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Obama, Biden Welcome Specter; Toddler is First U.S. Swine Flu Death; Experts: Obama Needs Results for Success; Europeans Give Good Grade to Obama; Mideast Expert Praises Obama for Reaching out to Muslims

Aired April 29, 2009 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We're crossing the top of the hour here. We want to bring you live pictures from the Diplomatic Room in the White House. That's the room that's in the south portico. One of the oval rooms there. And we're expecting Vice President Biden along with the president and Arlen Specter, newly minted Democratic senator, to arrive in just about 30 seconds or so to make a brief remarks on Senator Specter after 29 years, representing the Republican Party in Congress. He now becomes a Democrat, and the 59th Democratic senator there.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, a Senate race still...

ROBERTS: Very close to that magic 60 mark.

CHETRY: Yes, they need that Minnesota Senate race to ultimately finally be decided, and it looks like they would then have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 in the Senate.

Here we see Senator Arlen Specter, as well as President Obama and Vice President Biden.

Let's listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, everybody.

AUDIENCE: Good morning.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. President, as we used to say in the Senate, I hope you'll excuse a point of personal privilege here. Arlen Specter has been my friend and my confidant and my partner, and I his partner, in scores and scores of major, major pieces of legislation and issues for a long time.

And beyond that, Mr. President, he's been there for me every time things have been tough for me, and I hope I have been there for him. And it gives me great pleasure -- great pleasure, Mr. President, to now officially be in the same caucus with Arlen Specter. We've ridden the train for so many years, we've visited each other's homes, our families, that it is -- it's just, as, again, a point of personal privilege, it's just a delight to have no separation.

Mr. President, I'm even more pleased that Arlen's independence, integrity and piercing intellect will now be sitting in a Democratic caucus. I think it will be a real added value. Anyone who thinks that Arlen is going to cash in his independence politically has another thing coming, but I think our caucus and our party will be better for it, and as a consequence, I think we'll be able to serve the country even better than we have.

And the people of Pennsylvania are going to continue to benefit from his fierce -- and I emphasize and I need not tell you, Mr. President -- his fierce commitment to the people of Pennsylvania and to this country.

So, Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce a man of immense personal courage and unmatched integrity, my friend, Arlen Specter.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Vice President, and thank you, Mr. President, for your support and encouragement.

I was unwilling to subject my 29-year record in the United States Senate to the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate, but I am pleased to run in the primary on the Democratic ticket and am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers in a general election.

I have not represented the Republican Party; I have represented the people of Pennsylvania. And I will continue to do just that. As I said yesterday, I will not be an automatic 60th vote. There have been positions, which I talked about yesterday and will not re- enumerate, where I stand in a different position from the traditional position of the Democrats, and I will continue that independence.

I do think, Mr. President, that I can be of assistance. You have projected an administration that I feel very comfortable with. I felt comfortable, frankly, in talking to my Republican colleagues yesterday, which I did, to have them hear from me personally what my thinking was and my reasons for what I was undertaking to do. And that wasn't an easy conversation, but I felt comfortable with it.

And I think I can be of assistance to you, Mr. President, in my views on centrist government. There are a lot of big issues which we're tackling now that I've been deeply involved in -- issues which go beyond my own personal interests. And I do want to serve in a sixth term; I make no bones about that. But I've been deeply involved in health care reform, and global warming, climate control, and immigration, and will continue to be so. And I am mindful of the deficit and the national debt as we balance a lot of competing interests.

One matter that especially concerns me is medical research. I think it is scandalous that we have not done more to harness the scientific know-how in America, with the gross national product we have, to do more to cure the maladies of the world. And I've taken the lead with Senator Tom Harkin on a bipartisan basis in increasing NIH funding, and I think that has saved or prolonged lives, including mine. And that's a big reason why I'm so anxious to stay in the Senate and carry that work forward. But most of all, I'm appreciative of what Senator Biden has said. We have talked over every problem under the sun and under the moon. We've ridden that train together again and again, and we've supported that train. We've helped finance it. And I appreciate what you have in the stimulus package, Mr. President.

When I talked to the President yesterday, I said, I haven't seen you in the elevator lately. His office used to be right down the hall from mine on the 7th floor of the Hart Building, and he hadn't come back lately, so I said I was calling him up just to -- just to chit- chat. And I got to know the President to some extent in the Senate -- I talked to him already, but that's -- Joe taught me how to do that.

Just one personal comment. The President approached me when he was Senator Obama, before the Democratic primary. And he said, "Tell me, Arlen, if a Jewish kid from Kansas can carry Pennsylvania, how can a black kid from Kansas carry Pennsylvania?" And I gave him some advice, and he became -- he became President of the United States of America.

