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American Morning
Bush's Moral Values; Rice Confirmation Hearing; 'New You Revolution'
Aired January 18, 2005 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 7:30 here in New York City. Good morning, everybody. Good to have you along with us today.
In a moment here, we're getting back to our series on issues the country faces in the second term for President Bush. It's called "What's In It For Me." Today, conservatives talk about the president's decision not to push for a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage. Kelly Wallace has that in a moment.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also ahead this morning, the Senate confirmation hearings for Condoleezza Rice. We've been talking about that all morning. Jeff Greenfield will join us in this half-hour to give us a little prediction on just what he thinks the Democrats are going to go after her about today.
HEMMER: A whole lot to talk about.
O'BRIEN: We've got a lot there. Another look at the headlines with Heidi Collins.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. And good morning to you once again, everybody.
"Now in the News" this morning.
Iraq says it will close its borders the day before the January 30 national elections. The country is already under a state of emergency, and officials announced today they will also extend the nighttime curfew and restrict movement inside the country to protect voters.
Meanwhile, at least one person was killed, seven others injured, in a car bombing in Baghdad earlier today. U.S. and Iraqi officials say it happened outside a political office for a Shiite group.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is heading to Gaza to try and persuade militants from stopping attacks on Israelis. Abbas says he is hopeful an agreement can be reached. The talks come just days after Israel cut off ties with the Palestinian leadership, saying they were not doing enough to halt the violence against Israel.
Turning to sports news now. Mike Nolan is heading to San Francisco. The Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator is ironing out a contract deal. Nolan accepted the offer yesterday to take over as head coach for the San Francisco 49ers. The team had the NFL's worst record last season. Nolan will replace Dennis Erickson, fired earlier in the month.
And we are feeling the deep freeze across parts of the country today. Try Embarrass, Minnesota, possibly the coldest spot yesterday at 54 degrees below zero. Not embarrassed about it, though. Some other cold spots, Babbitt, Minnesota, minus 51. Grand Forks, North Dakota, minus 37. An Upson, Wisconsin, 33 below. In Duluth, Minnesota, mine 40 with the wind chill.
Forecasters say the temps will stay below zero for the next couple days. And even Mobile, Alabama, was below freezing, and Florida reporting some wind chills in the teens. Chad Myers is going to have more on that coming up in just a little while.
For now, we go back to Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Wow! That makes the 13 degrees we've got here seem almost balmy.
COLLINS: Tropical.
O'BRIEN: Doesn't it?
COLLINS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi, thanks.
Let's go back to Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Soledad.
As we count down to Thursday's presidential inauguration, our special series, "What's In It for Me," continues today, looking at President Bush's second term agendas through the eyes of average Americans. Part two deals with moral values.
And for that, here's Kelly Wallace back with us this morning.
Good morning to you -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
Well, of course, you know, conservatives feel they helped President Bush get re-elected, in part over this issue of moral values. So, what do conservatives expect from the president in his second term? To find out, we take you to the county in the New York metropolitan area that scored the highest vote for President Bush back in November.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: David? It's time to get up, son. Rise and shine.
WALLACE (voice over): It is a Sunday morning ritual for Roseanne Selenitri (ph). She wakes up her son...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This goes to the front, OK.
WALLACE: ... gets some help from her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we're all set.
WALLACE: And then, along with her family, heads to church. Her faith, she says, provides the moral standard she lives by.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For myself, in particular, that standard is the Bible.
WALLACE: Roseanne is a conservative activist here in rural Sussex County, New Jersey, the most conservative county in the New York metropolitan area, according to the November election results. Almost two-thirds of the residents here who voted chose President Bush.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't expect him to be a golden boy. We don't expect him to do everything right or agree with everything he does. But we do expect him to make decisions based on a moral standard.
WALLACE: And she expects the president to stick to his campaign promises to nominate conservative judges and try to restrict abortion rights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to see life respected in all areas, and that's a primary concern.
WALLACE: The moral issue that took center stage last year? Same-sex marriage.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Protecting marriage as a union of a man and woman.
WALLACE: During the campaign, the president backed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but recently said he would not push for one, believing a majority of senators think the Defense of Marriage Act is sufficient.
Roseanne says she's OK with that, as long as states put bans on their books, something 11 states did back in November.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Personally, I don't care if it's a constitutional amendment or if it's just a state law that that can't happen.
