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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Bush Warns Iran; Defective Chinese Tire Imports; Is China Ready for the Olympics?; Concerns over Housing Crisis; Trapped Miners Could be Reached Soon; Two More Bodies Recovered from Collapsed Bridge; Bush Sees Boost in Polls; New Bill Promises to Fix Border Problems; Illegals Demonstrate Against Employment Crackdown
Aired August 09, 2007 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Miles.
Tonight, the rising threat to Americans from potentially dangerous tires made in communist China. But our government doesn't care much about American consumers' or safety or well being or about those tires for that matter. We will have that report.
Also, the pro illegal alien open borders lobby aggressively demonstrating against business that comply with our federal immigration laws. Illegal aliens insisting they have the right to work in this country, regardless of whether they are breaking our laws. We'll have that story.
And President Bush, he says our economy is the envy of the world. Perhaps telling that to hard-pressed working men and women in this country reeling from plummeting house prices and soaring mortgage interest payments might present something of a challenge. We will have that story.
And among my guests here tonight, Senator Byron Dorgan, author of the best selling book "Take This Job and Ship It."
All of that and all of the day's news straight ahead here tonight.
Good evening, everybody. President Bush today declared that Iran will face consequences if it continues to help insurgents killing our troops in Iraq. But President Bush did not say what, if any, action the United States would take to stop Iran. The president's threat comes one day after a top U.S. commander in Iraq, General Ray Odierno, said Iranian weapons are killing more of our troops. A third of our combat deaths last month were caused by Iranian-made bombs. Ed Henry reports now from the White House.
Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, a mixed message. Mr. Bush claiming Iran will have a price to pay is it f it doesn't stop but meanwhile the president's man in Baghdad, the Iraqi prime minister is literally in Tehran holding hands with the Iranian dictator.
President Bush issues new threats against Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES: There will be consequences for people transporting, delivering EFPs, highly sophisticated IEDs, that kill Americans in Iraq.
HENRY: And he insisted Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has made gains towards reconciliation.
BUSH: My own perspective is they made some progress but not enough.
HENRY: But Maliki, a Shiite leader, is in Tehran right now making nice with Ahmadinejad and others in the overwhelmingly Shiite Iran. Making it harder for the Sunnis in Iraq to find common ground with the prime minister. Mr. Bush tried to make light of the controversy, insisting world leaders come out smiling for appearance sakes.
BUSH: You don't want the picture of duking it out. OK. Put up your dukes. That's an old boxing expression.
HENRY: The president declared he's on the same page with Maliki, who also visited Iran last fall.
BUSH: If the signal is that Iran is constructive, I will have to have a heart to heart with my friend the prime minister because I don't believe they are constructive.
HENRY: After some August down time in Kennebunkport in Crawford, the president is facing a showdown with democrats over whether to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq. A press conference before heading out the door enabled Mr. Bush to lay out what he believes is at stake in September.
BUSH: The fundamental question facing America is, is it worth it? Does it matter whether or not we stay long enough for an ally in this world against radicals and extremists to emerge? My answer is, it does matter.
HENRY: Now, this is the second time this week alone that Mr. Bush has had to warn a key ally not to be hood winked by Iran. Three days ago it was the Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Today it's Maliki. This shows that from Iraq to Afghanistan, Iran is trying to broaden its influence big time, Lou.
DOBBS: As to the issue as to whether or not the United States can protect the forces that it has in Iraq, did the president speak with any greater directness?
HENRY: He did not. He insists, though, that he's going to deal with Iran. He did not talk about military action specifically but White House officials consistently say that is an option on the table and said the president mostly talks about tough economic sanctions. But, obviously, military action is still on the table, Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you very much, Ed Henry, from the White House. As Ed reported, Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki held a second day of talks with Iranian officials in Tehran. The government of Iraq is apparently trying to move closer to a full alliance with Iran. Although Iran, of course, is helping insurgents kill our troops and Iraqis. Iran said a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is the only way to end the insurgency. The Iraqi prime minister thanked Iran for what he called its "positive and constructive stance on Iraq."
In Iraq, two more of our troops have been killed. A soldier and marine died in separate non-battle related incidents. 24 of our troops have been killed so far this month in Iraq, 3,682 of our troops since the beginning of the war have died. 27,279 of our troops wounded, 12,267 of them seriously.
Meanwhile insurgents killed two British troops in southern Iraq. Four British troops have been killed over the past to days. British commanders, like their U.S. counterparts, accuse Iran of supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq.
Pentagon officials tonight are monitoring the rising chaos in Pakistan. Pakistan, of course, has nuclear weapons and the Pakistani government is facing a rising threat from radical Islamists. Pakistan's military ruler, General Musharraf, decided against a declaration of a state of emergency. Musharraf made his decision after a telephone conversation with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Some say Musharraf wants a state of emergency in order to bolster his position ahead of upcoming elections.
