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President Bush's New Plan; Somalia Air Strike; Why We Fight; Gerri's Top Tips
Aired January 10, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush lays out his new Iraq strategy tonight. A preview of the speech and CNN's prime time coverage.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: He's on the FBI's list of 10 most wanted terrorists. A Somali official says this al Qaeda suspect was killed in a U.S. air strike in east Africa.
HARRIS: Politician overexposed. A possible presidential candidate making a splash in a swimsuit on this Wednesday, January 10th. You are in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Coming to your living room, the president unveils his new Iraq plan tonight in a prime time address. It includes major changes and faces many challenges. To explain now, CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): President Bush's new Iraq plan includes two big differences from previous failed attempts to secure Baghdad. Sources familiar with the strategy say Iraq's prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, has made a personal commitment to President Bush that it will soon flood Baghdad with more Iraqi troops to join the added U.S. forces. The first wave of which would go into Iraq by the end of January.
And Maliki personally assured the president that the rules of engagement for Iraqi troops have changed. That they will take on the militia of the powerful Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, something Maliki had been loathed to do. Mr. Bush is said to be confident and optimistic.
But not everyone is convinced. Sources familiar with the administration's deliberations say there is real concern inside the office of the Joint Chiefs and doubt that this strategy makes sense or is adequate.
Inside the Pentagon, another source describes the mood as anxious and nervous. Like taking a deep breath before you take that roller coaster ride. Many are quietly questioning whether Maliki is up for the task.
Those familiar with the plan stress that while the military component of a phased increase of 20,000 U.S. troops is an important piece, it is not the most important. Also key will be political progress toward ending the sectarian violence.
While the plan will not include a checklist for Iraq's government, which sources say would be considered humiliating to Maliki, it will outline critical milestones the Iraqi must meet. Including making changes to its constitution, reversing its policy of isolating Saddam loyalists, moving toward national reconciliation and finalizing a formula to share oil profits among various Iraqi factions.
The plan will include an economic package, featuring a billion dollar jobs program aimed at getting Iraqis back to work and away from militias and insurgent movements. There will also be twice as many State Department official in Iraq to coordinate reconstruction projects with Iraqi companies.
Sources say the president's thinking is that these components will show Maliki that the U.S. is seriously committed to Iraq's success and that it's Maliki's best chance at achieving it. We're also told the president will go so far as to say that the goal is for Iraqis to be in charge of the security of their own country by November of this year.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Iraqis will no doubt pay close attention to what the president has to say this evening as he outlines his new plan for their country. Our Ryan Chilcote joins us live from the Iraqi capital.
And, Ryan, White House Counselor Dan Bartlett says President Bush's plan is in support of an Iraqi initiative. The first time I believe I've heard it characterized that way. Is that what you are hearing on the ground there in Baghdad?
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, that's certainly not what we're hearing. I've been talking to a senior Iraqi military commander for about a week now who has been outlining the security component of the U.S.'s strategy for Iraq. He describes this initiative as a joint initiative. And I think that that's understandable. Keep in mind, as this Iraqi official has been outlining it to me, that this new plan would involve U.S. troops acting in a much more -- operating in a much more active role in the fighting than the support role that they have had in the past.
Tony.
HARRIS: So what explains, in your mind, the shift here in language from the president's plan moving forward, to a joint plan moving forward, to now this idea that it is an Iraqi initiative that is being supported by the U.S.?
CHILCOTE: That's a good question. I think that that might be part of an effort to put an Iraqi face on this initiative. It was announced first by the Iraqi prime minister this weekend. And clearly there is some Iraqi initiative in this because the new plan, as the Iraqi officials are describing it, would see that the Iraqi government is -- would presume that the Iraqi government is ready to go after the militia. Something that they haven't been ready to do in the past. So there is an Iraqi initiative here, but the U.S. military is not going to commit troops to fighting in the Iraq capital and other places in Iraq without jointly working out those plans. The idea is a little bit ludicrous, actually.
Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
Ryan, there are reports of more U.S. casualty in Iraq. What can you tell us about that?