WALLACE: If the president does not do what conservatives want, Roseanne says he will pay a moral price, losing the respect of people who helped elect him. She says Republicans looking to be re-elected could also pay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've put them in office, and now it's time to see, are they going to do what they promised to do? (END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And Roseanne says if Republicans don't uphold their promises, conservatives like herself who flocked to the polls back in November may not go out and vote next time.
HEMMER: Did she suggest any concern about a possible division in America, based on this past election and going forward, as relates to moral value?
WALLACE: She definitely did, Bill. She talked about it. She said we are such a divided country, Democrats versus Republicans, liberals versus conservatives. So, one other thing she is hopeful that President Bush can do is try to, some way, bring people together. We may not all agree, but can't we have a respectful discussion of our differences? She's not that confident, though, Bill, that will happen.
HEMMER: All right, Kelly, thanks. Part two today. Part three tomorrow. In fact, the third part of our president agenda series, "What's In It For Me," will explore the issue of homeland security. Kelly, thanks.
WALLACE: Sure.
HEMMER: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, her confirmation is expected, but expect Condoleezza Rice to be grilled by members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when they open hearings on her nomination as secretary of state. The proceedings begin just 90 minutes from now.
Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield in Washington, D.C. this morning with some insight.
Hey, Jeff, good morning to you.
JEFFREY GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it this morning. We hear they're going to try to knock her off her focus, be rough. But in the end, she's going to be confirmed anyway. So, what do you think the strategy is for both the Democrats and the Republicans who are going to be grilling Condoleezza Rice this morning?
GREENFIELD: Democrats, I think, or at least some of them -- Barbara Boxer has already indicated she's one of them -- are going to be using these hearings to try to bring to account some of what they regard as the missteps in the president's first term. I think you're clearly to hear questions about how much, if any, Condoleezza Rice was involved in decisions about how to treat prisoners, about the weapons of mass destruction.
I think you're going to hear some talk about what happened to the Iraq stabilization group. President Bush, in October of '03, appointed Condoleezza Rice to coordinate, to manage post-war Iraq. That stabilization group kind just drifted off, and the post-war Iraq reconstruction has not been going well. So, I think you're going to see that kind of case.
I also -- you said I might do predictions, and you know how I feel about that. I do expect John Kerry, who is a member of the committee, to make some attempt at humor, noting that he had hoped to have been doing other things this inaugural week. But I think it's basically a look at that.
I think you're going to hear some critique or at least some concern expressed by Richard Lugar, who is a well-known internationalist Republican, about what the administration's plans are around the world, both in terms of improving the lot of the poor and its strategy.
Remember, this is also the week, as you've just been discussing, that a story in "The New Yorker" appeared, saying that the United States has reconnaissance missions in Iran and may be looking to topple that regime. I can't imagine we're not going to hear questions about that.
O'BRIEN: So, give me a sense then of what people think Condi Rice's tenure as secretary of state would be. She's obviously very close to the president. There are some who say that's a bad thing. There are others who say, no, that's actually a very, very good thing.
GREENFIELD: Without passing judgment on good or bad, it seems to me this is a very clear signal that we have a president who, in his second term, is far more confident about asserting his foreign policy ideas and has a far bolder or, if you're a critic, more problematic view of what the United States can do in the world.
Remember, the president four years ago when he ran as the governor of Texas had no foreign policy experience. He had a lot of people from Bush 41 around him, including Dick Cheney, Colin Powell. The idea was I've got a grown-up team here. And the president, when he was running for office, talked about humility in foreign policy and why nation-building was a bad idea.
In the wake of 9/11, you've had a whole transformation in what the president believes. He is aggressively asserting the notion that democratization is the key to keeping America safe. That, as you heard earlier, transformation in the Middle East by regime change, peaceful or otherwise, is the key to protecting America's interest and the key to Middle East peace.
And I think in the replacement of Colin Powell by Condoleezza Rice, you have the moving offstage of one of the key voices seen as a dissenter to that. Colin Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage, were much more seen as kind of more cautious foreign policy advocates.
And what we don't know yet is whether Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state will have that role, or whether she is in sync with the view that the United States is going to pursue a very strong policy of trying to spread democracy in the world. And that's the key. O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you there at the end. Doesn't she bring a certain degree of more credibility? I mean, I guess an upside from the closeness in the sense that whenever she's negotiating on the president's behalf, people know they are very tight, they have a close relationship.
GREENFIELD: Well, there's no question about that. I mean, she's often talked about almost as a member of the Bush family. And, as you kind of indicated in your question, the idea, is that a good thing to have an entire foreign policy team speaking with one voice? Or is it useful to have a very different kind of shading?
