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American Morning

Obama to Meet with Cabinet to Form Next Plan; Taliban Etiquette Book Circulating in Afghanistan; Could Obama learn from Clinton on Health Care Reform?; Tourists vs. Hosts in NYC; Inside the Search Warrant for Jackson's Doctor

Aired July 31, 2009 - 07:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello in for Kiran. Here are the stories we'll be breaking down for you the next 15 minutes.

The cash for clunkers program is running out of money after just one week. A lot of Americans are trading in their gas guzzlers for more efficient models. A billion dollars for rebates is just about spent. Christine Romans on the latest effort to refuel the program.

ROBERTS: The fallout from the beer summit. President Obama, Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley having a cold one in a conversation at the White House. So where do they go from here? And what was the vice president doing there? Our senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins us live.

COSTELLO: And a little blue book is making big news this morning. It's the Taliban's guide book for warriors. It contains guidance for suicide attacks and proper social behavior. We're in Pakistan to show you what else is inside?

But first, the clash for clunkers rebate program may be running on empty. After just one week, government estimate show the $1 billion program has already burned through $221 million. It's suppose to run through November 1st or until the money is gone, but yesterday, reports began swirling on Capitol Hill that the CARS program would be suspended.

Late last night, the White House said, not true. Here's their statement: "We are working tonight to assess the situation facing what is obviously an incredibly popular program. Auto dealers and consumers should have confidence that all valid car transactions that have taken place to date will be honored."

"The Washington Post" is reporting Michigan lawmakers held a conference call late last night and planned to ask the White House for more cash -- but will they get it? So many clunkers, so little cash.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And you notice in the White House statement, they said that all deals done to date will be honored. That was last night. What about this weekend? If you have an old Ford Bronco and you want to get the cash for clunkers, you've been holding on to it, have you missed your window of opportunity?

That's this morning what we don't know. We know they burned through a lot of this money. We know that the dealers are saying that they had so much demand for people bringing in their old junker clunkers and getting $3,500 to $4,500, a rebate that they could use towards the purchase of a new car, that, frankly, they still have a lot of cars that they haven't processed through with the government with the Transportation Department yet.

So there's a lot of money that has been spent. And what it shows us, frankly, is that people when enticed with this government rebate, this incentive from the government, went out and bought cars. It was purpose of the whole program. It worked.

Now it's been so successful, they have to figure out pretty darn quick what to do about it.

COSTELLO: Maybe the government isn't used to coming up with a program that actually works.

ROMANS: And even in the beginning, you remember that some of the auto experts said, oh, this will have minimal impact. Some people won't want to turn in their cars because you can get more of a trade- in value anyway. But people are coming up with old cars.

What I'd like to know is what is the biggest number of cars from what model? What is it they're turning in? Old trucks, old cars. I would with interested in finding that out.

ROBERTS: You have one sitting around in the garage somewhere?

ROMANS: I don't. And if it's on blocks, they won't take it. You have to have been driving it the last year. So, if your car is on blocks, I'm sorry.

COSTELLO: Forget about it.

So, we don't really have an answer to the question can you bring your junker in today?

ROMANS: And I'm trying to find out. But it sounds to me that this has been so successful, they'd be crazy not to figure out how to keep it going and to make sure people can go in and keep taking these old gas guzzlers off of the road and putting more fuel efficient cars on.

Debbie Stabenow from the Michigan delegation, she says that 200,000 cars were purchased because of this deal. That's more than 6,000 fuel-efficient cars a day going on the road instead of the old clunker that was on the road.

ROBERTS: We did get a lot money back from the banks recently, right?

ROMANS: Plenty of, must be. Plenty of money that wasn't ours to spend in the first place. COSTELLO: Christine, thanks.

ROBERTS: When President Obama, Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley met for beers at the White House, they were joined by an unannounced guest, Vice President Joe Biden. Afterwards the president thanked everyone for a thoughtful conversation. But he's downplaying the notion that this was some kind of a summit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: I noticed this has been called the beer summit. It's a clever term, but this is not a summit, guys. This is three folk having a drink at the end of the day, and hopefully giving people an opportunity to listen to each other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Three folks that did turn out to be four. Our Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry tracking reaction for us this morning.

And Ed, is the White House just trying to put this one to bed and move on from this?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: John, certainly the White House is hoping they can move on from this. You mentioned this cocktail hour with Vice President Biden having Bucklers, nonalcoholic, the president with Bud Light, Sergeant Crowley had Blue Moon while, in a bit of a surprise, Professor Gates decided to get Sam Adams Light, making the Sam Adams executives who have been lobbying for a seat at the table pretty happy, obviously.

Now, Robert Gibbs yesterday had said in all seriousness that, when he was asked by reporters, how will you know if this is a success the morning after. And he said, if you guys will stop asking me what kind of beer the president is having.

