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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

Interview With Joseph Lieberman; Interview With Walter Cronkite

Aired January 09, 2004 - 17:00   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.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, shooting for the moon and beyond. Does President Bush have the money to send man to Mars.

And where are the jobs? The report that isn't so rosy.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

Code yellow. The alert level is lower but not for everybody.

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We will maintain particular vigilance around some critical resources and locales.

BLITZER: Chasing Dean -- past comments catch up with the front- runner. Can the rival do the same? I'll ask presidential candidate Joe Lieberman.

The way it is -- I'll ask legendary journalist Walter Cronkite about Iraq, the presidential race and more.

And human prey...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was only 20 feet behind Ann (ph) and this mountain lion jumped on her back. Started dragging her.

WOLF BLITZER: A mountain mauling and a shocking discovery.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, January 9, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The nation may have let out a collective sigh of relief today, as Homeland Security authorities lowered the terror threat level from orange, or high alert, down to yellow, which signals an elevated risk. But in some places they're still holding their breath, we begin with our justice correspondent Kelli Arena, she joins us live -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this shade of yellow is a bit more mottled than we've seen in the past. While the national threat level is being moved down a notch, certain sectors and areas around the country will remain at a higher level of alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIDGE: There are specific locales and within those locales, there are specific things we still have some concern about, but we're going to work with the security professionals in those areas to make sure that we maintain some form of added security. There's still an area of concern we want to add or maintain a certain level of security, and that's what we're going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: While Secretary Ridge wouldn't get into specifics, sources say some of those locales are in cities like Las Vegas, New York, and Washington, D.C. And the sectors that still cause concern include aviation, shipping and nuclear facilities.

Some officials say that the selective alert was a bit of a compromise within the intelligence community where, there is still a lot of concern about a potential attack. Sources say there is a great deal of threat information still coming in, it's not as specific as it's been in recent weeks but the volume still remains high -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena, thank you very much for that report.

It was a bloody Friday in the Iraqi town of Ba'qubah where four Iraqis were killed and dozens were wounded by a bicycle bomb. That wasn't the only scene of violence in Iraq today as CNN's Ram Ramgopal reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The explosion came near the end of Friday noon prayers just outside a Shi'a mosque in Ba'qubah. Bodies lay scattered around the blast, all the dead and wounded were Iraqi civilians. U.S. military officials say a suicide bomber set off an improvised bomb strapped to the bars of a bicycle. Witnesses also spoke about how the blast set a car on fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): As I was sitting in my car filming the prayers, a car, I think, a taxi, exploded and I was hit by flying glass.

RAMGOPAL: Ba'qubah is a mainly Sunni town in a country where the majority Shi'a were suppressed for years under Saddam Hussein. Since the fall of Saddam, several bombs have gone off outside Shi'a mosques, deepening a rift between Iraq's major muslim communities.

Meanwhile in the capital, Baghdad, anger spilled onto the streets outside a Sunni mosque after Friday prayers there. The crowd shouted anti-U.S. slogans and beat up a journalist covering the protests. The mosque was the target of a U.S. army raid last week in which coalition forces said they captured a cache of weapons and explosives.

Community leaders here deny they had anything more than the kind of weapons most Iraqis carry. They say they're being targeted because they're Sunnis. In the heartland of the resistance to the U.S.-led coalition, troops from the 4th infantry division went after what they called hard-line supporters of Saddam Hussein, most thought to be Sunni. This nighttime raid took place in Saddam's hometown Tikrit, which lies in the area the U.S. calls the Sunni Triangle.

After an operation that lasted several hours, the U.S. says a dozen men were led away blindfolded and handcuffed. The U.S. military seized computers and found fake id cards, a few weapons were seized. The soldiers who conducted the raid said the town of Tikrit will be a lot safer because of the detention of these dozen men. Ram Ramgopal, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Saddam Hussein is sitting in U.S. custody and a humanitarian group now wants to pay a visit. But there are serious questions about Saddam Hussein's exact status. Let's go live to senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some confusion and backtracking at the Pentagon today over the status of Saddam Hussein. Is he a prisoner of war or something else?

This morning a Pentagon spokesman quoting an opinion from a Pentagon lawyer said yes, as the former commander of the Iraqi military, Saddam is, in fact, a P.O.W., but Pentagon officials contradicted the acknowledgment insisting that while the captured Iraqi former dictator is being treated as a P.O.W., his formal status remains undetermined.

Why the hedging? Well, legal experts have a number of theories. Right now, Saddam Hussein is being afforded protection under the spirit of the Geneva Convention, but if the Pentagon had to adhere to the letter of the treaty, it might cause some problems.

Interrogation, for instance. We don't know what techniques the U.S. may be using to try to get information from Saddam. Sleep deprivation, loud music, psychological technique, under the Geneva Convention, prisoners can only be required to give their name, rank, date of birth and serial number, specifically article 17 of the Convention states, "prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind."

Some critics are saying this medical exam may have violated the Geneva Convention prohibitions against humiliating a prisoner. And also, as a P.O.W., Saddam Hussein technically can only be tried under the authority of the occupying forces, and some are -- lawyers might argue that that would require perhaps a U.S. military trial, or could complicate efforts to turn Saddam Hussein over to an Iraqi war tribunal.

The Pentagon says that the International Red Cross will be able to see Saddam Hussein soon, and today a Red Cross spokesman confirmed to CNN, that there have been in discussions with the U.S. military since last month to make those arrangements.

Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein is still apparently not telling his interrogators much of value, but U.S. officials tell CNN, the documents captured along with him have provided valuable intelligence and have led to a number of key arrests -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Jamie, thanks for that report.

Ordeal over. A mother reunited with her children after they were kidnapped. Hear the dramatic 911 tapes.

On the trail. I'll talk with Democrat Joe Lieberman, his thoughts on Howard Dean's most recent endorsements. And this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was only 20 feet behind Ann (ph) and this mountain lion jumped on her back, start dragging her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Danger lurking, a mountain lion attacks a female biker. A possible second victim is discovered near the scene. It's a terrifying, terrifying story. We'll get to it.

First, though, today's news quiz. "What should you avoid doing if you spot a mountain lion?" Act aggressively, throw rocks, back away slowly, crouch. The answer later in the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The dramatic manhunt in Georgia we told you about yesterday is now over. A man accused of killing one of his daughters and three in-laws is now in police custody and the three other children he's accused of abducting are safe. CNN's Kris Osborn is in north Georgia where the ordeal began -- Kris.

KRIS OSBORN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Hello, Wolf. Earlier this afternoon, the court appointed attorney for the three rescued girls, told me earlier that Judge Bearden (ph) formally returned custody to their mother Melissa but, of course, with several conditions.

One, they'll live with a relative already vetted by authorities. Secondly, the mother was ordered by the judge to cooperate with DFCS, their children services, to make sure the kids receive the requisite psychological exams and things of that sort.

And finally, the judge will return to and reevaluate this issue of custody in 60 days. All of this on the heels of an experience for these girls which by any estimation is significantly traumatic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OSBORN, (voice-over): Spotted by a driver late Thursday night, Jerry Jones had only gone about 40 miles after a day on the run.

911: Sir, have you seen the vehicle?

CALLER: Just one second.

911: OK.

CALLER: Y...That's it. We're right behind it.

911: Can you see any people inside the vehicle?

CALLER: There's a gentleman and I think there's a couple of kids. We're about to see the exit 3...333, I believe. And he just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at one of the kids. He's got it.

911: Are you right behind it?

CALLER: Yes, ma'am.

911: OK.

CALLER: Oh, yes! Awesome.

OSBORN: A state trooper who happened to be the son of the sheriff who launched the manhunt gave chase and ran Jones off the road.

SHERIFF JERRY DAVIS, GORDON COUNTY, GEORGIA: We knew that we needed to do something for the safety of those children. A man of the caliber that would hang his own 10-month-old child, we knew the other children had to be got out of the vehicle, and thank God we stopped him, and we got those kids back.

OSBORN: They got them back after Jones shot himself. One girl jumped out to police, the other two were rescued from the car. The drama over 24 hours after police in Ranger, Georgia, found four dead bodies, including Jones' 10-month-old daughter.

Jones was in critical condition and is now under investigation for murder.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSBORN: Now, authorities, now that this is a formal murder investigation they're sharpening their focus on the crime scene. Earlier, investigators said they had completed the autopsies on the four bodies but they're not discussing their results. They will likely return to the scene, attempt to reenact what happened, how the four people were killed and of course, who killed them -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Kris Osborn reporting this story. Thank you very much, Kris.

Topping our justice report, a Utah judge has ruled that Wanda Barzee is not mentally competent to stand trial for the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. Barzee and her husband Bryan David Mitchell are accused of abducting the 14-year-old girl from her bedroom, triggering a nine-month search that made headlines across the country. Instead of going on trial, Barzee will be committed to a state hospital.

The heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune is filing for bankruptcy protection after court rulings ordering him to pay almost $40 million to two rape victims. Andrew Luster is serving a 124-year prison term for raping three women after knocking them out with a date rape drug. Luster's lawyer says the women will have to wait in line with other creditors.

The Ohio woman who claimed she lost the mega millions winning lottery ticket has been charged with filing a false police report. Police say Elecia Battle now admits she was lying when she claimed she had purchased the ticket worth $162 million. Battle's story began to unravel when another woman came forward with the ticket. If convicted, Battle could face jail and a fine.

Speaking out, and it's not flattering. A former member of the Bush administration breaks his silence about the man who fired him, namely, the president.

A candidate's strategy, I'll talk with Democrat Joe Lieberman about his campaign and his competition.

One on one with Walter Cronkite. The legendary journalist weighs in on Iraq, space travel, presidential politics and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Bush's is cheering a big drop in the nation's jobless rate. But the flip side, new jobs grew far less than many analysts expected. On top of this, the former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is slamming Mr. Bush, who fired him in 2002. Here to wrap it all up for us, CNN's Kathleen Hays -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we know it's all about job, and that's the rub. We've got stocks rallying, we've been hearing the economy is recovering. But jobs aren't growing and Wall Street is disappointed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAYS (voice-over): Traders were in shock.

PHIL FLYNN, ALARON TRADING CORP.: There was a moment of stunned silence here when that number came across.

HAYS: Only 1,000 new jobs were created in December leaving many economists shaking their heads in disbelief.

STEVEN RICCHIUTO: I don't think it's necessarily an undercounting as much as it may very well just be a bad survey in and of itself.

HAYS: For others, the report was concrete proof the economic recovery still is not creating jobs and the president's policies just aren't working.

RICHARD TRUMKA, AFL-CIO: The American worker looks out and says the job market is terrible, you're not creating jobs, and then on top of that, you want to take overtime pay away from 8 million workers, and our health care premiums rise by 50 percent over three years. It's a bleak picture.

HAYS: A drop in the unemployment rate to a 14-month low of 5.7 percent looked like good news but economists said it was not. They said the jobless rate fell because the labor force shrank, and the number of people too discouraged to look for a job increased.

HEATHER BOUSHEY, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Nearly 1 in 4 workers without a job has been unemployed for more than six months, which is another indicator that people are really feeling that this -- that this recovery has been very weak.

HAYS: President Bush told a crowd in Washington he's optimistic the economy is on track because there are so many other signs of strength, and supporters of his policies agree.

WILLIAM BEACH, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Productivity is up, investment is up, so the economy is actually showing the kinds of signals I would expect in a recovery. Employment always lags, wages always lag, the recovery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAYS: So it's an interesting turn of events, the president finding this bad news about the economy just when we know that this presidential reelection campaign year is shifting into high gear.

You know, it's not just Democrats, it's not just labor unions criticizing President Bush and policies. Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is being critical himself in typical tart fashion.

In an interview to be aired on this weekend on CBS, Paul O'Neill looks back at his time with President Bush and says that going to cabinet meetings it was like being with a blind man in a room full of deaf people. The president did not encourage a free flow of ideas and therefore his aides had little more than hunches about what the president was actually thinking.

In fact, what he said, in his meeting with President Bush, which lasted about an hour, he spoke and the president just listened and listened and listened. He said it was more like a monologue than a dialogue.

Interesting, of course, that Paul O'Neill was summarily fired in effect by President Bush just about a year and a half ago. So these words coming out fast and furious, Wolf, buy it will be interesting to see if they have lasting impact.

BLITZER: All right. Kathleen Hays with that. Very interesting. Thank very much for that report. And this note to our viewers, Ron Suskind, the co-author of the book "The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House and the Education of Paul O'Neill" will be on among my guests on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS this coming Tuesday.

Tale of the tape, controversial video of presidential candidate, Howard Dean, surfaces a week shy of the Iowa caucuses. Is it dirty politics or fair game?

Mountain mauling, one person attacked, another dead. We'll have the story of this nightmare.

And Walter Cronkite's commentary, today's news seen through the eyes of the veteran TV journalist. My special interview with Walter Cronkite later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Damage control, passwords come back to haunt Democratic frontrunner Howard Dean. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick check of the latest headlines.

In a bid to stamp out mad cow disease, the Canadian government says it will spend $72 million over five years to expand dramatically the testing of cattle. 30,000 cattle are to be tested, up from the current figure of 5500. A Washington state cow found to have mad cow disease has been traced to a farm in Alberta.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger used tough words such as painful and sacrifice in unveiling his first budget today. The $99 billion plan calls for cutting billions of dollars from public health and welfare programs. Schwarzenegger did not propose new taxes but requested higher tuition fees for college students.

Howard Dean has done it again, the front running Democratic presidential hopeful is being slammed by opponents and critics over remarks he made as governor of Vermont a few years ago. Less than flattering remarks shall we say about the key upcoming Iowa caucuses.

Dean's comments were made on Canadian television and the tapes were obtained by NBC News.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Howard Dean's focus clearly on the weeks ahead. Caucuses and primaries that will change the course of his career and his party's future. But now, he faces the dilemma which snagged so many other candidates in the barbed wire of politics. His past. Specifically, comments he made on an obscure public affairs program in Canada. In a series of appearances in 2000, while he was still governor of Vermont, slamming the same Iowa caucuses he's now desperately trying to win.

GOV. HOWARD DEAN, (D-VT) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you look at the caucuses system, they are dominated by the special interests in both sides and both parties. But I can't stand there listening to everybody else's opinion for 8 hours about how to fix the world.

BLITZER: The comments reappear at a critical time, with the caucuses less than ten days away. Recent polls show Dean's lead in the state is eroding. The candidate now closest to him in Iowa, not one to squander such an opportunity.

REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Remarks he made about the Iowa caucuses, to me, are unbelievable. It would lead one to believe that he is cynically participating in these caucuses.

BLITZER: Voters in the Hawkeye state react with some bitterness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think it's a bunch of baloney. That's my opinion, it's just a bunch of baloney. He don't know us people here in this part of the country.

BLITZER: And understanding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It didn't bother me, and it seemed interesting it's so close to caucus time that they are drumming up these things.

BLITZER: The candidate himself on Judy Woodruff's INSIDE POLITICS attempts to put the remarks in perspective.

DEAN: Had I known then what I know now about the Iowa caucus of course I wouldn't have said that, but you learn.

BLITZER: Dean's resilience in the wake of other controversial remarks is something of a phenomenon on the campaign trail. Almost on cue today, after his three-year-old ruminations on the Iowa caucuses splattered over the air waves, he gets a crucial endorsement in Iowa from Democratic Senator Tom Harkin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: With dean still viewed as the front-runner, the other Democratic candidates are fighting to emerge as the main alternative to Dean. Here's today's look at campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Seeing a surge in support, Wesley Clark continues hitting hard in New Hampshire today. New polls show he's now moved to second place there. Clark campaigns in Wisconsin and North Dakota on Saturday.

WESLEY CLARK, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George Bush is leading us in all the wrong directions.

BLITZER: Long enough for a quick breakfast and lunch, Richard Gephardt campaigned in New Hampshire today before heading back to Iowa where he'll attend several countdown to victory events this weekend.

Pushing his populous message John Edwards spent the early part of the day looking to connect with New Hampshire voters. He holds a town hall meeting in Nashua this evening before heading to Iowa for the weekend.

JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello, everybody!

BLITZER: Protecting privacy and promoting government openness, that's Joe Lieberman's message as he unveiled a new plan to voters. The Senator continues campaigning in New Hampshire this weekend.

And sure, it's no Tom Harkin, but John Kerry will take all the endorsements he can get. Steadily support in Iowa, Kerry today received the backing of state Secretary-General Tom Miller.

And that's today's look at 2004 presidential candidates on the trail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Earlier today I spoke with Senator Joe Lieberman about his bid for the White House. I began by asking him about his strategy for the campaign's first primary in New Hampshire on January 27th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My strategy is to offer voters in the Democratic primaries a choice, a better way between George, on one side, and some of the candidates of the Democratic primary, on the other.

I'm a mainstream Democrat. I'm socially progressive, pro-jobs, in the tradition of Bill Clinton, and strong on security. And I think that's exactly the kind of person America needs to be its president now. It's the only kind of Democrat that can beat George W. Bush in the fall.

BLITZER: Well, what is the strategy for New Hampshire? How do you have to do in New Hampshire to remain viable after that first-in- the-nation primary?

LIEBERMAN: Wolf, the primary schedule is beginning in Iowa and New Hampshire, but it's not going to end here. This is not a sprint; it's going to be a longer marathon.

My goal here in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary is to do better than expected. I started out way down, and we're coming up. I' working here very hard. I'm meeting a lot of people. I'm carrying my message of confidence and hope and opportunity for the future, and of unification.

I'm saying to people: You can't beat the extremism and polarization of George Bush with polarization and anger of our own. We've got to get together and present a constructive program, and that's what I'm doing.

