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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Mars in 3-D; Kerry Surging in New Hampshire; Captain Kangaroo Dies

Aired January 23, 2004 - 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.
Campaigns happen every four years, but Mars in 3-D, man, that's once in a lifetime. So, tonight after all the must-do stories and the should-do stories, we'll take you where no cable program has ever taken you before.

Now, I'll admit that, when this idea was first broached, I was a bit skeptical. Would this work, I asked? Oh, yes, my producer assured me, it will work. Little did I know he was negotiating his next job at the time, really. In any event, I hope you have your 3-D glasses ready. And I hope you have some patience, for, at the risk of offending parents with young children waiting for the segment, it does come later.

"The Whip" comes first. And "The Whip" begins in New Hampshire, where the candidates are heading into the final weekend of the campaign. I'm sure they all have their 3-D glasses.

And they have covering Candy Crowley covering -- Candy, a headline?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, John Kerry is rolling, Howard Dean is reeling, and everybody else still has hope.

BROWN: Candy, thank you. And we'll get to you at the top tonight.

Our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield, also in New Hampshire in the thick of it all.

Jeff, your headline tonight?

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Aaron, you call it New Hampshire, the place where candidates and voters meet face to face, right? Well, they got something else here about this time of year. It's called television.

BROWN: And lots of it. Jeff, we'll get to you, too.

Out in Colorado, the Kobe Bryant rape case, a twist there today, Gary Tuchman covering.

Gary, a headline. GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, Kobe Bryant's attorneys are asking a judge for access to his accuser's mental health records. But, through a fluke, they already have some of them -- Aaron.

BROWN: Gary, thank you.

And finally, to Pasadena, California, where there seems to be some good news from the Mars rover, Miles O'Brien, who I know has his 3-D glasses.

Miles, a headline.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the Spirit rover has power, is communicating, and refuses to go to sleep. Perhaps the rover is a little excited about the prospect of seeing Mars in 3-D.

BROWN: The rover wouldn't be the only one who is excited, Miles. We'll get back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up on this special edition of NEWSNIGHT, we'll mark the passing of a television legend, Bob Keeshan, better known to generations of children and their parents as Captain Kangaroo.

Later, the passion stirred up by the Mel Gibson movie "Passion" and questions of what the pope thinks about the movie.

And, as always, we check your Saturday morning papers. And this being Friday, we'll throw in a tabloid or two -- all that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin in New Hampshire. Where else would we start on a Friday night? Not much before 72 hours before the primary. If we used cliches around here like final stretch, this would be the place, just one weekend left to campaign. New Hampshire is, of course, different from Iowa, not just because it's a different part of the country. Presidential candidates often adjust their tactics, even their tone, between Iowa and New Hampshire. They did again today, most notably, perhaps, Howard Dean.

We begin tonight with CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): Howard Dean unplugged. It's hard to be normal when everything has changed. Now, even spontaneity is guarded.

HOWARD DEAN (D), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a tune called "Come Back Baby."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, OK.

DEAN: I would have played "Cocaine Blues," but I figured that would cause these guys a lot of trouble.

(CROSSTALK) CROWLEY: Looking to halt the downward slide of his campaign, Dean walks the trail cautiously now, trying not to make new waves while calming the old ones. A sedate debate Thursday night was followed by a hand-holding, sweater-wearing, just normal folks interview with his wife, her first TV appearance of the campaign. And then, the requisite, "I can laugh at myself" late night appearance, with the top 10 ways to turn his campaign around.

DEAN: Oh, I don't know, maybe fewer crazy, red-faced rants?

From the feedback I've gotten this morning, I think we've turned the corner and we're going to come back up. And then the question is, can we close the gap between now and Tuesday?

CROWLEY: For Dean, who prides himself on passion and off-the- cuff talk, this re-tooling is an awkward fit. But this is politics; even apples can be dangerous.

DEAN: These are wonderful apples. I'd make a catty remark about them in Vermont. But since I'm running in the New Hampshire primary just four days away, I don't think I will.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: The Dean campaign is encouraged by the fact he is still playing to sold-out crowds and his campaign fund-raising continues unabated. Since the Iowa polls closed on Monday, through the Internet, they have raised more than $940,000 -- Aaron.

BROWN: That's how Dr. Dean looked today, Governor Dean looked today. How is John Kerry carrying himself differently, if he is, from Iowa?

CROWLEY: Well, what is interesting is that it's almost been a role reversal.

Honest to God, John Kerry was out there today saying, we've got to get angry. We've got to get out of our seats. We have to go take our government back. So we're seeing the sort of cerebral, quiet, aloof Mr. Kerry, is now out there and excited. He's playing to good crowds. You can tell, there's nothing that becomes a candidate like success. And this is a very pumped-up campaign at the moment.

BROWN: Candy, thank you. We'll see you tomorrow up in New Hampshire. Thank you.

Clearly, this has not been an easy week for Governor Dean. He has been the news this week. Given his choice, he no doubt would have said no the that husband-and-wife interview on ABC last night. But if you think about it, he didn't really have much choice. The Iowa moment, replayed 1,000 times and joked about even more, very nearly required it.

Candidates turn to these sorts of interviews when they have trouble. They are seen by millions, far more than watch a debate, and they can work. Remember Bill and Hillary Clinton in the midst of the Gennifer Flowers debacle. It worked for them. Did last night work for Governor Dean?

We are joined from New Hampshire now by Mark Shields, the moderator of CNN's "CAPITAL GANG" and political analyst for "The News Hour With Jim Lehrer." And we're glad to have him on this program, too.

It's nice to see you, Mark.

You watched the debate and you watched the interview and you watched the candidates through the week. Has he turned this around?

MARK SHIELDS, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: I think he's turned it around in his performance, certainly, Aaron.

But the numbers coming out tomorrow morning, based upon tonight's polling, suggest that the hemorrhaging has not stopped, that Howard Dean has slid from 19 percent down to 15 percent there, in a tie with Wesley Clark, and just within the margin of error ahead of John Edwards, who is on the rise.

BROWN: Some of this could take a while to seep in. These things don't necessarily turn in a day or in an hour or anything. As you looked at him in the ABC interview, did you recognize the person you saw?

SHIELDS: Yes, I thought the ABC interview was quite revealing.

There's no question that the vote for president is the most personal vote that any American citizen casts. We want to be comfortable. We want confidence. We want a feeling that this is somebody, unlike electing a recorder of deeds at the county level or a lieutenant governor, you really don't care particularly what kind of a person it is. That is different with a president.

Howard Dean has been an enormously private person throughout. He has never accepted that premise that he had to tell people who he was, provide a context for his personal life. And, in a strange way, last night, I thought, worked for them in a way that, if it had been done two months ago, would have been a 10-strike. His wife, instead of some crunchy granola geek that she had been portrayed, or caricatured by many unflattering press reports, turned out to be delightful, warm, appealing.

And she had strange priorities. She is a mother and she cares about her patients as a doctor, my goodness, instead of gazing adoringly at her husband at a rotary lunch. Somehow that would be more acceptable behavior, I guess.

BROWN: The Dean people, or Dean supporters -- I'm not sure the campaign would absolutely agree with this -- but a lot of the Dean supporters believe that Iowa has -- is really a media creation, that it's the caricature that the media has drawn of it.

Do you agree with that? Or is it just fair to look at this and say, he had one of those awful moments and he's had to deal with it?

SHIELDS: I think they are probably both true, Aaron.

The reality is, he's got the maximum penalty. He's got capital punishment for double parking outside of an orphanage, it seems, or going 15 miles an hour in a 10-mile zone. It does show the lack of imagination some of us in cable have for rerunning the piece. It has been on about as often as the lice inspection of Saddam Hussein or the inspection of his dental cavities that we saw.

It became a wallpaper. And the tragedy is that millions of people now feel they know everything they have to know about Howard Dean. And Howard Dean, whatever else is said about him, whatever happens in this campaign, gave the Democratic Party back its soul. The Democratic Party had consorted with Bill Clinton, with corporate types who gave six-figure contributions for weekends at the White House and for access to the Oval Office.

And we have the Rangers on the one side and whoever else George Bush has raising money. And it was all big money. And he came along and said, hey, wait a minute, people, small contributions can make a difference. They did. They changed this campaign. And for that, he deserves the credit of the nation.

BROWN: Good to have you with us. I hope you'll come back from time to time through the campaign.

SHIELDS: Thank you very much, Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you. It's a nice voice to have in the program tonight.

For as long as there's been a New Hampshire primary, there's also been a recurring theme that is best used to describe how all those politicians reach all those voters. Retail politics, we call it, which is shorthand for saying, there are so relatively few voters in New Hampshire, that a candidate can get to meet most of them door to door, if necessary.

Well, like practically everything else in life that, too, is changing.

Here is our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Ah, yes, the beauty of the New Hampshire primary, candidates and voters one on one, up close and personal, give or take a few dozen cameras and boom mikes.

