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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown

Bush, Kerry Hit the Road; Interview With Thomas Kean, Lee Hamilton

Aired July 30, 2004 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. Aaron is off tonight. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Three campaigns hit the road today running. In Boston, the newly anointed Democratic presidential ticket launched a two-week coast-to- coast post convention tour. President Bush, meanwhile, left his ranch in Texas and headed to America's heartland.

And, in Washington, the 9/11 Commission began its campaign to press Congress to adopt all of its 41 recommendations for making the nation safer. We're going to get to all three missions tonight.

The 9/11 Commission begins the program and the whip. CNN's Ed Henry starts us off. He is in Washington, Ed a headline from you please.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The leaders of the 9/11 Commission warned Congress today that the nation is facing an emergency. They say terrorists are planning more attacks. Major reform is needed urgently to prevent another 9/11 -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Back to you in a moment.

Cleveland is up next. On the heels of the Democratic convention, President Bush took his message to the heartland today. Our John King is there with our next headline -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And, Daryn, President Bush said today that John Kerry doesn't have really much of a record despite 19 years in the Senate. He says one thing is sure. He does like bigger government and higher taxes. Privately, though, the Bush campaign says Senator Kerry did a pretty good job in his big speech last night, a touch campaign ahead -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, looking forward to hearing more about that.

Finally to Pennsylvania with John Kerry and John Edwards. It was a day of stumping on very little sleep. Our Candy Crowley knows what that feels like. She is in Harrisburg and Candy has our next headline -- Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, not even President Bush can rain on this parade. Kerry-Edwards has pushed off from Boston. They are running on adrenalin and really big crowds.

KAGAN: All right and more from Candy just ahead. Thanks to you. We will be back to all of you in just a moment.

Also coming up in tonight's program how a plea deal gave the U.S. the leads on a Libyan murder plot to kill the Saudi Crown Prince.

Lady Liberty reopens next week but some U.S. Senators say she should have been back in business years ago.

The remake of a Hollywood classic provides a haunting reminder that art imitates life and the other way around. All of that, of course, is ahead in the program.

We're going to begin with a rare hearing in Congress during the summer recess. Today, the leaders of the 9/11 Commission urged Senators to adopt the recommendations in the final 9/11 report which was released last week. The commissioners have made it clear they will fight hard to implement all the changes. Today that fight began.

Here's CNN's Ed Henry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): The assessment from commission Vice Chair Lee Hamilton was harsh. Nearly three years after 9/11 the government is still not doing enough.

LEE HAMILTON, VICE CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: We find a desire to move ahead but the whole government just is not acting with the urgency we think is required across the board.

HENRY: With President Bush's handling of national security a top issue in the campaign that could be a politically explosive statement. So, a Republican Senator quickly sought clarification.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a political season and this should not be a political football and I could just see a headline, "Chairmen say lack of urgency."

HENRY: The commission co-chairmen stressed they were not singling out Bush officials like Condy Rice.

THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: No, and we didn't -- we didn't say that in our report about any of those people and wouldn't. The sense of urgency is there but a sense of urgency must be extended, magnified.

HENRY: The co-chairs pressed for all 41 of their proposals to reform the government. They warn that just shuffling some bureaucratic boxes will not do the job.

KEAN: If we do not carry out all important recommendations we have outlined in foreign policy and border security and transportation security and other areas, reorganizing government alone is not enough to make us safe and more secure.

HENRY: But Senator Susan Collins tried to put the brakes on the pressure to move fast on all fronts. She chaired the first of many hearings coming from nearly a dozen different congressional panels.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: We must act with speed but not in haste. We must be bold but we cannot be reckless. We must protect not just the lives of our citizens but also those values that make life worth living.

HENRY: Senators in both parties express civil liberties concerns about the push for a national counterterrorism center and there is hearty debate over creating a director of national intelligence but one Democrat suggested delay would be a mistake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Carpe Diem, that's the only Latin I know, "seize the day," and there's something to be said for seizing the day particularly when it's so hard to get anything done around here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Starting next week, 9/11 commissioners are going to try to seize the day. They're going to hit the road, barnstorm the nation to drum up support for their reform proposals. They want to keep the heat on Congress and the president -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed, I had a chance to talk with Congressman Cain earlier today. We're going to see that interview in just a moment. But he told me of the 41 recommendations from this commission. He believes the hardest to get through will be changes in Congress. So, Ed Henry, the question of the evening is what is it about Congress that makes it so difficult to make those changes?

HENRY: The bottom line is that a lot of powerful lawmakers do not want to give up their turf and, in fact, the Senate committee that met today has long ago decided they are only going to focus on changes to the executive branch, talk about that national intelligence director, for example. They do not want to touch the congressional changes.

There's too many turf battles up here. That's something basically Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has said he'll create a task force in order to try to sort through that. It's just something where Congress does not like to reform itself. They much prefer to talk about reforming the White House, reforming the executive branch -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And Congress also does not like to move quickly, especially in the heat of summer. So, what happened in one week? Just last week the speaker of the house saying "We'll get to this at the end of the year."

HENRY: I think the bottom line is that there has been heavy pressure. You can tell not just from the commissioners themselves. The 9/11 families are making it clear they've had their voices heard before and they're going to make them heard again. They want to make sure that Congress acts. They want to make sure the president acts.

And I can tell you that a lot of Republicans on Capitol Hill are privately saying that given the fact that federal officials keep warning there could be more terror attacks before the election, Republicans and Democrats, particularly Republicans since they run Congress, are concerned if there's another attack, if they don't pass something in the fall they're going to be blamed for those attacks -- Daryn.

KAGAN: It has been a long day on Capitol Hill for you included. Ed Henry thank you.

Well, at least six other congressional hearings have been scheduled in the wake of the final 9/11 report. We spoke earlier to the commissioners who testified today. That includes Thomas Kean, the former governor of New Jersey and Lee Hamilton, the former Congressman from Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Governor Kean, Congressman Hamilton, gentlemen welcome. Thanks for being with us this evening.

KEAN: Thank you.

HAMILTON: Thank you.

KAGAN: Boy what a difference a week makes. Last week the 9/11 Commission report comes out. Speaker Hastert says, you know, maybe we'll get to that stuff by the end of the year. This time, this week, you guys are the most popular. Congressional committees tripping over themselves to have you come testify.

KEAN: Well that seems to be correct and it's very gratifying that people are taking our recommendations very seriously. What's wonderful right now is that Congress has got a sense of urgency. They recognize that we can't wait. We got to get these recommendations in place to make the country safer and, as you say, the House and the Senate are trying to beat each other to the punch and we're all for it.

KAGAN: Well, it was a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that had the first shot at you today and I want to ask you about some of the things specifically that you testified to before that committee.

First, governor, you told the committee that even if all the reorganizational changes that the commission recommends took place that this country still would not be secure.

KEAN: Yes, that's correct because the organizational changes are very, very important and they'll make our intelligence operation, which is the best way we can get at these terrorists to make it work much better but nevertheless we still got to do some things about border security and we have recommendations about that.

We got to do more about airline safety. We have all sorts of recommendations on foreign policy, how we should take more of our aid money and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) money and put it to things like schools in some of these countries and cultural exchanges and a number of those. We have a whole series of recommendations and we'd like to move as a package because we think together they're going to make America much, much safer. Individually they will help but we want to move as many of them as we can in a package.

KAGAN: And some of those more controversial than others and, Congressman, I'd like to ask you about the one concerning the director of intelligence, the commission recommending that this would be within the president's office. That makes some people nervous. Some people would rather see something like an MI5 like they have in Britain but the commission said no to that.

HAMILTON: We flirted a little bit with MI5 but we rejected it. That's a domestic intelligence agency along the British model. We don't really think it fits at all in this country and even the MI5 people in Great Britain don't think it fits in this country so we rejected that.

We did support the national intelligence director, simply because you have to have someone in charge. One of the very clear lessons of 9/11 is nobody really took charge of the information that was available.

Nobody tried to manage a strategy to deal with the information coming in, so we say that you've got to have somebody at the top with real authority over budget, over personnel, over information systems to make this intelligence community work and to serve the country most effectively.

KAGAN: So, 41 suggestions in all. Really, honestly, at the end of the day how many do you think will end up being true changes?

KEAN: They're all true changes. I mean these are bold recommendations.

KAGAN: But the recommendations right now, governor, how many do you actually think will come to fruition of those 41?

KEAN: You know I've always been an optimist on this one. The hardest ones probably are the ones affecting changes in the United States Congress. I mean they're absolutely necessary. We've got to get Congress doing a better job on oversight but that's very tough to get Congress to change.

