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American Morning
Bob Barr: Third Alternative; Reaching Out to Conservative African Americans; Joe Biden Interview
Aired July 16, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BOB BARR, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It wasn't predatory lenders at all. It was the government through government enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pushing and pushing and pushing people into buying houses they couldn't afford. And then what the government does through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae is they keep re-circulating that paper over and over and over again so that it eventually becomes worthless and the bottom falls out of this. So this is caused by government intervention, not the free market.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Bob Barr, libertarian presidential candidate, thanks for speaking with us this morning. We appreciate it.
BARR: My pleasure.
CHETRY: John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It's crossing the top of the hour now, and here are this morning's top stories.
For the first time in two years, the Dow opens below $11,000 this morning. This even as the price of oil dropped $6 a barrel. A landmark exchange between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanese group turned over two coffins to the Red Cross earlier this morning. They are said to contain the remains of two kidnapped Israeli soldiers whose capture triggered the war between Israel and Hezbollah two years ago. Once their identities are confirmed Israel has promised to free five Hezbollah prisoners.
And the he United States says it is sending a high level diplomat to sit in on nuclear talks with Iran this weekend in Geneva. It's being looked at as a major shift in policy.
Chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour joins us now live from Paris. Christiane, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is denying the idea that this is a reversal of policy because William Burns will not be involved in negotiations. But it would seem to represent at least some sort of shift.
VOICE OF CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it most definitely does present a shift and it does represent a sort of reversal, even though in limited terms. This is the third most senior official from the State Department going to take part in pre-negotiations with Iran and with European officials.
Iran's most high-level national security adviser Saeed Jalili (ph) will be in Geneva with the European leadership. Javier Solana, and, of course, William Burns will be attending that. Not to negotiate, we're told, but simply to send a very strong message.
This is what I'm being told by officials in Javier Solana's office. That Saturday where they meet is not going to be about negotiations. It is going to be about creating the conditions and the environment and the framework for such negotiations. A point that the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, himself has said already on state Iranian television.
The deal with sending the U.S. official, William Burns, I'm told by the Europeans, is that the United States and the Europeans want to give a very strong signal to Iran that the U.S. and the Europeans are very serious and that the U.S. is behind the negotiations and the proposals to end the nuclear program of Iran. And, therefore, to actually send an American official so the Iranians can "see with their own eyes" that the U.S. and Europeans want to negotiate a solution to this issue.
They continue to say that any actual negotiations on Iran's nuclear program cannot happen unless there is a suspension of uranium enrichment -- John.
ROBERTS: So what's the likelihood that Iran would agree to that and suspend its enrichment of uranium while some talks began?
AMANPOUR: Well, the actual choreography is supposed to be as follows. There's supposed to be a six week, six week freeze, whereby Iran agrees not to add anymore enrichment to its current enriching capability and activities. In return, the United States, the E.U., the U.N., will not seek any new sanctions on Iran. This is meant to be the frame work, the creative choreography designed to end a deadlock that exists between Iran and the rest of the world over its nuclear situation.
There is no guarantee that Iran will agree to suspend uranium enrichment and the Europeans are saying that while they very much welcome the U.S. presence, they very much welcome the fact that Iran is going to come at a high level and talk to them. They also say we must be cautious.
But the very clear thing, though, is that there is an ongoing debate in Iran right now about negotiations and about how to move forward. There's generally a consensus that this process has to be moved forward and many more positive and open debate is going on about this inside Iran. And both the U.S. and the Europeans want to try to take advantage of it. By no means does that mean that this is going to be solved by this meeting in Geneva on Saturday. But they're hoping at least to convey a very strong message and to try to get this impasse unstuck.
ROBERTS: Very important story. Our Christiane Amanpour watching it for us from Paris, France, this morning. Christiane, thanks.
CHETRY: Barack Obama and John McCain doing battle over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As violence in Afghanistan increases, so is the call to send more troops there. And that started some sniping between the two presidential candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now is the time for a responsible redeployment of our combat troops that pushes Iraq's leaders towards a political solution, rebuilds our military, and refocuses on Afghanistan and our broader security threats.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has no strategy. He just said that we need more troops. There's a dramatic difference. He just said we need more troops.
He's never been to Afghanistan. He's never been briefed on Afghanistan personally by the commanders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And now to the critical situation facing military commanders at the Pentagon. For the first time in five years, more U.S. soldiers have been killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan than in Iraq. So how will the U.S. respond to the increasing threat there? Our Barbara Starr has been pressing officials at the Pentagon for answers and she joins us now. Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Well, I spoke via satellite hookup to a top commander in Afghanistan and he says he does need more troops, more armored vehicles, and he needs them now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): Since 2003, Iraq has been the main military arena. But CNN has learned that top military officials are considering recommending Afghanistan become as high a military priority. In an exclusive interview with CNN, the U.S. military's operations chief in Afghanistan says he needs more troops now.