And it's true, sort of. But more and more, the New Hampshire voter sees the candidate this way, the same way the rest of us do, through a glass constantly. It is certainly where a huge chunk of the campaign resources are flowing. The candidates have spend more than $10 million on advertising in New Hampshire. And that doesn't even count this last week's shock-and-awe ad war. And these are the candidates as the campaigns want the voters to see them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: For 35 years, John Kerry's fought for people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's been there. He's done it. He has got that experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: The John Kerry message is simple. It features real people testifying that this is no aloof patrician, but a man looking out for them, while they're looking ahead to November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only way we're going to beat George Bush is with John Kerry's leadership and experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in the politics of what is possible. And for me, that's what this election is about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: John Edwards is preaching the same upbeat message that got him so much late support in Iowa. We see him, in effect, making his closing argument before a jury, while the other side of the screen shows his booklet of proposals, shades of Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

EDWARDS: Together, you and I are going to change America, because you believe in the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: His grandparents came to this country full of the dream of America, but they never dreamed this big.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: This is Joe Lieberman as the embodiment of the American dream. The ad touts his record on core liberal ideas, civil rights, women's right, but this ad aims right down the middle, literally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: He's fighting to cut taxes for the middle class, to make health care more affordable for paid family and medical leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: It's happening. While others have torn people down, Wes Clark is raising our hopes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: Here is the essence of the Clark campaign, the candidate as leader, above and beyond politics, indeed, someone inspirational.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: Wes Clark is uniting us and motivating people to believe in themselves again. And Wes Clark can win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: Standing up for what is right, even when it is not popular, that is the test of a true leader.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: After other commercials stressed Howard Dean's accomplishments as governor, this message returns to the Dean campaign's beginning, the lonely voice calling his party back to principles and, in effect, explaining his more recent difficulties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: Selling the politically popular thing is easy, but is that really what America needs now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: Now, for the next 72 hours, hundreds, maybe thousands of media folk, armed with enough electronic equipment to reach and repair that Mars rover, will jam into every auditorium, church basement and diner to record the candidates' communication with the voters. Well, if they really want to observe the art of communication, I think they would do a lot better to stay in their hotel rooms with a remote control -- Aaron.

BROWN: Put on your analyst hat here a second. With all of these ads going out, do any of them stand out?

GREENFIELD: None of them stand out to me the way the two Kerry ads we talked about in Iowa did, Del Sandusky, the Vietnam veteran whose life John Kerry saved, and the widow with four children saying why she doesn't like the idea of repealing all the tax cuts.

I don't think there's anything quite that striking here. I think the Edwards ad fits the Edwards I see on the stump. We keep talking about the closing argument. That's what they call it, because Edwards' real strength, if he is beginning to move up and he is beginning to threaten Dean and Clark, maybe, is that really remarkably effective communication ability. And we see it in the ad, as we see it on the stump. There's a reason why he made all that money as a trial lawyer, Aaron.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: Well, I expect that's true, too. We'll see you tomorrow as well. Jeff, thank you very much -- Jeff Greenfield in New Hampshire. Jeff has done some terrific stuff for us this week, hasn't he?

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, some of the day's other top stories, the Kobe Bryant case. We'll go out to Colorado. New details on a plea bargain in the Rush Limbaugh drug case. And later, of course, get your 3-D glasses ready, because we will take you on a tour of the red planet, unlike any you have ever seen before, we hope, Mars in 3-D.

This is NEWSNIGHT from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Rush Limbaugh once famously said, compassion is no substitute for justice. Today, we learned of his efforts to end a possible criminal case again him through a plea bargain. And his lawyers -- and they are good and respected lawyers doing right by their client -- suggested, compassion for an admitted drug addict was the proper outcome.

Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While publicly denying they were discussing a Rush Limbaugh plea deal last month, his attorneys had already privately talked and exchanged letters with the state attorney's office to make Limbaugh's troubles go away.

This December 11 letter from Rush's attorney to prosecutors marked confidential was obtained through a public records request. It says: "Rush is an addicted addict and should not be treated as a criminal." His attorneys asked for pretrial intervention. If Limbaugh completes drug treatment, the case is officially dropped.

A few days later, prosecutors balk. In a letter, they get tough, stating, records indicate evidence that would support in excess of 10 felony counts for violations. The state's counteroffer, Limbaugh pleads to one count of doctor shopping, he gets three years probation, goes to a drug treatment program, random drug tests and community service. It's on your record, but you don't get a felony conviction.

KENDALL COFFEY, ATTORNEY: Withhold or not, you have pled guilty and said you committed a crime. That lives with you and that stains you for the rest of your life.

CANDIOTTI: The talks break down. Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, calls the state's offer preposterous: "There was no doctor shopping. Mr. Limbaugh never considered accepting the state's ludicrous offer."

Limbaugh's defense team is fuming over the public records release of the letters. Florida's attorney general cleared it, but the former head of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers says, this could put a chill on any lawyer trying to cut a deal for a client, if they know written negotiations could be made public.

JEFFREY WEINER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: When their reputation is on the line, their freedom is on the line, every effort must be made to protect the integrity of the proceedings. And releasing this was not appropriate.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Let me tell you something else that is going to happen here.

CANDIOTTI: As for Limbaugh, no mention of the rejected plea offer on his Friday talk show.

(on camera): Regardless, the investigation is not over. No charges have been filed, but we have now had a rare inside look at what can happen behind closed doors.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: On to Colorado now and the Kobe Bryant rape trial.

The judge in the case told lawyers today to move things along. He said he had more papers, motions and the rest in this case than he had in an 18-month death penalty case he tried. The battle now being waged by the defense is for access to the accuser's medical records. And it is a ferocious battle. And it came with a surprise today.

Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Kobe Bryant and his attorneys want access to his accuser's medical history. So it was quite a surprise when defense lawyers acknowledged, they already have some of those private records.

CRAIG SILVERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was an amazing bureaucratic bungle.

TUCHMAN: A Colorado hospital thought it was sending the requested sexual assault exam report to the prosecution. Instead, it sent a report about the same woman's emergency room visit a month earlier.

The prosecution, also thinking it was the sexual exam report, sent the confidential papers to Bryant's attorneys.

SILVERMAN: The defense had that two-page report for months and now the judge says, destroy the records. Well, if he wanted to be thorough, the judge would order the defense attorneys to undergo a partial lobotomy, because they know what the report says and they will always know it. And it would be to team Kobe's advantage.

TUCHMAN: The judge still hasn't decided if the defense is officially entitled to the information.

The basketball player's lawyers did raise eyebrows in court after a lawyer from a rape crisis center said she did not want information released about the accuser, saying it would mean fewer women would report rapes. Bryant's attorney Pamela Mackey then shot back: "There is lots of history about black men being falsely accused of this crime by white women. I don't think we want to get dragged down into this history any more than we want to get into the history brought up by the rape crisis center."

SILVERMAN: Pam Mackey flipped over the race card. But it's not as if we didn't know that team Kobe had that card in their hand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: We weren't able to ask Pamela Mackey about her motivation for the comment because there is a gag order in this case. The attorneys are not allowed to talk.

We do know the defense attorneys want to use this medical information at trial, because they believe it affects the accuser's credibility. We can also tell you, we expect the judge to make a decision about the medical records in time for the next motions hearing, which is a week from Monday. A trial is still many months away -- Aaron.

BROWN: Gary, thank you -- Gary Tuchman in Colorado tonight.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, the passing of a true legend of television, Bob Keeshan, better known to generation of kids as Captain Kangaroo. We'll look back at his wonderful career after the break.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A quick look at some of the stories that made news around the country today.

The giant oil services company Halliburton told the government today that some of its employees may have taken kickbacks from Kuwaiti subcontractors supplying American troops in Iraq. Late today, the company said its executives have sent a check for $6 million to the Army to cover any potential overbilling.

In Washington, the man who is stepping down as the head of the hunt for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction told Reuters he did not think there were any to be found. David Kay said, "I don't think they existed." Meantime, his replacement became official today. He's Charles Duelfer, an American expert who was once a member of the U.N. inspection team. As a private citizen, he made some very similar comments to David Kay's, expressing doubt about the existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Today, as the man in charge, he says he has an open mind and said, Mr. Kay is entitled to his opinions.

In Los Angeles, the acclaimed fashion photographer Helmut Newton has died. Mr. Newton's pictures appeared in many magazines over the years, especially in "Vogue." Some of the photos, mostly stark black- and-white images of nudes, were displayed in galleries and museums around the country. Police say he lost control of his car in Los Angeles just as he was leaving the hotel and crashed it into a wall across the street. He was 83.

We say farewell tonight to Bob Keeshan. We don't know exactly how it happened and we don't have a clue as to why, but, somewhere along the way, TV decided that Mr. Keeshan was too old or too sweet or too something for today's kids. TV isn't all that smart, sometimes. Mr. Keeshan died today after a lifetime spent making children happy, not a bad job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CAPTAIN KANGAROO)

ROBERT KEESHAN, CAPTAIN KANGAROO: Let me introduce myself. My name is Kangaroo, Kangaroo, Captain Kangaroo, Captain. Right there. I'm the keeper here of the treasure house.

