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American Morning
Presidential Campaigns Bring Out Famous Faces; Book for Men To Deal with the Subject of Breast Cancer; Gulf War Veteran Returns To Air Force After Losing a Limb
Aired October 26, 2004 - 09:30 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: 9:30 here in New York. In a moment here, they are all over the place -- all over the country, for that matter. President Bush and John Kerry, we know that, but also we have Clinton and Gore and Giuliani and Schwarzenegger.
In a moment, Bill Schneider looks at the messages and the messengers as the campaign brings out the big guns and the big stars. We'll see if it adds up in a moment.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also in Missouri last night, the St. Louis Arch was lit up in pink to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This morning, we're going to talk more about awareness with a man whose mission it is to educate husbands about the very critical role that they play in their wives' feelings.
HEMMER: A beautiful location, too.
Wall Street opening bell right at 9:30. The Dow 30 starting at 9,749, off about seven points in trading yesterday. And we kind of moved sideways in the Nasdaq, down about a point -- or 1.10 to be more precise -- 1,914 is your opening mark there. So, good morning, and welcome back here.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to our top stories this morning. Heidi Collins at the newsdesk for us. Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, guys. And good morning to you, everybody.
Investigators are meeting right now to rule on what caused the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 back in 2001. Two hundred sixty-five people were killed when the flight hit a New York City neighborhood. The report could find the pilot incorrectly used the rudder to steady the plane after it ran into turbulence from another flight. American Airlines and Airbus, though, are disputing whether the airline and the pilots were aware of the dangers.
In Germany, another trial begins this morning for the only suspect ever convicted in the September 11th attacks. Mounir el Motassadeq was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement in the terror attacks. But a German court overturned the conviction because U.S.-held suspects were not allowed to testify in the trial.
In Thailand, nearly 80 people have been killed following a riot there. Hundreds of people were arrested and stuffed into trucks by Thai police following a major protest yesterday. Sources now say at least 78 of those people were crushed or suffocated on the way to the police station.
And it looks like interim leader Hamid Karzai is in the lead in Afghanistan's first Democratic election. Officials say most of the ballots have been counted, and Karzai won 55 percent of the vote. The results will not be made official until this weekend when an investigation into voting irregularities is complete.
Bill, Soledad, back to you.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, thanks.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
Heading into the final week now -- Iraq still dominates the presidential campaign. Vice President Dick Cheney in Ohio yesterday attacked John Kerry's record and praised the war in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's been a remarkable success story to date. When you look at what's been accomplished overall, I think the president deserves great credit for it.
The other credit -- most of the credit, a good part of the credit needs to go specifically, as well, to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. They've done a superb job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Vice Presidential Candidate John Edwards used the missing explosives issue to criticize the Bush administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, this is just a continuation of the failures that we've seen in Iraq from George Bush and Dick Cheney. And our military's done everything they've been asked to do. Our men and women in uniform have been extraordinary. They've been heroic. But we have a mess in Iraq. And we have a mess in Iraq, because George Bush and Dick Cheney didn't plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The men at the top of each ticket also traded criticism of each other's policy on Iraq yesterday.
HEMMER: John Kerry and George Bush got some help from political heavyweights Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani respectively yesterday.
Bill Schneider back with us today, the blow by blow on the latest campaign strategy. Welcome back, Bill. We did this yesterday. We're going to try and motor through it again today. First, Bill Clinton on the economy. Listen from yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On the economy, we have just lived through four years of the first job losses in 70 years. Record bankruptcies. Middle-class incomes declining, and poverty going up. In Pennsylvania alone, you've lost 70,000 jobs, this compared with the 219,000 you gained by this time when that last fellow was president -- me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Comparing the economic times of the '90s. Does that resonate now in 2004, Bill?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think it does, principally because when Bill Clinton became president, the economy was in terrible shape. It got George Bush's father thrown out of office.
He took a bad economy and helped, along with the Congress -- especially after it became a Republican Congress -- to a policy of fiscal discipline. He turned the economy around. So, what the challenge is why can't George Bush do that? He blames Clinton because he said the economy started to slip on Clinton's watch. But the question is: Can Bush turn it around? Clinton did.
HEMMER: That's one issue from yesterday. Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the stump in Iowa and Colorado, talking about terrorism. We will play that now, Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI (R), FMR. MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: You can't take a chance in going back to where we were before September 11th, 2001, with someone who can't seem to make up his mind whether terrorism is serious or a nuisance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Giuliani still seen as a national hero going back to 9/11. How effective on the stump?
SCHNEIDER: Well, Giuliani represents steadfast leadership. He became a national hero because of the way he handled the terrorist attacks in New York. He was calm, he was steady, he looked like a leader in that circumstance. And when he says Kerry is not ready to take the helm, I think a lot of people listen to that, and they say this is a guy who knows what he's doing. And those criticisms could stick.
HEMMER: Meanwhile, guess who was back in Florida the last couple of days? Al Gore, again the topic, the recount, the fight, the battle, the Supreme Court decision. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE (D), FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't want the Supreme Court to pick the next president. And we don't want this president to pick the next Supreme Court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: How does that help John Kerry if it does?
