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American Morning

24 and Counting; Extreme Weather; An Election Commission Delaying the Parliamentary Vote In Pakistan; Chaos Following A Disputed Election in Kenya

Aired January 02, 2008 - 08:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: 24 and counting. Where the caucus will be won in the final hours.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just don't feel really passionate about any one candidate.

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ROBERTS: What will make the difference in Iowa? We're live from the candidates favorite breakfast stop and live with Mitt Romney. What's his main message? Will voters buy it?

Plus, extreme weather. The Midwest digs out from more than a foot of snow. The frosty forecast on this special election edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

And good morning. Thanks very much for being with us, on this Wednesday, January the 2nd, from Iowa City, I'm John Roberts. And Kiran, yesterday, we had to drive here from Chicago. We drove through a lot of that snow. You would not believe the number of cars that were off the road. Even some 18-wheel trucks right in the middle of the road. They're stuck in the snow.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. What a mess. You were texting me and Blackberrying me from the car. You had a long drive because of the weather. Flights delayed in many places. A lot of people, actually, trying to get back from their New Year's Eve and New Year's Day holidays, finding themselves in that mess as well. So, we're going to be updating people throughout the hour on the weather situation. It's only going to get colder and snowier in many parts of the country.

ROBERTS: Yes. But you know, we're nice and warm this morning. We're here at the Hamburg Inn No. 2 diner in downtown Iowa City. This is a great place. It's been packed since about 5:30 central time this morning. They are here to talk politics. They love their politics as much as they love their eggs. I mean, just take a look at this. The number of political signs that you got up here. We should point out to you though, that Iowa City is right in the middle of Johnson County, which is a heavily Democratic district. So, that's why you see, mostly Democratic placards up there.

We will be talking to some of the folks here. We've also got Mitt Romney coming up, a little bit later on this hour, Kiran. So, lots of politics to talk about. You got some too.

CHETRY: Yes, we look forward to it. Yes, we have some new polls that are just out. This one pertaining to New Hampshire's primary in particular. Just six days away. And the new numbers in this morning, showing a bit of a comeback for Republican John McCain. The CNN/WMUR poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire released just moments ago has McCain picking up ten points. He is now tied with front-runner Mitt Romney, neck and neck at 29 percent. Rudy Giuliani dropping seven points since last month. Now, standing at 12 percent, in third place.

For Democrats in New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton, four points ahead of Barack Obama. Another dead heat with the margin of error. Clinton at 34 percent, Obama with 30 percent and John Edwards at 17 percent in New Hampshire.

John?

ROBERTS: All right. Now though, John Edwards is focusing his efforts on Iowa. He is midway through it. 36 hour, non-strop campaign blitz. All of the other candidates are on the trail as well. We are taking a look at the messages that he and the other Democrats are delivering in these final hours.

CNN's Jessica Yellin is live in Des Moines for us this morning. Jessica, in addition to the polling that we've done in the past couple of days, there's a new Des Moines Register Poll that shows Barack Obama with a lead, that's outside of the margin of error and apparently, very strong surge with independents. What's that all about?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. One of Barack Obama's central messages has been, he will unite Republicans and Democrats and he can bridge the partisan divide that has led to so much bickering in Washington. And he has made a special outreach in his messages to both independents and Republicans and I'll tell you, I've gone to a number of Obama event here on Iowa and many of them. One of the questionnaires, he takes two name from the audience, who will stand up and say, I've been a lifelong Republican and I'm going to vote for you this time. I'll caucus for you this time.

And this poll, this Des Moines Register Poll is showing, a large number of independents plan to go with Obama. This message clearly connecting. Now, I should point out, that the other leading campaigns, Clinton's and Edwards raised their eyebrows at the poll. They raised a lot of questions about it. Say that it has far too many independents going that way. They just don't expect them it would be unprecedented if that many showed up in caucused tomorrow night, so who knows.

John?

ROBERTS: Yes and of course, independents very important in this state, because right up, until they start to break off in those presidential preference groups at tomorrow night's caucuses, they could sign up with either party. What about John Edwards? 2004, we saw in the last couple of weeks in the campaign here in Iowa, a real surge. It has carried him to a strong second place finish. Might he do the same thing with this 36-hour blitz that he's in the middle of?

YELLIN: Yes. He is working to turn that second place finish into a first place finish tomorrow night, by barnstorming the state as you're saying, sending home a message that he is going to fight for the middle class, harder and with more ferocity than any of the other candidates, and asking people to do something unusual. The state can make first and second choices, when people go into caucus.

If you're number one person doesn't have enough support in the room, your second choice person, you can give your support to number two. And John Edwards is saying, please make me your second choice, if your leading candidate doesn't have enough support. Well, being the second choice, could deliver him the state and some polls, many polls show that John Edwards is most Democrats second choice and that could put him over tomorrow night.

John?

ROBERTS: Yes. The way that this caucus process works, a lot of variability. Literally, anything could happen. Jessica Yellin for us this morning in Des Moines. Jessica, thanks very much.

