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American Morning
Bernanke, Paulson to Testify Today; 6.7 Earthquake Southwest of Athens; Philippines President Assassination Planned
Aired February 14, 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: This is the big contest, not the next contest, less than three weeks away. Democrats in Texas and Ohio voting on March the 4th. Hillary Clinton herself is calling that date a "turning point."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is a very important choice and a big difference between the candidates in this race. I am in the solutions business. My opponent is in the promises business. I think we need answers not questions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Last night on "LARRY KING LIVE", another Clinton guy James Carville saying if Clinton does not win Texas than it's most likely over.
Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins us now live from Chicago.
Candy, this endorsement by David Wilhelm, how important is it psychologically and the fact he's a superdelegate and a real organizer in the state of Ohio. Could this actually get Barack Obama little bit more than a typical endorsement would?
CANDY CROWLEY, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we'll see. Certainly David Wilhelm knows Ohio, he's a native there, a super delegate always helps in terms of sort of high-profile. I think it may be to insider, but not all that surprising David Wilhelm was a top strategist in the Clinton campaign, with Joe Biden earlier in the year. Yes, an operative, understands Ohio, that's one of the big contests coming up on the same day as Texas. So I to think operationally, it will help. I'm not sure how big a blast in the headlines.
ROBERTS: All right. In terms of Hillary Clinton, we're looking at more and more press that's got her on the ropes, maybe on the edge of being down and out. Is it a fool's error at this point to count her out?
CROWLEY: Yes. It absolutely is. First of all, this is a tough campaign. Is it going the way they want it to go? Absolutely not. Are they having to sort of step back and say, how are we going to do this? They do. We know they've had a shake-up in the campaign, and she's sticking with the tried and true message, which is, boy, he may make you feel good, but I can fix things. That has been going on since last summer.
So there hasn't been a major shift in message, though there is a major shift in urgency. I would never ever count this campaign out. And when you add up the numbers, we may well take this to the confession with no one with a clear edge or the number of delegates needed for the nomination. So I would absolutely not count her out. We know that by the experience of this campaign just as well as our experience with the Clintons. This is a tough organization.
ROBERTS: And Candy quickly if you could, just north of you in the state of Wisconsin, which is the next contest on Tuesday, the Clinton campaign running a negative ad against Barack Obama. Negative ads proven in political history to work, but her going negative hasn't turned out so well. How do you see that playing out?
CROWLEY: Her going negative on the stump has not gone well. This is actually a pretty soft negative. It just says, boy, looks like he'd rather talk than debate. Softly negative and she's not in it. Her picture is in it but it's another voice. I don't think this has the resonance as when she's negative on the stump or in the debates. That hurts her, when it's personal.
ROBERTS: We point out at the end of the ad, she does say I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message.
CROWLEY: Right. Absolutely. But it's pretty soft.
ROBERTS: All right. Our Candy Crowley for us in Chicago. Candy, thanks. Kiran?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there's some new information out this morning that could reverberate on the campaign trail today and that puts Hillary Clinton at the top of the list of senators who get earmarks for their state. That's federal money that's added to bills for so-called pet projects.
The non-partisan group Taxpayers for Common Sense says Hillary Clinton brought home $340 million for New York in earmarks last year. Barack Obama, $91 million for his home state of Illinois, putting him in the bottom for senators and Republican John McCain with no earmarks. He is one of only five senators who rejected them entirely as needless pork barrel spending.
The Clinton campaign though responded saying that it is proud to have helped New York-based projects like training nurses, improving hospitals and beefing up national security.
Well John McCain seems to have a strangle hold on the Republican nomination but Mike Huckabee, who is a distant second, is still fighting on despite almost impossible odds.
National, chief national correspondent John King has a look at the road ahead for the candidates. Right now what is the role of Mike Huckabee as we look at the delegate counts that make it near impossible for him to win? JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: He's a former Baptist preacher, as you know, and he likes to joke he didn't major in math. He majors in miracles. He would need one. The math just simply doesn't add up.
Governor Huckabee acknowledges that. He says if he could keep John McCain from clinching, Governor Huckabee can't get enough delegates to win the nomination before the convention. He said if he could somehow do as well in the coming primaries to stop John McCain from getting it, then you take it to the convention. But even his own top advisers see that unlikely to happen. In the matter of weeks, John McCain will have that necessary number of delegates.
So some say why is he staying in? Well, Governor Huckabee wants to have a future in the Republican Party, perhaps run for president some day, perhaps run for another office. So he is obviously trying to gain and heighten his exposure. Others say he would like to go to the convention with more delegates than Mitt Romney and he's trying to prove - what he says as he campaigns is there are a lot of conservatives out there who either don't like or aren't happy yet with John McCain and he believes they should have a voice.
Inside the McCain campaign, they think it's OK as long as he stays positive. Although yesterday for the first time, Senator McCain did edge out there a little bit. He didn't tell Governor Huckabee to get out of the race but said it would be nice if he would. So McCain is saying, I'll hold the door for you, Governor, if you want to take off.