But I think if you look at the rest of the recommendations there isn't anything there that I think is second rate or anything there we shouldn't do and I hope the -- I mean already the president is talking about how many he can implement by executive order. John Kerry has said he supports every one of them, so I'm very optimistic that we'll get through them all one by one.

KAGAN: And I know you're taking your show on the road, so to speak, taking it to the public, taking it across the country. My final question, because we just have a few seconds here, one of the controversies out there is how does this show wrap up? Are you done at the end of August? Do you get an extension of 18 months? Or, what's this word in this discussion of perhaps setting up a private foundation?

HAMILTON: We're going to keep working at it. I don't know how long it's going to take, several months, but the commissioners are very dedicated to this. They're prepared to give their own time on it.

We may raise some money privately. We think it's a good idea to monitor and keep the pressure on. We're going to have a lot of help from the country. We're going to have a lot of help from the families and we clearly have a lot of momentum going into the Congress and into the executive branch now, so we want to strike while the iron is hot and I think a large number of those recommendations will be implemented.

KAGAN: Well, the iron is hot on Capitol Hill. We know where to find you during August, popular, popular guys on the Hill. Governor, Congressman, thank you for your time this evening.

HAMILTON: Thank you.

KEAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And from there we move on to politics. It's traditional so long as the challenger's convention is dominating the news the incumbent stays out of sight. Well, the Democratic convention is over and so is George W. Bush's vacation in Texas.

John King is with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Back on the trail with new urgency and a re- tooled stump speech that gets right to the point.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're going to raise your taxes. We're not. We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world. They somehow believe the heart and soul of America can be found in Hollywood.

KING: One urgent goal was disputing Senator Kerry's convention charge that Mr. Bush misled the American people and went to war in Iraq because he wanted to not because of any imminent threat.

BUSH: Members of the United States Congress from both political parties, including my opponent, looked at the intelligence and they saw a threat. One of the lessons of September the 11th is we must deal with threats before they fully materialize.

KING: Springfield, Missouri was the first stop as Mr. Bush opened a month long drive to his convention. It's a conservative pocket in a state he carried four years ago.

Michigan next, a Gore state last time, Grand Rapids key to Republican chances. Then Cleveland. Ohio was Republican in 2000, a dead heat now and viewed by both campaigns as potentially decisive.

Top Bush advisers believe the election will be settled in the industrial Midwest that by November jobs more than Iraq will tip the scales, so Mr. Bush credited his tax cuts with helping the economy turn the corner and is adding a few new ideas aimed at families under strain.

BUSH: I believe that Congress must enact comp time and flex time to help America's families better juggle the demands of work and home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, as the president campaigned today his rhetoric did turn tougher. He said 19 years in the Senate and John Kerry has very few signature achievements to speak of but the president did say he has a long history of supporting higher taxes and bigger government.

Privately, though, Bush campaign aides say they watched very closely Senator Kerry's speech last night. They don't agree with the specifics but they say it was very well crafted and, Daryn, they say it foreshadows a very tough, a very close and a likely to be very bruising campaign to come.

KAGAN: John, my question is leftover from the 9/11 Commission report story and that is when do we expect to see any recommendations of executive orders from President Bush and is there any kind of tug of war between the White House and Congress over whom gets to legislate what?

KING: Well, the president as early as next week will announce what he believes he can do by executive order to implement some of these reforms and the White House held a conference call today, senior officials trying to tell reporters that since 9/11 the administration already has enacted some what it believes to be very important intelligence reforms. but look for the president very early next week, perhaps Monday or Tuesday, to announce that he is taking some interim steps.

And then, of course, the administration will pressure Congress to do the very thing you were just talking with Ed Henry about saying that if the administration and the executive branch adopt reforms, including most likely a new national intelligence director that the Congress should get its act together too and streamline how it handles intelligence -- Daryn.

KAGAN: John King on the campaign trail with President Bush, John thank you for that.

Finally after all these months of being presumptive, John Kerry is now the official Democratic nominee for president. Wasting no time, Kerry and vice presidential nominee John Edwards took off on a cross-country tour trying to keep up the momentum of a successful convention.

Our Candy Crowley has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): Boston Harbor and Bunker Hill to his back, the old North Church in front, John Kerry left his no Bush bashing convention with one last sideswipe.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One if by land, two if by sea, and the message was right. Come to think of it they had better intelligence back then than we do today about what's going on.

CROWLEY: Running on the adrenalin high of a four day love fest, the Democratic ticket put Boston in its rearview mirror and took off on a 3,500-mile trip from Boston to Seattle. Connecticut was a drive- by. Newburgh, New York was a circus when the caravan stopped for lunch at Wendy's.

KERRY: John, I'm treating. It's my anniversary treat.

CROWLEY: It's more romantic than it looks. The Edwards always celebrate their anniversary at Wendy's.

Now the official ticket, Kerry-Edwards, is newly restricted by federal spending limits in exchange for federal money, so they want to use free media to help bridge the gap until September when spending restrictions kick in for the Bush-Cheney ticket. So, they are riding off the fumes of their convention, busses, boats, trains, lots and lots of pictures, less about policy than attempts at poetry.

KERRY: We're going to lift this nation up and America's best days are ahead of us. The sun will be rising. We'll look to the next horizon. We'll reclaim our own democracy in the United States of America and the future will be unlimited. Tomorrow will be better than today.

CROWLEY: Think Harry Truman whistle stop or Bill and Al's excellent adventure only this is John and John and Ben, yes, Ben.

BEN AFFLECK, ACTOR: You know, it's funny because I just went home to Boston where I grew up and then I decided to come visit Scranton, Pennsylvania, which I love and I feel like there's all these people following me.

CROWLEY: In all, they will travel through 302 electoral votes, most of them in battleground states in the Midwest or Southwest, think values.

KERRY: John Edwards and I are running because the middle class in America deserves a champion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Now the Kerry-Edwards team won't know until Sunday or maybe Monday how much of a push they will get out of that four days of nationally covered convention but they already think they know. Aides spent the day telling those of us on the bus that they raised $9 million in the last two days over the convention -- in the last two days of the convention and that's just over the Internet -- Daryn. KAGAN: Candy Crowley, Candy thank you.

Let's go ahead and bring in CNN's Senior Analyst Jeff Greenfield into the mix now, Jeff good evening. Thanks for being here with us.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: So, not a lot of news coming out of the four days of the convention but perhaps some lessons learned. Any lessons about John Kerry's strength that we didn't know before?

GREENFIELD: Yes. First we learned that he can give a tough powerful speech and I think maybe even more important that he can convey a sense of ease and confidence and good humor. That's something the last three accomplished presidential communicators, Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton all had. There were doubts about Kerry.

Second that he is prepared to cede nothing to the president on the whole national security strong leader arena. The whole Vietnam history it turns out is not just about heroism but about judgment. The words used by John Edwards and by his crewmen, decisive for example, are intended to show that.

And by almost literally wrapping himself in the flag Thursday night by invoking the flag that flew behind him in Vietnam, he's looking to take back or at least neutralize the patriotism issue that's been helping Republicans for decades.

Third, he is prepared to embrace themes once considered the property of the other party. He echoed Reagan's best days are before us. You just heard that. He took George Bush's 2000 pledge about honesty and integrity. He says, "I'll restore trust and credibility," even gleefully stole "help is on the way" from Dick Cheney.

And I think more important the themes of a strong military, of keeping faith with the armed forces members and vets, these are Republican themes. I haven't heard a Democrat sound those themes really since the Vietnam War.

And fourth, quite separate from the speech the Democrats, and the Democratic National Committee and the so-called Independent 527 organizations are going to have almost as much money as Bush and the Republicans. That is the single biggest unanticipated reality of this whole campaign -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right but he didn't bat 1,000. You can't go to Boston without bringing in the baseball analogies. There were weaknesses that were exposed and what are those?

GREENFIELD: OK. The resume is thin. We heard a lot more about his four months in Vietnam than about 20 years in the Senate. Apparently there's no record. In the "New York Times" editorial page, that is absolutely going to endorse Kerry, criticized him for this and you're going to hear some of that, a lot of it in New York next month when the Republicans come here. Second, the Iraq agenda is thin. He said, "I know what to do," and there were then two and a half sentences fairly general. This is particularly problematic if Iraq turns out to be calmer and in better shape in October.

Third, according to the press, I'm talking about now if you don't believe objective certainly not an agenda driven press, the reporters, say his numbers don't add up on his tax plan, on his environmental policy.

"The Washington Post" editorial page, that's another bastion of eastern liberal thinking, was tough in general on his speech on grounds of policy incoherence.

