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Tonight's Big Speakers to be Democratic Congressman, Vice President; June Lockhart Talks about Career, Space
Aired September 01, 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, CO-HOST: Welcome back to the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROM and I'm Miles O'Brien.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what's all new this half hour.
When Timmy got into trouble, well, he called on Lassie and June Lockhart. This half hour, classic TV mom and Teamster member June Lockhart joins us.
But first, here's what's happening in the news.
A violent reaction to the killings of 12 Nepalese in Iraq. Protesters rioted and fought with police in Katmandu, Nepal. At least two people were injured. Nepal's government has imposed a curfew now. The U.S. embassy is asking Americans to keep a low profile.
South of Baghdad, Iraq's controversial politician Ahmed Chalabi escaped injury. He was targeted by suspected insurgents today. They ambushed his convoy, fired mortars near a meeting of the new national council, and two guards were injured.
Lawyers question a final group of potential jurors for the Kobe Bryant sexual assault trial. Court officials hope to select a jury by Friday afternoon and begin opening statements on Tuesday. Bryant maintains the sexual encounter was consensual.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan calling for an increased international presence in Sudan immediately. He says Sudan's government has failed to disarm militias and stop attacks against civilians in that war torn Darfur region. The U.N. calls the situation the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
We want to take you now live to Florida. Governor Jeb Bush stepping up to the podium as we get the word right now that Palm Beach County has ordered the evacuation of 300,000 coastal residents, preparing for Hurricane Frances.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: ... Craig and I and many others here were on a conference call with all of the local emergency operation centers. They were all reporting in. There's a great dialogue, great communication, great coordination. I would be remiss if I didn't thank them for their hard work.
Many of the people on that call are working on the recovery efforts of Hurricane Charley, and now, without missing a beat, they are focusing also on the aspects of Hurricane Frances for their -- the impacts of Hurricane Frances for their communities.
The Department of Transportation and the Florida Highway Patrol are working with local and state governments on evacuation needs and routes. Our school districts are coordinating with the local emergency management centers for shelter space and school closings, and there will be information on that over the next 24 hours.
The state is working with the local counties to ensure we're meeting their needs when we issue our emergency executive order, and my guess is that that will probably be done before 5 p.m. today.
I want to caution all of my fellow Floridians that it is still early, very early, to -- to know exactly where this storm goes. And as we've learned in past storms, hurricanes don't -- aren't necessarily linear in their approach. Sometimes they are; sometimes they're not. They're influenced by other storm conditions or atmospheric conditions.
And so we need to plan. We don't know where the storm will land. But the best thing right now for everyone who lives in the cone of the storm, which you've seen on your local TV stations, is to take the time now, today, to be prepared.
And that means different things to different people in different areas of the state. This is the time to fill your cars with gas, to begin the process of protecting your homes or your apartments, to purchase supplies of water.
PHILLIPS: You're listening to Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Right now Palm Beach County officials are ordering the evacuation of 300,000 coastal residents. As of right now, the governor sort of briefing reporters on the plan of action as he and others there and, of course, we here at CNN monitor Hurricane Frances and where it's headed.
Well, two days down, two nights to go for the Republican National Convention in New York. Tonight's specials include Georgia Democrat Zell Miller and V.P. Dick Cheney.
CROSSFIRE's Paul Begala and Robert Novak serving up the latest hot political dish at the CNN Diner.
Of course, food check. You said yesterday, Paul, it was a Cobb Salad; Bob was a hamburger. What was today?
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I stuck with salad. You know, I'm a consistent person.
PHILLIPS: What, are you on the South Beach Diet?
ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": A salad -- I had a cheese and bacon sandwich.
BEGALA: There you go.
PHILLIPS: There you go.
BEGALA: Cholesterol. I envy you. I admire you.
PHILLIPS: Yes. He's not worried about his cholesterol, heck no.
All right, let's get down to...
NOVAK: It's too late for me.
BEGALA: He's so tough the cholesterol just doesn't even -- doesn't even stick.
PHILLIPS: He's so hardened already. You know what I mean?
All right. Speaking -- speaking of a hardened campaign, let's talk about the Kerry campaign. OK?
The campaign adrift, that's sort of been the headline out today. Some other things. Campaign sources coming forward saying there's talk -- they're not talking about a major shake-up, but they're saying a change maybe in some evolving roles going on.
Even a quote coming forward -- and I know, Paul, you're going to love this. "We don't have a Carville or Begala," a senior Kerry official says, "but we can't mimic what happened in 1992."
Paul, what happened in 1992? And why can't they mimic it?
BEGALA: Well, we got our butts on the offense and we won. What the Kerry campaign needs to do, and I think what they will do, is to toughen up.
Senator Kerry today gave a great speech at the American Legion: took the president on, on Iraq, which the president called a catastrophic success. I think he's half right. That's a good sign for Democrats.
