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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

White House softens position on amount of time 9/11 commission will have with President Bush; British detainees released from Guantanamo Bay

Aired March 09, 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.
Life even for presidents is full of no win situations and the 9/11 commission is one of them it would seem. When the independent commission was first proposed, the president opposed it believing the matter would better be dealt with by Congress. Lots of people, even in Congress, disagreed. Many of the victims' families really disagreed and the White House backed down.

When the commission said it needed more documents, the White House was less than eager to comply. The word subpoena was heard. The White House gave in. The White House opposed the extension for the commission. Again, the families objected and, again, the White House relented.

In that regard, we seem to begin the program and the whip with a case of deja vu. Tonight, it centers on how much time the commission gets to question the president. Our Senior White House Correspondent John King with the watch and starts us off with a headline -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the White House insisting today, contrary to what Democrat John Kerry says that this president is not stonewalling that 9/11 commission but the president has promised to give the chairman and the vice chairman an hour, the White House getting a little softer in tone today saying no one will be watching the clock. The president will answer all the questions -- Aaron.

BROWN: John, we'll get to that at the top tonight.

Questions tonight surrounding five citizens of Britain detained at Guantanamo Bay, CNN's Sheila MacVicar with that, Sheila the headline.

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, those five British men have been returned to the U.K. in just the last couple of hours. Four of them are with police and will be questioned. The fifth man, after two years in detention at Guantanamo Bay, has been released and is reunited with his family tonight -- Aaron.

BROWN: Sheila, thank you.

Candy Crowley next on the Tuesday after Super Tuesday, primaries tonight, Candy a headline. CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, it was a clean sweep of the Gulf States for John Kerry meaning he has now won 33 out of 36 primaries or caucuses. This primary race is done. It's just not quite over.

BROWN: Candy, thank you.

And finally how states keep track of sexual predators or fail to, as the case may be, with that CNN's Deborah Feyerick, Deb a headline.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, convicted sexual predators are supposed to register with local authorities, so why aren't they? The numbers who have simply vanished will astound you.

BROWN: Deb, thank you. We'll get back to you and the rest shortly.

Also ahead on the program tonight, life after the lie, former "New York Times" Correspondent Jayson Blair, is he telling the truth now that he's written a book about making up stories?

A little bit later, a bird who always tells the truth stops by with a look at your morning papers for tomorrow. The rooster is nothing but truthful, all of that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin with what appears to be a change of mind. The White House seemed to say today the president may allow himself to be questioned for more than an hour by the chairman of the 9/11 commission, seemed to say that, not in so many words, not exactly.

How much time Mr. Bush will spend in the meeting is the latest bone of contention for those who accuse the administration of not fully cooperating with the commission it created, including Mr. Bush's presumptive opponent come November.

We begin with our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): The White House took umbrage at Senator Kerry's charge that the president is stonewalling the 9/11 commission.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think he's someone who lets the facts get in the way of his campaign. I think I've made it very clear the type of unprecedented cooperative this commission -- that this administration is providing to the commission.

KING: The issue dominated the White House briefing a day after Senator Kerry said if the president has time to attend events like this rodeo he should be able to spend more than an hour answering questions from the commission.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has been stonewalling the effort of our own country to know what happened.

KING: The White House says it has given the commission more than two million documents, 50 discs containing radar, flight and other information, dozens of interviews with administration officials, and more than 100 briefings.

Given that, the official line is the hour the president has promised to spend with the panel's chairman and vice chairman should suffice but note this somewhat softer tone.

MCCLELLAN: Obviously, the president is going to answer all the questions that they want to raise.

KING: And if those questions run more than the allotted hour?

MCCLELLAN: Nobody is watching the clock, Terry, but again there is a reasonable period of time that has been set aside for this meeting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: So, an apparent opening there for the questioning of the president to run more than an hour. Jus when will that meeting take place? That is still the subject of negotiations and, Aaron, in those negotiations the White House is still holding firm on these points.

It says the meeting with the president will be held in private and it says that meeting will be limited only to the chairman and the vice chairman not the entire commission.

BROWN: Fair to say that what the White House wanted to do today was take a no win situation for the president off the table?

KING: No doubt about that at all. The interesting point is though that the commission even says it always expected this meeting to run more than an hour. This is another one of those occasions when everyone assumed once the chairman and the vice chairman go to the room with the president, if they needed an extra 15 minutes or an extra 20 minutes that that would of course happen.

The White House kept saying an hour, an hour, an hour. Senator Kerry hit them yesterday, the White House insisting today's softer tone had nothing to do with Senator Kerry's criticism but it did come the day after.

BROWN: Well, right. We'll let viewers sort that out. I guess the question here is for a very sharp political organization that the White House is, how does it get itself into the same situation with the 9/11 commission over and over again or, maybe not how, but why?

KING: Well, the White House insists there are important historical precedents to defend here. The commission is technically a legislative body. Presidents do not appear before Congress or legislative bodies.

The White House always notes that President Johnson refused to testify before the Warren Commission and he was a witness. He was in the car behind President Kennedy when he was assassinated. He only sent a letter to the commission. Critics though also say that this president says 9/11 was a defining day in history that it changed everything that perhaps he should change the practice of a president not appearing and, in appearing, perhaps he should appear publicly but the White House says he simply won't do it.

BROWN: John, thank you, good to see you, our Senior White House Correspondent John King tonight.

On now to Guantanamo Bay where hundreds of terrorist suspects captured after 9/11 during the war primarily with Afghanistan are being held indefinitely. Today, five British prisoners were returned home, not the first to leave Guantanamo.

Eighty-eight others have already been released. Dozens have been transferred to other countries for detention but as with the earlier releases, today's raised many questions.

Here's CNN's Sheila MacVicar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACVICAR (voice-over): The arrival of this British military plan from Guantanamo Bay marked the end of an odyssey for five British men that began in Afghanistan in 2001.

For more than two years these five Britons have been held with more than 600 others. Like all the detainees here they have never seen a lawyer, never faced charges, never been put on trial.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The goal was to interrogate them, find out what do they know. Are there other terrorists running around that we could learn information about? Do they know where caches of weapons are? Do they know information about techniques or approaches?

So, they get interrogated for a couple of years. Then at some point you say we think we've gotten what we need out of this crowd, five people, and lets move them along.

MACVICAR: The U.S. government now says there is no risk in sending the five back to Britain. The five will be questioned by counterterrorism officers in the U.K. Legal analysts say it is unlikely they will ever face charges.

In Washington, the families and supporters of four more Britons who remain in American detention urged the U.S. government to charge those detainees or release them.

Azmat Beggs' son is one of those remaining at Camp Delta.

AZMAT BEGG, GUANTANAMO DETAINEE'S FATHER: In one letter he wrote: "I do not know what crime I am supposed to have committed."

MACVICAR: U.S. officials have talked about military tribunals. The legitimacy of those tribunals will be argued before the Supreme Court.

STEPHEN JAKOBI, FAIR TRIALS ABROAD: They are likely to receive an extremely unfair trial, which is rigged wholly in favor of prosecution and conviction.

MACVICAR: With a few released, perhaps 100 or so to date, there remain many more and still no clear idea of how the United States intends to mete out justice here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACVICAR: Something that's sure to spark more controversy, Aaron, on arrival in the U.K. four of those men have been taken into police custody and will undergo questioning by antiterrorism officers in the coming hours but the fifth man, after two years in detention, was not arrested by police, has been immediately released. His lawyer says that he is an innocent man and that he will want to know why he was held for so long -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, I guess that's the central question. Do the British believe at least, do many people in Britain believe, that these were in fact just innocent guys who were in the wrong place at the wrong time or, as seems somewhat more likely, that's all somewhat more likely that they had more to do with bad stuff than that?

MACVICAR: Well, I think that there's two points of view, one that this has been tremendously embarrassing for the Blair government, that in spite of the very close relationship with President Bush and very close association with the war on terror that the Blair government could not persuade U.S. officials earlier to release these five people.

The other four seem to be in a class where we're now getting leaks of information, which suggests that these four were, according to U.S. officials, al Qaeda suspects that they were involved in, as you say, bad things perhaps.

But more than that, what Britons have said that they want to see is due process. They want to see some kind of a process which is recognized as fair, go through and test the evidence and see what the cases are against these people rather than holding them in what appears to be indefinite detention.

That's been the position of the families, been the position of human rights advocates, been the position of many of those in public life in the U.K. that there has to be some kind of a process.

With the return of these five tonight, the U.S. saying that they pose no risk, with the British certainly saying tonight that at least in the case of one of those men there is no case to answer. Those are questions that will again be raised here -- Aaron.

BROWN: Almost certainly. Thank you, Sheila, Sheila MacVicar in London tonight.

On to domestic politics, four states today, somewhat academic in that John Kerry no longer faces an opponent to speak of and, of course the president never has, therefore, no surprises, Senator Kerry easily winning in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Texas, by the way, put the president over the top in that hotly contested Republican primary race. Senator Kerry still has a few more delegates to get before the nomination is absolutely his but those will come in due course.

