Nightline (ABC) - 2000-08-03 (Republican Convention)

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Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:02] August 3rd, 2000.

[0:06] >> Can you name the president of Cheschna?

[0:08] >> No. Can you?

[0:09] >> The early days did not always go

[0:12] smoothly.

[0:13] >> Answer the question. It's a valid

[0:15] question. Answer it.

[0:17] >> There were questions about drug use.

[0:19] >> Somebody floats a rumor and then it

[0:21] causes you to ask a question. And that's

[0:24] the game in American politics. And I

[0:26] refuse to play it. and the inescapable

[0:28] shadow of his father.

[0:30] >> What a great New Hampshire welcome for

[0:32] our boy.

[0:33] >> Oh, what a difference a tough campaign

[0:36] and a nomination can make.

[0:38] >> I've been a chief executive who sets an

[0:39] agenda, sets big goals, and rallies

[0:43] people to believe and achieve them. I am

[0:46] proud of this record, and I am prepared

[0:49] for the work ahead. If you give me your

[0:52] trust, I will honor it. Grant me a

[0:54] mandate, I will use it. Give me the

[0:57] opportunity to lead this nation and I

[0:59] will lead.

[1:04] >> Tonight, the political education of

[1:07] George W. Bush

[1:13] from ABC News.

[1:18] This is Night Line

[1:21] reporting from Washington. Ted CP.

[1:25] Let's put it this way. 9 months from

[1:28] now, at the beginning of May, we could

[1:30] just witness an unusual spike in the

[1:32] birth of American children. That's just

[1:34] a personal piece of speculation based on

[1:36] the television ratings for convention

[1:38] coverage in Philadelphia. I'm not

[1:41] altogether sure what Americans have been

[1:43] doing with their evenings this week, but

[1:45] watching the conventions on TV has not

[1:47] been high on that list. Not on the three

[1:50] major networks, not on CNN or MSNBC, not

[1:54] on PBS or C-SPAN. Across the board,

[1:57] viewers have been staying away in

[1:59] droves. Maybe tonight will be different.

[2:03] This, after all, was the first

[2:04] opportunity for many Americans to have

[2:06] seen George W. Bush give a major speech.

[2:10] The way the polls stand at the moment,

[2:12] he has an excellent chance of becoming

[2:14] our next president. But if television

[2:16] ratings for the Republican convention

[2:18] are any measure, public interest is at

[2:21] an all-time low. I realize this is a

[2:24] classic case of preaching to the choir.

[2:26] You at least are watching. You are still

[2:29] watching, aren't you? It should be worth

[2:31] your while because the evolution of

[2:33] George W. Bush from an engaging, if

[2:35] rather casual, candidate to the

[2:37] self-confident leader in waiting who

[2:40] addressed the GOP convention this

[2:42] evening is worth noting. Take a look.

[2:45] Here's Night Line correspondent Chris

[2:47] Bury.

[2:48] >> If you give me your trust, I will honor

[2:50] it. Grant me a mandate, I will use it.

[2:53] Give me the opportunity to lead this

[2:55] nation, and I will lead.

[3:00] >> For the man whose main mission tonight

[3:03] was to convince Americans to imagine him

[3:05] as a president, the road to Philadelphia

[3:08] was in many ways an exercise in growing

[3:11] up.

[3:12] I'm running for president of the United

[3:14] States. There's no turning back. And I

[3:17] intend to be the next president of the

[3:19] United States.

[3:22] >> He began with all the advantages of a

[3:24] famous name and more money in the bank

[3:26] than any candidate in history.

[3:29] >> Great talking to you. Thanks. Appreciate

[3:30] it.

[3:31] >> Like Bill Clinton, he was a southern

[3:33] governor with a moderate message from a

[3:35] party desperate to win.

[3:37] >> Who's this man? This is my grandson,

[3:39] Brian.

[3:39] >> Hey, Brian. Sure. Good to meet you. And

[3:41] from the very beginning, Mr. Bush's

[3:43] easy, breezy charm served him well. But

[3:46] then came those questions about drug

[3:48] use. The answers were evasive and

[3:51] sometimes angry.

[3:53] >> You know what happens? Somebody floats a

[3:55] rumor and then it causes you to ask a

[3:57] question. And that's the game in

[3:59] American politics and I refuse to play

[4:01] it.

