19911016 NBC Today Show

[Music] a kiss no I'm sorry I don't think so mm- mm- oh no no please no baby no oh uh not a good idea not not now no no bad time fight morning breath with scope scope has two powerful ingredients that kill 90% of the bacteria that cause morning breath your kiss is ready Puck her up right on the kisser come on kiss morning breath goodbye with scope give me that kiss take the Olive Garden pasta tour of Italy this fall an exciting journey through delicious new pasta dishes from all over Italy visit Florence and enjoy tempting pasta florentine see Venice and delight and Luscious shrim Veron and in palmo taking delectable chicken and sausage pepperonata make your plans now for the Olive Garden pasta tour of Italy but move fast a tour this affordable won't last forever hi I'm Connie she real estate broker I'm Joy homequest real estate agent as professionals we have used American termite for years and we recommend them to all of our home buyers your home is your largest single investment and American termite has the protection you need only American termite guarantees their inspection in writing free for one year ask your lender or Realtor about a written guarantee for all your termite needs call American termite the company professionals use this is wh tv13 de Mo good morning the public ordeals of Clarence Thomas are over he survived his final Senate test by the closest winning margin in the history of Supreme Court nominees literally and judicially he's now set for life thanking family and friends and obviously relieved Thomas expressed hope that the bitterness of his confirmation battle be put behind him he called for the healing process to begin today Wednesday October the 16th 1991 from NBC News this is a special edition of today with Bryant Gumble and Katherine cck reporting this morning from Washington DC good morning and welcome to today on a Tuesday Morning our second straight day of uh coming to you from the nation's capital and cutting down on Katie's commuting fairs you could it's been a long week and it's only Wednesday you could get used to this could yeah I could actually we should explain that Joe gajola with us because he's in Pittsburgh where he is going to be throwing out the first ball at the start of game six a high honor for our pal good for Joe yeah it is meanwhile you and I continue to work we're going to look to the Thomas nomination winners and losers big winner is obviously Clarence Thomas losers perhaps the women's movement perhaps and in fact in this half hour we're going to talk about the White House strategy what George Bush may do to uh attract some of the women who might have been alienated by this ordeal and we're also going to be talking later in the show to a college senior about why so few young women want to be referred to as feminists these days all righty Let's uh get to the news of the Thomas nomination as we've noted the Senate vote on Clarence Thomas was the closest successful confirmation vote in Supreme Court history with a nominee gaining a majority by just two votes the final count was 52 to 48 the only Court vote to come so close to that was in ' 86 in this century when 33 Senators opposed the elevation of William renquist to the position of chief justice for more on the vote let's go up to Capitol Hill correspondent Henry champ H good morning good morning Brian after 107 days the toughest ordeal ever faced by Supreme Court nominee is now over I think that no matter how difficult or how painful the process has been that there's a time this is a time for healing in our country but as Thomas walked back to his house that healing process had not yet started many Democrats still arguing about the nominees qualification I I do not believe that the president of the United States is acting in order to build a great uh US Supreme Court so the president has sought candidates who agree with him on abortion but whose views are not known or who will deny having a view however it was these 11 Democrats whose votes gave Thomas Victory they argued sexual harassment charges by Anita Hill were never proved experi and Thomas is indeed qualified among the first cases Thomas will rule on the question whether School prayer can be used during graduation exercises and a pornography case deciding whether customers can be prosecuted the Senate and president will argue the process must change and there will be an investigation to find out who leaked Anita Hill's charges to the media but Bryant as long as there are different political parties controlling the White House and the Senate any real reform is unlikely Henry you heard Katie and I talking about winners and losers if a big winner is Clarence Thomas and one of the losers is the feminist movement which Katie's going to get to later how big a loser is the Senate in this oh I think the Senate is a big loser again we've harped on this all week but the polls show that 60 to 65% of the people didn't like the process and there was no question as Affiliates sent in material overnight and I was watching it coming in that seemed to be pretty representative right across the country but most particularly in the South all right Henry thanks very much a relief President Bush immediately congratulated Clarence Thomas upon his confirmation the congratulations follow morning of some heavy lobbying from the White House this morning Jim meski is on the North Lawn there with more Jim good morning good morning Brian here at the White House relief uh and exhaustion I think is the way you could describe the mood but they're also feeling pretty good here not only about the fact that Thomas won the nomination but you know the Democrats over the past decade have had a propensity for as a group for shooting themselves in the foot well Republican strategists think in this one they shot themselves in both feet first of all after