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This is It; The Big Three; Interview with Rudy Giuliani, Bob Kerrey

Aired November 02, 2004 - 12:00   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.


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: George Bush enthused and uplifted. John Kerry calls it a magical kind of day. How will they feel this time tomorrow?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Heavy voter turnout all across our nation, live pictures. Canton, Ohio, right now. That's a state that could be a king maker.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm live in Pennsylvania, where the get-out-the-vote has really worked. They're expecting record turnout here. Also, a potential problem in Philadelphia. We're going to tell you all about that coming up.

PHILLIPS: So, you want to one up your smartest coworker? Stick around. We have some timely trivia about past presidential elections.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Feel great, thank you. Let me go vote first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And that is what it is all about today, November 2. The speeches, rallies, ads, debates, the talking points, turning points, flash points, flash polls, the campaigning, politicking, glad- handing, arm-twisting are all history.

It is finally time to vote, and don't let the Crawford firehouse fool you. A lot of precincts are a lot more crowded on Election Day 2004.

John Kerry votes next hour in Boston. Live pictures of his airplane just landed at Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts, about a dozen miles from downtown Boston.

His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, will be voting in Pennsylvania. So far, as CNN's crack political unit can tell, that's the first time a major party presidential candidate and candidate's spouse have voted in separate states. Now, speaking of distance, CNN correspondents and crews are watching the voting from Beantown to the Baring Straits. We're also following the very first Election Day lawsuit already in the cradle of American democracy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More about that in just a moment.

PHILLIPS: Well, George W. Bush is en route to the White House for the first time in five days. CNN's Elaine Quijano is watching and waiting.

Hi, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

That's right, President Bush left Washington late last week to head out on the campaign trail in full force. He returns this afternoon, but not before making one final campaign stop. That will be in the battleground state of Ohio.

The president in Columbus arriving just a short time ago. He will be thanking workers at a phone bank at Bush-Cheney state headquarters.

Now, as you know, Ohio is a crucial battleground, 20 electoral votes at stake. The president won Ohio back in 2000 by about three percentage points, and the campaign is feeling good about its chances there once again.

Now, earlier, the president cast his ballot at a firehouse near his ranch at Crawford, Texas. Mr. Bush spent the night in Crawford after a day of marathon campaigning yesterday, a tour that took him through six states in about 16 hours. And today at the firehouse, Mr. Bush shared some thoughts with reporters now that his re-election bid is drawing to a close.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I know I've given it my all, and I feel calm. I feel -- I am confident that the people -- in the judgment of the people. I'm one of these candidates, I feed off the enthusiasm of the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, the president's running mate, Vice President Dick Cheney, also cast his ballot. That was in Wyoming, along with the vice president's wife, Lynne. The vice president moving on to a couple of stops in Wisconsin before returning to D.C.

As for the president's itinerary, after his stop in Ohio he returns here to Washington this afternoon. A White House spokesman says that the president will watch the election results from the residence here at the White House. He will be joined by family members, as well as some senior staff -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Elaine Quijano, thanks so much. And John Kerry's vote is but an appetizer for a personal Election Day tradition: lunch at the Union Oyster House, one of the oldest restaurants in America. CNN's Frank Buckley sets the scene for us now.

Frank, I hope you get to try that clam chowder.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you know, with me, it's all about the food. And, of course, I had to check out what Senator Kerry is going to be having there.

I talked to Jim Mullen (ph), the general manager of the old Oyster House. He tells me that he's going to probably have a half- dozen little neck clams, a cup of chowder, as you said. And if he's really hungry, he says he usually has some Atlantic white fish or some scrod. So we're covering this election right down to what Senator Kerry is eating.

That's one of the things he'll be doing here in Boston. He hopes to end his day here in Copley Plaza, where Senator Kerry hopes he'll be delivering a victory speech with Senator John Edwards by his side.

Now, Senator Kerry started his day today in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Wisconsin, a state where voters can actually go to the polls, register and vote on the same day. Senator Kerry today stopping by a voter information location this morning to encourage that activity, of course. Here's what he said to his supporters in Wisconsin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's just a magical kind of day, and I want to thank you. I am telling you, the hopes you have brought to our events...

(APPLAUSE)

KERRY: Thank you. It's just, it's truly touching.

I am so touched and moved and humbled by your trust in the hopes that I get to carry for you. And I'll tell you something, I do look forward to going to that office day and being able to look at you and say, "I got your back." And you're going to see the biggest fights and the strongest efforts to cover your back you've ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Now, Senator Kerry left Lacrosse, Wisconsin, this morning. We know that he is already down here in Massachusetts now.

His schedule here in Boston, once he gets over here into the city, he'll -- he's expected to vote at 1:00 at the state house, then he's going to have that lunch at the Union Oyster House. Then he'll do interviews, we are told, for part of the afternoon, satellite television interviews before finally retiring to his suite at the Westin with wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. Teresa Heinz Kerry already voting today. She cast her ballot, we assume, for Senator Kerry just outside of Pittsburgh, an area where she has a farm.

So, Kyra, this traditional day in which candidates often just vote in the morning and then retire to a hotel room and wait for the outcome of the election, not really the way it's going down today. A little bit of campaigning in the morning and some activity right through to the afternoon -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Frank, I like how you threw in as Teresa Heinz Kerry voted, you assume she voted for her husband. I guess if she didn't, we would have another lead story, wouldn't we?

BUCKLEY: It would go a completely different direction, I think.

PHILLIPS: Frank Buckley. All right, go get some of that clam chowder. A long way from the Slim Fast bars you used to carry. Thanks, Frank -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. With many hours of voting still ahead all across the country, we can nonetheless announce our first set of returns.

This is not your first presidential election. Of course you know the returns we mean. They're from Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. Historically among the very first locations to cast and count ballots.

