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American Morning

Interview With Senator Joe Lieberman; Wife Factor in Presidential Campaign; 'Paging Dr. Gupta'

Aired August 17, 2004 - 08:30   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome back, everybody. It's 8:30 here in New York. Bill Hemmer along with Heidi Collins.
How are you doing today?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm doing well, thanks.

HEMMER: Yes, I'm doing just fine, too, by the way. Halfway though it. Thank you for checking up on me.

In a moment, we'll look at the massive restructuring plan the Pentagon has in store for U.S. troops around the world. Some observers say it's a bad idea that could undermine U.S. relations with its allies overseas. We'll talk to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman is standing by on Capitol Hill. We'll talk to the senator in a moment here.

COLLINS: Also, seasonal allergies getting you down? Well, we'll going to page Dr. Gupta about that. He's got news about a new treatment that could help ease the problems.

Are you still doing all right?

HEMMER: I'm doing fine, today anyway. It's been tough, though, this summer. A lot of allergies around this town.

In the meantime, to Capitol Hill and more about the military restructuring. President Bush announcing that major re-deployment of America's armed services from their Cold War stance.

The plan from the White House is this: Bring home up to 70,000 U.S. troops over the next 10 years, 20,000 to 30,000 will be withdrawn from Germany but not before 2006, about two year away. Talks with Japan continue; 40,000 U.S. troops are based there. It's unclear what would happen with 3,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.

Senator Joe Lieberman has had a look at this. He's live at the Capitol.

And, Senator, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. And good morning to you.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D-CT), GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Good to be back. Good morning to you. Thank you.

HEMMER: Do you agree with this plan, Senator? LIEBERMAN: Well, in concept I do. We don't know much about the details yet, but the truth is that both within our Senate Armed Services Committee and within the Pentagon, this has been developing for a long, long time. Some people think it should have happened about 10 years ago, because a lot of our troop positioning today is based on the Cold War. And I don't think anyone thinks we need as many troops spending as much money in Germany, for instance, as we have today.

So as a concept, it's a step forward. Let's see how it's implemented.

HEMMER: All right. Some of the surrogates for Senator John Kerry were out yesterday talking with us here on CNN. Richard Holbrooke says it's a bad idea for the folks in Germany and the Koreans. He says they aren't happy.

Wesley Clark went a step further. Listen to what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY CLARK (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of the things we have to do in the war on terror is bring allies onboard. And yet this is a plan that consolidates or pulls troops back to the United States. It undermines relations with allies in Europe, and it weakens our bargaining leverage against North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Undermines relations with European allies and undercuts, a reference to North Korea. Does it, in fact, Senator?

LIEBERMAN: I hope not. A lot of this depends on the kind of diplomatic work the Bush administration did before this announcement was made. I presume they did it.

The Europeans knew this was coming. I think it would have been a real assault on the NATO alliance if, for instance, the administration had announced that we were removing all of our troops from Germany. We're keeping some there. And very significantly, we're moving some troops and creating some new bases in central and eastern Europe, former Soviet Bloc countries.

So, I think that we've got to, again, see the details. But it's a little early to rush to those kinds of conclusions.

When it comes to the Korean peninsula, where the North Koreans clearly are an unstable power and represent a potential threat, my impression is -- and I was just over visiting our Pacific Command in Hawaii about 10 days ago -- that the South Koreans are onboard on these changes. We're removing some of the American troops from the border with North Korea, where they might have been held hostages in the case of an attack. We have enormous power in the Pacific, including in Japan. So, I think we're going to maintain those alliances and move to the next phase, where some of the countries, like South Korea, take on more of the ground responsibility themselves.

HEMMER: Senator, on another topic here at the 9/11 hearings under way, by our account we have 20 sessions that have taken place so far. You'll participate in two more today alone, in fact. Where is the progress that the American people can point to based on the session so far in August?

LIEBERMAN: Bill, the first important thing to say is that these hearings are occurring in August, normally a recess month. The Congress is taking the 9/11 Commission report seriously. Some people warned that we shouldn't act so quickly, that we'd do the wrong thing. Of course that's right.

But the alternative is not -- the choices here are not between quick and wrong and slow and right. We're all trying to do the right thing quickly. And I think support is building very significantly for the bold reforms of the commission.

Very significantly, yesterday at our governmental affairs hearing, Senator Roberts, Senator Rockefeller, chairman, vice-chair of the intelligence committee came out for a strong national intelligence director, someone in charge where there is no one in charge today.

