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American Morning
Remembering the Life of Christopher Reeve; Presidential Candidates Prepare for Third and Final Debate; Interview with Alexandra Pelosi.
Aired October 11, 2004 - 08:30 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Eight-thirty here in New York. Good morning, everyone, on a Monday morning. Nice to have you along with us today.
Remembering the life today of Christopher Reeve and his family, thanking fans for all their support over the years this morning. We'll get a report from the hospital where Christopher Reeve died over the weekend.
We'll go there in a few moments. Find out what the family is saying about the struggle to help save the actor. So we'll get to that update.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, remember when John Kerry was fighting it out for the Democratic nomination? Well, a filmmaker who had great success following George Bush in 1999. I think it was? Got some great stuff during those recent primaries. We're going to talk with Alexandra Pelosi about her latest film, "Diary of a Political Tourist."
HEMMER: She's a true road warrior, too.
COLLINS: She is.
HEMMER: She's always out there beating down the path.
COLLINS: Carries the camera no matter how big or heavy it is, yes.
HEMMER: Want to get to Kelly Wallace now here at 8:31 here in New York. Good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Good morning again everyone.
We begin with news about Yaser Hamdi who was considered by the U.S. an enemy combatant. He is back in Saudi Arabia this morning.
Hamdi spent almost three years in U.S. custody on suspicions he fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Hamdi tells his attorney that being back in Saudi Arabia is, quote, awesome.
In Gaza a fresh outbreak of violence. Palestinian security sources say at least one person was killed and two seriously wounded in fighting with Israel troops. They say Israeli soldiers were targeting the home of a local Islamic Jihad leader. Israeli officials say they are looking into the report.
New details about the shortage of this year's flu vaccine. According to reports, U.S. health regulators found problems at a British flu vaccine factory in June of last year but they didn't begin a full inspection at the plant until just days ago.
Meanwhile the Senate is considering a bill that would allow the government to import some flu vaccines from other countries to make up for the shortage.
And in Washington State, a missing teenager is recovering this morning after she was found alive after a car accident more than a week ago. The girl was found yesterday trapped in her car without food or water. Her car had crashed 100 feet down an embankment nearly 10 days ago.
Some welcome good news on this very sad morning. An amazing story.
COLLINS: Yes. Kelly thanks.
HEMMER: Christopher Reeve died yesterday from heart failure in a suburban New York City hospital. Reeve went into cardiac arrest and then into a coma on Saturday. It has been nine long years since the horse riding accident left the popular actor paralyzed from the neck down.
But Reeve never gave up hope that he would one day be able to walk again. Last fall he talked with our Paula Zahn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you still think about walking someday?
CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: Oh sure, absolutely. I'm not even thinking, I'm planning. You know and basically, I started exercising to maintain my health, but also to be ready for a cure if and when it comes, but I think that science and exercise can meet halfway.
And certainly the next thing we need to do is --particularly in this country -- is to get politics out of the equation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Christopher Reeve just turned 52 at the end of September.
Funeral arrangements now still being worked out, and CNN's Jason Carroll this morning is in Mount Kisco, New York, the hospital where Reeve died.
Good morning there.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very sad day indeed. Reeve was admitted to the hospital here on Saturday. Doctors say that he was being treated initially for a pressure wound, which is similar to a bedsore, which is common among paralysis patients. Unfortunately that wound became severely infected.
It turned into a systemic infection throughout his entire body. As you said that eventually lead to cardiac arrest and coma and of course Reeve died from heart failure on Saturday.
You can see there from that interview with Paula Zahn that Reeve handled his condition with courage and with strength.
In 2000 I remember, you know, the news reports that came out, he was able to move his finger. He actually at one point did receive -- was able to get sensation in other parts of his body. He also became a strong advocate in the latter part of his life for stem cell research and for spinal cord injuries.
That was a point that was raised when Senator Kerry debated President Bush during the last debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Chris Reeve is a friend of mine. Chris Reeve exercises every single day to keep those muscles alive to the day when he believes he can walk again, and I want him to walk again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Reeve's wife Dana released a statement saying that she thanked the hospital staff here. Also saying I also want to thank his personal staff of nurses and aides as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years.
Reeve is survived by his wife Dana and three children. As you said, he was 52 years old. I spoke to his publicist this morning, Bill. Funeral arrangements are still being made.
HEMMER: Jason, thanks for that report. Top of our 9:00 hour here about 35 minutes from now we'll talk with Harold Guskin, a long time acting director for Christopher Reeve. He taught him for many, many years. We'll get his thoughts a bit later -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Want to switch gears a moment now, back to the political trail. It's just three weeks and one day until the presidential election.
