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Can Edwards Help Cinch Deal For Kerry, What Are Historical Precedents in This?

Aired July 06, 2004 - 14:30   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is LIVE FROM. And I'm Miles O'Brien.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what's all new this half-hour.

Does the vice presidential candidate really matter? A presidential historian gives us his take on some of the men who have been a heartbeat away from the presidency.

An army stretched to its limits apparently won't bend the rules for a soldier with some really big tattoos.

O'BRIEN: Looks like he's got superhero powers, too.

And what did the driver of this car say to the cops when they pulled up? It's our LIVE FROM oops moment of the day, but first, the top stories we're following for you.

PHILLIPS: Senator John Kerry campaigns in Indiana after naming John Edwards as his running mate. The two, and their families, are to meet up tonight in Pittsburgh and then hit the trail together tomorrow. Kerry and his wife Teresa are to join Larry King on Thursday -- that's "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

Mourners murdered. Hospital officials say at least six Iraqis were killed when a suicide bomber blew up his car near a house in Khalis, just north of Baghdad. A memorial service was taking place at the time for two other victims, killed two days earlier.

He's alive and free. At least that's how a brother of Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun understands it. Sami Hassoun told CNN there is, quote, "a clear sign that the U.S. Marine has been released unharmed." He won't elaborate. Hassoun has been missing in Iraq since June 19. The Pentagon says it cannot confirm that he is now free.

Is he healthy enough to defend himself? A three judge panel will make that decision next week after Slobodan Milosevic has been examined by a cardiologist. Until then, the war crimes trial of the former Yugoslav president is on hold.

O'BRIEN: John Kerry's choice of John Edwards as his running mate is no big surprise. To many, Edwards is generally considered one of the most skilled campaigners in the Democratic field. But can he help cinch the deal for Kerry, and what are the historical precedents in all of this?

Douglas Brinkley is a presidential historian, director of the Eisenhower Center in New Orleans.

Professor Brinkley, good to have you back with us.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, EISENHOWER CENTER: Thank you for having me.

O'BRIEN: All right, first of all, first take on this one, will history treat this decision well?

BRINKLEY: Well, only time will tell, but certainly it makes a whole lot of sense. John Edwards is this year's flavor. Starting in February, he really picked up steam. He became sort of the number two Democratic behind John Edwards. He comes from a different geographic region. He's from the South, as you've been talking about. He's Baptist, Kerry's Catholic, there's a big age difference, but it makes for a pretty good combination.

So I think most core Democrats in the country are probably pleased with John Edwards as being the nominee.

O'BRIEN: Well, on a sultry summer day, we make a lot of these kinds of things, and people in the political class love talking about it, but I always hearken back to what John Nance Garner said about the office -- about equivalent to a warm pitcher of spit, or something like that. That might be cleaned up a little bit.

The point is, though, have times changed, and maybe perhaps has Dick Cheney, Al Gore -- have they changed the vice presidency such that these choices really matter to voters?

BRINKLEY: Well, John Nance Garner was one of the many vice presidents Franklin Roosevelt had. He used to change them every four years. So, as Garner said, sometimes the V.P. is like the spare tire in the automobile of government. He felt like a loose wheel.

In our modern culture, though, more and more the vice president's had I think a more essential role. It really began with Jimmy Carter bringing Walter Mondale into more, and you've seen every president since Carter having the vice president, I think, growing in stature, to the point now where some people feel that Dick Cheney is almost a prime minister, or running the office chief of staff in addition to being V.P.

And then when one looks at history, look how many great men become president by being vice president, meaning -- Theodore Roosevelt was simply McKinley's vice president. He came in under that assassination. And you had FDR dying and Truman coming in, or John F. Kennedy being shot and Johnson coming in. So it's clearly the quickest stepping stone to the White House.

O'BRIEN: A heartbeat way, as they say. Let's talk about -- you mentioned Jimmy Carter. Of course, in '76, he ran against Gerald Ford. The ticket was Ford and Dole, but perhaps we've all forgotten about a previous iteration of vice presidential Republican running mates for Ford.

