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CNN Live At Daybreak
Money Trail; 'America's Voice'; Turning the Tide; 'Hot Topics'
Aired January 04, 2005 - 06:28 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: America's generosity is front and center now. But the question remains: Where is that $350 million presidential pledge to tsunami victims coming from? Congress will grapple with that today.
Live to Washington and CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry.
Good morning -- Ed
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, the president is saying that this money will come out of the general budget. But I thought that budget was very tight. Is there enough money to take that amount out?
HENRY: There about $350 million in a special account at the State Department that will be used in the short term to deliver the aid to the victims of the tsunami. What Congress will do today is both the House and Senate will pass nonbinding resolutions pointing out that the U.S. Congress will make good on that $350 million.
Once it is spent, Congress later this month will replenish the account, because obviously the State Department had it in their account for other purposes. They are now using it for the tsunami. Later this month, Congress will replenish those accounts, and then possibly pass an emergency spending bill that adds more aid.
But Congress wants to wait a couple of weeks to just to see exactly how much aid is needed.
COSTELLO: Well, and you know what the worry is here, that taking that amount of money from the general budget could affect things like, you know, those permanent tax cuts.
HENRY: Well, the bottom line is part of the reason why, as you were talking about, former President Clinton and former President Bush coming forward and urging more private donations is you're right, there is a massive budget deficit, almost $500 billion a year right now for the U.S. government. And there's really not a lot of money washing around.
So you're right. While Congress wants to make good on what President Bush has already promised, I think there's a sense in both parties that it's probably a good idea to try to get as many private donations and not just depend upon U.S. taxpayers. You're right. Right now the till is pretty empty.
COSTELLO: And, you know, even some members of Congress are suggesting taking the money out of the Iraqi reconstruction fund. But come on. That's not going to happen.
HENRY: Yes. Well Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy mentioned that. Now, he had -- what he was saying was that there are a lot of unspent Iraqi reconstruction funds that the administration has not yet spent. He was suggesting maybe take the money out and replenish it later.
But I think you're right. I think particularly the White House does not want to drag Iraq into the tsunami situation. There's obviously enough controversy about the war Iraq, about how much money is going over there, about these upcoming elections. Everyone wants to make sure the violence comes down. They don't want to drag the tsunami situation in the Iraq situation.
COSTELLO: Ed Henry live in Washington this morning. Thank you.
As we've been telling you this morning, help is on its way to Asia. So let's go live to Bill Hemmer in New York, who will be following this story today on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We certainly will. Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
We're going to talk to Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist. You know, he's a doctor as well as the head of the Senate. He is headed for the region later today. He'll tell us what he's looking for and what the U.S. can do to help solve the problem. Also, whether or not the U.S. can afford to give more than the $350 million pledged by the U.S. government.
One thing that he says consistently, Carol, in just about every interview he does is that water, water, water has to be the focus at this point going forward. He says that there are going to be diseases that break out in different parts of Southeast Asia. It will happen in the next week to 10 days. That's why he says now you need the fresh water in there to make sure this disease does not begin to fester in parts like Sri Lanka and northern Sumatra.
So, we'll get his thoughts on that coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Sure.
COSTELLO: Let's talk priorities now, your priorities. Frank Newport has some interesting numbers for you this morning on what you want Congress to tackle in its latest session.
Let's head live to Princeton, New Jersey.
Hello, Frank.
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Hello, Carol.
Indeed, the 109th Congress begins today in Washington, D.C. We've asked Americans -- we actually gave them a long list of about 18 things and said, what's best for you, at least what do you think Congress should deal with most importantly?
Here's the top five. Iraq is not surprising No. 1 on the list, 51 percent say that's extremely important. You see the rest of the list. Terrorism. Education interestingly. Health care costs. Economy and Social Security tied at 40 percent.
By the way, this top five list, only that priority say privatization of Social Security issue is one of Bush's top legislative priorities. Others are lower on the list.
Here's the bottom five. Americans had the least interest in Congress tackling these. The environment, that's a surprise to many people. Some people think that's the most important, but the public doesn't, at least in the short term. Tort reform, one of Bush's issues, not much interest on the part of the public. Abortion. Civil rights laws. And same-sex marriages. All of these are low on the priority list for Americans as Congress gets under way -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK. So, we are asking the next question. How much confidence does the public have in Congress these days?
NEWPORT: Well, it's a shame. I think I've said this before, Carol. I always find it surprisingly disappointing that Americans just don't have more faith in their Congress, because after all under the Constitution it's our representatives, some of us, we send off to Washington. But it's just 41 percent job approval rating for Congress, our last reading.
By the way, that's the same as was the case back in January of '97 just after Clinton had been re-elected.
However, look at the differences. A little more partisan split now. See how high the Republican bar is? Sixty-six percent of Republicans approve of Congress now. That's on the right. And only 20 percent of Democrats. So even Congress is very political now in the eyes of the public. Republicans like it, Democrats simply don't.
COSTELLO: Well, Frank, I knew you were going to talk about college football and that's near and dear to Chad Myers' heart.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, of course.
COSTELLO: So he wants to find out and ask you himself about these numbers you have for us this morning.
NEWPORT: Well, Chad, are you going to ask? Or do you want me just to tell you what we found?
MYERS: You know, we're talking about the BCS poll here, and I know you asked some questions. Should there be a playoff? Should it be a couple of games' playoff? We had five teams that were undefeated. So, what do people think, Frank?
