Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Grading the President; Russian Subs Cruising off U.S. East Coast; Budget Shortfall Prompts Sheriff to Consider Seeking National Guard Help; Is Bill Clinton Overshadowing His Wife?; Man Owns Only Condo in 32-Story Complex
Aired August 06, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOE JOHNS. CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, it's Thursday, August 6th.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. It is, we're coming up on 8:00 here in New York. Thanks so much for being with us. Joe Johns for John Roberts, it's good to have you with us this morning.
JOHNS: Happy to be here. A very special edition of AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: It is. It is actually because it's nearly 200 days on the job for President Obama. He's obviously been dealing with a full plate of foreign policy issues. That's what we're tackling this hour in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran, not to mention North Korea as well as others.
We have grand new numbers just out showing how Americans think he's doing on the foreign policy front. Plus we've got our best political team on television weighing in with how the image of the United States may be changing around the world.
JOHNS: Shades of the Cold War. The Pentagon is keeping its eye on two nuclear-powered Russian subs, off America's east coast. But officials are playing down any potential threat. The Russian military says the subs are in international waters on regular patrols.
CHETRY: And the state that just called in the National Guard, not because of natural disaster, but actually a financial disaster. We're live at the sheriff who says that his police department's has been slashed so deeply he had to actually tap the guard.
We begin, though, with President Obama closing in on a big milestone, 200 days in office. And according to a new CNN opinion research corporation poll that's just out this morning, 56 percent of Americans approve of the job he's doing. Not bad, but it is actually down seven points since the 100-day mark in late April.
All morning, our panel of experts has been grading the performance on three of his top priorities, the economy, he's got a B and a B+ there; on health care, A for effort but C Minus and incomplete when it comes to executing the plan and now this hour we're looking at foreign policy. Certainly, no shortage of issues on that front, from winding down the war in Iraq to building it up again in Afghanistan and we've got two foreign policy expert standing by to grade the president.
In a moment, we're going to talk to Robin Wright, former diplomatic correspondent for "The Washington Post" and William Cohen, former secretary of defense under President Bill Clinton.
First, though, we're joined by the Best Political Team on Television. We have with us White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux and senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joining us, who also informed us that our desk looked like a huge mess this morning and we needed to clean it up. So, the mom in Candy was coming out there.
(LAUGHTER)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Some music in me coming out.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: She said it looked like a dorm room. But we've gotten ourselves together now for...
JOHNS: There was no beer.
CHETRY: None at all. Red Bull, no beer.
Suzanne Malveaux joins us. First, break it down for us. We talked about the big issues, speaking on foreign policy. He's got leaving Iraq, winding that down, ramping up in Afghanistan, and then also focusing on Iran.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And, obviously, the big campaign push was getting out of the war in Iraq and that's something that he's going to be able to do. And quite frankly, he's doing what the Bush administration had set up in terms of the schedule of withdrawing troops. Some people are not quite happy about the number of troops that are still there, but that's something that he's managed to do.
Iran is very complicated for this president. As we know, Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is very unpredictable, very controversial election, a lot of protests and violence there. We really have to manage that, and they weren't quite sure how to respond right away, and they got much, much stronger as they realized that that was an international situation, a lot of spotlight on that election. But he is going to have to deal with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has now -- they say -- won this election.
And then finally, Afghanistan. That is Obama's war. And we're seeing more and more U.S. soldiers go over there, more and more being killed. And they are going to have the challenge here of defining what that mission is and the exit strategy, because they have said, he's tried to be limited in taking on the Taliban and al Qaeda.
But as we saw in Iraq, it really became a breeding ground for people attracting al Qaeda, attracting Taliban to go after U.S. soldiers. We'll see if that happens in Afghanistan and how he manages to get out of that war.
JOHNS: And, Candy, right now, it really is a matter of the president taking ownership of this war in Afghanistan and that he wasn't on the watch board when it started.
CROWLEY: Certainly. But, he said all during the campaign that he supported that war. So this isn't something that is new to him. And I think that a couple of things that have happened that have helped him along in this score. There have been a lot of other things happening.
And I think Afghanistan, to a certain extent, was pushed out of the headlines, even though, as you know, almost every day, we get at least one other U.S. casualty. We have a soldier gone missing we think is in -- we know is in the hands of the Taliban.
