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Post-Debate Spin; U.S. Claims 100 Insurgents Killed in Samarra Offensive

Aired October 01, 2004 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: At the half hour right now, take a look at what's happening right now in the news. They're back on the campaign trail after the first face-off in the presidential race. And there you're seeing a live picture of a rally for President Bush. And look who's introducing him, Senator John McCain, a man who has been critical of Bush's policies in Iraq. But is there today to support the Republican Party. They're in Allentown, Pennsylvania, this hour. We're going to have a live report from there and highlights also from last night's debates.
And U.S. and Iraqi forces moved on the town of Samarra, trying to crush insurgents in that city. The military says more than 100 militants have been killed in the crackdown. And we're told that a U.S. soldier also has died in that operation.

Al-Jazeera aired an audio recording today it says was from al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The voice on the tape called on Muslims to resist Western powers and not wait for an invasion of their country to respond.

And British Prime Minister Tony Blair underwent a procedure today to stop an irregular heartbeat. His finance minister, Gordon Brown, speaking at a G-7 meeting in Washington this morning, says the procedure went well. Mr. Blair will spend the night in the hospital and plans to be at work on Monday.

And the Eagle County Sheriff's Department plans to release documents in the Kobe Bryant case today. A Colorado judge sealed the papers at Bryant's request after the D.A. dropped the case on September 1st.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

The spin cycle is up and running following last night's first presidential debate. Senator John Kerry and President Bush sparred over the war in Iraq. And both campaigns say they scored points last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think what we saw in John Kerry last night was a strength, a conviction, a vision that we want to see in the president of the United States. I think he looked and sounded like a commander in chief. To be honest with you, I think the American people saw the John Kerry that I know. This man is ready to keep this country safe. He is ready to finish the job and be successful in Iraq. He's prepared, as he laid out very clearly, to find these terrorists, the leaders of al Qaeda and other terrorists, wherever they are, and question them and kill them and keep the American people safe.

I think the American people saw a man who's ready to lead them and protect them.

DAN BARTLETT, W.H. COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Last night what you saw is what the American people have been seeing for many weeks now. And that is that President Bush has the record, the strategy, and the resolve to win the war on terror.

And again last night, we heard a very conflicted Senator Kerry who talked about the mistakes and trying to say his decisions, his inconsistencies on Iraq were actually consistent, which is hard to believe. But also that somebody who is so conflicted I think is going to have a very difficult time in convincing the American people that he has a strategy to win in Iraq.

And President Bush has a strategy, we're executing that strategy, and he had I think a very straightforward conversation with the American people about that strategy last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, representatives of both the Bush and Kerry camps have been spinning their candidates' performances through the night and into the morning.

"INSIDE POLITICS" anchor Judy Woodruff was in the debate spin room last night, she's back in Washington, joins me now.

Judy, what...

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS": Hi, Carol.

LIN: Good morning. What did you hear from both of the campaigns? It's the job to separate fact from fiction in their take on what happened last night.

WOODRUFF: Well, it's always their job to put the best spin, the best face on what happened. And we did talk to -- I talked to, gosh, over a dozen representatives of the Kerry and the Bush campaigns because they were swarming all over that spin room next to the filing center at the University of Miami last night.

But -- and you heard both sides say they thought that their man had done well. But I think there was a consensus, Carol, that John Kerry did well in that debate, did as well as he needed to do, frankly, to stay in the game.

And John Kerry went into this debate as an underdog. He was running behind in the polls. His people knew that he had to put in a strong performance. And even the Bush people acknowledged that he did.

LIN: Judy, if you'd stay with me for a moment, let's go to the president who is speaking on the campaign trail right now in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He then went on to say after saying the $87 billion line, they kept pressing; he said he was proud of his vote. And he finally said the whole thing was a complicated matter.

Then he had a new wrinkle, a new explanation: During an interview this week, he described it as a protest vote.

When we put America's troops in harm's way, they certainly deserve better than to have a candidate for president use them as a protest.

(APPLAUSE)

Last night, Senator Kerry only continued his pattern of confusing contradictions. After voting for the war, after saying my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, he now says it was all a mistake.

But ask the logical question: Does that mean our troops are dying for a mistake?