We're going to hear today from Secretary Rumsfeld and the folks at the Defense Department and this very significant testimony to see whether they're going to try to protect their turf or can make an argument for it, or whether they're going to agree that there needs to be coordination of American intelligence investments, $40 billion- plus, so that we can protect the American people from another September 11-type attack.

HEMMER: We'll be listening in Washington today for that testimony from Secretary Rumsfeld. Thank you, Senator Joe Lieberman, on Capitol Hill.

LIEBERMAN: Thank you. Good day.

HEMMER: All right -- Heidi.

COLLINS: For both George W. Bush and John Kerry, political experts say don't count out the wife factor in this fall's election. The popularity of Laura Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry may translate into votes.

National correspondent Kelly Wallace now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, all.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She's logging so many miles lately, call her co-campaigner-in-chief and her husband's strongest defender. From the controversial issue of embryonic stem cell research...

L. BUSH: And the implication that cures for Alzheimer's are around the corner is just not right.

WALLACE: ... to the state of the economy.

L. BUSH: The record is clear: The economy is strong and getting stronger.

WALLACE: ... Laura Bush played a role in 2000, but now she's the first lady, often going solo, targeting women, with polls showing the president's support weaker among women than men.

L. BUSH: My husband believes that we should all have an equal opportunity to achieve our dreams, and he has three strong women at home who won't let him forget it.

WALLACE: She and her husband don't see eye to eye on everything. CNN's Larry King asked if Mrs. Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry should be an issue in campaign '04.

L. BUSH: No, I don't think so. I mean, our names aren't on the ballot. I don't think we should be in it.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think Laura ought to be an issue.

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: You do?

G. BUSH: Because it show what's good judgment I have.

WALLACE: Inevitably, the contrasts are drawn, girl next door versus girl from Mozambique.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: Coming from a third world country and a country that did not have either the resources or the access to the kinds of things we have.

WALLACE: Much has been made about Teresa Heinz Kerry's outspokenness.

KERRY: It is important to have a president who not only understands but actually enjoys complexity.

WALLACE: And how she likes it best: Unscripted. Less has been said about how, at times, she seems to connect better than her husband among core Democratic voters.

KERRY: You go, girls. All of you!

WALLACE (on camera): In nearly every interview, they are asked about each other. I am my own person, says Teresa. Laura says, we are in the same boat.

(voice over): And both are now pulling out all the stops to help their husbands, trying to persuade the country's few undecided voters that their man is the best for America.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Both women had at one time said they'd actually prefer to stay out of the spotlight and off the campaign trail -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi, 22 minutes now before the hour. Back to Carol Costello watching this breaking news again from Iraq.

Carol -- good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill.

In the last half-hour, CNN has confirmed that a 21-member delegation from the Iraqi National Conference has left Baghdad for Najaf. Members are hoping to negotiate a truce there between fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and American and Iraqi fighters.

More meetings on the 9/11 report. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will face the Armed Services Committee in a little over an hour. The acting CIA director and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are also scheduled to appear.

A new survey shows terrorism is the leading problem facing the U.S. economy; that's according to a National Association for Business Economics survey of its members. The terror threat has jumped ahead of the federal deficit and weak employment growth as the top concern.

A British archaeologist has uncovered what he says could be one of the biggest recent finds in Christian history. It's a cave which some believe John the Baptist used to anoint many of his disciples. He baptized them here supposedly. A large stone apparently used for foot washings, along with wall carvings, suggest the biblical figure may have used this cave. Skeptics say the evidence, though, is circumstantial.

Back to you -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, thanks for that, Carol.

Golan Cipel is the Israeli man at the center of this controversy in New Jersey. But the governor, Jim McGreevey, announcing his resignation in mid-November. Golan Cipel, the accuser, is back in Israel now. These images are just in to us here at CNN.

We can confirm he's back in his home country visiting his parents who, we are told, are elderly, speaking with his attorney live here on AMERICAN MORNING about 30 minutes ago. Allen Lowey informing us that Golan Cipel will not say in Israel but will come back to U.S. at some point to again challenge the governor of New Jersey. More when we get it -- Heidi.

COLLINS: And more now on the extent of the damage left by Hurricane Charley. Satellite images taken before and after the storm show the extent of the devastation in Punta Gorda, Florida, which took a direct hit. Numerous homes in the area suffered heavy damage. Search and rescue efforts in Punta Gorda have come to an end now. The hurricane is being blamed for 19 deaths in the state. Damage is estimated at $11 billion.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HEMMER: In a moment here, Microsoft is putting an American stamp on one part of its business. We'll get to that ahead here.