OBAMA: That's how it worked.

Thank you so much, Arlen. Thank you.

Well, let me start off by just saying I'm thrilled to have Arlen in the Democratic caucus. I have told him that he will have my full support in the Democratic primary. Joe Biden has said the same thing. We are confident that Arlen Specter is going to get a sixth term in the Senate and the American people are going to be better off for it.

I'd like to say a few more things about Arlen, but before I do, I'd like to briefly address the ongoing challenge posed by the H1N1 flu virus.

We are closely and continuously monitoring the emerging cases of this virus throughout the United States. Overnight, we also received confirmation that an infant in Texas has died as a result of this virus. And my thoughts and prayers and deepest condolences go out to the family, as well as those who are ill and recovering from this flu.

This is obviously a serious situation -- serious enough to take the utmost precautions. Secretary Napolitano and Secretary Sebelius and our entire team are in close contact with state and local authorities around the nation. But I would also urge health agencies in local communities to be vigilant about identifying suspected cases of this virus in your areas and reporting them to the appropriate state and federal authorities in a timely way.

We need your assistance.

It's also the recommendation of our public health officials that schools with confirmed or suspected cases of H1N1 should strongly consider temporarily closing so that we can be as safe as possible. If the situation becomes more serious and we have to take more extensive steps, then parents should also think about contingencies if schools in their areas do temporarily shut down, figuring out and planning what their child care situation would be.

If we ended up having a school closure, a child was sick, just sending a child from the school to a day care center is not a good solution. So we would have to think through, and each parent, I think, would have to think through what options would be available to them in the event that this became more serious.

Yesterday, I also requested from Congress an immediate $1.5 billion in emergency funding. This funding will ensure that we have adequate supplies of vaccines and the equipment to handle a potential outbreak. It will ensure that these vaccines and equipment get to where they need to go around the country. And it will provide for sufficient planning and preparation at the state and local levels.

Every American should know that the federal government is prepared to do whatever is necessary to control the impact of this virus. But there are also steps that Americans can take individually. They're the same steps that you would take to prevent any other flu: Keep your hands washed, cover your mouth when you cough, stay home from work if you are sick, keep your children home from school if they are sick.

I'll continue to get constant updates on the situation from the responsible agencies, and we will continue to offer regular updates to the American people about the steps they need to take and the steps that we are taking. And I can assure you that we will be vigilant in monitoring the progress of this flu, and I will make every judgment based on the best science available.

Now, part of the reason we have such an outstanding array of scientists and researchers is because of the tireless efforts of the gentleman standing to my right. Having courageously battled multiple life-threatening diseases of his own -- and let me tell you, Arlen Specter is one tough hombre -- he has become a champion for public health in this country.

He's most recently responsible for the increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health so that it can continue to discover the cures and treatments that will save countless lives.

And that brings me to why we're here today. Today I have the honor of standing next to the newest Democrat from the state of Pennsylvania. I know the decision Senator Specter made yesterday wasn't easy. It required long and careful consideration, and it required courage. But I know that it also reflects an independence that has been the hallmark of Arlen Specter's career since the days he arrived in Washington. He has never been in the Senate to fight for any particular party, but rather for the men and women of Pennsylvania who sent him here.

This is also why I don't expect that Senator Specter will agree with every decision I make and support every single one of those policies. I don't accept -- I don't expect Arlen to be a rubber stamp. I don't expect any member of Congress to be a rubber stamp. In fact, I'd like to think that Arlen's decision reflects a recognition that this administration is open to many different ideas and many different points of view; that we seek cooperation and common ground; and that in these 100 days we've begun to move this nation in the right direction.

As I told Senator Specter yesterday, he has my full support, my full commitment to work with him on those areas where we do agree -- areas like health care, education, expanding America's manufacturing base, and medical research. I look forward to working with the Senator on these and other issues in the coming weeks and months. I'm eager to receive his counsel and advice, especially when he disagrees. And I have great respect and admiration for the decision that he has made.

Senator Specter often tells the story about his father, Harry Specter, who came to this country from Russia nearly a century ago. He fought in World War I and was seriously wounded in action. Later, he became one of the thousands of veterans who never received the bonus that our government promised in return for the brave service that they had rendered to our nation. Many of these veterans would later march on Washington because of that broken promise, and some were shot at by their own government because they were voicing dissent.

Arlen Specter has said that his career in public service has been one long journey to get his father's bonus. And until he does, he plans to keep on running. It's a metaphor that's particularly apt today as he begins the next chapter in his proud effort to fight for all those men and women who need and deserve a voice in Washington.

