Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
CBS Airs Regrets; Fighting Words; Pensacola Recovery
Aired September 20, 2004 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Dubious documents, a deceitful source of bombshell broadcasts and the homestretch of a presidential race. It all adds up to disaster for CBS News, which says it can no longer vouch for the authenticity of the so-called memos that cast fresh doubts on George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard. We get the details and the fallout this hour from CNN's Jeanne Meserve in Washington and Suzanne Malveaux, traveling with the president in New Hampshire.
Jeanne, let's start with you.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, after a week and a half of unrelenting criticism and questioning, a concession today from the man who is the face of CBS News, Dan Rather. In a statement, Rather says, "If I knew then what I know now, I would not have gone ahead with this story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question."
CBS News president Andrew Hayward said, "We should not have used them. That was a mistake which we deeply regret."
CBS says it is commissioning an independent investigation. In its statement, CBS says it was deliberately misled about the origin of the documents by its source, Bill Burkett. Bill Burkett has a longstanding feud with the Texas National Guard and with President Bush. Earlier this year, he alleged that Bush supporters purged potentially damaging information from the president's military files.
Sources tell CNN that Burkett did tell CBS that if they use the documents it was CBS's responsibility to make sure they were authentic. The documents in question, one of which -- in one of which a superior purportedly says that he's under pressure to sugarcoat Bush's service record, were first aired on "60 Minutes" on September 8, despite an ever-growing chorus of doubts expressed by experts.
CBS stuck to its story. Only on the 15th of the month was there an acknowledgement that were legitimate questions. Now today's admission that they made a mistake.
It is a dramatic turnaround for the CBS News division and for Dan Rather. The reverberations of which will continue to be felt -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much.
Something else in question, what does the president think about the latest developments with regard to this CBS story? We go now to Suzanne Malveaux. She's live in Derry, New Hampshire. She's been traveling with the president.
We'll get to Iraq and other issues, but any response from what's happened so far -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we've been told by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan that the president was notified about the CBS documents, about their statement aboard Air Force One, on his way to New Hampshire here. McClellan saying that of course they found it regrettable, but there are still serious questions that remain.
McClellan went on to say that, of course, that this is the first time that CBS has publicly acknowledged the documents likely forged and that they come from a discredited source. He goes on to say that Bill Burkett is not an unimpeachable source, that he has in the past been discredited. He says as well that he has senior-level contacts with the Kerry campaign.
Now, some of those serious questions that they're talking about, another senior Republican administration official saying here, those questions, where do those documents come from? Secondly, who supplied those documents to CBS? And finally, they asked, what role does the president's political opponent, Senator Kerry, and his campaign have to do with this?
Now, in the past, McClellan has said that he believes that the Kerry camp does, in fact, play a role in this. The president was asked about that over the weekend with a newspaper. That is "The Union Leader" from Manchester, New Hampshire.
He says, quite frankly, he doesn't know. But he still stands by his statement that he served honorably, that he was honorably discharged, that he met all of his requirements. And again, saying, of course, there are serious questions about where these documents came from and just why they were circulated at this time -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Suzanne.
Now rival John Kerry launching a pretty blistering attack on President Bush's handling of Iraq. How is the president responding to that? And what's he saying now live in Derry, as you've been able to tune in a little bit while keeping up with this report on CBS and tuning in with us?
MALVEAUX: Well, Kyra, what we expect the president to talk about is yet another line of attack against Kerry. What McClellan says it what Kerry is twisting in the wind when it comes to Iraq, what he says is another contradiction. So expect to hear again new harsh rhetoric from the president talking about Kerry, what this campaign is calling flip-flopping on the situation in Iraq -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux live there from Derry, New Hampshire. Thank you.
And it's the hottest ticket are the year at U.N. headquarters, a speech from the president of the United States. His speech starts at 10:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow. You'll see it live right here on CNN.
Now, it's not by accident that John Kerry is in New York today and fiercely attacked the Bush administration's alleged mishandling of the war. CNN's Bob Franken tells us more about that -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in an effort to preempt that speech, John Kerry went on the offensive. And in an effort to ratchet up the intensity of his criticism, he used some very, very strong language to criticize President Bush and the policies centered around Iraq.