And, the Vietnam opening for the Republicans. "What you did those four months was brave, Senator. Everyone says so. It's what you've done for the last 30 years that shows why you don't have judgment and firmness" and I can hear already the talking points.

If Vietnam really taught you the importance of a strong military, why did you vote so often to gut it? That's their -- that will be their version. If it taught you the need for good intelligence, why did you repeatedly vote to cut funding for intelligence ops?

And, on the culture wars, the Bush campaign believes it can carve Kerry and Edwards out of the mainstream not by a frontal attack on these issues but by arguing on the margins.

They're not going to argue about abortion per se but about partial birth abortion or parental notification. They're not going to do any gay bashing per se. They're simply going to talk about gay marriage and that's the kind of attack I think you're going to be hearing a month from now in New York City -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Greenfield analysis is always good at making us remember, saying don't forget. So, don't forget at the end of 2003 this campaign, the Kerry campaign was pretty much dead in the water. We heard last night he thanked his rivals for testing and teaching him. So, what is the big lesson that was learned by the Kerry campaign? How do you resurrect a campaign that seems to be over?

GREENFIELD: Well, the first lesson journalists should learn is to stop behaving like children in the backseat of a car yelling "Are we there yet?" You know, I mean I was -- Kerry was behind Al Sharpton in November. I saw him in New Hampshire. He said, "I'm going to Iowa and stake out a claim." That's the first thing.

The other one is all of his friends always say John Kerry is a closer. When things -- he can really slide along. He can be soporific. He can be -- he can ignore reality and then when push comes to shove, I don't mean to quote Mrs. Heinz Kerry here, that's when he gets tough.

And I think we saw last night, you know, there were a lot of doubts about whether John Kerry could summon up the stuff to give a speech that made us feel, undecided voters feel, comfortable with him, that he was strong and he was decisive and even from his adversaries, you're hearing a lot of praise for what Kerry did. So, in other words, don't judge too quickly -- Daryn.

KAGAN: There you go. Jeff, I always learn when I talk to you. Thank you, Jeff Greenfield in New York City.

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, we'll go back to Iraq but not as a campaign topic. The secretary of state takes his field trip to Iraq on one of the deadliest days for Iraqis in the fields.

And Kerry the day after how long can he carry the momentum?

Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Secretary of State Colin Powell made an unannounced visit to Iraq today holding talks with officials of the interim government. Before he landed in Baghdad, U.S. Marines and Iraqi forces were in a raging firefight with insurgents in nearby Fallujah.

Our Matthew Chance has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Captured from a passing vehicle, an insurgent mortar attack on U.S. Marines near Fallujah. This is only the latest assault on coalition forces in this flashpoint. In response, artillery, tank and airpower was unleashed.

Into Iraq's mayhem enter the U.S. secretary of state wearing a bulletproof vest. In Baghdad, Colin Powell had a message of commitment. Washington will be steadfast, he said, on Iraqi security.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The leaders of Iraq are very courageous. They put themselves at risk every day. We have to make sure that these insurgents understand that we will not be deterred. They will not be deterred. The insurgents, the terrorists will be defeated. There can be no other option. The Iraqi people deserve freedom. They deserve democracy.

CHANCE: But in the face of mounting violence, like this bomb attack in Baquba that killed 70, it's achieving those ideals that's proving difficult. In meetings with U.S. and Iraqi officials, the delay of a key democracy conference was discussed and the need for more and quicker spending on reconstruction to improve life for ordinary Iraqis.

POWELL: We want to speed up the flow of funds into the reconstruction effort. We want to rebuild the infrastructure. We want to create jobs. We want to show the Iraqi people that this money is being used for their benefit and we'll do it as quickly as we can.

CHANCE: And kidnapping in Iraq has become a major concern as well. Secretary of State Powell said he had no intelligence on the whereabouts of the foreign contractors being held but he said hostage taking and insecurity was deterring many companies and countries alike from operating in Iraq.

POWELL: As tragic as these incidents are when they come along, kidnappings and then the murder of those who have been kidnapped, we must continue to persevere but, obviously, it does have a deterring effect.

CHANCE (on camera): This is the highest level visit by a U.S. official to Iraq since the transfer of sovereignty a month ago. Details of the visit were kept secret right up until the last minute but the fact that the U.S. secretary of state has now come is being seen as a powerful gesture of support from Washington to an Iraqi interim government increasingly faced with insecurity and unrest.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, 23 years in prison for a man who cooperated with the authorities. Does the punishment fit the crime?

Conventional humor in an unconventional way, the way Harry Scher sees it.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In federal court today, a prominent U.S. Muslim activist completed a plea deal with the U.S. government. The defendant avoided a trial by providing information about an assassination plot tied to Libya. But he still faces more than two decades in prison.

Here's CNN's Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The founder of the American Muslim Council, who once rubbed elbows with Washington's power elite, stood before a judge in a green prison jumpsuit and pled guilty to illegal financial dealings with Libya, which the U.S. still lists as a state sponsor of terrorism. Abdurahman Alamoudi faces 23 years in prison.

STANLEY COHEN, ATTORNEY FOR ALAMOUDI: Like all human beings, he's made mistakes and he will pay for those mistakes.

ARENA: Court papers show Alamoudi told the FBI he was part of a plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, a plan he said was approved by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

COHEN: The statement of facts does set forth the basis that Dr. Alamoudi was involved on some level, not a major player.

ARENA: The assassination plot was allegedly hatched as Gadhafi was negotiating with the United States to lift terror sanctions. J. ADAM ERELI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Our relationship with Libya cannot be fully normal until it's absolutely clear that Libya is no longer participating in any kind of terrorist activity.

ARENA: Alamoudi did not plead guilty to participating in the alleged plot, but his statements were part of his plea deal. What's more, the government had originally Alamoudi of being involved with organizations that sent money to Hamas and al Qaeda, but that was not mentioned in the final plea agreement either.

ROSCOE HOWARD, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: When you need their cooperation to identify other people who are in like positions, what the government will do is essentially make bargains. You make exchanges.

ARENA (on camera): Alamoudi's lawyer says he continues to cooperate not only with the U.S. government, but other governments as well on a -- quote -- "variety of issues." Alamoudi is scheduled to be sentenced October 15.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: There were several terror-related arrests this week. Let's start overseas with that in Pakistan. Security forces captured an al Qaeda suspect wanted by the U.S. in the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

In Spain, a Lebanese man was charged as a suspect in the Madrid train bombings in March. Here at home, in Texas, a major American Muslim charity was indicted on charges of funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Also in Texas, a woman detained when trying to get on a flight bound for New York is now under investigation for possible terrorist ties.

Joining us now in Washington, "TIME" magazine's Elaine Shannon.

Elaine, good evening. Thanks for being here with us.

ELAINE SHANNON, "TIME": Hi.

KAGAN: First, I want to start with what's happening in Pakistan.

Ahmed Ghailani, the man who picked up in connection with the -- allegedly picked up in connection with the embassy bombings in Africa, is he a big fish? Is this a big catch?

SHANNON: Well, he's not one of the biggest catches. He hadn't caused huge headlines, but he may have some useful information. The Pakistani authorities say he's talking. Also, it's reported that they seized computers and computer discs. And those could be very valuable.

KAGAN: The other buzz around that capture was the timing of it, that there was allegedly pressure from the Bush administration on Pakistan to make some big arrest, some big score during the Democratic Convention.

SHANNON: Well, we've heard the speculation. And it is one of these things that you are never going to prove, because you are never going to prove that they didn't know that he was there and that they had been sitting on him for a while waiting for an opportune moment to spring him out there.

But the people I've talked to in the government say, no, this was straightforward. They found him. They got him. He was fingered by another guy and they went and got him and they're interrogating him.

KAGAN: Another thing that did happen during the convention, picking up this woman at the Texas border trying to cross in from Mexico, that happened during the convention, a really important reminder, I think, that, as we focus on these big events of the summer, the conventions, the Olympics, other election-related events, there still are a lot of targets and a lot of open areas across America that need attention.

SHANNON: Absolutely.

This woman swam or waded across the Rio Grande, like a lot of other illegal aliens, and was trying to get on a plane to New York, as I understand it. She had pages torn out of her passport. And there are a lot of other suspicious things about her. And she seems to be on a watch list. But they're not quite sure what to make of her, whether she really has ties to terrorist organizations or whether it is a more incidental link.

KAGAN: Ongoing theme of this program tonight, the 9/11 Commission, the recommendations, 41 of them. You heard the commissioner, Thomas Kean, say that he wants all 41 implemented. The two big ones getting the most attention, having one person in charge of all the intelligence agencies, how likely do you think that that is to happen?

SHANNON: Gee, I don't know.

