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The Situation Room
Bush To Deliver State Of The Union Address With Pressure To Regain Control Of Presidential Agenda; Alito Confirmed For Supreme Court; President's Poll Numbers Only Part Of Story; Did Gonzales Misled Congress on NSA Program?; Does the State of the Union Matter?; Woodruff and Vogt Return To U.S.; Ohio Figures Prominently In Presidential Elections, Is Major Battleground Over Political Ethics;
Aired January 31, 2006 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much. To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information from around the world are arriving all the time.
Happening now, State of the Union suspense. Can the president find the right words to reassure Americans who thinks he's on the wrong track. It's 4:00 p.m. in Washington and we're standing by for late details on what Mr. Bush will say tonight.
Confirmation and controversy on this important day for the White House. Judge Samuel Alito takes his place on the United States Supreme Court, but the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, is taking fire in the showdown over spying.
Also this hour, wounded ABC newsmen are due to return to the United States just days after being attacked in Iraq. We'll bring you up to date on the condition of anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt and follow their journey home.
I'm Wolf Blitzer, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
The Republicans and Democrats know it will take more than one night and one speech for President Bush to reclaim support he's lost since his last State of the Union address.
The two parties have a lot riding on what happens under the Capitol dome tonight at the start of this Congressional election year. And so do the American people. Our Congressional correspondent, Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill. Dana Bash is at the White House. Let's start with Dana. Dana, what are you hearing? What can we expect tonight?
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They're putting the finishing touches on the speech as we speak, 31 drafts as of this morning. Bush aides are saying, in general, thematically it could be different than in years past in that they're going to try to weave in domestic and foreign policy into one big umbrella and that is America's leadership, especially around the world.
Now, politically, of course, his challenge is to try to reassure Americans about his leadership and after five years in office, tell Americans they should take a fresh look at him. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): It will be a more humbled George W. Bush in this State of the Union with the domestic agenda designed to be consumer-friendly and less risky than before.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FMR. REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: You don't throw things that are unachievable. You don't line up Don Quixote missions, but what you do is you go back to your basics, you go back to your roots.
BASH: Mr. Bush will pitch new initiatives that will be met with resistance, but nothing on the sweeping scale of his first-term tax cuts and his bold failed call last year.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Solve the financial problems of Social Security once and for all.
DAN BARTLETT, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT: I think on Social Security, particularly, is that we have found that Congress doesn't act typically unless there's a crisis.
BASH: Bush aides describe the speech as a national pep talk for a country plagued by pessimism after a year of violence in Iraq, a sluggish government response to tragedy at home, layoffs and pinched pocketbooks. At home, Mr. Bush will propose giving individuals more help with health care costs and choices, and advancing research for alternative fuel cars and nuclear power. Aides say one election year promise is more narrowly focused at antsy conservatives.
TOM RATH, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: And continue reduction spending, continue reduction in the growth of government. That is something that the rank and file Republicans very much want to hear.
BASH: On the international front, Mr. Bush will challenge Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions, spend extensive time trying to reassure the country about the Iraq war and his stewardship and make the case for America staying engaged around the world on the security front, and announce new initiatives to stay competitive on the economic front.
BARTLETT: I think the best way to say it is when America leads, America wins.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Now on that front, aides say the president will give a series of initiatives, propose them at least. When it comes to staying more competitive, things like more money for research and development on innovation, and also talk about the need for more teachers, more education, a more educated work force, particularly in math and science.
Those are the initiatives we expect to hear from the president on the whole idea of competitiveness, staying competitive around the world. That is certainly something that the White House is trying to highlight as a major theme tonight.
BLITZER: Dana, thanks very much. Dana Bash at the White House.
On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are gearing up to take their places on either side of the aisle tonight. Will we see the usual cheering and applause by Republicans and polite restraint by Democrats? Let's check in with our Congressional correspondent, Ed Henry. Ed, what are you hearing on the hill?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you the president is facing not only heat from Democrats, but pressure from fellow Republicans who tell me privately they're really concerned that the president lost control of the agenda last year and he needs to come up big tonight.
They say he really lost his footing on Social Security, tax reform, as Dana noted, and also Katrina, and never really recovered. They say that the president then compounded his problems by letting the Democrats drive the rest of the agenda, letting Democrats hammer away at issues like Iraq, ethics scandals like Jack Abramoff, the CIA leak case.
In fairness to the president, of course, Republicans up here haven't exactly helped with their own ethics controversy, with the Republican leadership shakeup going on in The House. The bottom line is that Republicans tonight are expecting the president to come up big. They know this isn't the best format for him, but they think he's gotten better and better every year, and they say it's a real opportunity for him to reset the agenda and take control of it again.
