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Nine Weeks Since Hurricane Katrina; President Bush Nominates Appeals Court Judge Samuel Alito

Aired October 31, 2005 - 08:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, once again, from the city of New Orleans. I'm Miles O'Brien. Special coverage this week, now nine weeks since hurricane Katrina. We're here to see what's happening, what isn't happening. What neighborhoods are getting back to normal and which ones aren't?
Soledad and Carol so far, just yesterday we spent some time in lower ninth ward and up near Lakeview. It is night and day from the scene you see here. You know, it looks like rush hour, like kind of a normal rush hour this morning here on Canal Street, but there are whole swathes of this city that are still vacant and powerless.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's been kind of strange to see cars driving behind you in your shot. Don't you think?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh yes. And electricity on. But the businesses aren't open yet, at least most of them. You know Miles, I was wondering what people thought of the New Orleans Saints. Because all of these rumors are flying around that the Saints are going to move permanently out of New Orleans because let's face it, not a lot of people are going to be living inside the city for some time to come.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, and that is a very sore subject here in the city of New Orleans. As you know, this is a smaller metropolitan area. They have supported the Saints. They have filled up that Superdome time and again. They have never really had much of a winning season. They have just had a few winning seasons.

Yesterday, they lost again to the Dolphins. They played their first game in Louisiana in Baton Rouge. And a lot of people would like Tom Benson, the owner to say, who is from here after all, to make a commitment, saying he's keeping the team here. But he seems to be playing close to the vest, trying to negotiate. I don't know if you saw the pictures of him interacting with the cameraman there.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Interacting, that's a nice way to put it. Is that when he hit the cameraman and pushed the camera out of the way?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes. That was it. It was a hit, yes.

COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) football!

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Keep it on the field, mister!

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes. COSTELLO: Well hey, we'll get back to that topic, I'm sure, Miles. But it's fascinating to me. Because you know, it's always painful when a football team moves out of a town.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: OH and how bad for the people. I mean it's like -

COSTELLO: Yes, I'm from Cleveland, I know what it feels like! It feels crappy!

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right. Miles thanks, check in with you in just a little bit again.

And let's revisit our top story THIS MORNING. You heard about 30 minutes ago President Bush nominating appeals court Judge Samuel Alito to be a Supreme Court Justice. Let's go right to Dana Bash. She is live at the White House.

Dana, good morning to you. Have you heard from the White House anything about strategy? I mean, so that he can continue to be the sort of anti-Harriet Miers?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly what the strategy is. Really, the strategy, I think, is to let Samuel Alito be Samuel Alito. And put him out there. Just as we heard the president and from the nominee himself this morning as in every single way, evidence that the White House has learned its lesson from the nomination they put up of Harriet Miers, which was doomed from the start.

From the very beginning the conservatives that really supported President Bush in two campaigns and supported his judicial nominations revolted. And it got worse and worse, not better. So this is really, as you mentioned the anti-Miers nomination. And Samuel Alito is somebody who has been on a short list of most of the conservative groups in the rank and file.

The people who really have been working for this moment, the moment to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. The key swing vote on a Supreme Court, Samuel Alito was right up there. And certainly they are going to be quite happy with that.

Now how this portends for the Senate debate, that is another way that this is extraordinary different in the way the White House is handling this. They are gearing up for a fight with the Democrats as opposed to a fight within their own parties.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Bash at the White House, let's talk about that fight shall we? Ed Henry is live for us on Capitol Hill. Hey Ed, good morning.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Soledad. That's right. Dana set the stage well. In fact, the word we're hearing over and over from Democrats privately is provocative. They think that President Bush did not consult with them adequately on this nomination. That he only reached out to conservatives over the weekend because this was a payoff to the hard right that was so angry about Harriet Miers and how all of that played out.

They are trying -- the Democrats are, to open the door to the extraordinary circumstances argument, which they believe would validate a filibuster of this nomination. They are immediately throwing out that word. Look at the contrast from Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. When Harriet Miers was named, he was falling all over himself to praise her, to say he thought this was a good step forward.

He was looking forward. He had an open mind. But he thought she had a lot of positive qualities. Immediately this morning he is saying he is saying that Judge Alito -- he is disappointed.

He is saying quote, the nomination of Judge Alito requires an especially long hard look by the Senate because of what happened last week to Harriet Miers. Conservative activists forced Miers to withdraw from consideration for the same Supreme Court seat because she was not radical enough for them. Now the Senate needs to find out if the man replacing Miers is too radical for the American people.

You hear the word man in there as well. Democrats hitting the gender card as well. Democrat Chuck Schumer saying this nominee is likely to divide America instead of choosing a nominee in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor. And it would make the court quote, less diverse.

