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American Morning
Iraq Debate Gets Ugly in Congress; Giving Back in New Orleans
Aired November 21, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take you over to the Nasdaq market site now. The composite index opens at 2,227, up more than six points.
Good morning and welcome, everybody. It looks like a nice day here in New York. We showed a couple of pictures outside. Beautiful, chilly. Not so bad.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Even invited me.
O'BRIEN: We did. Miles has the day -- Miles is on vacation. Kelly and I did not get vacation this holiday season.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: We did not.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: As Miles likes to say, serve me up a cup of bitter.
WALLACE: He's watching from the Bahamas.
O'BRIEN: Sure he is.
Nice to have you. Thank you very much.
SANCHEZ: Oh, I'm just honored to be here. Delighted, folks. Want you to know that.
O'BRIEN: He's selling it hard.
WALLACE: He is.
O'BRIEN: We're not buying it at all. We appreciate it anyway.
(NEWSBREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: The president's on the road, as we all know, but the debate over Iraq is getting even uglier and sort of unraveled in a way on Friday in Congress.
Listen to Representative Jean Schmidt. She's talking about a conversation that she had with one of her constituents in Ohio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JEAN SCHMIDT (R), OHIO: He asked me to send Congress a message: stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, marines never do. Danny and the rest of America and the world want the assurance from this body that...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The House will...
SCHMIDT: ... that we will see this through!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The House will be in order! The House will be in order! The House will be in order!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Well, yes, I think ugly pretty well describes that. Let's get right to Washington, our CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider.
You know, she's talking about a guy who won two purple hearts. I'm not sure many people would use the word coward to describe Congressman Murtha, certainly. The House was very interesting. What do we expect now today?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, what really ratcheted up the partisanship in this debate -- what's happened here in Washington is Iraq has come to dominate the agenda. The president has been on a trip to several Asian countries, and in every stop, the issue has been Iraq, Iraq, Iraq.
It's come to control the agenda, in some ways like Vietnam did a generation ago, when it was an obsessive concern.Gas prices are dropping, the economy is doing pretty well. There's a lot of other news to report. But people really here are debating Iraq.
And I think what's -- the fact is that the Iraq commitment has become politically unsustainable. And I think Republicans and Democrats are beginning to realize that and so the pressure is on to show at least some commitment to an exit strategy by the time of the election -- mid-term elections next year.
O'BRIEN: Some of the strategy seems to have been to attack Congressman Murtha a little bit. So first I want to read to you a statement. This came from the White House, the Press Secretary Scott McClellan.
He said: "Congressman Murtha" -- this is last week, on Friday -- "is a respected veteran and a politician who has a record of supporting a strong America. So it's baffling when he's endorsing the policy positions" -- this when he said he thought the troops should withdraw within six months or so -- "of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party."
Then on the road, this is what the president had to say days later. Let's listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Congressman Murtha is a fine man. He's a good man who served our country with honor and distinction as a marine in Vietnam and as a United States Congressman. He is a strong supporter of the United States military, and I know the decision to call for immediate withdrawal of our troops by Congressman Murtha was done in a careful and thoughtful way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Indication, in your mind, Bill, that the strategy of attacking Congressman Murtha proved to be a big mistake?
SCHNEIDER: A very big mistake. It backfired badly on the Republicans. You might, they might have a political advantage on this issue, because a lot of Democrats did not agree with Congressman Murtha's position when he called for what he termed a timely redeployment of American troops.
First of all, I think the congressional Republicans made a mistake by redefining his position as immediate withdrawal and putting that up for a vote, hoping to make a split in the Democratic party, which didn't happen. Everyone voted against it.
And second of all, on cue from the White House, from that statement you read from Scott McClellan, they started calling him some very ugly names -- cowardly, shameful. He wanted to cut and run, surrender to the terrorists, emboldening the enemies. This is a man with a distinguished military record and a deep commitment to the military as a Congressman. That's was a bad mistake and what you just heard from the president is called damage control.
O'BRIEN: Yes, they're sure trying. William Schneider, CNN senior political analyst. Bill, thanks as always -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: There's something else we made a commitment to. Hurricane Katrina took so much from the people of New Orleans, so this week, here on AMERICAN MORNING, we're celebrating people who are giving back, highlighting their stories of hope, of encouragement.
AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is joining me here and she's talking about just that. Good morning, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, welcome to New York, Rick. And good morning, everyone.
Today we want to highlight a couple who are important to New Orleans because of their work, their photographs in particular. Many of those pictures were lost in the storm, but now, with the help of others, those photos on are coming back to life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Keith Calhoun and Chandra McCormick cherish the little things these days, the things that survived Katrina. (on camera): Not a speck of water on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was dry.
CHO (voice-over): Keith and Chandra, husband and wife, are documentary photographers, documenting history in New Orleans for more than a quarter century. Most of it in the Lower Ninth Ward, where Keith and Chandra and their two children used to live. We first met the couple in early October.
(on camera): This is your house right there?
KEITH CALHOUN, PHOTOGRAPHER: Yes, this is it.
CHO (voice-over): We were with them when they saw their home for the first time after the storm. There was nothing. Now they need help.
CHANDRA MCCORMICK, PHOTOGRAPHER: Look at this freezer full of stuff. I mean, this is so much. And we lost just as much as you see right here.
CHO: Keith and Chandra are getting ready to exhibit their work on December 2nd and there's a lot to do. For the past month, they've been keeping their negatives in a freezer to slow down the deterioration process. They are ready to see what's salvageable.
CALHOUN: Katrina might have given it a little effect, too, but we're going to print them and fight out.
CHO: With a help of a friend, they first wash the negative, then wait for them to dry. That's just the beginning. Next stop, the dark room. A professional photo lab in New Orleans. The lab, which has worked with Keith and Chandra in the past, has agreed to donate services. The supplies are donated as well, from companies like California-based Light Impressions. It's a group effort. The first order of business, choosing the first image Keith and Chandra want to restore.
(on camera): What's the criteria. Just a feeling?
CALHOUN: Yes, you know, you just look at your negative.
MCCORMICK: What moves you, you know.
CHO (voice-over): They settled on this, a photo Chandra took 12 years ago of a spiritual church in the Lower Ninth Ward. The negative has suffered some damage.
(on camera): Those two lines there, what are we looking at?
LIZ BICK, "THE DARKROOM": It could be a watermark. It could be a scratch from any sort of abrasion from the storm. The surface of the negatives are very, very sensitive.
CHO: Thanks to digital correction, all of those flaws can be fixed.
BICK: We can just completely camouflage it, and there's absolutely no detection that it was ever there.
CHO: Then the image is printed, matted and framed.
Chandra is overwhelmed.
MCCORMICK: Thought I had lost everything and to know that I have something of this magnitude, one of my works. I'm very happy. I am.
CHO (on camera): It's more than just a photo.
MCCORMICK: It is. It means so much more to me, because it's a part of my life as well, you know.
CHO: Keith calls their upcoming show, the Katrina Exhibition, showcasing what he calls a vanishing way of life. Chandra says the help they've received has given her hope things will get better.
MCCORMICK; This is the beginning of a new for us, and I appreciate it all. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Such nice people. Keith and Chandra have one more reason to be thankful this holiday season. They have been staying with friends. But Chandra tells me they have just signed a lease on a three-bedroom home in the Houston area, and, Rick, they plan to move in by December 1st.
SANCHEZ: So I mean, they're from the Lower Ninth Ward. You and I have been to the Lower Ninth Ward. It's tough to just look at that. Do they plan to go back? Do they plan to continue connections with that part of town?
CHO: The short answer is, yes. I mean, listen, this is an area that is still closed off to residents, but they say, if they can rebuild there, they will.
And, remember, this isn't just a place to live for them. This is where their work is, and they have every intention of documenting a new generation of New Orleanians when they go back.
SANCHEZ: Home is always home. Alina, thanks so much.
Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING our "Week of Giving" continues with a look at the prestigious prep school that is giving young Katrina victims homes and education. Guess what? Free of charge. And that's important. Taking things back over to Soledad now.
Soledad, over to you.
O'BRIEN: All right, Rick, thanks.
Andy's "Minding Your Business" just ahead on American morning. What do you have coming up for us?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: We're going to be talking about the big shake-up at GM. We've been talking about all morning, Soledad. Plus, how to get your favorite TV show from your Tivo to your iPod. Stay tuned for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Andy teased us before the break, Tivo, iPod together. That and more, and changes at GM as well. All in business news. Andy's "Minding Your Business."