AUDIENCE: No!

BUSH: That's what he said, "No."

You can't have it both ways. You can't say it's a mistake and not a mistake. You can't be for getting rid of Saddam Hussein when things look good and against it when times are hard. You can't claim terrorists are pouring across the border into Iraq, yet, at the same time, try to claim that Iraq is somehow a diversion from the war against terrorism.

The president cannot keep changing his mind. The president must speak clearly. And the president must mean what he says.

(APPLAUSE)

A crucial difference between my opponent and me is the most important question for voters is an election: Who can lead this war against terror to victory?

(APPLAUSE)

Which candidate can best protect America's families and our national security?

(APPLAUSE)

And here my opponent has a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the war against terror and he has no plan to win in Iraq. The cornerstone of Senator Kerry's plan for Iraq is that he would convene a summit.

I've been to a lot of summits.

(LAUGHTER)

I've never seen a meeting that would depose a tyrant or bring a terrorist to justice.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator Kerry claims that he can work with our allies. Yet he said those who are standing with us are not a part of a genuine coalition. He earlier called them a coalition of the coerced and the bribed; dismissed their sacrifices as window-dressing.

You cannot lead by pushing away the allies who are already with us, or expect any support for a cause you've called a mistake or a grand diversion or the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

The way to lead this coalition is not to be disdainful or dismissive. The way to lead this coalition to victory is to be clear in our thinking, grateful for the sacrifices and resolute in our determination to defeat the enemy.

(APPLAUSE)

One other point I want to make about the debate last night: Senator Kerry, last night, said that America has to pass some sort of global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves. He wants our national security decisions subject to the approval of a foreign government.

Listen, I'll continue to work with our allies and the international community, but I will never submit America's national security to an international test.

(APPLAUSE)

The use of troops to defend America must never be subject to a veto by countries like France.

(APPLAUSE)

The president's job is not to take an international poll. The president's job is to defend America.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm grateful you all are here today because I'm here to ask for your vote. That's what I'm doing.

(APPLAUSE)

Not only am I here to ask for your vote, I'm here to ask for your help.

I know a lot of people worked hard to put this great crowd together and I thank you for working hard to do so. I know there's a lot of people working hard to register people to vote and I want to thank you for doing that, too.

And as you register people to vote, make sure you don't overlook discerning Democrats like Zell Miller.

(APPLAUSE)

And after you get them registered to vote, I encourage you to turn out that vote. Get them headed to the polls and remind them if they want a safer America, a stronger America, a better America to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.

LIN: All right, President Bush at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania the day after his performance at the debate. Judy Woodruff standing by in Washington.

Judy, President Bush clearly trying to, once again, build his case that John Kerry is a flip-flopper and saying his solution to Iraq is to call a summit, almost degrading that, and frankly, insulting France, the allies in France there in his campaign remarks to his supporters.

WOODRUFF: Well, as you heard, Carol, the president picking up on that line from John Kerry, that one of the tests that he would use before he would send troops overseas, because he was asked whether he was authorize a preemptive strike, under what conditions, and he talked about it passing a global test and went on to explain what that meant. The Bush campaign jumping on that, because as you heard, the president likes to say, and he said over and over again, that his first and foremost responsibility is to keep America safe. Of course, John Kerry would agree with that.

But just, Carol, quickly, back on last night, I started -- what we were saying before we heard the president, is that the people we talked to in both the Bush and the Kerry camps acknowledged John Kerry did a good job in the debate last night. The reason that matters is because he needed to, he needed to do that to stay in this race, to be given a, you know, a window of opportunity, if you will. It doesn't mean, you know, the race has changed, I think, in any material way. I think it's fair to say the president still ahead. That's what all the polls are showing. But I think it means that people will be looking to the second debate and the third debate with great interest.

LIN: Yep, the second debate, Judy, a town hall setting, right, so people will be the ones to ask the questions, not moderators.

WOODRUFF: One week from today, that's right.

LIN: That's going to be interesting.

WOODRUFF: In Cleveland.

LIN: Thanks very much, Judy Woodruff.

WOODRUFF: OK, thanks, Carol.

