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American Morning
More Levees Fail; Obama Camp Apologizes for Headscarves Controversy; Pres. Bush Sees Alternative Source of Oil From Shale; Getting to Know Michelle Obama; Why Independent Voters Matter in the General Election
Aired June 19, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Something to look forward to this weekend at the very latest. By the time that we come back here on Monday, it's going to be summertime. We all like that.
Hey, we begin this morning with breaking news and the raw power caused by the swollen Mississippi River. It's already surged over the tops of more than 20 separate levees in Iowa, Missouri and Illinois. Dozens more could be topped soon.
President Bush and John McCain will both visit Iowa today to survey the damage there, and this morning thousands of homes and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland are at risk. People are sandbagging as fast as they can, fearing that it's their only chance against a river that is some 14 feet above flood stage.
CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in Hannibal, Missouri, Mark Twain's hometown. It's about 100 miles north of St. Louis. He joins us this morning. Ed, what's the situation like there today?
EL LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. We're standing on top of one of those levees. You can see the Mississippi River, how incredibly large it is this morning, and you can see the flood gauge there just under 29 feet. It's expected to crest here just over 31 feet. The water has gone down here in Hannibal a little bit, but that's a little bit of a misnomer at this point, because that is because upstream there have been several of those levee breaches as you talk about, and that has relieved a little bit of the pressure here.
So as that water continues to flow downstream we're expecting it to crest sometime Friday. And as you can see here throughout the area and in many towns dotting the Mississippi River, they have added more height to many of these levees to offer themselves some more protection.
So there's a great deal of concern here. Many people at this point will continue the sandbagging efforts throughout the day, but it is wait and see at this point and that's causing a lot of stress for everybody along the Mississippi River -- John.
ROBERTS: Hey, Ed, how's the weather been out there for the last couple of days? Has there been any rain, anything to add to the amount of water that's coming downstream, though? LAVANDERA: You know, it's been actually really nice for the last few days. But this evening or overnight, we had a rather intense rainstorm here in the Hannibal area, where some more showers may be expected throughout the day at some point. But it's not clear exactly how much effect that will have.
Really what they're concerned about is rainfall much further upstream. If it rains here they seem OK with it, but they're really watching what's happening up in Iowa, for example.
ROBERTS: All right. Ed, we'll be checking back with you a little bit later on this morning. Our Ed Lavandera there in Hannibal, Missouri this morning.
And here's how the government is responding to the floods. It's your "AM EXTRA."
More than 28,000 people have registered for FEMA disaster assistance, but only nine percent of them, nine percent, have flood insurance. So the government has provided 13 million sandbags in the area. That is enough to reach from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco if you were to lay them out side by side. Three million quarts of fresh drinking water have been handed out at more than 200,000 ready to eat meals provided for folks in the area -- Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Turning now to the race for the White House.
Senator Barack Obama says that if Osama bin Laden is captured under his watch, the al-Qaeda leader will be brought to justice in a way that won't allow him to be a martyr. Obama didn't discuss what approach he'd take, but he called the Nuremberg Trials for the prosecution of Nazi leaders an inspiration.
The comments come one day after the McCain camp criticized Obama for having a "September 10th mindset" for supporting detainees' rights to trial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He supports that decision to give those the -- I understand Osama bin Laden, if he were captured, habeas corpus rights. He doesn't have an understanding of the nature of the threat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Obama met with a new team of national security advisers as well.
And today the Obama campaign is apologizing to the Muslim community after campaign volunteers moved two women wearing traditional headscarves out of a rally camera shot. Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley now with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When two young Muslim women wearing headscarves were told recently they could not sit behind Barack Obama at this rally, it raised questions in their community.
DAWUD WALID, COUNCIL OF AMERICAN ISLAMIC RELATIONS: It speaks towards a bigger issue as far as the pervasive Islamophobia is in our society that two Muslim females would be turned away.
CROWLEY: The two separate incidents involving two different women were first reported by Politico.com, which quoted one of the women saying she was told she could not sit behind Obama "because of the political climate and what's going on in the world."
The Obama campaign apologized saying the actions of the volunteers were offensive and not reflective of the candidate. Aides also sent out several pictures showing Obama with women and men in Muslim dress. Apology accepted but it brings up an issue many want Obama and John McCain to talk about.
WALID: We would like to hear for both of the senators to say it clearly to the American public that Muslims and the Islamic faith should not be demonized.
CROWLEY: It's a continuing challenge for Barack Obama whose name and mixed race heritage put him in the crosswinds of cultural divides. Black and white, Christian, Jew and Muslim.
Anonymous e-mails meant to damage his bid endlessly looped through cyberspace.