And be sure to stay with AMERICAN MORNING today, because Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, here at the Hamburg Inn No. 2 diner on Sunday is going to be joining us. We'll hear what his planning for the final hours, leading up to the caucus? We'll speak with him in just a few minutes' time. And we also want to remind you, that CNN special primetime coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. eastern, "The Best Political Team on Television". We'll bring you a complete look at the caucuses from every angle. That's tomorrow night, right here. Also, AMERICAN MORNING will be at a diner in Des Moines tomorrow morning, with a big preview of that night's caucuses.

Kiran?

CHETRY: All right. Thanks, John. Well, new this morning from Pakistan. An election commission delaying the parliamentary vote there until February 18th. We found this out about an hour ago. They were supposed to happen next Tuesday, but that was before terrorists assassinated U.S. ally Benazir Bhutto. This morning's "The New York Times" reporting that Musharraf may actually ask Scotland Yard for some help in the investigation into Bhutto's death.

CNN has learned that she was about to tell the U.S. about a suspected election rigging plan before she was murdered, that (INAUDIBLE) accuses the Pakistani government of using American-made spying equipment to monitor opponents. The government is denying it.

John?

ROBERTS: Kiran, what was once one of Africa's most stable Democracy is, right now, one of the most violent places in the world. Chaos following a disputed election in Kenya. Mobs torched a church with hundreds of refugees inside. Witnesses say adults and children were burned alive or killed with machetes. There are fears today that Kenya is in danger of becoming the next Rwanda. 500,000 people were killed in a genocide there, more than a decade ago.

CNN's David McKenzie is in Nairobi for us, live this morning. And David, what are the chances that what we see there in Kenya today, could turn out to be all-out tribal warfare, the same sort of scope that we saw in Rwanda?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the situation right now is extremely volatile. In the west of the country, as you said, there are serious ethnic tensions rising there. The government is accusing the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, of sparking genocide. We are hearing reports of used manning checkpoints, who are checking people's identity cards to see which tribe they are, and stopping them from coming into town. As that shocking story you said in the church, where people were burnt alive. I don't think, at this point, descend into genocide. There are many tribes in this country. And the situation is really at a standoff right now, in most of the country, except for those areas in the west and in the Rift Valley where continuing violence is showing very difficult and serious signs of increased ethnic violence.

John?

ROBERTS: David, we heard from Paula Newton, a little while ago, that things are a little bit calmer there in the capital city of Nairobi today. Is that just a lull in the violence or may have it, indeed, abated?

MCKENZIE: Well, there is a real sense of anticipation here in Nairobi. Yes, it's much calmer. People are going about their everyday work, buying food, getting money from the banks. There is no run on petrol or anything in gasoline in Nairobi. But there is a sense of foreboding, because the opposition say, they're going to bring a million people into a Uhuru Park, a famed park in Nairobi, known for freedom demonstrations tomorrow. So, it is a sense of a calm before the storm, but we will have to wait and we will bring that coverage to you as soon as it happens.

John?

ROBERTS: All right. Very troubling developments there in Kenya this morning. David McKenzie for us from Nairobi this morning. David, thanks.

Kiran?

CHETRY: All right, John. Well, we're also tracking extreme weather this morning. Tens of thousands of people still without power in the Midwest. More than a foot of snow now on the ground in parts of Michigan and Ohio. And there's even more in the forecast. Dozens of schools also forced to extend their winter breaks, because of the bad weather. It's the region's heaviest New Year's Day snowstorm on record. Forecasters say snow fell at a rate of at least two inches an hour. Well, that weather system made its way across the northeast up to a foot of snow fell overnight in parts of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. And forecasters say that we can expect a crazy week of weather.

They are predicting more than ten feet of snow to hit in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, Southern California as well. Now to Florida, where a deep freeze could spell trouble for citrus growers. It is expected to hit 20 degrees in spots tonight and tomorrow morning and some orange growers say that they're going to be flooding their fields with warm water to try to prevent spoilage. Governor Charlie Crist is also easing restrictions on commercial vehicles that take these vulnerable crops to processing center.

Our Jacqui Jeras is at the weather update desk for Rob Marciano this morning. Tracking extreme weather. Taking a look at all of these hot spots. It's actually freezing cold spots that we need to be looking out for across the country.

Hey, Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, could a boost of testosterone lead to better health and a better body? A new study is mixed on the rewards and the risks of testosterone supplementation. And we are paging Dr. Gupta for details for us. He joins us from Atlanta this morning. You know, it's a double-edged sword, when you talk about using testosterone. It can help in many situations, but it can also have some side effects.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It may not be all, but people think it's cracked up to be. I think that sort of the bottom line message here. There's a new study out and I want to tell you specific things about the study. First of all, it only studied men between the ages 60 and 80 and these were also men who already had low testosterone levels. So their levels were checked and they weren't normal levels. That's important, because a lot of people think, well, I'll just take extra testosterone. Somehow, it's going to give me all these added benefits. Well, it really doesn't seem to do that. First of all, what does it do for you?