BRINKLEY: Well, you know, Nelson Rockefeller was the V.P., and Ford dumped him in favor of Dole, and it turned out to be a terrible mistake. Because Daddy King, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s father was so powerful in the black community that he was going to stick with Rockefeller, because Rockefeller's money had been supporting all the black colleges, particularly the ones in Georgia.

And suddenly, when Rockefeller got dumped and Dole was on the ticket, Daddy King and a lot of black leaders said, you know what, we're going to back this one-term Georgia governor. And Carter had run as a redneck conservative in the South, wasn't trusted by the black community, but they trusted him more than they did with Bob Dole being added to the ticket. And, hence, it really solidified Carter's ability to be a Southerner that was carrying the black vote.

O'BRIEN: So, did Gerald Ford -- did this escape the Ford operation? Did they not see the significance of that move, perhaps? I mean, really, you could make a case the election might have turned right on that decision.

BRINKLEY: I think so. I'm writing a little book with the "New York Times" on Gerald Ford, and it's a very key moment. Gerald Ford himself would tell you that there's -- if he would have kept Rockefeller, he probably could have won. The selection of Dole turned out to be a disaster for him for this very reason.

You have to get into the racial politics of 1976 and what Carter's record had been up until that time, and understand that the Rockefeller family had been liberal Republicans from the Northeast who had been very, very generous to the civil rights movement.

O'BRIEN: All right. Final thought on, perhaps, vice presidents who have hurt the top of the ticket. Would you go along with the theory that Dan Quayle hurt the senior Bush?

BRINKLEY: There's absolutely on question about it. Dan Quayle was a disaster. Everybody, now, looking back at that election, realizes Quayle should have been dumped. He had become, whether rightfully or wrongfully, a public joke. He was fodder of comedians. Nobody took him serious. People didn't feel that he was a -- that could effectively be a commander in chief.

He has grown in stature, Dan Quayle, since back then, but he was fumbling so often that his name became synonymous with buffoonery. And the loyalty that President Bush showed to Quayle was really almost unimagined, and I think it cost him the presidency.

O'BRIEN: But people in America appreciate loyalty, don't they?

BRINKLEY: That's a line you've got to draw, and it's one that I think this president's clear that he's sticking with Dick Cheney at least right now, and loyalty is speaking very loudly, but there are many Republicans that'll tell you that he'd be better off with a Giuliani or a McCain or a Powell or a Rice or somebody who would be a more centrist candidate and bring the compassion back into Bush's conservatism.

O'BRIEN: Doug Brinkley, thanks for taking some time away from your Ford book, which we will look forward to. We appreciate it. Always a pleasure seeing you.

BRINKLEY: Nice seeing you.

PHILLIPS: Youthful appeal versus the elder statesman. John Edwards is undoubtedly a gifted orator, but Dick Cheney's no slouch before the microphone either, even if some say his tactics may need fine tuning.

Here's our Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dick Cheney may or may not love the political fight, and depending on the day, opinions may sway on whether he's good at it. Either way, he's in it now.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: John Kerry's votes and statements over the decades that he's been in office put him on the left, out of the mainstream, out of touch with the conservative values of the heartland in America.

TODD: But as the vice president ratchets up his attacks on John Kerry, questions are raised about Cheney himself and his role in a campaign that is coming more into focus.

Newspaper articles question Cheney's political appeal and zest for financing, and the vice president emerges as a lightning rod for opponents.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That they believe they can make him the symbol of what Democrats in particular, and perhaps swing voters, don't like about the Bush administration, whether it's the questions about the intelligence before the war, the relationship with Halliburton. In a whole series of ways, I think they do see Dick Cheney as a target.

TODD: We put the question to Republican strategist and political commentators on both sides -- is Dick Cheney an asset or a liability for the reelection campaign?

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Cheney, without a doubt, is this administration's best spokesperson on the issues. They see him as an elder statesman, as someone who's older and mature, like a father figure.

TODD: We spoke to two Republican strategies who concede Cheney's connections to the oil service company Halliburton and its controversial dealings in Iraq are a potential problem. And one of them said flatly, he's got to stop publicly referencing the administration's most criticized positions on Iraq.

CHENEY: Because we acted, he will never again brutalize the Iraqi people, never again support terrorists or pursue weapons of mass destruction, never again threaten the United States of America.

