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Material Seized Reportedly Lays Out Al Qaeda Plan For Possible New Terror Attack; Political Ads; Car Monitoring For Insurance Discounts; Soy A Superfood?
Aired August 09, 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: New York City laying out its security plans for the Republican National Convention this month. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, police commissioner Ray Kelly holding a conference this hour. Bloomberg says police will not only protect the city, but also democracy during the convention.
Former joints chief of staff General John Shalikashvili is in the hospital. Pentagon officials say he suffered a severe stroke. The general was admitted to a Washington State hospital after feeling ill on Friday. Shalikashvili is now an adviser to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
U.S. marines taking command of the embattled Iraqi city of Najaf. A polish led multinational contingent was in charge there. Militants loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are holed up in the holy shrine there. al-Sadr is promising a fight to the death against U.S. forces who try to expel them.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is chilling in tone, dramatic in detail, from bombs and limos to hijacked helicopters. Material seized in Pakistan reportedly lays out al Qaeda's plan for a possible new terror attack on the U.S. Those plans are sketched out in the latest issue of "Time" magazine, and Doug Waller is a congressional correspondent for "Time." He joins me now from Washington.
Good afternoon to you.
DOUG WALLER, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Good afternoon.
NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about these methods. A lot of them are very surprising, using helicopters. And even Miles posed the question earlier. What can a helicopter do, definitely not what a jetliner can do?
WALLER: Probably not. But what the surveillance plans had in them was some scouting or reconnaissance of heliports and helipads in New York. Some drawings and schematics of cockpits, helicopter cockpits, that I assume might be, you know, loaded with explosives or whatever to launch some type of helicopter attack in New York City.
NGUYEN: Along with helicopters, also those plans include speedboats and even divers? These are some areas where a lot of people would not have thought a terrorist would think to use as a means for attack. WALLER: Well, that's right. The speedboats and divers came from actually a report out of Pakistan, the Pakistani government that sent that report to the U.S. U.S. intelligence officials right now don't think that particular method is terribly credible, but there have been beefed up securities at ports not only in New York, but other harbors, particularly ones that have cruise ships, where there's been some concern over possible some type of under water diver launching an attack.
NGUYEN: Seems kind of minor in scale.
Also there's words that limos could be used, because they'll go a little bit more undetected rather than a big truck?
WALLER: This was part of the plan that was drafted for the Prudential Building in Newark, New Jersey, which was instead of sending a truck packed with explosives into the building, which might get noticed by security guards, to send in a limousine that would be gutted out, except for the driver's seat and filled with explosives and detonated. There was also as part of the plan an escape route for whoever is working on the operation to board a train at a nearby train station.
NGUYEN: Let's talk a little bit about that Prudential building, because it's definitely not a building that you would think would be on a terrorist short list.
WALLER: No, it isn't, and I think maybe that's why it was on the list, was because it's not a prominent landmark. It's not something that's readily known or well known around the country. So perhaps the thinking was that this would be a less-defended structure than let's say an IMF building, a World Bank building, or even a -- the New York Stock Exchange.
But one of the disturbing things they found out about the Prudential building, was that among the 500 photos that were in the disks that were seized in a Pakistani raid, was one of the prudential building that had been taken in January of 2004. So that shows that the planners were doing some freshening up of these reconnaissance plans, and apparently checking them -- rechecking them over the years.
NGUYEN: Which was a big concern, because earlier folks were saying that a lot of this information is three years old. What's new about it? But obviously that photo was taken this year, in January.
Talk to me, as you were doing research for this article, what did you find most frightening, most surprising?
WALLER: I think it was the sort of the breathtaking detail of the material. As one counterterrorism official told me, it was as if an architectural engineer had drafted some of these plans. You would expect surveillance reports or reconnaissance reports out of al Qaeda, but you wouldn't expect something with this much fine grain detail for a number of different buildings.
And it not only branches out from here, it goes to other targets. We found that two days before Secretary Ridge issued his warning two Sundays ago, the FBI informed a member, a congressional leader, that he and other congressional leaders could be subject to being targets of attack while they are in Washington, or in their states or districts when they're traveling.
NGUYEN: Doug Waller, fascinating and frightening article. Thank you very much.
WALLER: Good talking with you -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: We're on the hustings with the presidential candidates. President Bush kicking off a weeklong, nine-state campaign push. Mr. Bush held a town meeting today in Annandale, Virginia, D.C. area. He told the crowd he would use the second term to encourage a culture of ownership. The president said he wants Americans to own their own homes, health insurance plans and their own businesses.