Why do they call me Kangaroo? Well, that's pretty easy to see. Look at this right here, you see? You see the great big pockets I've got? Look at them, just loaded down. That's why, because I got pockets like a kangaroo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN (voice-over): Half a generation before "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers," when television itself was just a toddler, barely six or seven season old, Bob Keeshan put on the frock coat with the big patch pockets, looked straight into the camera and began talking to the children of this country in a mild, calm, respectful way, something he would do through four decades.

From 1955 on through the '60s and the '70s, the '80s, and into the '90s, in black and white first and in color later, for an hour every weekday morning, and then on Saturday for 30 minutes, on CBS first, later PBS, Captain Kangaroo was always there, always there with his many chums, human and otherwise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CAPTAIN KANGAROO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Captain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Captain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Captain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Bob Keeshan was just a kid, 28 years old, when he first went on as Captain Kangaroo. Even then, he was a veteran of the brand new medium. He was Clarabell the clown for several seasons on Clarabell on "Howdy Doody," one of the first network children's shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HOWDY DOODY")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Clarabell, look, do you think we could sing "Howdy Doody" before Mr. Buster tries to come and get us all upset?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: You have to remember how unformed television was in those years, unformed, gawky, unsure of what it could or ought to be. The medium was. Keeshan was not. He seemed to know all along what would be right for kids and so did what was right from the very start and continued for decades and came to wish others were doing so as well.

KEESHAN: In the commercial sector, it's pretty iffy. The bottom line is important.

BROWN: Bob Keeshan was 76 when he died in Vermont today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: As NEWSNIGHT continues, "The Passion" stirring up strong feelings, getting the Vatican involved in a controversy over just what the pope thinks about a movie.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: When religion, history, and Hollywood intersect, as they have in Mel Gibson's new movie, "The Passion of the Christ," the result could be explosive. It already is.

The movie won't open until February 25, Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for Christians, but the debate over it began months ago. Critics say it will fuel anti-Semitism. Mr. Gibson says it is biblically, historically accurate. To build his case, he's been screening it for a range of mostly sympathetic groups. He also went to the Catholic Church's highest authority, the pope himself, and some claim he got two thumbs up.

Here's CNN's Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yes, Pope John Paul II did have a chance to see Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." But, officially, we're not supposed to know what he thinks about it, because Vatican officials say -- quote -- "The pope does not make public judgments on artistic works."

The story could end here, except that, a few weeks ago, Vatican analysts, citing sources inside the Vatican, including the pope's seclusive personal secretary, published reports saying the pope gave the thumps-up to the movie. "It is as it was," the pope was quoted as saying, meaning the movie was faithful to the Bible's account of the last hours of Christ's life.

The film has been criticized by many as anti-Semitic. And the perceived Vatican's endorsement was widely used by the producers to quash the controversy.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: What followed was near total confusion, with confirmations and denials on all sides about the pope's alleged comment. At this point, the only thing we can say with certainty is that it is impossible to know what the pope actually said or didn't say.

VINCI: Inside Vatican walls, to see the pope drawn into a commercial controversy struck aides as beneath the pope's dignity. So, in an unusual statement to the press, the pope's private secretary issued a flat denial that the pope had endorsed the movie. But within days, the pope's spokesman released a declaration Vatican observers call ambiguous.

ALLEN: The Vatican spokesman said that the motive is a cinematic, graphic recounting of the events of the passion of Jesus Christ, according to the Gospels, which, in the eyes of many observers, amounted to a sort of nonconfirmation confirmation that the pope, in effect, liked the movie.

VINCI (on camera): For his part, actor and producer Mel Gibson defends his work, saying his intention is not to offend, but to inspire.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The sharpest criticism of the movie itself has come from within the Jewish community. That is not the only criticism, to be sure, but it is the sharpest.

And among the voices who have spoken most passionately is Abe Foxman, the head of Anti-Defamation League. He was an uninvited guest at a screening of the movie the other day. The producers did not want him there. He essentially snuck in.

We talked with Mr. Foxman this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: As simply as you can make it, I suppose, your concern about the film is what? ABRAHAM FOXMAN, NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: The film has no ambiguity as to who is responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. On a continuum, it's the Jews.

In contrast, the Romans are portrayed as kind and compassionate, as trying to avoid the crucifixion of Jesus. And it's the Jews who insist, persist, in a bloodthirsty demand, that Jesus be crucified and killed. The result of that is that the charge that Jews have killed Christ has been the underpinning of Western civilization's anti- Semitism.

It is not an anti-Semitic film. I don't believe that -- I hope not -- that it will not trigger pogroms or desecrations. But it certainly will reinforce that belief that Jews are responsible, not the Romans, not what the Vatican said, not what modern scholars, historians and theologians, but that medieval charge that Jews are responsible for the death of Christ.

BROWN: Let's talk about a couple of things here. Do you have any -- what sort of, if any, communication have you had with Mr. Gibson or Mr. Gibson's people in all of this?

FOXMAN: Well, since last March, when he made public that he's about to make a film which will tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the death of Christ, we reached out. We reached out privately. We tried to meet with him. We tried to sensitize him, to say to him that this is not about he or we. It's not about the church. It's about a concern that, in history, the passion play has so frequently resulted in anti-Semitism.

And we were concerned of unintended consequences. I don't think he intends this film to the anti-Semitic. But the truth that he has embraced, which is a one-sided truth, portrays in the medieval, classical, anti-Semitic vein the charge and reinforces that the Jews are the ones responsible.

BROWN: Are you -- your people -- one of the things I hear from people is that you want to censor the movie, you want to kill the movie. Do you want to censor the movie?

FOXMAN: Not at all. God forbid. We're against censorship. We don't want to censor the movie. We don't want to kill the movie.

We had hoped that we would have an opportunity to dialogue with Mr. Gibson, that he would listen to what pains us, what worries us, and then would he make the right decisions. In fact, the noises that he's been making publicly in the last 10 months is that he's listening, that he's making changes, that this is a work in progress, that he's made some changes. He, in fact, announced in an interview in "The New Yorker" that he took out a scene that he was convinced could be misunderstood as portraying some level of fueling anti- Semitism.

I was shocked to find that that scene is back in the movie, although some of my colleagues who saw it in Houston or several months ago reported that it -- he had taken it out. Now it's back in. BROWN: And just quickly, sir, a final question. Do you have any concern that all of the controversy surrounding it, some of which you are responsible for, will only serve to increase the audience for a movie that makes you very uncomfortable?

FOXMAN: Well, last I looked, we the Jews do not control the media.

Mel Gibson is an icon. He is a medial personality. He's the most popular person today out of Hollywood. He set the issue to the public. He went to the public and said that this is what he was going to do. We tried to dialogue in private. We tried to dialogue with him to have some understanding. He was unwilling to do so.

And I will tell you, if I have to make the choice, do we have a luxury to keep quiet about the possible rationalization and fueling of anti-Semitism, the answer is no. I don't have that luxury. And if maybe some people will now see it because of that, hopefully, they will see it with a more sensitive eye, with a more sensitive mind, than without any discussion or conversation.

BROWN: Mr. Foxman, we always enjoy our conversations. We appreciate your joining us tonight. Thank you, sir, very much.

FOXMAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We talked with him late this afternoon.

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, from the sublime to the ridiculous. The time has come, my friends, Mars in 3-D. We are getting the Emmy polished up for this one already, aren't we?

We'll take a break first. Then we go to Mars. Get your glasses ready.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, it's finally here, isn't it?

There's been a buzz all day here at CNN. We're pretty sure it's about this Mars 3-D thing. Yes, the long-awaited 3-D solar system exclusive television event of the 21st Century is at hand.

But, first, the Mars news of the day. And it does seem to be good. NASA had a few bursts of communication from the Spirit rover on the Martian surface today. And late this afternoon, a large amount of data was received out at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. Scientists think the rover's power systems are all functioning. And they are continuing to restore the rover's operation on the planet's surface. They're hopeful.

Now the moment we have all been waiting for. You're going to need your -- have your 3-D glasses. I have these clip-on, flip-up ones. So if you're playing baseball in 3-D, they work, too. Don't put them on yet.

First, we're going to show you some of what we call super 3-D animation about how all this works. Since the animation itself is in 3-D, you will need the glasses for that. If you do not have your glasses -- shame on you -- the picture will be a little blurry, but you can still watch.

If you have your glasses, put them on now. Here we go.

The Spirit rover has special cameras mounted on -- everybody on the crew looks so funny right now -- special cameras, two of them, which simulate what your eyes might see if you were on the surfaces of Mars. The images are sent back to Earth. And when you wear the special glasses, like you are now, you will see what the Mars rover camera sees.

OK, you got that? That's pretty cool, isn't it? OK, take your glasses off now. Put them on. No, take them off.