TODD: But political analysts and GOP strategists tell CNN it would be more of a mistake for the Kerry campaign to keep targeting Cheney instead of pushing the debate to President Bush.

And one strategist put it this way. Cheney just finished a campaign swing through Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Bush team wouldn't have sent him to those crucial battleground states if they thought he was a liability.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, whether it be Bush/Cheney or the now Kerry/Edwards ticket, an expanded version of "INSIDE POLITICS" begins at 3:00 p.m. Eastern today, and John Kerry and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry will join Larry King Thursday night for an hour of presidential political talk. All the hard-hitting questions and answers you want, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

O'BRIEN: You know, those tickets will come, those tickets will go. And there'll always be Judy and Larry to decipher it all for you. I'm glad we have them.

A royal dedication today in memory of Princess Diana, but was it worth the wait and the money?

PHILLIPS: Kept at arm's length, he's ready to fight for his country, but first he'll have to fight Uncle Sam to join the Army?

O'BRIEN: And how did this happen? That's the question -- you're not seeing things. That is a car on the roof. It's not the latest ornament from a strange architect. That is a car in the roof. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, his brother says an American Marine taken prisoner in Iraq apparently is alive and free. Speaking from Tripoli, Lebanon, Sami Hassoun tells CNN there is a clear sign that Corporal Wassef Hassoun's captors have released him, but he doesn't elaborate. And the Pentagon isn't yet confirming any release.

Corporal Hassoun is a 24-year-old Marine translator of Lebanese descent. He was last seen June 19. There have been conflicting reports about what happened to him, and a mystery surrounding his disappearance, obviously.

Family members of Wassef Hassoun are hoping they're coming out of a nightmare. CNN's Rusty Dornin reports from West Jordan, Utah.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the family of Corporal Wassef Hassoun, it's been a roller coaster ride to hell and back. First, the haunting images, Hassoun blindfolded and the threat of his beheading. Then, an unconfirmed report by a militant group claiming to have killed Hassoun.

The next day, that same group denied it. Then the group that claims to have kidnapped Hassoun, Islamic Response, faxed a message to the Arab network Al Jazeera. It claimed the Lebanese-born translator had been sent to a safe place after he announced his forgiveness and determination not to return to U.S. armed forces.

The family here in Utah has stayed in seclusion throughout its ordeal, shutting the door to the news media. But the latest twist brought a spokesman down the front steps to tell reporters the family doesn't know what to believe.

TAREK NOSSEIR, HASSOUN FAMILY SPOKESMAN: We pray that the news of his safe release is true.

DORNIN: The family asked that people continue to pray for Hassoun. Meantime, neighbors, friends and supporters came by the house to drop notes and flowers. Army Private David Monson doesn't know how soon, but that didn't matter.

PRIVATE DAVID MONSON, U.S. ARMY: Having a brother in arms get captured, so we just hope and pray that there'll be a resolution to it and he'll come home.

DORNIN: Still no word from the Pentagon, and even with the latest unconfirmed reports, the fate of Corporal Wassef Hassoun remains a mystery.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, West Jordan, Utah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: News around the world, now. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency is in Israel for talks. Mohamed ElBaradei says that he's hoping for open and frank discussions, but says he doesn't have a magic wand to get Israel to open up. Israel is widely believed to have nuclear arms, but doesn't comment way or the other.

An oval granite water fountain honoring the late Princess Diana now adorns London's Hyde Park. Some critics said the $6.5 million monument should have been more elaborate. Today, the British royal family and her family appeared together to dedicate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF ENGLAND: By any standards, Diana's tragic death held the attention of the world. Central to this remains the extraordinary effect Diana had on those around her, her drive to empathize with those in difficulty, hardship or distress, her willingness to embrace a new cause, her shrewd ability to size up all those she met allowed her not only to touch people's lives, but to change them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Associated Press reports that Iraq's soccer coach has resigned. Why is this a big deal? Because this soccer team is headed to the Olympics. Now Germany's Bernd Strange says that he's been warned his life would be in danger if he returns from Jordan to Iraq to coach that team.

O'BRIEN: Well, imagine a man with gung ho zeal, determined to serve his country, someone who has passed the educational and physical requirements and would like to become a U.S. soldier, only then to be told no by the armed forces because of his arms.

