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Inside Politics
Will an Assassination Attempt on Karzai Escalate the War in Afghanistan?; Cheney, Tenet Talk to Congressional Leaders About Iraq
Aired September 05, 2002 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington.
Afghanistan is hit with the worst day of violence since the Taliban was taken out. What might it mean for the war on terror?
KATE SNOW, CONGRESSIONAL CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Snow on Capitol Hill where the vice president and CIA director have been confronted by lawmakers, answering some of their questions about a potential war with Iraq.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I'm Bill Schneider in Washington. Does President Bush need to pass some important tests on Iraq? The American people think so.
WOODRUFF: Also, ahead, we'll check the mood of the country by checking out the new fall TV season.
CNN ANCHOR: Live from Washington, this is INSIDE POLITICS with Judy Woodruff.
WOODRUFF: Thank you for joining us. We are now waiting for a news conference out of Utah on a terrorist alarm that was sounded this morning at a chemical storage depot in Tooele, southwest of Salt Lake City. Investigators say the alarm was triggered because of a possible intrusion within a fenced area of the facility. We have early reports from the Office of Homeland Security that nothing has been tampered with or stolen.
We hope to get more details when that briefing gets underway in just a few moments.
Some bloody reminders today of the dangers that still exist in Afghanistan even as the United States considers moving into battlefields in Iraq.
The Afghan government says President Hamid Karzai was the target of an assassination attempt in Kandahar just hours after a deadly explosion in the capital city of Kabul.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour is in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Hamid Karzai was in the Taliban's former stronghold of Kandahar to attend his brother's wedding. As he was leaving the governor's mansion, an Afghan in military uniform opened fire, wounding the governor, but missing Karzai.
DR. ABDULLAH, AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Of course this was clearly an assassination attempt on his life, and which we had unfortunately injured other people in the spot that the assassination attempt on the president himself failed.
AMANPOUR: One of Karzai's Afghan bodyguards was killed in a shoot-out with the gunman who was also killed. Shortly afterwards, the U.S. airlifted President Karzai back to Kabul.
Karzai is protected by U.S. Special Forces. His survival and that of his government are considered vital to the U.S. war on terrorism and to the future stability of Afghanistan.
The assassination attempt came after a massive car bomb rocked downtown Kabul Thursday afternoon. It happened in a crowded commercial area and caused heavy casualties.
Kabul's security chief said that first a cyclist set off a small explosion that quickly attracted onlookers. A few minutes later, once a large crowd had gathered, there was a second much bigger and deadlier explosion.
Casualties were ferried to three hospitals in Kabul. Outside one people, some splattered with blood, waited for news of their relatives while a list of more than 40 wounded was posted on walls across the street.
(on camera): This is the worst attack in Kabul since the defeat of the Taliban last November. Officials had warned to be on alert for any disturbances in the days leading up to the anniversary of September 11. And already, some angry Afghan security officials are blaming Taliban and al Qaeda elements and a rival factional warlord who has promised to drive foreign forces out of Afghanistan.
(voice over): Pending a full investigation, the government believes both the bombing and the attempt on the president's life are linked to Osama bin Laden.
ABDULLAH: Terrorists in this region are lead by Osama and his associates. So it is -- it will be right for me to say that the main suspects are terrorists lead by Osama.
AMANPOUR: International peacekeeping forces rushed to the scene of the car bomb. Some 5,000 patrol Kabul, but for months now President Karzai and his government have been demanding the force be enlarged and expanded around the country to give Afghanistan a fighting chance at security and stability.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: From Afghanistan, we turn to Iraq and the Bush administration's case against Saddam Hussein. The president has sent some of his biggest guns to Capitol Hill a day after promising to seek congressional support for any attack on Iraq.
Here now, our congressional correspondent, Kate Snow -- Kate.
SNOW: Judy, Vice President Dick Cheney came up here; in fact, he is still here at this hour. We understand he will be here for a little while longer, along with George Tenet, the director of the CIA, who was here for a meeting with the top leadership.
I should tell you that Cheney is now meeting with the chairman of the Appropriations Committee in the House, Bill Young. We're told that that meeting was previously scheduled. We're told they're talking about those 13 spending bills that hang in the balance that need to get done between now and when the Congress next takes a recess. But what White House officials are not ruling out that perhaps he might also talk about Iraq's spending with Chairman Young. Perhaps that could come up given the climate up here on Capitol Hill.
Now one-and-a-half hours was the amount of the time that the meeting with the big four leaders took; quite a lengthy meeting. An hour-and-a-half with the leaders of the Senate and the leaders of the House. They emerged from that meeting. The senators we were able to catch up with in the hallway, Senator Trent Lott had this to say about the meeting with Vice President Cheney and George Tenet.
