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American Morning
Jobs Report Numbers Lower Than Anticipated; Interview With Richard Gephardt; Martha Stewart Begins Prison Sentence At Alderson
Aired October 08, 2004 - 9:00 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is round two for the presidential debate later tonight. Is one candidate in a better position for a breakthrough moment?
Also, a serious piece of ammunition for that debate. The latest jobs report is out 30 minutes ago. Is it help for Bush or help for Kerry?
Martha Stewart dodges the media and arrives at a West Virginia earlier today.
And those JibJab guys are back on the Internet.
(MUSIC)
HEMMER: It is the sequel to the hit "This Land." It's now out, and both sides get equal abuse on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: All right. It's Friday. Good morning, everyone. Nine o'clock. Good to have you along with us today.
Soledad is out, Heidi is in.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Those guys are funny, aren't they?
COLLINS: Yes, very funny.
HEMMER: We'll go talk to them in a moment here. The JibJab guys are Gregg and Evan Spiridellis. They're going to be our guests here coming up in a moment here, talking about the new cartoon and how they got the jokes together.
The last one was a huge hit.
COLLINS: It was a huge hit.
HEMMER: Crashed the server many times, did it not?
COLLINS: Very creative. HEMMER: We'll get to that.
Also this hour, some of the other headlines.
A huge test for Afghanistan comes tomorrow, national elections. We'll get a report from Christiane Amanpour in Kabul, let you know how that country is getting ready.
COLLINS: Also, we're going to be talking about the terrorist attacks in Egypt with Fawaz Gerges. At least 26 people killed, more than 100 hurt. Who are the likely perpetrators, though? Talking about that in just a moment.
And Jack is off today. Andy Borowitz, though, reading his e-mail a little bit later on.
For now, we want to check the stories "Now in the News" with Kelly Wallace.
Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Heidi and Bill. Good morning to you, everyone.
We begin with Martha Stewart. She has started her life at what is being called Camp Cupcake. Stewart arrived early this morning at the minimum security prison in Alderson, West Virginia. She will spend the next five months at the prison and will work in a job that pays from 12 to 40 cents an hour.
French and Indonesian officials are searching for suspects in this morning's bombing in Paris. At least 10 people were slightly injured when an explosive device blew up outside the Indonesian embassy. The blast also shattered windows in a neighborhood across from the Eiffel Tower. The bombing is one of several unrelated incidents spanning the globe today. We will have the latest on the attacks in Afghanistan and Egypt coming up.
The FBI is examining materials found on two computer disks in Iraq showing photos and layouts of some American schools. Officials have notified several school districts about the find, including some schools in Fort Myers, Florida; Salem, Oregon; Jones County, Georgia; New Jersey; Michigan and California. Officials say there is no specific threat. The materials may be associated with a person involved with school planning in Iraq.
And from a record 194 nominations, the Nobel Committee has chosen a Kenyan environmentalist for the 2004 peace prize. Wangari Maathai leads the Green Belt Movement, aiming to empower women and improve the environment in Africa. She is the first African woman to win the award. The committee says Maathai's efforts to promote peace and good living conditions are inspirational.
So a woman winning the Nobel Peace Prize, a woman winning the Literature Award yesterday.
COLLINS: Kelly, what does it say?
WALLACE: It gives me reason to smile. It says a lot.
HEMMER: Andy, is there hope for us?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: We've won a lot of them, the four of us. We men, that is.
HEMMER: Well done.
COLLINS: Thank you, Kelly.
WALLACE: Sure.
COLLINS: Well, Andy is here now talking about the last jobs report before next month's election. It is out this morning. We're just getting these numbers now and breaking them down. Andy Serwer once again to tell us more all about it.
SERWER: That's right, Heidi. The big news is that 96,000 jobs were created in the month of September. That is weaker than expected.
Economists were looking for 150,000 jobs. The unemployment rate stays at 5.4 percent. There were some job revisions for the month of August, revised down. The month of July revised up.
Net-net, 1.5 million jobs created this year. That's the good news for the Bush administration. The bad news for the Bush administration is that there will still be job loss during his administration.
We calculate over 800,000 jobs were lost. The Labor Department is reporting also this morning that eight million Americans are unemployed.
The job picture has improved somewhat, Heidi. We have 13 straight months of job creation, and obviously there's stuff for both sides here. And I'm sure you're going to be hearing that in the debate this evening.
COLLINS: Yes, we'll be hearing that, no question about it. All right. Andy Serwer, thank you so much for that.
In fact, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux spoke with a White House official just moments ago about the jobs report. The official points out 1.7 million jobs have been created under George Bush. And the unemployment rate is holding steady, as you just heard Andy say.
