NBC Nightly News - 1992-08-16 (partial)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] I do that.

[0:01] >> President Bush says he's prepared to

[0:03] strike against Saddam Hussein if

[0:05] necessary.

[0:06] >> That as Republicans prepare for their

[0:09] convention in Houston.

[0:14] >> This is NBC Nightly News reported by

[0:17] Garrick Utley.

[0:19] Good evening. George Bush says it has

[0:21] nothing to do with politics. Others

[0:24] noting the timing. Tomorrow's Republican

[0:26] convention and Bush's standing in the

[0:27] polls may see it differently. However

[0:30] you see it, the president is ready to

[0:32] order military strikes against Iraq. He

[0:34] and Saddam Hussein are on a collision

[0:36] course once again. We begin this evening

[0:38] with Fred Francis at the Pentagon and Ed

[0:40] Rael in Baghdad. Fred, let's start with

[0:42] you. What can you tell us,

[0:45] >> Garrick? The administration did reaffirm

[0:47] its political and military will to face

[0:49] off against Iraq, but the timing is

[0:51] uncertain and the trip wire may or may

[0:53] not involve UN inspection.

[0:55] >> Good evening everyone. and I'm invites

[0:56] >> and I'm Bob Budro joining you live from

[0:58] our convention headquarters here at the

[1:00] Astrodome.

[1:01] >> This week, Houston takes a step into

[1:02] political history as George Bush

[1:04] launches his run for reelection.

[1:06] >> Now, officially the convention gets

[1:07] underway tomorrow, but today there were

[1:09] pre-convention marches and protests

[1:11] taking center stage. For example, this

[1:13] afternoon, a unity rally from the inner

[1:15] city to affluent River Oaks area.

[1:17] Protesters from several liberal groups

[1:19] such as ACTUP, Queer Nation, and the

[1:22] Houston Gay and L lesbian caucus, as

[1:24] well as the American Atheist. Houston.

[1:25] Sodom Hussein is only one of the

[1:27] subjects being discussed by Republicans

[1:29] gathered there. There are other issues

[1:31] and the most heated one is abortion. Jim

[1:34] Cumins is there. Good evening, Jim.

[1:36] >> Good evening, Gary. GOP leaders say that

[1:38] they are ready to show the world that

[1:39] this is a party united behind its

[1:41] president and its platform, but many

[1:43] voters are skeptical about that.

[1:46] >> They have reason to be. The abortion

[1:48] issue won't go away outside the

[1:50] convention hall or inside the party

[1:52] where again today Republican women who

[1:54] favor abortion rights attacked the GOP

[1:56] platform which supports a ban on

[1:58] abortions.

[1:59] >> The ultimate is we're going to lose the

[2:00] election unless we change that platform.

[2:03] >> In a closed circuit message, California

[2:04] Governor Pete Wilson, who also supports

[2:06] abortion rights, pleaded with delegates

[2:08] to avoid a floor fight over abortion. At

[2:11] this point, it seems to me that we're

[2:13] best advised to direct our energies into

[2:15] efforts that will reelect George Bush.

[2:18] >> Delegates are sharply divided.

[2:20] >> She's for abortion. I'm not for

[2:22] abortion. No one's going to win. No

[2:24] one's going to change their mind.

[2:25] >> And there's the issue of Bush himself.

[2:28] In 1988, he ran on the status quo. Party

[2:30] leaders admit that wouldn't be such a

[2:32] good idea this time.

[2:34] >> Let's face it, we've got real problems

[2:35] in America. And people aren't they don't

[2:38] dislike George Bush. They're just uneasy

[2:40] with George Bush.

[2:42] >> To help dispel that, the campaign

[2:43] announced today that First Lady Barbara

[2:45] Bush will spend a lot of time this fall

[2:47] on the campaign trail, especially in

[2:49] California. And leaders of the party's

[2:51] conservative wing continue to urge the

[2:53] president to make some kind of dramatic

[2:55] announcement to spur the economy,

[2:56] perhaps a tax cut.

[2:58] >> He has to lay out clearly a vision for

[2:59] where he's going to take the country in

[3:01] the next four years.

