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American Morning

Southern California Hit With a 4.7 Earthquake; President Obama Tackles Abortion Debate at Notre Dame; GOP Hammers Pelosi on Torture Issue, Prove it or Apologize; Filly Beats the Boys at Preakness; Gas Prices Continue to Rise

Aired May 18, 2009 - 06:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Monday morning to you. It's the 18th of May, and welcome to the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks for being with us. It's a busy day here.

We have a lot of stories we're going to be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes, and that includes a story that's still developing at this hour.

Southern California rocked by a nearly 5.0 magnitude quake. It's the largest to hit the area since last year and big enough to damage buildings and to shake people's nerves.

President Obama wading directly into the abortion debate, facing down hecklers at Notre Dame University where he spoke over the weekend. But despite all the protests, the president arrived to cheers urging both sides to open their hearts and minds and seek common ground. We're live at the White House with reaction to the president's response to this hot button social issue.

Also, Republican leaders turning up the heat on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They say they want her to prove her allegation that the CIA lied to Congress about the use of waterboarding to terror suspects and if she can't, they're demanding she apologize.

ROBERTS: We begin this morning with a serious jolt to California.

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake hitting the Los Angeles area overnight. The quake was centered about ten miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles, not far from LAX airport.

Witnesses say the shaking was brief, but intense, lasting about 10 to 15 seconds. It shattered windows across town and could be felt as far south as San Diego. Fortunately, no major injuries reported. But folks in the area are on alert for aftershocks this morning and there are so far have been a bunch of them.

CNN's Rob Marciano live at the Weather Center tracking all of this for us.

More of a shock than anything I guess, Rob, but what a thing to happen.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Especially you're thinking Sunday night you're just kind of getting ready to hit the sack and get up a long week of work and getting a little rumbled, that certainly starts your week off a little bit rough.

All right, 4.7 as you mentioned, 15 kilometers in depth. So fairly deep for this area that's about just over nine miles.

All right. It's along the Newport-Inglewood fault lines. You got a bunch of faults in here.

Everyone knows the San Andreas fault which is pretty much back up to here. But the Newport-Inglewood fault line pretty much rolls this way and then parallels the coastline as it gets close towards Inglewood. It's about 75 kilometers in depth, and as you mentioned right now, we're looking at a 4.7 magnitude.

Did you feel it? We get -- how does the USGS measure this? Well, actually I have people record that. So this is the map that kind of highlights a little bit of that.

The most intense feeling comes near Carson. That's in the L.A. area. But as you mentioned, all the way down to San Diego and even south of the border, reports coming in from Tijuana. So a little bit of rough. As you mentioned, some broken glass in spots but certainly it could have been a lot worse.

At last check, I've seen three aftershocks of magnitude 2.0 or greater and we'll probably see a handful of those as the day rolls along. But we shouldn't expect too much more than that.

John, back over to you.

ROBERTS: Rob Marciano for us this morning at the extreme weather center. Rob, thanks so much.

MARCIANO: You got it.

CHETRY: This morning at Notre Dame University, the graduation festivities are over, but the battle over abortion goes on.

President Obama walked right into the heart of the debate during his commencement address yesterday. Many at the Catholic university were outraged at the idea of honoring a president who supports abortion rights, but the president was greeted by a rousing cheer in the crowd despite the controversy.

And during his address, the president pleaded for common ground. He also conceded that the two camps may never see eye to eye.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When we open up our hearts and our minds to those who may not think precisely like we do or believe precisely what we believe, that's when we discover at least the possibility of common ground. That's when we begin to say, maybe we won't agree on abortion but we can still agree that this heart-wrenching decision for any woman is not made casually. It has both moral and spiritual dimensions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is the only reporter live at the White House this early.

You traveled with the president yesterday. What was the mood on campus, Suzanne?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kiran, it was really interesting. It was very anxious. There was really a sense of suspense, if you will, almost like in the presidential debates, a sense of tension. You just didn't know what was going to happen next. But the tension was quickly defused as the president really waded into this cultural war over abortion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Outside the gates of Notre Dame, hundreds of anti-abortion protesters, objecting to the president's appearance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blessed art thou among women...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.

MALVEAUX: But inside the graduation ceremony, an enthusiastic welcome and a robust defense for the invitation.

REV. JOHN I. JENKINS, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: President Obama is not someone who stops talking to those who differ with him.