CHILCOTE: The U.S. military reporting the deaths of two more servicemen. Both of them soldiers who were killed -- died of wounds sustained in combat yesterday in the al Anbar province. That's out in the west of Iraq. Underscoring, I think, really, that there are still two geographic fronts in this war. You have the al Anbar province where you have mostly Marines and also some soldiers fighting a mostly Sunni-based insurgency and then you have the Iraqi capitol, which U.S. and Iraqi military commanders are increasingly describing as the center of gravity in the new strategy to win back the peace here in Iraq.
Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Ryan Chilcote for us in Baghdad.
Ryan, thank you.
COLLINS: Here's a look at President Bush's Iraq plan now by the numbers. Sources tell us the plan will include about $1 billion to pump into Iraq's economy. Much of that for jobs and economic aid. That price tag would not include the cost of U.S. troops, weapons or supplies. After nearly four years, the U.S. has spent an estimated $400 billion on the war.
HARRIS: The president's plan under the microscope and in the NEWSROOM. Today, the preview. Tomorrow, the scrutiny. CNN is the best place to be. Our extensive prime time coverage gets underway at 7:00 Eastern with a special edition of "The Situation Room." Then, at 9:00, the president's speech. Then the reaction. A special edition of "Larry King Live" follows at 9:30 Eastern. Then Anderson Cooper takes the reins. CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Now we have heard from critics. We will hear from the president. Now we want to hear from you. Great e-mails last hour. Let's keep it going. What do you want to hear from the president tonight? E-mail us your thoughts, cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. We will share some of your thoughts later this hour.
COLLINS: In Somalia, reports the U.S. hit a bull's eye in the war on terror. Somali officials say a U.S.-led air strike took out a senior al Qaeda suspect. On the ground today, reports of more fighting. Ethiopian and Somali troops against Islamic fighters. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is in Nairobi, Kenya.
Barbara, tell us, what role is the U.S. playing in Somalia now?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, that is the question out here in the horn of Africa that really no one has quite yet officially answered. For example, as you say, the Somalis are saying that the United States has told them that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed has been killed in that air strike, but the Bush administration not yet confirming that. So the question is perhaps, as President Bush begins to speak to the American people about the war in Iraq, are U.S. troops now suddenly involved in a war here in Africa?
It's hard to tell. But there is a U.S. naval armada, an aircraft carrier, four U.S. Navy warships off the coast of Somalia. And senior U.S. military officials now tell us those ships are going to stay. They are going to chase down al Qaeda suspect trying to flee from Somalia and they will be in this region now for some time.
There are a lot of rumors, but U.S. officials say they can confirm no details except the first strike of the C-130 a few days ago. But they also say, they do expect more U.S. military action. Kenyan police here in this country say that they have rounded up 11 suspects that were trying to cross the border into this country from Somalia.
So there's a lot of tension here and a lot of questions, Heidi, about whether the U.S., with is 1,800 troops now already in the horn of Africa as part of an anti-terrorism tasks for, are they suddenly involved in this? And the ultimate question, are there already U.S. commandos, a small number, on the ground inside Somalia providing targeting information and intelligence for any future military operations?
Heidi.
COLLINS: And, Barbara, a few more questions too. I'm just wondering. I'm looking at some reports that we had yesterday and then some new ones today. Yesterday I believe we were hear that the Somalia president said that the U.S. was right to launch these attacks against these suspected al Qaeda members. And then now today seeing some reporting, very different from that, suggesting the idea that there's a rekindling of this anger between Somalia and the U.S. Which is it?
STARR: Well, I'm going to admit right off the top, I'm having a little trouble hearing you. We're a long distance away. I think you're asking me about some of the reaction.
The Somali government, the new government, just very fragile, just in power a couple of weeks now, wants U.S. assistance. So everything that they are saying officially out of Mogadishu clearly is aimed, it must be understood, at gaining U.S. assistance and U.S. aid.
Mogadishu, however, continues to be racked by violence, gunfire, running battles in the streets between the troops and the warlords and the clans that have ruled there for so long. That is something that the United States is well aware of. So there is a feeling here that they want to do everything they can to support the Somali government, but they need to see that government take power and really try and govern their country.
