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Parade to Capitol Today Last, Not First for President Reagan

Aired June 09, 2004 - 13:33   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now from the Capitol. The body of former President Ronald Reagan being flown to Washington this hour. Mourners already lining up outside of the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. His closed casket will be placed there for public viewing until Friday morning. The crowd could top 200,000 people before the funeral at the National Cathedral on Friday.
Jurors have begun deliberating the case of convicted bomb maker Terry Nichols. They were handed the case after closing arguments this morning in a McAllister, Oklahoma, courtroom. The jury will decide if Nichols will get the death penalty or a life sentence for his part in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Witnesses in the Scott Peterson murder trial describe an emotionless husband during the search for his missing wife. Testimony continues today. And one of Laci Peterson's cousins takes the stand. The defense is downplaying Scott Peterson's lack of emotion after his wife disappeared saying he's not an emotional man.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The body of Ronald Reagan is en route to the nation's capital. It was a simple, emotional ceremony in California. The 40th president of the United States received a moving 21-gun salute at Point Mugu Air Base. The flag-draped coffin, accompanied by Nancy Reagan and the president's surviving children.

The plane carrying Reagan's remains and his family scheduled to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base about 5:00 Eastern.

A procession to the Capitol Rotunda is set to begin about an hour later. Thousands of people lining up all along the way and at the Capitol Dome to bid a final farewell to the 40th president of the United States.

PHILLIPS: In Washington, final preparations under way for the nation's first state funeral in more than three decades. A horse- drawn caisson will lead the formal procession to the Capitol. CNN's national correspondent Bob Franken has the details -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well as you can see behind me at the moment Constitution Avenue, which will be the route for the parade, Constitution Avenue at the moment is open. You can see traffic in the background.

Only a trickle, thus far, of people who are starting to line up. It's very hot, as you know. But about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from now, the motorcade, the caisson, will begin its move up Constitution Avenue. It will all be closed down. Very, very heavy security for the very formal, slow move up from 16th Street. We're about nine blocks away. About another nine blocks or so from the Capitol where it will all end up.

President Reagan making a trip that he probably made several times when he was the president of the United States, here up Constitution Avenue, on a caisson, accompanied by the military, accompanied by riders.

They're going to be dealing with quite a bit of intense heat. The temperature in the 90s today. They will be wearing dress formal wool uniforms. It's going to be a real test, but it's a test that they say they're ready for.

In any case, we're expecting there will be large crowds along here. Only a few thus far trying to get the good seats they can get. Dealing with the heat.

If you look at the people here, you see they have taken advantage of the fact there's a concession stand nearby, selling snow cones, which they are refusing to share, I might add. But can't say I really blame them. But they're going to have a seat for history, they're going to be watching it as the 40th president goes through a parade pass the nation and the nation's capital where final respects can be paid -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Bob, I know you want to be relaxing on that lawn right, I know it's hot. You're braving the elements right now. But let me ask you, isn't the president and Laura Bush supposed to meet with Nancy Reagan at some point within the next day or two?

FRANKEN: That's expected tomorrow. Now, Nancy Reagan is going to stay at Blair House, which is the official guest house for heads of state, which is across the street. It is a beautiful, beautiful building right across from the White House. And the -- Nancy Reagan and the Bushes are going to meet at some point tomorrow.

PHILLIPS: Bob Franken, thanks so much.

Will the nation's symbol of military might be renamed the Ronald Reagan National Defense Building? Well Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist introduced an amendment yesterday to rename the Pentagon in honor of the former President. The amendment is one of more than 200 that lawmakers introduced for the Defense Authorization Bill. Both parties say that only a fraction of those amendments will be voted on.

O'BRIEN: Those of us in journalism are privileged to have a front row seat to historic events. Our next guest had just such a ticket to the Reagan Revolution. Michael Evans was White House photographer during those years.

Captured many iconic images of the Reagan presidency including the photograph you're about to see that donning both covers of both news weeklies, the major ones, "TIME" and "Newsweek." A seldom accomplished coup for any photo journalist. And, first of all, congratulations on having the shot that was the definitive shot, Michael.

