To the Point
Presidential Election 2004
All day, all over the country, Americans have been lining up to cast their ballots. Ohioans went to bed last night after two federal judges ruled against Republican plans to challenge voters inside polling places, but when they got up this morning, they found that an appeals court over-ruled those decisions, and that the Democrats had failed to get the US Supreme Court to intervene. In Pennsylvania, precinct workers claimed a machine had registered votes before the polls were open, and in Colorado, a ballot measure could delay the results nationwide. We hear how election officials are struggling with new rules and procedures amid a massive turnout. As voting officials struggle with new rules and procedures, we go to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado and other states where American-style democracy is being put to the test. Making News: More from the bin Laden Tape The Arabic-language TV network AlJazeera has released the full transcript of last week-s videotape from Osama bin Laden. It says that the long-term goal of al Qaeda is to -bleed America to the point of bankruptcy.- Fawez Gerges, author and professor of Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College, says that bin Laden offers a special thanks to President Bush for helping the terrorist network become a factor in the America political process. Reporter's Notebook: TV News' Election Projection Blunders In 2000, TV networks raised questions about their own credibility by projecting victory for Gore, then for Bush, before admitting the results were too close to call. After the historic debacle, network officials were dragged before congressional hearings to explain what went wrong. Many blamed Voter News Service, which they all used to get basic information. Now that-s been replaced by the National Election Pool. Former news director Scott Libin and Bob Thompson of the Center for the Study of Popular Television discuss what we can expect as the polls close this evening.
By Warren Olney • • 1h 0m ListenAll day, all over the country, Americans have been lining up to cast their ballots. Ohioans went to bed last night after two federal judges ruled against Republican plans to challenge voters inside polling places, but when they got up this morning, they found that an appeals court over-ruled those decisions, and that the Democrats had failed to get the US Supreme Court to intervene. In Pennsylvania, precinct workers claimed a machine had registered votes before the polls were open, and in Colorado, a ballot measure could delay the results nationwide. We hear how election officials are struggling with new rules and procedures amid a massive turnout. As voting officials struggle with new rules and procedures, we go to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado and other states where American-style democracy is being put to the test.
More from the bin Laden Tape
The Arabic-language TV network AlJazeera has released the full transcript of last week-s videotape from Osama bin Laden. It says that the long-term goal of al Qaeda is to -bleed America to the point of bankruptcy.- Fawez Gerges, author and professor of Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College, says that bin Laden offers a special thanks to President Bush for helping the terrorist network become a factor in the America political process.
TV News' Election Projection Blunders
In 2000, TV networks raised questions about their own credibility by projecting victory for Gore, then for Bush, before admitting the results were too close to call. After the historic debacle, network officials were dragged before congressional hearings to explain what went wrong. Many blamed Voter News Service, which they all used to get basic information. Now that-s been replaced by the National Election Pool. Former news director Scott Libin and Bob Thompson of the Center for the Study of Popular Television discuss what we can expect as the polls close this evening.