZ: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
COOPER: All right. You initially joined the campaign basically as a fund-raiser...
HEINZ: Right.
COOPER: ... and yet, sort of your role has changed...
HEINZ: Right.
COOPER: What are you doing now? What do you see yourself doing in the months ahead?
HEINZ: Well, you know, there's a time in this process, as you know, where it's less about votes and more about going out there and selling John to people who can help us build a network of people for change. And fund-raising is a part of that. It's one of the early activities. It's a way for me to get to understand what we did.
And last fall when there was an active ground campaign I spent time with my sisters, going to college campuses, senior citizen centers, and other schools just to talk and answer questions. We're going to try to do the same thing. You know I imagine in a general election the scope of my communication might have to be a little bit bigger because we are trying to move the needle on a much larger scale. But we're just going to go and try and talk to voters, answer their questions, and get people excited about John.
COOPER: We'll be listening. Chris Heinz, thanks very much.
HEINZ: Thanks, Anderson.
COOPER: Good to see you.
HEINZ: Good to see you.
COOPER: Well, as the Democratic Party faithful gather in Boston to anoint Candidate John Kerry, one voice is missing from the proceedings, Michael Dukakis who was once the bay state's hometown hero, a former Massachusetts governor and in 1988, of course, the man who got the cheers and the presidential nomination. This year you'd have to look hard to find him around the FleetCenter. How quickly we forget.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm honored to be here tonight, to nominate my friend Michael Dukakis for president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
COOPER (voice-over): He was the man of the moment 16 years ago, following a long winded speech by Bill Clinton and one of the party's young guns. Michael Dukakis was anointed the nominee, the great hope of the Democratic Party. For him and them it all went terribly wrong. After leading George Bush by double digits in the polls, Dukakis lost the election and became a party pariah shunned by the Clinton and Gore campaigns in '92, '96 and 2000, and it's not much better in 2004 where John Kerry, his former lieutenant governor, is keeping him out of the limelight.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: So far, his most public appearance has been as a tour guide literally taking Democratic delegates on a walking tour around Boston. Tonight he'll be allowed on the stage, though briefly, a walk on with a group of other former nominees. Viewers may not have noticed Dukakis' absence but Republicans sure have. They post a daily Dukakis watch on an RNC Web site. Ouch.
Why is this former Democratic nominee being kept at bay in the bay state? After all, Jimmy Carter lost his bid for reelection in 1980 and he got to speak. And Al Gore came up short in 2000 and he spoke, as well.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: John Kerry doesn't want to be Michael Dukakis. He wants to be Teddy Kennedy. Michael Dukakis has disappeared. He has the image of loser to the Democratic Party.
COOPER: And so Dukakis, who now teaches political science at Northeastern University, is being remembered mostly for being ignored by his own party, possibly seen, but definitely not heard.
How quickly we forget.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, next on 360, what would the convention be without them? Waving, jumping, staring, why some people here feel they've got to be seen on television. All those people behind Dana Bash right there. Also tonight, comedians Lewis Black and Andy Borowitz are with us live to tell us what is so funny about what's going on here.
First -- that's them by the way -- they're not looking very funny there. First, today's "Buzz", in his speech tonight John Edwards should -- what should he do? Should he make the case for Kerry or take on President Bush?
What do you think? Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote. You still have a few moments. Results when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
COOPER: And welcome back to the FleetCenter. Dennis Kucinich has just taken the stage. He's going to be addressing the crowd shortly. We spent a lot of time down on the floor here the last couple of days and being this close to the action, well it certainly has its plus side and its minus side, because while you are at home watching us outside the box, there are people also watching us inside the box and with nearly 150 TV cameras here there is pretty hard to miss them. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): It's not just what goes on in the foreground, that's me, but in the background as well. Check out the guy behind my right shoulder, this guy is a pro, day two of the convention and he's already got his on camera position down and talking to his friends to let them know. As quickly as we get rid of him, he's replaced by someone less professional at getting in the shot game.
And we, of course, are not the only program affected. Anywhere there's a camera there's magnet attraction. Technique varies of course. There's the stand and stare with and without cell phone. The lean and even the jump. Wow, let's see that one again.
(MUSIC)
COOPER: Sometimes you get everything at once. Behind Dana Bash the sign wave, the cell phone, hand waves and the best of the bunch, the big guy dancing head bob.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... that he would have done it differently and...
COOPER: Just part.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Let's see. Is anyone behind us now? They learned their lesson. Last night Jay Leno called Al Gore the 40-second president of the United States because Leno says he was president for exactly 40 seconds. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Clearly, the convention is serving up some "A" material for comics. Two of our favorites are with us right now -- Lewis Black of "The Daily Show" and humorist Andy Borowitz joins me now.
Lewis, I understand this is your first time of the floor. "The Daily Show", you're not even allowed on the floor...
LEWIS BLACK, COMEDIAN: They don't let me near anyone. This is pretty exciting, actually.
COOPER: Are you getting a lot of material here? What do you make of all of this?
BLACK: I think it's exhausting. I have never seen -- I don't even know what -- I get more of the material outside. Why would you pick the city of Boston, which is having a massive you know, public works -- why would you pick a city that basically is under siege itself? I mean you can't get around. No one seems to comprehend you can't get around traffic-wise.
COOPER: And a lot of Bostonians are upset about it. Andy, now I understand you're a little obsessed with Teresa Heinz.
