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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown
Schwarzenegger Announces Candidacy for Governor of California; Kobe Bryant Appears in Court; Fallout on Election of Openly Gay Bishop
Aired August 06, 2003 - 22:00 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.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.
It seemed like everyone else was in the California governor's race. There were the politicians, of course. There was the smut king, the comedian, the former child actor, Gary Coleman in. It seemed like all we needed was a cartoon character and a superhero. We'll wait for Pluto to declare.
But the race got its superhero tonight when Arnold Schwarzenegger surprised just about everyone and decided he would make the race for California governor. It worked for Ronald Reagan and it worked for song and dance man George Murphy who went to the U.S. Senate. Will it work for the former bodybuilder turned actor turned big-time politician tonight?
It is where we begin the whip. Jeff Greenfield covering the decision that stunned just about everybody including Jeff, Jeff a headline.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Aaron, the most unanticipated, unprecedented, unpredictable election since, well, since the 2000 presidential race just got a whole lot more of all of the above. Just a few hours ago an event we were all sure wasn't going to happen did.
BROWN: Jeff, back to you at the top tonight.
On to Eagle, Colorado now, Kobe Bryant's day in court. Deborah Feyerick is on that for us so, Deborah, a headline from you.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, Kobe Bryant came to court, the last place he wanted to be, to face the sexual assault charges against him.
BROWN: And, Deborah, thank you.
On to the continuing fallout, after the decision last night, to approve the first openly gay Episcopalian bishop Susan Candiotti still in Minneapolis so, Susan, a headline from you tonight.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Aaron. Opponents of that historic selection of the first openly gay bishop stage a formal protest on the convention floor and make plans for their next move.
BROWN: Susan, thank you, back to you and the rest shortly.
Also coming up on a busy NEWSNIGHT, we'll look at what's not getting screened when you fly and why. We'll talk with Congressman Ed Markey about what he sees as a huge vulnerability in airline security, cargo shipped on passenger flights.
And, when the rooster crows you know it's time for NEWSNIGHT's own trademark, patented, extra special, unparalleled look through the morning papers which ought to be fascinating today, all that and more to come in the hour ahead.
We begin with the circus, and it will be a circus, for all its importance, after all we are talking about the governor of the largest state in the union, one of the most political jobs in the country. It is California. It is California politics and it got a good deal crazier tonight.
Until tonight, it seemed like the pressing question was would the Democrats field a candidate to protect the party? That's still the question. It got a whole lot more complicated.
We turn to CNN's Jeff Greenfield - Jeff.
GREENFIELD: Aaron, one of the most famous lines out of Hollywood is screenwriter William Goldman's observation about the movies, nobody knows anything. Tonight, that's a pretty good guide to California politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Tonight, he will tell us...
GREENFIELD (voice-over): Here's why they should never call it political science.
LENO: Please welcome Arnold Schwarzenegger, ladies and gentlemen.
GREENFIELD: All the experts, all the insiders knew that Arnold Schwarzenegger would not be jumping into the race for California governor, after all who would go on "The Tonight Show" to announce a candidacy for public office? Well, that's exactly what Arnold Schwarzenegger did.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: I'm going to run for governor for the state of California.
GREENFIELD: And, at a press conference later he explained what led up to that decision and what the theme of his campaign would be.
SCHWARZENEGGER: I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house. I will change that. As you know, I don't need to take any money from anybody. I have plenty of money myself. I will make the decisions for the people.
My wife told me that she will support me no matter what the decision is and I, therefore, decided to run for governor of this great state because I feel very strongly that we have some serious problems in this state.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD: Now with writer Arianna Huffington entering the race earlier today, Schwarzenegger's entry raises at least one possibility. We may see the first political debate ever to require a simultaneous translation but it also raises a more consequential issue when people with unconventional backgrounds come into this arena is that a sign of political trouble or vitality?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD (voice-over): In earlier times, Americans used to assume that military leadership was a near infallible sign of political skill but we haven't picked a general to lead us in more than half a century.
Ronald Reagan may have been an ex-actor when he began his public life but in political terms, at least, he is one of our most formidable presidents. Bill Bradley's days on the basketball court didn't overshadow his 18 years in the U.S. Senate.
And, even a more flamboyant past, Jesse Ventura's wrestling career didn't stop the politically engaged citizens of Minnesota from choosing him as their governor.
Yes, some of those now throwing their hats or thongs or whatever into that California race do seem hard pressed to offer much besides notoriety.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD: But there is another consequence that sometimes follows the arrival of candidates without traditional resumes, like Schwarzenegger. They often appeal to the most alienated of voters, those who think all politicians are the same, when Ross Perot ran for president, when Jesse Ventura ran for governor of Minnesota, the turn out spiked sharply.
If that possibility makes worried Democrats even more worried, we may see yet another drama unfold. Will Democrats still remain firm in not putting anyone from their party on the recall ballot now that Schwarzenegger's in? They've got five days left, Aaron, to figure that one out.
BROWN: All right, what do the polls tell us about Schwarzenegger?
GREENFIELD: Well, our guru, Mr. Schneider, mentioned earlier tonight that the California voters have a lot of hesitancy about Schwarzenegger that they're not quite sure that he hits the credibility threshold and that's going to be his great challenge in the next two months to move from the celebrity to the formidable figure. Remember, he's not matched against Gray Davis. BROWN: I'm sorry. Does he put himself - right -- does he put himself in a situation then where he has to debate or does he do this on television where they can package him and, you'll forgive me, he can act?
GREENFIELD: No, and I think that that is going to be the key decision and I think what they have to do, Schwarzenegger's people, is to put him in forums where he can demonstrate that he has the chops to be a public policy guy.
Now, just very quickly, there was a piece a couple of months ago in "Esquire" that painted a very different picture of Schwarzenegger then, the movie star. It followed him through his foundation and charitable work and the author was quite impressed with Schwarzenegger's grip of public policy issues.
That's the Arnold Schwarzenegger his people and that he have to show us and, indeed, if that includes a debate among the want to be's that's what's going to have to happen.
BROWN: And on the Democratic side, the landscape changed.
GREENFIELD: Dramatically. I still think, I have no proof of this but really it's late at night, that the withdrawal of Dianne Feinstein, her absolute statement, I will not be in the race, may have tipped the scales for Schwarzenegger because she's a moderate Democrat and they share some views. She is now out.
I think it made it more attractive for Schwarzenegger to come in. It makes it much harder for Democrats to paint the recall as simply a right wing coup because Schwarzenegger is pro-choice, pro gay rights.
BROWN: Who's the big loser in this, is it Gray Davis, or is it those other Republicans?
GREENFIELD: Well, Congressman Issa and Bill Simon, both multimillionaires who plan to spend millions.
BROWN: But they're all millionaires.
GREENFIELD: That's true.
BROWN: Nobody is borrowing money (unintelligible).
GREENFIELD: No, I think the entry fee on this is eight figure net worth but I think Darryl Issa and Bill Simon immediately are losers because Schwarzenegger probably is a more saleable, you should pardon the expression, candidate but I think the Democratic Party, you know, big labor told the Democrats just a few days ago stay out of this. We're going to give millions to David but, boy, they have now got an even more tricky decision to make than they did 24 hours ago.
BROWN: Thank you. We probably shouldn't say this but it's moments like this when you realize how much fun politics can be when you just get blindsided.
GREENFIELD: No, you're allowed. It's high drama. It's a little farce. It's sometimes comedy and it's really consequential.
BROWN: It is indeed. Thank you. We talked, Jeff mentioned Arianna Huffington a moment ago. We talked to her a while back. Tonight, just shortly after the announcement, it's fair to say it all upstaged her announcement earlier in the day that she would run.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Well, Arianna, there does seem to be tonight an elephant in the room and I suppose we ought to acknowledge it. I know you'd rather talk about your own candidacy. Were you surprised by Mr. Schwarzenegger's decision?
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I was surprised but actually very gratified because one of the things that I would love most in this race is to give the opportunity to a lot of new voters or unlikely voters as the pollsters call them to tune in.
And, I believe that the more voters tune in, whether it's because of Schwarzenegger's celebrity or even the freakish nature of the recall election, the march on for the progressive agendas I'm running on we have to be hard and to be espoused.
BROWN: You wouldn't spin me, would you?
HUFFINGTON: No, I wouldn't. You know we have our slogans already. This is the Hummer versus the hybrid campaign. I arrived here in my hybrid and Schwarzenegger has been a spokesman for the Hummer, the least fuel efficient vehicle on the road.
BROWN: Does this - we'll move off this in a question or two but does this in a way turn it into in terms of media at least a two-man race that will make it harder for you and others to break through?
HUFFINGTON: I really do not think so because Schwarzenegger is going to run as a Bush Republican. He's going to take on Gray Davis because of his fiscal irresponsibility and that's going to be laughable because I'm going to counter that with the fiscal insanity going on in Washington, the Bush administration, the Republican Congress.
