Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Will Edwards Survive Super Tuesday?; Over 100 Dead in Series of Bombings in Iraq; Interview With Dick Cheney
Aired March 02, 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.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now -- will he survive Super Tuesday, or will tonight be John Edwards's last stand?
We're getting new information, exit poll information from states around the country. Stand by for hard news and my special interview with the vice president, Dick Cheney, on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Super Tuesday -- ten states at stake.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Never trusted polling. I've said that when I'm behind, I say it when I'm ahead.
BLITZER: Is it the final showdown?
Holy day horror. Scores are dead in a series of bombings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we've seen today in these attacks are desperation moves by al Qaeda affiliated groups.
BLITZER: I'll go one on one with Vice President Dick Cheney, from Iraq to Haiti's ex-president.
BLITZER: So you're happy he's gone?
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm happy he's gone.
BLITZER: To a gay marriage amendment.
Do you support it?
CHENEY: I support the president.
BLITZER: But will he be his running mate?
Tanker tragedy...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on fire! may day, may day!
BLITZER: A last call for help from a stricken ship.
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, Super Tuesday. Live from CNN's election headquarters. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Right now, millions of voters are deciding which Democrat they want to go up against -- they want to go up against president in November. At stake, 1,151 delegates, more than half that are needed to clinch the nomination. For the front-runner John Kerry, it could be a huge day if he sweeps all the contests. For his main rival, John Edwards this could be a make-or-break day. These voters cast ballots here in Atlanta, Georgia.
Both Kerry and Edwards began the day in Atlanta. Voters in New York City have a native son on the ballot. The Reverend Al Sharpton. But he's not expected to make much of a dent in the big bloc of delegates up for grabs in the Empire state.
These voters in Los Angeles will help decide who wins today's biggest prize, California's 370 delegates.
We have complete coverage of the campaigns. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is over at Kerry headquarters in Washington. Our national correspondent Kelly Wallace is in Atlanta with the latest on the Edwards campaign. And CNN's Kathleen Koch is joining us live from the White House on what the president is doing amidst all of that. Those reports coming up in just a moment. But this just into CNN. Brand new information we're getting right now from our exit polls. For that, we turn to our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. What are we learning from the early exit poll numbers?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: What we're learning is that there is an enormous diversity of Democratic sentiment across the country. We've got states voting -- we saw this on this map -- in the east, the Midwest, the south and the west the whole spectrum of the Democratic party.
Take a look at how different the states are. In New York and California, on the two coasts, a majority of Democrats in those coasts describe themselves as liberal. In Ohio, major Midwestern battleground state, fewer than half, 42 percent call themselves liberal and here in Georgia, a southern state just over a third of the Democrat voting here in Georgia call themselves liberal.
The big test, the reason why Super Tuesday is important. Can any candidate -- presumably that would be John Kerry -- unite Democrats across this diverse spectrum, across the United States, or will the Democrats divide between Kerry and Edwards and the race go on, and the division of the Democratic party get bigger than it is? How big is it? We'll discuss it in a little while.
BLITZER: We have a full night to look at all these numbers as they are coming in. The polls begin to close 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Bill Schneider, thank you very much.
Let's get back to the candidates. The front-runner John Kerry looking to add to his already big lead in the all-important delegate count. He's racked up 771 delegates in winning 19 before contests today. Candy Crowley joins us live from the Kerry headquarters in Washington -- Candy.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The last time I saw the senator, I asked him what he was going to do this afternoon, and he said wash a little laundry. Somehow I doubt that but we can tell you what he did do today, and that is he started out in Atlanta, Georgia, doing as he always does on election day talking to some voters. In this case, he was at a truck depot talking to some teamsters about jobs.
Very relaxed, Senator Kerry as he went to get on the plane, tossing the football around as he has started to do on occasion when he travels around the country. Then it was back to his day job, he had to come back to the U.S. Senate to vote on extending the ban on assault weapons. He voted yes, of course, for the extension, and that puts him here tonight, not where he expected to be but he's expecting a pretty good night -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Candy Crowley at the Kerry campaign headquarters in Washington.
John Edwards admits that at some point he has to start winning some contests. Before today he's won only one victory, that would be the South Carolina primary almost a month ago. He has only 221 delegates as of right now. For more on the Edwards campaign let's bring in national correspondent Kelly Wallace -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, heading into tonight, John Edwards' advisers thought their best chances for victory would be here in Georgia and also in Minnesota. But if John Edwards doesn't pull off any victories tonight, he is likely to be facing some very tough decisions.
The senator is back in Atlanta now. This after he headed to the nation's capital earlier today along with John Kerry to vote on some gun control legislation there. He didn't do any interviews or talk to any reporters and it was the same situation earlier this morning when he was greeting some supporters outside a suburban Atlanta polling place. The senator has said that he will stay on the race until he is the nominee but Wolf, if he and his aides decide that that is not possible, then ultimately he'll have to make other decisions -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll have to see what John Edwards does. First we'll wait and see how he does tonight. Thank you very much for that.
We've emphasized the race between John Kerry and John Edwards so far but let's not forget the other two Democratic candidates in the Super Tuesday contest. Dennis Kucinich voted this morning in his home state of Ohio. He was at the polls early in Cleveland. And the Reverend Al Sharpton cast his ballot in New York City. Both men are campaigning in their home states today. It will be interesting to see how they do in their home states. President Bush meanwhile, was in a sense, campaigning as well on his record, touting the war against terrorism, which he said the United States is winning. The president spoke over at the Department of Homeland Security, on this, the first anniversary of that department. Let's go live to CNN's Kathleen Koch over at the White House -- Kathleen. KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president spoke to 200 employees and this is an agency that he initially opposed the creation of thinking that the nation didn't need a massive new bureau to protect it from terrorism. Obviously he had a change of heart. Thanked the employees today for a job well done and touted what has become one of his campaign's major focuses, that the president is leading and winning the war on terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're relentless. We are strong. We refuse to yield. Some two-thirds of al Qaeda's key leaders have been captured or killed. The rest of them hear us breathing down their neck. We're after them, we will not relent. We'll bring these killers to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: And the president today on this Super Tuesday definitely is thinking politics. On Thursday he will roll out his very first ad campaign, it will be running in 15 to 17 states that were, well, let's call them squeakers back in 2000, decided by very narrow margin and the campaign aide says that the 4.5 million ad will be positive, not going negative just yet -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Kathleen Koch over at the White House. Thank you.
Still to come this hour, my one-on-one interview with the vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney. I was over at White House earlier today for that. Questions and answers you won't want to miss. Hear what the vice president is saying about a wide range of issues, including same-sex marriage, weapons of mass destruction, Haiti's future, the war on terrorism, the economy and much more. That's coming up later this hour. Joining us right now here for his assessment of what's going on, our political analyst Carlos Watson. What are you looking for, Carlos?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There are four states where I think stand out. The first is Minnesota. I think we've got to tune in and see what the Deaniacs do in the caucus. If they turn out in high numbers and ultimately support John Edwards, that could make a real difference and Edwards could have a surprise win.
Second we turn to New York, what is significant in the home state how does Al Sharpton do? In five or six congressional districts they have Africa-American and Latino populations. Does he do well? Perhaps take away from John Kerry's vote and ultimately provide a closer race than we otherwise might have gotten.
Third in Georgia, what happens to Independents. An open primary there in the south where John Edwards is from. Next door neighbor to the only state he's won, which is South Carolina. We'll be very curious to see what happens there.
And in Maryland we have a little bit of a flip. It's a place where John Edwards' strongest support comes not from among white voters actually but from African-American voters particularly in the D.C. suburbs, Prince George's county, where he won the endorsement of Al Wynn, the local congressman there. Will there be a strong African- American vote turn out? If there is, maybe we'll get a little bit of a shocker in Maryland. We remember in 1992 Maryland went with Paul Tsongas. Remember that eight years before that, they went with Gary Hart. So they don't always go with the front-runner. And those are four things that are on my political cheat sheet if you will.
BLITZER: Carlos' cheat sheet. Thanks very much, Carlos. We'll be checking back with you throughout the night on CNN as well.
And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this very important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this, are Super Tuesday contest with so many delegate at stake unfair to voters in other states? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.
