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American Morning
President Bush Calls Upon Leaders of Incoming Congress to Work With Him on Iraq; Governor Mitt Romney Making a Move Today for Big House on Pennsylvania Avenue
Aired January 03, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: Developing story, new details overnight about when President Bush could announce changes to America's Iraq war strategy.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: New intrigue and finger pointing. Who took the unauthorized cell phone video of Saddam Hussein's execution? Iraq's government is now launching an investigation.
O'BRIEN: Risking life and limb in front of his young daughters, a father jumps in front of a moving train to save a total stranger. This subway Superman, in his own words, straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Favorite story of the morning. Good morning. Welcome. It's Wednesday, January 3rd. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts in for Miles O'Brien. Thanks for joining us. It really is the best story of the day, isn't it? That subway?
S. O'BRIEN: It's amazing. We'll get to this guy who saved a total stranger's life by huddling down with him on the subway tracks as the train rolled right over them.
ROBERTS: And his two young daughters are looking on, screaming, Daddy, Daddy!
O'BRIEN: Thinking that -- right, that their father had been killed.
But we begin, this morning, in fact, with President Bush and his New Year's push. Here's what's new this morning. The president is out with his own op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal" outlining his priorities before Democrats take control of Congress, which is going to happen tomorrow. Says he's going to address the nation, in the days ahead, about a new strategy in Iraq.
Inside Iraq, the U.S. Army has announcing the death of a soldier who was killed by a roadside bomb. The American death toll is now 3004. Also new this morning, the two Iraqi officials convicted alongside Saddam Hussein are going to be executed tomorrow, or later tonight, Eastern Time, according to Iraqi media reports.
The White House this morning, President Bush is going to meet with his Cabinet, and then meet with press for a Rose Garden news conference. CNN's Kathleen Koch is live at the White House for us this morning.
Hey, Kathleen, good morning.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.
Let's go back for a minute to that article in "The Wall Street Journal." It's part of a real push by the president today. He's really bending over backwards to show that he gets it; that a new political day dawns tomorrow when Congress reconvenes. A new political reality sets in with Democrats in control of both Houses of Congress.
In this guest column, the president lays out what he says his priorities are, what he wants to accomplish. But at the same time he issues a clear warning to Congress, saying, quote, "If the Congress chooses to pass bills that are simply political statements, they will have chosen stalemate. If a different approach is taken, the next two years can be fruitful ones for our nation. We could show the American people that Republicans and Democrats can come together to find ways to help make America a more secure, prosperous and hopeful society."
As for coming together, the president will be doing just that this evening at the White House, having a reception for about a dozen top members of Congress and their wives, their spouses. The White House is telling us this is a social occasion, but certainly there will be ample opportunity to talk about what is foremost on most members of Congress' minds right now and that is the president's new strategy for Iraq.
There's a lot of talk about this possibility of a surge of some 20,000 troops into Iraq. A lot of members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, are very wary about that. National Security Council spokesman, Gordon Jandros (ph), says, quote, "The president has not made any decisions."
So, again, but certainly something they will be talking about this evening, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: No question. Kathleen Koch for us this morning. Thanks, Kathleen.
KOCH: You bet.
O'BRIEN: The president's statement is set for 10:25 Eastern this morning and CNN is going to bring that you live -- John.
ROBERTS: New reports this morning, that two of Saddam Hussein's codefendants will be executed as early as tonight Eastern time, while the mystery intensifies about just who took that cell phone video of Hussein's final moments. A little while ago here on AMERICAN MORNING we talked to Mowaffak Al-Rubaie, the nation's national security adviser. Despite reports saying that he took the video, he denies it. CNN's Ryan Chilcote is in Baghdad.
Ryan, where is all this going?
RYANY CHILCOTE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: Yes, we start with some news we're getting from an Iraqi television station that Saddam's half brother and another individual, who is condemned to death by the Iraqi high tribunal, will be executed at dawn here in the Iraqi capital, Iraqi time.
That is coming from an Iraqi TV station. It has not been confirmed. This just coming in within the last hour, by the government itself.
Meanwhile, the controversy that surrounds Saddam's execution, and specifically how it was handled, continues. At the heart of that scandal, at the heart of that controversy is, of course, who leaked the cell phone video, who was inside the execution chamber filming the execution, and then released that unauthorized video?
There is an official, a prosecutor, who was inside the execution chamber pointing the finger at two top Iraqi officials that he says, he personally witnessed film the execution on their cell phones.