And, like a good Republican, which he is, Schwarzenegger will have to defend them. So, that's going to be a huge vulnerability in a state which has really suffered because of Bush's economic policies, including the very cozy relationship of the Bush administration to Enron and other energy companies that have cost California billions of dollars.
BROWN: I want to talk more about your candidacy in a second. Let me ask you one more broad political question. Do you actually think this recall is a good idea?
HUFFINGTON: No, I have been against the recall process, the fact that signatures were collected and because money was spent for signature gatherers. After all, Gray Davis was elected fair and square nine months ago but now we're in a different stage. The recall is going to be on the ballot and it gives a historic opportunity to an outsider to run on a progressive agenda.
BROWN: And so you will try and convince voters that you ought to be the governor of the state of California because you can do what?
HUFFINGTON: Because I can break the stranglehold of money in California politics.
BROWN: How?
HUFFINGTON: If you look at - how? Because I'm coming in as an Independent and not being beholding to any special interest, without being beholding to either political party.
Secondly, to come in and look for example at the budget and look at our perverse priorities here and look, just to give you one example, at the fact that we have billions of dollars in uncollected tax revenues because of tax loopholes, tax shelters, and the most powerful, the people with the most money and access are not paying their fair share of taxes.
That would be my beginning of handling the budget debacle and also, because I'll be able to use the bully pulpit to speak directly to the people. You know in order to get through the log jam in Sacramento you have to appeal to the people.
Just look at Washington. We would not have Sarbanes-Oxley, as you know very well, had it not been for the public outrage after WorldCom, and because of that even people like Phil Graham who had introduced 36 amendments against Sarbanes voted for it. So, politicians always understand and change their views when the public is outraged.
BROWN: Just a final question here, Arianna. Who is, in your mind who do you see voting for you? Who is the Huffington voter?
HUFFINGTON: Well, if I look at the people who went to the run Arianna run Web site and are now going to the Arianna for Gov Web site which we launched today and contributing money and offering volunteer time, they're really across the spectrum.
They're young people. They're minorities but they're also soccer moms frustrated with business as usual. They're all the people who have given up on the system. They are in many ways the standard independent voter, the Ventura voter, the Perot voter, as well as a lot of Latinos and African-Americans who have been feeling shut out of the system.
BROWN: I have no doubt that you will make this race even more interesting than it otherwise would have been. It would have been pretty interesting anyway. So, in that regard we're glad you're in and we appreciate your time tonight. Thanks a lot.
HUFFINGTON: Thank you, Aaron.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Arianna Huffington a short time ago.
We're joined in Los Angeles tonight by political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior scholar at the University of Southern California and someone we envy tonight. She certainly has a front row set in all that's about to play out. Just quickly, were you surprised?
SHERRY BEBITCH JEFFE, POLITICAL ANALYST, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: A little bit. About a day or two ago when things started to get iffy and Schwarzenegger started to play "Hamlet" a little nuggle (ph) in my tummy told me it's not 100 percent sure. There's an axiom in politics, always leave two percent for double cross and I expect that's part of what was going on here.
BROWN: Do you think - I'm sorry, do you think the Feinstein decision played a role?
JEFFE: Yes. I think Jeff is absolutely correct. The Feinstein decision changed the dynamics of the race and I do believe that once she was out of the race, Schwarzenegger felt that he could step in. They are somewhat close in ideology as is former Mayor Richard Riordan, and I think it looked to Schwarzenegger that it might be something he could put together.
BROWN: I just have a million things I want to ask here.
JEFFE: Go right ahead.
BROWN: Well, we'll see how many we get through. Mr. Riordan, Dick Riordan, the former mayor of Los Angeles got to be considered a loser in all of this because he had a pretty good shot at this.
JEFFE: Oh, I think he would have made, quite frankly, a stronger candidate in this recall replacement election than Schwarzenegger because he too is a moderate. He has served in an executive position in the state.
He's better known as a politician, as an elected official but I kind of wonder because Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Riordan have been on the phone and negotiating constantly whether or not this was a mutual decision and I wonder whether Richard Riordan in the end will consider himself a loser.
BROWN: What now of Mr. Simon and Congressman Issa?
JEFFE: Very good question. I think the Simon candidacy now may be a real question mark. Congressman Issa is in the race. He has a headquarters. He's running hard for governor for the state of California but as one Republican put it the other day, the Republican Party will thank Darryl Issa and then stomp on his face. He is not a strong candidate and he's not considered to be even among Republicans.
BROWN: Just one more on the Republicans, this is not unique to California, the California Republican Party is considerably, I think it's fair to say, more conservative than the electorate as a whole in California.
JEFFE: Exactly.
BROWN: Will establishment Republicans, because winning in the end is what matters, support Schwarzenegger and abandon the conservative positions on gay rights and choice and the rest?
JEFFE: Well, I think the leaders of the Republican Party and the leaders of the Republicans in the legislature will. They are far more pragmatic than the hard right conservative activists who constitute the party's base and it's going to be interesting to see how those activists move.
I don't think that they will necessarily abandon their conservative candidates but if there are several there will be Tom McClintock I'm sure. There will be Darryl Issa, perhaps Bill Simon. That could be helpful to the moderate in the race Arnold Schwarzenegger.
BROWN: All right, on the Democratic side, we've got about two minutes left and still some ground to cover, do they -- does the party now need to rethink?
JEFFE: I heard on the way over that both Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi will be announcing tomorrow that they will be entering the gubernatorial race, if that's the case, that's your answer.
BROWN: Is it inconceivable that Governor Davis will resign and the Lieutenant Governor will just take the job, the recall is over and we don't talk to each other again for two years?
JEFFE: Wait, wait, wait. The recall isn't over.
BROWN: It's not, it would happen anyway?
JEFFE: It still goes through, exactly, and if the recall fails and the lieutenant governor is the new governor he will remain in the office of governor. If the recall passes, he's out an whoever is elected in the replacement election becomes the new governor upon certification of the election.
But, as to whether or not Gray Davis will resign, I have learned never to say never in politics and, believe me after today, I'm never, never, ever going to say never in politics but Gray Davis doesn't have the genes that would allow him to resign. He is a fighter. I think he enjoys campaigning far more than he enjoys governing so I don't see that at this point in time but you can't rule anything out in this election.
BROWN: Is Mr. Schwarzenegger electable would you guess in the state of California today?
JEFFE: It depends on who else is on the ballot. It depends on how the campaign unfolds. He is a moderate Republican; however, the demographics still favor the Democratic Party. I expect that in this kind of a situation sure he's got a chance.
BROWN: Professor, I suspect we'll spend some time together. Thank you.
JEFFE: Thanks.
BROWN: We'll get our California political education from you anytime, thank you.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, we'll have more on the Schwarzenegger decision. We'll play a large chunk from his press conference. That's coming up a little bit later.
In court and on camera, the Kobe Bryant circus begins. Maybe it wasn't so much of a circus today.
And, they check your bags but not the boxes, what's being left out of airport security.
Much ahead, from New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: On to the Kobe Bryant story and two remarkable images. There was an image tonight of Mr. Bryant winning the Teen Choice Award, Male Athlete of the Year four years running, a reminder of the Kobe Bryant the public thought it knew, the good guy and the role model.
And, then there was the image we saw late this afternoon, Kobe Bryant the defendant in a rape case in court for the first time, a seven minute hearing that didn't say a whole lot about the case but did say a fair amount about the kind of media circus it promises to be.
Once again here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice-over): All these cameras, all this fuss.
BILLY FARR, TOURIST: I can't believe a little bitty town, little bitty courthouse like this has got this many cameras.
FEYERICK: All for one man, Kobe Bryant, the show's reluctant star looking somber as he entered the Eagle County Courthouse. A handful of cheering fans shouted his name but there were no waves, no thumbs up as Bryant walked from his three car motorcade.
His wife, Vanessa, was not with him and he had no police escort, bringing instead his lawyer and his own security. The court appearance started at 4:00 on the dot Denver time.
PAMELA MACKEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Do you waive any further or advisement of the charge.
FEYERICK: Bryant's lawyer, Pamela Mackey waiving her client's right to hear the sexual assault charge against him read. The judge set a preliminary hearing for October 9th, longer than the standard 30-day time period.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have requested a hearing. The rule requires that if you request that hearing be held within 30 days any objection to that being waived?
KOBE BRYANT, DEFENDANT: No, sir.
FEYERICK: Those two words, no sir, were the only words Bryant spoke in court. The judge appointed a special investigator to look into alleged leaks, Bryant's lawyers accusing the sheriff and other authorities of talking to the media despite a court order prohibiting it. Then, seven minutes after Kobe Bryant took a seat before the judge he was gone, the cameras and commentary hotter than ever.
NORMAN GILPIN, RESIDENT: When Wallace Simpson and the King of England got together there wasn't all this.
FEYERICK: And all this, locals say, has a good and bad side.
MICHAEL CACIOPPO: The bad is that if the alleged victim is in fact a victim it's bad for her. The good is that it has driven Eagle County and the publicity surrounding Eagle County and Vail, Colorado is publicity we can't buy good or bad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: So, everyone will be back here in two months for the preliminary hearing. A former prosecutor tells me at that time it's likely that the D.A. will lay out 90 to 95 percent of the evidence in this case and that could include a statement either in person or on videotape by the young woman herself. Meantime, Kobe Bryant didn't stick around. He took off an hour after landing -- Aaron.
