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Inside Politics
How Safe Is LAX?; FBI Agents Identify Airport Shooter; Interview With Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating
Aired July 05, 2002 - 16:00 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.
CANDY CROWLEY, GUEST HOST: I'm Candy Crowley in Washington. How safe is LAX? I'll ask California Governor Gray Davis about yesterday's deadly shooting.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Frank Buckley live at LAX, the site of that shooting here yesterday at the El Al counter. FBI agents now believe that the Egyptian suspect in that case came here to LAX intending to kill.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm Bill Schneider in Los Angeles, with the "Play of the Week" that might have made the founding fathers proud.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Washington, this is INSIDE POLITICS with Judy Woodruff.
CROWLEY: Thanks for joining us. Judy is off today.
A little over an hour ago, federal officials said they still do not know why an Egyptian man opened fire at the Los Angeles airport. They're trying to piece together his last moves and his motive. CNN's Frank Buckley is at LAX.
Frank, what do we know about the investigation?
BUCKLEY: Well, Candy, it is moving forward. FBI agents taking the lead role in the investigation. They don't yet have a motive. They're looking at everything they say.
What they do believe now, however, is that the suspect in this case, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, came here to LAX intending to kill. They base that at least in part on the fact that they say that this suspect was armed with two handguns. He also had extra ammunition and he also had a hunting knife.
We are at the El Al counter right now. You can see that the signage that was up earlier today is no longer in place. This is a shared ticket counter space with other airlines. It is not here at the moment. But if you look over just to the right of the ticket counter itself, you can see that the flowers have been placed here in memory of two people killed by the suspect.
Earlier today the signage, the El Al signage, was in fact up at this location. It really gave a clear sense of the violence that occurred here on July 4. Killed here was a young female ticket agent, Victoria Hen. Also a 46-year-old Jacob Aminov, who was here simply dropping off family members.
Also killed was the suspect. And we have a photo of the suspect, Hadayet, where he was shot and killed, just beyond this counter space about 20 feet away. FBI agents believe that he was shot and killed about where he began the shooting -- shot and killed by an El Al security agent.
Investigators are now, as we say, trying to figure out the process, go through and try to determine a motive here. Overnight they went to the suspect's apartment in Irvine, California. They also seized the suspect's car that was parked across the street at a parking garage here at LAX.
Israeli government officials continue to say, in their view, this was a terror assault. They base that on the fact that El Al has been a target of terror in the past. They also note that there are any number of ticket counters here in the Bradley terminal, several international carriers here in the Bradley terminal. And yet, the one that was chosen was the El Al counter.
FBI agents tell us that nothing has been ruled out, including a terror assault. But so far there is no indication that this violence that took place here at LAX is tied to any broader terrorist conspiracy -- Candy.
CROWLEY: CNN's Frank Buckley at LAX. Thanks, Frank.
The shooting at LAX has raised new questions about security at the nation's airports. Should people be screened before they even enter the terminal? CNN's Kathleen Koch looks at the idea and whether it would fly with the public.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is routine in Israel: checking every car and every person for weapons and explosives before they enter the airport. Some say the LAX shooting proves such heightened security is needed here.
ISAAC YEFFET, FMR. EL AL SECURITY DIRECTOR: We have to protect the gate, the aircraft and the perimeter of the airport. We cannot allow all the airport wide open.
KOCH: Los Angeles had just proposed a $9.6 billion airport renovation that would include off-site screening of everyone going to the terminal. But many of the nation's 429 commercial airports are strapped for cash, struggling now to modify their facilities to accommodate huge bag-screening machines. And some caution pushing the perimeter outwards would increase delays, and not security.
MICHAEL MILLER, AVIATION EXPERT: I don't see where we can really revamp security to push it back towards the street, or else you might as well just line up people along the roadway and check them on the highway.
KOCH: But, are passengers ready for that kind of inconvenience? Most say no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it would be an overreaction. It would just make it more difficult for people to travel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a free society. You have to allow for the occasional trespasses and isolated acts of violence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have a problem with that. I think, whatever it takes.
KOCH: The Transportation Security Administration so far is panning the idea. A spokesman says -- quote -- "We are always looking at ways to improve security at airports. But we are not considering moving checkpoints back to include ticket counters."
The California incident again raises the question, whether to sacrifice freedom and convenience to ensure safety.
ASST. CHIEF DAVID GASCON, LOS ANGELES POLICE: Most of our public buildings in this country -- and we all have access to those areas. And certainly, someone who had a weapon on them would have that kind of access.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOCH: So some believe that armed guards positioned at airport entrances could be another option. El Al uses them at its ticket counters. And as on Thursday, Candy, they could prove a vital line of defense. Back to you.
CROWLEY: Kathleen Koch at National Airport, thanks very much.
KOCH: You bet.