This time around, 19 of Dixville Notch's 26 voters notched votes for Bush, seven to Kerry. Fifty miles away, in Hart's Location -- that's the name of the place, Hart's Location -- Kerry did better, but still trailed Bush 14 to 16. Ralph Nader got a vote there.

In New Hampshire as a whole, the polls close at 7:00 Eastern, though there, as in every other state, voters who are in line at closing time will be allowed to cast ballots, which leads us to that clock in the lower portion of your screen right there. All right.

A lot of you have been calling in about that. It says 6:52 and counting. And some of you say, well, of course Dixville Notch is already closed, so that clock is wrong.

What that clock represents is the first state to close as a whole. 7:00 p.m. Eastern is the time for that. New Hampshire is a 7:00 p.m. Eastern state, and that's what that clock is counting down to, the first statewide closers of the polls.

Now, in the so-called battleground states, we are light years away from declaring anything except that CNN is all over them. Let's go to the big three now: Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida -- Jason Carroll, Adaora Udoji and Gary Tuchman.

Let's go first to you, Jason. Keystone State and already -- I guess it's not a surprise, unfortunately, but already a lawsuit has been filed -- Jason. CARROLL: Well, I would say a challenge, not a lawsuit. A lawsuit, no, but a challenge, there's definitely something happening there.

Not here in Lehigh County, where things are running smoothly. But there is a situation developing in Pennsylvania, down in Philadelphia. In north Philadelphia, specifically.

Apparently some GOP observers are claiming that an electronic voting machine at a north -- north Philadelphia polling place was not calibrated properly. It had some 400 votes recorded on it from its last use during another election.

Those GOP observers found it before the poll opened. Philadelphia's city commissioner, a Democrat, says the allegations are "unsubstantiated." There are reports that those GOP observers may have misread a dial on that electronic voting machine.

Pennsylvania's governor, Ed Rendell, is planning to hold a press conference very soon. And so hopefully we'll get some resolution on that issue.

Far less drama here in Lehigh County. We've got a live picture inside the polling place here, where, again, things are running very smoothly.

Hundreds lined up early to cast their vote. Pennsylvania is expecting a record turnout. Interest, as you can see, in this presidential race is intense, to say it lightly, in this swing state.

Republicans now also challenging to challenge the eligibility of thousands of voters. Democrats, though, accuse Republicans of voter intimidation. The Pennsylvania Department of State released a statement telling election workers not to let poll watchers -- poll watchers challenge voters without good faith.

Earlier today, Miles, we had an opportunity to speak to some of the voters that you see there all lined up. Talked to them about the partisan challenges going on and what the voting process has been like so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, you don't see anybody giving out pamphlets. That's number one.

Number two, whenever you come here, you can get right into the voting booths. Take a good, hard look. This, at 6:30 this morning, was coming out of the building. So you have very, very much differences here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will be nice when it's all over and we can move forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something we need to solve because it's destructive. You know, the two parties spend a lot of time tearing at each other when we have so many problems that we need to sort of get together and solve, rather than tear each other apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: It sounds like there are still a few problems that need to be solved. A lot of partisan bickering still going on in the state of Pennsylvania. We've got poll watchers here, we've got attorneys on hand, as well. Election workers saying, Attorneys not focusing on who is watching them but focus on getting the process right -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: OK. It's a whole new level of scrutiny. I guess we better buckle our seatbelts now. Jason Carroll, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Florida, where the president's brother is the governor, is also up for grabs. All of its 27 electoral votes go to the winner. And watching all the action from West Palm Beach, not a bad place to be, our own Gary Tuchman.

Hi, Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.

It's a beautiful, sunny, hot south Florida day. And we're inside a dark firehouse. But this is where the action is.

This is one of the 692 precincts in Palm Beach County which was one of the centers of all the controversy in the 2000 presidential election. That's when they were using the punch card ballots.

They have banned from the state of Florida. Instead, they are now using in this county the touch-screen machines. And it's not even that crowded right now.

A long line early in the morning, but right now, of the five machines, only three are in use. So easy service right now if you come in.

Lunch hour has just started, they expect it to get more crowded as it goes along. So far, about 20 percent of the registered voters in this precinct have shown up, including these two ladies, two real- life Florida voters, Betty Traver (ph) and Jean Banta (ph).

But I want to ask you, the touch-screen machines, how do you like them compared to the punch cards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're great. Great.

TUCHMAN: Any problems at all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problems at all, no.

TUCHMAN: Did you enjoy them as opposed to the punch cards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I loved them. TUCHMAN: Tell me why you liked them so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it's so simple, so easy. Anybody can do it.

TUCHMAN: Well, four years ago, remember what happened in the state of Florida? What do you think will happen tonight and in the days to come?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there will be a recount. I think it will be that close.

TUCHMAN: What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we'll know by midnight tonight.

TUCHMAN: OK. Two sisters with different viewpoints. That's OK. It's all right to disagree.

Well, one final question I want to ask you. Are you sure you know who you voted for four years ago?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so, yes.

TUCHMAN: You're sure about it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think so.

TUCHMAN: What about you, Jean (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure. I hope I did.

TUCHMAN: You're not sure. And what about today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Positive. Positive.

TUCHMAN: OK. Well, that's one of the reasons they have the touch-screen machines now. Some people are concerned there is no paper trail here in the state of Florida. Most people who have come into this precinct on this very important Election Day seem pleased with these machines.

Kyra, back it you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Seeming pretty calm. Gary Tuchman, thanks so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's go to the hotly-contested state of Ohio, where vote challengers are making headlines.

As you look at live pictures there, aerials above Bedford, Massachusetts, courtesy of our affiliate WCVB, the Kerry-Edwards 757. Its last stop, Hanscom Field. We soon expect to see the candidate deplane, head down those steps, get into the motorcade, zoom down to vote. And then, of course, the Union Oyster House for that ceremonial cup of chowder there.

