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Franks: U.S. Should Put Iraq on Five-Year Plan; Securing the Republican Convention in New York

Aired August 01, 2004 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Retired General Tommy Franks says that America should put Iraq on a five-year plan. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Catherine Callaway.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Drew Griffin. That story in a minute. But first, news this morning. A small cruise ship runs aground off the coast of Alaska. Earlier this hour, a Coast Guard official told us that local fishing vessels and tugboats helped evacuate nearly 200 people aboard the clipper Odyssey. About 5,000 gallons of fuel spilled in the ship after it hit a wreathe overnight, 1:00 Eastern time.

Utah police will comment later today on new revelations in the case of a missing pregnant woman. The families of Lori and Mark Hacking now say there is no more reason to keep searching for Lori. A statement the families released says new information makes it unnecessary for that search, but no specifics on the new information have been provided so far.

None of the documents reviewed at the National Archives by former Clinton aide Sandy Berger are missing. That is the latest word from an Archive spokeswoman. The 9/11 Commission says it had access to every document as well. The Justice Department has been investigating Berger for possibly removing documents.

A state of emergency now in effect in central Washington state, after a wildfire swept through the Cascade foothills. Dozens of homes evacuated. Investigators say a serial arsonist may be responsible. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

CALLAWAY: Well, there are some big questions about security and safety in New York during the Republican Convention later this month. The city's police officers and firefighters are a very unhappy bunch. Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The scenes of anti-war demonstrators filling New York City streets last year could be repeated at the Republican National Convention. But this time around, the line between demonstrators and law enforcement might not be as clear.

MICHAEL BILLOTTO, FIREFIGHTER: I'm probably going to be going down when the convention starts, right, to picket. JOE MCKAY, FIREFIGHTER: We put it on the line for the city and for the people of the city. And we kind of feel left out.

CARROLL: Joe McKay and Michael Billotto are among hundreds of city firefighters and police officers planning on protesting for higher wages.

BILLOTTO: I have a wife and four kids at home. And you know, it's barely enough to make what I have to do just to survive in the city.

CARROLL: The city's firefighters and police have been without a contract for two years. The city's mayor says he's offered a fair deal. Police and firefighters think not.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR, NEW YORK: The strategy of following me around and yelling and screaming is just counterproductive.

CARROLL (on camera): The mayor also has to deal with security. There have been threats of sickouts on their first day of the convention, although the mayor does not believe that will happen.

(voice-over): And even those on the front lines are assuring the public not to worry.

PATRICK LYNCH, PATROLMEN'S BENEVOLENT ASSN.: We'll go out there. We'll do our job to keep you safe.

CARROLL: Still, it could be a public relations nightmare for the mayor when his own party comes to town. Police and firefighters are still regarded as 9/11 heroes here. But political analysts say the real trick will be keeping the focus in the right place.

DOUG MUZZIO, BARUCH UNIVERSITY: Clearly what the mayor needs to do is to keep the attention focused on the convention and not on the outside.

CARROLL: That may be easier said than done.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: It's been another deadly day in Iraq. At least six people killed in two separate explosions there. In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide car bomb exploded outside a police station, killing at least four people. Two of them were police officers. Police say 53 others were injured.

Also this morning, a roadside bomb explodes near a Baghdad hotel, killing two civilians.

Retired General Tommy Franks talking candidly now about U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this morning's "Parade" magazine, Franks says he believes the U.S. Army should take at least five years to get its troops out of Iraq. Franks led U.S. troops into Iraq and Afghanistan.

He says he was shocked no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. He adds Middle Eastern leaders told him directly that Saddam Hussein had the weapons and would use them. The general's new book, "American Soldier" is out this week.

CALLAWAY: Well, to many of us, they're known as weekend warriors, men and women who serve in the U.S. Guard and Reserve. Thousands of them are spending every day fighting in Iraq. And one reservist recently made it home and received a hero's welcome for a job well done.

Here's Lisa Sylvester.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty-six-year- old John Smathers is comfortable in many roles: full-time lawyer and part-time Army Reserve soldier. But he's reluctant to call himself a hero.

JOHN SMATHERS, U.S. ARMY RESERVES: A lot of the accomplishments that we made were made as a team. On an individual basis, we all did our jobs. And that's how we viewed it at the time we were doing it. We were just doing our job.

SYLVESTER: The Maryland personal injury attorney was originally not supposed to be on the front lines. But the 3rd Infantry Division needed a lawyer prepared to go into combat.

