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American Morning
Ivan's Aftermath; 'Promises, Promises'; '"90-Second Pop'
Aired September 20, 2004 - 07:30 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.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: The first criminal trial against Enron executives begins this morning in Houston. The giant energy firm collapsed three years ago when its shady bookkeeping came to light. The jury will be chosen today for a conspiracy case involving two executives from Enron and four from Merrill Lynch.
The California state capitol is cleaning up from a sudden flood. An intense thunderstorm pound Sacramento yesterday, clogging storm drains and filling the streets with water. Buildings throughout the city were flooded, including the basement of the State Capitol building.
And another member of the Kennedy clan is looking for a job in politics. Bobby Shriver is running for a seat on the city council of Santa Monica in California. Shriver is the son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and brother to Maria Shriver. He says he first considered running after the city threatened to fine him for overgrown hedges. But you can bet he was thinking of politics even before that.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It kind of runs in the family, huh?
WALLACE: I think it does.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It sure does. All right, Kelly, thanks so much for that.
This morning, Hurricane Ivan's aftermath is still being felt all across the South. And CNN's Chris Lawrence is joining us now from Pensacola Beach, Florida, where getting back to normal is only just beginning.
Chris -- what do you see out there today?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, we've got some new information to report this morning. Of the 12 people who were still missing in this county over the weekend, firefighters found 5 of them alive and well and cleaning up their condominium. So that's some great news.
But you can see by this damage how hard it is to account for everyone, especially in areas hit as hard this one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice over): Monday is supposed to symbolize the start of a new workweek. But for people in Pensacola Beach, nobody even knows where to begin. GARY COLE, PENSACOLA BEACH RESIDENT: This is a sad, damn thing.
LAWRENCE: Gary Cole ignored evacuation orders and watched Ivan from his home a few hundred yards from the beach.
COLE: Not to protect my home, because I know there's nothing you can do in that situation. That's not why I stayed. I just wanted to see it.
LAWRENCE: What he saw was the end of Pensacola Beach as he knew it. Homes torn apart. Hotels stripped bare. Sand piled up to the windows. Where entire families once slept, there is nothing, and no hope of repair.
COLE: They're not all rich. Some of them struggle to pay for these beach homes and raise their children and everything. It's going to be terrible when they come back and they face that.
LAWRENCE: On Sunday, President Bush get a first-hand look at some of the areas damaged by the storm, destruction that left thousands in need of basic food and water and hundreds of thousands still without power in Florida alone.
And as the first few gas stations reopened in the Florida panhandle, some people waited up to five hours for a few gallons.
As for Gary Cole he'll never forget the night he lost everything.
COLE: Now I'm going be able to tell -- I only have about 10 friends in life, and I'm going to tell all 10 of them what I saw.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: But police tell us it's still going to be a few days before it's safe enough for other folks who live here to get back on the island to see their homes. We've walked through some areas around here where the sand is still literally 8 to 10 feet deep -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Unbelievable there. All right, Chris Lawrence, thanks so much.
Tropical Storm Jeanne is bypassing the Bahama Islands at this hour. It is expected to gain strength, though, in the next 24 hours. Here's a look at the devastation Jeanne caused in Haiti. At least 54 people killed there, 150 more are missing at this time. Some of the victims are believed to have been killed by mudslides. In one northwestern town alone, some 80,000 residents are affected by the floods.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COLLINS: Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, the Bush campaign says there is still no deal, but reports this morning say details are being worked out for three debates between John Kerry and George Bush. The debates would take place in the two weeks following September 30th. There would also be one debate between the vice presidential candidates.
Both President Bush and John Kerry will be raising money today in New York City. Senator Kerry has campaign events today in the city, and President Bush stops in New Hampshire. First tomorrow, he will address the U.N. here in Manhattan.
One of the biggest complaints of voters during a presidential campaign is that they do not hear enough about the issues. And so, today we start our own week-long series. It's called "Promises, Promises," five days, five different issues. We'll look at what the candidates promise to do and whether or not they can turn those promises into reality.
Today's issue is keeping America safe. A recent CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll found that terrorism tied with the economy as the No. 1 one issue on voters' minds.
So, once again, we welcome Kelly Wallace, our national correspondent, on this topic.
Good morning -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Good morning, Bill.
And what we try to do here is clear through the spin and the tit- for-tat on the campaign trail and take a look at this: What would each candidate do to try and keep you and your family safe? What they do here in the U.S. and abroad?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice over): Two candidates, one message: I can keep the U.S. safer than the other guy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When it comes to making America safer, we're moving forward and we're not turning back.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we are going to make homeland security the kind of priority that it ought to be, not a political slogan.
WALLACE: Yet, despite the rhetoric, the two men have much in common. Both support the creation of a national intelligence director overseeing the country's 15 intelligence agencies. And both promise to beef up border security, although neither explains exactly how he would pay for it with a budget deficit expected to reach more than $400 billion this year.
That said, there are differences. Senator Kerry promises to expand active-duty forces by 40,000 troops. But he has not offered a detailed plan on how he would accomplish that with U.S. forces already stretched thin.
