Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Filipino Hostage Released; 'America's Voice'; 'Today's Talker'
Aired July 20, 2004 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Released from his captors after days of tense negotiations, the Filipino hostage in Iraq is set free.
It's Tuesday, July 20, and this is DAYBREAK.
Well, good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Betty Nguyen in for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, a Filipino truck driver held hostage for nearly two weeks in Iraq is now waiting to go home. Angelo de la Cruz has been released by his captors and is at the Philippine embassy in Baghdad. His release comes one day after the Philippine government pulled its last troops out of Iraq.
President Bush is spending most of the day on the campaign trail. After a morning meeting with economic advisers, he heads to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a re-election rally. Later, he'll attend another rally just outside Saint Louis.
And on the Democratic side, presidential candidates are lying low today -- or the presidential candidate. Senator John Kerry is in Nantucket, Massachusetts and has no public events scheduled. His running mate, John Edwards, is in Washington for the day.
And in just a few hours, music mogul Sean P. "Diddy" Combs is expected to take the microphone to announce more details about his national voter registration drive. Combs has said the goal of his Citizen Change drive is to register at least two million young voters.
People are returning to their homes in Southern California. Weekend wildfires forced the evacuation of more than 1,600 houses in Santa Clarita. Residents have returned to all but 350 of those homes. Firefighters have been able to surround the Santa Clarita fire, which is now about 45-percent contained.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(WEATHER BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's get more now on the Filipino truck driver who has been released in Iraq. Angelo de la Cruz is at the Philippine embassy in Baghdad, and CNN's Matthew Chance joins us from Baghdad with more on the release.
Hi -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Betty. And he spent the last two weeks with the threat of brutal execution hanging over him. But now, Angelo de la Cruz is a free man. He's in the custody of Filipino diplomats, and he's on his way home via the United Arab Emirates, where we're told he will be receiving medical checks.
But this release came at quite a high price. It comes just a day after the Filipino government ordered out and actually evacuated out, withdrew out its 51-strong contingent of humanitarian troops that had been working as part of the coalition here in Iraq. The fate of the hostage depended on that, and his hostage-takers said that they would decapitate him, behead him, if those troops were not withdrawn.
The United States, as well as the Iraqi interim government, has been expressing its concern. The U.S. working very hard behind the scenes before this withdrawal took place to get the Filipino government to change its mind, concern that it may send the wrong message to hostage-taking groups in the future. The interim Iraqi government also expressing its concerns, saying it sets a bad precedent.
But this has become such a hot political issue in the Philippines itself, the fate of Angelo de la Cruz, that the government decided clearly that it didn't have any choice. And the two countries, Iraq and the U.S., are having to respect that decision now.
NGUYEN: Matthew Chance in Baghdad this morning, thank you.
Samuel Berger, the national security adviser in the Clinton administration, is in trouble this morning. It's the result of preparations he made for an appearance in March before the commission investigating the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Berger is under a federal criminal investigation for allegedly taking classified documents and handwritten notes from a national archive screening room.
Berger released a statement, saying -- quote -- that he "inadvertently took a few documents." He goes on -- quoting here: "I also took my notes on the documents reviewed. When I was informed by the archives there were documents missing, I immediately returned everything I had, except for a few documents that apparently I had accidentally discarded."
Well, what does America think? Today we look at politics, obesity and even a notable moment in outer space. And for a look at some opinions, let's join Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport this morning.
Frank, we want to start with politics, and both candidates have been trying to court minority voters. How are their efforts working out so far?
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Well, let's show you the data. We just finished our Gallup's annual update on minority views of the world, including politics. And we can break out the projected vote. This is through June for Bush or for Kerry by non-Hispanic whites. Bush is ahead there. Among blacks, overwhelmingly they will support Kerry. That's not a surprise. It's very rare that a Republican candidate will get a lot of the black vote. It may explain why Bush did not show up at the NAACP convention a week or two ago.
But among Hispanics, it still tilts to Kerry, but you'll notice the 38 percent of Hispanics nationwide already say they would vote for Bush. That's why Bush, indeed, has been out there looking at the Hispanic vote in a state like Florida, where he recently was eating at a Cuban restaurant, trying to get the Hispanic vote.
NGUYEN: Allan Greenspan, he testifies on Capitol Hill today on the state of the economy. Are Americans starting to become more positive about the economy?
NEWPORT: Well, it's kind of interesting. Yes, consumer confidence is going up a little in our Gallup measures. But overwhelmingly, Americans do expect to see more interest rate increase and more inflation.