Now it's time for the real thing, Mars in 3-D. Have your glasses ready.

Miles O'Brien has the tour. And he will tell you when to put them on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: No, they are not watching a 1950s horror movie. This is actually a version of Spirit attacks the Gusev crater. These 3-D images are a part of what the scientific team here uses to explore Mars. But if you want to explore Mars this way, you have to have some glasses like these.

Our tour guides on this virtual visit to Mars are Matt Golombek and Eric Deyoung (ph). They're two of the leading experts on the planet. And you can tell they're top scientists by their glasses.

Very nice, guys. Very nice.

It's time to put your glasses on now. Make sure the blue filter covers your right eye. Welcome to Mars in 3-D.

Get yourself right in front of your screen, you know, probably fairly close to it. Turn off the lights. Move your head back and forth, but perhaps, most important, at least in your mind, step into the image.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

MATT GOLOMBEK, NASA: Get yourself on Mars.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER) O'BRIEN: ... what you dreamed of for a landing site?

GOLOMBEK: Oh, yes, it's perfect. In every regard, it's exactly what we expected from a general characteristics point of view.

We expected a lightly cratered plain that was relatively flat, that was safe for landing -- that certainly worked -- and is safe for roving. And that worked, too. And we expected substantially fewer rocks than any of the other landing sites. And, as you can see, this is very, very low rock abundance.

O'BRIEN: When you guys look at these, do you think about being there?

GOLOMBEK: Yes. You know, I mean...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, absolutely.

GOLOMBEK: Yes.

GOLOMBEK: It's like you're a geologist walking on the surface. People love to take geological field trips. This is a way of -- the closest way we have right now of doing the same thing on Mars.

O'BRIEN: This is a Pathfinder image, right? I had forgotten about Pathfinder sites. I've gotten so accustomed to seeing these. It's such a dramatic difference.

GOLOMBEK: This is a signature shot for Pathfinder. This, we're fairly convinced is a catastrophic flood deposited surface, a plain of material that was deposited by this raging catastrophic flood.

O'BRIEN: I suppose a layman would look at this image and go, well, this is more interesting. Not necessarily so?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much more rocks.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But also, you know, we have got a rover. We wanted to have a place where we could drive far. And this would definitely be full of hazards and difficult to drive on. And we couldn't visit as large an area.

O'BRIEN: All right, this is way cool. What I like -- it's great perspective. This is as good a 3-D you get, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was a fantastic image, because this was the first time we were actually sitting on the surface of Mars, six wheels in the dirt. And this is looking back at the lander that brought us there.

O'BRIEN: This is -- it looks like a work of impressionistic art. I don't know what it is. First of all, give us a sense of the scale, Eric.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is taken by the microscopic imager. And for a sense of scale, a penny would pit in right around here.

GOLOMBEK: We have never, ever seen a surface at this scale before on Mars.

O'BRIEN: This is the most microscopic image ever from another planet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the highest resolution image of any place other than the Earth. So...

O'BRIEN: OK. This is it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is it.

O'BRIEN: Right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is going to hold in the record books for quite some time.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Well, congratulations, gentlemen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: All right, now I should tell you, what you just saw on your television screen is not quite as good as you might get on a computer screen.

And so, what we have done, we have posted some of these images on our Web site, as a matter of fact, your Web site, Aaron. And folks can go there. Or you can go to JPL's site and see them. It is quite better when you have the resolution of a computer screen.

Now, sadly, because of the news we told you about earlier, there were no new images, of course, from Spirit today. And so the guys in the imaging lab there, Eric Deyoung's (ph) lab, that helped us out with this piece, well, they had a little time on their hands, unfortunately.

And so they put together -- well, they got the Photoshop out. And put your glasses on one more time, folks, because we have one more 3-D anaglyph, as they're called, to show you. This is -- imagine if you had a camera there, the CNN bureau was set up on Mars there to greet Spirit as it rolled off the landing pad and, actually, one of the better 3-D images you'll see. Of course, it's just a little bit of doctoring -- Aaron.

BROWN: That is fabulous, though.

We tried to get all the viewers buy new computer screens. We thought we were pushing our luck with the 3-D glasses, though.

How is the mood there, all things considered?

O'BRIEN: A little better today. That little burst of data that you talked about at the beginning of this piece, 70 megabits, a lot of it was junk. But embedded in all that junk was a full set of diagnostics on the power supply and power systems of Spirit. And it checked out A-OK.

And what that does, if nothing else, is, it eliminates a whole line of possibilities, when they start figuring out what the fault is. It's probably a combination of a tiny flaw in the software meeting up with a certain way that the hardware was configured. And once they figure that out, they will just send up a patch and off they will go, hopefully.

BROWN: I heard -- as I was driving in today, I think heard on the radio someone out there in Pasadena saying they doubted that that rover would ever be 100 percent healthy again. Is that still the feeling?

O'BRIEN: Yes, it is, because there's probably some combination of hardware and software that they are going to have to avoid.

And it's possible that what that is tantamount to is, they are going to have to take one piece of hardware offline. But there's a scientific package there that involves a couple of spectrometers and a microscope. So, if you lose one, you can still press on. And, besides, you've got a twin rover due to land about 24 hours from now. So that's the beauty of having a little bit of redundancy up there.

BROWN: Miles, thank you for your help on what was kind of a crazy idea around here. You pulled it off. And we appreciate it very much. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: My pleasure.

BROWN: Miles O'Brien.

We'll do morning papers in 3-D. Why not?

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country.

And this is Friday, isn't it? So we'll do a tabloid or two. You don't need the 3-D glasses for this. In fact, take your 3-D glasses off. It would really screw it up. Only the most stubborn of you will keep them on now.

"Chattanooga Times Free Press." Here's their Saturday lead. "What's Cooking? High-Tech Company Eyes Area Site to Develop Internet-Driven Oven." There's a case where you do have to read the story to figure out what the point is, isn't it? Also, they throw a little politics on the front page. "Kerry, Edwards Turn Eyes Towards Move South." The campaign moves to South Carolina next week. "The Hartford Courant" leads political, too. "Mission New Hampshire: Veterans Help Kerry Showcase Military Service." And on the other side of the headline, "Hopeful Edwards Provides Eye Contact and a Smooth Liberal-Leaning Message," is the headline in "The Hartford Courant." Also, "Legal Fund Being Set Up." This involves the governor, who has got a passel full of troubles.

"Boston Herald" a little more succinct in its political lead. "Left Gab: GOP Throws Liberal Label" -- oh, my goodness -- "At Front- Running Kerry." They put Captain Kangaroo on the front page. I absolutely would have put that story on the front page if I owned a newspaper, which I clearly do not, though I once published "The Knollwood Gazette."

Bob Keeshan is on the front page of "The Miami Herald" as well. "TV's Enduring, Gentle Captain Kangaroo Dies." But they lead with -- well it's not really politics, is it? Something. "Chief Meets Champs." The Florida Marlins were at the White House visiting the president. And so that's the big lead in "The Miami Herald."

A couple of tabloids for you today. "The Globe," a big double issue, we're told, two stories you certainly wouldn't want to miss. "JFK Jr. Wife Had Other Lovers. How She Taunted John and Even Called Him Gay." Come on, these people are dead. Leave them alone. Also on the front page, "Jacko's Secret Girlfriend, What They Did in Bed."

"The Weekly World News" has a story I wish we had covered: "600- Pound Gal Adopted World's Fattest Cat, Then Sits on It." "Me-Ouch," it says. "How Vet Saved the Life of the World's Flattest Kitty." And, by the way, that comes with a free poster you will treasure. Yikes.

The weather in Chicago, I had somewhere, but it has to do with snow.

We'll wrap up the day in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A quick recap of our top story before we go. Just a weekend to go and a day before the primary in New Hampshire, Democratic presidential contenders heading into the final weekend of campaigning, the polls showing John Kerry with a 12-point lead over Howard Dean. But more than a third of the voters in the state say they could still change their mind, a busy weekend in New Hampshire.

Monday on NEWSNIGHT, on the eve of the primary, we'll introduce you to the people who really power the campaigns, all those 20- somethings with their boundless energy and enthusiasm for the cause. That's Monday right here on NEWSNIGHT.

Bill Hemmer with a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Aaron, thank you.

Monday morning here on "AMERICAN MORNING," it is crunch time in New Hampshire. We know that all to well. We'll ask the candidates about the latest primary polling from over the weekend. Also, we'll talk to some of the wives about their role in their husbands' campaign.

Monday morning, 7:00 Eastern. Hope to see you then. And certainly have a great weekend -- Aaron.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Thank you.

If you missed the 3-D thing, you can see it on the replay, unless you're watching the replay, in which case, you missed it.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" is next for most of you. We'll see you again on Monday. In fact, we'll see you on Sunday night.

Have a terrific weekend. And 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





Kangaroo Dies>


Aired January 23, 2004 - 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.
Campaigns happen every four years, but Mars in 3-D, man, that's once in a lifetime. So, tonight after all the must-do stories and the should-do stories, we'll take you where no cable program has ever taken you before.