The former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide says the U.S. forced him to leave Haiti in a coup. Today, the Vice President Dick Cheney fired right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Suggestion that somehow the United States arrested him or forcibly put him on an aircraft (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BLITZER: So you're happy he's gone?
CHENEY: I'm happy he's gone, I think the Haitian people are better off for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What the vice president is saying about Haiti's future, same-sex marriage, and if we should expect a change in a Bush-Cheney ticket that's coming up in November. My special interview with the vice president, that will be on.
A series of suicide bombings and explosions turn a day of religious celebration into chaos. In Iraq, who's being targeted this time?
Plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on fire!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Mayday, mayday. A chemical tanker explodes and sinks off Virginia. We're learning new information about those final desperate moments. We'll have it for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: This was the horrific scene in the Iraqi city of Karbala where bombs ripped through crowds of worshipers. There were similar scenes at nearly the same time 50 miles away in Baghdad where the targets were again Shi'ite Muslims gathered for a holy day. Coalition authorities put the death toll at 58 in Baghdad, 85 in Karbala. But with hundreds more hurt, the numbers could rise.
CNN's Brent Sadler is in Karbala joining us live -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Wolf. This day of prayer and peril has now drawn to a close. But doctors on the ground here tell us that as many as 400 pilgrims were either killed or injured after the series of deadly explosions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER (voice-over): The holiest of days for Shi'a Muslims in Karbala. A blood-soaked ritual in part, symbolizing self-sacrifice in ages old tradition. But tradition turned to violent outrage when a series of bombs detonated among masses of pilgrims spilling more of their blood on the streets of this holy city.
All roads leading to Karbala were packed with worshipers when the bombs went off creating carnage and chaos. This was the scene of devastation, seconds after one of the blasts, triggered to explode among a crush of people. The dead and dying are scattered across a dusty street. Many of these motionless victims are unrecognizable.
Helpers wheel the casualties in wooden carts, normally used to carry elderly pilgrims. But even as they struggled to help the injured yet more blasts were heard, sparking panic, and word spread that suicide bombers might have got through the security cordons.
But at this stage no one knew where, how many, or if for certain they were here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER: One quote stands out in my mind from this tragic day. It comes from a hospital administrator asked who he thought the bombers might be. He told us, I don't know, but they're not human, whatever their political background -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brent Sadler reporting from Baghdad. Brent, thank you very much.
There was another bloody massacre of Shi'ites today in Pakistan. At least 38 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when gunmen attacked a procession of worshipers in the southwest city of Kveta (ph). The attack triggered rioting, a curfew was imposed and the military was called into maintain order.
Just two days after Haiti's president resigned and flew into exile and one day after his own forces rolled into the capital. A key rebel leader says he's in charge. Let's go live to CNN's Lucia Newman joining us in the capital of Port-au-Prince -- Lucia. LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. After several days of wondering what were the intentions of the Haitian rebels now that President Aristide is gone, today the rebel commander, Guy Philippe, made it very clear. He said had now appointed himself the new leader of the police. Let's hear what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUY PHILIPPE, REBEL HAITIAN LEADER: Aristide went into exile, was well arranged. Now we have problem with the police force because Aristide name them. They don't know anything about police and security. They just ousted guys.
So we have the base of the police because almost 90 person of the police is with us now. They're working together and try to take the right decision.
NEWMAN: But who is in control? There has to be a chief, a rein of command as you know.
PHILIPPE: From today I'll be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWMAN: The U.S. Marines are continuing to patrol the city today. They were at the port after three days of looting. But they had made no attempt to disarmament rebels, the rebels who now say they respect the authority of the interim government although Guy Philippe warned the interim president that unless he allowed the army to be reestablished in this country, he could suffer the same fate as the former President Aristide -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Lucia Newman in Port-au-Prince. Lucia, thank you very much. Thanks for all the excellent work.
Coming up, my special interview with the vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Is there any doubt whatsoever that you will be on the ticket with the president?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: We'll have tough questions for the vice president on everything ranging from weapons of mass destruction -- where are they? -- to same-sex marriage. The special interview, that's just ahead.
And a political battle on Capitol Hill. What does the future hold for gun laws?
Is Martha Stewart too smart to be guilty? The defense for the celebrity homemaker delivers closing arguments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Fireworks today on Capitol Hill as new gun legislation once expected to pass goes down do defeat in the U.S. Senate. Our congressional correspondent Joe Johns is standing by live on Capitol Hill. He has the story -- Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the vote was 90-8 to kill a bill that would have helped protect gun sellers and gun makers from lawsuits. The twist is the National Rifle Association at the end of the day opposed the bill because gun control advocates succeeded in attaching a series of amendments including a renewal of the assault weapons ban, also a requirement to do background checks on people buying guns at gun shows. Senator Larry Craig, the floor manager of the bill, told his colleagues to scuttle it at the very end of debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LARRY CRAIG (R), IDAHO: I'd love to see this bill passed, but I now believe it is so dramatically wounded that it should not pass, and I would urge my colleagues to vote against it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The bill also brought Democratic candidates John Kerry and John Edwards back to the Capitol for votes today. Kerry used the opportunity on the floor of the U.S. Senate to attack the president for backing the assault weapons ban but not wanting it included on the bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: President Bush promised the American people that he would work to renew the assault weapons ban. But now, under pressure, he's walking away from that commitment as he has from so many other promises, from education, to the environment, to the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The assault weapons ban expires in September. Kerry's return today was quickly seized on by Republicans as an opportunity to point out some of the other votes he has missed while campaigning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R), PENNSYLVANIA: Notice he wasn't here for the Medicare prescription drug vote or for the energy vote or for a lot of other votes, but it was so important he come back and vote on the assault weapons ban.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: We may not yet have heard the last of this. An e-mail sent out today by Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association opposing the bill on final passage said this vote on final passage is a key vote for the NRA and will be used in our future evaluations and endorsements of candidates for the U.S. Senate -- Wolf. BLITZER: Joe Johns on Capitol Hill covering this story for us. Thank you very much.
One on one with the vice president, Dick Cheney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: But they found no stockpiles.
CHENEY: Have not yet found stockpiles.
BLITZER: You think they still will?
CHENEY: Don't know. They still have a lot of work to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: We'll talk about Iraq, talk about his status as the president's running mate. My in-depth interview coming up.
Also a call for help at sea. We're learning new information right now about the final moments of that doomed tanker.
And a loss for the sports world. The controversial owner of the Cincinnati Reds dies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. From the war on terror to problems in Iraq to the economy right here at home, hear what the vice president of the United States has to say. My special interview with Dick Cheney straight ahead. We'll get to that. First a quick check of the latest headlines.
The Justice Department has indicted former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers on criminal federal charges. Ebbers is accused of defrauding the public in the telecom giant's $11 billion accounting scandal. A second person indicted former CFO Scott Sullivan pleaded guilty to three charges, he's expected to cooperate in the federal case against Ebbers.
Martha Stewart's defense attorney says the celebrity homemaker is simply too smart to be guilty. In closing arguments in the federal obstruction trial of Stewart and her ex-stockbroker, attorney Robert Morvillo said if the pair did plot to conceal facts surrounding the sale of Imclone stock, it was quote, "a conspiracy of dunces." Jury deliberations are expected to begin tomorrow.
Marge Schott has died. The controversial former controlling owner of the Cincinnati Reds died today at a hospital in Cincinnati. She'd been undergoing treatment there for breathing difficulties over the past several weeks. The salty-tongued, chain-smoking Marge Schott owned controlling interest in the Reds until 1999, but retained a minority interest. Marge Schott was 75.
We're getting new information just in. Let's go back to our CNN senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.
New election exit poll numbers showing us what?
SCHNEIDER: Well, we have a showdown today, Super Tuesday, between John Edwards and John Kerry in 10 states all over the country.
So here's a question? How divided of the Democrats? Well, we asked voters in this Democratic primaries would you be satisfied if John Kerry, the front-runner, turns out to be the Democratic nominee. And look at this. In California, more than three-quarters of John Edwards' voters said they'd be satisfied with Kerry. In New York, 62 percent satisfied. Ohio and Maryland, both states, a majority of Democrats say they would be satisfied if John Kerry wins the Democratic nomination.
So, if John Edwards gets votes, it's not particularly an anti- Kerry vote. The answer to the question how divided are the Democrats is, not very.