The Republicans and Democrats are competing with each other to see who can embrace more of these recommendations and do something with them faster. We understand that the White House wants to have some sort of executive order next week to look like they're really taking action fast. The problem with the national intelligence director, as they say, is that there's talk of putting it in the White House, which would arouse charges of politicization.

And, also, I remember back in Watergate, there was a lot of problems with the White House getting involved in intelligence gathering, especially in this country.

KAGAN: And there are people who have a problem with Iran-Contra when you start covert operations within the White House.

SHANNON: Exactly.

KAGAN: Elaine Shannon from "TIME" magazine, thank you for stopping by.

SHANNON: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: And when NEWSNIGHT returns, what does a white Border collie have to do with the Statue of Liberty? It is a monumental problem, believe it or not.

And politics on the big screen, why a remake of an old movie seems more current than ever before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Looking ahead to next week in New York, the Statue of Liberty will reopen to the public with great fanfare. The popular tourist destination was closed after the September 11 attacks nearly three years ago. It's the last major national monument to reopen. So why did it take so long? That is one of the many questions we ask tonight.

Here is CNN's Alina Cho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days before the Statue of Liberty reopens to the public, the Senate Finance Committee issued a scathing letter criticizing the foundation that runs it, geese Control, which cost $45,000 a year, for a dog to chase away the birds. In internal documents obtained by CNN, the foundation's president, Stephen Briganti, said "Geese control is the cost of a dog, a white Border collie."

REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: When you hear allegations that a goose-chasing dog was paid for with foundation money, it makes you scratch your head.

ARENA: New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is a longtime critic of the foundation.

WEINER: The way that the Statue of Liberty has been handled raises all kind of troubling issues.

ARENA: Also at issue, Briganti's $344,000 annual salary and outside consulting fees, which topped $130,000 for four years running, and why the foundation opened a fund-raising drive to renovate and reopen the monument when it already had more than enough money to do so.

An outside review paid for by the foundation concluded Briganti's salary was too high, but otherwise cleared the group of alleged misuse of funds. The National Park Service, which manages the Statue of Liberty, said construction and security concerns, not fund-raising, was the reason why the monument stayed closed.

(on camera): In a statement, the Statue of Liberty Foundation said it is cooperating with the Senate inquiry and is confident its actions would be found appropriate. The Senate committee, however, said it is troubled by the foundation's statements and wants more detailed information about how the group has spent its money.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: CNN will cover the reopening on Tuesday. And NEWSNIGHT Tuesday night will devote a large portion of the program to Lady Liberty, her role in our past, our present and our future. That is Tuesday on NEWSNIGHT.

And we're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This week in Boston, the Democrats had their four days to show their stuff. And several thousand journalists had hours of airtime and miles of newsprint to argue about how well they did. But, in the end, the only opinion that matters is the voters'. Will John Kerry get a bump in the polls and will it be enough to last until November?

Before he took the night off, Aaron took a look at the history of the convention bounce.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I still believe in a place called Hope.

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Nineteen-ninety-two proved there was nothing in politics quite as important as the bounce the candidate gets coming out of the convention.

Bill Clinton shot from a point behind an incumbent president in the polls to 29 points ahead and never looked back. That rock of political certainty lasted all of eight years. Al Gore's convention performance, one that included a memorable demonstration that passion did, in fact, lurk behind the controlled exterior, took him from 14 points behind to five points ahead.

CARROLL DOHERTY, EDITOR, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: Al Gore roared out of his convention in pretty good shape, but in the debates, he didn't fare as well, didn't meet the expectations game, and ended up winning the popular vote, but losing the election.

BROWN: The expectations game. Virtually every candidate gets a lift in the polls from four straight days of TV exposure, not that it always helps in the end. Michael Dukakis got 11 points, Walter Mondale 16, Gerald Ford 7.

There are some exceptions, George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey, notably. And their disastrous and divisive conventions were the inspiration for this year's highly scripted production. But in the expectation game, you can win and still lose. The Bush campaign has said that John Kerry must get at least 15 points to consider Boston a success. DOHERTY: That's setting the bar at Olympic levels. That's setting it very high. I mean, a more reasonable estimate would be somewhere between three and five points.

BROWN: Or there could be virtually no change at all. This campaign has been in a dead heat for months. And many voters have already made up their minds.

DOHERTY: Or there may be fewer people up for grabs who would be swayed by a convention. So it is possible that the bounce may be a little smaller this year through no fault of Senator Kerry's.

RONALD REAGAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

BROWN: So maybe it will turn out, again, that the debates are more important, as debates have often been since the classic Kennedy- Nixon confrontation in 1960. In this year's neck-and-neck race, it could once again be the moment when the candidates stand face-to-face that's the moment that decides it all.

Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, four decades ago, a controversial political drama played out on the big screen. Now an updated version is in theaters. And the concerns are the same today. Up next, the story behind "The Manchurian Candidate."

From CNN Center in Atlanta, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: "The Manchurian Candidate" hits movie theaters this weekend. And, most likely, it will be a blockbuster. But this weekend's film is a remake.

And, as NEWSNIGHT's Beth Nissen reports, the fictional twists in today's movie are nothing compared to the real story behind the original.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 1962 film stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury in a complex tale of intrigue and politics. The story, a group of U.S. infantry in Korea is captured by a coalition of Chinese, Russian and Korean master planners and brainwashed so they are under the complete control of their handlers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Shoot Bobby, Ray, through the forehead.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NISSEN: The brainwashed soldiers are released. The character played by Laurence Harvey comes home a war hero, but as a secret sleeper agent for the enemy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Normally conditioned American has been trained to kill, then to have no memory of having killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NISSEN: His ultimate mission, infiltrate a national political convention and kill the presidential candidate, so the vice presidential candidate, a puppet of the communists, can take his place.

The story behind the film is also one of intrigue and what some see as parallel violence, links between this film about political assassination and two actual political assassinations. The first was John F. Kennedy's in 1963, the year after "The Manchurian Candidate" premiered. There was much speculation and some police investigation into whether Lee Harvey Oswald had seen the film and been encouraged if not inspired by it.

Frank Sinatra, a key figure in the making of the film and a friend of the Kennedys, was reportedly distraught by that possibility. Five years later, there was an odd connection between the film and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. The film's director, John Frankenheimer, drove Bobby to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the night he was killed.

In an eerie parallel with the film, in which a character is told to do something when he hears a particular line in a political speech, Frankenheimer was told by Bobby to go get the car when he heard Bobby say this line:

ROBERT KENNEDY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now it's on to Chicago and let's win there.

NISSEN: By the time Frankenheimer had pulled the car around, Bobby Kennedy had been shot and lay dying.

In 1972, Sinatra bought the rights to "The Manchurian Candidate" and removed it from circulation, some say in remorse or guilt over possible links between the film and the deaths of both Kennedys, others say because of a dispute over funny bookkeeping and profit distribution. The film had been out of circulation for 23 years when it was rereleased in 1988.

By then, it seemed less shocking and provocative, a more obvious political satire with its depiction of a McCarthy-like senator who can't settle on the number of communists in the Defense Department until he's inspired by a bottle of Heinz ketchup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: There are exactly 57 card-carrying members of the Communist Party in the Department of Defense at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NISSEN: Forty years later, the original film is dated in look and language and portrayal of the enemy. Yet its key themes sound current, concerns about politicians manipulated by handlers with a hidden agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE")

ANGELA LANSBURY, ACTRESS: So just stop talking like an expert on all of a sudden and get out there and say what you're supposed to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NISSEN: The threat of enemies of the U.S. plotting terrorist acts. The world is not as black and white as it was, but what flickers as fear can seem awfully familiar.

Beth Nissen, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right, let's take a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" next week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks.

Monday on "AMERICAN MORNING," we'll talk to the Democratic nominee for president, John Kerry, live in Flint, Michigan. We'll be there with him talking about the cross-country campaign trip, the issues, the convention, and what it will take for him to win the White House. Hope you can join us Monday morning 7:00 a.m. Eastern time live, again, in Flint, Michigan.

Enjoy the weekend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: All right, thank you so much, Bill. Safe travels to Michigan.

Tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a casualty of war -- actually, we'll have that straight ahead.

You know what? I think that's a good time to call it a night. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll be back with you 10:00, 10:00 a.m. Eastern, and then 10:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday. It's going to be a long day. I hope you join me and I hope you have a great weekend. Thank you.

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


Aired July 30, 2004 - 22:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. Aaron is off tonight. I'm Daryn Kagan.
Three campaigns hit the road today running. In Boston, the newly anointed Democratic presidential ticket launched a two-week coast-to- coast post convention tour. President Bush, meanwhile, left his ranch in Texas and headed to America's heartland.