WALID: He has affirmed his Christianity but he has not explicitly to our knowledge come out and say, well, this Islamophobia is wrong. It's un-American.
CROWLEY: Obama does not always walk both sides of this line, but he has on several occasions made that point.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not just that I'm a Christian and so these e-mails are misinforming people. They're also feeding on anti-Muslim sentiment, and that's also wrong.
CROWLEY: It is, in the end, hard to make history without being caught in the crosswinds. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It's five minutes after the hour. New this morning.
The House is expected to approve $165 billion in funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan without any restrictions on the money. In exchange, Democrats got Republicans to support two of their issues, extending unemployment benefits and expanding educational benefits for veterans. The bill also includes over $2 billion for flood relief in the Midwest. A cease-fire now in effect between Israel and Hamas. Two hours after the truce began, Israel partially lifted an economic blockade on Gaza allowing fuel to be trucked in. If the cease-fire continues for a week without incident, Israel says it will relax the blocking even further. The truce is an attempt to end a year of violence in which more than 400 Palestinians and seven Israelis have died.
CHETRY: Two missing hikers reunited with their families after a four- day search. Erica Nelson and Abby Flantz got lost while hiking in Alaska's Denali National Park. Rescuers found them yesterday after Nelson called her mother.
The cell phone's battery was weak, but she was able to send text messages describing what the girls were seeing and hearing. Luckily park officials were able to locate that signal. The girls had no food when they were found. They say they melted snow to get water.
Well, he played through pain and now it could cost Tiger Woods the rest of the season. The world's top ranked golfer will have surgery to repair a torn left knee ligament. This is his third surgery on that knee since 2002.
On Monday, he won the U.S. open after wincing almost after every tee shot for five rounds of golf and an extra sudden death hole. They ended up playing 91 holes when all is said and done. Doctors though say his outlook is good.
ROBERTS: You know, he has got such a powerful swing it puts so much pressure on that left knee. You can imagine the pain he must have been in during the U.S. Open.
We'll be talking to Sanjay Gupta, I think, about this a little bit later on as well this morning.
CHETRY: About, you know, what his chances of full recovery are.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: And just how hard it is to go through that surgery and come out on the other side.
ROBERTS: Because many doctors will tell you that when it comes to knees, you know, they're so finicky that it might never be the same. So fingers crossed.
Tapping oil from shale. President Bush sees a domestic source of energy in the rock. Find out if shale oil can be the answer to high prices at the pump, just ahead.
CHETRY: And Michelle Obama co-hosted "The View" giving people a chance to get to know her a little better. She also had some interesting comments on Hillary Clinton's campaign.
ROBERTS: And a flood to the rooftops. More than 20 levees reach their limits. Some had been breached. Thirteen million sandbags trying to take their places and hold back the water. More dangerous storms on the way as well. They just cannot catch a break. We'll have all of that coming up. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The AMERICAN MORNING theme song as picked by John Roberts.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: He's very, very good. I mean, it really -- I'm just feeling a little bit sleepy this morning and this -- that's a nice stuff to --
ROBERTS: There are some songs that just forever scream summer.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: There was Monkey Gerry's (ph) in the summer taking back when I was at summer camp.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: That's one of those ones that just, you know -- where was I when that song was played.
VELSHI: It's great. It's a good idea.
ROBERTS: So where were you when we were looking for oil? And where are we looking for it?
VELSHI: We are looking for oil, at this point, absolutely everywhere. You know, we've got gas prices actually down just a little bit which is weird, because the understanding is when gas prices go down I take the day off. But my boss didn't sign off on that one.
$4.07. I know that doesn't sound like down, but that's actually down. It's been three days so far in the last six weeks that we've had oil go lower as opposed to the other direction.
But don't get too excited because the price of oil is going up. Gas is down but oil is going back up. In fact, it crossed $137 this morning.
President Bush has been talking about drilling for oil offshore. John McCain suggested the same thing. Getting more oil from offshore and getting to something called shale oil.
Now, shale oil may not be something you're too familiar with. Let me show you a map. It is found in the Green River Basin which is in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. And basically, it is stone that when you process it a certain way gives you oil.
In Canada, John, you know, we've got the tar sands up there which is a very, very big deposit of basically sand with bitumen in it that you can make into oil. This is a little bit different. This is stone that can be made into oil. It is very expensive to start down this road but if you do decide to do it, there's actually more oil in those stones than there is in all of Saudi Arabia. So President Bush wants to start looking at that. I'll tell you a bit about the cost, though.
ROBERTS: Take off. Hey, come on. We're tired.
VELSHI: Hey, there's like a lot of oil there.