Good morning.
SERWER: Good morning, Soledad. We're going to start out with that big news from GM this morning, just crossing the tape minutes ago, General Motors announcing it was closing nine -- it will be closing nine facilities coming up over the next year or so, including three assembly plants. Six facilities. Facilities are where they make parts. The assembly plants are obviously where they make the entire car. Oklahoma City, Lansing and Doraville, Georgia are the three plants. And then you move on to other facilities, in Ontario, Spring Hill, Tennessee, Pittsburgh, Portland and Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Thirty-thousand jobs will be lost here, which is huge. About 10 percent of the entire North American workforce. The company hopes to save $7 billion, and is as so often is the case, the stock is up on the news, because Wall Street sort of appreciates the fact, I guess, that the company's addressing its problems.
The Dow barely budging at this hour. We're seeing here on the Big Board, just up a point or two. One stock that is up, however, significantly this morning is Tivo, which is up about six percent. And this is a fascinating deal. And, Soledad, we've been talking about how this business of allowing people to watch TV shows, movies and music anywhere they want to, on any device they want to, is unfolding before our eyes over these weeks and months.
This is the latest deal where Tivo is going connect to an iPod or a Playstation Portable where you will be able to download a TV show, any show on any network, to an iPod or to a PSP for a one-time fee of $15 to $30 to get software from Tivo.
O'BRIEN: Oh, the software costs $15 to $30, not the show.
SERWER: That's right. The shows don't cost anything, according to these preliminary reports. They'll be sponsored by advertising, and you'll have to watch the commercials. But again, this is all unfolding.
O'BRIEN: That I buy, that of all the ones that we talked about, that's the best one.
SANCHEZ: But at what point are we too connected?
O'BRIEN: Oh, please. SANCHEZ: Don't go there.
O'BRIEN: We're not going in that direction.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: There you go, this is for you, then.
SANCHEZ: Huge fan.
O'BRIEN: CNN LIVE TODAY is coming up next. Daryn's got a look at that as she works on that.
Good morning for you.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. Good to see you.
A lot of stories we're covering in the next two hours. President Bush heads home from Asia. He returns to growing questions and doubts here and at home about the war in Iraq. At the center of the Iraq debate, talk in Washington about bringing the U.S. troops home. That issue may come up when Vice President Dick Cheney delivers remarks on Iraq at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. We will have live coverage.
Also are you ready for those houseguests? Are they getting ready to invade your home for Thanksgiving? Gerri Willis has five tips to help you prepare for the relatives. Join us.
O'BRIEN: Go do a restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner, tip number one. Lock your doors, tip number two.
All right, Daryn, thanks a lot. Appreciate that.
Coming up on "A.M. Pop," fall TV's winners and big losers. The WB's "Smallville," believe it or not, one of the big winners. Who else is in the winner's circle. we'll take a look at that next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't worry, Clark, things will be back to normal soon enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Today is the last day of a very important month in TV land. That's right. November sweeps ends today.
Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly" joins us for a look at some of the big winners and the big losers, as well.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Definitely, yes.
O'BRIEN: Nice to see you, good morning. SHAW: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's start with the big loser. Only the show, of course. Martha, Martha, Martha.
SHAW: Yes.
O'BRIEN: It's going to end and not go on. It was a real disappointment, wasn't it?
SHAW: It was. It was a huge disappointment. It's hard to know why it didn't do well. But definitely audiences did not connect with the show. Part of it is because NBC thought hey, we have "The Apprentice," why don't we put on two nights a week? And that may have been a little bit of hubris. The show was already tanking a little bit from the first season, the Donald's "Apprentice." And they thought put it on a second night. Bad move.
O'BRIEN: But the Martha version just sort of didn't work anyway.
SHAW: It didn't work, right.
O'BRIEN: I mean, even outside of the Trump version. The Martha version just didn't really catch on.
SHAW: No. She wanted it to be a kinder, gentler "Apprentice." And no one really wants to see kind and gentle. They want to see Donald go "you're fired" and that's it.
O'BRIEN: That's boring TV. Come on, Martha. You know better than that. The same time, another show that's a big loser, even though critics love it and even the fans love, love, love it, is "Arrested Development."