Meanwhile, as you say, we have just heard from Iraq's national security adviser, saying he didn't do it. He was actually suggesting that, perhaps, it was someone from outside the group of officials, that infiltrated the chamber, and that was bent on disrupting national reconciliation in this country.
Finally, we have heard from the U.S. military, the U.S. military's top spokesman here in Iraq, he's giving a briefing right now. About an hour ago he said that he expressed dissatisfaction in how that execution took place, saying that we would have "done it differently." -- that's a direct quote. But he made it very clear that the U.S. military's role ended when they handed over Saddam to the Iraqi officials.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: We had absolutely nothing to do with anything further, than just the physical movement, and security of him as we had always done to get him to a predetermined location, which in the past has been to the courthouse, where the proceedings had been taking place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHILCOTE: General Caldwell also described Saddam's final moments in U.S. custody. He apparently, according to General Caldwell, was acting in a very dignifying fashion and thanked his American guards, who brought him to the execution chamber -- John.
ROBERTS: Ryan Chilcote, live for us in Baghdad. Ryan, thanks for the latest.
Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Gerald Ford's hometown is turning out all through the night to pay respects to the 38th president. CNN's Jeanne Meserve is live with us in Grand Rapids, Michigan this morning.
Good morning, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.
It is cold, it is dark, and they are still lining up to pay their respects. Estimates are about 50,000 people have been through the Gerald R. Ford Museum since last evening. They are here to show their gratitude, they are here to play a part of history, and they say they are here to show their pride in Grand Rapids' native son.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice over): Gerald Ford has come home at last to the state and city that shaped him, embraced him, and is showing it loves him still.
MARTIN ALLEN, GERALD R. FORD FOUNDATION: Wherever he journeyed, the values forged in Grand Rapids never left him, and that's why he never left Grand Rapids.
MESERVE: This trip home was a sentimental journey with a fly over the stadium where Ford played football for the University of Michigan. "Hail to the Victors", the school's fight song was even played at the arrival ceremony.
Along the motorcade route, Boy Scouts saluted to honor Gerald Ford, the Eagle Scout. Among those invited to the private service a the Ford Museum, the surviving members of Ford's championship high school football team, including 94-year-old Leon Joslin. A high school photo shows Joslin, in front, of Team Captain Ford. Years later the picture was reshot when President Ford hosted the team at the White House.
LEON JOSLIN, FORD'S FORMER TEAMMATE: Oh, gosh, I can't say enough about Gerry. Just a down-to-earth sort of guy from high school on. And if you were a friend of his, you stayed a friend of his for the life of him.
MESERVE: In his later years, Ford told a journalist that when he had trouble sleeping at night, all he had to do was think of Grand Rapids.
TOM DEFRANK, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS": It meant that's where his heart and soul were, and that's where he wanted to be buried because that's where his heart was. It always was and always will be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESREVE: This is where he'll be buried later today, after a final service that will feature eulogies from former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former President Jimmy Carter. Back to you.
O'BRIEN: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Thank you, Jeanne.
John.
ROBERTS: This is just the best story of the day. Some quick thinking saves a life in the New York City subway. Wesley Autrey, he's a 50-year-old father of two, saw a teenager have a seizure on the subway platform and fall onto the tracks, as a train was barreling into the station. Autrey jumped down, tried to get the teen out of the track area, but couldn't; then jumped on top of him, protecting the teen's body with his own as the train passed over them both.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WESLEY AUTREY, HERO: The train was coming. I was trying to pull him up, but you know his weight, plus he was fighting against me. He didn't know who I was. The only thing that popped in my mind was like, OK, go for the gutter. I dove in, pinned him down. Once the first car ran over us, my thing then was just keep him still.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The train crossed over them with about two inches to spare, Autrey said. In fact, Autrey had a grease stain on the back of his hat, which he says is was from where the train actually grazed his head. The man Autrey saved, by the way, was taken to the hospital. He is expected to recover. Autrey, himself, being he superman that he is, refused treatment.
O'BRIEN: Left his two daughters, four and six, on the platform --
ROBERTS: They were terrified.
O'BRIEN: Who thought that their father had been run over by the train, because the trained stops two cars in, over their bodies.
ROBERTS: Apparently, according to news reports, he was under the train. He had to yell at people to be quiet.
O'BRIEN: So, he could talk to his girls.