As far as voters, a lot of folks are looking towards the sky as well in places like Ohio, where the weather could very well be a factor. That's among many issues that we're considering right now.

Ohio could be this year's Florida. Who knows. CNN's Adaora Udoji is on duty for us in Canton.

Adaora, what are you seeing so far?

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, there are a whole lot of people hoping that it does not turn into this year's Florida. However, at this point things looking pretty smoothly.

We're here in Canton, Ohio. At the polling spot across the street there, steady flow of voters going in since 6:30 this morning. Officials in the county say turnout has been incredibly heavy so far. And, of course, after all that legal wrangling this morning, poll workers having some clarity after the Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling upholding challengers at Ohio polling places.

Now, those challengers are basically partisan volunteers allowed to challenge a voter's eligibility, ask them about their age, their residency. And the Democrats said they were concerned that Republicans were trying to intimidate voters.

Republicans deny that. They say that the challengers were needed to monster voter fraud.

Whatever the case, right now, across the state, not clear how many challengers. Both parties have them inside the polling places in probably 88 of the counties. Maybe something short of that, but somewhere around there.

And at this point we have not heard of any reports of any problems. And, in fact, voter turnout has been heavy across the state.

We've talked to some advocates. You're looking at some pictures of people in long lines. We've talked to some advocate groups and they say the turnout is "incredible," that people are lining up despite the rain. And so they're very hopeful that we're going to see those record numbers that Governor Taft has predicted we'll see on this very tight election in Ohio.

O'BRIEN: A little rain maybe won't stop people, Adaora. Not this go around. Thank you very much. And we will stay in close contact with you.

He's been one of President Bush's biggest campaigners. In a moment, we'll talk with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. We'll also hear from former Senator Bob Kerrey about his choice for president -- another man by the name of Kerrey. No relation, of course.

And later, some things you probably didn't know about John Kennedy's election night, including the early wakeup call with some wrong information. A little presidential history for you as well.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Friends in high places. There's been no shortage of star power on the campaign trail for either candidate in the presidential race. That's for sure. Few have the political wattage of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, though, an outspoken ally of President Bush.

He's joining us from the Big Apple.

Good to see you, Mayor.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), FMR. NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Good to see you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, I know you want to talk Jets and Yankees, but we can't do that today. Is that all right with you?

GIULIANI: It's OK with me.

PHILLIPS: OK. Let's get down to some serious business.

GIULIANI: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the president and this race right now. As you know, the president has been criticized quite a bit for the war in Iraq, just the post-war chaos, the missing explosives, no weapons of mass destruction. Why do you still to this moment believe that this is the man that knows when war is necessary and a man that needs to lead this country?

GIULIANI: Because his policies have proven to be effective. I mean, he's kept us safe.

On September 11, 2001, when we underwent the worst attack in our history, I fully expected we would be attacked multiple times. So did everyone else. And President Bush, by -- by turning it around immediately, putting us on offense, helping to create, really, homeland security -- we didn't have it before -- improve our intelligence services, has kept us safe for three years.

It doesn't mean we don't have a long way to go, it doesn't mean that we won't be attacked. I believe we will. But we will be in a better position to deal with it for the reforms and changes this president has made. And I think we need this president to continue that, to continue to keep us on offense and to continue to keep us focused on how important it is that we -- that we deal with -- that we deal with terrorism in Afghanistan and, yes, in Iraq.

I think he was absolutely correct in going into Iraq. And I think that is part of what's destabilized him, why Osama bin Laden has to use videotapes now rather than airplanes to attack us and try to intrude into our political election. The man has guy has been reduced to a guy making infomercials and borrowing the language of Michael Moore in doing that. I mean, so -- I mean, that's advancement, that's change, that's reform, and I think the president has brought that about. And there's a lot more to go, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Now, you bring up the Osama bin Laden tape. You know, for such a long period of time there was a tremendous focus on, OK, if President Bush can get Osama bin Laden, then that really tells us something about intelligence and the military and this man that's in control. How did it make you feel when you saw this tape going through what you went through on 9/11? Do you think this hurts the president?

GIULIANI: Sure, it made me feel like we're in a far different position than we were three years ago, in which Osama bin Laden was capable of having airplanes being used as missiles against us. Now Osama bin Laden does not appear to be capable of that. At least he hasn't been in the last three years, due to the fact that the president put him on the defensive by waging war in Afghanistan, by waging war in Iraq, by engaging the terrorists there.

We don't have a single enemy. It's not just Osama bin Laden.

There is terrorism in other parts of the world, including in Iraq, including in Libya, where -- where because we acted resolutely in Iraq we were able to get Gadhafi to withdraw, basically, his weapons of mass destruction. The president understands the complexity of this, and John Kerry is in the pre-9/11 mentality.

That's why he says things like he wants to take us back to when terrorism was just a nuisance. It was never just a nuisance. Part of the problem is that too many people regarded it at that level pre- 9/11. And we don't need to go back to that.

PHILLIPS: So if John Kerry wins the presidency, what is your biggest concern? What worries you the most?

GIULIANI: Well, I don't think we're going to have the same resolute, determined, multi-faceted approach to terrorism. Nothing in John Kerry's background suggests that.

He voted against the Persian Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. It didn't pass his global test. It passed Syria's global test, but not John Kerry's.

So I think you' re going to see a very, very different approach. I think you -- no matter what he says, I think you are going to see a global test imposed. I think you're going to see much more vacillation, because that's what is suggested by John Kerry's record in the Senate.

PHILLIPS: Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. All right.

GIULIANI: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: You haven't voted yet. Where are you heading to vote and at what time?