BRIGADIER GEN. MARK MILLEY, DEP. CMDG. GEN. U.S. ARMY 101ST AIRBORNE: Our estimate is, is that additional forces are needed during this fighting season.
STARR: An increase in attacks against U.S. troops and the country's rampant lawlessness has the attention of the presidential candidates.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama will tell you we can't win in Afghanistan without losing in Iraq. In fact, he has it exactly backwards. It is precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to succeed in Afghanistan.
STARR: Obama says Afghanistan must be the priority.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Taliban controls parts of Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda has an expanding base in Pakistan that is probably no farther from their old Afghan sanctuary than a train ride from Washington to Philadelphia. STARR: Commanders say the threat is much deeper than just the increase in insurgents crossing from Pakistan. The Taliban once again have more money and better organization.
MILLEY: They are exhibiting a better level of training and leadership than they have in previous years.
STARR: The general also says he's fairly confident he knows which insurgent leader was behind the attack that killed nine U.S. troops on the weekend and that local Afghans know more than they're telling.
MILLEY: There's no doubt in my mind that the local villagers had -- had to know something was up. Exactly who and when and how many, et cetera, that kind of stuff is probably unknown.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: You know, they're here at the Pentagon. All of this is very sensitive. They say here, so far they have no official requests. But on the front lines, Kiran, the general couldn't be more clear. He needs help -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And, Barbara, when the general says he wants more fighting forces this season, what time frame is he talking about?
STARR: You know, those are, indeed, as you are pointing out the absolute critical words -- this fighting season. In Afghanistan as everyone understands, the snow begins to fall in October if not earlier.
Fighters go into the hills. They lay low for the winter. So we're talking about more troops this fighting season. That means in the next several weeks. In the next eight to 10 weeks he wants help. He wants more boots on the ground before the snows begin -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon this morning. Thank you.
And as Barbara reported, military commanders in Afghanistan are requesting these troops as she said within weeks. Senators Barack Obama and John McCain both promising that they would send more troops to Afghanistan next year. Obama says that he would deploy at least two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan. That would be some 7,000 troops.
And McCain says he would send even more, three additional combat brigades. That's more than 10,000 troops. The plans though are not too different from proposals that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is also considering. He's already preparing to send two more combat brigades to Afghanistan early next year -- John.
ROBERTS: Nine minutes after the hour. An E. Coli outbreak linked to recalled beef has now expanded to five states. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says new cases were reported in New York, Kentucky and Indiana. Adding to ones already found in Michigan and Ohio. There are now 44 illnesses in all. The outbreak was traced to beef sold in Kroger supermarkets. The Nebraska company that supplied the meat recalled more than five million pounds of it.
Preventing catastrophic explosions in jumbo jets. The FAA set to approve new safety standards for airline fuel tanks today. The new rules are aimed at avoiding explosions like the one that brought down TWA Flight 800. That was 12 years ago. They affect more than 3,000 jets used by U.S. airlines including all Airbus and several large Boeing models. The airlines will still have up to 10 years to equip the jets with devices to put out flames in fuel tanks.
A fugitive Serbian man wanted on charges that he beat a New York student into a coma has signed a contract to play professional basketball in his home country. 20-year-old Miladin Kovacevic had been recruited to play for New York's Binghamton University. He skipped bail and fled the United States last month after a bar fight that left 22-year old Bryan Steinhauer in critical condition to this day. The case has turned into a diplomatic issue between the U.S. and Serbia.
CHETRY: Well, a long, long good-bye to Yankee Stadium. In its final year, "The House That Ruth Built" hosted the longest All-Star Game in history. Yankee Hall of Famer's Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Goose Gossage and Whitey Ford threw out the first pitches. The Rockies Matt Holiday got it going with a solo home run. That was in the fifth inning.
The American League then pulled even when Boston's J.D. Drew hit a two-run homer in the seventh. That was just a halfway point. Then Texas Ranger Michael Young finally ended it in the bottom of the 15th -- yes, the 15th, with a sack fly that gave the AL a 4-3 win.
ROBERTS: Kind of sad, isn't it, that that's the last All-Star Game ever to be played at Yankee Stadium?
CHETRY: It is. But what a way to go out, right?
ROBERTS: Yes. They made it an epic.
CHETRY: 15 innings.
ROBERTS: They made it an epic which is good.
CHETRY: It all came down to just one run.
Well, here is what we're working on for you this morning. After 19 past the hour, the Bud's for you, John. Her beer money and his possible presidency.
Cindy McCain and how her millions from Anheuser-Busch could be a problem for her husband if he becomes president.
