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American Morning
Sweep for Obama in Potomac Primary; Apathy for Obama: What Do Latino Voters Think?; Texas Showdown; Roger Clemens Testifies on Capitol Hill Today
Aired February 13, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All you need to know is that you have one day until Valentine's Day. All right. That's for your wife.
I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks for joining us this morning. Well, some big wins yesterday. What? Did you really forget until I told you just now?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Big gulp there. Thank you.
CHETRY: One day.
ROBERTS: Thank you.
CHETRY: And some big wins in the race for the White House. Senator Barack Obama going three for three as well as Senator John McCain in what's known as the Potomac Primaries last night. That's Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. Obama won by decisive margins in Maryland, Virginia and the nation's capital, gaining an estimated 70 delegates last night. That gives him the overall delegate lead now over Senator Hillary Clinton, 1,215 to 1,190.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- money that we don't have in a war that shouldn't have been fought. We can't keep mortgaging our children's future on a mountain of debt. We can't keep driving a wider and wider gap between a few rich and the rest who are struggling to keep pace. It is time to turn the page and write a new chapter in American history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Senator Clinton is making more changes and already moving on. Clinton's deputy campaign manager, Mike Henry, resigning last night. He was hired by Clinton's former campaign manager who stepped down over the weekend. Senator Clinton was in Texas last night hoping that Latino voters can stop her losing streak in what's being built as a must win state for the Clinton camp.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to sweep across Texas in the next three weeks bringing our message about what we need in America, the kind of president that will be required on day one to be commander in chief to turn the economy around. I'm tested. I'm ready. Let's make it happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Clinton has not won a contest since Super Tuesday -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, on the Republican side, it was a big night for John McCain. The Arizona senator won all three winner-take-all states who were up for grabs. He picked up 89 delegates, 60 in Virginia, 13 in Maryland and 16 in the District of Columbia. That puts his total delegates tab count now at 812 -- 1,191 is needed to clinch the nomination. Mike Huckabee still stays back at 217. Ron Paul has 16. Mitt Romney's suspended campaign still holding on to 286 delegates. McCain took a swipe at Barack Obama during his victory speech last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't seek the presidency on the presumption that I'm blessed with such personal greatness, that history has anointed me to save my country in its hour of need. I seek the presidency with the humility of a man who cannot forget that my country saved me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Despite losing all three contests, Mike Huckabee says he is not going anywhere. He says the race isn't over until someone crosses that 1,191 delegate finish line, and he told supporters he has still got a shot.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's still a real sense in the Republican Party of a desire to have a choice. A desire to make sure that the voters who want a solid, conservative, absolutely pro-life candidate still exists, and I think that's what the results in Virginia clearly indicate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And despite the close call in Virginia, John McCain says he has the momentum to go forward and grab the GOP nomination -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, CNN exit polling shows Barack Obama winning in key demographics that once overwhelmingly belonged to Hillary Clinton and that includes women. Joining me now to show us how they voted is senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Thanks for being with us this morning.
BILL SCHNEIDER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure.
CHETRY: That was the big talk is that in some of those big demographics that you thought Barack Obama wasn't doing well in, last night certainly proved that wrong. SCHNEIDER: That's right. That's what the momentum does for you, for Barack Obama certainly. There were some groups that Hillary Clinton was counting on, but it doesn't look like she can count on them any longer. Let's take a look at women voters. Now what we have here is Super Tuesday. This is how women voted in all the primaries last week. When we polled them, they went 53 percent for Clinton, 43 percent for Obama. But in Virginia yesterday, look at this. Women voted 60 percent for Obama, and in Maryland, 55 percent.
So women seemed to have abandoned Hillary Clinton for Barack Obama. Second group where Hillary Clinton was doing very well on Super Tuesday is seniors. She carried seniors with 57 percent of the vote on Super Tuesday. But now, one week later in Virginia, seniors voted for Obama and in Maryland it was very close.
CHETRY: Wow.
SCHNEIDER: They tipped slightly to Barack Obama. So, she can't count on those groups the way she thought she might.
CHETRY: It's also interesting as we head into Texas and Ohio, these are being billed as the must win states for her where she is expected to win, relying on a large Latino population that up and until now, at least has been solidly in Clinton's camp.
SCHNEIDER: Not so solidly anymore. Let's take a look at Latino voters. There weren't very many, but they were some in Virginia and Maryland. Here are the Latino voters. On Super Tuesday, Hillary Clinton carried 63 percent of Latino voters. Now, a week later in Virginia, they went for Obama. They stuck with Clinton in Maryland but with a lower margin, 55 to 45.