These were some of the things that sort of emerged from the study in terms of possible good effects. It can increase your lean body mass. It can decrease your body fat. These are obviously things that are desirable. No impact on the prostate, which is interesting, because that is actually in contradiction to previous studies. And your insulin sensitivity can be improved. That's also a good thing. These are some of the possible benefits. Again, in men who had low testosterone levels to begin with.

But here are some of the things that didn't do. And I think, this maybe even more telling, than the things that testosterone does do. There is no improvement in mobility or strength. It's so important because athletes tout this as some sort of strength improver. There was no improvement. No improvement in cognitive function. No improvement in bone density either. That's the stuff that makes your bones brittle, if your bones are not dense enough. It also seemed to lower your levels of good cholesterol. Your HDL, your good cholesterol levels. Those actually seemed to go down. So, as you said halfway, I think, Kiran, it is a double-edged sword for sure.

CHETRY: So, you know, if you have been undergoing the testing, your doctors do determine that you are lower than you should be in terms of testosterone, are they still recommending supplementing?

GUPTA: Yes. In certain cases, if men, sort of, you know, testosterone levels sort of gradually go down as we age. In some men, they seem to decrease more so than in others. And if you are below normal levels, these are all sort of baseline levels, and you have some of the symptoms of low testosterone, you could get recommended testosterone supplementation. Now, there are some side effects to point out as well. You know, just from taking testosterone, you could have side effects, including acne, including baldness, and it can cause all sorts of different problems with your liver as well. So these are things to sort of watch out for.

CHETRY: The other interesting thing is, just on the same day, a new study came out. They're actually a new drug that's going to be available for women to treat a lower libido. It would be a testosterone gel. How would that work?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, testosterone, people think of it as a male hormone primarily, and for good reason it is. But women do make testosterone as well. About a seventh as much as men do and not having enough can have some of the same problems as men who don't have enough testosterone. It can decrease some of your muscle mass. It can also decrease your sex drive as you alluded to. The idea was how do you supplement this? How do you -- do you take a pill, do you take a patch, do you take a gel? And you can actually absorb testosterone across the skin. So, this may have some benefit.

The downside here, Kiran, is its very difficult to measure exactly how much someone is getting and you have to monitor those levels very, very carefully. So, there is a lot that goes into it, besides just putting the gel on the skin.

CHETRY: All right. Sanjay, thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

ROBERTS: It is down to the wire in Iowa. What are the last messages that the candidates are sharing with voters, to make the sale and close the deal? We will ask Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. He joins us live coming up.

You bought it, but do you own it? Why the music industry is going after people for ripping CDs from their computers. A surprising new lawsuit that you'll want to hear about. That's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We know that downloading music online can be illegal, but the music industry now says anyone even just copying or ripping a CD to their own computer, and people do this all the time, to dump their music from their CDs on to their iPods or other listening devices, could also be breaking the law. AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin joins us now. This had our scratching our heads. You bought the CD. You paid for it. And now you're just putting it on your computer, so that you can put it on another listening device that you own. So, how are they going to argue this one?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I don't know. I was doing a lot of research, because it did had me, sort of scratching my head. Usually, the offense is distributing the copyrighted materials. So let's say, you download and then share it with a hundred of your friends. Certainly, you're sort of stealing the music and that happens and you see those suits brought. But I had never heard it happen that you buy something legally and then, you put it on your own computer to make it more portable. I think, so many people do this. And now you've broken the law to the tune of, you know, thousands and thousands of dollars.

I think what we're seeing are the music studios making a test case to see if they can get away with it. But it could really come back to bite them. I mean, I don't see it, as really being legally any different from maybe using your DVR and downloading some shows, of awesome Oprah shows, as I do, and putting them on my computer so...

CHETRY: Or "Barney"?

HOSTIN: Yes. So that I can watch it and make it more portable. So, this is -- it's going to be a test case. It's going to be very interesting to follow, but I really think, there is going to be some backlash here.

CHETRY: Here is a statement from the recording industry. They say, if you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music, recordings, you're stealing. You're breaking the law and you could be held and legally liable for thousand of dollars in damages. But what I wonder is, how do they even enforce this. If you're not distributing it, how do they know? They are going to start coming in to peoples home?

HOSTIN: I have no idea how you're going to really enforce this kind of thing. Because, again, they usually get caught, or people usually get caught by sharing it, and so you download it and then, you share it. And the Internet investigators, that we know very well, that were able to tract IP addresses and IP names and that sort of thing. But I don't know, one, how you implement it and how you avoid the backlash of people not wanting to buy CDs anymore.

CHETRY: Yes, because we already see a drop in many cases with CD sales.

HOSTIN: Sure, sure.

CHETRY: I understand, it seems the theory behind it, because technically I could buy let's say Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, dump it onto a CD and give it to you. And you put it on your computer and you didn't have to pay for it.

