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CNN Live Sunday

Dozens of Murdered Iraqis Found Near Iraq-Iran Border; Bush, Kerry Intensify Efforts to Win Votes

Aired October 24, 2004 - 11:00   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.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's 11:00 a.m. in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in Baghdad. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour, dozens of murdered Iraqis are found near the Iraqi-Iran border. We'll have a live report from Baghdad.
Plus the special interest group that wants to prove there's power in numbers this election season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD LAND, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: The high end figure is just a little over 40 percent of people who are registered, who are eligible to vote in the United States are self-described born again evangelical Christians. That makes us a very significant voting block.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And a rising star in pop music learns a hard lesson on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

But first here's a look at the stories.

The former Catholic archbishop of Washington, James Hickey, died today at the age of 84. Hickey served at the head of the church in Washington for two decades. There's no word yet on the cause of death.

We're about to enter the final week of the presidential race. And as President Bush and Senator Kerry sprint to the finish line, it's too close to call. Polls show the race is still a virtual tie. Today Kerry is campaigning in the crucial state of Florida. Bush is heading to New Mexico. We'll have live reports on both campaigns coming up.

Afghanistan's interim President Hamid Karzai appears to be on his way to a full-fledged presidency. Preliminary election results released today show Karzai won a majority of the votes in Afghanistan's landmark elections. It could be several more days before an official tally is announced. Right now a panel of experts is looking into allegations of election fraud.

A boost today for Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon ahead of this week's parliamentary showdown. The Israeli cabinet approved guidelines to compensate settlers uprooted by Mr. Sharon's withdrawal plan. Under that plan, Israel would withdraw Jewish settlements from Gaza and four isolated areas in the west bank next summer. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the plan Tuesday. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

In Iraq, an execution style killing of a group of Iraqis training to defend their country. That and a U.S. security official is killed in a Baghdad mortar attack. Karl Penhaul is there this morning with more on both stories. And first we want to warn you that some of the pictures that you're about to see are disturbing. Now let's go to Karl for the latest. Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. In the last few hours, the bodies of those murdered Iraqi soldiers have been taken to a compound used by the Iraqi National Guard. This mass killing took place about 70 miles east of Baghdad, very close to the border with Iran. Now, what we're told is that a group of Iraqi soldiers, recent graduates from a military training school, were heading home unarmed in civilian clothes, gung ho to spend a few days with friends and relatives. They got to an illegal checkpoint set up by a group of heavily armed insurgents and at one point they were made to lie face down in the earth and the insurgents shot them in the back of the head.

Now we've been talking this afternoon to the commander of the Iraqi National Guard base that has been doing the body recovery. Colonel Jaseem Muhammed Allawa (ph). He tells us that there are 48 people dead. He says 44 of those are Iraqi soldiers and four others are drivers. This obviously fits into a pattern of harassment and attacks against the Iraqi security forces by insurgents. They see them as a softer target than the coalition forces.

Now here in Baghdad, another incident, a mortar attack on one of the U.S. bases, one of the largest U.S. bases, Camp Victory. In that mortar attack, a U.S. diplomatic security agent was killed and U.S. embassy officials tell us that this in fact is the first full-time State Department employee to be killed here in Iraq. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Karl, about the mass killing, how were these 48 bodies found?

PENHAUL: There were reports because this happened yesterday afternoon, Saturday afternoon towards the end of the afternoon. It's a fairly remote location, as I say, close to the border with Iran. Reports, rumors from the local inhabitants gradually filtered back to the nearest Iraqi National Guard base and at that point, the colonel we've been speaking to this afternoon put a patrol together. He sent his men out and they recovered the bodies, some of them late last night, the rest of them in the course of the day, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK, Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. Thanks so much for that live report.