MICHAEL EVANS, FRM. WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER: Well, I was out of town on a business trip. And I didn't actually get to see the pictures until I got to O'Hare Airport yesterday morning. So kind of a bittersweet moment, you know. It's a great moment for me and, you know, it's just a sad moment with the president's passing.

O'BRIEN: And this photograph was taken, the cover photograph was taken, in 1975 when he was running for president on the first go around up against Gerald Ford. And at the time kind of got lost in the shuffle, didn't it?

EVANS: Well, it was -- I always liked the picture. I thought it was going to be, you know, widely published. But as it turned out, Ronald Reagan lost narrowly to Gerry Ford. And so the picture kind of got buried.

And then when he ran four years later, it wasn't fresh material. So -- it took until something like this for it to come in.

O'BRIEN: You captured Ronald Reagan in one image for sure on that one.

Let's talk about the very early days of the Reagan presidency.

EVANS: Yes, sir.

O'BRIEN: You were quite literally in harm's way there, in March of '81, the assassination attempt. This is your image. And we should point out -- I don't have a telestrator set up or anything -- but in the right-hand portion of your screen, midway, where the police officer is looking back at us, that's where John Hinckley was.

EVANS: Correct.

O'BRIEN: That police officer was shot. Of course Jim Brady, the press secretary, behind the president, was shot.

EVANS: And that's Jerry Parr, right behind the president. He's the guy who shoved the president in the limousine when the shots rang out.

O'BRIEN: But what I see here is I see you literally in the sights of John Hinckley's gun. You were in harm's way in a big way. Literally, Ronald Reagan took a bullet that would have hit you.

EVANS: Yes, the FBI did a reconstruction after this and they traced the bullet paths and everything else. When they interviewed me the next day, they said the bullet would have hit me somewhere between the knees and the belly button.

O'BRIEN: Wow. All right, well, that's a moment to remember for you, I'm sure. I'm sure that's a pivotal moment. Let's talk about President Reagan, who turned 70. Was that in his first term? EVANS: Right, it was very early on, February 11th, I believe.

O'BRIEN: You, as the White House photographer, captured a wonderful night of festivities at the White House, and there's Frank Sinatra dancing with Nancy Reagan, and the president gently trying to cut in.

EVANS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: This story got you in some hot water.

EVANS: Well, because of the logistics, having to do with film processing and so on, we weren't going to be able to release pictures of the birthday party until about 4:00 a.m. in the morning. And I asked the senior staff at the meeting that day who wanted to OK the pictures? And everybody looked at each other, and they say, why don't you do it, Michael? and they -- so I made an exception -- because I didn't really want to have anything to do with releasing pictures, but this was kind a special thing. I said, I'll cover it like a news man, and the best picture will be the one I release, and be warned, you know, whatever, I'm not a PR person.

O'BRIEN: You're not a PR guy, you're a journalist.

EVANS: So, anyway, I got home about 6:00 a.m., I'm trying to get to sleep. Phone rings at 7:30, and it's my immediate boss, Michael Deaver, and he's madder than a wet hen.

O'BRIEN: Didn't like that, because of course Frank Sinatra, a controversial figure, with the alleged ties to the mob and so forth.

EVANS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: OK. So go ahead.

EVANS: In fact, I asked that question to senior staff members. Is there anything you don't want released? You know I'll take it, but you know...

O'BRIEN: And they didn't say this.

EVANS: No, no, the president's birthday, what could possibly go wrong? So anyway, that sort of phone call gave me a sinking feeling. About a half hour later, I'm still dozing off and the phone rings again. It's Jim Baker.

O'BRIEN: White House chief of staff.

EVANS: White House chief of staff, and he's madder than Deaver. And so I'm thinking, oh, boy, well, it was like -- we'd only been in the White House about three weeks at that point. I'm saying, boy, that was a short run.

O'BRIEN: But then the final call. There's one more.

EVANS: One more. Dick Durman (ph), Jim Baker's assistant, very smart man, called up and sort of said, oh, I'm going to enjoy seeing you twist in the wind, or something like that. And he was a very smart guy.