BLITZER: What are the Democrats saying?
HENRY: I just got out of a closed door briefing with some of the top Democrats, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, as well as Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is going to give the official response. I can tell you, the rhetoric is red hot. Harry Reid saying that the president is a good campaigner but he's a bad commander-in-chief, saying we live in a Bush-Orwellian world, that the president is divorced from reality.
The Democrats are emboldened by their ability to push back last year after the State of the Union on Social Security. They're planning to hit him hard again tonight on Iraq, budget deficit, those ethics controversies I mentioned.
But in the next breath, Democratic leaders like Reid say they want to work with the president, they want him to be a uniter, that's why they chose Tim Kaine because he has bipartisan credentials, winning in a red state like Virginia.
But I asked Governor Kaine, is this going to backfire on Democrats as you try to reach across the aisle, this filibuster of Justice Samuel Alito? He insisted it's not going to play outside the beltway, but Republicans think otherwise. They say Democrats have an opportunity in the mid-term elections, but they might blow it, Wolf.
BLITZER: Thanks very much. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. We'll be watching for Judge Samuel Alito to make his public debut as tonight as the newest member of the United States Supreme Court. We're told the new justice, Samuel Alito, is expected to attend the president's State of the Union address, along with the chief justice, John Roberts, and other members of The Supreme Court.
Over at the White House, President Bush proclaimed Alito will make all Americans proud. The two men were together this morning watching the Senate confirm Alito. The vote was 58-42. All but one of the Republicans in the Senate voted for Alito, all but four Democrats voted against him.
Soon after Alito was sworn in at a private ceremony over at the Supreme Court, replacing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. A public swearing in ceremony scheduled for the White House tomorrow. But he'll be there at the State of the Union tonight.
Now, let's get a sense of where the president stands with the American people heading into tonight's speech. When we average together seven of the latest major polls, Mr. Bush gets a 42 percent job approval rating. At this time last year, those same polling organizations showed the president's approval rating was significantly higher, averaging out at around 50 percent.
Here's how Mr. Bush stacks up against other recent presidents at the start of their sixth year in office. He now has a 43 percent approval rating in the Gallup Poll. President Clinton had a 59 percent rating in 1998. President Reagan had a 64 percent approval rating in 1986. Only President Nixon Fared worse than Mr. Bush with a 26 percent approval rating back in 1974. That was during the Watergate scandal.
Poll numbers only tell part of the story of a president and his party on rocky terrain with election day nine months away. Let's bring in our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, tonight is the State of the Union. We want to take the afternoon to give you the state of politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): With approval ratings as the yard stick and pictures as proof, George Bush is coming off the worst year of his presidency.
BUSH: I believe in what I'm doing. I understand politics, and it can get rough.
CROWLEY: And with Tom DeLay's upcoming trial, Duke Cunningham's guilty plea on corruption and Jack Abramoff's full story hanging out there like the Sword of Damocles, it's a tough time to have an R after your name and a good time for D's to dream.
MIKE MCCURRY, FMR. CLINTON PRESS SECRETARY: Because people know the country is not doing as well as it needs to do. And I think that's a dangerous position for a president to be in. He's probably in some ways in a worse position than Bill Clinton was in in 1994 when the Democrats lost control of the Congress.
CROWLEY: Forty-nine percent of registered voters say they will vote for a Democrat in this fall's Congressional elections; 43 percent say they'll opt for a Republican. The one thing that currently seems to be working in favor of Republicans is Democrats.
MCCURRY: You see a lot of Democrats struggling to get traction, but you don't see the party together reinforcing two or three simple things that can be done. I think they're working on that.
CROWLEY: Part of the Democrat's message problem is practical. The president has a bigger microphone, but there is also a fundamental split in the party over whether Republicans should be challenged from the left, a la John Kerry and Ted Kennedy's failed filibuster against Sam Alito, or from the center, like Virginia Governor Tim Kaine who was tapped by the party to deliver this evening's Democratic response. He is a newly elected moderate Democrat.
GOV. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: We proved that people are more interested in fiscal responsibility than ideological bickering.
CROWLEY: Since late last fall, the White House has seen the State of the Union as the place for the president to push reset. With elections just nine months away, not a moment too soon.
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TENN.), MAJORITY LEADER: Good policy makes good politics and that will be translated eventually in the elections.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: The truth is, in an election year, it's hard to separate the State of the Union from the state of politics -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Candy, thanks very much. I'll see a lot of you tonight here in our SITUATION ROOM coverage of the State of the Union. Stay here in THE SITUATION ROOM for complete conch of the president's State of the Union address.
Paula Zahn and our analysts, our correspondents, they will all join me beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern and through the president's speech and the Democratic response. All of that coming up, followed by Anderson Cooper and Larry King. A big night here in Washington.