MALVEAUX: The president's appearance and an honorary degree from one of the nation's largest Catholic universities ignited a political firestorm. Mr. Obama tackled the abortion controversy head-on.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No matter how much we may want to fudge it, indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory, the fact is that at some level the views of the two camps are irreconcilable.

MALVEAUX: But he also called for common ground.

OBAMA: So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions. Let's reduce unintended pregnancy. Let's make adoption more available.

MALVEAUX: Early on, several protesters disrupted the president.

OBAMA: And since -- and since this is Notre Dame, I mean...

MALVEAUX: But the sea of graduates before him drowned them out, chanting "Yes, we can" and "We are Notre Dame." OBAMA: We're fine, everybody.

MALVEAUX: A small number wore pictures on top their caps of crosses and baby's feet to protest the president's abortion rights position. Other students donned pro-Obama signs. About a dozen people walked out during Mr. Obama's remarks, but the audience gave him a standing ovation when the president praised Notre Dame students' handling of the controversy.

OBAMA: I want to join him and Father John in saying how inspired I am by the maturity and responsibility with which this class has approached the debate surrounding today's ceremony.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And Kiran, in the weeks to come, President Obama is going to pick his Supreme Court nominee. Now, conservative groups are going to keep a close eye on their abortion stand, not necessarily because they believe they're going to block the nomination per se, but they're going to be able to raise money and awareness over this very controversial issue. This is obviously something that we saw play out at Notre Dame -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us, thank you.

Also, as Suzanne mentioned, outside of the gates of Notre Dame University, a total of 39 people were arrested for trying to enter the university to protest the school for inviting President Obama.

We also caught up with Emily Toates. We spoke with her on Friday. She's a senior and she decided to boycott her commencement. And she said she had no regrets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMILY TOATES, NOTRE DAME STUDENT: I see my friends going in, and I want to be with some of them going in, marching in with the other engineers that I've been studying with for the last four years. But at the same time, I feel a real kind of peace about my decision not to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Emily and other students who boycotted President Obama spent much of the day at an open air mass and rally.

ROBERTS: The top Republicans are turning the screws on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this morning. They want her to prove her claim that the CIA lied to Congress about the use of waterboarding on terror suspects or apologize.

Jim Acosta is live in Washington for us this morning.

And Jim, Republicans are certainly trying hard to get some traction on this issue. Are they making any headway? JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Speaker Pelosi says this is by design, John. And Democrats in Washington now understand the dangers of investigating allegations of torture during the Bush administration. Republicans have found a way to turn the issue against one of the most powerful Democrats in the country, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: I'm only speaking from my own experience, and we were told that it was not being used.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Ever since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi accused the CIA of lying to her about its use of harsh interrogation tactics during the Bush administration...

PELOSI: The CIA was misleading. They mislead us all the time.

ACOSTA: ... republicans have been all too eager to talk about torture.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Well, we know there's a dispute about -- between the speaker and the CIA over what she knew and when she knew it.

NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: I don't see how she can serve as speaker if it turns out that she has lied about national security both to the House and to the country.

ACOSTA: Even some democrats worried the speaker misspoke.

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I don't think that democrats really want to be at war with the CIA. I love the speaker. She's a great family lady and everything else. I probably wouldn't have done that.

ACOSTA: Pelosi's comments prompted the CIA to release this document showing she and other members of Congress were notified about the agency's use of extreme methods on suspected terrorists. But one democrat mentioned in the document, Bob Graham, says the CIA's records are wrong.

A leading Republican says Pelosi must prove her case.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), MINORITY LEADER: I think that she ought to either present the evidence or apologize, one or the other.

ACOSTA: But even as republicans are trying to turn the torture tables on democrats, liberals are reaching to turn them back.

KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL, "THE NATION": The next big controversy is the mounting evidence showing that torture was used to extract evidence to create a link, a false link, between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.

ACOSTA: Bush administration critics point to Lawrence Wilkerson, chief of staff of former Secretary of State Colin Powell. On the Web site "The Washington Note," Wilkerson says, "In early 2002, harsh interrogation was not aimed at preempting another terrorist attack on the U.S., but discovering a smoking gun linking Iraq and al Qaeda," a charge Dick Cheney's daughter shot down.

LIZ CHENEY, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NEAR EASTERN AFFAIRS: I think that it's important for us to have all the facts out. This was an important program that saved American lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: As for Speaker Pelosi, Republicans acknowledge they don't have the votes to remove her. But all of the finger pointing is renewing calls on Capitol Hill for an independent truth commission on torture, something the White House says it does not want, John.

