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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Hurricane Wilma's Aftermath; Interview With Slade Gorton
Aired October 25, 2005 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everybody.
We begin tonight with the deadly aftermath of Hurricane Wilma, which killed at least five people and left a trail of destruction across much of southern Florida. The worst-affected area on the East Coast, between West Palm Beach and Miami.
Tonight, thousands of people are stuck in traffic jams in Florida. They're trying to find food, water, fuel and other essential supplies. Six million people remain without power tonight. Utility companies say it could take as much as a month to restore power.
Wilma's damage to insured property is estimated to be as high as $10 billion, which would make Wilma the third costliest hurricane in this country's history.
Tonight we begin with two reports on both coasts of Florida -- David Mattingly, live in Fort Lauderdale. Rob Marciano in Naples.
We begin with David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, damage from this hurricane up and down Florida's east coast is so widespread, it's hard to know where to begin. So let's start with the building here behind me.
This high-rise here in Fort Lauderdale belongs to the Dade County Board of Education. You can see that the glass was peeled off the side of the building during the storm, so you can you imagine how dangerous this intersection was during the storm with all that flying glass.
For over 100 miles, from Miami-Dade, north to Fort Lauderdale and beyond, insurers are placing damage estimates at $6 billion to $10 billion. Airports are closed, sea-going vessels have been destroyed. Roofs are damaged. And millions are still without electricity. This means that stores can't open, gas pumps can't operate.
The hardest-hit area seems to be Broward County. Two people, according to local officials, were killed in the storm. Schools are closed. A curfew is in effect from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. Officials say that's not so much for a matter of keeping the peace, they want to make sure that motorists remain safe because driving, even in the daytime, with all of the signs down, with all of the traffic lights inoperable, and with all of the debris still in the roadways, it can be very hazardous, even in the daytime.
There are some areas tonight still without water. We found that the most precious commodity today was drinking water. And ice being handed out at various distribution centers. We watched as hundreds of people stood in line for hours just to get cases of fresh drinking water and a cooler full of ice.
Lou.
DOBBS: David, the state of Florida went to extraordinary lengths to prepare people to -- for this storm, recommending that they have plenty of supplies, water, food, and to evacuate. Why in the world are there so many people in this situation?
MATTINGLY: One explanation here on the east coast was that this storm, Wilma, was hitting Florida from the west. They did not believe it would be as intense, they did not believe that the damage would be as widespread. So perhaps they did not prepare as much this time as they normally would if they had a storm approaching them from the ocean, from the Atlantic Ocean, which is not what happened in this case.
Now, the damage here, we have noticed that for a great many individuals there is damage to individual homes. But it is not catastrophic. It is, however, incredibly widespread. A lot of people have been affected by this, and a lot of people remain tonight, Lou, in the dark.
DOBBS: Well, hopefully the power can be restored and life returned to normal quickly in southern Florida. Thank you very much, David.
The storm's winds were strong enough to uproot trees and to knock people off their feet. But were those winds strong enough to move a large aircraft? The answer obviously is yes.
Hurricane Wilma's winds blew this airplane into the side of another. The collision left a huge hole around the plane's nose, a round hole, as these pictures attest. These pictures at Opa Locka Airport. Winds there were clocked at 85 miles an hour during the height of the storm.
And there is good news to report at this hour out of Miami. Within the past hour, Miami International Airport has reopened for departures and arrivals.
In the Florida Keys, residents were surprised by the extent of the damage caused by this hurricane. Officials estimate as much as 60 percent of the homes in Key West were flooded. Wilma lashed Key West with 120-mile-an-hour winds for two hours and left much of the island under more than three feet of water.
Residents in many parts of Florida tonight are waiting in long lines for essential supplies. In some areas, drivers are waiting in line for as long as six hours, trying to pick up free water, ice and food at distribution points. Long lines have also formed near gasoline stations that still have fuel. And 500 people waited outside one store to buy tools to repair damage, and equipment to clean up their property. Hurricane Wilma has now merged with an early Nor'easter to bring heavy rains, high winds and 20-foot waves to the Northeast. Cape Cod is now feeling the strongest effects of this storm.
Dan Lothian reports tonight from the town of Chatham, on the eastern end of Cape Cod. Dan?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Lou. Well, we are waiting for high tide. It will come here in less than 45 minutes. We've already had to move our position as the water continues to move up onto this beach.
Now, this Nor'easter is not anything strange to New England. Typically, it comes in the wintertime, packing a lot of snow. The difference this time, though, is that it was very powerful, and instead of the snow, we had a lot of wind and water.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN (voice over): A wrestling match off Cape Cod's Hyannis. John Wilson bobbed up and down in waist-deep water, fighting to save his sailboat from the Nor'easter. He needed help.