The president and the first lady will be the guest of CNN's Larry King for the entire hour on Thursday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific. Don't miss that one.
Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry is taking his train tour out West. He's courting Hispanic and Native American voters in Arizona today. Kerry has already won the endorsement of the Navajo nation's president. Kerry also plans to visit the grand canyon today by helicopter. It is Kerry's third trip to Arizona since the Democratic primary.
Well, 'tis the season for political ads, crafted to highlight one candidate, and in some cases, demonize another, but there are more in those ads than meet the eye.
CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider, takes a look at political ad agendas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Who made this campaign ad? Watch closely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After almost four years, when is George Bush going to start taking care of America? Shouldn't America be a top priority? The Media Fund is responsible for the content of this advertisement.
SCHNEIDER: That's an independent political group, not the John Kerry campaign. Groups like that can raise and spend as much money as they like, as long as they remain wholly uncoordinated with the campaigns.
This month the Kerry campaign is relying on spending by these independent groups and by the Democratic party.
EVAN TRACEY, CNN ADVERTISING CONSULTANT: All told, these groups have spent about $4.5 million since the convention on behalf of Kerry. SCHNEIDER: When Kerry was officially nominated at the convention last month, he received $75 million in federal subsidies. But that's the only money his campaign can spend until Election Day.
President Bush will not be officially renominated until September 1st. Meanwhile, his campaign can spend as much of its own money as it wants.
TRACEY: Their spending, really since the end of the Democratic convention, is approaching over $1 million a day.
SCHNEIDER: But independent anti-Kerry ads are out there. This one, released last week, has created a furor.
SHELTON WHITE, SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH: John Kerry betrayed the men and women he served with in Vietnam.
JOE PONDER, SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH: He dishonored his country. He most certainly did
LT. BOB HILDRETH, SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH: I served with John Kerry. John Kerry cannot be trusted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is responsible for the content of this advertisement.
SCHNEIDER: Questions are being raised about the motives of the men testifying in the ad, and exactly how much of Kerry's service they witnessed.
Senator John McCain, a Bush supporter, called the ad "dishonest and dishonorable." Ads like that can backfire. That's the problem with independent ads. They're not controlled by the campaigns; they're independent.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In just a few moments, we'll hear from representatives of both the presidential campaigns to talk about those ads and some other issues which are on our minds today. We have some interesting poll numbers. And we're curious about Alan Keyes, of course. But that will happen after a break.
Looking for a safe way -- a way to save money. You could save on car insurance, if you allow something extra onboard when you pull out of the garage.
And Koko, the gorilla famous for using sign language, shows off a new skill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All right. Time now for a segment we'll call "Dueling War Rooms." We have representatives from both campaigns in their respective war rooms to talk about things political.
Jennifer Millerwise is the deputy communications director for Bush/Cheney. She's in Arlington, Virginia. And Debra DeShong is a spokeswoman for the Kerry/Edwards campaign. She joins us from Washington. We'll talk about who's got the better war room some other time.
Good to have you both with us.
JENNIFER MILLERWISE, DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIR. FOR BUSH/CHENEY: Thank you, Miles.
DEBRA DESHONG, SPOKESPERSON FOR KERRY/EDWARDS: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Let's start off with these independent ads. Jennifer, I'd like to begin with you. The idea of allowing these groups to just cook up ads, put them on the air without any direct link to the campaigns, doesn't that confuse voters?
MILLERWISE: Well, you know, when this president signed into law the McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, we thought we would have put an end to these ads. The president has been at the receiving end of more than $62 million of attack ads from these shadowy networks.
So, we certainly wish that the Kerry campaign would join with us and say that these ads are wrong and they need to stop.
O'BRIEN: No, no, but Jennifer, the question was doesn't it confuse voters? It's very confusing who is putting all this stuff out here. You hear the little line, "Paid for by the blah blah blah." Half the time you don't know who they are.
MILLERWISE: This is very true. As I said, you know, the president's been attacked by many of these shadowy groups. No one knows who is funding them. And we've been at the receiving end of $62 million worth of attacks. So, we think they should come to an end.
O'BRIEN: All right, but should it be the responsibility -- I'll ask you first, then I'll go to Debra -- should it be the responsibility of the campaigns to disavow ads which they feel are inappropriate, inaccurate, or whatever?
MILLERWISE: I certainly wish that the Kerry campaign would disavow some of the ads that have been launched against this president. I don't think that they've disavowed any...
O'BRIEN: No, no, no. I'm just asking about your campaign. Don't you think that's good policy for your campaign -- if there's a bad ad out there, say so?