The candidates will debate tonight on Congressman Dick Gephardt's home turf, that is. The Missouri Democrat is in St. Louis now to tell us what John Kerry needs to do in this second presidential face-off.
Representative Gephardt, good morning to you.
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), MISSOURI: Good morning, Heidi. COLLINS: All right. So let's talk about this number just coming in to us now, job growth. We are hearing 96,000 jobs added last month. That's some good news, yes?
GEPHARDT: I don't think so. We're happy that jobs were created, but it wasn't nearly enough. And as was just said, 800,000 jobs lost net during the Bush administration.
This is a very bad record. It's the worst record since Herbert Hoover. And if you're one of those 800,000 who lost their jobs, net, it's a big deal.
A lot of jobs are being outsourced. And I'm sure John Kerry, as he has been, is going to make an issue of that tonight.
COLLINS: Well, the White House is saying there are some reasons for all of this. Oil sitting at $52 a barrel and rising. Everyone also waiting to find out who the president of this country is going to be.
GEPHARDT: Well, you make the point. We don't have an energy program. And oil is at $52 a barrel, which is another impediment to creating jobs in the United States.
This president knew after 9/11 that we needed an energy program to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, especially Middle Eastern oil. He hasn't done a thing.
We haven't reduced our dependence. In fact, we're more dependent on Middle Eastern oil than we were.
The deficit is mushrooming. We have the highest deficit this year in the history of the country. And another one projected next year.
So this is a failed administration on economic policy. And the people that are being hurt are the folks out here in Missouri and other States who've lost their jobs.
COLLINS: Well, once again, they are saying 1.7 million jobs created in the time under President Bush. So I'm sure that we will hear much more about this tonight.
Let's get to the debate tonight. What is John Kerry going to have to do to keep the momentum, if you will, going from the first presidential debate?
GEPHARDT: Well, he just needs to do tonight what he did a week ago. And that is let people know who he is, his plan for America, his fresh start for Iraq, what he wants to do to get this economy invigorated, his energy plan, his environmental plans.
He's going to do all that tonight. And I fully expect that after tonight's debate, you're going to see John Kerry go ahead in the polls. There's one poll out already has him ahead. And all of that really happened since last week's debate. He's going to have another good debate.
COLLINS: Well, Representative Gephardt, we know that both domestic and foreign issues will probably be discussed tonight. And in light of this final report coming out from the CIA now, the president, of course, steadfastly defending his decision to go to war in Iraq.
Is it not better to be safe than sorry on this front? Knowing what the president knew at that time?
GEPHARDT: Well, look, I don't think the issue here is whether we should have gone to Iraq. The issue is how we went to war in Iraq and how that affected other parts of the war against terrorism.
What John Kerry said last week, I think, is absolutely true. He voted to go to war. I voted to go to war. A lot of Democrats agreed with the president to do this.
The intelligence may have been wrong. And that is now clear. But that's water over the dam. The question is, did we go to war in the right way?
We didn't. We didn't get help. We didn't get every country in the world helping us as they should have.
Finally, it took our focus off of Osama bin Laden and the other examples of terrorism around the world. We're now stuck in Iraq, preoccupied with Iraq. It's costing us money and lives.
We needed the help. We needed to wait until we had that help so that we could prosecute this war against terrorism everywhere, including better homeland security here in the United States.
COLLINS: And as we know, elections will be happening in Afghanistan as well. Thank you so much for being with us. Representative Dick Gephardt, nice to see you.
GEPHARDT: Thanks so much.
COLLINS: CNN will be live in St. Louis as President Bush and Senator Kerry take questions tonight from voters. Prime-time coverage kicks off at 7:00 Eastern -- Bill?
HEMMER: It is Martha Stewart's day of reckoning. The celebrity homemaker now behind bars, slipping into a West Virginia prison shortly after 6:00 this morning, dodging most media attention.
Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, is back with us here.
Jeff, good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, sir.
HEMMER: Orchestrated in a way, huh?
TOOBIN: Well, it was a classic Martha Stewart moment. It was her last moment of control over her life for the next five months.
But she slipped in, avoiding the media scrutiny. Released a statement on the Web site on this melancholy day. It was orchestrated to the -- you know, perfectly. But this is her last chance.
HEMMER: It is called Camp Cupcake, as we see the Web site on the screen there. What can she expect, though? Because you have the impression that it's kind of soft and easy.
TOOBIN: You know, these prisons sometimes have cute names, Camp Cupcake, Club Fed. You know what? No one wants to go to prison and they're right not to want to go to prison.