GIULIANI: I'll be going at 2:00. The lines were very long this morning, and I don't want to cut in front of the lines, because I don't want one of those stories about mayor, you know -- former mayor trying to take advantage here.

PHILLIPS: Then you'll see us talking about it on CNN tomorrow, right?

GIULIANI: You're darn right I will. Or in "The Post" or "Daily News."

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Rudy Giuliani, thanks for your time.

GIULIANI: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: OK -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. We assume our next guest won't be cutting in line either. John Kerry's friends and political allies have been singing his praises during this hard-fought campaign.

Bob Kerrey joining us from New York City today. He's the former Nebraska senator and long-time friend of Kerry's. He's now president of the New School.

Good to have you with us.

BOB KERREY, FMR. U.S. SENATOR: Thank you. Nice to be with you.

O'BRIEN: Let's pick up on that point that the mayor was talking about, this whole notion that Senator Kerry is not as resolute in the war on terror, and that specific notion of voting against the Persian Gulf War, the first Persian Gulf War. Is it a difficult vote to explain when you say, let's have a global test, right?

KERREY: No. Look, John Kerry was changed by 9/11 just like Rudy Giuliani was and Bob Kerrey was and George -- George Bush was negotiating for the release of Osama bin Laden on the 10th of September, trying to get the Taliban to release him. And on 9/11 he changed.

John Kerry supported the war against Afghanistan. He supported bringing the Taliban down. He supported driving al Qaeda into the mountains. He's been changed by 9/11, as all of us. He's been resolutely changed as a consequence. Supports the international and domestic law enforcement efforts that have substantially reduced the threat of Osama bin Laden.

What he's challenged the president on is not even that he went into Iraq, but the way he's managed it. I mean, now we've got 138,000 Americans who are the target of Islamic jihadists who are going into Iraq to kill American soldiers because the president made a decision in May of 2003 to stand down a 300,000-person Iraqi army. Our soldiers are police force, border security and national security.

So he -- John Kerry has been resolute in his support of what President Bush did following 9/11. It wasn't just President Bush alone. It was the entire Congress, including John Kerry, that were changed as a consequence of seeing the danger of this threat.

O'BRIEN: All right. But back to this Persian Gulf vote, do you think that that resonates with voters when the candidate says, "I would like to consult with allies and have a grand coalition whenever military force is used?" And that certainly is what happened in the firsts Bush presidency, and yet he did not vote for it.

KERREY: Well, look, the Bush -- the Bush-Powell doctrine is a pretty good doctrine coming out of the Gulf War. I mean, it said use overwhelming political -- military force, don't go in there unless you're going to -- if you're going to undersize this thing for political reasons, which appears is what we did.

That's certainly what General Shinseki said. Don't go in there if you don't have a substantial amount of political support external.

That wasn't a weak position in 1990. That was a strong position in 1990.

I voted against that resolution, as well. In part because I fought in a war as John Kerry did. Mayor Giuliani didn't fight in a war that was unpopular, that was authorized based upon a lie in 1964.

So a lot of us that had gone to Vietnam approached that resolution differently. But we were changed by that war. We put the Vietnam syndrome behind us. We understood that overwhelming military force had to be used if you're going to engage in an operation like this, and I'm sad to report that's not what we're doing in Iraq today.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's shift gears here. Let's talk about some of the irregularities.

We've already seen in Philadelphia there's some concerns being raised there already about the odometers on those old voting machines being rigged or something to that effect, at least that's the allegation. And all kinds of patches of that kind of thing.

First of all, how concerned are you that with the awareness we have this go-around, we're going to go through this election, pick it apart like a Thanksgiving turkey and find irregularities that we never imagined before, and this could be in doubt for many weeks to come?

KERREY: Well, I hope it's not that way. I mean, I've already heard people threatening to file lawsuits. I don't think either side should do that. I don't think we should go into court...

O'BRIEN: But don't you think it's inevitable with the number of lawyers involved?

KERREY: No, it is not inevitable. This is a choice that people have to make. The choice Richard Nixon made in 1960 was to concede. He could have gone to court and tied it up forever.

This is a world that is a very dangerous and a difficult world. We've got the Supreme Court chief justice who is very, very sick. We've got a lot of problems, and now is not the time to be litigating the results of this election while the American people and the world wonder who our president's going to be.

O'BRIEN: But if that's that close, who would be the person to do that?

KERREY: Well, it's got to be the candidate. It's got to be either George Bush or John Kerry saying, "No, we're not going to litigate."

This is not one they can say, gee, the Republican Party in Wisconsin or somebody else is going to do this. They, themselves, have to say, we're not going to litigate.

If it's a close election and I lose, I've got to concede. Because the fact is, we don't have a national system of voting. It's about time we do.

It's about time we stop leaving a national election to states -- secretary of states and state election commissioners. And this is ridiculous. We had an election in 2000 where we had the same darn problem. They have a better election in India than we have in the United States of America.

O'BRIEN: To me it's a scandal that four years later we're talking about this.

KERREY: It's not a scandal. It's a very specific political conclusion. We're going to let the states run it. Well, it's time we stop doing that.

We have lots of uniform laws that supersede the sovereignty of the states. And I just think when it comes to a national election for a president, given the importance of having a peaceful transition from one person to another, it's time to break beyond that barrier and develop real national standards so we can have certainty of the outcome when we have a presidential election.

O'BRIEN: Bob Kerrey, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

KERREY: Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Always a pleasure -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're heading West in just a few moments, where both candidates spent a lot of time. We're going to hit the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) states later on LIVE FROM.

But first, life pictures of the motorcade. John Kerry en route to Boston right now. These pictures via our affiliate, WCVB. Guess what he's doing? He's getting ready to go vote. His wife already did in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. So now it's his turn.