It may all come to a head in the next couple weeks, Heidi, because the Ethiopian forces, which have been providing security in Somalia, are about to leave and go back home. African peacekeepers may be coming in, but many African nations have not yet made the commitment. That's putting the Bush administration in the bull's eye. Will they send in troops? Every indication is they will not. There will be no U.S. peacekeeper in Somalia. But, in fact, U.S. intelligence is behind the scenes working very closely with what is going on, on the ground, trying to track these al Qaeda operatives. That is the U.S. goal there.
COLLINS: All right. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr in Nairobi today.
Barbara, thank you.
HARRIS: Visions of victory. Leading people into battle. But is it enough to carry the country through a long drawn-out war?
COLLINS: Also, they sling hash all day. The Democrats say, give them more pay. A minimum wage increase on the table.
HARRIS: Plus, your truck catches fire at a gas station. Rule number one, don't get back inside. Hot wheels straight ahead.
COLLINS: And a politician's position makes the papers and voters react.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A little flabby, I'm sorry to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks gorgeous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Obama in a swimsuit, ahead in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The president's plan under the microscope and in the NEWSROOM. Today, the preview, tomorrow the scrutiny. CNN is the place to be. Our extensive prime time coverage gets underway at 7:00 Eastern with a special edition of "The Situation Room." Then at 9:00, you will hear the president's speech. And then the reaction. A special edition of "Larry King Live" follows at 9:30 Eastern. Then Anderson Cooper takes the reins. CNN, the most trusted name in news.
HARRIS: Why we fight. A new look now at the science behind wars and why many believe they'll be quick but not dirty. CNN's Tom Foreman takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In the beginning, one view held that the war would be long, difficult and require many troops to win.
GEN. ERIC SHINSEKI, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers are probably, you know, a figure that would be required.
FOREMAN: But this was another view.
PAUL WOLFOWITZ, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We can say with reasonable confidence that the notion of hundreds of thousands of American troops is way off the mark.
FOREMAN: In terms of policy, the second view that the war would be relatively easy and quick was embraced. Why? Maybe because humans naturally lean toward conflict and think they will win. That's the suggestion of a new paper co-authored by Noble laureate and professor of psychology Daniel Kahneman.
DANIEL KAHNEMAN, PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: If the leader gets advice from hawks and from doves, most of us would be predisposed to find the hawk more persuasive than the dove.
FOREMAN: Just the general population as well.
KAHNEMAN: The general population.
FOREMAN: Blame it on human biases, shared by all races, ages and nationalities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you live under a rock?
FOREMAN: For example, most of us think we are smarter, more skilled and more fair-minded than average. So anyone who opposes us is seen as unreasonably hostile.
KAHNEMAN: Whereas, in fact, their hostility could be a reaction to what you're doing or it could be a reaction to internal politics. It doesn't have to be deep or permanent, but we tend to exaggerate the permanence of the hostility on the other side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big guns go into action.
FOREMAN: In any conflict, humans generally think their side will win. Before World War I, leader in both France and Germany predicted victory within weeks.
KAHNEMAN: The war took four years, 20 million dead.
FOREMAN: Both sides were hugely unrealistic.
KAHNEMAN: And both sides also, when the war started, each side thought that the other was more hostile than they were.
FOREMAN: And even with only a slim chance of winning, humans will almost always fight toward victory tomorrow rather than accept loss today.
KAHNEMAN: And so wars are very easy to begin and hard to end.
FOREMAN: Kahneman says his paper is not about Iraq, but it is about forces deep within all of us. Forces that even now may be pushing us toward the next war.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Great e-mails so far.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: A wide range of views and opinions. Let's start, the question, what would you like to hear from President Bush tonight.
Chad writes, "I would like President Bush to announce the additional troop number that he plans to send to Afghanistan. Remember, the other war we never finished?"
COLLINS: And then from Laura in Alabama. "What I would like to hear from President Bush tonight is that there will be no more troops and do a phase out to bring the soldiers home by the end of this year. I supported him in the beginning when my husband went to Iraq 2003- 2004 for 16 months, but I see no improvements and the money just seems to be wasted for nothing. I think the Iraqi people have to want their freedom and have to fight for it, like we did in years past."
HARRIS: How about this from Curt. Listen to this. "I want to hear President Bush tonight say we will use overwhelming force to win a victory over the insurgents, and that we will use as many troops as required, and whatever weapons are needed. If that ultimately means a million troops and battlefield nuclear weapons, so be it. If you look back at prior polls, Americans supported the war as long as it appeared we were winning."