The other thing is that when you look at Iran, which Suzanne was just talking about, I think it helped the administration that all of a sudden there was a clamp down, we couldn't see those pictures. I mean, we knew that something really bad was -- you know, people had their cell phones and all that, but then, it just went black and the administration which did struggle with the initial response really didn't have to respond too much after that.
JOHNS: One of the things Obama talked about during the campaign was changing the U.S. image abroad. Do you think he's achieved that? Is he on the road to it?
CROWLEY: He certainly has. Well, first of all, the bar wasn't high -- let's face it. I mean, across the world, former President George Bush was incredibly unpopular -- was one of the things that President Obama talked about in his campaign, it is something that he's done. He's reached out in every speech he's given overseas; he's gotten high marks for all of that. But it's a means to an end, but it's not an end.
I mean, the idea was -- let's get the world back, you know, with us, liking us, so that, you know, they could help us at some point. Well, that point hasn't come. Is it going to work?
Does it matter that the French like us if they're not going to join in more sanctions against Iran? Does it matter if Germany is with us if they won't send more troops to help forces in Iran -- I'm sorry -- in Afghanistan? So, that push hasn't come to shove yet, and that's where we know whether it matters whether the world likes or not.
CHETRY: And another question about that is, as you said, defining the mission in Afghanistan and also coming up with an exit strategy. I mean, part of the reason -- I mean, first of all, there were many Obama supporters that believed Iraq was the wrong war. But how much of an appetite to the people who don't want to see us at war in general and don't want to see our troops overseas -- how long did they stand for or put up with what we're seeing happening in Iraq -- in Afghanistan -- when we switch these troops out of Iraq but they're going to end up probably in Afghanistan?
MALVEAUX: There's probably not a lot of tolerance for this. I mean, this is a very short window that they're working with. So, they have to clearly define the mission and they also have to say, this is how we're going to get out of it.
I want to pick up on Candy's point, because I've been overseas with President Obama, at least three different trips -- he's visited 14 countries already. And one of the things that we see is the pictures and a different relationship that he's forming with these leaders. We don't know what it means in the future.
But when we saw him in Trinidad with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who called President Bush the devil -- that the two of them kind of doing the man hug, you know? I mean, that was a moment that everybody was watching for, that they'll waiting for, how is he going to react and respond? He's been very open to leaders who have been hostile to our former administrations.
We just saw in Moscow, he visited and met with the leader Putin. These two guys expect that Putin looked dower, he did look dower when he was sitting with Obama, but they sat for three hours and the first hour as I understand is that President Obama asked him, where have we -- how do we get to this point? And Putin talked for an hour, an hour non-stop and President Obama listened to him for an hour without interrupting. That is a different approach to world leaders and foreign policy than we saw in the last administration.
JOHNS: All right, Suzanne...
CHETRY: Do you think he invited him horseback riding in Siberia?
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Well, great to talk to both of you about this issue, as well. And, of course, we want everybody else to weigh in, as well.
JOHNS: Absolutely. And you can weigh in with your take on how President Obama is doing as we approach the second 100 days. Naturally, we now approach the third 100 days of the administration. Cast your vote at CNN.com/reportcard then see the results tonight, 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
CHETRY: All right. As we hit seven minutes past the hour, also new this morning, we're hearing that Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler is in a South Dakota hospital after falling off the stage at a concert last night. The group was playing at a motorcycle rally, you know, the Sturgis Bike Week, in South Dakota last night, when just after midnight, Tyler fell from a catwalk while singing "Love in an Elevator." There's still no word yet. The hospital is not releasing any information on his condition.
JOHNS: An emergency call center in Iowa is the first in the country to accept text messages to 911. Now, call centers around the country are looking to follow that lead. Authorities say there have been cases around the country of kidnap victims trying to get help by texting friends or relatives who then call 911. Help should come faster with direct texting to 911.
CHETRY: And also, the best college in the country -- well, according to "Forbes" magazine, it's not Princeton, it's not Harvard, it's not Yale -- it's actually West Point. The U.S. military academy beat out the Ivy League for the quality of education and also the amount of debt students graduate with. The tuition is fully funded by the Army in exchange for service after graduation. Congratulations!
JOHNS: So, how is President Obama doing on foreign policy? What has he accomplished? What's next? We're talking about that all day today.
CHETRY: That's right. And we're going to be speaking with former Defense Secretary William Cohen, as well as Robin Wright, former diplomatic correspondent with "The Washington Post." They're going to be joining us after the break to weigh in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: Good morning to D.C. It's 11 minutes after 8:00 there in the nation's capital today, where it's rainy, 72 degrees, some thunderstorms and thundershowers in the forecast a little later, going up to a high of 77. So, it's really not that hot typically for this time of year in August.