CHETRY: Does he have a point in terms of being another choice for those who are not supporting McCain, those who I guess are identifying themselves as extremely conservative picked him three to one in some states including Virginia even though he lost there. Is that a valid argument?
KING: Absolutely. There is a rally around the McCain movement with the overwhelming majority of conservatives especially elected Republicans, or the head of conservative organizations but there are some big exceptions. Grass roots voters are still having a hard time coming to grips with the prospect that John McCain, a politician they haven't loved over his career being their nominee.
Yes, Governor Huckabee has considerable support especially among evangelical rural Christian conservative voters and he's winning decent numbers. Now in the state of Virginia, if he was going to win a primary, that was a good state to do that.
It looks like McCain's momentum now is unstoppable but whether you call it a protest vote or just a simply I like this guy more than this guy. The question is, does he help John McCain in the end heal the wounds or does he make the divide deeper? And Governor Huckabee has said all along that once the Republicans have a nominee, if it's John McCain he'll support that nominee.
CHETRY: It hasn't been terrible hard on John McCain either. Haven't been very grueling with one another. Is vying to be the vice president?
KING: Many say he'd like to be the vice president. Inside the McCain campaign they say that he certainly earned consideration, although they think it is unlikely for other reasons but on the list. That is a decision the McCain committee doesn't have to make. A lot of people want to focus on that now because he has the nomination all but locked up but he will not make that decision until he knows first who he's running against on the Democratic side.
And remember, the Republican Convention is last because the Republicans control the White House. That party goes last in the conventions. John McCain can wait until he knows whether it's Barack Obama or Senator Clinton and he can wait until the Democratic nominee picks his or her running mate.
And if you're John McCain, strategically why would you want to pick first? Some say pick early, excitement in the summertime, but the other campaign can react to you. Strategically, he'll hold off on that decision, Governor Huckabee on the list. Kiran, we have a whole spring and early summer before we worry about that.
CHETRY: As we know, things can change on a dime. Especially in this race. This election year, quite exciting. John King, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Turning now to your financial security watch, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify on the U.S. economy in front of the lawmakers today.
Right now Tokyo's Nikkei closed up over 4 percent. Hang Seng closed over 3 and a half. European markets now mostly trading up and Wall Street is watching closely. Today's meeting comes one day after President Bush finalized the stimulus package and the market got a bump from retail sales. So what can we expect?
Our Ali Velshi joins us with a preview. Good morning, Ali
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You're right. This will start in about two hours. Markets will start trading in the United States in an hour and a half.
You can expect that first half an hour of trading not to be much of anything, because they are going to be waiting to see what Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke say about where we stand in the economy right now. What more can be done? Has the government done enough? Did they act quickly enough? These will be senators asking questions of these two gentlemen after they testify. So they're going to get tough questions.
Since the last time we've seen both of these two men before Congress, we've seen a lot of rate cuts at the Federal Reserve, saw the stimulus package you talked about. We saw the Project Lifeline come out for homeowners with mortgages. So there are going to be a lot of questions as to is there enough and what is the plan to keep America out of a recession, if we're not already in one. Don't expect either to say we're in a recession or talk about a recession. They'll continue their theme of being pretty positive what the economy looks like. That also has some people irked because of a sense the administration and fed have not been in front of this economic situation we're in but we're listening closely to see what these two men have to say about the economy and what the government can do about it.
ROBERTS: And we'll be looking forward to your coverage on that this morning. Ali Velshi for us this morning. Ali, thanks.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, we're also following extreme weather this morning. Thousands waking up now to no power across the northeast after yesterday's strong winter storm. Rhode Island also seeing major flooding and there's heavy snow putting dozens of roofs in danger of collapsing in many cities across New England. Also ice and flooding a concern. This is Manchester, New Hampshire. The storm blamed for at least 15 deaths in the region since Monday.
Our Rob Marciano has been tracking extreme weather this morning. He is actually in Ormond Beach, Florida, ahead of the Daytona 500 but a little bit further north, it's still pretty nasty. Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. And we've seen a tremendous amount of rain up north, north and east. It's coming to an end but there are still some flash flood warnings that are up for some streams and typical rivers that flood. Two to four inches of rainfall, as a matter of fact.
Take a look at some of the totals with this storm. Boston and eastern Mass, you are still going to be in it as far as rainfall later on today. Woodbridge, Connecticut, 4.22; Boston, 2.81, you'll probably more as we go through time. As we mentioned, the small streams and typical rivers, northwest New Jersey and southern New York and Connecticut, should crest in the next couple of hours and go below flood stage before too long.
We do have a little bit of snow that's coming down in Wisconsin. Five to eight inches in Green Bay ushering even more cold air.