SCHNEIDER: Resentment of the Supreme Court is supposed to be a big issue. Who embodies it better than Al Gore? I mean, the Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount, and that's why he did not become president.
Well, with the illness revealed yesterday of Chief Justice Rehnquist, a lot of Democrats and liberals are suddenly waking up and they're saying, "My God, the new president can reshape the Supreme Court. He's likely to have one or more appointments."
So, I think this message is going to resonate very, very strongly with Democrats...
HEMMER: One other story that's resonating today is the story after the story, these missing explosives. Now learning, according to NBC, they were not there in the first place when the war broke out. There were questions today about whether there's any evidence that the explosives in this location southwest of Baghdad has been used against Iraqis or used against U.S. Forces.
How do you measure this story a day later, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I think it's become very murky a day later. The charges are very sensational. They're very powerful. John Kerry said this is incredible incompetence, one of the greatest blunders of Iraq if it's true.
But the NBC report indicated that when American soldiers got there the day after Baghdad fell, the day after Saddam fell, the high- energy explosives, the most dangerous ones, were not there. I think it's all gotten very murky, and it's very late in the campaign. And it's going to be very tough for the voters to sort these sensational charges out.
HEMMER: It's blow by blow. Bill, thanks. See you again tomorrow, OK? Bill Schneider in D.C.
Thirty-six minutes now past the hour. He's a Gulf War veteran whose military duties once included flying Air Force Two. Now after being grounded by the loss of a limb, that pilot is soaring yet again. And earlier today, I was honored to welcome Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Lourake here to AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Seventeen surgeries. It's my understanding that you concluded, based on your own research, the only chance you would have to fly again is if you amputated your own leg above the knee. How did you conclude that, Colonel?
LT. COL. ANDREW LOURAKE, U.S. AIR FORCE: Well, the only choice that I had after all the surgeries that I had was to either fuse it, because the total knee joints that they had put in kept failing. So, if I wanted to get back in the cockpit, I had to have a leg that bent. And the only way to do that was with a prosthetic.
And I did a lot of research to find out what technology was available. And recently to the market at that point was a leg called the C-Leg made by the Otto Bock Company. And it essentially enables above-knee amputees to live a very normal life and to do a lot of things that normal prosthetics can't.
HEMMER: What does flying mean to you, to go to these lengths?
LOURAKE: I've wanted to do it since I was a kid. And it was part of my makeup. The Air Force had trained me, and they've spent a lot of money on me, so I wanted to make sure that I could do everything that I possibly could to pay them back.
HEMMER: Did you have dark days? And if so, how did you overcome them?
LOURAKE: Oh, absolutely. The dark days, I had a lot of them. The drugs and pain do some really crazy things to your mind. The way I essentially got over it was all the support from all my family, friends, and co-workers. They are truly the stars of this story that enabled me to essentially get over everything that I'd gone through and return to the cockpit.
HEMMER: I also understand you visit injured veterans quite often at Walter Reed Medical Center in the D.C. area. Do they give you strength? Or what do you get out of those visits, Colonel?
LOURAKE: They give me incredible strength. I am truly a proud American to be able to go and talk to wounded that have come back. It gives me a lot more than I'm sure it gives them. It just -- it means a lot for me as an American, as a DOD employee, a fellow soldier -- so to speak. To go there and show them that life's not over, that life's very normal, as soon as they get out of that pain and from those drugs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Thanks to some amazing technology, too, and that prosthetic leg of his, he is flying again now. What a story. Andrew Lourake, lieutenant colonel, with us earlier today -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Time to take a look at the weather for the day ahead. And Jacqui Jeras is in for Chad Myers, who is off today. She is at the CNN Center for us. Good morning to you, Jacqui.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: All right, Jacqui, thanks. Well, an underground tradition returned on Monday to the subways of New York City for the first time in nearly three decades. Twenty- nine-year-old actress Caroline Sanchez-Bernat was named Ms. Subway. It's a contest that's been revived to celebrate the subway system's centennial. In addition to having her photo in the subway cars, Ms. Subway will get to ride free for one year. Sixteen of the original Miss Subways -- I guess they were Miss Subways back then -- were present at that ceremony. The contest originally ran from 1941 to 1967.
HEMMER: What's the chance we're going to see her down there?
O'BRIEN: Well, just her picture. She's not going to...
HEMMER: That's what I'm saying. You get a free MetroCard.
O'BRIEN: Good for her. Hey, you know how much that's worth?
HEMMER: All right, I apologize.
O'BRIEN: That's a lot of money. That's two bucks a ride.
HEMMER: That's what I'm talking about.
Let's got a break in a moment. A serious topic -- how to deal with breast cancer. Difficult for women, can be hard for the husbands, too. In a moment, we'll talk to one man who has been there and he has advice to share, too. Back after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Tonight, baseball-mad St. Louis will host its first World Series game in 17 years. Last night, though, the Gateway City was really in the pink. There was a special lighting of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to call attention to October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Each year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Obviously, it's terrible for the women who are diagnosed. But many times, the husband is also woefully unprepared for it.