MILLERWISE: Well, certainly. And the president has and the White House has. When there is deplorable ads or there are things that we think are wrong, we have already done that in the past.
O'BRIEN: All right. Debra, let's ask you about this whole thing. First of all, do you think voters are confused by all this?
And you know, the First Amendment is an important thing to those of us in our business. We're not going to spend a lot of time saying that people shouldn't be doing these ads. But let's face it, it puts a lot of things out there which are hard to verify.
DESHONG: It does. And in fact, it puts ads out there that are blatantly false, as you indicated in your piece earlier. The swift boat add is blatantly false. John McCain called it dishonest and dishonorable.
And Jennifer just said that the White House and the president did disavow -- have disavowed ads that they found to be untrue, I'd like for her to give us an example. Because when he was asked on Friday whether he would disavow this ad, he had no answer. He turned and walked away.
O'BRIEN: All right...
DESHONG: So, we would love to hear where George Bush is and when he's going to disavow this ad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jennifer, we're about to lose your satellite, so you say a quick, final point, then we'll go back to Debra. Jennifer, go.
MILLERWISE: That was the very ad I was referring to. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, called it deplorable and called on the Kerry campaign, which they've yet to answer this question, to call for a cease of all these sorts of negative attack ads by these shadowy groups.
DESHONG: We're asking about this one particular ad, Jennifer. When is George Bush going to disavow this ad...
O'BRIEN: All right...
DESHONG: ... which John McCain has called dishonest and dishonorable. It's a pack of lies.
O'BRIEN: All right. We're about to lose Arlington, unfortunately. So, I'm sorry. We're going to have Jennifer -- I apologize. This makes it sound like we're being unfair. But this is just a logistical thing.
Debra, say just for your campaign, without mentioning anybody else, if there's an inaccurate, inappropriate, whatever you want to call it, an ad out there that doesn't smack of anything that is true or fair or decent, is the campaign going to say so?
DESHONG: We have disavowed ads that we've found either incorrect or ads that we had found distasteful. We have done that. But we're asking about this particular ad that contains supposed testimonials of men talking about John Kerry's service in Vietnam, when in fact none of the men featured in the 60-second ad ever served with John Kerry and the people who actually did serve with John Kerry on his boat attest to his heroism and his service.
O'BRIEN: All right...
DESHONG: There's not a grain of truth to it.
O'BRIEN: Final thought: McCain/Feingold, complete mess, would you both agree on that?
MILLERWISE: Certainly when...
DESHONG: ... agree to that. I think we've seen that the system is working well.
You know, everyone tried to say that this was the end of the Democratic party, and we're doing great. We're doing well, and we're following the campaign finance laws.
O'BRIEN: All right. Jennifer, I guess we still have you. So, go ahead and say a final thought here.
MILLERWISE: I was going to say certainly when the president signed McCain/Feingold into law, he thought that this would stop these sorts of attack ads. Sixty-two million dollars spent against this president, I wish that the Kerry campaign would join us in calling for a cease of the campaign ads. They haven't, because as you said earlier in your package, they're relying on these ads right now.
O'BRIEN: Why don't you both say it right now -- both say it right now: Let's end these ads.
MILLERWISE: We've asked them. Can you...
O'BRIEN: Debra, would you say that?
DESHONG: We have nothing to do with these ads. These are independent ads.
O'BRIEN: Well, just say you want to get rid of them. No?
DESHONG: We would love to get rid of the $90 million in negative ads George Bush has personally ran against us. We would love to do away with those kinds of ads.
MILLERWISE: We're going to continue to talk about John Kerry's record.
O'BRIEN: All right, I tried, I tried.
Debra and Jennifer, thank you very much -- Jennifer Millerwise, Debra DeShong from their respective war rooms. And that was about the longest 30 seconds ever for Jennifer's satellite. That was great. Thank you. I'm glad she could join us -- in the interest of fairness.
NGUYEN: Yes, talking about competition, well, it is touchdown in Athens. They haven't won any medals just yet, but already these athletes are famous. O'BRIEN: Speaking of Olympic contenders, meet the brothers Dumais. It's all about staying in sync. Look at that! Whoa, whoa! That's a double semihalf gainer...
NGUYEN: Something, yes...
O'BRIEN: I don't know. I don't know what that was, exactly.
NGUYEN: And big brother or big discount? The latest gadget for your car could save you money, Miles, if you're willing to give up something else.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Iraq's Olympic squad arrived in Athens, Greece, today for the summer games. For the first time in decades, the athletes will not have to worry about being tortured if they don't get a medal. Torture and imprisonment were apparently favored punishment for athletes who didn't do so well under Saddam Hussein's regime.
