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Wildfire Rages In California As Winds Drive It Towards Homes, Five Destroyed, No Injuries

Aired December 04, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Good morning, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins from New York.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: I'm Tony Harris in Atlanta. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the rundown.

A dangerous day for one Los Angeles community. A wind-fueled firestorm forces residents to run. Some have already lost everything.

COLLINS: The handwriting is on the wall for John Bolton. Unable to get the Senate to make his temporary job permanent, he resigns as U.N. ambassador.

HARRIS: More than 1,000 feared dead in the Philippines, a million feeling the impact of a monster typhoon. The plea for food and shelter on this Monday, December 4th. You are in the NEWSROOM.

Raging wildfires in California. Hundreds of homes near Los Angeles threatened this morning by a fast-moving inferno. Some people have already lost everything. CNN's Chris Lawrence is on the scene in Moorpark. That's about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM (on camera): Firefighters say at times these winds have been so ferocious that smoke and ash is blowing so much that they can barely see what is in front of them. Other firefighters have said, at times, they can barely stand. The winds are so high. At times, they have said these winds have gusted up to 60 to 70 miles per hour.

That is the situation that they're facing. Because of that, they're more in a defensive mode right now. Their primary goal is to save homes, not even so much to try to beat back the fire. The winds are that strong.

This is a heavily populated area; 30 to 40 miles northwest of Los Angeles. And firefighters tell us that up to 3,000 homes could be in danger from this fire. Hundreds of families have already evacuated, but hundreds more have decided to stay, and try to fight this fire. We've seen them up on the hill behind their homes, with their water hoses, trying to help firefighters save their home.

So far, they have been doing a pretty good job of it. But five homes have been completely destroyed by this fire and the firefighters are telling us they can only hope that the winds at least die down, at some point, to allow them to perhaps get a foothold on trying to beat back this fire. I'm Chris Lawrence, reporting from Moorpark. Back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And Chad Myers now in the severe weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Want to go ahead and update you on the situation with U.N. Ambassador John Bolton. President Bush has accepted John Bolton's resignation, and a clarification here. We had said that that would take place in January. It will actually take place the end of this week. That will be when Congress adjourns, so that is when the recess appointment expires as well.

We are getting a White House press secretary statement, here now from the president as well. It says, that it is with deep regret that he accepted John Bolton's decision to end his service in the administration. It says, that he is deeply disappointed that a handful of U.S. senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate.

We'll have more on this. Our Suzanne Malveaux is covering the White House as usual for us and I'm sure will give us more information. Once again, that recess appointment will end this Friday, and that is when John Bolton will be out of the temporary chair of U.N. ambassador.

HARRIS: President Bush is meeting with a top Shiite leader underlining the precarious balance of power in Iraq. Some fear the meeting could hurt Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki. The president met with him just last week. CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson joins us from Baghdad to explain.

And, Nic, maybe help us with this. How could this meeting with al-Hakim hurt Prime Minister al-Maliki in Baghdad?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM: Well, one of al-Maliki's biggest supporters in Baghdad in the past -- who allowed Maliki to become prime minister was firebrand Shia Cleric Muqtada al Sadr.

Now, when Prime Minister Maliki met with President Bush last week, al Sadr withdrew his support for the prime minister, which puts him in a very vulnerable position. It puts him in a position where he needs to deal with this firebrand Shia cleric and his militia.

Now, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim is the other really big Shia political leader in Iraq right now. He's going to meet with President Bush. Obviously his policies are entirely different than to the people who prop of the prime minister at the moment because he's going all the way to Washington to meet with the president.

So, for the prime minister, if he gets the support of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, that's great, because the last election, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim wanted his own candidate for prime minister, so there's animosity there. Will Hakim try to take political advantage of this or will he try and play it straight, to ask President Bush to support all the Shias? Not clear. But he is really showing President Bush that he supports the U.S. at this time, supports the U.S. policy in Iraq -- Tony.