[4:02] >> But the candidate kept repeating a line

[4:04] that eventually worked. My answer to

[4:06] your question today and tomorrow will

[4:08] be, I did make mistakes years ago, but

[4:11] I've learned.

[4:12] >> When I was young and irresponsible, I

[4:13] was young and irresponsible. What are

[4:15] you going to do with that? I mean, uh,

[4:17] it's a brilliant response.

[4:19] >> ABC News correspondent Dean Reynolds has

[4:22] covered the Bush campaign for more than

[4:24] a year.

[4:25] >> I mean, uh, he looks like a guy who

[4:27] would have been young and irresponsible.

[4:28] He acts like a guy who would have been

[4:30] young and irresponsible. There's no

[4:32] reason to debate that point. But beyond

[4:34] that, you're not going to get anywhere.

[4:36] >> The rumors faded but left an impression

[4:38] that for George W. Bush, adolescence

[4:41] stretched well into middle age.

[4:43] >> Your resume up until age 40, not so hot.

[4:48] >> Wait a minute. A father, little league

[4:51] coach,

[4:53] uh, husband, Sunday school teacher.

[4:56] >> Nice for the Kowanas Club presidency,

[4:58] not for the presidency of the

[4:59] >> Absolutely. I couldn't agree more with

[5:00] you. Live from WHDHTV Boston.

[5:04] >> Then that silly pop quiz.

[5:06] >> Can you name the president of Cheschna?

[5:08] >> No. Can you?

[5:09] >> However unfair, reinforced the image of

[5:13] a candidate who did not quite measure up

[5:15] in New Hampshire. His father's

[5:17] cheerleading only underlined the

[5:20] problem.

[5:20] >> Thank you guys.

[5:23] What a great New Hampshire welcome for

[5:25] our boy. And even in the crux of the

[5:27] primary campaign, the candidate seemed

[5:30] to be coasting.

[5:31] >> And all of a sudden in New Hampshire, he

[5:33] was confronted not simply by

[5:35] Republicans, but by independents

[5:39] and crossover Democrats saying, "Hey,

[5:42] you know, we're going to send a message

[5:43] to George W. We're going to vote for

[5:45] John McCain." And the message is, hey,

[5:49] start working hard. Don't just take our

[5:51] votes for granted. New Hampshire has

[5:54] long been known as a bump in the road

[5:57] for front runners

[6:01] and this year is no exception.

[6:03] >> Losing New Hampshire to John McCain was

[6:05] a neardeath experience for a candidate

[6:08] known for his cockiness.

[6:10] >> And that is what happened to W. Got

[6:11] kicked in the butt. He didn't like it.

[6:14] He got up. He looked around. He thought,

[6:16] "Wait a second. I'm going to lose this."

[6:19] and he and his people turned on a dime,

[6:22] changed their campaign, went into South

[6:24] Carolina, and for the first time, this

[6:26] was a guy who was campaigning like he

[6:28] was hungry, really hungry. Good to see

[6:31] you all.

[6:32] >> In South Carolina, Governor Bush's hard

[6:35] turn to the right paid off with the

[6:36] state's conservative base. That visit to

[6:39] Bob Jones University, staying neutral on

[6:42] the Confederate flag. But Mr. Bush was

[6:44] also working harder, getting better at

[6:47] mixing it up. But whatever you do, don't

[6:50] equate my integrity and trustworthiness

[6:52] to Bill Clinton. That's about as low a

[6:55] blow as you can give in the Republican

[6:56] primary.

[6:59] >> By Super Tuesday, Senator McCain had run

[7:02] out of gas and Governor Bush knew the

[7:04] nomination would be his. But now he had

[7:07] another problem. How to lose that label

[7:10] courtesy of McCain that he was up Pat

[7:12] Robertson Republican. Look at the

[7:14] discipline with which they destroyed

[7:18] that after he won Super Tuesday and he

[7:22] went on the road with these policy

[7:24] speeches.

[7:27] He had a particular way of speaking that

[7:30] was designed I'm sure designed to give

[7:32] him heft

[7:34] gravitas. When I am elected, this

[7:37] generation and this president will save

[7:40] Social Security.