So it's a real question whether the Latino voters will stay with Clinton in Texas, or will they be swept up in this momentum. Another group is important for Ohio, the same day as Texas, and those are blue collar voters. These are voters who did not go to college. On Super Tuesday, they went for Clinton. And in Virginia and Maryland -- look at this -- non-college voters went over 60 percent for Obama in both Virginia and Maryland. So again, a constituency is not there.
CHETRY: It's interesting because also along racial lines I think the numbers were overwhelmingly African-Americans voting for Barack Obama, but also the white vote in places like Virginia split, almost 50/50.
SCHNEIDER: The white votes split. It was just about 50-50, which means Barack Obama is carrying a big chunk of white voters including Virginia, which is a southern state. White southerners, a lot of them, half of them, a little over half were voting for Obama.
CHETRY: It will be very interesting to see as we head into these next big two contests how this all shakes out. Bill Schneider, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: So here's where we go next. Let's take a look at the primary calendar. Next Tuesday, Democrats fight for 94 delegates in Hawaii and Wisconsin. Wisconsin, a primary, Hawaii is a caucus. Forty delegates for the Republicans in Wisconsin. The Republican primary in Hawaii isn't until May. Then on the big one, Super Tuesday II March the 4th, Democrats vie for 370 delegates, mostly in Texas and Ohio. Two hundred seventy-five delegates at stake for the GOP. And then on April 22nd, it's Pennsylvania with 158 Democratic delegates, 74 for the Republicans.
We're also watching extreme weather right now up and down the eastern seaboard. It was a messy election day across Maryland. Up to 20 vehicles smashed up near the beltway. Freezing rain and glaze of ice kept polling stations open for an extra 90 minutes last night so voters could make it in. Those late votes are provisional ballots. They won't be counted until next week, though given the margins at least on the Democratic side, they're not going to make any difference.
And this was the scene in Pittsburgh. Snow and sleet closed roads and bridges and stranded flyers. Our Jacqui Jeras in for Rob Marciano at our weather update desk tracking the extreme weather. And we really for the first time this year and probably this season, Jacqui, have slushed in a lot of it on the ground here in New York City.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We have two inches of snow. And now, you got the slushy mix coming in, but that's all going to be changing over to rain into New York City. But just north and west of there, we're very concerned about freezing rain in the next couple of hours. Check out all of the pink that's on the map at this hour. And right in here is where our biggest concern is going to be through probably 9:00 this morning for accumulating freezing rain, the kind that can cause power outages and cause extremely hazardous travel.
You can see the Massachusetts turnpike all with that pink right now. And pink basically means it could be a mix of freezing rain or it could be rain and snow coming together. It is just rain in New Haven and New York City. Low pressure developing offshore down here from the Carolinas that's in a pump moisture into the area all day long. And on top of that, we've got some of that snow melting off. So we are concerned about flooding throughout the day today.
Flood watches from Boston down towards Philadelphia and with that rain in the area, we're very concerned about airport delays coming into play later on this morning. Over an hour expected in the New York metros from Boston, about 30 minutes in Washington, D.C., and also some delays expected in south Florida. There is a tornado watch still in effect there. We're going to talk more about some tornadoes that touched down yesterday and that threat that is still ongoing for this afternoon -- John.
ROBERTS: And it's always interesting, Jacqui, to watch that ballet here in New York City as people try to step gingerly off the sidewalk as they're crossing the street around the puddles and all that slush. Thanks. We'll check back with you in just a little while -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, Alina Cho joins us now with some stories that developed overnight including finally an end to the writers' strike.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Some people thought it would never end, right? I mean, it was a long, long strike. And, you know, by some estimates, it cost the L.A. economy $3 billion. It's incredible, Kiran. Good morning. Good morning, everybody.
For the first time in three months Leno, Conan and Jimmy will get their writers back. The Writers Guild of America voted overnight to end their walkout. They still have to sign off on a contract that pays them for that work distributed over the Internet. Last to see if Jay Leno's jokes get any better. His writers come back in time for tomorrow night's show.
Jon Stewart gets his writers back for "The Daily Show," and, of course, for the Oscars. Your favorite shows, by the way, could be back by April or May. Comedies first like "The Office" and "Two and a Half Men," then the dramas like "House," "CSI" and "Grey's Anatomy."
We're hearing what former Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte told Congress about his friend Roger Clemens in human growth hormones. Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, are star witnesses today at a Congressional hearing on drug use in baseball. McNamee claims he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone, a total of 16 times. Clemens has vigorously denied the claims.