You can see, in fact, 78 percent in our recent update said they expect within the next six months interest rates to go up. Inflation a little lower at 62 percent.
That could be bad news. Americans may be worried about it. In fact, those are higher numbers. Fifty-eight percent say there will be growth and 46 percent say the stock market will go up. So, look at these in context. What are Americans expecting most out of the economy? Increased interest rates. And, again, that may be dampening some of their optimism about the economy.
NGUYEN: Very interesting. We've also reported about the problems with obesity in American society, and last week the government decided to start classifying obesity as a disease. What does your polling show about that issue?
NEWPORT: Well, we just asked exactly that question. Overwhelmingly, Americans say nonsense. It's not a disease. It is an issue of personal eating style and choosing the wrong foods. See the numbers there? Seventy-five percent say it's a lifestyle choice. Only 21 percent say it's a disease. So, the public totally disagrees with the government on this.
By the way, Betty, even those who are overweight are no more likely to say it's a disease than those who claim their weight is about right.
NGUYEN: And finally, Frank, today marks the 35th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. We know President Bush wants to return to the moon. But are Americans willing to pay for it?
NEWPORT: Well, Americans like the idea. All of the polling shows by Gallup that if you just say if you would go back to Mars and the moon with humans, yes. Americans say good idea. We're in favor of it. But the question we asked: What about spending billions and billions, as Carl Sagan once said about doing it? Only 31 percent say yes.
So the bottom line here, Betty, is, great concept to send humans back into space. The idea is where is the money going to come from?
NGUYEN: Absolutely. It's all about the money. Frank Newport, thank you very much.
There is still more to come here on DAYBREAK, so please stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It's time now to get some opinions on the right and the left on some of the news stories that we've been following.
Joining us with their take on things, conservative talk master Neal Boortz, and on the liberal side, Mike Malloy.
Good morning to you both.
MIKE MALLOY, LIBERAL TALK SHOW HOST: Hey. How are you doing?
NGUYEN: The Democratic National Convention gets under way next weekend. Kerry is not even showing up until the night before he is supposed to speak. Is this a good idea, Mike? He's out on campaign stops until then.
MALLOY: You know, I have a hard time with national political conventions anyway, Betty. It's already been decided. I think the fact that he's not going to show up until the evening before or the day of, what difference does it make? Kerry is my candidate. I hope he wins this election. But these political campaigns, really, they're a waste of time. Not the...
NGUYEN: Neal, is it important for him to be out there on the road?
MALLOY: Not the campaigns; I meant the conventions. So, conventions are just a total taste of time.
NGUYEN: Gotcha there. Neal, what do you think about it? Is he really going to gain any voters this way? Or should he be spending his time at the convention?
NEAL BOORTZ, CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOW HOST: No, this is a bad start for a Tuesday. I mean, I'm agreeing with Mike. Agh!
But this is a four-day or a three-day infomercial. But Kerry doesn't have to be there. I will. And so, that will be the entertainment value. But Kerry is not -- he's got the votes of those delegates. What does he need to be there for? He'll be out around the country campaigning for votes, doing some good. He'll show up the last night. And Mike is absolutely right. These things are meaningless now, and both the Republican and the Democratic, it's decided.
NGUYEN: Something...
BOORTZ: The only convention that had any mystery this year was the Libertarian. There was a surprise there.
MALLOY: That's still a mystery.
NGUYEN: Well, something that may be very interesting is Sandy Berger and all of these classified materials, some of which were thrown away. You know, what do you think about this?
BOORTZ: Look, he's a Clinton administration official. So, I'd like to see some sort of great conspiracy to cover up information here. I don't see it. Look, how many of us haven't walked out accidentally from our workplace or maybe a retail establishment with something in our pockets that shouldn't have been there? Until I see more evidence on this one, I'm just not ready to start yelling foul or conspiracy.
NGUYEN: Mike, it's one thing to walk out with some paperwork and whatnot, but this is classified material. What do you think?
MALLOY: Well, Neal is getting real close there on a Tuesday morning to endorsing shoplifting is what it sounded like. But on the other hand, this is awful. I tend to agree with Neal on this one, as he agreed with me. I don't think Sandy Berger did anything wrong. He was to testify. If he looked at documents in order to refresh what happened during the Clinton -- during his time as the national security adviser during the Clinton years and inadvertently took them out of whatever room or office he was looking at them, where is the problem here?
It is interesting to me, though, that this becomes a news item at the same time the 9/11 Commission report is out there, and Mr. Bush is trying to avoid comments.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about that 9/11 Commission, because they are expected to recommend one cabinet-level position to oversee all of the intelligence agencies. Is that a good idea, Neal?
