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Kerry to Talk About Stem Cell Research; Bush to Meet with Catholic Leaders; Boston Red Sox Win American League Pennant; New Jersey Town to Raffle Off Flu Shots
Aired October 21, 2004 - 13:00 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: Taking aim at undecided voters. John Kerry packs heat and appears live this hour with Christopher Reeve's widow. We're live from both camps on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): If you believe the candidates and the campaigns, the only thing we have to fear is a terrorist attack, a military draft, sick and hungry old folks or crushing big government taxes and regulations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The fear factor, are the politicians scaring you?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did it! We never gave up! We never gave up!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Wicked good times in Beantown. The Boston Red Sox do something no other team has done before. Could it be the end of the curse? Who knows?
And lining up for the lottery. The jackpot -- not megamillions, but the flu vaccine.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. Kyra Phillips is off today. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
He's hunting for votes, aiming for victory, hoping the goose he cooks is not his own. With a photo op like this, the cliches flow like beer at a baseball game, which also figures into John Kerry's all-American guy persona, on display in all-important Ohio. More on the beer and baseball in just a moment.
Later this hour, the challenger changes hats and suits and agendas and goes to bat for stem cell research. That's in Columbus, and that's exactly where we find CNN's Frank Buckley -- Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Miles.
This is the state, Ohio, that arguably may decide the 2004 presidential election. Certainly, at the very least, among the top tier of battleground states.
Senator Kerry here to do a couple of things, to talk about stem cell research, which appears to be an issue that cuts across party lines, appealing to swing voters, Senator Kerry hopes.
He was also here to shoot some geese. Senator Kerry, going on a goose hunt early this morning just outside of Youngstown, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun. He was accompanied by a gaggle of journalists, some 30 journalists and 10 campaign staffers on a farm with him.
The huge group apparently didn't scare the geese. We're told that four geese were bagged. Senator Kerry trying to make the point that he's a lifelong hunter, just like many people in this state of Ohio and in other battleground states.
To give you an idea of the numbers, look at the 2000 election exit polling. Forty-six percent of the voters here in the state of Ohio had a gun owner in the household. Of those, 57 percent voted for Bush, only 39 percent went to Al Gore, and three percent went to Nader.
The Kerry campaign doing its best to assure gun owners that Kerry will not take away their guns and that he understands their passion for hunting.
The Bush campaign calling this pure photo opportunism and pointing out that Senator Kerry has an "F" grade by the NRA.
While Senator Kerry is appealing to hunters, he's also appealing to swing voters on stem cell research. He'll be introduced today, during his speech on stem cell research, by Dana Reeve, the wife of the late actor, Christopher Reeve, who died suddenly, just over a week ago. This will be her first public appearance.
Kerry will criticize President Bush for his policies on stem cell research and say that he would encourage more research and more funding and would help to create jobs. The President Bush pointing out that President Bush is the first president to authorize federal funding for stem cell research -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Frank, I noticed the senator was empty-handed there. Was that his goose being carried by the person accompanying him there?
BUCKLEY: Well, you know what? We didn't see which goose the senator...
O'BRIEN: Did he bag a goose? Do we know?
BUCKLEY: Well, we're told that each one of the hunters in the group of four bagged one so...
O'BRIEN: OK.
BUCKLEY: So, yes.
O'BRIEN: I think we might be -- a little spin there, nevertheless.
Let's talk -- let's talk about something more important than geese, and that, of course, is the Red Sox. Now I know John Kerry's a big Red Sox fan. Assume he got a chance to watch the big game last night.
BUCKLEY: Yes, he did. And they let cameras into his hotel room as he watched the game.
Senator Kerry saying this morning in passing to some reporters that he was still giddy about the win of the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees.
You might recall, right before the Democratic National Convention, that those of us covering the campaign took a grand diversion. We were supposed to go to Florida one night. And in fact, Senator Kerry, as we were in midair, announced that the plane was being diverted to Fenway Park. And a few reporters got to come in to -- to Fenway, to see, with Senator Kerry, the baseball game, as Senator Kerry threw out the first pitch.
We're all hoping that there's going to be a diversion this time to the World Series, and keeping our fingers crossed. But this close to the election, not so sure about that.
O'BRIEN: All right. Frank Buckley, with the gaggle, or is it a herd, or a pod, of journalists with the Kerry campaign. Good to see you. Thank you very much.
Stemming the tide of medical liability lawsuits is George W. Bush's topic this hour. In his 40th trip to Pennsylvania -- can you tell that's a key state? That's his 40th trip since taking office.
Our friends at CNN political tell us that's the same number of times Bush has visited his Texas ranch, although of course, he stays there a little longer.
CNN's Dana Bash is in the Philadelphia suburb of Downingtown.
Hello, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.
And that's exactly what I was going to point out to you, that if you look at the president's travel log, he's worked harder to win this state, Pennsylvania, one that he lost last time around, than any other.
But still, his aides say, it is going to be a challenge here. Polls show it's neck in neck, with a slight advantage, most of them, for Senator Kerry here.
