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American Morning
President Heads to Europe; Nouri al-Maliki Says Iran-Iraq Meeting Won't Be Used to Harm Iran; San Quentin Prison to Desegregate; Obama's Race Sparks a Debate
Aired June 09, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ED HENRY, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That war is still dragging on, so he has a tough mission there. And it's quite interesting frankly that the first lady took this trip, going into a war zone, that's rare. But as you know, she's been taking on a larger foreign policy portfolio in part because she's much more popular around the world than he is. And I think, finally, obviously, even though he's going overseas, he realizes he needs to touch on issue number one, the economy.
People are feeling that pain specifically on gas prices. He called for more production, oil production, and saying the supply might ease the price situation, the price squeeze a bit. But as you know, his plan to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, for example, really not going anywhere on Capitol Hill. The Democrats very much opposed to that. So there really doesn't seem to be a short-term fix that the president or the Democratic Congress can come up with to deal with those high oil and gas prices, John.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: I remember accompanying the president in the very first trip that he made to Europe, he was seen -- the perception of him was a go it alone gun slinger who had his own plans, despite what Europe might want. How is he seen there? Is the perception of him any different now than it was seven years ago?
HENRY: Well, I think you put your finger on at the top that at least the perception among some of the European leaders has gotten better because he has more friends and allies on the ground. But, as you know, overall in Europe, the president's popularity, his approval ratings, et cetera, are not much better than where they were at the beginning of his presidency.
And so, you're not really going to see him much better received in Europe than he has been previously and frankly heading into this trip, White House officials have been trying to downplay expectations dramatically that anything is really going to happen on this trip. So the president will be over there for about a week, but we're really not expecting anything big to happen, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Ed Henry for us this morning from the North Lawn of the White House, and we see the Marine One helicopter about to take off, headed for Andrews Air Force Base, in a six-nation trip to Europe that President Bush is embarking on. Of course, we'll have reports from the field later on CNN. Ed, thanks very much.
HENRY: Thanks, John KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Talking about damage control now after an influential Israeli cabinet minister threatened to attack Iran over its nuclear program.
The transportation minister issued that warning in a paper on Friday. Spokesperson for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert backed away from the comment that didn't totally reject it. Other officials slammed the minister for using the issue for political leverage. The minister is the main Israeli liaison with the United States on strategic issues, by the way.
Meantime, Iraq's prime minister on a three-day visit to neighboring Iran is reassuring leaders there that Iraq will not be used as a staging area for U.S. attacks on Iran. CNN's Morgan Neill has more from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's visit to Iran comes as debate is heating up over proposed long-term security agreement between the United States and Iraq. This is what's known as the Status of Forces Agreement, simply the legal framework necessary for the U.S. to maintain its forces in Iraq beyond 2008.
Now, Iran's leaders have denounced any such agreement saying it essentially amounts to having U.S. military bases on its doorstep posing a constant threat. During talks with Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and other Iranian officials, Maliki sought to reassure them saying Iraq would never allow its territory to be used as a base from which to attack neighboring countries.
But his office has also stressed that any agreement of this type between the United States and Iraq is just that, between those two countries, and said Iran's campaign against disagreement essentially amounted to interference in Iraqi sovereignty.
The U.S. had hoped to have this agreement finalized by July, but Iraqi officials we talked to say talks are still in the early stages.
NEILL (on camera): Now, relations between Iraq and Iran have warmed considerably since Saddam Hussein's fall, but Maliki is in a difficult position, essentially being pulled in two different directions by his close relations with the United States, and with Iran whom the United States accuses of arming and training Shiite militants who then carry out attacks inside Iraq.
Morgan Neill, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It's coming up on four minutes after the hour.
Extreme weather this morning from catastrophic flooding across the Midwest to brutal temperatures along the mid-Atlantic all the way up into the northeast. Almost a foot of rain has fallen in central Indiana. The worst hit areas were about 25 miles south of Indianapolis. Some parts were experiencing the worst flooding in a century there.
In Iowa, flooding has shut down roads and water treatment plant in Mason City. That's about 120 miles north of Des Moines. Residents have no clean drinking water there, and floodwaters are expected to crest midweek at the earliest. The National Weather Service says parts of west central and northern Iowa saw five inches of rain.
And Chicago's southern suburbs were rocked by six tornadoes this weekend, including this one in Monee (ph). Roofs were shredded, power lines snapped. About 15,000 people lost power yesterday and it could take days to get the lights back on. Several minor injuries were also reported.
We've got extreme weather covered on all the angles for you this morning. Susan Roesgen is live in Columbus, Indiana, watching the deadly flooding there. Reynolds Wolf live on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. with the brutal heat wave that's gripping the city, and Rob Marciano here in New York City with an eye on the forecast.
Let's begin with Susan. Good morning, Susan.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You know, it is a once in a 100-year flood here for this folks. They say it hasn't been this bad since 1913. And as the water starts to go down now, even in areas that look more like a creek than a parking lot which is where we are, as the water starts to go down, you know, it leaves a big mess behind.
