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Massive Midwest Floods Continue; How to Prepare for Disasters; McCain and Obama Start to Duke It Out
Aired June 21, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, well floodwaters are going down, the cost of damage is going up. In Missouri, at least five levees have broken since Wednesday sending water into as many as 350 homes in small towns. And Iowa's agricultural secretary now says the floods have probably caused crop losses of up to $3 billion in that state alone.
But the worst of the flooding is apparently over. Levee breaches along the upper Mississippi River are reducing the chance for flooding downstream, forecasts predict that crests will be below -- well below, indeed, record levels.
And of course, many people living up the Mississippi River are still inundated. CNN's Reynolds Wolf is in Old Monroe, Missouri -- Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Fredricka.
Yeah, I'm coming to you from what is now the Mississippi River. Normally what you would be dealing with is you would be dealing with really just -- at this point you would be dealing with just a lot of businesses here and there that wouldn't have issues with terms of the water. But right now, the water is all the way up. In fact, some places are 10 feet deep.
Right now, I'm actually with Tim Warmke. And Tim, you happen -- you have been here for three generations, your family has. And today, you are actually going out to see what's been left behind by the floodwaters, correct?
TIM WARMKE, MISSOURI RESIDENT: Yeah, we're going out to take a look at our duck hunting club and some of the cabins along the Crivers Slew (ph). They are actually about seven feet off the ground on pillars. And we were expecting about 2-1/2 feet in there, but it looks like we're going to be saved from that.
WOLF: Well, how does this compare to '93? Again, you've been here a long time, so you've seen it worse. Haven't you?
WARMKE: Oh, yes. During '93, we had water across these railroad tracks that are in front of us, here, about a foot to foot-and-a-half deep. And most of the highways, 79, was flooded over. And all these houses along here were taking a big hit.
WOLF: Well though, that was certainly record flooding and this has been extreme flooding. Flooding, overall, not unheard of in this part of the world.
WARMKE: No, definitely not. This is actually becoming pretty a usual thing now with the way weather has been and the way that buildings go along these flood plains.
WOLF: OK. Well, what do you think you are going to find today when you go back out?
WARMKE: Oh, we're probably going to just go a head and take a look at the houses and we will probably just find, you know, just a lot of junk, trash, propane tanks, things that float around from businesses and other houses, and just hope that nothing has been seriously damaged.
WOLF: Tim, thanks so much for your time, best of luck to you guys. Want me give you a good push out? OK, here you go. We're going to give them a shove, Fredricka.
But, I'll tell you, this will be a problem we're going to see up and down parts of the Mississippi for hundreds of miles because as the flood waters eventually begin to recede, what's going to happen is people are going to be left with this tremendous mess. We've been talking about the issues we're going to have in terms of pollution.
You got to remember these floodwaters that moved over land have been treated with all kinds of chemicals, you've got diesel fuel, you've got things like sewage, kind of gruesome thing to mention, but you've got the carcasses of animals. It's going to be a big, nasty cleanup. And it's certainly going to cost a lot of money for a lot of people. A tremendous issue for the people in this region, certainly the nation and the world. Let's send it back to you in Atlanta.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, and Reynolds, even though for quite a few days we're talking about how this flooding would be making its way down the Mississippi, there's very little that any town can do to shore up the kind of water that we're seeing to prevent a disaster in the making, to prevent anything from getting worse.
WOLF: Absolutely. I mean, they are going to sandbag and they have been sandbagging in a few places. But I mean, there's only so much that can do. I mean it can certainly hold back, but again, with a flood of this magnitude, I mean, let's be honest. I mean, nature is tremendous force. There's only so much man can do.
You know, honestly, this river has been here for millions of years running across this continent and it's been here long before it had a name, long before people were here. It's going to be here when we are all gone. We can try to control this river, but in the end, nature is going to have its own way. And unfortunately, it can be to our detriment.
WHITFIELD: All right. Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much, in Old Monroe, Missouri.
Well, fighting the mighty Mississippi, wrapping the river with levees and possibly creating a potential for disaster. Our Drew Griffin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The problem may not the levees are failing, but too many levees are holding. Up and down this massive river basin for hundreds of years, farmers and cities and land developers have been trying to hold back one of Mother Nature's largest drainage pipes, the Mississippi.
TIM KUSKY, ST LOUIS UNIVERSITY: Since the 1700s, we have build more than 2,200 miles of levees along the whole river system. And altogether, it has had major effect.
GRIFFIN: St. Louis University Natural Sciences professor, Tim Kusky, says the effect can be seen quite clearly from the air. Once huge natural floodplains are developed into towns and shopping centers, entire cities, levees are made even stronger so that people living behind them feel safer.
