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American Morning
Hillary Clinton in Korea; Netanyahu to Form New Israeli Government; Penatagon Missing Weapons; General In Afghanistan Pushes For Long-Term Troops
Aired February 20, 2009 - 06:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Fifty-eight minutes past the hour. We have some breaking news right now on the future of the Middle East. Israeli President Shimon Peres has picked right-wing Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form the next Israeli government. He, of course, a former prime minister, himself, he has six weeks to do that and it puts him in line to be the next prime minister. He will have to work with the Kadima Party Leader, Tzipi Livni. Kadima actually won one more seat in parliament but neither party earned the majority in the recent elections.
And the Pentagon may have lost thousands of extra machine guns, armored vehicles and other military equipment. That according to an internal report from the Defense Department. In fact, one top official says that some of the military stash was given to unauthorized countries between October of 2001 and March of 2006, jeopardizing national security. That report points the failures by both the navy and the air force, but found that the army was not at fault.
And an actor who played a steroid dealer in the Oscar-nominated film "The Wrestler" has been charged for being the real deal. Police say that Scott Siegel was nabbed after a dangerous car chase, smashing through a fence and ramming three police cars and two D.E.A. cars. Prosecutor say that 1,500 bottles labeled as anabolic steroids and tens of thousands of dollars were found during their investigation.
And turning now to breaking news. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talking one-on-one with CNN and scolding North Korea in the process. Secretary Clinton is warning Pyongyang to stop its proactive -- provocative act and says its war of words with South Korea will not help ease tensions with Washington.
And this morning, South Korea has its own warning, saying it's ready to respond and to attack Pyongyang's launch sites if its ships come under attack. The north already proclaiming its, quote, "fully ready for war," so a lot of tension in the region and the nation's top diplomat telling CNN that North Korea is at a crucial crossroads.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: What is clear from the six-party process over the last years is that when North Korea decides to cooperate and make agreements, that it believes are in the furtherance of its own interest, it will do so. And when it doesn't, it is always seeking advantage and it uses, you know, provocative words and threatened actions to try to get attention, in order to, you know, make a deal in some way. You know, food and fuel and other kinds of assets. I mean, South Korea basically, you know, keeps the North Korean economy going with all of the subsidies of food and fuel and medical supplies, and the like. So I think it's calculated and I think you have to respond in-kind, as you look at the behavior of the day, the week, the month and the year.
Now, if North Korea is calculating that somehow they're going to drive a wedge between the United States and the Republic of Korea, they're badly miscalculating. Our alliance is stronger than ever and it's not only about our mutual security, but it's also about how we're going to deal with the global economy, and so much else. So I think that there's a testing period and a kind of, you know, wait and see attitude about how this is going to move forward. And we're hoping that North Korea will see its way clear to reengage. And as I've said repeatedly, if we can get to the point where denuclearization is verifiable and complete, there are tremendous advantages waiting for North Korea, not only a bilateral, normal relationship with the United States, but I think a lot of international support and aid that could come to the people of North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Again, that was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talking with our own Jill Dougherty. We'll have more of the interview throughout the morning.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: We turn to breaking news this morning, in financial news from Asia to Europe, red arrows plaguing the markets. Japan's Nikkei fell sharply during overnight trade, nearing a quarter of a century low. Hong Kong's Hang Sang lost more than 2 percent. In London the FTSE dropped below 4,000 points, the lowest level in three months. Bourses (ph) in Frankfurt, also in the red. Dow futures showing a negative start on Wall Street this morning. Steph Elam is "Minding Your Business" this morning. And Stephanie the markets are back where they were seven years ago now. What does this mean for folks at home, and where is all this headed?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. It's basically showing here that recession fears, we thought maybe they'd calmed just a tad, not really happening.
If you take a look at these numbers you can see that people thought maybe in November last year, we had finally found the bottom of the market? Not the case. We're now back at lows of the previous bear market. So, if you take a look at how much has happened here, you can see some changes. We're also on the Dow off about 47 percent from their all-time highs, which were hit in October of '07. Going back some while ago. It's already '09.
We're taking a look at this. Really the fear here is that all of the things that the Obama administration has put out, these last few plans coming out, the stimulus, this hope to -- the moratorium on foreclosures, helping people stay in their homes, all of these plans coming out, not being enough to help the global economy. That's the fear here. The recession really started here. Other countries now are in recession and the fear being that perhaps this will not be enough to help hold the entire globe back up on its feet. That's what we're looking at now. And that is the reason why so many will be paying attention to what happens here. Overseas markets feeling that jitter so we'll be keeping our eyes on the markets today to see what happens, John and Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Stephanie.
ELAM: Sure.
CHETRY: This just in to CNN. We have breaking news now from the Pentagon, a request for extra troops in Afghanistan for up to five more years. Our Barbara Starr has been working the story this morning.
Barbara, tell us more about what you've learned.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's go back to a couple of days, Kiran.
