Return to Transcripts main page

Inside Politics

Democratic National Convention -- Day Two

Aired July 27, 2004 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: John Kerry pushes full steam ahead to Boston, issuing a battle cry about the 9/11 Commission report.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We cannot let politics get in the way of protecting the American people.

ANNOUNCER: Should this picture be compared to this one? Many people are asking that question today. Will Kerry's campaign manager or Bush's campaign chairman answer it?

The son of a Republican icon prepares to take the Democratic Convention stage. Will he tone down his recent rhetoric?

RON REAGAN, SON OF RONALD REAGAN: This administration is pandering to the most ignorant segment of our society for votes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Now, live from the Democratic National Convention in Boston, a special edition of JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for joining us.

Well, you could call it potluck Tuesday here at the Democratic Convention. When the second session gets underway about an hour from now, there will be a little bit of this and a little bit of that on the agenda.

After last night's Gore, Carter, and Clinton star turns, tonight's featured speakers run the gamut from a hometown legend to also-rans and a rising star, a Reagan cameo and a would-be first lady.

John Kerry's crowning convention moment still is two days away. The soon-to-be nominee was in Virginia today playing up his commander in chief credentials, while his campaign played down an unflattering photo.

CNN's Frank Buckley is traveling with Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator John Kerry here in Norfolk, Virginia, as he continues his travels on the way to Boston Massachusetts. He was here in Norfolk, Virginia, to pay tribute to the U.S. military, but also to remind voters of his own wartime credentials. He was introduced by Skip Barker, a fellow commander officer of a swift boat during Vietnam. Senator Kerry also used the opportunity to urge quick action on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

KERRY: When the commission released their report, I called for immediate action, not talk, not vague promises, not excuses. Backpedaling and going slow is something that America can't afford.

BUCKLEY: And as Senator Kerry tries to make the case that he has led in war as a young Navy lieutenant and can now be the commander in chief as the U.S. is involved in a war on terror and is involved in military conflicts in Iraq, an unflattering photo has emerged that was taken yesterday during a tour of a NASA facility in Florida.

Some have compared this photo to the Dukakis tank photo from the '88 election. The campaign says that is unfair, that that '88 tank photo was taken to counter a perception of weakness in Mike Dukakis. They say that's not necessary in the case of John Kerry, who is a Silver Star recipient, a Bronze Star recipient, and a recipient of three Purple Hearts during battle in Vietnam. They also make the point that that uniform that he was wearing yesterday was necessary and mandatory according to NASA.

Meanwhile, here in Virginia, the Kerry campaign believes it has a shot of winning voters here, despite the fact that this is technically one of those 16 or 17 battleground states. This state went to Bush in 2000 by more than eight points. The Kerry campaign has spent money and time here. It believes there is a potential vulnerability here for President Bush and the Democrats have a chance of winning Virginia voters.

But certainly the burden is on them. This state hasn't gone for a Democrat in presidential politics since Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Norfolk, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: So, that was John Kerry's day.

Here are some live pictures coming to us from Raleigh, North Carolina. The vice presidential nominee-to-be, John Edwards, you see him there talking to people. He is on his way from North Carolina, getting on a plane shortly to fly to Boston. Tomorrow night, his big speech. He'll be making it right here in the convention hall.

Meantime, a new poll out today suggests that John Kerry heading into this convention in a weaker position than just one month ago. The ABC News/"Washington Post" poll shows Bush leading Kerry 49 percent to 48 percent among registered voters.

Kerry had a slight lead in that survey in late June. The poll also shows slippage for Kerry in two areas the Bush camp has targeted in recent ads, Kerry's consistency on issues and whether he shares American values.

Now let's go back to tonight's lineup here at the FleetCenter.

Our Joe Johns is out on the convention floor behind me, where he has been digging for information about some of the biggest speeches in the hours ahead.

Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Really digging Judy.

The theme is: a lifetime of strength and service. The keynote speech, as everybody should know by now, is Barack Obama of Illinois, a state senator in Illinois now trying to be a United States senator from Illinois. He, of course, comes very highly recommended by Democrats. They say he is a rising star. He is expected to talk, among other things, about the everyday struggles he says of ordinary people.

One of the most interesting moments expected to come this evening is Senator Edward Kennedy, the hometown senator here from Boston, Massachusetts. It will be his eighth convention speech, we're told, a very large family contingent expected to be here, upwards of 90 people to sit in on the speech. And then we're told many of them are going to get up, get out on buses and go to the symphony hall, where there's another tribute for Senator Kennedy tonight.

Dr. Howard Dean, of course, he is known best perhaps as a liberal Democrat doctor from the state of Vermont. He, too, is speaking this evening, very well known for how he energized the liberal Democratic base. He has been keeping information about what his speech is going to be about very closely held. Nonetheless, he does say that that speech was essentially written by two Kerry staffers who used to work for him.

Among the others, Ron Reagan, best known as the son of the former president, highly critical of the administration. He, too, is expected to take the podium. Among other things, he's expected to talk about stem cell research, which is something that is very near and dear to him, because many people say embryonic stem cell research holds promise in the treatment of diseases like Alzheimer's, which essentially is the thing that ended the life of his father.

And we'll hear more about Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of the nominee. She is also expected to speak this evening -- Judy, back to you.

WOODRUFF: Joe Johns, there's a lot to look forward to this night. Thanks very much. And we'll be seeing a lot of you in the hours to come.

Well, when Ron Reagan speaks to the Democrats tonight, he's going to be sending a message to his late father's party as well about stem cell research. A recent poll shows 54 percent of Americans say they believe stem cell research is morally acceptable; 37 percent say it is morally wrong. And those are the people the Reagan family hopes to persuade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NANCY REAGAN, FORMER FIRST LADY: I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this.

WOODRUFF (voice-over): A cause that has united a famously fractious political family, stem cells, thought by many scientists to hold the key to the mysteries of diabetes and Parkinson's and perhaps Alzheimer's, the disease that fell the 40th president of the United States, the reason his son Ronald Prescott Reagan will address the Democratic National Convention tonight.

R. REAGAN: This administration is pandering to the most ignorant segment of our society for votes and throwing up roadblocks to this sort of research. It's absolutely shameful.

WOODRUFF: Embryonic stem cell research present as thorny issue for the president. Harvesting embryonic stem cells requires the destruction of human embryos, a concern for some religious conservatives George W. Bush is heavily courting this year.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Embryonic stem cell research offers both great promise and great peril. So, I have decided we must proceed with great care.

WOODRUFF: A position that pits Bush against Democrats.

KERRY: We need a president who believes in science.

WOODRUFF: But also sets the White House against the Reagans, including Nancy.

N. REAGAN: There are so many diseases that can be cured or at least helped. We have lost so much time already and I just really can't bear to lose any more.

WOODRUFF: The heartfelt plea of a national symbol, who has given her son's speech tonight her full blessing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: And tonight, Ronald Reagan, the president -- the son of the late president, speaking at this Democratic Convention.

Well, that speech could make Republicans here in Boston feel even more on the defensive. Up next, I'll talk with Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot. Also ahead, on Senator Edward Kennedy's big convention night, a conversation with him and his son, Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

I'll ask union boss Andy Stern what he was thinking when he said organized labor might gain if Kerry loses.

Plus, convention music blasts from the pasts.

With 98 days until the election, this is INSIDE POLITICS, the place for campaign news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: While the Democrats gather here in Boston this week, the Republicans are waiting for their turn in the national spotlight. Vice President Dick Cheney is on a swing through California today.

This morning, he spoke to troops at Camp Pendleton before heading on to Bakersfield. He ends his day in Riverside. President Bush is taking some time off from the campaign trail. He's still at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

For the Republican view, though, of all this, we turn to Marc Racicot, chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign. He's with us from Arlington, Virginia.

Marc Racicot, good to see you.

MARC RACICOT, BUSH-CHENEY CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: Good to see you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Is it the Republicans' worst nightmare that the Democrats are trying to say they are united and positive this week?

RACICOT: Well, it's not a nightmare at all. Of course, the evidence tends to indicate otherwise.

And obviously, we're there in Boston to offer the perspectives of our campaign and our party. And I think I'm offering the American people the opportunity to make comparisons. We have great confidence in the American people to be able to discern what, in fact, is the truth, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Well, let me cite to you some of the contrasts that we heard last night, in particular from former President Bill Clinton.

At one point, he said: "Their opponents will tell you to be afraid of John Kerry and John Edwards because they won't stand up to the terrorists. He said, don't you believe it. Strength and wisdom are not conflicting values. They go hand in hand. John Kerry has both."

RACICOT: Well, I think those values are consistent. They have been a part of the president's approach from the very beginning.

The fact of the matter is what we talk about is equivocation, constant changing of your mind. You can't vote for the war, aggressively pursue policies against Saddam Hussein, like John Kerry did, and then vote against the appropriations to pay for fuel and the body armor in Iraq. That kind of equivocation and inability to make up your mind is what we're talking about.

You know, Judy, there are four members of the United States Senate that voted to use force in Iraq and then voted against those appropriations and two are them are running for president and vice president on the Democratic ticket. The American people have a right to compare those positions.

WOODRUFF: Well, hasn't Senator Kerry said, though, that the reason he did that was to send a message to the administration that he disapproved of the way the administration was carrying out the postwar policy?

RACICOT: Well, Judy, he's given a number of different explanations. Just weeks before that vote was taken, he says it would be irresponsible, after having authorized the use of force, to vote against the appropriations, and then, of course, voted against them, gave other explanations, saying he was proud of his vote, didn't show up for the next appropriations bill, the supplemental $25 billion to authorize additional expenditures in Iraq.

So, this is not the only area of equivocation. John Kerry constantly sets about to assume the colors of his surroundings.

WOODRUFF: Let me cite quickly some other -- another comment that Bill Clinton made last night. He said -- "During the Vietnam War," he said, "many young men, including the current president, the vice president and me," he said, referring to himself, "could have gone to Vietnam, but didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background, could have avoided it, too. Instead, he said, send me," in other words, trying to make the point that John Kerry is a brave man who will keep America strong.

RACICOT: Well, we've always recognized the service of John Kerry and the service of George W. Bush. He served his country. He responded to the call. There were so many of us in that generation who responded as our government called upon us to respond.

George Bush served six years, two years on active duty, flew hundreds of missions, hundreds of hours in the air in dangerous aircraft. He did exactly as his government ordered him to do.

That's honorable service, like so many other young men, men my age who served during that period of time.

WOODRUFF: The Republicans, Marc Racicot, seem to be promoting this photograph today of John Kerry yesterday touring Cape Canaveral -- unflattering pictures, one could say -- in some sort of spacesuit that the Kerry campaign says he had to put on in order to tour this facility.

What is the point of promoting this or sort of saying this is entertaining or funny or whatever?

RACICOT: Well, I don't understand that to be a promotion effort of this campaign or the Republican Party, as much as it is obviously a reflection of the news of the day.

The fact of the matter is, it was printed in a Boston newspaper. I haven't had opportunity, or inclination, for that matter, to comment upon the photograph all day long. It speaks for itself. The American people can make judgments about these kinds of things. We have great confidence that they can place everything and accord a proper weight to whatever it is, is presented.

WOODRUFF: So you are not trying to make a comparison with Michael Dukakis in the tank?

RACICOT: No.

I think, sometimes, the observers of the process, without diminishing the fourth estate, sometimes attach more significance to something and attribute some responsibility to the various different parties than what is likely due to either of them.

WOODRUFF: OK, we hear you, Marc Racicot. He is chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign.

We appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

RACICOT: Thanks, Judy.

WOODRUFF: In just a minute, we'll hear from the man who delivered what some consider one of the most electrifying speeches in Democratic Convention history.

Coming up, more from my interview with Senator Edward Kennedy and his son, Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: When Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts speaks to the Democratic Convention tonight, memories will flash back 24 years.

In 1980, after his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination, Senator Kennedy gave a speech including this memorable line, quote, "The work goes on. The cause endures. The hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

I recently spoke with Senator Kennedy and his son, Rhode Island Democratic Congressman Patrick Kennedy. I asked the congressman for his thoughts about his father's speaking roles at conventions past and present.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (D), RHODE ISLAND: Well, first of all, I've never forgotten the speech that he made in 1980, which to many who were there and those who have heard about it have been one of the finest speeches that they have ever heard.

I can recall seeing him in the convention. And it's something that I'll never forget. And I think that seeing him in this convention, such a pivotal time again, seeing my father recognized duly for the lifetime of public service that he's given this country is really -- gives me great pride, gives me enormous pride.

WOODRUFF: What does it mean to you, this speech? Is it just another speech? What does it mean? SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, Boston, obviously, we're so proud that -- just not myself, but I think all Bostonians, that the convention is in Boston. We take our history very seriously. This is the birthplace of American revolution.

It was John Adams said at the old statehouse, this is the birthplace of American independence, is what this convention is really about. Boston and Massachusetts, New England generally, represents the best of the past. I think we have really so much of the best of the new as well.