In fact, President Bush and Senator John Kerry now no doubt preparing for their third and final debate coming up on Wednesday night, and Suzanne Malveaux is with the president on his ranch in Crawford, Texas this morning.
Good morning to you, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Really in the final weeks of this campaign what we are seeing is a shift in strategy. For months the Bush camp has been portraying Kerry as a flip-flopper. Now they are painting him as a consistent liberal extremist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): President Bush with his top political advisers hunkered down at the Crawford ranch to prepare for the critical three- week countdown to Election Day. The strategy is three pronged.
One, to convince undecided voters Mr. Bush's opponent John Kerry can't be trusted. Two, to rally the base by reminding them that Kerry is a liberal. And three, to persuade all voters that the senator is weak in fighting terror.
Sunday, the Bush camp seized on a "New York Times" profile of Kerry to make the case there's a fundamental difference in the way the president and his opponent see the war on terror.
When Kerry was asked what it would take for Americans to feel safe again, he is quoted as saying, "We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they are a nuisance. As a former law-enforcement person, I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life."
Bush advisers say this proves Kerry doesn't understand the terrorist threat.
MARC RACICOT, CHAIRMAN, BUSH-CHENEY: He equated it to prostitution and gambling, a nuisance activity. You know, quite frankly, I just don't think that he has a right view of the world. It's a pre-9/11 view of the world.
MALVEAUX: The Kerry campaign calls that ridiculous. And says the senator's comments are taken out of context.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: Senator Kerry has said that the number one threat to America is international terrorism and al Qaeda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (on camera): And the president's challenge for the final debate is to really try to knock down the lead that Kerry has consistently in those polls when it comes to domestic issues, health care and the economy.
Later, President Bush travels to those battleground states of New Mexico and Colorado.
And Heidi, when we talk battleground, New Mexico is a state that he lost last time by just 366 votes.
COLLINS: Yes, a very small margin there. Suzanne, I know last night some new TV ads prepared by both campaigns. Tell us a little bit about the Bush administration and their ads.
MALVEAUX: Oh, absolutely. I mean this just shows how both camps immediately went to get their message across and were very concerned about it. The Bush camp putting out their own TV ad and it's called "World View."
It essentially ridicules Kerry, accusing him of equating terrorism with prostitution and gambling. The Kerry camp released its response ad at 2:40 in the morning, hitting back. It is an ad that's called "Can't Win." It simply reminds voters that at one point the president did say that he did not believe that the war on terror could be won.
Both of these camps of course not waiting for those other one to make a point or score a point in these final weeks of this campaign -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And how many more ads will we see in that short amount of time?
Suzanne Malveaux from Crawford, Texas, today. Thanks, Suzanne.
HEMMER: Twenty-two minutes before the hour and Alexandra Pelosi knows the road.
She's been on the campaign trail since 1999. The filmmaker first documented her travels with the Bush team back in 2000.
She's the daughter of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, now her new work is a new documentary called "Diary of a Political Tourist" which premiers tonight on HBO. And Alexander Pelosi is my guest now here in New York. Good morning. Nice to see you.
ALEXANDRA PELOSI, "DIARY OF A POLITICAL TOURIST": Nice to see you.
HEMMER: The last time we saw each other was January.
PELOSI: Very (INAUDIBLE).
HEMMER: Beating down the haze of Iowa. What was your premise this time?
PELOSI: Well, I went on the road to capture what it takes to become the nominee of your party. So I followed all of the wannabes. And I spent a year and a half on the campaign trail with all of the Democrats that were competing for the nomination.
HEMMER: Now we've whittled it down to John Kerry and you first met him when?
PELOSI: Well, I started the movie at the beginning of 2003 but I met him many times before that -- but the movie starts at the beginning of 2003.
HEMMER: At one point in your documentary John Kerry actually takes your camera -- I want to show that to our viewers -- and we'll come back and talk about it. Watch here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: I want to ask you if you had fun?
PELOSI: Grueling. The grind.
KERRY: What's -- let me see this thing here. Come here. See when I ask you -- I mean -- what makes you do this?
PELOSI: Well, I'm trying -- what I'm trying to do with this movie is I'm trying to show the other side. I'm trapped between -- I'm not in the press corps. And I'm not working for the candidate. I'm in between. And there's this dance between the candidate and his staff and the press.
And I'm trying to show that dance. Do you understand?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: You were asking him if he understood. What is the dance? Help us understand.
PELOSI: Well, it's about -- you know -- when you're running for president you have a press corps that travels with you and you have a pack of handlers that are trying to keep the press away from the candidate and the campaign is trying to present their message of the day and the press are trying to write the story they want to write and it's this complicated little ecosystem of living in the bubble of a presidential campaign.