Smathers saw plenty of fighting. He earned two Purple Hearts, Four Bronze Stars, and an Army Commendation Medal, making him the most decorated Army Reserve soldier in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He describes an insurgent attack on his convoy.

SMATHERS: The vehicle was just riddled with bullets, and I could hear the bullets, as I was ducking, I could hear the bullets just bouncing all around the vehicle. It just was going on forever.

SYLVESTER: His arm was broken in two places when his Humvee flipped over. But he kept fighting.

While in Iraq, Captain Smathers also foiled a bank robbery, helped restore power in Baghdad, and rewrote the traffic laws. Under Saddam Hussein, traffic officers were both judge and jury.

SMATHERS: Whatever the traffic judges did was fine. There was no appeal from their decision. So they were like gods on the street, and people were very fearful of them.

SYLVESTER: Captain Smathers is now in physical therapy to regain full use of his arm: a small price to pay for the patriotism his father instilled in him.

SMATHERS: He had always told me, "America is the greatest country on the face of the earth. There's more freedoms here than any other nation. And, if you don't believe that, go to some other nation and you'll want to come over here as quickly as possible." And he's right.

SYLVESTER: Captain Smathers brought back a football that served as his diary in Iraq. And he has the memories of the Iraqi children who welcomed American troops; children, who he says, are now better off.

Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Laurel, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: And we bring you heroes stories every week right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Well, disabled veterans from the Iraq War are running a five mile race in New York's Central Park this morning. And we're going to have a live report on that coming up in the 9:00 hour at CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

GRIFFIN: Mary Lou Retton, Carrie Strugg, Nadia Comaneci, just a few of the champions coached by the legendary Bela Karolyi. And he joins us live next half hour to talk about America's hopes in the next Olympics. Then at 8:30 Eastern, some startling statistics. A new study says an average of 195,000 people die from medical mistakes every year. On "Housecall" this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks about major new steps taken to solve the problem.

At 9:30 Eastern, apparently you are never too young to get involved in politics. The proof? 10-year old Lily Thorpe. Her remarkable when she joins us live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

But first, political correspondent Andrea Seabrook with her spin, a reporter's spin, on Republicans plans to offset the Democratic euphoria following their July convention. That's when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLAWAY: Good morning, Baltimore. Your weather forecast coming up just about 15 minutes. Thanks for the live pictures this morning from WBAL.

And if you're a Baltimore Ravens fan, you may want to know that Ray Lewis fully recovered from thumb surgery is now back on the team. And the Ravens started their training camp yesterday.

If you're just waking up, here's what's going on this morning. A new non specific terror warning has heightened security precautions in New York City. Federal officials say that new intelligence warns of a possible al Qaeda attack on the city's corporate and financial firms.

And Salt Lake City Police have yet to confirm some new information in the missing Utah woman case, but the families of both Mark and Lori Hacking say that Mark has provided some information that makes a continued search unnecessary.

The now famous 10 commandments monument from Alabama may be coming to your town. A Texas based veterans group has arranged to tour, sending the 5,000 pound marker, criss crossing the country on a flatbed truck.

The next news update coming up at the top of the hour. And then later today, catch interviews with John Kerry and John Edwards with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Take over for the "LATE EDITION" at noon Eastern time.

GRIFFIN: Well John Kerry and John Edwards began that mad dash toward the November elections, carrying with them the Democratic banner. August promising to be a hot month on the campaign trail. President Bush plans to answer some of the salvos thrown out to the convention, while the Kerry-Edwards team hopes to capitalize on them.

And in Washington to discuss the race for the White is Andrea Seabrook, Congressional reporter for National Public Radio.

Good morning to you, Andrea.

ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

GRIFFIN: Well, it was predicted that it was going to be a big yawn. It seemed, from the people I've talked to who watched it, it was a big yawn. And now we're heading into another convention that maybe even bigger yawn. What are these conventions doing? And what can we look forward to for the Republicans? Is this for the public consumption or is this for the party?

SEABROOK: This is -- well, it's for the public consumption between 10 and 11 at night when the big networks pick up the convention. It's a really good question, what are these conventions for? In fact, I spoke to one person this week who said they think this is the last time that these conventions will look like this, that by four years from now, they'll look pretty different, maybe be a lot shorter, maybe have a few more hours on prime-time network television.

Of course, many of us watched it on CNN and got many more hours of coverage into it. But what it's for is to try and reach out to the homes, I think, is the whole point. It's in part to sort of get the people on the floor really excited and jazzed up to make a great backdrop for a big speech that these candidates hope will rally a few people out there.