HOSTIN: I think that's different, because once you start sharing it, it's a kin to distribution. And then, they tell two friends and they tell two friends and they tell two friends, and then, really, the artist suffers. And I think we need to protect that. But what happens when you use it for yourself. How do you enforce it? And how do you prevent the backlash from consumers?

CHETRY: All right. We'll see how this case goes. As you said, it could just be the test case, to see what they say. But, we'll see. And the other thing is a lot of people don't know this. They did a poll. 69 percent of teenagers survey say, they thought it was legal to just copy a CD they owned, and give it to their friends.

HOSTIN: You know, it's my job to keep up on the legality of things and I thought it was legal as well. And so, I think for the viewers out there, the take-away needs to be, you have to be very careful. Let's wait until we find out, the ruling on this case, before you continue downloading these CDs.

CHETRY: All right. Sunny, keep us posted. Thank you.

HOSTIN: Thank you.

CHETRY: John?

ROBERTS: He ran the Salt Lake City Olympics. Now he says, he would settle for the gold or even silver in Iowa. Is Mitt Romney lowering expectations in the Hawkeye state? We'll ask him coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLEN KERTZ, VERTIGRO: This is where the magic happens.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Glen Kertz believes this is the magic bullet alternative to oil. Its pond scum but without the pond. And that's what sets his idea apart. Kertz is flowing and growing algae through a long, winding journey in clear plastic bags suspended in a greenhouse. He calls the system Vertigro.

KERTZ: It keeps the algae hanging in the sunlight, just long enough to pick up the solar energy that they need to produce, you know, the lipids, to go through photosynthesis.

O'BRIEN: The algae grows fast and is siphoned off continuously. The algae oil is extracted, ready to be refined in the fuels like Biodiesel. Kertz says, he can produce a hundred thousand gallons of algae oil per acre per year. Compare that to corn which yields about 20 to 30 gallons an acre. And the Vertigro facility is a long way from the Corn Belt. In the desert near El Paso. The perfect place.

KERTZ: We took about a tenth of the state of New Mexico and converted it into algae production alone, OK? We can do all of the transportation needs for the United States.

O'BRIEN: Kertz and his team are working full throttle looking for and patenting the ideal algaes to make fuels and who knows, maybe even an energy drink. KERTZ: Kind of refreshing.

O'BRIEN: No, that's not bad. If Vertigro pans out as Kertz' predicts, we may all be raising our glasses to once lowly pond scum. Miles O'Brien, CNN, El Paso.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, you got to call this next one, brain freeze. If you think that you're cold in Iowa, check out this hot shot, John. People jumping into Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota. This is New Year's Day. They had to go with partners. There you go. I guess they had to wear Speedos too, in some cases. You had to hold your partners hand and then grab onto those poles, because it was so cold that they actually stop moving. You know, it's hard to keep on moving. So, they had somebody standing there with poles to pull them out. They say that temperature was round one degree or lower this week.

Would you do it, John?

ROBERTS: Oh, no. Not a chance. I actually got certified for my scuba license in 59-degree water wearing a 7-millimeter wet suit. That was cold enough. I had it name (INAUDIBLE). I had it felt like somebody was driving a spike into it. I would never, I guarantee you, never do that. But those people in Minnesota, they are hardy. They are hardy group of people.

CHETRY: Oh, I don't know, how you don't, instantly, get a cold or a flu after that one. But hey, more power to you. Congratulations. It's our hot shout. Thanks for sending in. If you have something you want us to show, your hot shot. Well, send it to us, am/hotshot@cnn.com. Include your name. A little bit about where you're from and about the picture or video, and please make sure the image is yours and not someone else's. I'm still cold.

ROBERTS: You are watching the most news in the morning there.

Fighting for undecided voters, going into the final hours here in Iowa. Coming up we're talking live to Mitt Romney, about his message, and whether voters are buying it. And New Year's resolutions. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with some tips on how to keep them this time. That story, when AMERICAN MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: Here is a shot coming to us this morning courtesy of KETV out of Omaha, Nebraska. Look at the skyline, the sun rising in the background. You wouldn't know it, but it's 0 degrees right now, but it feels like negative 11 because of the wind- chill but it's OK. It's going to warm up. It will be 18 degrees for a high today and sunny in Omaha, Nebraska. Wow. Certainly a day to bundle up there on this Wednesday, January 2nd. We're in the heart of winter. I'm Kiran Chetry. Hey, John. JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Hey, good morning to you Kiran. And I'm John Roberts. We're in Iowa City, Iowa this morning. Tomorrow, the caucus is in the Hawkeye state. We are right now in the Hamburg Inn Number 2 Diner, a very famous place right here in downtown Iowa City where people like their politics as much as they like their eggs. It's a really cozy intimate little place. You got some Ron Paul supporters over here and republicans and a heavily democratic era. You guys are a little bit of an endangered species here. I got some Obama supporters over here at the Bill Clinton table. Bill Clinton here not too long ago, stomping for his wife, Hillary.