Enter CNN affiliate WHDH. The local news crew walked into the harbor to help. Wilson keeps the boat and his sense of humor.
JOHN WILSON, BOAT OWNER: That's just a day at the beach with a little wind and a little rain and one boat.
LOTHIAN: For fishermen from Gloucester, the waves were stronger, rough enough to get them back to port early.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just really strap yourself in, because, I mean, the boat is pitching and tossing and turning.
LOTHIAN: Along the coast, storm flags flew. We saw gusts as high as 63 miles per hour. Ferries between Cape Cod and the islands were grounded, and some flights at Boston's Logan International Airport canceled.
In the Boston suburb of Winthrop, power lines swung and fell. Crews did their best to restore electricity. But they had their hands full. At one time today at least 40,000 customers in Massachusetts had no electricity. Another 30,000 in Connecticut.
In Pennsylvania, an early winter dusting snow fell outside Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County. Forecasters say more snow could be in store from West Virginia to Maine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: What's interesting is that Wilma played only a minor role in this storm because she was so far offshore. I was talking to Chad Myers earlier today. And he mentioned -- he pointed out that if Wilma had been just closer to us, we would have seen these winds, which were quite powerful, double in speed, perhaps as much as 100 miles per hour.
Lou.
DOBBS: Dan, thank you very much. Dan Lothian.
As many as 15,000 American tourists remain stranded tonight in Cancun, unable to leave Mexico after the hurricane hit. Some tourists have been evacuated from Cancun by buses organized by the U.S. Embassy. Other Americans had gone to the airport hoping to board flights back to the United States, but no international flights have taken off, and many of those tourists expressed outright anger at the American government's slow response.
Tonight, the State Department defended its efforts, saying more than 20 consular officers are helping tourists in Cancun.
Residents of the Cuban capital of Havana tonight are cleaning up after Hurricane Wilma brought severe flooding to much of the city's center. Some areas of Havana tonight have floodwaters still on the streets.
Lucia Newman reports from Havana.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): Cuba's civil defense uses a rough terrain military vehicle used years ago in the Angolan War to evacuate a group of Spanish tourists from their still wet hotel. They're off to the airport. But for the Cubans who stay behind, after the deluge comes the real nightmare.
Bagalia Rente (ph), a retired public servant, lost everything she ever had during what Cubans call the storm of the century back in 1993. Now she's relived the experience.
"We had everything up as high as possible, and I thought it would be safe. But the water came up so high, even higher than last time," she says.
The worst part is that Hurricane Wilma hit just as she was finally about to move to higher ground. I asked if she can replace all this.
"Don't make me laugh," she says. "If it took me nearly a decade last time, how do you think I can do it now?"
It's a sentiment shared by many Cubans who can barely make ends meet as it is and who, of course, have no insurance. At least 2,000 homes were seriously damaged.
All along the Havana shoreline, people try to pick up the pieces or throw away some of those things they cherished, like this man's piano. "It belonged to my grandmother. It's from 1901, and it's ruined," says Christiane (ph), a retired veterinarian.
In Old Havana, the civil defense distributes food to those who are still trying to make their homes inhabitable again. At least the floodwaters have receded. The sun is out again. And people can put their things out to dry. Those things which can still be salvaged, that is.
(on camera): But the waves along the Malecon are a reminder that the danger is not over, that hurricane season will be with us for at least another five weeks.
Lucia Newman, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Still ahead here, the great American oil rip-off. Big oil companies posting record profits on the backs of struggling American consumers. We'll have a special report for you on what are turning out to be obscene profits at your expense.
And why the Republican Party needed to send out a survey to find out what you think about our broken border problem. We do have one. And it's become a crisis, even though Congress needs to send out a questionnaire. We'll have that special report for you.
And a waiting game in the White House-CIA leak case. We're live in Washington with the very latest for you.
All of that and more, coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Major oil companies, many of them foreign oil companies, have been making record profits in this wonderful consumer economy of ours. As middle class Americans are struggling to afford high gasoline prices, home heating oil prices, and of course natural gas prices, the top five oil companies doing business in this country are expected to report record summer profits, $28 billion. This massive profit is even beginning to get the attention of some of our elected representatives in Congress.
Eighty percent of the oil industry's campaign contributions, by the way, now go to Republicans and the Republican Party. And the Republican-controlled Congress is finally worried about being branded the party of big oil by struggling Americans who also on occasion vote.
Christine Romans reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Record oil company gains are American consumers' pain.
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We expect oil companies to do their part to help ease the pain that the American families are feeling.
ROMANS: From the same floor where the House granted taxpayer subsidies to big oil, House Republicans now say it's time oil companies put those blockbuster profits to good use.