BLITZER: Does that mean you have to come in at least third in New Hampshire, or fourth? Would you accept a fifth, and still stay in the race?

LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, we're going to -- nice try, Wolf. We're going to try and do better than expected. And I wouldn't rule anything out.

This is a remarkably open race right now in New Hampshire. We're seeing the voters here take it very seriously, and they're taking a second look at Howard Dean, John Kerry, and as a result, a second look at a lot of other candidates here.

So I feel like we're building to something that's going to end up very strong on January 27th.

BLITZER: On February 3rd, the week after New Hampshire, there are a whole bunch of contests. Are there some, in particular, that you expect to win right now? a LIEBERMAN: Well, I'm not going to call any. But look, I hope to and believe I will win some primaries on February 3rd. That's exactly the strategy -- better than expected as a start in New Hampshire and then go on to the South, Midwest, West, and win some of the primaries or finish real high, and then, to be in the finals, with whoever else makes it through February and into March.

I'm having a great time. I'm committed to the program I have. And I'm very optimistic about how we're going to do.

BLITZER: Would you be ready to accept the vice presidential running mate slot once again?

LIEBERMAN: No. That's a -- it was a great experience, particularly since I believe we won the election. But it's, for me, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I want to run for president and be president, but not vice president.

BLITZER: So you're making a Shermanesque type of statement, along the lines of Wesley Clark, that under no circumstances will you be Howard Dean or any other Democratic presidential nominee's running mate?

LIEBERMAN: That is absolutely correct. Liebermanesque, if not Shermanesque.

BLITZER: All right. Let's talk about Howard Dean for a moment.

He made some controversial comments years ago about the Iowa caucuses, comments that could embarrass him this time around with some of the voters out in Iowa.

What do you make of Howard Dean and the surge, the popularity he's clearly generated among many of your fellow Democrats?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first off, I cannot resist saying that I'm glad the Canadian broadcasters kept those tapes of Howard. Because if they had been part of his gubernatorial records, we never would have seen them because they're sealed up by Howard Dean himself. That's quite embarrassing.

Actually, I got a kick out of what he said, because it sounded like a lot of what I've been saying: You've got to avoid extremism. When you agree with the interest groups in the Democratic Party, all well and good, but don't feel obliged to do that. Say what you think is right for the country, regardless of whether it's politically controversial or not.

And that's what I've been doing all my career and also in this election campaign year.

BLITZER: He's lining up, Howard Dean, lots of endorsement, some formidable people, some of your former friends and colleagues: of course, Al Gore, former Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, now Tom Harkin, the Democratic senator from Iowa. He's really getting endorsements that you certainly would have liked.

LIEBERMAN: Well, again, I can't help but say that Howard spent most of the year campaigning against Washington insiders. And now he's bringing out a group of Washington insiders to support his candidacy.

Look, endorsements are great for a day, when they make the news. But I'll tell you what I find in New Hampshire and everywhere else I go in the country: People are not going to let politicians or polls or pundits pick their next president. The people are going to do it themselves. And they're going to make up their own mind about who they think can keep them safe and give them help here that's affordable and make their lives better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Joe Lieberman, speaking with me earlier today. More on my interview with the senator coming up this Sunday on "LATE EDITION" Sunday, noon Eastern.

A horrifying attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Picked up a rock and threw it at his face, hit it in his head once. Then, I was yelling for somebody to get on the phone. I noticed nobody had a cell phone, so I then pulled out my cell phone, started making calls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A mountain lion mauls two bicyclists in California and a body is found nearby. What insight can he gives on the nature of the mountain lion? I'll speak live with animal enthusiast Jack Hanna.

The way it is. Hear legendary journalist Walter Cronkite's views on today's news, space travel, much more, all of that coming up.

First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Kashmir attack. At least 15 people were wounded when a grenade exploded at a mosque during prayer services. No one has claimed responsibility. It comes just two days after India and Pakistan announced plans for major talks on the disputed territory of Kashmir and other key issues.

Gadhafi's moves to the West. Libya will pay $170 million to families of victims of a French passenger jet bombing 15 years ago. Six Libyans were blamed for the 1989 bombing which killed all 170 people on board the plane. The agreement is the latest move by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi aimed at improving relations with the West.

Violent protests in Haiti. A strike called by Haiti's opposition closed has most stores and banks for a second straight day in the capital, Port-au-Prince. At least three people were killed and dozens injured Wednesday, when thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets, demanding President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to step down.

Australia's fires. Wildfires season is under way down under. Several fires are burning near Sydney. Officials say the fires were deliberately started. So far, no reports of injuries or damaged homes.

Ahoy, mate. It's the London Boat Show, featuring hundreds of vessels of all shapes and sizes, but something not sighted, a yellow submarine.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked, would should you avoid doing if you spot a mountain lion? The answer, crouch. According to the National Forest Service, being larger and louder will discourage predatory behavior.

A woman is in serious condition at a Southern California hospital, after a terrifying attack by a mountain lion. The woman was biking with a friend through an Orange County wilderness park, when the attack took place. Her friend saw it all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This guy would not let go. He had ahold of her face.

BLITZER (voice-over): Two women were riding bikes at the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park just before dusk when the mountain lion attacked. DEBBIE NICHOLS, FRIEND OF ATTACK VICTIM: This mountain lion jumped on her back, started dragging her. So I grabbed his leg. And he dragged us down probably, I don't know, maybe 100 yards down into the brush. And I just kept screaming.

BLITZER: Other cyclists heard the screams, rushed to the scene and started pelting the animal with rocks.

MIKE CASTELLANO, WITNESS: It took three rocks the size of almost soccer balls to get this thing to move. And we hit square it with those rocks.

BLITZER: One of the women was rushed to the hospital. The Orange County Sheriff's Department shot and killed the mountain lion believed to have been responsible, but not without making a grim discovery.

They found the body of a man identified as 35-year-old Mark Jeffrey Reynolds of Foothill Ranch, California, who may have been the victim of a similar attack.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The investigation continues at this hour into the death of Mr. Reynolds. Authorities also continue to review the attack on the woman.

Wildlife expert Jack Hanna is the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" and the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. Jack Hanna is joining us now live from Columbus.

Jack, thanks very much for joining us. For our viewers who may see that cat next to you, tell us what it is.

JACK HANNA, HOST, "JACK HANNA'S ANIMAL ADVENTURES": Well, Wolf, the reason I have a cheetah here is, a cheetah is a similar size as a mountain lion. I wanted people to see what size cat we're talking about.

Some people think they are like a lion or a tiger that weigh 400 or 500 pounds. They don't. They weight anywhere from 90 pounds to 130, 140 pounds. This is about the size of a mountain lion here. Plus, the cheetah and the mountain lion sometimes in a way kill similarly, although the mountain lion can leap about 24 feet. They have great leaping ability, which the cheetah can't.

They both approach the neck as far as a kill is made. So that's one way these cats kill. A tiger, for example, just can break the backbone of any animal they attack, as well as a lion, an African lion. But these cats -- the mountain lion being the largest carnivore -- or cat -- I'm sorry -- on the North American continent. It's the largest cat. And, of course, the cheetah is from Africa.

But I just wanted to show you this as far as size is concerned. As far as what happened, Wolf, it's still hard for me to believe that four people were around this area when this mountain lion attacked these people.

BLITZER: Well, let me -- let me get to that in a moment. But this cheetah viewers that is next to you, a lot of viewers are probably a little concerned it's so close to you. How worried should they be?

HANNA: Well, obviously, if a mountain lion is near you -- the cheetah is one we work with, so I can't compare it to the cheetah.

But as far as a mountain lion and people going out in the woods, that's the last thing you really have to worry about. It's like getting struck by lightning. But if you are approached by a lion like this -- when I go hiking in Montana, if I'm going into grizzly territory, I usually take two to three other people with me. I've never really seen them, except at a distance.

But I know do that there's never been a grizzly attack on more than four people. Now, as far as a mountain lion is concerned, there was an accident or a death in California several years ago, where a young lady jogging was attacked and killed by a mountain lion.

So all these cats and -- and I don't know the necropsies or what has happened with this -- are either injured, they're sick, they're old, older cats that cannot kill on their own. The last thing a mountain lion wants to see, Wolf, is a person. They're the most skittish. They are a solitary cat. They're very, very afraid of human beings. I've being doing this for 30 years. I've only seen two mountain lions in my entire lifetime. And those were at a distance.

BLITZER: Well, the fact that this mountain lion went after two bicyclists, two people apparently at the same time, you're suggesting that is unusual?

HANNA: Yes.

I've never heard about it, a mountain lion attacking two people, unless you are a hunter and or maybe you have one cornered up a tree or something, where the animal has no choice. You're talking about somebody on bicycles. I don't even know if they were riding their bikes. Plus, my understanding is, they passed by two other guys that then came up and helped with the situation.