The big race is Sunday, the Daytona 500. We're going to warm up from where we are right now. The wind-chill currently is 31 on the beach here. We'll get up to 80 in Daytona and we're going to talk more tomorrow about how the weather affects how folks deal with racing.
Right on this beach about 100 years ago, they started buzzing up and down here racing and then finally said, you know what? They stopped fighting with the tide. They said we got to build us a racetrack. For 50 years, they've been running 200 laps here for the Daytona 500, great American race that takes place on Sunday, qualifying this afternoon. We'll check that out as we continue to follow our team, the number 5 car, and how weather affects their racing strategy. Kiran, back to you. CHETRY: Could you picture this as a backup career perhaps? You look very comfortable sitting in that car.
MARCIANO: It was quite a rush. Tell you. I certainly could get used to it. Those guys do it every day. Amazing the control they have over he's cars at such high speeds. An eye-opening experience.
CHETRY: You looked the part. All right. Rob, thanks.
ROBERTS: At the least, team meteorologist, right?
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Weather affects the racing.
Our Alina Cho here now with more stories new this morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He gets all the tough assignments. All right. Good morning, guys.
Good morning again, everybody. We are following that breaking news out of Greece. A strong earthquake has hit and now there is word of an aftershock. The first quake happened about three hours ago. The 6.7 magnitude quake struck offshore about 150 miles from the capital of Athens. The second hit an hour after that and was also described as strong. The quake was felt in Athens and as far south at Crete. No word yet of any damage or injuries.
Security forces in the Philippines are on high alert right now. It follows an alleged al Qaeda plot to kill President Gloria Arroyo in a series of bomb attacks. U.S. diplomats and foreign embassies may also have been targeted. The news comes just a day before a planned protest by Arroyo's political opponents. Her family has been linked to a corruption scandal.
Incredible pictures coming in from Lebanon this morning. Hundreds of thousands of people gathering in the streets of Beirut, just incredible pictures. Some are remembering the assassination of the Prime Minister Rafik Hariri three years ago together others mourning a Hezbollah leader killed by a car bomb in Syria earlier in the week. Imad Mugniyeh was one of the world's most wanted terrorists. He was nicknamed the fox because he was sly and couldn't be caught. Mugniyeh was linked to the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Beirut as well as the hijacking of a TWA flight in 1985. The bearded man you're about to see holding a gun near the pilot's head. A famous photo from back then. Hezbollah blames Israel for the assassination. Israel denies any involvement.
Also new this morning, an urgent message from the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC wants evacuees from hurricane Katrina moved out of FEMA trailers. That's because the trailers are believed to be contaminated with formaldehyde. The CDC says 38,000 trailers all have high levels of it and it could be making residents sick. They've been told to move out by the summer and they don't have much time. FEMA and the CDC will talk about options today in New Orleans. We have an update on a story we first told you about yesterday on AMERICAN MORNING. The sheriff in Hillsborough County, Florida has apologized to a disabled man after a deputy was caught on tape dumping him out of his wheelchair inside a jail. Just incredible. It happened two weeks ago but the video was just released yesterday. The sheriff says he was embarrass and shocked after he saw the individual Joe. The deputy has been suspended without pay.
And Senator Arlen Specter is demanding answers about the so- called spygate investigation. Met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Capitol Hill yesterday and questioned him about the quality of the league's investigation into the New England Patriots. A lot of you have heard this story. New England accused of taping their opponents signals from the sidelines. Specter wants to know why the tapes and notes from the probe were destroyed. The league fined them when Patriots Coach Bill Belichick $500,000 back in September. Biggest fine ever for an NFL coach. Specter accused Belichick of illegally taping opponents since the 2000 season and the target of those alleged illegal tapes were the New York Jets. Big rival. Anyway, Congress now getting involved.
ROBERTS: Specter wants to fine again or --
CHO: Well you know he wants to know what happened to the evidence allegedly destroyed. Tapes, notes apparently went to the league in 2006, and suddenly disappeared.
ROBERTS: Hey, the house got their shot at baseball. The senate wants football.
CHO: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: The banks that handed out those risky loans are now trying to bailout homeowners. Will it work? We'll ask the head of Wells Fargo, a big bank, the mortgage division about the plan and whether it's fluff to save home, next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well it's Valentine's Day and we're looking at a new study what women and men want in a romantic partner. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at our Medical Update Desk in Atlanta with the red tie on. I'm sure he didn't forget Valentine's Day for his lovely wife. Right, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: She picked it out. Happy Valentine's Day, Kiran.
CHETRY: You, too.
GUPTA: What women and men really want, that's an interesting sort of title for this. An interesting study looking at this idea of what men and women find desirable in their partners. Now, preface it by saying this, about 40 percent of adults living in America are considered themselves single. So this obviously is an important issue for a lot of people, especially on this day.