COLLINS: And could a cream designed to block pollen stop allergies in their tracks? Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A medicated cream designed to block pollen could help ease the pain of allergy sufferers. And wouldn't that be nice?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining now us with details of the new study. So many people suffer from these allergies at this time of year.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So many people suffer, and this time of year is particularly bad, especially in the Northeast. We'll talk about that as well.

This isn't a particular medicine, but rather just a cream. You actually just put it on the inside of your nose four times a day. It's called Allergol, and it's been available in Europe for quite some time. And they think it might become available here in the United States as well pretty soon.

A new article actually coming out of the American Medical association looking at how effective it is to just put this little cream on the bottom of your nose four times a day.

This is what they found. It reduces symptoms overall by 35 percent. And symptoms means the sort of the stuffiness, the fevers, the red eyes -- all of that sort of stuff that you associate with allergies. Also increased nasal air flow, and that's a measure that they use to determine how effective these things are. Are you actually breathing better? Do you have less congestion as a result of that? That seemed to improve as well by about 10 percent with this.

So, again, it's been available in Europe for some time. It might be available here sometime soon as well.

COLLINS: Well, you know better than anybody how many different types of allergy medications are out there. Why would somebody go for a cream like this instead?

GUPTA: Yes, you know, and the allergy medications that are out there are actually pretty good. People talk about the nasal steroid sprays. They talk about medications such as antihistamines which sometimes can make you a little bit sleepy. This is not really a medicine, per se. This is not going to make you sleepy. You're probably not going to need a prescription to actually use it.

The downside is you're going to have to use it four times a day. It's hard for people to remember to take anything once a day. Four times a day is going to be challenging. But, you know, it's a non- medicinal alternative.

COLLINS: Yes, nice. Now, more on the allergies in general. How do you know which of pollen you're allergic to? And then do you take something different for that?

GUPTA: Yes, you know, that's a really good question, because you can have this complicated allergy testing. People have heard about this. They make a grid on your back and expose you to all sort of different things.

Or you can take a rough guess by looking at a chart like this. Depending on the month of year and where you live, you can get a good sense of what it is that you're allergic to.

This is for the Northeast, but you can see there the various months of the year and the various allergens. February through May, it's more the trees. May through August, more the grasses.

Now August starting through until October, it's really that ragweed season. I have ragweed allergies. You have ragweed allergies. In the Midwest, we're both from Michigan and Minnesota, it's particularly bad, but it's bad here as well in New York.

COLLINS: Yes. I grew out of mine, though. Knock on -- oh, we don't have any wood. Anyway, I was lucky.

GUPTA: Right, yes.

COLLINS: All right.

GUPTA: A lot of people do. You sort of expose yourself over a lifetime and eventually sort of grow out of it.

COLLINS: Wow! All right, very good. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Good to see you.

COLLINS: Still to come this morning, Microsoft decides that its business needs a new accent. Stay with us, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: all right, everybody. Welcome back.

And to Jack. JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Microsoft is training workers in India to develop easier-to-understand phone voices. Now there's an idea.

Christine Romans is in for Andy Serwer, and she's "Minding Your Business."

Why the hell didn't they think of this before they started routing all the calls to India?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: Well, these are college- educated engineers who can already speak English, except they found that some of the patterns of Indian speech are difficult for American customers to hear.

So, Microsoft is encouraging their Indian workers in Bangalore and elsewhere to watch movies like "Independence Day" and "Friends," listen to MPR to learn how to, you know, speak more clearly and better on the phone. They're sending language instructors there.

And it just burns up the outsourcing opponents who say, you know, with the 6.1 unemployment rate in Washington State, there are plenty of people who already speak English properly to talk to the Microsoft customers.

But Microsoft, in its defense, says that they're hiring a lot of people in Washington State, too. But their Indian operation, they are committed to it, and they're going to be expanding it. About 1,000 people in India right now.

CAFFERTY: But I just love it. You know, all of the people that defend these call centers in India are saying, well, you know, it's no different than if you call somebody here in the United States. If you say, well, I can't understand the people on the phone when I call these places, they get their backup.

Now, the company who has hired the people that you can't understand on the phone are acknowledging that you can't understand the people on the phone. And they're going to train them so that we can speak English as a common language and maybe get some communication back.

ROMANS: Another angle of this as well is that you've got the folks who keep saying that education and re-training is the answer in this country, because we're losing jobs, right?

