Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Frank Sesno

Aired March 01, 2003 - 18:30   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.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: So, how concerned are you about terrorism? Is it having an impact, for example, on the way you look at your own country, America? Well, the History Channel is airing a new documentary series starting tonight. It is called "History Now: Defending America." And this hour explores how contemporary events are shaping history right now, and where better to begin than with the man in charge of homeland security, Tom Ridge. President Bush says Tom Ridge has a tough job ahead of him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: ... simply (ph) the hardest part of the job has been?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The hardest part of the job will be to get 170,000 people heading in the same direction, with the same strategy to make sure that we protect our people. But I am confident that he and the team he's put together can do the job, otherwise I wouldn't be here for the event.

QUESTION: What did you tell him the first thing is he's got to do?

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Do it right.

BUSH: Get to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, Frank Sesno, who you saw on the right, and now on our screen there is the host of "History Now." And he should be awfully familiar to you CNN viewers because he is our former Washington bureau chief, former White House correspondent and a mentor of mine. Good to see you again, Frank.

FRANK SESNO, HOST, "HISTORY NOW": Well, Carol, always great to see you.

LIN: And thank you so much, and congratulation on this great project.

SESNO: Thanks.

LIN: I'm just wondering, can you share the sense of what it was like to be with Tom Ridge at this time, and if he has a full appreciation of the history that he is making in his new role, for better or worse? SESNO: Well, we had remarkable access as you saw there a moment ago. That was a bit of a surprise walking down the colonnade there with the president, but with remarkable access to Tom Ridge on his first day as he signed the papers, and took the oath of office and became the first Secretary of Homeland Security. And I asked them, you know, how do you sleep at night, and he paused for a moment. And, you know, he indicated he sleeps but with an awful lot on his mind these days.

He says he has to be both an impeccable manager and a commanding commander, because he's managing really the biggest merger in American history, 170,000-plus people, 22 agencies in the federal government which is known for its turf battles, but with more at stake than any other merger, arguably, in the country's history. So, it is a very, very high profile, high stakes position. And that is why the president made himself available to say that this is one of the chief legacies he anticipates of his presidency, putting homeland security into the cabinet and into its own shape and form.

LIN: What did you learn from Tom Ridge that you didn't know before?

SESNO: Well, he's a soft-spoken guy who's going to have to be - pack that soft-spoken character with some real punch to get this done. I learned that his background as a governor, as a congressman, as a Vietnam War veteran, probably positions him about as well as anybody could be positioned to do this job. I learned that he's got a great deal of respect from both sides of the isle, speaking politically now, here in Washington, Democrats, Republicans alike.

But that a lot of people say the job itself is maybe near on the mission impossible. I talked to one guy who said that -- CEO Jack Welch, he's not in the program, but we were talking about Tom Ridge at one point. And Jack Welch, who commanded GE, said, you know, he may have the toughest job in America. Let me put it to you this way, here's what Ridge says. There are 500 million people who come in and out of America every year. He's in charge of customs, and borders and all that kind of business now under homeland security. He says, we have to be right every single time, 500 million times.

LIN: And, yet, what was to us the first test of some of the policies of the Homeland Security Department, this raising of the terror threat from yellow to orange to be on high alert, that there was all this confusion about whether to buy duct tape, whether to seal the windows, whether the government was getting enough information, too much information. Do you think he found that embarrassing?

SESNO: Difficult, probably not embarrassing, but difficult. I mean, one of the things that Ridge and everybody in Homeland Security, literally, from the top to the bottom now, are really going to be going through is to strike exactly the right balance. You know, they've got to keep the public vigilant, and informed and plugged in, but not so, frankly, without - that they're scared all of the time, because life has to go on. This is part of defining, you know, what you might call the new normal. So that is one of the most difficult elements of Ridge's job, of the president's job and everybody else, how to give them enough information but not too much information, keep them aware and vigilant as I say, but not scare them out of their minds.

LIN: We're going to look forward to the personal side of Tom Ridge that you are going to bring out as well. Very quickly, Frank, you got to spend a couple of minutes with the president of the United States, as we saw there, what else did you guys talk about?

SESNO: We talked about homeland security. And we talked about Tom Ridge. And the president made if very clear that this is -- this war on terrorism -- it is his thing. Look, he knows this is his legacy. He knows that his presidency is not staked on this, and that this thing has to go well. I will tell you that he seemed relaxed. He seemed, as he has every time I've seen him in the midst of all this, like he maintains a remarkable sense of humor for all of the drama, and tension and suspense that's in the air, because, you know, these attacks -- and I will tell, you know, they are gaining attacks all of the time within the administration. They are anticipating terrorist exercises that play out mock attacks. It is very frightening stuff. The stakes couldn't be higher, thousands more, many more lives could, and will be, in the balance.

LIN: Don't we know it. Well, Frank Sesno, I miss you. So...

SESNO: Nice to be here. I think you'll enjoy this and the three hours afterwards...

LIN: I certainly will.

SESNO: ... where we look at three different elements of it.

LIN: We all will.

SESNO: Stay tuned as they say.

LIN: As they say, 8 o'clock tonight on the "History Channel." Thank you very much, Frank Sesno.