After the challenges this year in training and security at home, of course, the summer games may seem like quite a respite for the 48- member squad.
All right, between soaring gas prices and high auto insurance rates, taking a little bit of the fun out of driving these days.
NGUYEN: You don't say. Now, one company is trying to save you money, but of course, Miles, there are strings attached. Darby Mullany joins us now live from the New York Stock Exchange to explain. Hi, Darby.
DARBY MULLANY, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
Well, get used to someone looking over the shoulder. Drive less, pay less -- that is the concept -- but don't make any wrong turns. Someone may be watching you.
That is what is behind a new plan from Progressive Auto Insurance. Customers who volunteer to put an electronic monitoring device in their car will be eligible for big discounts. Now, the device you see here is about the size of a box of Tic-Tacs. It keeps track of speed, how many miles you drive, and at what time of day.
The customer can download the data and, if he or she wants, send it to Progressive online. Stay under speed limits or avoid driving at the most dangerous times, and you get a discount of five to 25%.
Progressive is trying out the program in Minnesota starting next week. And I bet with all the open roads in Minnesota, it's pretty tempting to speed.
O'BRIEN: I suspect big brother on your car is not an idea that's going to go well in most parts of the country. I flew Delta this morning, Darby, and the pilot took me aside and asked me to check the air on the tires before I got on the plane. Some sort of cost cutting thing. I don't know. That was odd.
MULLANY: Oh, boy. Is it really getting to that point?
Well, the word from Delta this afternoon is that it is warning that if it cannot drastically cut costs soon, it will file for bankruptcy. Now, this is not the first time that Delta has warned about Chapter 11, but it is the strongest statement we've heard from Delta so far.
Delta says that cash reserves are dwindling faster than expected, due in part to the soaring fuel costs that we keep hearing about. Delta shares, by the way, are down three percent on Wall Street, trading at about $4 a share right now.
And as for the rest of the market, stocks are inching higher: The Dow Industrials up 25.5 points.; the Nasdaq Composite is slightly higher. However, many of the investors are staying on the sidelines, waiting to hear what Alan Greenspan says in his testimony tomorrow.
Miles and Betty, back to you.
O'BRIEN: Darby, you speak Greenspan, don't you? You watch that for us. All right, thank you.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is addressing concerns about security for the Republican National Convention, which is coming up in three weeks. That's at the top of the hour.
NGUYEN: The men accused of the brutal killings in Florida are in court for the first time this afternoon.
O'BRIEN: And this one is a little happier thing. A big thank you from the mother of twin boys, they are now on their own.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Here's on for you: A cure for hot flashes and baldness? It even prevents heart disease and cancer. A lot of claims are made about the benefits of soy products. But when you take away the clever packaging and advertising, is soy really a superfood?
Well, our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this reality check.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tofu, edamame, soy milk: Once considered a food only for health nuts, now 25 percent of Americans use at least one soy product a week. That's according to the industry and by next year annual sales of soy are expected to hit almost $5 billion.
So what's the real story on soy?
DR. ALAN RICHMOND: It's not a cure-all, it's not an end-all, it's not a magic potion, but it is a good dietary supplement. GUPTA: Soy is good for the heart. It's high in protein, low in saturated fat, and has no cholesterol.
The FDA has gone on record saying a daily intake of soy can actually help lower your cholesterol by 5 to 10 percent.
What about soy and menopause?
RICHMOND: It doesn't change the cognitive effects of menopause. It doesn't change the sleep disturbances of menopause. But yes, it will take away hot flashes.
GUPTA: The reason: soy contains isoflavones, which can mimic estrogen. Some researchers had been concerned that the ingredients could cause cancer in post-menopausal women, but recent studies show that's not the case.
Studies suggest soy might reduce the risk of breast cancer for some women, but if you're at risk for breast cancer, the American Cancer Society says taking soy may not be a good idea.
What about reversing hair loss or prostate cancer in men?
RICHMOND: In some studies it has suggested that it may slow down the balding process in men and it also will decrease the growth of prostate cancer. Is it a cure for prostate cancer? No.
GUPTA: Knowing how much soy to eat isn't easy. The FDA recommends 25 grams of soy protein per day for heart health. Read the labels, because soy products aren't regulated by the FDA. Levels of protein and isoflavones vary.
Some examples: a little over three glasses of soy milk, half a cup of soy nuts or three Boca burgers will get you your daily allowance.
More research is needed, but many doctors believe soy is good for most people.