BOORTZ: No, I don't think so. I think that a little -- just as in every other facet of American life, a little competition is good. And I would like to see different intelligence agencies trying to compete with each other to come up with the necessary information to provide for our security. If you have one intelligence agency, then complacency is easy to manage, and so is malfeasance. And I don't think it's a good idea at all.
NGUYEN: Mike, is it going to prevent turf battles and future terrorist attacks?
MALLOY: Well, let me just say, I disagree with Neal on this one. You know, we have an attorney general who runs the Justice Department. We have somebody who runs Health and Human Services. We should have one person, one agency that oversees intelligence. Then, the idea of miscommunications is out the window. I think during both the Clinton and the Bush II years there were some horrendous, awful miscommunications. And as a result of those miscommunications we're where we are now. So, I tend to think that there should be one overseer, one cabinet-level position that handles all intelligence.
NGUYEN: All right, we're going to move over to California and talk about the governor and his comments about "girlie men." What do you think about this? I mean, is this just a lot of talk, or are there some real issues here?
BOORTZ: It's nothing. Come on! I mean, this was -- what was it? A "Saturday Night Live" skit?
MALLOY: Yes.
BOORTZ: Did people start yelling and screaming, oh, my god, homophobia, when it was being used on "Saturday Night Live" about girlie men? Now, a Republican governor uses it, and all of a sudden we demand apologies. This is homophobic. This is whatever. Give it a rest. It is not a news story.
MALLOY: I don't think it's homophobic, Betty. I just think it's in poor taste. This guy is a Republican governor. Think of what Cheney said on the floor of the Senate a couple of weeks ago and now this. OK, it's -- like Neal says, it's from a "Saturday Night Live" skit. But when somebody disagrees with you -- I don't think it's homophobic, by the way. But when somebody disagrees with you, now you're a girlie man. Oh, you are a girlie man. What's up with that? I mean, what's with this guy? Is he an adult?
BOORTZ: It's a pop culture term. Big deal.
MALLOY: Pop culture?
BOORTZ: Yes.
MALLOY: I haven't really heard it. I remember when it was on "Saturday Night Live," Neal. But that was what? Ten years ago?
BOORTZ: Well, you see, I have just -- your short-term memory is faltering.
MALLOY: I wonder...
BOORTZ: It will come back. It will come back.
MALLOY: I just wonder how you say "girlie men" in Austrian, or is it German?
NGUYEN: Oh, now, now, gentlemen. OK. Well, we appreciate your insights. Neal Boortz and Mike Malloy this morning, thank you.
BOORTZ: Take care.
MALLOY: Take care, Betty. NGUYEN: Your news, money, weather and sports. The time right now is 6:47 Eastern. And here's what's all new this morning.
A Philippine truck driver held hostage for two weeks in Iraq is free. Angelo de la Cruz is at the Philippine embassy in Baghdad. He will reportedly fly to the United Arab Emirates for a medical evaluation before heading home.
Thirty-five years ago today Neil Armstrong spoke those immortal words: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first astronauts to walk on the moon.
In money, you're once again paying a little more for gasoline. Big surprise. Energy officials say prices are climbing back up for second week in a row. The national average is around $1.93 a gallon.
In culture, singer Linda Ronstadt gets fired for dedicating a song to filmmaker Michael Moore at a concert in Las Vegas. That outraged the audience. Security even threw Ronstadt off the property after the concert.
And in sports, Eddie George, all-time leading rusher for the Tennessee Titans, has rejected the team's latest contract offer. George is asking the Titans to release him quickly, so he can find a new job. There is no comment from the Titans just yet.
Interesting. You liked him, huh?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I thought he was probably the -- every time that he got the ball at Ohio State it could have been a touchdown. That's how phenomenal he was in college. And he's never really come to fruition in the pros yet.
NGUYEN: Well, maybe he will if he gets the trade.
MYERS: He's still pretty young, yes. Maybe he'll get an offensive line that he can work with a little bit better. You never know.
(WEATHER BREAK)
NGUYEN: Thank you, Chad.
Coming up, some writers really paint a mental picture, don't they? It's the best of the worst writing. Not exactly a contest you'd want to win.
Then, a sunken treasure perfectly preserved. We'll tell you all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Writing that is so bad it's actually good, dishonorable mention and the best of the worst. It's just the typical fare that makes an annual writing contest, well, novel. Vicki Liviakis of our San Francisco affiliate KRON puts the words into motion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT RICE, ENGLISH PROFESSOR: "It was a dark and stormy night."