KUSKY: So, what happens is we build levees along the river so we constrict the flow, to be a very, very narrow channel, but the same amount of water has to go through this narrow channel and also rises higher and higher and higher and then people think the levees are strong and they don't check them, then we find out they are weak and can potentially fail.
So, we have a situation where the river has risen 15, 20 feet higher than it would have without the levees. And when it fails, it does so catastrophically.
GRIFFIN: Winfield, Missouri, today, says Kusky, is a classic example. That levee has breached in so many places, it is hard to tell it is even there. Fortunately, he says, history has shown the reaction will be to rebuild the levee even higher and stronger.
(on camera): Back in 1993, this whole area was under 10 feet of water, a smaller levee had failed and turned this into an entire floodplain. What did they do? Well, instead of allowing Mother Nature to take its course, they built an even bigger levee there to protect it from the Missouri River, just beyond those trees.
(voice over): And right in that floodplain is one of the largest strip mall developments in the United States.
ADOLPHUS BUSCH, GREAT RIVERS HABITAT ALLIANCE: After the '93 flood we were told, of course, there would be no levees, no more projects, no more development in the floodplains because everyone had learned their lesson. And that went on for a few years, but of course, people soon forgot again and the development started.
GRIFFIN: Adolphus Busch, yes, one of the beer family Busches, now heads a group called the Great Rivers Habitat Alliance. There's no mistake he wants to stop levees from being built and stop development in the floodplains. Let the Mississippi flow naturally. BUSCH: It's exactly what's happening now from Iowa all the way down to St. Louis, all these levees are breaking as the water comes through. Of course, that relieves the pressure for all of us downstream.
GRIFFIN: Mark Twain, who lived along this river, once said, 10,000 river commissions with the minds of the word at their back cannot tame that lawless stream. Why, say critics of our current efforts, do we think our levees can do any better?
Drew Griffin, CNN, St. Louis, Missouri.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And you can help, certainly, by the ongoing devastation. At cnn.com, we have a special page on the Midwestern flooding, plus links to aid agencies. It is a chance for you to impact your world.
Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider to get a kind of current idea of exactly what is taking place with the continued water flow. Hopefully, I guess, from Reynolds' shot, it looked like the skies were blue, hopefully it will mean dry weather for a while.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, it really depends on where you are. For example, in Lincoln County, Missouri, there were three levee breaches all within 24 hours, so for that region and places like Foley, we saw flooding and that's where people had to be evacuated in and around that region. So, over in that region, not good.
But, as you heard from Drew Griffin's report, if you are downstream, then of course the better situation. For example, the Mississippi River in and around St. Louis has already crested, it's slowly receding. So, we're talking about the threat for moderate flooding straight through Friday, whereas areas to the north will see that major flooding. There's a lot of water and there isn't enough room for it travel at the speed that we would like it to and it will eventually work its way to the Gulf of Mexico, but it's going to take some time.
Now, the other big story that we're following in weather continues to be the heat. I want to show you a live picture of Los Angeles right now, at LAX and you'll see -- well, not too bad just yet. The temperature in Los Angeles is 77, but It is early in the morning and temperatures will go up from there and can get to 100 in some areas in and around the valley.
Yesterday, the temperature climbed up to 86 degrees, but we can likely see temperatures warm up much more than that. And remember, if you are in around southern California or through Arizona, drink plenty of water and try to stay indoors. Heat advisories are up in this entire region because of the heat index.
In the desert it could get up to 118. We had record-breaking numbers the past three days. Which, don't forget, the valleys and as far north as Santa Maria, we saw triple-digit number. And usually, that's an area where you have the ocean influence, but the winds are coming in from the south and it's that southerly flow coming up and bringing about the dry, dry heat that we're seeing in this region, Fredricka. So, temperatures today will be 100-plus in a widespread area, so stay indoors if you can.
WHITFIELD: Wow that is very brutal. And of course that does not help for the wildfires that are taking place already with those kinds of temperatures. Bonnie, thanks so much.
Those firefighters in northern California hope to have a fast- moving grassfire under control sometime today. They say it is about 90 percent contained, right now. Several homes have been destroyed by the 500-acre fire south of San Jose. The Red Cross has set up an evacuation center for some of the 2,000 people forced out of their homes. The firefighters won't be getting any help weather-wise, as you heard. Bonnie underscored triple-digit temperatures are expected, today.
Overseas now to Afghanistan, a deadly upsurge in the battle against Taliban militants. Five more coalition troops were killed today, more than 30 so far this month, including 12 Americans, nine Britains, two Canadians and one each from Romania, Poland and Hungary. Much of the fighting is taking place across southern Afghanistan where Taliban militants are entrenched.
