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The Situation Room
A Preview of Tonight's State of the Union Address; Postal Massacre; Wounded in Action; NSA Lawsuit Involves AT&T; Frustration Over Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Program; Enron Opening Statements; Remembering Coretta Scott King; Cabinet Members Sit Out State Of The Union In Case Of Emergency;
Aired January 31, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one place at the same time.
Happening now, a Supreme Court confirmation gives President Bush a boost as he gets ready to give his State of the Union Address. But can the president boost the confidence of a public grown skeptical of his leadership?
Virtually all of the nation's leaders gather in one place for the State of the Union. What if the unthinkable were to happen? We'll tell you about the designated survivors who won't be there just incase.
And an ABC News anchor and cameraman seriously wounded in Iraq make the long trip back home. But along with wounded troops, they face a long road ahead.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
His presidency is near low ebb and many Americans now hold him in low regard. But George W. Bush has a chance to raise his standing and raise the election year for his beleaguered party. All he has to do is lay out agenda that catches the imagination of an entire nation and its elected representatives.
He'll get a shot at that in just a few hours with his delivery of the State of the Union Address.
Let's go live to White House. Our correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has some specific details, what we're about to hear -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is 31 drafts later, it's timed at about 38 minutes without applause. We're already getting excerpts about what the president is going to say. The main strategy here, of course, the main message, is that he wants Americans to continue to be engaged on the domestic and the international front.
He will specifically say that, "In a complex and challenging time, the road of isolationism and protectionism may seem broad and inviting, yet it ends in danger and decline. The only way to protect our people, the only way to secure the peace, the only way to control our destiny is by leadership. So the United States of America will continue to lead."
He is talking about Iraq, he is talking about Iran, he is talking about the Middle East peace initiative.
Some other things that he's going to be highlighting on the domestic side of this, expect him to talk about an American initiative, competitive initiative, where he says that he wants to help people, train them for the future to compete with China and with India. He's going to talk about improving math and science.
He is also, as well, going to talk about energy legislation. The president specifically is going to say America is addicted to oil which is often imported from unstable parts of the world, the best way to break this addiction is to go through technology.
And Wolf, one of the initiatives he'll be talking about is ways to explore alternative sources of oil, whether that's ethanol or some other technologies -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right.
MALVEAUX: All this in a couple of hours.
BLITZER: I know. It's going to be interesting, especially for those of who are political news junkies.
But what about Samuel Alito? He's been confirmed now. He'll be with the other justices, at least several of them, in the chambers tonight for this address.
How important for the president was this confirmation?
MALVEAUX: Well, you know, the picture is going to say it all, really, and that is a very important picture. We'll see the picture and Samuel Alito together this evening, and of course tomorrow at the White House for the official ceremony here.
And this is a huge victory for this administration and for this president because it says to the social conservatives, to those Republicans, we are with you, we have basically fulfilled a campaign pledge, and that is to bring along these conservative justices, those who will not, in their words, legislate from the bench.
It really is an invitation for the conservative base to come back to the party, come back to the Bush administration. He is essentially reaching out to them, saying that, look, we are going to try to keep those majorities in both the House and the Senate following those midterm elections.
A very important victory for this administration.
BLITZER: Thanks so much.
Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
President Bush may promise relief tonight for Americans struggling with the high price of health care. But has the government already given some Americans the wrong prescription? Can the president use this speech tonight to try to restore faith in his leadership?
Coming up, I'll ask the White House communication director, Nicolle Wallace, some of those questions.
And don't forget our prime-time coverage of the State of Union Address begins right here in THE SITUATION ROOM, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
We'll move on to some other news we're watching right now.
We're learning more details about the woman who shot and killed five people at a postal facility near Santa Barbara, California, before taking her own life.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is on the scene for us, and he's joining us with the latest.
What a story this is, Ted. What happened?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An amazing story, a heartbreaking story, Wolf.
Six employees, six postal workers went to work yesterday and they did not make it home. Five of them are dead tonight. The other is in critical condition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS (voice over): The terror began at the 9:00 p.m. shift change at this round-the-clock sorting facility. More than 80 people were working. Investigators say a 44-year-old former employee followed another car to get through the gate. She then started killing people in the parking lot.
SHERIFF JIM ANDERSON, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: According to witnesses at the scene, she was armed with a .9 millimeter pistol and reloaded at least once during her rampage.
