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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports

New Announcement Easing Flu Shot Shortage; Kerry on the Attack; Schwarzenegger Comes Out in Support of Stem Cell Research

Aired October 19, 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 -- a new announcement easing the flu shot shortage, but why it won't be enough.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): It's contagious -- flu fears grip the campaign.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots.

BLITZER: But who should get the blame for the vaccine shortfall?

Kerry on the attack.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: His four-year spending spree on tax giveaways on millionaires has undermined the hopes of middle-class families.

BLITZER: Moment of terror caught on tape -- what do the images tell us about the Madrid bombings?

Breaking with his party -- Schwarzenegger's stand.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I am very much interested in stem-cell research and support it 100 percent.

BLITZER: And inside the White House.

PAT O'BRIEN: What's the best thing about being married to George Bush?

BLITZER: Insider Pat O'Brien brings us his interview with First Lady Laura Bush.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, October 19th, 2004.

BLITZER (on camera): With Americans standing in long lines for hours at a time lining up for flu shots all over this country, the Bush administration is trying to buy vaccine right now from Canada.

Our Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the latest from the CNN Center in Atlanta -- Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the government is trying to buy flu vaccine from north of the border, but the question is will it really make a difference?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Lines, lines, and more lines. But now, the nation's top health official says the government has managed to find more vaccine.

TOMMY THOMPSON, HHS SECRETARY: We need all of us to take a deep breath. We've successfully worked through vaccine supply problems in the past, and we're doing so this time, as well.

COHEN: But a look at the number shows the newly-found vaccine won't even come close to making up for the shortage.

With the new shots, the government predicts there will be 58 million flu shots on the market. Compare that to last year when 90 million doses of flu vaccine were given out. Plus, many of the new doses won't be coming until January. The flu season sometimes can peak as early as September, like it did last year.

One new source of flu shots could be to the north. The federal government is negotiating to get 1.5 million doses from Canada. Already Americans are taking matters into their own hands and crossing the boarder to get shots -- Americans like Anna Smith who says she needs the shot because she has cancer.

ANNA SMITH, CANCER PATIENT: It's ridiculous that I'm a -- you know, a person that really needs it and I can't get one in my own country?

COHEN: In one town in New Jersey, they're having a lottery to see who gets flu shots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you have thousands -- 8,000 senior citizens that we have in the township -- and you only have 300 shots, you've got to give them out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on camera): Now, because of the shortage, flu shots this year are supposed to be reserved for the very old, the very young, the sick, and the pregnant. And that's why one hotel in Las Vegas is coming under fire for vaccinating its workers -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much. And we'll have much more on the flu vaccine shortage coming up just a few minutes from now. I'll discuss the government's response with Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. From the flu to Social Security to the war on terror, President Bush finds himself fighting a defensive battle on the campaign trail. But he clearly feels the best defense is a strong offense.

Let's go live to our senior White House correspondent John King. He's joining us from The Villages in Florida -- John?

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a full day for the president here in Florida today. Three full days of campaigning in this state over the past week. If you had any doubt that this state is just as important to the president this time as it was when it proved decisive in the last election, set those doubts aside.

The president campaigning today, strikingly different in his tone than yesterday. Just yesterday, the president knocked Senator Kerry off his plan with a scathing attack on national security. Today, it was the president responding on several issues to attacks from Senator Kerry here at The Villages -- it's a retirement community a little less than an hour northwest of Orlando.

Mr. Bush saying that Senator Kerry is now engaging in cynical attacks because he is desperate, the Bush campaign says. But the president, very early in his speech here, trying to rebut allegations from Senator Kerry when the Democrat says that a second term might lead to bankruptcy for Social Security and might even lead to the restoration of the draft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: My opponent will say anything he thinks will benefit him politically at the time. I will do what I have said I will do. We will keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors, and there will be no draft as long as I am the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Social Security and the draft obviously important issues nationally and in this state. The elderly vote is critical here in Florida. This part of the state also has many military families -- you see as you drive across the state here.

So, the president rebutting Senator Kerry on those issues. Earlier this morning, too, in St. Petersburg, the president deciding he could not leave unanswered another allegation from Senator Kerry, and it is now the subject of a Kerry radio ad here in Florida. There are flu vaccine shortages across the country, as you noted at the top of the program. Senator Kerry says that is the president and the Bush administration's fault. The president says not so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I know there are some here who are worried about the flu season. I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots. Despite the major manufacturing defect that caused this problem, we have millions of vaccine doses on hand for the most vulnerable Americans, and millions more will be shipped in the coming weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, this is one of 11 states across the country that has early voting already underway. That is why the Bush campaign says the president was here today and will be here twice more in the coming days. Mr. Bush using this speech to urge Florida citizens to get out and vote early if they so desire.

And Wolf, as he was speaking here, there's one of those polling stations less than a mile up the road -- Wolf?

BLITZER: John King in Florida for us. Thanks, John, very much.

The Democrat, John Kerry, pressed his attack in another key battleground state. That would be Pennsylvania. Our national correspondent Frank Buckley joining us now live from Wilkes-Barre -- Frank?

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Pennsylvania key to both sides. President Bush was here at the very spot that Senator Kerry spoke at today just two weeks ago. Senator Kerry here to deliver a speech on his 19th visit to Pennsylvania since March.

He was here to deliver a speech, part of a series of what aides are calling closing arguments to this campaign -- each day the senator picking an issue, trying to make the case that he is the candidate with the best plan to deal with that particular issue.

Today, the topic was fiscal responsibility and, as John King just mentioned, Social Security. Senator Kerry saying that President Bush has driven up deficits during his administration and that he had plans to privatize Social Security, thereby jeopardizing benefits. As you heard, the president says that is a shameless scare tactic.

Senator Kerry, meanwhile, also meeting with some workers while he was here, prior to his speech. The senator saying that people in this region who suffered job losses, many of them have had to contend with not only losing a job, but also losing their health care coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: I cannot tell you how many workers I have met like that, who are left out there on their own, dangling, the lives of our fellow citizens hanging while a president and his friends keep feeding the people at the top, keep walking on by and crossing over to the other side of the street and ignoring those who need the help in America.

I'm going to be a champion for the middle class, for the working folks, for the people who deserve their chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: And expect to hear that over and over again, this theme that Senator Kerry would be the champion of the middle class if, in fact, he is elected. Also trying to make the point that President Bush is out of touch with the concerns of average Americans, as he continues this tour of battleground states -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Frank Buckley in Pennsylvania, thank you very much.

Exactly two weeks before Election Day, the race is still too close to call -- the country, of course, so deeply divided. If the current campaign climb it seems a bit familiar, it's because it's very similar to the situation exactly four years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): As the candidates approach the Election Day finish line, they're neck and neck. And depending on which of the numerous polls you look at, the Bush/Kerry contest is statistically as close as the Bush/Gore contest was at the same stage in the game four years ago.

Then, roughly two weeks before Election Day, a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup tracking poll of likely voters gave Bush a one-point lead over Gore, 46 percent to 45 percent with Ralph Nader taking three percent. That same poll would continue to fluctuate, though usually showing Bush ahead sometimes as much as 13 points. But it was Gore who went on to win the popular vote.

Fast forward to 2004. At about the same stage in the game, the spread in the Bush/Kerry contest according to the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 52 percent to 44 percent. But our poll of polls, which averages major surveys, including our own, shows a tight race, with Bush at 49 percent to Kerry's 45 percent. Another statistical tie.

After 9/11, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a recession, the country is as divided now as it was in 2000, when one candidate won the popular vote, another won the electoral college, and the Americans sat in limbo for more than a month not knowing who their next president would be.

FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP: Still got a couple of weeks to go, but it's quite likely it could end up being extremely close going into the Election Day itself on November 2nd. And if that's the case, if the national popular vote is very close, it increases almost exponentially the possibility of having the electoral college go a different way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We'll continue, of course, to watch all of these polls here at CNN.

When we come back, the Madrid train bombings caught on tape. Coming up video footage of the deadly terror attacks released for the first time.

Also, with the presidential election only two weeks away, will Bill Clinton recover from heart surgery in time to actually help John Kerry in his fight for the White House? And my conversation with the Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, about the government's response to the flu vaccine shortage. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Bill Clinton's plans to help John Kerry win the White House went out the window when he had bypass surgery. The question today, can the former president help out, even at this late moment? For that, we turn to CNN's Brian Todd -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's been at this time historically where Bill Clinton has excelled on the campaign trail. But there are all sorts of questions right now on whether having Clinton on the stump makes sense, medically or politically.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Six weeks since multiple bypass surgery. Two weeks until the election. Polls airtight in a number of states, including Arkansas. Your party needs you, Bill Clinton.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Clinton gets Democrats' juices flowing. They love him.