CROWLEY: Joining us now on INSIDE POLITICS, Governor Gray Davis of California.
Governor, I want to get right to it and ask you, is it obvious to you now that security at LAX yesterday was not adequate?
GOV. GRAY DAVIS (D), CALIFORNIA: Clearly, we have to do more to keep people safe. And I want to talk to Mayor Hahn and the FBI and National Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge about the steps people think we should take to enhance security.
But I do believe we should not proceed until we fully understand what happened yesterday and the FBI comes back and tells us exactly what was going on. Was this isolated, was this part of something larger? At the moment, they think it's isolated.
CROWLEY: On the face of it, what we know is that this guy walked in, according to the FBI, he had a 45, he had a 9 mm, he had a 6-inch knife, he had ammunition. And it was outside the perimeter of security. Would you favor something that a lot of people are talking about now, which is to sort of widen that perimeter so that you couldn't even walk into an airport without first passing some security?
DAVIS: Again, I don't want to rush to judgment. I do believe we should find out what happened yesterday, exactly what motivated this person. What did he intend to do. Did he intend to disrupt activities at the counter? Was he trying to get on a plane?
Let's figure out the full dimensions of the threat, if you will, before we figure out how to respond to it.
CROWLEY: Sure, I take the point. I'm just wondering, I mean, regardless of what his motivation was, it can't be a good thing that anybody can get in with that kind of ammunition into an airport. Should there be security on the outside, I guess is what I'm asking.
DAVIS: Well, I do favor the actions the L.A. police have taken. They have additional security on the premises of the airport today. And clearly, that's something we're going to have to consider. We want people to feel as safe as humanly possible when they're flying.
I do believe we've achieved the president's goal after September 11, which is to prevent in California airports and all American airports, hijacking another plane and turning it into a missile, and claiming even more loss of life.
But now we have to ask ourselves, can we do more to make the airports themselves, before you get on the planes, more secure? I think the answer to that is yes. How we do it, I think, will depend in part on exactly what the FBI tells us was going on yesterday.
CROWLEY: I know that you had a phone call today with the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. I wonder what you could share with us about what the two of you talked about, insofar as this incident goes. He believes it was a terrorist attack, yes?
DAVIS: Well, he didn't say that. Obviously some Israeli officials do. I want to hasten to make this point, Candy. This phone call was set up on Tuesday to thank me and George Pataki for our efforts in rallying 42 governors that stood behind Israel, and sent a letter to the president of the United States, to that effect, saying we're united behind Israel.
So that was the purpose of the call. But between the time it was scheduled and today, obviously this terrible event happened yesterday. I expressed my condolences at the loss of life of two Israeli-born citizens, and expressed my appreciation for the fast response of El Al security. I believe it was an El Al security guard that actually shot the suspect.
We had talked about it briefly. He did not express his view as to whether or not this was a terrorist attack. And as you know, the FBI is not prepared -- it is not prepared to say that at this time.
CROWLEY: Governor, I want to ask you about that letter and why you felt it was, A, necessary to write this letter of support to Israel to the president. And, B, in a state that is so diverse as yours is, do you worry that those of Arab descent or Palestinians might take offense that you felt it necessary to come down so strongly on the side of Israel?
DAVIS: Well, I and 41 other governors believe that every country in the Middle East has a right to exist, to have secure borders and to prosper within those borders. And acts of terrorism that are visited on Israel almost daily are extraordinarily disruptive.
In early January somebody told me if the number of dead in Israel had happened in the United States, given our population, we'd be talking about 27,000 Americans having been killed by terrorist attacks. So this is a huge problem in Israel. And they deserve to go on with their lives without a daily car bombing or bus bombing.
Having said that, all of us want the Palestinians and the entire Middle East community to live in harmony and peace with one another, so they can focus on elevating the quality of life of their own citizens, as opposed to at least some in the Palestinian community focused on harassing and destroying the lives of people in Israel.
CROWLEY: Governor Gray Davis of California, thank you so much for joining us. Let's do this in person next time.
From the West Coast back here to the East Coast, so we can turn to memories of baseball hall-of-famer Ted Williams. The former Boston Red Sox great died today in Florida at age 83. One of the best hitters in the history of the game, Williams was the last player to hit .400 in a season.
CNN's Bill Delaney is at Boston's Fenway Park, where the "Splendid Splinter" became a legend. Bill, I can only imagine what the atmosphere must be like up there in Boston.
BILL DELANEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everybody is talking about this great man here at this classic baseball park, Candy, Fenway Park, of course, right behind me. And of course, Ted Williams was one of the classic players. As you said, the last man to hit .400 -- an absolute genius with the baseball bat.