Here's another question, the answer to which we don't know. Dick Cheney -- Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld appear on major issues like Iraq to have far more influence with the president than Colin Powell.
Now, the question is: Is Condoleezza Rice going to be as secretary of state someone who is going to make a different case, a more diplomatic case, let's say, a more cautious case? Or is she in sync with this view that the United States now in the wake of September 11 has to win the war on terror by really moving aggressively and demanding or at least pushing democratization of undemocratic regimes?
Back in the fall 2002, when the National security strategy of the United States was released, which Condoleezza Rice was charge of drafting, it was a very assertive document about non-negotiable demands of human rights and how the world had to change in order to keep it safe. I think that is the key question that Condoleezza Rice, as secretary of state -- because she's going to be confirmed -- is going to be facing in the next four years.
O'BRIEN: We'll see. We'll see how she gets along with butting heads with Secretary Rumsfeld as well. Many, many questions, and we're going to have lots of time to talk about it this morning, because, of course, we've got live coverage of the Condoleezza Rice confirmation hearing beginning at 9:00 Eastern Time this morning. That's Jeff Greenfield, CNN senior analyst, chatting with us.
Bill and I are going to be in Washington on Thursday for special live coverage of the inaugural preparations. That begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: And we will be dressing warm on Thursday, that's for certain.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: The map in the Northeast has gone to blue, and now it's shifting toward purple. I think eventually it's going to go white.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, as the mercury falls, will heating prices heat up? Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead. HEMMER: Also, the "New You Revolution" continues today. A minister tries to better herself and her congregation. You'll meet her right after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Day two of the "New You Revolution." Today we introduce you to the Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor. She's got a job to do, too.
O'BRIEN: And her application to the "New You Revolution" caught our attention, because she told us she wants to send a powerful message to her congregation, as well as millions of others, about the power of healthy living.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really interesting story. A misdiagnosed heart condition kept Leigh Ann from exercising for a long time. Not anymore, though.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Meet Leigh Ann Raynor. It's a big year for Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor. She turns the big 5-0 and finally wants to make some changes.
LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: If I shrink as I get older, it's not going to be all that long before I look like SpongeBob.
GUPTA: In her 25 years as a minister, Leigh Ann has packed on about 60 pounds, which she blames on two bad habits: not exercising and being a junk food junky.
She has another bad habit, one she doesn't like to talk about: smoking. A habit she says she can't tackle yet.
RAYNOR: I just can't do it. You know, I mean, I can cut down, but I can't change my eating habits and start exercising and lose weight and completely quit smoking. I just know myself.
GUPTA: But breaking bad habits and starting good ones won't be easy for Leigh Ann, because she has a potentially dangerous heart condition.
RAYNOR: I get dizzy. I start sweating. My heart would hurt.
GUPTA: After years of misdiagnosis, doctors finally realized she had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. That's an excessive thickening of the heart muscle, which inhibits blood flow. This condition has kept her from exercising up until now. A new heart procedure and medication brought her relief.
RAYNOR: I've had almost no pain. Almost no pain for the first time in 20 years. It's like a miracle to me.
GUPTA: So now, Leigh Ann feels ready to start her "New You Revolution." RAYNOR: If you think that I'm going to be on CNN and have Dr. Gupta say, unfortunately, one of our five participants, Reverend Raynor, gained 12 pounds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: That's not going to happen!
RAYNOR: That's not going to happen.
GUPTA: You're one of our thousands of applicants. We welcome you.
RAYNOR: Thank you.
GUPTA: We're going to have a fun eight weeks, I think, with you as well.
RAYNOR: Thank you.
HEMMER: Are you ready for this challenge?
RAYNOR: I'm ready.
HEMMER: How is that southern cooking down in Thomasville, Georgia, huh?
RAYNOR: They are wonderful cooks.
HEMMER: And they cook for you, too, don't they?
RAYNOR: They do. Many of them do.
HEMMER: And how hard is it for you to keep arm's length from the food they're putting in front of you?
RAYNOR: I don't think I've done that yet.
HEMMER: And that's why you're here.
RAYNOR: That's why I'm here.
O'BRIEN: What do you think is going to be the biggest, the toughest thing to get over? You've already said you're not going to tackle the smoking yet.
RAYNOR: Yet.
O'BRIEN: OK. So, then what's the hardest thing? The exercise? The cutting back on the great food? All of the above?