So, the opponents are chosen, the battle lines are drawn and both sides appear ready for eight months of trench warfare.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): Another election night sweep for John Kerry.

KERRY: In Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas people voted and they voted for change in this great country of ours.

CROWLEY: So, what else is new? Not much. The primary season nobody saw coming has turned into the primary season everybody is seeing. Another day, another photo op or two, a shaken smile with, one presumes, actual voters in a Florida diner and a hold and swing at the Little Big World Daycare Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Mr. Kerry. He's running to be president of the United States.

CROWLEY: John Kerry has done due diligence for the past several days, traveling Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida at rallies and town halls asking Democrats to support him in the primaries but that's not what it's about anymore. This is what it's about.

KERRY: If the president wants to have a debate a month on just one subject and we go around the country, I think that would be a great idea. Let's go do it.

CROWLEY: It's about engaging George Bush early and often, one way or the other.

KERRY: His stubborn leadership has led America steadily in the wrong direction.

CROWLEY: With Kerry's nomination all but assured, the primary states are pretty much backdrops now, places to warm up for a General Election already boiling and, of course, places to look for cold cash.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: And while Kerry and the president are deep into the General Election, there is one little technicality left. John Kerry still doesn't have enough delegates to be the Democratic nominee. It is why he is celebrating his southern victories tonight in Chicago, Illinois. Illinois has a primary next week and that's the night John Kerry is expected to get the delegates he needs -- Aaron.

BROWN: A couple of things quickly, if I can. Has the message changed at all now that he's sewn this thing up?

CROWLEY: You know not really because once it became clear that John Kerry was the frontrunner his target was always George Bush. The message changes this way in that every day they find another way, another way to express their opposition to George Bush.

BROWN: Yes.

CROWLEY: The language gets tougher and so there's always a new phrase. You know how that goes because it gives us a new lead but nothing new substantively.

BROWN: And just very quickly, what's his money situation like right now?

CROWLEY: They're working on it. One of the reasons he's going to meet tomorrow with Howard Dean and then Thursday with John Edwards is he's looking for some help here in setting up a structure. They're doing fine. They say he's got about $6 million since I think post New Hampshire, so they're all right but they need a lot more.

They're up against a guy with about $170 million, so they're trying to network and get all the other campaigns to throw in their fundraising structures and they think they can raise a considerable amount.

BROWN: Candy, thank you very much, on the road again, Candy Crowley tonight.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, thousands of lost sexual predators, we'll look at how Megan's Law is not keeping track of them.

Then a look at a man who turned the "New York Times" on its ear by making up stories for the paper, former "New York Times" reporter Jayson Blair.

And later tonight, Jeff Greenfield tries to get to the bottom of why the gay marriage issue caught fire when it did and how it did.

From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Most felons can, in theory at least, leave their rap sheets behind after they've served their time if they remain clean if they so choose. Sex offenders are the exception because of the danger they pose even after their release from prison.

All 50 states now have so-called Megan's laws requiring sex offenders to register with police. That's the theory. It is clearly now not always the fact.

Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FEYERICK (voice-over): Sex offenders across the nation are failing to register with their local police, experts say, something they're required to do under Megan's Law.

EDWARD FLYNN, MASSACHUSETTS SECRETARY OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Sex offenders are the ones who most deeply cherish their anonymity and work hard to maintain it. There is nothing more difficult to do than to find someone who truly does not want to be found.

FEYERICK: According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 400,000 sex offenders have registered. An estimated 100,000 have not. No one knows where they are or where they may be going and once they disappear officials agree finding them can be all but impossible.

BILL LOCKYER, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Unless someone local goes and checks on them, we don't know if they've just forgotten to update it, if they've moved somewhere else, if they're deported of whatever.

FEYERICK: In New York State, officials have lost track of some 2,000 sex offenders. In California some 22,000 convicted predators are unaccounted for. Linda Ahearn heads up the group Parents for Megan's Law. She says part of the problem is sex offenders don't register before they're released from prison but after they get out.

LINDA AHEARN, PARENTS FOR MEGAN'S LAW: Using registration as an honor system is the fundamental flaw of Megan's Law.

FEYERICK: The original Megan's Law was signed in New Jersey ten years ago and later adopted in some form by every other state. Sex offenders are supposed to check in with local authorities every year for ten years, high risk predators every 90 days but if they don't and they haven't moved there's no penalty.

ERNIE ALLEN, NCMEC: The primary weakness is that most states lack the resources and the people to really enforce it on a meaningful basis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: A bill pending in the Senate would make failure to register a felony in all states, not just 23 states as is now the case. In the words of one child expert the situation as it exists is like trying to hold the ocean back with a broom -- Aaron.

BROWN: Deb, thank you, Deb Feyerick tonight.

A few other stories have made news around the country starting with the sentencing for John Allen Muhammad, the older of the two Washington area snipers.

The judge today took the jury's recommendation, as you knew he would, handing down the death sentence. "Mr. Muhammad" he said "committed acts so vile as to be almost beyond comprehension." Technically, the execution is scheduled to take place in October. It almost certainly will not because of mandated appeals and the other murder cases pending against him.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is recovering tonight from surgery removing his gallbladder. You may recall he's been in the hospital for several days now suffering from gallstones. The surgery, we are told, went as planned but the attorney general has a few more days of recovery before he heads home.

And in Springfield, Massachusetts, a new bishop has been named. He is Timothy McDonnell and he replaced Thomas Dupre, who stepped down amid accusations that he molested two boys in the '70s.

And now on to the wages of sin or infamy, if you will, or just the sort of thing that's both tough to take and hard not to watch in many respects and that's precisely how the Jayson Blair saga has played out so far.

Watching the "New York Times" tear itself into pieces over his plagiarism and fabrications while at the paper was enough to turn your stomach, or at least ours, and still is to many, even more so now that young Mr. Blair wants people to pay for the privilege.

Here's CNN's Maria Hinojosa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Admitting to being a liar and a plagiarist has turned Jayson Blair into a media star.

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: And how he says he's coming clean.

HINOJOSA: He's making the rounds on "LARRY KING LIVE."

JAYSON BLAIR, FORMER "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: I made, you know, a lot of mistakes.

HINOJOSA: With Katie Couric on NBC, all to sell his tell-all memoir "Burning Down my Master's House."

BLAIR: Some people, you know, it seems to me would like me to crawl into a hole and disappear forever. That's just not in my nature.

HINOJOSA: He writes about his addictions to cocaine, alcohol, pills, his 7:00 a.m. shots of liquor, which he told CNN only added to his troubles.

BLAIR: It was my own character flaws and my own bad choices. I can't really -- there are no excuses for it. There really are no explanations other than the fact that I made bad decisions.

HINOJOSA: Media critic Howard Kurtz also interviewed Blair as part of what he calls hold-your-nose coverage. HOWARD KURTZ, "WASHINGTON POST" MEDIA CRITIC: It's a fascinating book in the sense that watching a train wreck is fascinating.

HINOJOSA: Blair showed CNN his former apartment where he fabricated stories.

BLAIR: It was my own prison. That's what it felt like.

HINOJOSA: And the public phone where he called the boss who was first to question his work.

BLAIR: I just remember being in a cold sweat, shaking, you know, still lying.

HINOJOSA: Detailing just how he did it.

BLAIR: I would use "Times" databases of photographs. I would use stringers. I would use people, you know, I talked to on the telephone and I would ask them for specific details, you know, what color are the flowers on your porch.

HINOJOSA: But for some Jayson Blair's personal account won't answer the central question why he did it.

KURTZ: I think Jayson Blair still hasn't completely convinced me or himself exactly why he did what he did.

HINOJOSA: The "Times," which changed some senior staff and did a self review, won't talk about the book. In a statement they wrote: "The author is an admitted fabricator. We don't intend to respond to Jayson or his book." But one "Times" employee said...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm certainly interested in it but I wouldn't buy it.

HINOJOSA: Jayson Blair is hoping others will.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Coming up on NEWSNIGHT tonight, we'll go back in time, billions of years in fact, to the earliest look ever at our universe and the reasons why we may not get another look for a long time.

Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Whoever said on a clear day you can see forever was wrong but not by much as it turns out. With the Hubble space telescope you can come mighty close.

Today, we saw new pictures from the Hubble of stars so distant that their light is very nearly the light of creation but if they show the beginning of the universe in stunning, beautiful detail, they almost also mark the beginning of the end for the Hubble.

Here's CNN's Miles O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Take a look back, way back in time. It's the universe as we have never seen it, young, odd-shaped galaxies growing, exploding, devouring each other, a tough neighborhood captured by the Hubble space telescope.

STEVE BECKWITH, DIRECTOR, SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE: It's just unbelievable.

