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Campbell Brown
John McCain's Makeover; Rescued U.S. Hostages Tell Their Story
Aired July 07, 2008 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everyone.
Mark your calendar. This is day one of the John McCain makeover. It seems to be a response to a question that many are asking. Has the senator lost his mojo? Some of his biggest supporters asking that question right now. And many are asking a similar question about Barack Obama, wondering whether he's just another politician after all.
We are going to look at both of those questions tonight, no bias, no bull, just the real story.
Also in the ELECTION CENTER: What is the deal with tomatoes? Angry U.S. farmers claim incompetent bureaucrats have ruined their livelihoods with salmonella scares. With tens of millions of dollars rotting on the vine, farmers like victims in the attack of the killer tomatoes.
Plus tonight, two decorated Vietnam veterans, an enduring friendships built on war and respect. Well, now John Kerry is calling John McCain something else. It just goes to show, politics is personal.
And we will get to all of today's politics in a minute, but on this first day back from the July 4 weekend, we heard something many of us have been waiting years to hear. Everybody in our newsroom stopped cold to listen. For the first time, the American hostages held for five years in Colombia were telling their stories, and it was riveting.
Randi Kaye was one of those who were watching this afternoon. And she is with me to tell us about it -- Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So emotional. We could see that, Campbell.
Until today, the three men had been kept away from the news media while they underwent a voluntary reintegration process with the U.S. military, including medical tests. This afternoon's yellow ribbon ceremony was intended to mark an important milestone for the men in their journey back to normal lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(APPLAUSE)
KAYE (voice-over): Few people have endured as much, held captive five years. Now, once again, they are safe and proudly embracing their freedom. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes, and Keith Stansell are Northrop Grumman contractors. We have waited so long to hear their stories.
By now, we all know rebels kidnapped them when their plane crashed in the Colombian jungle in February 2003. They were among 15 people freed last Wednesday in a daring rescue.
Colombian government commandos took them away in a helicopter after fooling the hostages' guards, who thought they were transferring the captives to other members of the rebel group. Today, in their first public appearance since arriving at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, each man stood with members of their families.
Thomas Howes was the first to step up to the microphone.
THOMAS HOWES, FORMER HOSTAGE: Almost five-and-a-half years ago, we fell off the edge of the earth. My companions helped me cope with difficult conditions.
KAYE: Howes left it to Marc Gonsalves to describe just how difficult. The rebel group still holds an estimated 750 captives.
MARC GONSALVES, FORMER HOSTAGE: There are people who right now in this very moment, they're still there in the jungle, being held hostage. In this exact moment, right now, they're being punished because we got rescued successfully.
I want you guys to imagine that. Right now, right now, they're wearing chains around their necks. They're going to get up early tomorrow morning. They're going to put a heavy backpack on their backs, and they're going to be forced to march with that chain on their neck while a guerrilla with an automatic weapon is holding the other end of his chain, like a dog.
Those are innocent people. Those are people that were fighting or working for the country. And all they want is what we wanted, and what God had the grace to give us, our freedom.
KAYE: Gonsalves and the others were held by a group calling itself the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its initials in Spanish, FARC.
GONSALVES: The FARC are not a revolutionary group. They are not a revolutionary group. They are terrorists, terrorists with a capital T., Bad people.
KAYE: Keith Stansell was the last of the rescued men to speak.
KEITH STANSELL, RESCUED U.S. HOSTAGE: To my country, who never forgot me, never, and especially to the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, my heartfelt thanks.
KAYE: Stansell, who's from Florida, had one more request. And to governor Crist of the great state of Florida, sir, I don't have a driver's license, how am I going to get home? (LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Good to see he still has a sense of humor.
The men didn't take any questions this afternoon. And it isn't clear when they will be leaving Brooke Army Medical Center. Officials say each man lost roughly 30 pounds during captivity, the result of strenuous activity and a poor diet.
However, all three are in good physical shape. Northrop Grumman's president says the company is prepared to assist the men as they adjust to their lives as free men in any way they can.
BROWN: Wow. And what a transition to make, but they all seem so optimistic and hopeful and grateful to be back.
KAYE: Absolutely. And they look great, considering.
BROWN: Considering. Phenomenal. Fascinating story. Randi, thank you. Appreciate it.
And when we come back, John McCain rolled out his retooled campaign today. Can you see the difference? Will it address one of the voters biggest' concerns about McCain, his age?
And, then, later, what the Denver Broncos and Barack Obama are going to have in common? You will be amazed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: OK. So, here's a word association game.
Say the first thing that comes into your head when I say John McCain. Well, if you're like one in five in this recent online survey, what you say in response is old.
