Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Barry Bearing Down on Gulf Coast; President Bush Wins Political Battles in House on Patients' Rights and Energy

Aired August 03, 2001 - 20:00   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.
KATE SNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, the first tropical storm of the season was a killer. Now, as Barry bears down on the Gulf coast, what type of threat does this storm pose?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Proving that a new tone, clear agenda, and active leadership can bring significant progress to the nation's capital.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Boosted by back-to-back victories in Congress, President Bush sums up his first six months, before taking the next one off.

Congress, too, is taking time off, including Congressman Gary Condit, who may spend his vacation pondering his future. We'll go live to California, and I'll speak live with the Democratic party head in Condit country, Sandra Lucas, and with a top Republican consultant in the state, Dan Schnur.

The Queen Mum at 101, behind the pomp and circumstance, an iron will, steely determination.

Good evening. I am Kate Snow. Wolf Blitzer is off tonight.

Its most immediate effect may be a miserable weekend for millions of Gulf Coast residents, but Tropical Storm Barry is slowly gaining strength, triggering alerts now in Louisiana and floods in Florida. And that's our top story.

Parts of south and central Florida are already being soaked by rain from Barry. In one area, more than 8 inches fell during a 10- hour period, flooding homes and turning streets into streams. Louisiana has been put on notice that Barry may be coming. They're boarding up. Oil and gas workers have been evacuated from their Gulf rigs and boaters have been told to stay in port, while the coastal areas have been warned to expect flooding now within 36 hours.

CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis joins us now from the CNN weather center with the latest on the storm.

Karen, where is this storm headed right now? KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, that is the big question. The computer models all say something different as you take a look at our enhanced satellite imagery you go, where is our hurricane? It doesn't look all that impressive on the satellite imagery. But we can see most of that convection has been along the eastern and the northern edge.

That is what produced the flooding in Florida. And boy, they got walloped. Well, there are no longer flash flood watches out for south Florida. But when do we anticipate landfall? It's possible it will be Monday. Right now, that's kind of our guidance. And we are right in the middle of waiting for an update. The 8:00 p.m. Eastern time update from the National Hurricane Center.

The Gulf waters are very warm. I checked some of the buoys. And along the Florida coast, right around Tampa and Fort Myers, the water temperatures are a little cooler than what you might expect in the 80s.

You go to the western Gulf along the Texas Gulf coast, and they are about 86 and 87 degrees. What will happen? Computer models all differ. Some say it's going to stall. Some take it a little bit farther to the west. Another takes it more to the northwest.

Somewhere along the north central coast of the Gulf coast region. Perhaps Louisiana, it's too difficult to say just what will happen over the next 24 and in fact, 72 hours. But this is what we're anticipating, a lot of that convection, we think, will eventually close this center of circulation. It has does have low level moisture here. And we do have a tropical storm watch along a good portion of the southeastern coast of Louisiana. And Kate, yes in Florida. They did see quite a bit of rainfall over the last 48 and 72 hours. I'll stay here in the CNN weather center with more updates.

SNOW: Good. Karen Maginnis, thank you.

In Chicago this morning, rush hour turns into a nightmare. Two crowded commuter trains collided on an elevated line just north of downtown. 141 people were injured, 16 of them were critically. One of the standing room-only trains rear ended each other at low speed.

Here in Washington, with fresh legislative victories on energy and patients' rights, President Bush today painted a picture of solid achievement in summing up his first six months in office. His next month will be spent on vacation.

Let's go live now to CNN White House correspondent Major Garrett.

Good evening, Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Kate.

Let's put some of these last minute victories in some context, some perspective. Eight weeks ago, after the Senate was -- changed from Republicans to Democrats, many in Washington wondered if the Bush agenda had any life in at all. There was talk that moderate Republicans were jumping off ship or not standing with this president. The President and the White House regrouped, talked to moderate Republicans, reshaped that agenda, won some important victories this week in the House on patients' bill of rights and on the energy plan. And the President praised all of those victories today.

He also told Senate Democrats who have made it clear they will oppose the President on these very issues, that come September, when everyone's back in town, the country will be watching and so will he.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Americans, comes September, will be watching. They want us to be principled, not partisan. They want us to look for agreement instead of looking for the fights and arguments. Americans know obstructionism when they see it. And when necessary, I will point it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: Kate, that's a marker to Senate Democrats, telling them if you want to obstruct the President's agenda, you do it at your own risk. The President has made it very clear. He has worked with moderate Republicans, trying to find Democratic support where he can. If Senate Democrats will not give it to him, he'll tell the country, hoping to put political pressure on them and make him look like the bipartisan president working up against a partisan Democratic Senate majority.

Kate?