NEWPORT: Well, the goods news is, by the way, Chad, a bigger percent of Americans, college football fans than ever, I thought I'd just show you this. We're now up to 47 percent of Americans who say they are college football fans. See how that's gone up?
MYERS: Yes.
NEWPORT: But in terms of your question, the bad news is Americans simply aren't in love with the BCS system. We gave them three choices. That's important to remember. And 40 percent of college football fans would like a playoff system. That would be close to the NCAA basketball system...
MYERS: Sure.
NEWPORT: ... where all of the teams winnow down to the top ones. You can see the people who like the current system, you know, culminating tonight in that game between USC and Oklahoma, just 30 percent like that. And the others would like a playoff game, which, I guess, Chad, would be this coming weekend.
MYERS: Yes.
NEWPORT: After all, the bowls are over. I guess, Auburn would then play...
MYERS: Yes.
NEWPORT: ... would then play the winner of tonight's game, and 26 percent of people would like that system. But the key number is the 30 percent number, Chad. That's the only percent who like the current system.
MYERS: Well, there are all kinds of problems with it, especially when you get a couple of writers that reduce their scores. The BCS is just this random number generator it seems like, and you've got good teams playing bad teams.
COSTELLO: Uh-oh! Uh-oh! I think Chad is going to get on his soap box, and we have to end this now. Thanks to both of you, Frank Newport and you, too, Chad.
MYERS: Thanks, Frank.
COSTELLO: When the tsunamis hit, President Bush was criticized for initially offering only $15 million in aid. Well, now the U.S. will give much, much more. But was the naming of his father, the former president, and the ex-prez, Bill Clinton, to raise private money a political ploy or a sincere move? We will debate that hot topic later on DAYBREAK.
And with the disaster still fresh on the minds of so many, should some of those glitzy inaugural parties be scaled back? We'll talk to an editor-at-large for "Washingtonian" magazine about that.
But first, here's a look at some headlines this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Help has arrived. U.S. Marines in Sri Lanka today ready to roll with their heavy machinery and their supplies. Hundreds of American troops are expected to help with the tsunami relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Let's head live to the capital city now, Colombo, and CNN's Satinder Bindra who is standing by with a Marine, at least I hope so.
Hello -- Satinder.
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Yes, the U.S. Marines have arrived. The fresh batch arrived just a few hours ago. They came in a large transport; in fact, the largest in the world, a C-5.
And joining me now is the commander of this mission of mercy, Brigadier General Frank Panter.
General, tell us a bit about the scope and scale of this mission.
BRIG. GEN. FRANK PANTER, U.S. MARINES CORPS: The focus is on some light to medium engineering support. And that would include berth-moving so we can remove some of the debris, water purification distribution, and lending medical support.
BINDRA: Now, where are you going to get started, in which region of Sri Lanka?
PANTER: The southwestern region is the area we've been assigned.
BINDRA: People are asking how soon before you and your men can make a difference.
PANTER: We're estimating with the force forward that we have planned in about four days we can start making a significant impact.
BINDRA: Now, you're using some interesting technology on this mission as well. Tell us about that.
PANTER: Yes. We have a hover craft, an LK (ph), and we're going to be using that to land engineering equipment ashore down in the south.
BINDRA: What are you going to tell your men before they go out on this mission? What are they asking you as well?
PANTER: They realize how important this mission is. They're excited, and they want to get started. They know it's extremely important. And there is just no problem with volunteers to come on this mission. BINDRA: Have you been able to survey some of the hardest-hit areas of Sri Lanka yourself? Or are you relying on what local American officials are telling you?
PANTER: I've dispatched an assessment team early on. And they were a team of experts, medical personnel, engineers, things like that. And they conducted the assessment. And we formed our force based on that assessment.
BINDRA: What does it feel like for the world's most powerful country to come in and help one of the tiniest nations in the world? What does that mean to you, General?
PANTER: It's important in that we know we have a great military capability. But the individual sailor, Marine, airmen and soldier, the compassion that they display is just awesome. Very proud.
BINDRA: Now, tell us about the heavy-lift helicopters? Will they be able to just put a hook on to some of the debris and just lift it clean out of the ground? Or how does this equipment work?
PANTER: Yes. We will have teams that will rig some of the large items, and we will call for the helicopters and they will lift it and put it in places where it will not obstruct anything.
BINDRA: Are you carrying food as well? I've heard you're carrying up to as much as a half a million pounds of supplies.
PANTER: We will have food with us. We'll have things like plastic sheeting. We'll have water distribution capabilities. So all of that, the basic needs.
BINDRA: We've heard that a lot of the water supply has been contaminated. How much drinking water have you got with you? And how quickly before at least the water can out there?
PANTER: Water will happen pretty fast in that we have bottled water that we can distribute. We also have reverse osmosis purification units that we'll utilize. And we'll match that to the need of each region.
BINDRA: Initial reports said that a large ship would sort of dock into Colombo harbor as well, and your command operation would be based out of there. Tell us about the ship, what's its name is, and when will it be here?
PANTER: Actually, we will have an amphibious ship of the coast down south. My command will be land-based however. And we'll call forward assets that we need from the amphibious ship.
BINDRA: General, thank you very much.
And so there you have it, Carol. Tomorrow at about 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning we're given to understand another C5, a large transport, will land in Colombo, the capital city. And soon thereafter a lot of the American supplies, the heavy engineering equipment, will move out to southern Sri Lanka. As we've been reporting for several days now, the city of Galle was the hardest hit, and soon there will be a lot of American operations set up there.
COSTELLO: All right. Satinder Bindra reporting live for us with General Panter seen only here on CNN.
