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American Morning
Kentucky and Oregon Primary: Polls Open; Obama's Message: Focus on McCain and Foreign Policy; Kentucky's Poorest County Apathetic to Election; Porn Tax Debated in California; Obama Delegation Math: Poised for Victory?
Aired May 20, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL NEELY, INTERNATIONAL EDITOR, ITV NEWS: You really must get out. But it's not that simple. Scattered on the ground are Beichuans injured. Falling masonry hitting young and old alike.
It is now around half an hour since the major earthquake. Here alone in those minutes, 20,000 have been injured. Bill Neely, ITV News, Beichuan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, if you'd like to help the people in China, as you just were able to see right there, impact your world. Head to CNN.com/impact to find the aid agencies that are helping out.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Terrible story.
Turning now to politics, it is primary day in Oregon and Kentucky. And even if Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton split the wins, as predicted, for the first time in this campaign, Senator Obama is expected to have a clear majority of the Democrats' regular pledged convention delegates.
Obama is only 117 delegates shy of clinching the Democratic nomination; 103 up for grabs today. That breaks down to 51 in Kentucky and 52 in Oregon.
The polls in Kentucky have been open for about an hour now, and they will remain open until 7:00 p.m. Eastern, though most of them will close at 6:00. So we don't expect to get results until just after 7:00.
And in Oregon, people have been voting by mail for weeks. They have until 8:00 p.m. Pacific time to drop off their ballots, and we should get our first look at the results from Oregon at about 11:00 p.m. Eastern. So it is going to be a late night for those of you who want to find out what went on. But don't worry because we'll be up early, 5:00 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, to give you all the results.
Barack Obama is going to be in Iowa when the returns come in. It's the state that launched his campaign and a battleground for the general election. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is following the politics there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The fight is on.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So John McCain said, oh, Obama doesn't understand the threat of Iran. I understand the threat of Iran.
MALVEAUX: Barack Obama versus John McCain over who's better equipped to take on Iran.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama has declared and repeatedly reaffirmed his intention to meet the president of Iran without any preconditions, likening it to meetings between former American presidents and the leaders of the Soviet Union. Such a statement betrays the depth of Senator Obama's inexperience and reckless judgment.
OBAMA: When the world was on the brink of nuclear holocaust, Kennedy talked to cruise chef (ph), and he got those missiles out of Cuba. Why shouldn't we have the same courage and the confidence to talk to our enemies? That's what strong countries do. That's what strong presidents do. That's what I'll do when I'm president of the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
MALVEAUX: The fierce debate over national security between the two reflects the growing sense from both camps. This race is now between them. Obama now only mentions his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in passing.
OBAMA: Whatever differences exist between myself and Senator Clinton, we are unified in the idea that whatever else happens in November, the name George W. Bush isn't going to be on the ballot.
MALVEAUX: Perhaps too early for a victory lap, but Obama is certainly acting like a winner.
OBAMA: Let's face it, nobody thought a 46-year-old black guy named Barack Obama was going to be the Democratic nominee.
MALVEAUX: Wrapping up campaigning in primary states, Kentucky and Oregon, Obama has moved on. He's in Montana today which along with South Dakota hold the final primaries two weeks away. While Obama says he won't declare victory Tuesday night, his campaign has already put out a statement predicting Obama will reach a so-called major milestone by securing the majority of delegates elected by the voters.
MALVEAUX (on camera): But even if Obama does get the majority of pledged delegates, that does not make him the winner. He still needs the support of more superdelegates to put him over the top. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky. (END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So here's what to watch as the ballots come in this morning. In Oregon, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are emphasizing green themes. Clinton plans to bring more green jobs to the state. Obama is promising to send federal funding to Oregon counties that actually rely on the timber industry.
And in Kentucky, it's the economy. The state has a large population of rural residents. High poverty rates could also influence the vote today. The Census Bureau says that Kentucky has the fourth highest percentage of people over 65 living in poverty.
And it's one of the poorest counties in the country, and voters there are nonexistent. It's Clay County in eastern Kentucky. People who live there are far below the poverty line and say that none of the candidates really care about them.
CNN's Gary Tuchman asked them what they're expecting come November.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Next door to a row of boarded up businesses is one of the more popular lunch spots in Clay County in eastern Kentucky. The cigarette smoke at Pat's Snack Bar is often as thick as the burgers.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Do you come here for lunch a lot?
PAULINE CARTER, CLAY COUNTY RESIDENT: Oh, honey, I was raised here.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Nothing on the menu is more than $3.50, which for many customers here is a very good thing.
CARTER: We're below poverty, honey. I don't know how much lower we can go.
TUCHMAN: Clay County is the poorest county in the state of Kentucky and one of the poorest in the country. As this county gears up for the Kentucky presidential primary, there is a palpable lack of enthusiasm because the residents including the mayor of Manchester, the city that's the county seat, feel forgotten.
MAYOR CARMEN LEWIS, MANCHESTER, KENTUCKY: It's kind of like nobody cares. Nobody cares.
TUCHMAN: The mayor says most people here are unemployed or underemployed. Industry just does not want to move to this county in Appalachia. Per capita income is only about $9,700.