We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired November 2, 2004 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: George Bush enthused and uplifted. John Kerry calls it a magical kind of day. How will they feel this time tomorrow?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Heavy voter turnout all across our nation, live pictures. Canton, Ohio, right now. That's a state that could be a king maker.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm live in Pennsylvania, where the get-out-the-vote has really worked. They're expecting record turnout here. Also, a potential problem in Philadelphia. We're going to tell you all about that coming up.

PHILLIPS: So, you want to one up your smartest coworker? Stick around. We have some timely trivia about past presidential elections.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Feel great, thank you. Let me go vote first.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And that is what it is all about today, November 2. The speeches, rallies, ads, debates, the talking points, turning points, flash points, flash polls, the campaigning, politicking, glad- handing, arm-twisting are all history.

It is finally time to vote, and don't let the Crawford firehouse fool you. A lot of precincts are a lot more crowded on Election Day 2004.

John Kerry votes next hour in Boston. Live pictures of his airplane just landed at Hanscom Field, Bedford, Massachusetts, about a dozen miles from downtown Boston.

His wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, will be voting in Pennsylvania. So far, as CNN's crack political unit can tell, that's the first time a major party presidential candidate and candidate's spouse have voted in separate states. Now, speaking of distance, CNN correspondents and crews are watching the voting from Beantown to the Baring Straits. We're also following the very first Election Day lawsuit already in the cradle of American democracy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More about that in just a moment.

PHILLIPS: Well, George W. Bush is en route to the White House for the first time in five days. CNN's Elaine Quijano is watching and waiting.

Hi, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

That's right, President Bush left Washington late last week to head out on the campaign trail in full force. He returns this afternoon, but not before making one final campaign stop. That will be in the battleground state of Ohio.

The president in Columbus arriving just a short time ago. He will be thanking workers at a phone bank at Bush-Cheney state headquarters.

Now, as you know, Ohio is a crucial battleground, 20 electoral votes at stake. The president won Ohio back in 2000 by about three percentage points, and the campaign is feeling good about its chances there once again.

Now, earlier, the president cast his ballot at a firehouse near his ranch at Crawford, Texas. Mr. Bush spent the night in Crawford after a day of marathon campaigning yesterday, a tour that took him through six states in about 16 hours. And today at the firehouse, Mr. Bush shared some thoughts with reporters now that his re-election bid is drawing to a close.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I know I've given it my all, and I feel calm. I feel -- I am confident that the people -- in the judgment of the people. I'm one of these candidates, I feed off the enthusiasm of the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, the president's running mate, Vice President Dick Cheney, also cast his ballot. That was in Wyoming, along with the vice president's wife, Lynne. The vice president moving on to a couple of stops in Wisconsin before returning to D.C.

As for the president's itinerary, after his stop in Ohio he returns here to Washington this afternoon. A White House spokesman says that the president will watch the election results from the residence here at the White House. He will be joined by family members, as well as some senior staff -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Elaine Quijano, thanks so much. And John Kerry's vote is but an appetizer for a personal Election Day tradition: lunch at the Union Oyster House, one of the oldest restaurants in America. CNN's Frank Buckley sets the scene for us now.

Frank, I hope you get to try that clam chowder.

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you know, with me, it's all about the food. And, of course, I had to check out what Senator Kerry is going to be having there.

I talked to Jim Mullen (ph), the general manager of the old Oyster House. He tells me that he's going to probably have a half- dozen little neck clams, a cup of chowder, as you said. And if he's really hungry, he says he usually has some Atlantic white fish or some scrod. So we're covering this election right down to what Senator Kerry is eating.

That's one of the things he'll be doing here in Boston. He hopes to end his day here in Copley Plaza, where Senator Kerry hopes he'll be delivering a victory speech with Senator John Edwards by his side.

Now, Senator Kerry started his day today in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. Wisconsin, a state where voters can actually go to the polls, register and vote on the same day. Senator Kerry today stopping by a voter information location this morning to encourage that activity, of course. Here's what he said to his supporters in Wisconsin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's just a magical kind of day, and I want to thank you. I am telling you, the hopes you have brought to our events...

(APPLAUSE)

KERRY: Thank you. It's just, it's truly touching.

I am so touched and moved and humbled by your trust in the hopes that I get to carry for you. And I'll tell you something, I do look forward to going to that office day and being able to look at you and say, "I got your back." And you're going to see the biggest fights and the strongest efforts to cover your back you've ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: Now, Senator Kerry left Lacrosse, Wisconsin, this morning. We know that he is already down here in Massachusetts now.

His schedule here in Boston, once he gets over here into the city, he'll -- he's expected to vote at 1:00 at the state house, then he's going to have that lunch at the Union Oyster House. Then he'll do interviews, we are told, for part of the afternoon, satellite television interviews before finally retiring to his suite at the Westin with wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. Teresa Heinz Kerry already voting today. She cast her ballot, we assume, for Senator Kerry just outside of Pittsburgh, an area where she has a farm.

So, Kyra, this traditional day in which candidates often just vote in the morning and then retire to a hotel room and wait for the outcome of the election, not really the way it's going down today. A little bit of campaigning in the morning and some activity right through to the afternoon -- Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Frank, I like how you threw in as Teresa Heinz Kerry voted, you assume she voted for her husband. I guess if she didn't, we would have another lead story, wouldn't we?

BUCKLEY: It would go a completely different direction, I think.

PHILLIPS: Frank Buckley. All right, go get some of that clam chowder. A long way from the Slim Fast bars you used to carry. Thanks, Frank -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. With many hours of voting still ahead all across the country, we can nonetheless announce our first set of returns.

This is not your first presidential election. Of course you know the returns we mean. They're from Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. Historically among the very first locations to cast and count ballots.

