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American Morning

Signs of Life; Edwards' New Campaign

Aired October 17, 2005 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(NEWSBREAK)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's move to New Orleans, where potentially Wilma might cause some problems many days from now. Among the signs that New Orleans is on the way to recovery, a school reopening this morning, the first in the city since Katrina struck seven weeks ago. This is one school day I think kids will be happy about. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is in New Orleans.

Tell us about the three R's, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, Good morning to you.

Yes, the first day of school is always exciting, but this one I think particularly so. Classes were supposed to start right on the half hour here, but it looks like a lot of people are arriving late. We are here at St. Louis Cathedral Academy. It is, as you mentioned, the first school to reopen in the city of New Orleans.

The students started arriving about a half an hour ago in a steady stream, and you just can see on their faces just how excited they are. Most of the 100 students who be will coming to school today, we should mention, are children of relief workers. Only 12 are return students, but school officials say none of that really matters; the most important thing here is that the school is back open. A couple of things to note. They have lowered the tuition here to $200 a month, but the principal tells me that no one will be turned away. She says how can you turn people away when they have lost virtually everything in the storm. So this school is really opening its arms to really anyone who wants to attend -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Look at that smile. Look at that sweet thing there. Off to school she goes today.

But notice right beside her somebody wearing a revolver, a pistol. I guess security must be a concern there as well.

Let's talk about business owners and whether businesses are coming back to life. I know you spent some time with business owners over the weekend.

I did. I spent the whole weekend talking to business owners, Miles, throughout the city. And for all of the talk about parts of the Lower Ninth Ward and the most devastated areas, having no power, having no water, there are signs of recovery already, particularly where we are right here in the French Quarter. I can tell you we spoke to a bakery owner who has been back open for about a week and a half. He is already filling orders for, among other things, six weddings. We went to a spa on the famous Magazine Street. It was fully booked on Friday. Mail service is back. Buses are running again. And they're even starting to fix the roof of the Superdome.

So again, Miles, lots of signs of recovery here in New Orleans.

M. O'BRIEN: Good to see it. Alina Cho, thanks very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The former Senator John Edwards, he made an unsuccessful bid for the vice presidency. He's got a new job, though, as a director of a foundation that's fighting poverty. He is trying to motivate students to fight poverty, and everybody else as well. He joins us this morning.

It's nice to see you, senator. Thanks for talking with us.

JOHN EDWARDS, FMR. V.P. CANDIDATE: Glad to be with you.

S. O'BRIEN: You're the director -- let me get the title, right, because it's kind of long -- the director of the Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina. What exactly is your goal? And I know you're kicking off things as well today.

EDWARDS: Well, what we're doing at the university, is we're doing serious look at what's causing poverty in America, what the potential solutions are for poverty, bringing in the best experts from around the country in order do that.

And what I'm doing starting today is a 10-campus college tour to motivate young people around this college of ending poverty as we know it. And I would say that young people all over America and those who are near college campuses, you know, if you go to opportunityrocks.org, you can find out the specifics where we're going, when we will be there. But the idea is to engage a new generation of young people in the cause of ending poverty.

S. O'BRIEN: Certainly, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the nation's eyes, I think it's fair to say, was opened to how such a big problem poverty is.

And I want to play a little bit of what President Bush said in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's also some deep persistent poverty in this region as well. That poverty has roots in the history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Are you encouraged to hear those words from the president? Do you think, in fact, there will be bold action?

EDWARDS: I'm encouraged by the words; I'm not encouraged by his actions. I think that the truth is that there have been decades of failure to deal with the systemic issue of poverty. And of course the poverty doesn't just exist in New Orleans and the Gulf coast, although we've seen that graphically as a result of the hurricane, it exists all across America. And my own view is that we have a window of opportunity open to us now. Because of the aftermath of the hurricane, the American people are paying attention. And the question is, will we be able to keep the window open? Will we be able to drive this through the American conscience so we take on what I think is the great moral cause in America today.

S. O'BRIEN: There is cynics among us, I'm not one, who would say, you know, everything is politically motivated. And this is a good resume builder if you want to be president in 2008. What do you say to them?

EDWARDS: Well, poverty is something I've cared about before I ever got involved in politics. I was involved with a faith-based group here in North Carolina that helped deal with people who were in poverty, something, as you remember, I talked about in my own presidential campaign. I had a choice when the election was over about where to spend my time. This is where my heart is. I think that this is an issue that the American people need to confront. It's been 40-some odd years since we as a nation have made a serious effort to do something about poverty.

And I'm hoping that with this campus tour and the work that not only I'm doing, but others are doing around the country that we can aspire America to do something about this. It's a chance for us to elevate the dialogue, get the American people around a really important cause, and create a sense of national community that we as a nation can address a really important issue together, and have the American people feel good about doing it.

