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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Coverage of Democratic National Convention

Aired July 27, 2004 - 23:00   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.


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of the Democratic presidential candidate, with her two sons up on the podium. We're told that John Kerry was watching this speech in a hotel in Philadelphia. We're told also by a pool reporter who was inside the room, he said, "She looks good" when he saw her on the screen.
Judy Woodruff, what do you make of the speech?

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Wolf, she may have been scripted, but I think the real Teresa Heinz Kerry came through. You saw her passion for her husband, her passion for the issues she cares about. She is an internationalist. She cares about the environment. Her foundation has funded that.

And she believes, as she said very straightforward -- she said John Kerry will be first in the line of fire. She got in her licks at George W. Bush. I think she accomplished (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Very strong ideal for the women's vote, which has been going Democratic for decades, the idea that, some day, opinionated ought to be considered well-informed, just like men, some echoes to the '60s.

That phrase speak truth to power, that's a product of the Vietnam era and the protest movement. I think, in a sense, that this was a speech which was both biography and an attempt to reassure, in a sense, that she's a real patriot, but also striking at the Democratic base, saying, I am one of you -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Teresa Heinz Kerry getting a thunderous response from the delegates here at the Democratic National Convention.

We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: And that brings an end day two of the Democratic National Convention -- two more days here in Boston at the FleetCenter. CNN, of course, will have continuing live coverage.

For Judy Woodruff and Jeff Greenfield, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Boston.

Let's let Aaron Brown pick it up now in New York, a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT" -- Aaron. AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you.

And good evening again, everyone.

Day two goes in the books, the convention still proceeding on message and more or less on time, in fact, by my watch, about 20 seconds early, downright Republican, said the bloggers and the wise guys today, certainly true in form, less so in substance. If last night was one for the headliners, tonight, delegates got a chance to hear from one of the last old-timers, as in the old-time Democratic religion, and they got a rip-roaring preview of an upcomer, the first primetime look as well at the woman who hopes to become first lady. It was a busy night.

Our reporting begins with the whip, if not around the world, then certainly around the FleetCenter. We're joined by our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield, our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, and our senior White House correspondent John King. It sounds like a senior center.

To all of you, it's good to see you.

Jeff, let me start with you. Give me the overview. What was tonight about for the Democrats and how successful, in your view, were they?

GREENFIELD: To be candid, this was the least important night of the convention. We had Clinton the last night, Edwards tomorrow, and, obviously, John Kerry Thursday. So it was trying to do a couple of things.

Probably most important was to introduce Teresa Heinz Kerry to the folks who are watching, to show that she was, while foreign born, imbued with a love of America and also to show that her opinions were not out of the mainstream, but opinions about empowering women, opinions about making the country better.

Also, obviously, it was about introducing to the country a new star. This is why conventions still appeal to someone like me. In Barack Obama, we heard one of the really great keynote speakers of the last quarter century, I think.

BROWN: And was it a successful night? That was...

GREENFIELD: I'm sorry. I guess I missed the headline.

You know, I think so. I mean, Barack Obama showed why people see him as a genuine comer because he was reaching beyond the Democratic base to say, look, you know, there are conservative values like not wasting government money, like studying hard, like responsibility, very Clintonian themes, that can be embraced by an African-American candidate for Senate from Illinois that resonate elsewhere, and I think that, to me, was the most successful part of the speech.

The Ted Kennedy speech was really basically a homage to the past and to a legacy in the fact that is Boston. But the guy that really brought this place -- riveted this place was Barack Obama.

And Teresa Heinz Kerry was introduced to the country to show them that, you know, this is not that odd and strange a woman. She's quite warm and feels pretty much like you do.

So I think, to that extent, it worked -- Aaron.

BROWN: The -- just an observation watching this on television, which is different honestly from being in the hall -- really different, in fact -- the Kennedy speech was OK, and the Obama speech jumped through the TV screen like it was on fire.

GREENFIELD: Yes. Aaron, I make it a point to watch this on TV monitors, which may sound odd to some of your listeners and some here, but the real event is happening in a few million American homes, not in this hall.

And you're quite right. The Kennedy speech, even in the hall, got an OK reception, but the guy that quieted this place down -- you could feel it happening about two minutes into the speech -- was Barack Obama.

BROWN: Candy, you talked to Obama -- State Senator Obama shortly afterwards. I don't think that anything that happened tonight will make it any easier for the Republicans to find someone to run against him.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, I don't think so either. I mean, he's just -- he really did -- you know, this is his maiden voyage here on the national stage, and it really was great, and he really did have the crowd going.

It was more than -- you know, with Teddy, as Jeff mentioned, it was very much with Kennedy sort of (inaudible) this, we like you, you know, we support you. With Obama, it was like wow. You know, you're saying exactly what we want this party to be.

They put him out there because they want to show him as the face of the Democratic Party, and it's a heck of a face, and he did really well.

BROWN: These are, to me at least, fascinating moments. You go back to 1988, and the keynote speaker was a little-known, but highly regarded governor from the State of Arkansas, and he bombed, Bill Clinton. He bombed. So these things can go either way.

CROWLEY: These things can obviously go either way. I actually think that Clinton was a nominating speech, but, you know, the fact of the matter is that the keynoters sometimes can fade into history, and I don't think this guy will.

This is -- we talked a lot about others, these great expectations, because all we ever heard about was Barack Obama, Barack Obama, he's going to be great. he's an up-and-comer, and you're thinking, holy cow, has this guy really got a reputation to live up to, and the fact is, at least for these people -- and you said looking through the TV screen -- he lived up to it.

BROWN: All right, Candy. Let me turn to John. John King, our senior White House correspondent.

To my ear, John, more so than last night, they went at the issue, the Democrats did, of the war in Iraq directly. It came up in almost every speech, although I didn't hear it in Mrs. Heinz Kerry's speech. In virtually every other speech, they went at it today.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They went at it, Aaron, and the reflection, the very difficult dance, if you will, the rhetorical dance anyway the Democrats have on this issue because...

You heard from Howard Dean who, of course, made his name in the Democratic primaries as saying wake up to other Democrats, why are you not opposing this president, President Bush when it comes to the war. His opposition to the war was clear.

Senator Kennedy, the senior senator of Massachusetts, making clear that he believed the war was wrong, and not only did he believe the war was wrong but that George W. Bush has prosecuted it wrongly, even more so. Yet the Democratic platform does not have outright opposition to the war.

So, on the floor here, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of these delegates oppose the war in Iraq, and those lines in those speeches were very warmly received. Senator Kerry, of course, and Senator Edwards both gave the president the authority to go to war.

The main focus here is that these Democrats will say at a minimum, George W. Bush failed at prosecuting that war. And the first red meat tonight not only Iraq. We heard Halliburton. We heard Dick Cheney. We heard Enron. Senator Kennedy saying time to retire Dick Cheney to his undisclosed location.

So more direct criticism tonight, and the Republicans are already saying that violates John Kerry's pledge to have a positive convention -- Aaron.

BROWN: Let's go back to Iraq for one more question, maybe two here.

Yesterday, I think it was Al Gore who said no matter what you thought of the war, they've made a mess of it. I'm paraphrasing it. That's the gist of it. Today, they were a little less on message if you will.

Is this, from a political point of view, a problem that they still don't have a clear message, they the Democrats, on what they the Democrats believe about Iraq?

KING: Looking backwards, that is certainly dead-on. Senator Kennedy was opposed to the war from the beginning. Governor Dean certainly was. Again, Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards gave the president the authority to go to war, so it's a much more difficult issue for them.

So the Democrats would rather focus not just on the president's decision to go to war in Iraq. They would much rather turn the attention to how he prosecuted the war.

Senator Kerry makes the case he walked away from the traditional allies and was in a rush to war, should have kept the allies on board, makes the case that he didn't have the plan to keep the peace, if you will. A very difficult peace we see in Iraq now.

So if the Democrats would have their way, they would focus on George W. Bush's role as commander in chief from the day the first bomb dropped, not so much the debate before that.

BROWN: Let me just go back to Jeff if I can for a final question.

Jeff, is there -- do you see that there's a building block effect here? Are they building up to something in terms of both tone and substance?

GREENFIELD: They're building up to presenting John Kerry as a man who can fix it, and voters get to fill in the blank. I think they are at pains not to criticize George W. Bush as a bad person, even though, to be candid, many people in this hall think he is a bad person, but that he has not done the job.

The words of Slate's Mickey Kaus. It's a Pedro Martinez argument. Maybe you thought he was good. It's time to take him out for someone else. That's what they're leading to.

That's why they're trying to mute the level of intensity of criticism at George W. Bush and present John Kerry as a strong man. "Strong" is the one word that dominates the Kerry camp's hope for this campaign, Aaron.

BROWN: Jeff, Candy, John, thank you. You've all had long nights. We appreciate your staying up late. Thank you very much.

Another view, if you will, of reduction. In coverage as in cooking, reductions concentrate the flavor and give critics something better to chew on. They'll be along shortly. The critics, that is. But, first, the entree, the night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): For Democrats, the night began with a true lion in winter, Ted Kennedy in his home town at the podium and on the attack.

SEN. TED KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: More than 900 of our servicemen and women have already paid the ultimate price. Nearly 6,000 have been wounded in this misguided war. The administration has alienated longtime allies. Instead of making America more secure, they have made us less so. They have made it harder to win the real war on terrorism and the war against al Qaeda. And none of this had to happen.