CAFFERTY: Of course.

ROMANS: Well, the latest data show that for the first time ever in this recovery people with more education fared just as badly as all of the other education brackets. So that is turning out to be a fallacy. It's not exactly true that education and re-training are what is going to help you from shipping jobs overseas.

CAFFERTY: Yesterday in this very segment, we went on at great lengths about some boob in an advertising agency that came up with this idiotic campaign for the Miller Brewing Company. And I guess somebody heard about it.

ROMANS: They heard about it. Absolutely. Miller wants us to know that when they have their big concert in New York City in September, there will be African-American artists on the bill. There aren't any on the beer cans that are commemorating the 50 years of rock 'n' roll, but there will be on the bill.

They said they asked several different African-American artists, and none of them were made available, which makes me wonder if the people who are on the cans, do they feel bad that they weren't the first choice?

CAFFERTY: Now, how can you celebrate the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll and put some outfit like Blondie on the can and you don't have Fats Domino or Little Richard or any of the, you know, African-Americans who pioneered it.

ROMANS: They say in some cases...

CAFFERTY: Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry.

HEMMER: Well, I had read that these were the artists who responded first...

ROMANS: Bo Diddley is going to be at the concert, I think.

HEMMER: ... and some of the other artists never gave a reply. And that's why they went forward with it.

CAFFERTY: That's what Miller says.

ROMANS: It just seems 50 years of rock 'n' roll on six cans, maybe they needed to do a little bit more homework.

HEMMER: Yes.

COLLINS: More cans. I mean, there is a whole case in there.

HEMMER: Did you see two of the cans...

ROMANS: There are 12 in there.

HEMMER: Two of the cans have guitars, right, and only guitars?

ROMANS: Right.

HEMMER: Go figure.

COLLINS: It struck a cord, yes.

CAFFERTY: What about the markets? A big day yesterday, right?

ROMANS: A big day yesterday. We'll see if it goes. We'd like to see another rally. We'll see if it happens.

CAFFERTY: The futures are up, no, yes? ROMANS: The futures are up.

CAFFERTY: All right, great. Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CAFFERTY: It's time now for the scorecard. Number of days since the 9/11 Commission made recommendations for protecting this country again terrorism: 26. Number of recommendations adopted by Congress: 0.

They're holding hearings today. Do you know how many hearings they've had on this stuff in the last three years? The 9/11 Commission interviewed 1,200 people. That would qualify as hearings, 1,200 people they talked to, to get this report together, and we're holding hearings.

Anyway, on to the "File." Here, we have a picture of a boat that may well have been chartered by members of the United States Congress. Check this out. It's a pleasure boat going in circles around and around and around off Rockaway Beach yesterday. The guy who was driving the boat fell out of the boat apparently. This is according officials. And this thing went around in circles for like half an hour.

Nobody got hurt. Park police eventually corralled the vessel. And that's all we have.

Costco is taking wholesale to a whole new level, an eternal one if you will. Two Chicago-area stores are testing layaway coffins. Both stores have kiosks where shoppers, while you're loading up on detergent and paper towels, you can also order a steel box for Aunt Martha, if she's getting close to kicking it. They're made by the Universal Casket Company, 800 bucks a copy, which isn't bad, I guess.

COLLINS: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Caskets can go for a lot more, right? And no shopping cart hassles. You don't have to go out to the parking lot with this thing on your shopping cart. Customers place their orders, and then the funeral home will take care of the rest. It's a creepy reminder that some things perhaps should not be purchased in bulk.

COLLINS: Yes.

CAFFERTY: And finally, my favorite story of the day, you cannot make this stuff up, boys and girls. A limbless woman, a woman with no arms and no legs tried to board an Air France flight, but was turned away by Air France agents for being -- quote - "just a torso." This is not funny, boys and girls.

Dell Price (ph), a 42-year-old British woman, has filed a lawsuit against the airline for not allowing her to fly. She said one Air France agent told her -- quote -- "One head, one bottom and a torso cannot possibly fly on its own" -- unquote.

She was eventually able to catch another flight, but only when a companion agreed to accompany her. True story.

COLLINS: Wow!

CAFFERTY: How do you like that?

HEMMER: I don't like it, actually.

ROMANS: I think she had to pay up, too.

HEMMER: Downright cruel.

CAFFERTY: Unbelievable (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

We'll get a break here. In a moment, Michael Jackson makes a grand entrance, but it was the man accusing him whose performance was being judged in court yesterday. Back it a moment with that after this.