HARRIS: Nic, when you have a conversation, as the president will, with al-Hakim, don't you, in effect, also gain a conversation with Tehran?

ROBERTSON: You do in a very indirect way. Hakim spent a lot of years in exile, several decades in Tehran. Indeed, earlier this year Hakim was the one who was proposing the United States should strike up a conversation with Tehran, because he said Tehran has a lot to offer Iraq in terms of economic stability, in terms of sharing security information along the border.

On a lot of issues, he says Iraq owes Iran a lot for all the help it got during the Saddam years. All those people in exile in Iran, so in many ways, talking to Hakim is a voice that can be echoed in Tehran, and no doubt Hakim's voice, it will have some echoes of Tehran in it when he sits down with President Bush today.

HARRIS: CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson for us in Baghdad. Nic, appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: Iran's meddling in Iraq. It is key to the ongoing militia violence, according to America's top military commander in the Middle East. CNN's Barbara Starr has an exclusive interview now with General John Abizaid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, CNN NEWSROOM (voice over): As the Shia and Sunni killings across Baghdad reach new levels, General John Abizaid, the top commander for U.S. military forces in the Middle East, says Iraqi Shia militias are being directly trained and financed by the government of Iran, something the Iranian government has denied.

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR., U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: It's clear that money is coming in through their intelligence services, training is probably being conducted inside Iran, through various surrogates and proxies. Iranian equipment is finding its way into the hands of Shia extremist groups. It's hard to believe that that's not a matter of policy from the Iranian government.

STARR: CNN has been the only network traveling with Abizaid. In this exclusive interview, he leaves no doubt about the involvement of Iran in the Iraqi militias that U.S. troops are fighting.

ABIZAID: It's also clear to me that Iranian Revolutionary Guard, KUDS (ph) force personnel are operating within the country, and operating in a way that does not support stability or the current legitimately elected government of Iraq. STARR: For Abizaid, this trip into the combat zone comes at a time when the Washington political wars dominate the news, but he is determined to stay out of that fray. This trip has focused on talking to commanders, trying to get a sense of whether they think Iraqi forces will remain loyal to the new government. There is continuing concern about police units in Baghdad.

ABIZAID: As you heard today, in some of the conversations with our various commanders, some of them are very concerned about certain police locations being badly infiltrated, and certain units within the national police not doing their job the way that they should be.

STARR: Abizaid avoids using the words "civil war" but his meaning is clear.

ABIZAID: Yes, I think the concerns about it spinning into a broader conflict are still there.

STARR (on camera): Military commanders here believe Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will be able to maintain control of the Iraqi army and security forces, which is critical to avoiding all-out civil war. But commanders also say this country is in a period of crucial instability and any reduction in U.S. combat forces still could be months away. Barbara Starr, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And this video just in to the CNN NEWSROOM of a firefight in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MACHINE GUNFIRE)

HARRIS: You are watching British troops firing on Taliban fighters. The British forces have come to Helmand Province to push out the Taliban. The Taliban lost control of the capital of Kabul five years ago, they still hold ground in this southern area. For the last couple of months now, small teams of crack troops have been making raids into the Taliban held villages. Man!

COLLINS: Critics say it's about more than missing a flight. When travelers are on the losing end of a terror risk score. Talk about that ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And the race for 2008. New signs Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is stretching just before a White House run. That story in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Time is running out on 2006. What can you do to lower your tax bill for the year? Gerri Willis will have her "Top Tips" coming up a little bit later right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Options in Iraq. Recommendations from the Iraq study group go to the president on Wednesday. How will the White House respond? Joining us from Washington, Michael O'Hanlon is a senior fellow in foreign policy studies at the Brookings Institution.

Michael, good to talk to you.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Good morning.

HARRIS: Michael, Iraq study group, Iraq study group, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's all we have been hearing for weeks and months now, it seems -- Iraq study group. Where is the news really likely to be here when it appears that all of the political security considerations are being talked about and released and discussed in memos?