ROWLANDS: When it was over, five employees were dead, four women ranging in age from 28 to 52, and a 57-year-old man. Also dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the woman police say is responsible. She worked as low-level employee for six years at the center but went on mental disability in 2003 after sheriff's deputies were called during an incident at work.
RANDY DEGASPERIN, U.S. POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICES: Basically, other employees had reported that her behavior seemed strange. She wasn't threatening anybody, but she seemed to be acting in a manner that concerned the other employees as far as her welfare.
ROWLANDS: With two of the bodies lie covered in the parking lot, investigators spent the day looking for evidence. They say all the victims and their attacker were most likely dead in just minutes after the rampage begun. What they still don't know is why. MAYOR JONNY WALLIS, GOLETA, CALIFORNIA: We as a community are extremely saddened by this act of violence. A day at the office should not result in death.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And the identity of the shooter is not being released pending notification.
As for the other employee who was injured, she was shot in the head and she in serious condition tonight -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Well, our prayers go out. I hope she'll recover.
Thanks, Ted, very much.
Ted Rowlands on the scene for us in California.
Just a little over 30 minutes ago, a medical transport plane carrying ABC News anchorman Bob Woodruff and his photographer, Doug Vogt, landed at Andrews Air Force Base outside the nation's capital in suburban Maryland. The men who were seriously wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq this weekend are heading over to the Bethesda Naval Medical Center for treatment.
Gary Nurenberg is joining us now live from there.
I take it they have not yet arrived. Or do we know if they've arrived at the Bethesda Naval Center?
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we're stationed at the gate where that ambulance will be brought in, that bus will be brought in. And they have not yet arrived. As you know, Washington rush hour traffic can make that hour-long trip sometimes much longer.
Representatives of ABC just came out to talk to assembled reporters to say they believe -- they believe that later this evening, members of the family will come out and make some kind of statement. At last report, both men have suffered serious injuries and were in stable condition as they boarded that flight that landed at Andrews about a half an hour ago.
Woodruff was sedated. We are told by the doctor who treated both men in Germany earlier today one optimistic note. He says that in each case, the prognosis is, in his words, "excellent." So that's encouraging news for the friends of these two men.
The Bethesda National Naval Medical Center is really the place to be. The government suggested to ABC that they be brought here and then strongly recommended it after that.
ABC said they will pay for all costs of the treatment here, which is normally restricted to members of the military, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the executive branch.
Most of the people who have been treated here since the Iraq war began in 2003 suffered similar injuries to two these men, injuries brought about by those improvised explosive devices. The majority of injuries in this location are those IEDs. Most of the people being treated in the brain trauma center here also have suffered IED injuries, and it is a belief that this is the best place in the world for these two men to be treated.
Wolf, we expect them to arrive sometime in the next few minutes.
BLITZER: All right, Gary. Thanks very much.
And as soon as we hear from family members, we'll of course bring that to our viewers.
Gary Nurenberg is at the Bethesda Naval Medical Center outside Washington, D.C.
A day after American hostage Jill Carroll was shown on videotape tearful and pleading for help, a journalist watchdog group says it will step up efforts to try to push for her release. Reporters Without Borders calls the tape extremely disturbing to watch, but says it's an encouraging sign because it shows the kidnapped American journalist is still alive.
Carroll was seized in Iraq January 7. Her kidnappers are demanding the release of female prisoners in Iraq.
Jack Cafferty's standing by in New York with "The Cafferty File."
You heard the president's going to say that the United States is addicted to oil and we have to do something about that.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, what's he going to do about that, I wonder?
BLITZER: He's going to promote -- I suspect he's going to promote new technologies to try to find alternate sources for cars.
CAFFERTY: Oh. Well, let's hope he can come up with something that works.
It's the mother of all business scandals. Enron was once the 7th largest company in the nation until it crashed and burned in December of 2001. And now, four years later, we're finally seeing the trial get under way of former chief executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, two world-class worms.
The jury was selected yesterday. They got a tough judge. He seated a jury in this thing in one day.
Today, both sides gave their opening arguments. Prosecutors say that Enron was a ticking time bomb and its top executives lied to the public to hide huge debts and at the same time made millions of dollars by selling off their own shares of stock behind the scenes.
