NBC Nightly News - 1992-03-14

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:01] Plane there bouncing checks and in

[0:03] Turkey the death toll from an earthquake

[0:05] climbs.

[0:09] This is NBC nightly news reported by

[0:12] Garrick Utley.

[0:14] Good evening. It wasn't illegal after

[0:16] all. It didn't cost taxpayers one cent

[0:19] of their our money, but that's not the

[0:21] point really. The bouncing checks of

[0:22] some members of Congress have become a

[0:24] symbol, a lightning rod for popular

[0:27] discontent and today many

[0:28] representatives were back home trying to

[0:30] explain what happened to skeptical

[0:32] constituents. Henry Champ is in

[0:34] Washington where the names of some of

[0:35] the bigger offenders are starting to

[0:37] come out. Good evening, Henry.

[0:38] Good evening, Garrick. The Associated

[0:40] Press says it obtained the names of 21

[0:42] of the top 24 abusers and says the two

[0:45] worst check bouncers were Congressman

[0:47] Bob Mrazek of New York and former

[0:49] Congressman Tommy Robinson of Arkansas.

[0:51] Both reportedly wrote more than 950 bad

[0:55] checks. Mrazek's office says that total

[0:58] is too high. For those who have admitted

[1:00] abuses, however, this was a humiliating

[1:03] day back home. I mean it was totally

[1:05] inadvertent. It was totally innocent.

[1:07] And I and it was without my knowledge at

[1:10] all. Would it be known? It was

[1:11] embarrassing this morning in the coffee

[1:13] shop in Atlanta. Congressman Ben Jones

[1:16] was trying to explain even though he

[1:18] bounced only four checks.

[1:20] You didn't know you had a problem

[1:22] because nobody ever told you. Like 295

[1:25] other House members with overdrafts,

[1:27] Jones was facing his voter.

[1:29] His audience looked and sounded

[1:31] skeptical. Why do our legislators have

[1:35] these privileges and we don't have them?

[1:37] Across town John Linder is trying to get

[1:40] to Congress and capitalizing on what he

[1:42] thinks now is a winning theme. When will

[1:44] they ever learn that they were elected

[1:46] to be servants, not rulers?

[1:50] Today was the Redbud Festival in East

[1:53] Texas. Good morning. How are you? Most

[1:56] of the crowd waved back at Charlie

[1:58] Wilson.

[1:59] But some were pleased their Congressman

[2:01] had bounced 85 checks. I don't think

[2:03] people will forget about it. Not

[2:05] tomorrow or the next day. Wilson says

[2:07] his congressional record will help him

[2:09] and didn't seem overly concerned.

[2:11] >> This lady up here said she's going to

[2:12] give me a rubber ball and I could bounce

[2:13] that for a while. In sharp contrast,

[2:16] Minnesota's Gerry Sikorski and wife

[2:18] Susan looked worried and beaten as they

[2:20] traveled to newspaper offices

[2:22] explaining how 600 checks went astray.

[2:25] This is not an excuse or blame or

[2:28] anything else. It's my responsibility.

[2:31] My name was on the account. I just was

[2:33] not careful on my bookkeeping. I mean

[2:36] I'm sort of a shoebox bookkeeper. And

[2:38] how was all of this playing in Peoria?

[2:40] If I did it uh

[2:42] you know, the bank would be all over my

[2:43] case.

[2:45] As the worst offenders are being

[2:47] identified, the reception back home

[2:49] could be much worse than for those who

[2:51] today were trying to limit the damage.

[2:53] Garrick, thank you, Henry Champ in

[2:55] Washington. And joining me now is

[2:56] Congressman Vic Fazio of California,

[2:58] chairman of the Democratic Congressional

[3:00] Campaign Committee. Good evening, sir.

[3:02] Difficult times.

[3:04] Uh first of all, a lot of people

[3:05] probably asking you, is your name on the

[3:06] list? No, I don't believe so, although

[3:08] there may be one that some uh people

[3:10] would indicate should be. I would

[3:12] dispute that I'd have any. All right.