HEMMER: Do you think -- if you reflect on 2000 in compared to 2004, do you think the style of campaigning has changed any? Because I think the technology puts an awful lot of pressure on the campaigns and the technology puts an awful lot of pressure on the news networks as well.
PELOSI: Oh, yes, and don't forget that everyone had -- every network had kids with camcorders this time around. Which made it that much more annoying for the candidates to have to turn around and see all these camcorders in their face.
So you know I think it's a lot to sort of -- with the technology for that among...
HEMMER: Because it's so instantaneous. Most humorous event? Can you pick one?
PELOSI: Well you probably were there in Iowa when Dick Gephardt brought Michael Bolton out? Isn't that the last time I saw you?
HEMMER: Yes, sure.
PELOSI: Michael Bolton retired from the -- the old crooner came out to campaign for Dick Gephardt. Or Joe Lieberman eating a deep fried Twinkie at the Iowa State Fair.
HEMMER: That's all in the documentary?
PELOSI: Yes.
HEMMER: Do you think this is any way to pick a president?
PELOSI: Well, I think that the system is really dysfunctional, actually. It's very complicated to talk about in sound bites on the morning news, but it really is broken in a way, because 100,000 farmers decided who the nominee of the party was going to be. I mean there were no primaries.
HEMMER: In Iowa.
PELOSI: Yes. I was going to go out and document what it takes to run for president and I was going to follow the primaries but there were no primaries this time. Because after Iowa it was already over.
HEMMER: I'm looking forward to it. Congratulations to you.
PELOSI: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Back on the road?
PELOSI: Yes.
HEMMER: Good luck, Alexandra.
PELOSI: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Thanks for sharing. HBO later tonight. All right. Heidi.
COLLINS: Want to check on the weather now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment after digesting some tough economic news, what's next for Wall Street? Get a market preview on this Monday as we start a whole new week here.
COLLINS: And Christopher Reeve and his tireless support for stem cell research. Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the late actor's legacy next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: After Christopher Reeve's devastating accident, he became an outspoken supporter of more stem cell research and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us with more on that this morning.
Boy that's for sure; he worked so tirelessly on this.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He really did, and I think he will be forever associated with stem cell research, obviously taking some of the celebrity power and his significant accident that he had and lending it to the argument for stem cells.
This is what his doctor, Dr. Michael McDonald, had to say about this earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JOHN MCDONALD, NEUROLOGIST, WASHINGTON UNIV.: I think it's really been critical. I mean, he's really put spinal cord injury research on the research map. And made it a forefront runner as opposed to a back street science and both in the scientific world as well as the political world, and those two worlds need to meld, and he's gone a long way to accomplish that goal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: That's actually Dr. John McDonald. And listen, you know, Christopher Reeve and people like Michael J. Fox talking about stem cells, talking to congressmen, senators, about stem cells.
He never received stem cells and that's something I talked to his doctors about. He never received them although a lot of people speculated that he might.
His recovery, which really was remarkable by all standards, really came from something known as an activity dependent recovery.
You look at all the images of Christopher Reeve exercising, having all of his limbs moved over and over again. Lot of scientists believed, starting to believe even more than -- it is that sort of activity, that sort of recovery actually sending the signal not from the brain to the limbs but from the limbs back to the brain saying yes we potentially could walk again.
Having said that, without any dramatic scientific breakthroughs, it's unlikely that Reeve would have ever walked again. Let me show you on a spine model here.
Specifically what we're talking about in terms of his injury. He actually had an injury -- this is the top of the spine over here, this is the back of the head. Top of the spine.
His injury was in the very back, very top of the spinal cord up here. An area of the spinal cord that's responsible not only for movement but also for the ability to breathe on his own.
What is particularly remarkable about Reeve is that even seven to nine years after his injury, he was able to still continue to have recovery, to have some movement in all of his limbs, some sensation throughout his body and the ability to be off the ventilator for periods of time. Pretty remarkable there, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, and again as a neurosurgeon to have you here with us today to explain all this we certainly appreciate it. Some of his accomplishments though that you think that people will remember and you already mentioned the word as his legacy?
GUPTA: Yes, I think you know obviously stem cells is going to be something that is always associated with Christopher Reeve. I think that that's for sure. But also there are other things. That people probably don't know as much about.
You talk about the NIH budget, for example. Grew from $12 billion to $27.2 billion. Obviously not all due to Christopher Reeve, but he had a lot to do with advocacy and actually going to senators and congressmen, talking about the need for increasing the funding, specifically for federally-funded stem cell research.
Also there's a thing called the Reeve-Irvine Research Center at the University of California, that is a research center purely devoted to trying to get people with spinal cord injuries to recover. So I think all those things will live on even after today, Heidi.