SNOW: So Major, along those lines, he now turns to that Senate though and has to develop a strategy. What can President Bush do to make sure he does work with those Democrats and get some of his issues through?

GARRETT: Well, let's take a look at the patients' bill of rights, an issue that Democrats, once they took over the Senate, put right at the top of the agenda. Why? Because they knew they could win there. They thought President Bush would lose in the House. Then you you'd have to veto it. And the country would spend a whole year complaining about President Bush vetoing a patients' bill of rights.

What did the President do? He regrouped. He got moderate Republicans to stand with him, got a House bill that he can support. And now you have all these House Democrats who voted against the patients' bill of rights. The White House believes that those House Democrats will not last this year or especially next year in election year with that no-vote on such an important issue.

And over time, they will pressure Senate Democrats to make a compromise so the President and sign a bill and everyone can say, "Yes, this year, I supported a patients' bill of rights."

Kate? SNOW: CNN's Major Garrett at the White House tonight.

As Congress began its summer recess today, representative Gary Condit flew home to California. Harshly criticized by colleagues for his conduct in the Chandra Levy case, Condit must now decide how to face his constituents. Let's go live now to Ceres, California and CNN national correspondent Gary Tuchman.

Gary?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, Gary Condit did fly this morning from Washington to San Francisco. He then took a 90 mile trip here to his district, but his home is right behind me. And he is not in it. We don't know when and if he will can come here. There are a lot of reporters outside his home and talking to reporters is not what Gary Condit is about right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): It's a story being told around the world, but in the J Street cafe in downtown Modesto, California, it's a local story and it's left cafe patrons very confused.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted for Gary Condit. I trusted him. I thought he was a good Congressman. I think he was a good representative for our district. And right now it's in question. I just don't know.

TUCHMAN: Walk around California's 18th Congressional district of the Golden state's Central Valley, and even strong Condit supporters share this point.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe his integrity is in question.

TUCHMAN: With others who voted for Condit going further.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a very sad state that he immediately denied that any relationship, and then later decided that yes, there was a relationship. It makes him not trustworthy in my opinion.

TUCHMAN: Gary Condit, who flew back to California Friday morning, won his seventh Congressional term this past November. It was an election in which he received more than two-thirds of the vote. He has been a very popular representative and there certainly are constituents who believe a decent man is being kicked while he is down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's doing his job. I mean, everyone voted for him. So he hasn't done nothing wrong.

TUCHMAN: But for many voters here, it's not a question of if he's done anything wrong, but what and how much he's done wrong. However this story develops, there is widespread disappointment in this man who represents them in Congress. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know if he should necessarily resign, but I don't think he should run again. I don't think he would be voted back in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN (on camera): This story saddens the voters here, but of course none more so than Robert and Susan Levy, Chandra's parents, who continue a vigil at their home, 10 miles north of this home where the Congressman lives. And once again, today, it's been another day of absolutely no clues.

Kate, back to you.

SNOW: You've spent a lot of time with the Levy family over the last few days. How are they holding up?

TUCHMAN: Every day has been a tough day, but the last couple of days have been particularly tough, ever since that tip came in alleging that their daughter were buried in a parking lot in Virginia. First they thought it might be true and that she might definitely be dead. Then when they found out that it was a hoax, they just couldn't believe the maliciousness of someone who would phone in a hoax like that. And they have been very unhappy, very not wanting to talk to members of the media since then because they've been so sad since that hoax came in.

SNOW: Understandably so. Thank you very much. Gary Tuchman out in California.

A number of Gary Condit's Congressional colleagues have called on him to resign or face an ethics investigation. One prominent Democrat has said his career is over, but as we heard in Gary Tuchman's report, Condit has been a very popular Democrat in his California district.

To discuss his present difficulties, and his political future, I'm joined now by Sandra Lucas, chairwoman of the Stanislaus County Democratic Committee. That's in the area of Ceres, California. And from Los Angeles, Dan Schnur, a Republican political consultant. Thank you both very much for being with us tonight.

I want to start with Ms. Lucas. Gary Condit has been in office since he started his career. At 24, he was elected to a city council and he's gone on to become a career politician. Is his career over?

SANDRA LUCAS, STANISLAUS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC LEADER: I don't believe it's over. He certainly is wounded, but he should not be written off. I know a lot of the political pundits and a lot of people throughout the country, including other Congressman and senators believe that his career is over. That is inaccurate. I think that it can be revived, but again, he has to come back and talk to his constituents.

SNOW: Mr. Schnur, is there any way you think that he can recover from this? Could he run again? DAN SCHNUR, GOP POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Think that Gary Condit can recover. Every day, as Mrs. Lucas suggests that Gary Condit does not talk to his supporters, to his constituents it becomes harder, but I think the important thing to remember is ultimately this isn't something that's going to be decided in Washington, D.C. or anywhere else in the rest of the country.

