Kaplan was the executive producer responsible for all aspects and production of the 2008 Political Conventions in Denver and Minneapolis, 2008 Election Night and the 2009 Inauguration of Barack Obama. He also produced coverage of the shootings at Virginia Tech and the decisions at the conclusion of the rape case at Duke. In Spring 2007 he moved the broadcast to Baghdad and Damascus for a week of programs which took a first look at the progress made by the "surge" and originated from across the country. The program then proceeded to Syria and was highlighted by an enlightening rare interview with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Kaplan was named interim executive producer of "The Early Show" for 10 weeks (which he ran while also EP-ing the Evening News) as it struggled through a period of readjustment due to a personnel change. During this time the program grew in household ratings by 8%...key demographics by 30%...and produced a week of programming live from Greensburg, Kansas, a town destroyed in 2007 by an EF5 tornado that rebuilt itself one year later.