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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Hurricane Ivan Bears Down On Jamaica, Threatens Florida Keys; Anti-Bush Groups Continue Attack On President's Guard Record; Zawahiri Makes New Tape
Aired September 09, 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 from New York.
It is big, it is bad, and it seems to be heading our way. Hurricane Ivan, what you need to know.
360 starts now.
Ivan gets terrible, winds 165 miles an hour, category five, and getting stronger. The latest on where the storm is going and how bad it's going to get.
Dr. Death, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's number two, makes a new tape. Tonight, what we can learn from it, and why he made it now.
New allegations about the president's wartime service. Did someone pull strings to keep young Bush at home? The evidence, the allegations, and the president's response.
Scott Peterson's father takes the stand. Crucial testimony about Amber Frey, fishing, and Peterson's boat. But why were there so many questions he couldn't answer?
A ray of hope. A little Russian boy presumed dead after being shown in this terrorist video survived. Tonight, what he saw, and how he escaped from the clutches of killers.
And talking tough on terror, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani joins us from Moscow.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: And good evening.
The plywood will not be coming down in Florida. Instead, more will be needed. As Floridians clean up from Frances and Charley, they are again boarding up, moving out, and preparing for possibly the third and the most powerful hurricane in a month. From outer space, take a look, Ivan, it is a sight to behold, a swirling mass of clouds surrounding a clearly shaped eye in the center.
Up close, it is a monster. Ivan nearly obliterated Grenada, destroying 90 percent of the island's buildings. The wreckage you can see from above. So far, it has claimed at least 16 lives. Tonight, it is a category four hurricane roaring toward Jamaica, packing 155-mile-an-hour winds, and in the distance awaits Florida. Officials today issued an emergency evacuation of everyone in the Florida keys.
Chris Landsea at NOAA is standing by to take us into the path of Hurricane Ivan.
Chris, thanks for joining us. Where is this thing headed?
CHRIS LANDSEA, NOAA HURRICANE RESEARCHER: Well, currently Hurricane Ivan is moving toward the west-northwest in the Caribbean toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and the National Hurricane Center has a hurricane warning for those islands at this point.
It's a very strong system. It's category four at this point, but it could very well strengthen back to a category five. That's, regardless, category four or five, we're looking at a lot of problems from those islanders.
COOPER: Yes, because Chris, it was a category five just earlier today. I mean, it was downgraded just a short time ago. Does that mean it is weakening, or you say it could go back up?
LANDSEA: Well, hurricanes tend to go through cycles, where they weaken a little bit for a few hours and then restrengthen. And this one may be doing that, weakening for a few hours now. So it's not very clearcut (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a four or a five in the next day or two. But it will probably stay as a major hurricane as it makes its way to Jamaica and Cuba.
COOPER: And Chris, we're looking at images from Grenada, from above, where, I mean, the island's just been devastated. We know it's now heading to Jamaica, it may hit Cuba, may hit Dominican Republic. In terms of where it may hit in the United States, what's your best projection at this point?
LANDSEA: Well, we're looking at about a four- to five-day outlook, and the best guess right now is that, you know, southeast, south -- Florida is most at risk. They, there are no -- there's no watches or warnings up for Florida yet, but probably looking for an impact on Monday or Tuesday.
As you know, the four- and five-day projections have a lot of error on them, and we don't (UNINTELLIGIBLE) want focusing on a specific point.
COOPER: But there have been mandatory evacuations ordered in the Florida keys. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I assume that means that's a likely area it may make landfall.
LANDSEA: Well, the keys, of course, are the furthest south. and they're very vulnerable, because there's one highway leading out for all those islands. So they have to take action well before any watches or warnings are issued. So it's a very prudent action that all tourists and to evacuate the keys. COOPER: So at this point, I mean, you know it's headed our way, but you can't say, or won't say for understandable reasons, where that may be, because at this point you just can't estimate that accurately?
LANDSEA: Well, it does appear real clear that it is going to make a turn to the north, but the timing of that is very crucial. If it turns a little early, then it may swing even east of Florida. If it turns where we think it is, it may impact western Florida and the keys. If it turns a little late, then it may reach all of the way over to Alabama or the Florida panhandle.
But with the three- and four-day outlooks, you know, we don't know exactly where it's going to go.
COOPER: Well, Chris Landsea, we appreciate you updating us on what you do know. Thanks very much, Chris.
LANDSEA: You're welcome.
COOPER: Well, radar is an amazing thing. Too bad all the threats we face can't be tracked so easily. Today, practically on the eve of the third anniversary of 9/11, the day that changed everything, there came a sickening reminder that the killers who turned the world upside down three years ago, they are still around, and they have not been brought to justice.
CNN's Nic Robertson has details now of the reappearance, at least on videotape, of Osama bin Laden's second in command.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Apparently timed for the anniversary of September 11, the al Qaeda message was delivered to Arabic-language news channel Al Jazeera. It is the first on-camera statement from the terror group in almost two and a half years, and had a familiar ring.
AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, AL QAEDA LEADER (through translator): The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become just a matter of time, with God's help. Americans in both countries are between two fires. If they carry on, they will bleed to death, and if they go out, they lose everything.
ROBERTSON: Specifically, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, claims holy warriors have U.S. troops hiding in their, quote, "trenches" in south and eastern Afghanistan and awaiting the battle in Iraq.
AL-ZAWAHIRI (through translator): In Iraq, the mujahedeen turned America's plan upside-down after the weak appearance of the men of the transitional government.
ROBERTSON: This reference to transitional government in Iraq perhaps the best indication this video was recorded within the last few months. The claims of U.S. troops hiding in their trenches in Afghanistan does not appear to match what this correspondent saw on a recent trip to the region. U.S. troops do go out on daily patrols. And particularly in eastern Afghanistan, close to Pakistan, they face attack from what security sources describe as large groups of Taliban fighters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: With many of the recent releases by al Qaeda, there's very little here that can give any indication at all about where Ayman al-Zawahiri may ,be or where Osama bin Laden may be. Certainly, it is an indication, perhaps, that Zawahiri does feel very confident, confident enough to make this first on-camera statement in a long time, Anderson.
COOPER: Well, he certainly looked healthier than I guess a lot of people thought he was going to. But, you know, what amazes me about this guy and all these terrorists is how media-savvy they are. I mean, you know, they're very well aware of anniversaries and how the media works. The anniversary of 9/11 coming along, all of a sudden this tape pops up.
ROBERTSON: Absolutely. If you look at their track record over the last few years, they've had releases, taped releases, audiotaped statements throughout the year. Where do they try and peak to make the biggest impact? On around the anniversary of September 11.
Last year, the year before, having a video release of some type, even if it's only pictures without a statement to go with it. This is the moment they try and peak. It is a propaganda war, it is a psychological operation on their side, if you were to try and get their message out to their people that they're winning, Anderson.
COOPER: Filled with boasts and lies. Nic Robertson, thanks very much.
We're going to talk more about the message on the tape with CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. That's going to be later tonight on 360.
We go to politics now, and the Bush campaign. What was really noticeable today was not so much what the president talked about, it's what he didn't talk about, the revived flap about his time in the National Guard.
CNN's senior White House correspondent John King has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In campaign-speak, you call this message discipline.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our economy has been growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years.
KING: Not a mention of new questions about his National Guard service, and newly discovered memos from then-Lieutenant Bush's commanding officer Democrats say contradict the president's longstanding assertion that he met all requirements and received no special treatment.
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: This is about George Bush not doing his duty in the National Guard, and then lying to the American people about it.
KING: Bush aides call it recycled partisan garbage, and say at least for now, the president has no intention of addressing the issue. Instead, his focus was on jobs and taxes, and for good reason. Pennsylvania is a dead heat, and a new CNN poll shows the state's voters give Democrat John Kerry an eight-point edge on handling the economy.
So with the optimistic talk, things are getting better, comes a warning, they could get worse.
BUSH: You drive a car, Senator Kerry's voted for higher taxes on you. If you have a job, he's voted for higher taxes on you.
KING: It is a case the Bush campaign believes has appeal across the Republican spectrum, first in the moderate Philadelphia suburbs, and then in much more conservative western Pennsylvania.
Stop for lunch at the Coney Island in gritty Johnstown, and there is talk of personal bankruptcy, nostalgia for the glory days of big steel, and dismay at a campaign that, to many, has too much bite and too little beef.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's too much backstabbing between both of them, and it's turning me away from both of them. That's exactly what it's doing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Now, the voters may not like all this talk of Vietnam and all these attacks by the Bush and Kerry campaigns, but the two campaigns, which agree on very little, do agree on this, Anderson. They say don't expect the change of this, the tone of this campaign to change very much. Negative politics works.
COOPER: Yes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it's probably just going to get nastier. John King, thanks for that.
We're going to talk more about this issue coming up later on 360. We like to give all sides on this show. We'll talk to Republicans and Democrats about the latest allegations. But more importantly, we're going to look at the facts, what we know and what we don't know about President Bush's record back then. That's later on 360.
Meantime, Camp Kerry, a chance to enjoy a day while all the other guys were sweating.
CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARKIN: Mr. Bush has repeatedly insisted that he did his duty. We now know this isn't true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he really wanted to be a fighter pilot, he would have gone where all the fighter pilots were, which was Vietnam.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Washington Democrats exploded over the issue of George Bush's service record, John Kerry was in Iowa, talking health care to a 91- year-old veteran.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Oh, she remembers her service number. That's something you never forget, your service number, it's engraved in you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George did.
KERRY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CROWLEY: It was an opening, and the senator looked sorely tempted.
KERRY: Well, moving on...
CROWLEY: It is the beauty of being top dog. You can talk when you want.
KERRY: You asked me a question, I'll tell you exactly where I stand on everything, except the outcome of the Cyclones-Hawkeye game. That's off limits.
CROWLEY: And you can not talk when you want.
Senator, have you put this swift boat controversy behind you now at this point?
CROWLEY: Except for the occasional presentation of a birthday cake and the hard-to-ignore question on whether the war on terror is winnable...
KERRY: Absolutely.
CROWLEY: ... there is little contact between Kerry and the traveling press corps, a strategic decision based on how the election will be won, state by state, media market by media market.
At nearly every stop, Kerry grants one-on-one interviews to local media. The dynamic is less contentious than a news conference. The questions are more likely to give him a chance to localize the message, kind of like niche campaigning.
KERRY: ... win the peace. And we're spending $200 billion and counting that now doesn't go into Minnesota health care.
CROWLEY: The candidate who promises monthly news conferences as president held his last full-blown news conference August 2. Asked about the nearly 40-day dry spell, an aide said, We don't want to step on our message. So the beat goes on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Kerry, Senator Kerry, come over here and talk (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to you.
CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I wonder if that was Candy yelling.
Detainees kept off the books in Iraq. That story tops our look at what's happening today cross-country.
Washington, Army generals tell the Senate that up to 100 detainees in Iraq were kept unregistered to conceal them from the Red Cross observers. Now, that is a much higher figure than previously reported, 100. The generals also said the CIA would not cooperate in their investigation into abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
Near Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, scientists are using, get this, tweezers to pick through the wreckage of the Genesis spacecraft, which crash-landed yesterday. There they are with the tweezers. They say the 264 -- look at them, little tweezers there. They said $264 million mission to capture solar atoms didn't end in total disaster, and that some scientific data survived the crash.
Pensacola, Florida, dog's tale. This is unbelievable. Police say a man who tried to shoot seven of his 3-month-old dogs was himself shot in the wrist by one of the puppies. The man was carrying the dog when it wiggled its paw onto the gun's trigger and fired the gun. I find it hard to believe, but they say it's true.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
360 next, a Russian school siege survivor, a little boy. He was one of the hostages in that videotape shot by the terrorists. He shares how he got out alive. A remarkable story.
Also, in Russia tonight, former New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani. He went 360 with me earlier today, talking terror and politics. We'll have that conversation ahead.
First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You know, when we heard the reports from Russia last week, we could barely imagine the terror happening inside that school seized in Beslan. Then, the video shot by terrorists was released two days ago. Imagination was no longer necessary.
One image stood out, this one, a young boy in a white shirt sitting on the gym floor, his hands behind his head. Next to him, one of the masked killers, his foot on a bomb detonator. At least 335 hostages, many of them schoolchildren, were killed when the standoff ended. That woman you see there was killed. But the little boy in the white shirt survived.
ITN's Bill Neeley has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL NEELEY, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Georgy Farniyev knows he's lucky to be alive, one of the very few who escaped the carnage in his school gym, a horror to which his mind often returns.
This is Georgy a week ago, sitting at the feet of a terrorist, bombs directly above him, the trigger of a bomb in front of him, the masked gunman showing what might kill him as Georgy cowers in terror.
"The gunmen were scary," he told me. "I kept very quiet, and kept my hands up like this or this." He told me he saw adults being killed on the first day. Terrorists threatened to kill him. Then the gym exploded.
GEORGY FARNIYEV, SIEGE SURVIVOR (through translator): Some people were torn to pieces. I was OK, but then a grenade blew up, and I was hit in the leg.
NEELEY: From here, he limped away and hid in a bookcase. Remarkably, Georgy's 7-year-old cousin lived through the massacre too, and today they were flown out of Beslan for more treatment with 20 other young survivors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm 12.
NEELEY (on camera): You're 12. And how are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm fine.
NEELEY: Fine.
(voice-over): Hala (ph) is punctured with shrapnel. Ten-year- old Sara (ph) was burned in the gym. She's having terrible nightmares. Fidar (ph) is 4 and won't go anywhere now without the toy gun on his pillow.
Some were able to walk onto the plane, just. Most others, looking vulnerable, were stretchered on.
They've been hostages, then targets. Now, once again, they were just frightened.
The survivors of a mass murder. Georgy, happy to be leaving Beslan behind.
Bill Neeley, ITV News, Beslan.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is actually in Russia. The trip was actually planned months ago. Earlier today, I spoke with him about the terror attacks, the anniversary of 9/11, and, of course, presidential politics.
Some in Russia have called this their 9/11. Do you think that's a, that's a, a fair, a fair statement?
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Well, when you look at all of the things that have happened, both the slaughter of the children and the airplane situations that occurred, and the situation in October of 2002 at the theater, which I visited today, they certainly are dealing with terrorist situations -- actually, more consistently than we are. So, I mean, they have a right to look at that way, sure.
COOPER: The Russians now say they have the right to attack anywhere in the world preemptively, to strike against terrorists. Is that a good thing?
GIULIANI: Well, I don't think that's -- I mean, I don't think that's the position, anyplace in the world. I think the -- I think we have to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- we have to recognize that we're very much in this together, in the sense that when terrorists take the lives of children, or they take the lives of innocent people, then you've got to do everything you can to make certain that they don't benefit from that. So that, I mean, that, that's a very, very, very consistent response to the response that, you know, that we've had.
COOPER: U.S. policy right now, though, makes a distinction between separatists in Chechnya and terrorists. Do you, is, do you see a distinction? I mean, is, is, are there separatists, and are there terrorists, or all they, are they all terrorists?
GIULIANI: I don't know what, you know, I don't know what, what the intricacies of the policy would be, you know, in the past. The reality is, when you start killing innocent human beings, and you start killing children, you've kind of announced that your cause has no justice.
And that would have been a much better way to deal with the PLO hijackings in the 1960s and the attack on the Israeli Olympic team and the "Achille Lauro" and so many others in the past, if we had said, These, these, these methods are not legitimate. You can't, you can't get a ticket to international bargaining table by killing children and women and killing innocent people.
If we had take, had that consistent reaction for 30 to 35 years, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation today.
COOPER: I want to just talk about domestic politics, just by briefly, if we could. Dick Cheney said, "It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again." Do you believe that John Kerry can't keep this country safe? GIULIANI: I believe George W. Bush is a better choice for keeping this country safe. I think the policy will be a lot more consistent. It'll be a policy where we engage terrorists and we go on the offensive rather than remain on defense. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), everybody puts it their own way. But my, I mean, I (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I described it as best I could at the Republican convention.
I think it's critically important that we remain on offense against terrorism. George Bush has been very consistent and been willing to accept public criticism, even though, you know, he, he at times has had to deal with a significant amount of unpopularity.
COOPER: The anniversary of 9/11 coming up. Your thoughts this week, I mean, given all that's going on, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), are we winning the war on terror?
GIULIANI: I think our country has responded in ways that I, I, you know, you almost wouldn't have expected on the day that attack took place. We're stronger today. We're spiritually stronger. We're actually stronger. We've had a lot of victories in the war against terror. We're going to need a lot more. And we're going to have to make ourselves a lot safer. But I think, you know, we should be satisfied with the progress we've made, and kind of use it as a challenge to make even more progress in the future.
COOPER: Mayor Giuliani, appreciate you joining us from Moscow.
GIULIANI: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Iraqi civilians killed in an air strike. That tops our look at what's going on around the world in the uplink.
U.S. war planes pounded insurgent positions in Fallujah for a third straight day. The main target today, a building thought to be used by associates of militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Iraqi officials say that 10 people, including four kids, were killed. U.S. military officials say they regret the loss of innocent lives.
Jakarta, Indonesia, now. A car bombing in front of the Australian embassy kills at least nine people and leaves 182 others wounded. Police and government officials suspect a group with ties to al Qaeda is responsible for the attack.
Sudan's Darfur region now, the U.S. calls it a genocide. Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate committee today Arab militias are committing genocide against black villagers. The U.N. estimates the violence has killed up to 50,000 people. They haven't been using that word "genocide" before, though.
That's tonight's uplink.
A new al Qaeda tape, this time from Osama bin Laden's number two man. The question is, is there anything we can learn from the tape? We'll try to find out from CNN's terrorism analyst, ahead on 360.
Plus, under oath and on the stand, Scott Peterson's father. Prosecutors grill him for answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's been an interesting week in the Scott Peterson murder trial. After seeing (UNINTELLIGIBLE), excuse me, an FBI expert on DNA, police officers, and several other witnesses take the stand, today murder suspect Scott Peterson heard testimony from someone he knows very well, his own dad.