"The Associated Press," meanwhile, is reporting that Pettitte's affidavit of sworn testimonies says Clemens told him nearly 10 years ago that he used HGH back when it was not banned by baseball. You can watch Clemens' testimony live on CNN.com. That's starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
New rules expand the government's right to eavesdrop on phone calls and e-mails, considered a big win for the White House. The Senate has approved amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. That would give legal protection to phone companies that participated in secret surveillance after 9/11. The House version does not provide that immunity. Differences between the two bills, of course, must be worked out before President Bush signs it.
Famed director Steven Spielberg is boycotting next year's Olympic games in Beijing because of the crisis in Darfur. Now, he was supposed to be an artistic adviser for the opening and closing ceremonies. He joins actors like Emma Thompson and Nobel Laureate like Desmond Tutu, in asking the Chinese government to stop selling weapons to Sudan and to pressure the Sudanese government to end the human suffering in Darfur.
And there's a new top dog this morning and the little guy made history, too. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are absolutely superb, beautiful lineup. Thank you very much. May I have the beagle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The beagle!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: We talked about this little beagle yesterday. His name is Uno. Now, he's numero uno. He won Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show last night, the first beagle ever to take the top prize. Just 15 pounds, that little guy and 3 years old.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Fifteen inches.
CHO: Oh, 15 inches. I'm sorry.
ROBERTS: He doesn't weigh a lot more than 15 pounds.
CHO: I'm sorry.
Uno was a huge crowd favorite, got a standing ovation even inside Madison Square Garden. Beat out thousands of other dogs, including Loka. (INAUDIBLE) on Monday, but John and I had an opportunity to meet little Loka, a Tibetan mastiff, one of the four new breeds competing at Westminster this year. Oh, that coat -- it was like feeling a fur coat, right? She won an Award of Merit for exceptional dogs in her class, by the way. So Loka did well, too, and that's a big win for that Tibetan mastiff. But the beagle, you know, one of the most popular breeds ever and now --
CHETRY: But never won a dog show.
CHO: Never, never won Best -- always the underdog. Now, the top dog.
ROBERTS: First time I think a hound has won since 1939.
CHO: That's right. That's right. And never won Best in Show. So it's a big deal. He's a cute little thing.
ROBERTS: It's one good-looking -- one good looking beagle.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Hillary Clinton is already campaigning in south Texas and launching new ads to appeal to Hispanics who say Barack Obama is not their guy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JESSE DIAZ, LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS: There's a mistrust. Hispanics are going to say, wait a minute. There's no track record. There's nothing there that shows where they have done for us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What Clinton is doing to secure the Latino vote and take back the upper hand in the race for the Democratic nomination.
Plus, caught on tape -- a police officer and a skateboarding teen. Do the pictures tell the whole story? Find out ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to sweep across Texas in the next three weeks bringing our message about what we need in America, the kind of president that will be required on day one to be commander in chief to turn the economy around. I'm tested. I'm ready. Let's make it happen!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Hillary Clinton campaigning last night in Texas. She did not mention the states in the Potomac Primary that Barack Obama won. For the first time, he made inroads into her base winning over more white women. But there are challenges ahead for the next showdown in Texas in the fight for Latino voters.
AMERICAN MORNING's Ed Lavandera shows us why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To be part of the El Paso, Texas, family starting right now.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hillary Clinton arrived in El Paso, Texas, Tuesday night reminding the large Hispanic audience that she used to walk the streets of this border town more than 30 years ago, registering voters. The Clinton campaign hopes that kind of personal connection will go a long way with voters here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We believe in her. We believe in what she stands for, and I think she will be good for Hispanics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's going to be helping our border issues here in El Paso, so we're extremely excited.
LAVANDERA: Barack Obama doesn't have that history with Latino voters in Texas. Even his own campaign acknowledges, the Illinois senator has a lot of work to do.
Rafael Anchia is a state representative from Dallas helping introduce Obama to Texas Hispanics.
RAFAEL ANCHIA (D), TEXAS STATE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE: What we've seen in other states is when he's been 20 and 10 points behind, when people see him on the ground, when people see his commercials, hear him speak, boy, it closes the gap immediately.
LAVANDERA (on camera): The Obama campaign says it is starting to do better among Latino voters, pointing to Tuesday's victory in Virginia, saying that they actually beat Hillary Clinton among Latino voters. But in Texas, it's different. Here, the Clintons have a much longer, deeper relationship with the Hispanic community.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Jesse Diaz is the head of the League of United Latin American Citizens in Dallas. He claims that many Texas Hispanics don't trust black political leaders because they're simply not familiar with them.