Nevertheless, the president, of course, is here on his 40th trip. And he came here, in his first stop, to a suburb of Philadelphia. Now this is an area that was a problem for the president in 2000, because many moderate Republicans, those in his own party, voted for Al Gore. Now, he has been trying to woo them for some time now, in various ways. And what the Bush campaign is hoping is that his message here today, which is essentially talking about his health care plan, will really appeal to him.
Because the way he has framed it, the way he will today is that his plan, his ideas for helping people get insurance and help making the health insurance less costly, is to give more power to the people by talking about health care savings accounts.
And as you said, medical liability reform. And he will say that John Kerry, his ideas are all about big government.
Now, this, of course, is one constituency. The president's added one thing to his schedule today that will sort of give you a window into another important constituency for Mr. Bush here in Pennsylvania. That is the Catholic vote.
He is going to meet with the archbishop of Philadelphia. That is going to be a private meeting, the White House says. We will not have any kind of access to it, not any read out afterwards.
But certainly the Bush campaign says that the Catholic vote is critical also in the state of Pennsylvania.
And something interesting to note that this Cardinal Rigali is somebody who has been telling people in his homilies that he believes that they should go to the polls and vote based on one issue, one issue only, and that is abortion. And of course, from their perspective, the only candidate that fits that bill, fits their bill is President Bush -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: If you lived in a battleground state, you may be a little motorcade weary now. And it appears the Bush campaign is kind of -- well, giving a wink and nod to all of this, aren't they?
BASH: They sure are. And they're quite happy with this idea that they have -- that they've actually been implementing now. They have really been focusing on radio as a way to get out and talk to constituents.
They've been doing a lot of talk radio and what you call earned media: they're not paying for it. So what they've decided to do is buy time in and around traffic reports in some of the key battleground states like Florida and New Mexico and Ohio.
And what they've done is they've given these strict 30-second scripts to the traffic reporters so that people driving not only hear their message but hear it from somebody they're familiar with, and that is the person who's giving the traffic, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Interesting. Dana Bash, who is with the Bush campaign today.
Meanwhile, No. 2 person on that ticket, live pictures now, Vice President Dick Cheney, about to address a crowd there. He is in Sylvania, Ohio.
Lots of Ohio destinations, folk, not a coincidence. Ohio is a linchpin. No Republican has ever won the White House without first winning Ohio, as well. That's why you see Dick Cheney here. That's why you see the president there so many times.
Now, it may or may not come up, but aides say Cheney did, in fact, get a flu shot. And of course, rightly so, given his long history of heart disease.
John Edwards is on a daylong bus tour of Iowa. And he was in Iowa City. He will there be tonight. After that, he's off to the non-Iowa city, decidedly so, of West Palm Beach, another important state, Florida.
So how about that Electoral College, you may ask? If we learned nothing else from the last election four years ago, it's that the popular vote makes headlines but the electoral vote, of course, makes presidents.
Four years later, the Electoral College isn't very, shall we say popular? A new Gallup poll finds 61 percent of Americans favor abolishing the electors in favor of plain old popular vote count that most people used to assume we always had, of course. Thirty-five percent want to keep things just the way they are. It's almost enough to change the Constitution right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here it is, ground ball to second. Reese. The Boston Red Sox have won the pennant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: What can you say about that? It's baseball. It's history. It's America. It may or may not have parallels, or undertones, or implications, in the other type of hardball we've just been telling you about, but it is the curse reverse.
The Boston massacre of the New York Yankees, the Red Sox' resurrection from three games down to win the pennant and a place in baseball legend. Never been has a major league team win a seven-game series after losing games one, two, and three.
Now if you missed it, allow us to replay the second inning grand slam that put the Sox up 6-zip and that pretty much iced the ALCS. The final score was 10-3. That was Johnny Damon with the grand slam.
And it happened -- shall we say -- in the house that Ruth built? Matter of fact, the right-field stands he used to hit home runs to.
Boston's finest -- and we mean the police now -- estimate as many as 80,000 fans hit the streets around Fenway Park on Lansdowne Street and Yawkey Way there in the wee hours, trying to take away souvenirs. The vast majority were well behaved, however.
Reporter Gail Huff of our CNN affiliate WCVB was with the VIPs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GAIL HUFF, WCVB REPORTER (voice-over): At 4:20 this morning, Red Sox owner John Henry got off the bus and showed the fans the new American League champ trophy.
JOHN HENRY, RED SOX OWNER: Incredible. Just incredible. These guys have such heart to come back the way they did.
HUFF (on camera): It has to be an incredible feeling to be back home again with this?
HENRY: It is. There's going to be a World Series in Boston this weekend.
HUFF (voice-over): The crowd chanting "MVP" for David Ortiz, and Pedro Martinez couldn't stop jumping.
(on camera) Four more wins, you're going to do it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to find out.
HUFF: How's it feel to be back in Boston?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just nice to be home, relax for a couple days, see who we're going to play.
HUFF: Good luck to you.
(voice-over) Curt Schilling high-fived the fans, who were waiting for the team's return.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did not lose faith. We believed they were going to do it, and this is the year they're going to do it. We got it done! Yes! Yes!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Yes! All right. That was from WCVB, thanks for that.
It's not the same league, rivalry-wise, but another game seven on deck this evening, St. Louis Cards versus the Houston Astros for the NL championship and of course, the ticket to the series to the winner.