Now bottom line is that all of this sounds very ominous for Democrats to be throwing out a lot of charges and attacking the nominee immediately. But this may be the fight the president wants, to now be fighting Democrats instead of as Dana said, Republicans in his own party Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill for us this morning. Ed, thanks.

Let's get to Lawrence Lustberg. He is an attorney in private practice in New Jersey. Also a friend of Judge Samuel Alito. He joins us from Newark. Nice to see you. First, your reaction.

LAWRENCE S. LUSTBERG, FRIEND OF JUDGE SAMUEL ALITO: Well Obviously, I'm very pleased for Sam. He's a wonderful guy and I believe a brilliant judge. I, myself, am a criminal defense lawyer and a public interest constitutional lawyer. As a liberal, obviously, I think there are things to be concerned about with respect to this nomination. But I don't think anybody can question Judge Alito's integrity and his intelligence.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And many people we're told are not questioning the integrity or the intelligence, it's the liberal part that when you say you're a liberal and there things to be concerned about. I'm quoting yourself, back to you, what are you concerned about?

LUSTBERG: Well, Judge Alito is, I believe, a person who will apply the rule of law to the extent that he will try to apply the law as he sees it to the fact as he sees it. However, like every judge, the way you see it depends to a great extent on your ideology. I don't think there can be any question that Judge Alito's ideology is a conservative one.

And while I don't think he's the kind of guy because of his respect for the institution of the judiciary who would seek to overturn precedent in a radical sort of way, I do think he has the creativity and indeed the intelligence to chip away at existing presidents in a way I think some of us will regret over the years.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So you're a friend but I can't tell if you support his nomination or you don't.

LUSTBERG: Well, obviously, you know, I have -- I support him. And he is my friend. But, you know, it would be I don't want to tell you that which isn't so. There is no question that this is a very conservative nomination. As a person, I think Sam Alito is terrific. He's generous of spirit; he's got a great sense of humor. He's very smart. And he's a kind and open-minded human being.

On the other hand, I think that there can be no question but he has an ideology that is what it is. I think we should all go into this understanding what it is that we see, which is a very good person, a very smart person, and a very conservative person.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You know his nickname that has come up in the last few days is Scalito or I've also heard Scalia-light. Do you think that fits?

LUSTBERG: Well I don't think he's as divisive as (INAUDIBLE) Justice Scalia is. Sam Alito really is a judge's judge in a lot of ways. He is modest in his appearance. He is rather shy in his demeanor and soft-spoken. Yes. And, you know, he's the kind of guy who I think will be -- you know, sort of a more standard judge. Not out of the mould of Justice Scalia. But somebody who will seek to move the law incrementally toward where he wants it to go. So I wouldn't call him Justice Scalia type of person.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Would you like to see him confirmed?

LUSTBERG: You know, I guess I would. I mean, on balance, I think that we, who participate in this system, day in, day out, want the kind of person who has who has a respect for the judiciary, who understands the judiciary fulfills a special role in our society. And that's the role where an individual can go before the court and make their pitch and understand that the way a court will rule is not necessarily the way Congress would rule or the way that policy makers would go about it.

I believe that Justice Alito would be a good justice. But I do think that we all have to do the kind of searching inquiry that people are calling for it to understand fully his ideology because that ideology will certainly guide his decision-making.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Lawrence Lustberg is an attorney in private practice in New Jersey and a friend of Judge Alito. Thanks for talking with us.

LUSTBERG: Thank you. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Other news today to talk about, Carol has got that. Good morning.

COSTELLO: Morning again. Good morning to all of you. Iraq topping the agenda this morning as President Bush meets with Italy's Prime Minister, Sylvia Berlusconi. Berlusconi was one of the president's biggest supporters at the start of the war, but he is expected to talk about his plans to pull Italy's troops out of Iraq. That meeting is set to take place about 11:00 Eastern.

Prince Charles is coming to America with his new bride Camilla. Do you care? The royal couple will arrive tomorrow for a weeklong visit making stops in New York, Washington, and San Francisco. The reason I ask if you care is because the CNN/USA Today Gallup poll, 81 percent of Americans say they don't care.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I got invited, and I'm not going to go. Sorry -- I know. I'm busy. But seriously, I got the invitation on my desk. I'll show you downstairs.

COSTELLO: I should (INAUDIBLE) I feel sorry for you. (INAUDIBLE) 19% of Americans actually want to meet the prince! It's just wrong.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Sorry. Is that bad to say?