BROWN: In a supporting role, Howard Dean. In the what-ifs of life, this might have been his week.

GOV. HOWARD DEAN (D), VERMONT: I was hoping for a reception like this. I was just kind of hoping it was going to be on Thursday night instead of Tuesday night.

Never again will we ever be ashamed to call ourselves Democrats. Never, never, never. We're not going to just change presidents in this election. We're going to change this country. We're going to reclaim the American dream.

BROWN: The convention's keynote speaker was a rising star, a young Illinois state senator named Barack Obama. He has no opponent yet in his run for the U.S. Senate from his home state.

BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), STATE SENATOR: When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops win the war, secure the peace and earn the respect of the world.

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America.

The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states, red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats, but I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking in our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending a United States of America.

BROWN: And then there was the son of a Republican icon, Ron Reagan, in one of the primest of the primetime slots, a speech about one thing, one issue, the use of embryonic stem cells for medical research, and what to tell a single patient who might benefit.

RON REAGAN, SON OF THE LATE PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: What might we tell her children or the millions of others who suffer that when given an opportunity to help, we turned away, that facing political opposition, we lost our nerve, that even though we knew better, we did nothing.

BROWN: And finally, in the political sense at least, the country met a would-be first lady who surely would be unlike any in the country's history.

TERESA HEINZ KENNEDY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: And John is a fighter. He earned his medals the old-fashioned way. By putting his life on the line for his country, and no one will defend this nation more vigorously than he will, and he will always, always be first in the line of fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The Cliffs Notes version of day two at the convention, if they still have that. I'm not sure.

We turn to the Brown table now. Joining us from Boston, Nina Easton is the deputy bureau chief in Washington for "The Boston Globe," John Harwood's the political editor for "The Wall Street Journal," and Terry Neal is the chief political correspondent for the washingtonpost.com.

And we are glad to see and hear you all tonight.

Nina, there -- for me, there is something about when Mrs. Heinz Kerry gets up there, that you kind of hold your breath because you're a little unsure what the moment's going to be like. How did it go?

NINA EASTON, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": I thought it went fantastic, frankly. I mean, this is the week that started with the news that she had told a reporter to shove it, which made all the rounds of the Internet, and yet she stood at that podium, and I thought she came off as the finest European actress really. I mean, she was likable, she's gorgeous, she was kind of warm and earthy, and for people who don't know her -- and this was your first introduction to her -- I thought she did spectacular.

BROWN: The -- there was that moment where she said people talk of me, and then she did air quotes, as being opinionated, and I thought, boy, she handled that perfectly.

EASTON: Well, she walked -- the first thing she said when she walked up to the podium -- she said, "I guess this will surprise you, but I have something to say."

BROWN: Yes.

EASTON: And the entire hall burst out laughing.

BROWN: And, Terry...

JOHN HARWOOD, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": I'll tell you what else, Aaron.

BROWN: Yes.

HARWOOD: People talk about John Edwards being the sexiest politician in America. I think Teresa Heinz may be the sexiest spouse of a national candidate in my memory. She comes across pretty strong, soulful, tender even in a way, so I think she had an effective performance.

BROWN: And she has a sense of humor both about life and herself, and that will get you through some pretty tough moments in a pretty tough business that you guys write about every day.

Terry, you were particularly interested in how Senator -- State Senator Obama would do today. You were out talking to people. Obviously, he is getting great, great reviews, but maybe six million, seven million people, maybe less, saw it. So the questions in a way is: So what?

TERRY NEAL, WASHINGTONPOST.COM: Well, yes. I mean, look, a great speech is not a guarantee of a great political future, but even before he gave his speech, a lot of the people in the party believed that he was a rising star. A lot of people have heard of this guy. He has not even won the race of the Senate yet, and they're already calling him a rising star.

In a lot of ways, I think the important point to make is that he is sort of the epitome of an emerging new class of black politicians, the second class of black politicians to come after the first group, who came primarily out of the civil rights movement and whose politics were based largely on grievance and anger. And this new generation pays respect to that older generation in what they achieved, but has a broader perspective, and they're running to be, you know, sort of the politician for everybody, not just, you know, a black constituency.

EASTON: You know, Terry...

HARWOOD: And, Terry, don't you think there was a lot of Bill Clinton in that speech? Have you ever heard a line better than "We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like people poking around in our libraries in the red states." That really pulled it together.

EASTON: And my favorite was the audacity of hope. Was that beautiful.

BROWN: The -- so did the Democrats -- this is the question that we'll ask every night. There's no way to know this, I suppose, but did the Democrats for the people...

This was, as Jeff said, the least important night of the convention. Tomorrow's John Edwards' night, and then John Kerry's night.

Did the Democrats get anything out of it, or did they -- were their dangers, were their traps, was Howard Dean a trap, was Ted Kennedy a trap? Were there any traps laid out there tonight, Nina?

EASTON: Well, the one, I think, kind of sour note in the Kennedy speech was that term "false patriots" that he threw at the Bush administration. This was supposed to be more of an up-talk convention without that kind of charge being leveled.

And I think probably Kennedy, because he was -- he has come to Kerry's side after, frankly, some strains in the relationship in the past. He was one of the first senators to endorse Kerry, came out on the campaign trial, has embraced him, and I think -- and much of his staff runs the Kerry campaign, and so I think he was given some leeway to go where he wanted to go tonight.

NEAL: Can I make a real quick point about that, too, though? I mean, I believe that -- you know, look, you can say whatever you want about Kerry -- about the senator and, you know, how negative his speech was, but you've got to give some red meat to the masses.

I've been here talking to the delegates. Believe me, they want more of that sort of thing. So the key is not to go overboard with it, and I don't think that they did it. I mean, Kennedy has his role, and, you know, he played his part. He has a part to play.

BROWN: John, I'll give you the last word. There are really two conventions. There's the one that goes on in the hall, and there's the one that is seen on television, and sometimes it does seem to me they can play at cross purposes.

HARWOOD: Well, they definitely can, but, Aaron, you know where they're going to tell the tale of how effective this was -- and I promise I'm not sucking up -- in the morning papers because how this gets covered in local newspapers and on local television all around the country is going to be the critical factor because the audience was very, very small last night.

There was no network audience tonight. So you really have a fairly small number of people who consumed this firsthand. They're going to get it from the news media and try to make some judgment as to what happened in Boston and how successful it was.

BROWN: John, I'm an anchorman. You can suck up any time you want. Thank you.

Terry, Nina, you take lessons from John, and we'll talk again tomorrow.

Thank you very much.

Stile ahead on the program tonight, the Democrats on Iraq. We've already started talking about that. It is a very complicated issue, and we'll look at that, and the man who keeps bringing Iraq up, Michael Moore, who's causing a bit of a stir. But it's Howard Dean that takes us to break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Thank you very much. Thank you so much. I was hoping for a reception like this. I was just kind of hoping it was going to be on Thursday night instead of Tuesday night. I may not be the nominee, but I can tell you this: For the next hundred days, I'll be doing everything that...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, in addition to nominating the ticket, the delegates are in Boston to adopt a platform. Neither task means quite what it once did. Nominations have become coronations, and platforms stopped being platforms about the same time platform shoes went out. That said, they remain an expression of two things, how the party sees itself and how it sells itself, and sometimes they are not the same.

Here's CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like many delegates gathered in Boston, Scholmit Auciello believes the Iraq War never should have happened.

SCHOLMIT AUCIELLO, DNC DELEGATE: Most Democrats know that his war going to stink.

BASH: In fact, a recent "New York Times"/CBS News poll says nine in 10 delegates agree with her.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: All those in favor say aye.

BASH: But both senators on the Democratic ticket voted for the war so the platform, the official party position, does not say war in Iraq was a wrong call. Instead it reads, "People of good will disagree about whether America should have gone to war in Iraq."

AILEEN GUNTHER, DNC DELEGATE: I myself would have stronger language as far as the platform goes.

BASH: Party officials concede there was healthy debate when they hammered out language earlier this month, and it's not over.

MARK WEPRIN, DNC DELEGATE: We went in with the right intentions, I believe. Unfortunately, now that we're there, we can't turn our back on the people who are over there.

BASH: They settled on John Kerry's approach, more international troops, train Iraqi forces, stabilize, don't withdraw.

RICH GOTFRIED, DNC PLATFORM COMMITTEE: The platform also has to appeal to a broad constituency. It can't simply represent my views or any other individuals' views.

BASH: But the candidate that rallied the anti-war movement gave all this a shoulder shrug.

DEAN: This is the seventh convention I've been to. I've long learned that platforms don't mean anything.

BASH: Republicans are trying to stoke what they call a split among Democrats.

ED GILLESPIE, RNC CHAIRMAN: It's hard to tell what their policy is. Maybe by Thursday night when Senator Kerry takes the stage, we'll know or he'll know. BASH: The Democrats' platform is tough on the president's handling of Iraq, accusing him of exaggerating the threats and underestimating what was needed to win the peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And for delegates here on the floor tonight, disappointed that their platform did not more directly denounce the Iraq War. They at least got a few impassioned lines from people like Howard Dean and Ted Kennedy, and those got some noticeably hearty applause -- Aaron.