Well, 12 people have been trampled to death at a Mexico City nightclub after a police raid triggered a stampede for the doors. Police were investigating reports of drugs and alcohol being sold to teens celebrating the end of the school year.
Well, when police arrived, they say the crowd panicked after the club's owner announced officers were there to arrest them. Some 500 people reportedly rushed to an emergency exit which was partially blocked by cases of beer. Three officers and nine young people were killed and at least 13 others injured.
And another crane in New York City is in the news. And no, this time it didn't collapse. And later, the general who helped victims of Hurricane Katrina to talk to me about what you should have in your personal survival kit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, after 12 years on death row and a last-minute delay, James Earl Reed was executed last night in south Carolina's electric chair. Reed was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend's parents. The Supreme Court denied an 11th hour effort to block the execution.
In Camden, Wisconsin a house too horrible to stand. Friends and neighbors gathered at the house last night to remember six young people killed there in a shooting rampage just last year. The gunman was described as a jealous off-duty sheriff's deputy who later committed suicide. This morning the house is being torn down, the property will be used for a memorial. In downtown New York, it could have been another crane accident waiting to happen. Engineers found small cracks in this crane. It is being taken down now and no chances are being taken after two similar cranes collapsed earlier in the year.
And would you know what to do if your area was hit by the kind of natural disaster that we are now seeing in the Midwest? Well next, we'll have some potential lifesaving tips from an expert in military relief efforts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: With floodwaters swallowing communities up and down the Mississippi River, many residents are calling this disaster their Katrina. Well, the man who took charge of the military relief efforts in the Gulf Coast, after Hurricane Katrina, has some survival information that all of us could use. Retired Army Lieutenant General Russell Honore with us now.
You were here last weekend and we talked primarily about the American Red Cross survival kit that people can purchase on-line, all the things that you need if, say, your home is, you know, swallowed by a water or a tornado comes in, et cetera. But now we also have some items that you can make yourself, because perhaps, the kit is just not affordable for everybody.
LT. GEN. RUSSELL HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET): Fredricka, this kit costs about $70. You buy it on-online from redcross.org. But, you have to remind people, hope is not a method.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, you have to plan.
HONORE: You have to plan, you have to be prepared. And let's start on what's on a lot of parents' mind now, sending kids off to college. This is a little bucket and you can read this without glasses. Get a little idea what's in that bucket.
WHITFIELD: All right, so you've got this two-gallon pale. You want to have two bottles of 25-ounce waters, granola bar, trail mix, wafers, cookies, pretzels. Kind of, easy noshes, but then for first aid materials, there are things that you can get.
HONORE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: You know, everything from antiseptic cream so you can put in that and then just put it under your bed if you're a college student, right? So then, if you are at home and your family -- what are things that you need to have?
HONORE: First of all, folks in the house that rely on their medicines and those medicines have be cool, as in the case of insulin, you can freeze these water bottles, two or three of them, but into these little bags you pick up anywhere on sale or people them give away at the shows and what have you, and you freeze those bottles and you can put that insulin in there, it's good for about 24 hours, just doing this, freezing the bottles, having this bag on hand. So, if you have to quickly evacuate you have that ready. Of course, weather radio. Another one product we showed you last week.
WHITFIELD: And you are keeping all this in like a plastic trash container that you can stick it in your garage or closet.
HONORE: This trash can, again, bought at Wal-Mart, has wheels on it, so you move it around, might be one you want to give to mom or grandpa. Have a little comfort item, that's OK. Something you're use to. Mask. This is a little container with key items in it to keep at your desk. If you work in a large...
WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) oh, it's got a whistle in it and (INAUDIBLE).
HONORE: Yes. Or you can be innovative and all of us go to the hotels and you have you all those little fancy bottles. Bring them with you. Hold on to them, put them in a bag, you are ready go. And again, all these are courtesy of things you are doing. A good way to recycling some good products and have them on hand for when you need them.
We know we need this. And if mom with kids -- you know, they always like to eat all the time. Little sets like this, things you can buy on sale at your Wal-Mart or Target, any store, dollar store. Here's a little thing that the kids just wear out. It's just a little light, you push it.
WHITFIELD: Flashlight?
HONORE: Flashlight.
WHITFIELD: We were talking bout things that a lot of us really take for granted, a lot of these things, because they are always readily available. But then, suddenly when you are without all of it, you are at a loss. And it really could speak to kind of keeping it all together, so to speak (INAUDIBLE) essentials.
HONORE: Absolutely. Poncho, a little spray water bottle comes in very handy if you're...
WHITFIELD: You want to have these things like because maybe you won't be able to get to a shelter right away where they would have all of these kind of...
HONORE: That is correct. And a whistle. Whistle is always important. Deck of cards. Won't keep you alive, but might keep your sanity. I keep one on my key chain.