"It was certainly more detailed," he said, "than anything we have had. It was interesting and troubling." Those are the words of Senator Lott. He said it would give them, meaning lawmakers, a lot more to think about as certainly many senators have raised questions -- and House lawmakers have raised questions -- about the information the administration has as far as Iraq's capabilities go. What proof do they have that Saddam Hussein poses a threat with his weapons of mass destruction?
Senator Daschle earlier today, Judy, said he wanted more answers. Coming out of that meeting reporters asked him, "Did you get any answers?" And his answer was, "Many." In fact, he said, "I'm going to go talk to my colleagues now a little bit. But it was helpful. The meeting was helpful." He said, "We were in the position to ask a lot of good questions." He said he would have a lot more to say about this later on -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: Thanks, Kate.
I know a lot of members of the Senate will be interested to know. And just shortly I will have an interview with Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, who says she still has questions that need to be answered.
Well, if the vice president was at the Capitol, the president took his campaign for getting rid of Saddam Hussein directly to the American people during a swing through Kentucky and Indiana today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must anticipate problems before they occur. We must deal with threats to our security today before it can be too late.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is here. Bill, what sort of a challenge does the president face now as he tries to make this case to go after Iraq?
SCHNEIDER: Well, Judy, the public says he's got to pass three tests. We asked people whether the Bush administration has done enough to explain why the U.S. might take military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power. And the answer, "No," 58 percent. An attack on Iraq would be a preemptive strike. And that's something new for the United States.
A lot of Americans want to know, "What's provoking the U.S. to use force?"
Two, more than two-thirds of Americans say, "President Bush has got to get a resolution of support from Congress." Fine, the president says he will. But he intends to ask Congress for support, not for permission.
Three, two-thirds say, "It's necessary for President Bush to get a resolution of support from the U.N." The U.N. is just as important as to Americans as Congress, but the U.N. is likely to be a bigger challenge.
In 1991, the first President Bush found it easy to get U.N. support for the Persian Gulf War. But the vote in Congress then was close, Now the reverse is true. Congress is likely to support the president. But President Bush has not said he would even ask for United Nations resolution.
WOODRUFF: Bill, the mid-term elections this year, exactly two months from today on November the 5th. How much is this whole debate over Iraq likely to play as a role in these elections? I know two months can be a lifetime in politics. But what do you think?
SCHNEIDER: It's not, repeat not, the dominate issue so far. And that's a bit of a surprise.
We asked people, "Which issue will be more important to you when you vote for Congress this November, the economy or the possibility of war with Iraq?" Even though Iraq has dominated the news for the past month, Americans still say the economy will be more important by 57 to 34, about the same margin as last month.
Now Democrats worry that the agenda will shift from the economy to Iraq. And the reason they're worried, voters concerned about the economy favor Democrats by a big margin. But that shift has not happened.
Yesterday President Bush said, quote, "The process starts today," whereby he will make his case for war. With two months left to go, Iraq still could displace the economy.
WOODRUFF: All right, Bill, thanks very much.
Well, one of the things the administration is being pressed to do is to get international support for any action against Iraq. The Bush administration is considering whether to support a new and more aggressive round of United Nations weapons inspections.
National security correspondent David Ensor has more on this proposal and whether it will fly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the next few days, President Bush says, he will speak to the rest of the leaders of the Permanent U.N. Security Council countries, to the leaders of France, China, Russia and, this weekend, Britain.
Might the president offer to forego a full-scale invasion of Iraq? The U.N. will order a new round of so-called coercive inspections, inspections with troops to back them up?
Administration officials won't comment, but they do confirm the coercive inspections idea is getting some attention. Under a plan developed by an independent think tank, Saddam Hussein would be offered one alternative to a full-scale military attack: He must allow armed inspection teams to search his country aggressively for weapons of mass destruction. If they are stopped or fired upon, that would trigger an invasion by U.S. and other troops positioned in neighboring countries.
GEN. CHARLES BOYD (RET.), COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Any major opposition would simply call off the original bargain that you can be inspected effectively, or can be invaded: your choice.
ENSOR: The idea is to get around the problems faced by the last arms inspectors, who were kicked out of Iraq in 1998. When they got close to finding something, Iraq would usually stop them at gunpoint and hold them off until what they were looking for could be moved.
Last week Vice President Cheney said allowing inspectors back in would not solve anything.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The return of inspectors would provide no assurance whatsoever of his compliance with U.N. resolutions. On the contrary, there is a great danger that it would provide false comfort that Saddam was somehow back in his box.