Defense lawyers say these two men who ran the company didn't know anything about any of this. Right. Combined, they face more than three dozen fraud and conspiracy charges, which if the jury's got any wisdom is enough to probably put them in the joint for the rest of their lives. The collapse of Enron resulted in the loss of thousands of people's jobs and retirement savings. Heartbreak all around for anybody associated with that house of cards.
So, here's the question: If you were sitting on the Enron jury, what would you like to hear Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling say? You can e- mail us at CaffertyFile@cnn.com.
If I were them, I'd be getting them orange jumpsuits, getting measured for those deals. And soon they'll be vying for that position of queen of the Friday night dance up there at the prison.
BLITZER: When was the last time in a high-profile trial like this the judge gets a jury seated in one day?
CAFFERTY: You know, this is a tough guy. He said that he's going to -- he's going to keep everybody's nose to the grindstone.
This is a man -- I can't remember the exact details, but he slapped one of these White collar guys with a 55-year prison sentence that wound up getting thrown out on appeal. But this is -- this is not a guy with a big, long sense of humor and a great deal of patience.
Lance Ito he's not. Wasn't that the guy's name in the O.J. trial?
BLITZER: That's correct. Judge Ito, remember him.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
Thanks very much, Jack, for that.
CAFFERTY: OK.
BLITZER: Up ahead, she was the keeper of the dream and a leader of the civil rights movement in her own right. We'll look back at the life of Coretta Scott King.
Also, an electric day in court. Opening statements, as we just heard, in the trial of former Enron bosses Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Ali Velshi, our man, is on the scene. We're going to have much more on this story
And more of our preview of the State of the Union speech. The White House communications director, Nicolle Wallace, will join us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
President Bush has been working hard on his State of the Union Address, but he has his work cut out for him. Can he restore confidence in his leadership? What message will he present to leery lawmakers and a doubting public?
Joining us now from the White House is the communications director, Nicolle Wallace.
Nicolle, thanks very much for joining us.
NICOLLE WALLACE, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: What does the president mean when he says, according to the excerpts you've just released, that America's addicted to oil and has to do something about that? What does he have in mind?
WALLACE: Well, it's the kind of thing you're going hear from the president tonight, really bold, directional leadership on the big issues and the big challenges facing our nation and the world. You know, presidents only get to deliver an importance address like this once a year, and the president believes that it's very important to speak about America's role in the world and the importance of American leadership in the world.
So you raise the issue of energy, but the president tonight will also talk about the critical importance of America continuing to lead in the global war against terror and the benefits and positive outcomes it has on our nation's security and the security of our allies. He'll also talk about the critical importance of leading in the global economy to make sure that future generations inherit an American economy that remains the strongest in the world. And energy independence goes to that goal.
BLITZER: Well, on the addiction to oil line, which jumps out at everyone...
WALLACE: Sure.
BLITZER: ... when we heard those excerpts, does he have a specific plan to wean American -- Americans off of this addiction to oil?
WALLACE: Sure, he has a plan and he has a record. This president has invested billions of dollars in research and in new technologies, but he's going to build on that.
And what he's going to talk about tonight are some new initiatives that tap into some of the newest research that really puts our country on the cusp of some real breakthroughs that will have a real impact on our dependence of -- on Mideast oil.
BLITZER: He's also going to say that Americans can't be isolationists and can't be protectionists. As you know, there are a lot of people out there, including at lot of Republicans, who would like to see America retreat from its international objectives and certainly want to take protectionist stance to protect manufacturing jobs, shall we say, in the United States. Talk a little bit about the president has in mind in dealing with these two issues.
WALLACE: Well, the president, again, believes that America is at her very best when she is leading and shaping events. And the way to lead and shape events and influence the world we live in and the world that our children will inherit is not to retreat within our borders or shirk from our duties t lead in this global war or to engage and make sure that we can all compete and adapt and succeed in the global economy. It's to adapt ourselves and adapt our policies so that we continue to be the leaders.
BLITZER: Here are a couple of poll numbers I'm going to put up on the screen, Nicolle.
Bush's second term, "Do you regard its has a is success or failure?" Thirty-eight percent say it's a success, 58 percent say it's a failure.
"Is Bush a uniter or a divider?" Forty-one percent say he's a uniter, 54 percent say he's a divider.
He's got his work cut out for him, doesn't he?
WALLACE: Well, look, a poll is like a flash on the camera. It illuminates a moment in time. But the State of the Union Address is about a moment in history.
