Morning Show Wrap

NEW YORK, Oct. 18, 2004 — --

A product of Noted Now and The Note

Evening Newscasts Wrap

Bush communications director Nicolle Devenish called Kerry's attacks over the flu vaccine shortage a "very sad, grasping message, ripped from the headlines."

"He is seeing a very real slide in the polls," Devenish said. "He's in free fall," she said at another point.

Kerry communications director Stephanie Cutter was asked about the "January Surprise" and started her answer by saying: "We only know what we read in the papers."

When asked about the RNC's denial that Bush used the word "privatize" as Ron Suskind claims based on second-hand accounts in the New York Times Magazine, Cutter, echoing an argument Bob Shrum made on a conference call with reporters yesterday, said that although the Bush campaign is disputing whether Bush used the word "privatize," the Bush campaign, according to Cutter, is "not denying that they are looking at privatizing Social Security."

When the FNC anchor said that the private retirement accounts do not have to result in a reduction in benefits for senior citizens, Cutter asked, "Who pays for it? Two trillion dollars?" Cutter said taxpayers will end up paying for it.

Cutter leveled very explicit allegations about Bush and the draft saying that Bush's foreign policy has prevented international involvement in Iraq and that as a result "there is no way" for Bush to carry out his foreign policy "other than to reinstate the draft."

Asked where Kerry would get the flu vaccine, Cutter pointed to Canada and, more generally, said Kerry would have acted faster when he received warnings about a coming shortage.

ABC dedicated the majority of its first 10 minutes to flu vaccine shortage, including in Dan Harris a package about Kerry, an interview with the Director of the CDC, and a live shot of a long line outside a vaccine center in New Jersey.

Asked about Kerry's accusation that the vaccine shortage could have been prevented, CDC Director Julie Louise Gerberding did not respond directly, saying "The companies are not making the money they need to make… What we need to do is expand our stockpiles… and that's exactly what we've been doing the last two years." Gerberding declined to call the shortage a crisis, calling it instead a "very serious concern." ABC showed live picture of a long line of people waiting for flu shots in New Jersey during the interview. The CDC Director was also on CBS and CNN.

ABC's Dan Harris on Kerry: "Look for him to keep hammering away" on flu vaccine shortage.

NBC's Carl Quintanilla wrapped Kerry's Sunday Social Security attack, he previewed Bush's New Jersey speech and he looked at the start of early voting.

CBS' Bill Plante included the Chicago Tribune's endorsement of the President and the New York Times' endorsement of the Sen. Kerry. Plante also included sound from former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani saying "President Bush has had to invent Homeland Security."

ABC's Kate Snow looked at Bush's plans to campaign in New Jersey today. Bush spokesperson Jennifer Millerwise said New Jersey is one of several Blue states that looks favorable to Bush. Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill called it a head-fake. Snow reported that the big-three states are Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania. She said Kerry advisors think he needs two of the three to win the election. Bush advisors say he can win with just one of those three. She then looked at additional states in the Upper Midwest that voted fore Gore that Bush is hoping to pick off.

ABC's Jake Tapper demonstrated how to "de-hang" a chad as part of a broader demonstration of different types of traditional and electronic voting methods.