LIN: All right, we have got lots of campaign coverage to talk about today. In fact, we are going to be carrying a John Kerry campaign event in the next hour, so stay tuned.

And you heard what the candidates had to say. But the candidates' camps want to make sure you heard their way. The spin begins, but we've got the fact checks, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: British Prime Minister Tony Blair underwent a procedure today to correct an irregular heartbeat. His finance minister, Gordon Brown, speaking at G-7 meeting in Washington this morning says the procedure went well and doctors used a radio wave energy to stabilize the heart. Essentially, they shocked it. Tony Blair expected to leave the hospital at any moment. We're standing by for that picture.

Meantime, looking at him exercising. We also have a statement from the London hospital where he was staying, also confirming that he's going to return home shortly, and that his doctors expect him to continue his rapid and complete recovery.

Meantime, the health of the president and the U.S. is our focus of our special series, "The First Patient."

Today, senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines what happens when there's a crisis involving the president. Sanjay looks at how the White House handled the assassination attempt, for example, against President Reagan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): March 30th, 1981, 2:25 p.m. Six shots ring out as President Reagan leaves a Washington hotel. A Secret Service agent pushes President Reagan into his limousine, as would-be assassin John Hinckley is wrestled to the ground. President Reagan arrives at George Washington University Hospital minutes later, near shock.

DR. JOSEPH GIORDANO, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV. HOSP.: He collapsed. The blood pressure was 70, very low, and we put him on the gurney, and the residents immediately start IVs and got fluid in him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president has been shot once in the left chest.

GIORDANO: We were watching the blood come out of the chest tube, and a very significant amount came out. And there was no question in my mind that he had to go to surgery.

GUPTA: 3:24 p.m., President Reagan is wheeled into the operating room and placed under anesthesia. At the White House, a desire to show the world there is no leadership vacuum that might be exploited by an enemy.

ALEXANDER HAIG, FMR. SECY. OF STATE: As of now, I am in control here in the White House.

GUPTA: 6:45 p.m., President Reagan emerges from a successful operation to stop his internal bleeding and remove the bullet lodged near his heart.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has the president turned over control or authority to the vice president?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been no cause for that to take place.

GUPTA: But there was a need in the 48 hours following surgery, according to Dr. William Knaus, an intensive care physician who treated President Reagan.

DR. WILLIAM KNAUS, TREATED PRESIDENT REAGAN: I think if that day after surgery, you know, Vice President Bush had walked in and said, you know, I'm taking over now, I think it would have been absolutely appropriate. I don't think any medical person -- I certainly would not have questioned it. I would think it absolutely the logical thing to do.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: You can see Sanjay's entire report in a primetime special, "THE FIRST PATIENT, HEALTH AND THE PRESIDENCY" airs this on Sunday at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

We're coming right back with a look at business. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: You may not realize it yet, but you've probably been spun today. Campaign spin doctors are busy diagnosing the debate, trying to convince you their guy won, no matter what or no matter who you think won.

And here's the host of CNN's reliable sources talking about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES" (voice-over): So you've watched President Bush and John Kerry go at it, and you think you've got a pretty good idea of who won. But you're not counting on the media factor. There's the postgame chatter, and the morning papers, and the campaign spinners arguing their case. And this cacophony can, incredibly enough, turn a victory into defeat. Take Al Gore's first debate against Bush four years ago. Most commentators and the networks' insta-polls said the vice president had carried the night.

RON BROWNSTEIN, "L.A. TIMES": Well, I thought that overall, Gore's performance was probably a little steadier, a little more confident than Bush.

KURTZ: And no one watching thought this was a turning point.

AL GORE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At first I want to compliment the governor on his response to those fires and floods in Texas. I accompanied James Lee Witt down to Texas when those fires broke out.

KURTZ: But it turned out that Gore hadn't been with Witt, the Federal Emergency Management director, but with Witt's deputy, a trivial point perhaps. But Ari Fleischer and other Bush spinners kept telling reporters, there he goes again, Gore was exaggerating.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was puzzled and saddened to learn that at the debate last night Al Gore, once again, made up facts.

KURTZ: That became the storyline.

BUSH: But you don't, Mr. Vice President, and that is a huge difference. Testing is the cornerstone...