Well, approaching 200 days on the job, the president's plate is full, as we know, and that also includes not only domestic issues, but foreign affairs. So, how does the president grade out when it comes to foreign policy?
Joining us from Washington, we have Robin Wright, former diplomatic correspondent for "The Washington Post," author of "Dreams and Shadows." And we also have with us, William Cohen, former secretary of defense under Bill Clinton, and now, chairman and CEO of the Cohen Group.
Thanks to both of you for being with us.
WILLIAM COHEN, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Great to be with you.
CHETRY: We're going to hit on three of the biggest stuff, foreign policy issues. Of course, one, leaving Iraq.
And, Secretary Cohen, let me start with you. The president fulfilled his priority to scale back in Iraq. But still a lot of questions about what happen if the military pulls out too soon. How do you think he has handled winding down the Iraq war?
COHEN: Well, so far, I give him very high marks. Secretary Gates made a very recent trip to the region and even indicated that we may be able to accelerate that departure from Iraq. My only question is: whether or not there's enough flexibility within the administration, the president himself, say, if things really start to deteriorate in a major way, whether the Iraqis will invite us back in and whether the president feels he has enough political flexibility to send troops back in.
But right now, I give him very high marks for the way it's been handled.
CHETRY: And, Robin, how about you? We've scaled back as we know. We've taken on this support role. We're at those operating bases on a support level. But how much of this is going as planned when we still have, you know, more than 100,000 troops in the country?
ROBIN WRIGHT, FORMER DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Still the largest U.S. military and diplomatic presence in the world. The problem, I think, for this administration is that six month in, it has -- it still not able to solve some of the thorny political problems that will ensure instability and the ability of the United States eventually to withdraw -- issues like, what do you do about the arrangement among the difference provinces in Iraq, what do you do about the disputed area in the north around Kirkuk, what do you do about hydrocarbon laws that many of the benchmarks set out by the Bush administration still have not been addressed by the Iraqis. And that means that it will be all the more difficult for the United States to feel secure that things will go as planned once they do drawdown.
CHETRY: All right. Well, of course, those are all big issues and they tie into our next topic, as well, Iran. Robin -- let me ask Secretary Cohen about this, first of all. We have this deadline, right, until September to comply international demands on nuclear programs. Russians though and also the Chinese don't seem prepared to back us when it comes to doing any sanctions on Iran if they do not comply.
So, how do we tackle this challenge? And how do we work within the global community to try to tamp down the nuclear ambitions of Iraq's neighbor?
COHEN: Well, first, we have to intensify our own sanctions. So, that means going after the financial dealings on the part of the Iranians.
But secondly, it means that we have to have a much closer relationship with Russia and China to persuade them that they need to back up their support for imposing sanctions against Iran with real action. Right now, Iran is in a position to be able to split the U.N. Security Council, and if so, it makes it much more difficult to put a halt to their nuclear ambitions.
So, what sort of arrangements can we make with Russia who has proposed a solution that I think the Iranians ought to accept, mainly the enrichment of the uranium on Russian soil, allowing them to have nuclear power with civilian purposes but not nuclear weapons.
CHETRY: And that's interesting, Robin, we've talked about this before. They've said, Iran's leaders have said before that, you know, we need to be able to have a discussion outside of talking about denuclearization, outside of the nuclear talks. Is that something that this administration may be willing to embrace?
WRIGHT: The administration has indicated that it's prepared to talk a about a lot of issues, not just the nuclear program.
The problem for the Obama administration today is that, in the aftermath of the disputed election and the two months now of uprising by the Iranian people, that any engagement with the regime will bestow the kind of legitimacy on it that Iran's own people have not been willing to do. So, that complicates diplomacy a lot. And I think that was reflected this week when the White House spokesman said the president of Iran was the elected leader and then had to backtrack the next day and say that's really for the Iranian people to decide.
I think that we're in for a really difficult period over the next two months, six months with Iran.
CHETRY: All right. And, of course, let's not forget Afghanistan. And this has been called "Obama's war." This is something that he talked about on the campaign trail as we know. And, Secretary Cohen, how does he define the mission and also let the American people and the military know that there is an exit strategy? What are the goals in Afghanistan?