The Cards haven't been to the series since 1987. The Astros -- well, never. "Never" is the word.
That dripping sound you hear, by the way, is the pundits salivating over the possibility of a Texas/Massachusetts World Series days before an election involving candidates from Texas and Massachusetts.
Both President Bush and Senator Kerry are planning live appearances this hour. Kerry is expected to talk about stem cells in an appearance, as we told you just a moment ago, with the widow of Christopher Reeve. And the president is in Pennsylvania. His subject, medical liability. We'll bring you some of both of those when they happen.
And the Red Sox nation -- of which I am a card carrying citizen -- celebrate their league championship. Ahead, we talk about the Bambino, Beantown, and a little baseball, too.
And a royal raucous. Efforts to get the perfect picture get a little ugly. Neither we, nor Prince Harry are pulling any punches here, on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: The Red Sox in the World Series. Savor that phrase, because outside of punch lines and bar fights, those words haven't been used together in quite some time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fans of Red Sox nation everywhere, we never lost faith.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The hyperbole is flying today: historic, miraculous, surreal, legendary. Hey, it's only baseball, right? Well, maybe not.
The book "Chasing Steinbrenner" is all about the infamous Boston- New York rivalry, as well as a few other things. There's talk about the Toronto Blue Jays, as well, about a season, really.
Rob Bradford wrote it. He also covers the Sox for "The Lowell Sun." And he is a -- you can -- you can be -- suspend objectivity on this one, right? You're allowed to do that, right?
ROB BRADFORD: Well, for a few minutes last night, anyway, I think.
O'BRIEN: Tell me -- first of all, does this represent -- I've seen some people say this represents the end of the curse. But isn't it really true -- hope you can hear me -- isn't it really true that the curse will only be over if the Sox actually pull off a World Series victory?
BRADFORD: Yes, I mean, I think so. I think if you look back to this season, people are going to look at it as a success because they beat the Yankees. They did something no team, no Red Sox team has really been able to do in a pressure-packed situation.
So even if they don't win the World Series, they're going to look back and say, "Hey, it was a good season." But I think people, you know, have short memories. And if they get swept by St. Louis or Houston it might -- it might make for -- it might make for a little longer winter.
O'BRIEN: Well, it certainly would be a Red Sox conclusion, wouldn't it? You know, take you to this point and then have a -- just a miserable World Series, because they're so spent. But you know, those of us who are Red Sox fans fully expect that at this point.
BRADFORD: Yes, well, I mean, I think that was kind of the worry last night, that they were setting us up for the big fall.
But you know, this year, going into the World Series, I would -- having lived through -- in this area all my life and going through the trials and tribulations of the Red Sox, I would kind of expect that.
But there's so much momentum going into this series the Red Sox have, and the pitching has really come around. And there's just something about this team. If they were ever going to do it, they would have to do something so extraordinary as, you know, the greatest comeback in sports history.
O'BRIEN: Well, yes. I mean, we're talking history here. You know, the Sox nation is a strange group. I mean, because I've got to admit, watching it last night, you know, my immediate reaction, when Damon hit that grand slam, was, "Oh, God, this is going to be the much crushing defeat they've ever had."
You know, that shows you how twisted it is, that they're so unaccustomed to them pulling it out, you know?
BRADFORD: Oh, yes, and then they bring in Pedro, and the crowd's getting back into it and everything's kind of turning around. And then they say, why can't the Yankees score eight runs and come back? Because we've seen this stuff happen before. It happened -- not to the extent, but it happened last year with the Aaron Boone home run.
So I don't think anyone was fully confident until Alan Embree got that final out, Ruben Sierra grounded out. I think that's when the signs in Kenmore Square started coming down, but not until then.
O'BRIEN: My 12-year-old said, "Why are they putting Pedro in? This is craziness? What is going on there?"
BRADFORD: Did he say the same thing about Grady Little leaving him in last year?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, you can't win, can you, right?
You know, I've got to say, when I saw Bucky Dent, you know, throwing out that first pitch, I thought, you know, these Yankees are so darned arrogant. They deserve a fall so badly it -- it makes it all the more sweet, doesn't it?
BRADFORD: Well, I think for Boston fans, it was sweeter, just because it was in Yankees Stadium, and it was in front of those fans, with Bucky Dent there.
And if it was in Fenway Park, it would have been great, and the players would have run down to the Baseball Tavern and celebrated, just like they did last year. But there's something about being in Yankees Stadium, the place where they did it last year, where everything collapsed last year. And I think this made it even more special.
And to be able to come back at 4:30 in the morning and see the reception and see that the fans were still out. This is what, you know -- this is what it's all about. And like I said, they're carrying a lot of momentum going into this World Series.
O'BRIEN: All right. Final thought here, and work with me on this one, and this is a little bit counterintuitive. Do you think, if the Red Sox prevail -- let's say they play the Astros and Roger Clemens, wouldn't that be a great thing to write about?
BRADFORD: Jeff Bagwell, also.
O'BRIEN: It would be great. It would be great stuff. You'll love writing those stories. But nevertheless, if they win and the curse is dispensed with, do the Red Sox nation, do the fans, in a way, do they lose something? Do you know what I mean?