This is a grim existence. It's not violent. It's not dangerous. It's not "The Shawshank Redemption."
But it is a tough place. You know, you are not in control. Lights out at 8:30 at night. Lights on at 6:00 in the morning. You work at a, dismal job for 12 to 40 cents an hour.
No one wants to do this. No one wants to go to prison for...
HEMMER: Five months, right?
TOOBIN: Five months.
HEMMER: Any chance of early release?
TOOBIN: No. In most federal sentences you have -- you can get 15 percent of your sentence reduced for good behavior, but that's only of sentence is over a year. So she'll be released March 8th, as scheduled.
HEMMER: I heard an interview, a woman who stayed there not too long ago. She could count the number of bricks in her own cell. She said it's 10 across and 5 wide.
TOOBIN: Absolutely. And, you know, Martha Stewart will either be in kind of a big barracks where there are bunk beds, or rooms where there are, you know, a couple of bunk beds. So it's not a classic cell.
This is not a prison with bars. But it's lousy. No one wants to be there.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jeff.
TOOBIN: All right.
HEMMER: Starting today.
Here's Heidi now -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Want to check back on the weather now once again. Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the latest forecast.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Afghanistan goes to the polls tomorrow. It is history for that country. New violence, though, also hitting there. Live to Christiane Amanpour standing by in Kabul in a moment.
COLLINS: Americans elect a new president in just over three weeks, and the race tighter than ever. The battle for swing voters ahead.
HEMMER: All right. Must-see TV again today. The new JibJab video is out. We'll talk to the guys behind it in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This morning in Afghanistan, the day before historic elections, two rockets were launched on Kabul. One exploded.
The blast hit several hundred yards from U.N. peacekeeping headquarters, and very near the U.S. embassy. Embassy staff ordered to take shelter in an underground bunker. No one was hurt.
Well, the polls in Afghanistan open in less than 24 hours. No doubt, under tight security. But there are threats from remaining members of the Taliban to disrupt the election. Chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is live now in Kabul.
Christiane, talk to us a little bit about what exactly is being done to ensure election safety and success, for that matter.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here in Afghanistan, it's nowhere near as bad and as dangerous as in Iraq. And it's much better than it was before the Taliban, when they were here. But it is not perfect.
There is still a lot of insecurity. Most particularly in the south, with a resurgent Taliban and the warlords.
So what the U.S. is doing is basically deploying its 18,000 forces who are here, meant to be hunting al Qaeda, helping to protect the election process. As well, there are about 10,000 NATO-led, what's known as ISAF forces.
COLLINS: Christiane, the most interesting thing, also, that we're noticing on here, 10 million Afghans have registered to vote in this election, including about 40 percent or so that are women. How important is it for the United States that these elections are successful?
AMANPOUR: Well, very important, because clearly the United States wants and needs to have the foreign policy success here. So, very important.
And, of course, the U.S. has been obviously backing, like all the international community, and quite a lot of the Afghan people, Hamid Karzai. It's very important that a sort of continuity, of stability, and the kind of unity that Karzai has been able to project continue.
So while they're saying that they're not trying to engineer Karzai's victory, they do want to make sure that somebody, either a Karzai or somebody like that, wins. But for the U.S., we did talk to the ambassador today, Zalmay Khalilzad, and he's saying that it's very important not just for the U.S. but for the Afghans to know that the U.S. is in it for the long term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: I know from my traveling, and conversations with Afghans, that they're very appreciative of what the United States has done. And the concern that they have is whether we will stay the course.
They fear abandonment. I have committed myself on behalf of the United States that we will stay the course. We will not make the same mistake we made after the Soviet departure, when we abandoned Afghanistan.
We saw what happened. We will not make that mistake again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Of course, he's referring to the birth of terrorism, the al Qaedaism that basically grew up and was nurtured here after in the post-Soviet climate.
And, of course, he knows that the challenge for the future is to make sure that doesn't happen again. And therefore, security absolutely must be maintained after this election in vast parts of this country that are still insecure and havens for Taliban and al Qaeda remnants -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Christiane, an interesting day it will make for tomorrow. That is for certain. Live from Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning. Again, Christiane, thank you -- Bill.
HEMMER: The new string of violence we've been talking about this morning also stretches in the Middle East and Egypt. At least 26 are dead after a series of car bomb and suicide bombings at three resort hotels near the Egyptian-Israeli border. Most of the fatalities look place at the Taba Hilton, where dozens of people are still listed as missing.
Fawaz Gerges is the chairman of Middle East and International Affairs at Sarah Lawrence College, also has a book out next summer called "The Jihadist: An Unholy Warrior."
Good morning Professor. Nice to see you here.