SHAW: Do you watch the show?
O'BRIEN: I do.
SHAW: It is the greatest show on TV.
O'BRIEN: Hilarious.
SHAW: One of the great sitcoms of all-time and audiences just did not connect with the show. And so they pulled it for sweeps because it was getting zero -- you know, no ratings. And it's going come back December 5th, just for five more episodes. And then...
O'BRIEN: It's such a great show.
SHAW: ... that's it. Blame the people who watch "Yes, Dear." Their fault.
O'BRIEN: Is that really? Oh, man. Oh, that's sad. OK, let's talk about the other Friday night shows. Because there's a slew and none of them did really well. What are we talking about? SHAW: Well, we're talking about "Hope and Faith," "Malcolm in the Middle," "Reba," "Bernie Mac." I mean, it's just -- Friday night is a rough night on TV to begin with, because a lot of people are out. You know, it's not really a night that you, you know, sit down with your TV set or anything. But comedies just seem to not be working on Friday and I think we'll see next year the networks will really be looking at that a lot.
O'BRIEN: And Yet, the big winner on Friday night...
SHAW: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I mean, you know, that would work except there's a big winner, which is...
SHAW: But it's a drama. "Ghost Whisperer," which is...
O'BRIEN: Oh, so all of us who are staying home are watching dramas.
SHAW: Right. No one wants to laugh on Friday night, apparently. It's very serious and somber night.
O'BRIEN: Because you're home and you're a big loser, so why laugh?
SHAW: Right. You want to connect with the ghostly spirit. So Jennifer Love Hewitt's drama "Ghost Whisperer" is doing very well...
O'BRIEN: Is it good?
SHAW: ... one of the break-outs of this season. Yes, it's OK. It's good, if you like the otherworldly.
O'BRIEN: Remember back in the day when Thursday night was must- see TV?
SHAW: Yes.
O'BRIEN: We're not too old to remember that, right?
SHAW: No. No. No.
O'BRIEN: Not the case anymore.
SHAW: Well, Thursday -- you know, it's definitely not must-see TV for, you know, NBC, for "Joey," per se. Still the most competitive night on TV, though. But the big winner is "Smallville." This, you know, younger Superman show, which is up 88 percent this year.
O'BRIEN: This is a show on the W.B. that I got to tell you, I think a lot of people probably haven't even heard of "Smallville."
SHAW: Well, it's been on for a few years. It's been on for -- since 2001. But -- and it has this loyal following and apparently gaining more and more. Because it is almost unheard of to get that many -- you know, a million and a half more viewers in a year.
O'BRIEN: Yes. And it's the story, of course, of Clark Kent.
SHAW: Of Clark Kent. And there's Aquaman and Brainiac this year, so...
O'BRIEN: Wrapping it all up for us, those November sweeps. Jessica Shaw from "Entertainment Weekly," nice to see you, as always.
SHAW: You, too.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Let's get right back to Rick.
SANCHEZ: Brainiac? Hmm.
We're celebrating the week of giving on AMERICAN MORNING. And if you were affected by this season's hurricanes and you'd like to thank somebody who helped you, send us your story. We welcome it. Just go to CNN.com/am. We will post some of your responses on the Web site. And some people are going to be selected to share their stories, right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
We're going to be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Every once in a while, we get a chance to do a story that touches people, affects them. And then you let us know through e-mails that you want more information. Well, here you go. This is one of those stories.
Earlier, we told you about Terrell Pough. He's a young devoted single father from Philadelphia whose life was tragically cut shot. If you were touched by the story, as so many people have written us to say they were, you can send donations now to the YouthBuild Charter School. The money will be used to set up a trust fund for Terrell's daughter Diamond, who's left all alone.
The address is YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, 1231 North Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19122. So there you have it. That's information we're happy to give you, because so many of you wrote to us saying, what can we do to help?
O'BRIEN: It was a great story, and it's a terrible story, as well, to have to share. But it would be great if people can help out his daughter, who's left behind. If you didn't have time to write it all down, just go to our Web site, CNN.com/am, and we'll get that information right to you.
We're out of time this morning. Thanks for helping us out today. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
SANCHEZ: If you'll have me.
O'BRIEN: We absolutely will.
Let's get right to Daryn Kagan. She's going to take you through the next couple of hours on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
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