And Mr. Kerry says he, unlike Mr. Bush, would increase funding for first responders.
KERRY: I believe it's wrong to be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States.
WALLACE: The president actually requested more than $3 billion last year for first responders. But the bill passed by Congress, which Mr. Bush chose not to veto, included just about 1 billion in new spending. Kerry did not vote on that measure. He was in the hospital recovering from surgery for prostate cancer.
BUSH: Today, because we're on the offensive against terrorist networks, the American people are safer.
WALLACE: What would President Bush do in a second term to keep America safe? He promises to restructure the military by bringing home some U.S. forces currently based in Europe and Asia.
BUSH: We'll deploy a more agile and more flexible force.
WALLACE: But his critics say such a move could frustrate U.S. allies needed in the fight against terrorism.
And the president promises to make permanent the Patriot Act, which strengthens the authority of law enforcement in the United States. But he faces opposition from some lawmakers, including his rival who voted for the measure, but now says parts of it threaten individual rights.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And right now if you look at what voters are saying when it comes to who would keep America safer right now, Bill, it seems they are saying President Bush. "The New York Times"/CBS News poll over to weekend, President Bush is still with a sizable lead over John Kerry when it comes to who would do more to prevent another terrorist attack.
HEMMER: Four years ago there was so much attention given to the soccer moms. Where are they in this election four years later?
WALLACE: Well, the interesting thing is they are now viewed as the security moms of 2004. These are people who say their single most important issue is security. Who is going to do more to keep me and my family safe and protect me from terrorism? And right now it appears they are siding with President Bush.
John Kerry used to have a significant lead over President Bush when it comes to women. In this "New York Times" poll he's now trailing President Bush with the women's vote.
HEMMER: Does that poll show that Bush gained that edge through the convention, or did he have that before?
WALLACE: From the convention. And polls said in July, I think it was, right around the Democratic Convention John Kerry leading 12 points over George W. Bush when it comes to women voters. Now he's down by about 5 points.
HEMMER: Thank you, Kelly. Part two tomorrow, right? WALLACE: Part two tomorrow.
HEMMER: "Promises, Promises," tomorrow we'll focus on the issue of Iraq, one of the top three issues on voters' minds in our recent polling. We'll look at what each candidate promises to do to restore the peace there in Baghdad. And be sure to log on to CNN.com/am. There, you can compare the candidates' positions and what they promise to do on the various issues. Part two tomorrow.
Here is Heidi across the room now -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, a special Emmy edition of "90-Second Pop." "The Sopranos" are used to getting whacked come Emmy time. But did its fortune change last night? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Back to Jack and the "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, William.
The perception is growing out there that Kerry is not getting it done. Two scathing op-ed pieces in the "Times" this morning are critical on Kerry's approach on several fronts. William Safire lists 10 things John Kerry needs to do to stop the erosion in the polls and turn this campaign around. Safire says Kerry has failed to connect with voters on who he is and what he believes in.
Quote -- "John Kerry has not yet closed the deal with voters who are dissatisfied with President Bush" -- unquote.
And Bob Herbert (ph) writes that Kerry has run a cautious, soulless campaign based on his actions of 30 years ago. Herbert cites a longtime Democratic operative who says that John Kerry is -- quote -- "not displaying a moral center. It's all about tactics."
So, the question we're monkeying with here this morning is: What does John Kerry need to do to turn this race around?
Matthew in Naples, Florida, writes: "John Kerry has to have a clear plan for Iraq. He has to show the American people that he can lead. It's pretty much that simple. If he does this, he'll win. If he doesn't, he will lose."
Pamela in Michigan: "Kerry needs to show how Bush made this country weaker through his foreign and economic policies. And he can do this easily with Bush's own words and the facts."
Bruce writes: "Kerry needs to stand up for individual Americans rights, those which Bush has so aggressively eviscerated via policies of secrecy and suppression. He can start by reversing its efforts to nullify the Second Amendment. He can then take a stand on fighting outsourcing, illegal immigration and NAFTA."
M.H. in Franklin, Tennessee: "Kerry needs to get off the Vietnam War and focus on today's issues, blast Bush on his foreign policy failures."
And Mike in Columbus, Missouri -- I think that's Columbia, Missouri, by the way: "Kerry needs to pay Nader more money to get out of the race than Bush paid him to get in."
HEMMER: Six weeks from tomorrow, by the way, November 2.
CAFFERTY: Gee, it's going to be awful when this thing is over, isn't it? It's so painful.
COLLINS: We'll be exhausted.
CAFFERTY: It feels like this campaign has been going on since about 1968.
HEMMER: See, I enjoy this stuff.
CAFFERTY: I know you do.
HEMMER: This is what we're all about.
CAFFERTY: Well, it's not what I'm all about. This is what you are all about. But it's not what I'm all about.
HEMMER: What are you all about?
CAFFERTY: These guys -- huh? These guys say anything...
HEMMER: Wait, answer the question.
CAFFERTY: ... do anything. Politicians are shameless. All they want to do is get elected, so then they can work for the term of their office to get re-elected. It's not what I'm all about.
HEMMER: Having said that, there are big issues on the table.
CAFFERTY: Of course there are big issues on the table.