You didn't think experienced or strong. Old was the most popular answer. And that is hardly what the McCain campaign wanted to hear. So, they are doing what campaigns often do, re-branding the candidate. Call it McCain 2.0.
And Jessica Yellin is here to tell us how it's going so far -- Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Campbell, the latest shake-up in the McCain campaign was supposed to deliver a repackaged candidate, a TV-friendly of the McCain we have always known.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN (voice-over): It's being billed as the new and improved John McCain, a sure-footed candidate working to reconnect with voters and recapture the magic that him a political superstar. At first blush, the transformation may be hard to detect.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a plan to grow this economy, create more and better jobs, and get America moving again.
YELLIN: OK, so, the difference might be subtle, but the campaign team is hailing a few improvements. First, the candidate is on message and talking about American's top concern, the economy.
MCCAIN: The choice in this election is stark and simple. Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won't.
YELLIN: Remember that ghoulish green? It's history. In its place, a people friendly forum. And those awkward Teleprompter-guided speeches? They have been canned in favor of town hall Q&A sessions, which produce can't-make-that-up moments with voters, like this woman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You tax us when we sleep. You tax us when we sleep. You tax us every which way. Get off of my back.
(APPLAUSE)
YELLIN: The McCain team is touting these cosmetic changes and management improvements, like better coordination with organizers at the local level, as signs of a newly revitalized campaign.
But a new backdrop doesn't give the candidate new mojo. And this political observer sees deeper problems.
STUART ROTHENBERG, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, "THE ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT": He started to compromise his own brand. In this year, when the Republican brand is so damaged, having a nominee like McCain, with a maverick reputation, is absolutely crucial. And to the extent that he loses that reputation, or is seen as a cookie-cutter Republican, just a George Bush Republican, then his campaign is in trouble, and his party is in trouble.
YELLIN: McCain was the anti-Republican Republican, guy who broke with party orthodoxy, opposing Bush's tax cuts, opposing offshore drilling, and bucking the party line on immigration reform. Now he's mouthing standard Republican talking points on all these issues, one reason Obama is branding him the next George Bush.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I often say that John McCain is running to serve out George Bush's third term. But that's not fair to George Bush.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: But, if there's one thing McCain excels at, it's coming back from behind. Today, he showed glimmers of that iconoclast, criticizing the Bush administration for excessive spending.
MCCAIN: Government has grown by 60 percent in the last eight years, 60 percent. That's simply inexcusable.
YELLIN: But only for a moment, and then it was onto the awkward pre-makeover John McCain.
MCCAIN: If you believe you should pay more taxes, I'm the wrong candidate for you. Senator Obama is your man.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: Sometimes, it's all in the delivery. And, for John McCain, practice time is running out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And, Jessica, I know a big goal for the campaign is to show McCain being just as energetic as Barack Obama. Why is that such a priority?
YELLIN: Well, one of their challenges, Campbell, is that John McCain doesn't necessarily look like the face of change, because he's an older man.
So, one of the ways to counteract that is to show him being very high energy on the stump. And, for this candidate, that really is still a work in progress -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right. Jessica Yellin for us tonight -- Jessica, thanks.
So, John McCain is on a mission to get his edge back.
And here to talk about that, some of the smartest people in politics, Carl Bernstein, CNN political analyst and the author of "A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton." We have got Leslie Sanchez, Republican strategist and CNN political contributor, and Gloria Borger, senior political analyst and a columnist for "U.S. News & World Report."
So, Leslie, we all know that once voters make up their mind about a candidate, that image can be a very hard thing to change and that, right now, according to a recent survey I mentioned a moment ago, the first thing people think of when you say Barack Obama is change. That's the first thing that comes to mind. With John McCain, it's old.
Now, let me add that this is an online poll, not that scientific, but still sort of, I think, semi-relevant here. How does Senator McCain get past that?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: I think your key there, Campbell, was "semi-relevant."
We're about four months away. Eighty million people who are going to vote in November are just now starting to digest who these candidates are.
And I would extend beyond those few words. I talked to Yahoo! today. In their search terms of what's been coming up for Barack Obama, it's still the issues of Iraq. It's Iraq and flip-flop. It's Michelle Obama. It's issues of him being a Muslim, which we know are false.
He still has some image issues that he's going to have to deal with. With John McCain, it was Cindy McCain. It was Colombia. And it's also Democrats for McCain. So, there's still a lot going on in terms of whose these candidates are.
BROWN: So, do you think age is not going to be an issue?
SANCHEZ: Age is absolutely the issue. It's going to be a generational election. There's 25 years difference between the two of them. You can't deny that.
But John McCain is being finessed in terms of his ability to connect with voters, not in terms of changing who he is.
BROWN: You disagree, Carl. I know you have been talking to a lot of people who think this is a big problem.