FAWAZ GERGES, MIDEAST ANALYST: Good morning.
HEMMER: What do you make of this bombing in Egypt? Is this the work, as some have already suggested, that it's al Qaeda?
GERGES: No, I don't believe so. I think one point, Bill is very certain. Palestinian groups are not the likely perpetrators.
It appears that a local Egyptian jihadist group could have launched the attacks. What I mean by a local Egyptian jihadist group, for example, I would argue that Egyptian jihad, Egyptian jihad an militant Islamist group that was led by Ayman Zawahiri, bin Laden's second in command, could be behind the attacks.
HEMMER: Ayman al-Zawahiri came out with that videotape a few days ago. Would they be responding possibly to his call?
GERGES: Well, I mean, there are two points here. The first thing, even though that Egyptian jihad was dismantled, largely dismantled by the Egyptian authorities in the 1990s, already it takes four or five individuals to reconstitute a cell and launch such specific attacks.
I don't believe that the attacks that took place yesterday were in direct response to Ayman Zawahiri's call last week. Because let's remember, Bill, the attacks appear to be very professional, very sophisticated. And it took place in a highly secure environment. That is, in Taba, in (INAUDIBLE) desert area.
And this is why I believe it took a long time to plan such attacks. And this is why I would argue operational and technical necessities. I mean, of course, were behind the timing of the operations. So it's not just -- the point I'm trying to make here is that local militant groups could initiate such terrorist actions without having formal affiliation to al Qaeda.
HEMMER: What does it suggest to you, professor, that there's been no claim of responsibility?
GERGES: Well, first of all, this is why I believe that it's not the work of al Qaeda. Al Qaeda would have taken responsibility and bragged about the attacks.
And secondly...
HEMMER: Would they have this early, or is that something that normally takes a few days...
GERGES: Not at all. I mean, maybe they (INAUDIBLE) beforehand, actually. They posted the statement.
This is why I believe that it's a local Egyptian jihadist group, and this is why I think the operations took a long time to plan. And -- because they appear to be very sophisticated and very professional.
And I think what we need to understand here is that now what we're talking about is really al Qaeda being franchised. That is, you have local militant groups initiating activities in Iraq, in Palestine, in Yemen, in Saudi Arabia, and basically acting under the umbrella of al Qaeda. Al Qaeda itself does not really have -- still the command and control structure that local militants responding to the upheaval and turmoil that's taking place in Iraq.
HEMMER: It's an act of imitation. Thank you, professor. Fawaz Gerges here -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come, does how a candidate look during a debate matter as much as what he says? That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A good scandal it seems never dies. David Letterman reached back to the last administration in last night's monologue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Well, ladies and gentlemen, congratulations to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Their 29th wedding anniversary this weekend. Twenty-nine years.
(APPLAUSE)
LETTERMAN: They are -- they'll be celebrating with a romantic dinner, and I understand Bill is bringing a date.
(LAUGHTER)
LETTERMAN: Actually, the Clintons are very, very close. In 29 years, Hillary is the only woman that Bill has ever cheated on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: D'oh!
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: He is hilarious.
HEMMER: Leave it to decide.
Back with Borowitz here. Jack Cafferty out.
Good morning. "Question of the Day?"
BOROWITZ: Good morning. Well, are we looking forward to tonight's debate? I know I am. But are we going to be paying more attention to what President Bush and John Kerry say or to how they look?
So, my question today is: Should the way a candidate look during a debate really matter?
Nancy writes: "Body language says it all. Bush's smirk was that of a smart aleck child, a look my dad would have wiped off his face in a heartbeat."
Wow.
Gail writes: "I use the Dan Quayle rule: The more inept a person, the better looking he must be."
And Eileen writes: "Unless and until we become a society that truly values intellect over image we will always factor in a candidate's appearance when deciding who should be the leader of the free world. I agree that my president needs to look the part, but I couldn't care less what color tie he happens to wear."
And finally, Susan from St. John, New Brunswick, writes: "It matters all right. When you really love a candidate, you just can't wait for the other guy to get caught looking really, really stupid. Making elections fun gets everyone involved, all ages."
So she sees it as entertainment.
HEMMER: Well, 62 million people watched debate number one.
BOROWITZ: I know. Amazing.
HEMMER: Competing with baseball tonight.
BOROWITZ: I think it will win. I think the debate will win.
HEMMER: Big numbers. Thank you, Andy.
"90-Second Pop" in a moment on a Friday right after this when we continue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER (voice-over): It took 37 years. Beach Boy Brian Wilson ready to release a new album now.
Plus, the Botox case. One L.A. socialite taking its maker and the doctor who injected her to court.
Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 8, 2004 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is round two for the presidential debate later tonight. Is one candidate in a better position for a breakthrough moment?
Also, a serious piece of ammunition for that debate. The latest jobs report is out 30 minutes ago. Is it help for Bush or help for Kerry?
Martha Stewart dodges the media and arrives at a West Virginia earlier today.
And those JibJab guys are back on the Internet.
(MUSIC)
HEMMER: It is the sequel to the hit "This Land." It's now out, and both sides get equal abuse on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
HEMMER: All right. It's Friday. Good morning, everyone. Nine o'clock. Good to have you along with us today.
Soledad is out, Heidi is in.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
HEMMER: Those guys are funny, aren't they?
COLLINS: Yes, very funny.
HEMMER: We'll go talk to them in a moment here. The JibJab guys are Gregg and Evan Spiridellis. They're going to be our guests here coming up in a moment here, talking about the new cartoon and how they got the jokes together.
The last one was a huge hit.
COLLINS: It was a huge hit.
HEMMER: Crashed the server many times, did it not?
COLLINS: Very creative. HEMMER: We'll get to that.
Also this hour, some of the other headlines.
A huge test for Afghanistan comes tomorrow, national elections. We'll get a report from Christiane Amanpour in Kabul, let you know how that country is getting ready.
COLLINS: Also, we're going to be talking about the terrorist attacks in Egypt with Fawaz Gerges. At least 26 people killed, more than 100 hurt. Who are the likely perpetrators, though? Talking about that in just a moment.
And Jack is off today. Andy Borowitz, though, reading his e-mail a little bit later on.
For now, we want to check the stories "Now in the News" with Kelly Wallace.
Kelly, good morning.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Heidi and Bill. Good morning to you, everyone.
We begin with Martha Stewart. She has started her life at what is being called Camp Cupcake. Stewart arrived early this morning at the minimum security prison in Alderson, West Virginia. She will spend the next five months at the prison and will work in a job that pays from 12 to 40 cents an hour.
French and Indonesian officials are searching for suspects in this morning's bombing in Paris. At least 10 people were slightly injured when an explosive device blew up outside the Indonesian embassy. The blast also shattered windows in a neighborhood across from the Eiffel Tower. The bombing is one of several unrelated incidents spanning the globe today. We will have the latest on the attacks in Afghanistan and Egypt coming up.
The FBI is examining materials found on two computer disks in Iraq showing photos and layouts of some American schools. Officials have notified several school districts about the find, including some schools in Fort Myers, Florida; Salem, Oregon; Jones County, Georgia; New Jersey; Michigan and California. Officials say there is no specific threat. The materials may be associated with a person involved with school planning in Iraq.
And from a record 194 nominations, the Nobel Committee has chosen a Kenyan environmentalist for the 2004 peace prize. Wangari Maathai leads the Green Belt Movement, aiming to empower women and improve the environment in Africa. She is the first African woman to win the award. The committee says Maathai's efforts to promote peace and good living conditions are inspirational.
So a woman winning the Nobel Peace Prize, a woman winning the Literature Award yesterday.
COLLINS: Kelly, what does it say?
WALLACE: It gives me reason to smile. It says a lot.
HEMMER: Andy, is there hope for us?
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: We've won a lot of them, the four of us. We men, that is.
HEMMER: Well done.
COLLINS: Thank you, Kelly.
WALLACE: Sure.
COLLINS: Well, Andy is here now talking about the last jobs report before next month's election. It is out this morning. We're just getting these numbers now and breaking them down. Andy Serwer once again to tell us more all about it.
SERWER: That's right, Heidi. The big news is that 96,000 jobs were created in the month of September. That is weaker than expected.
Economists were looking for 150,000 jobs. The unemployment rate stays at 5.4 percent. There were some job revisions for the month of August, revised down. The month of July revised up.
Net-net, 1.5 million jobs created this year. That's the good news for the Bush administration. The bad news for the Bush administration is that there will still be job loss during his administration.
We calculate over 800,000 jobs were lost. The Labor Department is reporting also this morning that eight million Americans are unemployed.
The job picture has improved somewhat, Heidi. We have 13 straight months of job creation, and obviously there's stuff for both sides here. And I'm sure you're going to be hearing that in the debate this evening.
COLLINS: Yes, we'll be hearing that, no question about it. All right. Andy Serwer, thank you so much for that.
In fact, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux spoke with a White House official just moments ago about the jobs report. The official points out 1.7 million jobs have been created under George Bush. And the unemployment rate is holding steady, as you just heard Andy say.
