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American Morning
Hurricane Watches in Texas, Louisiana; Therapist: Ivins Was to Go on Killing Spree; Rumors Buzz about V.P. Contenders; Airfare Increases are Frightening; Is China Going too Far in a Push for Olympic Gold
Aired August 04, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up in our next half hour, we'll hear from John McCain talking about his energy plan.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And it is 7:00 here on the east coast. You're looking at the top stories now. Breaking this Monday morning, we're watching tropical Storm Edouard. Hurricane watches are now in effect along the coast of Louisiana and Texas. That means hurricane conditions are possible there within the next 36 hours. For more on the storm's path from our Reynolds Wolf in just a moment.
Barack Obama headed to the battleground state of Michigan today where he'll unveil new details about his energy policy. He's set to announce his new Energy for America plan in Lansing about 11:00 eastern time. Stay with CNN for live coverage of Obama's remarks.
And Iran missing an informal deadline on the controversial nuclear program this weekend. The U.S. and five other U.N. nations offered an incentives program in exchange for a freeze in activity. Instead, Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad held weekend talks with his Syrian counterpart, Bashir al Assad. During the Sunday press conference in Tehran, Ahmadinejad said he welcomed further talks with the West.
MARCIANO: Tropical storm now, the residents in Texas and Louisiana are gearing up for Edouard. Hurricane watches are posted along the coast and CNN is your hurricane headquarters.
Reynolds Wolf is tracking the storm from the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta.
What's the latest, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is amazing, Rob, just how fast this thing intensified over the last 24 hours or so. Currently, maximum sustained winds are 50 miles an hour. Notice the gusts you're going to see as we take the computer. Gust going to 65 miles per hour. You tack on just another nine miles per hour and, boom, this thing is a hurricane. That certainly is a possibility with the warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico.
As it stands, we currently have a tropical storm warning from Cameron, Louisiana, eastward to the mouth of the Mississippi. However, on the other side, you've got a hurricane watch from Cameron, Louisiana, back over to Ft. O'Connor, Texas. Those are areas we certainly are going to watch carefully for you.
The latest path from the national hurricane center shows the storm still moving west at nine, winds at 50, gusting at 65. The forecast brings it to winds at 70 miles an hour by 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, making landfall sometime tomorrow afternoon near Galveston. And then it moves onshore by the time we get to 2:00 a.m., Wednesday, winds around 35 and it would weaken to a tropical depression. Low center south of Austin and north of San Antonio near I-95. It could bring a great deal of rainfall to parts of Texas. Keep in mind, folks, Texas just dealing with a horrible, horrible droughts. This would be some good news.
However, you have to remember, Rob, the situation we have with all the oil platforms, very close to the coast. Right near Houston, right near Galveston. We certainly don't want to think about ordeal with, the strong winds and how it can batter a coastline. Not a good thing to see.
MARCIANO: Refineries as well as the platforms. We'll bring this in with minimal winds and decent amount of rain. That would be a good thing. Try to work on that for us.
WOLF: You bet, man.
MARCIANO: Thank, Reynolds.
Kiran?
CHETRY: We're learning now more about the man that federal officials say was at the center of the anthrax letter case. A former therapist says Bruce Ivins talked about going on a killing spree since he was about to be indicted on capital murder charges. Ivins killed himself last week as the FBI closed in.
CNN's Brianna Keilar tells us this all comes as more evidence against Ivins emerges -- Brianna?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran and Rob. CNN has learned from sources familiar with the investigation that there is DNA evidence linking the anthrax used in the 2001 mailings to a flask used in Bruce Ivins' army laboratory. We've also learned more about Ivins' troubling behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): As federal investigators drew closer to charging Bruce Ivins in connection with the anthrax attacks, his therapist, Jean Duley, told a Maryland judge in late July that she was scared to death of Ivins and sought a temporary restraining order against him.
In court tapes obtained by the "New York Times," Duley described a murder plot that troubled the scientist laid out in a group therapy session.
JEAN DULEY, IVINS' THERAPIST: That he had bought a bullet proof vest, had obtained a gun -- a very detailed plan to kill his co- workers -- that he was going to take everybody out with him.
KEILAR: After that therapy session, Duley started the process of having Ivins involuntarily committed in a mental health facility.
Many people are skeptical the FBI has got it right this time, especially after repeated mistakes throughout the seven-year investigation.
Jeffrey Adamovicz, a former bacteria chief who worked with Ivins for 12 years at Fort Detrick's biodefense lab, said it would have been nearly impossible for Ivins to pull off the attacks.
