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Lou Dobbs Tonight
President Bush to speak at convention tonight, Hurricane Frances roaring toward coast of Florida; millions flee, Explosions heard at school where terrorists hold adults and children hostage
Aired September 02, 2004 - 18:00 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOU DOBBS, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, President Bush will tell voters America needs steady, consistent, and principled leadership. We'll have a preview of the president's speech live from the Republican National Convention.
Three top figures in the Republican Party, Republican National Committee Ed Gillespie, Congressman David Drier, and senator and majority whip Mitch McConnell, all join us.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R): What people are looking for in the next president is who can keep us safe...
DOBBS: Hurricane Frances is roaring toward the coast of Florida. More than 2 million people are fleeing. The hurricane is one of the biggest ever.
ED RAPPAPORT, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: It's really going to be a once-in-a-generation or once-in-a-lifetime impact, and so people need to prepare for just that.
DOBBS: We'll have the very latest for you on Frances, where the hurricane is expected to strike Florida, and when. We'll hear from the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield.
And in southern Russia, explosions tonight at a school where radical Islamist terrorists are holding as many as 1,000 adults and children hostage. We'll have a live report from the scene.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Thursday, September 2. Here now for an hour of news, debate, and opinion is Lou Dobbs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Good evening.
Tonight, President Bush will make his case for another four years in the White House in a primetime speech to the Republican National Convention. President Bush will accept his party's nomination and offer voters a clear program for his second term, then present himself as a resolute leader of a nation at war.
President Bush is expected to say that Americans want steady, consistent, and principled leadership. Senior White House correspondent John King reports. John?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And Lou, that speech four hours away from now here in the Madison Square Garden in New York, a defining moment for this incumbent president. He believes he has some momentum right now, but this is still an extraordinarily tight election, Mr. Bush hoping to leave New York with a bit more momentum and try to keep his lead heading into the campaign's final 60 days.
He was in the hall earlier today, an extraordinary setting for the speech tonight, theater in the round, if you will. Mr. Bush will be out among the delegates. He cracked a few jokes as he became comfortable with the podium.
Aides say he will defend his leadership in the war on terrorism tonight. He will join the convention chorus of what we have heard for three days, suggesting that by his votes in the Senate and by what Republicans say are shifting positions, the Democrat John Kerry has proven himself unfit to command the war on terror at what the president will say is a momentous moment in history.
And Mr. Bush also will outline what he will call a new liberty agenda, several new domestic initiatives aimed mostly at dealing with economic anxiety, new proposals for access to healthcare, new proposals for more retirement options. The president will say he wants to have flextime and other options for workers who are dealing with the stress of work and families. And the president will also promise to keep taxes low and to simplify the tax code.
Now, in an excerpt released by the White House, we get a summary, if you will, of the president's major theme. He will tell the American people this, "I am running for president with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership, and that is why, with your help, we will win this election."
Aides expect the speech to run about an hour. It comes on the fourth and final night of the Republican convention. Democrats have been saying what they hear in this convention hall the past three nights is anger, even hatred, attack after attack on Senator John Kerry. The Democrats say those attacks are proof to them that the White House believes it can only win if it demonizes President Bush's opponent.
First Lady Laura Bush told me earlier today she thinks maybe the Democrats are a bit too thin-skinned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH: I think we've seen the record of the senator that's running against my husband examined, and that's what happens when you get into politics. That's what happens when you run for office. And, you know, it happens to everybody. You get criticized, and that's just a fact of life in American politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Take a look at the backdrop for tonight's speech, not only theater in the round, but two giant mockups of the Statue of Liberty on the back of the stage. The White House says it fits with Mr. Bush's theme of this new liberty agenda, giving citizens, not government, more power. But it also is an unmistakable reminder of this city, the city hardest hit by the September 11 attacks.
Another constant Democratic criticism this week is that President Bush plays up fear of the possibility of another terrorist attack for political gain. The man who helped the president craft his speech tonight says not true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL GERSON, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE SPEECHWRITER: I don't know how it's possible to overplay the defense of the American people. The fact of the matter is, it's his most fundamental constitutional duty. And the threats are very real. And he sees them every day in a way that most Americans don't.
And so, you know, that is the most basic commitment of the president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Mr. Bush will address it just that way, call it his most basic, fundamental commitment, defending the American people, in his speech tonight -- Lou.
He will not even spend the night in New York after this speech. Aides say he will make his case to the American people, then it is off to Pennsylvania. Sixty days to election day, the president wanting to take every possible second to campaign in those key states -- Lou.
DOBBS: John, thank you.
And joining me now from the same building, Madison Square Garden, is Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee.
And good to have you with us.
ED GILLESPIE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Thanks, Lou. Good to be with you.
DOBBS: Ed, the setting is worthy of Cecil B. DeMille, with the president standing above this, the Great Seal of the presidency in the round.
You've heard what John King said. I'm sure you've gone through what the president is going to say. How critical is the speech the president will make tonight?
GILLESPIE: Oh, any presidential nominating accepting speech is an important speech. It was important, Senator John Kerry's speech in Boston was important. This speech is important. When the president accepted the nomination in Philadelphia in 2000, it was important.
And he, you know, this is a very forward-looking speech. It lays out a positive agenda for the future. I think that's important. Elections aren't about the future, not about the past. I think there was a mistake made in Boston, frankly, that they spent so much time talking about the past and not enough time talking about the future.
This president is looking forward to talk about the things that are necessary to help the people of this country adapt to the changing economy, to the changing nature of the threats against us in the war on terror, and to put policies, as he said, that help people in terms of improving their lives, as opposed to telling them what to do. And I think that's a very fundamental difference and approach to government between the two parties.
DOBBS: Ed, the backdrop that will be behind the president, which we saw briefly there in John King's report, a safer America, a more hopeful America. The more hopeful part is somewhat in contrast with an incumbent who has a record of three of a half years leading the nation. Compassionate conservatism is back. Why is that so strikingly presented?
GILLESPIE: Well, compassionate conservatism is the essence of George W. Bush. It's not back. It's been there. It's been eclipsed by a number of events beyond our control. But the fact is, the president has been pushing consistently for the faith-based initiatives that he believes deeply in. He's implemented many by executive order, to the extent you can. He'd like to get sweeping legislation that would help in this regard.
The No Child Left Behind Act has helped to improve our public schools. We're seeing rising test scores as a result of those policies. There's more we can do yet in terms of improving our public schools.
When it comes to healthcare, the president is the one who delivered on promises that had been made for years in this country to provide a prescription drug benefit for America's seniors so that they can afford to buy their medicine, and he delivered on that. There's more we can do to make healthcare more affordable, more accessible, and he'll talk about those things tonight as well.
DOBBS: Against that backdrop, if you will, will also be the fact that. as you well know, more than a million Americans were added to those who are below the poverty line last year, more than a million Americans were added to those who are suffering without medical and healthcare insurance. How will the president address those anxieties, which are very real?
GILLESPIE: Well, of course, the most important thing we can do to help lift people out of poverty is to ensure economic growth that creates jobs. And we're seeing 1.5 million, we've seen 1.5 million jobs created in the past year as a result of the president's policies. He's turned a recession into a recovery. And when it comes to health insurance, you -- we'll hear, like I say, the president has talked about medical savings accounts, expanding that, and allowing for risk pooling where small businesses. As you very well know, Lou, most people get their healthcare and their health insurance from their employer, and yet small businesses have a hard time making the -- meeting the needs there, because if you have 25, 27, 30 employees, you don't get the kind of rate IBM does or General Electric.
And so allowing a lot of small businesses to come together and risk pool through associated health plans would help bring down the cost of insurance. It's just one of the proposals that the president has been talking about, but there are many others to make healthcare more affordable, not the least of which, by the way, is driving out the cost of abusive lawsuits that are ending up raising liability costs.
DOBBS: How important is that unemployment report tomorrow, and what it shows?
GILLESPIE: Well, I think we want to continue to see the economy grow. We want to continue to see payroll added. We want to continue to see economic growth projections. And so obviously people will be looking at the number. You see, when you look at the number in terms of consumer confidence, consumer spending, there are good harbingers in terms of how people are feeling about the economy. And employment is one other aspect of that.
DOBBS: Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Convention, we thank you for being here.
GILLESPIE: Thank you, Lou, for having me.
DOBBS: Senator John Kerry will hold a late-night rally in Ohio tonight to respond to the president's speech. Senator Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, will also be attending tonight's rally in Springfield.
Senator Kerry has been vacationing this week in Nantucket. Tomorrow the Kerry campaign will launch a $50 million advertising offensive. It begins in Ohio.
Turning now to another rapidly developing story tonight, the massive category four hurricane that is charging toward the eastern coast of Florida. Emergency officials have now ordered more than 2 million Floridians to leave their homes.