CARL BERNSTEIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, and it's part of a bigger problem.
John McCain is running against John McCain of old. John McCain is different in terms of his synapses than he was in 2000, it's noticeable and different, both in terms of his synapses today than he was in 2000. It's noticeable. And he's different in terms of his ideological or non-ideological approach to his campaign.
He is running, when he's not trying to avoid it, when he's under pressure, as a Bush Republican. This is not a good place to be in this campaign. And that's how he managed to position himself in the primaries. Now he's running away from it again.
What has always marked John McCain is his independence. And we're not seeing a lot of independent thought. And we're not seeing a lot of independent mood. We're seeing programmed John McCain, and we're seeing programmed ideology. And, so far, it's not helping him. There's a long way to go.
BROWN: Gloria.
BORGER: I think that John McCain has to turn the age issue into a matter of experience. And he has to talk about his age, if he's going to talk about it, and say, look, I don't need on-the-job training. Yes, I have a long resume. Yes, I may be older. But guess what? With that comes experience and the judgment to do the job.
If he can do that, if he can turn Obama into being more of a risk and McCain into being more secure, then he could win the election.
BROWN: But, Gloria, let me ask you about this, because he did try a couple times to sort of embrace age as an issue. Look
And take a quick look at this clip from "Saturday Night Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")
MCCAIN: I ask you, what should we be looking for in our next president? Certainly someone who is very, very, very old.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Well?
BERNSTEIN: Not a good career move.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: ... say bad call, because you're just calling attention to the fact, and you need to be talking about other issues altogether?
BORGER: No.
BROWN: You disagree?
BORGER: I think it's great. I think it's terrific. I think any time you can make fun of yourself in a self-deprecating manner, like John McCain just did -- he also goes on "Letterman" all the time, because Letterman tells old-guy jokes -- I think it's perfectly fine to be able to make fun of yourself. It's a great thing to do in politics
Do you disagree, Carl?
BERNSTEIN: Not in -- in terms of that instance, yes. But in terms of him being sage and Obama appearing rash, that's his goal. But he's not anywhere near that yet.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: I would have to disagree, Campbell.
I would say that inexperience is really one of those issues on the radar of many voters when they look at Barack Obama, and it will continue to be.
BROWN: All right, stay right there.
Maybe John McCain's problem is that he's telling the voters what they don't want to hear. And we want to take a look at that issue when we come back.
Also coming up, best friends forever, well, no more. Why McCain is unfriending John Kerry. We have got that story.
This is the ELECTION CENTER.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: John McCain 2.0, a new version unveiled by the campaign today. Is it improved enough to get the job done?
Well, back with me now to talk about that, Carl Bernstein, Leslie Sanchez, and Gloria Borger.
And, Leslie, John McCain himself knows he has got a problem, at least according to a column in today's "New York Times" by conservative columnist Bill Kristol.
And he writes that McCain is frustrated. He thinks he can beat Obama, but he isn't convinced his campaign can beat Obama's campaign. He knows that his three-month general head-start was largely frittered away. He understands that his campaign has failed to develop an overarching message. And, above all, McCain is painfully aware that he's being diminished by his own campaign.
So, what is the real problem here? There was a staff shuffle last week. Does that feel a little bit like tinkering or the bigger problem is that the campaign is generally without a message that's connecting, at least?
SANCHEZ: You know, Campbell, it reminds me of that old expression that most candidates don't win. The others lose.
I think, in some senses, there is a feeling of that within this campaign and people surrounding that campaign.
Now, that being said, I think there's a lot of things that are going right with Senator McCain's campaign. You have seen a different culture, a change in energy with Steve Schmidt and some of the other changes they're making. They're working on this message issue.
And I will tell you, the biggest, probably most significant impact will be is if we see continued success in the Middle East. That is something that he's definitely based a lot of his career and his momentum on. And it puts Barack Obama in a very difficult situation of looking less noble and more political.
BROWN: But, Leslie, he's been running a long time. They have had a lot of time to do this. Why is it only now that this is coming together, in your view?
SANCHEZ: You know, you have to look at the history of this campaign. He's somebody who ran on personal character, courage, went bankrupt in many different senses because of his stand on a lot of positions, including immigration and Iraq, and basically resurged.
So, you can't fault this campaign. He's the last one standing. And it's also important to remember, you have to run a strong race when people are paying attention. And most of them will not be doing that until after the conventions.
BROWN: But, Carl, isn't part of the problem I guess his message here, if John McCain has a message, or at least how people are defining him, is that it's about Iraq and that it's about finishing the job in Iraq, and people don't want to hear about it or talk about it?