COHEN: First, he should make every effort to make sure that this is not defined as Obama's war. There was an editorial in "The Washington Post" that indicated that it's not Obama's war, but America's war. And I think that's a mistake, as well. I think this is the world's war, that this should not be defined as America taking on this project on its own.
We're seeing allies who are now starting to pull away. And if we see ourselves a year from now with only U.S. forces there, given the difficulty of that particular campaign, I think it will be very bad for us, the U.S., but also for the world.
So, number one, what he has to do is to define success as being able to stabilize Afghanistan and train the Afghan police and military so they can defend their own country. But not have a long-term commitment in terms of our military effort there. So, he got to fine down the mission to be stabilization long enough for the Afghani people to take over.
CHETRY: Right. And, Robin, some have argued this, you know, it already has been a long-term commitment. It's eight years -- but are we starting from scratch?
WRIGHT: Absolutely, and that's one of the problems. President Obama has now doubled the number of troops in Afghanistan and there are already indications that his new force commander will ask for additional troops. This is -- the focus is increasingly on what diplomatic and what economic aspects of the conflicts can be developed, so that it's not just a military campaign, but one that offers the Afghan people a real alternative. But that takes far longer than a military campaign.
CHETRY: All right. Well, Robin Wright and William Cohen, please stick with us. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'd like to get both of your grades on how the administration's been doing so far when it comes to foreign policy.
Right now, it's 17 1/2 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty minutes past the hour now.
Our presidential performance review approaching 200 days in office, and we're asking you and some of our guests to grade the president on foreign policy.
And we're back now with Robin Wright, as well as former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. Thanks to both of you for being with us again. And I'd like to get your grades. We talked about the three big issues.
And doesn't it say a lot, Secretary Cohen, that we haven't mentioned Middle East peace. I mean, obviously, that's another huge issue, but there are other pressing ones, as well as the situation with North Korea. I mean, a lot going on right now. But as we talk about where we've ended up 200 days into this administration, how do you think it's been going on foreign policy?
COHEN: I give President Obama very high marks on the foreign policy. And an earlier segment, you raised the question, well, do other people like us today? Does it matter?
The answer is more people look to the United States with greater, certainly, admiration and respect than they have in the past few years. That pays a lot of dividends in terms of getting people to like who you are as a country and as a leader, it helps those other countries build support when their own constituency. So, I give them high marks, A, on as the leadership as far as changing people's attitudes towards us.
CHETRY: And that is interesting, Robin, as you get ready to give your grade, as well. How does that -- how do we get tangible results out of that in terms of getting more help in Afghanistan, perhaps more help in getting Iran to the table when it comes to nuclear talks, whether or not our world stature has improved?
WRIGHT: Well, it's clear that he's changed America's image in the world. But that has not yet proves the kind of cooperation that he's seeking and that would facilitate all of our initiatives, whether it's in dealing with a regime like the one in Iran or deploying additional troops with NATO in Afghanistan.
The fact is, we increasingly need international cooperation for all of our foreign policy objectives.
CHETRY: Right.
WRIGHT: And so, I give him a B in terms of success in improving our image, but not, so far, succeeding in getting countries to deliver.
CHETRY: All right. And quickly before we go, Secretary Cohen, what's the biggest challenge in the next 100 days for this administration?
COHEN: Well, there'll be two challenges, Afghanistan, but especially Iran. If Iran continues to go on its way to producing a nuclear weapon, that could certainly destabilize the entire Middle East region. And I think Iran will emerge as the biggest challenge for him.
CHETRY: And, Robin, do you agree?
WRIGHT: I agree. The last five American presidents have been able to put Iran on the backburner, but Obama administration will have to face that critical question because so many intelligence agencies around the world, so many analysts believe that Iran could cross the nuclear threshold during the Obama administration. And so, this is a problem we can't put on the backburner and yet there is still very deep international division about what to do with Iran. And the options are ranging from military strikes to diplomacy and sanctions, and the timetable doesn't work on a lot of different levels.
CHETRY: All right. Many challenges ahead as we know.
Great to talk to both of you. Robin Wright as well as secretary of defense under President Clinton, William Cohen -- thanks for being with us this morning.
COHEN: Good to be with you.
WRIGHT: Thank you.
CHETRY: And we want to remind our viewers. Cast your vote at CNN.com/reportcard and then watch tonight the results with the best political team on television. It's at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
JOHNS: You know, they're talking about calling out the National Guard in sweet home Alabama. A county sheriff says the budget cuts there are causing him to take some drastic action. Not so sure people are going to like this too much.