O'BRIEN: It is a long time exposure of a piece of seemingly dark sky near Orion about a tenth of the diameter of the moon. There are at least 10,000 galaxies here, as they looked as relative youngsters, about 12 billion years ago.

BECKWITH: At the depth of the ultra deep field there must be more than a trillion galaxies on the whole sky and each of those galaxies contains roughly 100 billion stars.

O'BRIEN: But it could be Hubble's last big hit. A shuttle mission to make repairs, add two new instruments and extend Hubble's life should have been underway about now but, in January, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe cancelled all future shuttle missions to the telescope leaving Hubble to deteriorate and ultimate expire in orbit in two to four years.

SEAN O'KEEFE, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: I'm not happy with the way this decision needs to work out. I'd rather it not be this way but I think it's the only responsible thing to do.

O'BRIEN: O'Keefe's decision comes in the wake of the Columbia accident in February, 2003. The accident board told NASA future shuttle flights not headed to the International Space Station and safe harbor must adhere to a more rigorous set of standards for on orbit inspections, repairs and even rescue by another shuttle. All of it is unproven and unrealistic according to O'Keefe.

O'KEEFE: It comes down to the basic fundamental that you either comply with the recommendations of the Columbia accident investigation board report or you do the Hubble servicing mission, one or the other. You can't do both.

O'BRIEN: But many astronomers and engineers beg to differ.

ROBERT ZUBRIN, PRESIDENT, MARS SOCIETY: If we give up Hubble out of fear, we give up the human exploration of space. In the human exploration of space cowardice is not an option.

O'BRIEN: Astronomers say there is plenty more science for Hubble to do and the telescope would be ten times more powerful if shuttle astronauts could spend some time under the hood.

BECKWITH: Personally, I would take the risk to service Hubble if it were my life but I couldn't ask someone else to do that. That's a difficult decision that people in NASA have to make.

O'BRIEN: Of course, it is Administrator Sean O'Keefe who does have to do that and while there is no doubt no shortage of astronauts willing and eager to fly to Hubble, no one wants the task of explaining why an accident wasn't avoided.

Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: An ugly chapter of history came to an end today. We learned at Abbu Abbas, the Palestinian terrorist died yesterday of natural causes. He was being held by the Americans, though the Pentagon is not saying where he was being held. He did fall into American hands during the taking of Baghdad. He'd been living there for the better part of 18 years, After leading the takeover of an Italian cruise ship in which Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly Jewish American man confined to a wheelchair, was pushed over the side.

Suicide bombers hit a Masonic lodge in Istanbul, Turkey, today. The pair shot their way inside, one of them blowing himself up, taking a waiter with him. The second attacker was badly wounded, no one yet claiming responsibility.

And on the West Bank, Israeli forces swept into Jenin in search of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. In the gun battle that followed, a Palestinian woman died and a French wire service photographer suffered a gunshot to the leg.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, the continuing fallout over the battle of gay marriage. Why now and how it will affect the upcoming elections?

A break first. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We spent much of the afternoon news meeting on the subject of same-sex marriage, not the right or wrong of it or even the political dimension. It was more like a discussion of physics. We kept using words like critical mass, inertia, momentum, tipping point. We kept asking ourselves and each other, had we ever seen a story so potentially large in scale gather momentum, acquire inertia, reach critical mass and roll towards a tipping point so quickly. And why?

Here's CNN's Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): It has been happening literally from coast to coast, from Asbury Park, New Jersey, on Monday, to New Paltz, New York and out West to Oregon, Washington state, San Francisco, California, marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples despite laws or judicial findings that such marriages are not valid. (on camera): So why is this happening? Well, the answer, unsurprisingly, is politics, specifically the political firestorm triggered by one state Supreme Court that propelled the opponents and advocates of gay marriage into overdrive.

(voice-over): The fuse was first lit back last June, when the United States Supreme Court struck down laws that criminalized private sex acts between consenting adults, gay or straight. Then, last November, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, relying in part on that U.S. high court decision, found that its state constitution, with its equal protection clause, required the state to sanction gay marriages. And last month, the court said, we mean marriage, nothing less, including civil unions.

But it was what happened in San Francisco on February 12 that turned a simmering debate into a full-fledged front-page story. That is when newly elected Mayor Gavin Newsom, who had barely beaten an opponent who had run to his left, authorized the city to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And gay couples responded by lining up literally around the block; 10 days later, President Bush, under heavy pressure from cultural conservatives, announced his support for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as one man, one woman.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Decisive and democratic action is needed, because attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country.

GREENFIELD: For Bush's all-but-certain Democratic foe, the issue proved a challenge. Kerry said he was against gay marriage, against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, for one state recognizing a gay marriage performed in another state. And, anyway, he said, it was all politics.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's doing this because he's in trouble.

GREENFIELD: For many Republicans in Congress, the issue also proved a challenge. Even staunch cultural conservatives were less than thrilled about changing the U.S. Constitution.

For his part, the first openly gay congressman, Barney Frank, criticized local officials for issuing same-sex licenses. This is, he said, not the time to push the issue. But in many of the nation's more socially liberal communities, there is a clear political advantage to such acts of civil disobedience. They draw attention and approval from an increasingly organized gay community, just as in other communities, such as Georgia, state legislators are working very hard to push through a state amendment that would specifically forbid gay marriages.

(on camera): In other words, this was not an issue pushed by any of the combatants in the so-called culture wars. It wasn't a ploy by the Bush campaign. It wasn't on the agenda of most of the prominent gay rights advocates. It was, instead, a one-vote majority decision by one state Supreme Court in Massachusetts, plus an audacious move by one mayor in San Francisco that put this whole issue front and center.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: You might argue that, as a gay Republican, Steve Gunderson belongs to a minority within a minority. But that would imply that the percentage of gay people varies by political affiliation and we have no evidence of that.

Certainly, as a gay Republican, Mr. Gunderson now finds himself a minority on a narrowing patch of political ground. He and others agree with the president on much and differ with him on just a few issues, or sometimes just a single one. But that single issue is also a singular fact in their lives. And it makes for tough choices.

We're glad that Mr. Gunderson could join us tonight to talk about all of this. He's a former congressman from the state of Wisconsin. He joins us tonight from Washington.

Nice to see you.

STEVE GUNDERSON, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Glad to be here.

BROWN: You voted for the president fours years ago?

GUNDERSON: Sure did.

BROWN: Are you surprised that he came out in favor of a constitutional amendment?

GUNDERSON: Not surprised.

I knew he was getting a lot of intense pressure from the social conservative wing of our party. I was more disappointed, Aaron, that he didn't talk about the fact that there's a real problem that is driving this issue. I mean, the discrimination, the 1,000 benefits that married couples get under federal law that same-sex, loving relationships do not get, the fact that we don't have the hospital visitation, the medical consultation, the -- we have to pay taxes if our domestic partner gets health insurance through our company, the estates, the pensions, the Social Security benefits.

There's a problem diving this issue that I think the emotional debate on both sides has failed to address.

BROWN: Well, as far as I know -- you may know differently -- but as far as I know, the president doesn't believe in these civil unions either.

GUNDERSON: Well, and that's OK.

My disappointment in the president's announcement was not that he said, look, I am for the traditional interpretation and institution of marriage being between a man and a woman, because that's where a lot of America is. Where I think the president let this country down is, he didn't go on beyond that and say, but I want you, as Americans, not only to have a civil debate, but I want you to understand why this issue is before us.

There's a large segment of this citizenship that does not have equal benefits and protections under law at either the federal or the state level today. If the president had said that, you know, I'm one of probably a minority, which makes me a Republican. I don't care whether you call it marriage, civil unions, or something else. I'm interested in the outcomes. I want my partner to have the benefit and the protections that my sisters-in-law or my brothers-in-law have in their marriage.

BROWN: And that's an interesting -- there are -- there is, within, I think, the gay community disagreement about whether civil union is enough.

GUNDERSON: Sure.

BROWN: Andrew Sullivan on the program a couple weeks ago talked about -- eloquently talked about -- a sense of family, the need for a sense of family that is ingrained in all of us, straight, gay, otherwise. It doesn't matter. Is that -- that's not your issue, though?

GUNDERSON: Well, it's partially my issue. I care very deeply about my family. My family happens to love my partner and I. We are a couple like my brothers and their wives, my sisters and their husbands. We're all seen that way.

What I don't want this to be is just a semantical debate about the use of the word marriage. I want us to focus on the problem and the appropriate legal outcomes. The second thing I want us to do is, I want us to separate the theological debate, which should be left for the theologians, vs. the public policy debate, which talks about civil protections, which is the one the politicians should be addressing.

So I don't think we're handling this very well as a country right now. I think we need to slow down, lower our voices, learn a lot more about the issue and figure out, how can we resolve this in a way that is fair and equitable for all Americans? I worry that's not going to happen.

BROWN: Just a couple of quick things. Do you believe you'll vote for the president?