Meanwhile, he would continue to plot.
ENSOR: However, the vice president may not have meant to rule out a more coercive type of inspections. Aides say they can imagine a robust inspections regime in the future that would work, though they stress they are not signaling the idea is on the table.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ENSOR: Many hawks on Iraq do not believe any sort of inspections regime backed up by massive force can ever be agreed on by the U.N. Security Council and then -- especially unlikely -- agreed to by Iraq.
Some do see the point, though, of going through the exercise, even if it will likely fail, in order to help build a consensus against Saddam Hussein prior to military action.
In any case, sources say Mr. Bush will explore a possible additional U.N. resolution against Iraq in his phone calls tomorrow -- Judy.
WOODRUFF: All right, David, thanks very much.
We'll go "On the Record" next with Senate Armed Services Committee Member Susan Collins, a Republican wary about an attack on Iraq.
Also ahead, we'll map out the dollars that have been flying in campaign ad wars.
Plus:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They cannot pack the courts with only conservative nominees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R-MS), MINORITY LEADER: Once again, the Senate Judiciary Committee has committed an extreme injustice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: A Bush judicial nominee goes down in a flash of partisan bickering.
And later, a cameo role in politics for two of Hollywood's most popular leading men.
This is INSIDE POLITICS, the place for campaign news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(AUDIO/VIDEO GAP)
WOODRUFF: ... the evidence he needs, to move forward, that Saddam has not complied with, requests that he get rid of, and no longer pursue weapons of mass destruction. Vice President Cheney says there is no doubt that he has weapons of mass destruction.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: The administration needs to share that information with those of us who are serving in the senate, as well as with our allies, and the American people. And I think the president is beginning to make the case. He met with some members of the senate and house yesterday. Secretary Rumsfeld briefed us yesterday afternoon. He did not answer a lot of the essential questions that I, have but it is the beginning, and an important beginning, in a dialogue, in which the administration will have the opportunity to make a compelling case.
And I want to emphasize, that the administration may well be able to make that case. And to convince those of us who have a lot of questions. But right now, I need more information about the extent of the threat, how serious is it, how imminent is it. And what is the best way for us to respond to the threat.
WOODRUFF: What -- when I guess what I am asking is, what evidence do you need? Do you have to believe that a threat is imminent before you would be willing to support a preemptive strike?
COLLINS: I have to have more information about Saddam Hussein's development of weapons of mass destruction. Right now, the reports that I have received are spotty and conflicting. It may well be that the administration has more evidence, and is getting ready to share it with those of us in congress. We are going to have to make a decision on whether or not to authorize an act of war. And I want to make sure that I do so knowing all of the information.
WOODRUFF: What about the administration argument that they cannot tell most members of congress, because they think the information will leak?
COLLINS: In this case, there is a broader audience for this information; I think this is something that the administration is going to have to trust those of us, in congress. Some of the information is declassified, that they could give us. The administration also needs to share as much information as possible, with the American public, which right now, I think, is having a growing unease, about military action.
WOODRUFF: Do you think they have the information, and they just have not shared it, or do you think they may not actually have this evidence?
COLLINS: That is a good question, and I do not know the answer to that. And, that is why I look forward to getting further briefings from the administration. I suspect that they have more information than has been shared with us to date, and I look forward to receiving that.
WOODRUFF: All right, Senator Susan Collins, thanks very much.
COLLINS: Thank you, Judy.
WOODRUFF: We will have more on the White House case for a strike against Iraq, ahead in our "Taking Issue" segment.
Up next: details on Afghanistan's worst violence in months, including an assassination attempt against the nation's president. But first, let us turn to Rhonda Schaffler. She is at the New York Stock Exchange for a market update.
Rhonda, another down day.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Judy. Stocks falling sharply and broadly today, and wiping out all of the gains, from Wednesday's rally. Investors did not like a couple of reports on the economy today. Including one showing that services sector barely grew last month.
The Dow Jones Industrial average falling 141 points, Nasdaq shed 41 points, Standard & Poor's 500 fell as well.
Dismal back-to-school shopping figures from August, also putting investors on edge today. And it was not just department stores or mall-based retailers that came up short. Some of the discounters suffered as well. And that is raising the question now: Are consumers pulling back on spending?
Wal-Mart stock lost ground as that huge discounter missed last month's sales target. Intel slumped ahead of its mid-quarter update that is expected out shortly. Railroad operators CSX plunged on an earnings warning. But Procter & Gamble has a bright spot; the consumer products giant raised the bar for its quarterly profits.