And so I'm grateful that he is here. And I'm also grateful that Joe Biden paid him a little attention on the train.

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: Thank you much, everybody.

SPECTER: Thank you.

OBAMA: Thank you, Arlen.

CHETRY: All right. Well, we just heard from the president, as well as the vice president, and the newest Democrat in the Senate, Arlen Specter, after his surprising announcement yesterday that he was going to break with the party, with the Republicans, and decide to become a Democrat.

But it was also interesting, Suzanne, that the president also used the opportunity to address the latest news about the swine flu, although, pointedly not calling it the swine flu, calling it the H1N1 flu virus, acknowledging the first confirmed U.S. death.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And I thought that was really telling, actually, because he's really trying to show the American people. He's trying to reassure them -- I'm on top of this. You know, obviously, I'm aware of what's happened overnight, the developments. And you really can't overstate. And even that interesting segue that we were talking about before. When he goes from the swine flu, and then he turns to Arlen Specter, a champion of someone who's had his own battles with cancer, but you can't overstate the relationship between Specter and the guy who is standing right beside him, which was Joe Biden.

I mean, Joe Biden has really been trying to pull him into the Democratic Party for years. These guys have a very close relationship. We saw them getting kind of emotional during this announcement, and they need Specter when it comes to health care reform. That's a real big one. And having him on their side, on their team, is really something that they're very, very happy about it. President Obama did not expect this necessarily, but certainly Biden was a key member who actually really try to move this forward, to push this.

ROBERTS: Just back to the swine flu portion of this. The headline that the president made today was that schools -- any schools that report cases of swine flu, he would strongly urge them to close, to a lot of students to go home. Keep them separated from each other. Disinfect the schools.

But the one thing I was wondering about was Specter. This is obviously an exercise in political survival on his part. He would have loss that Republican primary.

MALVEAUX: That's right.

ROBERTS: But also to get him over to the Democratic side, what do you think they promised them? He was the chairman of the Judiciary, but I don't think that Pat Leahy is going to give that up.

MALVEAUX: No. And they said they didn't promise him any kind of position on this. And that's what the White House is saying here. But, obviously -- I mean, he's going to be very influential member of the team.

ROBERTS: Interesting.

CHETRY: The other interesting thing, just about Pennsylvania demographics. You know, 180,000 former Republicans who switched parties voted for Barack Obama. That was Arlen Specter's base. And so if he didn't -- if he tried to go into that primary as a Republican, he would have lost.

MALVEAUX: Right. I mean, it's -- that's very clear that he wouldn't actually even succeed. I mean, this was important for him to stay as a senator. Somebody who's actually a power player. That's what the White House, that's what Biden was saying.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: He's also somebody who's been supportive of the president's stimulus. Something that not all of his Republican colleagues, of course, had been. And somebody who may be could be a voice that will support the White House and Democrats as they move forward maybe with new plans, or trying to implement the stimulus. Not all of it has been deployed yet, quite frankly.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: And that was the turning point -- was the stimulus package, and they abandoned him at that point.

ROBERTS: At any rate, it's a huge 100-day present for the president.

Don't forget to join us tonight for the "CNN NATIONAL REPORT CARD" on President Obama's first 100 days in office. You're going to get to grade the president, along with the Best Political Team on Television.

It kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Live coverage of the president's news conference at 8:00 as well. So join us for the CNN prime-time event.

CHETRY: And we are continuing to follow breaking news this morning. We've got confirmation of the first swine flu death here in the United States. We'll tell you what the acting head of the CDC says we should all do to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta as well answering your questions about swine flu.

And beyond America's borders, how is President Obama received abroad? We're live in London for a 100-day report card European style.

It's 19 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: And we're following the breaking news this morning. Swine flu claims its first victim here in the United States -- a 23- month-old baby from Texas. The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control has repeatedly predicted that the swine flu would get worse and that we would see deaths here in the United States.

Right here on AMERICAN MORNING, Dr. Richard Besser confirmed the tragic news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. RICHARD BESSER, ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Yes, I can confirm very sad news coming out of Texas that a child has died from the H1N1 virus. As a parent and a pediatrician, my heart goes out to the family.

As I've been saying for the past few days, flu is a very serious infection and each virus is unique. And so it's hard to know what we're going to be seeing. But given what we've seen in Mexico, we have expected that we would see more severe infections and we would see deaths. And we've confirmed the first death in this country in a 23-month-old child in Texas. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is live in Veracruz, Mexico for us this morning.