WHITFIELD: Oh really?
HONORE: And I will give one of these, too. Come in very handy if you become isolated or you need to get somebody's attention.
WHITFIELD: Because for some reason, some folks are not able to kind of yell for help.
HONORE: Right. WHITFIELD: You know, your phone lines are down and hopefully someone...
HONORE: This for the techies in the families, go help grandma and mom, take the important papers, photographs, put them on a disk. Take them with you, make several copies of this, pass them around to family. All of those important papers that are key to the family that folks who want to have in the case your home gets destroyed, you can have some backup documentation of your...
WHITFIELD: And I thought, you know, lot of folks find comfort in just having like a fireproof safe and putting all those important documents in that. But of course, if there is a flood, it's good to have a backup.
HONORE: You want redundancy, because as we saw in Katrina, fireproof safes -- homes get flooded away, as we saw, it is happening in the Midwest, now. Cash, because if you have a problem and you lose power, the ATMs won't work and we know that sometimes the ATM guy will hit the road because it's going to be a disaster before anybody else and they leave town because the ATMs always run out of money -- sometimes.
WHITFIELD: And also people leave their homes or their home gets swept away and their wallet, their identification, all of that, so maybe along with those disks or in those disks or in those disks, maybe they need to copy their I.D., as well.
HONORE: Absolutely. Absolutely. Here, notebook for writing down information. That's key to the family. Phone numbers, contact numbers. Remember, when you leave, most of that stuff that's stuck away at the house, those yellow stickers next to the refrigerator, like my mother-in-law has, you'll have none of those things with you. Key phone numbers are very key to have.
WHITFIELD: This is a lot of stuff. But, I guess the bottom line is these are things you can accumulate over time.
HONORE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Build this box, this survival kit for yourself. What is that?
HONORE: That's is a set of -- a sterno can on it. You can buy sterno very cheap. You buy it on sale. Put a sterno can in there and you can cook. You go -- camp stove. Make grandpa's coffee, warm the baby's milk. Here's some nice little food packets to have. The only threat here is you have to check your bag every now and then because these become victims of Saturday night snacks and expiration dates.
WHITFIELD: OK. So, what do you suggest are some of the good food stuffs to have?
HONORE: Tuna is good. A variety of brands on the market that can keep you with some substance so your body does not deteriorate from the absence of food. And there's all kinds of bars you can buy and other things. Here's another kit for the office worker. You can get these and put them, this is a Red Cross bottle. Have it at your office, stuck in your drawer and you can get an idea of what's all in here.
WHITFIELD: Or leave it in your car.
HONORE: That's right.
WHITFIELD: So, here you are at home with all of these items. This is a pretty sizable trash can. At the same time it's your survival package and compact. Where do we want to keep these things?
HONORE: Keep them in a safe place where everybody knows where it is.
WHITFIELD: Is the garage a good idea?
HONORE: Garage, in a closet, where easy access. Where's that last room you go to before you leave the home, get in the car, could be a good place to keep it. And get the whole family involved. Don't hide it.
(CROSSTALK)
HONORE: Right, because the principal adult may not be home at the time the evacuation happens. Key papers, a folder with copies on them, have those on hand in the box.
WHITFIELD: And you keep your Blackberry, not because folks are looking for you now, but you are saying this Blackberry can be a useful tool, too.
HONORE: A lifesaver, it provides information. On here is national radar, shows what current storms are kicking up across the country and you see the red spot, danger spot. Any red spot could be a potential tornado. So, you can call grandma and say I see a storm in northern Georgia. What are you doing? Who's with you? Do you have a plan to get out? And that conversation with people you see where weather is coming is important for family members to check on one another.
The other thing you can do is go with the Red Cross and you can register on-line so in the event that you have to evacuate people will know you are registered and when you check in the Red Cross shelter, automatically tell them where you are.
WHITFIELD: Well, bottom line, be prepared. And these are all things that you can get at your local drugstore or department store, accumulate in your homes so that you are prepared when disaster strikes because we're always, always caught off guard.
HONORE: And remember, hope is not a method. (INAUDIBLE), but with the family working on it, if you want to know what goes into the kit, you can go to www.redcross.org. There are many lists in there for a family of two, three. There's also some programs in there where you can download coloring books. If you have small ones... WHITFIELD: You've got to have some entertainment for the little ones.
HONORE: Right.
WHITFIELD: Lieutenant General Honore, thanks so much. Good to see you, we appreciate you helping to ensure that all of us are safe at home.
HONORE: Be Red Cross ready. Have a plan, have a kit and stay informed.
WHITFIELD: I like that. Perfect. Thanks so much.
HONORE: God bless you.