The candidates will debate tonight on Congressman Dick Gephardt's home turf, that is. The Missouri Democrat is in St. Louis now to tell us what John Kerry needs to do in this second presidential face-off.
Representative Gephardt, good morning to you.
REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), MISSOURI: Good morning, Heidi. COLLINS: All right. So let's talk about this number just coming in to us now, job growth. We are hearing 96,000 jobs added last month. That's some good news, yes?
GEPHARDT: I don't think so. We're happy that jobs were created, but it wasn't nearly enough. And as was just said, 800,000 jobs lost net during the Bush administration.
This is a very bad record. It's the worst record since Herbert Hoover. And if you're one of those 800,000 who lost their jobs, net, it's a big deal.
A lot of jobs are being outsourced. And I'm sure John Kerry, as he has been, is going to make an issue of that tonight.
COLLINS: Well, the White House is saying there are some reasons for all of this. Oil sitting at $52 a barrel and rising. Everyone also waiting to find out who the president of this country is going to be.
GEPHARDT: Well, you make the point. We don't have an energy program. And oil is at $52 a barrel, which is another impediment to creating jobs in the United States.
This president knew after 9/11 that we needed an energy program to lessen our dependence on foreign oil, especially Middle Eastern oil. He hasn't done a thing.
We haven't reduced our dependence. In fact, we're more dependent on Middle Eastern oil than we were.
The deficit is mushrooming. We have the highest deficit this year in the history of the country. And another one projected next year.
So this is a failed administration on economic policy. And the people that are being hurt are the folks out here in Missouri and other States who've lost their jobs.
COLLINS: Well, once again, they are saying 1.7 million jobs created in the time under President Bush. So I'm sure that we will hear much more about this tonight.
Let's get to the debate tonight. What is John Kerry going to have to do to keep the momentum, if you will, going from the first presidential debate?
GEPHARDT: Well, he just needs to do tonight what he did a week ago. And that is let people know who he is, his plan for America, his fresh start for Iraq, what he wants to do to get this economy invigorated, his energy plan, his environmental plans.
He's going to do all that tonight. And I fully expect that after tonight's debate, you're going to see John Kerry go ahead in the polls. There's one poll out already has him ahead. And all of that really happened since last week's debate. He's going to have another good debate.
COLLINS: Well, Representative Gephardt, we know that both domestic and foreign issues will probably be discussed tonight. And in light of this final report coming out from the CIA now, the president, of course, steadfastly defending his decision to go to war in Iraq.
Is it not better to be safe than sorry on this front? Knowing what the president knew at that time?
GEPHARDT: Well, look, I don't think the issue here is whether we should have gone to Iraq. The issue is how we went to war in Iraq and how that affected other parts of the war against terrorism.
What John Kerry said last week, I think, is absolutely true. He voted to go to war. I voted to go to war. A lot of Democrats agreed with the president to do this.
The intelligence may have been wrong. And that is now clear. But that's water over the dam. The question is, did we go to war in the right way?
We didn't. We didn't get help. We didn't get every country in the world helping us as they should have.
Finally, it took our focus off of Osama bin Laden and the other examples of terrorism around the world. We're now stuck in Iraq, preoccupied with Iraq. It's costing us money and lives.
We needed the help. We needed to wait until we had that help so that we could prosecute this war against terrorism everywhere, including better homeland security here in the United States.
COLLINS: And as we know, elections will be happening in Afghanistan as well. Thank you so much for being with us. Representative Dick Gephardt, nice to see you.
GEPHARDT: Thanks so much.
COLLINS: CNN will be live in St. Louis as President Bush and Senator Kerry take questions tonight from voters. Prime-time coverage kicks off at 7:00 Eastern -- Bill?
HEMMER: It is Martha Stewart's day of reckoning. The celebrity homemaker now behind bars, slipping into a West Virginia prison shortly after 6:00 this morning, dodging most media attention.
Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, is back with us here.
Jeff, good morning to you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning, sir.
HEMMER: Orchestrated in a way, huh?
TOOBIN: Well, it was a classic Martha Stewart moment. It was her last moment of control over her life for the next five months.
But she slipped in, avoiding the media scrutiny. Released a statement on the Web site on this melancholy day. It was orchestrated to the -- you know, perfectly. But this is her last chance.
HEMMER: It is called Camp Cupcake, as we see the Web site on the screen there. What can she expect, though? Because you have the impression that it's kind of soft and easy.
TOOBIN: You know, these prisons sometimes have cute names, Camp Cupcake, Club Fed. You know what? No one wants to go to prison and they're right not to want to go to prison.
This is a grim existence. It's not violent. It's not dangerous. It's not "The Shawshank Redemption."