We are living in an historic times, and I know you've heard from other folks down here today about the passion the president feels about the critical choices we face. This decision to lead the world is not in a vacuum. The choice to retreat would have disastrous results for our national security and would lead to, frankly, a second-rate economy if we were to retreat from the challenges, the challenge to be better and smarter and adapt in a global economy.
BLITZER: We'll be hearing from the president tonight, Nicolle. Thanks very much.
WALLACE: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Nicolle Wallace, the White House communications director, joining us from the north lawn of the White House.
And don't forget CNN's prime-time State of the Union coverage begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern, when Paula Zahn joins me for our special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM.
That's followed by our live coverage of the president's speech at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. Anderson Cooper brings us immediate reaction, and Larry King hosts a riveting hour of insight and analysis. That begins at midnight Eastern.
That's CNN prime-time coverage of the State of the Union Address. All that beginning tonight, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Coming up, is there anything President Bush can say tonight that would make Democrats stand up and cheer? I'll ask a leading Democratic critic, Senator Joe Biden. He's standing by.
And it's a nightmare scenario, all of nation's top leaders assembled in one place and something terrible happens. We'll tell you about the designated survivors and who won't be there for the State of the Union Address.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: After the president's address, Democrats will present their formal response. It will no doubt offer lots of informal responses at the same time. But ahead of the speech, is there anything they want to hear from the president tonight? Anything that would win their approval?
Joining us now, Democratic senator Joe Biden. He's a key member of both the Foreign Relations and Judiciary committees.
Senator, thanks very much for joining us.
I assume you'll like what the president says, that Americans must end their addiction to oil given the energy crisis.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: Absolutely. And I hope he comes with a hard plan as to how we're going to do this rather than just talk generically about the need for alternative fuels, tell us how we're going to get there, and tell us what he's going ask of us, what we expect. I think the American people will respond to a very tough proposal to allow us to get out from the grip of the oligarchs in the Middle East.
BLITZER: I assume you'll also like what he's going to say to avoid isolationism and protectionism, American must have an internationalist policy, remain involved in the rest of the world, and avoid the kind of trade barriers that some -- some are come are calling for in both the Democratic and Republican parties?
BIDEN: Well, in my case, yes, that's true. But he has also has to let it be known that we can no longer pretend that environmental and labor issues don't matter. They do matter. They do matter, and they've got to be a part of our negotiation. And I hope he'll speak to that as well.
BLITZER: The Democrats have a problem. Based on this latest "Wall Street Journal"-NBC poll, "Are Democrats doing an excellent or good job of presenting an clear agenda?" Only 34 percent say they are, 63 percent say they're not.
What's the Democratic problem in trying to present a cogent agenda to the American public?
BIDEN: Remember Will Rogers once said, I don't belong to any political -- organized political party, I'm a Democrat.
Look, never, with the single exception to Newt Gingrich, that I'm aware of has a party that's been out of power been able to present a single coherent view coming from the Congress and the governors. Tat will be shaped by whomever the nominee for the Democratic Party will be, so it doesn't surprise me at all because they're very different views.
We're in a debate among ourselves as to what the initiative should be and how we should lead the country in a post-Bush era.
BLITZER: The Democrats were pretty much divided on whether to go ahead with a filibuster of Samuel Alito, but pretty much united in opposing them. Senator Ted Kennedy, your colleague on the Judiciary Committee, said -- he's quoted in "The New York Times" as saying, "Clearly we Democrats could have done better in opposing Alito."
Is there anything you could have done looking back that would have derailed this nomination?
BIDEN: Well, I really don't think so, especially the way the hearings are set up these days. They kind of become a stylized dance. The nominees, Democrat or Republican, come before us, committed to say nothing.
We're in a position where it's hard to deal with complicated issues in front of a camera. And so I'm not sure.
I think we showed go back to the days when -- I mean this sincerely -- pre-1953, when we didn't have the nominees come before the committee, we judged them on the record, we debated their record, their public record on the floor of the Senate, and we voted.
BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about of foreign affairs. You're on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
BIDEN: Yes.
BLITZER: One thing I suspect the president will say tonight is he'll -- he'll once again urge or warn Hamas, the now dominant political party among the Palestinians, that they have to renounce terrorism and accept Israel's right to exist.
You were just there last week. You watched this election. I assume like a lot of people you were surprised at how well Hamas did.
Is there any difference that you have in the president's strategy in dealing with the Palestinians now? Is there something else you would like to see that he decide to do?