Another factor weighing on investor's minds, the August employment report to be released before trading tomorrow. The unemployment rate expected to hold steady at 5.9 percent. That is the latest from Wall Street.
More INSIDE POLITICS after the break, including the political fallout from today's defeat of Bush judicial nominee Priscilla Owens.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Checking the "Newscycle": a gunman opened fire today on Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai. Mr. Karzai was not hurt, but the governor suffered, who was at his side, suffered a minor wound to the neck. A U.S. serviceman was also wounded. The gunman, who was wearing an Afghan army uniform, apparently was shot and killed by U.S. troops who were providing security for the president.
Officials at a chemical weapons storage facility in Utah today sounded a terrorist alarm after reports that a person had scaled a security fence and gained access to the facility. Police and security agents are searching the area for a possible intruder. We expect a news conference from authorities on the scene we will bring that to you live as soon as it gets under way.
Here in Washington, Judge Priscilla Owens' nomination to a federal appeals court has gone down to defeat. The senate judiciary committee voted down the nomination 10-9, along straight party lines.
In Kentucky, President Bush blasted the vote, and he accused opponents of distorting the judge's record. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: A handful of senators, acting on pure politics, did not let this good woman's name go forward. The United States Senate must act in better stead. This is -- treating a fine woman this way is bad for the country. It is bad for our bench. And I do not appreciate it one bit, and neither do the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: With us now former Gore campaign manager, Donna Brazile and Bay Buchanan, President of American Cause.
I do not think there is any doubt about how the president feels about his nominee going down to defeat. But Donna and Bay, let me read to you quickly what the chairman of the judiciary committee, Democrat Patrick Leahy said about all this.
He said: "I would hope that is there is any lesson in here for the White House, it is that we have no objection to the conservative Republicans, but ideologues are not going to make it."
DONNA BRAZILE, FORMER GORE CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Absolutely.
WOODRUFF: Donna?
BRAZILE: Look, the Judiciary Committee has approved 73 of the president's judges, many of them are conservatives. But Miss Owens is a conservative of a rank that I have not seen before. Even Mr. Gonzales in White House said that her views at times exhibit judicial activism.
So I think the Democrats were absolutely correct today to defeat her nomination.
BAY BUCHANAN, FORMER BUCHANAN CAMPAIGN CHAIRWOMAN: It's outrageous. Totally outrageous. This is not about her issues, or what she did on -- when she is in court. This is about the fact that she holds same position as the pope on issue of life.
This is all this is about; the same thing with Judge Pickering about a year ago. They will not confirm, or send out to full Senate, anyone who is pro-life. That is the only issue.
And that's what is the absolute outrage. A traditional conservative is considered unqualified by the likes of Leahy and Biden and Kennedy. She stands so much higher than three of them, and the American people -- this should be issue in November, and I hope the RNC does that.
BRAZILE: The president promised to put judges on the bench who will interpret the law. And right now, Roe v. Wade is of law of the land. And if Miss Owens and other judicial nominees have a problem with the law of the land, then they should run for public office and not try serve on the judiciary. I do not think that is only issue. I think the Democrats made compelling case on her record on the environment, her record on civil rights, and her record on many other issues on consumer rights. And they looked at her entire record on the bench, and even the comments that were made by, even conservatives about her judicial activism.
BUCHANAN: Conversations within that committee, it is clear, from one to another, that those liberals, those old fogy liberals up there, have told their colleagues they will not support someone who is strongly pro-life. They just will not -- do not send them up.
And that is the message to George Bush. So when that Supreme Court comes up, they're sending a message, we are not putting them through.
And that is why it is imperative that the president goes to people, and lets country know, vote out the Democratic senators.
BRAZILE: No way.
(CROSSTALK)
WOODRUFF: ... much more sharp divisions than we do on this one.
All right, let me change the subject to Iraq, it is on everybody's mind right now. The president says I am going to Congress, I am going to seek approval and Vice President Cheney today on the Hill meeting secretly with the four top congressional leaders.
Any doubt in your mind, Donna, that the president is going to ultimately be able to make his case to the Congress?
BRAZILE: Well, I think he has to make a stronger case to the Congress, as well as to American people, and of course, our allies.
I think next week, the world will be waiting with bated breath to see if the president makes a compelling case on why we should go forward. Also I think the president needs lay out what happens after Saddam is toppled, and who will pay for the economic as well as the political mess that occurs in the country once that occurs.
But right now, they do not have a coherent message, they do not have a coherent strategy, and it appears that the vice president is up there just to shore up what he said last week.