Ted Rowlands reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lee Peterson started his testimony by making it clear where he stands. The first words out of his mouth, quote, "I'm proud to say Scott is my son." Then he did his best to try to help his son in front of the jury.
Prosecutors put Peterson on the stand to establish that he was never told about a boat purchased by his son, the boat investigators say was used to dump Laci Peterson's body. He also testified that his son never mentioned that he'd been fishing in the San Francisco Bay during a Christmas Eve phone conversation the afternoon Laci Peterson was reported missing.
On cross-examination, Lee Peterson said it, quote, "wouldn't be unusual" that Scott didn't tell him about the boat, because Scott had a history of buying cars, boats, and motorcycles without telling his family. Peterson also testified that his son preferred to fish in saltwater, which could explain why he traveled 90 miles to fish in the San Francisco Bay, leaving his pregnant wife at home.
Observers say the father's testimony may have helped the defense.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: He became a real person for this jury, and if you humanize the father, it becomes much more difficult for the jury to convict the son.
ROWLANDS: A simmering battle between the two families resumed outside the courtroom. Lee Peterson and Brent Rocha, Laci Peterson's brother, exchanged words at the metal detector on the way into the courthouse.
(on camera): There were no public comments from either side about the recent flareup between the families, but a source close to one of the families tells CNN it is, quote, "getting ugly."
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Dr. Death, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's number two, makes a new tape. Tonight, what we can learn from it, and why he made it now.
New allegations about the president's wartime service. Did someone pull strings to keep young Bush at home? The evidence, the allegations, and the president's response.
And new stamps with Jimmy Hoffa, Governor McGreevey, Linda Tripp? One company's bright idea may have your postman doing a double-take.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER; For a month now, John Kerry has been hounded by swift boat ads that question his service in Vietnam. Today the questions of service are being raised again, but this time they involve President Bush. As some voters are no doubt tired of all this Vietnam talk and still others say what happened then still matters today.
There are, of course, a number of allegations about President Bush and what he did or did not do in the National Guard. We're going to get to the politics of it all in a moment with a "CROSSFIRE" guys, but first the facts.
On 360, we want to cover all of the sides, all of the angles. CNN's Judy Woodruff does just that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two questions endure about George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard. The first is, how did he get in? A Texas politician is talking publicly for the first time about how he pulled strings for Bush.
BEN BARNES, FRM. TEXAS LT. GOV: I readily willing to call and get those young men into the National Guard that were friends of mine and supporters of mine and I did it.
WOODRUFF: Former Texas house speaker and lieutenant governor Ben Barnes, a Democrat supporting John Kerry, told CBS' "60 Minutes" he called the head of the guard in 1968 at the request of a Bush family friend. Bush's father then represented Houston in Congress.
BARNES: I would describe it as preferential treatment. There were hundred of names on the list of people wanting to get in the Air National Guard, or the Army National Guard. I think that would have been a preference to anybody that didn't want to go to Vietnam, that didn't want to leave...
WOODRUFF: It's the same story Barnes told in a closed-door deposition five years ago. Then Governor Bush said he was unaware of any help.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know if Ben Barnes did or not, but he was not asked by me or my dad. I can just tell you that from my perspective, I never asked for and I don't believe I received any special treatment.
WOODRUFF: The Bush campaign has stuck to that line ever since. But a professor who taught Bush at Harvard Business School in the early '70s has written a letter to his local newspaper saying Bush, quote "admitted to me that to avoid a Vietnam draft, he had his father's friend skip him through the long waiting list of the Texas National Guard."
Which leads to the second lingering question, how did Bush perform in the Guard? Records first obtained by the Associated Press which sued the Pentagon to get them, showed that Bush ranked in the middle of his flight training class in 1969. But Bush was eventually suspended from flying the F-102 in August 1972.
Newly unearthed documents from the personnel file of a commanding officer reveal, Bush not only missed a required physical exam, but he made no attempt to meet his training certification.
The accusation that he was a no-show for duty has applied mainly to Bush's 1972 transfer to a Guard unit in Alabama, where he worked on the U.S. Senate campaign of a family friend. It is revived in a TV ad to run in several battleground states.
Official records show a five-month gap in his pay for drills. Democrats are pressing the attack.
SEN. TOM HARKIN, (D) IOWA: Americans deserve to know the truth. And we won't know the whole truth until the president himself meets these facts head-on.
WOODRUFF: The White House says if the president broke the rules, he wouldn't have received an honorable discharge in 1973.
DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIR.: People who are calling themselves experts, who actually have partisan differences, who are supporting President Bush's opponent, who are throwing these allegations. The fact of the matter is, President Bush met his obligations.
WOODRUFF: Judy Woodruff, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Not surprisingly, how you react to these allegations may very well depend on what side of the political aisle you stand on or what site side of the table you sit in the crossfire. Earlier I checked in with Paul Begala and Robert Novak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Paul, are these new charges going to stick, these new allegations?
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST CROSSFIRE: I think they may, because they go to credibility. I don't think really, frankly, it matters very much whether George Bush showed up 30 years ago for the National Guard. I think what matters is, that he doesn't seem to have told us the truth about that now.
And if I could give him free advise, or a Bush adviser here for a minute, I would advise him just to go to the country and say it was a troubled time for America, it was a troubled time for me. I didn't fulfill my obligations to the Guard or to my obligations to my family or my friends, but you know America is the land of the second chance. And I believe in a God who offers redemption. And I've gotten both
COOPER: You know...
BEGALA: The country would love him for that, Anderson. They would love him. We would forgive him. What could the liberals like me say, then. He'd say, OK I made a mistake 30 years ago and I'm sorry. What could you do?
COOPER: Bob, I want to play you something that Senator Harkin said earlier. Let's play that tape.
HARKIN: This is about George Bush getting special favors. This is about George Bush getting special privileges. This is about George Bush not doing his duty in the National Guard and then lying to the American people about it.
COOPER: Is this all just politics, Bob?
ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST CROSSFIRE: The situation is that there are serious allegations against the war record of John Kerry. I have talked to swift boat commanders in the last two days. There's 250 swift boat veterans.
COOPER: But we've been all over that.
NOVAK: Just a minute. Let me just say. I think you don't like to hear it, maybe, but the Americans like to, because they have a book on the top of the best seller list. And to try to get the emphasis off that, knowing the gullible newsmen will buy into it that go into this hackneyed old story about the Alabama Guard duty. What a travesty that is.
COOPER: Does anybody really want to hear about any of this, though?
BEGALA: They just don't want to be lied to. We say in Texas, don't pee on my boots and tell me it's raining. Just level with us.
COOPER: Do you believe they tried to pull strings.
NOVAK: Sure, I'm sure they tried to pull strings. Who cares about that? The problem is, I don't think that George Bush has ever put himself over as a war hero or an exemplary figure on this, but John Kerry was running as a war hero and I had one swift boat commander, one of his colleagues, who was in action with him said if he's a war hero, I'm the king of Siam. Tell me that today.
BEGALA: Of course, he is a war hero. He won the bronze star, the silver star and three purple hearts. But Bob's point about John Kerry is right. John Kerry opened the door by campaigning on his Vietnam record. I think George Bush's central appeal, really, when you strip it all away is, I'll be strong on national defense and I'll always tell the truth. That was his big thing. I'll restore honor and dignity to the oval office.
He sat in the Oval Office in February of this year, not 30 years ago, February of this year and told "Meet the Press'" Tim Russert that he fulfilled all of his duties in the Guard, we now know from the records that he did not. The president didn't tell the truth, he should. That's what this is all about. I don't really care about 30 years ago, I care about today. And he's not leveling with us today.
NOVAK: Well, actually Paul is really a very, very able political practitioner. I'm just a humble...
BEGALA: Here it comes.
NOVAK: I'm just a humble journalist, and I can't deal with it. But the matter of fact is, that this is just a desperate attempt to try to conquer the dispursions (ph) on John Kerry's character. John Kerry, was in pretty good shape six weeks ago. He has had a terrible six weeks and now what they want to do is change the subject and talk about whether or not George W. Bush went to national guard duties in Alabama.
COOPER: We'll leave it there, Paul Begala, Bob Novak. Thanks very much.
NOVAK: Thank you.
COOPER: Well, today's Buzz is this, what do you think?
Which candidate has been fully truthful regarding his military service? President Bush, Senator John Kerry, both or neither?
Log on to cnn.com/360. Cast your votes we'll have results at the end of the program in about 18 minutes.
Osama bin Laden's right hand delivers a chilling message. Next on "360, the latest video from Ayman al-Zawahiri. Does this mean -- what does it mean on the war on terror. We're going to try to find out, talk to CNN's Peter Bergen, terrorist analyst.