[3:02] >> This afternoon, the president placed a

[3:04] phone call to the convention hall and

[3:06] spoke to some of the delegates. We've

[3:08] got a good program. The people do not

[3:10] know it. And when we get through with

[3:12] this convention you've worked so hard

[3:14] on, they will.

[3:16] A

[3:16] >> prominent Democrat was in town today,

[3:18] too. The Reverend Jesse Jackson told a

[3:20] church congregation that the president

[3:21] and the Republicans are trying to do in

[3:23] four days what they couldn't do in four

[3:25] years. Garrick, thanks, Jim. Well, as we

[3:28] cover our world this Sunday, we're going

[3:30] to go next to Miami where the homeless

[3:31] have gone to court for the right to live

[3:34] in public parks. Also on Focus this

[3:36] evening, facing the financial squeeze.

[3:38] What to do when your credit is gone.

[3:43] >> Some full commission brokers are finding

[3:46] more and more ways to charge more and

[3:48] more fees, even annual fees on IRAs just

[3:52] for the privilege of doing business with

[3:54] them. You

[3:55] >> certainly know how to get around without

[3:56] too much problem. Matt Rush from behind

[3:58] the scenes also calls for some very

[4:00] quick footwork by reporters and

[4:01] photographers as my colleague Manurva

[4:03] Pettz has discovered.

[4:05] >> For all of us at KTRK, working this

[4:07] convention is going to mean a lot of

[4:09] running around and a lot of work. Let me

[4:11] show you what I mean. It's going to mean

[4:12] scaling stairs

[4:15] quickly in order to get from one point

[4:18] to another. Anybody who knows Houston or

[4:21] the Astrodome knows the long walkways to

[4:24] get from one point to another. And for

[4:26] us, all of us, it's going to take a lot

[4:28] of time.

[4:31] >> There are so many people expected here

[4:32] tomorrow. Carts are being disallowed

[4:34] from the hallways. And finally, we're

[4:37] here to the KTRK catfish hole where most

[4:41] of the reporters you'll see during

[4:43] convention coverage will be doing all of

[4:45] their reports from here. Well, all I can

[4:49] say is if I have to dress up in silks to

[4:51] cover this convention, I'm very grateful

[4:54] for these

[5:00] We're going to be good buddies in the

[5:02] next four days. Now, I'm standing where

[5:04] home plate once was. It's where a

[5:06] multitude of reporters, myself, other

[5:09] KTK KTRK reporters will be here in the

[5:12] next four days reporting, giving you all

[5:14] the information on what's happening here

[5:17] at the convention hall. It's going to be

[5:19] quite a drastic change. Tomorrow there

[5:21] are going to be 2200 delegates uh as

[5:23] well as 2200 alternates. So this place

[5:25] is going to be brimming with people. And

[5:27] Bob and I are going to bring you all the

[5:29] convention floor coverage as well as all

[5:32] the perimeter is going to be covered by

[5:34] other KTRK reporters as well. So we're

[5:37] going to have the full picture. Right,

[5:38] Bob?

[5:39] >> Let me uh add that that huffing and

[5:40] puffing is not for dramatic effect. You

[5:43] made a quick run down there. You want to

[5:44] take a second to catch your breath?

[5:45] >> I did sprint here. I tell you, we're

[5:47] going to be in shape before this thing

[5:48] is over because we do have lots of

[5:50] coverage planned. That floor is pretty

[5:51] immense actually. We're looking at

[5:53] covering uh what 5, 6, and 10:00. So,

[5:56] >> exactly. I'll be doing the five and six

[5:58] chores and I believe you're going to be

[5:59] doing the 10:00 chores hopefully with

[6:01] everybody's help. We have a big uh team

[6:03] of uh reporters as well as technical

[6:05] people, photographers, producers,

[6:07] everybody's out here. This is command

[6:08] central for the next four days.

[6:09] >> Let me turn around. The light's not too

[6:11] good behind me, but Manurva is way on

[6:12] the other side of the Astrodome over

[6:13] there where the network boos are. And uh

[6:15] >> I'd wave at you, but I can't see you.