JEFFREY ADAMOVICZ, FORMER BACTERIA CHIEF: The labs were not equipped, for instance, with a lot of the equipment that would have been required to supposedly dry this material down and create the highly refined state that it was in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Sources familiar with the investigation say authorities may publicly released their evidence against Ivins as soon as this week and then go ahead and close the case. According to the sources that would happen after a federal judge unseals grand jury evidence and officials brief the families of those who were killed and injured in the 2001 attacks.
Kiran, Rob?
CHETRY: Brianna Keilar for us, thanks.
Coming up, we're going to hear more from Ivins' co-worker, Jeffrey Adamovicz. He will be joining us in 20 minutes.
MARCIANO: Kiran, there's a buzz about possible V.P. contenders on the most politics in the morning. More new names you may not have heard from, from a dark horse on the Democratic side to a relatively unknown figure on the Republican side.
CNN's White House correspondent, Ed Henry, has the latest on that hot topic, the veepstakes.
Ed, all right, who are you going to with?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rob. On the Democratic side, there's a lot of buzz about the possibility that Barack Obama might do it this week, before the Olympics, try to build some of that buzz. And eyebrows specifically this morning being raised about the fact that when you look at Obama's schedule on Wednesday, he will be in Indiana. That happens to be the home state of Evan Bayh, the senator there. He could be a fresh face, somebody that could underline Obama's change message in terms of trying to play in some of those so-called red or more conservative states that Democrats have had a hard time playing in.
The same could be said for the Virginia governor, Tim Kaine. A lot of talk about him as well. Virginia is a state that Obama wants to get into the Democratic column. Also Kaine is a Catholic. That's a key swing voting bloc that Obama wants to win. Joe Biden is still on that short list. He's somebody that could help Obama deal with the national security questions since John McCain is seen has having better credential there's. Chet Edwards is a new name you're talking about. He's a congressman from Texas, being pushed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as somebody who has sort of more moderate credentials. Finally, Kathleen Sibelius, another red state that Obama wants to turn blue. Also, if Obama does not pick a woman, in Senator Hillary Clinton, Sibelius is seen as another national figure that he could reach out to.
On the bottom line, on the Democratic side, the two names you hear the most are Bayh and Kaine. One slight edge that Bayh could have is that he's a former supporter of Hillary Clinton whereas Kaine has always been in the Obama camp. So if Obama wants to have sort of an olive branch out there, Bayh could be that person who went from Clinton to Obama.
MARCIANO: So Bayh and Kaine seem to be the front-runners. We talk about the short list getting shorter, but it seems to me like it continues to grow larger.
Who do you have for Senator McCain?
HENRY: On the Republican side, you mentioned a fresh face. A new name there, Eric Cantor, a Republican congressman from Virginia emerged as somebody who is getting a close vetting by the McCain camp. That could be good in terms of energy on the right. He's from Virginia. That could help McCain keep that state in the Republican column. He's also a Jewish Republican. He could help in other states like Florida.
The potential problem there, of course, is that Cantor, not as well-known on the national stage like, say, Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, a rival of John McCain's. What Romney would have going for him is the economy's a big issue. Romney, that's sort of in his bailiwick. Tim Pawlenty, the governor of Minnesota, he's talked about a lot as a fresh face. Portman in Ohio, a fresh face.
MARCIANO: Are you going to handicap any of these guys or is that going to get you in trouble?
HENRY: It probably would. But Romney obviously is a getting a lot of talk because of the economy but there's a lot of talk that McCain, after last week in some of the attacks, it would be helpful for him to have an attack dog whereas he could talk about more positive things that he would do. And Romney is certainly someone with that national name recognition.
MARCIANO: The most politics in the morning. Ed Henry, thanks for running that down.
HENRY: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, airfares are up sky high this summer. They're seeing their biggest jump in years, as high as 200 percent from a year ago. We're going to find out which routes are being -- are seeing the biggest fares, ahead.
MARCIANO: And you thought it was a serious campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD ANNOUNCER: But in 2008, the world will be blessed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Some of the new internet ads the McCain campaign is using to crack up voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD ANNOUNCER: Behold his mighty hand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: And why some critics say it's more than a little ironic. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Allan Chernoff last half hour was talking about nine cents a gallon gas. What's next? Nickel milk?
What do you have for us?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, if only that were happening to airfares. But, of course, you know we're seeing just the opposite. The news not nearly as good over there. In fact, the increases that we're seeing right now, the biggest in 25 years. Oh, my goodness. On average, about 15 percent increases this summer. But some of the increases? More than 200 percent.
"USA Today" asked a bunch of fare-compare organizations to have a look. And let's just sample some of these frightful increases.
First of all, if you live in Chicago, have a look at that. Up 276 percent to go just to Minneapolis. The price right now, $406. 408 miles separate those two cities. We're talking pretty much a buck a mile over there. Chicago to Charlotte, now you're going to pay $432. Atlanta to Boston, try $560. These are the, quote, unquote, "bargain fares, the discount fares." You don't even want to know what first class costs these days.