Also tonight, the United States Postal Service. What are these guys thinking putting a new face on stamps. It could be yours, it could be just about anybody's face, and We do mean anybody. We'll explain ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Six days ago, a memo went around here warning that we should expect a new tape from al Qaeda in the days leading up to September 11th, since that's the been their pattern in the past. So it really wasn't surprising when the Arab network Al Jazeera broadcast this tape today featuring al Qaeda's no. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
In the tape he says and I quote, "The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become just a matter of time, with God's help. Americans in both countries are between two fires. If they carry on, they will bleed to death, and if they pull out, they lose everything." Earlier we talked with CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen about the timing and the exact meaning of this tape.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Peter, we've talked in the past about how P.R. savvy these terrorists are. I assume this tape is released now with the anniversary of 9/11 coming.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Absolutely. We've had every anniversary we've had a significant statement from al Qaeda, at least one or both of al Qaeda's leaders, so this is part of that pattern. We were expecting this tape at CNN.
COOPER: Did anything surprise you about what was said in it and how he appeared?
BERGEN: He looks in reasonably good shape. That gun that is sitting next to him is unusual. Ayman al-Zawahiri, as you probably know, is a medical doctor, he's not a fighter. So that's kind of new. But he doesn't look like he's in poor health. The videotape was of quite good quality. It implies, I think a certain amount of comfort level that he has right now, that he release videotape.
He says on the videotape that Afghanistan -- in Afghanistan, U.S. forces are kind of on the run, this is totally wrong. I just returned from a long trip...
COOPER: Yes, he basically says that they are in control, the Mujahedeen, he calls them are in control of southern and eastern Afghanistan. You were just there.
BERGEN: Ludicrous, ludicrous. I mean, certainly there are in very remote areas the Taliban are coming back and forth across the border, but the country is largely stable, largely secure. We see occasional attacks. Of course, he also talked about the situation in Iraq which is very, very different. And clearly U.S. forces are getting -- having a hard time in Iraq. And we're seeing kind of Taliban-style states developing in cities like Fallujah and Ramadi and so, certainly in Iraq and he's more correct about U.S. forces being given a hard time. But in Afghanistan, that's erroneous. .
COOPER: Does this play tape play either way in the elections that are up coming in Afghanistan?
BERGEN: I don't really think so. I think most Afghans have -- they don't really care about al Qaeda. The ordinary Afghan see the al Qaeda as a foreign group, mostly made up of Arabs. There are few Afghans in al Qaeda itself. I don't think it makes much difference.
COOPER: You talked about imminent defeat in Iraq. I guess, earlier today Prime Minister Allawi, says that they've captured four al Qaeda suspects in Iraq. I'm not sure which came first, the tape and then the claim or the claim or the tape, do you see them linked at all? BERGEN: No, because I think this tape was made some time ago and was just held for this anniversary. There's no date time stamp on the tape exactly, but I mean, he does mentioned the transitional government in Iraq, so it implies it was made relatively recently, but it could have been made either last week or several months ago. We just don't know.
COOPER: All right. Peter Bergen, thanks for joining us.
BERGEN: Thank you.
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, the Postal Service wants your stamp of approval. The new pilot program is letting almost everything grace the cover of a stamp and we do mean everything. That's next.
Also tonight, suiting up for the campaign trail, Bush and Kerry may need more body armor. We're going to take that to the "Nth Degree."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's been a tough day in news with all the politics and terror tape coming out. We thought you could use a smile. So it's fashion week in New York when designers present their new styles. Time to answer all those pressing questions like what's the new black? And is it time for paisley to make a comeback? Well, the question we've been trying to answer, what's up with the way models walk?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): There they are, strutting their designer- clad stuff down the runway. What's up with that walk?
Some models seem to stroll. Others strut. We're not sure why but some seem to be stomping or high stepping. This kind of thing can't come naturally. And it turns out Jay Alexander actually teaches models how to walk.
This is not natural. It's fashionista theater. Fashion is theater, I think, for most people.
COOPER: Remember, models get paid thousands of dollars to walk this way. But sometimes things don't quite work out.
That's the stumble. It's rarely seen, but always draws a gasp from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) onlookers. See, it's one thing to watch Carrie Bradshaw slam headfirst onto the runway. It's quite another when the stumbler is a highly priced supermodel demanding a high price just for her graceful gape.
And unlike other species, it's the female who's known for her prancing and preening, the male model can be, well, a bit boring.
If you want to see a supermodel they'll be held captive on catwalks in New York City for the next several days. But the chance to spy them walking their walks is granted only to a chosen few. They call themselves fashionistas and they gather under tents to stalk their stylish prey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Still don't get it. It's time to check on some pop news in tonight's "Current." Let's take a look. The NFL season kicks off tonight with the Patriots against the Colts. The game will feature a huge halftime concert featuring Jessica Simpson, Destiny's Child and their very special guests, the FCC sensors. Raise the roof, fellas! Hey! Ho! OK.
So who's finally a loser? Ken Jennings, apparently. "Jeopardy's" longest-running champion has apparently met his match. I know, sad. "TV Week's" Web site reports that Jennings lost during a taping yesterday which won't air until later this fall. The Web site says he won around 2.5 million bucks during a 75-game streak. Certainly not bad for knowing some stuff though I still think I could take him.
And finally, Carmen Electra is hosting a new reality show. That's right. It is called "Manhunt, the Search For America's Most Gorgeous Male Model." We don't know who it's going to be, but our attractive 360 crew is hoping they may be able to quit their day jobs finally. Guys, take it away.
All right, maybe not.
So in this day and age, it seems we'd like -- sorry, guys -- it seems we like everything customized. You can customize a car. You can customize a kitchen, but customizing a postage stamp? Well, that has never been an option until one company got a very bright idea and with the blessing of the U.S. Postal Service, stamps are about to get a whole lot more personal. Maybe too personal. CNN's Jeanne Moos explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ready to stamp out flags and presidents? Maybe you'd rather monkey around with your own image. You're looking at a valid U.S. postage stamp featuring Chippy (ph) and me. Or maybe you'd prefer your wedding photo, your baby or former dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Hey, how did an alleged war criminal become valid postage?
KEN MCBRIDE, CEO, STAMPS.COM: In some cases people are doing it somewhat like a game to try to get stuff by us...
MOOS: Ken McBride is the CEO of Stamps.com. On a trial basis, the postal service is allowing personalized stamps. You send in your favorite digital photo, pick a border and in a couple of days you're turned into a usable, actual stamp with a machine-readable bar code.
MCBRIDE: Babies and kids. That's about 40 percent of what we're getting.
MOOS: But then there's the 5 percent reject rate. Nudity, political content, violence, anything objectionable. MCBRIDE: We actually have human beings who look at every photo that's submitted.
MOOS: But humans being human apparently neglected to recognize Linda Tripp or this now famous photo of New Jersey governor James McGreevey and the former aide with whom he has reportedly had a sexual relationship.
BILL BASTONE, CO-FOUNDER, THE SMOKING GUN: They pretty much did it to see if they'd get through.
MOOS: Bill Bastone is a co-founder of the Web site, Thesmokinggun.com. Their first attempts to bypass the photo stamp censors when Lee Harvey Oswald and the Unabomber was denied the stamp of approval but Jimmy Hoffa made it and so did the Unabomber's Harvard photo.
BASTONE: We decided to put it on an envelope and mail it to ourselves.
MOOS: It arrived valid postage. Though personalized stamps cost more than twice as much as regular ones. At the United Nations there's a similar service. Jurors pose and get their new stamps in minutes valid only if mailed from U.N. headquarters. The idea behind photo stamps is to send in sentimental photos like this Santa picture of me with my brother. Instead they let Monica Lewinsky's stained dress get by. Talk about a sticky stamp. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That's one stamp I would not want to lick.
360 next, when is politics a contact sport? When it's taken to the Nth Degree. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Here's the "Buzz." Which candidate has been fully truthful regarding his military service? President Bush, Senator John Kerry? Both or neither? 8 percent say of you say Bush, 81 percent of say Senator Kerry. 1 percent say both. 10 percent say neither. Not a scientific poll, but it is your buzz. We appreciate you voting.
Tonight taking partisan combat to the Nth Degree. We're beginning to think that politicians ought to wear protective gear the way hockey and football players do and fencers. Let's face it, campaigning is a dangerous activity. Can we really in good conscience send contenders out there in nothing more than polo shirts and Sansabelt slacks?
They ought to have helmets certainly to protect all the new ideas they both say they have and maybe some kind of guard attached to those helmets to keep them from sticking their chins out too far and steel- towed boots. The boots would make it harder for them to put their feet in their mouths. It would also be good for kicking holes in the other guy's record. Padding of course on the shoulders, knees and shins and then a few things that most athletes don't have which politicians particularly need. A military record protector. Think of this is a kind of flak jacket designed not only to reduce damage in that sensitive area, but also to hide old medals or the complete lack thereof.
Finally and most important of all to ward off the increasingly popular low blow which you might call a patriotism cup.
Hey, if campaigning is going to be a contact sport, at least those who do it ought to be equipped properly.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
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 September 9, 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 from New York.
It is big, it is bad, and it seems to be heading our way. Hurricane Ivan, what you need to know.
360 starts now.
Ivan gets terrible, winds 165 miles an hour, category five, and getting stronger. The latest on where the storm is going and how bad it's going to get.