ROBERTS: Then at 25 minutes after the hour, Senator Joe Biden live. McCain and Obama trade jabs over Iraq and Afghanistan. So who has it right and what's best for America? Find out what the Foreign Relations Chairman has to say about their plans.
CHETRY: At 42 after the hour, loop dreams. Rapper Kanye West new push to help inner city kids graduate high school. It's a CNN's "Black in America" Special Report.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: How about that? One of the anthems of this summer -- Kenny Chesney's "Summertime." And a shot this morning coming to us from WBNS, Columbus, Ohio.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I like Columbus.
CHETRY: Sunny and 90. I was just thinking your solution to the weak dollar?
VELSHI: Go to Columbus.
CHETRY: Get a little place in Americana. Forget Croatia.
VELSHI: Ohio offers you a lot of cities, a lot of choice, a lot of variety. But John told me that I was being a sissy by not going to Croatia so I'm going to go. And by the way, the economy is OK, or at least that's what the president was telling us yesterday.
The president held a news conference about the economy generally. And one of the things he sort of said was that maybe the rest of us who aren't economists should stop complaining about the economy. Somebody asked him what he thought about the economy, and here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When will the economy turn around?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
BUSH: I'm not an economist, but I do believe that we're growing. And I can remember, you know, this press conference here, people yelling recession this, recession that, as if you're economists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. So the president smacking down the reporters a little bit. So we did tune in to an economist right around the same time. Ben Bernanke was talking on Capitol Hill. He had a bit of a different story about the economy. Listen to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: The economy continues to face numerous difficulties, including ongoing strains in financial markets, declining house prices, a softening labor market, and rising prices of oil, food and some other commodities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Well, it's nice to know the folks in Washington are as confused about the economy as we all are around here. But you know, Kiran --
CHETRY: He can't say it. President Bush just kind of can't say that it's going bad, right? Doesn't that make things worse?
VELSHI: Well, that's -- it's a very good point. The president, it's kind of not his job to talk the economy down. It's probably our job to keep the administration's feet to the fire about what's going on in the economy. But it would be pretty bad if, you know, the president came out and said, you know what, you're right. This thing is a mess. I don't get it at all. Just come back next year.
So you're right.
CHETRY: All right.
VELSHI: I'll give him that much.
CHETRY: Well, you can come back in a couple minutes.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: After my trip to -- because I don't go to Columbus yet.
CHETRY: Not yet.
VELSHI: All right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: All right.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: If he goes to Croatia, he can't come back.
CHETRY: Exactly. He won't have any money left.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: Exactly. Not after converting it to those euros, anyways.
Seventeen minutes after the hour. Courting the black votes. Still to come, John McCain's uphill battle to win over African- Americans. Our Dana Bash live at the NAACP conference in Cincinnati for us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 20 minutes after 7:00 here in New York, and here's a look at what we're working on this morning.
Fire at the Capitol Hill grill. Fed Chief Ben Bernanke coming back for some more tough questioning. This time he goes before Barney Frank's House Financial Services Committee. That's at 10:00 this morning.
At 11:30 Eastern, John McCain speaks in front of the NAACP. Cincinnati is the place, and we'll have live coverage of his speech on air and online. The last polling giving Barack Obama 90 percent support among black voters and John McCain with just four percent.
A little later in the day at 1:00 Eastern, Barack Obama will be at Purdue University in Indiana where he'll be attending a summit confronting 21st century threats. And again, we'll be providing live coverage of that on air and online. And that's a look at what we're following this morning -- John.
ROBERTS: Despite John McCain's high profile job and the even higher profile job that he is after, Cindy McCain will always be the big breadwinner in that family.
But David Mattingly explains why her beer business could be a problem for her husband if he's elected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fair to say Cindy McCain is not only a wife to Senator John McCain, she is also his meal ticket. Her reported 2006 income of more than $6 million exceeded her husband's earnings 16 times over. That money pays for a wealthy lifestyle of high end condos, an Arizona ranch, flying in a corporate jet, and more.
KEN VOGEL, POLITICO: He wouldn't be able to afford that were it not for her. Politically he is in Congress arguably because her company and her wealth funded his first congressional campaign and has certainly been helpful in subsidizing his presidential campaign.
MATTINGLY: It's a lifestyle built on beer. Cindy McCain is the chairman of one of the largest Anheuser-Busch distributors in the country. A company founded by her father with a value estimated at more than $100 million.
In Congress, Senator McCain has been able to avoid a conflict of interest by staying out of the family business and recusing himself from beer-related issues. But critics of that industry doubt that a President McCain would be able to stay so hands off.
BRUCE LIVINGSTON, MARIN INSTITUTE: It would not be possible. The Hensley Corporation which Cindy McCain is an owner of has lobbied 10 times in the last eight years on various issues that have gone to Congress and have gone to executive branch agencies.