[7:42] >> In my administration, low-income

[7:43] Americans will have access to

[7:46] highquality healthcare.

[7:48] >> Governor George W. Bush.

[7:51] >> For Mr. Bush, that series of speeches

[7:53] moved him back to the middle ground

[7:55] where he started his campaign and made

[7:57] him appear like a more serious

[7:59] candidate. When I saw him last two weeks

[8:02] ago, it was before a speech and he said,

[8:05] "I'm becoming the president."

[8:08] And he meant, "I am actually day by day

[8:12] becoming the president." That's what the

[8:15] primaries are for. When you are a

[8:17] candidate, it gives you time to

[8:19] essentially become what you want to

[8:21] become. But of course, tonight it was

[8:23] the governor's own turn to convince

[8:25] Americans that the man who seemed so

[8:28] untested at the beginning of the trail

[8:30] has grown up along the way.

[8:32] >> I know I know how serious the task is

[8:35] before me. I know the presidency is an

[8:38] office that turns pride into prayer. But

[8:42] I am eager to start on the work ahead.

[8:45] And I believe America is ready for a new

[8:48] beginning.

[8:55] My friend,

[8:57] the artist Tom Lee of El Paso, Texas,

[9:01] captured the way I feel about our great

[9:03] land, a land I love. He and his wife, he

[9:06] said,

[9:08] live on the east side of the mountain.

[9:11] It's the sunrise side,

[9:14] not the sunset side. It is the side to

[9:17] see the day that is coming.

[9:20] not to see the day that is gone.

[9:23] Americans live on the sunrise side of

[9:25] the mountain. The night is passing and

[9:28] we are ready for the day to come.

[9:32] For the delegates here, of course, that

[9:34] speech only reinforced the already

[9:36] pervasive feeling, at least here, that

[9:39] in George W. Bush, Republicans finally

[9:41] have the best man and the right message

[9:44] to win the White House in November. and

[9:46] if there were doubts about his

[9:47] seriousness before that this speech went

[9:50] a long way to dispel them. Ted

[9:53] >> Chris, the view from the convention

[9:55] floor is always a little different than

[9:57] it is from those of us who are watching

[9:59] on television and and what was it in the

[10:02] speech do you think that resonated the

[10:04] most, the best, the loudest, the most

[10:06] vibrantly among the delegates on the

[10:08] floor? I think the thing the thing that

[10:10] really resonated here tonight was the

[10:12] sense from Bush's speech that President

[10:15] Clinton and Vice President Gore had

[10:17] squandered an enormous opportunity

[10:20] because of scandal. Bush never had to

[10:22] mention the scandal by name. But that

[10:24] refrain, they had their chance. They had

[10:27] their chance. The meeting was very clear

[10:29] and the tone was so different from that

[10:31] of the House managers, so different from

[10:33] that of the independent council, Kenneth

[10:35] Star. It was more in sadness than anger.

[10:38] And I think that tone struck a real

[10:40] nerve here tonight.

[10:41] >> Chris Bury, thanks very much. Was this

[10:44] then George W's breakthrough moment?

[10:46] We'll turn to David Gurgen and George

[10:48] Stephanopoulos in a moment.

[10:56] This is ABC News Night Line brought to

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[13:22] How effective was George Bush then on

[13:24] this his big night? Back with us once

[13:26] again, David Gurgen, editor at large at

[13:28] US News and World Report and ABC News

[13:31] analyst George Stephanopoulos. Uh

[13:33] George, first of all, I I have to point

[13:34] out that behind you, it's been almost an

[13:36] hour since the speech is over. There

[13:38] seems to be a great reluctance to empty

[13:40] that hall out.

[13:41] >> Oh boy, Ted, they are really flying. You

[13:43] know, on the way up here, I ran into

[13:44] Carl Rove, the chief strategist for the

[13:46] Bush campaign, and they they believe

[13:48] that they have elected a president

[13:50] tonight. I don't know if it that's true,

[13:52] but it was a pretty magnificent speech.

[13:54] Crisp crisply written, very confidently

[13:57] delivered, and I think very reassuring

[13:59] to Bush doubters both on questions of

[14:01] his personal character, on personal

[14:03] qualities, and on the idea of whether or

[14:05] not he's a new or an old kind of

[14:07] Republican. Very inclusive speech that

[14:09] reached into Democratic deep into

[14:11] Democratic territory.