HASTERT: We are 60 percent dependent from oil overseas, and to a large percent natural gas overseas. It's time to develop our domestic resources, and especially our domestic refining capacities. It's time to invest in America.
ROMANS: Hastert wants oil companies to increase capacity and build refineries in this country. A refinery hasn't been built here in 30 years. It's one reason why you got killed at the gas pump in the third quarter and oil companies made a killing. The top five oil giants likely took home $28 billion in profit. That's $12 million every minute, thanks to gasoline prices that were 68 cents higher than a year ago.
MARK COOPER, CONSUMER FED. OF AMERICA: That's an increase of $21 billion for consumers, of course. And most of that goes right to the bottom line of the oil companies. Simple arithmetic, they take it out of your pocket and they put it in theirs.
ROMANS: An oil industry representative downplayed the billions energy companies are making.
JOHN FELMY, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INST.: There's a lot of political rhetoric out there about what we are and are not doing. And the reality is that our industry has been historically an average profit rate industry. We make a fair rate of return for all the risk we have to bear.
ROMANS: But truth is, even those deadly Gulf Coast hurricanes were a boon to oil companies. Analysts say idle production drove prices higher, and those higher prices more than made up for lost production from the hurricanes.
TYSON SLOCUM, PUBLIC CITIZEN: This winter is going to be a day of reckoning, not only for the consumers that are going to have unaffordable home heating bills, but for the politicians that so far haven't done anything to demonstrate that they're willing to protect consumers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: There is plenty of fury directed at lawmakers over these high prices. After all, these are the very same people who voted less than three months ago to give oil companies billions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies, even as gas prices were already rising. Suddenly, they're concerned about it. There's an election coming up in less than a year for some of these folks.
DOBBS: An election -- the fact that Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House, would actually take on this issue today and actually say something that, well, the CEOs of the big oil companies might find offensive, Christine, I mean, that's a remarkable reversal.
ROMANS: It was a remarkable reversal, and with much fanfare as well. DOBBS: The -- and the audience of this broadcast, it's important to point out, this didn't come as a surprise to anyone who's been watching this broadcast, because we've been reporting what this Congress has been doing on behalf of big oil and energy for some time, including those almost $10 billion in subsidies for big oil. It's remarkable.
The distribution, by the way, the system in this country, everybody talks about refining...
ROMANS: Sure.
DOBBS: ... and production. But it's easy for people to lose sight of it. One time when we saw these prices rise like this, that money was going into the coffers of U.S. oil companies. That's no longer the case.
ROMANS: You're absolutely right. That money that's coming out of the American pockets, as one of the gentlemen in our piece said, that's going in great part to companies that are based overseas now. There's a great foreign -- foreign presence in our refining capacity and in our distribution networks.
DOBBS: Including Citgo, of course British Petroleum, Royal Dutch Shell.
ROMANS: The list goes on and on.
DOBBS: It gets kind of extraordinary. About 40 percent of our total distribution now foreign oil. But we'll continue to pay attention to that.
Christine, thank you.
That brings us to the topic of our poll tonight. Do you feel ripped off by the oil companies, yes or no? Cast your vote at LouDobbs.com. We'll have the results here later.
Milk versus Major League Baseball? Another example of how some in this country seem to have completely lost their sense of humor.
Major League Baseball is blasting new ads by California Milk Processor Board, the group behind the "Got Milk?" campaign -- you know, the one with the milk over the mustache -- or the milk mustache.
Baseball players in these ads are caught using a performance- enhancing substance. No, no, no, not steroids, but milk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Home run hitter Dave Laden was pulled from last night's lineup after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. The substance, said to help rebuild muscles and maintain bone strength was found in the hitter's locker before game time.
DAVE LADEN, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYER: I don't know how that got in there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: A Major League Baseball official says -- and you're going to love this -- "There is nothing humorous about steroid abuse. I would think that the California Milk Processor Board and their advertising agency would know better regarding an issue that threatens America's youth."
Now, forgive me for asking, but isn't it Major League Baseball that permitted massive steroid abuse on the part of role models for young people all over the country? The Milk Board is having at least a little fun, and it says it never thought those ads would be taken so seriously by those who apparently didn't take the issue seriously enough.
But it was their responsibility -- that is, those people in Major League Baseball, who I hope find a sense of humor. We'll let you whether they do or not.
Still ahead here, we're going need a sense of humor. Republicans have finally realized that Americans want action on borders that are broken, on millions of illegal aliens that have innundated this country and continue to cross our borders. They are beginning to hear your concerns, apparently. Now let's find out if they're ready to act. We'll have a special report.