A local hospital had to be evacuated with the water in the basement and mud on the first floor. More than 1,000 people are waking up this morning here in Columbus, Indiana, in shelters, and the people who got out of their cars in the parking lot here behind me, John, were lucky to get out because the one person who was killed here in Columbus was a man who was driving his car when the floodwater swept it right off the road -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. Susan Roesgen for us this morning there in Indiana. Susan, thanks.
PHILLIPS: Flirting with the century mark along the East Coast. Some spots may even hit the triple digits, we're told.
Reynolds Wolf watching the mercury from the national wall in Washington, D.C. Right now, he's got all his gadgets live for us. Hi, Reynolds. He's actually at the National Mall. Actually a very popular place for all those joggers in this early morning hours no matter how hot it is.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I mean, they're out here all the time, but really there's been a huge concentration of them this morning, really taking advantage of the somewhat cooler temperatures. And I say that tongue-in-cheek, we've got 82 degrees currently right now but with the high humidity, it is -- heat index is already approaching 90 at this time. Now in terms of temperatures, the record high on this date is actually 104 degrees which was set back in 1874. Today's high expected to reach 99 but with the high humidity, it's going to feel much, much warmer.
Keep in mind that much of Washington, D.C. and in fact a good chunk of the eastern seaboard is currently under a heat advisory or excessive heat warnings. It's something that's going to last to at least late Tuesday before things cool down. Until then, people are advised to really take it easy.
In fact, here in the city of Washington, D.C., the city is taking steps to provide cooling centers and even spray centers for many people. Now, what you may ask is a spray center. Take a look at this video.
It's kind of self explanatory. It's a place where kids can get a chance to get sprayed off. I suppose adults would be welcome there too. Kind of weird to look at someone with their coat and tie going in enjoying that, but the kids are making the most of it and having fun while battling heat. Not a bad idea at all. And certainly I would expect many people are going to be doing that.
Now, obviously, a lot of folks can't go to the spray center. So they advise you that if you have the ability to be in an air- conditioned place at home, that's certainly a good idea. Stay in the office, that's not a bad idea either. Maybe -- otherwise go visit malls, there's some movies.
Here in Washington, D.C., you've got plenty of options where you have many, many sites and attractions that are air-conditioned. So certainly anything you can do to stay out of the extreme heat is a good idea especially through Tuesday. Back to you.
PHILLIPS: Hey, you can't beat the Smithsonian, that's for sure. Reynolds Wolf, thanks.
Now, let's get the latest forecast from Rob Marciano. He's here in New York experiencing the lovely heat wave that we're having.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, almost nice to speak of. That's a great way to get your kids actually to the museum and learn something when it's so hot outside. They're miserable enough to come inside and check out the exhibits.
We do have big-time heat today. Keep in mind that where Reynolds is, you know, he's in the sun. We typically measure temperatures in the shade. So these are the numbers at this hour, and obviously they're going to go up as the sun goes up.
Chicago, you're on the other side of this front, so you're looking at temperatures that are a little bit cooler by about 10 degrees. Shaun (ph), if you can help me out and flip these around, 100 degrees was the record high temperature in Richmond, Virginia, yesterday. It was 100 in Macon as well. Columbus, Georgia, 98. And there's Philly, 95. Philly to D.C., probably the two hottest places today, but I think everyone stands a chance of grazing that 100-degree mark and then with the heat indices, the humidity involved in that, you'll look at temperatures that are warmer than that.
All right. Rainfall for the most part in the spots that have seen the flooding and that will be the case again today. Chicago back towards Kansas City, in through Oklahoma. Looks like most of it will stay south of Iowa which has seen a tremendous amount of flooding, but Oklahoma City, seeing some rough weather this hour.
We had some rough thunderstorms across the northeast. Yesterday, it cooled folks off, did a little bit of damage. I don't think we're going to see that today. So whatever you can do or as Mama Wolf Reynolds said earlier, just do what you can. Stay cool.
PHILLIPS: Mama Wolf?
MARCIANO: You know, he gives us good advice, and that's what we call him in the weather department.
PHILLIPS: I think more of werewolf in London.
MARCIANO: A little bit of both for sure.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you guys, thanks.
ROBERTS: $4 and climbing, the price of gasoline shattering more records this morning. Will prices hold, fall or climb up even more? Ali joins us after the break with some answers. You might not like what he's got though.
PHILLIPS: And we also have the new debate over Barack Obama's race. Yes, it's coming up again. Is he African-American or bi- racial? We're going to hear why the distinction could make a difference to voters in November.
ROBERTS: And an unlikely brotherhood, born out of an act of violence. The brother of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski reaches out to a victim, forging a lasting relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID KACZYNSKI, BROTHER OF UNABOMBER: There's a lot of pain for me with the word brother, a lot of emotion. But I see him is my brother. I know that word. You know, this friendship is for life, and we'll be there for each other for as long as we're alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: More of their story coming up later on this hour.