HEMMER: Much bigger than (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: And Bush is vulnerable. The polls -- every poll taken, the American people say the country is going in the wrong direction. Well, where in the hell is Kerry? Why isn't he running a better campaign? Why can't he capitalize on this? I don't know the answers, but it will be over...
HEMMER: I think they have an awful lot of interest in this, an awful lot of...
CAFFERTY: Well, I've got to do something here for three hours. You know, they pay me to show up, I've got to have a little something to do.
COLLINS: Jack, all right, thanks a lot.
HEMMER: Talk to you later. COLLINS: And still to come this morning, we've got a special Emmy edition of "90-Second Pop." We've got a rundown of the winners and losers, both on the stage and on the red carpet. That's ahead on "90-Second Pop."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It's the morning after television's biggest night, and HBO dominated the primetime Emmy awards. "Angels in America" tied a record for the most wins ever, including one for Meryl Streep as best actress. Here is how Streep accepted her award.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: There are some days when I myself think I'm overrated. But not today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And here now for a full recap, it's our Emmy's edition of "90-Second Pop." With us now, Andy Borowitz, author of a new book, "The Borowitz Report: The Big Book of Shockers." And Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. Plus, B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."
All right, so that was a very cute acceptance speech.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Very cute.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Very cute.
COLLINS: Yes, but let's talk a little bit, B.J., about the other winners. Sarah Jessica Parker has been nominated, like, 10 times or something.
SIGESMUND: Right.
COLLINS: But she didn't win until last night.
SIGESMUND: Yes. She had been nominated 10 times between producing the show, which she had done all along, and starring in the show, she had racked up 10 nominations. And people were starting to call her the Susan Lucci of the category.
BERNARD: Yes.
SIGESMUND: No one likes to see the name Susan Lucci and the name Sarah Jessica Parker in the same sentence. So, we put a stop to that finally last night. It's that classic thing. Sarah Jessica was owed. The show was beloved. The show has come to an end. Everyone loved it going out on a high note before it got old and the women started getting angry.
BERNARD: There were some other things that...
SIGESMUND: They were happy. Yes, I mean, I was very happy to see her win.
BERNARD: I could have seen it go the other way, because there were some other events where you felt like people were owed and they didn't get it. Don't you think? Last night was a bit of a surprise on that one.
SIGESMUND: What about Kelsey Grammer? Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Allison Janney, do these people really deserve four Emmys for their work on their shows?
BERNARD: No.
COLLINS: That gets kind of dull sometimes.
BERNARD: Yes, that's...
SIGESMUND: Tired, tired, tired.
BERNARD: Yes, it was tired.
ANDY BOROWITZ, AUTHOR, "THE BOROWITZ REPORT": I think what put Sarah Jessica over the top was the Gap ads.
BERNARD: Yes.
BOROWITZ: Because now there appear to be eight or nine Sarah Jessica Parkers.
COLLINS: Right. And I swear we were saying during the break, holding up the statue, I mean, it's just bigger than she is.
SIGESMUND: Right, yes.
BERNARD: Yes.
COLLINS: She can hardly hold it up. All right, what about "Arrested Development" now? I mean, this is new, and it beat out a lot of shows that had been around for a while. It's pretty good.
SIGESMUND: Yes, it beat out "Sex and the City." It beat out "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Everybody Loves Raymond." This was the big upset of the night, because, you know, this show has done terribly. I mean, its ratings are awful.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
SIGESMUND: Its ratings are in the basement. But critics love it because it's really well-written. It's one of the shows that you actually have to watch. You can't, like, pay bills and send e-mails while it's on because you miss so much. It's a very fascinating show.
BERNARD: Well, they actually gave it a really bad timeslot on Sunday night. And it was almost canceled.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: But people were really trying to express that they thought it was going to be a creative genius perhaps...
SIGESMUND: It will be interesting to see if it does any better in the second season.
COLLINS: Yes.
SIGESMUND: I mean, an Emmy doesn't mean anything...
BOROWITZ: Right.
SIGESMUND: ... if its ratings don't improve.
COLLINS: And maybe people will be more curious, though. You never know. All right, Andy, so "Arrested Development" was certainly a surprise. What other surprises were out there last night?
BOROWITZ: I actually -- I may be alone in this. I thought the really biggest surprise of the night actually came earlier in the technical Emmys, that "Frasier" won for best sound mixing.
COLLINS: Ah!
BOROWITZ: Now, I've always felt...
COLLINS: I love that category.
BOROWITZ: I've always felt that the sound mixing on "Frasier" was OK, but nothing to write home about.
COLLINS: Now it's exquisite.
BOROWITZ: I think it won just because it was the last season of the show. They wanted to give it best sound mixing.
BERNARD: I think one of the biggest surprises was the James Spader win.
COLLINS: Yes.
BERNARD: And it was very nice. The same thing kind of happened in the Drea de Matteo category. It was very nice of them to give the award to people who have new show starting out this year.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: Because, you know, Drea is obviously on "Joey."
COLLINS: Right, right.
BERNARD: We've talked about that before. And James Spader is starting a new...
COLLINS: Kind of a plan there maybe.