MATTINGLY (on camera): As president, McCain would run a mammoth bureaucracy with regulatory control over alcohol sales, distribution and consumption. The next administration would probably have to deal with issues of beer taxes, labeling, maybe even the politically sensitive international merger just announced involving the giant Anheuser-Busch. These are all issues that could create a conflict because they could have an impact on the McCain family bottom line.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Though she does not run the day-to-day operations, Cindy McCain's Hensley and Company's Web site links to a newsletter, calling for a roll back in the federal beer tax. And this 2005 letter posted on the Internet by "The Los Angeles Times" shows company executive, Andrew McCain, yes, that is the senator's son, lobbying against a federal beer labeling proposal.
David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Hensley and Company sold more than 23 million cases of Anheuser-Busch beer last year making it the third biggest Anheuser distributor in the United States. We should also mention that Hensley also distributes Stella Artois, Bass and other beers produced by InBev which recently bought Anheuser-Busch -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, the presidential candidates have stepped up their attacks on each other over the war in Iraq in recent days. We'll be discussing their plans with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Joe Biden joins us on the show.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
ROBERTS: Hip hop dream. Reading, writing, and rapping. Kanye West's plans to make the schoolhouse rock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KANYE WEST, SINGER: When I put the studios in the school --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Barack Obama and John McCain trading jabs this week over the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They each outlined plans for the war against terror including increasing troop levels in Afghanistan. Can Obama win a battle with McCain on military and foreign policy issues?
Obama supporter, Senator Joseph Biden, is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and he joins us now live from Wilmington, Delaware. Senator, it's great to see you this morning. Saw you yesterday at that conference we both attended.
Senator, Senator McCain said yesterday in a speech, he said he knows how to win wars. The implication being that Senator Obama doesn't. Do you believe Senator Obama knows how to win wars and, if he does, how? SENATOR JOE BIDEN (D) CHMN., CHAIRMAN OF THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE: I do. And it's because he has a much more centered view on what our problems are. Look, John McCain was wrong about the war in Iraq. John McCain says the surge worked, but remember the purpose of the surge.
The surge wasn't just to bring down violence. It was "to create breathing room for a political settlement in Iraq." That's the only way the military says we can win. A political settlement. We're no closer to a political settlement.
Number two, John McCain has finally acknowledged he has to put more troops in Afghanistan or we're going to lose Afghanistan. Over a year and a half ago, Barack Obama said we need two more combat battalions in Afghanistan. John said, no, "we will be able to have a surge later and win that. I'm paraphrasing John.
The truth of the matter is John McCain's now realizing the desperate situation in Afghanistan, says we need more troops. Where do you get them, John?
He first said we have to take them out of Iraq. What is it? That's what Barack Obama's calling for. Then he says, no, we'll have NATO do it. Then he came back and corrected again. NATO can't do it. We have to do it.
The truth of the matter is that Barack Obama has been centered. We're not running for the chief -- commander in chief of Iraq. The president is running to become the -- the candidate is trying to become the commander in chief of America's interest in the world. And the central war on terror, John, is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, not Iraq.
ROBERTS: A recent ABC/"Washington Post" poll though would seem to suggest that Senator Obama has got some ground to make up on John McCain when it comes to this issue of who would make the best commander in chief, who is best on national security. It found better knowledge of world affairs, McCain leads him 63 to 26 percent.
And as to who would make a good commander in chief, John McCain has got him beat 72 to 48 percent. How does he make up that ground? How does he instill confidence in the American people that he can do those things as well as McCain?
BIDEN: By talking about it. One of the things that, look, you have a brilliant relatively young man who is the nominee of the Democratic Party, who's leading John McCain on every area except the one where experience just intuitively suggests people think if you're experienced, you must know more.
But 20 years of experience that has not been very solid in terms of being projecting what was going to happen just doesn't make you a better commander in chief. We don't need as a commander in chief a war hero. John's a war hero. We need someone with some wisdom.
And the only way Barack is going to do that is the remainder of this campaign, taking the issue to John McCain. I'll conclude, John, by saying what you heard me say yesterday. That President Bush's policy which John McCain has embraced on Iraq and foreign policy generally has been an abject failure.
It's not that democracy is on the march in the Middle East. Iran's on the march. It's not that we're stronger anywhere in the world. We're weaker.
ROBERTS: Senator --
BIDEN: So I think Barack Obama should take it right to the Republicans on their failed policy.
ROBERTS: Senator, yesterday Senator McCain said that Barack Obama has never been to Iraq, never been to Afghanistan, intimating how he can really know what he's talking about in terms for his plans for Iraq and Afghanistan.