[14:12] >> David, was it a function of theme or

[14:14] tone or a combination of the two that

[14:16] made it so effective? Well, it was an

[14:19] extremely well-ritten speech, Ted.

[14:21] Eloquent, graceful move over Peggy

[14:22] Nunan. There's a there's a new writer on

[14:24] the block and Mike Gerson. But I think

[14:26] more than that, Ted, it was Bush

[14:28] himself. He showed a resolve tonight

[14:30] that I don't think we've seen before. An

[14:31] inner toughness. Uh gone was a sense of

[14:34] this is a fellow who's not quite grown

[14:35] up tonight. There was a real adult out

[14:37] adult out there. If he didn't win the

[14:39] election tonight, he came darn close. Al

[14:41] Gore really has his work cut out for

[14:42] him. Now, now both of you have worked

[14:44] for Bill Clinton. Uh, and I think in

[14:46] many, uh, in many respects, this speech

[14:48] tonight was sort of an homage to Bill

[14:51] Clinton in the sense that, uh, the

[14:54] writers and those who who planned and

[14:56] pieced it together borrowed rather

[14:58] heavily from Clintonian tactics. George,

[15:00] you want to take the first, Craig?

[15:01] >> No, no question about it that first of

[15:03] all, uh, the laundry list of ideas uh,

[15:06] near the top on social security,

[15:08] Medicare, and education. two, weaving in

[15:11] uh the personal anecdotes uh halfway

[15:14] through the speech. Very, very smart.

[15:17] And then finally, as I said earlier, I

[15:18] think the idea that he was talking about

[15:20] the other side's ideas was probably the

[15:22] most important um factor in whatever

[15:25] success that the speech had tonight.

[15:26] >> It looked to me, David, uh as though

[15:29] this campaign is going to do as

[15:31] effective a job as they can about

[15:34] linking Al Gore to Bill Clinton, whether

[15:36] he likes it or not.

[15:38] >> That's right. They they think that

[15:39] wherever Al Gore drives, Bill Clinton's

[15:41] going to be in the trunk and they're not

[15:42] going to let people forget that. Ted, I

[15:44] think the analogy tonight was not so

[15:46] much to the Clinton speeches, but indeed

[15:49] uh they went back to the 1960

[15:52] campaign when Kennedy went to Los

[15:53] Angeles some 40 years ago and gave his

[15:56] acceptance address. They see that as an

[15:58] analogy for this campaign, a a young,

[16:01] fresh, vigorous candidate on the outside

[16:04] running against a a man like Richard

[16:06] Nixon. And that's what they think of Al

[16:07] Gore. uh who who has a popular president

[16:10] perhaps 60% president, but he himself

[16:12] has these qualities they think they can

[16:14] take advantage of. So, what you heard

[16:15] tonight was this sense of a fresh

[16:16] beginning. Let's get the country moving

[16:18] again. They squander the opportunities.

[16:20] We're going to move ahead.

[16:21] >> George, uh you probably haven't had a

[16:22] chance to talk to anybody yet from the

[16:24] from the Gore campaign in the few

[16:26] minutes since the speech is over, but uh

[16:28] what is going to make them most nervous

[16:30] about it? I think that what they have to

[16:32] be most nervous about is that uh Bush

[16:35] scored on Democratic issues, Social

[16:38] Security, Medicare, education. What Gore

[16:40] is going to have to do, and I predict

[16:42] he'll start it tomorrow. He's got to

[16:43] come out and try to convince people that

[16:45] he may talk a good game on those issues,

[16:47] but don't be fooled. He's just offering

[16:49] the same old um Republican solutions. If

[16:52] he can't do that, it's going to be a big

[16:54] big problem for Gore because they feel

[16:55] they need to win this campaign on those

[16:57] issues. David, you and I spoke just uh

[17:00] just before you came uh into the studio

[17:02] and and we were both struck, I think uh

[17:05] by the the sheer euphoria

[17:08] in the faces of and in the whole body

[17:10] language of that crowd down there. Now,

[17:13] is that do you think just going to be

[17:15] the convention delegates or is that

[17:16] going to translate to the entire

[17:18] Republican party and of course to those

[17:20] critical independent voters?