BROWN: It's just -- it's a fascinating trap in a sense that the Democrats are in. The candidate voted to authorize the war, and he hasn't walked away from that. How exactly, if you know -- I'm not sure anyone knows, in truth. How exactly is Senator Kerry's position on the war today different from President Bush's who you cover day in and day out.

BASH: Well, that's the question, Aaron, that Republicans are asking all day today, particularly looking at the way this platform is written, and, basically, the answer on the Democrats' side is that he would have done it differently, and, you know, whether or not he actually voted for the resolution, for the war, that, once that vote happened, he would have acted and conducted himself in a much different way than President Bush, and that is written into this platform.

Once they get past whether or not the war was just, you know, the party platform writers talked about the fact that they wanted to, you know, move forward on this, and that what the president did, they say, in not internationalizing the war, not giving the U.N. enough time, and they say in not explaining weapons of mass destruction or at least, they say, exaggerating that, that those were all things that John Kerry, they say, never would have done.

BROWN: Dana, thank you. Good to have you with us tonight.

Dana Bash -- she usually covers the White House -- in Boston covering the Democrats tonight.

Coming up next on NEWSNIGHT, we'll talk with Laura Ingraham who sees things from the conservative side. We'll get a voice on that in the program tonight as well.

As we take you to break, controversy of some sort and Ron Reagan at the convention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: We can choose between the future and the past, between reason and ignorance, between true compassion and mere ideology. This...

(CHEERS)

REAGAN: This is our moment, and we must not falter. Whatever else you do, come November 2nd, I urge you, please, cast a vote for embryonic stem-cell research.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Boston tonight where the Democrats are filing out of the FleetCenter, the old Boston Garden, or the remade Boston Garden, and that's inside the FleetCenter. Sometime tonight, we expect John Edwards will do a walkthrough. His moment before the convention and the country. We'll highlight the coverage tomorrow, and we may see him yet before we're off the air tonight.

Laura Ingraham joins us now. Ms. Ingraham is a conservative writer and a good one, and, like almost everyone else in America, she also hosts a talk-radio program, and we are very pleased...

LAURA INGRAHAM, TALK-RADIO HOST: Oh, come on. Almost everyone in America, Aaron? You're not on talk radio yet.

BROWN: No, but I did a lot time ago.

INGRAHAM: OK. All right. OK.

BROWN: Long, long time ago.

INGRAHAM: Back in the dinosaur days, OK.

BROWN: Pretty much so.

INGRAHAM: There's a new game in town now.

BROWN: What did the Republicans get to work with tonight? Did Democrats give them anything to work with?

INGRAHAM: Well, I don't know. I think, you know, obviously, Mr. Obama, I think, acquitted himself very well. I think he seems in a way more Clintonesque than Bill Clinton even seemed last night, although Bill Clinton -- I think if you're a Democrat, you want to hear from Bill Clinton, and you want to look to the future. So I think Hillary might be looking over her shoulder a little bit after tonight's speech.

But I guess what struck me is this idea that we live in the United States of America, which is kind of obvious, and we're not black or white, we're not rich or poor, we're Americans, and that's really the message of Ronald Reagan, and I think the politics of division and the politics of racial line drawing, gender line drawing, is what we've seen all too often from the Democratic Party in policy after policy and in argument after argument, Aaron.

And I attended a Michael Moore rally of all things just today in the afternoon at the Finesa (ph) Hotel here. Let me tell you something. Michael Moore seemed pretty close to endorsing John Kerry to me, and I didn't hear anything approaching this Mr. Obama's unified America, don't draw the line between rich and poor. It seemed very divisive and very caustic. BROWN: One of the things that's come up actually both nights, I think the Democrats are trying to create a theme they can turn back on the president, which is that he has not been as he advertised himself to be a uniter, but in fact he has been a divider.

INGRAHAM: Well, I think any president when he gets into office, it's nice to say that you're going to change the tone in Washington, but when you're fighting the war on terror as this military of ours is doing and when you have deep disagreement on fundamental policy questions, one side's going to agree and one side's not going to agree. And these are important cultural arguments we're seeing, whether it's gay marriage or partial birth abortion, those aren't going away Aaron, because the courts are circumventing the American people in deciding a lot of these questions. That's what happened in the '70s with the initial abortion decision and that's what is happening on some of these cultural decisions. When that happens, the people are left out of the equation, a lot of people get angry. So I don't think that argument in the end is going to wash that much. I mean this is a difficult time for the country and the president has a lot of big challenges ahead of him.

BROWN: About a minute left, I want to talk about Iraq. Do you worry that, because I think we both know a fair number of conservatives who are unhappy with how the war's been handled, that that issue ultimately is going to hurt the president and will work, will work in the favor of the Democrats at least by not hurting them.

INGRAHAM: Well, I like to talk to the troops, to the men and women who are serving our country as I was able to do tonight on my radio show from here and I got to tell you something, when there's an officer being deployed or an enlisted man being deployed for a second time in Iraq, I'm hearing nothing but a can-do mentality, an enormous amount of support for the vision of this president. It is a difficult battle in Iraq, but this country has never bowed down. We're not the same (ph). We're not going to back off because some thugs threaten to kidnap or even worse, the people that they want to capture.

So I don't think that the way the trends are going the last few days Aaron, the AP/"Washington Post" poll shows Bush is up 10 percent on the issue of trustworthiness and fighting the war on terror. John Kerry flipping in that regard. Now, that might change over the next couple of days, but I don't know, I think in the end, the people are going to pull the lever as to who's going to be a strong leader in the future and who gets the support of the military I think is significant and I think still, there's a slight edge there for George Bush.

BROWN: As always, nice to see you. Come back talk to us some more.

INGRAHAM: Thanks Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you.

INGRAHAM: All right. Take care.

BROWN: Laura Ingraham who's in Boston tonight as is much of the world. Still to come from here, women in politics over the years. It was 20 years ago that Geraldine Ferraro was on the ticket. Jeff Greenfield takes a look at that. But first, the man who's gotten a lot of talk tonight, Barack Obama in Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: Even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight there is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America, an Asian America. There's the United States of America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Filing out there at the Fleet Center, is that what it's called? I think so, in Boston (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Political conventions are a time for looking back as well as forward. Some conventions make history. It happened in 1984 in a moment widely seen as a watershed moment for women, but was it really? CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When she took the podium to accept the vice presidential nomination in San Francisco 20 years ago, everyone knew they were seeing a piece of history.

GERALDINE FERRARO: Ladies and gentlemen of the convention, my name is Geraldine Ferraro. I stand before you to proclaim tonight, America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us.

GREENFIELD (on-camera): Since then, of course, it's been a series of one gender only national tickets, which could be seen as a backward step in the march toward political equality. But is this really the way to measure progress? After all, there's also been only one Italian-American on the ticket, only one Jew, only one Polish- American, no Asian, no Hispanic, no African-American. There are after all only four slots every four years. So if we step back and look at the bigger picture, a different story appears.

(voice-over): When Ferraro made history in 1984, there were two women in the U.S. Senate. Now there are 14, at least one of whom is a prominent presidential possibility. There were 22 women in the House then. There are 61 now. There was only one woman governor 20 years ago. There are nine today and today more than a quarter of all statewide elected offices are held by women. Moreover, throughout the Federal government, jobs once considered male only are or have been in women's hands: Supreme court justice, attorney general, secretary of State, national security adviser.

GOVERNOR JANET NAPOLITANO, (D) ARIZONA: What I actually know is more women running for attorney general around the country, more women looking at running for governor, more women running for mayor.

GREENFIELD: Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, who succeeded another woman in the state house.

NAPOLITANO: The more you have women in offices that are deemed traditionally not women's offices, the more it becomes unremarkable.

GREENFIELD: Is every sign encouraging? No, says Debby Walsh, who directs the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University.

DEBBIE WALSH, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR AMERICAN WOMEN IN POLITICS: We're seeing fewer women running for office and therefore fewer women winning office and few women taking office. I don't often say this, but this is one of those places where I think women need to be a little bit more like men. They need to just get off the mark and run for office.

GREENFIELD: That said, it still remains true that in these last 20 years, virtually every threshold has been crossed. Nowadays when a woman assumes high office, the news is often greeted less with a wow, than with a so what? And that may be the biggest change of all. Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: "Time" magazine's Joe Klein is with us tonight and this week. We're always glad to see him, whether it's in the hallways or on the TV screen. What were you doing 20 years ago when Geraldine Ferraro was nominated?

JOE KLEIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: I was watching and still thinking about Mario Cuomo's keynote address the night before, which I got to say was the last keynote address before this one tonight that made any impression on me at all. But the Ferraro thing was interesting. It was a very much a Tip O'Neill brokered deal. Tip O'Neill, then the speaker of the House, from Massachusetts, very much from Massachusetts, just loved Geraldine Ferraro and he was the one who sold that.

BROWN: Let's talk about a couple things. One thing that happened tonight and what's going to happen tomorrow. Ron Reagan gets up there and we were talking in the break and I told you on TV how it appeared to me, is that it was a good speech. He certainly delivered it well. It was not an electrifying moment and you responded yes, but it's a good issue.