Now to the race for the White House. Only a razor thin difference in the polls between the candidates and that's fueling both President Bush and Senator Kerry to intensify their search for support. John Kerry is in Florida today and our Ed Henry is in Fort Lauderdale traveling with the Kerry campaign. Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Fredricka. That's right. In fact, Senator Kerry and his wife Theresa just pulled up literally a moment ago right behind us. You can hear people still cheering. He just went into this black church here in Ft. Lauderdale. He's going to be attending services, a big day of campaigning after that throughout the state of Florida. John Kerry obviously, this is an important state for both candidates. He just wrapped up a western swing yesterday through Colorado and New Mexico. And in -- at a rally in Las Cruces, Kerry charged that the Bush administration has not leveled with the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you ready to put just basic common sense back into the decisions of our country? Are you ready for a president of the United States who tells you the truth and nothing but the truth?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now this state of Florida though obviously getting a lot of attention. Just yesterday President Bush was here. Senator John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate was also here in St. Petersburg and Orlando and a big endorsement for John Kerry and John Edwards this morning from the "Orlando Sentinel." That newspaper here in Florida has not endorsed a Democrat for president in 40 years, endorsing John Kerry, the Kerry/Edwards ticket this morning, also the "Washington Post," "Chicago Sun-Times" offering endorsements as well of Kerry and Edwards.

But perhaps a major one in the Midwest, the "Des Moines Register" in Iowa endorsed Kerry/Edwards this morning, saying in part, quote, Kerry won the presidential debates because the man Americans saw on live television differed from the caricature. Americans saw a thoughtful, experienced, exceptionally well-informed candidate who cares deeply about his country and its people, that from the "Des Moines Register." Obviously with Iowa up for grabs, that's a very important endorsement for the Kerry/Edwards ticket.

They woke up to that good news this morning. John Kerry now after a day in Florida here will head tomorrow to New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and wrap up Tuesday night in Iowa for some events there on Wednesday. Obviously, only about 11 states up for grabs right now. John Kerry trying to hit as many as he can in this final sprint. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So Ed, as he pursues these other states over the next few days, Kerry will not be having the kind of face time with former President Bill Clinton as Bill Clinton campaigns on his behalf in Pennsylvania beginning tomorrow.

HENRY: He is going to have former President Clinton tomorrow in Philadelphia trying to rally voters with John Kerry. Then Mr. Clinton is going to head out on his own without John Kerry also trying to build support within the Democratic base, get voters to turn out. Also Senator Hillary Clinton actually was here in Florida yesterday. Al Gore here in Florida today and tomorrow, a lot of the big guns from the Democratic party trying to rally the base for John Kerry. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Henry in Fort Lauderdale, thanks so much, traveling with the Kerry campaign.

President Bush spent the night at his Texas ranch, but will also hit the campaign trail today. The president plans to attend a rally in New Mexico this afternoon. Suzanne Malveaux previews the president's day from Crawford. Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred. Bush aides say that the president of course is going to continue this get out the vote effort, a very intense campaign for six battleground states over the next nine days. Later today, President Bush is going to be traveling to New Mexico. That is where specifically he's going to be targeting the Hispanic vote, trying to generate some energy in that particular voting block.

Yesterday, of course, it was all about Florida and arguably, you're going to have to say this is the kind of theatrics we saw that really is usually just reserved for rock stars, but we saw it in full force yesterday. President Bush using all of the resources he has in the campaign. Marine one landing in a ballpark in Ft. Myers, Florida. The president attending four different huge rallies of support in four different cities, the president traveling with the first lady, with the governor of Florida, his brother Jeb Bush. All of this to energize the base.