RAYNOR: I'm excited about exercising, because I can for the first time in a long time with no pain. So, I think that the hardest thing for me is going to be menu planning, organization, cooking ahead so that when I don't get home until 8:00 at night or 7:00 at night I don't run to Dairy Queen. I've got something in the refrigerator already ready that's healthy.
O'BRIEN: All of that preparation, being prepared for those things.
GUPTA: What is it about the smoking? Because I have a lot of people that I know, patients of mine as well, who say they just don't want to quit smoking. They know it's bad for you. Why don't you want to quit right now?
RAYNOR: It's not a matter of not wanting to quit. It's that I think that the reason that so many people fail with New Year's resolutions is they try to make huge, grand, sweeping changes, change everything at once. And they fail. It's too much. I want to do one thing at a time so that I'll be sure I succeed and that I'll quit for good.
GUPTA: I want to talk about realism in terms of goals as well. Leigh Ann, your cardiologist and internist have come up with your "New You" prescription.
RAYNOR: Great.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAYNOR: I have a kitchen, but I don't spend a lot of time there.
GUPTA (voice over): Leigh Ann, to get you into your "New You Revolution," we're going to teach you how to eat healthy. Cooking 101 with a registered dietician.
But there is more. You'll participate in a cardio rehab program. From four to five times a week, you'll do light exercise, walking on a treadmill at no more than three miles an hour. That's because of your pre-existing heart condition.
Finally, we want you to tackle one more bad habit: your smoking. A counselor will help you get on the road to quitting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And, Leigh Ann, best of luck from all of us here at CNN.
RAYNOR: Thank you very much.
GUPTA: Remember to take it easy, OK?
RAYNOR: Yes.
GUPTA: All right.
O'BRIEN: You have a direct line with God. I think you can tackle all of these things.
RAYNOR: I'm still here.
GUPTA: Tomorrow, we're going to meet Sandra Garth. She's a grandmother and she's also acting as the mom for her grandson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU PARTICIPANT": I want to be fabulous and 50, and I want to be fit and 50.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: And the "New You Revolution" will help her be fit enough to keep up with her grandson. That comes up tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Of course, you can follow along as well as CNN.com/am.
HEMMER: And she has a great story, too, because she has a relationship with Iraq right now...
GUPTA: That's right.
HEMMER: ... with members of her family deployed there. So...
GUPTA: That's right. That's right.
O'BRIEN: Excellent. Thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you, Reverend.
RAYNOR: Thank you.
HEMMER: Good luck.
RAYNOR: Thanks very much.
HEMMER: All right. Let's get a break here. In a moment, Wall Street heats up, because it is cold outside. Andy is "Minding Your Business," and he explains next here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
Old Man Winter is putting a bit of a vise across the country now in that frigid air. The price of oil then keeps climbing.
Andy Serwer is back here "Minding Your Business."
We kind of got away from this for a while. It started creeping back up again. Where is it, 49?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Up, down. Yes, it's crossed $49 a barrel again, and it is not good news for consumers or for the markets or anybody else.
Let's talk a little bit about stocks, first of all. The markets were closed yesterday for the Martin Luther King holiday. What about last week? The markets barely budged, especially the Nasdaq. Look at that. That's basically flat. We might as well just stay at home. This morning, futures are weaker because of higher oil prices. As Bill was saying this morning, $49 a barrel, a seven-week high. Cold weather in the Northeast is spooking traders, the largest heating oil market in the world, Northeast United States. That's not a surprise.
Also, concerns about the election coming up in Iraq. And some violence in Kuwait against pipeline facilities is also causing some worry there.
This morning, one stock we're going to be watching, Electronic Arts. The giant video game company signing a 15-year deal with ESPN. This is a biggie. It begins in 2006, doing all kinds of games with ESPN properties. Look for X-games, Bass Fishing, everything across the board. Unclear where this leaves Madden football, which is the flagship game of EA. And also unclear where it leaves competitor Take Two Interactive, which previously had a deal with ESPN. So a lot to watch there in the game biz.
HEMMER: That software just keeps getting better and better.
SERWER: That's a huge...
O'BRIEN: The quality of those graphics are so much better...
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... even than when they just started. They did a great job when they (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
SERWER: I just watch my kids play. I just sit there transfixed.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Well, we should mention that we are just about an hour away now from Condoleezza Rice's confirmation hearing. If she gets the job, what's her first order of business? We've got some inside scoop from a friend and protege just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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Aired January 18, 2005 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It's 7:30 here in New York City. Good morning, everybody. Good to have you along with us today.
