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American Morning

Korean Leader Apologizes For Nuclear Test To Chinese Diplomats; Stingray Attack

Aired October 20, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

M. O'BRIEN: CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House with more, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Let's being with Elaine. Elaine?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Miles, but as you might imagine, a number of options are being floated ahead of that report by that bipartisan Iraq task force that is due out after the election. They include redeploying U.S. forces inside Iraq, perhaps adding more troops to Iraq and partitioning Iraq. Now, while the White House is quick to knock down some of those options, including the partitioning of Iraq along sectarian lines, the White House, as well, is insisting that its commitment, of course, to success in Iraq has not changed. Officials here are saying that while the U.S. is making adjustments to deal with the situation in Iraq, that the administration is not changing its overall strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Tactics change all the time. Generals talk about changing tactics all the time. It happens regularly. It is nothing new in a time of war. As a matter of fact, it would be a dereliction of duty if generals did not constantly adjust to the changing conditions and tactics on the ground.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now Snow insists that adjustments have been taking place in Iraq since the very early days, but clearly as the violence there continues, this is a White House under pressure, not just from Democrats, but of course from Republicans as well. Of course, recently Senator John Warner saying that if things don't improve over the next two to three months that perhaps a change in course should be considered. Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano at the White House. With the operation in Baghdad called a failure now, what are the military options? CNN's Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon with more on that. Hello Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Miles. Well, it's hard to see what the options are at this point. Now Tony Snow says they're talking about changing tactics, but let's be clear. What General Caldwell was talking about yesterday is a thorough review of the Baghdad security plan and the security of Baghdad clearly has been one of the crucial linchpins to getting security under control across Iraq. So what are the options? More troops? Interestingly, no one is ruling that out at this point but it's hard to see where the troops would come from. The only other option on the table is to find some way to get the Iraqi security forces and the very fragile government of Prime Minister Nouri al Malaki to take more control of the situation on the streets and those troops are having a lot of trouble doing that. Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: Put this all in perspective for us. When Major General Caldwell says what he says, disheartening violence, that's a big deal, isn't it?

STARR: It is very significant. You know, there was a lot of pushback from officials here at the Pentagon and at the White House about General Caldwell's news briefing yesterday trying to portray it after the fact as really not a big deal, just a regular review of tactics. General Caldwell is a very respected military commander, former commander in the 82nd airborne. He took his troops to hurricane Katrina, he's a very tough, very precise man, but a man full of a good deal of compassion. When he uses the word disheartening in the middle of a war that is very significant. That is something that people are paying attention to.

M. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, thank you very much. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: There are some reports this morning out of South Korea that say that North Korea's leader is saying there are no further nuclear tests planned. That comes as the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice holds talks in Beijing, China. Secretary Rice and the Chinese today are both urging North Korea to return to those six party talks. And China says it's going to work with both sides to try to break the stalemate. The U.S. is saying that North Korea should return with no conditions. North Korea, though, wants the U.S. to back off from financial sanctions before they agree to talk again. That's being reported by a South Korean paper. The paper also says that Kim Jong Il apologized for putting China in an awkward position with its nuclear test. And all of this is coming from a meeting between a Chinese envoy and North Korea's Kim Jong Il. And again, a South Korean news agency reported in the same meeting, said that Mr. Kim assured China there would be no more nuclear tests.

Some domestic news now, a desperate chase and one that has come to an end after four days and 200 miles. In custody, a Kentucky couple accused of killing a social worker and then going on the run with a nine-month-old baby.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN STAFFORD, FBI: This evening at approximately 8:30 p.m., nine-month-old Saige Terrell was safely recovered.

S. O'BRIEN (voice-over): What started brutally four days ago, ended quietly last night in the town of Godfrey, Illinois. That's where police and federal agents zeroed in on Renee Terrell, the mother of missing nine-month old Saige Terrell and her boyfriend, Christopher Latrell, arresting them both without incident and finding baby Saige safe and sound. CHIEF ED BRADY, HENDERSON KY POLICE: We've never seen this kind of effort before and our focus has been on this child. We are very relieved. We are just elated that the child is ok.

S. O'BRIEN: Police say the couple had been on the run since beating a 67-year-old social worker to death on Monday inside Terrell's home in Henderson, Kentucky. The victim, Bonnie Frederick, had brought baby Saige to visit his mother. The child was taken from Terrell not long after birth because of neglect and was a ward of the state. Terrell and Latrell will now more than likely face murder charges.