Take a look at the comparative cost of drilling for oil in different places. We're getting oil from different places. Accessible land, which means you can drill it on land and the oil is there. A thousand feet under the ground, about $20.
Shallow water, $20 to $60. Deep water $60. Shale mining $30 to $50, but it costs a lot to get started there. Same in oil sands, a little more expensive than that, $50 to $60. So at oil at 135 bucks, all of these things are highly profitable.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: That oil at 130 bucks --
VELSHI: You have oil on my head for 130 bucks.
ROBERTS: You could go to the moon and get it.
VELSHI: Squeeze really hard and all of a sudden you'll get crude oil. Wouldn't get much else out of there.
ROBERTS: That's a pretty picture. Thanks, Ali.
And by the way --
CHETRY: Light and sweet, Ali.
VELSHI: Light and sweet.
ROBERTS: To folks who call up and say, why are you always laughing about oil prices? It is a case and we've said before that if you didn't laugh you'd cry.
VELSHI: You have to cry.
You know, we take it -- as you know, we take it very seriously around here.
ROBERTS: We do.
CHETRY: You remember last summer at this time it was $3 a gallon.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Three bucks, three bucks.
CHETRY: And you were crying then. VELSHI: Yes. Unbelievable.
What we talked about is good news. Oil down. Gas down to $4.07.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: All right.
CHETRY: Well, polls are showing that independent voters are evenly split between Barack Obama and John McCain. One self-proclaimed independent strategist says that both candidates know that his group could determine the winner in November.
So which candidate has more appeal to independents? We're going to talk more about it. He's going to join us later in the hour.
Also, Rob Marciano watching extreme weather for us. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kiran. The waters continue to rise, and more rain on the way for parts of Missouri. We'll pinpoint exactly where when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." A flood to the rooftops in Iowa. Now, toxic water is drowning crops and farms as the levees along the Mississippi River fail one by one. More than 20 now overflowing from Iowa to Missouri so far.
The Army Corps of Engineers says that it's packed the Mississippi River shoreline with 13 million sandbags to try to save it off in the areas where the levees have not breached.
It's 16 minutes after 6:00 here on the East Coast, and Rob Marciano is in the weather center in Atlanta. You know, you wonder how much help can these sandbags do, but apparently they're the difference between, you know, a complete washout and saving some of these communities.
MARCIANO: Yes, and there's just so many ways that these levees can fail or the water -- if the water just doesn't over top them, go underneath them, go around them and just pour right through them. And we had, of course, as you know, another levee break last night in Winfield.
Let's go into the Google maps and we'll show you this and highlight exactly where some of this action is happening. These are the river gauges all of which are in major flood capacity right now without those purple marks.
Winfield locked. There is a lock there, and there is a 150-foot breach just to the south of that lock in through here. And now that the area is beginning to flood with that breach as the Mississippi begins to flood these farm fields. But to the west near the actual town of Winfield, this is Highway 79. Everywhere east of here folks have been asked to head to higher ground or, at the very least, head west because there apparently is some sort of secondary levee that protects the west side of town. So everybody who lives on the east side of town has been asked to get out.
All right. What's the forecast as far as rainfall goes here over the next couple of days? We do have some more rain in the forecast. Not so much for Iowa but it looks like in through parts of western -- northeastern Missouri which would potentially feed into the Mississippi River.
But as far as what that means for the river stages over the next few days here, here's an updated list of them. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Clarksville on Saturday. Monday in St. Louis.
They have ratcheted down somewhat, John and Kiran, the forecast flooding for St. Louis, but we're talking about a matter of inches. So it's still going to be a historic event here. And as you see from the pictures it is just getting ugly. Back to you guys.
ROBERTS: Hey, Rob, I recall back in 1993 there was a satellite picture of the Midwest area and it looked like a new Great Lake had been spawned in the area. Any idea how what we've got now compares to back then?
MARCIANO: Well, most of the water this year is mostly north so it's more in through Iowa and northern parts of Missouri, whereas in '93, it made its way all the way down into St. Louis. So the more concentrated flooding areas up through Iowa but as far as what the before and after satellite pictures look like, it's similar and there's a lot of water in addition, that's for sure.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks very much. We'll get back to you with more on the forecast today.
We traveled all the way to Vietnam to get a sit down interview with Cindy McCain. We'll tell you what she had to say about Michelle Obama and the debate over her comments about being really proud of America.