BUCHANAN: You know, it's amazing that the vice president or Secretary Rumsfeld went up there and had these conversations and gave these senators nothing. Gave them nothing additional.
It suggests to me strongly, they want to do this. I think they are wise to say they want to go to the -- to Congress and talk to them, that they need to make certain that they approve of this, and to American people, and have this debate. I think that's extraordinarily positive.
But Judy, they do not have the evidence, in my personal opinion. There is not imminent threat. And unless they prove that, I do not know that they are going to get the approval of Congress.
WOODRUFF: We do have Trent Lott coming out, though, of this meeting with the vice president today saying the information they heard today was troubling, suggesting there's something new there. Now, we do not know what that is. And they just talked to the four leaders. We do not know.
BRAZILE: And that's why I believe it must be a campaign beyond rhetoric and just calling Saddam evil. We all know he's evil, we know he's crazy.
But I believe the administration -- it's up to administration to really point out why he's a threat right now.
BUCHANAN: And I do not believe they're going to do that. If this -- what is it that we know that Israel doesn't know? And they don't seem to be even anywhere near as nervous about him as we are.
BRAZILE: Well, what about allies. And who will help us pay for -- and there are a lot of questions that must be raised.
WOODRUFF: We are going to leave it there. You guys are supposed to be answering the questions, not raising them. But that's alright. You can do that this time.
Donna, Bay, thank you both. We appreciate it.
BRAZILE: You are welcome. Thank you.
WOODRUFF: Time now to check in
WOODRUFF: And we're going to leave it there.
You guys are supposed to be answering the questions, not raising them. But that's all right. You can do that this time.
Donna, Bay, thank you both. We appreciate it.
BUCHANAN: You're welcome.
BRAZILE: Thank you.
WOODRUFF: Time now to check in on campaigns around the country, where big money is being spent on television ads. David Peeler of Competitive Media Reporting with me now from New York.
David, all right, where are you seeing the most money being spent right now?
DAVID PEELER, CNN MEDIA CONSULTANT: Well, Judy, it is pretty interesting.
We're three days into the traditional election season and it is a little bit of a surprise for us. We're seeing the big money so far spent in the governor's races. There are 36 governor's races up for grabs this year; 12 of those are considered to be competitive races. So far, in three days into the campaign season, plus what we saw in the primary season, they have spent $175 million.
What's really the story here is the rate of spending. If you look at some of the big states like California, Davis is spending at a rate of about $1 million per week. Moving on to Texas -- or in New York -- excuse me -- Golisano, who is challenging Pataki, is spending at a rate of $12 million. And he's just running in the primary at this point. Sanchez in Texas is spending at $1 million per week.
So what we are anticipating as we go through this election cycle is that, at this rate of spending, in the governor's races alone, we could see almost half a billion or more than a half a billion dollars spent between now and Election Day. That's a tremendous amount of money and more money than we thought we'd see in the governor's race.
Moving on to the Senate races, there are 34 Senate races, of which about 12, again, are competitive races. So far to date, we've seen $42 million spent by those campaigns. Interesting here is that the state parties, we've seen $14 million spent by the state parties in these races. That's a story that we're going to see between now and Election Day. The story here is, this is the last time before campaign finance laws kick in. You know those state parties are really going to support these races and they're going to move on to them.
In the House races, the story is pretty much the same. Every House is up. We've seen about $40 million spent year to date. We expect that the rate of spending at the House level will go well over $200 million, $250 million between now and Election Day. So it's a very, very competitive contest this year. There's a lot of money out there. There's been a lot of money raised. And there's going to be a lot of money spent.
WOODRUFF: All right, David Peeler -- probably a lot of happy TV stations and happy ad agencies out there and happy consultants are the ones who are collecting all this money. Thanks a lot.
PEELER: Thank you.
WOODRUFF: Well, one tough new ad up and running in New Jersey goes after incumbent Democratic Senator Robert Torricelli. The spot was paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee. And it responds to a recent Torricelli ad targeting Republican his challenger, Doug Forrester.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
ANNOUNCER: Bob Torricelli made thousands trading stocks with inside tips, lied about keeping his assets in a blind trust. And now Bob Torricelli has the nerve to attack a good man, Doug Forrester. Bob Torricelli thinks New Jersey will tolerate lies and corruption. Call Bob Torricelli. Tell him we won't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Torricelli and Forrester will meet in their first debate tonight. We'll have a report on that debate on tomorrow's INSIDE POLITICS.