SGT. DET. JOHN NEVELS, HENDERSON, KY POLICE: It's been a rough four days for us. Most of the police officers knew the person that was murdered. She worked for the local social services. It was a brutal, very violent murder.

S. O'BRIEN: It was also a very lengthy chase. On Monday night after an amber alert was issued, the couple was caught on camera at a gas station in the tiny town of Smithboro, Illinois. They seemed to vanish after that until someone spotted the victim's broken-down car in Godfrey, Illinois, about 200 miles away from the crime scene. Terrell and Latrell were found inside a nearby trailer with the baby.

STAFFORD: The baby has been examined by a physician here locally in the hospital and is in good health.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: What could have been the motive here? Well, one neighbor said the mother may have snapped when she learned that her baby was going to be put up for adoption. Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: Turns out that dirty bomb threat against some NFL stadiums is a complete hoax and the finger is being pointed at a Milwaukee man. Investigators say a 20-year-old man concocted the plan as part of a competition to see who could come up with the scariest threat. The FBI says the man doesn't appear to have any terror connections. No charges have been filed, at least yet. More to come on the stories we're following this morning.

The priest accused of molesting Mark Foley when Foley was a teen, speaking out.

Plus, Republicans launch a hard hitting ad campaign, warning of terror attacks against the U.S. That and more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, some of the top stories we're following for you this morning. Eight civilians working for the U.S. military gunned down execution style in Afghanistan. When gunmen raid a police station south of Baghdad, Iraqi and British troops repel the attack. Miles? M. O'BRIEN: Latest now on the Foley scandal. House Majority Leader John Boehner in the limelight after closed-door testimony before the House Ethics Committee. Once again, he says he told the House Speaker Dennis Hastert about ex-Congressman Foley's e-mails to congressional pages. He says Hastert told him that the problem had been taken care of. Meanwhile, the priest who Foley accuses of molesting him as a child is speaking out. The Reverend Anthony Mercieca says he was friends with Foley and that they loved each other as brothers and that they once sat naked in a sauna, among other things. But he does also admit to touching Foley.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

FATHER MERCIECA: Once maybe I touched him or so, but didn't, it wasn't, because it's not something you call, I mean, rape or penetration or anything like that you know. We were just fondling."

(END OF AUDIO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Mercieca also says he was going through a difficult time during his relationship with Foley, then teen, and then he had turned to alcohol and pills. We also want to take a moment to correct a mistake we made yesterday on our air. Yesterday in stories about that priest, who admits he fondled Foley, CNN and other news organizations published an incorrect photograph showing another employee of the diocese. CNN profoundly regrets that error. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: With the election only 18 days away, the Virginia Senate race has turned into a real dog fight, drawing Republican and Democrats and their heavy hitter's right into the battle. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is in Alexandria, Virginia this morning. Good morning Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Soledad. It was supposed to be an easy run, but as you pointed out, it's turned into a real mad dash, so much so that both candidates have brought in the big guys to help drag him across the finish line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN (voice-over): After weeks of bizarre controversy for Republican George Allen. The Virginia Senate race has settled into the ordinary. Both candidates simply trying to avoid trouble in the day to day campaign appearances. And cause as much trouble as possible for the other in their TV ads, and each getting a little help from his friends.

SEN. GEORGE ALLEN, (R) VIRGINIA: Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a warm Virginia welcome to the president of the United States of America, George W. Bush.

BUSH: Thank you for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome, and thank you for supporting George Allen to be re-elected United States Senator of the great state of Virginia.

FRANKEN: While president number 43 campaigned for Allen, number 42 was in Virginia for the Democratic contender.

BILL CLINTON: I'm very honored to be here tonight. I have wanted to publicly express my support for Jim Webb for some time.

FRANKEN: The former president was in the state to add some pizzazz to the low-key Webb's campaign and the intense fight with the Republicans.

CLINTON: They've won two elections by their skin's teeth, by scaring people at the end and dividing them up again, but you can only run the dog through the same path so many times before it doesn't work anymore. And I just think it's kind of a mange old dog.

FRANKEN: This wasn't supposed to be a dog fight. At the beginning, the talk was about George Allen, the future presidential candidate. But now it's about his too close to call battle for Senate survival, after his series of self-inflicted wounds.