Anyway, I'm really feeling bad now, badly. And about two hours later, the phone rings, and it's the White House operator, saying, Mrs. Reagan wants to talk to you. So I picked up the phone, you know, gingerly. And she said, we're sitting here having breakfast with Frank, and we just think the picture in the front page of "The Washington Post" is absolutely wonderful, and I said, well, thank you very much, Mrs. Reagan. She said, do you think you could possibly get a couple of copies up here to the residence before Frank leaves so we can sign it for him? And I said, sure. I said, Mrs. Reagan, we'll do that, but could you do me a favor? Would you mind calling Jim Baker and Mike Deaver and telling them how much they liked the picture?

O'BRIEN: And your tenure continued.

EVANS: That's right.

O'BRIEN: One final picture we want to share with folks before you leave. This is the shot you took at the ranch, and there's a lot of symbolism embodied in the picture in the light of the events we're covering right now. Just tell us the quick little back story and your thoughts on that, and also your personal connections to Reagan and how he affected your worldview.

EVANS: Well, it -- this, to me, again, this is kind of a cliched shot, but I kind of figured, this is just sort of -- it's kind of like, I'm off to newer pastures, and it's sort of like a goodbye picture. I realized -- I'm a cancer survivor. And one of the things I sort of realized, in the middle of all this uproar over the two covers and everything else, that one of the things that's really helped me to get through everything, because I've got a very nasty form of cancer, is I sort of went into Ronald Reagan mode. So I have this model of my mother and father, and Ronald Reagan sort of -- you know, Hemingway defined courage as grace under pressure, and that sort of -- that's what Ronald Reagan symbolizes to me.

I would be remiss not to say hello to my coworkers out in Laguna Beach at ZUMA, and so if you don't mind.

O'BRIEN: We did that, and we would like to underscore that by giving a verbal credit to ZUMA, for having helped us get all these wonderful images. And we wish you well.

EVANS: Thanks you.

O'BRIEN: And we're glad Reagan's infectious optimism has rubbed off on you.

EVANS: Absolutely, absolutely. It's like a virus.

O'BRIEN: Good, a good virus.

EVANS: OK, yes.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Michael Evans.

EVANS: OK, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, still ahead on LIVE FROM, this woman, who really knows how to protest, she's been doing it longer than some of today's leaders have lived, and she's at the G-8 right now. Her story is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the G-8 summit hasn't seen the protest that it has in past years. Only about 200 demonstrators gathered in Brunswick, Georgia, at the other end of Sea Island's causeway, among them, one diehard activist.

Our Gary Tuchman introduces us to Peg McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the roughly 200 demonstrators, agitators and anarchists marching on the opening day of the G-8 Summit is this woman, Peg McIntire of St. Augustine, Florida.

(on camera): How young are you?

PEG MCINTIRE, PROTESTER: Ninety-three and a half.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Peg McIntire has been marching in protest for so long that some of her fellow protesters' great-grandparents weren't even alive during her first demonstration against Republican presidential candidate Al Smith in 1928.

MCINTIRE: In those days, they had horses and they really pushed us and came through the crowd and damaged quite a few of us. We were hurt by the horses.

TUCHMAN: She marched in support of union workers during World War II. During Vietnam she was in Italy demonstrating outside the U.S. embassy.

MCINTIRE: The embassy police got us -- chased us out.

TUCHMAN: The New York native has lost track of the number of her protests. On this day the long-time widow marches part of the two- mile route in the broiling sun with her son to protest American policy in Iraq.

Her endurance isn't the same as it used to be, but her passion is.

MCINTIRE: I think we should not have been there in the first place.

TUCHMAN: She likes her demonstrations peaceful, but plentiful.

MCINTIRE: I can't waste a day. I feel that every morning when I wake up that I've got to do something.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Brunswick, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Still ahead on LIVE FROM, Jelly Belly pays tribute.

And, Rhonda, don't take that personally, Rhonda. Rhonda's not taking anything personally.

PHILLIPS: We're supposed to lip read today.