They like to point out that this is in the center of the wall. Bill Clinton is moving toward the center here. And over here on the very far right side, we got the official Ronald Reagan presidential table. Good morning, folks. How are you guys doing? Biden supporters at the Reagan table.

Politics is a convoluted thing here in the Hawkeye state. But again, tomorrow night, the all-important caucuses, the first test of this 2008 presidential season and everybody here wondering who is going to win. Some people putting their money on Huckabee. Others are saying that Obama is making a late surge. Maybe John Edwards will be able to do it. Kiran, a lot of excitement here and we're going to be spending the next day and a half here and we're going to be talking also with Mitt Romney coming up in just a couple of minutes so lots to talk about here but right now back to you.

CHETRY: Yes, we're looking forward hearing from Mitt Romney and as you said boy, it certainly is coming down to the wire. No one knows how it's going to turn out. So we'll certainly be watching especially when those returns come in on Friday morning. We're going to be on an hour early just to make sure you get it all.

Well, meantime, say good-bye to late night reruns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, "TONIGHT SHOW," HOST: Did you all see Sandra Day O'Connor making the coin toss? Is it right? When President Bush saw the Supreme Court Justice flipping a coin, he said that's how I got elected! Hey! How is that?

END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: All righty. Those are some of the jokes maybe you won't be hearing when Jay Leno returns to the air waves tonight without the writers, will the show be as funny? Well, he is not the only one with worries. Our Lola Ogunnaike joins us now with more on this. It's interesting. So, the shows are coming back. The late night shows are coming back but some are going to look very different and some like Letterman are going to look exactly the same, pretty much.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Letterman was able to work out a deal with the Writers' Guild. So, he will have his staff of writers, he'll be able to do his monologues. He'll be able to do his skits and top ten countdown. So his show will probably look like exactly as it did before the strike but shows like Leno, shows like Conan, shows like Kimmel, those shows are going to look widely different. They're not going to be able to do their monologues. They're not going to be able to do their skits. And as far as the interview go, you might see 15-minute long interviews with politicians. You might see more interviews with C-celebrities because they will be less inclined to do these shows and cross the picket lines. The A-listers have been told to do Leno. I'm sorry to do Letterman and to do Craig Ferguson because they've worked out that deal and that is OK.

CHETRY: So, it's interesting. How will, if you had to predict, because you watch this stuff, how will Leno and the others sort of handle this and Conan? Will they try to just be extemporaneous and just start making up their own monologue or are they going to stick rigidly to long interviews and a lot of musical guests?

OGUNNAIKE: I think there's going to be a lot of riffing. There's going to be a lot of musical guests and interviews with people like athletes and models as well as field pieces. They are actually allowed to do field pieces because those are produced by producers and not by writers. So, see some tape sketches out in the field but nothing in the studio.

CHETRY: That's very interesting. So, those are how the late night situations are going to be handled. It will be interesting to see that. The other question though is our other scripted television that we're used to seeing, the "Gray's Anatomy," the other shows that haven't come back to air yet for a new season. What is going on there?

OGUNNAIKE: Well, until the writers' strike is over, nothing is going on. Most of the shows are in repeats and we're going to start seeing soap operas going to repeats in the next few weeks too unless they can work out a deal and that's not looking likely. I mean, this strike has been going on for nine weeks, Kiran. And the two sides aren't even speaking right now. So, there really is no end in sight. What is interesting though is that I feel like this Letterman thing may actually encourage other studios to work out independent deals as opposed to using their representatives to negotiate a bigger deal for the whole. So, if this Letterman thing actually works out, which is looking likely, then this could be great for the writers' guild and they could say look, here's an example it's working and it's in your best interest to strike your own independent deals as well.

CHETRY: I know you will be up late watching these shows, giving us the highlights tomorrow morning. I can't wait actually to see how it all goes down.

OGUNNAIKE: I think it's going to be incredible. I can't wait to see how the hosts deal with the strike. Letterman in 1988, he talked all about the strike and made fun of it, talked about the studio execs, called them jerks, called them, you know, money grabbing scumbags. So, let's see if he goes out far this evening or maybe he will be tame. Who knows.

CHETRY: All right. Lola, thanks so much. John. ROBERTS: Kiran, thanks. The Iowa caucuses are tomorrow and then just five days later, New Hampshire votes in the first in the nation primary. New numbers are just in this morning. And again, Mitt Romney in a fight. John McCain has picked up steam in the granite state. The newest CNN WMUR poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire shows McCain and Romney now tied at 29 percent. The polls here in Iowa just as tight for Romney fighting for the lead with Mike Huckabee. And the former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, joins us live from Des Moines. Governor, good to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning.

GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thanks, John. Good to be with you. Thank you. Good to be here.

ROBERTS: So, a new "Des Moines Register" poll has got you now in second place, outside of the margin of error. Yesterday in the campaign trail, you said like to win the gold but I'll settle for the silver. Are you trying to lower expectations here and after all the time and money that you've spent here in Iowa, would anything less than a first place finish be seen as a loss for you?

ROMNEY: Oh, look. I was 22 points behind just a few weeks ago and I was pleased to see your poll that has me in the lead here. Polls are all over the place but, ultimately, it's going to get decided by the voters here in Iowa real soon. And I know my ground team is working hard to turn out our caucus attendees. So, we'll see what finally happens. You know, they say there are three tickets coming out of Iowa. There are two coming our from New Hampshire. I think I'm the only guy that is playing in both markets and has a real chance of being successful in both states. So, look, I'd like a win, but if I get second, that is pretty good as well.

ROBERTS: So what we've seen the last few weeks is a real battle between you and Mike Huckabee as he was surging in the polls but now John McCain is taking aim at you as well, particularly over a statement you made on foreign policy where you said that the president of the United States doesn't necessarily have to be an expert on foreign policy. You prompted McCain to come up with a new internet ad. Let's take a little bit of a look at that and then I'll ask you about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mitt Romney says the next president doesn't need foreign policy experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Again, as we said, that is not exactly what you said. You said that the next president doesn't have to be a foreign policy expert. Plenty of people at the State Department can handle that. But let me ask you this question. Given all of the problems in the world, is it not advantageous for the next president of this country to have a firm background in foreign policy?

ROMNEY: I think it's very helpful for the next president to be like Ronald Reagan and that is the president that took on one of the greatest challenges, well the greatest foreign policy challenge the last half of the last century which is a person who could bring a fresh start to what is going on in Washington. Somebody who has been there virtually their entire career is not I think what America needs. I think we need somebody who can build new relationships with our friends around the world someone who also can deal with the problems in America in effective way, getting our citizens health care, keeping our taxes down and making sure we solve the problem of illegal immigration. And you know, I think John McCain is an honorable person but I think he is proving you can be honorable and still be wrong. He is wrong on the key issues that America faces.

ROBERTS: You know, Governor, we watch these campaigns so closely day-to-day watching for the lift shifts in nuance. And there was one yesterday when you said this about the Iraq war. You said, "I think we were under prepared for what occurred, understaffed, under planned, and in some respects, under managed." You have resisted such direct criticism of the president's handling of the war up until now. Why did you choose to make that change, to take that little bit of an evolution now? Is it because John McCain is running neck and neck with you in New Hampshire and you have to maybe think about being a little more critical of the war?

ROMNEY: No. Actually, I made those same comments over the last many, many months so you guys got to stay better tuned. I've been saying those things for, well ever since I've been a presidential contender and frankly well before that, I also pointed out there were failures in the intelligence leading up to the war and those failures, of course, were manifested in the fact that we didn't have the kind of preparation in place that we should have had knowing what we were getting into.

ROBERTS: Something else that you said that John Dickerson pointed out because he was following you around yesterday, went to a couple of house parties. You said that Ann and I will not embarrass you in the White House. Speaking about Ann Romney, your wife. What did you mean by that and who were you referring to?

ROMNEY: I'm not referring to anybody. We're referring to ourselves. We will do our very best to uphold the kind of values that people expect of a White House couple. We'll try to represent our country well around the world. We'll try and represent ourselves and our nation well also to our kids, because I think kids watch the White House and there have been failures in the past in the White House. You go back to the Clinton years and recognize that. But I think it had an enormous impact on the culture of our country and we will do our very best. Our whole family will, well we can't be perfect but we'll do our best to be able to uphold and be a good example for the kinds of values I think people expect from our leaders.

ROBERTS: And Governor, one last question, if I could. Here in the diner where you were on Sunday, people are very interested in the issues. To help them make up their minds but there is also the interest in being comfortable with the candidate. This latest poll that we did, we found that on the issue of likability, Mike Huckabee has got a 10-point edge over you. Why do you think that they like him better here in Iowa than they like you? And what impact might that have on the vote tomorrow night?

ROMNEY: Well, Mike is a likable guy. I like Mike as well. But I'm happy also with your poll that the voters had me leading in the contest. So I'm hoping your poll is right and when it comes time to cast these votes that I will get the caucus voters that I need to get the nod from the folks here in Iowa.

ROBERTS: Governor Romney, thanks for being with us this morning. Good luck to you. We will be watching.

ROMNEY: Thanks, John. Good to see you.

ROBERTS: All right. Good to see you again, too. Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks, John. Well, it's time to lose weight and quit smoking. At least that is what the new year means for a lot of people. But is there an easier way to keep those resolutions? Dr. Sanjay Gupta has some advice for us, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: We promise a lot of things, you know, come the new year. We want to lose weight. We want to quit smoking. We want to organize our lives better. Well, you know, a lot of people buckle down and try to keep those new year's resolutions but for a lot of us it's actually easier said than done. CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me with some tips that might help. You know, we hear the same thing everyone goes this is it, I've splurged over the holidays and now this is what I officially start my diet and exercise plan now. Why is it hard to keep those promises, Sanjay?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me just (inaudible) I'm not sure I'm the guy who's going to make you keep your New Year's resolution for sure this year but I might be able to give you some tips to get you better prepared. First of all, you're not alone in making a New Year's resolution as you alluded to Kiran. About a hundred million of us make some sort of New Year's resolution, it's a very common thing to do. You allude to the most common ones, losing weight always tops the list. No surprise there. Getting healthier overall and stopping bad habits like smoking, like biting your nails for example and things like that. But here in lies the problem though. The vast majority of people break the resolutions and the vast majority of them break them before the month even ends, before the end of January.