TODD: According to those closest to him the former president is feeling better every day and taking long walks near his home in Chappaqua, New York. He reportedly has not been cleared yet to hit the campaign trail. The key questions, will he be cleared, will it be in time to help John Kerry, and will he be up to it.

Because of doctor/patient confidentiality laws, Clinton's doctors couldn't give us specifics about his condition, but we asked Dick Cheney's cardiologist why six weeks out Clinton hasn't made a campaign appearance.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CHENEY'S CARDIOLOGIST: When the president goes out in public, he draws a crowd, often he has to meet and greet a lot of people and he's recovering from major surgery. So it may simply be that he just doesn't feel fully up to what has been a very rigorous schedule for him.

TODD: Dr. Jonathan Reiner and other cardiologists we spoke to say most normal bypass patients make a full recovery between four and eight weeks after surgery. Two cardiologists say Clinton could conceivably be jogging now or using a treadmill. But they also warn of potential complications at this stage, infections from surgical incisions, irregular heartbeats and post-operative depression. Kerry campaign officials are evasive when asked about Clinton's role in the next two weeks, but analysts say even with Bill Clinton's legendary campaign and fund-raising skills, a Clinton boost isn't a slam dunk.

SCHNEIDER: He gets Republicans' juices flowing, too and he could set off a counter reaction. Republicans could come out and vote against the Democrats, because Clinton just reminds them of everything they hate about the Democratic party. (END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Some analysts believe Clinton may be better utilized making phone calls, sending e-mails, coming in under the radar, perhaps not coincidentally that's exactly what he's been doing for the Kerry campaign for the Kerry campaign since his surgery -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very much. The Sinclair Broadcasting Group now says it will not air a film critical of John Kerry in its entirety. Yesterday Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief after he publicly criticized the company's plans to air the documentary entitled "Stolen Honor." The film attacks John Kerry for his anti-Vietnam war activities 30 years ago. In a statement Sinclair says that on Friday, this coming Friday, it will air a one-hour program based on the controversial documentary. The Kerry campaign says the film is unfair and inaccurate.

Seven months after the Madrid train bombings, chilling video of the terror attacks as they happened. That's coming up. We'll show it to you.

Also, an announcement to fill the gap in the flu shot shortage. I'll speak live with the Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was about as bad as it got, right?

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: You're very funny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, mom, what have I done?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The first lady speaking out about her spirited daughters and much more in an interview with Pat O'Brien. Pat will join us and we'll hear what the first lady had to say. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now on the flu vaccine shortage. That's our top story. Joining us now from the Department of Health and Human Services, the secretary, Tommy Thompson.

Mr. Secretary, thanks very much for joining us. You've got to feel as if you're at the center of this storm. It has all happened right now on your watch. Who is responsible for this failure?

TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECY.: This failure has been coming for some 25 years. Ten years ago, we had 10 companies, Wolf, that were producing flu vaccine. This year, we only have two. Reasons for it is because liability questions, number one. Number two, there's not an established market. Most of the companies who produced flu vaccine was not used and you can't carry flu vaccine over from one year to the next. Most companies were losing money. And so we have to establish a market and we also have to make sure that the liability question is taken care of, get more companies to come back in to produce flu vaccine for the future.

BLITZER: Now the Kerry campaign not surprisingly says, you know what, Mr. Secretary, you've had four years to get this job done, to fix the problem. You haven't done it even though you were warned about the problems three years ago.

THOMPSON: Well, first off, John Kerry has done nothing in 20 years to do anything to help out the problem. In fact, he exacerbated it, because the problem took place during the '90s when he was in the United States Senate.

The first year the president came into office, we have expanded the amount of money spent for flu vaccine. We've gone up over 700 percent from $40 million when we came in to this year we'll spend $283 million. Three years ago we asked Congress for $100 million to transform the flu vaccine and the industry, and we only got $50 million to do that.

We've been on top of this ever since we came in. We've been working towards this. We have got a contingency plan that is going to take care of the people in need in America. And we will be working through this and cooperating with people that need the vaccine, we'll be able -- hopefully, to be able to get it to them on time.

BLITZER: What makes you confident that the vaccine you're desperately trying to import now from Canada is safe?

THOMPSON: Well, first off, we're not doing that. We have got an additional 2.6 million doses from Aventis Pasteur today, which was welcome news. So we've got 58 million doses of the current vaccine, plus we've got 2 million doses of flu vaccine mist, which is 60 million doses.

Six years ago, we only used 62 million doses. We went out in the marketplace also, a year ago, and started buying Tamiflu and also Rimantadine, which is also used as prophylactics and a cure for the flu. And we have seven -- up to enough doses to treat 7 million individuals there.

So we have had contingency plans that we are implementing right now. We also are negotiating with Canada and we are hopeful that we're going to be able to pick up some additional millions of doses of vaccine from Canada to help us out during this period.

BLITZER: How many millions do you think, realistically, the Canadians can give the United States?

THOMPSON: Well, they have about 2 million doses. We're negotiating with the FDA right now. As we speak, we're in contact with the Canadian government. We also have got some other places that we're looking at. So right now, all we're telling people, don't stand in line. Be persistent and patient and we'll get the flu vaccines, especially to the elderly, because 91 percent of the deaths from flu vaccine are from the flu disease and the flu virus comes to those individuals that are 65 years or older.

BLITZER: I think you're under 65. I could be wrong, but I believe you're under 65. Have you gotten the flu vaccine or will you get it?

THOMPSON: I will not and I have not. And I'm telling all of those individuals that are under the age of 65, like I am, and like you are, Wolf, not to get your flu vaccine this year and practice other ways. We have many other treatments available, such as Tamiflu and many other anti-virals that are on the marketplace that can be used.

If, in fact, you come in contact with somebody that has the flu or if you become sick, see your doctor. And also , if you become sick, don't go into work. Stay home and don't spread the virus to other people.

BLITZER: If you're under 65, though, if you're pregnant or if you are chronically ill, you should get the vaccine. That's the caveat, right?

THOMPSON: That is correct. But number one category is those age 65 or older and those -- the second category are those between six months and 24 months. And we do have enough flu vaccine for those young children because we did purchase that from Aventis Pasteur and we got that in our stockpile.

BLITZER: That would be the French company. Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, thanks very much for joining us.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

BLITZER: And when we come back, we'll also hear a different perspective, Democrat congressman Henry Waxman, he has been monitoring this crisis involving the flu vaccine shortage. He'll join us later this hour with a different perspective on what's going on, no doubt.

Also, we've seen the aftermath. Now video surfacing for the first time on Spanish television, video of that Madrid train terror attack as it happened. We'll show it to you for the first time, a full report. That's coming up.

And this, months after the 9/11 Commission issued its findings, why reforms have stalled on Capitol Hill. Right now we'll take a closer look.

And the California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, breaking away from his own political party over a controversial issue. The hot topic coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Last March, a series of bomb blasts tore apart commuter trains in Madrid, Spain. We saw the horrible pictures of the aftermath. Now Spanish authorities have released videotape of the explosions as they happened.

Our Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Atocha Train Station in Madrid on March 11, three terrorist bombs ripped apart this train packed with morning rush hour commuters, a deadly sequence that lasted only seconds.

These security camera images from the train station now released by police for the first time after a Spanish TV station aired footage that it obtained.

The station filled with smoke as passengers tried to get away to an upper level. Ten bombs exploded on four Madrid commuter trains that day, the first terror attack in Europe linked to al Qaeda. The Atocha Station was only one of the locations.

The bombs killed 191 people and wounded more than 1800. The attacks came just three days before Spanish elections, and the conservative government, a staunch ally of the Bush administration in the Iraq war, fell after initially blaming homegrown terrorists. The new socialist government quickly brought Spain's troops home from Iraq.

This video, also released by police for the first time, was found two days after the attacks on the eve of the elections. A suspected Islamic terrorist claimed responsibility for the bombings, a claim the government was forced to make public just hours before the voting began.

This video, also released for the first time, was found several weeks later. Three suspected terrorists wearing hoods, but also holding guns and what appear to be explosives, threatened further attacks on Spain. Police believe the three were among seven suspected terrorists, all linked to the bombings, who blew themselves up in early April as police closed in on their hideout in a Madrid suburb.