KURTZ: And then there was the matter of Gore's sighing while Bush was talking, which CNN asked him about the next day.

GORE: I learned my lesson on that. I'll be much more careful not to give an audible reaction when he's talking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that is some sense of a regret or something you'll change. What did you...

GORE: I don't think that's a big deal.

KURTZ: He was wrong. It became a "Saturday Night Live" skit and the media buzz for days. And keep in mind that the media loves metaphors.

When the first President Bush debated Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in 1992, he did something that was largely unnoticed, he glanced at his watch. But after Maureen Dowd seized on that in "The New York Times," it became media shorthand for a president bored by a discussion of economic policy.

Finally, there's the gaffe. When President Ford faced Jimmy Carter in 1976, the initial wave of media coverage paid little attention when he said this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERALD FORD, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KURTZ: But within a day, the press jumped on the remark as a sign of a president out of touch with the era's Cold War reality, and wouldn't let up until Ford finally backed off.

Kerry and Bush may be done debating for now, but the media factor is just warming up.

Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KURTZ: And for late-night comedians, it didn't matter who won the debate, but who provided more material. Let's watch some of Jon Stewart's analysis from last night's "Daily Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST "DAILY SHOW": As for the famously verbose Senator Kerry, his main task tonight would be concision, the ability to directly convey a strong and consistent message.

Ladies and gentlemen, the first question of the night.

JIM LEHRER, MODERATOR: Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States?

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I do. But before I answer further, let me thank you for moderating. I want to thank the university of Miami for hosting us.

STEWART: Smoke them if you got them, it's going to be a long night!

Bush painted a portrait of the evil we're up against.

BUSH: This is a global effort. We're facing a group of folks who have such hatred in their heart.

STEWART: Group of folks? We're facing a group of folks? A group of folks is what you run into at The Olive Garden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right. That's it for us on CNN LIVE TODAY. Hope you have a great weekend. CNN continues on with Wolf Blitzer back in Washington, D.C.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired October 1, 2004 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: At the half hour right now, take a look at what's happening right now in the news. They're back on the campaign trail after the first face-off in the presidential race. And there you're seeing a live picture of a rally for President Bush. And look who's introducing him, Senator John McCain, a man who has been critical of Bush's policies in Iraq. But is there today to support the Republican Party. They're in Allentown, Pennsylvania, this hour. We're going to have a live report from there and highlights also from last night's debates.
And U.S. and Iraqi forces moved on the town of Samarra, trying to crush insurgents in that city. The military says more than 100 militants have been killed in the crackdown. And we're told that a U.S. soldier also has died in that operation.

Al-Jazeera aired an audio recording today it says was from al Qaeda's No. 2 man, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The voice on the tape called on Muslims to resist Western powers and not wait for an invasion of their country to respond.

And British Prime Minister Tony Blair underwent a procedure today to stop an irregular heartbeat. His finance minister, Gordon Brown, speaking at a G-7 meeting in Washington this morning, says the procedure went well. Mr. Blair will spend the night in the hospital and plans to be at work on Monday.

And the Eagle County Sheriff's Department plans to release documents in the Kobe Bryant case today. A Colorado judge sealed the papers at Bryant's request after the D.A. dropped the case on September 1st.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

The spin cycle is up and running following last night's first presidential debate. Senator John Kerry and President Bush sparred over the war in Iraq. And both campaigns say they scored points last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think what we saw in John Kerry last night was a strength, a conviction, a vision that we want to see in the president of the United States. I think he looked and sounded like a commander in chief. To be honest with you, I think the American people saw the John Kerry that I know. This man is ready to keep this country safe. He is ready to finish the job and be successful in Iraq. He's prepared, as he laid out very clearly, to find these terrorists, the leaders of al Qaeda and other terrorists, wherever they are, and question them and kill them and keep the American people safe.

I think the American people saw a man who's ready to lead them and protect them.

DAN BARTLETT, W.H. COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Last night what you saw is what the American people have been seeing for many weeks now. And that is that President Bush has the record, the strategy, and the resolve to win the war on terror.