What he said was, is that as the president goes to the U.N., he should call a summit meeting immediately this week to try and regain international cooperation, to make sure that Iraqis are trained as security forces, to make sure that reconstruction goes on, and to guarantee that the promised elections in Iraq take place next year. That was the plan outlined by Kerry. Nothing particularly new in it, but it was part of a blistering attack against President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president has said that he miscalculated in Iraq and that it was a catastrophic success. In fact -- in fact, the president has made a series of catastrophic decisions from the beginning in Iraq. At every fork in the road, he has taken the wrong turn and led us in the wrong direction.
(APPLAUSE)
KERRY: The first -- the first and most fundamental mistake was the president's failure to tell the truth to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Strong words in the context of an election campaign, Kyra, that has about six weeks to go -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Bob Franken, thank you.
So tell us this, is Iraq the top issue for you in this election? Or will other concerns be more important when you cast your ballot? We're reading your e-mails. So send us your thoughts at Livefrom@CNN.com. I'll read them later in the hour.
Now, in Iraq, and ominous silence today from the military group that's holding two American contract workers. A deadline looms on the lives of Americans Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, and British colleague, Kenneth Bigly. Their captors threatened Saturday to kill the workers in 48 hours unless the United States released Iraqi women from two U.S.-controlled prisons. The wife of one of the Americans spoke with CNN over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATTY HENSLEY, WIFE OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE: Please understand that these three men are very gentle, very kind men. They were very honored to be in Iraq and helping the Iraqi people.
They wanted to provide a better world for everyone that was over there, and they certainly don't deserve a fate that is hanging over their head. That -- I know all three of them will gladly come home if they're released. And, you know, please realize that they are loving family men who have people who want them back terribly, and please let them go. They -- they need to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Also in Iraq, unknown assassins have killed two Sunni clerics who belong to a group of scholars that opposes the U.S. presence. Both were shot dead in Baghdad. One last night and the second this morning. The motives for the killings remain unclear.
Now back to those memos that have "60 Minutes" wishing it could turn back the clock. As we've been reporting, CBS News says it regrets airing a story based on documents it now believes may be fakes. The story cast new layers of doubt on George W. Bush's spotty and controversial service in the National Guard. But today, it's the network that's under fire.
We get some insights from Howard Kurtz, host of CNN's program, "RELIABLE SOURCES."
Howie, great to have you. Now, this is something you've been talking about for many days, writing about also. You've had a number of conversations with Dan Rather. First of all, let me get your response to the statements that came out today.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN'S "RELIABLE SOURCES": Well, actually, I just got off the phone, Kyra, with Dan Rather again. And he was pretty contrite.
He said that he owed the audience an apology, that he believed the documents to be true when they put them on the air at "60 Minutes," but that he was misled, "lied to" was his phrase, by his source, a confidential source, who we now know is a Texan former National Guard lieutenant colonel named Bill Burkett. So I think CBS is now doing what a lot of critics have suggested they should have done much earlier in this two-week process, which is own up to the fact that they made a mistake.
PHILLIPS: Howie, you know a lot of us as journalists have been lied to. And it's hard to sort of look back and, OK, what could we have done differently. But when it comes to standards, when it comes to carrying out a story, especially for a show like "60 Minutes," I mean, was there a rush factor here that was pushed to the extreme? Do you think that all the "let's check a second and third time," do you think the standards were put forward?
I mean, what's your take as a journalist when you sort of sit back and look at how this came to fruition?
KURTZ: Well, having examined this in my new detail, Kyra, I mean, this was definitely rushed on to the air. Five days is all it took from the time that CBS got its hands on these documents to the time that "60 Minutes" broadcast.
During that time, they ignored the warnings and advice and red flags of their own document experts, people they had hired, who said, wait a minute, we can't be certain this actually was written on a 1972 government typewriter during the Vietnam War. I now know that the final decision to go ahead with that broadcast was made after an interview with communications director Dan Bartlett at the White House, because Bartlett didn't deny that these were real documents.
Well, Bartlett tells me, "CBS gave them to me three hours before I did the interview. How was I supposed to verify something that came from a colonel who's been dead for 20 years?" And so CBS, in their -- in their belief, in their rush to air, took that as confirmation, as a green light, when, in fact, the White House, really, under the circumstances, was in no position to challenge the authenticity of the documents.