Now, I'll admit that, when this idea was first broached, I was a bit skeptical. Would this work, I asked? Oh, yes, my producer assured me, it will work. Little did I know he was negotiating his next job at the time, really. In any event, I hope you have your 3-D glasses ready. And I hope you have some patience, for, at the risk of offending parents with young children waiting for the segment, it does come later.

"The Whip" comes first. And "The Whip" begins in New Hampshire, where the candidates are heading into the final weekend of the campaign. I'm sure they all have their 3-D glasses.

And they have covering Candy Crowley covering -- Candy, a headline?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, John Kerry is rolling, Howard Dean is reeling, and everybody else still has hope.

BROWN: Candy, thank you. And we'll get to you at the top tonight.

Our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield, also in New Hampshire in the thick of it all.

Jeff, your headline tonight?

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Aaron, you call it New Hampshire, the place where candidates and voters meet face to face, right? Well, they got something else here about this time of year. It's called television.

BROWN: And lots of it. Jeff, we'll get to you, too.

Out in Colorado, the Kobe Bryant rape case, a twist there today, Gary Tuchman covering.

Gary, a headline. GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, Kobe Bryant's attorneys are asking a judge for access to his accuser's mental health records. But, through a fluke, they already have some of them -- Aaron.

BROWN: Gary, thank you.

And finally, to Pasadena, California, where there seems to be some good news from the Mars rover, Miles O'Brien, who I know has his 3-D glasses.

Miles, a headline.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the Spirit rover has power, is communicating, and refuses to go to sleep. Perhaps the rover is a little excited about the prospect of seeing Mars in 3-D.

BROWN: The rover wouldn't be the only one who is excited, Miles. We'll get back to you and the rest shortly.

Also coming up on this special edition of NEWSNIGHT, we'll mark the passing of a television legend, Bob Keeshan, better known to generations of children and their parents as Captain Kangaroo.

Later, the passion stirred up by the Mel Gibson movie "Passion" and questions of what the pope thinks about the movie.

And, as always, we check your Saturday morning papers. And this being Friday, we'll throw in a tabloid or two -- all that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin in New Hampshire. Where else would we start on a Friday night? Not much before 72 hours before the primary. If we used cliches around here like final stretch, this would be the place, just one weekend left to campaign. New Hampshire is, of course, different from Iowa, not just because it's a different part of the country. Presidential candidates often adjust their tactics, even their tone, between Iowa and New Hampshire. They did again today, most notably, perhaps, Howard Dean.

We begin tonight with CNN's Candy Crowley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): Howard Dean unplugged. It's hard to be normal when everything has changed. Now, even spontaneity is guarded.

HOWARD DEAN (D), DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's a tune called "Come Back Baby."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, OK.

DEAN: I would have played "Cocaine Blues," but I figured that would cause these guys a lot of trouble.

(CROSSTALK) CROWLEY: Looking to halt the downward slide of his campaign, Dean walks the trail cautiously now, trying not to make new waves while calming the old ones. A sedate debate Thursday night was followed by a hand-holding, sweater-wearing, just normal folks interview with his wife, her first TV appearance of the campaign. And then, the requisite, "I can laugh at myself" late night appearance, with the top 10 ways to turn his campaign around.

DEAN: Oh, I don't know, maybe fewer crazy, red-faced rants?

From the feedback I've gotten this morning, I think we've turned the corner and we're going to come back up. And then the question is, can we close the gap between now and Tuesday?

CROWLEY: For Dean, who prides himself on passion and off-the- cuff talk, this re-tooling is an awkward fit. But this is politics; even apples can be dangerous.

DEAN: These are wonderful apples. I'd make a catty remark about them in Vermont. But since I'm running in the New Hampshire primary just four days away, I don't think I will.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: The Dean campaign is encouraged by the fact he is still playing to sold-out crowds and his campaign fund-raising continues unabated. Since the Iowa polls closed on Monday, through the Internet, they have raised more than $940,000 -- Aaron.

BROWN: That's how Dr. Dean looked today, Governor Dean looked today. How is John Kerry carrying himself differently, if he is, from Iowa?

CROWLEY: Well, what is interesting is that it's almost been a role reversal.

Honest to God, John Kerry was out there today saying, we've got to get angry. We've got to get out of our seats. We have to go take our government back. So we're seeing the sort of cerebral, quiet, aloof Mr. Kerry, is now out there and excited. He's playing to good crowds. You can tell, there's nothing that becomes a candidate like success. And this is a very pumped-up campaign at the moment.

BROWN: Candy, thank you. We'll see you tomorrow up in New Hampshire. Thank you.

Clearly, this has not been an easy week for Governor Dean. He has been the news this week. Given his choice, he no doubt would have said no the that husband-and-wife interview on ABC last night. But if you think about it, he didn't really have much choice. The Iowa moment, replayed 1,000 times and joked about even more, very nearly required it.

Candidates turn to these sorts of interviews when they have trouble. They are seen by millions, far more than watch a debate, and they can work. Remember Bill and Hillary Clinton in the midst of the Gennifer Flowers debacle. It worked for them. Did last night work for Governor Dean?

We are joined from New Hampshire now by Mark Shields, the moderator of CNN's "CAPITAL GANG" and political analyst for "The News Hour With Jim Lehrer." And we're glad to have him on this program, too.

It's nice to see you, Mark.

You watched the debate and you watched the interview and you watched the candidates through the week. Has he turned this around?

MARK SHIELDS, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: I think he's turned it around in his performance, certainly, Aaron.

But the numbers coming out tomorrow morning, based upon tonight's polling, suggest that the hemorrhaging has not stopped, that Howard Dean has slid from 19 percent down to 15 percent there, in a tie with Wesley Clark, and just within the margin of error ahead of John Edwards, who is on the rise.

BROWN: Some of this could take a while to seep in. These things don't necessarily turn in a day or in an hour or anything. As you looked at him in the ABC interview, did you recognize the person you saw?

SHIELDS: Yes, I thought the ABC interview was quite revealing.

There's no question that the vote for president is the most personal vote that any American citizen casts. We want to be comfortable. We want confidence. We want a feeling that this is somebody, unlike electing a recorder of deeds at the county level or a lieutenant governor, you really don't care particularly what kind of a person it is. That is different with a president.

Howard Dean has been an enormously private person throughout. He has never accepted that premise that he had to tell people who he was, provide a context for his personal life. And, in a strange way, last night, I thought, worked for them in a way that, if it had been done two months ago, would have been a 10-strike. His wife, instead of some crunchy granola geek that she had been portrayed, or caricatured by many unflattering press reports, turned out to be delightful, warm, appealing.

And she had strange priorities. She is a mother and she cares about her patients as a doctor, my goodness, instead of gazing adoringly at her husband at a rotary lunch. Somehow that would be more acceptable behavior, I guess.

BROWN: The Dean people, or Dean supporters -- I'm not sure the campaign would absolutely agree with this -- but a lot of the Dean supporters believe that Iowa has -- is really a media creation, that it's the caricature that the media has drawn of it.

Do you agree with that? Or is it just fair to look at this and say, he had one of those awful moments and he's had to deal with it?

SHIELDS: I think they are probably both true, Aaron.

The reality is, he's got the maximum penalty. He's got capital punishment for double parking outside of an orphanage, it seems, or going 15 miles an hour in a 10-mile zone. It does show the lack of imagination some of us in cable have for rerunning the piece. It has been on about as often as the lice inspection of Saddam Hussein or the inspection of his dental cavities that we saw.

It became a wallpaper. And the tragedy is that millions of people now feel they know everything they have to know about Howard Dean. And Howard Dean, whatever else is said about him, whatever happens in this campaign, gave the Democratic Party back its soul. The Democratic Party had consorted with Bill Clinton, with corporate types who gave six-figure contributions for weekends at the White House and for access to the Oval Office.

And we have the Rangers on the one side and whoever else George Bush has raising money. And it was all big money. And he came along and said, hey, wait a minute, people, small contributions can make a difference. They did. They changed this campaign. And for that, he deserves the credit of the nation.

BROWN: Good to have you with us. I hope you'll come back from time to time through the campaign.

SHIELDS: Thank you very much, Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you. It's a nice voice to have in the program tonight.

For as long as there's been a New Hampshire primary, there's also been a recurring theme that is best used to describe how all those politicians reach all those voters. Retail politics, we call it, which is shorthand for saying, there are so relatively few voters in New Hampshire, that a candidate can get to meet most of them door to door, if necessary.

Well, like practically everything else in life that, too, is changing.

Here is our senior analyst, Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Ah, yes, the beauty of the New Hampshire primary, candidates and voters one on one, up close and personal, give or take a few dozen cameras and boom mikes.