BRADFORD: Yes, no, I mean, that's been kind of the question for the last, what, 86 years. It's -- people don't know what's going to happen. It's this great unknown. And that's what's so great about it.
I think that's what makes it so exciting, the fact that people don't know how they're going to react and -- you know, they say that the obituary pages are going to be filled because people are just going to give up living after the Red Sox win it. I mean this is the company line of Red Sox nation.
But, you know, I think other people want to find out what happened, and so they're willing -- they're all into it now. I mean, there's no hesitation. There was a lot of trepidation going into the Yankees series, I think, that they're going to get burned again, but not any more.
O'BRIEN: You want to make any predictions before we go? We have about five seconds.
BRADFORD: Well, I would just say, they're riding the momentum, so you know, why not go all the way, and say the Red Sox do it?
O'BRIEN: Rob Bradford, you are obviously a died in the wool in every respect. Appreciate it. Writes for "The Lowell Sun" and has a great book called "Chasing Steinbrenner." We appreciate your time. We'll see you as the series progresses.
BRADFORD: Thanks.
O'BRIEN: More sports news. The highest court in international sport has spoken, and American gymnast Paul Hamm will keep his all- around gold medal. You remember this controversy. That's him slipping on the medal again in Switzerland this morning. The story behind this dispute, long and complicated. And you probably know most of the details. It involves a scoring mistake, protests, appeals, rejections, finger pointing, and ultimately, a decision in Hamm's favor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HAMM, U.S. OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST: I definitely think that, you know, to date, the decision helps even more with the fact that I believe I truly won it. And I think more people in the U.S. and throughout the world will also feel that way, as well. Because, really, the cast decision has agreed with everything that we have stated about the fact that I was the champion that day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Paul Hamm is the first male American gymnast to win the Olympic all-around gold, that event's biggest prize, of course.
News across America now. High water. A levee holding back the Santa Ana River broke yesterday, flooded the Ingles Park Equestrian Center near Los Angeles. Volunteers had to find another spot to hold the horses. After some quick work and some fancy riding, all the horses were high, dry, and safe.
Rush Limbaugh's privacy. The syndicated talk show host's lawyer filed a motion today in Florida -- excuse me -- seeking to overturn the seizure of his medical records. A Miami appeals court ruled this month prosecutors obtained the records correctly as part of the case to determine if Limbaugh received prescription drugs illegally.
And the flu shot scramble continues. Vaccine shortages from coast to coast have health officials already looking ahead to handling next year's flu season. While one New Jersey town says it has the only fair way to get the protection out.
Mary Snow has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm sorry, we don't have the vaccine at this time.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Calls for flu shots haven't let up in Bloomfield, New Jersey, since the town decided last week to hold a lottery to ration 300 doses of the flu vaccine. Since then, Bloomfield has become the poster child for the flu shot shortage, even finding its way into the presidential campaign.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just today, we learned that a town in New Jersey is being forced to use a lottery system to decide who's going to get a flu shot.
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know there are some here who are worried about the flu season. I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible. MAYOR RAYMOND MCCARTHY, BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY: We never anticipated this. This was just the thing that we thought was a normal procedure. Let's go. We put it together.
SNOW: Bloomfield's town officials held a strategy session ahead of its unusual vaccine lottery.
Unlike neighboring towns, Bloomfield does not buy its vaccines from Chiron, the vaccine maker forced to halt production because of contamination concerns. It gets them from Aventis, the only other vaccine supplier to the U.S. And the first shipment came in before the public health crisis began.
The town didn't want to have long lines of senior citizens like other places and decided a lottery was being fair.
TREVOR WEIGLE, BLOOMFIELD HEALTH DIRECTOR: It's sad we have to do this. But good maybe this is a wake-up call. Maybe we have to -- maybe we have to do some better planning and -- in our health care system here, in America.
SNOW: But some of Bloomfield's 8,000 seniors don't see the lottery working either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never won anything in my whole life. I don't know that I'd win anything medical either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is America. We're supposed to be the best of the best. And with this, we're not.
SNOW: Some 60 million flu vaccines are expected to be produced by January, compared to last year's 87 million. And health experts say the shortage will continue to drive demand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's no turning back now. We're going to see a whole new dynamic about the demand for flu vaccine from now on, like we've never seen before in this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And as far as demand in Bloomfield, New Jersey, about 1,000 people so far today have shown up to register for this lottery. What's happening today is people are showing up at a firehouse, registering. The lottery will take place next week.
Only senior citizens are eligible, if you are under 65. You have to be at high risk. And only residents can apply here. And the town says it's been getting calls from other places around the country, asking about the whole process -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Mary Snow, thank you very much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Up next on LIVE FROM, the fall of the dictator. Cuba's Fidel Castro takes a tumble. We've got the details. Later on LIVE FROM...
RAY CHARLES, MUSICIAN: I gave you that, man.
O'BRIEN: Rave reviews for actor and comedian Jamie Foxx's stunning portrayal of musical legend Ray Charles. Don't you hit the road, Jack, until we come back.