Wow! So continue to send along those e-mails and we will get to more of them as soon as we can squeeze out more time to do that.
COLLINS: And stay in the NEWSROOM because have more coverage on Iraq this morning. The president plans, the experts ponder the views from different perspective. One, a former diplomat. The other, a policy expert. That will be coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Also, a politician shuts his business suit for the Hawaiian surf. A possible presidential contender making waves in the NEWSROOM.
And Gerri Willis is with us this morning.
Gerri, help us out. What are you giving us "Top Tips" on this morning?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a new year. That means it's time to clean house. And I'm not talking about your home. I'm talking about your retirement portfolio. My "Top Tips" are next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Back to the New York Stock Exchange now. Looking at the big board today. Looks like the Dow Jones Industrial Average down about 20 points at the current time. And 12,396, resting at, as you know. So we will continue to watch this. One of the headlines out there today, U.S. Airlines saying its raised its bid now for Delta. Talking about a takeover, merger, however you want to word that.
HARRIS: Yes, takeover.
COLLINS: The value, though, of that deal, $10.2 billion. So we continue to watch that one as always.
HARRIS: All right. Gerri Willis is joining us now with "Top Tips" for the day.
And, Gerri, I love what we've been doing so far this year, is just giving folks advice to get themselves set up for the remainder of the year. Talk to us about looking at our portfolio and our retirement plans. This is a great time to do that.
WILLIS: Absolutely. You got to get that blueprint. In other words, your first move is to see how you're fairing in light of your retirement goals. Are you on track? There are great tools on the web to help you crunch these numbers. Go to finance.cch.com, aarp.com and choosetosave.org, because, Tony, at the end of the day, you need to know how you're doing compared to how much money you're going to need when you retire.
HARRIS: How you're doing. Is this an opportunity where we can actually trim some fat and move some stuff around that's not performing well for us?
WILLIS: It's the time of year to do that. The whole purpose of rebalancing is to get your portfolio's allocation back to your original allocation. And this year, Tony, if you had a lot of real estate, small cap or merging market mutual funds in your portfolio, hey, the chances are you're doing to have to trim those positions. And experts out there are saying that blue chip companies and large international holdings could be set for a rebound. So if you're looking for a place to stash some money, there are a couple of ideas right there.
HARRIS: But, Gerri, I want to be careful here. I don't want to aggravate the tax man.
WILLIS: No, you sure don't. And you want to avoid taxes as much as you can and do it legally. Make sure you're not going to be penalized by the tax man for rebalancing. You can be. Remember, you'll have to pay capital gains taxes if you sell some holdings and buy others in a taxable account. Look at your 401(k) and a regular taxable account, if you have one, as just a giant retirement account for allocation purposes. And then make any changes in your 401(k) so you don't have to worry about taxes.
HARRIS: Hey, would this be a good time to take a look at what we've been doing in terms of charitable giving and maybe, if it makes sense, figure out a way to give more?
WILLIS: Well, you want to put more away. The biggest charity should be you right now. You should also think about putting more money toward retirement. Here's a look at where you can sock more money away this year because the laws are changing. Investors can put as much as $4,000 into their IRAs. If you're over 50, you can add $1,000 on top of that. Contributions limits to 401(k)s have also gone up. In 2007, workers can contribute up to $15,500. And for those over 50, even more, $20,500 this year. So it's a great thing to keep in the back of your mind. Those limits are rising. It's going to help you meet your goals.
HARRIS: Give to others, but be sure to give to yourself first, correct?
WILLIS: Right. Exactly. Well, you know, look, it's your retirement and you're going to have to fund it, right?
HARRIS: Absolutely.
Watch for management shifts. What do you mean with this bit of advice?
WILLIS: This is a little inside baseball. If you own mutual funds, you want to pay attention to change, particularly any management shifts in the coverage of those funds. If a manager with experience say in small cap funds or concentrated portfolios is suddenly managing a large cap fund, this should raise red flags for you. You want to call the fund for information. You can also check out what analysts have to say about those managers at morningstar.com. Great website.