First, Sanjay, let's talk about this new death here in the United States. Up until now, all of the cases have been mild. I can imagine, because I'm a parent, you're a parent yourself, we're all saying this morning, oh, oh, OK. What can we really be doing here to protect our children?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the message still remains the same in terms of what we can do. There's a lot of prevention strategies that we've been talking about over the last couple of days.

Certainly, this is a little bit different, a little bit inconsistent for Mexico, where most of the people who suffered death were in the 20s, 30s, 40s. This is a 23-month-old. So, I think the demographics of who this is most adversely affecting will become more apparent.

But in terms of protecting your kids, I think the basics still apply here with regard to this H1N1 flu. Now, you know, the washing of the hands, young children, if they're susceptible, making sure you're not exposing them.

One thing I just want to point out as well, John, H1N1 is the name of this particular flu virus. It's been called swine flu all along, although it's made up of several different components.

The president used the H1N1 as a nomenclature. And I think that's why it's going to become the more appropriate nomenclature for this particular flu virus.

ROBERTS: But do you think they're also doing that, Sanjay, because they're worried about impact on the pork industry if we keep calling it swine flu?

GUPTA: That's right.

ROBERTS: Dr. Besser also indicated this morning that after sort of waffling for a little bit, the CDC is now going to seek to fast- track a vaccine for swine flu.

How easy is it to do something like that?

GUPTA: Well, you know, there's a tradeoff involved here. And as far as I can tell and I've been investigating this, there's no trigger to suddenly say, OK, now we're going to make the vaccine because we've had a certain critical mass. The tradeoff, John, is that it may take away some of the production of the seasonal flu vaccine and that would be surprising to a lot of people. I think you can't do these two things in concert.

But it's a very specific process and there's not a lot of places, not a lot of manufacturing capacity for this type of vaccine. So they have to decide, first of all, can they make this and still make enough seasonal flu vaccine and then even after that, it could be a couple three months with some of the techniques they have.

ROBERTS: Sanjay Gupta for us this morning in Veracruz, Mexico.

Doc, good to catch up with you. Thanks.

CHETRY: Well, if his first term is a marathon, then President Obama just completed the first mile, the first 100 days in office. And all this morning, we've been sizing up the president's performance so far.

"Time" magazine columnist Joe Klein has been a supporter of Barack Obama and very optimistic about his presidency. He's written the upcoming cover story about the first 100 days, and Joe Klein joins us now.

Good to see you this morning.

JOE KLEIN, COLUMNIST, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Hi. I can't say that I'm a supporter of Barack Obama because I'm a journalist. I mean, we don't take sides.

CHETRY: Well, you've been supportive of how he's done so far.

KLEIN: I do think -- I do think he's off to a strong start and that he has done something historic, which is really change the political landscape in this country in the way that Ronald Reagan did in 1980 and Franklin Roosevelt did in 1933. But it's really too early to tell whether it's going to succeed or not.

CHETRY: What do you think so far has been his biggest accomplishment?

KLEIN: Well, I think you have to say that changing the tone has been a big accomplishment. Getting that stimulus package through has been a big accomplishment. And the array of programs that he has laid out to deal with the financial crisis has been a big accomplishment.

Now, saying that they're big accomplishments is different from saying that they're going to work. And if you can tell me how that stimulus plan's going to work, could be not enough, could be too much. Or how the plan on toxic assets is going to work. Are the banks actually going to sell them off? If you could tell me that, I could tell you how well he's doing.

CHETRY: Exactly. And, of course, we can't predict the future. We can only look at the indicators.

But Fred Barnes of "The Weekly Standard" wrote, "Obama, for the moment, is riding a wave of announcements, claims, hopes and possibilities. This is what the new presidents thrive on. It's what makes them popular, especially because there's no accountability. But a year from now, perhaps sooner, the joy ride will be over. Results will matter." And so, he's sort of echoing of what you're saying about getting results out of some of the initiatives. So what do you see as the biggest potential for failure?

KLEIN: Well, I think that if the economic plan doesn't work, he's in a lot of trouble. In the area that I spent a lot of time on overseas, he's trying to do something very, very difficult in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan seems to be very shaky right now. But, on the other hand, he has really turned around our image in the rest of the world and he set up a situation where other countries will be more willing to cooperate with us in the future than they were during the Bush years, I think.

CHETRY: Another question about history and you know this all too well. Jimmy Carter was more popular over the course of his first 100 days than even Barack Obama's been, but he left office being the least popular president of the modern era. How much does the first 100 days really set the pace or set the standard for how a presidency is judged?