Time now for Jack Cafferty, he's going to be sticking around all night with us, as well. I don't know if you know about that, Jack, but you're with me for the duration.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wouldn't miss it for the world.
BLITZER: Good.
CAFFERTY: Let's make oil obsolete, that's what "New York Times" columnist Tom Friedman thinks President Bush should say tonight in his State of the Union address. This is what Friedman says he wants to hear from the president. Quote, "I'm here to tell you that if we don't move away from our dependence on oil and shift to renewable fuels, it will change our way of life for the worse, and soon -- much, much more than communism ever could have. Making this transition is the calling of our era," unquote.
Friedman suggests creating a government buy back program for gas- guzzling cars that would be financed by a hefty gasoline tax. The president is expected to talk about alternative energy sources tonight and he may call for the U.S. to build more nuclear power plants. Here's the question, then, this hour.
Is it realistic to expect this country to ever become independent when it comes to energy? E-mail us at CaffertyFile@CNN.com. Or you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile. A little later, in conjunction with the State of the Union, Wolf, we will be doing a question that hearkens back to the good old days when the State of the Union was delivered by mail to the United States Congress. For 112 years, we were spared having to listen to this stuff.
BLITZER: And whoever wanted to read it, they could read it. If not, no big deal.
CAFFERTY: And rumor has it, it was not on the top 10 list at the congressional library in terms of stuff that was checked out every week.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Jack, we're going to get back to you very soon.
Coming up, did the attorney general of the United States mislead the U.S. Senate about the president's secret spying program? We're going to examine a Democrat's tough new allegation.
Also ahead, we're expecting the ABC newsmen wounded in Iraq to return to the United States shortly. We'll be watching when their plane lands and we'll keep you updated on their condition. That's coming up.
Also, she was a wife, a mother, and a civil rights leader in her own right. Coming up, the life and death of Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, Coretta Scott King. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Much more on the preparations underway on the president's State of the Union address, that's coming up.
First though, let's go to our Zain Verjee, she's joining us from the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news. Hi, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. Coretta Scott King, the widow of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. has died. Mrs. King's sister says that the 78-year-old died last night in a health center in Mexico. In Atlanta where Mrs. King has long had a home, mourners visited the King Center with flowers and with prayers.
In a statement, the King family says funeral arrangements will be announced when the plans are finalized. In California, police say a woman walked into her former job, roamed around on a violent rampage and used a nine millimeter handgun to kill five former coworkers and injure one other.
Then she turned the gun on herself and killed herself. It happened at the postal service facility just a few blocks from the University of California in Santa Barbara. A postal official says the woman, who wasn't identified, was on medical leave and had prior problems at work because of her behavior.
In Morganton, North Carolina, there are worries of possible poisoned air. This after an explosion at a chemical plant today caused an intense fire. Officials worry that huge plumes of smoke could have released chemicals into the air. The explosion injured 16 workers. After the blast, officials told nearby residents to close their windows and turn off ventilation systems while the crews tested for possible chemical contaminant.
And "ABC News" anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt are on their way back to the U.S. Now they're expected to arrive in Washington just in the next few minutes to begin their treatment at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. On Sunday, Woodruff and Vogt suffered serious head injuries after an attack in Baghdad. We're going to bring you live coverage of their arrival when it happens. Wolf?
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Zain, appreciate it.
The attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, is a target today in the political debate over domestic spying. A leading Democrat is taking direct aim at Gonzales, only hours before the president's State of the Union address and just days before Senate hearings begin on the spying program. Let's bring in our Justice correspondent Kelli Arena, she's watching this story -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, if the pre-show is any indication, next week's Senate judiciary hearings on the NSA program could get very ugly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): Senator Russ Feingold is accusing the attorney general of misleading Congress during his confirmation hearings last year, when he was asked about warrantless wiretaps.
SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D), WISCONSIN: Does the president in your opinion, have the authority, acting as commander-in-chief, to authorize warrantless searches of Americans homes and wiretaps of their conversations, in violation of the criminal and foreign intelligence surveillance statutes of this country?
ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: In my judgment, you phrased it as sort of a hypothetical situation.
ARENA: In fact, the NSA program had been in place for more than three years. When pressed, Gonzales had this to say. GONZALES: It's not the policy or the agenda of this president to authorize actions that would be in contravention of our criminal statutes.
FEINGOLD: Finally, will you commit to notify Congress if the president makes this type of decision and not wait two years until a memo is leaked about it?
GONZALES: I will commit to advise the Congress as soon as I reasonably can, yes sir.
ARENA: Feingold, who wasn't briefed about the program, says he wants an explanation.
