Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Will Allegations of Arnold's Sexual Misconduct Change Outcome of California Recall Election?

Aired October 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.
The California recall vote is tomorrow and I find myself groping for just the right word to describe my feelings. Maybe I shouldn't have said groping. Maybe grasping is the word I was looking for.

By the time the first vote is cast it's possible that more women will have claimed to have been molested by Mr. Schwarzenegger that have actually seen and enjoyed his movies.

Anyway, by this time tomorrow all those groping stories will be replaced by all those vote counting stories. Consider this night then the alleged misbehaviors last stand.

We begin the whip on the California recall, 24 hours away from an answer, perhaps an answer. Candy Crowley a headline from you.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the big question is will the stories of 15 women change the outcome of an election in which millions of Californians will vote? Both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis, the two main players, believe the answer is yes but in very different ways -- Aaron.

BROWN: Candy, thank you. We'll be back to you at the top.

To Washington next, a change in plans from the White House on how to handle Iraq and Afghanistan, our Senior White House Correspondent John King with us tonight, John, a headline.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will take a much more active day-to- day role in managing U.S. policy in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The president says it's common sense not meant as a criticism of the Pentagon. Others are calling it a major shakeup -- Aaron.

BROWN: John, thank you.

And to David Ensor next who's following what appears to be a major escalation in the tensions in the Middle East over the weekend, David a headline from you.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, Israel's weekend attack on what it said was a terrorist camp outside Damascus in Syria has caused consternation in the Middle East region. It has caused concern here in Washington, mixed though with considerable understanding for Israel's problem.

BROWN: David, thank you, back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a Las Vegas empire built on tigers and how the attack by one of them could bring it down.

Later, another in our series of reports on America's war wounded. We'll take you to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany where the wounded make their first stop and in some cases their first steps on the way home.

And, as always, we'll end the evening with a check of what will be making news in your morning paper tomorrow, though we can't necessarily promise yours, we'll try, all that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight in California, just a day until the election and more alleged groping, more accusations of dirty politics, and maybe, just maybe, much ado about nothing.

That's because a million and a half Californians have already voted long before the charges and the countercharges came to light they cast their ballot by absentee. So, this could turn out to be a Hollywood ending foretold but just try telling that to the governor or the challenger.

Here again, CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): It comes down to this, the brawny Republican with an immigrant story and show biz in his blood, the real thin governor, a conventional politician with the soul of a bureaucrat, one hoping voters remember...

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: It's very hard for me to believe that all 15 of these women were lying.

CROWLEY: One hoping voters forget.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Now it is time that we chase Gray Davis out of Sacramento.

CROWLEY: Welcome to the election in California.

DAVIS: One more day and then hopefully three more years.

CROWLEY: In only one way does this aberrant exercise in democracy fit the template. In the final hours there are no new messages, no new ideas, just frantic comings and goings in an effort to rev up the base. It's a challenge in Camp Davis.

DAVIS: That's all right. You can applaud. I never like to discourage that. It's not a regular occurrence in my life so when people want to start I do not want to stop them. CROWLEY: Whether it's that he likes the wonk versus action figure comparison or that he cannot compete with crowd count in Arnold land, the governor favors small forums. His first event on the final day was an education discussion with children too young to vote.

DAVIS: If you get a chance to talk to your siblings who are 18 or older and your parents or your grandmother or anyone, I'd appreciate it if you would ask them to vote no as well.

CROWLEY: The placard pack balloon ridden rallies rely heavily on the most faithful, union leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our opponents don't even know what a union is about.

CROWLEY: Still, this San Francisco rally was pumped up with out of state firefighters handily in town for a meeting.

SCHWARZENEGGER: We need new leadership there. That's what we need.

CROWLEY: No imports needed in Arnold land, though it's hard to tell who plans to vote for him and who's just stargazing. The problem for the former Mr. Universe is the lurid stories of 15 women and countless rumors. A situation like this calls for the heavy lifters.

MARIA SHRIVER, WIFE OF ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: As I say to our kids who said this morning do you think daddy's going to win or lose? What do you think is going to happen? I said no matter what happens in this race your father has done an extraordinary thing.

CROWLEY: And, no, your eyes do not deceive you. There on the platform in support is Eunice Shriver, a Kennedy, a Democrat and maybe more to the point a mother-in-law.

SCHWARZENEGGER: And all the incredible women behind me thank you very much. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Now to be outdone, Governor Davis also had his wife Sharon along who told the crowd at his last rally the most my husband can be accused of is being dull and right now dull looks pretty good. One wag has already called this a race between the boorish and the boring -- Aaron.

BROWN: Has there been any polling at all since the first of these allegations surfaced on, what, Friday I guess?

CROWLEY: There has been and it was a little earlier. It was Thursday and the one newspaper poll we saw, the (unintelligible) poll did show some slippage in Arnold Schwarzenegger's favorites.

Now, the two camps of course have their internal polling and what the Schwarzenegger camp says is it isn't hurting. These people are -- his supporters are revved up because they think this is, you know, dirty campaigning so that will bring them out.

The Davis campaign says for the first time the recall numbers have gone below 50 percent, that is those who want to recall have gone below 50 percent so they're pretty hopeful. Really hard to tell who's going to come out and very hard to tell whose poll is the most accurate if any.

BROWN: And what's the best guess for turning out tomorrow, big?

CROWLEY: You know I mean one of the things that the Davis camp is saying is, look, you know this may make some people stay home saying, oh boy, they're all politicians. Never mind. I was excited about Arnold. I'm not anymore.

But they do have a huge increase in registration and obviously this vote and this election, which is seen nationwide, has in fact engaged Californians in ways they have never been engaged in before. So, you know, the odds are it will be a heavier turnout than say a presidential election.

BROWN: My goodness.

CROWLEY: But we're going to have to wait until tomorrow.

BROWN: Candy, thank you very much. We'll see you tomorrow then, Candy Crowley out in Los Angeles tonight.

Jeff Greenfield has been on the story since recall was happening only to Pontiacs and toaster ovens, I guess. He joins us from L.A. as well, nice to see you sir. Well, it was none too subtle, the women on the podium for Mr. Schwarzenegger. Do you have a gut feeling about whether the story, now several stories has hurt him or not?

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Well, I think it's hurt him some but I don't have any gut feeling about whether it will be enough to reverse what I think was going to be a substantial vote for recall and a slightly less substantial vote for Schwarzenegger.

One Republican, as we always say highly placed, told me just a few hours ago he's much more confident of Schwarzenegger coming in first on the replacement ballot and slightly less confident about the recall.

Because the question here is Arnold Schwarzenegger was mobilizing a fairly large cohort of people who didn't vote, kind of like it's the populist idea, people who think that politics are all the same and Arnold is different.

If they're discouraged from voting, not that they'll come out and vote no on recall, if they stay home that's better for Gray Davis and that's the question I think is going to decide what happens in the recall.

BROWN: So in that sort of demographic game that gets played on election day about who goes to the polls and who doesn't, what are the signs? What should we look for? GREENFIELD: Well, to me this is the key and it takes it beyond the groping and the boring and all that story. There is a low grade fever. I did a piece for you on this a while ago in the country, has been for decades of people who basically resent politics. They tend to be less educated, middle-class, lower middle-class who feel they're not getting a fair shake.

As long ago as 1946, Richard Nixon won his first congressional race by appealing to that forgotten middle-class. It was the Nixon vote. It was Reagan Democrats. They're the people who are going to put, if it happens, Arnold Schwarzenegger in the governor's chair who feel aggrieved by the car tax and feel aggrieved by the special privileges for illegal immigrants.

And, demographically, the less educated, blue collar, union Democrats are the ones that pre-election polls have shown are breaking with Davis and voting for recall. If they turn out and keep voting that way I think you're going to get a recall and a Schwarzenegger governorship.

BROWN: And now my off the wall question for the day. Whatever happened to Cruz Bustamante in this?

GREENFIELD: I believe first of all that Cruz Bustamante is getting victimized by the insider in this. Even though he and Gray Davis hold each other in minimum high regard people who are voting against the establishment, against the insiders, against the them see Bustamante as just another one of them, a career politician.

And second, if you remember that debate, the two things that people took away from that debate with respect to Bustamante were, a) I'm for higher taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and the affluent; and, b) I'm for driver's licenses and a whole lot of other things for illegal immigrants.

When you talk about that disaffected middle class and you want to touch their, you know, touch their exposed nerves you can't think of two better things and I think that and the fact that he was slapped down hard for where he got his campaign -- some of his campaign money from made the last two weeks very bad for him.