Marc Silver knows the feeling. He needed a crash course, he says, in caregiving when his wife was diagnosed. Now he's written a book that gives men a roadmap. "Breast Cancer Husband: How To Help Your Wife and Yourself During Diagnosis, Treatment, and Beyond" is Marc Silver's book. He joins us from Washington this morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.
MARC SILVER, AUTHOR, "BREAST CANCER HUSBAND": Great to be here...
O'BRIEN: Your wife, in fact was diagnosed three years ago, and your book grew out of the experience. It's really what you learned along the way. Was there no guide for you three years ago?
SILVER: Boy, there sure wasn't. My wife had a stack of books by her bedside that friends sent her, that she bought. And I just wanted one book that would tell me what to say and what to do and how to be of help to her at this very difficult time.
O'BRIEN: In your book, you write about mistakes that you made. And you share your story interspersed throughout the book. What was the biggest mistake you think you made?
SILVER: The biggest mistake I made is a mistake a lot of guys made. I thought somehow I could fix the breast cancer, and you can't. And then you end up feeling angry and powerless and frustrated. Some guys play cheerleader, and then the wife feels that she doesn't have the right to say how she's feeling.
So, a lot of these things seem like they're good intentioned, but they really backfire.
O'BRIEN: But it also seems that you describe when your wife first calls you to tell you that her mammogram results were not good. Tell us a little bit about what your response was.
SILVER: Yeah. I instinctively knew just the wrong thing to say. She called me at 11:00 on a Friday morning with the news that she likely had breast cancer. And I said, "Ooh, that doesn't sound good." And then instead of rushing home to be with her, we talked a bit about when she could see a doctor. And I said, well, see tonight, because it was so much easier to play that denial game and to stay at work than to really face the issue.
O'BRIEN: Well, I think your book's pretty remarkable, because you don't sugar-coat. I mean, you reveal a lot about some of the insensitive things you've done. But you also don't sugar-coat any of the advice. And I want to get to some of the very straightforward tips that you give. So, let's start with them.
First, you say shut up and listen. What do you mean by that?
SILVER: It sounds good. It's actually good advice for any husband. But when breast cancer happens to a woman, she needs you to really listen to her and understand what she needs. And her needs may change from day to day and from hour to hour. So, sometimes she may want you to cheer her up, sometimes she may just want you to commiserate. And you have to really be tuned in to your wife and her feelings and understand what she wants from you.
O'BRIEN: Does that mean, then, that the husband shouldn't share his fears and concerns?
SILVER: It's a tricky question. Some men do share with their wives that they're afraid, too. Other men keep it inside, which is what I tended to do. And I think it gave my wife the space to deal with her emotions and the decision she had to make.
And then as time went on, you sort of become a little bit less frightened and you have faith in your doctors and hope for a brighter future.
O'BRIEN: Another tip -- you say be her appointment pal. Why, outside of support?
SILVER: You know, one thing is that you change the balance of power in the doctor's office. If you're there with your wife, it's not your wife wearing some paper gown sitting on the table versus the all-powerful doctor. She has you there, and it might make her feel more confident to ask the questions she needs to ask while the clock is ticking.
And you can also help her out by keeping a list of questions. And not asking them for her, but saying here's -- you know, "Honey, remember you wanted to ask about this side effect," or, "You've read about this study online and you wanted some information on it."
O'BRIEN: You have a tip that says tell the kids together, and you also say don't delay. I think a lot of people, especially if they have younger children, might want to put off telling their kids maybe a week or two or months. Why do you think it's not a good idea?
SILVER: Because you know what? Kids will know that something's wrong. And as one guy said to me, your wife's sick, she might lose her hair, how are you going to hide that? And if you do hide it, what you're saying to the kids is it's OK to lie about something bad instead of being honest about it.
O'BRIEN: You mention losing the hair. It is amazing how many women really have a tough time with the baldness part. Maybe that's just because you finally can see it out there, that they've lost their hair, they really are struggling with cancer. It's not something you can hide anymore.
Your tip is tell your wife bald is beautiful. What do you mean?
SILVER: Yeah, I mean, you need to say to your wife, "You know what? You're beautiful to me." Because even when my life lost her hair to chemotherapy, she was beautiful to me. That was honest.
But I also made some mistakes. I couldn't understand why she was so fixated on losing her hair. And afterwards when I was doing the book, a lot of women would say to me, you know, it was harder to lose my hair from chemotherapy than to lose a breast, because your hair is part of your public face. And it's such a symbol that something is really wrong right now.
O'BRIEN: Your final tip -- and we only have a few seconds -- is find time for fun. I think it's self-explanatory, but probably the hardest thing to do.
SILVER: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: Marc Silver, it's nice to have you with us. Really an excellent book. Wonderful advice.
SILVER: Thank you so much. Thank you.
O'BRIEN: I think for husbands or honestly anybody who even has a friend who's struggling with any kind of cancer. So, thanks for sharing with us. Appreciate it.
SILVER: I really appreciate it, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill?
HEMMER: Eleven minutes now before the hour. In a moment here, Congress comes up with a plan to protect consumers if an airline closes. Andy says, though, it may actually benefit somebody else. He's "Minding Your Business." Back in a moment after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. One of the nation's largest airlines facing some bad news. Again? Andy is back with that. A check of the markets, too.