They obviously wanted to get this to be a substantive conversation. They were hoping that the president could start a dialogue in the country, but also that he could essentially hand it off.

And it appears from what Sergeant Crowley said after this meeting that he and Professor Gates are trying to work out their differences now without the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CROWLEY: We have already planned a meeting. The professor is heading back to the vineyard to spend time with his family. He and I are going to have a phone conversation in the coming days to lay the groundwork for that meeting that's already been discussed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: Professor gates did not address cameras, but he put out a written statement on the Web site TheRoot.com. He said, "It's incumbent upon Sergeant Crowley and me to utilize the great opportunity that fate has given us to foster greater sympathy, more than the American public, for the daily perils of policing on the one hand and for the genuine fears of racial profiling on the other hand."

And right there in the essence, two points. One, the fact that now it looks like the two key players here are going to try to work out the differences on their own. A good step, obviously, for the White House.

And secondly, what Professor Gates was referring to there about policing as well racial profiling, two very important subjects in this country. The White House is hoping this started an important conversation - John.

ROBERTS: We'll see if it did.

And as one of our guests earlier this morning was suggesting, school starts in about a month's time. Maybe some teachers will take it upon themselves to look back on this and say what did we learn from this over the course of the summer?

HENRY: That's right. The president said he hopes it was a teachable moment. You're right.

ROBERTS: Ed Henry at the White House this morning. Ed, it's always great to see you. Thanks.

HENRY: Thanks, John, good to see you.

COSTELLO: So, we were wondering, if the president's meeting with the police officer and the professor wasn't a summit, as the president insisted, exactly what was it?

ROBERTS: Yes, it could be called a number of things.

COSTELLO: It certainly could. And the blogs, the late-night comedy shows, and members of the press have had a little fun coming up with some other names. Some of our favorites -- "Bartender in chief," "audacity of hops," "ale to the chief," "beer and loathing," and "brew-ha-ha."

ROBERTS: How about "Mea gulpa," "Of malt and men," "brewing discontent," "the touch of glass" and "Obama's beer bust."

If you have one of your own, head to cnn.com/amfix and give us your two cents.

COSTELLO: I couldn't even think of anymore.

We're keeping track of your stimulus dollars too and how they're being spent this morning. A lot of that money is not being used to fix many of America's crumbling bridges. Instead, the A.P. found a lot is going to bridges already in decent shapes or on cheaper projects like repaving roads. Here are the hard numbers -- $2.2 billion is going to fewer than 1,300 of the nation's worst bridges. But engineers say over 150,000 bridges nationwide need work badly. The problem, officials say, most of those aren't, quote, "shovel-ready projects."

ROBERTS: New this morning, the Memphis area recovering from a tornado. A department store full of shoppers lost part of its roof in the side of the building and 50 nearby homes were damaged. Thousands of people lost power.

Thankfully, no one was hurt.

COSTELLO: Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz reportedly tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. Yes, the Big Papi.

"The New York Times" says Ortiz and former Sox teammate Manny Ramirez were among 104 players who tested positive. Ortiz says he's surprised by the story and promises to respond to it very, very soon.

Five months ago, he told a reporter he believes anyone who tests positive for performance-enhancing drugs should be suspended from baseball for an entire year.

ROBERTS: When the markets open in just over two hours, the Dow will start the session at its highest level of the year. It was up more than 83 points yesterday closing at 9154.

The rally was triggered by solid corporate earnings and a drop in the number of Americans receiving jobless benefits.

COSTELLO: That's good news.

ROBERTS: It is. Is it the beginning of something big? Green shoots growing?

COSTELLO: I hope so.

ROBERTS: Well, 97-year-old John Colangelo has a new nickname this morning. His friends are now calling him Ace. He waited 50 years to earn that title.

COSTELLO: Colangelo got his first hole in one on Tuesday. He did it on the 16th hole of the Amsterdam Municipal Golf Course in upstate New York. His shot hit a flagstick on a fly and then it dropped straight into the hole.

The moment he dreamed of for nearly half his life -- he was stunned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy cow! Looking in the hole, that's where it was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got up there. And John said, it's in the hole. I said, you're kidding me. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. He's just speechless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Here's something even more amazing. At 97, Colangelo plays golf almost every day. Isn't that amazing?

COSTELLO: That's so awesome.

ROBERTS: What a way to retire.

COSTELLO: I don't think he's going to retire, even after this. He'll probably play more.

ROBERTS: That would be fantastic.

ROBERTS: Hey, there's another summit going on at the White House today. It's more of a retreat than anything. They're going across the street to Blair House to review what happened during the first six months of the presidency and sort of target the agenda for the next six months.

So, what priorities does the president need to focus on? We've got Joe Trippi and Susan Molinari coming right up to talk more about that.

It's 10 minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Wow, Las Vegas looks gorgeous at night. It's clear, and 81 degrees. And later, sunny, and 106.

