CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-10-18

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm John Roberts and welcome to

[0:01] the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:04] Just ahead, newly released documents

[0:06] make clear Supreme Court nominee Harriet

[0:08] Meyer stand on abortion. Gloria

[0:11] Bourger's got details on that. Also, on

[0:13] the eve of Saddam Hussein's trial,

[0:15] Larara Logan will show you exactly what

[0:17] he's charged with. And our road tour,

[0:20] the homeront, continues with a look at

[0:22] how some American teens feel about the

[0:24] war. It's all starting now on the CBS

[0:27] Evening News online edition.

[0:30] Many Democrats and Republicans alike

[0:32] have been scratching their heads about

[0:34] Supreme Court nominee Harriet Meyers

[0:36] wondering where she stands and

[0:38] complaining about the lack of a paper

[0:40] trail. Well, tonight some paper that

[0:43] shows Meyer's position on one of the

[0:45] most contentious issues she'll face at

[0:48] her confirmation hearing. Here's Gloria

[0:50] Borgger.

[0:52] >> If there was any doubt about it, today's

[0:54] documents make it perfectly plain.

[0:56] Harriet Meyers opposes abortion. In

[1:00] 1989, Meyers filled out a questionnaire

[1:03] from Texans United for Life. Asked if

[1:06] she would support a constitutional

[1:07] amendment banning abortion except when

[1:10] needed to prevent the death of the

[1:11] mother, Meyer's answer was yes. And

[1:15] would she oppose the use of public

[1:17] funding for abortion? The answer,

[1:20] another yes.

[1:22] The questionnaire gave some skeptical

[1:24] Democrats an opening to call for

[1:26] complete cander at her confirmation

[1:28] hearings.

[1:29] >> The questionnaire means one thing that

[1:31] Harriet Meyers has to make clear to the

[1:34] American people her judicial philosophy

[1:38] uh her ideology on a whole range of

[1:41] constitutional issues. The White House

[1:43] points out that Meyers was a Dallas city

[1:46] Council candidate when she filled out

[1:47] the form, not a candidate for the

[1:50] Supreme Court. What we take that to be

[1:52] is a candidate expressing her views

[1:55] during the course of a campaign.

[1:57] The role of a judge is very different

[2:00] from the role of a candidate or a

[2:04] political office holder. Meyers herself,

[2:07] in written answers to questions

[2:09] submitted by the Senate Judiciary

[2:11] Committee, stressed her own distaste for

[2:13] activist judges. "Humility and

[2:16] self-restraint require the judiciary to

[2:18] adhere to its limited role," she wrote,

[2:21] echoing John Roberts call for humility

[2:24] at his confirmation hearings.

[2:26] >> "Judges have to have the humility to

[2:28] recognize that they operate within a

[2:30] system of precedent." Meyers, who ran

[2:32] the search for Roberts, also revealed

[2:34] that she declined to be considered for

[2:37] the first court vacancy. But the second

[2:39] time around, she wrote, "Individuals at

[2:42] the White House began considering me as

[2:44] a potential nominee without advising

[2:47] me." After four meetings with the

[2:49] president, she was offered the job.

[2:52] Meyer's abortion questionnaire was

[2:54] welcome news for some conservatives, but

[2:57] it also gave Democrats the ammunition

[2:59] they may be looking for to oppose her.

[3:02] John,

[3:03] >> the bail pulled back just ever so

[3:05] slightly. Gloria Bourer on Capitol Hill.

[3:06] Gloria, thanks. You could call it the

[3:08] trial of the century. And in Iraq, at

[3:11] least it's likely to be just that.

[3:13] Tomorrow in the fortified green zone in

[3:15] the heart of Baghdad, Saddam Hussein

[3:17] goes on trial for one of several

[3:19] massacres he's accused of ordering

[3:21] against fellow Iraqis. If convicted, he

[3:24] faces the death penalty. Larara Logan is

[3:26] in Baghdad tonight.

[3:28] >> Saddam Hussein will swap his prison cell

[3:31] for one of these cages tomorrow when

[3:33] he's led handcuffed and shackled into

[3:35] this courtroom. charged with crimes

[3:38] against humanity for the execution of

[3:40] more than 140 men in Dujile two decades

[3:43] ago.

[3:45] >> I would not control myself. I would tear

[3:47] him apart, this man says. But the

[3:51] Americans know the credibility of Iraq's

[3:53] new democracy is at stake.

[3:55] >> As far as we can see, it's all been

[3:57] controlled by the United States.

[3:58] >> As Saddam did in his last court

[4:00] appearance in June, the defense will

[4:02] argue the court has no jurisdiction.

[4:05] They will ask for three more months to

[4:06] prepare and the case could be adjourned

[4:09] on the first day. Whatever happens, it

[4:11] will not look like an American trial.