But it is a tough place. You know, you are not in control. Lights out at 8:30 at night. Lights on at 6:00 in the morning. You work at a, dismal job for 12 to 40 cents an hour.
No one wants to do this. No one wants to go to prison for...
HEMMER: Five months, right?
TOOBIN: Five months.
HEMMER: Any chance of early release?
TOOBIN: No. In most federal sentences you have -- you can get 15 percent of your sentence reduced for good behavior, but that's only of sentence is over a year. So she'll be released March 8th, as scheduled.
HEMMER: I heard an interview, a woman who stayed there not too long ago. She could count the number of bricks in her own cell. She said it's 10 across and 5 wide.
TOOBIN: Absolutely. And, you know, Martha Stewart will either be in kind of a big barracks where there are bunk beds, or rooms where there are, you know, a couple of bunk beds. So it's not a classic cell.
This is not a prison with bars. But it's lousy. No one wants to be there.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jeff.
TOOBIN: All right.
HEMMER: Starting today.
Here's Heidi now -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Want to check back on the weather now once again. Chad Myers at the CNN Center with the latest forecast.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Afghanistan goes to the polls tomorrow. It is history for that country. New violence, though, also hitting there. Live to Christiane Amanpour standing by in Kabul in a moment.
COLLINS: Americans elect a new president in just over three weeks, and the race tighter than ever. The battle for swing voters ahead.
HEMMER: All right. Must-see TV again today. The new JibJab video is out. We'll talk to the guys behind it in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: This morning in Afghanistan, the day before historic elections, two rockets were launched on Kabul. One exploded.
The blast hit several hundred yards from U.N. peacekeeping headquarters, and very near the U.S. embassy. Embassy staff ordered to take shelter in an underground bunker. No one was hurt.
Well, the polls in Afghanistan open in less than 24 hours. No doubt, under tight security. But there are threats from remaining members of the Taliban to disrupt the election. Chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is live now in Kabul.
Christiane, talk to us a little bit about what exactly is being done to ensure election safety and success, for that matter.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here in Afghanistan, it's nowhere near as bad and as dangerous as in Iraq. And it's much better than it was before the Taliban, when they were here. But it is not perfect.
There is still a lot of insecurity. Most particularly in the south, with a resurgent Taliban and the warlords.
So what the U.S. is doing is basically deploying its 18,000 forces who are here, meant to be hunting al Qaeda, helping to protect the election process. As well, there are about 10,000 NATO-led, what's known as ISAF forces.
COLLINS: Christiane, the most interesting thing, also, that we're noticing on here, 10 million Afghans have registered to vote in this election, including about 40 percent or so that are women. How important is it for the United States that these elections are successful?
AMANPOUR: Well, very important, because clearly the United States wants and needs to have the foreign policy success here. So, very important.
And, of course, the U.S. has been obviously backing, like all the international community, and quite a lot of the Afghan people, Hamid Karzai. It's very important that a sort of continuity, of stability, and the kind of unity that Karzai has been able to project continue.
So while they're saying that they're not trying to engineer Karzai's victory, they do want to make sure that somebody, either a Karzai or somebody like that, wins. But for the U.S., we did talk to the ambassador today, Zalmay Khalilzad, and he's saying that it's very important not just for the U.S. but for the Afghans to know that the U.S. is in it for the long term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: I know from my traveling, and conversations with Afghans, that they're very appreciative of what the United States has done. And the concern that they have is whether we will stay the course.
They fear abandonment. I have committed myself on behalf of the United States that we will stay the course. We will not make the same mistake we made after the Soviet departure, when we abandoned Afghanistan.
We saw what happened. We will not make that mistake again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Of course, he's referring to the birth of terrorism, the al Qaedaism that basically grew up and was nurtured here after in the post-Soviet climate.
And, of course, he knows that the challenge for the future is to make sure that doesn't happen again. And therefore, security absolutely must be maintained after this election in vast parts of this country that are still insecure and havens for Taliban and al Qaeda remnants -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Christiane, an interesting day it will make for tomorrow. That is for certain. Live from Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning. Again, Christiane, thank you -- Bill.
HEMMER: The new string of violence we've been talking about this morning also stretches in the Middle East and Egypt. At least 26 are dead after a series of car bomb and suicide bombings at three resort hotels near the Egyptian-Israeli border. Most of the fatalities look place at the Taba Hilton, where dozens of people are still listed as missing.
Fawaz Gerges is the chairman of Middle East and International Affairs at Sarah Lawrence College, also has a book out next summer called "The Jihadist: An Unholy Warrior."
Good morning Professor. Nice to see you here.