WHITFIELD: All right, well New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg, well, he is warning Jewish voters against whispers, lies and rumors. It is all politics, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: With crude oil prices especially volatile these days, a story just in to CNN could have an impact on gasoline prices in the United States. Chevron has been forced to suspend its onshore oil production in Nigeria because of a pipeline breach. Nigerian media reports say militants sabotaged the pipeline, but one major militant group denies involvement. Industry analysts say the development could reduce production by about 120,000 barrels a day.
Other stories happening right now in the NEWSROOM. Floods in the Midwest, fires in the far west. Along the Mississippi River, forecasters predict floodwaters will crest below record levels. One reason: levee failures upstream have reduced some of the pressure downstream.
And in Watsonville, California, firefighters will battle triple- digit temperatures today along with a fast-moving grass fire. Officials say the fire is now 90 percent contained. Several homes were destroyed.
And momentarily, there at the Conference of Mayors in Miami, the presumptive Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, will be taking to the stage there to talk to the many hundreds of people who turned out in Miami for this conference. We understand that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain is taking the weekend off. But it is a working campaigning weekend for Barack Obama. And when he takes to the stage there, we'll be taking that live.
Meantime, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is speaking out about presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.
Here now is Mary Snow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg talked presidential politics in Florida, telling a group of Jewish voters he hasn't picked a candidate to endorse yet. But, he urged them to focus on facts and not rumors.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: In this election, we have to stand up to this whisper campaign against Senator Obama. It is our obligation to do so.
(APPLAUSE)
SNOW: Part of that whisper campaign against Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has come in the form of e-mails targeting Jewish voters. They question his support for Israel and portray him as being Muslim. Obama is Christian.
Bloomberg, who's Jewish, took his message to an audience in Boca Raton, home to many former New Yorkers who are Jewish.
BLOOMBERG: Let's call these rumors what they are: lies. They are cloaked in concern for Israel but the real concern is about partisan politics.
SNOW: But the man who himself toyed with running for president and who's been dangling a possible endorsement over both candidates says don't read his defense of Obama as backing him. At the same event, Bloomberg praised Republican John McCain as a stand-up guy and honest leader.
BLOOMBERG: I would be happy to speak out against intolerance for both McCain and Obama and not take sides there.
SNOW: Bloomberg says he hasn't decided yet who he'll vote for, but one political observer in south Florida says Obama stands to gain from Bloomberg speaking out in a state where it's estimated that five to eight percent of electorate is Jewish.
SUSAN MCMANUS, UNIV. OF SOUTH FLORIDA: Let's face it, Florida's going to be such a close state yet again that swaying either one or two percentage of the Jewish vote in one direction or the other can mean victory or defeat for Obama in this state.
SNOW (on camera): And once again, questions were asked about Mike Bloomberg's political future. He shot down suggestions that he might be either candidate's choice for vice president. But he is keeping himself in the national spotlight and spent part of the day at an education summit with former governor Jeb Bush.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And Senator Barack Obama is in the process of burying the hatchet with the Clintons. Both he and Bill Clinton are in Miami this weekend for that U.S. Conference of Mayors. And next week, Obama plans to campaign with Hillary Clinton. Senator John McCain meanwhile is slamming Obama for opting out of public financing for the run for the White House. Joining us with all of this, our senior political analyst Bill Schneider.
Good to see you, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's talk about Clinton and Obama together again for the first time since Hillary Clinton suspended her campaign next week. What might we expect?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I think we can expect a very interesting moment when these two campaigns act in unity. It'll -- Democrats will take it as a symbolizing their desire to unify the party after the long and bruising primary season.
One interesting question is whether Bill Clinton will be there, whether he's going to endorse Obama, whether he's going to campaign for Obama. One assumes he'll endorse him, although I don't think he said anything. His wife, of course, has endorsed Barack Obama. But it'll be a very symbolic moment when she actually begins to campaign for the candidate she endorsed earlier this month.
WHITFIELD: Well, would Obama want former president Clinton to campaign for him given that it may not have been the most positive thing for Hillary Clinton at the time?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I think he realizes that Bill Clinton is still very popular with a lot of Democrats and including most of his wife's supporters, that he still has a lot of drawing power. And he has a strong reputation on economic management, which is No. 1 in this campaign. You have to use him carefully because he remains a very polarizing figure. But I think at this point now that his wife is not going to be president of the United States, it may be a little safer to use Bill Clinton in the campaign.
WHITFIELD: Yes, I guess I should say it didn't consistenly bode well for Hillary Clinton ...
SCHNEIDER: Right.
WHITFIELD: ...and not that it was a complete failure or disaster.
Meantime, Barack Obama does need the support of, you know, some staunch Hillary Clinton supporters who have been quite reticent about saying right -- right away that they were willing to back Obama. Any groundwork on any of that from the Obama camp?