Frances is one of the biggest hurricanes ever. It has sustained winds of 140 miles an hour. Winds are gusting up to 165 miles an hour now. Frances is expected to make landfall tomorrow or early Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS (voice-over): Three hundred miles of Florida's coastline is under a hurricane warning tonight. The National Hurricane Center says Frances is bigger in size than Hurricane Andrew, the powerful storm that devastated Florida and killed 26 people in 1992.
RAPPAPORT: You have to prepare as if this was the strongest storm you're ever going to see on the Florida east coast.
DOBBS: Mandatory evacuations have been put into effect for nearly a dozen Florida counties. More than 2 million people have been ordered to leave.
CRAIG FUGATE, FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY SERVICES: I cannot overemphasize, you cannot put this off. You cannot delay. It is not time to hope. It's time to act.
DOBBS: Florida residents in the path of the hurricane tonight are boarding up their homes and businesses, gassing up their cars, and hitting the highway.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went to a couple gas stations, and they were already out of gas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't had a direct hit in Fort Lauderdale in a long time. I've been here 45 years and hadn't really been through a serious hurricane.
DOBBS: To put this dangerous storm in some perspective, it is equal in size to the entire state of Texas. The powerful eye of this storm alone measures 25 miles across. Storm surges as high as 14 feet are forecast. The National Hurricane Center says not since it began keeping records in 1871 have there been two category four storms to hit this country in the same year.
Hurricane Andrew caused more than $26 billion in damage and was ultimately upgraded to a category five. Another devastating storm was Hurricane Hugo in September of 1989, a category four that killed as many as 85 people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Homeowners have been trying to buy supplies to secure their homes before the arrival of Hurricane Frances, either tomorrow or early Saturday. But many stores have already run out of supplies.
John Zarrella joins me now, reporting live from Miami -- John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, we're at a Home Depot here in north Miami. And fortunately for the folks here, they just got a supply of plywood in. You can see the workers are busily loading up cars. They're waiting right now.
Now, you can look over to my left, and you can see there's a line of cars, Lou, that goes down the side of this Home Depot, around the back of the Home Depot, and out the other side. There have got to be about 50 cars in line here waiting for plywood here at the 11th hour.
It never ceases to amaze me, even here in south Florida, with all that this area's gone through, that people still wait till the last minute to buy plywood and try and put it up, particularly with the massive size of this hurricane.
If you take a look at this hurricane from space, you can see just how enormous it is, as you were mentioning, about the size of the state of Texas. It is just once-in-a-lifetime event to see something this massive and this powerful. Hurricane Andrew was a fraction of the size of this storm.
Now, as the people here are buying the plywood, of course, they're going home, and they're boarding up. And they are boarding up as quickly as they can, not knowing whether landfall will come sometime late tomorrow, perhaps Saturday, depending on where along the Florida coastline it is. The further north the storm goes, the later that landfall will be.
But no one taking any chances. People are getting out, if they can. Some 2 million-plus people ordered to evacuate, asked to leave from south Florida up to the north Florida border, many of them heeding those warnings. There are pictures coming in of highways absolutely jammed, Interstate 95 jammed. Many of the east-west roads, people leaving, heading inland, trying to get away from the coastline.
Even down here in south Florida, Interstate 95 north was packed today with travelers, with folks trying to get out of the way of this massive storm.
So, again, I, Lou, have not seen this kind of level of anxiety here in certainly in south Florida in 12 years, and we all know what happened back then, Hurricane Andrew, Lou.
DOBBS: And John, I was going to ask you, of course, there is very good news in the fact that those highways are congested with people leaving what looks to be the site of the landfall of Hurricane Frances. Have you seen a shift in the weather? Have you seen a shift in the coastline there in the tides?
ZARRELLA: Not yet. It's still a little bit too soon. There's some high clouds that are starting to blow in. But very, very little yet, some rain showers going overhead. But all of that is just the typical south Florida afternoon rain.
Really, don't expect until sometime tomorrow here in south Florida to really start seeing that eerie-looking circular clouds moving over our heads. So it'll probably be a little later tomorrow before some of those squalls start rolling in -- Lou.
DOBBS: John Zarella from Miami. Thank you, John.
Later here, we'll be discussing Hurricane Frances and trying to ascertain its direction, its speed, and expected landfall, and its strength, of course. The director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, will be here to give us his guidance.
Also ahead here tonight, explosions outside a Russian school, where radical Islamist terrorists have been holding hundreds of children and their parents hostage. We'll have a live report for you from the scene. And General David Grange will be here to assess Russia's military options to end this crisis.
And then, a grand finale for the Republican Party and its national convention. I'll be talking with three of the country's top political journalists about what they expect this president to say, what the message will be.
And Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority whip of the U.S. Senate, Congressman David Dreier, Republican of California, will be among our guests.
All of that and a great deal more, and, of course, your e-mails, still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: There have been two explosions tonight outside a Russian school where radical Islamist terrorists are holding hundreds of children and adults hostage, those explosions coming just hours after the terrorists released 26 of the hostages.
Ryan Chilcote joins me live by videophone from Beslan, near Russia's border with Chechnya. Ryan, can you bring us up to date, please?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Lou. Well, it all began about an hour and a half ago. We were standing just outside of the school area, where hundreds of relatives and loved ones of the people inside the school, the hostages inside, had gathered, and there was a very large explosion. Then, just a couple minutes after that one, a second explosion.
Those were the sounds of grenades being fired by a handheld grenade launcher, Russian authorities saying that the hostage takers fired a handheld grenade launcher because they, after speaking with them, said they thought they saw some movement. Russian authorities assured them that there is no movement around the school, they are not moving their forces around, and that they have no plan to storm the school.
That was the end of that. We haven't heard any firing since then, although there was a lot of sporadic firing earlier in the day.
Now, earlier in the day, we also got some good news, that is, the release of 26 women and children. That happened shortly after the first direct face-to-face talks between a Russian and the hostage takers. Russian (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- (AUDIO GAP).
DOBBS: Ryan Chilcote reporting from near Beslan, where hundreds of children and adults are being held hostage by the radical Islamist terrorists.
To this point, we do not know what the status is as a result of those two explosions. Nor is there an exact count of the number of hostages held. The best estimates range anywhere from several hundred to as many as 1,000 men, women, children, babies being held within the school where the terrorists took over. We will be bringing you the latest developments as we reestablish contact with Ryan Chilcote in Beslan, Russia.
This crisis comes two years after Moscow police were forced to pump gas into a theater where Chechnyan militants had hold hundreds of people hostage. The (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the terrorists were killed, but more than a hostages were also killed in the attack.
Joining me now for more on Russia's military options in the Beslan siege is General David Grange, joining us tonight from Illinois.
General, let's first turn to the issue of the options. Obviously, Vladimir Putin has assured those families and friends of those being held hostage that he will do everything to reach a peaceful conclusion, but his record is one of a hardline response to terrorism. What are you expecting tonight?
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Lou, I believe he'll continue with the hardline response. I think locally, there will be negotiations with the terrorists, in order to make deals to get 26 or 20 or 30 women and children released for, let's say, for food, water, a telephone to use, whatever the case may be.
But to let terrorists out of jail, he won't do that, nor should he.
DOBBS: You have commanded special operations forces, covert operations, have been involved in urban warfare. How tough a situation is this for the Russian authorities?
GRANGE: Well, very tough. And in this situation, of course, anytime children are involved, there's more concern, not because of the human life compared to one sex or another or age, but just the fact that there are children makes it difficult to use certain options, makes it very difficult with the, of course, the parents, dealing with them and keeping them in control, and the situation a cordon around a crisis site.
But they'll do what they have to do to resolve the situation, to include killing the terrorists.
DOBBS: General, this is so difficult, because, as you say, children, women, men who are absolute innocents are caught here. But the idea of negotiating with terrorists, which has never been the policy of this country, has been really forced upon the Russian authorities. In the long run, do you believe this is a mistake?
GRANGE: I don't, Lou, and here's why. If you look at countries with -- we'll just take Iraq, with Spain, with the Philippines. Once you give in, it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) influences terrorists to say, Hey, this tactic works. Let's do it again. If enough people show resolve not to give in, even though there may be some loss of life, it will negate more, future terrorist acts like this.
You cannot negotiate in a soft manner with people like this that use women and children as cover and camouflage to enhance their goals. You have to be tough. At the same time, you're trying to save lives, but you cannot give in.
DOBBS: And, obviously, one of the principal tough decision that faces the Russian authorities, and in particular, President Vladimir Putin, tonight, is those hostages are being held.
General David Grange, thank you.
Coming up next here, Hurricane Frances taking aim at the coastline of Florida. Millions of people are tonight racing for higher ground. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, will tell us where and when this ferocious storm is now likely to strike.
We'll be going live to Madison Square Garden for what is the final night of the Republican National Convention. The second most powerful Republican in the Senate, Senator Mitch McConnell, joins me. I'll also be talking with outspoken Republican Congressman David Dreier of California, one of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's principal political advisers.