(CROSSTALK)
BERNSTEIN: George Bush is the problem. He's so identified with George Bush.
The electorate is somewhere else right now.
BROWN: Do you think so, though?
(CROSSTALK)
BERNSTEIN: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNSTEIN: Well, let me finish and make my point, that, right now, the electorate is clearly somewhere else, away from George Bush.
And the extent to which McCain has identified with the policies of Bush has made it very easy for Obama to attack him. What appealed to people about McCain in 2000, this breath of fresh air in the Republican Party, he needs those people who wanted him to be president in 2000.
And that included Democrats and independents. He needs to get them, not just Republicans. And, so far, he hasn't figured out how to do it.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Right. Hold on, Carl. I need to get Gloria in here.
Go ahead, Gloria.
BORGER: Yes.
I think if John McCain is going to win this election, it's going to have to be about his character and his leadership skills, and less about the issues, because, as Carl points out, when you talk about the issues, John McCain is a lot like George Bush, except when he's not like George Bush.
But he's tied to George Bush in one way or another. And the reason they won these primaries and the reason he is now the nominee is because people identify John McCain with something larger. And that is someone who has a great character, who has a great story, and who can be a leader of this country.
And that's what the Republicans I talk to say he ought to be emphasizing right now, which is somebody -- that he is somebody of strength and Obama is somebody who is not known.
BROWN: All right, guys, we have got to take another quick break.
To Carl and Leslie, thanks very much. Guys, appreciate it. Gloria, I know you're coming back in just a few minutes.
Still to come: Barack Obama has had some rock star receptions in this campaign.
Wait until you see what he's got planned for the Democratic Convention. Is it the right move? Not everybody thinks so.
And later, the story that has got New York buzzing tonight, the latest celebrity breakup. We have the inside info just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Barack Obama has a slight advantage in the polls over John McCain. But his handlers do face a challenge. And that's keeping Barack Obama on track.
We want to go back now to CNN's Jessica Yellin down in Washington.
And, Jessica, Obama leads in a lot of polls right now. But it's not a huge lead, and certainly not as big as one might expect, considering what a rough year it is for Republicans. Is there concern that he has gone off track a little bit?
YELLIN: Well, you know, they're recalibrating right now, Campbell.
And you can tell that the Obama of the primary is not really the Barack Obama we're hearing in the general election. We heard all those soaring themes and high-brow rhetoric then. But now he's really focusing in some small-bore policy issues. And it's a jarring change.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Because you decided that change must come to Washington, because you believed that this year must be different than all the rest because you chose to listen not to your doubts or your fears, but to your greatest hopes and highest aspirations...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: John McCain has fully embraced the Bush economic agenda. Let me be clear. More of the same from Washington just won't work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So, that was Barack Obama then vs. Barack Obama just last week.
And you can hear, Campbell, that change in tone. Really, he's in a bit of a bind. Barack Obama has to focus in on these policy details. He has been hit hard for not being specific enough. But when he does get specific, he loses some of that visionary loftiness that people expect from him. And, clearly, this is something the campaign is still figuring out, how he can bring those two sides of his public self together.
BROWN: And, also, in the past couple of weeks, we have seen Obama sort of steering his way around a host of issues where a lot of people thought he had already staked firm ground, abortion, campaign finance reform, and I think, most importantly, Iraq.
And a lot of reporters have seized on this and built up the storyline that he shifts with the political wind, especially now that we're in a general election. How damaging could that be?
YELLIN: Well, the flip-flop label has hurt many a candidate, most recently John Kerry. So, that's something Barack Obama can't afford to let get stuck to him. And the McCain campaign is doing its all to label him a flip-flopper.
Some of this is politics. Some of it is campaign stumbles. And Barack Obama has found himself responding a lot to criticism, rather than driving the discussion, in the last few weeks. So, this is something the campaign really has to do, find an issue that will make him get ahead of the news cycle, get him on top of the topics, so that he's driving the discussion, rather than responding.
And he cannot be afford to be labeled a flip-flopper.
BROWN: Jessica, you told us earlier how McCain is struggling with the stagecraft of his events. Obama hasn't had any problems with that part. He's pretty much got that nailed. And he has planned quite a show for the convention.
Explain what's going on here.
(CROSSTALK)
YELLIN: Just to show what he can do, he's decided to take his acceptance speech on the final night of the Democratic out of the convention, which seats some 21,000 people, into an open-air outdoor NFL stadium that seats I think it's 76,000 -- 76,000 people.
It has echoes of John F. Kennedy, who accepted outdoors at the L.A. Coliseum in 1960. It falls on the anniversary of the "I Have a Dream" speech from Martin Luther King. So, he's setting expectations very, very high. But it will no doubt be a show to behold -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right, Jessica Yellin once again for us tonight -- Jessica, as always, thanks.