And, in Washington, the 9/11 Commission began its campaign to press Congress to adopt all of its 41 recommendations for making the nation safer. We're going to get to all three missions tonight.

The 9/11 Commission begins the program and the whip. CNN's Ed Henry starts us off. He is in Washington, Ed a headline from you please.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The leaders of the 9/11 Commission warned Congress today that the nation is facing an emergency. They say terrorists are planning more attacks. Major reform is needed urgently to prevent another 9/11 -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Back to you in a moment.

Cleveland is up next. On the heels of the Democratic convention, President Bush took his message to the heartland today. Our John King is there with our next headline -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And, Daryn, President Bush said today that John Kerry doesn't have really much of a record despite 19 years in the Senate. He says one thing is sure. He does like bigger government and higher taxes. Privately, though, the Bush campaign says Senator Kerry did a pretty good job in his big speech last night, a touch campaign ahead -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, looking forward to hearing more about that.

Finally to Pennsylvania with John Kerry and John Edwards. It was a day of stumping on very little sleep. Our Candy Crowley knows what that feels like. She is in Harrisburg and Candy has our next headline -- Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, not even President Bush can rain on this parade. Kerry-Edwards has pushed off from Boston. They are running on adrenalin and really big crowds.

KAGAN: All right and more from Candy just ahead. Thanks to you. We will be back to all of you in just a moment.

Also coming up in tonight's program how a plea deal gave the U.S. the leads on a Libyan murder plot to kill the Saudi Crown Prince.

Lady Liberty reopens next week but some U.S. Senators say she should have been back in business years ago.

The remake of a Hollywood classic provides a haunting reminder that art imitates life and the other way around. All of that, of course, is ahead in the program.

We're going to begin with a rare hearing in Congress during the summer recess. Today, the leaders of the 9/11 Commission urged Senators to adopt the recommendations in the final 9/11 report which was released last week. The commissioners have made it clear they will fight hard to implement all the changes. Today that fight began.

Here's CNN's Ed Henry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice-over): The assessment from commission Vice Chair Lee Hamilton was harsh. Nearly three years after 9/11 the government is still not doing enough.

LEE HAMILTON, VICE CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: We find a desire to move ahead but the whole government just is not acting with the urgency we think is required across the board.

HENRY: With President Bush's handling of national security a top issue in the campaign that could be a politically explosive statement. So, a Republican Senator quickly sought clarification.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a political season and this should not be a political football and I could just see a headline, "Chairmen say lack of urgency."

HENRY: The commission co-chairmen stressed they were not singling out Bush officials like Condy Rice.

THOMAS KEAN, CHAIRMAN, 9/11 COMMISSION: No, and we didn't -- we didn't say that in our report about any of those people and wouldn't. The sense of urgency is there but a sense of urgency must be extended, magnified.

HENRY: The co-chairs pressed for all 41 of their proposals to reform the government. They warn that just shuffling some bureaucratic boxes will not do the job.

KEAN: If we do not carry out all important recommendations we have outlined in foreign policy and border security and transportation security and other areas, reorganizing government alone is not enough to make us safe and more secure.

HENRY: But Senator Susan Collins tried to put the brakes on the pressure to move fast on all fronts. She chaired the first of many hearings coming from nearly a dozen different congressional panels.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: We must act with speed but not in haste. We must be bold but we cannot be reckless. We must protect not just the lives of our citizens but also those values that make life worth living.

HENRY: Senators in both parties express civil liberties concerns about the push for a national counterterrorism center and there is hearty debate over creating a director of national intelligence but one Democrat suggested delay would be a mistake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Carpe Diem, that's the only Latin I know, "seize the day," and there's something to be said for seizing the day particularly when it's so hard to get anything done around here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Starting next week, 9/11 commissioners are going to try to seize the day. They're going to hit the road, barnstorm the nation to drum up support for their reform proposals. They want to keep the heat on Congress and the president -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed, I had a chance to talk with Congressman Cain earlier today. We're going to see that interview in just a moment. But he told me of the 41 recommendations from this commission. He believes the hardest to get through will be changes in Congress. So, Ed Henry, the question of the evening is what is it about Congress that makes it so difficult to make those changes?

HENRY: The bottom line is that a lot of powerful lawmakers do not want to give up their turf and, in fact, the Senate committee that met today has long ago decided they are only going to focus on changes to the executive branch, talk about that national intelligence director, for example. They do not want to touch the congressional changes.

There's too many turf battles up here. That's something basically Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has said he'll create a task force in order to try to sort through that. It's just something where Congress does not like to reform itself. They much prefer to talk about reforming the White House, reforming the executive branch -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And Congress also does not like to move quickly, especially in the heat of summer. So, what happened in one week? Just last week the speaker of the house saying "We'll get to this at the end of the year."

HENRY: I think the bottom line is that there has been heavy pressure. You can tell not just from the commissioners themselves. The 9/11 families are making it clear they've had their voices heard before and they're going to make them heard again. They want to make sure that Congress acts. They want to make sure the president acts.

And I can tell you that a lot of Republicans on Capitol Hill are privately saying that given the fact that federal officials keep warning there could be more terror attacks before the election, Republicans and Democrats, particularly Republicans since they run Congress, are concerned if there's another attack, if they don't pass something in the fall they're going to be blamed for those attacks -- Daryn.

KAGAN: It has been a long day on Capitol Hill for you included. Ed Henry thank you.

Well, at least six other congressional hearings have been scheduled in the wake of the final 9/11 report. We spoke earlier to the commissioners who testified today. That includes Thomas Kean, the former governor of New Jersey and Lee Hamilton, the former Congressman from Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Governor Kean, Congressman Hamilton, gentlemen welcome. Thanks for being with us this evening.

KEAN: Thank you.

HAMILTON: Thank you.

KAGAN: Boy what a difference a week makes. Last week the 9/11 Commission report comes out. Speaker Hastert says, you know, maybe we'll get to that stuff by the end of the year. This time, this week, you guys are the most popular. Congressional committees tripping over themselves to have you come testify.

KEAN: Well that seems to be correct and it's very gratifying that people are taking our recommendations very seriously. What's wonderful right now is that Congress has got a sense of urgency. They recognize that we can't wait. We got to get these recommendations in place to make the country safer and, as you say, the House and the Senate are trying to beat each other to the punch and we're all for it.

KAGAN: Well, it was a Senate Governmental Affairs Committee that had the first shot at you today and I want to ask you about some of the things specifically that you testified to before that committee.

First, governor, you told the committee that even if all the reorganizational changes that the commission recommends took place that this country still would not be secure.

KEAN: Yes, that's correct because the organizational changes are very, very important and they'll make our intelligence operation, which is the best way we can get at these terrorists to make it work much better but nevertheless we still got to do some things about border security and we have recommendations about that.

We got to do more about airline safety. We have all sorts of recommendations on foreign policy, how we should take more of our aid money and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) money and put it to things like schools in some of these countries and cultural exchanges and a number of those. We have a whole series of recommendations and we'd like to move as a package because we think together they're going to make America much, much safer. Individually they will help but we want to move as many of them as we can in a package.

KAGAN: And some of those more controversial than others and, Congressman, I'd like to ask you about the one concerning the director of intelligence, the commission recommending that this would be within the president's office. That makes some people nervous. Some people would rather see something like an MI5 like they have in Britain but the commission said no to that.

HAMILTON: We flirted a little bit with MI5 but we rejected it. That's a domestic intelligence agency along the British model. We don't really think it fits at all in this country and even the MI5 people in Great Britain don't think it fits in this country so we rejected that.

We did support the national intelligence director, simply because you have to have someone in charge. One of the very clear lessons of 9/11 is nobody really took charge of the information that was available.

Nobody tried to manage a strategy to deal with the information coming in, so we say that you've got to have somebody at the top with real authority over budget, over personnel, over information systems to make this intelligence community work and to serve the country most effectively.

KAGAN: So, 41 suggestions in all. Really, honestly, at the end of the day how many do you think will end up being true changes?

KEAN: They're all true changes. I mean these are bold recommendations.

KAGAN: But the recommendations right now, governor, how many do you actually think will come to fruition of those 41?

KEAN: You know I've always been an optimist on this one. The hardest ones probably are the ones affecting changes in the United States Congress. I mean they're absolutely necessary. We've got to get Congress doing a better job on oversight but that's very tough to get Congress to change.

But I think if you look at the rest of the recommendations there isn't anything there that I think is second rate or anything there we shouldn't do and I hope the -- I mean already the president is talking about how many he can implement by executive order. John Kerry has said he supports every one of them, so I'm very optimistic that we'll get through them all one by one.