The "Inside Buzz" is next on the 2004 race for the White House and Janet Reno's face-off in Florida. Our Bob Novak tells us what he is hearing about her primary chances.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): This Capitol hideaway may have the best view in Washington, a perk for this senior lawmaker. In one corner: an historic desk passed on from father to son to brother; a chess set: England and Ireland square off; a bookshelf filled with memories: our subject and his son at a football game.
Whose crib is it? More clues ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: Is Al Gore running for president again or not? Gore's absence from the trail for much of the summer helped to fuel speculation that the answer was no.
But now Gore aides say the former vice president is stepping up his political travels. He will travel to Iowa and New Hampshire during the closing weeks of the 2002 congressional campaign. He also plans appearances this month in Tennessee, Florida, New Mexico, Minnesota, California, New York, and here in Washington to do some fund-raising and stump for Democratic candidates.
Senator John Edwards has been actively laying groundwork for a White House bid. And a new ad may figure into his pursuit of the presidency. The North Carolina Democrat plans to spend about $1 million airing a patriotic get-out-the-vote-type spot in his home state, even though he is not running for reelection this fall. The Edwards camp tells CNN the ads have been taped, but, contrary to some speculation, they will not run in Iowa, New Hampshire or anywhere else outside of North Carolina.
Bob Novak joins us now with some "Inside Buzz."
Bob, new developments in the Republican Senate race in New Hampshire.
ROBERT NOVAK, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, that's between incumbent Senator Bob Smith and Congressman John E. Sununu, undoubtedly, Judy, the meanest Republican primary in the country.
And it looked as though Sununu was slipping, but the latest polls show he is back in a substantial double-digit lead. Now, the WMUR lead showing 20 points difference, I don't take that seriously. But there are private polls showing a better-than-10-point lead by Sununu. That's music to the ears of the White House and the Republican establishment, which feels that Sununu has a much better chance against Democratic Governor Jeanne Shaheen than Bob Smith would.
WOODRUFF: Something else that may not be music to the ears at the White House is that Florida gubernatorial Democratic primary. What are you hearing down there about Reno-McBride?
NOVAK: Everybody agrees that, on Tuesday, Palm Beach lawyer Bill McBride, who was way, way behind, is going to catch and defeat former Attorney General Janet Reno.
That's testament to the power of the teachers union. They have just gone out with volunteers and money for McBride and turned the tide. It is bad news for Jeb Bush, who really wanted to run against Janet Reno. He's got a race on his hands against McBride.
WOODRUFF: Over to Missouri, Bob. What are you hearing about Jean Carnahan's chances?
NOVAK: She is slipping.
The widow of former Governor Carnahan, appointed senator, had a seven-point lead a couple of months ago. In private polls, now she has fallen behind former Congressman Jim Talent. Now, the little twist on this is that there is word that the Republican secretary of state of Missouri says that he will certify Talent if he wins immediately after the election, replacing an appointed senator.
That would give the Republicans the majority again in the Senate if there is a lame-duck session. Now, things like this usually don't happen, but it's been the buzz of Capitol Hill today.
WOODRUFF: Last but not least, some money changing hands in Washington tonight?
NOVAK: Yes, well, it's next week, Judy.
This is the fund-raising season, when all kinds of candidates come in from the hither lands for the big Washington bucks. And one of the invitations crossing the desk of Washington lobbyists is a guy named Bob Odell. Now, most of these candidates are for the Senate or for governor. What's Bob Odell running for? He's a state representative in New Hampshire running for the state Senate. So he's having a $1,000 dinner at the Caucus Room, a big expensive lobbyist hangout in Washington. The invitation comes from Fred Bush, the president's uncle. He has a big lobbyist, Ed Rogers, on his list. He has Eddie Mahe, a Republican consultant, on the list. Chuck Hagel is on top of the list. This guy has raised $100,000 to run for the legislature. And my sources in New Hampshire say he's probably going to lose.
(LAUGHTER)
WOODRUFF: Kind of hard to ignore it when the name Bush is on the invitation. All right, Bob, good to see you.
NOVAK: Thank you, Judy.
WOODRUFF: Thank you.
And now checking the headlines in our "Campaign News Daily": Outgoing Maryland Governor Parris Glendening is using leftover campaign money to pay for a radio ad in the Democratic primary for state comptroller. Now, this race pits incumbent William Donald Schaefer, a longtime Glendening rival, against challenger John Willis. The ad accuses Schaefer of being insensitive to women and African- Americans, a claim Schaefer denies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
ANNOUNCER: Unlike our current comptroller, William Donald Schaefer, John would never refer to women as "little girls" or to African-Americans as "afros." We've come too far to let something like that happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: Ouch.