O'HANLON: Yeah, great question. It's been a strange week. And now we're starting to get what I would consider the third round of leaks about the study group report, in which it's now being said the study group will recommend that our commitment to Iraq be conditional, and we should be willing to stay longer if the Iraqis make good decisions politically to try to bring their country together and reduce the chance of civil war.

That makes a lot of sense, but it's not really the way in which the first two rounds of leaks, last week, were summarized in the newspaper accounts that I saw. And so I'm a little bit confused about what's actually in this report. But the broader point is whatever is in the report, President Bush has no particular responsibility to the study group.

HARRIS: Yes.

O'HANLON: He needs to show flexibility, and he needs to deliver results on the ground in Iraq because the country knows we're losing right now.

HARRIS: OK.

O'HANLON: That's the fundamental point.

HARRIS: Great point. So, the president is going to get the findings of the Iraq study group, and there's a review going on in the White House and the Pentagon has a review, the Armed Services Committee, House and Senate, everybody has a review going on right now of Iraq policy.

Michael, what does the president want to do? What's your -- what's your gut say about what the president really wants to do?

O'HANLON: My gut is that he and Rumsfeld now disagree. I think the Rumsfeld memo -- and I consider it one of the couple of most important leaks of the entire six years of the Bush administration. It basically says the primary architect of the war now knows we're losing, and headed for defeat unless things change radically. That's a much different assessment than we heard from President Bush this fall, or certainly from Vice President Cheney.

Now, Rumsfeld, of course, has been in lock step with those two overall, but now we're seeing some real signs of Rumsfeld thinking we need radical changes if there's going to be any prospect for improvement. The president may or may not be there and my guess is he won't be there. My guess is that historically he knows that his whole place in history is going to depend on some kind of a plausibly decent outcome in Iraq and he is not going to be willing to threaten the withdrawal if the Iraqis don't shape up, for example.

And I don't think he's interested in the soft partitioning plans like Senator Biden's. So I think he will stay close to what he's been doing, which is probably a bad idea.

HARRIS: What is the president coming to terms with, in the broader sense here, as to the reality of this whole policy, this idea of going to Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein, but to put in place, and leave in place, a democracy? What is the reality that he's coming to grips with in Iraq?

O'HANLON: Well, of course, the reality is that it's not working. The reality is that we've now had a full-term government in Iraq for more than six months. And they have made no progress on revising the constitution as they were committed to do, for example; to resolve the issue of who shares the oil and making sure the Sunni Arabs get their fair share; allowing former low-level Baathists to be essentially forgiven for their association with Saddam's party, as long as they don't have blood on their hands, personally. And let them get jobs back, compete for places in society, and the economy.

That kind of stuff is not happening. Iraq is headed for a worsening civil war. It's already in civil war. The experiment is simply failing. And any other diagnosis at this point is unrealistic. So, it doesn't mean we have to concede defeat, or leave tomorrow. There's still plenty of room for debate about what to do.

But we have to begin with a serious diagnosis that where we are now is not only disappointing, not only, you know, marginally less than what we'd want, which is the sort of rhetoric you heard yesterday from Steve Hadley on the talk shows. We are failing, we are losing. And unless one recognizes that, it's very hard to be realistic about future policy.

HARRIS: OK. So, moving forward, nothing you would -- then agree -- that nothing really concrete can happen in terms of making Iraqis whole, until you get the security situation under control. You would agree with that, correct?

O'HANLON: Well, yes and no. People will sometimes say security first, as if you really have the choice.

HARRIS: Yeah.

O'HANLON: You are not going to get security in good shape until the politics begin to progress, too. If the Sunni and Shia don't make compromises, the security situation will continue to deteriorate because the world's best army, probably the best army in human history, having had 150,000 troops in Iraq for four years, attempting to impose a security solution, has not succeeded. So, there is not pure security solution. You have to do all things, at all times, starting right now.