BROWN: Jeff, thank you and we'll talk to you tomorrow as well, Jeff Greenfield in California tonight.

One other quick political note before we move on. Bob Graham, Senator Bob Graham is dropping out of the presidential race. The Democratic Senator from Florida made his announcement tonight, a short time ago on "LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-FL), DROPPING OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE: I have made a difficult decision to withdraw my candidacy for president of the United States of America but let me say this. I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish during this campaign, extremely gratified at the number of people across the country who believed in us and supported us and committed to see that American take a new direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Today's announcement not altogether surprising. We heard rumors of it late last week. Senator Graham, who is quite popular in his home state and an influential Senator in D.C. never seemed to gain much traction on the campaign trail.

On to Iraq and Afghanistan and what appears to be a major change in policy at the White House where both countries are concerned. After signs at having won the war, the United States may be losing the peace.

The administration is reorganizing, regrouping, and putting more control in the hands of the national security adviser, which is to say more control in the hands of the White House itself.

Here again, our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): The president called it common sense, not a shakeup designed to reduce the Pentagon's authority over post-war Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know it's common for the National Security Counsel to coordinate efforts, interagency efforts and Condy Rice, the National Security Adviser, is doing just that.

KING: But other senior officials say Mr. Bush wants a stronger day-to-day White House role in Afghanistan and especially Iraq. At times the security problems and the slow pace of reconstruction and political transition are causing him political headaches.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: This is a big deal. You don't change things in midstream of this scale unless you really think you need a major overhaul.

KING: The State Department was the lead in Afghanistan where the Taliban is trying to reassert itself and one recurring complaint is delay in getting a new Kabul to Kandahar highway built.

The Pentagon has been running both security and reconstruction in Iraq where critics accuse Mr. Bush of underestimating both the risks for U.S. troops and rebuilding costs.

Now, National Security Adviser Rice will take the lead role coordinating efforts in both countries and is creating a new Iraq stabilization group with four divisions, security and counterterrorism, economic development, political transition, and media relations.

BUSH: Listen we're making good progress in Iraq.

KING: Ambassador Paul Bremer became Iraq's administrator back in May replacing retired General Jay Garner in an earlier shakeup ordered by the president. Now, Bremer will continue to report to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld but both Bremer and the Pentagon also must assign key deputies to the new structure headed by Rice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: One immediate impact of these changes is to put much more authority over that $87 billion in new war spending the president wants directly under the control of one of his most trusted aides but these changes also leave the White House with less room for escape, even less room for direct blame if the American people decide, Aaron, that money is not well spent.

BROWN: Well, I get this as it appears on a flowchart, I guess, John and where I'm struggling a bit and perhaps viewers are too is in day-to-day decision making. What does this mean? How does this -- can you give me an example of what it might mean?

KING: Well, on the ground in Iraq day-to-day decision making will still fall into the hands of Ambassador Bremer. Back here in Washington they say Condy Rice will have the authority to make some decisions now that as of 9:00 a.m. this morning belonged to Don Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

She will have a group. Right now there's a working group that has assistant secretaries. Her group will be the undersecretaries, the number two people at the Pentagon, the number two people at State, if she deems it necessary the secretaries themselves.

And, even though they're insisting here at the White House, they still believe Don Rumsfeld is doing a great job and he will still be actively involved, we do know that there are some decisions now made by Secretary Rumsfeld that Condy Rice will have the power to make under this new structure.

BROWN: John, thank you very much, our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

Now the other challenge in the region just as much a tinderbox tonight, tension is rising not just between Israel and the Palestinians but now Syria and add Lebanon to the list as well.

Over the weekend, Israeli warplanes attacked what the Israeli government called a terrorist training camp in Syria. Tonight, Israel is also warning the Lebanese government to rein in terrorists, this after an IDF soldier was shot and killed on the border with Lebanon, all of this happening 30 years to the day since the last major Arab- Israeli war.

Here's CNN's David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): U.S. officials say they have been warning Syria with increasing urgency that hosting groups that use terrorism will have a price and President Bush expressed understanding about the Israeli attack on a camp outside Damascus with just a hint of reproach.

BUSH: That Israel's got a right to defend herself, that Israel must not feel constrained in terms of defending the homeland; however, I said that it's very important that any action Israel take should avoid escalation and creating higher tensions.

ENSOR: Although the Israelis quickly released old Iranian footage of the site they attacked, it is not currently an active training camp, U.S. officials say, though it was for many years and could have been used that way again.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: The facility that was attacked by Israel has long been used by a variety of Palestinian terrorist groups as a training facility.

ENSOR: At the U.N., Syria pressed for Security Council condemnation of Israel's attack, the first against a target in Syria in 30 years. On the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remembered his nation's dead as his government reacted angrily to the Israeli attack and to its Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

BUTAYNA SHAABAN, SYRIAN MINISTER: What is terror? You know terror is a crime committed against people, against international law and that is the history of Sharon. That is what he has been committing for the last 20 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: U.S. officials say they've seen no indication of Syrian troop moves in response to the attack and given Israel's lopsided military superiority they do not expect them. A response of some sort from Syrians surrogates in Lebanon is, however, officials say, a real possibility -- Aaron.

BROWN: David, if it was not an active camp then what was the point of the Israeli attack to send a message?

ENSOR: To send a message that they can. To send a message that Syria is not immune and to warn the Syrians against supporting groups that are currently attacking Israelis on the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere. I think that is the point. It is also causing considerable concern here, though, and it may also have been a way of drawing the United States in a little bit more -- Aaron.

BROWN: David, thank you, David Ensor in Washington tonight.

And ahead on NEWSNIGHT we'll have more on Iraq and the Middle East. We'll be joined by Robin Wright of the "Los Angeles Times."

We'll also have a fascinating look at what happens to America's war wounded at a key stopping point on their way home, Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany.

And later tonight, we talk with Steve Martin about his book and whatever else he decides to go off on, that's later. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More now on the efforts by the president and company to get their arms around the situation in Iraq, a bit more too on Syria, Israel, the United Nations, and the rest.

Robin Wright joins us. She's the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for the "Los Angeles Times" and she's always a welcome guest here, nice to see you. Let's start with Israel, Syria, and the like.

The president, I was intrigued by this, said he underscored Israel's right to defend herself and cautioned the prime minister not to do anything that would escalate the situation. Clearly, they escalated the situation. The president has his hands tied here a bit doesn't he?

ROBIN WRIGHT, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": He does to a certain extent. The United States has only so much leverage over all the parties. It can't personally go in and intervene and get the Islamic militants to stop their strikes on Israelis and it has limited ability, although probably more with Israel, to get it to comply with U.S. preferences.

But what was striking about the president's words today, frankly, was that it was very much a mixed message. The administration is not prepared yet apparently to take a very strong stand on this, trying to keep the road map alive and this is a source of deep frustration among our allies in the process.

The United Nations, the European Union and Russian that the United States won't make sure that this process reaches its first critical stage which is the creation of a temporary Palestinian state by the end of this year and if that slips then the whole process, the whole road map is in danger.

BROWN: And just briefly and we'll move on to Iraq, the closer the election comes, November, 2004, the more difficult it is politically for the president, isn't it?

WRIGHT: Absolutely. In fact, there are many who already believe that Carl Rove at the White House has more influence than some of the foreign policy makers in the administration because of the election and the considerations and the importance of, you know various sectors of the electorate.

BROWN: Now, onto Iraq and Afghanistan, I guess by extension. Is there any way to interpret what the White House did in terms of reorganizing as anything but a slap, gentle or otherwise, at Secretary Rumsfeld?

WRIGHT: Well it's a clear indication that the White House wants to end the kind of bitter divisive squabbling among the different government agencies. There's been a particularly divisive fight between the Pentagon and the State Department. But at one level it's also about process and that is that there are so many meetings of the major foreign policy making team from the Pentagon, the State Department, the CIA and other agencies that they weren't often getting around to making a decision.

So, this is to try to streamline the process as well as take power back to the Executive Branch but it's also part of a change in the atmospherics. The administration is trying very hard to convince the outside world that it is about to launch a new phase, that we went through the war and then we went through the post war and now we're beginning of the transition and this is reflected in the way the U.S. does business and in terms of policy and, of course, those decisions have yet to come because the U.N., the resolution is not going very far.

BROWN: That was my next question is where -- well, the resolution as it was originally written was essentially rejected so where is the administration in terms of forging a compromise if one is possible?

WRIGHT: Well, it doesn't look like it's made much inroad. It had hoped that another draft introduced very recently would gain more support, at least the nine minimum votes required to win passage and to ensure that there would be no vetoes among the four other members of the -- permanent members of the Security Council

But that still may be in danger and there were talks, further talks today and they did not come to resolution. It looks like the administration may have to introduce yet a further draft, further modifications.