And it's true, sort of. But more and more, the New Hampshire voter sees the candidate this way, the same way the rest of us do, through a glass constantly. It is certainly where a huge chunk of the campaign resources are flowing. The candidates have spend more than $10 million on advertising in New Hampshire. And that doesn't even count this last week's shock-and-awe ad war. And these are the candidates as the campaigns want the voters to see them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: For 35 years, John Kerry's fought for people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's been there. He's done it. He has got that experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: The John Kerry message is simple. It features real people testifying that this is no aloof patrician, but a man looking out for them, while they're looking ahead to November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only way we're going to beat George Bush is with John Kerry's leadership and experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe in the politics of what is possible. And for me, that's what this election is about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: John Edwards is preaching the same upbeat message that got him so much late support in Iowa. We see him, in effect, making his closing argument before a jury, while the other side of the screen shows his booklet of proposals, shades of Bill Clinton and Ross Perot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

EDWARDS: Together, you and I are going to change America, because you believe in the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: His grandparents came to this country full of the dream of America, but they never dreamed this big.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: This is Joe Lieberman as the embodiment of the American dream. The ad touts his record on core liberal ideas, civil rights, women's right, but this ad aims right down the middle, literally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: He's fighting to cut taxes for the middle class, to make health care more affordable for paid family and medical leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: It's happening. While others have torn people down, Wes Clark is raising our hopes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: Here is the essence of the Clark campaign, the candidate as leader, above and beyond politics, indeed, someone inspirational.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: Wes Clark is uniting us and motivating people to believe in themselves again. And Wes Clark can win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: Standing up for what is right, even when it is not popular, that is the test of a true leader.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GREENFIELD: After other commercials stressed Howard Dean's accomplishments as governor, this message returns to the Dean campaign's beginning, the lonely voice calling his party back to principles and, in effect, explaining his more recent difficulties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

NARRATOR: Selling the politically popular thing is easy, but is that really what America needs now?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GREENFIELD: Now, for the next 72 hours, hundreds, maybe thousands of media folk, armed with enough electronic equipment to reach and repair that Mars rover, will jam into every auditorium, church basement and diner to record the candidates' communication with the voters. Well, if they really want to observe the art of communication, I think they would do a lot better to stay in their hotel rooms with a remote control -- Aaron.

BROWN: Put on your analyst hat here a second. With all of these ads going out, do any of them stand out?

GREENFIELD: None of them stand out to me the way the two Kerry ads we talked about in Iowa did, Del Sandusky, the Vietnam veteran whose life John Kerry saved, and the widow with four children saying why she doesn't like the idea of repealing all the tax cuts.

I don't think there's anything quite that striking here. I think the Edwards ad fits the Edwards I see on the stump. We keep talking about the closing argument. That's what they call it, because Edwards' real strength, if he is beginning to move up and he is beginning to threaten Dean and Clark, maybe, is that really remarkably effective communication ability. And we see it in the ad, as we see it on the stump. There's a reason why he made all that money as a trial lawyer, Aaron.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: Well, I expect that's true, too. We'll see you tomorrow as well. Jeff, thank you very much -- Jeff Greenfield in New Hampshire. Jeff has done some terrific stuff for us this week, hasn't he?

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, some of the day's other top stories, the Kobe Bryant case. We'll go out to Colorado. New details on a plea bargain in the Rush Limbaugh drug case. And later, of course, get your 3-D glasses ready, because we will take you on a tour of the red planet, unlike any you have ever seen before, we hope, Mars in 3-D.

This is NEWSNIGHT from New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Rush Limbaugh once famously said, compassion is no substitute for justice. Today, we learned of his efforts to end a possible criminal case again him through a plea bargain. And his lawyers -- and they are good and respected lawyers doing right by their client -- suggested, compassion for an admitted drug addict was the proper outcome.

Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While publicly denying they were discussing a Rush Limbaugh plea deal last month, his attorneys had already privately talked and exchanged letters with the state attorney's office to make Limbaugh's troubles go away.

This December 11 letter from Rush's attorney to prosecutors marked confidential was obtained through a public records request. It says: "Rush is an addicted addict and should not be treated as a criminal." His attorneys asked for pretrial intervention. If Limbaugh completes drug treatment, the case is officially dropped.

A few days later, prosecutors balk. In a letter, they get tough, stating, records indicate evidence that would support in excess of 10 felony counts for violations. The state's counteroffer, Limbaugh pleads to one count of doctor shopping, he gets three years probation, goes to a drug treatment program, random drug tests and community service. It's on your record, but you don't get a felony conviction.

KENDALL COFFEY, ATTORNEY: Withhold or not, you have pled guilty and said you committed a crime. That lives with you and that stains you for the rest of your life.

CANDIOTTI: The talks break down. Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, calls the state's offer preposterous: "There was no doctor shopping. Mr. Limbaugh never considered accepting the state's ludicrous offer."

Limbaugh's defense team is fuming over the public records release of the letters. Florida's attorney general cleared it, but the former head of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers says, this could put a chill on any lawyer trying to cut a deal for a client, if they know written negotiations could be made public.

JEFFREY WEINER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: When their reputation is on the line, their freedom is on the line, every effort must be made to protect the integrity of the proceedings. And releasing this was not appropriate.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Let me tell you something else that is going to happen here.

CANDIOTTI: As for Limbaugh, no mention of the rejected plea offer on his Friday talk show.

(on camera): Regardless, the investigation is not over. No charges have been filed, but we have now had a rare inside look at what can happen behind closed doors.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: On to Colorado now and the Kobe Bryant rape trial.

The judge in the case told lawyers today to move things along. He said he had more papers, motions and the rest in this case than he had in an 18-month death penalty case he tried. The battle now being waged by the defense is for access to the accuser's medical records. And it is a ferocious battle. And it came with a surprise today.

Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Kobe Bryant and his attorneys want access to his accuser's medical history. So it was quite a surprise when defense lawyers acknowledged, they already have some of those private records.

CRAIG SILVERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It was an amazing bureaucratic bungle.

TUCHMAN: A Colorado hospital thought it was sending the requested sexual assault exam report to the prosecution. Instead, it sent a report about the same woman's emergency room visit a month earlier.

The prosecution, also thinking it was the sexual exam report, sent the confidential papers to Bryant's attorneys.

SILVERMAN: The defense had that two-page report for months and now the judge says, destroy the records. Well, if he wanted to be thorough, the judge would order the defense attorneys to undergo a partial lobotomy, because they know what the report says and they will always know it. And it would be to team Kobe's advantage.

TUCHMAN: The judge still hasn't decided if the defense is officially entitled to the information.

The basketball player's lawyers did raise eyebrows in court after a lawyer from a rape crisis center said she did not want information released about the accuser, saying it would mean fewer women would report rapes. Bryant's attorney Pamela Mackey then shot back: "There is lots of history about black men being falsely accused of this crime by white women. I don't think we want to get dragged down into this history any more than we want to get into the history brought up by the rape crisis center."

SILVERMAN: Pam Mackey flipped over the race card. But it's not as if we didn't know that team Kobe had that card in their hand.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: We weren't able to ask Pamela Mackey about her motivation for the comment because there is a gag order in this case. The attorneys are not allowed to talk.

We do know the defense attorneys want to use this medical information at trial, because they believe it affects the accuser's credibility. We can also tell you, we expect the judge to make a decision about the medical records in time for the next motions hearing, which is a week from Monday. A trial is still many months away -- Aaron.

BROWN: Gary, thank you -- Gary Tuchman in Colorado tonight.

Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, the passing of a true legend of television, Bob Keeshan, better known to generation of kids as Captain Kangaroo. We'll look back at his wonderful career after the break.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A quick look at some of the stories that made news around the country today.

The giant oil services company Halliburton told the government today that some of its employees may have taken kickbacks from Kuwaiti subcontractors supplying American troops in Iraq. Late today, the company said its executives have sent a check for $6 million to the Army to cover any potential overbilling.

In Washington, the man who is stepping down as the head of the hunt for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction told Reuters he did not think there were any to be found. David Kay said, "I don't think they existed." Meantime, his replacement became official today. He's Charles Duelfer, an American expert who was once a member of the U.N. inspection team. As a private citizen, he made some very similar comments to David Kay's, expressing doubt about the existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

Today, as the man in charge, he says he has an open mind and said, Mr. Kay is entitled to his opinions.

In Los Angeles, the acclaimed fashion photographer Helmut Newton has died. Mr. Newton's pictures appeared in many magazines over the years, especially in "Vogue." Some of the photos, mostly stark black- and-white images of nudes, were displayed in galleries and museums around the country. Police say he lost control of his car in Los Angeles just as he was leaving the hotel and crashed it into a wall across the street. He was 83.

We say farewell tonight to Bob Keeshan. We don't know exactly how it happened and we don't have a clue as to why, but, somewhere along the way, TV decided that Mr. Keeshan was too old or too sweet or too something for today's kids. TV isn't all that smart, sometimes. Mr. Keeshan died today after a lifetime spent making children happy, not a bad job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CAPTAIN KANGAROO)

ROBERT KEESHAN, CAPTAIN KANGAROO: Let me introduce myself. My name is Kangaroo, Kangaroo, Captain Kangaroo, Captain. Right there. I'm the keeper here of the treasure house.