COSTELLO: It is! Anyhoo, the trip is in part a chance for Camilla to win acceptance in a nation still smitten with the late Princess Diana. Another hard thing because you could say today experts (INAUDIBLE) how to make over Camilla. It's just sad, isn't it? You should go.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Do you want to go with me?

COSTELLO: OK.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Will you go really?

COSTELLO: Yes. I'll go as your date.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I'll go if you go. OK. My husband would definitely not go so you can be my date.

COSTELLO: Mine wouldn't either. OK. It's a deal.

Three hurricane evacuees are accused of robbing and killing a Texas woman who was trying to help them. A 77-year-old Betty Blair was found strangled inside her Pasadena home on Friday. The suspects were arrested after police found the victim's car through his On-Star tracking system. Police say the suspects had been hired by Blair to do odd jobs around her home.

Young golfer Michelle Wie said it was really awesome to play golf with the former president but she provided a pretty awesome gift top Katrina victims. She handed over $500,000 check to the Bush/Clinton Katrina fund. Wie gave it to the former president on Sunday. And then she played a round of golf with him. We don't know who won but we suspect that Wie did.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I know who won. I can guess!

COSTELLO: Let's head to the forecast center now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Let's turn overseas now. In Baghdad, explosions killed two Iraqi civilians, including a police officer. This latest violence comes as we are now getting an estimate of Iraqi civilian deaths from the Pentagon. Aneesh Raman is live for us in Baghdad. Aneesh, good morning.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, BAGHDAD: Soledad, good morning to you. It is the first public estimate of civilian casualties by the Pentagon. The number, though of course does little justice to the pain suffered by communities throughout this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

RAMAN, (voice over): Amid charred debris they stand in disbelief. A small farming community crippled Saturday by a car bomb that killed nearly 30, that destroyed the central marketplace, that stunned generations. Grieving women huddled on the roadside as children stood next to the wheels of a brownout vehicle. Witness to a sequence played out often in many Iraqi cities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): A vehicle drove near to the mosque but there was nobody there. So it turned back to the market where many people were around and it exploded.

RAMAN: It is virtually impossible to know the true civilian toll of these sustained insurgent attacks. But tough to weigh in a report to Congress last month, the Pentagon, for the first time, publicly estimated that 26,000 Iraqis have been killed or wounded by insurgents since the start of 2004. With an average of 64 civilian casualties daily by early September, this year. Others put the number higher, but any estimate can be numbing. Each time for each community, these attacks stop time and fuel (INAUDIBLE) divisions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (through translator): Why do they kill our children? May God damn them? (INAUDIBLE) in this life and after life. God send them to hell.

RAMAN: At the local hospital, the scenes are familiar as well. The wounded, like 9-year-old Ali Naser (ph), desperately tried to stay alive. His father turned away in anguish. Hours later, Ali died. One of four children killed in the attack. And so as has happened before and as will happen again in Iraq, in the village of Whiter (ph), the coffins were lined up. Hasty burials carried out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMAN: And Soledad, civilian casualties of course the tragic drum beat of Iraq's insurgency, so are the American troops who are killed. The military announcing that six U.S. soldiers were killed today. It brings to 90 the number of U.S. troops killed this month. The largest number this year outside of January. Soledad?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's been a terrible month. Aneesh Raman for us this morning. Aneesh, thanks.

Majority of Americans believe it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq. A CNN/USA Today Gallup poll conducted from Friday through Sunday, 54 percent said yes, it was a mistake compared to 45 percent who said no, it was not.

Let's get back to Miles in New Orleans.

MILES O'BRIEN: Thanks Soledad. . We're on Canal Street. The cleanup, in some cases, the construction is underway here. In Florida, in the wake of Wilma they're still trying to gather up, pick up the pieces. All of it might very well lead to higher prices for you at the supermarket. We'll have the story and explain after a break. [

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Hello, I'm Miles O'Brien. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING live this morning on Canal Street in New Orleans. Nine weeks after Hurricane Katrina. The effects, of course, still being felt here. When you think about it, the ripple effects are all throughout the nation. So it goes for this record hurricane season now in the wake of Hurricane Wilma as they try to assess the damage and repair things there.

There's tremendous concern it's going to hit you in the pocketbook as you go to the supermarket to buy your fruits and vegetables. As a matter of fact, it's believed that Wilma caused more damage to crops in Florida than the four hurricanes combined that hit Florida last year. Joining us now from Goulds, Florida, south of Miami, very near Homestead is J.J. Ramberg with a look at that.

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Miles. Here is an example of some of that damage you were talking about behind me. This is an avocado tree that has been completely overturned. You can see the roots here right behind me. And this is just one scene that we're seeing all over this area.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAMBERG, (voice over): Walk through Larry Dunagan avocado farm in southern Florida, and it looks like a wild forest.