Seven months after the deadliest terror attack ever in Spain, authorities have charged 55 suspects, many of them Moroccans. Others are still at large, being hunted under international arrest warrants.

Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: In Iraq, an international aid worker has been taken hostage as a bloody insurgency grinds on.

CNN's Karl Penhaul has the story from Baghdad. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Snatched by kidnappers and captured on camera. Just hours after aid worker Margaret Hassan was taken hostage, this proof of life was passed to Arabic-language broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

Margaret Hassan is director of CARE International's operations in Iraq. She is a dual British-Iraq citizen who has lived and breathed aid work in the country for half her life. So far, no clues about the kidnappers' identities, no explanation why, no demands.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We'll do whatever we can, obviously. This is someone who actually has lived in Iraq for 30 years. This is someone who is immensely respected, married to an Iraqi, someone who is doing her level best to help the country. And I think it shows you the type of people we are up against, that they were prepared to kidnap somebody like this.

PENHAUL: Hassan's kidnapping comes as Blair considers a conversational order to redeploy British troops to more volatile areas near Baghdad. That could free up more U.S. Marines for a possible assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

U.S. warplanes pounded Fallujah again overnight. An Army spokesman said these houses were being used by fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al Qaeda. The spokesman said airstrikes like these may have killed some of the terrorist network's leaders in recent days and destroyed some of its ammunition dumps.

Just north of Baghdad, more fighting. This plume of smoke rises after insurgents rained mortar fire onto an Iraqi National Guard base. U.S. helicopters helped ferry away the dead and scores of injured, another blow to Iraq's efforts to build its own security forces.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, it's the middle of the night here now, Wolf, and still no word from those kidnappers of Margaret Hassan as to what their demands are, whether this is a kidnap for ransom or whether they're going to be making some political demands. But you can bet your bottom dollar that Margaret Hassan right now is trying to explain to her kidnappers the enormous amount of good she has done over many, many years here in Iraqi during the Saddam Hussein regime and after the war to help ordinary Iraqis with her aid efforts -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's hope that she's freed very, very soon.

Thanks very much, Karl Penhaul, for that report from Baghdad.

This summer, 9/11 families got a boost when the 9/11 Commission called for a drastic overhaul of U.S. intelligence. The U.S. Senate and House quickly obliged with reform legislation, but right, it's far from a done deal.

Let's turn to our congressional correspondent Ed Henry -- Ed. ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Republicans wanted a Rose Garden signing ceremony for the president right before the election, but those hopes may be dashed by a bottleneck.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: On 9/11, Beverly Eckert lost her husband. She now fears other families will feel the same pain, because Congress has been slow to fix the intelligence community.

BEVERLY ECKERT, 9/11 FAMILY STEERING COMMITTEE: If Election Day comes and there's no bill on the president's desk, you better believe there will be at least one group who will be celebrating. And the name of that group is al Qaeda.

HENRY: The House and Senate passed vastly different bills last month; 9/11 Commission chair Tom Kean says there's only a 50/50 chance of a final product getting to the president by the election.

ABRAHAM SCOTT, 9/11 WIDOWER: It is just totally unacceptable. We need reform now.

HENRY: The Senate bill has a more powerful version of a national intelligence director and it would disclose the nation's intelligence budget, which critics say would give America's enemies an advantage. The House bill has strong surveillance and deportations powers that civil libertarians find objectionable.

Kean is urging the president to push Congress to compromise. The president says he wants a deal, but has not endorsed either bill.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These reforms are necessary to stay ahead of the threats. I urge Congress to act quickly so I can sign them into law.

HENRY: But the president stopped short of setting a deadline, and some 9/11 families charge they have gotten mixed signals from the White House.

This comes as Senator John Kerry charges, the country is less safe on the president's watch. That's a them his campaign pounds home with a new ad featuring former Bush supporter Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband was killed on 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

KRISTEN BREITWEISER, 9/11 WIDOW: And during the commission hearings, we learned the truth. We are no safer today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Other 9/11 families are coming forward to back the president. They say the extra provisions in the House bill are critical to keeping the nation secure.

HAMILTON PETERSON, LOST PARENTS ON 9/11: Politicizing this issue and trying to create a deadline of 14 days, I believe, is doing America a disservice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: There was some optimism last night when the White House endorsed pieces of the House and the Senate bills. But Democrats say the president will have to push harder. As one aide put it, this is a puff of air and what you need is a gust of wind -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Ed Henry, we'll see what they can do in the coming weeks. Appreciate it very much.

Breaking with party ranks. Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger takes a stand on a divisive issue. We'll get to that.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT O'BRIEN, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: What's the best thing about being married to George Bush?

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I love him. And I'm really glad to be married to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: With only two weeks until Election Day, the first lady, Laura Bush, speaks out with Pat O'Brien. He'll join me next.

And not taking any chances, the first lady hopeful, Teresa Heinz Kerry, jumps on the network circuit as well. Details on these last- minute plugs, that's all coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: He's a huge star in the Republican Party, but the California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger is breaking ranks with the GOP when it comes to the issue of stem cell research. He's endorsed a California bond measure that would provide $3 billion for embryonic stem cell research in that state. By backing what's called Proposition 71, Schwarzenegger puts himself at odds with his party, which opposes the measure, as well as with President Bush, who has limited research to existing stem cell lines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I am very much interested in stem cell research and support it 100 percent. It was just a question how the state will handle the financial side of it, because -- but they have done something smart, which is that there are no payments due in the next five years, so that's what really made me decide to support it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Earlier this hour, we discussed the issue of the flu vaccine shortage with the secretary of health and human services, Tommy Thompson.

Joining us now for a different perspective, the Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman of California. He's on the House Subcommittee on Health, very involved in health-related issues.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

If you listen to the Bush people, the Republicans, they say, you know what? It's all your fault, the Democrats, for all of this -- these manufacturers, American manufacturers are so concerned about litigation because of the Democrats, the trial lawyers, that you have to go overseas to manufacture the flu vaccine.

REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: The secretary does not want to take responsibility.

And I see this as a pattern with this administration. They never want to take responsibility for their failures. There have been recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, the General Accounting Office, the advisory committees to Secretary Thompson, telling him about the fragility of our vaccine system and how we needed to make sure that we had the supply and the way to make sure that if we didn't have the supply, we could get some kind of priorities for those who needed the vaccine the most.

I have worked on vaccines for a number of decades now. And we set up a liability compensation system in the 1980s. It's been very successful. It covers the flu vaccines. In fact, in the bill the Republicans were pushing on liability, they exempted the vaccines, because they're already covered by the vaccine system.

So they want to scream about liability, but that's just not an issue. That's a red herring. What is a problem is that the FDA did not inspect the plant in England for Chiron to be sure that they were going to make the supply needs available for our people. And the FDA, on so many issues, gets too cozy with the drug companies. So they just took the word from Chiron and gave them the benefit of the doubt that everything would be all right. The British didn't do that.

BLITZER: So where does the buck stop in this crisis?

WAXMAN: The buck has got to stop with the people in charge.

The secretary did not pay attention to the advice of his own people. I wrote to him in 2003, telling him that we've got to do something about the supply of the vaccine, to adopt some of the legislation that Senator Kerry is now proposing, fast-track approval of the vaccines to make sure that we can get more of an incentive for manufacturers to produce the vaccine by assuring them that the supply will be bought, things that are important to the companies as they make business decisions.

The liability is not an issue with them, because they know that the vaccine compensation system will take care of that. But the secretary ignored all of this. And now he wants to blame Kerry. He wants to blame the Democrats. He wants to blame everybody but himself.

BLITZER: Well, what would you do differently right now? There's going to be maybe close to 60 million doses. You really need 90, if not more, million doses. What should they be doing, the administration, right now, this year, that they're not doing?

WAXMAN: Well, it's awfully hard now. They've got over 2 -- I think -- .5 million of the vaccine coming from Aventis. It's too little, too late for millions of seniors.

They've already got a lot of the supply out. And they haven't even been able to track who the supply was shipped to. So now they've got to go and try to make up for the things they didn't do before now. They should do the best they can, but in order to make the needs of the highest priority, which they're not going to be able to do, they need to track what has already been shipped and intercede what has yet to be distributed, so that it can go to the people who need it the most.