BROWN: And those modifications would include what?

WRIGHT: Well, the real debate now centers on whether that the power in Iraq is transferred into some new provisional government, some different formulation of Iraqis. The U.N. Secretary-General backs this, France, Germany, Russia to a certain extent back that kind of formulation versus the administration that says, look, let's leave the 25 members in the governing council in power and get on with the process of writing a constitution, holding elections, and then transferring power a year from now to -- or a year and a half from now to a newly elected government and there is still a very severe split.

BROWN: Let me work for you these days, thank you.

WRIGHT: Thank you.

BROWN: Robin Wright. Robin Wright the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for the "Los Angeles Times."

Still ahead on the program, Steve Martin joins us.

A little bit later we'll take you to Landstuhl to look at the work being done to help America's war wounded.

Up next the tigers and the illusionists and what went wrong over the weekend in Las Vegas.

On CNN this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Cats it is said will be cats and cats can be cruel, even a common tabby is a bundle of wild instincts that can leave bite marks on your ankles and scratches on your arms and that's just the domestic model.

Nobody pretends that bigger cats are even the slightest bit tame, which is probably why they fascinate us, why they're the hottest attraction at the zoo and happen to be the hottest ticket in Las Vegas.

Over the years, Siegfried and Roy and their cats have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, $44 million a year at $110 a seat, sold out, a lot of money, a lot of danger, and never an incident until Friday night. Now, Roy Horn is in the hospital in critical condition.

Here's CNN's Miles O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Menacing as they may seem, those big cats had never laid a claw on Roy Horn, so says Siegfried and Roy's long- time manager who tried to put this incident into perspective.

BERNIE YUMAN, MANAGER, SIEGFRIED AND ROY: This is an unfortunate accident and after 30,000 live performances one anomaly is indicative of the fact that his relationship with these animals is extraordinary and unprecedented.

O'BRIEN: For more than 30 years this has been the public face on stage in Las Vegas, the last 13 years at a theater created just for them at the Mirage Hotel performing six days a week, 44 weeks a year, always sold out.

But away from the spotlight, Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn are known for giving back what they take from these animals. They have two complexes, a lavish mansion in a compound west of Las Vegas called the Jungle Palace and at the Mirage the so-called Secret Garden.

These are, in fact, habitats. Several different species of animals live in them, including more than 60 exotic cats that seem to have their run of the place.

Here, the most endangered pure white tigers and lions roam free, swim in exotic fountains and most importantly, survive. For more than 20 years Siegfried and Roy have worked with zoos to breed and preserve these magnificent creatures.

Experts say very few know these animals better than Roy Horn. But they still say it's very risky business. JACK HANNA, THE COLUMBUS ZOO: You never know, you know, what happened in the tiger's mind, the tiger. And as I said before, what comes naturally. I've seen a tiger take down a 2,000-pound water buffalo in India in less than 30 seconds. And you can imagine the power of that animal.

O'BRIEN: On Friday, a seven-year-old white tiger attacked Horn. He had trained the cat virtually from birth. Just before he lost consciousness, Horn reportedly pleaded with those around him not to have the animal put down.

Mile O'Brien, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, here's a natural transition for you: from circus animals to circuses.

Early on in the California recall race, one thing became abundantly clear. It was serious stuff for serious stakes, in other words, not a circus, at least not where it counts. But how about where it doesn't count? A circus, perhaps, a sideshow? Absolutely.

Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: And now it's time that we chase Gray Davis out of Sacramento.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As A- list candidates sprinted for the finish line, the extras among the 135 candidates for replacement governor did their best to keep smiling. Entertainer Angelyne posed for our crew even when another photographer scheduled for the shoot didn't show up.

(on camera): The show, as they say here in Hollywood, must go on. And it did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to "Who Wants to be Governor of California? The Debating Game."

BUCKLEY: The election is a show on the Game Show Network this week, with viewers voting on a winner.

GARY COLEMAN, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: S-C-H-A-R-Z-E- N-E-G-G-E-R. No!

BUCKLEY: The game show governor will be announced shortly after the polls close for the real governor's race.

COLEMAN: You are a naughty woman.

BUCKLEY: Candidate for governor Mary Carey went shopping on her last day of campaigning.

MARY CAREY, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: This is kind of a cute little outfit, don't you think?

BUCKLEY: If you didn't know, Carey is an adult film actress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

CAREY: Or you can elect me governor of California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Who is serious enough to have her own campaign commercial, which will air once in the Los Angeles TV market.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

CAREY: In other words, California, I'll be a kick-ass governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Further north, in Sacramento, moving vans circled the state Capitol in what recall supporters termed moving day for Gray. Gray Davis supporters...

CROWD: Davis! Davis! Davis!

BUCKLEY: ... shouted at the trucks and called Arnold Schwarzenegger a serial groper. It's no wonder comedians continued to slam the candidates and the state of California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN")

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Californians are getting desperate. And if Arnold can't change things, then they're going to turn it over to Iraqi rule.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")

JAY LENO, HOST: Today, there were allegations that Arnold once admired Hitler. And the odd thing is, Hitler now three points ahead of Gray Davis in the polls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: The show has had a good run. And closing night for the California recall election is now just hours away.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And if that was all singing, all dancing, Broadway version, here's another, no billboards, just a young woman with something to say and, she hopes, more than a few people who are willing to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking to Brooke Adams. How are you, Brooke?

BROOKE ADAMS, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm doing great. How are you, Rick?

I'm Brooke Adams. I'm running for governor of California. And I'm 25 years old. I spent quite a bit of time talking to friends in the past few months over some of these issues facing California.

We're frustrated.

And just decided one day that I would like to run.

Davis' administration has mortgaged our future.

I'd like to support a younger generation.

We're analytical thinkers.

I'd like to take action on these issues.

Should I keep going? All right. All right.

Goodbye. See you there.

I think that you build credibility through action, through showing them what you're interested in doing. And I think, in this campaign, my main goal is to meet with people.

We have arrived.

To offer them insight into my issues, into my thinking, articulating a clear and concise vision.

How are you doing? I'm running for governor. I don't know if you guys are voting, but you can check out the views. I'm running as an independent. Our future is being decided without us.

If you want to open a small business, are you going to be able to afford it? At this rate, I don't think so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it you would do?

ADAMS: I'm interested in proposing a flat tax. I think everyone should contribute a specific percentage to the needs of the state.

I was one of the first candidates who had my Web site up and all my issues the day I began to run. We're currently at campaign headquarters, which is my family home. We meet here and discuss strategies and just sort of forecast the coming month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like that you see San Diego and a San Diego State. These people right here are the ones that are going to be bringing out the main issues. What you want to do is just stay to the outside of this and not get caught in this crossfire.

ADAMS: Right.

I think I fall sort of leading some of the minor candidates.

I am the queen of diamonds right there on top.

I believe that the older generation will divide their votes among some of the so-called major candidates. And the younger generation will pull through, back me, support me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has got my vote, though. That's for sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It might open some eyes of some people who are younger who may want to pursue a career in politics that things are possible, even someone like Brooke Adams.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, we'll see how Ms. Adams does tomorrow. The election finally takes place.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, we'll have more on America's war wounded. We'll go to Landstuhl, Germany, for a behind-the-scenes look at a key stop on the road to recovery.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Much more ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight, including a look at the hospital where America's war wounded are first treated. We'll also talk with writer/comedian/actor Steve Martin -- and morning papers, too.

We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There are good reasons and bad for combat, just an unjust wars. But good or bad, every war, in the end, is a machine whose byproduct is misery, a giant assembly line for machines and materiel and a disassembly line for lives, most often young.

Fortunately, there also exists a parallel mechanism for putting lives back together. It begins in combat hospitals in the field. But much of the toughest work comes at the regional medical center in Landstuhl, Germany. Tough work and, we warn you now, tough to watch. Some of what you're about to see is quite graphic. Be warned.

Here's CNN's Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They keep coming, the medevac planes from Baghdad and Kuwait.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We get medevac aircraft every day from down range. Sometimes they come with maybe one or two patients. Sometimes it's an aircraft that has 60.

NISSEN: Since the start of the war, more than 6,600 uniformed men and women from Operation Iraqi Freedom have been treated here at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. They keep coming, a steady stream of the accidentally injured and the sick, a steady stream of service members with battle injuries months after the major fighting stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since the end of major combat, we really have had an increase in our total patient load. Not only have we had more patients total, but the severity of either their injuries or their illnesses has been greater.