BERNARD: That's right.
SIGESMUND: Well...
BERNARD: He's starting a new show, "Boston Legal." That is sort of a spin-off of "The Practice."
SIGESMUND: Yes. Well, he was even surprised that he won. He was like, I really should have written something down, and he struggled for a while.
BERNARD: Oh, that's such an old trick! Don't you think?
SIGESMUND: No, but then he was like, oh, the women here are dressed so nicely. He was really struggling.
COLLINS: Yes, he was pretty funny.
BOROWITZ: He should have borrowed some of Al Pacino's speech. I think he had some left over.
BERNARD: Yes.
SIGESMUND: Can we talk about that for one second? I hated the music, the music that drove people off the stage.
BERNARD: The cut-off.
SIGESMUND: Because it was so inconsistent. Also, some people got 30 seconds, some people 45. Al Pacino could have just spoken for as long as he wanted.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: They should have just had a 90-second clock counting down the...
BERNARD: Yes!
COLLINS: Well, speaking of that 90-second clock, we've got to get to some fashion do's and don'ts. We've got...
BERNARD: Oh, my favorite part.
COLLINS: Yes. OK. Sarah, this one is for you. Who got it right? Sarah Jessica Parker?
BERNARD: Obviously Sarah Jessica Parker.
COLLINS: Yes.
BERNARD: And she was wearing Chanel courtier. I mean, it's not such a surprise that she got it right. However, she sometimes wears some really out-there frocks, as we have seen from her "Sex and the City" days, where, you know, they might be in fashion but they're kind of strange-looking. And tonight she was -- I mean, last night she was really classy. And I think the fact that she had her hair really kind of curled...
SIGESMUND: Her hair...
BERNARD: ... and not crazy.
SIGESMUND: Her hair looks naturally dangerously close to her regular color.
BERNARD: I know. She looked really glam and put together, and obviously she wins. But there were some other ones that were more surprising.
BOROWITZ: What do you want to say about Elaine Stritch? Any feeling about her?
BERNARD: You know, Pilgrim, the Pilgrim outfit.
BOROWITZ: Pilgrim?
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: She is 79 years old. We cannot pick on Elaine Stritch. She looked great.
BOROWITZ: Oh, come on!
BERNARD: Andy can.
SIGESMUND: She had the best acceptance speech of the whole night.
BERNARD: Well, you guys are skipping over the rest of my fashion hits.
BOROWITZ: Oh.
COLLINS: The good ones, yes.
BOROWITZ: I'm sorry.
COLLINS: Well, let's get back to the good ones, my goodness.
BERNARD: Mariska Hargitay, she is one of those actresses that you see her in "Law and Order: SVU," but you don't really know her name maybe. She really brought it out last night. She was wearing a sort of milky green dress, and Allison Janney actually invited her up on the stage at one point, because they both had the same color going. And she had a beautiful flower in her hair. She really was one of those -- you are going to see her picture everywhere, probably in "US," probably in "Star." And she's going to be the sort of breakout fashion girl of the night.
BOROWITZ: I'm wearing Ben Sherman, by the way.
COLLINS: OK.
BERNARD: Yes.
COLLINS: Thanks so much for sharing.
BOROWITZ: I just had to say that. I think viewers want to know.
COLLINS: Finally, quickly, the worst-dressed of all.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: Unfortunately, you know, it's all of our sort of older, esteemed actresses that just -- I don't know. They don't listen to their stylist. Maybe they don't have a stylist. But Meryl Streep, we love Meryl Streep obviously. She was so cute and funny with her speech. But what is up with the sort of hippy mom, I made my own necklace kind of look that she has got going? I really don't understand why she can't just try to look a little...
COLLINS: And Drea de Matteo, I mean, you know, she wins this big award and goes up there. And what was that she was wearing?
BERNARD: It is almost like a very -- it was a sort of, like, I'm a 23-year-old angry teenager look. I don't know what was going on with her.
SIGESMUND: I love Drea. I thought Drea de Matteo looked awesome. I thought her dress...
BERNARD: You did? Are you an angry teenager?
SIGESMUND: Yes, inside I'm an angry teenager.
BOROWITZ: Did anyone see the "CSI" guy with the bleached blonde (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in his hair?
BERNARD: Yes.
BOROWITZ: It looked like the crime lab exploded or something.
BERNARD: And he said he was doing that to differentiate himself from all of the other penguins.
BOROWITZ: Yes, he looked very stupid.
COLLINS: Oh, that's what it was. It's a perfectly reasonable excuse.
BERNARD: Perfectly reasonable.
COLLINS: All right, guys, thanks so much. Appreciate your time this morning. Andy, Sarah and B.J., thanks again -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, thanks for that.
Let's get a break here. In a moment, top of the hour here, is Iraq in danger now of falling in the hands of warlords? There are some experts that say Iraqi elections could spell disaster. A look at that in a moment when we continue on a Monday edition here after this.
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Aired September 20, 2004 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: The first criminal trial against Enron executives begins this morning in Houston. The giant energy firm collapsed three years ago when its shady bookkeeping came to light. The jury will be chosen today for a conspiracy case involving two executives from Enron and four from Merrill Lynch.