I think what Democrats want to see this Kerry campaign do is some of the things that Clinton did in '92, which is take the fight to President Bush on the issues.
I think Democrats will argue that this convention has been very well orchestrated and some terrific speeches but not a word about jobs or the economy or healthcare or the deficit. Because they're going to argue that Republicans don't really have a plan on those things.
So the Kerry campaign will toughen up, and I think they will, and take the fight to the president. I think they're going to be fine.
PHILLIPS: Bob, is that what the Kerry campaign needs to do? Is the Kerry campaign in trouble? Is the camp going to have a major shake-up?
NOVAK: Well, the first place when you slip a little bit in the polls and slip in some of the battleground states and immediately you start leaking about shake-ups and people coming out, that does not breed confidence among the party faithful. The other thing is, this is like a baseball team, Kyra. The guys aren't hitting very well. They're not pitching very well. What we need is a new manager. That's the correlation on the campaign.
Senator Kerry is not that attractive a candidate. Doesn't mean he's not -- he's not -- he's going to be a sure loser. I don't know who's going to win this election. But he isn't a real winner. He is not as attractive a candidate as Bill Clinton or as Ronald Reagan. He's just not in that class.
And I think that the -- I mean the -- Paul's formula for anything is hit them, hit them, attack, attack. I don't know if that's going to do the trick. I thought it was -- I listened to the whole speech at the American Legion. I thought it was dull. It was long. And it showed some of the defects of John Kerry as a candidate.
PHILLIPS: All right. Someone who's never dull, Alan Keyes. We've got to talk about this. It's a little bit of a sidebar, but not really, because it could affect Republicans. Maybe not.
It's Alan Keyes coming forward, talking about Mary Cheney, of course, the daughter of Dick Cheney. She's gay. He's coming forward saying she's a selfish hedonist. Well, then her sister, Liz, comes on "AMERICAN MORNING." This is what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": Alan Keyes, who is here in New York, as well, running for the Senate in Illinois, referred to Mary, based on his definition of how he sees gays in America, as a selfish hedonist. When you hear those words, how do you react?
LIZ CHENEY, DICK CHENEY'S DAUGHTER: I guess I'm surprised, frankly, that you would even repeat the quote. And I'm not going to dignify it with a comment.
HEMMER: Not even want to touch it today?
CHENEY: It doesn't deserve a comment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Bob, what do you think? Is what Alan Keyes doing going to hurt Bush, going to affect Republicans?
NOVAK: Well, listen. You were right in the first place here. This is a sidebar. I'll tell you, it's a small sidebar.
I think it's very unfortunate what Alan Keyes said, to make these kind of comments about a private citizen, the vice president's daughter. I think it's -- it's reprehensible, in my -- in my opinion.
But it ain't politics. It's not going to affect anybody's campaign. I would say maybe Alan Keyes will go from 40 points down to 45 points down in Illinois. But it's not going to affect the presidential election.
BEGALA: Where I disagree with -- where I disagree with...
PHILLIPS: Paul, tacky or tactful?
BEGALA: No, it was reprehensible. Bob used the right word. It's got -- that's got no place in American politics. But it does have a place in the Republican platform.
The Republican platform is so viciously anti-gay that even the gay Republicans are running ads attacking it. It not only says that they're against gay marriage, which actually John Kerry is, as well, but they're against gay civil unions. They're against any kind of gay domestic partnerships.
This is now -- Alan Keyes today put words to what a whole lot of these Republican delegates actually believe.
PHILLIPS: Selfish hedonist?
BEGALA: That's -- there's a real hatred of gays...
NOVAK: That's -- that's...
BEGALA: ... in this Republican Party, Kyra. And God bless the Cheneys for standing up for their daughter the way that they have. And I'm on Dick Cheney's side on this plank.
NOVAK: That's a typical Begala spin, taking something that is reprehensible and trying to make it into a Democratic advantage.
The position is you can have a position against civil unions, against gay marriage without engaging in personal invective against your fellow citizens. And I think -- I think it's equally reprehensible to try to turn that, what Alan Keyes said, as to something in the platform.
I would suggest that Paul Begala read the platform, and he won't find that kind of language in it.
BEGALA: See, I have read the platform and there is a section in there on gay rights that goes far beyond anything that...
NOVAK: Does it use the word "hedonist"?
BEGALA: Not that it's hedonist, but it denies equal rights to gays and a whole host of areas.
NOVAK: That's nonsense.
BEGALA: Alan Keyes is speaking for a percentage of the Republicans. And again, God bless the Cheneys for standing up for their daughter. They're obviously good parents. I'm not a big fan of Dick Cheney's political views. But he's obviously a good dad and Mrs. Cheney's a good mom. I'm glad they're standing up for their daughter.
PHILLIPS: I hate to say this. I want to keep going. But you know why I have to cut you guys short? Do you know why?
BEGALA: Why is that?
