CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-10-03

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Bob Schieffer and welcome to

[0:02] the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:04] Just ahead, President Bush nominated his

[0:06] White House Counsel, Harriet Miers, to

[0:08] the Supreme Court. If confirmed, she'll

[0:11] succeed Sandra Day O'Connor. Also,

[0:13] hybrid car sales have about tripled

[0:16] since last year, but will the trend

[0:18] last? Plus, if you remember kindergarten

[0:21] is all fun and games, you'll be

[0:23] surprised to see how competitive it's

[0:25] become. But is this helping or hurting

[0:27] the kids? It's all starting now on the

[0:29] CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:33] Well, social conservatives wanted

[0:35] someone who is on the record against gay

[0:37] rights and abortion rights. Many

[0:39] liberals wanted someone who is for

[0:42] abortion rights. The president crossed

[0:44] them all up today and chose a friend,

[0:46] Harriet Miers, the current White House

[0:48] Counsel, who has worked with and for the

[0:51] president in various posts over the

[0:53] years, but has never served as a judge,

[0:56] is his choice to replace Sandra Day

[0:58] O'Connor on the Supreme Court. Here's

[1:01] Roberts at the White House.

[1:04] President Bush once described her as a

[1:06] pit bull in size six shoes.

[1:09] But who is Harriet Miers and why should

[1:12] she sit on the Supreme Court? To hear

[1:14] the president tell it, she is the most

[1:16] qualified person. She has devoted her

[1:18] life to the rule of law and the cause of

[1:20] justice.

[1:22] She will be an outstanding addition

[1:25] to the Supreme Court of the United

[1:27] States. Single and 60 years old, Miers

[1:30] comes to the job with no judicial

[1:32] experience. Not unprecedented, William

[1:34] Rehnquist, Earl Warren, and more than 30

[1:37] others had none before they were

[1:38] nominated. She was a corporate

[1:40] litigator, Microsoft and Disney among

[1:42] her clients. The first female president

[1:45] of the Dallas, then Texas Bar

[1:46] Associations. She was President Bush's

[1:49] personal attorney. Had a meteoric rise

[1:51] at the White House, going from staff

[1:53] secretary to deputy chief of staff to

[1:55] White House Counsel. This is her senior

[1:57] picture here. And Janet Coplin was

[1:59] thrilled about the nomination. She was a

[2:01] high school classmate of Miers,

[2:03] remembered her as an accomplished

[2:04] athlete with a remarkable inner

[2:06] strength. We're always excited when when

[2:09] someone achieves something like this cuz

[2:11] it's a tremendous honor. But Miers' ties

[2:14] to President Bush are too close for some

[2:16] people on the left and right. What looks

[2:19] like, they say, to be the very

[2:20] embodiment of cronyism.

[2:22] >> The appearance is that President Bush

[2:24] has once again put into high office

[2:26] someone who is a personal friend of his

[2:27] who may not have all of the

[2:29] qualifications for the job. Someone who

[2:31] doesn't necessarily have the

[2:32] professional competence to uh excel.

[2:35] Thank you, Mr. President, for this So

[2:37] can the White House prove this is more

[2:39] than just a political reward? I would

[2:42] take the fact that President Bush knows

[2:44] her so well as added comfort for the

[2:46] American people cuz he knows the

[2:48] intangibles that you always want to

[2:50] think about when you're putting somebody

[2:51] in such a powerful position. Aside from

[2:53] her qualifications, the other big issue,

[2:56] how would Miers shape the court from

[2:58] this critical swing seat? We do know as

[3:00] head of the Texas Bar, she fought

[3:02] against support for abortion rights, and

[3:04] she was a patron of a Texas

[3:06] anti-abortion group. Friends say she is

[3:09] very religious, and while she's low-key,

[3:11] doesn't broadcast her politics, she's

[3:14] described as a mainstream conservative.

[3:17] The Miers paper trail is incredibly

[3:19] thin, leaving no reliable guide as to

[3:21] how she would vote on this nation's most

[3:23] pivotal issues. But White House

[3:25] officials, including the vice president,

[3:27] insist she has the sort of bedrock

[3:29] conservative judicial philosophy that

[3:32] even the far right would like. Bob.

[3:34] Thank you very much, John. Jim Axelrod

[3:36] is back now on the price patrol.

[3:39] It's an exciting day today. For most

[3:41] folks, the exciting day is the one you

[3:43] pick up your Mercedes, not trade it in.

[3:46] This is it. It's beautiful. But Mike

[3:47] Alford isn't most folks.

[3:49] >> It even smells new. With this New York

[3:51] City restaurateur, it's goodbye Benz,

[3:54] hello Toyota hybrid SUV. You don't miss

[3:57] your Mercedes?

[3:58] >> No, not at all. That's because Mike does

[4:00] most of his driving in the city, where

[4:02] his Mercedes got 19 miles per gallon.

[4:05] The hybrid SUV, powered by gas and

[4:07] electricity,

[4:08] >> It's like a spaceship. gets 31 in the

[4:11] city. And look at it. Not exactly your

[4:13] tree hugger's hybrid. That's what it's

[4:15] about, saving gas and having a great

[4:17] ride. Which may explain why right now

[4:19] demand is kicking supplies' tailpipe.