U.S. officials say al Qaeda leaders based in Pakistan are planning new attacks against American interests, possibly against commercial aircraft. The Department of Homeland Security today announced new measure that it says will improve security. The government, not airlines, will begin checking passenger names against terrorist watch lists before takeoff. Jeanne Meserve has our report.
JEANNE MESERVE: A small bottle produces a big explosion. Simulating what could have happened if last summer's plot to bring liquid explosives on airplanes had been successful.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: As the London plot demonstrated, we need to do everything in our power to identify potential threats before that airplane takes off.
MESERVE: So airlines soon be required to give passenger names to U.S. authorities for vetting before an international flight takes off to the U.S., not after. That should minimize flight diversions like the one involving the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens. He was on a watch list for supporting certain Muslim charities but authorities only found out he was on the plane after it was in the air.
On domestic flights the airlines currently check passenger names against terror watch lists. Now a proposal to have TSA do it instead because its lists are more current. Travelers may also be given the option of providing their date of birth and gender.
CHERTOFF: So we can differentiate the innocent passenger from the person from the same name who happens to be a watch list.
MESERVE: Though much less intrusive than previous proposals, privacy advocates are still not satisfied.
MARC ROTENBERG, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER: And as long as the government is making decisions about who can get on a plane or not and not providing the reason why, I think the privacy concern will remain.
MESERVE: There is still no guarantee that innocent people won't be mistaken for terrorists or that flights won't be turned around but Chertoff said it should happen less frequently.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
DOBBS: Coming up next, new evidence that our government has no interest in protecting American consumers from dangerous Chinese imports.
Also, communist China launches a new public relations campaign, a year before the beginning of the Beijing Olympics.
And rescuers on the verge of completing an air tunnel to six trapped miners in Utah. We will have the very latest for you live from the scene. We will be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Tonight a new recall of dangerous imports from communist China. This time hundreds of thousands of defective tires are being recalled because they lack important safety features. As Kitty Pilgrim reports, the federal government is beginning to investigate Chinese manufacturing standards. As well as allegations that China is dumping defective tires on American consumers.
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Pennsylvania, a terrible accident. Two men killed when their tire treads separated and wrapped around the axles, overturning the vehicle and throwing them out. A third man suffered a brain injury. The attorney for the men say tires made in China were lacking a standard safety feature to prevent that kind of separation.
JEFFREY KILLINO, ATTORNEY: Chinese put profit in front of safety. They took out a key safety feature called a gum strip to save 25 cents or 30 cents a tire. And then because the United States regulations are lacking, they were able to get through hundreds of thousands of tires into the American commerce.
PILGRIM: An American importer, Foreign Tire Sales, said today that t would recall 255,000 Chinese-made tires because of that defect, including West Lake, Compass and YKS brand tires.
In June, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered a recall of 450,000 Chinese-made tires. Hang Zhu Zhang Zi (ph) Rubber Company, the Chinese manufacturer, was the second largest in China supplying many U.S. tires under many brand names. But they defend the product. The company website reads, "misinformation is being circulated publicly about the subject HZR tires. HZR has no reason to believe that its tires are defective or dangerous."
PAUL FIORE, TIRE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION: The Chinese have mounted a serious defense of their product. They have been in contact with NHSTA. They have been over here and they still are maintaining that there is not a defect in the product.
PILGRIM: Nearly half of the tires are imports and China is the largest supplier, with 32 million tires imported last year. U.S. manufacturers say China is dumping cheap tires on the U.S. market.
United Steelworkers has joined a major tire maker, Titan, as a petitioner asking the U.S. government to impose duties on Chinese off- road tires, where China dominates the market with an 83 percent market share.
After the anti-dumping complaint about the tires, China accused the United States of launching too many anti-dumping investigations. The U.S. manufacturer say the Chinese government subsidizes the off- road industry, dumps them below cost on the U.S. market, now with an 83 percent market share, Lou.
DOBBS: The Chinese are accusing the United States of protesting too greatly to the dumping.
PILGRIM: And denying that the tires are defective.
DOBBS: Well, you know what? I have to say, if the Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, the Commerce Secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, is listening to us here tonight, it's one thing for the Chinese not to give a damn about the American consumer. But it is the responsibility of this administration and this government to enforce our safety standards for the protection of American consumers. What possible, possible explanation does this government have, any one of its agencies or departments, for permitting this nonsense.
PILGRIM: It is relatively inexcusable. NHSTA says they have an investigation going on now but it's been a very long investigation.
DOBBS: NHSTA is the --
PILGRIM: National Highway Safety Traffic Administration.