It looks to be an effective giving team. Political rivals Bush, Sr. and Clinton are joining forces to convince you to give. Most say it's a brilliant move by President Bush. Here's more of what the president had to say about his move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the coming days, Presidents Clinton and Bush will ask Americans to donate directly to reliable charities already providing help to tsunami victims. Many of these organizations have dispatched experts to the disaster area, and they have an in-depth understanding of the resources required to meet the needs on the ground.
In this situation, cash donations are most useful. And I've asked the former presidents to solicit contributions, both large and small.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It sounds fantastic. But, you know, this is America. And as you might expert, there are concerns as well.
From the right, syndicated columnist Armstrong Williams, and from the left, syndicated talker Nancy Skinner.
Good morning to both of you.
NANCY SKINNER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Good morning, Carol and Armstrong.
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Good morning. Good morning, Nancy.
COSTELLO: Nancy, who would have thought President Bush would choose President Clinton to work with his father?
SKINNER: Well, in this football season let's use this analogy. They recovered their own fumble. And that's what happened. The initial efforts were a disaster, really, in the face of tens of thousands of people we knew were lost. They were talking 15 million and then $30 million. The inaugural events alone will cost $40 million.
And so the world, there was this political firestorm. They had to do something. They realized they missed a golden PR opportunity to really do something, make amends. I mean, we've been in Iraq, we've spent now -- there's a request today, another in the paper, $100 billion more for Iraq. So that's over $200 billion to alleviate that human suffering. And yet we were talking about $30 million. There it was a disaster. This is a great move.
COSTELLO: Well, let's bring Armstrong in. Armstrong, do you think this is a PR move or just brilliant strategy?
WILLIAMS: No, it's not. This has to do with the fact that we are the most caring and the most charitable nation on the planet Earth. I mean, this is not unusual for our presidents no matter what their political persuasion is or the American people.
And they did not act slowly. Obviously, this tsunami came as a shock to everyone around the world. We had to assess the damage to make sure where we were most needed. When this happened, Americans were in the war room making plans of what they could do best to add relief.
And even though money is an issue, money is the least issue as Secretary of State Colin Powell has said for right now, because there is plenty of cash on hand. Right now there are still victims out there who are stranded, who thought they were lost forever. And our helicopters and our military are there rescuing. You've seen the footage right here on CNN.
And President Bush talked about the 300 million, and he's even talked about the fact that Congress will probably give more. But you want to make sure that it's coordinated and it goes to the right places and it actually provides relief. I think this shows the best of America as we're seeing it for ourselves.
COSTELLO: Well, Nancy, I guess, you know, my first thought after seeing President Clinton was named to this team, why not Jimmy Carter?
SKINNER: Well, I think that there's a grudge there. Obviously, President Carter has been openly critical of the Bush administration, and so it's not lost on anyone why he wasn't standing there. Having said that, I'm glad he did include President Clinton. I do think that that was good that we can show the rest of the world that we are trying to recover from a partisan election and move forward. And I just think from a humanitarian standpoint, we as the riches nation on the face of the earth with the largest military are compelled to do this.
So there is the political component. You know, these pictures of the soldiers delivering goods, this is the best anti-bin Laden PR that our money can buy. Much better than those pictures in Iraq.
So there are on so many levels this is a great thing for the rest of the world and for the United States.
COSTELLO: And, Armstrong, I wanted to get into this a little more. By choosing President Clinton, might that not help the president in the American Congress get his items through?
WILLIAMS: Well, I don't know about that. President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, remember sometime last year when they hunt their portrait in the White House it certainly didn't stop them from campaigning against the president. This is what presidents do. And I think the president and the former president and this president have a very good relationship. Remember, President Bush -- I don't know if this has been widely reported -- while Clinton was in the White House -- I mean, in the hospital recovering from his bypass surgery, President Bush periodically checked on him. They built a very warm relationship, unlike former President Carter, who has not reached out to this president. As Nancy said, has been very critical and very anti-Bush and not conciliatory in any way.
I think there's a lot of personal trust and a personal where they really like each other. Remember them standing in that rain at the Clinton library as it was just pouring and pouring and pouring. There's a relationship there, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) current presidents, his father and former President Clinton. And so it's appropriate that he would reach out to the most current presidents who have served this country.
COSTELLO: But...
SKINNER: I'm sorry. I wouldn't call President Carter anti-Bush. I would say he has the courage of his convictions and where he saw the...
WILLIAMS: No, he's anti-Bush.
SKINNER: ... off track he spoke up as a statesman.
WILLIAMS: He's a bitter man.
SKINNER: And we should applaud him.
COSTELLO: We're going to have to leave it...
WILLIAMS: He's a bitter man.
COSTELLO: We're just going to have to leave it there.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And I'm saddened, because, you know, I always like to listen to both of your viewpoints. Thank you.
WILLIAMS: Are you really saddened?
COSTELLO: I am. I'm horribly saddened.
WILLIAMS: OK. We believe you. We believe it's sincere.
COSTELLO: Of course. Armstrong Williams, Nancy Skinner, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: You will hear more about tsunami relief today on "AMERICAN MORNING." So let's head now to Phuket, Thailand, and Soledad O'Brien. Hello -- Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol.
We continue our reports from Phuket, Thailand, today. As you well know, Secretary of State Colin Powell, along with Jeb Bush, the president's brother, toured the area today to get a sense of some of the damage. Also, to address concerns about what could be thousands of Americans who might still be missing at this point. Those numbers, as you well know, are kind of unclear.
