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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Kerry Bounces Back in Polls; Cheney, Edwards Square Off Tomorrow
Aired October 04, 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. I'm Anderson Cooper, live in Cleveland, Ohio, on the front lines of this battleground state. Tomorrow, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from the White House, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
360 starts now.
John Kerry bounces back in the polls. Do both candidates change their strategy now that they're running neck and neck?
A crucial debate, Dick Cheney and John Edwards square off tomorrow night. We'll tell you how both candidates are planning their punches and counterpunches.
Both candidates eying the Buckeye State. Will Ohio voters determine who gets to occupy the Oval Office?
Another blast from Mount St. Helens. Geologists on alert for a big blow. We'll tell you the latest forecast on when and how bad it may be.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Cleveland, Ohio, this is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, Battleground 360.
COOPER: And good evening again.
The days dwindle down to a precious few, as the old song says. That is certainly true of the presidential election, which, come tomorrow, is exactly five Tuesdays away.
Are you all ready for this election?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!
COOPER: Increasingly, it seems the race is boiling down to a few key states, and that's why we're here in Ohio tonight, because what the people here think and do in voting booths in November just may make the difference.
Ohio has had an estimated 50 visits by the two candidates, who have also spent more than $31 million running ads in this state alone, a remarkable sum of money, and the polls tonight could not be closer. According to the most recent CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll among likely voters, the contest a dead heat.
If you look at registered voters, the president is just a couple of percentage points ahead. And when things are as close as that, every move matters, and each campaign knows it tonight.
John King reports now from the Bush camp.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His signature made it four tax cuts in four years, relief for 94 million Americans, and as the president sees it, a boost for the economy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And that money will help keep the economy moving forward, and result in even more new jobs for American workers.
KING: The $146 billion tax package extends the $1,000 child tax credit, the easing of the so-called marriages penalty, and the lower 10 percent tax bracket. Those tax breaks were scheduled to expire. The legislation had bipartisan support, and the signing ceremony was a taxpayer-funded event, so no mention of Democrat John Kerry here.
But the president's second Iowa stop was paid for by the campaign.
BUSH: During his 20 years in the Senate, he's voted to raise your taxes 98 times. Now, all of a sudden, he's saying, well, he's for a middle-class tax relief, except he voted against raising the child credit. He voted against reducing the marriage penalty.
KING: The sharp criticism is a part of a White House effort to regain lost momentum. Taxes and the economy one focus, Iraq and terrorism another. Mr. Bush says Senator Kerry is wrong to call Iraq a diversion from the war on terror.
BUSH: The policies of my opponent are dangerous for world peace. If they were implemented, they would make this world not more peaceful but more dangerous.
KING: Vice President Cheney will carry that message into Tuesday night's debate with Senator John Edwards, questioning whether the Democratic ticket has the judgment and experience for the post-9/11 world.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: Dick Cheney's gravitas is going to win out. You know, I've thought about the differences between Cheney and Edwards. And I would suggest to you, more than anything else, one is steak and one is sizzle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Here with me in the mosh pit at Case Western Reserve University is (UNINTELLIGIBLE), John King.
John, I know, obviously, we're going to talk a lot about Cheney and Edwards tonight, but let's talk about Bush and Kerry. Are they already preparing for Friday's debate?
KING: Both are preparing, and we're told the president, as part of his preparation, has looked at the videotapes, including his criticized faces, his annoyance, his anger from the first debate.
COOPER: I'm really (UNINTELLIGIBLE), he's already, he's been looking at those.
KING: He's been looking at those. He understands what the brouhaha has been about. They think this setting Friday night in St. Louis for his debate will be much different, town hall, interacting with the audience. They think that is better for the president, but they do understand. Their campaign says, Look, they always expected the polls to tighten.
But I thought an interesting analogy from the top strategist (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Matt Dowd, he said they didn't celebrate in the end zone when they were ahead, they're not going to cry in their beer now.
COOPER: All right, John King, thanks very much for that.
As for John Kerry, those fresh poll results suggest that last week's debate made quite a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) big difference, so clearly now, the question must be, what does the candidate do to keep the ball rolling?
Dan Lothian reports from the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Riding a post- debate wave that has lifted him in the polls, Senator John Kerry appeared to have new life, one aide saying, We have the wind at our backs, but added, This is not a time to put up our feet and relax.
Taking advantage of every step to attack President Bush, the campaign focused on stem cell research at a New Hampshire town hall meeting, getting help from a Hollywood star with his own personal battle. Actor Michael J. Fox suffers from the debilitating Parkinson's disease.
MICHAEL J. FOX: John Kerry will lead. George Bush had the opportunity to lead, he chose to lead us in the wrong direction.
LOTHIAN: Some see it as the potential cure to such diseases as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. But there are critics with moral, ethical, and scientific concerns.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The hard truth is that when it comes to stem cell research, this president is making the wrong choice to sacrifice science for extreme right-wing ideology. LOTHIAN: The Bush campaign called the attacks dishonest. The president has authorized federal funding for a limited supply of existing stem cells, but not for new stem cells, which must come from human embryos.
The Kerry campaign turned up the heat on television with this new ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KERRY-EDWARDS AD)
KERRY: It's time to lift the political barriers blocking the stem cell research. The people...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: In Philadelphia, Kerry greeted stem cell experts, including doctors and scientists.
(on camera): Kerry's focus on domestic issues comes after weeks of hammering the president on Iraq and foreign policy. Aides say it's been effective and will stay on the radar. But they see health care, jobs, and the economy as equally important in pushing a winning strategy, with less than 30 days to go.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, certainly the number two man on the Republican and Democratic tickets had a lot to do today. Tomorrow, after all, in Cleveland, Dick Cheney and John Edwards, the crowd is getting (UNINTELLIGIBLE) every time (UNINTELLIGIBLE) camera.
Tomorrow in Cleveland, right here, Dick Cheney and John Edwards will be squaring off for their one and only debate. And their running mates have already shown how very important a debate can be.
Joe Johns reports on them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator John Edwards spent the weekend cloistered at the Chatauqua Institution in western New York, making only one brief appearance at a roadside country store.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's going fine. We're working hard.
LOTHIAN: Away from the cameras, the Edwards campaign set up a room that they said looks a lot like the debate site, complete with cameras, with Washington lawyer Bob Barnett playing Vice President Dick Cheney, a role he took on in debate preparations in 2000.
EDWARDS: Polls go up and down, but I felt very good about John Kerry's performance Thursday night. LOTHIAN: Edwards' chief goals for the debate, not to lose the momentum John Kerry appears to have picked up in the first presidential debate, to paint Kerry as steadfast and his opponents as favoring the rich over regular Americans.
Vice President Cheney spent the weekend at his home in Jackson, Wyoming, practicing in his own mockup of the debate setting with Ohio Congressman Rob Portman as his debate partner. Portman played Joe Lieberman in debate preparations four years ago.
Cheney's goal will be to try to focus on terrorism and September 11 while promoting President Bush as a steady leader in trying times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Joe Johns joins us now.
Joe, is Edwards tomorrow going to try to play it safe? Is he going to play it safe?
JOHNS: Well, no. What's going on here is a lot of Democratic strategists say he's not going to play it safe, because this is an uphill battle still for Democrats, they believe. And while they got a little bit of a boost from Kerry, they say they still have a long way to go. There's been no knockout punch, so you can expect him, really, to continue to try to go after the vice president.
COOPER: Dick Cheney, in his debate with Lieberman, was expected to be on the attack, but he was very sort of courtly, and sort of knocked Lieberman off-balance. Any sense of how Dick Cheney's playing it (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
JOHN: That was a real surprise. And what I'm told by a key Democratic strategist is, it was very difficult to for them to prepare for this debate, the Edwards campaign, simply because of that. They had to prepare for both sides of Dick Cheney. Will the nice guy come out? Will the attack dog come out? And they had to work twice as hard, if you will.
COOPER: All right, Joe Johns, thanks for that.
Today's buzz is this. What do you think? Who do you think will win the vice presidential debate, Dick Cheney or John Edwards? Log onto CNN.com/360, cast your vote, results at the end of the program tonight.
I think the crowd here has a difference of opinion. All right, all right, settle down, settle down.
A winner in the new race to space. That story tops our look at what's happening cross-country tonight. Let's take a look.
In Mojave, California, SpaceShipOne wins the $10 million Ansari X-Prize after completing its second flight into space in five days, this time without rolling as much. The X-Prize was designed to promote private space travel. In Washington, a court in session. The Supreme Court began a new term today, and rejected about 1,800 appeals that had piled up during the summer, including a challenge to the government's do-not-call list.
Garden City, Michigan, now, a dead man's alleged secret crimes. Police say they have found illegal pornography at the home of a church janitor who died last month. They say the videos show the janitor molesting kids in his home and at a church bathroom. The man also allegedly taped people using the bathroom without their knowledge.
Frederick, Maryland, tornado reveals porn. Police have arrested a man whose home was damaged by a tornado after (UNINTELLIGIBLE) workers discovered a massive amount of child pornography there. Nothing funny about that. Authorities say the seized material filled up to 24 boxes.
And in Las Vegas, a drive-by shooting against Siegfried and Roy labeled a hate crime. Police say a gunman shouted the former Vegas entertainers should leave the country as he fired four shots at their home late last month. No one was hurt. Suspect is still at large.
That's a quick look at what's happening cross-country tonight.