HARRIS: But, Michael, forgive me, but you are talking about the political situation, talking about Sunni and Shia working it out, but it looks like some could take a look at what's going on in Washington today, with al-Hakim meeting with the president and suggest that what is happening here is a divide and conquer, or at least a divide and isolate strategy, among Shia?

O'HANLON: Well, that's certainly one plausible outcome on the ground, an all out civil war in which the Shia try to push the Sunnis out of Baghdad, out of any other regions where they are essentially co-habitat right now. And you are looking at a war like the one we had in Bosnia in the early '90s, but probably even worse, because there are more people involved and perhaps even more hatreds, and more disputes over oil.

I think that would mean essentially allowing a genocide inside of Iraq to occur as a matter of deliberate American policy. I don't think that's what's going on. I think President Bush is probably talking to the Shia leaders to try to get them to work together, to reach out to the Sunni, because that's the only real hope here of averting an all out civil war and genocide.

HARRIS: Michael O'Hanlon, with a sober assessment. It sounds real, though, it sounds like it's taking the realities on the ground into perspective. Michael, we appreciate it. Thank you.

O'HANLON: Thank you.

HARRIS: Heidi.

COLLINS: The race for 2008, new signs Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is stretching before a White House run. Talk about that ahead in the NEWSROOM.

And something everybody wants to learn a little something about. Cutting your tax bill, Gerri Willis.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Hello, Heidi. Good to see you.

There are some moves you can make right now, or at least before December 31, to cut those taxes. "Top Tips" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: It is the end of the year, as you well know, and the tax man cometh. But homeowners, there are ways to shave that tax bill. And here with some tips, important ones for sure, CNN's Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis.

Good morning to you, Gerri.

WILLIS: Good morning to you, Heidi. Good to see you.

Tip number one here, it's all about the alternative minimum tax. If you haven't heard about it before, look, this is a parallel tax system that could get you into real trouble.

Since it's not indexed for inflation, there aren't as many deductions, more and more middle-class families are getting hit with AMT. You know what that means? That means you pay more money. If you are unsure if you are risk of paying AMT, here are some red flags, you'll want to know. Check this out. High property taxes, combined income over $125,000. A lot of personal exemptions, many itemized deductions. If that's you that I just described, you may have to pay AMT, and you should figure it out before the end of the year.

COLLINS: Ouch. Can I do anything around my home, though, to change my taxes? I mean, we always think about winter, winterizing and stuff like that. Does it really have an effect?

WILLIS: You bet. If that's been on your mind and you made some upgrades you may get a nice big fat tax credit. Installing new windows or doors, or adding insulation to your home, will give you a tax credit, which is even better than a deduction for up to 10 percent of the cost. Buying energy efficient appliances can get you tax credits from your state or local government. You want to go to Energystar.gov, that's a great website. See what your options are.

And, look, if you are more ambitious you can get an annual credit worth up to $2,000 if you install solar panels, or solar water heaters. And that's not so crazy. A lot of people are doing it.

COLLINS: Yes, I bet they are. What about the 401(k)? We talk so much about it and really try and understand how it can benefit us. What about affecting our taxes?

WILLIS: Cut your taxes. The more money you sock away in the nest egg the less taxes you will pay. If you are over 50 you can contribute up to $5,000 to your IRA. Don't forget about your 401 (k). This year you can contribute $15,000 to your 401(k). That is 1,000 bucks more than last year. Now, if you are over 50 you can put in up to $20,000. But don't wait. You have only until the end of December to make that 401(k) contribution.

COLLINS: Yeah, you have to be quick. Is it possible to actually dial up some savings with my cell phone? I'm hearing a rumor about that.

WILLIS: Yes, this sounds like a leading question. The IRS goofed up and now it's in your favor. If you own a phone -- and this includes cell phones -- you're entitled to at least $30 back from Uncle Sam. It's pay back for an old telephone tax you have been paying for over a century.

You get up to $60 back for families of four or more. It doesn't sound like a lot of money, but I always like it when the money goes the other way. You know what I mean, Heidi?