In a moment here, we're getting back to our series on issues the country faces in the second term for President Bush. It's called "What's In It For Me." Today, conservatives talk about the president's decision not to push for a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage. Kelly Wallace has that in a moment.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Also ahead this morning, the Senate confirmation hearings for Condoleezza Rice. We've been talking about that all morning. Jeff Greenfield will join us in this half-hour to give us a little prediction on just what he thinks the Democrats are going to go after her about today.
HEMMER: A whole lot to talk about.
O'BRIEN: We've got a lot there. Another look at the headlines with Heidi Collins.
Good morning.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. And good morning to you once again, everybody.
"Now in the News" this morning.
Iraq says it will close its borders the day before the January 30 national elections. The country is already under a state of emergency, and officials announced today they will also extend the nighttime curfew and restrict movement inside the country to protect voters.
Meanwhile, at least one person was killed, seven others injured, in a car bombing in Baghdad earlier today. U.S. and Iraqi officials say it happened outside a political office for a Shiite group.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is heading to Gaza to try and persuade militants from stopping attacks on Israelis. Abbas says he is hopeful an agreement can be reached. The talks come just days after Israel cut off ties with the Palestinian leadership, saying they were not doing enough to halt the violence against Israel.
Turning to sports news now. Mike Nolan is heading to San Francisco. The Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator is ironing out a contract deal. Nolan accepted the offer yesterday to take over as head coach for the San Francisco 49ers. The team had the NFL's worst record last season. Nolan will replace Dennis Erickson, fired earlier in the month.
And we are feeling the deep freeze across parts of the country today. Try Embarrass, Minnesota, possibly the coldest spot yesterday at 54 degrees below zero. Not embarrassed about it, though. Some other cold spots, Babbitt, Minnesota, minus 51. Grand Forks, North Dakota, minus 37. An Upson, Wisconsin, 33 below. In Duluth, Minnesota, mine 40 with the wind chill.
Forecasters say the temps will stay below zero for the next couple days. And even Mobile, Alabama, was below freezing, and Florida reporting some wind chills in the teens. Chad Myers is going to have more on that coming up in just a little while.
For now, we go back to Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Wow! That makes the 13 degrees we've got here seem almost balmy.
COLLINS: Tropical.
O'BRIEN: Doesn't it?
COLLINS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Heidi, thanks.
Let's go back to Bill.
HEMMER: Thank you, Soledad.
As we count down to Thursday's presidential inauguration, our special series, "What's In It for Me," continues today, looking at President Bush's second term agendas through the eyes of average Americans. Part two deals with moral values.
And for that, here's Kelly Wallace back with us this morning.
Good morning to you -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Bill.
Well, of course, you know, conservatives feel they helped President Bush get re-elected, in part over this issue of moral values. So, what do conservatives expect from the president in his second term? To find out, we take you to the county in the New York metropolitan area that scored the highest vote for President Bush back in November.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: David? It's time to get up, son. Rise and shine.
WALLACE (voice over): It is a Sunday morning ritual for Roseanne Selenitri (ph). She wakes up her son...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This goes to the front, OK.
WALLACE: ... gets some help from her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we're all set.
WALLACE: And then, along with her family, heads to church. Her faith, she says, provides the moral standard she lives by.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For myself, in particular, that standard is the Bible.
WALLACE: Roseanne is a conservative activist here in rural Sussex County, New Jersey, the most conservative county in the New York metropolitan area, according to the November election results. Almost two-thirds of the residents here who voted chose President Bush.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't expect him to be a golden boy. We don't expect him to do everything right or agree with everything he does. But we do expect him to make decisions based on a moral standard.
WALLACE: And she expects the president to stick to his campaign promises to nominate conservative judges and try to restrict abortion rights.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to see life respected in all areas, and that's a primary concern.
WALLACE: The moral issue that took center stage last year? Same-sex marriage.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Protecting marriage as a union of a man and woman.
WALLACE: During the campaign, the president backed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but recently said he would not push for one, believing a majority of senators think the Defense of Marriage Act is sufficient.
Roseanne says she's OK with that, as long as states put bans on their books, something 11 states did back in November.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Personally, I don't care if it's a constitutional amendment or if it's just a state law that that can't happen.
WALLACE: If the president does not do what conservatives want, Roseanne says he will pay a moral price, losing the respect of people who helped elect him. She says Republicans looking to be re-elected could also pay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've put them in office, and now it's time to see, are they going to do what they promised to do? (END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: And Roseanne says if Republicans don't uphold their promises, conservatives like herself who flocked to the polls back in November may not go out and vote next time.