And then, three of this country's top political journalists to tell us how well the speakers at this convention have done, how well the Republicans have done, as we now enter the final eight weeks of this presidential campaign. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT continues with more news, debate, and opinion. Here now Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: President Bush tonight officially accepts his party's nomination. For more on what we can expect, and what has been accomplished by the Republicans in New York over this week, I'm joined by three of this country's top political journalists, E.J. Dionne, political columnist for "The Washington Post," Ron Brownstein, who is the national political correspondent for "The Los Angeles Times," Roger Simon, national political editor, "U.S. News and World Report."
Let me begin, E.J., with you. First, let's get caught up on how well you think Zell Miller, Senator Miller, and Vice President Dick Cheney did last night for their cause.
E.J. DIONNE, "WASHINGTON POST" COLUMNIST: Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but I think Zell Miller gave one of the most vicious speeches anyone has ever given at a Democratic convention. I think it was remarkable. It wasn't just that he cataloged things wrong with Kerry. He talked about the whole Democratic Party somehow believing that our troops are occupiers instead of liberators. I don't know which Democrat he's talking about.
He talked about Democrats thinking the only danger to the U.S. comes from our own blunders. I don't know any Democrat who believes that. It was really, really remarkable. The only good thing for the Republicans is, A, he's a Democrat, so they can cut him loose if there's a backlash, and, B, he was so out there that people barely noticed how tough Dick Cheney's speech was. There were a lot. It was almost like there was a silencer on the hatchet.
So I think it was an amazing evening. I thought the first two evenings were quite good at appealing to swing voters. Last night, their only effort was to scare swing voters into staying away from Kerry.
DOBBS: Ron, your thoughts? Do you agree?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Pretty much, pretty similar. Well, a couple things. First of all, I thought Senator Miller put the Zell back in zealot. He was very intense, and he was...
DOBBS: That was pretty good, actually, Ron. I've got to interrupt you to say that.
BROWNSTEIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- But, you know, it reminded me in town, I think it was, it, tone, you know, in sort of tone, it was somewhat reminiscent of Pat Buchanan in 1992. But in message, it really was hearkening back to Jeane Kirkpatrick, another former Democrat, who electrified the Republican convention in 1984 by saying that Democrats blame America first and somehow could not be trusted to defend the country.
Look, I think Monday night and Wednesday night, even though the tone was very different, the message was very similar. So far, this convention has reduced to a single argument, that President Bush can be trusted to protect the America in the age of global terror, and Senator Kerry cannot.
I think they have framed that as aggressively as they possibly can, but they've left the challenge for the president tonight to go beyond that and to give people more of a sense of what he would do in a second term, especially on those other domestic issues that are also on the voters' minds.
DOBBS: And in the latest polls, the suggests that they've been effective on issues of national security, where the president at one point was tied with Senator Kerry, the president has once again regained a significant lead amongst those being polled, at least in trusting him on the issues of national security and fighting the war on terrorism.
Did that fact surprise you, Roger Simon?
ROGER SIMON, POLITICAL EDITOR, U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT: No, but what I find impressive about these polls is that John Kerry, after a bad month of August, is still hanging in there. In the horse race, which is after all what counts on election day. John Kerry and George Bush are virtually tied. And, in fact, they are tied. They're within the margin of error, I think, on every poll I have seen. So far all the talk about disarray in the Kerry campaign, he doesn't have a reason to be too depressed. What's interesting to me, though is if Kerry loses, the analysis is going to be it all went wrong at his convention. He overemphasized Vietnam. He did not present enough of a personal face to the American people.
If George Bush loses, the analysts are going to say exactly the same thing. It all happened at his convention. He allowed Zell Miller to go wild, go so far over the top. The reason that's a negative is, when you energize your base, you want to depress the other guy's base. You don't want to anger the other guy's base to the extent that they are re-energized and are going to fight just to wipe the smile off Zell Miller's face.
BROWNSTEIN: Lou, can I make a slightly dissenting point? Even though the horse race is close, often, strangely enough, in the presidential race, the horse race is the lagging indicator. It's the last thing to change. And the clear trends in the last month, I think, have been away from Senator Kerry toward President Bush. President Bush has seen a slight improvement, slight, but on a number of measures like his job approval. More importantly, Senator Kerry has seen deterioration on assessments of his personal qualities.
And I think there is a clear sense in the Kerry campaign, that beginning tonight at this rally at midnight and then moving forward, they have to do a better job of sharpening the differences with President Bush in a way that shifts the focus away from the things that people who have hesitation away from Senator Kerry on toward the issues where the polls show people are ambivalent at best about the direction President Bush has set.
So I do think they are in a little bit of a -- they recognize that the trend lines have been working against them, even it hasn't been reflected that heavily in the horse race.
DOBBS: E.J., how big a bounce does the president need to get coming out of this convention?
DIONNE: Well, I think the challenge to President Bush is to hit 50 percent. In other words, his problem all year and what suggests he's been in some significant trouble is he polls around 46 percent at best, even when he's ahead of Kerry. And I don't think you can get much of a bounce in this particular climate. But I think tonight you're going to see the kindest, gentlest, if I can use that old phrase, Bush possible, because when your friends have come into the room the night before and decked everybody, you don't have to do a lot of fighting. And I think you're going to hear a lot more talk from Bush tonight about domestic concerns, because this whole convention has been on the theme of trusting Bush on terror. And so, I think he's going to try to put some other things on the table tonight and look nice as can be.
DOBBS: Roger, is it your sense that the Republicans have succeeded in this convention?
SIMON: I think until Zell Miller they had an almost flawless convention. Every speech really with the exception -- every primetime speech, with the exception of Laura Bush's speech, has had the same theme. vote for George Bush or die. And that's not even really an overstatement. If you look at the text, that is what they're saying. George Bush is the only one who understands the terror threat, is the only one who is capable of protecting the homeland. And if you vote for John Kerry, a man who misunderstands terror, who's an appeaser, who will sell out our country, Al Qaida will come to your home and kill you.
DOBBS: Roger Simon, Ron Brownstein, E.J. Dionne, thank you, gentlemen. We appreciate it. That brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. Which issues do you most want to hear President Bush address tonight in his acceptance, the economy and jobs, national security and terrorism, health care and education, all of the above? Please cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. The results will be coming up. Still ahead here, much more on the Republican National Convention as President Bush prepares to take the stage. Senate Majority Whip, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican Congressman David Dreier of California among my guests. Also, your e-mails.
And tonight, our special report on the middle class squeeze. Tens of millions of Americans can't afford basic health care. What President Bush plans to do about it.
And a massive storm is headed straight for the coast of Florida. Millions of people rushing to safety tonight. I'll be joined by Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, next. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: President Bush tonight accepts his party's nomination in a primetime speech and will lay out his agenda for a second term. I talked earlier with Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, one of the Senate's most powerful Republicans, and I asked him which issue will voters be focused on most in this election?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL, SENATE MAJORITY WHIP, UNITED STATES SENATE: Look, both sides know that the real issue is the war on terrorism. The Democrats spent their whole convention trying to convince everybody that John Kerry was up to the job of leading in the war on terrorism. That has dominated our convention as well. And the reason for that is the number one issue. What people are looking for in the next president is who can keep us safe. I think the president has much to say on that score. We've not been attacked again here at home in three years. We've been on offense, draining the swamp in Afghanistan and Iraq. The reason everybody is talking about that, Lou, is that's the number one issue.
DOBBS: Number two, arguably, is the economy. More than 1 million jobs net have been lost since the president took office nearly four years ago. Debt has risen astronomically, both the federal debt and the general debt, household debt, corporate debt. There are huge issues in this economy. Growth is not benefiting, at least in terms of jobs, the millions of people that everyone -- nearly everyone assumed would be beneficiaries. What's he going to say about that?
MCCONNELL: Well, another way of looking at it is the 5.5 percent unemployment that we have today is exactly what it was in 1996, when President Clinton was bragging about the economy on the way to a substantial re-election. It's a better unemployment rate than the average unemployment rate than the decade of the '70s, the decade of the '80s, the decade of the '90s. The economy is not in the tank.
DOBBS: Certainly not.
MCCONNELL: We've created 1,500,000 jobs in the last year, and we are growing. But look, I think we can all stipulate that we were sliding into a recession when the president came into office. 9-11 was certainly a blow to the economy. But all indications are we're coming out of this quite nicely.
DOBBS: The idea, however, that the Democrats are going to charge over the course of the next two months, and one assumes vigorously, that this will be the first president since Herbert Hoover to have lost net jobs in the course of his four-year term, how will the Republican party, how will President Bush respond to that?
MCCONNELL: I think the response will be that the unemployment rate is the same as it was eight years ago when we felt good about the economy, that we've created 1,500,000 jobs in the last 12 years, and that the economy is growing nicely. I think that's a pretty positive answer to the question of which way is the economy headed. And we can all stipulate that we were going into a recession when the president came in and that 9-11 really disrupted the economy in a significant way.