COLLINS: Is this what teenagers will say in order to get a cell phone. I can just hear the argument now.

WILLIS: We're giving them a little ammunition.

COLLINS: What about new options for a refund check? I hear there are changes on that.

WILLIS: Well, this is really interesting. Big changes. For the first time this year, you will be able to get your rebate checks split into three accounts, like checking, savings, IRA, and have them send it wherever you want, which I think is great because you can put it into retirement. Which is awesome.

Remember, we want to hear from you. Send us your e-mail questions to toptips@cnn.com. We love to answer them here every Friday.

COLLINS: All right, Gerri Willis, thanks for that.

WILLIS: Thank you.

HARRIS: It is fierce. And it is raging out of control. Look at these pictures. A wind-driven wildfire in Southern California has burned thousands of acres north of Los Angeles. Five homes have been destroyed. Hundreds more are threatened; an evacuation order is in effect. But some people have decided to stay and try to beat back the flames.

The fire started yesterday in Moorpark, that's about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. And then it exploded with near hurricane- strength wind gusts. Let's bring in Chad Myers.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(MARKET REPORT)

COLLINS: A big day at the Bush White House. The administration looks to bolster one alliance on Iraq and concedes the loss of a fiery foot soldier. Within the last hour the White House announced U.N. Ambassador John Bolton stepping down. A foregone conclusion since his nomination cannot get past the Senate.

CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us now live. Suzanne, an awful lot going on there.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There absolutely is, Heidi. We just got out of the off camera briefing with Press Secretary Tony Snow, confirming what we know about 30 to 40 minutes ago that U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton is not going to be pursuing office after his term expires.

He sent a letter to the president on Friday essentially saying that he was not going to move forward, and the White House, White House officials, saying that they did not make any decisions about whether or not they were going to try to fight once again to try to appoint him during a recess or if there were any kind of maneuvers they had left. But they were running out of options, quite frankly, Heidi.

This was something that was basically the nail in the coffin. During the midterm elections, the changeover, we heard from Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee who lost the election, but essentially was responsible during the lame duck session to get it from committee to the full Senate. He said it wasn't happening. And then Senator Joe Biden, the Democrat who is slated to take over that committee, also said it was essentially a non-starter.

But the White House expressing a great deal of frustration and disappointment in this. They say that they had hoped that they would continue on, that they would fight for his position, but it was also very clear, Tony Snow saying that they just did not have the votes. That it was Bolton's decision alone. The president has not reached out to anyone yet. It is much, much too early.

We expect to see President Bush as well as Bolton together later here at the White House, shortly after 3:00 for him to officially congratulate him, to thank him for his service and then, of course, to announce that he will be looking for a replacement very shortly -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Suzanne, as I take a look at the statement from the White House regarding the Bolton issue, there's some pretty heavy, weighty language in this. President Bush seemingly very, very, upset, talking about obstructionism from some of those Democratic senators in order to get John Bolton confirmed. It goes on and on here about standing in the way of men and women serving their country.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. You heard very strong language coming from Tony Snow as well, saying they essentially think the Senate confirmation process is a broken one. They believe that this is someone who alternately did a good job in his position, that he won over support of many Democrats and many Republicans and they say it was just a few that were blocking him from actually getting that full Senate vote. But, Heidi, as you know, politics, they were very powerful to you and it certainly mattered in this situation.

COLLINS: That's certainly true. All right. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much for that, live from the White House today, a busy day there.

HARRIS: Donald Rumsfeld, was he ready to abandon stay the course before the president abandoned him? The Rumsfeld memo, in the NEWSROOM.

And busing, quotas and race. Should skin color determine which school your child attends? The Supreme Court talking it up this morning. You are in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Race confronting the Supreme Court this morning. Two cases involve school systems trying to achieve balance in their classrooms. Louisville and Seattle take race into account to determine which school a child attends.

They say it's needed to counter segregated housing patterns. Parents sued, claiming the policy amounts to color coding their children. Three years ago, the Supreme Court ruled racial quotas unconstitutional. The justices said race could be one factor in college administrations.

