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CNN Live At Daybreak
Life After Charley; 'America's Voice'
Aired August 17, 2004 - 06:30 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The massive cleanup effort enters its fifth day in hurricane-battered areas of Florida. Life is miserable for so many people who are coping with no power and, in many cases, no homes.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us by phone from Punta Gorda this morning.
Good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
You know what? There is a little bit of good news to report here.
The search and rescue efforts that have been going on through the area, not only here in Punta Gorda, but across the region, seem to be slowing down quite a bit. The emergency management director here in Punta Gorda was telling us yesterday that they just don't think there are any more people missing, and that they think they've done a pretty solid job of going through all of the neighborhoods, home by home, even room by room in some cases if the homes were really destroyed, just to make sure that there was no one left behind.
And it's kind of interesting that the fact that, you know, maybe some people haven't heard from relatives or loved ones might just boil down to the fact that there's no telephone service. So, there was a wireless company that had set up a stand and allowing people to use their cell phones to make calls out. And that has turned out to be a helpful thing.
So officials here say that that search and rescue effort will be slowing down, but there are still close to a million people without power. And a lot of the streets and homes are still littered with debris. But officials are confidence that the federal aid money will be arriving, and that the cleanup and be able to pay for this cleanup process will be a speedy effort.
COSTELLO: We hope so. Ed Lavandera by cell phone from Punta Gorda, Florida, this morning.
On the campaign trail John Kerry is still taking some time off for a little relaxation at his home in Idaho. He'll speak tomorrow at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, the same convention President Bush talked to a few days ago.
President Bush will head to the battleground states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia today. The president will speak at a Boeing plant in Delaware County. Then he'll head to West Virginia for a campaign rally in Hedgesville.
And as the president continues on the campaign trail, his job approval rating is back above 50 percent. Just how significant is this historically?
To talk more about that, live to Princeton, New Jersey, and Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport.
Good morning, Frank.
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Indeed, Bush's approval rating had been at 49 percent -- I'll show you here -- just a few weeks ago. So, it will go to 51, just a couple of points gain.
Now, ordinarily we wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but that 50 percent is symbolic, Carol. See that 51 percent now, 46 percent disapproval? The first time, as you mentioned, above 50 percent in quite a while now.
Symbolically and historically the reason it's important: The last five presidents who had sought re-election and been re-elected, incumbents, had above 50 percent almost all the year. The last three who didn't get re-elected, including Bush's father, had below 50 percent all the year.
So, to be above 50 percent for an incumbent, even by one point, symbolically certainly is a positive sign for the president.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the economy. The Dow rebounded on Monday. So are Americans climbing out of their economic depression now?
NEWPORT: We don't see much evidence of that, Carol. Certainly there have been mixed signals to some degree. Stock market is up. Oil prices may be back down again. But there are some mixed job reports.
Here are the numbers. Is the economy getting better or getting worse? Notice the optimism gap there in mid-July. Fifty-one percent said it was getting better. That's come back down. The percent of getting worse is now actually up to one point higher than getting better. So, we have a net negative of minus one.
Now, major changes again, but no signs, Carol, that Americans are becoming robustly optimistic.
COSTELLO: Interesting. OK. So, there is so much in the news these days. What do Americans think are the top one or two problems facing us today?
NEWPORT: It's a fascinating question we've been asking here at Gallup, believe it or not, going all the way back to the Depression years: What's the most important problem? It's the economy, it's Iraq and it's terrorism. Economy, 21 percent of Americans spontaneously tell us Gallup interviewers that's the No. 1 problem. Iraq, 21. Terrorism, 18. But unemployment, 15, which is really part of the economy. Then health care, 11.
If you net it all out, the economy in one way or the other still, in our opinion, remains the No. 1 problem. The percent mentioning Iraq as a problem is down a few points. The percent mentioning terrorism this month is actually up a couple of points -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I love these next set of numbers, Frank. Michael Phelps we know missed his chance for seven gold medals in Athens. So, is swimming a big sport in Olympics? And who likes what?
NEWPORT: It is, but I would say here is what our careful analysis shows at Gallup. Gymnastics is the pivot point. If you're a male, yick. If you're a female, you love it.
Here are the numbers: Favorite sport for men: track and field and then swimming. It comes in, you know, Michael Phelps a little below track and field. Only 9 percent mentioned gymnastics. Surprisingly, even among men, only 6 percent say basketball at the Olympics.
Look at women. What are the top sports for women? Well, gymnastics is tied for No. 1 with swimming. Track and field falls way down there. And then actually diving comes in at 6 percent. No mention of basketball at all.
So, gymnastics, as I mentioned, is a big sport for women, but men at least tell us they're not interested in watching.
COSTELLO: That's like ice dancing in the Winter Olympics. Only women like it. Frank Newport live from Princeton, New Jersey.
We've been asking you a question all morning long: Are you watching the Olympics? Because there are so many empty seats in Athens. Nobody is buying any tickets.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they're not watching over there, that's for sure.
COSTELLO: Well, they're on vacation. The security concerns have scared them away. But we wondered if you were watching on television.
This is from Tim from Leander, Texas. He says: "Yes, I'm watching until I can reach the remote and change the channel. I do the same when you try to be Court TV, which is all too often, like your lead stories today." Thanks, Tim.