[3:14] Now, uh it's a problem. Last election

[3:16] 96% of the House members, the incumbents

[3:19] who ran reelected. What is going to be

[3:20] the impact come November with the

[3:22] present membership? Well, we already

[3:24] anticipated with reapportionment and the

[3:26] economy in the shape it's in that this

[3:28] would not be a great year for

[3:29] incumbents. So, we anticipate with a

[3:31] number of retirements, perhaps 75 to 100

[3:34] members joining the Congress next

[3:36] January. But I wouldn't want to say that

[3:38] they're going to be all of one party or

[3:40] another. I would think that we're going

[3:41] to see them returning in about the

[3:43] numbers that each party has today. We

[3:45] may see some members of Congress

[3:47] deciding to retire if there's too much

[3:49] flak they're taking because of the check

[3:50] issue. But really,

[3:51] the checks are a symbol, aren't they?

[3:53] There's a lot of discontent about the

[3:55] alienation of Congress, the perks, the

[3:57] power. How do you deal with that? Well,

[3:58] I think you deal with it up close and

[4:00] personal. I think you lay out the facts.

[4:02] You be scrupulously honest and then you

[4:05] get back to work and do the things that

[4:06] people really sent you to Washington to

[4:08] do in the first place.

[4:10] Do you think the House leadership, the

[4:11] Democrats, were wise to try to limit the

[4:13] damage by limiting the number of names

[4:15] that were on the list that would be

[4:16] published? Now they've given in, they

[4:17] have to have them all come out. Well,

[4:18] you know, the Ethics Committee is uh

[4:20] made up of equal numbers of Republicans

[4:22] and Democrats and normally the

[4:24] leadership of both parties supports

[4:26] the people who do this very tough job

[4:28] for us. It became obvious

[4:30] that the Republican leaders were not

[4:32] going to be able to resist the uh

[4:33] demands of their backbenchers and so it

[4:36] became obvious that it was all going to

[4:37] come out and the leadership of both

[4:39] parties decided to let it sit out there

[4:42] and to trust the public to look at it

[4:44] fairly and objectively. I think we can

[4:46] trust the public and I'm convinced that

[4:48] they're going to treat members

[4:49] proportionately to the amount of abuse

[4:52] and and give people the benefit of the

[4:53] doubt when they've just had a few

[4:55] checks. Of course and we'll see what the

[4:57] uh result that the opinion of the public

[4:58] is come November. That's right. Thank

[5:00] you for being with us this evening.

[5:01] Thank you, Garrick. As we cover our

[5:03] world this day, we'll go next to Turkey

[5:05] hit hard by the earthquake there. And

[5:07] this evening on Focus we'll meet a judge

[5:09] in Memphis who is using creative

[5:11] sentencing to ease prison overcrowding

[5:13] and perhaps cut down on crime.

[5:17] Rebate. Rebate. Now is the best time to

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[5:32] People who hurt from arthritis are

[5:34] discovering a safer aspirin. Ecotrin. On

[5:37] a bad day I can take up to eight and not

[5:39] be concerned about irritating my

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[5:59] Ecotrin. And that's the truth.

[6:02] Call me a trendsetter, but I was eating

[6:04] Wheat Thins before people knew why they

[6:06] were baked and not fried. Now everybody

[6:08] knows who needs a greasy chip, right?

[6:10] Besides, Wheat Thins are delicious.

[6:13] Delicious is still in, isn't it?

[6:18] A mystery may have been solved, the

[6:20] 54-year-old mystery of the disappearance

[6:23] of Amelia Earhart, the most famous woman

[6:24] aviator ever. In 1937 Earhart set out to

[6:28] fly around the world. After completing

[6:30] more than two-thirds of the trip, the

[6:31] plane vanished in the South Pacific.

[6:33] Today the Houston Post reports that a

[6:34] team of searchers is set to announce

[6:36] that it's found a piece of the plane and

[6:38] a woman's shoe on a small uninhabited

[6:40] island there in the Pacific.