Our Jason Carroll explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Felix Gruman is a Russian immigrant, ready to fight for his new country. He proudly wears an Army tee-shirt when out. At home, there is an Army sticker on the front door.

But this may be the closest Gruman ever comes to combat, because of these.

FELIX GRUMAN, REJECTED ARMY RECRUIT: This one is the gates of the earth, wind and fire.

CARROLL: A tattoo on each arm.

GRUMAN: The tattoo on my left arm was inspired by Spider-Man's arm.

CARROLL: After losing 30 pounds to meet physical requirements, after taking college credits, after assurances from recruiters his tattoos were OK, the Army disqualified him the day he was supposed to leave, because of his tattoos.

GRUMAN: And they told me the bad news that you've been denied.

CARROLL: Recruiters Gruman he needed a tattoo waiver and a general's OK because his tattoos covered more than 75 percent of a limb. Army regulations don't reference percentages. They do prohibit racist, indecent or extremist tattoos. But the Army did not cite Gruman's tattoos on those grounds.

Gruman says his tattoos are not offensive and would be covered by the Army uniform.

GRUMAN: I am not going to give up this battle.

CARROLL: One military analyst says during a time when reservists are being called back, and soldiers are being asked to serve longer, turning away people like Gruman doesn't make sense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why this particular commander didn't waiver this young man, who was clearly highly motivated, I just don't understand. CARROLL: The lieutenant colonel who could have provided a waiver released a statement, saying that he regrets Gruman was not able to meet Army standards. He did say he would help Gruman try to get into the National Guard.

Gruman says he'll keep fighting to serve his country on the front lines and in the Army.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: News Across America now begins with a doozy of a parking job in Marlboro, Massachusetts. A woman was leaving a parking lot that's level with the roof of the house. You can sort of put it together from now. She mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, and you see the results. Luckily, she wasn't injured. The woman who lives in the upstairs apartment, luckily, was out of the home. As a matter of fact, she was out of town. She's in for a rude return.

Battling blazes in Arizona. Fire crews, rushing to protect a $200 million mountaintop observatory. Nearby wildfires have burned more than 1,600 acres. If the flames are averted, there's concern smoke may damage the observatory's delicate instruments nonetheless.

(MARKET UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: Well, as many as 100 million land mines are believed to be buried in former war zones throughout the world. In Africa, listen to this, rodents are being used to rat out the hidden explosives.

How does it work? CNN's Jeff Koinange has more on this special program.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 6:00 a.m. in Chimoio, Mozambique, time to wake up and get ready for work for an unusual workforce. Meet Switch (ph) and Onezero (ph) and Klebber (ph) and Jose (ph).

It's at this site in central Mozambique that giant Gambian pouch rats like two-year-old Gift (ph) here are being used in a first-of-its kind project, to actually detect land mines in the field.

Frank Wheetkins (ph) runs this Belgian-based pilot program known as Opobo (ph). He and his technicians prepare these rodents to do what dogs and machines simply can't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That it is actually an animal that already has a very natural knack of going to look for food, because it hides its food underground in caches. It has a very good nose. It has a very acute sense of smell, and it has a natural explorative behavior. KOINANGE: The rats are tethered to their trainers and set about searching for the hidden mines. It takes a few minutes to get into the rhythm. But once the rats show the trainer they've sniffed out a mine, a clicking sound will indicate it's time for his reward.

During the week, the rats are only fed when they find a mine, but on weekends, they get to eat as much as they want. Not a bad work schedule for what experts say could prove the most effective way yet to help find and destroy the estimated 100 million land mines hidden around the world.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, Gondola, in central Mozambique.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Now, you know we're going to hear from PETA on this, right?

PHILLIPS: They're treating the rats very well.

O'BRIEN: Very humanely before they get blown to smithereens. All right, in case you haven't heard by now, John Kerry has picked his vice presidential running mate.

PHILLIPS: But first, a quick check of the headlines and a special expanded edition of "INSIDE POLITICS" just ahead. Don't move, don't turn the dial, don't push the button.

O'BRIEN: And don't e-mail, if you're PETA, please.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired July 6, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is LIVE FROM. And I'm Miles O'Brien.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what's all new this half-hour.

