Ari Fleischer Takes the Stand
BLITZER: And, to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Happening now: President Bush says the U.S. will act firmly if Iran escalates military action in Iraq -- that in an interview with NPR, this as Iran's ambassador to Baghdad tells "The New York Times," Iran is ready to help Iraq's security and economy, reportedly saying Iran will open a national bank in Iraq. In the CIA leak trial right here in Washington, the former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer testified about a conversation he says he had with Lewis Scooter Libby when Libby was the vice presidential chief of staff. Fleischer says, Libby told him about a CIA operative three days before the day Libby insists that, what he told investigators, he received that information from Tim Russert of NBC News. And this: The first Roman Catholic priest elected as a voting member of Congress is dead. The Reverend Robert Drinan died yesterday here in Washington, at the age of 86. Drinan served Massachusetts in the 1970s and stepped down in 1980, after John Paul II barred priests from holding public office. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Senator Hillary Clinton is looking even more like a presidential today, after a weekend warm-up in the leadoff caucus state of Iowa. There were telling some political moments during her swing through the Hawkeye State. Let's turn to our Candy Crowley. She went to Iowa for the weekend to cover the senator -- Candy.</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this is what I know from spending this weekend in Iowa with Senator Clinton. She has celebrity status. It serves her well, drawing in the crowds and pumping up the volume.</s>CROWLEY (voice-over): It was a weekend Hillary-fest in Iowa.</s>SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Whoa. Thank you!</s>CROWLEY: Election-eve-sized coverage and standing-room-only crowds -- but it's clear the senator from New York travels with baggage: her vote in favor of the first Iraq resolution. She hopes to draw the sting with ever harsher assessments of the White House. How, she was asked, having voted for the war, does she propose to end it.</s>CLINTON: The president has said this is going to be left to his successor. And I think it's the height of irresponsibility. And I really resent it. This was his decision to go to war. He went with an ill-conceived plan and an incompetently executed strategy. And we should expect him to extricate our country from this before he leaves office.</s>CROWLEY: From the theaters, to the banners, to the lighting, this is a campaign in full swing, where celebrity status brings in the crowds, and little is left to chance, all of which makes one odd moment all the odder. The question was about her ability to stand up to dictators.</s>CLINTON: And, in the gentleman's words, we face a lot of evil men. You know, people like Osama bin Laden comes to mind. And what in my background equips me to deal with evil and bad men?</s>CROWLEY: Why were they laughing? And what did she have in mind? She bristled at the suggestion it was her husband.</s>CLINTON: You know, you guys keep telling me, lighten up, be funny. You know, I get a little funny, and now I'm being psychoanalyzed. I feel very strongly...</s>CROWLEY: Whatever. Mostly, this was a flawless maiden voyage for the senator from New York.</s>CLINTON: Thank you all very much.</s>CROWLEY: It needs to be noted that big crowds don't necessarily translate into votes. Howard Dean drew big, raucous crowds on the eve of the 2004 Iowa caucuses, and he placed third. Also, recent polls in Iowa show Senator Clinton running behind former vice presidential candidate John Edwards -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: So, was she trying to be funny, or was it a slip, Candy?</s>CROWLEY: You know, Wolf, you need to ask her that the next time you see her. Look, she -- she said she was thinking of Osama bin Laden at the time, that -- and you heard her say, look, this was just a joke. I was just telling a joke. So, you know, we obviously take her at her word that this was a joke she was telling.</s>BLITZER: She got a nice laugh...</s>CROWLEY: Yes.</s>BLITZER: ... if, in fact, that is what she wanted. Candy, thanks very much. Senator Clinton, by the way, is not the only presidential hopeful on our "Political Radar" today. The Republican Mike Huckabee filed papers today to form a presidential exploratory committee. The former governor of Arkansas, an ordained Baptist minister, joins me live, by the way, later this hour, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Republican Mitt Romney is in the crucial early primary state of South Carolina. The former Massachusetts governor spoke this weekend at a conservative summit here in Washington, defending how he's evolved on several social issues. That followed a Friday swing through the must-visit state of Iowa. New Hampshire Republicans have gotten an up-close look at Rudy Giuliani. The former New York mayor was there this weekend, his first visit since he opened his presidential exploratory committee last November. Democrat Barack Obama wants to know if the federal government is doing its share to help New Orleans rebuild. The senator from Illinois is in New Orleans today for a hearing on the government's response to Hurricane Katrina. New Mexico Governor and presidential hopeful Bill Richardson is looking for support out West. This weekend, he attended a Democratic Party dinner in Nevada. It's a crucial state, since its Democratic caucus is now moving up between the contests in Iowa and New Hampshire -- also at that dinner, by the way, the retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark. The former NATO commander is thinking about making another run for the Democratic presidential nomination. And Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich is playing up his anti-war credentials. He was the only presidential hopeful to speak at anti-Iraq war protests here in Washington and San Francisco this past weekend. CNN, by the way, is a partner in covering the very first presidential debates of the campaign season on April 4 and April 5 of this year, both Democratic and Republican debates in New Hampshire. We will be there for that. Hope you will as well. Coming up: Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani made a splash on the campaign trail this weekend, a possible preview of fall 2008? James Carville and J.C. Watts, they are standing by for today's "Strategy Session." And the former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee thinks he has the right ingredients to become president, but where does he stand on some of the key issues, like Iraq? It looks like he's about to run for president. He has created an exploratory committee. He's standing by to join us live, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM. That's coming up next.