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American Morning
Debate Redefined; U.S./Iran Talks: Iraq Security on Agenda; Fallout From Exposed Security Breach at Phoenix Airport
Aired July 24, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Debate redefined.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you allow us to be married?
CHETRY: YouTube brings ordinary Americans on stage to question the Democrats for president.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do I personally support gay marriage? The honest answer to that is I don't.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D-NM), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe we should bring all of the troops home by the end of this year, in six months.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to set a timeline to begin bringing our troops home now.
CHETRY: This morning, instant analysis of the answers and one- on-one conversations with the candidates.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought it turned out really well. And I thought -- you know, and it just goes to show you, our citizens are engaged in this process like never before.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: We got a lot of dancing, but, you know, that's part of the deal.
CHETRY: The YouTube debate and how it could reshape the race for president on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And welcome. It's Tuesday, July 24th.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you.
I'm John Roberts, in Charleston, South Carolina, where it's the day after the CNN/YouTube debate.
The one thing that's on everybody's mind this morning is, how did the candidates do? It was nationwide town hall politics with a 21st century twist, and it definitely put the Democratic presidential candidates on the spot.
How did they respond?
CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins me now live with a wrap-up.
Good morning, Candy.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
You know, this was a debate that looked different and it felt different. The questions were pointed, and sometimes the answers were, too.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice over): No open warfare, but the two leading Democratic contenders circled each other time and again. Obama on Clinton's call for a Pentagon plan for withdrawal from Iraq...
OBAMA: The time for us to ask how we were going to get out of Iraq was before we went in, and that is something that too many of us failed to do.
CROWLEY: Clinton, after Obama said he would meet with the leaders of countries like Cuba and Iran in the first year of his presidency...
CLINTON: Because I think that it is not that you promise a meeting at that high a level before you know what the intentions are. I don't want to be used for propaganda purposes.
CROWLEY: It was a debate that covered the waterfront with questions from a mother with a son headed for a second tour of Iraq, aide workers in a refugee camp near Darfur, and a same-sex couple looking to get married.
Hoping for a little traction out of his third place position, John Edwards repeatedly returned to populist themes.
EDWARDS: Big insurance companies, big drug companies, big oil companies, they are not going to negotiate. They are not going give away their power. The only way that they're going to give away their power is if we take it away from them.
CROWLEY: Gender, race, taxes, education, even a melting snowman asking about global warming. The debate was often humorous and more often passionate.
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's get those troops home, and let's take a stand and do it now.
CROWLEY: The questions were fearless and pointed, the answers sometimes blunt.
Does gender matter? CLINTON: I believe that there isn't much doubt in anyone's mind that I can be taken seriously.
CROWLEY: Is Barack Obama "authentically black enough?"
OBAMA: When I'm catching a cab in Manhattan in the past, I think I've given my credentials.
CROWLEY: There were no obvious stumbles, and more than a couple of strong performances. But in the end, the stars of the night may have been the people with the questions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: And you know, John, if you like this one, we have got more of the same in September, when the Republicans get their chance to face these voters.
ROBERTS: So here is the question that I have. The numbers seem really solid. Hillary with a double-digit lead, followed by Obama, followed by Edwards nationally, and then the rest of them sort of come after that.
Are these debates doing anything to move those numbers?
CROWLEY: You know, I think the debates are a cumulative effect. I think at the end you look back and say this was a pivotal moment.
But you're right. I mean, at this point, with no one making a big mistake, no one really having such a breakout performance that you come in and go clearly, you know, X won or clearly Y lost, I think it's very hard to shake up the debate. Having said that, we know from looking at the polls, John, that they're soft numbers, that people still say, I could change my mind, and these debates change their minds sometimes.
ROBERTS: Well, it's still forever until the primaries, as well.
CROWLEY: Right, exactly.
ROBERTS: Candy, thanks very much.
And don't forget, that second debate with the Republicans is coming up on September the 17th. You've got all summer to dream up a question and submit it to YouTube. And make sure that you do that. We had 3,000 questions to choose from this debate. Let's see if we can't double that by the time September rolls around.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, it will be really neat to see what they pick for the next time.
Thanks, John.
Well, the U.S. and Iran holding ambassador-level talks now in Baghdad. Envoys are discussing the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. This is the second meeting between America and Iran since they broke a 27-year-old diplomatic standoff back in May.
CNN State Department Correspondent Zain Verjee is in Washington with more on this.
They may have broken that 27-year-old standoff, but whether or not any progress is actually being made through these talks is the big question this morning, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.
Yes, that's exactly right. Iran and the U.S. sitting face to face in Baghdad. There was really only one topic, we understand, Iraq security.
Now, Iraqi officials themselves were at the meeting as well. We want to show you some pictures from the meeting and what they show.