what many Americans considered an ugly spectacle President Bush will use that to further point to Congress as everything that's wrong with the government he's done it before and he'll do it again but there's another issue here that uh Republican strategists point to and that's the fact that because Thomas in the closing minutes of this debate was able to raise the racist issue there's some thought in the Republican camp that perhaps the blacks have become further split off from White liberals in a way that not even President Bush could have calculated when he nominated Thomas real quick Mick absent of uh broadening the gender gap what's the White House biggest fear in terms of political Fallout on this one I think at this point they have no fears in terms of Fallout all right Jim meski at the White House thank you for almost a week now the nation has of course been caught up in the drama surrounding the Thomas nomination so when it was done there was strong reaction from reps and opponents alike NBC's Robert Hagar has more on that he's in our Newsroom this morning Bob good morning good morning Brian a collective sigh of relief from the nation this morning the drama's finally played itself out many are pleased at the outcom some are not but all seem glad that it's over in rural Georgia Jubilation from Thomas's mother Leola and friends I have the victory in Washington another Celebration by Thomas supporters it's been a real roller coaster I'm just glad you got on I really couldn't be happier at University of Oklahoma law where Anita Hill teaches a different view I believe that even though uh people may not believe her I believe they respect her for having the guts to bring it out American University Professor Joel Paul who had corroborated Hill's testimony I'm disappointed that majority of the Senate doesn't uh agree with my judgment about whether she's telling the truth or not uh but I I hope and I believe that we've raised the consciousness of the country about the issue of sexual harassment JC Alvarez who had testified on behalf of Thomas but I'm glad it's over I really am um because I hurt for both of them I really do uh it I feel sad for both of them but sadness is not the predominant sentiment more a sense that right or wrong this chapter in history is over now and it's time to get on with the business of the Court shortly Brian all right Bob thanks so very much it's 7:07 time for us to get on the business the rest of the day I think everybody's glad it's over no what they think let's going up to Faith Daniel she's up in New York Faith good morning good morning Brighton Katie good morning everyone Secretary of State Baker's peace mission is winding down today he moves on to Israel after visits to Egypt Jordan and Syria that left lots of problems unsolved demonstrators have been Gathering to greet America's top Diplomat they're protesting us opposition to Israeli settlements in occupied territories they're calling the proposed Regional peace conference to sell out there's apparently been no progress toward deciding who would represent the Palestinians at the peace table the government of Iraq is again threatening to shoot down helicopters carrying United Nations weapons inspection teams officials say the helicopters are using the airspace that was violated by Israeli war planes earlier this month a French scientist has won the 1991 Nobel Prize for physics Pierre Jil deong was honored for his work on polymer physics and liquid crystals Senate sponsors of the unemployment bill uh will push President Bush that he vetoed last Friday are trying to round up the 67 votes they need to override a vote is scheduled for later today the bill would nearly double the length of time that jobless Americans are eligible for benefits on the foreign financial markets today stock prices were slightly higher at the close of trading in Tokyo and the London exchange opened with a small gain City Corp has suspended its dividends after reporting the second worst quarter losses in its history the nation's biggest bank blamed bad loans in the recession for its $885 million loss during the last quarter in Pittsburgh tonight the Pirates try to lock up the National League penet at home they lead the Atlanta Braves three games to two in their best of seven series first game winner Doug dreck starts for Pittsburgh tonight against Atlanta's Steve Avery Braves fans are getting some bad reviews from Native Americans because of cheering techniques like the tomahawk chop if the Braves pull off a win and make it to the series Community leaders in Minnesota are threatening to demonstrate at Saturday's World Series opener coming up on 709 now and time to head back to Washington Bryant Katie isn't that nice about Joe throwing up the first ball I think that's terrific nobody deserves it better he's a class ey he's thrilled about it he really told me last week about he's absolutely excited is he getting the old eye ready again the old arm in shape it's the arm in shape he's worried about little B gay little Moc surgical talking n will Hey listen down in your Dad's part of the country down in mol tree Georgia yesterday du down near Dublin Georgia we had the best time and everybody was so sweet and nice and I just want to say I hope with all respect to Pittsburgh I hope the Atlantic gets a little shot uh is it today or tomorrow tonight thank you close this football has a significance Saturday football you watch your college games on your favorite TV station PBS has done something that really is very nice this I think is the first time they've ever done it they're taking you all day Saturday on college tours campuses all over the country they show you the colleges what they cost that's great better than Barons isn't that the guide you always looked at when you in high school baren yeah it's the same type of thing and but it'll be on