MYERS: Ron from Ozark, Alabama, thinks it's a stupid question, so he watches all of the time. He said: "I think it's just a great thing. A bunch of reality shows, they're all stupid. Moronic re-runs of sitcoms. At least the Olympics are a wonderful breath of fresh air."
COSTELLO: People are in a good mood this morning, aren't they?
MYERS: Well, they have very strong opinions one way or the other. They're either watching because they think the Olympics are the greatest thing since sliced bread, or they think that it's just a waste of time.
COSTELLO: Yes. There is no middle ground.
MYERS: Not really.
COSTELLO: Like I catch a few snippets here and there, and there is none of that.
This is from Jay from Seattle, Washington: "I'm barely keeping up with the coverage and not watching the Olympics, but I'm very interested in the Iraqi team and how they're doing."
And as you know, the Iraqi soccer team just won two matches.
MYERS: Yes. Right.
COSTELLO: Cool.
MYERS: "I do watch the Olympics after 12:00 a.m.," says Nahid (ph). He says there's nothing else on TV after midnight anyway, so I might as well put that on.
COSTELLO: Well, here's a nice one from Chris. Thank you, Chris. "Absolutely the best athletes in the world are participating in an extremely historic country. Who would not watch?"
Keep those e-mails coming. Daybreak@CNN.com.
The SEC is launching a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the highly-anticipated sale of Google stocks. At 40 after, a live report from the Nasdaq Marketsite in New York with more on the Google initial public offering.
And, at 42 minutes after, should the FBI be knocking on the doors of political protesters before they actually protest? A view from the left and the right.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Will there be a repeat on Wall Street's falling oil prices and stocks at bargain prices? Investors were buying. Here's a look at how the markets ended. The Dow gained 129 points. The Nasdaq moved up 25 and a half points. The S&P 500 gained 14 and a half points.
It's time for a little business buzz now.
Google prepares to go public. Carrie Lee has the latest. She is live at the Nasdaq Marketsite.
So, how much per share?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, Google has said in the past, back in July, that it expects to get around $108 to $135 a share. Now, some analysts say that price is a little bit high. But still, there has been a lot of interest in this issue, and we could potentially see the shares start trading tomorrow.
Here's the latest: Google said yesterday that it might conclude the bidding in its auction-style IPO late today. That would leave it a step away from becoming a publicly-traded company.
Now, Google, which, of course, operates the most popular Web search service, formally asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to start selling shares after 4:00 p.m. today. And on its Web site, Google advised investors that the stocks' underwriters might accept auction bids as soon as 5:00 p.m.
So, at that point, investors who had placed bids since the auction began last Friday might be notified that they are among the winners. Google is expected to trade here at the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol GOOG, and they're trying to raise over $3 billion in this offering.
By the way, Carol, that price would put Google's market cap at about $36 billion, putting it on par with other giants like Yahoo!.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: Fascinating. We'll check back with you tomorrow. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.
They're on the move. Now it's time for a little politicking.
President Bush announced he'll redeploy thousands of U.S. troops stationed around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The new plan will help us fight and win these wars of the 21st century. It will strengthen our alliances around the world while we build new partnerships to better preserve the peace. It will reduce the stress on our troops and our military families.
Although we'll still have a significant presence overseas, under the plan I'm announcing today over the next 10 years we will bring home about 60,000 to 70,000 uniformed personnel and about 100,000 members and civilian employees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: On the surface, it sounds rather tame. The Cold War is over. So why not? But it is our hot talker of the morning. Joining us live from Chicago, Nancy Skinner with the liberal viewpoint. And here in Atlanta, Neal Boortz, the conservative libertarian talker.
Welcome to you both.
NEAL BOORTZ, CONSERVATIVE RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Hello.
NANCY SKINNER, LIBERAL TALK RADIO HOST: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So redeployment. Why has this become so political? Nancy, let's start with you.
SKINNER: Well, maybe because it's three months before an election. It's a little bit like shuffling the -- reshuffling the deck of the cards, because you don't like the hand that you dealt yourself.
I mean, the fact is we have a problem in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we're calling up more and more Reservists to deal with this problem. And I think what the president is trying to do here is distract attention from the problems that really he has created. And we're not going to save any money as a result of this deployment. We are jeopardizing some security in hot spots like South Korea, upsetting our allies like Germany.
I think what he's trying to accomplish is to tell the American people that, hey, I am not a -- we are trying to realign our troops. I'm not a warmonger. But I don't think it's the best thing for national security.
COSTELLO: Neal, before you respond, I want you to listen to this sound byte from a soldier in Najaf. We got it this morning.
BOORTZ: OK.
COSTELLO: Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll be driving down the road and a Hi-D (ph) goes off or something like that, it just makes it, like, you know, why are we even here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He's questioning why they're even there. Morale is low in Iraq and Afghanistan. And to move troops around not from those places, but from other places, it really isn't solving that morale issue, is it?
BOORTZ: Well, I don't know if we can determine that morale is low in Iraq and Afghanistan because of that one soldier. I get e- mails from there all the time that don't indicate that.
As far as Germany and withdrawing or redeploying troops there, as long as we leave 15-20 troops there in case we have to invade France in the future, I see no problem. Why do we need Persian tanks in Germany?