So now you've got four people and then you've got another man that's dead in the woods somewhere. So I'm just wondering what is going on here. To me -- and I've been working with animals all my life -- we're dealing with a lot of people here and an animal that had to be pretty large to drag this person, along this other young lady holding on to the feet. It's an amazing thing to me that this has happened.

But, obviously, these animals are losing habitat and territory. And so they're being encroached on. I want people to understand, don't go out and think you got to go hunt mountain lions and all that type of thing because this one thing happened. It's an accident that happened. And, hopefully, it will never happen again in that area. -

BLITZER: Do you suspect that the man found dead not far from the scene also was killed by this mountain lion?

HANNA: Well, from what I have heard -- again, I haven't seen anything or seen the body or anything -- but it sounds like he was. The cat is protecting his prey.

I don't know if the person that was killed was partially eaten. I don't know any of the details of all this. But, you know, hopefully, we'll know the answer to that question very shortly.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: I was going to suggest, unless you want to finish that thought. Finish your thought.

HANNA: Well, my thought is, this may sound gory to people, but I can't judge it until I see what has happened to the man that was attacked, or maybe eaten. I don't know.

A lot of cats, for example, a tiger -- a tiger, when it eats, it will actually kill its prey and it will actually bury the rest of the prey and come back and eat it in two weeks. They will eat putrefied meat. A lot of cats will not do that. An African lion, for example, will eat until it gets full, leave just a little bit for the hyenas and the vultures.

Cats have different eating abilities in how they leave their unfinished prey. I don't know what this cat, how much it had eaten or why it would even attack another person.

BLITZER: Jack Hanna, as usual, always some useful information. One very, very brief bit of advice for our viewers. If they get into the vicinity of a mountain lion like this, we told them earlier, they shouldn't crouch, but what else should they do?

HANNA: They should look big.

What you want to do is, you can never outrun -- for example, a grizzly bear can run a football field in six seconds, a black bear in about 12 seconds. So you're not going to outrun them. So, as a last resort, what you have to do is, get sticks or whatever you can, go like this, make a lot of noise. And that's your best way to do it, period, if you're by yourself. You're not going to do much luck climbing a tree.

BLITZER: Jack Hanna of the Columbus Zoo, as usual, thanks very much for joining us. Very, very useful information for all of our viewers out there, especially those viewers who like to get outside.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Right now, one of the friends of the victim in this incident involving the mountain lion is speaking out.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS) NICHOLS: I heard Anne yelling.

And as I came around a corner, there was a mountain lion on her back. And he -- he had his arms around her neck. And so, when I got off my bike, I threw it at him, hoping that that would alarm him in some way. But he continued to start to drag her off of the trail. So I -- I just grabbed her leg. And as we went down the hill, I just held on and screamed as loud as I could, and had hoped that some of the bikers that we had seen earlier would -- would hear me.

BLITZER: That's Debbie Nichols speaking out about her friend, the incident, very sad incident, involving that mountain lion.

Man on the moon, a new mission for the U.S. space program. But is it worth the price?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER CRONKITE, JOURNALIST: We've got so much that needs to be done on Earth here, where our budget is so limited today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The veteran journalist Walter Cronkite, who anchored coverage of the flight of Apollo 11, weighs in on the latest developments in space, as well as what's happening on Earth.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Three decades after the last giant leap, President Bush wants Americans to return to the moon, and perhaps beyond. Officials say he'll announce a new mission for the U.S. space program next week.

It would start with renewed space shuttle flights and lead to a manned moon landing by the year 2018. Goals include a permanent moon base and ultimately a manned mission to Mars. Officials say Mr. Bush is unlikely to be very specific about the costs involved. But the White House stressed today that he is -- quote -- "strongly committed to the exploration of space.

Here's your turn to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: Do you agree with President Bush's plan to launch human missions to the moon and Mars? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast. But while you're, there I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can read my daily online column, CNN.com/Wolf.

For many Americans, Walter Cronkite was an informative and enthusiastic guide to the space program. He also took us through the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, and many, many presidential campaigns. As the "CBS Evening News" anchor for two decades, he was labeled the most trusted man in America. He was known for his sign-off, "And that's the way it is."

And a short while ago, I spoke with Walter Cronkite about the way it is today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Walter Cronkite, as always, an honor, a pleasure to have you on our program. Thanks so much for joining us.

As you well know, and as so many of our viewers remember, you were the voice of when the space program really got going in the '60s and man landed on the moon. What's going through your mind now, as the prospect of President Bush announcing yet another effort to send a man to the moon and maybe beyond to Mars?

CRONKITE: Well, obviously, we should all be excited about that possibility, although I think, quite honestly, the possibility is much dimmer than it sounds, as the president looks forward to it.

It's very expensive. We know that our budget is badly stretched right now to handle just the necessities here on Earth. And the expenditures necessary to get to the moon, perhaps establish a permanent station on the moon, which we have to do someday, but whether that's around the corner, I think is somewhat doubtful.

BLITZER: Would you recommend that the president go forward and the Congress appropriate the significant funds that would be required to do precisely that?

CRONKITE: Well, of course, if Congress believes that we can afford to do it, why, let's go ahead and try.

But it seems just doubtful to me. We've got so much that needs to be done on Earth here, where our budget is so limited today. I don't see how key can put on top of that the vast expenditures of putting a man back on the moon, of setting up a colony on the moon, and then, jumping from there, we hope, out to Mars. That is a vast expenditure, probably just as much as the entire space program has taken up to now. And we know that that has not been cheap.

BLITZER: Let's talk about some of the expenditures required on issues involving what's happening right here on Earth, like Iraq, for example.

Is this money well spent to maintain the U.S. military presence there and to try to get the job done?

CRONKITE: Well, I don't know. You have to judge whether it is well spent by how necessary it is to finish the job that we have started, fortunately or unfortunately, in Iraq.

And the general feeling is, I think, among the American people, you don't cut and run. But, on the other hand, the continuing expense gets larger all the time. And the cost of what is more important, the blood of the American soldiers who are having to try to keep the peace there and establish the peace there is just monumental.

BLITZER: When President Johnson heard you say on CBS News, raise some questions about Vietnam, he began to suspect it was all over as far as U.S. policy in Vietnam was concerned. Do you see any similarities between Vietnam and Iraq?

CRONKITE: I see quite a lot of similarity of the two.

They're both different sorts of war that we were used to or planned for. In the case of Vietnam, it was guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Vietnam. In this case, it's guerrilla warfare in the deserts of Iraq. And they're both vastly different than the kind of war we had prepared for in advance of those experiences.

BLITZER: Do you have confidence in the American news media right now, in the way we covered the war, the lead-up to the war, the actual war, and the aftermath?

CRONKITE: I think the way we have covered the war and the aftermath is satisfactory.

I think we're doing the best we can under the circumstances in a very awkward situation. And I think that we are doing that job. Whether we did enough in preparing the American people for this war, and even covering the Senate debate which led us to this war, I think is highly doubtful. I think that could have been covered with a great deal more urgency, sense of urgency, that we were voting in the Senate to give the president this blanket power to go war as he chose.

That was almost a violation, it seems to me, of the need for the American people to know, for the need of the American people to be polled on the situation. The Senate did not, it seems to me, do that job well.

BLITZER: I know you've been critical of the war, the lead-up to the war, since the war. When you take a look at the Democratic presidential candidates out there, who do you like?

CRONKITE: Well, I'd like to wait and see them in action as this -- the voting begins.

It's going to be very tough for all of them, of course. The situation seems to be leading right now to, of course, the former governor of Vermont. But there's much to be done yet before the caucuses take place next week, the next week or two, in Iowa, a week after that, a vote in New Hampshire. Those are not typical states, of course, in the United States. Neither is an industrial state.

Neither has a large minority population. So they're not representative of what will be found as they get down deeper into the -- the more populous, the more important industrial states.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Walter Cronkite speaking with me earlier today.

On the auction block. Extra special eggs expected to crack open big wallets.

And our hot "Web Question of the Day" is this: Do you agree with President Bush's plan to launch human missions to the moon and Mars? Vote right now, CNN.com/Wolf. The results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in our "Web Question of the Day." take a look at this, pretty close, not actually that close, 59- 41. This is not, repeat, not a scientific poll.

For our picture of the day, we're going to give you a glimpse at the largest collection of Faberge eggs outside the Kremlin. These glittering egg-shaped treasures are among about 200 Faberge creations collected by the late publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes scheduled to go on the auction block in April. The collection is expected to go for more than $90 million. So you may want to settle for this quick look. Take a look, quickly. There it is.

A reminder: We're on weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern, as well as noon Eastern. Tune in Sunday, "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests, the former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole.

Until then, thanks very much for joining us.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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Cronkite>


Aired January 9, 2004 - 17:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now, shooting for the moon and beyond. Does President Bush have the money to send man to Mars.

And where are the jobs? The report that isn't so rosy.

Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

Code yellow. The alert level is lower but not for everybody.

TOM RIDGE, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We will maintain particular vigilance around some critical resources and locales.