Rhonda's doing silent movies there. What she's saying is one company is saying goodbye to its most famous fan. That story and more, after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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 June 9, 2004 - 13:33   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures now from the Capitol. The body of former President Ronald Reagan being flown to Washington this hour. Mourners already lining up outside of the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. His closed casket will be placed there for public viewing until Friday morning. The crowd could top 200,000 people before the funeral at the National Cathedral on Friday.
Jurors have begun deliberating the case of convicted bomb maker Terry Nichols. They were handed the case after closing arguments this morning in a McAllister, Oklahoma, courtroom. The jury will decide if Nichols will get the death penalty or a life sentence for his part in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Witnesses in the Scott Peterson murder trial describe an emotionless husband during the search for his missing wife. Testimony continues today. And one of Laci Peterson's cousins takes the stand. The defense is downplaying Scott Peterson's lack of emotion after his wife disappeared saying he's not an emotional man.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The body of Ronald Reagan is en route to the nation's capital. It was a simple, emotional ceremony in California. The 40th president of the United States received a moving 21-gun salute at Point Mugu Air Base. The flag-draped coffin, accompanied by Nancy Reagan and the president's surviving children.

The plane carrying Reagan's remains and his family scheduled to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base about 5:00 Eastern.

A procession to the Capitol Rotunda is set to begin about an hour later. Thousands of people lining up all along the way and at the Capitol Dome to bid a final farewell to the 40th president of the United States.

PHILLIPS: In Washington, final preparations under way for the nation's first state funeral in more than three decades. A horse- drawn caisson will lead the formal procession to the Capitol. CNN's national correspondent Bob Franken has the details -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well as you can see behind me at the moment Constitution Avenue, which will be the route for the parade, Constitution Avenue at the moment is open. You can see traffic in the background.

Only a trickle, thus far, of people who are starting to line up. It's very hot, as you know. But about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from now, the motorcade, the caisson, will begin its move up Constitution Avenue. It will all be closed down. Very, very heavy security for the very formal, slow move up from 16th Street. We're about nine blocks away. About another nine blocks or so from the Capitol where it will all end up.

President Reagan making a trip that he probably made several times when he was the president of the United States, here up Constitution Avenue, on a caisson, accompanied by the military, accompanied by riders.

They're going to be dealing with quite a bit of intense heat. The temperature in the 90s today. They will be wearing dress formal wool uniforms. It's going to be a real test, but it's a test that they say they're ready for.

In any case, we're expecting there will be large crowds along here. Only a few thus far trying to get the good seats they can get. Dealing with the heat.

If you look at the people here, you see they have taken advantage of the fact there's a concession stand nearby, selling snow cones, which they are refusing to share, I might add. But can't say I really blame them. But they're going to have a seat for history, they're going to be watching it as the 40th president goes through a parade pass the nation and the nation's capital where final respects can be paid -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Bob, I know you want to be relaxing on that lawn right, I know it's hot. You're braving the elements right now. But let me ask you, isn't the president and Laura Bush supposed to meet with Nancy Reagan at some point within the next day or two?

FRANKEN: That's expected tomorrow. Now, Nancy Reagan is going to stay at Blair House, which is the official guest house for heads of state, which is across the street. It is a beautiful, beautiful building right across from the White House. And the -- Nancy Reagan and the Bushes are going to meet at some point tomorrow.

PHILLIPS: Bob Franken, thanks so much.

Will the nation's symbol of military might be renamed the Ronald Reagan National Defense Building? Well Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist introduced an amendment yesterday to rename the Pentagon in honor of the former President. The amendment is one of more than 200 that lawmakers introduced for the Defense Authorization Bill. Both parties say that only a fraction of those amendments will be voted on.

O'BRIEN: Those of us in journalism are privileged to have a front row seat to historic events. Our next guest had just such a ticket to the Reagan Revolution. Michael Evans was White House photographer during those years.

Captured many iconic images of the Reagan presidency including the photograph you're about to see that donning both covers of both news weeklies, the major ones, "TIME" and "Newsweek." A seldom accomplished coup for any photo journalist. And, first of all, congratulations on having the shot that was the definitive shot, Michael.