And I think to share this with the rest of the nation is going to be the challenge of this convention. And I think all of us are going to try and do it at different times.

WOODRUFF: A lot of people would say the state of Massachusetts, the Democratic Party, synonymous with the name Kennedy. Is that the way you feel?

E. KENNEDY: Well, no. There's president Kennedy, my -- members -- all of us are very proud, believe very deeply in what Woodrow Wilson said. And the political party ought to stand for something, and that this is -- the Democrat Party is at its best when it does stand for something. And we all need to.

But there are so many people that make a difference in people's lives that are not in politics. We're reminded of that every single day. And this is something that all of us, that our parents reminded us of as well. You don't have to be in elective office to make a difference.

And people concerned about others sharing, doing, volunteering, participating in the system, giving something back is what this country is at its best at. And we like to think the Democrats are someone -- are a political party that understands it best.

WOODRUFF: You recognize the next-door state of Rhode Island. How do you feel when you see the Republicans using your father as an icon of liberalism and everything that has gone awry with the left wing of the Democratic Party?

P. KENNEDY: Well, he must be doing something right with the generation of energy that he has had on the Republican side.

My father has been a real leader on the most basic issues of decency and fairness to all Americans. And the reason Republicans are so threatened by him is that they want the power for power's sake. And when they see someone like Ted Kennedy arguing on behalf of people who are ordinary people fighting to make ends meet and who need to get overtime pay, need to get healthcare, need to make sure their children get a decent education, that threatens them, because it goes against their political interests.

They fear that they are not going to have elections to win in the future if the people catch on to what my father has been talking about these many years. WOODRUFF: Spoken like a Kennedy.

E. KENNEDY: Proud.

Patrick, for his commitment to public service and I'm thrilled with his election. And I had a very important time in my life. Obviously, when I first came down here, my brother was president, but we were brothers.

He was the president, obviously, and also serving with my brother Bob in the United States Senate. And now I have a chance to serve with Patrick. So it's special.

WOODRUFF: Do you feel it here?

E. KENNEDY: Oh, yes. Right in here.

He's done very well for Rhode Island. And he's doing very well in the Congress. And I'm proud of him. He used this room at one time, I must say. I know the time is running out on your program. But he called me one time and said he wanted to have a meeting with the Coast Guard and can he use this office over here. And I said fine.

And then he called back and said, can I just have one last meeting with the Coast Guard? And I said fine. And then the head of the Coast Guard called me. And he said, is it sure -- are you sure that we can move the Coast Guard boats out of New Bedford into Newport, into his district? And I said, what? That's what is going on up here?

So, I have had to keep my eye on him. But he's -- he has got his ear to the ground. He tells me a lot of what is going on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Senator Edward Kennedy, his son, Congressman Patrick Kennedy -- Senator Kennedy speaking tonight.

Much more to come from Democratic National Convention. Find out who filmmaker Michael Moore was sitting with during last night's session. There's other political news, too. Coming up, how both parties intend to keep the 9/11 Commission's final report from just sitting on bookshelves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: We're about half an hour away from the start of day two of the Democratic National Convention. Welcome back to this special 90-minute edition of INSIDE POLITICS. I'm Judy Woodruff, reporting live from the floor of the FleetCenter here in Boston.

Among the speakers tonight: Senator Ted Kennedy, the home-town hero; former presidential hopefuls Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt; Ron Reagan; Barack Obama, the Democratic Senate candidate in Illinois who is the keynoter. And tonight's program wrapping up with Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Well, as the political world remains focused on this convention, and John Kerry campaigns his way toward Boston, there's more political back and forth over the recommendations of the 9/11 terror commission. Our congressional correspondent, Ed Henry, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On his way to Boston, John Kerry is hammering President Bush over the 9/11 Commission's final report.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can't treat the commission's report as something that you hope will go away, because this threat won't go away. And the recommendations of the commission make sense and they should be implemented now.

HENRY: But White House aides stress the president is on top of the situation, discussing the 9/11 report with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who is with him in Texas. He also held his first task force meeting on the report with top officials via teleconference.

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The important thing now, obviously, is what we do going forward by ways of reform designed to address any weaknesses that have been uncovered in the course of those investigations. And the president's committed to doing that.

HENRY: The Kerry camp released a memo charging: "In an act of political gymnastics remarkable even for this White House, the Bush campaign is using the report it has yet to embrace written by a commission that it originally opposed to justify its reelection effort."

And Kerry wants the commission, whose mandate expires in August, to get an 18-month extension to oversee, monitor and track implementation of the reform proposals, a move the White House refused to endorse. The jockeying over who will embrace the commission's proposals first has gotten intense.

PAUL LIGHT, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: I think there's just tremendous political pressure for both parties to get ahead on the issue. National security is a big campaign issue for John Kerry. And it's a big strength for George Bush. And the party that gets there first is going to be the party that gets some votes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Judy, Congress is also now moving quickly to address the 9/11 report. As CNN first reported today, the Senate, which planned to kick off its hearings next week, will now hold its first hearing this Friday right after the Democratic convention wraps up.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert had initially urged a go slow approach, but amid pressure from the commission, House Republicans are now planning two series of hearings which kick off late next week -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: A change in plans. All right. Ed Henry, thanks very much.

Well, the leader of the Service Employees Union, Andy Stern, has stirred a little discussion here in Boston with his comments about how a John Kerry victory might affect relations between Democrats and the labor movement.

In today's "Washington Post," Sterns says, "If John Kerry becomes president, it hurts the chances of reforming the Democrats and organized labor."

Andy Stern later clarified his remarks in a statement. He said, "I am personally committed to help send John Kerry to the White House because he's always fought for working families."

Andy Stern joins me here on the floor of the convention.

All right, it's the middle of the Democratic convention and you supposedly support the Democrats. But you're saying electing John Kerry hurts the labor movement and hurts the party.

ANDREW STERN, SEIU PRESIDENT: Judy, let me be clear. As we speak today, there are 800 of our members in Ohio, Michigan, and Florida. They are soon going to be joined by 1,200 more.

We have 50,000 volunteers that are going to work on this election. We are going to spend $65 million. It's the largest contribution of any single organization.

We want John Kerry to be the president of the United States. There's nothing more important in this world.

WOODRUFF: But you obviously believe that for the future, at least according to what you said in "The Washington Post" interview, that for the long-term health of the labor movement that you represent, and this Democratic Party, it's better off if a Republican is elected.

STERN: Oh, not at all, Judy. What I said was that you see the unity and you see the energy on this convention floor. Well, it took as you long time to get here.

And if we're going to pass John Kerry's healthcare plan in the first 100 days of his administration, if we're going to roll back these tax cuts, we need unity, we need to be energized equally, as well after the election.

And sometimes what happens is that people take a risk. They take a break. They get apathetic.

Well, George Bush for four years has been destroying the country. And it's going to take all of us to help John Kerry rebuild it.

WOODRUFF: All right. Everybody knows that you were originally with Howard Dean, and I think the question some people are asking, is Andy Stern's heart really in seeing John Kerry elected?

STERN: Well, as I was just saying recently to a friend of mine, Harold Schaitberger, John Kerry is not just someone I support, he's actually someone I admire. For people of my generation during, I saw where John Kerry stood up both to serve the country and when he came back to the country. He stood up for the most important issue in our -- for our union, which is healthcare.

And so I admire John Kerry. I am going to do everything in my power to get him elected.

WOODRUFF: Harold Schaitberger, I am told he's the head of the Firefighter's Union...

STERN: Yes.

WOODRUFF: ... other union leaders who are your colleagues. I am told, because they're saying this to other reporters, that they are furious about what you said.

STERN: But they understand what I think about John Kerry, and they understand what I am doing to try to win the election. And they're not going to let any newspapers or anybody else try to divide us.

We have a united Democratic Party. We're energized. We're going to elect a new president of the United States. We're going to send George Bush and Dick Cheney back to Crawford, Texas. That's what's important. We're all on the same side; we're all United.

WOODRUFF: Would you at least acknowledge that your comments weren't helpful to John Kerry and the party?

STERN: Well, what I would say is my comments could have been much clearer as I have been here today about how much I want John Kerry to win, how much we need to stay united, how much we need to make sure this party continues to build after the election to not give up, to not let up. Let's pass national healthcare for every man, woman and child in America.

WOODRUFF: Have you heard from the Kerry campaign? Are they unhappy?

STERN: No. We talked to the Kerry campaign. They are more than aware than almost anybody of all of our members that are out there doing work on their behalf. They appreciate and understand where I stand and where our union stands.

We are their partners, we are their friends. And we are going to help them and John Kerry become the next president of the United States.

WOODRUFF: Andy Stern, the head of the Service Employees International Union. Made a little news today.

STERN: Thanks, Judy. WOODRUFF: Thanks for stopping by.

STERN: OK, appreciate it.

WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.

STERN: Bye-bye.

WOODRUFF: Thank you.

And now, checking a few headlines in our convention edition of "Campaign News Daily," several interesting sights caught our eye on the first night of the convention, including the seating arrangements.

Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore had a choice vantage point for last night's speeches. The maker of "Fahrenheit 9/11" was seated right next to former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.

Also, within the last hour, we are told about 2,200 people showed up at an event featuring Moore in Cambridge. The large crowd forced organizers to turn some people away.

A look out over the floor last night revealed that the party has achieved unity in its choice of convention signs. Posters supporting the party's impending nominees dominated the floor all evening. Traditionally, the floor is filled with signs supporting the various speakers who rise to address party delegates. New York's delegation, however, did manage to wave signs saluting their junior senator, Hillary Clinton.

Coming up on INSIDE POLITICS, music to stir a campaign. We'll take a closer look at convention tunes and their place in political history.

Plus, we'll hear from the woman who is helping lead the charge for the Kerry campaign. An interview with Mary Beth Cahill, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Boy do we have a treat for you. I'm going to turn it over to the "CAPITAL GANG" and Mark Shields for just a moment. But first, I want to ask each one of you to grade Bill Clinton's speech last night -- Mark.

MARK SHIELDS, CNN "CAPITAL GANG" I'd give Bill Clinton an A- last night. It was so much better than he did in 2000 for Al Gore that he did for John Kerry. And there were two lines that stuck out.

One was when Vietnam came, the vice president, the president and I all figured out ways to avoid it, John Kerry said "Send me." And he wanted to thank the Republicans as he's become a millionaire, that they have given him a tax cut. And I thought both of those were just memorable.

BOB NOVAK, CNN "CAPITAL GANG": I know they would appeal to you. I'd give him a C+. I didn't think it was vintage, but I thought he read it too fast, I didn't think there were many memorable lines that would stick to you.

He could have read an Al Hunt column to this -- this crowd -- and probably he should have -- and he would have gotten a good cheer. But as far as the reset of America goes, I didn't think it sold -- Margaret.

MARGARET CARLSON, CNN "CAPITAL GANG": I give him an A for this reason: I liked the pacing. He wasn't stopping for applause, and the networks were imposing a discipline on him that made him keep going. And I don't think it overshadows Kerry.

If it had been bad, the way he was in 1988 giving that speech which he was cheered when he said "In conclusion," we would remember it and be talking about it for days. But a good speech goes often for the ether.

SHIELDS: There was only 24 minutes, Kate.

KATE O'BEIRNE, CNN "CAPITAL GANG": If I were grading it, Mark, on a true or false basis, it would get a false for the rewrite of the '90s it represented. But as a convention speech, I would give it an A.

I think it was an effective convention speech. It sure did work inside this hall last night. You were reminded about what an incredible political talent he was. I'm not sure how it helps John Kerry, because for a broader audience it reminds us that we were asleep in the '90s.

It's not true we were at peace. War had been declared against us. We just have this illusion that that wasn't the case.

SHIELDS: Al?

AL HUNT, CNN "CAPITAL GANG": Mark, when I watched it last night I gave it a B+. Two things. I thought he rushed through it a little bit. He did primarily because his wife went much too long in her so- called introduction.

And secondly, I was sitting next to Bob Novak. After talking to people later, I upgraded it to the A category, and it wasn't just Democrats here. I called Paul Ryan...

(CROSSTALK)

HUNT: ... a very smart Republican congressman in Wisconsin who disagreed with most of the speech and said, "Boy, is he good. He is the most effective thing I have seen."

SHIELDS: Well, all right. Tonight we're coming up on -- and there's a -- we've got a total contrast in the two first ladies. Laura Bush, quoting a Democratic pollster, Peter Hart (ph), "Wall Street Journal," said one of the most revered women, popular women in the country. Teresa Heinz a little bit more of a lightning rod. I mean, candid, outspoken, her own person.

Bob Novak, what about Teresa Heinz -- Teresa Heinz Kerry -- Heinz Kerry Kerry?

NOVAK: Whatever she is. I look at her and I see a very, very contentious, arrogant billionaire. And...

SHIELDS: Your kind of person, Bob.