S. O'BRIEN: Your heart used to be with the Senate Judiciary Committee on which you served. I want to ask you a question about Harriet Miers. Weigh in for me. What do you think about her as a nominee, as a candidate?

EDWARDS: Very hard to know about her. She doesn't have any experience as a judge. There's very little information about her in terms of what she's written. I think the truth of the matter is, she's one of those candidates, she's such a huge question mark, that the hearings are going to be enormously important, important to for the country, important for the Judiciary Committee, but also important for her, because she needs to convey to the Judiciary Committee, to the Senate, who will be considering her confirmation, what it is she believes in, what it is she stands for, because you really can't tell based on what we know right now.

S. O'BRIEN: Democrats have been pretty quiet overall on Miers. Do you think that's a good strategy, or would you advise a different strategy?

EDWARDS: No, I don't think this is about strategy; I think I it's about deciding whether this woman belongs on the United States Supreme Court. I mean, basically, she has a history, she was the president of Texas Bar. She has a history of being close to the president. She's been his counsel. But does that qualify her to be on the United States Supreme Court? I think it depends on how she performs in the hearings and what information comes out.

S. O'BRIEN: Do you ever miss those days on being on the Senate Judiciary Committee?

EDWARDS: Oh, I loved being on the Judiciary Committee. It was fun. It was fun to be able to question these judicial nominees to determine whether they ought to be on the bench. But I can tell you, what I'm doing now is about what my life should be about, out there trying to help 37 million people who live in poverty every day. I've been in probably 30 different states, meeting with families...

... what I'm doing now is about what my life should be about. You know, out there trying to help 37 million people who live in poverty every day. I've been in probably 30 different states now, meeting with families who live in poverty quietly, to find out what it is they're going through. And these folks need somebody to be their champion, to fight for them. And I intend to do everything I can to try to help them.

S. O'BRIEN: Your wife Elizabeth had a very public battle with breast cancer. How is she doing?

EDWARDS: Thank you for asking. She's actually doing very well. She finished her treatment a few months ago. She feels good. And she's an amazing woman.

S. O'BRIEN: Good. Well, we're relieved to hear that. Thanks for talking with us this morning. Former Senator John Edwards is the director of the Center for Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina law school -- Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad Myers. Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, does the vote in Iraq mean we are any closer to bringing our soldiers back home? We'll ask a soldier who's been there.

S. O'BRIEN: And GM's sputtering and dieseling. Is it ready to jumpstart an agreement with the UAW? Andy's "Minding Your Business" on that, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Iraqis have weighed in on their constitution, and the indications are they have given a seal of approval, despite strong opposition by Sunni Muslims. So does that mean we are any closer to bringing our troops back home?

Marine Corporal Barrett Stephens joins us from Houston, Texas. He hails from St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. He is the son of Sheriff Jack Stevens, who you've met many times on this program. We're going to ask him about that experience in just a moment. But first, good to have you with us, Barrett.

Let's talk about the vote and what you think that means. I know it's been a little while since you've been over there. But do you see it as an important milestone, which could mean at least talking about an end game in which those troops have come home?

CPL. BARRETT STEPHENS, U.S. MARINES: Absolutely. I think that right now, America's mission in Iraq is to establish the Iraqi government and the Iraqi military as an independent nation. And I think since we're establishing (INAUDIBLE) democracy, a constitution is a crucial part. Just looking at the U.S. constitution, it's a foundation upon which the rest of our system, our government, is built and it provides a realm within which as Americans have to operate.

And I think if Iraqis have any chance of surviving as an independent government, that they, themselves, need their own constitution to provide the same outline in the same basis from which to operate. So I do think it's a milestone for the Iraqi people. And from what I understand, it's getting good support. So, hopefully, you know, whenever the official vote comes in, it does come back positive, because I think for the Iraqi people, it's good. And I also think that it's a positive step for the American people.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about this constitution for just a moment. You're a law student and you understand the significance of a constitution and what it means. And you just referred back to the U.S. constitution. You read this constitution, it's not at all like ours. It talks a lot about the role of Islam as a fundamental underpinning of law. Sharia, meaning a type of law which, in particular, does not grant any rights to women.

As a soldier who has been there and risked your life and seen your comrades lose their lives and limbs, quite literally, do you think it is worth the U.S. effort to push for a document which falls so short of what we would call democracy?

STEPHENS: Well, I think that's where we have to draw a careful line between how much we impose on them, as far as -- we're trying to give them a broad and general idea of what a democracy is. But at the same time, they have to develop it themselves. You know, we can't say we want you to have a democracy and then force them to implement something in their constitution which they believe, you know, religiously and culturally, will not be accepted.

