The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

[Tone] [Lehrer]: Good evening from Washington. I'm Jim Lehrer. Welcome to this special edition of the NewsHour. You are looking at a live picture of the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington where in just a few moments, President Bush will address a joint session of Congress. His purpose is to rally the Congress and the nation behind his responses to the hijacked airliner attacks last week in New York and Washington. Some 6,800 people are now dead

or missing from those assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and in the crash of a fourth airliner in Pennsylvania. The president speaks on a day when Afghanistan's leading Islamic clerics urged Osama bin Laden to leave the country voluntarily. The United States rejected that statement as inadequate. 2200 Marines left Camp Lejune, North Carolina, headed for the Mediterranean and Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan said he was confident about an economic recovery but he cautioned Congress to go slow on new stimulus measures. In the nine days since the terrible events of September 11th, President Bush has talked to the nation from the Oval Office, visited the damaged Pentagon side and the ruins of the World Trade Center and met with survivors and victims families all the while working publicly and privately to gather international support for a sustained war against terrorism. And tonight he will lay out that case to Congress and to the nation. Shields and Brooks will be with me this evening, that syndicated columnist

Mark Shields and The Weekly Standards, David Brooks. Mark, what is the president's mission tonight as you see? [Shields]: I think the president's mission, Jim, is to reassure the American people to reestablish confidence. I think fear is the the overlying emotion that's dominant in the country right now. [Lehrer]: There of course is the is the first lady. You will see there that is Speaker Hastert on the left there on the podium on the right is Senator Byrd who's the president pro tempore of the Senate. The vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney, will not be there tonight. This is the first time in history that a vice president has not been presiding over a, have not been present for a joint session of Congress. The president of the United States. Here we go. President has arrived. [applause] There's the president already surrounded by members of Congress on both sides. David, that was a quick entry by the president. Usually there is a slight delay from the time that

these matters go on air and the time the president actually arrives. This is a very little time this time. Right behind him on the president's right is Tom Daschle, the senate majority leader, Democrat of South Dakota. Senator Mikulski of Maryland, also a Democrat. The Democratic Senator from New York, Senior Senator from New York. There's members of Cabinet, Secretary of State, Powell there, clapping. We just see his hands. Members of the Supreme Court, there's Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Justice Breyer, General Shelton, General of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff, the outgoing chairman. There's their back to us, the coming out of the Marine Corps, General Jones. Much history for presidential addresses to joint sessions of Congress and times of turmoil, going back to, of course, Franklin Roosevelt, investing in the Congress on December 8th after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Mark. [Mark]: It is, Jim. It's almost unprecedented in the sense of unity that I think in the country. I mean, even then, the misgivings about the United States plunging into the World War against Germany and Japan. [Lehrer]: He will see when the shots go up to the picture goes up to the balcony where Mrs. Bush is. On Mrs. Bush's right, it will be Tony Blair. You will

see eventually who is the, obviously, the Crown. There is Major Giuliani of New York City. A man who has been widely praised for his conduct and leadership in the wake of this tragedy in his city. Governor Pataki of New York is also up there with Mrs. Bush. As is Governor Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, there is the Prime Minister of Great Britain. There are also many members of the New York Police Department and Fire Department. Here we go. [Hastert]: Presenting to you the President of the United States. [Bush]: Mr. Speaker, Mr. President Pro Temporary, Members of Congress, and fellow Americans.

In the normal course of events, presidents come to this chamber to report on the State of the Union. Tonight, no such report is needed. It has already been delivered by the American people. We have seen it in the courage of passengers who rushed terrorists to save others on the ground. Passengers like an exceptional man named Todd Beemer. Would you please help me welcome his wife, Lisa Beemer, here tonight. [applause] We have seen the state of our union in the endurance of rescuers working past exhaustion.

We have seen the unfurling of flags, the lighting of candles, the giving of blood, the saying of prayers in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. We have seen the decency of loving and giving people who have made the grief of strangers their own. My fellow citizens, for the last nine days, the entire world has seen for itself the state of our union, and it is strong. [applause] Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom.

Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done. [applause] I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time. All of America was touched on the evening of the tragedy to see Republicans and Democrats join together on the steps of this Capitol, singing God Bless America. And you did more than sing. You acted by delivering $40 billion to rebuild our communities

and meet the needs of our military. Speaker Hastert, minority leader Gephardt, majority leader Daschle, and Senator Lot. I thank you for your friendship, for your leadership, and for your service to our country. [applause] And on behalf of the American people, I thank the world for its outpouring of support. America will never forget the sounds of our national anthem playing at Buckingham Palace on the streets of Paris and at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. We will not forget South Korean children gathering to pray outside our embassy in Seoul or the prayers of sympathy offered at a mosque in Cairo. We will not forget moments of silence in days of mourning in Australia and

Africa, in Latin America. Nor will we forget the citizens of 80 other nations who died with our own. Dozens of Pakistanis, more than 130 Israelis, more than 250 citizens of India, men and women from El Salvador, Iran, Mexico, and Japan, and hundreds of British citizens. America has no truer friend than Great Britain. [applause] Once again, we are joined together in a great cause,

so honored that British Prime Minister has crossed an ocean to show his unity with America. Thank you for coming, friend. [applause] On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country. Americans have known wars, but for the past 136 years, they have been wars on foreign soil, except for one Sunday in 1941. Americans have known the casualties of war, but not at the center of a great city on a peaceful morning.

Americans have known surprise attacks, but never before, on thousands of civilians. All of this was brought upon us in a single day, and night fell on a different world. A world where freedom itself is under attack. Americans have many questions tonight. Americans are asking, who attacked our country? The evidence we have gathered all points to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al-Qaeda. They are some of the murderers indicted for bombing American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, and responsible for bombing the USS Cole. Al-Qaeda is to terror what the mafia is to crime, but its goal is not making money. Its goal is remaking the world, and imposing its radical beliefs on people everywhere. The terrorist practice of fringe form of

Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars, and the vast majority of Muslim clerics, a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam. The terrorist directive commands them to kill Christians and Jews, to kill all Americans, and make no distinctions among military and civilians, including women and children. This group and its leader, a person named Osama bin Laden, are linked to many other organizations in different countries, including the Egyptian Islamic jihad, and the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan. There are thousands of these terrorists in more than 60 countries. They are recruited from their own nations and neighborhoods, and brought to camps in places like Afghanistan, where they are trained in the tactics of terror. They are sent back to their homes or sent to hide in countries around

the world to plot evil and destruction. The leadership of al-Qaeda has great influence in Afghanistan, and supports the Taliban regime in controlling most of that country. In Afghanistan, we see al-Qaeda's vision for the world. Afghanistan's people have been brutalized, many are starving, and many have fled. Women are not allowed to attend school. You can be jailed for owning a television. Religion can be practiced only as their leaders dictate. A man can be jailed in Afghanistan if his beard is not long enough. The United States respects the people of Afghanistan. After all, we are currently its largest source of humanitarian aid. But we condemn the Taliban regime. [applause] It is not only repressing its own people, it is threatening people everywhere,

by sponsoring and sheltering and supplying terrorists. By aiding and abetting murder, the Taliban regime is committing murder. And tonight, the United States of America makes the following demands on the Taliban. Deliver to the United States authorities all the leaders of al-Qaeda who hide in your land. [applause] Release all foreign nationals, including American citizens, you have unjustly imprisoned, protect foreign journalists, diplomats, and aid workers in your

country, close immediately and permanently every terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, and hand over every terrorist and every person in their support structure to appropriate authorities. [applause] Give the United States full access to terrorist training camps so we can make sure they are no longer operating. These demands are not open to negotiation or discussion. [applause] The Taliban must act and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists or they will

share in their fate. I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It is practiced freely by many millions of Americans and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah. [applause] The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying and affect a hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends. It is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists and every government that supports them. [applause] Our war on terror begins with al-Qaeda,

but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated. [applause] Americans are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what they see right here in this chamber, a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms, our freedom of religion,

our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote, and assemble, and disagree with each other. They want overthrow existing governments in many Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. They want to drive Israel out of the Middle East. They want to drive Christians and Jews out of vast regions of Asia and Africa. These terrorists kill not merely to end lives, but to disrupt and end a way of life. With every atrocity they hope that America grows fearful, retreating from the world and forsaking our friends. They stand against us because we stand in their way. We are not deceived by their pretenses to piety. We have seen their kind before. They are the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century

by sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions. By abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism, and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies. [applause] Americans are asking, how will we fight and win this war? We will direct every resource at our command, every means of diplomacy,

every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network. Now this war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion. It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat. Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to

place until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation and every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. [applause] From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.