DOBBS: There is still a large number of Americans who are simply discouraged in their search for work. With the huge levels of debt that we face in this country, what will be the response to those challenges?
MCCONNELL: Well, we need to work on the deficit. The reason it's here, of course, is because of the economic slowdown on the one hand, and the increased expenditures for defense and homeland security, which everybody agreed needed to be done. Nevertheless, the president has a plan to cut the deficit in half over the next four years. I think that's achievable. We have to restrain the rate of growth outside of defense and homeland security in government spending.
DOBBS: Senator McConnell, with you thank you very much for being here.
MCCONNELL: Thank you, Lou. Good to be with you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Tonight's thought is on campaigning and elections. "Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way that we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs," the words of President Gerald Ford.
Taking a look at some of your thoughts. Kathy in Michigan wrote to say, "what a sad state it is when the working middle class has a hard time affording prescription drugs and medical care, but Congress has set aside billions of dollars for illegals. Makes you wonder if Congress knows the meaning of illegal."
And the Bubb (ph) family in Kansas. "We're sick of corporates getting richer from the sweat of cheap labor while the working middle class pays the highest taxes, et cetera. We need confrontation, accountability and change. Keep fighting for us. You bring hope to a dismal struggle."
Conny in Texas. "With so many wealthy politicians in office, they have no clue what the middle class is going through. Maybe we need to freeze their income from the president down and let them try living with a salary equal to unemployment benefits with no health care for a few months. They might finally get the message."
And Donna in Kansas said, "Mr. Dobbs, I wish you'd quit flip- flopping on the outsourcing of American jobs and the economic assault on the middle class. I'm getting a headache trying to figure out which side of this issue you stand on. Just kidding, of course. You go, Lou."
We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs@cnn.com. And please send us your name and address. We're sending each of you whose e-mail is read on this broadcast a free copy of my new book, "Exporting America."
Now we're going to turn to Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, for an update on a fast-moving, powerful storm, in fact, the most powerful that anyone has seen in a generation. Joining me now is Max Mayfield, the head of the National Hurricane Center. Max, thank you. Well, I'm told that we have just lost Max. You're not going to believe this, I'm told that quickly that it is back, and I'm going to trust everyone to say hi, Max, and we appreciate your being with us.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: OK, thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: And we apologize for the confusion there, on our part, I should say. Max, this is -- this storm is being heralded as perhaps one of the most powerful in a generation. Can you tell us what you've been able to assess here over the course of the past hour.
(WEATHER REPORT)
DOBBS: Still ahead here tonight, the always outspoken Republican Congressman David Dreier on his party's national convention and what he expects from the president's speech tonight and what he expects to be the result of this week of national convention. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: The Republican National Convention here in New York concludes tonight. The highlight, the speech, the acceptance speech by President Bush. He's expected to focus on his leadership while this nation is at war. Congressman David Dreier of California joins me tonight from Madison Square Garden. Congressman, good to see you.
CONGRESSMAN DAVID DREIER (R), CALIFORNIA: Always good to see you. It was great to be with you earlier this week and look forward to seeing you later tonight.
DOBBS: You've got a deal. Let's talk about what the president is going to say tonight that will galvanize the base and convince independents to vote for him.
DREIER: Well, I'll tell you, Lou, he's going to talk about what a new term would consist of. And I believe that that new term is one that will be filled with building on this whole issue of an ownership society, which we have today. I mean, we've enjoyed phenomenal success with 70 percent of American people owning their own homes. As of today, we've seen a 22 percent increase in the number of Americans who have increased the size of their 401(k)s to a level of $77,000.
And, of course, we're looking at creating more important for people to put their own dollars aside to make plans for retirement. We also -- and you just talked to my colleague Mitch McConnell a few minutes ago, of course, the number one issue is the global war on terror. But it's clear that the American people want to know what it is that President Bush will offer in a new term, and I'm convinced that the speech that they're going to get this evening will clearly outline that. And I'm very upbeat and optimistic about it.
DOBBS: Senator Zell Miller talked about a vote for Senator John Kerry as simply a rejection of the administration's fight against terror. The Democrats are coming up with a $50 million ad campaign. What do you expect to see as a result of this convention itself in which Senator Kerry has been attacked pretty strongly? I'm not saying unfairly, but at least attacked very strongly. What kind of bounce do you expect to see in the president's numbers as a result?
DREIER: Well, first, it's very clear that this convention is the one that did talk about what happened during that great void that wasn't discussed at the Democratic convention, and that is the 20-year history of John Kerry's votes. And, you know, a lot of people have been talking about Zell Miller's speech last night. This is the Zell Miller who's a Democrat who actually employed your colleague James Carville in his campaigns in the past. He is someone who went through that litany of weapon systems, the B-2 bomber, the Apache Helicopter, that John Kerry consistently voted against.
And those things, Lou, that he voted against actually did -- if he had been successful in those votes, that clearly would have weakened our ability to deal with the global war on terror as effectively as we have. And we're also dealing with this new economy. And, you know, we get these jobs numbers out tomorrow. And I think it's important to note that we are in an extraordinarily changing economy, and you and I have discussed this many times in the past. But I think it's important to look at the fact that, as we look at that new economy, if it weren't for a changing economy, you'd be a newspaper reporter today and not a cable news star, as you are.
And as I was walking up here, I ran into the son of your colleague, Candy Crowley, John Crowley, who when I asked him about a concert last night, and he said, do you want to see it? I said what do you mean see it? And he pulled out his digital camera that actually had the concert of last night on.
DOBBS: While that may have been a remarkable experience, I don't think we want to test the patience of our viewers any further with it.
DREIER: I'm not going to run it, but I'm just talking about our changing economy, Lou.
DOBBS: And just to keep things, as they say, somewhere fair and balanced, you mentioned my colleague, James Carville, who is a valued colleague, also a valued colleague, of course, Robert Novak. And just to give you a demonstration that certainly the CNN tent is as broad as anyone's whether Democrat or Republican.
DREIER: Right. James is the one who worked for Zell Miller, though, is my point.
DOBBS: I understand. He got elected too, didn't he?
DREIER: Yes, he did. Yes, he did. We'll see you later tonight.
DOBBS: David Dreier, you have a deal. Thanks for being with us. Congressman of the good state of California. Still ahead, middle class squeeze, tens of millions of our fellow citizens have lost their health insurance coverage. And tonight we're going to have a special report on whether President Bush has a real plan to change all of that. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: We've reported all this week on the president's plans to fight what we call here the middle class squeeze. Tonight more than 40 million Americans live without even the most basic health care insurance. Lisa Sylvester reports from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush campaigning in New Hampshire this week touched on a crowd-pleaser, cutting health care costs.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Most people get their health care through their jobs. Most new jobs are created by small businesses, and many small businesses are having trouble with the cost of health care.
SYLVESTER: But since President Bush took office, the number of Americans without health insurance has climbed by 4 million to nearly 44 million. The White House hopes to reverse the tide with proposed tax credits, up to $3,000 for uninsured families, and $1,000 for individuals to buy health insurance. Association health plans that allow small businesses to ban together to negotiate lower premiums, health savings accounts that allow individuals to buy low cost, high deductible health plans, with premiums that would be a tax write-off, and medical malpractice reform.
SYLVESTER: The plan is expected to extend coverage to about 4 million people, but health experts fear that number could be far lower if employers stop offering health insurance to their workers.
HENRY AARON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The tax credit that President Bush is talking about gives employers who are getting increasingly restive about continuing to sponsor unpredictably costly health insurance a good excuse to drop it.
SYLVESTER: Critics say it would leave the chronically ill saddled with high yearly deductibles, and they argue the proposed tax credits will not help the poorest of the uninsured.
UWE REINHARDT, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: For a family, a health insurance policy costs 10,000 to $12,000. So if you have a family of $25,000 income, and you give them $3,000, they would still have to put somewhere between 8,000 and $10,000 on top of it out of their own budget to buy the policy.
SYLVESTER: But the president's plan appeals to fiscal conservatives. While it covers far fewer people than John Kerry's health plan, it also costs eight times less, $90 billion. Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Coming up next, we'll have the results of our poll and a preview of what's ahead tomorrow. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now the results of tonight's poll. Forty-nine percent of you want President Bush to address the economy and jobs in his acceptance speech tonight, 3 percent, national security and terrorism, a surprisingly low number, 9 percent, health care and education. Nearly 40 percent of you say all of the above. Thanks for being with us. Please join us here tomorrow. We'll have the very latest on Hurricane Frances expected to make landfall tomorrow evening. And we wish you a very pleasant evening from New York. Anderson Cooper 360 is next.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 2, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOU DOBBS, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, President Bush will tell voters America needs steady, consistent, and principled leadership. We'll have a preview of the president's speech live from the Republican National Convention.