CHETRY: Oh, Rob knows.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: He puts it on the corporate credit card.
MARCIANO: It's just a corporate card. You know, the Chernoff family having a "stay-cation." You're talking about potentially not traveling. When I know big players like you are affected by these minuscule increases, I know it's big time.
CHERNOFF: I can assure you that the Chernoff twins are not going to the airport this summer.
CHETRY: Or you could really be brave, load up the minivan and drive to Disney. It'll take you, what, 24, 25 hours?
MARCIANO: You just threw him under the bus.
CHERNOFF: How about driving to Sesame Place. That's a lot closer to us.
CHETRY: And just as much fun, of course. Allan, thanks.
CHERNOFF: Thanks.
MARCIANO: Well, a therapist of Bruce Ivins testifies. She was afraid of him, so she took out a restraining order, calling the anthrax case suspect a homicidal killer.
Ahead, we'll talk with one of Ivins' former colleagues, who paints a very different picture of that man.
CHETRY: The incredible pressure to be the best.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The young people must do this for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Children as young as 6 years old pushed to the limit to win Olympic gold. What's behind this disturbing drive for perfection? You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: News out of Green Bay this morning. Cheese heads may very well be rejoicing. Brett Fare is back. The Green Bay...
CHETRY: Is that gray?
MARCIANO: Well, he's getting a little long on the tooth, that's for sure. The Green Bay great is heading to training camp with the Packers today. Favre was reinstated by NFL on Sunday. You may remember, he retired after last season. The Packers won't say if Favre will be able to compete for his old starting job at quarterback but the team's current first string leader, Aaron Rodgers, says he is ready for, quote, "a dogfight." It's going to be interesting.
CHETRY: How does that work? They were going to pay him millions of dollars to be there? MARCIANO: $20 million just to hang out and be nice and not play. He said, no, I want to play, so. He's a fierce competitor. I tell you what, off the quarterback position, that team is strong. They will definitely be top competitors. We'll see who starts of both of them.
CHETRY: He could make both of them go up to the plate even more than they would.
MARCIANO: The most sports in the morning right here on "AMERICAN MORNING."
CHETRY: Exactly. Well, looking online, here's your top videos right now. CNN.com most popular, these amazing pictures. An Alaskan couple witnessed a grizzly bear making a meal out of a moose calf right outside of their home. This is nature. Sorry. A reminder, the life or death struggle in the wild.
MARCIANO: It's survival of the fittest.
CHETRY: Caught on tape.
Well, from the don't-try-this-at-home file, a 12-year-old girl plummets 14 stories down the chimney of her New York apartment building. She survives. They say it was because of all the soot that had built up in there. It cushioned her fall. I think she made it out with just a broken hip. Miraculous. The firefighters said when they arrived they did not expect to find somebody alive and she made it.
MARCIANO: I guess there's a reason not to clean your chimney.
CHETRY: How about it?
Well, also, they came from across the globe with a dream and some yo-yos. Contestants from 22 countries at the world yo-yo contest in Orlando. There you see it. I don't know how the heck you can keep those strings from getting twisted, but pretty amazing. Those are the most popular videos on CNN.com.
You're watching the most news in the morning. And we're back in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Beijing bound. Team USA on its way to China. Some of the athletes gathered in San Francisco to pick up their official Team USA gear. The U.S. is sending 596 athletes competing in 30 sports. The opening ceremonies are this Friday.
Meantime, two dozen protesters clashed with police just south of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Protesters say they had been kicked out of their homes to make way for things like new stores and Starbucks. The neighborhoods have been part of the area since the 19th century, but many have been razed to make room for the Olympic tourists. CHETRY: The Olympic spirit hard to find in the next story. Children, some as young as 6 years old, their bodies put through physical rigors all in a quest for glory. Some are asking is China going too far in its push for Olympic gold.
CNN's John Vause has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Raw recruits in China's Olympic army. Children as young as six handpicked by the state for a remote chance to be national heroes.
Here they're pushed to their limits and sometimes beyond. Little girls barely old enough to walk to school, walking on their hands for three minutes. Then 60 sit-ups, balancing on bars.
Jun (ph) Yanyan's father says he pushes his little girl because sporting success can mean a life of ease of privilege, the likes he has never seen.
ZHANG LIANG, YANYAN'S FATHER (through translation): She's not very happy about the training, he says. She doesn't want to go. Her mother and I encourage her and she listens to us. And from there, the pressure only increases.
JOSEPH CAPOUSEK, FORMER COACH, CHINA CANOEING, KAYAKING: Everybody's taught here about second place or silver or bronze medal, you are loser.
