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American Morning
President Bush to Depart for Texas to Join Memorial for Crew
Aired February 04, 2003 - 08:33 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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush departs for Texas in just a few moments to join the memorial for the crew of the shuttle Columbia.
White House correspondent Dana Bash is standing by with a preview.
Good morning, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
That's right, today, the commander in chief takes on a different role that a president oftentimes has to take on during times like this, and that is the consoler in chief.
The president, as you said, does head to Houston very shortly, where we're cold he will pay tribute to the seven astronaut aboard the Columbia. He also will be taking with him on Air Force One, two very famous astronauts, Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut, the first man to walk on the moon, and John Glenn and his wife, Annie. John Glenn also a famous a astronaut and former senator from Ohio.
And now the president, in addition to paying tribute to the men and women who were killed, he will also talk about the fact that he is still committed to going to space. He gave us a preview in a speech yesterday in Maryland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope these children, our future scientists, will continue to ask questions, continue to explore, continue to discover. While we grieve the loss of these astronauts, the cause of which they died will continue, America's journey into space will go on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And, Paula, this trip that the president is taking from the White House to Houston is almost 17 years to the day that President Reagan took the trip following the Challenger explosion. At that time, when he was in Houston, he said -- quote -- "Sometimes we reach for the stars and we fall short" -- Paula.
ZAHN: I guess what's hard for any of us imagine is the amount of pressure on this president. This memorial service coming at a time that the president's team is getting together to, you know, go to the U.N. tomorrow and stake out its case for potentially militarily going into Iraq. Describe what his aides are saying about how he's bearing up?
BASH: There's no question about it. I mean, his aides are making sure that they tell us that this is certainly sad and it's certainly taking a toll on the president emotionally, but that it is not deterring him from doing what he believes is right with Iraq, and not deterring him from taking on his responsibility in making sure that the U.S. is safe and secure. But there is no doubt this is yet another thing, as you said, Paula, to add to that very full plate.
As I was looking back on President Reagan's speech 17 years ago, I was thinking, it was very sad, very similar, but very different back then, because he didn't have this post-September 11th feeling in the nation, and he wasn't a president necessarily on a war footing, like President Bush is right now.
ZAHN: I GUESS i was trying to imagine what President Bush might look like later today if we looked back on September 11th observations and how dignified he was dealing with all of those families who had endured so much. This is a president who is very comfortable one on one with people, isn't he?
BASH: He is. And actually, that's going to be another part of his trip today, Paula. In addition to making a speech at the memorial service, he will meet with the families of the seven astronauts. He spoke with them by speakerphone on Saturday, but this is going to be a chance for him to meet one on one, face to face, to console them, to talk to them and to tell them that he and the nation shares in their grief.
ZAHN: Thanks, Dana. Dana Bash reporting for the White House for us this morning.
In the meantime, two investigative teams at Barksdale Air Force Base are trying to figure out what caused the shuttle tragedy. The Louisiana base is also serving as the temporary collection site for shuttle debris and the remains of some of the victims.
Mike Brooks brings us up to date on the investigation from Barksdale.
Good morning, Mike.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
As the sun starts to rise over Barksdale Air Force Base, more debris is expected here today, as rescuers focus their attention on a couple different areas. One of those is the area of the Toledo Bend Reservoir, which is on the border with Louisiana, in west and east Texas. There divers and rescuers will attempt to find what witnesses called a small, compact size piece of debris that they believe fell into the reservoir.
Now they've brought sonar equipment in, and they're going use it to see if they can find any anomalies on the bottom of the reservoir that is supposed to be fairly deep. So they'll attempt to find that,maybe bring that up in the next day or so, and hopefully find some clues that will lead to more information as to why this happened to the shuttle Columbia -- Paula.
ZAHN: Mike, give us an idea of what kind of challenges this team is up against.
BROOKS: Well, apparently, this particular team is up against deep water. It's fairly cold here today, so hopefully, that won't keep the divers out of the water. But they're looking for anything at all, any anomalies on the bottle to of the reservoir.
The witnesses say they are almost certain they saw a piece of debris almost the size of what they describe as a small, compact car, fall into the reservoir. So that's what they're looking for today, and hopefully that will lead them to somewhere, Paula. But we're still talking between Texas and Louisiana, a 28,000 square mile area, where all of these thousands of pieces of debris have fallen. So we're talking about a huge puzzle they're trying to put back together with thousands of pieces spread over 28,000 miles -- Paula.