Does the vice presidential candidate really matter? A presidential historian gives us his take on some of the men who have been a heartbeat away from the presidency.

An army stretched to its limits apparently won't bend the rules for a soldier with some really big tattoos.

O'BRIEN: Looks like he's got superhero powers, too.

And what did the driver of this car say to the cops when they pulled up? It's our LIVE FROM oops moment of the day, but first, the top stories we're following for you.

PHILLIPS: Senator John Kerry campaigns in Indiana after naming John Edwards as his running mate. The two, and their families, are to meet up tonight in Pittsburgh and then hit the trail together tomorrow. Kerry and his wife Teresa are to join Larry King on Thursday -- that's "LARRY KING LIVE," 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

Mourners murdered. Hospital officials say at least six Iraqis were killed when a suicide bomber blew up his car near a house in Khalis, just north of Baghdad. A memorial service was taking place at the time for two other victims, killed two days earlier.

He's alive and free. At least that's how a brother of Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun understands it. Sami Hassoun told CNN there is, quote, "a clear sign that the U.S. Marine has been released unharmed." He won't elaborate. Hassoun has been missing in Iraq since June 19. The Pentagon says it cannot confirm that he is now free.

Is he healthy enough to defend himself? A three judge panel will make that decision next week after Slobodan Milosevic has been examined by a cardiologist. Until then, the war crimes trial of the former Yugoslav president is on hold.

O'BRIEN: John Kerry's choice of John Edwards as his running mate is no big surprise. To many, Edwards is generally considered one of the most skilled campaigners in the Democratic field. But can he help cinch the deal for Kerry, and what are the historical precedents in all of this?

Douglas Brinkley is a presidential historian, director of the Eisenhower Center in New Orleans.

Professor Brinkley, good to have you back with us.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, EISENHOWER CENTER: Thank you for having me.

O'BRIEN: All right, first of all, first take on this one, will history treat this decision well?

BRINKLEY: Well, only time will tell, but certainly it makes a whole lot of sense. John Edwards is this year's flavor. Starting in February, he really picked up steam. He became sort of the number two Democratic behind John Edwards. He comes from a different geographic region. He's from the South, as you've been talking about. He's Baptist, Kerry's Catholic, there's a big age difference, but it makes for a pretty good combination.

So I think most core Democrats in the country are probably pleased with John Edwards as being the nominee.

O'BRIEN: Well, on a sultry summer day, we make a lot of these kinds of things, and people in the political class love talking about it, but I always hearken back to what John Nance Garner said about the office -- about equivalent to a warm pitcher of spit, or something like that. That might be cleaned up a little bit.

The point is, though, have times changed, and maybe perhaps has Dick Cheney, Al Gore -- have they changed the vice presidency such that these choices really matter to voters?

BRINKLEY: Well, John Nance Garner was one of the many vice presidents Franklin Roosevelt had. He used to change them every four years. So, as Garner said, sometimes the V.P. is like the spare tire in the automobile of government. He felt like a loose wheel.

In our modern culture, though, more and more the vice president's had I think a more essential role. It really began with Jimmy Carter bringing Walter Mondale into more, and you've seen every president since Carter having the vice president, I think, growing in stature, to the point now where some people feel that Dick Cheney is almost a prime minister, or running the office chief of staff in addition to being V.P.

And then when one looks at history, look how many great men become president by being vice president, meaning -- Theodore Roosevelt was simply McKinley's vice president. He came in under that assassination. And you had FDR dying and Truman coming in, or John F. Kennedy being shot and Johnson coming in. So it's clearly the quickest stepping stone to the White House.

O'BRIEN: A heartbeat way, as they say. Let's talk about -- you mentioned Jimmy Carter. Of course, in '76, he ran against Gerald Ford. The ticket was Ford and Dole, but perhaps we've all forgotten about a previous iteration of vice presidential Republican running mates for Ford.

BRINKLEY: Well, you know, Nelson Rockefeller was the V.P., and Ford dumped him in favor of Dole, and it turned out to be a terrible mistake. Because Daddy King, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s father was so powerful in the black community that he was going to stick with Rockefeller, because Rockefeller's money had been supporting all the black colleges, particularly the ones in Georgia.

