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Battle for Pennsylvania; British Newspaper Launches Campaign to Influence Presidential Election in U.S.

Aired October 21, 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.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The National Rifle Association is firing off a verbal volley against presidential candidate John Kerry. As Kerry hunted in Ohio today, the NRA has said it's purchased a full- page ad in the local paper, trying to accuse Kerry of posing a a sportsman while opposing gun owner's rights. Kerry has denies those claims.
Testimony in the Scott Peterson trial resumes today. Wednesday, testimony centered around Laci Peterson's dog, and police dogs asd well. One investigator testified that police received a tip from a man who said he saw Laci walking her dog a few days before she disappeared. Prosecutors contend that she had stopped walking the dog weeks before.

Cuban president Fidel Castro says he's, quoote, "in one piece" after that tumble on stage -- off stage, I should say. Mr. Castro had just finished the speech and was walking away from the podium when he missed the step.

Just see right there, he doesn't realize there's a step there. The Cuban leader fractured his left knee, according to initial reports, and also hurt his right arm as well in the rumble.

And a royal scuffle in Britain. Prince Harry was hit in the face with a camera earlier today when he tussled with a photographer outside a London nightclub. The photographer says that the 20 year old son of Prince Charles hit him without provocation for taking his picture. But one official says the incident happened as photographers were crowding the prince's car.

Are you counting? A dozen days and counting until the presidential election. The candidates are fighting for votes in critical swing states that make the difference in the extremely close race for the White House, which brings us to Pennsylvania. It is one of those make-or-break states. President Bush is campaigning there today. Senator Kerry just left. Twenty-one votes are up for grabs in Pennsylvania, a state that President Bush lost to Al Gore in 2000.

Joining us to talk about the battle for Pennsylvania, Dick Polman, national political writer for the "Philadelphia Inquirer."

Dick, good morning.

DICK POLMAN, "PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER": Good morning. Nice to be here.

KAGAN: Busy guy. Glad you made some time for us.

POLMAN: Pleasure.

KAGAN: Your state is very a popular place these days with two men running for president.

POLMAN: Yes, well, President Bush is here for the 40th time now, and I think one of the reasons is that he realizes if he can deny Kerry Pennsylvania, it's very difficult for Kerry to make it up on the electoral map and win the election.

KAGAN: Let's look at some poll numbers, and I don't want to say the latest, because it looks a little bit dated, but this coming from October 9th through 11th, shows Kerry with a slight edge, 49 percent to President Bush's 47 percent. But you would have to call it a statistical dead heat when you look at the sampling error, plus or minus three percentage points. What is your paper showing right now?

POLMAN: Well, we haven't had a poll for a while, but it's pretty much in line with those, and I think all the polls that have been coming out the last few weeks have been showing a fairly consistent, but small lead for Kerry, which actually represents a little bit of a rebound since the first debate on early October in Miami. He seems to have solidified some gains, at least among Democrats who were wayward. But there's a big group of undecideds still out there. I can talk about that if you want to.

KAGAN: OK, let's talk about that.

POLMAN: Sure. I think the biggest group of undecideds, there's a lot of independents who are worried about things like security. A lot of women voters, who in previous years known as soccer moms -- it's a cliche -- but they are worried about national security, post- 9/11 era, and is Kerry up to the job. Some of them have still been holding back, but there are also a number of people who are socially conservative, particularly in northeastern Pennsylvania, around places like Wilkes-Barre, where the president is today, socially conservative on things like guns, and faith, and who still believe that family values is essentially a Republican brand.

KAGAN: What about the issue of jobs in Pennsylvania?

POLMAN: And jobs, yes, we've lost a couple hundred thousand manufacturing jobs. There's certainly economic anxiety here. But I think some of the other issues in some ways are just as important. And I think it's no accident, for example, that Senator Kerry is giving a speech this weekend on faith, and his faith. And I think there's a lot of undecided voters who are devout, many of them Catholic in this state, who don't necessarily want to see, they don't necessarily have to agree with John Kerry's sense of Catholicism, but I think it becomes sort of like a character issue, where they want to be able to see that John Kerry has some core convictions, and faith can play into that.