VAUSE: Joseph Capousek was hired to coach China's canoeing and kayaking team. Over years, he guided Germany to 18 Olympic gold medals. but less than six weeks before the games, officials say he quit. He says he was fired for refusing to push his squad relentlessly seven days a week.
(on camera): More than 20 foreign coaches were hired by China to train their Olympic hopefuls. Recently, at least four have either quit or been fired, another reportedly stripped of all authority, while others speak privately at being berated for not running their programs like military camps.
That's an allegation Chinese officials have repeatedly denied in the past. But when asked for a comment by CNN, there was no response.
(voice-over): An indication of the pressure to do well, recently China's president made an unprecedented visit too many athletes, saying the nation was looking forward to good news.
While a recent study by a Beijing hospital found 14 percent of China's national divers had damaged retinas because of heavy training that doctors describe it as staggeringly high.
Basketball star Yao Ming will play despite suffering a stressed fracture in his foot several months ago. For the coach of Liu Shan (ph), the hurdler who became a national hero after winning gold in Athens, told state media last year government officials had warned, "If Liu cannot win another gold medal in Beijing, all his previous achievements will be meaningless."
These Olympics, with their splashy stadiums and minute attention to every detail are all about telling the world, we're here. And for China, it seems, nothing says that more than a record-breaking hall of Olympic gold, no matter the price.
John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Coming up, we're going to show you one American athlete whose training is paying off -- Michael Phelps and his quest to break the record for most gold medals.
MARCIANO: Envelopes filled with anthrax. They left the country reeling in the wake of 9/11 and now new evidence links those anthrax spores back to the lab of a government researcher who killed himself last week. But does that close the case? Next, we'll talk with a former colleague of Bruce Ivins.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. CNN has learned there's DNA evidence linking the anthrax mailings from 2001 to a flask in Bruce Ivins' army lab -- the government researcher who killed himself last week. But does this evidence prove he carried out those deadly attacks weeks after 9/11?
One former colleague says no. Jeffrey Adamovicz worked with him for 12 years. He joins me live now this morning from Maryland.
Good morning, Jeffrey. First off, let me express my condolences for the loss of your colleague. Let's talk about the case just a little bit. You know, the FBI says that he had access to the equipment, he had access to the flask, the spores. They said they have DNA evidence. Why do you feel so strongly that he didn't do it?
JEFFREY ADAMOVICZ, FORMER BRUCE IVINS COLLEAGUE: Well, Rob, you know, that's a good question. And I'm going to tell you, of course, it's my opinion that Bruce had nothing do with this. I think it's important to remember that, you know, this DNA evidence is likely to be tough to be proven to be associated with any sort of activities Bruce may have taken part in simply because Bruce Ivins was one of the people who was called upon in the early days of the investigation by the FBI and by the institute to work on evidentiary issues for the FBI.
MARCIANO: There's other things that have come out, aside from his access. His therapist -- he was in a number of therapy sessions. His therapist, Jean Duley, describes him as revenge killer. She said, in some court tapes, some pretty disturbing things. I'd like you to listen to that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DULEY: Because he was about to be indicted on capital murder charges, he was going to go out in a blaze of glory, that he was going to take everybody out with him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: She was so afraid that she had a restraining order taken out against him. What's your reaction to what she said?
ADAMOVICZ: Well, I mean, what she said was very damning and I hope that information can be corroborated because simply the -- some of the information that you didn't play on the tape that was played before that sequence was a very strange set of statements from Ms. Duley. She mentioned that he had been attempting to murder or murdering people since 2000. And frankly, you know, I mean, that would be shocking to anybody who knew Bruce. But certainly, it doesn't play very well because if, in fact, this was the case, why wasn't Bruce arrested years ago? It simply is very confusing to me. I'd like to see us get to the bottom of that. And...
MARCIANO: Well, she's not the only one, Jeffrey. Some other professionals, some other psychiatrists are saying that quote, unquote, "He's a homicidal sociopathic killer." They don't throw those terms around lightly. Do you think a number of them were misinformed about his diagnoses?
ADAMOVICZ: No, but I'll say this. I've heard this statement there are a number of psychiatrists who have made these claims but, in fact, that statement is only attributable to Ms. Duley. These psychiatrists need to come forward and substantiate these claims. I think this is what this is really all about. I think I really just want to see us get to the bottom of this and really present the evidence as opposed to this innuendo that's currently flying around.
MARCIANO: We should point out the FBI falsely accused another scientist and was later sued. So they may be a little trigger shy on that front.
Jeffrey, tell us, how well did you know him? When was the last time that you saw him?
ADAMOVICZ: I -- well, like I said, I knew Bruce for about 12 years. I spoke to him as recently as three weeks ago at a meeting at -- where Bruce continued to work at USAMRIID. And he seemed, you know, quite conversant and he was his old self. He was making sort of, you know, these sort of wise jokes that he made all the time and -
MARCIANO: So he wasn't homicidal or suicidal to you at all?
