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American Morning
Iraq War Protests; New Weapons in High-Stakes Battle for Your Video Game Dollar
Aired May 10, 2006 - 09:35 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: There is growing anger with the war in Iraq, and it is prompting some protests that seem to hearken back to another time, another war. Veterans who are returning their medals and ribbons to the White House as a protest. But is it the patriotic thing to do? David Patterson is an Air Force veteran and Joseph Durocher, a Navy vet. Both served in the Vietnam War.
Good to have you both with us, gentleman. Joseph, I want to begin with you.
JOSEPH DUROCHER, WAR VETERAN: Good morning.
M. O'BRIEN: I know you have a portion of the letter that you sent back, when you sent back your medals and ribbons.
Would you share it with us, please?
DUROCHER: I did. And to be, more accurate, I sent my Navy wings, the gold wings I had earned, and my shoulder board, which was the symbol of my rank. Yes, my letter ended with these words: "To remain silent is to let you think I approve and support your actions." This is addressed to the president of the United States. I do not. So I am saddened to give up my wings and bars, but I hate the torture and death you have caused more than I value their symbolism. Giving them up makes me cry for my beloved country." This was an act of personal symbolic protest.
M. O'BRIEN: Tell me what you hope to accomplish?
DUROCHER: I hope to get some attention. I hope that other people would know about this about the. I hope that other veterans, people who had actually served in the military services over the years, my generation, younger generations, would respond and connect with this idea.
I didn't want to start a movement of any kind. I just wanted to be heard and have understand that this war, preemptive war, torture, holding people indefinitely without trial, all have shocked my conscience. It's not the way this country should be. It's not way that -- I teach law now, and it's not the way I teach the traditional Constitution of this country.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's get over to David for a minute. I want to share just a brief portion of your letter, David. It's sort of similar. You say, "I'm saddened to give up my hard-earned medals, but the hate, torture and death you have instrumented in this world tarnished the symbolism they carry." Also a letter to the president. You similar goals, David?
DAVID PATTERSON, WAR VETERAN: Yes, Miles.
For me, it's -- the whole thing is about betrayal. When people join the military, they trust that our government, that the people in charge, will actually make sure that they don't commit them to a conflict unless it's absolutely necessary. And all along, in every juncture, the Bush administration has betrayed that trust.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this, though, if I were a soldier in Iraq, and I heard about this right now, I might feel betrayed. Did you think about that?
PATTERSON: Actually, Miles, when I was in Thailand, in 1972, we had an intelligence briefing. They came in and told us that, in fact, we had known for a long time that we were losing the war, and they just asked us to keep it up so we could go to the peace table. And it didn't slow us down.
M. O'BRIEN No, no, no, I'm sorry. You misunderstand. I would feel somewhat betrayed to hear that veterans were doing this. Is that in some way not showing support for the men and women who are risking their lives over there?
PATTERSON: No, actually, Miles, it's not. The men and women risking their lives to support the Constitution of this country, not the constitution of some other place that was dreamt up, some crazy war that was dreamt up by some crazy people in Washington. They don't belong there, and they should be out.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, I suspect, Joseph, that in the course of Vietnam War you heard a lot about protests back home while were you in the midst of things. Did you think about what that -- that must have been upsetting at the time. Did you think about how that would be, sir, and quite frankly a lot of people would say what you did was an unpatriotic thing?
DUROCHER: Well, I think the most patriotic thing you can do is protest an illegal act of the government. I think people need to stand up, and I think protests of this kind are patriotic. And like other vets, we're not talking about the people serving now with their boots on the ground. Those are heroes. Those are great people, great young men and women.
They were put there, and they were put in harm's way by the politicians. That's the people we're protesting, the people making the decisions and the policy that we believe is illegal and immoral.
M. O'BRIEN: Joseph...
DUROCHER: We support the kids on the ground, believe me.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, good. All right, good points. Joseph Durocher, David Patterson, thank you very much for being with us this morning.
DUROCHER: Good to be with you. Thanks you.
PATTERSON: Thanks, Miles. Joe, I salute you.
DUROCHER: Thank you, sir. Good to meet you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business" just ahead this morning. What do you have?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Soledad, we're going to tell you about the how the "Desperate Housewives" are helping out Disney. Plus, a big Fed meeting today. We'll get to that, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: New weapons now in a high-stakes battle for your video game dollar. The unveiling comes at a major interactive electronics expo which is called E3. CNN technology expert Daniel Sieberg live for us at the convention. It's in L.A.
Hey, Daniel, good morning.