PHILLIPS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, desegregating prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you guys live with a black guy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I wouldn't. I couldn't because my race wouldn't allow it. I'd probably get beat up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Ted Rowlands inside the walls of San Quentin, with some of the country's most dangerous criminals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can talk, play sports together. You can study together, do things, but you just don't live outside your race.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Will mixing races help curb or create violence? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And we're focusing on issue number one this morning. How do Americans feel about the economy? Well, not really good, according to the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll released this morning.
Only 22 percent of those surveyed said that current economic conditions were good. Seventy-eight percent said that they think conditions are poor, but people are expecting things to improve. See, there you go. There's our optimistic spirit. Ask to predict economic conditions a year from now, a little more than half of you said, hey, they'll be all right.
ROBERTS: Ali is here this morning and he's got the barrel with him, and I'm thinking of what we could do with that barrel.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We shoot it into space. It would be the easiest thing. But take the oil out before you do because it can make you rich.
$139.12 is what oil hit on Friday afternoon. Thankfully it's come down a little since then. I think we're about $137. So rush out and get yourself some. Part of the reason Americans think the economy is going to get better is because they're hoping that that goes down. If it doesn't, this is the number one issue for Americans. It's the price of gasoline.
As you can see, right here, $4.02. Now, we're above $4. I think 19 states and the District of Columbia are above that level, and they're a whole bunch that are pretty close.
The highest gas in the country is California, $4.45 for a gallon of unleaded self-serve there. Connecticut is $4.32, and Alaska is $4.30. The lowest gas in the state, well, it's not that much of a relief. In Missouri, $3.82 is the lowest price. South Carolina $3.83, and Oklahoma $3.84.
So we're watching these gas prices very closely. Obviously with the spike in oil, oil went up more than $10 on Friday alone. That's got people worried about where gas prices go. There's often this lag in gas prices, but even at $135 a barrel, which it was I don't know a week ago or so, we had some experts saying that gas should be at about $4.50 a gallon. So, again, we can expect these gas prices to go higher.
We've got full coverage on gas and oil, and what you can spend. And if you find you've lost a job or losing a job, they're sort of retraining you, you can get all day today, "ISSUE #1 AMERICA'S MONEY." Normally we do a show at noon Eastern. We will be doing that, but we'll have special coverage all day today here on CNN.
Trying to get some answers, trying to move this thing forward for people, because it's grim to talk about all the bad situation. But if Americans like that poll shows are hopeful, well, let's give them something to hope and more to hope about.
ROBERTS: I went and saw him in the newsroom Friday afternoon and smoke was coming out of his ears.
VELSHI: That's when the price of oil just kept going higher and higher every minute.
ROBERTS: Dow was going down.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: What's going to happen to that?
VELSHI: The Dow is actually in positive territory right now. It's a 400-point loss almost on Friday, and some people are saying, hey, maybe that was overdone. Let's see where it goes today. So right now, positive territory.
ROBERTS: Keep the Dow in positive territory and get that thing negative.
VELSHI: This thing down and then we could be done.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Ali.
Happy days are here again. Well, if you have an oil rig for rent, CNN "AM Extra" now. How some companies are cashing in on your financial misery.
Oil producers in the Persian Gulf are so desperate to boost their drilling capacity in the short-term that they're renting oil rigs for as much as $600,000 a day. Some are being shipped in from as far away as Trinidad. Experts say that it takes about two years to build a new rig at a cost of a half a billion dollars. So if you got a rig hanging around you got nothing to do with, $600,000 a day. It's pretty good cash.
PHILLIPS: Ali Velshi keeps everything in his closet. He's got a rig in there too.
ROBERTS: Maybe they need that oil barrel too.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: And get some cash for that.
PHILLIPS: Toss it off Niagara Falls.
ROBERTS: Get it out of here.
PHILLIPS: Well, California prisons forced to desegregate. We're going to take you inside San Quentin for a pretty tense discussion about race.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Nineteen minutes after the hour. One of the country's most famous prisons will be undergoing a major change soon. Blacks and whites will start living together. We sent our Ted Rowlands to San Quentin, just to visit, mind you, to find out if desegregation will help or hurt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A cross between castle and dungeon, San Quentin has been around for nearly 150 years. Inside prisoners will tell you that for much of their time, there has been a racial divide here among inmates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can talk, play sports together. You can study together and do things, but you just don't live outside your race.
ROWLANDS: Over the next five years, prisoners of all races, who until now have been kept apart, will be sharing cells as California implements a new prison desegregation policy. When you visit, it's easy to see the racial lines in the exercise yard at San Quentin where white prisoners, Hispanics and African-Americans stay in their own groups.
Would you guys live with a black guy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I wouldn't. I couldn't because my race wouldn't allow it. I'd probably get beat up.