And, Tony, I want to remind your very smart viewers, send us your questions or your tips, even, if you've got good advice, to toptips@cnn.com and we answer them right here every Friday morning and we love to hear from you.
HARRIS: Gerri, great to see you. Have a great day. See you tomorrow.
WILLIS: Great to see you.
COLLINS: Putting a price on paradise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won't be on the ocean, but I can still access the ocean. And have a half a million dollar in my pocket. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Interesting. But is it enough to give up a little corner of heaven? Talk about that coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.
And an NFL lineman calls it the hardest hit he's ever taken. Not a tackle, but a Taser. Now the case is raising questions of racism, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Months in the making and already under fire. President Bush unveils his new Iraq plan in a prime time television address tonight. Democrats are already planning to challenge the new strategy.
Sources say the plan calls for sending 20,000 more U.S. troops to Iraq. A U.S. official says the first deployments would begin at the end of this month. We are told the goal is for Iraqi forces to take control of security throughout the country by November.
U.S. troop would remain to support the Iraqi forces. Sources say the plan also calls for about $1 billion in new economic aid to Iraq. That's on top of the more than $30 billion already committed.
CNN's special coverage of the president's speech begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern with comprehensive coverage before and after the address.
COLLINS: Some Democrats call it an escalation. Many oppose the president's plan to send more U.S. troops to Iraq. One leading Democrat is demanding Congress approve any troop increases.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Let the American people hear, yes or no, where their elected representatives stand on one of the greatest challenges of our time. Iraq is George Bush's Vietnam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Congressional correspondent Dana Bash joining us now live from Capitol Hill. Dana, does Senator Kennedy's position represent the majority of Democrats?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what Senator Kennedy is saying is in general what almost all Democrats believe, and that is that an increase in troops and troop level in Iraq is the wrong way to go.
You have heard over and over they have used the term escalation. That is not by accident. That is certainly by design because they think that is the best way to describe from their perspective what the president is planning on doing. But what Senator Kennedy is proposing in terms of legislation is having a vote before any new troops, before any new dollars are devoted to the Iraq mission, that the Congress should first approve it. That is not something that has a majority or at least widespread support among the Democratic caucus.
And you know it's really interesting to watch, Heidi, the Democrats are, you know, in one sense they're sort of divided over it but are really wrestling with what exactly they are supposed to and going to do with this new power that they won.
They say over and over again that the November elections gave them a mandate when it comes to the Iraq war. But because the president is giving this major address tonight so soon after they took control they really have been forced to try to figure out how they're going to use that power very quickly.
What we do know is that Senator Harry Reid has said that he is going to do something short of the hard-hitting proposal that Senator Kennedy set forth yesterday and what the Senate is just talking about maybe as early next week, maybe the week after, is the sense of the Senate resolution, a non-binding resolution just to make clear to put the Senate on record that from the Democrats' point of view, maybe even some Republicans, that there is disappointment and disapproval with what the president is going to do.
We also know on the House side that Democrats are planning some kind of vote there in the near future as well.
COLLINS: Dana, do we know what the Republicans, majority of the Republicans are saying about the plan?
BASH: That is really another interesting dynamic here. Over the past three plus years since the war has begun, the president has had a firewall of Republican support here on Capitol Hill. Not anymore. Especially because of the Republican elections.
One of the most vocal new critics of the Iraq war is Senator Gordon Smith. I spoke with him yesterday and asked him specifically about Senator Kennedy's idea of a reauthorize of sorts. He said he thought it was a good idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. GORDON SMITH (R), OREGON: The more that Congress can be involved in the decision making the better. And that's what the American people are asking for. They're going to hold us accountable, then let's have the tools of accountability so we can be held responsible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Now, to be clear, Republican leaders, some are saying it's important not to what they call micromanage the war. Others are at least -- most are actually keeping their powder dry to wait and see what the president really has to say tonight. But, Senator Smith told us he thinks there are at least a dozen Senate Republican who agree with him that the president plan to send more troops is wrong and that is going to be really the main differences in the dynamic here on Capitol Hill, is that Republicans have really -- had been lock-stepped behind the president. But since they got the same message Democrats got in the November election, it's not going to be the same anymore.
COLLINS: We will continue to watch for that reaction after 9:00 tonight. Dana Bash live. Thanks, Dana.