MICHAEL EVANS, FRM. WHITE HOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER: Well, I was out of town on a business trip. And I didn't actually get to see the pictures until I got to O'Hare Airport yesterday morning. So kind of a bittersweet moment, you know. It's a great moment for me and, you know, it's just a sad moment with the president's passing.

O'BRIEN: And this photograph was taken, the cover photograph was taken, in 1975 when he was running for president on the first go around up against Gerald Ford. And at the time kind of got lost in the shuffle, didn't it?

EVANS: Well, it was -- I always liked the picture. I thought it was going to be, you know, widely published. But as it turned out, Ronald Reagan lost narrowly to Gerry Ford. And so the picture kind of got buried.

And then when he ran four years later, it wasn't fresh material. So -- it took until something like this for it to come in.

O'BRIEN: You captured Ronald Reagan in one image for sure on that one.

Let's talk about the very early days of the Reagan presidency.

EVANS: Yes, sir.

O'BRIEN: You were quite literally in harm's way there, in March of '81, the assassination attempt. This is your image. And we should point out -- I don't have a telestrator set up or anything -- but in the right-hand portion of your screen, midway, where the police officer is looking back at us, that's where John Hinckley was.

EVANS: Correct.

O'BRIEN: That police officer was shot. Of course Jim Brady, the press secretary, behind the president, was shot.

EVANS: And that's Jerry Parr, right behind the president. He's the guy who shoved the president in the limousine when the shots rang out.

O'BRIEN: But what I see here is I see you literally in the sights of John Hinckley's gun. You were in harm's way in a big way. Literally, Ronald Reagan took a bullet that would have hit you.

EVANS: Yes, the FBI did a reconstruction after this and they traced the bullet paths and everything else. When they interviewed me the next day, they said the bullet would have hit me somewhere between the knees and the belly button.

O'BRIEN: Wow. All right, well, that's a moment to remember for you, I'm sure. I'm sure that's a pivotal moment. Let's talk about President Reagan, who turned 70. Was that in his first term? EVANS: Right, it was very early on, February 11th, I believe.

O'BRIEN: You, as the White House photographer, captured a wonderful night of festivities at the White House, and there's Frank Sinatra dancing with Nancy Reagan, and the president gently trying to cut in.

EVANS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: This story got you in some hot water.

EVANS: Well, because of the logistics, having to do with film processing and so on, we weren't going to be able to release pictures of the birthday party until about 4:00 a.m. in the morning. And I asked the senior staff at the meeting that day who wanted to OK the pictures? And everybody looked at each other, and they say, why don't you do it, Michael? and they -- so I made an exception -- because I didn't really want to have anything to do with releasing pictures, but this was kind a special thing. I said, I'll cover it like a news man, and the best picture will be the one I release, and be warned, you know, whatever, I'm not a PR person.

O'BRIEN: You're not a PR guy, you're a journalist.

EVANS: So, anyway, I got home about 6:00 a.m., I'm trying to get to sleep. Phone rings at 7:30, and it's my immediate boss, Michael Deaver, and he's madder than a wet hen.

O'BRIEN: Didn't like that, because of course Frank Sinatra, a controversial figure, with the alleged ties to the mob and so forth.

EVANS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: OK. So go ahead.

EVANS: In fact, I asked that question to senior staff members. Is there anything you don't want released? You know I'll take it, but you know...

O'BRIEN: And they didn't say this.

EVANS: No, no, the president's birthday, what could possibly go wrong? So anyway, that sort of phone call gave me a sinking feeling. About a half hour later, I'm still dozing off and the phone rings again. It's Jim Baker.

O'BRIEN: White House chief of staff.

EVANS: White House chief of staff, and he's madder than Deaver. And so I'm thinking, oh, boy, well, it was like -- we'd only been in the White House about three weeks at that point. I'm saying, boy, that was a short run.

O'BRIEN: But then the final call. There's one more.

EVANS: One more. Dick Durman (ph), Jim Baker's assistant, very smart man, called up and sort of said, oh, I'm going to enjoy seeing you twist in the wind, or something like that. And he was a very smart guy.