Conventional sort of desirable traits among men and women; men typically say they look for somebody with good looks. Women say they look for somebody with high earning potential. The study actually tried to take it a step further. They looked at people who were involved in speed dating and followed lives out for a month to figure out do those desirable traits, what they really want on the other person, change over time? They found in fact it does change. In fact, by the end of a month it became gender neutral. Women liked the same things that men liked and men liked the same things that women liked. So a lot of the sort of pre-conceived notions of what you might want in a partner could change after you actually meet the person. That was the gist of this study.
CHETRY: Found that, those things quote/unquote important, do looks matter to both sexes?
GUPTA: Looks matter to both sexes, that's one way of saying it and earning potential, money matters to both sexes also to an extent as important values you placed on it initially it may not have been as important in the long run or at least after a month.
CHETRY: It's also interesting the science of attraction. Is it true men are attracted to curvier women?
GUPTA: Yes. That was another study actually came out of Poland. That was very interesting, looking specifically at men and how they judge attractiveness, but what was more interesting sort of a, get this idea that ultimately, Kiran, we're put on this earth to -- create more human beings, and curvier women tended to have more reproductive hormones. From a very animalistic sense, if will you, men tended to be attractive to women they thought would actually make babies.
CHETRY: There you go. So women worry about being very skinny. You don't have to worry so much. But this was funny also. Men with broader chests were seen as, what, more virile, better providers? Why was that attractive to women?
GUPTA: Yes. Same sort of concept there as well. Again, sort of, there's a lot of sort of social sort of conforms on what people find attractive but most instinctual level, still women find men better producers, men, women able to have children more attractive. And again this is across all societies, over all different demographics, broader shoulders, hair on the face also seen as a sign of virility.
CHETRY: How about that. All right. Very, very interesting, Sanjay, on this Valentine's Day.
GUPTA: I'm just the reporter here.
CHETRY: It's all science. Exactly. We have no personal opinion about this stuff. Thanks for being with us. GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: A bold new threat from al Qaeda in Iraq. We'll tell you how they plan to attack Israel.
And a new national plan to save people from foreclosure. Who will it help? We'll talk to one of the bankers behind the deal next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Homeowners about to go under getting tossed a lifeline. That's what they're calling it. Project Lifeline a new plan unveiled by the bush administration and six major lenders. The way it would work is that borrowers get a 30 day pause in foreclosure proceedings and during that time encouraged to work with lenders to find a more affordable mortgage. It applies to all borrowers, not just borrowers with sub prime mortgages and only borrowers what have missed three or more payments qualify. So does the program go far enough?
Joining us, Mary Coffin. She is an executive vice president with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Division, one of the six big lenders involved. She joins me from Des Moines, Iowa this morning. Thanks for being with us.
MARTY COFFIN, EVP. WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE: Good morning, thank you, Kiran.
CHETRY: There's been a lot of talk about exactly what needs to be done, the best way to try to help out people that are going into foreclosure. Is this 30 days enough time to help borrowers turn things around?
COFFIN: Kiran, the 30 days that's been stated as the pause in this is to make sure consumer, educated that we are here to help. As we go in work with the homeowner, to look through their income and expenses and help them restructure and modify their loan, that can be paused further if we see the possibility of a workout, but the 30 days is the initial pause that we can do as we work with the homeowner.
CHETRY: Is it up to the homeowner to contact their bank, their lender or do you guys contact people who have gone into default and who are three or more payments behind?
COFFIN: Obviously, the outreach of this program is to make sure the homeowner knows they need to contact us immediately. Servicers are continuously outreaching to our homeowners through letters, campaigns, through phone calls. This particular outreach is asking the homeowner to, please, pick up the phone, call us because they are at the point of the highest risk of losing their home.
CHETRY: New York Governor Elliot Spitzer had announced that in "The Washington Post." He talked about when he was state attorney general of New York saying that they saw this coming years ago. They talk about the devastating affects of teaser rates that later balloon into higher rates, also undisclosed charges or fees and misrepresentation of the terms of the loans. Why have some of those practices come to be known at predatory lending been allowed to continue?
COFFIN: Well, allowed to continue. I think what we've learned through all of this is the importance of responsible lending, and I think you can talk across any of the large servicers to know that our origination practices have been those of responsible lending.
What does that mean? That means we want to make sure the homeowner is knowledgeable about the product they're getting, and that it is affordable for the homeowner. There obviously were some practices out there by some unlicensed originators that we're now seeing that some of the homeowners were not provided this, and were put in products that did not show the affordability for the homeowner.
CHETRY: You know, the other criticism has been there really hasn't been more done to get to the root of the problem which is to make it easier to understand, to make people explain a little bit more and, of course, there is personal responsibility as well about making sure you can afford and understand what you're signing, but sometimes it can be very confusing for people. What about moves towards simplifying and making sure that people understand exactly what they owe when they owe it and when that's going to perhaps change for them down the road?
COFFIN: Kiran, I think you can see through Project Lifeline that is exactly what we're trying to do here. We're making sure that the homeowner is educated on the simple steps it takes to pick up the phone, call your servicer, tell them you want to remain in your home. Tell them you're willing to look into counseling.