PHILLIPS: June Lockhart is in the house. Do you mind? Is it OK?
BEGALA: Excellent. Hi, Mom, I'm home. I feel like we should have a milk shake for her.
PHILLIPS: You've got a milk shake for her? June, they've got a milk shake for you.
BEGALA: I wish we did.
PHILLIPS: All right, you guys...
JUNE LOCKHART, ACTRESS: Amazing.
PHILLIPS: All right. June, do you have anything to say to Paul Begala?
LOCKHART: Good-bye. Thanks, it's been nice listening to you.
PHILLIPS: She's telling me to give you guys a hard wrap. All right. Here we go. We've got to go, guys.
O'BRIEN: Let me tell you, June Lockhart has been in show business long enough to know you don't eat into your own time.
PHILLIPS: Heck no.
O'BRIEN: All right.
PHILLIPS: Look, I'm coming up. We've got to go.
O'BRIEN: Without further ado, we will send it off to break. When we return...
LOCKHART: I'll never be invited back.
O'BRIEN: No, you'll be back. Don't worry. You'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The memories come flooding back. You know, every year they do a survey of favorite TV moms, and each year a trivia travesty is perpetrated. Yes, Claire Huxtable, Carol Brady, June Cleaver. They're all fine. But what about Lassie's Ruth Martin or Maureen Robinson from that series that changed my life, "Lost in Space," two of the greatest TV mom roles ever. And both played by the same actress. In fact, she's so great she's got not one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because -- why not? Why do you have two stars?
LOCKHART: Well, the family has five.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
LOCKHART: And my father, Gene Lockhart, has two; my mother has one, right in front of the Pantages (ph) Theater; and then I have two, one for films and one for television.
O'BRIEN: There aren't many families that can boast five.
LOCKHART: I think not.
O'BRIEN: You were born to be in show business. Explain the story about your actor and actress mother and father, introduced by Edison.
LOCKHART: By Thomas Edison. Without Thomas Edison we'd all be sitting here doing this in the dark.
O'BRIEN: Good point.
LOCKHART: So Mommy and Daddy did a play for him in 19...
O'BRIEN: There's your father, Gene Lockhart, in that scene. Yes.
LOCKHART: Yes, yes.
They did a play together in 1922. And Thomas Edison introduced them when my mother came in for the audition.
O'BRIEN: All right.
LOCKHART: And -- and they did the whole tour all the way across the country. He used to take out trains and to promote his new inventions. And he would take the inventions to the dealers. Edison dealer's convention caravan, it was. And he put on plays and he had people from the Metropolitan, everything.
Anyway, they did a long cross-country tour.
O'BRIEN: This is a side of Edison we really weren't too familiar with.
Now your first role was age 12...
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... with your parents. You played one of the Cratchit kids...
LOCKHART: That's right.
O'BRIEN: ... in the famous "Christmas Carol" movie to this day.
LOCKHART: "The Christmas Carol." And my mother was Mrs. Cratchit, my real mother. And my father was Bob Cratchit.
O'BRIEN: Isn't that great. See... LOCKHART: Listen, I must tell you. I just learned this. It's the neatest story.
When the Beatles came to Los Angeles to play the Hollywood Bowl, the Ambassador Hotel said they couldn't stay there, because they were so afraid of all those screaming girls. So a very prominent English character actor in Hollywood said, "You can use my estate. Please do."
And that man was Reginald Owen, who is Scrooge in "The Christmas Carol."
O'BRIEN: So they stayed in Scrooge's house?
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And they were probably awakened several times a night by ghosts. Who knows?
LOCKHART: I think that's so lovely, though.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
LOCKHART: You know, hardly Scrooge-like.
O'BRIEN: Yes, and these days you have -- your film credits are so -- I mean, 61 films or so. You're a very successful long-running actress, starting at age 12.
LOCKHART: And no end in sight.
O'BRIEN: And no end in sight. You're still the hardest working woman in show business. When people see you, what role do they connect with? Is it "Lassie" or...
LOCKHART: Depend on the age. "Lost in Space" in their 40s, and guys just loved "Lost in Space," you know, which is always fun. And then, of course, "Lassie." And then, of course, I went into "Petticoat Junction," too.
O'BRIEN: Let's not forget that one.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And that's a different generation.
LOCKHART: And "General Hospital" and all that. Anyway...
O'BRIEN: Let's show a little clip. Some of the great characters in this -- that's a great shot. Where was that taken?
LOCKHART: I believe that's taken in Franklin Canyon Reservoir, right behind the Beverly Hills Hotel. We loved to go there because it was so close to home.
O'BRIEN: Well, June, I can just say I can see why you were popular with the guys.
Now let's look at these -- Let's look at this scene here. This is from one of the second or third episodes.
LOCKHART: That's Mark Goddard, who will be here in Atlanta for Dragon*Con over the weekend. And that's Jonathan Harris.