Three top figures in the Republican Party, Republican National Committee Ed Gillespie, Congressman David Drier, and senator and majority whip Mitch McConnell, all join us.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R): What people are looking for in the next president is who can keep us safe...
DOBBS: Hurricane Frances is roaring toward the coast of Florida. More than 2 million people are fleeing. The hurricane is one of the biggest ever.
ED RAPPAPORT, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: It's really going to be a once-in-a-generation or once-in-a-lifetime impact, and so people need to prepare for just that.
DOBBS: We'll have the very latest for you on Frances, where the hurricane is expected to strike Florida, and when. We'll hear from the director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield.
And in southern Russia, explosions tonight at a school where radical Islamist terrorists are holding as many as 1,000 adults and children hostage. We'll have a live report from the scene.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Thursday, September 2. Here now for an hour of news, debate, and opinion is Lou Dobbs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Good evening.
Tonight, President Bush will make his case for another four years in the White House in a primetime speech to the Republican National Convention. President Bush will accept his party's nomination and offer voters a clear program for his second term, then present himself as a resolute leader of a nation at war.
President Bush is expected to say that Americans want steady, consistent, and principled leadership. Senior White House correspondent John King reports. John?
JOHN KING, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And Lou, that speech four hours away from now here in the Madison Square Garden in New York, a defining moment for this incumbent president. He believes he has some momentum right now, but this is still an extraordinarily tight election, Mr. Bush hoping to leave New York with a bit more momentum and try to keep his lead heading into the campaign's final 60 days.
He was in the hall earlier today, an extraordinary setting for the speech tonight, theater in the round, if you will. Mr. Bush will be out among the delegates. He cracked a few jokes as he became comfortable with the podium.
Aides say he will defend his leadership in the war on terrorism tonight. He will join the convention chorus of what we have heard for three days, suggesting that by his votes in the Senate and by what Republicans say are shifting positions, the Democrat John Kerry has proven himself unfit to command the war on terror at what the president will say is a momentous moment in history.
And Mr. Bush also will outline what he will call a new liberty agenda, several new domestic initiatives aimed mostly at dealing with economic anxiety, new proposals for access to healthcare, new proposals for more retirement options. The president will say he wants to have flextime and other options for workers who are dealing with the stress of work and families. And the president will also promise to keep taxes low and to simplify the tax code.
Now, in an excerpt released by the White House, we get a summary, if you will, of the president's major theme. He will tell the American people this, "I am running for president with a clear and positive plan to build a safer world and a more hopeful America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy that government should help people improve their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this nation wants steady, consistent, principled leadership, and that is why, with your help, we will win this election."
Aides expect the speech to run about an hour. It comes on the fourth and final night of the Republican convention. Democrats have been saying what they hear in this convention hall the past three nights is anger, even hatred, attack after attack on Senator John Kerry. The Democrats say those attacks are proof to them that the White House believes it can only win if it demonizes President Bush's opponent.
First Lady Laura Bush told me earlier today she thinks maybe the Democrats are a bit too thin-skinned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA BUSH: I think we've seen the record of the senator that's running against my husband examined, and that's what happens when you get into politics. That's what happens when you run for office. And, you know, it happens to everybody. You get criticized, and that's just a fact of life in American politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Take a look at the backdrop for tonight's speech, not only theater in the round, but two giant mockups of the Statue of Liberty on the back of the stage. The White House says it fits with Mr. Bush's theme of this new liberty agenda, giving citizens, not government, more power. But it also is an unmistakable reminder of this city, the city hardest hit by the September 11 attacks.
Another constant Democratic criticism this week is that President Bush plays up fear of the possibility of another terrorist attack for political gain. The man who helped the president craft his speech tonight says not true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL GERSON, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE SPEECHWRITER: I don't know how it's possible to overplay the defense of the American people. The fact of the matter is, it's his most fundamental constitutional duty. And the threats are very real. And he sees them every day in a way that most Americans don't.
And so, you know, that is the most basic commitment of the president of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Mr. Bush will address it just that way, call it his most basic, fundamental commitment, defending the American people, in his speech tonight -- Lou.
He will not even spend the night in New York after this speech. Aides say he will make his case to the American people, then it is off to Pennsylvania. Sixty days to election day, the president wanting to take every possible second to campaign in those key states -- Lou.
DOBBS: John, thank you.
And joining me now from the same building, Madison Square Garden, is Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Committee.
And good to have you with us.
ED GILLESPIE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Thanks, Lou. Good to be with you.
DOBBS: Ed, the setting is worthy of Cecil B. DeMille, with the president standing above this, the Great Seal of the presidency in the round.
You've heard what John King said. I'm sure you've gone through what the president is going to say. How critical is the speech the president will make tonight?
GILLESPIE: Oh, any presidential nominating accepting speech is an important speech. It was important, Senator John Kerry's speech in Boston was important. This speech is important. When the president accepted the nomination in Philadelphia in 2000, it was important.
And he, you know, this is a very forward-looking speech. It lays out a positive agenda for the future. I think that's important. Elections aren't about the future, not about the past. I think there was a mistake made in Boston, frankly, that they spent so much time talking about the past and not enough time talking about the future.
This president is looking forward to talk about the things that are necessary to help the people of this country adapt to the changing economy, to the changing nature of the threats against us in the war on terror, and to put policies, as he said, that help people in terms of improving their lives, as opposed to telling them what to do. And I think that's a very fundamental difference and approach to government between the two parties.
DOBBS: Ed, the backdrop that will be behind the president, which we saw briefly there in John King's report, a safer America, a more hopeful America. The more hopeful part is somewhat in contrast with an incumbent who has a record of three of a half years leading the nation. Compassionate conservatism is back. Why is that so strikingly presented?
GILLESPIE: Well, compassionate conservatism is the essence of George W. Bush. It's not back. It's been there. It's been eclipsed by a number of events beyond our control. But the fact is, the president has been pushing consistently for the faith-based initiatives that he believes deeply in. He's implemented many by executive order, to the extent you can. He'd like to get sweeping legislation that would help in this regard.
The No Child Left Behind Act has helped to improve our public schools. We're seeing rising test scores as a result of those policies. There's more we can do yet in terms of improving our public schools.
When it comes to healthcare, the president is the one who delivered on promises that had been made for years in this country to provide a prescription drug benefit for America's seniors so that they can afford to buy their medicine, and he delivered on that. There's more we can do to make healthcare more affordable, more accessible, and he'll talk about those things tonight as well.
DOBBS: Against that backdrop, if you will, will also be the fact that. as you well know, more than a million Americans were added to those who are below the poverty line last year, more than a million Americans were added to those who are suffering without medical and healthcare insurance. How will the president address those anxieties, which are very real?
GILLESPIE: Well, of course, the most important thing we can do to help lift people out of poverty is to ensure economic growth that creates jobs. And we're seeing 1.5 million, we've seen 1.5 million jobs created in the past year as a result of the president's policies. He's turned a recession into a recovery. And when it comes to health insurance, you -- we'll hear, like I say, the president has talked about medical savings accounts, expanding that, and allowing for risk pooling where small businesses. As you very well know, Lou, most people get their healthcare and their health insurance from their employer, and yet small businesses have a hard time making the -- meeting the needs there, because if you have 25, 27, 30 employees, you don't get the kind of rate IBM does or General Electric.
And so allowing a lot of small businesses to come together and risk pool through associated health plans would help bring down the cost of insurance. It's just one of the proposals that the president has been talking about, but there are many others to make healthcare more affordable, not the least of which, by the way, is driving out the cost of abusive lawsuits that are ending up raising liability costs.
DOBBS: How important is that unemployment report tomorrow, and what it shows?
GILLESPIE: Well, I think we want to continue to see the economy grow. We want to continue to see payroll added. We want to continue to see economic growth projections. And so obviously people will be looking at the number. You see, when you look at the number in terms of consumer confidence, consumer spending, there are good harbingers in terms of how people are feeling about the economy. And employment is one other aspect of that.
DOBBS: Ed Gillespie, chairman of the Republican National Convention, we thank you for being here.
GILLESPIE: Thank you, Lou, for having me.
DOBBS: Senator John Kerry will hold a late-night rally in Ohio tonight to respond to the president's speech. Senator Kerry's running mate, Senator John Edwards, will also be attending tonight's rally in Springfield.
Senator Kerry has been vacationing this week in Nantucket. Tomorrow the Kerry campaign will launch a $50 million advertising offensive. It begins in Ohio.
Turning now to another rapidly developing story tonight, the massive category four hurricane that is charging toward the eastern coast of Florida. Emergency officials have now ordered more than 2 million Floridians to leave their homes.