Seeing a lot of spontaneous stuff starting to happen here already, like this little flag here that just went up about a half- hour ago. Candy, it says, "Goodbye, Teddy ball game," with his No. 9 on it. And those aren't his dates, but the dates of Fenway Park -- 1918 to 2002. It's the oldest park in the country. Ted Williams was actually born in 1919.
Many people here remember very well his classic glory years in the '40s, when he compiled a .344 lifetime average, 512 home runs. All that despite the fact that he spent 5 years in the military, two different stints -- one in World War II and then 39 combat missions over North Korea.
It may be a cliche to say it, but I'm going to say it anyway. They don't make them like Ted Williams anymore. I have somebody with me, Candy, Albert Aushan, who knows a bit about Ted Williams because he first saw him play here at Fenway when he was 12 years old.
Albert, what was special about seeing this great baseball player actually play on this field behind us?
ALBERT AUSHAN, BASEBALL FAN: I think he was larger than life. When he came into the on-deck circle, he'd be swinging two bats. And his whole body would just seem to coil. And the buzz in the stands would just go right through you.
And then of course, when he came to the plate, you always anticipated he'd hit a home run or get a hit. And that was very special.
DELANEY: This was an age when baseball players didn't have publicists and business managers. It was a different kind of athlete, wasn't it?
AUSHAN: Yes, it sure was. I think he was a genuine hero. And they just don't make them like that anymore.
DELANEY: You can't help but say that, can you? What was special for a 12-year-old boy to have seen this player? Can you bring yourself back to these stands all those years ago, 1941, the year he hit .407?
AUSHAN: Yes, it was a July double header on a Sunday, which they don't play anymore. And -- you saw two games for the price of one. And they were playing the New York Yankees, who had a great team, too. And I don't know, I just can't explain it. It was so tremendous, so great.
DELANEY: And he kept coming back, didn't he, even after 39 combat missions in North Korea and crash landing a plane on one wheel. He came back right after that in 1953 and proceeded to have a .400 plus season. He was kind of a guy that continued to play despite age, continued to play beautifully, despite age.
And, as I say, you never heard him screaming too much about his salary. It was a different time.
AUSHAN: That's right. He was in great condition. He always took good care of himself. He never smoked or drank, as far as I know. I've never heard of anything to that effect. But that's right. He was an amazing person.
DELANEY: Albert Aushan, thank you very much for talking to us about one of the real baseball greats who has now passed away at 83 and will be remembered here tonight as the Red Sox -- who, by the way, are in the middle of a winning streak -- go up against the Detroit Tigers, trying to win a sixth in a row.
Back to you, Candy.
CROWLEY: Thanks, Bill Delaney at Fenway Park. Probably be a memorable game tonight. Thanks, Bill. Baseball fan and former team owner, George W. Bush, has shared his thoughts on Ted Williams' life and death.
In a statement, the president said: "Williams inspired young ballplayers across the nation for decades, and we will always remember his persistence on the field and his courage off the field. Ted gave baseball some of its best seasons, and he gave his own best seasons to his country. He will be greatly missed."
A little change of tone for us. And back to some real politics. We'll head to the beach next on INSIDE POLITICS. We'll watch Senator John Edwards try to shore up support for a possible presidential bid.
Later, it's on to another waterfront. What keeps pulling the Bush family back to Kennebunkport?
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: There are wonderful restrooms you haven't seen.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Are you serious? I tell you, the places you go when you hang out with Secretary Powell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Why is Colin Powell escorting our Andrea Koppel to the ladies' room?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Former Senator Bill Bradley was the one who pioneered the holiday walk on the beach to meet and greet state voters. And North Carolina's John Edwards has emulated his fellow Democrat since he was elected to the Senate in 1998.
Yesterday, we joined Senator Edwards on Wrightsville beach to see how the home folks are responding to his potential run for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D), NORTH CAROLINA: Hello guys. How we doing? Good work.
CROWLEY (voice-over): It is pretty much a must-do activity for just about every politician with a coastline: the beach walk.
EDWARDS: I'm thinking about it.
CROWLEY: North Carolina Senator John Edwards says he's only thinking about a run for the presidency, but many here assume he will.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we have to lose a senator to get a president, then I'm for you.
EDWARDS: Well, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I support you 1,000 percent.
EDWARDS: Thank you. Nice to see you.
CROWLEY: Along with the other potential 2004 candidates, Edwards is sharpening his criticism of the Bush administration, on the budget.
EDWARDS: Well, I think that there are some things that have happened fiscally, in respect to the national budget, that are not in the best long-term interests of the country. It's one of the reasons we have to get back to having balanced budgets, away from having deficit, spending Social Security money for things that don't have anything to do with Social Security.
CROWLEY: On health care and education...
EDWARDS: I think we have important work to do in the area of education. And in order to do that, we have to be willing to invest in education. And unfortunately, the president's budget flatlines, basically, education spending for the next several years.