KAGAN: Now it wouldn't be a battleground state without a controversy, so let's talk about the ballot that had Ralph Nader on it, now it doesn't have Ralph Nader on it, and how it plays into the absentee ballots that have been sent overseas, and what is the final ballot going to look like? And how long will it be open to be counted?

POLMAN: Right, well, that that's not entirely decided yet.

KAGAN: A little minor matter.

POLMAN: Yes, what's happened is that some counties have sent out ballots overseas with Ralph Nader's name on it, and some have sent some overseas without Ralph Nader's name on it, becasue he's been on and off the ballot because of various court decisons, and then the deadline approached for sending those ballots over.

So there's a federal court -- a federal judge is trying to help the local registrars sort that out. The Bush administration actually, the Department of Justice actually filed something where they would like extra time to be given to these overseas ballots, with new ballots sent out that clarify this, without Nader's name on it. But essentially right now, that's been turned down. The judge has basically turned that down, and says, no, we're not going to set up Pennsylvania for a protracted post-election crisis. In fact, there's other factors that could produce that anyway.

KAGAN: Yes, we had a political writer on from Columbus, Ohio yesterday. He said that his staff isn't making any vacation plans for right after the election. I would imagine that you're doing the same.

POLMAN: Well, I have -- I'm trying to schedule some social things after the election, but everybody's telling me I'm delusional, that I can basically wait until January.

KAGAN: OK. Well, we wish you luck with that in covering election as well.

Dick Polman...

POLMAN: Thank you. Appreciate it.

KAGAN: ... from "The Philadelphia Inquirer." Thank you, Dick.

SANCHEZ: Here's another story we're follwoing. A British newspaper has launched a controversial campaign to influence the presidential election here in the United States. "The Guardian" is urging its readers to write to undecided voters in a small Ohio county.

CNN's Matthew Chance reports on what some consider an unwelcome intrusion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRSPONDENT (voice-over): It's a rural county in a battleground state, but it's now the scene of a trans- Atlantic election battle. Thousands of British citizens, like Nina Roberts, a former office worker, are writing to voters in Clarke County, ohio, in the hope of swinging their vote.

NINA ROBERTS, LETTER WRITER: A lot of people in the uk are feeling very much on the sidelines, but the problem is, is that we're very much involved with the Americans in Iraq, and so while we're sort of fighting side by side and, in fact, you know, as we know, we're probably about to get a lot closer in Iraq to the American troops, I think we're kind of sitting on the sidelines thinking, well, this election really affects us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Republican headquarters, may I help you.

CHANCE: It affects those fighting for election victory in Clarke County as well. Last time, it was won by Al Gore by just 324 votes. This attempt by outsiders to influence the outcome is viewed with deep suspicion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd do two things. I'd write a letter back, and say, butt out, let America decide what America needs, and then I'd throw it in the waste paper basket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMAEL: I think some people are going to have that reaction to them, that the British are interfering again, you know, after all, we did win the Revolutionary War. But I don't think, for most people, it's going to have an effect on how they're going to vote.

CHANCE: Still, the london offices of the left-wing "Guardian" newspaper, which has been urging its readers to write in, have been inundated with letters from concerned Brits. Like the paper, most are pro-Kerry. But the newspaper says this is no Bush-bashing campaign.

PAUL MCKINNIE, "THE GUARDIAN": We're going to have this in the hope that we can establish some kind of connection with people, and make them think more about the issues. We're not trying to think about how the kind of politicians and partisans might react.

CHANCE: And letter writers like Dr. Orlando Swayne deny their pleas for a Kerry victory are motivated by anything but British goodwill.

DR. ORLANDO SWAYNE, LETTER WRITER: Part of the reason that people write is because they like America and don't want to see it fall into the hands of a bunch of cowboys.

CHANCE (on camera): To their writers, these letters are full of words not of spite, but of concern. The trouble is in Clarke County, not everybody sees it that way. And what were meant as well-intended words of advice for cousins across the pond are being seen more like British interference in other people's business.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Up next, a story we rarely hear. How can anybody survive this fiery plane crash? Two people did. One is talking about it.