Basically, the three sides sitting in a conference room with long tables covered in a white cloth and arranged, actually, in a triangular fashion. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki kicked off the meeting with a speech saying, "We wish your support in the stability in Iraq. We don't want to see Iraq interfering in the affairs of others, nor do we want anyone to interfere in its internal affairs."
Kiran, there are also reports quoting an Iraqi official sitting in that room that the U.S. and Iranian ambassadors were actually involved in a pretty heated exchange early on in the talks, with the U.S. accusing Iran of giving Shia militants training and weapons that kill U.S. troops, and the Iranians saying, well, the U.S. has no proof.
This was the second meeting between the two sides. The U.S. has said that Iran's behavior in Iraq has actually gotten worse since they had the last meeting back in May and says that it wants results this time. Though, Kiran, it's really not very optimistic.
CHETRY: Reporting from the State Department this morning, Zain Verjee.
Thank you.
ROBERTS: New this morning, President Bush speaks in Charleston, South Carolina, today. He is expected to say that the troop buildup needs more time to work in Iraq, and he is expected to talk about the link between al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in Iraq, making the case for the position that Iraq is the central front for the war on terror.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledging more funds to tackle some of Britain's worst flooding in nearly 60 years. Rivers are still rising today, and some are on the verge of overflowing their banks. Entire towns are under water.
Hundreds of thousands of people have no drinking water, but there is one little slice of good news this morning. Efforts to save a power substation, apparently, have been successful. The station serves some 500,000 people.
The NFL and the Atlanta Falcons management may speak publicly today about the future of Michael Vick. For the time being, the NFL has ordered the Falcons quarterback to stay away from training camp while the league reviews the federal dogfighting charges against him. Vick is due in court on Thursday, the same day the Falcons report to camp.
CHETRY: All right. Well, here are some of the other important story we're following for you this morning with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents.
An update first on a story that we brought you yesterday on AMERICAN MORNING. Fallout after a major security breach was exposed at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Alina cho has been watching this one for us from our New York City newsroom.
Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Good morning.
The most significant change, at least for now, is that effective immediately, the TSA will begin screening all employees of Sky Harbor airport 24/7. Now, this follows a startling report by CNN affiliate KNXV. You'll recall that we told you about it yesterday.
A hidden camera investigation found during the overnight hours, between midnight and 4:30 a.m., a security checkpoint at the airport was staffed by private security guards, not the TSA. And this is happening at about 20 airports across the country.
Now, dozens of workers were seen in the video simply showing a badge. They were waved through, bags unchecked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIP HAWLEY, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: You can't tell from looking at the tape whether there was a violation or not, and that is something that we'll figure out. But it raises a question and we wanted to answer the question right away and say, look, we are going to now screen 24/7, and we'll sort out what exactly you saw.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: The TSA responded yesterday by saying the workers never have to go through security no matter what time it is. They say that's because the workers have already been thoroughly vetted by the FBI with background checks dating back 10 years. But this report has certainly called into question that policy. Some have called it a security loophole.
So, in Phoenix, the TSA is thoroughly reviewing all security procedures now. And Kiran, the federal security director at that airport is now on administrative leave. CHETRY: Very interesting. All right.
Alina Cho, thanks so much.
Now to Rob Marciano. He has an update on that tornado warning in Florida.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: There's a new study that's getting a lot of attention this morning. It links soda, even diet soda, to heart disease.
Elizabeth Cohen has been looking into it for us.
You know, you think you're doing something good if you drink the diet instead of the regular with all of the sugar.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, exactly. That is what people think. But indeed, it's a -- this study is so interesting. If you drink lots of soda, you need to listen.
What they found is that people who drink soda -- and really not all that much soda -- had a higher chance of having insulin problems, high blood pressure, a lot of fat accumulating around their waist. And so how much soda were these people drinking? Just one glass or more a day. Really, that's not all that much.
Now, you mentioned it was diet or regular, it didn't matter. That's -- even the people who did the study say they don't completely get that. What they think is that perhaps just all that sweetness makes you crave sweets.
Well, the Beverage Association, they are not buying it. They say this study defies common sense -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
John.
ROBERTS: New rules in a new age. Internet-savvy voters challenged Democratic presidential hopefuls last night during the two- hour CNN/YouTube debate. We're going to speak with a couple of people who posed those questions next, here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Scandal in the New York governor's office topping your "Quick Hits" now.
Aides to Governor Eliot Spitzer are accused of improperly using state police to dig up political dirt on the powerful state senate majority leader. Spitzer ran for office last year saying that he would bring a new ethical climate to state politics.
Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan gets arrested in the Capitol. Sheehan and her supporters refused to leave the office of House Judiciary chairman John Conyers after demanding the impeachment of President Bush. Sheehan says she will challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the next election because of her "failure to impeach."
And a man caught up in some controversy for selling anti-Bush buttons that say "Impeach Him". Allan McDonald (ph) was arrested this weekend while selling his buttons at a farmers market in Maryland. He was charged with trespassing.