By the way, it should be said -- and I know Nancy meant to say this, but forgot -- that this whole redeployment issue was studied and determined to be a good idea under the Clinton administration, not the Bush administration. So, it...
COSTELLO: Well, Nancy, he has a point.
SKINNER: Well, you don't do something like this, on a scale of this, three months before an election. It's obviously political in nature. And you know what? I think a problem with President Bush is Americans perceive much of what he does is political, including going into Iraq the way he did instead of focusing on al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. It was political that he went into Iraq.
BOORTZ: OK, well, let's...
SKINNER: And so it just adds to that perception.
BOORTZ: Let's say that George Bush was re-elected and waited until three months after the election to do the redeployment. Then we would have the left saying, why didn't he do this before the deployment -- before the election? He was afraid. He's a coward. He waited until after so it would be a politically-safe move. He can't win.
SKINNER: I'll tell you, Neal. I mean, I'm questioning whether he should do it before or after. You know, North Korea actually has nuclear weapons, and they're making nuclear weapons. And President Bush focused on Iraq, neglecting the situation in North Korea. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
BOORTZ: OK...
SKINNER: But they are and were, and they're still making them in North Korea, and we're going to pull our troops from the Korean peninsula.
COSTELLO: Yes, Neal. And why rattle counties like Japan and South Korea, counties who are still so friendly to the United States?
BOORTZ: Well, if you look over Carol's shoulder right now in the CNN center, you see all of the news people scurrying around madly, because they didn't know until just now that Korea actually has nuclear weapons. So, that's news to a lot of us.
SKINNER: That North Korea has nuclear weapons?
BOORTZ: That they have. Now, the development programs? Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: Well, we actually don't know that for sure.
SKINNER: Sure they do! BOORTZ: But the actual weapons?
SKINNER: Yes, we do.
BOORTZ: We don't know that.
SKINNER: Certainly we do.
BOORTZ: OK, well...
SKINNER: We know that they started reprocessing. They had 8,000 spent fuel rods. And that they've been reprocessing this stuff now for well over a year.
BOORTZ: I understand that, Nancy. Understand that. But it is from you that I first learned this morning that North Korea now actually has nuclear weapons.
COSTELLO: Well, I must...
SKINNER: You know, you've got to start reading the paper.
COSTELLO: I must say, Nancy...
SKINNER: And I love Neal so much. We're good friends.
COSTELLO: Nancy, there is no...
SKINNER: But you've got to read...
COSTELLO: Wait a second. There is no concrete evidence that North Korea has nuclear weapons, like finished and ready to go. There just isn't any...
SKINNER: Well...
COSTELLO: ... because no one can get into that country.
SKINNER: We haven't seen them, but we have...
COSTELLO: So in that sense, analytically he's right.
SKINNER: That's a process that begun a long time ago...
COSTELLO: That's right, too.
SKINNER: ... and it's in the works.
COSTELLO: So, see, Neal, there are shades of gray involved.
BOORTZ: And listen, without shades of gray neither Nancy nor I have a job.
COSTELLO: That's true.
SKINNER: That's right. COSTELLO: Nancy Skinner and Neal Boortz, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
BOORTZ: See you, Nancy.
SKINNER: Thank you. Bye, Neal.
COSTELLO: Oh, my.
Let's head to New York and check in with Bill and Heidi to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Spirited, Carol, we call that. Good morning to you.
Some of the major headlines we're watching this morning, trials and tribulations just about at every turn. Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, all of those cases, we'll look at the latest on all three as of yesterday and what we can look forward to today.
COLLINS: Also, Donald Rumsfeld has his say before a Senate committee reviewing the 9/11 recommendations. Will the defense secretary balk at a national intelligence director with control of the budget? Of course, that is one of the issues, one of those recommendations.
HEMMER: That's right. That debate continues.
Also from Florida, the aftermath of Charley and the staggering toll left behind by the storm. We will not leave that story for long. A revisit today with Florida as well.
And Jack Cafferty is back again.
COLLINS: Yes he is.
HEMMER: Day two.
COLLINS: He's right over there.
HEMMER: The top of the hour, Carol, we'll see you then.
COSTELLO: All right, thanks to you both.
COLLINS: See you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
The death toll from Hurricane Charley has been raised to 19. Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power, running water and telephone service, as they try to pick up the pieces this morning.
A big mess at the Los Angeles Airport, a man slipped through a security checkpoint without being thoroughly searched. Authorities shut down the airport and evacuated hundreds of people. Nearly 50 flights were disrupted. And that man? He was never found.
In money news, have you noticed? Gas prices have dropped about a nickel a gallon over the past three weeks. But do not count on that trend continuing. Experts warn that rising crude oil prices will soon mean higher prices at the pump.
In culture, the queen of talk, Oprah Winfrey, is doing a lot of listening and not much talking. She's serving on a jury in a Chicago murder trial. The judge told jurors not to talk about the facts in the case.
In sports, the NFL Players Association is getting involved in quarterback Quincy Carter's dismissal from the Dallas Cowboys. The union filed a grievance, saying the Cowboys violated the collective bargaining agreement. Interesting.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
So what are CNN clickers clicking on to on our Web site today? Well, party on, dude. That's right. Some clickers are checking out the nation's top party schools. We'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's time to check our "Web Clicks" this morning to see what you're clicking on to on CNN.com.