For the people who are looking for those who are missing, though, it is very, very tough. The search goes on. They are really clinging to any kind of information or any kind of hope that they can possibly glean. The reality, though, is that bodies continue to wash up on the shore. The reality is that bodies are dug up from under the rubble, and the condition that those bodies are, frankly, terrible, unrecognizable.
Today, we've got some stories of survivors. But how those stories in many ways are overshadowed by the huge losses that those survivors now face.
Carol -- that's ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
COSTELLO: All right, we'll see you soon. Soledad O'Brien live from Thailand this morning.
With the presidential inauguration coming up, and the tsunami disaster still fresh, the question comes up: Should some of the hoopla surrounding the inaugural be scaled back? We'll talk to an editor at the "Washingtonian" magazine about the hoopla that will take place in Washington in mid-January.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Forty or 50 million bucks will enable you to throw quite a party. That's how much money the Bush team hopes to raise for President Bush's inauguration. In fact, it's already raised $40 million. But in light of the tragedy in South Asia, some have questioned whether the wall to wall inaugural party should still go on. The president's father talked about that on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think life goes on. I don't think we can give up or should. I don't think it will help anything in Sri Lanka if the balls were, you know, peeled back in terms of the inauguration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So party on. But if you're not a member of the millionaire's club, you may not be able to afford to boogie with the president and his family.
Joining me live from Washington, Chuck Conconi of the "Washingtonian" magazine.
Good morning, Chuck.
CHUCK CONCONI, "WASHINGTONIAN" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Carol. Great to see you again.
COSTELLO: Nice to see you, too. This is going to be quite a bash, isn't it?
CONCONI: It always is. I mean, it's a massive bash. It's massive confusion. But whoever wins the presidency gets an opportunity with his supporters to celebrate it.
COSTELLO: Oh, but this is different. This is going to have so many balls people won't be able to attend them all.
CONCONI: Well, you don't get to attend them all. I mean, there's a whole week. I was just talking to the limo driver this morning when we were coming over here to the station, and he says, we'll be going with parties all week. And there are parties all week. There are officially nine balls. Six of them are now going to be held at the massive new convention center that we have, partly for security but partly to keep it all in one place.
COSTELLO: So, if you're just, like, common Joe and you've raised a lot of money for the Republicans during the presidential election and you really want to go to some of the top-notch balls, how much is it going to cost you?
CONCONI: Well, we did an estimation in the magazine. We did it as someone coming from Houston, Texas. When you figure airfare, we figured coming up with round-trip class, business class, it's like $2,000, $3,000 to pay for tickets to one of the balls. Your wife a gown of maybe $4,000 or $5,000. Hotel room and everything. It came to something like $12,621.
But I think if the average person would come in, they probably could come for as little as $5,000. Just think of airfare from Cleveland or Sacramento or wherever, then a room for a couple of nights at a hotel, taxicab, meals. You have to have the right kind of clothes to go.
COSTELLO: Of course.
CONCONI: Balls are very complicated things, though.
COSTELLO: Well, $5,000 is still a lot of money.
CONCONI: You bet. COSTELLO: And there's no guarantee that you'll make it into some of the more populous parties, you know, the parties where the president is actually going to be.
CONCONI: Well, the president and the vice president visit each one of the official balls, and you'll probably have tickets to one of the official balls. I'd like to read you an amusing quote from Roxanne Robertson (ph) in our recent issue of the magazine talking about inaugural balls. And she said, it's rude to tell someone who has never been to one that they are long and overcrowded, not terribly exciting. It's like telling them their baby is ugly.
So, I advise people to enjoy the thrill of victory, wear comfortable shoes, and make a late reservation for dinner at a decent restaurant. I have been to these balls. They are just mob scenes. Everybody stands around. There is no place to sit down. You can't get a drink. You can't even get anything to eat. And she's right. It's best to wear comfortable show, get out of there.
The president comes and the vice president comes. And it's exciting, though, for the people who come in. I don't belittle them. But they're not as much fun as it sounds like they are.
COSTELLO: No. I've been to them, too. You sort of just stand there and you sweat a lot.
CONCONI: That's right. That's right. But you can go to the other parties. OK, I'm sorry. The other parties are OK.
COSTELLO: OK, that's true. Chuck Conconi from the "Washingtonian" magazine joining DAYBREAK this morning. Thank you.
CONCONI: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: You are watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I'm just reading through the headlines very quickly this morning, Chad. It's all about -- here it is -- sweet charity.
MYERS: Oh, right.
COSTELLO: It's on the front page of the "Daily News." It's talking about how many people are giving. It's amazing.
MYERS: Yes, a million dollars coming out of Sandra Bullock?
COSTELLO: Yes, a million dollars...
MYERS: Right?
COSTELLO: ... from Sandra Bullock.
MYERS: Yes, going to the Red Cross?
COSTELLO: Yes. Leonardo DiCaprio also kicked in an unspecified large donation.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And, of course, he shot his movie, "The Beach," at a Thai resort.
MYERS: Oh, that's right. Yes, absolutely.
COSTELLO: In Phi Phi, right?
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And a local news station here is running their own telethon to collect money from people who live around this area and maybe they're doing the same in your area as well. I don't know. But people...
MYERS: Jay Leno has got the Harley out there.
COSTELLO: That's right.
MYERS: To bid on eBay.
COSTELLO: He's going to auction off a Harley.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: So a lot of stuff going on, and the generosity of Americans, you just can't beat it.
MYERS: That's right.
COSTELLO: From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
MYERS: See you tomorrow.