You know, General David McKiernan was here in the Pentagon, held a nearly one-hour press conference, quite unusual here, to talk about those extra troops he wanted for Afghanistan, that indeed President Obama has now authorized, 17,000 troops. What General McKiernan said got a lot of attention. He said he recommends that he's going to need these extra troops for up to five years. Since then we are now seeing push back from officials here at the Pentagon and at the White House, saying not so fast. They're not ready to commit to five years. That the White House needs to conduct a review of its strategy in Afghanistan.
Secretary Gates traveling in NATO, even saying not so fast, he's not quite ready to sign up to five years, or words to that effect. He has been in NATO trying to get more troops from the NATO alliance. That is not going well, but what is happening now basically is General McKiernan putting his card on the table, five years, and not really backing off of that. That may box the Obama White House in. Because, of course, the president says he listens to his top commanders and now his top commanders is saying what he really thinks he needs to get the job done, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Barbara Starr for us this morning we'll follow that again throughout the morning. Thanks so much.
Meantime again, John, the top commander in Afghanistan saying that he does expect it to be a tough year ahead.
ROBERTS: Yes, and there's a lot of people saying that the United States is going to have it tough in Afghanistan. Remember the "Newsweek" magazine cover called it Obama's Vietnam. As well there are people who are saying the situation in Iraq is going to continue to be tough. Noted Pentagon Correspondent Tom Ricks is the author of a new book called "The Gamble" And he joins us now, this morning, from Washington.
Tom, it's good to see you. Let me is ask you, first of all, on the issue of troops to Afghanistan, 17,000, David McKiernan saying he wants to have them there for five years, getting some push back now from the secretary, Mr. Gates. And McKiernan wanted 10,000 more troops. Is this surge, I guess, in Afghanistan going to be enough?
TOM RICKS, SPECIAL MILITARY CORRESPONDENT, AUTHOR, "THE GAMBLE": No one knows because we don't have a strategy yet. I think what you're seeing is the U.S. military telling the new president, this thing is going to take longer than you think, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think they think that Obama's promise to get combat troops out of Iraq is not a departure from President Bush but simply follows in the failed footsteps of being overoptimistic about how quickly you can get things done in either war.
ROBERTS: You suggest in your new book, Tom, the president is going to be torn between what his supporters expect and what his generals advise. How do you think that is going to affect the situation on the ground both in Iraq and Afghanistan?
RICKS: Well I think a lot of people voted for Obama, thinking he was going to get all U.S. forces out of Iraq. And that simply is not going to happen any time soon. In fact, the conclusion in my book is that we may be only half way through this war. In fact, the last line of the book quotes Ambassador Crocker, our top diplomat in Iraq, saying the events for which the Iraq war will be remembered have not yet happened.
ROBERTS: You also predicted President Obama's first year in Iraq is going to be tougher than President Bush's last year in Iraq. Why do you believe it will be tougher?
RICKS: Well, there are a lot of signs of that. This is something I picked up on my last trip in Baghdad. We're trying to cut troop levels there, at the same time we're trying to hold elections in Iraq, three rounds this year, which are destabilizing. And really, the surge failed. Its purpose was to lead to hay political breakthrough. It improved security but didn't achieve that larger purpose. And because of that, none of the basic questions in Iraq have been addressed, have been solved. How do you share oil revenue? What is the relationship between the major groups? Is it going to be a strong central government or a loose confederation? None of the issues have been figured out yet.
ROBERTS: Let me come back to that issue of elections. You said three rounds of elections planned for this year, the first one was conducted at the end of January. That one seemed to go pretty smoothly.
RICKS: Yes, well, so did the purple election a couple of years ago. What followed that six months later? A small civil war. There are still people who predict Iraq will have a civil war that, all the surge did was kick the can down the road a couple of years. Whether that's true or not, we don't know. But we do know that one of the basic questions facing Iraq have been solved and the fewer American troops we have there, the less influence you have.
Also, this year, if you pull down American troops, the more you take out, the riskier it becomes. The first troops you take out, you pull out of the more secure areas, where you trust Iraqi forces more. But at the end of this year, General Odierno says in my book, you are start getting to the riskier, dangerous ones, where they really aren't comfortable. And I think that's another point of friction between you'll see between Obama and his generals.
ROBERTS: You know, Barbara Starr, just a moment ago, was talking about the friction between General McKiernan in Afghanistan and Secretary Gates. We know that General Odierno said - in terms of the 16-month timetable for pulling out troops that the president would like to follow - while we might be able to get three brigades out within six months, it won't be until the end of the year until we know whether we can have significant draw downs.
And we all remember, the last summer, and that meeting that meeting that then-candidate Obama had with General David Petraeus, who is now the Cent Com commander in charge of both Iraq and Afghanistan, you write about that in your book and you say it was a contentious meeting.