One thing we've seen in this it is not just the mortgage. It's the entire debt that may need restructurings and that the hope alliance of bringing nonprofit counselors and mortgage services together is allowing us to help the consumers with all the debt restructuring, and I agree with you.
What we've seen through this crisis is the need to continually educate, simplify and make sure the homeowner know what their choices.
CHETRY: Cleveland actually filing suit against your bank and 20 others because of the sub prime rate lending measure. Are you changing business based on what we've seen happen in the home mortgage crisis?
COFFIN: Changing? Absolutely not. Wells Fargo and I think I can speak on behalf of many of the large banks, we have responsible lending. We are highly regulated and not going to have to change those. Those on our website those are responsible lending we've had in place forever and we will continue with those and make sure that that is what is broadly pushed across the nation as we work through this crisis.
CHETRY: Mary Coffin, Executive Vice President of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
COFFIN: Thank for having me.
ROBERTS: Well, Mexican president Felipe Calderone has been making rounds in the United States urging leaders to work with Mexico to protect the border and build ties that strengthen both the Mexican and U.S. economies. This is Calderone's first trip to California since he was elected president of Mexico a year ago.
Many Latinos say the crackdown on illegal immigration is going too far sometimes sweeping up innocent people. We'll be looking at those challenges and what it means for the race for the White House, we are "Uncovering America" tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.
A double whammy for Hillary Clinton. Bill Clinton's former campaign manager is supporting Barack Obama and he's a super delegate, which could make a difference in the super tight Democratic race. We'll hear what's behind his decision, coming up.
MARCIANO: Oh, baby, and that's just practice! We're here at Daytona, preparing for the big race come Sunday. How does weather affect racing? We talk with one team about weather and extreme speeds. That story coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: Welcome back once again to AMERICAN MORNING. We got some news just in from the Hillary Clinton campaign.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: We did. News just in to CNN. The Clinton campaign is sending Chelsea Clinton to Hawaii. To campaign there. They believe they can compete with Senator Obama in the state where she was born. Jessica Yellin joins us on the phone from New York. What more do we know about this, Jessica?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN, CORRESPONDENT (over the phone): I can tell you, John, that the Clinton campaign has said that they are now going to compete in every state for every delegate they can after they've been criticized for not putting up a fight in some of the smaller states and been conceding them to Barack Obama. They are sending Chelsea Clinton who has been a very effective weapon for the senator on the campaign trail. She is leaving today. She'll be there for three days, over the weekend on the big island and on at least one other island. And you know, Barack Obama may have been -- that may have been his childhood home but they really feel that they have a chance to pick up some delegates, and they've been endorsed by Senator Inouye there and Chelsea is going to be fighting not necessarily to win. There are plenty delegates. It's a caucus state. They know that plays to Barack Obama's advantage but again they want every last delegate they can get with the race this tight, so Chelsea Clinton on her way to Hawaii. Would have been a good trip to get on. I don't know if she's taking any reporters with her, though.
ROBERTS: But remember in 2004, Hawaii looked briefly competitive there during the general election and Dick Cheney made there and back trip. It's interesting that she'll be spending that long there. How many campaign events do you think they got her lined up for? YELLIN: She has several, as I understand, several campaign events a day. And as I recall also, Dick Cheney's last-minute trip to Hawaii did not pay off for them in that state, but the Clintons are hoping for better luck.
ROBERTS: All right. And I'm hoping, Jessica, that if they take a press entourage with them, you'll be the lead reporter for CNN. There you go. Jessica Yellin for us this morning.
The Barack Obama campaign picked up another endorsement. This one has the Clinton campaign wincing about it. The campaign manager who led Bill Clinton to the White House back in 1992 is now backing Obama. David Wilhelm, is also a super delegate from Ohio and he is the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He joins us now live from Columbus, Ohio. So, David, why the endorsement?
DAVID WILHELM, BILL CLINTON '92 CAMPAIGN MGR.: Well, a couple of reasons. Both substantive and political. The substantive reason is for the better part of the past decade I've been working to bring venture capital into underserved world regions of the United States. And when I looked at what Barack Obama is saying about world development when I look at his plans for organic and sustainable agriculture, the world that he believes that green energy could play in rural America, his plans to rebuild a rural infrastructure, I like what he has to say in an area of the economy in which I've devoted myself.
Politically, I have come to believe, and it's tough when you have to choose among friends, but I have come to believe that Barack Obama is clearly the stronger general election candidate. The level of excitement, the level of intensity. The number of volunteers that are emerging. The excitement of young people, and as a former campaign manager, I also know that the candidates that tend to succeed are candidates that are very clear about the competitive advantage that they bring to the race. We just, real quickly, we cannot out- experience John McCain, but we can win on change. We can win on the future. We can win on idealism. We can win on a call for the common good. Barack Obama can do those things.