And speaking of Michelle Obama, she tried to clarify her now infamous remark when she co-hosted "The View."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her appearance is part of the campaign's effort for people to get to know her. But it denies it's an effort to soften her reputation as "The New York Times" reports. What did those in the mostly female audience think of her appearance?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The audience reaction plus what she said about sexism in Hillary Clinton's campaign. We'll have all that for you.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Twenty-two minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
Cindy McCain is backing off her comments about Michelle Obama. Our John King traveled all the way to Vietnam to sit down with Cindy McCain, and she told John that she didn't mean it as a criticism of Michelle Obama when she said that she has always been proud of her country. That, of course, is a reference to Obama's comment about being really proud of the country for the very first time in her life. That was just one of the things that Michelle Obama discussed as a guest host on "The View."
Our Mary Snow has got more on her appearance -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, Michelle Obama made a guest appearance on "The View." Both presidential candidates and Cindy McCain has appeared on the show in recent months. And now, there's a push to get to know Michelle Obama better.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, HOST, "THE VIEW": Michelle Obama!
SNOW (voice-over): Michelle Obama guest hosting on ABC's "The View." She gave her now famous fist bumps with her co-hosts, mocking scrutiny Obama faced when the gesture was distorted. Her appearance is part of the campaign's effort for people to get to know her, but it denies it's an effort to soften her reputation as "The New York Times" reports. On the show, Michelle Obama was asked about negative perceptions.
MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: The challenge that I have to the extent that it's a strength or weakness is that I wear my heart on my sleeve, just like all of you guys. And at some level when you put your heart out there, there's a level of passion that you feel and it's a risk that you take.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course.
OBAMA: But one of the things I'm counting on is that people will see through it.
SNOW: She defended this comment that made her a lightning rod for conservatives.
OBAMA: Let me tell you something. For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country.
SNOW: Michelle Obama said she wrote a note of thanks to First Lady Laura Bush for defending her.
OBAMA: Of course I'm proud of my country. Nowhere but in America could my story be possible. I mean, I'm a girl who grew up --
BARBARA WALTERS, HOST, "THE VIEW": Tell people a little about this.
OBAMA: I'm a girl that grew up on the south side of Chicago. My father was a working-class guy, worked a shift all his life.
SNOW: What did those in the mostly female audience think of her appearance?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before the show I thought that she was haughty and after seeing her on the show she was just very nice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's just come across as a wife and a mom and just someone who just cares about what's going on. And just might be very passionate about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before seeing her I kind of thought she was hard, where I felt today she was much more approachable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just wanted to show the full part of who she is, and I think she did a great job with that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And Michelle Obama had some words of praise for Hillary Clinton saying she broke down barriers for women. And she said she did feel there were elements of sexism in the media coverage of the presidential race, saying people aren't used to strong women -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Mary Snow for us this morning. Mary, thanks.
CHETRY: Very interesting.
Meanwhile, they're not Democrats or Republicans. They're independents. And they could decide who wins in November. A self- proclaimed independent strategist tells us how Senators Obama and McCain can capture this key voting bloc.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, hitting the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This fuel increase has really put some pressure on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The post office looks for ways to cut its fuel bill and finds the best way is to ditch the truck. Could an increase in rates be next?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every penny you raise the stamp has a dampening effect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Barack Obama announced that this week he'll visit Iraq and Afghanistan before the election in November. He said he wants to see an area that's been overrun by violent extremists. So sounds like he already misses his old church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Awesome late night laughs at Barack Obama's expense. But Obama and John McCain may not agree on much these days but the candidates do see eye to eye on this point. That independents voters could very well decide who wins the White House.
John Avlon is a self-proclaimed independent strategist. He's also the author of the book "Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics" and he joins me now this morning. Great to see you.
JOHN AVLON, INDEPENDENT VOTER STRATEGIST: Good morning.
CHETRY: What is the growing influence of independents, and how crucial will they be in this election?
AVLON: Huge. Here's the story.
Independents are the fastest growing and the largest segment of the American electorate. There has been an independent movement going on in America right underneath the noses of the professional partisans in Washington, and they're going to determine the winners and selection. That's where the action is going to be the next couple of months.
CHETRY: You know what's interesting about that is that a lot of people became independents because they were fed up with the partisan politics. And both of these candidates, both Barack Obama running on the change issue and John McCain as the sort of maverick, even though he's the long-time senator.
Both of them seem to have been able to make themselves look more independent or seem more independent. What happens when we get into the nastiness of the general election and you have people on both sides really attacking each of the candidates? Is that still going to be as attractive to independents?
AVLON: I think both candidates are going to try to rise above it because they get the joke. They understand that the reason independents like them is because in many cases they've been above the fray. And that's what that new "Washington Post" poll shows. It shows that independents like both McCain and Obama.