So, are Obama's convention plans really all that unconventional? We are going to talk to Joe Madison, a talk show host on XM Satellite Radio, Lars Larson, who also hosts a talk show for Westwood One Radio, and, back again, CNN senior political analyst Gloria Borger. Lars, so Obama was all about change during the primaries. But now, people, they want to know what change looks like. And Jessica Yellin told us there are 75,000 people who are going to hear that acceptance speech.
We already know this guy gives a very good speech. Are voters going to start asking about Obama, where's the beef?
LARS LARSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Is he going to work on water first? I mean, it's like we're going to -- this guy is the messiah come back. I mean, come on. And is he really that different? You were referring to the fact that every time he has to give specifics, he starts to either sound out to lunch or is in the same mold.
He announced a stimulus package today that sounds like George Bush stimulus package light. And on Iraq, he's going to have to come around. He's refining his position there and then having to explain why he's refining it.
BROWN: Joe, I'm guessing you disagree with him.
JOE MADISON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, not -- well, not in total and I'm getting feedback. So forgive me, I'm hearing myself here.
One, I think the 76,000 stadium speech and event is going to be a love fest. You're going to have everyone together, you're going to have the music, and you've got to remember that it is going to be a love fest. It's going to be at the end of August, and you will find out that McCain will not be able -- or the Republicans, to do the same thing.
The timing is perfect. Obama will not be able to come back from Iraq with too much refinery, to use his word, refining his position, because his base expects him to stand firm on Iraq. He's going to have to stand firm on Iraq or he will flip-flop.
LARSON: He won't.
MADISON: He will be a flip-flopper.
LARSON: He won't.
MADISON: But he's going to have to.
LARSON: No, but he won't.
BROWN: What do you mean, Lars?
MADISON: Well, you don't know that and I don't know that.
LARSON: I mean, I mean --
MADISON: And he's going to have to.
LARSON: He's going to have a tough time saying that he's going to go over there and talk to the generals like Petraeus and then say, having listened to them and seen the success on the ground, I'm now going to say that I'm going to pull all the troops out anyway.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Joe, Lars isn't the only one saying that.
MADISON: But the majority of the people want him to, and I think he will.
BROWN: There are a lot -- go ahead. I'm sorry, Joe. I didn't mean to prompt you.
MADISON: No. Go, I'm sorry. No, go on.
BROWN: Well, no, I'm just saying that Lars isn't out on the limb with that. There are a lot of people on both sides, Democrat and Republican who say that once he does sit down with the generals and once he's there, that his position is going to have to shift.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, Campbell, I think both of these things are risky. You know, going to a stadium with 76,000 people is risky. You make your campaign.
MADISON: No, it's not. I don't think it's risky.
BORGER: Well, you make your campaign look a little bit hawkish if you're going to be ....
(CROSSTALK)
LARSON: He's good in front of a crowd.
MADISON: Well, I don't see the risk.
BORGER: And then going to Iraq, you know, it is risky for him to go to Iraq as well.
MADISON: I agree with --
BORGER: Because no matter what he does, by the way, if he either refines his position or doesn't, he's going to get criticized.
LARSON: He could be honest. He could be honest. He could go there and say, I've changed my mind. Presidents change their mind on new information.
BORGER: Well, and also, by the way, no Democratic candidate really has admitted so far that the surge has been a success.
MADISON: And let's be honest, Lars, if he came back and said he changed his mind...
LARSON: Yes.
MADISON: ... and he would be the last person to say he was presidential.
LARSON: No. I would say that he was presidential for doing that, and I wish John McCain would change his mind on about 10 different things and I'd praise him, too.
MADISON: Oh, well, I'm surprised pleasantly.
BORGER: But I don't think it's not going to be that simple, a matter of Barack Obama changing his mind or not changing his mind.
LARSON: He can just be honest.
BORGER: That's not going to happen on Iraq. And let's see, let's see.
BROWN: All right, guys. We got to end it there. Appreciate it. To Joe, to Gloria and Lars, thanks guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
BROWN: Coming up next, politics is personal. You'll know what everybody is talking about today when you hear John Kerry now attacking his old friend, John McCain.
And tomatoes, safe to eat or not safe to eat? Farmers say something is rotten out there. They're pretty mad at the government. We'll sort out who did what and why, coming up in just a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Politics isn't just about issues and strategy and power. It is also personal. It's an aspect of the political process that doesn't get covered very much and we think it's worth a closer look.