Take a look at some of the numbers here. 77 percent of the people actually breaking the resolutions. 40 percent of them just blame busy schedules. 33 percent aren't committed enough as it turns out. And this is a survey that people have done to try to figure out the problem here. Typically what it is, Kiran, is that the resolutions are too grand. People get very grandiose this time of the year. You have a lot of things that's happened over the holidays and all of a sudden, you want to make grand changes in your life. That is probably not the answer. Instead, making day-to-day commitments and making them small as realistic as possible seems to be what really works. Kiran.

CHETRY: So, when you decide to do that type of thing, you can't change everything at once as you said. How do you decide what's most important, what you want to focus on in terms of your health? Because, you know, often times you say we're going to do everything at once and then you sort of drop it.

GUPTA: Right. So a couple of important points there. First of all, in a moment of great stress, in a moment of great anxiety is probably not the time to make your New Year's resolution. So to say all of a sudden say I want to get healthier in general, doing it at New Year's time is probably not the best time to do it. But instead find some specific thing about your health and focus on that and maybe not even do it in January, say in February or March, I'm going to start this. At a time, when there may be not so much pressure, so much stress on this.

Also, keep in mind, something that's very interesting, something that we learned from our New Year resolution. And that is if you do something for 21 days. 21 days in a row. Exercising, eating specific sort of meal, not smoking, it is much more likely to become a habit. So, if you can really do it for three weeks consistently, you will have much better success.

CHETRY: All right. So start small, pick specific goals and if you fail, try again.

GUPTA: Stick with it. Confidence.

CHETRY: Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: All right.

ROBERTS: Jill Bennett of "Businessweek" TV is in this week for Ali Velshi. She is "Minding your Business." Jill, everyone on Wall Street paying close attention to these first five days of January wondering which way the stock market is going to go, particularly when you look at these opening days of the stock market in an election year.

JILL BENNETT, "BUSINESSWEEK TV": That's right. It is an old saying on Wall Street, how goes the first five trading days of the New Year, That is how we will often finish the year. There is actually some data to back this up. When we've seen the Standard & Poor's gain, for the first five trading days of the year, 86 percent of the time the year finished higher. So, a lot of strength in that. We also have only two election years where there is an exception to that rule in 1956 and also in 1988.

Now, January is often the strongest month for stocks in an election year. Which, of course, is where we are at right now. And we have the Dow and the Standard and Poor's 500 usually January is the strongest month in election years and for the Nasdaq it is the second strongest month. Now, let's take a look at where some of the places that analysts are looking for stocks for this year. Because a little bit health care continuing. And that's because we have the aging baby boomers. A lot of focus on that. Technology which was certainly a very, very strong sector in 2007 and restaurants, because people are out there eating as John can attest to that even very early in the morning.

ROBERTS: Very early in the morning. This restaurant was packed at 5:30 this morning.

BENNETT: I saw it.

ROBERTS: And it will be that way through until probably 5:00 this afternoon. Hey, you talked about how stocks do typically in January in election year. But what about through the entire year? What do they normally do?

BENNETT: In election years, usually it's very strong. 80 percent of the time, stocks finish the year higher. It doesn't tend to make a huge bit of difference if it's a republican or a democrat that ends up in the White House. What the market doesn't really love is a split Congress.

ROBERTS: All right. OK. Jill Bennett from "Businessweek TV," thanks very much.

BENNETT: Thank you.

ROBERTS: CNN NEWSROOM is just minutes away now. Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning to you, John. Well, a cold sprint on the NEWSROOM rundown. Presidential candidates are facing a frozen campaign trail in Iowa. Today is the final day before the state caucuses. And bitter cold in the Midwest and heavy snow from Appalachia to New England. Yes, folks, it is January.

And did you swipe too much over the holidays? Maybe you need a better credit card. Gerri Willis with the best deals on plastic. If there is one out there, she's found it. Tony and Heidi are off. Rob Marciano joins me in the NEWSROOM and we get started at the top of the hour. John.

ROBERTS: All right, Fredricka. Thanks very much. We will see you soon. Kiran.

CHETRY: And the votes are in the coffee bean caucus at least. We're going to go back to Iowa to see which candidates are in the lead in the bean counting. That is next on AMERICAN MORNING.