As recently as last week, as I checked on this, Senator Obama had never had a direct conversation with General David Petraeus about the situation on the ground there. He talked to him at the committee meeting but had never picked up the phone to speak with him. Should he pick up the phone? Should he talk with General Petraeus? Is it important? You've been there 10 times. How important is it to get on the ground knowledge in formulating these plans?
BIDEN: Well, look, I've been there more than John McCain. That doesn't mean that I'm, ipso factor, more qualified than John McCain. It does matter to go on the ground because you get a feel, a touch. Look, you're a first -- I don't want to hurt your -- you're a first rate reporter. You know touch and feeling and smelling, just getting a sense helps you get your intuition in tune here. But Barack has had many meetings with military leaders. He's been on the foreign relations committee since he's been in the Congress. He's had many leaders before it. The fact that he didn't pick up the phone and call General Petraeus does not in any way reflect that he doesn't know. He's talked to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He's had meetings with -- he's had intelligence meetings and briefings like the rest of us on our committee. So he is fully informed.
But it is -- it is publicly a very good point for -- it's a scoring point for John McCain to say he's been there. He's going there now. He's going to have a full view. And I think he's going to find when he gets on the ground that the military is more in line with his position on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq than they are with John's. Every trip I've made, and I've made a dozen now to Afghanistan and Iraq, the military says we need to draw down, to beef up in Afghanistan. That's what Barack's been calling for.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll find out soon enough. Because the senator is scheduled to go there very soon. Senator Biden, it's always great to see you. Thanks for dropping by this morning.
BIDEN: Good seeing you. Thanks for having me on, John.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: 7:32 here in New York. Some of the top stories we're watching for you today. The U.S. says it's sending a high level diplomat to sit in on nuclear talks with Iran this weekend. It's being looked at as a major policy shift and being called a, "one time deal designed to jump start talks." A U.S. official says the diplomat will be there to listen and won't meet one on one.
The so called troop surge is now over. The U.S has pulled out the last of five additional combat brigades that were sent to Iraq last year. That leaves about 150,000 U.S. troops still in Iraq. The end of the surge marks the start of a 45-day a evaluation period that General David Petraeus called for. He's the top commander in Iraq.
A U.S. ban on foreign visitors with HIV could soon end. It's been on the books for two decades. The Senate bill would do away with the restrictions on people with HIV visiting or immigrating to the United States. That measure is attached to a bill that would provide $50 billion over the next five years to fight AIDS in Africa and other poor area.
And now for the push for the African-American vote in the race for the White House. John McCain is set to speak to the NAACP convention, that's at 11:30 this morning. It's a speech that we will bring you live on air and on-line.
He's trying to close a very wide divide on race with polls showing black voters are heavily in favor of Barack Obama. Dana Bash is live for us in Cincinnati. It's hard to imagine. I mean, maybe he can put a dent on it but isn't like 90 percent to 4 percent at this point?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's actually interesting, Kiran. Republican candidates historically simply don't win very much of the black vote. President Bush got just 11 percent in the last election running against John Kerry. You may wonder why John McCain running against Barack Obama would even bother courting votes here at the NAACP conference where aides insist that he does have opportunity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): Alveda King looks forward to voting for a black presidential candidate. But it won't be Barack Obama.
ALVEDA KING, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: I simply cannot vote for Senator Obama because he's not pro-life.
BASH: Saying no to Obama is especially hard since King is a niece of Martin Luther King. But she says her opposition to abortion trumps all.
KING: Because I really do have a dream. And it's in my genes. And as I said, if Senator Obama becomes pro-life then I would consider giving him my vote. It's just that simple.
BASH: King is part of a small but increasingly vocal group of conservative black activists who call Obama too liberal. It's one reason John McCain decided to speak to one of the largest black audiences of the campaign season, the NAACP conference. CNN has told several prominent black Republicans, including former congressman J.C. Watts and former gubernatorial candidate Michael Steel met privately with McCain last week and urged him to fight for the black vote despite the odds. And they are steep. One recent poll shows 90 percent of African-Americans plan to vote for Obama. Only 4 percent say McCain.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know I have to compete hard for the African-American vote. I have no illusions about that.
BASH: McCain's relationship with the black community has been rocky. He initially voted against the Martin Luther King holiday. And was booed in Memphis this spring when he tried to apologize.
MCCAIN: I was wrong. I was wrong.
BASH: But he was the first Republican candidate to visit the site of the famous civil rights march in Salma, Alabama. Aides say that like addressing the NAACP is part of McCain's broader, different kind of Republican pitch.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (on-camera): And to that end, it's important to note that after President Bush was elected, he did not attend the NAACP conference until his sixth year in office. He simply thought it was an organization that was partisan and worked against him and the policies that he was pushing. And McCain will tell NAACP members later this morning, Kiran, that even if he doesn't get their votes he hopes that he will be their good will and good counsel. McCain advisers say they hope that'll help him reach out to the people, the voters of all ethnic backgrounds by showing he's somebody who's willing to reach out.