ROBERTS: Sometimes a wounded duck is better than no duck at all, and it looks like that's where Republicans are trying to keep Speaker Pelosi this morning.

Jim, thanks so much.

ACOSTA: A lot of quacking in Washington.

ROBERTS: Yes. All right. Thank you.

CHETRY: Well, as Jim just reported, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has a political predicament on her hands this morning and Republicans are trying to turn up the heat on that. The controversy sparking demands for an apology and questions about her ability to serve.

We're going to speak with a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Peter Hoekstra.

Also, Defense Secretary Robert Gates speaking out about shifting U.S. military operations to Afghan forces. Will that happen any time soon?

It's 10 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twelve and a half minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

New this morning, New York City reports its first swine flu death. An assistant principal from a Queens middle school died last night after spending a week on a ventilator. The hospital says he was being treated with an experimental drug but was just overwhelmed by the illness.

New York health officials have now shut down 11 schools because of the outbreak. The 55-year-old teacher is the sixth person in the United States to die from the H1N1 flu virus.

Two astronauts will attempt to make final repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope today. It will be the mission's fifth and final spacewalk. On Tuesday, the seven-astronaut crew will deploy the telescope. NASA hopes that the Hubble will keep operating for up to 10 more years.

And Defense Secretary Robert Gates discussing the new American war strategy in Afghanistan. Last night on "60 Minutes," Secretary Gates talked about how close or far the U.S. is from handing over military operations to Afghan forces.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CBS "60 MINUTES")

ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: War is inherently unpredictable, OK? And the enemy always has a vote. But I think that would be our anticipation.

KATIE COURIC, CBS ANCHOR: Then U.S. troops will definitely be here at least through the end of President Obama's current term? Is that accurate?

GATES: We'll see. This is a war.

COURIC: At the same time, don't you think that people in the United States deserve some kind of idea of how long this commitment will be?

GATES: I think what the people in the United States want to see is the momentum shifting to see that the strategies that we're following are working. And that's why I've said in nine months to a year, we need to evaluate how we're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Secretary Gates was also asked whether he enjoys his job. We'll play that part of the interview coming up for you in the next hour here on the Most News in the Morning -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right., John, thanks.

Well, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi might be fighting for her political future this week. Republicans say that if the CIA misled Congress about the use of torture on terror suspects as Pelosi has claimed, they want to see proof of that.

Well, now Pelosi wants classified notes of a 2002 briefing on waterboarding made public. She says that will prove she was not told the technique was being used. But a top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee insists that he read those notes from that briefing and that Pelosi is wrong.

Joining us this morning live from Grand Rapids, Michigan is Congressman Peter Hoekstra, the ranking member of the House intelligence Committee, also a former committee chairman.

Congressman Hoekstra, great to have you with us. Thanks for being with us.

REP. PETER HOEKSTRA (R-MI), RANKING MEMBER, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Hey, thank you, good morning.

CHETRY: Explain for all of us, first of all, as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, how much information were you given or were your colleagues given regarding interrogation tactics.

HOEKSTRA: Well, I expect that what happened is very much like the briefings that I received in 2004 when I became the chairman of the committee. You get a very, very detailed briefing as to exactly what's going on in the program that the CIA may be laying out for you.

When the briefing is complete, there's really a couple of questions that either they ask or that you ask. It's kind of like, is there any other additional information that you feel you need, Congressman? And then really the implied question is, do you agree or do you not agree with the program and the tactics that were put in place?

CHETRY: OK, so realistically speaking, if Nancy Pelosi at the time was informed about the waterboarding as a potential technique or even waterboarding currently being used, would it be the proper or the de rigueur thing to do to write a memo expressing your opposition to that?

HOEKSTRA: Well, actually, the first thing that you would do in the briefing, you would express your anger or your disagreement with the policy that may be - that you may be briefed on. If you don't get satisfaction from the briefers, because they're not the ones that are really making the decisions, what you would then do is you would go back to your -- the leadership in your political party.

In this case, she would have gone back to the minority leader and said, hey, there's a practice being contemplated or being acted on in the intelligence community that I disagree with and I think that we need to stop it.

CHETRY: Right.

HOEKSTRA: And then you would go to the president.

CHETRY: All right.

HOEKSTRA: There's lots of options that you can use.

CHETRY: And Congressman, as we've learned now, none of that happened at this point, but there are differences. There's a he said/she said about exactly how members of Congress were notified in this situation. Nancy Pelosi is saying she found out later from a staffer, actually.