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 March 1, 2003 - 18:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: So, how concerned are you about terrorism? Is it having an impact, for example, on the way you look at your own country, America? Well, the History Channel is airing a new documentary series starting tonight. It is called "History Now: Defending America." And this hour explores how contemporary events are shaping history right now, and where better to begin than with the man in charge of homeland security, Tom Ridge. President Bush says Tom Ridge has a tough job ahead of him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: ... simply (ph) the hardest part of the job has been?

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The hardest part of the job will be to get 170,000 people heading in the same direction, with the same strategy to make sure that we protect our people. But I am confident that he and the team he's put together can do the job, otherwise I wouldn't be here for the event.

QUESTION: What did you tell him the first thing is he's got to do?

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Do it right.

BUSH: Get to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, Frank Sesno, who you saw on the right, and now on our screen there is the host of "History Now." And he should be awfully familiar to you CNN viewers because he is our former Washington bureau chief, former White House correspondent and a mentor of mine. Good to see you again, Frank.

FRANK SESNO, HOST, "HISTORY NOW": Well, Carol, always great to see you.

LIN: And thank you so much, and congratulation on this great project.

SESNO: Thanks.

LIN: I'm just wondering, can you share the sense of what it was like to be with Tom Ridge at this time, and if he has a full appreciation of the history that he is making in his new role, for better or worse? SESNO: Well, we had remarkable access as you saw there a moment ago. That was a bit of a surprise walking down the colonnade there with the president, but with remarkable access to Tom Ridge on his first day as he signed the papers, and took the oath of office and became the first Secretary of Homeland Security. And I asked them, you know, how do you sleep at night, and he paused for a moment. And, you know, he indicated he sleeps but with an awful lot on his mind these days.

He says he has to be both an impeccable manager and a commanding commander, because he's managing really the biggest merger in American history, 170,000-plus people, 22 agencies in the federal government which is known for its turf battles, but with more at stake than any other merger, arguably, in the country's history. So, it is a very, very high profile, high stakes position. And that is why the president made himself available to say that this is one of the chief legacies he anticipates of his presidency, putting homeland security into the cabinet and into its own shape and form.

LIN: What did you learn from Tom Ridge that you didn't know before?

SESNO: Well, he's a soft-spoken guy who's going to have to be - pack that soft-spoken character with some real punch to get this done. I learned that his background as a governor, as a congressman, as a Vietnam War veteran, probably positions him about as well as anybody could be positioned to do this job. I learned that he's got a great deal of respect from both sides of the isle, speaking politically now, here in Washington, Democrats, Republicans alike.

But that a lot of people say the job itself is maybe near on the mission impossible. I talked to one guy who said that -- CEO Jack Welch, he's not in the program, but we were talking about Tom Ridge at one point. And Jack Welch, who commanded GE, said, you know, he may have the toughest job in America. Let me put it to you this way, here's what Ridge says. There are 500 million people who come in and out of America every year. He's in charge of customs, and borders and all that kind of business now under homeland security. He says, we have to be right every single time, 500 million times.

LIN: And, yet, what was to us the first test of some of the policies of the Homeland Security Department, this raising of the terror threat from yellow to orange to be on high alert, that there was all this confusion about whether to buy duct tape, whether to seal the windows, whether the government was getting enough information, too much information. Do you think he found that embarrassing?

SESNO: Difficult, probably not embarrassing, but difficult. I mean, one of the things that Ridge and everybody in Homeland Security, literally, from the top to the bottom now, are really going to be going through is to strike exactly the right balance. You know, they've got to keep the public vigilant, and informed and plugged in, but not so, frankly, without - that they're scared all of the time, because life has to go on. This is part of defining, you know, what you might call the new normal. So that is one of the most difficult elements of Ridge's job, of the president's job and everybody else, how to give them enough information but not too much information, keep them aware and vigilant as I say, but not scare them out of their minds.

LIN: We're going to look forward to the personal side of Tom Ridge that you are going to bring out as well. Very quickly, Frank, you got to spend a couple of minutes with the president of the United States, as we saw there, what else did you guys talk about?

SESNO: We talked about homeland security. And we talked about Tom Ridge. And the president made if very clear that this is -- this war on terrorism -- it is his thing. Look, he knows this is his legacy. He knows that his presidency is not staked on this, and that this thing has to go well. I will tell you that he seemed relaxed. He seemed, as he has every time I've seen him in the midst of all this, like he maintains a remarkable sense of humor for all of the drama, and tension and suspense that's in the air, because, you know, these attacks -- and I will tell, you know, they are gaining attacks all of the time within the administration. They are anticipating terrorist exercises that play out mock attacks. It is very frightening stuff. The stakes couldn't be higher, thousands more, many more lives could, and will be, in the balance.

LIN: Don't we know it. Well, Frank Sesno, I miss you. So...

SESNO: Nice to be here. I think you'll enjoy this and the three hours afterwards...

LIN: I certainly will.

SESNO: ... where we look at three different elements of it.

LIN: We all will.

SESNO: Stay tuned as they say.

LIN: As they say, 8 o'clock tonight on the "History Channel." Thank you very much, Frank Sesno.

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