CROWLEY: On corporate responsibility and the president's upcoming speech...
EDWARDS: I think it's a test for the president. I think the president has an opportunity here to show that he's going to act always in the best interest of the American people, and not in the interest of some of these people that he's had long and deep relationships with.
If all he does is continue to talk about this, and not do anything about it, then he'll fail that test.
CROWLEY: Still, recent polls suggest Bush is far more popular than Edwards, even in his home state.
EDWARDS: I think, if I were to decide to run for president, if I were in fact to get the nomination, I think the people of North Carolina would support me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you traveling to all these other states, then? Going to all these other states.
CROWLEY: Heckler aside, Edwards does have his fans, especially with the college crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's awesome. I've been a Republican all my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a Democrat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I meant that, even though I'm a Republican, I think he's a really good candidate for upcoming presidency.
CROWLEY: Of course, she thinks George Bush is awesome, too. This woman went up to Edwards and urged him to run for the White House. She's a Democrat and a realist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now? Bush.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two years?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See what happens.
CROWLEY: The biggest risk for Edwards in running for the presidency is that he could jeopardize his Senate seat, also up in 2004. And the beaches of North Carolina are as good a place as any to start.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Moving along now, the latest reports about U.S. plans to depose Saddam Hussein. It's just one of the topics in our "Taking Issue" segment just ahead.
Plus, two views of the Los Angeles airport shooter. An update on the investigation when we check the "Newscycle."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: Among the stories in our "Newscycle," the death of baseball legend Ted Williams. The Red Sox hall-of-famer died this morning in a Florida hospital. He was 83.
Ted Williams was the last player to bat .400 in a season, and is considered one of the greatest hitters ever to play the game. He was also a decorated military veteran, serving as a Marine pilot in World War II and Korea.
A four-hour highway standoff near San Francisco ended today after police coated the suspect with firefighting foam. Officials used the foam because the driver was believed to have doused himself with gasoline. The suspect earlier led police on a 100 mile-per-hour chase.
Investigators ask for help today from anyone who may have known the gunmen in yesterday's shooting at the El Al airlines ticket desk in Los Angeles. Investigators say it remains unclear if the shooting was an act of terrorism. But an Israeli government minister said he will assume terrorism -- quote -- "until proved otherwise."
With us now, former Gore campaign manager Donna Brazile and Ramesh Ponnuru of "The National Review." OK, I want to start with the LAX airport security. And I want to play you something that L.A. Mayor James Hahn said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JAMES HAHN, LOS ANGELES: Right now the perimeter of security is to prevent anybody from getting on that plane. Up to that point in time, people don't go through security screening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Ramesh, let me start up there with you, and ask you, is this now a matter of widening the perimeter? Or do we just have to accept that there are certain things that are going to go on no matter how safe we try to be?
RAMESH PONNURU, "NATIONAL REVIEW": I guess I'm more in the latter view than the former. I think we could end up, you know, widening the perimeter indefinitely. I mean, any place where people gather could be a target for attacks and you can't have foolproof security measures for all those places.
CROWLEY: Donna, do we widen the perimeter on the airport? Do we just accept certain things?
DONNA BRAZILE, FMR. GORE CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I think we should take a look at all of these doors that are open to airports today -- not just the baggage screening and matching baggage. But also perhaps limit the area around the terminal where passengers go in, to those with reservations.
And perhaps families can kiss their loved ones goodbye at another checkpoint area, and then allow those who are planning to fly on those certain days to go through the terminal area.
CROWLEY: Boy, Donna, aren't you running awfully close into people's civil liberties, their freedom of movement? Isn't there some point at which you say, look, we've got it as safe as we can reasonably make it?
BRAZILE: Well, I've flown over 50 times since 9/11, so I guess I fly more on faith than just the fun of it. But I do believe that in order to really put together a secure package for our airport system, our transportation system, we have to put everything on the table. And that's part of the problem right now.
We've just limited our search, our inspections, to the baggage and those with tickets. But look what happened yesterday. This guy didn't have any reason to be at the airport, other than he intended to do bodily harm. And he did, yesterday.
CROWLEY: Ramesh, I want to move on to Iraq. But first I want to ask you a question just to clear something up for me. This whole debate about whether this was a terrorist act, or a random act of murder, why does it matter?
PONNURU: Well, I think that the categorization question does help people make sense of things. And when horrible events happen, people do want to make sense of them.
I think there's been a lot of confusion on this point, because the question of whether this man was linked to terrorist organizations is separate from the question of whether he was killing unarmed noncombatants for political reasons -- which is, you know, by one definition, that's what terrorism is.
He does seem to meet that definition. That doesn't mean that he was organizationally linked to al Qaeda.
