[Announcer:] An open-and-shut decision: The White House goes public with parts of John Roberts' paper trail.
[Unidentified Female:] I think the White House has made the correct decision.
[Announcer:] Why are some of the Supreme Court nominee's records still under wraps? Cultivating terror: After the London bombings, do Americans feel more threatened on trains or planes?
[Unidentified Male:] Liftoff of Space Shuttle Discovery.
[Announcer:] Shooting for the stars. We'll explore the shuttle's relaunch and whether space is a political priority with astronaut- turned-senator Bill Nelson. And waves of scandal in San Diego. Will voters finally choose a mayor who will stick around?
[Jay Leno, Comedian:] There's more security being president of Iraq than there is being mayor of San Diego.
[Announcer:] Now live from Washington, CNN's INSIDE POLITICS
[Candy Crowley:] Thank you for joining us. I'm Candy Crowley. We begin with the tug of war over John Roberts' records. Republicans are praising the White House for deciding to release as many as 75,000 pages concerning the Supreme Court nominee's work during the Reagan administration, but some Democrats are zeroing in on the documents the White House will not make public involving cases Roberts argued on behalf of the first Bush administration. Our White House correspondent Dana Bash is following the Roberts' paper trail Dana?
[Dana Bash, White House Correspondent:] Hi, Candy. And what we're seeing here at the White House today is an attempt to stop simmering conflict from turning into a full boil. And what the strategy is, is essentially to say that they are proving, by releasing documents, that they are being transparent and cooperative by getting these tens of thousands of documents out. But of course, what Democrats really want, the White House is not releasing. Let's take a look at what is White House is giving the green light for. First of all, at the Reagan Library, John Roberts worked in the Reagan counsel's office from 1982 to '86. There are going to be documents, lots of documents tens of thousands released there after they're reviewed for national security reasons and personnel matters to make sure that nothing is should remain confidential. The White House explains the reason they are doing this is because they are subject to something called the Presidential Records Act. That means that anybody who works in the White House understands that eventually this information will become public. The second thing that the White House is releasing is actually being done today at the National Archives. That is excuse me, the from when John Roberts was the assistant attorney general from 1981 to 1982. The White House has said excuse me that they are releasing these because this was already waived by President Clinton in 1998. The rub, though, Candy, is of course from when he was deputy solicitor general. The White House explanation is that these are subject to the Federal Records Act, a law that essentially says unlike the White House employees, do not think their papers are destined for public release. Scott McClellan today said that this is something that many excuse me solicitors general say is very bad for precedent.
[Scott Mcclellan, White House Press Secretary:] Future solicitor generals might as well put up a need-not-apply sign if people believe that they may someday go through a Senate confirmation process. And it would stifle the candid, honest and thorough advice that solicitor generals depend on from their attorneys, if that privilege was not protected.
[Bash:] Now what Democrats are saying, Candy, is they want to see these documents from the time Roberts was deputy solicitor general because that is a time when he wrote a brief essentially saying that Roe v. Wade should be overturned and that is really one of the only things that are out that is out there as a potential controversy point, a flash point. That is one of the main reasons Democrats want to see that. Senator Leahy, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said today that this is a regrettable beginning if the White House is sort of laying down the law saying, here's what we're going to release and here's what we're not Candy?
[Crowley:] Dana, is there any sign that the White House knows what's in these solicitor general documents that they're not going to release?
[Bash:] They said many times here today, Candy, that the White House does not know what is in the solicitor general's documents. They essentially don't know and that, they say, is besides the point because it's a matter of principle. It's a matter of attorney-client privilege and that is why they are not releasing it. But interestingly, talking to a senior administration official about what they are releasing, asking if there's anything potentially controversial in what they are releasing, it's pretty clear that they feel pretty confident that nothing that is going to get out there publicly at this point, is going to be another flash point. They feel pretty confident that they are not concerned about what in what they're going to be releasing in the next several weeks Candy?
[Crowley:] Dana Bash, on the paper trail. Thank you. We have new snapshots of Americans' views of John Roberts and what will be fair game during his confirmation hearings. Our new poll shows 59 percent of the public thinks the Senate should vote to confirm Roberts. Twenty-two percent are against his confirmation. Nineteen percent don't know. A slightly bigger majority, 61 percent, say senators should insist that Roberts answer questions about his position on abortion. Thirty-seven percent say he shouldn't have to explain his abortion views. As Roberts reaches out to senators on Capitol Hill again today, he is facing questions about his Catholicism. Details on that story are still ahead, but now to America's War on Terror in the aftermath of the London bombings. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has apologized to five tourists who were handcuffed during a bomb scare on a double-decker bus on Sunday. It turned out there was no threat and the men were released. Meantime, the NYPD has sent an explosive expert to Britain to study the suicide attacks there. Here in Washington, a House panel heard testimony today from transit officials urging more federal funding for rail and bus security. All this drives home the state of anxiety since the terror overseas. As our Bruce Morton explains, that anxiety is evident in our new poll numbers on terror and the war in Iraq.
[Bruce Morton, Cnn Correspondent:] London has got our attention. Last month, just 38 percent of our sample told a CNN"USA Today"Gallup poll they were worried a family member would be a victim of terrorism. Now after the two attacks in London, that number is up to 47 percent and more than half our sample thinks acts of terrorism are likely in the U.S. in the next few weeks. In June, only about a third thought so. You can hear other echoes of London, too. A majority of our sample thinks the government is doing enough to prevent terrorism on airplanes, but also says it's not doing enough to prevent terror on mass transit systems. But mass transit is vital in crowded London. A majority of our sample here in car-conscious America said they never use it. On Iraq, mixed feelings. Forty-three percent of our sample think the U.S. will win the war. Twenty-one percent think the U.S. can win, but won't. And 32 percent think it can't win. Younger people are the most optimistic: 49 percent of those under 50 think the U.S. will win, but only 33 percent of those over 50, those old enough to remember the Vietnam War, think the U.S. will win this one. Conservatives are the most optimistic, liberals the most pessimistic. Suburbanites are more optimistic than urban or rural Americans. But what does winning mean? When we asked, will the U.S. be able to establish a stable government in Iraq? Three-out-of-five in our sample said: No. A year ago, people we polled were evenly divided on that. Not now. And for the first time in our poll, a flat majority, 51 percent, said they think the Bush administration deliberately misled the American people about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. Of course, none have been found. Bruce Morton, CNN, Washington.
[Crowley:] British Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed today not to give one inch on his policies in Iraq or in the war against terror. Blair promised to press forward with new anti-terrorism legislation and he rejected suggestions that Britain's support for the war on Iraq has made the country more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. In the wake of the London bombings, Blair continues to get really good reviews in this country, with 75 percent of those surveyed in our new poll saying they have a favorable opinion of Tony Blair. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. Prime Minister Blair has apologized for the shooting death of a man in the subway who turned out not to be connected to the recent wave of terror. Up next, how far should we go in this country in the name of security? I'll ask Senator Susan Collins. Also ahead, the Democrats create their own Roberts Rules of Order for the Supreme Court confirmation hearings. And with the Shuttle Discovery in orbit again, we'll get perspective from a senator who's been to space and back again, Bill Nelson of Florida.