Good morning, who is it this time?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you. ATA we're going to be talking about. Not one of the big biggies, but one that has been making a lot of headlines recently. Let's talk about the markets. First of all, the price of oil is down, stocks are up. Not much but a little bit. So we'll take it. And guess what, Google, it's on the march again.
HEMMER: My.
SERWER: It's up another $2.50 to $189. This one just won't stop. Marsh & McLennan also up and that's because the CEO left and they have a new CEO who's going to be negotiating with Eliot Spitzer. So also we've got BellSouth, Lockheed, DuPont. Sort of the end of earnings season on Wall Street is what's happening down there.
Let's talk about ATA. You know, we mentioned that this company is in real trouble. Bankruptcy a distinct possibility, possibly coming over the next 24 or 48 hours. Based in Indianapolis, big carrier at Midway out in Chicago.
This is really interesting. You've heard about a CEO, chief executive officer, CFO, chief financial officer. I've never heard of this, a new title at this company, a CRO, chief restructuring officer. I'm serious. They have just given the chief financial officer a new job, the CRO.
HEMMER: That's what they're going to have to do now.
SERWER: Anticipating restructuring.
HEMMER: Can you name the theme song for ATA?
SERWER: I'm going to go easy.
HEMMER: Go ATA.
SERWER: Go ATA.
HEMMER: We're not going to sing it, though.
SERWER: No, we're not.
(CROSSTALK)
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: What are they talking about?
O'BRIEN: You don't even want to know, Jack. Trust me on this one.
HEMMER: ATA does a lot of advertising on networks like CNN. And you can hear their theme song every morning right here.
O'BRIEN: Again, don't want to know.
CAFFERTY: Let me ask you something, what are they talking about?
O'BRIEN: Again, don't want to know. "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: "Question of the Day" is this: "What is an acceptable time frame for our esteemed senators and congressmen to act on the 9/11 Commission recommendations?" So far they've come up with nothing, 96 days and counting.
David in Pittsburgh writes: "The reason none of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations have been enacted is because the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress would be admitting they have made mistakes. And we know that admitting mistakes is not allowed."
Dave in Japan writes this: "The passengers on United Flight 93, the one that crashed in Pennsylvania, took about 69 minutes to begin defending themselves and their capitol. Our lawmakers have yet to make that same decision. It's ironic considering the speedy decision- making of those passengers likely saved the very lives of the people now delaying the implementation of the recommendations designed to prevent a similar such attack. These lawmakers are either suicidal or criminally stupid."
And Ed in Erial, New Jersey: "Why should acting on September 11th be any different than anything else our government does? Ten years ago it took the state of Pennsylvania one year, millions of dollars and thousands of pounds of paper to change the law enabling supermarkets to sell potatoes in something other than a five pound bag."
HEMMER: Wow.
O'BRIEN: Is that right?
CAFFERTY: I guess. That's what they say.
HEMMER: Inauguration Day is what, 20th of January? Don't hold your breath.
(CROSSTALK) CAFFERTY: ... potential glitches in the voting.
HEMMER: Oh no, I'm suggesting that Congress...
CAFFERTY: Oh, you mean on this stuff? That's just nonsense. I mean, this was a pretty good blue ribbon, non-partisan panel that interviewed something like 1200 witnesses, held a lot of hearings, really did a thorough examination, came up with some recommendations. And the administration and the Congress are going, ah, maybe next year.
HEMMER: The other thing they said after that report came out, they were going to canvass the country and try and influence the vote this November. Haven't heard much about that lately...
CAFFERTY: Well, I think they did some of that.
HEMMER: ... in the past month-and-a-half. They have. But it really is not an issue that's really on the front burner at this point.
Thank you, Jack. Good "Question."
O'BRIEN: Coming up on CNN this morning: With just a week to go, a look at what might be the biggest problem of the election. Experts say it won't be hanging chads or butterfly ballots but rather the poll workers themselves. Rick Sanchez and Daryn Kagan tell us what everybody is so worried about, that's coming up in the next hour of "CNN LIVE TODAY." AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Seven days and counting, we've got to run. Thanks for being with us today on this Tuesday morning. Back again tomorrow, right?
SERWER: Yes. Yes, sir.
O'BRIEN: Right.
CAFFERTY: If you say so.
HEMMER: I say so.
All right, here's Daryn and Rick at the CNN Center. Good morning, guys.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, first, we have to ask you, did you get your tickets for Jacksonville, because after that Bengals win last night I know you're on your way?
HEMMER: Jacksonville hosts the Super Bowl first part of February. And I think they might be printing tickets in Cincinnati. I'll tell you what, that's fool's work, by the way.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Go Bengals. HEMMER: One game. One game.
KAGAN: You guys have a great day in New York City.
HEMMER: See you later.
O'BRIEN: You, too.
KAGAN: You've got to enjoy it when you can, you know, when you're a Bengals fan.
SANCHEZ: You've got to believe.
KAGAN: Especially Monday night.
SANCHEZ: Absolutely. They looked good.