KLEIN: Well, it's going to be an important issue this year for Democrats. Usually, this is a social wedge issue. Usually the wedge issue, the Republicans are the ones who use wedge issues. In this case, the Democrats are going to say, what sane person, just as Republicans would say, what normal person would want to get married to someone of the same sex? In this case, Democrats can say, what sane person could oppose a medical breakthrough that will make your mom feel, you know, cure your mom of a serious disease. And one thing I've noticed Aaron, is that 12 years ago when Clinton was nominated, any time anyone mentioned abortion from the platform, the woman's right to choose at a Democratic convention, the cheers were enormous. These last two nights, any time anyone has mentioned stem cell research, the cheers have been enormous.

BROWN: Is it Joe a voting issue?

KLEIN: It may well be for people who have children or parents who are sick in that regard, but it's also symbolic of something larger and that is whether or not science and the notion of progress is going to be reinstalled at the center of American political life. It's kind have been shunted off to the side because the force of religion has come on so strongly, especially within the Republican Party. And as far as Reagan's speech not being a barn burner, he had some really difficult explaining to do. He had to explain a very complicated issue. He managed to do that and every once in a while you see a little bit of twinkle of the old man there.

BROWN: We've got a minute left. John Edwards tomorrow. In a sentence or two or three, what does the senator have to do? I suspect he'll have a pretty good TV audience watching.

KLEIN: Well, I think he's going to have to continue to make the case for John Kerry. I mean, this is one of the most attractive, young Democratic politicians that's come along in some time. Just as Barack Obama was tonight. And you know, he can make his own case pretty well. And he will make the case on the economy. But I think he also -- for those of us who are sticklers about foreign policy and believe that it is the most important issue this year, he may have to start to establish his credentials in that area.

BROWN: His own credentials.

KLEIN: Make sure that he can talk about it. His own credentials. To show us that he can talk about foreign policy, and he can be a plausible commander in chief, should anything happen to John Kerry.

BROWN: Joe, we'll talk tomorrow about whether he did or not. Thank you.

KLEIN: OK.

BROWN: Thank you. Joe Klein of "Time" magazine and a contributor around here from time to time, as well.

We'll look ahead to tomorrow. We've already tipped our hand a little bit. As we go to break, the woman behind John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: There is a value in taking a stand, whether or not anybody may be noticing it, and whether or not it is a risky thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, political conventions have become a race to a predetermined outcome. We're at the midpoint of the marathon. Tomorrow, day three. There will be more speeches, more stage setting, all to lay the groundwork for the final lap on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We together can make a difference. We believe John Kerry and John Edwards, we believe to our core that tomorrow will be better than today.

BROWN (voice-over): Tomorrow night belongs to John Edwards -- young, wealthy and engaging, accessible, as his running mate can seem aloof.

EDWARDS: And instead, they're going to embrace the politics of hope.

BROWN: It will be a family affair, with introductions by his wife, Elizabeth, and 22-year-old daughter Kate.

GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I think when people look at John Edwards, they say, boy, he's a terrific, bright young senator. He's going to be something someday. But I don't think they consider the day being now.

BROWN: Ironically, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell will also speak tomorrow. He has long since eaten those words, spoken the day before Edwards was picked by Kerry to run with him. But Fast Eddie, as the Philadelphia papers sometimes call him, could say anything, and often does.

And finally, the best pure oratory of the evening might well come from a man who is said to have given his first sermon at 4. Reverend Al Sharpton has said that he will answer definitively the question President Bush asked last week of black Americans.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote. But did they earn it? And do they deserve it?

BROWN: Questions, and perhaps even some answers, Wednesday, in Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And we're joined now by CNN's Kelly Wallace, who spent much of this year on the campaign. Kelly is at the FleetCenter in Boston. We're always pleased to see her. What's going on right now in that building?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a little quiet right now, Aaron. They keep saying over the overheard, everybody should leave the floor of the FleetCenter right now. And as people were leaving, Aaron, I tried to do some good, old-fashioned reporting, asking delegates what was the highlight for tonight. It's so interesting. Each person had a different answer. One delegate saying, Barack Obama knocked his socks off. Another man, which was kind of interesting saying Ron Reagan impressed him the most. He said he never thought that he'd be clapping for a Reagan at a Democratic National Convention and then there was someone else who talked about Teresa Heinz Kerry, thinks she was genuine, compassionate. This man saying it shows that a first lady can do more than just sit there and smile.

But then there was some criticism of Teresa Heinz Kerry, one delegate saying he thought this was a missed opportunity, thinking that Teresa Heinz Kerry didn't really talk personally about her relationship with John Kerry or about John Kerry as a man, felt that she missed an opportunity to humanize the presumptive Democratic nominee, Aaron.

BROWN: A couple of quick ones if you will. Have was tonight different from last night if you're in the hall. How did last feel? How is it different from today or tonight felt?

WALLACE: Well, last night you sort of had sort of this building. You had kind of polite applause for former Vice President Al Gore and the kind of momentum building in that final hour when Hillary Rodham Clinton and then Bill Clinton came out on that stage. You really felt that sort of movement and you saw the Clintons treated like rock stars. Interestingly, watching tonight, again you sort of watched this crowd build. But I have to say that Barack Obama, you've all been talking about it. There was more electricity in this room during his speech than even the night before, even during former President Bill Clinton. You really felt this crowd listening to him and watching the crowd listening to him and then standing at its feet. You really felt this electricity. Something special seemed to be happening before these Democratic delegates and then he talked about it after.

BROWN: Yes, it was an interesting combination I thought of -- with President Clinton, you knew he was going to come out and basically knock it out of the park. With -- in today's case with Senator Obama, you heard the expectation, but you didn't know how he would perform and he obviously was terrific. Kelly, it's good to see you. We'll talk tomorrow, Kelly Wallace in Boston. Ed Rendell, who talked about a moment ago and Al Sharpton, who we talked about a moment ago, will both be guests on "AMERICAN MORNING" tomorrow. That begins at 7:00 Eastern time. Still ahead from us tonight, some other news. Yes, there actually was some other news and we'll take a quick look at that. First Senator Ted Kennedy at the convention tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D) MASSACHUSETTS: We are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all and when we say all, we mean all.

(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Here's a quick look at some other stories that made news today. A Federal grand jury in Dallas has indicted a major Islamic charity based in Texas. The group and seven of its leaders are accused of disguising efforts to provide millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is on the State Department terror list.

The judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation case today pushed back the trial start date to January 31, 2005. That's exactly not as far back as it sounds, really. The defense had argued for the delay and the judge granted the motion, saying he'd been overly optimistic when he originally scheduled the trial to begin on September 13 of this year.

NASA has approved a new design for shuttle fuel tanks. At the crucial spot where the tanks attach to the space craft, heaters will now replace those big pieces of foam, one of which detached during a launch of the shuttle Columbia, causing it eventually to break up on reentry.

We need to catch up on a break. We'll come back and do "Morning Paper." Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world, our favorite part of the evening, right. "International Herald Tribune" leads with politics, oops, there we go. Kerry zeros in on security and terrorism, although the story's written out of Boston, I think he was in Philadelphia making that speech.

Over here, judges try to salvage Milosevic's prosecution, court considers move to avoid health delays by splitting up the trial. Most of you were not born when this trial began.

The "Washington Times," Washington's other newspaper, Kerry's war experience evoked. Wife says he earned right to hit Bush. I don't think he meant actually hit him, but I think that's a rhetorical reference.

Democrats red-faced over bunny suit photo in the much ado about nothing category, this wins my vote. This was Senator Kerry at NASA looking sort of silly in one of those suits. Detroit -- I just don't think it needs anything. You can disagree and some of you will. The "Detroit News," girl prep seasons (ph) unfair, court rules. This is a good story. State athletic group may appeal bias case. I assume this is a Title IX case but the problem when you have only the front page is you really don't get all the details.

A minute, is that what we've got to work with? Remaining on point, less than, remaining on point is the way the "Hartford Courant" leads the convention. The picture is of Ted Kennedy. Maybe that will change in a later edition, maybe it will not. Down here, prosecutor Jackson's Neverland a boys' prison, a front page story. That's one of the things that came out today.

Speaking of Philadelphia and we were, Kerry in Phila, I would just say Philly but it's their paper, vows better war on terror. The "Miami Herald" leads politics, Democrats display unity, speakers assail Bush's handling of Iraq war. Out in Burt County, Nebraska, the "Plain Dealer" discoveries abound for Lewis and Clark visitors and also on the front page, they welcome a new reporter. OK, on the front page of the paper, someday I'll go to work for these guys if they'll have me.

The "Chicago Sun-Times," Obama delivers. The weather tomorrow is Chicago is splendor, and here's Bill Hemmer with a look at tomorrow's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Aaron thanks, tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," it's back to Boston. The Democrats turn the corner at their presidential convention. Another huge line up for you on Wednesday. Joe Biden is here, Ed Rendell, the governor of Pennsylvania, former Democratic head Al Sharpton, Al Franken is here as well and so too is Howard Dean. We talk to all of them, a three-hour show and it's packed, tomorrow morning, 7:00 a.m. Eastern time here in Boston. Hope you can join us. Aaron.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: I want to go to Boston. I want to get one of those cool microphones they all have. That's our report. We're back here tomorrow. After the convention presumably about 11:00 Eastern time, give or take a minute or two. We hope you join us too, the special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" is next.

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Aired July 27, 2004 - 23:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of the Democratic presidential candidate, with her two sons up on the podium. We're told that John Kerry was watching this speech in a hotel in Philadelphia. We're told also by a pool reporter who was inside the room, he said, "She looks good" when he saw her on the screen.
Judy Woodruff, what do you make of the speech?