NISSEN: That's because of blast injuries from rocket-propelled grenades and IEDs, the improvised explosive devices taking an almost daily toll on convoys and units in Iraq. An IED blast hit Specialist Joshua Geering (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear that louder in one ear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've lost about 60 percent of my hearing. I got half my wrist blown off on the left side. My right arm is shattered, the bone right here, just basically the elbow itself.

NISSEN: Sergeant Riah Lee (ph) has photos on his laptop of what an enemy RPG did to his truck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's where I was sitting.

NISSEN: And graphic photos of what the blast did to his foot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like two to three centimeters of the Achilles tendon was basically taken out by the blast itself. And it left a nice-sized hole in there. They said expect a long recovery. And I definitely expect that. It's no overnight fix.

NISSEN: Many injuries seen at Landstuhl are much more serious.

MAJ. ALLAN PHILP, LANDSTUHL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: We see a lot of amputations, some of which are done by the blast itself, some of which are done because they're not salvageable limbs. We see a fair number of head injuries, both penetrating head injuries from shrapnel and close head injuries from sort of concussions. These are life-altering and sometimes life-ending events for some really brave kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We thought it was over -- we thought the war was over. And to me, it seems like they're getting hurt worse.

NISSEN: Joyce (ph) and Allen Gray (ph) were flown by the military from Illinois to Landstuhl, after being told that their son, an Army corporal, had a life-threatening blast injury to his upper leg. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We received a call from the Army that our boy had been injured.

NISSEN: Their son was taken to one of Landstuhl's eight O.R.s, all operating on 12-hour shifts almost around the clock. Surgeons stopped the bleeding, saved Corporal Gray's life, did what they could to save his mangled leg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's looking good. We're hoping and praying that it stays that way, because, if it stays that way, then he won't lose his leg. But if it changes...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then they might not have enough tissue to wrap around the bone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Didn't think he was going to make it. Oh, mercy.

NISSEN: Almost all those who make it to Landstuhl do make it. Of more than 6,000 Operation Iraqi Freedom patients treated here, only two have died.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here. People really see the mission. They really see that, every day, they're saving lives.

NISSEN: Most of the military's sick and wounded stay at Landstuhl for only a few days, a few weeks at most. A small number, about one in 10, are treated and returned to active duty in Iraq.

Most are sent on to hospitals in the U.S., such as Walter Reed in Washington, D.C., for further surgery, treatment, rehab, clearing Landstuhl's wards, its ICU, its O.R.s, its recovery rooms for the next wave of patients from Iraq. They keep coming, the medevac flights from Baghdad and Kuwait. They keep coming, the casualties of war.

Beth Nissen, CNN, Landstuhl, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A customer from La Jolla, California, leaves this review of Steve Martin's latest novel on Amazon.com. "It's one of the best books I've ever read," he writes. "The only other one that made me feel this good is Will Durant, Ariel Durant's 'History of Civilization'." "And," he adds, "this one is a lot easier and more enjoyable."

The book is called "The Pleasure of My Company," just one volume, not 10, a breezy 163 pages. The Durants have nothing to worry about.

Steve Martin joins us from Los Angeles tonight. We're pleased to have him on the program. To be honest, it's little hard to know where to begin, the images of the war-wounded piece still in our minds.

STEVE MARTIN, AUTHOR, "THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY": Yes, it's very humbling to follow such tragic stories, not only these young soldiers, but also Roy Horn in Vegas. And I want to express my sympathy for all of those people we've seen.

BROWN: Thank you.

Talk a bit about the -- this book is built around a central character who is a character.

MARTIN: A central character, a young man, who is complicated, who has certain -- we'll call them neurotic compulsions. But they're benign. They're just -- they really only affect his life. And he has essentially isolated himself from life and friends.

And it's the story of how he breaks through these walls and also how other people break through to him. And it's...

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: I'm sorry.

He does seem to have this kind of -- he so wants to break out and sometimes seems so afraid to break out.

MARTIN: Well, I think that, in life, we -- in the book, obviously, the things are extreme that this character does. But, in life, I think we all have little subtle things we do to defend ourselves, essentially.

And he doesn't express a desire to get out. He's very conscious of his own walls and knows why they're there. In that sense, he's very self-aware. So he can have a sense of humor about it, too. And so that's his story.

BROWN: And it is a funny book.

(CROSSTALK)

MARTIN: Yes. That's what -- I intended. I'm sorry. I'm a little distracted, because I'm watching myself and there's a delay.

BROWN: I know. I hate that.

MARTIN: It's very odd. It's why you have to turn off your radio when you call a talk show.

Yes, it's a funny book. And all these little quirks of his lead to extraordinary situations. And he's definitely not, for example, the most average American.

BROWN: No, he's not. MARTIN: But he does win the most average American contest and has to give a speech. And, of course, the reader knows that he's absolutely insane.

BROWN: He's lonely. Your characters tend to be lonely. Is there -- I'll bet you get asked this a lot -- is that something of you?

MARTIN: Well, I don't know.

Talk to my shrink, I guess, and he could tell you. But I don't feel lonely, no. I have got thousands of fans who really love me.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: Yes, they do.

MARTIN: Yes. It's really true love, too.

BROWN: Yes, it is. And it lasts forever.

MARTIN: Certainly, it's true of these two books.

But you're not lonely if you think you're not. And, certainly, the character in this book does not think he's lonely. He thinks he's having a great, great life. And he does have friends. And people do eventually climb into his life. And I think he's -- this character, Daniel Pecan Cambridge, is a kind person, too. And I think kindness actually does lead to friends.

BROWN: He's a lovely character, I'd say.

How often do you check Amazon.com to see how many books have been sold?

MARTIN: Well, let's see, I'm a little crazy right now because it's been almost three minutes.

BROWN: OK. Thank you for the honest answer.

Why write a book? You have had a hugely successful career. Why do you write books and risk people rejecting you?

MARTIN: Well, I think, in entertainment, you always risk being rejected. That just goes with the territory. Whether it's a movie or a song or a book or Oscar hosting, you're always on the edge. You must know that. Well, you're not really -- I wouldn't call you an entertainer. I guess that

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: But I know about being rejected, so it's OK.

MARTIN: We all know about that.

BROWN: Yes. It's nice to have you. The book's terrific fun. Good luck with it.

MARTIN: Thank you very much.

BROWN: Nice to talk to you. Thanks.

MARTIN: I have to go now check Amazon.

BROWN: We'll be doing it for you, too. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: I hope it spiked a little. The will be a good sign for us, too.

MARTIN: OK. Great.

BROWN: Thank you, Steve Martin.

And morning papers after the break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: All right, time to check morning papers from around the country. We'll begin with America's most-read newspaper. No, it's not "The New York Times." You knew that, didn't you? It's "USA Today." I believe that's right. Anyway, it's one of those things I read somewhere, it's probably right.

"Once Just a Trickle, Canada's RX Drugs," prescription drugs, "Pouring Into the United States. Seniors Seek Bargains. FDA Cracks Down." Pretty good look at an issue that people are talking about. We have talked about it here. California on almost every front page. "Recall Up to Voters in California. Election is Today. Tight Race May Delay Results." We'll see. Down at the bottom here -- I'm not sure -- I haven't read this, so there may be more here. "Civil Marriage on the Rise Across the United States." I assume most marriages are pretty civil. No? Well, mine is. Pretty civil.

"San Francisco Chronicle." "Only a Kiss and a Prayer Left as Voters Hear Last Appeals." They lead, obviously, with the election in their home state. Also, "Proposition 54 Will be Back," says Connerly, if it fails. "Language Will be Improved." This is Ward Connerly. This has to do with race and whether the state should keep statistics on race.

Ahh, "The Detroit Free Press." I apologize for the long "ah" there. I was stalling until I knew what I was going to talk about. "Schwarzenegger Foes Don't Let Up." But they lead local, "Crash Damage to Keep Ramps Closed," an annoying thing if you're in the Detroit area, "The Detroit Free Press."

"Cincinnati Enquirer" leads local, too. "Sewer fixes Could Triple Bills. Deal Calls For $1.5 Billion Upgrade Over 19 years."

How we doing on time? Fifteen. Just time enough to tell you, "New Top Cop Promises: We Intend to Make This the Safest Big City in America." The weather tomorrow, grand slam. The Cubs will be in the National League playoff championships, whatever that's called, against the Marlins, all good news in Chicago, a town we love.

Nice to see you, or almost see you. We'll see you again tomorrow at 10:00 Eastern time.

Good night for all of us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Outcome of California Recall Election?>


Aired October 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.
The California recall vote is tomorrow and I find myself groping for just the right word to describe my feelings. Maybe I shouldn't have said groping. Maybe grasping is the word I was looking for.