DOBBS: And they have an investigation.
PILGRIM: On these Chinese tires.
DOBBS: And people are dead. We continue to allow this company to bring these tires in and the company says, the distributor says --
PILGRIM: They are defective.
DOBBS: Duh! And what are they doing about it besides recalling?
PILGRIM: That's it. DOBBS: But they own already 83 percent of the off-road market in this country.
PILGRIM: Yes.
DOBBS: And meanwhile these idiots running our commerce department, our trade representative's office and this government we call a federal government, permits it.
PILGRIM: They are not looking out for the American consumers.
DOBBS: Where in the world is congress on this.
PILGRIM: Congress has had hearings on this. They are scheduled for September.
DOBBS: We wouldn't want to have to interrupt the schedule here.
PILGRIM: Meanwhile, these tires are on the road.
DOBBS: Unbelievable. Kitty, keep us up to date. You're doing a great job. This is simply just another -- it's an outrage. It is another example of the government that is simply dysfunctional. And irresponsible. Thank you. Kitty Pilgrim.
China is banning exports by two toy manufacturers whose products were recalled in this country. Last week Mattel recalled almost a million toys made by one of those companies because they contained lead paint. The Chinese government is also suggesting foreign brand owners take more responsibility for products that are made in China. Whatever any of that means.
Communist China, of course, will be hosting 2008 Summer Olympics. Be sure to buy your ticket now because it ought to be a hoot. But exactly one year before the beginning of those games, there are rising serious concerns about China's, even its minimal capability of hosting the event and maintain the safety of the participating athletes.
John Voss now reports from Beijing on China's efforts to clean up its air and image before the onset of those games.
JOHN VOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Blanketed by thick, toxic solution, Beijing's national stadium, the Bird's Nest, this is where the world's best athletes will be breathing air which right now kills more than 400,000 people here every year according to the World Bank. International athletes and officials who have been testing Olympic venues this week are worried Beijing won't be able to clear the air in time.
JOHN COATES, AUSTRALIAN OLYMPIC CMTE.: There is a will but I don't know that there's a way.
VOSS: And the IOC warns that bad air may cause some events to be postponed. Because this is what happened in Hong Kong last year, where the air pollution isn't as bad but bad enough for some runners to collapse during the city's marathon.
And what about the promise the Olympics would bring about change in China's behavior, not just its image? Human rights groups say there has been no significant improvement.
Then there's the food. Organizers have promised a high-tech tracking system from farm to fork to ensure it's safe, amid concerns that some livestock may have been given so many steroids and hormones, if eaten, athletes could return a positive test for banned substances.
WANG WEI, BOCOG: I'm quite confident there will not be a problem for food safety.
VOSS: On the up side, almost all Olympic venues should be ready by year's end, built for a bargain price compared to the United States because workers here are paid just over $100 a month.
So with a year to go, the Chinese are hoping the greatest sporting event on the planet will give them a new image. Strong, modern, successful. But for now, there are concerns that beneath the glitzy P.R., it is still the same old communist P.R.C. John Voss, CNN, Beijing.
DOBBS: Let's take a look now at some of your thoughts.
Luis in Ohio wrote in to say, "I went to Foot Locker to buy a pair of running shoes for a marathon in October, and to my shock, I could not find ONE pair of sneakers made in the USA! Not one shirt, shorts, shoelace, etc. What in God's name happened to the 'Made in the USA' logo?" That's a good question for this administration and the previous, and a few congresses along the way.
Jerry in Florida said, "Lou: You're kidding right? Someone has come up with a plan to give U.S. money to Mexico to fight drugs? Is this a joke? No, it's not.
And Judy in California, "Instead of throwing our money away by giving it to Mexico to fight drugs, use it to secure the border. Mexico is not a poor country and could stop drugs if they wanted to. Is there no one in Washington with more than half a brain?"
We will have a few more of your thoughts here later in the broadcast. The pro illegal alien open borders lobbies is now aggressively targeting businesses that comply with U.S. immigration laws. And illegal aliens insist they have the right to work in the United States. That brings us to the subject of tonight's poll. We would like to know if you agree with the lobbyists, the illegal aliens who are demanding the right to work, even though they are in this country illegally. Our question is do you believe illegal aliens have the right to work in the United States, yes or no? Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We will have the results here later.
Coming up, stocks plummeted as worries over the nation's housing crisis and credit markets escalate.
And later here, what does the housing crisis mean for this country's middle class.
And a critical time for those trapped miners in Utah. We'll have the latest for you live from the scene in Utah.