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Aired January 4, 2005 - 06:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: America's generosity is front and center now. But the question remains: Where is that $350 million presidential pledge to tsunami victims coming from? Congress will grapple with that today.
Live to Washington and CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry.
Good morning -- Ed
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So, the president is saying that this money will come out of the general budget. But I thought that budget was very tight. Is there enough money to take that amount out?
HENRY: There about $350 million in a special account at the State Department that will be used in the short term to deliver the aid to the victims of the tsunami. What Congress will do today is both the House and Senate will pass nonbinding resolutions pointing out that the U.S. Congress will make good on that $350 million.
Once it is spent, Congress later this month will replenish the account, because obviously the State Department had it in their account for other purposes. They are now using it for the tsunami. Later this month, Congress will replenish those accounts, and then possibly pass an emergency spending bill that adds more aid.
But Congress wants to wait a couple of weeks to just to see exactly how much aid is needed.
COSTELLO: Well, and you know what the worry is here, that taking that amount of money from the general budget could affect things like, you know, those permanent tax cuts.
HENRY: Well, the bottom line is part of the reason why, as you were talking about, former President Clinton and former President Bush coming forward and urging more private donations is you're right, there is a massive budget deficit, almost $500 billion a year right now for the U.S. government. And there's really not a lot of money washing around.
So you're right. While Congress wants to make good on what President Bush has already promised, I think there's a sense in both parties that it's probably a good idea to try to get as many private donations and not just depend upon U.S. taxpayers. You're right. Right now the till is pretty empty.
COSTELLO: And, you know, even some members of Congress are suggesting taking the money out of the Iraqi reconstruction fund. But come on. That's not going to happen.
HENRY: Yes. Well Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy mentioned that. Now, he had -- what he was saying was that there are a lot of unspent Iraqi reconstruction funds that the administration has not yet spent. He was suggesting maybe take the money out and replenish it later.
But I think you're right. I think particularly the White House does not want to drag Iraq into the tsunami situation. There's obviously enough controversy about the war Iraq, about how much money is going over there, about these upcoming elections. Everyone wants to make sure the violence comes down. They don't want to drag the tsunami situation in the Iraq situation.
COSTELLO: Ed Henry live in Washington this morning. Thank you.
As we've been telling you this morning, help is on its way to Asia. So let's go live to Bill Hemmer in New York, who will be following this story today on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning -- Bill.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We certainly will. Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
We're going to talk to Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist. You know, he's a doctor as well as the head of the Senate. He is headed for the region later today. He'll tell us what he's looking for and what the U.S. can do to help solve the problem. Also, whether or not the U.S. can afford to give more than the $350 million pledged by the U.S. government.
One thing that he says consistently, Carol, in just about every interview he does is that water, water, water has to be the focus at this point going forward. He says that there are going to be diseases that break out in different parts of Southeast Asia. It will happen in the next week to 10 days. That's why he says now you need the fresh water in there to make sure this disease does not begin to fester in parts like Sri Lanka and northern Sumatra.
So, we'll get his thoughts on that coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Sure.
COSTELLO: Let's talk priorities now, your priorities. Frank Newport has some interesting numbers for you this morning on what you want Congress to tackle in its latest session.
Let's head live to Princeton, New Jersey.
Hello, Frank.
FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Hello, Carol.
Indeed, the 109th Congress begins today in Washington, D.C. We've asked Americans -- we actually gave them a long list of about 18 things and said, what's best for you, at least what do you think Congress should deal with most importantly?
Here's the top five. Iraq is not surprising No. 1 on the list, 51 percent say that's extremely important. You see the rest of the list. Terrorism. Education interestingly. Health care costs. Economy and Social Security tied at 40 percent.
By the way, this top five list, only that priority say privatization of Social Security issue is one of Bush's top legislative priorities. Others are lower on the list.
Here's the bottom five. Americans had the least interest in Congress tackling these. The environment, that's a surprise to many people. Some people think that's the most important, but the public doesn't, at least in the short term. Tort reform, one of Bush's issues, not much interest on the part of the public. Abortion. Civil rights laws. And same-sex marriages. All of these are low on the priority list for Americans as Congress gets under way -- Carol.
COSTELLO: OK. So, we are asking the next question. How much confidence does the public have in Congress these days?
NEWPORT: Well, it's a shame. I think I've said this before, Carol. I always find it surprisingly disappointing that Americans just don't have more faith in their Congress, because after all under the Constitution it's our representatives, some of us, we send off to Washington. But it's just 41 percent job approval rating for Congress, our last reading.
By the way, that's the same as was the case back in January of '97 just after Clinton had been re-elected.
However, look at the differences. A little more partisan split now. See how high the Republican bar is? Sixty-six percent of Republicans approve of Congress now. That's on the right. And only 20 percent of Democrats. So even Congress is very political now in the eyes of the public. Republicans like it, Democrats simply don't.
COSTELLO: Well, Frank, I knew you were going to talk about college football and that's near and dear to Chad Myers' heart.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, of course.
COSTELLO: So he wants to find out and ask you himself about these numbers you have for us this morning.
NEWPORT: Well, Chad, are you going to ask? Or do you want me just to tell you what we found?
MYERS: You know, we're talking about the BCS poll here, and I know you asked some questions. Should there be a playoff? Should it be a couple of games' playoff? We had five teams that were undefeated. So, what do people think, Frank?
NEWPORT: Well, the goods news is, by the way, Chad, a bigger percent of Americans, college football fans than ever, I thought I'd just show you this. We're now up to 47 percent of Americans who say they are college football fans. See how that's gone up?