BLITZER: All right, we'll be watching that, more numbers coming in every hour. We'll stand by for the poll closings, of course, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Thanks very much, Bill, for that.
Earlier today, while in Washington, I sat down with the vice president, Dick Cheney, for a special one-on-one interview. The vice president spoke his mind on a wide range of topics. We met as reports were coming in of the day's horrific bombings in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Mr. Vice President, thanks very much for joining us. Let's get right to Iraq.
Terrorism seems to be getting worse, what's happening today. Is it getting worse?
CHENEY: Well, that's a terrible tragedy, what happened today obviously. But I think in terms of the overall course of events, that what we've seen today in these attacks are desperation moves by al Qaeda-affiliated groups that are -- that recognize the threat that a successful transition in Iraq represents.
BLITZER: Now, when you say al Qaeda-affiliated groups, be specific, because -- give us some evidence that this is orchestrated by Osama bin Laden.
CHENEY: Well, today, we don't know specifically about this attack yet. It has the hallmarks, in my opinion, of an attack orchestrated by a man named al-Zarqawi.
BLITZER: Abu Massud al-Zarqawi?
CHENEY: That's right. We talked about him a lot before. He at one point ran a training camp in Afghanistan before we went into Afghanistan. He took refuge in Iraq and was there prior to our invasion of Iraq. He oversaw the poisons labs in northeastern Iraq that were al Qaeda-affiliated, run by Ansar al-Islam.
He has recently written a letter to senior management of Osama bin Laden's group, al Qaeda, that we intercepted, where he talks specifically about his strategy in Iraq, and that that includes, among other things, launching terror strikes against Shia, in order to try to start sectarian warfare.
BLITZER: So you see his fingerprints?
CHENEY: This looks very much like that kind of an attack.
BLITZER: Let's talk about that a little bit, because, as Americans see what's going on, today being the first anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security, they see these suicide bombers in Baghdad and Karbala and other places in Iraq, Pakistan, Jerusalem.
Is it only a matter of time, God forbid, before it happens here?
CHENEY: We have to continue to be on guard here at home. We cannot assume because it's been over two years now since we were struck in the United States, we cannot assume there's no threat. There obviously is a threat.
We're working at it all the time, every day. The president and I get briefed every morning on the status of the threat, both overseas and domestically.
And we've been able to disrupt attacks against the United States, disrupt cells. And by going on offense, we've made it much tougher for them to hit us. But we have to assume they're still out there. We know they're still out there, still trying to launch attacks against the United States.
What we're seeing, in terms of these other attacks in Casablanca and Istanbul and Riyadh and Mombasa, Bali, Jakarta. This is a worldwide enterprise. Some 20,000 terrorists went through those al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in the late '90s.
And what are seeing now in Iraq today, specifically, obviously, is an attempt to use terror to disrupt and interfere with our plan to turn over sovereignty to the Iraqis later this summer. The closer we get to standing up the democracy in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists become. And that's why we've seen the attacks we saw today.
BLITZER: You said before the war, and I think I'm quoting, you said this: "There's no doubt Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. There's no doubt he's amassing them to use."
The U.S. has not found any significant stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Were you wrong, or was the U.S. intelligence community giving you bad information?
CHENEY: My statements tracked with what we were getting from the intelligence community. You look at the national intelligence estimate on Iraq's WMD, and my statements, they track almost perfectly to that period of time.
I think it's important to distinguish between stockpiles and capability.
BLITZER: But they found no stockpiles.
CHENEY: They've not yet found stockpiles.
BLITZER: Do you think they still might?
CHENEY: Don't know. We've still got a lot of work to do before we can say we've been through all the documents and we've interviewed all the detainees and we've looked in all the corners of an area as big as California before we'll be able to say there's nothing there.
The Iraqi survey group will be at work there, probably, for a couple of more years before we'll be able to completely resolve all those outstanding questions.
But we do know they had capability. David Kay said they had the capability. David Kay said he was capable of producing biological weapons in relatively short order. He had the technology. He had the technical experts to do it. He had basic raw materials, the labs, whatever he needed to produce biological weapons.
He had a nuclear program that had been robust back in the early '90s. Remember, when you and I were at the Pentagon...
BLITZER: That was -- that was before the first Gulf War.
CHENEY: That was before the first Gulf War, and it was evidence that he had, according to the agency, the reporting we got before this go around, in the NIE was...
BLITZER: Well, let's cut to the chase right now.
CHENEY: ... was that he had, in fact, reconstituted his nuclear programs.
BLITZER: Do you have confidence in George Tenet as the CIA director?
CHENEY: I do.
BLITZER: Did you go over to the CIA before the war and try to influence U.S. intelligence analysts as the accusation has been made against you that you were pressuring them to come up with an assessment that you liked, and that you ignored conclusions that you didn't like?
CHENEY: No, that's absolutely not true, Wolf. And there's a lot of testimony from David Kay, who's talked to dozens of their analysts, the Senate Intelligence Committee, that's interviewed a couple hundred analysts from the CIA that they found not one single individual who felt that they were in any way coerced with respect to their findings.
My job is to go ask tough questions, and I do. I do that regularly and frequently. Either have analysts come in and visit with me on a subject or I've been out there many, many times to pursue various subjects, important topics.
If you're going to advise the president of the United States, as the intelligence community does, on these important issues, that can affect matters of life and death, you have to be prepared to answer tough questions. And they are. I find that most analysts respond very favorably to that. They want to explain why they believe what they believe.
So the notion that that should be a one-way flow, that the president should sit here and just receive input in and never have any questions being asked back out, makes no sense at all. That would be a weak administration if that was the way to run the operation.
BLITZER: The other criticism that the Democrats, a lot of Democrats are making against you involves your former company, Halliburton, which is now under criminal investigation by the Department of Defense for all sorts of potentially wrongdoing, sordid acts.
And the charge is you made millions of dollars working there, and you're still getting, supposedly, deferred compensation from Halliburton. Is that true?
CHENEY: Well, what happened, I did work there, but I severed my ties nearly four years ago when I ran for vice president. Halliburton still owes me money. Money that was set aside for my retirement out of my salary back in about 1999. Pursuant to the Office of Government Ethics, what I have done is take out an insurance policy that will guarantee the payment of what Halliburton wasn't able -- if Halliburton succeeds of fails.
If they go belly-up tomorrow, it will not affect my financial status one iota.
So I've done everything. I've gone farther than the rules require, in terms of making certain I had no financial interest or stake in Halliburton. I don't today. I severed those ties back in 2000, and haven't had any interest since.
BLITZER: How much do they owe you?
CHENEY: It's one more payment. I deferred half my salary, to be paid out over a five-year period of time after I left the company. And there's one more, one payment left.
BLITZER: Of what?
CHENEY: One hundred and some thousand dollars.
BLITZER: One hundred and some thousand dollars?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: More of my interview coming up with the vice president just ahead, including this controversial issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: The president's's made a decision partly because of what's happened in Massachusetts and San Francisco.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The vice president weighs in on the issue of same-sex marriage. Does he support a constitutional amendment?
And a mother's instincts. A child once thought dead is found alive by her birth mother, a family reunion with a bizarre twist. We'll get to that.
First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Middle East violence. Gunmen shot in Gaza City shot dead a key adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Khalil al-Zaben ran a Palestinian Authority-funded magazine and advised Arafat on human rights and media issues. No one has claimed responsibility.
Peace plan push. Jordan's King Abdullah held talks with Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair in London. It's the latest stop on the king's tour of European capitals in a bid to get the Middle East peace process back on track.
Chasing a comet. A European spacecraft is up and away on a 10- year journey to land on a comet. The Rosetta craft is scheduled to touch down on the comet in 2014, after looping three times past Earth and once past Mars to gain speed. Scientists hope the mission will provide some answers to the birth of the solar system and the origins of life on Earth.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We've been hearing some pretty frank talk from the vice president, Dick Cheney.
Let's continue now with part two of my one-on-one interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's move on and talk about Haiti. This is a critical issue. The former president now, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, accusing the Bush administration of effectively orchestrating a coup against him.
Which -- you're smiling. You're smiling.
CHENEY: Well, I've dealt with Aristide before, when I was secretary of defense. We had a crisis involving Haiti. He left of his own free will. He signed a resignation letter on his way out. He left with his security detail on an aircraft we provided, not a military aircraft but civilian charter.