Esther Curry's total income with federal assistance is $7,600 a year.
ESTHER CURRY, CLAY COUNTY RESIDENT: You're kind of scared about anybody really.
TUCHMAN (on camera): How come?
CURRY: Because they never done anything for us yet.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Her companion laughs off the consideration of voting.
JOHN JEWELL, CLAY COUNTY RESIDENT: It don't make no difference. That's why I won't vote. I never have.
TUCHMAN: Their nephew says he can't find work and can't afford the gas to try to find work.
JASON CARPENTER, CLAY COUNTY RESIDENT: I don't feel like none of them are no good for real because, you know, this is a like a small town America deal. You know, you see how we live, and it's never going to change no matter. The only way it is going to change for us is a poor man getting in as president, and it's never going to happen.
TUCHMAN (on camera): None of the presidential candidates has campaigned here in Clay County. As a matter of fact, old timers tell us they don't remember a presidential candidate ever coming here.
Among the people we've talked to, there's a consensus that Washington is not overly concerned about them.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Election officials here expect a low turnout for the primary. It's a heavily Republican county, but we don't see a lot of excitement about John McCain. That's more than matched though by skepticism of the Democrats.
PAM NAPIER, OWNER, PAT'S SNACK BAR: I don't really know what I think about Obama. I don't. I'm kind of leery of him.
TUCHMAN: And regarding Hillary Clinton --
CARTER: It's bible. A woman's place is in the home.
TUCHMAN: She has faith in the bible. Not a lot of faith that a new president will help improve life here. Gary Tuchman, CNN, Clay County, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And we can get the first results from Kentucky and Oregon tonight, 7:00 Eastern in the CNN "ELECTION CENTER." And set your alarm for an early edition of AMERICAN MORNING. We're going to be up at 5:00 a.m. Eastern for full results and analysis from the best political team on television.
ROBERTS: An embattled New York congressman ends his bid for re- election. Six-term Republican Vito Fossella is expected to make a formal announcement later on today. Fossella has been under pressure to resign since his drunk driving arrest earlier this month led to revelations that he had an extramarital affair and fathered a child out of wedlock.
Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy is not expected back on Capitol Hill this week. He remains in the hospital in Boston while doctors try to figure out what caused the seizure that he had over the weekend. They're expecting test results today. An aide says the 76- year-old Kennedy is in good spirits and anxious to get back to work.
PHILLIPS: Team Obama thinks they can wrap up the race for pledged delegates tonight. We're going to ask Obama campaign co-chair Tom Daschle if he's ready to raise the victory flag.
ROBERTS: And flight delays, high ticket prices and lost luggage. Not the recipe for success for the airlines and travelers are ticked off.
PHILLIPS: California needs some cash to shore up its budget deficit. Lawmakers are eying a normally undercover industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The adult entertainment revenues are greater than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS and NBC. And the headquarters for that industry in this country is California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Go ahead, tax that porn. It's for the greater good, right? We'll talk about it straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gas prices are way out of control, way out of control. They need to do something about it real quick because it's -- you know, this is ridiculous. At least get it under $4.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: People in the Windy City a little hot under the collar. Gas prices there soaring to record highs this morning. Chicago has the highest gas prices in the nation with a current average of $4.05 a gallon.
And breaking overnight, gas prices hit another all-time high nationwide, $3.80 a gallon. According to AAA, that's 31 cents higher than a month ago, about 60 cents higher than a year ago.
I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of hearing every day that gas has hit a new record. But our good buddy, the hairless prophet of doom --
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: But I told you it's going to end soon, right?
(CROSSTALK) ROBERTS: Remind us of our misery.
VELSHI: What did I say, June 8th it's going to end?
ROBERTS: June 8th. We're looking forward to that date.
VELSHI: So we are $3.80 right now. AAA says $3.90 by Memorial Day, which is Monday or those weekend. So, I mean, we're not playing on pace.
ROBERTS: Kill me now.
VELSHI: It's moving. But you just mentioned, there we go, $3.80. By the way, while we're dealing with numbers, you know, I mentioned that American Airlines had canceled 10,000 flights in April. They hadn't.
If the problem had gone on for three times as long, it would have been 10,000. It's 3,300.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: So the number is from where?
VELSHI: 3,300 flights. The number came in --
ROBERTS: Somewhere in the --
VELSHI: Right, the number -- there's a lot of space in here to store extra numbers.
PHILLIPS: Just thinking about all the credit card debts.
VELSHI: My apologies to American Airlines for that. Part of the reason gas is up, obviously a very large part of the reason, three- quarters of the reason is the price of oil. That's how much a gallon of gas is governed by the price of a barrel of oil.
We're above $127. Yesterday oil hit $127.44. Remember, we've got different views out there about where oil is going.
Goldman Sachs a couple of days ago said $147 in the second half of this year, although we saw a survey of economists that suggested $98 by the end of the year. I haven't seen much lower than that though. Some of people have said maybe as low as $90. It could go anywhere from here.
Alaska and Connecticut, you mentioned Chicago is the highest city with $4.05 as far as states go. Alaska and Connecticut have both crossed that $4 line as a state average. Alaska is $4.08, Connecticut is $4.05 and the rest of us are well on our way to getting there.