NOVAK: Well, I would probably like her a lot if I knew her. But I think most people don't like her. I think -- I think she's a train wreck waiting to happen.

Nobody can ever say she is wrong. She can never say she is wrong. She ought to sit down and shut up for Senator Kerry's sake. But nobody's got the nerve to tell her that.

SHIELDS: Kate O'Beirne, tell us that there are civilized conservatives still breathing.

O'BEIRNE: Former Governor Ann Richards might say that Teresa Heinz Kerry was born with a silver foot in her mouth, but I have a soft spot in my heart for her. A few short years ago, she told me that she agrees with everything I say on "CAPITAL GANG." That's when she was still a Republican.

She'll be scripted tonight, Bob. The public is going to be rooting for her. It's a tough thing for a first lady to get up there and do. I think she'll do fine tonight.

SHIELDS: Margaret?

CARLSON: Well, the rule is first ladies should do no harm. Teresa wants us to know she is interesting instead of just wanting her friends to know she is interesting.

And you know, she should put her light under a barrel, I think, for the -- or is it a bushel for the rest of this campaign.

SHIELDS: I think it's a bushel.

CARLSON: Because remember...

SHIELDS: A bushel of pickles.

CARLSON: ... Barbara Bush was...

NOVAK: Sour pickles.

(LAUGHTER)

SHIELDS: Speaking of sour pickles, yes.

HUNT: You know, I have talked to a number of the Kerry people today, and they are on pins and needles. They are really worried about this speech. It is short. It's less than 15 minutes. But what they are worried about is they want the emphasis to be on John Kerry, not Teresa Kerry. And they don't know if it will be.

SHIELDS: OK. All right. OK, Bob.

I'll just close with one comment, and that is she had a great quote, one of the most honest things ever said by a first lady to be, and that is, "I don't think personally anyone is ever qualified enough to be president, although John Kerry is close, very close."

NOVAK: That's nice. That's really nice.

SHIELDS: That's about as honest as you get. Back to Judy Woodruff.

Thank you.

WOODRUFF: One thing's for sure, the "CAPITAL GANG" is always honest, whether they are talking about pickles...

SHIELDS: Isn't that the truth?

WOODRUFF: Thank you all.

All right. We've been talking about Teresa Heinz Kerry, but tonight's keynote speaker is a bit of a surprise for some people. Coming up, we'll talk about the rising political star of a U.S. Senate candidate who still doesn't have a Republican opponent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Joining me here on the convention floor, two of our favorite political analysts, Stu Rothenberg of "The Rothenberg Political Report," Amy Walter of "The Cook Political Report."

First of all, the keynote speaker tonight, the Democratic Senate candidate from the state of Illinois, Barack Obama, Stu, who is this man? And he still doesn't have a Republican opponent.

STUART ROTHENBERG, "THE ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT": Right, Judy. Well, Barack Obama came to see me in Washington, D.C., two years ago, that is before the November 2002 elections, even though he's running in 2004. He was out there early when I interviewed him.

The first time I interviewed him, I was just very impressed. He's articulate, he's smooth, he's charismatic, he's poised. A great candidate.

WOODRUFF: Does this help him? Does it make any difference back in Illinois?

AMY WALTER, "THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT": Well, I mean, he's getting more attention this week and even the week before. I don't know many state Senate -- state senators who are not United States senators that have gotten profilers in "The New Yorker," "The New York Times," "The Washington Post."

So, I mean, he is now sort of a national phenomenon. He's not really just simply an Illinois phenomenon.

ROTHENBERG: Just a word of caution about Barack Obama, however. If you meet him, you think he's really impressive. And he is, terrific resume, everything.

But we've been building him up the last 24 hours as if he's going to knock John Kerry off the ticket and be the presidential nominee. He is a liberal Democrat from Chicago. If he was in a little different state, and if he had a top-tier Republican opponent -- you know he doesn't have anybody right now -- he'd have a tough race. And he's a good candidate.

(CROSSTALK)

WOODRUFF: (INAUDIBLE) in Illinois. All right.

Quickly, let's broaden the picture out a little bit. I read an article a day or so ago about how many Senate -- Democratic Senate candidates this year who either aren't showing up at all or are only here for a day or so. Amy, is this convention a liability if you are running in the South or certain parts of the West?

WALTER: We see this every year, right? Or every year that there's a presidential candidate on the top of the ticket, that you have House and Senate candidates who aren't really going to work with the party, and the message just isn't going to work in their state. And so they have to spend a lot of time sort of localizing themselves, distancing themselves from the president.

The interesting thing, and this is especially true with House Democrats here, they are talking so much this week about this wave, this momentum that Kerry is creating for them, and helping them and helping their candidates lift them up, so to speak. So that's only going to work in certain places. In other places, it's much more of a liability and they have to localize themselves.

WOODRUFF: Stu, how do they -- I mean, how do they handle it? I mean, if you're -- if you're running in the South, if you're Inez Tenenbaum and you're running in South Carolina, she apparently only spent part of a day here and then left town.

ROTHENBERG: Sure. You handle it -- you handle it by staying home.

Amy is exactly right. These guys are trying to localize their races because they're running in conservative or Republican states. It does them no good to have -- to have stories in their local newspapers about how they are in Boston, no less. Not only is it a Democratic convention, it's in Boston.

So it does them no good. They are staying home. And that's smart. And they are going to work door to door while the national Democrats are here. WOODRUFF: We're going to have to leave it there. We love seeing you guys, though.

ROTHENBERG: Thanks.

WOODRUFF: We'll be seeing a lot of you over the next 98 days and counting. Stu Rothenberg, Amy Walter, thank you both.

ROTHENBERG: Thanks.

WALTER: Thanks, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Appreciate it.

Well, while Democrats and Republicans often march to the beat of a different drummer, there's one thing you'll find at both national conventions: music, and plenty of it. And while things have changed over the years, convention tunes can still help shape a campaign and fire up a candidate's supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Back in the days of "Pomp and Circumstance," Republican and Democratic conventions struck similar chords, played by big bands on brass instruments. It all seemed so quaint these days.

Four years ago, the GOP used Ricky Martin to emphasize their big tent compassionate conservatism, hoping, perhaps, to harness the energy of the mother of all convention anthems and one of its successors, the Fleetwood Mac tune that was such a hit for Bill Clinton and Al Gore that they brought it back four years later. Yes, it's the gold standard of convention music.

And then there's this...

(MUSIC)

WOODRUFF: And this...

(MUSIC)

WOODRUFF: We all have our moments.

(MUSIC)

WOODRUFF: It's silly to make too much of convention tunes, but some years they do provide a fitting sound track to a bigger story. Take the 1992 Republican convention, the one that came to symbolize closed-door intolerance. That show in Houston was all country all the time. Hardly a portrait of musical diversity.

But in the end, convention songs aimed to inspire in viewing raw politics with pure emotion, set to music that knows no party.

(MUSIC) (END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: And we are bipartisan. We like the music at both conventions.

The Tuesday afternoon session of the Democratic convention just about to come to order. The Republicans are watching. Coming up, we'll check in with our White House correspondent, Dana Bash.

Later, a job the Constitution doesn't define but is vastly important. Bill Schneider looks at what the voters expect in a first lady.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: She's not shy.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: I speak from my heart, from my head, and from my soul.

ANNOUNCER: But if she becomes first lady, who will be her role model, Laura Bush or Hillary Clinton?

She's the person who steers the John Kerry ship. Mary Beth Cahill generally avoids the spotlight, but today Kerry's campaign manager is our guest.

You can call Janet Napolitano one of the stars of the Democratic Party. We'll speak with the governor of the crucial state of Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Now, live from the Democratic National Convention in Boston, a special edition of JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS.

WOODRUFF: Welcome back to the FleetCenter, where day two of the Democratic convention is about to get underway. One of the first orders of business, delegates are expected to approve the party platform without a fight. Another sign of the Democrats' unusual unity this election year.

In the coming hours, delegates will hear from Senator Edward Kennedy, former Kerry rivals Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean, Illinois Senate candidate and Keynote speaker Barack Obama, Ron Reagan and Teresa Heinz Kerry.

You can hear the music behind me. It looks like they are getting underway right on time at 4:00 Eastern.

Well, some of the delegates may listen most closely to Teresa Heinz Kerry tonight, wondering if her famous outspokenness will prove an asset or a liability. Let's bring in our senior political correspondent and protean (ph) reporter, Candy Crowley -- Candy. CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy. The highlight tonight, of course, there are lots of them, really, but Teresa Heinz Kerry certainly is one of them. I want to tell our viewers what's going on right now.

This, of course, is the governor of New Mexico, Governor Richardson. He in fact is leading this entire show for the next four days, becomes a very familiar face for those who are watching. So second day of the convention now open.

Teresa Heinz Kerry tonight, I am told that in fact one of the her aides said -- this is not a pound-on-the-table kind of lady, don't look for a barnburner. This is going to be a lot of what we have heard, those of us that have seen her on the campaign trail, but in quote, "a more polished form."

She doesn't generally work off of a script, she will be working off of a script tonight, much to the liking of the Kerry campaign. She does have a way of talking off the top of her head.

We're told that this will a lot about the arc of her life, and how she came from Mozambique, was raised there, the daughter of Portuguese parents. She became an American citizen when she was 30, and here she is, having grown up under a dictatorship, speaking at the Democratic National Convention.

So there will be some of that about her life, but also about her husband's life, talking more about what he values and what he stands for. So in the context of her life, she will then talk about his life and begin, as they have for the past day-and-a-half to talk about John Kerry, who he is and what he stands for.

So no barnburner, but always, Judy, when Teresa Heinz Kerry is involved, I judge it will be interesting.

WOODRUFF: Yes, and we also hear a few minutes ago from THE CAPITAL GANG that is going to be shorter than expected, maybe less than 15 minutes. We shall see. Candy, thanks very much, we'll be seeing a lot of you tonight.

Outside of this hall, the GOP's rapid response team remains in high gear, CNN's Dana Bash covering the Republican side of this convention story.

Hi there, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy. And you know, a recent "New York Times" poll said that nine out of 10 delegates in the hall where you are say that they don't think that going to war in Iraq was the right call, but the official party platform, which they are about to actually adopt in the hall where you are, Judy, does not say that. It does not say that the war was wrong. It also doesn't say the troops should be home. It simply says that people of goodwill disagree on the issue.

Now Republicans and the spinners that they have imported to bring here to Boston have been seizing on that all day, saying that they think that is proof that Democrats in the hall there are -- that their views are perhaps being watered down, that the rank and file aren't being heard. And they also accuse the Kerry campaign of essentially taking this issue and twisting it; an example, they say, of how John Kerry's position on Iraq and his rank and file maybe don't necessarily mix.

Now that also fits quite nicely with what Republicans have been promoting all week, Judy. That is an 11-minute video that they are going to unveil tomorrow morning at their daily press conference. This is a minute of which CNN has already received. It uses John Kerry's own words from interviews and appearances over the years to show, they say, an evolution of position, what Republicans of course we've heard call flip-flops. Particularly it hones in on an apparent shift during the Democratic primary season, before and after Howard Dean's anti-war candidacy took off.

Now the goal here is quite obvious, it is to illustrate what Republicans' top attack lines have been all along, which is that John Kerry, they say shifts with the political winds, and they say that this is proof that John Kerry is not as strong on national security as he may show.

Now this is not going to be put up on television in a paid way yet, they are simply going to e-mail this tomorrow to their supporters. They're going to put it on their Web site. And campaign officials say that they're looking for other ways to play this. But they've certainly been talking this up, Judy, all week long.

WOODRUFF: Now Dana, you know that probably know the most beloved figure in the Republican Party who died recently, Ronald Reagan, his son is speaking tonight at the convention. One would think that would make Republicans uncomfortable.

BASH: Well, you know, it was interesting to see all week how the Republican response team here was going to handle the opposition to a speaker named Ronald Reagan at a Democratic Convention, and essentially their strategy seems to be to put it in the "so what" category.

The Republican chairman, Ed Gillespie, was asked about it a number of times this morning. He simply said that it has been a well- known thing that Ronald Reagan's son has not necessarily agreed with the father on issues over the years, and that his stance and perhaps party affiliation has been quite known.

But the other interesting thing that came out this morning is that the party chairman did say for sure that Nancy Reagan would not be speaking at the Republican Convention, would not confirm whether or not she was actually asked, he said certainly she would always be welcome, but he confirmed that she would not be there.

WOODRUFF: All right. Dana Bash with the very latest from the Republican opposition, camped out right here in Boston.

We are going to take a short break. Day two of the Democratic National Convention just getting underway.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: We are back at the FleetCenter. Day two of the Democratic Convention just getting underway. We heard from the Bush camp, now we're going to get the Kerry camp's point of view. We're joined by Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill.

Great to see you, Mary. Thank you for joining us.

MARY BETH CAHILL, KERRY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: It's a pleasure.