PHILLIPS: What do you think this tells us just about news coverage? Taking a look at all the networks, I mean, when you think of "60 Minutes," when you think of CBS, and its reputation, I mean, this is a show that doesn't make mistakes.
KURTZ: Well, they've made a couple over the 36-year history of the program. And this is the Wednesday edition, not the original Sunday edition.
But clearly, for "60 Minutes," with its gold-plated reputation, for Dan Rather as the face of CBS News for the last 23 years, to stake their reputation on a story that now seems so flawed, document that so many experts have looked at and said they looked to be, you know, produced by a computer, to base it on one source, who it turns out lied to them, that's an awfully big risk to take when you're accusing the president of the United States of something during a reelection campaign.
So they really rolled the dice here. If they had held the story, if they had said, it needs more check, we're not quite sure, we can't put ourselves on the line until we're 100 percent sure, then this wouldn't have happened. And once this went on the air, as I say, they stood by that story aggressively, staunchly, for quite a number of days, even as other news organizations, mine and others, were raising very legitimate questions about those documents.
PHILLIPS: Are there jobs at stake here?
KURTZ: Well, I've heard a lot of people speculate that heads might roll. It's hard to say. It's only been a couple of hours since the CBS acknowledgement and apology.
I asked Dan Rather in this conversation whether he felt his reputation had been tarnished. He said that was for others to judge, but that he hoped that people would judge him by his entire career of work as a reporter and not by the acknowledged blunder on this particular story.
PHILLIPS: Well, there are a number of years to look back on, that's for sure. A lot of other stories that lend a lot of support to his credibility.
What's next for CBS? Will there be a shakeup with regard to standards, to how to pursue a story, to how long, say, a show like "60 Minutes" "60 II" may wait on a story?
KURTZ: I don't know whether they'll end up putting out new guidelines. Certainly that's something they should have to consider.
They need to fully more explain themselves, as I'm sure they will make their first attempt on tonight's "CBS Evening News," as to how they made this mistake, how the source misled them, who was the ultimate source of these documents, if they even know. I think they also have to recognize, as all of us do, that in this Internet age, when bloggers can get online and fact check what you've put on the air, I mean, it's earlier (ph), that we all need to be more sensitive to that.
There are a lot of crazy bloggers out there, but there are a lot of very good ones, a lot of very smart ones. And sometimes they're right.
CBS seemed to brush off that criticism as somehow being partisan. I think in retrospect that may have been a mistake as well.
PHILLIPS: Howard Kurtz, thanks so much.
KURTZ: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead on LIVE FROM, the check's in the mail, I'll call you tomorrow, I'll keep you safer than he will. Is it just a line that the candidates use to sway you? We're fact-checking the vows to voters straight ahead.
Modern day treasure hunters get a techno leg up on finding the goods in the most unlikely places.
And the artist formerly known as Madonna treks to the holy land to seek some spiritual peace with entourage, fans, and hostile followers of Kabbalah.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: From the storm of controversy over Iraq to storm recovery a half world away, Tropical Storm Jeanne is churning north in the Atlantic Ocean after battering Haiti. The United Nations spokesperson says that Jeanne killed a staggering 250 people in northern Haiti alone. A majority were killed in heavy flooding and mudslides. At least 10 people were killed in neighboring Dominican Republic and in Puerto Rico.
Jeanne cames on the heels of Hurricane Ivan, which has left a trail of destruction up and down the southeastern coast. Floodwaters from the Delaware River are slowly receding in New Jersey. Still, thousands of people who were forced out of their homes remain in shelters. In hard-hit Alabama, flooding isn't the only concern. Chuckie, the 12-foot thousand-pound alligator, still on the loose. Officials worry that the hungry 'gator could be lurking in the floodwaters for food.
Impatience and fatigue are wearing on the minds of hurricane victims in Pensacola, Florida. The city as they knew it was wiped away by Hurricane Ivan. CNN's Chris Lawrence explains it will be a long, expensive and painstaking recovery for all those people along the coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Monday is supposed to symbolize the start of a new work week, but for people in Pensacola Beach, no one even knows where to begin.
GARY COLE, PENSACOLA BEACH RESIDENT: This is a sad damn thing.
LAWRENCE: Gary Cole ignored evacuation orders and watched Ivan from his home, a few hundred yards from the beach.
COLE: Not to protect my home, because I know there's nothing you can do in that situation. That's not why I stayed. I just wanted to see it.