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Wolf, she may have been scripted, but I think the real Teresa Heinz Kerry came through. You saw her passion for her husband, her passion for the issues she cares about. She is an internationalist. She cares about the environment. Her foundation has funded that.

And she believes, as she said very straightforward -- she said John Kerry will be first in the line of fire. She got in her licks at George W. Bush. I think she accomplished (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Very strong ideal for the women's vote, which has been going Democratic for decades, the idea that, some day, opinionated ought to be considered well-informed, just like men, some echoes to the '60s.

That phrase speak truth to power, that's a product of the Vietnam era and the protest movement. I think, in a sense, that this was a speech which was both biography and an attempt to reassure, in a sense, that she's a real patriot, but also striking at the Democratic base, saying, I am one of you -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Teresa Heinz Kerry getting a thunderous response from the delegates here at the Democratic National Convention.

We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: And that brings an end day two of the Democratic National Convention -- two more days here in Boston at the FleetCenter. CNN, of course, will have continuing live coverage.

For Judy Woodruff and Jeff Greenfield, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Boston.

Let's let Aaron Brown pick it up now in New York, a special edition of "NEWSNIGHT" -- Aaron. AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you.

And good evening again, everyone.

Day two goes in the books, the convention still proceeding on message and more or less on time, in fact, by my watch, about 20 seconds early, downright Republican, said the bloggers and the wise guys today, certainly true in form, less so in substance. If last night was one for the headliners, tonight, delegates got a chance to hear from one of the last old-timers, as in the old-time Democratic religion, and they got a rip-roaring preview of an upcomer, the first primetime look as well at the woman who hopes to become first lady. It was a busy night.

Our reporting begins with the whip, if not around the world, then certainly around the FleetCenter. We're joined by our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield, our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley, and our senior White House correspondent John King. It sounds like a senior center.

To all of you, it's good to see you.

Jeff, let me start with you. Give me the overview. What was tonight about for the Democrats and how successful, in your view, were they?

GREENFIELD: To be candid, this was the least important night of the convention. We had Clinton the last night, Edwards tomorrow, and, obviously, John Kerry Thursday. So it was trying to do a couple of things.

Probably most important was to introduce Teresa Heinz Kerry to the folks who are watching, to show that she was, while foreign born, imbued with a love of America and also to show that her opinions were not out of the mainstream, but opinions about empowering women, opinions about making the country better.

Also, obviously, it was about introducing to the country a new star. This is why conventions still appeal to someone like me. In Barack Obama, we heard one of the really great keynote speakers of the last quarter century, I think.

BROWN: And was it a successful night? That was...

GREENFIELD: I'm sorry. I guess I missed the headline.

You know, I think so. I mean, Barack Obama showed why people see him as a genuine comer because he was reaching beyond the Democratic base to say, look, you know, there are conservative values like not wasting government money, like studying hard, like responsibility, very Clintonian themes, that can be embraced by an African-American candidate for Senate from Illinois that resonate elsewhere, and I think that, to me, was the most successful part of the speech.

The Ted Kennedy speech was really basically a homage to the past and to a legacy in the fact that is Boston. But the guy that really brought this place -- riveted this place was Barack Obama.

And Teresa Heinz Kerry was introduced to the country to show them that, you know, this is not that odd and strange a woman. She's quite warm and feels pretty much like you do.

So I think, to that extent, it worked -- Aaron.

BROWN: The -- just an observation watching this on television, which is different honestly from being in the hall -- really different, in fact -- the Kennedy speech was OK, and the Obama speech jumped through the TV screen like it was on fire.

GREENFIELD: Yes. Aaron, I make it a point to watch this on TV monitors, which may sound odd to some of your listeners and some here, but the real event is happening in a few million American homes, not in this hall.

And you're quite right. The Kennedy speech, even in the hall, got an OK reception, but the guy that quieted this place down -- you could feel it happening about two minutes into the speech -- was Barack Obama.

BROWN: Candy, you talked to Obama -- State Senator Obama shortly afterwards. I don't think that anything that happened tonight will make it any easier for the Republicans to find someone to run against him.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, I don't think so either. I mean, he's just -- he really did -- you know, this is his maiden voyage here on the national stage, and it really was great, and he really did have the crowd going.

It was more than -- you know, with Teddy, as Jeff mentioned, it was very much with Kennedy sort of (inaudible) this, we like you, you know, we support you. With Obama, it was like wow. You know, you're saying exactly what we want this party to be.

They put him out there because they want to show him as the face of the Democratic Party, and it's a heck of a face, and he did really well.

BROWN: These are, to me at least, fascinating moments. You go back to 1988, and the keynote speaker was a little-known, but highly regarded governor from the State of Arkansas, and he bombed, Bill Clinton. He bombed. So these things can go either way.

CROWLEY: These things can obviously go either way. I actually think that Clinton was a nominating speech, but, you know, the fact of the matter is that the keynoters sometimes can fade into history, and I don't think this guy will.

This is -- we talked a lot about others, these great expectations, because all we ever heard about was Barack Obama, Barack Obama, he's going to be great. he's an up-and-comer, and you're thinking, holy cow, has this guy really got a reputation to live up to, and the fact is, at least for these people -- and you said looking through the TV screen -- he lived up to it.

BROWN: All right, Candy. Let me turn to John. John King, our senior White House correspondent.

To my ear, John, more so than last night, they went at the issue, the Democrats did, of the war in Iraq directly. It came up in almost every speech, although I didn't hear it in Mrs. Heinz Kerry's speech. In virtually every other speech, they went at it today.

JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They went at it, Aaron, and the reflection, the very difficult dance, if you will, the rhetorical dance anyway the Democrats have on this issue because...

You heard from Howard Dean who, of course, made his name in the Democratic primaries as saying wake up to other Democrats, why are you not opposing this president, President Bush when it comes to the war. His opposition to the war was clear.

Senator Kennedy, the senior senator of Massachusetts, making clear that he believed the war was wrong, and not only did he believe the war was wrong but that George W. Bush has prosecuted it wrongly, even more so. Yet the Democratic platform does not have outright opposition to the war.

So, on the floor here, it is clear that the overwhelming majority of these delegates oppose the war in Iraq, and those lines in those speeches were very warmly received. Senator Kerry, of course, and Senator Edwards both gave the president the authority to go to war.

The main focus here is that these Democrats will say at a minimum, George W. Bush failed at prosecuting that war. And the first red meat tonight not only Iraq. We heard Halliburton. We heard Dick Cheney. We heard Enron. Senator Kennedy saying time to retire Dick Cheney to his undisclosed location.

So more direct criticism tonight, and the Republicans are already saying that violates John Kerry's pledge to have a positive convention -- Aaron.

BROWN: Let's go back to Iraq for one more question, maybe two here.

Yesterday, I think it was Al Gore who said no matter what you thought of the war, they've made a mess of it. I'm paraphrasing it. That's the gist of it. Today, they were a little less on message if you will.

Is this, from a political point of view, a problem that they still don't have a clear message, they the Democrats, on what they the Democrats believe about Iraq?

KING: Looking backwards, that is certainly dead-on. Senator Kennedy was opposed to the war from the beginning. Governor Dean certainly was. Again, Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards gave the president the authority to go to war, so it's a much more difficult issue for them.

So the Democrats would rather focus not just on the president's decision to go to war in Iraq. They would much rather turn the attention to how he prosecuted the war.

Senator Kerry makes the case he walked away from the traditional allies and was in a rush to war, should have kept the allies on board, makes the case that he didn't have the plan to keep the peace, if you will. A very difficult peace we see in Iraq now.

So if the Democrats would have their way, they would focus on George W. Bush's role as commander in chief from the day the first bomb dropped, not so much the debate before that.

BROWN: Let me just go back to Jeff if I can for a final question.

Jeff, is there -- do you see that there's a building block effect here? Are they building up to something in terms of both tone and substance?

GREENFIELD: They're building up to presenting John Kerry as a man who can fix it, and voters get to fill in the blank. I think they are at pains not to criticize George W. Bush as a bad person, even though, to be candid, many people in this hall think he is a bad person, but that he has not done the job.

The words of Slate's Mickey Kaus. It's a Pedro Martinez argument. Maybe you thought he was good. It's time to take him out for someone else. That's what they're leading to.

That's why they're trying to mute the level of intensity of criticism at George W. Bush and present John Kerry as a strong man. "Strong" is the one word that dominates the Kerry camp's hope for this campaign, Aaron.

BROWN: Jeff, Candy, John, thank you. You've all had long nights. We appreciate your staying up late. Thank you very much.

Another view, if you will, of reduction. In coverage as in cooking, reductions concentrate the flavor and give critics something better to chew on. They'll be along shortly. The critics, that is. But, first, the entree, the night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): For Democrats, the night began with a true lion in winter, Ted Kennedy in his home town at the podium and on the attack.

SEN. TED KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: More than 900 of our servicemen and women have already paid the ultimate price. Nearly 6,000 have been wounded in this misguided war. The administration has alienated longtime allies. Instead of making America more secure, they have made us less so. They have made it harder to win the real war on terrorism and the war against al Qaeda. And none of this had to happen.

BROWN: In a supporting role, Howard Dean. In the what-ifs of life, this might have been his week.