CHETRY: Dana Bash for us this morning in Cincinnati. Thanks.
ROBERTS: 36 minutes after the hour. We've been looking under all the rocks for some evidence of good economic news. Not finding a whole lot. Ali Velshi here with how some companies are trying to cope to make ends meet.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I already gave you a big drop in oil prices. But the airlines are having a tough time dealing with it. We already know that. One analyst said that next year one airline is going to have to go bankrupt in America. I'll tell you what the choices are. Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 39 minutes after the hour. Hot-lanta living up to its name today. Thanks to our friends at WSB for that beautiful shot this morning. You can see the steam rising off Atlanta this morning, 71 degrees today. It's going to be mostly sunny, humid with a high of 89 degrees. You got to stay cool today in Atlanta, Kiran.
CHETRY: That's right. Stay inside. Eat at the "Chick Fil-A" and don't worry about the weather. Gosh, they're lucky down there. "Chick Fil-A" is so delicious.
VELSHI: Chick Fil-A. I'm already hungry. I sat down saying I wanted a pizza.
CHETRY: I'm sorry.
Well, the thrill of a lifetime for a 71-year-old blind woman who went sky driving over Oregon. (Kazukoe Renee) says that she did it to prove handicapped and elderly people can do anything they want. She says she made plans to make it a yearly event. She actually enjoyed it so much she's going to do it every year. Good for her. Congratulations.
VELSHI: Wow. I must say I'm not so into that idea of sky diving. I would almost imagine that being blind -
CHETRY: Might make it easier?
VELSHI: Yes. My problem is oh my god, I'm looking at the earth and I'm barreling towards it at hundreds of miles an hour. If I didn't see that I might just feel the wind.
CHETRY: No way. I'm petrified either way. But congrats to her. She looks like she had a fun time.
VELSHI: I guess so.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks very much, Kiran and Ali. We're just getting some breaking news in this morning that Israel has positively identified the bodies of soldiers that were handed over by Hezbollah at the border. They were actually handed over to the Red Cross in an exchange this morning at 9:00 a.m. local time. They have positively been identified as the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev who were both captured in 2006 in that incident that sparked that war between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel now said to -- will be making its commitment, living up to its end of the bargain to release five Hezbollah prisoners. So, again, the bodies of the dead soldiers (Ahud Gobaser and Eldan Regav) positively identified in that exchange at the border between Israel and Lebanon earlier today.
Kanye West is trying to make sure that African-American kids stay in school. Statistics show less than half of the black students in inner cities will graduate. His new program called "Loop Dreams" is hoping to change that. CNN's Soledad O'Brien has the latest in a series of special reports called "Black in America."
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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN HOST: Kanye West proclaimed himself a dropout on his Grammy winning debut album. Now he's trying to fight the problem in inner city schools.
KANYE WEST, RAPPER: I just heard the numbers that, like, over 50 percent of, like, African-American students were dropping out of high school. It moved me. And me and my mother talked about doing something and building something that might be able to help make a difference in the future.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much. Give yourselves a hand and Kanye a hand.
O'BRIEN: So Kanye along with his late mother, Dr. Donda West, created the "Loop Dreams" program.
WEST: I thought that that would inspire kids to go to school, you know. You hear about kids wanting to be a rapper and wanting to go to the studio. Why not put the studios in the school?
O'BRIEN: The program has started in several Los Angeles area schools. And it's making a difference with these kids.
ERICA MOSELY, STUDENT: I just want to go to school just to come to "Loop Dreams." And you have to have a certain grade to be in "Loop Dreams." So, they want to be excited to keep their grades up to come to the program.
O'BRIEN: Erica Mosley is one of the students.
MOSELY: I like how we all come together as a family.
UNIDENTIFIED KIDS: I believe in the "Loop Dreams" program and the things for which it stands.
WEST: I just want it better for my kids. I ain't saying we was from the projects.
It could be a powerful educating tool and also a great incentive for people to want to go to school. Of course, there are kids who want to go into because I want to go because there's a studio in the school. I want to be able to learn these things.
O'BRIEN: Soledad O'Brien, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: The California State Department of Education will release new dropout rates today. Experts say they could be shockingly high since older numbers may have understated the problem. CNN presents "Black in America," a television events that examines the complex issues, successes, and struggles of black men, women and families. It premieres a week from today, July 23rd at 9:00 p.m. Eastern -- Kiran.
CHETRY: We'll certainly look forward to it.
Meantime, here's what's coming up on the show. At 54 after the hour, he's outspoken. He's opinionated and he's all ours. We check in with our own Glenn Beck about Afghanistan, the energy crisis and who should be in the White House come November.