WOODRUFF: We just heard from Dana Bash that the Republicans are not only out there talking about John Kerry's record, they're putting out an 11-minute video tomorrow, among other things. They're going to highlight what they call his flip-flops on Iraq; he was for it, he was against it, he was against the funding for the war. Does this make your job harder at this convention?

CAHILL: No, it doesn't really because we've had a plan all along, that what we wanted to do here was talk about John Kerry and John Edwards' plans for the future.

And President Bush has not put forward any plans of what he would do in a second administration. The American public wants to hear what leaders will do in the next four years, and they'll do anything to distract from the matters at hand and the things that the country really cares about.

WOODRUFF: At the same time, some people are saying the Republicans have made some headway on this whole business of flip- flopping. With a "Washington Post"/ABC poll today, when you ask voters who takes a position and sticks with it, 64 percent George Bush, 24 percent John Kerry.

CAHILL: I think if you spend almost $90 million on the phrase "flip-flopping" people hear it and they repeat it. But I think that when you hear who will be better on healthcare, who is better on education, who will make the economy stronger, John Kerry wins overwhelmingly. Those are the issues that matter to people. How are their lives going to be different and better?

WOODRUFF: Another question on the poll, who's a stronger leader, Bush 55 percent, Kerry, 36 percent. This is a tough hill for you to climb.

CAHILL: I don't agree with that because I think that President Bush has been in the White House for four years, and he has had the bully pulpit for that period of time. John Kerry has a lot to talk about for the future, people are paying attention to this, and we've been looking forward to this convention, a chance to introduce John Kerry and have people pay attention to where he wants to lead the country, I think it's an enormous opportunity for us.

WOODRUFF: Is it irritating though to have the Republicans out there constantly reminding the media, and then the American people, of not only the inconsistencies in John Kerry's record, but what they describe as a very liberal voting record in the United States Senate while you're trying to come across as moderate.

CAHILL: I think if you went through our program last night, when you heard Reverend David Austin (ph) talk about his service in Vietnam with John Kerry and the man that he knows, when you heard President Clinton talk about the economy and how it can work for all Americans, tonight you'll hear Barack Obama, a leader of the future, talk about John Kerry and where he's going to lead the country. I think that this is a very moderate convention that really espouses Democratic ideals about how we can do things together.

WOODRUFF: Coming out of this convention, Mary Beth Cahill, how big a bounce?

CAHILL: You know, the thing is when it's a 50-50 nation and when we have somewhere between 45 and 48 and he has somewhere between 45 and 48, there is not very much bounce to get. I think we have consolidated the Democratic base. Importantly there's enormous energy in our party and we're going to go on to November.

WOODRUFF: Mary Beth Cahill, the manager of John Kerry's campaign. Very good to see you. Thanks for coming by.

Appreciate it.

New figures are out in the presidential ad spending wars. Spending in the top 100 media markets over the past five months has been about even with the Kerry camp it's $75 million compared to George Bush's $74 million, but you factor in ads by anti-Bush groups and the Democrats' total soars to more than $134 million nearly double that of the Bush campaign.

She could become the nation's next first lady, but what kind of first lady would Teresa Heinz Kerry be? We'll ask our Bill Schneider. That question just ahead.

Also coming up, Arizona's Democratic governor Janet Napolitano joins me to talk about the convention and the race for the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Teresa Heinz Kerry certainly got a lot of attention this week and not only for her heated words to a reporter. She's being watched closely as a prospective first lady. But what kind of a role does she play if voters send her husband to the White House? Bill Schneider is here now with his thoughts on that -- Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The country now has two very different models of a first lady -- Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. So the question a lot of people are asking about Teresa Heinz Kerry is what kind of first lady would she be?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Members of the Democratic Caucus...

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): First ladies are expected to care about issues, but Hillary Clinton went one step further. She was political.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: You should not have a healthcare system in which costs drive who gets healthcare.

SCHNEIDER: Ultimately Mrs. Clinton decided to do the right thing. She became a politician.

RODHAM CLINTON: Wow, this is amazing. Thank you all.

SCHNEIDER: Laura Bush has followed a more traditional first lady model. Involved but not really political.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Watching TV isn't really very good for your brain, but reading is exercise for your brain.

SCHNEIDER: She certainly defends her husband's policies. A first lady is expected to do that.

L. BUSH: For small business owners, tax relief means expanding their operations and adding jobs.

SCHNEIDER: But Mrs. Bush does not have her own agenda. That difference shows up in the way the public sees the two most recent first ladies. Opinion of Hillary Clinton is strongly political. Democrats love her, Republicans do not. Opinion of Laura Bush is much less political. Republicans love her, but most Democrats like her as well.

Which model would Teresa Heinz Kerry follow? She is a wealthy activist.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SEN. JOHN KERRY: The fact that I have access to money, to power, that kind of power, is a joy, because I can do the things I used to do on the other side, proactively.

SCHNEIDER: But she says she would not take on a policymaking role, at least not as first lady.

HEINZ KERRY: I would not, however, want to be appointed to a position that was -- without going through a hearing as any other appointment of a president.

SCHNEIDER: She intends to define her own role, more activist than Laura Bush, but not as political as Hillary Clinton.

HEINZ KERRY: Let Laura Bush be Laura Bush, let Hillary be Hillary, and all I ask for is give me a chance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: It's fine for a first lady to speak her mind, that's expected, but if she assumes political responsibility she will have to face a difficult question -- who elected her? WOODRUFF: And it sounds like she's saying she's going to hold back on that. Bill, before you get away, I want to ask you about this "Washington Post"/ABC poll we've been talking about. Numbers -- they're not very good for John Kerry. How do you read that compared to other polls?

SCHNEIDER: The other polls that we've seen nationally, all of them show Kerry slightly ahead, all within the margin of error. This is the first poll we've seen in some time that shows Bush even slightly ahead. Again, within the margin of error. This could be bad news for John Kerry. The first bad news, because it seems to suggest that all that money that Bush has spent on negative advertising, some of those points are sinking in and voters are paying attention to Kerry, knowing that he's going to get the nomination, and beginning to say, wait a minute, is this guy really a flip-flopper, is he really a Massachusetts liberal? This could be bad news.

WOODRUFF: We'll continue to see the other polls that come out. We always look at a collection of them and see what they mirror...

SCHNEIDER: This is an outliner right now, but the question is, will this be the beginning of bad news?

WOODRUFF: Bill Schneider, thank you very much.

Democrats say they're convinced John Kerry has a chance in the showdown state of Arizona. Up next, I'll ask the governor Janet Napolitano what it will take for Kerry to win her state in November.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: You know, President Bush won the state of Arizona in 2000 by 6 percentage points, but state Democrats now say Arizona is in play. The governor of the state, Janet Napolitano, joins me now. And I want to ask her about those numbers and a little else.

Before we get to your state, Governor Napolitano, thank you for talking with me, what about this notion that the Democrats are trying to put a positive tone out there? Republicans are already saying, if you parse what Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Al Gore said last night, that this convention has already been tough on George Bush.

GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO (D), ARIZONA: Well, I guess their standard of what's tough is different from most people's, but I think what the convention is about is not so much about George Bush, but it's about John Kerry and John Edwards' plans and where they're going to take us. So for example, tonight I'm going to be giving an address on healthcare, to talk in more detail about John Kerry' healthcare plans. We're going to be hearing more about his plans for homeland security, about the war on terrorism, because voters need to know that.

WOODRUFF: Was your speech scrubbed, as we hear some other speeches have been scrubbed by the Kerry campaign?

NAPOLITANO: I don't know about scrubbed. We certainly drafted the speech back home in Phoenix and consulted on it, of course, with the Kerry campaign. But we knew from the outset that we wanted to talk about John Kerry, not about George Bush.

WOODRUFF: All right. Let's talk about your state of Arizona. As I said a moment ago, George W. Bush won by 6 percentage points four years ago. What does it look like? The polls right now show it close, but what do you believe?

NAPOLITANO: I think it is close. If you were to liken it to the Tour De France, I think Bush is a little ahead, but Kerry is drafting right behind him and we're starting to go into the last phases of the race. That was 6 percentage points in a state where Gore did not contest it, didn't buy media, didn't do any visits, nobody on that campaign had a headquarters there, so it was a state that was in essence given over to the Bush column in the last race. John Kerry has made a different decision. He's decided to fight for Arizona, as well he should.

WOODRUFF: First time I'm heard Kerry compared to Lance Armstrong. We'll see if that analogy holds up. You mentioned media. I gather -- I'm hearing that the Democrats have pulled advertising -- TV advertising right now in Arizona. That doesn't sound very confident.

NAPOLITANO: No, I think they have adjusted their buy, but they certainly haven't pulled it, and they still have Arizona on the battleground, listed, like I said, as well they should. I'm a Democratic governor who was elected in 2002, and I know that this is a state that when the voters can listen to a candidate, can hear that candidate's ideas and plans, will vote for a Democrat.

WOODRUFF: What do you say, Governor, to those who say John Kerry is too liberal to get elected? We have a poll, a "Washington Post"/ABC News poll out today showing what, 40 percent of Americans, already, even before your convention, say John Kerry is too liberal.

NAPOLITANO: Well, I think these labels are just that, they're just labels. If you asked whether George Bush is too conservative, I would be interested to see what number you get on that, on the flip side. But the plain fact of the matter is these liberal-conservative labels have decreasing meaning for voters. Voters want to know what you're going to do about jobs.

They want to know what you're going to do about the economy. They want to know what you're going to do about healthcare. They want to know what you're going to do about their sense of safety and security at home and abroad. They want to know what your foreign policy is going to look. Then they'll decide what they think is liberal or conservative.

WOODRUFF: We're going to leave it there. Governor Janet Napolitano, we're going to hear from you tonight...

NAPOLITANO: Yes.

WOODRUFF: ... at this convention. Thank you very much.

NAPOLITANO: Thanks a lot. All right, Arizona may be tough for the Democrats. We're going to -- in a minute, going to talk to a delegate from a state that's even tougher, South Carolina. We'll be right back, talking to a delegate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Well, we are here at the FleetCenter in Boston. In Raleigh, North Carolina, the man who is going to be the star of this convention tomorrow night, North Carolina Senator John Edwards getting on a plane, heading north, leaving his home state.

Before John Edwards departed North Carolina, he visited the gravesite of his son Wade, his son killed about 10 years ago in a car accident at the age of 16. John Edwards now making his way to Boston and to this convention where he'll be nominated vice president.

We're back here in the convention hall, and in the area of a southern state, South Carolina, which has a long history of going Republican in presidential elections. It's a state that George W. Bush carried by 16 percentage points four years ago. This year Palmetto State Democrats are saying they're focused on holding onto a Senate seat that Ernest Hollings has held since 1966.

Joining me now, a South Carolina delegate. His name is Mike McCauley.

Maybe the youngest in the delegation, 26 years old?

MIKE MCCAULEY, SOUTH CAROLINA DELEGATE: Well, Judy, actually we have one of the youngest delegations at the convention this year. We have 18 percent of our delegates are 30 years of age or younger.

WOODRUFF: Whoa. Congratulations.

MCCAULEY: Well, thank you.

WOODRUFF: All right. South Carolina a tough uphill climb for John Kerry, right?

MCCAULEY: Well, that's what some people would argue. But we're actually very -- we're more excited and enthusiastic now than we've been in decades in South Carolina. The early primary has done so much for us. And that combined with having our native son John Edwards on the ticket, South Carolina Democrats are more excited now, like I said, than they've been in years.

WOODRUFF: How do you feel as you try to sell John Edwards to the voters -- I'm sorry, John Kerry and John Edwards to the voters of South Carolina, with Republicans running around saying John Kerry has the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate?

MCCAULEY: Well, the fact is John Kerry has a lot of characteristics that are very in tune with South Carolinians. There are many veterans in South Carolina. And so they have a lot of respect for John Kerry's military career, and how he stood up for veterans during his political career.

That, combined with the fact that a lot of Republicans are just disenfranchised from George Bush right now, and we're finding a lot of that in our state. Republicans have just had enough and they're ready for a change.

WOODRUFF: So you're pushing regardless.

MCCAULEY: Yes, ma'am.

WOODRUFF: All right. Mike McCauley, a delegate from the state of South Carolina, thank you for letting us come up here to visit you.

MCCAULEY: Well, thanks so much, come down and visit us.

WOODRUFF: Appreciate it. Not too bad a location here.

All right. That's it for today's INSIDE POLITICS. I'm Judy Woodruff at the FleetCenter, be sure and tune in tonight at 8:00 Eastern, CNN's comprehensive coverage of this convention. I'm joined by Wolf Blitzer, Jeff Greenfield and our big team. I'll see you then. "CROSSFIRE" starts right now from the CNN Election Express Bus.

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 July 27, 2004 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: John Kerry pushes full steam ahead to Boston, issuing a battle cry about the 9/11 Commission report.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We cannot let politics get in the way of protecting the American people.