They like McCain as a genuine American hero with a record of political reform, and they like Obama as a figure who was once a generation political talent who kind of transcends the old debates, and really offers to bring a fresh perspective, a post partisan perspective to Washington.
CHETRY: Yet you wonder if, you know, some of these attack lines are going to be linking John McCain to President Bush, which they're saying, you know, this is going to be another four years of the Bush administration. And so, that's already happening right now.
AVLON: Sure. Yes, it is. And both candidates try to do their best to distance themselves from it because it undercuts their essential message of change. And it's going to be one of the real struggles, you know.
Obama has got to be very careful not to get tied to the far left of his party and that the Republicans are going to be doing everything they can to do that. But they need to be aware that the old tired tax and spend left right arguments aren't going to work against this candidate.
To the same extent, Democrats are trying to tie McCain to Bush's third term. Well, that's just not credible. I mean, he's built his whole political legacy in opposition to the kind of the Bush-Karl Rove play to the base model.
CHETRY: But you also say in your book also that we're a right center America.
AVLON: Sure.
CHETRY: For the most part. Why is it, though, that an independent candidate can't rise as a major party candidate? I mean, we still are basically choosing between a Democrat or a Republican in the general election.
AVLON: Well, the Electoral College is the first hurdle and the most significant hurdle that independent candidates got to clear. But I think what's significant is that both party's nominees, McCain and Obama ran an opposition of this establishment. This is not your father's typical political campaign. And that's why it's so inspirational to so many Americans and independents.
These candidates are folks who ran in opposition to the establishment, the extremes on both sides. So it's really cases the parties, I think, changing their message to fit the mood of the electorate which is angry at the hyper partisanship and wants to see a transcending of the old left, right, black, white divisions.
CHETRY: And as you see this go forward, who has the edge when it comes to the issues?
AVLON: Well, on the policies -- you know, independents tend to be fiscally conservative but socially liberal and strong on national security. That's really an opening that McCain could exploit.
One of the ironies here is that the far right folks in the Republican Party never liked John McCain in the past. The only reason they have a fighting shot at the White House in Washington is because of John McCain's independence. So he can push the issues and try to really drive a wedge through that and exploit the edge he should have on policies. But Barack Obama is not your typical left wing Democrat and he's got a lot of policies they're going to make independents reassess as well.
CHETRY: Very interesting, stuff. John Avalon, great to see you.
AVLON: Good to see you.
CHETRY: Thanks for being with us.
John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the bottom of the hour, and here's our top story. Roof high floods spreading down river this morning. More than 20 levees overflowing from Iowa to Missouri so far. And the government is warning that 30 more could fail.
The number of Salmonella cases tied to contaminated tomatoes is rising again. 383 people have been affected since April. At least 48 of them have been hospitalized. The Food and Drug Administration says the increase is not due to new cases but better surveillance by state health departments.
The Treasury secretary wants to give the Fed new powers to police Wall Street. "The Washington Post" has obtained remarks that Henry Paulson would give a speech today. Paulson is expected to say that new steps need to be taken to protect the financial system after the collapse of Bear Stearns.
Meantime, he's back. Ross Perot jumping back into the election fray with a warning for both candidates. Pay attention to the national debt. Fix it.
Jason Carroll joins us now with the story.
And Jason Perot, back on the stage and bringing along with him some familiar visual aids.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh yes. I think a lot of people are going to be familiar with these visual aids and familiar with what Perot has to say.
Perot wants lawmakers to stop spending money he says the country does not have. And to prove his point, he's hitting the Internet with a new Web site.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSS PEROT, PEROTCHARTS.COM: The day our great country is at a critical turning point.
CARROLL (voice-over): Remember him? President race spoiler to some, father of fiscal charts to others. Ross Perot has reemerged with a familiar warning for the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. PEROT: Not since the great depression have we seen an economic crisis of the magnitude that we are facing today.
CARROLL: This week, Perot launched that message on a new Web site called perotcharts.com. At issue, the national debt. Now more than $9.3 trillion and growing, thanks to baby boomers reaching retirement and spending more on Medicare and social security.
DAVID WALKER, FORMER COMPTROLLER GENERAL: We are mortgaging the future of our country, of our children and our grandchildren.
CARROLL: David Walker is the former U.S. comptroller general, the nation's top accountant. He consulted with Perot on the need to cut spending in Washington.
WALKER: Washington has to learn the first rule of holes. When you're in a hole, the first thing you do is stop digging. It hasn't learned that yet.
ROBERTS: So Perot is here to teach again. True to his style, he's using charts as learning tools. It already worked once.
PEROT: Shouldn't we first cut spending and then cut taxes?