COLLINS: I'm sure that they will. Dr. Sanjay Gupta thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: And still to come now this morning cash and carry or bucks for Bush? Celebrities do or don't dole out the bucks for the candidates next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right everybody, welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Bah, humbug. Target says no to the Salvation Army bell ringers this coming holiday season and a preview of the markets. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business," my business, our business. Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Jack, thank you very much.
Let's take a look back last week and see what was going on. Not a good one for the markets.
Dow down triple digits. Other markets following suit. Got hit with a three-way punch. That's possible -- you know, bang, bang, bang. You got drug stocks taking a beating, Chiron and Merck -- you remember that.
Higher oil prices then also the weak jobs report on Friday as well. This morning futures are up, though, which is a good thing. Stocks trading bonds not on this Columbus Day.
Let's talk about Target, the Target Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota getting in touch with its inner Scrooge this holiday season the only way to put it. They decided to ban the Salvation Army bell ringers from outside their stores. Why? Because they said they had too many requests from other non-profits.
So they...
CAFFERTY: What the hell's the difference?
SERWER: Yes. Well, this is -- you know -- sounds like it really is coming from the General Counsel's Office and you know it's like a little kid falls down on the seesaw so we have to close the whole program, the whole playground. I mean...
CAFFERTY: I mean the Salvation -- that's one of the best charities ever. I mean, you know, the stuff they do is -- it's terrific.
SERWER: They said they might lose $9 million this winter because of this. So...
CAFFERTY: So why doesn't Target write them a check for the $9 million it's going to cost them?
SERWER: Maybe they will.
CAFFERTY: Then people wouldn't be sitting on a national television show like this and talking about what a bunch of bums the people at Target are for running the Salvation Army people off the front of their store so they can't collect a few dollars, pocket change, for people who are down and out over the holiday season. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, Target. Now if they wrote a check, that...
SERWER: Then we'd probably report that the next day.
CAFFERTY: And we would.
SERWER: Yes we would.
CAFFERTY: So get out your checkbook and show a little class. Time for the "File."
Couple of weeks ago in search of a cheap laugh, which is how I spend most of my time around here, we showed some videotape of an airplane crashing at an air show and compared it to the future of Air America, the liberal radio whatchamacallit.
Everybody laughed except Air America. They didn't think it was funny at all, so by way of clarification please note the following: Air America is currently on in about 33 of the 287 markets around the country. Let me repeat: they are on in 33 of the 287 markets in the country.
They are -- they have no stations in Chicago or Los Angeles, the second and third largest markets in the nation. Here's the way the numbers break down if you're looking at this. Air America has about 33, 35 -- they're on a couple of those satellite things...
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Rush Limbaugh is on nearly 600 stations. Bill O'Reilly is on almost 400 stations, and Sean Hannity who toils over there at the F-word network is on almost 400 stations as well.
Of course these shows have been around longer. So far, none of the competitors have seen Air America as a threat because they are not big enough to qualify for something called radar status, which is the main ad tracking and rating system for network radio. So that ought to clear that up.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Leave me alone. Livermore is the city of California -- in California -- that prides itself as the center for advanced science. It's the home of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where the government makes nuclear missiles.
Hopefully they are better at science than they are at spelling. Some mutant artist got the city to cough up $40,000 to do this mural outside the city library? They misspelled -- or she, the artist -- misspelled the names of a few of history's heavyweights.
Names like Einstein, Shakespeare, and Michelangelo all misspelled on this thing -- $40,000.
The artist is from Miami and she said that the mistakes would have been caught if the city officials had done a spell check.
For $40,000, they ought to expect you could spell the names of Einstein and Shakespeare right.
I'm going back on vacation. This stuff is depressing.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: We came across this story in the "New York Daily News." Shows how much cash celebrities are spending to support their preferred presidential candidates. Cash for Kerry as follows: Chevy Chase, $32,000; Paul Newman, $50,000; Matt Damon, $25,000; DeNiro, $27,000.
The big bucks are going to John Kerry.
On the George Bush side of the ledger, we're talking chump change here. Except for one donor -- Kelsey Grammer, $4,000.
SERWER: Gee.
CAFFERTY: I mean he can -- you know -- you know how many jillions he made off that -- yes, come on. You're like Tarzan. Kick over some dollars to the Bushman. Wayne Newton, who has got a lifetime contract in Vegas, makes a million dollars a day or something, $2,000.
SERWER: Cheaper.
CAFFERTY: Ben Stein, $2,000. Don King, that freaked out fight promoter, $44,500. Now what do you suppose he has in mind? Guarantee you there's something going on there?
SERWER: ... something.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
As we remember the life of Christopher Reeve this morning, we'll talk with one of his acting coaches in a moment. That's at the top of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 11, 2004 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Eight-thirty here in New York. Good morning, everyone, on a Monday morning. Nice to have you along with us today.