KAGAN: And later, her body can't move, but her spirit will move you, the woman at the center of Christopher Reeve's final film Brooke Ellison joins us, ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: An amazing story of survival. Federal officials don't know why a commuter plane crashed in Missouri Tuesday night. Thirteen people were killed, one of the two survivors described what happened in a phone call from his hospital bed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JOHN KROGH, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: I was sitting there ready to put a breath mint in my mouth so I wouldn't get off the plane and greet my grandkids with smelly breath.

Then all of a sudden there was just a crashing sound, which didn't really shock the plane too much. And as I thought back on it later, I'm sure that was the wing hitting a tree. And then within maybe, I don't know, two seconds, maybe later, big-time crashes occurred as the plane went into the trees and started to come apart down in the trees.

It was clear to me I had broken my left hip. And I also knew I had to get out of there. I looked out the door, and the wing was gone. And I thought the plane would be right on the ground. It was about eight feet up. And so, I just pulled myself out and just fell about eight feet down to the ground. And that hurt pretty bad.

There were some screams of some people, some people from there as they were dying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: My goodness. Well, Dr. Krogh was traveling with several well-known doctors to a medical conference. He and his assistant are listed now in fair condition.

SANCHEZ: Remembering Christopher Reeve now -- many are still mourning the death of the actor and activist. The Reeve family is planning a private memorial service for some 900 invited guests next Friday in New York. Reeve died of heart failure earlier this month. He'd been paralyzed from the neck down since a horse accident back in 1995.

Dealing with paralysis could be what drove Reeve to the last project that he worked on. He developed and directed "The Brook Ellison Story." This is a true story of a young woman, also paralyzed from the neck down, who simply refuses to allow her disability to destroy her dreams. This movie, by the way, premieres on the A&E network. It premieres Monday.

And Brooke Ellison is nice enough to take time out to talk to us now from New York. Hey, Brook, how are you? BROOKE ELLISON, "THE BROOKE ELLISON STORY": Good morning, Rick, how are you?

SANCHEZ: It behooves me to ask you this question first, because Interestingly enough, Christopher Reeve was scheduled to be a guest right now with us on this show at this very same time.

The question I would be behooved to ask is what do you think would have been the most important message from him to us? What's the thing he would have wanted us to take away from our conversation with him?

ELLISON: I think Chris and I shared a common belief in that, regardless of the situation that life might present you with, there's always hope and there's always the ability to try your best to overcome it and to make the most out of your life.

We both really focused a lot of our attention on that. And you know, Chris did it through the work that he had done after his accident. And you know, I've tried to do the same with my life after my accident when I was 11.

And at the same time, it's a celebration of the bonds that keep families together, the love that people share between your friends and family, and the strength that we derive from one another. I think that that were -- they were all common beliefs that Chris and I shared.

SANCHEZ: You know, everything I read about you tells me that you have to be -- or live one of the most inspiring lives. You just -- you go after it. You live life with a zeal that's unmatched.

Has there -- was there ever a point where you just said, "This is too much, I can't handle it?" How did you overcome that and become the person that everyone around you says you are?

ELLISON: Well, first, thank you so much for that compliment. I really appreciate that.

Well, I think that, you know, there are definitely times where I can feel a little sad, a little bit down, but I think anybody does. Anybody, no matter what situation they're facing, can feel down or victimized by life or kind of feel like they've been treated unfairly. But it's something that everybody goes through, and you get past it.

It's a matter of shifting your attention from what you're not doing to what you still can do and recognizing, you know, that the blessing that you have in your life. And you know, for me it's my family and friends and knowing that I can still make a difference in people's lives and my own, create a life for myself.

So, I didn't want to ever be defined by what I wasn't doing, but rather what I still could do. And I think that that's probably an important thing for a lot of people is to not focus on what's not going right to what still is going right. SANCHEZ: You know, one of the big causes for Christopher Reeve, as I'm sure it is for you, is stem-cell research. And there's a lot of controversy on this issue. The president has said that he's tried to do the right thing by allowing some lines to be used, but there are many in the community who say that he needs to expand that program to allow more lines.