ROWLANDS: It's the same story inside a converted gymnasium, home to hundreds of low risk prisoners. Watch as during our impromptu interview, the blacks gather on one side and the whites on the other.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We try to respect each other because we know we got to live together in the same building. But close up, living in the same room, sleeping together, using the same toilet, all that stuff ain't going to work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's going to be too much chaos. It's just going to cause pandemonium. It's going to be pandemonium everywhere.
ROWLANDS: But prison officials say the plan will work.
TERRY THORNTON, CALIF. DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS: They're used to dealing, you know, with people of all races when they live in the community before they came to prison. And if you're going to provide an environment that's conducive to rehabilitation, then this is the best way to go.
ROWLANDS: A lawsuit ultimately decided in 2005 by the U.S. Supreme Court is the reason for the change in California policy. The program is modeled after one in Texas where officials claim it's helped reduce overall violence and gang activity.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Most of the cells here at San Quentin are four by nine, not a lot of space. Two people share the cells and most of the prisoners we talked to said quite frankly, if you don't get along with a guy you're sharing a cell with, there's going to be trouble.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Inmates can refuse to participate, but will face disciplinary action. Randy Koch (ph) and Shane Buchanan (ph) share this cell. Both of them say they would rather be punished or even serve more time than mix.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Send me to the hole. I'm not going to rack up with another race.
ROWLANDS: Not all prisoners we talked to are against it. Julian (ph), who says he's in for murder, says he thinks this could work out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It should have happened years ago. You know, I think it's a long time coming. It will be rough in the beginning like, you know, change is always rough.
ROWLANDS: Prison life is rough. Question is, will bringing the races together make things better or worse?
Ted Rowlands, CNN, San Quentin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And here's more in an "AM Extra." With more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States leads the world in both the number and percentage of residents that it incarcerates.
Texas has the dubious distinction as the nation's prison leader with about 172,000 people locked up. In 2007, the state spent more than $49 billion on prisons. Based on numbers from 2005, it costs almost $24,000 to imprison someone for a year. About half of released inmates return to jail or prison within three years time.
PHILLIPS: Barack Obama has tried to make the issue of the race irrelevant. Now that he has won a historic victory, there are new questions about his racial identity. We're going to talk with two guests who have very different opinions on the subject. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the Unabomber's brother and an unlikely bond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY WRIGHT, VICTIM OF UNABOMBER: I have learned things that no other, you know, victim of these set of crimes, will ever know. And it's because of that relationship, I mean, I've been able to see things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A brotherhood born out of tragedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID KACZYNSKI, BROTHER OF UNABOMBER: There's a lot of pain for me with the word brother. A lot of emotion. But I see him as my brother. I know that this friendship is for life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A riveting story of reconciliation ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Barack Obama's historic victory in the Democratic primary race is raising new questions about politics and racial identity. CNN's Jason Carroll explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Last Tuesday, Senator Barack Obama made history as the first African-American or first black presumptive nominee for a major party. Depending on the headline, he is the first. That's not disputed. The question, is it accurate to call him black?
MICHAELA ANGELA DAVIS, CULTURAL CRITIC: First of all, he can't say I'm a white guy named Barack Hussein Obama. You know, no one -- no one's going to buy that. We're not ready for that.
CARROLL: In his speech on race, Senator Obama made clear he hails from a bi-racial family.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRES. NOMINEE: I'm a son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas. I was raised with the help of a white grandfather.
CARROLL: Despite that heritage, Obama identifies himself as black, in part because that's what people see.
DAVID MENDELL, AUTHOR, "OBAMA: FROM PROMISE TO POWER": When he walks into a room, people do not see someone who is white or bi- racial. They generally see someone who looks African-American. CARROLL: Obama explained it on "60 Minutes."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CBS' "60 MINUTES")
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRES. NOMINEE: When I'm walking down on the South Side of Chicago and visiting my barbershop and playing basketball in some of these neighborhoods, those aren't questions I get asked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They think you're black?
OBAMA: As far as they can tell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Jen Chau knows the debate all too well. Her father is Chinese, her mother white. She founded a bi-racial support group called Swirl.
JEN CHAU, FOUNDER, BI-RACIAL SUPPORT GROUP SWIRL: You'll have mixed race people who will say like we have -- we're a mixed race. And then you'll have mixed race people who identify with one over the other.
CARROLL: The Swirl members we spoke to support Obama's choice to call himself black.
LYNDA TURETO, SWIRL MEMBER: That's our racial reality in the United States. I myself am a woman who is half white, but I would and could never identify as a white woman.
CARROLL: I wonder if we'll just get to the point where these labels won't be necessary.
ANDRES JACKSON, SWIRL MEMBER: It's hard for me to see, you know, a future where the labels won't be there. But what I do hope is that there will be much less importance placed on those labels.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: That's our Jason Carroll reporting.