Now I suppose he's trying to revise history. But the fact of the matter was, he'd worn out his welcome with the Haitian people. He was democratically elected, but he never governed as a democrat. He was corrupt, and he was in charge of many of the thugs that were committing crimes in Port-au-Prince and short of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
The suggestion that somehow the United States arrested him or forcibly put him on an aircraft to get him to leave, that's simply not true.
BLITZER: So you're happy he's gone?
CHENEY: I'm happy he's gone. I think the Haitian people are better off for it. I think now he'll have an opportunity to elect a new government. And that's as it should be.
BLITZER: Alan Greenspan said in recent days that because of this huge budget deficit, $500 billion, at least for the foreseeable future, if you want to keep those tax cuts which you pushed through Congress, you're going to have to start thinking of reducing Social Security benefits for the baby boomers, future generations.
Is he right?
CHENEY: Well, I read his testimony in a slightly different fashion. He talked about the current tax cuts that we've got to pledge. He's supportive of those, believes they ought to be made permanent. And talks specifically about those in terms of what they've done for the economy in encouraging savings and investment and economic growth.
Taken apart from that is the long-term problem we have in entitlement, in particular on Social Security and Medicare. And those were the issues he was addressing, the long-term that will kick in five, 10 years down the road as we have more and more people retire than fewer, fewer people actually working to support those retirees.
BLITZER: A very sensitive issue. The president now calling for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
In the 2000 debate against Joe Lieberman, you said you thought this should be regulated by the states. You said, "I think different states are likely to come to different conclusions, and that's appropriate. I don't think there should necessarily be a federal policy in this area."
You still believe that? CHENEY: Well, I restated my position previously. The president's made a decision, partly because of what's happened in Massachusetts in terms of -- the administration has supported a constitutional amendment. And that's his decision to make.
BLITZER: So you support it?
CHENEY: I support the president.
BLITZER: That means -- so now you support a constitutional amendment?
CHENEY: My view of the president is that I would advise him on the issues of the day. I never discuss the advice I provide him with anybody else. That's always private. He makes the decisions. He sets policy for the administration. And I support him and the administration.
BLITZER: The vice presidential running mate slot, is there any doubt whatsoever that you will be on the ticket with the president?
CHENEY: Not in my mind. He's asked me to serve again, and I said I'd be happy to do that. And I think that will be the ticket in 2004.
BLITZER: How do you feel?
CHENEY: Very good.
BLITZER: Everything fine (ph)?
CHENEY: Everything's great.
BLITZER: Thanks, Mr. Vice President.
CHENEY: Thank you.
*
BLITZER: Thanks, Mr. Vice President.
CHENEY: Thank you, Wolf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And this we're just getting in right now. The mayor of the small New York town facing criminal charges for performing marriage ceremony for gay couples, the Associated Press reporting right now that Mayor Jason West of New Paltz has been charged with 19 criminal counts stemming from 25 gay marriages last week. West could face a maximum penalty of a year in jail. But the Ulster County district attorney says a jail term is not considered at this time.
West maintains that his action were legal. We'll continue to follow the fallout from this.
Also, calls for help:
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, mayday, mayday!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Dramatic audiotapes released from the final moments of a sinking tanker.
And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She sees the child ask says, this is my child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: One mother's truly amazing story. Get this. She finds her daughter six years after the baby was declared dead in a house fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Investigators are trying to learn what caused an ethanol tanker to explode and sink off Virginia over the weekend. Six sailors were rescued, but 21 others are missing and are presumed dead.
CNN's Jennifer Coggiola is joining us. She has an update -- Jennifer.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.
Well, some dramatic new sound gives a glimpse into that crew's last minute of life. We also have an update on the wreckage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COGGIOLA (voice-over): Last sounds from a sinking ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) We are on fire. We are on fire.
COGGIOLA: Desperate calls for help from a yet-identified crew member.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) We are on fire. We are on fire.
COGGIOLA: Last Saturday, this chemical oil tanker carrying about 3.5 million gallons of ethanol and fuel sank into the frigid waters just 50 miles off Virginia. Members of the 27-person crew, some of whom were asleep, reported an explosion around 6:00 p.m.
Then, the bow of the boat went down first, and within an hour and a half, the tanker was fully submerged. Six crew members, huddled together on a raft, were brought to safety from the freezing waters via basket one at a time over 45 minutes by wary rescuers.
DAVE FOREMAN, U.S. COAST GUARD: Immediately, when I got into the water, I could smell -- it was the smell rubbing alcohol, basically. We had no idea what was in the water, and there had already been a report of an explosion that night, and the sheer amount of static electricity that our helicopter generates creates sparks.
COGGIOLA: The U.S. Coast Guard, which is handling the investigation, says it could be months until any conclusion is reached what caused the explosion.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COGGIOLA: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today announced that they found the ship's wreckage this morning, but due to poor weather conditions and rough water, the imagery isn't as clear as they hoped. But they could get the direction the ship is lying and its orientation. That will help with the investigation -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jennifer Coggiola reporting -- thanks, Jennifer, very much.
And this. One woman is in custody tonight, while another awaits a reunion with a daughter she hasn't seen since the child was just 10 days old. Philadelphia firefighters believed the infant died six years ago. But a chance meaning, a keen eye and a few stands of hair proved them all wrong.
CNN's Martin Savidge has an update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ten-day-old Delimar Vera officially died six years ago. Now her mother, Luz Cuevas, can't wait to hold her in her arms.
Delimar vanished December 15, 1997, when flames swept through her Philadelphia home. Firefighters never located the infant's body. Authorities thought that she had been incinerated. Her mother never fully believed it. Now fast-forward to January 2004 at a children's birthday party at this home. Luz Cuevas is there and is struck by something familiar about a 6-year-old girl. LUZ CUEVAS, MOTHER: And when I see her and her face and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) here, it's my daughter.
SAVIDGE: To try and verify her suspicions, Cuevas retrieved some of the child's hair, hoping DNA tests prove her right. They did. The familiar child was indeed her own daughter. Not long after the girl was found, the woman who raised her disappeared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An arrest warrant has been issued for the following person, a Carolyn Correa.
SAVIDGE: Late Tuesday, 41-year-old Carolyn Correa turned herself into authorities and could face charges of kidnapping and arson. Police say she was at Cuevas' Philadelphia home the night of the fire, leaving moments before it broke out. Authorities believe Correa set that blaze to conceal the kidnapping.
Delimar is currently in the care of state social workers. A joyful reunion may still be some time off, as authorities try to figure out how to tell a 6-year-old she has returned from the dead and may be about to lose the only mother she ever knew.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: What an amazing story. Leave it to a mother's instinct to get to the bottom of this.
New discovery from Mars, why scientists think they now have proof water existed on the red planet. We'll get to that and the results of our "Web Question of the Day" when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Packing a swimsuit may not be necessary for the next mission to Mars, but our picture of the day suggests it might have been useful long ago.
NASA scientists say these images collected by the robot explorer Opportunity show strong evidence water was once abundant on parts of Mars. The discovery means NASA can proceed with plans for a manned visit to the red planet some time in the future.
Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": Our Super Tuesday contests, with so many delegates at stake, unfair to voters in other states? Fifty-one percent of you say yes; 49 percent say no. This is not a scientific poll.
Let's get to some of your e-mails reacting to today's suicide bombings in Iraq.
Bill writes this: "The images of Iraqi people hurling rocks and stones at U.S. military vehicles in Baghdad after the deadly bombing that left over 100 killed and hundreds wounded tells more about the state of affairs in Iraq than all the words the media are putting out about how Iraq is stabilizing."
Edward writes: "Suicide bombers recently attacked civilians while they worshiped on a holy day. I think that high-level Sunni and Shia clerics ought to condemn the bombings and remind their followers that Iraqi citizens have a duty to report criminals engaged or associated with such activities."
I'll be back in one our for our special Super Tuesday coverage, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Series of Bombings in Iraq; Interview With Dick Cheney>
Aired March 2, 2004 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST: Happening now -- will he survive Super Tuesday, or will tonight be John Edwards's last stand?