RICKS: It's funny because they are surprisingly similar guys. They're lean, smart, ambitious, a little bit more cooler, remote, cerebral, than a lot of their peers. And they basically agree on Iraq. But it was a surprisingly contentious meeting, as you say, because Petraeus felt at congressional hearings Obama hadn't really heard him out. And so when Obama was in Baghdad, on Petraeus' turf, Petraeus basically lectured him for 90 minutes on the nature of Iraq.
ROBERTS: Wow, so it was sort of, let me sit you down and tell you what the situation here is, Senator?
RICKS: Yes, rather than having a calm, quiet conversation. It was here are the facts of the case and you're going to sit down and hear them.
ROBERTS: Interesting dynamic that we say see manifesting itself as we go forward. Tom Ricks, great to see you this morning. Congratulations on the new book. It's called "The Gamble", by the way.
RICKS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Tom, thanks.
CHETRY: Well, the search for the man they're calling Mini Madoff is over this morning. How the feds tracked down the many who may have bilked investors out of billions and whether or not they'll ever find the money.
Also, breaking right now, a change in Israel, hard-line leader Benjamin Netanyahu has been picked just within the hour, now, to form a new government there. What this means for the future of Israeli politics. New details on that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. The search for the man they called Mini Madoff is over. The feds caught up to Alan Stanford in Virginia and served him court papers. He's connected to an $8 billion fraud scheme. His alleged victims actually lined up outside of failed banks across the hemisphere yesterday, coming home empty handed, their accounts frozen, and no money released.
Can you just imagine what it must be like standing in line like that?
Authorities say no one but Stanford and the bank's chief financial officer knows even knows where this cash went. And apparently it was hard for a man who lived so large to disappear. CNN's Randi Kaye has more on the alleged scam, and how the feds eventually caught up to him.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, Alan Stanford's personal fortune was estimated at more than $2 billion. So why did this Texas mogul allegedly swindle investors out of billions more?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice over): His personal fortune was estimated at more than $2 billion. So why did this Texas mogul allegedly swindle investors out of billions more? The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses him of a scheme that promised, quote, "improbable and unsubstantiated high interest rates."
(On camera): The commission says Stanford's bank also fabricated historical return data to prey on investors. Stanford boasted a unique investment strategy, which supposedly allowed for double-digit returns, no matter the market. Outside Stanford's U.S. headquarters in Houston, investor shock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so upset right now I can't even talk about it.
KAYE (voice over): Federal investigators have frozen the company's assets and hauled away boxes of documents; investors around the world trying to rescue their money from Antigua to Venezuela to Mexico. As one SEC official put it, "we are alleging a fraud of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world."
These former Stanford employees left the company in 2007 because they didn't like what they say they saw going on.
(On camera): What was allegedly on at Stanford that you didn't seem right to you?
CHARLES RAWL, FMR. STANFORD EMPLOYEE: Our clients were not receiving the returns that the literature says they were receiving. That was disturbing.
KAYE: Are you surprised at all by the charges now against Stanford?
MARK TIDWELL, FMR. STANFORD EMPLOYEE: I'm shocked. I didn't realize the depth of the problems.
KAYE (voice over): Both were interviewed by federal agents last year. So who was in charge of keeping Stanford's books? This tiny one- man firm in London, just above a fish and chips shop is where Stanford's multibillion-dollar portfolio was supposedly audited.
Stanford liked to mix with politicians. This video on his company web site shows him at last year's Democratic convention. He gave more than $200,000 to the Democrats' congressional campaign committee last year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Of that money, Barack Obama got nearly $32,000, John McCain more than $28,000. Both have given that money to charity. But in the last decade or so, Stanford and his businesses donated more than $2 million as political contributions.
John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: You can bet a lot of people are going back through their files, now saying, where is that money?
CHETRY: Can you just imagine? I mean, people actually flew to Antigua and other places waiting in line at these banks hoping to get their money back.
ROBERTS: The prime minister immediately says there's no reason to panic. And I heard that the other day, and I thought, well, does he really know?
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Because maybe there is reason to panic.
CHETRY: Yes.
We're going to take a quick break. It's 15 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice over): First, Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed to feel America's pain.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The American people are feeling a great deal of pain.
CHETRY: Then she joined a big delegation of Democrats and flew off to Italy, on an executive jet with her husband. And wait 'til you hear what a trip like this costs, at a time like this, is it appropriate? What CNN's Special Investigations Unit uncovered, ahead on the most news in the morning. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 19 minutes after the hour. Let's "Fast Forward" to stories that will be making news later on today on CNN and CNN.com.
Hundreds of investors who lost money in Bernard Madoff's alleged $50-billion Ponzi scheme will pack a federal bankruptcy court in New York. They're hoping to find out when they might recoup some of their lost fortune. Right now Bernard Madoff remains under house arrest in his Park Avenue apartment.