GUNDERSON: I think it's too soon to tell. I've told everyone, Ronald Reagan, during his term in office, gave some verbal support to the whole pro-life movement, but he really didn't put his administration's activities and actions behind that.

If this was a vocal support of where the president stands on this issue and that's all the further it goes, then, you know, I've never voted for a candidate that I didn't disagree with on one or more issues. If, on the other hand, the president says, I'm going to actively push to change the Constitution to deny protections and benefits for a certain segment of American population, of which I and my partner happen to be two of those people, then I couldn't with integrity vote for him. So I hope he doesn't go there.

BROWN: Congressman, it's good to see you again. Thank you.

GUNDERSON: Thank you, Aaron. .

BROWN: Thanks for joining us -- Steve Gunderson joining us.

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, a different point of view on this and I suspect lots other things. John Podhoretz joins us to talk his new book extolling the president.

Will take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Lots of politics on the program tonight.

It turns out, tomorrow, the president will make what aides call a spirited defense of his economic policy. The economy is an area where our polls, at least, show some soft support for Mr. Bush. Indeed, the president has, for a variety of reasons, seen his job approval rating at a low point. A fair amount may have to do with the bashing for months by Democrats during the primary season. That may last. It may not.

We can say, though, at first blush, he's in a weakened political position today, something I expect our next guest believes will not last.

John Podhoretz is a columnist, among other things, for "The New York Post." He is also author now, "Bush Country: How W. Became a Great President While Driving Liberals Insane." We read him all the time. It's good to see him here;.

JOHN PODHORETZ, COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK POST": Thank you so much.

BROWN: Before we get to the book, let me just ask a broader question. Why do you think it is -- if you look at best-seller list these days, you have got this whole range of political books, left and right, that seem to be flying off the shelves. Does that tell us something about where we are?

PODHORETZ: Yes, it means that the political class, the literate political class in the country is very, very engaged.

It started in the 1990s, when conservatives, enraged with Bill Clinton, really took over the best-seller lists in an unexpected way with these jeremiads against the administration. Now you have this balance where you have jeremiads against liberalism by conservatives and you have jeremiads against George W. Bush by liberals, which are sort of sharing the list.

BROWN: And when you talk about the sale of these books, how many books are you talking.

PODHORETZ: Hundreds of thousands.

BROWN: Several hundred thousand?

PODHORETZ: Yes, but in each case.

BROWN: All right, let's talk about the president a little bit. The book is a terrific read. It's great fun.

PODHORETZ: Thank you.

BROWN: If have a nice sense of humor. People will agree with it or not on some things.

Let's talk about some of the things that you talked about and certainly the attack lines the Democrats will form and have formed: The tax cuts favored the rich. Now, there's no question that the rich benefited the most from the tax cuts. So, you can't argue that, I don't believe, can you, that they did not?

PODHORETZ: No, but, I mean, the use of verb favor itself indicates a sort of value judgment inside the whole question. Tax cuts exist. The Bush tax cuts cut taxes for everyone in the country who pays taxes.

BROWN: Income taxes?

PODHORETZ: Income taxes, federal income taxes. So, under those conditions, what you have there is, in some ways, the more income taxes you pay, the more percentage-wise your tax cut will kick in.

I mean, the interesting thing about the federal income tax is that a lot of people in the country don't pay it at all, if you make under a certain amount of money. And a lot of people who make less than a certain amount of money actually get money back from the government in the form of an earned income tax credit. So what you do when you cut taxes, theoretically, is you try to open up the economy by moving money out of the government sector into the private sector, either into the hands of consumers, who can spend it, or into the hands of businesses that will invest with it.

BROWN: Rather than going issue to issue, do you think there's a central core to George Bush that the Democrats or the left or whatever word you want to use -- pick the word you want -- don't get?

PODHORETZ: I think very much.

I think the central conceit of the leftist attack on George W. Bush is that he's a liar. I think that the central truth about George W. Bush is that he's among the most straightforward presidents and leaders that we've ever had. He says what he's going to do and he does it, for the most part, more than most politicians do. He's not perfect and he's not some sort of heroic truth-teller, but he -- but you know, he said -- you know, he said basically to the U.N., you know, in September of 2002, you know, show your relevance. Come in with me or I will assemble a coalition to take Saddam Hussein out. And he said it and he said it and he said it. And they tested him and they tested him. And six months later, he did what he said he was going to do in September.

BROWN: Where do you think he's vulnerable, anywhere?

PODHORETZ: I think he's vulnerable on the economy, like everybody else does. I think, in that sense -- I think he's done well and the economy is growing incredibly quickly.

But the argument that this replacement, weird replacement of unemployment statistics, which used to be the way we measured whether people were worried about jobs, with job growth, which has only seemed to happen in the last 12 months. Unemployment right now, 5.6 percent, is exactly where it was when Bill Clinton was running for reelection in 1996, claiming

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Well, but unemployment is always a relative number compared to where it was at any given -- it's like interest rates.

PODHORETZ: That it's down a full percentage point from where it was a year ago.

BROWN: Right.

PODHORETZ: So that's a real accomplishment. And he took office in a recession. The economy is now growing 4 percent a year, which is the fastest rate in 20 years. That should be an argument that works for him. But, because of these job growth numbers, Democrats have made a successful sort of change in the debate.

BROWN: I hate to ask you yes or no. You're a columnist. Do you think he wins in November?

PODHORETZ: Yes.

BROWN: Wins big or sneaks by?

PODHORETZ: No, I think -- that, I don't know.

BROWN: All right.

PODHORETZ: But I can see him winning big.

BROWN: Nice to see you.

PODHORETZ: Thank you very much.

BROWN: Good luck with the book.

PODHORETZ: Thank you so much.

BROWN: Take care.

Morning papers after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: Man, there it is. It's a mess tonight. Well, I found "The Sun-Times," so I feel better.

Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the country today. Since I'm leaving the country, we're going to make this the domestic edition of morning papers. Here we go.

"The South Bend Tribune." That would be South Bend, Indiana. I don't think we've ever led with them, but why not, because they play this story fat, if you will. "Obesity, Inactivity, Poor Diet, Nearly Bad As Smoking." What about those people who smoke right after they eat a big, fat meal? That isn't going to do them any good either. Anyway, that is a huge story in newspapers around the country.

Also, in the paper today, "Vote Deficit Stalls Gay Marriage Amendment." One of the -- "Support Lacking in Michigan House to Send Issue to the Senate," that story out of Lancing, Michigan. This is going on in a number of states trying to pass constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage.

"The Richmond Times-Dispatch" leads in the way you knew they would. We didn't play -- do much with the story. But this is a big story for them and they led appropriately: "Muhammad Sentenced to Death in Sniper Case." Also, they do the Hubble story, but they just do it as kind of a teaser with a picture that Hubble has sent back. I thought those pictures were incredibly cool.

"The Dayton Daily News" of Dayton, Ohio. "Evolution Lesson Plan Approved. Critics Say it Contains Elements of Intelligent Design," which is a buzz word. "Obesity Deaths to Overtake Tobacco's Toll." People did quit smoking, or lots of people have, but they are still eating a lot.

Obesity makes the front page of "The Miami Herald." They led with the primary, darn it. Nobody else much cared, but they did. "Kerry Wins Florida Vote." Good for them. That's the right lead for them.

"Boston Herald." "Death Bed Wedding. Ted Williams' Tragic Son in New Bombshell." I have no idea what that story is about, but it doesn't sound good, does it?

And "The Chicago Sun-Times" always ends it, and it will. The weather tomorrow in Chicago...

(CHIMES)

BROWN: Thank you.

Is crisp, 46 degrees. That's kind of on a cool picture of John Kerry campaigning in Chicago. That's morning papers. We'll wrap up the day in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Quick look at our top story before we go.

One hour today became potentially more, the White House saying the president will answer all of the 9/11 Commission's questions when it meets with its top two officials -- when he does. Asked if that means the president will spend more than an hour with the officials, the answer was, "Nobody's watching the clock," a shift, in not so many words, in the wake of more objections and some pretty heated campaign attacks by Senator John Kerry.

Tomorrow, on this program, for 25 years, actor Jeff Bridges has carried a camera to work. What began as a hobby is now a new book, a behind-the-scenes look at life on a movie set in stills.

And before we go, Soledad O'Brien with a look at what's coming up tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron.

Tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," George Foreman's big adventure. He's 55 and getting in shape for another fight. He's already the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship and he did that 10 years ago. I'm going to ask him why he's doing it now.

That's CNN tomorrow, 7:00 a.m. Eastern -- Aaron, back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Thank you. It might have something to do with money.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" for most of you is next.

We'll see you next from the Middle East. Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

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





commission will have with President Bush; British detainees released from Guantanamo Bay>


Aired March 09, 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.
Life even for presidents is full of no win situations and the 9/11 commission is one of them it would seem. When the independent commission was first proposed, the president opposed it believing the matter would better be dealt with by Congress. Lots of people, even in Congress, disagreed. Many of the victims' families really disagreed and the White House backed down.