BIDEN: Well, I would like to see the president keeping the so- called quartet. That is, the Russians and the Europeans, et cetera, together on Hamas. And I'd like to see us sending top envoys into the Middle East to speak to our Gulf neighbors in saying you should not be funding Hamas. To try to keep us unified in putting pressure on Hamas to either not get aid and/or change their policy. My biggest, Wolf, as you know -- you interviewed me when I came back after overseeing -- not overseeing -- witnessing the elections for president a year ago in the Palestinian area. And we came back, and I was on your program and said, "Now's the time we have to help Abbas go in there, gain support from the people, take away the support away from Hamas, who is now providing all of the social services."
And what did we do? We dithered for six months.
We would not give the $20 million to build schools and provide scholarships that Hamas is now doing. And in that time -- and back in March, Senator Lugar and I sent a letter to the president and said, "Look, Hamas is going to win unless you in fact help the Palestinian Authority, in fact, have a reason for the Palestinians to think they can deliver."
That was my disagreement. But I have no disagreement now.
They're there. We cannot support them as long as they continue to call for Israel's destruction.
BLITZER: Senator Biden, thanks very much for joining us. And I know like you and millions of others around the country, around the world, our hearts and prayers go out to these two ABC newsmen.
BIDEN: By the way, he's a hell of guy, both of them. They have real guts to do what they did.
BLITZER: Oh, believe me, I totally appreciate it.
BIDEN: I know you know that.
BLITZER: Yes, I know. They're great journalists. Thanks very much, Senator.
BIDEN: Thank you.
BLITZER: Let's go to CNN's Zain Verjee, once again at the CNN Center in Atlanta. She's got a closer look at some other stories making news -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, there are new developments in the controversy over Iran's nuclear program.
The international community is preparing to refer officials from that country to the United Nations Security Council, which could impose sanctions. Iran insists that it's only seeking nuclear energy, and the country's vice president says the U.N. has no right to take any action. Another Iranian official calls the referral the end of diplomacy.
Fresh violence in Baghdad, where Iraqi police say 15 bodies, all believed to be Iraqi, have been found in two locations. All were shot execution-style and displayed signs of torture. And in Diyala Province -- that's northeast of Baghdad -- gunmen killed the wife and the two young sons of a Sunni cleric, while three Iraqis soldiers were killed in fighting nearby.
A Pentagon official says the military is stepping up medical surveillance in Iraq after the first known human death from bird flu in that country. The official says that there's no evidence of any increased influenza among American troops there. The victim, a 15- year-old Iraqi girl, died two weeks ago. Two other possible human bird flu cases are being investigated.
And the United States is poised to greatly expand its stockpile of the drug Tamiflu, which is the best known treatment for bird flu, although it's not a cure. An executive from Roche, the maker of Tamiflu, told a Senate hearing that the U.S. Health department wants to increase its order from 15 million treatments to as many as 46 million -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much -- Zain Verjee reporting.
We have a late-breaking development in the NSA spying story. Just an hour ago, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of millions of AT&T customers. The complaint alleges AT&T broke the law by giving the NSA access to its massive databases of information and violating the privacy of AT&T customers.
Our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton, has been chasing this story. She has got some details. What are you getting, Abbi?
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, the Electronic Frontier Foundation says the privacy of AT&T customers has been violated and that everyone affected could receive $21,000 or more.
They allege AT&T has been giving access to the NSA to their vast databases of phone and e-mail records, without notifying its customers. Now, we have seen lawsuits before from organizations like the ACLU, targeting the government on the NSA program. This one specifically looks at the telecommunications giant AT&T on behalf of the customers.
AT&T is the biggest telecommunications company in the United States. It has millions of customers around the world. A spokesman for the company said he had not seen the lawsuit yet, but they might have further comment later, but, at this stage, they wouldn't comment on any national security issue -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Abbi Tatton, thank you very much.
Coming up, the Enron trial has just wrapped up for the day. Ali Velshi is there. He's standing by for a live report.
Also ahead, her husband was a civil rights icon. After his murder, she carried the torch. Now flags are low lowered for Coretta Scott King. We will look at her life and legacy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: President Bush tonight wants to promote ideas for dealing with high cost of health care. But should one idea already in place be sent back to drawing board?