ROBERTS: They were clapping so much, so he could tell his girls he was all right.
O'BRIEN: Apparently the young man who fell said, "Did we die? Am I dead?"
He said, "We're talking to each other, you're not dead. We're alive, we made it."
ROBERTS: Incredible.
O'BRIEN: What a great story. Good for him. I love hero stories.
Ahead this morning, just a day to go till Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi takes over as the new speaker of the House.
One on one with Oprah at her new school for girls in South Africa.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: New this morning, President Bush expected to announce his new plans for the war in Iraq next week.
And military helicopters, moving in, dropping food to people and livestock stranded in massive snow drifts in the Plains. Thousands of people there still without power.
O'BRIEN: We brought you the pictures from opening day. Now the pencils are sharpened, and the textbooks are out at Oprah Winfrey's new school for girls, outside of Johannesburg in South Africa. And overnight, CNN's Jeff Koinange went one on one with Oprah to hear a little bit more about her dream project.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: I feel like I got married and had 152 children all at the same time.
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: All right, I have to ask you this, you visited -- you personally insisted on visiting these kids' homes during the interview process.
WINFREY: Yes.
KOINANGE: Why did you do that?
WINFREY: Because I wanted to not just hear about, but to feel what their environment was like. To have for myself the information that says where you come from and what is your story. And what I learned by doing that is that their story is really also my story.
KOINANGE: And these are the leaders of tomorrow? These are the girls you want to hone be the leaders?
WINFREY: Well, I have to tell you, some of my friends from the United States were here, and I had all the girls giving tours. I had 24 girls giving tours. They said, they're already leaders. They are already leaders. What is amazing about these girls is that in spite of their circumstances, all of them coming from poor homes, and some from more devastation, sexual abuse, physical abuse, all of them have a spark, a light. Because that's what I was looking for.
I was looking for the girls who life has not already taken them down. Because, you know, sometimes it just gets to be so hard that it takes the light out of you. I was looking for girls for whom that had not yet happened. And so every girl has a spark. Every girl has that thing. They're all very different. You know, some are strong a personalities. And what I realized is you can't have all A personalities in a classroom. Some have a quiet, quiet strength that says, I can.
That's what I was looking for. So, yes, they will be the future leaders. I have no doubt in my mind that for every girl that comes out of this school, amazing, in the true sense of the word, amazing things will happen to them.
The campus is founded on the principle of Ubuntu (ph). It's an African principle that says, "I am, because we are." And so I've already said to these girls, this isn't like any other place you've ever been, or any other community. We compete with each other because we all want to be successful. We all want to be great, we all want great grades. But we compete for the common good. So, our competitiveness makes us stronger so we can, together, go out in the world and make a difference.
So, it's founded on community service. Every single girl here, as a part of her indoctrination (AUDIO GAP) back, give back to her family, give to herself first, then to her family, to this community that we live in, but also the global community. I want these girls not to just be citizens of this campus, and this community, but citizens of the global world.
It's fantastic! Thank you.
KOINANGE: Good job.
WINFREY: Well done, huh?
KOINANGE: It's amazing.
WINFREY: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: It is a fantastic campus; 28 state of the art buildings for 152 students, yoga studio, inside theater, outside theater, 200- thread count sheets. The project's budget was originally set at $10 million. So far it's reached $40 million.
It's 16 minutes past the hour. Let's get to Chad with a look at the "Traveler's Forecast".
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Congress is on the cusp of change. The Democrats taking control of the 110th Congress tomorrow. CNN asked the Opinion Research Corporation to find out what Americans think about the political power shift. Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider has the new poll numbers for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: 1994, Republicans take over Congress for the first time in 40 years. The public thought that the new Republican Congress would be good for the country.
2006, Democrats regain control of Congress after 12 years. Now, by a slightly larger margin, people believe Democratic control of Congress will be good for the country. Men feel about the same way now as they did in 1994. The big shift is among women. It's the Nancy Pelosi factor; 64 percent of women say Democratic control of the Congress will be good for the country. Fewer than half of women felt optimistic when Newt Gingrich and the Republicans took over in 1994.
Democrats are even more optimistic now than Republicans were in 1994. But in 1994, fewer than half of Democrats thought the Republican Congress would be bad for the country. Now, nearly three-quarters of Republicans believe a Democratic Congress will be bad for the country. Pelosi takes over in a more deeply divided country than Gingrich did. Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Well, in-coming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that she's going to waste no time in pursuing her legislative priorities. CNN's Andrea Koppel is live on Capitol Hill, with more on the first woman to ascend to the post.