KLEIN: Well, I think that you can set the predicate for a new way of looking at the world. Jimmy Carter didn't do that. He was personally popular. We had just come through a very shaky period as a country with Watergate, the Nixon, you know, resignation and so on.

Obama's done something different. He's laid out a coherent philosophy. In domestic policy, here's what I want to do and in foreign policy, here's what I want to do. That's very different than what Carter did. Now, we get to see whether it works.

CHETRY: Joe Klein, columnist from "Time" magazine. Always great to talk to you. Thanks for being here.

KLEIN: Good to be here.

ROBERTS: Former Senator Fred Thompson, he is joining us next to grade the president and hear what he has to say about Arlen Specter's defection.

Plus, we're taking the pulse of the rest of the world. We'll head to London this morning to show you what President Obama's image is like in Europe.

It's 28 1/2 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": The Republican leadership in Congress. What grade would you give them? A, B, C, D, or F? I'm putting down you for an "incomplete" for the president.

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": What? You can't do that Mr. Blitzer. If you give Obama an incomplete, Coach won't let him president. (LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: No secret that President Obama inherited a damaged American image abroad. But his policies differed drastically from the previous administration, from closing Guantanamo Bay to opening up to Cuba.

So, has the image of the United States changed overseas? Our Becky Anderson is live this morning from London. Well, Becky, how does the president's image translates over there across the pond?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me tell you, John, he has changed perceptions of America over here in Europe, and if nothing else, that puts him streaks ahead of the Bush administration and indeed of President Bush. Let me show you what the latest poll -- hot off the press and not yet published -- in Europe said: It's all about the economy, stupid.

And that's the deal over here. And when you compare Obama to Prime Minister Brown here in the U.K. and Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany, look at these figures. It puts him way ahead on trust when it comes to dealing with the financial crisis compared to the British prime minister and indeed Angela Merkel.

So, we are looking at him here, over here, and saying, what are you going to do about the financial crisis? And we like, it seems, what he's going to do. Not everybody necessarily concurs. It is his first 100 days, and some people are still, well, looking and deciding, and they'll decide over the next few days. Listen to what man had -- what one man had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's started well on some issues like the foreign policy issues. But on the economy front, I think he's not doing that well. But you cannot judge him after just 100 days. So, we'll have to wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Whatever this chap says, I mean, it's an extended honeymoon period at this point. I wish I'd had it when I got married. One hundred days and counting, and we still like him over here -- John.

ROBERTS: There's always a chance the second and third time to get that right, right, Becky? What about the first lady when she was over there in Britain. It appeared that she could do no wrong.

ANDERSON: She can do no wrong. We like Michelle over here. Remember when she met the queen and broke protocol by giving - for all intents and purposes, looked like a bit of a hug. That never happens with the British royalty. Here, Michelle Obama's gone down really well over here. So far as being a first lady is concerned. She spent some time at some local schools here on their last trip here. We had Carla Bruni didn't we in France. Everybody thought that she was the ultimate first lady for Europe and Michelle's gone down extremely well over here. Let's listen to what one lady on the street in London had to say to me just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a very kind lady. She's really impressive, and I think that she's everything that a first lady should be and doing very well and making a lot of friends, it looks like. So, well done here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: There isn't a lot of comparison over here. We don't have a lot of particularly glamorous first ladies and I say Carla Bruni, I guess is one out famously because she's about the only one over here. So Michelle, she's gone down very well. Obama's going down well. We'll see what happens next. John.

ROBERTS: Becky Anderson, live for us in London this morning. Becky, great to catch up with you. Thanks so much. Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Happening right now, live pictures of President Obama. He's departing Andrews Air Force Base. There you see him. He's going to make his way to St. Louis. That's where the president will be marking a town hall meeting to mark his first 100 days in office.

And tonight, President Obama will be back in Washington. There we see Marine One making its way. Getting ready to depart Andrews Air Force base.

Well, on the president's 100th day in office plenty of influential republicans are speaking out about the president's performance so far.

ROBERTS: Joining us this morning from Washington, the former presidential candidate Senator Fred Thompson. Senator Thompson, it's great to see you this morning.

Let's ask you, as we've been asking all of our guests this morning, what overall grade would you give the president after his first 100 days?

SEN. FRED THOMPSON (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, we all say it's too early to tell, and then we proceed to answer that question. And I guess I'll be no different.

I think as far as national security is concerned, it's a mixed bag. He's done a little better than I'd expected in terms of the withdrawal of the troops in Iraq. He modified his campaign promise a little bit. That was to the good. I think the same thing as far as Afghanistan is concerned. On the other hand, I think his decision to release the interrogation memos is one of the worst decisions that a modern president has made and will have significant ramifications for a long time.