And one day, they would tell people -- seniors -- to line up. The next day, they tell them not to. I have got people calling my office telling me they are 85 years old and they can't wait in these lines. Their doctors don't have the vaccine. The VA stopped giving the vaccines in Los Angeles. It's a mess. And the people in charge should take responsibility and not blame others.

BLITZER: Congressman Waxman, thanks for joining us.

WAXMAN: Thank you.

BLITZER: The candidates' wives taking to the airwaves. The first lady, Laura Bush, sits down with "The Insider's" Pat O'Brien. Pat is standing by. He will join us to talk about what he heard.

Plus, Teresa Heinz Kerry does daytime TV -- all that coming up.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): After eluding police for decades, India's most wanted bandit has been killed in a shoot-out with security forces. The 60-year-old smuggler, known for his handlebar mustache, was called the Jungle Cat for his ability to disappear in the forest. He was accused of more than 100 murders.

Cleric charged. Britain has filed 16 charges against Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, interesting solicitation of murder and inciting racial hatred. He is being held in a London prison and faces terrorism charges in the United States.

Sudan appeal. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan discussed Sudan with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. Annan says Sudan needs another $200 million for humanitarian aid and peacekeeping.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With the election only two weeks away, the first lady, Laura Bush, is doing her part by hitting the campaign trail, as well as doing certain television talk shows. One of her latest stops was on "The Insider."

"The Insider" host, Pat O'Brien, here in Washington.

Good to have you in Washington.

O'BRIEN: Nice to see you, Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to run a clip, an excerpt, from your report, because you spent some quality time with the first lady.

O'BRIEN: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE INSIDER")

O'BRIEN: Some dating tips for your daughters. Do you think they'll ever bring Democrats home?

L. BUSH: Sure, probably.

O'BRIEN: Would you care?

L. BUSH: No. I wouldn't care in the least. I just hope they find somebody they really love that loves them.

O'BRIEN: Is it tough to have them out dating and out in the world? They're getting a lot more coverage now.

L. BUSH: That's right.

O'BRIEN: And do you worry about them?

L. BUSH: You know, we were very careful. We protected them their whole lives. When they were born, their grandfather was vice president. So, for almost all of their lives, they've had somebody in their family in public office.

And we made a real effort to protect them, so they could grow up and make the same mistakes everybody else makes in privacy, rather than on the public stage.

O'BRIEN: This is one very public moment the first lady would rather forget, first daughter Jenna Bush sticking her tongue out at the press corps in Missouri.

L. BUSH: They're great girls.

O'BRIEN: Sticking her tongue out was about as bad as it got, right?

L. BUSH: They're very funny.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Did she go, oh, mom, what have I done?

L. BUSH: Yes. She was humiliated.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

And impressions are everything, especially on the campaign trail.

So you look great. I'm trying to figure out. I saw you this morning and I saw the president. And you both looked great. How do you do this? I think American women want to know how you legitimately look so fresh all the time.

L. BUSH: Well, thanks for saying that.

It is a lot. Those campaigns are unbelievable. They're exhausting, but we are very careful. We go to bed early. And...

O'BRIEN: But can you eat right?

L. BUSH: We can eat right.

O'BRIEN: Do you drink enough water?

(CROSSTALK)

L. BUSH: We drink water all the time. We know the rule about drinking water on the planes and how dehydrating planes are.

O'BRIEN: What's the best thing about being married to George Bush?

L. BUSH: I love him. And I'm really glad to be married to him and get to spend my life with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I have interviewed her, Pat. She's very sincere and down to earth.

O'BRIEN: We talked about a lot of issues, Wolf. It's on tonight on "The Insider." We talked a lot about stem cell research. We talked about the comments about Dick Cheney's daughter. She was very firm on those issues. We talked about the campaign coming down to, could the tide turn in this campaign maybe over stem cell research?

BLITZER: Well, what did she say about the stem cell research, because it's -- with Arnold Schwarzenegger today bolting with the GOP out in California on this Proposition 71, it's a hot-button issue.

O'BRIEN: Bolting is putting it lightly. Here's one of the more popular Republicans, if not the most popular Republican, in the country, and if not the most popular politician in the country and the most well-known one in the world, bolting with his party on an issue that has just got all kinds of mine fields all over it.

I think it's going to change the face of this election. I think it puts another face on stem cell research, brings it up to the forefront in this election. With 14 days left, who knows what is going to happen.

BLITZER: Well, the first lady, was she giving any ground on that?

O'BRIEN: No. She held her ground, saying what she has always said in the past, that it gives people false hope, perhaps, that her husband has contributed some money for research. But she said the book is out on it.

BLITZER: Take us behind the scenes at the White House and tell us what our viewers are not -- didn't just see and what they're not going to see on your show.

O'BRIEN: Well, they're going to see a lot on the show, because we're going to show them some rooms in the White House that aren't seen a lot. She took us through the rooms and showed us the portraits of other first ladies.

Interesting dynamics, that she loves the Jackie Onassis portrait. Her favorite is Lady Bird Johnson, obviously from Texas. She took us in the East Room, on the South Lawn. We went all over the White House, got a great tour. By the way...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: She spent some quality time.

O'BRIEN: Yes. If you're going to tour the White House, get it from a first lady.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: The president is not too bad either.

What about Teresa Heinz Kerry? Is she going to sit down with you?

O'BRIEN: We're going to try to get Teresa Heinz Kerry to sit down and try to get the senator to sit down. We'll go for them all in the next 14 days.

BLITZER: You have got 14 days to...

O'BRIEN: The election is going right through me, Wolf.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: To take advantage of this. Going through the White House with the first lady, no matter how many times you go -- and I was a White House correspondent for a long, long time -- it's pretty exciting.

O'BRIEN: It's great. I went to school here in Washington. I've been around the White House a lot.

But every time you go in there -- it's like the national anthem. And every time you hear it, something stirs up inside you. And I'm an antiques buff, so it's fun to go in there and look at all the furniture and fixtures and that sort of thing.

BLITZER: How important is it for the first lady, for Teresa Heinz Kerry, to sit down with you, to sit down with Regis and Kelly, some of these other shows? "The View," Teresa Heinz Kerry was on that show today.

A lot of women watch those shows, especially women.

O'BRIEN: Well, it's a whole another audience for them.

You have a certain audience, a great, smart audience that watches all day long. They've been watching you all day long. You've had a busy day here.

But our audience is a different kind of audience. They're a smart audience. They're more female. That's not the kind of audience that politicians usually connect with. They connect with them maybe at the polls, but they don't see them every day. So I think it's smart for them to do that.

BLITZER: So "The Insider" will start running the interview tonight. You're going to do it over a few days?

O'BRIEN: Do it over the next couple of days, tonight, 7:00 in New York, 7:30 in Los Angeles. Check your local listings. And we're there.

BLITZER: OK, Pat O'Brien.

O'BRIEN: Nice to see you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Good to see you in Washington.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: A good friend.

Like Laura Bush, as I said, Teresa Heinz Kerry is busy seeking votes for her husband, Senator John Kerry. Noted for speaking her mind, she appeared on the television talk show "The View" earlier today and gave her take on why her comments are sometimes misunderstood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW") TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: What I have said, I meant to say it. And sometimes I might say some things that, in my English language, which I learned English -- English -- sometimes, they mean certain things and in the American language, they mean other things.

And my son sometimes says, mom, that's not what it means. And I have some funny stories of kids growing up and say things I didn't know what they were saying and then they explained it to me, and normally not very nice things to repeat.

But, you know, that's what you learn. And so -- but, I mean, my intent and my expression is real. The actual use of the word may be out of place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And, as you would expect, Mrs. Heinz Kerry also put in a big plug for her husband, saying -- and I'm quoting now -- "If I had to be in a foxhole, I would like to be with John Kerry."

A small package and a big achievement, details of Tiny's possible claim to fame. You'll want to watch this when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Look very, very, very closely, because the subject of our picture of the day may be, may be, the world's smallest dog.

Officials from "The Guinness Book of Records" are now on their way to India to verify the claim. The owners of this Chihuahua, appropriately named Tiny, say she is just over 7 inches long, slightly smaller than the current record holder. That would be a Slovakian Chihuahua. I love saying that, Slovakian Chihuahua.

A reminder, you can always catch us here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm also around noon Eastern every weekday. Until tomorrow, thanks for joining us.

"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


Aired October 19, 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 -- a new announcement easing the flu shot shortage, but why it won't be enough.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): It's contagious -- flu fears grip the campaign.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots.