SCHNEIDER: Well, what -- we are seeing Obama meeting with women's groups, trying to reach out to Hillary Clinton supporters, talking about her concerns being his concerns. And in fact, if we look at the polls, we find that there are some Hillary Clinton supporters, former Hillary Clinton supporters, who say they're going to vote for John McCain. But not all that many, somewhere between 15 and 20 percent in most polls.
And that's not surprising given the fact that Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries appealed to a lot of Democrats and a lot of white, rural and blue collar Democrats who have a history of voting Republican and probably were likely to do so no matter who was the nominee, maybe including Clinton herself.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about the public money that Senator Obama says he doesn't need. He doesn't need the $85 million that he would have for leading up to the general election. However, John McCain is calling him sort of a flip-flopper by saying at one time, he said you would take it, now you say you won't. Why would the Republican candidate take issue with the Democrat for this?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it -- we're beginning what I call the flip-flop primary.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: Both of the campaigns are accusing each other of flip-flopping almost every day. We've had McCain accusing Obama of flip-flopping on public financing, which he did. He took a calculated risk in doing it, that the payoff given the amount of money he can raise is worth it. And that the downside isn't all that great because he says his campaign is going to be less beholden to special interests because it's raising money from a lot of small contributors.
Meanwhile, Obama is accusing McCain of flip-flopping on oil drilling in offshore areas, on immigration reform, whether he's for it or against it. So, we've got a lot of back and forth now beginning on who's flip-flopping -- I can hardly say that -- more than the other candidate.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: I'm not sure the voters really pay it that much attention or care.
WHITFIELD: That's what I wonder, I know. Well, it's fun alliteration, isn't it, flip-flopping.
SCHNEIDER: Yes , it is.
WHITFIELD: Just don't have to say it fast.
SCHNEIDER: And it certainly did harm to John Kerry last time because George Bush uses an issue, the flip-flop issue to try to demonstrate that Kerry was not strong and resolute in the face of a terrorist threat. And President Bush presented himself as someone who was strong and resolute. But I'm not sure it has the same meaning now.
WHITFIELD: Well, if it anyone had any doubt about whether the race for the general election was on, well, now they know and are convinced. It is officially on now.
SCHNEIDER: It is.
WHITFIELD: All right, Bill Schneider, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
WHITFIELD: And of course, we want you to get caught up on all the latest developments of the presidential race. Watch "THIS WEEK IN POLITICS" with Tom Foreman tonight, 6:00 Eastern only on CNN.
And former White House spokesman Scott McClellan had some strong words for his former bosses. Our legal team joins me to talk about the potential legal fallout.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What a great time right now to head to a ski resort.
GENEVIEVE BROWN, TRAVELOCITY.COM: Snow is located in north central Vermont. And it is surrounded by lush, rolling hills, great golfing, and really fun activities for the kids.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Beaver Creek in Colorado welcomes both the adventurist and those who aren't exactly into roughing it.
BROWN: They have a ton of activities, like cycling and fly fishing and hiking. And if you're not really an outdoorsy person, there are so many guides that you can hire to take you on various trips in the mountains.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Prices head downhill at ski resorts during the summertime. But no matter what time of year, there's a lot to be explored at the country's most popular mountain getaway.
BROWN: Great Smokey Mountains has over half a million acres of forest, with waterfalls and 800 miles of trails for hiking and horseback riding.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Visitors can also trek through Roaring Fork to mountain streams and historic buildings. And wildlife can be discovered in open areas, like Caves Cove and Cadalucci (ph).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Live pictures right now of presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama there speaking in Miami. It's the U.S. Conference of Mayors which is taking place. Mayors from Los Angeles, Honolulu, Trenton, New Jersey, all of them descending upon Miami for this conference to talk about a variety of issues.
But right now, taking to the stage is Barack Obama. We're going to monitor his comments and of course, bring you the information as soon as we get it.
Meantime, the White House is dismissing scathing comments from its former spokesman Scott McClellan. He testified before Congress yesterday about the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson's identity.
Our White House correspondent Elaine Quijano reports now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And nothing but the truth ...
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Testifying under oath before the House Judiciary Committee, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said he does not believe President Bush knew about a White House effort to leak CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: I do not think the president in any way had knowledge about it based on my conversations with him back at that time.
QUIJANO: But McClellan could not say the same of Vice President Dick Cheney.
MCCLELLAN: In terms of the vice president, I do not know. There is a lot of suspicion there.
QUIJANO: And asked about former Bush senior adviser Karl Rove, McClellan did not hold back.
REP. ARTHUR DAVIS (D), ALABAMA: Would you trust Mr. Rove if he were not under oath to tell the truth?