The strategy here of course is to get out the party faithful. Earlier today I spoke with White House communications director Dan Bartlett who says they acknowledged that yes, there are a few undecided voters. They're going after them but, of course, the strategy now, the focus now is to turn to those who they know will go out to the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: As you heard over the weekend as we will do going into the final days of this campaign and talk about the big issues of the day, the real issues that face every American family across this country, the security of our families, the prosperity of our families, the health and education of our families, the values in which we cherish in the country and what we're doing to strengthen those values. Those are the big issues in the final week of this campaign and President Bush is going to talk about his vision, his plans for the future, appeal to those undecided voters who are still making up their minds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And of course, the president focusing on those six key battleground states, one of them, of course, is Ohio. No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio. Very interesting to note an endorsement, a very important endorsement this morning coming from the "Columbus Dispatch." It is a conservative paper in that state. It has been very critical of the president on his Iraq policy as well as the economy but it reluctantly endorsed the president today, just a little segment of this. It says, all though the president, unfortunately, seems incapable of admitting obvious error, Kerry has not provided a vision of what he would do differently in Iraq. He agrees the U.S. must be successful in pacifying Iraq. He claims he could be more successful in getting other nations to help shoulder the burden. But that is not realistic. So again a very important endorsement for the president in that critical state of Ohio.

Fred, polls show that Kerry is slightly ahead in that state. So of course, the Bush campaign this week is going to make a very concerted effort getting back out there and trying to generate the kind of support that they believe they need to win this election. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Suzanne, speaking of endorsements, some of the big names that have thrown their support behind the president, John McCain for one. There has been some talk that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger might be campaigning for him, too. As the president heads out west, will we be seeing that kind of photo op together?

MALVEAUX: It's very likely Fred, that you are going to see that photo op. The Bush campaign has been very reluctant to talk about the possibility of the president and Governor Schwarzenegger together campaigning in Ohio. But the governor's office has talked about that. That is a good possibility. The Bush campaign says that they have been in discussions with the governor. They would be very happy if that were to actually happen. And as Dan Bartlett admitted this morning, they still have a couple tricks up their sleeve. That would not be surprising if that actually unfolded later in the week.

WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Malveaux in Crawford, Texas, thanks so much.

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt independent candidate Ralph Nader a setback. The full court denied Nader's emergency appeal to get back onto the ballot in Pennsylvania. Election officials said thousands of the petition signatures turned in for Nader were forgeries. No response from the campaign on the court's ruling, although it has said that it would make a similar appeal over a ruling keeping Nader off Ohio's ballot for a near identical situation.

The marriage of church and state. Up next, how conservative Christians are flexing their political muscle this election year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: They represent the fastest growing religious group in America and evangelical Christians are making their voices heard from pulpits to political races. CNN PRESENTS goes inside the fight over faith to try to understand why this conservative brand of Christianity is spreading so rapidly. Veteran television correspondent Carol Marin reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL MARIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In evangelical churches all across America, there's a new phenomenon. Just off the sanctuary at First Baptist North is a table to register voters for November 2004 election. They're people who believe that churches should have nothing to do with registering people to vote.

MIKE HAMLET, FIRST BAPTIST NORTH: That's exactly right. And those people are the ones who absolutely fear the evangelical community. They are the ones who would say to us, sit down over there and shut up. Be religious, you're not going to have a part in our culture. We'll run that.

MARIN: Evangelicals now hold enormous political influence. There are an estimated 50 to 60 million eligible to vote. And they have one of their own in the White House.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A constitutional amendment to protect marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

RICHARD LAND, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: The low end figure is somewhere around 33 percent. The high end figure is just a little over 40 percent of people who are eligible to vote in the United States, are self-described born-again evangelical Christians. That makes us a very significant voting block.

MARIN: So significant, that the Southern Baptist Convention launched an all out effort in the summer of 2004 to drive home that point, literally. In its past life, this 18-wheeler used to ferry around the Charlie Daniels band. Now it's part of a Christian crusade to get out the vote. Down in Spartanburg, they're also getting ready for a visit.

RICHARD MOUW, FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: And it educates people on the importance of voting, the importance of moral issues. I've never made an endorsement in my life.

MARIN: But it would be fair to say that your congregation knows pretty much where you are.

MOUW: Yes. They will know where I am.

MARIN: On Sunday when this church is filled with people, what percentage of this congregation would vote for George Bush?

MOUW: I don't know but I think it would be very large.