[6:43] Elsewhere today in Turkey it was a day

[6:45] of shock and aftershocks. The earthquake

[6:47] there was strong, 6.8 on the Richter

[6:49] scale. The toll is high, hundreds

[6:51] confirmed dead. The final toll could

[6:53] pass a thousand. Hardest hit was the

[6:55] city of Erzincan, 350 miles east of

[6:58] Ankara. And Dennis Murphy is in Turkey.

[7:02] The ground shook for 60 seconds and when

[7:05] it stopped, the city of Erzincan was in

[7:07] ruin.

[7:08] Authorities say a quarter of the

[7:10] buildings in this poor provincial city

[7:12] collapsed. Hundreds died. Untold others

[7:15] were believed pinned in the rubble.

[7:17] Rescue workers could hear their cries

[7:19] for help.

[7:20] 20 medical students are believed to be

[7:22] alive trapped inside their collapsed

[7:24] medical school.

[7:27] Workers pulled children from a shattered

[7:28] orphanage. The city's only hospital, two

[7:31] hotels and a police station are also

[7:33] reported flattened.

[7:35] Doctors put out a national appeal for

[7:37] blood.

[7:38] Ambulances wailed through streets of

[7:40] debris. Power and water supplies are

[7:42] gone. Temperatures below freezing.

[7:45] It was the biggest earthquake in 9 years

[7:47] here in northeast Turkey's earthquake

[7:49] belt.

[7:50] Witnesses said the shock waves, 6.8 on

[7:52] the Richter scale, rocked the city like

[7:54] a cradle. Roads cracked and at least one

[7:57] avalanche was reported.

[7:59] 4,000 tents and 15,000 blankets have

[8:02] been dispatched to the region.

[8:04] US military forces from the Incirlik

[8:06] airbase in southern Turkey are pitching

[8:08] in for the relief work. It's the second

[8:10] time this century that Erzincan has been

[8:12] destroyed by earthquake. In 1939 30,000

[8:15] people died there and the city was

[8:17] rebuilt. The Turkish Prime Minister is

[8:19] saying tonight, we face a major

[8:21] disaster.

[8:22] Dennis Murphy, NBC News, Ankara, Turkey.

[8:26] And now to something more agreeable. We

[8:28] have news tonight about health and food,

[8:29] about broccoli. Yes, broccoli. Evidence

[8:32] that what your parents told you is true.

[8:34] Eat your vegetables. They could help

[8:36] prevent cancer. Here's science

[8:38] correspondent Robert Bazell.

[8:41] In the research paper published today,

[8:43] Dr. Paul Talalay and his co-workers at

[8:45] Johns Hopkins identify a specific

[8:48] substance in broccoli that provides

[8:50] protection against cancer. It breaks

[8:52] down cancer-causing chemicals in the

[8:54] body.

[8:55] Our and intention now is to survey other

[9:00] vegetables and other items of human food

[9:04] for the presence of this

[9:07] substance and related substances.

[9:11] This study should allow health officials

[9:13] to tell people in even greater detail

[9:15] what foods protect against cancer.

[9:18] President Bush has made his views on

[9:20] broccoli quite clear. I do not like

[9:22] broccoli.

[9:24] And I haven't liked it since I was a

[9:25] little kid. And my mother made me eat

[9:28] it. And I'm president of the United

[9:30] States and I'm not going to eat any more

[9:31] broccoli. Now. But on this issue, many

[9:34] Americans do not follow the president's

[9:36] lead. Sales of broccoli are way up over

[9:39] the past 20 years. One big reason for

[9:42] this increasing popularity is the

[9:44] mounting evidence that eating broccoli

[9:46] and other leafy green vegetables

[9:48] substantially reduces the risk of

[9:50] cancer. Part of the reason for the

[9:51] protection is that vegetables replace

[9:53] fat in the diet and provide more fiber.

[9:56] But this latest research shows that

[9:58] vegetables have specific cancer-fighting

[10:00] compounds.

[10:02] The scientist doubt that the newly

[10:03] discovered substance will be available

[10:05] as an anti-cancer pill anytime soon. In

[10:08] the meantime, the advice remains the

[10:10] same. Eat a diet rich in vegetables,

[10:12] including broccoli.