ROBERTS: It just hurts.
VELSHI: I know.
But can you imagine when it ends, how much fun this is going to be? We're going to talk about anything you want.
ROBERTS: There's nowhere that you could put that gas nozzle that would hurt more than putting it in your car.
VELSHI: That's one way to look at it.
PHILLIPS: I don't know about that.
VELSHI: Be a good time. That's a segue to the next step issue.
PHILLIPS: Yes, this story is just for you, Ali.
VELSHI: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: You're welcome.
Airline passengers fed up with flight delays and fuel charges. And a new survey shows that customer satisfaction with airlines, well, it fell to its lowest levels since 2001.
Southwest Airlines was the only airline with a high degree of customer satisfaction probably because they tell jokes. Do you guys ever fly Southwest?
VELSHI: Oh, yes.
PHILLIPS: They're very funny.
VELSHI: I like that.
PHILLIPS: U.S. Airways scored so low it classified as customer service disaster.
ROBERTS: Wow.
Well, some of the top students in all 50 states are competing today in the National Geographic Bee. And if you thought that the questions were nothing more than international capitals and boundaries, well, you'd be wrong.
PHILLIPS: Sorry, we're going to go ahead and put our own geography whiz Rob Marciano to the test. A little bit of a sample question, are you ready, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm a little nervous, but yes.
PHILLIPS: Especially at 7:13 in the morning. Oh, great. What are you setting me up to do here? All right. We're also --
MARCIANO: What have you got?
PHILLIPS: Well, I'm not going to say if it's easy or hard. Then I set him up.
All right. What's the term for the part of an ocean or sea that cuts far into the bordering land mass and may contain one or more bays?
MARCIANO: Typically I don't do questions that have more than three lines. Do you want the answer now or?
PHILLIPS: No, no, no.
ROBERTS: No, let's do it when we come back.
PHILLIPS: I'm going to give you time to Google it. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 17 minutes now after the hour. As we mentioned, students from all 50 states competing today in the National Geographic Bee.
PHILLIPS: Before we took a break we did ask our own geography whiz Rob Marciano, what is the term for a part of an ocean or sea that cuts far into the bordering land mass and may contain one or more bays?
MARCIANO: Well, I had plenty of time to think about it. It's got to be a gulf, like Gulf of Mexico --
ROBERTS: There you go.
PHILLIPS: That's right.
ROBERTS: There you go. Very good.
PHILLIPS: You don't want to add anything to that because you did a little extra research, didn't you, John?
ROBERTS: No. No, no, no, no. I just -- I immediately thought it might be a fjord, you know, a little bay at the end of the field.
PHILLIPS: A sound.
ROBERTS: Or maybe a sound as well.
PHILLIPS: Right.
MARCIANO: Sound, yes.
PHILLIPS: They all sound good. OK, Rob.
MARCIANO: The next question is what is a sea? I guess it's a sea that has openings on both sides because I thought a Mediterranean should be a gulf then, but it has an opening on the other side. So --
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's check on the forecast.
MARCIANO: Hey, check this out. Because of what we talked about, I kind of made a map or at least started with one that has -- starts you off with a little piece of the Gulf of Mexico which is a hotbed for hurricanes, which will be getting to in the next couple of weeks here as hurricane season is upon us.
Let's talk severe weather though. The threat is across the southeast through the Carolinas. This is the Gulf of Mexico, by the way.
Damages winds and some large hail, the primary threat there later on today. We've seen some showers and storms across parts of the Delmarva and the mid-Atlantic. Mostly eastern Virginia this morning. These are your garden variety type showers and storms. No biggie at the moment but certainly starting your day off to a wet start.
It is dry, it is hot across the southwest. It will be windy with very low levels of humidity, so fire danger is up there in the critical level. We will get some relief with this cold front that's driving down towards the south. So record-breaking heat over the past several days and we'll see it again today I think in places like Phoenix and Vegas and eastern parts of southern California, but relief is in sight.
It hit 110 degrees yesterday in Phoenix. Even for folks in Arizona, that is smoking hot for this time of year. They certainly would like to have a little gulf to dive into and cool off I'm sure. John and Kyra, back up to you.
PHILLIPS: Thanks so much, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
PHILLIPS: Well, several states are facing major budget gaps for the 2009 fiscal year. Arizona, for example, will be in the red by $1.9 billion. Virginia, $1.2 billion. Tennessee clocks in at half a billion.
The states are deciding whether or not to reach into rainy day funds to make up for those gaps. They're concerned if they do though because tax increases may be necessary to replenish the cookie jar.
And a new tax is one of the creative ways California is proposing to make up its $17 billion deficit. It's a tax and it's on pornography, and it could provide a windfall. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a story about California's budget crisis. So what does pornography have to do with the state's budget? California is more than $17 billion in the red. A budget deficit growing by the minute.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: We need additional revenues and we got to get creative.
GUTIERREZ: California is scrambling for creative ways to keep the state afloat, which bring us to pornography.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this country, the adult entertainment revenues are greater than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS and NBC. And the headquarters for that industry in this country is California.