360 next, Mount St. Helens erupting, volcano watchers on high alert. Is the sleeping giant about to blow big? We'll take you there live.
Plus, Martha Stewart prepping for prison. Find out how she's spending her last days of freedom.
And live from Battleground Ohio, the audience sounds off (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for both campaigns.
But first, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And we are live in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve University, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) vice presidential debate. We're going to have more on the Cheney-Edwards matchup in a movement. The crowd here is ready, they want these candidates debating.
And that you -- we have about a equal crowd, it, equal Bush supporters, equal Kerry supporters. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COOPER: All right.
In other news today, beneath Mount St. Helens, a river of fire flows, it is molten magma. When it comes to, close to the surface, the results, like in 1980, can be catastrophic. Today more signs of the river rising, though nothing like what we saw back then. The volcano continues to rattle with earthquakes from below, above, hot ash and steam. And as the clouds grow, so do the fears of another eruption.
CNN's Miguel Marquez on site for the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blowing off some steam, that magma deep below Mount St. Helens continues pushing skyward. The only question, when it hits the surface, how big will it be?
TOM PIERSON, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: What we're expecting is a blast of ash that will rise quickly up in the air tens of thousands of feet, form a column, an ash column, and then a big expanding ash cloud that will then drift with the wind.
MARQUEZ: Geologists believe the molten rock is new magma from deep down. They believe it's now a half-mile, maybe closer, to the surface. They say it is rich in supercompressed carbon dioxide gas bubbles, and when the cork pops, it could be explosive.
PIERSON: Then if you do that with, you know, billions and billions and billions of bubbles, all at once you form enough -- the equivalent energy of nuclear bombs.
MARQUEZ: Geologists say they know what's happening beneath the surface based on what they see above. The dome of the volcano is now deforming, or growing, by the tens, maybe hundreds of feet. Surrounding it, a glacier, 80 million cubic meters of water and ice.
PIERSON: Well, the amount of magma coming could easily melt a lot of ice up there.
MARQUEZ: If and when the mountain blows its top, it's going to have plenty of company. Rob and Colleen (ph) Grant cut their beach vacation short and aren't going home till they see the lava flow.
ROB GRANT, TORNADO WATCHER: We have to call the kids and say it will be a few more days. I don't think they'll mind.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Now, geologists do not believe that there will be enough magma or enough heat to cause all of that glacier rock and ice around the dome to melt and cause severe flooding. But then again, they say, it's a volcano. It can kind of do what it wants, Anderson.
COOPER: It certainly will. All right, Miguel, thanks very much. Miguel Marquez.
Today's steam rose from the volcano to a height of about 10,000 feet above sea level. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the crowd's not really particularly excited about a volcano.
While officials do not expect an eruption like the one in 1980, they are keeping a very close eye on every movement from the mountain.
Joining me from Mount St. Helens is Carl Thornber, geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Carl, thanks very much for being with us.
How likely is it that we're going to see some sort of explosion out of the mountain in this coming week?
CARL THORNBER, GEOLOGIST, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Well, it's been almost two hours since the last little explosion, and the other one was at about 9:40 this morning. So I think it's likely we're going to see continued activity, steam activity and some ash explosions, within a period of hours, and perhaps overnight and maybe tomorrow. It's difficult to say...
COOPER: Well, what exactly is...
THORNBER: ... exactly when it's going to happen. This (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: Yes, I know a lot of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) people wish it was more predict able. When, what exactly is happening that we can't see? I mean, what is happening inside that mountain?
THORNBER: Right. Even though we can't see things coming out the top, there's a heck of a lot going on underneath. And we've seen deformation of the behind the dome, inside the crater. That deformation is, it's an area that's about half a kilometer in diameter. It's lifted -- well, as of this morning, it had lifted about 30 meters, or about 100 feet.
And that's a lot of material. As of this morning, it's lifted even since that today, so that's about 10 million cubic meters of material that has been uplifted.
It doesn't mean that that much material has come into the system, but if you look at since this eruption has begun and since this activity has begun, that's tens of meters per second -- of cubic meters per second of material that could be moving into the volcano, or tens of meters of material that has been displaced.
It doesn't mean that that much magma is coming in, but certainly we've got that much uplift. Could be gas, could be the rock squeezing, but we've certainly got that much uplift.
And that's going on constantly. The seismicity shows it, and the deformation shows it. So it's building up (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: It is amazing, it is amazing to see those images. Carl Thornber, we appreciate you joining us as we continue to watch and wait for Mount St. Helens this week.
THORNBER: OK.
COOPER: Thanks very much, Carl.
Heading overseas right now, two car bombs rocked central Baghdad. That tops our look at what's happening in the uplink.
The attacks came within an hour of each other near the heavily fortified green zone. At least 21 people were killed, 85 others wounded.
Also in Iraq, a key U.S. ally with a possible timetable for troop withdrawal. Poland may cut its forces in Iraq by 40 by January, and all its troops could be out by the end of 2005. Poland's president says nothing will be finalized until after Iraqi elections scheduled for January. Poland has 2,500 troops in Iraq right now.
Bangkok, Thailand, bird flu kills again. A 9-year-old girl has become the 31st person to die from the disease in Asia. She, like most others, caught bird flu after contact with sick chickens or poultry. There may be one human-to-human transmission, and that has health officials very worried indeed.
And in London, Elton John slams Madonna -- say it ain't so -- saying she cheats fans by lip-synching at concerts. He used some rather harsh language, which we can't repeat here. Madonna's reps say she sang every song on her last tour. Elton John is fired up these days. You may remember, just two weeks ago, he went off on the paparazzi in Taiwan. I can't remember the exact phrasing, but it was vile something-or-other. I think it was vile pigs.
Anyway, that's tonight's uplink.
360 next, the last days of freedom for Martha Stewart. She has to turn herself in by Friday. Find out how she's spending her final moments on the outside.
Also tonight, dead heat in the presidential debates. Now the number two guys step up to the mike. Who has what it takes to push them over the top? (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The audience gets a shot at both campaigns. We are taking your questions live. Stay with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Oh, for someone who wrote the book on party planning, Martha Stewart is throwing herself one going-away gala to remember. She has until this Friday to report to prison,
Until then, the home maven has been living it up with a trip to the Caribbean, a stroll on the beach, and just enjoying the kind of life she'll be living behind, at least for a while.
CNN's Allan Chernoff takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS (voice-over): Martha Stewart on the beach this past weekend, in the Bahamas for the wedding of her friend and publicity adviser Susan Magrino (ph). Stewart was at the exclusive Ocean Club, where beachfront suites cost $1,450 a night, including tax.
By Friday, Martha Stewart will be sharing a cubicle like this at the federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia. Ms. Stewart can expect nighttime visits from prison guards.
Claire Hanrahan is a former inmate.
CLAIRE HANRAHAN, FORMER INMATE: If you pull the sheet over yourself at night just to give yourself some sense of boundaries, the prison guards are allowed, they say, We must see flesh, ladies, when they do their midnight count. So you could expect, and several times I was awakened in the night with a guard pulling the sheet off of me.
CHERNOFF: A tough transition from a bathing suit to prison khakis and working for 12 cents an hour.
Martha Stewart is to serve a five-month term at Alderson for having lied to federal investigators about her sale of stock in a biotech company. Ms. Stewart decided to serve her sentence even as her lawyers appeal her conviction.
MARTHA STEWART: And I'll be back. I will be back. Whatever I have to do in the next few months, I hope the months go by quickly. I'm used to all kinds of hard work.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Martha Stewart will have a final opportunity to enjoy high living before giving up her freedom. Her friend Susan Magrino is renting out the Four Seasons restaurant Thursday night to celebrate her marriage. Cocktails are at 7:00. That would still give Martha Stewart enough time to meet her court- ordered deadline to report to prison by 2:00 the next day.
Allan Chernoff, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And we are live at Case Western Reserve University, where the, where Vice President Cheney and John Edwards are going to be debating tomorrow night. We have a lot more politics ahead, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 360.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry... (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We are live in Cleveland, Ohio at the campus of Case Western Reserve University, where tomorrow night Vice President Dick Cheney and John Edwards will debate. It will be a very interesting night indeed.
We're surrounded tonight by students, Republicans and Democrats, and are somewhere in between, all of whom are looking forward to putting their questions to the campaigns. And they're going to have that opportunity tonight in the next half hour here on 360.
But first, we wanted to look at Ohio, why it's so important for these two candidates, and how much money and time they have been putting in.
Chris Lawrence takes a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The battle for Ohio's undecided voters is being fought block by block, one home at a time.
CHAD COONS, UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm not too fond of Kerry, but I'm not too fond of Bush's economy.
LAWRENCE: Chad Coons and his cousin are both carpet installers who say expenses are up and business down under President Bush.
COONS: But he's trying to keep us safe, which, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Kerry in my point doesn't want to keep us safe.
LAWRENCE: Precinct 11H is a small slice of Dayton, just a little more than 500 registered voters, but evenly split.
(on camera): In the last three presidential elections, the man who won this precinct also went on to win the state. And that's important to both men, because it's been over 40 years since any candidate lost Ohio and went on to win the White House.
(voice-over): Here, no vote can be taken for granted.
SUSAN BLAYLOCK, DEMOCRAT VOTING REPUBLICAN: I'm a registered Democrat, but I am voting Republican.
LAWRENCE: Susan Blaylock's husband lost his job since President Bush took office, but Blaylock says she won't vote for Kerry.