And tomorrow, the Red Sox rewrote the history books. Who will they face in the World Series? We'll get you set for the big game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 21, 2004 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: Taking aim at undecided voters. John Kerry packs heat and appears live this hour with Christopher Reeve's widow. We're live from both camps on the campaign trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): If you believe the candidates and the campaigns, the only thing we have to fear is a terrorist attack, a military draft, sick and hungry old folks or crushing big government taxes and regulations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The fear factor, are the politicians scaring you?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did it! We never gave up! We never gave up!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Wicked good times in Beantown. The Boston Red Sox do something no other team has done before. Could it be the end of the curse? Who knows?
And lining up for the lottery. The jackpot -- not megamillions, but the flu vaccine.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien. Kyra Phillips is off today. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
He's hunting for votes, aiming for victory, hoping the goose he cooks is not his own. With a photo op like this, the cliches flow like beer at a baseball game, which also figures into John Kerry's all-American guy persona, on display in all-important Ohio. More on the beer and baseball in just a moment.
Later this hour, the challenger changes hats and suits and agendas and goes to bat for stem cell research. That's in Columbus, and that's exactly where we find CNN's Frank Buckley -- Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Miles.
This is the state, Ohio, that arguably may decide the 2004 presidential election. Certainly, at the very least, among the top tier of battleground states.
Senator Kerry here to do a couple of things, to talk about stem cell research, which appears to be an issue that cuts across party lines, appealing to swing voters, Senator Kerry hopes.
He was also here to shoot some geese. Senator Kerry, going on a goose hunt early this morning just outside of Youngstown, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun. He was accompanied by a gaggle of journalists, some 30 journalists and 10 campaign staffers on a farm with him.
The huge group apparently didn't scare the geese. We're told that four geese were bagged. Senator Kerry trying to make the point that he's a lifelong hunter, just like many people in this state of Ohio and in other battleground states.
To give you an idea of the numbers, look at the 2000 election exit polling. Forty-six percent of the voters here in the state of Ohio had a gun owner in the household. Of those, 57 percent voted for Bush, only 39 percent went to Al Gore, and three percent went to Nader.
The Kerry campaign doing its best to assure gun owners that Kerry will not take away their guns and that he understands their passion for hunting.
The Bush campaign calling this pure photo opportunism and pointing out that Senator Kerry has an "F" grade by the NRA.
While Senator Kerry is appealing to hunters, he's also appealing to swing voters on stem cell research. He'll be introduced today, during his speech on stem cell research, by Dana Reeve, the wife of the late actor, Christopher Reeve, who died suddenly, just over a week ago. This will be her first public appearance.
Kerry will criticize President Bush for his policies on stem cell research and say that he would encourage more research and more funding and would help to create jobs. The President Bush pointing out that President Bush is the first president to authorize federal funding for stem cell research -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Frank, I noticed the senator was empty-handed there. Was that his goose being carried by the person accompanying him there?
BUCKLEY: Well, you know what? We didn't see which goose the senator...
O'BRIEN: Did he bag a goose? Do we know?
BUCKLEY: Well, we're told that each one of the hunters in the group of four bagged one so...
O'BRIEN: OK.
BUCKLEY: So, yes.
O'BRIEN: I think we might be -- a little spin there, nevertheless.
Let's talk -- let's talk about something more important than geese, and that, of course, is the Red Sox. Now I know John Kerry's a big Red Sox fan. Assume he got a chance to watch the big game last night.
BUCKLEY: Yes, he did. And they let cameras into his hotel room as he watched the game.
Senator Kerry saying this morning in passing to some reporters that he was still giddy about the win of the Boston Red Sox over the New York Yankees.
You might recall, right before the Democratic National Convention, that those of us covering the campaign took a grand diversion. We were supposed to go to Florida one night. And in fact, Senator Kerry, as we were in midair, announced that the plane was being diverted to Fenway Park. And a few reporters got to come in to -- to Fenway, to see, with Senator Kerry, the baseball game, as Senator Kerry threw out the first pitch.
We're all hoping that there's going to be a diversion this time to the World Series, and keeping our fingers crossed. But this close to the election, not so sure about that.
O'BRIEN: All right. Frank Buckley, with the gaggle, or is it a herd, or a pod, of journalists with the Kerry campaign. Good to see you. Thank you very much.
Stemming the tide of medical liability lawsuits is George W. Bush's topic this hour. In his 40th trip to Pennsylvania -- can you tell that's a key state? That's his 40th trip since taking office.
Our friends at CNN political tell us that's the same number of times Bush has visited his Texas ranch, although of course, he stays there a little longer.
CNN's Dana Bash is in the Philadelphia suburb of Downingtown.
Hello, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.
And that's exactly what I was going to point out to you, that if you look at the president's travel log, he's worked harder to win this state, Pennsylvania, one that he lost last time around, than any other.
But still, his aides say, it is going to be a challenge here. Polls show it's neck in neck, with a slight advantage, most of them, for Senator Kerry here.
Nevertheless, the president, of course, is here on his 40th trip. And he came here, in his first stop, to a suburb of Philadelphia. Now this is an area that was a problem for the president in 2000, because many moderate Republicans, those in his own party, voted for Al Gore. Now, he has been trying to woo them for some time now, in various ways. And what the Bush campaign is hoping is that his message here today, which is essentially talking about his health care plan, will really appeal to him.