You know, these are people who've supported him over the years. And I think if he were to come forward, offer a plausible explanation and an extraordinary apology because they've been so loyal to them and he to they over the years, if he comes forward, he has a chance to come back.

SNOW: Ms. Lucas, this area, the California's 18th district is traditionally Democratic. In fact, we did some research and the last Republican that we can find who was elected to the House in that area is back in the 1950s. But the man in charge of the Republican Congressional Committee out here, a man by the name of Tom Davis, told the reporters this the other day. Let me quote him on this.

He said, "the 18th district is trending more Republican in every election. Bush won the district by nine points, which is huge in California. If the seat were to become vacant," according to Mr. Davis, "it would be a huge battleground."

Ms. Lucas, do you think that it's harder for Condit to win in that district now?

LUCAS: No, and let me tell you why. The district has 20,000 more Democrats than Republicans, but there is a tremendous percentage of this district who are independent, Green party, and so forth. They really make this a swing district. So you can look at this district as a 50/50 district.

When you look at the Congressman's record, he votes the district. He is a moderate to conservative Democrat. For example, he voted for George Bush's budget, which was against the Democratic party's wishes, I'm sure. But he votes his district.

And what people in this district are used to having as a representative is someone who is not ideologically Democrat or Republican, but someone who puts the interests of the district as their primary concern. And that, the Congressman has done that. So, it's really, not about him being a Democrat and thus a Republican would beat him. It isn't. I mean, he really votes the district.

SNOW: Let's look at his numbers actually now. From the last election in the year 2000. Check this out. He won 68 percent of the vote in the 18th district in California. Steve Wilson, his opponent, won just 32 percent. The presidential race in that same district shows that actually the Republican, George W. Bush, won the area. 53 percent for Bush and just 44 percent for Gore.

So to...

LUCAS: Correct. SNOW: Does that not show, Dan Schnur, that he is a pretty popular guy and really can win because he's been so immensely popular?

SCHNUR: Well, Condit does have the potential to come back. Again, he has two things going for him. One is the tremendous loyalty of his constituents, as long as he comes forward and talks to them.

The second thing he is going for, which is often overlooked, is Gary Condit is very close political allies with Gray Davis, the governor of the California. This year Gray Davis is going to draw brand new congressional districts. And the word in Sacramento, at least, is if Condit decides to run for re-election, Davis might draw the lines to help make it a more safe Democratic district.

So even if Condit does lose support from some of the independents and Republicans who've supported him in the past, he might be able it get back in, again, if he comes forward and talks sometime soon.

SNOW: Ms. Lucas, give us the behind-the-scenes. You're there on the ground. Are people privately behind the scenes, Democrats, telling you that he should get out of race, that he should make way for another better Democratic candidate?

LUCAS: There's a mix. I'll be honest with you. There is a mix. There are some people who feel, and these are generally the Democrats who I would say ideologically are the more liberal Democrats, would like to see him not resign, but agree not to the run for another term. But the mainstream Democrat, and you know I would think it's about 50/50, are really saying, "We need to hear from Gary before we make our minds up on which way we want to go." You know, he's had a tremendous amount -- he's done a tremendous amount for constituents in this district. And he's been very, very supportive of law enforcement and a whole broad, agriculture and so forth. And consequently, people are not ready to just write him off, but they do want to hear from him. There's no doubt about that. And then they will make their, you know, their decision.

SNOW: And we will be watching. Sandra Lucas with the Stanislaus County Democrats and also Dan Schnur, a California Republican political strategist. Thank you so much for being with us tonight.

SCHNUR: Thank you.

LUCAS: Thank you.

SNOW: If you spend a lot of time on the road, we'll update you on a potential hazard. And as teammates, fans, and family mourn, the search for answers into the death of Minnesota Viking Korey Stringer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SNOW: Welcome back. Autopsy results on football player Korey Stringer will be kept private, according to Minnesota state law. Stringer died Wednesday after collapsing the day before at practice. He was taken to the hospital after showing signs of heatstroke. A private funeral for Stringer was held today in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina. Another service will be held in Stringer's hometown of Warren, Ohio.

Police in London pin the blame for a car bomb explosion on a splinter group of the IRA. Seven people were injured when the bomb went off last night in the busy Ealing Broadway area of west London. Scotland Yard was given advance notice of the attack, but not of the location.

In other top stories, more complaints of safety problems with the Jeep Grand Cherokee. According to "The Los Angeles Times," a federal investigation of incidents in which the vehicle suddenly shifted out of gear has yielded 144 complaints and one reported death. Carmaker DaimlerChrysler has settled lawsuits, but has not admitted liability.

