Morning Show Wrap

NEW YORK, Oct. 29, 2004 — -- A product of Noted Now and The Note

BREMER ON NBC:

While being interviewed on "Today," Bremer latched onto the Pentagon's satellite image saying that the "Pentagon released some pictures yesterday that showed trucks outside of bunkers." Bremer added that "there was about a month where Saddam may have" removed the explosives. NBC's Matt Lauer wasn't buying it. He pointed to the ABC affiliate video shot April 18th which shows the explosives were in Iraq when the troops arrived but that they were left unguarded perhaps, Lauer suggested, because the troops were obsessed with finding weapons of mass destruction and were not focused on the more conventional explosives. Bremer accused Kerry of jumping to conclusions when his own top advisor (Richard Holbrooke) said we don't know what happened.

EDWARDS ON CBS:

CBS' Hannah Storm offered John Edwards a bagful of softballs on the "Early Show," to which Edwards answered on message.On the missing explosives: "Regardless of the timing when they disappeared… we know the President was supposed to secure them, and he didn't." On Giuliani's statement that "the actual responsibility for [the explosives] really would be for the troops that were there": "If they believe the blame is with the troops, then he should show us the order, President Bush should show the order he gave… my belief and Sen. Kerry's belief is that the troops did all they can do."On FBI's criminal investigation into Halliburton: "I think it's just a long pattern of favoritism that this administration shows to their friends."

CLINTON ON ABC:

"Good Morning America" included sound from Diane Sawyer's interviews with Bill and Hillary Clinton. Sen. Clinton described the night before the former President's surgery, saying the family played Upwords, boggle, between "long conversations with Sen. Kerry about the campaign" and chats with friends. "It was a little surreal because he was so sure – Bill has never been afraid of death," Sen. Clinton said. Immediately after the surgery, the President was "so blissful, those first few hours, particularly right after I got to see them. He kept holding Chelsea's and my hands, telling him how much he loved us… I will cherish those memories forever," Sen. Clinton said.

WRAPS: THE OTHERS:

NBC's Norah O'Donnell touched on Schwarzenegger in Ohio, Cheney going to Hawaii.NBC's Kelly O'Donnell highlighted Edwards going after Giuliani for comments he made on "Today" they day before. She said today Kerry will boil the race down to a few big choices. She said it would be his last formal speech and that he will then shift into high rally mode. Alex Kerry is also going to Hawaii. Springsteen was called "the working man's rock star."

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL:

CBS' Jim Acosta wrapped Thursday and said the attacks over the 380 tons of missing explosives has helped Kerry.

CBS' Bill Plante said the explosives story has "bedeviled the campaign and kept it off message all week" and wrapped the Halliburton story into his package.

RUSSERT ON NBC:

NBC's Tim Russert said we didn't see Bush pull away this week and we didn't see Kerry surge. He suggested people might make up their minds on Sunday. He summed up Bush's argument as being that the US has "already found 400000 tons" and that "if we had not gone after Saddam we wouldn't have" the 300,000 Kerry is now complaining about. Russert called it a very serious issue because the explosives could be used by the insurgency or could have been taken to Syria or Iran and could be used against commercial aircraft. Russert came down against Giuliani, saying that Bush's strategy had been to say Kerry doesn't support the troops but that the President's own surrogate said it was not the President, it was the troops yesterday. Russert said the Bush camp is hoping that possible wins in Michigan, Wisconsin and Hawaii can make up for possible losses in Ohio and Florida. Russert said that in a race as close as this one – when Florida was decided by 500+ votes last time and New Mexico was decided by 300+ votes, an extra 1,200 or 2,000 votes generated by a concert could make a difference. He said there were signs at the Springsteen event in Madison yesterday saying "follow me" and that there is "evidence that thousands of people" voted yesterday.

MILLERWISE V. CLINTON:

Jennifer Millerwise tiffed with Chad Clanton on "American Morning" and was admonished by Soledad O'Brien for saying that Kerry was attacking the troops over the missing explosives.