She's promising a 100 hours of action right out of the blocks here, isn't she?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: She absolutely is, John.
You know, to celebrate, because this is a celebration for many of her supporters, her aides have set up basically several days of festivities designed to highlight the historic moment that will happen tomorrow. It will include a trip that Pelosi is going to make later this week to her hometown of Baltimore, where she'll visit the row house she used to live in, and where officials are going to rename a street after her.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Long before Nancy Pelosi first ran for Congress and Republicans labeled her a liberal from San Francisco, this was her home, the gritty East Coast port city of Baltimore. Little Nancy, as she was known back then, was the youngest of six children born to Nancy and Tommy D'Alesandro, and their only girl. Lena Palmer lived just down the street.
LENA PALMER, RESIDENT OF "LITTLE ITALY": Her mother was so happy when she got her. She had all boys, and she kept having children until she got Nancy.
KOPPEL: The year was 1940, and Tommy D'Alesandro, a former insurance salesman, was riding high, a powerful Democrat on Capitol Hill, representing Baltimore's "Little Italy", a tight-knit working class neighborhood of brick row houses, full of proud American-Italian Catholics.
On Sundays, when you walked down the street, you could smell the sauce coming from -- permeating from all these houses. KOPPEL: D'Alesandro's oldest son, also named Tommy, remember those as tough times when his family's front door was always open and all six D'Alesandro children had to take turns manning a desk to help their father's constituents.
TOMMY D'ALESANDRO III, NANCY PELOSI'S BROTHER: Nancy began to meet people from all walks of life at the age of 13, and to deal with the problems of society at the age of 13.
KOPPEL: A lesson in grassroots politics Nancy and her brothers would never forget. Now, as Congresswoman Pelosi walks into the history books, becoming the first female speaker of the House, she plans to pay tribute to her Baltimore roots. Professor Matthew Crensen says the visit could help her refashion her image.
MATTHEW CRENSEN, PROFESSOR, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV.: That she's not just a well-dressed lady from San Francisco, who is married to a millionaire. She came from a working-class ethnic, religious neighborhood, that she's one of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: And with Democrats set to take control of Congress this week, that message, that Pelosi places a premium on family values, is one that she, and her party, hope will resonate with middle-class America, John.
ROBERTS: Interesting story. Andrea Koppel, thanks very much. In our next hour we'll go home to Searchlight, Nevada with Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, another major chain joins in the transfat revolution. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business", straight ahead with that story.
And the show of support for those New Orleans police officers now charged in the deaths of two men in the chaos after Hurricane Katrina. That story is straight ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, first it was doughnuts, then fried chicken, now your favorite Starbucks muffin will be transfat free. It's 25 after the hour, Ali Velshi is here serving up some tasty business news.
O'BRIEN: We love a guy who brings food, in the morning, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN AMERICAN MORNING: Some folks may not like this whole move to transfat, but I do. Because this is a gratuitous reason to bring food on television, and eat it whenever you want.
O'BRIEN: Bring it on, man.
VELSHI: And here's the thing, I can't tell you which ones of these are transfat. This is Starbucks. Starbucks announced that as of today, at half of its stand-alone stores --
ROBERTS: Usually if they bounce, they're transfat.
VELSHI: I can't tell the difference. But at half of its stand- alone stores, 5,600 Starbucks stores in the United States, half of them -- the ones that Starbucks operates --
ROBERTS: Definitely transfat free.
VELSHI: This is really transfat free? Because as of today --
ROBERTS: It's either that, or it's stale.
VELSHI: No, we just got them. I can't imagine it's stale.
O'BRIEN: This is good.
VELSHI: Got it across the road, they are making the move to getting rid of transfat, which is partially hydrogenated oil, which I grew thinking was OK, but apparently raises the bad cholesterol, lowers the good cholesterol. And, you know, in New York City, they're banning these things anyway. Wendy's is turned off of transfat. KFC and Taco Bell are going off of it. And in all the major cities, Starbucks stand-alone units, in all the major cities, as of today, should have transfat-free muffins, doughnuts, pastries, that sort of thing. The rest of them, hopefully, by the end of year.
ROBERTS: You know, they're just trying to save us from ourselves, and I'm not sure that we need that.
VELSHI: You necessarily want to be saved.