VICKI LIVIAKIS, CNN AFFILIATE KRON REPORTER (voice over): And so it begins, the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction contest, better known as "the dark and stormy night contest," bad writing at its best.
RICE: "The day dawned much like any other day, except that the date was different."
LIVIAKIS: Just when you thought it couldn't get any better.
RICE: "The thing that goes back and forth inside the old grandfather clock swung like a pendulum."
I always say there are two kinds of people who enter contests: Good writers pretending to be bad writers, and bad writers pretending to be good writers pretending to be bad writers. And that's -- we get both. Believe me, some of the entries really are painful.
LIVIAKIS: So, who decides the baddest of the bad? Professor of English Scott Rice, who started the contest in 1982 and has seen some real literary lulus.
RICE: I'm sort of like the arbiter of what's in the dumpster.
LIVIAKIS: The top of the garbage heap? An homage to Martha Stewart.
RICE: "Like Martha Stewart ripping the sand vein out of a shrimp's tail."
LIVIAKIS: That line of pitiful prose belonging to winner David Zobel (ph) of Southern California.
(on camera): The contest is run out of San Jose State University, and it gets entries from all over the world. Amazing how there just is no shortage of bad writing.
RICE: "The knife handle jutted from her chest like one of those plastic pop-up timers in a frozen turkey. But from the blood pooling around the wound, it was apparent that this bird wasn't done."
LIVIAKIS (voice over): From crime-writing that a real crime to kids' books that are, well, downright childish.
RICE: "It was only a leaking pustule, but for Billy the bacterium it was home."
LIVIAKIS: You can find mangled metaphors just about anywhere, even in the nightly news.
RICE: And one newscaster I heard say, he went to the well one time too many and got burned. Oh, you get burned in the well, do you?
LIVIAKIS (on camera): "The words tumbled from my mouth like broken eggs on a sizzling sidewalk, damaged, but slightly poached." Oh, that was good. Wasn't that good?
RICE: Somebody once said that that one advantage of writing is that you can seem more intelligent than you really are. And I would say, don't push it.
LIVIAKIS (voice over): In San Jose, Vicki Liviakis, KRON 4 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Fortunately, those guys are pushing it. That's bad writing.
MYERS: Two hundred and fifty bucks.
NGUYEN: That's it.
MYERS: You're going to get really bad writing. It's got to be worth 1,000 or something, right?
NGUYEN: You've got to up the ante.
MYERS: Yes, or maybe a DAYBREAK coffee mug. Here you go.
NGUYEN: That's true.
MYERS: Here's your chance to win one, the DAYBREAK coffee mug there on our set if you can answer these two questions, e-mail to Daybreak@CNN.com with your name and address. Remember you have to answer both.
What celebrity will launch a youth vote to campaign today? That's No. 1. And 2, according to a recent Gallup Poll, do more Americans think obesity is a disease, or is it caused by poor eating and a lifestyle habit?
We'll have the winners tomorrow -- the winner tomorrow.
NGUYEN: And, again, you know, I can answer both of these, but I never get a mug, Chad.
MYERS: Well, you're not here long enough.
NGUYEN: You're going to have to work on it. You've got some pull around here.
MYERS: You have to have tenure to get a mug.
NGUYEN: Oh, all right. I see how it works. OK. We're back right after a quick break, but first here's a look at headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: That's right. You get one vote.
NGUYEN: Yes, exactly.
Well, Chad, it is time for the ever-popular "Lightning Round."
MYERS: OK.
NGUYEN: Let's get straight to it.
It takes some 16 bites to polish off a Big Mac, and he should know. He has eaten 20,000 of them. Don Gorski (ph) just passed a McDonald's milestone on Monday evening, having the same meal he's eaten nearly every day since May 17 of 1972. Back then, a Big Mac costs just 49 cents. It's not like that today.
MYERS: And he's skinny.
NGUYEN: He's still got the sideburns from the '70s, too.
Well, a sunken treasure. English divers recently found a ship that sank in the English Channel nearly 50 years ago. And perfectly preserved in the cargo hold: 20,000 bottles of none else than champagne. The divers, of course, celebrated the surprise with a little taste testing.
MYERS: I wonder why that guy had a patch on his shoulder that said, "DUI." I'm not sure what that means. There you go. Obviously...
NGUYEN: No diving while under the influence.
MYERS: I guess. The good stuff.
NGUYEN: Yes, very good stuff.