television they'll show you the campuses and it happens this Saturday on your PBS station so check it out I throw the bow let's see if I can throw the ball welcome back by the way I thought you'd been deep sexed I'm glad to hear that not true or oh you didn't hear rough business a show business happy birthday this morning for all of our birthday fans take a look from our friends at Hallmark this is Dominica Ferrero uh turtle Creek Pennsylvania pretty as a picture and Dominica hope I pronounce that correctly she is 102 years old today and she loves Brian Gumble and the Today's Show and she thinks that kitty Kirk is the cat's pajamas I never understood that statement we told you in mold tree Georgia yesterday about Fabian Fabian is now a tropical storm winds are about 55 M an hour moving towards the Northeast not too far about 100 miles from Freeport in the Bahamas no real threat to the coast of Florida however there will be a dusting of rain there where they don't need any rain today and if you are traveling Boston New York Philadelphia uh San Diego and Los Angeles look for some weather conditions to develop later on of the day Denver 90° by contrast 29 degrees in Chicago so obviously there's quite a contrast in temperature there again the coast is clear that's my old uh remember that Carol Bernett I'm buying stock with this ear anyway check it out the west coast is dynamite a little fog this morning in La now here's what's happening in your world even as we speak well it's fall but it's almost summerlike weatherwise outside mostly sunny today high of 70° then for tonight 49 quick look at tomorrow's forecast up to 78 by tomorrow that's it that's all now here's Brian thanks 711 now and on closeup this morning the Supreme Court edition of Clarence Thomas though we won't be swor in until Monday debates already begun on how what he's been through may affect him and how he may affect a court that was already tipped to the right with an eye to both questions we welcome AE dick Howard professor of constitutional law at the University of Virginia and Professor Herman Schwarz constitutional law expert at American University gentlemen good morning good morning let's deal with Judge Thomas first how's what he been through likely to affect him well here's a judge who's gone through one of the great firestorms of confirmation history he will certainly come to the court bruised by the process but I think once he arrives he will find a very collegial place the the eight justices all of whom you can bet watch these hearings the way the rest of us did will lay aside whatever conclusions they may have reached I think they'll welcome him into the court and I think these these wounds will heal pretty quickly what about his Effectiveness as a jurist I mean is it is it likely to to harden his attitudes towards uh those of what he saw as a left-wing conspiracy or perhaps deepen his sympathy for victims well there'll be no one on the court who's had more occasion to think about two issues privacy and sexual harassment there's no doubt about that but there will be a question of whether he can move from the the the the world of Politics the Rough and Tumble world into the more reflective world of the court it's a very different place how do you see it changing him professor I don't think one can possibly know I mean uh history and our own experience is full of people who react one way or the other to the same experience he may come out of it bitter angry uh whether he wants to or not there was a there's a short fuse in the man uh that exploded and we saw that uh under provocation and uh he may come out quite different uh some people with his background come out very sympathetic to people on welfare and to poor people some people with his background have come out uh wanting to get away from it I think at this stage uh we really don't know and it from time to time may depend on how he feels when he woke up in the morning interesting you say you said we saw we saw that he had a short fuse what else did you see that revealed something about his judicial temperament well uh I was deeply troubled by the reference to racism and to a high-tech lynching these words are so loaded that uh they set off charges and they respond to particular things in the black community especially for someone who has uh made a uh practice of condemning those who Resort you don't think that was a political card he was playing plain and simple I think in his position uh I think the emotion was very real uh after all he sees slipping away from him perhaps The Greatest Prize that uh an American lawyer can have and under Dreadful circumstances with a dreadful charge I said the court was already of a conservative bent but in his adherence to what we call the natural rights uh theory is is Judge Thomas A different kind of conservative than the court already has there are really two kinds of conservatives on the present Court there are those who are more traditional conservatives I think sandre de o Conor may be of that particular stripe and there are the movement conservatives those who come from the the new new Right movement in politics such as uh Anthony and Scalia my guess would be that given uh Thomas's background his exposure the kinds of paths he's taken to this point that he would be more likely to find himself comfortable with the uh the more ideological conservatives on the court now obviously conservatism is a very broad movement there is no one particular place you necessarily find yourself but I would have thought that given what he's had to say in public life the kinds of issues he's dealt with that he might well be a natural Ally of Scalia and renquist on the court does he figure to take this court farther and faster to the right than it would have without him he might in some areas not others I mean I think part of the problem with trying