BLITZER: Chasing Dean -- past comments catch up with the front- runner. Can the rival do the same? I'll ask presidential candidate Joe Lieberman.

The way it is -- I'll ask legendary journalist Walter Cronkite about Iraq, the presidential race and more.

And human prey...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was only 20 feet behind Ann (ph) and this mountain lion jumped on her back. Started dragging her.

WOLF BLITZER: A mountain mauling and a shocking discovery.

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Friday, January 9, 2004.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The nation may have let out a collective sigh of relief today, as Homeland Security authorities lowered the terror threat level from orange, or high alert, down to yellow, which signals an elevated risk. But in some places they're still holding their breath, we begin with our justice correspondent Kelli Arena, she joins us live -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this shade of yellow is a bit more mottled than we've seen in the past. While the national threat level is being moved down a notch, certain sectors and areas around the country will remain at a higher level of alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIDGE: There are specific locales and within those locales, there are specific things we still have some concern about, but we're going to work with the security professionals in those areas to make sure that we maintain some form of added security. There's still an area of concern we want to add or maintain a certain level of security, and that's what we're going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: While Secretary Ridge wouldn't get into specifics, sources say some of those locales are in cities like Las Vegas, New York, and Washington, D.C. And the sectors that still cause concern include aviation, shipping and nuclear facilities.

Some officials say that the selective alert was a bit of a compromise within the intelligence community where, there is still a lot of concern about a potential attack. Sources say there is a great deal of threat information still coming in, it's not as specific as it's been in recent weeks but the volume still remains high -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Kelli Arena, thank you very much for that report.

It was a bloody Friday in the Iraqi town of Ba'qubah where four Iraqis were killed and dozens were wounded by a bicycle bomb. That wasn't the only scene of violence in Iraq today as CNN's Ram Ramgopal reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The explosion came near the end of Friday noon prayers just outside a Shi'a mosque in Ba'qubah. Bodies lay scattered around the blast, all the dead and wounded were Iraqi civilians. U.S. military officials say a suicide bomber set off an improvised bomb strapped to the bars of a bicycle. Witnesses also spoke about how the blast set a car on fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): As I was sitting in my car filming the prayers, a car, I think, a taxi, exploded and I was hit by flying glass.

RAMGOPAL: Ba'qubah is a mainly Sunni town in a country where the majority Shi'a were suppressed for years under Saddam Hussein. Since the fall of Saddam, several bombs have gone off outside Shi'a mosques, deepening a rift between Iraq's major muslim communities.

Meanwhile in the capital, Baghdad, anger spilled onto the streets outside a Sunni mosque after Friday prayers there. The crowd shouted anti-U.S. slogans and beat up a journalist covering the protests. The mosque was the target of a U.S. army raid last week in which coalition forces said they captured a cache of weapons and explosives.

Community leaders here deny they had anything more than the kind of weapons most Iraqis carry. They say they're being targeted because they're Sunnis. In the heartland of the resistance to the U.S.-led coalition, troops from the 4th infantry division went after what they called hard-line supporters of Saddam Hussein, most thought to be Sunni. This nighttime raid took place in Saddam's hometown Tikrit, which lies in the area the U.S. calls the Sunni Triangle.

After an operation that lasted several hours, the U.S. says a dozen men were led away blindfolded and handcuffed. The U.S. military seized computers and found fake id cards, a few weapons were seized. The soldiers who conducted the raid said the town of Tikrit will be a lot safer because of the detention of these dozen men. Ram Ramgopal, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Saddam Hussein is sitting in U.S. custody and a humanitarian group now wants to pay a visit. But there are serious questions about Saddam Hussein's exact status. Let's go live to senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some confusion and backtracking at the Pentagon today over the status of Saddam Hussein. Is he a prisoner of war or something else?

This morning a Pentagon spokesman quoting an opinion from a Pentagon lawyer said yes, as the former commander of the Iraqi military, Saddam is, in fact, a P.O.W., but Pentagon officials contradicted the acknowledgment insisting that while the captured Iraqi former dictator is being treated as a P.O.W., his formal status remains undetermined.

Why the hedging? Well, legal experts have a number of theories. Right now, Saddam Hussein is being afforded protection under the spirit of the Geneva Convention, but if the Pentagon had to adhere to the letter of the treaty, it might cause some problems.

Interrogation, for instance. We don't know what techniques the U.S. may be using to try to get information from Saddam. Sleep deprivation, loud music, psychological technique, under the Geneva Convention, prisoners can only be required to give their name, rank, date of birth and serial number, specifically article 17 of the Convention states, "prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind."

Some critics are saying this medical exam may have violated the Geneva Convention prohibitions against humiliating a prisoner. And also, as a P.O.W., Saddam Hussein technically can only be tried under the authority of the occupying forces, and some are -- lawyers might argue that that would require perhaps a U.S. military trial, or could complicate efforts to turn Saddam Hussein over to an Iraqi war tribunal.

The Pentagon says that the International Red Cross will be able to see Saddam Hussein soon, and today a Red Cross spokesman confirmed to CNN, that there have been in discussions with the U.S. military since last month to make those arrangements.

Meanwhile, Saddam Hussein is still apparently not telling his interrogators much of value, but U.S. officials tell CNN, the documents captured along with him have provided valuable intelligence and have led to a number of key arrests -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Jamie, thanks for that report.

Ordeal over. A mother reunited with her children after they were kidnapped. Hear the dramatic 911 tapes.

On the trail. I'll talk with Democrat Joe Lieberman, his thoughts on Howard Dean's most recent endorsements. And this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was only 20 feet behind Ann (ph) and this mountain lion jumped on her back, start dragging her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Danger lurking, a mountain lion attacks a female biker. A possible second victim is discovered near the scene. It's a terrifying, terrifying story. We'll get to it.

First, though, today's news quiz. "What should you avoid doing if you spot a mountain lion?" Act aggressively, throw rocks, back away slowly, crouch. The answer later in the show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The dramatic manhunt in Georgia we told you about yesterday is now over. A man accused of killing one of his daughters and three in-laws is now in police custody and the three other children he's accused of abducting are safe. CNN's Kris Osborn is in north Georgia where the ordeal began -- Kris.

KRIS OSBORN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Hello, Wolf. Earlier this afternoon, the court appointed attorney for the three rescued girls, told me earlier that Judge Bearden (ph) formally returned custody to their mother Melissa but, of course, with several conditions.

One, they'll live with a relative already vetted by authorities. Secondly, the mother was ordered by the judge to cooperate with DFCS, their children services, to make sure the kids receive the requisite psychological exams and things of that sort.

And finally, the judge will return to and reevaluate this issue of custody in 60 days. All of this on the heels of an experience for these girls which by any estimation is significantly traumatic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OSBORN, (voice-over): Spotted by a driver late Thursday night, Jerry Jones had only gone about 40 miles after a day on the run.

911: Sir, have you seen the vehicle?

CALLER: Just one second.

911: OK.

CALLER: Y...That's it. We're right behind it.

911: Can you see any people inside the vehicle?

CALLER: There's a gentleman and I think there's a couple of kids. We're about to see the exit 3...333, I believe. And he just (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at one of the kids. He's got it.

911: Are you right behind it?

CALLER: Yes, ma'am.

911: OK.

CALLER: Oh, yes! Awesome.

OSBORN: A state trooper who happened to be the son of the sheriff who launched the manhunt gave chase and ran Jones off the road.

SHERIFF JERRY DAVIS, GORDON COUNTY, GEORGIA: We knew that we needed to do something for the safety of those children. A man of the caliber that would hang his own 10-month-old child, we knew the other children had to be got out of the vehicle, and thank God we stopped him, and we got those kids back.

OSBORN: They got them back after Jones shot himself. One girl jumped out to police, the other two were rescued from the car. The drama over 24 hours after police in Ranger, Georgia, found four dead bodies, including Jones' 10-month-old daughter.

Jones was in critical condition and is now under investigation for murder.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSBORN: Now, authorities, now that this is a formal murder investigation they're sharpening their focus on the crime scene. Earlier, investigators said they had completed the autopsies on the four bodies but they're not discussing their results. They will likely return to the scene, attempt to reenact what happened, how the four people were killed and of course, who killed them -- Wolf.

BLITZER: CNN's Kris Osborn reporting this story. Thank you very much, Kris.

Topping our justice report, a Utah judge has ruled that Wanda Barzee is not mentally competent to stand trial for the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. Barzee and her husband Bryan David Mitchell are accused of abducting the 14-year-old girl from her bedroom, triggering a nine-month search that made headlines across the country. Instead of going on trial, Barzee will be committed to a state hospital.

The heir to the Max Factor cosmetics fortune is filing for bankruptcy protection after court rulings ordering him to pay almost $40 million to two rape victims. Andrew Luster is serving a 124-year prison term for raping three women after knocking them out with a date rape drug. Luster's lawyer says the women will have to wait in line with other creditors.

