To the Point

Saddam Arraigned in Iraqi Court

Television viewers in Iraq and the rest of the world might have expected a -perp walk,- with a downcast prisoner paraded before the cameras in handcuffs. Instead, they saw a carefully dressed, well-groomed man who declared himself the President of Iraq, and who lectured a young Iraqi judge about the legitimacy of the proceedings against him. Lecturing a young Iraqi judge about the law, Saddam Hussein said -This is all theater.- -The real criminal is Bush.- With charges against him not yet finalized, and the proceedings themselves still being developed, there is much more to come. What are the prospects for future court proceedings? What-s the reaction from the Iraqi people? Warren Olney speaks with journalists in Baghdad and Sulaimaniya, and an international jurist from the Organization of American States. Reporter-s Notebook: Opposition Research Alexander Hamilton was called an adulterer; Thomas Jefferson was accused of having an affair with a black African slave. Since then, the art of negative campaigning has been refined and professionalized, backed up by what's called -opposition research.- We hear from journalists, an opposition researcher, pollster and consultant to the 2000 Gore presidential campaign about how the practice has been refined for Bush-Kerry election of 2004.