Well, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is saying that Congress has an "absolute obligation to open an inquiry to investigate Nancy Pelosi." He says if it turns out she lied, that she should be censured, that she should step down as House speaker.

Do you agree with that? HOEKSTRA: Well, she made some outrageous accusations last week where she said that the CIA lied to her and lied systemically over a period of years. That is a very, very serious charge. And either the CIA needs to be held accountable for their performance during this time or the speaker needs to be held accountable and be held and be responsible for the actions and the statements that she made last week.

One or the other is correct. One or the other is wrong. I think we can get to the bottom of this. All we need to do is get more information from the CIA, and I think we'll get some more clarity to this issue.

CHETRY: And if you think that it breaks in favor of the CIA telling the truth, should Nancy Pelosi step down as House speaker?

HOEKSTRA: Well, I think, you know, it comes close to that. I mean, you have to remember, she's been at the forefront.

CHETRY: Yes, but if it comes close, she either step -- you know, is forced to step down or she isn't. What's your opinion?

HOEKSTRA: Well, I think she's been the one that has been saying people within the Justice Department need to be held accountable. People in the CIA need to be held accountable. If she wants to apply that same standard, it has to be applied to her as well.

CHETRY: Go ahead. Congressman, did we lose you?

HOEKSTRA: No, I'm still here. I hear you.

CHETRY: Go ahead.

HOEKSTRA: OK. I think -- you know, she's applied the standard. She wants to hold the lawyers accountable in the Justice Department. She wants to hold the folks in the CIA who carried out these programs accountable. She now has to move that standard to herself. She has to be held accountable for what she has said and what she did in 2002 and 2003.

CHETRY: All right. Well, your critics are saying that Republicans want to focus on Nancy Pelosi to deflect attention away from the larger issue of the use of these interrogation methods and the pressing for this truth commission. What do you say to your critics?

HOEKSTRA: No. We didn't bring that issue up. This issue came up four weeks ago when the president released the Justice Department memos. We were more than willing to say the decisions that were made in 2002, 2003 were the right decisions. They kept America safe. Let's continue moving forward and let's put the focus on winning this war against radical jihadists.

We didn't go back. We didn't open up this issue. This is something that the president opened up that something that really did not even need to be opened up. CHETRY: All right. Congressman Hoekstra, thanks for talking to us this morning. We appreciate it.

HOEKSTRA: Sure. Good. Thank you.

ROBERTS: President Obama taking on one of the most polarizing issues of his generation, abortion. He's appealing for mutual respect from both sides. But how is his message being received? We'll ask David Brody from the Christian Broadcasting Network just ahead.

And gas prices up more than a quarter a gallon in three weeks. We'll tell you how much higher they'll likely to go as we gear up for the Memorial Day weekend.

Just crossing 20 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

AMY POEHLER, COMEDIENNE: Disney World Resort is opening an attraction next week called the "great piggy bank adventure" which will teach families about personal finance, though not as effectively as Disney's other new attraction, "offshore bankers of the Caribbean."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Twenty-three minutes after the hour.

You might have noticed that the price of gasoline continues to rise, even though the economy continues to be in the dumper. Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning with more on that.

I put a whole three bucks of gas in my motorcycle on Saturday. Outrageous.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know. I'll tell you, bailouts, all the things that are to be outrageous about but it's this gas prices that I get more e-mail about over the last week or so. Good morning, everybody.

Over three weeks, 26 cents a gallon for gas. I mean, this is something that people are noticing right away because they're filling up every week, every four or five days to go to work and it hurts, 26 cents higher in just 20 days. Twenty days in a row up. That adds up to like four and a half bucks a tank if you're putting it in there. And for a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck, it really makes the difference.

Is there a conspiracy here? No. The government says frankly that $2.30 is probably the peak we're going to see. We're right there, if not just above there. And every single expert I've talked to about gasoline, they say we've probably seen the bulk of this move.

Why isn't there a conspiracy? Well, oil prices are higher. That's because in the oil markets investors are anticipating that the economy is going to get better and there's going to be more demand for oil down the road, and that's lifting up the prices of oil and then the oil derivatives like gasoline.

ROBERTS: And...

ROMANS: People want to see a conspiracy. Oh, they want to see a conspiracy.

CHETRY: But the bottom line is the price.

ROBERTS: Even they figured that things are getting better, then the price will go back down again, right?

ROMANS: Well, the last time we saw 26 cents in 20 days like this, it was the precursor to a run-up to $4.00. So that's why people are so nervous because the last time this happened it really, really hurt.

CHETRY: All right. But you said the experts say that it's not going to be the case this time.