BROWN: And, has a decision been made on whether the trial itself will be televised?
FEYERICK: It is very likely that the trial will be televised but right now what will happen is if this judge determines that there's probable cause it will be bumped up to another court, the district court, so a different judge will have to make that decision.
And, Aaron, just to let you know, an attorney I spoke to out here says usually a trial like this would take maybe one and a half to two days but they're expecting that this will take either a week or longer.
BROWN: Deborah, thank you, busy day there, Deborah Feyerick on this for us.
Also working the story out in Eagle, Colorado tonight, Jeffrey Toobin our legal analyst, Jeffrey are you there?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Aaron. Here I am.
BROWN: There you are. Jeffrey you and I met in the mother of all media circuses the O.J. Simpson case. I want your take on how the media has behaved, what your impressions were of that today and then we'll move on.
TOOBIN: You know I think most people love to hate the media and there's a lot to hate but, you know, I really don't think this qualifies as a circus, as a frenzy. Certainly, there's a lot of coverage but in terms of affecting the results, I don't think there was much of any.
I mean as you pointed out, you know, this was a seven minute hearing. I talked to lawyers here and I said well if this was an ordinary case how long would this hearing take? They'd say oh about five or ten minutes.
But there has not been, I think, much of an affect on the actual proceedings and I think that's what really matters. Sure, there's a lot of attention but I think the press has by and large behaved pretty responsibly.
BROWN: Would you in these -- just a thought here -- in these high profile cases it's not just the press that can behave or misbehave. It is also the principals who can play to the cameras or not play to the cameras depending on their inclination and they have something to say about it.
TOOBIN: That's for sure and I think in the Simpson case most of us agree who followed it closely that the cameras did have an impact and I think by and large a negative impact on basically everyone and everything.
But I think if you look at cameras in the courtroom generally, in virtually every other case in which they've been present, I think most people would agree that they haven't had much of an impact except allowing the public to see what are after all supposed to be public proceedings.
BROWN: Did we get any idea of how good his, Mr. Bryant's, representation is today?
TOOBIN: I think we got a good idea that they are awfully good. The one substantive thing the judge did besides scheduling the preliminary hearing is that he said that a sheriff from another county was going to be appointed to investigate whether there had been leaks in the sheriff's and in the prosecutor's office.
So that means here at this extremely early stage the government is already on the defensive. They are going to have to defend their conduct, perhaps produce records of their contacts with the news media.
Maybe it will not amount to anything that hurts the government's case but it just shows aggressive defense attorneys, you know, may turn up something and, you know, every minute that's devoted to this investigation is a minute not devoted to prosecuting Kobe Bryant and that can only be good for the defense. BROWN: Well, you've been prowling around out there. I will assume that somebody is leaking like a sieve out there. Do you have a feeling that this is in any sense any more complicated a case than you thought it was a week ago?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, first actually, Aaron, maybe it's just I'm not getting lucky or I'm not as good as I thought. I don't think people are leaking all that much. There is a lot of evidence, indeed much of the evidence that we simply don't know. We'll certainly know a lot more on October 9th.
This is not a complicated case. It's not the Enron case but in addition to the testimony of the accuser there will be a surrounding effort, there will be an effort by the prosecutors to surround her with corroboration, with witnesses who saw her with her injuries perhaps, with perhaps Kobe Bryant's statements that may turn out to be incriminating.
So, there's more to it than just he-said she-said and I think the prosecutors better hope that there's more to it than that because he- said she-said is tough beyond a reasonable doubt.
BROWN: And you'll probably be spending the next several months commuting between northern California and Eagle, Colorado. Thank you, Jeffrey.
TOOBIN: Well, I'll tell you I could do worse.
BROWN: Yes, you could. Yes, you could. Thank you very much, Jeffrey Toobin with us tonight in Colorado.
Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, Representative Ed Markey joins us to talk about air cargo, why terrorists may look there next.
Take a break first, from New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Go to the airport today, and your bags will be checked. They'll look at your laptop, sniff your sneakers, and, as of this week, make sure your cell phone or camera isn't a stun gun or a bomb.
You'll be slowed down, put upon, maybe even grudgingly impressed at the work being done to keep you safe.
But should you be? Some would say no, because of what comes along with you on the flight, right under your seat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): It is an enormous business, the billions of dollars of goods each year that are shipped as cargo on the nation's passenger airlines. But unlike passengers' baggage, only about 25 percent of the cargo is currently subject to screening.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: We have a very sloppy air cargo shipping system.
BROWN: But at Stonepath Logistics in Southern California, which sends freight around the world, managers say practically everything that can be done to prevent terrorism already is being done.
GUY FOX, PRESIDENT, STONEPATH LOGISTICS: We pick it up directly from the manufacturers in the United States, and we -- with our own trucks. We do all the bookings. We handle the cargo. We deliver it directly to the airlines ourselves. So the whole process is very secure.
BROWN: But many in Congress feel it is not good enough. Legislation has passed the House and is pending in the Senate to physically screen all cargo -- all of it -- carried by the airlines.
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: We know that we have done just about everything humanly possible to secure airplanes in our country. But there is one thing left to do, and that is to secure our air cargo system.
BROWN: In the real world, however, where customers demand shipments quickly and at low cost, cargo managers say politicians just don't understand what it takes to make the system work.
FOX: The problem is that they don't understand the process, and how this would encumber the supply chain and make it very difficult for people and companies to do their shipping.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Late in May, the secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, came in for a grilling in Congress on this question of cargo screening.
Congressman Ed Markey was one of the lawmakers asking the questions. He's the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee. He joins us tonight from Watertown, just outside of Boston.
Good to see you, congressman.
REP. ED MARKEY (D-MA), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Thank you, Aaron.
BROWN: The shipper says you don't understand. I guess you differ.
MARKEY: Well, the problem is that you, Aaron, and I, and your viewers, we're known trippers. That is, that when we go to the airport, people should know who we are. But still they say, Give us your ID. Let us go through your bags. Please take off your shoes and put them through the metal detector.
And then at the end of the process, everything is handed back to you. We're known trippers. However, after a couple of hundred people go through that, they're sitting in their seats, their bags have been screened, underneath their feet of those screened shoes comes all the cargo going onto the plane. None of it is screened on any passenger plane in the United States.
That's the known shipper program. Under that, they don't screen. You just hand over a piece of paper, and they trust you that you haven't put a bomb or you haven't allowed some device to be put into that packaging which will cause a problem on that plane.
And moreover -- and this is unbelievable -- if it's under 16 ounces, not only don't they screen it, you don't even have to produce a piece of paper for it. It just goes on the plane automatically.
BROWN: Congress mandated that all luggage be screened, that it go through either hand checks, which are cumbersome, obviously, or X- rayed in one form or another. Why, when that legislation was passed, who was putting pressure on Congress not to include cargo?
MARKEY: Well, in the House of Representatives, my amendment has passed that will require cargo to be screened on passenger planes. But in the Senate, the Bush administration is adamantly opposed to screening cargo that go on passenger planes, the airlines, the cargo industry.
And, as a result, it is highly unlikely that it is going to pass the United States Senate. It just doesn't look like the votes are there for it.
So we're going to have a powerful conference committee with my amendment in the House pitted against the Senate without it included, with the Bush administration demanding that there be no screening of cargo going onto passenger planes, which I think is just an absolute scandal.
BROWN: Just a quick question here, and then a couple of others. Do you think people, by and large, before seeing this report and hearing this conversation, do you think that people by and large knew that the car -- A, that there is a lot of cargo on planes, passenger planes, and, B, that it wasn't screened at all?
MARKEY: Yes, first, it's 22 percent of all air cargo is actually put on passenger planes, not on cargo planes. That's a kind of a shockingly high number.
And secondly, I guess because people have to go through so much discomforture in order to themselves be seated on a plane, that they wouldn't believe that an aperture so large would be allowed to be open under their feet, where cargo was put on without any screening at all, because it just doesn't seem logical at all.
BROWN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), is the cargo industry, I guess that's what we're talking about here, are they throwing a lot of lobbyists at the problem? Are they working the problem, or do they not need to because the administration has taken a position? MARKEY: Well, they were shocked when my amendment passed the House of Representatives. And by the way, there are no more frequent flyers than members of Congress. I mean, we each have to fly back and forth to our district 30, 40 times a year.
So it passed, mainly because there was no lobbying against it, because members were able to vote their own family's self-interest. But now they've got a full-court press on in the Senate, joined by the White House that does not want to have the money spent which will ensure that these cargo items are screened.
And to my way of thinking, it is absolutely penny-wise and pound- foolish, because the less confidence that the American people have that passenger planes are secure, is the less likely people are going get on those planes. And we won't be able to get our economy fully revived.
BROWN: And finally and quickly, do you have any idea what the cost of all of this would be?