And shocking charges of a complete intelligence breakdown before 9/11. We'll have the latest for you on the explosive able danger controversy and brewing scandal coming up next here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, a rising number of our lawmakers are finally, it appears, listening to a message that the White House has insisted so far on ignoring altogether. The message is from an overwhelming number of American voters who are now demanding that the federal government take action to secure our borders and to enforce our all but ignored immigration laws.
Casey Wian reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel Tuesday introduced four separate immigration reform bills. In contrast to the White House, Hagel says border security must come before any guest worker program.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R-NE), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Unless the border security issue is dealt with right up front, and given some to our citizens, given them some assurance that we can then fit these other areas of immigration reform in without loosening our borders, or without sacrificing our security, but rather enhancing our security, then it's probably going to be difficult to achieve any other part of immigration reform. WIAN: Hagel's bill would fund an additional 3,000 Border Patrol agents and Customs officers, create a national work authorization card, and require illegal aliens seeking permanent legal status to pay a $2,000 fine. Hagel says that could raise $12 billion to pay for more border security.
Meanwhile, a Republican Senate political committee chaired by North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole is asking voters to fill out a survey on immigration reform. More than a million e-mails went out this week, and within a few hours, GOPSenators.com had 20,000 responses.
BRIAN NICK, NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE: We wanted to give donors and activists, our supporters across the country, you know, basically the ability to feedback to us what their thoughts are on one of the most important issues out there.
WIAN: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT already has answers to most of the survey questions. For example, "Should the U.S. military be empowered to patrol the border with Mexico?"
We asked viewers a similar question in May and August. Both times more than 90 percent said yes.
Another GOP question, "Do you support allowing illegal aliens to receive driver's licenses?"
We asked that back in February. Ninety percent said no.
And senators asked, "Do you believe illegal immigrants already in our country, holding jobs, should be granted a conditional amnesty?"
We asked variations of that four times this year, and between 74 and 92 percent of our viewers said no.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: Senate leaders now plan to take up immigration reform in January. It's clear they're feeling the heat from their constituents over the lack of progress on border security. As Senator Hagel put it - quote -- "the momentum is building".
Lou.
DOBBS: And it's easy to forget that Senator Hagel also had a bill two years ago, along with Senator -- then-Senator Daschle. This is quite a significant change from that earlier rather milquetoast attempt at immigration reform.
Do you think it's possible, is it remotely possible that the people elected in Washington to represent their constituents are actually beginning to listen to their constituents?
WIAN: Well, the Washington sources we talked to today said Senate leaders are beginning to listen to people. They've been hearing nothing but complaints about the lack of border security and failure to do anything on immigration reform for months now. And that they're getting ready to try to present a unified voice on this issue and come up with some legislation they can present to the president.
Now, whether the president's going to change his view is another matter altogether.
Lou.
DOBBS: Well, then it will be a matter whether or not the voters change their view come next November.
WIAN: Absolutely.
DOBBS: Casey Wian, thank you very much. Excellent report.
As Casey reported, momentum appears to be building. Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist himself today promised the Senate will take up the proposed border security and immigration reform measures "early next year," in his words. Senator Frist said it's also possible that more legislation will come forward before then -- perhaps not surprising since next year is an election year, and an important one.
Coming up next here, the 2,000th American soldier has died in Iraq. We'll have the very latest for you on that.
And new poll numbers on the president as he awaits the legal fate of his closest political adviser. We'll be live at White House with that special report.
And the CIA is now in disarray. A new report says it is even less effective than before. Our special report coming up.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The war in Iraq has now cost the lives of 2,000 American troops. The latest U.S. deaths include two Marines killed by a roadside bomb near Amariya. More than 15,000 Americans have been wounded. Half of them too seriously to return to duty.
Aneesh Raman, who is with the 3rd Infantry Division, reports now of the impact of this war on one armored cavalry unit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When an American soldier is killed in combat, the memorial service on the ground is recorded as a DVD for the family back home, so they can witness from afar the last salute to a loved one. And a persistent enemy in Iraq ensures that a steady stream of DVDs are being mailed.
Here in the north of Babel Province, troops from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment of the 3rd ID point to another blast crater caused by a roadside bomb, bombs that have killed 14 soldiers from this one regiment over the course of 45 days this summer. Their faces are the first thing you see on the headquarter's wall. Stories alongside each photograph.
Staff Sergeant Vasquez (ph) was born January 1979, from Rockford, Colorado. He joined the Army in 1997, twice deployed to Iraq. He died on June 5, 2005 at the age of 26. He was killed on this road, patrolled today by Corporal Olivia.
No one would speak to us on camera about their fallen comrades. It remains too sensitive a topic, out of respect for the dead or simple superstition. In the midst of Iraqi farmland, for those searching for IEDs, that wall of the dead is constantly in mind.