The Ohio woman who claimed she lost the mega millions winning lottery ticket has been charged with filing a false police report. Police say Elecia Battle now admits she was lying when she claimed she had purchased the ticket worth $162 million. Battle's story began to unravel when another woman came forward with the ticket. If convicted, Battle could face jail and a fine.

Speaking out, and it's not flattering. A former member of the Bush administration breaks his silence about the man who fired him, namely, the president.

A candidate's strategy, I'll talk with Democrat Joe Lieberman about his campaign and his competition.

One on one with Walter Cronkite. The legendary journalist weighs in on Iraq, space travel, presidential politics and more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: President Bush's is cheering a big drop in the nation's jobless rate. But the flip side, new jobs grew far less than many analysts expected. On top of this, the former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is slamming Mr. Bush, who fired him in 2002. Here to wrap it all up for us, CNN's Kathleen Hays -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we know it's all about job, and that's the rub. We've got stocks rallying, we've been hearing the economy is recovering. But jobs aren't growing and Wall Street is disappointed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAYS (voice-over): Traders were in shock.

PHIL FLYNN, ALARON TRADING CORP.: There was a moment of stunned silence here when that number came across.

HAYS: Only 1,000 new jobs were created in December leaving many economists shaking their heads in disbelief.

STEVEN RICCHIUTO: I don't think it's necessarily an undercounting as much as it may very well just be a bad survey in and of itself.

HAYS: For others, the report was concrete proof the economic recovery still is not creating jobs and the president's policies just aren't working.

RICHARD TRUMKA, AFL-CIO: The American worker looks out and says the job market is terrible, you're not creating jobs, and then on top of that, you want to take overtime pay away from 8 million workers, and our health care premiums rise by 50 percent over three years. It's a bleak picture.

HAYS: A drop in the unemployment rate to a 14-month low of 5.7 percent looked like good news but economists said it was not. They said the jobless rate fell because the labor force shrank, and the number of people too discouraged to look for a job increased.

HEATHER BOUSHEY, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Nearly 1 in 4 workers without a job has been unemployed for more than six months, which is another indicator that people are really feeling that this -- that this recovery has been very weak.

HAYS: President Bush told a crowd in Washington he's optimistic the economy is on track because there are so many other signs of strength, and supporters of his policies agree.

WILLIAM BEACH, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Productivity is up, investment is up, so the economy is actually showing the kinds of signals I would expect in a recovery. Employment always lags, wages always lag, the recovery.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAYS: So it's an interesting turn of events, the president finding this bad news about the economy just when we know that this presidential reelection campaign year is shifting into high gear.

You know, it's not just Democrats, it's not just labor unions criticizing President Bush and policies. Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill is being critical himself in typical tart fashion.

In an interview to be aired on this weekend on CBS, Paul O'Neill looks back at his time with President Bush and says that going to cabinet meetings it was like being with a blind man in a room full of deaf people. The president did not encourage a free flow of ideas and therefore his aides had little more than hunches about what the president was actually thinking.

In fact, what he said, in his meeting with President Bush, which lasted about an hour, he spoke and the president just listened and listened and listened. He said it was more like a monologue than a dialogue.

Interesting, of course, that Paul O'Neill was summarily fired in effect by President Bush just about a year and a half ago. So these words coming out fast and furious, Wolf, buy it will be interesting to see if they have lasting impact.

BLITZER: All right. Kathleen Hays with that. Very interesting. Thank very much for that report. And this note to our viewers, Ron Suskind, the co-author of the book "The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House and the Education of Paul O'Neill" will be on among my guests on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS this coming Tuesday.

Tale of the tape, controversial video of presidential candidate, Howard Dean, surfaces a week shy of the Iowa caucuses. Is it dirty politics or fair game?

Mountain mauling, one person attacked, another dead. We'll have the story of this nightmare.

And Walter Cronkite's commentary, today's news seen through the eyes of the veteran TV journalist. My special interview with Walter Cronkite later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Damage control, passwords come back to haunt Democratic frontrunner Howard Dean. We'll get to that. First, though, a quick check of the latest headlines.

In a bid to stamp out mad cow disease, the Canadian government says it will spend $72 million over five years to expand dramatically the testing of cattle. 30,000 cattle are to be tested, up from the current figure of 5500. A Washington state cow found to have mad cow disease has been traced to a farm in Alberta.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger used tough words such as painful and sacrifice in unveiling his first budget today. The $99 billion plan calls for cutting billions of dollars from public health and welfare programs. Schwarzenegger did not propose new taxes but requested higher tuition fees for college students.

Howard Dean has done it again, the front running Democratic presidential hopeful is being slammed by opponents and critics over remarks he made as governor of Vermont a few years ago. Less than flattering remarks shall we say about the key upcoming Iowa caucuses.

Dean's comments were made on Canadian television and the tapes were obtained by NBC News.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Howard Dean's focus clearly on the weeks ahead. Caucuses and primaries that will change the course of his career and his party's future. But now, he faces the dilemma which snagged so many other candidates in the barbed wire of politics. His past. Specifically, comments he made on an obscure public affairs program in Canada. In a series of appearances in 2000, while he was still governor of Vermont, slamming the same Iowa caucuses he's now desperately trying to win.

GOV. HOWARD DEAN, (D-VT) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you look at the caucuses system, they are dominated by the special interests in both sides and both parties. But I can't stand there listening to everybody else's opinion for 8 hours about how to fix the world.

BLITZER: The comments reappear at a critical time, with the caucuses less than ten days away. Recent polls show Dean's lead in the state is eroding. The candidate now closest to him in Iowa, not one to squander such an opportunity.

REP. RICHARD GEPHARDT, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Remarks he made about the Iowa caucuses, to me, are unbelievable. It would lead one to believe that he is cynically participating in these caucuses.

BLITZER: Voters in the Hawkeye state react with some bitterness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think it's a bunch of baloney. That's my opinion, it's just a bunch of baloney. He don't know us people here in this part of the country.

BLITZER: And understanding.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It didn't bother me, and it seemed interesting it's so close to caucus time that they are drumming up these things.

BLITZER: The candidate himself on Judy Woodruff's INSIDE POLITICS attempts to put the remarks in perspective.

DEAN: Had I known then what I know now about the Iowa caucus of course I wouldn't have said that, but you learn.

BLITZER: Dean's resilience in the wake of other controversial remarks is something of a phenomenon on the campaign trail. Almost on cue today, after his three-year-old ruminations on the Iowa caucuses splattered over the air waves, he gets a crucial endorsement in Iowa from Democratic Senator Tom Harkin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: With dean still viewed as the front-runner, the other Democratic candidates are fighting to emerge as the main alternative to Dean. Here's today's look at campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Seeing a surge in support, Wesley Clark continues hitting hard in New Hampshire today. New polls show he's now moved to second place there. Clark campaigns in Wisconsin and North Dakota on Saturday.

WESLEY CLARK, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: George Bush is leading us in all the wrong directions.

BLITZER: Long enough for a quick breakfast and lunch, Richard Gephardt campaigned in New Hampshire today before heading back to Iowa where he'll attend several countdown to victory events this weekend.

Pushing his populous message John Edwards spent the early part of the day looking to connect with New Hampshire voters. He holds a town hall meeting in Nashua this evening before heading to Iowa for the weekend.

JOE LIEBERMAN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hello, everybody!

BLITZER: Protecting privacy and promoting government openness, that's Joe Lieberman's message as he unveiled a new plan to voters. The Senator continues campaigning in New Hampshire this weekend.

And sure, it's no Tom Harkin, but John Kerry will take all the endorsements he can get. Steadily support in Iowa, Kerry today received the backing of state Secretary-General Tom Miller.

And that's today's look at 2004 presidential candidates on the trail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Earlier today I spoke with Senator Joe Lieberman about his bid for the White House. I began by asking him about his strategy for the campaign's first primary in New Hampshire on January 27th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My strategy is to offer voters in the Democratic primaries a choice, a better way between George, on one side, and some of the candidates of the Democratic primary, on the other.

I'm a mainstream Democrat. I'm socially progressive, pro-jobs, in the tradition of Bill Clinton, and strong on security. And I think that's exactly the kind of person America needs to be its president now. It's the only kind of Democrat that can beat George W. Bush in the fall.

BLITZER: Well, what is the strategy for New Hampshire? How do you have to do in New Hampshire to remain viable after that first-in- the-nation primary?

LIEBERMAN: Wolf, the primary schedule is beginning in Iowa and New Hampshire, but it's not going to end here. This is not a sprint; it's going to be a longer marathon.

My goal here in the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary is to do better than expected. I started out way down, and we're coming up. I' working here very hard. I'm meeting a lot of people. I'm carrying my message of confidence and hope and opportunity for the future, and of unification.

I'm saying to people: You can't beat the extremism and polarization of George Bush with polarization and anger of our own. We've got to get together and present a constructive program, and that's what I'm doing.