HARRIS: Well, the House back on the clock today. The second day of the Democrats' first 100 hours agenda. Today raising the minimum wage.
CNN congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel is keeping watch on Capitol Hill. And Andrea, how soon before we get some action on this minimum wage issue? Good morning.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Tony. Well, today as you know, one day down and we've got five issues to go, when they get back into session here about 93 of those 100 hours will be on the clock.
Over the next couple of weeks, Democrats devoting one day to a number of key campaign promises that they made. As you mentioned, today on the docket is minimum wage. For the first time in a decade, boosting the minimum wage from $5.15, up a couple of bucks to $7.25. They would do so over the next couple of years.
According to the chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee. California Congressman George Miller who spoke to CNN a short time ago, it is a move long overdue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GEORGE MILLER (D), CALIFORNIA: The minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour for the last ten years. For those people who have some of the most difficult jobs in America who work very hard at the end of the year they end up poor.
And yet the cost of gasoline has gone up, the cost of electricity has gone up, the cost of their kid's education has gone up, the cost of their rent, everything has gone up over ten years. And it's just compelling that these people should get a raise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Now, just as the remaining 9/11 commission recommendations sailed through the House last night, Tony, the same is expected to happen today over the objections of some Republicans who say that if you want to raise the federal minimum wage you need to offer small businesses a tax cut. That is something that House Democrats do not support though -- Tony.
HARRIS: What's going to happen when this minimum wage bill makes it to the Senate?
KOPPEL: Well, that's expected to happen. In fact, debate could happen as soon as next week. We're hearing from Senate Democrats, as you know, their majority over there is much slimmer than here in the House. They only have a one seat majority. They need 60, at least 60 senators, to support any bill. As a result they think they may have to work out some kind of compromise over the tax cuts for small businesses -- Tony.
HARRIS: Congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel for us. Andrea, thank you.
COLLINS: Doing time on your dime, congressional felons keep cashing their pension checks. Why reform failed before. Will it succeed now?
And remember Barbaro, the racing horse who most everyone thought would take it all? After he shattered his leg in the Preakness, the crowd gasped, his owners cried. Now reports his good progress and feeling has hit a snag. We'll give you the latest in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Also, your truck catches fire at a gas station, OK. Rule number one -- don't get back inside. Hot wheels, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS OK. So if a fire breaks out while you're filling up your vehicle, you would run away, right? OK. A man in Michigan did not exactly do that, as you can see from this video. He gets out and starts walking away. OK, that's fine. But after a while he turns around and heads back toward the truck.
What we don't see is that he actually got back into the vehicle and tried to save it. The station owner hit the emergency shut-off button, killing the flames before they could spread to the 40,000 gallons of gasoline underground. Hello. The driver suffered a few burns, but is otherwise OK. Authorities are still trying to determine the exact cause of the fire.
COLLINS: Holy cow.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
COLLINS: Putting a price on paradise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the ocean, but I can still access the ocean, and have a half a million dollar in my pocket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Is it enough, though, to give up a little corner of Heaven? That's ahead in the NEWSROOM. HARRIS: An NFL linemen calls it the hardest hit he's ever taken. Not a tackle, but a Taser. Now questions of racism, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A routine traffic stop gets a man tased. So today there are questions about discrimination.
CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a November afternoon a 6'4'' black male weighing more than 300 pounds was pulled over on a Houston highway for failing to use his signal to change lanes.
Police say, the driver became verbally combative, and then made a threatening move toward the officers, so one officer tasered him. He dropped to the ground. The driver turned out to be Fred Weary, a lineman on the Houston Texans football team.
CHARLES DAVIDSON, ATTORNEY FOR FRED WEARY: I think the police, these two officers, drew the completely wrong impression and decided they were going to stop with this guy and they were going to jack with him.
LAVANDERA: Weary's attorney says he's left wondering if race played a role in the altercation.
Weary was charged with resisting arrest, but a judge dismissed the charges. The case has triggered a high-profile controversy, raising questions about whether Houston police officers are unfairly using the Taser weapon against African-American suspects.
(on camera): According to the department's statistics, in the last two years, 63 percent of all suspects Tased by Houston police officers were African-American. But that number represents less than 1 percent of the total number of arrests made during that time.