MARIN: Is the evangelical vote a given for George Bush?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't think so. I think that -- I think George Bush recognizes that it is not a given. Many of those evangelicals who on issues like homosexuality and other sexual issues and family value issues may like what George Bush is saying, but are much more inclined to agree with Mr. Kerry on questions of economic policy and international relations. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Tonight, don't miss an all new CNN PRESENTS, the fight over faith airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

It's only taken the Red Sox and the Cardinals one game to make World Series history. After the break, the new records being set at Fenway Park.

Plus, singer Ashlee Simpson learns a hard lesson in the perils of live TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's take a peek outside with the weather picture and Jacqui Jeras. Hello, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Fredricka, not a bad weekend out there. If you live on the coasts of the country, however, not faring quite as well as those folks in the midsection of the country. If it's not raining at your house into the northeast and across the southeast, chances are it's still pretty cloudy, but the good news is, is that we will see some clearing conditions, especially if you live a little bit farther to the west around Pittsburgh down towards Charleston. Probably even see some sunshine this afternoon in the Atlanta area, maybe even in Charlotte if you cross your fingers and get real lucky. The good news though is that the rainfall relatively light.

Also the rain that we're seeing across the southwest, pretty light, too. You've been seeing some rain on and off this morning in Salt Lake City. You get up into the higher elevations though and the snow is really coming down in the Wasatch (ph). Eight to 14 inches can be expected above 8,000 feet by tonight, should stay dry in Denver, but we will be seeing some snow into the higher elevations and some light rain showers into the valleys across the western parts of Colorado.

Sprinkles in Portland and Seattle. That's about it, expecting those cloudy conditions to continue there. Not enough to need an umbrella and the snow coming down across western Montana at this hour. This is some of the relatively light one that's pushing across the west at this time, but a stronger storm system on its way for Tuesday and Wednesday. Clearing conditions expected to start off your work week across much of the east. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Not bad at all. Thanks a lot, Jacqui.

CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES is keeping an eye on the media. Host Howard Kurtz joins us live for a preview of today's show. Hello Howie.

HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hi, Fredricka. Coming up, a great panel ahead with just over a week to go until election day. CBS Bob Schieffer, ABC's Linda Douglass and David Brooks of the "New York Times" talk about whether political journalists are spending too much time covering gas and mini controversies instead of the larger issues in this presidential campaign. Also that Sinclair Broadcasting special on John Kerry and a few words about the Red Sox, all next on RELIABLE SOURCES.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be watching. Thanks a lot, Howard.

Game one of the World Series was a wild and record-setting ride. The Boston Red Sox 11-9 win over the St. Louis Cardinals is the highest scoring game one in World Series history. David Ortiz could probably run for mayor at this point, smacking a three-run home in the first inning, helping him rack up 19 RBIs, tying the postseason record. Game two is tonight in Boston, the first pitch at 8:10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Well pop star singer Ashlee Simpson ran into a bit of trouble last night during her musical appearance on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. Her first performance featured her hit single "Pieces of Me." It went off without a hitch.

OK, that's pretty good. Well, things didn't go so smoothly during her second appearance on the show. Here's what happened just in case you missed it. You'll need to listen closely and watch.

Oh, that smarts. Well, at the end of the show, Ashlee Simpson had this to say about all that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEE SIMPSON, SINGER: I feel so bad. My band started playing the wrong song. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I thought I'd do a hoedown. I'm sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. There's been no official comment from NBC about the incident. I have a feeling she's not going to want to talk about it anymore either.

All right. Still much more ahead on CNN SUNDAY. In a few moments at the bottom of the hour, RELIABLE SOURCES and at noon, it's LATE EDITION with Wolf Blitzer. Among Wolf's guests, Reverend Jerry Falwell and Reverend Jesse Jackson.

At 2:00 p.m. Eastern, it's PEOPLE IN THE NEWS and today profiling Ralph Nader and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. A check of the headlines right after this.