MCCLELLAN: Well, based on my own experience, I could not say that I would.
DAVIS: And in fact if Mr. Rove were under oath, would you have complete confidence that he would tell the truth?
MCCLELLAN: I would hope that he would be willing to do that. And as you point out, it doesn't seem that he is willing to do that. But based on my own experiences, I have some concerns about that.
QUIJANO: Democrats lauded McClellan as a truth teller.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I compliment you on what you're doing, what you've done.
QUIJANO: While Republicans blasted his motives.
REP. LAMAR SMITH (R), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Scott McClellan alone will have to wrestle with whether it was worth selling out the president and his friends for a few pieces of silver.
MCCLELLAN: No one else is challenging the themes of perspectives in the book. They're trying to attack me personally.
QUIJANO: As for the White House, a spokesman dismissed the testimony, telling reporters, quote, "I think Scott has probably told everyone everything he doesn't know."
(on camera): For his part, McClellan challenged other former and current administration officials to testify, including Vice President Dick Cheney. But with a Democratically-led Congress, that's something the administration has refused to allow.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's see what our legal guys have to say about the McClellan testimony and other hot topics. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good to see you.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you as well.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK, Richard, anything incriminating in your view?
HERMAN: I don't think so. I really don't. I'll tell you, unlike the pitcher -- ex-pitcher for the Yankees who I think is going to get indicted, this thing -- this is going nowhere with McClellan. You know, he's looking to sell books. Oprah had this great guy that wrote this beautiful book and then we found out it was a fraud. This book is filled with speculation, it's not filled with dead-on points.
Why does it come out now at this stage? And the political campaigns. He's making money off of this. He loves going to Congress. He's selling books upon books upon books. That's his motivation.
FRIEDMAN: You know what, I ...
WHITFIELD: Avery, you see a legal case potentially sprouting from this?
FRIEDMAN: Yes, I think there is. I -- you know what? I think what Scott McClellan did was a principled and thoughtful thing to do. The book's already been out there. The fact is that this was a company man. He spoke for the president and vice president. It took tremendous courage and fortitude to do what he did.
And the legal significance -- in fact, if you studied the proceeding, one thing that's very significant, Fredricka, is that McClellan was asked about commutations, what they gave Scooter Libby. Do you know that there were 4,100 applications for commutation and the president granted three and one goes to Scooter Libby. That's the sort of suspicion that warrants further inquiry by the Judiciary Committee.
Let's hear from Rove, let's hear from Cheney. If I'm Dick Cheney, I'm going to do everything I can to stay away from it. He's got a problem.
HERMAN: Hey Fred, they had -- Fred, they had a federal grand jury investigate this case with competent U.S. attorneys leading it.
WHITFIELD: Yes, and Cheney was among those who was subpoenaed.
FRIEDMAN: Right.
HERMAN: Yes, and nothing came with it. The grand jury said over with and there are no charges.
FRIEDMAN: That -- we're dealing with a completely different branch of government. I think this inquiry is important to find out the truth about what was going on in the White House. That's the objective here.
WHITFIELD: All right, well, let's talk about something else that's being challenged. We're talking in part, the Patriots Act. The --
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ...it's allowed to wiretap to a certain degree. But now, the House has a compromise bill that challenges it to a degree, but at the same time protecting telecommunications companies from any kind of lawsuits that come from that wiretapping -- Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Yes, this is no compromise, Fredricka, this is a sellout. We need to toughen Pfizer, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. No question about it.
But to give the telecoms a free ride is outrageous. In fact, what's being proposed and I think it's a total sellout is to give these guys a ticket. In other words, if the president gives you a note, a certification, a federal judge has to throw out one of 40, if not more, pending federal lawsuits. It's an outrage. Let's see what happens in the Senate this coming week.
WHITFIELD: So Richard, it's not necessarily saying there is going to be some limiting of the wiretapping. It has nothing to do with that. Instead, it says this third party involved, the phone company ...
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ...that's helping in this transmission of material, they are not being held accountable for anything.
HERMAN: Well, Fred, after 9/11, there were a lot of eavesdroppings that went on and when people found out they were being surveiled, they brought litigations against the telecom companies. This bill will address that and give them immunity. Avery, incredible, exfospacto (ph) bills being approved now, something about that. But anyway ...
FRIEDMAN: Exfospacto is criminal, not civil.
HERMAN: Yes, but they're getting immunity, they're getting immunity now for acts that took place back in 2001, which is kind of an interesting concept here.
But in any event, there is judicial review going forward, Fred, there is. Judges will have to review these surveillance activities before they can take place legally. You know, we're in different times right now. And what can I say? This is a compromise. It's not perfect, but it's a compromise and it's a rejection of the Bush doctrine where he felt under the Patriot Act, he could do anything he wanted. He can't.
