[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] Here's a look at stories "Now in the News." Hoping to thwart another terrorist attack, President Bush throws his support behind the creation of a national intelligence director and national counterterrorism center. Senator Kerry applauded Bush for his endorsement but criticized the president for not moving fast enough. Much more ahead on INSIDE POLITICS. An arrest today in the case of a missing Utah woman. Mark Hacking, the husband of Lori Hacking, has been taken into police custody on suspicion of murder. A live report from Utah just ahead at 5:00 Eastern on "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS." An injury forces early retirement for racing phenomenon Smarty Jones. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness champ is suffering from bruising common in racing horses that would have put him out for the rest of the season. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news. Now JUDY WOODRUFF'S INSIDE POLITICS.
[Mayor Michael Bloomberg , New York City:] New York City is not going to be cowed by the terrorists.
[Announcer:] The threat level's raised in parts of New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. How will the new warnings affect the race for the White House?
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] Today I'm asking Congress to create the position of a national intelligence director.
[Announcer:] President Bush embraces some of the 911 Commission's recommendations. Is this an about-face by the president?
[Sen. John Kerry , Presidential Candidate:] I believe this administration and its policies is actually encouraging the recruitment of terrorists.
[Announcer:] John Kerry says he can do better. What's his plan for fighting terrorism? Now, live from Washington,
[Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics. Judy Woodruff:] Thank you for joining us. President Bush today announced his support for two major changes in how the nation gathers and analyzes intelligence. He said he supports the naming of a national intelligence director and the creation of a counterintelligence center to coordinate both foreign and domestic intelligence activities. The president's decision represents a qualified acceptance of key proposals in the recent 911 Commission Report. At a news at a Rose Garden news conference, the president said the new intelligence director should be appointed by the president, but he said be independent of the White House staff.
[Bush:] Well, I don't think a person ought to be a member of my cabinet. I will hire the person. And I can fire the person, which is any president would like. That's how you that's how you have accountability in government. I don't think that the office ought to be in the White House, however. I think it ought to be a stand-alone group to better coordinate, particularly between foreign intelligence and domestic intelligence matters.
[Woodruff:] On the campaign trail in Michigan, Senator John Kerry today responded to the president's announcement and repeated his criticisms that the Bush administration is not moving quickly enough to secure the nation against future attacks. Our Dana Bash is traveling with the Kerry campaign.
[Dana Bash, Cnn White House Correspondent:] Senator Kerry is making his way through Michigan now at a rally in Grand Rapids. And he talked about the news of the day, which, of course, is the president's ideas for reforming the intelligence agencies. He called these those ideas "too little, too late," and he pointed to the new terror alert which both he and his running mate have been briefed on as the latest example of how urgent the need for reform is. And the senator, whose own absence in the Senate both in votes and debated have been noted this year, said it's the president's job to call Congress back from the summer recess for a special session to get this done now.
[Kerry:] And if we're at war, and it's so urgent, we shouldn't be waiting. We ought to get Congress back and get the job done right now, and make America safer.
[Bash:] Kerry said he would be there if needed for the important debates and votes if this happens. Now, the Kerry campaign says they understand that even their internal polling shows that he's down about 10 points against the president in stewardship against terrorism. However they say they are determined not to cede the national security issue to Mr. Bush. And the senator kept up, even stepped up his aggressive rhetoric against the president on terrorism. He talked about missteps by the president in the war on terrorism over the last three-and-a-half years, saying the White House policies are encouraging terrorism.
[Kerry:] I believe that I can fight a more effective war on terror than George Bush is. I know I can fight a more effective war. Lee Hamilton, the co-chairman of the 911 Commission, has said this administration is not moving with the urgency necessary to respond to our needs. I believe this administration and its policies is actually encouraging the recruitment of terrorists.
[Bash:] The Kerry line, which he's pushing not just here at this rally, but earlier today with firefighters, is that America is safer, but not safe enough, and that he is the guy, not the president, to do the job to make America safer. The Bush campaign points out that many of the policies the senator is pushing have already been enacted. Privately, Kerry campaign aides acknowledge the fact that, despite his tough rhetoric, they have to be careful with the politics of terrorism. That's why you saw the senator step away from any comment by Governor Howard Dean, for example, that this terror alert was politically motivated. Dana Bash, CNN, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
[Woodruff:] Sorry about some difficulty hearing Dana. Obviously she was talking with the crowd behind her. Well, with me now to talk more about intelligence reform, as well as the critical remarks by Senator Kerry, is the White House communications director, Dan Bartlett. Dan Bartlett, thank you for talking to me. What about Senator Kerry citing Lee Hamilton as saying the administration is not moving with the urgency that's needed here?
[Dan Bartlett, White House Communications Director:] Well, I think selective quotations from the vice chairman is a little misleading. What you find what President Bush has done is he takes he's already acted on many of the recommendations that the 911 Commission has put forward to the American people. This is an administration who acted boldly after 911. We're going on the offense in the war on terror. We created the Department of Homeland Security. We've broken down the wall between law enforcement and the intelligence community so they can help understand the threats that our country faces, and I think we've seen that unfortunately very vividly in the last 24 hours. And I think it's the ultimate irony that Senator Kerry is coming forward with some sense of urgency, when here's a guy who served on the Intelligence Committee, yet didn't show up for his public hearings 38 out of 49 times. So I think it's a little bit ironic that he would be calling into question the urgency of this administration when Senator Kerry himself has a paltry record of attendance there before the Senate Intelligence Committee.