GUTIERREZ: Democratic State Assemblyman Charles Calderon introduced legislation to slap a whopping 25 percent tax on the sales of adult material, which he says could generate $700 million in revenue.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It would put us out of business in California.
GUTIERREZ: The adult industry is screaming foul.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make no mistake, our industry will leave the state. From time of production to the time a DVD reaches consumer, it could be taxed five times. At 25 percent that's absolutely ridiculous.
GUTIERREZ: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says California can get $15 billion by borrowing against future lottery profits. His proposal will go before voters in November. The problem is California is in danger of running out of money way before then.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Got to get creative.
Twenty-one minutes after the hour. The spouses of the presidential hopefuls have been defending themselves from criticism, and Barack Obama warned Republicans to leave his wife, Michelle, alone after the Kentucky Republican Party put out a video questioning her patriotism.
Well, this morning we want to hear from you. Should candidates' spouses be fair game in the campaign? Right now, 46 percent of you say yes. Fifty-four percent say no.
Head to CNN.com/am to vote, and you can also send us an e-mail through our Web site. Let us know why you voted the way you did. We'll share some of your thoughts in about half an hour's time. Just look for the link that says "e-mail us."
PHILLIPS: Well, looks like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are using different math. She says she still got a shot. He thinks he'll have an insurmountable lead by tonight. We're going to ask Obama's campaign coach here, Tom Daschle, if he's ready to declare victory.
ROBERTS: John McCain has a plan to deal with a key opponent in his presidential campaign. It's not Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. How he plans to separate himself from President Bush without going too far. That's coming up.
PHILLIPS: Cell phones and your health. Why pregnant women are being warned to limit their use. We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta for details straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 25 minutes after the hour now. Barack Obama could go over the top tonight reaching a majority in pledged delegates. It doesn't make him the nominee, but Hillary Clinton would no longer be able to catch him in that critical category.
Joining us now from the Obama campaign is former Senate Majority Leader and Obama National Campaign Co-Chair Tom Daschle. Senator Daschle, it's good to see you. Thanks for coming in today.
TOM DASCHLE, OBAMA CAMPAIGN NATL. CO-CHAIRMAN: Thank you, John. Good to be with you.
ROBERTS: If Barack Obama crosses that threshold, and there's every indication he will. He only needs 15 more pledged delegates. In your mind will it be over?
DASCHLE: No, it really won't. We still have important primaries that are left -- Puerto Rico, South Dakota, my own state, Montana. And so, we're going to play this all the way to the end. It's important that everybody have a voice, everybody have a vote, and that's exactly the way we interpret this.
This is a very important threshold today. Having the majority of pledged delegates, John, is a tremendous new accomplishment. We're very excited about it, but it doesn't mean it's the end.
ROBERTS: Well, if it doesn't mean it's the end, what exactly does it mean and why point it out?
DASCHLE: Well, I think it's important to say that the pledged delegates are those who've been selected by the states. Barack Obama has won 32 contests and from states all over the country, and those -- each of those contests selected delegates. We now have the majority of selected pledged delegates from all of those contests all over the country. That's an important achievement.
ROBERTS: Right, but what does it mean? In the overall scope of things, when the finish line is 2,026, or the Hillary Clinton campaign would like to push that out to 2,210 what does having the most number of pledged delegates, the majority of them mean tonight?
DASCHLE: Well, I can't imagine that the unpledged delegates, those who are called superdelegates, I'm one, could ever overturn the majority of the pledged delegates. The pledged delegates are the elected representatives from every one of the states.
We've now had -- what is it? -- 47 contests or something like that, and all of those contests now have made the decision with regard to the delegates. Those pledged delegates in my view are the core.
I think in just about anybody's view is it's really the core of the convention. And now, to say that we have the majority of the core of the delegates that are going to be making the decisions at the convention and selecting our nominee, that's a critical milestone. ROBERTS: All right. As you know, Senator Obama has been getting hit pretty hard on the foreign policy front by Senator John McCain, particularly on the issue of Iran. Let's take a listen to what he said yesterday about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama has declared and repeatedly reaffirmed his intention to meet the president of Iran without any preconditions. Such a statement betrays the depth of Senator Obama's inexperience and reckless judgment. These are very serious deficiencies for an American president to possess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator, that's pretty tough talk. Will Senator Obama's position that he would meet with Ahmadinejad, Assad (ph), other people like that without precondition, will that be a problem for him in the general election?
DASCHLE: Not at all, John. In fact, if anything I think the American people are tired of the Bush/McCain approach. John McCain represents George Bush's third term, and that's especially true in foreign policy.
They don't want a third term. Eighty-two percent of the people in this country think we're on the wrong track, and they point to our foreign policy in particular as an example of that. What Barack is simply saying is that he's not -- he thinks everything has to be on the table. Obviously there's going to be preparation. Obviously we're going to work through how we would have negotiations.
But just as we did with the Soviet Union, just as we did with China, just as Colin Powell and Secretary Gates themselves have said we need negotiations, Barack Obama believes the time has come for us to take a change in our policy and recognize the importance of good, strong diplomacy.
ROBERTS: Senator, you thought about running for the nomination in the 2004 election briefly. If you had become president, would you have met with Ahmadinejad and others without precondition in the first year of your presidency?