We will be right back. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: A massive sell-off today on Wall Street. Stock prices plunged on continuing concerns about the credit market and those sub prime mortgage loans. French bank P&B Paraba (ph) suspending three with exposure to American credit markets and insurance giant AIG said residential mortgage defaults are rising. The Dow Jones Industrial is at its worst level of the day, down 387 points and to close the largest drop since February; the NASDAQ suffering a 56 point decline; the S&P down 44. Crude oil also however moving lower, down 56 cents on the day closing back below $72 a barrel.
Earlier in the day President Bush said the economy is thriving and, as he put it, the envy of the world. But as we see, the housing market is in crisis. The credit market is on the verge of one. Christine Romans now reports on what plummeting housing prices and soaring mortgage interest rates mean for middle class Americans.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For sale signs are going up. Housing prices are going down. And the president is extremely confident in the U.S. economy.
BUSH: The American economy is the envy of the world and we need to keep it that way.
ROMANS: If the American economy is the envy of the world, its spreading mortgage crisis is not. Mortgage companies sold loans to millions of Americans who were not qualified. Those loans were packaged by Wall Street pros and sold again and again. And now bad loans are threatening the entire economy.
DEAN BAKER, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC POLICY: Many of us are going to find out well guess what? This fund that we had or that fund, it will turn out to have a lot of mortgages that suddenly are worth you know maybe not worth less but worth an awful lot less than have been thought. So we are going to see a very big hit to just about everyone as a result of the fallout in the housing market.
ROMANS: According to "Money" magazine, for 1.4 million Americans, their monthly mortgage payment will double over the next five years. And Realty Trac estimates more than half a million Americans are at least 90 days behind in their mortgage payments. Some blame unscrupulous lenders. The president recommends more financial literacy.
BUSH: We had a lot of really hard-working Americans sign up for loans and truth of the matter is, they probably didn't fully understand what they are signing up for.
ROMANS: This president consistently hailed record home ownership as a sign of ownership society, repeating often that nearly 70 percent of Americans own their homes and the rate of minority ownership climbed to above 50 percent since he took office in 2001.
But experts say at least a million Americans may eventually lose those homes. AIG is one of the biggest mortgage bankers out there and today warned that residential delinquencies are rising, Lou, a signal that the mortgage pain is spreading.
DOBBS: Not only is it that pain spreading, but the fact is we have two million households facing foreclosure over the course of the next year and a half. Those loans, a huge number of loans are adjustable rate mortgages. And the fact is that those things are going to reset or have their interest rates recalculated by the lenders over the course of the remainder of this year and next for the first time and the impact is going to be extraordinary.
ROMANS: Some of those monthly mortgage bills will be double and even triple what those folks had been paying. So that is going to really hurt. With stagnant wages and with negative savings, where do you go to try to ride that out?
DOBBS: Well, one of the places I hopefully don't go is to a White House saying that the reason we are facing this crisis is because the American people are too stupid to know what they are signing. What the president might consider saying instead and what both parties in Congress might consider doing instead, is looking upon those people that they are supposed to be regulating, that is the lenders, the banks, the financial institutions, good grief, in some cases the builders have gone into the mortgage business and regulate them and understand -- have the intelligence and the education to regulate on behalf of the American consumer.
And to hear a condescending remark like that from the President of the United States where the American people flat burns me. It's arrogant and irresponsible of this government to sit here talking about free markets and failing to regulate in protection of the American consumer. To me, it's just frankly disgusting. And concerning and troubling for all of us because we are facing a real issue here over the course of the next year, year and a half, at least for our middle class.
Christine, thank you very much. Christine Romans.
At his news conference today, the president also declared Iran will face consequences if Tehran continues to help insurgents kill American troops in Iraq. President Bush did not say what those consequences might be. But joining me now is General David Grange, who is of course one of the country's most highly decorated former military commanders.
General Grange, good to have you here.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you, Lou.
The president's popularity is picking up in the most recent polls and in part because of relatively positively news, relatively positive news out of Iraq, most especially. The fact that fewer of our troops were killed last month than in previous months, the lowest death total in fact in eight months last month in Iraq. What are your thoughts on both, a, the surge and b, the absolute appearance of absolute progress in Iraq?
GRANGE: Well, I think the surge is starting to work, Lou. Most of it is localized areas but it will pick up, continue to pick up in a positive light.
I think September reports is going to be somewhat -- not real enthusiastic, but, again, better than it has been past performance. But it's starting to work. And I think Iran knows that and that's why Iran is continuing to mettle.
DOBBS: Well, mettle, in pointed fact, military commanders in Iraq, in particular, General Ray Odierno, saying that a third of those deaths are a direct result of the high explosive devices, the shape charges that are made in Iran and brought by Iranians into Iraq for the specific purpose of killing our troops.
As a former military commander, as a man who has a great sense of the responsibilities to our troops, why should the United States tolerate such conduct on the part of any nation, and why should our forces not always be able to expect of their leaders that they will be defended against anyone supporting their enemy?
