CBS Evening News - 2004-09-23 - 2 of 2 (partial)

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] earners hit by the alternative minimum

[0:02] tax. There are also more than $7 billion

[0:05] in new tax breaks for business. This

[0:08] bill does not say how the tax cuts will

[0:10] be paid for as the cost of the war and

[0:12] the national debt continue to be big. 40

[0:16] years 40 days before the election, a CBS

[0:19] News poll shows President Bush holding

[0:21] on to an eight-point lead over Senator

[0:23] Kerry nationally. More than half of

[0:25] voters pled say they believe the

[0:27] president usually says what he believes.

[0:29] On the other hand, two out of three

[0:31] believe Senator Kerry usually says what

[0:33] he thinks voters want to hear. Based on

[0:36] the record, which man, if either, is

[0:38] more likely to switch positions on an

[0:40] issue. CBS's Jim Axelrod looked into

[0:42] that and gives you the inside story.

[0:47] >> If the polls are right, John Kerry's got

[0:49] some gaps to close in the next six

[0:51] weeks. I'm going to fight every single

[0:54] day.

[0:55] >> And none larger than the decisiveness

[0:57] gap. 75% of voters surveyed now see

[1:00] George Bush as decisive compared to just

[1:03] 37% for Kerry. Those numbers suggest Mr.

[1:08] Bush has been successful reducing his

[1:10] opponent to two words, flip flop.

[1:13] >> In which direction would John Kerry

[1:15] lead? Now, while Senator Kerry has

[1:17] certainly supplied some raw material for

[1:19] this characterization, I actually did

[1:21] vote for the $87 billion before I voted

[1:24] against it.

[1:25] >> The president is not without his own,

[1:27] shall we say, changes of mind.

[1:30] Everything from gay marriage to steel

[1:31] tariffs to the constantly shifting

[1:34] rationale for war in Iraq.

[1:36] >> You can't distinguish between al-Qaeda

[1:38] and Saddam when you talk about the war

[1:40] on terror,

[1:42] >> weapons of mass destruction. the world

[1:45] will be better off with a free Iraq.

[1:48] >> So why when it comes to charges of

[1:50] flip-flopping is President Bush all

[1:52] teflon and Senator Kerry all Velcro?

[1:56] Well, it's not just what they're saying,

[1:59] it's how they're saying it.

[2:01] >> Bush expresses his opinion in with less

[2:05] than seven words.

[2:06] >> As Democratic consultant Harrison

[2:08] Hickman points out, George Bush knows

[2:10] how to cut through. He was our enemy.

[2:13] Perhaps his challenger is still working

[2:15] on that.

[2:16] >> He actually says to Americans that if

[2:18] there were no imminent threat, no

[2:21] weapons of mass destruction, no

[2:23] connection to al-Qaeda, all of which

[2:26] have been proven to be true.

[2:27] >> George Bush's decisiveness in the form

[2:30] of his way of expression is a perfect

[2:33] candidacy for the fast food age. Whereas

[2:36] Carrie is more like a long dinner party.

[2:39] which means John Kerry may have to make

[2:41] some changes if he's going to satisfy

[2:43] enough appetites to win. Jim Axar, CBS

[2:46] News, Philadelphia.

[2:48] >> There's a new sign tonight that the

[2:50] economic recovery may be weakening some

[2:52] after rising steadily for more than a

[2:54] year. The index of leading indicators

[2:56] has now fallen for three straight

[2:58] months. That news helped to send stock

[3:00] prices lower today. The Dow lost 70

[3:03] points. The Nasdaq gained a fraction.

[3:05] Straight ahead on the CBS Evening News,

[3:08] Social Security. Do the presidential

[3:10] candidates have a plan? CBS's election

[3:13] series, What does it mean to you? Is

[3:15] next.

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[5:52] >> A lot of American workers, middle-aged

[5:54] and young alike, are worried about

[5:56] Social Security, whether it will be

[5:58] there when they retire. In our CBS News

[6:00] poll, voters show more confidence in

[6:02] Senator Kerry to preserve Social

[6:04] Security than they do in President Bush.