MARKEY: Well, Boeing testified before us. They actually produce all the machines that are now used to screen our bags, and the human beings which are put on planes. And they say that the very same type of technology can be used for cargo.
So whatever it costs for human beings, the same cost would probably be there for cargo. But I think they would reap the rewards of increased confidence of the American flying public if they gave that little extra measure of security.
Otherwise, I'm afraid that al Qaeda will exploit that opening, and we could result in another tragedy, only because we weren't willing to spend the money to screen the cargo that goes on these passenger planes.
BROWN: Congressman, good to talk to you again. Thank you very much.
MARKEY: Thank you, sir.
BROWN: Congressman Ed Markey, outside of Boston tonight.
Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, one day after the decision, the fallout now on the gay bishop. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The latest now on the Episcopal Church, where there have been lots of tears shed since last night, when an openly gay man was elevated to bishop. Tears among those ecstatic about the decision, and tears of mourning for those who think this is a travesty to the faith.
As we said last night, sometimes an important move isn't the end of something, but simply the beginning. And today we saw the proof of that. Clear signs that opponents will continue fighting the decision, or even break from the church if they have to.
Reporting for us, CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BISHOP-ELECT GENE ROBINSON, FIRST OPENLY GAY EPISCOPAL BISHOP: Anytime anybody wants to make me cry, this is the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As newly approved Bishop-elect Gene Robinson autographed hymn books for well- wishers, opponents argued the first openly gay bishop is signing away Anglican credibility at home and around the world. It was all too much for Reverend David Roseberry.
REV. DAVID ROSEBERRY, PLANO, TEXAS: It sends the message that I fear, which is that homosexual union is a wholesome example for the flock of Christ.
CANDIOTTI: The Episcopal priest from Plano, Texas, staged a symbolic walkout from the conference, refusing to vote on any more issues. He and his wife signed a statement of protest sponsored by the conservative Anglican American Council. For Pastor Roseberry and his wife, Bishop-elect Robinson's relationship with another man cannot be overlooked.
ROSEBERRY: This is a very clear violation of the teaching of the scriptures.
CANDIOTTI: Pastor Roseberry agonizes over what he'll tell his 4,500 parishioners. His church claims the largest attendance in the U.S.
FRAN ROSEBERRY: Some will choose to leave the Episcopal Church and find another place to worship and serve.
ROSEBERRY: There are some decisions that should be lost even though they're voted on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This church will never be the same. This church will never be the same.
CANDIOTTI: On the convention floor, a brief formal protest, and fear of a backlash abroad, pressure on the Anglican's faith's spiritual leader, the archbishop of Canterbury, to intervene.
REV. DAVID PHILLIPS, CHURCH SOCIETY IN BRITAIN: The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in terms of the fellowship of the Anglican community is -- it seems to me that it will now fall apart.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Have you heard that before?
BARBARA HARRIS, FIRST FEMALE EPISCOPAL BISHOP: Indeed I have.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): In 1989, Bishop Barbara Harris became the first Episcopal female bishop. HARRIS: The church has managed to weather these kinds of storms of controversy, with people leaving, and others coming because of the same reasons that some people leave.
CANDIOTTI: Not everyone is cheering the Episcopal Church's historic step of inclusion. This fall in Texas, opponents will debate their next step, insisting they, not Robinson and his supporters, are in the mainstream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: The Episcopal Church is also one ballot away from giving the bishop in each diocese the option of developing a blessing ceremony for same-sex couples, in yet another controversial move, Aaron.
BROWN: Boy, they're taking them all on this year. Thank you very much, Susan. Susan Candiotti has been in the Twin Cities this week dealing with that story.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, Arnold takes on the recall. The decision, in his own words, after the break.
NEWSNIGHT on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, no matter how well "Terminator 3" did in the theaters, the big premiere this summer for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the one that will be remembered best, happened tonight.
Here's a look at more of his announcement this evening in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: First of all, let me just say, thank you very much for assembling so quickly here and being part of this announcement.
As I said earlier, this was a very difficult decision to make. As I always have said, that when I'm finished with my "Terminator" promotion, I would then deal with this issue if I would run or not. Well, last week, on Thursday, I visited my last city, which was Mexico City. And after I came back, I started talking to my wife about this, and with my children about this, about the idea of running for governor.
And they don't give you much time for something like that. This time it was a very -- had to be a very quick decision. So within two weeks, wanted to make up their mind.
So I -- my wife told me that she will support me no matter what the decision is. And I therefore decided to run for governor of this great state, because I feel very strongly that you have some very serious problems in this state. And the biggest problem that we have is that California is being run now by special interests. All of the politicians are not any more making the moves for the people, but for special interests. And we have to stop that.
And so this is why I'm running for governor. I will go to Sacramento, and I will clean house. I will change that. As you know, I don't need to take any money from anybody. I have plenty of money myself. I will make the decisions for the people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody around you says that you have caught them in a big surprise. When did you tell Maria Shriver you were going to run?
SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, Maria and I, as I said, had discussions over the last two weeks. And slowly it crystallized of what my decision would be, that I will be running for governor of the state of California. And this is a process that was a very long and very difficult process, because you have to put all of those things on a scale.
You have to put on a scale, you know, that you're stopping with the movie career, you're stopping some of the business relationships that make you a lot of money. You have to put on that scale also of what effect this is going to have on your family and your children. The children are very important to me.
I speak directly to the people. And I know that the people of California want to have better leadership. They want to have great leadership. They want to have somebody that will represent them. It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, if you're young or old, what the racial is -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- thing is.
Nothing matters to me. To me, what matters is that I want to represent everyone in California. That is the important thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
SCHWARZENEGGER: They -- everyone is welcome. As you know, I am an immigrant. I came over here as an immigrant. And what gave me the opportunities, what made me be able to be here today, is the open arms of Americans.
I have been received. I have been adopted to America. I have gotten all the opportunities because of America. I have seen firsthand, coming over here with empty pockets, but full of dreams, full of desire, full of will to succeed.
But with the opportunities that I had available, I could make it. And that's what I want everyone to be able to do. This is why we have to give back and bring California back where it once was.
We have such a great state. There's no reason why we are in the state that we're in today.
(CROSSTALK) SCHWARZENEGGER: Thank you. Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes, okay. Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Thank you. And I'll be back. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: "I'll be back." We'll see how many times we hear that. I'll be back too. Morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Okey-dokey, time to check morning papers.
The guy who won the lottery and then had -- lost four -- $500,000, $545,000. You shouldn't carry cash, OK? Get traveler's checks.
Time to check morning papers. The -- well, I already said that, didn't I?
"The Hartford Courant." I think this is the debut. It's an interesting day for newspaper editors, because there are a couple big water-cooler stories, the Arnold Schwarzenegger story, the Kobe Bryant story, OK?
And "The Courant" goes this way. They don't do Kobe, they do do Arnold. "Arnold Terminates Doubt," is the headline. "Says He'll Run in Attempt to Oust Davis in California Recall Election." But the story I like best, because I'm kind of a privacy nut, "Privacy Rules Stymie Police, New Laws Make Hospitals Balk," a word that's hard for me to say, "on Patient Reports."
I know many of you are at home saying, That's not the only word that's hard for you to say. Thank you very much.
"The Washington Times," "Arnold to Run for Governor in California." Put that there. Big story, "Bryant Case Prompts Media Feeding Frenzy." Jeffrey Toobin had a slightly different take on that, but that's why there are different sources of news.
Down at the bottom here, I found this interesting. Maybe the paper's leading with its politics a bit. "Dean's Budget-balancing Act Left Taxpayers in the Red, Bush Campaign Braces to Slam Record." I'm not sure that that's necessarily a great issue for the Bush campaign, but perhaps it is. Anyway, Governor Dean raised some taxes, but he had no deficit. I guess it depends on what you want.
"The Oregonian," out in Portland, Oregon, they don't put Kobe on the front page, which I found interesting. "Schwarzenegger Decides to Run in California," straightforward headline. Got to go way to the top of the page, now, guys. "Blazers," that's the basketball Blazers, not the sport coat, "Announce More Changes." The team will cut season ticket prices and institute a mission statement that includes a player code of conduct. Like, don't get arrested.
"Variety," this is the Gotham edition. We really wish we had the L.A. edition, which is probably bigger and cooler, but it's what we got, OK? And "Now It's Really a Total Recall." Those of you keeping track of the wordplays on the Schwarzenegger thing, that's two just today.
All right. How much time do we have?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty seconds.
BROWN: OK, I could go off at any moment here. The weather in Chicago is "Jim-Dandy."
"The Chicago Sun Times," "Judge Walks Sox Brawler." Remember the guy that jumps out of the stands and pounds the Kansas City Royals' first base coach? He's not going to jail. You don't go to jail. Because the judge blames baseball for the violence. Baseball made that guy jump out of the stands and do that.
OK. I'll calm down now. We'll see you all tomorrow. Until then, good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
California; Kobe Bryant Appears in Court; Fallout on Election of Openly Gay Bishop>
Aired August 6, 2003 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, everyone.