BLITZER: But who should get the blame for the vaccine shortfall?

Kerry on the attack.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: His four-year spending spree on tax giveaways on millionaires has undermined the hopes of middle-class families.

BLITZER: Moment of terror caught on tape -- what do the images tell us about the Madrid bombings?

Breaking with his party -- Schwarzenegger's stand.

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I am very much interested in stem-cell research and support it 100 percent.

BLITZER: And inside the White House.

PAT O'BRIEN: What's the best thing about being married to George Bush?

BLITZER: Insider Pat O'Brien brings us his interview with First Lady Laura Bush.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Tuesday, October 19th, 2004.

BLITZER (on camera): With Americans standing in long lines for hours at a time lining up for flu shots all over this country, the Bush administration is trying to buy vaccine right now from Canada.

Our Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the latest from the CNN Center in Atlanta -- Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the government is trying to buy flu vaccine from north of the border, but the question is will it really make a difference?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Lines, lines, and more lines. But now, the nation's top health official says the government has managed to find more vaccine.

TOMMY THOMPSON, HHS SECRETARY: We need all of us to take a deep breath. We've successfully worked through vaccine supply problems in the past, and we're doing so this time, as well.

COHEN: But a look at the number shows the newly-found vaccine won't even come close to making up for the shortage.

With the new shots, the government predicts there will be 58 million flu shots on the market. Compare that to last year when 90 million doses of flu vaccine were given out. Plus, many of the new doses won't be coming until January. The flu season sometimes can peak as early as September, like it did last year.

One new source of flu shots could be to the north. The federal government is negotiating to get 1.5 million doses from Canada. Already Americans are taking matters into their own hands and crossing the boarder to get shots -- Americans like Anna Smith who says she needs the shot because she has cancer.

ANNA SMITH, CANCER PATIENT: It's ridiculous that I'm a -- you know, a person that really needs it and I can't get one in my own country?

COHEN: In one town in New Jersey, they're having a lottery to see who gets flu shots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you have thousands -- 8,000 senior citizens that we have in the township -- and you only have 300 shots, you've got to give them out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on camera): Now, because of the shortage, flu shots this year are supposed to be reserved for the very old, the very young, the sick, and the pregnant. And that's why one hotel in Las Vegas is coming under fire for vaccinating its workers -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks very much. And we'll have much more on the flu vaccine shortage coming up just a few minutes from now. I'll discuss the government's response with Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. From the flu to Social Security to the war on terror, President Bush finds himself fighting a defensive battle on the campaign trail. But he clearly feels the best defense is a strong offense.

Let's go live to our senior White House correspondent John King. He's joining us from The Villages in Florida -- John?

JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, a full day for the president here in Florida today. Three full days of campaigning in this state over the past week. If you had any doubt that this state is just as important to the president this time as it was when it proved decisive in the last election, set those doubts aside.

The president campaigning today, strikingly different in his tone than yesterday. Just yesterday, the president knocked Senator Kerry off his plan with a scathing attack on national security. Today, it was the president responding on several issues to attacks from Senator Kerry here at The Villages -- it's a retirement community a little less than an hour northwest of Orlando.

Mr. Bush saying that Senator Kerry is now engaging in cynical attacks because he is desperate, the Bush campaign says. But the president, very early in his speech here, trying to rebut allegations from Senator Kerry when the Democrat says that a second term might lead to bankruptcy for Social Security and might even lead to the restoration of the draft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: My opponent will say anything he thinks will benefit him politically at the time. I will do what I have said I will do. We will keep the promise of Social Security for our seniors, and there will be no draft as long as I am the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Social Security and the draft obviously important issues nationally and in this state. The elderly vote is critical here in Florida. This part of the state also has many military families -- you see as you drive across the state here.

So, the president rebutting Senator Kerry on those issues. Earlier this morning, too, in St. Petersburg, the president deciding he could not leave unanswered another allegation from Senator Kerry, and it is now the subject of a Kerry radio ad here in Florida. There are flu vaccine shortages across the country, as you noted at the top of the program. Senator Kerry says that is the president and the Bush administration's fault. The president says not so.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: I know there are some here who are worried about the flu season. I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots. Despite the major manufacturing defect that caused this problem, we have millions of vaccine doses on hand for the most vulnerable Americans, and millions more will be shipped in the coming weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Now, this is one of 11 states across the country that has early voting already underway. That is why the Bush campaign says the president was here today and will be here twice more in the coming days. Mr. Bush using this speech to urge Florida citizens to get out and vote early if they so desire.

And Wolf, as he was speaking here, there's one of those polling stations less than a mile up the road -- Wolf?

BLITZER: John King in Florida for us. Thanks, John, very much.

The Democrat, John Kerry, pressed his attack in another key battleground state. That would be Pennsylvania. Our national correspondent Frank Buckley joining us now live from Wilkes-Barre -- Frank?

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Pennsylvania key to both sides. President Bush was here at the very spot that Senator Kerry spoke at today just two weeks ago. Senator Kerry here to deliver a speech on his 19th visit to Pennsylvania since March.

He was here to deliver a speech, part of a series of what aides are calling closing arguments to this campaign -- each day the senator picking an issue, trying to make the case that he is the candidate with the best plan to deal with that particular issue.

Today, the topic was fiscal responsibility and, as John King just mentioned, Social Security. Senator Kerry saying that President Bush has driven up deficits during his administration and that he had plans to privatize Social Security, thereby jeopardizing benefits. As you heard, the president says that is a shameless scare tactic.

Senator Kerry, meanwhile, also meeting with some workers while he was here, prior to his speech. The senator saying that people in this region who suffered job losses, many of them have had to contend with not only losing a job, but also losing their health care coverage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY: I cannot tell you how many workers I have met like that, who are left out there on their own, dangling, the lives of our fellow citizens hanging while a president and his friends keep feeding the people at the top, keep walking on by and crossing over to the other side of the street and ignoring those who need the help in America.

I'm going to be a champion for the middle class, for the working folks, for the people who deserve their chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BUCKLEY: And expect to hear that over and over again, this theme that Senator Kerry would be the champion of the middle class if, in fact, he is elected. Also trying to make the point that President Bush is out of touch with the concerns of average Americans, as he continues this tour of battleground states -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Frank Buckley in Pennsylvania, thank you very much.

Exactly two weeks before Election Day, the race is still too close to call -- the country, of course, so deeply divided. If the current campaign climb it seems a bit familiar, it's because it's very similar to the situation exactly four years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): As the candidates approach the Election Day finish line, they're neck and neck. And depending on which of the numerous polls you look at, the Bush/Kerry contest is statistically as close as the Bush/Gore contest was at the same stage in the game four years ago.

Then, roughly two weeks before Election Day, a CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup tracking poll of likely voters gave Bush a one-point lead over Gore, 46 percent to 45 percent with Ralph Nader taking three percent. That same poll would continue to fluctuate, though usually showing Bush ahead sometimes as much as 13 points. But it was Gore who went on to win the popular vote.

Fast forward to 2004. At about the same stage in the game, the spread in the Bush/Kerry contest according to the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 52 percent to 44 percent. But our poll of polls, which averages major surveys, including our own, shows a tight race, with Bush at 49 percent to Kerry's 45 percent. Another statistical tie.

After 9/11, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a recession, the country is as divided now as it was in 2000, when one candidate won the popular vote, another won the electoral college, and the Americans sat in limbo for more than a month not knowing who their next president would be.

FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP: Still got a couple of weeks to go, but it's quite likely it could end up being extremely close going into the Election Day itself on November 2nd. And if that's the case, if the national popular vote is very close, it increases almost exponentially the possibility of having the electoral college go a different way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: We'll continue, of course, to watch all of these polls here at CNN.

When we come back, the Madrid train bombings caught on tape. Coming up video footage of the deadly terror attacks released for the first time.

Also, with the presidential election only two weeks away, will Bill Clinton recover from heart surgery in time to actually help John Kerry in his fight for the White House? And my conversation with the Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, about the government's response to the flu vaccine shortage. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Bill Clinton's plans to help John Kerry win the White House went out the window when he had bypass surgery. The question today, can the former president help out, even at this late moment? For that, we turn to CNN's Brian Todd -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's been at this time historically where Bill Clinton has excelled on the campaign trail. But there are all sorts of questions right now on whether having Clinton on the stump makes sense, medically or politically.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Six weeks since multiple bypass surgery. Two weeks until the election. Polls airtight in a number of states, including Arkansas. Your party needs you, Bill Clinton.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Clinton gets Democrats' juices flowing. They love him.