CORPORAL OLIVIA, 3RD ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT: You just tell yourself this is not just for, you know, for ourselves, it's for them.
RAMAN: Those who have died in combat here are remembered every day by those who continue the mission. The fight in Iraq for those on the front line is about keeping each other alive, keeping more photos off the walls, keeping more families from having to watch images like these.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, northern Babel province.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: The Senate today held a moment of silence in honor of all the troops in Iraq. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today said - quote -- "we owe them a deep debt of gratitude for their courage, for their valor, for their strength and for their commitment to our country."
An altogether different reaction to the loss of 2,000 of our troops in Iraq from the military's chief spokesman in Baghdad. Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan said -- quote -- "The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone. It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals, or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives. In some cases, this could also be the creating of news where none really exists."
On this broadcast, let me assure you, Colonel Boylan, we report that 2,000 American lives have been lost out of respect for those -- respect for those who have served their country.
President Bush today declared that Iraq is a central front in the global war on terror, and the president warned that this war will require more sacrifice.
The president told military wives at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington that the terrorists want to establish a radical Islamic empire from Spain to Indonesia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This form of radicalism exploits Islam to serve a violent political vision. The establishment by terrorism, subversion and insurgency of a totalitarian empire that denies all political and religious freedom. (END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: President Bush declared that the United States will never back down and will never give in and will never accept anything less than complete victory.
The president's speech comes as the White House is still waiting to learn whether any of its staff members will be indicted in the CIA White House leak investigation. A new report says it was Vice President Cheney who first told his chief of staff, Scooter Libby, the identity of Valerie Plame.
We have three reports now on this important story from Washington. Suzanne Malveaux will have the very latest for us from the White House. Bill Schneider reports on new poll numbers that reveal the impact of the story on support for the president and his administration. And Ed Henry reports from Capitol Hill on Democrats and their response to possible indictments.
We begin with Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, tonight, there is definitely a sense of anxiety and resolve here at the White House as it faces a defining moment, that moment when the prosecutor announces his intentions, which could come as early as tomorrow. And for many in this building, that moment could not come soon enough.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Insiders are calling this the darkest days for the White House, as the president and his aides brace themselves for possible indictments out of the CIA leak investigation. One insider says Mr. Bush is ready for the outcome -- his feeling being, whatever it is, let's get on with it.
Senior aides say getting on with it is part of their immediate damage control strategy.
BUSH: The American people expect me to do my job, and I'm going to.
MALVEAUX: Should the president's top political adviser, Karl Rove, or the vice president's chief of staff, Scooter Libby, be indicted, insiders say it is widely assumed they will resign immediately, and trusted aides will move in to fill the void. The president will make a brief statement citing the legal process that is ongoing. And the White House and its friends will make a dramatic pivot to change the subject and move forward.
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: The administration has to reassure the country that the president can still govern, that he's still running things.
MALVEAUX: The U.S. mission in Iraq being a primary focus on this day, when the American death toll reached 2,000. BUSH: We will not rest or tire until the war on terror is won.
MALVEAUX: Wednesday, Mr. Bush will turn his attention to the economy, in a speech calling for fiscal discipline. Thursday, he'll travel to Florida to comfort victims of Hurricane Wilma. And Friday, on to Southern Virginia, to give a pep talk on the war on terror.
While one White House insider says losing Karl Rove would be a devastating blow to the president, Mr. Bush thinks that his own ability and authority derives from his policies; that Rove is an extension of the president, not a puppet master, that the administration can move forward on its long-term agenda, including tax reform and immigration.
GERGEN: They can and should move to get modest pieces of legislation through before the end of this year, but their legislative window will reopen in January with the State of the Union, and that's the time, if they've got some big initiatives to push, to come forward with them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: But making those initiatives happen may be difficult for the president, as he tries to win back his conservative base, and as he also tries to unite those people who have split. We've been told that there's a split between the Cheney/Scooter Libby camp and the Karl Rove supporters.
Lou.
DOBBS: And adding to the problem, the list of problems the president faces, Harriet Miers. Any developments today in regard to her nomination?
MALVEAUX: Well, the White House is still trying to push for it. She is still undergoing those practice sessions. She is still preparing for the process to happen sometime next week. The hope is that she'll get there. The White House saying they are still confident, but again, they are going wait to see how this week plays out.
DOBBS: Suzanne Malveaux, from the White House. Thank you, Suzanne.
Poll numbers released just today show the CIA White House leak investigation, the war in Iraq reducing support for the president and Republicans.
Bill Schneider has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): October 25, 2004, a week before President Bush's reelection. The president was on the campaign trail.
BUSH: Our economic policies have put us back on the road to growth.