to speculate about this is that different areas produce different results I think in abortion I think the likelihood is very high that we will see the end of Ro against Wade whereas if Justice Marshall were there I don't think that would have happened in some areas such as the first amendment where we know almost speech press where we know almost nothing of his views it's not at all clear quick final question I'm going to have to limit you both to about 10 seconds only what's say to the idea that uh given the the amount of newcomers on the bench and given the political ideologies involved that this is a court of mediocrity no it's a court I think with some mediocre people on it but I wouldn't characterize the court as a court of mediocrity I'd say among the courts of American History it's a court of pretty average competence what it doesn't seem to have are the Giants who cast Shadows the Felix frankfurters and Hugo blacks but they're perfectly competent people Professor Howard thank you Professor Schwarz thank you very much we're coming up on 717 and we're back in a moment in Washington this is today on NBC the ill effects and the losses are going to be suffered by members of Congress United States Senate and the house we had big plans for our Florida vacation but I needed a rental car that wouldn't cramp our style suddenly everything fell into place Dollar Rent A Car is right on the airport right on the money look for these special low rates in Florida great selection unlimited mileage come here often dad call Dollar at 1 800800 4000 we're 5,000 ft above the city with the Deo skydivers to find out if a Robins Nest waitress can serve today special to a businessman while freeing at 125 mph no but she car do it in the pleasant surroundings of Robin's Nest Restaurant even if you should drop in unexpectedly this week all the crab you can eat for just 12.95 at Robins Nest before they could walk they wanted to dance before they could talk they wanted to sing but it took a lot of heart and desire to make it On A Chorus Line now this Broadway Legend is back and on tour but if you want tickets get to the box office early and get out your Visa card because this show won't be in town long and it won't take American Express visent it's everywhere you want to be live at the de Mo Civic Center for 3 days only November 8th through 10th call 2431 1888 to charge your tickets today December 1990 new center 13's Scott Pope is on special assignment inside Baghdad bringing you firsthand reports as America's hostages are set free May 1991 News Center 13's John Bachman has granted an exclusive one-on-one interview with Ronald Reagan as he reflects on his life and de Mo in his years as president November 1991 it's Kim carrigan's turn stay tuned Central Iowa for another news center 13 [Music] exclusive Tuesday's Senate vote was a Bittersweet victory for the White House even though George Bush prevailed in this battle he may have opened a Pandora's Box regarding women's rights NBC News correspondent Jim mlfy is is at the White House with more on that Jim Katie even before Thomas was confirmed the Democrats had shifted the debate to what many say was the real issue in this political battle abortion with electoral polic Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell didn't even wait for the final vote before he threw down the godlet a woman came up to me and said with great emotion please vote against Judge Thomas because if he's confirmed the right of choice will be lost I told her that the right of choice was lost when George Bush was elected president Administration officials say President Bush was outraged by the remark but the White House does fear that a backlash from Women Voters could throw the gender gap into relapse in the past 3 years President Bush has all but closed the Gap in recent polls his approval rating among women has been neck and neck with men but the Thomas nomination has opened Old Wounds over abortion and the charge of sexual harassment added fuel to the political fires and that could burn the president if the harassment that they face on the street on the job in school and that is a tie that will be hung around the neck of George Bush pro-choice Republicans predict that damage could extend well beyond the White House well I think the part's lost the Republican party is lost because I think the ill effects and the losses are going to be suffered by members of Congress the United States Senate and house now that Thomas has been confirmed the thought that the Supreme Court could overturn Ro v Wade next year gives Republican strategist nightmares political analysts say they should worry that would be like throwing a bomb in the middle of presidential politics it will create a firestorm of controversy emotionalism and protest that's the last thing you want when you're the incumbent president running for re-election even if the Supreme Court puts off a row decision until after the election the president's got other problems with women bush is blocking a Civil Rights bill that includes a provision for damages for women who are sexually harassed at work and he opposes the family leave Bill which would especially benefit working women it's got women energized and not only against George Bush we weren't born Democrat we weren't born Republic and we weren't born yesterday and we're going to organize independent of what party candidates are for for candidates who are leaders in women's rights and we're going to aband candidates whatever their party who have not supported us but President Bush's overall ratings remain high and if the economy firms up officials here predict that this issue alone no matter how volatile no matter how emotional will not keep bush from reelection Katie thank you Jim and we're back in a moment with more of a special edition of today after these messages [Music] 4 [Music]