ROBERTS: Well, you said it was difficult to choose among friends. How tough a decision was it for you? As we mentioned, you were the leader of Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign?
WILHELM: It's tough. I'm not going to lie to you. It's, you know, I'm excited to be for Barack Obama, but I greatly cherish and honor the work that I did and the relationship that I had with the Clintons. So -- but I'm not unlike a lot of people that -- you know, the question is - I also have a close relationship with the Obamas. Do you stay on the sideline or do you get in the fray and do the best you can to let people know of the nature of your judgment?
ROBERTS: So, we also mentioned, David, that you are a super delegate. You're one of those people who could decide who the nominee is if neither of them reaches that magic mark of 2,025 pledged delegates. Is that good for democracy that that decision may be made by people like yourself? WILHELM: I'm not so sure about that. I think super delegates need to take very much into account the will of the democratic electorate. I am troubled right now. So many of the analyses of what's happening at the delegate level focus on the total delegate picture, rather than elected delegates. If you look just at elected delegates right now, Barack Obama has a lead of over 130 delegates. The only reason the delegate race seems to be as close as it is because of so many super delegates having bought into the inevitability of Senator Clinton too early.
ROBERTS: Let's put those figures up on the screen just so people can take a look at it here. Barack Obama's got 1,253 delegates of those 157 are super. Hillary Clinton has 1,211, 234 of those are super delegates.
WILHELM: Right.
ROBERTS: The question a lot of people are asking today, you say that you don't think super delegates should not make the decision. Should Hillary Clinton win Ohio, would you then pledge for her as a super delegate?
WILHELM: No. I've already announced my decision to support Barack Obama.
ROBERTS: I'm just wondering if you would switch based on the results in your state?
WILHELM: No. I think my role is more of a national role in the context of the super delegate hunt.
ROBERTS: So let's say -- say she comes out with more delegates in the end. Let's say she wins Texas and Ohio, passes them and delegates, would you then still pledge for him or would you potentially based on national results change your vote?
WILHELM: Well, I - I think we need as super delegates to consider the will of the democratic electorate very, very carefully. It's not the only thing we need to consider, but I think it needs to be a very prominent consideration. At this point, what I'm - I thought it was a compelling reason to come out now, that here you have Barack Obama with a substantial, rather substantial and growing lead among elected delegates. Yet the super delegates allocation reflects a strong, at least at this point, preference for Hillary Clinton. I think that margin needs to be, that margin needs to be diminished.
And I think at end of the day, super delegates who really are required to say to themselves what is in the best interests of the party? I think they're going to fall out in the way that reflects the will of the democratic electorate. And my coming out now I think is part of that and by coming out I'm evening up what I think is right now a disproportionate share of super delegate supporting Hillary.
ROBERTS: Well, we'll see if you're asking yourself that other question you just mentioned when the time this whole thing is over. David Wilhelm joins us this morning from Ohio. David, thanks very much.
WILHELM: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, the northeast is drying out, finally and digging out this morning after a powerful round of winter storms. Right now thousands remain without power in New Jersey, New York Hudson Valley, Connecticut, Virginia, west Virginia, Maine and Maryland. There are still hundreds of schools closed and some areas saw more than six inches of snow. Rob Marciano tracking the extreme weather for us this morning. He's actually on Ormond Beach, Florida, getting ready for the Daytona 500. more on that in a moment though.
First, let's tackle the extreme weather. We're looking for it to clear out today, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Going to clear out, that's for sure. Most of the folks got a tremendous amount of rain, namely Connecticut, Boston, back to New York, New Jersey, a lot of small streams and rivers out of flood banks, cresting the next couple of hours and go below flood stage by later on this afternoon and evening. The cold air certainly has moved in here across Ormond Beach in Daytona. You can actually see the steam coming off the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It was on this very beach 100 years ago, they started buzzing, well, old cars up and down here. they started racing here in the Daytona area. 50 years ago, they built a track and they've running the Daytona 500 ever since right around this time of year. Yesterday got to take a buzz around the track in a pace car. A lot of fun. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: All right! Now, we are in the pace car, at the wheel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once we cross this line, go between those cones. We got to stay below this yellow line until we get to turn one, then we can cross over here.
MARCIANO: Holy smokes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And keep the left front tires right on the yellow line. So we can't --
MARCIANO: Oh --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can't blend in -- now we're going 100. So, here we go. We're down the back straightaway of Daytona. We're going right up close to the wall.
MARCIANO: Look how close we are at that wall. Holy smokes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's 130. One of the tricky parts of this race track is the exit at turn four.
MARCIANO: Will you put both hands on the wheel, please. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I'll keep them on the wheel. A couple of laps in Daytona what do you think?