(voice-over): The mayor is asking for an independent review of how the department uses the weapon. Until the report is complete, City Councilwoman Ada Edwards is calling for a moratorium on the use of Tasers.
(on camera): When you look at those statistics, someone who might say, oh, maybe it's just a coincidence, you don't see that?
ADA EDWARDS, HOUSTON, TEXAS, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: I don't think that -- if it was 60 percent white males in that age group, I don't think that it would be looked at as a coincidence. I think people would at least like to know why.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Police Chief Harold Hurtt says race does not play a factor in Taser incident. He says that because disenfranchised minorities are more likely to interact with police, that that explains why more African-Americans have been Tasered. Fifty percent of all suspects arrested by Houston police in the last two years were black.
HAROLD HURTT, HOUSTON, TEXAS, POLICE CHIEF: We're not indiscriminately going out, selecting individuals, and Taser them. We are, in most cases, 60 percent of the cases that we use them against African-American males, or black males, as a result of calls from people in the community or their own family.
LAVANDERA: Supporters of the Taser even suggest that the weapon has saved lives.
Houston City Councilman Adrian Garcia worked as a police officer for 24 years. He says, since the Taser was employed on the force, there have been 40 cases where police officers could have used their gun, but instead used the Taser.
ADRIAN GARCIA, HOUSTON, TEXAS, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: The Taser, I had understood it, would be a alternative to a firearm, that it would be a device that could be used to prevent a physical confrontation from escalating into a deadly-force confrontation.
LAVANDERA: Officers stunned Fred Weary with two Taser shots. Houston police say the officers acted properly. But Weary says the Taser shot numbed half his body, and that was more painful than anything he's ever experienced on the football field.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Houston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: New Iraq strategy, President Bush spells it out tonight. Live from the White House. Today in the NEWSROOM, what you need to know about the plan and more of CNN's extensive coverage of the presidential address straight ahead.
COLLINS: A politician's position makes the papers. Voters react.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A little flabby, I'm sorry to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks gorgeous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Obama in a swimsuit, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Senator Barack Obama doesn't really want your attention, at least while he's wearing a swimsuit. Fat chance. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sorry, but we refuse to obey the headline, quote, "Stop looking at it."
It being Barack Obama in a swimsuit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A little flabby, I'm sorry to say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks gorgeous.
MOOS: There he is in a two-page spread in "People" entitled "Beach Babes". The babes range from Jessica Alba in a bikini to actor Hugh Jackman with his six-pack abs.
The senator's inclusion led to this "Washington Post" headline: "The Honorable Beach Babe from Illinois.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would vote for her, to be honest with you.
MOOS: That would be Penelope Cruz.
How did a possible presidential candidate get mixed in with the beach babes? In the words of Senator Obama himself: "It's, uh, paparazzi... Stop looking at it!"
"It's embarrassing," he told the "Washington Post".
The pictures were taken while the senator was vacationing in Hawaii. Watery shots can come back to drown a politician.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry, which ever way the wind blows.
MOOS: The first President Bush wasn't afraid to take off his shirt and dive in.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's wonderful!
MOOS: But George W. Bush was smart enough to know what not to wear at a summit in Cancun.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No Speedo suit here. Thankfully.
MOOS: This image of Arnold Schwarzenegger ricocheted around the web, temporarily terminating his pumping iron image.
Even the woman running president of France got nabbed in her bikini. Segolene Royal weathered the exposure well.
But when LBJ revealed his surgical scar, it left a mental scar on many.
As for Obama:
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has rolls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rolls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks pretty good to me.
MOOS: She left, then came back to add:
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He doesn't look so good that he's spending all his time working out. He's probably paying more attention to policy matters.
MOOS: Obama is known for working out at a Chicago club. A columnist who happened to run into him in the locker room memorably said, "Obama doesn't have enough fat on his body to make a butter pat."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to see Ted Kennedy in the same pose.
MOOS: And then there's the shot of the Clintons dancing on the beach that ended up on the front page. Boy, did they look white as ghosts.
Funny how a guy who looks a little like he's swimming in his business suits looks not so skinny when he's actually swimming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Buy big, look small. Buy big, look small. That's what I say.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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