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CNN Live At Daybreak

President Bush Rallies the Nation

Aired November 09, 2001 - 07:00   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush rallies the nation, saying it's time to move forward in the war against terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My fellow Americans, let's roll.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: The president's phrase echoed one of the heroes who took on the hijackers. An armed presence to calm the fears of Thanksgiving travelers -- expanding the National Guard's role in airport security. And the search for a kidnapped girl in New Jersey. A family that survived September 11 now faces a new nightmare. And Barbara Walters touts New York. Some big names come to the aid of the Big Apple in a new ad campaign.

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us. It's Friday, November 9. From New York, I'm Paula Zahn.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Miles O'Brien and that was definitely not Barbara Walters.

ZAHN: Yes, I was just going to say...

O'BRIEN: Just to clarify that point.

ZAHN: She wasn't going to be too happy with that characterization.

O'BRIEN: Yes, exactly.

ZAHN: But, you will see Barbara Walters and Dr. Henry Kissinger take to the air waves to sell this great city of ours, trying to encourage people to come...

O'BRIEN: You'll just have to stay tuned for that. Also ahead this morning, analyzing the president's speech. Historian Douglas Brinkley will talk about the key points, the context and how it compares to other war time addresses. And enlisting Hollywood in the fight against terrorism -- how the entertainment industry has helped during past wars and what might be done now. ZAHN: First, though, it's time to get to the very latest headlines. Let's check in with Bill Hemmer in Atlanta with our war alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Our great nation -- national challenge is to hunt down the terrorists and strengthen our protection against future attacks. Our great national opportunity is to preserve forever the good that has resulted. Through this tragedy we are renewing and reclaiming our strong American values.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It might work a bit better now with the microphone on. President Bush listed steps last night taken to protect Americans, and among them, putting 18,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide on high alert, tightening security at airports, harbors and nuclear power plants, and also creating a new cabinet level agency to coordinate the government's response to terrorist threats.

Defense attorneys upset today about new Justice Department rules that appear to sidestep lawyer-client privacy. The rules allow investigators to monitor phone calls and mail between terrorist suspects and their lawyers. That's allowed when Attorney General John Ashcroft concludes the messages might be related to future terrorist acts.

From Afghanistan now, U.S. bombs have been falling without letup since yesterday afternoon. The targets include Taliban headquarters in Kandahar and Taliban troop positions north of Kabul. Waves of bombing runs are reported over front line positions as opposition Afghan forces try to break through the Taliban lines and capture that strategic town in the north of Mazir-e-Sharif.

The aircraft carrier Enterprise returns home tomorrow from the war front. It's stationed there in the Indian Ocean. And a welcoming party being prepared in Norfolk, Virginia. Forty-six navy jets are arriving today at the naval air station there. CNN's Jonathan Aiken in a live report from there in about two hours time, 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West.

A critical in depth report that quotes several experts is listing what it calls missteps in the federal investigation of the anthrax attacks. The "New York Times" reporting now, saying investigators may have missed opportunities to gather valuable evidence. It cites destruction of collected anthrax samples at Iowa State University and says investigators asked general questions unlikely to elicit new evidence.

In New Jersey, the Belmar postal facility where anthrax was detected last weekend has reopened on orders of a federal judge. The facility decontaminated and during a five hour hearing yesterday, postal service and local union officials reached an agreement on reopening that facility. In New York, police say they have finished tracing Kathy Nguyen's final travels using her subway card and officers say they still have no strong leads on the source of the anthrax that killed that hospital worker. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrives later today in New York, an 81 Norway spruce cut yesterday in Wayne, New Jersey. It'll be set up overlooking the Rockefeller Center skating rink there and decorated with thousands of lights to be turned on during a ceremony on the 28th of November.

A lot more coming up bottom of the hour. Now back to Paula in New York -- it works a lot better when you can hear me, right?

ZAHN: Well, yes, much better.

HEMMER: We like it that way.

ZAHN: Now we can fully understand what you're saying.

HEMMER: Yes.

ZAHN: I'm just thinking about that family and the implications of losing that massive tree in their front yard. But they obviously are happy to share it with the rest of the world.

HEMMER: And an excellent contribution. The one from last year came from Ohio, by the way.

ZAHN: Oh?

HEMMER: You know, they search the area and try and find the best one. So we'll see it a bit later today.

ZAHN: I'll bet you're great at Trivial Pursuit, Bill. I didn't remember that from last year. I had no idea where last year's tree came from.

HEMMER: It came from the Cleveland area.