Frances is one of the biggest hurricanes ever. It has sustained winds of 140 miles an hour. Winds are gusting up to 165 miles an hour now. Frances is expected to make landfall tomorrow or early Saturday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS (voice-over): Three hundred miles of Florida's coastline is under a hurricane warning tonight. The National Hurricane Center says Frances is bigger in size than Hurricane Andrew, the powerful storm that devastated Florida and killed 26 people in 1992.
RAPPAPORT: You have to prepare as if this was the strongest storm you're ever going to see on the Florida east coast.
DOBBS: Mandatory evacuations have been put into effect for nearly a dozen Florida counties. More than 2 million people have been ordered to leave.
CRAIG FUGATE, FLORIDA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY SERVICES: I cannot overemphasize, you cannot put this off. You cannot delay. It is not time to hope. It's time to act.
DOBBS: Florida residents in the path of the hurricane tonight are boarding up their homes and businesses, gassing up their cars, and hitting the highway.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went to a couple gas stations, and they were already out of gas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We haven't had a direct hit in Fort Lauderdale in a long time. I've been here 45 years and hadn't really been through a serious hurricane.
DOBBS: To put this dangerous storm in some perspective, it is equal in size to the entire state of Texas. The powerful eye of this storm alone measures 25 miles across. Storm surges as high as 14 feet are forecast. The National Hurricane Center says not since it began keeping records in 1871 have there been two category four storms to hit this country in the same year.
Hurricane Andrew caused more than $26 billion in damage and was ultimately upgraded to a category five. Another devastating storm was Hurricane Hugo in September of 1989, a category four that killed as many as 85 people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Homeowners have been trying to buy supplies to secure their homes before the arrival of Hurricane Frances, either tomorrow or early Saturday. But many stores have already run out of supplies.
John Zarrella joins me now, reporting live from Miami -- John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, we're at a Home Depot here in north Miami. And fortunately for the folks here, they just got a supply of plywood in. You can see the workers are busily loading up cars. They're waiting right now.
Now, you can look over to my left, and you can see there's a line of cars, Lou, that goes down the side of this Home Depot, around the back of the Home Depot, and out the other side. There have got to be about 50 cars in line here waiting for plywood here at the 11th hour.
It never ceases to amaze me, even here in south Florida, with all that this area's gone through, that people still wait till the last minute to buy plywood and try and put it up, particularly with the massive size of this hurricane.
If you take a look at this hurricane from space, you can see just how enormous it is, as you were mentioning, about the size of the state of Texas. It is just once-in-a-lifetime event to see something this massive and this powerful. Hurricane Andrew was a fraction of the size of this storm.
Now, as the people here are buying the plywood, of course, they're going home, and they're boarding up. And they are boarding up as quickly as they can, not knowing whether landfall will come sometime late tomorrow, perhaps Saturday, depending on where along the Florida coastline it is. The further north the storm goes, the later that landfall will be.
But no one taking any chances. People are getting out, if they can. Some 2 million-plus people ordered to evacuate, asked to leave from south Florida up to the north Florida border, many of them heeding those warnings. There are pictures coming in of highways absolutely jammed, Interstate 95 jammed. Many of the east-west roads, people leaving, heading inland, trying to get away from the coastline.
Even down here in south Florida, Interstate 95 north was packed today with travelers, with folks trying to get out of the way of this massive storm.
So, again, I, Lou, have not seen this kind of level of anxiety here in certainly in south Florida in 12 years, and we all know what happened back then, Hurricane Andrew, Lou.
DOBBS: And John, I was going to ask you, of course, there is very good news in the fact that those highways are congested with people leaving what looks to be the site of the landfall of Hurricane Frances. Have you seen a shift in the weather? Have you seen a shift in the coastline there in the tides?
ZARRELLA: Not yet. It's still a little bit too soon. There's some high clouds that are starting to blow in. But very, very little yet, some rain showers going overhead. But all of that is just the typical south Florida afternoon rain.
Really, don't expect until sometime tomorrow here in south Florida to really start seeing that eerie-looking circular clouds moving over our heads. So it'll probably be a little later tomorrow before some of those squalls start rolling in -- Lou.
DOBBS: John Zarella from Miami. Thank you, John.
Later here, we'll be discussing Hurricane Frances and trying to ascertain its direction, its speed, and expected landfall, and its strength, of course. The director of the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield, will be here to give us his guidance.
Also ahead here tonight, explosions outside a Russian school, where radical Islamist terrorists have been holding hundreds of children and their parents hostage. We'll have a live report for you from the scene. And General David Grange will be here to assess Russia's military options to end this crisis.
And then, a grand finale for the Republican Party and its national convention. I'll be talking with three of the country's top political journalists about what they expect this president to say, what the message will be.
And Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority whip of the U.S. Senate, Congressman David Dreier, Republican of California, will be among our guests.
All of that and a great deal more, and, of course, your e-mails, still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: There have been two explosions tonight outside a Russian school where radical Islamist terrorists are holding hundreds of children and adults hostage, those explosions coming just hours after the terrorists released 26 of the hostages.
Ryan Chilcote joins me live by videophone from Beslan, near Russia's border with Chechnya. Ryan, can you bring us up to date, please?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Lou. Well, it all began about an hour and a half ago. We were standing just outside of the school area, where hundreds of relatives and loved ones of the people inside the school, the hostages inside, had gathered, and there was a very large explosion. Then, just a couple minutes after that one, a second explosion.
Those were the sounds of grenades being fired by a handheld grenade launcher, Russian authorities saying that the hostage takers fired a handheld grenade launcher because they, after speaking with them, said they thought they saw some movement. Russian authorities assured them that there is no movement around the school, they are not moving their forces around, and that they have no plan to storm the school.
That was the end of that. We haven't heard any firing since then, although there was a lot of sporadic firing earlier in the day.
Now, earlier in the day, we also got some good news, that is, the release of 26 women and children. That happened shortly after the first direct face-to-face talks between a Russian and the hostage takers. Russian (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- (AUDIO GAP).
DOBBS: Ryan Chilcote reporting from near Beslan, where hundreds of children and adults are being held hostage by the radical Islamist terrorists.
To this point, we do not know what the status is as a result of those two explosions. Nor is there an exact count of the number of hostages held. The best estimates range anywhere from several hundred to as many as 1,000 men, women, children, babies being held within the school where the terrorists took over. We will be bringing you the latest developments as we reestablish contact with Ryan Chilcote in Beslan, Russia.
This crisis comes two years after Moscow police were forced to pump gas into a theater where Chechnyan militants had hold hundreds of people hostage. The (UNINTELLIGIBLE), the terrorists were killed, but more than a hostages were also killed in the attack.
Joining me now for more on Russia's military options in the Beslan siege is General David Grange, joining us tonight from Illinois.
General, let's first turn to the issue of the options. Obviously, Vladimir Putin has assured those families and friends of those being held hostage that he will do everything to reach a peaceful conclusion, but his record is one of a hardline response to terrorism. What are you expecting tonight?
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Lou, I believe he'll continue with the hardline response. I think locally, there will be negotiations with the terrorists, in order to make deals to get 26 or 20 or 30 women and children released for, let's say, for food, water, a telephone to use, whatever the case may be.
But to let terrorists out of jail, he won't do that, nor should he.
DOBBS: You have commanded special operations forces, covert operations, have been involved in urban warfare. How tough a situation is this for the Russian authorities?
GRANGE: Well, very tough. And in this situation, of course, anytime children are involved, there's more concern, not because of the human life compared to one sex or another or age, but just the fact that there are children makes it difficult to use certain options, makes it very difficult with the, of course, the parents, dealing with them and keeping them in control, and the situation a cordon around a crisis site.
But they'll do what they have to do to resolve the situation, to include killing the terrorists.
DOBBS: General, this is so difficult, because, as you say, children, women, men who are absolute innocents are caught here. But the idea of negotiating with terrorists, which has never been the policy of this country, has been really forced upon the Russian authorities. In the long run, do you believe this is a mistake?
GRANGE: I don't, Lou, and here's why. If you look at countries with -- we'll just take Iraq, with Spain, with the Philippines. Once you give in, it (UNINTELLIGIBLE) influences terrorists to say, Hey, this tactic works. Let's do it again. If enough people show resolve not to give in, even though there may be some loss of life, it will negate more, future terrorist acts like this.
You cannot negotiate in a soft manner with people like this that use women and children as cover and camouflage to enhance their goals. You have to be tough. At the same time, you're trying to save lives, but you cannot give in.
DOBBS: And, obviously, one of the principal tough decision that faces the Russian authorities, and in particular, President Vladimir Putin, tonight, is those hostages are being held.
General David Grange, thank you.
Coming up next here, Hurricane Frances taking aim at the coastline of Florida. Millions of people are tonight racing for higher ground. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center, will tell us where and when this ferocious storm is now likely to strike.
We'll be going live to Madison Square Garden for what is the final night of the Republican National Convention. The second most powerful Republican in the Senate, Senator Mitch McConnell, joins me. I'll also be talking with outspoken Republican Congressman David Dreier of California, one of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's principal political advisers.