After a week of wrangling between state lawmakers, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to sign a state budget later on today with the aim of closing the state's $42 billion deficit. And the plan has two things that no one wants, almost $13 billion in tax hikes, and more than $15 billion in budget cuts.
And this morning, at the White House, President Obama and Vice President Biden are meeting with dozens of mayors from across the country. The mayors are low on cash. They've got a lot of construction to do and they'll all be jockeying for a piece of that stimulus money. That big pie, billions of dollars worth.
It comes on the heels of President Obama's trip to Canada yesterday. While there, Mr. Obama took time to praise Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his country's commitments to the war in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I certainly did not press the prime minister on any additional commitments beyond the ones that have already been made. All I did was to compliment Canada.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Suzanne Malveaux is live for us at the White House today. And President Obama striking a tone we didn't really hear in the Bush years. But still some tensions between the U.S. and Canada, particularly over this idea of renegotiating NAFTA and then the "Buy American" clause in the stimulus bill.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, you're absolutely right. There are a lot of sticking points between these two leaders. But you really are getting a different kind of tone from this president. Back when President Bush is meeting with Stephen Harper, the prime minister, these two leaders, they had a lot more in common with their conservative views and their parties. But what President Obama is trying to do is simply show the rest of the world, setting the stage, that this is going to be a more nuanced and diplomatic way of doing business. That you're not going to get these kind of public ultimatums.
We know that the president wants more cooperation from NATO allies. We know that he would love to have those Canadian troops stay longer than 2011, but it's just not a place where he is going to go. It really is a signal to the rest of the world, not just Canada, but all of those other leaders who watching yesterday. How are you going to deal with me? He wants to show them that it's going to be diplomatic and respectful, John.
ROBERTS: Suzanne, though, the Canadian prime minister being stern with the new president saying that we expect the United States to live up to its agreements but on the overall, you and I were both at the meeting that the president had with the Canadian Prime Minister Chretien, back in 2001, you watched this visit very closely. How was this one different than that 2001 visit by President Bush?
MALVEAUX: Well, certainly it was amazingly different because you had thousands of people this time around who lined the streets at the parliament. They just couldn't get enough of Barack Obama. Before we had protests for President Bush; he didn't go to a lot of places. It was really kind of staying away from some folks, he was very unpopular.
But yesterday they even had to change their schedule. They didn't have anything that was public that was scheduled. He ended up going to a farmer's market, buying a key chain, and what they call a beaver tail, this kind of flattened doughnut. And one of the bakers, I understand, a bakery actually name it an Obama tail, one of these doughnuts, here.
It reminds me more of actually the Clinton days, when you and I covered Clinton, and we were in Africa. And there were thousands of people who were lining the streets, just couldn't get enough of him. That's the same kind of thing you're seeing with this president.
ROBERTS: I remember Clinton's visit to Oslo, when he was traveling up to the palace, and people were lining the streets four, five deep. It was a pretty incredible scene.
MALVEAUX: Right, pretty amazing.
ROBERTS: It's a shame, though, that he didn't spend more than seven hours there. There's a lot to see in the Ottawa Hall area, besides just the beaver tails.
(LAUGHTER)
MALVEAUX: You're absolutely right. And he probably could have seen a lot more Canadians who are very anxious to get a glimpse of him. He has an 82 percent approval rating in that country. More so, higher than, here, so really kind of an incredible situation.
ROBERTS: And while beaver tails are tasty, it's probably the most unhealthy thing he's eaten in the last six month.
MALVEAUX: He actually didn't eat it. He bought it, but he didn't eat it.
ROBERTS: Gotcha. Suzanne Malveaux, it's great to see you this morning. Thanks. Kiran.
CHETRY: Can't say I blame him.
Controversy over a $200,000 flight to Italy. Key Democrats, like Nancy Pelosi, went aboard. We're going to have more on whether or not this was appropriate. CNN Special Investigations Unit uncovered it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
You know, just days after helping President Obama pass the $787- billion economic stimulus bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several other Democrats headed to Italy, on your dime. Special Investigations Unit Correspondent Drew Griffin is looking into this pricey overseas excursion. He joins us this morning.
Hey, Drew.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SP. INVESTIGATION UNIT: Hi, Kiran.
You know, after so much congressional criticism of executive travel and what members of Congress, remember, were calling junkets by Wall Street bankers, some are asking if Congress isn't engaging in a, "do as I say, not as I do" attitude when it comes to taxpayer-funded travel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN (voice over): Shortly after passing the Reinvestment & Recovery Act and shortly after making this statement about struggling Americans.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The American people are feeling a great deal of pain.
GRIFFIN: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and seven fellow Democrats in the House, boarded a military charter like this government-owned Boeing 737 executive jet and flew off to Italy.
Why, in a time of economic crisis would the speaker, who happens to be of Italian heritage, travel to Italy? The United States has no greater ally in NATO than Italy, the speaker said, in a statement, "which is why the delegation looks forward to meeting with President Giorgio Napolitano" and other Italian government officials.