CARROLL: In 1992, Perot challenged then President Bush and Bill Clinton with his charts during his presidential run. Perot won almost 20 percent of the vote. This time Perot is not running. But political analysts say his push to make a debt a priority may not go over well with Senators McCain or Obama.
STU ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: It gives Obama an opportunity to talk about economic issues. And he's more comfortable than Senator McCain on those themes. But it may force him to talk about those issues in an uncomfortable way, taxes and spending that he'd rather not discuss.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: The challenge this time, can Perot get voters interested in a problem facing future generations with soaring foreclosure rates and gas prices affecting people right now from this generation?
ROBERTS: He's a guy who likes to cut right to the heart of the problem.
CARROLL: He does, as long as he has those charts to do it.
ROBERTS: Remember that famous quote? He said, if you see a snake, kill it. I don't appoint a committee on snakes.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE), that's for sure.
ROBERTS: Jason, thanks.
CARROLL: All right.
CHETRY: Good to see you. Well, our Alina Cho joins us now with other stories new this morning.
Hi, Alina.
CHO: Hey there, good morning. You do mean mock Ross Perot, by the way. Good morning, everybody. And we begin this morning with a rare attack on an oil field. It happened off the coast of Nigeria. Militants say they tried to take out an offshore rig but failed to do so because they failed to get into that computerized control room.
Now, Shell has shut the rig down temporarily. That cuts production by 200,000 barrels a day. So far officials from Royal Dutch Shell are not commenting on the attack.
Any plans to open up more of America's coastline to oil drilling may be delayed over a shortage of deep water drilling ships. The world's vessels are apparently booked solid for the next five years. 16 new drill rigs are expected to begin service sometime this year. That's more than double the number made over the last six years.
Get ready for fewer flights. Delta Airlines announcing plans to reduce flight capacity by 3 percent for the second half of this year. That's on top of a 10 percent cut that was announced in March. All because of fuel prices, Delta predicts it will spend $4 billion more on fuel this year versus last year.
And Joan Rivers has never been known to hold her tongue. But it got her into some trouble when she was bounced from a live British TV show. It all happened after she used some choice words about Russell Crow. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that part of your life that you enjoy, doing that, kind of meeting and greeting the celebrities on the red carpets?
JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: When they're nice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RIVERS: And we know what we're saying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RIVERS: You get someone like Russell Crow and you want to say to the camera, he is a piece of -- get ready to bleep this -- [BLEEP].
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: We can all figure out what she said, right? Rivers said she assumed her on air swearing would be bleeped out as you just heard. But the show had no bleeper. Rivers was asked to leave the show during a commercial break and, well, she did.
You know, she said, it reminded her of her wedding night because she was asked to leave in the middle of that, too. Always the comedian.
CHETRY: She is. Alina, thank you.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, it's the Vatican versus Hollywood. A big film banned from shooting inside at Catholic churches. The Vatican saying the new movie is an insult. We're taking you all the way to Rome to find out why Tom Hanks is not welcome.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -- special delivery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this fuel increase has really put some pressure on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: How the post office wasted money on flex-fuel vehicles it can't even fill up. And decided the easiest way to save was to get back to basics. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 39 and 1/2 minutes after the hour. 200,000 trucks driving around all day delivering mail. It's very expensive for the postal service as you might imagine. Our Ted Rowlands tells us what the post office is doing to try and save some money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It isn't his money, but Carlos Martinez still finds it shocking when he pays almost $70 to fill up his mail truck. He says a few months ago it cost about half.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's bad, you know, for the post office, for everybody.
ROWLANDS: Rising gas prices are costing the U.S. Postal Service millions. The Postal Service says with more than 200,000 trucks in its fleet, just a one cent increase in gas translates to an incredible $8 million annual expense.
PAT DONAHOE, USPS DEPUTY POSTMASTER GENERAL: Last year, we spent $1.7 billion for gasoline and diesel. It's going to go up by about $600 million this year. So, this fuel increase has really put some pressure on us.
ROWLANDS: Unlike other businesses like FedEx who recently raised prices, the Postal Service can't easily do the same thing. The only source of revenue for the post office is postage.
ROWLANDS (on camera): So, the easiest way out of this mess would be simply to raise prices, which they could technically do if regulators agree it's needed. However, Postal officials say at this point that isn't something they want to explore. DONAHOE: Truthfully, we want to stay away from that. Every penny you raise a stamp has a dampening effect on the volume of the mail. So, we'd rather focus on efficiency.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): And so the Postal Service is adding more walking and bicycle routes and using GPS to make existing routes more efficient. One move that hasn't worked out is using flex-fuel vehicles. They bought 30,000 of them like this one in San Francisco. Many are basically useless when it comes to saving gas because there's no ethanol available nearby.