DASCHLE: Well, I think it's important to emphasize again when we talk about precondition, we're just saying everything needs to be on the table. I would not say that we would meet unconditionally. Of course, there are conditions that we would involve in preparation in getting ready for the diplomacy, but clearly, John, we've got to start talking. We have to start working through the differences we have, and of course I'd meet with them.
ROBERTS: But he clearly said, clearly agreed that he would meet without precondition.
DASCHLE: Well, without precondition simply means we wouldn't put obstacles in the way of discussing the differences between us. That's really what they're saying, what Barack is saying. It's exactly what Secretary Gates has said. It's what Colin Powell has said. It's what we did with the Soviet Union, and that's what we've done with China.
We've always said we're going to sit down and work through our differences, not put up barriers and walls that we can't get over before we even start the talks.
ROBERTS: Senator Daschle, it's good to check in with you. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.
DASCHLE: My pleasure, John.
ROBERTS: Good luck today -- Kyra.
DASCHLE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Today's primaries in Oregon and Kentucky will help determine who goes up against Senator John McCain, but McCain is also facing a challenge, overcoming his close association with George W. Bush. CNN's special correspondent Frank Sesno has been looking into it. Frank, good morning.
FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. While you're right that John McCain is going to have to calibrate very carefully how he runs against George W. Bush. You heard Senator Daschle sort of throw the gauntlet down there. So look closely and you will see what is starting to emerge, what I'm calling an accountability strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm very honored --
SESNO (voice-over): McCain knows he has a Bush problem, what to keep, what to reject. A challenge all along. On Iraq he'd soldier on. On taxes he'd keep the cuts, but on tone he suggests he'd radically change the tune.
MCCAIN: When we make errors, I will confess them readily and explain what we intend to do to correct them.
SESNO: Curbing secrecy and arrogance through openness, access and as he suggested last week, a dramatic departure.
MCCAIN: I will ask Congress to grant me the privilege of coming before both houses to take questions and address criticism, much the same as the Prime Minister of Great Britain appears regularly before the House of Commons.
SESNO: Ever seen the way the British do that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over a million of the poorest people in this country are still worse off. Don't they matter?
SESNO: But that's Parliament. Here we have separation of powers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The President of the United States.
SESNO: No questions asked State of the Union is about as close as they get. McCain's idea could change a lot. It would be a big departure from Bush-Cheney. They beefed up the Executive Branch and angered Congress with a lot of secrets. It could weaken the President's bully pulpit by strengthening theirs because they will try to set the agenda and it would beat the press.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. President. Good morning.
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I like a friendly guy here in the Rose Garden.
SESNO: Because they won't be the only ones asking questions. McCain knows he has to stand for change because the Democrats are trying to run away with it. And given Bush's record low approval ratings, the public seems to want it. McCain has concluded accountability sells.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESNO: Another thing McCain's accountability strategy intended to do is to highlight his confidence and comfort. I will handle the slings and arrows. I've got the energy and experience to do the job he seems to be saying, and that lets him take on not just George W. Bush but the age issue and Barack Obama if that's the guy on the issues. All right.
PHILLIPS: Frank Sesno, live from D.C. Thanks, Frank.
SESNO: Sure.
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 33 minutes after the hour. Alina Cho here now with more stories new this morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys. Good morning to you. Pay attention, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.
PHILLIPS: What are you doing over there?
VELSHI: Go ahead.
CHO: All right. Good morning, everybody. And new this morning, President Bush offering an apology to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki after a U.S. soldier used the Koran, Islam's holy book, for target practice. Now, over the weekend the U.S. commander in Baghdad said he was sorry and gave Iraqi officials a new Koran. Reports of the desecration of the Koran have sparked outrage and protests in Iraq. The soldier has been pulled from duty in Iraq and reassigned to the United States.
Barack Obama is warning this opponents to lay off his wife. And now Michelle Obama is responding to those Republican attack ads suggesting she hasn't always been proud of America. Here is what she had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAM, WIFE OF SEN. BARACK OBAMA: I think that, you know, those are distractions and distortions that just aren't accurate. It's a part of politics. I mean, you know, it's very - I don't know anybody who would put themselves or their families through the arduous task of running for president. It is - you know, it is a very draining feat and I think that every candidate whether you agree with their policies or not, I think their families and their spouses care deeply about this country. I know I do. I wouldn't put myself and my family in this position if I didn't have a level of pride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: That was Michelle Obama.
Barack Obama said in a broadcast interview to attack his wife "is just low class."
The federal government is rolling out a controversial plan to let pilots skip those security checkpoints at airports. Listen up, instead, pilots will go through exit lanes by using a special airport I.D.. The test program will be rolled out over the summer at three airports. Critics warn it puts passengers at large at risk. The pilots aren't screened for weapons like everybody else is. The pilot's union has been pushing to skip the airport screening for pilots calling it "demoralizing."
And a sports milestone to tell you about this morning. Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester pitched a no-hitter against the Kansas City Royals at Fenway Park last night. It's incredible but it's all the more incredible because less than two years ago Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and at one point he wasn't sure if he'd ever pitch again. He's now cancer-free. Boston's general manager says learning to dominate in the big leagues is one thing, but it's nothing compared to what Lester has already overcome. Good for him. He's just 24 years old, and no Red Sox lefty has done that in a half century. So, certainly a milestone.