CROWLEY: Donna, let me just let you have a go at that as our sort of last question. I realize that Israel has a reason to call it a terrorist event, obviously because they're a nation under attack and we see that that danger is everywhere. But why does it matter to us whether this guy came in and murdered people because he was upset with something, or whether he's a terrorist?
PONNURU: Again, everything has changed since 9/11. Semantics aside, I think most Americans believe that this was some form of terrorism, a terror act yesterday, because of the location and now some of the information that's coming out about the individual.
So I think we need to wait until we get more information. That's what Mayor Hahn said. But right now I think everyone's gut is like, terrorism.
CROWLEY: Donna Brazile, thanks very much. Ramesh Ponnuru, thank you too, from New York. Good to see you both.
Coming up next, Bob Novak's "Inside Buzz," Colin Powell's private tour, Janet Reno's dance party and...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Snow in suburban Maryland, catching up with the most embattled Republican incumbent in the U.S. House. Will Connie Morella survive the political race of her life?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: He has no intention of giving up his day job, but it turns out Secretary of State Colin Powell is a pretty good tour guide. To mark Independence Day, Powell gave our Andrea Koppel an exclusive private tour of the Thomas Jefferson Room in the State Department. They had some laughs and talked about serious subjects as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Do you ever think about how the forefathers, including Jefferson, might have responded to the war on terrorism? I mean, they themselves were accused of being terrorists by the British.
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, they were accused of being terrorists. And you know the famous expression: "We must hang together or surely we will each hang separately," or -- I paraphrased it slightly.
But they believed -- and it is contained in our Declaration and in our Constitution -- that when offenses against humanity are so great, then you should be able to rise up against tyranny. But terrorism isn't rising up against tyranny. It's the destruction of innocent life. It's killing innocent people to make a political statement or for political cause. And that's the difference between those who are yearning for freedom and those who are killing innocents for tyranny or for what fundamentally is a false cause.
KOPPEL: My understanding is, Jefferson owned a lot of
POWELL: He owned a lot of things.
(CROSSTALK)
KOPPEL: ... in fact, a few too many.
POWELL: But I don't care. I'm the secretary of state. And that's the desk he wrote the Declaration of Independence on. That's our story. And we're sticking with it.
KOPPEL: And you're sticking to it.
POWELL: I thought about putting it in my office so I can use it as a stand-up desk. But every time I suggest that to the curator...
KOPPEL: No, it doesn't work?
POWELL: ... she takes to her bed with cold compresses and says no. So, she won't let me do that.
KOPPEL: It is better for your back, right?
(LAUGHTER)
KOPPEL: I think we should be especially impressed that you are taking us on a tour, you who hate museums, refuse to go into museums.
POWELL: Who said that? How dare you.
(LAUGHTER)
POWELL: I am one of the most -- aren't I doing a great museum job here this afternoon?
KOPPEL: You are doing a wonderful job. Is there anything else before we wrap up that...
POWELL: There are some wonderful restrooms you haven't seen.
(LAUGHTER)
POWELL: Come on.
KOPPEL: Are you serious?
POWELL: Follow me.
KOPPEL: I tell you, the places you go when you hang out with Secretary Powell.
This is the Martha Washington...
POWELL: This is Martha Washington's Ladies Lounge. And I dare say you will not see a restroom like this in many places in Washington. I can escort you no further, however.
KOPPEL: Can we just check if someone is in there?
POWELL: Be my guest.
(LAUGHTER)
KOPPEL: Hello? Hello?
I think it's safe. I think it's safe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Where else can you see Martha Washington's bathroom?
We're going to turn now to some "Inside Buzz" with our Bob Novak.
Bob, when the Senate comes back, they're going to take up the Yucca Mountain debate, the nuclear dump site and whether or not to have it. What's the issue and how is the Senate going to fall on it?
ROBERT NOVAK, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, this is one of the rare things, Candy. It's once and for all. There's no turning back. Either they are going -- they are going to vote probably Tuesday whether they are going to have it or not, a simple majority vote. You cannot filibuster.
Now, this is a big test for Harry Reid, the Senate majority whip, a very powerful guy from Nevada. And he has to turn around at least five Democratic senators to have this Yucca defeated. I don't think he has got the votes. It is a big test for Harry Reid's clout in the Senate and back home in Nevada.
CROWLEY: 2002, we all know, no secret, that the Democrats want to hang on to the Senate. They're looking in a couple surprising places.
NOVAK: They, the Democrats, they have been abuzz in the last week that they have got a chance to pick up two Republican seats that were thought impregnable, Susan Collins of Maine and the old Phil Gramm seat, the seat that Phil Gramm is giving up in Texas. Ronald Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas, is ahead in the polls of John Cornyn, the Republican attorney general. But there are other Republican polls that show that the Republican is ahead.