Town officials say he's too pushy and he's selling without a permit. They say it has nothing to do with politics -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, thousands of you submitted questions last night for the CNN/YouTube debate. We were able to get in 39 different ones during the two-hour show last night, which is more than we thought that we were going to be able to.
Joining me now are two people whose questions were among those who were chosen asked.
Davis Fleetwood from Groton, Massachusetts, whose real name is actually Dennis Trainor (ph).
You post under the name Davis Fleetwood.
And Melissa Compagnucci, who's from San Luis Obispo, California.
Thanks so much for joining us.
What did you think, Melissa, of the debate last night?
MELISSA COMPAGNUCCI, QUESTIONED CANDIDATES: I think it went really, really well. The fact that it's kind of a landmark event and we didn't have any sort of catastrophic breakdowns or anything like that...
ROBERTS: Things went pretty smoothly technically.
COMPAGNUCCI: It really did. Better than events that have been replicated over time, like the Academy Awards. Something always goes wrong there. There was absolutely nothing that I could complain about.
ROBERTS: I'll tell you, you know, I was a little bit skeptical going in. But then when I saw the way that it was presented last night, how all of the questions seemed to just dovetail right in with the plan for the evening, it really impressed me.
What were your thoughts about it, Davis?
DAVIS FLEETWOOD, QUESTIONED CANDIDATES: I think that the citizen actually was the star of the show last night more so than the candidates, and I think that's great news for politics. I think it's going to engage more people, young and old, Internet and non-Internet, in not just politics, but activism, and more engagement in the process.
ROBERTS: Well, as we said, you were one of the citizens that was engaged. Your question was narrowly focused to Dennis Kucinich.
Let's take a quick listen -- well, actually, I'll paraphrase what you said. You asked him how America would be better off with him as president rather than Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
FLEETWOOD: Right.
ROBERTS: Let's take a listen to part of what he said in response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DENNIS KUCINICH (D-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, first of all, a clear record is having not only opposed the war from the very beginning -- the only one on this stage who actually voted against the war, and also the only one on stage who voted against funding the war a hundred percent of the time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, Davis, why did you ask that specific question of him? And did you get the response that you were looking?
FLEETWOOD: The reason I asked that specific question of him is because last night's debate and previous debates have been a little bit rigged in that the main players get more time center stage. Hillary and Obama, are center, literally, as the leading players, and the other character are kind of pushed to the fringe.
And so I wanted to draw some attention to Kucinich, who I think has been right all along on the war. And I think that's the most important...
ROBERTS: And did you get the answer you were looking for?
FLEETWOOD: I got the answer that I already knew, and I hope that people who didn't know Kucinich got the answer that they need.
ROBERTS: And Melissa, you asked a question about standardized voting. Let's take a quick listen to that and to part of a response to that question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMPAGNUCCI: My question is for everyone.
In recent years, there has been so much controversy regarding dangling chads and paper trail, the electronic voting systems. I know it costs money to amend things like that, but if I can go to any state and get the same triple Grande, nonfat, no-foam vanilla latte from Starbucks, why can't I go to any state and vote the same way?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So, Bill Richardson was the one who responded to that question. Were you happy with the response that he gave? And he was the only one who responded. Would you have liked to have heard from more candidates?
COMPAGNUCCI: I was very pleased with what he had to say. And he actually mentioned a couple of technical things I hadn't thought of as far as optical scanners for counting votes and things like that.
I do wish that more people had answered the question, because I think it's an issue that, if you can't have legitimacy in your voting system, how can you take your leader seriously?
ROBERTS: Right. Well, I think if -- you know, in fairness, it was sort of getting later on into the night. They were trying to get as many questions as possible. So perhaps that's why they only had Bill Richardson answer it.
Melissa Compagnucci, Davis Fleetwood, thanks for being with us. Thanks for participating.
It's great to see you folks getting involved in the process like that.
COMPAGNUCCI: Thank you.
FLEETWOOD: Great to be here.
ROBERTS: And don't forget, you can do it again coming up September 17th with the Republican debate from Florida. You've got all summer to figure out your questions. Put them up on YouTube.
We'll be vetting those and we'll bring you that debate on the 17th -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, John. Thanks so much.
Well, last night, you, the voters, got to ask the questions, as we've been talking about all morning, in our CNN/YouTube debate. So now we want to talk a little bit about how everyone thought things went last night.
CNN's Jacki Schechner has been monitoring our I-Reports, and she is here to share some of our thoughts.
What was the overall feeling of how yesterday went by our YouTubers and the people that are putting stuff on blogs this morning?
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: I'm getting a lot of positive reaction. A lot of people were really impressed with how it all went down. It's very exciting.
Let me give you some more reaction from two people whose question was asked last night.
Mary Matthews (ph) and Jen Widenbaum (ph) asked a question about gay marriage, and then they sent a response to I-Report, weighing in on how they thought their question was asked and the format in general.