Also, at the top of the hour, we get a live report on new rules for the airlines. Changes aimed to try to prevent a disaster in the air.
And at 28 after the hour, getting off the list. Thousands of people say they're on the terror watch list. And they can't get off. Our special investigations unit correspondent Drew Griffin keeping them honest. You're watching the most news in the morning.
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CHETRY: This year American woman will use in vitro fertilization or IVF more than 125,000 times in attempts to get pregnant. And there's new research shedding some new light on the procedure. We're "Paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta" right now with more on the findings. They also did, like, a long-term comparison, Sanjay, between using frozen embryos or fresh embryos. What did they find?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, interestingly, they didn't find a huge difference between using fresh or frozen embryos. Also that 125,000 number, just think about that for a second. You just said that's the number of IVFs expected this year. I think about 30 years ago, it was the first one. So see how much we've grown.
Take a look there between fresh and frozen embryos at birth weight. Frozen embryos 7 lbs., 14 oz. Fresh 7 lbs. 7 oz. So, not a big difference. People will say, well, this shows that using the freezing process is actually better in some way. I think the larger headline here is there's not much of a difference. People worry, you know, is there going to be a difference in quality overall of embryos if they go through the freezing process.
And after looking at a very large study here, 11 years over 1,200 embryos they find that there's not much of a difference. Now, the issues really is of cost, the efficiency and safety. Those are the three issues people really look at. With regards to cost and efficiency, using frozen embryos actually can be better because you don't have to go through the process of getting medications to stimulate a woman's egg production. You don't have to refertilize the eggs. With the freezing process all you have to really pay for is the freezing of the eggs itself. So, safety wise, you know, doctors in the past would take lots of eggs and say we don't really, we can't really freeze them so we implant all of them. And that might result in multiple births which was found to be unsafe.
Now I think doctors and patients alike are more likely to take some of these eggs and say, you know what, let's try these cycle and we'll freeze some of these embryos. If it doesn't work we have another shot at this in the future. Kiran.
CHETRY: That is really fascinating. And how long, I mean, do they qualify how long the eggs can stay frozen and still have a good outcome? GUPTA: Well, you know, they talk about years, really, with some of these. You know, there were some particular cases where it went longer. On the average, though, just several months. Usually women who try to get pregnant and then if it doesn't work for some reason, they go back and actually have those -- those frozen eggs reimplanted. It costs about $700 to $800 a year for the freezing process, though.
CHETRY: You're right. A difference in the cost, it's very, very expensive for people that try these multiple IVFs. Yes, I mean, if you're going into it brand-new you have to pay for the medications first of all for women to stimulate egg production. And that's even if you are making eggs, they need to make more and more eggs. That's one cost. The other cost is actually taking the eggs from the woman's ovary. That's another cost. The third cost is actually going through the fertilization process itself. So those three costs can be either reduced or eliminated if the eggs are frozen already, and you just go into the process of implantation.
CHETRY: Very fascinating study. Sanjay, good to see you. Thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks, Kiran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Breaking news. The U.S. says it's sitting down with Iran, a drastic shift in White House policy, changing the race for president this morning.
Plus, this Bud's for -- EU.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know who's buying Budweiser. Belgium. A Belgian company.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Belgian company out of Germany, right?
MOOS: No, out of Belgium.
ROBERTS: Joe six pack reacts to the Anheuser-Busch deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't make (beep) deal to me.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LAST SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Well, you know we're in the middle of a banking crisis. And today on television President Bush assured Americans that he is taking steps to resolve the financial crisis. Well, that's good enough for me! Come on, Let's go to the park!
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: David Letterman giving the President a bit of a hard time there. Well, we call it "Issue #1." You call it your bottom line. President Bush and Fed chair Ben Bernanke are trying to calm investors' nerves by saying that the economy is still sound but they're being careful with their words. Joining us now to talk about this and many other things, Glenn Beck, host of the "Glenn Beck Show" on CNN "Headline News." And he's live from his New York studio. Great to see you back with us, Glenn.
GLENN BECK, HOST, "THE GLENN BECK SHOW": Good morning.
CHETRY: So we have soaring gas and oil prices.
BECK: Yes.
CHETRY: We have home values down 15 percent off of last year. We lost jobs six months in a row and stocks are 20 percent off of recent highs. Yet the President comes out yesterday and says the economy's growing and productivity is high. What's going on?
BECK: The economy is growing because we are -- the dollar is collapsing and we're able to sell stuff overseas. The economy is not sound, I don't care what anybody says. I think we're at the beginning of seeing the reality that I have been talking about for over a year now. And Americans knew this for a very long time. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. You've got a problem with oil. We don't have enough. That powers our economy, it powers our homes, it heats our homes, and drives us to work. And then you have a problem with spending. It's not only the spending on our credit cards, on buying too big of homes. Buying into this lie that we can have it all but more importantly, it is the full faith in credit which I don't have very much left in this government, the full faith of credit of the United States government.