FRIEDMAN: Well, giving up civil liberties -- giving up civil liberties at the same time.
HERMAN: It's a compromise.
FRIEDMAN: It's an outrage.
HERMAN: Nobody is happy in a compromise.
FRIEDMAN: That's a sellout.
WHITFIELD: All right, Avery, Richard, thanks so much. Sort of have you agreeing, to a degree at the end.
FRIEDMAN: Sort of, sort of.
WHITFIELD: We always have to have one little itty bit of ...
FRIEDMAN: Little bit.
WHITFIELD: ...little bit of hope of you guys coming together. All right, thanks so much. Appreciate you, have a great weekend.
FRIEDMAN: See you soon. Take care.
HERMAN: Have a great weekend, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Invasion of privacy versus preventing a terror attack. Meet a man who says that he is none of airport security's business.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, we all know to keep our ID handy for airport security checks. But did you know that you have the right to refuse to show it? Well, that is until today. The rules have changed and that's angering some who believe being forced to show an ID is an invasion of privacy.
Jeanne Meserve has more in this "Security Watch Report."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nick Clober (ph) is not your average traveler. He flies about once a month and when he does, he does something unthinkable to most of us. He refuses a routine security request.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ID, sir?
NICK CLOBER: No, thank you.
MESERVE: He will not show transportation security officers his identification.
CLOBER: I shouldn't really have to show my ID to travel in my own country. And I will gladly go through the secondary screening to ensure that I am not a threat to anybody. But as for who I am, that's really none of their business.
MESERVE: Under current TSA policy, a traveler does not have to show an ID if they are willing to undergo a more intense security search.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, sir, I'm all finished here. You're clear to go.
MESERVE: But that changes on Saturday. Passengers who "willfully refuse" to provide identification at checkpoints will no longer be allowed to fly.
KIP HAWLEY, TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: We need to be able to stop somebody who we know is a terrorist from getting on the plane. And it's not too much to ask to say just tell us who you are.
MESERVE: But civil liberties advocates say U.S. citizens should not have to show documents to travel within their own country.
JIM HARRISON, THE IDENTIFICATION PROJECT: The TSA is incrementally chipping away at the freedoms that Americans have. And the freedoms that we're talking about here are the fundamental right to travel.
MESERVE: Although airlines check travelers' names against terror watch lists, the TSA says its document examinations provide another layer of security and turn up people traveling with fake IDs every week.
HAWLEY: To us, it's not a philosophical argument. There are people trying to do harm, take down planes and we can't let them have a vulnerability. MESERVE (on camera): People who say their IDs have been lost or stolen can still fly if they give the TSA information that will help verify their identity. But critics say a clever terrorist could bluff their way through security and still get on an airplane.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, next weekend are the track and field U.S. Olympic trials. And among the competitors, this sprinter right here, Chryste Gaines, 37, trying to make a comeback and make it to her third Olympic Games. This two years after being banned from the sport. More next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Grit and determination are no stranger to Chryste Gaines. The two-time Olympic medalist now has her sights set on making a comeback. Next weekend are the Olympic trials for track and field. But in the fast track world of sports, there are always hurdles. For Gaines, there's her age. She is now 37. And there's also one scandal, a fellow runner implicated her in the BALCO scandal.
I asked her about that during a recent training session at Georgia Tech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRYSTE GAINES, OLYMPIC GAMES: For anyone else to come and say oh well, you know, she's done this or she's done that, my performances speak for themselves. I didn't go from mediocre to great. My performances have been top 10 in the world for years. And my take on that is if I took whatever you took and I couldn't run any faster than I can run by myself, then I must have gotten some placebo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And that's not where she left it. Hear what else Chryste Gaines has to say in a special report to air at 3:00 p.m. Eastern today.
Well, talk about two big bundles of joy. Newborn twins in North Carolina tipping the scales at a combined 23 pounds, one ounce. Whoppers. Abigail Rose Maynard and Sean William Maynard were born two minutes apart at a hospital in Winston-Salem this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN MAYNARD, TWINS' MOTHER: We weren't ready for how big she was at all. Him, a little bit, but not Abby. She's definitely surprised all of us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like I want it. Oh my God, let me help you. She was so big. I couldn't believe it.
MAYNARD: I figured with two, there's no way that, you know, there's not room in there. Can't get that big.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, they found room. The twins are believed to be the second heaviest born in the U.S.
All right, "YOUR MONEY" is coming up next. But first, a check of the top stories.
California officials say they are close to fully containing wildfires that shut down sections of the scenic Highway 1 near Watsonville yesterday. The fast-burning wildfires consumed more than a dozen homes and barns and forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people.