The long-term plan is to eventually replace the entire fleet with some sort of alternative fuel vehicles. But because there's no clear choice yet, that's years away. Now, they're hoping to cut costs using the most basic transportation, a carrier's own two legs.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Wow, that's unbelievable. So, they try. They got these flex-fuel vehicles and now they just can't get the gas to put in them. What about hybrids?
ROBERTS: They've got to figure out something.
CHETRY: They sure do.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) it's too expensive.
CHETRY: They sure do.
Well, what you don't see here has Barack Obama's campaign on the defensive this morning. There were two Muslim women who were told they couldn't sit behind Obama at a televised campaign event with their traditional head scarves on. The apology and the outrage on our next hour.
ROBERTS: And muddy water, roof high as 15-foot flood working its way downriver. Plus, the next storm threat. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning.
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CHETRY: Well, I know someone who's very busy this morning.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes.
CHETRY: Our Rob Marciano at 44 minutes past the hour keeping track of all the extreme weather.
And of course, we're talking of those levees along the Mississippi River. A lot of people holding their breath this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Yes, you know, it did help to explain the story, just how widespread the whole thing is and just how much further it could go.
Rob, thanks so much. Good to see that stuff.
The flooding in Iowa City destroyed Andrew Sherburne and his wife's new home. They snuck back there to discover what little was left.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW SHERBURNE, I-REPORTER: You want me to read you the definition of disaster? Yes. Disaster -- any happening that causes great harm or damage, serious or sudden misfortune. I think it's a disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It seems to fit the definition. Our Veronica De La Cruz joins us now with this I-Reporter's story.
You got to feel so sorry for folks across the Midwest.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Yes and the sad thing is we're starting to hear more and more of these stories. But we want to go ahead and focus on Andrew Sherburne who is from Iowa City. He and his wife borrowed a canoe. They wanted to take a look at what was left of their home.
And unfortunately, there really isn't much left that they can save. I mean, the water flooded most of their furniture. And they were able to save some art work, maybe a dart board, a couple of pictures. They took everything and they were able to store it in the attic.
Now, here's the kicker. Andrew and his wife just purchased this home three weeks ago and this is what's left. John, they bought flood insurance 10 days before the flood. But found out that it takes 30 days before that insurance kicks in -- so. And again, this is what's left of their home.
So the unfortunate thing here is we're starting to see a lot of these stories form. But we do want to thank Andrew for sharing his story. If you have one you'd like to share, you can always send it to us by logging on to i-report.com.
ROBERTS: And then, you know, that house has to be gutted all. That dry wall is going to come down and be rebuilt.
DE LA CRUZ: I know. Yes. And listening to his wife -- she's saying, you know, one day it's like one inch, two inch, three inches. Suddenly, it's a foot, two feet and then, you know, you just can't salvage anything after that.
ROBERTS: Yes, flooding is just such a horrible thing. Veronica, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: Ban from churches in Rome. The Catholic Church says no to Hollywood stars Tom Hanks and Ron Howard because of their controversial new film.
(BEGIN VIDE CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Many Catholics found it offensive. The Vatican called it a potpourri of lies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a little bit surprising that the same people who would be coming now to Rome looking for permission to film inside churches and to film a movie that is in itself also a caricature of the Catholic Church.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: More on what the Church has to say about it when the "Most News in the Morning" returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SONG PLAYING: Calling all angels.
ROBERTS: Calling all the angels and maybe a few demons as well. Live pictures this morning from Rome where there's a controversy brewing between Tom Hanks and Ron Howard and the Catholic Church.
The stars are filming the prequel to the blockbuster movie the "Da Vinci Code." It's called "Angels and Demons." But the church has banned them from filming inside the Vatican and any church in Rome for that matter.
We sent our Jennifer Eccleston out to capture the story for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the ancient to the avant-garde, from the humble to the heavenly. They're all off limits to some of the biggest names in Hollywood.
At least while Tom Hanks and Ron Howard are on the job filming "Angels and Demons," the prequel to Dan Brown's novel and monster hit the "Da Vinci Code."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Witness the biggest cover-up in human history.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Da Vinci.
ECCLESTON: The blockbuster film's premise? Jesus Christ married Mary Madeleine and fathered children. Many Catholics found it offensive, the Vatican called it a potpourri of lies.
FATHER JOHN WAUCK, HOLY CROSS UNIVERSITY, ROME: It's a little surprising that the same people would be coming now to Rome looking for permission to film inside churches and to film a movie that is, itself, also a caricature of the Catholic church.