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Aired October 26, 2004 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: 9:30 here in New York. In a moment here, they are all over the place -- all over the country, for that matter. President Bush and John Kerry, we know that, but also we have Clinton and Gore and Giuliani and Schwarzenegger.
In a moment, Bill Schneider looks at the messages and the messengers as the campaign brings out the big guns and the big stars. We'll see if it adds up in a moment.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also in Missouri last night, the St. Louis Arch was lit up in pink to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This morning, we're going to talk more about awareness with a man whose mission it is to educate husbands about the very critical role that they play in their wives' feelings.
HEMMER: A beautiful location, too.
Wall Street opening bell right at 9:30. The Dow 30 starting at 9,749, off about seven points in trading yesterday. And we kind of moved sideways in the Nasdaq, down about a point -- or 1.10 to be more precise -- 1,914 is your opening mark there. So, good morning, and welcome back here.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to our top stories this morning. Heidi Collins at the newsdesk for us. Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, guys. And good morning to you, everybody.
Investigators are meeting right now to rule on what caused the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 back in 2001. Two hundred sixty-five people were killed when the flight hit a New York City neighborhood. The report could find the pilot incorrectly used the rudder to steady the plane after it ran into turbulence from another flight. American Airlines and Airbus, though, are disputing whether the airline and the pilots were aware of the dangers.
In Germany, another trial begins this morning for the only suspect ever convicted in the September 11th attacks. Mounir el Motassadeq was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his involvement in the terror attacks. But a German court overturned the conviction because U.S.-held suspects were not allowed to testify in the trial.
In Thailand, nearly 80 people have been killed following a riot there. Hundreds of people were arrested and stuffed into trucks by Thai police following a major protest yesterday. Sources now say at least 78 of those people were crushed or suffocated on the way to the police station.
And it looks like interim leader Hamid Karzai is in the lead in Afghanistan's first Democratic election. Officials say most of the ballots have been counted, and Karzai won 55 percent of the vote. The results will not be made official until this weekend when an investigation into voting irregularities is complete.
Bill, Soledad, back to you.
HEMMER: All right, Heidi, thanks.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
Heading into the final week now -- Iraq still dominates the presidential campaign. Vice President Dick Cheney in Ohio yesterday attacked John Kerry's record and praised the war in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's been a remarkable success story to date. When you look at what's been accomplished overall, I think the president deserves great credit for it.
The other credit -- most of the credit, a good part of the credit needs to go specifically, as well, to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. They've done a superb job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Vice Presidential Candidate John Edwards used the missing explosives issue to criticize the Bush administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I mean, this is just a continuation of the failures that we've seen in Iraq from George Bush and Dick Cheney. And our military's done everything they've been asked to do. Our men and women in uniform have been extraordinary. They've been heroic. But we have a mess in Iraq. And we have a mess in Iraq, because George Bush and Dick Cheney didn't plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The men at the top of each ticket also traded criticism of each other's policy on Iraq yesterday.
HEMMER: John Kerry and George Bush got some help from political heavyweights Bill Clinton and Rudy Giuliani respectively yesterday.
Bill Schneider back with us today, the blow by blow on the latest campaign strategy. Welcome back, Bill. We did this yesterday. We're going to try and motor through it again today. First, Bill Clinton on the economy. Listen from yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On the economy, we have just lived through four years of the first job losses in 70 years. Record bankruptcies. Middle-class incomes declining, and poverty going up. In Pennsylvania alone, you've lost 70,000 jobs, this compared with the 219,000 you gained by this time when that last fellow was president -- me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Comparing the economic times of the '90s. Does that resonate now in 2004, Bill?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think it does, principally because when Bill Clinton became president, the economy was in terrible shape. It got George Bush's father thrown out of office.
He took a bad economy and helped, along with the Congress -- especially after it became a Republican Congress -- to a policy of fiscal discipline. He turned the economy around. So, what the challenge is why can't George Bush do that? He blames Clinton because he said the economy started to slip on Clinton's watch. But the question is: Can Bush turn it around? Clinton did.
HEMMER: That's one issue from yesterday. Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the stump in Iowa and Colorado, talking about terrorism. We will play that now, Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI (R), FMR. MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: You can't take a chance in going back to where we were before September 11th, 2001, with someone who can't seem to make up his mind whether terrorism is serious or a nuisance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Giuliani still seen as a national hero going back to 9/11. How effective on the stump?
SCHNEIDER: Well, Giuliani represents steadfast leadership. He became a national hero because of the way he handled the terrorist attacks in New York. He was calm, he was steady, he looked like a leader in that circumstance. And when he says Kerry is not ready to take the helm, I think a lot of people listen to that, and they say this is a guy who knows what he's doing. And those criticisms could stick.
HEMMER: Meanwhile, guess who was back in Florida the last couple of days? Al Gore, again the topic, the recount, the fight, the battle, the Supreme Court decision. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE (D), FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We don't want the Supreme Court to pick the next president. And we don't want this president to pick the next Supreme Court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: How does that help John Kerry if it does?
SCHNEIDER: Resentment of the Supreme Court is supposed to be a big issue. Who embodies it better than Al Gore? I mean, the Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount, and that's why he did not become president.