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 October 24, 2004 - 11:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's 11:00 a.m. in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in Baghdad. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Ahead this hour, dozens of murdered Iraqis are found near the Iraqi-Iran border. We'll have a live report from Baghdad.
Plus the special interest group that wants to prove there's power in numbers this election season.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD LAND, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: The high end figure is just a little over 40 percent of people who are registered, who are eligible to vote in the United States are self-described born again evangelical Christians. That makes us a very significant voting block.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And a rising star in pop music learns a hard lesson on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

But first here's a look at the stories.

The former Catholic archbishop of Washington, James Hickey, died today at the age of 84. Hickey served at the head of the church in Washington for two decades. There's no word yet on the cause of death.

We're about to enter the final week of the presidential race. And as President Bush and Senator Kerry sprint to the finish line, it's too close to call. Polls show the race is still a virtual tie. Today Kerry is campaigning in the crucial state of Florida. Bush is heading to New Mexico. We'll have live reports on both campaigns coming up.

Afghanistan's interim President Hamid Karzai appears to be on his way to a full-fledged presidency. Preliminary election results released today show Karzai won a majority of the votes in Afghanistan's landmark elections. It could be several more days before an official tally is announced. Right now a panel of experts is looking into allegations of election fraud.

A boost today for Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon ahead of this week's parliamentary showdown. The Israeli cabinet approved guidelines to compensate settlers uprooted by Mr. Sharon's withdrawal plan. Under that plan, Israel would withdraw Jewish settlements from Gaza and four isolated areas in the west bank next summer. Lawmakers are scheduled to vote on the plan Tuesday. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

In Iraq, an execution style killing of a group of Iraqis training to defend their country. That and a U.S. security official is killed in a Baghdad mortar attack. Karl Penhaul is there this morning with more on both stories. And first we want to warn you that some of the pictures that you're about to see are disturbing. Now let's go to Karl for the latest. Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. In the last few hours, the bodies of those murdered Iraqi soldiers have been taken to a compound used by the Iraqi National Guard. This mass killing took place about 70 miles east of Baghdad, very close to the border with Iran. Now, what we're told is that a group of Iraqi soldiers, recent graduates from a military training school, were heading home unarmed in civilian clothes, gung ho to spend a few days with friends and relatives. They got to an illegal checkpoint set up by a group of heavily armed insurgents and at one point they were made to lie face down in the earth and the insurgents shot them in the back of the head.

Now we've been talking this afternoon to the commander of the Iraqi National Guard base that has been doing the body recovery. Colonel Jaseem Muhammed Allawa (ph). He tells us that there are 48 people dead. He says 44 of those are Iraqi soldiers and four others are drivers. This obviously fits into a pattern of harassment and attacks against the Iraqi security forces by insurgents. They see them as a softer target than the coalition forces.

Now here in Baghdad, another incident, a mortar attack on one of the U.S. bases, one of the largest U.S. bases, Camp Victory. In that mortar attack, a U.S. diplomatic security agent was killed and U.S. embassy officials tell us that this in fact is the first full-time State Department employee to be killed here in Iraq. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Karl, about the mass killing, how were these 48 bodies found?

PENHAUL: There were reports because this happened yesterday afternoon, Saturday afternoon towards the end of the afternoon. It's a fairly remote location, as I say, close to the border with Iran. Reports, rumors from the local inhabitants gradually filtered back to the nearest Iraqi National Guard base and at that point, the colonel we've been speaking to this afternoon put a patrol together. He sent his men out and they recovered the bodies, some of them late last night, the rest of them in the course of the day, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK, Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. Thanks so much for that live report.