ROBERTS: But it's a dry heat, right?

COSTELLO: That's right, it's a dry heat. It has lots of air- conditioned buildings, so that's a good thing.

The space shuttle astronauts are preparing to land at Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 10:48 this morning. Weather conditions are described as "favorable," even though there's a slight chance of rain. We'll bring you the landing live here on CNN and CNN.com.

ROBERTS: The stars of the hit show "Seinfeld" are going to be back together on television for the first time in 11 years. Co- creator Larry David said Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer will appear in five episodes of his HBO show "Curb Your Enthusiasm," including this season's finale.

The storyline is, naturally, a "Seinfeld Cast Reunion."

COSTELLO: Continental Airline now offering Direct TV on its flights. You'll have to pay $6 for it if you're flying coach. It's free in first class.

Until now, only Delta, Jet Blue, Frontier and Virgin America have offered satellite TV on flights. ROBERTS: It's a weekend get-together for the president and 22 members of his Cabinet. They're having a checkup after six months in office and deciding what's next on the White House agenda. So, as a memo to the president, we're looking at the top three problems that he should consider going forward.

Helping us break it down from both sides of the aisle, Susan Molinari, she's a Republican and former congresswoman from the great state of New York, and Joe Trippi, he's worked on two Democratic presidential campaigns, John Edwards in 2008 and Howard Dean, 2004.

Folks, good to see you. Susan Molinari, why don't you start us off this morning? What are the top three priorities for the president looking ahead to the next six months?

SUSAN MOLINARI, SENIOR PRINCIPAL, BRACEWELL-GIULIANI: Let me, first of all, say these are not my top three priorities. I think, politically, though, the top three priorities the president of the United States needs to focus in on is signing a health care bill.

I think he's expended a significant amount of political and personal capital to get this far. He needs to show success on this.

I think in February, when he comes up with his economic and budget blueprint, he needs to show the American people now that he's done inheriting problems and dealing with problems of his own administration, he needs to show how we can cut the deficit and reduce spending.

That's something that's very important to this country and comes up time and time again in poll after poll.

And with two wars and home grown terrorists being found on our own soil, I think he needs to continuously ensure Americans that he's grown into the role of being commander in chief after a year of being president of the United States.

ROBERTS: All right, Joe Trippi, let's give you a chance. If you were to write a memo to the president, the top three priorities, what would top the list?

JOE TRIPPI, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER FOR EDWARDS CAMPAIGN, 2008: John, it's jobs, jobs, jobs at the top. This can't be a jobless recovery. He has to focus on that.

He's got to stop the spending and target spending that's only related to creating those jobs.

And third, stay at home, focus domestically on getting the country back on track. Again, if this is a jobless recovery, as a lot of people are talking about, that's going to be a real pain for a lot of workers and pain for the White House if they don't turn that around.

ROBERTS: So we've got the top three priorities from both of you. Break it down a little bit. Susan Molinari, is health care a do or die issue for the president?

MOLINARI: I think it's very important to the president. The president has taken another one of his important signature issues like climate change and put that on the back burner.

The other things, like the stimulus package, like focusing on jobs, as Joe is suggested, really has not been the direct conversation for the president and his administration.

So I think he has made this of paramount importance in terms of the type of credibility and cache that he brings to the White House. He could do what other presidents failed to do.

So I think it's a big challenge, because, as we've seen this week, what you need to do to pass health care with a majority of members of Congress and the blue dogs are going to get progressive and the more liberal members of Congress and the political base of the Democratic Party upset.

But, it is a tight rope you have to walk. But I think he invested so much political capital right now on this issue there is no turning back on him.

ROBERTS: Joe, Jim DeMint has said that this could be his Waterloo if he doesn't get it passed. Do you agree with that?

TRIPPI: I think it will be a big problem if he doesn't get this past. I agree with Susan that he's made this the cornerstone of his administration's -- the target thing he wants to get done.

But, again, this whole thing is about, you know, a lot of the changes won't affect America for a long time. Some of these changes won't go into effect until 2015. Right now, as we move forward, if we have success on that, then he's got to turn to jobs. That's where it's going to be.

Joe Trippi, the biggest mistake the president has made in the last six months. What would you pick it would be?

TRIPPI: I think in a lot of ways trying to do too many things at one time. Some of that is not his fault. When he came in there were a lot of problems. But trying to tackle each one of them combined one after the other I think is wearing out his credibility at times, and he's got to be careful with that.

ROBERTS: Susan, what do you think is the biggest mistake?

MOLINARI: I agree with Joe. I think it's doing too many things.

But I think it's also trying to be the spokesperson, the sales person, if you will, for all of the issues. He's very -- a great communicator. There's no doubt about it. And he is the best sales person for all these programs.

But you have to learn to calibrate when you're going to speak so that the American people and the American media know when something is very important to you and it has that much more impact.