FAWAZ GERGES, MIDEAST ANALYST: Good morning.
HEMMER: What do you make of this bombing in Egypt? Is this the work, as some have already suggested, that it's al Qaeda?
GERGES: No, I don't believe so. I think one point, Bill is very certain. Palestinian groups are not the likely perpetrators.
It appears that a local Egyptian jihadist group could have launched the attacks. What I mean by a local Egyptian jihadist group, for example, I would argue that Egyptian jihad, Egyptian jihad an militant Islamist group that was led by Ayman Zawahiri, bin Laden's second in command, could be behind the attacks.
HEMMER: Ayman al-Zawahiri came out with that videotape a few days ago. Would they be responding possibly to his call?
GERGES: Well, I mean, there are two points here. The first thing, even though that Egyptian jihad was dismantled, largely dismantled by the Egyptian authorities in the 1990s, already it takes four or five individuals to reconstitute a cell and launch such specific attacks.
I don't believe that the attacks that took place yesterday were in direct response to Ayman Zawahiri's call last week. Because let's remember, Bill, the attacks appear to be very professional, very sophisticated. And it took place in a highly secure environment. That is, in Taba, in (INAUDIBLE) desert area.
And this is why I believe it took a long time to plan such attacks. And this is why I would argue operational and technical necessities. I mean, of course, were behind the timing of the operations. So it's not just -- the point I'm trying to make here is that local militant groups could initiate such terrorist actions without having formal affiliation to al Qaeda.
HEMMER: What does it suggest to you, professor, that there's been no claim of responsibility?
GERGES: Well, first of all, this is why I believe that it's not the work of al Qaeda. Al Qaeda would have taken responsibility and bragged about the attacks.
And secondly...
HEMMER: Would they have this early, or is that something that normally takes a few days...
GERGES: Not at all. I mean, maybe they (INAUDIBLE) beforehand, actually. They posted the statement.
This is why I believe that it's a local Egyptian jihadist group, and this is why I think the operations took a long time to plan. And -- because they appear to be very sophisticated and very professional.
And I think what we need to understand here is that now what we're talking about is really al Qaeda being franchised. That is, you have local militant groups initiating activities in Iraq, in Palestine, in Yemen, in Saudi Arabia, and basically acting under the umbrella of al Qaeda. Al Qaeda itself does not really have -- still the command and control structure that local militants responding to the upheaval and turmoil that's taking place in Iraq.
HEMMER: It's an act of imitation. Thank you, professor. Fawaz Gerges here -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come, does how a candidate look during a debate matter as much as what he says? That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A good scandal it seems never dies. David Letterman reached back to the last administration in last night's monologue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Well, ladies and gentlemen, congratulations to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Their 29th wedding anniversary this weekend. Twenty-nine years.
(APPLAUSE)
LETTERMAN: They are -- they'll be celebrating with a romantic dinner, and I understand Bill is bringing a date.
(LAUGHTER)
LETTERMAN: Actually, the Clintons are very, very close. In 29 years, Hillary is the only woman that Bill has ever cheated on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: D'oh!
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: He is hilarious.
HEMMER: Leave it to decide.
Back with Borowitz here. Jack Cafferty out.
Good morning. "Question of the Day?"
BOROWITZ: Good morning. Well, are we looking forward to tonight's debate? I know I am. But are we going to be paying more attention to what President Bush and John Kerry say or to how they look?
So, my question today is: Should the way a candidate look during a debate really matter?
Nancy writes: "Body language says it all. Bush's smirk was that of a smart aleck child, a look my dad would have wiped off his face in a heartbeat."
Wow.
Gail writes: "I use the Dan Quayle rule: The more inept a person, the better looking he must be."
And Eileen writes: "Unless and until we become a society that truly values intellect over image we will always factor in a candidate's appearance when deciding who should be the leader of the free world. I agree that my president needs to look the part, but I couldn't care less what color tie he happens to wear."
And finally, Susan from St. John, New Brunswick, writes: "It matters all right. When you really love a candidate, you just can't wait for the other guy to get caught looking really, really stupid. Making elections fun gets everyone involved, all ages."
So she sees it as entertainment.
HEMMER: Well, 62 million people watched debate number one.
BOROWITZ: I know. Amazing.
HEMMER: Competing with baseball tonight.
BOROWITZ: I think it will win. I think the debate will win.
HEMMER: Big numbers. Thank you, Andy.
"90-Second Pop" in a moment on a Friday right after this when we continue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER (voice-over): It took 37 years. Beach Boy Brian Wilson ready to release a new album now.
Plus, the Botox case. One L.A. socialite taking its maker and the doctor who injected her to court.
Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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