So as far as it deviating from our form of constitution, well, I don't think that we should, as Americans, look for the Iraqis to take a carbon copy of our constitution. I think that's kind of the beauty of democracy, is it gives people the freedom to elect and vote on what they think is proper for themselves. So while it may deviate from our constitution, I think the idea of a constitution for the Iraqis is still important.

So, not being an expert on Iraqi culture, you know, they may implement some things that we could see as inappropriate or harsh, but that's why we're giving them or trying to provide them with the democracy, so they can choose for themselves what they believe is appropriate for Iraq to rebuild themselves and to a better and independent nation.

M. O'BRIEN: Barrett, how much freedom is enough for Iraqis to justify the tremendous cost?

STEPHENS: Well, you know, Miles, that's a tough call. It really is. And, you know, I think that one thing the American people have to realize is that now that we're in Iraq, our mission is to help people. And I think when you cut through all of the red tape and the political discussions, at the end of the day, helping people is a sound mission. It's a noble mission.

And, you know, I can't sit here and say that there's a limit on the price that we have to pay, having served over there, because, believe me, you know, you know, as an American, I hate to see servicemen lose their lives. But at the end of the day, we have just keep telling ourselves that what we are doing is noble. And I personally believe it's a noble mission.

And frankly, you know, I know it may not be a popular mission with some people, but as an American, as a serviceman, the attitude I take is one at the end of the day, I think we're helping a people establish themselves after 35, 40 years of tyranny.

And a second thing I tell myself as a serviceman, as long as my brothers and sisters are in arms overseas, I will give full support to whatever mission they have, whether it's the help to help establish a constitution or it's to feed a starving people.

M. O'BRIEN: Barrett, I'm sorry, we're running out of time -- a quick final thought for you on just coming back to your home and seeing it the way it has been, especially in the wake of your tour of duty in Iraq. What has that been like? I'm sure you've found some parallels.

STEPHENS: Well, I'll be honest with you, my best day in St. Bernard Parish after Hurricane Katrina was much, much worse than any of the worst days that I had in Iraq. It's just total devastation down there, and it's truly gut-wrenching. It's -- emotionally, it's been more difficult than anything I've seen overseas. And, frankly, it's just -- it's a really catastrophic situation down there, and I would of gladly done several more tours in Iraq than see what happened to my home about a month ago. So it's definitely been a gut-wrenching experience.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow. Barrett Stephens, thank you very much -- Soledad.

STEPHENS: Thank you, miles. S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, General Motors sweetens the pot for car buyers, free gas cards, lenient lease deals. Does it sound too good to be true? Andy is "Minding Your Business," just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Bad news for General Motors could some mean good news if you're looking to buy a car. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

What are they doing?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Well, they've got a lot of stuff going on with GM this morning, Soledad. The world's largest automaker in the worst shape it's been really in more than a decade. This morning, CEO Rick Waggoner is right now speaking to employees. Some very large health care cuts going on for the UAW. Apparently GM is going to be slashing a billion dollars a year in health care coverage for autoworkers. That's out of a total of $6 billion.

Also, just crossing the tape minutes ago, GM announced a massive loss in the third quarter: $1.6 billion. That's truly staggering. They've already lost $1.4 billion in the first half of the year. Other things going on this morning, it appears that they may be selling an interest in GMAC. That's their financing arm, which has been very profitable. In fact, they lose money making and selling cars. They make money financing the purchase of those cars. So that's interesting.

And of course what's really going on here, Soledad, the company is trying to avoid filing for chapter 11. GM filing for chapter 11, a real possibility. This in the wake of Delphi, the former parts subsidiary, filing for chapter 11. And it's truly hard to imagine this company could be this close.

S. O'BRIEN: Its' a terrible scenario. And if you think about that, obviously the workers are going to have to bear those health care costs then if they're going to slash a sixth of the costs.

SERWER: That's right.

S. O'BRIEN: Those are Expensive costs. The workers can't afford that.

SERWER: Yes, that's absolutely right. Now what's going on in terms of things for consumers, though. GM still trying to get sales moving, offering $500 gas card if you buy an SUV right now, you know, a pre-loaded card to buy one of the SUVs. Sales flagging...

S. O'BRIEN: That'll last a week.

SERWER: Yes, going to last about two or three days, you're right. And this of course after the employee pricing for everyone over the summer. Again, you know, they're moving the vehicles off the lots, but they're not making any money selling these things. S. O'BRIEN: Huge, huge problems.

SERWER: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thank you.

SERWER: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up in just a moment, we're going to take a look at the top stories of the day, including Tropical Storm Wilma. A long way from the U.S. It could, though, eventually show up on the Gulf Coast. We've got an update on that, just ahead with Chad. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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