ADAMOVICZ: No, absolutely not. And again, those of us who have known Bruce have never seen that side of him. You know, it's very difficult for us to really get - wrap our heads around that concept that he had this in his personality. MARCIANO: Well, we're certainly again sorry for the loss and hopefully we'll get more answers to those questions as the FBI is telling us they're going to release this evidence as soon as this week. So, hopefully some of those questions will be answered.
Jeffrey Adamovicz, thank you very much for your time this morning.
ADAMOVICZ: Thank you, Rob.
CHETRY: Well, it's 7:30 here on the East Coast and stories topping the news this morning.
A mix of politics and sports as President Bush heads to Asia for the last time during his office. From the White House, Mr. Bush will speak at an Alaska Air Force base before heading to South Korea for talks on the north's nuclear program. And then on Friday, the President will attend the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing, becoming the first U.S. leader to attend an Olympics on foreign soil.
And we're also following "ISSUE #1" for you. The pain at the pump easing a bit. The national average for a gallon of regular gas down to $3.88 nationwide. Just a month ago the price was $4.10 a gallon. This is the 18th consecutive drop in prices.
And Nobel prize winning author, Alexander Solzhenitsyn has died at the age of 89. His books chronicled the horrors of the Soviet Union's labor camp. His family says he died of heart failure. His writings got him exiled from his homeland for 20 years.
Well, breaking this morning, we're watching tropical storm Edouard as it moves closer to Texas. CNN's Reynolds Wolf is tracking the storm from the weather center in Atlanta for us this morning.
Hi, Reynolds.
WOLF: Hi, Kiran.
Right now the latest we have on Edouard is that winds are currently 50, sustained winds are 50. However, there are some gusts with this system and they're going to about 65 miles an hour. And we already at this point have some tropical storm warnings that are in effect from New Orleans back towards the mouth of the Mississippi over to Cameron, Louisiana. But from Cameron, Louisiana, over to Port O'Connor, Texas, we currently have a hurricane watch that is in effect.
Now, the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center brings the storm a little bit more to the west at a rate of around nine miles per hour or so. Winds at 50, as I mentioned, gusting to 65. As you notice, with the forecast we do anticipate the storm to strengthen to 70 miles per hour by 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, making land fall at some point by Tuesday afternoon. And then once it comes onshore it should begin to weaken considerably.
By the time we get to Wednesday morning, early Wednesday morning it should be a tropical depression just south of Austin, just north of San Antonio. A big rain maker for much of the hill country. So that's going to be a real interesting thing. They could desperately use the rainfall in parts of Texas but they don't really need the wind damage. Obviously throughout parts of Galveston, of course, you've got the oil platforms out there. You certainly don't want that to happen. But certainly a possibility with these immense storms. Let's send it back to you, Kiran.
CHETRY: Reynolds Wolf, thanks.
WOLF: You bet.
MARCIANO: Well, Kiran, no one has ever confused John McCain for being as funny as Jerry Seinfeld but the republican presidential candidate is undeniably going after the laugh factor with some of his latest ads against Barack Obama.
But as Jim Acosta tells us, McCain himself might not even be able to watch the ads without a little help -- Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran and Rob, John McCain is injecting humor into this campaign, hoping to reach voters through their funny bones.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): John McCain's nickname was the Mack, long before he confessed he doesn't use a Mac or a PC.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Neither. I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance that I can get.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 2008 the world will be blessed.
ACOSTA: But don't delta to the people behind the web ads at McCain headquarters. The Arizona senator's TV and online spots comparing Barack Obama to everything from Britney Spears to Moses, yes, Moses, are more gags than ads.
ANA MARIE COX, WONKETTE FOUNDING EDITOR/"TIME" MAGAZINE: They are some of the most viewed videos on YouTube last week.
ACOSTA: Web columnist Ana Marie Cox a.k.a. "the Wonkette," says it's a serious attempt to use humor in a contentious race.
COX: I do think it's ironic that the McCain campaign it seems to be, you know, most in control of this particular medium.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the world shall we see his blessings.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This was the moment when the rise of the ocean began to fall and our planets began to heal.
MOSES: Behold his mighty hand. ACOSTA: This ad called "The One" mocks Obama as having a messiah complex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama.
MCCAIN: I wage a respectful campaign.
ACOSTA: The Democratic National Committee isn't laughing. It's latest ad accuses McCain of taking the low road. Political analyst, Larry Sabato sees an underdog gaining traction.
LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Republicans will say this is hilarious. They really got Obama here. Democrats will say, I disagree with the message but I have to admit this is clever. That's how you can tell when something has gone viral.