It seemed like everyone else was in the California governor's race. There were the politicians, of course. There was the smut king, the comedian, the former child actor, Gary Coleman in. It seemed like all we needed was a cartoon character and a superhero. We'll wait for Pluto to declare.
But the race got its superhero tonight when Arnold Schwarzenegger surprised just about everyone and decided he would make the race for California governor. It worked for Ronald Reagan and it worked for song and dance man George Murphy who went to the U.S. Senate. Will it work for the former bodybuilder turned actor turned big-time politician tonight?
It is where we begin the whip. Jeff Greenfield covering the decision that stunned just about everybody including Jeff, Jeff a headline.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Aaron, the most unanticipated, unprecedented, unpredictable election since, well, since the 2000 presidential race just got a whole lot more of all of the above. Just a few hours ago an event we were all sure wasn't going to happen did.
BROWN: Jeff, back to you at the top tonight.
On to Eagle, Colorado now, Kobe Bryant's day in court. Deborah Feyerick is on that for us so, Deborah, a headline from you.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, Kobe Bryant came to court, the last place he wanted to be, to face the sexual assault charges against him.
BROWN: And, Deborah, thank you.
On to the continuing fallout, after the decision last night, to approve the first openly gay Episcopalian bishop Susan Candiotti still in Minneapolis so, Susan, a headline from you tonight.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Aaron. Opponents of that historic selection of the first openly gay bishop stage a formal protest on the convention floor and make plans for their next move.
BROWN: Susan, thank you, back to you and the rest shortly.
Also coming up on a busy NEWSNIGHT, we'll look at what's not getting screened when you fly and why. We'll talk with Congressman Ed Markey about what he sees as a huge vulnerability in airline security, cargo shipped on passenger flights.
And, when the rooster crows you know it's time for NEWSNIGHT's own trademark, patented, extra special, unparalleled look through the morning papers which ought to be fascinating today, all that and more to come in the hour ahead.
We begin with the circus, and it will be a circus, for all its importance, after all we are talking about the governor of the largest state in the union, one of the most political jobs in the country. It is California. It is California politics and it got a good deal crazier tonight.
Until tonight, it seemed like the pressing question was would the Democrats field a candidate to protect the party? That's still the question. It got a whole lot more complicated.
We turn to CNN's Jeff Greenfield - Jeff.
GREENFIELD: Aaron, one of the most famous lines out of Hollywood is screenwriter William Goldman's observation about the movies, nobody knows anything. Tonight, that's a pretty good guide to California politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Tonight, he will tell us...
GREENFIELD (voice-over): Here's why they should never call it political science.
LENO: Please welcome Arnold Schwarzenegger, ladies and gentlemen.
GREENFIELD: All the experts, all the insiders knew that Arnold Schwarzenegger would not be jumping into the race for California governor, after all who would go on "The Tonight Show" to announce a candidacy for public office? Well, that's exactly what Arnold Schwarzenegger did.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: I'm going to run for governor for the state of California.
GREENFIELD: And, at a press conference later he explained what led up to that decision and what the theme of his campaign would be.
SCHWARZENEGGER: I will go to Sacramento and I will clean house. I will change that. As you know, I don't need to take any money from anybody. I have plenty of money myself. I will make the decisions for the people.
My wife told me that she will support me no matter what the decision is and I, therefore, decided to run for governor of this great state because I feel very strongly that we have some serious problems in this state.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD: Now with writer Arianna Huffington entering the race earlier today, Schwarzenegger's entry raises at least one possibility. We may see the first political debate ever to require a simultaneous translation but it also raises a more consequential issue when people with unconventional backgrounds come into this arena is that a sign of political trouble or vitality?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD (voice-over): In earlier times, Americans used to assume that military leadership was a near infallible sign of political skill but we haven't picked a general to lead us in more than half a century.
Ronald Reagan may have been an ex-actor when he began his public life but in political terms, at least, he is one of our most formidable presidents. Bill Bradley's days on the basketball court didn't overshadow his 18 years in the U.S. Senate.
And, even a more flamboyant past, Jesse Ventura's wrestling career didn't stop the politically engaged citizens of Minnesota from choosing him as their governor.
Yes, some of those now throwing their hats or thongs or whatever into that California race do seem hard pressed to offer much besides notoriety.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GREENFIELD: But there is another consequence that sometimes follows the arrival of candidates without traditional resumes, like Schwarzenegger. They often appeal to the most alienated of voters, those who think all politicians are the same, when Ross Perot ran for president, when Jesse Ventura ran for governor of Minnesota, the turn out spiked sharply.
If that possibility makes worried Democrats even more worried, we may see yet another drama unfold. Will Democrats still remain firm in not putting anyone from their party on the recall ballot now that Schwarzenegger's in? They've got five days left, Aaron, to figure that one out.
BROWN: All right, what do the polls tell us about Schwarzenegger?
GREENFIELD: Well, our guru, Mr. Schneider, mentioned earlier tonight that the California voters have a lot of hesitancy about Schwarzenegger that they're not quite sure that he hits the credibility threshold and that's going to be his great challenge in the next two months to move from the celebrity to the formidable figure. Remember, he's not matched against Gray Davis. BROWN: I'm sorry. Does he put himself - right -- does he put himself in a situation then where he has to debate or does he do this on television where they can package him and, you'll forgive me, he can act?
GREENFIELD: No, and I think that that is going to be the key decision and I think what they have to do, Schwarzenegger's people, is to put him in forums where he can demonstrate that he has the chops to be a public policy guy.
Now, just very quickly, there was a piece a couple of months ago in "Esquire" that painted a very different picture of Schwarzenegger then, the movie star. It followed him through his foundation and charitable work and the author was quite impressed with Schwarzenegger's grip of public policy issues.
That's the Arnold Schwarzenegger his people and that he have to show us and, indeed, if that includes a debate among the want to be's that's what's going to have to happen.
BROWN: And on the Democratic side, the landscape changed.
GREENFIELD: Dramatically. I still think, I have no proof of this but really it's late at night, that the withdrawal of Dianne Feinstein, her absolute statement, I will not be in the race, may have tipped the scales for Schwarzenegger because she's a moderate Democrat and they share some views. She is now out.
I think it made it more attractive for Schwarzenegger to come in. It makes it much harder for Democrats to paint the recall as simply a right wing coup because Schwarzenegger is pro-choice, pro gay rights.
BROWN: Who's the big loser in this, is it Gray Davis, or is it those other Republicans?
GREENFIELD: Well, Congressman Issa and Bill Simon, both multimillionaires who plan to spend millions.
BROWN: But they're all millionaires.
GREENFIELD: That's true.
BROWN: Nobody is borrowing money (unintelligible).
GREENFIELD: No, I think the entry fee on this is eight figure net worth but I think Darryl Issa and Bill Simon immediately are losers because Schwarzenegger probably is a more saleable, you should pardon the expression, candidate but I think the Democratic Party, you know, big labor told the Democrats just a few days ago stay out of this. We're going to give millions to David but, boy, they have now got an even more tricky decision to make than they did 24 hours ago.
BROWN: Thank you. We probably shouldn't say this but it's moments like this when you realize how much fun politics can be when you just get blindsided.
GREENFIELD: No, you're allowed. It's high drama. It's a little farce. It's sometimes comedy and it's really consequential.
BROWN: It is indeed. Thank you. We talked, Jeff mentioned Arianna Huffington a moment ago. We talked to her a while back. Tonight, just shortly after the announcement, it's fair to say it all upstaged her announcement earlier in the day that she would run.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Well, Arianna, there does seem to be tonight an elephant in the room and I suppose we ought to acknowledge it. I know you'd rather talk about your own candidacy. Were you surprised by Mr. Schwarzenegger's decision?
ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I was surprised but actually very gratified because one of the things that I would love most in this race is to give the opportunity to a lot of new voters or unlikely voters as the pollsters call them to tune in.
And, I believe that the more voters tune in, whether it's because of Schwarzenegger's celebrity or even the freakish nature of the recall election, the march on for the progressive agendas I'm running on we have to be hard and to be espoused.
BROWN: You wouldn't spin me, would you?
HUFFINGTON: No, I wouldn't. You know we have our slogans already. This is the Hummer versus the hybrid campaign. I arrived here in my hybrid and Schwarzenegger has been a spokesman for the Hummer, the least fuel efficient vehicle on the road.
BROWN: Does this - we'll move off this in a question or two but does this in a way turn it into in terms of media at least a two-man race that will make it harder for you and others to break through?
HUFFINGTON: I really do not think so because Schwarzenegger is going to run as a Bush Republican. He's going to take on Gray Davis because of his fiscal irresponsibility and that's going to be laughable because I'm going to counter that with the fiscal insanity going on in Washington, the Bush administration, the Republican Congress.
And, like a good Republican, which he is, Schwarzenegger will have to defend them. So, that's going to be a huge vulnerability in a state which has really suffered because of Bush's economic policies, including the very cozy relationship of the Bush administration to Enron and other energy companies that have cost California billions of dollars.