And then, three of this country's top political journalists to tell us how well the speakers at this convention have done, how well the Republicans have done, as we now enter the final eight weeks of this presidential campaign. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT continues with more news, debate, and opinion. Here now Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: President Bush tonight officially accepts his party's nomination. For more on what we can expect, and what has been accomplished by the Republicans in New York over this week, I'm joined by three of this country's top political journalists, E.J. Dionne, political columnist for "The Washington Post," Ron Brownstein, who is the national political correspondent for "The Los Angeles Times," Roger Simon, national political editor, "U.S. News and World Report."
Let me begin, E.J., with you. First, let's get caught up on how well you think Zell Miller, Senator Miller, and Vice President Dick Cheney did last night for their cause.
E.J. DIONNE, "WASHINGTON POST" COLUMNIST: Well, not to put too fine a point on it, but I think Zell Miller gave one of the most vicious speeches anyone has ever given at a Democratic convention. I think it was remarkable. It wasn't just that he cataloged things wrong with Kerry. He talked about the whole Democratic Party somehow believing that our troops are occupiers instead of liberators. I don't know which Democrat he's talking about.
He talked about Democrats thinking the only danger to the U.S. comes from our own blunders. I don't know any Democrat who believes that. It was really, really remarkable. The only good thing for the Republicans is, A, he's a Democrat, so they can cut him loose if there's a backlash, and, B, he was so out there that people barely noticed how tough Dick Cheney's speech was. There were a lot. It was almost like there was a silencer on the hatchet.
So I think it was an amazing evening. I thought the first two evenings were quite good at appealing to swing voters. Last night, their only effort was to scare swing voters into staying away from Kerry.
DOBBS: Ron, your thoughts? Do you agree?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Pretty much, pretty similar. Well, a couple things. First of all, I thought Senator Miller put the Zell back in zealot. He was very intense, and he was...
DOBBS: That was pretty good, actually, Ron. I've got to interrupt you to say that.
BROWNSTEIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- But, you know, it reminded me in town, I think it was, it, tone, you know, in sort of tone, it was somewhat reminiscent of Pat Buchanan in 1992. But in message, it really was hearkening back to Jeane Kirkpatrick, another former Democrat, who electrified the Republican convention in 1984 by saying that Democrats blame America first and somehow could not be trusted to defend the country.
Look, I think Monday night and Wednesday night, even though the tone was very different, the message was very similar. So far, this convention has reduced to a single argument, that President Bush can be trusted to protect the America in the age of global terror, and Senator Kerry cannot.
I think they have framed that as aggressively as they possibly can, but they've left the challenge for the president tonight to go beyond that and to give people more of a sense of what he would do in a second term, especially on those other domestic issues that are also on the voters' minds.
DOBBS: And in the latest polls, the suggests that they've been effective on issues of national security, where the president at one point was tied with Senator Kerry, the president has once again regained a significant lead amongst those being polled, at least in trusting him on the issues of national security and fighting the war on terrorism.
Did that fact surprise you, Roger Simon?
ROGER SIMON, POLITICAL EDITOR, U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT: No, but what I find impressive about these polls is that John Kerry, after a bad month of August, is still hanging in there. In the horse race, which is after all what counts on election day. John Kerry and George Bush are virtually tied. And, in fact, they are tied. They're within the margin of error, I think, on every poll I have seen. So far all the talk about disarray in the Kerry campaign, he doesn't have a reason to be too depressed. What's interesting to me, though is if Kerry loses, the analysis is going to be it all went wrong at his convention. He overemphasized Vietnam. He did not present enough of a personal face to the American people.
If George Bush loses, the analysts are going to say exactly the same thing. It all happened at his convention. He allowed Zell Miller to go wild, go so far over the top. The reason that's a negative is, when you energize your base, you want to depress the other guy's base. You don't want to anger the other guy's base to the extent that they are re-energized and are going to fight just to wipe the smile off Zell Miller's face.
BROWNSTEIN: Lou, can I make a slightly dissenting point? Even though the horse race is close, often, strangely enough, in the presidential race, the horse race is the lagging indicator. It's the last thing to change. And the clear trends in the last month, I think, have been away from Senator Kerry toward President Bush. President Bush has seen a slight improvement, slight, but on a number of measures like his job approval. More importantly, Senator Kerry has seen deterioration on assessments of his personal qualities.
And I think there is a clear sense in the Kerry campaign, that beginning tonight at this rally at midnight and then moving forward, they have to do a better job of sharpening the differences with President Bush in a way that shifts the focus away from the things that people who have hesitation away from Senator Kerry on toward the issues where the polls show people are ambivalent at best about the direction President Bush has set.
So I do think they are in a little bit of a -- they recognize that the trend lines have been working against them, even it hasn't been reflected that heavily in the horse race.
DOBBS: E.J., how big a bounce does the president need to get coming out of this convention?
DIONNE: Well, I think the challenge to President Bush is to hit 50 percent. In other words, his problem all year and what suggests he's been in some significant trouble is he polls around 46 percent at best, even when he's ahead of Kerry. And I don't think you can get much of a bounce in this particular climate. But I think tonight you're going to see the kindest, gentlest, if I can use that old phrase, Bush possible, because when your friends have come into the room the night before and decked everybody, you don't have to do a lot of fighting. And I think you're going to hear a lot more talk from Bush tonight about domestic concerns, because this whole convention has been on the theme of trusting Bush on terror. And so, I think he's going to try to put some other things on the table tonight and look nice as can be.
DOBBS: Roger, is it your sense that the Republicans have succeeded in this convention?
SIMON: I think until Zell Miller they had an almost flawless convention. Every speech really with the exception -- every primetime speech, with the exception of Laura Bush's speech, has had the same theme. vote for George Bush or die. And that's not even really an overstatement. If you look at the text, that is what they're saying. George Bush is the only one who understands the terror threat, is the only one who is capable of protecting the homeland. And if you vote for John Kerry, a man who misunderstands terror, who's an appeaser, who will sell out our country, Al Qaida will come to your home and kill you.
DOBBS: Roger Simon, Ron Brownstein, E.J. Dionne, thank you, gentlemen. We appreciate it. That brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. Which issues do you most want to hear President Bush address tonight in his acceptance, the economy and jobs, national security and terrorism, health care and education, all of the above? Please cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. The results will be coming up. Still ahead here, much more on the Republican National Convention as President Bush prepares to take the stage. Senate Majority Whip, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican Congressman David Dreier of California among my guests. Also, your e-mails.
And tonight, our special report on the middle class squeeze. Tens of millions of Americans can't afford basic health care. What President Bush plans to do about it.
And a massive storm is headed straight for the coast of Florida. Millions of people rushing to safety tonight. I'll be joined by Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, next. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: President Bush tonight accepts his party's nomination in a primetime speech and will lay out his agenda for a second term. I talked earlier with Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, one of the Senate's most powerful Republicans, and I asked him which issue will voters be focused on most in this election?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL, SENATE MAJORITY WHIP, UNITED STATES SENATE: Look, both sides know that the real issue is the war on terrorism. The Democrats spent their whole convention trying to convince everybody that John Kerry was up to the job of leading in the war on terrorism. That has dominated our convention as well. And the reason for that is the number one issue. What people are looking for in the next president is who can keep us safe. I think the president has much to say on that score. We've not been attacked again here at home in three years. We've been on offense, draining the swamp in Afghanistan and Iraq. The reason everybody is talking about that, Lou, is that's the number one issue.
DOBBS: Number two, arguably, is the economy. More than 1 million jobs net have been lost since the president took office nearly four years ago. Debt has risen astronomically, both the federal debt and the general debt, household debt, corporate debt. There are huge issues in this economy. Growth is not benefiting, at least in terms of jobs, the millions of people that everyone -- nearly everyone assumed would be beneficiaries. What's he going to say about that?
MCCONNELL: Well, another way of looking at it is the 5.5 percent unemployment that we have today is exactly what it was in 1996, when President Clinton was bragging about the economy on the way to a substantial re-election. It's a better unemployment rate than the average unemployment rate than the decade of the '70s, the decade of the '80s, the decade of the '90s. The economy is not in the tank.
DOBBS: Certainly not.
MCCONNELL: We've created 1,500,000 jobs in the last year, and we are growing. But look, I think we can all stipulate that we were sliding into a recession when the president came into office. 9-11 was certainly a blow to the economy. But all indications are we're coming out of this quite nicely.
DOBBS: The idea, however, that the Democrats are going to charge over the course of the next two months, and one assumes vigorously, that this will be the first president since Herbert Hoover to have lost net jobs in the course of his four-year term, how will the Republican party, how will President Bush respond to that?
MCCONNELL: I think the response will be that the unemployment rate is the same as it was eight years ago when we felt good about the economy, that we've created 1,500,000 jobs in the last 12 years, and that the economy is growing nicely. I think that's a pretty positive answer to the question of which way is the economy headed. And we can all stipulate that we were going into a recession when the president came in and that 9-11 really disrupted the economy in a significant way.