KAGAN: And I know you're taking your show on the road, so to speak, taking it to the public, taking it across the country. My final question, because we just have a few seconds here, one of the controversies out there is how does this show wrap up? Are you done at the end of August? Do you get an extension of 18 months? Or, what's this word in this discussion of perhaps setting up a private foundation?

HAMILTON: We're going to keep working at it. I don't know how long it's going to take, several months, but the commissioners are very dedicated to this. They're prepared to give their own time on it.

We may raise some money privately. We think it's a good idea to monitor and keep the pressure on. We're going to have a lot of help from the country. We're going to have a lot of help from the families and we clearly have a lot of momentum going into the Congress and into the executive branch now, so we want to strike while the iron is hot and I think a large number of those recommendations will be implemented.

KAGAN: Well, the iron is hot on Capitol Hill. We know where to find you during August, popular, popular guys on the Hill. Governor, Congressman, thank you for your time this evening.

HAMILTON: Thank you.

KEAN: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And from there we move on to politics. It's traditional so long as the challenger's convention is dominating the news the incumbent stays out of sight. Well, the Democratic convention is over and so is George W. Bush's vacation in Texas.

John King is with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KING (voice-over): Back on the trail with new urgency and a re- tooled stump speech that gets right to the point.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're going to raise your taxes. We're not. We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world. They somehow believe the heart and soul of America can be found in Hollywood.

KING: One urgent goal was disputing Senator Kerry's convention charge that Mr. Bush misled the American people and went to war in Iraq because he wanted to not because of any imminent threat.

BUSH: Members of the United States Congress from both political parties, including my opponent, looked at the intelligence and they saw a threat. One of the lessons of September the 11th is we must deal with threats before they fully materialize.

KING: Springfield, Missouri was the first stop as Mr. Bush opened a month long drive to his convention. It's a conservative pocket in a state he carried four years ago.

Michigan next, a Gore state last time, Grand Rapids key to Republican chances. Then Cleveland. Ohio was Republican in 2000, a dead heat now and viewed by both campaigns as potentially decisive.

Top Bush advisers believe the election will be settled in the industrial Midwest that by November jobs more than Iraq will tip the scales, so Mr. Bush credited his tax cuts with helping the economy turn the corner and is adding a few new ideas aimed at families under strain.

BUSH: I believe that Congress must enact comp time and flex time to help America's families better juggle the demands of work and home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Now, as the president campaigned today his rhetoric did turn tougher. He said 19 years in the Senate and John Kerry has very few signature achievements to speak of but the president did say he has a long history of supporting higher taxes and bigger government.

Privately, though, Bush campaign aides say they watched very closely Senator Kerry's speech last night. They don't agree with the specifics but they say it was very well crafted and, Daryn, they say it foreshadows a very tough, a very close and a likely to be very bruising campaign to come.

KAGAN: John, my question is leftover from the 9/11 Commission report story and that is when do we expect to see any recommendations of executive orders from President Bush and is there any kind of tug of war between the White House and Congress over whom gets to legislate what?

KING: Well, the president as early as next week will announce what he believes he can do by executive order to implement some of these reforms and the White House held a conference call today, senior officials trying to tell reporters that since 9/11 the administration already has enacted some what it believes to be very important intelligence reforms. but look for the president very early next week, perhaps Monday or Tuesday, to announce that he is taking some interim steps.

And then, of course, the administration will pressure Congress to do the very thing you were just talking with Ed Henry about saying that if the administration and the executive branch adopt reforms, including most likely a new national intelligence director that the Congress should get its act together too and streamline how it handles intelligence -- Daryn.

KAGAN: John King on the campaign trail with President Bush, John thank you for that.

Finally after all these months of being presumptive, John Kerry is now the official Democratic nominee for president. Wasting no time, Kerry and vice presidential nominee John Edwards took off on a cross-country tour trying to keep up the momentum of a successful convention.

Our Candy Crowley has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY (voice-over): Boston Harbor and Bunker Hill to his back, the old North Church in front, John Kerry left his no Bush bashing convention with one last sideswipe.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One if by land, two if by sea, and the message was right. Come to think of it they had better intelligence back then than we do today about what's going on.

CROWLEY: Running on the adrenalin high of a four day love fest, the Democratic ticket put Boston in its rearview mirror and took off on a 3,500-mile trip from Boston to Seattle. Connecticut was a drive- by. Newburgh, New York was a circus when the caravan stopped for lunch at Wendy's.

KERRY: John, I'm treating. It's my anniversary treat.

CROWLEY: It's more romantic than it looks. The Edwards always celebrate their anniversary at Wendy's.

Now the official ticket, Kerry-Edwards, is newly restricted by federal spending limits in exchange for federal money, so they want to use free media to help bridge the gap until September when spending restrictions kick in for the Bush-Cheney ticket. So, they are riding off the fumes of their convention, busses, boats, trains, lots and lots of pictures, less about policy than attempts at poetry.

KERRY: We're going to lift this nation up and America's best days are ahead of us. The sun will be rising. We'll look to the next horizon. We'll reclaim our own democracy in the United States of America and the future will be unlimited. Tomorrow will be better than today.

CROWLEY: Think Harry Truman whistle stop or Bill and Al's excellent adventure only this is John and John and Ben, yes, Ben.

BEN AFFLECK, ACTOR: You know, it's funny because I just went home to Boston where I grew up and then I decided to come visit Scranton, Pennsylvania, which I love and I feel like there's all these people following me.

CROWLEY: In all, they will travel through 302 electoral votes, most of them in battleground states in the Midwest or Southwest, think values.

KERRY: John Edwards and I are running because the middle class in America deserves a champion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: Now the Kerry-Edwards team won't know until Sunday or maybe Monday how much of a push they will get out of that four days of nationally covered convention but they already think they know. Aides spent the day telling those of us on the bus that they raised $9 million in the last two days over the convention -- in the last two days of the convention and that's just over the Internet -- Daryn. KAGAN: Candy Crowley, Candy thank you.

Let's go ahead and bring in CNN's Senior Analyst Jeff Greenfield into the mix now, Jeff good evening. Thanks for being here with us.

JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: So, not a lot of news coming out of the four days of the convention but perhaps some lessons learned. Any lessons about John Kerry's strength that we didn't know before?

GREENFIELD: Yes. First we learned that he can give a tough powerful speech and I think maybe even more important that he can convey a sense of ease and confidence and good humor. That's something the last three accomplished presidential communicators, Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton all had. There were doubts about Kerry.

Second that he is prepared to cede nothing to the president on the whole national security strong leader arena. The whole Vietnam history it turns out is not just about heroism but about judgment. The words used by John Edwards and by his crewmen, decisive for example, are intended to show that.

And by almost literally wrapping himself in the flag Thursday night by invoking the flag that flew behind him in Vietnam, he's looking to take back or at least neutralize the patriotism issue that's been helping Republicans for decades.

Third, he is prepared to embrace themes once considered the property of the other party. He echoed Reagan's best days are before us. You just heard that. He took George Bush's 2000 pledge about honesty and integrity. He says, "I'll restore trust and credibility," even gleefully stole "help is on the way" from Dick Cheney.

And I think more important the themes of a strong military, of keeping faith with the armed forces members and vets, these are Republican themes. I haven't heard a Democrat sound those themes really since the Vietnam War.

And fourth, quite separate from the speech the Democrats, and the Democratic National Committee and the so-called Independent 527 organizations are going to have almost as much money as Bush and the Republicans. That is the single biggest unanticipated reality of this whole campaign -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right but he didn't bat 1,000. You can't go to Boston without bringing in the baseball analogies. There were weaknesses that were exposed and what are those?

GREENFIELD: OK. The resume is thin. We heard a lot more about his four months in Vietnam than about 20 years in the Senate. Apparently there's no record. In the "New York Times" editorial page, that is absolutely going to endorse Kerry, criticized him for this and you're going to hear some of that, a lot of it in New York next month when the Republicans come here. Second, the Iraq agenda is thin. He said, "I know what to do," and there were then two and a half sentences fairly general. This is particularly problematic if Iraq turns out to be calmer and in better shape in October.

Third, according to the press, I'm talking about now if you don't believe objective certainly not an agenda driven press, the reporters, say his numbers don't add up on his tax plan, on his environmental policy.

"The Washington Post" editorial page, that's another bastion of eastern liberal thinking, was tough in general on his speech on grounds of policy incoherence.

And, the Vietnam opening for the Republicans. "What you did those four months was brave, Senator. Everyone says so. It's what you've done for the last 30 years that shows why you don't have judgment and firmness" and I can hear already the talking points.