ALLEN: I have no idea what that word meant. If I had any idea that it was an insult to anybody anywhere in the world, I would not have used it. It's a made-up word.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: The campaign slogans here in Virginia might be a variation of the Hippocratic oath beginning which says first do no harm, to yourself. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: That would be a little change, wouldn't it? All right, Bob Franken for us this morning. Thanks Bob. That was a good one, Bob. Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: This weekend Republicans are airing a new ad that puts a new spin on a campaign classic. The ad shows Osama bin Laden and his threats against America, set only against the sound of a ticking time bomb. The ad ends with a written message, "These are the stakes. Vote November 7th". Sound vaguely familiar to you? Remember the daisy ad, 1964? Democrats used that same theme in the ad to go after Barry Goldwater right on the eve of the election. It's an ad that only aired once but is a classic. As we say, picks the daisy, it ends with a nuclear explosion. The suggestion, vote for Republicans was a vote for war. And of course, LBJ went on to victory.

Even at this late date, California Republicans want one of their candidates to drop out. The party believes Tan Nguyen and his campaign for Congress crossed the line, trying to scare off Latino voters. Here's KTLA's Ted Garcia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED GARCIA, REPORER, KTLA: Tan Nguyen is in some political hot water. The Republican Vietnamese immigrant is running for Congress against incumbent U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez in the 47th district. But, Orange County GOP leaders are now calling for Nguyen to drop out of the race because of a controversial letter which came from his office. That letter was mailed to about 14,000 Hispanic voters and said it is illegal for immigrants to vote. In reality, naturalized citizens can vote. Now some are seeing this as a scare tactic designed to keep Hispanic voters from going to the polls and possibly voting for Sanchez. Nguyen says he had nothing to do with the letter and that an employee took it upon himself to mail it without his approval. She has been fired. But GOP officials say Nguyen did know about the letter, even expedited it. Nguyen will be holding a news conference later today to discuss his candidacy. In Garden Grove, Ted Garcia, for CNN.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: This story and all the day's political news are available to you any time you like, cnn.com/news ticker is the place. Any time day or night, just click on cnn.com/ticker. There it will be. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: Any time.

M. O'BRIEN: Any time.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're following for you this morning. The Dow Jones set to open today above 12,000 for the first time ever. And Senator Barack Obama, there's a growing chorus of folks who think he should run for president in '08. What does he say? We talk to him ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Some of the top stories we're following for you this morning, a Kentucky couple under arrest. Police say they kidnapped the woman's baby and killed a social worker. And a House staff member is suspended for possible leaks to "The New York Times" of that National Intelligence Estimate. There's a gun battle going on in the Great Lakes. At the center of it all, the Coast Guard, which would like to stage some exercises with real live ammo. A lot of folks there returning fire, rhetorically at least. Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: A battle rages on the Great Lakes. Not with machine guns, but about them. After 9/11, the Coast Guard put machine guns on some of its small boats to help with Homeland Security. The Coast Guard wants 34 permanent live fire training zones on the Great Lakes where it can train with machine guns. Each zone will be closed to voters about 10 hours a year while the Coast Guard shoots. It's created such a ruckus the Coast Guard has had to cease-firing. Some are concerned about the car ferry that crosses Lake Michigan, its route passes through two of the firing zones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All vessels are to remain at least five nautical miles from this position. MESERVE: Though the Coast Guard warns boaters to stay clear of gunnery exercises and stop firing if vessels come too close, sportsmen like Matt Schalk are worried.

MATT SCHALK, GREAT LAKES FISHERMAN: I'm a salmon fisherman and I troll out there and I'm out there all summer long, and I really don't want to get hit with a stray bullet.

MESERVE: The spent bullets are another concern. A report commissioned by the Coast Guard said they will not hurt the environment, but some don't buy it.

JAMES CLIFT, MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL: If you add up all the rounds and it's hundreds of thousands of rounds a year, that adds up to 7,000 pounds of led into the environment.

MESERVE: In Canada, the Mayor of Sarnia, Ontario calls the zones part of an unjustified militarization of the border.

MAYOR MIKE BRADLEY, SARNIA, ONTARIO: I think it really shows a contempt for what was at one point the longest unattended port in the world.

CMDR. JEFF CARTER, U.S. COAST GUARD: We can all sit around and pine for days gone by, but that's not going to defend American citizens from a threat.