President Bush focuses on Iraq this week but it begins under the cloud of another damaging leak. Two days before he resigned as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called for a major adjustment, quoting now, in Iraq. Jamie McIntyre, our senior Pentagon correspondent is live with that story. Jamie, good morning.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Tony. This is not the first time that the private Rumsfeld has been much more candid than the public Rumsfeld about what's going on in Iraq. You may recall his infamous long, hard slog memo which was also a leak and it resulted in reports showing that Rumsfeld had a much clearer idea in private than he does in public about what's going on.

This memo written just before the November elections suggests that Rumsfeld recognized that a substantial -- a major adjustment in strategy was called for, although in typical cautious Rumsfeld style, he didn't endorse any particular strategy. He listed some, though, what he called above the line of examples of things the U.S. could do.

For instance, he talked about providing security to only those provinces and cities that openly request U.S. help, a sort of tough love policy that would reward people who wanted the U.S. to be there. He also said that they should stop rewarding bad behavior, cut off reconstruction assistance to areas where there is a lot of violence. This is classic Rumsfeld who says often that if you want more of something, more behavior, you should reward it. If you want less of it, you should punish it. He also talked about positioning U.S. forces along the border with Iran and Syria. This would seem to counter the idea of a big diplomatic initiative but instead putting military forces along the border, despite the fact that he's publicly said you can't seal those borders.

And then probably the idea that puts him most in step with his Democratic critics, begin modest withdrawals, in his words, taking our hands off the bicycle seat, so Iraqis have to pull up their socks and step up. That sounds remarkably like the strategic redeployment plan that Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania has been calling for months and Rumsfeld has been rejecting. But we are told this memo came as a result of the administration-wide review of policy, and it was Rumsfeld's thoughts as he was submitting them to the president. We don't know if at the time he was writing this memo that he knew he only had a few days left before he would be asked to step down -- Tony.

HARRIS: Jamie, do we know why it was leaked?

MCINTYRE: Well, you know, you can only guess at the motives in Washington, why anything is leaked. But if I were guessing, having covered this for a while, I would suggest this was leaked by somebody who wanted to show that Rumsfeld was not as disengaged as some people have thought, that he had a pretty clear idea of what was going on in Iraq, and he actually had some ideas of his own to counter them. So, you know, you could see it as damaging in the sense that it admits that the administration perhaps isn't being as forthright publicly as they are privately, but you can also see it as something to bolster Rumsfeld's image on the way out as somebody who did have an idea of what was happening in Iraq and did have ideas for change

HARRIS: CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre for us.

Jamie, thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

HARRIS: The race for 2008, new signs Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is stretching, stretching before a White House run. Our own senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins us next to talk about it in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Two pairs of footprints planted near the start of a 2008 campaign trail. First Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, new signals she intends a White House run. Top aides are interviewing possible campaign staffers. And Clinton met yesterday with New York's Democratic governor-elect -- that session seen as a bid for support of her candidacy.

Another Democrat says he will set up a presidential exploratory committee. Indiana Senator Evan Bayh tells ABC, he will decide over the holidays whether to run.

Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joining us now to talk about this footwork ahead of the big dance. Candy, good to see you.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Hey, what are we to make of the weekend news, particularly let's talk about Hillary Clinton -- that she is in New York, working political figures. What do we make of this?

CROWLEY: I think this is interesting because my experience with the Clinton camp is that very little gets out until senior advisers or the senator herself wants it to get out, so that we see this on the record this weekend in some -- part of it, at least, says to me that Barack Obama is beginning to speed up the race for the White House.

I think he's had an influence on everybody and what they're doing. And, you know, why? Because he's had the limelight for about the past two or three weeks. So I thought it was interesting that this came up.

HARRIS: Well, we're looking at pictures of the Illinois senator. I'm curious, where do things stand with Barack Obama? You get to a point where you set up the exploratory committee. He's not there yet. So where are we?

