CBS Evening News - 2004-08-31 (partial) - 1 of 2 (Republican Convention)

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Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

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[0:25] CBS4 News Tonight and hourly during the

[0:27] updates. Now it's time for the CBS

[0:29] Evening News with Dan Rather.

[0:32] >> Tonight, President Bush scrambles to

[0:34] repair damage from his own words about

[0:37] the war while his family steps in to

[0:40] help at the Republican convention. And

[0:42] here comes Arnold Schwarzenegger in his

[0:44] debut on the national political stage.

[0:48] Swept away by a tropical storm,

[0:50] overwhelmed and underwater after a foot

[0:53] of rain rushes through streets of a

[0:55] state capital. And would you do this for

[0:58] a shot at the American dream? Some

[1:01] immigrants are, but it may not be the

[1:03] opportunity they think it is.

[1:12] This is the CBS Evening News

[1:15] with Dan Rather reporting tonight from

[1:18] the Republican National Convention in

[1:20] New York.

[1:22] >> Good evening from Madison Square Garden.

[1:24] Two of the most popular and moderate

[1:26] Republicans in America will be here

[1:27] tonight to put in good words for

[1:29] President Bush. Governor Arnold

[1:31] Schwarzenegger of California and the

[1:33] president's wife, First Lady Laura Bush.

[1:36] The governor is part of a week-long

[1:37] effort to put a more moderate face on

[1:39] the party and went over those still

[1:41] undecided voters, most especially women.

[1:44] CBS's John Roberts reports President

[1:46] Bush, who will appear here tonight on a

[1:48] live video hookup from a softball game,

[1:50] was out campaigning again today and

[1:53] trying to put out a political fire that

[1:55] he started.

[1:57] >> US Senator

[1:58] >> with one of the conventions opening

[1:59] night speakers at his side, President

[2:01] Bush today insisted to this group of

[2:03] Tennessee veterans he will succeed in

[2:05] the war on terror.

[2:07] >> A war we did not start, yet one that we

[2:10] will win.

[2:13] And just to make sure they heard it

[2:15] right,

[2:16] >> make no mistake about it,

[2:18] >> we are winning and we will win.

[2:23] >> It was a one-day flip-flop of his own,

[2:26] correcting a statement Monday that the

[2:27] war on terror could not be won. A

[2:30] misstep that yanked the president's

[2:31] carefully scripted convention badly off

[2:33] message, just as he was seeking to

[2:35] reinforce his image as a strong leader.

[2:38] He has been tested and has risen to the

[2:41] most important challenge of our time and

[2:43] I salute him.

[2:44] >> But if the president's stumble provided

[2:46] an opening for Democrats, it was a

[2:48] fleeting one counted by strong

[2:50] Republican performances and a sharp

[2:52] critique of John Kerry.

[2:54] >> John K's record of inconsistent

[2:56] positions on combating terrorism gives

[2:59] us no confidence that he'll pursue such

[3:02] a determined, difficult course. Tonight,

[3:06] Republicans will dial back on such

[3:08] attacks, steering the spotlight instead

[3:10] to a softer side of the party.

[3:12] >> There are few women as gracious and as

[3:14] graceful as my mom.

[3:16] >> The task for Laura Bush and her

[3:18] daughters tonight is to reach moderate

[3:20] women, a voting group that may decide

[3:21] this election. The first lady will lay

[3:23] out an intensely personal view of what

[3:25] she calls her husband's goal to protect

[3:27] our country and defeat terror so that

[3:30] all children can grow up in a more

[3:31] peaceful world. And Republicans are

[3:34] cranking up the star power to dazzle

[3:36] undecideds.

[3:37] >> I play action heroes. You guys are the

[3:40] true action heroes.

[3:42] >> While Arnold Schwarzenegger's views on

[3:44] abortion and gay rights give

[3:45] conservatives palpitations, he is just

[3:47] the big tent image this convention wants

[3:50] to project. But will voters buy the

[3:52] sudden shift to the middle? It may look

[3:54] politically cynical uh to that undecided

[3:57] or middle of the road voter who's

[3:59] thinking, you know, I've watched your

[4:00] administration for the last three three

[4:01] years. Where was this? For the most

[4:04] part, conservatives appear willing to

[4:06] take a back seat as the public face of

[4:08] this convention, knowing that they'll be

[4:09] well served in a second Bush term. So,

[4:11] they'll hold their noses for the next

[4:13] three nights, hoping that all of this

[4:15] will pay off, Dan. John Roberts

[4:18] reporting down on the convention floor.