She also has been going to museums in Florence, receptions at night, and was even presented with the birth certificates of her grandparents by the head of the Italian chamber of deputies.
PELOSI: Surprised me with the birth certificate of my grandfather, and my great grandmother.
GRIFFIN: Wednesday, Speaker Pelosi, a Roman Catholic, and her husband, Paul, also on the trip, had a private audience with the pope. Her office would not release the entire Italian itinerary of the all- Democratic delegation, due to security reasons.
So what's the cost of her Italian trip to the taxpayers back home? We won't know yet. Congress gives its traveling members several weeks to file their expenses, to tell us what hotels they stayed in, to tell us who took their spouses, or staff. But the government-owned Boeing executive jet doesn't fly cheap, about $10,000 an hour, according to the Air Force; 20 hours flying between Washington and Italy adds up to about $200,000. That is interesting news to the president of the U.S. Travel Association. For weeks now, Congress has chastised banks and bailout recipients for unnecessary trips and conferences. And Roger Dow says that has hurt the travel industry.
ROGER DOW, U.S. TRAVEL ASSOCIATON: By demonizing or sensationalizing travel, all you're doing is -- you're not hurting the businessman, you're hurting the bellman, the maid, the town that counts on that travel for taxes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFIIN: And, Kiran, right now there's no shortage of congressional trips going on. One in Gaza, another in Brussels and Paris and CNN caught a group of six House members on their way to India last Friday. They were going to mark the 50th anniversary of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.'s journey to study Gandhi; on that trip, Martin Luther King III, Andrew Young, musician Herbie Hancock and others. Both the U.S. State Department and Congress picking up the bill for that India trip. You know, Martin Luther King III, who along with his siblings, sold his father's papers for $32 million two years ago? Was a guest of the State Department. He called it the trip of a lifetime.
Kiran, the travel industry is saying hey, if it's good for you, Congress, maybe some of our executive trips are worth going on as well - Kiran.
CHETRY: Right, because it's up for debate. Are these just desires just to get to see these exotic locations, or is there real business of the country being done? And how do you determine that?
GRIFFIN: Yeah. And that, I think, the critics say is a hard sell at a time when the country itself is in such economic turmoil. Why aren't these congressional members back in their districts trying to help other constituents through foreclosures, through unemployment, et cetera. Instead they are flying to Italy and India.
CHETRY: Great stuff. Drew Griffin, always great to hear your pieces. Thanks.
GRIFFIN: Thanks, Kiran.
ROBERTS: Coming up now on the half hour. And breaking news this morning, disturbing news that Iran could be close to having a nuclear weapon, or at least the raw materials to make one. Scientists that looked at U.N. data say Iran has reached, quote, "nuclear breakout capability". That means that they have enough fuel to build a single bomb. But officials say major obstacles remain in building a nuclear weapon.
More breaking news in what could be a major blow for the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan. The country of Kyrgyzstan says the United States has six months to leave its base on its soil. It's U.S. military's only base in Central Asia and it's a major re-supply hub for the war with Afghanistan. The U.S. says its still working with the country to keep the operation open.
Swedish carmaker Saab announcing plans to file for reorganization and completely break away from General Motors. Under Swedish law, a third party will work with Saab's management team to work out the re- organization details. Saab says it is expecting business as usual during the transition.
And former Bush White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer sat down with our D.L. Hughley for this weekend's episode of "D.L. Hughley breaks the News." Fleischer has very for President Obama. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D.L. HUGHLEY, HOST "D.L. HUGHLEY BREAKS THE NEWS": You see Obama coming in.
ARI FLEISCHER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Very popular.
HUEBLEY: Yes, right. He's very popular.
FLEISCHER: Yes.
HUGHLEY: You think is there anything can he learn from the Bush administration?
FLEISCHER: Well, the most important thing in public life is to stand by your principles and act on them. This is what attracts people to you, because you might be right, you might be wrong. Nobody's smart enough to really know. But if people think you're sincere, it comes from your heart, people will back you up. That's why George Bush won in 2004.
Iraq wasn't going so well but a lot of people said you beat John Kerry in an election and one of the reasons people said I may not agree with everything you stand for, but at least I know you take strong positions and you mean it. That carries a lot of weight in politics. It's called sincerity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You can see the whole interview this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday at 10 p.m. Eastern, "D.L. Hughley breaks the news" only on CNN.
Well turning now to the political drama over Barack Obama's former Senate seat, many Democrats have had enough with the man who now fills it, Illinois Senator Roland Burris. There's been a steady and growing call for Burris to resign. And joining us now, House Democrat Phil Hare of Illinois.
Congressman, it's good to see you this morning. A lot of these calls for Senator Burris to resign, coming from editorial boards. They've also been coming from state politicians. You are among only a couple of members of Congress to call for his resignation. Even Senator Dick Durbin says well the seat is in question but he won't call on him to resign. Why is it imperative for Senator Burris to resign at least to you?