Remembering the life today of Christopher Reeve and his family, thanking fans for all their support over the years this morning. We'll get a report from the hospital where Christopher Reeve died over the weekend.
We'll go there in a few moments. Find out what the family is saying about the struggle to help save the actor. So we'll get to that update.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, remember when John Kerry was fighting it out for the Democratic nomination? Well, a filmmaker who had great success following George Bush in 1999. I think it was? Got some great stuff during those recent primaries. We're going to talk with Alexandra Pelosi about her latest film, "Diary of a Political Tourist."
HEMMER: She's a true road warrior, too.
COLLINS: She is.
HEMMER: She's always out there beating down the path.
COLLINS: Carries the camera no matter how big or heavy it is, yes.
HEMMER: Want to get to Kelly Wallace now here at 8:31 here in New York. Good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Good morning again everyone.
We begin with news about Yaser Hamdi who was considered by the U.S. an enemy combatant. He is back in Saudi Arabia this morning.
Hamdi spent almost three years in U.S. custody on suspicions he fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Hamdi tells his attorney that being back in Saudi Arabia is, quote, awesome.
In Gaza a fresh outbreak of violence. Palestinian security sources say at least one person was killed and two seriously wounded in fighting with Israel troops. They say Israeli soldiers were targeting the home of a local Islamic Jihad leader. Israeli officials say they are looking into the report.
New details about the shortage of this year's flu vaccine. According to reports, U.S. health regulators found problems at a British flu vaccine factory in June of last year but they didn't begin a full inspection at the plant until just days ago.
Meanwhile the Senate is considering a bill that would allow the government to import some flu vaccines from other countries to make up for the shortage.
And in Washington State, a missing teenager is recovering this morning after she was found alive after a car accident more than a week ago. The girl was found yesterday trapped in her car without food or water. Her car had crashed 100 feet down an embankment nearly 10 days ago.
Some welcome good news on this very sad morning. An amazing story.
COLLINS: Yes. Kelly thanks.
HEMMER: Christopher Reeve died yesterday from heart failure in a suburban New York City hospital. Reeve went into cardiac arrest and then into a coma on Saturday. It has been nine long years since the horse riding accident left the popular actor paralyzed from the neck down.
But Reeve never gave up hope that he would one day be able to walk again. Last fall he talked with our Paula Zahn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you still think about walking someday?
CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: Oh sure, absolutely. I'm not even thinking, I'm planning. You know and basically, I started exercising to maintain my health, but also to be ready for a cure if and when it comes, but I think that science and exercise can meet halfway.
And certainly the next thing we need to do is --particularly in this country -- is to get politics out of the equation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Christopher Reeve just turned 52 at the end of September.
Funeral arrangements now still being worked out, and CNN's Jason Carroll this morning is in Mount Kisco, New York, the hospital where Reeve died.
Good morning there.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very sad day indeed. Reeve was admitted to the hospital here on Saturday. Doctors say that he was being treated initially for a pressure wound, which is similar to a bedsore, which is common among paralysis patients. Unfortunately that wound became severely infected.
It turned into a systemic infection throughout his entire body. As you said that eventually lead to cardiac arrest and coma and of course Reeve died from heart failure on Saturday.
You can see there from that interview with Paula Zahn that Reeve handled his condition with courage and with strength.
In 2000 I remember, you know, the news reports that came out, he was able to move his finger. He actually at one point did receive -- was able to get sensation in other parts of his body. He also became a strong advocate in the latter part of his life for stem cell research and for spinal cord injuries.
That was a point that was raised when Senator Kerry debated President Bush during the last debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Chris Reeve is a friend of mine. Chris Reeve exercises every single day to keep those muscles alive to the day when he believes he can walk again, and I want him to walk again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Reeve's wife Dana released a statement saying that she thanked the hospital staff here. Also saying I also want to thank his personal staff of nurses and aides as well as the millions of fans from around the world who have supported and loved my husband over the years.
Reeve is survived by his wife Dana and three children. As you said, he was 52 years old. I spoke to his publicist this morning, Bill. Funeral arrangements are still being made.
HEMMER: Jason, thanks for that report. Top of our 9:00 hour here about 35 minutes from now we'll talk with Harold Guskin, a long time acting director for Christopher Reeve. He taught him for many, many years. We'll get his thoughts a bit later -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Want to switch gears a moment now, back to the political trail. It's just three weeks and one day until the presidential election.
In fact, President Bush and Senator John Kerry now no doubt preparing for their third and final debate coming up on Wednesday night, and Suzanne Malveaux is with the president on his ranch in Crawford, Texas this morning.