O'BRIEN: The late Jonathan Harris. Dr. Smith.
And then, of course, the robot.
LOCKHART: There's the robot. And in the robot was a wonderful guy named Bobby May who made -- gave the robot a personality.
O'BRIEN: Actually moved that thing along. What in this series -- some have called it camp. Whatever you want to call it, three years...
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... but it really has a certain degree of staying power. Why is that?
LOCKHART: I think that because of the time that it -- you know, we were landing on the moon. And we were doing all the space -- and Glen had his first flight during those -- during those years.
And, also, it just, I think, struck the imagination of everybody. And the idea of taking "Swiss Family Robinson" into space was really unique. Although, as we look back on the special effects they were pretty corny, but by -- at that time they were remarkable.
O'BRIEN: And of course, the story goes that the famous real-life episode of Apollo 13 happened in the midst of ABC playing this program.
LOCKHART: CBS.
O'BRIEN: Actually interrupted -- or CBS, pardon me, interrupted "Lost in Space" to tell the real story of "Lost in Space."
LOCKHART: That's right, yes. And the complaints that they got because our show was interrupted.
O'BRIEN: In other words, they are watching the fictional version. The real "Lost in Space" comes on and people dialed up and said, "Please stop it."
Which brings me to the real life world of June Lockhart these days. You have a real passion for space, for real.
LOCKHART: Oh, for NASA. That's a rematch (ph).
O'BRIEN: Did you get it during the show? I remember the first time I met you, at one of the launches.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And my first reaction was, "Oh, my God, there's some trouble with the shuttle." Because you know, "Lost in Space," right?
LOCKHART: Here we are.
O'BRIEN: This is -- That's at JPL, the jet propulsion lab, during one of the Mars landings in January.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And so immediately, I thought, "Oh, no, they're lost in space." But the fact is you really have an interest in this. Did that come during the series, or did you have it before?
LOCKHART: No, I had always been interested in aviation. Very, very much so. And then...
O'BRIEN: This is you at one of the NASA centers.
LOCKHART: Oh, yes, that's right. When -- They have been doing that biological thing.
O'BRIEN: They were testing out long duration missions.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: They were inside a sealed container.
LOCKHART: And they came out of the sealed container after a month.
O'BRIEN: This is where I met you, SDS 88. This was the first mission to the space station.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And this was a spectacular night launch.
LOCKHART: It really was a beautiful night launch.
O'BRIEN: And that -- That whole interest you have, you've nurtured.
LOCKHART: Yes. No, I had always been interested in aviation all my life. And then space was a natural extension of that. So I was into space and following it all, and the excitement about it prior to being cast in the show.
O'BRIEN: Now, this is -- there's a little theme here how eclectic your interests are. There's space. You're also involved with dogs which help the hearing impaired.
LOCKHART: Oh, yes. That's right.
O'BRIEN: So you kind of picked up some interests which match your -- your on screen career. You're also on the board of a bank, I discovered.
LOCKHART: Yes, I chair on -- I chair their fair lending community reinvestment committee.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
LOCKHART: And I've been chair of that now for many years. Prior to that, I was on the board -- on the board of directors for 15 years...
O'BRIEN: So did you set...
LOCKHART: ... for the federal bank in California.
O'BRIEN: So did you set out to do all this or have you just pursued things all your life that have interested you?
LOCKHART: Opportunities just drop in my lap and I always say, "yes, let's go." You know?
O'BRIEN: Wow! And so you're in Atlanta right now to sign some autographs.
LOCKHART: At Dragon*Con.
O'BRIEN: At Dragon*Con, which is a big...
LOCKHART: Mark Goddard will be here. And also Marta Kristen's coming in. And many other people from lots and lots of other television shows.
O'BRIEN: All right.
LOCKHART: And we're at the Marriott and at the Hyatt.
O'BRIEN: The Marriott and the Hyatt in Atlanta. If you happen to be nearby, come and pay a visit. And we'll see you.
LOCKHART: I'd love to see you.
O'BRIEN: We'll see you at the next launch.
LOCKHART: Oh, yes. All right.
O'BRIEN: Always a pleasure.
LOCKHART: Dear Miles, thank you so much.
O'BRIEN: I'm depressed now (ph). All right. We've got to go.
PHILLIPS: What a mess (ph).
O'BRIEN: We should take a break. Back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Home Depot taking some heat after it offered its employees pet insurance.
O'BRIEN: Fred Katayama joining us from the New York Stock Exchange with details -- Fred.
(STOCK REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Fred. That wraps up the second hour of LIVE FROM. I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Now joining us with a special 90-minute edition of "INSIDE POLITICS," here's Judy Woodruff, live from Madison Square Garden.
Hi, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hi, Kyra. Hi, Miles. Good to see you both. And thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired September 1, 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, CO-HOST: Welcome back to the CNN Center in Atlanta. This is LIVE FROM and I'm Miles O'Brien.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CO-HOST: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what's all new this half hour.