BROWN: I want to talk more about your candidacy in a second. Let me ask you one more broad political question. Do you actually think this recall is a good idea?
HUFFINGTON: No, I have been against the recall process, the fact that signatures were collected and because money was spent for signature gatherers. After all, Gray Davis was elected fair and square nine months ago but now we're in a different stage. The recall is going to be on the ballot and it gives a historic opportunity to an outsider to run on a progressive agenda.
BROWN: And so you will try and convince voters that you ought to be the governor of the state of California because you can do what?
HUFFINGTON: Because I can break the stranglehold of money in California politics.
BROWN: How?
HUFFINGTON: If you look at - how? Because I'm coming in as an Independent and not being beholding to any special interest, without being beholding to either political party.
Secondly, to come in and look for example at the budget and look at our perverse priorities here and look, just to give you one example, at the fact that we have billions of dollars in uncollected tax revenues because of tax loopholes, tax shelters, and the most powerful, the people with the most money and access are not paying their fair share of taxes.
That would be my beginning of handling the budget debacle and also, because I'll be able to use the bully pulpit to speak directly to the people. You know in order to get through the log jam in Sacramento you have to appeal to the people.
Just look at Washington. We would not have Sarbanes-Oxley, as you know very well, had it not been for the public outrage after WorldCom, and because of that even people like Phil Graham who had introduced 36 amendments against Sarbanes voted for it. So, politicians always understand and change their views when the public is outraged.
BROWN: Just a final question here, Arianna. Who is, in your mind who do you see voting for you? Who is the Huffington voter?
HUFFINGTON: Well, if I look at the people who went to the run Arianna run Web site and are now going to the Arianna for Gov Web site which we launched today and contributing money and offering volunteer time, they're really across the spectrum.
They're young people. They're minorities but they're also soccer moms frustrated with business as usual. They're all the people who have given up on the system. They are in many ways the standard independent voter, the Ventura voter, the Perot voter, as well as a lot of Latinos and African-Americans who have been feeling shut out of the system.
BROWN: I have no doubt that you will make this race even more interesting than it otherwise would have been. It would have been pretty interesting anyway. So, in that regard we're glad you're in and we appreciate your time tonight. Thanks a lot.
HUFFINGTON: Thank you, Aaron.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Arianna Huffington a short time ago.
We're joined in Los Angeles tonight by political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior scholar at the University of Southern California and someone we envy tonight. She certainly has a front row set in all that's about to play out. Just quickly, were you surprised?
SHERRY BEBITCH JEFFE, POLITICAL ANALYST, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: A little bit. About a day or two ago when things started to get iffy and Schwarzenegger started to play "Hamlet" a little nuggle (ph) in my tummy told me it's not 100 percent sure. There's an axiom in politics, always leave two percent for double cross and I expect that's part of what was going on here.
BROWN: Do you think - I'm sorry, do you think the Feinstein decision played a role?
JEFFE: Yes. I think Jeff is absolutely correct. The Feinstein decision changed the dynamics of the race and I do believe that once she was out of the race, Schwarzenegger felt that he could step in. They are somewhat close in ideology as is former Mayor Richard Riordan, and I think it looked to Schwarzenegger that it might be something he could put together.
BROWN: I just have a million things I want to ask here.
JEFFE: Go right ahead.
BROWN: Well, we'll see how many we get through. Mr. Riordan, Dick Riordan, the former mayor of Los Angeles got to be considered a loser in all of this because he had a pretty good shot at this.
JEFFE: Oh, I think he would have made, quite frankly, a stronger candidate in this recall replacement election than Schwarzenegger because he too is a moderate. He has served in an executive position in the state.
He's better known as a politician, as an elected official but I kind of wonder because Arnold Schwarzenegger and Richard Riordan have been on the phone and negotiating constantly whether or not this was a mutual decision and I wonder whether Richard Riordan in the end will consider himself a loser.
BROWN: What now of Mr. Simon and Congressman Issa?
JEFFE: Very good question. I think the Simon candidacy now may be a real question mark. Congressman Issa is in the race. He has a headquarters. He's running hard for governor for the state of California but as one Republican put it the other day, the Republican Party will thank Darryl Issa and then stomp on his face. He is not a strong candidate and he's not considered to be even among Republicans.
BROWN: Just one more on the Republicans, this is not unique to California, the California Republican Party is considerably, I think it's fair to say, more conservative than the electorate as a whole in California.
JEFFE: Exactly.
BROWN: Will establishment Republicans, because winning in the end is what matters, support Schwarzenegger and abandon the conservative positions on gay rights and choice and the rest?
JEFFE: Well, I think the leaders of the Republican Party and the leaders of the Republicans in the legislature will. They are far more pragmatic than the hard right conservative activists who constitute the party's base and it's going to be interesting to see how those activists move.
I don't think that they will necessarily abandon their conservative candidates but if there are several there will be Tom McClintock I'm sure. There will be Darryl Issa, perhaps Bill Simon. That could be helpful to the moderate in the race Arnold Schwarzenegger.
BROWN: All right, on the Democratic side, we've got about two minutes left and still some ground to cover, do they -- does the party now need to rethink?
JEFFE: I heard on the way over that both Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi will be announcing tomorrow that they will be entering the gubernatorial race, if that's the case, that's your answer.
BROWN: Is it inconceivable that Governor Davis will resign and the Lieutenant Governor will just take the job, the recall is over and we don't talk to each other again for two years?
JEFFE: Wait, wait, wait. The recall isn't over.
BROWN: It's not, it would happen anyway?
JEFFE: It still goes through, exactly, and if the recall fails and the lieutenant governor is the new governor he will remain in the office of governor. If the recall passes, he's out an whoever is elected in the replacement election becomes the new governor upon certification of the election.
But, as to whether or not Gray Davis will resign, I have learned never to say never in politics and, believe me after today, I'm never, never, ever going to say never in politics but Gray Davis doesn't have the genes that would allow him to resign. He is a fighter. I think he enjoys campaigning far more than he enjoys governing so I don't see that at this point in time but you can't rule anything out in this election.
BROWN: Is Mr. Schwarzenegger electable would you guess in the state of California today?
JEFFE: It depends on who else is on the ballot. It depends on how the campaign unfolds. He is a moderate Republican; however, the demographics still favor the Democratic Party. I expect that in this kind of a situation sure he's got a chance.
BROWN: Professor, I suspect we'll spend some time together. Thank you.
JEFFE: Thanks.
BROWN: We'll get our California political education from you anytime, thank you.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, we'll have more on the Schwarzenegger decision. We'll play a large chunk from his press conference. That's coming up a little bit later.
In court and on camera, the Kobe Bryant circus begins. Maybe it wasn't so much of a circus today.
And, they check your bags but not the boxes, what's being left out of airport security.
Much ahead, from New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: On to the Kobe Bryant story and two remarkable images. There was an image tonight of Mr. Bryant winning the Teen Choice Award, Male Athlete of the Year four years running, a reminder of the Kobe Bryant the public thought it knew, the good guy and the role model.
And, then there was the image we saw late this afternoon, Kobe Bryant the defendant in a rape case in court for the first time, a seven minute hearing that didn't say a whole lot about the case but did say a fair amount about the kind of media circus it promises to be.
Once again here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice-over): All these cameras, all this fuss.
BILLY FARR, TOURIST: I can't believe a little bitty town, little bitty courthouse like this has got this many cameras.
FEYERICK: All for one man, Kobe Bryant, the show's reluctant star looking somber as he entered the Eagle County Courthouse. A handful of cheering fans shouted his name but there were no waves, no thumbs up as Bryant walked from his three car motorcade.
His wife, Vanessa, was not with him and he had no police escort, bringing instead his lawyer and his own security. The court appearance started at 4:00 on the dot Denver time.
PAMELA MACKEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Do you waive any further or advisement of the charge.
FEYERICK: Bryant's lawyer, Pamela Mackey waiving her client's right to hear the sexual assault charge against him read. The judge set a preliminary hearing for October 9th, longer than the standard 30-day time period.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have requested a hearing. The rule requires that if you request that hearing be held within 30 days any objection to that being waived?
KOBE BRYANT, DEFENDANT: No, sir.
FEYERICK: Those two words, no sir, were the only words Bryant spoke in court. The judge appointed a special investigator to look into alleged leaks, Bryant's lawyers accusing the sheriff and other authorities of talking to the media despite a court order prohibiting it. Then, seven minutes after Kobe Bryant took a seat before the judge he was gone, the cameras and commentary hotter than ever.
NORMAN GILPIN, RESIDENT: When Wallace Simpson and the King of England got together there wasn't all this.
FEYERICK: And all this, locals say, has a good and bad side.
MICHAEL CACIOPPO: The bad is that if the alleged victim is in fact a victim it's bad for her. The good is that it has driven Eagle County and the publicity surrounding Eagle County and Vail, Colorado is publicity we can't buy good or bad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: So, everyone will be back here in two months for the preliminary hearing. A former prosecutor tells me at that time it's likely that the D.A. will lay out 90 to 95 percent of the evidence in this case and that could include a statement either in person or on videotape by the young woman herself. Meantime, Kobe Bryant didn't stick around. He took off an hour after landing -- Aaron.