ACOSTA: For months it seemed Obama and the surrogates had all the YouTube buzz. Not anymore, says John McCain.
MCCAIN: You've got to have a sense of humor in this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But in general, the ads, the Paris Hilton, George Clooney ads are over?
MCCAIN: We will continue to have humor in our campaign.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: It's too early to tell whether these spots are having any affect on the polls but as long as these ads are circulating for free online at little cost to his campaign, John McCain will approve that message again and again. Kiran and Rob.
MARCIANO: Meantime, Paris Hilton's mother Kathy has come out blasting the McCain campaign for these celebrity ad mocking Obama. The ad compares Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. Hilton called it a waste of time and money.
CHETRY: And they would know.
Well, right now, Allan Chernoff is taking a look at gas prices for us, including a place where, is this really true, gas is 99 cents a gallon?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: You better believe it. That's why they were waiting an hour and a half yesterday and we'll tell you exactly where it all happened. Coming up on the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well most of us are paying four bucks a gallon for gas. There is one place that can help you out, I guess if you made it out there on a Sunday. And we're not talking church although a church is involved. CHERNOFF: We are talking church. And this was a religious experience for a lot of people.
MARCIANO: I bet.
CHERNOFF: At only 99 cents a gallon, that is. We're talking about the Liquid church which is a church in Morristown, New Jersey. Have a look at that line. People waited an hour and a half to gas up yesterday. But it was, yes, for 99 cents. This a church that normally holds services at the Hyatt Hotel in Morristown, New Jersey. They moved over to the Exxon Station nearby yesterday. Bought $15,000 worth of gas. And, yes, sold it for 99 cents a gallon. The pastor said, we just want to help everybody.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASTOR TIM LUCAS, THE LIQUID CHURCH: We have no agenda. We are not trying to convert people. We are not trying to, you know, make a political statement or anything. We literally are trying to say whether you drive a beat-up Honda or a showroom Hummer, god loves you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: And we love gas at $0.99 a gallon. Amen to that.
MARCIANO: Hallelujah, brother. How about that. I guess they took a loss of about $10,000?
CHERNOFF: They spent 15,000 bucks on this. I think they got more than $15,000 worth of publicity.
MARCIANO: Yes, certainly no question about that.
CHERNOFF: And this is a real pop culture type of a church. And, hey, you know, everybody appreciated, especially with gas right now at $3.88 a gallon. The average price across the nation.
MARCIANO: The pastor had a little bit of an Elvis look going on.
CHETRY: He looked like a mix between Elvis and Johnny Knoxville. So, I mean, hey, rock on.
MARCIANO: Daredevil and music at that church. Check it out. All right. Thanks, Allan.
Well, on the campaign trail, talks turned to energy. You heard what Barack Obama had to say on the subject earlier in this hour. But next, in his own words, John McCain explains his energy plan.
CHETRY: And going for gold in a big way. Coming up we're going to show you how American swimmer Michael Phelps is prepare to break the record for the most gold medals ever won.
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MARCIANO: Welcome back to the most politics in the morning. It is October 4th, exactly three months until election day. And we want to give you all the information you need before you pick a candidate. So every day we're playing extended clips of the candidates in their own words on the issues. Here's John McCain talking about his energy plan.
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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ...to get our economy running at full strength again, we'll need to stay focused on creating jobs for our people, protecting paychecks from the rising cost of food, gasoline, and almost everything else. Above all, we need to get a handle on the cost of oil and gasoline, and regain energy independence for the United States of America.
All across our country - all across our country people are hurting. Small farmers, truckers, taxi drivers, unable to cover their costs. Small business owners are struggling to meet their payrolls. The cost of living and the value of paychecks is falling. Yet, even now, with the price of gasoline still around $4 per gallon, the Congress has done exactly nothing. And guess what, they just decided to take a month off and do nothing.
Most Americans understand that producing more of something will lower its price. And if I'm elected president, this nation will move quickly to increase our own energy production. Last month - last month the President finally lifted the executive ban on offshore oil and gas exploration and called on Congress to lift its ban as well. Lifting that ban could seriously lower the price of oil and Congress should get it done immediately and should have done it before they left town.
We need to drill more, drill now, and pay less at the pump. Drill now, pay less at the pump. Under my energy plan, the Lexington Project, we will also make use of America's vast coal reserves. As president, I will commit this nation to a concerted effort to make clean coal a reality and create jobs in some of the most hard-pressed regions of this country. And America will pursue the goal of building 45 nuclear power plants before 2030, which would generate not only much-needed electricity but some 700,000 jobs as well.
We will accelerate the development of wind and solar power and other renewable technologies, and we'll help automakers design and sell cars that don't depend on gasoline. Production of hybrid flex fuel and electric cars will bring America closer to energy independence and it will bring jobs to auto plants, parts manufacturers and the communities that support them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: And coming up in our next half hour, we'll hear from Barack Obama. This time the democrat will talk about the race or his race and the presidential election.