So, pass the soy nuts.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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 August 9, 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: New York City laying out its security plans for the Republican National Convention this month. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, police commissioner Ray Kelly holding a conference this hour. Bloomberg says police will not only protect the city, but also democracy during the convention.
Former joints chief of staff General John Shalikashvili is in the hospital. Pentagon officials say he suffered a severe stroke. The general was admitted to a Washington State hospital after feeling ill on Friday. Shalikashvili is now an adviser to Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
U.S. marines taking command of the embattled Iraqi city of Najaf. A polish led multinational contingent was in charge there. Militants loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are holed up in the holy shrine there. al-Sadr is promising a fight to the death against U.S. forces who try to expel them.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is chilling in tone, dramatic in detail, from bombs and limos to hijacked helicopters. Material seized in Pakistan reportedly lays out al Qaeda's plan for a possible new terror attack on the U.S. Those plans are sketched out in the latest issue of "Time" magazine, and Doug Waller is a congressional correspondent for "Time." He joins me now from Washington.
Good afternoon to you.
DOUG WALLER, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Good afternoon.
NGUYEN: Well, let's talk about these methods. A lot of them are very surprising, using helicopters. And even Miles posed the question earlier. What can a helicopter do, definitely not what a jetliner can do?
WALLER: Probably not. But what the surveillance plans had in them was some scouting or reconnaissance of heliports and helipads in New York. Some drawings and schematics of cockpits, helicopter cockpits, that I assume might be, you know, loaded with explosives or whatever to launch some type of helicopter attack in New York City.
NGUYEN: Along with helicopters, also those plans include speedboats and even divers? These are some areas where a lot of people would not have thought a terrorist would think to use as a means for attack. WALLER: Well, that's right. The speedboats and divers came from actually a report out of Pakistan, the Pakistani government that sent that report to the U.S. U.S. intelligence officials right now don't think that particular method is terribly credible, but there have been beefed up securities at ports not only in New York, but other harbors, particularly ones that have cruise ships, where there's been some concern over possible some type of under water diver launching an attack.
NGUYEN: Seems kind of minor in scale.
Also there's words that limos could be used, because they'll go a little bit more undetected rather than a big truck?
WALLER: This was part of the plan that was drafted for the Prudential Building in Newark, New Jersey, which was instead of sending a truck packed with explosives into the building, which might get noticed by security guards, to send in a limousine that would be gutted out, except for the driver's seat and filled with explosives and detonated. There was also as part of the plan an escape route for whoever is working on the operation to board a train at a nearby train station.
NGUYEN: Let's talk a little bit about that Prudential building, because it's definitely not a building that you would think would be on a terrorist short list.
WALLER: No, it isn't, and I think maybe that's why it was on the list, was because it's not a prominent landmark. It's not something that's readily known or well known around the country. So perhaps the thinking was that this would be a less-defended structure than let's say an IMF building, a World Bank building, or even a -- the New York Stock Exchange.
But one of the disturbing things they found out about the Prudential building, was that among the 500 photos that were in the disks that were seized in a Pakistani raid, was one of the prudential building that had been taken in January of 2004. So that shows that the planners were doing some freshening up of these reconnaissance plans, and apparently checking them -- rechecking them over the years.
NGUYEN: Which was a big concern, because earlier folks were saying that a lot of this information is three years old. What's new about it? But obviously that photo was taken this year, in January.
Talk to me, as you were doing research for this article, what did you find most frightening, most surprising?
WALLER: I think it was the sort of the breathtaking detail of the material. As one counterterrorism official told me, it was as if an architectural engineer had drafted some of these plans. You would expect surveillance reports or reconnaissance reports out of al Qaeda, but you wouldn't expect something with this much fine grain detail for a number of different buildings.
And it not only branches out from here, it goes to other targets. We found that two days before Secretary Ridge issued his warning two Sundays ago, the FBI informed a member, a congressional leader, that he and other congressional leaders could be subject to being targets of attack while they are in Washington, or in their states or districts when they're traveling.
NGUYEN: Doug Waller, fascinating and frightening article. Thank you very much.
WALLER: Good talking with you -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: We're on the hustings with the presidential candidates. President Bush kicking off a weeklong, nine-state campaign push. Mr. Bush held a town meeting today in Annandale, Virginia, D.C. area. He told the crowd he would use the second term to encourage a culture of ownership. The president said he wants Americans to own their own homes, health insurance plans and their own businesses.
The president and the first lady will be the guest of CNN's Larry King for the entire hour on Thursday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific. Don't miss that one.
Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry is taking his train tour out West. He's courting Hispanic and Native American voters in Arizona today. Kerry has already won the endorsement of the Navajo nation's president. Kerry also plans to visit the grand canyon today by helicopter. It is Kerry's third trip to Arizona since the Democratic primary.
Well, 'tis the season for political ads, crafted to highlight one candidate, and in some cases, demonize another, but there are more in those ads than meet the eye.
CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider, takes a look at political ad agendas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Who made this campaign ad? Watch closely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After almost four years, when is George Bush going to start taking care of America? Shouldn't America be a top priority? The Media Fund is responsible for the content of this advertisement.
SCHNEIDER: That's an independent political group, not the John Kerry campaign. Groups like that can raise and spend as much money as they like, as long as they remain wholly uncoordinated with the campaigns.
This month the Kerry campaign is relying on spending by these independent groups and by the Democratic party.
EVAN TRACEY, CNN ADVERTISING CONSULTANT: All told, these groups have spent about $4.5 million since the convention on behalf of Kerry. SCHNEIDER: When Kerry was officially nominated at the convention last month, he received $75 million in federal subsidies. But that's the only money his campaign can spend until Election Day.
President Bush will not be officially renominated until September 1st. Meanwhile, his campaign can spend as much of its own money as it wants.
TRACEY: Their spending, really since the end of the Democratic convention, is approaching over $1 million a day.
SCHNEIDER: But independent anti-Kerry ads are out there. This one, released last week, has created a furor.
SHELTON WHITE, SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH: John Kerry betrayed the men and women he served with in Vietnam.
JOE PONDER, SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH: He dishonored his country. He most certainly did
LT. BOB HILDRETH, SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH: I served with John Kerry. John Kerry cannot be trusted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is responsible for the content of this advertisement.
SCHNEIDER: Questions are being raised about the motives of the men testifying in the ad, and exactly how much of Kerry's service they witnessed.
Senator John McCain, a Bush supporter, called the ad "dishonest and dishonorable." Ads like that can backfire. That's the problem with independent ads. They're not controlled by the campaigns; they're independent.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In just a few moments, we'll hear from representatives of both the presidential campaigns to talk about those ads and some other issues which are on our minds today. We have some interesting poll numbers. And we're curious about Alan Keyes, of course. But that will happen after a break.
Looking for a safe way -- a way to save money. You could save on car insurance, if you allow something extra onboard when you pull out of the garage.
And Koko, the gorilla famous for using sign language, shows off a new skill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All right. Time now for a segment we'll call "Dueling War Rooms." We have representatives from both campaigns in their respective war rooms to talk about things political.
Jennifer Millerwise is the deputy communications director for Bush/Cheney. She's in Arlington, Virginia. And Debra DeShong is a spokeswoman for the Kerry/Edwards campaign. She joins us from Washington. We'll talk about who's got the better war room some other time.
Good to have you both with us.
JENNIFER MILLERWISE, DEPUTY COMMUNICATIONS DIR. FOR BUSH/CHENEY: Thank you, Miles.
DEBRA DESHONG, SPOKESPERSON FOR KERRY/EDWARDS: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Let's start off with these independent ads. Jennifer, I'd like to begin with you. The idea of allowing these groups to just cook up ads, put them on the air without any direct link to the campaigns, doesn't that confuse voters?
MILLERWISE: Well, you know, when this president signed into law the McCain/Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act, we thought we would have put an end to these ads. The president has been at the receiving end of more than $62 million of attack ads from these shadowy networks.
So, we certainly wish that the Kerry campaign would join with us and say that these ads are wrong and they need to stop.
O'BRIEN: No, no, but Jennifer, the question was doesn't it confuse voters? It's very confusing who is putting all this stuff out here. You hear the little line, "Paid for by the blah blah blah." Half the time you don't know who they are.
MILLERWISE: This is very true. As I said, you know, the president's been attacked by many of these shadowy groups. No one knows who is funding them. And we've been at the receiving end of $62 million worth of attacks. So, we think they should come to an end.
O'BRIEN: All right, but should it be the responsibility -- I'll ask you first, then I'll go to Debra -- should it be the responsibility of the campaigns to disavow ads which they feel are inappropriate, inaccurate, or whatever?
MILLERWISE: I certainly wish that the Kerry campaign would disavow some of the ads that have been launched against this president. I don't think that they've disavowed any...
O'BRIEN: No, no, no. I'm just asking about your campaign. Don't you think that's good policy for your campaign -- if there's a bad ad out there, say so?
MILLERWISE: Well, certainly. And the president has and the White House has. When there is deplorable ads or there are things that we think are wrong, we have already done that in the past.