This time around, 19 of Dixville Notch's 26 voters notched votes for Bush, seven to Kerry. Fifty miles away, in Hart's Location -- that's the name of the place, Hart's Location -- Kerry did better, but still trailed Bush 14 to 16. Ralph Nader got a vote there.

In New Hampshire as a whole, the polls close at 7:00 Eastern, though there, as in every other state, voters who are in line at closing time will be allowed to cast ballots, which leads us to that clock in the lower portion of your screen right there. All right.

A lot of you have been calling in about that. It says 6:52 and counting. And some of you say, well, of course Dixville Notch is already closed, so that clock is wrong.

What that clock represents is the first state to close as a whole. 7:00 p.m. Eastern is the time for that. New Hampshire is a 7:00 p.m. Eastern state, and that's what that clock is counting down to, the first statewide closers of the polls.

Now, in the so-called battleground states, we are light years away from declaring anything except that CNN is all over them. Let's go to the big three now: Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida -- Jason Carroll, Adaora Udoji and Gary Tuchman.

Let's go first to you, Jason. Keystone State and already -- I guess it's not a surprise, unfortunately, but already a lawsuit has been filed -- Jason. CARROLL: Well, I would say a challenge, not a lawsuit. A lawsuit, no, but a challenge, there's definitely something happening there.

Not here in Lehigh County, where things are running smoothly. But there is a situation developing in Pennsylvania, down in Philadelphia. In north Philadelphia, specifically.

Apparently some GOP observers are claiming that an electronic voting machine at a north -- north Philadelphia polling place was not calibrated properly. It had some 400 votes recorded on it from its last use during another election.

Those GOP observers found it before the poll opened. Philadelphia's city commissioner, a Democrat, says the allegations are "unsubstantiated." There are reports that those GOP observers may have misread a dial on that electronic voting machine.

Pennsylvania's governor, Ed Rendell, is planning to hold a press conference very soon. And so hopefully we'll get some resolution on that issue.

Far less drama here in Lehigh County. We've got a live picture inside the polling place here, where, again, things are running very smoothly.

Hundreds lined up early to cast their vote. Pennsylvania is expecting a record turnout. Interest, as you can see, in this presidential race is intense, to say it lightly, in this swing state.

Republicans now also challenging to challenge the eligibility of thousands of voters. Democrats, though, accuse Republicans of voter intimidation. The Pennsylvania Department of State released a statement telling election workers not to let poll watchers -- poll watchers challenge voters without good faith.

Earlier today, Miles, we had an opportunity to speak to some of the voters that you see there all lined up. Talked to them about the partisan challenges going on and what the voting process has been like so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, you don't see anybody giving out pamphlets. That's number one.

Number two, whenever you come here, you can get right into the voting booths. Take a good, hard look. This, at 6:30 this morning, was coming out of the building. So you have very, very much differences here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will be nice when it's all over and we can move forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something we need to solve because it's destructive. You know, the two parties spend a lot of time tearing at each other when we have so many problems that we need to sort of get together and solve, rather than tear each other apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: It sounds like there are still a few problems that need to be solved. A lot of partisan bickering still going on in the state of Pennsylvania. We've got poll watchers here, we've got attorneys on hand, as well. Election workers saying, Attorneys not focusing on who is watching them but focus on getting the process right -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: OK. It's a whole new level of scrutiny. I guess we better buckle our seatbelts now. Jason Carroll, thank you very much -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, Florida, where the president's brother is the governor, is also up for grabs. All of its 27 electoral votes go to the winner. And watching all the action from West Palm Beach, not a bad place to be, our own Gary Tuchman.

Hi, Gary.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, hello to you.

It's a beautiful, sunny, hot south Florida day. And we're inside a dark firehouse. But this is where the action is.

This is one of the 692 precincts in Palm Beach County which was one of the centers of all the controversy in the 2000 presidential election. That's when they were using the punch card ballots.

They have banned from the state of Florida. Instead, they are now using in this county the touch-screen machines. And it's not even that crowded right now.

A long line early in the morning, but right now, of the five machines, only three are in use. So easy service right now if you come in.

Lunch hour has just started, they expect it to get more crowded as it goes along. So far, about 20 percent of the registered voters in this precinct have shown up, including these two ladies, two real- life Florida voters, Betty Traver (ph) and Jean Banta (ph).

But I want to ask you, the touch-screen machines, how do you like them compared to the punch cards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're great. Great.

TUCHMAN: Any problems at all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No problems at all, no.

TUCHMAN: Did you enjoy them as opposed to the punch cards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I loved them. TUCHMAN: Tell me why you liked them so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it's so simple, so easy. Anybody can do it.

TUCHMAN: Well, four years ago, remember what happened in the state of Florida? What do you think will happen tonight and in the days to come?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there will be a recount. I think it will be that close.

TUCHMAN: What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we'll know by midnight tonight.

TUCHMAN: OK. Two sisters with different viewpoints. That's OK. It's all right to disagree.

Well, one final question I want to ask you. Are you sure you know who you voted for four years ago?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so, yes.

TUCHMAN: You're sure about it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think so.

TUCHMAN: What about you, Jean (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure. I hope I did.

TUCHMAN: You're not sure. And what about today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Positive. Positive.

TUCHMAN: OK. Well, that's one of the reasons they have the touch-screen machines now. Some people are concerned there is no paper trail here in the state of Florida. Most people who have come into this precinct on this very important Election Day seem pleased with these machines.

Kyra, back it you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Seeming pretty calm. Gary Tuchman, thanks so much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's go to the hotly-contested state of Ohio, where vote challengers are making headlines.

As you look at live pictures there, aerials above Bedford, Massachusetts, courtesy of our affiliate WCVB, the Kerry-Edwards 757. Its last stop, Hanscom Field. We soon expect to see the candidate deplane, head down those steps, get into the motorcade, zoom down to vote. And then, of course, the Union Oyster House for that ceremonial cup of chowder there.