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Aired August 17, 2004 - 08:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome back, everybody. It's 8:30 here in New York. Bill Hemmer along with Heidi Collins.
How are you doing today?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm doing well, thanks.

HEMMER: Yes, I'm doing just fine, too, by the way. Halfway though it. Thank you for checking up on me.

In a moment, we'll look at the massive restructuring plan the Pentagon has in store for U.S. troops around the world. Some observers say it's a bad idea that could undermine U.S. relations with its allies overseas. We'll talk to a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman is standing by on Capitol Hill. We'll talk to the senator in a moment here.

COLLINS: Also, seasonal allergies getting you down? Well, we'll going to page Dr. Gupta about that. He's got news about a new treatment that could help ease the problems.

Are you still doing all right?

HEMMER: I'm doing fine, today anyway. It's been tough, though, this summer. A lot of allergies around this town.

In the meantime, to Capitol Hill and more about the military restructuring. President Bush announcing that major re-deployment of America's armed services from their Cold War stance.

The plan from the White House is this: Bring home up to 70,000 U.S. troops over the next 10 years, 20,000 to 30,000 will be withdrawn from Germany but not before 2006, about two year away. Talks with Japan continue; 40,000 U.S. troops are based there. It's unclear what would happen with 3,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.

Senator Joe Lieberman has had a look at this. He's live at the Capitol.

And, Senator, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. And good morning to you.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D-CT), GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: Good to be back. Good morning to you. Thank you.

HEMMER: Do you agree with this plan, Senator? LIEBERMAN: Well, in concept I do. We don't know much about the details yet, but the truth is that both within our Senate Armed Services Committee and within the Pentagon, this has been developing for a long, long time. Some people think it should have happened about 10 years ago, because a lot of our troop positioning today is based on the Cold War. And I don't think anyone thinks we need as many troops spending as much money in Germany, for instance, as we have today.

So as a concept, it's a step forward. Let's see how it's implemented.

HEMMER: All right. Some of the surrogates for Senator John Kerry were out yesterday talking with us here on CNN. Richard Holbrooke says it's a bad idea for the folks in Germany and the Koreans. He says they aren't happy.

Wesley Clark went a step further. Listen to what he said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WESLEY CLARK (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of the things we have to do in the war on terror is bring allies onboard. And yet this is a plan that consolidates or pulls troops back to the United States. It undermines relations with allies in Europe, and it weakens our bargaining leverage against North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Undermines relations with European allies and undercuts, a reference to North Korea. Does it, in fact, Senator?

LIEBERMAN: I hope not. A lot of this depends on the kind of diplomatic work the Bush administration did before this announcement was made. I presume they did it.

The Europeans knew this was coming. I think it would have been a real assault on the NATO alliance if, for instance, the administration had announced that we were removing all of our troops from Germany. We're keeping some there. And very significantly, we're moving some troops and creating some new bases in central and eastern Europe, former Soviet Bloc countries.

So, I think that we've got to, again, see the details. But it's a little early to rush to those kinds of conclusions.

When it comes to the Korean peninsula, where the North Koreans clearly are an unstable power and represent a potential threat, my impression is -- and I was just over visiting our Pacific Command in Hawaii about 10 days ago -- that the South Koreans are onboard on these changes. We're removing some of the American troops from the border with North Korea, where they might have been held hostages in the case of an attack. We have enormous power in the Pacific, including in Japan. So, I think we're going to maintain those alliances and move to the next phase, where some of the countries, like South Korea, take on more of the ground responsibility themselves.

HEMMER: Senator, on another topic here at the 9/11 hearings under way, by our account we have 20 sessions that have taken place so far. You'll participate in two more today alone, in fact. Where is the progress that the American people can point to based on the session so far in August?

LIEBERMAN: Bill, the first important thing to say is that these hearings are occurring in August, normally a recess month. The Congress is taking the 9/11 Commission report seriously. Some people warned that we shouldn't act so quickly, that we'd do the wrong thing. Of course that's right.

But the alternative is not -- the choices here are not between quick and wrong and slow and right. We're all trying to do the right thing quickly. And I think support is building very significantly for the bold reforms of the commission.

Very significantly, yesterday at our governmental affairs hearing, Senator Roberts, Senator Rockefeller, chairman, vice-chair of the intelligence committee came out for a strong national intelligence director, someone in charge where there is no one in charge today.

We're going to hear today from Secretary Rumsfeld and the folks at the Defense Department and this very significant testimony to see whether they're going to try to protect their turf or can make an argument for it, or whether they're going to agree that there needs to be coordination of American intelligence investments, $40 billion- plus, so that we can protect the American people from another September 11-type attack.

