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American Morning

State of the Union; Police Shooting Sparks Controversy in Southern California

Aired February 01, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to a special split edition of AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Soledad O'Brien, reporting from Washington D.C. this morning, where last night the president shared an optimistic message with America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another, and I will do my part. Tonight, the state of our union is strong, and together we will make it stronger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Will those words translate into concrete action? We get reaction this morning from both sides of the aisle.

Not much said about the massive rebuilding job after Hurricane Katrina. What do people on the Gulf Coast think? We're live in New Orleans this morning.

Good morning, Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

I'm Miles O'Brien in New York.

An unarmed Iraq war veteran shot by police in California. We have dramatic new tape to show you.

And fierce clashes in the West Bank pit Israeli against Israeli. Speaking of dramatic tape, we're live with the latest on that as well, all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: It's the morning after the 217th State of the Union Address. Welcome to a split edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm in Capitol Hill this morning in Washington, D.C. We're doing an extensive post-speech reaction. President Bush hits the road today to see how his State of the Union Address was received. He heads to friendly territory, Tennessee. He won the state in both presidential campaigns. We've got coverage of the speech beginning with White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Hey, Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Soledad.

Well, the president's message, of course, was all about trying to convince Americans that the United States must stay engaged, whether or not as on the economy or the global war on terror, but of course the big question now, Soledad, is whether or not Americans are going to buy it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): This year, President Bush struck a noticeably conciliatory tone, beginning with the recognition of the passing of a civil rights icon.

BUSH: We are grateful for the good life of Coretta Scott King.

(APPLAUSE)

MALVEAUX: Then offering an olive branch to the Democrats.

BUSH: We must act in a spirit of goodwill and respect for one another, and I will do my part. Tonight, the state of our union is strong. And, together, we will make it stronger.

MALVEAUX: But the gloves quickly came off. The president playing to what polls consistently show is his greatest strength, national security. Mr. Bush aggressively defended his administration's Iraq policy, refusing to bring U.S. troops home prematurely, and he slammed his critics for not having an alternative.

BUSH: Hindsight alone is not wisdom, and second-guessing is not a strategy.

MALVEAUX: He defended his controversial domestic spying program as essential to protecting the country.

BUSH: If there are people inside our country talking with al Qaeda, we want to know about it.

MALVEAUX: For those who thought the commander in chief was just a little bit defensive.

BUSH: We remain on the offensive on the terror networks.

... on the offensive in Afghanistan.

... on the offensive sieve in Iraq.

MALVEAUX: to prove the point, the president issued stern warnings to terrorists and dangerous regimes overseas.

BUSH: And the nations of the world must not permit the Iranian regime to gain nuclear weapons.

MALVEAUX: And on the domestic front, the president vowed to make Americans more competitive, by offering initiatives to train teachers, ease health care costs and support research for technology. And in an ironic twist, the former Texas oilman introduced his plan to alternative sources of energy this way.

BUSH: America is addicted to oil, which is often import from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology.

MALVEAUX: And despite the president's message.

BUSH: A hopeful society.

A hopeful society.

A hopeful society.

MALVEAUX: Congress was clearly divided.

BUSH: Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security.

MALVEAUX: When Mr. Bush acknowledged the centerpiece of his agenda last year, reforming Social Security, had failed, he was interrupted from wild applause from the Democrats, but Republicans took to their feet when he expressed resolve.

BUSH: Yet the rising cost of entitlements is a problem that is not going away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And, Soledad, of course, the president is taking his initiatives on the road. His first stop today is going to be Nashville, Tennessee. He is going to be making some remarks, also, of course, signing a proclamation recognizing American Heart Month, and he'll have a surgeon by his side, and not a coincidence, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

S. O'BRIEN: No coincidence there. All right, Suzanne, thank you very much.

Let's go to Nashville now. That's where, as Suzanne mentioned, the president is going to speak at the Grand Ole Opry House. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is live for us there.