ANNOUNCER: Should this picture be compared to this one? Many people are asking that question today. Will Kerry's campaign manager or Bush's campaign chairman answer it?

The son of a Republican icon prepares to take the Democratic Convention stage. Will he tone down his recent rhetoric?

RON REAGAN, SON OF RONALD REAGAN: This administration is pandering to the most ignorant segment of our society for votes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Now, live from the Democratic National Convention in Boston, a special edition of JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS.

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for joining us.

Well, you could call it potluck Tuesday here at the Democratic Convention. When the second session gets underway about an hour from now, there will be a little bit of this and a little bit of that on the agenda.

After last night's Gore, Carter, and Clinton star turns, tonight's featured speakers run the gamut from a hometown legend to also-rans and a rising star, a Reagan cameo and a would-be first lady.

John Kerry's crowning convention moment still is two days away. The soon-to-be nominee was in Virginia today playing up his commander in chief credentials, while his campaign played down an unflattering photo.

CNN's Frank Buckley is traveling with Kerry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Senator John Kerry here in Norfolk, Virginia, as he continues his travels on the way to Boston Massachusetts. He was here in Norfolk, Virginia, to pay tribute to the U.S. military, but also to remind voters of his own wartime credentials. He was introduced by Skip Barker, a fellow commander officer of a swift boat during Vietnam. Senator Kerry also used the opportunity to urge quick action on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.

KERRY: When the commission released their report, I called for immediate action, not talk, not vague promises, not excuses. Backpedaling and going slow is something that America can't afford.

BUCKLEY: And as Senator Kerry tries to make the case that he has led in war as a young Navy lieutenant and can now be the commander in chief as the U.S. is involved in a war on terror and is involved in military conflicts in Iraq, an unflattering photo has emerged that was taken yesterday during a tour of a NASA facility in Florida.

Some have compared this photo to the Dukakis tank photo from the '88 election. The campaign says that is unfair, that that '88 tank photo was taken to counter a perception of weakness in Mike Dukakis. They say that's not necessary in the case of John Kerry, who is a Silver Star recipient, a Bronze Star recipient, and a recipient of three Purple Hearts during battle in Vietnam. They also make the point that that uniform that he was wearing yesterday was necessary and mandatory according to NASA.

Meanwhile, here in Virginia, the Kerry campaign believes it has a shot of winning voters here, despite the fact that this is technically one of those 16 or 17 battleground states. This state went to Bush in 2000 by more than eight points. The Kerry campaign has spent money and time here. It believes there is a potential vulnerability here for President Bush and the Democrats have a chance of winning Virginia voters.

But certainly the burden is on them. This state hasn't gone for a Democrat in presidential politics since Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1964.

Frank Buckley, CNN, Norfolk, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: So, that was John Kerry's day.

Here are some live pictures coming to us from Raleigh, North Carolina. The vice presidential nominee-to-be, John Edwards, you see him there talking to people. He is on his way from North Carolina, getting on a plane shortly to fly to Boston. Tomorrow night, his big speech. He'll be making it right here in the convention hall.

Meantime, a new poll out today suggests that John Kerry heading into this convention in a weaker position than just one month ago. The ABC News/"Washington Post" poll shows Bush leading Kerry 49 percent to 48 percent among registered voters.

Kerry had a slight lead in that survey in late June. The poll also shows slippage for Kerry in two areas the Bush camp has targeted in recent ads, Kerry's consistency on issues and whether he shares American values.

Now let's go back to tonight's lineup here at the FleetCenter.

Our Joe Johns is out on the convention floor behind me, where he has been digging for information about some of the biggest speeches in the hours ahead.

Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Really digging Judy.

The theme is: a lifetime of strength and service. The keynote speech, as everybody should know by now, is Barack Obama of Illinois, a state senator in Illinois now trying to be a United States senator from Illinois. He, of course, comes very highly recommended by Democrats. They say he is a rising star. He is expected to talk, among other things, about the everyday struggles he says of ordinary people.

One of the most interesting moments expected to come this evening is Senator Edward Kennedy, the hometown senator here from Boston, Massachusetts. It will be his eighth convention speech, we're told, a very large family contingent expected to be here, upwards of 90 people to sit in on the speech. And then we're told many of them are going to get up, get out on buses and go to the symphony hall, where there's another tribute for Senator Kennedy tonight.

Dr. Howard Dean, of course, he is known best perhaps as a liberal Democrat doctor from the state of Vermont. He, too, is speaking this evening, very well known for how he energized the liberal Democratic base. He has been keeping information about what his speech is going to be about very closely held. Nonetheless, he does say that that speech was essentially written by two Kerry staffers who used to work for him.

Among the others, Ron Reagan, best known as the son of the former president, highly critical of the administration. He, too, is expected to take the podium. Among other things, he's expected to talk about stem cell research, which is something that is very near and dear to him, because many people say embryonic stem cell research holds promise in the treatment of diseases like Alzheimer's, which essentially is the thing that ended the life of his father.

And we'll hear more about Teresa Heinz Kerry, the wife of the nominee. She is also expected to speak this evening -- Judy, back to you.

WOODRUFF: Joe Johns, there's a lot to look forward to this night. Thanks very much. And we'll be seeing a lot of you in the hours to come.

Well, when Ron Reagan speaks to the Democrats tonight, he's going to be sending a message to his late father's party as well about stem cell research. A recent poll shows 54 percent of Americans say they believe stem cell research is morally acceptable; 37 percent say it is morally wrong. And those are the people the Reagan family hopes to persuade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NANCY REAGAN, FORMER FIRST LADY: I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this.

WOODRUFF (voice-over): A cause that has united a famously fractious political family, stem cells, thought by many scientists to hold the key to the mysteries of diabetes and Parkinson's and perhaps Alzheimer's, the disease that fell the 40th president of the United States, the reason his son Ronald Prescott Reagan will address the Democratic National Convention tonight.

R. REAGAN: This administration is pandering to the most ignorant segment of our society for votes and throwing up roadblocks to this sort of research. It's absolutely shameful.

WOODRUFF: Embryonic stem cell research present as thorny issue for the president. Harvesting embryonic stem cells requires the destruction of human embryos, a concern for some religious conservatives George W. Bush is heavily courting this year.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Embryonic stem cell research offers both great promise and great peril. So, I have decided we must proceed with great care.

WOODRUFF: A position that pits Bush against Democrats.

KERRY: We need a president who believes in science.

WOODRUFF: But also sets the White House against the Reagans, including Nancy.

N. REAGAN: There are so many diseases that can be cured or at least helped. We have lost so much time already and I just really can't bear to lose any more.

WOODRUFF: The heartfelt plea of a national symbol, who has given her son's speech tonight her full blessing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: And tonight, Ronald Reagan, the president -- the son of the late president, speaking at this Democratic Convention.

Well, that speech could make Republicans here in Boston feel even more on the defensive. Up next, I'll talk with Bush campaign chairman Marc Racicot. Also ahead, on Senator Edward Kennedy's big convention night, a conversation with him and his son, Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

I'll ask union boss Andy Stern what he was thinking when he said organized labor might gain if Kerry loses.

Plus, convention music blasts from the pasts.

With 98 days until the election, this is INSIDE POLITICS, the place for campaign news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: While the Democrats gather here in Boston this week, the Republicans are waiting for their turn in the national spotlight. Vice President Dick Cheney is on a swing through California today.

This morning, he spoke to troops at Camp Pendleton before heading on to Bakersfield. He ends his day in Riverside. President Bush is taking some time off from the campaign trail. He's still at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

For the Republican view, though, of all this, we turn to Marc Racicot, chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign. He's with us from Arlington, Virginia.

Marc Racicot, good to see you.

MARC RACICOT, BUSH-CHENEY CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: Good to see you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Is it the Republicans' worst nightmare that the Democrats are trying to say they are united and positive this week?

RACICOT: Well, it's not a nightmare at all. Of course, the evidence tends to indicate otherwise.

And obviously, we're there in Boston to offer the perspectives of our campaign and our party. And I think I'm offering the American people the opportunity to make comparisons. We have great confidence in the American people to be able to discern what, in fact, is the truth, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Well, let me cite to you some of the contrasts that we heard last night, in particular from former President Bill Clinton.

At one point, he said: "Their opponents will tell you to be afraid of John Kerry and John Edwards because they won't stand up to the terrorists. He said, don't you believe it. Strength and wisdom are not conflicting values. They go hand in hand. John Kerry has both."

RACICOT: Well, I think those values are consistent. They have been a part of the president's approach from the very beginning.

The fact of the matter is what we talk about is equivocation, constant changing of your mind. You can't vote for the war, aggressively pursue policies against Saddam Hussein, like John Kerry did, and then vote against the appropriations to pay for fuel and the body armor in Iraq. That kind of equivocation and inability to make up your mind is what we're talking about.

You know, Judy, there are four members of the United States Senate that voted to use force in Iraq and then voted against those appropriations and two are them are running for president and vice president on the Democratic ticket. The American people have a right to compare those positions.

WOODRUFF: Well, hasn't Senator Kerry said, though, that the reason he did that was to send a message to the administration that he disapproved of the way the administration was carrying out the postwar policy?

RACICOT: Well, Judy, he's given a number of different explanations. Just weeks before that vote was taken, he says it would be irresponsible, after having authorized the use of force, to vote against the appropriations, and then, of course, voted against them, gave other explanations, saying he was proud of his vote, didn't show up for the next appropriations bill, the supplemental $25 billion to authorize additional expenditures in Iraq.

So, this is not the only area of equivocation. John Kerry constantly sets about to assume the colors of his surroundings.

WOODRUFF: Let me cite quickly some other -- another comment that Bill Clinton made last night. He said -- "During the Vietnam War," he said, "many young men, including the current president, the vice president and me," he said, referring to himself, "could have gone to Vietnam, but didn't. John Kerry came from a privileged background, could have avoided it, too. Instead, he said, send me," in other words, trying to make the point that John Kerry is a brave man who will keep America strong.

RACICOT: Well, we've always recognized the service of John Kerry and the service of George W. Bush. He served his country. He responded to the call. There were so many of us in that generation who responded as our government called upon us to respond.

George Bush served six years, two years on active duty, flew hundreds of missions, hundreds of hours in the air in dangerous aircraft. He did exactly as his government ordered him to do.

That's honorable service, like so many other young men, men my age who served during that period of time.

WOODRUFF: The Republicans, Marc Racicot, seem to be promoting this photograph today of John Kerry yesterday touring Cape Canaveral -- unflattering pictures, one could say -- in some sort of spacesuit that the Kerry campaign says he had to put on in order to tour this facility.

What is the point of promoting this or sort of saying this is entertaining or funny or whatever?

RACICOT: Well, I don't understand that to be a promotion effort of this campaign or the Republican Party, as much as it is obviously a reflection of the news of the day.

The fact of the matter is, it was printed in a Boston newspaper. I haven't had opportunity, or inclination, for that matter, to comment upon the photograph all day long. It speaks for itself. The American people can make judgments about these kinds of things. We have great confidence that they can place everything and accord a proper weight to whatever it is, is presented.

WOODRUFF: So you are not trying to make a comparison with Michael Dukakis in the tank?

RACICOT: No.

I think, sometimes, the observers of the process, without diminishing the fourth estate, sometimes attach more significance to something and attribute some responsibility to the various different parties than what is likely due to either of them.

WOODRUFF: OK, we hear you, Marc Racicot. He is chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign.

We appreciate you joining us. Thanks very much.

RACICOT: Thanks, Judy.

WOODRUFF: In just a minute, we'll hear from the man who delivered what some consider one of the most electrifying speeches in Democratic Convention history.

Coming up, more from my interview with Senator Edward Kennedy and his son, Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: When Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts speaks to the Democratic Convention tonight, memories will flash back 24 years.

In 1980, after his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination, Senator Kennedy gave a speech including this memorable line, quote, "The work goes on. The cause endures. The hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

I recently spoke with Senator Kennedy and his son, Rhode Island Democratic Congressman Patrick Kennedy. I asked the congressman for his thoughts about his father's speaking roles at conventions past and present.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (D), RHODE ISLAND: Well, first of all, I've never forgotten the speech that he made in 1980, which to many who were there and those who have heard about it have been one of the finest speeches that they have ever heard.

I can recall seeing him in the convention. And it's something that I'll never forget. And I think that seeing him in this convention, such a pivotal time again, seeing my father recognized duly for the lifetime of public service that he's given this country is really -- gives me great pride, gives me enormous pride.

WOODRUFF: What does it mean to you, this speech? Is it just another speech? What does it mean? SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Well, Boston, obviously, we're so proud that -- just not myself, but I think all Bostonians, that the convention is in Boston. We take our history very seriously. This is the birthplace of American revolution.

It was John Adams said at the old statehouse, this is the birthplace of American independence, is what this convention is really about. Boston and Massachusetts, New England generally, represents the best of the past. I think we have really so much of the best of the new as well.