Take a listen, Kiran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any debate after this needs to have this kind of user-generated element, because it really speaks volumes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHECHNER: And we're actually hearing a lot of that over and over again online today. People are saying this format actually lent itself to less sound bites because the candidates had to spend more time actually addressing real people. There is also conversation that this was fun, and that anything that makes politics fun is a good thing.
Now, as far as other I-Reports are concerned, Kiran, they have been streaming in throughout the night.
CHETRY: It's really interesting.
And also, were there any -- was there any consensus about which candidate sort of stood out in this YouTube format?
SCHECHNER: Well, the good and the bad. You know, Senator Clinton is getting a lot of kudos this morning. Edwards is getting some positive response. But a lot of people noticed Mike Gravel.
I want to give you an I-Report from Matt Rancow (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who keeps inviting Gravel to these things? Like, what is he yelling about?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHECHNER: He does come across as very angry. We're seeing that on a lot of blogs this morning.
And on the Chris Dodd talk clock, he did get the least amount of time. So, Kiran, perhaps he is yelling just to be heard because he didn't get a lot of time last night. He did come across as an angry guy.
CHETRY: That's true, but judging from that clock, it was pretty even. Obama -- Barack Obama did get the most time, according to the Dodd clock.
All right. Jacki Schechner, thanks so much.
SCHECHNER: Sure.
ROBERTS: A controversial T-shirt dumped by a big department store. Your "Quick Hits" now.
Macy's is removing the shirt aimed at Latino shoppers that reads "Brown is the New White". The store is also apologizing to anyone who was offended by the message.
New York City is definitely doing its part to make Apple rich. The big underground store on Fifth Avenue leads the nation in sales of Apple gear. The place sells one iPod every two minutes and five iMacs an hour.
And if you're planning on drinking a latte this morning -- actually, I'm just getting ready myself -- be prepared to pay up, because the price of coffee is on the rise again.
Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business," that's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-four minutes past the hour now.
I noticed Ali Velshi was reading the words of wisdom on your Starbucks cup.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On my Starbucks cup, yes.
CHETRY: That's why I get the iced version. I don't have to see that.
VELSHI: Then you don't have to read it.
I so didn't want to do this story. I didn't want to do this story. I avoid Starbucks stories all the time. But I got in here, and about 19 people said, "Are you doing the Starbucks story?"
CHETRY: Because it's going up. It's getting more expensive.
VELSHI: Going up. Yes, whatever.
It's a $5 cup of coffee. It's going up nine cents. Big whoop.
I get the free coffee in the kitchen.
Second price increase in 10 months for Starbucks. It's going to go up an average of nine cents. The price increase will actually vary depending on where you are and what kind of beverage you're getting, but it's going to affect coffees, lattes, frozen frappuccinos, some of these tea-based drinks.
How do they phrase it? It will -- hand-crafted and brewed beverages will be facing the increase. Hand-crafted.
I can't believe you people are buying all this.
They're saying it's dairy and energy costs. Back in October, they raised prices. They said it was energy and labor costs back then.
What is not going up for all of you Starbucks aficionados? Whole beans. They're still going to cost you the same, sandwiches and pastries.
But whatever. You guys like to spend $4.50 for a cup of coffee? Take the nine cent increase.
Prices are going down in Netflix, by the way. You know Netflix and Blockbuster...
CHETRY: Oh, yes.
VELSHI: ... pretty soon it's just going to be free. They're just going to send you movies, send you DVDs.
Blockbuster dropped its fees. It affected Netflix, so Netflix has dropped its two most popular plans by a dollar.
CHETRY: Wow. All right. So you get the movie sent to your house and you can return them whenever you want to.
VELSHI: The money you save on Netflix you can spend on your cup of coffee.
CHETRY: On your Starbucks, right.
VELSHI: Exactly.
CHETRY: Caffeine -- you know, when you need it, you need it.
VELSHI: You need it.
CHETRY: Ali, thanks.
VELSHI: OK.
CHETRY: And also "On Our Radar" this morning, we're going to have more on the YouTube debate. Some analysis about who came out on top, which candidates were sort of able to take the YouTube forum and run with it.
ROBERTS: You know, I think that Hillary Clinton did really, really well last night. I thought John Edwards did well. If you look at those dial tests, he had the top responding answer of the night.
Barack Obama I thought was very good as well.
I was a little disappointed in Mike Gravel. I went into this thing last night thinking here is a guy who really speaks his mind. That's probably what these YouTube viewers want to hear, right, Kiran? And then he just never seemed to rise to the occasion last night.
CHETRY: You know, and Joe Biden got off a couple of one-liners. Dennis Kucinich also did really do what he is best at doing, which is showing how different he is from some of the other candidates.
But let's quickly hear what got a lot of applause from Hillary Clinton last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I have spent my entire live advocating for women. I went to Beijing in 1995 and said that women's rights are human rights. And I've done everything I can to make that principle come true.