By the time the first vote is cast it's possible that more women will have claimed to have been molested by Mr. Schwarzenegger that have actually seen and enjoyed his movies.

Anyway, by this time tomorrow all those groping stories will be replaced by all those vote counting stories. Consider this night then the alleged misbehaviors last stand.

We begin the whip on the California recall, 24 hours away from an answer, perhaps an answer. Candy Crowley a headline from you.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the big question is will the stories of 15 women change the outcome of an election in which millions of Californians will vote? Both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis, the two main players, believe the answer is yes but in very different ways -- Aaron.

BROWN: Candy, thank you. We'll be back to you at the top.

To Washington next, a change in plans from the White House on how to handle Iraq and Afghanistan, our Senior White House Correspondent John King with us tonight, John, a headline.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will take a much more active day-to- day role in managing U.S. policy in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The president says it's common sense not meant as a criticism of the Pentagon. Others are calling it a major shakeup -- Aaron.

BROWN: John, thank you.

And to David Ensor next who's following what appears to be a major escalation in the tensions in the Middle East over the weekend, David a headline from you.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Aaron, Israel's weekend attack on what it said was a terrorist camp outside Damascus in Syria has caused consternation in the Middle East region. It has caused concern here in Washington, mixed though with considerable understanding for Israel's problem.

BROWN: David, thank you, back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a Las Vegas empire built on tigers and how the attack by one of them could bring it down.

Later, another in our series of reports on America's war wounded. We'll take you to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany where the wounded make their first stop and in some cases their first steps on the way home.

And, as always, we'll end the evening with a check of what will be making news in your morning paper tomorrow, though we can't necessarily promise yours, we'll try, all that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin tonight in California, just a day until the election and more alleged groping, more accusations of dirty politics, and maybe, just maybe, much ado about nothing.

That's because a million and a half Californians have already voted long before the charges and the countercharges came to light they cast their ballot by absentee. So, this could turn out to be a Hollywood ending foretold but just try telling that to the governor or the challenger.

Here again, CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): It comes down to this, the brawny Republican with an immigrant story and show biz in his blood, the real thin governor, a conventional politician with the soul of a bureaucrat, one hoping voters remember...

GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: It's very hard for me to believe that all 15 of these women were lying.

CROWLEY: One hoping voters forget.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Now it is time that we chase Gray Davis out of Sacramento.

CROWLEY: Welcome to the election in California.

DAVIS: One more day and then hopefully three more years.

CROWLEY: In only one way does this aberrant exercise in democracy fit the template. In the final hours there are no new messages, no new ideas, just frantic comings and goings in an effort to rev up the base. It's a challenge in Camp Davis.

DAVIS: That's all right. You can applaud. I never like to discourage that. It's not a regular occurrence in my life so when people want to start I do not want to stop them. CROWLEY: Whether it's that he likes the wonk versus action figure comparison or that he cannot compete with crowd count in Arnold land, the governor favors small forums. His first event on the final day was an education discussion with children too young to vote.

DAVIS: If you get a chance to talk to your siblings who are 18 or older and your parents or your grandmother or anyone, I'd appreciate it if you would ask them to vote no as well.

CROWLEY: The placard pack balloon ridden rallies rely heavily on the most faithful, union leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our opponents don't even know what a union is about.

CROWLEY: Still, this San Francisco rally was pumped up with out of state firefighters handily in town for a meeting.

SCHWARZENEGGER: We need new leadership there. That's what we need.

CROWLEY: No imports needed in Arnold land, though it's hard to tell who plans to vote for him and who's just stargazing. The problem for the former Mr. Universe is the lurid stories of 15 women and countless rumors. A situation like this calls for the heavy lifters.

MARIA SHRIVER, WIFE OF ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: As I say to our kids who said this morning do you think daddy's going to win or lose? What do you think is going to happen? I said no matter what happens in this race your father has done an extraordinary thing.

CROWLEY: And, no, your eyes do not deceive you. There on the platform in support is Eunice Shriver, a Kennedy, a Democrat and maybe more to the point a mother-in-law.

SCHWARZENEGGER: And all the incredible women behind me thank you very much. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Now to be outdone, Governor Davis also had his wife Sharon along who told the crowd at his last rally the most my husband can be accused of is being dull and right now dull looks pretty good. One wag has already called this a race between the boorish and the boring -- Aaron.

BROWN: Has there been any polling at all since the first of these allegations surfaced on, what, Friday I guess?

CROWLEY: There has been and it was a little earlier. It was Thursday and the one newspaper poll we saw, the (unintelligible) poll did show some slippage in Arnold Schwarzenegger's favorites.

Now, the two camps of course have their internal polling and what the Schwarzenegger camp says is it isn't hurting. These people are -- his supporters are revved up because they think this is, you know, dirty campaigning so that will bring them out.

The Davis campaign says for the first time the recall numbers have gone below 50 percent, that is those who want to recall have gone below 50 percent so they're pretty hopeful. Really hard to tell who's going to come out and very hard to tell whose poll is the most accurate if any.

BROWN: And what's the best guess for turning out tomorrow, big?

CROWLEY: You know I mean one of the things that the Davis camp is saying is, look, you know this may make some people stay home saying, oh boy, they're all politicians. Never mind. I was excited about Arnold. I'm not anymore.

But they do have a huge increase in registration and obviously this vote and this election, which is seen nationwide, has in fact engaged Californians in ways they have never been engaged in before. So, you know, the odds are it will be a heavier turnout than say a presidential election.

BROWN: My goodness.

CROWLEY: But we're going to have to wait until tomorrow.

BROWN: Candy, thank you very much. We'll see you tomorrow then, Candy Crowley out in Los Angeles tonight.

Jeff Greenfield has been on the story since recall was happening only to Pontiacs and toaster ovens, I guess. He joins us from L.A. as well, nice to see you sir. Well, it was none too subtle, the women on the podium for Mr. Schwarzenegger. Do you have a gut feeling about whether the story, now several stories has hurt him or not?

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Well, I think it's hurt him some but I don't have any gut feeling about whether it will be enough to reverse what I think was going to be a substantial vote for recall and a slightly less substantial vote for Schwarzenegger.

One Republican, as we always say highly placed, told me just a few hours ago he's much more confident of Schwarzenegger coming in first on the replacement ballot and slightly less confident about the recall.

Because the question here is Arnold Schwarzenegger was mobilizing a fairly large cohort of people who didn't vote, kind of like it's the populist idea, people who think that politics are all the same and Arnold is different.

If they're discouraged from voting, not that they'll come out and vote no on recall, if they stay home that's better for Gray Davis and that's the question I think is going to decide what happens in the recall.

BROWN: So in that sort of demographic game that gets played on election day about who goes to the polls and who doesn't, what are the signs? What should we look for? GREENFIELD: Well, to me this is the key and it takes it beyond the groping and the boring and all that story. There is a low grade fever. I did a piece for you on this a while ago in the country, has been for decades of people who basically resent politics. They tend to be less educated, middle-class, lower middle-class who feel they're not getting a fair shake.

As long ago as 1946, Richard Nixon won his first congressional race by appealing to that forgotten middle-class. It was the Nixon vote. It was Reagan Democrats. They're the people who are going to put, if it happens, Arnold Schwarzenegger in the governor's chair who feel aggrieved by the car tax and feel aggrieved by the special privileges for illegal immigrants.

And, demographically, the less educated, blue collar, union Democrats are the ones that pre-election polls have shown are breaking with Davis and voting for recall. If they turn out and keep voting that way I think you're going to get a recall and a Schwarzenegger governorship.

BROWN: And now my off the wall question for the day. Whatever happened to Cruz Bustamante in this?

GREENFIELD: I believe first of all that Cruz Bustamante is getting victimized by the insider in this. Even though he and Gray Davis hold each other in minimum high regard people who are voting against the establishment, against the insiders, against the them see Bustamante as just another one of them, a career politician.

And second, if you remember that debate, the two things that people took away from that debate with respect to Bustamante were, a) I'm for higher taxes on cigarettes, alcohol, and the affluent; and, b) I'm for driver's licenses and a whole lot of other things for illegal immigrants.

When you talk about that disaffected middle class and you want to touch their, you know, touch their exposed nerves you can't think of two better things and I think that and the fact that he was slapped down hard for where he got his campaign -- some of his campaign money from made the last two weeks very bad for him.

BROWN: Jeff, thank you and we'll talk to you tomorrow as well, Jeff Greenfield in California tonight.