GRANGE: Well, you know we shouldn't tolerate it. I mean if that is the top killer of American GIs, then action should be taken. Now, actions are being taken in Iraq. In fact if I was a republican guard Quds force member in Iraq influencing the operations, I would not be able to sleep at night because I know our commander here are hunting them down in a very, very aggressive manner. But I think we ought to take a couple steps and reference Iran itself, maybe not kinetic but at least through tough economic means. And of course the problem with that is you need cooperation from European countries which don't really have the back bone to do anything about that right now.
DOBBS: This is the 21st century; it's a modern, complex world in which we live, or post modern complex world in which we live. But economic consequences to the killing of an American soldier does not seem to me to be in any way a reasonable proportionate responsible action to take on behalf of our forces on the ground.
GRANGE: Well, it's not. But the question of anything bigger than that right now, military engagement, will broaden the war in the region and you're going to talk about one heck of a mess.
DOBBS: Right.
GRANGE: But I'm thinking economic measures and not wimpy United Nations wimpy type but tough sanctions will have an effect.
DOBBS: Well, there is another prospect here as well, General Grange. And that is that if we do not have either the capacity, the guts or character to protect the young men and women who are fighting for us, should we not -- wouldn't be we have a moral responsibility to withdraw them from such a conflict?
GRANGE: Well, the -- withdrawal is going to get more killed. I think right now their ability to operate in Iraq, at least in the Baghdad -- the U.S.-controlled areas, is being curtailed to some degree. I think the success is there.
In the southern part of Iraq I wouldn't say that. Because I think they are really getting a foothold in the Basra area.
DOBBS: General Grange, as always, good to have you here. Thanks.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
DOBBS: Coming up next, President Bush's poll numbers rebounding. We'll have that report.
Also, a rising number of lawmakers demanding secure borders before any consideration of so-called immigration law change. Imagine that. Since descending upon our nation's capital. Responsibility as well, goodness. Shivers.
Rescuers could soon know whether six trapped miners in Utah are still alive. We're going to have that report for you live from the scene here next. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The desperate search for those six trapped miners is approaching a critical moment. Right now, a small drill hole, 2 1/2 inches in diameter, is moving closer and closer to those trapped miners. Moving closer since Monday, when they were trapped inside that Utah coal mine.
The drilling could reach those missing men within the hour. No one knows yet whether they are alive or dead or whether they survived the original collapse.
Ted Rowlands is standing by near the Crandall Canyon mine -- Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, as you can imagine, the tension is building, the news potentially coming within the hour for these people that -- about their loved ones, hoping that they do establish communication with this two-inch drill.
The drill is -- should be very close to this cavity unless something went wrong. A drill bit could go bad. It may overheat. We don't know. We haven't had an update in the last few hours.
But if things were going as scheduled within the next hour or two, this drill bit may get into the cavity where these six trapped miners have been since early Monday morning.
Family members are gathering here for a scheduled update from mine officials. We're also seeing government officials. Believe we just saw Senator Orrin Hatch come in here to be with the families and be here for this critical moment that these families have been waiting so patiently for, for the last four days. It has been an excruciating wait for them, and they continue here these last few hours, hoping to find out some news from the small hole.
If this hole missed this mark, if it goes into solid coal, then what they'll do is pull that back. There's another hole being drilled with a larger hole. That has more precision. They'll find out tomorrow. They may find out in the next few hours. For sure, they should find out some real news about their loved ones in the next day -- Lou.
DOBBS: At this point, Ted, do we know how close they are? Can we project how far they have drilled and how close they are, how near they are to the -- to that cavity in which they suspect those miners are trapped?
ROWLANDS: If the drill bit -- if the drilling went as planned. No problems with the drill bit. No slowdowns. It should be there. It should be there within the next hour for sure. It may already be in the cavity, and they may be trying to establish communication or at least try to determine whether they've hit the cavity.
But as they drill deeper and deeper, it slows. So the progress may have slowed a bit. We just don't know. We haven't had an update in several hours. We are expecting an update within the next hour and a half, and the families are expecting an update, and they're starting to gather here, within the next hour. And we should be able to tell.
At least we have at previous times whether is good or bad as they exit here. So a lot of tension, as you can imagine. A lot of people praying and hoping that it will be good news.
DOBBS: Now you said within the next half hour, hour and a half. Is there a set time? Have they scheduled a press conference? Have they scheduled an update?
ROWLANDS: Yes. For the families, they've scheduled an update for an hour from now. Actually less than an hour from now. With the phone tree basically if news comes earlier. Everybody is to gather here, as we've seen people starting to gather here.
The news media is expected to be briefed in about two hours. That's the scheduled updates. But they have been very fluid throughout this, as you can imagine.