Remember, this whole thing is about this tiny sliver of margin of people in the country who haven't decided yet.

GRIFFIN: We -- there's only one real poll we can talk about in this whole thing. And it's questionable how -- there was some sample before the convention, some after the convention. But it really doesn't show any huge movement, if any movement at all from the Democratic Convention?

SEABROOK: Well, again, it's because so -- I mean, you're looking at 90 percent, some people estimate, of people who have decided, people who are likely to go out and vote, have decided. And that leaves this tiny, tiny margin. And so, that bounce -- I mean, that everybody has talked about, and we -- you know, you've heard the word 1,000 times, that bounce that Kerry was supposed to get, and the Democrats were supposed to get afterwards, might be hard to get when you're just talking about these, -- you know this tiny amount of people, especially when they know that there's another convention coming right up. And they kind of want to survey the goods, you know?

GRIFFIN: So if you're the Republicans, what do you learn from the Democrats? And do you change things? Or are we just going to see another typical show in the convention?

SEABROOK: Well, you know, these things are locked in months and months and months ahead of time. But the Republicans do have a really big advantage here in that they got to watch the Democratic Convention. And you can bet that Republican strategists hoard over that broadcast as much as any of us and figure out what worked and what didn't work, and try and tinker with their own convention to try and make it really effective.

One Republican told me, just a couple days ago, that they thought that Hillary Clinton wasn't given enough time, that having her just introduce her husband, former President Bill Clinton, that wasn't enough for somebody who is so well inside the party.

And you know, lots of little things like this. The balloon drop that was planned for the end was very -- it was supposed to be planned over a long period of time. The balloons were supposed to drop.

You know these -- but this is again tinkering around the edges. You know, it's not really -- it's not really -- don't expect huge changes here.

GRIFFIN: Andrea, we've heard enough about the balloon drop here at CNN. Thank you.

Andrea Seabrook from National Public Radio on the campaign trail and joining us live from Washington. Thank you -- Catherine?

CALLAWAY: All right, Drew. The Hummers are coming. Americans seem to love them. And now that fascination with these big cars and even bigger price tags is catching on in Russia. We'll have that coming up next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLAWAY: There is a huge car craze going on in Russia, believe it or not. It's for Hummers. Many drivers there are hitting the gas and happily humming a new tune.

Our Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): In his day job, Vladimir Soliyok (ph) hosts a Russian TV talk show. But his passion is cars. His latest one, a Hummer 2, the luxury version of the American made SUV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the only vehicle with really, really much of character.

DOUGHERTY: Six months ago, when he bought it, he had to import it from the United States. Now for the first time, the trophy car of the world's rich and famous is going to be produced outside of the U.S. in, you guessed it, Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really believe that this legendary American brand icon will be a success in the Russia marketplace.

DOUGHERTY: General Motors, as part of a $78 million joint venture with Russian carmaker Aufdetour (ph), plans to produce approximately 400 Hummers a year at its assembly plant in Kaliningrad. They'll be sold at five official GM dealers in three Russian cities.

Russia's nouveau riche already have been importing an estimated 300 Hummers per year through middle men.

(on camera): Vladimir paid $108,000 for this Hummer. That's about double what it would have been in the United States. And even the new Hummers produced in Russia won't be cheap. Average price tag, $86,000.

(voice-over): Vladimir knows all about the anti-Hummer protests in the U.S. over charges of pollution and gas guzzling.

Here in Russia, he says that's not an issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. If you're buying a big vehicle, if you're paying an enormous amount of money, it's too late to count peanuts, you know. That's it.

DOUGHERTY: Besides on the mean streets of Moscow, he says, being behind the wheel of a four ton Hummer can give you the edge. In a city where offensive, not defensive driving is the rule.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: I don't like to be in front of them or behind them.

GRIFFIN: No, I don't either. In Moscow or in Atlanta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLAWAY: Celebrating your birthday this weekend? So are these guys. A woman made richer than the queen of England by a little wizard, she turns 39. J.K. Rowling says she's busy writing "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." Rapper Coolio is 41 and still cool. Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent celebrating 68. Really? Happy birthday to you all.