Dr. Death, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's number two, makes a new tape. Tonight, what we can learn from it, and why he made it now.
New allegations about the president's wartime service. Did someone pull strings to keep young Bush at home? The evidence, the allegations, and the president's response.
Scott Peterson's father takes the stand. Crucial testimony about Amber Frey, fishing, and Peterson's boat. But why were there so many questions he couldn't answer?
A ray of hope. A little Russian boy presumed dead after being shown in this terrorist video survived. Tonight, what he saw, and how he escaped from the clutches of killers.
And talking tough on terror, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani joins us from Moscow.
ANNOUNCER: Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is ANDERSON COOPER 360.
COOPER: And good evening.
The plywood will not be coming down in Florida. Instead, more will be needed. As Floridians clean up from Frances and Charley, they are again boarding up, moving out, and preparing for possibly the third and the most powerful hurricane in a month. From outer space, take a look, Ivan, it is a sight to behold, a swirling mass of clouds surrounding a clearly shaped eye in the center.
Up close, it is a monster. Ivan nearly obliterated Grenada, destroying 90 percent of the island's buildings. The wreckage you can see from above. So far, it has claimed at least 16 lives. Tonight, it is a category four hurricane roaring toward Jamaica, packing 155-mile-an-hour winds, and in the distance awaits Florida. Officials today issued an emergency evacuation of everyone in the Florida keys.
Chris Landsea at NOAA is standing by to take us into the path of Hurricane Ivan.
Chris, thanks for joining us. Where is this thing headed?
CHRIS LANDSEA, NOAA HURRICANE RESEARCHER: Well, currently Hurricane Ivan is moving toward the west-northwest in the Caribbean toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and the National Hurricane Center has a hurricane warning for those islands at this point.
It's a very strong system. It's category four at this point, but it could very well strengthen back to a category five. That's, regardless, category four or five, we're looking at a lot of problems from those islanders.
COOPER: Yes, because Chris, it was a category five just earlier today. I mean, it was downgraded just a short time ago. Does that mean it is weakening, or you say it could go back up?
LANDSEA: Well, hurricanes tend to go through cycles, where they weaken a little bit for a few hours and then restrengthen. And this one may be doing that, weakening for a few hours now. So it's not very clearcut (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a four or a five in the next day or two. But it will probably stay as a major hurricane as it makes its way to Jamaica and Cuba.
COOPER: And Chris, we're looking at images from Grenada, from above, where, I mean, the island's just been devastated. We know it's now heading to Jamaica, it may hit Cuba, may hit Dominican Republic. In terms of where it may hit in the United States, what's your best projection at this point?
LANDSEA: Well, we're looking at about a four- to five-day outlook, and the best guess right now is that, you know, southeast, south -- Florida is most at risk. They, there are no -- there's no watches or warnings up for Florida yet, but probably looking for an impact on Monday or Tuesday.
As you know, the four- and five-day projections have a lot of error on them, and we don't (UNINTELLIGIBLE) want focusing on a specific point.
COOPER: But there have been mandatory evacuations ordered in the Florida keys. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I assume that means that's a likely area it may make landfall.
LANDSEA: Well, the keys, of course, are the furthest south. and they're very vulnerable, because there's one highway leading out for all those islands. So they have to take action well before any watches or warnings are issued. So it's a very prudent action that all tourists and to evacuate the keys. COOPER: So at this point, I mean, you know it's headed our way, but you can't say, or won't say for understandable reasons, where that may be, because at this point you just can't estimate that accurately?
LANDSEA: Well, it does appear real clear that it is going to make a turn to the north, but the timing of that is very crucial. If it turns a little early, then it may swing even east of Florida. If it turns where we think it is, it may impact western Florida and the keys. If it turns a little late, then it may reach all of the way over to Alabama or the Florida panhandle.
But with the three- and four-day outlooks, you know, we don't know exactly where it's going to go.
COOPER: Well, Chris Landsea, we appreciate you updating us on what you do know. Thanks very much, Chris.
LANDSEA: You're welcome.
COOPER: Well, radar is an amazing thing. Too bad all the threats we face can't be tracked so easily. Today, practically on the eve of the third anniversary of 9/11, the day that changed everything, there came a sickening reminder that the killers who turned the world upside down three years ago, they are still around, and they have not been brought to justice.
CNN's Nic Robertson has details now of the reappearance, at least on videotape, of Osama bin Laden's second in command.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Apparently timed for the anniversary of September 11, the al Qaeda message was delivered to Arabic-language news channel Al Jazeera. It is the first on-camera statement from the terror group in almost two and a half years, and had a familiar ring.
AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI, AL QAEDA LEADER (through translator): The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become just a matter of time, with God's help. Americans in both countries are between two fires. If they carry on, they will bleed to death, and if they go out, they lose everything.
ROBERTSON: Specifically, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's deputy, claims holy warriors have U.S. troops hiding in their, quote, "trenches" in south and eastern Afghanistan and awaiting the battle in Iraq.
AL-ZAWAHIRI (through translator): In Iraq, the mujahedeen turned America's plan upside-down after the weak appearance of the men of the transitional government.
ROBERTSON: This reference to transitional government in Iraq perhaps the best indication this video was recorded within the last few months. The claims of U.S. troops hiding in their trenches in Afghanistan does not appear to match what this correspondent saw on a recent trip to the region. U.S. troops do go out on daily patrols. And particularly in eastern Afghanistan, close to Pakistan, they face attack from what security sources describe as large groups of Taliban fighters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: With many of the recent releases by al Qaeda, there's very little here that can give any indication at all about where Ayman al-Zawahiri may ,be or where Osama bin Laden may be. Certainly, it is an indication, perhaps, that Zawahiri does feel very confident, confident enough to make this first on-camera statement in a long time, Anderson.
COOPER: Well, he certainly looked healthier than I guess a lot of people thought he was going to. But, you know, what amazes me about this guy and all these terrorists is how media-savvy they are. I mean, you know, they're very well aware of anniversaries and how the media works. The anniversary of 9/11 coming along, all of a sudden this tape pops up.
ROBERTSON: Absolutely. If you look at their track record over the last few years, they've had releases, taped releases, audiotaped statements throughout the year. Where do they try and peak to make the biggest impact? On around the anniversary of September 11.
Last year, the year before, having a video release of some type, even if it's only pictures without a statement to go with it. This is the moment they try and peak. It is a propaganda war, it is a psychological operation on their side, if you were to try and get their message out to their people that they're winning, Anderson.
COOPER: Filled with boasts and lies. Nic Robertson, thanks very much.
We're going to talk more about the message on the tape with CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. That's going to be later tonight on 360.
We go to politics now, and the Bush campaign. What was really noticeable today was not so much what the president talked about, it's what he didn't talk about, the revived flap about his time in the National Guard.
CNN's senior White House correspondent John King has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In campaign-speak, you call this message discipline.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our economy has been growing at rates as fast as any in nearly 20 years.
KING: Not a mention of new questions about his National Guard service, and newly discovered memos from then-Lieutenant Bush's commanding officer Democrats say contradict the president's longstanding assertion that he met all requirements and received no special treatment.
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: This is about George Bush not doing his duty in the National Guard, and then lying to the American people about it.
KING: Bush aides call it recycled partisan garbage, and say at least for now, the president has no intention of addressing the issue. Instead, his focus was on jobs and taxes, and for good reason. Pennsylvania is a dead heat, and a new CNN poll shows the state's voters give Democrat John Kerry an eight-point edge on handling the economy.
So with the optimistic talk, things are getting better, comes a warning, they could get worse.
BUSH: You drive a car, Senator Kerry's voted for higher taxes on you. If you have a job, he's voted for higher taxes on you.
KING: It is a case the Bush campaign believes has appeal across the Republican spectrum, first in the moderate Philadelphia suburbs, and then in much more conservative western Pennsylvania.
Stop for lunch at the Coney Island in gritty Johnstown, and there is talk of personal bankruptcy, nostalgia for the glory days of big steel, and dismay at a campaign that, to many, has too much bite and too little beef.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's too much backstabbing between both of them, and it's turning me away from both of them. That's exactly what it's doing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: Now, the voters may not like all this talk of Vietnam and all these attacks by the Bush and Kerry campaigns, but the two campaigns, which agree on very little, do agree on this, Anderson. They say don't expect the change of this, the tone of this campaign to change very much. Negative politics works.
COOPER: Yes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it's probably just going to get nastier. John King, thanks for that.
We're going to talk more about this issue coming up later on 360. We like to give all sides on this show. We'll talk to Republicans and Democrats about the latest allegations. But more importantly, we're going to look at the facts, what we know and what we don't know about President Bush's record back then. That's later on 360.
Meantime, Camp Kerry, a chance to enjoy a day while all the other guys were sweating.
CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARKIN: Mr. Bush has repeatedly insisted that he did his duty. We now know this isn't true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he really wanted to be a fighter pilot, he would have gone where all the fighter pilots were, which was Vietnam.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Washington Democrats exploded over the issue of George Bush's service record, John Kerry was in Iowa, talking health care to a 91- year-old veteran.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Oh, she remembers her service number. That's something you never forget, your service number, it's engraved in you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George did.