[6:17] >> I'll tell you the the the dome is broken

[6:19] up here by a platform for the media in

[6:21] the center of things. So, actually, in

[6:22] point of fact, on the floor, the

[6:23] delegates won't even necessarily be able

[6:25] to see each other, and they'll have to

[6:26] rely on that big screen up up top.

[6:28] Anyway,

[6:28] >> we'll be there.

[6:29] >> Come on back up here and see us in the

[6:30] booth over. Up ahead, though, we'll show

[6:32] you a lonear style greeting. But first,

[6:34] a look at that come from behind win by

[6:35] the Oilers up in Cowboy country. Stay

[6:37] with us.

[6:45] Some full commission brokers are finding

[6:47] more and more ways to charge more and

[6:50] more fees, even annual fees on IRAs just

[6:53] for the privilege of doing business with

[6:56] them. But not us. At Charles Schwab, we

[6:59] offer the no fee IRA. And we guarantee

[7:02] that you'll never pay an annual fee for

[7:04] the rest of your life. So, if you're

[7:06] tired of finding new fees every time you

[7:09] open your statement, maybe it's time to

[7:11] come to Schwab.

[7:16] >> We want to take just a moment now and

[7:17] talk about the Republican convention

[7:19] starting tomorrow in Houston with our

[7:20] intrepid floor reporters, Lisa Myers,

[7:22] John Cochran, and Andrew Mitchell. Good

[7:24] evening all. John,

[7:26] >> let's start with you. You cover

[7:28] President Bush. if he goes ahead and

[7:29] orders strikes in the near future

[7:31] against Saddam Hussein as the foreign

[7:33] policy president. Is he dealing from

[7:34] strength or from weakness?

[7:37] >> Garrick, the president has looked weak

[7:38] on Iraq this summer and both Bill

[7:40] Clinton and Al Gore have criticized him

[7:41] for not being tough enough with Saddam

[7:43] Hussein. The upside for the president is

[7:45] that he should be insulated from

[7:47] Democratic attack if indeed he does

[7:48] order air strikes. So what could be the

[7:50] downside for the president if he does

[7:52] order military action? Several things.

[7:54] One, the timing. If it happens this

[7:56] week, a lot of people are just going to

[7:58] think it looks funny. Voters are a

[8:00] pretty skeptical bunch this year. Two,

[8:02] no one knows what voter reaction would

[8:04] be if there are US casualties. And

[8:06] three, the president has pretty well

[8:08] prepared public opinion if he orders air

[8:10] strikes in support of these UN

[8:11] inspection teams trying to get into

[8:13] these ministry buildings. That he might

[8:15] get by with that. But as Fred Francis

[8:17] reported tonight, the president may also

[8:19] order air strikes later on in support of

[8:21] the Shiite rebels in southern Iraq. We

[8:23] haven't been hearing about the Shiite

[8:25] rebels lately. They've been off the

[8:27] radar screen and the public is not

[8:28] prepared to support that yet.

[8:30] >> All right, let's turn to some other

[8:31] domestic issues. Uh Lisa, abortion a

[8:33] heated issue. Is it going to come to a

[8:35] floor fight? And if it is a big debate

[8:36] there in a way, could that help George

[8:38] Bush?

[8:39] >> Well, what's happening right now,

[8:40] Garrick, is that both sides are continue

[8:42] to work furiously around the scenes.