First up, U.S. troop deployment plans to hit Germany hard. This is the top clicked-on story on CNN.com. And that's President Bush's plan to pull American troops out of Germany. A lot of soldiers there say they don't want to go because they love it there.
MYERS: Sure. And other places as well, really moving them around across the world where they're needed the most.
COSTELLO: They're going to move troops to where they're most needed.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And it's not in Germany any longer.
The second most clicked-on story is the party schools.
MYERS: I wonder what the criteria were. I mean, what was the...
COSTELLO: Oh, it says in this article.
MYERS: ... drinking? Was it...
COSTELLO: It's "Princeton Review."
MYERS: Yes?
COSTELLO: Let me find it.
MYERS: Was it a mountain of alcohol consumed and had nothing to do with that?
COSTELLO: No, it's like the time spent studying, the interest in sororities and fraternities, and the time partying. And they, like, somehow mathematically put that all together and came up with the top party school, which is the State University of New York at Albany.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: No. 2, Washington University. No. 3, University of Wisconsin at Madison. No. 4, West Virginia University. No. 5, Ohio University in Athens. Six, Florida State. Seven, University of Texas at Austin. Eight, University of Georgia.
MYERS: Athens, Georgia.
COSTELLO: And Athens.
MYERS: See, Athens has something to do with this, I think.
COSTELLO: Do you think so? Oh, geez!
The University of Colorado and then the University of Mississippi, just in case you wanted to know.
The third most clicked-on story: Oprah Winfrey has to serve on a jury for a murder trial. Seventeen bucks a day.
MYERS: And she has to claim it on your taxes.
COSTELLO: Yes. Can you imagine Oprah Winfrey on a jury and how distracting that would be?
MYERS: You can tell she was a juror. I mean, jurors are supposed to be, you know, non-descript or, you know, not identifiable. Ah! There is juror No. 7.
COSTELLO: It's just really bizarre.
MYERS: Oh, to miss that one.
COSTELLO: Anyway, I'm sure that she will do a whole program on her experience and make it really good, as she usually does.
We've been asking you this question all morning long: Are you watching the Olympics? Because there are so many unsold tickets in Athens and empty seats.
MYERS: It is ridiculous! I have this HDTV that I bought that I thought I was going to watch the Olympics on, right? And you see that there are 17 people in the whole stands, and you're thinking, 'Well, if nobody else is interested, why should I be?' Right? COSTELLO: Well, that's kind of sad.
MYERS: Well...
COSTELLO: This is one from Mary from Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. She said: "Yes. We as a family are enjoying the Olympics. So our children are 9 and 7 this year, and they are actually interested."
So good for you.
MYERS: From Karen in L.A.: "Too much going on in the world that's hurtful, horrible and angry. No mood to watch people in the Olympics this year. It just doesn't seem relevant."
COSTELLO: Oh, man! This is from Joshua. He said: "I never really watched the Olympics before, but now I live overseas in Japan. I miss the great TV coverage back home. I would love to watch the Olympics."
So, see? It's all in your perspective.
MYERS: And our big swimmer that was going to get seven or eight gold medals? One gold and two bronze so far, right?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: So...
COSTELLO: China is leading the pack for gold medals.
MYERS: They are. They're doing very well.
COSTELLO: China is.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Today's mug winner is announced in two minutes, almost as good as the gold medal in the Olympics. This is DAYBREAK for a Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A lot of touching stories out of Florida this morning.
MYERS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. We have one to share with you right now. Help is pouring in to the victims of Hurricane Charley from various government agencies. We know that. But we wanted to introduce you to one of the ordinary people making a difference.
Meet Zachary Hallet (ph). He's handing out pet food at a donation site in Wauchula, Florida. He went door to door in his hometown of Lakeland, and he raised $220. And he used that money to buy food and supplies. And then he got his dad to drive him to Wauchula to pass all of the things out himself.
So, not only pet food, but water and soda pop and stuff like that.
MYERS: And, you know, you've heard enough about Punta Gorda. They got hit hard, yes. But so many other little towns got hit as well. Cleveland, Arcadia, all of the barrier islands there that are all suffering, too.
So, we're not not paying attention to you. Obviously our coverage is easier out of Punta Gorda than getting to some of those barrier islands, because they won't let us on there.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
MYERS: So we don't even know what that looks like.
COSTELLO: Those are still closed.
MYERS: Anyway, it's time to give away a mug. You guys have taken care of this while I was gone, so that's some good news.
The question that we asked yesterday: Name at least one childhood cause of obesity. Sedentary lifestyle was the answer we were looking for and at least what we got. And what country set a world record in the 400-meter freestyle relay Sunday night at the Summer Games? And that was South Africa.
And the winner, Lauren Holdway of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Quickly now the questions for today. If you are asked to evacuate during a storm, what is one important item you should take with you? And name one of the top 10 party schools. That's the easiest question I've ever done.
COSTELLO: OK, Daybreak@CNN.com.
MYERS: We'll name the winner on Monday.
COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now. Daybreak@CNN.com.