BLITZER: Does that mean you have to come in at least third in New Hampshire, or fourth? Would you accept a fifth, and still stay in the race?

LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, we're going to -- nice try, Wolf. We're going to try and do better than expected. And I wouldn't rule anything out.

This is a remarkably open race right now in New Hampshire. We're seeing the voters here take it very seriously, and they're taking a second look at Howard Dean, John Kerry, and as a result, a second look at a lot of other candidates here.

So I feel like we're building to something that's going to end up very strong on January 27th.

BLITZER: On February 3rd, the week after New Hampshire, there are a whole bunch of contests. Are there some, in particular, that you expect to win right now? a LIEBERMAN: Well, I'm not going to call any. But look, I hope to and believe I will win some primaries on February 3rd. That's exactly the strategy -- better than expected as a start in New Hampshire and then go on to the South, Midwest, West, and win some of the primaries or finish real high, and then, to be in the finals, with whoever else makes it through February and into March.

I'm having a great time. I'm committed to the program I have. And I'm very optimistic about how we're going to do.

BLITZER: Would you be ready to accept the vice presidential running mate slot once again?

LIEBERMAN: No. That's a -- it was a great experience, particularly since I believe we won the election. But it's, for me, a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I want to run for president and be president, but not vice president.

BLITZER: So you're making a Shermanesque type of statement, along the lines of Wesley Clark, that under no circumstances will you be Howard Dean or any other Democratic presidential nominee's running mate?

LIEBERMAN: That is absolutely correct. Liebermanesque, if not Shermanesque.

BLITZER: All right. Let's talk about Howard Dean for a moment.

He made some controversial comments years ago about the Iowa caucuses, comments that could embarrass him this time around with some of the voters out in Iowa.

What do you make of Howard Dean and the surge, the popularity he's clearly generated among many of your fellow Democrats?

LIEBERMAN: Well, first off, I cannot resist saying that I'm glad the Canadian broadcasters kept those tapes of Howard. Because if they had been part of his gubernatorial records, we never would have seen them because they're sealed up by Howard Dean himself. That's quite embarrassing.

Actually, I got a kick out of what he said, because it sounded like a lot of what I've been saying: You've got to avoid extremism. When you agree with the interest groups in the Democratic Party, all well and good, but don't feel obliged to do that. Say what you think is right for the country, regardless of whether it's politically controversial or not.

And that's what I've been doing all my career and also in this election campaign year.

BLITZER: He's lining up, Howard Dean, lots of endorsement, some formidable people, some of your former friends and colleagues: of course, Al Gore, former Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey, now Tom Harkin, the Democratic senator from Iowa. He's really getting endorsements that you certainly would have liked.

LIEBERMAN: Well, again, I can't help but say that Howard spent most of the year campaigning against Washington insiders. And now he's bringing out a group of Washington insiders to support his candidacy.

Look, endorsements are great for a day, when they make the news. But I'll tell you what I find in New Hampshire and everywhere else I go in the country: People are not going to let politicians or polls or pundits pick their next president. The people are going to do it themselves. And they're going to make up their own mind about who they think can keep them safe and give them help here that's affordable and make their lives better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Joe Lieberman, speaking with me earlier today. More on my interview with the senator coming up this Sunday on "LATE EDITION" Sunday, noon Eastern.

A horrifying attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Picked up a rock and threw it at his face, hit it in his head once. Then, I was yelling for somebody to get on the phone. I noticed nobody had a cell phone, so I then pulled out my cell phone, started making calls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A mountain lion mauls two bicyclists in California and a body is found nearby. What insight can he gives on the nature of the mountain lion? I'll speak live with animal enthusiast Jack Hanna.

The way it is. Hear legendary journalist Walter Cronkite's views on today's news, space travel, much more, all of that coming up.

First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): Kashmir attack. At least 15 people were wounded when a grenade exploded at a mosque during prayer services. No one has claimed responsibility. It comes just two days after India and Pakistan announced plans for major talks on the disputed territory of Kashmir and other key issues.

Gadhafi's moves to the West. Libya will pay $170 million to families of victims of a French passenger jet bombing 15 years ago. Six Libyans were blamed for the 1989 bombing which killed all 170 people on board the plane. The agreement is the latest move by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi aimed at improving relations with the West.

Violent protests in Haiti. A strike called by Haiti's opposition closed has most stores and banks for a second straight day in the capital, Port-au-Prince. At least three people were killed and dozens injured Wednesday, when thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets, demanding President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to step down.

Australia's fires. Wildfires season is under way down under. Several fires are burning near Sydney. Officials say the fires were deliberately started. So far, no reports of injuries or damaged homes.

Ahoy, mate. It's the London Boat Show, featuring hundreds of vessels of all shapes and sizes, but something not sighted, a yellow submarine.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Earlier we asked, would should you avoid doing if you spot a mountain lion? The answer, crouch. According to the National Forest Service, being larger and louder will discourage predatory behavior.

A woman is in serious condition at a Southern California hospital, after a terrifying attack by a mountain lion. The woman was biking with a friend through an Orange County wilderness park, when the attack took place. Her friend saw it all.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This guy would not let go. He had ahold of her face.

BLITZER (voice-over): Two women were riding bikes at the Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park just before dusk when the mountain lion attacked. DEBBIE NICHOLS, FRIEND OF ATTACK VICTIM: This mountain lion jumped on her back, started dragging her. So I grabbed his leg. And he dragged us down probably, I don't know, maybe 100 yards down into the brush. And I just kept screaming.

BLITZER: Other cyclists heard the screams, rushed to the scene and started pelting the animal with rocks.

MIKE CASTELLANO, WITNESS: It took three rocks the size of almost soccer balls to get this thing to move. And we hit square it with those rocks.

BLITZER: One of the women was rushed to the hospital. The Orange County Sheriff's Department shot and killed the mountain lion believed to have been responsible, but not without making a grim discovery.

They found the body of a man identified as 35-year-old Mark Jeffrey Reynolds of Foothill Ranch, California, who may have been the victim of a similar attack.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The investigation continues at this hour into the death of Mr. Reynolds. Authorities also continue to review the attack on the woman.

Wildlife expert Jack Hanna is the host of "Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures" and the director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo. Jack Hanna is joining us now live from Columbus.

Jack, thanks very much for joining us. For our viewers who may see that cat next to you, tell us what it is.

JACK HANNA, HOST, "JACK HANNA'S ANIMAL ADVENTURES": Well, Wolf, the reason I have a cheetah here is, a cheetah is a similar size as a mountain lion. I wanted people to see what size cat we're talking about.

Some people think they are like a lion or a tiger that weigh 400 or 500 pounds. They don't. They weight anywhere from 90 pounds to 130, 140 pounds. This is about the size of a mountain lion here. Plus, the cheetah and the mountain lion sometimes in a way kill similarly, although the mountain lion can leap about 24 feet. They have great leaping ability, which the cheetah can't.

They both approach the neck as far as a kill is made. So that's one way these cats kill. A tiger, for example, just can break the backbone of any animal they attack, as well as a lion, an African lion. But these cats -- the mountain lion being the largest carnivore -- or cat -- I'm sorry -- on the North American continent. It's the largest cat. And, of course, the cheetah is from Africa.

But I just wanted to show you this as far as size is concerned. As far as what happened, Wolf, it's still hard for me to believe that four people were around this area when this mountain lion attacked these people.

BLITZER: Well, let me -- let me get to that in a moment. But this cheetah viewers that is next to you, a lot of viewers are probably a little concerned it's so close to you. How worried should they be?

HANNA: Well, obviously, if a mountain lion is near you -- the cheetah is one we work with, so I can't compare it to the cheetah.

But as far as a mountain lion and people going out in the woods, that's the last thing you really have to worry about. It's like getting struck by lightning. But if you are approached by a lion like this -- when I go hiking in Montana, if I'm going into grizzly territory, I usually take two to three other people with me. I've never really seen them, except at a distance.

But I know do that there's never been a grizzly attack on more than four people. Now, as far as a mountain lion is concerned, there was an accident or a death in California several years ago, where a young lady jogging was attacked and killed by a mountain lion.

So all these cats and -- and I don't know the necropsies or what has happened with this -- are either injured, they're sick, they're old, older cats that cannot kill on their own. The last thing a mountain lion wants to see, Wolf, is a person. They're the most skittish. They are a solitary cat. They're very, very afraid of human beings. I've being doing this for 30 years. I've only seen two mountain lions in my entire lifetime. And those were at a distance.

BLITZER: Well, the fact that this mountain lion went after two bicyclists, two people apparently at the same time, you're suggesting that is unusual?

HANNA: Yes.

I've never heard about it, a mountain lion attacking two people, unless you are a hunter and or maybe you have one cornered up a tree or something, where the animal has no choice. You're talking about somebody on bicycles. I don't even know if they were riding their bikes. Plus, my understanding is, they passed by two other guys that then came up and helped with the situation.