ROBERTS: I don't want to be saved. I don't need to be saved.
VELSHI: The problem is --
ROBERTS: Do you need to be saved?
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. I definitely need to be saved. Anybody who's watched me eat through a couple pregnancies knows that. And you know what? It is so much better for you, it's going to save a lot of money, eventually, hopefully in health care costs. I'm all for it.
VELSHI: There you go. Enjoy the transfat, we've got a little show to go still.
O'BRIEN: I don't know if it's transfat free or not, but it's really good.
VELSHI: I'll be back in half an hour to talk about auto show stuff,
O'BRIEN: With food? With a car?
ROBERTS: Yeah, free cars.
VELSHI: I'll bring you something.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Ali.
Top stories of the morning straight ahead, the president's all- out offensive, promising a bi-partisan solution in Iraq. Candy Crowley is going to join us with some details.
And the price of treatment is only the beginning for people who have cancer. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at the hidden costs. That's when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: In an op-ed in this morning's "Wall Street Journal," President Bush calls upon leaders of the incoming Congress to work with him on Iraq, on the economy and other issues as well. It comes a day before Democrats take control of Congress, and also comes as the president is preparing to address the nation about a new strategy in Iraq.
Joining us from D.C. this morning is CNN senior political analyst Candy Crowley.
Good morning, Candy. Nice to talk to you, as always.
I thought an op-ed in "The Wall street Journal" by a sitting president kind of unusual anyway. What's the ultimate goal here for President Bush, do you think?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POL. CORRESPONDENT: I think the ultimate goal is if you look at Congress and the president as circling one another. I mean, the Democratic Congress is just about to get all the attention, their agenda is about to get all of the attention, and this is the president circling the Democrats, saying here are the things I'll compromise on, here are the things I won't compromise on. And looking to, in fact, boost his relevancy. I think you notice in the first graph of that. It said, well, nearly a quarter of my presidency is still in front of us, so we can accomplish big things here.
So I think it, a, is an unusual format in which to do it, but, b, is a good kickoff for the president, saying here's where I'll give, here's where I won't give.
O'BRIEN: Let's take a little closer look at some of this editorial, especially the part about Iraq. Here's what he writes: "Ultimately, Iraqis must resolve the most pressing issues facing them. We can't do it for them, but we can help Iraq defeat the extremists inside and outside of Iraq, and we can help provide the necessary breathing space for this young government to meet its responsibilities." All that serves to remind everybody that the president is supposed to be coming up with his plan any day now.
CROWLEY: Sure, and to remind everybody that the president is the one who is in charge of military affairs. In the graph previous to that, the president says I'm going to be putting out this new strategy within the next several weeks, and it will be to help secure Iraq to get this new government a little chance to go.
Now it seems to me that the signals in here are, a, I'm in charge of foreign policy. B, it does seem that this surge is going to happen, because one has to stretch the imagination to see how one can make Iraq more secure without more U.S. troops. And, three, there's a warning here for Iraqis which is we can't do it for you, which the president has said before, but it seems to me yet another signal to Iraq, hey, step up to the plate here.
O'BRIEN: In the last few weeks and days really, we've heard so much about the Democrats' first 100 hours. Big chunk of it PR, but really trying to get their platform out. How much of this the president trying to get his platform out as we see overwhelming coverage of the Democrats?
CROWLEY: Well, I think he is trying to get his platform out, but it's the platform that people have seen for the past six years. He said, look, my principles are pretty well known. I believe in smaller government. I believe that the way to get the economy going and to keep the economy going is to give people back more of what they earn, which is to say the president is still for tax cuts. As you know, there's been some talk on Capitol Hill prior to the elections from Democrats about stopping some of those tax cuts for the upper-income people, and for various big corporations.
So the president saying, look, tax cuts have to stay in place and putting out what are his basic principles, which is smaller government. He also said, look, we need to deal with some of these programs, Medicare and Social Security, which seems to me an awfully big agenda for the next two years.
O'BRIEN: Hundred hours that the Democrats have been talking about. Outside of the, well, when do you start the clock on the hundred hours, and there's been lots of debate about that. Really what can be accomplished in that?
CROWLEY: Well, what's interesting is the that Democrats have taken some pretty popular issues and put those in this first hundred- hours agenda. Cutting the interest rate on student loans. That's really kind of a no-brainer and a pretty publicly popular issue.