When the commission said it needed more documents, the White House was less than eager to comply. The word subpoena was heard. The White House gave in. The White House opposed the extension for the commission. Again, the families objected and, again, the White House relented.

In that regard, we seem to begin the program and the whip with a case of deja vu. Tonight, it centers on how much time the commission gets to question the president. Our Senior White House Correspondent John King with the watch and starts us off with a headline -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, the White House insisting today, contrary to what Democrat John Kerry says that this president is not stonewalling that 9/11 commission but the president has promised to give the chairman and the vice chairman an hour, the White House getting a little softer in tone today saying no one will be watching the clock. The president will answer all the questions -- Aaron.

BROWN: John, we'll get to that at the top tonight.

Questions tonight surrounding five citizens of Britain detained at Guantanamo Bay, CNN's Sheila MacVicar with that, Sheila the headline.

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, those five British men have been returned to the U.K. in just the last couple of hours. Four of them are with police and will be questioned. The fifth man, after two years in detention at Guantanamo Bay, has been released and is reunited with his family tonight -- Aaron.

BROWN: Sheila, thank you.

Candy Crowley next on the Tuesday after Super Tuesday, primaries tonight, Candy a headline. CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, it was a clean sweep of the Gulf States for John Kerry meaning he has now won 33 out of 36 primaries or caucuses. This primary race is done. It's just not quite over.

BROWN: Candy, thank you.

And finally how states keep track of sexual predators or fail to, as the case may be, with that CNN's Deborah Feyerick, Deb a headline.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aaron, convicted sexual predators are supposed to register with local authorities, so why aren't they? The numbers who have simply vanished will astound you.

BROWN: Deb, thank you. We'll get back to you and the rest shortly.

Also ahead on the program tonight, life after the lie, former "New York Times" Correspondent Jayson Blair, is he telling the truth now that he's written a book about making up stories?

A little bit later, a bird who always tells the truth stops by with a look at your morning papers for tomorrow. The rooster is nothing but truthful, all of that and more in the hour ahead.

We begin with what appears to be a change of mind. The White House seemed to say today the president may allow himself to be questioned for more than an hour by the chairman of the 9/11 commission, seemed to say that, not in so many words, not exactly.

How much time Mr. Bush will spend in the meeting is the latest bone of contention for those who accuse the administration of not fully cooperating with the commission it created, including Mr. Bush's presumptive opponent come November.

We begin with our Senior White House Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): The White House took umbrage at Senator Kerry's charge that the president is stonewalling the 9/11 commission.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think he's someone who lets the facts get in the way of his campaign. I think I've made it very clear the type of unprecedented cooperative this commission -- that this administration is providing to the commission.

KING: The issue dominated the White House briefing a day after Senator Kerry said if the president has time to attend events like this rodeo he should be able to spend more than an hour answering questions from the commission.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has been stonewalling the effort of our own country to know what happened.

KING: The White House says it has given the commission more than two million documents, 50 discs containing radar, flight and other information, dozens of interviews with administration officials, and more than 100 briefings.

Given that, the official line is the hour the president has promised to spend with the panel's chairman and vice chairman should suffice but note this somewhat softer tone.

MCCLELLAN: Obviously, the president is going to answer all the questions that they want to raise.

KING: And if those questions run more than the allotted hour?

MCCLELLAN: Nobody is watching the clock, Terry, but again there is a reasonable period of time that has been set aside for this meeting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: So, an apparent opening there for the questioning of the president to run more than an hour. Jus when will that meeting take place? That is still the subject of negotiations and, Aaron, in those negotiations the White House is still holding firm on these points.

It says the meeting with the president will be held in private and it says that meeting will be limited only to the chairman and the vice chairman not the entire commission.

BROWN: Fair to say that what the White House wanted to do today was take a no win situation for the president off the table?

KING: No doubt about that at all. The interesting point is though that the commission even says it always expected this meeting to run more than an hour. This is another one of those occasions when everyone assumed once the chairman and the vice chairman go to the room with the president, if they needed an extra 15 minutes or an extra 20 minutes that that would of course happen.

The White House kept saying an hour, an hour, an hour. Senator Kerry hit them yesterday, the White House insisting today's softer tone had nothing to do with Senator Kerry's criticism but it did come the day after.

BROWN: Well, right. We'll let viewers sort that out. I guess the question here is for a very sharp political organization that the White House is, how does it get itself into the same situation with the 9/11 commission over and over again or, maybe not how, but why?

KING: Well, the White House insists there are important historical precedents to defend here. The commission is technically a legislative body. Presidents do not appear before Congress or legislative bodies.

The White House always notes that President Johnson refused to testify before the Warren Commission and he was a witness. He was in the car behind President Kennedy when he was assassinated. He only sent a letter to the commission. Critics though also say that this president says 9/11 was a defining day in history that it changed everything that perhaps he should change the practice of a president not appearing and, in appearing, perhaps he should appear publicly but the White House says he simply won't do it.

BROWN: John, thank you, good to see you, our Senior White House Correspondent John King tonight.

On now to Guantanamo Bay where hundreds of terrorist suspects captured after 9/11 during the war primarily with Afghanistan are being held indefinitely. Today, five British prisoners were returned home, not the first to leave Guantanamo.

Eighty-eight others have already been released. Dozens have been transferred to other countries for detention but as with the earlier releases, today's raised many questions.

Here's CNN's Sheila MacVicar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACVICAR (voice-over): The arrival of this British military plan from Guantanamo Bay marked the end of an odyssey for five British men that began in Afghanistan in 2001.

For more than two years these five Britons have been held with more than 600 others. Like all the detainees here they have never seen a lawyer, never faced charges, never been put on trial.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The goal was to interrogate them, find out what do they know. Are there other terrorists running around that we could learn information about? Do they know where caches of weapons are? Do they know information about techniques or approaches?

So, they get interrogated for a couple of years. Then at some point you say we think we've gotten what we need out of this crowd, five people, and lets move them along.

MACVICAR: The U.S. government now says there is no risk in sending the five back to Britain. The five will be questioned by counterterrorism officers in the U.K. Legal analysts say it is unlikely they will ever face charges.

In Washington, the families and supporters of four more Britons who remain in American detention urged the U.S. government to charge those detainees or release them.

Azmat Beggs' son is one of those remaining at Camp Delta.

AZMAT BEGG, GUANTANAMO DETAINEE'S FATHER: In one letter he wrote: "I do not know what crime I am supposed to have committed."

MACVICAR: U.S. officials have talked about military tribunals. The legitimacy of those tribunals will be argued before the Supreme Court.

STEPHEN JAKOBI, FAIR TRIALS ABROAD: They are likely to receive an extremely unfair trial, which is rigged wholly in favor of prosecution and conviction.

MACVICAR: With a few released, perhaps 100 or so to date, there remain many more and still no clear idea of how the United States intends to mete out justice here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACVICAR: Something that's sure to spark more controversy, Aaron, on arrival in the U.K. four of those men have been taken into police custody and will undergo questioning by antiterrorism officers in the coming hours but the fifth man, after two years in detention, was not arrested by police, has been immediately released. His lawyer says that he is an innocent man and that he will want to know why he was held for so long -- Aaron.

BROWN: Well, I guess that's the central question. Do the British believe at least, do many people in Britain believe, that these were in fact just innocent guys who were in the wrong place at the wrong time or, as seems somewhat more likely, that's all somewhat more likely that they had more to do with bad stuff than that?

MACVICAR: Well, I think that there's two points of view, one that this has been tremendously embarrassing for the Blair government, that in spite of the very close relationship with President Bush and very close association with the war on terror that the Blair government could not persuade U.S. officials earlier to release these five people.

The other four seem to be in a class where we're now getting leaks of information, which suggests that these four were, according to U.S. officials, al Qaeda suspects that they were involved in, as you say, bad things perhaps.

But more than that, what Britons have said that they want to see is due process. They want to see some kind of a process which is recognized as fair, go through and test the evidence and see what the cases are against these people rather than holding them in what appears to be indefinite detention.

That's been the position of the families, been the position of human rights advocates, been the position of many of those in public life in the U.K. that there has to be some kind of a process.

With the return of these five tonight, the U.S. saying that they pose no risk, with the British certainly saying tonight that at least in the case of one of those men there is no case to answer. Those are questions that will again be raised here -- Aaron.

BROWN: Almost certainly. Thank you, Sheila, Sheila MacVicar in London tonight.

On to domestic politics, four states today, somewhat academic in that John Kerry no longer faces an opponent to speak of and, of course the president never has, therefore, no surprises, Senator Kerry easily winning in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

Texas, by the way, put the president over the top in that hotly contested Republican primary race. Senator Kerry still has a few more delegates to get before the nomination is absolutely his but those will come in due course.