Anyway, I'm really feeling bad now, badly. And about two hours later, the phone rings, and it's the White House operator, saying, Mrs. Reagan wants to talk to you. So I picked up the phone, you know, gingerly. And she said, we're sitting here having breakfast with Frank, and we just think the picture in the front page of "The Washington Post" is absolutely wonderful, and I said, well, thank you very much, Mrs. Reagan. She said, do you think you could possibly get a couple of copies up here to the residence before Frank leaves so we can sign it for him? And I said, sure. I said, Mrs. Reagan, we'll do that, but could you do me a favor? Would you mind calling Jim Baker and Mike Deaver and telling them how much they liked the picture?

O'BRIEN: And your tenure continued.

EVANS: That's right.

O'BRIEN: One final picture we want to share with folks before you leave. This is the shot you took at the ranch, and there's a lot of symbolism embodied in the picture in the light of the events we're covering right now. Just tell us the quick little back story and your thoughts on that, and also your personal connections to Reagan and how he affected your worldview.

EVANS: Well, it -- this, to me, again, this is kind of a cliched shot, but I kind of figured, this is just sort of -- it's kind of like, I'm off to newer pastures, and it's sort of like a goodbye picture. I realized -- I'm a cancer survivor. And one of the things I sort of realized, in the middle of all this uproar over the two covers and everything else, that one of the things that's really helped me to get through everything, because I've got a very nasty form of cancer, is I sort of went into Ronald Reagan mode. So I have this model of my mother and father, and Ronald Reagan sort of -- you know, Hemingway defined courage as grace under pressure, and that sort of -- that's what Ronald Reagan symbolizes to me.

I would be remiss not to say hello to my coworkers out in Laguna Beach at ZUMA, and so if you don't mind.

O'BRIEN: We did that, and we would like to underscore that by giving a verbal credit to ZUMA, for having helped us get all these wonderful images. And we wish you well.

EVANS: Thanks you.

O'BRIEN: And we're glad Reagan's infectious optimism has rubbed off on you.

EVANS: Absolutely, absolutely. It's like a virus.

O'BRIEN: Good, a good virus.

EVANS: OK, yes.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Michael Evans.

EVANS: OK, thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, still ahead on LIVE FROM, this woman, who really knows how to protest, she's been doing it longer than some of today's leaders have lived, and she's at the G-8 right now. Her story is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the G-8 summit hasn't seen the protest that it has in past years. Only about 200 demonstrators gathered in Brunswick, Georgia, at the other end of Sea Island's causeway, among them, one diehard activist.

Our Gary Tuchman introduces us to Peg McIntyre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the roughly 200 demonstrators, agitators and anarchists marching on the opening day of the G-8 Summit is this woman, Peg McIntire of St. Augustine, Florida.

(on camera): How young are you?

PEG MCINTIRE, PROTESTER: Ninety-three and a half.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Peg McIntire has been marching in protest for so long that some of her fellow protesters' great-grandparents weren't even alive during her first demonstration against Republican presidential candidate Al Smith in 1928.

MCINTIRE: In those days, they had horses and they really pushed us and came through the crowd and damaged quite a few of us. We were hurt by the horses.

TUCHMAN: She marched in support of union workers during World War II. During Vietnam she was in Italy demonstrating outside the U.S. embassy.

MCINTIRE: The embassy police got us -- chased us out.

TUCHMAN: The New York native has lost track of the number of her protests. On this day the long-time widow marches part of the two- mile route in the broiling sun with her son to protest American policy in Iraq.

Her endurance isn't the same as it used to be, but her passion is.

MCINTIRE: I think we should not have been there in the first place.

TUCHMAN: She likes her demonstrations peaceful, but plentiful.

MCINTIRE: I can't waste a day. I feel that every morning when I wake up that I've got to do something.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Brunswick, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Still ahead on LIVE FROM, Jelly Belly pays tribute.

And, Rhonda, don't take that personally, Rhonda. Rhonda's not taking anything personally.

PHILLIPS: We're supposed to lip read today.

Rhonda's doing silent movies there. What she's saying is one company is saying goodbye to its most famous fan. That story and more, after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com