I think on the domestic front, he's inherited a tough, tough situation but he's taken advantage of that opportunity to put in policies that are probably going to be irreversible at least for a long time that I think is going to change the face of America. It's going to indebt America in ways that our kids and grandkids can't possibly dig out of, lead to higher inflation and a weaker dollar.

So, I think the ground work has been laid for some things that I think in the not-too-distant future it'll be very damaging to our economy, but he may have gotten some of his programs passed in the interim such as health care.

ROBERTS: Right. Let me come back to this issue of the CIA memos because you're pretty harsh on the president in a recent interview with Newsmax. You said that the CIA memo released show naivete, ineptitude and arrogance.

You went on to say, "We elected somebody who didn't have two minutes' worth of experience with regard to matters concerning national security. He's making decisions that are going to have far- reaching ramifications, not only abroad and not only with our enemies but in dividing our country even further here at home, in ways, I don't think we've ever been divided before.

Many people though, senator, say that the president's actions, particularly on releasing the CIA memo, showing transparency, abiding by rule of law and closing Guantanamo Bay are actually improving America's image at home and abroad.

THOMPSON: Well, we'll see how much image improvement benefits us in the future. What I do know is that his own CIA adviser and four previous CIA heads told the administration that this would be very damaging. Damaging in terms of laying out information to our worst enemies. Damaging in terms of demoralizing an already demoralized CIA.

That's part of the national security problem that we have and that he inherited is due to what had been done to the CIA by the political branches in the past. When it goes to Capitol Hill, they're going to have tremendous amount of grief to pay all the way around.

If they have open public hearings there, it's not going to help the president. It's not going to help the presidency. It's not going to help Nancy Pelosi. It's not going to help anybody involved and if they go down the road of prosecutions that would put us in the same category of some third world countries.

We prosecute previous administration's officials when they take office. It's just bad any way around and I'm afraid the president caved to pressure when he made the - changed his mind about the possible prosecution of people who were trying to keep this country safe and in effect did keep this country safe after 9/11.

ROBERTS: Senator Thompson, it's always great to catch up with you. Thanks for joining us this morning.

THOMPSON: Thank you very much.

And join us tonight for the "CNN National Report Card" of President Obama's first 100 days in office. You'll get to grade the president along with the Best Political Team on Television. And then at 8:00, the president will let us know how he thinks he's doing during a live presidential news conference. A CNN prime-time event. It all kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

CHETRY: All right. Well, let's take another live look right now at Andrews Air Force Base. The president about to depart from Marine One. Then getting on to Air Force One where he kicked off the day, of course, with his new democratic ally at his side.

We saw Senator Arlen Specter talking about his new Democratic allegiance during an address this morning with the president as well as the vice president.

After that he is then heading off to Missouri. He's going to be holding a town hall meeting at a high school in the St. Louis suburb of Arnold and then he comes back because as John just said he's going to be holding a prime-time news conference tonight to mark his 100th day in office.

There we see President Obama departing Marine One and getting ready to head on to Air Force One for his quick trip to Missouri today.

ROBERTS: You know, we talked about the defection of Senator Arlen Specter over to the democratic side, pulling them within a hair's breath of that filibuster-proof supermajority. And we remember back to Super Bowl Sunday and the president invited Arlen Specter over to the White House for the Super Bowl party.

I guess that might have had some affect. And actually, Senator Specter said it's the first time -- because he had an opportunity to chat with the president -- he says the first time he'd ever been in a room alone with the president. He said it was an extraordinary event.

CHETRY: Twenty-nine years in the Senate, and it was his first one on one with the president. It lasted about 15 minutes. And also there is some introspection this morning about that decision. An interesting op-ed in "The New York Times" by Olympia Snowe, who is another moderate Republican, saying, we didn't have to lose Arlen Specter. She also oftentimes said that being a moderate in the Republican Party makes her feel like a cast member of "Survivor," where she said that you get the distinct feeling that you are no longer welcome in the tribe.

Of course, there are others who say, look, it was Arlen Specter fighting for his political career, that he wouldn't have gotten past the GOP primary in his state of Pennsylvania. ROBERTS: Yes, he's up against Pat Toomey there, who of course created the Club for Growth. There is an enormous amount of Republican conservative money going toward him. It's likely that Arlen Specter would have been blown away on that.

So the reasons of political survival also switching over to the Democratic Party. But Lindsey Graham also and he's not exactly described as a moderate. Not in the way that Arlen Specter, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe are.

And he said, yes, it's the party that just forced him out. There is not much room for moderates in the Republican Party these days.