As far as voters, a lot of folks are looking towards the sky as well in places like Ohio, where the weather could very well be a factor. That's among many issues that we're considering right now.

Ohio could be this year's Florida. Who knows. CNN's Adaora Udoji is on duty for us in Canton.

Adaora, what are you seeing so far?

ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, there are a whole lot of people hoping that it does not turn into this year's Florida. However, at this point things looking pretty smoothly.

We're here in Canton, Ohio. At the polling spot across the street there, steady flow of voters going in since 6:30 this morning. Officials in the county say turnout has been incredibly heavy so far. And, of course, after all that legal wrangling this morning, poll workers having some clarity after the Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling upholding challengers at Ohio polling places.

Now, those challengers are basically partisan volunteers allowed to challenge a voter's eligibility, ask them about their age, their residency. And the Democrats said they were concerned that Republicans were trying to intimidate voters.

Republicans deny that. They say that the challengers were needed to monster voter fraud.

Whatever the case, right now, across the state, not clear how many challengers. Both parties have them inside the polling places in probably 88 of the counties. Maybe something short of that, but somewhere around there.

And at this point we have not heard of any reports of any problems. And, in fact, voter turnout has been heavy across the state.

We've talked to some advocates. You're looking at some pictures of people in long lines. We've talked to some advocate groups and they say the turnout is "incredible," that people are lining up despite the rain. And so they're very hopeful that we're going to see those record numbers that Governor Taft has predicted we'll see on this very tight election in Ohio.

O'BRIEN: A little rain maybe won't stop people, Adaora. Not this go around. Thank you very much. And we will stay in close contact with you.

He's been one of President Bush's biggest campaigners. In a moment, we'll talk with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. We'll also hear from former Senator Bob Kerrey about his choice for president -- another man by the name of Kerrey. No relation, of course.

And later, some things you probably didn't know about John Kennedy's election night, including the early wakeup call with some wrong information. A little presidential history for you as well.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Friends in high places. There's been no shortage of star power on the campaign trail for either candidate in the presidential race. That's for sure. Few have the political wattage of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, though, an outspoken ally of President Bush.

He's joining us from the Big Apple.

Good to see you, Mayor.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), FMR. NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: Good to see you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, I know you want to talk Jets and Yankees, but we can't do that today. Is that all right with you?

GIULIANI: It's OK with me.

PHILLIPS: OK. Let's get down to some serious business.

GIULIANI: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the president and this race right now. As you know, the president has been criticized quite a bit for the war in Iraq, just the post-war chaos, the missing explosives, no weapons of mass destruction. Why do you still to this moment believe that this is the man that knows when war is necessary and a man that needs to lead this country?

GIULIANI: Because his policies have proven to be effective. I mean, he's kept us safe.

On September 11, 2001, when we underwent the worst attack in our history, I fully expected we would be attacked multiple times. So did everyone else. And President Bush, by -- by turning it around immediately, putting us on offense, helping to create, really, homeland security -- we didn't have it before -- improve our intelligence services, has kept us safe for three years.

It doesn't mean we don't have a long way to go, it doesn't mean that we won't be attacked. I believe we will. But we will be in a better position to deal with it for the reforms and changes this president has made. And I think we need this president to continue that, to continue to keep us on offense and to continue to keep us focused on how important it is that we -- that we deal with -- that we deal with terrorism in Afghanistan and, yes, in Iraq.

I think he was absolutely correct in going into Iraq. And I think that is part of what's destabilized him, why Osama bin Laden has to use videotapes now rather than airplanes to attack us and try to intrude into our political election. The man has guy has been reduced to a guy making infomercials and borrowing the language of Michael Moore in doing that. I mean, so -- I mean, that's advancement, that's change, that's reform, and I think the president has brought that about. And there's a lot more to go, absolutely.

PHILLIPS: Now, you bring up the Osama bin Laden tape. You know, for such a long period of time there was a tremendous focus on, OK, if President Bush can get Osama bin Laden, then that really tells us something about intelligence and the military and this man that's in control. How did it make you feel when you saw this tape going through what you went through on 9/11? Do you think this hurts the president?

GIULIANI: Sure, it made me feel like we're in a far different position than we were three years ago, in which Osama bin Laden was capable of having airplanes being used as missiles against us. Now Osama bin Laden does not appear to be capable of that. At least he hasn't been in the last three years, due to the fact that the president put him on the defensive by waging war in Afghanistan, by waging war in Iraq, by engaging the terrorists there.

We don't have a single enemy. It's not just Osama bin Laden.

There is terrorism in other parts of the world, including in Iraq, including in Libya, where -- where because we acted resolutely in Iraq we were able to get Gadhafi to withdraw, basically, his weapons of mass destruction. The president understands the complexity of this, and John Kerry is in the pre-9/11 mentality.

That's why he says things like he wants to take us back to when terrorism was just a nuisance. It was never just a nuisance. Part of the problem is that too many people regarded it at that level pre- 9/11. And we don't need to go back to that.

PHILLIPS: So if John Kerry wins the presidency, what is your biggest concern? What worries you the most?

GIULIANI: Well, I don't think we're going to have the same resolute, determined, multi-faceted approach to terrorism. Nothing in John Kerry's background suggests that.

He voted against the Persian Gulf War, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. It didn't pass his global test. It passed Syria's global test, but not John Kerry's.

So I think you' re going to see a very, very different approach. I think you -- no matter what he says, I think you are going to see a global test imposed. I think you're going to see much more vacillation, because that's what is suggested by John Kerry's record in the Senate.

PHILLIPS: Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani. All right.

GIULIANI: Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: You haven't voted yet. Where are you heading to vote and at what time?