Now joining us to talk more about this from Miami, James Burnett, who writes the Burnettiquette blog at the "Miami Herald," and from Washington, Lynette Clemetson, managing editor of "TheRoot.com." Great to see you both.
James, why don't we start with you? Why is it important to make this distinction between bi-racial and black?
JAMES BURNETT, "MIAMI HERALD": Good morning, Kyra. I think the important thing about the distinction is not what Obama calls himself. He is more than welcome to call himself black or African-American. I applaud him. On a personal level I support him. But when the media discusses the historical context of what Obama has accomplished, I think we are doing a disservice to him and the entire country when we leave out the other half of his heritage.
PHILLIPS: What do you think, Lynette.
LYNETTE CLEMETSON, MANAGING EDITOR, THEROOT.COM: I think that these discussions about whether Barack Obama's black, is he mixed race, you know, I think it sounds like the beginning of the campaign when people at first were saying, well, he's not black enough. And then he was too black and now he's mixed race.
I think a lot of these questions miss the point that first of all, I don't think black and mixed race are mutually exclusive terms. I don't think that they ever have been. And I think certainly that they're not now in the case of Barack Obama.
I think when he doesn't discuss it, he's suggesting that the world accepts him as he is, and what he symbolizes is the fact that these labels mean less and less, and because people are not bound by any label that somebody may associate with whatever racial term they attach to someone.
PHILLIPS: And James, do you think if you continue to talk about this as Lynette has pointed out, labels, does it sort of make the assumption that, you know, competence plays on color?
JAMES BURNETT, POP CULTURE WRITER/BLOGGER: Not at all. On the contrary, I think my colleagues in both broadcast and print media have kept these labels live on their own.
The labels are not going to go anywhere any time soon. And as long as they're here, the media needs to do an accurate job of just including his biracial ethnic heritage in the conversation. If we don't we're just taking away from the historical significance of what he has accomplished.
PHILLIPS: Do you think...
BURNETT: There was a time in this country where biracial people were like a name without a country. They weren't getting love from a lot of sides. And the fact that a black man -- a biracial man can step up and say I -- you know I have heritage on both sides and this is who I am, we need to report both sides of that.
PHILLIPS: Lynette, do you think...
BURNETT: Or discuss it.
PHILLIPS: OK. Well, Lynette, do you think that he's doing this because he's struggled with getting that sort of white collar -- or blue collar white vote, so he thinks maybe if he hammers in on the fact that his mom is white, that that could help him?
CLEMETSON: I don't think he's doing anything. I mean, first of all, I think he tries to downplay the labels as much as possible but whenever he talks -- I mean his narrative is well established, and I think I would disagree with the assertion that the media needs to put more emphasis on his mixed race heritage. In almost every story I read, you read that Barack Obama's black and you also read that his -- in almost every story, it's repeated over and over again that he has a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya. It's there over and over again, and when he made his acceptance speech last Tuesday, the person that he thanked first and dedicated the speech to was his grandmother.
It's well established now that his grandmother was white. I think that the biracial part of his narrative is in everything -- in every discussion of Barack Obama now and I think it's well established. I don't think anybody's shying away from it.
PHILLIPS: Maybe each one of you might want to pipe in on this, James. I mean do you think sort of in a strange way, because bigotry still exists on so many levels, that white people kind of need to hear he's biracial, need to hear that he's got whites in him because they need to justify voting for a black man?
BURNETT: Some of them may but that's not why I am saying we should include that as part of the discussion. There was a time in this country someone who was biracial would not be able to identify themselves as such because they'd be risking their lives the same way an African-American would.
I'm just saying, in the interest of accuracy, historical context, we need to include it as part of the discussion. This is not taking away from Barack Obama's self-identity. It's not taking away from him being African-American. Again, on a personal level, I applaud him, I cheer him on a nonpartisan level.
I'm just saying that when the media discusses in a historical context who he is, we need to include discussion on the fact that he is biracial because that is also huge considering this country's history.
PHILLIPS: Final thought, Lynette?
CLEMETSON: Well, you know, I think there are more than 36 million blacks in the United States. I think there are more than 36 million ways to be black. And a black, biracial, of a white Kansas mother, black Kenyan father, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia, Harvard educated lawyer, community activist, black Democratic presidential nominee is one of those ways.
PHILLIPS: James Burnett, Lynette Clemetson, great to talk to you both.
BURNETT: Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's 33 minutes after the hour now, and here's what's making news this morning.
President Bush is on his way to Europe right now. The president is going to travel first to Slovenia to attend the European Union summit. He's then going on to meetings with leaders in several other European countries including France, Italy, Germany, and the U.K. Extreme weather being blamed for killing at least eight in the Midwest and New England this weekend, and Indiana saw the brunt of the severe weather with flash floods and high winds. And in Connecticut, one person was killed by a lightning strike.