Well, that's going to do it for us. We want to take you now to "AMERICAN MORNING," which begins at the top of the hour. Thanks for joining us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired July 20, 2004 - 06:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Released from his captors after days of tense negotiations, the Filipino hostage in Iraq is set free.
It's Tuesday, July 20, and this is DAYBREAK.
Well, good morning to you from the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Betty Nguyen in for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, a Filipino truck driver held hostage for nearly two weeks in Iraq is now waiting to go home. Angelo de la Cruz has been released by his captors and is at the Philippine embassy in Baghdad. His release comes one day after the Philippine government pulled its last troops out of Iraq.
President Bush is spending most of the day on the campaign trail. After a morning meeting with economic advisers, he heads to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a re-election rally. Later, he'll attend another rally just outside Saint Louis.
And on the Democratic side, presidential candidates are lying low today -- or the presidential candidate. Senator John Kerry is in Nantucket, Massachusetts and has no public events scheduled. His running mate, John Edwards, is in Washington for the day.
And in just a few hours, music mogul Sean P. "Diddy" Combs is expected to take the microphone to announce more details about his national voter registration drive. Combs has said the goal of his Citizen Change drive is to register at least two million young voters.
People are returning to their homes in Southern California. Weekend wildfires forced the evacuation of more than 1,600 houses in Santa Clarita. Residents have returned to all but 350 of those homes. Firefighters have been able to surround the Santa Clarita fire, which is now about 45-percent contained.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(WEATHER BREAK)
NGUYEN: Let's get more now on the Filipino truck driver who has been released in Iraq. Angelo de la Cruz is at the Philippine embassy in Baghdad, and CNN's Matthew Chance joins us from Baghdad with more on the release.
Hi -- Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Betty. And he spent the last two weeks with the threat of brutal execution hanging over him. But now, Angelo de la Cruz is a free man. He's in the custody of Filipino diplomats, and he's on his way home via the United Arab Emirates, where we're told he will be receiving medical checks.
But this release came at quite a high price. It comes just a day after the Filipino government ordered out and actually evacuated out, withdrew out its 51-strong contingent of humanitarian troops that had been working as part of the coalition here in Iraq. The fate of the hostage depended on that, and his hostage-takers said that they would decapitate him, behead him, if those troops were not withdrawn.
The United States, as well as the Iraqi interim government, has been expressing its concern. The U.S. working very hard behind the scenes before this withdrawal took place to get the Filipino government to change its mind, concern that it may send the wrong message to hostage-taking groups in the future. The interim Iraqi government also expressing its concerns, saying it sets a bad precedent.
But this has become such a hot political issue in the Philippines itself, the fate of Angelo de la Cruz, that the government decided clearly that it didn't have any choice. And the two countries, Iraq and the U.S., are having to respect that decision now.
NGUYEN: Matthew Chance in Baghdad this morning, thank you.
Samuel Berger, the national security adviser in the Clinton administration, is in trouble this morning. It's the result of preparations he made for an appearance in March before the commission investigating the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Berger is under a federal criminal investigation for allegedly taking classified documents and handwritten notes from a national archive screening room.
Berger released a statement, saying -- quote -- that he "inadvertently took a few documents." He goes on -- quoting here: "I also took my notes on the documents reviewed. When I was informed by the archives there were documents missing, I immediately returned everything I had, except for a few documents that apparently I had accidentally discarded."
Well, what does America think? Today we look at politics, obesity and even a notable moment in outer space. And for a look at some opinions, let's join Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport this morning.
Frank, we want to start with politics, and both candidates have been trying to court minority voters. How are their efforts working out so far?
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Well, let's show you the data. We just finished our Gallup's annual update on minority views of the world, including politics. And we can break out the projected vote. This is through June for Bush or for Kerry by non-Hispanic whites. Bush is ahead there. Among blacks, overwhelmingly they will support Kerry. That's not a surprise. It's very rare that a Republican candidate will get a lot of the black vote. It may explain why Bush did not show up at the NAACP convention a week or two ago.
But among Hispanics, it still tilts to Kerry, but you'll notice the 38 percent of Hispanics nationwide already say they would vote for Bush. That's why Bush, indeed, has been out there looking at the Hispanic vote in a state like Florida, where he recently was eating at a Cuban restaurant, trying to get the Hispanic vote.
NGUYEN: Allan Greenspan, he testifies on Capitol Hill today on the state of the economy. Are Americans starting to become more positive about the economy?
NEWPORT: Well, it's kind of interesting. Yes, consumer confidence is going up a little in our Gallup measures. But overwhelmingly, Americans do expect to see more interest rate increase and more inflation.