The California state capitol is cleaning up from a sudden flood. An intense thunderstorm pound Sacramento yesterday, clogging storm drains and filling the streets with water. Buildings throughout the city were flooded, including the basement of the State Capitol building.
And another member of the Kennedy clan is looking for a job in politics. Bobby Shriver is running for a seat on the city council of Santa Monica in California. Shriver is the son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and brother to Maria Shriver. He says he first considered running after the city threatened to fine him for overgrown hedges. But you can bet he was thinking of politics even before that.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It kind of runs in the family, huh?
WALLACE: I think it does.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: It sure does. All right, Kelly, thanks so much for that.
This morning, Hurricane Ivan's aftermath is still being felt all across the South. And CNN's Chris Lawrence is joining us now from Pensacola Beach, Florida, where getting back to normal is only just beginning.
Chris -- what do you see out there today?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, we've got some new information to report this morning. Of the 12 people who were still missing in this county over the weekend, firefighters found 5 of them alive and well and cleaning up their condominium. So that's some great news.
But you can see by this damage how hard it is to account for everyone, especially in areas hit as hard this one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice over): Monday is supposed to symbolize the start of a new workweek. But for people in Pensacola Beach, nobody even knows where to begin. GARY COLE, PENSACOLA BEACH RESIDENT: This is a sad, damn thing.
LAWRENCE: Gary Cole ignored evacuation orders and watched Ivan from his home a few hundred yards from the beach.
COLE: Not to protect my home, because I know there's nothing you can do in that situation. That's not why I stayed. I just wanted to see it.
LAWRENCE: What he saw was the end of Pensacola Beach as he knew it. Homes torn apart. Hotels stripped bare. Sand piled up to the windows. Where entire families once slept, there is nothing, and no hope of repair.
COLE: They're not all rich. Some of them struggle to pay for these beach homes and raise their children and everything. It's going to be terrible when they come back and they face that.
LAWRENCE: On Sunday, President Bush get a first-hand look at some of the areas damaged by the storm, destruction that left thousands in need of basic food and water and hundreds of thousands still without power in Florida alone.
And as the first few gas stations reopened in the Florida panhandle, some people waited up to five hours for a few gallons.
As for Gary Cole he'll never forget the night he lost everything.
COLE: Now I'm going be able to tell -- I only have about 10 friends in life, and I'm going to tell all 10 of them what I saw.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: But police tell us it's still going to be a few days before it's safe enough for other folks who live here to get back on the island to see their homes. We've walked through some areas around here where the sand is still literally 8 to 10 feet deep -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Unbelievable there. All right, Chris Lawrence, thanks so much.
Tropical Storm Jeanne is bypassing the Bahama Islands at this hour. It is expected to gain strength, though, in the next 24 hours. Here's a look at the devastation Jeanne caused in Haiti. At least 54 people killed there, 150 more are missing at this time. Some of the victims are believed to have been killed by mudslides. In one northwestern town alone, some 80,000 residents are affected by the floods.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COLLINS: Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, the Bush campaign says there is still no deal, but reports this morning say details are being worked out for three debates between John Kerry and George Bush. The debates would take place in the two weeks following September 30th. There would also be one debate between the vice presidential candidates.
Both President Bush and John Kerry will be raising money today in New York City. Senator Kerry has campaign events today in the city, and President Bush stops in New Hampshire. First tomorrow, he will address the U.N. here in Manhattan.
One of the biggest complaints of voters during a presidential campaign is that they do not hear enough about the issues. And so, today we start our own week-long series. It's called "Promises, Promises," five days, five different issues. We'll look at what the candidates promise to do and whether or not they can turn those promises into reality.
Today's issue is keeping America safe. A recent CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll found that terrorism tied with the economy as the No. 1 one issue on voters' minds.
So, once again, we welcome Kelly Wallace, our national correspondent, on this topic.
Good morning -- Kelly.
WALLACE: Good morning, Bill.
And what we try to do here is clear through the spin and the tit- for-tat on the campaign trail and take a look at this: What would each candidate do to try and keep you and your family safe? What they do here in the U.S. and abroad?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice over): Two candidates, one message: I can keep the U.S. safer than the other guy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When it comes to making America safer, we're moving forward and we're not turning back.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And we are going to make homeland security the kind of priority that it ought to be, not a political slogan.
WALLACE: Yet, despite the rhetoric, the two men have much in common. Both support the creation of a national intelligence director overseeing the country's 15 intelligence agencies. And both promise to beef up border security, although neither explains exactly how he would pay for it with a budget deficit expected to reach more than $400 billion this year.
That said, there are differences. Senator Kerry promises to expand active-duty forces by 40,000 troops. But he has not offered a detailed plan on how he would accomplish that with U.S. forces already stretched thin.
And Mr. Kerry says he, unlike Mr. Bush, would increase funding for first responders.
KERRY: I believe it's wrong to be opening firehouses in Baghdad and closing them down in the United States.
WALLACE: The president actually requested more than $3 billion last year for first responders. But the bill passed by Congress, which Mr. Bush chose not to veto, included just about 1 billion in new spending. Kerry did not vote on that measure. He was in the hospital recovering from surgery for prostate cancer.