And again last night, we heard a very conflicted Senator Kerry who talked about the mistakes and trying to say his decisions, his inconsistencies on Iraq were actually consistent, which is hard to believe. But also that somebody who is so conflicted I think is going to have a very difficult time in convincing the American people that he has a strategy to win in Iraq.

And President Bush has a strategy, we're executing that strategy, and he had I think a very straightforward conversation with the American people about that strategy last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, representatives of both the Bush and Kerry camps have been spinning their candidates' performances through the night and into the morning.

"INSIDE POLITICS" anchor Judy Woodruff was in the debate spin room last night, she's back in Washington, joins me now.

Judy, what...

JUDY WOODRUFF, HOST, "JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS": Hi, Carol.

LIN: Good morning. What did you hear from both of the campaigns? It's the job to separate fact from fiction in their take on what happened last night.

WOODRUFF: Well, it's always their job to put the best spin, the best face on what happened. And we did talk to -- I talked to, gosh, over a dozen representatives of the Kerry and the Bush campaigns because they were swarming all over that spin room next to the filing center at the University of Miami last night.

But -- and you heard both sides say they thought that their man had done well. But I think there was a consensus, Carol, that John Kerry did well in that debate, did as well as he needed to do, frankly, to stay in the game.

And John Kerry went into this debate as an underdog. He was running behind in the polls. His people knew that he had to put in a strong performance. And even the Bush people acknowledged that he did.

LIN: Judy, if you'd stay with me for a moment, let's go to the president who is speaking on the campaign trail right now in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He then went on to say after saying the $87 billion line, they kept pressing; he said he was proud of his vote. And he finally said the whole thing was a complicated matter.

Then he had a new wrinkle, a new explanation: During an interview this week, he described it as a protest vote.

When we put America's troops in harm's way, they certainly deserve better than to have a candidate for president use them as a protest.

(APPLAUSE)

Last night, Senator Kerry only continued his pattern of confusing contradictions. After voting for the war, after saying my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, he now says it was all a mistake.

But ask the logical question: Does that mean our troops are dying for a mistake?

AUDIENCE: No!

BUSH: That's what he said, "No."

You can't have it both ways. You can't say it's a mistake and not a mistake. You can't be for getting rid of Saddam Hussein when things look good and against it when times are hard. You can't claim terrorists are pouring across the border into Iraq, yet, at the same time, try to claim that Iraq is somehow a diversion from the war against terrorism.

The president cannot keep changing his mind. The president must speak clearly. And the president must mean what he says.

(APPLAUSE)

A crucial difference between my opponent and me is the most important question for voters is an election: Who can lead this war against terror to victory?

(APPLAUSE)

Which candidate can best protect America's families and our national security?

(APPLAUSE)

And here my opponent has a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the war against terror and he has no plan to win in Iraq. The cornerstone of Senator Kerry's plan for Iraq is that he would convene a summit.

I've been to a lot of summits.

(LAUGHTER)

I've never seen a meeting that would depose a tyrant or bring a terrorist to justice.

(APPLAUSE)

Senator Kerry claims that he can work with our allies. Yet he said those who are standing with us are not a part of a genuine coalition. He earlier called them a coalition of the coerced and the bribed; dismissed their sacrifices as window-dressing.

You cannot lead by pushing away the allies who are already with us, or expect any support for a cause you've called a mistake or a grand diversion or the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

The way to lead this coalition is not to be disdainful or dismissive. The way to lead this coalition to victory is to be clear in our thinking, grateful for the sacrifices and resolute in our determination to defeat the enemy.

(APPLAUSE)

One other point I want to make about the debate last night: Senator Kerry, last night, said that America has to pass some sort of global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves. He wants our national security decisions subject to the approval of a foreign government.

Listen, I'll continue to work with our allies and the international community, but I will never submit America's national security to an international test.

(APPLAUSE)

The use of troops to defend America must never be subject to a veto by countries like France.

(APPLAUSE)

The president's job is not to take an international poll. The president's job is to defend America.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm grateful you all are here today because I'm here to ask for your vote. That's what I'm doing.

(APPLAUSE)

Not only am I here to ask for your vote, I'm here to ask for your help.

I know a lot of people worked hard to put this great crowd together and I thank you for working hard to do so. I know there's a lot of people working hard to register people to vote and I want to thank you for doing that, too.