John Kerry and John McCain have a friendship that goes back many years. And now, you might say, they had a friendship. Yesterday Kerry lashed out at McCain using words that were once used to attack Kerry himself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): Its straining and enduring friendship forged in the emotional complexities of war, two U.S. senators John McCain, John Kerry, who in 1993 went to Vietnam together. McCain, the former prisoner of war, and Kerry, the decorated veteran, turned war resister. They went to visit McCain's cell in Hanoi. Eleven years later in 2004, when John Kerry, the Democrat, was running for president, McCain, the Republican, did not join the partisan attacks against his friend. He even praised him during this interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ABC "GOOD MORNING AMERICA")
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: John Kerry is a very close friend of mine, and we've been friends for years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: In another interview that year, McCain reinforced his loyalty to Kerry saying I don't choose to attack or disparage him. But politics is personal. For Kerry and McCain yesterday, it was deeply personal. This was Kerry on CBS' "Face the Nation" blasting McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CBS' "FACE THE NATION")
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: John McCain has changed in profound and fundamental ways that I find personally really surprising and frankly upsetting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Kerry, who was attacked as a flip-flopper during the 2004 campaign turned the phrase into an attack on McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CBS' "FACE THE NATION")
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: John McCain has flip-flopped on more issues than, you know, I was even ever accused possibly of thinking about. I mean, this is extraordinary what he's done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: What's extraordinary is that this is the same John Kerry who wanted McCain as his running mate in 2004. McCain recently talked about it.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, it's well known. Everybody knows it's been well chronicled a thousand times that John Kerry asked if I would consider being his running mate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
MCCAIN: And I said categorically no under no circumstances. That's all very well-known.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: By the way, the McCain campaign isn't responding to Kerry's attack but Republican Senator Lindsey Graham who is "Face the Nation" with Kerry yesterday guessed that Kerry probably won't consider McCain for a running mate if Kerry ever were to try for the White House again.
Coming up, have you given up eating tomatoes? Well, you're not alone. Thousands of pounds have been rotting on the vine right now blamed for a salmonella outbreak that they may not have caused. We're going to have the latest on that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: More than 900 Americans got sick this spring because of something they ate. The salmonella scare that followed has had a huge impact, and it goes beyond the fresh produce section of your supermarket.
CNN's John Zarrella reports some tomato farmers are very angry and accusing the Feds of playing politics with produce and ruining their crops.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can't help but think of the campy movie, "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes." Only no one thinks it's funny.
Here, row after row of them, thousands of tomatoes rot on the vine. Jimmy Shafter's won't be picked because the FDA, Food and Drug Administration, concluded Florida tomatoes are the leading suspect in the nationwide outbreak of salmonella.
JIMMY SHAFFER, ISLAND TOMATO GROWERS: I mean, this was a bumper crop. This was a lot of tomatoes.
ZARRELLA: But this is not Florida. This is South Carolina. And because everyone is a little hazy on which ones if any are safe to eat, he is suffering, too.
SHAFFER: Instead of the people in charge at the FDA saying South Carolina is starting with new tomatoes that weren't involved, they just kind of threw everybody under a big blanket and let everybody fight for themselves.
ZARRELLA: Before the salmonella outbreak, Shaffer says tomatoes were going for about $16 a box, now, six bucks. Not enough to break even. Farmers are furious.
Shaffer is considering suing the government for compensation. As for those killer tomatoes in Florida, well, Florida farmers insist their tomatoes were never the source.
BOB SPENCER, WEST COAST TOMATOES: If the glove doesn't fit, it doesn't fit.
ZARRELLA: Farmer Bob Spencer says it was defamation. He charges the FDA singled out Florida tomatoes before there was any concrete evidence they caused the salmonella outbreak.
SPENCER: Ten weeks after this supposed outbreak occurred, they have yet to find one tainted tomato.
ZARRELLA: And that's after testing nearly 2,000 tomatoes. The FDA is now expanding its search for the source to include ingredients in salsa, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, onions. But the agency is not clearing tomatoes. Some experts on food-borne illnesses say the FDA and the CDC had no choice but to move quickly.
BOB MARLER, FOOD SAFETY ATTORNEY: Had they continued to wait and wait and wait until the data was perfect, we then would be, you know, criticizing them for letting, you know, ill people stack up. ZARRELLA (on camera): The tomato scare has had a ripple effect, from the farmer to the vegetable stand. The owner of this stand is carrying 50 percent fewer tomatoes than he normally would.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Some people still buy them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'd give up just about anything before I would my tomatoes.
ZARRELLA: But not enough people. Losses in Florida alone may top $100 million, and it could take years, farmers say, to grow back their industry.
John Zarrella, CNN, Palmetto, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: CNN contacted the FDA by phone and by e-mail today asking for comment on this and got no response.
Still ahead, the Summer Olympics in China and the politics behind President Bush's decision to go to the game.