FEINGOLD: The chief law enforcement officer of this country apparently told the committee under oath that something was merely hypothetical, when in fact he knew very well and was involved in it, actually being an ongoing practice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Justice Department officials say that there was nothing misleading about Gonzales' statement and that the president is on firm legal ground. Gonzales is scheduled to testify all day Monday, Wolf.
BLITZER: Kelli, thanks very much. And we'll have extensive coverage of those hearings coming up next week.
Still ahead, beyond the hype, do State of the Union Addresses really matter all that much? We're going to have a reality check.
And what do senior citizens want to hear directly from Mr. Bush tonight? The hot topic that could make or break America's response to this speech. Much more coming up in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. In these final hours before the State of the Union address, the White House is hoping to entice you to watch tonight without raising your expectations to high. Our senior analyst Jeff Greenfield is here, along with our chief national correspondent, John King.
Jeff, first to you. How important are these State of the Union speeches?
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Less than we might think, less than we're making it out to be. They're great pageantry, they're great pomp. It's the closest thing we have to royalty, so it's a great event.
But in terms of any impact on a president's conduct, on his job approval rating over the long haul, over what happens, there are very few examples you can point to where it matters.
Which is why, if I may get an anti-plug in, all the flash polls you'll hear tonight are also misleading because people who watch the president's speech tend to like him and his detractors tend to watch something else anyway. So I'm putting a little cold water on this before we even begin.
BLITZER: It you could -- if you were a Republican strategist and you were giving the president advice, looking at one issue out there that might, despite what we just heard from Jeff, help the president turn some of these numbers around, what would that be?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the health care issue can be one of the key issues, and I think the group he needs to turn around fastest, if he could pick one group, would be elderly Americans.
Right now, they're lopsided by 15 points in favor of voted Democrat when it comes to Congress. That's a dramatic shift, because in the last three elections, the Republicans have just about broken even, either just won the elderly vote or just lost the elderly vote. The elderly tend to vote more.
Turnout goes down in mid-term elections. They will be a much more important constituency, so if the Republicans go into November down 10, 12, 15 points, well, the Democrats are going to control Congress come January. So they think this health care initiative can help, but elderly Americans are mad about everything.
They're especially mad about the Prescription Drug Benefit. Only two in 10 elderly Americans like the benefit the president thought would win them over. They think it's too confusing, they don't understand it.
But they also are as high as anyone in their dissatisfaction with the economy, and the Iraq war. Republican strategists say if you're going to start turning things around, let's start with the elderly voters because we need them in November.
BLITZER: What I don't understand, Jeff, is there are going to be at least 30 million Americans watching tonight, maybe 40 million -- who knows how many. That's a -- and he's going to speak for at least 45 minutes, maybe an hour. You would think this would be such a great opportunity for him to sell himself and his message.
GREENFIELD: The problem is, first of all, State of the Union speeches, unlike acceptance speeches or inaugurals, are crowded with laundry lists. The different agencies of government literally spend months hoping that he'll mention their item, and laundry lists tend not to move people passionately.
And the second thing is, a lot of this pageantry, I think -- this is a personal opinion here -- turn people of. The ideas, for instance, of everybody jumping -- all the Republicans, particularly -- jumping up and standing up so we can count how many standing ovations there are.
Apart from a decent aerobics exercise, and a test of Vice President Cheney's health, this is one of the most bogus events -- the idea that oh, he was interrupted 60 times by applause or whatever. And my feeling, as there's been so many other things, is the public is onto a lot of this. They regarded a lot of it as Washington idiocy, and so the impact of the speech tends to be, I think, lessened because of it.
BLITZER: John, you cover a lot of these speeches.
KING: Well, I think what will be interesting about tonight is if you've studied George Bush over the five years of his presidency, you would see a very different George Bush. In the first term, he won a contested election. He threw deep. He wanted a tax cut like Ronald Reagan.
Last year he wanted to reform the third rail of politics, Social Security. This is what even the president himself calls small ball. Health care is not easy. Immigration reform is not easy. Trying to right public opinion about Iraq is not easy.
But they've decided, given the politic environment, given his standing, let's take a few things that we think they can get to the finish line. Not as dramatic as tax reform, not as dramatic as Social Security, but let's play small ball -- a baseball term the president knows very well -- and try to change the political dynamic.
BLITZER: John King, Jeff Greenfield, we'll be seeing both of you tonight here in THE SITUATION ROOM for our special coverage. Thanks very much.
KING: Good to be here.
BLITZER: Up next, the president goes prime-time. What does Mr. Bush need to say tonight in the State of the Union Address? We're going to continue this conversation with Donna Brazile and Bill Bennett in today's "Strategy Session."