BROWN: And, has a decision been made on whether the trial itself will be televised?
FEYERICK: It is very likely that the trial will be televised but right now what will happen is if this judge determines that there's probable cause it will be bumped up to another court, the district court, so a different judge will have to make that decision.
And, Aaron, just to let you know, an attorney I spoke to out here says usually a trial like this would take maybe one and a half to two days but they're expecting that this will take either a week or longer.
BROWN: Deborah, thank you, busy day there, Deborah Feyerick on this for us.
Also working the story out in Eagle, Colorado tonight, Jeffrey Toobin our legal analyst, Jeffrey are you there?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Aaron. Here I am.
BROWN: There you are. Jeffrey you and I met in the mother of all media circuses the O.J. Simpson case. I want your take on how the media has behaved, what your impressions were of that today and then we'll move on.
TOOBIN: You know I think most people love to hate the media and there's a lot to hate but, you know, I really don't think this qualifies as a circus, as a frenzy. Certainly, there's a lot of coverage but in terms of affecting the results, I don't think there was much of any.
I mean as you pointed out, you know, this was a seven minute hearing. I talked to lawyers here and I said well if this was an ordinary case how long would this hearing take? They'd say oh about five or ten minutes.
But there has not been, I think, much of an affect on the actual proceedings and I think that's what really matters. Sure, there's a lot of attention but I think the press has by and large behaved pretty responsibly.
BROWN: Would you in these -- just a thought here -- in these high profile cases it's not just the press that can behave or misbehave. It is also the principals who can play to the cameras or not play to the cameras depending on their inclination and they have something to say about it.
TOOBIN: That's for sure and I think in the Simpson case most of us agree who followed it closely that the cameras did have an impact and I think by and large a negative impact on basically everyone and everything.
But I think if you look at cameras in the courtroom generally, in virtually every other case in which they've been present, I think most people would agree that they haven't had much of an impact except allowing the public to see what are after all supposed to be public proceedings.
BROWN: Did we get any idea of how good his, Mr. Bryant's, representation is today?
TOOBIN: I think we got a good idea that they are awfully good. The one substantive thing the judge did besides scheduling the preliminary hearing is that he said that a sheriff from another county was going to be appointed to investigate whether there had been leaks in the sheriff's and in the prosecutor's office.
So that means here at this extremely early stage the government is already on the defensive. They are going to have to defend their conduct, perhaps produce records of their contacts with the news media.
Maybe it will not amount to anything that hurts the government's case but it just shows aggressive defense attorneys, you know, may turn up something and, you know, every minute that's devoted to this investigation is a minute not devoted to prosecuting Kobe Bryant and that can only be good for the defense. BROWN: Well, you've been prowling around out there. I will assume that somebody is leaking like a sieve out there. Do you have a feeling that this is in any sense any more complicated a case than you thought it was a week ago?
TOOBIN: Well, you know, first actually, Aaron, maybe it's just I'm not getting lucky or I'm not as good as I thought. I don't think people are leaking all that much. There is a lot of evidence, indeed much of the evidence that we simply don't know. We'll certainly know a lot more on October 9th.
This is not a complicated case. It's not the Enron case but in addition to the testimony of the accuser there will be a surrounding effort, there will be an effort by the prosecutors to surround her with corroboration, with witnesses who saw her with her injuries perhaps, with perhaps Kobe Bryant's statements that may turn out to be incriminating.
So, there's more to it than just he-said she-said and I think the prosecutors better hope that there's more to it than that because he- said she-said is tough beyond a reasonable doubt.
BROWN: And you'll probably be spending the next several months commuting between northern California and Eagle, Colorado. Thank you, Jeffrey.
TOOBIN: Well, I'll tell you I could do worse.
BROWN: Yes, you could. Yes, you could. Thank you very much, Jeffrey Toobin with us tonight in Colorado.
Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, Representative Ed Markey joins us to talk about air cargo, why terrorists may look there next.
Take a break first, from New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Go to the airport today, and your bags will be checked. They'll look at your laptop, sniff your sneakers, and, as of this week, make sure your cell phone or camera isn't a stun gun or a bomb.
You'll be slowed down, put upon, maybe even grudgingly impressed at the work being done to keep you safe.
But should you be? Some would say no, because of what comes along with you on the flight, right under your seat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): It is an enormous business, the billions of dollars of goods each year that are shipped as cargo on the nation's passenger airlines. But unlike passengers' baggage, only about 25 percent of the cargo is currently subject to screening.
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: We have a very sloppy air cargo shipping system.
BROWN: But at Stonepath Logistics in Southern California, which sends freight around the world, managers say practically everything that can be done to prevent terrorism already is being done.
GUY FOX, PRESIDENT, STONEPATH LOGISTICS: We pick it up directly from the manufacturers in the United States, and we -- with our own trucks. We do all the bookings. We handle the cargo. We deliver it directly to the airlines ourselves. So the whole process is very secure.
BROWN: But many in Congress feel it is not good enough. Legislation has passed the House and is pending in the Senate to physically screen all cargo -- all of it -- carried by the airlines.
SEN. KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: We know that we have done just about everything humanly possible to secure airplanes in our country. But there is one thing left to do, and that is to secure our air cargo system.
BROWN: In the real world, however, where customers demand shipments quickly and at low cost, cargo managers say politicians just don't understand what it takes to make the system work.
FOX: The problem is that they don't understand the process, and how this would encumber the supply chain and make it very difficult for people and companies to do their shipping.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Late in May, the secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, came in for a grilling in Congress on this question of cargo screening.
Congressman Ed Markey was one of the lawmakers asking the questions. He's the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee. He joins us tonight from Watertown, just outside of Boston.
Good to see you, congressman.
REP. ED MARKEY (D-MA), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: Thank you, Aaron.
BROWN: The shipper says you don't understand. I guess you differ.
MARKEY: Well, the problem is that you, Aaron, and I, and your viewers, we're known trippers. That is, that when we go to the airport, people should know who we are. But still they say, Give us your ID. Let us go through your bags. Please take off your shoes and put them through the metal detector.
And then at the end of the process, everything is handed back to you. We're known trippers. However, after a couple of hundred people go through that, they're sitting in their seats, their bags have been screened, underneath their feet of those screened shoes comes all the cargo going onto the plane. None of it is screened on any passenger plane in the United States.
That's the known shipper program. Under that, they don't screen. You just hand over a piece of paper, and they trust you that you haven't put a bomb or you haven't allowed some device to be put into that packaging which will cause a problem on that plane.
And moreover -- and this is unbelievable -- if it's under 16 ounces, not only don't they screen it, you don't even have to produce a piece of paper for it. It just goes on the plane automatically.
BROWN: Congress mandated that all luggage be screened, that it go through either hand checks, which are cumbersome, obviously, or X- rayed in one form or another. Why, when that legislation was passed, who was putting pressure on Congress not to include cargo?
MARKEY: Well, in the House of Representatives, my amendment has passed that will require cargo to be screened on passenger planes. But in the Senate, the Bush administration is adamantly opposed to screening cargo that go on passenger planes, the airlines, the cargo industry.
And, as a result, it is highly unlikely that it is going to pass the United States Senate. It just doesn't look like the votes are there for it.
So we're going to have a powerful conference committee with my amendment in the House pitted against the Senate without it included, with the Bush administration demanding that there be no screening of cargo going onto passenger planes, which I think is just an absolute scandal.
BROWN: Just a quick question here, and then a couple of others. Do you think people, by and large, before seeing this report and hearing this conversation, do you think that people by and large knew that the car -- A, that there is a lot of cargo on planes, passenger planes, and, B, that it wasn't screened at all?
MARKEY: Yes, first, it's 22 percent of all air cargo is actually put on passenger planes, not on cargo planes. That's a kind of a shockingly high number.
And secondly, I guess because people have to go through so much discomforture in order to themselves be seated on a plane, that they wouldn't believe that an aperture so large would be allowed to be open under their feet, where cargo was put on without any screening at all, because it just doesn't seem logical at all.
BROWN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), is the cargo industry, I guess that's what we're talking about here, are they throwing a lot of lobbyists at the problem? Are they working the problem, or do they not need to because the administration has taken a position? MARKEY: Well, they were shocked when my amendment passed the House of Representatives. And by the way, there are no more frequent flyers than members of Congress. I mean, we each have to fly back and forth to our district 30, 40 times a year.
So it passed, mainly because there was no lobbying against it, because members were able to vote their own family's self-interest. But now they've got a full-court press on in the Senate, joined by the White House that does not want to have the money spent which will ensure that these cargo items are screened.
And to my way of thinking, it is absolutely penny-wise and pound- foolish, because the less confidence that the American people have that passenger planes are secure, is the less likely people are going get on those planes. And we won't be able to get our economy fully revived.
BROWN: And finally and quickly, do you have any idea what the cost of all of this would be?
