CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2004-11-04

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Dan Rather and welcome to the

[0:02] CBS Evening News online edition. Just

[0:05] ahead, spending his political capital.

[0:07] President Bush lays out some of his

[0:09] plans for the next four years. Also,

[0:11] their bill is due. Religious

[0:13] conservatives expect a payback from the

[0:16] president for their crucial election

[0:18] support. We'll tell you what they want.

[0:20] And ultrasound images of your unborn

[0:23] child. Should they be available at malls

[0:25] without a doctor's supervision? We'll

[0:28] give you a look. It's all starting now

[0:30] on the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:34] Now that he has the job for four more

[0:36] years, what is he going to do? At his

[0:38] first news conference since winning

[0:40] re-election, President Bush laid out his

[0:42] plans today for his second term. He did

[0:45] not use the word mandate, but as CBS's

[0:47] John Roberts reports, the president made

[0:50] it clear that as he sees it, he has one.

[0:54] >> President Bush left no question today.

[0:56] He believes he has the will of the

[0:58] American people behind him and will use

[1:01] it.

[1:01] >> I earned capital in the campaign,

[1:03] political capital, and now I intend to

[1:05] spend it.

[1:06] >> And here's how the president plans to

[1:08] play his cards in a second term. He'll

[1:10] bet some of his political capital on

[1:12] plans to reform the tax system and

[1:14] create private accounts for social

[1:16] security. He said today he'll move

[1:18] quickly on both, though he acknowledged

[1:20] he'll need cooperation from Democrats to

[1:22] get Social Security done. Reforming the

[1:25] social security system for generations

[1:26] to come is a difficult issue. Otherwise,

[1:28] it would have already been done,

[1:31] but it is necessary to confront it.

[1:33] Farther down the road, liability reform

[1:35] for businesses and medical malpractice,

[1:38] his energy plan, new education

[1:40] initiatives, and welfare reform. The

[1:42] president sidestepped questions today

[1:44] about a possible Supreme Court opening.

[1:47] Chief Justice Renquist is ailing. Sandra

[1:49] Day Okconor has long talked about

[1:51] retirement. Mr. Bush did say he would

[1:53] appoint judges who reflect his point of

[1:55] view and he indicated there would be

[1:58] changes in his cabinet.

[2:00] >> The word burnout is often times used in

[2:02] the in Washington and it's it's used for

[2:05] a reason because people do burn out.

[2:08] >> The pundits are already betting who's in

[2:10] and who's out. Expected departures.

[2:13] Health Secretary Tommy Thompson and

[2:14] Homeland Security's Tom Ridge put a

[2:17] question mark on the Attorney General,

[2:19] the Secretary of State, and Transports

[2:21] Manetta. White House Chief of Staff

[2:23] Andrew Card is said to be interested in

[2:25] Treasury. Mr. Bush is playing it close

[2:28] to the best, but will consider a cabinet

[2:30] shakeup this weekend at Camp David.

[2:33] On foreign policy, the president pledged

[2:35] to see Iraq through the transition to

[2:37] democracy, though he would not say

[2:39] whether more US troops will be needed.

[2:41] The president also promised to renew

[2:43] efforts to bring peace to the Middle

[2:44] East. But White House officials are

[2:46] unclear whether Arafat's grave illness

[2:49] may present new opportunities or new

[2:51] complications. And Mr. Bush will

[2:53] continue to pursue his goal to spread

[2:55] freedom across the greater Middle East.

[2:58] >> And I fully understand that that might

[2:59] wrankle some and be viewed by some as

[3:02] folly. I I just strongly disagree.

[3:06] >> Like all presidents in their second

[3:08] term, President Bush is eyeing his

[3:10] legacy. He told Democrats today his

[3:12] intentions to pursue an agenda to unite

[3:14] the country are genuine. But after what

[3:17] most Democrats saw as an extremely

[3:19] divisive first term, that may be a tough

[3:21] cell. Dan John Roberts reporting live

[3:24] from the White House. Thanks, John. At

[3:25] his news conference today, President

[3:27] Bush talked about religious tolerance as

[3:29] a bedrock of America. Millions of

[3:31] Americans who voted to reelect him have

[3:34] an agenda based on their religious

[3:36] beliefs, and they expect the president

[3:38] to deliver for them. Should they take

[3:40] that on faith? CBS's Bill Plant gives

[3:43] you the inside story.

[3:46] >> It's very clear President Bush owes his

[3:48] re-election to the highest voter turnout

[3:50] ever seen in middle America. A sea of

[3:53] red swept across the nation's midsection

[3:55] as voters ranked moral values their most

[3:58] important issue.

[3:59] >> The Hollywood scene just told, you know,

[4:02] taking over our schools, the taking a

[4:04] prayer out of out of the schools, uh the

[4:07] ten commandments out of everything. Uh,

[4:10] I mean, we were we were on a downhill

[4:12] slide.

[4:12] >> In Ohio, voters turned out in massive

[4:14] numbers to pass a ban on same-sex

[4:16] marriage, sealing the president's

[4:18] victory. And now, conservatives say it's

[4:21] payback time.

[4:22] >> There has to be a payoff for for the

[4:24] voters. It had to be a payoff for the uh

[4:26] for the troops, the people who have

[4:27] worked so hard for these uh victories.