I think he started to lose a little bit of that impact by feeling the need to carry the message for everything and for everyone in his administration.

ROBERTS: Susan, Joe, hang with us. We want to take a quick break and have got some other things to talk about the other side, including the president's falling poll numbers. So stay with us.

It's 18 minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: The White House across the street, the scene of a day and a half long retreat for the president and the 22 members of his Cabinet, talking about the next six months and where to focus the agenda.

Susan Molinari and Joe Trippi are back with us. Let's talk about the president's approval ratings. The CNN poll of polls has found that currently 54 percent of people approve of the job that the president is doing. That's down seven points from late June.

Now, one of the worst seem to be in the Gallup poll. He's was at 63 percent in late June. He's now at 53 percent, less popular, we should note, that either George W. Bush or his father were at this point in their presidencies, but more popular than President Clinton.

Susan Molinari, what do you think is responsible for that?

MOLINARI: I think there's a number of things.

I think when Superman falls to earth there's a louder thud than when human beings do. He was so high up there in the polls throughout this campaign and starting his presidency that his reaction probably is a little bit of an overreaction, and I think there is going to be a course correction.

I think people and President Obama have found that it is hard to govern as opposed to campaigning. And at the risk of engaging in bad morning television, I'm going to agree with Joe Trippi. I think if economic policies through the next year can course correct and unemployment number start to go down and jobless claims go down, I think his numbers will go back up again.

ROBERTS: You and Joe are agreeing on a lot this morning.

(LAUGHTER)

Joe, is this just the natural process of six months in office, and, as Susan, said, such high expectations when he first came in?

TRIPPI: Yes. Few people had the popularity that President Obama did coming in to office. And that's going to deplete a little bit.

But I do think it's about the economy. If the economy turns around -- people are in a sour mood right now. The teachable moment has been the banks get bailouts, I get a pink slip. That's not going to fly, and it's really going to affect his popularity, his approval rating.

Whether deserved or not, he got into this mess, but it is his economy now, and he's going to have to turn the jobs. If he can do that, if the economy turns, he will be one of the most popular presidents ever. If not, it will be a real problem as we get into the 2010 and 2012 elections.

ROBERTS: Just a reminder that next week we're be looking at the second 100 days of this administration and where we go from here.

Joe Trippi, Susan Molinari, it's always great to see you. Thanks for stopping by today.

COSTELLO: I can't believe they were so agreeable.

ROBERTS: Amazing, isn't it? "I agree with what Susan says." "Well, you know, Joe makes a good point, there."

COSTELLO: It's a beautiful thing. It's so unusual in America.

ROBERTS: Isn't it, though? Because this idea of bipartisanship and sort of transformation of Washington seems to be falling by the wayside.

COSTELLO: Seems to be?

ROBERTS: So, to have folks like that who can speak reasonably to each other and agree on a lot of points, that's a good thing.

COSTELLO: Coming up next, a strange book out in Afghanistan, the Taliban's code of conduct. Stan Grant shows us what that book says, and you won't believe it.

It's 23 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: So we've been asking people this morning for their name for the beer summit last night? Here's a great one -- how about the "coalition of the swilling?"

(LAUGHTER)

That is a good one. Tina Brown is here with us this morning.

COSTELLO: That's good.

ROBERTS: That's a good one, isn't it?

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: We actually already did. It's one of the producers for "The Situation Room." Dos and don'ts for Taliban warriors. You're saying what, there are? A little blue book is making big news for its rules on suicide attacks on social behavior.

The U.S. military is calling it "hypocritical propaganda." CNN's Stan Grant picked up a copy of the Taliban's rules to live and fight by, and he's got the story for us this morning from Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The code of conduct has been drafted by Taliban leadership and distributed to fighters in the field.

Of the more than 60 pages, it covers chapters such as prisoners, regional issues, and prohibited things. It sets out a strict hierarchy and limits the use of violence.

Suicide attacks should be high value and important targets because a brave son of Islam should not be used for low value and useless targets.

This is clearly designed to limit casualties and target coalition troops or government officials.

It goes on -- "It is strictly prohibited to exchange prisoners for money. Killing can only be decided by the imam or his deputy. No one else has the right to do so."

The imam in this case is Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar. He has the final say in the execution of, quote, "infidel military prisoners."

There's a long list of don'ts, things that are prohibited by the Taliban. That is, the Taliban fighters cannot steal from civilians, cannot take their weapons. The Taliban should not smoke.

Now, this has been drafted at a time when the Taliban is bogged down in fighting both in Afghanistan and Pakistan and is an attempt to win the hearts and minds of ordinary people.

It is not a new code of conduct. It was issued some years ago, but has now been updated. It also comes just ahead of the Afghanistan election, calling the government in Kabul a "slave government."

The question now, just how closely will this Taliban code of conduct be followed?