One other quick political note before we move on. Bob Graham, Senator Bob Graham is dropping out of the presidential race. The Democratic Senator from Florida made his announcement tonight, a short time ago on "LARRY KING LIVE."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB GRAHAM (D-FL), DROPPING OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE: I have made a difficult decision to withdraw my candidacy for president of the United States of America but let me say this. I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish during this campaign, extremely gratified at the number of people across the country who believed in us and supported us and committed to see that American take a new direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Today's announcement not altogether surprising. We heard rumors of it late last week. Senator Graham, who is quite popular in his home state and an influential Senator in D.C. never seemed to gain much traction on the campaign trail.

On to Iraq and Afghanistan and what appears to be a major change in policy at the White House where both countries are concerned. After signs at having won the war, the United States may be losing the peace.

The administration is reorganizing, regrouping, and putting more control in the hands of the national security adviser, which is to say more control in the hands of the White House itself.

Here again, our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): The president called it common sense, not a shakeup designed to reduce the Pentagon's authority over post-war Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know it's common for the National Security Counsel to coordinate efforts, interagency efforts and Condy Rice, the National Security Adviser, is doing just that.

KING: But other senior officials say Mr. Bush wants a stronger day-to-day White House role in Afghanistan and especially Iraq. At times the security problems and the slow pace of reconstruction and political transition are causing him political headaches.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: This is a big deal. You don't change things in midstream of this scale unless you really think you need a major overhaul.

KING: The State Department was the lead in Afghanistan where the Taliban is trying to reassert itself and one recurring complaint is delay in getting a new Kabul to Kandahar highway built.

The Pentagon has been running both security and reconstruction in Iraq where critics accuse Mr. Bush of underestimating both the risks for U.S. troops and rebuilding costs.

Now, National Security Adviser Rice will take the lead role coordinating efforts in both countries and is creating a new Iraq stabilization group with four divisions, security and counterterrorism, economic development, political transition, and media relations.

BUSH: Listen we're making good progress in Iraq.

KING: Ambassador Paul Bremer became Iraq's administrator back in May replacing retired General Jay Garner in an earlier shakeup ordered by the president. Now, Bremer will continue to report to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld but both Bremer and the Pentagon also must assign key deputies to the new structure headed by Rice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: One immediate impact of these changes is to put much more authority over that $87 billion in new war spending the president wants directly under the control of one of his most trusted aides but these changes also leave the White House with less room for escape, even less room for direct blame if the American people decide, Aaron, that money is not well spent.

BROWN: Well, I get this as it appears on a flowchart, I guess, John and where I'm struggling a bit and perhaps viewers are too is in day-to-day decision making. What does this mean? How does this -- can you give me an example of what it might mean?

KING: Well, on the ground in Iraq day-to-day decision making will still fall into the hands of Ambassador Bremer. Back here in Washington they say Condy Rice will have the authority to make some decisions now that as of 9:00 a.m. this morning belonged to Don Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

She will have a group. Right now there's a working group that has assistant secretaries. Her group will be the undersecretaries, the number two people at the Pentagon, the number two people at State, if she deems it necessary the secretaries themselves.

And, even though they're insisting here at the White House, they still believe Don Rumsfeld is doing a great job and he will still be actively involved, we do know that there are some decisions now made by Secretary Rumsfeld that Condy Rice will have the power to make under this new structure.

BROWN: John, thank you very much, our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

Now the other challenge in the region just as much a tinderbox tonight, tension is rising not just between Israel and the Palestinians but now Syria and add Lebanon to the list as well.

Over the weekend, Israeli warplanes attacked what the Israeli government called a terrorist training camp in Syria. Tonight, Israel is also warning the Lebanese government to rein in terrorists, this after an IDF soldier was shot and killed on the border with Lebanon, all of this happening 30 years to the day since the last major Arab- Israeli war.

Here's CNN's David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice-over): U.S. officials say they have been warning Syria with increasing urgency that hosting groups that use terrorism will have a price and President Bush expressed understanding about the Israeli attack on a camp outside Damascus with just a hint of reproach.

BUSH: That Israel's got a right to defend herself, that Israel must not feel constrained in terms of defending the homeland; however, I said that it's very important that any action Israel take should avoid escalation and creating higher tensions.

ENSOR: Although the Israelis quickly released old Iranian footage of the site they attacked, it is not currently an active training camp, U.S. officials say, though it was for many years and could have been used that way again.

RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: The facility that was attacked by Israel has long been used by a variety of Palestinian terrorist groups as a training facility.

ENSOR: At the U.N., Syria pressed for Security Council condemnation of Israel's attack, the first against a target in Syria in 30 years. On the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remembered his nation's dead as his government reacted angrily to the Israeli attack and to its Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

BUTAYNA SHAABAN, SYRIAN MINISTER: What is terror? You know terror is a crime committed against people, against international law and that is the history of Sharon. That is what he has been committing for the last 20 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: U.S. officials say they've seen no indication of Syrian troop moves in response to the attack and given Israel's lopsided military superiority they do not expect them. A response of some sort from Syrians surrogates in Lebanon is, however, officials say, a real possibility -- Aaron.

BROWN: David, if it was not an active camp then what was the point of the Israeli attack to send a message?

ENSOR: To send a message that they can. To send a message that Syria is not immune and to warn the Syrians against supporting groups that are currently attacking Israelis on the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and elsewhere. I think that is the point. It is also causing considerable concern here, though, and it may also have been a way of drawing the United States in a little bit more -- Aaron.

BROWN: David, thank you, David Ensor in Washington tonight.

And ahead on NEWSNIGHT we'll have more on Iraq and the Middle East. We'll be joined by Robin Wright of the "Los Angeles Times."

We'll also have a fascinating look at what happens to America's war wounded at a key stopping point on their way home, Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany.

And later tonight, we talk with Steve Martin about his book and whatever else he decides to go off on, that's later. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: More now on the efforts by the president and company to get their arms around the situation in Iraq, a bit more too on Syria, Israel, the United Nations, and the rest.

Robin Wright joins us. She's the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for the "Los Angeles Times" and she's always a welcome guest here, nice to see you. Let's start with Israel, Syria, and the like.

The president, I was intrigued by this, said he underscored Israel's right to defend herself and cautioned the prime minister not to do anything that would escalate the situation. Clearly, they escalated the situation. The president has his hands tied here a bit doesn't he?

ROBIN WRIGHT, CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": He does to a certain extent. The United States has only so much leverage over all the parties. It can't personally go in and intervene and get the Islamic militants to stop their strikes on Israelis and it has limited ability, although probably more with Israel, to get it to comply with U.S. preferences.

But what was striking about the president's words today, frankly, was that it was very much a mixed message. The administration is not prepared yet apparently to take a very strong stand on this, trying to keep the road map alive and this is a source of deep frustration among our allies in the process.

The United Nations, the European Union and Russian that the United States won't make sure that this process reaches its first critical stage which is the creation of a temporary Palestinian state by the end of this year and if that slips then the whole process, the whole road map is in danger.

BROWN: And just briefly and we'll move on to Iraq, the closer the election comes, November, 2004, the more difficult it is politically for the president, isn't it?

WRIGHT: Absolutely. In fact, there are many who already believe that Carl Rove at the White House has more influence than some of the foreign policy makers in the administration because of the election and the considerations and the importance of, you know various sectors of the electorate.

BROWN: Now, onto Iraq and Afghanistan, I guess by extension. Is there any way to interpret what the White House did in terms of reorganizing as anything but a slap, gentle or otherwise, at Secretary Rumsfeld?

WRIGHT: Well it's a clear indication that the White House wants to end the kind of bitter divisive squabbling among the different government agencies. There's been a particularly divisive fight between the Pentagon and the State Department. But at one level it's also about process and that is that there are so many meetings of the major foreign policy making team from the Pentagon, the State Department, the CIA and other agencies that they weren't often getting around to making a decision.

So, this is to try to streamline the process as well as take power back to the Executive Branch but it's also part of a change in the atmospherics. The administration is trying very hard to convince the outside world that it is about to launch a new phase, that we went through the war and then we went through the post war and now we're beginning of the transition and this is reflected in the way the U.S. does business and in terms of policy and, of course, those decisions have yet to come because the U.N., the resolution is not going very far.

BROWN: That was my next question is where -- well, the resolution as it was originally written was essentially rejected so where is the administration in terms of forging a compromise if one is possible?

WRIGHT: Well, it doesn't look like it's made much inroad. It had hoped that another draft introduced very recently would gain more support, at least the nine minimum votes required to win passage and to ensure that there would be no vetoes among the four other members of the -- permanent members of the Security Council

But that still may be in danger and there were talks, further talks today and they did not come to resolution. It looks like the administration may have to introduce yet a further draft, further modifications.