[10:14] Robert Bazell, NBC News, New York.

[10:17] Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz

[10:20] has been in New York City this week

[10:21] trying to ease United Nations demands

[10:23] and pressure on his country. He didn't

[10:25] get very far, however. The UN called for

[10:27] full, final, and complete compliance

[10:30] with its call for the destruction of

[10:31] Iraq's war-making ability as set out of

[10:33] the cease-fire agreement. But Aziz said

[10:36] that Iraq is now ready to negotiate or

[10:38] renegotiate an agreement which would

[10:39] allow it to sell some of its oil in

[10:41] order to buy some food and medicine

[10:43] badly needed there. And yet, as I talked

[10:45] with Tariq Aziz today, it became clear

[10:47] that Iraq once again could be attaching

[10:49] conditions to its deal.

[10:51] We are ready to reach

[10:53] uh

[10:54] a correl-

[10:55] balanced

[10:57] agreement about that.

[10:59] If the United Nations or Security

[11:02] Council have any

[11:04] uh doubts about the transparency of

[11:08] of the deal, that

[11:11] whether Iraq is using the money

[11:13] to buy food or medicine or or arms as

[11:17] some people

[11:18] allege,

[11:20] well, there are uh

[11:22] many means, you see, to make it

[11:24] transparent. And how do you meet the UN

[11:26] demand that there is UN or international

[11:29] supervision as to how these humanitarian

[11:32] um efforts are being carried out in

[11:34] Iraq, that it is being used for food and

[11:36] >> of the business of of the United

[11:38] Nations. It's first of all the

[11:39] responsibility of the Iraqi government.

[11:41] But we are ready to reach

[11:44] arrangements

[11:45] with the Secretariat of the United

[11:47] Nations about making the whole

[11:50] uh operation transparent to the United

[11:53] Nations in the sense that

[11:55] where the oil goes,

[11:57] where the money comes from, where it is

[12:00] put, and how it's being used. Mr. Aziz,

[12:04] here we come back to the basic question

[12:06] again.

[12:08] The issue is who's calling the shots,

[12:11] the Iraqi government or the United

[12:13] Nations, right? We are not ready to

[12:17] accept a certain sort of a commission,

[12:21] say high commission colonial system,

[12:25] which is supreme to the uh of the

[12:30] legitimate Iraqi authorities.

[12:32] And I'll have more of that interview

[12:34] with Tariq Aziz tomorrow morning on

[12:36] Sunday today.

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[14:10] On Focus this evening, an issue facing

[14:12] our society, our courts. Is there a way

[14:15] to make a punishment fit a crime and

[14:17] serve as a real deterrent? Kemly Jones

[14:19] introduces us to a judge in Memphis.

[14:24] It's called reverse burglary.

[14:25] >> The Sheriff's Department. Instead of

[14:27] sending a convicted burglar to jail, the

[14:29] judge orders him to allow his victim to

[14:31] make several visits to the burglar's

[14:33] house to take items of equal value to

[14:36] those that were stolen.

[14:38] The burglar was home in this case, but

[14:39] he didn't want us inside.

[14:43] Okay. This was victim Prentice Robin's

[14:46] second visit to the burglar's house. He

[14:48] didn't find anything he particularly

[14:50] wanted this time, but last time he took

[14:52] this TV set and a stereo. It's a unique

[14:56] alternative to what's going on within

[14:58] the uh justice system now.

[15:00] What's going on is severe overcrowding.

[15:03] Tennessee is under court order to hold

[15:05] down its prison population.

[15:07] That's one reason why Criminal Court

[15:09] Judge Joe Brown has been handing out

[15:11] alternative sentences such as reverse

[15:14] burglary. It has a salutary effect, I

[15:16] think. It brings home hard to the

[15:18] defendant the consequences of his

[15:20] actions. It allows the victim to get a

[15:22] little bit back on his feet. The reverse

[15:24] burglary is

[15:26] uh

[15:27] retribution dressed up as restitution.