When Timmy got into trouble, well, he called on Lassie and June Lockhart. This half hour, classic TV mom and Teamster member June Lockhart joins us.
But first, here's what's happening in the news.
A violent reaction to the killings of 12 Nepalese in Iraq. Protesters rioted and fought with police in Katmandu, Nepal. At least two people were injured. Nepal's government has imposed a curfew now. The U.S. embassy is asking Americans to keep a low profile.
South of Baghdad, Iraq's controversial politician Ahmed Chalabi escaped injury. He was targeted by suspected insurgents today. They ambushed his convoy, fired mortars near a meeting of the new national council, and two guards were injured.
Lawyers question a final group of potential jurors for the Kobe Bryant sexual assault trial. Court officials hope to select a jury by Friday afternoon and begin opening statements on Tuesday. Bryant maintains the sexual encounter was consensual.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan calling for an increased international presence in Sudan immediately. He says Sudan's government has failed to disarm militias and stop attacks against civilians in that war torn Darfur region. The U.N. calls the situation the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
We want to take you now live to Florida. Governor Jeb Bush stepping up to the podium as we get the word right now that Palm Beach County has ordered the evacuation of 300,000 coastal residents, preparing for Hurricane Frances.
GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: ... Craig and I and many others here were on a conference call with all of the local emergency operation centers. They were all reporting in. There's a great dialogue, great communication, great coordination. I would be remiss if I didn't thank them for their hard work.
Many of the people on that call are working on the recovery efforts of Hurricane Charley, and now, without missing a beat, they are focusing also on the aspects of Hurricane Frances for their -- the impacts of Hurricane Frances for their communities.
The Department of Transportation and the Florida Highway Patrol are working with local and state governments on evacuation needs and routes. Our school districts are coordinating with the local emergency management centers for shelter space and school closings, and there will be information on that over the next 24 hours.
The state is working with the local counties to ensure we're meeting their needs when we issue our emergency executive order, and my guess is that that will probably be done before 5 p.m. today.
I want to caution all of my fellow Floridians that it is still early, very early, to -- to know exactly where this storm goes. And as we've learned in past storms, hurricanes don't -- aren't necessarily linear in their approach. Sometimes they are; sometimes they're not. They're influenced by other storm conditions or atmospheric conditions.
And so we need to plan. We don't know where the storm will land. But the best thing right now for everyone who lives in the cone of the storm, which you've seen on your local TV stations, is to take the time now, today, to be prepared.
And that means different things to different people in different areas of the state. This is the time to fill your cars with gas, to begin the process of protecting your homes or your apartments, to purchase supplies of water.
PHILLIPS: You're listening to Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Right now Palm Beach County officials are ordering the evacuation of 300,000 coastal residents. As of right now, the governor sort of briefing reporters on the plan of action as he and others there and, of course, we here at CNN monitor Hurricane Frances and where it's headed.
Well, two days down, two nights to go for the Republican National Convention in New York. Tonight's specials include Georgia Democrat Zell Miller and V.P. Dick Cheney.
CROSSFIRE's Paul Begala and Robert Novak serving up the latest hot political dish at the CNN Diner.
Of course, food check. You said yesterday, Paul, it was a Cobb Salad; Bob was a hamburger. What was today?
PAUL BEGALA, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": I stuck with salad. You know, I'm a consistent person.
PHILLIPS: What, are you on the South Beach Diet?
ROBERT NOVAK, CO-HOST, "CROSSFIRE": A salad -- I had a cheese and bacon sandwich.
BEGALA: There you go.
PHILLIPS: There you go.
BEGALA: Cholesterol. I envy you. I admire you.
PHILLIPS: Yes. He's not worried about his cholesterol, heck no.
All right, let's get down to...
NOVAK: It's too late for me.
BEGALA: He's so tough the cholesterol just doesn't even -- doesn't even stick.
PHILLIPS: He's so hardened already. You know what I mean?
All right. Speaking -- speaking of a hardened campaign, let's talk about the Kerry campaign. OK?
The campaign adrift, that's sort of been the headline out today. Some other things. Campaign sources coming forward saying there's talk -- they're not talking about a major shake-up, but they're saying a change maybe in some evolving roles going on.
Even a quote coming forward -- and I know, Paul, you're going to love this. "We don't have a Carville or Begala," a senior Kerry official says, "but we can't mimic what happened in 1992."
Paul, what happened in 1992? And why can't they mimic it?
BEGALA: Well, we got our butts on the offense and we won. What the Kerry campaign needs to do, and I think what they will do, is to toughen up.
Senator Kerry today gave a great speech at the American Legion: took the president on, on Iraq, which the president called a catastrophic success. I think he's half right. That's a good sign for Democrats.