I think it is terrific. We're up here arguing about who is going to be better for women, because isn't that a nice change for everybody to hear?
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And you know, Kiran, there were a lot of questions that were coming from that perspective on women's issues. And remember there was the question, too, about whether John Edwards was a better advocate for women's issues than Hillary Clinton was. Unfortunately, though, for Hillary, again in that dial testing, those questions polled the lowest of the night. Really kind of strange.
CHETRY: It is interesting to see that John Edwards did get the biggest blip when it came to that for his talk about universal health care.
So we're going to chew a lot of this over when we come back.
AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A shot of the cannons that border the quad here at the Citadel Military College in Charleston, South Carolina, the site of last night's CNN/YouTube debate.
Welcome back. It's Tuesday the 24th of July. I'm John Roberts here in Charleston as we continue to analyze what happened last night and predict what it's going to mean for the future.
Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: Hi, John. Great to see you.
You also had a chance to talk briefly back stage, get the thoughts and reactions from a couple of candidates how it went so we're looking forward to seeing that later as well.
In the meantime, new this morning. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledging more funds to tackle some of Britain's worst flooding in nearly 60 years. Rivers are still rising today and some on the verge of overflowing their banks. Entire towns are under water and there are still hundreds of thousands of people with no drinking water, after a purification facility was flooded.
There is some good news this morning, though. The efforts to save the power substation have apparently been successful. That station serves some 500,000 people. U.S. and Iran holding ambassador level talks right now in Baghdad. Envoys discussing the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. These are some of the pictures in to CNN of the high-level talks taking place in the heavily fortified green zone. An Iraqi official who is in the room is telling the AP that there was a heated exchange as the U.S. accused Iran of supplying weapons to militants and stirring sectarian violence. Iran denying that and blaming the U.S. invasion for the bloodshed.
President Bush heads to Charleston Air Force base in South Carolina today. He is going to be talking about Iraq and the war strategy. The White House says the president will tell American service members that the troop buildup is making progress, but that it needs more time.
He is also expected to talk about the link between Al Qaeda and Al Qaeda in Iraq. President Bush has been criticized for calling Iraq the central front in the war on terror.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says that foreigners who criticize him will be deported. He has promised to pay close attention to statements made by those visiting Venezuela. That comes after the head of Mexico conservative ruling party criticized Chavez's rule during a pro democracy forum in Caracas.
John.
ROBERTS: Well, it was a groundbreaking moment in American presidential politics. The CNN/YouTube debate last night here at the Citadel, in Charleston, South Carolina; 2,989 questions submitted from people across the country. Of those, we managed to get 39 of them on the air, which is more than we thought possible.
It really kind of put the candidates on a different sort of edge than they've been on before, fielding real questions, from real people, very often rooted in personal stories.
For example, one woman talking about the cost of health care and talking about cancer treatment -- in the middle of the question, took off her wig to show that she had gone bald from chemotherapy treatment.
Some of the candidates really rose to the occasion. One of those seemed to be Senator Hillary Clinton who did very well last night and here is what she thought when I caught up to her afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS (on camera): What did you think of the format?
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I thought it was lots of fun, John. I really enjoyed it. The only thing I want to clarify is that my video was actually produced by a young YouTuber, by the name of Zach Goode (ph), who we had a contest to see which video we would put up. And we had hundreds of them submitted and this young man just really struck a chord so I want to give Zach Goode (ph) credit, because it wasn't produced by my campaign.
ROBERTS: Your campaign has really taken advantage of the Internet all the way from the conversation that you had to launch your campaign.
CLINTON: Right.
ROBERTS: Now to the way that you use YouTube. What part do you think the Internet is going to play not only in this campaign but in elections going forward?
CLINTON: Well, I think it will only get bigger and more important. I think what we're going to find is the Internet is providing opportunities like you did tonight, with YouTube, basically to create a virtual town hall. And people are going to understand that they can be part of the electoral process. Maybe it will get more people to vote, which would be a great thing because we'll get more people involved earlier.
ROBERTS: What did you think of the quality questions by and large?
CLINTON: By and large, I thought they were good. I understand you had to do a lot of screening but I thought --
ROBERTS: There were 3,000 of them.
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: I thought the ones you picked were really very representative and I really enjoyed it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: I tell you, there was one very impressive moment last night, for Hillary Clinton. There was a montage of health care questions and they were prefaced, of course, by all of the questioners introducing themselves. She came back to answer that question, rattled off the names of every person who asked a question. And there was like five or six of them, so her pen was either very busy or her memory was working double overtime. But it's that kind of relationship that I think the YouTube users were looking for.
Still to come this morning, we will talk with the cofounders of YouTube and see what they think about their site redefining politics and what it could mean for the future of presidential politics.