Our nation has been put on notice. We're not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans. Today, dozens of federal departments and agencies, as well as state and local governments, have responsibilities affecting homeland security. These efforts must be coordinated at the highest level. So, tonight, I announce the creation of a cabinet level position, reporting directly to me, the Office of Homeland Security. And tonight, I also announce a distinguished American to lead this effort, to strengthen American security, a military veteran, an effective governor, a true patriot, a trusted friend, Pennsylvania's Tom Ridge. [applause] He will lead, oversee, and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to safeguard our country

against terrorism and respond any attacks that may come. These measures are essential. The only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows. [applause] Many will be involved in this effort, from FBI agents to intelligence operatives to the reservists we have called to active duty. All deserve our thanks, and all have our prayers. And tonight, a few miles from the damaged Pentagon, I have a message for our military. Be ready. I have called the Armed Forces to alert. And there is a reason. The hour is coming when America will act, and you will make us proud. [applause] This is not however just America's fight, and what is its stake is not just America's freedom.

This is the world's fight. This is civilization's fight. This is the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom. We ask every nation to join us. We will ask and we will need the help of police forces, intelligence service, and banking systems around the world. The United States is grateful that many nations and many international organizations have already responded with sympathy and with support. Nations from Latin America to Asia to Africa to Europe to the Islamic world. Perhaps the NATO charter reflects best the attitude of the world. An attack on one is an attack on all. The civilized world is rallying to America's side. They understand that if this terror goes

unpunished, their own cities, their own citizens may be next. Terror unanswered cannot only bring down buildings. It can threaten the stability of legitimate governments. And you know what? And we're not going to allow it. [applause] Americans are asking what is expected of us. I ask you to live your lives and hug your children. I know many citizens have fears tonight and I ask you to be calm and resolute, even in the face of a continuing threat. I ask you to pull the values of America and remember

why so many have come here. We're in a fight for our principles and our first responsibility is to live by them. No one should be singled out for unfair treatment or unkind words because of their ethnic background or religious faith. [applause] I ask you to continue to support the victims of this tragedy with your contributions. Those who want to give can go to a central source of information, libertyunites.org, to find the names of groups providing direct help in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The thousands of FBI agents who are now at work in this investigation may need your cooperation. And I ask you to give it. I ask for your patience with the delays and inconveniences that may accompany tighter security and for your patience and what will be a long struggle. I ask your continued participation and confidence in the American economy. Terrorists attacked a symbol of American prosperity. They did not touch its source. America's success will because of the hard work and creativity and enterprise of our people. These were the true strengths of our economy before September 11th and they are our strengths today. [applause] And finally, please continue praying for the victims of terror and their families,

for those in uniform and for our great country. Prayer has comfort us in sorrow and will help strengthen us for the journey ahead. Tonight I thank my fellow Americans for what you have already done and for what you will do. And ladies and gentlemen of the Congress, I thank you, their representatives, for what you have already done and for what we will do together. Tonight we face new and sudden national challenges. We will come together to improve air safety, to dramatically expand the number of air marshals on domestic flights and take new measures to prevent hijacking. We will come together to promote stability and keep our airlines flying with direct assistance during this emergency. [applause] We will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools it needs to track down terror here at home. [applause]

We will come together to strengthen our intelligence capabilities to know the plans of terrorists before they act and to find them before they strike. [applause] We will come together to take active steps to strengthen America's economy and put our people back to work. Tonight we welcome two leaders who embody the extraordinary spirit of all New Yorkers, Governor George Pataki and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. [applause] As a symbol of America's resolve, my administration will work with Congress

and these two leaders to show the world that we will rebuild New York City. [applause] After all that has just passed, all the lives taken and all the possibilities and hopes that died with them, it is natural to wonder if America's future is one of fear.

Some speak of an age of terror. I know there are struggles ahead and dangers to face, but this country will define our times, not be defined by them. As long as the United States of America is determined and strong, this will not be an age of terror. This will be an age of liberty here and across the world. [applause] Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. In our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment. Freedom and fear are at war. The advance of human freedom,

the great achievement of our time and the great hope of every time now depends on us. Our nation, this generation, will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future. We will rally the world to this cause by our efforts, by our courage. We will not tire, we will not falter and we will not fail. [applause] It is my hope that in the months and years ahead life will return almost to normal.