In Russia, an American Fulbright scholar serving time for a drug conviction is allowed to go home. 24-year-old John Tobin was arrested in January, allegedly with a small amount of marijuana on him, and then accused of having connections with U.S. intelligence. Tobin's sentence was reduced as part of a case review.

The number of jobless Americans held steady from June through July, even as the economy shed 42,000 jobs. The unemployment rate came in at 4.5 percent last month, slightly less than what analysts expected. The Labor Department says wages grew 4 cents to $14.35 an hour.

On the leading edge tonight, the power of technology gives us a clearer picture of the Ehime Maru's watery grave. A U.S. nuclear submarine accidentally sunk the Japanese vessel off Hawaii in February. The Navy plans to begin raising it next week and hopes to recover the bodies of nine people who were killed.

It was a no-go for Genesis today. Minutes before the unmanned satellite was to blast off, NASA scrapped the launch because of bad weather. Another launch date has yet to be nailed down. The Genesis mission will collect bits of solar wind and return them to earth.

The Code Red worm, is crawling its way into southern Asia. The computer worm slowed Internet traffic there today, but experts say web access in the region should improve over the weekend. Earlier, the worm disrupted servers in here in the United States.

Some royal news just ahead, the prince takes a tumble. And the Queen Mum has 101 wishes as she prepares to mark another milestone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SNOW: Welcome back. The heir to the British throne took a royal tumble today. A fall bad enough to land Prince Charles in the hospital overnight. The prince fell off his horse during a charity polo match. Meanwhile, Prince Charles' grandmother on the verge of hitting a milestone. Tomorrow, the Queen Mother turns 101.

CNN's senior international correspondent Walter Rogers explains England's long love affair with the Queen Mum.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WALTER ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Already the English have set up camp in the rain outside her home to honor the Queen Mother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During the war, I met her when I was only five years old. And that was during the Blitz. And they said, oh she said and her husband, we will not leave the country.

ROGERS: When the German's bombed London, she toured the rubble, visited the wounded, bonded with the English people in a way no monarch since has managed.

CAMILLA CECIL, ROYAL WATCHER: Said to the British public, "You're in danger. I'm not going to leave you here. I'm your queen. I'll be here with you."

CROWD: We want the king, we want the king!

ROGERS: It was Britain's finest hour. Her husband was king, Churchill was Churchill and the Queen Mother became a saint. She provided the English with a second Queen Elizabeth. Then as Queen Mother, she became the glue that held the royal family together. One author said, "She had feathers of flint."

KITTY KELLY, AUTHOR, "THE ROYALS": First of all, she's going to be 101 years old. We people do not get to achieve that age in life.

ROGERS: The Queen Mother also has a unique since of mystique. Born of Scottish aristocracy, she understands the value of avoiding the media's glare.

SALLY CARTWRIGHT, EDITOR, "HELLO" MAGAZINE: The Queen Mother has an instinct, which says you need to reach out to ordinary people, but there needs to be a distance between you and them, in order for you to represent something different.

ROGERS: That aloofness was a lesson lost on Charles and Diana, that first enchanted with Diana. Yet when Charles lost interest in his princess, the Queen Mother froze her out, too.

QUEEN MOTHER: God bless you all and thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

ROGERS: Now, 100 years old, she still protects her family and their throne. And she is venerated because of it.

KELLY: The Queen Mother, you've got to remember, takes Britain back to when they really were glorious.

ROGERS (on camera): Saturday, the Queen Mother will emerge briefly from her residence here at Clarence House to accept the birthday greetings of the entire nation. She will be 101 years old and the one remaining member of the British royal family still largely immune from criticism.

Walter Rogers, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Just ahead, we'll open up our mailbag. It shouldn't surprise you that our viewers are sounding off loudly on our coverage of the Chandra Levy case. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SNOW: Welcome back. Time now to open up our mailbag. More e- mail tonight on the Chandra Levy investigation.

Sue from Connecticut e-mails us with this. "It's shameful the way the media has devoted has devoted so much coverage in the past few weeks to the disappearance of Chandra Levy. Hundreds of thousands of people disappear in this country every year and yet there has been non-stop coverage of this woman's disappearance because she had an affair with a congressman."

Nancy in Pennsylvania agrees. "Please give up the daily coverage of the Levy case. News is called news because there is something new about it."

But Gloria from California disagrees. "Please continue to make the Chandra Levy case a top media priority. Thanks for your continuing coverage on this matter."

Remember, you can e-mail us with your comments at Wolf@cnn.com. Or you can go to our WOLF BLITZER REPORTS web site, www.cnn.com/wolf. And that's all the time we have tonight. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Kate Snow in Washington. Wolf Blitzer will be right back here on Monday. "THE POINT WITH GRETA VAN SUSTEREN" begins right now.

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