[17:22] >> This is going to ripple right across the

[17:23] Republican party, Ted. There are so many

[17:25] people in this party who have hungered

[17:27] to get back in. and they've been looking

[17:28] for a candidate. They think they finally

[17:30] found somebody to do that. And they

[17:32] leave here. I to a person, everyone I

[17:34] have met in Philadelphia on the

[17:35] Republican side has said, "This is the

[17:37] most unified we've been in years." They

[17:38] go back, they go all the way back to

[17:39] 1984, the second Reagan campaign. Of

[17:42] course, Reagan went on to sweep 49

[17:43] states. They smell victory. Uh, and they

[17:46] and they feel they go out, they went out

[17:47] of this convention hall. I think that's

[17:49] why they're still popping those

[17:50] balloons. They're it's this is the

[17:52] equivalent of the court corks coming off

[17:54] champagne. As George said earlier, they

[17:55] think they won. And I don't think

[17:56] they're there yet there yet, but they

[17:58] they came close tonight.

[17:59] >> George, we've only got about half a

[18:01] minute left. Any halfhour speech leaves

[18:03] some vulnerabilities, some landmines.

[18:05] What are they?

[18:06] >> I think the biggest one is when when uh

[18:08] Governor Bush talked about the

[18:09] squandered opportunity of the last 8

[18:11] years. Democrats see that as an

[18:13] opportunity similar to what bo when Bob

[18:15] Dole in 1996 talked about a bridge to

[18:17] the past. Clinton turned around, talked

[18:19] about a bridge to the future. Gore can

[18:21] turn around squandered opportunities and

[18:22] talk about the progress the country made

[18:24] over the last eight years.

[18:26] >> George David, thank you both again and

[18:28] we'll see you in Los Angeles. How does

[18:30] this week's convention help frame the

[18:32] fall contest? We'll ask this New York

[18:35] Times reporter who has spent the day

[18:37] writing about it. Tomorrow's edition

[18:39] when we come back.

[18:47] >> I see the same time almost every day.

[18:49] She's always there waiting for me, you

[18:51] know.

[18:55] >> You can set your watch by her.

[19:01] >> Look, she's a real sweetheart, you know.

[19:03] I mean, I bring her lunch up to our farm

[19:05] and and I sing Italian love songs to

[19:07] her. In cities across the country,

[19:10] Philip Morris provides grants to Meals

[19:12] on Wheels programs to eliminate waiting

[19:14] lists so that thousands of additional

[19:16] seniors can have a hot meal and a

[19:18] visitor.

[19:19] >> I'm the only person she sees most days.

[19:21] And if I could just get a smile on her

[19:23] face, it's the high point of my day.

[19:26] >> Philip Morris and Meals on Wheels are

[19:28] fighting more than just hunger among the

[19:30] elderly.

[19:32] We're fighting loneliness.

[19:43] working to make a difference. The people

[19:45] of Philip Morris

[19:47] >> this summer, the only men for the job. I

[19:49] can't fill up a space shuttle with

[19:51] geriatrics are the boys.

[19:54] >> Welcome to space, Frank.

[19:56] >> Space Cowboys. I thought this was going

[19:58] to be hard. PG-13 starts tomorrow.

[20:03] >> Mark

[20:04] >> Lisa. Wow, it's been a while. You look

[20:08] great.

[20:08] >> You, too.

[20:09] >> Nice car. Looks like you're doing well.

[20:12] >> Oh, yeah. Thanks. Excuse me.

[20:22] >> So,

[20:23] time to buy an Eclipse. Zero down, zero

[20:26] interest, and zero payments till spring

[20:27] 2001 at Mitsubishi's car envy event.

[20:30] Good on any 2000 Mitsubishi.

[20:32] >> Really, Mom? We're fine. Dude, do you

[20:34] need anything?

[20:35] >> Nope, we don't need a

[20:36] >> salaries. I don't know how you do it.

[20:37] You're not sitting on milk crates, are

[20:39] you?

[20:39] >> No.

[20:39] >> With the simple finance plan at Ethan

[20:41] Allen, you could have it all today.

[20:43] >> Hello.

[20:44] >> Come in and check it out.