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Aired August 17, 2004 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The massive cleanup effort enters its fifth day in hurricane-battered areas of Florida. Life is miserable for so many people who are coping with no power and, in many cases, no homes.
CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us by phone from Punta Gorda this morning.
Good morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
You know what? There is a little bit of good news to report here.
The search and rescue efforts that have been going on through the area, not only here in Punta Gorda, but across the region, seem to be slowing down quite a bit. The emergency management director here in Punta Gorda was telling us yesterday that they just don't think there are any more people missing, and that they think they've done a pretty solid job of going through all of the neighborhoods, home by home, even room by room in some cases if the homes were really destroyed, just to make sure that there was no one left behind.
And it's kind of interesting that the fact that, you know, maybe some people haven't heard from relatives or loved ones might just boil down to the fact that there's no telephone service. So, there was a wireless company that had set up a stand and allowing people to use their cell phones to make calls out. And that has turned out to be a helpful thing.
So officials here say that that search and rescue effort will be slowing down, but there are still close to a million people without power. And a lot of the streets and homes are still littered with debris. But officials are confidence that the federal aid money will be arriving, and that the cleanup and be able to pay for this cleanup process will be a speedy effort.
COSTELLO: We hope so. Ed Lavandera by cell phone from Punta Gorda, Florida, this morning.
On the campaign trail John Kerry is still taking some time off for a little relaxation at his home in Idaho. He'll speak tomorrow at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, the same convention President Bush talked to a few days ago.
President Bush will head to the battleground states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia today. The president will speak at a Boeing plant in Delaware County. Then he'll head to West Virginia for a campaign rally in Hedgesville.
And as the president continues on the campaign trail, his job approval rating is back above 50 percent. Just how significant is this historically?
To talk more about that, live to Princeton, New Jersey, and Gallup Poll editor-in-chief Frank Newport.
Good morning, Frank.
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Good morning, Carol.
Indeed, Bush's approval rating had been at 49 percent -- I'll show you here -- just a few weeks ago. So, it will go to 51, just a couple of points gain.
Now, ordinarily we wouldn't make a big deal out of it, but that 50 percent is symbolic, Carol. See that 51 percent now, 46 percent disapproval? The first time, as you mentioned, above 50 percent in quite a while now.
Symbolically and historically the reason it's important: The last five presidents who had sought re-election and been re-elected, incumbents, had above 50 percent almost all the year. The last three who didn't get re-elected, including Bush's father, had below 50 percent all the year.
So, to be above 50 percent for an incumbent, even by one point, symbolically certainly is a positive sign for the president.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the economy. The Dow rebounded on Monday. So are Americans climbing out of their economic depression now?
NEWPORT: We don't see much evidence of that, Carol. Certainly there have been mixed signals to some degree. Stock market is up. Oil prices may be back down again. But there are some mixed job reports.
Here are the numbers. Is the economy getting better or getting worse? Notice the optimism gap there in mid-July. Fifty-one percent said it was getting better. That's come back down. The percent of getting worse is now actually up to one point higher than getting better. So, we have a net negative of minus one.
Now, major changes again, but no signs, Carol, that Americans are becoming robustly optimistic.
COSTELLO: Interesting. OK. So, there is so much in the news these days. What do Americans think are the top one or two problems facing us today?
NEWPORT: It's a fascinating question we've been asking here at Gallup, believe it or not, going all the way back to the Depression years: What's the most important problem? It's the economy, it's Iraq and it's terrorism. Economy, 21 percent of Americans spontaneously tell us Gallup interviewers that's the No. 1 problem. Iraq, 21. Terrorism, 18. But unemployment, 15, which is really part of the economy. Then health care, 11.
If you net it all out, the economy in one way or the other still, in our opinion, remains the No. 1 problem. The percent mentioning Iraq as a problem is down a few points. The percent mentioning terrorism this month is actually up a couple of points -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I love these next set of numbers, Frank. Michael Phelps we know missed his chance for seven gold medals in Athens. So, is swimming a big sport in Olympics? And who likes what?
NEWPORT: It is, but I would say here is what our careful analysis shows at Gallup. Gymnastics is the pivot point. If you're a male, yick. If you're a female, you love it.
Here are the numbers: Favorite sport for men: track and field and then swimming. It comes in, you know, Michael Phelps a little below track and field. Only 9 percent mentioned gymnastics. Surprisingly, even among men, only 6 percent say basketball at the Olympics.
Look at women. What are the top sports for women? Well, gymnastics is tied for No. 1 with swimming. Track and field falls way down there. And then actually diving comes in at 6 percent. No mention of basketball at all.
So, gymnastics, as I mentioned, is a big sport for women, but men at least tell us they're not interested in watching.
COSTELLO: That's like ice dancing in the Winter Olympics. Only women like it. Frank Newport live from Princeton, New Jersey.
We've been asking you a question all morning long: Are you watching the Olympics? Because there are so many empty seats in Athens. Nobody is buying any tickets.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, they're not watching over there, that's for sure.
COSTELLO: Well, they're on vacation. The security concerns have scared them away. But we wondered if you were watching on television.
This is from Tim from Leander, Texas. He says: "Yes, I'm watching until I can reach the remote and change the channel. I do the same when you try to be Court TV, which is all too often, like your lead stories today." Thanks, Tim.
