NEW YORK — CNN rented an elegant ballroom a few weeks ago, feeding breakfast to top advertisers and filling them in on 2004 election coverage plans. Virtually all the network's big names were there. Except Aaron Brown, whose star appears to be fading in the CNN firmament.Larry King was master of ceremonies. Christiane Amanpour appeared via satellite from London. All four "Crossfire" combatants argued politics. Judy Woodruff, who had flown from a California assignment a few days earlier, boarded a 5 a.m. train from Washington to New York for scrambled eggs and small talk.CNN's chief executive, Jim Walton, cautioned against...