[4:30] >> Religious conservatives now expect the

[4:32] administration to move aggressively on

[4:33] their major issues. First, and most

[4:36] important, changing the balance of the

[4:38] Supreme Court, which the president will

[4:40] likely be able to do. Then, overturning

[4:42] Roe v Wayade, the decision which

[4:44] guarantees the right to abortion, harder

[4:46] to predict. A constitutional amendment

[4:48] forbidding same-sex marriage, difficult

[4:51] and timeconuming. Further restrictions

[4:53] on federal funding for embryionic stem

[4:55] cell research, probably doable in a

[4:57] Republican Congress. The public wants

[5:00] this kind of pro- family policy to be

[5:02] central uh to his agenda for the second

[5:05] term.

[5:06] >> But in public today, the president was

[5:08] wary of the divide.

[5:09] >> I don't think you ought to read anything

[5:10] into uh the politics, the moment about

[5:13] whether or not this nation will u become

[5:16] a divided nation over religion.

[5:19] >> The divide between what red state voters

[5:21] and blue state voters want propelled the

[5:24] president to a second term. The next

[5:26] question, can he close that gap or will

[5:28] it only grow larger? Dan

[5:31] >> Bill Plant reporting live at the White

[5:32] House. It's a growing trend. Parents to

[5:34] be are getting photographs taken of

[5:36] their unborn children. But in many

[5:39] cases, these pictures are not for

[5:41] medical purposes. They're for the family

[5:43] album. Is this a good idea? Is it even

[5:46] safe? CBS's Lee Cowan has tonight's Eye

[5:49] on America.

[5:51] It's as realistic a preview of coming

[5:54] attractions as any Los Angeles studio

[5:56] could offer.

[5:57] >> You guys are having a little girl.

[5:59] >> But critics are already weighing in on

[6:01] this kind of entertainment.

[6:02] >> It's unfortunate. It's a misuse of

[6:04] technology.

[6:05] >> Ultrasound portrait studios, catchy

[6:07] names like Stor Vision, Window in the

[6:09] Womb, or Fetal Photos.

[6:11] >> Have you had very many ultrasounds?

[6:13] offer keepsake threedimensional images

[6:16] for parents to be for about $200,

[6:19] usually in a strip mall without a

[6:21] doctor.

[6:22] >> We're picture fanatics. [laughter] We

[6:25] want to capture every moment of like,

[6:27] you know, of our baby and every every

[6:30] detail.

[6:31] >> Proponents say the boutiques offer a

[6:33] bonding experience for the mother in a

[6:34] more relaxed, more nurturing environment

[6:36] than a doctor's office.

[6:38] >> So, she just wants to see the baby. She

[6:40] wants to see the hands. She wants to see

[6:41] that heartbeat. and it's not always

[6:43] something that's offered to them.

[6:45] >> But obstitricians like Dr. Lawrence

[6:47] Platt warn the technology isn't a toy.

[6:49] He says exposure to highfrequency sound

[6:52] waves for anything other than a

[6:53] diagnostic scan isn't a chance worth

[6:56] taking.

[6:56] >> It takes the the concept and says it's

[6:58] absolutely safe and we can't prove it's

[7:00] absolutely safe.

[7:01] >> Moreover, he and other health

[7:02] professionals, including the FDA, fear

[7:05] some expectant mothers might substitute

[7:07] a scan at the mall for their doctor's

[7:09] expert eye. When Maggie Gardner got her

[7:12] fetal photo, she thought something

[7:14] didn't look right.

[7:15] >> Both my husband and I noticed that the

[7:17] back of his head looked longer or

[7:20] strange. There was something about it.

[7:22] And we both asked what it was, and the

[7:25] response we got was, "Oh, that's

[7:27] probably just the placenta."

[7:29] >> But it wasn't. The new scans do offer

[7:32] nearly picture perfect quality, but they

[7:33] often miss internal abnormalities. And

[7:35] in Maggie's case, it was a deformity

[7:37] that cost her her baby. Something she

[7:39] wished she'd first seen with her doctor,

[7:41] not a technician at a shopping mall.

[7:43] >> We really thought we had a healthy son.

[7:45] We really thought we had a healthy son,

[7:47] and we were proven very, very otherwise.

[7:49] You see the profile?

[7:50] >> Most studios say they won't perform a

[7:52] scan unless they have written permission

[7:54] from the client's doctor. The problem,

[7:56] there's no one to enforce that rule. So

[7:58] far, the FDA only regulates the

[8:00] equipment, not those who use it. which

[8:03] is one more reason many health experts

[8:05] urge a little picture patience. After

[8:07] all, you'll see the real thing soon

[8:10] enough

[8:11] >> in Los Angeles. This is Lee Count for

[8:13] Eye on America.

[8:14] >> More stories are just a click away, but

[8:16] don't forget to join me on television

[8:18] for the on air edition of the CBS

[8:20] Evening News. On Friday's broadcast,

[8:23] scam artists beware. Seniors are

[8:26] fighting back. The Friday Consumer Alert

[8:29] reports on a volunteer program that

[8:31] proves you're never too old to catch a

[8:34] thief. For cbsnews.com,

[8:37] I'm Dan Rather.