DOBBS: There is still a large number of Americans who are simply discouraged in their search for work. With the huge levels of debt that we face in this country, what will be the response to those challenges?
MCCONNELL: Well, we need to work on the deficit. The reason it's here, of course, is because of the economic slowdown on the one hand, and the increased expenditures for defense and homeland security, which everybody agreed needed to be done. Nevertheless, the president has a plan to cut the deficit in half over the next four years. I think that's achievable. We have to restrain the rate of growth outside of defense and homeland security in government spending.
DOBBS: Senator McConnell, with you thank you very much for being here.
MCCONNELL: Thank you, Lou. Good to be with you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Tonight's thought is on campaigning and elections. "Even though this is late in an election year, there is no way that we can go forward except together and no way anybody can win except by serving the people's urgent needs," the words of President Gerald Ford.
Taking a look at some of your thoughts. Kathy in Michigan wrote to say, "what a sad state it is when the working middle class has a hard time affording prescription drugs and medical care, but Congress has set aside billions of dollars for illegals. Makes you wonder if Congress knows the meaning of illegal."
And the Bubb (ph) family in Kansas. "We're sick of corporates getting richer from the sweat of cheap labor while the working middle class pays the highest taxes, et cetera. We need confrontation, accountability and change. Keep fighting for us. You bring hope to a dismal struggle."
Conny in Texas. "With so many wealthy politicians in office, they have no clue what the middle class is going through. Maybe we need to freeze their income from the president down and let them try living with a salary equal to unemployment benefits with no health care for a few months. They might finally get the message."
And Donna in Kansas said, "Mr. Dobbs, I wish you'd quit flip- flopping on the outsourcing of American jobs and the economic assault on the middle class. I'm getting a headache trying to figure out which side of this issue you stand on. Just kidding, of course. You go, Lou."
We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs@cnn.com. And please send us your name and address. We're sending each of you whose e-mail is read on this broadcast a free copy of my new book, "Exporting America."
Now we're going to turn to Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, for an update on a fast-moving, powerful storm, in fact, the most powerful that anyone has seen in a generation. Joining me now is Max Mayfield, the head of the National Hurricane Center. Max, thank you. Well, I'm told that we have just lost Max. You're not going to believe this, I'm told that quickly that it is back, and I'm going to trust everyone to say hi, Max, and we appreciate your being with us.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: OK, thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: And we apologize for the confusion there, on our part, I should say. Max, this is -- this storm is being heralded as perhaps one of the most powerful in a generation. Can you tell us what you've been able to assess here over the course of the past hour.
(WEATHER REPORT)
DOBBS: Still ahead here tonight, the always outspoken Republican Congressman David Dreier on his party's national convention and what he expects from the president's speech tonight and what he expects to be the result of this week of national convention. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: The Republican National Convention here in New York concludes tonight. The highlight, the speech, the acceptance speech by President Bush. He's expected to focus on his leadership while this nation is at war. Congressman David Dreier of California joins me tonight from Madison Square Garden. Congressman, good to see you.
CONGRESSMAN DAVID DREIER (R), CALIFORNIA: Always good to see you. It was great to be with you earlier this week and look forward to seeing you later tonight.
DOBBS: You've got a deal. Let's talk about what the president is going to say tonight that will galvanize the base and convince independents to vote for him.
DREIER: Well, I'll tell you, Lou, he's going to talk about what a new term would consist of. And I believe that that new term is one that will be filled with building on this whole issue of an ownership society, which we have today. I mean, we've enjoyed phenomenal success with 70 percent of American people owning their own homes. As of today, we've seen a 22 percent increase in the number of Americans who have increased the size of their 401(k)s to a level of $77,000.
And, of course, we're looking at creating more important for people to put their own dollars aside to make plans for retirement. We also -- and you just talked to my colleague Mitch McConnell a few minutes ago, of course, the number one issue is the global war on terror. But it's clear that the American people want to know what it is that President Bush will offer in a new term, and I'm convinced that the speech that they're going to get this evening will clearly outline that. And I'm very upbeat and optimistic about it.
DOBBS: Senator Zell Miller talked about a vote for Senator John Kerry as simply a rejection of the administration's fight against terror. The Democrats are coming up with a $50 million ad campaign. What do you expect to see as a result of this convention itself in which Senator Kerry has been attacked pretty strongly? I'm not saying unfairly, but at least attacked very strongly. What kind of bounce do you expect to see in the president's numbers as a result?
DREIER: Well, first, it's very clear that this convention is the one that did talk about what happened during that great void that wasn't discussed at the Democratic convention, and that is the 20-year history of John Kerry's votes. And, you know, a lot of people have been talking about Zell Miller's speech last night. This is the Zell Miller who's a Democrat who actually employed your colleague James Carville in his campaigns in the past. He is someone who went through that litany of weapon systems, the B-2 bomber, the Apache Helicopter, that John Kerry consistently voted against.
And those things, Lou, that he voted against actually did -- if he had been successful in those votes, that clearly would have weakened our ability to deal with the global war on terror as effectively as we have. And we're also dealing with this new economy. And, you know, we get these jobs numbers out tomorrow. And I think it's important to note that we are in an extraordinarily changing economy, and you and I have discussed this many times in the past. But I think it's important to look at the fact that, as we look at that new economy, if it weren't for a changing economy, you'd be a newspaper reporter today and not a cable news star, as you are.
And as I was walking up here, I ran into the son of your colleague, Candy Crowley, John Crowley, who when I asked him about a concert last night, and he said, do you want to see it? I said what do you mean see it? And he pulled out his digital camera that actually had the concert of last night on.
DOBBS: While that may have been a remarkable experience, I don't think we want to test the patience of our viewers any further with it.
DREIER: I'm not going to run it, but I'm just talking about our changing economy, Lou.
DOBBS: And just to keep things, as they say, somewhere fair and balanced, you mentioned my colleague, James Carville, who is a valued colleague, also a valued colleague, of course, Robert Novak. And just to give you a demonstration that certainly the CNN tent is as broad as anyone's whether Democrat or Republican.
DREIER: Right. James is the one who worked for Zell Miller, though, is my point.
DOBBS: I understand. He got elected too, didn't he?
DREIER: Yes, he did. Yes, he did. We'll see you later tonight.
DOBBS: David Dreier, you have a deal. Thanks for being with us. Congressman of the good state of California. Still ahead, middle class squeeze, tens of millions of our fellow citizens have lost their health insurance coverage. And tonight we're going to have a special report on whether President Bush has a real plan to change all of that. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: We've reported all this week on the president's plans to fight what we call here the middle class squeeze. Tonight more than 40 million Americans live without even the most basic health care insurance. Lisa Sylvester reports from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush campaigning in New Hampshire this week touched on a crowd-pleaser, cutting health care costs.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Most people get their health care through their jobs. Most new jobs are created by small businesses, and many small businesses are having trouble with the cost of health care.
SYLVESTER: But since President Bush took office, the number of Americans without health insurance has climbed by 4 million to nearly 44 million. The White House hopes to reverse the tide with proposed tax credits, up to $3,000 for uninsured families, and $1,000 for individuals to buy health insurance. Association health plans that allow small businesses to ban together to negotiate lower premiums, health savings accounts that allow individuals to buy low cost, high deductible health plans, with premiums that would be a tax write-off, and medical malpractice reform.
SYLVESTER: The plan is expected to extend coverage to about 4 million people, but health experts fear that number could be far lower if employers stop offering health insurance to their workers.
HENRY AARON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: The tax credit that President Bush is talking about gives employers who are getting increasingly restive about continuing to sponsor unpredictably costly health insurance a good excuse to drop it.
SYLVESTER: Critics say it would leave the chronically ill saddled with high yearly deductibles, and they argue the proposed tax credits will not help the poorest of the uninsured.
UWE REINHARDT, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: For a family, a health insurance policy costs 10,000 to $12,000. So if you have a family of $25,000 income, and you give them $3,000, they would still have to put somewhere between 8,000 and $10,000 on top of it out of their own budget to buy the policy.
SYLVESTER: But the president's plan appeals to fiscal conservatives. While it covers far fewer people than John Kerry's health plan, it also costs eight times less, $90 billion. Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Coming up next, we'll have the results of our poll and a preview of what's ahead tomorrow. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now the results of tonight's poll. Forty-nine percent of you want President Bush to address the economy and jobs in his acceptance speech tonight, 3 percent, national security and terrorism, a surprisingly low number, 9 percent, health care and education. Nearly 40 percent of you say all of the above. Thanks for being with us. Please join us here tomorrow. We'll have the very latest on Hurricane Frances expected to make landfall tomorrow evening. And we wish you a very pleasant evening from New York. Anderson Cooper 360 is next.
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