Now to the race for the White House. Only a razor thin difference in the polls between the candidates and that's fueling both President Bush and Senator Kerry to intensify their search for support. John Kerry is in Florida today and our Ed Henry is in Fort Lauderdale traveling with the Kerry campaign. Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Fredricka. That's right. In fact, Senator Kerry and his wife Theresa just pulled up literally a moment ago right behind us. You can hear people still cheering. He just went into this black church here in Ft. Lauderdale. He's going to be attending services, a big day of campaigning after that throughout the state of Florida. John Kerry obviously, this is an important state for both candidates. He just wrapped up a western swing yesterday through Colorado and New Mexico. And in -- at a rally in Las Cruces, Kerry charged that the Bush administration has not leveled with the American people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are you ready to put just basic common sense back into the decisions of our country? Are you ready for a president of the United States who tells you the truth and nothing but the truth?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now this state of Florida though obviously getting a lot of attention. Just yesterday President Bush was here. Senator John Edwards, John Kerry's running mate was also here in St. Petersburg and Orlando and a big endorsement for John Kerry and John Edwards this morning from the "Orlando Sentinel." That newspaper here in Florida has not endorsed a Democrat for president in 40 years, endorsing John Kerry, the Kerry/Edwards ticket this morning, also the "Washington Post," "Chicago Sun-Times" offering endorsements as well of Kerry and Edwards.

But perhaps a major one in the Midwest, the "Des Moines Register" in Iowa endorsed Kerry/Edwards this morning, saying in part, quote, Kerry won the presidential debates because the man Americans saw on live television differed from the caricature. Americans saw a thoughtful, experienced, exceptionally well-informed candidate who cares deeply about his country and its people, that from the "Des Moines Register." Obviously with Iowa up for grabs, that's a very important endorsement for the Kerry/Edwards ticket.

They woke up to that good news this morning. John Kerry now after a day in Florida here will head tomorrow to New Hampshire, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and wrap up Tuesday night in Iowa for some events there on Wednesday. Obviously, only about 11 states up for grabs right now. John Kerry trying to hit as many as he can in this final sprint. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So Ed, as he pursues these other states over the next few days, Kerry will not be having the kind of face time with former President Bill Clinton as Bill Clinton campaigns on his behalf in Pennsylvania beginning tomorrow.

HENRY: He is going to have former President Clinton tomorrow in Philadelphia trying to rally voters with John Kerry. Then Mr. Clinton is going to head out on his own without John Kerry also trying to build support within the Democratic base, get voters to turn out. Also Senator Hillary Clinton actually was here in Florida yesterday. Al Gore here in Florida today and tomorrow, a lot of the big guns from the Democratic party trying to rally the base for John Kerry. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Henry in Fort Lauderdale, thanks so much, traveling with the Kerry campaign.

President Bush spent the night at his Texas ranch, but will also hit the campaign trail today. The president plans to attend a rally in New Mexico this afternoon. Suzanne Malveaux previews the president's day from Crawford. Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred. Bush aides say that the president of course is going to continue this get out the vote effort, a very intense campaign for six battleground states over the next nine days. Later today, President Bush is going to be traveling to New Mexico. That is where specifically he's going to be targeting the Hispanic vote, trying to generate some energy in that particular voting block.

Yesterday, of course, it was all about Florida and arguably, you're going to have to say this is the kind of theatrics we saw that really is usually just reserved for rock stars, but we saw it in full force yesterday. President Bush using all of the resources he has in the campaign. Marine one landing in a ballpark in Ft. Myers, Florida. The president attending four different huge rallies of support in four different cities, the president traveling with the first lady, with the governor of Florida, his brother Jeb Bush. All of this to energize the base.