Why do they call me Kangaroo? Well, that's pretty easy to see. Look at this right here, you see? You see the great big pockets I've got? Look at them, just loaded down. That's why, because I got pockets like a kangaroo.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN (voice-over): Half a generation before "Sesame Street" and "Mister Rogers," when television itself was just a toddler, barely six or seven season old, Bob Keeshan put on the frock coat with the big patch pockets, looked straight into the camera and began talking to the children of this country in a mild, calm, respectful way, something he would do through four decades.

From 1955 on through the '60s and the '70s, the '80s, and into the '90s, in black and white first and in color later, for an hour every weekday morning, and then on Saturday for 30 minutes, on CBS first, later PBS, Captain Kangaroo was always there, always there with his many chums, human and otherwise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CAPTAIN KANGAROO)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Captain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Captain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning, Captain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Bob Keeshan was just a kid, 28 years old, when he first went on as Captain Kangaroo. Even then, he was a veteran of the brand new medium. He was Clarabell the clown for several seasons on Clarabell on "Howdy Doody," one of the first network children's shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "HOWDY DOODY")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Clarabell, look, do you think we could sing "Howdy Doody" before Mr. Buster tries to come and get us all upset?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: You have to remember how unformed television was in those years, unformed, gawky, unsure of what it could or ought to be. The medium was. Keeshan was not. He seemed to know all along what would be right for kids and so did what was right from the very start and continued for decades and came to wish others were doing so as well.

KEESHAN: In the commercial sector, it's pretty iffy. The bottom line is important.

BROWN: Bob Keeshan was 76 when he died in Vermont today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: As NEWSNIGHT continues, "The Passion" stirring up strong feelings, getting the Vatican involved in a controversy over just what the pope thinks about a movie.

Around the world, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: When religion, history, and Hollywood intersect, as they have in Mel Gibson's new movie, "The Passion of the Christ," the result could be explosive. It already is.

The movie won't open until February 25, Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for Christians, but the debate over it began months ago. Critics say it will fuel anti-Semitism. Mr. Gibson says it is biblically, historically accurate. To build his case, he's been screening it for a range of mostly sympathetic groups. He also went to the Catholic Church's highest authority, the pope himself, and some claim he got two thumbs up.

Here's CNN's Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yes, Pope John Paul II did have a chance to see Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." But, officially, we're not supposed to know what he thinks about it, because Vatican officials say -- quote -- "The pope does not make public judgments on artistic works."

The story could end here, except that, a few weeks ago, Vatican analysts, citing sources inside the Vatican, including the pope's seclusive personal secretary, published reports saying the pope gave the thumps-up to the movie. "It is as it was," the pope was quoted as saying, meaning the movie was faithful to the Bible's account of the last hours of Christ's life.

The film has been criticized by many as anti-Semitic. And the perceived Vatican's endorsement was widely used by the producers to quash the controversy.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: What followed was near total confusion, with confirmations and denials on all sides about the pope's alleged comment. At this point, the only thing we can say with certainty is that it is impossible to know what the pope actually said or didn't say.

VINCI: Inside Vatican walls, to see the pope drawn into a commercial controversy struck aides as beneath the pope's dignity. So, in an unusual statement to the press, the pope's private secretary issued a flat denial that the pope had endorsed the movie. But within days, the pope's spokesman released a declaration Vatican observers call ambiguous.

ALLEN: The Vatican spokesman said that the motive is a cinematic, graphic recounting of the events of the passion of Jesus Christ, according to the Gospels, which, in the eyes of many observers, amounted to a sort of nonconfirmation confirmation that the pope, in effect, liked the movie.

VINCI (on camera): For his part, actor and producer Mel Gibson defends his work, saying his intention is not to offend, but to inspire.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The sharpest criticism of the movie itself has come from within the Jewish community. That is not the only criticism, to be sure, but it is the sharpest.

And among the voices who have spoken most passionately is Abe Foxman, the head of Anti-Defamation League. He was an uninvited guest at a screening of the movie the other day. The producers did not want him there. He essentially snuck in.

We talked with Mr. Foxman this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: As simply as you can make it, I suppose, your concern about the film is what? ABRAHAM FOXMAN, NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: The film has no ambiguity as to who is responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. On a continuum, it's the Jews.

In contrast, the Romans are portrayed as kind and compassionate, as trying to avoid the crucifixion of Jesus. And it's the Jews who insist, persist, in a bloodthirsty demand, that Jesus be crucified and killed. The result of that is that the charge that Jews have killed Christ has been the underpinning of Western civilization's anti- Semitism.

It is not an anti-Semitic film. I don't believe that -- I hope not -- that it will not trigger pogroms or desecrations. But it certainly will reinforce that belief that Jews are responsible, not the Romans, not what the Vatican said, not what modern scholars, historians and theologians, but that medieval charge that Jews are responsible for the death of Christ.

BROWN: Let's talk about a couple of things here. Do you have any -- what sort of, if any, communication have you had with Mr. Gibson or Mr. Gibson's people in all of this?

FOXMAN: Well, since last March, when he made public that he's about to make a film which will tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the death of Christ, we reached out. We reached out privately. We tried to meet with him. We tried to sensitize him, to say to him that this is not about he or we. It's not about the church. It's about a concern that, in history, the passion play has so frequently resulted in anti-Semitism.

And we were concerned of unintended consequences. I don't think he intends this film to the anti-Semitic. But the truth that he has embraced, which is a one-sided truth, portrays in the medieval, classical, anti-Semitic vein the charge and reinforces that the Jews are the ones responsible.

BROWN: Are you -- your people -- one of the things I hear from people is that you want to censor the movie, you want to kill the movie. Do you want to censor the movie?

FOXMAN: Not at all. God forbid. We're against censorship. We don't want to censor the movie. We don't want to kill the movie.

We had hoped that we would have an opportunity to dialogue with Mr. Gibson, that he would listen to what pains us, what worries us, and then would he make the right decisions. In fact, the noises that he's been making publicly in the last 10 months is that he's listening, that he's making changes, that this is a work in progress, that he's made some changes. He, in fact, announced in an interview in "The New Yorker" that he took out a scene that he was convinced could be misunderstood as portraying some level of fueling anti- Semitism.

I was shocked to find that that scene is back in the movie, although some of my colleagues who saw it in Houston or several months ago reported that it -- he had taken it out. Now it's back in. BROWN: And just quickly, sir, a final question. Do you have any concern that all of the controversy surrounding it, some of which you are responsible for, will only serve to increase the audience for a movie that makes you very uncomfortable?

FOXMAN: Well, last I looked, we the Jews do not control the media.

Mel Gibson is an icon. He is a medial personality. He's the most popular person today out of Hollywood. He set the issue to the public. He went to the public and said that this is what he was going to do. We tried to dialogue in private. We tried to dialogue with him to have some understanding. He was unwilling to do so.

And I will tell you, if I have to make the choice, do we have a luxury to keep quiet about the possible rationalization and fueling of anti-Semitism, the answer is no. I don't have that luxury. And if maybe some people will now see it because of that, hopefully, they will see it with a more sensitive eye, with a more sensitive mind, than without any discussion or conversation.

BROWN: Mr. Foxman, we always enjoy our conversations. We appreciate your joining us tonight. Thank you, sir, very much.

FOXMAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: We talked with him late this afternoon.

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, from the sublime to the ridiculous. The time has come, my friends, Mars in 3-D. We are getting the Emmy polished up for this one already, aren't we?

We'll take a break first. Then we go to Mars. Get your glasses ready.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, it's finally here, isn't it?

There's been a buzz all day here at CNN. We're pretty sure it's about this Mars 3-D thing. Yes, the long-awaited 3-D solar system exclusive television event of the 21st Century is at hand.

But, first, the Mars news of the day. And it does seem to be good. NASA had a few bursts of communication from the Spirit rover on the Martian surface today. And late this afternoon, a large amount of data was received out at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California. Scientists think the rover's power systems are all functioning. And they are continuing to restore the rover's operation on the planet's surface. They're hopeful.

Now the moment we have all been waiting for. You're going to need your -- have your 3-D glasses. I have these clip-on, flip-up ones. So if you're playing baseball in 3-D, they work, too. Don't put them on yet.

First, we're going to show you some of what we call super 3-D animation about how all this works. Since the animation itself is in 3-D, you will need the glasses for that. If you do not have your glasses -- shame on you -- the picture will be a little blurry, but you can still watch.

If you have your glasses, put them on now. Here we go.

The Spirit rover has special cameras mounted on -- everybody on the crew looks so funny right now -- special cameras, two of them, which simulate what your eyes might see if you were on the surfaces of Mars. The images are sent back to Earth. And when you wear the special glasses, like you are now, you will see what the Mars rover camera sees.