TODD: According to those closest to him the former president is feeling better every day and taking long walks near his home in Chappaqua, New York. He reportedly has not been cleared yet to hit the campaign trail. The key questions, will he be cleared, will it be in time to help John Kerry, and will he be up to it.

Because of doctor/patient confidentiality laws, Clinton's doctors couldn't give us specifics about his condition, but we asked Dick Cheney's cardiologist why six weeks out Clinton hasn't made a campaign appearance.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CHENEY'S CARDIOLOGIST: When the president goes out in public, he draws a crowd, often he has to meet and greet a lot of people and he's recovering from major surgery. So it may simply be that he just doesn't feel fully up to what has been a very rigorous schedule for him.

TODD: Dr. Jonathan Reiner and other cardiologists we spoke to say most normal bypass patients make a full recovery between four and eight weeks after surgery. Two cardiologists say Clinton could conceivably be jogging now or using a treadmill. But they also warn of potential complications at this stage, infections from surgical incisions, irregular heartbeats and post-operative depression. Kerry campaign officials are evasive when asked about Clinton's role in the next two weeks, but analysts say even with Bill Clinton's legendary campaign and fund-raising skills, a Clinton boost isn't a slam dunk.

SCHNEIDER: He gets Republicans' juices flowing, too and he could set off a counter reaction. Republicans could come out and vote against the Democrats, because Clinton just reminds them of everything they hate about the Democratic party. (END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Some analysts believe Clinton may be better utilized making phone calls, sending e-mails, coming in under the radar, perhaps not coincidentally that's exactly what he's been doing for the Kerry campaign for the Kerry campaign since his surgery -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Brian Todd, thanks very much. The Sinclair Broadcasting Group now says it will not air a film critical of John Kerry in its entirety. Yesterday Sinclair fired its Washington bureau chief after he publicly criticized the company's plans to air the documentary entitled "Stolen Honor." The film attacks John Kerry for his anti-Vietnam war activities 30 years ago. In a statement Sinclair says that on Friday, this coming Friday, it will air a one-hour program based on the controversial documentary. The Kerry campaign says the film is unfair and inaccurate.

Seven months after the Madrid train bombings, chilling video of the terror attacks as they happened. That's coming up. We'll show it to you.

Also, an announcement to fill the gap in the flu shot shortage. I'll speak live with the Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) was about as bad as it got, right?

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: You're very funny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, mom, what have I done?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The first lady speaking out about her spirited daughters and much more in an interview with Pat O'Brien. Pat will join us and we'll hear what the first lady had to say. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now on the flu vaccine shortage. That's our top story. Joining us now from the Department of Health and Human Services, the secretary, Tommy Thompson.

Mr. Secretary, thanks very much for joining us. You've got to feel as if you're at the center of this storm. It has all happened right now on your watch. Who is responsible for this failure?

TOMMY THOMPSON, HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES SECY.: This failure has been coming for some 25 years. Ten years ago, we had 10 companies, Wolf, that were producing flu vaccine. This year, we only have two. Reasons for it is because liability questions, number one. Number two, there's not an established market. Most of the companies who produced flu vaccine was not used and you can't carry flu vaccine over from one year to the next. Most companies were losing money. And so we have to establish a market and we also have to make sure that the liability question is taken care of, get more companies to come back in to produce flu vaccine for the future.

BLITZER: Now the Kerry campaign not surprisingly says, you know what, Mr. Secretary, you've had four years to get this job done, to fix the problem. You haven't done it even though you were warned about the problems three years ago.

THOMPSON: Well, first off, John Kerry has done nothing in 20 years to do anything to help out the problem. In fact, he exacerbated it, because the problem took place during the '90s when he was in the United States Senate.

The first year the president came into office, we have expanded the amount of money spent for flu vaccine. We've gone up over 700 percent from $40 million when we came in to this year we'll spend $283 million. Three years ago we asked Congress for $100 million to transform the flu vaccine and the industry, and we only got $50 million to do that.

We've been on top of this ever since we came in. We've been working towards this. We have got a contingency plan that is going to take care of the people in need in America. And we will be working through this and cooperating with people that need the vaccine, we'll be able -- hopefully, to be able to get it to them on time.

BLITZER: What makes you confident that the vaccine you're desperately trying to import now from Canada is safe?

THOMPSON: Well, first off, we're not doing that. We have got an additional 2.6 million doses from Aventis Pasteur today, which was welcome news. So we've got 58 million doses of the current vaccine, plus we've got 2 million doses of flu vaccine mist, which is 60 million doses.

Six years ago, we only used 62 million doses. We went out in the marketplace also, a year ago, and started buying Tamiflu and also Rimantadine, which is also used as prophylactics and a cure for the flu. And we have seven -- up to enough doses to treat 7 million individuals there.

So we have had contingency plans that we are implementing right now. We also are negotiating with Canada and we are hopeful that we're going to be able to pick up some additional millions of doses of vaccine from Canada to help us out during this period.

BLITZER: How many millions do you think, realistically, the Canadians can give the United States?

THOMPSON: Well, they have about 2 million doses. We're negotiating with the FDA right now. As we speak, we're in contact with the Canadian government. We also have got some other places that we're looking at. So right now, all we're telling people, don't stand in line. Be persistent and patient and we'll get the flu vaccines, especially to the elderly, because 91 percent of the deaths from flu vaccine are from the flu disease and the flu virus comes to those individuals that are 65 years or older.

BLITZER: I think you're under 65. I could be wrong, but I believe you're under 65. Have you gotten the flu vaccine or will you get it?

THOMPSON: I will not and I have not. And I'm telling all of those individuals that are under the age of 65, like I am, and like you are, Wolf, not to get your flu vaccine this year and practice other ways. We have many other treatments available, such as Tamiflu and many other anti-virals that are on the marketplace that can be used.

If, in fact, you come in contact with somebody that has the flu or if you become sick, see your doctor. And also , if you become sick, don't go into work. Stay home and don't spread the virus to other people.

BLITZER: If you're under 65, though, if you're pregnant or if you are chronically ill, you should get the vaccine. That's the caveat, right?

THOMPSON: That is correct. But number one category is those age 65 or older and those -- the second category are those between six months and 24 months. And we do have enough flu vaccine for those young children because we did purchase that from Aventis Pasteur and we got that in our stockpile.

BLITZER: That would be the French company. Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health and human services, thanks very much for joining us.

THOMPSON: Thank you.

BLITZER: And when we come back, we'll also hear a different perspective, Democrat congressman Henry Waxman, he has been monitoring this crisis involving the flu vaccine shortage. He'll join us later this hour with a different perspective on what's going on, no doubt.

Also, we've seen the aftermath. Now video surfacing for the first time on Spanish television, video of that Madrid train terror attack as it happened. We'll show it to you for the first time, a full report. That's coming up.

And this, months after the 9/11 Commission issued its findings, why reforms have stalled on Capitol Hill. Right now we'll take a closer look.

And the California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, breaking away from his own political party over a controversial issue. The hot topic coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From our studios in Washington, once again, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: Last March, a series of bomb blasts tore apart commuter trains in Madrid, Spain. We saw the horrible pictures of the aftermath. Now Spanish authorities have released videotape of the explosions as they happened.

Our Madrid bureau chief, Al Goodman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN MADRID BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Atocha Train Station in Madrid on March 11, three terrorist bombs ripped apart this train packed with morning rush hour commuters, a deadly sequence that lasted only seconds.

These security camera images from the train station now released by police for the first time after a Spanish TV station aired footage that it obtained.

The station filled with smoke as passengers tried to get away to an upper level. Ten bombs exploded on four Madrid commuter trains that day, the first terror attack in Europe linked to al Qaeda. The Atocha Station was only one of the locations.

The bombs killed 191 people and wounded more than 1800. The attacks came just three days before Spanish elections, and the conservative government, a staunch ally of the Bush administration in the Iraq war, fell after initially blaming homegrown terrorists. The new socialist government quickly brought Spain's troops home from Iraq.

This video, also released by police for the first time, was found two days after the attacks on the eve of the elections. A suspected Islamic terrorist claimed responsibility for the bombings, a claim the government was forced to make public just hours before the voting began.

This video, also released for the first time, was found several weeks later. Three suspected terrorists wearing hoods, but also holding guns and what appear to be explosives, threatened further attacks on Spain. Police believe the three were among seven suspected terrorists, all linked to the bombings, who blew themselves up in early April as police closed in on their hideout in a Madrid suburb.