Plus, behind the scenes at the debate with the moderator, Anderson Cooper. The of course, remember, the Republican YouTube debate is set for September 17th. You can go online right now and record a question. Just head to youtube.com/debates and just follow the links and it will tell you exactly how to do it. It's very easy. We got, as I said, 3000 questions from last night's debate. Let's see if we can't get 6000 by September 17th.
Kiran. CHETRY: I'm sure Anderson is saying, please, John, don't say that; 6,000 questions to field through. He did a great job by the way, he had to be on his toes as well with the follow-up questions for the candidates.
ROBERTS: He did.
CHETRY: We'll check in with you in a second.
Recent reports suggest that Al Qaeda is continuing efforts to get operatives into the U.S. and has almost everything it needs to make that happen. We've also been told recently that there is some very dangerous people already here. Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena has been looking into this and she joins us live from Washington this morning with details.
Good morning, Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
You know, we've been talking a lot about the threat that the U.S. is facing from Al Qaeda. And often we do picture terrorists plotting half a world away, but officials who say that people who pose a possible danger to the U.S. are living right here.
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ARENA (voice over): Right here in the United States, there are individuals with ties to senior Al Qaeda leaders. It's a pretty sobering statement. made by the country's senior intelligence official.
MIKE MCCONNELL, DIR., NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: There have been some that have been sympathetic to Al Qaeda's cause.
ARENA: McConnell, and just about every other senior U.S. official, says there aren't known sleeper agents waiting to attack, but there are still potentially dangerous individuals out there.
JOE BILLY, ASSIST. DIRECTOR, FBI: What we do have to do is to be very sure of the persons that do potentially pose a risk that we know as much as we can about where they're going in their mind, with plans to either join a cause, to bring others into the fold, or to just simply talk about it.
ARENA: Joe Billy is the FBI's top counter-terrorism official. He will not say exactly how many people the bureau is watching. What he will say is that the number could grow, and there were some trends that concern him.
For starters, radical Internet sites are increasing. Especially those in English that spread messages of hate against the United States. Another is a small number of young American Muslims growing up with a negative view of the U.S.
BILLY: I think what will continue to be the concern will be those few individuals that drift. And we've seen drifting, both here in the U.S., as well as around the world.
ARENA: But extremism has not taken root here as it has in Europe. Many officials say it's largely because the Muslim community here is hell-bent on keeping it away.
DANIEL BENJAMIN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: So far we haven't really seen much in the way of jihadist sentiment in the United States, at least an organized way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ARENA: And that could be why the latest intelligence update shows that Al Qaeda is increasing it's efforts to get operatives from elsewhere into the United States, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Kelli Arena, thank you.
Well, a huge, sizable seizure of illegal drug cash tops your "Quick Hits" now. Police in Mexico City found more than $207 million in the home of a suspected drug trafficker. Zen Lee Yagone (ph) was arrested in Rockville, Maryland. Mexico wants him back as he may ask for asylum in the United States.
And in New York City legal trouble for two popular rap stars. Duane Carter (ph), who goes by Lil' Wayne and Jeff Atkins (ph), who is known as Ja Rule (ph) are facing weapons and drug charges. They were arrested in separate incidents after a weekend concert in Manhattan.
Coming up, it is a case that will certainly spark outrage as more people find out about it. This is a man accused of raping a young girl. Now he faces no charges. He's a free man and you will not believe the reason why a judge dismissed this rape case.
We're going to be talking about it with a legal expert coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: A fuel spill 20 miles from the Exxon-Valdez disaster site tops your "Quick Hits" now. Crews are cleaning up 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled out of a fishing boat that ran aground at Alaska's Prince William Sound over the weekend. Back in 1989, you remember, the Exxon-Valdez spilled 11 million gallons of heavy crude into the sound.
A building collapse in the Azores sends people running for their lives. Those inside the building got a warning that something was about to happen, and managed to get out. Unbelievably, no injuries were reported.
A dramatic rescue in Arizona after some powerful storms swept through the area. A woman had to be plucked from her car after getting caught up in flood waters. The storm dropped three inches of rain an hour in some areas around Phoenix, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, John, thanks so much. Well, he is accused of repeatedly raping a seven-year-old girl in Maryland three years ago. But Mahamu Kanneh, an immigrant from Liberia is no longer facing any charges -- and not because the judge didn't believe there was a solid case against him. It's because the judge felt he could not find an interpreter to represent him in court properly.
Now, "The Washington Post" reported that it identified three interpreters, including one right nearby, where this case is taking place in Rockville, Maryland. Prosecutors in Montgomery County are now saying they will appeal.
Criminal defense attorney and former New York prosecutor Paul Callan joins me now with more on this.
You know, every so often you come across a case that really just seems shocking for the lack of common sense. And this seems to really fit the bill when it comes to that. This is somebody whose case was dismissed because the court said they could not find an interpreter.
PAUL CALLAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This one is really, really off the scale. I mean, he is accused of having raped on multiple occasions a seven-year-old girl, and his case gets dismissed on speedy trial grounds because they can't find this obscure interpreter from West Africa. He speaks this language, Vai, that is only spoken by a 100,000 people in Liberia.