REP. PHIL HARE (D), ILLINOIS: Well, John, first of all, thanks for having me. It's imperative because the people of Illinois have had enough. We had a governor who disgraced himself and the state. I have said from the beginning that anybody that this governor appointed to the Senate should not be seated. I listened to the senator testify before the impeachment panel and it sounded reasonable at the time.
I went over when he was sworn in and congratulated him, but now we hear and see the affidavit and we find out, in fact, Senator Burris was, in fact, talking to the, you know, the brother of the governor several times. He was actively out trying to raise money, trying to secure a job for his son. You know, I've had enough but the people of this state, more importantly, have had enough. He ought to resign and do the right thing. This is not how -
ROBERTS: Earlier this week, Congressman, he was at the City Club in Illinois and he was saying that he did nothing wrong here in all of these. Let's listen to what he said and I'll get you to react.
HARE: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ROLAND BURRIS (D), ILLINOIS: I ask you today to stop the rush to judgment. You know the real Roland. I've done nothing wrong, and I have absolutely nothing to hide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: He says he's done nothing wrong. He's got nothing to hide. You don't believe him?
HARE: I don't believe him, and quite frankly, he went out and attempted to raise money for the governor and several people. He was unsuccessful at doing it but he did. I thought I did know the real Roland. I've known him for 30 years in government service in Illinois. I think what Roland should have done, is what Congressman Danny Davis and my delegation did which was when the governor called and offered the position to Danny, he said with all due respect anybody but you, I might take the appointment.
So I think Roland actively wanted this job. I think he went out and tried to do everything he could to get the job but most importantly, he was under oath, and three times before this impeachment panel he was asked and he denied all three times that he had any contact, never raised any money. He may not have given the governor a single dime, but it wasn't because he didn't try. The point of this, John, candidly, is you know, when you're under oath I think most people expect you to be honest and tell the truth and Senator Burris didn't and this disqualifies him. And this state has been through enough.
ROBERTS: And congressman, we're not just been talking about any Senate seat here this is President Obama's former Senate seat.
HARE: It is.
ROBERTS: This is a Senate seat that was occupied by a freshman rock star who rose to the highest echelon of American politics, became a symbol for so many people in America and people around the world and now it seems to be mired in this swampy controversy.
HARE: Well, it is. Let me tell you and this is a wonderful state with good people. We have high unemployment. We should be focusing trying to keep people in their homes. We just passed a stimulus bill. You know, we should be doing the work of the people here. Now we're tied up again with an ethics investigation, the state's attorney looking at possible perjury charges.
John, we've got a number of people in the state that would be great United States senators. By the way, Illinois has had a history of wonderful senators. Dick Durbin is a great senator. We've got Paul Simon. We got Paul Douglas. We've had Everett Dirksen. You know, we're sort of the butt of jokes and quite frankly, I don't find this to be funny at all.
And I think if Roland Burris had any courage, he'd look in the mirror and would come out and the only time he needs to talk to the press is to say "I decided I'm going to step down" and I think that would be in the best interest, not only of the state but the people of the state.
ROBERTS: Congressman Phil Hare, Democrat of Illinois. It's good to talk to you this morning. Thanks for joining us.
HARE: Good to talk to you, John.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We'll we're going to take a break and be right back. It's 36 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): High speed rail across America. The president wants it. Will this stimulus pay for it?
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: You go to Shanghai, China, right now, and they've got high speed rails that puts our railroads to shame. I'd like to see high speed rail where it can be constructed.
ROBERTS: The stimulus money, and the bullet train, build or bust? Ahead, on the most news in the morning. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. President Obama has said that he wants to create a national high speed rail system. Other countries have trains so why don't we? Bullet trains, meaning. We have trains, not bullet trains. Now that the stimulus is coming a high speed train might be coming next. Our Jim Acosta is out on the rails reporting.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, for years, Americans have watched countries in Europe and Asia build high speed rail networks that are the envy of the world. Something the president himself has taken note of. Now the White House says it's ready to put high speed on the fast track.
But check out California's vision of the future, a bullet train racing 200 miles per hour, traveling from San Francisco to Los Angeles in just 2 hours and 40 minutes, half the time by car.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I mean, all over the world, we see high speed rails that go 200 and 300 miles an hour, we should do the same thing in this country.
OBAMA: There you go.
ACOSTA: To build it, Californians will need help from the stimulus and they just might get it. In the last days of the stimulus debate the President made a personal request for $8 billion for high speed rail projects. The transportation secretary says expect to see substantially more dollars added to the program.
OBAMA: You go to Shanghai, China, right now, and they've got high speed rail that puts our railroads to shame. I'd like to see high speed rail where it can be constructed.
ACOSTA: Amtrak's fastest train, the Acela reaches top speeds of 150 miles per hour but its average speed is far slower. Compare that to Shanghai, China. Its high speed is 267 miles per hour, and a French train set a speed record of 357 miles per hour.