Stan Grant, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: There's a big push this morning in at least 20 states to tell the federal government to butt out. They say states' rights ought to trump the Fed. Just saying, do they have a point? We'll talk about that in the special segment in the next hour. We want to know what you think about it. Is Washington spending too much of your money? Should your state have the right to put the brakes on the federal government and govern itself? Sound off on the blog at CNN.com/amfix. I want to read one or two, because we're getting a lot of good comments.

ROBERTS: What do you think people are saying this morning. "Yes, the federal government should be able to make the rules. I don't care if they send my tax money here in the state."

COSTELLO: This is from Tim, "Asking if state's rights trump Fed rights is like asking if your children's rights trump the parents. Many of the states that rejected the stimulus money or any other form of federal assistance are run by Republicans and are trying to make a political point at the expense of their residents."

And this from Pat, "I'm not a state, I'm a person. Individual freedom is almost always forgotten. From what I've seen, state and local governments are just as likely to abuse personal rights and freedoms as the federal government, if not more so."

Keep the comments coming.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Interesting this morning.

Checking this morning's top stories as we come up to the half hour.

CNN has a copy of the search warrant that the feds used when they raided the house and clinic of Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor who was with Michael Jackson when he died.

They were looking for evidence of these crimes -- manslaughter, too many drugs being prescribed, and prescribing to an addict. The addict they're apparently referring to, Michael Jackson.

More from Randi Kaye coming right up.

COSTELLO: British forces are officially pulling out of Iraq today. At the height of the war back in 2003, around 46,000 British soldiers were on the ground, 179 have died since the conflict started.

British officials say their agreement with Baghdad to stay has expired. The U.K. still has about 9,000 people in Afghanistan.

ROBERTS: Now, you can call the material girl, quote, "the spiritual girl," Madonna now writing for an Israeli newspaper about her spiritual awakening. She's bringing her sticky and sweet tour to Israel in September, and she has ties to Judaism through her involvement with kabala.

COSTELLO: One week before Congress breaks for its August recess and the gridlock on Capitol Hill is really putting the brakes on the president's health care reform. But our next guest says he should learn from the last Democratic president, writing, "If Obama has lost his customary ability to synthesize, perhaps he should turn for help to then great old explainer William Jefferson Clinton."

Those words written by Tina Brown, the co-founder and editor in chief of the dailybeast.com. Welcome this morning.

TINA BROWN, FOUNDER, DAILYBEAST.COM: Thank you.

COSTELLO: OK. So you're writing your article, surely, it's the former president who got it wrong once who had spent the most time and lost the most sleep thinking over how he should do it again. So what should Bill Clinton tell President Obama?

BROWN: I think what Bill Clinton should do is not so much talk to Obama but talk to the nation and talk to those Blue Dog Democrats more. Because Mike Ross from Arkansas, who's been the spokesman, really, for the Blue Dogs in the House, you know, Clinton had a great relationship with him. It's very interesting. I wrote a couple of days ago now. That he should talk to Ross. Of course, I think he did. Because now has gone the other way. But -- and I'm told there was a little backstage call there from Bill.

Bill, I remember seeing him on the campaign trail. No one is better at taking a vastly complicated issue and sort of re-explaining it to people with a little bit of a folksy touch that seems to get to people in a very simple way while out minimizing the complexity of the issue. And he's really good at this. And I do think that Obama should be deploying him right now out there, explaining to the American people his health care plan. Because he's really good at it.

COSTELLO: But the Clinton health care reform plan failed. So, there's negatives attached to it, too.

BROWN: Yes.

COSTELLO: And there are probably reasons that President Obama doesn't want to...

BROWN: Yes, I understand. Listen, there are many reasons but actually I do think he's over learned the mistakes of the Clinton plan. You know, in a way, nobody is better at telling people how to do things who actually did mess up the first time. And Bill Clinton will be the first to say they didn't get it right then. They spent a lot of time taking it since then. And actually, the Obama crowd have over learned it. You know, they learned from that that you didn't want to hand down an arrogant plan to Congress or it's all going to be turned over to Congress first and then they're going to hash it out and not look arrogant. But it's turning to a huge great mess.

COSTELLO: I know because President Obama has basically dumped this plan on Congress. Everybody has their own ideas of how it should be paid for and what it should say.

BROWN: Exactly, right.

COSTELLO: So, should the president go in and come up with this blueprint and say, OK, here is my blueprint, work it out.

BROWN: I think the clarity should have been more cogently stated. There should have been much more backstage discussions, much arm twisting, much more private-in-the-corridor talking before it was laid out. Because I don't really feel that Obama now is doing enough of that backstage stuff, that old LBJ arm, you know, arm around you, retail one-on-one stuff, backstage.

COSTELLO: Maybe he should offer him a beer.