PHILLIPS: A great career ahead of him.
CHO: Yes, he does. Long career.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks very much.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Important day in the states of Kentucky and Oregon. They're having primaries there. Kentucky people are voting. Look at that, 11 hours and 24 minutes until the polls close. The polls close in Oregon at 8:00. They don't really close because there is no poll but it's the cutoff time for the mail-in ballots and people have been sending those in for the last couple of weeks. So all of the results coming your way on the "Election Center" tonight. In the meantime, let's check in with Ali who is here with more relief coming down from Congress.
VELSHI: Yes, it's actually interesting. It's been very complicated to follow the bills going through Congress about mortgage relief but there's been a deal in the Senate between the Democrats and the Republican and that could mean a break for those of you who are having trouble paying mortgages. I'll give you that story when we come back on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 21 minutes now to the top of the hour. A new senate proposal could help troubled homeowners. Ali is here with more on that. Good morning to you.
VELSHI: Good morning. This is actually a pretty positive development. Senators Dodd and Shelby who both had sort of suggestions going on. Senator Dodd had a bill that was supposed to be voted on last week. They came to some agreement and it's a fairly far reaching deal that if they can get it through Congress would help a number of people. Now, here are the broad terms of the deal. It's complicated but here's the - here's the simple explanation.
Number one, it is for at-risk homeowners. So people who are at risk of not making their payments with loans that are greater than the value of their homes. Now what would happen is that the bank would write down the difference between what you owe and the value of your home. So they'd have to say, all right, you're $150,000 mortgage but you only have a $100,000 home so we're going to make your mortgage $100,000, but if the bank agrees to do that the government through the Federal Housing Administration, the FHA, will back the new loan and it will be at a fixed rate. So the idea is if they were to do that, would you be able to pay your mortgage, if you can prove that you can pay the new mortgage at a fixed rate on the lower amount, this deal can go through.
Now, why would the banks agree to this? Because if they don't and you don't make your payments and you - they have to foreclose on you, the expense of foreclosing is heavy, and every extra foreclosure brings the price of, you know, the home down lower. So, the bank this way they get paid for it. It seems like a good deal. It seems like maybe the only deal. Now, there are obviously reservations from people who say why are you bailing people out for getting into trouble, you know, but the best explanation I have had of this is it's kind of like a forest fire. We'll figure out who to blame and how to deal with that later but they have to contain the fire. So, it's pretty helpful.
ROBERTS: We'll see how President Bush reacts to it.
VELSHI: Yes, we're waiting to see specifically on this deal how he reacts. He's generally not been in favor of this sort of deal.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks very much. Rob Marciano, our resident geography bee champion, watching the weather. What do you got on the radar screen today?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, got a little bit of action, John and Kyra, Ali. Mostly across parts of Virginia and into to Delmarva sneaking eastward. And this is the run of the mill rains and showers with some thunder, lightning embedded in it but quickly moving off shore. There's some energy in the atmosphere that ill instigate more in the way of severe weather, I think, down across parts of the Carolinas and in through parts of Georgia later today.
We have seen extreme heat over much of the west coast over the weekend and yesterday as well. Today we do it again. Excessive heat warnings out for Vegas down to Phoenix and east of Los Angeles and through the Bakersfield area. Check out some of these numbers. Death Valley, California, what do you think of that to be hot, 120, but Yuma, 115. Are you kidding me? Phoenix, 110. By the way, the day before on Sunday, Phoenix hit 100. That was the first time they hit 100 and right after that 110. They've never done that before at least this early in the season.
Las Vegas, Nevada, 108 and Reno, Nevada, they're at higher elevations, at 94. All right. Still have that kind of offshore flow. It will be breezy today and dry. So fire is going to be an issue. The potential thereof. These winds gusting at 35 miles an hour or greater. But this cool front will begin to slide a little bit farther to the south and east and that will help the cause just a little bit. But they're not going to get any of this anytime too soon. John and Kyra, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks very much.
A new warning about cell phones to tell you about this morning. Why doctors say pregnant women who use them could be putting their babies at risk. We're "paging our Dr. Gupta," standing by.
PHILLIPS: And he's trying to help fight hunger in his homeland. We're talking with the Grammy award winner Wyclef Jean about his idea to ease the global food crises. He joins us live right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: A new study links a pregnant woman's cell phone use to behavior problems in their kids. Even moderate cell phone use can put a child at risk. "Paging Dr. Gupta." Sanjay is in Washington this morning. Sanjay, good morning. First we hear that cell phones cause cancer, now hyperactivity? How would you weight the research?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Not very heavily quite frankly, Kyra. Still you're going to read about it in the newspapers, on the Internet. Watchdog groups talking about this, but even the study authors admit there's no causal link here. Meaning there's no cause and effect between cell phones and ADHD, hyperactivity disorder in children. A lot of people have been sort of asking this question for some time. What is the effect of cell phones on pregnant women and their unborn babies. It sort of prompted this research. It was a large study, a provocative study, looking at about 13,000 children from infancy to age seven asking a simple question. What is the mother's cell phone usage. What they found, you can see there on the screen.