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Soledad, we are here in the wee hours of the morning at E3, sandwiched between Nintendo and Sony, and although, it's a few hours before the show floor officially opens, some of the big announcements have already come out, including the latest shots fired in the console war.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIEBERG (voice-over): In the multibillion dollar video game industry, there's nothing playful about the latest duel for your dollars. At this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony hey want to convince you why you should buy into their next-generation consoles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a very -- very careful in terms of where I throw my money. And right now, my money would be with Microsoft.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would have to say the Wii is pretty exciting (INAUDIBLE).
SIEBERG: It was touchy-feely with Nintendo's Wii, a new name meant to symbolize togetherness, but mainly generating a lot of head scratching, like many of Nintendo's offbeat ideas, including the Wii's game controller, equipped with a wireless signal and motion sensors.
DAN "SHOE" HUS, EDITOR, "ELECTRONIC GAMING MONTHLY": Now we're playing games differently. We're not just seeing new games, we're playing new games.
SIEBERG: The Wii's controller even made Nintendo's braintrust look prophetic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's see if our executive team here can make a comeback.
SIEBERG: Microsoft XBox 360 launched last year to high demand, but was hurt by shortages.
BILL GATES, CHAIRMAN, MICROSOFT: It's great to be invited to E3.
SIEBERG: Microsoft used E3 to show off its XBox 360, PC, cell phone promotion, and promoted software lineup, with plenty of buzz around a sneak peek of what's to come in its marquee Halo series. Microsoft also revealed an add-on player for the next generation of DVDs.
DAVID HUFFORD, MICROSOFT: We have not disclosed the price just yet on the HD-DVD player. Stay tuned.
SIEBERG: Sony steered its announcement towards the graphics power of the Playstation 3, showing how in-game characters, like golfer Tiger Woods, will have more detailed expressions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what I'm talking about.
SIEBERG: And basketball players moving in a more lifelike way.
So if hardcore gamers are already in, who's left to buy in?
SCOTT STEINBERG, GAME REVIEWER: I think there's actually a massive market out there. It's just grandmothers, it's younger brothers, younger sisters, mothers, fathers, people who wouldn't traditionally be considered gamers.
SIEBERG: You'll have to pay more than ever to play in the latest virtual worlds. Sony tips the scales at $600 for the high-end model. Microsoft at $400 for its souped-up version. Nintendo is expected to hit under the $250 mark.
MARC SALTZMAN, GAMING JOURNALIST: I think that it's going to really be between XBox 360 and Playstation 3, and you know, evident of we saw here, it's going to be a very bitter fight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: All right, you know what, Daniel. Grandmothers are not going to be gamers. It's not going to happen. That's my theory.
SIEBERG: That's not true. I know a couple of grandmothers.
S. O'BRIEN: A couple, but it's not going to be like a mass movement of grandmothers to gaming. Let me ask awe question about that. The Wii, am I saying that right? How does that work? I mean, it was so weird to see -- not that I thought were you bad at using it, but you know you...
SIEBERG: Yes. it's a very different way to think about playing a game. Definitely gets up off your feet and moving. The days of being a couch potato gamer for Nintendo are over. This is what it looks like. It does look like a remote. They call it the Wii remote. It also has this add-on, so this is like a joystick or an analog controller here, and then the Wii console is behind me. It's very small, so it uses these motion sensors, and I think we have some video of me a couple days ago getting up on my feet and playing some the games, Tennis being one of them. There's one called Excite Truck, where you're actually driving a truck, so you're using it like a steering wheel. So they're trying to have an innovative way of playing games. Now they're also hoping that will appeal to the new gamers, the people who don't play games normally. So it's something that they haven't seen before, a new way to look at games.
Now of course, the graphics for the Wii are not as impressive as the Sony Playstation 3 or the Microsoft XBox, but they're touting this as sort of a new way to get into the game.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I could see that. I could see people who already own everything else, they could get this.
All right, Daniel Sieberg for us this morning, thanks for the check-in on all that cool stuff. Appreciate it.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
S. O'BRIEN: Did you guys used to watch "Facts of Life?"
SERWER: A little bit.
S. O'BRIEN: Twenty-six years ago when it was on, debuted.
SERWER: I was very young.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: You weren't a teenage girl, back then?
SERWER: I liked watching that show.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, you take the good, you take the bad, you take it all, and there you have -- there you go.
SERWER: Some of these gals were happening.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, still happening. Blair, she looks hot.
(CROSSTALK)
S. O'BRIEN: Good hair, great hair.
We're going to talk to Blair and to Jo when Lisa Whelchel and Nancy McKeon join us live. They're releasing the DVD of the first and second season. A look at that's ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) S. O'BRIEN: Ah, at long last, "The Facts of Life" is making its DVD debut. The complete first and second seasons are now in stores. Joining us to talk about that is Nancy McKeon. You'll of course recall she played the tough tomboy Jo. Lisa Whelchel was Blair, the kind of spoiled, conceited rich girl.