GOV. HOWARD DEAN (D), VERMONT: I was hoping for a reception like this. I was just kind of hoping it was going to be on Thursday night instead of Tuesday night.

Never again will we ever be ashamed to call ourselves Democrats. Never, never, never. We're not going to just change presidents in this election. We're going to change this country. We're going to reclaim the American dream.

BROWN: The convention's keynote speaker was a rising star, a young Illinois state senator named Barack Obama. He has no opponent yet in his run for the U.S. Senate from his home state.

BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), STATE SENATOR: When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never ever go to war without enough troops win the war, secure the peace and earn the respect of the world.

There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America.

The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states, red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats, but I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking in our libraries in the red states. We coach Little League in the blue states, and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending a United States of America.

BROWN: And then there was the son of a Republican icon, Ron Reagan, in one of the primest of the primetime slots, a speech about one thing, one issue, the use of embryonic stem cells for medical research, and what to tell a single patient who might benefit.

RON REAGAN, SON OF THE LATE PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: What might we tell her children or the millions of others who suffer that when given an opportunity to help, we turned away, that facing political opposition, we lost our nerve, that even though we knew better, we did nothing.

BROWN: And finally, in the political sense at least, the country met a would-be first lady who surely would be unlike any in the country's history.

TERESA HEINZ KENNEDY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: And John is a fighter. He earned his medals the old-fashioned way. By putting his life on the line for his country, and no one will defend this nation more vigorously than he will, and he will always, always be first in the line of fire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: The Cliffs Notes version of day two at the convention, if they still have that. I'm not sure.

We turn to the Brown table now. Joining us from Boston, Nina Easton is the deputy bureau chief in Washington for "The Boston Globe," John Harwood's the political editor for "The Wall Street Journal," and Terry Neal is the chief political correspondent for the washingtonpost.com.

And we are glad to see and hear you all tonight.

Nina, there -- for me, there is something about when Mrs. Heinz Kerry gets up there, that you kind of hold your breath because you're a little unsure what the moment's going to be like. How did it go?

NINA EASTON, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": I thought it went fantastic, frankly. I mean, this is the week that started with the news that she had told a reporter to shove it, which made all the rounds of the Internet, and yet she stood at that podium, and I thought she came off as the finest European actress really. I mean, she was likable, she's gorgeous, she was kind of warm and earthy, and for people who don't know her -- and this was your first introduction to her -- I thought she did spectacular.

BROWN: The -- there was that moment where she said people talk of me, and then she did air quotes, as being opinionated, and I thought, boy, she handled that perfectly.

EASTON: Well, she walked -- the first thing she said when she walked up to the podium -- she said, "I guess this will surprise you, but I have something to say."

BROWN: Yes.

EASTON: And the entire hall burst out laughing.

BROWN: And, Terry...

JOHN HARWOOD, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL": I'll tell you what else, Aaron.

BROWN: Yes.

HARWOOD: People talk about John Edwards being the sexiest politician in America. I think Teresa Heinz may be the sexiest spouse of a national candidate in my memory. She comes across pretty strong, soulful, tender even in a way, so I think she had an effective performance.

BROWN: And she has a sense of humor both about life and herself, and that will get you through some pretty tough moments in a pretty tough business that you guys write about every day.

Terry, you were particularly interested in how Senator -- State Senator Obama would do today. You were out talking to people. Obviously, he is getting great, great reviews, but maybe six million, seven million people, maybe less, saw it. So the questions in a way is: So what?

TERRY NEAL, WASHINGTONPOST.COM: Well, yes. I mean, look, a great speech is not a guarantee of a great political future, but even before he gave his speech, a lot of the people in the party believed that he was a rising star. A lot of people have heard of this guy. He has not even won the race of the Senate yet, and they're already calling him a rising star.

In a lot of ways, I think the important point to make is that he is sort of the epitome of an emerging new class of black politicians, the second class of black politicians to come after the first group, who came primarily out of the civil rights movement and whose politics were based largely on grievance and anger. And this new generation pays respect to that older generation in what they achieved, but has a broader perspective, and they're running to be, you know, sort of the politician for everybody, not just, you know, a black constituency.

EASTON: You know, Terry...

HARWOOD: And, Terry, don't you think there was a lot of Bill Clinton in that speech? Have you ever heard a line better than "We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like people poking around in our libraries in the red states." That really pulled it together.

EASTON: And my favorite was the audacity of hope. Was that beautiful.

BROWN: The -- so did the Democrats -- this is the question that we'll ask every night. There's no way to know this, I suppose, but did the Democrats for the people...

This was, as Jeff said, the least important night of the convention. Tomorrow's John Edwards' night, and then John Kerry's night.

Did the Democrats get anything out of it, or did they -- were their dangers, were their traps, was Howard Dean a trap, was Ted Kennedy a trap? Were there any traps laid out there tonight, Nina?

EASTON: Well, the one, I think, kind of sour note in the Kennedy speech was that term "false patriots" that he threw at the Bush administration. This was supposed to be more of an up-talk convention without that kind of charge being leveled.

And I think probably Kennedy, because he was -- he has come to Kerry's side after, frankly, some strains in the relationship in the past. He was one of the first senators to endorse Kerry, came out on the campaign trial, has embraced him, and I think -- and much of his staff runs the Kerry campaign, and so I think he was given some leeway to go where he wanted to go tonight.

NEAL: Can I make a real quick point about that, too, though? I mean, I believe that -- you know, look, you can say whatever you want about Kerry -- about the senator and, you know, how negative his speech was, but you've got to give some red meat to the masses.

I've been here talking to the delegates. Believe me, they want more of that sort of thing. So the key is not to go overboard with it, and I don't think that they did it. I mean, Kennedy has his role, and, you know, he played his part. He has a part to play.

BROWN: John, I'll give you the last word. There are really two conventions. There's the one that goes on in the hall, and there's the one that is seen on television, and sometimes it does seem to me they can play at cross purposes.

HARWOOD: Well, they definitely can, but, Aaron, you know where they're going to tell the tale of how effective this was -- and I promise I'm not sucking up -- in the morning papers because how this gets covered in local newspapers and on local television all around the country is going to be the critical factor because the audience was very, very small last night.

There was no network audience tonight. So you really have a fairly small number of people who consumed this firsthand. They're going to get it from the news media and try to make some judgment as to what happened in Boston and how successful it was.

BROWN: John, I'm an anchorman. You can suck up any time you want. Thank you.

Terry, Nina, you take lessons from John, and we'll talk again tomorrow.

Thank you very much.

Stile ahead on the program tonight, the Democrats on Iraq. We've already started talking about that. It is a very complicated issue, and we'll look at that, and the man who keeps bringing Iraq up, Michael Moore, who's causing a bit of a stir. But it's Howard Dean that takes us to break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Thank you very much. Thank you so much. I was hoping for a reception like this. I was just kind of hoping it was going to be on Thursday night instead of Tuesday night. I may not be the nominee, but I can tell you this: For the next hundred days, I'll be doing everything that...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, in addition to nominating the ticket, the delegates are in Boston to adopt a platform. Neither task means quite what it once did. Nominations have become coronations, and platforms stopped being platforms about the same time platform shoes went out. That said, they remain an expression of two things, how the party sees itself and how it sells itself, and sometimes they are not the same.

Here's CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like many delegates gathered in Boston, Scholmit Auciello believes the Iraq War never should have happened.

SCHOLMIT AUCIELLO, DNC DELEGATE: Most Democrats know that his war going to stink.

BASH: In fact, a recent "New York Times"/CBS News poll says nine in 10 delegates agree with her.

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: All those in favor say aye.

BASH: But both senators on the Democratic ticket voted for the war so the platform, the official party position, does not say war in Iraq was a wrong call. Instead it reads, "People of good will disagree about whether America should have gone to war in Iraq."

AILEEN GUNTHER, DNC DELEGATE: I myself would have stronger language as far as the platform goes.

BASH: Party officials concede there was healthy debate when they hammered out language earlier this month, and it's not over.

MARK WEPRIN, DNC DELEGATE: We went in with the right intentions, I believe. Unfortunately, now that we're there, we can't turn our back on the people who are over there.

BASH: They settled on John Kerry's approach, more international troops, train Iraqi forces, stabilize, don't withdraw.

RICH GOTFRIED, DNC PLATFORM COMMITTEE: The platform also has to appeal to a broad constituency. It can't simply represent my views or any other individuals' views.

BASH: But the candidate that rallied the anti-war movement gave all this a shoulder shrug.

DEAN: This is the seventh convention I've been to. I've long learned that platforms don't mean anything.

BASH: Republicans are trying to stoke what they call a split among Democrats.

ED GILLESPIE, RNC CHAIRMAN: It's hard to tell what their policy is. Maybe by Thursday night when Senator Kerry takes the stage, we'll know or he'll know. BASH: The Democrats' platform is tough on the president's handling of Iraq, accusing him of exaggerating the threats and underestimating what was needed to win the peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: And for delegates here on the floor tonight, disappointed that their platform did not more directly denounce the Iraq War. They at least got a few impassioned lines from people like Howard Dean and Ted Kennedy, and those got some noticeably hearty applause -- Aaron.

BROWN: It's just -- it's a fascinating trap in a sense that the Democrats are in. The candidate voted to authorize the war, and he hasn't walked away from that. How exactly, if you know -- I'm not sure anyone knows, in truth. How exactly is Senator Kerry's position on the war today different from President Bush's who you cover day in and day out.