KERRY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CROWLEY: It was an opening, and the senator looked sorely tempted.
KERRY: Well, moving on...
CROWLEY: It is the beauty of being top dog. You can talk when you want.
KERRY: You asked me a question, I'll tell you exactly where I stand on everything, except the outcome of the Cyclones-Hawkeye game. That's off limits.
CROWLEY: And you can not talk when you want.
Senator, have you put this swift boat controversy behind you now at this point?
CROWLEY: Except for the occasional presentation of a birthday cake and the hard-to-ignore question on whether the war on terror is winnable...
KERRY: Absolutely.
CROWLEY: ... there is little contact between Kerry and the traveling press corps, a strategic decision based on how the election will be won, state by state, media market by media market.
At nearly every stop, Kerry grants one-on-one interviews to local media. The dynamic is less contentious than a news conference. The questions are more likely to give him a chance to localize the message, kind of like niche campaigning.
KERRY: ... win the peace. And we're spending $200 billion and counting that now doesn't go into Minnesota health care.
CROWLEY: The candidate who promises monthly news conferences as president held his last full-blown news conference August 2. Asked about the nearly 40-day dry spell, an aide said, We don't want to step on our message. So the beat goes on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Kerry, Senator Kerry, come over here and talk (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to you.
CROWLEY: Candy Crowley, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: I wonder if that was Candy yelling.
Detainees kept off the books in Iraq. That story tops our look at what's happening today cross-country.
Washington, Army generals tell the Senate that up to 100 detainees in Iraq were kept unregistered to conceal them from the Red Cross observers. Now, that is a much higher figure than previously reported, 100. The generals also said the CIA would not cooperate in their investigation into abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
Near Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, scientists are using, get this, tweezers to pick through the wreckage of the Genesis spacecraft, which crash-landed yesterday. There they are with the tweezers. They say the 264 -- look at them, little tweezers there. They said $264 million mission to capture solar atoms didn't end in total disaster, and that some scientific data survived the crash.
Pensacola, Florida, dog's tale. This is unbelievable. Police say a man who tried to shoot seven of his 3-month-old dogs was himself shot in the wrist by one of the puppies. The man was carrying the dog when it wiggled its paw onto the gun's trigger and fired the gun. I find it hard to believe, but they say it's true.
That's a look at stories cross-country tonight.
360 next, a Russian school siege survivor, a little boy. He was one of the hostages in that videotape shot by the terrorists. He shares how he got out alive. A remarkable story.
Also, in Russia tonight, former New York city mayor Rudy Giuliani. He went 360 with me earlier today, talking terror and politics. We'll have that conversation ahead.
First, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: You know, when we heard the reports from Russia last week, we could barely imagine the terror happening inside that school seized in Beslan. Then, the video shot by terrorists was released two days ago. Imagination was no longer necessary.
One image stood out, this one, a young boy in a white shirt sitting on the gym floor, his hands behind his head. Next to him, one of the masked killers, his foot on a bomb detonator. At least 335 hostages, many of them schoolchildren, were killed when the standoff ended. That woman you see there was killed. But the little boy in the white shirt survived.
ITN's Bill Neeley has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL NEELEY, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Georgy Farniyev knows he's lucky to be alive, one of the very few who escaped the carnage in his school gym, a horror to which his mind often returns.
This is Georgy a week ago, sitting at the feet of a terrorist, bombs directly above him, the trigger of a bomb in front of him, the masked gunman showing what might kill him as Georgy cowers in terror.
"The gunmen were scary," he told me. "I kept very quiet, and kept my hands up like this or this." He told me he saw adults being killed on the first day. Terrorists threatened to kill him. Then the gym exploded.
GEORGY FARNIYEV, SIEGE SURVIVOR (through translator): Some people were torn to pieces. I was OK, but then a grenade blew up, and I was hit in the leg.
NEELEY: From here, he limped away and hid in a bookcase. Remarkably, Georgy's 7-year-old cousin lived through the massacre too, and today they were flown out of Beslan for more treatment with 20 other young survivors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm 12.
NEELEY (on camera): You're 12. And how are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm fine.
NEELEY: Fine.
(voice-over): Hala (ph) is punctured with shrapnel. Ten-year- old Sara (ph) was burned in the gym. She's having terrible nightmares. Fidar (ph) is 4 and won't go anywhere now without the toy gun on his pillow.
Some were able to walk onto the plane, just. Most others, looking vulnerable, were stretchered on.
They've been hostages, then targets. Now, once again, they were just frightened.
The survivors of a mass murder. Georgy, happy to be leaving Beslan behind.
Bill Neeley, ITV News, Beslan.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COOPER: Well, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is actually in Russia. The trip was actually planned months ago. Earlier today, I spoke with him about the terror attacks, the anniversary of 9/11, and, of course, presidential politics.
Some in Russia have called this their 9/11. Do you think that's a, that's a, a fair, a fair statement?
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Well, when you look at all of the things that have happened, both the slaughter of the children and the airplane situations that occurred, and the situation in October of 2002 at the theater, which I visited today, they certainly are dealing with terrorist situations -- actually, more consistently than we are. So, I mean, they have a right to look at that way, sure.
COOPER: The Russians now say they have the right to attack anywhere in the world preemptively, to strike against terrorists. Is that a good thing?
GIULIANI: Well, I don't think that's -- I mean, I don't think that's the position, anyplace in the world. I think the -- I think we have to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- we have to recognize that we're very much in this together, in the sense that when terrorists take the lives of children, or they take the lives of innocent people, then you've got to do everything you can to make certain that they don't benefit from that. So that, I mean, that, that's a very, very, very consistent response to the response that, you know, that we've had.
COOPER: U.S. policy right now, though, makes a distinction between separatists in Chechnya and terrorists. Do you, is, do you see a distinction? I mean, is, is, are there separatists, and are there terrorists, or all they, are they all terrorists?
GIULIANI: I don't know what, you know, I don't know what, what the intricacies of the policy would be, you know, in the past. The reality is, when you start killing innocent human beings, and you start killing children, you've kind of announced that your cause has no justice.
And that would have been a much better way to deal with the PLO hijackings in the 1960s and the attack on the Israeli Olympic team and the "Achille Lauro" and so many others in the past, if we had said, These, these, these methods are not legitimate. You can't, you can't get a ticket to international bargaining table by killing children and women and killing innocent people.
If we had take, had that consistent reaction for 30 to 35 years, maybe we wouldn't be in this situation today.
COOPER: I want to just talk about domestic politics, just by briefly, if we could. Dick Cheney said, "It's absolutely essential that eight weeks from today, on November 2, we make the right choice, because if we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we'll get hit again." Do you believe that John Kerry can't keep this country safe? GIULIANI: I believe George W. Bush is a better choice for keeping this country safe. I think the policy will be a lot more consistent. It'll be a policy where we engage terrorists and we go on the offensive rather than remain on defense. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), everybody puts it their own way. But my, I mean, I (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I described it as best I could at the Republican convention.
I think it's critically important that we remain on offense against terrorism. George Bush has been very consistent and been willing to accept public criticism, even though, you know, he, he at times has had to deal with a significant amount of unpopularity.
COOPER: The anniversary of 9/11 coming up. Your thoughts this week, I mean, given all that's going on, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), are we winning the war on terror?
GIULIANI: I think our country has responded in ways that I, I, you know, you almost wouldn't have expected on the day that attack took place. We're stronger today. We're spiritually stronger. We're actually stronger. We've had a lot of victories in the war against terror. We're going to need a lot more. And we're going to have to make ourselves a lot safer. But I think, you know, we should be satisfied with the progress we've made, and kind of use it as a challenge to make even more progress in the future.
COOPER: Mayor Giuliani, appreciate you joining us from Moscow.
GIULIANI: Thank you, Anderson.
COOPER: Iraqi civilians killed in an air strike. That tops our look at what's going on around the world in the uplink.
U.S. war planes pounded insurgent positions in Fallujah for a third straight day. The main target today, a building thought to be used by associates of militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Iraqi officials say that 10 people, including four kids, were killed. U.S. military officials say they regret the loss of innocent lives.
Jakarta, Indonesia, now. A car bombing in front of the Australian embassy kills at least nine people and leaves 182 others wounded. Police and government officials suspect a group with ties to al Qaeda is responsible for the attack.
Sudan's Darfur region now, the U.S. calls it a genocide. Secretary of State Colin Powell told a Senate committee today Arab militias are committing genocide against black villagers. The U.N. estimates the violence has killed up to 50,000 people. They haven't been using that word "genocide" before, though.
That's tonight's uplink.
A new al Qaeda tape, this time from Osama bin Laden's number two man. The question is, is there anything we can learn from the tape? We'll try to find out from CNN's terrorism analyst, ahead on 360.
Plus, under oath and on the stand, Scott Peterson's father. Prosecutors grill him for answers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's been an interesting week in the Scott Peterson murder trial. After seeing (UNINTELLIGIBLE), excuse me, an FBI expert on DNA, police officers, and several other witnesses take the stand, today murder suspect Scott Peterson heard testimony from someone he knows very well, his own dad.