ZAHN: Thanks so much.

HEMMER: You got it. See you in a bit, OK?

ZAHN: As you probably just heard from Bill, because I think that's when his mike came back during his newscast, President Bush used a speech in Atlanta last night to rally the nation.

CNN White House Correspondent Kelly Wallace is standing by with more on the president's message. How did it play last night, Kelly?

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appeared to play quite well, Paula. You can see the response President Bush received in Atlanta. The message really was one to inspire and reassure Americans. The headline really, President Bush saying since the September 11 attacks, the federal government has new responsibilities. And so he outlined all the steps the government was taking to make Americans safer. He also, though, said every day Americans have new responsibilities and so they are in Atlanta last night. He announced the creation of what he wants to see, a civil defense force -- you could think of this like your local volunteer fire department -- to help respond to local emergencies. But he also said every American can become a September 11 volunteer by getting more involved in their communities.

Now, the president also addressed some criticisms and concerns of these very general FBI alerts warning of imminent terrorist attacks. Mr. Bush offering this guidance to an anxious nation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: A terrorism alert is not a signal to stop your life. It is a call to be vigilant, to know that your government is on high alert and to add your eyes and ears to our efforts to find and stop those who want to do us harm. A lot of people are working really hard to protect America. But in the long run, the best way to defend our homeland, the best way to make sure our children can live in peace is to take the battle to the enemy and to stop them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And that comment received one of at least 11 standing ovations for the president. But again, in his speech to reassure Americans, the president indicated that the government doing everything possible to find out who is responsible for sending those anthrax laced letters. But still investigators don't know, again, who was responsible.

And also on the issue of airline security, the president pressing the House and the Senate to resolve their differences, in particular over whether airport and baggage screeners should become federal employees. But that issue somewhat deadlocked right now. So today the president using his executive powers to expand the presence of National Guard troops at the airports around the country. Paula, senior officials say the president viewing this as a necessary stopgap measure until Congress gets a bill to his desk -- Paula.

ZAHN: All right, Kelly, thanks so much.

Miles noticed that most of us probably got the blue shirt memo today. I know you can't see me on camera, I can see you, but it is purely coincidental that we look like we are twins this morning.

The President Bush's Atlanta speech was intended to reassure Americans and boost our national morale after two months of death, destruction and anthrax anxiety. Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley now joins us from Portland, Oregon with his take on the speech. Douglas Brinkley is director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies at the University of New Orleans.

Good to see you back here again. Welcome.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Good morning, Paula. ZAHN: So I think Kelly made it quite clear that the challenge that the president had going into the speech last night was to try to boost the confidence of the American public and at the same time lay out the complexity of this war we now find ourselves in. Let's quickly listen to a small part of that speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The second attack against America came in the mail. We do not know whether this attack came from the same terrorists. We don't know the origin of the anthrax. But whoever did this unprecedented and uncivilized act is a terrorist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: Well, the president was being very honest last night. Did you find those words reassuring?

BRINKLEY: Well, they were reassuring and he -- that's basically what that was. It was a combination of reassuring the nation that the war on terrorism is going forward in a positive fashion, that there is a homeland security program under way and mainly just, it was a pep rally and I think we're going to see a lot of pep rallies in the coming months to keep reminding us that he is not giving in and things are still moving forward.

And it's also a great opportunity to praise people like postal workers or the U.S. armed forces for the jobs they're doing.

ZAHN: But he had to admit in that particular part of the speech that he didn't know and the government doesn't know the source of the anthrax.

BRINKLEY: Well, that's right, and that's, of course, problematic for him and it's something that's causing his administration a lot of grief and it's causing all Americans a lot of grief and there's no easy solution to it. And the FBI recently caught some tough licks from Congress and the Senate when they had to talk to them about the situation. So there's no easy answer to that.

But the one thing President Bush is making sure he doesn't do is what Jimmy Carter did during the Iranian hostage crisis, and that's there's no Rose Garden strategy here. There's no hiding. He purposely went to Atlanta. He had a big crowd, a mixed assortment of Americans. He's going around the country quite a bit and he's saying I'm not hiding, I'm a president that you're going to be able to listen to, to touch, to see. I'm proactive. And he's telling all of us to get back to doing our normal, living our normal lives, which most of us are now doing.

ZAHN: And you said earlier on he took the opportunity obviously to praise the courage of the firefighters and police department officials that went into the World Trade Center site. But he also took the opportunity once again to become a cheerleader for the American public.