Gasoline prices soaring again this morning. Up almost two cents overnight that just over $2 -- $4 rather -- don't I wish - $4.02 a gallon, according to AAA. All of this fueled by the rising cost of oil which just hit under $140 a barrel last week. It's gone down just a tiny little bit this morning.
The economy is "ISSUE #1" for us all day long and for the candidates as well. Barack Obama hitting the campaign trail today for a two-week economic tour.
Candy Crowley joins us now live from Washington.
First up on the tour, Candy, is going to be in North Carolina which is not traditional territory for Democratic presidential candidate.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It isn't, but he won it handily, as you recall, in the primaries and obviously this is going to be a campaign, both on the Republican side and the Democratic side, where the normal map, the normal red state, blue state, go to these states, secure them and then try to get the swing states, is going to move a little.
We know that Barack Obama hopes to make inroads in the south more than that. They hope to make inroads in the interior west, in New Mexico, in Arizona, though that may be a little less doable now since John McCain, obviously, is from Arizona. But there are state in the interior west they are looking to and some indeed in the south.
North Carolina, they believe, is right for that because not only is there a heavy African-American population, but there is also those kind of upscale Democrats who voted for him and backed him and became the core -- a core of his campaign.
So North Carolina certainly is a starting place for him.
ROBERTS: Candy, we're learning about something else this morning from the Obama campaign, the Joshua Generation Project, outreach to young Evangelicals and Catholics. What do we know about that?
CROWLEY: It hasn't started yet, but yes, it is an outreach to young Evangelicals. When I ask, you know, what the pitch is, what they're going for, they said, listen, you know, the same -- they believe that young Evangelicals, in the way that many young people have, might be drawn to this campaign.
We've seen the Democrats, in general more and more, reaching out to Evangelicals, knowing that there are other issues that tend to favor Democrats, that they might be able to draw Evangelicals who we think vote along the lines of abortion or same-sex marriage. But Democrats point out that Evangelicals also preach the gospel of helping your neighbor, housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, that kind of thing and they think those are the issues that favor Democrats, and if they pitch is like that, that they could certainly draw some of those Evangelicals that have found what many believe was a natural home in the Republican Party.
Will also talk to a number of Evangelicals, and said, listen, I don't identify myself as a Republican, I identify myself as an Evangelical and I have an open mind, so they are kind of counting on that as they try, in the Obama campaign, to kind of broaden the base of those they hope that the can pull in to vote for him.
ROBERTS: Candy, we're starting off a new week here with Hillary Clinton now officially out of the race. Take us back to that speech on Saturday afternoon at the National Building Museum. She was very gracious, did what she had to do, but it had to be tough for her, though.
CROWLEY: Oh, absolutely. There were times you sort of sat there, thinking, boy, she probably would be -- rather be chewing glass at this point. But you couldn't tell it.
I thought one of the things that was very interesting because, not only was this tough just because it's hard to lose, she lost by such a small margin and she came from being the formidable frontrunner, the one everybody thought would be on that stage accepting the nomination in Denver.
So there were two reasons that it was really hard.
So generally, you know, John, when you go to these concessions speeches, they're very nostalgic and they're pretty sad. There wasn't really any of that sadness within Hillary Clinton. I was told by people along the rope line as they walked in, that Bill Clinton had tears in his eyes but Hillary Clinton did not.
And I think that really changed the mood of the crowd in some way. That was a pretty upbeat crowd. There were people in tears. Women came up to me afterwards in tears, but by and large, this was a pretty up crowd, and I think they -- that was her, they took their queue from her.
ROBERTS: We'll see what's next up for her.
Candy Crowley for us this morning in Washington. Candy, thanks.
PHILLIPS: The economy and your health -- mounting money woes can lead to depression. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has some tips for reducing that stress.
Speaking of economy, Ali's here to talk more about America's "ISSUE #1".
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And it is America's "ISSUE #1." That's what we know. We continued our polling, as we do every month, to find out the number one issue for you and once again, it is the economy.
You're growing more concerned about the economy, but guess what? You're actually hopeful that it's going to turn around next year. Stay with us. I'll bring you those details on AMERICAN MORNING when we come back from this commercial. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good morning, you're watching AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi.
You are very, very concerned about the economy and that's why we call the economy and our coverage of it "ISSUE #1" here on CNN.
Our latest poll from CNN and Opinion Research -- Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that that trend is increasing.
Take a look at this. Forty-two percent of you think that the economy is the most important issue in this election campaign. Twenty-four percent of you think it's Iraq, 12 percent chose health care, 11 percent terrorism and 8 percent immigration.
Now for those of you who think the economic situation is good, well, unfortunately, that number's been deteriorating over the past few months. Right now it's 22 percent of you. In March, it was 25 percent. Back in January 40 percent of you were prepared to describe the economy as good and in September it was 54 percent of you.
That's all the bad news. Now I'm going to give you the good news.