MYERS: Ron from Ozark, Alabama, thinks it's a stupid question, so he watches all of the time. He said: "I think it's just a great thing. A bunch of reality shows, they're all stupid. Moronic re-runs of sitcoms. At least the Olympics are a wonderful breath of fresh air."
COSTELLO: People are in a good mood this morning, aren't they?
MYERS: Well, they have very strong opinions one way or the other. They're either watching because they think the Olympics are the greatest thing since sliced bread, or they think that it's just a waste of time.
COSTELLO: Yes. There is no middle ground.
MYERS: Not really.
COSTELLO: Like I catch a few snippets here and there, and there is none of that.
This is from Jay from Seattle, Washington: "I'm barely keeping up with the coverage and not watching the Olympics, but I'm very interested in the Iraqi team and how they're doing."
And as you know, the Iraqi soccer team just won two matches.
MYERS: Yes. Right.
COSTELLO: Cool.
MYERS: "I do watch the Olympics after 12:00 a.m.," says Nahid (ph). He says there's nothing else on TV after midnight anyway, so I might as well put that on.
COSTELLO: Well, here's a nice one from Chris. Thank you, Chris. "Absolutely the best athletes in the world are participating in an extremely historic country. Who would not watch?"
Keep those e-mails coming. Daybreak@CNN.com.
The SEC is launching a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the highly-anticipated sale of Google stocks. At 40 after, a live report from the Nasdaq Marketsite in New York with more on the Google initial public offering.
And, at 42 minutes after, should the FBI be knocking on the doors of political protesters before they actually protest? A view from the left and the right.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Will there be a repeat on Wall Street's falling oil prices and stocks at bargain prices? Investors were buying. Here's a look at how the markets ended. The Dow gained 129 points. The Nasdaq moved up 25 and a half points. The S&P 500 gained 14 and a half points.
It's time for a little business buzz now.
Google prepares to go public. Carrie Lee has the latest. She is live at the Nasdaq Marketsite.
So, how much per share?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, Google has said in the past, back in July, that it expects to get around $108 to $135 a share. Now, some analysts say that price is a little bit high. But still, there has been a lot of interest in this issue, and we could potentially see the shares start trading tomorrow.
Here's the latest: Google said yesterday that it might conclude the bidding in its auction-style IPO late today. That would leave it a step away from becoming a publicly-traded company.
Now, Google, which, of course, operates the most popular Web search service, formally asked the Securities and Exchange Commission for permission to start selling shares after 4:00 p.m. today. And on its Web site, Google advised investors that the stocks' underwriters might accept auction bids as soon as 5:00 p.m.
So, at that point, investors who had placed bids since the auction began last Friday might be notified that they are among the winners. Google is expected to trade here at the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol GOOG, and they're trying to raise over $3 billion in this offering.
By the way, Carol, that price would put Google's market cap at about $36 billion, putting it on par with other giants like Yahoo!.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: Fascinating. We'll check back with you tomorrow. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.
They're on the move. Now it's time for a little politicking.
President Bush announced he'll redeploy thousands of U.S. troops stationed around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The new plan will help us fight and win these wars of the 21st century. It will strengthen our alliances around the world while we build new partnerships to better preserve the peace. It will reduce the stress on our troops and our military families.
Although we'll still have a significant presence overseas, under the plan I'm announcing today over the next 10 years we will bring home about 60,000 to 70,000 uniformed personnel and about 100,000 members and civilian employees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: On the surface, it sounds rather tame. The Cold War is over. So why not? But it is our hot talker of the morning. Joining us live from Chicago, Nancy Skinner with the liberal viewpoint. And here in Atlanta, Neal Boortz, the conservative libertarian talker.
Welcome to you both.
NEAL BOORTZ, CONSERVATIVE RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Hello.
NANCY SKINNER, LIBERAL TALK RADIO HOST: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So redeployment. Why has this become so political? Nancy, let's start with you.
SKINNER: Well, maybe because it's three months before an election. It's a little bit like shuffling the -- reshuffling the deck of the cards, because you don't like the hand that you dealt yourself.
I mean, the fact is we have a problem in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we're calling up more and more Reservists to deal with this problem. And I think what the president is trying to do here is distract attention from the problems that really he has created. And we're not going to save any money as a result of this deployment. We are jeopardizing some security in hot spots like South Korea, upsetting our allies like Germany.
I think what he's trying to accomplish is to tell the American people that, hey, I am not a -- we are trying to realign our troops. I'm not a warmonger. But I don't think it's the best thing for national security.
COSTELLO: Neal, before you respond, I want you to listen to this sound byte from a soldier in Najaf. We got it this morning.
BOORTZ: OK.
COSTELLO: Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll be driving down the road and a Hi-D (ph) goes off or something like that, it just makes it, like, you know, why are we even here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He's questioning why they're even there. Morale is low in Iraq and Afghanistan. And to move troops around not from those places, but from other places, it really isn't solving that morale issue, is it?
BOORTZ: Well, I don't know if we can determine that morale is low in Iraq and Afghanistan because of that one soldier. I get e- mails from there all the time that don't indicate that.
As far as Germany and withdrawing or redeploying troops there, as long as we leave 15-20 troops there in case we have to invade France in the future, I see no problem. Why do we need Persian tanks in Germany?