MESERVE: The Coast Guard says the machine gun training is vital for the protection of critical infrastructure like power plants and bridges. And the suspension of exercises has left some personnel untrained. For the Coast Guard, the central issue is national security. But for some who live here, it's personal safety. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Grand Haven, Michigan.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: Business is now, the Dow finally hits 12,000, seven years after it hit 11,000. Andy Serwer is Minding your Business this morning. Good morning.

ANDY SERWER: Good morning Soledad. And yes, indeed, we crossed 12,000, closed above 12,000. Dow was up 19 points yesterday. Interesting how the Dow marches on and crosses through these thresholds. We wanted to show you exactly how this works by going all the way back to time, back to 1972. You can see here, you know, it takes a while, 1,000, 2,000. What's really interesting about this, though, is that between 1995 and 1999, as we just sort of tick through these, a little more than four years, we went from 4,000 to 10,000. So that just shows you just how incredible the late 1990s were, I mean as if we don't remember that the bubble and how the stock market was going up day after day after day. And yes, in fact, it did take us quite a while to get to 12,000. And interestingly enough, this is the 19th anniversary of the crash of 1987. That is just a coincidence. S. O'BRIEN: To the day, right?

SERWER: Right, to the day. One other little tidbit here. And you know, these statistics, I don't know if you know, baseball, the (INAUDIBLE) sports bureaus, people go nuts with statistics in baseball. Same thing with the stock market, I mean there are analyst reams of statistics that in the end don't mean that much.

S. O'BRIEN: But share them with us.

SERWER: But we'll share them with you any way. So ten of the twelve times the Dow has broken through a thousand mark, the stock market has gone up over the next year. So it will suggest that there may be more good things to come? And we always like to celebrate when we break through a threshold and this time Soledad we decided to get a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. One doughnut for every thousand points, and I think they're what, are there 1,000 calories in each one of these?

S. O'BRIEN: Oh at least a thousand.

SERWER: There's only 200 calories.

S. O'BRIEN: So not 200 calories in a Krispy Kreme. That's all right. Who cares?

SERWER: Anyway, a little bit of celebration here.

S. O'BRIEN: Fantastic. I'll eat one for you, Miles.

SERWER: We're looking for 13,000 coming up. Can I get one?

S. O'BRIEN: I'm willing to share, always.

SERWER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: And thank you, Andy.

Some of the stories we're following for you this morning. Kim Jong Il is reportedly telling a Chinese envoy that North Korea has no plans for another nuclear test.

And Senator Barack Obama will join us live. We'll ask him about his new book and ask him about whether he's planning to run for the White House in '08. That's ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien. Let's get right to the news. We'll look at some of the stories we're following for you this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: More violence in Iraq to tell you about. People in the southern city of Amara say it's under militia control now. The hospital reports 15 people dead, 45 people wounded, this as U.S. military leaders say they're rethinking the strategy in Iraq.

M. O'BRIEN: The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Beijing as we speak at a news conference. She and the Chinese foreign minister call for new talks to end the North Korea nuclear crisis.

S. O'BRIEN: That nine-month-old baby from Kentucky who was kidnapped after his social worker was found beaten to death, is in good condition this morning. The boy's mother and her boyfriend are now in police custody.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: More twists and turns from North Korea. The latest just a few moments ago. Kim Jong Il now saying his country has no plans to conduct another underground nuclear bomb explosion. Kim making that vow to Chinese diplomats to whom he also apologized and expressed regret for the first nuclear test. Now as that unfolds, the secretary of state is in Beijing this morning, pushing China to fully enforce those United Nations approved sanctions. Our bureau chief there is Jaime Florcruz, he has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is wrapping up a series of meetings with top Chinese leaders as she seeks a united approach to North Korea. She's leaning on the Chinese to use its leverage on its traditional ally and force North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program and also return to the negotiation table. She has asked Chinese to truly implement the UN resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The minister and I have talked about the importance of full implementation of Resolution 1718, so that we can make certain that there is not a transit in trade in illegal materials, dangerous illegal materials concerning the nuclear weapons program of the DPRK.

LI ZHAOXING, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We hope all relevant parties will maintain cool headedness, adopt a prudent and responsible approach and adhere to dialogue and peaceful resolution as the general direction of our efforts.