ROMANS: Every person I've talked to says that will not be the case. I hope they're right.

CHETRY: Fingers crossed. The so-called experts have not been so great over the past years.

ROBERTS: They're there with lips to the pumps ears.

ROMANS: Right.

ROBERTS: You've got a "Romans' Numeral" for us this morning?

ROMANS: I do. And this, of course, is the number that's sort of driving the day, driving your wallet. And the number is $27.00, it has to do with gas.

ROBERTS: That's the average price for a tank of gas.

ROMANS: No.

CHETRY: That's how much more you're paying in a week than you were last week?

ROMANS: It's actually how much less you're paying for a tank of gas than a year ago. So we're all complaining about this move-up, $4.50 more a tank we're paying on average here. But compare that with last year. Remember when those gas prices were $3.80, $4.00? You're still down, you know, $27.00 less. Now...

CHETRY: Those are big tanks.

ROMANS: I know that's an 18 -- that's an 18-gallon tank. I don't know how much -- well, in a motorcycle, how many tanks...

ROBERTS: Five gallons on a Harley.

ROMANS: Five.

ROBERTS: Yes. I only topped it up and so there was not much. But, you know, what's gas going to do when the economy does recover?

ROMANS: It's going to go up.

ROBERTS: That's huge.

ROMANS: And so is oil. It's going to go up. And that's something to think of and that's one of the reasons why economists are saying these low gas prices and relatively low energy prices have been helpful at this time.

ROBERTS: Right.

ROMANS: But they've been helpful because the economy is so weak that demand has been down.

ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.

ROMANS: Sure.

ROBERTS: See you next time.

CHETRY: Speaking of cars, hundreds of car dealerships will be closing their doors in the next few weeks. Thousands of vehicles though remain on the lots unsold. Can you get a brand new car now far below cost? It may sound too good to be but we're hearing it's not.

We'll have more details on that.

Also, President Obama's commencement address giving abortion opponents an opportunity to seize the national stage. And they did. But were they successful in getting their message across as well?

Twenty-six minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. A beautiful live look at the sunrise this morning over Cincinnati. This is coming to us from WLWT.

It's 39 degrees right now. A chilly morning, but it's going to be 69 degrees and as you see sunny in Cincy.

Well, right now, it's 29 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories, President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet face to face in Washington this morning. On the agenda, the creation of a Palestinian state and pursuing diplomatic relations with Iraq.

"New York Times" columnist Maureen Dowd admits using another writer's words without attribution in her Sunday column. "The Times" issued an online correction. Dowd uses an entire paragraph, virtually word for word written by "Huffington Post" editor Josh Marshall. She claims she never read his blog on Bush administration torture policies, but instead heard his words from a friend who did not mention where they came from.

And if you're in the market for a new car, Chrysler may have a deal for you. More than 44,000 cars and trucks in 780 Chrysler lots have to be sold in the next few weeks. Those dealerships are closing and analysts say it's possible to get a brand new Chrysler Dodge or Jeep at below cost.

ROBERTS: There was an afternoon of applause and protests during President Obama's commencement address at Notre Dame University. The invitation to honor a president who supports abortion rights ignited outrage on the campus for weeks. But once inside, peace reigned mostly as the president urged both sides of the debate to lower the volume.

The president also spent time focusing on the graduates and the challenges that await them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: This generation, your generation is the one that must find a path back to prosperity and decide how we respond to a global economy that left millions behind even before the most recent crisis hit; an economy where greed and short-term thinking were too often rewarded at the expense of fairness and diligence and an honest day's work. Your generation...

(APPLAUSE)

Your generation must decide how to save God's creation from a changing climate that threatens to destroy it. Your generation must seek peace at a time when there are those who will stop at nothing to do us harm, and when weapons in the hands of a few can destroy the many.

And we must find a way to reconcile our ever-shrinking world with its ever-growing diversity, diversity of thought, diversity of culture and diversity of belief. In short, we must find way to live together as one human family.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Joining me now to talk more about the political and religious impact of the president's address is David Brody; he's the White House correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network and CNN contributor.

So, despite the controversy, David, it looks like the president was a big hit. What do you think?

DAVID BRODY, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think, you know, he gets credit, obviously, for showing up.

Look, we knew it was going to be somewhat of a bad photo op to a degree with some of those protestors interrupting the president. But John, at this point, we're in the Kumbaya stage right now. Everybody hold hands and "We Are The World" comes on stage and everything.