DOBBS: Absolutely. Ted, thank you very much. Ted Rowlands from Huntington, Utah. And of course, we will have those developments as they occur here on CNN throughout the evening.
Searchers in Minneapolis have found two more bodies in the wreckage of that collapsed highway bridge, that bridge collapsing last week. The discoveries today bring the confirmed death toll in that disaster to seven.
Six people remain missing, at least six. And as we reported here yesterday, investigators found what they believe is a serious design flaw in that bridge. Today the federal government warning all states to take precautions with other bridges. And incidentally, the doomed I-35W bridge was built in 1967. That was 40 years ago.
The Cedar Avenue Bridge, which is a concrete reinforced arched bridge, which is right next to it, is almost twice as old. It was built back in 1929, almost 80 years ago. And as you see in these pictures, that bridge remains standing.
President Bush today speaking, opposed raising federal gasoline taxes to raise money to repair bridges around the country. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released today indicates most people agree with the president. Only a third, that is 33 percent, favor raising gasoline taxes to fund the repair of bridges. Sixty- five percent oppose hiking those gas taxes.
President Bush's dismal approval rating, well, not so dismal. It's rebounding, in fact. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows a small but rising number of Americans say they approve of the way the president is now handling his job.
Bill Schneider has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like the song says, "Been down so long, it looks like up to me." In the latest polls, President Bush is up, a little.
In June, Mr. Bush's job approval dipped to the freezing mark. Now 36 percent approve the president's job. Not a big change, but other polls are finding the same thing.
But Mr. Bush is not up among everybody. Among the president's fellow Republicans, yes, 16 points. Among independents, no change at all. And among Democrats, don't ask. Well, we did. No improvement. Eight percent approval in June; 8 percent now.
The president's gains have come entirely from Republicans.
President Bush's defining issue is Iraq. Are we seeing the same thing there? Yes. Public support for the war in Iraq dropped to 30 percent in June. Now it's 33.
Why? Same reason. Republicans. Support for the war jumped 14 points among Republicans. Very little change among independents and Democrats.
Why is this happening? There's a campaign on. Democratic candidates are attacking President Bush's failures.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our enemies in the region will continue to exploit our failures. Our occupation will continue to serve as a recruitment tool for terrorists. SCHNEIDER: Republican candidates are rising to the president's defense.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am convinced that if we fail and we have to withdraw, they will follow us home.
SCHNEIDER: In the campaign, partisan juices flow, and shape perceptions.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: For those of us who believe it's worth it, we'll see progress. For those who believe it's not worth it, there is no progress.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): Partisanship is rising. That's the campaign effect, and it's happening 15 months before the election -- Lou.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Bill, thank you very much. Bill Schneider reporting from Washington.
The architects of the failed so-called grand bargain on what they would like to call the president in particular and the Democratic leadership in Congress, comprehensive immigration reform, are backing away from plans to give amnesty to millions of illegal aliens.
Instead, some Republican senators have introduced what they call new legislation. And it's tricky. As Lisa Sylvester reports, the emphasis in this new effort appears to be on securing our borders.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Arlen Specter wants to try to reintroduce the failed comprehensive immigration approach with a few minor changes. But that idea is hitting a flat note among lawmakers.
Instead, a new effort that focuses exclusively on border security is gaining momentum.
CHERI JACOBUS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Members of Congress heard from folks back home on the immigration bill and, you know, they had to finally listen. So I think now what they're trying to do is fashion a package that will actually pass muster with more of the American people.
SYLVESTER: Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Jon Kyl, who are among the architects of the failed Senate bill, have now reversed course. They're teaming up with more conservative members of their party, like Senator Jeff Sessions, to introduce legislation that toughens border security without a guest worker or amnesty program.
The bill would create a mandatory electronic employment verification system, implement an entry and exit system for all U.S. borders, and complete the border fence. Graham, who's up for re-election, is betting this new bill will help revive his sagging campaign.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: There are some things we can do in six months. There are some things we can do next week. There are some things that's going to take a decade. Let's start doing those things, securing that border we need to do now.
SYLVESTER: GOP members who have been leading opponents of illegal immigration hope the legislation will at least force their colleagues on the record on border security.
JOHN KEELEY, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: If you support securing our borders, if you have gotten the message from the American people that, you know what, Americans by the hundreds of millions are dubious about Washington's seriousness of getting secure our borders, here's a test mode.
SYLVESTER: But time in the legislative calendar is running out. And Majority Leader Harry Reid is reluctant to revisit the immigration issue this year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: The outcry from the public led to the defeat of the Senate's comprehensive immigration bill. Senator Jeff Sessions' office hopes that the public will speak out again, this time in favor of this new border security only bill. The goal is to put enough pressure on the Democratic leadership to force them to carve out time in the legislative calendar -- Lou.