Seven months after the deadliest terror attack ever in Spain, authorities have charged 55 suspects, many of them Moroccans. Others are still at large, being hunted under international arrest warrants.

Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: In Iraq, an international aid worker has been taken hostage as a bloody insurgency grinds on.

CNN's Karl Penhaul has the story from Baghdad. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Snatched by kidnappers and captured on camera. Just hours after aid worker Margaret Hassan was taken hostage, this proof of life was passed to Arabic-language broadcaster Al-Jazeera.

Margaret Hassan is director of CARE International's operations in Iraq. She is a dual British-Iraq citizen who has lived and breathed aid work in the country for half her life. So far, no clues about the kidnappers' identities, no explanation why, no demands.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: We'll do whatever we can, obviously. This is someone who actually has lived in Iraq for 30 years. This is someone who is immensely respected, married to an Iraqi, someone who is doing her level best to help the country. And I think it shows you the type of people we are up against, that they were prepared to kidnap somebody like this.

PENHAUL: Hassan's kidnapping comes as Blair considers a conversational order to redeploy British troops to more volatile areas near Baghdad. That could free up more U.S. Marines for a possible assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah.

U.S. warplanes pounded Fallujah again overnight. An Army spokesman said these houses were being used by fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and al Qaeda. The spokesman said airstrikes like these may have killed some of the terrorist network's leaders in recent days and destroyed some of its ammunition dumps.

Just north of Baghdad, more fighting. This plume of smoke rises after insurgents rained mortar fire onto an Iraqi National Guard base. U.S. helicopters helped ferry away the dead and scores of injured, another blow to Iraq's efforts to build its own security forces.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: Now, it's the middle of the night here now, Wolf, and still no word from those kidnappers of Margaret Hassan as to what their demands are, whether this is a kidnap for ransom or whether they're going to be making some political demands. But you can bet your bottom dollar that Margaret Hassan right now is trying to explain to her kidnappers the enormous amount of good she has done over many, many years here in Iraqi during the Saddam Hussein regime and after the war to help ordinary Iraqis with her aid efforts -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Let's hope that she's freed very, very soon.

Thanks very much, Karl Penhaul, for that report from Baghdad.

This summer, 9/11 families got a boost when the 9/11 Commission called for a drastic overhaul of U.S. intelligence. The U.S. Senate and House quickly obliged with reform legislation, but right, it's far from a done deal.

Let's turn to our congressional correspondent Ed Henry -- Ed. ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Republicans wanted a Rose Garden signing ceremony for the president right before the election, but those hopes may be dashed by a bottleneck.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: On 9/11, Beverly Eckert lost her husband. She now fears other families will feel the same pain, because Congress has been slow to fix the intelligence community.

BEVERLY ECKERT, 9/11 FAMILY STEERING COMMITTEE: If Election Day comes and there's no bill on the president's desk, you better believe there will be at least one group who will be celebrating. And the name of that group is al Qaeda.

HENRY: The House and Senate passed vastly different bills last month; 9/11 Commission chair Tom Kean says there's only a 50/50 chance of a final product getting to the president by the election.

ABRAHAM SCOTT, 9/11 WIDOWER: It is just totally unacceptable. We need reform now.

HENRY: The Senate bill has a more powerful version of a national intelligence director and it would disclose the nation's intelligence budget, which critics say would give America's enemies an advantage. The House bill has strong surveillance and deportations powers that civil libertarians find objectionable.

Kean is urging the president to push Congress to compromise. The president says he wants a deal, but has not endorsed either bill.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These reforms are necessary to stay ahead of the threats. I urge Congress to act quickly so I can sign them into law.

HENRY: But the president stopped short of setting a deadline, and some 9/11 families charge they have gotten mixed signals from the White House.

This comes as Senator John Kerry charges, the country is less safe on the president's watch. That's a them his campaign pounds home with a new ad featuring former Bush supporter Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband was killed on 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

KRISTEN BREITWEISER, 9/11 WIDOW: And during the commission hearings, we learned the truth. We are no safer today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Other 9/11 families are coming forward to back the president. They say the extra provisions in the House bill are critical to keeping the nation secure.

HAMILTON PETERSON, LOST PARENTS ON 9/11: Politicizing this issue and trying to create a deadline of 14 days, I believe, is doing America a disservice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: There was some optimism last night when the White House endorsed pieces of the House and the Senate bills. But Democrats say the president will have to push harder. As one aide put it, this is a puff of air and what you need is a gust of wind -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Ed Henry, we'll see what they can do in the coming weeks. Appreciate it very much.

Breaking with party ranks. Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger takes a stand on a divisive issue. We'll get to that.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT O'BRIEN, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: What's the best thing about being married to George Bush?

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I love him. And I'm really glad to be married to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: With only two weeks until Election Day, the first lady, Laura Bush, speaks out with Pat O'Brien. He'll join me next.

And not taking any chances, the first lady hopeful, Teresa Heinz Kerry, jumps on the network circuit as well. Details on these last- minute plugs, that's all coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: He's a huge star in the Republican Party, but the California governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger is breaking ranks with the GOP when it comes to the issue of stem cell research. He's endorsed a California bond measure that would provide $3 billion for embryonic stem cell research in that state. By backing what's called Proposition 71, Schwarzenegger puts himself at odds with his party, which opposes the measure, as well as with President Bush, who has limited research to existing stem cell lines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I am very much interested in stem cell research and support it 100 percent. It was just a question how the state will handle the financial side of it, because -- but they have done something smart, which is that there are no payments due in the next five years, so that's what really made me decide to support it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Earlier this hour, we discussed the issue of the flu vaccine shortage with the secretary of health and human services, Tommy Thompson.

Joining us now for a different perspective, the Democratic Congressman Henry Waxman of California. He's on the House Subcommittee on Health, very involved in health-related issues.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

If you listen to the Bush people, the Republicans, they say, you know what? It's all your fault, the Democrats, for all of this -- these manufacturers, American manufacturers are so concerned about litigation because of the Democrats, the trial lawyers, that you have to go overseas to manufacture the flu vaccine.

REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: The secretary does not want to take responsibility.

And I see this as a pattern with this administration. They never want to take responsibility for their failures. There have been recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, the General Accounting Office, the advisory committees to Secretary Thompson, telling him about the fragility of our vaccine system and how we needed to make sure that we had the supply and the way to make sure that if we didn't have the supply, we could get some kind of priorities for those who needed the vaccine the most.

I have worked on vaccines for a number of decades now. And we set up a liability compensation system in the 1980s. It's been very successful. It covers the flu vaccines. In fact, in the bill the Republicans were pushing on liability, they exempted the vaccines, because they're already covered by the vaccine system.

So they want to scream about liability, but that's just not an issue. That's a red herring. What is a problem is that the FDA did not inspect the plant in England for Chiron to be sure that they were going to make the supply needs available for our people. And the FDA, on so many issues, gets too cozy with the drug companies. So they just took the word from Chiron and gave them the benefit of the doubt that everything would be all right. The British didn't do that.

BLITZER: So where does the buck stop in this crisis?

WAXMAN: The buck has got to stop with the people in charge.

The secretary did not pay attention to the advice of his own people. I wrote to him in 2003, telling him that we've got to do something about the supply of the vaccine, to adopt some of the legislation that Senator Kerry is now proposing, fast-track approval of the vaccines to make sure that we can get more of an incentive for manufacturers to produce the vaccine by assuring them that the supply will be bought, things that are important to the companies as they make business decisions.

The liability is not an issue with them, because they know that the vaccine compensation system will take care of that. But the secretary ignored all of this. And now he wants to blame Kerry. He wants to blame the Democrats. He wants to blame everybody but himself.

BLITZER: Well, what would you do differently right now? There's going to be maybe close to 60 million doses. You really need 90, if not more, million doses. What should they be doing, the administration, right now, this year, that they're not doing?

WAXMAN: Well, it's awfully hard now. They've got over 2 -- I think -- .5 million of the vaccine coming from Aventis. It's too little, too late for millions of seniors.

They've already got a lot of the supply out. And they haven't even been able to track who the supply was shipped to. So now they've got to go and try to make up for the things they didn't do before now. They should do the best they can, but in order to make the needs of the highest priority, which they're not going to be able to do, they need to track what has already been shipped and intercede what has yet to be distributed, so that it can go to the people who need it the most.