Good morning to you, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Really in the final weeks of this campaign what we are seeing is a shift in strategy. For months the Bush camp has been portraying Kerry as a flip-flopper. Now they are painting him as a consistent liberal extremist.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): President Bush with his top political advisers hunkered down at the Crawford ranch to prepare for the critical three- week countdown to Election Day. The strategy is three pronged.
One, to convince undecided voters Mr. Bush's opponent John Kerry can't be trusted. Two, to rally the base by reminding them that Kerry is a liberal. And three, to persuade all voters that the senator is weak in fighting terror.
Sunday, the Bush camp seized on a "New York Times" profile of Kerry to make the case there's a fundamental difference in the way the president and his opponent see the war on terror.
When Kerry was asked what it would take for Americans to feel safe again, he is quoted as saying, "We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they are a nuisance. As a former law-enforcement person, I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life."
Bush advisers say this proves Kerry doesn't understand the terrorist threat.
MARC RACICOT, CHAIRMAN, BUSH-CHENEY: He equated it to prostitution and gambling, a nuisance activity. You know, quite frankly, I just don't think that he has a right view of the world. It's a pre-9/11 view of the world.
MALVEAUX: The Kerry campaign calls that ridiculous. And says the senator's comments are taken out of context.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: Senator Kerry has said that the number one threat to America is international terrorism and al Qaeda.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (on camera): And the president's challenge for the final debate is to really try to knock down the lead that Kerry has consistently in those polls when it comes to domestic issues, health care and the economy.
Later, President Bush travels to those battleground states of New Mexico and Colorado.
And Heidi, when we talk battleground, New Mexico is a state that he lost last time by just 366 votes.
COLLINS: Yes, a very small margin there. Suzanne, I know last night some new TV ads prepared by both campaigns. Tell us a little bit about the Bush administration and their ads.
MALVEAUX: Oh, absolutely. I mean this just shows how both camps immediately went to get their message across and were very concerned about it. The Bush camp putting out their own TV ad and it's called "World View."
It essentially ridicules Kerry, accusing him of equating terrorism with prostitution and gambling. The Kerry camp released its response ad at 2:40 in the morning, hitting back. It is an ad that's called "Can't Win." It simply reminds voters that at one point the president did say that he did not believe that the war on terror could be won.
Both of these camps of course not waiting for those other one to make a point or score a point in these final weeks of this campaign -- Heidi.
COLLINS: And how many more ads will we see in that short amount of time?
Suzanne Malveaux from Crawford, Texas, today. Thanks, Suzanne.
HEMMER: Twenty-two minutes before the hour and Alexandra Pelosi knows the road.
She's been on the campaign trail since 1999. The filmmaker first documented her travels with the Bush team back in 2000.
She's the daughter of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, now her new work is a new documentary called "Diary of a Political Tourist" which premiers tonight on HBO. And Alexander Pelosi is my guest now here in New York. Good morning. Nice to see you.
ALEXANDRA PELOSI, "DIARY OF A POLITICAL TOURIST": Nice to see you.
HEMMER: The last time we saw each other was January.
PELOSI: Very (INAUDIBLE).
HEMMER: Beating down the haze of Iowa. What was your premise this time?
PELOSI: Well, I went on the road to capture what it takes to become the nominee of your party. So I followed all of the wannabes. And I spent a year and a half on the campaign trail with all of the Democrats that were competing for the nomination.
HEMMER: Now we've whittled it down to John Kerry and you first met him when?
PELOSI: Well, I started the movie at the beginning of 2003 but I met him many times before that -- but the movie starts at the beginning of 2003.
HEMMER: At one point in your documentary John Kerry actually takes your camera -- I want to show that to our viewers -- and we'll come back and talk about it. Watch here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: I want to ask you if you had fun?
PELOSI: Grueling. The grind.
KERRY: What's -- let me see this thing here. Come here. See when I ask you -- I mean -- what makes you do this?
PELOSI: Well, I'm trying -- what I'm trying to do with this movie is I'm trying to show the other side. I'm trapped between -- I'm not in the press corps. And I'm not working for the candidate. I'm in between. And there's this dance between the candidate and his staff and the press.
And I'm trying to show that dance. Do you understand?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: You were asking him if he understood. What is the dance? Help us understand.
PELOSI: Well, it's about -- you know -- when you're running for president you have a press corps that travels with you and you have a pack of handlers that are trying to keep the press away from the candidate and the campaign is trying to present their message of the day and the press are trying to write the story they want to write and it's this complicated little ecosystem of living in the bubble of a presidential campaign.
HEMMER: Do you think -- if you reflect on 2000 in compared to 2004, do you think the style of campaigning has changed any? Because I think the technology puts an awful lot of pressure on the campaigns and the technology puts an awful lot of pressure on the news networks as well.