BLAYLOCK: I think he thinks because of his military record, that's what's going to get him in.
LAWRENCE: But down at the neighborhood's only bar, owner Ed Reichert says business is so bad he just has to vote for Kerry.
ED REICHERT, VOTING FOR KERRY: I believe firmly in a lot of the Republican political platform, but I have to vote with my pocketbook. I have to eat before I can protest.
LAWRENCE: But it's voters like these crossing party lines, and making last-minute decisions that could swing an election from one side to the other. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Dayton, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: One man who knows Ohio politics very well, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, former Democratic presidential candidate joining us tonight from Capitol Hill. Congressman Kucinich, thank you very much for being with us. Sorry you're not here in your home state.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: Not only at my home state, but at my alma mater there, Case Western Reserve. So welcome to Cleveland. I look forward to joining you tomorrow.
COOPER: Let me ask you. You are supporting John Kerry and yet you oppose the war in Iraq. You are for gay marriages, you have been very vocal against the Patriot Act, all things which you differ with John Kerry about. Why are you still supporting him?
KUCINICH: All Democrats are uniting. First of all we realize this is George Bush's war. And we also realize about the debate tomorrow, is that this administration has not been held accountable. As a matter of fact, if you remember the debate between Senator Kerry and President Bush, President Bush has a disdain for being held accountable. Well, tomorrow John Edwards is going to hold Dick Cheney accountable on Iraq. Cheney said there was no doubt Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, nuclear capability. He kept pushing this idea that Iraq had nuclear capability. On the ties between Hussein and al Qaeda, Cheney kept pushing that. Also everyone knows he was cooking the books over at intelligence.
COOPER: Let me show you something that you actually said in reference to Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards. You said, quote, "neither Senator Kerry nor Senator Edwards would be appropriate as nominees because they supported the president on the war, said there were weapons of mass destruction, which you actually embroidered, Senator Kerry."
So do you agree with the Republicans that Senator Kerry has flip- flopped on these issues?
KUCINICH: No, listen, the fact of the matter is I led the effort in the House of Representatives in challenging the administration's rush towards war. I probably know more about that issue than most members of Congress because of my involvement, but I'll tell you this. I know that the president and the vice president were the ones who were pushing the war. They told members of Congress, look, there's no doubt there's weapons of mass destruction, there was a tie between Niger and trying to get uranium so they could sell it to Iraq, all kinds of lies were told...
COOPER: What's made you change your position that these would not be appropriate for nominees? KUCINICH: Obviously I'm supporting Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards strongly. I think they're the far better choice, and I also believe that as America has seen in the last couple of years all the lies that have been unearthed about this administration's position in Iraq, I think every member of Congress who voted for it is doubting this administration's credibility.
COOPER: Why do you think voters continue to say that President Bush would handle the responsibilities of commander-in-chief more than John Kerry would?
KUCINICH: Well, you know that's an interesting...
COOPER: More people have faith, it seems, in President Bush in terms of the war in Iraq, the war on terror.
KUCINICH: First of all, I don't believe that, and secondly, you have to consider that most Americans -- or many Americans still think Iraq had something to do with 9/11 as a result of the Bush administration's pounding away and trying to make a connection. What I'm saying is these debates have to be about truth, it has to be about accountability. This administration has not been held accountable, except Senator Kerry made President Bush accountable in the last debate and Senator Edwards will make the vice president accountable in this debate, and I think as that happens, Americans will see that they'll be much safer with John Kerry as the next president because he's not going to get us into wars we don't need to get into. He's not going to create conditions where terrorism becomes more of a factor because of an administration's conduct of office.
COOPER: Congressman Kucinich, we appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you for being with us.
KUCINICH: Thank you.
COOPER: Joining us now is Steve Schmidt, deputy director of communications of the Bush/Cheney reelection campaign. Thank you for being with us. I want to show you the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. It shows that Kerry has basically erased the eight-point gap between the president and himself, 49 percent-49 percent. How concerned are you about this and what do you think you need to do to regain momentum if you feel you've lost it?
STEVE SCHMIDT, BUSH CAMPAIGN DEP. COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: There are two other polls out this very evening, the Pew poll, also ABC News/"The Washington Post" both of those polls show that the president has a five-point lead over Senator Kerry. We have always said that this is going to be a very close race, it is. There are big differences between the president and Senator Kerry. Senator Kerry has taken 11 distinct different contradictory positions on the Iraq war. His plans will make America less secure, will make the world more dangerous. He is a politician who has vacillated repeatedly on the most important issues facing this country and that's why American voters trust the president on national security issues, war on terror issues, and Iraq far more than they do Senator Kerry. And you see that reflected in the poll. COOPER: Senator Kerry, of course, says his position on Iraq has been consistent all along, according to him, but you're saying you're not concerned at all about the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll or President Bush's performance in the first debate?
SCHMIDT: Again I think we have always said that all of these polls are showing this is a close race. The two polls out tonight that shows the president has a five-point lead, the "USA Today"/Gallup poll that shows it's an even race. What all of these polls together tell us is it will be a close race, but when you look inside the polls, it shows that the president has very sizable leads on real important issues. For example, when it comes to who do you trust to handle the war on terror, to entrust the national security of the United States to, voters trust the president. I think one reason for that was articulated by Senator Kerry in the debate when we talked about the need for there to be a global task met before the United States can defend itself. President Bush believes these decisions should be made in the Oval Office, not in foreign capitals.
COOPER: Next debate, however, is about domestic issues and I know you guys wanted the first debate to be about foreign policy, the war on terror, because from what I've read you believed that to be the strong point of President Bush. How concerned are you going into this debate about domestic issues particularly in a state like Ohio which has lost many jobs in the last several years?
SCHMIDT: 1.7 million jobs have been created so far this year, Anderson, as this economy recovers. John Kerry's message is that the American dream is lost, that it's gone. It's a pessimistic message. John Kerry's pessimism won't create a single job in this country...
COOPER: ...900,000 jobs have been lost since the president took office.
SCHMIDT: His entire career has been spent in Washington voting to raise taxes on middle-income families. 126 times, he's voted against tax cuts that would help working families, 98 times he's voted to raise taxes. He did a speech on the economy a couple weeks ago...
COOPER: If he wasn't voting to raise taxes all those times, right?
SCHMIDT: He voted to raise taxes 98 times and voted against tax cuts 126 times and 64 times he voted for the smaller of two tax -- the smaller of a tax cut choice. He's voted to raise taxes 98 times. I would ask anyone who's watching please go to the Web site. All the votes are there, www.GeorgeWBush.com, and look at Senator Kerry's record, there's a big difference. The tax cuts the president made permanent today, Senator Kerry originally voted against. He has a long record of voting to raise taxes on middle-class families.
COOPER: We'll have to leave it there. We'll be hearing a lot of this no doubt tomorrow night when both Vice President Cheney and John Edwards square off face to face right here in Cleveland. Thank you, Steve.
360 next. Hollywood star power and the push to register new voters. After all, every vote counts in raw politics.
Plus the crowd here weighs in. We'll let you answer the tough questions direct to the Kerry and Bush campaigns. But first, this battleground 360 challenge.
What's the official state rock song of Ohio? Is it "Cleveland Rocks," "Rock of Ages," "Ohio," or "Hang on Sloopy."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Off message and unscripted, real voters ask the two campaigns real questions. 360 next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: What's the official state song of Ohio? The answer "Hang on Sloopy." The Ohio based rock band, the McCoy's, topped the charts with it in 1965. It went on to become the anthem of the Ohio State football marching band.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And we're not going to ask the crowd here to sing "Hang on Sloopy" happily.
Tonight at midnight marks the deadline to registering new votes in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, and of course, here in Ohio. Now, here in Ohio alone the number signing up is staggering, some say it's the highest in decades. And considering how close the vote was in 2000, both the Bush and Kerry camps are busy helping with recruitment, but in "Raw Politics" every new voter matters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Of course, it helped that Kevin Bacon and Hilary Swank were here flipping pancakes in public. That isn't the reason why hundreds showed up over the week at Union Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, people came to register to vote on November 2nd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vote! Vote!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a major election. Yes, very important.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really think it is very important. And right now I am very undecided.
COOPER: All over Ohio, boards of elections have been overwhelmed with the surge in voter registration.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last chance too register.
COOPER: According to the most recent figures, the state's numbers of registered voters has already increased by half a million compared to 2000. It's not just Ohio. Other key states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Oregon have experienced similar increases. In Florida alone, it was reported that nearly 600,000 new voters signed up between January and August.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The 2000 election proved to a lot of people who have been very skeptical about politics, you know what, ever vote counts and every vote can make a difference.
COOPER: Something both camps are well aware of. And that's why the spent an unprecedented amount to reach out to potential voters. Getting them to registered by going door to door or through mailing lists. Or by setting up voting booths at events like NASCAR races.
SCHNEIDER: They believe this will be as close as the 2000 election, and they don't want to make the mistake of failing to turn out base voters.
COOPER: But experts say it's impossible to predict just how many of these registered voters will turn up on November 2nd. And in the end showing up at the polls is all that really matters in the world of "Raw Politics."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: While Senator Kerry is enjoying in some momentum since the debate, there are still two to go, of course, not to mention the V.P. debate tomorrow night right here in Cleveland.
For an inside look at where the campaigns are heading, Kevin Madden, a spokesperson for the Bush/Cheney team joins us, and Tad Devine, senior adviser for the Kerry/Edwards campaign.