BASH: Well, that's the question, Aaron, that Republicans are asking all day today, particularly looking at the way this platform is written, and, basically, the answer on the Democrats' side is that he would have done it differently, and, you know, whether or not he actually voted for the resolution, for the war, that, once that vote happened, he would have acted and conducted himself in a much different way than President Bush, and that is written into this platform.

Once they get past whether or not the war was just, you know, the party platform writers talked about the fact that they wanted to, you know, move forward on this, and that what the president did, they say, in not internationalizing the war, not giving the U.N. enough time, and they say in not explaining weapons of mass destruction or at least, they say, exaggerating that, that those were all things that John Kerry, they say, never would have done.

BROWN: Dana, thank you. Good to have you with us tonight.

Dana Bash -- she usually covers the White House -- in Boston covering the Democrats tonight.

Coming up next on NEWSNIGHT, we'll talk with Laura Ingraham who sees things from the conservative side. We'll get a voice on that in the program tonight as well.

As we take you to break, controversy of some sort and Ron Reagan at the convention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAGAN: We can choose between the future and the past, between reason and ignorance, between true compassion and mere ideology. This...

(CHEERS)

REAGAN: This is our moment, and we must not falter. Whatever else you do, come November 2nd, I urge you, please, cast a vote for embryonic stem-cell research.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Boston tonight where the Democrats are filing out of the FleetCenter, the old Boston Garden, or the remade Boston Garden, and that's inside the FleetCenter. Sometime tonight, we expect John Edwards will do a walkthrough. His moment before the convention and the country. We'll highlight the coverage tomorrow, and we may see him yet before we're off the air tonight.

Laura Ingraham joins us now. Ms. Ingraham is a conservative writer and a good one, and, like almost everyone else in America, she also hosts a talk-radio program, and we are very pleased...

LAURA INGRAHAM, TALK-RADIO HOST: Oh, come on. Almost everyone in America, Aaron? You're not on talk radio yet.

BROWN: No, but I did a lot time ago.

INGRAHAM: OK. All right. OK.

BROWN: Long, long time ago.

INGRAHAM: Back in the dinosaur days, OK.

BROWN: Pretty much so.

INGRAHAM: There's a new game in town now.

BROWN: What did the Republicans get to work with tonight? Did Democrats give them anything to work with?

INGRAHAM: Well, I don't know. I think, you know, obviously, Mr. Obama, I think, acquitted himself very well. I think he seems in a way more Clintonesque than Bill Clinton even seemed last night, although Bill Clinton -- I think if you're a Democrat, you want to hear from Bill Clinton, and you want to look to the future. So I think Hillary might be looking over her shoulder a little bit after tonight's speech.

But I guess what struck me is this idea that we live in the United States of America, which is kind of obvious, and we're not black or white, we're not rich or poor, we're Americans, and that's really the message of Ronald Reagan, and I think the politics of division and the politics of racial line drawing, gender line drawing, is what we've seen all too often from the Democratic Party in policy after policy and in argument after argument, Aaron.

And I attended a Michael Moore rally of all things just today in the afternoon at the Finesa (ph) Hotel here. Let me tell you something. Michael Moore seemed pretty close to endorsing John Kerry to me, and I didn't hear anything approaching this Mr. Obama's unified America, don't draw the line between rich and poor. It seemed very divisive and very caustic. BROWN: One of the things that's come up actually both nights, I think the Democrats are trying to create a theme they can turn back on the president, which is that he has not been as he advertised himself to be a uniter, but in fact he has been a divider.

INGRAHAM: Well, I think any president when he gets into office, it's nice to say that you're going to change the tone in Washington, but when you're fighting the war on terror as this military of ours is doing and when you have deep disagreement on fundamental policy questions, one side's going to agree and one side's not going to agree. And these are important cultural arguments we're seeing, whether it's gay marriage or partial birth abortion, those aren't going away Aaron, because the courts are circumventing the American people in deciding a lot of these questions. That's what happened in the '70s with the initial abortion decision and that's what is happening on some of these cultural decisions. When that happens, the people are left out of the equation, a lot of people get angry. So I don't think that argument in the end is going to wash that much. I mean this is a difficult time for the country and the president has a lot of big challenges ahead of him.

BROWN: About a minute left, I want to talk about Iraq. Do you worry that, because I think we both know a fair number of conservatives who are unhappy with how the war's been handled, that that issue ultimately is going to hurt the president and will work, will work in the favor of the Democrats at least by not hurting them.

INGRAHAM: Well, I like to talk to the troops, to the men and women who are serving our country as I was able to do tonight on my radio show from here and I got to tell you something, when there's an officer being deployed or an enlisted man being deployed for a second time in Iraq, I'm hearing nothing but a can-do mentality, an enormous amount of support for the vision of this president. It is a difficult battle in Iraq, but this country has never bowed down. We're not the same (ph). We're not going to back off because some thugs threaten to kidnap or even worse, the people that they want to capture.

So I don't think that the way the trends are going the last few days Aaron, the AP/"Washington Post" poll shows Bush is up 10 percent on the issue of trustworthiness and fighting the war on terror. John Kerry flipping in that regard. Now, that might change over the next couple of days, but I don't know, I think in the end, the people are going to pull the lever as to who's going to be a strong leader in the future and who gets the support of the military I think is significant and I think still, there's a slight edge there for George Bush.

BROWN: As always, nice to see you. Come back talk to us some more.

INGRAHAM: Thanks Aaron.

BROWN: Thank you.

INGRAHAM: All right. Take care.

BROWN: Laura Ingraham who's in Boston tonight as is much of the world. Still to come from here, women in politics over the years. It was 20 years ago that Geraldine Ferraro was on the ticket. Jeff Greenfield takes a look at that. But first, the man who's gotten a lot of talk tonight, Barack Obama in Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: Even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters, the negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight there is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America, an Asian America. There's the United States of America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Filing out there at the Fleet Center, is that what it's called? I think so, in Boston (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Political conventions are a time for looking back as well as forward. Some conventions make history. It happened in 1984 in a moment widely seen as a watershed moment for women, but was it really? CNN senior analyst Jeff Greenfield tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When she took the podium to accept the vice presidential nomination in San Francisco 20 years ago, everyone knew they were seeing a piece of history.

GERALDINE FERRARO: Ladies and gentlemen of the convention, my name is Geraldine Ferraro. I stand before you to proclaim tonight, America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us.

GREENFIELD (on-camera): Since then, of course, it's been a series of one gender only national tickets, which could be seen as a backward step in the march toward political equality. But is this really the way to measure progress? After all, there's also been only one Italian-American on the ticket, only one Jew, only one Polish- American, no Asian, no Hispanic, no African-American. There are after all only four slots every four years. So if we step back and look at the bigger picture, a different story appears.

(voice-over): When Ferraro made history in 1984, there were two women in the U.S. Senate. Now there are 14, at least one of whom is a prominent presidential possibility. There were 22 women in the House then. There are 61 now. There was only one woman governor 20 years ago. There are nine today and today more than a quarter of all statewide elected offices are held by women. Moreover, throughout the Federal government, jobs once considered male only are or have been in women's hands: Supreme court justice, attorney general, secretary of State, national security adviser.

GOVERNOR JANET NAPOLITANO, (D) ARIZONA: What I actually know is more women running for attorney general around the country, more women looking at running for governor, more women running for mayor.

GREENFIELD: Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, who succeeded another woman in the state house.

NAPOLITANO: The more you have women in offices that are deemed traditionally not women's offices, the more it becomes unremarkable.

GREENFIELD: Is every sign encouraging? No, says Debby Walsh, who directs the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University.

DEBBIE WALSH, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR AMERICAN WOMEN IN POLITICS: We're seeing fewer women running for office and therefore fewer women winning office and few women taking office. I don't often say this, but this is one of those places where I think women need to be a little bit more like men. They need to just get off the mark and run for office.

GREENFIELD: That said, it still remains true that in these last 20 years, virtually every threshold has been crossed. Nowadays when a woman assumes high office, the news is often greeted less with a wow, than with a so what? And that may be the biggest change of all. Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: "Time" magazine's Joe Klein is with us tonight and this week. We're always glad to see him, whether it's in the hallways or on the TV screen. What were you doing 20 years ago when Geraldine Ferraro was nominated?

JOE KLEIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: I was watching and still thinking about Mario Cuomo's keynote address the night before, which I got to say was the last keynote address before this one tonight that made any impression on me at all. But the Ferraro thing was interesting. It was a very much a Tip O'Neill brokered deal. Tip O'Neill, then the speaker of the House, from Massachusetts, very much from Massachusetts, just loved Geraldine Ferraro and he was the one who sold that.

BROWN: Let's talk about a couple things. One thing that happened tonight and what's going to happen tomorrow. Ron Reagan gets up there and we were talking in the break and I told you on TV how it appeared to me, is that it was a good speech. He certainly delivered it well. It was not an electrifying moment and you responded yes, but it's a good issue.