And one day, they would tell people -- seniors -- to line up. The next day, they tell them not to. I have got people calling my office telling me they are 85 years old and they can't wait in these lines. Their doctors don't have the vaccine. The VA stopped giving the vaccines in Los Angeles. It's a mess. And the people in charge should take responsibility and not blame others.

BLITZER: Congressman Waxman, thanks for joining us.

WAXMAN: Thank you.

BLITZER: The candidates' wives taking to the airwaves. The first lady, Laura Bush, sits down with "The Insider's" Pat O'Brien. Pat is standing by. He will join us to talk about what he heard.

Plus, Teresa Heinz Kerry does daytime TV -- all that coming up.

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER (voice-over): After eluding police for decades, India's most wanted bandit has been killed in a shoot-out with security forces. The 60-year-old smuggler, known for his handlebar mustache, was called the Jungle Cat for his ability to disappear in the forest. He was accused of more than 100 murders.

Cleric charged. Britain has filed 16 charges against Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri, interesting solicitation of murder and inciting racial hatred. He is being held in a London prison and faces terrorism charges in the United States.

Sudan appeal. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan discussed Sudan with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. Annan says Sudan needs another $200 million for humanitarian aid and peacekeeping.

And that's our look around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: With the election only two weeks away, the first lady, Laura Bush, is doing her part by hitting the campaign trail, as well as doing certain television talk shows. One of her latest stops was on "The Insider."

"The Insider" host, Pat O'Brien, here in Washington.

Good to have you in Washington.

O'BRIEN: Nice to see you, Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to run a clip, an excerpt, from your report, because you spent some quality time with the first lady.

O'BRIEN: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE INSIDER")

O'BRIEN: Some dating tips for your daughters. Do you think they'll ever bring Democrats home?

L. BUSH: Sure, probably.

O'BRIEN: Would you care?

L. BUSH: No. I wouldn't care in the least. I just hope they find somebody they really love that loves them.

O'BRIEN: Is it tough to have them out dating and out in the world? They're getting a lot more coverage now.

L. BUSH: That's right.

O'BRIEN: And do you worry about them?

L. BUSH: You know, we were very careful. We protected them their whole lives. When they were born, their grandfather was vice president. So, for almost all of their lives, they've had somebody in their family in public office.

And we made a real effort to protect them, so they could grow up and make the same mistakes everybody else makes in privacy, rather than on the public stage.

O'BRIEN: This is one very public moment the first lady would rather forget, first daughter Jenna Bush sticking her tongue out at the press corps in Missouri.

L. BUSH: They're great girls.

O'BRIEN: Sticking her tongue out was about as bad as it got, right?

L. BUSH: They're very funny.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Did she go, oh, mom, what have I done?

L. BUSH: Yes. She was humiliated.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

And impressions are everything, especially on the campaign trail.

So you look great. I'm trying to figure out. I saw you this morning and I saw the president. And you both looked great. How do you do this? I think American women want to know how you legitimately look so fresh all the time.

L. BUSH: Well, thanks for saying that.

It is a lot. Those campaigns are unbelievable. They're exhausting, but we are very careful. We go to bed early. And...

O'BRIEN: But can you eat right?

L. BUSH: We can eat right.

O'BRIEN: Do you drink enough water?

(CROSSTALK)

L. BUSH: We drink water all the time. We know the rule about drinking water on the planes and how dehydrating planes are.

O'BRIEN: What's the best thing about being married to George Bush?

L. BUSH: I love him. And I'm really glad to be married to him and get to spend my life with him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: I have interviewed her, Pat. She's very sincere and down to earth.

O'BRIEN: We talked about a lot of issues, Wolf. It's on tonight on "The Insider." We talked a lot about stem cell research. We talked about the comments about Dick Cheney's daughter. She was very firm on those issues. We talked about the campaign coming down to, could the tide turn in this campaign maybe over stem cell research?

BLITZER: Well, what did she say about the stem cell research, because it's -- with Arnold Schwarzenegger today bolting with the GOP out in California on this Proposition 71, it's a hot-button issue.

O'BRIEN: Bolting is putting it lightly. Here's one of the more popular Republicans, if not the most popular Republican, in the country, and if not the most popular politician in the country and the most well-known one in the world, bolting with his party on an issue that has just got all kinds of mine fields all over it.

I think it's going to change the face of this election. I think it puts another face on stem cell research, brings it up to the forefront in this election. With 14 days left, who knows what is going to happen.

BLITZER: Well, the first lady, was she giving any ground on that?

O'BRIEN: No. She held her ground, saying what she has always said in the past, that it gives people false hope, perhaps, that her husband has contributed some money for research. But she said the book is out on it.

BLITZER: Take us behind the scenes at the White House and tell us what our viewers are not -- didn't just see and what they're not going to see on your show.

O'BRIEN: Well, they're going to see a lot on the show, because we're going to show them some rooms in the White House that aren't seen a lot. She took us through the rooms and showed us the portraits of other first ladies.

Interesting dynamics, that she loves the Jackie Onassis portrait. Her favorite is Lady Bird Johnson, obviously from Texas. She took us in the East Room, on the South Lawn. We went all over the White House, got a great tour. By the way...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: She spent some quality time.

O'BRIEN: Yes. If you're going to tour the White House, get it from a first lady.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: The president is not too bad either.

What about Teresa Heinz Kerry? Is she going to sit down with you?

O'BRIEN: We're going to try to get Teresa Heinz Kerry to sit down and try to get the senator to sit down. We'll go for them all in the next 14 days.

BLITZER: You have got 14 days to...

O'BRIEN: The election is going right through me, Wolf.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: To take advantage of this. Going through the White House with the first lady, no matter how many times you go -- and I was a White House correspondent for a long, long time -- it's pretty exciting.

O'BRIEN: It's great. I went to school here in Washington. I've been around the White House a lot.

But every time you go in there -- it's like the national anthem. And every time you hear it, something stirs up inside you. And I'm an antiques buff, so it's fun to go in there and look at all the furniture and fixtures and that sort of thing.

BLITZER: How important is it for the first lady, for Teresa Heinz Kerry, to sit down with you, to sit down with Regis and Kelly, some of these other shows? "The View," Teresa Heinz Kerry was on that show today.

A lot of women watch those shows, especially women.

O'BRIEN: Well, it's a whole another audience for them.

You have a certain audience, a great, smart audience that watches all day long. They've been watching you all day long. You've had a busy day here.

But our audience is a different kind of audience. They're a smart audience. They're more female. That's not the kind of audience that politicians usually connect with. They connect with them maybe at the polls, but they don't see them every day. So I think it's smart for them to do that.

BLITZER: So "The Insider" will start running the interview tonight. You're going to do it over a few days?

O'BRIEN: Do it over the next couple of days, tonight, 7:00 in New York, 7:30 in Los Angeles. Check your local listings. And we're there.

BLITZER: OK, Pat O'Brien.

O'BRIEN: Nice to see you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Good to see you in Washington.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: A good friend.

Like Laura Bush, as I said, Teresa Heinz Kerry is busy seeking votes for her husband, Senator John Kerry. Noted for speaking her mind, she appeared on the television talk show "The View" earlier today and gave her take on why her comments are sometimes misunderstood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE VIEW") TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: What I have said, I meant to say it. And sometimes I might say some things that, in my English language, which I learned English -- English -- sometimes, they mean certain things and in the American language, they mean other things.

And my son sometimes says, mom, that's not what it means. And I have some funny stories of kids growing up and say things I didn't know what they were saying and then they explained it to me, and normally not very nice things to repeat.

But, you know, that's what you learn. And so -- but, I mean, my intent and my expression is real. The actual use of the word may be out of place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And, as you would expect, Mrs. Heinz Kerry also put in a big plug for her husband, saying -- and I'm quoting now -- "If I had to be in a foxhole, I would like to be with John Kerry."

A small package and a big achievement, details of Tiny's possible claim to fame. You'll want to watch this when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Look very, very, very closely, because the subject of our picture of the day may be, may be, the world's smallest dog.

Officials from "The Guinness Book of Records" are now on their way to India to verify the claim. The owners of this Chihuahua, appropriately named Tiny, say she is just over 7 inches long, slightly smaller than the current record holder. That would be a Slovakian Chihuahua. I love saying that, Slovakian Chihuahua.

A reminder, you can always catch us here on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS weekdays, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm also around noon Eastern every weekday. Until tomorrow, thanks for joining us.

"LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" starts right now.

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