You can see, in fact, 78 percent in our recent update said they expect within the next six months interest rates to go up. Inflation a little lower at 62 percent.
That could be bad news. Americans may be worried about it. In fact, those are higher numbers. Fifty-eight percent say there will be growth and 46 percent say the stock market will go up. So, look at these in context. What are Americans expecting most out of the economy? Increased interest rates. And, again, that may be dampening some of their optimism about the economy.
NGUYEN: Very interesting. We've also reported about the problems with obesity in American society, and last week the government decided to start classifying obesity as a disease. What does your polling show about that issue?
NEWPORT: Well, we just asked exactly that question. Overwhelmingly, Americans say nonsense. It's not a disease. It is an issue of personal eating style and choosing the wrong foods. See the numbers there? Seventy-five percent say it's a lifestyle choice. Only 21 percent say it's a disease. So, the public totally disagrees with the government on this.
By the way, Betty, even those who are overweight are no more likely to say it's a disease than those who claim their weight is about right.
NGUYEN: And finally, Frank, today marks the 35th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. We know President Bush wants to return to the moon. But are Americans willing to pay for it?
NEWPORT: Well, Americans like the idea. All of the polling shows by Gallup that if you just say if you would go back to Mars and the moon with humans, yes. Americans say good idea. We're in favor of it. But the question we asked: What about spending billions and billions, as Carl Sagan once said about doing it? Only 31 percent say yes.
So the bottom line here, Betty, is, great concept to send humans back into space. The idea is where is the money going to come from?
NGUYEN: Absolutely. It's all about the money. Frank Newport, thank you very much.
There is still more to come here on DAYBREAK, so please stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: It's time now to get some opinions on the right and the left on some of the news stories that we've been following.
Joining us with their take on things, conservative talk master Neal Boortz, and on the liberal side, Mike Malloy.
Good morning to you both.
MIKE MALLOY, LIBERAL TALK SHOW HOST: Hey. How are you doing?
NGUYEN: The Democratic National Convention gets under way next weekend. Kerry is not even showing up until the night before he is supposed to speak. Is this a good idea, Mike? He's out on campaign stops until then.
MALLOY: You know, I have a hard time with national political conventions anyway, Betty. It's already been decided. I think the fact that he's not going to show up until the evening before or the day of, what difference does it make? Kerry is my candidate. I hope he wins this election. But these political campaigns, really, they're a waste of time. Not the...
NGUYEN: Neal, is it important for him to be out there on the road?
MALLOY: Not the campaigns; I meant the conventions. So, conventions are just a total taste of time.
NGUYEN: Gotcha there. Neal, what do you think about it? Is he really going to gain any voters this way? Or should he be spending his time at the convention?
NEAL BOORTZ, CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOW HOST: No, this is a bad start for a Tuesday. I mean, I'm agreeing with Mike. Agh!
But this is a four-day or a three-day infomercial. But Kerry doesn't have to be there. I will. And so, that will be the entertainment value. But Kerry is not -- he's got the votes of those delegates. What does he need to be there for? He'll be out around the country campaigning for votes, doing some good. He'll show up the last night. And Mike is absolutely right. These things are meaningless now, and both the Republican and the Democratic, it's decided.
NGUYEN: Something...
BOORTZ: The only convention that had any mystery this year was the Libertarian. There was a surprise there.
MALLOY: That's still a mystery.
NGUYEN: Well, something that may be very interesting is Sandy Berger and all of these classified materials, some of which were thrown away. You know, what do you think about this?
BOORTZ: Look, he's a Clinton administration official. So, I'd like to see some sort of great conspiracy to cover up information here. I don't see it. Look, how many of us haven't walked out accidentally from our workplace or maybe a retail establishment with something in our pockets that shouldn't have been there? Until I see more evidence on this one, I'm just not ready to start yelling foul or conspiracy.
NGUYEN: Mike, it's one thing to walk out with some paperwork and whatnot, but this is classified material. What do you think?
MALLOY: Well, Neal is getting real close there on a Tuesday morning to endorsing shoplifting is what it sounded like. But on the other hand, this is awful. I tend to agree with Neal on this one, as he agreed with me. I don't think Sandy Berger did anything wrong. He was to testify. If he looked at documents in order to refresh what happened during the Clinton -- during his time as the national security adviser during the Clinton years and inadvertently took them out of whatever room or office he was looking at them, where is the problem here?
It is interesting to me, though, that this becomes a news item at the same time the 9/11 Commission report is out there, and Mr. Bush is trying to avoid comments.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about that 9/11 Commission, because they are expected to recommend one cabinet-level position to oversee all of the intelligence agencies. Is that a good idea, Neal?