The good news is you're actually optimistic about the future. Right now 22 percent, as I just told you, think the economy is good. That's 78 percent think that it's poor. But look at what you're thinking about a year from now. Fifty-two percent of you think the economy will be good a year from now. More than double of you think it's good right now and 46 percent think it will be poor a year from now.
So we're hoping that the situation improving a year from now. Part of it is this energy and inflation princes as they start to come down.
We're going to be covering the economy all day here on CNN and at 12:00 noon Eastern Time. We'll be interviewing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to try and figure out from him what he's thinking about what the administration is prepared to do to help out in the coming months.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to that as always.
Ali Velshi for us this morning. Thanks very much.
Well, Hillary Clinton accorded the Clinton vote now. How does Obama bring her female supporters over to his side? We're going to ask feminist author Gloria Steinem, a Clinton supporter who has made the switch?
PHILLIPS: Friendship forged by violence. Gary Wright finds brotherhood after becoming a victim of the Unabomber.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY WRIGHT, VICTIM OF UNABOMBER: For some reason, I thought someone had come around the corner of the building and shot me with a shotgun.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): More than 200 pieces of shrapnel were lodged in his body, nerves in his arms severed, but it would take nine years before Wright learned who tried to kill him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Just the beginning of the story when you talk about this relationship. You'll hear what happens when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
ANNOUNCER: "Minding Your Business" brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Forty-five minutes after the hour. Violence gives a way to friendship. The brother of Unabomber Ted Kaczynski reaches out to one victim.
What started as an offer of apology quickly became a new bond of brotherhood.
Ed Lavandera has this extraordinary story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice over): For almost 20 years, Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber terrorized the country with his home made bombs, killing three and injuring more than 20. Victim number 11 Garry Wright survived the horror. He picked up one of Kaczynski's bombs outside his Utah office in 1987.
WRIGHT: For some reason, I thought someone had come around the corner of the building and shot me with a shotgun.
LAVANDERA: More than 200 pieces of shrapnel were lodged in his body, nerves and his arms, severed, but it would take nine years before Wright learned who tried to kill him.
DAVID KACZYNSKI, BROTHER OF UNABOMBER: I am the guy who turned in his own brother.
LAVANDERA: It was David Kaczynski who discovered his own brother was the Unabomber. He reached out to all the victims offering his family's apologies. Only a few responded, but none like Garry Wright telling Kaczynski it wasn't his fault. WRIGHT: You can't really carry that, you know? You -- it's always difficult to me, but he -- I said, you really don't have to carry that.
LAVANDERA: Wright said Kaczynski could call him any time. The two men didn't know it then but it was the beginning of a lasting friendship.
KACZYNSKI: There's a lot of pain for me with the word brother, a lot of emotion. But I see Gary as my brother. I knew that we're -- you know this friendship is for life and we'll be there for each other from -- for as long as we're alive.
WRIGHT: I don't take that lightly either. I mean I don't use that word brother lightly.
LAVANDERA: Today Kaczynski and Wright travel the country telling their story of reconciliation. They talk on the phone weekly and describe themselves as old frat buddies.
KACZYNSKI: Do you do a lot of hills in that? Or do you go on flat?
WRIGHT: It depends on the course...
LAVANDERA: Wright has poured over Kaczynski family photo albums and heard the childhood stories of the boy who became the Unabomber.
WRIGHT: I have learned things that no other, you know, victim of this set of crimes will ever know. And it's because of that relationship, I mean, I have been able to see things.
KACZYNSKI: He helped me see that, you know, I could reconnect, there was hope that things would get better and not worse. And Gary, in some sense, was my psychological lifeline through this terrible or deal.
LAVANDERA: Ted Kaczynski sits in prison for life and refuses to speak with his brother. But David Kaczynski now knows that brotherhood isn't always defined by blood.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Good story.
Barack Obama hopes some Republican voters are not sold on John McCain's economic plan. Who will appeal to blue collar workers in red states? We'll talk with Carly Fiorina, point person for the McCain economic plan, coming up.
Also will millions of Hillary Clinton supporters follow her lead and back Barack Obama? Feminist icon Gloria Steinem will tell us what she thinks Obama needs to do to make that happen. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: As we have been telling you all day today, CNN is focusing on "ISSUE #1," the troubled economy. How bad economic news can take a toll on your health.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen looking into that for us. She joins us live from Atlanta.
Now, Elizabeth, we all know that losing our jobs or being at risk of foreclosure, that can make us pretty depressed, stressed, all of that. But what exactly does it do to your body?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Kyra.
These kinds of economic problems can lead to real, physical manifestations inside your body, not just psychological problems. So let's go through the body from head to toe to see what stress does.
Let's start with the jaw. Many people have heard of TMJ. What can happen is all that tension can manifest as a disease called TMJ, that can be very painful. Moving on down to the heart. When you're under stress for any reason, you're worried about your job or your house, that can send your blood pressure up. And increased blood pressure can put you at higher risk for a heart attack or for a stroke.