ANDY BOROWITZ, HUMORIST, AUTHOR: Totally obsessed. I mean she has me in the palm of her hands. Teresa Heinz Kerry to me is like a babe in a Bond movie. I mean she's got the sexy accent. I mean last night she had the red zipper thing and she likes to talk dirty and who doesn't love that, you know.
COOPER: She had you at shove it?
BOROWITZ: She had me at shove it.
BOROWITZ: By the way, which in Mozambique is the same as shalom.
COOPER: Oh is that right?
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: So it's what, it's like hello...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: I did not know that. It's very interesting.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Why are so many celebrities coming here? They are like all over the place. Have you seen them?
BLACK: The whole thing, like I said, it's creepy. You guys had Ben Affleck on. Stop it. Please stop it. Don't even bring me on, OK? It wouldn't bother me. Go -- there he is. He's over there. Let him be. Why Ben Affleck? The only good thing is, is he may end up you know running and...
COOPER: Well I'm not going to defend Ben Affleck because he once said something bad about me, but last night there was a love fest going on...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: ... between me and Ben Affleck, so all is forgotten.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACK: ... you know bring him on, but not here. This is...
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK: ... you got to keep some sense of proportion.
COOPER: What do you make of all these security precautions, Andy?
BOROWITZ: I think it's great. I feel very, very secure. I mean there was a Secret Service guy on in my shower this morning, which I didn't appreciate. But beyond that I mean you can't be too careful, right (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(LAUGHTER)
COOPER: Are you optimistic given what you have seen and heard here so far about the Democrats' chance?
BLACK: The Democratic -- I think it basically boils down to who you are going to vote against.
COOPER: Is that right?
BLACK: I think that's the deal. I don't think there's any -- really anybody left to vote for so you kind of go, I don't want that.
COOPER: What about Kerry? What about Edwards?
BLACK: Well that's the thing. If you've got a Republican -- they are not really voting for Bush. They are going I don't want that.
COOPER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
BOROWITZ: I think it comes down to who the Kucinich voters are going to go for. You know right now two out of three Kucinich voters are going for Kerry and the other one doesn't know...
(LAUGHTER)
BOROWITZ: ... so we're going to see.
COOPER: He's a hold-out.
BOROWITZ: Yes. That's the man. Kucinich is behind us right now and he is rocking.
COOPER: Last night there was a great moment on the show because Al Sharpton was here and then he got up and left and Bono came on too. You know Al Sharpton, a political rock star, Bono an actual bona fide rock star.
BOROWITZ: Although, who is doing the official music for the thing? Is it Bono or Springsteen? Because they both seem to be done. I say let Springsteen have the official music and Bono is going to be secretary of state. I mean that's fine. That's the way to solve it...
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Is this your first convention?
BLACK: No, I've covered three of them, but from the outside. I am always standing around outside.
COOPER: Why don't they let you in?
BLACK: I think because they consider me edgy.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK: That's...
COOPER: Isn't edgy good, though, for Democrats?
BLACK: I don't know what he'll do. He's a wild card. He's crazy.
COOPER: Well we appreciate that you have controlled yourself here on this program tonight.
BLACK: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I admire you guys.
(CROSSTALK)
BLACK: You guys are good at this...
BOROWITZ: Can I just say one thing...
COOPER: Yes.
BOROWITZ: ... because you're not going to hear this at all -- bring it on. I just wanted to say that.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK: And I am glad you did...
COOPER: Andy Borowitz, Lewis Black, it's great to have you on the program. I'd love to have you back.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: All right, thanks guys. Time now for "The Buzz". Earlier we asked you, in his speech tonight John Edwards should -- what do you think? Should he make the case for Kerry or take on President Bush? Here's what you had to say.
More than 72,000 of you voted. Eighty-one percent of you said make the case for Kerry. Lewis Black is astounded. Only 19 percent said take on President Bush. Not a scientific poll, as Lewis is finding out, but it is your "Buzz".
And time for "The Nth Degree". Tonight a word to the wise to "The Nth Degree". Here's a bit of a mystery. The ratings for our convention coverage and for CNN's convention coverage generally have been quite good and thank you very much, by the way, appreciate it. But the network ratings, you know NBC, ABC, CBS, those guys, they have been kind of -- well how do we say this, lousy, as in -- kind of like as in down around the ankles low.
This is odd when you consider how expert the networks are at attracting viewers. I know it's cheeky for an upstart to offer advice, but frankly, guys, come on. You're not playing to your strengths. I used to work at ABC. I know this kind of thing. Just call it the Democratic National Convention.
Don't do that. You can't just call it that. Call it something else -- how about "FleetCenter Survivor", "The Tribe Has Spoken" or "The Democratic Contender" or how about "Last Candidate Standing" or another one, "The Amazing Presidential Race". That would get them in. What about "The Political Apprentice". Omarosa would be all over it, and "Who Wants To vote For My Dad". That could be another one.
Come on guys. You know how to give them the old razzle-dazzle in November. For instance, don't call it the ho-hum, you know the election. Oh, boring. Call it "Presidential Idol 2004". That might work.
Stepping up to the podium here tonight a lot of stars of the Democratic Party -- Bill Richardson, Al Sharpton and of course John Edwards.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: That's it for 360 tonight. Thanks for joining us. We'll be back tomorrow 7:00 Eastern Time. Tonight our live coverage continues, though, right now with Jeff Greenfield, Judy Woodruff and CNN's Wolf Blitzer -- Wolf.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