BROWN: And those modifications would include what?

WRIGHT: Well, the real debate now centers on whether that the power in Iraq is transferred into some new provisional government, some different formulation of Iraqis. The U.N. Secretary-General backs this, France, Germany, Russia to a certain extent back that kind of formulation versus the administration that says, look, let's leave the 25 members in the governing council in power and get on with the process of writing a constitution, holding elections, and then transferring power a year from now to -- or a year and a half from now to a newly elected government and there is still a very severe split.

BROWN: Let me work for you these days, thank you.

WRIGHT: Thank you.

BROWN: Robin Wright. Robin Wright the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for the "Los Angeles Times."

Still ahead on the program, Steve Martin joins us.

A little bit later we'll take you to Landstuhl to look at the work being done to help America's war wounded.

Up next the tigers and the illusionists and what went wrong over the weekend in Las Vegas.

On CNN this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Cats it is said will be cats and cats can be cruel, even a common tabby is a bundle of wild instincts that can leave bite marks on your ankles and scratches on your arms and that's just the domestic model.

Nobody pretends that bigger cats are even the slightest bit tame, which is probably why they fascinate us, why they're the hottest attraction at the zoo and happen to be the hottest ticket in Las Vegas.

Over the years, Siegfried and Roy and their cats have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars, $44 million a year at $110 a seat, sold out, a lot of money, a lot of danger, and never an incident until Friday night. Now, Roy Horn is in the hospital in critical condition.

Here's CNN's Miles O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Menacing as they may seem, those big cats had never laid a claw on Roy Horn, so says Siegfried and Roy's long- time manager who tried to put this incident into perspective.

BERNIE YUMAN, MANAGER, SIEGFRIED AND ROY: This is an unfortunate accident and after 30,000 live performances one anomaly is indicative of the fact that his relationship with these animals is extraordinary and unprecedented.

O'BRIEN: For more than 30 years this has been the public face on stage in Las Vegas, the last 13 years at a theater created just for them at the Mirage Hotel performing six days a week, 44 weeks a year, always sold out.

But away from the spotlight, Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn are known for giving back what they take from these animals. They have two complexes, a lavish mansion in a compound west of Las Vegas called the Jungle Palace and at the Mirage the so-called Secret Garden.

These are, in fact, habitats. Several different species of animals live in them, including more than 60 exotic cats that seem to have their run of the place.

Here, the most endangered pure white tigers and lions roam free, swim in exotic fountains and most importantly, survive. For more than 20 years Siegfried and Roy have worked with zoos to breed and preserve these magnificent creatures.

Experts say very few know these animals better than Roy Horn. But they still say it's very risky business. JACK HANNA, THE COLUMBUS ZOO: You never know, you know, what happened in the tiger's mind, the tiger. And as I said before, what comes naturally. I've seen a tiger take down a 2,000-pound water buffalo in India in less than 30 seconds. And you can imagine the power of that animal.

O'BRIEN: On Friday, a seven-year-old white tiger attacked Horn. He had trained the cat virtually from birth. Just before he lost consciousness, Horn reportedly pleaded with those around him not to have the animal put down.

Mile O'Brien, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, here's a natural transition for you: from circus animals to circuses.

Early on in the California recall race, one thing became abundantly clear. It was serious stuff for serious stakes, in other words, not a circus, at least not where it counts. But how about where it doesn't count? A circus, perhaps, a sideshow? Absolutely.

Here's CNN's Frank Buckley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: And now it's time that we chase Gray Davis out of Sacramento.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As A- list candidates sprinted for the finish line, the extras among the 135 candidates for replacement governor did their best to keep smiling. Entertainer Angelyne posed for our crew even when another photographer scheduled for the shoot didn't show up.

(on camera): The show, as they say here in Hollywood, must go on. And it did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to "Who Wants to be Governor of California? The Debating Game."

BUCKLEY: The election is a show on the Game Show Network this week, with viewers voting on a winner.

GARY COLEMAN, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: S-C-H-A-R-Z-E- N-E-G-G-E-R. No!

BUCKLEY: The game show governor will be announced shortly after the polls close for the real governor's race.

COLEMAN: You are a naughty woman.

BUCKLEY: Candidate for governor Mary Carey went shopping on her last day of campaigning.

MARY CAREY, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: This is kind of a cute little outfit, don't you think?

BUCKLEY: If you didn't know, Carey is an adult film actress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

CAREY: Or you can elect me governor of California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Who is serious enough to have her own campaign commercial, which will air once in the Los Angeles TV market.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

CAREY: In other words, California, I'll be a kick-ass governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Further north, in Sacramento, moving vans circled the state Capitol in what recall supporters termed moving day for Gray. Gray Davis supporters...

CROWD: Davis! Davis! Davis!

BUCKLEY: ... shouted at the trucks and called Arnold Schwarzenegger a serial groper. It's no wonder comedians continued to slam the candidates and the state of California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN")

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST: Californians are getting desperate. And if Arnold can't change things, then they're going to turn it over to Iraqi rule.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")

JAY LENO, HOST: Today, there were allegations that Arnold once admired Hitler. And the odd thing is, Hitler now three points ahead of Gray Davis in the polls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: The show has had a good run. And closing night for the California recall election is now just hours away.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And if that was all singing, all dancing, Broadway version, here's another, no billboards, just a young woman with something to say and, she hopes, more than a few people who are willing to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking to Brooke Adams. How are you, Brooke?

BROOKE ADAMS, CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm doing great. How are you, Rick?

I'm Brooke Adams. I'm running for governor of California. And I'm 25 years old. I spent quite a bit of time talking to friends in the past few months over some of these issues facing California.

We're frustrated.

And just decided one day that I would like to run.

Davis' administration has mortgaged our future.

I'd like to support a younger generation.

We're analytical thinkers.

I'd like to take action on these issues.

Should I keep going? All right. All right.

Goodbye. See you there.

I think that you build credibility through action, through showing them what you're interested in doing. And I think, in this campaign, my main goal is to meet with people.

We have arrived.

To offer them insight into my issues, into my thinking, articulating a clear and concise vision.

How are you doing? I'm running for governor. I don't know if you guys are voting, but you can check out the views. I'm running as an independent. Our future is being decided without us.

If you want to open a small business, are you going to be able to afford it? At this rate, I don't think so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it you would do?

ADAMS: I'm interested in proposing a flat tax. I think everyone should contribute a specific percentage to the needs of the state.

I was one of the first candidates who had my Web site up and all my issues the day I began to run. We're currently at campaign headquarters, which is my family home. We meet here and discuss strategies and just sort of forecast the coming month.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like that you see San Diego and a San Diego State. These people right here are the ones that are going to be bringing out the main issues. What you want to do is just stay to the outside of this and not get caught in this crossfire.

ADAMS: Right.

I think I fall sort of leading some of the minor candidates.

I am the queen of diamonds right there on top.

I believe that the older generation will divide their votes among some of the so-called major candidates. And the younger generation will pull through, back me, support me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She has got my vote, though. That's for sure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It might open some eyes of some people who are younger who may want to pursue a career in politics that things are possible, even someone like Brooke Adams.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Well, we'll see how Ms. Adams does tomorrow. The election finally takes place.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, we'll have more on America's war wounded. We'll go to Landstuhl, Germany, for a behind-the-scenes look at a key stop on the road to recovery.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Much more ahead on NEWSNIGHT tonight, including a look at the hospital where America's war wounded are first treated. We'll also talk with writer/comedian/actor Steve Martin -- and morning papers, too.

We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: There are good reasons and bad for combat, just an unjust wars. But good or bad, every war, in the end, is a machine whose byproduct is misery, a giant assembly line for machines and materiel and a disassembly line for lives, most often young.

Fortunately, there also exists a parallel mechanism for putting lives back together. It begins in combat hospitals in the field. But much of the toughest work comes at the regional medical center in Landstuhl, Germany. Tough work and, we warn you now, tough to watch. Some of what you're about to see is quite graphic. Be warned.

Here's CNN's Beth Nissen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They keep coming, the medevac planes from Baghdad and Kuwait.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We get medevac aircraft every day from down range. Sometimes they come with maybe one or two patients. Sometimes it's an aircraft that has 60.

NISSEN: Since the start of the war, more than 6,600 uniformed men and women from Operation Iraqi Freedom have been treated here at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. They keep coming, a steady stream of the accidentally injured and the sick, a steady stream of service members with battle injuries months after the major fighting stopped.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since the end of major combat, we really have had an increase in our total patient load. Not only have we had more patients total, but the severity of either their injuries or their illnesses has been greater.