(WEATHER REPORT) GRIFFIN: The day may come when soon when we won't recognize not only who's anchoring the show, but our own language as contained in the Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionary. The newest additions to that tome, teensploitation, pleather, like leather right, body wrap, and MP3. Don't know what teenspoitation or pleather mean? We will look them up.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired August 1, 2004 - 07:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Retired General Tommy Franks says that America should put Iraq on a five-year plan. Welcome back, everyone. I'm Catherine Callaway.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Drew Griffin. That story in a minute. But first, news this morning. A small cruise ship runs aground off the coast of Alaska. Earlier this hour, a Coast Guard official told us that local fishing vessels and tugboats helped evacuate nearly 200 people aboard the clipper Odyssey. About 5,000 gallons of fuel spilled in the ship after it hit a wreathe overnight, 1:00 Eastern time.

Utah police will comment later today on new revelations in the case of a missing pregnant woman. The families of Lori and Mark Hacking now say there is no more reason to keep searching for Lori. A statement the families released says new information makes it unnecessary for that search, but no specifics on the new information have been provided so far.

None of the documents reviewed at the National Archives by former Clinton aide Sandy Berger are missing. That is the latest word from an Archive spokeswoman. The 9/11 Commission says it had access to every document as well. The Justice Department has been investigating Berger for possibly removing documents.

A state of emergency now in effect in central Washington state, after a wildfire swept through the Cascade foothills. Dozens of homes evacuated. Investigators say a serial arsonist may be responsible. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

CALLAWAY: Well, there are some big questions about security and safety in New York during the Republican Convention later this month. The city's police officers and firefighters are a very unhappy bunch. Here's CNN's Jason Carroll.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The scenes of anti-war demonstrators filling New York City streets last year could be repeated at the Republican National Convention. But this time around, the line between demonstrators and law enforcement might not be as clear.

MICHAEL BILLOTTO, FIREFIGHTER: I'm probably going to be going down when the convention starts, right, to picket. JOE MCKAY, FIREFIGHTER: We put it on the line for the city and for the people of the city. And we kind of feel left out.

CARROLL: Joe McKay and Michael Billotto are among hundreds of city firefighters and police officers planning on protesting for higher wages.

BILLOTTO: I have a wife and four kids at home. And you know, it's barely enough to make what I have to do just to survive in the city.

CARROLL: The city's firefighters and police have been without a contract for two years. The city's mayor says he's offered a fair deal. Police and firefighters think not.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR, NEW YORK: The strategy of following me around and yelling and screaming is just counterproductive.

CARROLL (on camera): The mayor also has to deal with security. There have been threats of sickouts on their first day of the convention, although the mayor does not believe that will happen.

(voice-over): And even those on the front lines are assuring the public not to worry.

PATRICK LYNCH, PATROLMEN'S BENEVOLENT ASSN.: We'll go out there. We'll do our job to keep you safe.

CARROLL: Still, it could be a public relations nightmare for the mayor when his own party comes to town. Police and firefighters are still regarded as 9/11 heroes here. But political analysts say the real trick will be keeping the focus in the right place.

DOUG MUZZIO, BARUCH UNIVERSITY: Clearly what the mayor needs to do is to keep the attention focused on the convention and not on the outside.

CARROLL: That may be easier said than done.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: It's been another deadly day in Iraq. At least six people killed in two separate explosions there. In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide car bomb exploded outside a police station, killing at least four people. Two of them were police officers. Police say 53 others were injured.

Also this morning, a roadside bomb explodes near a Baghdad hotel, killing two civilians.

Retired General Tommy Franks talking candidly now about U.S. war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. In this morning's "Parade" magazine, Franks says he believes the U.S. Army should take at least five years to get its troops out of Iraq. Franks led U.S. troops into Iraq and Afghanistan.

He says he was shocked no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. He adds Middle Eastern leaders told him directly that Saddam Hussein had the weapons and would use them. The general's new book, "American Soldier" is out this week.

CALLAWAY: Well, to many of us, they're known as weekend warriors, men and women who serve in the U.S. Guard and Reserve. Thousands of them are spending every day fighting in Iraq. And one reservist recently made it home and received a hero's welcome for a job well done.

Here's Lisa Sylvester.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty-six-year- old John Smathers is comfortable in many roles: full-time lawyer and part-time Army Reserve soldier. But he's reluctant to call himself a hero.

JOHN SMATHERS, U.S. ARMY RESERVES: A lot of the accomplishments that we made were made as a team. On an individual basis, we all did our jobs. And that's how we viewed it at the time we were doing it. We were just doing our job.

SYLVESTER: The Maryland personal injury attorney was originally not supposed to be on the front lines. But the 3rd Infantry Division needed a lawyer prepared to go into combat.