SCHNEIDER: October 25, 2005, Democrats have a 12-point edge on dealing with the economy. And what with investigations of White House leaks, Republican lobbyists, and GOP congressional leaders, Democrats are seen as better for dealing with corruption.
Taxes are a core Republican issue.
BUSH: I'm committed to low taxes and spending discipline.
SCHNEIDER: So it may come as a shock to see the Democrats have an eight-point lead when it comes to dealing with taxes.
The war in Iraq was initially a triumph for President Bush.
BUSH: We ended the regime of Saddam Hussein, which sponsored terror.
SCHNEIDER: Now, criticism of the war has grown, and Americans prefer Democrats deal with the issue.
But before Democrats celebrate, the poll shows that most Americans disapprove of the way both parties in Congress are handling their job. The Republicans are in charge, however, and people believe they've messed things up -- all except one thing.
BUSH: I am determined to win the war on terror.
SCHNEIDER: Republicans still have the edge on fighting terrorism, although the margin is not as big as it used to be.
On October 25, 2004, President Bush made this pledge.
BUSH: I stand for the appointment of federal judges who know the difference between personal opinion and a strict interpretation of the law.
SCHNEIDER: But President Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers, has been losing ground. A week ago, the public was inclined to favor Miers' confirmation; now they're split. Opposition to Miers has gone up seven points in a week.
One year after President Bush's reelection, disillusionment has set in. By 55 to 39 percent, voters say they are more likely to vote for a candidate for Congress who opposes President Bush than one who supports him. That's a bigger margin than the one back in November 1994, when voters said they would be more likely to vote for candidates who opposed President Clinton, and they did.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Yes, a year is a long time in politics, and that is also the good news for Republicans, that congressional election is not for another year.
Lou. DOBBS: Is there any more substantive news that would be classified as good for the Republicans or the president?
SCHNEIDER: Well, there was a little bit of good news in the Iraqi election, and we saw a bounce. The number of Americans who said it was a mistake to go into Iraq actually dropped by 10 points. But as we saw from the news today, 2,000 losses for the United States military, that news may be -- that good news may be very short-lived.
DOBBS: And it is important for us all to remember, and as you suggested in your report, as you alluded to, the low approval ratings for Congress, 29 percent approval for Congress. That means the president, as dismally as he is doing, is doing 10 points better than this, what has been for most middle-class Americans a do-nothing Congress.
SCHNEIDER: That's right.
DOBBS: Bill Schneider, thank you very much.
Tonight, Democrats on Capitol Hill are increasingly trying to link the White House CIA leak investigation to the Bush administration's march toward war in Iraq.
Ed Henry has the report from Capitol Hill. Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Lou, that's right. In fact, this afternoon, there was a moment of silence on the Senate floor to commemorate the fact that the U.S. military's death toll in Iraq, as you mentioned, has now reached 2,000. A solemn occasion, but also perhaps an attempt by the Republican leaders to blunt these increasing political attacks from Democrats, who are in fact trying to link that milestone with the CIA leak case and the possible indictments of Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and others.
In fact today, Democratic leaders charging once again that they believe that the outing of this CIA operative was a clear attempt by the Bush administration to cover up their failed justification for the Iraq war. They are also basically saying that they believe that possible indictments fit into a broader Republican culture of corruption.
Take a listen to this one-two punch from House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: What I've talked about is the culture of corruption and cronyism, and it is raging in Washington, D.C. on the part of the Republicans.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: And far from making us safer from terrorists, in fact, it has turned Iraq into a haven and recruiting ground for terrorists, and deflected our attention and resources away from the fight against terrorism. If anything, it has emboldened our enemies as it has become increasingly apparent that the most powerful army in the world cannot stop a determined insurgency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Republican Senator John McCain, who is not always a friend of this administration, is giving the president a little bit of political cover on this 2,000 deaths now for the U.S. military in Iraq, telling me today he thinks it's a mistake for the Democrats to look like they're politicizing this milestone. And Republican Senator John Cornyn went a step further, basically alleging that he believes the Democrats are giving aid and comfort to the insurgents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: I know what they're selling, but I don't see a lot of people buying it right now. There are obviously people -- they're trying to sell a political line, including risking undermining the public resolve, supporting our men and women who are in the battlefield as I speak, and to me that's not responsible. I think people need to be very careful about what they say and the impact it has on encouraging our enemies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, Senator Cornyn also said it is easy for the Democrats to throw stones when they have not, in his eyes, really put forth a clear alternative plan in Iraq.
Lou.
DOBBS: Yes, that, frankly, to me, sounds rather hollow, Ed. At the same time, when Senator Leahy says that the strongest army on the face of the Earth cannot stop a determined insurgency, I mean, that's a rather defeatist statement?