JESSE DIAZ, LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS: There's a mistrust. Hispanics are going to say, wait a minute. There's no track record. There's nothing there that shows where they have done for us, so how can we trust them that they're going to do it for us?
LAVANDERA: But Obama supporters point out their candidate is the son of an immigrant, and they say when Texas Hispanics hear about his plans for progressive immigration reform, he'll win over Latinos.
ANCHIA: If we get stuck in the frame of Latino versus black which is an old frame, it's a historical frame, we will miss the opportunity to bring communities together under the Obama banner and presidency in the future.
LAVANDERA: But as for the immediate future, a state that's 35 percent Hispanic, is poised for a big political fight in the weeks ahead. Ed Lavandera, CNN, El Paso, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Exit polls from Virginia show that Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton in the Latino vote by eight points, but in Maryland she won by 10 points. And you can see how they do in Texas in the next debate hosted by CNN, Univision and the Texas Democratic Party. That's next Thursday, February 21st, at the University of Texas in Austin. Watch it live on CNN at 8:00 p.m. Eastern -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Still ahead, a Baltimore police officer suspended after he gets physical with a 14-year-old skateboarder. It's caught on tape and then posted on YouTube. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER SALVATORE RIVIERI, BALTIMORE POLICE: Obviously, your parents don't put a foot in your butt quite enough because you don't understand the meaning of respect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: What prompted that? Well, we're going to show you coming up.
Also, it's not a love note. Actually, a warning about some Valentine's Day e-cards that could be big headaches for your computer. Veronica de la Cruz shows us what to watch out for. She's coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Time for your "Hot Shot" of the day. Stay between the lines. Not so easy when you're driving on pure ice. Check it out.
It's an overhead shot of a Cincinnati parking lot. The ice storm made for a dicey commute. Crews salted roads, even laid down a beet juice formula to fight the freeze.
And if you got a "Hot Shot," send it to us. Send to our Web site, CNN.com/am, and follow the "Hot Shot" link.
A Baltimore police officer is off the streets this morning after a confrontation with a teenage skateboarder ends up on YouTube. You can see Officer Salvatore Rivieri telling a 14-year-old boy that no skateboarding is allowed on the Inner Harbor Promenade. Then he puts the teen in a headlock, throws him to the ground. Rivera then lectures him about respect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER SALVATORE RIVIERI, BALTIMORE POLICE: Obviously, your parents don't put a foot in your butt quite enough because you don't understand the meaning of respect. First of all, you better learn how to speak. I'm not man. I'm not dude. I am Officer Rivieri. The sooner you learn that, the longer you are going to live in this world. Because you go around doing this kind of stuff, somebody is going to kill you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Rivieri was suspended on Sunday. The video was shot last summer but posted on Saturday. The boy's mother says she called to file a complaint but was told the supervisor was on vacation and never returned her call. Police are investigating her claim.
CHETRY: Well, a Valentine's Day warning coming from the FBI. Veronica de la Cruz is here to tell us why an e-mail from a secret admirer may actually be a threat and a big hassle for your computer. Hey, Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A big hassle for your computer. Good morning to you. Now, one more thing that we have to worry about on Valentine's Day, you know, for women they're worried about, you know, am I going to get chocolate or candy or maybe --?
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: They're worried their husband forgot. DE LA CRUZ: Exactly. Is he going to remember? Is he going to remember? So just one more thing like I said to have to think about this Valentine's Day. The FBI has released a new warning out. They're calling this the Valentine storm worm. This is actually the reincarnation of the storm worm that's been around for quite some time.
But you got to watch out for this Valentine's Day. You don't want to click on anything from an unknown sender. You want to make sure you don't open up any unsolicited e-mail. Other things you want to do. Just don't click on the links or attachments if you ignored the top advice. You don't want to click on any links or attachment once you open up those e-mails. Also, make sure that all of your security software is up and running.
You can use a firewall. Update any anti-virus software because what happens, Kiran, once you click, that can launch malware or a botnet which basically is a robot network. The person who has sent you this e-mail now has control of your computer, maybe my computer, and that's how they get access to your personal information.
CHETRY: So you told us what we're supposed to do. Let's say you don't realize it and you do click on the thing, then what happens?
DE LA CRUZ: Well, like I just said, that person now has access to your computer, maybe John's computer and can access your personal information. Identity theft is a big problem right now as you well know. So you don't want to do that. If you do, you can always contact the FBI. You can also log on to --
There's another Web site out there. It's ic3.gov. You can file a formal complaint. And the problem here is that you don't know it's happened to you. You don't know it's happened to you. Maybe the only warning sign is that your computer is functioning a little slower than normal, so something you definitely you want to look out for on this Valentine's Day.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Wow.