Gentlemen, thanks for being with us.
We're going to have some audience questions for you both in a second.
Let me just start off, Tad, what does your candidate tomorrow night need to do?
TAD DEVINE, ADVISER, KERRY/EDWARDS CAMPAIGN: Well, I think John Edwards needs to show the country why he's ready to be president of the United States. There are big differences between Kerry and Edwards and Bush and Cheney. And John Edwards is going to articulate those...
COOPER: Is he going to be aggressive?
DEVINE: Absolutely, he's going to aggressively attack issues, which is something the president didn't do last Thursday night. There are big differences, he's going to talk about the differences between he and Dick Cheney and the vision that he and John Edwards have for the future, which is very, very different than the Bush/Cheney agenda.
COOPER: Vice President Cheney, he was expected to be sort of an attack dog in the debate back in 2000 against Lieberman. He was sort of very reserved, kind of put Lieberman off his guard. What are we going to see tomorrow night?
KEVIN MADDEN, BUSH/CHENEY CAMPAIGN: Well, I think the vice president, again, going to make the case for the president's leadership and why we need decisive leadership in this time and a post 9/11 world. And that it would be very dangerous for the United States to go back to a pre-9/11 mindset.
COOPER: So we're going to hear a lot about 9/11?
MADDEN: Well, I think we're going to hear a lot about how we move forward -- how we move this country forward in a post 9/11 world, and how decisive leadership, not waffling or wavering in the face of danger is the way to go.
COOPER: Tad, how many times will John Edwards going to mention Halliburton?
DEVINE: Well, we'll see. It depends on the questions, but I'm not sure, but probably not as many as Dick Cheney says 9/11, I predict.
(APPLAUSE)
COOPER: We'll keep score on that one.
All right, we've got some audience questions. What's your name and what's your questions?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jason. This question is for both of you. Is it easier for the V.P. candidates to really take of the gloves and go after each other than in a presidential debate?
MADDEN: I think it's important for the vice president to talk about the president's policies and why they're right for the country, but I also think it's very important they supplement the president's message. And it's an important part of articulating the vision of where you want to take the country, the vice president. You've got to remember, the vice president is a heartbeat away from the presidency. And I think that's something voters will take away and weigh very heavily on...
COOPER: But can the vice president -- just to try to get the question answered...
MADDEN: I didn't know Cheney had any gloves. OK...
COOPER: Can vice presidential candidates say things that the presidential candidate can't say?
MADDEN: I think it all depends on the questions, probably. It depends on who's asking the questions, but I think the most important point is to make the case for leadership and why the vice president is the right person who's only a heartbeat away from the presidency and how that vision that the president and the vice president have is moved the country forward.
COOPER: Tad, do you want to take that?
DEVINE: Yes, I think it's going to be, I think, harder for John Edwards than Dick Cheney to take the gloves off, OK, because Cheney has had the gloves off for a long time. But I think this debate tomorrow night is going to be very, very important. People want to know, are they ready to be president, and where will they lead the nation if they are called upon?
COOPER: Hey, but John Edwards, he's got a great smile, but he packs a punch, too.
DEVINE: He's ready, I'll tell you.
COOPER: You think?
DEVINE: Absolutely.
COOPER: All right. Lets see what's your questions? What's your name and question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, my name is Malidida (ph). This is for the Kerry administration, the current national unemployment rate is at 6 percent while the employment rate among African-Americans is 10.9 percent.
And one elected how do you plan to combat that problem?
DEVINE: Well, John Kerry is going to reinvigorate America's economy. We've got a president right now who believes the economic plan for this nation is a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. John Kerry has a specific and detailed economy plan to invest in people, to invest in health care, make small businesses, allow their health car to be affordable, so we can create jobs here at home. And stop the policy of outsourcing jobs overseas, which has been at the heart of the Bush administration.
COOPER: I'm going to let you respond to this. We've got to take a short break, and we'll get your response, and then we'll get some more questions right here from Case Western Reserve University. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And we are live in Cleveland, Ohio on the eve of the one and only vice presidential debate. Joining us once again are senior Kerry adviser Tad Devine and Kevin Madden, spokesman for the Bush campaign. They have bravely agreed to take some questions from the audience on behalf of their candidates, the students here at Case Western Reserve University. Kevin, I want to let you respond to the question about unemployment among African-Americans.
MADDEN: It's important to point out, too, that the actual -- it's 5.4 right now is the unemployment rate in the country and that the president is trying to grow the economy by making sure that there's opportunity and prosperity for all. I think this is very important to remember that when the president talks about tax relief and he talks about job creation and he talks about creating this new ownership society for America, he's talking about everybody. It's not just trying to pick one race against another, and I think that's important to remember. This president has the commitment to growing the economy so everybody can realize prosperity in this country.
COOPER: Your name and your question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Carrie (ph), I'm 21 from Ohio.
COOPER: Kerry like John Kerry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, my first name is Carrie. Justice Scalia was recited by saying that some issues such as abortion are too big to be decided by the judges. How would each of you respond to this question?
DEVINE: I would say he's wrong, and that's not the first time he's been wrong. So one thing that people should understand in this election, the right to choose is on the ballot because if this president is reelected and he appoints another member to the Supreme Court, that right undoubtedly will be lost. That's how important this election is.
MADDEN: I think that I would answer that by saying that the culture of life is on the ballot, protecting the sanctity of life and protecting a society in America that respects and values life is also on the ballot. I think that voters should remember that when they go to the polls as well.
COOPER: All right. Next question. What's your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Anthony. My question is for the Bush adviser. How will Cheney's liberal views on gay marriage and stem cell research affect the VP debate and the election?
MADDEN: I think that it's a debate that America looks forward to having and I think it's one that the American public looks forward to hearing tomorrow night and through the rest of this campaign. I think with regards to gay marriage, the president has been very clear that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman and we need to protect the sanctity of marriage and that we should not have judges on the federal bench who are rendering personal opinions, that judges on the federal bench should be strictly interpreting the law, and that's the president's position. I know that the vice president has said very clearly he supports the president's position.
DEVINE: I admired the vice president four years ago when he stated that that issue should be decided by states, gay marriage. That's John Kerry's position, states should decide it. Unfortunately the president and the vice president don't even agree on that issue. I wish the president would agree with the vice president instead of disagreeing with him.
COOPER: But both John Kerry and President Bush both oppose the notion of gay marriage.
DEVINE: They both believe marriage should be between a man and woman, but John Kerry does not believe that we should take an issue like that and amend our constitution and put it into our political process. Let the states decide. That's the way it's been done since the beginning of this country and how it should be done today.
MADDEN: And just to make a quick point on stem cell research, I think it's very important to point out there's a great debate going on about stem cell research. It is very important to point out that this is the first president to ever authorize federal funding for stem cell research.
DEVINE: And because of the limitations he's placed on it, 99.9 percent of the stem cell lines cannot be researched by the federal government. It's wrong.
COOPER: All right. We're going to have to end it there. We're out of time for this. Gentlemen, I appreciate you doing this, and not everyone would do it. We appreciate it. Thank you very much.
All right. Nice job.
Coming up next on 360, the Buckeyes to the Nth degree. It seems crazy but school mascots are a factor in this year's election, believe it or not.
Plus tomorrow, a special edition of 360 live from Cleveland. Right here a preview of the Cheney/Edwards showdown.
First today's buzz. Who do you think will win the vice presidential debate? Dick Cheney or John Edwards? Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote now. Results when we come back. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We are back live at Case Western Reserve University. So if you were in the -- if you could choose a question tomorrow night, what would you ask the vice president?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would ask Cheney why he won't stand up to let his own daughter marry?
COOPER: What would you ask? You support President Bush.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would ask how is Kerry going to bring more jobs to America? Is he going to bring back all the Heinz plants that are in Mexico back to America?
COOPER: Time now for the buzz. Earlier we asked you, who do you think will win the vice presidential debate. More than 31,000 of you voted, 33 percent of you said Dick Cheney, 67 percent said John Edwards. We'll find out tomorrow. Not a scientific poll, but it is your buzz. And tonight, taking Buckeyes to the Nth degree. What do Buckeyes, Gators, Wolverines, Wolves and Lions have in common? They're all mascots at schools in swing states but if you're a presidential candidate, you better know which mascot is which.
For example in the key state of Florida, it's vital to know the Gators are the mascot of the University of Florida. In Pennsylvania it's the Nittany Lions. Stop by New Mexico, it's the lobos (ph), wolves, for you bilingual campaigners. And here in Ohio, the Ohio state team is the Buckeyes. Don't worry. It doesn't really matter what a Buckeye is, but if you must not it's the seed pod of a buckeye tree. And in Michigan the mascot is the wolverine. For candidates mentioning the mascots -- see, it's a sure way to win over a crowd. Mention the mascot, but you've got to get it right. Now a while back during a stop in Michigan, Senator Kerry said he was a big fan of Buckeye football, Wolverine fans in the crowd howled in pain. We don't know if the mistake will cost Senator Kerry Michigan but we're pretty sure it won't hurt him one bit here in Ohio. Is that right?
All right. That's it tonight. I'll be here tomorrow for the vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. I hope you join me. 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 October 4, 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. I'm Anderson Cooper, live in Cleveland, Ohio, on the front lines of this battleground state. Tomorrow, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), (UNINTELLIGIBLE) from the White House, (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
360 starts now.