LAWRENCE: What he saw was the end of Pensacola Beach as he knew it, homes torn apart, hotels stripped bare, sand piled up to the windows. Where entire families once slept, there is nothing. And no hope of repair.
COLE: They're not all rich. Some of them struggle to pay for these beach homes and raise their children and everything. It's going to be terrible when they come back and they face that.
LAWRENCE: On Sunday, President Bush got a firsthand look at some of the areas damaged by the storm, destruction that left thousands in need of basic food and water, and hundreds of thousands still without power in Florida alone.
And as the first few gas stations reopened in the Florida Panhandle, some people waited up to five hours for a few gallons. As for Gary Cole, he'll never forget the night he lost everything.
COLE: Now I'm going to be able to tell -- I only have about 10 friends in life, but I'm going to tell all 10 of them what I saw.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Police tell us it's still going to be a few days before it's safe enough for other folks who live here to get back on the island and see their homes. It's literally like the hurricane lifted the beach up and dumped it on this neighborhood.
I mean, this is the top of someone's house. Look at how short the distance is between the sand and the roof. And in other parts of the island, the sand is still eight to 10 feet deep.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Pensacola Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: An awesome force of nature on display today, but you can't blame this one on a hurricane. LIVE FROM heads to the hills right after this.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange. Enron heads back to the courtroom as prosecutors look to blame management for the company's collapse. I'll have the latest right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Enron is back in the spotlight. The first criminal trial against the company gets under way today. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with the latest -- Rhonda.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's an issue no student should have to worry about, whether classmates are toting guns and knives to school, along with their books and homework. But there are growing concerns about violence in the classroom in this post-Columbine era. Here's Holly Firfer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Zsanae Klemm did everything she could not to have to go to school. Moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta was hard enough, she says, but starting a new high school was terrifying.
ZSANAE KLEMM, STUDENT: I wasn't sure if, you know, the first day I come here is somebody going to try to fight me or -- you know, just for no reason. Or if people bring guns to school, if I have to worry about that. So that was really scary.
FIRFER: Zsanae is not alone. A study by the CDC shows, although violence has decreased in high schools, kids are more fearful of going to school than ever before. Many point to the shootings at Columbine and other copycat incidents as part of that fear, along with bullying and fighting in schools.
DR. LAURA BARBANEL, PSYCHOLOGIST: In the old days, if you got drawn into a fight, somebody would throw a punch at you, which is not great, but not of the same caliber as if somebody draws a knife or a gun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to create a crime-free, drug-free environment for our school, and we're doing this through a youth-led movement. FIRFER: One group is taking their schools back. Youth Crime Watch is a national program that trains kids how to keep an eye out for potential trouble and stop it before it happens.
BARBANEL: It's very important that kids have a sense of being in control. They must, however, have the backup of the parents, the teachers and the administration. Otherwise, it won't work.
FIRFER: Officer Wray runs a chapter of the program at an Atlanta area high school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is all the halls clear, guys?
FIRFER: The students at Stevenson patrol the hallways with walkie-talkies, making their presence know. Wray says he's seen a dramatic decrease in fights, graffiti and violence in the schools.
OFFICER GREGORY WRAY, YOUTH CRIME WATCH: That's one thing that teenagers have to have is the consequences. Once you know the consequences, you're going to think about if you're going to do something wrong, you're going to think about the consequences.
FIRFER: Tyisha recently broke up a fight.
(on camera): Were you worried that somebody was going to come after you later or, you know, try and take revenge?
TYISHA HAGER, STUDENT: I really wasn't worried, because the people that were in the fight, I knew them. And I knew that, you know, there's a trust factor with this group's Crime Watch.
FIRFER (voice-over): Zsanae joined the group and says it's made her school experience a lot less frightening, and now she's even having fun.
KLEMM: It's like a family. I mean, everybody looks out for one another, and it's just really great.
FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, Stone Mountain, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A black eye for CBS News. It admits it never should have put disputed documents regarding President Bush's military record on air. Dan Rather issued an apology today which reads, "Now after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically. I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers."
Our Jeff Greenfield will have much more ahead on "INSIDE POLITICS."