And suddenly, when Rockefeller got dumped and Dole was on the ticket, Daddy King and a lot of black leaders said, you know what, we're going to back this one-term Georgia governor. And Carter had run as a redneck conservative in the South, wasn't trusted by the black community, but they trusted him more than they did with Bob Dole being added to the ticket. And, hence, it really solidified Carter's ability to be a Southerner that was carrying the black vote.

O'BRIEN: So, did Gerald Ford -- did this escape the Ford operation? Did they not see the significance of that move, perhaps? I mean, really, you could make a case the election might have turned right on that decision.

BRINKLEY: I think so. I'm writing a little book with the "New York Times" on Gerald Ford, and it's a very key moment. Gerald Ford himself would tell you that there's -- if he would have kept Rockefeller, he probably could have won. The selection of Dole turned out to be a disaster for him for this very reason.

You have to get into the racial politics of 1976 and what Carter's record had been up until that time, and understand that the Rockefeller family had been liberal Republicans from the Northeast who had been very, very generous to the civil rights movement.

O'BRIEN: All right. Final thought on, perhaps, vice presidents who have hurt the top of the ticket. Would you go along with the theory that Dan Quayle hurt the senior Bush?

BRINKLEY: There's absolutely on question about it. Dan Quayle was a disaster. Everybody, now, looking back at that election, realizes Quayle should have been dumped. He had become, whether rightfully or wrongfully, a public joke. He was fodder of comedians. Nobody took him serious. People didn't feel that he was a -- that could effectively be a commander in chief.

He has grown in stature, Dan Quayle, since back then, but he was fumbling so often that his name became synonymous with buffoonery. And the loyalty that President Bush showed to Quayle was really almost unimagined, and I think it cost him the presidency.

O'BRIEN: But people in America appreciate loyalty, don't they?

BRINKLEY: That's a line you've got to draw, and it's one that I think this president's clear that he's sticking with Dick Cheney at least right now, and loyalty is speaking very loudly, but there are many Republicans that'll tell you that he'd be better off with a Giuliani or a McCain or a Powell or a Rice or somebody who would be a more centrist candidate and bring the compassion back into Bush's conservatism.

O'BRIEN: Doug Brinkley, thanks for taking some time away from your Ford book, which we will look forward to. We appreciate it. Always a pleasure seeing you.

BRINKLEY: Nice seeing you.

PHILLIPS: Youthful appeal versus the elder statesman. John Edwards is undoubtedly a gifted orator, but Dick Cheney's no slouch before the microphone either, even if some say his tactics may need fine tuning.

Here's our Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dick Cheney may or may not love the political fight, and depending on the day, opinions may sway on whether he's good at it. Either way, he's in it now.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: John Kerry's votes and statements over the decades that he's been in office put him on the left, out of the mainstream, out of touch with the conservative values of the heartland in America.

TODD: But as the vice president ratchets up his attacks on John Kerry, questions are raised about Cheney himself and his role in a campaign that is coming more into focus.

Newspaper articles question Cheney's political appeal and zest for financing, and the vice president emerges as a lightning rod for opponents.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That they believe they can make him the symbol of what Democrats in particular, and perhaps swing voters, don't like about the Bush administration, whether it's the questions about the intelligence before the war, the relationship with Halliburton. In a whole series of ways, I think they do see Dick Cheney as a target.

TODD: We put the question to Republican strategist and political commentators on both sides -- is Dick Cheney an asset or a liability for the reelection campaign?

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Cheney, without a doubt, is this administration's best spokesperson on the issues. They see him as an elder statesman, as someone who's older and mature, like a father figure.

TODD: We spoke to two Republican strategies who concede Cheney's connections to the oil service company Halliburton and its controversial dealings in Iraq are a potential problem. And one of them said flatly, he's got to stop publicly referencing the administration's most criticized positions on Iraq.

CHENEY: Because we acted, he will never again brutalize the Iraqi people, never again support terrorists or pursue weapons of mass destruction, never again threaten the United States of America.

TODD: But political analysts and GOP strategists tell CNN it would be more of a mistake for the Kerry campaign to keep targeting Cheney instead of pushing the debate to President Bush.