Do you have a position on this?

ELLISON: I do. I have a very strong position. And they're very similar to the one that Chris had taken, that the potential for cures to so many diseases and conditions and, you know, the potential for so much more hope is there, but it just needs to be seized upon.

And the regulations as they're set right now aren't really doing the best job that can be done to reach those goals. And I think that's a little unfortunate, that, you know, there's hundreds of millions of people waiting, you know, with baited breath for some -- a change to occur to better their lives, improve their lives, or even, you know, increase their lives.

And it's just a matter of waiting. And unfortunately, it's a little frustrating to watch the potential not really get seized upon.

SANCHEZ: All right. Well, the movie once again is Monday, and it's on A&E. And Brooke, we really want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us. You've been delightful.

ELLISON: Thank you, Rick. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Appreciate it. God bless.

ELLISON: You, too.

KAGAN: More news just ahead.

On television, she's outgoing. In reality, though, she at one time was terrified of leaving her own home. Up next in your "Daily Dose" of health news, one woman's uphill battle against agoraphobia, but one that she has won.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In our "Daily Dose" of health news, facing your fears. That is something that Paula Deen has done. Southern cooking fans know her from her show on The Food Network. She celebrates southern cooking with an incredibly outgoing personality. But Paula Deen had a dark secret, a long battle with agoraphobia. Before she became a star on the Food Network.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA DEEN, COOKING SHOW HOST: Don't ever underestimate our sweet tooth.

KAGAN (voice-over): Paula Dean is the reigning bell of down home Southern cooking. (INAUDIBLE), whipped, buttered and gravy, her country cuisine draws fans to television...

DEEN: Why aren't you eating that fried chicken, girl?

KAGAN: And her restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. What most fans don't know about Dean, for over 20 years, she was terrified to leave her own home.

DEEN: I was so frightened that it literally stopped me in my tracks.

KAGAN: This one-time Georgia beauty queen suffered panic attacks and agoraphobia, set off, she believes, by the death of her father.

DEEN: At 19 years old, I got up every day of my life waiting to die. And I said, I wonder if today will be the day, and I would do this, do this and check my throat. I would check for coughing up blood.

KAGAN: And gradually, the fear completely overwhelmed her.

DEEN: I didn't know how it had a name, and I was so embarrassed that I wouldn't share this with anybody.

KAGAN: But it was hard to hide, especially from her two young sons. Janeny, who now works with his mother, remembers a rare outing.

JAMIE DEEN, PAULA'S SON: And we were running around this department store, and I remember mom carried a brown paper bag with her, and ducked down behind a clothing display. She was beginning to hyperventilate and have an anxiety attack, and she was breathing in the bag, and that was real confusing for me.

KAGAN: Deen said she had no money to afford therapy. She overcame her fears, she says, through prayer, and simply one day deciding to take responsibility for her own life.

DEEN: I realized that I could not change these things, that God had given me today, and I was going to go out and live it.

KAGAN: Deen took baby steps, starting with a lunch-catering business. Fifteen years later, a multimillion dollar enterprise.

(on camera): The young whom who was so scared and stayed locked up at home, what would she think about walking into this restaurant today?

DEEN: She would say oh, my goodness, I'm so glad she's back.

Hey, how are y'all doing?

KAGAN (voice-over): Paula Deen is doing great. Part of this warm welcome, these days, she's so busy, she's barely home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Lots of people there thrilled with her food, but also thrilled to see Paula Deen. It was like being with a rock star to walk into her restaurant.

SANCHEZ: Isn't that amazing, that she was able to overcome it, she's doing fine.

KAGAN: Slowly, yes, and she says she has has fears, but she has it in healthy doses, and it certainly is not hampering her.

Here's the thing though, Paula Deen, no interview until you eat a full plate of food, until you fix yourself a plate of food. I am still full from that day.

SANCHEZ: Don't have to eat for the rest of the day.

KAGAN: I'm set.

SANCHEZ: Business news is next, don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

SANCHEZ: It's time to switch things up. I've got a guy named Wolf Blitzer who's...

KAGAN: I've heard of him.

SANCHEZ: I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan.