Because the way he has framed it, the way he will today is that his plan, his ideas for helping people get insurance and help making the health insurance less costly, is to give more power to the people by talking about health care savings accounts.
And as you said, medical liability reform. And he will say that John Kerry, his ideas are all about big government.
Now, this, of course, is one constituency. The president's added one thing to his schedule today that will sort of give you a window into another important constituency for Mr. Bush here in Pennsylvania. That is the Catholic vote.
He is going to meet with the archbishop of Philadelphia. That is going to be a private meeting, the White House says. We will not have any kind of access to it, not any read out afterwards.
But certainly the Bush campaign says that the Catholic vote is critical also in the state of Pennsylvania.
And something interesting to note that this Cardinal Rigali is somebody who has been telling people in his homilies that he believes that they should go to the polls and vote based on one issue, one issue only, and that is abortion. And of course, from their perspective, the only candidate that fits that bill, fits their bill is President Bush -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: If you lived in a battleground state, you may be a little motorcade weary now. And it appears the Bush campaign is kind of -- well, giving a wink and nod to all of this, aren't they?
BASH: They sure are. And they're quite happy with this idea that they have -- that they've actually been implementing now. They have really been focusing on radio as a way to get out and talk to constituents.
They've been doing a lot of talk radio and what you call earned media: they're not paying for it. So what they've decided to do is buy time in and around traffic reports in some of the key battleground states like Florida and New Mexico and Ohio.
And what they've done is they've given these strict 30-second scripts to the traffic reporters so that people driving not only hear their message but hear it from somebody they're familiar with, and that is the person who's giving the traffic, Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. Interesting. Dana Bash, who is with the Bush campaign today.
Meanwhile, No. 2 person on that ticket, live pictures now, Vice President Dick Cheney, about to address a crowd there. He is in Sylvania, Ohio.
Lots of Ohio destinations, folk, not a coincidence. Ohio is a linchpin. No Republican has ever won the White House without first winning Ohio, as well. That's why you see Dick Cheney here. That's why you see the president there so many times.
Now, it may or may not come up, but aides say Cheney did, in fact, get a flu shot. And of course, rightly so, given his long history of heart disease.
John Edwards is on a daylong bus tour of Iowa. And he was in Iowa City. He will there be tonight. After that, he's off to the non-Iowa city, decidedly so, of West Palm Beach, another important state, Florida.
So how about that Electoral College, you may ask? If we learned nothing else from the last election four years ago, it's that the popular vote makes headlines but the electoral vote, of course, makes presidents.
Four years later, the Electoral College isn't very, shall we say popular? A new Gallup poll finds 61 percent of Americans favor abolishing the electors in favor of plain old popular vote count that most people used to assume we always had, of course. Thirty-five percent want to keep things just the way they are. It's almost enough to change the Constitution right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here it is, ground ball to second. Reese. The Boston Red Sox have won the pennant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: What can you say about that? It's baseball. It's history. It's America. It may or may not have parallels, or undertones, or implications, in the other type of hardball we've just been telling you about, but it is the curse reverse.
The Boston massacre of the New York Yankees, the Red Sox' resurrection from three games down to win the pennant and a place in baseball legend. Never been has a major league team win a seven-game series after losing games one, two, and three.
Now if you missed it, allow us to replay the second inning grand slam that put the Sox up 6-zip and that pretty much iced the ALCS. The final score was 10-3. That was Johnny Damon with the grand slam.
And it happened -- shall we say -- in the house that Ruth built? Matter of fact, the right-field stands he used to hit home runs to.
Boston's finest -- and we mean the police now -- estimate as many as 80,000 fans hit the streets around Fenway Park on Lansdowne Street and Yawkey Way there in the wee hours, trying to take away souvenirs. The vast majority were well behaved, however.
Reporter Gail Huff of our CNN affiliate WCVB was with the VIPs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GAIL HUFF, WCVB REPORTER (voice-over): At 4:20 this morning, Red Sox owner John Henry got off the bus and showed the fans the new American League champ trophy.
JOHN HENRY, RED SOX OWNER: Incredible. Just incredible. These guys have such heart to come back the way they did.
HUFF (on camera): It has to be an incredible feeling to be back home again with this?
HENRY: It is. There's going to be a World Series in Boston this weekend.
HUFF (voice-over): The crowd chanting "MVP" for David Ortiz, and Pedro Martinez couldn't stop jumping.
(on camera) Four more wins, you're going to do it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to find out.
HUFF: How's it feel to be back in Boston?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just nice to be home, relax for a couple days, see who we're going to play.
HUFF: Good luck to you.
(voice-over) Curt Schilling high-fived the fans, who were waiting for the team's return.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did not lose faith. We believed they were going to do it, and this is the year they're going to do it. We got it done! Yes! Yes!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Yes! All right. That was from WCVB, thanks for that.
It's not the same league, rivalry-wise, but another game seven on deck this evening, St. Louis Cards versus the Houston Astros for the NL championship and of course, the ticket to the series to the winner.