MYERS: Yes.
NEWPORT: But in terms of your question, the bad news is Americans simply aren't in love with the BCS system. We gave them three choices. That's important to remember. And 40 percent of college football fans would like a playoff system. That would be close to the NCAA basketball system...
MYERS: Sure.
NEWPORT: ... where all of the teams winnow down to the top ones. You can see the people who like the current system, you know, culminating tonight in that game between USC and Oklahoma, just 30 percent like that. And the others would like a playoff game, which, I guess, Chad, would be this coming weekend.
MYERS: Yes.
NEWPORT: After all, the bowls are over. I guess, Auburn would then play...
MYERS: Yes.
NEWPORT: ... would then play the winner of tonight's game, and 26 percent of people would like that system. But the key number is the 30 percent number, Chad. That's the only percent who like the current system.
MYERS: Well, there are all kinds of problems with it, especially when you get a couple of writers that reduce their scores. The BCS is just this random number generator it seems like, and you've got good teams playing bad teams.
COSTELLO: Uh-oh! Uh-oh! I think Chad is going to get on his soap box, and we have to end this now. Thanks to both of you, Frank Newport and you, too, Chad.
MYERS: Thanks, Frank.
COSTELLO: When the tsunamis hit, President Bush was criticized for initially offering only $15 million in aid. Well, now the U.S. will give much, much more. But was the naming of his father, the former president, and the ex-prez, Bill Clinton, to raise private money a political ploy or a sincere move? We will debate that hot topic later on DAYBREAK.
And with the disaster still fresh on the minds of so many, should some of those glitzy inaugural parties be scaled back? We'll talk to an editor-at-large for "Washingtonian" magazine about that.
But first, here's a look at some headlines this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Help has arrived. U.S. Marines in Sri Lanka today ready to roll with their heavy machinery and their supplies. Hundreds of American troops are expected to help with the tsunami relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Let's head live to the capital city now, Colombo, and CNN's Satinder Bindra who is standing by with a Marine, at least I hope so.
Hello -- Satinder.
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Yes, the U.S. Marines have arrived. The fresh batch arrived just a few hours ago. They came in a large transport; in fact, the largest in the world, a C-5.
And joining me now is the commander of this mission of mercy, Brigadier General Frank Panter.
General, tell us a bit about the scope and scale of this mission.
BRIG. GEN. FRANK PANTER, U.S. MARINES CORPS: The focus is on some light to medium engineering support. And that would include berth-moving so we can remove some of the debris, water purification distribution, and lending medical support.
BINDRA: Now, where are you going to get started, in which region of Sri Lanka?
PANTER: The southwestern region is the area we've been assigned.
BINDRA: People are asking how soon before you and your men can make a difference.
PANTER: We're estimating with the force forward that we have planned in about four days we can start making a significant impact.
BINDRA: Now, you're using some interesting technology on this mission as well. Tell us about that.
PANTER: Yes. We have a hover craft, an LK (ph), and we're going to be using that to land engineering equipment ashore down in the south.
BINDRA: What are you going to tell your men before they go out on this mission? What are they asking you as well?
PANTER: They realize how important this mission is. They're excited, and they want to get started. They know it's extremely important. And there is just no problem with volunteers to come on this mission. BINDRA: Have you been able to survey some of the hardest-hit areas of Sri Lanka yourself? Or are you relying on what local American officials are telling you?
PANTER: I've dispatched an assessment team early on. And they were a team of experts, medical personnel, engineers, things like that. And they conducted the assessment. And we formed our force based on that assessment.
BINDRA: What does it feel like for the world's most powerful country to come in and help one of the tiniest nations in the world? What does that mean to you, General?
PANTER: It's important in that we know we have a great military capability. But the individual sailor, Marine, airmen and soldier, the compassion that they display is just awesome. Very proud.
BINDRA: Now, tell us about the heavy-lift helicopters? Will they be able to just put a hook on to some of the debris and just lift it clean out of the ground? Or how does this equipment work?
PANTER: Yes. We will have teams that will rig some of the large items, and we will call for the helicopters and they will lift it and put it in places where it will not obstruct anything.
BINDRA: Are you carrying food as well? I've heard you're carrying up to as much as a half a million pounds of supplies.
PANTER: We will have food with us. We'll have things like plastic sheeting. We'll have water distribution capabilities. So all of that, the basic needs.
BINDRA: We've heard that a lot of the water supply has been contaminated. How much drinking water have you got with you? And how quickly before at least the water can out there?
PANTER: Water will happen pretty fast in that we have bottled water that we can distribute. We also have reverse osmosis purification units that we'll utilize. And we'll match that to the need of each region.
BINDRA: Initial reports said that a large ship would sort of dock into Colombo harbor as well, and your command operation would be based out of there. Tell us about the ship, what's its name is, and when will it be here?
PANTER: Actually, we will have an amphibious ship of the coast down south. My command will be land-based however. And we'll call forward assets that we need from the amphibious ship.
BINDRA: General, thank you very much.
And so there you have it, Carol. Tomorrow at about 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning we're given to understand another C5, a large transport, will land in Colombo, the capital city. And soon thereafter a lot of the American supplies, the heavy engineering equipment, will move out to southern Sri Lanka. As we've been reporting for several days now, the city of Galle was the hardest hit, and soon there will be a lot of American operations set up there.
COSTELLO: All right. Satinder Bindra reporting live for us with General Panter seen only here on CNN.