LISA WHELCHEL, "THE FACTS OF LIFE": Kind of.
S. O'BRIEN: Hi, ladies, how are you?
NANCY MCKEON, "THE FACTS OF LIFE": Good. Very good. How are you?
S. O'BRIEN: I want to call all my friends back in Long Island, New York, and be like, ahh, guess who I'm interviewing today?
MCKEON: I can call my family.
S. O'BRIEN: "The Facts of Life," huge, huge show. I can't believe it was 26 years ago.
MCKEON: I know.
WHELCHEL: We were just adding that up the other day.
MCKEON: She did that, and I think that's rude and wrong.
S. O'BRIEN: Very wrong! Very, very, very...
MCKEON: Don't put a number on it!
WHELCHEL: Very bad.
MCKEON: Just say a while ago.
S. O'BRIEN: We were -- just a short while ago, we were talking to people this morning. Everyone's like, this is the best segment of the day. I'm so excited to see them. I mean, it's weird, the connection people have to you. Why do you think that is?
MCKEON: You know, when you're in somebody's living room, it's a very intimate space. It's different than going to a movie theater, that's -- you know, everyone is huge and down there on the screen.
WHELCHEL: There were years we were huge, though.
MCKEON: And with the big hair.
WHELCHEL: Not the hair again.
MCKEON: But when you're -- you know, people choose to invite you into their living room, and they -- you know, we went through, you know, puberty, you know, and...
S. O'BRIEN: Well, I was going to say, maybe it's also...
MCKEON: ... we grew up together.
S. O'BRIEN: ... the time of your life, because all the stuff that the girls on the show were going through, of course -- I'm really, really, really young, so you know, I was only one. But you know, all girls who were watching that show were sort of going through the same things. It was very reality-based.
WHELCHEL: It was virtual, but there were relationships that were real, I think, that we connected with the audience. And I think they feel about us the way I feel about Nancy. The reason we were adding it up was talking about our friendship. We are childhood friends. And there's something about childhood friends that you just can't replace.
MCKEON: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's really, really nice. Tell me how the experience changed your career. Nancy, you're on a show now, you're a working actress. I mean, this is a critical launching point for you? Because a lot actors who I've spoken to have said the fame and notoriety from a show that's really successful actually hurts them to some degree.
MCKEON: You know, I think everything, you know, is cyclical and it can at some point, you know -- if you get so identified with one character and people are really attached to that character, it's kind of hard to -- for them to let you move on. You know, I have...
S. O'BRIEN: Do people say, "Hey, Jo"? They must.
MCKEON: Of course, of course. But you know, there's such a kindness about it, and a warmth about it. It was my first big show, and I have these life-long friends and I had a wonderful, wonderful time. And it was, you know, a starting point for me in a sense. I'd been working since I'm two, so it was many years after I started working. Yet people are so kind to me and allow me to keep moving on and branch out into other characters and other work. And I'm grateful for that, because, you know, I'm just privileged to be able to do what I do.
S. O'BRIEN: How about you, Lisa? You're not a working actress anymore. You got three kids.
WHELCHEL: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: You're a prolific author.
WHELCHEL: Well...
S. O'BRIEN: Your kids are teenagers, though, right?
WHELCHEL: They are. And you know, "Facts of Life" was wonderful, though. Because although I left the show and then concentrated on being a full-time wife and mother, when I did start writing books, I didn't realize it, but the girls that grew up watching the show were growing up and they became moms. And so my desire, my passion, was to help moms with practical encouragement, write books for them. I was able to enter into their life right then, because there was a history of a relationship. So "Facts of Life" really did open those doors for me, as well, to be able to write books for moms and speak into their life without intruding.
S. O'BRIEN: Would you ever want to do a "Facts of Life" reunion at this stage?
WHELCHEL: You know what, we did one in 2001.
S. O'BRIEN: The look was ah, no, never!
MCKEON: Well, because for us, it's concluded, you know? We had a wonderful time, and it...
S. O'BRIEN: For the viewers, so not concluded!
MCKEON: They can get the DVD and relive!
WHELCHEL: There you go. The DVD, perfect.
S. O'BRIEN: It all comes...
MCKEON: Or even better, they can maybe read some books.
S. O'BRIEN: DVD and books.
MCKEON: Then read -- then watch the DVD.
S. O'BRIEN: Ladies, so great to see you. It's such a thrill for me.
WHELCHEL: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Because we're all huge fans.
MCKEON: Thank you. Thanks for talking with us.
WHELCHEL: Well, it's a thrill for me, too, because we do enjoy watching you, as well.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, thank you, I appreciate that. Thank you very much. Nancy McKeon and Lisa Whelchel joining us this morning. DVD and the books, right?
WHELCHEL: There you go!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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