BUSH: Today, because we're on the offensive against terrorist networks, the American people are safer.
WALLACE: What would President Bush do in a second term to keep America safe? He promises to restructure the military by bringing home some U.S. forces currently based in Europe and Asia.
BUSH: We'll deploy a more agile and more flexible force.
WALLACE: But his critics say such a move could frustrate U.S. allies needed in the fight against terrorism.
And the president promises to make permanent the Patriot Act, which strengthens the authority of law enforcement in the United States. But he faces opposition from some lawmakers, including his rival who voted for the measure, but now says parts of it threaten individual rights.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And right now if you look at what voters are saying when it comes to who would keep America safer right now, Bill, it seems they are saying President Bush. "The New York Times"/CBS News poll over to weekend, President Bush is still with a sizable lead over John Kerry when it comes to who would do more to prevent another terrorist attack.
HEMMER: Four years ago there was so much attention given to the soccer moms. Where are they in this election four years later?
WALLACE: Well, the interesting thing is they are now viewed as the security moms of 2004. These are people who say their single most important issue is security. Who is going to do more to keep me and my family safe and protect me from terrorism? And right now it appears they are siding with President Bush.
John Kerry used to have a significant lead over President Bush when it comes to women. In this "New York Times" poll he's now trailing President Bush with the women's vote.
HEMMER: Does that poll show that Bush gained that edge through the convention, or did he have that before?
WALLACE: From the convention. And polls said in July, I think it was, right around the Democratic Convention John Kerry leading 12 points over George W. Bush when it comes to women voters. Now he's down by about 5 points.
HEMMER: Thank you, Kelly. Part two tomorrow, right? WALLACE: Part two tomorrow.
HEMMER: "Promises, Promises," tomorrow we'll focus on the issue of Iraq, one of the top three issues on voters' minds in our recent polling. We'll look at what each candidate promises to do to restore the peace there in Baghdad. And be sure to log on to CNN.com/am. There, you can compare the candidates' positions and what they promise to do on the various issues. Part two tomorrow.
Here is Heidi across the room now -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, a special Emmy edition of "90-Second Pop." "The Sopranos" are used to getting whacked come Emmy time. But did its fortune change last night? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Back to Jack and the "Question of the Day."
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, William.
The perception is growing out there that Kerry is not getting it done. Two scathing op-ed pieces in the "Times" this morning are critical on Kerry's approach on several fronts. William Safire lists 10 things John Kerry needs to do to stop the erosion in the polls and turn this campaign around. Safire says Kerry has failed to connect with voters on who he is and what he believes in.
Quote -- "John Kerry has not yet closed the deal with voters who are dissatisfied with President Bush" -- unquote.
And Bob Herbert (ph) writes that Kerry has run a cautious, soulless campaign based on his actions of 30 years ago. Herbert cites a longtime Democratic operative who says that John Kerry is -- quote -- "not displaying a moral center. It's all about tactics."
So, the question we're monkeying with here this morning is: What does John Kerry need to do to turn this race around?
Matthew in Naples, Florida, writes: "John Kerry has to have a clear plan for Iraq. He has to show the American people that he can lead. It's pretty much that simple. If he does this, he'll win. If he doesn't, he will lose."
Pamela in Michigan: "Kerry needs to show how Bush made this country weaker through his foreign and economic policies. And he can do this easily with Bush's own words and the facts."
Bruce writes: "Kerry needs to stand up for individual Americans rights, those which Bush has so aggressively eviscerated via policies of secrecy and suppression. He can start by reversing its efforts to nullify the Second Amendment. He can then take a stand on fighting outsourcing, illegal immigration and NAFTA."
M.H. in Franklin, Tennessee: "Kerry needs to get off the Vietnam War and focus on today's issues, blast Bush on his foreign policy failures."
And Mike in Columbus, Missouri -- I think that's Columbia, Missouri, by the way: "Kerry needs to pay Nader more money to get out of the race than Bush paid him to get in."
HEMMER: Six weeks from tomorrow, by the way, November 2.
CAFFERTY: Gee, it's going to be awful when this thing is over, isn't it? It's so painful.
COLLINS: We'll be exhausted.
CAFFERTY: It feels like this campaign has been going on since about 1968.
HEMMER: See, I enjoy this stuff.
CAFFERTY: I know you do.
HEMMER: This is what we're all about.
CAFFERTY: Well, it's not what I'm all about. This is what you are all about. But it's not what I'm all about.
HEMMER: What are you all about?
CAFFERTY: These guys -- huh? These guys say anything...
HEMMER: Wait, answer the question.
CAFFERTY: ... do anything. Politicians are shameless. All they want to do is get elected, so then they can work for the term of their office to get re-elected. It's not what I'm all about.
HEMMER: Having said that, there are big issues on the table.
CAFFERTY: Of course there are big issues on the table.
HEMMER: Much bigger than (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
CAFFERTY: And Bush is vulnerable. The polls -- every poll taken, the American people say the country is going in the wrong direction. Well, where in the hell is Kerry? Why isn't he running a better campaign? Why can't he capitalize on this? I don't know the answers, but it will be over...