[8:45] Right now, abortion rights supporters do

[8:47] not have the six states they need to

[8:49] force a debate on the convention floor,

[8:51] but the situation remains fluid. Right

[8:53] now, Bush campaign officials are fanned

[8:55] out all over town making the case that a

[8:58] floor fight is not in the president's

[9:00] interest. What they want is to present a

[9:02] unified uh picture to this country. They

[9:05] do not want a floor fight on the opening

[9:07] day of the convention. What abortion

[9:09] rights supporters are most upset about,

[9:11] Derek, is that the platform committee

[9:13] would not even include language in the

[9:16] platform, acknowledging the diversity

[9:18] abused within the party. In fact,

[9:20] anti-abortion advocates were so adamant

[9:22] about it that Phyllis Schlafley at one

[9:24] point threatened that if the Bush

[9:26] campaign tried to go forward with such

[9:28] language, she would retaliate by

[9:30] introducing a resolution demanding that

[9:33] George Bush fire budget director Dick

[9:35] Dharm. Well, Lisa, let's go. Well, let

[9:37] me interrupt here and go to Andrew

[9:39] Mitchell because Barbara Bush is going

[9:40] to address the convention. Barbara Bush

[9:42] said that she thinks abortion has no

[9:43] place in the party platform. So, is she

[9:45] going to say that to the delegates?

[9:47] >> I don't think so. She will address the

[9:48] convention, but she's also going to go

[9:50] out and campaign as soon as the

[9:52] convention is over in California. In

[9:54] fact, by the time this is all over,

[9:55] you're going to see more of George and

[9:57] Barbara Bush than George Bush and Dan

[9:59] Quail. You're going to probably think

[10:01] that Barbara Bush is the running mate,

[10:03] not only the wife. There's a good reason

[10:04] for that. that Barbara Bush is more

[10:06] popular than her husband and she's

[10:08] infinitely more popular than Dan Quayle.

[10:10] Now, she's already, as you pointed out,

[10:12] made a very obvious tactical move to try

[10:15] to reassure the moderates uh by

[10:17] splitting with her husband and the

[10:19] conservative writers of the abortion

[10:20] blank in the platform. But I don't think

[10:22] that she would do anything quite as

[10:24] blatant as make that announcement from

[10:26] the podium here at the convention.

[10:28] >> All right, Andrea, Lisa, John, we'll be

[10:30] looking forward to your coverage

[10:31] starting tomorrow at the Republican

[10:32] convention. And a reminder about that

[10:34] convention coverage, the NBC News team

[10:36] will be working again with the McNeel

[10:37] Lar report on PBS beginning tomorrow at

[10:40] 8:00 p.m. Eastern time. Then at 10 p.m.

[10:42] Eastern time, the coverage will be seen

[10:43] live here on NBC. And we'll be right

[10:46] back.

[10:49] >> It was unreal. You woke up with morning

[10:52] breath. You were meeting Miss Wonderful

[10:54] for breakfast and instead of minty fresh

[10:56] scope. Where's my scope? There was

[10:58] something from the mediciney mousewash.

[11:01] It looked blue, but it still smelled

[11:03] somewhat mediciney.

[11:04] >> I need my soap.

[11:05] >> It's okay. Relax. It was all a dream.

[11:08] You do have scope. It's minty through

[11:10] and through and kills 90% of morning

[11:12] breath bacteria. So, you use minty fresh

[11:16] scope and you kiss morning breath

[11:18] goodbye.

[11:20] >> 148

[11:23] clear.

[11:30] and to the nation. Strange, isn't it,

[11:32] how those Reagan years seemed part of a

[11:34] more distant history than just four

[11:36] years ago. So much has changed in the

[11:39] economy. The go- go 80s followed by the

[11:41] go slow 90s. The Reagan era optimism

[11:44] replaced by the concerns of an uncertain

[11:46] future. Do Americans hold a past

[11:49] president responsible for today's

[11:51] problems? According to the polls, they

[11:53] do. Tom Pettit looks now at the Reagan

[11:55] years. Ronald Reagan left office in 1989

[11:59] with greater popularity than any

[12:00] president since Eisenhower.

[12:03] His glory years now are fading. Polls

[12:05] show that about half of America holds a

[12:07] negative opinion of him. Even visitors

[12:09] to the Reagan Library in California now

[12:12] have mixed feelings.

[12:13] >> For some people, he restored faith in

[12:15] the country. Uh I didn't see it that

[12:18] way.

[12:19] >> It's like living off of a credit card

[12:20] for eight years. I think he'll be

[12:22] probably one of the best presidents

[12:23] we've ever had since I've been alive.

[12:26] >> As ex-president, he has not played a

[12:28] major role in the Republican party. He

[12:30] has made a lot of money giving speeches,

[12:33] $1 million in Japan alone.