BROWN: Maybe they should offer them a beer. Exactly right. It seemed to me when he said it was a teaching moment, they talk about reconciliation, those were the reconciliations that would be going on. I think Obama is just a little bit too from 10,000 feet. You know, the crowds, the great star quality. The ability to wow, you know, thousands of people. I think he needs to come down a little bit and get a little dirty and be seen to getting dirty to really get the stuff through.

COSTELLO: Because he's very charismatic but the GOP talking points are sticking with the American people.

BROWN: They really are. They're clear and deadly. And you know, we saw this last time. They're very good at this. And Nancy Pelosi got very (INAUDIBLE) and said that the insurance companies are the demons and stuff. But then that comes off as just sort of shrill and doesn't come off as something that people can listen to.

COSTELLO: So OK, last question before you go - if this health care reform plan goes down in flames, will this be the rumination of the Obama presidency?

BROWN: I think it will be incredibly tragic for something that's so important to the American nation does go down in flames. This is -- you know, we're the only place left, really, in the kind of free developed world that doesn't have health care. I come from the UK, where I grew up with absolutely free health care and we were still able to go private if we wanted to. But it was just a given. I mean, it wasn't considered, you know, as something to talk about. It was considered part of being a developed, you know, evolved nation. And you know, Europe - everybody in Europe has it. And I think it's a must.

COSTELLO: Well, Americans would have to relearn a lot of stuff before they accept a big - what they feel is a government-run health care program.

BROWN: Sure.

COSTELLO: Tina Brown.

BROWN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for being with us this morning.

ROBERTS: Always great to see you, Tina. Thanks. So, tour season in New York. We've been walking around Times Square lately?

COSTELLO: Yes.

ROBERTS: You can't move, right?

COSTELLO: But they have lawn chairs there now.

ROBERTS: They...

COSTELLO: They do

ROBERTS: I know, they do. And it's really cheesy. Really kind of cheesy. At any rate, there are a lot of native New Yorkers who don't like tourist season because they just can't get around. Our Richard Roth is up next telling people, should they get out of the way? We'll find out. Thirty five and a half minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: A shot outside the Time-Warner Center, our headquarters here in New York this morning where we got some light rain, and 75 degrees later on today. Rain and 81. And, it might get some serious weather coming in too. Rob Marciano is tracking all of that for us this morning. OK. So, New Yorkers have never been known for being especially patient. But there might be an excuse for that right now.

COSTELLO: It's a lame excuse. I must be honest about this. It's not the weather, it's the tourists that drive many New Yorkers nuts. Our Richard Roth found that out firsthand. What did you find out, Richard?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, everyone. Yes, the economy, John, Carol, has reduced the amount of tourists to New York City from elsewhere in America and overseas but that has not lowered the tensions on the street where the hosts don't want to give an inch.

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ROTH (voice-over): They're back, tourists.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really great. New York, I love it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love New York.

ROTH: Acting nice and behaved.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everywhere we've been, it's been absolutely fantastic.

ROTH: But the maps reveal that New Yorkers are not proclaiming, "I love New York tourists." UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Too many people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're like everywhere. They don't know like get out of the way.

ROTH (on camera): Ah, the sidewalks of New York. They used to be a friendly world where everyone got along. But these days, in Manhattan, it's a battle zone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I try to stay very busy. People walking around, looking up in the air. And yes, that can be pretty annoying.

ROTH (voice-over): And it didn't take long for me to feel his pain.

(on camera): You just ran me over - where you from? You just hit me with that suitcase? What happened? Just - too crowded on the streets?

What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She bumped into my feet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm thinking of learning French and German and Dutch, so I can communicate with these people as they - so I can say, move it! Move it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the streets it's a little go, go, go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Upstate New York.

ROTH: Yes, but you're walking on my sidewalk, and you can't even walk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know, it's so crowded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New York!

ROTH: Aren't these tourists the biggest pain in the neck when you're trying to walk on the streets of New York?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely not.

ROTH: How come?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the tourism industry, if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't have a job.

ROTH (voice-over): New York with the weak economy needs them.

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: It's the Big Apple. And for whatever reason, people love us.

ROTH: And the city has now made even more room for tourists by shutting down Broadway to cars near Times Square.

(on camera): Are there too many tourists in New York?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never enough.

ROTH (voice-over): New Yorker James Gerrito (ph) says don't be scared, maneuver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just find my holes in between people. Everyone coming towards me is defense and I duck in and out of crowds.

ROTH: Visitors could be given a warning when arriving...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to New York, beware of the natives, now.

ROTH: We're sorry that you hurt your foot in New York. But now you're smiling.

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ROTH: The New Yorkers are definitely not smiling. Slow-walking tourists is a pet peeve of many people I encountered when I told them I was doing the story. And in a local newspaper poll, it ranked number among the gripes that New Yorkers have with tourists. No doubt about it, right?

ROBERTS: No doubt about it. Absolutely.

COSTELLO: That's so mean. You should welcome tourists to your city.