By the way, it should be said -- and I know Nancy meant to say this, but forgot -- that this whole redeployment issue was studied and determined to be a good idea under the Clinton administration, not the Bush administration. So, it...
COSTELLO: Well, Nancy, he has a point.
SKINNER: Well, you don't do something like this, on a scale of this, three months before an election. It's obviously political in nature. And you know what? I think a problem with President Bush is Americans perceive much of what he does is political, including going into Iraq the way he did instead of focusing on al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. It was political that he went into Iraq.
BOORTZ: OK, well, let's...
SKINNER: And so it just adds to that perception.
BOORTZ: Let's say that George Bush was re-elected and waited until three months after the election to do the redeployment. Then we would have the left saying, why didn't he do this before the deployment -- before the election? He was afraid. He's a coward. He waited until after so it would be a politically-safe move. He can't win.
SKINNER: I'll tell you, Neal. I mean, I'm questioning whether he should do it before or after. You know, North Korea actually has nuclear weapons, and they're making nuclear weapons. And President Bush focused on Iraq, neglecting the situation in North Korea. There were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
BOORTZ: OK...
SKINNER: But they are and were, and they're still making them in North Korea, and we're going to pull our troops from the Korean peninsula.
COSTELLO: Yes, Neal. And why rattle counties like Japan and South Korea, counties who are still so friendly to the United States?
BOORTZ: Well, if you look over Carol's shoulder right now in the CNN center, you see all of the news people scurrying around madly, because they didn't know until just now that Korea actually has nuclear weapons. So, that's news to a lot of us.
SKINNER: That North Korea has nuclear weapons?
BOORTZ: That they have. Now, the development programs? Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: Well, we actually don't know that for sure.
SKINNER: Sure they do! BOORTZ: But the actual weapons?
SKINNER: Yes, we do.
BOORTZ: We don't know that.
SKINNER: Certainly we do.
BOORTZ: OK, well...
SKINNER: We know that they started reprocessing. They had 8,000 spent fuel rods. And that they've been reprocessing this stuff now for well over a year.
BOORTZ: I understand that, Nancy. Understand that. But it is from you that I first learned this morning that North Korea now actually has nuclear weapons.
COSTELLO: Well, I must...
SKINNER: You know, you've got to start reading the paper.
COSTELLO: I must say, Nancy...
SKINNER: And I love Neal so much. We're good friends.
COSTELLO: Nancy, there is no...
SKINNER: But you've got to read...
COSTELLO: Wait a second. There is no concrete evidence that North Korea has nuclear weapons, like finished and ready to go. There just isn't any...
SKINNER: Well...
COSTELLO: ... because no one can get into that country.
SKINNER: We haven't seen them, but we have...
COSTELLO: So in that sense, analytically he's right.
SKINNER: That's a process that begun a long time ago...
COSTELLO: That's right, too.
SKINNER: ... and it's in the works.
COSTELLO: So, see, Neal, there are shades of gray involved.
BOORTZ: And listen, without shades of gray neither Nancy nor I have a job.
COSTELLO: That's true.
SKINNER: That's right. COSTELLO: Nancy Skinner and Neal Boortz, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
BOORTZ: See you, Nancy.
SKINNER: Thank you. Bye, Neal.
COSTELLO: Oh, my.
Let's head to New York and check in with Bill and Heidi to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Spirited, Carol, we call that. Good morning to you.
Some of the major headlines we're watching this morning, trials and tribulations just about at every turn. Michael Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Scott Peterson, all of those cases, we'll look at the latest on all three as of yesterday and what we can look forward to today.
COLLINS: Also, Donald Rumsfeld has his say before a Senate committee reviewing the 9/11 recommendations. Will the defense secretary balk at a national intelligence director with control of the budget? Of course, that is one of the issues, one of those recommendations.
HEMMER: That's right. That debate continues.
Also from Florida, the aftermath of Charley and the staggering toll left behind by the storm. We will not leave that story for long. A revisit today with Florida as well.
And Jack Cafferty is back again.
COLLINS: Yes he is.
HEMMER: Day two.
COLLINS: He's right over there.
HEMMER: The top of the hour, Carol, we'll see you then.
COSTELLO: All right, thanks to you both.
COLLINS: See you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:47 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
The death toll from Hurricane Charley has been raised to 19. Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power, running water and telephone service, as they try to pick up the pieces this morning.
A big mess at the Los Angeles Airport, a man slipped through a security checkpoint without being thoroughly searched. Authorities shut down the airport and evacuated hundreds of people. Nearly 50 flights were disrupted. And that man? He was never found.
In money news, have you noticed? Gas prices have dropped about a nickel a gallon over the past three weeks. But do not count on that trend continuing. Experts warn that rising crude oil prices will soon mean higher prices at the pump.
In culture, the queen of talk, Oprah Winfrey, is doing a lot of listening and not much talking. She's serving on a jury in a Chicago murder trial. The judge told jurors not to talk about the facts in the case.
In sports, the NFL Players Association is getting involved in quarterback Quincy Carter's dismissal from the Dallas Cowboys. The union filed a grievance, saying the Cowboys violated the collective bargaining agreement. Interesting.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
So what are CNN clickers clicking on to on our Web site today? Well, party on, dude. That's right. Some clickers are checking out the nation's top party schools. We'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's time to check our "Web Clicks" this morning to see what you're clicking on to on CNN.com.