OK, you got that? That's pretty cool, isn't it? OK, take your glasses off now. Put them on. No, take them off.

Now it's time for the real thing, Mars in 3-D. Have your glasses ready.

Miles O'Brien has the tour. And he will tell you when to put them on.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: No, they are not watching a 1950s horror movie. This is actually a version of Spirit attacks the Gusev crater. These 3-D images are a part of what the scientific team here uses to explore Mars. But if you want to explore Mars this way, you have to have some glasses like these.

Our tour guides on this virtual visit to Mars are Matt Golombek and Eric Deyoung (ph). They're two of the leading experts on the planet. And you can tell they're top scientists by their glasses.

Very nice, guys. Very nice.

It's time to put your glasses on now. Make sure the blue filter covers your right eye. Welcome to Mars in 3-D.

Get yourself right in front of your screen, you know, probably fairly close to it. Turn off the lights. Move your head back and forth, but perhaps, most important, at least in your mind, step into the image.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

MATT GOLOMBEK, NASA: Get yourself on Mars.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER) O'BRIEN: ... what you dreamed of for a landing site?

GOLOMBEK: Oh, yes, it's perfect. In every regard, it's exactly what we expected from a general characteristics point of view.

We expected a lightly cratered plain that was relatively flat, that was safe for landing -- that certainly worked -- and is safe for roving. And that worked, too. And we expected substantially fewer rocks than any of the other landing sites. And, as you can see, this is very, very low rock abundance.

O'BRIEN: When you guys look at these, do you think about being there?

GOLOMBEK: Yes. You know, I mean...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, absolutely.

GOLOMBEK: Yes.

GOLOMBEK: It's like you're a geologist walking on the surface. People love to take geological field trips. This is a way of -- the closest way we have right now of doing the same thing on Mars.

O'BRIEN: This is a Pathfinder image, right? I had forgotten about Pathfinder sites. I've gotten so accustomed to seeing these. It's such a dramatic difference.

GOLOMBEK: This is a signature shot for Pathfinder. This, we're fairly convinced is a catastrophic flood deposited surface, a plain of material that was deposited by this raging catastrophic flood.

O'BRIEN: I suppose a layman would look at this image and go, well, this is more interesting. Not necessarily so?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Much more rocks.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But also, you know, we have got a rover. We wanted to have a place where we could drive far. And this would definitely be full of hazards and difficult to drive on. And we couldn't visit as large an area.

O'BRIEN: All right, this is way cool. What I like -- it's great perspective. This is as good a 3-D you get, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was a fantastic image, because this was the first time we were actually sitting on the surface of Mars, six wheels in the dirt. And this is looking back at the lander that brought us there.

O'BRIEN: This is -- it looks like a work of impressionistic art. I don't know what it is. First of all, give us a sense of the scale, Eric.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is taken by the microscopic imager. And for a sense of scale, a penny would pit in right around here.

GOLOMBEK: We have never, ever seen a surface at this scale before on Mars.

O'BRIEN: This is the most microscopic image ever from another planet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the highest resolution image of any place other than the Earth. So...

O'BRIEN: OK. This is it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is it.

O'BRIEN: Right here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is going to hold in the record books for quite some time.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Well, congratulations, gentlemen.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: All right, now I should tell you, what you just saw on your television screen is not quite as good as you might get on a computer screen.

And so, what we have done, we have posted some of these images on our Web site, as a matter of fact, your Web site, Aaron. And folks can go there. Or you can go to JPL's site and see them. It is quite better when you have the resolution of a computer screen.

Now, sadly, because of the news we told you about earlier, there were no new images, of course, from Spirit today. And so the guys in the imaging lab there, Eric Deyoung's (ph) lab, that helped us out with this piece, well, they had a little time on their hands, unfortunately.

And so they put together -- well, they got the Photoshop out. And put your glasses on one more time, folks, because we have one more 3-D anaglyph, as they're called, to show you. This is -- imagine if you had a camera there, the CNN bureau was set up on Mars there to greet Spirit as it rolled off the landing pad and, actually, one of the better 3-D images you'll see. Of course, it's just a little bit of doctoring -- Aaron.

BROWN: That is fabulous, though.

We tried to get all the viewers buy new computer screens. We thought we were pushing our luck with the 3-D glasses, though.

How is the mood there, all things considered?

O'BRIEN: A little better today. That little burst of data that you talked about at the beginning of this piece, 70 megabits, a lot of it was junk. But embedded in all that junk was a full set of diagnostics on the power supply and power systems of Spirit. And it checked out A-OK.

And what that does, if nothing else, is, it eliminates a whole line of possibilities, when they start figuring out what the fault is. It's probably a combination of a tiny flaw in the software meeting up with a certain way that the hardware was configured. And once they figure that out, they will just send up a patch and off they will go, hopefully.

BROWN: I heard -- as I was driving in today, I think heard on the radio someone out there in Pasadena saying they doubted that that rover would ever be 100 percent healthy again. Is that still the feeling?

O'BRIEN: Yes, it is, because there's probably some combination of hardware and software that they are going to have to avoid.

And it's possible that what that is tantamount to is, they are going to have to take one piece of hardware offline. But there's a scientific package there that involves a couple of spectrometers and a microscope. So, if you lose one, you can still press on. And, besides, you've got a twin rover due to land about 24 hours from now. So that's the beauty of having a little bit of redundancy up there.

BROWN: Miles, thank you for your help on what was kind of a crazy idea around here. You pulled it off. And we appreciate it very much. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: My pleasure.

BROWN: Miles O'Brien.

We'll do morning papers in 3-D. Why not?

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country.

And this is Friday, isn't it? So we'll do a tabloid or two. You don't need the 3-D glasses for this. In fact, take your 3-D glasses off. It would really screw it up. Only the most stubborn of you will keep them on now.

"Chattanooga Times Free Press." Here's their Saturday lead. "What's Cooking? High-Tech Company Eyes Area Site to Develop Internet-Driven Oven." There's a case where you do have to read the story to figure out what the point is, isn't it? Also, they throw a little politics on the front page. "Kerry, Edwards Turn Eyes Towards Move South." The campaign moves to South Carolina next week. "The Hartford Courant" leads political, too. "Mission New Hampshire: Veterans Help Kerry Showcase Military Service." And on the other side of the headline, "Hopeful Edwards Provides Eye Contact and a Smooth Liberal-Leaning Message," is the headline in "The Hartford Courant." Also, "Legal Fund Being Set Up." This involves the governor, who has got a passel full of troubles.

"Boston Herald" a little more succinct in its political lead. "Left Gab: GOP Throws Liberal Label" -- oh, my goodness -- "At Front- Running Kerry." They put Captain Kangaroo on the front page. I absolutely would have put that story on the front page if I owned a newspaper, which I clearly do not, though I once published "The Knollwood Gazette."

Bob Keeshan is on the front page of "The Miami Herald" as well. "TV's Enduring, Gentle Captain Kangaroo Dies." But they lead with -- well it's not really politics, is it? Something. "Chief Meets Champs." The Florida Marlins were at the White House visiting the president. And so that's the big lead in "The Miami Herald."

A couple of tabloids for you today. "The Globe," a big double issue, we're told, two stories you certainly wouldn't want to miss. "JFK Jr. Wife Had Other Lovers. How She Taunted John and Even Called Him Gay." Come on, these people are dead. Leave them alone. Also on the front page, "Jacko's Secret Girlfriend, What They Did in Bed."

"The Weekly World News" has a story I wish we had covered: "600- Pound Gal Adopted World's Fattest Cat, Then Sits on It." "Me-Ouch," it says. "How Vet Saved the Life of the World's Flattest Kitty." And, by the way, that comes with a free poster you will treasure. Yikes.

The weather in Chicago, I had somewhere, but it has to do with snow.

We'll wrap up the day in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: A quick recap of our top story before we go. Just a weekend to go and a day before the primary in New Hampshire, Democratic presidential contenders heading into the final weekend of campaigning, the polls showing John Kerry with a 12-point lead over Howard Dean. But more than a third of the voters in the state say they could still change their mind, a busy weekend in New Hampshire.

Monday on NEWSNIGHT, on the eve of the primary, we'll introduce you to the people who really power the campaigns, all those 20- somethings with their boundless energy and enthusiasm for the cause. That's Monday right here on NEWSNIGHT.

Bill Hemmer with a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Aaron, thank you.

Monday morning here on "AMERICAN MORNING," it is crunch time in New Hampshire. We know that all to well. We'll ask the candidates about the latest primary polling from over the weekend. Also, we'll talk to some of the wives about their role in their husbands' campaign.

Monday morning, 7:00 Eastern. Hope to see you then. And certainly have a great weekend -- Aaron.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Thank you.

If you missed the 3-D thing, you can see it on the replay, unless you're watching the replay, in which case, you missed it.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" is next for most of you. We'll see you again on Monday. In fact, we'll see you on Sunday night.

Have a terrific weekend. And 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





Kangaroo Dies>