HEMMER: Did she suggest any concern about a possible division in America, based on this past election and going forward, as relates to moral value?
WALLACE: She definitely did, Bill. She talked about it. She said we are such a divided country, Democrats versus Republicans, liberals versus conservatives. So, one other thing she is hopeful that President Bush can do is try to, some way, bring people together. We may not all agree, but can't we have a respectful discussion of our differences? She's not that confident, though, Bill, that will happen.
HEMMER: All right, Kelly, thanks. Part two today. Part three tomorrow. In fact, the third part of our president agenda series, "What's In It For Me," will explore the issue of homeland security. Kelly, thanks.
WALLACE: Sure.
HEMMER: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, her confirmation is expected, but expect Condoleezza Rice to be grilled by members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when they open hearings on her nomination as secretary of state. The proceedings begin just 90 minutes from now.
Senior analyst Jeff Greenfield in Washington, D.C. this morning with some insight.
Hey, Jeff, good morning to you.
JEFFREY GREENFIELD, CNN SENIOR ANALYST: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it this morning. We hear they're going to try to knock her off her focus, be rough. But in the end, she's going to be confirmed anyway. So, what do you think the strategy is for both the Democrats and the Republicans who are going to be grilling Condoleezza Rice this morning?
GREENFIELD: Democrats, I think, or at least some of them -- Barbara Boxer has already indicated she's one of them -- are going to be using these hearings to try to bring to account some of what they regard as the missteps in the president's first term. I think you're clearly to hear questions about how much, if any, Condoleezza Rice was involved in decisions about how to treat prisoners, about the weapons of mass destruction.
I think you're going to hear some talk about what happened to the Iraq stabilization group. President Bush, in October of '03, appointed Condoleezza Rice to coordinate, to manage post-war Iraq. That stabilization group kind just drifted off, and the post-war Iraq reconstruction has not been going well. So, I think you're going to see that kind of case.
I also -- you said I might do predictions, and you know how I feel about that. I do expect John Kerry, who is a member of the committee, to make some attempt at humor, noting that he had hoped to have been doing other things this inaugural week. But I think it's basically a look at that.
I think you're going to hear some critique or at least some concern expressed by Richard Lugar, who is a well-known internationalist Republican, about what the administration's plans are around the world, both in terms of improving the lot of the poor and its strategy.
Remember, this is also the week, as you've just been discussing, that a story in "The New Yorker" appeared, saying that the United States has reconnaissance missions in Iran and may be looking to topple that regime. I can't imagine we're not going to hear questions about that.
O'BRIEN: So, give me a sense then of what people think Condi Rice's tenure as secretary of state would be. She's obviously very close to the president. There are some who say that's a bad thing. There are others who say, no, that's actually a very, very good thing.
GREENFIELD: Without passing judgment on good or bad, it seems to me this is a very clear signal that we have a president who, in his second term, is far more confident about asserting his foreign policy ideas and has a far bolder or, if you're a critic, more problematic view of what the United States can do in the world.
Remember, the president four years ago when he ran as the governor of Texas had no foreign policy experience. He had a lot of people from Bush 41 around him, including Dick Cheney, Colin Powell. The idea was I've got a grown-up team here. And the president, when he was running for office, talked about humility in foreign policy and why nation-building was a bad idea.
In the wake of 9/11, you've had a whole transformation in what the president believes. He is aggressively asserting the notion that democratization is the key to keeping America safe. That, as you heard earlier, transformation in the Middle East by regime change, peaceful or otherwise, is the key to protecting America's interest and the key to Middle East peace.
And I think in the replacement of Colin Powell by Condoleezza Rice, you have the moving offstage of one of the key voices seen as a dissenter to that. Colin Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage, were much more seen as kind of more cautious foreign policy advocates.
And what we don't know yet is whether Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state will have that role, or whether she is in sync with the view that the United States is going to pursue a very strong policy of trying to spread democracy in the world. And that's the key. O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you there at the end. Doesn't she bring a certain degree of more credibility? I mean, I guess an upside from the closeness in the sense that whenever she's negotiating on the president's behalf, people know they are very tight, they have a close relationship.
GREENFIELD: Well, there's no question about that. I mean, she's often talked about almost as a member of the Bush family. And, as you kind of indicated in your question, the idea, is that a good thing to have an entire foreign policy team speaking with one voice? Or is it useful to have a very different kind of shading?