Aired September 20, 2004 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Dubious documents, a deceitful source of bombshell broadcasts and the homestretch of a presidential race. It all adds up to disaster for CBS News, which says it can no longer vouch for the authenticity of the so-called memos that cast fresh doubts on George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard. We get the details and the fallout this hour from CNN's Jeanne Meserve in Washington and Suzanne Malveaux, traveling with the president in New Hampshire.
Jeanne, let's start with you.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, after a week and a half of unrelenting criticism and questioning, a concession today from the man who is the face of CBS News, Dan Rather. In a statement, Rather says, "If I knew then what I know now, I would not have gone ahead with this story as it was aired, and I certainly would not have used the documents in question."
CBS News president Andrew Hayward said, "We should not have used them. That was a mistake which we deeply regret."
CBS says it is commissioning an independent investigation. In its statement, CBS says it was deliberately misled about the origin of the documents by its source, Bill Burkett. Bill Burkett has a longstanding feud with the Texas National Guard and with President Bush. Earlier this year, he alleged that Bush supporters purged potentially damaging information from the president's military files.
Sources tell CNN that Burkett did tell CBS that if they use the documents it was CBS's responsibility to make sure they were authentic. The documents in question, one of which -- in one of which a superior purportedly says that he's under pressure to sugarcoat Bush's service record, were first aired on "60 Minutes" on September 8, despite an ever-growing chorus of doubts expressed by experts.
CBS stuck to its story. Only on the 15th of the month was there an acknowledgement that were legitimate questions. Now today's admission that they made a mistake.
It is a dramatic turnaround for the CBS News division and for Dan Rather. The reverberations of which will continue to be felt -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thank you so much.
Something else in question, what does the president think about the latest developments with regard to this CBS story? We go now to Suzanne Malveaux. She's live in Derry, New Hampshire. She's been traveling with the president.
We'll get to Iraq and other issues, but any response from what's happened so far -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, we've been told by White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan that the president was notified about the CBS documents, about their statement aboard Air Force One, on his way to New Hampshire here. McClellan saying that of course they found it regrettable, but there are still serious questions that remain.
McClellan went on to say that, of course, that this is the first time that CBS has publicly acknowledged the documents likely forged and that they come from a discredited source. He goes on to say that Bill Burkett is not an unimpeachable source, that he has in the past been discredited. He says as well that he has senior-level contacts with the Kerry campaign.
Now, some of those serious questions that they're talking about, another senior Republican administration official saying here, those questions, where do those documents come from? Secondly, who supplied those documents to CBS? And finally, they asked, what role does the president's political opponent, Senator Kerry, and his campaign have to do with this?
Now, in the past, McClellan has said that he believes that the Kerry camp does, in fact, play a role in this. The president was asked about that over the weekend with a newspaper. That is "The Union Leader" from Manchester, New Hampshire.
He says, quite frankly, he doesn't know. But he still stands by his statement that he served honorably, that he was honorably discharged, that he met all of his requirements. And again, saying, of course, there are serious questions about where these documents came from and just why they were circulated at this time -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Suzanne.
Now rival John Kerry launching a pretty blistering attack on President Bush's handling of Iraq. How is the president responding to that? And what's he saying now live in Derry, as you've been able to tune in a little bit while keeping up with this report on CBS and tuning in with us?
MALVEAUX: Well, Kyra, what we expect the president to talk about is yet another line of attack against Kerry. What McClellan says it what Kerry is twisting in the wind when it comes to Iraq, what he says is another contradiction. So expect to hear again new harsh rhetoric from the president talking about Kerry, what this campaign is calling flip-flopping on the situation in Iraq -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux live there from Derry, New Hampshire. Thank you.
And it's the hottest ticket are the year at U.N. headquarters, a speech from the president of the United States. His speech starts at 10:30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow. You'll see it live right here on CNN.
Now, it's not by accident that John Kerry is in New York today and fiercely attacked the Bush administration's alleged mishandling of the war. CNN's Bob Franken tells us more about that -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in an effort to preempt that speech, John Kerry went on the offensive. And in an effort to ratchet up the intensity of his criticism, he used some very, very strong language to criticize President Bush and the policies centered around Iraq.