HEMMER: We'll be listening in Washington today for that testimony from Secretary Rumsfeld. Thank you, Senator Joe Lieberman, on Capitol Hill.

LIEBERMAN: Thank you. Good day.

HEMMER: All right -- Heidi.

COLLINS: For both George W. Bush and John Kerry, political experts say don't count out the wife factor in this fall's election. The popularity of Laura Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry may translate into votes.

National correspondent Kelly Wallace now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you, all.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She's logging so many miles lately, call her co-campaigner-in-chief and her husband's strongest defender. From the controversial issue of embryonic stem cell research...

L. BUSH: And the implication that cures for Alzheimer's are around the corner is just not right.

WALLACE: ... to the state of the economy.

L. BUSH: The record is clear: The economy is strong and getting stronger.

WALLACE: ... Laura Bush played a role in 2000, but now she's the first lady, often going solo, targeting women, with polls showing the president's support weaker among women than men.

L. BUSH: My husband believes that we should all have an equal opportunity to achieve our dreams, and he has three strong women at home who won't let him forget it.

WALLACE: She and her husband don't see eye to eye on everything. CNN's Larry King asked if Mrs. Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry should be an issue in campaign '04.

L. BUSH: No, I don't think so. I mean, our names aren't on the ballot. I don't think we should be in it.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think Laura ought to be an issue.

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: You do?

G. BUSH: Because it show what's good judgment I have.

WALLACE: Inevitably, the contrasts are drawn, girl next door versus girl from Mozambique.

TERESA HEINZ KERRY, WIFE OF SENATOR JOHN KERRY: Coming from a third world country and a country that did not have either the resources or the access to the kinds of things we have.

WALLACE: Much has been made about Teresa Heinz Kerry's outspokenness.

KERRY: It is important to have a president who not only understands but actually enjoys complexity.

WALLACE: And how she likes it best: Unscripted. Less has been said about how, at times, she seems to connect better than her husband among core Democratic voters.

KERRY: You go, girls. All of you!

WALLACE (on camera): In nearly every interview, they are asked about each other. I am my own person, says Teresa. Laura says, we are in the same boat.

(voice over): And both are now pulling out all the stops to help their husbands, trying to persuade the country's few undecided voters that their man is the best for America.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Both women had at one time said they'd actually prefer to stay out of the spotlight and off the campaign trail -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Heidi, 22 minutes now before the hour. Back to Carol Costello watching this breaking news again from Iraq.

Carol -- good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Bill.

In the last half-hour, CNN has confirmed that a 21-member delegation from the Iraqi National Conference has left Baghdad for Najaf. Members are hoping to negotiate a truce there between fighters loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and American and Iraqi fighters.

More meetings on the 9/11 report. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will face the Armed Services Committee in a little over an hour. The acting CIA director and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are also scheduled to appear.

A new survey shows terrorism is the leading problem facing the U.S. economy; that's according to a National Association for Business Economics survey of its members. The terror threat has jumped ahead of the federal deficit and weak employment growth as the top concern.

A British archaeologist has uncovered what he says could be one of the biggest recent finds in Christian history. It's a cave which some believe John the Baptist used to anoint many of his disciples. He baptized them here supposedly. A large stone apparently used for foot washings, along with wall carvings, suggest the biblical figure may have used this cave. Skeptics say the evidence, though, is circumstantial.

Back to you -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, thanks for that, Carol.

Golan Cipel is the Israeli man at the center of this controversy in New Jersey. But the governor, Jim McGreevey, announcing his resignation in mid-November. Golan Cipel, the accuser, is back in Israel now. These images are just in to us here at CNN.

We can confirm he's back in his home country visiting his parents who, we are told, are elderly, speaking with his attorney live here on AMERICAN MORNING about 30 minutes ago. Allen Lowey informing us that Golan Cipel will not say in Israel but will come back to U.S. at some point to again challenge the governor of New Jersey. More when we get it -- Heidi.

COLLINS: And more now on the extent of the damage left by Hurricane Charley. Satellite images taken before and after the storm show the extent of the devastation in Punta Gorda, Florida, which took a direct hit. Numerous homes in the area suffered heavy damage. Search and rescue efforts in Punta Gorda have come to an end now. The hurricane is being blamed for 19 deaths in the state. Damage is estimated at $11 billion.