So, the opponents are chosen, the battle lines are drawn and both sides appear ready for eight months of trench warfare.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): Another election night sweep for John Kerry.

KERRY: In Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas people voted and they voted for change in this great country of ours.

CROWLEY: So, what else is new? Not much. The primary season nobody saw coming has turned into the primary season everybody is seeing. Another day, another photo op or two, a shaken smile with, one presumes, actual voters in a Florida diner and a hold and swing at the Little Big World Daycare Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Mr. Kerry. He's running to be president of the United States.

CROWLEY: John Kerry has done due diligence for the past several days, traveling Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida at rallies and town halls asking Democrats to support him in the primaries but that's not what it's about anymore. This is what it's about.

KERRY: If the president wants to have a debate a month on just one subject and we go around the country, I think that would be a great idea. Let's go do it.

CROWLEY: It's about engaging George Bush early and often, one way or the other.

KERRY: His stubborn leadership has led America steadily in the wrong direction.

CROWLEY: With Kerry's nomination all but assured, the primary states are pretty much backdrops now, places to warm up for a General Election already boiling and, of course, places to look for cold cash.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: And while Kerry and the president are deep into the General Election, there is one little technicality left. John Kerry still doesn't have enough delegates to be the Democratic nominee. It is why he is celebrating his southern victories tonight in Chicago, Illinois. Illinois has a primary next week and that's the night John Kerry is expected to get the delegates he needs -- Aaron.

BROWN: A couple of things quickly, if I can. Has the message changed at all now that he's sewn this thing up?

CROWLEY: You know not really because once it became clear that John Kerry was the frontrunner his target was always George Bush. The message changes this way in that every day they find another way, another way to express their opposition to George Bush.

BROWN: Yes.

CROWLEY: The language gets tougher and so there's always a new phrase. You know how that goes because it gives us a new lead but nothing new substantively.

BROWN: And just very quickly, what's his money situation like right now?

CROWLEY: They're working on it. One of the reasons he's going to meet tomorrow with Howard Dean and then Thursday with John Edwards is he's looking for some help here in setting up a structure. They're doing fine. They say he's got about $6 million since I think post New Hampshire, so they're all right but they need a lot more.

They're up against a guy with about $170 million, so they're trying to network and get all the other campaigns to throw in their fundraising structures and they think they can raise a considerable amount.

BROWN: Candy, thank you very much, on the road again, Candy Crowley tonight.

Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, thousands of lost sexual predators, we'll look at how Megan's Law is not keeping track of them.

Then a look at a man who turned the "New York Times" on its ear by making up stories for the paper, former "New York Times" reporter Jayson Blair.

And later tonight, Jeff Greenfield tries to get to the bottom of why the gay marriage issue caught fire when it did and how it did.

From New York this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Most felons can, in theory at least, leave their rap sheets behind after they've served their time if they remain clean if they so choose. Sex offenders are the exception because of the danger they pose even after their release from prison.

All 50 states now have so-called Megan's laws requiring sex offenders to register with police. That's the theory. It is clearly now not always the fact.

Here's CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FEYERICK (voice-over): Sex offenders across the nation are failing to register with their local police, experts say, something they're required to do under Megan's Law.

EDWARD FLYNN, MASSACHUSETTS SECRETARY OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Sex offenders are the ones who most deeply cherish their anonymity and work hard to maintain it. There is nothing more difficult to do than to find someone who truly does not want to be found.

FEYERICK: According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 400,000 sex offenders have registered. An estimated 100,000 have not. No one knows where they are or where they may be going and once they disappear officials agree finding them can be all but impossible.

BILL LOCKYER, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Unless someone local goes and checks on them, we don't know if they've just forgotten to update it, if they've moved somewhere else, if they're deported of whatever.

FEYERICK: In New York State, officials have lost track of some 2,000 sex offenders. In California some 22,000 convicted predators are unaccounted for. Linda Ahearn heads up the group Parents for Megan's Law. She says part of the problem is sex offenders don't register before they're released from prison but after they get out.

LINDA AHEARN, PARENTS FOR MEGAN'S LAW: Using registration as an honor system is the fundamental flaw of Megan's Law.

FEYERICK: The original Megan's Law was signed in New Jersey ten years ago and later adopted in some form by every other state. Sex offenders are supposed to check in with local authorities every year for ten years, high risk predators every 90 days but if they don't and they haven't moved there's no penalty.

ERNIE ALLEN, NCMEC: The primary weakness is that most states lack the resources and the people to really enforce it on a meaningful basis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: A bill pending in the Senate would make failure to register a felony in all states, not just 23 states as is now the case. In the words of one child expert the situation as it exists is like trying to hold the ocean back with a broom -- Aaron.

BROWN: Deb, thank you, Deb Feyerick tonight.

A few other stories have made news around the country starting with the sentencing for John Allen Muhammad, the older of the two Washington area snipers.

The judge today took the jury's recommendation, as you knew he would, handing down the death sentence. "Mr. Muhammad" he said "committed acts so vile as to be almost beyond comprehension." Technically, the execution is scheduled to take place in October. It almost certainly will not because of mandated appeals and the other murder cases pending against him.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is recovering tonight from surgery removing his gallbladder. You may recall he's been in the hospital for several days now suffering from gallstones. The surgery, we are told, went as planned but the attorney general has a few more days of recovery before he heads home.

And in Springfield, Massachusetts, a new bishop has been named. He is Timothy McDonnell and he replaced Thomas Dupre, who stepped down amid accusations that he molested two boys in the '70s.

And now on to the wages of sin or infamy, if you will, or just the sort of thing that's both tough to take and hard not to watch in many respects and that's precisely how the Jayson Blair saga has played out so far.

Watching the "New York Times" tear itself into pieces over his plagiarism and fabrications while at the paper was enough to turn your stomach, or at least ours, and still is to many, even more so now that young Mr. Blair wants people to pay for the privilege.

Here's CNN's Maria Hinojosa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Admitting to being a liar and a plagiarist has turned Jayson Blair into a media star.

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: And how he says he's coming clean.

HINOJOSA: He's making the rounds on "LARRY KING LIVE."

JAYSON BLAIR, FORMER "NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER: I made, you know, a lot of mistakes.

HINOJOSA: With Katie Couric on NBC, all to sell his tell-all memoir "Burning Down my Master's House."

BLAIR: Some people, you know, it seems to me would like me to crawl into a hole and disappear forever. That's just not in my nature.

HINOJOSA: He writes about his addictions to cocaine, alcohol, pills, his 7:00 a.m. shots of liquor, which he told CNN only added to his troubles.

BLAIR: It was my own character flaws and my own bad choices. I can't really -- there are no excuses for it. There really are no explanations other than the fact that I made bad decisions.

HINOJOSA: Media critic Howard Kurtz also interviewed Blair as part of what he calls hold-your-nose coverage. HOWARD KURTZ, "WASHINGTON POST" MEDIA CRITIC: It's a fascinating book in the sense that watching a train wreck is fascinating.

HINOJOSA: Blair showed CNN his former apartment where he fabricated stories.

BLAIR: It was my own prison. That's what it felt like.

HINOJOSA: And the public phone where he called the boss who was first to question his work.

BLAIR: I just remember being in a cold sweat, shaking, you know, still lying.

HINOJOSA: Detailing just how he did it.

BLAIR: I would use "Times" databases of photographs. I would use stringers. I would use people, you know, I talked to on the telephone and I would ask them for specific details, you know, what color are the flowers on your porch.

HINOJOSA: But for some Jayson Blair's personal account won't answer the central question why he did it.

KURTZ: I think Jayson Blair still hasn't completely convinced me or himself exactly why he did what he did.

HINOJOSA: The "Times," which changed some senior staff and did a self review, won't talk about the book. In a statement they wrote: "The author is an admitted fabricator. We don't intend to respond to Jayson or his book." But one "Times" employee said...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm certainly interested in it but I wouldn't buy it.

HINOJOSA: Jayson Blair is hoping others will.

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Coming up on NEWSNIGHT tonight, we'll go back in time, billions of years in fact, to the earliest look ever at our universe and the reasons why we may not get another look for a long time.

Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Whoever said on a clear day you can see forever was wrong but not by much as it turns out. With the Hubble space telescope you can come mighty close.

Today, we saw new pictures from the Hubble of stars so distant that their light is very nearly the light of creation but if they show the beginning of the universe in stunning, beautiful detail, they almost also mark the beginning of the end for the Hubble.

Here's CNN's Miles O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Take a look back, way back in time. It's the universe as we have never seen it, young, odd-shaped galaxies growing, exploding, devouring each other, a tough neighborhood captured by the Hubble space telescope.

STEVE BECKWITH, DIRECTOR, SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE: It's just unbelievable.

O'BRIEN: It is a long time exposure of a piece of seemingly dark sky near Orion about a tenth of the diameter of the moon. There are at least 10,000 galaxies here, as they looked as relative youngsters, about 12 billion years ago.