DOBBS: Now this legislation of which Senator Sessions, who is -- who is one of the strongest opponents and most carefully considered senators on this issue. Is there any discussion in this legislation? Is it pure border security and port security? Or does it also bring in immigration issues, as well?
SYLVESTER: This bill that Sessions is backing is a true enforcement bill. Very similar to what the House passed at the end of 2005.
But the trick here is, it may not go anywhere. So on one hand, you have senators like Senator Graham and McCain, who will be able to claim credit for border security. But if it doesn't go anywhere, it doesn't cost them anything -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, Senator Graham, it's quite interesting to watch him and to watch Senator McCain. These are men who basically, in the case of Senator Graham, called people bigots because they were interested in securing the nation's borders and ports.
Not -- I just find it remarkable that kind of breathtaking reappraisal and reversal, if you will, of position as that taken by Senator Graham.
SYLVESTER: It's an election year, in fact, and he was actually censored by one of the counties -- members of his own party because of his stance on immigration. So he is singing a bit of a different tune now, Lou?
DOBBS: Yes. It would be nice to see action instead of words and shifting positions. If it weren't -- if it were not, if you will, a death bed conversion, it would be far more compelling.
Thank you very much. Appreciate it, Lisa Sylvester, from Washington.
Coming up here next, Senator Byron Dorgan, author of very important book, "Take This Job and Ship It", out in paperback. He joins us.
And illegal aliens outraged that American business would actually obey U.S. federal immigration laws. They say that's not fair. They have a right to work here, no matter what the law is. What sense of entitlement? What a bizarre mess.
Stay with us. We continue in one moment.
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DOBBS: Illegal aliens and their supporters, their advocates are protesting now efforts by the federal government to actually enforce immigration laws. I know that's a big change for everybody, and it's not happening in what I would consider to be either adequate or considerable scale. But nonetheless, enforcement is beginning in some quarters.
And guess what? The illegal alien lobby is now considering suing businesses that would actually comply with U.S. law. You got to love this issue.
Casey Wian has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So this is what you get if you're a business that dares to comply with federal immigration law. Protesters demanding that illegal aliens be allowed to keep their job.
Activists swarmed a Dunkin' Donuts franchise in Chicago, complaining that five admitted illegal aliens workers were fired because their Social Security numbers don't match government records.
Dunkin' Donuts is one of the largest companies participating in Basic Pilot, a voluntary federal program helping businesses verify Social Security numbers. Dunkin' Donuts said "The Basic Pilot Program is in place to afford our franchisees' new employees a full and fair opportunity to resolve any questions about their eligibility to work. We believe this is the right thing to do."
Even President Bush recognized Dunkin' Donuts' efforts.
BUSH: See, it's against the law to hire somebody who['s here illegally.
WIAN: Two weeks ago this Illinois soap factory gave its workers until Friday to resolve discrepancies in their Social Security numbers. Scores of workers walked off the job and picketed the factory until management agreed Thursday to negotiate.
MARTIN UNZUETA, WORKERS ORGANIZER: The problem is that they are discriminating these people. The lawyer says that's the revelation from homeland security team. I know right now, and this is only a proposal (ph).
WIAN: The Department of Homeland Security soon plans to begin aggressively enforcing laws requiring businesses to verify their workers' legal status.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: We most certainly use every enforcement tool that we have, every resource that we now available to tackle the problem, to try to do it in a way that is humane, but it makes the day-to-day tough.
WIAN: Too tough, apparently, for the illegal alien lobby.
JEANNE BUTTERFIELD, AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION: We have 12 million undocumented people performing needed services, contributing, helping to build this great nation. And if employers can't continue to employ them because of these new regulations, we have a crisis of major proportions.
WIAN: That's right, stopping businesses and illegal aliens from breaking the law is considered by some a crisis of major proportions.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: Now others argue that the status quo, broken borders, weak enforcement of immigration laws, is the true crisis -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, and I think that most persons would say that is precisely the crisis. And now we -- you know, we heard this group of people, these -- the immigration lawyers association, the various groups, Chamber of Commerce under Lindsey Graham, U.S. Catholic Council of Bishops say if you want border security, if you want to stop illegal immigration, you're racist.
Now they're saying that we're on the verge of economic collapse if we enforce U.S. immigration law.
Is there any point at which you would think -- is there any place in the country where they can demonstrate that there would be a collapse in the economy in if employers were to stop hiring illegally, breaking the law themselves?
WIAN: I guess the best argument for that would have to come from the agriculture sector. You know, they've complained that they're going to run out of workers, that crops are going to die in the field if they don't have illegal aliens to pick their crops. But they've only got themselves to blame. They're the ones that have not mechanized. They're the ones that have developed this illegal alien labor pool over the years. So it's hard to feel sorry for them, Lou.