O'BRIEN: All right. Debra, let's ask you about this whole thing. First of all, do you think voters are confused by all this?
And you know, the First Amendment is an important thing to those of us in our business. We're not going to spend a lot of time saying that people shouldn't be doing these ads. But let's face it, it puts a lot of things out there which are hard to verify.
DESHONG: It does. And in fact, it puts ads out there that are blatantly false, as you indicated in your piece earlier. The swift boat add is blatantly false. John McCain called it dishonest and dishonorable.
And Jennifer just said that the White House and the president did disavow -- have disavowed ads that they found to be untrue, I'd like for her to give us an example. Because when he was asked on Friday whether he would disavow this ad, he had no answer. He turned and walked away.
O'BRIEN: All right...
DESHONG: So, we would love to hear where George Bush is and when he's going to disavow this ad.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jennifer, we're about to lose your satellite, so you say a quick, final point, then we'll go back to Debra. Jennifer, go.
MILLERWISE: That was the very ad I was referring to. Scott McClellan, the White House press secretary, called it deplorable and called on the Kerry campaign, which they've yet to answer this question, to call for a cease of all these sorts of negative attack ads by these shadowy groups.
DESHONG: We're asking about this one particular ad, Jennifer. When is George Bush going to disavow this ad...
O'BRIEN: All right...
DESHONG: ... which John McCain has called dishonest and dishonorable. It's a pack of lies.
O'BRIEN: All right. We're about to lose Arlington, unfortunately. So, I'm sorry. We're going to have Jennifer -- I apologize. This makes it sound like we're being unfair. But this is just a logistical thing.
Debra, say just for your campaign, without mentioning anybody else, if there's an inaccurate, inappropriate, whatever you want to call it, an ad out there that doesn't smack of anything that is true or fair or decent, is the campaign going to say so?
DESHONG: We have disavowed ads that we've found either incorrect or ads that we had found distasteful. We have done that. But we're asking about this particular ad that contains supposed testimonials of men talking about John Kerry's service in Vietnam, when in fact none of the men featured in the 60-second ad ever served with John Kerry and the people who actually did serve with John Kerry on his boat attest to his heroism and his service.
O'BRIEN: All right...
DESHONG: There's not a grain of truth to it.
O'BRIEN: Final thought: McCain/Feingold, complete mess, would you both agree on that?
MILLERWISE: Certainly when...
DESHONG: ... agree to that. I think we've seen that the system is working well.
You know, everyone tried to say that this was the end of the Democratic party, and we're doing great. We're doing well, and we're following the campaign finance laws.
O'BRIEN: All right. Jennifer, I guess we still have you. So, go ahead and say a final thought here.
MILLERWISE: I was going to say certainly when the president signed McCain/Feingold into law, he thought that this would stop these sorts of attack ads. Sixty-two million dollars spent against this president, I wish that the Kerry campaign would join us in calling for a cease of the campaign ads. They haven't, because as you said earlier in your package, they're relying on these ads right now.
O'BRIEN: Why don't you both say it right now -- both say it right now: Let's end these ads.
MILLERWISE: We've asked them. Can you...
O'BRIEN: Debra, would you say that?
DESHONG: We have nothing to do with these ads. These are independent ads.
O'BRIEN: Well, just say you want to get rid of them. No?
DESHONG: We would love to get rid of the $90 million in negative ads George Bush has personally ran against us. We would love to do away with those kinds of ads.
MILLERWISE: We're going to continue to talk about John Kerry's record.
O'BRIEN: All right, I tried, I tried.
Debra and Jennifer, thank you very much -- Jennifer Millerwise, Debra DeShong from their respective war rooms. And that was about the longest 30 seconds ever for Jennifer's satellite. That was great. Thank you. I'm glad she could join us -- in the interest of fairness.
NGUYEN: Yes, talking about competition, well, it is touchdown in Athens. They haven't won any medals just yet, but already these athletes are famous. O'BRIEN: Speaking of Olympic contenders, meet the brothers Dumais. It's all about staying in sync. Look at that! Whoa, whoa! That's a double semihalf gainer...
NGUYEN: Something, yes...
O'BRIEN: I don't know. I don't know what that was, exactly.
NGUYEN: And big brother or big discount? The latest gadget for your car could save you money, Miles, if you're willing to give up something else.
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O'BRIEN: Iraq's Olympic squad arrived in Athens, Greece, today for the summer games. For the first time in decades, the athletes will not have to worry about being tortured if they don't get a medal. Torture and imprisonment were apparently favored punishment for athletes who didn't do so well under Saddam Hussein's regime.