And from the ballpark to divorce court. A-Rod's divorce drama, what his wife and Madonna are saying about the Yankee star. That's coming up next.
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BROWN: Still ahead on the ELECTION CENTER tonight, the politics of the Olympics. Why President Bush plans to go to the summer games in Beijing.
But first, Randi Kaye is joining us again with "The Briefing -- Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Campbell, the first Atlantic hurricane of the season is getting stronger tonight. Bertha became a category 2 today and within hours intensified into a category 3 hurricane. Right now, Bertha's winds topped 115 miles per hour. Forecasters say there is a chance Bertha might threaten Bermuda on Saturday.
Firefighters near Santa Barbara, California are getting a break. Thanks to some cooler weather, the wildfires have moved into rugged areas away from neighborhoods. But some homeowners in Goleta are under orders to get out. Some are refusing to leave. They want to protect their property. Another California fire in Big Sur has burned 117,000 square miles.
Cruise ship passengers on a whale-watching tour of southeast Alaska got stuck. The ship, Spirit of Glacier Bay, run aground as it moved into a shallow inlet. Coast Guard investigators say there is no damage and no injuries. They hope high tide will free the ship tonight. And New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez is accused of adultery and emotional abandonment by his wife, Cynthia. Her attorney today filed for divorce in Miami.
Reports claim A-Rod was involved with Madonna. She denies it. He has no comment. But of course, Campbell, everyone is talking about it.
BROWN: They are indeed. Thanks very much, Randi. In fact, I think Larry King is going to be talking about it tonight, the divorce drama that one of our producers, Albert Lewitinn (ph), says is scandalicious.
Also, a Beatle birthday wish. Larry, what do you have going on tonight?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Yes, we've got a lot on the plate, Campbell, and whoever said that is right. We're going to look at the private details of what's become the very public divorces of Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook, and of course, A-Rod.
There is no bigger baseball star than A-Rod. He is the highest paid player in the history of the game, the possibility of Madonna, Lenny Kravitz, the wife. I don't think there's been a bigger tabloid story in years.
Plus, it's Ringo Starr's birthday and we're celebrating with the Beatle himself. It's "LARRY KING LIVE" next.
BROWN: All right. Larry, we will see you then.
A lot of people don't like President Bush's Olympic enthusiasm. His decision to attend the opening ceremonies of the summer games in China, why that is so political. That's coming up next on ELECTION CENTER.
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BROWN: President Bush is going to China next month for the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. If you missed that news, it's probably because the White House announced it on Thursday, right before the holiday weekend started, which almost made it look as if the administration was trying to bury the story.
If so, that didn't exactly work because China's critics are fuming over the president's visit. And Jason Carroll is here to tell us why -- Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Well, you know, one Olympic historian says that no U.S. president has attended an opening ceremony overseas. And now comes word that President Bush will attend the opening ceremony in China. Now, this is a country obviously with an abysmal human rights record. His critics say this sends the wrong message.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CARROLL (voice-over): It is so large, such an economic powerhouse, that it's difficult to find the footing to get a message through to China. And that's why human rights activists had hoped President Bush would use the Olympics to send China a bold message. They had hoped he would boycott the opening ceremonies for the games in Beijing, but they were disappointed.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I happen to believe not going to the opening games would be -- the opening ceremony for the games would be an affront to the Chinese people, which may make it more difficult to have a -- to be able to speak frankly with the Chinese leadership.
CARROLL: But critics say attending is an affront to those suffering under China's repressive policies, in places like Tibet, where in March, protesters demonstrating against Chinese communist rule were met with violence.
And in Darfur, where the Chinese continue close ties with the Sudanese government despite the genocide in that African country.
JERRY FOWLER, PRESIDENT, SAVE DARFUR COALITION: I think there's a tremendous amount of frustration, but even deeper than that it's a disappointment. And all we can hope is that when President Bush does go to China, that he takes the opportunity to really press the Chinese and get commitments from them to start being part of the solution in Darfur instead of being part of the problem.
CARROLL: Germany's chancellor as well as Britain's and Canada's prime ministers will not attend. Still, one Asian policy group says President Bush made the right decision.
JAMIE METZL, EXEC. V.P., ASIA SOCIETY: China plays a critically important role in the world. Now that China is doing many things that are both helping and hurting the human rights situation and that when we weigh the costs and benefits of going versus not going, the benefits of going outweigh the costs of not going.
CARROLL: Such as alienating a world power that carries a hefty portion of U.S. financial debt. A White House spokeswoman says Bush's decision is not political. But some Democrats and Republicans argue China brought politics into the event when it told the international community it would improve its human rights record if granted the games.