DE LA CRUZ: So you're preying on people's vulnerability. It's horrible.
CHETRY: If you think it's coming from a secret admirer, delete.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. Your secret admirer could be a storm worm.
CHETRY: Wow. All right. Veronica, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Never trust those secret admirers.
Pitching great Roger Clemens will be on Capitol Hill today, facing more questions about drugs in baseball. He'll share the witness table with his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, who claims that he injected Clemens at least 16 times with both steroids and human growth hormone. It's going to be an uncomfortable picture.
Clemens has vehemently denied those accusations, but we're hearing now that his former Yankee teammate, Andy Pettitte, reportedly gave a sworn statement to Congress saying that Clemens told him nearly 10 years ago that he used human growth hormone.
And that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. Who do you think is telling the truth? Roger Clemens or Brian McNamee? Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We'll have the first tally of votes coming up later on in this hour -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, you're watching the "Most News in the Morning." And still ahead, Texas, a make or break state for the Democrats. What are Hillary Clinton's chances at a comeback with the momentum now on Barack Obama's side? We're going to take a look at where the candidates stand in a must-win state coming up.
Also, a shocking act caught on tape. A police officer dumping a quadriplegic man out of his wheelchair. Why she claims she did it and what should happen now? We're going to have more on that coming up when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The weather headlines this morning, an East Coast a mess, a wintry mess on the way for much of the Northeast. And boy, they were dealing with it yesterday as well; a mix of snow, sleet and ice all along the East Coast. This is video of people trying to push their cars out in New Jersey and New York, cars spinning their wheels, sliding off the roads. And as you might imagine, the icy conditions led to numerous accidents. It actually also led them to keep the polls open for an hour and a half longer yesterday in Maryland. A real mess out there as well. A 20-car pileup just outside of the nation's capital.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Those votes, by the way, won't be counted until next week. So they were provisional ballots, but the margins really aren't going to make much of a difference, because as we welcome you back to AMERICAN MORNING, it was an absolute cruise to victory. Senators Barack Obama and John McCain easily won primaries in Virginia, Maryland and Washington D.C. McCain clearly the GOP frontrunner now, but despite a long winning streak, Obama is still battling Hillary Clinton for the nomination. For the first time Obama has taken the overall delegate lead, including those superdelegates, by our estimates -- 1,215 to 1,190 now. Only 25 separates them.
John McCain's delegate total is now at 812. Mike Huckabee stays at 217, because they were all winner-take-all contests on the Republican side.
CNN political analyst John Dickerson joins us now from Washington with more. John, Barack Obama are absolutely slammed Hillary Clinton last night. We talked about this idea of momentum and whether it exists and what does it mean. Does he have momentum now?
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: He does. The reason we talk about momentum is in this race so far people have won a primary and then gone on to lose the next one. That doesn't change the fact that candidates who win this many primaries certainly Obama is picking up bigger crowds, he has the money. He has eight in a row. He's now heading into Wisconsin next week where he looks like he's going to do pretty well and in his speech last night, he had already picked up momentum and was running against John McCain as if he were already the nominee.
ROBERTS: When you look at the latest polls from Wisconsin, as you just mentioned a second ago, you see a dramatic up-tick in the line for Barack Obama which may indicate some sort of momentum. Does that mean it is riding on Texas and Ohio for Hillary Clinton?
DICKERSON: It does. It is curious for her. Wisconsin should be a state where she would play well. There's not heavy African-American vote. A lot of working class folks there. Obama will do well with college students. But she has moved on. She's in Texas and running in Texas, Ohio and Pennsylvania, states that play to her strengths and so she's put her fire wall there and she has to do well in those three states.
ROBERTS: What can she do to stop him there between now and the time that they vote on March the 4th? He seems to get better as time goes on.
DICKERSON: He does. She has to keep her constituents shored up. Barack Obama made inroads last night perhaps with those groups. She has to shore those up and she has to make him look like a frightening character. Which is to say that as nominee she has to suggest that he's too vulnerable. He hasn't been tested. He's not tough enough to go up against Republicans and get Democrats seeing him now as front- runner and imagining him as the nominee to use that against him.
ROBERTS: As we mentioned only 25 delegates separate the two front runners and the only two people in the race right now. 25 delegates separate Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton but on the Republican side, it's a far different story. McCain just a little more than 300 away from that magic number of 1,191. Is Huckabee now just a drag on the inevitable?