John Kerry bounces back in the polls. Do both candidates change their strategy now that they're running neck and neck?
A crucial debate, Dick Cheney and John Edwards square off tomorrow night. We'll tell you how both candidates are planning their punches and counterpunches.
Both candidates eying the Buckeye State. Will Ohio voters determine who gets to occupy the Oval Office?
Another blast from Mount St. Helens. Geologists on alert for a big blow. We'll tell you the latest forecast on when and how bad it may be.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Cleveland, Ohio, this is a special edition of ANDERSON COOPER 360, Battleground 360.
COOPER: And good evening again.
The days dwindle down to a precious few, as the old song says. That is certainly true of the presidential election, which, come tomorrow, is exactly five Tuesdays away.
Are you all ready for this election?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!
COOPER: Increasingly, it seems the race is boiling down to a few key states, and that's why we're here in Ohio tonight, because what the people here think and do in voting booths in November just may make the difference.
Ohio has had an estimated 50 visits by the two candidates, who have also spent more than $31 million running ads in this state alone, a remarkable sum of money, and the polls tonight could not be closer. According to the most recent CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll among likely voters, the contest a dead heat.
If you look at registered voters, the president is just a couple of percentage points ahead. And when things are as close as that, every move matters, and each campaign knows it tonight.
John King reports now from the Bush camp.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His signature made it four tax cuts in four years, relief for 94 million Americans, and as the president sees it, a boost for the economy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And that money will help keep the economy moving forward, and result in even more new jobs for American workers.
KING: The $146 billion tax package extends the $1,000 child tax credit, the easing of the so-called marriages penalty, and the lower 10 percent tax bracket. Those tax breaks were scheduled to expire. The legislation had bipartisan support, and the signing ceremony was a taxpayer-funded event, so no mention of Democrat John Kerry here.
But the president's second Iowa stop was paid for by the campaign.
BUSH: During his 20 years in the Senate, he's voted to raise your taxes 98 times. Now, all of a sudden, he's saying, well, he's for a middle-class tax relief, except he voted against raising the child credit. He voted against reducing the marriage penalty.
KING: The sharp criticism is a part of a White House effort to regain lost momentum. Taxes and the economy one focus, Iraq and terrorism another. Mr. Bush says Senator Kerry is wrong to call Iraq a diversion from the war on terror.
BUSH: The policies of my opponent are dangerous for world peace. If they were implemented, they would make this world not more peaceful but more dangerous.
KING: Vice President Cheney will carry that message into Tuesday night's debate with Senator John Edwards, questioning whether the Democratic ticket has the judgment and experience for the post-9/11 world.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: Dick Cheney's gravitas is going to win out. You know, I've thought about the differences between Cheney and Edwards. And I would suggest to you, more than anything else, one is steak and one is sizzle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Here with me in the mosh pit at Case Western Reserve University is (UNINTELLIGIBLE), John King.
John, I know, obviously, we're going to talk a lot about Cheney and Edwards tonight, but let's talk about Bush and Kerry. Are they already preparing for Friday's debate?
KING: Both are preparing, and we're told the president, as part of his preparation, has looked at the videotapes, including his criticized faces, his annoyance, his anger from the first debate.
COOPER: I'm really (UNINTELLIGIBLE), he's already, he's been looking at those.
KING: He's been looking at those. He understands what the brouhaha has been about. They think this setting Friday night in St. Louis for his debate will be much different, town hall, interacting with the audience. They think that is better for the president, but they do understand. Their campaign says, Look, they always expected the polls to tighten.
But I thought an interesting analogy from the top strategist (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Matt Dowd, he said they didn't celebrate in the end zone when they were ahead, they're not going to cry in their beer now.
COOPER: All right, John King, thanks very much for that.
As for John Kerry, those fresh poll results suggest that last week's debate made quite a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) big difference, so clearly now, the question must be, what does the candidate do to keep the ball rolling?
Dan Lothian reports from the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Riding a post- debate wave that has lifted him in the polls, Senator John Kerry appeared to have new life, one aide saying, We have the wind at our backs, but added, This is not a time to put up our feet and relax.
Taking advantage of every step to attack President Bush, the campaign focused on stem cell research at a New Hampshire town hall meeting, getting help from a Hollywood star with his own personal battle. Actor Michael J. Fox suffers from the debilitating Parkinson's disease.
MICHAEL J. FOX: John Kerry will lead. George Bush had the opportunity to lead, he chose to lead us in the wrong direction.
LOTHIAN: Some see it as the potential cure to such diseases as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and diabetes. But there are critics with moral, ethical, and scientific concerns.
SEN. JOHN KERRY, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The hard truth is that when it comes to stem cell research, this president is making the wrong choice to sacrifice science for extreme right-wing ideology. LOTHIAN: The Bush campaign called the attacks dishonest. The president has authorized federal funding for a limited supply of existing stem cells, but not for new stem cells, which must come from human embryos.
The Kerry campaign turned up the heat on television with this new ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KERRY-EDWARDS AD)
KERRY: It's time to lift the political barriers blocking the stem cell research. The people...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: In Philadelphia, Kerry greeted stem cell experts, including doctors and scientists.
(on camera): Kerry's focus on domestic issues comes after weeks of hammering the president on Iraq and foreign policy. Aides say it's been effective and will stay on the radar. But they see health care, jobs, and the economy as equally important in pushing a winning strategy, with less than 30 days to go.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Well, certainly the number two man on the Republican and Democratic tickets had a lot to do today. Tomorrow, after all, in Cleveland, Dick Cheney and John Edwards, the crowd is getting (UNINTELLIGIBLE) every time (UNINTELLIGIBLE) camera.
Tomorrow in Cleveland, right here, Dick Cheney and John Edwards will be squaring off for their one and only debate. And their running mates have already shown how very important a debate can be.
Joe Johns reports on them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator John Edwards spent the weekend cloistered at the Chatauqua Institution in western New York, making only one brief appearance at a roadside country store.
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's going fine. We're working hard.
LOTHIAN: Away from the cameras, the Edwards campaign set up a room that they said looks a lot like the debate site, complete with cameras, with Washington lawyer Bob Barnett playing Vice President Dick Cheney, a role he took on in debate preparations in 2000.
EDWARDS: Polls go up and down, but I felt very good about John Kerry's performance Thursday night. LOTHIAN: Edwards' chief goals for the debate, not to lose the momentum John Kerry appears to have picked up in the first presidential debate, to paint Kerry as steadfast and his opponents as favoring the rich over regular Americans.
Vice President Cheney spent the weekend at his home in Jackson, Wyoming, practicing in his own mockup of the debate setting with Ohio Congressman Rob Portman as his debate partner. Portman played Joe Lieberman in debate preparations four years ago.
Cheney's goal will be to try to focus on terrorism and September 11 while promoting President Bush as a steady leader in trying times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Joe Johns joins us now.
Joe, is Edwards tomorrow going to try to play it safe? Is he going to play it safe?
JOHNS: Well, no. What's going on here is a lot of Democratic strategists say he's not going to play it safe, because this is an uphill battle still for Democrats, they believe. And while they got a little bit of a boost from Kerry, they say they still have a long way to go. There's been no knockout punch, so you can expect him, really, to continue to try to go after the vice president.
COOPER: Dick Cheney, in his debate with Lieberman, was expected to be on the attack, but he was very sort of courtly, and sort of knocked Lieberman off-balance. Any sense of how Dick Cheney's playing it (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
JOHN: That was a real surprise. And what I'm told by a key Democratic strategist is, it was very difficult to for them to prepare for this debate, the Edwards campaign, simply because of that. They had to prepare for both sides of Dick Cheney. Will the nice guy come out? Will the attack dog come out? And they had to work twice as hard, if you will.
COOPER: All right, Joe Johns, thanks for that.
Today's buzz is this. What do you think? Who do you think will win the vice presidential debate, Dick Cheney or John Edwards? Log onto CNN.com/360, cast your vote, results at the end of the program tonight.
I think the crowd here has a difference of opinion. All right, all right, settle down, settle down.
A winner in the new race to space. That story tops our look at what's happening cross-country tonight. Let's take a look.
In Mojave, California, SpaceShipOne wins the $10 million Ansari X-Prize after completing its second flight into space in five days, this time without rolling as much. The X-Prize was designed to promote private space travel. In Washington, a court in session. The Supreme Court began a new term today, and rejected about 1,800 appeals that had piled up during the summer, including a challenge to the government's do-not-call list.
Garden City, Michigan, now, a dead man's alleged secret crimes. Police say they have found illegal pornography at the home of a church janitor who died last month. They say the videos show the janitor molesting kids in his home and at a church bathroom. The man also allegedly taped people using the bathroom without their knowledge.
Frederick, Maryland, tornado reveals porn. Police have arrested a man whose home was damaged by a tornado after (UNINTELLIGIBLE) workers discovered a massive amount of child pornography there. Nothing funny about that. Authorities say the seized material filled up to 24 boxes.
And in Las Vegas, a drive-by shooting against Siegfried and Roy labeled a hate crime. Police say a gunman shouted the former Vegas entertainers should leave the country as he fired four shots at their home late last month. No one was hurt. Suspect is still at large.
That's a quick look at what's happening cross-country tonight.
360 next, Mount St. Helens erupting, volcano watchers on high alert. Is the sleeping giant about to blow big? We'll take you there live.
Plus, Martha Stewart prepping for prison. Find out how she's spending her last days of freedom.