FLORCRUZ: Her visit comes just one day after special Chinese envoy Tang Jiaxuan visited Pyongyang and held a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. It's the first time Kim met with a visiting foreign dignitary. And Tang Jiaxuan, while in Pyongyang, obviously relayed a message from the Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Upon his return in his meeting with Secretary Rice today, Tang Jiaxuan said he's very happy that his visit to Pyongyang was not in vain, hinting that, perhaps, the Chinese are getting closer to brokering the impasse of this North Korean crisis. Jaime Florcruz, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE) MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: We're going to hear more directly from the secretary of State later on AMERICAN MORNING. CNN's Zain Verjee is the only television correspondent traveling with the secretary. She interviewed her, exclusively, this morning. We'll bring it to you later -- Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Miles, thanks.

Some people say he is the brightest star in the Democratic Party right now. Two years ago at the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama stepped out on the national stage, and here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL): Hope, hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, the senator has a new book called "The Audacity of Hope". Senator Barack Obama joins us this morning.

It's nice to see you. What does that mean, the audacity of hope?

OBAMA: You know, it's a phrase I took from my pastor. About 18 years ago when I was a young community organizer, he gave a sermon. I was working in low-income neighborhoods. People had lost jobs because steel plants had closed. There was a lot of poverty and despair.

He said, you know, it requires a certain audacity to feel hopeful sometimes. It's easier to feel cynical. I thought that was a wonderful phrase. And I think it characterizes how Americans, I think, historically have overcome difficulties. Feeling we have limitless possibilities even when sometimes what's right in front of us looks like -- it's a little bleak.

S. O'BRIEN: Maybe not just historically. If you look at today, you see Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, school shootings. You know, people who struggle to send their kids to college, when they have jobs. We talked to somebody yesterday who doesn't have health insurance, has a good job.

OBAMA: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: Where do you see hope in that?

OBAMA: You know, I've been traveling around the country a lot. One of the nice things about being a senator is you meet a lot of people. There's an amazing resilience and a core decency, I think, to the American people. But the problem is that our politics has been structured to divide us instead of to bring us together. And what the book really talks about, is what are our common values, what are our common ideals, and how can we apply them in a commonsense, practical way on some of the issues you just mentioned.

S. O'BRIEN: Politics seems particularly mean these days. OBAMA: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: I think, we see partisanship that you see. And sort of as you mentioned, in D.C. that you don't necessarily see in the American people. Why don't politicians get that?

OBAMA: There are a lot of institutional pressures on politicians. The most powerful being that they don't want to lose elections.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that would be it pretty much.

OBAMA: That's what they're scared about. If they think negative campaigns work, then that's what they'll do. If they think that raising money from special interests will work, that's what they do.

Part of what I argue in the book is to the extent that we can get people engaged, paying attention, I think there's a sense of seriousness and soberness right now in the country about the lack of health insurance, or rising costs for people, about energy and the sense we really need to deal with this, not just for the economy, but national security and the environment.

If we can come together around historically what's been our strength, which is our pragmatism, and our willingness to try new things and get beyond a lot of these ideological divisions, then I actually think we can make some progress. And I'm hopeful that will happen after this next election.

S. O'BRIEN: I gather you read what David Brookes wrote about you in "The New York Times". He said, under the title, "Run, Barack, Run". And he's talking about the presidency. "Barack Obama should run for president," he writes. "He should run first for the good of his party." And then he goes on later to say, "The next Democratic nominee should either be Barack Obama or should have the stature that would come from defeating Barack Obama." In other words, in the very least, let the guy beat you so he can have some stature.

Why do you demure when you're asked about your presidential ambitions?

OBAMA: Because we've got three weeks to go before probably the most important election that I've seen in a long time. I think that President Bush is going to be in the office for the next two years. Really what's going to determine what we do in Iraq , what happens in terms of healthcare, are we going to put together an energy plan; how are we going to rewrite the education law, No Child Left Behind -- all that's going to be determined in the next two years.

And so I'm spending enormous amounts of time focused on making sure the Democrats get elected.

S. O'BRIEN: You're too busy to think about running for president?

OBAMA: Well, look, it's not that -- I know that seems odd, but it's a pretty serious thing to think about. If you're going to do something like that, you've got to think it through. It's not -- it can't be driven by personal ambition alone. It's got to be based on a sense somehow that you can actually be useful to the country in that way. So that's not something that I'd be thinking about just off-the- cuff.

S. O'BRIEN: And do the job, I would imagine. You've got four years in national politics. Do you think you're qualified to be president?

OBAMA: Yes, I think the only people who are completely qualified to be president are Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, people who have been president. Because you land that first day, and I suspect that things come at you pretty fast.