The Cards haven't been to the series since 1987. The Astros -- well, never. "Never" is the word.
That dripping sound you hear, by the way, is the pundits salivating over the possibility of a Texas/Massachusetts World Series days before an election involving candidates from Texas and Massachusetts.
Both President Bush and Senator Kerry are planning live appearances this hour. Kerry is expected to talk about stem cells in an appearance, as we told you just a moment ago, with the widow of Christopher Reeve. And the president is in Pennsylvania. His subject, medical liability. We'll bring you some of both of those when they happen.
And the Red Sox nation -- of which I am a card carrying citizen -- celebrate their league championship. Ahead, we talk about the Bambino, Beantown, and a little baseball, too.
And a royal raucous. Efforts to get the perfect picture get a little ugly. Neither we, nor Prince Harry are pulling any punches here, on LIVE FROM.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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O'BRIEN: The Red Sox in the World Series. Savor that phrase, because outside of punch lines and bar fights, those words haven't been used together in quite some time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fans of Red Sox nation everywhere, we never lost faith.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The hyperbole is flying today: historic, miraculous, surreal, legendary. Hey, it's only baseball, right? Well, maybe not.
The book "Chasing Steinbrenner" is all about the infamous Boston- New York rivalry, as well as a few other things. There's talk about the Toronto Blue Jays, as well, about a season, really.
Rob Bradford wrote it. He also covers the Sox for "The Lowell Sun." And he is a -- you can -- you can be -- suspend objectivity on this one, right? You're allowed to do that, right?
ROB BRADFORD: Well, for a few minutes last night, anyway, I think.
O'BRIEN: Tell me -- first of all, does this represent -- I've seen some people say this represents the end of the curse. But isn't it really true -- hope you can hear me -- isn't it really true that the curse will only be over if the Sox actually pull off a World Series victory?
BRADFORD: Yes, I mean, I think so. I think if you look back to this season, people are going to look at it as a success because they beat the Yankees. They did something no team, no Red Sox team has really been able to do in a pressure-packed situation.
So even if they don't win the World Series, they're going to look back and say, "Hey, it was a good season." But I think people, you know, have short memories. And if they get swept by St. Louis or Houston it might -- it might make for -- it might make for a little longer winter.
O'BRIEN: Well, it certainly would be a Red Sox conclusion, wouldn't it? You know, take you to this point and then have a -- just a miserable World Series, because they're so spent. But you know, those of us who are Red Sox fans fully expect that at this point.
BRADFORD: Yes, well, I mean, I think that was kind of the worry last night, that they were setting us up for the big fall.
But you know, this year, going into the World Series, I would -- having lived through -- in this area all my life and going through the trials and tribulations of the Red Sox, I would kind of expect that.
But there's so much momentum going into this series the Red Sox have, and the pitching has really come around. And there's just something about this team. If they were ever going to do it, they would have to do something so extraordinary as, you know, the greatest comeback in sports history.
O'BRIEN: Well, yes. I mean, we're talking history here. You know, the Sox nation is a strange group. I mean, because I've got to admit, watching it last night, you know, my immediate reaction, when Damon hit that grand slam, was, "Oh, God, this is going to be the much crushing defeat they've ever had."
You know, that shows you how twisted it is, that they're so unaccustomed to them pulling it out, you know?
BRADFORD: Oh, yes, and then they bring in Pedro, and the crowd's getting back into it and everything's kind of turning around. And then they say, why can't the Yankees score eight runs and come back? Because we've seen this stuff happen before. It happened -- not to the extent, but it happened last year with the Aaron Boone home run.
So I don't think anyone was fully confident until Alan Embree got that final out, Ruben Sierra grounded out. I think that's when the signs in Kenmore Square started coming down, but not until then.
O'BRIEN: My 12-year-old said, "Why are they putting Pedro in? This is craziness? What is going on there?"
BRADFORD: Did he say the same thing about Grady Little leaving him in last year?
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, you can't win, can you, right?
You know, I've got to say, when I saw Bucky Dent, you know, throwing out that first pitch, I thought, you know, these Yankees are so darned arrogant. They deserve a fall so badly it -- it makes it all the more sweet, doesn't it?
BRADFORD: Well, I think for Boston fans, it was sweeter, just because it was in Yankees Stadium, and it was in front of those fans, with Bucky Dent there.
And if it was in Fenway Park, it would have been great, and the players would have run down to the Baseball Tavern and celebrated, just like they did last year. But there's something about being in Yankees Stadium, the place where they did it last year, where everything collapsed last year. And I think this made it even more special.
And to be able to come back at 4:30 in the morning and see the reception and see that the fans were still out. This is what, you know -- this is what it's all about. And like I said, they're carrying a lot of momentum going into this World Series.
O'BRIEN: All right. Final thought here, and work with me on this one, and this is a little bit counterintuitive. Do you think, if the Red Sox prevail -- let's say they play the Astros and Roger Clemens, wouldn't that be a great thing to write about?
BRADFORD: Jeff Bagwell, also.
O'BRIEN: It would be great. It would be great stuff. You'll love writing those stories. But nevertheless, if they win and the curse is dispensed with, do the Red Sox nation, do the fans, in a way, do they lose something? Do you know what I mean?