And as you register people to vote, make sure you don't overlook discerning Democrats like Zell Miller.

(APPLAUSE)

And after you get them registered to vote, I encourage you to turn out that vote. Get them headed to the polls and remind them if they want a safer America, a stronger America, a better America to put me and Dick Cheney back in office.

LIN: All right, President Bush at a campaign rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania the day after his performance at the debate. Judy Woodruff standing by in Washington.

Judy, President Bush clearly trying to, once again, build his case that John Kerry is a flip-flopper and saying his solution to Iraq is to call a summit, almost degrading that, and frankly, insulting France, the allies in France there in his campaign remarks to his supporters.

WOODRUFF: Well, as you heard, Carol, the president picking up on that line from John Kerry, that one of the tests that he would use before he would send troops overseas, because he was asked whether he was authorize a preemptive strike, under what conditions, and he talked about it passing a global test and went on to explain what that meant. The Bush campaign jumping on that, because as you heard, the president likes to say, and he said over and over again, that his first and foremost responsibility is to keep America safe. Of course, John Kerry would agree with that.

But just, Carol, quickly, back on last night, I started -- what we were saying before we heard the president, is that the people we talked to in both the Bush and the Kerry camps acknowledged John Kerry did a good job in the debate last night. The reason that matters is because he needed to, he needed to do that to stay in this race, to be given a, you know, a window of opportunity, if you will. It doesn't mean, you know, the race has changed, I think, in any material way. I think it's fair to say the president still ahead. That's what all the polls are showing. But I think it means that people will be looking to the second debate and the third debate with great interest.

LIN: Yep, the second debate, Judy, a town hall setting, right, so people will be the ones to ask the questions, not moderators.

WOODRUFF: One week from today, that's right.

LIN: That's going to be interesting.

WOODRUFF: In Cleveland.

LIN: Thanks very much, Judy Woodruff.

WOODRUFF: OK, thanks, Carol.

LIN: All right, we have got lots of campaign coverage to talk about today. In fact, we are going to be carrying a John Kerry campaign event in the next hour, so stay tuned.

And you heard what the candidates had to say. But the candidates' camps want to make sure you heard their way. The spin begins, but we've got the fact checks, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: British Prime Minister Tony Blair underwent a procedure today to correct an irregular heartbeat. His finance minister, Gordon Brown, speaking at G-7 meeting in Washington this morning says the procedure went well and doctors used a radio wave energy to stabilize the heart. Essentially, they shocked it. Tony Blair expected to leave the hospital at any moment. We're standing by for that picture.

Meantime, looking at him exercising. We also have a statement from the London hospital where he was staying, also confirming that he's going to return home shortly, and that his doctors expect him to continue his rapid and complete recovery.

Meantime, the health of the president and the U.S. is our focus of our special series, "The First Patient."

Today, senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines what happens when there's a crisis involving the president. Sanjay looks at how the White House handled the assassination attempt, for example, against President Reagan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): March 30th, 1981, 2:25 p.m. Six shots ring out as President Reagan leaves a Washington hotel. A Secret Service agent pushes President Reagan into his limousine, as would-be assassin John Hinckley is wrestled to the ground. President Reagan arrives at George Washington University Hospital minutes later, near shock.

DR. JOSEPH GIORDANO, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV. HOSP.: He collapsed. The blood pressure was 70, very low, and we put him on the gurney, and the residents immediately start IVs and got fluid in him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president has been shot once in the left chest.

GIORDANO: We were watching the blood come out of the chest tube, and a very significant amount came out. And there was no question in my mind that he had to go to surgery.

GUPTA: 3:24 p.m., President Reagan is wheeled into the operating room and placed under anesthesia. At the White House, a desire to show the world there is no leadership vacuum that might be exploited by an enemy.

ALEXANDER HAIG, FMR. SECY. OF STATE: As of now, I am in control here in the White House.

GUPTA: 6:45 p.m., President Reagan emerges from a successful operation to stop his internal bleeding and remove the bullet lodged near his heart.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Has the president turned over control or authority to the vice president?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There has been no cause for that to take place.