And remember, our live coverage of tonight's big speech kicks off 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Stick around for that. You won't want to miss it. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: More on the State of the Union address coming up. But let's move on to another important story we've been following, the condition of ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt. Both were seriously wounded in Iraq over the weekend.
They left Germany earlier today, where they were receiving medical treatment. And their plane has just landed here in the United States. Let's bring in our Gary Nurenberg. He's at Bethesda, Maryland, at Bethesda Naval Hospital.
The plane has just landed, this huge military transport plane, this U.S. Air Force plane has landed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, just outside the nation's capitol, Gary. And eventually they're going to be brought over to where you are at Bethesda Naval Hospital. What do we know? What is the latest on their respective conditions?
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's really pretty much the same as it has been for the last couple of days here, Wolf. The public posture here is that they both received serious, injuries but are in stable condition. You're taking a look at a plane now which is being manned by the 86th Air medical evacuation squad at the base in Ramstein.
They've been responsible for caring for the men, as well as for other members of the American military who were hurt in Iraq and are being brought here to Bethesda. The Bethesda Naval Medical Center here just outside Washington, D.C., has a brain trauma center, which is world renowned for the quality of care received here.
The military offered and then strongly recommended to ABC that the two newsmen be brought here to this facility, which is normally reserved for members of the military, members of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the executive. ABC News says it's grateful for the offer, but will pay for full treatment costs here.
The majority of people that Bethesda Naval Medical Center has treated since the outset of the war have received injuries in IEDs, those improvised explosive devices. That is the majority of cases they treat here, and those treated in the brain trauma center at this facility. Also, the majority of those patients have been hurt by IEDs.
Wolf, this is a facility that has had a great deal of experience dealing with these particular kind of injuries. That's why the two men are being brought here later this afternoon. Once they land at Andrews, based on Washington rush hour, it could take about an hour or so for them to get here.
BLITZER: All right. Now, the plane has already landed at Andrews Air Force Base, Gary. As we're watching, we have live pictures that we're showing our viewers from Andrews Air Force Base. That's the rear of this huge U.S. Air Force military transport plane.
And you see that they're going to be brought out, not only the two ABC newsmen, but others being brought to the United States from Ramstein, the Landstuhl military facility in Germany. Our prayers, of course, are with all of the wounded military civilian who are being brought back for excellent medical treatment at Bethesda Naval Hospital outside Washington, D.C. We're going to have much more on this story coming up.
We'll move on to the other important story. We're watching the president's State of the Union address tonight. You can bet that all of the president's top political aides, his strategists, have had a hand in crafting this address.
Two of our own top analysts have their own ideas about what should and should not be in the speech. Bill Bennett is CNN contributor, host of the radio talk show "Morning in America." He's here in our strategy session, as is CNN political analyst and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile. Let me start with you, Bill, and put up on the screen these poll numbers. CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll. Are you satisfied with the way things are going to in the United States? You see the numbers up there; 35 percent say they're satisfied, 62 percent say they're not satisfied. The president has a huge challenge ahead of him tonight. He can't turn things around, but he can try to start.
WILLIAM BENNETT, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, 2005 was a bad year. And this is the beginning of 2006. This is a big night. It's a big night for him. He will have more people watching him tonight probably than he will the rest of the year, and I think he needs to come forth strong on the most important issues.
And from what I've heard -- I'm a little off the talking points of the Republican Party here. You'll see that from time it time, maybe. The world is a dangerous place right now. Iraq, Iran, the Iran situation is very volatile. You've got the Hamas situation. North Korea. We find that Columbia is giving passports to al Qaeda and Hamas people to come into the United States.
I hope the emphasis -- the emphasis I urge would be on foreign policy, to remind people he's the commander-in-chief. The reason I say this is not to satisfy the polls, but to do what his job requires. But he is best when he's talking about the things that really matter to him.
When I met with him last week with a group of other people, he said, "This is the calling of our time, to defend the American people, and to take up these issues in what's increasingly a dangerous world." I hope that's where the emphasis is.
BLITZER: What about the president's strategy tonight? I'm sure he's not called you in, Donna, to hear your thoughts. But give us your thoughts on not only what he might be able to do, but what Democrats need to do. Because even though the president's got bad numbers, the Democrat's numbers are not necessarily all that great either.
DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think the Democrats would much rather the hand they are being dealt with than the hand the Republicans. Look, two-thirds of American people now want change. They are sick of more of the same. They don't want to hear the president give what I call the old great hits, the oldies but goodies.
They want the president to change the tone. They want him to address some of the economic anxiety they're feeling. They want him to really lay out a prescription for how he's going to get the country back, moving forward again. So I think in addition to the foreign policy initiatives that Bill alluded to, I think the president really needs to lay out some stuff on the domestic front that really address the economic needs of the American people, the kitchen table issues.