BOORTZ: No, I don't think so. I think that a little -- just as in every other facet of American life, a little competition is good. And I would like to see different intelligence agencies trying to compete with each other to come up with the necessary information to provide for our security. If you have one intelligence agency, then complacency is easy to manage, and so is malfeasance. And I don't think it's a good idea at all.
NGUYEN: Mike, is it going to prevent turf battles and future terrorist attacks?
MALLOY: Well, let me just say, I disagree with Neal on this one. You know, we have an attorney general who runs the Justice Department. We have somebody who runs Health and Human Services. We should have one person, one agency that oversees intelligence. Then, the idea of miscommunications is out the window. I think during both the Clinton and the Bush II years there were some horrendous, awful miscommunications. And as a result of those miscommunications we're where we are now. So, I tend to think that there should be one overseer, one cabinet-level position that handles all intelligence.
NGUYEN: All right, we're going to move over to California and talk about the governor and his comments about "girlie men." What do you think about this? I mean, is this just a lot of talk, or are there some real issues here?
BOORTZ: It's nothing. Come on! I mean, this was -- what was it? A "Saturday Night Live" skit?
MALLOY: Yes.
BOORTZ: Did people start yelling and screaming, oh, my god, homophobia, when it was being used on "Saturday Night Live" about girlie men? Now, a Republican governor uses it, and all of a sudden we demand apologies. This is homophobic. This is whatever. Give it a rest. It is not a news story.
MALLOY: I don't think it's homophobic, Betty. I just think it's in poor taste. This guy is a Republican governor. Think of what Cheney said on the floor of the Senate a couple of weeks ago and now this. OK, it's -- like Neal says, it's from a "Saturday Night Live" skit. But when somebody disagrees with you -- I don't think it's homophobic, by the way. But when somebody disagrees with you, now you're a girlie man. Oh, you are a girlie man. What's up with that? I mean, what's with this guy? Is he an adult?
BOORTZ: It's a pop culture term. Big deal.
MALLOY: Pop culture?
BOORTZ: Yes.
MALLOY: I haven't really heard it. I remember when it was on "Saturday Night Live," Neal. But that was what? Ten years ago?
BOORTZ: Well, you see, I have just -- your short-term memory is faltering.
MALLOY: I wonder...
BOORTZ: It will come back. It will come back.
MALLOY: I just wonder how you say "girlie men" in Austrian, or is it German?
NGUYEN: Oh, now, now, gentlemen. OK. Well, we appreciate your insights. Neal Boortz and Mike Malloy this morning, thank you.
BOORTZ: Take care.
MALLOY: Take care, Betty. NGUYEN: Your news, money, weather and sports. The time right now is 6:47 Eastern. And here's what's all new this morning.
A Philippine truck driver held hostage for two weeks in Iraq is free. Angelo de la Cruz is at the Philippine embassy in Baghdad. He will reportedly fly to the United Arab Emirates for a medical evaluation before heading home.
Thirty-five years ago today Neil Armstrong spoke those immortal words: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first astronauts to walk on the moon.
In money, you're once again paying a little more for gasoline. Big surprise. Energy officials say prices are climbing back up for second week in a row. The national average is around $1.93 a gallon.
In culture, singer Linda Ronstadt gets fired for dedicating a song to filmmaker Michael Moore at a concert in Las Vegas. That outraged the audience. Security even threw Ronstadt off the property after the concert.
And in sports, Eddie George, all-time leading rusher for the Tennessee Titans, has rejected the team's latest contract offer. George is asking the Titans to release him quickly, so he can find a new job. There is no comment from the Titans just yet.
Interesting. You liked him, huh?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I thought he was probably the -- every time that he got the ball at Ohio State it could have been a touchdown. That's how phenomenal he was in college. And he's never really come to fruition in the pros yet.
NGUYEN: Well, maybe he will if he gets the trade.
MYERS: He's still pretty young, yes. Maybe he'll get an offensive line that he can work with a little bit better. You never know.
(WEATHER BREAK)
NGUYEN: Thank you, Chad.
Coming up, some writers really paint a mental picture, don't they? It's the best of the worst writing. Not exactly a contest you'd want to win.
Then, a sunken treasure perfectly preserved. We'll tell you all about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Writing that is so bad it's actually good, dishonorable mention and the best of the worst. It's just the typical fare that makes an annual writing contest, well, novel. Vicki Liviakis of our San Francisco affiliate KRON puts the words into motion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT RICE, ENGLISH PROFESSOR: "It was a dark and stormy night."