And one strategist put it this way. Cheney just finished a campaign swing through Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Bush team wouldn't have sent him to those crucial battleground states if they thought he was a liability.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, whether it be Bush/Cheney or the now Kerry/Edwards ticket, an expanded version of "INSIDE POLITICS" begins at 3:00 p.m. Eastern today, and John Kerry and his wife Teresa Heinz Kerry will join Larry King Thursday night for an hour of presidential political talk. All the hard-hitting questions and answers you want, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

O'BRIEN: You know, those tickets will come, those tickets will go. And there'll always be Judy and Larry to decipher it all for you. I'm glad we have them.

A royal dedication today in memory of Princess Diana, but was it worth the wait and the money?

PHILLIPS: Kept at arm's length, he's ready to fight for his country, but first he'll have to fight Uncle Sam to join the Army?

O'BRIEN: And how did this happen? That's the question -- you're not seeing things. That is a car on the roof. It's not the latest ornament from a strange architect. That is a car in the roof. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, his brother says an American Marine taken prisoner in Iraq apparently is alive and free. Speaking from Tripoli, Lebanon, Sami Hassoun tells CNN there is a clear sign that Corporal Wassef Hassoun's captors have released him, but he doesn't elaborate. And the Pentagon isn't yet confirming any release.

Corporal Hassoun is a 24-year-old Marine translator of Lebanese descent. He was last seen June 19. There have been conflicting reports about what happened to him, and a mystery surrounding his disappearance, obviously.

Family members of Wassef Hassoun are hoping they're coming out of a nightmare. CNN's Rusty Dornin reports from West Jordan, Utah.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the family of Corporal Wassef Hassoun, it's been a roller coaster ride to hell and back. First, the haunting images, Hassoun blindfolded and the threat of his beheading. Then, an unconfirmed report by a militant group claiming to have killed Hassoun.

The next day, that same group denied it. Then the group that claims to have kidnapped Hassoun, Islamic Response, faxed a message to the Arab network Al Jazeera. It claimed the Lebanese-born translator had been sent to a safe place after he announced his forgiveness and determination not to return to U.S. armed forces.

The family here in Utah has stayed in seclusion throughout its ordeal, shutting the door to the news media. But the latest twist brought a spokesman down the front steps to tell reporters the family doesn't know what to believe.

TAREK NOSSEIR, HASSOUN FAMILY SPOKESMAN: We pray that the news of his safe release is true.

DORNIN: The family asked that people continue to pray for Hassoun. Meantime, neighbors, friends and supporters came by the house to drop notes and flowers. Army Private David Monson doesn't know how soon, but that didn't matter.

PRIVATE DAVID MONSON, U.S. ARMY: Having a brother in arms get captured, so we just hope and pray that there'll be a resolution to it and he'll come home.

DORNIN: Still no word from the Pentagon, and even with the latest unconfirmed reports, the fate of Corporal Wassef Hassoun remains a mystery.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, West Jordan, Utah.

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PHILLIPS: News around the world, now. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency is in Israel for talks. Mohamed ElBaradei says that he's hoping for open and frank discussions, but says he doesn't have a magic wand to get Israel to open up. Israel is widely believed to have nuclear arms, but doesn't comment way or the other.

An oval granite water fountain honoring the late Princess Diana now adorns London's Hyde Park. Some critics said the $6.5 million monument should have been more elaborate. Today, the British royal family and her family appeared together to dedicate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH II, QUEEN OF ENGLAND: By any standards, Diana's tragic death held the attention of the world. Central to this remains the extraordinary effect Diana had on those around her, her drive to empathize with those in difficulty, hardship or distress, her willingness to embrace a new cause, her shrewd ability to size up all those she met allowed her not only to touch people's lives, but to change them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The Associated Press reports that Iraq's soccer coach has resigned. Why is this a big deal? Because this soccer team is headed to the Olympics. Now Germany's Bernd Strange says that he's been warned his life would be in danger if he returns from Jordan to Iraq to coach that team.

O'BRIEN: Well, imagine a man with gung ho zeal, determined to serve his country, someone who has passed the educational and physical requirements and would like to become a U.S. soldier, only then to be told no by the armed forces because of his arms.