In California, the race for governor is back to single digits, according to a new Field poll. The survey gives incumbent Democrat Gray Davis a seven-point edge over challenger Bill Simon. But voters appear to be unhappy with both candidates. Defeated GOP primary candidate Richard Riordan leads Governor Davis by a 15-point spread in a hypothetical matchup.
Two Hollywood leading men have landed cameo roles in Massachusetts politics. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are helping a high school friend's campaign to be a state representative. Damon has even taped a phone message urging voters to support Marjorie Decker in her September 17 primary challenge to a Democratic incumbent.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MATT DAMON, ACTOR: This is Matt Damon. And I want to make sure you know about my friend and high school classmate Marjorie Decker, who is running for state representative in the new Boston-Cambridge District.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: I wonder what people think when they pick up the phone on that one?
And one more campaign item: We've told you recently about a number of candidates grabbing their guns and heading out to go hunting. Well, here's photo confirmation for one of the candidates, Senator Jean Carnahan -- we mentioned her a minute ago -- seen here practicing her hunting skills in the great outdoors.
Just ahead: Hollywood goes for the tried and true. Our Jeff Greenfield looks to the fall TV season and finds some familiar themes which could hold a lesson for Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): More "Whose crib is it anyway?" This is one of those secretive Capitol hideaways: inside, a coffee table made from a schooner rudder, a relic from a nautical mishap; a room full of history, a fireplace, a mantle with family pictures; proudly displayed: a famous and beloved grandfather, the first son of immigrants to become mayor of a major city in the United States; a signpost from the village where his grandfather was born; a photograph of an admiring younger brother.
Got it yet? Who this amazing room belongs to after the break.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF (voice-over): Forty-two years in the Senate brings a lot of perks, including one of the best hideaways: a second office near the Senate floor. That coffee table? It comes from the schooner Mya. The senator's children gave it to him to remind him of the time he dinged the boat. The portrait: Honey Fitzgerald, grandpa Fitzgerald, first Irish immigrant mayor of Boston.
The boy in the photo? His name is Patrick. He's now a congressman. Dad is our mystery senator. And that desk, passed down from Ambassador Joseph Kennedy, to his son John, to our subject: Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
Congratulations if you got it. And our thanks to Senator Kennedy for showing us around.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: Well, if the fall television season is any indication, Americans are looking for the tried and true when it comes to entertainment. Is there a lesson here for political candidates?
Our Jeff Greenfield has more from Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: When politicians want to measure the mood of America, they take polls; they run focus groups. They might do better to look out here to Hollywood, specifically to the new fall TV season.
With billions in advertising dollars at stake, not to mention personal fortunes and reputations, this season represents Hollywood's intense efforts to really gauge the mood of America. And what this new season seems to be saying loud and clear is that Americans want reassurance, comfort, a safer time and place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THREE'S COMPANY")
JOHN RITTER, ACTOR: Chrissy, Chrissy, Chrissy, how come you never told us about Darlene?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD (voice-over): Remember when John Ritter was a sex- obsessed roommate of two women in "Three's Company?" Well now, on ABC's "Eight System Rules For Dating My Daughter," he's the put-upon father of teenage daughters, as hapless as any 1950s TV dad, as his daughters eagerly remind him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "8 SIMPLE RULES")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Stop here. Do not drop us off up front.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: And after we walk away, do not roll down the window and shout something out at after us.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Or honk.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Or wave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN DREAMS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Ladies and gentlemen, here are the Beach Boys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: Remember the innocence of the early 1960s? NBC hopes you do. In fact, that is their promo line for "American Dreams," set in the Philadelphia of the early '60s. It's the dream of young Megan to dance on "American Bandstand," a dream her father won't hear of, any more than he'll hear sex talk at the dinner table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "AMERICAN DREAMS")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: My mom is on the pill.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: What pill?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Actually, it's made of these little things.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I said that will do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Those aren't for you. Those are for other people's kids. They're bake sale cookies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: In fact, so hungry are we Americans supposed to be for a simpler, safer past that not one, but two different programs offer the same fantasy of going back in time to high school days. Here's ABC's "That Was Then."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THAT WAS THEN")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: All I'm saying is that I want to go back.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Go back to when?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Homecoming week 1988.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD: And here's the WB's "Do Over."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "DO OVER")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Joel, honey, hurry up. You don't want to be late for school.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: School?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GREENFIELD (on camera): This is just a small sample of what you'll be seeing. There are family comedies in the "Everybody Loves Raymond" style, even a revival of "A Family Affair," maybe the least threatening, gentlest comedy in TV history.