After the challenges this year in training and security at home, of course, the summer games may seem like quite a respite for the 48- member squad.
All right, between soaring gas prices and high auto insurance rates, taking a little bit of the fun out of driving these days.
NGUYEN: You don't say. Now, one company is trying to save you money, but of course, Miles, there are strings attached. Darby Mullany joins us now live from the New York Stock Exchange to explain. Hi, Darby.
DARBY MULLANY, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
Well, get used to someone looking over the shoulder. Drive less, pay less -- that is the concept -- but don't make any wrong turns. Someone may be watching you.
That is what is behind a new plan from Progressive Auto Insurance. Customers who volunteer to put an electronic monitoring device in their car will be eligible for big discounts. Now, the device you see here is about the size of a box of Tic-Tacs. It keeps track of speed, how many miles you drive, and at what time of day.
The customer can download the data and, if he or she wants, send it to Progressive online. Stay under speed limits or avoid driving at the most dangerous times, and you get a discount of five to 25%.
Progressive is trying out the program in Minnesota starting next week. And I bet with all the open roads in Minnesota, it's pretty tempting to speed.
O'BRIEN: I suspect big brother on your car is not an idea that's going to go well in most parts of the country. I flew Delta this morning, Darby, and the pilot took me aside and asked me to check the air on the tires before I got on the plane. Some sort of cost cutting thing. I don't know. That was odd.
MULLANY: Oh, boy. Is it really getting to that point?
Well, the word from Delta this afternoon is that it is warning that if it cannot drastically cut costs soon, it will file for bankruptcy. Now, this is not the first time that Delta has warned about Chapter 11, but it is the strongest statement we've heard from Delta so far.
Delta says that cash reserves are dwindling faster than expected, due in part to the soaring fuel costs that we keep hearing about. Delta shares, by the way, are down three percent on Wall Street, trading at about $4 a share right now.
And as for the rest of the market, stocks are inching higher: The Dow Industrials up 25.5 points.; the Nasdaq Composite is slightly higher. However, many of the investors are staying on the sidelines, waiting to hear what Alan Greenspan says in his testimony tomorrow.
Miles and Betty, back to you.
O'BRIEN: Darby, you speak Greenspan, don't you? You watch that for us. All right, thank you.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is addressing concerns about security for the Republican National Convention, which is coming up in three weeks. That's at the top of the hour.
NGUYEN: The men accused of the brutal killings in Florida are in court for the first time this afternoon.
O'BRIEN: And this one is a little happier thing. A big thank you from the mother of twin boys, they are now on their own.
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NGUYEN: Here's on for you: A cure for hot flashes and baldness? It even prevents heart disease and cancer. A lot of claims are made about the benefits of soy products. But when you take away the clever packaging and advertising, is soy really a superfood?
Well, our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this reality check.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tofu, edamame, soy milk: Once considered a food only for health nuts, now 25 percent of Americans use at least one soy product a week. That's according to the industry and by next year annual sales of soy are expected to hit almost $5 billion.
So what's the real story on soy?
DR. ALAN RICHMOND: It's not a cure-all, it's not an end-all, it's not a magic potion, but it is a good dietary supplement. GUPTA: Soy is good for the heart. It's high in protein, low in saturated fat, and has no cholesterol.
The FDA has gone on record saying a daily intake of soy can actually help lower your cholesterol by 5 to 10 percent.
What about soy and menopause?
RICHMOND: It doesn't change the cognitive effects of menopause. It doesn't change the sleep disturbances of menopause. But yes, it will take away hot flashes.
GUPTA: The reason: soy contains isoflavones, which can mimic estrogen. Some researchers had been concerned that the ingredients could cause cancer in post-menopausal women, but recent studies show that's not the case.
Studies suggest soy might reduce the risk of breast cancer for some women, but if you're at risk for breast cancer, the American Cancer Society says taking soy may not be a good idea.
What about reversing hair loss or prostate cancer in men?
RICHMOND: In some studies it has suggested that it may slow down the balding process in men and it also will decrease the growth of prostate cancer. Is it a cure for prostate cancer? No.
GUPTA: Knowing how much soy to eat isn't easy. The FDA recommends 25 grams of soy protein per day for heart health. Read the labels, because soy products aren't regulated by the FDA. Levels of protein and isoflavones vary.
Some examples: a little over three glasses of soy milk, half a cup of soy nuts or three Boca burgers will get you your daily allowance.
More research is needed, but many doctors believe soy is good for most people.
So, pass the soy nuts.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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