But the question now, as we move forward to the summer, is "Where's the beef?" as that Wendy's commercial in the '80s used to say. The president has talked a lot about reducing abortion. And the next stage of this, John, the devil, if you will, is in the details. What will those details be? We're going to find that out probably here some time relatively soon. ROBERTS: Let's listen to a little bit about what he said on that front. He talked about the differences on both sides of the abortion issue being irreconcilable but also sought some common ground.

Let's listen to that part of the speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions. Let's reduce unintended pregnancies. Let's make adoption more available. Let's provide care and support for women who do carry their children to term.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: You know, David, I talked about that whole idea with Pastor Joel Hunter of the Northland Church in Orlando. He says, as an evangelical Christian, he differs with the president on the issue of abortion, but the fact that the president does see this other route as well, to try to reduce the number of abortions, is something that he can respect. And while maybe not embrace, he completely understands it.

Of course, other evangelical conservative leaders don't feel the same way. What do you think about that?

BRODY: There's no doubt about it. Joel Hunter represents this brand of evangelical conservatives to moderate, some will say, that has bought into this part of what the president is saying.

Look, the president won the Catholic vote, for example, did better with evangelist in 2008. So there is some substance behind all of this.

But John, I think the interesting part of the whole Notre Dame speech was that the fact that for the first time really, these pro- life Catholics, conservative Evangelicals were able to break through the media clutter on a social issue.

Let's think about this for a moment. What have the headlines been since the Obama administration has taken hold here? The economy, the swine flu, you go down the list, now all of sudden we're talking abortion. The Supreme Court decision coming up, abortion, same-sex marriage will come up. So, all of a sudden there is a cultural war shift to a degree in terms of talking about these issues more, especially in the next six months.

ROBERTS: Yet, at the same time, David, E.J. Dionne writes in "The Washington Post" the following, quote, "By facing their arguments head on, Obama strengthen moderate and liberal forces inside the church itself."

That's moderate and liberal forces inside the church itself.

"He also struck a forceful blow against those who would keep the nation mired in culture-war politics without end. Obama opponents on the Catholic right placed a large bet on his Notre Dame visit. And they lost."

Seems to be the complete opposite of what you just said.

BRODY: Well, you're going to get differing views, obviously. But you know, look, I think what it speaks to is - because he talked about moderates and the Catholic right. This a broader landscape picture here, John, you have, in essence, Catholic war, to a degree. Even an evangelical war between conservative evangelicals and the moderate progressive evangelicals who want to recast this debate.

What are the values exactly that we should be talking about when it comes to faith? Is it more abortion and marriage? Or is it more, you know, torture, human rights, health care, a broader landscape? Obama won that argument in 2008 and the Notre Dame controversy gives pro-lifers and conservatives more of an impetus to try and change that dynamic in the future.

ROBERTS: Yes, well, we'll see how long that lasts. David Brody, good to talk to you this morning. David, thanks so much.

BRODY: Thanks, John.

CHETRY: Well, a seat will soon sit empty on the highest court in the land as the president's list of replacements get shorter. Both the right and the left are gearing up for a nomination battle.

And another commencement to tell you about. Not much uproar over this one. We're going to hear what first lady Michelle Obama had to say to the class of 2009.

It's 36 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's 39 minutes after the hour. Let's fast forward now to the stories that will be making news later on today.

This morning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, Vice President Joe Biden will speak to this year's graduates at Wake Forest University. After that the president heads for Southeastern Europe where he'll meet with political leaders in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo.

Later on this morning, President Obama is expected to meet with former astronaut Charlie Bolden to discuss the top job at NASA. If he gets the position, Bolden will become the space agency's first African-American administrator.

And at 11:30 this morning Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will take part in a live Q&A session at the National Press Club in Washington. It will be simulcast on Facebook, by the way. He's expected to deliver updates on the administration's economic recovery plan.

That's what will be making news today, Kiran.

CHETRY: President Obama was not the only member of his family on the graduation guest list this weekend. On Saturday, it was Michelle Obama offering words of wisdom to the class of 2009. She spoke at the University of California at Merced.

The first lady urged students to dream big and to give back to their communities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: As you step out into that big open world, and you start building your lives, the truth is that you will face tough times. You will certainly have doubts. Let me tell you because I know I did when I was your age. There will be days when you will worry about whether you're really up for the challenge. Maybe some of you already feel a little of that right now. Maybe you're wondering am I smart enough? Do I really belong? Can I live up to all those expectation that everyone has of me?