When you look at ethics committees, you know, we need an outside group to look at congressional ethics. It's hard to believe the Republicans would oppose something like that. So there are a number of things in here, minimum wage. The president has already sort of ceded that, an increase in minimum wage. So a lot of these things are pretty popular. In this grand scheme of things when you look at Social Security and some of the larger things that are facing the nation, there isn't any of that in this first 100 days. There likely will not be any in the next two years.
O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley for us this morning. Thanks, Candy, as always -- John.
CROWLEY: John.
ROBERTS: After four years in the Massachusetts statehouse, Governor Mitt Romney is making a move today for the big house on Pennsylvania Avenue. AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian is live in Boston for us. This is not an official candidacy just yet, is it, Dan?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is not official yet, John, but today Governor Mitt Romney expected to file papers with the Federal Election Committee to form a presidential exploratory committee. That will allow him to raise and spend money.
Then this evening, he will walk down the steps here at the statehouse in a ceremony and potentially into a new political arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN (voice-over): Governor Mitt Romney's day job is about to end, but he's one step closer to getting in line for another, president of the United States.
GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: You need to put together a fund-raising network and see that you have individuals who might support you if you decided to get into it.
LOTHIAN: From New Hampshire to Iowa to South Carolina, Romney has been raising money and his profile.
RON KAUFMAN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: It's been a long time since I've seen anyone who captivates an audience in the way Governor Romney does, and I think that's going to be a big plus for him over the next couple years.
LOTHIAN: But critics say as Romney has been testing the waters, he's moved away from the more moderate gubernatorial candidate than he was four years ago. Jeff Santos is a liberal radio talk show host in Boston.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has played around with the choice and life issue.
LOTHIAN: Reporter: Romney admits he now takes a harder line against abortion than he did in his gubernatorial campaign. But he disagrees he's toughened his stance against same-sex marriage.
ROMNEY: I'm in the same position I was before.
LOTHIAN: He shared that position with evangelicals in October, during a nationally televised rally against same-sex marriage.
ROMNEY: Every child deserves a mother and a father.
LOTHIAN: A warm welcome from a key voting bloc. But political analysts say some of them may be reluctant to embrace him as a presidential candidate because he's a Mormon.
DAVID GERGEN, HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL: There are people in his own party, his own conservative base, the social conservatives and evangelical conservatives, some of whom see the Moronism as an errant deviation from the word of God.
LOTHIAN: But Romney says his faith presents an opportunity to explore common ground.
ROMNEY: I find that evangelical leaders and conservative Christians around the country respect people who share their values, and we're on the same page when it comes to values.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: By the way, a Romney aide says a formal announcement declaring his candidacy is expected to come, quote, "later" -- John.
ROBERTS: And as we saw with Evan Bayh, exploratory committees don't automatically lead to candidacies. He was in it for two weeks and then dropped out.
Dan Lothian up in Boston, thanks very much -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, the astronomical cost of cancer, not just the physical toll. Dr. Sanjay Gupta pays a house call with that story straight ahead.
And a hero's welcome for those New Orleans police officers as they turn themselves in on murder and attempted murder charges. Live report straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
ROBERTS: They have turned themselves in, but they say that there's much more to their side of the story. Seven police officers in New Orleans face charges of murder and attempted murder from that deadly shooting on the Danziger Bridge in the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina.
AMERICAN MORNING's Sean Callebs is now live for us in New Orleans from the Danziger Bridge. He's got the latest.
And, Sean, quite a show of support yesterday for these fellow from their fellow officers.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, without question. There were scores of police officers lining the streets on both sides as the Danziger Seven, as they are now know, made their way to the sheriff's office to surrender. Behind me you see the bridge, quiet now, but in the chaos right after Katrina, that's where the shootings took place. These seven charged with murder and attempted murder, and they turned themselves in in a very public fashion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CALLEBS (voice-over): Police responding to a call that an officer was down near Danziger Bridge, shot and killed Ronald Madison, a 40-year- mentally retarded person. The coroner says he was hit seven times, five in the back. Nineteen-year-old James Purcet (ph) was also killed. Police say they fired when Madison reached into his waistband. They also arrested his 50-year-old brother, Lance, alleging he tossed a gun into the canal. The case against him was dropped, and he was released. Lance Madison contends the killings were unprovoked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The story they made up, alibis to cover themselves. I didn't have no weapon at all. My brother didn't have no weapon. We were just trying to get rescued.