We will go back to our lives and routines and that is good. Even grief recedes with time and grace. But our resolve must not pass. Each of us will remember what happened that day and to whom it happened. Remember the moment the news came where we were and what we were doing. Some will remember an image of a fire or a story of rescue. Some will carry memories of a face and a voice gone forever. And I will carry this. It is the police shield of a man named George Howard who died at the World Trade Center trying to save others. It was given to me by his mom, Arlene, as a proud memorial to her son. It is my reminder of lives that ended in a task that does not end. [applause] I will not forget the wound to our country and those who inflicted it. I will not yield,

I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people. The course of this conflict is not known yet its outcome is certain. Freedom and fear, justice and cruelty have always been at war and we know that God is not neutral between them. Fellow citizens. [applause] Fellow citizens, we will meet violence with patient justice, assured of the rightness of our cause and confident

of the victories to come. And all that lies before us may God grant us wisdom and may he watch over the United States of America. [applause] [Lehrer]: And there we have it, speech to the joint session of Congress by President George W. Bush. David Brooks and Mark Shields are here. David, I would think this was not only the most important speech obviously of his young presidency, but one of the more important speeches of anybody's presidency thus far in history. Would you not agree? [Brooks]: And one of his best. I thought it stands with the great qualm starts in American history.

I thought the word I would use to describe is inevitability. It is as if there is a tide wave of coming to the Taliban and those who supported. And that wave was just inevitable. [Lehrer]: There he is being greeted by the leaders of the Senate. There is Tom Daschle on the left. I mean, Trent Locke. General Shelton. Dick Gephardt. President spoke for just under 35 minutes. 23 standing ovations. There's the members of the Supreme Court. The president works his way out. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Chief Justice Rehnquist. Secretary of State Powell. Secretary of Treasury O'Neill. Secretary Rumsfeld. Then Secretary. Those are the people who are going to be running things, running this campaign. The president outlined. Senator Craig. Senator Nichols just spoke from Oklahoma, just behind the president.

Senator Schumer of New York. Getting a pat on the cheek. Corzine of New Jersey. The man just behind the president is a man we've seen many times. In the last several days he is the president's number one secret service agent who is the man who's always the closest to the president. I saw him there, you know, with the market, the World Trade Center site, the Pentagon site. He's always there, same young man. Members of the House, there's

[ongoing applause] [Brooks]: I believe it was just nine months ago with the Florida and all that. [Lehrer]: Mark, what did you, what's your immediate reaction to the speech and what the president said? [Shields]: I thought Jim that there wasn't a false note in the speech. I thought that the president reflected the country who is in perfect sync. I thought with the country that he got the line in particular he said that our grief has turned to anger and our anger to resolution. I thought he spoke for the nation there. It was obviously a far more serious and somber president. We've seen at previous events, several more events where the state of the union. He certainly had an interesting task in the sense that he had, everyone knew what had happened. And he explained who did it, where they were, and why they did it, and what was going to be done. And I thought that was the task he took on.

And he was quite unequivocal in the sense of, you're either with us or you're against us. I mean, this isn't World War II, where Latin America sits it out or selected European countries sit it out. [Lehrer]: And when he made his demands to the Taliban, he said they're not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban must act and act immediately. They will hand over the terrorists, so they will share in their fate. That's [inaudible] [Shields]: That laid out there. After he said I condemned the Taliban regime. I mean, so it was not like he was expecting positive negotiations. [Lehrer]: Right, absolutely. The Taliban, of course, is expected, or the clerics asked the Taliban rulers to invite Osama bin Laden to leave Afghanistan. And of course the president said, or his spokesman said today that it wasn't good enough. And if anybody thought there was any doubt about that, the president laid that to rest. And one thing, in a few moments, traditionally in these kinds of situations, the opposition party gives a response. But tonight, the two top Senate leaders have asked everyone for the time just to give what they are calling a unity message.