RICK HARNISH, MIDWEST HIGH SPEED RAIL ASSOCIATION: This is the first time since Abraham Lincoln that a president has gotten directly involved in expanding railroads.
ACOSTA: Rail enthusiasts look across the Atlantic and see high speed projects in Spain, Turkey and Morocco.
HARNISH: The rest of the world is probably 40 years ahead of us.
ACOSTA: Amtrak passengers we found say they want some of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good idea. You know, a little diversity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I also like less of environmental footprint.
ACOSTA: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's message to slow American trains? Hasta la vista.
SCHWARZENEGGER: Our rail system in America is so old, we're driving the same speed as we did 100 years ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: The money in the stimulus doesn't come close to what's needed to build a high rail speed network in this country. The California bullet train alone is slated to cost $30 billion and it's billions of dollars short of its final destination, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Looks like the train is leaving the station without Jim on it there. 42 and a half minutes there after the hour.
I-report outrage, you're sending us your videos and e-mails, demanding and pleading for answers about Obama's housing plan. Help is on the way! We're answering some of your questions and we'll have that information for you coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Talk about adding insult to injury, many jobless Americans are now being hit with bank fees when they go to collect their unemployment. That's because in many states the unemployed now have no choice but to get their money from debit cards issued by banks. The "Associated Press" found that 30 states have struck such deals with banks including Citigroup and Bank of America, both of them bailout recipients.
Well, of course, the sour economy has a lot of people looking for a financial break. Now that the stimulus bill has been signed into law, and the president announced anti-foreclosure plan, a lot of people are wondering if help is headed their way. And the questions have our i-reporters sounding off. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's going to be no way out, not even if we dump in $10 trillion, $20 trillion, $100 trillion, what's the next number, a quadrillion, it wouldn't matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The majority of the people being affected by all these layoffs, for people who are living paycheck to paycheck, so they don't necessarily have a savings, and if they do, it's very little. The people living paycheck to paycheck, you want to be able to afford the gas in your car to go find a job or let alone go out and make 15 trips to the Department of Health and Family Services to even get food stamps.
So my main question is, if someone in that position does get laid off, what options are available to them? Because I don't see much hope. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seasoned employees are accepting positions they're overqualified for just to make ends meet. If experienced employees can't get jobs, they're taking positions they're overqualified for, where does that leave us? Six months after graduation we have to start make payments on our student loans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a 65-year-old woman from upstate New York, who has been (inaudible) and I am ready to begin anew. I have no 401(k). I will have to work until I drop. I have very little money for savings. What the heck can I do?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Wow.
CHETRY: You got to feel for people. I mean, so many stories.
ROBERTS: You can't turn back the clock in that woman's case. But I mean that's - for young people out there, you know, and I know so many of them who don't put money away, you got to save for the future. That's the only way to do it.
CHETRY: I got to say one thing, we were all told, right, put your money in a 401(k), contribute to the max and you'll have this nest egg and it will be wonderful. Have you looked at your 401(k) statements lately?
ROBERTS: But the trick is to be diversified, because you know if you're in a fairly conservative fund, you're still probably doing OK.
CHETRY: The average loss is still around 30 percent, 45 percent for people. And so some of those promises didn't pan out.
ROBERTS: It depends on the type of funds that you're in. I mean my funds have now lost 30 percent, and I know people whose funds are actually ahead of where they were. It all depends on how you invest it. You got to be smart about it.
CHETRY: All right, guys. So we want to hear from you as well. Questions and concerns? What do you think? Send us an e-mail, grab your camera and record. Send us an i-report. We'd love to see them. Will show them on the air all the time. Go to cnn.com/am, we're going to try to help and we'll put your questions to CNN's best money team and the financial experts that we bring on to the show. It's 48 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Primates as pets. What people forget, Travis wasn't the first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no question that a baby chimp is adorable but they grow up.
CHETRY: Inside a sanctuary for rescued chimps, but these big beasts can be deceiving. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These animals in private homes are ticking time bombs.
CHETRY: Chimps in exile, ahead on the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A closer look this morning at the potential ticking time bomb of chimps held as pets. Our John Zarrella takes us inside a chimp sanctuary where they provide refuge to these animals once they are simply tossed away by humans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, some of these chimpanzees were entertainers and others used in biomedical research and now they are living the rest of their lives as little human contact as possible and there are good reasons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: September and Pepsi used to be someone's pets. They lived a life not much different from Travis, the chimpanzee that mauled its owner's friends. Backyard chimps as they are called become so humanized experts say they may not even know they are chimps.
JEN FEUERSTEIN, "SAVE THE CHIMPS": He first met other chimps. He did not want them to touch him.