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 21, 2004 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The National Rifle Association is firing off a verbal volley against presidential candidate John Kerry. As Kerry hunted in Ohio today, the NRA has said it's purchased a full- page ad in the local paper, trying to accuse Kerry of posing a a sportsman while opposing gun owner's rights. Kerry has denies those claims.
Testimony in the Scott Peterson trial resumes today. Wednesday, testimony centered around Laci Peterson's dog, and police dogs asd well. One investigator testified that police received a tip from a man who said he saw Laci walking her dog a few days before she disappeared. Prosecutors contend that she had stopped walking the dog weeks before.

Cuban president Fidel Castro says he's, quoote, "in one piece" after that tumble on stage -- off stage, I should say. Mr. Castro had just finished the speech and was walking away from the podium when he missed the step.

Just see right there, he doesn't realize there's a step there. The Cuban leader fractured his left knee, according to initial reports, and also hurt his right arm as well in the rumble.

And a royal scuffle in Britain. Prince Harry was hit in the face with a camera earlier today when he tussled with a photographer outside a London nightclub. The photographer says that the 20 year old son of Prince Charles hit him without provocation for taking his picture. But one official says the incident happened as photographers were crowding the prince's car.

Are you counting? A dozen days and counting until the presidential election. The candidates are fighting for votes in critical swing states that make the difference in the extremely close race for the White House, which brings us to Pennsylvania. It is one of those make-or-break states. President Bush is campaigning there today. Senator Kerry just left. Twenty-one votes are up for grabs in Pennsylvania, a state that President Bush lost to Al Gore in 2000.

Joining us to talk about the battle for Pennsylvania, Dick Polman, national political writer for the "Philadelphia Inquirer."

Dick, good morning.

DICK POLMAN, "PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER": Good morning. Nice to be here.

KAGAN: Busy guy. Glad you made some time for us.

POLMAN: Pleasure.

KAGAN: Your state is very a popular place these days with two men running for president.

POLMAN: Yes, well, President Bush is here for the 40th time now, and I think one of the reasons is that he realizes if he can deny Kerry Pennsylvania, it's very difficult for Kerry to make it up on the electoral map and win the election.

KAGAN: Let's look at some poll numbers, and I don't want to say the latest, because it looks a little bit dated, but this coming from October 9th through 11th, shows Kerry with a slight edge, 49 percent to President Bush's 47 percent. But you would have to call it a statistical dead heat when you look at the sampling error, plus or minus three percentage points. What is your paper showing right now?

POLMAN: Well, we haven't had a poll for a while, but it's pretty much in line with those, and I think all the polls that have been coming out the last few weeks have been showing a fairly consistent, but small lead for Kerry, which actually represents a little bit of a rebound since the first debate on early October in Miami. He seems to have solidified some gains, at least among Democrats who were wayward. But there's a big group of undecideds still out there. I can talk about that if you want to.

KAGAN: OK, let's talk about that.

POLMAN: Sure. I think the biggest group of undecideds, there's a lot of independents who are worried about things like security. A lot of women voters, who in previous years known as soccer moms -- it's a cliche -- but they are worried about national security, post- 9/11 era, and is Kerry up to the job. Some of them have still been holding back, but there are also a number of people who are socially conservative, particularly in northeastern Pennsylvania, around places like Wilkes-Barre, where the president is today, socially conservative on things like guns, and faith, and who still believe that family values is essentially a Republican brand.

KAGAN: What about the issue of jobs in Pennsylvania?

POLMAN: And jobs, yes, we've lost a couple hundred thousand manufacturing jobs. There's certainly economic anxiety here. But I think some of the other issues in some ways are just as important. And I think it's no accident, for example, that Senator Kerry is giving a speech this weekend on faith, and his faith. And I think there's a lot of undecided voters who are devout, many of them Catholic in this state, who don't necessarily want to see, they don't necessarily have to agree with John Kerry's sense of Catholicism, but I think it becomes sort of like a character issue, where they want to be able to see that John Kerry has some core convictions, and faith can play into that.