In a few minutes, we will go to Senate Majority Leader Daschle and Senate Minority Leader Lott, who will speak together here. It will be in another, in about a minute or so. You know, the kinds of things that the lines that will be remembered from this speech, you said, David, is there any particular line? I underline so many here that and they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies. That got probably the biggest and loudest ovation of the evening that it not he was talking about the people who committed these terrible acts. [Brooks]: The way we're going to live, the thing that matters most is the way he defined the enemy. It's not just the Taliban. It's everyone who supports terrorism, every nation that supports terrorism. It's every terrorist organization of global reach. He defined the enemy extremely ambitiously. And that is going to simplify life for everybody around the world. [Lehrer]: All right, now here we're a few seconds now. We're going to go, as I said,

we're going to Senator Daschle and Senator Lott for a message of unity. They, instead of a remarks in the opposition party, the two opposing party leaders will speak. [Daschle]: Visited ground zero in New York. It is impossible to describe the utter devastation and the feeling you get standing among the ruins. I always thought that seeing the twin towers rising above New York was an inspiring sight. But today we saw something even more inspiring. We met some of the firefighters, the rescue workers who continued to comb through the wreckage. We talked to survivors and family members. We saw men and women going back to work, children going back to school. People going on about their daily lives with incredible courage,

refusing to be cowed by terror. If the people of New York and New Jersey can do that, surely the rest of us can do what President Bush is asking of us. Tonight, the President asked for our unity. He asked for our support. He asked for our patience. We want President Bush to know. We want the world to know that he can depend on us. We will take up the President's initiatives with speed. We may encounter differences of opinion along the way, but there is no difference in our aim. We are resolved to work together, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans. We will do whatever is needed to protect our nation. Nothing is more urgent. I commend the President for the work he has done in rallying the world.

We are grateful to the many nations who are standing with us tonight. Together, we will defeat this most insidious of threats. We will be fierce in the defense of our ideals. We will not sacrifice the freedoms that have sustained this nation for more than two centuries. We must not punish entire groups for the actions of a misguided few. Just as we are united against terrorism, so too must we be united against the acts of hatred towards innocent Arab Americans and Muslims, and all of those who have come to our country seeking opportunity. Hardship and heartbreak are not new to us. We Americans have endured great challenge and struggle. Yet none has ever broken us. Our greatness and times of trouble is what distinguishes us as a nation. Tonight, the President has called us again to greatness.

And tonight, we answer that call. [Lott]: Ordinarily, when the President of the United States addresses a joint session of Congress, the leaders of the opposition party gives a statement and they respond. Tonight, there is no opposition party. We stand here united, not as Republicans and Democrats, not as southerners or Westerners or Midwesterners or Easterners, but as Americans. I guess there are those in the world that thought this would pull us apart. We would start blaming each other and we wouldn't come to each other's aid. Well, we saw it in New York City today. Firemen and policemen and volunteers, men and women from all over America and other countries were there together, working to recover from this horrible, horrible incident. There's been a lot of sorrow, a lot of tears. We've all grieved together because it was not New Yorkers or Pennsylvanians or

Virginians or military men and women or these volunteers that lost their lives. It was all of us. We've all suffered. But now we must pull together. The Congress has already started to acting in concert with this president of the United States. Tonight, he gave us a call to action. He said all the right things. He reached out to those that are grieving. He gave a challenge to us here in America. He asked for our patience and he told those that would heep terror on America in the world, that we will not stand for that. We will fight for freedom, here at home and all around the world. Some people say maybe we're waving the red, white, and blue and the flag too much on our cars and on our homes and in our businesses and in our schools. It's not just about the flag. It's about those that died. It's about those that are going to fight for freedom and to stop this reign of terror. It's one way we can embrace those that have gone and those that are going

to do the right thing. It's not a trite phrase. And I've heard it all over America this last week. We are together and we ask that God bless America. [Lehrer]: And that brings us back to Shields and Brooks, indicated columnist Mark Shields and the Weekly Standards, David Brooks. Mark, it's been a long time since the government of the United States has been this united about anything. [Shields]: It is, Jim. There's no question about it. And what struck me tonight, Governor, President Bush is a tactile politician. He reaches out and he reached out and hugged on the floor on the way out two politicians. The two we chose to hug were Tom Daschle, the Democratic Senate leader, and Dick Gephardt, the Democratic House leader, and then he patted Chuck Schumer, the senior Democratic Senate, on the cheek. And so I mean, it was just, it's almost highlighted the bipartisanship that was present in that chamber tonight and the sense of resolution.