What he said was, is that as the president goes to the U.N., he should call a summit meeting immediately this week to try and regain international cooperation, to make sure that Iraqis are trained as security forces, to make sure that reconstruction goes on, and to guarantee that the promised elections in Iraq take place next year. That was the plan outlined by Kerry. Nothing particularly new in it, but it was part of a blistering attack against President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president has said that he miscalculated in Iraq and that it was a catastrophic success. In fact -- in fact, the president has made a series of catastrophic decisions from the beginning in Iraq. At every fork in the road, he has taken the wrong turn and led us in the wrong direction.
(APPLAUSE)
KERRY: The first -- the first and most fundamental mistake was the president's failure to tell the truth to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: Strong words in the context of an election campaign, Kyra, that has about six weeks to go -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Bob Franken, thank you.
So tell us this, is Iraq the top issue for you in this election? Or will other concerns be more important when you cast your ballot? We're reading your e-mails. So send us your thoughts at Livefrom@CNN.com. I'll read them later in the hour.
Now, in Iraq, and ominous silence today from the military group that's holding two American contract workers. A deadline looms on the lives of Americans Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong, and British colleague, Kenneth Bigly. Their captors threatened Saturday to kill the workers in 48 hours unless the United States released Iraqi women from two U.S.-controlled prisons. The wife of one of the Americans spoke with CNN over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATTY HENSLEY, WIFE OF AMERICAN HOSTAGE: Please understand that these three men are very gentle, very kind men. They were very honored to be in Iraq and helping the Iraqi people.
They wanted to provide a better world for everyone that was over there, and they certainly don't deserve a fate that is hanging over their head. That -- I know all three of them will gladly come home if they're released. And, you know, please realize that they are loving family men who have people who want them back terribly, and please let them go. They -- they need to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Also in Iraq, unknown assassins have killed two Sunni clerics who belong to a group of scholars that opposes the U.S. presence. Both were shot dead in Baghdad. One last night and the second this morning. The motives for the killings remain unclear.
Now back to those memos that have "60 Minutes" wishing it could turn back the clock. As we've been reporting, CBS News says it regrets airing a story based on documents it now believes may be fakes. The story cast new layers of doubt on George W. Bush's spotty and controversial service in the National Guard. But today, it's the network that's under fire.
We get some insights from Howard Kurtz, host of CNN's program, "RELIABLE SOURCES."
Howie, great to have you. Now, this is something you've been talking about for many days, writing about also. You've had a number of conversations with Dan Rather. First of all, let me get your response to the statements that came out today.
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN'S "RELIABLE SOURCES": Well, actually, I just got off the phone, Kyra, with Dan Rather again. And he was pretty contrite.
He said that he owed the audience an apology, that he believed the documents to be true when they put them on the air at "60 Minutes," but that he was misled, "lied to" was his phrase, by his source, a confidential source, who we now know is a Texan former National Guard lieutenant colonel named Bill Burkett. So I think CBS is now doing what a lot of critics have suggested they should have done much earlier in this two-week process, which is own up to the fact that they made a mistake.
PHILLIPS: Howie, you know a lot of us as journalists have been lied to. And it's hard to sort of look back and, OK, what could we have done differently. But when it comes to standards, when it comes to carrying out a story, especially for a show like "60 Minutes," I mean, was there a rush factor here that was pushed to the extreme? Do you think that all the "let's check a second and third time," do you think the standards were put forward?
I mean, what's your take as a journalist when you sort of sit back and look at how this came to fruition?
KURTZ: Well, having examined this in my new detail, Kyra, I mean, this was definitely rushed on to the air. Five days is all it took from the time that CBS got its hands on these documents to the time that "60 Minutes" broadcast.
During that time, they ignored the warnings and advice and red flags of their own document experts, people they had hired, who said, wait a minute, we can't be certain this actually was written on a 1972 government typewriter during the Vietnam War. I now know that the final decision to go ahead with that broadcast was made after an interview with communications director Dan Bartlett at the White House, because Bartlett didn't deny that these were real documents.
Well, Bartlett tells me, "CBS gave them to me three hours before I did the interview. How was I supposed to verify something that came from a colonel who's been dead for 20 years?" And so CBS, in their -- in their belief, in their rush to air, took that as confirmation, as a green light, when, in fact, the White House, really, under the circumstances, was in no position to challenge the authenticity of the documents.
PHILLIPS: What do you think this tells us just about news coverage? Taking a look at all the networks, I mean, when you think of "60 Minutes," when you think of CBS, and its reputation, I mean, this is a show that doesn't make mistakes.