BLITZER: I think, presumably, the most important thing he could do right now, at least one of the most important things he could do, is come up with some sort of strategy to wean the United States off this energy dependence on imported oil.
BRAZILE: That's one area where the president could score some points. And also, the president can score some point if he talks about healthcare. Of course, there are some people who want him to address the issues facing the Gulf Coast region and Katrina.
But the most important thing tonight, the president has to change the tone, and say to the American people that he's not just cheerleading the Republicans on to victory in 2006. Instead, he's trying to bring the country together around some important issues.
BLITZER: Roy Blunt, who wants to be the permanent majority leader -- he's the acting majority leader right now -- here's what he's quoted as saying. He said, "I see this as a year where we take substantially greater steps in the direction of oversight." He's referring to congressional oversight.
The president might have a problem with some Republicans, especially in this election year, as he goes forward with his international strategy, as opposed to an isolationist strategy, with his strategy to compete as opposed to a protectionist strategy.
Immigration, that's an area where a lot of Republicans are not very happy with what the president, presumably, tonight is going to say. So he's got some problems for the Republicans.
BENNETT: Yes. Well, some members of Congress need oversight and supervision, some need arrest, actually. I mean, it's even worse that. There'll be some differences. You heard Mike Pence and other people.
(CROSSTALK)
BENNETT: The conservative saying, "We're going to differ with the president." I heard him on one of the Sunday shows saying, "Some people will distance themselves from the president." They're upset about the budget, they're upset about other things.
But I agree with Donna. Tonight is the night -- and again, particularly because of the priorities of the world, that the word has imposed on us. He's the president of the United States and the commander-in-chief. I'm not opposed to domestic policy. I've been involved in some myself. But I think the situation -- I'm not sure people realize how tricky and how grave the situation is in places like Iran and Hamas now in Palestinian territories.
BRAZILE: I think the president can score a major point tonight if he tells Congress it's time to clean up our house, not just here, but at home. And the president himself can say, "I'm going to lead by example, but we have to clean up the cause of corruption because there's a big ethical fog hanging over this city right now."
BLITZER: And I suspect he's going to reach out to Democrats and members of Congress, try to lower the temperature in Washington. It's getting -- as both of you know, all of us have been around Washington a long time. It's getting pretty ugly. BENNETT: We'll see if he gets any applause on that.
BLITZER: We're going to have back later tonight throughout our coverage here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Coming up, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal hanging over the Republican Party, especially in the crucial state of Ohio. We're going to take a closer look at the politics of corruption in the Buckeye State.
And Senator Hillary Clinton may be considered the democratic front-runner in 2008, but is she tops in fund-raising? Some new numbers are out. We're going to share those numbers with you. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
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BLITZER: Welcome back. As President Bush makes final tweaks to his State of the Union address tonight, he may be wondering how his speech will play in Ohio. That state figures -- not only figures prominently in presidential elections, it's currently a major battleground over political ethics. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is joining us now from the capital, Columbus, Ohio, with more.
Bill, what are you picking up?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Ohio is ground zero in American politics. Fifteen months ago, Ohio re-elected Bush. Fifteen years ago, Republicans took over Ohio. Could Ohio be the starting point for the next political revolution?
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JAMES DREW, "THE TOLEDO BLADE": The scandals that have hit over the past year have opened the door for the Democrats, really for the first time since 1990 to regain control.
SCHNEIDER: The state's Republican governor, Bob Taft, pleaded guilty to a campaign finance violation.
DREW: He's the first sitting governor to be convicted of a crime in Ohio.
SCHNEIDER: A major Republican contributor is accused of using a rare coin scheme to bilk the state out of millions of dollars.
The Justice Department is investigating whether Republican Representative Bob Ney of Licking County provided political favors for convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for campaign contributions and a golf trip to Scotland.
STEVE HARRINGTON, LICKING COUNTY DEMOCRATS: What was he doing in Scotland? What was he doing? I mean, he represents a rural community. How does that benefit us?
SCHNEIDER: National Democrats have not failed to notice.
HOWARD DEAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: You've had five years of corruption at every level in the state of Ohio, and five years of corruption at every level in the state -- in the nation's capitol.
SCHNEIDER: 36 years ago, this book described a typical American voter as a 47-year-old wife of a machinist living in suburban Dayton, Ohio. Today, that typical voter is like to be like Laura Skidmore.
LAURA SKIDMORE, OHIO VOTER: Let's just say I'm licensed Republican, but I've voted Democrat in the past, as well. I'm a conservative liberal, or a liberal conservative. Whatever you want to call that. Middle of the road, how's that?