CHETRY: Well, a one-time contender now a member of the McCain faithful. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to be speaking to Mitt Romney. Is the republican in the running to be vice president and what about McCain's plan to solve the energy crisis? We're going to talk to Mitt Romney about it, coming up.
And he was one of the targets of the 2001 anthrax letter attacks. Coming up, we'll be talking to former Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle. We'll ask him why he's still angry at the government for keeping quiet about this case for seven years.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Beijing putting the finishing touches on its Olympic preparations. The countdown clock in Tiananmen Square ticking off the seconds until Friday's opening ceremonies. Almost 11,000 athletes will be competing this year.
And one American swimmer Michael Phelps takes to the water in Beijing he will have a chance to break two big records. Most gold medals in one Olympic and most gold medals in an entire career. As Larry Smith shows us, it's the hard earned results of a lifetime of training.
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LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is much like the elements he works in, calm, cool and clear about what he's attempting to do. Only when he rips into the water do the waves start.
MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIC SWIMMING GOLD MEDALIST: I want to do things that no one else in the sport has done.
SMITH: Michael Phelps has already done lots of things. Six Olympic gold medals, 17 world championships, 20 world records and he's just 23.
NATALIE COUGHLIN, OLYMPIC SWIMMING GOLD MEDALIST: We're not even realizing what an incredible athlete he is. Like, obviously he's amazing. He breaks all these world records, but I think being a part of that, we almost take it for granted.
BOB BOWMAN, PHELPS SWIMMING COACH: It will remain to be where history ultimately places him, but clearly today he's the best swimmer we've seen.
SMITH: Bowman began coaching Phelps as an 11-year-old who had trouble focusing but none finding trouble.
BOWMAN: He's very active, never stopped moving and it's kind of hard to harness that at first. It's a little bit counterintuitive, because even though he was so rambunctious as a young swimmer when he raced he was very focused.
PHELPS: I always had dreams of being an Olympian, being a world record holder, being a professional athlete, and being a gold medalist. And I had to focus on those goals to achieve them, I knew that. And I think I just started focusing.
SMITH: Swimming nearly four miles per workout and often twice daily practices with hardly a day off will focus you. Although it is just that kind of intense work that may have cost Phelps much of his childhood.
BOWMAN: I think he's missed out on sort of maybe a normal progression of things, but I wouldn't say that he's missed anything. I would say that he would tell you what he's gained is a lot better than what he's missed.
PHELPS: I would never trade going to the Olympic games and standing atop of the medial podium or, you know, being able to turn professional or, you know, travel all over the world. I'd never turn that in. So, to me it was worth to it give it up.
SMITH: Now, he finds himself about to dive into history. Phelps has the opportunity to break the Olympics' most hallowed record and eclipse Mark Spitz's gold medals in the 1972 games. Even if he gets gold in just half the events he entered, Phelps will have the record for most gold medals in Olympic history and could plainly be called the greatest Olympian ever.
PHELPS: There's a lot of things people haven't done and you know, I want to change the sport. And you know, to be the first person to do these things.
SMITH: He spends so much time with his head underwater, who can blame him if he likes to stick it in the clouds as well. Larry Smith, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Going negative. Are the new ads from John McCain crossing the line after promises to run a clean campaign?
Plus, a vice presidential short list. We'll talk with the potential front runner, Mitt Romney.
And Tom Daschle, one of the first people targeted with an anthrax letter speaking out live on AMERICAN MORNING. Why he's so angry with the investigation.
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TOM DASCHLE, FMR. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I'm angered by the fact that we've been so left out in the dark.
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CHETRY: The former Senate majority leader joins us, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: No need to rush but a lot of people are wondering when the candidates are going to pick their running mates and which candidate can solve the energy crisis? Plus after two eyebrow-raising ads from the McCain camp is this race going negative? All great questions for McCain supporter and former republican candidate Mitt Romney. He joins us live from Boston this morning, the former governor, great to see you this morning. Thanks for being with us.
MITT ROMNEY, MCCAIN SUPPORTER: Thank you, Kiran. Great to be with you.
CHETRY: Senator Obama is in your home state of Michigan, by the way, where he will outline his energy plan and the campaign also released this ad criticizing Senator McCain on the issue. Let's look at a little bit of it.
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SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every energy expert that I've spoken with will tell you that with three percent of the world's oil reserves and 25 percent of the world's oil utilization we can keep on drilling all we want, but the long-term trend is for flat or decreasing oil supply, and increased consumption.