I think what Democrats want to see this Kerry campaign do is some of the things that Clinton did in '92, which is take the fight to President Bush on the issues.
I think Democrats will argue that this convention has been very well orchestrated and some terrific speeches but not a word about jobs or the economy or healthcare or the deficit. Because they're going to argue that Republicans don't really have a plan on those things.
So the Kerry campaign will toughen up, and I think they will, and take the fight to the president. I think they're going to be fine.
PHILLIPS: Bob, is that what the Kerry campaign needs to do? Is the Kerry campaign in trouble? Is the camp going to have a major shake-up?
NOVAK: Well, the first place when you slip a little bit in the polls and slip in some of the battleground states and immediately you start leaking about shake-ups and people coming out, that does not breed confidence among the party faithful. The other thing is, this is like a baseball team, Kyra. The guys aren't hitting very well. They're not pitching very well. What we need is a new manager. That's the correlation on the campaign.
Senator Kerry is not that attractive a candidate. Doesn't mean he's not -- he's not -- he's going to be a sure loser. I don't know who's going to win this election. But he isn't a real winner. He is not as attractive a candidate as Bill Clinton or as Ronald Reagan. He's just not in that class.
And I think that the -- I mean the -- Paul's formula for anything is hit them, hit them, attack, attack. I don't know if that's going to do the trick. I thought it was -- I listened to the whole speech at the American Legion. I thought it was dull. It was long. And it showed some of the defects of John Kerry as a candidate.
PHILLIPS: All right. Someone who's never dull, Alan Keyes. We've got to talk about this. It's a little bit of a sidebar, but not really, because it could affect Republicans. Maybe not.
It's Alan Keyes coming forward, talking about Mary Cheney, of course, the daughter of Dick Cheney. She's gay. He's coming forward saying she's a selfish hedonist. Well, then her sister, Liz, comes on "AMERICAN MORNING." This is what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": Alan Keyes, who is here in New York, as well, running for the Senate in Illinois, referred to Mary, based on his definition of how he sees gays in America, as a selfish hedonist. When you hear those words, how do you react?
LIZ CHENEY, DICK CHENEY'S DAUGHTER: I guess I'm surprised, frankly, that you would even repeat the quote. And I'm not going to dignify it with a comment.
HEMMER: Not even want to touch it today?
CHENEY: It doesn't deserve a comment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Bob, what do you think? Is what Alan Keyes doing going to hurt Bush, going to affect Republicans?
NOVAK: Well, listen. You were right in the first place here. This is a sidebar. I'll tell you, it's a small sidebar.
I think it's very unfortunate what Alan Keyes said, to make these kind of comments about a private citizen, the vice president's daughter. I think it's -- it's reprehensible, in my -- in my opinion.
But it ain't politics. It's not going to affect anybody's campaign. I would say maybe Alan Keyes will go from 40 points down to 45 points down in Illinois. But it's not going to affect the presidential election.
BEGALA: Where I disagree with -- where I disagree with...
PHILLIPS: Paul, tacky or tactful?
BEGALA: No, it was reprehensible. Bob used the right word. It's got -- that's got no place in American politics. But it does have a place in the Republican platform.
The Republican platform is so viciously anti-gay that even the gay Republicans are running ads attacking it. It not only says that they're against gay marriage, which actually John Kerry is, as well, but they're against gay civil unions. They're against any kind of gay domestic partnerships.
This is now -- Alan Keyes today put words to what a whole lot of these Republican delegates actually believe.
PHILLIPS: Selfish hedonist?
BEGALA: That's -- there's a real hatred of gays...
NOVAK: That's -- that's...
BEGALA: ... in this Republican Party, Kyra. And God bless the Cheneys for standing up for their daughter the way that they have. And I'm on Dick Cheney's side on this plank.
NOVAK: That's a typical Begala spin, taking something that is reprehensible and trying to make it into a Democratic advantage.
The position is you can have a position against civil unions, against gay marriage without engaging in personal invective against your fellow citizens. And I think -- I think it's equally reprehensible to try to turn that, what Alan Keyes said, as to something in the platform.
I would suggest that Paul Begala read the platform, and he won't find that kind of language in it.
BEGALA: See, I have read the platform and there is a section in there on gay rights that goes far beyond anything that...
NOVAK: Does it use the word "hedonist"?
BEGALA: Not that it's hedonist, but it denies equal rights to gays and a whole host of areas.
NOVAK: That's nonsense.
BEGALA: Alan Keyes is speaking for a percentage of the Republicans. And again, God bless the Cheneys for standing up for their daughter. They're obviously good parents. I'm not a big fan of Dick Cheney's political views. But he's obviously a good dad and Mrs. Cheney's a good mom. I'm glad they're standing up for their daughter.
PHILLIPS: I hate to say this. I want to keep going. But you know why I have to cut you guys short? Do you know why?
BEGALA: Why is that?