And live from Battleground Ohio, the audience sounds off (UNINTELLIGIBLE) for both campaigns.
But first, let's take a look at your picks, the most popular stories right now on CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And we are live in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve University, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) vice presidential debate. We're going to have more on the Cheney-Edwards matchup in a movement. The crowd here is ready, they want these candidates debating.
And that you -- we have about a equal crowd, it, equal Bush supporters, equal Kerry supporters. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COOPER: All right.
In other news today, beneath Mount St. Helens, a river of fire flows, it is molten magma. When it comes to, close to the surface, the results, like in 1980, can be catastrophic. Today more signs of the river rising, though nothing like what we saw back then. The volcano continues to rattle with earthquakes from below, above, hot ash and steam. And as the clouds grow, so do the fears of another eruption.
CNN's Miguel Marquez on site for the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Blowing off some steam, that magma deep below Mount St. Helens continues pushing skyward. The only question, when it hits the surface, how big will it be?
TOM PIERSON, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: What we're expecting is a blast of ash that will rise quickly up in the air tens of thousands of feet, form a column, an ash column, and then a big expanding ash cloud that will then drift with the wind.
MARQUEZ: Geologists believe the molten rock is new magma from deep down. They believe it's now a half-mile, maybe closer, to the surface. They say it is rich in supercompressed carbon dioxide gas bubbles, and when the cork pops, it could be explosive.
PIERSON: Then if you do that with, you know, billions and billions and billions of bubbles, all at once you form enough -- the equivalent energy of nuclear bombs.
MARQUEZ: Geologists say they know what's happening beneath the surface based on what they see above. The dome of the volcano is now deforming, or growing, by the tens, maybe hundreds of feet. Surrounding it, a glacier, 80 million cubic meters of water and ice.
PIERSON: Well, the amount of magma coming could easily melt a lot of ice up there.
MARQUEZ: If and when the mountain blows its top, it's going to have plenty of company. Rob and Colleen (ph) Grant cut their beach vacation short and aren't going home till they see the lava flow.
ROB GRANT, TORNADO WATCHER: We have to call the kids and say it will be a few more days. I don't think they'll mind.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ: Now, geologists do not believe that there will be enough magma or enough heat to cause all of that glacier rock and ice around the dome to melt and cause severe flooding. But then again, they say, it's a volcano. It can kind of do what it wants, Anderson.
COOPER: It certainly will. All right, Miguel, thanks very much. Miguel Marquez.
Today's steam rose from the volcano to a height of about 10,000 feet above sea level. (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the crowd's not really particularly excited about a volcano.
While officials do not expect an eruption like the one in 1980, they are keeping a very close eye on every movement from the mountain.
Joining me from Mount St. Helens is Carl Thornber, geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
Carl, thanks very much for being with us.
How likely is it that we're going to see some sort of explosion out of the mountain in this coming week?
CARL THORNBER, GEOLOGIST, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Well, it's been almost two hours since the last little explosion, and the other one was at about 9:40 this morning. So I think it's likely we're going to see continued activity, steam activity and some ash explosions, within a period of hours, and perhaps overnight and maybe tomorrow. It's difficult to say...
COOPER: Well, what exactly is...
THORNBER: ... exactly when it's going to happen. This (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: Yes, I know a lot of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) people wish it was more predict able. When, what exactly is happening that we can't see? I mean, what is happening inside that mountain?
THORNBER: Right. Even though we can't see things coming out the top, there's a heck of a lot going on underneath. And we've seen deformation of the behind the dome, inside the crater. That deformation is, it's an area that's about half a kilometer in diameter. It's lifted -- well, as of this morning, it had lifted about 30 meters, or about 100 feet.
And that's a lot of material. As of this morning, it's lifted even since that today, so that's about 10 million cubic meters of material that has been uplifted.
It doesn't mean that that much material has come into the system, but if you look at since this eruption has begun and since this activity has begun, that's tens of meters per second -- of cubic meters per second of material that could be moving into the volcano, or tens of meters of material that has been displaced.
It doesn't mean that that much magma is coming in, but certainly we've got that much uplift. Could be gas, could be the rock squeezing, but we've certainly got that much uplift.
And that's going on constantly. The seismicity shows it, and the deformation shows it. So it's building up (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...
COOPER: It is amazing, it is amazing to see those images. Carl Thornber, we appreciate you joining us as we continue to watch and wait for Mount St. Helens this week.
THORNBER: OK.
COOPER: Thanks very much, Carl.
Heading overseas right now, two car bombs rocked central Baghdad. That tops our look at what's happening in the uplink.
The attacks came within an hour of each other near the heavily fortified green zone. At least 21 people were killed, 85 others wounded.
Also in Iraq, a key U.S. ally with a possible timetable for troop withdrawal. Poland may cut its forces in Iraq by 40 by January, and all its troops could be out by the end of 2005. Poland's president says nothing will be finalized until after Iraqi elections scheduled for January. Poland has 2,500 troops in Iraq right now.
Bangkok, Thailand, bird flu kills again. A 9-year-old girl has become the 31st person to die from the disease in Asia. She, like most others, caught bird flu after contact with sick chickens or poultry. There may be one human-to-human transmission, and that has health officials very worried indeed.
And in London, Elton John slams Madonna -- say it ain't so -- saying she cheats fans by lip-synching at concerts. He used some rather harsh language, which we can't repeat here. Madonna's reps say she sang every song on her last tour. Elton John is fired up these days. You may remember, just two weeks ago, he went off on the paparazzi in Taiwan. I can't remember the exact phrasing, but it was vile something-or-other. I think it was vile pigs.
Anyway, that's tonight's uplink.
360 next, the last days of freedom for Martha Stewart. She has to turn herself in by Friday. Find out how she's spending her final moments on the outside.
Also tonight, dead heat in the presidential debates. Now the number two guys step up to the mike. Who has what it takes to push them over the top? (UNINTELLIGIBLE). The audience gets a shot at both campaigns. We are taking your questions live. Stay with us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Oh, for someone who wrote the book on party planning, Martha Stewart is throwing herself one going-away gala to remember. She has until this Friday to report to prison,
Until then, the home maven has been living it up with a trip to the Caribbean, a stroll on the beach, and just enjoying the kind of life she'll be living behind, at least for a while.
CNN's Allan Chernoff takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS (voice-over): Martha Stewart on the beach this past weekend, in the Bahamas for the wedding of her friend and publicity adviser Susan Magrino (ph). Stewart was at the exclusive Ocean Club, where beachfront suites cost $1,450 a night, including tax.
By Friday, Martha Stewart will be sharing a cubicle like this at the federal prison in Alderson, West Virginia. Ms. Stewart can expect nighttime visits from prison guards.
Claire Hanrahan is a former inmate.
CLAIRE HANRAHAN, FORMER INMATE: If you pull the sheet over yourself at night just to give yourself some sense of boundaries, the prison guards are allowed, they say, We must see flesh, ladies, when they do their midnight count. So you could expect, and several times I was awakened in the night with a guard pulling the sheet off of me.
CHERNOFF: A tough transition from a bathing suit to prison khakis and working for 12 cents an hour.
Martha Stewart is to serve a five-month term at Alderson for having lied to federal investigators about her sale of stock in a biotech company. Ms. Stewart decided to serve her sentence even as her lawyers appeal her conviction.
MARTHA STEWART: And I'll be back. I will be back. Whatever I have to do in the next few months, I hope the months go by quickly. I'm used to all kinds of hard work.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Martha Stewart will have a final opportunity to enjoy high living before giving up her freedom. Her friend Susan Magrino is renting out the Four Seasons restaurant Thursday night to celebrate her marriage. Cocktails are at 7:00. That would still give Martha Stewart enough time to meet her court- ordered deadline to report to prison by 2:00 the next day.
Allan Chernoff, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And we are live at Case Western Reserve University, where the, where Vice President Cheney and John Edwards are going to be debating tomorrow night. We have a lot more politics ahead, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 360.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kerry, Kerry, Kerry... (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We are live in Cleveland, Ohio at the campus of Case Western Reserve University, where tomorrow night Vice President Dick Cheney and John Edwards will debate. It will be a very interesting night indeed.
We're surrounded tonight by students, Republicans and Democrats, and are somewhere in between, all of whom are looking forward to putting their questions to the campaigns. And they're going to have that opportunity tonight in the next half hour here on 360.
But first, we wanted to look at Ohio, why it's so important for these two candidates, and how much money and time they have been putting in.
Chris Lawrence takes a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The battle for Ohio's undecided voters is being fought block by block, one home at a time.
CHAD COONS, UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm not too fond of Kerry, but I'm not too fond of Bush's economy.
LAWRENCE: Chad Coons and his cousin are both carpet installers who say expenses are up and business down under President Bush.
COONS: But he's trying to keep us safe, which, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Kerry in my point doesn't want to keep us safe.
LAWRENCE: Precinct 11H is a small slice of Dayton, just a little more than 500 registered voters, but evenly split.
(on camera): In the last three presidential elections, the man who won this precinct also went on to win the state. And that's important to both men, because it's been over 40 years since any candidate lost Ohio and went on to win the White House.
(voice-over): Here, no vote can be taken for granted.
SUSAN BLAYLOCK, DEMOCRAT VOTING REPUBLICAN: I'm a registered Democrat, but I am voting Republican.
LAWRENCE: Susan Blaylock's husband lost his job since President Bush took office, but Blaylock says she won't vote for Kerry.