[12:36] >> So, what is the legacy of the Reagan

[12:38] presidency?

[12:39] >> What we'll remember most is that Ronald

[12:41] Reagan turned midcourse on his

[12:44] anti-communism

[12:46] sufficiently to negotiate with Mikuel

[12:49] Gorbachoff. what amounted to the end of

[12:52] the cold war.

[12:53] >> This was historic stuff. The

[12:54] anti-communist crusader making friends

[12:56] with Mikail Gorbachov, the final

[12:59] communist leader in the old USSR.

[13:01] >> Reagan Devotees claimed the secret of

[13:03] ending the arms race was to escalate the

[13:06] American arms buildup. But then there

[13:08] was a downside, the economy. His belief,

[13:12] sincere belief that he could cut taxes,

[13:16] increase defense, and still reduce the

[13:19] budget deficit was wrongheaded. And we

[13:22] do pay for that day in and day out.

[13:25] >> Reagan left the economy to George Bush

[13:28] to fix or try to. He also left an

[13:31] enduring scar on the US presidency.

[13:34] >> It was the Iran Contra affair. The Iran

[13:37] counter affair I think is a blocked and

[13:40] it will

[13:43] be so in the history books. For

[13:45] delegates to this year's convention,

[13:46] Reagan's brief appearance will be pure

[13:48] nostalgia for the oldtime rhetoric.

[13:50] >> An American president told the

[13:52] generation of the Great Depression that

[13:54] it had a rendevous with destiny.

[13:57] I believe this generation of Americans

[14:00] today also has a rendevous with destiny.

[14:03] Reagan has had his rendevous with

[14:05] destiny. George Bush's uncertain destiny

[14:09] lies ahead. Tom Pettit, NBC News,

[14:12] Washington.

[14:16] And that is our look at our world this

[14:18] Sunday. Tom Broby reporting from the

[14:20] Republican National Convention tomorrow.

[14:22] I'm Garrick Utley. Good night for NBC

[14:25] News.

[14:34] It's a whole new Sunday on NBC. First,

[14:37] real life dramas, never before told

[14:39] stories from the inside. The premiere of

[14:41] Secret Service. Then, real videos, real

[14:44] stories. Eyewitness video, the series

[14:46] returns. Two series premieres. Secret

[14:48] Service at 7:00, followed by Eyewitness

[14:50] Video tonight on NBC. It's as real as it

[14:53] gets.

[14:54] >> Can the Bush Quail ticket come from

[14:56] behind? Join Tom Brokaw, John

[14:58] Chancellor, and the NBC News.

[15:02] >> TJ Maxx.

[15:04] >> And now to update you on the traffic

[15:06] around town, here is Neil Roric. Good

[15:08] morning, Neil.

[15:10] >> Good morning, Bob. Good morning,

[15:11] everyone. Big problems on the Southwest

[15:13] Freeway right now. It is closed outbound

[15:15] at Sweetwater Boulevard. Lifelight

[15:17] currently on the scene of a very serious

[15:18] accident. Heavy traffic inbound from

[15:20] Bair all the way into the loop.

[15:22] Elsewhere around town, heavy traffic

[15:24] still have the East Texas freeway closed

[15:26] at the loop. I'm Neil Rooric, Channel 2

[15:27] Traffic Control.

[15:28] >> Thank you, Neil. That wraps it up out

[15:29] here at the dome. Dan, I'll see you over

[15:31] here at 12:00 for Channel 2 News at

[15:33] Noon.

[15:33] >> Sure will, Bob. I look forward to that.

[15:34] Right now, let's go to the back porch,

[15:36] Dave. How does it look?

[15:37] >> Oh, a fantastic start to our Monday.

[15:38] Good morning, everyone. Temperatures now

[15:40] in the low and middle 60s, headed toward

[15:42] a high today in the upper 80s. Hope you

[15:44] enjoy your Monday.

[15:45] >> All right, Dave, and please stay tuned

[15:47] to Channel 2 News at Noon for full

[15:48] convention coverage. See you at the

[15:50] dome.