SCHNEIDER: The scandals in Ohio and Washington have affected Ms. Skidmore's view of President Bush.
SKIDMORE: I think he's too closely tied to oil. I think he's too closely tied to a lot of the lobbyists.
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SCHNEIDER: Ohio is troubled by job losses, by corruption, by Iraq. And President Bush has to address those troubles. The future of the Republican Party depends on it because the real majority lives in those excerpts outside Columbus, Ohio -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll see you tonight. First of all, how cold is it out there, Bill?
SCHNEIDER: It's pretty cold, and it's snowing. And you know what they worry about? Energy costs.
BLITZER: All right. Sounds like a good reason to wear that hat. Thanks very much, Bill Schneider. We'll see you tonight. He'll be helping us better understand the president's State of the Union address.
Campaign cash on our political radar this Tuesday. Senator Hillary Clinton continues to prove her fund-raising prowess, a skill that will come in handy if she runs for president. The New York Democrat's Senate reelection campaign reports raising more than $6 million in the fourth quarter of 2005, and it has a whopping $17 million in cash on hand.
Senator John Kerry's war chest isn't quite as fat as Senator Clinton's. The 2004 Democratic presidential nominee reports raising more than $5 million last year, and he has more than 10 million campaign dollars in the bank, most of it left over from 2004. It's money he can use if he decides to run for the White House again.
Yet another twist in the House Republican leadership fight. GOP members will choose Thursday between three congressmen trying to replace Tom DeLay as the majority leader. But tomorrow, the California Republican Dan Lundgren plans to call for a vote on every member of the GOP leadership team, except for the House speaker. We'll report back to you on how that plays out on the Hill.
And in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin may be facing a tough new political battle against a fellow Democrats. The "Times-Picayune" reports Louisiana attorney general Mitch Landrieu has decided to challenge Nagin in the April primary. Landrieu reportedly plans to announce his candidacy this week. We'll watch that story as well.
Up next, "Brokeback Mountain" appears to be the darling of the Academy Awards. The movie led this morning's Oscar nominations. We'll tell you how many nods they have, and who was nominated for what.
And once again, stay here in THE SITUATION ROOM for our special coverage of the president's State of the Union address. That special coverage begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll be right back.
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Our Zain Verjee is joining us now from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta with a closer look at other stories making news -- Zain.
VERJEE: Wolf, in Florida, a death row inmate is set to be executed in about an hour. Arther Rutherford was convicted of murdering the woman he worked for in 1985. His lawyers have appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay of execution, saying Florida's lethal injection procedure is cruel and unusual punishment.
In the Enron trial, a prosecutor told the jury former chief Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling knew of a, quote, " ticking time bomb at their company," but chose not to do anything about it, eventually causing Enron's collapse. In his opening statement, the prosecutor said both Lay and Skilling lied repeatedly about Enron's finances. Defense lawyers responded by denying those charges, saying the case is not about evildoing.
Today was Alan Greenspan's last day as chairman of the Federal Reserve board. On his last day, the Fed voted to raise interest rates another quarter point to 4.5 percent. Greenspan's been at the central bank for over 18 years. Today, the Senate confirmed Ben Bernanke as Greenspan's replacement. Bernanke is set to be sworn as the 14th Fed chairman tomorrow morning.
And "Brokeback Mountain," Wolf, is going for broke. The film leads all the other ones in Oscar nominations, earning eight of them. It's nominated for best picture. Heath Ledger is nominated for best actor, and Ang Lee gets a nod for best director. And the actors Michelle Williams and Jake Gyllenhaal get best supporting nods.
Meanwhile, George Clooney is also being recognized. He picked up nominations for directing "Good Night, and Good Luck," and the best supporting actor nod for his performance in "Syriana." See any of those movies, Wolf?
BLITZER: I saw "Syriana," and I thought it was excellent. I thought he did an excellent job. Saw "Good Night, and Good Luck," and I loved that as well. That's it for my movie reviews right now, Zain. We'll talk about it later.
VERJEE: OK, thank you.
BLITZER: You probably received an unsolicited e-mail with this warning. Listen to this. This is important. "Come Sunday, telemarketers will start calling on you your cell phone, charging up massive bills." That's the warning.
And the warning goes on to say, "The only way to avoid these calls, add your number to the cell phone Do Not Call registry." Well, get this. Don't do this. If you get that email, don't do it. Our Internet reporter Jacki Schechner is joining us now because this is a quickly spreading hoax.
JACKI SCHECHNER, INTERNET REPORTER: We hear this every few months, Wolf. Essentially, what's going on is there's email going around saying that, "As of Sunday, your cell phone is going to be vulnerable to telemarketers. You want to put your cell phone number on the Do Not Call registry, otherwise they're going to call you. Because it's an incoming call, you're going to get charged."