And, as far as Susan Collins losing in Maine, even the Democrats' polls show that Susan has got about a double-digit lead. So, I think that those are still stretches, Texas and Maine, for the Democrats to win. They have got to pick up a couple Republican seats, though, to maintain control.
CROWLEY: Besides which, it's July, right? NOVAK: Pardon?
CROWLEY: Besides which, it's July at the moment.
NOVAK: Yes.
CROWLEY: Listen, Tyco having a lot of trouble, picked up a big gun.
NOVAK: Yes, Tyco Limited is one of the many corporations with troubles. Their former CIO was indicted for cheating on taxes, evading taxes on art paintings.
They have -- I was amazed to see it in the lobbyist listings -- picked up Bob Dole as their lobbyist, Bob Dole Enterprises. And the contact person is something that a lot of insiders may -- somebody a lot of insiders may remember, JoAnne Coe. Do you remember her? Probably before your time. She was the secretary of the Senate in Bob Dole's first swing as majority leader. So, Tyco has got some big guns. And they need them.
CROWLEY: Absolutely they do.
I can't let you go, because somebody told me that you saw Ted Williams play.
NOVAK: I saw Ted Williams play when he batted .400 in 1941. I was 10 years old in Chicago. And then I saw him many times through the years. I saw him in his last game hit a home run at Griffith Stadium in Washington.
But I got to know him in a part of his life that nobody ever talks about. He was manager of the Washington Senators. And he was a terrific manager. They did much better than anybody thought. Players had their all-time years under him, because they wanted to play good for Teddy Ball Game. But he didn't really like managing that much. He liked fishing. But I got to know him a little bit. He was an absolutely wonderful guy. It's a sad day for all us baseball fans.
CROWLEY: Yes, it is. It's not often you lose a legend, right?
NOVAK: No.
CROWLEY: Thanks, Bob.
Our Friday edition of "Campaign News Daily" begins with a hot congressional race in Maryland. GOP incumbent Connie Morella has a real fight on her hands against Democrat and Kennedy relative Mark Shriver.
CNN's Kate Snow has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): In suburban Maryland, Montgomery County, people call their congresswoman by her first name. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello there, Connie.
REP. CONNIE MORELLA (R), MARYLAND: How are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine.
SNOW: Connie Morella has served these voters for 15 years, quite a feat for a Republican in a district filled with Democrats. But in these affluent neighborhoods just outside Washington, D.C., Democrats pride themselves on being open-minded. They like her liberal views on gun control, abortion rights, the environment.
MORELLA: I have been a person who has voted independently, according to how my constituents feel, my country, and my conscience. And I have put partisanship aside.
SNOW (on camera): But this year, it may be a tough sell. Maryland's Democratic legislature redrew Morella's district, moving thousands of Republicans out and thousands of new Democratic voters in from cities like this one, Takoma Park. Many of those Democrats don't even know Morella.
CHARLIE COOK, POLITICAL ANALYST: You don't cut the two or three only Republican neighborhoods in an entire congressional district out and then throw in 50,000, 60,000 hard-core Democrats into a Republican in a very competitive district to begin with and not expect them to really do some damage.
SNOW: One of the things that people are saying about you -- and I know you've heard this -- is that you are one of or the most endangered Republican incumbent in the entire United States.
MORELLA: I think I am. I think I am. And I am because of the partisan bullies, who, in the back rooms of Annapolis, tried to do what they have not been able to do in the ballot boxes of Montgomery County.
SNOW (voice-over): And there's stiff competition from Democrats.
MARK SHRIVER (D), MARYLAND CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Hi, I'm Mark Shriver. I'm running for Congress.
SNOW: Leaving the pack: the well-financed nephew of John F. Kennedy. Republicans may not love her voting record, but they know they can't afford the see Morella lose. If they drop just six seats, they could lose their thin majority in the House.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The reason people are here, Connie, is because they love you, they trust you, and, like me, want you reelected to the United States Congress.
MORELLA: I didn't ask him. He offered. He offered. I was stunned when he said: "Is there something I can do to help? Would it help you if I went into your district or did an event?" And I thought to myself, "Yes." SNOW: Democrats hope her quality time with the president will ruin Morella's independent image. But Morella dismisses that and says she'll take all the help she can get.
MORELLA: Good. So, when you vote, vote for me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
MORELLA: Good. Thank you.
SNOW: Kate Snow, CNN, Takoma Park, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Next stop: Florida, where Janet Reno is targeting the young and hip in her campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor. Reno plans to hold a fund-raiser later this month at the trendy South Beach dance club Level in Miami. The invitation bills the event as the world premiere of Janet Reno's dance party, featuring D.J. Annie Fierce (ph).
We couldn't help but remember the last time Reno hosted a dance party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")
JANET RENO, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: Dance. Now hit it!