It looks to be an effective giving team. Political rivals Bush, Sr. and Clinton are joining forces to convince you to give. Most say it's a brilliant move by President Bush. Here's more of what the president had to say about his move.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In the coming days, Presidents Clinton and Bush will ask Americans to donate directly to reliable charities already providing help to tsunami victims. Many of these organizations have dispatched experts to the disaster area, and they have an in-depth understanding of the resources required to meet the needs on the ground.
In this situation, cash donations are most useful. And I've asked the former presidents to solicit contributions, both large and small.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It sounds fantastic. But, you know, this is America. And as you might expert, there are concerns as well.
From the right, syndicated columnist Armstrong Williams, and from the left, syndicated talker Nancy Skinner.
Good morning to both of you.
NANCY SKINNER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Good morning, Carol and Armstrong.
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, SYNDICATED COLUMNIST: Good morning. Good morning, Nancy.
COSTELLO: Nancy, who would have thought President Bush would choose President Clinton to work with his father?
SKINNER: Well, in this football season let's use this analogy. They recovered their own fumble. And that's what happened. The initial efforts were a disaster, really, in the face of tens of thousands of people we knew were lost. They were talking 15 million and then $30 million. The inaugural events alone will cost $40 million.
And so the world, there was this political firestorm. They had to do something. They realized they missed a golden PR opportunity to really do something, make amends. I mean, we've been in Iraq, we've spent now -- there's a request today, another in the paper, $100 billion more for Iraq. So that's over $200 billion to alleviate that human suffering. And yet we were talking about $30 million. There it was a disaster. This is a great move.
COSTELLO: Well, let's bring Armstrong in. Armstrong, do you think this is a PR move or just brilliant strategy?
WILLIAMS: No, it's not. This has to do with the fact that we are the most caring and the most charitable nation on the planet Earth. I mean, this is not unusual for our presidents no matter what their political persuasion is or the American people.
And they did not act slowly. Obviously, this tsunami came as a shock to everyone around the world. We had to assess the damage to make sure where we were most needed. When this happened, Americans were in the war room making plans of what they could do best to add relief.
And even though money is an issue, money is the least issue as Secretary of State Colin Powell has said for right now, because there is plenty of cash on hand. Right now there are still victims out there who are stranded, who thought they were lost forever. And our helicopters and our military are there rescuing. You've seen the footage right here on CNN.
And President Bush talked about the 300 million, and he's even talked about the fact that Congress will probably give more. But you want to make sure that it's coordinated and it goes to the right places and it actually provides relief. I think this shows the best of America as we're seeing it for ourselves.
COSTELLO: Well, Nancy, I guess, you know, my first thought after seeing President Clinton was named to this team, why not Jimmy Carter?
SKINNER: Well, I think that there's a grudge there. Obviously, President Carter has been openly critical of the Bush administration, and so it's not lost on anyone why he wasn't standing there. Having said that, I'm glad he did include President Clinton. I do think that that was good that we can show the rest of the world that we are trying to recover from a partisan election and move forward. And I just think from a humanitarian standpoint, we as the riches nation on the face of the earth with the largest military are compelled to do this.
So there is the political component. You know, these pictures of the soldiers delivering goods, this is the best anti-bin Laden PR that our money can buy. Much better than those pictures in Iraq.
So there are on so many levels this is a great thing for the rest of the world and for the United States.
COSTELLO: And, Armstrong, I wanted to get into this a little more. By choosing President Clinton, might that not help the president in the American Congress get his items through?
WILLIAMS: Well, I don't know about that. President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush, remember sometime last year when they hunt their portrait in the White House it certainly didn't stop them from campaigning against the president. This is what presidents do. And I think the president and the former president and this president have a very good relationship. Remember, President Bush -- I don't know if this has been widely reported -- while Clinton was in the White House -- I mean, in the hospital recovering from his bypass surgery, President Bush periodically checked on him. They built a very warm relationship, unlike former President Carter, who has not reached out to this president. As Nancy said, has been very critical and very anti-Bush and not conciliatory in any way.
I think there's a lot of personal trust and a personal where they really like each other. Remember them standing in that rain at the Clinton library as it was just pouring and pouring and pouring. There's a relationship there, and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) current presidents, his father and former President Clinton. And so it's appropriate that he would reach out to the most current presidents who have served this country.
COSTELLO: But...
SKINNER: I'm sorry. I wouldn't call President Carter anti-Bush. I would say he has the courage of his convictions and where he saw the...
WILLIAMS: No, he's anti-Bush.
SKINNER: ... off track he spoke up as a statesman.
WILLIAMS: He's a bitter man.
SKINNER: And we should applaud him.
COSTELLO: We're going to have to leave it...
WILLIAMS: He's a bitter man.
COSTELLO: We're just going to have to leave it there.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And I'm saddened, because, you know, I always like to listen to both of your viewpoints. Thank you.
WILLIAMS: Are you really saddened?
COSTELLO: I am. I'm horribly saddened.
WILLIAMS: OK. We believe you. We believe it's sincere.
COSTELLO: Of course. Armstrong Williams, Nancy Skinner, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: You will hear more about tsunami relief today on "AMERICAN MORNING." So let's head now to Phuket, Thailand, and Soledad O'Brien. Hello -- Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol.
We continue our reports from Phuket, Thailand, today. As you well know, Secretary of State Colin Powell, along with Jeb Bush, the president's brother, toured the area today to get a sense of some of the damage. Also, to address concerns about what could be thousands of Americans who might still be missing at this point. Those numbers, as you well know, are kind of unclear.