And I think to share this with the rest of the nation is going to be the challenge of this convention. And I think all of us are going to try and do it at different times.

WOODRUFF: A lot of people would say the state of Massachusetts, the Democratic Party, synonymous with the name Kennedy. Is that the way you feel?

E. KENNEDY: Well, no. There's president Kennedy, my -- members -- all of us are very proud, believe very deeply in what Woodrow Wilson said. And the political party ought to stand for something, and that this is -- the Democrat Party is at its best when it does stand for something. And we all need to.

But there are so many people that make a difference in people's lives that are not in politics. We're reminded of that every single day. And this is something that all of us, that our parents reminded us of as well. You don't have to be in elective office to make a difference.

And people concerned about others sharing, doing, volunteering, participating in the system, giving something back is what this country is at its best at. And we like to think the Democrats are someone -- are a political party that understands it best.

WOODRUFF: You recognize the next-door state of Rhode Island. How do you feel when you see the Republicans using your father as an icon of liberalism and everything that has gone awry with the left wing of the Democratic Party?

P. KENNEDY: Well, he must be doing something right with the generation of energy that he has had on the Republican side.

My father has been a real leader on the most basic issues of decency and fairness to all Americans. And the reason Republicans are so threatened by him is that they want the power for power's sake. And when they see someone like Ted Kennedy arguing on behalf of people who are ordinary people fighting to make ends meet and who need to get overtime pay, need to get healthcare, need to make sure their children get a decent education, that threatens them, because it goes against their political interests.

They fear that they are not going to have elections to win in the future if the people catch on to what my father has been talking about these many years. WOODRUFF: Spoken like a Kennedy.

E. KENNEDY: Proud.

Patrick, for his commitment to public service and I'm thrilled with his election. And I had a very important time in my life. Obviously, when I first came down here, my brother was president, but we were brothers.

He was the president, obviously, and also serving with my brother Bob in the United States Senate. And now I have a chance to serve with Patrick. So it's special.

WOODRUFF: Do you feel it here?

E. KENNEDY: Oh, yes. Right in here.

He's done very well for Rhode Island. And he's doing very well in the Congress. And I'm proud of him. He used this room at one time, I must say. I know the time is running out on your program. But he called me one time and said he wanted to have a meeting with the Coast Guard and can he use this office over here. And I said fine.

And then he called back and said, can I just have one last meeting with the Coast Guard? And I said fine. And then the head of the Coast Guard called me. And he said, is it sure -- are you sure that we can move the Coast Guard boats out of New Bedford into Newport, into his district? And I said, what? That's what is going on up here?

So, I have had to keep my eye on him. But he's -- he has got his ear to the ground. He tells me a lot of what is going on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: Senator Edward Kennedy, his son, Congressman Patrick Kennedy -- Senator Kennedy speaking tonight.

Much more to come from Democratic National Convention. Find out who filmmaker Michael Moore was sitting with during last night's session. There's other political news, too. Coming up, how both parties intend to keep the 9/11 Commission's final report from just sitting on bookshelves.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: We're about half an hour away from the start of day two of the Democratic National Convention. Welcome back to this special 90-minute edition of INSIDE POLITICS. I'm Judy Woodruff, reporting live from the floor of the FleetCenter here in Boston.

Among the speakers tonight: Senator Ted Kennedy, the home-town hero; former presidential hopefuls Howard Dean and Dick Gephardt; Ron Reagan; Barack Obama, the Democratic Senate candidate in Illinois who is the keynoter. And tonight's program wrapping up with Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Well, as the political world remains focused on this convention, and John Kerry campaigns his way toward Boston, there's more political back and forth over the recommendations of the 9/11 terror commission. Our congressional correspondent, Ed Henry, has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On his way to Boston, John Kerry is hammering President Bush over the 9/11 Commission's final report.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can't treat the commission's report as something that you hope will go away, because this threat won't go away. And the recommendations of the commission make sense and they should be implemented now.

HENRY: But White House aides stress the president is on top of the situation, discussing the 9/11 report with National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, who is with him in Texas. He also held his first task force meeting on the report with top officials via teleconference.

RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The important thing now, obviously, is what we do going forward by ways of reform designed to address any weaknesses that have been uncovered in the course of those investigations. And the president's committed to doing that.

HENRY: The Kerry camp released a memo charging: "In an act of political gymnastics remarkable even for this White House, the Bush campaign is using the report it has yet to embrace written by a commission that it originally opposed to justify its reelection effort."

And Kerry wants the commission, whose mandate expires in August, to get an 18-month extension to oversee, monitor and track implementation of the reform proposals, a move the White House refused to endorse. The jockeying over who will embrace the commission's proposals first has gotten intense.

PAUL LIGHT, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: I think there's just tremendous political pressure for both parties to get ahead on the issue. National security is a big campaign issue for John Kerry. And it's a big strength for George Bush. And the party that gets there first is going to be the party that gets some votes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Judy, Congress is also now moving quickly to address the 9/11 report. As CNN first reported today, the Senate, which planned to kick off its hearings next week, will now hold its first hearing this Friday right after the Democratic convention wraps up.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert had initially urged a go slow approach, but amid pressure from the commission, House Republicans are now planning two series of hearings which kick off late next week -- Judy.

WOODRUFF: A change in plans. All right. Ed Henry, thanks very much.

Well, the leader of the Service Employees Union, Andy Stern, has stirred a little discussion here in Boston with his comments about how a John Kerry victory might affect relations between Democrats and the labor movement.

In today's "Washington Post," Sterns says, "If John Kerry becomes president, it hurts the chances of reforming the Democrats and organized labor."

Andy Stern later clarified his remarks in a statement. He said, "I am personally committed to help send John Kerry to the White House because he's always fought for working families."

Andy Stern joins me here on the floor of the convention.

All right, it's the middle of the Democratic convention and you supposedly support the Democrats. But you're saying electing John Kerry hurts the labor movement and hurts the party.

ANDREW STERN, SEIU PRESIDENT: Judy, let me be clear. As we speak today, there are 800 of our members in Ohio, Michigan, and Florida. They are soon going to be joined by 1,200 more.

We have 50,000 volunteers that are going to work on this election. We are going to spend $65 million. It's the largest contribution of any single organization.

We want John Kerry to be the president of the United States. There's nothing more important in this world.

WOODRUFF: But you obviously believe that for the future, at least according to what you said in "The Washington Post" interview, that for the long-term health of the labor movement that you represent, and this Democratic Party, it's better off if a Republican is elected.

STERN: Oh, not at all, Judy. What I said was that you see the unity and you see the energy on this convention floor. Well, it took as you long time to get here.

And if we're going to pass John Kerry's healthcare plan in the first 100 days of his administration, if we're going to roll back these tax cuts, we need unity, we need to be energized equally, as well after the election.

And sometimes what happens is that people take a risk. They take a break. They get apathetic.

Well, George Bush for four years has been destroying the country. And it's going to take all of us to help John Kerry rebuild it.

WOODRUFF: All right. Everybody knows that you were originally with Howard Dean, and I think the question some people are asking, is Andy Stern's heart really in seeing John Kerry elected?

STERN: Well, as I was just saying recently to a friend of mine, Harold Schaitberger, John Kerry is not just someone I support, he's actually someone I admire. For people of my generation during, I saw where John Kerry stood up both to serve the country and when he came back to the country. He stood up for the most important issue in our -- for our union, which is healthcare.

And so I admire John Kerry. I am going to do everything in my power to get him elected.

WOODRUFF: Harold Schaitberger, I am told he's the head of the Firefighter's Union...

STERN: Yes.

WOODRUFF: ... other union leaders who are your colleagues. I am told, because they're saying this to other reporters, that they are furious about what you said.

STERN: But they understand what I think about John Kerry, and they understand what I am doing to try to win the election. And they're not going to let any newspapers or anybody else try to divide us.

We have a united Democratic Party. We're energized. We're going to elect a new president of the United States. We're going to send George Bush and Dick Cheney back to Crawford, Texas. That's what's important. We're all on the same side; we're all United.

WOODRUFF: Would you at least acknowledge that your comments weren't helpful to John Kerry and the party?

STERN: Well, what I would say is my comments could have been much clearer as I have been here today about how much I want John Kerry to win, how much we need to stay united, how much we need to make sure this party continues to build after the election to not give up, to not let up. Let's pass national healthcare for every man, woman and child in America.

WOODRUFF: Have you heard from the Kerry campaign? Are they unhappy?

STERN: No. We talked to the Kerry campaign. They are more than aware than almost anybody of all of our members that are out there doing work on their behalf. They appreciate and understand where I stand and where our union stands.

We are their partners, we are their friends. And we are going to help them and John Kerry become the next president of the United States.

WOODRUFF: Andy Stern, the head of the Service Employees International Union. Made a little news today.

STERN: Thanks, Judy. WOODRUFF: Thanks for stopping by.

STERN: OK, appreciate it.

WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.

STERN: Bye-bye.

WOODRUFF: Thank you.

And now, checking a few headlines in our convention edition of "Campaign News Daily," several interesting sights caught our eye on the first night of the convention, including the seating arrangements.

Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore had a choice vantage point for last night's speeches. The maker of "Fahrenheit 9/11" was seated right next to former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.

Also, within the last hour, we are told about 2,200 people showed up at an event featuring Moore in Cambridge. The large crowd forced organizers to turn some people away.

A look out over the floor last night revealed that the party has achieved unity in its choice of convention signs. Posters supporting the party's impending nominees dominated the floor all evening. Traditionally, the floor is filled with signs supporting the various speakers who rise to address party delegates. New York's delegation, however, did manage to wave signs saluting their junior senator, Hillary Clinton.

Coming up on INSIDE POLITICS, music to stir a campaign. We'll take a closer look at convention tunes and their place in political history.

Plus, we'll hear from the woman who is helping lead the charge for the Kerry campaign. An interview with Mary Beth Cahill, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Boy do we have a treat for you. I'm going to turn it over to the "CAPITAL GANG" and Mark Shields for just a moment. But first, I want to ask each one of you to grade Bill Clinton's speech last night -- Mark.

MARK SHIELDS, CNN "CAPITAL GANG" I'd give Bill Clinton an A- last night. It was so much better than he did in 2000 for Al Gore that he did for John Kerry. And there were two lines that stuck out.

One was when Vietnam came, the vice president, the president and I all figured out ways to avoid it, John Kerry said "Send me." And he wanted to thank the Republicans as he's become a millionaire, that they have given him a tax cut. And I thought both of those were just memorable.

BOB NOVAK, CNN "CAPITAL GANG": I know they would appeal to you. I'd give him a C+. I didn't think it was vintage, but I thought he read it too fast, I didn't think there were many memorable lines that would stick to you.

He could have read an Al Hunt column to this -- this crowd -- and probably he should have -- and he would have gotten a good cheer. But as far as the reset of America goes, I didn't think it sold -- Margaret.

MARGARET CARLSON, CNN "CAPITAL GANG": I give him an A for this reason: I liked the pacing. He wasn't stopping for applause, and the networks were imposing a discipline on him that made him keep going. And I don't think it overshadows Kerry.

If it had been bad, the way he was in 1988 giving that speech which he was cheered when he said "In conclusion," we would remember it and be talking about it for days. But a good speech goes often for the ether.

SHIELDS: There was only 24 minutes, Kate.

KATE O'BEIRNE, CNN "CAPITAL GANG": If I were grading it, Mark, on a true or false basis, it would get a false for the rewrite of the '90s it represented. But as a convention speech, I would give it an A.

I think it was an effective convention speech. It sure did work inside this hall last night. You were reminded about what an incredible political talent he was. I'm not sure how it helps John Kerry, because for a broader audience it reminds us that we were asleep in the '90s.

It's not true we were at peace. War had been declared against us. We just have this illusion that that wasn't the case.

SHIELDS: Al?

AL HUNT, CNN "CAPITAL GANG": Mark, when I watched it last night I gave it a B+. Two things. I thought he rushed through it a little bit. He did primarily because his wife went much too long in her so- called introduction.

And secondly, I was sitting next to Bob Novak. After talking to people later, I upgraded it to the A category, and it wasn't just Democrats here. I called Paul Ryan...

(CROSSTALK)

HUNT: ... a very smart Republican congressman in Wisconsin who disagreed with most of the speech and said, "Boy, is he good. He is the most effective thing I have seen."

SHIELDS: Well, all right. Tonight we're coming up on -- and there's a -- we've got a total contrast in the two first ladies. Laura Bush, quoting a Democratic pollster, Peter Hart (ph), "Wall Street Journal," said one of the most revered women, popular women in the country. Teresa Heinz a little bit more of a lightning rod. I mean, candid, outspoken, her own person.

Bob Novak, what about Teresa Heinz -- Teresa Heinz Kerry -- Heinz Kerry Kerry?

NOVAK: Whatever she is. I look at her and I see a very, very contentious, arrogant billionaire. And...

SHIELDS: Your kind of person, Bob.