REP. DANA ROHRABACHER (R), CALIFORNIA: This is the genocide Olympics. This is the Darfur Olympics. This is a time when you're having Olympics in a country that represses its religious believers and has no freedom of speech or democracy. The president of the United States should not be there.
CARROLL: A spokesman for Senator John McCain said if McCain were president, "he would hold off on committing to attend the ceremonies in order to take the time to monitor progress by the Chinese on human rights issues." Senator Barack Obama says he wanted to see the Chinese government take steps to reach out to the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In the absence of some sense of progress, in the absence of some sense from the Dalai Lama that there was progress, I would not have gone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And those who both support and oppose Bush attending the opening ceremonies say, once in China, he should use that opportunity to speak with Chinese officials about human rights offenses.
BROWN: All right. Jason Carroll for us. Jason, thanks.
And so, is it a mistake for President Bush to go to China? We have got two of the feistiest guys in talk radio ready to debate that when we come back.
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BROWN: President Bush's visit to the Olympics looks like quite a coup for the Chinese. How is it going to play though at home?
Back with me to answer all that, our talk radio all-stars Joe Madison and Lars Larson. And Lars, we just heard Barack Obama say he wouldn't go to the opening ceremonies. John McCain still taking a wait and see approach. But President Bush, he's 100 percent and he's going to the opening ceremonies. Do you think it's a mistake?
LARSON: Hey, Barack Obama, wait five minutes, he'll probably change his position. But as for the president going, if our athletes are going to be there, the president should be there as well. If we wanted to pull a Jimmy Carter and boycott like Moscow, fine, then boycott the whole thing. But to say that it's appropriate for our athletes to be there but inappropriate for the president, that doesn't make sense to me and he doesn't have a chance now to send some real messages to the Chinese not just silence.
BROWN: But Lars, Bush didn't attend, as we heard Jason Carroll report, he didn't attend the opening ceremonies in Turin or in Athens. And if you look back, presidents don't often travel overseas for the Olympics so why go out of your way now to honor China?
MADISON: Because he's a hypocrite.
LARSON: He has to send a message.
MADISON: Oh, let me tell you. You know, Martin Luther King said we will not remember the words of our enemies but we'll remember the silence of our friends. We're supposed to be friends to the people suffering in Darfur.
I am telling you, this is the equivalent of a president going to Nazi, Germany in 1936. This is absolutely wrong. He can go to the Olympics and he ought to follow the lead of other people. He has put money over principle, and that's what he's done and he should not attend.
LARSON: This is not about money.
MADISON: This is about money.
LARSON: This is a great opportunity --
MADISON: This is about a country that has poisoned our food, our drugs. They poisoned our children with lead.
LARSON: Then we shouldn't be doing business with them, Joe. If they poison us, they we should --
MADISON: Well, hello, and neither should the president be going to China and sitting down there.
(CROSSTALK)
LARSON: If you're telling me it's OK to do business with the Chinese but it's not OK for the president to go there, how do --
MADISON: Excuse me. Listen, you have 100 percent of the United States Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, 100 percent of them declared genocide in Darfur and the money that the --
LARSON: They are not the president.
MADISON: And the money that the Chinese gives to Sudan goes to commit that genocide. It's that simple.
BROWN: Joe, let me ask you though, President Bush would argue that if you want China to improve their human rights policies, you got to talk to them. You got to do a little diplomacy.
MADISON: Yes. He can't trust --
BROWN: But won't attending those ceremonies help at least open the lines of communication?
MADISON: Oh, the lines of communication are open through the Treasury Department, are you kidding me? We've run into trade deficit with China.
LARSON: Oh, come on.
MADISON: We talked with them every day. We just had our secretary of treasurer there, our secretary of state.
LARSON: Joe --
MADISON: You know we have problems of communications.
LARSON: Joe, you're going to have to pay attention to this. So millions of Americans buy Chinese goods every single day. If it's inappropriate for the president to be there, it's inappropriate for us to be doing any business with the Chinese people. MADISON: I'll close by this.
LARSON: They're bad government.
MADISON: I'll close by this. We should not be sitting next to anyone who is complicit --
LARSON: Then our athletes shouldn't be there either, Joe? Why aren't you condemning the athletes for going?
BROWN: OK, very -- very quickly, Joe, that is what the other argument is. That it's about the athletes.
MADISON: The argument is about the opening ceremonies. That's what the argument is all about.
LARSON: Athletes should -- athleticism should transcend politics.
BROWN: Guys, we got to go. We're out of time. Joe and Lars, many, many thanks.
LARSON: Thanks, Campbell.
BROWN: That's it for me in the ELECTION CENTER.
MADISON: Thanks.
BROWN: "LARRY KING LIVE" starting right now.