The strategy here of course is to get out the party faithful. Earlier today I spoke with White House communications director Dan Bartlett who says they acknowledged that yes, there are a few undecided voters. They're going after them but, of course, the strategy now, the focus now is to turn to those who they know will go out to the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: As you heard over the weekend as we will do going into the final days of this campaign and talk about the big issues of the day, the real issues that face every American family across this country, the security of our families, the prosperity of our families, the health and education of our families, the values in which we cherish in the country and what we're doing to strengthen those values. Those are the big issues in the final week of this campaign and President Bush is going to talk about his vision, his plans for the future, appeal to those undecided voters who are still making up their minds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And of course, the president focusing on those six key battleground states, one of them, of course, is Ohio. No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio. Very interesting to note an endorsement, a very important endorsement this morning coming from the "Columbus Dispatch." It is a conservative paper in that state. It has been very critical of the president on his Iraq policy as well as the economy but it reluctantly endorsed the president today, just a little segment of this. It says, all though the president, unfortunately, seems incapable of admitting obvious error, Kerry has not provided a vision of what he would do differently in Iraq. He agrees the U.S. must be successful in pacifying Iraq. He claims he could be more successful in getting other nations to help shoulder the burden. But that is not realistic. So again a very important endorsement for the president in that critical state of Ohio.

Fred, polls show that Kerry is slightly ahead in that state. So of course, the Bush campaign this week is going to make a very concerted effort getting back out there and trying to generate the kind of support that they believe they need to win this election. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And Suzanne, speaking of endorsements, some of the big names that have thrown their support behind the president, John McCain for one. There has been some talk that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger might be campaigning for him, too. As the president heads out west, will we be seeing that kind of photo op together?

MALVEAUX: It's very likely Fred, that you are going to see that photo op. The Bush campaign has been very reluctant to talk about the possibility of the president and Governor Schwarzenegger together campaigning in Ohio. But the governor's office has talked about that. That is a good possibility. The Bush campaign says that they have been in discussions with the governor. They would be very happy if that were to actually happen. And as Dan Bartlett admitted this morning, they still have a couple tricks up their sleeve. That would not be surprising if that actually unfolded later in the week.

WHITFIELD: All right. Suzanne Malveaux in Crawford, Texas, thanks so much.

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt independent candidate Ralph Nader a setback. The full court denied Nader's emergency appeal to get back onto the ballot in Pennsylvania. Election officials said thousands of the petition signatures turned in for Nader were forgeries. No response from the campaign on the court's ruling, although it has said that it would make a similar appeal over a ruling keeping Nader off Ohio's ballot for a near identical situation.

The marriage of church and state. Up next, how conservative Christians are flexing their political muscle this election year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: They represent the fastest growing religious group in America and evangelical Christians are making their voices heard from pulpits to political races. CNN PRESENTS goes inside the fight over faith to try to understand why this conservative brand of Christianity is spreading so rapidly. Veteran television correspondent Carol Marin reports. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL MARIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In evangelical churches all across America, there's a new phenomenon. Just off the sanctuary at First Baptist North is a table to register voters for November 2004 election. They're people who believe that churches should have nothing to do with registering people to vote.

MIKE HAMLET, FIRST BAPTIST NORTH: That's exactly right. And those people are the ones who absolutely fear the evangelical community. They are the ones who would say to us, sit down over there and shut up. Be religious, you're not going to have a part in our culture. We'll run that.

MARIN: Evangelicals now hold enormous political influence. There are an estimated 50 to 60 million eligible to vote. And they have one of their own in the White House.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A constitutional amendment to protect marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

RICHARD LAND, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: The low end figure is somewhere around 33 percent. The high end figure is just a little over 40 percent of people who are eligible to vote in the United States, are self-described born-again evangelical Christians. That makes us a very significant voting block.

MARIN: So significant, that the Southern Baptist Convention launched an all out effort in the summer of 2004 to drive home that point, literally. In its past life, this 18-wheeler used to ferry around the Charlie Daniels band. Now it's part of a Christian crusade to get out the vote. Down in Spartanburg, they're also getting ready for a visit.

RICHARD MOUW, FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: And it educates people on the importance of voting, the importance of moral issues. I've never made an endorsement in my life.

MARIN: But it would be fair to say that your congregation knows pretty much where you are.

MOUW: Yes. They will know where I am.

MARIN: On Sunday when this church is filled with people, what percentage of this congregation would vote for George Bush?

MOUW: I don't know but I think it would be very large.