[20:46] >> Hello.

[20:48] >> That new boss is from another planet.

[20:50] >> Totally spaced out at that meeting.

[20:52] >> Hey, what's that on your desk?

[20:53] >> abcnews.com.

[20:56] Ready when you are.

[20:58] >> Hey, I don't know about you, but in my

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[21:33] >> Throughout this Republican convention,

[21:35] we've been getting a preview each night

[21:37] of tomorrow's edition of the New York

[21:39] Times. And joining us tonight from the

[21:41] Times newsroom at the convention,

[21:43] Washington editor Jill Abramson and

[21:45] chief political correspondent Richard

[21:47] Burke. You'll find Burke's story on the

[21:49] Republicans remaking themselves on page

[21:52] one of Friday's paper. So, we've got

[21:54] we've got half the equation in place.

[21:56] Now, Rick, how does this how does this

[21:58] frame the fall election?

[22:00] >> Well, Ted, instead of listening to the

[22:02] euphoric Republicans in the hall, I

[22:04] talked to several Democrats around the

[22:06] country today and I asked them to assess

[22:09] what what we've seen at this convention

[22:11] throughout the week. And they're giving

[22:13] it a thumbs up. A thumbs up. And that

[22:15] scares them because they said that the

[22:17] Republicans have been very successful in

[22:19] casting their party and their candidate

[22:22] as very much like Bill Clinton did in

[22:25] '92, very much like a Democrat with

[22:28] inclusive, compassionate themes and that

[22:31] scares them to death.

[22:32] >> Take us to a take us to a few of the

[22:34] quotes that you got from the Democrats.

[22:36] >> Right. For example, Senator Robert

[22:38] Torselli of New Jersey told me that

[22:40] quote, "Hundreds of jaws are dropping of

[22:43] Democratic members of Congress around

[22:45] the country who are hearing of a

[22:47] Republican commitment to their building

[22:49] of schools, hiring of teachers,

[22:52] commitment to the environment, and

[22:53] diversity of government. It has been

[22:56] skillfully done." Listen also to Bill

[22:58] Daly, who's the chairman of the Gore

[23:01] campaign. He said, "This is all about

[23:03] George Bush being in essence not a bad

[23:06] person and a well-meaning person.

[23:09] Therefore, he will do what's right and

[23:11] trust me." But then Daley said, "There's

[23:13] got to be more to it than that." And

[23:16] therefore, the what the Democrats are

[23:17] going to try to do is say, "Forget the

[23:19] personality. Forget the sunny speeches.

[23:22] We're going to have to tell you the bad

[23:24] things about Democrats. We're going to

[23:26] have to tell you that this is all a

[23:27] masquerade. Don't listen to what you saw

[23:30] on the podium tonight.

[23:32] >> Now, of course, the high point of the

[23:33] week for the Republicans and the the

[23:35] high point of this evening was the

[23:36] speech itself. Uh it's clearly too early

[23:39] for you to have gotten reaction from the

[23:40] Democrats, but based on what you saw,

[23:42] based on what you heard, how will it

[23:44] play? The Democrats are very concerned

[23:47] and they said they're going to have to

[23:48] fight back and make contrast and and the

[23:51] Gore campaign is going to have to go on

[23:53] the attack. And that puts the Democrats

[23:56] in a very dicey position because if Al

[24:00] Gore goes out there looking like he's

[24:01] critical, looking like he's negative,

[24:03] that plays right into the Republicans

[24:05] hands. the the the Gore campaign was

[24:09] floundering after the primaries when the

[24:11] vice president tried to make contrast

[24:13] with George Bush and but they're gonna

[24:16] the Democrats told me they're going to

[24:17] be forced to do that again and that

[24:19] that's just where the Bush campaign

[24:21] wants to put them.