BECKWITH: At the depth of the ultra deep field there must be more than a trillion galaxies on the whole sky and each of those galaxies contains roughly 100 billion stars.

O'BRIEN: But it could be Hubble's last big hit. A shuttle mission to make repairs, add two new instruments and extend Hubble's life should have been underway about now but, in January, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe cancelled all future shuttle missions to the telescope leaving Hubble to deteriorate and ultimate expire in orbit in two to four years.

SEAN O'KEEFE, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: I'm not happy with the way this decision needs to work out. I'd rather it not be this way but I think it's the only responsible thing to do.

O'BRIEN: O'Keefe's decision comes in the wake of the Columbia accident in February, 2003. The accident board told NASA future shuttle flights not headed to the International Space Station and safe harbor must adhere to a more rigorous set of standards for on orbit inspections, repairs and even rescue by another shuttle. All of it is unproven and unrealistic according to O'Keefe.

O'KEEFE: It comes down to the basic fundamental that you either comply with the recommendations of the Columbia accident investigation board report or you do the Hubble servicing mission, one or the other. You can't do both.

O'BRIEN: But many astronomers and engineers beg to differ.

ROBERT ZUBRIN, PRESIDENT, MARS SOCIETY: If we give up Hubble out of fear, we give up the human exploration of space. In the human exploration of space cowardice is not an option.

O'BRIEN: Astronomers say there is plenty more science for Hubble to do and the telescope would be ten times more powerful if shuttle astronauts could spend some time under the hood.

BECKWITH: Personally, I would take the risk to service Hubble if it were my life but I couldn't ask someone else to do that. That's a difficult decision that people in NASA have to make.

O'BRIEN: Of course, it is Administrator Sean O'Keefe who does have to do that and while there is no doubt no shortage of astronauts willing and eager to fly to Hubble, no one wants the task of explaining why an accident wasn't avoided.

Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: An ugly chapter of history came to an end today. We learned at Abbu Abbas, the Palestinian terrorist died yesterday of natural causes. He was being held by the Americans, though the Pentagon is not saying where he was being held. He did fall into American hands during the taking of Baghdad. He'd been living there for the better part of 18 years, After leading the takeover of an Italian cruise ship in which Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly Jewish American man confined to a wheelchair, was pushed over the side.

Suicide bombers hit a Masonic lodge in Istanbul, Turkey, today. The pair shot their way inside, one of them blowing himself up, taking a waiter with him. The second attacker was badly wounded, no one yet claiming responsibility.

And on the West Bank, Israeli forces swept into Jenin in search of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade. In the gun battle that followed, a Palestinian woman died and a French wire service photographer suffered a gunshot to the leg.

Still to come on NEWSNIGHT, the continuing fallout over the battle of gay marriage. Why now and how it will affect the upcoming elections?

A break first. This is NEWSNIGHT on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: We spent much of the afternoon news meeting on the subject of same-sex marriage, not the right or wrong of it or even the political dimension. It was more like a discussion of physics. We kept using words like critical mass, inertia, momentum, tipping point. We kept asking ourselves and each other, had we ever seen a story so potentially large in scale gather momentum, acquire inertia, reach critical mass and roll towards a tipping point so quickly. And why?

Here's CNN's Jeff Greenfield.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST (voice-over): It has been happening literally from coast to coast, from Asbury Park, New Jersey, on Monday, to New Paltz, New York and out West to Oregon, Washington state, San Francisco, California, marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples despite laws or judicial findings that such marriages are not valid. (on camera): So why is this happening? Well, the answer, unsurprisingly, is politics, specifically the political firestorm triggered by one state Supreme Court that propelled the opponents and advocates of gay marriage into overdrive.

(voice-over): The fuse was first lit back last June, when the United States Supreme Court struck down laws that criminalized private sex acts between consenting adults, gay or straight. Then, last November, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, relying in part on that U.S. high court decision, found that its state constitution, with its equal protection clause, required the state to sanction gay marriages. And last month, the court said, we mean marriage, nothing less, including civil unions.

But it was what happened in San Francisco on February 12 that turned a simmering debate into a full-fledged front-page story. That is when newly elected Mayor Gavin Newsom, who had barely beaten an opponent who had run to his left, authorized the city to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And gay couples responded by lining up literally around the block; 10 days later, President Bush, under heavy pressure from cultural conservatives, announced his support for a constitutional amendment to define marriage as one man, one woman.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Decisive and democratic action is needed, because attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country.

GREENFIELD: For Bush's all-but-certain Democratic foe, the issue proved a challenge. Kerry said he was against gay marriage, against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, for one state recognizing a gay marriage performed in another state. And, anyway, he said, it was all politics.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's doing this because he's in trouble.

GREENFIELD: For many Republicans in Congress, the issue also proved a challenge. Even staunch cultural conservatives were less than thrilled about changing the U.S. Constitution.

For his part, the first openly gay congressman, Barney Frank, criticized local officials for issuing same-sex licenses. This is, he said, not the time to push the issue. But in many of the nation's more socially liberal communities, there is a clear political advantage to such acts of civil disobedience. They draw attention and approval from an increasingly organized gay community, just as in other communities, such as Georgia, state legislators are working very hard to push through a state amendment that would specifically forbid gay marriages.

(on camera): In other words, this was not an issue pushed by any of the combatants in the so-called culture wars. It wasn't a ploy by the Bush campaign. It wasn't on the agenda of most of the prominent gay rights advocates. It was, instead, a one-vote majority decision by one state Supreme Court in Massachusetts, plus an audacious move by one mayor in San Francisco that put this whole issue front and center.

Jeff Greenfield, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: You might argue that, as a gay Republican, Steve Gunderson belongs to a minority within a minority. But that would imply that the percentage of gay people varies by political affiliation and we have no evidence of that.

Certainly, as a gay Republican, Mr. Gunderson now finds himself a minority on a narrowing patch of political ground. He and others agree with the president on much and differ with him on just a few issues, or sometimes just a single one. But that single issue is also a singular fact in their lives. And it makes for tough choices.

We're glad that Mr. Gunderson could join us tonight to talk about all of this. He's a former congressman from the state of Wisconsin. He joins us tonight from Washington.

Nice to see you.

STEVE GUNDERSON, FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Glad to be here.

BROWN: You voted for the president fours years ago?

GUNDERSON: Sure did.

BROWN: Are you surprised that he came out in favor of a constitutional amendment?

GUNDERSON: Not surprised.

I knew he was getting a lot of intense pressure from the social conservative wing of our party. I was more disappointed, Aaron, that he didn't talk about the fact that there's a real problem that is driving this issue. I mean, the discrimination, the 1,000 benefits that married couples get under federal law that same-sex, loving relationships do not get, the fact that we don't have the hospital visitation, the medical consultation, the -- we have to pay taxes if our domestic partner gets health insurance through our company, the estates, the pensions, the Social Security benefits.

There's a problem diving this issue that I think the emotional debate on both sides has failed to address.

BROWN: Well, as far as I know -- you may know differently -- but as far as I know, the president doesn't believe in these civil unions either.

GUNDERSON: Well, and that's OK.

My disappointment in the president's announcement was not that he said, look, I am for the traditional interpretation and institution of marriage being between a man and a woman, because that's where a lot of America is. Where I think the president let this country down is, he didn't go on beyond that and say, but I want you, as Americans, not only to have a civil debate, but I want you to understand why this issue is before us.

There's a large segment of this citizenship that does not have equal benefits and protections under law at either the federal or the state level today. If the president had said that, you know, I'm one of probably a minority, which makes me a Republican. I don't care whether you call it marriage, civil unions, or something else. I'm interested in the outcomes. I want my partner to have the benefit and the protections that my sisters-in-law or my brothers-in-law have in their marriage.

BROWN: And that's an interesting -- there are -- there is, within, I think, the gay community disagreement about whether civil union is enough.

GUNDERSON: Sure.

BROWN: Andrew Sullivan on the program a couple weeks ago talked about -- eloquently talked about -- a sense of family, the need for a sense of family that is ingrained in all of us, straight, gay, otherwise. It doesn't matter. Is that -- that's not your issue, though?

GUNDERSON: Well, it's partially my issue. I care very deeply about my family. My family happens to love my partner and I. We are a couple like my brothers and their wives, my sisters and their husbands. We're all seen that way.

What I don't want this to be is just a semantical debate about the use of the word marriage. I want us to focus on the problem and the appropriate legal outcomes. The second thing I want us to do is, I want us to separate the theological debate, which should be left for the theologians, vs. the public policy debate, which talks about civil protections, which is the one the politicians should be addressing.

So I don't think we're handling this very well as a country right now. I think we need to slow down, lower our voices, learn a lot more about the issue and figure out, how can we resolve this in a way that is fair and equitable for all Americans? I worry that's not going to happen.

BROWN: Just a couple of quick things. Do you believe you'll vote for the president?