MARIN: Is the evangelical vote a given for George Bush?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't think so. I think that -- I think George Bush recognizes that it is not a given. Many of those evangelicals who on issues like homosexuality and other sexual issues and family value issues may like what George Bush is saying, but are much more inclined to agree with Mr. Kerry on questions of economic policy and international relations. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Tonight, don't miss an all new CNN PRESENTS, the fight over faith airs at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific.

It's only taken the Red Sox and the Cardinals one game to make World Series history. After the break, the new records being set at Fenway Park.

Plus, singer Ashlee Simpson learns a hard lesson in the perils of live TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Let's take a peek outside with the weather picture and Jacqui Jeras. Hello, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Fredricka, not a bad weekend out there. If you live on the coasts of the country, however, not faring quite as well as those folks in the midsection of the country. If it's not raining at your house into the northeast and across the southeast, chances are it's still pretty cloudy, but the good news is, is that we will see some clearing conditions, especially if you live a little bit farther to the west around Pittsburgh down towards Charleston. Probably even see some sunshine this afternoon in the Atlanta area, maybe even in Charlotte if you cross your fingers and get real lucky. The good news though is that the rainfall relatively light.

Also the rain that we're seeing across the southwest, pretty light, too. You've been seeing some rain on and off this morning in Salt Lake City. You get up into the higher elevations though and the snow is really coming down in the Wasatch (ph). Eight to 14 inches can be expected above 8,000 feet by tonight, should stay dry in Denver, but we will be seeing some snow into the higher elevations and some light rain showers into the valleys across the western parts of Colorado.

Sprinkles in Portland and Seattle. That's about it, expecting those cloudy conditions to continue there. Not enough to need an umbrella and the snow coming down across western Montana at this hour. This is some of the relatively light one that's pushing across the west at this time, but a stronger storm system on its way for Tuesday and Wednesday. Clearing conditions expected to start off your work week across much of the east. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Not bad at all. Thanks a lot, Jacqui.

CNN's RELIABLE SOURCES is keeping an eye on the media. Host Howard Kurtz joins us live for a preview of today's show. Hello Howie.

HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hi, Fredricka. Coming up, a great panel ahead with just over a week to go until election day. CBS Bob Schieffer, ABC's Linda Douglass and David Brooks of the "New York Times" talk about whether political journalists are spending too much time covering gas and mini controversies instead of the larger issues in this presidential campaign. Also that Sinclair Broadcasting special on John Kerry and a few words about the Red Sox, all next on RELIABLE SOURCES.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be watching. Thanks a lot, Howard.

Game one of the World Series was a wild and record-setting ride. The Boston Red Sox 11-9 win over the St. Louis Cardinals is the highest scoring game one in World Series history. David Ortiz could probably run for mayor at this point, smacking a three-run home in the first inning, helping him rack up 19 RBIs, tying the postseason record. Game two is tonight in Boston, the first pitch at 8:10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Well pop star singer Ashlee Simpson ran into a bit of trouble last night during her musical appearance on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. Her first performance featured her hit single "Pieces of Me." It went off without a hitch.

OK, that's pretty good. Well, things didn't go so smoothly during her second appearance on the show. Here's what happened just in case you missed it. You'll need to listen closely and watch.

Oh, that smarts. Well, at the end of the show, Ashlee Simpson had this to say about all that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEE SIMPSON, SINGER: I feel so bad. My band started playing the wrong song. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I thought I'd do a hoedown. I'm sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. There's been no official comment from NBC about the incident. I have a feeling she's not going to want to talk about it anymore either.

All right. Still much more ahead on CNN SUNDAY. In a few moments at the bottom of the hour, RELIABLE SOURCES and at noon, it's LATE EDITION with Wolf Blitzer. Among Wolf's guests, Reverend Jerry Falwell and Reverend Jesse Jackson.

At 2:00 p.m. Eastern, it's PEOPLE IN THE NEWS and today profiling Ralph Nader and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. A check of the headlines right after this.

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