I mean, there is not the only thing I can compare to was Lyndon Johnson after the assassination of Jack Kennedy. The sense of unity where President was speaking almost to an audience that was ready to hear him and respect him. And perhaps when Ronald Reagan came back after the assassination attempt in 1981 when there was a sense that he had avoided death and came back even stronger. But other than that, this is unprecedented in my knowledge of history. It was certainly my personal experience. [Brooks]: The compassion and the one-on-one skills that Bush has is something we're familiar with. But I think what's new is the steadfastness and the intellectual clarity. Really what he said to our allies was we're not negotiating the terms under which we will conduct this war. We're in it. We expect you to be behind us. And that will clarify things for the French, for the Egyptians, for the Saudis. The other interesting thing I thought about this speech was about domestic politics. There's a debate about how active the government is going to be to stimulate the economy. He didn't commit himself either way about that. [Lehrer]: Yeah, he didn't say anything about a stimulus factor. The Secretary of the Treasury was on The NewsHour last night and he said

maybe we'll wait and see. And clearly his advice was taken by the President. Also, Alan Greenspan said that today. [Shields]: Alan Greenspan did say today. And I think and talking to people today, Jim, supporters of the President and advisors of the President, they didn't want to mix. And they really thought this was so important by itself to get it in. And there are people very frankly in Washington who are trying to get their special projects in. Whether it's a construction project or a capital gains tax cut. If we could just get that mentioned here, it would be under the flag. And I think the President wisely resisted that. [Lehrer]: What do you think, David, about the, he announced the creation of a cabinet-level position reporting directly to him called the Office of Homeland Security and Tom Ridge, the outgoing governor of Pennsylvania, is going to run it. [Brooks]: And there's going to be a big issue of how free our freedoms are. Whether we're going to impinge on our freedoms and on our civil liberties. And I noticed the Democrats and immediately that was an issue Daschle mentioned. I think the response that Bush will offer and

based on the speech is if you want to protect our freedoms at home, if you don't want to have a tight security here, we have to be aggressive in preempting attacks. Whether they're launched by Iraq or Syria or anybody else. So if you want to have a light regime here, you have to be aggressive abroad. [Lehrer]: What do we need to know about Tom Ridge, Mark? [Shields]: Well, Tom Ridge is a fascinating Republican. He was the runner-up actually to be the running mate with Governor Bush and good friends and an early endorser of him. He's a Vietnam veteran of army, he's a sergeant in the Army, Harvard graduate who went into the infantry as an enlisted man, went to Vietnam, saw combat to this day, his own hearing's affected. [Lehrer]: He was a sergeant, right? [Shields]: He was a sergeant. He's a blue collar, blue collar background, Catholic from Erie, and has been enormously popular as governor of Pennsylvania. [Lehrer]: I think what he must do now with coordinating the FBI and the CIA, you know, wow. [Shields]: I just, one thing David said, Jim, Barney Frank, the Democrat from Massachusetts said

very, I thought, insightful today. He said, we must understand the difference between liberty and privacy. And I mean, there's going to be some invasion of pri-, you know, the whole fight about, you know, emails or whatever else. But I mean, when he's talking about liberty and freedom, you know, whether in fact I'm banking in the Cayman Islands seems a lot less important my privacy there. And I think that's where crunch is going to be. [Lehrer]: David, do you think that the president's speech cleared at least a path toward all of these things that are coming that are going to be difficult, whether it's a little bit of change in in civil liberties, a little bit of sacrifice of privacy or a little bit of this or that? [Brooks]: Frankly, I think it reflected the willingness to undergo a lot of inconvenience that already exists in the American people. I thought he probably only reflected the American people back onto each other. I think the criticism that we make of the speech in some intellectual quarters will be it's too black and white. It's too either your forests or against us. But I think starting a war, launching people into this sort of combat, you needed that clarity. You needed somebody who would

say there is this thing called Talibanism, which is a rogue culture, which is in fundamental opposition to our way of life. That is the sort of clarity that you need to rally people. [Lehrer]: All right. We will continue this discussion tomorrow night on the on The NewsHour, which was to be the debut of Shields and Brooks. But we got a little everybody got a little preview here tonight. And but we will be back and we will see you here. All of you here tomorrow evening. And that will be at our regular NewsHour time when we continue our coverage of the aftermaths from September the 11th. Next tonight on most PBS stations now, there will be a special program called America Response. I'm Jim Lehrer. Thank you and good night. [Announcer]: Major funding for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer has been provided by Imagine a world where we're not diminishing resources. We're growing. Ethanol, a cleaner burning fuel made from corn, ADM, the nature of what's to come.

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