Smathers saw plenty of fighting. He earned two Purple Hearts, Four Bronze Stars, and an Army Commendation Medal, making him the most decorated Army Reserve soldier in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He describes an insurgent attack on his convoy.

SMATHERS: The vehicle was just riddled with bullets, and I could hear the bullets, as I was ducking, I could hear the bullets just bouncing all around the vehicle. It just was going on forever.

SYLVESTER: His arm was broken in two places when his Humvee flipped over. But he kept fighting.

While in Iraq, Captain Smathers also foiled a bank robbery, helped restore power in Baghdad, and rewrote the traffic laws. Under Saddam Hussein, traffic officers were both judge and jury.

SMATHERS: Whatever the traffic judges did was fine. There was no appeal from their decision. So they were like gods on the street, and people were very fearful of them.

SYLVESTER: Captain Smathers is now in physical therapy to regain full use of his arm: a small price to pay for the patriotism his father instilled in him.

SMATHERS: He had always told me, "America is the greatest country on the face of the earth. There's more freedoms here than any other nation. And, if you don't believe that, go to some other nation and you'll want to come over here as quickly as possible." And he's right.

SYLVESTER: Captain Smathers brought back a football that served as his diary in Iraq. And he has the memories of the Iraqi children who welcomed American troops; children, who he says, are now better off.

Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Laurel, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: And we bring you heroes stories every week right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Well, disabled veterans from the Iraq War are running a five mile race in New York's Central Park this morning. And we're going to have a live report on that coming up in the 9:00 hour at CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

GRIFFIN: Mary Lou Retton, Carrie Strugg, Nadia Comaneci, just a few of the champions coached by the legendary Bela Karolyi. And he joins us live next half hour to talk about America's hopes in the next Olympics. Then at 8:30 Eastern, some startling statistics. A new study says an average of 195,000 people die from medical mistakes every year. On "Housecall" this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks about major new steps taken to solve the problem.

At 9:30 Eastern, apparently you are never too young to get involved in politics. The proof? 10-year old Lily Thorpe. Her remarkable when she joins us live on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

But first, political correspondent Andrea Seabrook with her spin, a reporter's spin, on Republicans plans to offset the Democratic euphoria following their July convention. That's when CNN SUNDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLAWAY: Good morning, Baltimore. Your weather forecast coming up just about 15 minutes. Thanks for the live pictures this morning from WBAL.

And if you're a Baltimore Ravens fan, you may want to know that Ray Lewis fully recovered from thumb surgery is now back on the team. And the Ravens started their training camp yesterday.

If you're just waking up, here's what's going on this morning. A new non specific terror warning has heightened security precautions in New York City. Federal officials say that new intelligence warns of a possible al Qaeda attack on the city's corporate and financial firms.

And Salt Lake City Police have yet to confirm some new information in the missing Utah woman case, but the families of both Mark and Lori Hacking say that Mark has provided some information that makes a continued search unnecessary.

The now famous 10 commandments monument from Alabama may be coming to your town. A Texas based veterans group has arranged to tour, sending the 5,000 pound marker, criss crossing the country on a flatbed truck.

The next news update coming up at the top of the hour. And then later today, catch interviews with John Kerry and John Edwards with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Take over for the "LATE EDITION" at noon Eastern time.

GRIFFIN: Well John Kerry and John Edwards began that mad dash toward the November elections, carrying with them the Democratic banner. August promising to be a hot month on the campaign trail. President Bush plans to answer some of the salvos thrown out to the convention, while the Kerry-Edwards team hopes to capitalize on them.

And in Washington to discuss the race for the White is Andrea Seabrook, Congressional reporter for National Public Radio.

Good morning to you, Andrea.

ANDREA SEABROOK, NPR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

GRIFFIN: Well, it was predicted that it was going to be a big yawn. It seemed, from the people I've talked to who watched it, it was a big yawn. And now we're heading into another convention that maybe even bigger yawn. What are these conventions doing? And what can we look forward to for the Republicans? Is this for the public consumption or is this for the party?

SEABROOK: This is -- well, it's for the public consumption between 10 and 11 at night when the big networks pick up the convention. It's a really good question, what are these conventions for? In fact, I spoke to one person this week who said they think this is the last time that these conventions will look like this, that by four years from now, they'll look pretty different, maybe be a lot shorter, maybe have a few more hours on prime-time network television.

Of course, many of us watched it on CNN and got many more hours of coverage into it. But what it's for is to try and reach out to the homes, I think, is the whole point. It's in part to sort of get the people on the floor really excited and jazzed up to make a great backdrop for a big speech that these candidates hope will rally a few people out there.