Hey, Bob, good morning.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

And as he makes his post-speech speech here at the Grand Ole Opry Auditorium, one of the fine spots to watch the State of the Union last night, was just down the street.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): The place to watch the president's speech last night was a bar in the sprawling Opryland Resort, which was definitely friendly territory.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he did a wonderful job. He's very well-spoken. I think he had much improvements in his speaking abilities over the past few years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he came out hard, and I think his points on Iraq were right on, but I think, more importantly, on the whole NSA thing, I think I totally support where he's at on the so- called wiretapping. I think he's right on the money.

FRANKEN: While Nashville is a Democratic city, the president will be accompanied today by the Republican Senate majority leader, Bill Frist of Nashville, who is leaving the Senate and leaving behind a tough race with the Democrats for his seat.

But today's venue is a Bush-friendly place.

ANITA BOSWELL, NASHVILLE RESIDENT: This president, during his second term, have faced some major obstacles, and with the State of the Union being as it is, then I think that, overall, he has done as best as one could under the circumstances.

FRANKEN: But in many parts of the country, this is a president who sparks high emotion, for and against.

Recording star Vince Gill, who serves as president of the Country Music Hall of Fame here, is convinced that smart performers keep opinions to themselves.

VINCE GILL, COUNTRY SINGER: This day and age, you make a statement and you can be, you know, you can be persecuted for it.

FRANKEN: In his speech last night, the president called for a debate to be conducted in a civil tone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: And now he comes here to try and set the tone, Soledad, but in this political year, people feel it's going to be really hard to keep the tone civil.

S. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken for us this morning. Bob, thank you for that update.

Ahead this morning, we're going to be talking with gentleman from both sides of the aisle. We will talk to Senator Joe Biden and also Senator John McCain, get their reaction to the president's speech this morning. That's coming up -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad.

A police shooting sparking controversy in Southern California this morning. A sheriff's deputy shooting an unarmed U.S. airman who had just returned from Iraq. It was caught on camera. And we warn you now, these images are disturbing.

CNN's Chris Lawrence has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The home video is dark and grainy, but this much is clear, Airman Elio Carrion survives six months of duty in Iraq and got shot in his own hometown.

DEPUTY: Get up.

ELIO CARRION: OK.

DEPUTY: Get up.

ELIO CARRION: I'm going to get up.

LAWRENCE: Carrion got shot in his chest, leg, and shoulder, but he survived. Now the FBI has been called in to analyze the tape and find out what provoked the deputy to fire. Officials say the deputy was chasing this car before it crashed into a tree. Carrion was just the passenger. He's the one on the ground telling the deputy I'm on your side.

CARRION: I mean you no harm.

I served more time than you in the police.

In the military, OK.

LAWRENCE: Now there's all kinds of background noise on the tape, and sometimes silence. Dr. Bruce Berg is a police training expert who says the deputy may have mangled the instruction to shut up and get down.

CARRION: I'm going to get up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not clear who is the miscommunicator. It's not clear if the deputy has actually misspoken, which is possible, given his state of probable tension, and anger and adrenaline. in the circumstances; or if he spoke correctly, but he's misheard.

CARRION: I mean you no harm.

DEPUTY: Shut the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up.

You don't get up.

NEIGHBOR: You told him to get up.

LAWRENCE: Carrion himself is a security officer in the Air Force, and he was supposed to report back to his unit today. Authorities say it's unfair to make any kind of judgment now without knowing all of the facts, but they placed the deputy on leave until the FBI finishes its investigation.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles. (END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Now despite being shot in three places, as you plainly saw there, Airman Carrion is reported to be good condition.

Stunning, sad pictures out of the West Bank this morning. Watch these shots. Israeli troops battling Israelis. Settlers and protesters had an illegal Jewish outpost. The court ordered demolition of some homes there. The settlers didn't go quietly as you can see.

Guy Raz is on the scene of the clashes. He joins us on the line right now.

Guy, bring us up to date. We're looking at some dramatic tape. What's happening now?

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, nine of those homes that are set to be demolished, almost all of those homes have been demolished. Now police and soldiers are still trying to move some of the demonstrators from one of those homes. But by and large, the worst of it is over.