HENRY: That was a very strong comment in fact on the Senate floor, to be -- basically saying that the world's largest superpower cannot handle this insurgency. I think that's what sparked the anger from Senator Cornyn and other Republicans, suggesting that basically we're losing in Iraq. They were pretty upset about that, obviously, Lou.
DOBBS: Indeed, when I think we perhaps would all be better served by a discussion of what policies would better improve the opportunity for victory for our young men and women in uniform in Iraq. Ed Henry, thank you very much.
Coming up next here, the CIA is in disarray. Critics charge the CIA's director, new director is driving away top officials as well as agents. We'll have our special report here next.
And then, Able Danger. I'll be talking with a former 9/11 Commission member about the Pentagon's secret intelligence project that identified, so the allegations go, Mohammed Atta a year before the attacks. And the Pentagon, it is alleged, kept the FBI from learning that information.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: It is charged that the CIA at the top ranks is in disarray -- its effectiveness undermined by the resignation of many senior CIA officers over the past 12 months.
David Ensor reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After one year as director, Porter Goss finds himself under attack from critics both inside and out of the CIA.
REP. JANE HARMAN (D-CA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I'm concerned, after a year, at what I see as low morale, a lot of confusion by the workforce about where he's heading.
MICHAEL SCHEUR, FORMER CIA ANALYST: I think Mr. Goss has to be judged as not a very successful individual at the moment.
ENSOR: Present and former intelligence officials tell CNN dozens of senior agency officials have quit in the past year, some of them angered by what one called political firings and disrespectful talk from Goss' aides, brought over from his days on Capitol Hill. The former Hill aides are called the "Gosslings" by some unhappy CIA officials, who distrust all but one of them.
SCHEUR: But the rest of them appear to be hacks, basically protecting the White House' view of foreign policy.
ENSOR: Supporters of Director Goss see things quite differently.
SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R-GA), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Porter was asked to go in and kind of get this agency back on track and put America where it needs to be, and that is, at the forefront of doing the very best job of gathering, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence. And he's done that. It hadn't been easy. He's not where he wants to be.
ENSOR (on camera): So how would you describe morale now at the CIA?
JENNIFER DYKE, CIA SPOKESPERSON: You know what? I think that morale is very good, and especially where it counts. When you go out into the field and you see the people that are on the front lines, that are doing that critical work, their morale is high.
ENSOR: Director Goss, says the spokesman, wants to put more CIA officers into the field.
DYKE: We are having record numbers of people coming in who want to work at this agency. Our training classes are full.
ENSOR: But critics charge he's been too low profile a leader, failing both to keep up key relationships with foreign intelligence partners, and to provide clear direction.
HARMAN: I was recently at one of our large stations in the Middle East, and I asked for a show of hands of -- by people in terms of whether they understood where he was taking the agency, and most of them were clueless.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: The former 9/11 Commission has said Goss appears to be moving the agency generally in the right direction, but even some of Mr. Goss' allies concede so far, it's been a bumpy ride.
Lou.
DOBBS: At the very least. David Ensor, thank you very much.
Congressman Curt Weldon claims a secret Pentagon project known as Able Danger identified Mohammed Atta as a member of a New York-based al Qaeda cell a year before the September 11 terrorist attacks. There was no mention of Able Danger in the commission's report on 9/11.
I'm joined now by former Senator Slade Gorton, a member of the 9/11 Commission. Good to have you here, but, in fact was Able Danger omitted from your initial 9/11 Commission report with a purpose?
SLADE GORTON, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSIONER: No. Able Danger was omitted -- omitted from our report because it didn't have anything to do with 9/11.
We learned about Able Danger from Colonel Shaffer, who briefed four of our staffers on it in Kabul, Afghanistan eight or nine months before our report came out. We immediately followed up on it, and we got all of the Able Danger materials from the Department of Defense. And they had nothing to do with Mohammed Atta or with any of the other conspirators. So Able Danger was -- got very interesting. It didn't identify Mohammed Atta a year beforehand. Unfortunately, no one identified Mohammed Atta beforehand. Able Danger was simply irrelevant to our report, and still is.
DOBBS: Irrelevant, you say, and at the same time, you're saying that Colonel -- Lieutenant Colonel Terry (sic) Shaffer, Congressman Curt Weldon have their facts entirely wrong. Is that correct?
GORTON: No, not entirely wrong. Colonel Shaffer told us about Able Danger. And he was the first person who did so. He also claimed later that he told us about Mohammed Atta. He didn't do that. We had four people in on that meeting, all of whom were fascinated by Mohammed Atta, who of course at that point we knew to be the leader of the conspirators. He was never mentioned.