Let's go live to CNN's Chris Lawrence. He's joining us now from the streets of San Francisco -- Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, more than a dozen congressmen sent a letter to President Bush, asking him to -- quote -- "level with the public" during his State of the Union speech tonight, specifically asking him to address the frustration that some of these Americans feel about this new Medicare Prescription Drug Program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... however, be guided by some basic principles.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Democrats aren't the only ones pressuring the president for a change. The AARP initially endorsed the Medicare program, but now it and other senior advocates says it needs to be fixed.
SUSAN HALEY, SENIOR ACTION NETWORK: There's been a lot of problems with the system.
LAWRENCE: Susan Haley helps seniors in San Francisco. She says pharmacists can't verify what plan patients are assigned to. And too many poor people, who used to get drugs at a discount, now face higher co-pays.
HALEY: And they're unable to afford it. So, they're unable to afford the medication, so they just walk away with nothing.
LAWRENCE: Like this woman -- she's 71 years old, her husband, 73. Between them, they're supposed to take 11 medications. But now they can't afford them all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wasn't able to get my medicine for my cholesterol, because it's expensive. And he wasn't able to get the Flomax for his prostate.
LAWRENCE: The plan was supposed to make it easier for seniors like Falicisima Fortuno (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But now I have to have share of costs with my medicine. Then I have to pay the premium. So, how could that be so easier?
LAWRENCE: They get Social Security. But it isn't much. So, even an extra $50 or $60 means they sometimes have to share their medicine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I try to borrow from his or I just cut it into half, so that it will last longer.
LAWRENCE: And that's not what the doctor ordered.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LAWRENCE: Yes. In 20, 30 years, some economists say that Medicare, just Medicare, could take up a third of the federal budget. This program was designed to cut waste. And it's only in its first few weeks. If he talks about it tonight, most expect President Bush to defend the Medicare program -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Chris Lawrence, very solid report -- thanks very much for that -- Chris Lawrence reporting.
Stay with us. Our special SITUATION ROOM coverage of the State of the Union address, that begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific, only here on CNN.
Still to come, she lived through triumph and tragedy with dignity and grace, tending her husband's legacy. Now she has left her own. We will look back at the life of Coretta Scott King,
Plus, opening arguments in the Enron trial. We will show you what both sides are saying. Our Ali Velshi is live in Houston.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Opening statements in the closely-watched trial of former Enron bosses Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.
Ali Velshi is in Houston. He's got the "Bottom Line."
What happened today, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf.
We're just actually keeping an eye -- and you can probably see it on the wall -- on the -- right below me -- that's the door where everybody walks out. We saw Jeff Skilling walking out. Ken Lay walked out. And, quite surprisingly, he's didn't -- he -- neither he, nor his lawyers, stopped at the podium to talk.
And, now, we're expecting the prosecution to walk out.
The -- Ken Lay's lawyer, Michael Ramsey, the white-haired man that you're looking at in the front there, his closing words in the opening arguments were, in reference to the prosecution's case, we're going to kill them. We are going to win -- a very, very positive tone set by Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling today.
We did learn, in fact, that they're both planning to testify in their own defense. The prosecution started this morning -- the government lawyers started this morning by outlining their case against Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, basically underscoring the fact that this is not an accounting scenario; this was a criminal act, that Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling were pumping up the stock of Enron, selling it.
And they had information that the company wasn't in good health when the general public didn't. We are hearing, of course, from the defense that that is simply not true. They say they didn't get anything wrong. They didn't commit any crime. And Ramsey was saying of Ken Lay, he's been a bone-solid, church-bound man all his life.
We are going to start hearing witnesses and evidence starting tomorrow -- Wolf.
BLITZER: They're not wasting any time out there in Houston.
VELSHI: No.
BLITZER: Ali, thank you very much for that.
Online, we're getting a rare peek into some of the Enron evidence.
Let's go to our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton -- Abbi.
TATTON: Wolf, hundreds of thousands of e-mails to and from Enron employees, obviously not intended for public consumption -- but, nevertheless, now, online for the world to see -- they were released -- over one million of them -- by this government agency two years ago.
They have now been managed into a surgical database by a computer software company. You can search on any term you want there and see you what comes up -- or you can just look in the objectionable-use category here, and see what you find.
There are half-a-million e-mails in this database here. It's certainly going to make you think twice about what kind of things you're sending from your company's e-mail account -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Abbi, thank you very much.
Let's head up to New York -- Lou Dobbs getting ready for his program that begins right at the top of the hour -- Lou.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you very much.