GUPTA: But there was a need in the 48 hours following surgery, according to Dr. William Knaus, an intensive care physician who treated President Reagan.

DR. WILLIAM KNAUS, TREATED PRESIDENT REAGAN: I think if that day after surgery, you know, Vice President Bush had walked in and said, you know, I'm taking over now, I think it would have been absolutely appropriate. I don't think any medical person -- I certainly would not have questioned it. I would think it absolutely the logical thing to do.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: You can see Sanjay's entire report in a primetime special, "THE FIRST PATIENT, HEALTH AND THE PRESIDENCY" airs this on Sunday at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.

We're coming right back with a look at business. Stay right there.

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LIN: You may not realize it yet, but you've probably been spun today. Campaign spin doctors are busy diagnosing the debate, trying to convince you their guy won, no matter what or no matter who you think won.

And here's the host of CNN's reliable sources talking about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES" (voice-over): So you've watched President Bush and John Kerry go at it, and you think you've got a pretty good idea of who won. But you're not counting on the media factor. There's the postgame chatter, and the morning papers, and the campaign spinners arguing their case. And this cacophony can, incredibly enough, turn a victory into defeat. Take Al Gore's first debate against Bush four years ago. Most commentators and the networks' insta-polls said the vice president had carried the night.

RON BROWNSTEIN, "L.A. TIMES": Well, I thought that overall, Gore's performance was probably a little steadier, a little more confident than Bush.

KURTZ: And no one watching thought this was a turning point.

AL GORE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At first I want to compliment the governor on his response to those fires and floods in Texas. I accompanied James Lee Witt down to Texas when those fires broke out.

KURTZ: But it turned out that Gore hadn't been with Witt, the Federal Emergency Management director, but with Witt's deputy, a trivial point perhaps. But Ari Fleischer and other Bush spinners kept telling reporters, there he goes again, Gore was exaggerating.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was puzzled and saddened to learn that at the debate last night Al Gore, once again, made up facts.

KURTZ: That became the storyline.

BUSH: But you don't, Mr. Vice President, and that is a huge difference. Testing is the cornerstone...

KURTZ: And then there was the matter of Gore's sighing while Bush was talking, which CNN asked him about the next day.

GORE: I learned my lesson on that. I'll be much more careful not to give an audible reaction when he's talking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So that is some sense of a regret or something you'll change. What did you...

GORE: I don't think that's a big deal.

KURTZ: He was wrong. It became a "Saturday Night Live" skit and the media buzz for days. And keep in mind that the media loves metaphors.

When the first President Bush debated Bill Clinton and Ross Perot in 1992, he did something that was largely unnoticed, he glanced at his watch. But after Maureen Dowd seized on that in "The New York Times," it became media shorthand for a president bored by a discussion of economic policy.

Finally, there's the gaffe. When President Ford faced Jimmy Carter in 1976, the initial wave of media coverage paid little attention when he said this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GERALD FORD, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, and there never will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KURTZ: But within a day, the press jumped on the remark as a sign of a president out of touch with the era's Cold War reality, and wouldn't let up until Ford finally backed off.

Kerry and Bush may be done debating for now, but the media factor is just warming up.

Howard Kurtz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KURTZ: And for late-night comedians, it didn't matter who won the debate, but who provided more material. Let's watch some of Jon Stewart's analysis from last night's "Daily Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST "DAILY SHOW": As for the famously verbose Senator Kerry, his main task tonight would be concision, the ability to directly convey a strong and consistent message.

Ladies and gentlemen, the first question of the night.

JIM LEHRER, MODERATOR: Do you believe you could do a better job than President Bush in preventing another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States?

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, I do. But before I answer further, let me thank you for moderating. I want to thank the university of Miami for hosting us.

STEWART: Smoke them if you got them, it's going to be a long night!

Bush painted a portrait of the evil we're up against.

BUSH: This is a global effort. We're facing a group of folks who have such hatred in their heart.

STEWART: Group of folks? We're facing a group of folks? A group of folks is what you run into at The Olive Garden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right. That's it for us on CNN LIVE TODAY. Hope you have a great weekend. CNN continues on with Wolf Blitzer back in Washington, D.C.

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