MARKEY: Well, Boeing testified before us. They actually produce all the machines that are now used to screen our bags, and the human beings which are put on planes. And they say that the very same type of technology can be used for cargo.
So whatever it costs for human beings, the same cost would probably be there for cargo. But I think they would reap the rewards of increased confidence of the American flying public if they gave that little extra measure of security.
Otherwise, I'm afraid that al Qaeda will exploit that opening, and we could result in another tragedy, only because we weren't willing to spend the money to screen the cargo that goes on these passenger planes.
BROWN: Congressman, good to talk to you again. Thank you very much.
MARKEY: Thank you, sir.
BROWN: Congressman Ed Markey, outside of Boston tonight.
Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, one day after the decision, the fallout now on the gay bishop. Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The latest now on the Episcopal Church, where there have been lots of tears shed since last night, when an openly gay man was elevated to bishop. Tears among those ecstatic about the decision, and tears of mourning for those who think this is a travesty to the faith.
As we said last night, sometimes an important move isn't the end of something, but simply the beginning. And today we saw the proof of that. Clear signs that opponents will continue fighting the decision, or even break from the church if they have to.
Reporting for us, CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BISHOP-ELECT GENE ROBINSON, FIRST OPENLY GAY EPISCOPAL BISHOP: Anytime anybody wants to make me cry, this is the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As newly approved Bishop-elect Gene Robinson autographed hymn books for well- wishers, opponents argued the first openly gay bishop is signing away Anglican credibility at home and around the world. It was all too much for Reverend David Roseberry.
REV. DAVID ROSEBERRY, PLANO, TEXAS: It sends the message that I fear, which is that homosexual union is a wholesome example for the flock of Christ.
CANDIOTTI: The Episcopal priest from Plano, Texas, staged a symbolic walkout from the conference, refusing to vote on any more issues. He and his wife signed a statement of protest sponsored by the conservative Anglican American Council. For Pastor Roseberry and his wife, Bishop-elect Robinson's relationship with another man cannot be overlooked.
ROSEBERRY: This is a very clear violation of the teaching of the scriptures.
CANDIOTTI: Pastor Roseberry agonizes over what he'll tell his 4,500 parishioners. His church claims the largest attendance in the U.S.
FRAN ROSEBERRY: Some will choose to leave the Episcopal Church and find another place to worship and serve.
ROSEBERRY: There are some decisions that should be lost even though they're voted on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This church will never be the same. This church will never be the same.
CANDIOTTI: On the convention floor, a brief formal protest, and fear of a backlash abroad, pressure on the Anglican's faith's spiritual leader, the archbishop of Canterbury, to intervene.
REV. DAVID PHILLIPS, CHURCH SOCIETY IN BRITAIN: The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in terms of the fellowship of the Anglican community is -- it seems to me that it will now fall apart.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Have you heard that before?
BARBARA HARRIS, FIRST FEMALE EPISCOPAL BISHOP: Indeed I have.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): In 1989, Bishop Barbara Harris became the first Episcopal female bishop. HARRIS: The church has managed to weather these kinds of storms of controversy, with people leaving, and others coming because of the same reasons that some people leave.
CANDIOTTI: Not everyone is cheering the Episcopal Church's historic step of inclusion. This fall in Texas, opponents will debate their next step, insisting they, not Robinson and his supporters, are in the mainstream.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: The Episcopal Church is also one ballot away from giving the bishop in each diocese the option of developing a blessing ceremony for same-sex couples, in yet another controversial move, Aaron.
BROWN: Boy, they're taking them all on this year. Thank you very much, Susan. Susan Candiotti has been in the Twin Cities this week dealing with that story.
Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, Arnold takes on the recall. The decision, in his own words, after the break.
NEWSNIGHT on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, no matter how well "Terminator 3" did in the theaters, the big premiere this summer for Arnold Schwarzenegger, the one that will be remembered best, happened tonight.
Here's a look at more of his announcement this evening in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: First of all, let me just say, thank you very much for assembling so quickly here and being part of this announcement.
As I said earlier, this was a very difficult decision to make. As I always have said, that when I'm finished with my "Terminator" promotion, I would then deal with this issue if I would run or not. Well, last week, on Thursday, I visited my last city, which was Mexico City. And after I came back, I started talking to my wife about this, and with my children about this, about the idea of running for governor.
And they don't give you much time for something like that. This time it was a very -- had to be a very quick decision. So within two weeks, wanted to make up their mind.
So I -- my wife told me that she will support me no matter what the decision is. And I therefore decided to run for governor of this great state, because I feel very strongly that you have some very serious problems in this state. And the biggest problem that we have is that California is being run now by special interests. All of the politicians are not any more making the moves for the people, but for special interests. And we have to stop that.
And so this is why I'm running for governor. I will go to Sacramento, and I will clean house. I will change that. As you know, I don't need to take any money from anybody. I have plenty of money myself. I will make the decisions for the people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody around you says that you have caught them in a big surprise. When did you tell Maria Shriver you were going to run?
SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, Maria and I, as I said, had discussions over the last two weeks. And slowly it crystallized of what my decision would be, that I will be running for governor of the state of California. And this is a process that was a very long and very difficult process, because you have to put all of those things on a scale.
You have to put on a scale, you know, that you're stopping with the movie career, you're stopping some of the business relationships that make you a lot of money. You have to put on that scale also of what effect this is going to have on your family and your children. The children are very important to me.
I speak directly to the people. And I know that the people of California want to have better leadership. They want to have great leadership. They want to have somebody that will represent them. It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat or a Republican, if you're young or old, what the racial is -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- thing is.
Nothing matters to me. To me, what matters is that I want to represent everyone in California. That is the important thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
SCHWARZENEGGER: They -- everyone is welcome. As you know, I am an immigrant. I came over here as an immigrant. And what gave me the opportunities, what made me be able to be here today, is the open arms of Americans.
I have been received. I have been adopted to America. I have gotten all the opportunities because of America. I have seen firsthand, coming over here with empty pockets, but full of dreams, full of desire, full of will to succeed.
But with the opportunities that I had available, I could make it. And that's what I want everyone to be able to do. This is why we have to give back and bring California back where it once was.
We have such a great state. There's no reason why we are in the state that we're in today.
(CROSSTALK) SCHWARZENEGGER: Thank you. Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Yes, okay. Thank you very much.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Thank you. And I'll be back. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: "I'll be back." We'll see how many times we hear that. I'll be back too. Morning papers after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Okey-dokey, time to check morning papers.
The guy who won the lottery and then had -- lost four -- $500,000, $545,000. You shouldn't carry cash, OK? Get traveler's checks.
Time to check morning papers. The -- well, I already said that, didn't I?
"The Hartford Courant." I think this is the debut. It's an interesting day for newspaper editors, because there are a couple big water-cooler stories, the Arnold Schwarzenegger story, the Kobe Bryant story, OK?
And "The Courant" goes this way. They don't do Kobe, they do do Arnold. "Arnold Terminates Doubt," is the headline. "Says He'll Run in Attempt to Oust Davis in California Recall Election." But the story I like best, because I'm kind of a privacy nut, "Privacy Rules Stymie Police, New Laws Make Hospitals Balk," a word that's hard for me to say, "on Patient Reports."
I know many of you are at home saying, That's not the only word that's hard for you to say. Thank you very much.
"The Washington Times," "Arnold to Run for Governor in California." Put that there. Big story, "Bryant Case Prompts Media Feeding Frenzy." Jeffrey Toobin had a slightly different take on that, but that's why there are different sources of news.
Down at the bottom here, I found this interesting. Maybe the paper's leading with its politics a bit. "Dean's Budget-balancing Act Left Taxpayers in the Red, Bush Campaign Braces to Slam Record." I'm not sure that that's necessarily a great issue for the Bush campaign, but perhaps it is. Anyway, Governor Dean raised some taxes, but he had no deficit. I guess it depends on what you want.
"The Oregonian," out in Portland, Oregon, they don't put Kobe on the front page, which I found interesting. "Schwarzenegger Decides to Run in California," straightforward headline. Got to go way to the top of the page, now, guys. "Blazers," that's the basketball Blazers, not the sport coat, "Announce More Changes." The team will cut season ticket prices and institute a mission statement that includes a player code of conduct. Like, don't get arrested.
"Variety," this is the Gotham edition. We really wish we had the L.A. edition, which is probably bigger and cooler, but it's what we got, OK? And "Now It's Really a Total Recall." Those of you keeping track of the wordplays on the Schwarzenegger thing, that's two just today.
All right. How much time do we have?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty seconds.
BROWN: OK, I could go off at any moment here. The weather in Chicago is "Jim-Dandy."
"The Chicago Sun Times," "Judge Walks Sox Brawler." Remember the guy that jumps out of the stands and pounds the Kansas City Royals' first base coach? He's not going to jail. You don't go to jail. Because the judge blames baseball for the violence. Baseball made that guy jump out of the stands and do that.
OK. I'll calm down now. We'll see you all tomorrow. Until then, good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.
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California; Kobe Bryant Appears in Court; Fallout on Election of Openly Gay Bishop>