DOBBS: Yes, it is. And of course, this Democratic Congress is pushing through the jobs bill, they -- which would give them more. The fact is we already have an existing agriculture guest worker program. And what the problem is they haven't followed the law and have circumvented it for so long and have created a massive problem.
So let's -- I put it straightforwardly, again, this administration, this Congress, let's use the facts. If you think that economics justifies breaking the law, if you think that the well-being of a few employers who have broken the law for decades in some cases, if you think their well-being supersedes that of the American people, then just go on record and say so.
Join the young -- the spokesman there from the immigration lawyers and say it's a crisis, because they have lawmakers and people who love to exploit illegal labor. That's what they're really saying.
WIAN: Absolutely.
DOBBS: Casey, what is the next step here? Have any of these businesses been intimidated to the point that they're going to reverse course?
WIAN: Well, we don't know if they're going to reverse course. That one soap manufacturer in Chicago, they did not return our phone calls today, because the workers say that they're actually in negotiations with the workers to try to come to some sort of compromise.
We don't know what that possibly could be, but it just shows the fact that businesses, that law enforcement, the federal government, winked and nodded at these immigration laws for more than two decades now.
So they all feel that they're entitled -- these illegal aliens feel that they're entitled to be here, and I guess you can understand why they feel that way.
DOBBS: You can understand it but you cannot understand why this administration and anyone who takes his or her oath of office seriously could permit it to continue. But, of course, taking it seriously is the critical phrase there.
Casey, thank you very much. Casey Wian from Los Angeles.
Up next here, Senator Byron Dorgan has a new book out. We'll be talking about it. "Take This Job and Ship It". Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Joining me now, Senator Byron Dorgan, author of the best- selling book "Take This Job and Ship It."
Senator, tell us, you wrote this book to sound the alarm. Have you been successful?
SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: Well, you know, it's not over. This is a big fight. We still have companies that are shipping jobs overseas.
In fact it's interesting, Lou. The immigration piece you did, that's the reverse side of the same coin. The same companies that ship American jobs overseas in search of cheap labor are the very companies that are advocating in Congress, you've got to have an immigration bill that has guest workers.
DOBBS: Right.
DORGAN: Because they not only want to get rid of American jobs in search of cheap labor; they want to bring cheap labor to the backdoor. I mean, that's their motive.
DOBBS: Well, and in "Take This Job and Ship It" in which you focus on outsourcing, the impact of trade policies that you fought -- free trade policies which you fought throughout your career in the Senate.
We see some sign in this Democratic Congress that since its awakening, you have not renewed the president's so-called fast track authority, which really is unconstitutional in my opinion, is taken away, ceded by the Congress. Is it going to stay that way or are you going to ultimately give it to him?
DORGAN: Well, no, I think that's the good news. And we have a new group of freshman senators that campaigned on these issues of fair trade and this president is not going to get what is called fast trade authority so they go negotiate another bad agreement behind closed doors, then bring it to the Congress and say, "OK, here it is, take it or leave it, no amendments." I mean, that doesn't make any sense.
All of these trade amendments, I think, have been failures. They have undermined American workers. They put downward pressure on the middle class. And so, you know, we need to start over and stop all the chanting about free trade and start insisting on fair trade.
DOBBS: Fair trade and the fact that the American worker today, as you say, victimized by a government that -- 31 consecutive years of trade deficits. Is the American worker going to be restored? Because you know there are a whole host of economists now saying, you know, we ought to just have free labor. It doesn't matter. Let them migrate across borders. It's good for business and global competitiveness. And all those people like you, Senator Dorgan, you guys are just protectionists.
How do you respond?
DORGAN: Well, xenophobic isolation of stooges, they say. You just can't see over the horizon. How I respond is just look at the facts. Downward pressure on workers in this country, giant trade deficits, shipping jobs overseas, look, this is a failure. And what we built over the last century we had better start protecting. And the word protect ought not be building walls around our country, but it ought to be standing up for the middle class and standing up for good jobs.
DOBBS: Amen. Senator Byron Dorgan, thank you very much for being here.
DORGAN: Thank you.
DOBBS: Author of the book "Take This Job and Ship It". It's now available in paperback. Senator Dorgan, good to have you with us.
DORGAN: Good to be here.
DOBBS: The results of our poll are next. Stay with us. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Ninety-eight percent of you say you don't believe illegal aliens have the right to work in the United States. Tell -- tell them to tell your congressman.
Thanks for being with us. "THE SITUATION ROOM" begins right now with Miles O'Brien. Good night from New York.
Miles, take it away.
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