KAGAN: Now it wouldn't be a battleground state without a controversy, so let's talk about the ballot that had Ralph Nader on it, now it doesn't have Ralph Nader on it, and how it plays into the absentee ballots that have been sent overseas, and what is the final ballot going to look like? And how long will it be open to be counted?

POLMAN: Right, well, that that's not entirely decided yet.

KAGAN: A little minor matter.

POLMAN: Yes, what's happened is that some counties have sent out ballots overseas with Ralph Nader's name on it, and some have sent some overseas without Ralph Nader's name on it, becasue he's been on and off the ballot because of various court decisons, and then the deadline approached for sending those ballots over.

So there's a federal court -- a federal judge is trying to help the local registrars sort that out. The Bush administration actually, the Department of Justice actually filed something where they would like extra time to be given to these overseas ballots, with new ballots sent out that clarify this, without Nader's name on it. But essentially right now, that's been turned down. The judge has basically turned that down, and says, no, we're not going to set up Pennsylvania for a protracted post-election crisis. In fact, there's other factors that could produce that anyway.

KAGAN: Yes, we had a political writer on from Columbus, Ohio yesterday. He said that his staff isn't making any vacation plans for right after the election. I would imagine that you're doing the same.

POLMAN: Well, I have -- I'm trying to schedule some social things after the election, but everybody's telling me I'm delusional, that I can basically wait until January.

KAGAN: OK. Well, we wish you luck with that in covering election as well.

Dick Polman...

POLMAN: Thank you. Appreciate it.

KAGAN: ... from "The Philadelphia Inquirer." Thank you, Dick.

SANCHEZ: Here's another story we're follwoing. A British newspaper has launched a controversial campaign to influence the presidential election here in the United States. "The Guardian" is urging its readers to write to undecided voters in a small Ohio county.

CNN's Matthew Chance reports on what some consider an unwelcome intrusion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRSPONDENT (voice-over): It's a rural county in a battleground state, but it's now the scene of a trans- Atlantic election battle. Thousands of British citizens, like Nina Roberts, a former office worker, are writing to voters in Clarke County, ohio, in the hope of swinging their vote.

NINA ROBERTS, LETTER WRITER: A lot of people in the uk are feeling very much on the sidelines, but the problem is, is that we're very much involved with the Americans in Iraq, and so while we're sort of fighting side by side and, in fact, you know, as we know, we're probably about to get a lot closer in Iraq to the American troops, I think we're kind of sitting on the sidelines thinking, well, this election really affects us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Republican headquarters, may I help you.

CHANCE: It affects those fighting for election victory in Clarke County as well. Last time, it was won by Al Gore by just 324 votes. This attempt by outsiders to influence the outcome is viewed with deep suspicion.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd do two things. I'd write a letter back, and say, butt out, let America decide what America needs, and then I'd throw it in the waste paper basket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMAEL: I think some people are going to have that reaction to them, that the British are interfering again, you know, after all, we did win the Revolutionary War. But I don't think, for most people, it's going to have an effect on how they're going to vote.

CHANCE: Still, the london offices of the left-wing "Guardian" newspaper, which has been urging its readers to write in, have been inundated with letters from concerned Brits. Like the paper, most are pro-Kerry. But the newspaper says this is no Bush-bashing campaign.

PAUL MCKINNIE, "THE GUARDIAN": We're going to have this in the hope that we can establish some kind of connection with people, and make them think more about the issues. We're not trying to think about how the kind of politicians and partisans might react.

CHANCE: And letter writers like Dr. Orlando Swayne deny their pleas for a Kerry victory are motivated by anything but British goodwill.

DR. ORLANDO SWAYNE, LETTER WRITER: Part of the reason that people write is because they like America and don't want to see it fall into the hands of a bunch of cowboys.

CHANCE (on camera): To their writers, these letters are full of words not of spite, but of concern. The trouble is in Clarke County, not everybody sees it that way. And what were meant as well-intended words of advice for cousins across the pond are being seen more like British interference in other people's business.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Up next, a story we rarely hear. How can anybody survive this fiery plane crash? Two people did. One is talking about it.