Well, with the illness revealed yesterday of Chief Justice Rehnquist, a lot of Democrats and liberals are suddenly waking up and they're saying, "My God, the new president can reshape the Supreme Court. He's likely to have one or more appointments."
So, I think this message is going to resonate very, very strongly with Democrats...
HEMMER: One other story that's resonating today is the story after the story, these missing explosives. Now learning, according to NBC, they were not there in the first place when the war broke out. There were questions today about whether there's any evidence that the explosives in this location southwest of Baghdad has been used against Iraqis or used against U.S. Forces.
How do you measure this story a day later, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I think it's become very murky a day later. The charges are very sensational. They're very powerful. John Kerry said this is incredible incompetence, one of the greatest blunders of Iraq if it's true.
But the NBC report indicated that when American soldiers got there the day after Baghdad fell, the day after Saddam fell, the high- energy explosives, the most dangerous ones, were not there. I think it's all gotten very murky, and it's very late in the campaign. And it's going to be very tough for the voters to sort these sensational charges out.
HEMMER: It's blow by blow. Bill, thanks. See you again tomorrow, OK? Bill Schneider in D.C.
Thirty-six minutes now past the hour. He's a Gulf War veteran whose military duties once included flying Air Force Two. Now after being grounded by the loss of a limb, that pilot is soaring yet again. And earlier today, I was honored to welcome Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Lourake here to AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Seventeen surgeries. It's my understanding that you concluded, based on your own research, the only chance you would have to fly again is if you amputated your own leg above the knee. How did you conclude that, Colonel?
LT. COL. ANDREW LOURAKE, U.S. AIR FORCE: Well, the only choice that I had after all the surgeries that I had was to either fuse it, because the total knee joints that they had put in kept failing. So, if I wanted to get back in the cockpit, I had to have a leg that bent. And the only way to do that was with a prosthetic.
And I did a lot of research to find out what technology was available. And recently to the market at that point was a leg called the C-Leg made by the Otto Bock Company. And it essentially enables above-knee amputees to live a very normal life and to do a lot of things that normal prosthetics can't.
HEMMER: What does flying mean to you, to go to these lengths?
LOURAKE: I've wanted to do it since I was a kid. And it was part of my makeup. The Air Force had trained me, and they've spent a lot of money on me, so I wanted to make sure that I could do everything that I possibly could to pay them back.
HEMMER: Did you have dark days? And if so, how did you overcome them?
LOURAKE: Oh, absolutely. The dark days, I had a lot of them. The drugs and pain do some really crazy things to your mind. The way I essentially got over it was all the support from all my family, friends, and co-workers. They are truly the stars of this story that enabled me to essentially get over everything that I'd gone through and return to the cockpit.
HEMMER: I also understand you visit injured veterans quite often at Walter Reed Medical Center in the D.C. area. Do they give you strength? Or what do you get out of those visits, Colonel?
LOURAKE: They give me incredible strength. I am truly a proud American to be able to go and talk to wounded that have come back. It gives me a lot more than I'm sure it gives them. It just -- it means a lot for me as an American, as a DOD employee, a fellow soldier -- so to speak. To go there and show them that life's not over, that life's very normal, as soon as they get out of that pain and from those drugs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HEMMER: Thanks to some amazing technology, too, and that prosthetic leg of his, he is flying again now. What a story. Andrew Lourake, lieutenant colonel, with us earlier today -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Time to take a look at the weather for the day ahead. And Jacqui Jeras is in for Chad Myers, who is off today. She is at the CNN Center for us. Good morning to you, Jacqui.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: All right, Jacqui, thanks. Well, an underground tradition returned on Monday to the subways of New York City for the first time in nearly three decades. Twenty- nine-year-old actress Caroline Sanchez-Bernat was named Ms. Subway. It's a contest that's been revived to celebrate the subway system's centennial. In addition to having her photo in the subway cars, Ms. Subway will get to ride free for one year. Sixteen of the original Miss Subways -- I guess they were Miss Subways back then -- were present at that ceremony. The contest originally ran from 1941 to 1967.
HEMMER: What's the chance we're going to see her down there?
O'BRIEN: Well, just her picture. She's not going to...
HEMMER: That's what I'm saying. You get a free MetroCard.
O'BRIEN: Good for her. Hey, you know how much that's worth?
HEMMER: All right, I apologize.
O'BRIEN: That's a lot of money. That's two bucks a ride.
HEMMER: That's what I'm talking about.
Let's got a break in a moment. A serious topic -- how to deal with breast cancer. Difficult for women, can be hard for the husbands, too. In a moment, we'll talk to one man who has been there and he has advice to share, too. Back after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Tonight, baseball-mad St. Louis will host its first World Series game in 17 years. Last night, though, the Gateway City was really in the pink. There was a special lighting of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to call attention to October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Each year, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. Obviously, it's terrible for the women who are diagnosed. But many times, the husband is also woefully unprepared for it.