And you will definitely have your share of setbacks. Count on it. Your best laid plans will be consumed by obstacles. Your excellent ideas will be peppered with flaws. You will be confronted with financial strains as your loans become due and salaries fall short of both expectations and expenses. You will make mistakes that will shatter your confidence. You will make compromises that will test your convictions. You will find that there is rarely a clear and direct path to any of your visions. And you will find that you'll have to re-adjust again and again and again.

And there may be times when you wonder whether it's all worth it. And there may be moments when you just want to quit. But in those moments, those inevitable moments, I urge you to think about this day.

Remember that you are blessed. Remember that you are blessed. Remember that in exchange for those blessings, you must give something back. You must reach back and pull someone up. You must bend down and let someone else stand on your shoulders so that they can see a brighter future. As advocate and activist Marilyn Wright Edelman says, service is the rent we pay for living. It is the true measure, the only measure of our success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: All right, so that was the only college commencement the first lady will deliver this year. We saw people drinking bottled water. I just looked at the temperature and Merced is dealing with near-record high temperatures. Today is going to be a high of 99. So it must have been quite warm there at the graduation.

ROBERTS: I wouldn't mind just a little bit of that warmer weather up where we are, because it's darn chilly here these days.

CHETRY: Sure is.

ROBERTS: The Southeast took a pounding over the weekend with damaging winds, hail, drenching rains. This morning, though, the threat is not over. We're going to check in with our Rob Marciano to see who's in the storm zone today.

A filly makes history at the Preakness. But will there be a battle of the sexes, too, at the Belmont?

It is 42 and a half minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: Welcome back. A live look at New Orleans thanks to our friends at WWL. 60 degrees there right now. Going up to a high of 79 and sun in the forecast all day long. Some other places across the country, not so lucky. Our Rob Marciano in the Weather Center this morning, in Atlanta, tracking all the extreme weather.

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CHETRY: Well, this morning everyone is wonder if the fabulous filly who beat the boys in the Preakness will be taking them on again. Rachel Alexandra's historic run in Baltimore and her prospects for the Belmont, ahead.

Also, in Washington, the guessing game on both sides of the aisle continues. The question, who will the president pick as his Supreme Court nominee?

It's 47 minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: It's 50 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning on this Monday.

The lady sure had her way with the boys, you could say, at the Saturday's Preakness Stakes. And this morning everyone wants to know if Rachel Alexandra will be back for battle of the sexes, part II at Belmont in June.

Richard Roth joins us now with more on the history-making filly.

You were there for all of this. What's the deal with Rachel Alexandra?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's the real deal. She had the best weekend of any female I know. Now Rachel Alexandra takes a breather after a dominating performance in Baltimore.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rachel Alexandra is in front with one furlong to go!

ROTH (voice-over): The race lived up to the hype, super filly Rachel Alexandra being chased by the boys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The filly is trying to hold on. She's clear by three. Mine That Bird, right center, length. Here's the winner! And the filly did it! Rachel Alexandra!

ROTH: The Hollywood-style ending included the filly holding off on rushing Kentucky Derby upset winner Mine That Bird.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She puts you in the game early, and just keeps running, keeps running. You don't know how good she is.

ROTH: No filly has won the Preakness since 1924.

MIKE BATTAGLIA, RACING ANALYST: You have to be a spectacular filly to jump up and beat the colts, especially in one of the classics. I think she stamped herself as one of the all-time greats when she won the Preakness.

ROTH: No soon was Rachel Alexandra across the wire when the question came: Would she run in the Belmont Stakes against Mine That Bird in the third and longest leg of America's Triple Crown series?

JESS JACKSON, CO-OWNER, RACHEL ALEXANDRA: We would have to evaluate that against the other alternatives for her own health and her own career. But yes, we will seriously the Belmont.

ROTH: However, Rachel Alexandra's trainers seem not so anxious to run and will wait to see how the horse feels in coming days.

BATTAGLIA: It was a hard race on her. To come back in three weeks, I'm not sure they're going to do it. If they do, if she really bounces back, and she would have to really show them something, that would be one heck of a race.

ROTH: Race fans had advice for the horses' connections.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a lot of controversy around it and not wanting her to be in the race, so the fact she got in and showed them all what she can do is amazing.

I think Rachel Alexandra is going to win the Belmont.

KARA MOODY, RACING FAN: Girl horses rock. They do. Girl horses are better than guy horses. Why not? You've got to see who's better. Whoohoo! Girl horses!