KAGAN: And later, her body can't move, but her spirit will move you, the woman at the center of Christopher Reeve's final film Brooke Ellison joins us, ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: An amazing story of survival. Federal officials don't know why a commuter plane crashed in Missouri Tuesday night. Thirteen people were killed, one of the two survivors described what happened in a phone call from his hospital bed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JOHN KROGH, PLANE CRASH SURVIVOR: I was sitting there ready to put a breath mint in my mouth so I wouldn't get off the plane and greet my grandkids with smelly breath.

Then all of a sudden there was just a crashing sound, which didn't really shock the plane too much. And as I thought back on it later, I'm sure that was the wing hitting a tree. And then within maybe, I don't know, two seconds, maybe later, big-time crashes occurred as the plane went into the trees and started to come apart down in the trees.

It was clear to me I had broken my left hip. And I also knew I had to get out of there. I looked out the door, and the wing was gone. And I thought the plane would be right on the ground. It was about eight feet up. And so, I just pulled myself out and just fell about eight feet down to the ground. And that hurt pretty bad.

There were some screams of some people, some people from there as they were dying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: My goodness. Well, Dr. Krogh was traveling with several well-known doctors to a medical conference. He and his assistant are listed now in fair condition.

SANCHEZ: Remembering Christopher Reeve now -- many are still mourning the death of the actor and activist. The Reeve family is planning a private memorial service for some 900 invited guests next Friday in New York. Reeve died of heart failure earlier this month. He'd been paralyzed from the neck down since a horse accident back in 1995.

Dealing with paralysis could be what drove Reeve to the last project that he worked on. He developed and directed "The Brook Ellison Story." This is a true story of a young woman, also paralyzed from the neck down, who simply refuses to allow her disability to destroy her dreams. This movie, by the way, premieres on the A&E network. It premieres Monday.

And Brooke Ellison is nice enough to take time out to talk to us now from New York. Hey, Brook, how are you? BROOKE ELLISON, "THE BROOKE ELLISON STORY": Good morning, Rick, how are you?

SANCHEZ: It behooves me to ask you this question first, because Interestingly enough, Christopher Reeve was scheduled to be a guest right now with us on this show at this very same time.

The question I would be behooved to ask is what do you think would have been the most important message from him to us? What's the thing he would have wanted us to take away from our conversation with him?

ELLISON: I think Chris and I shared a common belief in that, regardless of the situation that life might present you with, there's always hope and there's always the ability to try your best to overcome it and to make the most out of your life.

We both really focused a lot of our attention on that. And you know, Chris did it through the work that he had done after his accident. And you know, I've tried to do the same with my life after my accident when I was 11.

And at the same time, it's a celebration of the bonds that keep families together, the love that people share between your friends and family, and the strength that we derive from one another. I think that that were -- they were all common beliefs that Chris and I shared.

SANCHEZ: You know, everything I read about you tells me that you have to be -- or live one of the most inspiring lives. You just -- you go after it. You live life with a zeal that's unmatched.

Has there -- was there ever a point where you just said, "This is too much, I can't handle it?" How did you overcome that and become the person that everyone around you says you are?

ELLISON: Well, first, thank you so much for that compliment. I really appreciate that.

Well, I think that, you know, there are definitely times where I can feel a little sad, a little bit down, but I think anybody does. Anybody, no matter what situation they're facing, can feel down or victimized by life or kind of feel like they've been treated unfairly. But it's something that everybody goes through, and you get past it.

It's a matter of shifting your attention from what you're not doing to what you still can do and recognizing, you know, that the blessing that you have in your life. And you know, for me it's my family and friends and knowing that I can still make a difference in people's lives and my own, create a life for myself.

So, I didn't want to ever be defined by what I wasn't doing, but rather what I still could do. And I think that that's probably an important thing for a lot of people is to not focus on what's not going right to what still is going right. SANCHEZ: You know, one of the big causes for Christopher Reeve, as I'm sure it is for you, is stem-cell research. And there's a lot of controversy on this issue. The president has said that he's tried to do the right thing by allowing some lines to be used, but there are many in the community who say that he needs to expand that program to allow more lines.

Do you have a position on this?

