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American Morning

Is Florida Governor Jeb Bush's Family Problem Our Business?

Aired January 30, 2002 - 08:20   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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: The big question this hour, is Florida Governor Jeb Bush's family problem our business? His daughter, 24-year old Noelle Bush, was arrested yesterday in Tallahassee. Police say she tried to fill a paid prescription for the drug Xanax. In a statement Governor Bush said - quote - "this is a very serious problem and unfortunately substance abuse is an issue confronting many families across the nation. We ask the public and the media to respect our family's privacy during this difficult time so that we can help our daughter" - end quote.

Joining us now from Washington Lloyd Grove of "The Washington Post". Thanks very much for being here with us this morning Lloyd.

LLOYD GROVE, "WASHINGTON POST": Good morning.

COOPER: You wrote - you wrote about this story in your column in "The Washington Post". You know I got to tell you, I'm a little uncomfortable with this kind of a story. Is this really any of our business?

GROVE: Well it wouldn't be except that she's the niece of the president. All these kids, these Bush kids, are in the spotlight unfortunately for them, and look, when I was their age, I did some things I wouldn't have wanted out there. I admit to underage drinking, well long, long ago. And no one would have cared, but you know her, Noelle's cousins, Jen and Barbara get arrested for underage drinking, and it's a big story. And ...

COOPER: But just ...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: I mean just because Noelle Bush is the daughter of a governor, I mean she has not sought the limelight herself. I mean is this really a legitimate story?

GROVE: Well I think it's probably a one-day legitimate story. And I must say the police department in Tallahassee faxed a very detailed police report on this incident to over 200 media outlets yesterday around the world. So I guess this was a way of protecting themselves against charges that they were showing preferential treatment to the children of the governor.

COOPER: Lloyd, you say it's a one-day story, but you know I can guarantee unless Julia Roberts get into a fender-bender with Jennifer Anniston, "People" Magazine is going to be putting this on the cover next week.

GROVE: Well I don't know their editorial decisions. I wouldn't think it would be a cover spotter and I personally, I write the "Reliable Source" column in "The Washington Post". I don't really intend to do any follows on it. I had to do it the first day. I didn't do it with any particular joy, but there you have it.

COOPER: Do you think the public takes solace or satisfaction in seeing the foibles of the rich and famous?

GROVE: I think in this case any parent would be sympathetic and saddened by this. I mean any of us who have kids worry about what they get up to, and I think there'll be a lot of sympathy for the Bush family.

COOPER: What do you think drives this kind of story, though? Do you think - I mean does the public really want to know or is it - is it a media creation in many respects?

GROVE: Well I think the public does want to know what their public officials are like and what their families are like. But I don't think anything is going to drive it. I'm going to predict that we're going to lay off, the media, for awhile. Yes, "People" Magazine will do something, but one week and probably the supermarket tabloids will do stuff on it. But beyond that, I think we're going to leave it alone. I hope so.

COOPER: Do you think the Bush family has been handling it the right way?

GROVE: Sure. I mean it's a lose-lose situation for them, and they issued a statement, you know, honestly saying what their feelings are about this and asking for privacy, and I think that's the way to go.

COOPER: Someone said to me this morning that, you know, what's interesting to them about this story is that in a way it's the perfect reflection of a Democratic society, that all of us, rich and poor, face the same problems.

GROVE: Well I think that's absolutely true. Obviously the Bush family has a lot more privilege than most families in this country, and Noelle is going to get the best legal representation. This is a pretty serious charge. It's a felony under the laws that her father, the governor, has to enforce. So she'll get some good legal council on this one.

COOPER: Lloyd, probably my last question. You write a gossip column for "The Washington Post". How does the Bush administration compare to the Clinton administration in terms of giving you material?

GROVE: Well I missed the Clintons because they were larger than life, eccentric, and this is really small potatoes compared to what the president himself used to get up to. COOPER: Yes, you don't have much to work with, do you, these days?

GROVE: Not really. It's very challenging, and if you have any gossip items for me (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COOPER: Well it's hard to muster sympathy for gossip columnists, I must admit, but I ...

GROVE: I know that.

COOPER: Thanks very much for being with us on "AMERICAN MORNING".

GROVE: My pleasure.

COOPER: All right.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

COOPER: Time to buzz?

CAFFERTY: Yes time to buzz. They did the same thing with all the Kennedy kids. Remember all the offspring, every time one of them would get involved in something. I mean it was all over the tabloids and whatever.

"Wall Street Journal" is making another effort to try and secure the release of the reporter who is being held hostage over there. The managing editor out an e-mail, and I think we have it, if we could put it up, but Daniel Pearl is the - is the member of the "Journal" who is being held hostage.

And the thing says basically I'd like to - I'd like to request that you release Danny so he may return home safe to be with his wife and soon-to-be-born child. These are the pictures that were releases by this group that's apparently holding him. That one is the scariest of all, and his wife is expecting, and you know it's fairly murky what these people want, it has to do with the treatment of the detainees at Guantanamo.

COOPER: That's what's so frustrating about it.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

COOPER: There's no clear, you know this thing can't get resolved. There's no clear answer to what they want really.

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: What's interesting here, some former hostages like Terry Anderson, talk about seeing the impact - or seeing that picture for the first time, the impact it had on them remembering ...

CAFFERTY: Oh ...

ZAHN: ... that isolation they felt when they were first taken hostage, and the frustration, of course, in Danny Pearl's case is not knowing what the heck they want from him.

CAFFERTY: Plus he's alone. There was a group with Anderson, right ...

ZAHN: Right.

CAFFERTY: ... several of ...

ZAHN: Right.

CAFFERTY: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) he's all by himself.

COOPER: It's also so, you know, it's easy to bash the media and to make fun of what we all do, but something like this really does bring it home, and I think, I would hope brings it home to people - to people at home who are watching this that you know these are people who are going out there and this guy was just trying to cover a story, and you know was reaching out making contacts, and just got in with the wrong people.

ZAHN: And his colleague said over and over again, he was a very cautious reporter.

COOPER: Yes.

ZAHN: He was the guy that made sure there was security for his colleagues as well when they set out to go into the countryside to report.

COOPER: I was talking to a "Wall Street" reporter last night who was saying, you know, this is the guy, he called in all the time. He would always check in regularly. He was very responsible.

CAFFERTY: If you don't read anything else, you've got to get a hold of "The Washington Post" and read a series by Bob Woodward called "Ten Days in September". He and Dan Fowls (ph) have gotten access to some of the inside baseball of what the administration and the Pentagon went through in the 10 days following the September 11 attacks, and it just jumps off the page again why Woodward won the Pulitzer Prize for his work a couple of decades ago. This is riveting, compelling, great, great stuff. It's on the front page of the "Post". This was, I think, the fourth day they're talking about ...

ZAHN: And he so captures the minds into the president, and ...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: And humanizes all the players, which is great.

CAFFERTY: Talking about the first Cabinet meeting on the Friday when the president walked into the room. It was the first Cabinet meeting since the attacks, and they stood up and started to applaud for him, and he began to cry, and Colin Powell was concerned that he would lose his composure later in the day over at the Washington National Cathedral, and he wrote him a little note, and it's just - it's great, great stuff.

ZAHN: So don't mention ma or pa ...

(CROSSTALK)

ZAHN: ... or any line that ...

CAFFERTY: Yes, yes ...

ZAHN: ... that might ...

CAFFERTY: ... don't ...

ZAHN: ... trigger (UNINTELLIGIBLE). OK. Thanks team. We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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