Let's listen to that small part of the speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: We have refused to live in a state of panic or a state of denial. There is a difference between being alert and being intimidated and this great nation will never be intimidated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: That last phrase certainly has to have some resonance with the American public, doesn't it, given the overwhelming popularity of the president right now?

BRINKLEY: Well, that's what he's done so well. He's talked directly at us. I think the reason why President Bush is so high in the polls is he always seems authentic and he always seems like he's caring about the American people and it seems quite genuine. And, you know, what reminded me the whole last night, really, was Harry Truman in 1947 after he started, really, the beginning of the cold war, by 1949 when the Soviet Union got nuclear weapons, he had a program called Alert America. And Truman would go around and give speeches around the country about civil defense, about the need to, you know, do things in case of a nuclear attack and the need to build fallout shelters. And I think we're seeing President Bush doing that, talking about different ways that we can all participate in this war on terrorism in our own communities.

ZAHN: But the speech last night certainly wasn't meant to have the same impact, though, was it, of the speech that the president delivered to the joint session of Congress a month ago or two?

BRINKLEY: No. The joint session of Congress speech was one of the great presidential speeches in recent memory and it was the landmark speech for President Bush that defined him and defined this war on terrorism. This was a stopgap speech, as I called it earlier, a pep rally. We're going to be seeing a lot of these. He's going to maybe have to do a press conference a month from now and he'll have to do something on the six month anniversary of the September 11 bombing. He's going to have to keep coming forward.

A couple of the television networks last evening didn't even carry, you know, the speech, because it wasn't seen as something that was news breaking and historic as much as it was something that almost pro forma he had to do and will have to continue doing periodically.

ZAHN: We should make it clear, of course, CNN arrived the address live. But if you tuned into NBC last night at that same time you would have seen "Friends." And if you had tuned into CBS, you would have seen "Survivor." So was the profit motive here the only factor in the networks' decisions last night?

BRINKLEY: I think so, and that's maybe the good news. The good news is some of America was, you know, CNN, of course, would naturally carry it. It's your guys mission to carry that. But some of the networks decided well, the president wants us to go back to normal, then we're going to carry our normal programming. I'm not sure that was good for President Bush. I think he would have preferred to have gotten his message out to as many people. But it is an indication that things are starting to get back to normal a little bit, just like the stock market is getting back to normal and people are starting to live their lives again and put the September 11 bombings a little bit in the back burner of their minds.

ZAHN: Well, we very much appreciate your insights and we hope your life can get back to normal after your 3:00 a.m. wakeup call this morning.

Douglas Brinkley joining us from Portland, Oregon this morning. Again, appreciate your joining us.

BRINKLEY: Thanks, Paula.

ZAHN: Take care.

BRINKLEY: Bye.

ZAHN: Miles.

O'BRIEN: I'm not sure you ever get used to those 3:00 a.m. calls.

ZAHN: Wooh.

O'BRIEN: Authorities in Spring Lake, New Jersey are searching for a 6-year-old girl kidnapped from her front yard. The family had lived in Battery Park City, an area near the World Trade Center, which was shut down after September 11. They moved to their summer home in New Jersey after the terror attack.

Reporter Adrianna Rodriguez (ph) of CNN affiliate WABC has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL CARDELFE, ANNA CARDELFE'S FATHER: Anna, mom and dad and your brothers and sisters miss you dearly. We love you. Be strong.

ADRIANNA RODRIGUEZ, WABC CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A tearful plea from a devastated father after his 6-year-old daughter is abducted in broad daylight. It happened outside the Cardelfe home Thursday at around noon. Six-year-old Anna had the day off from school and was playing outside with a 4-year-old friend. Her parents were at work and the babysitter was inside the home. Police say the kidnapper was bold.

ROBERT HONECKER, MONMOUTH COUNTY ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR: Individuals have described a white male approximately 30 years of age as the abductor. He approached Anna on her front lawn, had her enter the vehicle and then fled.

RODRIGUEZ: The FBI is reportedly investigating a ransom note. It was left just blocks from the family home on a light post. The family says they will do whatever it takes. CARDELFE: If you have Anna and you are watching this, please know we will do whatever is needed for her safe return. Please bring our daughter home safely.

RODRIGUEZ: And like many disappearances, there aren't a wealth of clues for investigators to go on.

HONECKER: The best information that we have is coming from the 4-year-old. However, we also believe that some information that has been provided to us is coming from individuals who may have been in or around the area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: That was Adrianna Rodriguez of CNN affiliate WABC.

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