So now you've got four people and then you've got another man that's dead in the woods somewhere. So I'm just wondering what is going on here. To me -- and I've been working with animals all my life -- we're dealing with a lot of people here and an animal that had to be pretty large to drag this person, along this other young lady holding on to the feet. It's an amazing thing to me that this has happened.

But, obviously, these animals are losing habitat and territory. And so they're being encroached on. I want people to understand, don't go out and think you got to go hunt mountain lions and all that type of thing because this one thing happened. It's an accident that happened. And, hopefully, it will never happen again in that area. -

BLITZER: Do you suspect that the man found dead not far from the scene also was killed by this mountain lion?

HANNA: Well, from what I have heard -- again, I haven't seen anything or seen the body or anything -- but it sounds like he was. The cat is protecting his prey.

I don't know if the person that was killed was partially eaten. I don't know any of the details of all this. But, you know, hopefully, we'll know the answer to that question very shortly.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: I was going to suggest, unless you want to finish that thought. Finish your thought.

HANNA: Well, my thought is, this may sound gory to people, but I can't judge it until I see what has happened to the man that was attacked, or maybe eaten. I don't know.

A lot of cats, for example, a tiger -- a tiger, when it eats, it will actually kill its prey and it will actually bury the rest of the prey and come back and eat it in two weeks. They will eat putrefied meat. A lot of cats will not do that. An African lion, for example, will eat until it gets full, leave just a little bit for the hyenas and the vultures.

Cats have different eating abilities in how they leave their unfinished prey. I don't know what this cat, how much it had eaten or why it would even attack another person.

BLITZER: Jack Hanna, as usual, always some useful information. One very, very brief bit of advice for our viewers. If they get into the vicinity of a mountain lion like this, we told them earlier, they shouldn't crouch, but what else should they do?

HANNA: They should look big.

What you want to do is, you can never outrun -- for example, a grizzly bear can run a football field in six seconds, a black bear in about 12 seconds. So you're not going to outrun them. So, as a last resort, what you have to do is, get sticks or whatever you can, go like this, make a lot of noise. And that's your best way to do it, period, if you're by yourself. You're not going to do much luck climbing a tree.

BLITZER: Jack Hanna of the Columbus Zoo, as usual, thanks very much for joining us. Very, very useful information for all of our viewers out there, especially those viewers who like to get outside.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Right now, one of the friends of the victim in this incident involving the mountain lion is speaking out.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS) NICHOLS: I heard Anne yelling.

And as I came around a corner, there was a mountain lion on her back. And he -- he had his arms around her neck. And so, when I got off my bike, I threw it at him, hoping that that would alarm him in some way. But he continued to start to drag her off of the trail. So I -- I just grabbed her leg. And as we went down the hill, I just held on and screamed as loud as I could, and had hoped that some of the bikers that we had seen earlier would -- would hear me.

BLITZER: That's Debbie Nichols speaking out about her friend, the incident, very sad incident, involving that mountain lion.

Man on the moon, a new mission for the U.S. space program. But is it worth the price?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALTER CRONKITE, JOURNALIST: We've got so much that needs to be done on Earth here, where our budget is so limited today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The veteran journalist Walter Cronkite, who anchored coverage of the flight of Apollo 11, weighs in on the latest developments in space, as well as what's happening on Earth.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Three decades after the last giant leap, President Bush wants Americans to return to the moon, and perhaps beyond. Officials say he'll announce a new mission for the U.S. space program next week.

It would start with renewed space shuttle flights and lead to a manned moon landing by the year 2018. Goals include a permanent moon base and ultimately a manned mission to Mars. Officials say Mr. Bush is unlikely to be very specific about the costs involved. But the White House stressed today that he is -- quote -- "strongly committed to the exploration of space.

Here's your turn to weigh in on this important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this: Do you agree with President Bush's plan to launch human missions to the moon and Mars? You can vote right now. Go to CNN.com/Wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast. But while you're, there I'd love to hear from you. Send me your comments. I'll try to read some of them on the air each day at the end of this program. That's also where you can read my daily online column, CNN.com/Wolf.

For many Americans, Walter Cronkite was an informative and enthusiastic guide to the space program. He also took us through the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War, and many, many presidential campaigns. As the "CBS Evening News" anchor for two decades, he was labeled the most trusted man in America. He was known for his sign-off, "And that's the way it is."

And a short while ago, I spoke with Walter Cronkite about the way it is today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Walter Cronkite, as always, an honor, a pleasure to have you on our program. Thanks so much for joining us.

As you well know, and as so many of our viewers remember, you were the voice of when the space program really got going in the '60s and man landed on the moon. What's going through your mind now, as the prospect of President Bush announcing yet another effort to send a man to the moon and maybe beyond to Mars?

CRONKITE: Well, obviously, we should all be excited about that possibility, although I think, quite honestly, the possibility is much dimmer than it sounds, as the president looks forward to it.

It's very expensive. We know that our budget is badly stretched right now to handle just the necessities here on Earth. And the expenditures necessary to get to the moon, perhaps establish a permanent station on the moon, which we have to do someday, but whether that's around the corner, I think is somewhat doubtful.

BLITZER: Would you recommend that the president go forward and the Congress appropriate the significant funds that would be required to do precisely that?

CRONKITE: Well, of course, if Congress believes that we can afford to do it, why, let's go ahead and try.

But it seems just doubtful to me. We've got so much that needs to be done on Earth here, where our budget is so limited today. I don't see how key can put on top of that the vast expenditures of putting a man back on the moon, of setting up a colony on the moon, and then, jumping from there, we hope, out to Mars. That is a vast expenditure, probably just as much as the entire space program has taken up to now. And we know that that has not been cheap.

BLITZER: Let's talk about some of the expenditures required on issues involving what's happening right here on Earth, like Iraq, for example.

Is this money well spent to maintain the U.S. military presence there and to try to get the job done?

CRONKITE: Well, I don't know. You have to judge whether it is well spent by how necessary it is to finish the job that we have started, fortunately or unfortunately, in Iraq.

And the general feeling is, I think, among the American people, you don't cut and run. But, on the other hand, the continuing expense gets larger all the time. And the cost of what is more important, the blood of the American soldiers who are having to try to keep the peace there and establish the peace there is just monumental.

BLITZER: When President Johnson heard you say on CBS News, raise some questions about Vietnam, he began to suspect it was all over as far as U.S. policy in Vietnam was concerned. Do you see any similarities between Vietnam and Iraq?

CRONKITE: I see quite a lot of similarity of the two.

They're both different sorts of war that we were used to or planned for. In the case of Vietnam, it was guerrilla warfare in the jungles of Vietnam. In this case, it's guerrilla warfare in the deserts of Iraq. And they're both vastly different than the kind of war we had prepared for in advance of those experiences.

BLITZER: Do you have confidence in the American news media right now, in the way we covered the war, the lead-up to the war, the actual war, and the aftermath?

CRONKITE: I think the way we have covered the war and the aftermath is satisfactory.

I think we're doing the best we can under the circumstances in a very awkward situation. And I think that we are doing that job. Whether we did enough in preparing the American people for this war, and even covering the Senate debate which led us to this war, I think is highly doubtful. I think that could have been covered with a great deal more urgency, sense of urgency, that we were voting in the Senate to give the president this blanket power to go war as he chose.

That was almost a violation, it seems to me, of the need for the American people to know, for the need of the American people to be polled on the situation. The Senate did not, it seems to me, do that job well.

BLITZER: I know you've been critical of the war, the lead-up to the war, since the war. When you take a look at the Democratic presidential candidates out there, who do you like?

CRONKITE: Well, I'd like to wait and see them in action as this -- the voting begins.

It's going to be very tough for all of them, of course. The situation seems to be leading right now to, of course, the former governor of Vermont. But there's much to be done yet before the caucuses take place next week, the next week or two, in Iowa, a week after that, a vote in New Hampshire. Those are not typical states, of course, in the United States. Neither is an industrial state.

Neither has a large minority population. So they're not representative of what will be found as they get down deeper into the -- the more populous, the more important industrial states.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Walter Cronkite speaking with me earlier today.

On the auction block. Extra special eggs expected to crack open big wallets.

And our hot "Web Question of the Day" is this: Do you agree with President Bush's plan to launch human missions to the moon and Mars? Vote right now, CNN.com/Wolf. The results when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Here's how you're weighing in our "Web Question of the Day." take a look at this, pretty close, not actually that close, 59- 41. This is not, repeat, not a scientific poll.

For our picture of the day, we're going to give you a glimpse at the largest collection of Faberge eggs outside the Kremlin. These glittering egg-shaped treasures are among about 200 Faberge creations collected by the late publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes scheduled to go on the auction block in April. The collection is expected to go for more than $90 million. So you may want to settle for this quick look. Take a look, quickly. There it is.

A reminder: We're on weekdays 5:00 p.m. Eastern, as well as noon Eastern. Tune in Sunday, "LATE EDITION," the last word in Sunday talk. Among my guests, the former Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole.

Until then, thanks very much for joining us.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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