Marc Silver knows the feeling. He needed a crash course, he says, in caregiving when his wife was diagnosed. Now he's written a book that gives men a roadmap. "Breast Cancer Husband: How To Help Your Wife and Yourself During Diagnosis, Treatment, and Beyond" is Marc Silver's book. He joins us from Washington this morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us.
MARC SILVER, AUTHOR, "BREAST CANCER HUSBAND": Great to be here...
O'BRIEN: Your wife, in fact was diagnosed three years ago, and your book grew out of the experience. It's really what you learned along the way. Was there no guide for you three years ago?
SILVER: Boy, there sure wasn't. My wife had a stack of books by her bedside that friends sent her, that she bought. And I just wanted one book that would tell me what to say and what to do and how to be of help to her at this very difficult time.
O'BRIEN: In your book, you write about mistakes that you made. And you share your story interspersed throughout the book. What was the biggest mistake you think you made?
SILVER: The biggest mistake I made is a mistake a lot of guys made. I thought somehow I could fix the breast cancer, and you can't. And then you end up feeling angry and powerless and frustrated. Some guys play cheerleader, and then the wife feels that she doesn't have the right to say how she's feeling.
So, a lot of these things seem like they're good intentioned, but they really backfire.
O'BRIEN: But it also seems that you describe when your wife first calls you to tell you that her mammogram results were not good. Tell us a little bit about what your response was.
SILVER: Yeah. I instinctively knew just the wrong thing to say. She called me at 11:00 on a Friday morning with the news that she likely had breast cancer. And I said, "Ooh, that doesn't sound good." And then instead of rushing home to be with her, we talked a bit about when she could see a doctor. And I said, well, see tonight, because it was so much easier to play that denial game and to stay at work than to really face the issue.
O'BRIEN: Well, I think your book's pretty remarkable, because you don't sugar-coat. I mean, you reveal a lot about some of the insensitive things you've done. But you also don't sugar-coat any of the advice. And I want to get to some of the very straightforward tips that you give. So, let's start with them.
First, you say shut up and listen. What do you mean by that?
SILVER: It sounds good. It's actually good advice for any husband. But when breast cancer happens to a woman, she needs you to really listen to her and understand what she needs. And her needs may change from day to day and from hour to hour. So, sometimes she may want you to cheer her up, sometimes she may just want you to commiserate. And you have to really be tuned in to your wife and her feelings and understand what she wants from you.
O'BRIEN: Does that mean, then, that the husband shouldn't share his fears and concerns?
SILVER: It's a tricky question. Some men do share with their wives that they're afraid, too. Other men keep it inside, which is what I tended to do. And I think it gave my wife the space to deal with her emotions and the decision she had to make.
And then as time went on, you sort of become a little bit less frightened and you have faith in your doctors and hope for a brighter future.
O'BRIEN: Another tip -- you say be her appointment pal. Why, outside of support?
SILVER: You know, one thing is that you change the balance of power in the doctor's office. If you're there with your wife, it's not your wife wearing some paper gown sitting on the table versus the all-powerful doctor. She has you there, and it might make her feel more confident to ask the questions she needs to ask while the clock is ticking.
And you can also help her out by keeping a list of questions. And not asking them for her, but saying here's -- you know, "Honey, remember you wanted to ask about this side effect," or, "You've read about this study online and you wanted some information on it."
O'BRIEN: You have a tip that says tell the kids together, and you also say don't delay. I think a lot of people, especially if they have younger children, might want to put off telling their kids maybe a week or two or months. Why do you think it's not a good idea?
SILVER: Because you know what? Kids will know that something's wrong. And as one guy said to me, your wife's sick, she might lose her hair, how are you going to hide that? And if you do hide it, what you're saying to the kids is it's OK to lie about something bad instead of being honest about it.
O'BRIEN: You mention losing the hair. It is amazing how many women really have a tough time with the baldness part. Maybe that's just because you finally can see it out there, that they've lost their hair, they really are struggling with cancer. It's not something you can hide anymore.
Your tip is tell your wife bald is beautiful. What do you mean?
SILVER: Yeah, I mean, you need to say to your wife, "You know what? You're beautiful to me." Because even when my life lost her hair to chemotherapy, she was beautiful to me. That was honest.
But I also made some mistakes. I couldn't understand why she was so fixated on losing her hair. And afterwards when I was doing the book, a lot of women would say to me, you know, it was harder to lose my hair from chemotherapy than to lose a breast, because your hair is part of your public face. And it's such a symbol that something is really wrong right now.
O'BRIEN: Your final tip -- and we only have a few seconds -- is find time for fun. I think it's self-explanatory, but probably the hardest thing to do.
SILVER: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: Marc Silver, it's nice to have you with us. Really an excellent book. Wonderful advice.
SILVER: Thank you so much. Thank you.
O'BRIEN: I think for husbands or honestly anybody who even has a friend who's struggling with any kind of cancer. So, thanks for sharing with us. Appreciate it.
SILVER: I really appreciate it, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill?
HEMMER: Eleven minutes now before the hour. In a moment here, Congress comes up with a plan to protect consumers if an airline closes. Andy says, though, it may actually benefit somebody else. He's "Minding Your Business." Back in a moment after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. One of the nation's largest airlines facing some bad news. Again? Andy is back with that. A check of the markets, too.