We're getting new information, exit poll information from states around the country. Stand by for hard news and my special interview with the vice president, Dick Cheney, on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Super Tuesday -- ten states at stake.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Never trusted polling. I've said that when I'm behind, I say it when I'm ahead.
BLITZER: Is it the final showdown?
Holy day horror. Scores are dead in a series of bombings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we've seen today in these attacks are desperation moves by al Qaeda affiliated groups.
BLITZER: I'll go one on one with Vice President Dick Cheney, from Iraq to Haiti's ex-president.
BLITZER: So you're happy he's gone?
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm happy he's gone.
BLITZER: To a gay marriage amendment.
Do you support it?
CHENEY: I support the president.
BLITZER: But will he be his running mate?
Tanker tragedy...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on fire! may day, may day!
BLITZER: A last call for help from a stricken ship.
ANNOUNCER: This is a special edition of WOLF BLITZER REPORTS, Super Tuesday. Live from CNN's election headquarters. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Right now, millions of voters are deciding which Democrat they want to go up against -- they want to go up against president in November. At stake, 1,151 delegates, more than half that are needed to clinch the nomination. For the front-runner John Kerry, it could be a huge day if he sweeps all the contests. For his main rival, John Edwards this could be a make-or-break day. These voters cast ballots here in Atlanta, Georgia.
Both Kerry and Edwards began the day in Atlanta. Voters in New York City have a native son on the ballot. The Reverend Al Sharpton. But he's not expected to make much of a dent in the big bloc of delegates up for grabs in the Empire state.
These voters in Los Angeles will help decide who wins today's biggest prize, California's 370 delegates.
We have complete coverage of the campaigns. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is over at Kerry headquarters in Washington. Our national correspondent Kelly Wallace is in Atlanta with the latest on the Edwards campaign. And CNN's Kathleen Koch is joining us live from the White House on what the president is doing amidst all of that. Those reports coming up in just a moment. But this just into CNN. Brand new information we're getting right now from our exit polls. For that, we turn to our senior political analyst Bill Schneider. What are we learning from the early exit poll numbers?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: What we're learning is that there is an enormous diversity of Democratic sentiment across the country. We've got states voting -- we saw this on this map -- in the east, the Midwest, the south and the west the whole spectrum of the Democratic party.
Take a look at how different the states are. In New York and California, on the two coasts, a majority of Democrats in those coasts describe themselves as liberal. In Ohio, major Midwestern battleground state, fewer than half, 42 percent call themselves liberal and here in Georgia, a southern state just over a third of the Democrat voting here in Georgia call themselves liberal.
The big test, the reason why Super Tuesday is important. Can any candidate -- presumably that would be John Kerry -- unite Democrats across this diverse spectrum, across the United States, or will the Democrats divide between Kerry and Edwards and the race go on, and the division of the Democratic party get bigger than it is? How big is it? We'll discuss it in a little while.
BLITZER: We have a full night to look at all these numbers as they are coming in. The polls begin to close 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Bill Schneider, thank you very much.
Let's get back to the candidates. The front-runner John Kerry looking to add to his already big lead in the all-important delegate count. He's racked up 771 delegates in winning 19 before contests today. Candy Crowley joins us live from the Kerry headquarters in Washington -- Candy.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The last time I saw the senator, I asked him what he was going to do this afternoon, and he said wash a little laundry. Somehow I doubt that but we can tell you what he did do today, and that is he started out in Atlanta, Georgia, doing as he always does on election day talking to some voters. In this case, he was at a truck depot talking to some teamsters about jobs.
Very relaxed, Senator Kerry as he went to get on the plane, tossing the football around as he has started to do on occasion when he travels around the country. Then it was back to his day job, he had to come back to the U.S. Senate to vote on extending the ban on assault weapons. He voted yes, of course, for the extension, and that puts him here tonight, not where he expected to be but he's expecting a pretty good night -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Candy Crowley at the Kerry campaign headquarters in Washington.
John Edwards admits that at some point he has to start winning some contests. Before today he's won only one victory, that would be the South Carolina primary almost a month ago. He has only 221 delegates as of right now. For more on the Edwards campaign let's bring in national correspondent Kelly Wallace -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, heading into tonight, John Edwards' advisers thought their best chances for victory would be here in Georgia and also in Minnesota. But if John Edwards doesn't pull off any victories tonight, he is likely to be facing some very tough decisions.
The senator is back in Atlanta now. This after he headed to the nation's capital earlier today along with John Kerry to vote on some gun control legislation there. He didn't do any interviews or talk to any reporters and it was the same situation earlier this morning when he was greeting some supporters outside a suburban Atlanta polling place. The senator has said that he will stay on the race until he is the nominee but Wolf, if he and his aides decide that that is not possible, then ultimately he'll have to make other decisions -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll have to see what John Edwards does. First we'll wait and see how he does tonight. Thank you very much for that.
We've emphasized the race between John Kerry and John Edwards so far but let's not forget the other two Democratic candidates in the Super Tuesday contest. Dennis Kucinich voted this morning in his home state of Ohio. He was at the polls early in Cleveland. And the Reverend Al Sharpton cast his ballot in New York City. Both men are campaigning in their home states today. It will be interesting to see how they do in their home states. President Bush meanwhile, was in a sense, campaigning as well on his record, touting the war against terrorism, which he said the United States is winning. The president spoke over at the Department of Homeland Security, on this, the first anniversary of that department. Let's go live to CNN's Kathleen Koch over at the White House -- Kathleen. KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president spoke to 200 employees and this is an agency that he initially opposed the creation of thinking that the nation didn't need a massive new bureau to protect it from terrorism. Obviously he had a change of heart. Thanked the employees today for a job well done and touted what has become one of his campaign's major focuses, that the president is leading and winning the war on terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're relentless. We are strong. We refuse to yield. Some two-thirds of al Qaeda's key leaders have been captured or killed. The rest of them hear us breathing down their neck. We're after them, we will not relent. We'll bring these killers to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: And the president today on this Super Tuesday definitely is thinking politics. On Thursday he will roll out his very first ad campaign, it will be running in 15 to 17 states that were, well, let's call them squeakers back in 2000, decided by very narrow margin and the campaign aide says that the 4.5 million ad will be positive, not going negative just yet -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Kathleen Koch over at the White House. Thank you.
Still to come this hour, my one-on-one interview with the vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney. I was over at White House earlier today for that. Questions and answers you won't want to miss. Hear what the vice president is saying about a wide range of issues, including same-sex marriage, weapons of mass destruction, Haiti's future, the war on terrorism, the economy and much more. That's coming up later this hour. Joining us right now here for his assessment of what's going on, our political analyst Carlos Watson. What are you looking for, Carlos?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There are four states where I think stand out. The first is Minnesota. I think we've got to tune in and see what the Deaniacs do in the caucus. If they turn out in high numbers and ultimately support John Edwards, that could make a real difference and Edwards could have a surprise win.
Second we turn to New York, what is significant in the home state how does Al Sharpton do? In five or six congressional districts they have Africa-American and Latino populations. Does he do well? Perhaps take away from John Kerry's vote and ultimately provide a closer race than we otherwise might have gotten.
Third in Georgia, what happens to Independents. An open primary there in the south where John Edwards is from. Next door neighbor to the only state he's won, which is South Carolina. We'll be very curious to see what happens there.
And in Maryland we have a little bit of a flip. It's a place where John Edwards' strongest support comes not from among white voters actually but from African-American voters particularly in the D.C. suburbs, Prince George's county, where he won the endorsement of Al Wynn, the local congressman there. Will there be a strong African- American vote turn out? If there is, maybe we'll get a little bit of a shocker in Maryland. We remember in 1992 Maryland went with Paul Tsongas. Remember that eight years before that, they went with Gary Hart. So they don't always go with the front-runner. And those are four things that are on my political cheat sheet if you will.
BLITZER: Carlos' cheat sheet. Thanks very much, Carlos. We'll be checking back with you throughout the night on CNN as well.
And to our viewers, here's your chance to weigh in on this very important story. Our "Web Question of the Day" is this, are Super Tuesday contest with so many delegate at stake unfair to voters in other states? You can vote right now. Go to cnn.com/wolf. We'll have the results later in this broadcast.
The former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide says the U.S. forced him to leave Haiti in a coup. Today, the Vice President Dick Cheney fired right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Suggestion that somehow the United States arrested him or forcibly put him on an aircraft (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
BLITZER: So you're happy he's gone?