BLAYLOCK: I think he thinks because of his military record, that's what's going to get him in.
LAWRENCE: But down at the neighborhood's only bar, owner Ed Reichert says business is so bad he just has to vote for Kerry.
ED REICHERT, VOTING FOR KERRY: I believe firmly in a lot of the Republican political platform, but I have to vote with my pocketbook. I have to eat before I can protest.
LAWRENCE: But it's voters like these crossing party lines, and making last-minute decisions that could swing an election from one side to the other. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Dayton, Ohio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: One man who knows Ohio politics very well, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, former Democratic presidential candidate joining us tonight from Capitol Hill. Congressman Kucinich, thank you very much for being with us. Sorry you're not here in your home state.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D), OHIO: Not only at my home state, but at my alma mater there, Case Western Reserve. So welcome to Cleveland. I look forward to joining you tomorrow.
COOPER: Let me ask you. You are supporting John Kerry and yet you oppose the war in Iraq. You are for gay marriages, you have been very vocal against the Patriot Act, all things which you differ with John Kerry about. Why are you still supporting him?
KUCINICH: All Democrats are uniting. First of all we realize this is George Bush's war. And we also realize about the debate tomorrow, is that this administration has not been held accountable. As a matter of fact, if you remember the debate between Senator Kerry and President Bush, President Bush has a disdain for being held accountable. Well, tomorrow John Edwards is going to hold Dick Cheney accountable on Iraq. Cheney said there was no doubt Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, nuclear capability. He kept pushing this idea that Iraq had nuclear capability. On the ties between Hussein and al Qaeda, Cheney kept pushing that. Also everyone knows he was cooking the books over at intelligence.
COOPER: Let me show you something that you actually said in reference to Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards. You said, quote, "neither Senator Kerry nor Senator Edwards would be appropriate as nominees because they supported the president on the war, said there were weapons of mass destruction, which you actually embroidered, Senator Kerry."
So do you agree with the Republicans that Senator Kerry has flip- flopped on these issues?
KUCINICH: No, listen, the fact of the matter is I led the effort in the House of Representatives in challenging the administration's rush towards war. I probably know more about that issue than most members of Congress because of my involvement, but I'll tell you this. I know that the president and the vice president were the ones who were pushing the war. They told members of Congress, look, there's no doubt there's weapons of mass destruction, there was a tie between Niger and trying to get uranium so they could sell it to Iraq, all kinds of lies were told...
COOPER: What's made you change your position that these would not be appropriate for nominees? KUCINICH: Obviously I'm supporting Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards strongly. I think they're the far better choice, and I also believe that as America has seen in the last couple of years all the lies that have been unearthed about this administration's position in Iraq, I think every member of Congress who voted for it is doubting this administration's credibility.
COOPER: Why do you think voters continue to say that President Bush would handle the responsibilities of commander-in-chief more than John Kerry would?
KUCINICH: Well, you know that's an interesting...
COOPER: More people have faith, it seems, in President Bush in terms of the war in Iraq, the war on terror.
KUCINICH: First of all, I don't believe that, and secondly, you have to consider that most Americans -- or many Americans still think Iraq had something to do with 9/11 as a result of the Bush administration's pounding away and trying to make a connection. What I'm saying is these debates have to be about truth, it has to be about accountability. This administration has not been held accountable, except Senator Kerry made President Bush accountable in the last debate and Senator Edwards will make the vice president accountable in this debate, and I think as that happens, Americans will see that they'll be much safer with John Kerry as the next president because he's not going to get us into wars we don't need to get into. He's not going to create conditions where terrorism becomes more of a factor because of an administration's conduct of office.
COOPER: Congressman Kucinich, we appreciate you joining us tonight. Thank you for being with us.
KUCINICH: Thank you.
COOPER: Joining us now is Steve Schmidt, deputy director of communications of the Bush/Cheney reelection campaign. Thank you for being with us. I want to show you the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. It shows that Kerry has basically erased the eight-point gap between the president and himself, 49 percent-49 percent. How concerned are you about this and what do you think you need to do to regain momentum if you feel you've lost it?
STEVE SCHMIDT, BUSH CAMPAIGN DEP. COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: There are two other polls out this very evening, the Pew poll, also ABC News/"The Washington Post" both of those polls show that the president has a five-point lead over Senator Kerry. We have always said that this is going to be a very close race, it is. There are big differences between the president and Senator Kerry. Senator Kerry has taken 11 distinct different contradictory positions on the Iraq war. His plans will make America less secure, will make the world more dangerous. He is a politician who has vacillated repeatedly on the most important issues facing this country and that's why American voters trust the president on national security issues, war on terror issues, and Iraq far more than they do Senator Kerry. And you see that reflected in the poll. COOPER: Senator Kerry, of course, says his position on Iraq has been consistent all along, according to him, but you're saying you're not concerned at all about the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll or President Bush's performance in the first debate?
SCHMIDT: Again I think we have always said that all of these polls are showing this is a close race. The two polls out tonight that shows the president has a five-point lead, the "USA Today"/Gallup poll that shows it's an even race. What all of these polls together tell us is it will be a close race, but when you look inside the polls, it shows that the president has very sizable leads on real important issues. For example, when it comes to who do you trust to handle the war on terror, to entrust the national security of the United States to, voters trust the president. I think one reason for that was articulated by Senator Kerry in the debate when we talked about the need for there to be a global task met before the United States can defend itself. President Bush believes these decisions should be made in the Oval Office, not in foreign capitals.
COOPER: Next debate, however, is about domestic issues and I know you guys wanted the first debate to be about foreign policy, the war on terror, because from what I've read you believed that to be the strong point of President Bush. How concerned are you going into this debate about domestic issues particularly in a state like Ohio which has lost many jobs in the last several years?
SCHMIDT: 1.7 million jobs have been created so far this year, Anderson, as this economy recovers. John Kerry's message is that the American dream is lost, that it's gone. It's a pessimistic message. John Kerry's pessimism won't create a single job in this country...
COOPER: ...900,000 jobs have been lost since the president took office.
SCHMIDT: His entire career has been spent in Washington voting to raise taxes on middle-income families. 126 times, he's voted against tax cuts that would help working families, 98 times he's voted to raise taxes. He did a speech on the economy a couple weeks ago...
COOPER: If he wasn't voting to raise taxes all those times, right?
SCHMIDT: He voted to raise taxes 98 times and voted against tax cuts 126 times and 64 times he voted for the smaller of two tax -- the smaller of a tax cut choice. He's voted to raise taxes 98 times. I would ask anyone who's watching please go to the Web site. All the votes are there, www.GeorgeWBush.com, and look at Senator Kerry's record, there's a big difference. The tax cuts the president made permanent today, Senator Kerry originally voted against. He has a long record of voting to raise taxes on middle-class families.
COOPER: We'll have to leave it there. We'll be hearing a lot of this no doubt tomorrow night when both Vice President Cheney and John Edwards square off face to face right here in Cleveland. Thank you, Steve.
360 next. Hollywood star power and the push to register new voters. After all, every vote counts in raw politics.
Plus the crowd here weighs in. We'll let you answer the tough questions direct to the Kerry and Bush campaigns. But first, this battleground 360 challenge.
What's the official state rock song of Ohio? Is it "Cleveland Rocks," "Rock of Ages," "Ohio," or "Hang on Sloopy."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Off message and unscripted, real voters ask the two campaigns real questions. 360 next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: What's the official state song of Ohio? The answer "Hang on Sloopy." The Ohio based rock band, the McCoy's, topped the charts with it in 1965. It went on to become the anthem of the Ohio State football marching band.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And we're not going to ask the crowd here to sing "Hang on Sloopy" happily.
Tonight at midnight marks the deadline to registering new votes in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Florida, Michigan, and of course, here in Ohio. Now, here in Ohio alone the number signing up is staggering, some say it's the highest in decades. And considering how close the vote was in 2000, both the Bush and Kerry camps are busy helping with recruitment, but in "Raw Politics" every new voter matters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER (voice-over): Of course, it helped that Kevin Bacon and Hilary Swank were here flipping pancakes in public. That isn't the reason why hundreds showed up over the week at Union Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, people came to register to vote on November 2nd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vote! Vote!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a major election. Yes, very important.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really think it is very important. And right now I am very undecided.
COOPER: All over Ohio, boards of elections have been overwhelmed with the surge in voter registration.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last chance too register.
COOPER: According to the most recent figures, the state's numbers of registered voters has already increased by half a million compared to 2000. It's not just Ohio. Other key states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Oregon have experienced similar increases. In Florida alone, it was reported that nearly 600,000 new voters signed up between January and August.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The 2000 election proved to a lot of people who have been very skeptical about politics, you know what, ever vote counts and every vote can make a difference.
COOPER: Something both camps are well aware of. And that's why the spent an unprecedented amount to reach out to potential voters. Getting them to registered by going door to door or through mailing lists. Or by setting up voting booths at events like NASCAR races.
SCHNEIDER: They believe this will be as close as the 2000 election, and they don't want to make the mistake of failing to turn out base voters.
COOPER: But experts say it's impossible to predict just how many of these registered voters will turn up on November 2nd. And in the end showing up at the polls is all that really matters in the world of "Raw Politics."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: While Senator Kerry is enjoying in some momentum since the debate, there are still two to go, of course, not to mention the V.P. debate tomorrow night right here in Cleveland.