PHILLIPS: June Lockhart is in the house. Do you mind? Is it OK?
BEGALA: Excellent. Hi, Mom, I'm home. I feel like we should have a milk shake for her.
PHILLIPS: You've got a milk shake for her? June, they've got a milk shake for you.
BEGALA: I wish we did.
PHILLIPS: All right, you guys...
JUNE LOCKHART, ACTRESS: Amazing.
PHILLIPS: All right. June, do you have anything to say to Paul Begala?
LOCKHART: Good-bye. Thanks, it's been nice listening to you.
PHILLIPS: She's telling me to give you guys a hard wrap. All right. Here we go. We've got to go, guys.
O'BRIEN: Let me tell you, June Lockhart has been in show business long enough to know you don't eat into your own time.
PHILLIPS: Heck no.
O'BRIEN: All right.
PHILLIPS: Look, I'm coming up. We've got to go.
O'BRIEN: Without further ado, we will send it off to break. When we return...
LOCKHART: I'll never be invited back.
O'BRIEN: No, you'll be back. Don't worry. You'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The memories come flooding back. You know, every year they do a survey of favorite TV moms, and each year a trivia travesty is perpetrated. Yes, Claire Huxtable, Carol Brady, June Cleaver. They're all fine. But what about Lassie's Ruth Martin or Maureen Robinson from that series that changed my life, "Lost in Space," two of the greatest TV mom roles ever. And both played by the same actress. In fact, she's so great she's got not one but two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Because -- why not? Why do you have two stars?
LOCKHART: Well, the family has five.
O'BRIEN: Wow.
LOCKHART: And my father, Gene Lockhart, has two; my mother has one, right in front of the Pantages (ph) Theater; and then I have two, one for films and one for television.
O'BRIEN: There aren't many families that can boast five.
LOCKHART: I think not.
O'BRIEN: You were born to be in show business. Explain the story about your actor and actress mother and father, introduced by Edison.
LOCKHART: By Thomas Edison. Without Thomas Edison we'd all be sitting here doing this in the dark.
O'BRIEN: Good point.
LOCKHART: So Mommy and Daddy did a play for him in 19...
O'BRIEN: There's your father, Gene Lockhart, in that scene. Yes.
LOCKHART: Yes, yes.
They did a play together in 1922. And Thomas Edison introduced them when my mother came in for the audition.
O'BRIEN: All right.
LOCKHART: And -- and they did the whole tour all the way across the country. He used to take out trains and to promote his new inventions. And he would take the inventions to the dealers. Edison dealer's convention caravan, it was. And he put on plays and he had people from the Metropolitan, everything.
Anyway, they did a long cross-country tour.
O'BRIEN: This is a side of Edison we really weren't too familiar with.
Now your first role was age 12...
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... with your parents. You played one of the Cratchit kids...
LOCKHART: That's right.
O'BRIEN: ... in the famous "Christmas Carol" movie to this day.
LOCKHART: "The Christmas Carol." And my mother was Mrs. Cratchit, my real mother. And my father was Bob Cratchit.
O'BRIEN: Isn't that great. See... LOCKHART: Listen, I must tell you. I just learned this. It's the neatest story.
When the Beatles came to Los Angeles to play the Hollywood Bowl, the Ambassador Hotel said they couldn't stay there, because they were so afraid of all those screaming girls. So a very prominent English character actor in Hollywood said, "You can use my estate. Please do."
And that man was Reginald Owen, who is Scrooge in "The Christmas Carol."
O'BRIEN: So they stayed in Scrooge's house?
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And they were probably awakened several times a night by ghosts. Who knows?
LOCKHART: I think that's so lovely, though.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
LOCKHART: You know, hardly Scrooge-like.
O'BRIEN: Yes, and these days you have -- your film credits are so -- I mean, 61 films or so. You're a very successful long-running actress, starting at age 12.
LOCKHART: And no end in sight.
O'BRIEN: And no end in sight. You're still the hardest working woman in show business. When people see you, what role do they connect with? Is it "Lassie" or...
LOCKHART: Depend on the age. "Lost in Space" in their 40s, and guys just loved "Lost in Space," you know, which is always fun. And then, of course, "Lassie." And then, of course, I went into "Petticoat Junction," too.
O'BRIEN: Let's not forget that one.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And that's a different generation.
LOCKHART: And "General Hospital" and all that. Anyway...
O'BRIEN: Let's show a little clip. Some of the great characters in this -- that's a great shot. Where was that taken?
LOCKHART: I believe that's taken in Franklin Canyon Reservoir, right behind the Beverly Hills Hotel. We loved to go there because it was so close to home.
O'BRIEN: Well, June, I can just say I can see why you were popular with the guys.
Now let's look at these -- Let's look at this scene here. This is from one of the second or third episodes.
LOCKHART: That's Mark Goddard, who will be here in Atlanta for Dragon*Con over the weekend. And that's Jonathan Harris.