CROWLEY: Well, he's hiring some fairly heavy-duty names in the political world. He has some heavy-duty advisers, and although not all of them may stick with him, he certainly is getting lots of advice both publicly and privately, so he's making some initial attempts.

But, you know, like Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama doesn't have much problem with name recognition, although hers is higher than his. So he doesn't have to speed it up much. But at some point, you've got to signal your intent because everybody is starting so early

HARRIS: So, Evan Bayh is going to put in the papers for a presidential exploratory committee, which allows him to raise some money. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack announced his candidacy last week and you were there and followed up with it. What is it a five-state swing? I have to ask you -- is there any real hope for these lesser knows.

CROWLEY: Well, there's always hope, particularly at this stage of the game and here's why. There have been many instances in history, recent history Howard Dean, where someone looked as though they were headed for you know, it's done, it's over, and here's the person that's going to be the presidential nominee. We all know what happened to Howard Dean. There have been others throughout history. So anything can happen.

But having said that, what is difficult now is you have literally now two 500 pound gorillas and you have one, Barack Obama, who is already in word and deed kind of positioning himself as I'm not Hillary Clinton. Well, that's kind of the same space that people like Tom Vilsack and Evan Bayh want to occupy. So it's getting a little crowded.

HARRIS: Hey, Candy, boy, bring us up to speed on the Republican side of this race. How are things shaping up there?

CROWLEY: Also interesting here is there's been a hole on the right-hand side of the Republican party, vis-a-vis the presidential race. George Allen, the senator from Virginia, lost his bid which sort of dims his hopes, shall we say of running as a presidential nominee. Rick Santorum was another one. He, too, lost his race in Pennsylvania. Bill Frist stepped out of the race. So there's this hole in the right. And what -- even if a very conservative Republican cannot win in the general or perhaps even in the primary, they tend to move the debate.

They tend to pull other candidates a little more to the conservative wing, a little more to the right. That hole may be filled in some fashion by either Newt Gingrich who is looking at this race at the very least or by Sam Brownback who is the senator from Kansas who may announce fairly soon his presidential exploratory committee

HARRIS: Boy, thanks for keeping us posted on all the changes, on the moves there.

CROWLEY: Kind of fun, isn't it?

HARRIS: Yes, it is kind of fun. It really is. Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley for us. Candy, thank you.

CROWLEY: Sure.

Heidi Collins is in New York City. You know what, Heidi, tomorrow I'm envisioning this huge sort of celebration when the U.S.S. Intrepid starts to move and make its -- oh look at that shot, Heidi.

COLLINS: It's gorgeous, isn't it?

HARRIS: That is -- that is absolutely. And you are going to be onboard tomorrow for this celebration. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

COLLINS: Yes. It's going to be pretty terrific. But as you remember just a little bit of the back story on this and why it is still sitting there in that beautiful, live shot on Pier 86 is because, if you remember back on November 6th, it got stuck.

There's a massive operation under way to restore the Intrepid. Now it has become the duty of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the NAVY, been working very hard to get that ship free, if you will, because it got stuck. It got stuck in the sludge and all the muck that is underneath it. It has been sitting there for 24 years. It's 27 tons, so you can imagine how it would have burrowed itself down in there. They are going to go ahead and try it again tomorrow morning. It's going to be early, and we will be on board.

HARRIS: And we are positive, we believe, we're going to stay positive and optimistic that it's going to happen tomorrow and you are going to be there and you're going to bring all of the movement to us live from onboard. All right.

COLLINS: You got it.

HARRIS: Beautiful, Heidi. Thanks.

Still to come, it's a page out of a spy thriller, that's for sure. Off to Russia and the hunt for the killer of a former Russian spy. That is ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: One Taco Bell restaurant out of business for now. E. coli outbreak in New Jersey. Talk about it here in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: A Los Angeles suburb under siege today by fire and wind. Jeopardy for homeowners. That story, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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