[6:06] CBS's Cynthia Bowers tells you what each

[6:09] man would and would not do about the

[6:12] program in the Iowa America election

[6:14] series. What does it mean to you?

[6:17] You might not expect social security to

[6:19] be a hot topic on a college campus, but

[6:21] then you haven't met Anna Elias.

[6:24] >> I am a 20-year-old who's interested in

[6:25] social security. So, why is this an

[6:27] issue for you?

[6:28] >> Research has shown that social security

[6:30] isn't going to be there by the time my

[6:31] generation gets to need it.

[6:34] >> Elias has done her homework, literally.

[6:37] While preparing for a debate on social

[6:39] security, she found something that hits

[6:41] home every time she looks at her payub.

[6:44] I'm putting money into something that

[6:45] I'm not going to see.

[6:46] >> And every time she listens to the

[6:48] presidential campaign,

[6:50] >> I would really like if one of the

[6:51] candidates could express a little bit

[6:53] more what they would want to do

[6:54] reform-wise. Experts agree some kind of

[6:58] reform is needed because while the

[7:00] system is currently running a surplus,

[7:02] in just four years, the first the

[7:04] enormous baby boomer generation starts

[7:06] hitting retirement age and that could

[7:09] break the social security system. We

[7:11] have to make hard choices. No matter

[7:13] which way we go, there going to have to

[7:15] be some unpleasant political options.

[7:18] And neither candidate is addressing

[7:20] those options.

[7:21] >> Ever since Franklin Roosevelt signed it

[7:22] into law in 1935,

[7:25] Social Security has been considered the

[7:27] third rail of American politics and the

[7:30] candidates know it.

[7:31] >> If you're on Social Security today,

[7:33] nothing's going to change.

[7:34] >> I will never cut your benefits and I

[7:36] will never raise the retirement age.

[7:39] John Kerry believes the key to fixing

[7:41] Social Security is to first fix the

[7:44] economy and attack the federal deficit,

[7:46] making more tax money available to meet

[7:48] the looming demand.

[7:50] >> With very minor changes with a strong

[7:52] economy, the next generation will have

[7:54] social security. I will never privatize

[7:57] Social Security.

[7:58] >> President Bush is calling for changes

[8:00] that would allow younger workers to

[8:02] divert a portion of their payroll taxes

[8:04] into private investment accounts,

[8:07] >> an account they call their own. an

[8:09] account that'll help social security

[8:10] make the promise. An account government

[8:13] cannot take away.

[8:14] >> Despite a lack of specifics and

[8:16] skepticism from critics, Elias says she

[8:19] prefers President Bush's proposal.

[8:22] >> He at least has admitted that he sees

[8:24] some sort of reform needs to be taken

[8:26] place and it needs to be done soon.

[8:28] >> As she prepares to enter the workforce

[8:30] full-time, she says she has more faith

[8:32] in her own promise than a government

[8:34] promise that may never pan out. Cynthia

[8:37] Bowers, CBS News, Peoria, Illinois.

[8:41] >> A federal health panel today endorsed a

[8:43] recommendation that every newborn in

[8:45] this country undergo genetic screening

[8:47] for 30 life-threatening diseases. The

[8:50] panel said the screening for inherited

[8:52] diseases using a single drop of blood.

[8:55] Could save thousands of babies each

[8:57] year. Still to come on the CBS Evening

[8:59] News given up for dead. There was little

[9:02] or nothing left of their plane, but two

[9:05] people survived and found their way out

[9:08] of the wilderness. Their incredible

[9:10] story next.

[9:13] >> Some talk about fair and balanced

[9:15] coverage, but only CBS News is doing

[9:17] something about it. What does it mean to

[9:18] you? Both sides of key issues on the CBS

[9:21] Evening News with Dan Rather.

[9:26] >> Oh, Capital One.

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[9:51] >> What's in your wallet?

[9:55] >> You know about Algra,

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