ELLISON: I do. I have a very strong position. And they're very similar to the one that Chris had taken, that the potential for cures to so many diseases and conditions and, you know, the potential for so much more hope is there, but it just needs to be seized upon.

And the regulations as they're set right now aren't really doing the best job that can be done to reach those goals. And I think that's a little unfortunate, that, you know, there's hundreds of millions of people waiting, you know, with baited breath for some -- a change to occur to better their lives, improve their lives, or even, you know, increase their lives.

And it's just a matter of waiting. And unfortunately, it's a little frustrating to watch the potential not really get seized upon.

SANCHEZ: All right. Well, the movie once again is Monday, and it's on A&E. And Brooke, we really want to thank you for taking the time to talk to us. You've been delightful.

ELLISON: Thank you, Rick. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Appreciate it. God bless.

ELLISON: You, too.

KAGAN: More news just ahead.

On television, she's outgoing. In reality, though, she at one time was terrified of leaving her own home. Up next in your "Daily Dose" of health news, one woman's uphill battle against agoraphobia, but one that she has won.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: In our "Daily Dose" of health news, facing your fears. That is something that Paula Deen has done. Southern cooking fans know her from her show on The Food Network. She celebrates southern cooking with an incredibly outgoing personality. But Paula Deen had a dark secret, a long battle with agoraphobia. Before she became a star on the Food Network.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA DEEN, COOKING SHOW HOST: Don't ever underestimate our sweet tooth.

KAGAN (voice-over): Paula Dean is the reigning bell of down home Southern cooking. (INAUDIBLE), whipped, buttered and gravy, her country cuisine draws fans to television...

DEEN: Why aren't you eating that fried chicken, girl?

KAGAN: And her restaurant in Savannah, Georgia. What most fans don't know about Dean, for over 20 years, she was terrified to leave her own home.

DEEN: I was so frightened that it literally stopped me in my tracks.

KAGAN: This one-time Georgia beauty queen suffered panic attacks and agoraphobia, set off, she believes, by the death of her father.

DEEN: At 19 years old, I got up every day of my life waiting to die. And I said, I wonder if today will be the day, and I would do this, do this and check my throat. I would check for coughing up blood.

KAGAN: And gradually, the fear completely overwhelmed her.

DEEN: I didn't know how it had a name, and I was so embarrassed that I wouldn't share this with anybody.

KAGAN: But it was hard to hide, especially from her two young sons. Janeny, who now works with his mother, remembers a rare outing.

JAMIE DEEN, PAULA'S SON: And we were running around this department store, and I remember mom carried a brown paper bag with her, and ducked down behind a clothing display. She was beginning to hyperventilate and have an anxiety attack, and she was breathing in the bag, and that was real confusing for me.

KAGAN: Deen said she had no money to afford therapy. She overcame her fears, she says, through prayer, and simply one day deciding to take responsibility for her own life.

DEEN: I realized that I could not change these things, that God had given me today, and I was going to go out and live it.

KAGAN: Deen took baby steps, starting with a lunch-catering business. Fifteen years later, a multimillion dollar enterprise.

(on camera): The young whom who was so scared and stayed locked up at home, what would she think about walking into this restaurant today?

DEEN: She would say oh, my goodness, I'm so glad she's back.

Hey, how are y'all doing?

KAGAN (voice-over): Paula Deen is doing great. Part of this warm welcome, these days, she's so busy, she's barely home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Lots of people there thrilled with her food, but also thrilled to see Paula Deen. It was like being with a rock star to walk into her restaurant.

SANCHEZ: Isn't that amazing, that she was able to overcome it, she's doing fine.

KAGAN: Slowly, yes, and she says she has has fears, but she has it in healthy doses, and it certainly is not hampering her.

Here's the thing though, Paula Deen, no interview until you eat a full plate of food, until you fix yourself a plate of food. I am still full from that day.

SANCHEZ: Don't have to eat for the rest of the day.

KAGAN: I'm set.

SANCHEZ: Business news is next, don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

SANCHEZ: It's time to switch things up. I've got a guy named Wolf Blitzer who's...

KAGAN: I've heard of him.

SANCHEZ: I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan.

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