MARCIANO: It's crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready for 500 miles?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm ready to get out!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Amazing, how at ease these professional drivers are at the wheel, going at those speeds. Going on that track, talking about the weather. Tail winds, crosswinds all of it has to do with how they strategize for the race, and so does temperature. Today's temperature, a lot colder than it was yesterday when they qualify later on this afternoon, they're going to have to take that to account, how they set up the car. And tomorrow, we have a complete story how we follow the number 5 team. Talked with the crew chief and their driver, Casey Mears as they prepare for the great American race run, to be run for the 50th time this coming Sunday. Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: I love it. Rob spending Valentine's day with NASCAR drivers. How about it? Every guy's dream.
ROBERTS: No question what his first love is.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
ROBERTS: I asked Sanjay answers Dr. Gupta opening up his mailbag, answering your medical questions. He's with us now. What's on tap, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's getting popular. Getting lots of questions, everything from chiropractic care to skin cancer, to what you can do now to ward off heart disease. We'll talk about all those things, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, it's Thursday. And that means it's time to dig into Dr. Sanjay Gupta's mailbag. He answers your questions each week.
ROBERTS: Sanjay's in Atlanta. Are you ready for us there, bro?
GUPTA: Any time. Yes.
ROBERTS: My first question from Liz in Alabama she writes "I know that medical doctors have strict licensing requirements. What kind of licensing do chiropractors and acupuncturists require?"
GUPTA: They do actually have licensing requirements for acupuncturists and chiropractors as well. Oftentimes, there's a specific licensing committee for chiropractors that may be done by each individual state. Acupuncturists may vary by state as well but they do have continuing medical education and specific license requirements. Now, you want to make sure obviously that you're being treated by someone who's licensed, but if you're getting a diagnosis specifically about a medical problem, you probably want to make sure someone has medical training as well. So, you know, use common sense there.
CHETRY: All right. We have another question. This is from Alice in Florida. She wants to know, "I've been treated for skin cancer recently. What is the likelihood that it will reoccur?" When they freeze it off or cut it out, is it gone, Sanjay, for good?
GUPTA: Well, Alice, it depends what it is specifically. There are different types of skin cancer. Most think about melanoma because this is the most dangerous and the most aggressive. There's also basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas which aren't as aggressive. You know, the chances are very good if it's caught early, even with melanoma. You have five-year 99% chance of it not recurring. So, it's pretty good. You got to make sure now that you've had some sort of lesion, you are at higher risk of developing more. So, you got to be more careful about sun perhaps anywhere in the past between the hours of 10:00 and 4:00, 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., stay indoors as much as possible.
ROBERTS: Last question for you this morning comes from Amarish from Georgia. He asks, "I'm a 47-year-old male with no medical condition but a family history of coronary artery disease. Should I take an aspirin a day?"
GUPTA: Amarish, I tell you, this is one of the most common time types of question that we get. And obviously, I can't treat you via satellite here over the television but I will tell you this. Aspirin even in baby doses, which is 81 milligrams is very good at stopping blood clots from forming in your body, and that can help reduce your risk of heart attacks and strokes. So, if you have a family history, or if you're at risk for some other reason, most doctors would probably tell you that it's a good idea to either take a full aspirin, 325 milligrams, or a baby aspirin 81 milligrams. Amarish, you're thinking along the right lines, talk to your doctor specifically about that.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks very much for all that. And don't forget to e-mail your questions for Dr. Gupta at cnn.com/am. Sanjay answers your questions Thursdays on AMERICAN MORNING.
And be sure to catch Sanjay's special "The First Patient: Health and the Presidency," this Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.
CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away now. Heidi Collins with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN, ANCHOR: Good morning to you, John. Boy, this story, very concerning. Toxic homes on the NEWSROOM rundown. The government to Katrina victims, get out of those FEMA trailers as soon as possible. Some have formaldehyde levels 40 times the norm. And California police searching for three children this morning, kidnapped at gunpoint in a McDonald's parking lot.
And our Tony Harris hangs out in Vegas with the pickup artists. A Valentine's Day look at men who teach other men to pick up women. Breaking news any time it happens here on the NEWSROOM, top of the hour, right here on CNN. John.
ROBERTS: Tony needs a hat and a pair of goggles just like those.
COLLINS: Yes, he does, doesn't he?
ROBERTS: Heidi, thanks. We'll see you soon.
CHETRY: But HE doesn't need any tips. He has it all figured out.
ROBERTS: Just the hat and goggles. That's all you need.
CHETRY: Well, they saw Iraq firsthand together. Husband and wife war correspondents. What was it like for them? How did it affect their marriage? They'll talk to us. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Iraq's parliament just took its biggest step yet towards settling the ethnic divide there. They passed three benchmark laws that Washington was demanding as well and it comes out after reports of some significant military gains on ground. I had a chance to speak to a married couple who covered the war together. Damien and Diana Oliva Cave experienced Iraq firsthand. They worked together for the "New York Times," and I asked them how they came about the decision to take on that assignment together.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMIEN CAVE, "N.Y. TIMES" BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: I was assigned to Baghdad in the summer of 2006 for a couple of months for a tryout, and then after that, it went well and I sort of found myself really attracted to the story. At that point, the possibility of going back came up, and Diana and I decided that maybe it would be best if we could possibly do it, to do it together. That's basically what happened.