ROBERTS: Exactly. You should be nice to people from out of town.

ROTH: No, I like them when I'm in their country. Also, another woman told me that too that she tries, she gets uplifted when she sees all the visitors but then gets a little depressed when she can't move around.

ROBERTS: Closing off Broadway too is sort of relaxed the environment around Times Square.

ROTH: I've talked to a lot of people who say there's still much more traffic on the spillover avenue.

ROBERTS: Yes. There is that. I had a young woman come up to me yesterday. She was from out of town. Walking along Ninth avenue. And she said do you know where there's a gas station? She was walking. And she asked me for a gas station.

ROTH: What sign were you wearing when she approached you while you were standing on the corner. I know when we get done here I've seen you sometimes on corners around the Time Warner Center...

ROBERTS: You got to earn a little extra coin wherever you can. But I just couldn't figure out what this young woman walking around town who was asking where the gas station was.

COSTELLO: She just wanted to talk to you.

ROBERTS: I think she was looking for a restroom or something. Richard, it's always fascinating to have you drive by.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Richard.

ROBERTS: Here's what's on the "A.M. Rundown" coming up in the next 15 minutes. If health care reform passes with a public option, how much will it cost you? It's 7:50 Eastern, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is breaking down the numbers for you. We got a copy of the search warrant that the feds used to search the Vegas home and clinic of Michael Jackson's doctor. It is suggesting that the king of pop could have been a drug addict. It's 7:55, our Randi Kaye has got the latest on that.

And Uncle Sam wants your help fighting terrorism? How? At 8:10 Eastern, I'll ask Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. It's coming up on 43 minutes after the hour.

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COSTELLO: Boy, it's hot in Dallas. It's cloudy now at 73 but later on today, it's going to be 92 degrees. South Texas desperately needs the rain. So those temperatures aren't good news. So a group of 200 churchgoers gathered in a Texas plaza near San Antonio seeking divine intervention. And right on cue...

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COSTELLO: Now that's the power of prayer. Their prayers were answered. Raindrops actually started falling on their heads. Unless they brought umbrellas which the very faithful did. But I think a couple of rain drops maybe fell. Rob Marciano, can you answer that question?

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ROBERTS: So, the health care bill is making its way through Congress. Pretty complicated. We want to talk about this public option too. What will it mean for people? What will it cost them? Will it lead to healthcare rationing as critics and the republicans side say. Dr. Sanjay Gupta breaking it all down for you, coming up next. He is not only a neurosurgeon, he is a healthcare policy expert. And he'll be answering your questions coming up next. Forty- seven minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: In all of the fighting over health care reform, we keep hearing about what's called the public option. But what is this kind of healthcare all about? And how much will it really cost the average American family? We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent is in Atlanta. So in light of this, Sanjay, what is this public option all about?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, a lot of people ask me that question. As you know, John we're going to have this dialogue with our viewers. So let me answer the question directly to one of our viewers who asked about this specifically.

P.J. wrote this: "I worked part time so I can help raise my grandchildren and had to buy my own health coverage which is expensive, $213 a month, when I only bring home under $700 a month. How will this new program help me?" John, first of all, just take a look at those numbers there. I mean, it's a significant amount of overall income going toward health care premiums.

Public option is the option to possibly get some sort of help, some sort of government subsidy to help defray the cost for people who simply can't afford it. But I wanted to do is show you these numbers, John, lots of numbers, we're going to have them on your Web site, as well. But if you're making $14,400 or less, which P.J. is, you pay nothing, at least this draft of the House bill.

Look at the bottom number there, though, John, $43,320. This is by no means free, $4,704 again for individuals. The family of four, John, as you know a good model. A lot of the modeling is done based on that, so really quick, again, a lot of numbers here, I know, but take a look at what those numbers mean, $21,106. Again, that or below, nothing, take a look at the bottom number, $77,175, about 10 percent of that is going to go toward healthcare premiums even under the public option. So there is a price tag associated with that and it's a sliding scale as you make more money.

ROBERTS: In Congress, republicans have been very critical of this public option and what they keep saying is there is a public option out there that's cheaper than the private plan. They will eventually undercut the private insurance industry and everybody will be forced into the public plan. Is that really true?

GUPTA: Well, that is the exact criticism. If it has an unfair competitive advantage, could it crowd out these other private insurance plans? But John, you saw the numbers there, you get an idea of how much it'll still cost for people even if, you know, based on their income. And there's also going to be other caveats, as far as who qualifies for this sort of public option.

For example, if your health care premium is less than 11 percent of your overall income, you're not going to qualify. It has to be greater than 11 percent. So if you're making $100,000, you're saying it's got to be at least $11,000 or more. Also, if you have access to private insurance elsewhere, your spouse, for example, someone else you're dependent upon, you're not going to qualify, as well.