CHETRY: Right, and it's important to point out "The Washington Post" has been covering this story because it's generated so much outrage in the D.C. area. They say that in one afternoon, they were able to identify three interpreters, through a company, Lion Bridge, that spoke Vai, and one of them was actually in the county. Will that come into play, or is this case over now?
CALLAN: Well, I think that will come into play in terms of evaluating whether the judge legitimately dismissed this case. She said that this defendant couldn't understand the English language, need an interpreter, would be deprived of a fair trial if they went forward.
She hired a clinical psychologist to examine him. The clinical psychologist in his own report said he had a reasonable understanding of the English language. This guy attended community college and high school in the United States in English. He was raised predominantly in Guyana, where the language he was exposed to was English. So I think this guy understands English. And I think they're going to be hard- pressed on appeal to convince an appellate court that really did not understand the language.
CHETRY: The judge, in this case, by the way, who dismissed these charges, Judge Katherine Savage says, quote, "This is one of the most difficult decisions I've had to make in a very long time."
Is the judge to blame here?
CALLAN: Well, the judge is trying to, in her own words, apply the letter of the law. You know, the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees a speedy trial. This individual had not been tried for three years because allegedly of this problem in finding this obscure interpreter, so she believes she was applying the law as it's written. I think many lawyers would disagree with that interpretation.
CHETRY: Do you believe eventually this -- that if this went to another appellate court, given a newspaper had no trouble finding three interpreters, who speak this language -- in the area -- that this may -- they may reverse her decision?
CALLAN: Oh, I think an appellate court is highly likely to reverse this decision and send it back for a new trial.
CHETRY: If not it's a scary prospect. Because he would be released free -- free and clear. Not even having to register as a sex offender. Now, it is important to note, I mean, these are charges. He's not had a trial, but for the family of this seven-year-old girl this is beyond a nightmare.
CALLAN: Yeah. There's no supervision, no bracelet, no probation. No, he's free to roam the streets.
CHETRY: Paul Callan, thanks for weighing in.
CALLAN: Appreciate it. Thank you.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: Incredible story.
The YouTube debate did it make the grade? I caught up with Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean. I'll tell you what had to say about it. We will also talk to the cofounders of YouTube about their site and how it's redefining politics.
That, and more, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: The CNN/YouTube debate is the hot political topic this morning. So, how did the Democratic presidential candidates do dealing with this first-of-its-kind Internet debate format?
I got a chance to talk with Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who, of course, extensively used the Internet in his 2004 campaign, to hear his thoughts about it.
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ROBERTS (on camera): You're an expert at these debates, and you're particularly an expert at town hall style debates. You're the guy who really kind of used the Internet before anybody to connect with everybody. Who do you think did the best job tonight?
HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATL. CMTE.: You know I will never answer this question. But I can tell you one thing, these guys were a whole lot more civil to each other than we were four years ago.
ROBERTS: There were definitely some subtle digs, though. Barack Obama took a subtle dig at Hillary Clinton when he said the time to think about getting out was before you voted for the war, before anybody voted for the war. And then Hillary Clinton took a not so subtle swipe at Obama when she came back to the idea would you talk to these Middle East leaders? And she says I wouldn't talk to them until I knew what it was all about. So, there were some digs.
DEAN: I don't think those are digs. I think those are differences of opinion. I think that's fine. I think the only digs were up on the screen from the questioners, which I love.
You know, this is a great generation. Most of the people who asked questions were the younger generation. And they were pretty hard-nosed, and I thought they -- you know, this is the generation, by the way, which has a 20 percent increase in their voting. And in the last election 61 percent of them voted Democrat and they are not kidding around. They expect these Democrats to show up and stand up for something if they get elected president. That was perfectly evident by the questions. I thought it was very good for the Democratic Party.
ROBERTS: Do you think John Edwards position on gay marriage will hurt him in the primaries?
DEAN: Look, I think you have to say what you believe. And you know people -- this is a tough issue. John said it was a tough issue, and I think he'll get full credit for that.
ROBERTS: How do you think this is going to shape the debate going forward or the whole idea of debates?
DEAN: I think this is a groundbreaking event. I said that before. Look, this is the first time we've let ordinary people into the debates. The -- we're trying to reshape the Democratic Party by making it a two-way party, where we listen to people before we talk at them. This is the first time ever used in a debate forum, which you get plenty of congratulations for.
I hope this will remake the party. Now, look, this is just the beginning. This technology will grow. And maybe late in the cycle, or even in the next four years, in the cycle we're going to have debates that people can't even imagine. We may not even have a moderator, but this is a huge first step to let ordinary Americans back into the debate.
ROBERTS: This was interesting for one night, but will candidates and the number of debates that there are going to be -- in the primary season, and then in the presidential election, after this -- are they going to want to take such pointed questions from such a personal perspective as they took tonight?