Now, Miles, anyone familiar with the Israeli disengagement to withdrawal from Gaza last summer will see some familiarity in these pictures, but the difference here, according to police, these are the fiercest encounters they've had with Israeli settlers in recent memory. Some 3,000 Jewish settlers converged on this outpost known as Amona. Overnight, the Israeli Supreme Court upheld a government decision to dismantle nine homes in what the Israeli government considers to be an illegal outpost. They say it's built on Palestinian land, and so the army and the police were sent in, but there were several dozen injuries, both among police and demonstrators. One police officer in serious condition as we speak.

But clearly, Miles, a major test for the Israeli prime minister, the acting prime minister, Ehud Olmert.

M. O'BRIEN: But this is perhaps just a sign of things to come. There are a hundred or so outposts like this that are going to be dismantled, Guy. Is it likely we'll see scenes like this repeated?

RAZ: Absolutely. In fact, under the U.S.-backed road map for peace, the plan that lays out its two-state solution, Israeli next to Palestine, Israeli is required to dismantle what these illegal outposts. There are 100 others scattered across the West Bank, notwithstanding the 121 settlements which Israel regards as legal, the United Nations considers them illegal. So we are very likely to see this kind of scene repeated again and again, as the Israeli corps continue to target specific isolated outposts for demolition.

M. O'BRIEN: Guy Raz on the line with us from Amona in Israeli, thank you very much.

(WEATHER REPORT) S. O'BRIEN: Coming up next, we'll have much more on last night's State of the Union Address from Washington, D.C. We'll get reaction from both sides of the aisle. Democratic strategist James Carville and former GOP Congressman J.C. Watts join us live.

Then later this morning, it took 47 minutes into the president's speech before Hurricane Katrina finally got a short mention. Did New Orleans deserve more? We'll take a look at that ahead.

We're back to you in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: For reaction now to the president's State of the Union Address from both sides of the political aisle, J.C. Watts is a former Republican congressman from Oklahoma. He joins me right here. And James Carville is a Democratic strategist, also the co-author of the new book. It's called "Take It Back, Our Party, Our Country, Our Future." He's in Charleston, South Carolina this morning.

Both gentlemen are CNN political analysts.

Nice to see you, guys. Thanks for talking with us.

J.C., let's begin with you, because it's been a long time since we've had a chance to talk.

What did you think of the president's speech?

J.C. WATTS, CNN POL. CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I thought it was about what I expected. I thought it was going to be heavy on national security. I think that's the president's strength right now. Domestically, I think he touched on some things.

But I the key, Soledad, is to take that message, pivot, get out in the hinterlands, the heartland, and he's got to take that message to the American people, get out of Washington, go into the trenches and tell that story.

S. O'BRIEN: James Carville, what do you think of the speech?

JAMES CARVILLE, AUTHOR, "TAKE IT BACK": Well, what struck me it was a speech like I didn't really hate it. I mean, I didn't like it that much, but who doesn't want more math and...

(CROSSTALK)

CARVILLE: Yes, who doesn't want more math and science teachers, or a commission to look at Medicare. Certainly alternative fuels is a nifty idea. And we're going to do what the generals say in Iraq. I thought it was a speech of a man who's at 42 percent and knows it, and he didn't want to step on too many toes, and he looks like he wanted get in there and get out, and I think he gave a competent speech that had some mediocre, but decent, ideas in it.

S. O'BRIEN: Competent, decent? Those are words I don't hear from you when you're talking about the president. I'm sort of surprised.

All right, let's get into some details of what the president said. First talking about Iraq, let's listen to President Bush.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BUSH: The road of victory is the road that will take our troops home. As we make progress on the ground and Iraqi forces increasingly take the lead, we should be able to further decrease our troop levels. But those decisions will be made by our military commanders, not by politicians, in Washington D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: You mentioned, J.C., taking this message out of Washington, D.C. And moving it sort of to the American people. What did he say that was so strong and so striking in those remarks that sounded very -- eh?