Cell phone usage two to three times a day during pregnancy. 54 percent increased risk of hyperactivity. They also looked at a children's cell phone use at a very young age. And found that children who are using cell phones before the age of seven, had an 18 percent higher risk of hyperactivity. Now, what I mean again, Kyra, by no cause or link is that it's tough to say It's tough to say that the cell phones themselves cause this hyperactivity problem. Could it be that a child who is more prone to using cell phones at such a young age may also be more prone to developing hyperactivity disorder in the long run? That's a possible theory.
Now, the cell phone industries themselves obviously have released statements on this. We talked to them yesterday. And they reminded us that there's been 20 studies looking at the overall health effects of using cell phones. And they found no causal link. They specifically say that - they had a statement here, let me see if I can find it. There you go. "Overwhelming majority of studies.. show wireless phones do not pose a health risk." So keep that in mind.
Here is a little nugget for you, Kyra. You may know this but cell phones operate between 850 to 1900 megahertz. The type of energy they emit is called nonionizing radio frequency. It does produce heat, it does produce energy, but it is different than ionizing radiation, the sort of thing that you get into an x-ray, for example.
PHILLIPS: OK. And let's face it, reality check, everyone is going to still use cell phones. So, is it different if you have a bluetooth or hands-free device?
GUPTA: Yes, it seems to be. In fact, the American Cancer Society, despite all the studies that show no health effects, still say that's the preferred method. Use one of those hands-free devices or use a remote antenna, for example. They have several different suggestions. Overall, it's exactly what you say. Cut down on cell phone minutes overall which is a hard thing for a lot of people to do. Use the head set, connect to a remote antenna. I think probably most importantly, put time limits on children.
But again, Kyra, this is a study you're likely going to read about today. People are going to hear about, but you asked me first what's the weight of this? Not very much. I don't think so.
PHILLIPS: Well, and you talk about this nonionizing radio frequency energy. If that's not dangerous, then why are we even talking about this? Why is this even an issue?
GUPTA: Well, you know, there have been people who have said, look, you know, putting that sort of energy source close to your ear for a period of time, what are the health effects? What are the health effects on a developing baby? I think the questions have been raised. You know, maybe not as conclusive an answer as people would like in terms of actually ruling out some of these things that we're talking about, but this study alone does not show that sort of cause and effect, that necessary cause and effect relationship between cell phones and hyperactivity disorder.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, great to see you this morning.
GUPTA: Great to see you. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: And if you have questions for Sanjay, just e-mail us. Go to CNN.com/am. Sanjay opens the mail bag every Thursday right here on AMERICAN MORNING. John.
ROBERTS: It's 49 minutes after the hour. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gets egged and the video becomes a big hit on the web. Our Veronica de la Cruz joins us now. Good morning to you.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you. Here is what happened. Ballmer is speaking at this university in Budapest, Hungary, when a student gets up and instead of firing tough questions at him, decides to throw eggs.
And he ducks. Here's what happened here. The student was angry about this deal between Microsoft and Hungary's government. He runs down the stairs and if you can see the back of his shirt, it says "Microsoft equals corruption." So, John this video has become a big hit on the we can, but I have to point out it's not the first time Ballmer's has been a viral video star. There's also a video back in 2001 where a very sweaty Ballmer shows a waning amount of enthusiasm while giving a motivational speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BALLMER, MICROSOFT CEO: Developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: It gets worse. This time when speaking to employees and dancing to Gloria Stefan's "Get on your feet," we see a very rowdy Ballmer rallying the troops.
BALLMER: Get up! Come on, get up!
DE LA CRUZ: That video came out about two years ago all over the web. But that Ballmer video with him getting egged not only is it all over YouTube, it's also all over the blogs. Everybody is talking about it this morning.
ROBERTS: Priceless look on his face. As if to say, what the --
DE LA CRUZ: It so could have been so much worse. At least he ducked.
ROBERTS: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: At least he ducked, you know.
ROBERTS: But certainly has a sense of unbridled enthusiasm about his job. Doesn't he?
DE LA CRUZ: You can say that.
ROBERTS: Wow. Thanks, Veronica.
The spouses of the presidential hopefuls have been defending themselves from criticism and Barack Obama warned Republicans to leave his wife, Michelle, alone after the Tennessee Republican Party put out a video that questioned her patriotism. This morning we want to hear from you. Should candidates' spouses be fair game in the campaign? Right now 47 percent of you say yes, 53 percent say no. That's a little closer than it was last hour. Head to cnn.com/am to vote. You can also send us an e-mail from there because we certainly would like to get your thoughts on this.
PHILLIPS: Well, here's an e-mail that we already received. Joe in Maryland said "should the candidates' spouse be fair game? Only if the spouse puts him or herself in the limelight and makes statements. Why shouldn't they be fair game then?"
ROBERTS: Rose from Chicago writes, "if the question "are the candidates' spouses fair game?" means should candidates in political parties attack opposing candidates' spouses, my answer is no unless the spouse in question is also a professional politician."