DEAN: They may not want to, but they don't have any choice. I think that's great. It's much better to have questions like this, which are tough questions, from the audience than it is from a press corps that wants to play gotcha. These guys were tough and a little cynical and sometimes a little pointed, and sometimes they made a few jabs. But it wasn't about gotcha politics. It was about wanting to know what the answers were. I thought it was great to let the American people back in. Congratulations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Now, we should point out as well that Howard Dean is something of a YouTube star. I'm just on the website, right now, looking. There are a number of different variations on his famous scream from Iowa in 2004. Collectively, they've seen about 350,000 hits. So he's a popular guy on YouTube as well.
Still to come this morning, we're going to talk with the cofounders of YouTube and see what they think about their site redefining politics, what it could mean.
Plus behind the scenes with the debate moderator, Anderson Cooper. That's all ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: So, what does the price of popcorn have to do with America's fuel needs? The answer topping your "Quick Hits" now. You may soon start paying more for popcorn at the movies because the demand for all corn, which is used to make ethanol.
Wal-Mart rolling back prices for back-to-school shoppers. It's only July but I guess the kids have to start thinking about heading back to school already. The retail giant discounting school supplies; everything from crayons, to pens and notebooks. It's an attempt to lure back shoppers who may have jumped ship, to rival Target.
The minimum wage hike kicks in today, so what will it mean for the average employee as well as small businesses? Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" up next.
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CHETRY: No, it's not a commercial for Ricola. It's the International Alphorn Festival in the Swiss Alps. It's the traditional wind instrument of Switzerland. They had 120 players alphorn players assembled for the chance to win some money and to just enjoy an atmosphere loaded -- it's either that, or the world's biggest pipe.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: It looks a little low- key, doesn't it? The whole event? The world's biggest -- the traditional wind instrument.
CHETRY: Right, quiet clapping like a golf game.
VELSHI: Yes, it's like a golf --
CHETRY: There you go. Well, it is three minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business right now. And some good news for people making minimum wage because they are going to see the first of many hikes? VELSHI: That's right. Minimum wage goes up today for the first of three increases, it's going to go from $5.15 to $5.85. It's the first hike in 10 years. That's a 70 cent increase. Now, one year from today it will go up again to $5.85, to $6.55 an hour, and then on July 24th, 2009, up to $7.25 an hour. There is unmitigated good news.
There are lots of sides to the story. There is no question about that, but it's good news. We've been underpaying minimum wage earners for too long. Thirty states and the District of Columbia already have state minimum wages that area higher than the federal. So this won't affect people in a lot of places. There are 20 states and millions of workers who will see an increase starting today.
Small businesses are a little irked by this. They feel like it is going to cut into their bottom line. They can't necessary -- you know, afford it in some cases. That is a legitimate concern and the administration has shown some interest to trying to give them some tax advantages to offset that. The bottom line you can't underpay people. And we've have been underpaying people. At $5.15 an hour -- I've done the math on this, it's $900 a month. Try to live on that.
CHETRY: Yeah.
VELSHI: It is impossible to do so in most places. So good news. These people will have more money to spend, and they will spend it, maybe they'll save it, good for America.
CHETRY: Hey, do you still remember your first hourly wage that you made?
VELSHI: It was well under $5, it was in the $3s or something.
CHETRY: I think I made $3.10 an hour, or something.
VELSHI: Very impressed when I got my first wage. So, for a lot of people out there, they're going to be very happy.
CHETRY: Me, too. Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: OK.
CHETRY: Well, some on our radar this morning.
Of course, it's the day after the big YouTube debate. The Democrats, eight of them, and we're talking about who scored, and who stumbled as they fielded questions from ordinary people, a lot of great questions actually, John.
ROBERTS: There were a lot of good questions. There were some that were completely out of left field, and some questions that a typical debate moderator would never be able to ask. You know, almost 3000 questions, 2,989 questions. Of those, we managed to put 39 of them to the candidates, which is about 14 or 15 more than they thought they were probably going to be able to get in, so a really good forum last night, Kiran. CHETRY: Yes, and you know, Jacki Schechner brought up an interesting point. Judging the iReports, the reaction coming in our website, saying that user-generated content really needs to be part of every debate now. This sort of set the stage for that in the future. So, it will be interesting because you're going to be speaking to two people who rarely like to appear on camera.
ROBERTS: That's right. Chad Hurley and Steven Chen, the cofounders of YouTube; a couple of very rich fellas now -- and about what the future of politics and YouTube will be.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
CHETRY (voice over): Eight for '08, in a new style debate. The Democrats for president take questions straight from you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taxes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Health care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you going to be any different?
CHETRY: This morning, who scored, who stumbled?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, I think I did well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got a lot of dancing, but you know, that's part of the deal.
CHETRY: Instant analysis from voters, and an overnight --
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