WATTS: Well, those things, the things that he said is what you would expect for him to say. But I think either the critical thing, he's been consistent in saying that. He has been saying that all along. He's been -- I think he's been very principal. He'S shown leadership. He hasn't taken a populist view in terms of the war in Iraq or fighting terrorism or when things -- you know, James said he is at 42 percent. I mean, any president should be concerned about that, but the president hasn't wavered in what he believes and what his principles are, and I think the American people will respond to that at the end of the day.

S. O'BRIEN: James, let's talk for a minute about what the president had to say about oil supplies. First, here's the president last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: America is addicted to oil, which is often imported from unstable parts of the world. The best way to break this addiction is through technology.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Is this going to resonate, you think, with voters who already feel like it's already -- I'm already paying high prices at the gas pump?

CARVILLE: I Mean, First of all, it's perfectly fine. We do need more technology for alternative fuels. There's nothing about conservation, other than you can see all gushing out of Dick Cheney's ears behind him. And it almost -- again, who is going to disagree with we need some technology? There was no call for any kind of national sacrifice, any kind of national agenda. We need nor ethanol. Fine. I'm all for ethanol. Who is not for that? We knee more math and science teachers.

What I was struck by is how small he was willing to be. I hope the Democrats say, fine, we'll pass that yesterday, and let's move on to what we can do about conservation, more fuel-efficient cars. There is a whole bunch of other things we can deal with -- solar, wind, you name it.

S. O'BRIEN: Speaking of the Democrats...

CARVILLE: It's the time for Democrats to step in.

S. O'BRIEN: Speaking of Democrats, let's have a Democrat then step in. This was Governor Tim Kaine, who gave the rebuttal yesterday, a quick -- what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: If we want to replace the division that's gripping our nation's Capitol, we need a change. Democrats are leading that reform effort, working to restore honesty and openness to our government, working to replace a culture of partisanship and cronyism with an ethic of service and results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Partisanship, cronyism. I mean, we heard a lot about partisanship, and let's go back to James for that. Again, low from the Democrats, on, OK, the president didn't make any big picture thing. What are the Democrats saying?

CARVILLE: Well, partisanship? Me, partisanship? You're not really talking to me about partisanship?

No, again, the president is empowered. The Republicans control the House. I think Democrats laid out a pretty good reform plan. I think they're going to build on it. I think they will. I think they have an enormous opportunity on energy dependence. The president's proposals were, frankly, very limited and very tepid, and I think this gives the Democrats a real big idea to step in and breach.

And by the way, I thought Kaine did a fine job, better than fine job; I think did a marvelous job in responding to this. I mean, Bush calls for more openness, yet they won't disclose any of the Abramoff meetings, which has got to be numerous memos, e-mails, God knows what they have there. And he ought to take. He should have taken the lead on that. He said that people in Louisiana, southeast Louisiana, Mississippi, just got a bad hand. You wouldn't have thought that Katrina hit this country, the biggest natural disaster in history.

My point is, is who is not for a commission to look at Medicare? Just like we have a commission for this and we have a commission that he had for tax reform. Whatever happened to that? Senator Breaux and Senator Mack. He had a Social Security commission. And what happened to that?

S. O'BRIEN: I get it. I get it. I get it. The speech fell short as far as you're concerned.

Gentlemen, we're out of time, so we're going to cut it there. J.C. Watts, the former Republican congressman, James Carville, the Democrat strategist, thank you for talking with us. Always appreciate that. We're going to talk later about what James was mentioning about that.

And we're going to talk a little bit later about what James was mentioning about Hurricane Katrina. Why just 51 seconds in the president's speech? What do the people there think about that? Plus, we'll talk to Senator Joe Biden, Republican Senator John McCain as well. That's coming up in our next hour.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst disasters in U.S. history, but it only got a passing reference at the end of the speech last night. How are folks in New Orleans reacting?

And next, the prosecution lays out its case today in the Enron trial. Skilling and Lay are masterminds for sure, but for good or evil? Andy is "Minding Your Business," next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MARKET REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're going be talking a little bit more about the president's State of the Union Address. We'll talk to Democratic Senator Joe Biden, who says U.S. military is stretched thin in Iraq. We'll talk about his take on what the president had to say, sort of his "stay the course" strategy. That's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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