ROTH: Rachel Alexandra arrived in Louisville, Kentucky, Sunday and will now await, along with her fans, a decision by the owners. More suspense from the racing world, which produced a battle of the sexes for the ages. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: Not as many fans as usual were present at Pamlico to see the Preakness, the track banned people from bringing beer into the infield picnic area. Last year, 112,000 fans; this year 77,000 people. But a lot of people told me that it was a pretty bad scene in the infield the last few years.

I know you're in favor of Rachel Alexandra going onto the Belmont, right?

CHETRY: Very funny. No, I just still remember with horror what happened to Eight Belles, when she broke down on the track and had to be euthanized. You just worry. Fillies take a little bit longer to recover.

ROTH: That's right. And I don't know, I'm not sure we're going to see her there in New York. I'd like to see a great race though.

ROBERTS: The other thing, too, is Belmont is three furlongs longer than the Preakness.

CHETRY: Right.

ROBERTS: And you saw the closing kick that Mine That Bird has. If you extended that out for another - what? - mile and three- sixteenths, if you extend that out to another mile and a half, would Mine That Bird actually win the race?

ROTH: I think we should do more racing on this program. Also Rags To Riches, a filly, won the Belmont two years ago, never won again and was eventually retired.

ROBERTS: We'll see what happens.

ROTH: All right. We're all going out to Belmont for the first, I think, in a few hours. We can wrap it up here.

ROBERTS: You'll take us out there.

ROTH: Yes, sure.

CHETRY: Just let me know when it's over, I want everybody to get through it safely.

ROTH: The tracks have been trying to put different surfaces in for safety. It's still a very risky sport at times, as we know.

ROBERTS: We'll be reading the racing form later this morning, Richard.

ROTH: OK.

CHETRY: Thanks, Richard. Good to see you.

ROTH: Thank you. ROBERTS: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is taking a lot of heat this morning for claiming that the CIA lied to Congress about water boarding terror suspects. What Republicans want her to do now. And a former speaker of the House speaking out about her future.

And New York City has its first swine flu related death. A middle school assistant principal gone six days after he got sick. Doctors say an experimental treatment couldn't save him either. Is the epidemic reaching a dangerous new phase? It's 54 and a half minutes after the hour.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

WILL FERRELL, COMEDIAN, PORTRAYING GEORGE W. BUSH: Here is my regret, that I didn't have me a vice president like Joe Biden. I mean, look at those two, going out for burgers, laughing it up. I needed that kind of VP, the kind that did dumb stuff to make me look smarter. You know? Instead I got the one guy that scares me more than my dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Welcome back to Most News in the Morning. Will Ferrell came back to SNL this weekend. Had a little bit of fun at the former president's expense.

Meantime, President Obama looks like he is getting ready for a major battle to fill a soon-to-empty Supreme Court seat. He's pulling Democratic heavyweight Stephanie Cutter in to lead the charge. Cutter was a senior adviser for Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

As Kate Bolduan reports, as the president's shortlist gets shorter, conservatives are getting ready to fight back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama calls it among his most serious responsibilities.

OBAMA: I will seek somebody with a sharp and independent mind and a record of excellence and integrity.

BOLDUAN: Sources close to the selection process tell CNN the list of top candidates for Mr. Obama's Supreme Court nominee is down to about half a dozen, a majority of which are women. They include Federal Appeals Court Judges Sonya Sotomayor and Diane Wood, Solicitor General Elena Kalgan, and at least two candidates with political experience, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm.

On his search, the president says he's looking beyond judicial record.

OBAMA: I view that quality of empathy, understanding and identifying with people's hopes and struggles, as an essential ingredient for arriving at just decisions and outcomes.

BOLDUAN: That worries many conservatives who translate what Mr. Obama calls empathy to mean judicial activism. Conservative groups are gearing up for a fight.

GARY MARX, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JUDICIAL CONFIRMATION NETWORK: We want to see that law be equally applied and the empathy talk, really personal feelings getting in the mix, that's very troublesome.

BOLDUAN: The president is likely to announce his nominee by month's end, a life-time appointment viewed as a key element of any presidential legacy.

THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: It's impossible to overstate the importance of a Supreme Court appointment because of the justices' power. They decide things like abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, the meaning of all of the laws involving the detainees at Guantanamo Bay and presidential powers, wire tapping. The list goes on and on and on.

BOLDUAN (on camera): President Obama's pick will undoubtedly be left of center, while replacing one left leaning justice with another, won't likely change the ideological balance of the conservative bench, liberals are hoping for a more forceful justice to take on the conservative majority of the high court.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)