With Debates Over, Where Are Next Battles Going to be Fought?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. Welcome back. Just about 8:30 here in Columbus Ohio, on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Bill Hemmer, talking with undecided voters about the final presidential debate from last night. Nineteen days ago now, the polls suggest that either candidate can win at this point. In a few moments, we'll look at where each candidates go from here, which parts of the country they're trying to attract and what their message is. It may be hard to believe that you can still be undecided at this point late in the game, but of our group of 24 last night here on the campus of The Ohio State University, as they like to say in central Ohio, seven of our 24 still say they are undecided. Time is coming down, though, ticking away soon. Back to Heidi now. Good morning again, back to you in New York City.</s>HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, Bill. And boy, you're right, time is a-ticking on the election. But also in a few minutes, we're going to be talking about something else, whether or not the United States can exploit a rift between insurgents in Iraq and the foreign fighters that joined their cause. We're going to talk to a correspondent with "The Washington Post" who's been following this split. He's going to explain what's behind it. For now, though, want to get to the stories now in the news this morning. The Israeli military launches new airstrikes in Gaza. Palestinian sources say at least five people were killed in the overnight strikes, including three members of the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas. Israeli troops have killed some 90 Palestinians in the region in the last two weeks. In Louisiana, a jury is being asked to decide if a serial killer is mentally fit to face the death penalty. Derrick Todd Lee has been found guilty in two separate murder cases, but Lee's lawyers say he is mentally retarded and cannot be executed under federal law. The final decision now lies with the jury. And new details this morning about a tour bus that overturned in Arkansas last week. Officials say the bus was in, quote, "such bad physical shape, it should have been taken off the road." They found sheet metal glued to the roof and cracks in the frame. Fourteen people killed in that accident. And bursts of flaming rocks and heavy smoke. No, it's not Mount St. Helens in Washington State. You are looking at Mexico's Volcano of Fire. It's registered more than 60 small explosions in the last couple of days. The volcano is considered one of the most destructive in the country. Unbelievable pictures there. Meantime, though, we want to go back to Bill now once again in Columbus, Ohio -- Bill.</s>HEMMER: All right, Heidi, debates are over. They are done with right now. Where are the next battles now fought for the campaign? Two reports this morning, Suzanne Malveaux is with the Bush team in Scottsdale, Arizona. Ed Henry is with the Kerry campaign in Las Vegas, Nevada, and let's start this morning this hour with Suzanne there. Good morning.</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. It was last night President Bush before a crowd of 35,000 said that he enjoyed this debate, that it was really his chance to present his vision for the next four years. And while Bush aides say that they believe his performance was a strong performance, they say that they are eager for President Bush to get out to friendly and familiar territory.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In order to make sure we're secure, there must be a comprehensive plan.</s>MALVEAUX (voice-over): It's choosing time, Bush aides say. The president will be traveling to key battleground states nearly every day until the election. This week, Nevada, Oregon, Iowa, Wisconsin and Florida. Mr. Bush's strategy, to promote his vision of protecting the country and growing the economy.</s>KARL ROVE, SR. WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: He gave us the wind at our back. The president was the clear, commanding victor tonight, and that's going to give us a great momentum going out on the trail here for the last 19 days.</s>MALVEAUX: Bush aides say there are still 14 battleground states left, but they will dwindle fast. The Bush campaign will shift its resources for TV ads and presidential trips accordingly. Bush campaign strategist Matthew Dowd says he's already seeing signs that the Kerry camp is giving up on hard-fought territory.</s>MATTHEW DOWD, POL. ANALYST: They pulled out of Missouri, they pulled out of Arizona, they pulled out of Arkansas, they pulled out of Virginia, they pulled out of North Carolina, all states that they ceded to us, so they're now having to defend more Gore states than compete in Bush states, which is a very good sign for us.</s>MALVEAUX: At the same time, the Bush campaign is mobilizing it's 1.2 million volunteers to get people to the polls. But strategy aside, political analysts warn that unforeseen events could dramatically impact the election. For instance, the capture of Osama bin Laden, more violence on the ground in Iraq or another terrorist attack.</s>DAVID GERGEN, "U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT": If there is violence from terrorists, much will depend on where it happens. If there is great violence against American troops overseas, that could very easily play to advantage of Senator Kerry.</s>MALVEAUX: President Bush today travels to Nevada. That is state that he narrowly won back in 2000. He also travels to Oregon. That's going to present some challenges for the president, where they face a 7.4 unemployment rate in that state. Also, they lost about 900 jobs between July and August, but Republicans, the Bush camp, believes that is a state that is still very much in play -- Bill.</s>HEMMER: You mention Nevada, Suzanne, let's go there now, in Las Vegas. Here is Ed Henry there with the Kerry team. Ed, good morning there.