Here's another question, the answer to which we don't know. Dick Cheney -- Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld appear on major issues like Iraq to have far more influence with the president than Colin Powell.
Now, the question is: Is Condoleezza Rice going to be as secretary of state someone who is going to make a different case, a more diplomatic case, let's say, a more cautious case? Or is she in sync with this view that the United States now in the wake of September 11 has to win the war on terror by really moving aggressively and demanding or at least pushing democratization of undemocratic regimes?
Back in the fall 2002, when the National security strategy of the United States was released, which Condoleezza Rice was charge of drafting, it was a very assertive document about non-negotiable demands of human rights and how the world had to change in order to keep it safe. I think that is the key question that Condoleezza Rice, as secretary of state -- because she's going to be confirmed -- is going to be facing in the next four years.
O'BRIEN: We'll see. We'll see how she gets along with butting heads with Secretary Rumsfeld as well. Many, many questions, and we're going to have lots of time to talk about it this morning, because, of course, we've got live coverage of the Condoleezza Rice confirmation hearing beginning at 9:00 Eastern Time this morning. That's Jeff Greenfield, CNN senior analyst, chatting with us.
Bill and I are going to be in Washington on Thursday for special live coverage of the inaugural preparations. That begins at 7:00 a.m. Eastern right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: And we will be dressing warm on Thursday, that's for certain.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: The map in the Northeast has gone to blue, and now it's shifting toward purple. I think eventually it's going to go white.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, as the mercury falls, will heating prices heat up? Andy is "Minding Your Business" just ahead. HEMMER: Also, the "New You Revolution" continues today. A minister tries to better herself and her congregation. You'll meet her right after this on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Day two of the "New You Revolution." Today we introduce you to the Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor. She's got a job to do, too.
O'BRIEN: And her application to the "New You Revolution" caught our attention, because she told us she wants to send a powerful message to her congregation, as well as millions of others, about the power of healthy living.
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's really interesting story. A misdiagnosed heart condition kept Leigh Ann from exercising for a long time. Not anymore, though.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice over): Meet Leigh Ann Raynor. It's a big year for Reverend Leigh Ann Raynor. She turns the big 5-0 and finally wants to make some changes.
LEIGH ANN RAYNOR, "NEW YOU" PARTICIPANT: If I shrink as I get older, it's not going to be all that long before I look like SpongeBob.
GUPTA: In her 25 years as a minister, Leigh Ann has packed on about 60 pounds, which she blames on two bad habits: not exercising and being a junk food junky.
She has another bad habit, one she doesn't like to talk about: smoking. A habit she says she can't tackle yet.
RAYNOR: I just can't do it. You know, I mean, I can cut down, but I can't change my eating habits and start exercising and lose weight and completely quit smoking. I just know myself.
GUPTA: But breaking bad habits and starting good ones won't be easy for Leigh Ann, because she has a potentially dangerous heart condition.
RAYNOR: I get dizzy. I start sweating. My heart would hurt.
GUPTA: After years of misdiagnosis, doctors finally realized she had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. That's an excessive thickening of the heart muscle, which inhibits blood flow. This condition has kept her from exercising up until now. A new heart procedure and medication brought her relief.
RAYNOR: I've had almost no pain. Almost no pain for the first time in 20 years. It's like a miracle to me.
GUPTA: So now, Leigh Ann feels ready to start her "New You Revolution." RAYNOR: If you think that I'm going to be on CNN and have Dr. Gupta say, unfortunately, one of our five participants, Reverend Raynor, gained 12 pounds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: That's not going to happen!
RAYNOR: That's not going to happen.
GUPTA: You're one of our thousands of applicants. We welcome you.
RAYNOR: Thank you.
GUPTA: We're going to have a fun eight weeks, I think, with you as well.
RAYNOR: Thank you.
HEMMER: Are you ready for this challenge?
RAYNOR: I'm ready.
HEMMER: How is that southern cooking down in Thomasville, Georgia, huh?
RAYNOR: They are wonderful cooks.
HEMMER: And they cook for you, too, don't they?
RAYNOR: They do. Many of them do.
HEMMER: And how hard is it for you to keep arm's length from the food they're putting in front of you?
RAYNOR: I don't think I've done that yet.
HEMMER: And that's why you're here.
RAYNOR: That's why I'm here.
O'BRIEN: What do you think is going to be the biggest, the toughest thing to get over? You've already said you're not going to tackle the smoking yet.
RAYNOR: Yet.
O'BRIEN: OK. So, then what's the hardest thing? The exercise? The cutting back on the great food? All of the above?