Good morning, who is it this time?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you. ATA we're going to be talking about. Not one of the big biggies, but one that has been making a lot of headlines recently. Let's talk about the markets. First of all, the price of oil is down, stocks are up. Not much but a little bit. So we'll take it. And guess what, Google, it's on the march again.
HEMMER: My.
SERWER: It's up another $2.50 to $189. This one just won't stop. Marsh & McLennan also up and that's because the CEO left and they have a new CEO who's going to be negotiating with Eliot Spitzer. So also we've got BellSouth, Lockheed, DuPont. Sort of the end of earnings season on Wall Street is what's happening down there.
Let's talk about ATA. You know, we mentioned that this company is in real trouble. Bankruptcy a distinct possibility, possibly coming over the next 24 or 48 hours. Based in Indianapolis, big carrier at Midway out in Chicago.
This is really interesting. You've heard about a CEO, chief executive officer, CFO, chief financial officer. I've never heard of this, a new title at this company, a CRO, chief restructuring officer. I'm serious. They have just given the chief financial officer a new job, the CRO.
HEMMER: That's what they're going to have to do now.
SERWER: Anticipating restructuring.
HEMMER: Can you name the theme song for ATA?
SERWER: I'm going to go easy.
HEMMER: Go ATA.
SERWER: Go ATA.
HEMMER: We're not going to sing it, though.
SERWER: No, we're not.
(CROSSTALK)
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: What are they talking about?
O'BRIEN: You don't even want to know, Jack. Trust me on this one.
HEMMER: ATA does a lot of advertising on networks like CNN. And you can hear their theme song every morning right here.
O'BRIEN: Again, don't want to know.
CAFFERTY: Let me ask you something, what are they talking about?
O'BRIEN: Again, don't want to know. "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: "Question of the Day" is this: "What is an acceptable time frame for our esteemed senators and congressmen to act on the 9/11 Commission recommendations?" So far they've come up with nothing, 96 days and counting.
David in Pittsburgh writes: "The reason none of the 9/11 Commission's recommendations have been enacted is because the Bush administration and the Republican-controlled Congress would be admitting they have made mistakes. And we know that admitting mistakes is not allowed."
Dave in Japan writes this: "The passengers on United Flight 93, the one that crashed in Pennsylvania, took about 69 minutes to begin defending themselves and their capitol. Our lawmakers have yet to make that same decision. It's ironic considering the speedy decision- making of those passengers likely saved the very lives of the people now delaying the implementation of the recommendations designed to prevent a similar such attack. These lawmakers are either suicidal or criminally stupid."
And Ed in Erial, New Jersey: "Why should acting on September 11th be any different than anything else our government does? Ten years ago it took the state of Pennsylvania one year, millions of dollars and thousands of pounds of paper to change the law enabling supermarkets to sell potatoes in something other than a five pound bag."
HEMMER: Wow.
O'BRIEN: Is that right?
CAFFERTY: I guess. That's what they say.
HEMMER: Inauguration Day is what, 20th of January? Don't hold your breath.
(CROSSTALK) CAFFERTY: ... potential glitches in the voting.
HEMMER: Oh no, I'm suggesting that Congress...
CAFFERTY: Oh, you mean on this stuff? That's just nonsense. I mean, this was a pretty good blue ribbon, non-partisan panel that interviewed something like 1200 witnesses, held a lot of hearings, really did a thorough examination, came up with some recommendations. And the administration and the Congress are going, ah, maybe next year.
HEMMER: The other thing they said after that report came out, they were going to canvass the country and try and influence the vote this November. Haven't heard much about that lately...
CAFFERTY: Well, I think they did some of that.
HEMMER: ... in the past month-and-a-half. They have. But it really is not an issue that's really on the front burner at this point.
Thank you, Jack. Good "Question."
O'BRIEN: Coming up on CNN this morning: With just a week to go, a look at what might be the biggest problem of the election. Experts say it won't be hanging chads or butterfly ballots but rather the poll workers themselves. Rick Sanchez and Daryn Kagan tell us what everybody is so worried about, that's coming up in the next hour of "CNN LIVE TODAY." AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Seven days and counting, we've got to run. Thanks for being with us today on this Tuesday morning. Back again tomorrow, right?
SERWER: Yes. Yes, sir.
O'BRIEN: Right.
CAFFERTY: If you say so.
HEMMER: I say so.
All right, here's Daryn and Rick at the CNN Center. Good morning, guys.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Bill, first, we have to ask you, did you get your tickets for Jacksonville, because after that Bengals win last night I know you're on your way?
HEMMER: Jacksonville hosts the Super Bowl first part of February. And I think they might be printing tickets in Cincinnati. I'll tell you what, that's fool's work, by the way.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Go Bengals. HEMMER: One game. One game.
KAGAN: You guys have a great day in New York City.
HEMMER: See you later.
O'BRIEN: You, too.
KAGAN: You've got to enjoy it when you can, you know, when you're a Bengals fan.
SANCHEZ: You've got to believe.
KAGAN: Especially Monday night.
SANCHEZ: Absolutely. They looked good.
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