Congressman Weldon said he turned over Mohammed Atta's name to Steve -- to Steve -- what's his name -- the deputy head of the National Security Agency in the White House. He didn't do so. He never told us about it. He never told his own congressional investigating committee about it. Never mentioned it until he got to his book about three or four months ago. Unfortunately, he's just mistaken. He may have talked about some of the elements of 9/11, but they didn't include Mohammed Atta.
DOBBS: Congressman Weldon, as you know, has called for an investigation. I take it you feel that that's unnecessary at this point?
GORTON: Oh, no. That investigation has already taken place. It's taken place by the Senate Intelligence Committee. That investigation will report, I hope, within the next week, and it will agree with the 9/11 Commission.
DOBBS: The fact that the intelligence community has not followed up on the recommendations that you and the rest of the commission put forward -- and you focus greatly on the FBI -- do you have any sense that there is going to be a movement toward fulfilling the recommendations, the remaining recommendations of the commission?
GORTON: Well, let's divide it. Congress did a very good job in creating a new director of national intelligence and a National Counterterrorism Center. We had more faith in the FBI I think at the time in which we reported a year ago, because we really liked Bob Mueller and what he was trying to do. But he's being defeated by the FBI itself, which just won't change its culture to provide the kind of activity on internal security here in the United States that we think is necessary. We're very troubled by that.
DOBBS: Senator Slade Gorton, we thank you for being here as we continue to follow this story and to follow the recommendations that are followed and not followed by the administration. We thank you for being here.
A reminder now to vote in our poll tonight. The question -- Do you feel ripped off by the major oil companies? Yes or no? Please cast your vote at LOUDOBBS.com. We'll have the results coming up here in just a few minutes.
Still ahead, the extraordinary story of the NASA Mars Rover. It's actually rovers. An epic journey, and a new milestone in space exploration.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight, definitive proof that American engineering and scientific know-how truly second to none. The NASA Mars Rover called Spirit and the other, Opportunity, Spirit completing a truly extraordinary task, an epic journey, successfully climbing atop a 270- foot high Martian mountain and taking these extraordinary pictures. The Spirit touched down on Mars almost -- over a year ago. It's still going strong.
Joining me tonight, Steve Squyres. He is the lead scientist for the Mars Rover mission. Steve, you've got to be excited. How significant is this? Particularly these two rovers are supposed to last, what, 90 days? STEVE SQUYRES, SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Ninety days is what we were counting on, and today is day 645. So it's all gravy from here on out. It's very exciting.
DOBBS: And these pictures that are being sent back, both rovers working, Spirit and Opportunity, you're kind of excited about what Opportunity has done here recently?
SQUYRES: Yes, we keep finding new things. We just found a completely different kind of rock with Opportunity very recently. Everywhere we have looked at this one landing sight, the rock was chock full of these little round things that we have been calling blueberries. They're concretions that formed when water was in the rock...
DOBBS: Do you mean...
SQUYRES: And we've found some rocks that don't have any.
DOBBS: Steve, do you mean a hole in the rock?
SQUYRES: No, no. They're called concretions. They're little hard nodules in the rock.
DOBBS: All right.
SQUYRES: We've nicknamed them blueberries.
DOBBS: Those blueberries, the fact that you're not finding them now, the importance?
SQUYRES: Yes. We probably have -- my guess is that the water in this rock sort of rose to a level where the water table was, sort of left a bathtub ring there, and I think we've climbed higher than that level, and we're up to the level that the water didn't get to. We're still working this out.
DOBBS: You're working it out, you know. And I have to tell you, as excited as I am -- and I'm very excited about space exploration, all forms, particularly what you've accomplished with Spirit and Opportunity here --when you say water, a lot of questions arise, for me at least, and I accept that for right now, but I hope you can come back and we can talk some more about why everybody thinks there is evidence of water on Mars.
SQUYRES: We'll do that.
DOBBS: How much longer will Spirit and Opportunity go?
SQUYRES: Oh, man, I wish I knew. You know, at this point, it's day to day. It could be another year, or they could die tomorrow. We're just going to push them as hard as we can.
DOBBS: Well, good for you, Steve. Good for the entire team to all of you at JPL and NASA, a remarkable, remarkable achievement, and thanks for sharing with us. SQUYRES: Thank you.
DOBBS: Steve Squyres.
Still ahead here, the results of our poll tonight. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The results of our poll tonight, overwhelming, 98 percent of you say you feel ripped off by the major oil companies.
Thanks for being with us tonight. Please join us here tomorrow. Among our guests will be former Marine Paul Hackett, who served in Iraq, and is critical of the Bush administration. He's running for the U.S. Senate in Ohio. He'll be our guest. We hope you'll be with us.
For all of us here, thanks for joining us tonight. Good night from New York.
ANDERSON COOPER 360 starts right now, with Heidi Collins.
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