CHENEY: I'm happy he's gone, I think the Haitian people are better off for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: What the vice president is saying about Haiti's future, same-sex marriage, and if we should expect a change in a Bush-Cheney ticket that's coming up in November. My special interview with the vice president, that will be on.
A series of suicide bombings and explosions turn a day of religious celebration into chaos. In Iraq, who's being targeted this time?
Plus this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on fire!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Mayday, mayday. A chemical tanker explodes and sinks off Virginia. We're learning new information about those final desperate moments. We'll have it for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: This was the horrific scene in the Iraqi city of Karbala where bombs ripped through crowds of worshipers. There were similar scenes at nearly the same time 50 miles away in Baghdad where the targets were again Shi'ite Muslims gathered for a holy day. Coalition authorities put the death toll at 58 in Baghdad, 85 in Karbala. But with hundreds more hurt, the numbers could rise.
CNN's Brent Sadler is in Karbala joining us live -- Brent.
BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Wolf. This day of prayer and peril has now drawn to a close. But doctors on the ground here tell us that as many as 400 pilgrims were either killed or injured after the series of deadly explosions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER (voice-over): The holiest of days for Shi'a Muslims in Karbala. A blood-soaked ritual in part, symbolizing self-sacrifice in ages old tradition. But tradition turned to violent outrage when a series of bombs detonated among masses of pilgrims spilling more of their blood on the streets of this holy city.
All roads leading to Karbala were packed with worshipers when the bombs went off creating carnage and chaos. This was the scene of devastation, seconds after one of the blasts, triggered to explode among a crush of people. The dead and dying are scattered across a dusty street. Many of these motionless victims are unrecognizable.
Helpers wheel the casualties in wooden carts, normally used to carry elderly pilgrims. But even as they struggled to help the injured yet more blasts were heard, sparking panic, and word spread that suicide bombers might have got through the security cordons.
But at this stage no one knew where, how many, or if for certain they were here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SADLER: One quote stands out in my mind from this tragic day. It comes from a hospital administrator asked who he thought the bombers might be. He told us, I don't know, but they're not human, whatever their political background -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brent Sadler reporting from Baghdad. Brent, thank you very much.
There was another bloody massacre of Shi'ites today in Pakistan. At least 38 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when gunmen attacked a procession of worshipers in the southwest city of Kveta (ph). The attack triggered rioting, a curfew was imposed and the military was called into maintain order.
Just two days after Haiti's president resigned and flew into exile and one day after his own forces rolled into the capital. A key rebel leader says he's in charge. Let's go live to CNN's Lucia Newman joining us in the capital of Port-au-Prince -- Lucia. LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. After several days of wondering what were the intentions of the Haitian rebels now that President Aristide is gone, today the rebel commander, Guy Philippe, made it very clear. He said had now appointed himself the new leader of the police. Let's hear what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUY PHILIPPE, REBEL HAITIAN LEADER: Aristide went into exile, was well arranged. Now we have problem with the police force because Aristide name them. They don't know anything about police and security. They just ousted guys.
So we have the base of the police because almost 90 person of the police is with us now. They're working together and try to take the right decision.
NEWMAN: But who is in control? There has to be a chief, a rein of command as you know.
PHILIPPE: From today I'll be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWMAN: The U.S. Marines are continuing to patrol the city today. They were at the port after three days of looting. But they had made no attempt to disarmament rebels, the rebels who now say they respect the authority of the interim government although Guy Philippe warned the interim president that unless he allowed the army to be reestablished in this country, he could suffer the same fate as the former President Aristide -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Lucia Newman in Port-au-Prince. Lucia, thank you very much. Thanks for all the excellent work.
Coming up, my special interview with the vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Is there any doubt whatsoever that you will be on the ticket with the president?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: We'll have tough questions for the vice president on everything ranging from weapons of mass destruction -- where are they? -- to same-sex marriage. The special interview, that's just ahead.
And a political battle on Capitol Hill. What does the future hold for gun laws?
Is Martha Stewart too smart to be guilty? The defense for the celebrity homemaker delivers closing arguments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Fireworks today on Capitol Hill as new gun legislation once expected to pass goes down do defeat in the U.S. Senate. Our congressional correspondent Joe Johns is standing by live on Capitol Hill. He has the story -- Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the vote was 90-8 to kill a bill that would have helped protect gun sellers and gun makers from lawsuits. The twist is the National Rifle Association at the end of the day opposed the bill because gun control advocates succeeded in attaching a series of amendments including a renewal of the assault weapons ban, also a requirement to do background checks on people buying guns at gun shows. Senator Larry Craig, the floor manager of the bill, told his colleagues to scuttle it at the very end of debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LARRY CRAIG (R), IDAHO: I'd love to see this bill passed, but I now believe it is so dramatically wounded that it should not pass, and I would urge my colleagues to vote against it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The bill also brought Democratic candidates John Kerry and John Edwards back to the Capitol for votes today. Kerry used the opportunity on the floor of the U.S. Senate to attack the president for backing the assault weapons ban but not wanting it included on the bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: President Bush promised the American people that he would work to renew the assault weapons ban. But now, under pressure, he's walking away from that commitment as he has from so many other promises, from education, to the environment, to the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: The assault weapons ban expires in September. Kerry's return today was quickly seized on by Republicans as an opportunity to point out some of the other votes he has missed while campaigning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R), PENNSYLVANIA: Notice he wasn't here for the Medicare prescription drug vote or for the energy vote or for a lot of other votes, but it was so important he come back and vote on the assault weapons ban.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: We may not yet have heard the last of this. An e-mail sent out today by Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association opposing the bill on final passage said this vote on final passage is a key vote for the NRA and will be used in our future evaluations and endorsements of candidates for the U.S. Senate -- Wolf. BLITZER: Joe Johns on Capitol Hill covering this story for us. Thank you very much.
One on one with the vice president, Dick Cheney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: But they found no stockpiles.
CHENEY: Have not yet found stockpiles.
BLITZER: You think they still will?
CHENEY: Don't know. They still have a lot of work to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: We'll talk about Iraq, talk about his status as the president's running mate. My in-depth interview coming up.
Also a call for help at sea. We're learning new information right now about the final moments of that doomed tanker.
And a loss for the sports world. The controversial owner of the Cincinnati Reds dies.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back to CNN. From the war on terror to problems in Iraq to the economy right here at home, hear what the vice president of the United States has to say. My special interview with Dick Cheney straight ahead. We'll get to that. First a quick check of the latest headlines.
The Justice Department has indicted former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers on criminal federal charges. Ebbers is accused of defrauding the public in the telecom giant's $11 billion accounting scandal. A second person indicted former CFO Scott Sullivan pleaded guilty to three charges, he's expected to cooperate in the federal case against Ebbers.
Martha Stewart's defense attorney says the celebrity homemaker is simply too smart to be guilty. In closing arguments in the federal obstruction trial of Stewart and her ex-stockbroker, attorney Robert Morvillo said if the pair did plot to conceal facts surrounding the sale of Imclone stock, it was quote, "a conspiracy of dunces." Jury deliberations are expected to begin tomorrow.
Marge Schott has died. The controversial former controlling owner of the Cincinnati Reds died today at a hospital in Cincinnati. She'd been undergoing treatment there for breathing difficulties over the past several weeks. The salty-tongued, chain-smoking Marge Schott owned controlling interest in the Reds until 1999, but retained a minority interest. Marge Schott was 75.
We're getting new information just in. Let's go back to our CNN senior political analyst, Bill Schneider.
New election exit poll numbers showing us what?
SCHNEIDER: Well, we have a showdown today, Super Tuesday, between John Edwards and John Kerry in 10 states all over the country.
So here's a question? How divided of the Democrats? Well, we asked voters in this Democratic primaries would you be satisfied if John Kerry, the front-runner, turns out to be the Democratic nominee. And look at this. In California, more than three-quarters of John Edwards' voters said they'd be satisfied with Kerry. In New York, 62 percent satisfied. Ohio and Maryland, both states, a majority of Democrats say they would be satisfied if John Kerry wins the Democratic nomination.
So, if John Edwards gets votes, it's not particularly an anti- Kerry vote. The answer to the question how divided are the Democrats is, not very.