[4:19] Thanks. As John mentioned, Democrats did

[4:21] respond to the attacks made here last

[4:23] night on Kerry and to the Bush misspeak.

[4:26] The Democrats created a fast response

[4:29] team to do that. But CBS's Jim Axarrod

[4:32] reports, it may be a case of too little,

[4:34] too late.

[4:36] >> Stand up with our president and fight.

[4:38] >> This week, in the war of message and

[4:40] messengers, it just doesn't seem like a

[4:42] fair fight. George Bush has some of the

[4:45] nation's most popular politicians,

[4:47] moderate Republicans. We need George

[4:49] Bush now more than ever.

[4:52] >> Delivering a sweeping prime time

[4:54] message. The big message is George Bush

[4:56] can defend us against terrorism and John

[4:59] Kerry can't.

[5:00] >> And the Democrats answer with Tom

[5:03] Bilsac.

[5:03] >> The mission hasn't been accomplished.

[5:05] >> That's the governor of Iowa in case you

[5:07] didn't know.

[5:08] >> So long as George Bush is our president,

[5:10] is there any doubt they will continue to

[5:13] hear from us?

[5:14] >> The Republicans have America's mayor.

[5:16] >> Tik Tok Cafe first.

[5:18] >> We just really need to respond to this

[5:19] right away.

[5:20] >> See if we can have signs ready. The

[5:22] Democrats have a war room of staffers

[5:23] looking for anything to undermine him.

[5:26] >> They took out the section that said,

[5:27] "Until we defeat global terrorism."

[5:30] >> So when Rudy Giuliani left out the

[5:32] words, "Until we defeat global

[5:34] terrorism," they flooded reporters with

[5:36] calls, getting to CNN just in time.

[5:39] >> And when Rudy Giuliani skipped part of a

[5:41] prepared line in his speech, they

[5:42] quickly rushed out a press release.

[5:44] >> This is beautiful. Very nice. Really,

[5:47] that does seem a bit much to be getting

[5:49] all worked up about. five dropped words,

[5:52] but it does tell us something about what

[5:53] the Democrats count as a win these days

[5:56] >> in this day and age. Is there anyone who

[5:58] can compete with Rudy or McCain or

[6:01] Schwarzenegger?

[6:03] >> The only person the Democrats have is

[6:05] Bill Clinton

[6:06] >> and he's nowhere to be found this week.

[6:07] >> He He's nowhere to be found this week.

[6:09] >> Maybe in time on a tradition, Democrats

[6:11] have conceded these four days and gone

[6:13] on vacation. But in a race this close,

[6:16] there's a huge risk conceding even four

[6:18] minutes. Jim Axel, CBS News, New York.

[6:22] >> Hurricane Francis, a potentially

[6:24] catastrophic storm, may be just days

[6:27] away from the US mainland. It has winds

[6:29] up to 140 mph, and current projections

[6:32] indicate it could strike somewhere

[6:34] between Florida and the Carolinas over

[6:36] the Labor Day weekend. But a jog north

[6:39] could take it into Virginia, just slam

[6:42] dunked by tropical storm Gaston. CBS's

[6:45] Cheryl Atkinson is there on the weather

[6:47] watch.

[6:49] How high is the water?

[6:50] >> Gaston triggered a night of incredibly

[6:52] close calls and narrow escapes. Rescuers

[6:55] resorted to rubber rafts and lassos to

[6:57] combat a staggering rush of water. As

[7:00] much as 14 in in 6 hours in central

[7:03] Virginia, five lives were lost. Evening

[7:06] rush hour was a mess, and morning wasn't

[7:08] much better. Hardest hit Richmond's

[7:10] historic Shako Bottom district. What

[7:13] this was is uh it's part of