ECCLESTON (on camera): "Angels and Demons" features similar church intrigue, evil cults and the murder of Catholic clergy. But unlike the "Da Vinci Code," it is almost entirely set in Rome. And filming here was a must. (voice-over): Street scenes and ancient piazzas no problem, but the producers also wanted to shoot in the Vatican and in two historic Rome churches where in the book two cardinals are murdered.
The Vatican said no, with one official telling an Italian paper it would be an "Offense against God." To one movie critic, that's an overreaction.
TOM O'NEIL, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: The church could have just turned the other cheek and quietly said no. You can't use our churches. Instead they have vehemently denounced this movie publicly as an offense against God, as poison of the faith. Wow. Those don't sounds like typically Christian words.
ECCLESTON: Father John Wauck says artistic license is one thing, but in this case, punto evasta (ph), enough already.
WAUCK: Sometimes when you're interested in making money, it's necessary to do things that are somewhat sleazy like caricature another person's religious faith. And apparently from Hollywood's perspective that's not a big problem.
ECCLESTON: But it is a big problem in Rome where some sins are just too great to be forgiven. Even if they're for art's sake. Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Head scarf snub.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She was told she could not sit behind Obama, quote, "Because of the political climate and what's going on in the world."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The Obama campaign apologizes to two women and a bigger issue bubbles to the top in our society.
Plus, black and conservative. Wrestling with a decision that a historic election has forced them to make. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: In your "Political Ticker" now, Michelle Obama could soon have a team around her that rivals some candidates. The campaign is planning to build a rapid response to -- team to handle attacks that may head her way in the future.
You were looking at video, though, of what we want to show you when it comes to the situation with the flooded Mississippi River this morning. We'll get to that in a couple of minutes. But let's get to this story first. Aides say that it will help Mrs. Obama tweak her stump speech and the campaign has already hired her chief of staff.
Campaign crib. That's a new video that you can add to your Facebook homepage from John McCain. It gives a tour of his bus, the Straight Talk Express. McCain is trying to catch up with Barack Obama in the social networking world.
Obama currently has more than a million supporters signed up on Facebook. McCain is still trying to hit 150,000. And for more up-to- the-minute political news, just head to cnn.com/ticker.
John?
ROBERTS: It's 57 and 1/2 minutes after the hour. Barack Obama's run for the White House is creating a tough decision for some African- American conservatives. Do they vote with the Republican Party or do they vote for a man who's making history?
Joining me now from Washington is the host of the Armstrong Williams radio show, syndicated conservative talk show host, Armstrong Williams.
Armstrong, it's great to see you. Let me just make sure that I've got this right. To the best of my knowledge, you have never voted for a Democrat for president. Is that correct?
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, HOST, "THE ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS RADIO SHOW": Never.
ROBERTS: OK. So it looks like this year that could possibly change. You're quoted in an AP article as saying, quote, "I don't necessarily like his policies. I don't like much that he advocates. But for the first time in my life history thrusts me to really seriously think about it." And that is voting for Barack Obama.
And I'm wondering, what would cause a rock rib Republican to vote for a person that some conservative pundits say makes Ted Kennedy look like a conservative?
WILLIAMS: Well, obviously, John -- and good morning. Obviously, his policies. You know, I've always voted for Republicans for president. I never even thought about the opposition. And for the first time, given the thrust of history and given the fact that something very historic has happened in this country, you cannot help but look at and realize that if Senator Barack Obama wins, it will be the first time that someone occupied the White House other than white men of America.
There is no way I could vote for a candidate because of his race, because it would just contradict everything I've ever written and said in the past about racial politics. So, you know -- but I'm open. I'm hoping -- obviously, there's not much that I can embrace now.
But I think there's an opportunity for him to change, to make progress on the issues of capital gains, on the issues of partial birth abortions, on the issues that many of us care about. But it would be foolish of me to say that you cannot look at his candidacy and realize that there's something here that not only America but the world is very ecstatic about.
ROBERTS: Right.
WILLIAMS: And so I'm open to the fact that I will not go to the polls in November and just automatically pull the lever for Senator John McCain. My decision will be based on my values and the direction that many of us would like to see the country headed to.
ROBERTS: Armstrong, you've also talk about your 82-year-old mother and the sense of history that she and her acquaintances have about this. You say quote, they feel as if they are part of this because she said given the history of this country, she never thought that she would ever live to see this moment.
You know, John McCain has been trying to make an outreach to African- American voters in this country. But is there any way that he can at least with conservative African-Americans run against this sense of history here?
WILLIAMS: Of course, he can run up against it. John McCain is a very attractive candidate.