BLITZER: All right, we'll be watching that, more numbers coming in every hour. We'll stand by for the poll closings, of course, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Thanks very much, Bill, for that.
Earlier today, while in Washington, I sat down with the vice president, Dick Cheney, for a special one-on-one interview. The vice president spoke his mind on a wide range of topics. We met as reports were coming in of the day's horrific bombings in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Mr. Vice President, thanks very much for joining us. Let's get right to Iraq.
Terrorism seems to be getting worse, what's happening today. Is it getting worse?
CHENEY: Well, that's a terrible tragedy, what happened today obviously. But I think in terms of the overall course of events, that what we've seen today in these attacks are desperation moves by al Qaeda-affiliated groups that are -- that recognize the threat that a successful transition in Iraq represents.
BLITZER: Now, when you say al Qaeda-affiliated groups, be specific, because -- give us some evidence that this is orchestrated by Osama bin Laden.
CHENEY: Well, today, we don't know specifically about this attack yet. It has the hallmarks, in my opinion, of an attack orchestrated by a man named al-Zarqawi.
BLITZER: Abu Massud al-Zarqawi?
CHENEY: That's right. We talked about him a lot before. He at one point ran a training camp in Afghanistan before we went into Afghanistan. He took refuge in Iraq and was there prior to our invasion of Iraq. He oversaw the poisons labs in northeastern Iraq that were al Qaeda-affiliated, run by Ansar al-Islam.
He has recently written a letter to senior management of Osama bin Laden's group, al Qaeda, that we intercepted, where he talks specifically about his strategy in Iraq, and that that includes, among other things, launching terror strikes against Shia, in order to try to start sectarian warfare.
BLITZER: So you see his fingerprints?
CHENEY: This looks very much like that kind of an attack.
BLITZER: Let's talk about that a little bit, because, as Americans see what's going on, today being the first anniversary of the Department of Homeland Security, they see these suicide bombers in Baghdad and Karbala and other places in Iraq, Pakistan, Jerusalem.
Is it only a matter of time, God forbid, before it happens here?
CHENEY: We have to continue to be on guard here at home. We cannot assume because it's been over two years now since we were struck in the United States, we cannot assume there's no threat. There obviously is a threat.
We're working at it all the time, every day. The president and I get briefed every morning on the status of the threat, both overseas and domestically.
And we've been able to disrupt attacks against the United States, disrupt cells. And by going on offense, we've made it much tougher for them to hit us. But we have to assume they're still out there. We know they're still out there, still trying to launch attacks against the United States.
What we're seeing, in terms of these other attacks in Casablanca and Istanbul and Riyadh and Mombasa, Bali, Jakarta. This is a worldwide enterprise. Some 20,000 terrorists went through those al Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in the late '90s.
And what are seeing now in Iraq today, specifically, obviously, is an attempt to use terror to disrupt and interfere with our plan to turn over sovereignty to the Iraqis later this summer. The closer we get to standing up the democracy in Iraq, the more desperate the terrorists become. And that's why we've seen the attacks we saw today.
BLITZER: You said before the war, and I think I'm quoting, you said this: "There's no doubt Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. There's no doubt he's amassing them to use."
The U.S. has not found any significant stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Were you wrong, or was the U.S. intelligence community giving you bad information?
CHENEY: My statements tracked with what we were getting from the intelligence community. You look at the national intelligence estimate on Iraq's WMD, and my statements, they track almost perfectly to that period of time.
I think it's important to distinguish between stockpiles and capability.
BLITZER: But they found no stockpiles.
CHENEY: They've not yet found stockpiles.
BLITZER: Do you think they still might?
CHENEY: Don't know. We've still got a lot of work to do before we can say we've been through all the documents and we've interviewed all the detainees and we've looked in all the corners of an area as big as California before we'll be able to say there's nothing there.
The Iraqi survey group will be at work there, probably, for a couple of more years before we'll be able to completely resolve all those outstanding questions.
But we do know they had capability. David Kay said they had the capability. David Kay said he was capable of producing biological weapons in relatively short order. He had the technology. He had the technical experts to do it. He had basic raw materials, the labs, whatever he needed to produce biological weapons.
He had a nuclear program that had been robust back in the early '90s. Remember, when you and I were at the Pentagon...
BLITZER: That was -- that was before the first Gulf War.
CHENEY: That was before the first Gulf War, and it was evidence that he had, according to the agency, the reporting we got before this go around, in the NIE was...
BLITZER: Well, let's cut to the chase right now.
CHENEY: ... was that he had, in fact, reconstituted his nuclear programs.
BLITZER: Do you have confidence in George Tenet as the CIA director?
CHENEY: I do.
BLITZER: Did you go over to the CIA before the war and try to influence U.S. intelligence analysts as the accusation has been made against you that you were pressuring them to come up with an assessment that you liked, and that you ignored conclusions that you didn't like?
CHENEY: No, that's absolutely not true, Wolf. And there's a lot of testimony from David Kay, who's talked to dozens of their analysts, the Senate Intelligence Committee, that's interviewed a couple hundred analysts from the CIA that they found not one single individual who felt that they were in any way coerced with respect to their findings.
My job is to go ask tough questions, and I do. I do that regularly and frequently. Either have analysts come in and visit with me on a subject or I've been out there many, many times to pursue various subjects, important topics.
If you're going to advise the president of the United States, as the intelligence community does, on these important issues, that can affect matters of life and death, you have to be prepared to answer tough questions. And they are. I find that most analysts respond very favorably to that. They want to explain why they believe what they believe.
So the notion that that should be a one-way flow, that the president should sit here and just receive input in and never have any questions being asked back out, makes no sense at all. That would be a weak administration if that was the way to run the operation.
BLITZER: The other criticism that the Democrats, a lot of Democrats are making against you involves your former company, Halliburton, which is now under criminal investigation by the Department of Defense for all sorts of potentially wrongdoing, sordid acts.
And the charge is you made millions of dollars working there, and you're still getting, supposedly, deferred compensation from Halliburton. Is that true?
CHENEY: Well, what happened, I did work there, but I severed my ties nearly four years ago when I ran for vice president. Halliburton still owes me money. Money that was set aside for my retirement out of my salary back in about 1999. Pursuant to the Office of Government Ethics, what I have done is take out an insurance policy that will guarantee the payment of what Halliburton wasn't able -- if Halliburton succeeds of fails.
If they go belly-up tomorrow, it will not affect my financial status one iota.
So I've done everything. I've gone farther than the rules require, in terms of making certain I had no financial interest or stake in Halliburton. I don't today. I severed those ties back in 2000, and haven't had any interest since.
BLITZER: How much do they owe you?
CHENEY: It's one more payment. I deferred half my salary, to be paid out over a five-year period of time after I left the company. And there's one more, one payment left.
BLITZER: Of what?
CHENEY: One hundred and some thousand dollars.
BLITZER: One hundred and some thousand dollars?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: More of my interview coming up with the vice president just ahead, including this controversial issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: The president's's made a decision partly because of what's happened in Massachusetts and San Francisco.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: The vice president weighs in on the issue of same-sex marriage. Does he support a constitutional amendment?
And a mother's instincts. A child once thought dead is found alive by her birth mother, a family reunion with a bizarre twist. We'll get to that.
First, though, a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Middle East violence. Gunmen shot in Gaza City shot dead a key adviser to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Khalil al-Zaben ran a Palestinian Authority-funded magazine and advised Arafat on human rights and media issues. No one has claimed responsibility.
Peace plan push. Jordan's King Abdullah held talks with Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair in London. It's the latest stop on the king's tour of European capitals in a bid to get the Middle East peace process back on track.
Chasing a comet. A European spacecraft is up and away on a 10- year journey to land on a comet. The Rosetta craft is scheduled to touch down on the comet in 2014, after looping three times past Earth and once past Mars to gain speed. Scientists hope the mission will provide some answers to the birth of the solar system and the origins of life on Earth.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We've been hearing some pretty frank talk from the vice president, Dick Cheney.
Let's continue now with part two of my one-on-one interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's move on and talk about Haiti. This is a critical issue. The former president now, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, accusing the Bush administration of effectively orchestrating a coup against him.
Which -- you're smiling. You're smiling.