S. O'BRIEN: How come you don't name the current president? He's qualified, too. You left him off the list.

OBAMA: He knows what it's like to be president. And I think that my sense is that it's very much something that you learn on the job.

OBAMA: You write about how tough it is, I think you say the toughest part is to be a father, where you have doubt, as how you are as a husband and father.

OBAMA: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: And that's a big area to have doubt in. What's your biggest fear?

OBAMA: My biggest fear is that you grow up and your children don't feel completely that you're there, present with them, particularly during the tough times. They're eight and five right now. You know, they skin their knees, but they don't have tough times at eight and five.

S. O'BRIEN: High drama, yeah.

OBAMA: Yeah. You start thinking about their teenage years and going through struggles. And you want to make sure they're enveloped by the sense you're there -- and you want to make sure that your spouse, my wife, Michelle, feels she always has me there as a foundation and that she's not alone.

I think all of us who are in busy, professional lives, I think, have this juggling act we're going through. The burden falls typically harder on women, I think, because they still have a -- no matter how liberated men like to think of themselves, they still put a disproportionate burden on the women. And that's something that I'm constantly mindful of, and my wife Michelle is happy to remind me.

S. O'BRIEN: Michelle must tell you, because that's what I tell my husband, too. Barack Obama, the book is called "The Audacity of Hope".

OBAMA: It's great to see you. S. O'BRIEN: It's so nice to see you, Senator. Thanks for talking with us this morning. Appreciate it.

OBAMA: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Soledad.

In California, a Roman Catholic bishop who was supposed to help the church recover from that sex abuse scandal, facing indictment this morning. CNN's Jason Carroll explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING (voice over): Daniel Walsh was appointed bishop of California's Santa Rosa Diocese six years ago. In large part his job was to restore trust in a church community rocked by sexual abuse. Church leaders and parishioners put their faith in Walsh because he'd been outspoken about the church's zero tolerance policy.

DEIRDRE FRONTCZAK, SPOKESWOMAN, SANTA ROSA DIOCESE: He's taken that charge very seriously and he wants to be responsible.

CARROLL: But now Walsh is the subject of an investigation that could lead to the first indictment of a U.S. Catholic bishop for failing to report an abusive priest. Walsh says that after the priest admitted molesting three boys, he did not notify authorities immediately.

MICHAEL MEADOWS, ATTORNEY: He didn't follow his own internal guidelines, much less the laws, which is why he finds himself the subject of a criminal investigation.

CARROLL: Mike Meadows is an attorney, representing seven men in a civil suit filed last week against the diocese, and the offending priest, Father Francisco Ochoa. The plaintiffs say Ochoa sexually abused them when they were children. One of his alleged victims, who requested anonymity, says Ochoa started molesting him when he was a nine-year-old altar boy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One day he kind of started touching me. He told me it's normal, you know, just don't tell anybody.

CARROLL: In a letter to parishioners Walsh said that Ochoa admitted to him, last April, that he recently sexually abused a 12- year-old boy, and two other boys a decade ago.

(On camera): Walsh immediately put Ochoa on administrative leave and barred him from serving as a priest. What Walsh says he didn't do immediately is call the authorities, which is required by California state law.

(Voice over): The diocese's own charter says a report should be made immediately. Bishop Walsh waited three days. The Sonoma County sheriff's office believes Father Ochoa fled during that time and is now in Mexico.

MEADOWS: What reason could there have been for not reporting this immediately? It's not like he has to conduct an investigation. Ochoa came to him and said I've been abusing these boys. What more did he need to know?

CARROLL: Bishop Walsh declined an interview. But in that letter to parishioners he apologized and explained, quote, "I did not wait in order to allow Reverend Ochoa time to escape. I waited from an excess of caution. The sheriff's office says its investigation found this case is worthy of district attorney reviews. The D.A.'s office declined to say whether it has reached a decision to indict. Walsh says he's prepared to face the consequences if he's criminally charged.

FRONTCZAK: People say the man-made a mistake. There was not a malicious intent. Perhaps prosecution is a bit harsh.

CARROLL: One man of the cloth has escaped justice for now. Another waits to see if he'll be judged in a place governed by facts, not faith. Jason Carroll, CNN, Santa Rosa, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: More to come, stories we're following for you this morning. Severe storms washing out roads and causing heavy flooding in Turkey.