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: That, of course, is Janet Reno appearing on "Saturday Night Live." Tickets to the real dance party in Miami will cost $25 per person.
It will be worth the price of admission.
The governor of Oklahoma is taking on a tough new job. Up next: Is the Catholic Church giving Frank Keating enough power to make sure its new rules about sexual abuse are enforced?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: FBI agent, U.S. attorney, associate attorney general, governor of Oklahoma, devout Catholic: Frank Keating has a resume that seems to fit his new job perfectly: chairman of a group set up by the U.S. Conference of Bishops to make sure the new policy on sexual abuse is enforced.
Judy Woodruff recently spoke to Oklahoma's outgoing Republican governor about his new task and asked him whether he had been given the power to get the job done.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GOV. FRANK KEATING (R), OKLAHOMA: I think so, Judy.
But, of course, all of that is going to have to be determined by evolution, if you will, and a rather prompt evolution. The board has the authority to establish a national office to oversee the zero- tolerance policy. And I would recommend to my colleagues that we have a tough, no-nonsense layman, an ex-prosecutor or a cop, if you will, to oversee that office.
But the power of the board is a power of persuasion to make sure this zero-tolerance policy -- nobody with one strike can stay in the ministry. Nobody in the future with one strike can remain in the ministry; transparency, no hush-money settlements without public disclosure; and also criminal referrals in the event of criminal behavior.
That's the policy for all the diocese. But the actual work will have to be the individual diocesan boards, the 190-odd that the commission anticipates creating, that they're going to have to determine whether or not their bishop has done right, whether or not there are errant priests still in power to abuse children, those kind of things.
But we laypeople -- and this is rather unprecedented, for us to be so involved -- are adamant, determined, focused, outraged that this occurred. And I think we will do everything we possibly can to make sure that things are righted. And I think that we have the power to do that.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a spokesman for the victims has written prominently in the last few days that, without this kind of subpoena power, this whole -- in other words, to get to these records that wherein lay the evidence of what did and didn't happen, without this power, your board could end up being just a public-relations stunt.
KEATING: Well, none of us want that, because all of us have day jobs. All of us are people that are very busy with other things that we are doing. All of us are committed Catholics. My Catholic experience, my Catholic Church experience has been a warm and wonderful thing for me personally. And I don't have time to screw around.
I think two things make me confident that this will have teeth and legs. First, we're supposed to provide, on an annual basis, a report as to whether all the 190-odd dioceses have in fact implemented a zero-tolerance policy. Has the bishop been culpable? Have individual priests gotten away with this kind of behavior? Have there been hush-money settlements? Those are pretty tough, those are pretty weighty responsibilities.
And, secondly, we're to examine how this happened, who was at fault, what policy was created that permitted this to occur. And I think that is going to give us enormous ability, if not subpoena with a large S, subpoena with a small S to get to the bottom of what occurred. WOODRUFF: But if you don't have the...
KEATING: But none of us want to waste our time.
WOODRUFF: But if you don't have the ability, Governor, to remove those bishops who may have covered up what they have known about, who may have protected abusers, is this really ultimately going to do any good?
KEATING: Well, I really believe it will, Judy. And it is true that, from a technical standpoint, we don't have the authority to remove a bishop. Only the pope does.
But let's be realistic. The Catholic lay community fill up the pews. The Catholic lay community write the checks. If a particular bishop has moved a pedophile priest, an evil man, a criminal, from child to child, and we expose that, and nothing has happened to that priest, nothing has happened to that bishop, I can't imagine the laypeople in that diocese wouldn't rise up in a rage and demand that that person be removed. And I think, ultimately, he would be removed.
It's the power of persuasion, the power of what you're doing right now: to bring to the attention of the world community this scandal. And I think there will be results. I'm quite confident there will be, because all of us want to achieve the same thing, namely a healthier Catholic Church.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Outgoing Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating taking on a new role as the chairman of the national review board to ensure that new Catholic rules on sexual abuse are enforced.
Next up: the Bushes of Kennebunkport. What is the main attraction of a town enjoyed by two presidents?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: With the help of WYFF out of South Carolina, we are bringing you some pictures out of Anderson, South Carolina. There has been a crash down there. We are told that a Greyhound bus rear-ended a tractor-trailer. Anderson is somewhere near Greenville, South Carolina. That is pretty much all we know at this point. We don't have any word on injuries. Obviously, as soon as we do get some word, we will let you know.
In the meantime, President Bush is spending the weekend and his 56th birthday tomorrow with his family in Kennebunkport, Maine, a town that has been a special place for the Bushes for almost 100 years.
To find out why, our White House correspondent Kelly Wallace caught up with Kennebunkport's unofficial historian.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Tom, tell us, what makes Kennebunkport so special?
TOM BRADBURY, LOCAL HISTORIAN: Kennebunkport is a pretty unique blend of the old and new. It is a town that dates back almost 350 years. And it has gone through a number of stages during that development.