Coming up at the top of the hour here on CNN, our broadcast will have less to do with the president's view of the state of the union, than it will with America's view with the state of our union, hard- pressed Americans, working men and women in this country, trying to make ends meet -- failing education, real wages continuing decline.
In other words, you will be hearing everything during our hour that you won't hear during the president's speech tonight. We hope you will be with us -- Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: We will. And I will be with you tomorrow night. I'm going to be very anxious to get your take, tomorrow night, on what the president says on some of the hot-button issues, like immigration, protection and all sorts of other issues.
Lou, we will talk tomorrow. DOBBS: You have got a deal.
BLITZER: Up next, preparing for the worst. We will show you what's being done for tonight's State of the Union speech, in the event, God forbid, of a disaster -- details of an important tradition.
Plus, remembering Coretta Scott King -- we will show you what she said about the war in Iraq when I spoke with her on the eve of the war.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: A big loss today -- Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., has died today at 78. She was undergoing rehabilitation at a clinic in California for a heart attack and stroke she suffered last summer.
I interviewed Coretta Scott King three years ago this month, shortly before the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
I asked what her husband would have thought about what was then the buildup to the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CORETTA SCOTT KING, WIDOW OF CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: You know, my husband always believed that there should be peaceful negotiations, and he believed in nonviolence. He was committed to it totally, and he believed that conflict should be handled through the United Nations, so, strengthen the United Nations, and let the United Nations take the leadership.
And I believe that Martin would, if he were today -- here today, he -- although I don't normally speak for him, but I know what he was saying at the time of his death, is that war cannot serve any lasting good toward bringing about peace.
If you use weapons of war to bring about peace, you're going to have more war and destruction. You cannot have peaceful means -- peaceful means will have to be used to bring about peaceful ends. If you use destructive means, you're going to bring about destructive ends.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Coretta Scott King speaking to me in January 2003.
The State of the Union puts the president at center stage and gives him a chance to sparkle or sputter. There have been many make- or-break moments over the years, many hits, many misses.
Let's turn to our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne. SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it really is the one moment exclusively for the president and the American people. And there is a long history of presidents trying to milk it for everything it's worth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BUSH: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): That ominous warning three years ago set the stage for the Iraq war, but turned out to be false. But the power of those 16 words came to light in part because they were delivered in the president's State of the Union address.
JOE LOCKHART, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR FORMER PRESIDENT WILLIAM J. CLINTON: Well, the State of the Union is the sort of peak of the president's power.
MALVEAUX: For Abraham Lincoln in 1862, it was about ending slavery. For Lyndon Johnson, about 100 years later, it was promoting his Great Society and voting rights.
LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To Negro Americans through enforcement of the civil rights law and elimination of barriers to the right to vote.
MALVEAUX: Memorable State of the Unions sometimes have derived from just one line.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The era of big government is over.
BUSH: An axis of evil.
MALVEAUX: Other speeches are noted for what they don't say. President Clinton surprised many, when, just days after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, he didn't mention the controversy.
LOCKHART: There was never even a discussion. We were never going to talk about Monica Lewinsky in the State of the Union. It would have been crazy to -- to -- to talk about that.
MALVEAUX: But, in age of split-screens and pop culture, are Americans even paying attention to the commander in chief?
In 1997, O.J. Simpson's verdict pushed the president to the side. But Ronald Reagan, the great communicator, finds way to captivate his audience.
RONALD REAGAN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the conference report.
MALVEAUX: One year, he hoisted 43 pounds of documents to illustrate Congress' big-spending legislation. KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF FOR PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN: He knew where he was going to laugh or smile. And he knew where he was going to be very somber, because he practiced and practiced and practiced.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Another tradition, of course, that Ronald Reagan started was inviting surprise guests in the first lady's box. And, of course, Wolf, there's been a lot of speculation about who is going to sit in it this evening. We will know for sure in three hours.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, Suzanne, for that good report -- Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
Up next, who would run the country if the government were wiped out? There's a plan for such a doomsday scenario -- and it's being implemented for tonight's State of the Union address. We are going to show you what it is.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: This just in from our congressional correspondent, Ed Henry: Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war protester, will be in the gallery, he's reporting tonight, as guest of Democratic Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey. We will continue to watch this story for you.
What if virtually all of the nation's leaders were assembled in one place, and the truly unthinkable happened? Well, some top officials won't be there tonight when the president delivers his State of the Union address.