Remember, this whole thing is about this tiny sliver of margin of people in the country who haven't decided yet.

GRIFFIN: We -- there's only one real poll we can talk about in this whole thing. And it's questionable how -- there was some sample before the convention, some after the convention. But it really doesn't show any huge movement, if any movement at all from the Democratic Convention?

SEABROOK: Well, again, it's because so -- I mean, you're looking at 90 percent, some people estimate, of people who have decided, people who are likely to go out and vote, have decided. And that leaves this tiny, tiny margin. And so, that bounce -- I mean, that everybody has talked about, and we -- you know, you've heard the word 1,000 times, that bounce that Kerry was supposed to get, and the Democrats were supposed to get afterwards, might be hard to get when you're just talking about these, -- you know this tiny amount of people, especially when they know that there's another convention coming right up. And they kind of want to survey the goods, you know?

GRIFFIN: So if you're the Republicans, what do you learn from the Democrats? And do you change things? Or are we just going to see another typical show in the convention?

SEABROOK: Well, you know, these things are locked in months and months and months ahead of time. But the Republicans do have a really big advantage here in that they got to watch the Democratic Convention. And you can bet that Republican strategists hoard over that broadcast as much as any of us and figure out what worked and what didn't work, and try and tinker with their own convention to try and make it really effective.

One Republican told me, just a couple days ago, that they thought that Hillary Clinton wasn't given enough time, that having her just introduce her husband, former President Bill Clinton, that wasn't enough for somebody who is so well inside the party.

And you know, lots of little things like this. The balloon drop that was planned for the end was very -- it was supposed to be planned over a long period of time. The balloons were supposed to drop.

You know these -- but this is again tinkering around the edges. You know, it's not really -- it's not really -- don't expect huge changes here.

GRIFFIN: Andrea, we've heard enough about the balloon drop here at CNN. Thank you.

Andrea Seabrook from National Public Radio on the campaign trail and joining us live from Washington. Thank you -- Catherine?

CALLAWAY: All right, Drew. The Hummers are coming. Americans seem to love them. And now that fascination with these big cars and even bigger price tags is catching on in Russia. We'll have that coming up next on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLAWAY: There is a huge car craze going on in Russia, believe it or not. It's for Hummers. Many drivers there are hitting the gas and happily humming a new tune.

Our Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): In his day job, Vladimir Soliyok (ph) hosts a Russian TV talk show. But his passion is cars. His latest one, a Hummer 2, the luxury version of the American made SUV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the only vehicle with really, really much of character.

DOUGHERTY: Six months ago, when he bought it, he had to import it from the United States. Now for the first time, the trophy car of the world's rich and famous is going to be produced outside of the U.S. in, you guessed it, Russia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really believe that this legendary American brand icon will be a success in the Russia marketplace.

DOUGHERTY: General Motors, as part of a $78 million joint venture with Russian carmaker Aufdetour (ph), plans to produce approximately 400 Hummers a year at its assembly plant in Kaliningrad. They'll be sold at five official GM dealers in three Russian cities.

Russia's nouveau riche already have been importing an estimated 300 Hummers per year through middle men.

(on camera): Vladimir paid $108,000 for this Hummer. That's about double what it would have been in the United States. And even the new Hummers produced in Russia won't be cheap. Average price tag, $86,000.

(voice-over): Vladimir knows all about the anti-Hummer protests in the U.S. over charges of pollution and gas guzzling.

Here in Russia, he says that's not an issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. If you're buying a big vehicle, if you're paying an enormous amount of money, it's too late to count peanuts, you know. That's it.

DOUGHERTY: Besides on the mean streets of Moscow, he says, being behind the wheel of a four ton Hummer can give you the edge. In a city where offensive, not defensive driving is the rule.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: I don't like to be in front of them or behind them.

GRIFFIN: No, I don't either. In Moscow or in Atlanta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CALLAWAY: Celebrating your birthday this weekend? So are these guys. A woman made richer than the queen of England by a little wizard, she turns 39. J.K. Rowling says she's busy writing "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince." Rapper Coolio is 41 and still cool. Fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent celebrating 68. Really? Happy birthday to you all.

(WEATHER REPORT) GRIFFIN: The day may come when soon when we won't recognize not only who's anchoring the show, but our own language as contained in the Merriam Webster Collegiate dictionary. The newest additions to that tome, teensploitation, pleather, like leather right, body wrap, and MP3. Don't know what teenspoitation or pleather mean? We will look them up.

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