CHETRY: And what were your feelings about it, Diana?
DIANA OLIVA CAVE, "N.Y. TIMES" VIDEO JOURNALIST: I was kind of worried he wasn't realizing how serious it was, but when we talked about it I realized the reasons he wanted to go, was because he wanted to witness what was going on there and to be able to bring that story home. I started to realize if I had that opportunity I would go, too. I'm actually a video journalist. And they were trying to do more video on the "New York Times" website. So, I thought it was a really great opportunity. CHETRY: So, what was it like being there? You're not only worried about yourself obviously, you were there during some of the most dangerous times in Iraq, but then also being worried about the person you love the most?
DAMIEN CAVE: Well, that's the thing I didn't really expect. I'd been there alone. I understood my own sense of caution and how to figure out what to do with your own sense of risk and fear, but when Diana came, for the first time we both had the experience of being, you know, like a soldiers' couple, a soldier and a spouse at home. So, when she would go out I found myself far more frightened than when I was on the street.
DIANA OLIVA CAVE: It was an unusual feeling for us having to - I don't know him being so protective of me and also worrying about me.
CHETRY: And clearly being in one of the most dangerous places in the world. I mean it has an affect on you as a person. How did it affect, Damien, your relationship?
DAMIEN CAVE: Well, I mean, for the most part, there were good and bad things. The good thing was we were together. And you know, during these difficult times I could look at Diana and know that she understood what I was feeling. And you know, that to me was really the big benefit. Within this crazy, difficult circumstance, I had a partner, I had someone who could understand exactly what was going on and what I was feeling. The down side was we also felt very responsible for each other, and we were worried and, you know, it's one thing in a relationship to go through a difficult moment as an individual, but to both be going through a time, like you're getting no sleep, you're working unbelievably hard. You know, our nerves were raw, our emotions were raw, and you know, we would occasionally flare up now and then.
CHETRY: You've been back, Diana, is returning to normal slowly?
DIANA OLIVA CAVE: Things are beginning to - oh, we're not going back. OK. This is -- we're getting back to normal. I think slowly but surely we're decompressing and we're getting back to normal.
CHETRY: And I have to ask, because you were a reporter out here, do you see that Iraq is making improvements? Is it safer, are they on the right track?
DAMIEN CAVE: You know, when we left, it was clear that Iraqis felt that things had improved, that they were out on the streets more. We as reporters were out on the streets even more. But for a lot of people we talked to, it felt very fragile and tenuous, and it was really hard to know whether these gains were permanent or just temporary. And that's something that you know will probably take a long time to figure out an answer to.
CHETRY: Damien Cave as well as his wife Diana Oliva Cave, thanks for joining us.
DIANA OLIVA CAVE: Thank you. DAMIEN CAVE: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It's 56 minutes after the hour. A quick look now at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.
TONY HARRIS, CNN, ANCHOR: See these stories in the CNN NEWSROOM -- the government will tell Katrina victims to move out of FEMA trailers due to toxic fumes, but where?
Beirut streets flooded with mourners for two assassinated leaders. We'll look at the possibility of a brokered democratic convention.
A winter storm coating upstate New York in a half inch of ice.
And a metal blade discovered in Valentine's candy. NEWSROOM minutes away at the top of the hour on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A final check of this morning's "Quick Vote" question. When do you think the democratic nominee will be decided? 46% said that the big races of Ohio and Texas, they're going to be make or break. 54% said it's going to go all the way to the convention. So, nobody looking for an early exit here.
CHETRY: Hanging on for sure.
Well, couldn't do it better!
ROBERTS: There you go.
CHETRY: Speaking of - while on assignment this morning in Ormond beach, Florida, Rob Marciano found a true Valentine's Day's story. We were looking for one today. And it was a couple getting married right on the beach behind him. Jonathan and Dana Curtis. There it is. They drove miles to get married by the waves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: It's not nearly as warm as you thought.
DANA CURTIS: Oh, no. It's cold.
MARCIANO: How are you feeling now?
DANA CURTIS: I'm happy. I'm cold, but happy.
MARCIANO: A little warmth in your heart there, Jonathan?
JONATHAN CURTIS: Oh, yes.
MARCIANO: Regardless of how cold it is, I suppose you're both happy campers. JONATHAN CURTIS: Yes.
DANA CURTIS: That's right.
MARCIANO: Well, we wish you the best. Congratulations from the CNN family and Happy Valentine's Day.
DANA CURTIS: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Happy Valentine's Day to them.
Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. See you again tomorrow.
CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.
HARRIS: We love the kiss! Oh -- good morning! You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. Happy Valentine's Day. I'm Heidi Collins. You all right.
HARRIS: Better now.
COLLINS: OK. Good. Wow.
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