(WEATHER BREAK)

HEMMER: In a moment here, Microsoft is putting an American stamp on one part of its business. We'll get to that ahead here.

COLLINS: And could a cream designed to block pollen stop allergies in their tracks? Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A medicated cream designed to block pollen could help ease the pain of allergy sufferers. And wouldn't that be nice?

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is joining now us with details of the new study. So many people suffer from these allergies at this time of year.

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So many people suffer, and this time of year is particularly bad, especially in the Northeast. We'll talk about that as well.

This isn't a particular medicine, but rather just a cream. You actually just put it on the inside of your nose four times a day. It's called Allergol, and it's been available in Europe for quite some time. And they think it might become available here in the United States as well pretty soon.

A new article actually coming out of the American Medical association looking at how effective it is to just put this little cream on the bottom of your nose four times a day.

This is what they found. It reduces symptoms overall by 35 percent. And symptoms means the sort of the stuffiness, the fevers, the red eyes -- all of that sort of stuff that you associate with allergies. Also increased nasal air flow, and that's a measure that they use to determine how effective these things are. Are you actually breathing better? Do you have less congestion as a result of that? That seemed to improve as well by about 10 percent with this.

So, again, it's been available in Europe for some time. It might be available here sometime soon as well.

COLLINS: Well, you know better than anybody how many different types of allergy medications are out there. Why would somebody go for a cream like this instead?

GUPTA: Yes, you know, and the allergy medications that are out there are actually pretty good. People talk about the nasal steroid sprays. They talk about medications such as antihistamines which sometimes can make you a little bit sleepy. This is not really a medicine, per se. This is not going to make you sleepy. You're probably not going to need a prescription to actually use it.

The downside is you're going to have to use it four times a day. It's hard for people to remember to take anything once a day. Four times a day is going to be challenging. But, you know, it's a non- medicinal alternative.

COLLINS: Yes, nice. Now, more on the allergies in general. How do you know which of pollen you're allergic to? And then do you take something different for that?

GUPTA: Yes, you know, that's a really good question, because you can have this complicated allergy testing. People have heard about this. They make a grid on your back and expose you to all sort of different things.

Or you can take a rough guess by looking at a chart like this. Depending on the month of year and where you live, you can get a good sense of what it is that you're allergic to.

This is for the Northeast, but you can see there the various months of the year and the various allergens. February through May, it's more the trees. May through August, more the grasses.

Now August starting through until October, it's really that ragweed season. I have ragweed allergies. You have ragweed allergies. In the Midwest, we're both from Michigan and Minnesota, it's particularly bad, but it's bad here as well in New York.

COLLINS: Yes. I grew out of mine, though. Knock on -- oh, we don't have any wood. Anyway, I was lucky.

GUPTA: Right, yes.

COLLINS: All right.

GUPTA: A lot of people do. You sort of expose yourself over a lifetime and eventually sort of grow out of it.

COLLINS: Wow! All right, very good. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Good to see you.

COLLINS: Still to come this morning, Microsoft decides that its business needs a new accent. Stay with us, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: all right, everybody. Welcome back.

And to Jack. JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Microsoft is training workers in India to develop easier-to-understand phone voices. Now there's an idea.

Christine Romans is in for Andy Serwer, and she's "Minding Your Business."

Why the hell didn't they think of this before they started routing all the calls to India?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: Well, these are college- educated engineers who can already speak English, except they found that some of the patterns of Indian speech are difficult for American customers to hear.

So, Microsoft is encouraging their Indian workers in Bangalore and elsewhere to watch movies like "Independence Day" and "Friends," listen to MPR to learn how to, you know, speak more clearly and better on the phone. They're sending language instructors there.

And it just burns up the outsourcing opponents who say, you know, with the 6.1 unemployment rate in Washington State, there are plenty of people who already speak English properly to talk to the Microsoft customers.

But Microsoft, in its defense, says that they're hiring a lot of people in Washington State, too. But their Indian operation, they are committed to it, and they're going to be expanding it. About 1,000 people in India right now.

CAFFERTY: But I just love it. You know, all of the people that defend these call centers in India are saying, well, you know, it's no different than if you call somebody here in the United States. If you say, well, I can't understand the people on the phone when I call these places, they get their backup.

Now, the company who has hired the people that you can't understand on the phone are acknowledging that you can't understand the people on the phone. And they're going to train them so that we can speak English as a common language and maybe get some communication back.

ROMANS: Another angle of this as well is that you've got the folks who keep saying that education and re-training is the answer in this country, because we're losing jobs, right?

CAFFERTY: Of course.