For the people who are looking for those who are missing, though, it is very, very tough. The search goes on. They are really clinging to any kind of information or any kind of hope that they can possibly glean. The reality, though, is that bodies continue to wash up on the shore. The reality is that bodies are dug up from under the rubble, and the condition that those bodies are, frankly, terrible, unrecognizable.
Today, we've got some stories of survivors. But how those stories in many ways are overshadowed by the huge losses that those survivors now face.
Carol -- that's ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."
COSTELLO: All right, we'll see you soon. Soledad O'Brien live from Thailand this morning.
With the presidential inauguration coming up, and the tsunami disaster still fresh, the question comes up: Should some of the hoopla surrounding the inaugural be scaled back? We'll talk to an editor at the "Washingtonian" magazine about the hoopla that will take place in Washington in mid-January.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Forty or 50 million bucks will enable you to throw quite a party. That's how much money the Bush team hopes to raise for President Bush's inauguration. In fact, it's already raised $40 million. But in light of the tragedy in South Asia, some have questioned whether the wall to wall inaugural party should still go on. The president's father talked about that on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think life goes on. I don't think we can give up or should. I don't think it will help anything in Sri Lanka if the balls were, you know, peeled back in terms of the inauguration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So party on. But if you're not a member of the millionaire's club, you may not be able to afford to boogie with the president and his family.
Joining me live from Washington, Chuck Conconi of the "Washingtonian" magazine.
Good morning, Chuck.
CHUCK CONCONI, "WASHINGTONIAN" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Carol. Great to see you again.
COSTELLO: Nice to see you, too. This is going to be quite a bash, isn't it?
CONCONI: It always is. I mean, it's a massive bash. It's massive confusion. But whoever wins the presidency gets an opportunity with his supporters to celebrate it.
COSTELLO: Oh, but this is different. This is going to have so many balls people won't be able to attend them all.
CONCONI: Well, you don't get to attend them all. I mean, there's a whole week. I was just talking to the limo driver this morning when we were coming over here to the station, and he says, we'll be going with parties all week. And there are parties all week. There are officially nine balls. Six of them are now going to be held at the massive new convention center that we have, partly for security but partly to keep it all in one place.
COSTELLO: So, if you're just, like, common Joe and you've raised a lot of money for the Republicans during the presidential election and you really want to go to some of the top-notch balls, how much is it going to cost you?
CONCONI: Well, we did an estimation in the magazine. We did it as someone coming from Houston, Texas. When you figure airfare, we figured coming up with round-trip class, business class, it's like $2,000, $3,000 to pay for tickets to one of the balls. Your wife a gown of maybe $4,000 or $5,000. Hotel room and everything. It came to something like $12,621.
But I think if the average person would come in, they probably could come for as little as $5,000. Just think of airfare from Cleveland or Sacramento or wherever, then a room for a couple of nights at a hotel, taxicab, meals. You have to have the right kind of clothes to go.
COSTELLO: Of course.
CONCONI: Balls are very complicated things, though.
COSTELLO: Well, $5,000 is still a lot of money.
CONCONI: You bet. COSTELLO: And there's no guarantee that you'll make it into some of the more populous parties, you know, the parties where the president is actually going to be.
CONCONI: Well, the president and the vice president visit each one of the official balls, and you'll probably have tickets to one of the official balls. I'd like to read you an amusing quote from Roxanne Robertson (ph) in our recent issue of the magazine talking about inaugural balls. And she said, it's rude to tell someone who has never been to one that they are long and overcrowded, not terribly exciting. It's like telling them their baby is ugly.
So, I advise people to enjoy the thrill of victory, wear comfortable shoes, and make a late reservation for dinner at a decent restaurant. I have been to these balls. They are just mob scenes. Everybody stands around. There is no place to sit down. You can't get a drink. You can't even get anything to eat. And she's right. It's best to wear comfortable show, get out of there.
The president comes and the vice president comes. And it's exciting, though, for the people who come in. I don't belittle them. But they're not as much fun as it sounds like they are.
COSTELLO: No. I've been to them, too. You sort of just stand there and you sweat a lot.
CONCONI: That's right. That's right. But you can go to the other parties. OK, I'm sorry. The other parties are OK.
COSTELLO: OK, that's true. Chuck Conconi from the "Washingtonian" magazine joining DAYBREAK this morning. Thank you.
CONCONI: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: You are watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I'm just reading through the headlines very quickly this morning, Chad. It's all about -- here it is -- sweet charity.
MYERS: Oh, right.
COSTELLO: It's on the front page of the "Daily News." It's talking about how many people are giving. It's amazing.
MYERS: Yes, a million dollars coming out of Sandra Bullock?
COSTELLO: Yes, a million dollars...
MYERS: Right?
COSTELLO: ... from Sandra Bullock.
MYERS: Yes, going to the Red Cross?
COSTELLO: Yes. Leonardo DiCaprio also kicked in an unspecified large donation.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And, of course, he shot his movie, "The Beach," at a Thai resort.
MYERS: Oh, that's right. Yes, absolutely.
COSTELLO: In Phi Phi, right?
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: And a local news station here is running their own telethon to collect money from people who live around this area and maybe they're doing the same in your area as well. I don't know. But people...
MYERS: Jay Leno has got the Harley out there.
COSTELLO: That's right.
MYERS: To bid on eBay.
COSTELLO: He's going to auction off a Harley.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: So a lot of stuff going on, and the generosity of Americans, you just can't beat it.
MYERS: That's right.
COSTELLO: From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
MYERS: See you tomorrow.
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