[4:13] Here it's the judge who calls and

[4:15] questions witnesses and he will decide

[4:17] if Saddam Hussein will be allowed to

[4:19] speak. Saddam's outlawed bath party has

[4:23] promised he will be able to hear mortars

[4:25] blowing up Americans in Baghdad tomorrow

[4:28] as a message of support to mark the

[4:30] start of his trial. Lara Logan, CBS

[4:33] News, Baghdad.

[4:34] >> We continue tonight our special series

[4:36] on how the war in Iraq is affecting

[4:38] Americans here at home. Sharon Alfonsi

[4:41] has been meeting people all across the

[4:43] country. And tonight, her road tour of

[4:45] the homeront finds her in Albuquerque,

[4:47] New Mexico, where we check in with her.

[4:49] Sharon, John, for the last week, we've

[4:52] been talking to people whose lives are

[4:53] deeply affected by the war in Iraq. But

[4:56] across America, most people say the war

[4:59] is just not a day-to-day concern.

[5:02] GO, GO, GO, GO.

[5:04] >> Friday Night Football in New Mexico.

[5:08] >> And wide receiver Michael Scarlet is a

[5:10] standout.

[5:13] Not just because he's Sandia High star

[5:15] wide receiver, but because he's one of

[5:17] the few people here affected by the war

[5:19] in Iraq.

[5:20] >> Cuz I should be enjoying high school and

[5:23] not worrying about things.

[5:25] >> And you're pretty worried.

[5:26] >> Yeah.

[5:26] >> His dad volunteered for war duty. Can

[5:29] anyone who's not going through it get

[5:32] what it's like to

[5:33] >> um I guess if you had a loved one pass

[5:36] away, you you could.

[5:38] >> It feels like that kind of loss.

[5:40] >> Yeah.

[5:40] >> Raise your hand if you have a father or

[5:42] a mother or brother or sister who's

[5:45] serving right now.

[5:48] >> No one. In a school of 2100 students,

[5:51] only Michael and one other kid have

[5:53] parents serving in the war. Are most of

[5:55] you uh affected by the war on a

[5:58] day-to-day basis at all?

[6:01] >> No. No.

[6:01] >> It's not the topic of conversation.

[6:04] >> For them, the war is worlds away. They

[6:06] have other concerns.

[6:09] >> Homecoming and homework.

[6:11] >> As X approaches 4.

[6:13] >> Ken Meyer teaches at Sandia.

[6:15] >> Kids on my block went to Vietnam and

[6:16] didn't come home. You really watched the

[6:18] draft numbers.

[6:19] >> But this war only touches those who

[6:21] choose it. So, like a lot of places in

[6:24] America, life just goes on here. A

[6:27] laid-back southwest city that's staying

[6:29] that way.

[6:30] >> For Michael, that means carrying the

[6:32] burden of his father's sacrifice largely

[6:35] alone. His little brother has cable

[6:38] pausy.

[6:39] >> My brother Jacob, he's in a wheelchair.

[6:41] So, now I have to step up to the plate

[6:43] and

[6:44] fill in for my dad.

[6:46] >> He's hoping he won't have to fill in

[6:47] forever. You got that little thing in

[6:50] the back of your head that something

[6:52] could happen to your dad

[6:54] >> and he doesn't want him on the front

[6:55] lines. Well, you'd rather see dad on the

[6:57] sideline, huh?

[6:58] >> Yeah.

[6:59] >> I love my dad very much and I hope he's

[7:01] safe.

[7:03] >> And some of the kids we spoke to say now

[7:05] that Michael's dad is headed to Iraq,

[7:07] they're going to watch the news a little

[7:08] more closely, but they won't take it

[7:10] home with them. Michael will, John.

[7:12] >> Well, what does Michael feel about the

[7:14] war himself?

[7:15] Well, he says he disagrees with the war

[7:17] and doesn't think we should be over

[7:18] there. He feels like too many people are

[7:20] dying. On the same hand, he supports all

[7:22] the soldiers and says he is very proud

[7:24] of his father.

[7:25] >> And where does the tour take you to

[7:26] tomorrow?

[7:27] >> Tomorrow we're headed to Arizona where

[7:29] we're going to meet a woman who lost her

[7:30] son in the war and we're going to show

[7:32] you what she's doing to make sure that

[7:33] no one forgets about that.

[7:35] >> All right, we'll see you then, Sharon.

[7:36] Thanks very much. More stories are just

[7:38] a click away, but don't forget to join

[7:39] us on television for the on air edition

[7:41] of the CBS Evening News. On Wednesday's

[7:44] broadcast, tracking Wilma. The big storm

[7:46] is now officially a hurricane. We'll

[7:49] have complete coverage and the latest

[7:51] forecast track on where it's headed.

[7:52] Looks like Florida right now. for

[7:54] cbsnews.com.