ACOSTA: Feuerstein is the is the director of operations at the Save the Chimps facility in Ft. Pierce, Florida. This is where September and Pepsi live now, along with nearly 150 other rescued chimps once used in entertainment, for research, or as pets. The people here say no chimpanzees should be captive, but if there is no alternative, they should be in a sanctuary, not a home. Here, they live 25 to an island, each surrounded by water. Chimps don't swim.
FEUERSTEIN: It means that they can be out here on this island without having to be confined in cages.
ACOSTA: Bars and steel gates separate where the animals are fed from the staff. The rule here - simple. Only for veterinary care are the animals touched. The reason - simple. Their power unmistakable.
FEURSTEIN: There's no question that a baby chimp was adorable but they grow up to be 150-pound chimps with a lot of energy and seven times stronger than an adult human and capable of causing some very serious harm.
ACOSTA: The Connecticut attack has brought the issue of primates as pets to the forefront again.
WAYNE PACELLE, PRESIDENT, HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES: These animals in private homes are ticking time bombs.
ZARELLA: Says the Humane Society's Wayne Pacelle and only 20 states have laws against it.
PACELLE: If the owners are stupid enough to allow this animal into their home, they shouldn't be allowed to jeopardize the rest of the community.
ZARRELLA: Firestein says they are like furry humans, making it easy to forget just what they are capable of.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Experts say because chimps are much like humans, we can easily become attached and be comfortable around them and that can be a dangerous mistake. John, Kiran?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: New threats and tension on the Korean Peninsula.
SEC. HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. STATE SECRETARY: All of a sudden, these insults and these provocative statements start coming across the border.
ROBERTS: The situation heats up. And chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is live to break it all down.
Plus, is your cell phone fueling a war? How to know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just turn a blind eye and just keep buying it. These are the practices that are actually killing people.
ROBERTS: One rock band's crusade to stop the violence. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. His campaign's harnessing of the internet was legendary. And now as President, Obama is still tapping into his legions of on-line supporters to get out his message.
Republicans often times are left playing catch-up and they want to change that but even a GOP nominee for president's own daughter is saying that when it comes to the internet, Republicans just don't get it.
Meghan McCain is a contributor to the dailybeast.com and the author of her own blog, McCainbloghette.com. And she joins me this morning from Phoenix, Arizona. Thanks, Megan. Good to have you with us, this morning.
MEGHAN McCain, MCCAINBLOGETTE.COM: Thank you for having me. CHETRY: And so on the campaign trail even your father admitted that he was computer illiterate. He said he didn't send e-mail and it's certainly something the Democrats took the opportunity to seize on. In fact, let's take a little listen to this political ad.
MCCAIN: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: In 1982, John McCain goes to Washington. Things have changed from the last 26 years. But McCain hasn't. He admits he still doesn't know how to use a computer, can't send an e-mail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Now as we understand it, things have changed. In fact, he's been twittering now, right?
MCCAIN: Yes, he has been twittering.
CHETRY: How did you get him to come around?
MCCAIN: I think just coming around to the times but my article isn't about my father, it's about the Republican party as a whole and why the Republican party seems to be so behind when it comes to technology. And yes, my father was a part of that but that is not the main reason why I wrote this article.
CHETRY: Now what is interesting about it is that you wrote even on the campaign, you were blogging, you were posting. You were encouraging feedback and at the time it seemed as though people in the campaign didn't quite know what you were doing. In fact, you said that they may even characterize it as a waste of time.
We're you able to explain more about why that6 is so important and where people are getting their information has drastically changed politically speaking.
MCCAIN: I think the reason why this article has gotten the response it has gotten is because I know what it's like to be on the inside and know just how poorly the Republican party, at least in my experience, views the use of the internet.
Yes, I got a lot of pushback and I had a lot of people still didn't think having a blog was any point at all for the campaign and I found it very disappointing and I do think that there is help in the next, you know four to eight years but I think if the Republican party in any way wants to become something that my generation can adhere to, they have to get the modernity of the internet.
CHETRY: Exactly, 220 million people in the U.S. alone who surf the net. In your most recent column with the "daily Beast," that we're talking about today, You wrote until the Republican party joins the 21st century and learns how to use the internet, its members will keep getting older and the youth of America will just keep logging on to the other side. So it's not just a matter of I am able to check e-mail, it's about harnessing the internet, being able to use it. So what would your key pieces of advice be for the GOP?
MCCAIN: Well, i think at all starts with message. I think you have to harness the message that is applicable to the internet. And in my article, I bring up Ron Paul and although his numbers and internet traffic didn't equate in votes, it was something that he had tapped into and he is a Republican.
So I think that the Republican party really needs to start with its message and how it can start becoming more appealing into young people. And with that message, you have to utilize the medium of the internet, which President Obama did. Obviously, incredibly and it think the Republican party really have a long way to go. And I know there had been a lot of tech meetings recently with the GOP but I don't think this is progress. I think they need to learn on how to harness the message that I think my generation would want to be a part of.