LARRY DUNAGAN, FARMER: Looky here. This tree here --

RAMBERG: Overgrown weeds, broken branches, toppled trees. There are few signs of the organized grove Dunagan and his family have planted over the past three generations.

DUNAGAN: The trees would be standing up straight. Avocados would be hanging. You could reach out there, grab them. It would look nice. HARRIS: Hurricane Wilma's fierce winds tore through his farm last week killing nearly all of the avocados, beans, and squash he was growing. And creating a ripple that could extend throughout the country. Southern Florida is the top producer of winter vegetables at this time of year.

DUNAGAN: These won't make it. There won't be beans for Thanksgiving this year.

RAMBERG: Will we have them for Christmas?

DUNAGAN: We'll have some, for Christmas. Yes, we will.

RAMBERG: Early estimates are that agricultural damage from Wilma will top $1 billion. For farmers here, the timing of the storm couldn't have been worse.

DUNAGAN: These won't come back. Other words, they are too far gone.

RAMBERG: Dunagan's neighbor Eric Torrese grows tomatoes, squash, and beans neighbor grows squash and beans.

ERIC TORRESE, FARMER: We should have money coming in in another 30 days. Now we won't see any income for closer to 90 days so it definitely puts a damper on Christmas. You don't have the money coming in that you would of had coming in so it tightens up the belt.

RAMBERG: With the land in this part of the state in high demand for housing development, agriculture officials worry about the long- term effect of the hurricane season on Florida's farming industry.

KATIE EDWARDS, DADE COUNTY FARM BUREAU: I think we're going to see a lot of pressure on farmers to sell. I think the developers will come after the farmers with increased pressure, knowing that it's hard enough to be in agriculture as it is.

RAMBERG: Larry Dunagan says his land is not for sale. He's been farming it his entire life and has seen tough times before.

RAMBERG, (on camera): Does it make you sometimes want to throw. Your hands?

DUNAGAN: Well, yes, but we're resilient. We'll be back in business before you know it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMBERG: Now Miles, that optimistic attitude is really inspiring to see because not only was this area hit by Wilma, but it was also hit by Katrina just a couple of months ago. Miles?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes, it's hard to imagine how that resilience is tested whether here or there. People time and again just get right back to it and get back on with life, don't they, J.J.? RAMBERG: They sure do. We spoke to a lot of farmers. Everyone we spoke to yesterday said this is life, you got to expect this. We are just going to keep on going.

MILES O'BRIEN: J.J. Ramberg in Goulds, Florida, thank you very much. Back to Soledad in New York.

Coo All right Miles. Hey Miles, do you remember this story about those bathroom breaks at Ford Motors? They did the math and figured out that employees are spending 48 minutes out of their day going to the bathroom?

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes. And I think that (INAUDIBLE) said when it came out, it was kind of a leaked story.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You know what I think about your punch? Right Miles? We've had this conversation before, right?

MILES O'BRIEN: Welcome back, Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Anyway, I missed you so. Anyway, we got a follow-up on that story. They need to go faster is the bottom line. Are other carmakers following suit? We've got that all ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: To pee or not to pee?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's catching.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Miles would like that.

SERWER: Yes he would. That was good stuff.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It is a business story.

SERWER: It is. Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That was good. Come on.

SERWER: I thought it was good. Sort of.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I crack myself up, if no one else.

SERWER: We were telling about this story last week about Ford thinking its employees at a plant in Michigan were taking too long for bathroom breaks so they decided to monitor the situation, which prompted all manner of jokes from Miles O'Brien, fortunately, unfortunately who is not here.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I'll be him.

SERWER: But Soledad filled in nicely. Now, we found out that Chrysler was asked a lot of questions about this. They've responded and they have said that we are not going to use a stopwatch. So this is the follow-up to this story. That Chrysler is not going to be monitoring bathroom breaks.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: But we get to revisit the story.

SERWER: Yes we do.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: You know, and I was out last week. So that lets me kind of --

SERWER: you were on a long bathroom break? See, there is no way to go with the story but down.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I know, only down.

SERWER: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Down the drain.

SERWER: So to speak, yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So that is our business update?

SERWER: That's it. That's all we're doing right now.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Just because we've been gabbing through it. Thanks, Andy. We'll check back with you in a little bit.

Coming up this morning, we've got much more on the breaking news we heard out of Washington, D.C. this morning. Judge Samuel Alito nominated tot eh Supreme Court. We'll take a closer look this morning at the President's new pick to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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