BRADFORD: Yes, no, I mean, that's been kind of the question for the last, what, 86 years. It's -- people don't know what's going to happen. It's this great unknown. And that's what's so great about it.
I think that's what makes it so exciting, the fact that people don't know how they're going to react and -- you know, they say that the obituary pages are going to be filled because people are just going to give up living after the Red Sox win it. I mean this is the company line of Red Sox nation.
But, you know, I think other people want to find out what happened, and so they're willing -- they're all into it now. I mean, there's no hesitation. There was a lot of trepidation going into the Yankees series, I think, that they're going to get burned again, but not any more.
O'BRIEN: You want to make any predictions before we go? We have about five seconds.
BRADFORD: Well, I would just say, they're riding the momentum, so you know, why not go all the way, and say the Red Sox do it?
O'BRIEN: Rob Bradford, you are obviously a died in the wool in every respect. Appreciate it. Writes for "The Lowell Sun" and has a great book called "Chasing Steinbrenner." We appreciate your time. We'll see you as the series progresses.
BRADFORD: Thanks.
O'BRIEN: More sports news. The highest court in international sport has spoken, and American gymnast Paul Hamm will keep his all- around gold medal. You remember this controversy. That's him slipping on the medal again in Switzerland this morning. The story behind this dispute, long and complicated. And you probably know most of the details. It involves a scoring mistake, protests, appeals, rejections, finger pointing, and ultimately, a decision in Hamm's favor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HAMM, U.S. OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALLIST: I definitely think that, you know, to date, the decision helps even more with the fact that I believe I truly won it. And I think more people in the U.S. and throughout the world will also feel that way, as well. Because, really, the cast decision has agreed with everything that we have stated about the fact that I was the champion that day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Paul Hamm is the first male American gymnast to win the Olympic all-around gold, that event's biggest prize, of course.
News across America now. High water. A levee holding back the Santa Ana River broke yesterday, flooded the Ingles Park Equestrian Center near Los Angeles. Volunteers had to find another spot to hold the horses. After some quick work and some fancy riding, all the horses were high, dry, and safe.
Rush Limbaugh's privacy. The syndicated talk show host's lawyer filed a motion today in Florida -- excuse me -- seeking to overturn the seizure of his medical records. A Miami appeals court ruled this month prosecutors obtained the records correctly as part of the case to determine if Limbaugh received prescription drugs illegally.
And the flu shot scramble continues. Vaccine shortages from coast to coast have health officials already looking ahead to handling next year's flu season. While one New Jersey town says it has the only fair way to get the protection out.
Mary Snow has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm sorry, we don't have the vaccine at this time.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Calls for flu shots haven't let up in Bloomfield, New Jersey, since the town decided last week to hold a lottery to ration 300 doses of the flu vaccine. Since then, Bloomfield has become the poster child for the flu shot shortage, even finding its way into the presidential campaign.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just today, we learned that a town in New Jersey is being forced to use a lottery system to decide who's going to get a flu shot.
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know there are some here who are worried about the flu season. I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible. MAYOR RAYMOND MCCARTHY, BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY: We never anticipated this. This was just the thing that we thought was a normal procedure. Let's go. We put it together.
SNOW: Bloomfield's town officials held a strategy session ahead of its unusual vaccine lottery.
Unlike neighboring towns, Bloomfield does not buy its vaccines from Chiron, the vaccine maker forced to halt production because of contamination concerns. It gets them from Aventis, the only other vaccine supplier to the U.S. And the first shipment came in before the public health crisis began.
The town didn't want to have long lines of senior citizens like other places and decided a lottery was being fair.
TREVOR WEIGLE, BLOOMFIELD HEALTH DIRECTOR: It's sad we have to do this. But good maybe this is a wake-up call. Maybe we have to -- maybe we have to do some better planning and -- in our health care system here, in America.
SNOW: But some of Bloomfield's 8,000 seniors don't see the lottery working either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never won anything in my whole life. I don't know that I'd win anything medical either.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is America. We're supposed to be the best of the best. And with this, we're not.
SNOW: Some 60 million flu vaccines are expected to be produced by January, compared to last year's 87 million. And health experts say the shortage will continue to drive demand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there's no turning back now. We're going to see a whole new dynamic about the demand for flu vaccine from now on, like we've never seen before in this country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And as far as demand in Bloomfield, New Jersey, about 1,000 people so far today have shown up to register for this lottery. What's happening today is people are showing up at a firehouse, registering. The lottery will take place next week.
Only senior citizens are eligible, if you are under 65. You have to be at high risk. And only residents can apply here. And the town says it's been getting calls from other places around the country, asking about the whole process -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Mary Snow, thank you very much.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Up next on LIVE FROM, the fall of the dictator. Cuba's Fidel Castro takes a tumble. We've got the details. Later on LIVE FROM...
RAY CHARLES, MUSICIAN: I gave you that, man.
O'BRIEN: Rave reviews for actor and comedian Jamie Foxx's stunning portrayal of musical legend Ray Charles. Don't you hit the road, Jack, until we come back.
And tomorrow, the Red Sox rewrote the history books. Who will they face in the World Series? We'll get you set for the big game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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