ZAHN: Yes, it's mind boggling to think about what lies ahead. Mike Brooks, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
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Aired February 4, 2003 - 08:33 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush departs for Texas in just a few moments to join the memorial for the crew of the shuttle Columbia.
White House correspondent Dana Bash is standing by with a preview.
Good morning, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
That's right, today, the commander in chief takes on a different role that a president oftentimes has to take on during times like this, and that is the consoler in chief.
The president, as you said, does head to Houston very shortly, where we're cold he will pay tribute to the seven astronaut aboard the Columbia. He also will be taking with him on Air Force One, two very famous astronauts, Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut, the first man to walk on the moon, and John Glenn and his wife, Annie. John Glenn also a famous a astronaut and former senator from Ohio.
And now the president, in addition to paying tribute to the men and women who were killed, he will also talk about the fact that he is still committed to going to space. He gave us a preview in a speech yesterday in Maryland.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope these children, our future scientists, will continue to ask questions, continue to explore, continue to discover. While we grieve the loss of these astronauts, the cause of which they died will continue, America's journey into space will go on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: And, Paula, this trip that the president is taking from the White House to Houston is almost 17 years to the day that President Reagan took the trip following the Challenger explosion. At that time, when he was in Houston, he said -- quote -- "Sometimes we reach for the stars and we fall short" -- Paula.
ZAHN: I guess what's hard for any of us imagine is the amount of pressure on this president. This memorial service coming at a time that the president's team is getting together to, you know, go to the U.N. tomorrow and stake out its case for potentially militarily going into Iraq. Describe what his aides are saying about how he's bearing up?
BASH: There's no question about it. I mean, his aides are making sure that they tell us that this is certainly sad and it's certainly taking a toll on the president emotionally, but that it is not deterring him from doing what he believes is right with Iraq, and not deterring him from taking on his responsibility in making sure that the U.S. is safe and secure. But there is no doubt this is yet another thing, as you said, Paula, to add to that very full plate.
As I was looking back on President Reagan's speech 17 years ago, I was thinking, it was very sad, very similar, but very different back then, because he didn't have this post-September 11th feeling in the nation, and he wasn't a president necessarily on a war footing, like President Bush is right now.
ZAHN: I GUESS i was trying to imagine what President Bush might look like later today if we looked back on September 11th observations and how dignified he was dealing with all of those families who had endured so much. This is a president who is very comfortable one on one with people, isn't he?
BASH: He is. And actually, that's going to be another part of his trip today, Paula. In addition to making a speech at the memorial service, he will meet with the families of the seven astronauts. He spoke with them by speakerphone on Saturday, but this is going to be a chance for him to meet one on one, face to face, to console them, to talk to them and to tell them that he and the nation shares in their grief.
ZAHN: Thanks, Dana. Dana Bash reporting for the White House for us this morning.
In the meantime, two investigative teams at Barksdale Air Force Base are trying to figure out what caused the shuttle tragedy. The Louisiana base is also serving as the temporary collection site for shuttle debris and the remains of some of the victims.
Mike Brooks brings us up to date on the investigation from Barksdale.
Good morning, Mike.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Paula.
As the sun starts to rise over Barksdale Air Force Base, more debris is expected here today, as rescuers focus their attention on a couple different areas. One of those is the area of the Toledo Bend Reservoir, which is on the border with Louisiana, in west and east Texas. There divers and rescuers will attempt to find what witnesses called a small, compact size piece of debris that they believe fell into the reservoir.
Now they've brought sonar equipment in, and they're going use it to see if they can find any anomalies on the bottom of the reservoir that is supposed to be fairly deep. So they'll attempt to find that,maybe bring that up in the next day or so, and hopefully find some clues that will lead to more information as to why this happened to the shuttle Columbia -- Paula.
ZAHN: Mike, give us an idea of what kind of challenges this team is up against.
BROOKS: Well, apparently, this particular team is up against deep water. It's fairly cold here today, so hopefully, that won't keep the divers out of the water. But they're looking for anything at all, any anomalies on the bottle to of the reservoir.
The witnesses say they are almost certain they saw a piece of debris almost the size of what they describe as a small, compact car, fall into the reservoir. So that's what they're looking for today, and hopefully that will lead them to somewhere, Paula. But we're still talking between Texas and Louisiana, a 28,000 square mile area, where all of these thousands of pieces of debris have fallen. So we're talking about a huge puzzle they're trying to put back together with thousands of pieces spread over 28,000 miles -- Paula.
ZAHN: Yes, it's mind boggling to think about what lies ahead. Mike Brooks, thanks so much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Crew>