Ted Rowlands reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lee Peterson started his testimony by making it clear where he stands. The first words out of his mouth, quote, "I'm proud to say Scott is my son." Then he did his best to try to help his son in front of the jury.
Prosecutors put Peterson on the stand to establish that he was never told about a boat purchased by his son, the boat investigators say was used to dump Laci Peterson's body. He also testified that his son never mentioned that he'd been fishing in the San Francisco Bay during a Christmas Eve phone conversation the afternoon Laci Peterson was reported missing.
On cross-examination, Lee Peterson said it, quote, "wouldn't be unusual" that Scott didn't tell him about the boat, because Scott had a history of buying cars, boats, and motorcycles without telling his family. Peterson also testified that his son preferred to fish in saltwater, which could explain why he traveled 90 miles to fish in the San Francisco Bay, leaving his pregnant wife at home.
Observers say the father's testimony may have helped the defense.
DEAN JOHNSON, LEGAL ANALYST: He became a real person for this jury, and if you humanize the father, it becomes much more difficult for the jury to convict the son.
ROWLANDS: A simmering battle between the two families resumed outside the courtroom. Lee Peterson and Brent Rocha, Laci Peterson's brother, exchanged words at the metal detector on the way into the courthouse.
(on camera): There were no public comments from either side about the recent flareup between the families, but a source close to one of the families tells CNN it is, quote, "getting ugly."
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Redwood City, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Dr. Death, Ayman al-Zawahiri, al Qaeda's number two, makes a new tape. Tonight, what we can learn from it, and why he made it now.
New allegations about the president's wartime service. Did someone pull strings to keep young Bush at home? The evidence, the allegations, and the president's response.
And new stamps with Jimmy Hoffa, Governor McGreevey, Linda Tripp? One company's bright idea may have your postman doing a double-take.
360 continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER; For a month now, John Kerry has been hounded by swift boat ads that question his service in Vietnam. Today the questions of service are being raised again, but this time they involve President Bush. As some voters are no doubt tired of all this Vietnam talk and still others say what happened then still matters today.
There are, of course, a number of allegations about President Bush and what he did or did not do in the National Guard. We're going to get to the politics of it all in a moment with a "CROSSFIRE" guys, but first the facts.
On 360, we want to cover all of the sides, all of the angles. CNN's Judy Woodruff does just that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two questions endure about George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard. The first is, how did he get in? A Texas politician is talking publicly for the first time about how he pulled strings for Bush.
BEN BARNES, FRM. TEXAS LT. GOV: I readily willing to call and get those young men into the National Guard that were friends of mine and supporters of mine and I did it.
WOODRUFF: Former Texas house speaker and lieutenant governor Ben Barnes, a Democrat supporting John Kerry, told CBS' "60 Minutes" he called the head of the guard in 1968 at the request of a Bush family friend. Bush's father then represented Houston in Congress.
BARNES: I would describe it as preferential treatment. There were hundred of names on the list of people wanting to get in the Air National Guard, or the Army National Guard. I think that would have been a preference to anybody that didn't want to go to Vietnam, that didn't want to leave...
WOODRUFF: It's the same story Barnes told in a closed-door deposition five years ago. Then Governor Bush said he was unaware of any help.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know if Ben Barnes did or not, but he was not asked by me or my dad. I can just tell you that from my perspective, I never asked for and I don't believe I received any special treatment.
WOODRUFF: The Bush campaign has stuck to that line ever since. But a professor who taught Bush at Harvard Business School in the early '70s has written a letter to his local newspaper saying Bush, quote "admitted to me that to avoid a Vietnam draft, he had his father's friend skip him through the long waiting list of the Texas National Guard."
Which leads to the second lingering question, how did Bush perform in the Guard? Records first obtained by the Associated Press which sued the Pentagon to get them, showed that Bush ranked in the middle of his flight training class in 1969. But Bush was eventually suspended from flying the F-102 in August 1972.
Newly unearthed documents from the personnel file of a commanding officer reveal, Bush not only missed a required physical exam, but he made no attempt to meet his training certification.
The accusation that he was a no-show for duty has applied mainly to Bush's 1972 transfer to a Guard unit in Alabama, where he worked on the U.S. Senate campaign of a family friend. It is revived in a TV ad to run in several battleground states.
Official records show a five-month gap in his pay for drills. Democrats are pressing the attack.
SEN. TOM HARKIN, (D) IOWA: Americans deserve to know the truth. And we won't know the whole truth until the president himself meets these facts head-on.
WOODRUFF: The White House says if the president broke the rules, he wouldn't have received an honorable discharge in 1973.
DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIR.: People who are calling themselves experts, who actually have partisan differences, who are supporting President Bush's opponent, who are throwing these allegations. The fact of the matter is, President Bush met his obligations.
WOODRUFF: Judy Woodruff, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Not surprisingly, how you react to these allegations may very well depend on what side of the political aisle you stand on or what site side of the table you sit in the crossfire. Earlier I checked in with Paul Begala and Robert Novak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Paul, are these new charges going to stick, these new allegations?
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST CROSSFIRE: I think they may, because they go to credibility. I don't think really, frankly, it matters very much whether George Bush showed up 30 years ago for the National Guard. I think what matters is, that he doesn't seem to have told us the truth about that now.
And if I could give him free advise, or a Bush adviser here for a minute, I would advise him just to go to the country and say it was a troubled time for America, it was a troubled time for me. I didn't fulfill my obligations to the Guard or to my obligations to my family or my friends, but you know America is the land of the second chance. And I believe in a God who offers redemption. And I've gotten both
COOPER: You know...
BEGALA: The country would love him for that, Anderson. They would love him. We would forgive him. What could the liberals like me say, then. He'd say, OK I made a mistake 30 years ago and I'm sorry. What could you do?
COOPER: Bob, I want to play you something that Senator Harkin said earlier. Let's play that tape.
HARKIN: This is about George Bush getting special favors. This is about George Bush getting special privileges. This is about George Bush not doing his duty in the National Guard and then lying to the American people about it.
COOPER: Is this all just politics, Bob?
ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST CROSSFIRE: The situation is that there are serious allegations against the war record of John Kerry. I have talked to swift boat commanders in the last two days. There's 250 swift boat veterans.
COOPER: But we've been all over that.
NOVAK: Just a minute. Let me just say. I think you don't like to hear it, maybe, but the Americans like to, because they have a book on the top of the best seller list. And to try to get the emphasis off that, knowing the gullible newsmen will buy into it that go into this hackneyed old story about the Alabama Guard duty. What a travesty that is.
COOPER: Does anybody really want to hear about any of this, though?
BEGALA: They just don't want to be lied to. We say in Texas, don't pee on my boots and tell me it's raining. Just level with us.
COOPER: Do you believe they tried to pull strings.
NOVAK: Sure, I'm sure they tried to pull strings. Who cares about that? The problem is, I don't think that George Bush has ever put himself over as a war hero or an exemplary figure on this, but John Kerry was running as a war hero and I had one swift boat commander, one of his colleagues, who was in action with him said if he's a war hero, I'm the king of Siam. Tell me that today.
BEGALA: Of course, he is a war hero. He won the bronze star, the silver star and three purple hearts. But Bob's point about John Kerry is right. John Kerry opened the door by campaigning on his Vietnam record. I think George Bush's central appeal, really, when you strip it all away is, I'll be strong on national defense and I'll always tell the truth. That was his big thing. I'll restore honor and dignity to the oval office.
He sat in the Oval Office in February of this year, not 30 years ago, February of this year and told "Meet the Press'" Tim Russert that he fulfilled all of his duties in the Guard, we now know from the records that he did not. The president didn't tell the truth, he should. That's what this is all about. I don't really care about 30 years ago, I care about today. And he's not leveling with us today.
NOVAK: Well, actually Paul is really a very, very able political practitioner. I'm just a humble...
BEGALA: Here it comes.
NOVAK: I'm just a humble journalist, and I can't deal with it. But the matter of fact is, that this is just a desperate attempt to try to conquer the dispursions (ph) on John Kerry's character. John Kerry, was in pretty good shape six weeks ago. He has had a terrible six weeks and now what they want to do is change the subject and talk about whether or not George W. Bush went to national guard duties in Alabama.
COOPER: We'll leave it there, Paul Begala, Bob Novak. Thanks very much.
NOVAK: Thank you.
COOPER: Well, today's Buzz is this, what do you think?
Which candidate has been fully truthful regarding his military service? President Bush, Senator John Kerry, both or neither?
Log on to cnn.com/360. Cast your votes we'll have results at the end of the program in about 18 minutes.
Osama bin Laden's right hand delivers a chilling message. Next on "360, the latest video from Ayman al-Zawahiri. Does this mean -- what does it mean on the war on terror. We're going to try to find out, talk to CNN's Peter Bergen, terrorist analyst.