Let's go live to our White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you, Wolf.
Well, every year, one Cabinet member and some members of Congress sit out the State of the Union address, just in case of a catastrophic event. Now, we won't find out who those people are until right before the address, but we do have some sense of what that experience is like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO (voice-over): They're called designated survivors.
MARTIN SHEEN, ACTOR: We will miss you tonight. Next year, it will be the surgeon general. I promise.
(LAUGHTER)
QUIJANO: On TV's "West Wing," it was the agriculture secretary chosen to stay back from the State of the Union address, to ensure continuity of government in a worst-case scenario.
SHEEN: If anything happened, you know what to do, right?
QUIJANO: Former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman knows what the experience is really like. In 1997, he was whisked out of Washington on a military plane with, in his words, all of accouterments of powers.
DAN GLICKMAN, FORMER AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: You know, the gentleman with the codes. And I didn't ask a lot of questions, frankly. When I saw the gentleman with a briefcase in my company, I knew that this was serious business.
QUIJANO: Glickman watched then-President Clinton's address from his daughter's New York apartment, and describes going from headiness to humility in the same night.
GLICKMAN: That night, there was a terrible rainstorm. We had gone out to eat. And I couldn't get a cab back to her apartment. And I commented that, here it was, four hours earlier, I was the most important person on the face of the Earth, and I couldn't even get a cab later on.
QUIJANO: Now, post-9/11, members of Congress also designate survivors.
Senator Trent Lott stayed away last year.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: We were flown away from Washington to this remote site, which was underground.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: And while the senator can't say exactly where they went, he says he did enjoy the change of scenery, but, also, the chance, of course, to view history from a unique vantage point -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, very interesting, Elaine -- thank you very much.
Elaine Quijano is our White House correspondent.
Let's go back to New York. Jack Cafferty has got "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Thanks, Wolf.
Opening statements today in the trial of those two former Enron executives, Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling. Prosecutors say the two men lied to the public and hid huge debts. The company eventually collapsed. Defense lawyers say they didn't know anything about any of it, even though they were running the place.
The question is this: If you were sitting on the Enron jury, what would you like to hear Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling say? Phil in Rochester: "I would like to hear Ken Lay explain why he deserved the salary he was paid, while heading a corporation where he had no clue what was happening."
Steven in San Bernardino writes: "I would like to hear them say, please don't send me to one of those white-collar prisons, with golf courses, swimming pools, and gourmet meals. Send me to Folsom and put me in a cell with anyone named Bubba."
Phyllis writes -- and she points out in her e-mail that she is a Ph.D. -- "As someone actually interested in seeing anyone have their day in court, including world-class worms, as you so blithely called Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling, I resent your condemning these men before the trial has even started. How can you be so sure, so smug? I have never quite liked watching Mr. Cafferty. And now I understand more as to why. He assumed more than he knows. The fact that Enron collapsed does not clearly equal the presumption of guilt of conspiracy, which these men are being tried for."
Guess they didn't teach her over that at the Ph.D. place not to end a sentence in a preposition.
Bob in Dade City, Florida: "I would like the Enron boys to say, look, with all the congressmen we own, just give us our 90 days probation, the $1 million fine, and lets get this joke over with."
And Bill in Louisville, Kentucky: "The sad thing is, I believe Ken Lay is telling the truth. He looks like he doesn't know what is going on now, and I think the look is genuine. I think he's had that look for a long time, and the mind to go along with it."
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: Wolf.
BLITZER: Jack, thanks very much. See you in one hour. Our special coverage will begin here in THE SITUATION ROOM -- Jack Cafferty with "The Cafferty File."
We have got an update now on those two ABC journalists who were seriously injured over the weekend in Iraq. Here's a bus that is bringing them, Bob Woodruff and Doug Vogt, to the Bethesda Naval Medical Center, together with other wounded U.S. military personnel.
We're watching this story -- it's a sad story -- not only involving these two American newsmen, but, also, of course, all of the military personnel who are brought to this excellent, world-class facility, where they will get excellent treatment. And we hope and pray for their speedy recovery, all of them.
We are here every weekday afternoon from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern in THE SITUATION ROOM. We are back on the air 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Just an hour from now., our special coverage of the State of the Union will begin. My colleague Paula Zahn will be joining us.
Until then, thanks for joining us. "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
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