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ROBERTS: Earlier this morning, we told you about the coffee bean caucus, the informal barometer of which way the voters here in Iowa City may go and maybe across the state. Barack Obama and Ron Paul were in the lead at 6:00 a.m. but both were outnumbered by undecided voters. Let's see if that is the still the case. Dave Panther is the owner of the Hamburg Inn Number Two Diner and creator of the coffee bean caucus. Atul Nakasi is president of the University of Iowa College democrats John Mulrooney is the secretary. They all join us. First of all, Dave, walk us through the coffee bean caucus. We had an awfully full jar of coffee beans here for Barack Obama. You've been counting them all morning. What did you find?

DAVE PANTHER, OWNER, HAMBURG INN NO. 2 DINER: Well, we found that he did win and by a substantial margin. He got 1,700 plus and then Hillary came in at 800 and Ron Paul is still leading the republicans.

ROBERTS: Leading right now. As we said before, Johnson County is hugely democratic area so we can expect to see more coffee beans for the democrats and also significant that 215 coffee beans for the undecided. You think we'll see that play out in the caucuses tomorrow night?

PANTHER: I think it's going to be a major factor on who actually comes out as to how the undecided are going to vote.

ROBERTS: Have you made up your mind yet?

PANTHER: Yes, I have. I am actually going to caucus for Hillary.

ROBERTS: Interesting. Let's go over here and talk to Atul Nakasi and John Mulrooney as well. You're not only president of the college democrats here at the University of Iowa in Iowa City but you are holding your own caucus. Typically, we would think of somebody who would be the chairman of the caucus being someone in their 40s and 50s, you're 20 years old.

ATUL NAKASI, PRES., UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COLLEGE DEMOCRATS: Lucky enough to run one at 20 years old. That's right. Just turned 20 a couple of months ago. An extraordinary opportunity to, you know, lead students, the largest student precinct in the state of Iowa. It's going to be a fun time.

ROBERTS: How many people are you expecting out tonight?

NAKASI: You know, we're expecting over 200 students and including one that is coming back from all across the Midwest to caucus here in the middle of break.

ROBERTS: What is really interesting is the number of people who are coming back, John, in the middle of break. Barack Obama, obviously, has put a lot of his chips down on this idea that students will come back. Are they just that interested in politics here in Iowa?

JOHN MULROONEY, SEC., UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COLLEGE DEMOCRATS: Well, it's an interesting dynamic in our campus especially a large percentage of our student body comes from the Chicago area which is well know to be a very strong area for Senator Obama.

ROBERTS: It's a 3 1/2 hour drive. I know because I made it last night. MULROONEY: I think some of the controversy of operating out of state students back into town might revolve on the fact that a large percentage of those out of state students are going to be very much in support of the senator.

ROBERTS: So, who's got the most buzz? What are the issues that are most important to college students?

NAKASI: You know, without a doubt, Obama is doing very well on campus but we're seeing students take a second look at candidates. We're really seeing students analyze the candidates to a deeper extent, including the issues which is pretty remarkable.

ROBERTS: What is the number one issue?

NAKASI: You know, we have the Iraq war but college affordability and higher education are massive issues. And you know, there's 120,000 democratic caucus goers in the state of Iowa and there's 222,000 college students across the state. So, if we want to really determine this election, the youth have the potential.

ROBERTS: Yes, they certainly do. Well, good luck at your first caucus tomorrow night. It should be good.

NAKASI: Yes, my first caucus and running one, too!

ROBERTS: There you go. Atul Nakasi, John Mulrooney and of course Dave Panther, thank you very much. Kiran, the beans have spoken here. The coffee bean caucus springing a little bit of fun at Iowa this morning and we'll find out just how accurate they are. Barack Obama the winner here at the Hamburg Inn Number Two diner. Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Sounds great. John, thanks so much.

Here is a quick look at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.

WHITFIELD: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The final day of campaigning for the Iowa caucuses.

Up to a foot of snow could fall today from Appalachia into New England.

Pakistan sets a new date for parliamentary elections.

New Orleans on track to lead the nation in murders for the second straight year.

And a town springs a leak. NEWSROOM, top of the hour, on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Before we say goodbye this morning, we're going to take a look at our quick vote. We talked about this sleep spray that they've been developing which contains a hormone that can actually tricked your body into not being tired supposedly with no side effects. Still some years away on tests on human but if they could come up with one, would you take it? 32 percent of you say yes, a whopping 68 percent say no thank you, I'd rather get some old-fashioned sleep. I'm with you guys. But to all of you that voted, thanks so much. There you have it, John.

ROBERTS: I would love to get some old-fashioned sleep as well but it doesn't seem to happen. We want to remind you of the CNN special prime time coverage of the Iowa caucuses begins tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The best political team on television will bring you a complete look at the caucuses from every angle tomorrow night, right here on CNN.

And of course, we will be bringing you AMERICAN MORNING from a diner live in downtown Des Moines tomorrow. So hope you'll join us then. Thanks very much for joining us this morning on this AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: It was great seeing you there and getting to talk to a lot of would be voters and caucus goers so.

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