GIULIANI: I'll be going at 2:00. The lines were very long this morning, and I don't want to cut in front of the lines, because I don't want one of those stories about mayor, you know -- former mayor trying to take advantage here.

PHILLIPS: Then you'll see us talking about it on CNN tomorrow, right?

GIULIANI: You're darn right I will. Or in "The Post" or "Daily News."

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Rudy Giuliani, thanks for your time.

GIULIANI: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: OK -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. We assume our next guest won't be cutting in line either. John Kerry's friends and political allies have been singing his praises during this hard-fought campaign.

Bob Kerrey joining us from New York City today. He's the former Nebraska senator and long-time friend of Kerry's. He's now president of the New School.

Good to have you with us.

BOB KERREY, FMR. U.S. SENATOR: Thank you. Nice to be with you.

O'BRIEN: Let's pick up on that point that the mayor was talking about, this whole notion that Senator Kerry is not as resolute in the war on terror, and that specific notion of voting against the Persian Gulf War, the first Persian Gulf War. Is it a difficult vote to explain when you say, let's have a global test, right?

KERREY: No. Look, John Kerry was changed by 9/11 just like Rudy Giuliani was and Bob Kerrey was and George -- George Bush was negotiating for the release of Osama bin Laden on the 10th of September, trying to get the Taliban to release him. And on 9/11 he changed.

John Kerry supported the war against Afghanistan. He supported bringing the Taliban down. He supported driving al Qaeda into the mountains. He's been changed by 9/11, as all of us. He's been resolutely changed as a consequence. Supports the international and domestic law enforcement efforts that have substantially reduced the threat of Osama bin Laden.

What he's challenged the president on is not even that he went into Iraq, but the way he's managed it. I mean, now we've got 138,000 Americans who are the target of Islamic jihadists who are going into Iraq to kill American soldiers because the president made a decision in May of 2003 to stand down a 300,000-person Iraqi army. Our soldiers are police force, border security and national security.

So he -- John Kerry has been resolute in his support of what President Bush did following 9/11. It wasn't just President Bush alone. It was the entire Congress, including John Kerry, that were changed as a consequence of seeing the danger of this threat.

O'BRIEN: All right. But back to this Persian Gulf vote, do you think that that resonates with voters when the candidate says, "I would like to consult with allies and have a grand coalition whenever military force is used?" And that certainly is what happened in the firsts Bush presidency, and yet he did not vote for it.

KERREY: Well, look, the Bush -- the Bush-Powell doctrine is a pretty good doctrine coming out of the Gulf War. I mean, it said use overwhelming political -- military force, don't go in there unless you're going to -- if you're going to undersize this thing for political reasons, which appears is what we did.

That's certainly what General Shinseki said. Don't go in there if you don't have a substantial amount of political support external.

That wasn't a weak position in 1990. That was a strong position in 1990.

I voted against that resolution, as well. In part because I fought in a war as John Kerry did. Mayor Giuliani didn't fight in a war that was unpopular, that was authorized based upon a lie in 1964.

So a lot of us that had gone to Vietnam approached that resolution differently. But we were changed by that war. We put the Vietnam syndrome behind us. We understood that overwhelming military force had to be used if you're going to engage in an operation like this, and I'm sad to report that's not what we're doing in Iraq today.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's shift gears here. Let's talk about some of the irregularities.

We've already seen in Philadelphia there's some concerns being raised there already about the odometers on those old voting machines being rigged or something to that effect, at least that's the allegation. And all kinds of patches of that kind of thing.

First of all, how concerned are you that with the awareness we have this go-around, we're going to go through this election, pick it apart like a Thanksgiving turkey and find irregularities that we never imagined before, and this could be in doubt for many weeks to come?

KERREY: Well, I hope it's not that way. I mean, I've already heard people threatening to file lawsuits. I don't think either side should do that. I don't think we should go into court...

O'BRIEN: But don't you think it's inevitable with the number of lawyers involved?

KERREY: No, it is not inevitable. This is a choice that people have to make. The choice Richard Nixon made in 1960 was to concede. He could have gone to court and tied it up forever.

This is a world that is a very dangerous and a difficult world. We've got the Supreme Court chief justice who is very, very sick. We've got a lot of problems, and now is not the time to be litigating the results of this election while the American people and the world wonder who our president's going to be.

O'BRIEN: But if that's that close, who would be the person to do that?

KERREY: Well, it's got to be the candidate. It's got to be either George Bush or John Kerry saying, "No, we're not going to litigate."

This is not one they can say, gee, the Republican Party in Wisconsin or somebody else is going to do this. They, themselves, have to say, we're not going to litigate.

If it's a close election and I lose, I've got to concede. Because the fact is, we don't have a national system of voting. It's about time we do.

It's about time we stop leaving a national election to states -- secretary of states and state election commissioners. And this is ridiculous. We had an election in 2000 where we had the same darn problem. They have a better election in India than we have in the United States of America.

O'BRIEN: To me it's a scandal that four years later we're talking about this.

KERREY: It's not a scandal. It's a very specific political conclusion. We're going to let the states run it. Well, it's time we stop doing that.

We have lots of uniform laws that supersede the sovereignty of the states. And I just think when it comes to a national election for a president, given the importance of having a peaceful transition from one person to another, it's time to break beyond that barrier and develop real national standards so we can have certainty of the outcome when we have a presidential election.

O'BRIEN: Bob Kerrey, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

KERREY: Thanks, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. Always a pleasure -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're heading West in just a few moments, where both candidates spent a lot of time. We're going to hit the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) states later on LIVE FROM.

But first, life pictures of the motorcade. John Kerry en route to Boston right now. These pictures via our affiliate, WCVB. Guess what he's doing? He's getting ready to go vote. His wife already did in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. So now it's his turn.

We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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