HEMMER: I think they have an awful lot of interest in this, an awful lot of...
CAFFERTY: Well, I've got to do something here for three hours. You know, they pay me to show up, I've got to have a little something to do.
COLLINS: Jack, all right, thanks a lot.
HEMMER: Talk to you later. COLLINS: And still to come this morning, we've got a special Emmy edition of "90-Second Pop." We've got a rundown of the winners and losers, both on the stage and on the red carpet. That's ahead on "90-Second Pop."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It's the morning after television's biggest night, and HBO dominated the primetime Emmy awards. "Angels in America" tied a record for the most wins ever, including one for Meryl Streep as best actress. Here is how Streep accepted her award.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERYL STREEP, ACTRESS: There are some days when I myself think I'm overrated. But not today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And here now for a full recap, it's our Emmy's edition of "90-Second Pop." With us now, Andy Borowitz, author of a new book, "The Borowitz Report: The Big Book of Shockers." And Sarah Bernard, contributing editor for "New York" magazine. Plus, B.J. Sigesmund, staff editor for "US Weekly."
All right, so that was a very cute acceptance speech.
SARAH BERNARD, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Very cute.
B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Very cute.
COLLINS: Yes, but let's talk a little bit, B.J., about the other winners. Sarah Jessica Parker has been nominated, like, 10 times or something.
SIGESMUND: Right.
COLLINS: But she didn't win until last night.
SIGESMUND: Yes. She had been nominated 10 times between producing the show, which she had done all along, and starring in the show, she had racked up 10 nominations. And people were starting to call her the Susan Lucci of the category.
BERNARD: Yes.
SIGESMUND: No one likes to see the name Susan Lucci and the name Sarah Jessica Parker in the same sentence. So, we put a stop to that finally last night. It's that classic thing. Sarah Jessica was owed. The show was beloved. The show has come to an end. Everyone loved it going out on a high note before it got old and the women started getting angry.
BERNARD: There were some other things that...
SIGESMUND: They were happy. Yes, I mean, I was very happy to see her win.
BERNARD: I could have seen it go the other way, because there were some other events where you felt like people were owed and they didn't get it. Don't you think? Last night was a bit of a surprise on that one.
SIGESMUND: What about Kelsey Grammer? Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Allison Janney, do these people really deserve four Emmys for their work on their shows?
BERNARD: No.
COLLINS: That gets kind of dull sometimes.
BERNARD: Yes, that's...
SIGESMUND: Tired, tired, tired.
BERNARD: Yes, it was tired.
ANDY BOROWITZ, AUTHOR, "THE BOROWITZ REPORT": I think what put Sarah Jessica over the top was the Gap ads.
BERNARD: Yes.
BOROWITZ: Because now there appear to be eight or nine Sarah Jessica Parkers.
COLLINS: Right. And I swear we were saying during the break, holding up the statue, I mean, it's just bigger than she is.
SIGESMUND: Right, yes.
BERNARD: Yes.
COLLINS: She can hardly hold it up. All right, what about "Arrested Development" now? I mean, this is new, and it beat out a lot of shows that had been around for a while. It's pretty good.
SIGESMUND: Yes, it beat out "Sex and the City." It beat out "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "Everybody Loves Raymond." This was the big upset of the night, because, you know, this show has done terribly. I mean, its ratings are awful.
BOROWITZ: Yes.
SIGESMUND: Its ratings are in the basement. But critics love it because it's really well-written. It's one of the shows that you actually have to watch. You can't, like, pay bills and send e-mails while it's on because you miss so much. It's a very fascinating show.
BERNARD: Well, they actually gave it a really bad timeslot on Sunday night. And it was almost canceled.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: But people were really trying to express that they thought it was going to be a creative genius perhaps...
SIGESMUND: It will be interesting to see if it does any better in the second season.
COLLINS: Yes.
SIGESMUND: I mean, an Emmy doesn't mean anything...
BOROWITZ: Right.
SIGESMUND: ... if its ratings don't improve.
COLLINS: And maybe people will be more curious, though. You never know. All right, Andy, so "Arrested Development" was certainly a surprise. What other surprises were out there last night?
BOROWITZ: I actually -- I may be alone in this. I thought the really biggest surprise of the night actually came earlier in the technical Emmys, that "Frasier" won for best sound mixing.
COLLINS: Ah!
BOROWITZ: Now, I've always felt...
COLLINS: I love that category.
BOROWITZ: I've always felt that the sound mixing on "Frasier" was OK, but nothing to write home about.
COLLINS: Now it's exquisite.
BOROWITZ: I think it won just because it was the last season of the show. They wanted to give it best sound mixing.
BERNARD: I think one of the biggest surprises was the James Spader win.
COLLINS: Yes.
BERNARD: And it was very nice. The same thing kind of happened in the Drea de Matteo category. It was very nice of them to give the award to people who have new show starting out this year.
SIGESMUND: Right.
BERNARD: Because, you know, Drea is obviously on "Joey."
COLLINS: Right, right.
BERNARD: We've talked about that before. And James Spader is starting a new...