CHENEY: Well, I've dealt with Aristide before, when I was secretary of defense. We had a crisis involving Haiti. He left of his own free will. He signed a resignation letter on his way out. He left with his security detail on an aircraft we provided, not a military aircraft but civilian charter.
Now I suppose he's trying to revise history. But the fact of the matter was, he'd worn out his welcome with the Haitian people. He was democratically elected, but he never governed as a democrat. He was corrupt, and he was in charge of many of the thugs that were committing crimes in Port-au-Prince and short of the (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
The suggestion that somehow the United States arrested him or forcibly put him on an aircraft to get him to leave, that's simply not true.
BLITZER: So you're happy he's gone?
CHENEY: I'm happy he's gone. I think the Haitian people are better off for it. I think now he'll have an opportunity to elect a new government. And that's as it should be.
BLITZER: Alan Greenspan said in recent days that because of this huge budget deficit, $500 billion, at least for the foreseeable future, if you want to keep those tax cuts which you pushed through Congress, you're going to have to start thinking of reducing Social Security benefits for the baby boomers, future generations.
Is he right?
CHENEY: Well, I read his testimony in a slightly different fashion. He talked about the current tax cuts that we've got to pledge. He's supportive of those, believes they ought to be made permanent. And talks specifically about those in terms of what they've done for the economy in encouraging savings and investment and economic growth.
Taken apart from that is the long-term problem we have in entitlement, in particular on Social Security and Medicare. And those were the issues he was addressing, the long-term that will kick in five, 10 years down the road as we have more and more people retire than fewer, fewer people actually working to support those retirees.
BLITZER: A very sensitive issue. The president now calling for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.
In the 2000 debate against Joe Lieberman, you said you thought this should be regulated by the states. You said, "I think different states are likely to come to different conclusions, and that's appropriate. I don't think there should necessarily be a federal policy in this area."
You still believe that? CHENEY: Well, I restated my position previously. The president's made a decision, partly because of what's happened in Massachusetts in terms of -- the administration has supported a constitutional amendment. And that's his decision to make.
BLITZER: So you support it?
CHENEY: I support the president.
BLITZER: That means -- so now you support a constitutional amendment?
CHENEY: My view of the president is that I would advise him on the issues of the day. I never discuss the advice I provide him with anybody else. That's always private. He makes the decisions. He sets policy for the administration. And I support him and the administration.
BLITZER: The vice presidential running mate slot, is there any doubt whatsoever that you will be on the ticket with the president?
CHENEY: Not in my mind. He's asked me to serve again, and I said I'd be happy to do that. And I think that will be the ticket in 2004.
BLITZER: How do you feel?
CHENEY: Very good.
BLITZER: Everything fine (ph)?
CHENEY: Everything's great.
BLITZER: Thanks, Mr. Vice President.
CHENEY: Thank you.
*
BLITZER: Thanks, Mr. Vice President.
CHENEY: Thank you, Wolf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And this we're just getting in right now. The mayor of the small New York town facing criminal charges for performing marriage ceremony for gay couples, the Associated Press reporting right now that Mayor Jason West of New Paltz has been charged with 19 criminal counts stemming from 25 gay marriages last week. West could face a maximum penalty of a year in jail. But the Ulster County district attorney says a jail term is not considered at this time.
West maintains that his action were legal. We'll continue to follow the fallout from this.
Also, calls for help:
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, mayday, mayday!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Dramatic audiotapes released from the final moments of a sinking tanker.
And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She sees the child ask says, this is my child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: One mother's truly amazing story. Get this. She finds her daughter six years after the baby was declared dead in a house fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Investigators are trying to learn what caused an ethanol tanker to explode and sink off Virginia over the weekend. Six sailors were rescued, but 21 others are missing and are presumed dead.
CNN's Jennifer Coggiola is joining us. She has an update -- Jennifer.
JENNIFER COGGIOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.
Well, some dramatic new sound gives a glimpse into that crew's last minute of life. We also have an update on the wreckage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COGGIOLA (voice-over): Last sounds from a sinking ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) We are on fire. We are on fire.
COGGIOLA: Desperate calls for help from a yet-identified crew member.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is (UNINTELLIGIBLE) We are on fire. We are on fire.
COGGIOLA: Last Saturday, this chemical oil tanker carrying about 3.5 million gallons of ethanol and fuel sank into the frigid waters just 50 miles off Virginia. Members of the 27-person crew, some of whom were asleep, reported an explosion around 6:00 p.m.
Then, the bow of the boat went down first, and within an hour and a half, the tanker was fully submerged. Six crew members, huddled together on a raft, were brought to safety from the freezing waters via basket one at a time over 45 minutes by wary rescuers.
DAVE FOREMAN, U.S. COAST GUARD: Immediately, when I got into the water, I could smell -- it was the smell rubbing alcohol, basically. We had no idea what was in the water, and there had already been a report of an explosion that night, and the sheer amount of static electricity that our helicopter generates creates sparks.
COGGIOLA: The U.S. Coast Guard, which is handling the investigation, says it could be months until any conclusion is reached what caused the explosion.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COGGIOLA: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today announced that they found the ship's wreckage this morning, but due to poor weather conditions and rough water, the imagery isn't as clear as they hoped. But they could get the direction the ship is lying and its orientation. That will help with the investigation -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jennifer Coggiola reporting -- thanks, Jennifer, very much.
And this. One woman is in custody tonight, while another awaits a reunion with a daughter she hasn't seen since the child was just 10 days old. Philadelphia firefighters believed the infant died six years ago. But a chance meaning, a keen eye and a few stands of hair proved them all wrong.
CNN's Martin Savidge has an update.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ten-day-old Delimar Vera officially died six years ago. Now her mother, Luz Cuevas, can't wait to hold her in her arms.
Delimar vanished December 15, 1997, when flames swept through her Philadelphia home. Firefighters never located the infant's body. Authorities thought that she had been incinerated. Her mother never fully believed it. Now fast-forward to January 2004 at a children's birthday party at this home. Luz Cuevas is there and is struck by something familiar about a 6-year-old girl. LUZ CUEVAS, MOTHER: And when I see her and her face and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) here, it's my daughter.
SAVIDGE: To try and verify her suspicions, Cuevas retrieved some of the child's hair, hoping DNA tests prove her right. They did. The familiar child was indeed her own daughter. Not long after the girl was found, the woman who raised her disappeared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An arrest warrant has been issued for the following person, a Carolyn Correa.
SAVIDGE: Late Tuesday, 41-year-old Carolyn Correa turned herself into authorities and could face charges of kidnapping and arson. Police say she was at Cuevas' Philadelphia home the night of the fire, leaving moments before it broke out. Authorities believe Correa set that blaze to conceal the kidnapping.
Delimar is currently in the care of state social workers. A joyful reunion may still be some time off, as authorities try to figure out how to tell a 6-year-old she has returned from the dead and may be about to lose the only mother she ever knew.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: What an amazing story. Leave it to a mother's instinct to get to the bottom of this.
New discovery from Mars, why scientists think they now have proof water existed on the red planet. We'll get to that and the results of our "Web Question of the Day" when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Packing a swimsuit may not be necessary for the next mission to Mars, but our picture of the day suggests it might have been useful long ago.
NASA scientists say these images collected by the robot explorer Opportunity show strong evidence water was once abundant on parts of Mars. The discovery means NASA can proceed with plans for a manned visit to the red planet some time in the future.
Here's how you're weighing in on our "Web Question of the Day": Our Super Tuesday contests, with so many delegates at stake, unfair to voters in other states? Fifty-one percent of you say yes; 49 percent say no. This is not a scientific poll.
Let's get to some of your e-mails reacting to today's suicide bombings in Iraq.
Bill writes this: "The images of Iraqi people hurling rocks and stones at U.S. military vehicles in Baghdad after the deadly bombing that left over 100 killed and hundreds wounded tells more about the state of affairs in Iraq than all the words the media are putting out about how Iraq is stabilizing."
Edward writes: "Suicide bombers recently attacked civilians while they worshiped on a holy day. I think that high-level Sunni and Shia clerics ought to condemn the bombings and remind their followers that Iraqi citizens have a duty to report criminals engaged or associated with such activities."
I'll be back in one our for our special Super Tuesday coverage, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Series of Bombings in Iraq; Interview With Dick Cheney>