NISSEN: That's because of blast injuries from rocket-propelled grenades and IEDs, the improvised explosive devices taking an almost daily toll on convoys and units in Iraq. An IED blast hit Specialist Joshua Geering (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear that louder in one ear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've lost about 60 percent of my hearing. I got half my wrist blown off on the left side. My right arm is shattered, the bone right here, just basically the elbow itself.

NISSEN: Sergeant Riah Lee (ph) has photos on his laptop of what an enemy RPG did to his truck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's where I was sitting.

NISSEN: And graphic photos of what the blast did to his foot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like two to three centimeters of the Achilles tendon was basically taken out by the blast itself. And it left a nice-sized hole in there. They said expect a long recovery. And I definitely expect that. It's no overnight fix.

NISSEN: Many injuries seen at Landstuhl are much more serious.

MAJ. ALLAN PHILP, LANDSTUHL REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER: We see a lot of amputations, some of which are done by the blast itself, some of which are done because they're not salvageable limbs. We see a fair number of head injuries, both penetrating head injuries from shrapnel and close head injuries from sort of concussions. These are life-altering and sometimes life-ending events for some really brave kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We thought it was over -- we thought the war was over. And to me, it seems like they're getting hurt worse.

NISSEN: Joyce (ph) and Allen Gray (ph) were flown by the military from Illinois to Landstuhl, after being told that their son, an Army corporal, had a life-threatening blast injury to his upper leg. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We received a call from the Army that our boy had been injured.

NISSEN: Their son was taken to one of Landstuhl's eight O.R.s, all operating on 12-hour shifts almost around the clock. Surgeons stopped the bleeding, saved Corporal Gray's life, did what they could to save his mangled leg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's looking good. We're hoping and praying that it stays that way, because, if it stays that way, then he won't lose his leg. But if it changes...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then they might not have enough tissue to wrap around the bone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Didn't think he was going to make it. Oh, mercy.

NISSEN: Almost all those who make it to Landstuhl do make it. Of more than 6,000 Operation Iraqi Freedom patients treated here, only two have died.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here. People really see the mission. They really see that, every day, they're saving lives.

NISSEN: Most of the military's sick and wounded stay at Landstuhl for only a few days, a few weeks at most. A small number, about one in 10, are treated and returned to active duty in Iraq.

Most are sent on to hospitals in the U.S., such as Walter Reed in Washington, D.C., for further surgery, treatment, rehab, clearing Landstuhl's wards, its ICU, its O.R.s, its recovery rooms for the next wave of patients from Iraq. They keep coming, the medevac flights from Baghdad and Kuwait. They keep coming, the casualties of war.

Beth Nissen, CNN, Landstuhl, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A customer from La Jolla, California, leaves this review of Steve Martin's latest novel on Amazon.com. "It's one of the best books I've ever read," he writes. "The only other one that made me feel this good is Will Durant, Ariel Durant's 'History of Civilization'." "And," he adds, "this one is a lot easier and more enjoyable."

The book is called "The Pleasure of My Company," just one volume, not 10, a breezy 163 pages. The Durants have nothing to worry about.

Steve Martin joins us from Los Angeles tonight. We're pleased to have him on the program. To be honest, it's little hard to know where to begin, the images of the war-wounded piece still in our minds.

STEVE MARTIN, AUTHOR, "THE PLEASURE OF MY COMPANY": Yes, it's very humbling to follow such tragic stories, not only these young soldiers, but also Roy Horn in Vegas. And I want to express my sympathy for all of those people we've seen.

BROWN: Thank you.

Talk a bit about the -- this book is built around a central character who is a character.

MARTIN: A central character, a young man, who is complicated, who has certain -- we'll call them neurotic compulsions. But they're benign. They're just -- they really only affect his life. And he has essentially isolated himself from life and friends.

And it's the story of how he breaks through these walls and also how other people break through to him. And it's...

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: I'm sorry.

He does seem to have this kind of -- he so wants to break out and sometimes seems so afraid to break out.

MARTIN: Well, I think that, in life, we -- in the book, obviously, the things are extreme that this character does. But, in life, I think we all have little subtle things we do to defend ourselves, essentially.

And he doesn't express a desire to get out. He's very conscious of his own walls and knows why they're there. In that sense, he's very self-aware. So he can have a sense of humor about it, too. And so that's his story.

BROWN: And it is a funny book.

(CROSSTALK)

MARTIN: Yes. That's what -- I intended. I'm sorry. I'm a little distracted, because I'm watching myself and there's a delay.

BROWN: I know. I hate that.

MARTIN: It's very odd. It's why you have to turn off your radio when you call a talk show.

Yes, it's a funny book. And all these little quirks of his lead to extraordinary situations. And he's definitely not, for example, the most average American.

BROWN: No, he's not. MARTIN: But he does win the most average American contest and has to give a speech. And, of course, the reader knows that he's absolutely insane.

BROWN: He's lonely. Your characters tend to be lonely. Is there -- I'll bet you get asked this a lot -- is that something of you?

MARTIN: Well, I don't know.

Talk to my shrink, I guess, and he could tell you. But I don't feel lonely, no. I have got thousands of fans who really love me.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: Yes, they do.

MARTIN: Yes. It's really true love, too.

BROWN: Yes, it is. And it lasts forever.

MARTIN: Certainly, it's true of these two books.

But you're not lonely if you think you're not. And, certainly, the character in this book does not think he's lonely. He thinks he's having a great, great life. And he does have friends. And people do eventually climb into his life. And I think he's -- this character, Daniel Pecan Cambridge, is a kind person, too. And I think kindness actually does lead to friends.

BROWN: He's a lovely character, I'd say.

How often do you check Amazon.com to see how many books have been sold?

MARTIN: Well, let's see, I'm a little crazy right now because it's been almost three minutes.

BROWN: OK. Thank you for the honest answer.

Why write a book? You have had a hugely successful career. Why do you write books and risk people rejecting you?

MARTIN: Well, I think, in entertainment, you always risk being rejected. That just goes with the territory. Whether it's a movie or a song or a book or Oscar hosting, you're always on the edge. You must know that. Well, you're not really -- I wouldn't call you an entertainer. I guess that

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: But I know about being rejected, so it's OK.

MARTIN: We all know about that.

BROWN: Yes. It's nice to have you. The book's terrific fun. Good luck with it.

MARTIN: Thank you very much.

BROWN: Nice to talk to you. Thanks.

MARTIN: I have to go now check Amazon.

BROWN: We'll be doing it for you, too. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: I hope it spiked a little. The will be a good sign for us, too.

MARTIN: OK. Great.

BROWN: Thank you, Steve Martin.

And morning papers after the break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: All right, time to check morning papers from around the country. We'll begin with America's most-read newspaper. No, it's not "The New York Times." You knew that, didn't you? It's "USA Today." I believe that's right. Anyway, it's one of those things I read somewhere, it's probably right.

"Once Just a Trickle, Canada's RX Drugs," prescription drugs, "Pouring Into the United States. Seniors Seek Bargains. FDA Cracks Down." Pretty good look at an issue that people are talking about. We have talked about it here. California on almost every front page. "Recall Up to Voters in California. Election is Today. Tight Race May Delay Results." We'll see. Down at the bottom here -- I'm not sure -- I haven't read this, so there may be more here. "Civil Marriage on the Rise Across the United States." I assume most marriages are pretty civil. No? Well, mine is. Pretty civil.

"San Francisco Chronicle." "Only a Kiss and a Prayer Left as Voters Hear Last Appeals." They lead, obviously, with the election in their home state. Also, "Proposition 54 Will be Back," says Connerly, if it fails. "Language Will be Improved." This is Ward Connerly. This has to do with race and whether the state should keep statistics on race.

Ahh, "The Detroit Free Press." I apologize for the long "ah" there. I was stalling until I knew what I was going to talk about. "Schwarzenegger Foes Don't Let Up." But they lead local, "Crash Damage to Keep Ramps Closed," an annoying thing if you're in the Detroit area, "The Detroit Free Press."

"Cincinnati Enquirer" leads local, too. "Sewer fixes Could Triple Bills. Deal Calls For $1.5 Billion Upgrade Over 19 years."

How we doing on time? Fifteen. Just time enough to tell you, "New Top Cop Promises: We Intend to Make This the Safest Big City in America." The weather tomorrow, grand slam. The Cubs will be in the National League playoff championships, whatever that's called, against the Marlins, all good news in Chicago, a town we love.

Nice to see you, or almost see you. We'll see you again tomorrow at 10:00 Eastern time.

Good night for all of us.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Outcome of California Recall Election?>