And also your digestive system is affected by stress. Heartburn, nausea -- I don't have to go through the whole list. We all know there are definite affects from stress.
And then, you know what? It's just -- it's really your entire body, Kyra. Your entire body is affected by the stress that you feel about your financial situation. Your immune system changes when you're under stress, doesn't work as well. Your ability to think clearly, your ability to sleep -- really pretty much everything is affected by stress -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: And we've all experienced it. We have prayed, we have meditated, we have tried every type of CD to relax and get our head together. What else are you recommending?
COHEN: You know, all of those things are good. But there's another thing that you can do is to try to go outside to get help, counseling, of course. And I'm going to send people to a Web site for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, NFCC.org.
Hey, you might think, what can they do for the physical effects of stress?
Just like sitting down and talking to someone about your financial problems, by facing it head on, it will make your whole body feel better.
PHILLIPS: Amen. Easier said than done, as we both know.
COHEN: That's right.
PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks.
COHEN: Thanks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Courting Clinton's women.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Although we weren't able to shatter that highest part of the glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it.
ROBERTS: How Obama can win them over? Whether there's a real opening for John McCain.
Plus, money misery. Gas prices hit the unthinkable $4 mark just in time for summer. Barack Obama's plan to ease the pain, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: So today I am standing with Senator Obama to say, yes, we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Senator Hillary Clinton suspending her historic campaign this weekend and throwing her full support behind Barack Obama.
ROBERTS: But will the millions of women who back Hillary Clinton follow her lead?
Pioneer in feminist author Gloria Steinem supported Hillary Clinton. She is now backing Barack Obama. She was at the speech on Saturday and she joins us now.
Good to see you. Thanks for coming in.
GLORIA STEINEM, FEMINIST AUTHOR: Thank you so much.
ROBERTS: Let's -- let me start, first of all, with this idea that six months ago, she was a lock for the nomination. What do you think went wrong? Was it -- as her husband has suggested, she got a raw deal as the first female candidate to go this far? Or was it something else?
STEINEM: Well, I am in kind of a special situation here because I never thought that a progressive woman could win the top spot in my lifetime, and I never thought she could win, which is all the more reason that was important to support her.
We have a very bad record in this regard. We're like 82nd in the world in terms of representing women and the pattern at the very top is that you have different varieties of men, a Jewish man, a Puerto Rico -- before you have a woman in that spot.
Clearly, part of the problem is the misogyny and the culture at large and especially in the media. I mean, you know, no candidate in history has been asked to step down by the media. She was. The average time that it takes for a loser to endorse a winner in this situation is four months. Four months. She did it in four days. And look how she was criticized, you know, for not doing it the very same night.
PHILLIPS: You know...
STEINEM: It's outrageous.
PHILLIPS: Well, you know what's interesting? You said something that everyone or women are more likable as the loser.
STEINEM: Yes, right.
PHILLIPS: So do you think -- do you think the fact that she did not win is actually going to be better for women in the long run because of that?
STEINEM: No, no, no, it's not good for women to be liked as losers.
PHILLIPS: No, but she...
STEINEM: No, but it's an evidence of the bias in the culture. It's the way sex roles, gender roles are policed -- let's put it that way -- that men are liked when they win and women are liked when they're lose -- when they lose. It's the way we are policed into our roles which oppresses men, too.
You know, they should be liked whether they win or not, you know?
PHILLIPS: It's sort of the same that, well, men still don't want to see women get it, get that brass ring.
STEINEM: Right. Right.
PHILLIPS: And so...
STEINEM: And some women don't either. You know -- because we're all raised by women or most of us are raised by women until we come to think that female authority is only appropriate in childhood. And we feel when we see an authoritative woman, we feel almost regressed to childhood because that was the last time we saw an authoritative woman.
So it's deep. It's going to take quite a while and we're taking even longer in this country than most countries.
ROBERTS: Gloria, some people, including former Senator Bob Kerry, have suggested that she didn't lose because she was a woman. He just ran a better campaign and had he have ran in 1992 against Bill Clinton probably would have beat him, too.
STEINEM: Yes, but that's ridiculous to do a single-factor analysis of history. You know, she didn't win or lose -- but you know we're all unique people. Every situation is unique. But had she not been a woman, you know -- she was very close. So any single thing, you know, could have made the difference.
ROBERTS: So do you think that he needs to do a speech on gender very much the way he did one in race?
STEINEM: Well, look, her candidacy was really born in Beijing during the first time when she went there and gave a fantastic speech about women's rights as human rights. Women from African and Asia, you know, stood up and said she should be a leader.
He needs to read that speech, I think, which I'm sure he understands anyway, and always speak about women's rights as human rights, and having had his own experience of discrimination makes it much easier for him to understand what women of all races go through.
PHILLIPS: Did she miss an opportunity, though, to do a speech on gender? He came out with the race speech in March. It was amazing, riveting, when -- should she have done the same thing?