Plus, doctors explain how and octogenarian survived a stingray stabbing to the heart. More on that, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Some of today's top stories we're following: The Secretary of State Condoleezza in Beijing calling for new talks to defuse the North Korean nuclear crisis.

The Dow opens above the 12,000 mark. The record set yesterday, exactly 19 years after the stock market crash of '87.

Overseas this morning, the weather is knocking the stuffing out of parts of Turkey. Heavy floods swept cars off the road in the southern part of the country yesterday. Homes and businesses flooded.

On the Mediterranean coast, an ominous site over the water. Those are waterspouts. Which are defined as twisting activity over water, according to Chad. Fortunately, they didn't come ashore.

Hey, Chad, you know what was interesting about that one, you see that last one, it was curvy. Is that normal? Do you get those curves like that?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST, AMERICAN MORNING: A curvy is typically a dying tornado, rather than a water spout.

M. O'BRIEN: There it is. MYERS: I know that a waterspout happens over water, blah, blah, blah. But there are different processes for waterspouts and tornadoes. One is attached to the ground. The other is attached to the cloud. That looks like a tornado that just happens to be over water.

M. O'BRIEN: I see.

MYERS: When you get them all -- look how they're lined up. I think there's three of them on that picture, just rapidly rising air.

M. O'BRIEN: The best is the people on the beach, just kind of saying, you know, pass the cocoa butter, would you?

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: Right. That's kinda cool. Let's go out there and swim.

M. O'BRIEN: Yeah, how about a pina colada. Should we have one?

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: An 82-year-old man is in the hospital this morning after a stingray attack in Florida. He's recovering from a wound that's similar to the one that killed Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. Andy Flick has our story this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stingray is not a sharpshooter, for God's sake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen anything like this. I don't think many people have.

ANDY FLICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING (voice over): Doctors and officials in Florida are calling it a freak accident. An 82-year-old man was taking a boat ride with his granddaughter and a friend Wednesday, when a Spotted Eagle Stingray managed to fling itself on board and stab the man in the chest with it's barb.

JIM BERTAKIS, SON OF JAMES BERTAKIS: Then she heard him scream. When she looked over it was in his lap. It just jumped in the boat and he's trying to get it out of his lap and that's when he was getting lacerated and stuck.

FLICK: Surgeons found the foot-long barb lodged in James Bertakis' chest. Muscle contractions pulled it deeper into his heart.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The initial injury was out here into the chest cavity and probably had just become adjacent to the heart muscle itself. And with movement and breathing to the lung, it got pushed into the pericardial sack.

FLICK: The accident bears an eerie resemblance to the stingray attack that killed TV's Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, last month. Despite that, animal experts insist stingray attacks of this severity are rare. They can sting when provoked but rarely use their barbs to stab.

Doctors say Bertakis may have saved himself by leaving the barb in place for surgeons to remove. Andy Flick, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to have more this morning on this freak stingray attack, including talking to one of the surgeons who was able to operate on the victim. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

A look at some of the stories we're following for you this morning, Republicans launch a hard-hitting ad campaign, warning against terror attacks against the U.S.

And we meet a college student who went from being a fan in the stands to being a player on the field. We have his incredible story, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The always unpredictable Kim Jong-Il, leader of North Korea proving true to that moniker today. Telling a Chinese delegation of diplomats, reportedly, that he is regretful over that underground nuclear explosion. That he's sorry about it. And that he has no plans for a second nuclear test.

The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Beijing, meanwhile, and is communicating with Chinese diplomats there. Obviously, said she heard no such thing. So, doubt expressed as to what Kim Jong-Il is saying. And of course, always doubt about what his real intentions are. We're watching it for you.

Well, it's a sports fan's dream come true, to go from the stands to the field, practically overnight. It's more than a dream for one place kicker. CNN's Dan Lothian has more from Boston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING (voice over): Steve Aponavicius is a kicker with the Boston College Eagles, a major leap from where he sat last season in the stands as a bare-chested superfan.

STEVE APONAVICIUS, BC FOOTBALL KICKER: No one knew who I was. I was just the kid with the long European name. You know, to go from that to this -- it's really crazy.

LOTHIAN: Crazy because this rookie kicker had never played a down of football, only soccer. But to unwind, the sophomore would often practice making field goals out here, using an old ball snatched from his former high school. A BC assistant football coach spotted him last year.