O'BRIEN: The late Jonathan Harris. Dr. Smith.
And then, of course, the robot.
LOCKHART: There's the robot. And in the robot was a wonderful guy named Bobby May who made -- gave the robot a personality.
O'BRIEN: Actually moved that thing along. What in this series -- some have called it camp. Whatever you want to call it, three years...
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... but it really has a certain degree of staying power. Why is that?
LOCKHART: I think that because of the time that it -- you know, we were landing on the moon. And we were doing all the space -- and Glen had his first flight during those -- during those years.
And, also, it just, I think, struck the imagination of everybody. And the idea of taking "Swiss Family Robinson" into space was really unique. Although, as we look back on the special effects they were pretty corny, but by -- at that time they were remarkable.
O'BRIEN: And of course, the story goes that the famous real-life episode of Apollo 13 happened in the midst of ABC playing this program.
LOCKHART: CBS.
O'BRIEN: Actually interrupted -- or CBS, pardon me, interrupted "Lost in Space" to tell the real story of "Lost in Space."
LOCKHART: That's right, yes. And the complaints that they got because our show was interrupted.
O'BRIEN: In other words, they are watching the fictional version. The real "Lost in Space" comes on and people dialed up and said, "Please stop it."
Which brings me to the real life world of June Lockhart these days. You have a real passion for space, for real.
LOCKHART: Oh, for NASA. That's a rematch (ph).
O'BRIEN: Did you get it during the show? I remember the first time I met you, at one of the launches.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And my first reaction was, "Oh, my God, there's some trouble with the shuttle." Because you know, "Lost in Space," right?
LOCKHART: Here we are.
O'BRIEN: This is -- That's at JPL, the jet propulsion lab, during one of the Mars landings in January.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And so immediately, I thought, "Oh, no, they're lost in space." But the fact is you really have an interest in this. Did that come during the series, or did you have it before?
LOCKHART: No, I had always been interested in aviation. Very, very much so. And then...
O'BRIEN: This is you at one of the NASA centers.
LOCKHART: Oh, yes, that's right. When -- They have been doing that biological thing.
O'BRIEN: They were testing out long duration missions.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: They were inside a sealed container.
LOCKHART: And they came out of the sealed container after a month.
O'BRIEN: This is where I met you, SDS 88. This was the first mission to the space station.
LOCKHART: Yes.
O'BRIEN: And this was a spectacular night launch.
LOCKHART: It really was a beautiful night launch.
O'BRIEN: And that -- That whole interest you have, you've nurtured.
LOCKHART: Yes. No, I had always been interested in aviation all my life. And then space was a natural extension of that. So I was into space and following it all, and the excitement about it prior to being cast in the show.
O'BRIEN: Now, this is -- there's a little theme here how eclectic your interests are. There's space. You're also involved with dogs which help the hearing impaired.
LOCKHART: Oh, yes. That's right.
O'BRIEN: So you kind of picked up some interests which match your -- your on screen career. You're also on the board of a bank, I discovered.
LOCKHART: Yes, I chair on -- I chair their fair lending community reinvestment committee.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
LOCKHART: And I've been chair of that now for many years. Prior to that, I was on the board -- on the board of directors for 15 years...
O'BRIEN: So did you set...
LOCKHART: ... for the federal bank in California.
O'BRIEN: So did you set out to do all this or have you just pursued things all your life that have interested you?
LOCKHART: Opportunities just drop in my lap and I always say, "yes, let's go." You know?
O'BRIEN: Wow! And so you're in Atlanta right now to sign some autographs.
LOCKHART: At Dragon*Con.
O'BRIEN: At Dragon*Con, which is a big...
LOCKHART: Mark Goddard will be here. And also Marta Kristen's coming in. And many other people from lots and lots of other television shows.
O'BRIEN: All right.
LOCKHART: And we're at the Marriott and at the Hyatt.
O'BRIEN: The Marriott and the Hyatt in Atlanta. If you happen to be nearby, come and pay a visit. And we'll see you.
LOCKHART: I'd love to see you.
O'BRIEN: We'll see you at the next launch.
LOCKHART: Oh, yes. All right.
O'BRIEN: Always a pleasure.
LOCKHART: Dear Miles, thank you so much.
O'BRIEN: I'm depressed now (ph). All right. We've got to go.
PHILLIPS: What a mess (ph).
O'BRIEN: We should take a break. Back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. Home Depot taking some heat after it offered its employees pet insurance.
O'BRIEN: Fred Katayama joining us from the New York Stock Exchange with details -- Fred.
(STOCK REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Fred. That wraps up the second hour of LIVE FROM. I'm Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. Now joining us with a special 90-minute edition of "INSIDE POLITICS," here's Judy Woodruff, live from Madison Square Garden.
Hi, Judy.
JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Hi, Kyra. Hi, Miles. Good to see you both. And thank you.
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