Thanks for writing in. We'll read more of your e-mails coming up in the next hour here in AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Kentucky derby.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are going to keep going and we're going to keep fighting and we're going to keep making our case.
PHILLIPS: Hillary Clinton hopes to pull out the popular vote.
Plus - post office primary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: they just drop their ballot in the mail.
PHILLIPS: How Oregon could lead the nation. It's the most politics in the morning.
Lipstick economics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even if you don't have any money, you want to look like a million bucks.
PHILLIPS: Putting a good face on a sour economy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like an instant therapy session.
PHILLIPS: When the going gets tough, where do the tough go shopping? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 55 minutes after the hour. Breaking news from Iraq to tell you about. Iraqi troops moving into the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City overnight. This is new video just in to CNN. An Iraqi military spokesman says there has been no violence since troops begin deploying in parts of the city.
Also breaking overnight, President Bush has apologized to Iraq's Prime Minister for an American soldier's desecration of the Koran. Iraqi police say a soldier used a copy of Islam's holy book for target practice. The U.S. commander in Baghdad also issued a formal apology over the weekend.
A U.S. team trained in search, rescue, and recovery is on the way to China to help earthquake victims there. Dramatic video shows the terror and chaos as the quake hit Beichuan, China eight days ago. More than 40,000 people were killed overall. A quarter of a million people were hurt and five million people lost their homes. Warnings of new aftershocks caused more terror overnight.
And new pictures of incredible rescues. A miner and a utility company executive were pulled out alive overnight. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Oh, witnessing a global food crisis and one of the hardest hit countries is just 100 miles away. In April, the high price of food and the short supply resulted in food riots that killed several people in Haiti. Our next guest is the proud son of Haiti and founder of a the () Haiti, a foundation, a movement to help change that country. Grammy award winning musician Wyclef Jean joins me now. Great to see you this morning.
WYCLEF JEAN, MUSICIAN: How are you? Great to see you, too.
PHILLIPS: You know, you have had so many success here but when you fly into Haiti and you get off that plane, that's home for you, isn't it?
JEAN: Yes, definitely home for me, and I want Americans to understand that we're real close to you. So, if you don't help what's going on in Haiti, you're going to have a situation where people are trying to migrate over in the boat and then you're going to have the same crisis, a domino effect.
PHILLIPS: Well, tell me about the foundation that you started. And Yele, that's a word you created.
JEAN: Yes, Yele is like a cry for freedom. Yele. Do that.
PHILLIPS: Oh, no. Don't put me on the spot. It's like kind a black spiritual and it's beautiful. You can meditate on it.
JEAN: Yes, you can definitely meditate. Yele is the organization that we started but today, we're launching, you know, basically Together for Haiti and this foundation we're putting three NGOs together, World Food Program, PADF and Yele Haiti and the idea is it's creating jobs, not only just food distribution, but we're creating jobs. And also doing what's called microloans where we actually provide people with five chickens and a way for them to feed these chickens in a cage because the idea is not just giving food but creating options so people can have jobs. Because we want to work as Haitian people. Just make it clear, the Haitian people do want to work. We just need jobs.
PHILLIPS: And for you when you go back and you see this and you witness this, tell me what goes through your heart, your mind. How does it change you emotionally, spiritually?
JEAN: I mean, it changes me because I left Haiti when I was 10 years old. I'm from a small village called Lesere. I remember as far as going to school on a donkey. Coming to America, I basically wanted the American dream. I actually have that dream and when you go back and you see what's going on, I mean it just shatters your heart. You feel like you have to do something.
PHILLIPS: And when you go back to friends, family, even strangers, they're your people, how do they respond to you? Do you feel overwhelmed at times?
JEAN: Oh, I definitely feel overwhelmed. You know, it's just a lot to bear, and they depend on me not just the music but in the sense of just being the hope, you know, for the country. So at times it's frustrating. You know, it got real frustrating the other day when I was actually watching CNN and then the food crisis when it broke out in Haiti. They started looting and they started burning things, and at the time I was going to India, and when I got to India, the poverty that I've seen in India, the message that I have for the Haitian people is, you know, it's OK if you want to protest, but you should not loot. And it's very important you should not burn things. And I want you to know that you're not the only people going through this. There's a food crisis around the world.
PHILLIPS: Well, I know that other countries are going to learn a lot about what you are doing. But I want to talk, about and this is the - one of the most beautiful things that you have done.
JEAN: You still didn't say, yele.
PHILLIPS: Eh. I'm working on it. Come one, it's a little early. Your daughter, Angelina. You adopted her from Haiti. Why did you do this?
JEAN: Yes. Well, she's not adopted from Haiti.
PHILLIPS: Oh, she's not?
JEAN: A lot of people think she is but no, she's from the states. She's half Haitian, half (inaudible). And because I'm Haitian, a lot of people say, oh, is she from Haiti?
PHILLIPS: Because that's out on the blogs and Web sites. And that surprised me.
JEAN: Yes. Don't believe everything on the blogs. But the reason why you know it's important to be able to give a child a life. And you know, to start with, you know, just with my wife, the way that she's with Angelina. It's like what I would say, that's like the best thing that has ever happened.