APONAVICIUS: I thought he was going to kick me out of the stadium. LOTHIAN: Instead, he was invited to try out and then became a walk on. Last week, with the starting kicker suspended, No. 83 got his big break against Virginia Tech.

APONAVICIUS: I felt like time stood still for that three seconds when the ball is snapped and you have to kick it.

LOTHIAN (on camera): Imagine the pressure, being in here with the loud crowd on national television, prime time, kicking a football in your first game from this spot through the uprights.

(Voice over): His coach never lost faith.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once the snap was good, I knew he'd get the ball up.

LOTHIAN: Aponavicius drilled two field goals from 36 and 20 yards out, and made two extra points to help the Eagles win. Fans and teammates went wild.

JOLOON DUNBAR, BC FOOTBALL CO-CAPTAIN: He's worked hard and done well for himself, you know. We're glad we're a part of it.

LOTHIAN: A super fan's fantasy come true. Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Business news this morning, the laptop battery recall, going to take a little bite out of Sony's bottom line. That's not the company's only problem. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business".

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning.

People really shaking their heads about what's been going on at Sony. Sir Howard Stringer, the Welshman who took over this company recently, has his hands full.

The company not in great shape when he came in. Since he's taken over, what an unlucky streak this company has just run into. The battery recall, as you said, Soledad, is huge. New news now coming out of Japan. The company saying it's going to be 9.6 million batteries are going to have to recall, a cost of $429 million. That's up from around $200 million that they previously estimated.

Then, of course, there's the PlayStation 3, which we've been waiting for, and waiting for, and waiting for and waiting.

S. O'BRIEN: Talking about it.

SERWER: It's supposed to come out November 17th here in the U.S. Finally, after numerous delays. Still delayed in Europe, however. So they're having production problems. They cut prices on that. That's bad for the company.

S. O'BRIEN: Cutting it kind of close to the holiday season.

SERWER: Yes, November 17th is really getting close. There's a new product, a location-free TV box that they've had to postpone, the VIO laptops, that the company makes, they are part of the recall as well. So that's hurting them. They've reduced their earnings estimates.

S. O'BRIEN: Is it bad luck, as you said, or is it sort of something -- other forces at work?

SERWER: When you see something like this, Soledad, it's got to be more than that. It's got to be management, not necessarily Sir Howard because he came in and these things were already in place. You ask the people who are in charge of production, what were you guys doing? What was your quality control? Who was overseeing these projects? How come the PlayStation 3 got so far behind? It shows the company was not really run very well.

The real problem, you know, this company dominated consumer electronics. The dominant consumer electronic product now is the i- Pod. They totally missed the boat on that, completely. They are not in the mp3 game at all.

And the stock, not surprisingly, Sony stock is down 20 percent over the past five months. Now the company is saying that earnings are going to be lower. So, Sir Howard lives in New York, and in England, and in Tokyo. He's constantly on a plane going back and forth.

S. O'BRIEN: Probably more of that.

SERWER: His life has got to be extremely difficult right now.

S. O'BRIEN: I bet. Andy, thank you. What do you have ahead?

SERWER: You're welcome.

We're going to talk about living -- I'm looking at this again, Soledad -- living in a car. We'll explain what that means coming up.

S. O'BRIEN: Hopefully it's a big car.

SERWER: Yes, it's got to be big. Not one of those shoe boxes, Miles.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.

A look now at some of the stories we're following for you this morning. Violence is on the rise in Baghdad. How can the United States stop it? Our expert panel is going to take a look, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Friday, October 20th. I'm Miles O'Brien.

O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. Lot's happening this morning. Let's get right to our news wall.

Rethinking the U.S. strategy in Iraq; out of control violence has U.S. military planners reconsidering all their options. So far this month, more than 70 American troops have been killed.

M. O'BRIEN: Also on our radar this morning. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Beijing expressing doubt about those surprising comments from Kim Jong-Il. The North Korean leader supposedly told Chinese diplomats he was sorry about that nuclear test. Rice says she didn't hear anything like that.

S. O'BRIEN: That nine-month-old Kentucky infant, who was kidnapped after a social worker was found beaten to death, is in good condition this morning. The boy's mother and her boyfriend are now in police custody.

M. O'BRIEN: Eighteen days now to the election, a new GOP campaign ad trying to push the fear button among voters. It features images of Osama bin Laden and other terrorists set against a ticking time bomb.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to Chad Myers at the CNN Weather Center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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