[15:30] That criticism doesn't bother Judge

[15:32] Brown.

[15:32] >> No, no, no. What's going on in your

[15:34] life? He advocates alternative

[15:36] sentencing, not just because prisons are

[15:38] overcrowded, but because he believes

[15:41] prison sentences are ineffective and

[15:43] misguided in many cases. You just never

[15:46] went back to see about getting returned

[15:48] to school, did you? No, sir. He could

[15:51] have sentenced Charles Vincent to 6

[15:53] years for aggravated robbery,

[15:55] but instead he put him on probation on

[15:57] the condition that he go back and finish

[15:59] school. I think you're fairly

[16:01] intelligent, and I don't want to lose

[16:03] your mind.

[16:04] He also ordered him to sweep the

[16:06] stairwells at the courthouse as a

[16:07] community service. I think you made a

[16:09] great choice in believing in me

[16:11] and giving me another chance.

[16:14] The judge has sentenced others to watch

[16:16] the movie Boys N the Hood Got any drugs

[16:18] or weapons on you? No. and write a

[16:20] report about the consequences of gang

[16:22] involvement.

[16:25] He puts drivers license violators to

[16:27] work washing police cars instead of

[16:29] behind bars. The Memphis Zoo figured in

[16:32] one of Judge Brown's most unusual

[16:34] sentences. He ordered a man to sit and

[16:36] stare into the gorilla cage to get an

[16:39] idea of what life in confinement is

[16:41] like.

[16:43] Ladies, how you doing?

[16:45] So many young men have done a few things

[16:47] a little wrong, and we've got them out

[16:49] here cleaning up. It's too early to tell

[16:51] whether Judge Brown's alternative

[16:53] sentences will reduce the number of

[16:55] repeat offenders,

[16:56] but the number almost certainly will be

[16:58] no greater than it is now for those who

[17:00] are given traditional prison terms. I

[17:03] want you to get nurtured and developed.

[17:05] Kemly Jones, NBC News, Memphis.

[17:08] New ideas there. In a moment, a Mafia

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[19:14] In New York today, an unusual Saturday

[19:16] session at the federal murder and

[19:18] racketeering trial of reputed Mafia boss

[19:20] John Gotti. John Miller was in the

[19:22] courtroom.

[19:23] Today, the jury in the Gotti trial saw

[19:25] FBI surveillance videotapes of John

[19:28] Gotti walking with Sammy Gravano.

[19:30] Gravano, then Gotti's right-hand man in

[19:33] the mob, dutifully held an umbrella over

[19:35] Gotti's head. Gotti was boss of the

[19:37] Gambino crime family. Sammy Bull was his

[19:40] underboss, but now he has a deal with

[19:43] prosecutors, and John Gotti's lawyers

[19:45] say they think Gravano actually believes

[19:48] he'll be forgiven for 19 murders in

[19:50] return for his testimony against John

[19:52] Gotti that he'll get off scot-free. One

[19:55] of the more startling statements, at

[19:57] least to my perception, was when Gravano

[20:02] admitted that the resulting sentence

[20:04] could be probation.

[20:07] But on the witness stand, Gravano gave

[20:09] the jury the whole picture of how he and

[20:12] John Gotti watched from a parked car as

[20:14] former mob boss Paul Castellano was

[20:16] gunned down. Many of the tapes dealt

[20:19] with murders. In one case, Gotti talks

[20:21] about the borgata or the family and how

[20:24] one man who may become an informant is

[20:26] too dangerous to let live.

[20:36] One of those who came to court each day

[20:38] to watch Gravano testify was Joey

[20:40] D'Angelo. After D'Angelo's own father

[20:43] was murdered in a gangland hit, Gravano

[20:45] took him in as his adopted son.

[20:48] I don't know why he's saying the things

[20:50] that he's saying,

[20:51] but uh

[20:54] he knows they're not true.

[20:55] And everybody who knows him knows what

[20:58] that they're not true. According to

[21:00] Gravano's deal with prosecutors, he

[21:01] faces a 20-year jail sentence, though

[21:04] they could go back later after his

[21:05] testimony and ask for a reduction. If

[21:08] John Gotti's convicted, it's nearly

[21:09] certain he'll spend the rest of his days

[21:12] in jail. John Miller, NBC News, New

[21:14] York.

[21:16] And time now to look at some of the

[21:17] stories that made news this past week.

[21:21] The Surgeon General declared war on Joe

[21:23] Camel. For kids, the symbol of Camel

[21:25] cigarettes is as familiar as Mickey

[21:27] Mouse, but RJ Reynolds says it's only

[21:30] targeting adults.

[21:31] Bo Jackson was a double threat on the

[21:33] playing field, football and baseball,

[21:35] until his injury. Now he'll have a hip

[21:37] replacement. He says he'll come back.

[21:41] The economy may be coming back. Retail

[21:43] sales picked up for a second month in a

[21:45] strong sign of recovery.

[21:47] And strong words from a former president

[21:49] about aid for democracy in Russia.

[21:52] Richard Nixon called President Bush's

[21:53] support so far "pathetically

[21:55] inadequate."

[21:57] Britain's Prime Minister John Major

[21:58] called a general election for next

[22:00] month. With Britain stuck in recession,

[22:02] his Conservative Party is in trouble.

[22:05] In this country, Tom Harkin saw

[22:07] continuing trouble for his campaign, and

[22:09] so he dropped out. Then on Super

[22:11] Tuesday, Bill Clinton established

[22:13] himself as the Democrat to beat. George

[22:16] Bush did very well, too, and sent Dan

[22:18] Quayle out to say so. Still, Pat

[22:20] Buchanan won't go away.

[22:24] And there was another significant vote

[22:26] on Super Tuesday. In Oklahoma, voters

[22:28] approved what may be the toughest

[22:29] anti-tax law in the nation. Here's NBC's

[22:32] Jim Cummins.

[22:34] The voters in Oklahoma, by a margin of

[22:36] 56 to 44%, have made it almost

[22:38] impossible for the state legislature to

[22:40] raise taxes without their approval.

[22:43] They've approved a constitutional

[22:44] amendment that says 3/4 of the state

[22:46] legislators must vote to approve any tax

[22:49] increase, and any tax increase approved

[22:51] by less than 3/4 of the legislators must

[22:54] be put up for a statewide vote before it

[22:56] can take effect. A state Senate leader

[22:58] in Oklahoma says such restrictions could

[23:00] be a disaster. Uh do you want to cut

[23:02] education? Do you want to cut the

[23:04] elderly? Do you want to cut children? Or

[23:06] do you want to turn prisoners loose? Or

[23:07] do you want to defer highways? Because

[23:09] that's where the money really goes. Uh

[23:13] Stratton Taylor's an idiot.

[23:15] Uh Stratton Taylor uh better grow up and

[23:17] realize that uh

[23:19] that he is not serving special

[23:20] interests. He's serving the taxpayer of

[23:22] the state of Oklahoma. And Stratton

[23:24] Taylor may very well find himself out of

[23:26] the job. Two years ago, this same group

[23:28] led the fight for term limits on

[23:29] lawmakers. That campaign spread to other

[23:32] states. This one could, too. The

[23:33] Oklahoma vote signals a new attitude

[23:35] among taxpayers, and that is we can't

[23:37] trust politicians to promise not to

[23:40] raise our taxes. Taxpayers in Colorado

[23:42] claim to have collected more than

[23:44] 140,000 signatures on petitions to put a

[23:47] tax limitation proposal on the ballot in

[23:49] November. These signatures represent

[23:53] cries for help

[23:55] and cries of outrage by

[23:58] the citizens of Colorado. In Arizona,

[24:01] Governor Fife Symington joined the

[24:02] revolt by signing petitions to limit

[24:04] taxes in that state. This stampede to

[24:06] limit taxes worries the superintendent

[24:09] of schools in Oklahoma. I don't think

[24:11] we'll have any short-term problems, but

[24:13] I do think in a few years, if growth

[24:16] continues, if some of the other factors

[24:19] in our national economy continue to

[24:21] spiral, we will have serious problems.

[24:24] As the anti-tax fever spreads from state

[24:26] to state, an official with the National

[24:28] Taxpayers Union says the ultimate aim of

[24:30] this campaign is to limit the power of

[24:32] Congress to raise federal taxes.

[24:35] Jim Cummins, NBC News.

[24:38] And this matrimonial note of the day,

[24:39] Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy is

[24:41] getting married to a Washington lawyer,

[24:43] Victoria Reggie. He is 60, she is 38.

[24:47] And we write that.

[24:58] Thank you for a lovely dinner.

[25:00] Aren't you going to ask me in?

[25:04] For coffee? Well,

[25:07] I do have Taster's Choice.

[25:09] Then how can I refuse?

[25:12] Savor the sophisticated taste of

[25:14] Taster's Choice.

[25:17] Well, just one more cup?

[25:19] Uh

[25:20] you uh said that two cups ago.

[25:23] You know how much I love your coffee.

[25:26] Then,

[25:28] by all means,

[25:30] take it with you.

[25:43] This is the day I will never forget.

[25:45] Think of that your daydreams

[25:48] and what you would do

[25:50] if you won 10 million

[25:53] out of

[25:54] the blue.

[25:55] Oh my god!

[25:57] Miracles can happen, can happen

[26:00] for you.

[26:03] Publishers Clearing House,

[26:04] the house

[26:05] where dreams come

[26:07] true.

[26:10] It's nothing serious. It only wakes me

[26:11] up a couple of times a week.

[26:14] It really doesn't affect me. I avoid

[26:16] foods that are fried or spicy.

[26:19] I can deal with it. I just take

[26:21] antacids. If you have frequent heartburn

[26:23] symptoms like acid indigestion or

[26:24] burning in the chest, talk to your

[26:26] doctor. These may be signs of a serious

[26:28] medical problem. Your doctor has

[26:30] treatment plans that can help. It's only

[26:32] a heartburn. I should learn to live with

[26:34] it.

[26:35] Right? Frequent heartburn, isn't it time

[26:38] you talked to your doctor?

[26:40] And finally this evening, George Bush

[26:42] lashes out. He goes for Pat Buchanan's

[26:45] jugular. You say you missed that? True,

[26:47] the president has been remarkably kind

[26:49] and gentle in dealing with his

[26:50] Republican opponent. It's said he does

[26:52] not want to offend Buchanan's

[26:54] conservative supporters come November.

[26:56] But now, in Michigan, the presidential

[26:58] gloves have come off, and the Bush

[27:00] campaign has made its most personal

[27:02] attack against Buchanan, a TV commercial

[27:04] charging him with driving

[27:06] a Mercedes.

[27:08] The president, of course, could attack

[27:09] Buchanan for his use of the America

[27:11] First theme with its discredited echoes

[27:13] from the past. He could ask his opponent

[27:15] how his call for greater isolationism

[27:17] would exactly strengthen our standing in

[27:19] the world. And he could directly

[27:21] challenge the racial and ethnic

[27:22] attitudes evident in Pat Buchanan's view

[27:25] of the changing complexion of the United

[27:27] States, what Buchanan once called,

[27:28] quote, "a multicultural landfill."

[27:31] The president could do that, but

[27:33] doesn't. Instead, he attacks Buchanan

[27:35] for driving a Mercedes.

[27:37] Now, in the home state of GM, Ford, and

[27:39] Chrysler, that may earn him some

[27:41] political mileage, but does it add to

[27:43] presidential stature or the sense of a

[27:45] strong, confident leader?

[27:47] And truth be told, the Bush commercial

[27:50] does not do full justice to Pat

[27:52] Buchanan's taste for cars.

[27:54] Yes, he drives a Mercedes,

[27:56] but he also owns a Cadillac.

[27:59] And that's our look at our world this

[28:00] day. Join us tomorrow morning for Sunday

[28:02] Today, followed by Meet the Press. I'm

[28:04] Garrick Utley. Good night for NBC News.