For an inside look at where the campaigns are heading, Kevin Madden, a spokesperson for the Bush/Cheney team joins us, and Tad Devine, senior adviser for the Kerry/Edwards campaign.
Gentlemen, thanks for being with us.
We're going to have some audience questions for you both in a second.
Let me just start off, Tad, what does your candidate tomorrow night need to do?
TAD DEVINE, ADVISER, KERRY/EDWARDS CAMPAIGN: Well, I think John Edwards needs to show the country why he's ready to be president of the United States. There are big differences between Kerry and Edwards and Bush and Cheney. And John Edwards is going to articulate those...
COOPER: Is he going to be aggressive?
DEVINE: Absolutely, he's going to aggressively attack issues, which is something the president didn't do last Thursday night. There are big differences, he's going to talk about the differences between he and Dick Cheney and the vision that he and John Edwards have for the future, which is very, very different than the Bush/Cheney agenda.
COOPER: Vice President Cheney, he was expected to be sort of an attack dog in the debate back in 2000 against Lieberman. He was sort of very reserved, kind of put Lieberman off his guard. What are we going to see tomorrow night?
KEVIN MADDEN, BUSH/CHENEY CAMPAIGN: Well, I think the vice president, again, going to make the case for the president's leadership and why we need decisive leadership in this time and a post 9/11 world. And that it would be very dangerous for the United States to go back to a pre-9/11 mindset.
COOPER: So we're going to hear a lot about 9/11?
MADDEN: Well, I think we're going to hear a lot about how we move forward -- how we move this country forward in a post 9/11 world, and how decisive leadership, not waffling or wavering in the face of danger is the way to go.
COOPER: Tad, how many times will John Edwards going to mention Halliburton?
DEVINE: Well, we'll see. It depends on the questions, but I'm not sure, but probably not as many as Dick Cheney says 9/11, I predict.
(APPLAUSE)
COOPER: We'll keep score on that one.
All right, we've got some audience questions. What's your name and what's your questions?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jason. This question is for both of you. Is it easier for the V.P. candidates to really take of the gloves and go after each other than in a presidential debate?
MADDEN: I think it's important for the vice president to talk about the president's policies and why they're right for the country, but I also think it's very important they supplement the president's message. And it's an important part of articulating the vision of where you want to take the country, the vice president. You've got to remember, the vice president is a heartbeat away from the presidency. And I think that's something voters will take away and weigh very heavily on...
COOPER: But can the vice president -- just to try to get the question answered...
MADDEN: I didn't know Cheney had any gloves. OK...
COOPER: Can vice presidential candidates say things that the presidential candidate can't say?
MADDEN: I think it all depends on the questions, probably. It depends on who's asking the questions, but I think the most important point is to make the case for leadership and why the vice president is the right person who's only a heartbeat away from the presidency and how that vision that the president and the vice president have is moved the country forward.
COOPER: Tad, do you want to take that?
DEVINE: Yes, I think it's going to be, I think, harder for John Edwards than Dick Cheney to take the gloves off, OK, because Cheney has had the gloves off for a long time. But I think this debate tomorrow night is going to be very, very important. People want to know, are they ready to be president, and where will they lead the nation if they are called upon?
COOPER: Hey, but John Edwards, he's got a great smile, but he packs a punch, too.
DEVINE: He's ready, I'll tell you.
COOPER: You think?
DEVINE: Absolutely.
COOPER: All right. Lets see what's your questions? What's your name and question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, my name is Malidida (ph). This is for the Kerry administration, the current national unemployment rate is at 6 percent while the employment rate among African-Americans is 10.9 percent.
And one elected how do you plan to combat that problem?
DEVINE: Well, John Kerry is going to reinvigorate America's economy. We've got a president right now who believes the economic plan for this nation is a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. John Kerry has a specific and detailed economy plan to invest in people, to invest in health care, make small businesses, allow their health car to be affordable, so we can create jobs here at home. And stop the policy of outsourcing jobs overseas, which has been at the heart of the Bush administration.
COOPER: I'm going to let you respond to this. We've got to take a short break, and we'll get your response, and then we'll get some more questions right here from Case Western Reserve University. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And we are live in Cleveland, Ohio on the eve of the one and only vice presidential debate. Joining us once again are senior Kerry adviser Tad Devine and Kevin Madden, spokesman for the Bush campaign. They have bravely agreed to take some questions from the audience on behalf of their candidates, the students here at Case Western Reserve University. Kevin, I want to let you respond to the question about unemployment among African-Americans.
MADDEN: It's important to point out, too, that the actual -- it's 5.4 right now is the unemployment rate in the country and that the president is trying to grow the economy by making sure that there's opportunity and prosperity for all. I think this is very important to remember that when the president talks about tax relief and he talks about job creation and he talks about creating this new ownership society for America, he's talking about everybody. It's not just trying to pick one race against another, and I think that's important to remember. This president has the commitment to growing the economy so everybody can realize prosperity in this country.
COOPER: Your name and your question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Carrie (ph), I'm 21 from Ohio.
COOPER: Kerry like John Kerry?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, my first name is Carrie. Justice Scalia was recited by saying that some issues such as abortion are too big to be decided by the judges. How would each of you respond to this question?
DEVINE: I would say he's wrong, and that's not the first time he's been wrong. So one thing that people should understand in this election, the right to choose is on the ballot because if this president is reelected and he appoints another member to the Supreme Court, that right undoubtedly will be lost. That's how important this election is.
MADDEN: I think that I would answer that by saying that the culture of life is on the ballot, protecting the sanctity of life and protecting a society in America that respects and values life is also on the ballot. I think that voters should remember that when they go to the polls as well.
COOPER: All right. Next question. What's your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Anthony. My question is for the Bush adviser. How will Cheney's liberal views on gay marriage and stem cell research affect the VP debate and the election?
MADDEN: I think that it's a debate that America looks forward to having and I think it's one that the American public looks forward to hearing tomorrow night and through the rest of this campaign. I think with regards to gay marriage, the president has been very clear that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman and we need to protect the sanctity of marriage and that we should not have judges on the federal bench who are rendering personal opinions, that judges on the federal bench should be strictly interpreting the law, and that's the president's position. I know that the vice president has said very clearly he supports the president's position.
DEVINE: I admired the vice president four years ago when he stated that that issue should be decided by states, gay marriage. That's John Kerry's position, states should decide it. Unfortunately the president and the vice president don't even agree on that issue. I wish the president would agree with the vice president instead of disagreeing with him.
COOPER: But both John Kerry and President Bush both oppose the notion of gay marriage.
DEVINE: They both believe marriage should be between a man and woman, but John Kerry does not believe that we should take an issue like that and amend our constitution and put it into our political process. Let the states decide. That's the way it's been done since the beginning of this country and how it should be done today.
MADDEN: And just to make a quick point on stem cell research, I think it's very important to point out there's a great debate going on about stem cell research. It is very important to point out that this is the first president to ever authorize federal funding for stem cell research.
DEVINE: And because of the limitations he's placed on it, 99.9 percent of the stem cell lines cannot be researched by the federal government. It's wrong.
COOPER: All right. We're going to have to end it there. We're out of time for this. Gentlemen, I appreciate you doing this, and not everyone would do it. We appreciate it. Thank you very much.
All right. Nice job.
Coming up next on 360, the Buckeyes to the Nth degree. It seems crazy but school mascots are a factor in this year's election, believe it or not.
Plus tomorrow, a special edition of 360 live from Cleveland. Right here a preview of the Cheney/Edwards showdown.
First today's buzz. Who do you think will win the vice presidential debate? Dick Cheney or John Edwards? Log on to CNN.com/360. Cast your vote now. Results when we come back. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We are back live at Case Western Reserve University. So if you were in the -- if you could choose a question tomorrow night, what would you ask the vice president?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would ask Cheney why he won't stand up to let his own daughter marry?
COOPER: What would you ask? You support President Bush.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would ask how is Kerry going to bring more jobs to America? Is he going to bring back all the Heinz plants that are in Mexico back to America?
COOPER: Time now for the buzz. Earlier we asked you, who do you think will win the vice presidential debate. More than 31,000 of you voted, 33 percent of you said Dick Cheney, 67 percent said John Edwards. We'll find out tomorrow. Not a scientific poll, but it is your buzz. And tonight, taking Buckeyes to the Nth degree. What do Buckeyes, Gators, Wolverines, Wolves and Lions have in common? They're all mascots at schools in swing states but if you're a presidential candidate, you better know which mascot is which.
For example in the key state of Florida, it's vital to know the Gators are the mascot of the University of Florida. In Pennsylvania it's the Nittany Lions. Stop by New Mexico, it's the lobos (ph), wolves, for you bilingual campaigners. And here in Ohio, the Ohio state team is the Buckeyes. Don't worry. It doesn't really matter what a Buckeye is, but if you must not it's the seed pod of a buckeye tree. And in Michigan the mascot is the wolverine. For candidates mentioning the mascots -- see, it's a sure way to win over a crowd. Mention the mascot, but you've got to get it right. Now a while back during a stop in Michigan, Senator Kerry said he was a big fan of Buckeye football, Wolverine fans in the crowd howled in pain. We don't know if the mistake will cost Senator Kerry Michigan but we're pretty sure it won't hurt him one bit here in Ohio. Is that right?
All right. That's it tonight. I'll be here tomorrow for the vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards. I hope you join me. Coming up next. "PAULA ZAHN NOW."
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