Our Jason Carroll explains.

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JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Felix Gruman is a Russian immigrant, ready to fight for his new country. He proudly wears an Army tee-shirt when out. At home, there is an Army sticker on the front door.

But this may be the closest Gruman ever comes to combat, because of these.

FELIX GRUMAN, REJECTED ARMY RECRUIT: This one is the gates of the earth, wind and fire.

CARROLL: A tattoo on each arm.

GRUMAN: The tattoo on my left arm was inspired by Spider-Man's arm.

CARROLL: After losing 30 pounds to meet physical requirements, after taking college credits, after assurances from recruiters his tattoos were OK, the Army disqualified him the day he was supposed to leave, because of his tattoos.

GRUMAN: And they told me the bad news that you've been denied.

CARROLL: Recruiters Gruman he needed a tattoo waiver and a general's OK because his tattoos covered more than 75 percent of a limb. Army regulations don't reference percentages. They do prohibit racist, indecent or extremist tattoos. But the Army did not cite Gruman's tattoos on those grounds.

Gruman says his tattoos are not offensive and would be covered by the Army uniform.

GRUMAN: I am not going to give up this battle.

CARROLL: One military analyst says during a time when reservists are being called back, and soldiers are being asked to serve longer, turning away people like Gruman doesn't make sense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why this particular commander didn't waiver this young man, who was clearly highly motivated, I just don't understand. CARROLL: The lieutenant colonel who could have provided a waiver released a statement, saying that he regrets Gruman was not able to meet Army standards. He did say he would help Gruman try to get into the National Guard.

Gruman says he'll keep fighting to serve his country on the front lines and in the Army.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

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O'BRIEN: News Across America now begins with a doozy of a parking job in Marlboro, Massachusetts. A woman was leaving a parking lot that's level with the roof of the house. You can sort of put it together from now. She mistakenly hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, and you see the results. Luckily, she wasn't injured. The woman who lives in the upstairs apartment, luckily, was out of the home. As a matter of fact, she was out of town. She's in for a rude return.

Battling blazes in Arizona. Fire crews, rushing to protect a $200 million mountaintop observatory. Nearby wildfires have burned more than 1,600 acres. If the flames are averted, there's concern smoke may damage the observatory's delicate instruments nonetheless.

(MARKET UPDATE)

PHILLIPS: Well, as many as 100 million land mines are believed to be buried in former war zones throughout the world. In Africa, listen to this, rodents are being used to rat out the hidden explosives.

How does it work? CNN's Jeff Koinange has more on this special program.

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JEFF KOINANGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 6:00 a.m. in Chimoio, Mozambique, time to wake up and get ready for work for an unusual workforce. Meet Switch (ph) and Onezero (ph) and Klebber (ph) and Jose (ph).

It's at this site in central Mozambique that giant Gambian pouch rats like two-year-old Gift (ph) here are being used in a first-of-its kind project, to actually detect land mines in the field.

Frank Wheetkins (ph) runs this Belgian-based pilot program known as Opobo (ph). He and his technicians prepare these rodents to do what dogs and machines simply can't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That it is actually an animal that already has a very natural knack of going to look for food, because it hides its food underground in caches. It has a very good nose. It has a very acute sense of smell, and it has a natural explorative behavior. KOINANGE: The rats are tethered to their trainers and set about searching for the hidden mines. It takes a few minutes to get into the rhythm. But once the rats show the trainer they've sniffed out a mine, a clicking sound will indicate it's time for his reward.

During the week, the rats are only fed when they find a mine, but on weekends, they get to eat as much as they want. Not a bad work schedule for what experts say could prove the most effective way yet to help find and destroy the estimated 100 million land mines hidden around the world.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, Gondola, in central Mozambique.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Now, you know we're going to hear from PETA on this, right?

PHILLIPS: They're treating the rats very well.

O'BRIEN: Very humanely before they get blown to smithereens. All right, in case you haven't heard by now, John Kerry has picked his vice presidential running mate.

PHILLIPS: But first, a quick check of the headlines and a special expanded edition of "INSIDE POLITICS" just ahead. Don't move, don't turn the dial, don't push the button.

O'BRIEN: And don't e-mail, if you're PETA, please.

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