[Woodruff:] Well, but he's saying the president should that this matter is so urgent, the president should call Congress back into session in August and not wait until September.
[Bartlett:] Well, Judy, as you know, just as the American people have seen, that the committees before Congress are already starting their hearing process. Last Friday they had a hearing with the joint chairman testifying before them. There's hearings all this week as well. The Congress is moving. President Bush has put forward a plan that he thinks will protect our country. It implements the 911 recommendations, and it goes further. So he can quibble with the process. President Bush is focused on results. And you're seeing in the last three-and-a-half years that President Bush has yielded results in the war on terror, because he knows if we fight this war on offense, we'll win. If we fight it on defense, or continue to have this fundamental misunderstanding about the war we face, like Senator Kerry suggests with his comments, then we're not going to win. So President Bush is going to stay on offense. We're going to implement these reforms that build on the reforms we've already enacted. And the American people will be safer for it.
[Woodruff:] Let me also cite something that Lee Hamilton said. And he was quoted today in the newspaper in "USA Today," as saying, "It's inconceivable to me that a president of the United States would want his highest national security priority handled somewhere else in the government not under his direct control."
[Bartlett:] Well, in fact, as President Bush said today, he will hire the person, and he will fire the person if necessary. That is under his direct control. That's how the executive branch works. And President Bush wants one person who has all the information, all the intelligence information, both foreign and domestic, coming together in one place and providing the best intelligence product possible for the president of the United States. And that's what he's going to get. There will be accountability. There will also be accountability before the United States Congress. This person will be confirmed by the United States Senate. So this answers the 911 recommendations call. It goes beyond that with other steps that this administration has taken. And it's going to be better for the country.
[Woodruff:] What about the overall criticism from Senator Kerry that the administration has taken almost three years to take seriously some of the changes that need to be that need to be implemented to address terrorism?
[Bartlett:] Well, I think Senator Kerry has amnesia if he's not seeing the type of bold action that this administration has taken. You take the fact that we're fighting this war on offense. You take the fact that President Bush called for the biggest reorganization of government in over 40 years with the Department of Homeland Security. President Bush has pulled down the wall between law enforcement and foreign intelligence community, which we're seeing in the last 24 hours. By staying on offense, we're getting the type of information we need to give to law enforcement officials on the ground in New York, New Jersey and Washington to better implement and make sure we're doing everything we can to protect the public. So I think Senator Kerry is trying to selectively look in the past for his own political purposes. But a true look at the record shows that President Bush made this an urgent priority, because he is the one who wakes up every morning as commander-in-chief and understands it's his responsible to protect this country. And he takes that very seriously.
[Woodruff:] Dan Bartlett, one other thing. The president in his news conference today in the Rose Garden referred to his opponents who, in his words, seem to think that terrorists can be negotiated with or talked sense into. I asked Jamie Rubin, who is advising the president about that, and he said he said Senator Kerry things no such thing, and he said it's misleading for the president to suggest otherwise.
[Bartlett:] Well, Senator Kerry's the one who has a problem with his credibility on this issue. If you take the issue for Iraq, for example, we still don't know where Senator Kerry stands on the issue. He can't explain his position before the war. He can't explain his position today. He can't explain why he didn't vote for $87 billion worth of funding for our troops when he said it would be irresponsible for doing so. So Senator Kerry is the one who has some very difficult explanations to give to the American people. And on this particular issue about intelligence, he suggested today that our actions are causing more terrorists to to attack us. Well, that's a fundamental misunderstanding of how the war on terror is being prosecuted. These people were planning and plotting for years before President Bush even took office. And the only way you can fight them is fight them in offense. And if he's suggesting otherwise, that is a fundamental misunderstanding. So it's a clear chance in this campaign and one we'll continue to talk about.
[Woodruff:] All right. Dan Bartlett, we're going to have to leave it there. And, in fact, I did ask Jamie Rubin about that last point you made, and we'll hear his comments later on in the program.
[Bartlett:] Great.
[Woodruff:] Dan Bartlett, thanks again. And turning now to the headlines in our "Campaign News Daily," Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator John Edwards are on the campaign trail this Monday. Cheney spoke at a Colorado rally this afternoon in a hangar at Peterson Air Force Base near Colorado Springs. Today marks the start of a three-day six-day campaign swing for the vice president. John Edwards is making several stops around Florida today, including Miami and Orlando. Tonight, Edwards speaks to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Jacksonville. A new poll in New Jersey finds John Kerry appears to have regained the edge over President Bush in the Garden State. The Research 2000 survey taken before Kerry's convention speech gives Kerry a 10-point lead over Bush. Other recent polls have shown the race to be much closer. It surprised many since Bush lost New Jersey four years ago by 16 percentage points. Ralph Nader continues his uphill climb to get on the ballot. Today, he's got a toe-hold in two new states. We'll tell you which ones when we come back. Heightened terror warnings, but who's the man with the plan? We've heard from the White House. Coming up, former Assistant Secretary of State Jamie Rubin makes the case for John Kerry. And the nominee lays out his prescription for Iraq. But are there gaps in the Kerry vision? With 92 days until the election, you're watching INSIDE POLITICS, the place for campaign news.