If Vietnam really taught you the importance of a strong military, why did you vote so often to gut it? That's their -- that will be their version. If it taught you the need for good intelligence, why did you repeatedly vote to cut funding for intelligence ops?

And, on the culture wars, the Bush campaign believes it can carve Kerry and Edwards out of the mainstream not by a frontal attack on these issues but by arguing on the margins.

They're not going to argue about abortion per se but about partial birth abortion or parental notification. They're not going to do any gay bashing per se. They're simply going to talk about gay marriage and that's the kind of attack I think you're going to be hearing a month from now in New York City -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Greenfield analysis is always good at making us remember, saying don't forget. So, don't forget at the end of 2003 this campaign, the Kerry campaign was pretty much dead in the water. We heard last night he thanked his rivals for testing and teaching him. So, what is the big lesson that was learned by the Kerry campaign? How do you resurrect a campaign that seems to be over?

GREENFIELD: Well, the first lesson journalists should learn is to stop behaving like children in the backseat of a car yelling "Are we there yet?" You know, I mean I was -- Kerry was behind Al Sharpton in November. I saw him in New Hampshire. He said, "I'm going to Iowa and stake out a claim." That's the first thing.

The other one is all of his friends always say John Kerry is a closer. When things -- he can really slide along. He can be soporific. He can be -- he can ignore reality and then when push comes to shove, I don't mean to quote Mrs. Heinz Kerry here, that's when he gets tough.

And I think we saw last night, you know, there were a lot of doubts about whether John Kerry could summon up the stuff to give a speech that made us feel, undecided voters feel, comfortable with him, that he was strong and he was decisive and even from his adversaries, you're hearing a lot of praise for what Kerry did. So, in other words, don't judge too quickly -- Daryn.

KAGAN: There you go. Jeff, I always learn when I talk to you. Thank you, Jeff Greenfield in New York City.

Ahead on NEWSNIGHT, we'll go back to Iraq but not as a campaign topic. The secretary of state takes his field trip to Iraq on one of the deadliest days for Iraqis in the fields.

And Kerry the day after how long can he carry the momentum?

Around the world this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Secretary of State Colin Powell made an unannounced visit to Iraq today holding talks with officials of the interim government. Before he landed in Baghdad, U.S. Marines and Iraqi forces were in a raging firefight with insurgents in nearby Fallujah.

Our Matthew Chance has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Captured from a passing vehicle, an insurgent mortar attack on U.S. Marines near Fallujah. This is only the latest assault on coalition forces in this flashpoint. In response, artillery, tank and airpower was unleashed.

Into Iraq's mayhem enter the U.S. secretary of state wearing a bulletproof vest. In Baghdad, Colin Powell had a message of commitment. Washington will be steadfast, he said, on Iraqi security.

COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: The leaders of Iraq are very courageous. They put themselves at risk every day. We have to make sure that these insurgents understand that we will not be deterred. They will not be deterred. The insurgents, the terrorists will be defeated. There can be no other option. The Iraqi people deserve freedom. They deserve democracy.

CHANCE: But in the face of mounting violence, like this bomb attack in Baquba that killed 70, it's achieving those ideals that's proving difficult. In meetings with U.S. and Iraqi officials, the delay of a key democracy conference was discussed and the need for more and quicker spending on reconstruction to improve life for ordinary Iraqis.

POWELL: We want to speed up the flow of funds into the reconstruction effort. We want to rebuild the infrastructure. We want to create jobs. We want to show the Iraqi people that this money is being used for their benefit and we'll do it as quickly as we can.

CHANCE: And kidnapping in Iraq has become a major concern as well. Secretary of State Powell said he had no intelligence on the whereabouts of the foreign contractors being held but he said hostage taking and insecurity was deterring many companies and countries alike from operating in Iraq.

POWELL: As tragic as these incidents are when they come along, kidnappings and then the murder of those who have been kidnapped, we must continue to persevere but, obviously, it does have a deterring effect.

CHANCE (on camera): This is the highest level visit by a U.S. official to Iraq since the transfer of sovereignty a month ago. Details of the visit were kept secret right up until the last minute but the fact that the U.S. secretary of state has now come is being seen as a powerful gesture of support from Washington to an Iraqi interim government increasingly faced with insecurity and unrest.

Matthew Chance, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Coming up on NEWSNIGHT, 23 years in prison for a man who cooperated with the authorities. Does the punishment fit the crime?

Conventional humor in an unconventional way, the way Harry Scher sees it.

This is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In federal court today, a prominent U.S. Muslim activist completed a plea deal with the U.S. government. The defendant avoided a trial by providing information about an assassination plot tied to Libya. But he still faces more than two decades in prison.

Here's CNN's Kelli Arena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The founder of the American Muslim Council, who once rubbed elbows with Washington's power elite, stood before a judge in a green prison jumpsuit and pled guilty to illegal financial dealings with Libya, which the U.S. still lists as a state sponsor of terrorism. Abdurahman Alamoudi faces 23 years in prison.

STANLEY COHEN, ATTORNEY FOR ALAMOUDI: Like all human beings, he's made mistakes and he will pay for those mistakes.

ARENA: Court papers show Alamoudi told the FBI he was part of a plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, a plan he said was approved by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

COHEN: The statement of facts does set forth the basis that Dr. Alamoudi was involved on some level, not a major player.

ARENA: The assassination plot was allegedly hatched as Gadhafi was negotiating with the United States to lift terror sanctions. J. ADAM ERELI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Our relationship with Libya cannot be fully normal until it's absolutely clear that Libya is no longer participating in any kind of terrorist activity.

ARENA: Alamoudi did not plead guilty to participating in the alleged plot, but his statements were part of his plea deal. What's more, the government had originally Alamoudi of being involved with organizations that sent money to Hamas and al Qaeda, but that was not mentioned in the final plea agreement either.

ROSCOE HOWARD, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: When you need their cooperation to identify other people who are in like positions, what the government will do is essentially make bargains. You make exchanges.

ARENA (on camera): Alamoudi's lawyer says he continues to cooperate not only with the U.S. government, but other governments as well on a -- quote -- "variety of issues." Alamoudi is scheduled to be sentenced October 15.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: There were several terror-related arrests this week. Let's start overseas with that in Pakistan. Security forces captured an al Qaeda suspect wanted by the U.S. in the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

In Spain, a Lebanese man was charged as a suspect in the Madrid train bombings in March. Here at home, in Texas, a major American Muslim charity was indicted on charges of funneling millions of dollars to the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Also in Texas, a woman detained when trying to get on a flight bound for New York is now under investigation for possible terrorist ties.

Joining us now in Washington, "TIME" magazine's Elaine Shannon.

Elaine, good evening. Thanks for being here with us.

ELAINE SHANNON, "TIME": Hi.

KAGAN: First, I want to start with what's happening in Pakistan.

Ahmed Ghailani, the man who picked up in connection with the -- allegedly picked up in connection with the embassy bombings in Africa, is he a big fish? Is this a big catch?

SHANNON: Well, he's not one of the biggest catches. He hadn't caused huge headlines, but he may have some useful information. The Pakistani authorities say he's talking. Also, it's reported that they seized computers and computer discs. And those could be very valuable.

KAGAN: The other buzz around that capture was the timing of it, that there was allegedly pressure from the Bush administration on Pakistan to make some big arrest, some big score during the Democratic Convention.

SHANNON: Well, we've heard the speculation. And it is one of these things that you are never going to prove, because you are never going to prove that they didn't know that he was there and that they had been sitting on him for a while waiting for an opportune moment to spring him out there.

But the people I've talked to in the government say, no, this was straightforward. They found him. They got him. He was fingered by another guy and they went and got him and they're interrogating him.

KAGAN: Another thing that did happen during the convention, picking up this woman at the Texas border trying to cross in from Mexico, that happened during the convention, a really important reminder, I think, that, as we focus on these big events of the summer, the conventions, the Olympics, other election-related events, there still are a lot of targets and a lot of open areas across America that need attention.

SHANNON: Absolutely.

This woman swam or waded across the Rio Grande, like a lot of other illegal aliens, and was trying to get on a plane to New York, as I understand it. She had pages torn out of her passport. And there are a lot of other suspicious things about her. And she seems to be on a watch list. But they're not quite sure what to make of her, whether she really has ties to terrorist organizations or whether it is a more incidental link.

KAGAN: Ongoing theme of this program tonight, the 9/11 Commission, the recommendations, 41 of them. You heard the commissioner, Thomas Kean, say that he wants all 41 implemented. The two big ones getting the most attention, having one person in charge of all the intelligence agencies, how likely do you think that that is to happen?

SHANNON: Gee, I don't know.