KURTZ: Well, they've made a couple over the 36-year history of the program. And this is the Wednesday edition, not the original Sunday edition.
But clearly, for "60 Minutes," with its gold-plated reputation, for Dan Rather as the face of CBS News for the last 23 years, to stake their reputation on a story that now seems so flawed, document that so many experts have looked at and said they looked to be, you know, produced by a computer, to base it on one source, who it turns out lied to them, that's an awfully big risk to take when you're accusing the president of the United States of something during a reelection campaign.
So they really rolled the dice here. If they had held the story, if they had said, it needs more check, we're not quite sure, we can't put ourselves on the line until we're 100 percent sure, then this wouldn't have happened. And once this went on the air, as I say, they stood by that story aggressively, staunchly, for quite a number of days, even as other news organizations, mine and others, were raising very legitimate questions about those documents.
PHILLIPS: Are there jobs at stake here?
KURTZ: Well, I've heard a lot of people speculate that heads might roll. It's hard to say. It's only been a couple of hours since the CBS acknowledgement and apology.
I asked Dan Rather in this conversation whether he felt his reputation had been tarnished. He said that was for others to judge, but that he hoped that people would judge him by his entire career of work as a reporter and not by the acknowledged blunder on this particular story.
PHILLIPS: Well, there are a number of years to look back on, that's for sure. A lot of other stories that lend a lot of support to his credibility.
What's next for CBS? Will there be a shakeup with regard to standards, to how to pursue a story, to how long, say, a show like "60 Minutes" "60 II" may wait on a story?
KURTZ: I don't know whether they'll end up putting out new guidelines. Certainly that's something they should have to consider.
They need to fully more explain themselves, as I'm sure they will make their first attempt on tonight's "CBS Evening News," as to how they made this mistake, how the source misled them, who was the ultimate source of these documents, if they even know. I think they also have to recognize, as all of us do, that in this Internet age, when bloggers can get online and fact check what you've put on the air, I mean, it's earlier (ph), that we all need to be more sensitive to that.
There are a lot of crazy bloggers out there, but there are a lot of very good ones, a lot of very smart ones. And sometimes they're right.
CBS seemed to brush off that criticism as somehow being partisan. I think in retrospect that may have been a mistake as well.
PHILLIPS: Howard Kurtz, thanks so much.
KURTZ: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead on LIVE FROM, the check's in the mail, I'll call you tomorrow, I'll keep you safer than he will. Is it just a line that the candidates use to sway you? We're fact-checking the vows to voters straight ahead.
Modern day treasure hunters get a techno leg up on finding the goods in the most unlikely places.
And the artist formerly known as Madonna treks to the holy land to seek some spiritual peace with entourage, fans, and hostile followers of Kabbalah.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: From the storm of controversy over Iraq to storm recovery a half world away, Tropical Storm Jeanne is churning north in the Atlantic Ocean after battering Haiti. The United Nations spokesperson says that Jeanne killed a staggering 250 people in northern Haiti alone. A majority were killed in heavy flooding and mudslides. At least 10 people were killed in neighboring Dominican Republic and in Puerto Rico.
Jeanne cames on the heels of Hurricane Ivan, which has left a trail of destruction up and down the southeastern coast. Floodwaters from the Delaware River are slowly receding in New Jersey. Still, thousands of people who were forced out of their homes remain in shelters. In hard-hit Alabama, flooding isn't the only concern. Chuckie, the 12-foot thousand-pound alligator, still on the loose. Officials worry that the hungry 'gator could be lurking in the floodwaters for food.
Impatience and fatigue are wearing on the minds of hurricane victims in Pensacola, Florida. The city as they knew it was wiped away by Hurricane Ivan. CNN's Chris Lawrence explains it will be a long, expensive and painstaking recovery for all those people along the coast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Monday is supposed to symbolize the start of a new work week, but for people in Pensacola Beach, no one even knows where to begin.
GARY COLE, PENSACOLA BEACH RESIDENT: This is a sad damn thing.
LAWRENCE: Gary Cole ignored evacuation orders and watched Ivan from his home, a few hundred yards from the beach.
COLE: Not to protect my home, because I know there's nothing you can do in that situation. That's not why I stayed. I just wanted to see it.