There were times when it was the poorest town in the state of Maine. And it went from there to being the second wealthiest in the state of Maine because of shipbuilding that took place on the river here. After the shipbuilding faded, it went into the years of the summer visitor, where people would arrive just for the summer season. That's when the Walkers came, President Bush's family.
And we've evolved now into kind of a year-round community. But, through it all, there has emerged the blend of the old and new that is appealing.
WALLACE: Tell us about former President Bush, how much he loves this place.
BRADBURY: Former President Bush, this is one of his really special places. He has come here every summer season, except one, which was when he was in the Pacific during World War II. So he's been here his entire life. And I know it means a lot to him personally as a place, a getaway, a place to relax.
But he also spent a lot of his time -- his foreign diplomacy was based around here, because he would bring a lot of foreign leaders that would come. And he'd get them relaxed in a setting that wasn't like Washington. And they'd get to know each other. And when times were rougher, he was able to call them up and talk on a more familiar basis.
WALLACE: How does the town feel, though, that the current president only likes to come here once a year? He prefers spending most of his summer in Crawford, Texas.
BRADBURY: Well, all of us realize that Texas is his love. And that's where he was brought up. And that's his home. And we're flattered at whatever time he spends here. So we're happy to see him whenever he comes.
WALLACE: What does this mean now to be a town of two presidents? I mean, how popular is Kennebunkport now?
BRADBURY: It is pretty amazing when you stop and think about it. It is an amazing time in history, because it is so very, very rare that you would have a father-son presidency. And the fact that it happened here is incredibly historical and something that we're trying to record as we go along.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: CNN correspondent Kelly Wallace, one of the few perks of being a White House correspondent, in beautiful Kennebunkport.
A tactic worthy of the "Political Play of the Week" when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CROWLEY: It is Friday. You know what that means. It is time for Bill Schneider to present his coveted "Play of the Week."
Bill is with us today from L.A.
SCHNEIDER: Well, you know, Candy, the United States was founded on a tax revolt. And that tradition is alive and well in this week's "Political Play of the Week."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): 1773: tax protesters. Nashville, 2002: Tennessee's four-year revenue crisis came to a head this week with a July 1 budget deadline, an $800 million deficit, and stalemate in the state legislature.
LT. GOV. JOHN WILDER (D), TENNESSEE: We need to vote. We need to vote, vote, vote.
SCHNEIDER: They did. The legislature rejected a plan that would have mostly raised business taxes. And it rejected another plan that would have slashed state spending. What about a state income tax? Tennessee is one of only nine states without one.
Both the Republican governor, Don Sundquist, and the Democratic House speaker, Jimmy Naifeh, support an income tax. Enter the people. For days, anti-tax protesters, stirred up by the threat of an income tax, surrounded the state Capitol in Nashville with a wall of noise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jimmy Naifeh has done proved that he is nothing but a liar. We don't need a liar up there trying to run this government and tell us what we want and what we don't want.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're nothing more than a common criminal.
SCHNEIDER: What to do?
WILDER: Well, I'm not going to shut the state down, you hear me? I'm not going to shut the state down.
SCHNEIDER: But they did for three days this week: 22,000 state workers furloughed, motor vehicle bureaus shut down, university classes canceled, highway rest stops closed. Uh-oh, travelers had to head for the trees; 70 percent of Tennessee voters said the problem was overspending by government, not a revenue shortage, according to a Mason-Dixon poll.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give it up. Just figure out something, anything, but without doing a state income tax. Everybody gets enough of our money already.
SCHNEIDER: OK, OK, no income tax.
BEN WEST (D), TENNESSEE STATE REPRESENTATIVE: What it did is that it defeated the state income tax, which was my goal.
JIMMY NAIFEH (D), TENNESSEE HOUSE SPEAKER: But, at the end of the day, we just didn't have the votes to get it passed.
SCHNEIDER: Now what? Wednesday night, backs to the wall, the Tennessee House rounded up exactly 50 votes needed to raise the state sales tax. The government can reopen. Hooray -- sort of.
HENRI BROOKS (D), TENNESSEE STATE REPRESENTATIVE: We are balancing the budget again on the backs of poor people.
SCHNEIDER: Tennessee ends up with one of the highest sales taxes in the country, but no income tax. For a hardy band of tax protesters, stopping the dreaded income tax was a victory, and the "Political Play of the Week."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: You've heard taxation without representation is tyranny. But is taxation with representation political suicide? Well, we'll see what happens when Tennessee has a primary on August the 1st -- Candy.
CROWLEY: Thanks, Bill Schneider, in Los Angeles.
That is it for INSIDE POLITICS. "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS" is next.
Judy is back Monday. I'm Candy Crowley.
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