Also tonight, the United States Postal Service. What are these guys thinking putting a new face on stamps. It could be yours, it could be just about anybody's face, and We do mean anybody. We'll explain ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Six days ago, a memo went around here warning that we should expect a new tape from al Qaeda in the days leading up to September 11th, since that's the been their pattern in the past. So it really wasn't surprising when the Arab network Al Jazeera broadcast this tape today featuring al Qaeda's no. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
In the tape he says and I quote, "The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become just a matter of time, with God's help. Americans in both countries are between two fires. If they carry on, they will bleed to death, and if they pull out, they lose everything." Earlier we talked with CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen about the timing and the exact meaning of this tape.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Peter, we've talked in the past about how P.R. savvy these terrorists are. I assume this tape is released now with the anniversary of 9/11 coming.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Absolutely. We've had every anniversary we've had a significant statement from al Qaeda, at least one or both of al Qaeda's leaders, so this is part of that pattern. We were expecting this tape at CNN.
COOPER: Did anything surprise you about what was said in it and how he appeared?
BERGEN: He looks in reasonably good shape. That gun that is sitting next to him is unusual. Ayman al-Zawahiri, as you probably know, is a medical doctor, he's not a fighter. So that's kind of new. But he doesn't look like he's in poor health. The videotape was of quite good quality. It implies, I think a certain amount of comfort level that he has right now, that he release videotape.
He says on the videotape that Afghanistan -- in Afghanistan, U.S. forces are kind of on the run, this is totally wrong. I just returned from a long trip...
COOPER: Yes, he basically says that they are in control, the Mujahedeen, he calls them are in control of southern and eastern Afghanistan. You were just there.
BERGEN: Ludicrous, ludicrous. I mean, certainly there are in very remote areas the Taliban are coming back and forth across the border, but the country is largely stable, largely secure. We see occasional attacks. Of course, he also talked about the situation in Iraq which is very, very different. And clearly U.S. forces are getting -- having a hard time in Iraq. And we're seeing kind of Taliban-style states developing in cities like Fallujah and Ramadi and so, certainly in Iraq and he's more correct about U.S. forces being given a hard time. But in Afghanistan, that's erroneous. .
COOPER: Does this play tape play either way in the elections that are up coming in Afghanistan?
BERGEN: I don't really think so. I think most Afghans have -- they don't really care about al Qaeda. The ordinary Afghan see the al Qaeda as a foreign group, mostly made up of Arabs. There are few Afghans in al Qaeda itself. I don't think it makes much difference.
COOPER: You talked about imminent defeat in Iraq. I guess, earlier today Prime Minister Allawi, says that they've captured four al Qaeda suspects in Iraq. I'm not sure which came first, the tape and then the claim or the claim or the tape, do you see them linked at all? BERGEN: No, because I think this tape was made some time ago and was just held for this anniversary. There's no date time stamp on the tape exactly, but I mean, he does mentioned the transitional government in Iraq, so it implies it was made relatively recently, but it could have been made either last week or several months ago. We just don't know.
COOPER: All right. Peter Bergen, thanks for joining us.
BERGEN: Thank you.
COOPER: Coming up next on 360, the Postal Service wants your stamp of approval. The new pilot program is letting almost everything grace the cover of a stamp and we do mean everything. That's next.
Also tonight, suiting up for the campaign trail, Bush and Kerry may need more body armor. We're going to take that to the "Nth Degree."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: It's been a tough day in news with all the politics and terror tape coming out. We thought you could use a smile. So it's fashion week in New York when designers present their new styles. Time to answer all those pressing questions like what's the new black? And is it time for paisley to make a comeback? Well, the question we've been trying to answer, what's up with the way models walk?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): There they are, strutting their designer- clad stuff down the runway. What's up with that walk?
Some models seem to stroll. Others strut. We're not sure why but some seem to be stomping or high stepping. This kind of thing can't come naturally. And it turns out Jay Alexander actually teaches models how to walk.
This is not natural. It's fashionista theater. Fashion is theater, I think, for most people.
COOPER: Remember, models get paid thousands of dollars to walk this way. But sometimes things don't quite work out.
That's the stumble. It's rarely seen, but always draws a gasp from (UNINTELLIGIBLE) onlookers. See, it's one thing to watch Carrie Bradshaw slam headfirst onto the runway. It's quite another when the stumbler is a highly priced supermodel demanding a high price just for her graceful gape.
And unlike other species, it's the female who's known for her prancing and preening, the male model can be, well, a bit boring.
If you want to see a supermodel they'll be held captive on catwalks in New York City for the next several days. But the chance to spy them walking their walks is granted only to a chosen few. They call themselves fashionistas and they gather under tents to stalk their stylish prey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Still don't get it. It's time to check on some pop news in tonight's "Current." Let's take a look. The NFL season kicks off tonight with the Patriots against the Colts. The game will feature a huge halftime concert featuring Jessica Simpson, Destiny's Child and their very special guests, the FCC sensors. Raise the roof, fellas! Hey! Ho! OK.
So who's finally a loser? Ken Jennings, apparently. "Jeopardy's" longest-running champion has apparently met his match. I know, sad. "TV Week's" Web site reports that Jennings lost during a taping yesterday which won't air until later this fall. The Web site says he won around 2.5 million bucks during a 75-game streak. Certainly not bad for knowing some stuff though I still think I could take him.
And finally, Carmen Electra is hosting a new reality show. That's right. It is called "Manhunt, the Search For America's Most Gorgeous Male Model." We don't know who it's going to be, but our attractive 360 crew is hoping they may be able to quit their day jobs finally. Guys, take it away.
All right, maybe not.
So in this day and age, it seems we'd like -- sorry, guys -- it seems we like everything customized. You can customize a car. You can customize a kitchen, but customizing a postage stamp? Well, that has never been an option until one company got a very bright idea and with the blessing of the U.S. Postal Service, stamps are about to get a whole lot more personal. Maybe too personal. CNN's Jeanne Moos explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ready to stamp out flags and presidents? Maybe you'd rather monkey around with your own image. You're looking at a valid U.S. postage stamp featuring Chippy (ph) and me. Or maybe you'd prefer your wedding photo, your baby or former dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Hey, how did an alleged war criminal become valid postage?
KEN MCBRIDE, CEO, STAMPS.COM: In some cases people are doing it somewhat like a game to try to get stuff by us...
MOOS: Ken McBride is the CEO of Stamps.com. On a trial basis, the postal service is allowing personalized stamps. You send in your favorite digital photo, pick a border and in a couple of days you're turned into a usable, actual stamp with a machine-readable bar code.
MCBRIDE: Babies and kids. That's about 40 percent of what we're getting.
MOOS: But then there's the 5 percent reject rate. Nudity, political content, violence, anything objectionable. MCBRIDE: We actually have human beings who look at every photo that's submitted.
MOOS: But humans being human apparently neglected to recognize Linda Tripp or this now famous photo of New Jersey governor James McGreevey and the former aide with whom he has reportedly had a sexual relationship.
BILL BASTONE, CO-FOUNDER, THE SMOKING GUN: They pretty much did it to see if they'd get through.
MOOS: Bill Bastone is a co-founder of the Web site, Thesmokinggun.com. Their first attempts to bypass the photo stamp censors when Lee Harvey Oswald and the Unabomber was denied the stamp of approval but Jimmy Hoffa made it and so did the Unabomber's Harvard photo.
BASTONE: We decided to put it on an envelope and mail it to ourselves.
MOOS: It arrived valid postage. Though personalized stamps cost more than twice as much as regular ones. At the United Nations there's a similar service. Jurors pose and get their new stamps in minutes valid only if mailed from U.N. headquarters. The idea behind photo stamps is to send in sentimental photos like this Santa picture of me with my brother. Instead they let Monica Lewinsky's stained dress get by. Talk about a sticky stamp. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That's one stamp I would not want to lick.
360 next, when is politics a contact sport? When it's taken to the Nth Degree. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Here's the "Buzz." Which candidate has been fully truthful regarding his military service? President Bush, Senator John Kerry? Both or neither? 8 percent say of you say Bush, 81 percent of say Senator Kerry. 1 percent say both. 10 percent say neither. Not a scientific poll, but it is your buzz. We appreciate you voting.
Tonight taking partisan combat to the Nth Degree. We're beginning to think that politicians ought to wear protective gear the way hockey and football players do and fencers. Let's face it, campaigning is a dangerous activity. Can we really in good conscience send contenders out there in nothing more than polo shirts and Sansabelt slacks?
They ought to have helmets certainly to protect all the new ideas they both say they have and maybe some kind of guard attached to those helmets to keep them from sticking their chins out too far and steel- towed boots. The boots would make it harder for them to put their feet in their mouths. It would also be good for kicking holes in the other guy's record. Padding of course on the shoulders, knees and shins and then a few things that most athletes don't have which politicians particularly need. A military record protector. Think of this is a kind of flak jacket designed not only to reduce damage in that sensitive area, but also to hide old medals or the complete lack thereof.
Finally and most important of all to ward off the increasingly popular low blow which you might call a patriotism cup.
Hey, if campaigning is going to be a contact sport, at least those who do it ought to be equipped properly.
I'm Anderson Cooper. Thanks for watching 360. Coming up next, "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
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