[4:22] The normal wait, I found out from this

[4:23] friend of mine, is about a year.

[4:26] But you know people. Hey, thank god. You

[4:28] know what I mean?

[4:29] You know what I mean? You know somebody.

[4:30] Hybrid sales have more than doubled in

[4:32] the last year, a time of record-breaking

[4:34] gasoline prices. Still, the people who

[4:37] study consumer behavior aren't ready to

[4:39] say if it's a trend that'll last. Gas

[4:42] would have to hit four bucks a gallon

[4:44] and stay there for a year, they say, for

[4:46] that to happen. The interest in a hybrid

[4:48] has gone up at least 35 to 40%,

[4:50] especially with the gas prices. But car

[4:53] companies are still playing catch-up

[4:54] with that interest, both in the number

[4:56] and the variety of hybrids produced.

[4:59] There's also a premium. You'll pay more

[5:01] for the hybrid version of a vehicle like

[5:03] Mike's Highlander.

[5:05] And not all hybrids get better mileage.

[5:08] So gas price spikes alone may not pump

[5:10] sales numbers forever. My new toy. But

[5:13] Mike Alford thinks it's just a matter of

[5:14] time before hybrid's popularity explodes

[5:17] for good.

[5:18] >> I think the Prius gets 50 miles a

[5:20] gallon.

[5:21] And forget about it.

[5:22] >> A pure New York expression of a thought

[5:24] that may well be translating to the rest

[5:27] of the country. Jim Axelrod, CBS News,

[5:30] New York. We're going to close now with

[5:32] a look at how some of this country's

[5:33] youngest citizens are doing in school.

[5:36] They are this year's kindergarteners,

[5:38] about 4 million five-year-olds

[5:40] nationwide. For many of them,

[5:42] kindergarten will not be what their

[5:44] parents remembered. Sandra Hughes now

[5:46] with Eye on America.

[5:49] She may be only five years old, but

[5:51] Caitlin Everline has a long day ahead

[5:54] because for the first time, Los Angeles

[5:56] public schools have ended the half-day

[5:58] kindergarten and stretched it to a full

[6:01] day. It's a very long and stressful day

[6:03] for her. Even writing her name,

[6:06] something Caitlin knows how to do,

[6:07] exhausted her to the point of tears.

[6:10] Still, she starts writing these circles

[6:12] and I say, "Why don't you take a little

[6:13] break?" Okay.

[6:15] >> It was the same in San Diego, where for

[6:17] several years the superintendent of

[6:18] schools raised standards in kindergarten

[6:21] to try to increase test scores. And

[6:23] principals and teachers interpreted that

[6:25] as no art, no music, no drama center, no

[6:28] puzzles. That's right. Gone are the good

[6:31] old days of finger paint and Play-Doh.

[6:33] Now it's work, work, work. Some are

[6:36] calling it the kinder grind.

[6:40] The children were under a lot of

[6:41] pressure? Oh, yeah. I mean, I was a

[6:43] teacher and I wanted every kid in my

[6:45] class to do the very best, but they also

[6:47] needed to have a life. Nationwide, the

[6:49] debate rages on whether kindergarten has

[6:51] become the new first grade. Too much

[6:54] emphasis on learning to read and write.

[6:56] This year, fed up teachers confronted

[6:58] the San Diego school board, asking them

[7:01] to dial back the curriculum. You can

[7:03] continue to direct teachers to teach in

[7:05] an atmosphere of stress and harassment,

[7:08] or you can allow teachers to teach

[7:10] children to love reading.

[7:12] >> Penelope Jane.

[7:13] >> When research showed that some

[7:15] underperforming kindergarteners could

[7:17] catch up by third grade, the school

[7:19] board took a bold move and lowered their

[7:21] expectations. But if you had the speed

[7:24] limit of 90, but the traffic wouldn't go

[7:25] that fast, it, you know, it's not not

[7:28] going to make any difference. And so, we

[7:30] basically just lowered the speed limit,

[7:32] but the kids are going as fast as they

[7:34] can. Critics say San Diego is dumbing

[7:37] down its kindergarten classrooms at the

[7:39] very wrong time. Teachers are under

[7:41] mounting pressure to increase test

[7:43] scoring because of the national No Child

[7:45] Left Behind program. Innovation is not

[7:48] measured by tests. Creativity is not

[7:50] measured by tests. Trish Candia wants

[7:53] her five-year-olds to play and learn to

[7:55] read.

[7:56] >> And we need to expose these kids to

[7:58] ideas and concepts that they can grasp.

[8:00] Can.

[8:01] >> And hold on to without forgetting what

[8:04] makes kindergarten fun for a

[8:06] five-year-old. In San Diego, this is

[8:09] Sandra Hughes for Eye on America. More

[8:12] stories are just a click away, but don't

[8:14] forget to join me on television for the

[8:16] on-air edition of the CBS Evening News.

[8:18] On Tuesday's broadcast, we'll take you

[8:20] to a nursing home where it was one man's

[8:23] quest to make the facility feel just

[8:26] like home. For CBSNews.com,

[8:29] I'm Bob Schieffer.