The government spends too much money. In my opinion Americans know in their heart of hearts what the source of this problem is, and it is this administration and this Congress. Both of them combined, both parties have brought us here through spending and inaction on energy.
CHETRY: So is there another solution? And We ask this because earlier we spoke with Bob Barr. Now, he ran away from the Republican party back in 2006, now running as a libertarian candidate. And we asked about the situation. And here's what he told me earlier. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB BARR, LIBERTARIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's really become a simpler question with the Republicans and Democrats. You want to vote for a big government party or a really big government party?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So, you're a conservative who leans libertarian.
BECK: Yes.
CHETRY: So is he the solution?
BECK: you know what? I haven't seen -- I like Bob, some of his solutions. I don't like some of his solutions. I haven't found anybody that I could fully back yet. No, I take that back. I have found I will back the American people. The solution is in the Constitution. It is we, the people. The politicians in Washington, the Republicans, the Democrats, all of them, they have become their own special interest group. You and I, we sit around, we'll sit with our friends on the weekend and we'll have barbecue and we'll be talking about it, and we know the answers. We know the solutions. These people are making it far too complex and they're doing it for their own special interest reasons, whether they are playing in to get dollars or to get power, it is time for it to stop. We are at a real crossroads.
CHETRY: Well, if there is so much dissatisfaction and we see it with Congress' approval rating in the last poll is at 18 percent -- the President's below 30 percent. There isn't any other option though. You can vote for two people really. But can a third party candidate ever really win?
BECK: You know, I think my -- yes, oh, yes. I don't think this time around but I think soon. I think this country is headed for stuff it has not seen before. You know, I said on the air I think last night, and I've received them -- I said on the air, send me a pitch fork because I'm in Manhattan. I've tried to get a pitch fork and a torch, they don't sell them in Manhattan. And I've actually received them. I really, truly believe that the politicians need to wake up very, very soon, because America is waking up and it is our power, not theirs.
This government has been flipped upside down. We are the source of power, not the people in Washington. It's time for the people to start leading and vote for the people -- stop buying into this lie that, you know, integrity doesn't matter, your personal life doesn't matter. Yes, it does. We must be able to trust the people in Washington with our power.
CHETRY: Glenn Beck, always great to talk to you.
BECK: Good to talk to you.
CHETRY: Catch him on "Headline News" and by the way, you wrote a book that's doing well, too, "An Inconvenient" book. Glenn, thanks for being with us this morning.
BECK: You got it. Thanks a lot.
ROBERTS: A couple of minutes now before the top of the hour. And breaking news out of Israel. Defense officials have positively identified the remains handed over by Hezbollah this morning as the two Israeli soldiers kidnapped back in the summer of 2006, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. The confirmation coming less than an hour ago. Israel says it will now proceed with returning five Lebanese prisoners to Hezbollah as well as turning over the remains of 199 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters.
Also breaking this morning, a top American diplomat will meet with Iran's nuclear negotiator this weekend. World envoys are trying to persuade Iran to stop enriching uranium, an activity that could lead to the development of nuclear weapons.
Also new this morning, NATO now confirming the U.S. troops have pulled out of the Afghanistan base where nine soldiers were killed in a militant attack this week. A small Afghan police force remains behind in the village. Sunday's attack was the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan in three years.
The so-called troop surge has officially ended in Iraq. The U.S. has pulled out the last of five additional combat brigades sent to Iraq last year, that leaves about 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq now. General David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, is spending the next 45 days examining the country's security before making a decision on more troop withdrawals.
CHETRY: The FAA is set to approve new safety standards for airline fuel tanks today. This is nearly 12 years after the explosion of TWA flight 800. All U.S. planes will have to be fixed to reduce the possibility that a fuel tank can explode. And Deb Feyerick joins me now with more on this. Good morning, Deb.
DEB FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning there, Kiran. What we're talking about is a device that will slowly pump nitrogen gas into those fuel tanks especially when they're empty. This way it neutralizes the amount of oxygen. That oxygen can be flammable when ignited by a spark. That's exactly what happened with TWA 800. This has taken a dozen years to get into place but right now we're expecting an announcement that in fact all airlines, the transport airlines, the passenger planes, are going to have to carry this.
CHETRY: How come it took so long? We are talking about this tragedy more than a decade ago.
FEYERICK: Well, that's exactly right. And there was a lot of debate as to how this should happen. There were questions as to what kind of device you would use, did it go far enough in order to make sure that all these planes were safe.