</s>ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill. The Kerry camp is claiming victory. They say they won the triple crown. They want to use that momentum to shift the focus to the domestic agenda, and it will start this morning to a speech to the nation's largest senior citizen lobby.</s>HENRY (voice-over): Using the final debate as a springboard, John Kerry today launches a 10-day offensive, highlighting domestic issues.</s>SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is the take-home pay of a typical American family as a share of national income is lower than it has been since 1929. And the take-home pay of the richest .1 percent of Americans is the highest it's been since 1928.</s>HENRY: The Kerry camp believes the senator's recent attacks on the president's Iraq policy have rallied the anti-Bush vote. Now the senator wants to move to the middle and reach out to undecided voters.</s>JOE LOCKHART, SR. KERRY ADVISER: The first two debates really made clear for the public the stark choice on Iraq. I think what they want to hear now is more of, how are you going to turn the job situation around? How are you going to get health care costs under control? How are you going to get more people enrolled under health care?</s>HENRY: Yesterday, the campaign was quick to jump on a comment by Treasury Secretary John Snow, who called accusations that the president has a weak record on jobs, quote, "a myth."</s>SEN. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I wonder if the four million Americans who've fallen into poverty in the last four years, I wonder if that's a myth. What about the fact that folks income is going down at the same time that the cost of virtually everything -- health care, child care, college tuitions -- is going up? I wonder if they think that's a myth? Well, here's the truth, come November 2nd, we're going to send George Bush out of town, and that will not be a myth.</s>HENRY: Senator Kerry will start highlighting those differences between he and the president on the homefront right here in a few hours, when tells the AARP that he shares their concern, their desire to start importing cheaper drugs, prescription drugs from Canada, something the president has refused to do. But the Bush campaign is not going to give an inch. First lady Laura Bush will also be addressing this conference -- Bill.</s>HEMMER: All right, we'll be watching and waiting for that. Ed Henry, thanks, live in Las Vegas this morning, and Suzanne Malveaux before that in Arizona. Back to Heidi with more news on Iraq, in New York City -- Heidi.</s>COLLINS: That's right, Bill. In fact, fighting word from Iraq's Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. He's threatening a military onslaught against rebel-hold Falluja unless foreign fighters there are turned over to Iraqi authorities. Meanwhile, a "Washington Post" report points to cracks in the insurgent alliance in Falluja. Karl Vick is the "Post" correspondent in Baghdad.</s>COLLINS: Karl, the U.S. administration has traditionally seemed to lump together these foreign fighters and insurgents over in Iraq. But now, you write that some of the insurgents want the foreign fighters out of Falluja. What is causing this split?</s>KARL VICK, "WASHINGTON POST" CORRESPONDENT: Well, there has always been a division, I mean, there's always been separation in the forces fighting in Falluja. There are the natives of Falluja, who, you know, have never taken to the occupation from the beginning, and then when the siege in April, the Marine siege of the city occurred in April, and there was a great deal of publicity about that and the civilian casualties that attended it, people from around Iraq were going to Falluja, and also some people from across borders, you know, Arab jihadist, and other foreign fighters. So in some ways it's not a new division, but it's the separation between them, the gaps between them. The splits have been aggravated in recent weeks.</s>COLLINS: What will it mean for the coalition and the U.S. military? Is this split something that they could now possible take advantage of?</s>VICK: Well, they definitely want to take advantage of it. They've been monitoring it as closely as they can, I think. Our story didn't come from the Americans; it came from what we were hearing out of Falluja, where it's difficult to report and you sort of have to do things in indirect ways. But it's definitely a picture we got, and the Americans encourage it. They want to see a cleaving of the people, of the sort of natives of Falluja, who would agree to a peace deal, from the diehard foreign and even local insurgents who would -- who want to fight to the death.</s>COLLINS: And, Karl, if they are asking to eject these foreign fighters, where will they go?</s>VICK: Well, that's a good question. I mean, the one advantage of having everyone in Falluja, is you know where everybody is. When I say everyone I'm talking about the sort of most hardcore sort of terrorist elements. If they are already -- we heard reports that Zarqawi was aware that they -- there was danger in the clustering in Falluja, and that's why a front opened in Baghdad about a month ago, and Haifa Street suddenly became dangerous, and why Samarra and Baqubah and other sort of cities in the Sunni Triangle flared, because he was dispersing his forces. Now we're seeing other fighting around Ramadi and north of there, and that may be some dispersion of forces.</s>COLLINS: Karl Vic for us from "The Washington Post." He's a correspondent in Baghdad.</s>COLLINS: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business. " He'll tell you why Congress wants to give Tiger Woods a tax break. Plus, the lines are long, but the supplies low. What do you do if you can't get a flu shot? We're Paging Dr. Gupta for some tips on that. Plus, a high-profile case of he said, she said. Graphic allegations of sexual harassment against Bill O'Reilly, but the talkshow host is fighting back. Stay with us.