The president said, John, as you've reported that he says if you have private insurance, and you're happy with it, nothing's going to change for you. And when we queried the Congressional Budget Office people, they seem to agree with that to a point. The point is that we don't know how much this is going to cost in the long run, and that's probably going to determine the answer to a lot of these questions, as well.

ROBERTS: Weren't there also some questions as the rate in which the public plan would compensate hospitals and doctors. That if it compensated at Medicaid levels, more people might be forced into that plan. But I think the latest House plan says that government is going to negotiate pretty much on a par with private plans.

GUPTA: That's what they're saying right now. But there are also, there's this sort of nuance area of something known as comparative effectiveness, John, which throws a little bit of a nuance into this because - for example, if you're getting cholesterol screening every year, what the public plan says, you know what, John Roberts, you don't need that every year. Our outcome data shows you need it every five years. Then that's what you're going to be able to get under the public plan as compared to your private insurance. Some people will say well that's good enough. It doesn't make any difference to get tested more frequently than that. Other people may say look, you know, I need to have it - you know, I need to get it every year. So, that's -

ROBERTS: Other people would call that rationing.

GUPTA: Some people call it rationing. Some people would say, look, it's based on what we think works, what we think it will provide the best outcomes, let people live the longest and healthiest life. But you're right, it's going to be an interesting debate on a particular nuances like that.

ROBERTS: It's a complex issue. Sanjay, thanks for helping to explain it this morning.

GUPTA: Thanks, John.

ROBERTS: Healthcare reform can, in fact, be confusing so keep your questions coming for Dr. Gupta. Go to cnn.com/amfix. Sanjay is working hard to simplify it all and show you how the changes will effect you.

COSTELLO: So many clunkers, so little clash. I messed up my good line.

ROBERTS: OK. Let's rewind the tape. You want to try that again.

COSTELLO: OK. So many clunkers, so little cash. The cash for clunkers program, is it going bust? We'll explain. Fifty-three minutes past the hour.

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COSTELLO: A developing story right now, we have a firsthand account of what was going on inside Michael Jackson's home the day he died. Jackson's personal chef spoke with Larry King last night and described what she saw Dr. Conrad Murray doing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Did you notice oxygen tanks? Because if it was Diprivan and they have to measure blood pressure, they also need oxygen tanks if you're giving that drug. Did you notice them?

KAI CHASE, MICHAEL JACKSON'S PERSONAL CHEF: I saw the oxygen tanks, yes.

KING: Where were they?

CHASE: I would see Dr. Murray carrying the oxygen tanks down in the morning.

KING: That morning or other mornings?

CHASE: No, I didn't see him that morning. I saw him in the afternoon, but other mornings.

KING: He would carry them down, portable oxygen?

CHASE: Yes.

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COSTELLO: The focus of the investigation has now zeroed in on drugs. Randi Kaye has more of that for you.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have a copy of the warrant issued in Las Vegas to Dr. Conrad Murray's home and office. The warrant states it's looking for evidence of "demonstrating crimes of excess, prescribing and prescribing to an addict and manslaughter." The addict in this case, apparently Michael Jackson. The search warrant also says authorities were looking for prescriptions and information on when medications were administered, prescribed, transferred, sold, distributed, and concealed, including the powerful sedative, Diprivan, which authorities believe killed Michael Jackson and which we know from a source, Dr. Conrad Murray gave him within 24 hours of his death.

Now, investigators seized five hard drive images, one hard drive, paperwork, records from two cell phones, and an iPhone. But the key piece of evidence that stands out really is a CD with the name Omar Arnold on it. Detectives seized that and I confirmed with a source close to the investigation that Jackson used the name Omar Arnold as an alias to obtain prescription drugs and to get procedures done without anyone knowing. So now we know he used that name and we know a CD with that name was taken from Dr. Murray's clinic in Vegas.

That is something investigators, no doubt, will look at. The search warrant also shows, authorities believe Michael Jackson was using 19 other aliases. They were looking for prescriptions written in all of those names, which include the name of his personal chef, Kai Chase, and even his own son Prince Jackson. His attorney still saying Dr. Murray is a witness and has not been named a suspect. But the search warrant also mentions seven other doctors that may have had correspondence with or written prescriptions for Michael Jackson and any of his aliases.

So, it seems they're trying to match up Michael Jackson with any of the other names he used with doctors that they're looking at. Those mentioned in the search warrant include Dr. Murray, Jackson's long time dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein and five other doctors we have not reported on. The warrant also says they're looking for correspondence between Jackson and Cherilyn Lee. She is his former nurse who told us that Jackson begged her for Diprivan. She said he begged her for it so he could sleep.

I also spoke with a source with knowledge of the autopsy and the investigation and he told they are still issuing subpoenas for records, still visiting doctors offices. He says the autopsy and the toxicology report is just not done. Randi Kaye, CNN, Los Angeles.