NOVAK: Well, I would probably like her a lot if I knew her. But I think most people don't like her. I think -- I think she's a train wreck waiting to happen.

Nobody can ever say she is wrong. She can never say she is wrong. She ought to sit down and shut up for Senator Kerry's sake. But nobody's got the nerve to tell her that.

SHIELDS: Kate O'Beirne, tell us that there are civilized conservatives still breathing.

O'BEIRNE: Former Governor Ann Richards might say that Teresa Heinz Kerry was born with a silver foot in her mouth, but I have a soft spot in my heart for her. A few short years ago, she told me that she agrees with everything I say on "CAPITAL GANG." That's when she was still a Republican.

She'll be scripted tonight, Bob. The public is going to be rooting for her. It's a tough thing for a first lady to get up there and do. I think she'll do fine tonight.

SHIELDS: Margaret?

CARLSON: Well, the rule is first ladies should do no harm. Teresa wants us to know she is interesting instead of just wanting her friends to know she is interesting.

And you know, she should put her light under a barrel, I think, for the -- or is it a bushel for the rest of this campaign.

SHIELDS: I think it's a bushel.

CARLSON: Because remember...

SHIELDS: A bushel of pickles.

CARLSON: ... Barbara Bush was...

NOVAK: Sour pickles.

(LAUGHTER)

SHIELDS: Speaking of sour pickles, yes.

HUNT: You know, I have talked to a number of the Kerry people today, and they are on pins and needles. They are really worried about this speech. It is short. It's less than 15 minutes. But what they are worried about is they want the emphasis to be on John Kerry, not Teresa Kerry. And they don't know if it will be.

SHIELDS: OK. All right. OK, Bob.

I'll just close with one comment, and that is she had a great quote, one of the most honest things ever said by a first lady to be, and that is, "I don't think personally anyone is ever qualified enough to be president, although John Kerry is close, very close."

NOVAK: That's nice. That's really nice.

SHIELDS: That's about as honest as you get. Back to Judy Woodruff.

Thank you.

WOODRUFF: One thing's for sure, the "CAPITAL GANG" is always honest, whether they are talking about pickles...

SHIELDS: Isn't that the truth?

WOODRUFF: Thank you all.

All right. We've been talking about Teresa Heinz Kerry, but tonight's keynote speaker is a bit of a surprise for some people. Coming up, we'll talk about the rising political star of a U.S. Senate candidate who still doesn't have a Republican opponent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Joining me here on the convention floor, two of our favorite political analysts, Stu Rothenberg of "The Rothenberg Political Report," Amy Walter of "The Cook Political Report."

First of all, the keynote speaker tonight, the Democratic Senate candidate from the state of Illinois, Barack Obama, Stu, who is this man? And he still doesn't have a Republican opponent.

STUART ROTHENBERG, "THE ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT": Right, Judy. Well, Barack Obama came to see me in Washington, D.C., two years ago, that is before the November 2002 elections, even though he's running in 2004. He was out there early when I interviewed him.

The first time I interviewed him, I was just very impressed. He's articulate, he's smooth, he's charismatic, he's poised. A great candidate.

WOODRUFF: Does this help him? Does it make any difference back in Illinois?

AMY WALTER, "THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT": Well, I mean, he's getting more attention this week and even the week before. I don't know many state Senate -- state senators who are not United States senators that have gotten profilers in "The New Yorker," "The New York Times," "The Washington Post."

So, I mean, he is now sort of a national phenomenon. He's not really just simply an Illinois phenomenon.

ROTHENBERG: Just a word of caution about Barack Obama, however. If you meet him, you think he's really impressive. And he is, terrific resume, everything.

But we've been building him up the last 24 hours as if he's going to knock John Kerry off the ticket and be the presidential nominee. He is a liberal Democrat from Chicago. If he was in a little different state, and if he had a top-tier Republican opponent -- you know he doesn't have anybody right now -- he'd have a tough race. And he's a good candidate.

(CROSSTALK)

WOODRUFF: (INAUDIBLE) in Illinois. All right.

Quickly, let's broaden the picture out a little bit. I read an article a day or so ago about how many Senate -- Democratic Senate candidates this year who either aren't showing up at all or are only here for a day or so. Amy, is this convention a liability if you are running in the South or certain parts of the West?

WALTER: We see this every year, right? Or every year that there's a presidential candidate on the top of the ticket, that you have House and Senate candidates who aren't really going to work with the party, and the message just isn't going to work in their state. And so they have to spend a lot of time sort of localizing themselves, distancing themselves from the president.

The interesting thing, and this is especially true with House Democrats here, they are talking so much this week about this wave, this momentum that Kerry is creating for them, and helping them and helping their candidates lift them up, so to speak. So that's only going to work in certain places. In other places, it's much more of a liability and they have to localize themselves.

WOODRUFF: Stu, how do they -- I mean, how do they handle it? I mean, if you're -- if you're running in the South, if you're Inez Tenenbaum and you're running in South Carolina, she apparently only spent part of a day here and then left town.

ROTHENBERG: Sure. You handle it -- you handle it by staying home.

Amy is exactly right. These guys are trying to localize their races because they're running in conservative or Republican states. It does them no good to have -- to have stories in their local newspapers about how they are in Boston, no less. Not only is it a Democratic convention, it's in Boston.

So it does them no good. They are staying home. And that's smart. And they are going to work door to door while the national Democrats are here. WOODRUFF: We're going to have to leave it there. We love seeing you guys, though.

ROTHENBERG: Thanks.

WOODRUFF: We'll be seeing a lot of you over the next 98 days and counting. Stu Rothenberg, Amy Walter, thank you both.

ROTHENBERG: Thanks.

WALTER: Thanks, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Appreciate it.

Well, while Democrats and Republicans often march to the beat of a different drummer, there's one thing you'll find at both national conventions: music, and plenty of it. And while things have changed over the years, convention tunes can still help shape a campaign and fire up a candidate's supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF (voice-over): Back in the days of "Pomp and Circumstance," Republican and Democratic conventions struck similar chords, played by big bands on brass instruments. It all seemed so quaint these days.

Four years ago, the GOP used Ricky Martin to emphasize their big tent compassionate conservatism, hoping, perhaps, to harness the energy of the mother of all convention anthems and one of its successors, the Fleetwood Mac tune that was such a hit for Bill Clinton and Al Gore that they brought it back four years later. Yes, it's the gold standard of convention music.

And then there's this...

(MUSIC)

WOODRUFF: And this...

(MUSIC)

WOODRUFF: We all have our moments.

(MUSIC)

WOODRUFF: It's silly to make too much of convention tunes, but some years they do provide a fitting sound track to a bigger story. Take the 1992 Republican convention, the one that came to symbolize closed-door intolerance. That show in Houston was all country all the time. Hardly a portrait of musical diversity.

But in the end, convention songs aimed to inspire in viewing raw politics with pure emotion, set to music that knows no party.

(MUSIC) (END VIDEOTAPE)

WOODRUFF: And we are bipartisan. We like the music at both conventions.

The Tuesday afternoon session of the Democratic convention just about to come to order. The Republicans are watching. Coming up, we'll check in with our White House correspondent, Dana Bash.

Later, a job the Constitution doesn't define but is vastly important. Bill Schneider looks at what the voters expect in a first lady.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: She's not shy.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, JOHN KERRY'S WIFE: I speak from my heart, from my head, and from my soul.

ANNOUNCER: But if she becomes first lady, who will be her role model, Laura Bush or Hillary Clinton?

She's the person who steers the John Kerry ship. Mary Beth Cahill generally avoids the spotlight, but today Kerry's campaign manager is our guest.

You can call Janet Napolitano one of the stars of the Democratic Party. We'll speak with the governor of the crucial state of Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Now, live from the Democratic National Convention in Boston, a special edition of JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS.

WOODRUFF: Welcome back to the FleetCenter, where day two of the Democratic convention is about to get underway. One of the first orders of business, delegates are expected to approve the party platform without a fight. Another sign of the Democrats' unusual unity this election year.

In the coming hours, delegates will hear from Senator Edward Kennedy, former Kerry rivals Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean, Illinois Senate candidate and Keynote speaker Barack Obama, Ron Reagan and Teresa Heinz Kerry.

You can hear the music behind me. It looks like they are getting underway right on time at 4:00 Eastern.

Well, some of the delegates may listen most closely to Teresa Heinz Kerry tonight, wondering if her famous outspokenness will prove an asset or a liability. Let's bring in our senior political correspondent and protean (ph) reporter, Candy Crowley -- Candy. CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy. The highlight tonight, of course, there are lots of them, really, but Teresa Heinz Kerry certainly is one of them. I want to tell our viewers what's going on right now.

This, of course, is the governor of New Mexico, Governor Richardson. He in fact is leading this entire show for the next four days, becomes a very familiar face for those who are watching. So second day of the convention now open.

Teresa Heinz Kerry tonight, I am told that in fact one of the her aides said -- this is not a pound-on-the-table kind of lady, don't look for a barnburner. This is going to be a lot of what we have heard, those of us that have seen her on the campaign trail, but in quote, "a more polished form."

She doesn't generally work off of a script, she will be working off of a script tonight, much to the liking of the Kerry campaign. She does have a way of talking off the top of her head.

We're told that this will a lot about the arc of her life, and how she came from Mozambique, was raised there, the daughter of Portuguese parents. She became an American citizen when she was 30, and here she is, having grown up under a dictatorship, speaking at the Democratic National Convention.

So there will be some of that about her life, but also about her husband's life, talking more about what he values and what he stands for. So in the context of her life, she will then talk about his life and begin, as they have for the past day-and-a-half to talk about John Kerry, who he is and what he stands for.

So no barnburner, but always, Judy, when Teresa Heinz Kerry is involved, I judge it will be interesting.

WOODRUFF: Yes, and we also hear a few minutes ago from THE CAPITAL GANG that is going to be shorter than expected, maybe less than 15 minutes. We shall see. Candy, thanks very much, we'll be seeing a lot of you tonight.

Outside of this hall, the GOP's rapid response team remains in high gear, CNN's Dana Bash covering the Republican side of this convention story.

Hi there, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Judy. And you know, a recent "New York Times" poll said that nine out of 10 delegates in the hall where you are say that they don't think that going to war in Iraq was the right call, but the official party platform, which they are about to actually adopt in the hall where you are, Judy, does not say that. It does not say that the war was wrong. It also doesn't say the troops should be home. It simply says that people of goodwill disagree on the issue.

Now Republicans and the spinners that they have imported to bring here to Boston have been seizing on that all day, saying that they think that is proof that Democrats in the hall there are -- that their views are perhaps being watered down, that the rank and file aren't being heard. And they also accuse the Kerry campaign of essentially taking this issue and twisting it; an example, they say, of how John Kerry's position on Iraq and his rank and file maybe don't necessarily mix.

Now that also fits quite nicely with what Republicans have been promoting all week, Judy. That is an 11-minute video that they are going to unveil tomorrow morning at their daily press conference. This is a minute of which CNN has already received. It uses John Kerry's own words from interviews and appearances over the years to show, they say, an evolution of position, what Republicans of course we've heard call flip-flops. Particularly it hones in on an apparent shift during the Democratic primary season, before and after Howard Dean's anti-war candidacy took off.

Now the goal here is quite obvious, it is to illustrate what Republicans' top attack lines have been all along, which is that John Kerry, they say shifts with the political winds, and they say that this is proof that John Kerry is not as strong on national security as he may show.

Now this is not going to be put up on television in a paid way yet, they are simply going to e-mail this tomorrow to their supporters. They're going to put it on their Web site. And campaign officials say that they're looking for other ways to play this. But they've certainly been talking this up, Judy, all week long.

WOODRUFF: Now Dana, you know that probably know the most beloved figure in the Republican Party who died recently, Ronald Reagan, his son is speaking tonight at the convention. One would think that would make Republicans uncomfortable.

BASH: Well, you know, it was interesting to see all week how the Republican response team here was going to handle the opposition to a speaker named Ronald Reagan at a Democratic Convention, and essentially their strategy seems to be to put it in the "so what" category.

The Republican chairman, Ed Gillespie, was asked about it a number of times this morning. He simply said that it has been a well- known thing that Ronald Reagan's son has not necessarily agreed with the father on issues over the years, and that his stance and perhaps party affiliation has been quite known.

But the other interesting thing that came out this morning is that the party chairman did say for sure that Nancy Reagan would not be speaking at the Republican Convention, would not confirm whether or not she was actually asked, he said certainly she would always be welcome, but he confirmed that she would not be there.

WOODRUFF: All right. Dana Bash with the very latest from the Republican opposition, camped out right here in Boston.

We are going to take a short break. Day two of the Democratic National Convention just getting underway.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: We are back at the FleetCenter. Day two of the Democratic Convention just getting underway. We heard from the Bush camp, now we're going to get the Kerry camp's point of view. We're joined by Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill.

Great to see you, Mary. Thank you for joining us.