LAWRENCE: What he saw was the end of Pensacola Beach as he knew it, homes torn apart, hotels stripped bare, sand piled up to the windows. Where entire families once slept, there is nothing. And no hope of repair.
COLE: They're not all rich. Some of them struggle to pay for these beach homes and raise their children and everything. It's going to be terrible when they come back and they face that.
LAWRENCE: On Sunday, President Bush got a firsthand look at some of the areas damaged by the storm, destruction that left thousands in need of basic food and water, and hundreds of thousands still without power in Florida alone.
And as the first few gas stations reopened in the Florida Panhandle, some people waited up to five hours for a few gallons. As for Gary Cole, he'll never forget the night he lost everything.
COLE: Now I'm going to be able to tell -- I only have about 10 friends in life, but I'm going to tell all 10 of them what I saw.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Police tell us it's still going to be a few days before it's safe enough for other folks who live here to get back on the island and see their homes. It's literally like the hurricane lifted the beach up and dumped it on this neighborhood.
I mean, this is the top of someone's house. Look at how short the distance is between the sand and the roof. And in other parts of the island, the sand is still eight to 10 feet deep.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Pensacola Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: An awesome force of nature on display today, but you can't blame this one on a hurricane. LIVE FROM heads to the hills right after this.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler live from the New York Stock Exchange. Enron heads back to the courtroom as prosecutors look to blame management for the company's collapse. I'll have the latest right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Enron is back in the spotlight. The first criminal trial against the company gets under way today. Rhonda Schaffler joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange with the latest -- Rhonda.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's an issue no student should have to worry about, whether classmates are toting guns and knives to school, along with their books and homework. But there are growing concerns about violence in the classroom in this post-Columbine era. Here's Holly Firfer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Zsanae Klemm did everything she could not to have to go to school. Moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta was hard enough, she says, but starting a new high school was terrifying.
ZSANAE KLEMM, STUDENT: I wasn't sure if, you know, the first day I come here is somebody going to try to fight me or -- you know, just for no reason. Or if people bring guns to school, if I have to worry about that. So that was really scary.
FIRFER: Zsanae is not alone. A study by the CDC shows, although violence has decreased in high schools, kids are more fearful of going to school than ever before. Many point to the shootings at Columbine and other copycat incidents as part of that fear, along with bullying and fighting in schools.
DR. LAURA BARBANEL, PSYCHOLOGIST: In the old days, if you got drawn into a fight, somebody would throw a punch at you, which is not great, but not of the same caliber as if somebody draws a knife or a gun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to create a crime-free, drug-free environment for our school, and we're doing this through a youth-led movement. FIRFER: One group is taking their schools back. Youth Crime Watch is a national program that trains kids how to keep an eye out for potential trouble and stop it before it happens.
BARBANEL: It's very important that kids have a sense of being in control. They must, however, have the backup of the parents, the teachers and the administration. Otherwise, it won't work.
FIRFER: Officer Wray runs a chapter of the program at an Atlanta area high school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is all the halls clear, guys?
FIRFER: The students at Stevenson patrol the hallways with walkie-talkies, making their presence know. Wray says he's seen a dramatic decrease in fights, graffiti and violence in the schools.
OFFICER GREGORY WRAY, YOUTH CRIME WATCH: That's one thing that teenagers have to have is the consequences. Once you know the consequences, you're going to think about if you're going to do something wrong, you're going to think about the consequences.
FIRFER: Tyisha recently broke up a fight.
(on camera): Were you worried that somebody was going to come after you later or, you know, try and take revenge?
TYISHA HAGER, STUDENT: I really wasn't worried, because the people that were in the fight, I knew them. And I knew that, you know, there's a trust factor with this group's Crime Watch.
FIRFER (voice-over): Zsanae joined the group and says it's made her school experience a lot less frightening, and now she's even having fun.
KLEMM: It's like a family. I mean, everybody looks out for one another, and it's just really great.
FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, Stone Mountain, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A black eye for CBS News. It admits it never should have put disputed documents regarding President Bush's military record on air. Dan Rather issued an apology today which reads, "Now after extensive additional interviews, I no longer have the confidence in these documents that would allow us to continue vouching for them journalistically. I find we have been misled on the key question of how our source for the documents came into possession of these papers."
Our Jeff Greenfield will have much more ahead on "INSIDE POLITICS."