PELOSI: Oh, yes, and don't forget that everyone had -- every network had kids with camcorders this time around. Which made it that much more annoying for the candidates to have to turn around and see all these camcorders in their face.
So you know I think it's a lot to sort of -- with the technology for that among...
HEMMER: Because it's so instantaneous. Most humorous event? Can you pick one?
PELOSI: Well you probably were there in Iowa when Dick Gephardt brought Michael Bolton out? Isn't that the last time I saw you?
HEMMER: Yes, sure.
PELOSI: Michael Bolton retired from the -- the old crooner came out to campaign for Dick Gephardt. Or Joe Lieberman eating a deep fried Twinkie at the Iowa State Fair.
HEMMER: That's all in the documentary?
PELOSI: Yes.
HEMMER: Do you think this is any way to pick a president?
PELOSI: Well, I think that the system is really dysfunctional, actually. It's very complicated to talk about in sound bites on the morning news, but it really is broken in a way, because 100,000 farmers decided who the nominee of the party was going to be. I mean there were no primaries.
HEMMER: In Iowa.
PELOSI: Yes. I was going to go out and document what it takes to run for president and I was going to follow the primaries but there were no primaries this time. Because after Iowa it was already over.
HEMMER: I'm looking forward to it. Congratulations to you.
PELOSI: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Back on the road?
PELOSI: Yes.
HEMMER: Good luck, Alexandra.
PELOSI: Thank you very much.
HEMMER: Thanks for sharing. HBO later tonight. All right. Heidi.
COLLINS: Want to check on the weather now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: In a moment after digesting some tough economic news, what's next for Wall Street? Get a market preview on this Monday as we start a whole new week here.
COLLINS: And Christopher Reeve and his tireless support for stem cell research. Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at the late actor's legacy next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: After Christopher Reeve's devastating accident, he became an outspoken supporter of more stem cell research and CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining us with more on that this morning.
Boy that's for sure; he worked so tirelessly on this.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: He really did, and I think he will be forever associated with stem cell research, obviously taking some of the celebrity power and his significant accident that he had and lending it to the argument for stem cells.
This is what his doctor, Dr. Michael McDonald, had to say about this earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JOHN MCDONALD, NEUROLOGIST, WASHINGTON UNIV.: I think it's really been critical. I mean, he's really put spinal cord injury research on the research map. And made it a forefront runner as opposed to a back street science and both in the scientific world as well as the political world, and those two worlds need to meld, and he's gone a long way to accomplish that goal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: That's actually Dr. John McDonald. And listen, you know, Christopher Reeve and people like Michael J. Fox talking about stem cells, talking to congressmen, senators, about stem cells.
He never received stem cells and that's something I talked to his doctors about. He never received them although a lot of people speculated that he might.
His recovery, which really was remarkable by all standards, really came from something known as an activity dependent recovery.
You look at all the images of Christopher Reeve exercising, having all of his limbs moved over and over again. Lot of scientists believed, starting to believe even more than -- it is that sort of activity, that sort of recovery actually sending the signal not from the brain to the limbs but from the limbs back to the brain saying yes we potentially could walk again.
Having said that, without any dramatic scientific breakthroughs, it's unlikely that Reeve would have ever walked again. Let me show you on a spine model here.
Specifically what we're talking about in terms of his injury. He actually had an injury -- this is the top of the spine over here, this is the back of the head. Top of the spine.
His injury was in the very back, very top of the spinal cord up here. An area of the spinal cord that's responsible not only for movement but also for the ability to breathe on his own.
What is particularly remarkable about Reeve is that even seven to nine years after his injury, he was able to still continue to have recovery, to have some movement in all of his limbs, some sensation throughout his body and the ability to be off the ventilator for periods of time. Pretty remarkable there, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, and again as a neurosurgeon to have you here with us today to explain all this we certainly appreciate it. Some of his accomplishments though that you think that people will remember and you already mentioned the word as his legacy?
GUPTA: Yes, I think you know obviously stem cells is going to be something that is always associated with Christopher Reeve. I think that that's for sure. But also there are other things. That people probably don't know as much about.
You talk about the NIH budget, for example. Grew from $12 billion to $27.2 billion. Obviously not all due to Christopher Reeve, but he had a lot to do with advocacy and actually going to senators and congressmen, talking about the need for increasing the funding, specifically for federally-funded stem cell research.
Also there's a thing called the Reeve-Irvine Research Center at the University of California, that is a research center purely devoted to trying to get people with spinal cord injuries to recover. So I think all those things will live on even after today, Heidi.
