[Carol Lin, Cnn Anchor:] A new poll shows most Americans think the U.S. should get involved in caring for AIDS orphans in Africa. A "Newsweek" survey asked about involvement. Fifty-nine percent said yes, 38 percent said no. But Americans are divided about spending more tax dollars in that effort: 46 percent favor more spending, and 46 percent oppose it. Eight percent are still uncertain.
[Leon Harris, Cnn Anchor:] Well, the money question is significant. At his U.N. appearance, this morning, Vice President Gore is expected to announce a new Clinton administration initiative to combat AIDS in Africa. The vice president joins us now from the United Nations. Good morning, sir. Thank you very much for talking to us today.
[Al Gore, Vice President Of The United States:] Good morning, Leon.
[Harris:] Can you give us an advance of your speech this morning? What is it you're like you're likely to introduce this morning?
[Gore:] Well, after 4,000 meetings of the Security Council stretching back a half century, Leon, this is the very first time that the council or the U.N. has addressed in this forum a health question, and it's really emblematic of a whole new security agenda: the global environment, terrorism, pandemics, the emergence of old diseases that now are resistant to the antibiotics that have protected the last three generations. And the United States is stepping up to provide leadership and new resources. I'm going to be announcing significant new resources and a lot of new initiatives, and we hope that the other developed countries will rally around and join with us, and we have some preliminary indications that they will. I think that it's a great way to start this new era, with a new definition of security, because AIDS is going to kill more people in the first decade of this century than all the soldiers who were killed in all the wars of the 20th century, so it's time.
[Harris:] Well, Mr. Vice President, there have been many activists in the U.S. who have been trying to gain the administration ear on that, using that particular bit of information that you just listed, and many are going to be wondering why it's taken this long for the administration and for the U.N. to get behind the ball on this?
[Gore:] Well, of course, it has not taken this long for the United States. I announced some time back a $100-million initiative. The United States does more and sends more and focuses more on this than any other nation in the world; it's a point of pride with us. But that's not to say that enough has been done, obviously. This tragedy has outstripped all of the efforts to stop it, and that's why we're now asking the rest of the world community to join with us as we redouble our effort. And you know, the activists are right that this was ignored for far too long. I have made four trips to Africa as vice president. I've made speeches here and in Africa to try to rally support for efforts to confront this crisis, but none of us have done enough, and all of us must do more, because this is a threat to our future. Now, it's important to recognize that we can meet it successfully. Uganda, where that used to be the epicenter of the crisis, has showed the way to organize successful efforts to stop the spread and slow the advance of this disease, but all countries need to be aware and alert and part of a global response to this pandemic.
[Harris:] Well, going back to the poll that we mentioned moments ago, another figure that emerged from that poll was that only four percent of the American public, the U.S. public, believes that the U.S. should take the lead in pressing forward on this particular issue. It seems as though you may have a harder time organizing forces here in the U.S. than you will in the U.N. How do you go about getting around that problem?
[Gore:] Well, I don't think that takes into account the role that leadership can play. I find, as I have open meetings around the country and talk with people, that when they confront the facts that more people will die of AIDS in the first decade of this new century than in all the wars of the last century, people say, hey, wait a minute, that's something that we have to take into account. And yes, no other nation is capable of focusing in exactly the same way and bringing the rest of the world to rally around in a cause like this. Other nations have done great work, and we're proud to be their partners, but if the world is going to be successful in confronting this challenge and the other new challenges on the new security agenda, such as global warming, the United States has to be in a leading role.
[Harris:] Well, let me ask you something else about our changing world, if you will, this morning, if we can digress for just a moment.
[Gore:] Sure.
[Harris:] I'd like your thoughts on the big news, this morning, about the merger with AOL and Time Warner. We all know about how intimately you've been involved with technological issues and looking into the future in matters like this. Do you see any red flags being raised at all with this merger in Washington?
[Gore:] Well, I was joking with your producer on the ear-phone a minute ago whether or not this was going to be AOL-CNN now. But you know, beyond lighthearted comments like that, I'm going to try to deflect your question, simply because whenever there is a big merger there is the possibility that the Justice Department or the Federal Trade Commission or the FCC will be asked to have an antitrust review to make sure that competition is protected. I don't know that that will be a major part of this or not, but traditionally I have because of my position in this administration, tried to not bias the potential review of something that might raise an anti-trust question. So, I'm going to defer on that. I'll just say that there are so many exciting developments. It is obvious that our world is changing rapidly, and incidentally, in addressing the new security agenda for the world, it's important to take note of the new opportunities that are at our disposal with this global information infrastructure, the World Wide Internet, which makes cooperation possible in ways that were impossible in the last century.
[Harris:] And it looks like there may be another vast offering of opportunities through this merger. We thank you very much for your time, this morning, Vice President Al Gore at the United Nations.
[Gore:] Thank you very much. Thank you.