MARY BETH CAHILL, KERRY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: It's a pleasure.

WOODRUFF: We just heard from Dana Bash that the Republicans are not only out there talking about John Kerry's record, they're putting out an 11-minute video tomorrow, among other things. They're going to highlight what they call his flip-flops on Iraq; he was for it, he was against it, he was against the funding for the war. Does this make your job harder at this convention?

CAHILL: No, it doesn't really because we've had a plan all along, that what we wanted to do here was talk about John Kerry and John Edwards' plans for the future.

And President Bush has not put forward any plans of what he would do in a second administration. The American public wants to hear what leaders will do in the next four years, and they'll do anything to distract from the matters at hand and the things that the country really cares about.

WOODRUFF: At the same time, some people are saying the Republicans have made some headway on this whole business of flip- flopping. With a "Washington Post"/ABC poll today, when you ask voters who takes a position and sticks with it, 64 percent George Bush, 24 percent John Kerry.

CAHILL: I think if you spend almost $90 million on the phrase "flip-flopping" people hear it and they repeat it. But I think that when you hear who will be better on healthcare, who is better on education, who will make the economy stronger, John Kerry wins overwhelmingly. Those are the issues that matter to people. How are their lives going to be different and better?

WOODRUFF: Another question on the poll, who's a stronger leader, Bush 55 percent, Kerry, 36 percent. This is a tough hill for you to climb.

CAHILL: I don't agree with that because I think that President Bush has been in the White House for four years, and he has had the bully pulpit for that period of time. John Kerry has a lot to talk about for the future, people are paying attention to this, and we've been looking forward to this convention, a chance to introduce John Kerry and have people pay attention to where he wants to lead the country, I think it's an enormous opportunity for us.

WOODRUFF: Is it irritating though to have the Republicans out there constantly reminding the media, and then the American people, of not only the inconsistencies in John Kerry's record, but what they describe as a very liberal voting record in the United States Senate while you're trying to come across as moderate.

CAHILL: I think if you went through our program last night, when you heard Reverend David Austin (ph) talk about his service in Vietnam with John Kerry and the man that he knows, when you heard President Clinton talk about the economy and how it can work for all Americans, tonight you'll hear Barack Obama, a leader of the future, talk about John Kerry and where he's going to lead the country. I think that this is a very moderate convention that really espouses Democratic ideals about how we can do things together.

WOODRUFF: Coming out of this convention, Mary Beth Cahill, how big a bounce?

CAHILL: You know, the thing is when it's a 50-50 nation and when we have somewhere between 45 and 48 and he has somewhere between 45 and 48, there is not very much bounce to get. I think we have consolidated the Democratic base. Importantly there's enormous energy in our party and we're going to go on to November.

WOODRUFF: Mary Beth Cahill, the manager of John Kerry's campaign. Very good to see you. Thanks for coming by.

Appreciate it.

New figures are out in the presidential ad spending wars. Spending in the top 100 media markets over the past five months has been about even with the Kerry camp it's $75 million compared to George Bush's $74 million, but you factor in ads by anti-Bush groups and the Democrats' total soars to more than $134 million nearly double that of the Bush campaign.

She could become the nation's next first lady, but what kind of first lady would Teresa Heinz Kerry be? We'll ask our Bill Schneider. That question just ahead.

Also coming up, Arizona's Democratic governor Janet Napolitano joins me to talk about the convention and the race for the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Teresa Heinz Kerry certainly got a lot of attention this week and not only for her heated words to a reporter. She's being watched closely as a prospective first lady. But what kind of a role does she play if voters send her husband to the White House? Bill Schneider is here now with his thoughts on that -- Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The country now has two very different models of a first lady -- Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. So the question a lot of people are asking about Teresa Heinz Kerry is what kind of first lady would she be?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Members of the Democratic Caucus...

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): First ladies are expected to care about issues, but Hillary Clinton went one step further. She was political.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: You should not have a healthcare system in which costs drive who gets healthcare.

SCHNEIDER: Ultimately Mrs. Clinton decided to do the right thing. She became a politician.

RODHAM CLINTON: Wow, this is amazing. Thank you all.

SCHNEIDER: Laura Bush has followed a more traditional first lady model. Involved but not really political.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Watching TV isn't really very good for your brain, but reading is exercise for your brain.

SCHNEIDER: She certainly defends her husband's policies. A first lady is expected to do that.

L. BUSH: For small business owners, tax relief means expanding their operations and adding jobs.

SCHNEIDER: But Mrs. Bush does not have her own agenda. That difference shows up in the way the public sees the two most recent first ladies. Opinion of Hillary Clinton is strongly political. Democrats love her, Republicans do not. Opinion of Laura Bush is much less political. Republicans love her, but most Democrats like her as well.

Which model would Teresa Heinz Kerry follow? She is a wealthy activist.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SEN. JOHN KERRY: The fact that I have access to money, to power, that kind of power, is a joy, because I can do the things I used to do on the other side, proactively.

SCHNEIDER: But she says she would not take on a policymaking role, at least not as first lady.

HEINZ KERRY: I would not, however, want to be appointed to a position that was -- without going through a hearing as any other appointment of a president.

SCHNEIDER: She intends to define her own role, more activist than Laura Bush, but not as political as Hillary Clinton.

HEINZ KERRY: Let Laura Bush be Laura Bush, let Hillary be Hillary, and all I ask for is give me a chance.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: It's fine for a first lady to speak her mind, that's expected, but if she assumes political responsibility she will have to face a difficult question -- who elected her? WOODRUFF: And it sounds like she's saying she's going to hold back on that. Bill, before you get away, I want to ask you about this "Washington Post"/ABC poll we've been talking about. Numbers -- they're not very good for John Kerry. How do you read that compared to other polls?

SCHNEIDER: The other polls that we've seen nationally, all of them show Kerry slightly ahead, all within the margin of error. This is the first poll we've seen in some time that shows Bush even slightly ahead. Again, within the margin of error. This could be bad news for John Kerry. The first bad news, because it seems to suggest that all that money that Bush has spent on negative advertising, some of those points are sinking in and voters are paying attention to Kerry, knowing that he's going to get the nomination, and beginning to say, wait a minute, is this guy really a flip-flopper, is he really a Massachusetts liberal? This could be bad news.

WOODRUFF: We'll continue to see the other polls that come out. We always look at a collection of them and see what they mirror...

SCHNEIDER: This is an outliner right now, but the question is, will this be the beginning of bad news?

WOODRUFF: Bill Schneider, thank you very much.

Democrats say they're convinced John Kerry has a chance in the showdown state of Arizona. Up next, I'll ask the governor Janet Napolitano what it will take for Kerry to win her state in November.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: You know, President Bush won the state of Arizona in 2000 by 6 percentage points, but state Democrats now say Arizona is in play. The governor of the state, Janet Napolitano, joins me now. And I want to ask her about those numbers and a little else.

Before we get to your state, Governor Napolitano, thank you for talking with me, what about this notion that the Democrats are trying to put a positive tone out there? Republicans are already saying, if you parse what Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Al Gore said last night, that this convention has already been tough on George Bush.

GOV. JANET NAPOLITANO (D), ARIZONA: Well, I guess their standard of what's tough is different from most people's, but I think what the convention is about is not so much about George Bush, but it's about John Kerry and John Edwards' plans and where they're going to take us. So for example, tonight I'm going to be giving an address on healthcare, to talk in more detail about John Kerry' healthcare plans. We're going to be hearing more about his plans for homeland security, about the war on terrorism, because voters need to know that.

WOODRUFF: Was your speech scrubbed, as we hear some other speeches have been scrubbed by the Kerry campaign?

NAPOLITANO: I don't know about scrubbed. We certainly drafted the speech back home in Phoenix and consulted on it, of course, with the Kerry campaign. But we knew from the outset that we wanted to talk about John Kerry, not about George Bush.

WOODRUFF: All right. Let's talk about your state of Arizona. As I said a moment ago, George W. Bush won by 6 percentage points four years ago. What does it look like? The polls right now show it close, but what do you believe?

NAPOLITANO: I think it is close. If you were to liken it to the Tour De France, I think Bush is a little ahead, but Kerry is drafting right behind him and we're starting to go into the last phases of the race. That was 6 percentage points in a state where Gore did not contest it, didn't buy media, didn't do any visits, nobody on that campaign had a headquarters there, so it was a state that was in essence given over to the Bush column in the last race. John Kerry has made a different decision. He's decided to fight for Arizona, as well he should.

WOODRUFF: First time I'm heard Kerry compared to Lance Armstrong. We'll see if that analogy holds up. You mentioned media. I gather -- I'm hearing that the Democrats have pulled advertising -- TV advertising right now in Arizona. That doesn't sound very confident.

NAPOLITANO: No, I think they have adjusted their buy, but they certainly haven't pulled it, and they still have Arizona on the battleground, listed, like I said, as well they should. I'm a Democratic governor who was elected in 2002, and I know that this is a state that when the voters can listen to a candidate, can hear that candidate's ideas and plans, will vote for a Democrat.

WOODRUFF: What do you say, Governor, to those who say John Kerry is too liberal to get elected? We have a poll, a "Washington Post"/ABC News poll out today showing what, 40 percent of Americans, already, even before your convention, say John Kerry is too liberal.

NAPOLITANO: Well, I think these labels are just that, they're just labels. If you asked whether George Bush is too conservative, I would be interested to see what number you get on that, on the flip side. But the plain fact of the matter is these liberal-conservative labels have decreasing meaning for voters. Voters want to know what you're going to do about jobs.

They want to know what you're going to do about the economy. They want to know what you're going to do about healthcare. They want to know what you're going to do about their sense of safety and security at home and abroad. They want to know what your foreign policy is going to look. Then they'll decide what they think is liberal or conservative.

WOODRUFF: We're going to leave it there. Governor Janet Napolitano, we're going to hear from you tonight...

NAPOLITANO: Yes.

WOODRUFF: ... at this convention. Thank you very much.

NAPOLITANO: Thanks a lot. All right, Arizona may be tough for the Democrats. We're going to -- in a minute, going to talk to a delegate from a state that's even tougher, South Carolina. We'll be right back, talking to a delegate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOODRUFF: Well, we are here at the FleetCenter in Boston. In Raleigh, North Carolina, the man who is going to be the star of this convention tomorrow night, North Carolina Senator John Edwards getting on a plane, heading north, leaving his home state.

Before John Edwards departed North Carolina, he visited the gravesite of his son Wade, his son killed about 10 years ago in a car accident at the age of 16. John Edwards now making his way to Boston and to this convention where he'll be nominated vice president.

We're back here in the convention hall, and in the area of a southern state, South Carolina, which has a long history of going Republican in presidential elections. It's a state that George W. Bush carried by 16 percentage points four years ago. This year Palmetto State Democrats are saying they're focused on holding onto a Senate seat that Ernest Hollings has held since 1966.

Joining me now, a South Carolina delegate. His name is Mike McCauley.

Maybe the youngest in the delegation, 26 years old?

MIKE MCCAULEY, SOUTH CAROLINA DELEGATE: Well, Judy, actually we have one of the youngest delegations at the convention this year. We have 18 percent of our delegates are 30 years of age or younger.

WOODRUFF: Whoa. Congratulations.

MCCAULEY: Well, thank you.

WOODRUFF: All right. South Carolina a tough uphill climb for John Kerry, right?

MCCAULEY: Well, that's what some people would argue. But we're actually very -- we're more excited and enthusiastic now than we've been in decades in South Carolina. The early primary has done so much for us. And that combined with having our native son John Edwards on the ticket, South Carolina Democrats are more excited now, like I said, than they've been in years.

WOODRUFF: How do you feel as you try to sell John Edwards to the voters -- I'm sorry, John Kerry and John Edwards to the voters of South Carolina, with Republicans running around saying John Kerry has the most liberal voting record in the United States Senate?

MCCAULEY: Well, the fact is John Kerry has a lot of characteristics that are very in tune with South Carolinians. There are many veterans in South Carolina. And so they have a lot of respect for John Kerry's military career, and how he stood up for veterans during his political career.

That, combined with the fact that a lot of Republicans are just disenfranchised from George Bush right now, and we're finding a lot of that in our state. Republicans have just had enough and they're ready for a change.

WOODRUFF: So you're pushing regardless.

MCCAULEY: Yes, ma'am.

WOODRUFF: All right. Mike McCauley, a delegate from the state of South Carolina, thank you for letting us come up here to visit you.

MCCAULEY: Well, thanks so much, come down and visit us.

WOODRUFF: Appreciate it. Not too bad a location here.

All right. That's it for today's INSIDE POLITICS. I'm Judy Woodruff at the FleetCenter, be sure and tune in tonight at 8:00 Eastern, CNN's comprehensive coverage of this convention. I'm joined by Wolf Blitzer, Jeff Greenfield and our big team. I'll see you then. "CROSSFIRE" starts right now from the CNN Election Express Bus.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com