CALLEBS: Both shooting victims were black, and the Reverend Al Sharpton claims race is an issue. Attorneys for the defendants say that's ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four of the seven officers are black. I think Reverend Sharpton can't count or he can't see color.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: And once again, as those officers made their way to the sheriff's department, there were literally hundreds of police officers, about 200, lining both sides of the street, chanting hero and applauding as they went in. Now Lance Madison, who survived that incident -- he was not shot -- has filed a civil suit against the city. And he has an attorney now, and his attorney says in no way is this a race issue. He says this is already a very highly explosive case. And why would someone want to bring a can of gasoline to a fire. His words, John.
ROBERTS: Sean, what's the next phase in the case now for these officers?
CALLEBS: well, one has already been released on bail. The other two facing attempted murder charges, could make bail as early as today.
However, the four charged with first-degree murder are going to be arraigned on Friday. Their attorneys will push for a bond hearing at that time, but these people could be spending a long time in jail before their case makes it to court.
ROBERTS: Sean Callebs for us from the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans. Thanks, Sean. Appreciate it.
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ROBERTS: A startling new look at the high cost of cancer coming up, why the price of the treatment itself is just the beginning.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has got the details coming up next.
And no more transfat with that grande soy half-caf extra-hot mocha latte. AMERICAN MORNING coming right back.
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O'BRIEN: The toll that cancer can take on a family, it's almost hard to fathom. The price in dollars, though, can be equally high. The treatment, as it turns out, is just the beginning.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live in Atlanta with the hidden cost of cancer this morning.
Hey, Sanjay, good morning.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
That hidden cost has to do with time, how much time does it actually take to treat someone's cancer in terms of their time spent at the hospital, and doctors visits, things like that. As you mentioned, we know that it's expensive to treat cancer. There's direct medical costs involved, and the technology involved for treating cancer gets to be very expensive, billions of dollars. But also about $2.3 billion, specifically in time lost as a result of treating cancer as well. Again, these are things like getting from appointment to appointment, to waiting for treatment, waiting during treatment, test checkups, all other sort of time commitments.
Anybody who's spent a lot of time waiting for a doctor's visit knows exactly what we're talking about. Now a new study actually quantifying that, Soledad, trying to put some numbers associated with that, looking at some of the most common cancers, breaking it down by the first 12 months of treatment and the last 12 months of treatment as well. Take a look at some of these numbers. For the first 12 months of treatment, melanoma, about $271 per patient, prostate cancer, $842 dollars. Those are some of the lowest costs. Some of the highest cost are gastric cancer, $5348. And also ovarian cancer, $5600. They also broke it down by the last 12 months of cancer. This is where it gets more expensive overall. Melanoma costs jumped to about $1,500, again, per patient for the last 12 months. Now you can take a look at the numbers there, ovarian cancer, $7,300, lung cancer, $7,400. Gastric cancer, $7,700 per year, per patient in those last 12 months, and these are costs, Soledad, that people really didn't pay attention to before, not counting in the whole direct medical costs. This counts for another $2.3 billion per year in cancer costs, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Why are they crunching these numbers, Sanjay? I mean, you ask anybody who's had cancer themselves, or a family member who's had cancer and they will tell you, it's devastating psychologically, it's devastating financially to a family. You know, it's tough all over. So why are they doing the math on this?
GUPTA: Well, you know, I think that there's a lot more emphasis over the last several months on how we are going to start winning the war on cancer. We've declared war on cancer over 30 years ago, and we're really finding out specific interventions where we can make a difference seems to be where everyone's headed. So whether it comes to making the process more seamless for patients, creating multidisciplinary clinics so that they don't have to go from appointment to appointment. They can get all their care in one place. But also figuring out where they can cut some costs.
Overall, to take care of cancer's direct medical costs, is about $72 billion a year. That's a huge, huge chunk of the health care budget; $2.3 billion might not seem like a lot of money in that scheme, but you've got to start making differences in small ways. And I think that from a pure public policy standpoint, you're going to start hearing a lot more about numbers like this for cancer and for other disease processes as well.
O'BRIEN: Sanjay Gupta for us this morning. Thanks, Sanjay, as always.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Pushing the plan: President Bush is looking for bipartisan support for his new agenda in Iraq, and he's going right around the incoming Congress to up the pressure. Live reports coming up next hour.
And how much is too little? The Supreme Court's chief justice joins the battle over what to pay federal judges, when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
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