None of this is true, OK? First of all, the FTC is so aware of this, they have an entire page dedicated to the truth about cell phones and the Do Not Call registry. The bottom line, the telemarketers are not allowed to use those automated callers on your cell phone because if they do call you with one of those, of course, you're going to get chard with the incoming call. So it's illegal for them to do that.
The other thing is, this list is not being released. It's not going to happen. You don't want to worry about. If you do want to put your cell phone or your home phone on the Do Not Call registry, it does work, Wolf. There is meat to this.
The FTC announced today it's going after a company that allegedly made a million calls to phone numbers on the Do Not Call registry. We talked to that company today. They said that it's actually not true. It was clients of theirs that made those calls, and those clients were allegedly charities, and therefore exempt. So there is meat, Wolf, to the Do Not Call registry.
BLITZER: So Jacki, a good rule of thumb is, if you get an unsolicited email with a dire warning and they say, "Do this," the rule of thumb is, don't do it, just erase it, kill that email right away.
SCHECHNER: Yes. Chances are with something like that, there's a link that you shouldn't click on. It's going to download some sort of a virus. This is actually just a hoax that goes around every few months. And you basically don't have to worry about it. Your cell phone is not going to be vulnerable.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Jacki, for that. Still to come, it's something millions want but don't exactly know how to get. That would be lower oil and gas prices. Some say America's path to lower prices is by ending its dependence on oil, but how realistic is that? Jack Cafferty has your email.
And once again, stay here in THE SITUATION ROOM for our special coverage of the president's State of the Union address. That begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Stay with us.
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BLITZER: One correction. A moment ago, I said that Mitch Landrieu is the attorney general of Louisiana. That's not correct. He's the lieutenant governor of Louisiana. The "Times-Picayune" newspaper says he's going to challenge Ray Nagin for mayor of New Orleans.
Also, Suzanne Malveaux, our White House correspondent, getting some excerpts from the president's State of the Union address. We hope to go to her shortly and hear a little bit of what the president is going to say.
Let's hear what Jack Cafferty has to say now. He's standing by in New York -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: I can't compete with that State of Union stuff. But we've got some emails here. Let's make oil obsolete is what "New York Times" columnist Tom Friedman thinks that President Bush ought to say in that State of the Union speech, tonight. He won't, of course.
Mr. Bush is expected to talk about alternative energy sources. And he may call for the United States to build more nuclear power plants. So the question we asked is, is it realistic to expect this country to even become independent when it comes to energy?
Sandra writes Lakeland, Florida, writes, "The U.S. will become independent when oil runs out. Likewise for other fuel resources. Until the moneymen find a way to profit from other energy sources to the extent that they profit from the current fuel sources, things will never change."
Celia writes, "It's a largely achievable goal if we practice conservation, we support public transportation, we commit to research and development, we subsidize alternative energy sources, we stop letting big oil write our energy policy."
Fran in Fort Mill, South Carolina: "We can't even get the majority of Americans to carry a cloth bag to the grocery store to alleviate our dependence on disposable plastic bags. There's no reason to think that Americans in general will willingly give up anything that makes their life easier, regardless of the cost to them or others."
Craig in Arcata, California: "Of course it is, Jack. We grow corn. Corn can be used to make ethanol. A car run on ethanol gets better mileage, almost no emissions, and it's renewable." F in Pennsylvania writes, "I think we stand a good chance. We have coal, gas, oil, and we don't need to kill the caribou to do it. We need a little discipline with our people in America. We don't need the biggest cars, we can wear a sweater now and then. I burn coal, shovel it, and carry the ashes. I'm a woman, age 60. I work for my heat, but my home is comfortable. I can afford a large car, but I drive a small Subaru."
And J.W. writes, "Yes, but not under this president" -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And Jack, you might be surprised to hear the president will say tonight, and we're going hear this shortly in the excerpts released, "the United States must stop its addiction to oil." Much more on this coming up. You'll be interested in this, Jack.
Let's go to Zain once again at the CNN Center. She's watching another story. What are you picking up, Zain?
VERJEE: Wolf, Americans are grappling with a major loss this day. I want to show you from KGTV, one of our affiliates. You're looking at a silver hearse this is carrying the body of Coretta Scott King, the widow of the murdered civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. She died on Monday night in holistic health center in Mexico. The car is driving from Mexico into California.
The pictures coming to you from California. Mrs. King was 78 years old. She had suffered a stroke and a mild heart attack last August and was receiving more medical treatments at her hospital in Santa Monica. But these live pictures of the silver hearse carrying her body back and across the border into the United States -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much. We'll continue to watch that story.
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