[24:22] >> Jill Abramson, let's talk a little bit

[24:24] more about that speech. You've you've

[24:25] been doing some reporting or or at least

[24:27] some of your colleagues have been doing

[24:29] a great deal of reporting today uh on

[24:31] how the speech was put together. Give us

[24:33] some insight there, would you? Well, in

[24:34] tomorrow's paper, we have a very

[24:36] interesting story, Ted, by Frank Rooney,

[24:39] which is in essence the inside story of

[24:41] the making of this Bush speech we heard

[24:44] tonight. And it was a very elaborate

[24:46] process. Uh many aids had input into

[24:50] this speech. The governor refined it up

[24:52] until the very last moment. There were

[24:55] 17 different drafts of this speech. Uh,

[24:58] it was ultimately cut back by the

[25:00] governor from 4,300 words to 3,900

[25:05] words. And Mr. Bush wanted it short. He

[25:08] didn't want it too formal. And he really

[25:11] practiced over and over again. He even

[25:14] lugged a teleprompter with him to

[25:16] Cincinnati and Harrisburg so that he

[25:19] could practice delivering the speech in

[25:21] front of friends.

[25:22] >> Now, you have spoken, Jill, about all

[25:24] the people who contributed to the

[25:26] speech. uh give us a sense in the last

[25:28] few seconds we've got left. What did

[25:29] Frank Rooney find out about the

[25:31] governor's own contribution to the

[25:33] speech?

[25:33] >> He found that the governor's

[25:35] contribution was significant and that

[25:37] the bottom line was that this speech

[25:40] reflected George W. Bush's style. He

[25:43] wanted simple words, not fancy

[25:45] phrasiology.

[25:47] >> Jill Abramson, Rick Burke, thank you

[25:49] both very much and I hope we will see

[25:51] both of you in Los Angeles. Also, we'll

[25:54] be checking in with our colleagues at

[25:56] the New York Times, as I indicated

[25:58] during the Democratic convention later

[26:00] this month. And I'll be back in a moment

[26:02] with a word about tomorrow night's

[26:03] Friday night special.

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[27:15] >> A terrorist threat. We now know the

[27:17] weapon used was a biological agent. Not

[27:19] a single person survived.

[27:20] >> We have to eliminate the threat.

[27:21] >> A lethal mistake.

[27:23] >> Something's gone terribly wrong.

[27:25] >> God knows what we've unleashed at the

[27:26] airport.

[27:26] >> Could wipe out life as we know it.

[27:28] >> The virus was created by men. It can be

[27:30] cured by man.

[27:31] >> Harry Hamlin.

[27:32] >> You have your orders.

[27:33] >> Nastia Kinsky.

[27:36] >> There are reports of rioting, robbery,

[27:38] murder. The world premiere. I need a

[27:40] miracle. Quarantine. ABC. Saturday at

[27:43] 8:7 central.

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[28:19] >> Sometimes you crave the white flaky

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[28:49] Tomorrow on Night Line, a Friday night

[28:51] special. Three young men were convicted

[28:54] of murder. One even confessed, but

[28:56] there's no way they could have done it

[28:58] beyond reasonable doubt. Tomorrow night.

[29:01] And that's our report for tonight. I'm

[29:03] Ted CPA in Washington. For all of us

[29:05] here at ABC News. Good.

[29:09] >> For interactive coverage of the

[29:11] candidates and the issues in the 2000

[29:14] presidential campaign, log on to the

[29:16] Nightline page at abcnews.com.

[29:20] You can order a transcript or video

[29:22] cassette of this or any other Night Line

[29:25] broadcast by dialing 1 800 call ABC.

[29:29] This has been a presentation of ABC

[29:31] News. More Americans get their news from

[29:33] ABC News

[29:36] than from any other source.

[29:39] >> Tomorrow, a secret weapon of the Civil

[29:41] War finally raised from a watery grave.

[29:44] Recovering and restoring a buried

[29:46] treasure on World News Tonight with

[29:48] Peter Jennings.

[29:49] >> It's Major League Soccer on ABC Sports.

[29:52] Clint Matthysse leads the first place

[29:53] Metro Stars against Razoff in the fire.

[29:56] Live Sunday at 4 1 Pacific on ABC.

[30:00] Jeff Ray and Storm Tracker 2000 morning

[30:02] and noon on News 2. Now, News 2 at 10.

[30:07] First, fast accurate.

[30:16] >> Mother Nature isn't going to let the GOP

[30:18] convention steal her thunder. She is

[30:21] playing rough tonight in parts of the

[30:22] Midstate. Hi everyone and welcome to

[30:24] News at 10. First order of business

[30:26] tonight, the weather. It's making news

[30:28] and making trouble tonight.