GUNDERSON: I think it's too soon to tell. I've told everyone, Ronald Reagan, during his term in office, gave some verbal support to the whole pro-life movement, but he really didn't put his administration's activities and actions behind that.

If this was a vocal support of where the president stands on this issue and that's all the further it goes, then, you know, I've never voted for a candidate that I didn't disagree with on one or more issues. If, on the other hand, the president says, I'm going to actively push to change the Constitution to deny protections and benefits for a certain segment of American population, of which I and my partner happen to be two of those people, then I couldn't with integrity vote for him. So I hope he doesn't go there.

BROWN: Congressman, it's good to see you again. Thank you.

GUNDERSON: Thank you, Aaron. .

BROWN: Thanks for joining us -- Steve Gunderson joining us.

BROWN: Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, a different point of view on this and I suspect lots other things. John Podhoretz joins us to talk his new book extolling the president.

Will take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Lots of politics on the program tonight.

It turns out, tomorrow, the president will make what aides call a spirited defense of his economic policy. The economy is an area where our polls, at least, show some soft support for Mr. Bush. Indeed, the president has, for a variety of reasons, seen his job approval rating at a low point. A fair amount may have to do with the bashing for months by Democrats during the primary season. That may last. It may not.

We can say, though, at first blush, he's in a weakened political position today, something I expect our next guest believes will not last.

John Podhoretz is a columnist, among other things, for "The New York Post." He is also author now, "Bush Country: How W. Became a Great President While Driving Liberals Insane." We read him all the time. It's good to see him here;.

JOHN PODHORETZ, COLUMNIST, "THE NEW YORK POST": Thank you so much.

BROWN: Before we get to the book, let me just ask a broader question. Why do you think it is -- if you look at best-seller list these days, you have got this whole range of political books, left and right, that seem to be flying off the shelves. Does that tell us something about where we are?

PODHORETZ: Yes, it means that the political class, the literate political class in the country is very, very engaged.

It started in the 1990s, when conservatives, enraged with Bill Clinton, really took over the best-seller lists in an unexpected way with these jeremiads against the administration. Now you have this balance where you have jeremiads against liberalism by conservatives and you have jeremiads against George W. Bush by liberals, which are sort of sharing the list.

BROWN: And when you talk about the sale of these books, how many books are you talking.

PODHORETZ: Hundreds of thousands.

BROWN: Several hundred thousand?

PODHORETZ: Yes, but in each case.

BROWN: All right, let's talk about the president a little bit. The book is a terrific read. It's great fun.

PODHORETZ: Thank you.

BROWN: If have a nice sense of humor. People will agree with it or not on some things.

Let's talk about some of the things that you talked about and certainly the attack lines the Democrats will form and have formed: The tax cuts favored the rich. Now, there's no question that the rich benefited the most from the tax cuts. So, you can't argue that, I don't believe, can you, that they did not?

PODHORETZ: No, but, I mean, the use of verb favor itself indicates a sort of value judgment inside the whole question. Tax cuts exist. The Bush tax cuts cut taxes for everyone in the country who pays taxes.

BROWN: Income taxes?

PODHORETZ: Income taxes, federal income taxes. So, under those conditions, what you have there is, in some ways, the more income taxes you pay, the more percentage-wise your tax cut will kick in.

I mean, the interesting thing about the federal income tax is that a lot of people in the country don't pay it at all, if you make under a certain amount of money. And a lot of people who make less than a certain amount of money actually get money back from the government in the form of an earned income tax credit. So what you do when you cut taxes, theoretically, is you try to open up the economy by moving money out of the government sector into the private sector, either into the hands of consumers, who can spend it, or into the hands of businesses that will invest with it.

BROWN: Rather than going issue to issue, do you think there's a central core to George Bush that the Democrats or the left or whatever word you want to use -- pick the word you want -- don't get?

PODHORETZ: I think very much.

I think the central conceit of the leftist attack on George W. Bush is that he's a liar. I think that the central truth about George W. Bush is that he's among the most straightforward presidents and leaders that we've ever had. He says what he's going to do and he does it, for the most part, more than most politicians do. He's not perfect and he's not some sort of heroic truth-teller, but he -- but you know, he said -- you know, he said basically to the U.N., you know, in September of 2002, you know, show your relevance. Come in with me or I will assemble a coalition to take Saddam Hussein out. And he said it and he said it and he said it. And they tested him and they tested him. And six months later, he did what he said he was going to do in September.

BROWN: Where do you think he's vulnerable, anywhere?

PODHORETZ: I think he's vulnerable on the economy, like everybody else does. I think, in that sense -- I think he's done well and the economy is growing incredibly quickly.

But the argument that this replacement, weird replacement of unemployment statistics, which used to be the way we measured whether people were worried about jobs, with job growth, which has only seemed to happen in the last 12 months. Unemployment right now, 5.6 percent, is exactly where it was when Bill Clinton was running for reelection in 1996, claiming

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Well, but unemployment is always a relative number compared to where it was at any given -- it's like interest rates.

PODHORETZ: That it's down a full percentage point from where it was a year ago.

BROWN: Right.

PODHORETZ: So that's a real accomplishment. And he took office in a recession. The economy is now growing 4 percent a year, which is the fastest rate in 20 years. That should be an argument that works for him. But, because of these job growth numbers, Democrats have made a successful sort of change in the debate.

BROWN: I hate to ask you yes or no. You're a columnist. Do you think he wins in November?

PODHORETZ: Yes.

BROWN: Wins big or sneaks by?

PODHORETZ: No, I think -- that, I don't know.

BROWN: All right.

PODHORETZ: But I can see him winning big.

BROWN: Nice to see you.

PODHORETZ: Thank you very much.

BROWN: Good luck with the book.

PODHORETZ: Thank you so much.

BROWN: Take care.

Morning papers after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ROOSTER CROWING)

BROWN: Man, there it is. It's a mess tonight. Well, I found "The Sun-Times," so I feel better.

Time to check morning papers from around the country and around the country today. Since I'm leaving the country, we're going to make this the domestic edition of morning papers. Here we go.

"The South Bend Tribune." That would be South Bend, Indiana. I don't think we've ever led with them, but why not, because they play this story fat, if you will. "Obesity, Inactivity, Poor Diet, Nearly Bad As Smoking." What about those people who smoke right after they eat a big, fat meal? That isn't going to do them any good either. Anyway, that is a huge story in newspapers around the country.

Also, in the paper today, "Vote Deficit Stalls Gay Marriage Amendment." One of the -- "Support Lacking in Michigan House to Send Issue to the Senate," that story out of Lancing, Michigan. This is going on in a number of states trying to pass constitutional amendments to ban gay marriage.

"The Richmond Times-Dispatch" leads in the way you knew they would. We didn't play -- do much with the story. But this is a big story for them and they led appropriately: "Muhammad Sentenced to Death in Sniper Case." Also, they do the Hubble story, but they just do it as kind of a teaser with a picture that Hubble has sent back. I thought those pictures were incredibly cool.

"The Dayton Daily News" of Dayton, Ohio. "Evolution Lesson Plan Approved. Critics Say it Contains Elements of Intelligent Design," which is a buzz word. "Obesity Deaths to Overtake Tobacco's Toll." People did quit smoking, or lots of people have, but they are still eating a lot.

Obesity makes the front page of "The Miami Herald." They led with the primary, darn it. Nobody else much cared, but they did. "Kerry Wins Florida Vote." Good for them. That's the right lead for them.

"Boston Herald." "Death Bed Wedding. Ted Williams' Tragic Son in New Bombshell." I have no idea what that story is about, but it doesn't sound good, does it?

And "The Chicago Sun-Times" always ends it, and it will. The weather tomorrow in Chicago...

(CHIMES)

BROWN: Thank you.

Is crisp, 46 degrees. That's kind of on a cool picture of John Kerry campaigning in Chicago. That's morning papers. We'll wrap up the day in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Quick look at our top story before we go.

One hour today became potentially more, the White House saying the president will answer all of the 9/11 Commission's questions when it meets with its top two officials -- when he does. Asked if that means the president will spend more than an hour with the officials, the answer was, "Nobody's watching the clock," a shift, in not so many words, in the wake of more objections and some pretty heated campaign attacks by Senator John Kerry.

Tomorrow, on this program, for 25 years, actor Jeff Bridges has carried a camera to work. What began as a hobby is now a new book, a behind-the-scenes look at life on a movie set in stills.

And before we go, Soledad O'Brien with a look at what's coming up tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Aaron.

Tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," George Foreman's big adventure. He's 55 and getting in shape for another fight. He's already the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship and he did that 10 years ago. I'm going to ask him why he's doing it now.

That's CNN tomorrow, 7:00 a.m. Eastern -- Aaron, back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Thank you. It might have something to do with money.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" for most of you is next.

We'll see you next from the Middle East. Good night for all of us at NEWSNIGHT.

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





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