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CHETRY: Hey, it's a Monday morning. Bear with us, Governor Romney. That's not the ad that's what Senator Obama was saying on the stump this weekend, though. He's saying that even if we do offshore drilling now, we're not going to see any long-term relief because of it. Your response?
ROMNEY: Well, first of all, I think he laid out a key cornerstone of his energy plan when he said that we can rid ourselves of our dependence on foreign oil by simply inflating our tires and tuning up our engines. And I don't think Pollyanna answers are go to solve our energy needs. What Americans are going to have to do is take advantage of every single source of additional energy. That means nuclear power plants, it means more coal, it means more natural gas and it means more drilling offshore. It means all of the above as well as all the alternative sources. So John McCain and Barack Obama are for the same series of energy policies, but John McCain adds a whole additional array of energy sources and that's why John McCain's plan gets us to a point of lower energy costs and energy independence and Barack Obama simply doesn't.
CHETRY: All right, let's listen to a little bit of the ad. We have it now.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time you fill your tank, the oil companies fill their pockets. Now, big oil's filling John McCain's campaign with $2 million in contributions, because instead of taxing their windfall profits to help drivers, McCain wants to give them another $4 billion in tax breaks. After one president in the pocket of big oil, we can't afford another.
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CHETRY: Your response? ROMNEY: Well, that's really sad. I didn't - I didn't know that Barack Obama had stooped to dishonesty. You know, pointing out weaknesses in other people's campaigns or positions is also fair game, but that's dishonest, as you know. First of all, corporations don't give, are not allowed to give contributions to candidates and employees of oil companies give to Barack Obama as well as to John McCain.
So, that's part number one that's dishonest. And, number two, John McCain doesn't ask for any tax reduction for oil companies. And there's no special deal going to oil companies. He's asking to reduce taxes on oil corporations to help build our economy and strengthen jobs as well as reducing taxes on individuals. So, it's simply dishonest as well as below the belt.
CHETRY: Just to clarify according to "The Washington Post," oil and gas industry executives and employees donated $1.1 million to John McCain's campaign last month. So, I think that's what he's referring to in that ad.
But I do want to ask you about the -
ROMNEY: But what you don't point out is they also - employees and executives of the oil companies also gave money to Barack Obama and to suggest that they only gave to John McCain is dishonest. There's no indication that that's the case. In fact, individuals can give to candidates of both parties and they regularly do.
CHETRY: Right. Well, let me just ask you about this. Because if John McCain became president, he wants to lower the corporate tax rate by 10 percent. So 35 percent down to 25 percent and that would include companies like Big Oil, like Exxon Mobil who took in $12 billion last quarter alone.
How do you explain that to the everyday Joe who is seeing a larger chunk of their paycheck taken up by high gas prices and these oil companies are going to see more money in their pockets while the average guy is seeing less?
ROMNEY: Well, first of all, he's lowering taxes for all corporations in America to help make us more competitive with other nations of the world where corporations are going, because we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world next to Japan. So, he's trying to build our economy and create more jobs and he's not singling out any one company or another. Second thing is, where do you think those profits go?
The oil company executives have already been paid before the profits are reported. Those profits go to all the shareholders, all the retirees, all the mutual funds, it's the American people. And those profits also go to build new alternative energy sources and drill for oil. So, let's not get too attacking. Let's instead focus on how we become energy independent and get those gas prices down, short term and long term.
CHETRY: All right, speaking of attacking. Some of the ads coming from the McCain camp had gone a little bit negative against Barack Obama.
Let's take a look at the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to fall and our planet began to heal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Behold his mighty hand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Barack Obama to Moses. There you see it.
At the beginning of this campaign though, John McCain said, I want to run an above board respectful campaign.
Is he going back on his pledge by some of these ads that are out there?
ROMNEY: You know, I've always considered humor to be a great way to make a good point. And you know, the Barack Obama ad that's been released, with the false information is dishonest.
John McCain's is humorous and it hits the nail on the head. Barack Obama's like an internet date. He looked pretty good while we were just listening to him. But, when you look behind who he really is, what he stands for, I think the American people are saying, look, he made be a celebrity. He may give a great speech. But when it comes to something like energy independence, he just doesn't have a plan to get the costs of energy down and to get America energy independent.
CHETRY: All right.
Well, before we let you go, it's no secret you're at the top of the V.P. short list for John McCain.
How would you help McCain win in November, if you're picked?
ROMNEY: Well, I really don't have an answer to that because frankly, I expect to be supporting the ticket, campaigning for the ticket. But, I don't plan on being part of the ticket.
I really think that John McCain has some terrific people to choose from and I don't expect to be that guy.
CHETRY: All right. You still may be. You're being nice about it right now. But you may be.
So, thanks so much for being with us. It's always great to have you on the show.
Governor Mitt Romney, thanks.
ROMNEY: Thanks, Kiran.