DICKERSON: He is. He's such a nice fellow for most Republicans or that's the way they see him anyway. It's not a big problem that he's still in the race. After a few more contests, the party may kind of wonder what he's doing and what he's in this for. His speeches each time he loses get a little less attached to reality. So he is a bit of a drag but it's not a big problem for Republicans. McCain's problem is getting the conservatives that he still hasn't locked exactly down the way he may do that is starting to take on Barack Obama as he did in his speech last night.
ROBERTS: I know a few Republicans who voted for Barack Obama last night. We'll see how that plays going forward. John Dickerson for us this morning from Washington; John, thanks.
DICKERSON: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: New this morning, we have just learned that one of America's most wanted terrorists is dead. Imad Mughniyeh, a top military commander of Hezbollah, was killed in an explosion this morning in Syria. The FBI says he had a notorious rap sheet including hijacking of TWA flight 847. It was back in June of 1985 where a navy diver was shot and killed. He's suspected in the deadly 1983 U.S. embassy bombing in Beirut. Hezbollah says Israel is responsible for the explosion that killed him.
In your financial security watch, President Bush will sign the $170 billion economic stimulus package this afternoon. The most single taxpayers will be getting $600 checks. Qualifying married couples will get $1,200 checks and $300 per child.
Numbers just released this morning shows what cities are hit hardest by the mortgage crisis and the Detroit metro area tops the list. Nearly 5 percent of homes were in some stage of foreclosure last year. Stockton, California ranked second and the Las Vegas metro area, third. Those figures are from the mortgage research company Realty Track.
Thirty-five minutes past the hour now and some wicked weather up and down the east coast yesterday. Some of it continuing today. Snow, sleet and ice making driving a real nightmare. In fact, they kept the polls in Maryland open an additional 90 minutes last night. Weather made it tough for people to get out and vote. In Florida, a tornado touched down in Cocoa Beach near the Kennedy Space Center. It blew the roof off of a condo complex there. No one was hurt but a lot of damage. Jacqui Jeras is tracking the extreme weather for us now. A look ahead at today. You showed us a lot of airport delays. It will be another rough one.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes in fact not only delays now, Kiran. We just got word that we have two closures to mention; Providence, Rhode Island, and also Bradley International Airport up here toward Windsor Locks. Both closed right now due to freezing rain and trying to get that runway clear. Both are expected to be back open about an hour from now. Hopefully that will happen. You can see freezing rain still coming down and it is quite heavy. So very hazardous travel. Bridges and overpasses in particular are going to get hit very hard.
We're watching an area really from southern parts of New Hampshire, Vermont, extending through upstate New York and then into central and eastern parts of Pennsylvania where we're expecting the heaviest of ice accumulations because you can see as much as a quarter of an inch plus bringing down significant tree branches and even power lines. You can see thunderstorms moving in across the Carolinas. A tornado watch left here in south Florida until the top of the hour. Still a lot of lightning associated with those thunderstorms.
That time of year for cold and flu and the latest report is not looking good. Look at all of the red on the map. That means widespread flu activity. We are in the peak of the flu season and we're also getting word from CDC that flu shots not working for all of the cases. Influenza A is the main strain but influenza B is out there and that wasn't covered in the shot this year so be careful even if you did get that vaccine. Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. Boy, people do it to try to protect themselves and in some cases they're still getting nailed. All right. Jacqui, thanks so much. John?
ROBERTS: Behind the numbers, how did Barack Obama sweep all three of the Potomac primaries? CNN contributor Roland Martin weighs in.
And a tape that will shock you. A sheriff's deputy doesn't believe that man can't walk and then does this. A quadriplegic dumped on the floor. What punishment could face this act? Our Sunny Hostin is standing by to talk about this next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Boy, a really disturbing act caught on tape. A quadriplegic man was dumped on the floor by a sheriff's deputy. There it is. It's newly released surveillance tape showing the officer tipping him over onto the floor. It happened after the man, Brian Sterner, was arrested at his home for a traffic violation and was waiting to be booked when a Hillsborough County Florida sheriff's deputy says that she didn't believe he was disabled. She tipped him over in his wheelchair. He says he lay crumpled on the ground and was unable to get up. He thought he had broken some ribs. And then as we see it one more time, after being dumped on the floor, he's then frisked as he's on the floor.
AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin is here to discuss the tape. Now, what has happened so far after the tapes come out, there's been suspensions. Apparently her as well as three other supervisors are suspended without pay. This happened in January. Possibility of criminal charges in this?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There's always that possibility. There's the possibility of civil charges without a doubt. This person and we both have seen the tape and now viewers have seen the tape as well completely appalling not only that one officer dumped him on the floor but the other officers just sort of stood around him and you look at the tape and ...
CHETRY: She's putting on gloves.