CHETRY: Either way, certainly it was a 100-day gift for the president, as we saw him getting ready to -- actually he's already on Air Force One now. The Air Force One getting ready to head to Missouri for his town hall meeting.

ROBERTS: Yes, they're not going to stop by New York for a photo- op on the way over. We're going to continue to follow the president's 100th day in office here this morning on the Most News in the Morning. We'll be right back. It's 40 1/2 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Forty-three minutes past hour. Just in to CNN, new numbers right now telling us that the economy is still quite weak.

Our Christine Romans joins us now to break it down. We're talking about the gross domestic product right now.

ROMANS: That's right. This is the best measure of what the economy is doing in the first quarter. You guys, it shrank 6.1 percent. That's after shrinking 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. It's very rare to have two quarters of such weak economic growth, and it's worse than people expected. They had hoped for some signs of stabilization in the first quarter. They were looking for maybe 4.9 percent.

The economy did shrink, but it shrank 6.1 percent. Why? Exports plunged by the most amount in some 40 years. You had consumers buying a little bit more, a little bit, but that wasn't enough to offset all the other weak parts of the American economy.

So, what we know is that in the first quarter, the U.S. economy was essentially still on the ropes. So we'll see. We don't know what that says about the second quarter. We just know that this first read of the first quarter, the first three months of the year was still very, very weak.

ROBERTS: Somebody with big feet walked all over those green shoots in the economy. Thanks, Christine.

During his first 100 days, President Obama relied heavily on his fellow democrats on Capitol Hill. He turned to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to help pass the $787 billion stimulus bill. Our senior political correspondent sat down with Speaker Pelosi to talk about the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. And Candy Crowley joins us now from Washington. Good morning, Candy. What did you learn?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, what was interesting is we did go in to talk to the speaker about the first 100 days. Both she and Senate leader Harry Reid did deliver for the president. They made changes around the margins.

But by and large, they did get the president what he wanted. And largely at the time he wanted it. So we knew we'd get a pretty good assessment from Speaker Pelosi about how she felt the first 100 days went.

But just as we sat down the Arlen Specter news came that he, of course, switch from Republican to Democrat, and for Nancy Pelosi, that was pretty much the icing on a cake that was already looking pretty good.

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REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: It's been a great 100 days, but it doesn't mean that the 100 days ends what we're going do. All of it is a foundation for where we go forward and starting off with the recovery package, the biggest package - an economic recovery plan that any president has had in such a short period of time.

Taken together starting with the recovery and now culminating with the budget and as we go forward, in this first 100 days and under the leadership of Barack Obama working together with the Congress, we will do more for health care that hasn't been done in generations since the Medicare bill.

So it's an exciting time. I give great congratulations to President Obama for his great focus, strength and his bipartisanship. It's very important. It will continue to be important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: The speaker also tacitly agree that the next 100 days and beyond are going to be a lot tougher. Democrats, as you know, are not known for their unity and there are a lot of tough issues coming up. Energy, education and health care, around which there are a lot of arguments particularly among democrats and not just democrats to republicans. So they know the next 100 days, John, are going to be tough but boy they really love these first 100.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, some people say that he may have to get his hands a little bit dirtier in the next 100 days. Candy Crowley for us this morning. Candy, thanks so much.

You can catch Candy's entire interview with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, by the way, tonight during our prime-time event, the "CNN National Report Card" on President Obama's first 100 days in office. It starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

CHETRY: Also this morning on his 100th day in the White House, we're asking you as well as the pundits and the politicians to grade President Obama's performance. Ahead we have author and Middle East expert Reza Aslan. He evaluates the president's policies in the Middle East. It's 47 minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. All morning, we've been asking our pundits and our politicians on both sides of the aisle to evaluate President Obama's performance on this which is his 100th day in office.

Reza Aslan is an expert on the Middle East. He's the author of "How to win a Cosmic War." And he's here now to offer his report card on the president's Mideast policies. Thanks for being with us this morning, Reza. Great to see you.

REZA ASLAN, AUTHOR "HOW TO WIN A COSMIC WAR": Good morning, Kiran.

CHETRY: So the president's made improving the U.S.'s strained relations with the Muslim world. Quite a priority since taking office. How did you grade that particular effort?

ASLAN: Yes, in fact, his very first interview as president was, as you remember, given to Al Arabiya. And he did something remarkable in that interview. He said something that just blew me away.

He said that my job as president is to communicate to the American people, Muslim values and you know, Muslim traditions and mores and my job to the Muslim world is to communicate what America is all about.