RAYNOR: I'm excited about exercising, because I can for the first time in a long time with no pain. So, I think that the hardest thing for me is going to be menu planning, organization, cooking ahead so that when I don't get home until 8:00 at night or 7:00 at night I don't run to Dairy Queen. I've got something in the refrigerator already ready that's healthy.
O'BRIEN: All of that preparation, being prepared for those things.
GUPTA: What is it about the smoking? Because I have a lot of people that I know, patients of mine as well, who say they just don't want to quit smoking. They know it's bad for you. Why don't you want to quit right now?
RAYNOR: It's not a matter of not wanting to quit. It's that I think that the reason that so many people fail with New Year's resolutions is they try to make huge, grand, sweeping changes, change everything at once. And they fail. It's too much. I want to do one thing at a time so that I'll be sure I succeed and that I'll quit for good.
GUPTA: I want to talk about realism in terms of goals as well. Leigh Ann, your cardiologist and internist have come up with your "New You" prescription.
RAYNOR: Great.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAYNOR: I have a kitchen, but I don't spend a lot of time there.
GUPTA (voice over): Leigh Ann, to get you into your "New You Revolution," we're going to teach you how to eat healthy. Cooking 101 with a registered dietician.
But there is more. You'll participate in a cardio rehab program. From four to five times a week, you'll do light exercise, walking on a treadmill at no more than three miles an hour. That's because of your pre-existing heart condition.
Finally, we want you to tackle one more bad habit: your smoking. A counselor will help you get on the road to quitting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: And, Leigh Ann, best of luck from all of us here at CNN.
RAYNOR: Thank you very much.
GUPTA: Remember to take it easy, OK?
RAYNOR: Yes.
GUPTA: All right.
O'BRIEN: You have a direct line with God. I think you can tackle all of these things.
RAYNOR: I'm still here.
GUPTA: Tomorrow, we're going to meet Sandra Garth. She's a grandmother and she's also acting as the mom for her grandson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA GARTH, "NEW YOU PARTICIPANT": I want to be fabulous and 50, and I want to be fit and 50.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: And the "New You Revolution" will help her be fit enough to keep up with her grandson. That comes up tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Of course, you can follow along as well as CNN.com/am.
HEMMER: And she has a great story, too, because she has a relationship with Iraq right now...
GUPTA: That's right.
HEMMER: ... with members of her family deployed there. So...
GUPTA: That's right. That's right.
O'BRIEN: Excellent. Thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you, Reverend.
RAYNOR: Thank you.
HEMMER: Good luck.
RAYNOR: Thanks very much.
HEMMER: All right. Let's get a break here. In a moment, Wall Street heats up, because it is cold outside. Andy is "Minding Your Business," and he explains next here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
Old Man Winter is putting a bit of a vise across the country now in that frigid air. The price of oil then keeps climbing.
Andy Serwer is back here "Minding Your Business."
We kind of got away from this for a while. It started creeping back up again. Where is it, 49?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Up, down. Yes, it's crossed $49 a barrel again, and it is not good news for consumers or for the markets or anybody else.
Let's talk a little bit about stocks, first of all. The markets were closed yesterday for the Martin Luther King holiday. What about last week? The markets barely budged, especially the Nasdaq. Look at that. That's basically flat. We might as well just stay at home. This morning, futures are weaker because of higher oil prices. As Bill was saying this morning, $49 a barrel, a seven-week high. Cold weather in the Northeast is spooking traders, the largest heating oil market in the world, Northeast United States. That's not a surprise.
Also, concerns about the election coming up in Iraq. And some violence in Kuwait against pipeline facilities is also causing some worry there.
This morning, one stock we're going to be watching, Electronic Arts. The giant video game company signing a 15-year deal with ESPN. This is a biggie. It begins in 2006, doing all kinds of games with ESPN properties. Look for X-games, Bass Fishing, everything across the board. Unclear where this leaves Madden football, which is the flagship game of EA. And also unclear where it leaves competitor Take Two Interactive, which previously had a deal with ESPN. So a lot to watch there in the game biz.
HEMMER: That software just keeps getting better and better.
SERWER: That's a huge...
O'BRIEN: The quality of those graphics are so much better...
SERWER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... even than when they just started. They did a great job when they (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
SERWER: I just watch my kids play. I just sit there transfixed.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Well, we should mention that we are just about an hour away now from Condoleezza Rice's confirmation hearing. If she gets the job, what's her first order of business? We've got some inside scoop from a friend and protege just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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