HOSTIN: They're frisking him. I'm sure he's saying something there. Criminal liability always a possibility. Civil charges from this gentleman, the victim, definitely possible. I would say administrative charges possible as well. This very well may be and should be the end of her career if not all three.
CHETRY: It's interesting the sheriff's office quote is they're willing to make it right for this individual. What do you think they mean by that?
HOSTIN: I think that means they will show him the money. I think that means they will try to make sure that he doesn't sue them, make sure that we don't cover this anymore and just sort of have that in the office what can we do to help you sort of talk and they better have it and should have it soon.
CHETRY: The most popular video right now on CNN.com. We also have another video that we'll have you back to talk about which is another police officer seeming to really go a little bit crazy on a 14-year-old skateboarder. It will be interesting to hear you talk about how the impact of videotape being released and posted changed the face of law enforcement in a way.
HOSTIN: I can't wait to discuss it on the show and the bottom line is we're seeing it on You Tube and we're seeing police cars capturing it with their video. It's wonderful. You get a bird's-eye view into what's happening. Jurors love it. Viewers love it. We get to be right there when it happens.
CHETRY: Officers most of the time like it because it does show that most of the time in many of the cases they do follow procedure.
HOSTIN: Exactly. It's a wonderful investigative tool for everyone.
CHETRY: Sunny, thank you. John?
ROBERTS: Members of the highest court in the land is weighing in on the torture of terror suspects. Outspoken justice Antonin Scalia says some physical abuse may be OK under the right circumstance. Hear what he gives a green light to coming up next.
And the keys to victory. We'll look at what drove Barack Obama's decisive wins in the Potomac primary. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Welcome back. It is 47 minutes past the hour. If you're just joining us here's what's making headlines this morning. Writers go back to work on movies and TV shows today. They voted overnight to end their three-month strike. You will see seeing their work on late-night shows by tomorrow. Fresh episodes of your favorite sitcoms could be back by April or May. The contract pays them for work that goes out on new media like Internet and cell phones.
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speaking out about torture and terror suspects telling the BBC that it may be legal for U.S. interrogators to smack suspects in the face if they believe they are with holding information about an imminent terror attack. Scalia says it is far from clear if torture is unconstitutional.
President Bush speaking out today about a symbol of hate that's had a resurgent in recent months condemning the noose during a White House ceremony honoring black history month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES: For generations of African- Americans the noose was more than a tool of murder. It was a tool of intimidation that conveyed a sense of powerlessness to millions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Nooses have turned up at police stations and college campuses during the past year. A noose at a tree at a high school led to the Jena-6 civil rights face-off in Louisiana.
An astronaut sidelined on the space shuttle says he's feeling well enough to make his space walk now. He's not revealing what he was suffering from when he wasn't able to do the first space walk. John?
ROBERTS: Thanks Kiran. 49 minutes after the hour. Barack Obama made inroads on Hillary Clinton's base on his way to winning the Potomac primaries. Obama talked about the road ahead in his victory speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Though we won in Washington, D.C., this movement won't stop until there's change in Washington, D.C. and tonight we're on our way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What next for Obama and Clinton? CNN contributor Roland Martin joins us now. What we saw last night in terms of voting patterns may tell us what lies ahead. Let's look at white women. That's a very strong base for Hillary Clinton. Super Tuesday she beat Obama 60 percent to 36 percent. That was across all of the primaries. Maryland last night she beat him 56 percent to 38 percent. Look at this. In Virginia she beat him 53 percent to 47 percent. He narrowed the gap substantially at least in Virginia. Those numbers on that graphic are wrong. Virginia and Maryland should be flipped around.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: If I'm Senator Clinton I have a problem with that because that is indeed her base. She needs that 70 plus percent among white women to offset Obama when it comes to African-Americans and also when it comes to white men. What he's trying to do is put together a coalition in terms of a percentage of white women and white men and blacks and Hispanics to make up his vote. That will be critical moving to Texas and also Ohio.
ROBERTS: Another significant part of her base is Latino voters. Let's take a look at how last night compared to Super Tuesday. Super Tuesday she throttled him, 63 to 35 percent. She beat him fairly handily in Maryland, 55 to 45 percent. Look at this. Virginia he beat her. Supposed to be 53 percent to 47 percent. And that's an indication that maybe things are shifting a little.
MARTIN: Well first of all in Virginia Hispanics made up 5 percent of the vote. It's really difficult to say with that percentage how that will play moving forward. But the critical issue is this. The only state in the future where Hispanics will make a significant part of Democratic base is in Texas. It's really going to be a battle between really among white voters and so how Obama did among white voters in Virginia, 50-49, could also be very telling moving forward.