Well, the truth is, that's not really his job as president. But the fact that he has made it his job and that he has stepped into this sort of mistrust and miscommunication that has essentially dogged America and Muslim world relations for so many years is quite a statement as to how important he thinks this is.

CHETRY: And along that vein, the Obama administration has expressed the willingness to talk to Iran without the precondition of halting uranium enrichment. A very controversial stance. Do you think that that will pay off? Can there be fruitful discussions with Iran?

ASLAN: Well, I think actually it's already starting to pay off. And you know Iran's political establishment is very opaque. You have to know how to read the tea leaves but if you listen to the way that Ahmadinejad has begun his campaign for re-election. As you know, there's a presidential election coming up in the middle of June.

He's really softened his tone. He's trying to sort of set himself up as the man who can actually reach out to America and begin this process of rapprochement. So if Ahmadinejad is beginning to set himself up as the man who can talk to Obama, obviously it's starting to have some kind of affect.

CHETRY: You know, we have Dick Armitage, the former U.S. deputy secretary of state, saying that Afghanistan may be spinning out of control right now. He said that he -- that there's a chance that President Obama actually got it, "a little backwards by sending thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan before completing a review of U.S. policy in the region."

How do we make sure we handle that especially with the Taliban surge we've been seeing in Pakistan?

ASLAN: I think that this is going to end up being the biggest question mark with regard to Obama's Mideast policy. I mean, the truth of the matter is that no one really knows what to do about Afghanistan and President Obama has made a decision of going in there strong, as he begins to draw down troops from Iraq, to actually build up the troop presence in Afghanistan and also to sort of rethink the way that we are -- our relationship with the Afghan government.

I think that you're going to see the president begin to withdraw some of his support from Hamid Karzai and allow the political establishment there to sort of take on its own life. This I think really remains to be seen. It's very hard to say where Afghanistan is going to go from here on out.

CHETRY: All right. You think that he's shaping up to be his biggest foreign policy though. Reza Aslan, author of "How to win a Cosmic War," Middle East analyst. Thanks for joining us this morning.

ASLAN: It's my pleasure.

CHETRY: You can also join us tonight for the "CNN National Report Card" on President Obama's first 100 days in office. You get to grade the president along with the best political team on television. At 8:00, the president will let us know how he thinks he's doing. He's holding a live presidential news conference, a CNN prime-time event. It all kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

ROBERTS: Well, take a look at this video. A man hanging onto the back of a stolen truck during an hourlong chase. Police seen in hot pursuit. What's he going to do? Is he going to sit it out? Is he going to wait it out? Is he going to jump? The incredible end just ahead. It's 54 minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: We're following the breaking news this morning. The first report of death due to swine flu in the United States. A 23- month-old toddler in Texas, the victim here of swine flu. And we're getting some more details about this case and we're finding out that the back story to all of this is a little bit convoluted.

Kathy Barton is the chief public affairs of the Houston Health Department, this is where the child died, is on the phone with us. Kathy, what can you tell us about the situation surrounding the death of this toddler, particularly country of origin and how the child came to be in Houston.

KATHY BARTON, CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, HOUSTON HEALTH DEPARTMENT (via telephone): The child came to Houston for medical treatment. The family had traveled to south Texas. The child became ill, and they transported the child to Houston for medical care, and the child passed away on Monday.

ROBERTS: But again we're talking about country from origin here. The child is from Mexico?

BARTON: Yes, sir.

ROBERTS: OK. Do we know what part of Mexico the child grew up in?

BARTON: I don't. I don't.

ROBERTS: Right. So the situation was again the family brought the child to Houston for medical treatment. There is some question -- KTRK is suggesting that perhaps a misdiagnoses had been made initially.

BARTON: I wouldn't know about that.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, thanks very much, Kathy Barton, the chief public affairs from the Houston Health Department, confirming this morning that the child came to Houston from Mexico. The child was sick, went to the hospital for treatment there and died.

CDC confirming that it was the swine flu virus. Again, back story here, a little bit convoluted. It may be that the child went to the health facility, was misdiagnosed as not having the swine flu and then died. We're trying to chase that part of the story there.

CHETRY: We're trying to figure it out because, as she said, the child passed away on Monday. Well, it's now Wednesday. And one of the things that the president talked about in his news conference earlier is the need to report this as quickly as possible...

ROBERTS: Correct.

CHETRY: ... and they can try to determine as quickly as possible whether or not it is indeed the swine flu.

All right. Well, we're going to continue to follow this, this morning, throughout the day here on CNN. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll be right back here tomorrow.

ROBERTS: Right now, here is CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins.