Morning Show Wrap, by ABC News Political Unit

ByABC News
September 14, 2004, 9:37 AM

N E W Y O R K, September 13, 2004 &#151;<br> -- A product of Noted Now and The Note

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The morning shows led with blanket Ivan coverage.

KITTY KELLEY:

As a segue to the interview NBC's Matt Lauer takes a brief look back at author Kitty Kelley's career, noting "her credibility has often been called into question." Kelley thanks Matt for having her own saying "I know the WH put great pressure on NBC and the network and you not to have me on." Lauer says the book is 99% negative to which Kelley says "I think its 99% realistic. All it does is lift the blinders." She says this is not a partisan book but there are "relevant themes here."

Lauer asks Kelley about the story on page 266, where she alleges that 43 did drugs at Camp David. Kelley says it's serious because the President says he wasn't doing drugs at the time. She says her sources for this were Sharon Bush and one unnamed source. She says she learned of all this information during a lunch with Sharon Bush and her publicist, which she did not tape record because she says "what is better than a witness?"

Lauer says Dan Bartlett, speaking on behalf of the President, says these allegations are an outright lie. Kelley responds: "Look what they did to Richard Clarke. Look what they did to Paul O'Neil." Lauer then teases another interview with Kelley tomorrow morning.

NBC's Matt Lauer sits down with Sharon Bush to discuss the allegations in Kitty Kelley's book. Bush says she never saw the use of cocaine and is "sticking by it." Bush says she was stunned when Kelley mentioned her as a source for the drug allegation. She details how she was courted by Kelley, saying she thought Kelley was going to help her and at the time she was looking for work. She says she is currently talking to a lawyer about possibly taking legal action. Finally, when asked about her relationship with 43, Bush says prior to her estrangement from the family "it was great. He was a funny entertaining guy."

GMA's "Politics Uncensored" showcased Claire Shipman's look at Kitty Kelley's "literary bombshell." Shipman reports the book consists of "700 pages of intimate details, not always flattering" of President Bush and the Bush family just a mere 50 days before the election. Shipman claims the "most stunning allegation" in the tome is that President Bush used cocaine at Camp David when his father was president. However, this is sourced to Sharon Bush in the book who has since said she did not say that to Ms. Kelley at their four hour lunch. "Most details aren't new," reports Shipman and the book's political impact is still not entirely clear.