First up, U.S. troop deployment plans to hit Germany hard. This is the top clicked-on story on CNN.com. And that's President Bush's plan to pull American troops out of Germany. A lot of soldiers there say they don't want to go because they love it there.
MYERS: Sure. And other places as well, really moving them around across the world where they're needed the most.
COSTELLO: They're going to move troops to where they're most needed.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And it's not in Germany any longer.
The second most clicked-on story is the party schools.
MYERS: I wonder what the criteria were. I mean, what was the...
COSTELLO: Oh, it says in this article.
MYERS: ... drinking? Was it...
COSTELLO: It's "Princeton Review."
MYERS: Yes?
COSTELLO: Let me find it.
MYERS: Was it a mountain of alcohol consumed and had nothing to do with that?
COSTELLO: No, it's like the time spent studying, the interest in sororities and fraternities, and the time partying. And they, like, somehow mathematically put that all together and came up with the top party school, which is the State University of New York at Albany.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: No. 2, Washington University. No. 3, University of Wisconsin at Madison. No. 4, West Virginia University. No. 5, Ohio University in Athens. Six, Florida State. Seven, University of Texas at Austin. Eight, University of Georgia.
MYERS: Athens, Georgia.
COSTELLO: And Athens.
MYERS: See, Athens has something to do with this, I think.
COSTELLO: Do you think so? Oh, geez!
The University of Colorado and then the University of Mississippi, just in case you wanted to know.
The third most clicked-on story: Oprah Winfrey has to serve on a jury for a murder trial. Seventeen bucks a day.
MYERS: And she has to claim it on your taxes.
COSTELLO: Yes. Can you imagine Oprah Winfrey on a jury and how distracting that would be?
MYERS: You can tell she was a juror. I mean, jurors are supposed to be, you know, non-descript or, you know, not identifiable. Ah! There is juror No. 7.
COSTELLO: It's just really bizarre.
MYERS: Oh, to miss that one.
COSTELLO: Anyway, I'm sure that she will do a whole program on her experience and make it really good, as she usually does.
We've been asking you this question all morning long: Are you watching the Olympics? Because there are so many unsold tickets in Athens and empty seats.
MYERS: It is ridiculous! I have this HDTV that I bought that I thought I was going to watch the Olympics on, right? And you see that there are 17 people in the whole stands, and you're thinking, 'Well, if nobody else is interested, why should I be?' Right? COSTELLO: Well, that's kind of sad.
MYERS: Well...
COSTELLO: This is one from Mary from Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. She said: "Yes. We as a family are enjoying the Olympics. So our children are 9 and 7 this year, and they are actually interested."
So good for you.
MYERS: From Karen in L.A.: "Too much going on in the world that's hurtful, horrible and angry. No mood to watch people in the Olympics this year. It just doesn't seem relevant."
COSTELLO: Oh, man! This is from Joshua. He said: "I never really watched the Olympics before, but now I live overseas in Japan. I miss the great TV coverage back home. I would love to watch the Olympics."
So, see? It's all in your perspective.
MYERS: And our big swimmer that was going to get seven or eight gold medals? One gold and two bronze so far, right?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: So...
COSTELLO: China is leading the pack for gold medals.
MYERS: They are. They're doing very well.
COSTELLO: China is.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Today's mug winner is announced in two minutes, almost as good as the gold medal in the Olympics. This is DAYBREAK for a Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A lot of touching stories out of Florida this morning.
MYERS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes. We have one to share with you right now. Help is pouring in to the victims of Hurricane Charley from various government agencies. We know that. But we wanted to introduce you to one of the ordinary people making a difference.
Meet Zachary Hallet (ph). He's handing out pet food at a donation site in Wauchula, Florida. He went door to door in his hometown of Lakeland, and he raised $220. And he used that money to buy food and supplies. And then he got his dad to drive him to Wauchula to pass all of the things out himself.
So, not only pet food, but water and soda pop and stuff like that.
MYERS: And, you know, you've heard enough about Punta Gorda. They got hit hard, yes. But so many other little towns got hit as well. Cleveland, Arcadia, all of the barrier islands there that are all suffering, too.
So, we're not not paying attention to you. Obviously our coverage is easier out of Punta Gorda than getting to some of those barrier islands, because they won't let us on there.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
MYERS: So we don't even know what that looks like.
COSTELLO: Those are still closed.
MYERS: Anyway, it's time to give away a mug. You guys have taken care of this while I was gone, so that's some good news.
The question that we asked yesterday: Name at least one childhood cause of obesity. Sedentary lifestyle was the answer we were looking for and at least what we got. And what country set a world record in the 400-meter freestyle relay Sunday night at the Summer Games? And that was South Africa.
And the winner, Lauren Holdway of Knoxville, Tennessee.
Quickly now the questions for today. If you are asked to evacuate during a storm, what is one important item you should take with you? And name one of the top 10 party schools. That's the easiest question I've ever done.
COSTELLO: OK, Daybreak@CNN.com.
MYERS: We'll name the winner on Monday.
COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now. Daybreak@CNN.com.
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