Now, maybe it's September 11, maybe the shaky economic future after the markets tanked. But if you're a politician this fall looking for prime-time clues, your motto ought to be, "Better safe than sorry."
Jeff Greenfield, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: And we'll remember that.
Well, this is also the back-to-school season, just the right time for actor and political activist Arnold Schwarzenegger to launch a new ad campaign for California's Proposition 49.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
ANNOUNCER: The hours between 3:00 and 6:00 are cited by law enforcement as prime time for juvenile crime, gang violence, alcohol and drug use. Prop 49 is after-school initiative. It's the idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: The goal is to take the kids off the streets after school and into a safe, supervised, educational environment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOODRUFF: The Citizens for After School Programs get major funding from Schwarzenegger. The new ads began airing across California this week and they will run through Election Day.
Well, as the anniversary of September the 11th nears, we will visit an exhibit of photographs that show New York's spirit and sorrow.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOODRUFF: As Americans prepare to mark the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks next week, many wonder: Has time healed the country's wounds?
Well, our new poll shows 27 percent of Americans say yes, but 71 percent say, no, those wounds still sting. Certain images of New York still burn in our memories and in a traveling photo exhibit.
Here now our national correspondent Bruce Morton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUCE MORTON, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started in a Soho storefront. By now, the pictures, maybe 1,000 of them, have traveled to several cities, been digitally reproduced, sold, nonprofit, have come to Washington's Corcoran Gallery, and will shortly be on the Ellipse.
It's called, "Here is New York: A Democracy of Photographs." And it's just that: black and white and color, amateur and professional, all here.
CHARLES TRAUB, EXHIBIT ORGANIZER: Everybody was approaching these pictures with the same kind of sense of tragedy and sense of horror and sense of togetherness. And that was very powerful and something people needed to be together about.
MORTON: The pictures are well- and badly-shot. And maybe that doesn't matter. Some of them will break your heart.
TRAUB: I think these pictures have become metaphors...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOODRUFF: We're going to interrupt that report -- we apologize -- to take you to Utah, where officials in Tooele County are talking about an apparent break-in, an effort to break in this morning at a chemical storage depot out there.
Let's listen in. This is perhaps the county commissioner.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please hold your questions until they have finished their statements. We ask you to limit yourself to one question and one follow-up, so that everyone will have a chance to ask a question. Then, if time permits, you may ask additional questions.
We would also like you to introduce yourself and your affiliation so that we can get your name in case it becomes necessary to get back with you. Finally, please keep your questions focused on discussing the depot incident that occurred here today, as that's the purpose of this briefing.
Ladies and gentlemen, Colonel Cooper.
COL. PETER COOPER, COMMANDER, DESERET CHEMICAL DEPOT: Thank you.
Good afternoon.
This morning, soldiers from the Utah National Guard who were patrolling the depot spotted an unidentified individual 1.5 kilometers from our chemical storage area. Forces responded to the sighting. And we implemented measures to ensure that the chemical storage area remained secure. These measures are designed to take all necessary actions in the case of an actual intruder. At this time, we cannot confirm an intruder. It has been a reported sighting only. We treat all incidents like this very seriously.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At approximately 9:24 this morning, Tooele County officials were notified by Deseret Chemical Depot officials that there had been an unidentified person breach the outside perimeter. And so Tooele County officials, an emergency management team went into action. And we immediately mobilized those people involved in Tooele County emergency management and was in constant contact with the people at Deseret Chemical Depot, continuously following the notification.
We were informed at that time that there was never -- that it appears that there was never a danger to any of the citizens or the public in general, that the personnel had been notified on the depot, and that it was a lockdown process going on at the depot. We feel like that everything has been handled very professionally and very properly. We hope to come to a quick conclusion as to the reason we may have had the incident.
Thank you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll also have available Kari Sagers, Tooele County emergency management director, and Lieutenant Lynn Bush (ph) from the Tooele County Sheriff's Office.
WOODRUFF: As you've been hearing officials say, at this point, they cannot confirm that an intruder came in.
But what we knew before that was that it was believed that there was an intruder on the outskirts of this chemical storage depot. This is a place where they store and where they destroy dangerous gases. Just recently, they destroyed a lot of sarin gas at this location. And, as you just heard officials say, at this point, they cannot confirm an intruder was there. They have locked down the facility.
What is reassuring, though, finally is, they said that at no point was the public or the facility in any danger. That's it from Utah for now.
That's also it for INSIDE POLITICS. I'm Judy Woodruff in Washington. Thank you for joining us. Tomorrow, we're in New York.
"WOLF BLITZER REPORTS" is next.
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