ROMANS: Well, the latest data show that for the first time ever in this recovery people with more education fared just as badly as all of the other education brackets. So that is turning out to be a fallacy. It's not exactly true that education and re-training are what is going to help you from shipping jobs overseas.

CAFFERTY: Yesterday in this very segment, we went on at great lengths about some boob in an advertising agency that came up with this idiotic campaign for the Miller Brewing Company. And I guess somebody heard about it.

ROMANS: They heard about it. Absolutely. Miller wants us to know that when they have their big concert in New York City in September, there will be African-American artists on the bill. There aren't any on the beer cans that are commemorating the 50 years of rock 'n' roll, but there will be on the bill.

They said they asked several different African-American artists, and none of them were made available, which makes me wonder if the people who are on the cans, do they feel bad that they weren't the first choice?

CAFFERTY: Now, how can you celebrate the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll and put some outfit like Blondie on the can and you don't have Fats Domino or Little Richard or any of the, you know, African-Americans who pioneered it.

ROMANS: They say in some cases...

CAFFERTY: Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry.

HEMMER: Well, I had read that these were the artists who responded first...

ROMANS: Bo Diddley is going to be at the concert, I think.

HEMMER: ... and some of the other artists never gave a reply. And that's why they went forward with it.

CAFFERTY: That's what Miller says.

ROMANS: It just seems 50 years of rock 'n' roll on six cans, maybe they needed to do a little bit more homework.

HEMMER: Yes.

COLLINS: More cans. I mean, there is a whole case in there.

HEMMER: Did you see two of the cans...

ROMANS: There are 12 in there.

HEMMER: Two of the cans have guitars, right, and only guitars?

ROMANS: Right.

HEMMER: Go figure.

COLLINS: It struck a cord, yes.

CAFFERTY: What about the markets? A big day yesterday, right?

ROMANS: A big day yesterday. We'll see if it goes. We'd like to see another rally. We'll see if it happens.

CAFFERTY: The futures are up, no, yes? ROMANS: The futures are up.

CAFFERTY: All right, great. Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CAFFERTY: It's time now for the scorecard. Number of days since the 9/11 Commission made recommendations for protecting this country again terrorism: 26. Number of recommendations adopted by Congress: 0.

They're holding hearings today. Do you know how many hearings they've had on this stuff in the last three years? The 9/11 Commission interviewed 1,200 people. That would qualify as hearings, 1,200 people they talked to, to get this report together, and we're holding hearings.

Anyway, on to the "File." Here, we have a picture of a boat that may well have been chartered by members of the United States Congress. Check this out. It's a pleasure boat going in circles around and around and around off Rockaway Beach yesterday. The guy who was driving the boat fell out of the boat apparently. This is according officials. And this thing went around in circles for like half an hour.

Nobody got hurt. Park police eventually corralled the vessel. And that's all we have.

Costco is taking wholesale to a whole new level, an eternal one if you will. Two Chicago-area stores are testing layaway coffins. Both stores have kiosks where shoppers, while you're loading up on detergent and paper towels, you can also order a steel box for Aunt Martha, if she's getting close to kicking it. They're made by the Universal Casket Company, 800 bucks a copy, which isn't bad, I guess.

COLLINS: Yes.

CAFFERTY: Caskets can go for a lot more, right? And no shopping cart hassles. You don't have to go out to the parking lot with this thing on your shopping cart. Customers place their orders, and then the funeral home will take care of the rest. It's a creepy reminder that some things perhaps should not be purchased in bulk.

COLLINS: Yes.

CAFFERTY: And finally, my favorite story of the day, you cannot make this stuff up, boys and girls. A limbless woman, a woman with no arms and no legs tried to board an Air France flight, but was turned away by Air France agents for being -- quote - "just a torso." This is not funny, boys and girls.

Dell Price (ph), a 42-year-old British woman, has filed a lawsuit against the airline for not allowing her to fly. She said one Air France agent told her -- quote -- "One head, one bottom and a torso cannot possibly fly on its own" -- unquote.

She was eventually able to catch another flight, but only when a companion agreed to accompany her. True story.

COLLINS: Wow!

CAFFERTY: How do you like that?

HEMMER: I don't like it, actually.

ROMANS: I think she had to pay up, too.

HEMMER: Downright cruel.

CAFFERTY: Unbelievable (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

We'll get a break here. In a moment, Michael Jackson makes a grand entrance, but it was the man accusing him whose performance was being judged in court yesterday. Back it a moment with that after this.

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