ROBERTS: Hillary Clinton of course is portraying Texas as her fire wall and Ohio as well. Let's listen to how she put it last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to sweep across Texas in the next three weeks bringing our message about what we need in America, the kind of president that will be required on day one to be commander in chief to turn the economy around. I'm tested. I'm ready. Let's make it happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: She's going count on that base of white women and Latino voters in Texas. Can Obama make inroads among Latino voters in Texas?
MARTIN: I'm a native Texan and here's the issue. Texas is vastly different from California. First of all, in California you were able to take the Hispanic vote and the Asian vote that made up about 38 percent of all voters. That's not going to be the case in Texas. White voters are the critical force in Texas. I've been watching our reports and talking about Latino vote, 36 percent of the state. Latinos only make up 20 percent of all registered voters. So the key is what percentage is going to be in the Democratic primary and how many will turn out is the question. They will have a higher percentage of Democratic voters. White voters are the key. We cannot underestimate white voters.
ROBERTS: What about this idea of a black-brown divide that we hear about?
MARTIN: In some pockets that's real. But this is interesting. In 2002, the Hispanic was beat 60 percent to 40 percent in the runoff. When he went to the primary in south Texas, strong hold of Hispanic, he got 74 percent of the Hispanic vote. Mayor of Dallas, they won with significant Hispanic support. You have a different sort of reaction there third or fourth generation of Hispanic. I don't buy the notion that an African-American can't do well in Texas when it comes to Hispanics but the key in Texas is white voters. In north Texas, in east Texas but definitely in west Texas a huge population center so if I'm Clinton I need to focus on those folks because they will be vital to anyone winning Texas.
ROBERTS: We'll find out soon enough. Always good to see you.
MARTIN: Good to be here.
ROBERTS: Kiran? CHETRY: Still ahead, Roger Clemens in the congressional hot seat today and face to face with the man who claims he's lying about taking performance enhancing drugs are. What we can expect on Capitol Hill today. We'll talk about it coming up.
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CHETRY: About four minutes until the top of the hour. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business." And we have some numbers in, not necessarily good news but foreclosure numbers.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We track these every month but now we have total numbers for 2007. Jumping a little ahead of myself here. For 2007, this is interesting because yesterday we talked about the government's announcement to freeze foreclosure procedures for those people who are in the process. 2007 was a record year; 2.2 million homes in foreclosure, more than 400,000 people actually lost their homes to foreclosure.
Let's look at the metro areas and cities with highest foreclosure rates. Detroit, Michigan topping the list for some time. Las Vegas, Stockton, California, Riverside, California, Sacramento, California. You know California and Nevada areas were because of inflated prices because of speculation in Detroit we have been talking about job losses for years and years and that's what's affecting it.
Look at the change in foreclosure rates across the country. You notice that Michigan only has a 68 percent increase for all of 2007 compared to the previous year because we have seen so many foreclosures there in previous years. Nevada, 215 percent change more foreclosures than a year before. Florida, 124 percent more. Michigan, s I said 68 percent. California, the biggest increase 238 percent foreclosures in 2007. And Colorado rounding out that top five with 30 percent increase in foreclosures. A number of people said the housing market will be tougher in 2008 than it was in 2007 and that we may actually see that degree of foreclosures. Hopefully this Project Lifeline that the government put out yesterday will help some of those people keep their homes. These are serious big numbers.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Ali, all right. Thank you.
ROBERTS: We're hearing from former Yankee pitcher Andy Pettitte about Roger Clemens and human growth hormone. The AP is reporting about Pettitte's sworn testimony before congress last week where he said Clemens talked about using HGH 10 years ago. Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, testify on Capitol Hill today. We understand the two of them will be seated beside each other. McNamee claims that he injected Clemens at least 16 times with both HGH and steroids. Clemens has vehemently denied those accusations.
At that brings us to this morning's Quick Vote question. Who do you think is telling the truth? 17 percent of you think Roger Clemens telling the truth. 83 percent say Brian McNamee. Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We'll continue to tally your votes throughout the morning.
If you're heading out to your desk job, you may want to hear what new research says about your health.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts now.
Obama and McCain dominate the Potomac primaries. Hillary Clinton looks next to a must win.
CLINTON: I am proud to be part of the El Paso, Texas, family.
ROBERTS: Roger Clemens on the hill today.
ROGER CLEMENS, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: I defy anyone to say I did it by taking shortcuts.
ROBERTS: What his friend told congress.
Slippery mess. Ice and slush tie up travel from coast to coast on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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