KLEIN: Well, it's going to be an important issue this year for Democrats. Usually, this is a social wedge issue. Usually the wedge issue, the Republicans are the ones who use wedge issues. In this case, the Democrats are going to say, what sane person, just as Republicans would say, what normal person would want to get married to someone of the same sex? In this case, Democrats can say, what sane person could oppose a medical breakthrough that will make your mom feel, you know, cure your mom of a serious disease. And one thing I've noticed Aaron, is that 12 years ago when Clinton was nominated, any time anyone mentioned abortion from the platform, the woman's right to choose at a Democratic convention, the cheers were enormous. These last two nights, any time anyone has mentioned stem cell research, the cheers have been enormous.

BROWN: Is it Joe a voting issue?

KLEIN: It may well be for people who have children or parents who are sick in that regard, but it's also symbolic of something larger and that is whether or not science and the notion of progress is going to be reinstalled at the center of American political life. It's kind have been shunted off to the side because the force of religion has come on so strongly, especially within the Republican Party. And as far as Reagan's speech not being a barn burner, he had some really difficult explaining to do. He had to explain a very complicated issue. He managed to do that and every once in a while you see a little bit of twinkle of the old man there.

BROWN: We've got a minute left. John Edwards tomorrow. In a sentence or two or three, what does the senator have to do? I suspect he'll have a pretty good TV audience watching.

KLEIN: Well, I think he's going to have to continue to make the case for John Kerry. I mean, this is one of the most attractive, young Democratic politicians that's come along in some time. Just as Barack Obama was tonight. And you know, he can make his own case pretty well. And he will make the case on the economy. But I think he also -- for those of us who are sticklers about foreign policy and believe that it is the most important issue this year, he may have to start to establish his credentials in that area.

BROWN: His own credentials.

KLEIN: Make sure that he can talk about it. His own credentials. To show us that he can talk about foreign policy, and he can be a plausible commander in chief, should anything happen to John Kerry.

BROWN: Joe, we'll talk tomorrow about whether he did or not. Thank you.

KLEIN: OK.

BROWN: Thank you. Joe Klein of "Time" magazine and a contributor around here from time to time, as well.

We'll look ahead to tomorrow. We've already tipped our hand a little bit. As we go to break, the woman behind John Kerry, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: There is a value in taking a stand, whether or not anybody may be noticing it, and whether or not it is a risky thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, political conventions have become a race to a predetermined outcome. We're at the midpoint of the marathon. Tomorrow, day three. There will be more speeches, more stage setting, all to lay the groundwork for the final lap on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We together can make a difference. We believe John Kerry and John Edwards, we believe to our core that tomorrow will be better than today.

BROWN (voice-over): Tomorrow night belongs to John Edwards -- young, wealthy and engaging, accessible, as his running mate can seem aloof.

EDWARDS: And instead, they're going to embrace the politics of hope.

BROWN: It will be a family affair, with introductions by his wife, Elizabeth, and 22-year-old daughter Kate.

GOV. ED RENDELL (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I think when people look at John Edwards, they say, boy, he's a terrific, bright young senator. He's going to be something someday. But I don't think they consider the day being now.

BROWN: Ironically, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell will also speak tomorrow. He has long since eaten those words, spoken the day before Edwards was picked by Kerry to run with him. But Fast Eddie, as the Philadelphia papers sometimes call him, could say anything, and often does.

And finally, the best pure oratory of the evening might well come from a man who is said to have given his first sermon at 4. Reverend Al Sharpton has said that he will answer definitively the question President Bush asked last week of black Americans.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know plenty of politicians assume they have your vote. But did they earn it? And do they deserve it?

BROWN: Questions, and perhaps even some answers, Wednesday, in Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And we're joined now by CNN's Kelly Wallace, who spent much of this year on the campaign. Kelly is at the FleetCenter in Boston. We're always pleased to see her. What's going on right now in that building?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a little quiet right now, Aaron. They keep saying over the overheard, everybody should leave the floor of the FleetCenter right now. And as people were leaving, Aaron, I tried to do some good, old-fashioned reporting, asking delegates what was the highlight for tonight. It's so interesting. Each person had a different answer. One delegate saying, Barack Obama knocked his socks off. Another man, which was kind of interesting saying Ron Reagan impressed him the most. He said he never thought that he'd be clapping for a Reagan at a Democratic National Convention and then there was someone else who talked about Teresa Heinz Kerry, thinks she was genuine, compassionate. This man saying it shows that a first lady can do more than just sit there and smile.

But then there was some criticism of Teresa Heinz Kerry, one delegate saying he thought this was a missed opportunity, thinking that Teresa Heinz Kerry didn't really talk personally about her relationship with John Kerry or about John Kerry as a man, felt that she missed an opportunity to humanize the presumptive Democratic nominee, Aaron.

BROWN: A couple of quick ones if you will. Have was tonight different from last night if you're in the hall. How did last feel? How is it different from today or tonight felt?

WALLACE: Well, last night you sort of had sort of this building. You had kind of polite applause for former Vice President Al Gore and the kind of momentum building in that final hour when Hillary Rodham Clinton and then Bill Clinton came out on that stage. You really felt that sort of movement and you saw the Clintons treated like rock stars. Interestingly, watching tonight, again you sort of watched this crowd build. But I have to say that Barack Obama, you've all been talking about it. There was more electricity in this room during his speech than even the night before, even during former President Bill Clinton. You really felt this crowd listening to him and watching the crowd listening to him and then standing at its feet. You really felt this electricity. Something special seemed to be happening before these Democratic delegates and then he talked about it after.

BROWN: Yes, it was an interesting combination I thought of -- with President Clinton, you knew he was going to come out and basically knock it out of the park. With -- in today's case with Senator Obama, you heard the expectation, but you didn't know how he would perform and he obviously was terrific. Kelly, it's good to see you. We'll talk tomorrow, Kelly Wallace in Boston. Ed Rendell, who talked about a moment ago and Al Sharpton, who we talked about a moment ago, will both be guests on "AMERICAN MORNING" tomorrow. That begins at 7:00 Eastern time. Still ahead from us tonight, some other news. Yes, there actually was some other news and we'll take a quick look at that. First Senator Ted Kennedy at the convention tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D) MASSACHUSETTS: We are one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all and when we say all, we mean all.

(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Here's a quick look at some other stories that made news today. A Federal grand jury in Dallas has indicted a major Islamic charity based in Texas. The group and seven of its leaders are accused of disguising efforts to provide millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which is on the State Department terror list.

The judge in the Michael Jackson child molestation case today pushed back the trial start date to January 31, 2005. That's exactly not as far back as it sounds, really. The defense had argued for the delay and the judge granted the motion, saying he'd been overly optimistic when he originally scheduled the trial to begin on September 13 of this year.

NASA has approved a new design for shuttle fuel tanks. At the crucial spot where the tanks attach to the space craft, heaters will now replace those big pieces of foam, one of which detached during a launch of the shuttle Columbia, causing it eventually to break up on reentry.

We need to catch up on a break. We'll come back and do "Morning Paper." Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: OK, time to check morning papers from around the country and around the world, our favorite part of the evening, right. "International Herald Tribune" leads with politics, oops, there we go. Kerry zeros in on security and terrorism, although the story's written out of Boston, I think he was in Philadelphia making that speech.

Over here, judges try to salvage Milosevic's prosecution, court considers move to avoid health delays by splitting up the trial. Most of you were not born when this trial began.

The "Washington Times," Washington's other newspaper, Kerry's war experience evoked. Wife says he earned right to hit Bush. I don't think he meant actually hit him, but I think that's a rhetorical reference.

Democrats red-faced over bunny suit photo in the much ado about nothing category, this wins my vote. This was Senator Kerry at NASA looking sort of silly in one of those suits. Detroit -- I just don't think it needs anything. You can disagree and some of you will. The "Detroit News," girl prep seasons (ph) unfair, court rules. This is a good story. State athletic group may appeal bias case. I assume this is a Title IX case but the problem when you have only the front page is you really don't get all the details.

A minute, is that what we've got to work with? Remaining on point, less than, remaining on point is the way the "Hartford Courant" leads the convention. The picture is of Ted Kennedy. Maybe that will change in a later edition, maybe it will not. Down here, prosecutor Jackson's Neverland a boys' prison, a front page story. That's one of the things that came out today.

Speaking of Philadelphia and we were, Kerry in Phila, I would just say Philly but it's their paper, vows better war on terror. The "Miami Herald" leads politics, Democrats display unity, speakers assail Bush's handling of Iraq war. Out in Burt County, Nebraska, the "Plain Dealer" discoveries abound for Lewis and Clark visitors and also on the front page, they welcome a new reporter. OK, on the front page of the paper, someday I'll go to work for these guys if they'll have me.

The "Chicago Sun-Times," Obama delivers. The weather tomorrow is Chicago is splendor, and here's Bill Hemmer with a look at tomorrow's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Aaron thanks, tomorrow on "AMERICAN MORNING," it's back to Boston. The Democrats turn the corner at their presidential convention. Another huge line up for you on Wednesday. Joe Biden is here, Ed Rendell, the governor of Pennsylvania, former Democratic head Al Sharpton, Al Franken is here as well and so too is Howard Dean. We talk to all of them, a three-hour show and it's packed, tomorrow morning, 7:00 a.m. Eastern time here in Boston. Hope you can join us. Aaron.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: I want to go to Boston. I want to get one of those cool microphones they all have. That's our report. We're back here tomorrow. After the convention presumably about 11:00 Eastern time, give or take a minute or two. We hope you join us too, the special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE" is next.

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