VICKI LIVIAKIS, CNN AFFILIATE KRON REPORTER (voice over): And so it begins, the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction contest, better known as "the dark and stormy night contest," bad writing at its best.
RICE: "The day dawned much like any other day, except that the date was different."
LIVIAKIS: Just when you thought it couldn't get any better.
RICE: "The thing that goes back and forth inside the old grandfather clock swung like a pendulum."
I always say there are two kinds of people who enter contests: Good writers pretending to be bad writers, and bad writers pretending to be good writers pretending to be bad writers. And that's -- we get both. Believe me, some of the entries really are painful.
LIVIAKIS: So, who decides the baddest of the bad? Professor of English Scott Rice, who started the contest in 1982 and has seen some real literary lulus.
RICE: I'm sort of like the arbiter of what's in the dumpster.
LIVIAKIS: The top of the garbage heap? An homage to Martha Stewart.
RICE: "Like Martha Stewart ripping the sand vein out of a shrimp's tail."
LIVIAKIS: That line of pitiful prose belonging to winner David Zobel (ph) of Southern California.
(on camera): The contest is run out of San Jose State University, and it gets entries from all over the world. Amazing how there just is no shortage of bad writing.
RICE: "The knife handle jutted from her chest like one of those plastic pop-up timers in a frozen turkey. But from the blood pooling around the wound, it was apparent that this bird wasn't done."
LIVIAKIS (voice over): From crime-writing that a real crime to kids' books that are, well, downright childish.
RICE: "It was only a leaking pustule, but for Billy the bacterium it was home."
LIVIAKIS: You can find mangled metaphors just about anywhere, even in the nightly news.
RICE: And one newscaster I heard say, he went to the well one time too many and got burned. Oh, you get burned in the well, do you?
LIVIAKIS (on camera): "The words tumbled from my mouth like broken eggs on a sizzling sidewalk, damaged, but slightly poached." Oh, that was good. Wasn't that good?
RICE: Somebody once said that that one advantage of writing is that you can seem more intelligent than you really are. And I would say, don't push it.
LIVIAKIS (voice over): In San Jose, Vicki Liviakis, KRON 4 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Fortunately, those guys are pushing it. That's bad writing.
MYERS: Two hundred and fifty bucks.
NGUYEN: That's it.
MYERS: You're going to get really bad writing. It's got to be worth 1,000 or something, right?
NGUYEN: You've got to up the ante.
MYERS: Yes, or maybe a DAYBREAK coffee mug. Here you go.
NGUYEN: That's true.
MYERS: Here's your chance to win one, the DAYBREAK coffee mug there on our set if you can answer these two questions, e-mail to Daybreak@CNN.com with your name and address. Remember you have to answer both.
What celebrity will launch a youth vote to campaign today? That's No. 1. And 2, according to a recent Gallup Poll, do more Americans think obesity is a disease, or is it caused by poor eating and a lifestyle habit?
We'll have the winners tomorrow -- the winner tomorrow.
NGUYEN: And, again, you know, I can answer both of these, but I never get a mug, Chad.
MYERS: Well, you're not here long enough.
NGUYEN: You're going to have to work on it. You've got some pull around here.
MYERS: You have to have tenure to get a mug.
NGUYEN: Oh, all right. I see how it works. OK. We're back right after a quick break, but first here's a look at headlines.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: That's right. You get one vote.
NGUYEN: Yes, exactly.
Well, Chad, it is time for the ever-popular "Lightning Round."
MYERS: OK.
NGUYEN: Let's get straight to it.
It takes some 16 bites to polish off a Big Mac, and he should know. He has eaten 20,000 of them. Don Gorski (ph) just passed a McDonald's milestone on Monday evening, having the same meal he's eaten nearly every day since May 17 of 1972. Back then, a Big Mac costs just 49 cents. It's not like that today.
MYERS: And he's skinny.
NGUYEN: He's still got the sideburns from the '70s, too.
Well, a sunken treasure. English divers recently found a ship that sank in the English Channel nearly 50 years ago. And perfectly preserved in the cargo hold: 20,000 bottles of none else than champagne. The divers, of course, celebrated the surprise with a little taste testing.
MYERS: I wonder why that guy had a patch on his shoulder that said, "DUI." I'm not sure what that means. There you go. Obviously...
NGUYEN: No diving while under the influence.
MYERS: I guess. The good stuff.
NGUYEN: Yes, very good stuff.
Well, that's going to do it for us. We want to take you now to "AMERICAN MORNING," which begins at the top of the hour. Thanks for joining us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