COLLINS: Kind of a plan there maybe.
BERNARD: That's right.
SIGESMUND: Well...
BERNARD: He's starting a new show, "Boston Legal." That is sort of a spin-off of "The Practice."
SIGESMUND: Yes. Well, he was even surprised that he won. He was like, I really should have written something down, and he struggled for a while.
BERNARD: Oh, that's such an old trick! Don't you think?
SIGESMUND: No, but then he was like, oh, the women here are dressed so nicely. He was really struggling.
COLLINS: Yes, he was pretty funny.
BOROWITZ: He should have borrowed some of Al Pacino's speech. I think he had some left over.
BERNARD: Yes.
SIGESMUND: Can we talk about that for one second? I hated the music, the music that drove people off the stage.
BERNARD: The cut-off.
SIGESMUND: Because it was so inconsistent. Also, some people got 30 seconds, some people 45. Al Pacino could have just spoken for as long as he wanted.
(CROSSTALK)
BOROWITZ: They should have just had a 90-second clock counting down the...
BERNARD: Yes!
COLLINS: Well, speaking of that 90-second clock, we've got to get to some fashion do's and don'ts. We've got...
BERNARD: Oh, my favorite part.
COLLINS: Yes. OK. Sarah, this one is for you. Who got it right? Sarah Jessica Parker?
BERNARD: Obviously Sarah Jessica Parker.
COLLINS: Yes.
BERNARD: And she was wearing Chanel courtier. I mean, it's not such a surprise that she got it right. However, she sometimes wears some really out-there frocks, as we have seen from her "Sex and the City" days, where, you know, they might be in fashion but they're kind of strange-looking. And tonight she was -- I mean, last night she was really classy. And I think the fact that she had her hair really kind of curled...
SIGESMUND: Her hair...
BERNARD: ... and not crazy.
SIGESMUND: Her hair looks naturally dangerously close to her regular color.
BERNARD: I know. She looked really glam and put together, and obviously she wins. But there were some other ones that were more surprising.
BOROWITZ: What do you want to say about Elaine Stritch? Any feeling about her?
BERNARD: You know, Pilgrim, the Pilgrim outfit.
BOROWITZ: Pilgrim?
(CROSSTALK)
SIGESMUND: She is 79 years old. We cannot pick on Elaine Stritch. She looked great.
BOROWITZ: Oh, come on!
BERNARD: Andy can.
SIGESMUND: She had the best acceptance speech of the whole night.
BERNARD: Well, you guys are skipping over the rest of my fashion hits.
BOROWITZ: Oh.
COLLINS: The good ones, yes.
BOROWITZ: I'm sorry.
COLLINS: Well, let's get back to the good ones, my goodness.
BERNARD: Mariska Hargitay, she is one of those actresses that you see her in "Law and Order: SVU," but you don't really know her name maybe. She really brought it out last night. She was wearing a sort of milky green dress, and Allison Janney actually invited her up on the stage at one point, because they both had the same color going. And she had a beautiful flower in her hair. She really was one of those -- you are going to see her picture everywhere, probably in "US," probably in "Star." And she's going to be the sort of breakout fashion girl of the night.
BOROWITZ: I'm wearing Ben Sherman, by the way.
COLLINS: OK.
BERNARD: Yes.
COLLINS: Thanks so much for sharing.
BOROWITZ: I just had to say that. I think viewers want to know.
COLLINS: Finally, quickly, the worst-dressed of all.
(CROSSTALK)
BERNARD: Unfortunately, you know, it's all of our sort of older, esteemed actresses that just -- I don't know. They don't listen to their stylist. Maybe they don't have a stylist. But Meryl Streep, we love Meryl Streep obviously. She was so cute and funny with her speech. But what is up with the sort of hippy mom, I made my own necklace kind of look that she has got going? I really don't understand why she can't just try to look a little...
COLLINS: And Drea de Matteo, I mean, you know, she wins this big award and goes up there. And what was that she was wearing?
BERNARD: It is almost like a very -- it was a sort of, like, I'm a 23-year-old angry teenager look. I don't know what was going on with her.
SIGESMUND: I love Drea. I thought Drea de Matteo looked awesome. I thought her dress...
BERNARD: You did? Are you an angry teenager?
SIGESMUND: Yes, inside I'm an angry teenager.
BOROWITZ: Did anyone see the "CSI" guy with the bleached blonde (UNINTELLIGIBLE) in his hair?
BERNARD: Yes.
BOROWITZ: It looked like the crime lab exploded or something.
BERNARD: And he said he was doing that to differentiate himself from all of the other penguins.
BOROWITZ: Yes, he looked very stupid.
COLLINS: Oh, that's what it was. It's a perfectly reasonable excuse.
BERNARD: Perfectly reasonable.
COLLINS: All right, guys, thanks so much. Appreciate your time this morning. Andy, Sarah and B.J., thanks again -- Bill.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, thanks for that.
Let's get a break here. In a moment, top of the hour here, is Iraq in danger now of falling in the hands of warlords? There are some experts that say Iraqi elections could spell disaster. A look at that in a moment when we continue on a Monday edition here after this.
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