The Republicans and Democrats are competing with each other to see who can embrace more of these recommendations and do something with them faster. We understand that the White House wants to have some sort of executive order next week to look like they're really taking action fast. The problem with the national intelligence director, as they say, is that there's talk of putting it in the White House, which would arouse charges of politicization.

And, also, I remember back in Watergate, there was a lot of problems with the White House getting involved in intelligence gathering, especially in this country.

KAGAN: And there are people who have a problem with Iran-Contra when you start covert operations within the White House.

SHANNON: Exactly.

KAGAN: Elaine Shannon from "TIME" magazine, thank you for stopping by.

SHANNON: Thanks, Daryn.

KAGAN: And when NEWSNIGHT returns, what does a white Border collie have to do with the Statue of Liberty? It is a monumental problem, believe it or not.

And politics on the big screen, why a remake of an old movie seems more current than ever before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Looking ahead to next week in New York, the Statue of Liberty will reopen to the public with great fanfare. The popular tourist destination was closed after the September 11 attacks nearly three years ago. It's the last major national monument to reopen. So why did it take so long? That is one of the many questions we ask tonight.

Here is CNN's Alina Cho.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days before the Statue of Liberty reopens to the public, the Senate Finance Committee issued a scathing letter criticizing the foundation that runs it, geese Control, which cost $45,000 a year, for a dog to chase away the birds. In internal documents obtained by CNN, the foundation's president, Stephen Briganti, said "Geese control is the cost of a dog, a white Border collie."

REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: When you hear allegations that a goose-chasing dog was paid for with foundation money, it makes you scratch your head.

ARENA: New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is a longtime critic of the foundation.

WEINER: The way that the Statue of Liberty has been handled raises all kind of troubling issues.

ARENA: Also at issue, Briganti's $344,000 annual salary and outside consulting fees, which topped $130,000 for four years running, and why the foundation opened a fund-raising drive to renovate and reopen the monument when it already had more than enough money to do so.

An outside review paid for by the foundation concluded Briganti's salary was too high, but otherwise cleared the group of alleged misuse of funds. The National Park Service, which manages the Statue of Liberty, said construction and security concerns, not fund-raising, was the reason why the monument stayed closed.

(on camera): In a statement, the Statue of Liberty Foundation said it is cooperating with the Senate inquiry and is confident its actions would be found appropriate. The Senate committee, however, said it is troubled by the foundation's statements and wants more detailed information about how the group has spent its money.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: CNN will cover the reopening on Tuesday. And NEWSNIGHT Tuesday night will devote a large portion of the program to Lady Liberty, her role in our past, our present and our future. That is Tuesday on NEWSNIGHT.

And we're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This week in Boston, the Democrats had their four days to show their stuff. And several thousand journalists had hours of airtime and miles of newsprint to argue about how well they did. But, in the end, the only opinion that matters is the voters'. Will John Kerry get a bump in the polls and will it be enough to last until November?

Before he took the night off, Aaron took a look at the history of the convention bounce.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I still believe in a place called Hope.

AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Nineteen-ninety-two proved there was nothing in politics quite as important as the bounce the candidate gets coming out of the convention.

Bill Clinton shot from a point behind an incumbent president in the polls to 29 points ahead and never looked back. That rock of political certainty lasted all of eight years. Al Gore's convention performance, one that included a memorable demonstration that passion did, in fact, lurk behind the controlled exterior, took him from 14 points behind to five points ahead.

CARROLL DOHERTY, EDITOR, PEW RESEARCH CENTER: Al Gore roared out of his convention in pretty good shape, but in the debates, he didn't fare as well, didn't meet the expectations game, and ended up winning the popular vote, but losing the election.

BROWN: The expectations game. Virtually every candidate gets a lift in the polls from four straight days of TV exposure, not that it always helps in the end. Michael Dukakis got 11 points, Walter Mondale 16, Gerald Ford 7.

There are some exceptions, George McGovern and Hubert Humphrey, notably. And their disastrous and divisive conventions were the inspiration for this year's highly scripted production. But in the expectation game, you can win and still lose. The Bush campaign has said that John Kerry must get at least 15 points to consider Boston a success. DOHERTY: That's setting the bar at Olympic levels. That's setting it very high. I mean, a more reasonable estimate would be somewhere between three and five points.

BROWN: Or there could be virtually no change at all. This campaign has been in a dead heat for months. And many voters have already made up their minds.

DOHERTY: Or there may be fewer people up for grabs who would be swayed by a convention. So it is possible that the bounce may be a little smaller this year through no fault of Senator Kerry's.

RONALD REAGAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you better off than you were four years ago?

BROWN: So maybe it will turn out, again, that the debates are more important, as debates have often been since the classic Kennedy- Nixon confrontation in 1960. In this year's neck-and-neck race, it could once again be the moment when the candidates stand face-to-face that's the moment that decides it all.

Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Still ahead on NEWSNIGHT, four decades ago, a controversial political drama played out on the big screen. Now an updated version is in theaters. And the concerns are the same today. Up next, the story behind "The Manchurian Candidate."

From CNN Center in Atlanta, this is NEWSNIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: "The Manchurian Candidate" hits movie theaters this weekend. And, most likely, it will be a blockbuster. But this weekend's film is a remake.

And, as NEWSNIGHT's Beth Nissen reports, the fictional twists in today's movie are nothing compared to the real story behind the original.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 1962 film stars Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury in a complex tale of intrigue and politics. The story, a group of U.S. infantry in Korea is captured by a coalition of Chinese, Russian and Korean master planners and brainwashed so they are under the complete control of their handlers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Shoot Bobby, Ray, through the forehead.

(END VIDEO CLIP) NISSEN: The brainwashed soldiers are released. The character played by Laurence Harvey comes home a war hero, but as a secret sleeper agent for the enemy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Normally conditioned American has been trained to kill, then to have no memory of having killed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NISSEN: His ultimate mission, infiltrate a national political convention and kill the presidential candidate, so the vice presidential candidate, a puppet of the communists, can take his place.

The story behind the film is also one of intrigue and what some see as parallel violence, links between this film about political assassination and two actual political assassinations. The first was John F. Kennedy's in 1963, the year after "The Manchurian Candidate" premiered. There was much speculation and some police investigation into whether Lee Harvey Oswald had seen the film and been encouraged if not inspired by it.

Frank Sinatra, a key figure in the making of the film and a friend of the Kennedys, was reportedly distraught by that possibility. Five years later, there was an odd connection between the film and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. The film's director, John Frankenheimer, drove Bobby to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the night he was killed.

In an eerie parallel with the film, in which a character is told to do something when he hears a particular line in a political speech, Frankenheimer was told by Bobby to go get the car when he heard Bobby say this line:

ROBERT KENNEDY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now it's on to Chicago and let's win there.

NISSEN: By the time Frankenheimer had pulled the car around, Bobby Kennedy had been shot and lay dying.

In 1972, Sinatra bought the rights to "The Manchurian Candidate" and removed it from circulation, some say in remorse or guilt over possible links between the film and the deaths of both Kennedys, others say because of a dispute over funny bookkeeping and profit distribution. The film had been out of circulation for 23 years when it was rereleased in 1988.

By then, it seemed less shocking and provocative, a more obvious political satire with its depiction of a McCarthy-like senator who can't settle on the number of communists in the Defense Department until he's inspired by a bottle of Heinz ketchup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: There are exactly 57 card-carrying members of the Communist Party in the Department of Defense at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NISSEN: Forty years later, the original film is dated in look and language and portrayal of the enemy. Yet its key themes sound current, concerns about politicians manipulated by handlers with a hidden agenda.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE")

ANGELA LANSBURY, ACTRESS: So just stop talking like an expert on all of a sudden and get out there and say what you're supposed to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NISSEN: The threat of enemies of the U.S. plotting terrorist acts. The world is not as black and white as it was, but what flickers as fear can seem awfully familiar.

Beth Nissen, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right, let's take a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" next week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks.

Monday on "AMERICAN MORNING," we'll talk to the Democratic nominee for president, John Kerry, live in Flint, Michigan. We'll be there with him talking about the cross-country campaign trip, the issues, the convention, and what it will take for him to win the White House. Hope you can join us Monday morning 7:00 a.m. Eastern time live, again, in Flint, Michigan.

Enjoy the weekend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: All right, thank you so much, Bill. Safe travels to Michigan.

Tonight on NEWSNIGHT, a casualty of war -- actually, we'll have that straight ahead.

You know what? I think that's a good time to call it a night. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll be back with you 10:00, 10:00 a.m. Eastern, and then 10:00 p.m. Eastern on Monday. It's going to be a long day. I hope you join me and I hope you have a great weekend. Thank you.

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