COLLINS: I'm sure that they will. Dr. Sanjay Gupta thanks so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
COLLINS: And still to come now this morning cash and carry or bucks for Bush? Celebrities do or don't dole out the bucks for the candidates next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right everybody, welcome back.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Bah, humbug. Target says no to the Salvation Army bell ringers this coming holiday season and a preview of the markets. Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business," my business, our business. Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Jack, thank you very much.
Let's take a look back last week and see what was going on. Not a good one for the markets.
Dow down triple digits. Other markets following suit. Got hit with a three-way punch. That's possible -- you know, bang, bang, bang. You got drug stocks taking a beating, Chiron and Merck -- you remember that.
Higher oil prices then also the weak jobs report on Friday as well. This morning futures are up, though, which is a good thing. Stocks trading bonds not on this Columbus Day.
Let's talk about Target, the Target Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota getting in touch with its inner Scrooge this holiday season the only way to put it. They decided to ban the Salvation Army bell ringers from outside their stores. Why? Because they said they had too many requests from other non-profits.
So they...
CAFFERTY: What the hell's the difference?
SERWER: Yes. Well, this is -- you know -- sounds like it really is coming from the General Counsel's Office and you know it's like a little kid falls down on the seesaw so we have to close the whole program, the whole playground. I mean...
CAFFERTY: I mean the Salvation -- that's one of the best charities ever. I mean, you know, the stuff they do is -- it's terrific.
SERWER: They said they might lose $9 million this winter because of this. So...
CAFFERTY: So why doesn't Target write them a check for the $9 million it's going to cost them?
SERWER: Maybe they will.
CAFFERTY: Then people wouldn't be sitting on a national television show like this and talking about what a bunch of bums the people at Target are for running the Salvation Army people off the front of their store so they can't collect a few dollars, pocket change, for people who are down and out over the holiday season. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, Target. Now if they wrote a check, that...
SERWER: Then we'd probably report that the next day.
CAFFERTY: And we would.
SERWER: Yes we would.
CAFFERTY: So get out your checkbook and show a little class. Time for the "File."
Couple of weeks ago in search of a cheap laugh, which is how I spend most of my time around here, we showed some videotape of an airplane crashing at an air show and compared it to the future of Air America, the liberal radio whatchamacallit.
Everybody laughed except Air America. They didn't think it was funny at all, so by way of clarification please note the following: Air America is currently on in about 33 of the 287 markets around the country. Let me repeat: they are on in 33 of the 287 markets in the country.
They are -- they have no stations in Chicago or Los Angeles, the second and third largest markets in the nation. Here's the way the numbers break down if you're looking at this. Air America has about 33, 35 -- they're on a couple of those satellite things...
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Rush Limbaugh is on nearly 600 stations. Bill O'Reilly is on almost 400 stations, and Sean Hannity who toils over there at the F-word network is on almost 400 stations as well.
Of course these shows have been around longer. So far, none of the competitors have seen Air America as a threat because they are not big enough to qualify for something called radar status, which is the main ad tracking and rating system for network radio. So that ought to clear that up.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: Leave me alone. Livermore is the city of California -- in California -- that prides itself as the center for advanced science. It's the home of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where the government makes nuclear missiles.
Hopefully they are better at science than they are at spelling. Some mutant artist got the city to cough up $40,000 to do this mural outside the city library? They misspelled -- or she, the artist -- misspelled the names of a few of history's heavyweights.
Names like Einstein, Shakespeare, and Michelangelo all misspelled on this thing -- $40,000.
The artist is from Miami and she said that the mistakes would have been caught if the city officials had done a spell check.
For $40,000, they ought to expect you could spell the names of Einstein and Shakespeare right.
I'm going back on vacation. This stuff is depressing.
SERWER: Yes.
CAFFERTY: We came across this story in the "New York Daily News." Shows how much cash celebrities are spending to support their preferred presidential candidates. Cash for Kerry as follows: Chevy Chase, $32,000; Paul Newman, $50,000; Matt Damon, $25,000; DeNiro, $27,000.
The big bucks are going to John Kerry.
On the George Bush side of the ledger, we're talking chump change here. Except for one donor -- Kelsey Grammer, $4,000.
SERWER: Gee.
CAFFERTY: I mean he can -- you know -- you know how many jillions he made off that -- yes, come on. You're like Tarzan. Kick over some dollars to the Bushman. Wayne Newton, who has got a lifetime contract in Vegas, makes a million dollars a day or something, $2,000.
SERWER: Cheaper.
CAFFERTY: Ben Stein, $2,000. Don King, that freaked out fight promoter, $44,500. Now what do you suppose he has in mind? Guarantee you there's something going on there?
SERWER: ... something.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
As we remember the life of Christopher Reeve this morning, we'll talk with one of his acting coaches in a moment. That's at the top of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING. Back after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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