That story is coming up next. I'll talk to him in just a minute.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP -- "THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gentlemen, the last 24 hours have seen son extraordinary Soviet naval activity. The first to sail was this ship, we believe, called the Red October.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Ryan, would you characterize this as a first strike weapon?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a possibility, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
That's a scene from the Cold War thriller "The Hunt for Red October." Back in the day, the cat and mouse games between the U.S. and Russian were often mimed by Hollywood.
CHETRY: That's right. But Russia appears to be flexing its military muscle again with two nuclear-powered submarines cruising in the waters off America's east coast. That's right. But the Pentagon is actually playing down any threat of a Cold War sequel.
CNN's Chris Lawrence has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Joe and Kiran, the Navy has been tracking these subs through international waters, but the Russians may have sent them as a message to other nations, not the U.S.
(voice-over): On the surface, it seems threatening. Two Russian attack subs patrolling a couple hundred miles off America's eastern seaboard. But dig deeper, this may be an elaborate sales cruise. The Russians are bringing nuclear-powered submarines halfway around the world to show them off for potential buyers.
ERIC WERTHEIM, U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE: This particular submarine, the Akulas, were the same type that India's looking to purchase.
LAWRENCE: And the same type that malfunctioned last year, killing 20 people on board. Eric Wertheim works for the U.S. Naval Institute and wrote a book on the world's combat ships. He says by sending subs to the east coast...
WERTHEIM: They're showing: our submarines are still viable, our ships are still powerful, and this is why you can still view Russian weapons as something that you can purchase.
LAWRENCE: Russian subs haven't been this close to the U.S. coast in over 10 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's an effort on their part to project force around the world.
LAWRENCE: But the Pentagon says, "There is no threat."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll tell you, nobody is alarmed by it because nobody is.
LAWRENCE: So, perhaps this move is about making money, not war. For example, India used to buy patrol planes from Russia, but just inked a $2 billion deal for a version of this aircraft. The seller: American company Boeing.
WERTHEIM: Russia, I think, is understandably concerned that foreign customers are not looking to them any more as a leader in the export market for weapons.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Well, the Russian general says these subs are in international waters and a part of a regular patrol. India has agreed to lease two of these subs with an option to buy -- Joe, Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Chris Lawrence, thanks.
JOHNS: And checking our top stories, there are disturbing new details this morning about the man who went on a rampage at a fitness club. Police say George Sodini brought four handguns into an L.A. Fitness center outside Pittsburgh and used three of them, firing at least 36 times, killing three women he didn't even know -- and that, according to an online diary, it was his plan. It was apparently revenge for not being able to get a date for decades.
CHETRY: Well, police are looking for a suspicious woman, they say in the case of missing British girl, Madeleine McCann. A witness telling police he talked to, quote, "Victoria Beckham look-alike" and that this woman revealed new clues. A family spokesperson says the woman was seen in Barcelona, Spain within three days of the little girl's disappearance. Madeleine McCann has been missing since May 3rd of 2007.
JOHNS: And her husband made big news yesterday for his work rescuing the two American journalists. Now, it's Hillary Clinton's turn. The secretary of state is saying the U.S. is committed to Africa's future during a town hall meeting at the University of Nairobi this morning. Secretary Clinton is also sitting down with our own Fareed Zakaria. Don't miss the entire interview this weekend.
CHETRY: And Senate is going to be voting on Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the Supreme Court. Her nomination by the Democratic- controlled Senate is not in doubt. Eight Republican senators now say they will support Judge Sotomayor. She will be the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice and just the third woman to sit on the high court.
JOHNS: When you hear that the National Guardsmen is called, and the first thing that comes to mind is, where's the natural disaster? Well, Jefferson County, Alabama, isn't facing a natural disaster; it's facing a fiscal one. And now, the sheriff says he needs help. He's calling for backup.
Sheriff Mike Hale says there won't be enough cops to patrol the streets and he now joins us live.
Sheriff, thanks so much for coming in.
SHERIFF MIKE HALE, JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA: Thanks for having me.
JOHNS: Well, when you look at this -- all right, when you look at this thing, the first thing that comes to mind is the county's image. And I wonder if people are speaking to you this morning about whether this is a good P.R. move so to speak.
HALE: It's not about a P.R. move. The folks in Jefferson County elected me to keep neighborhoods and communities safe. The only thing I have failed to do is have the local government understand what their first responsibility is, and that's to keep neighborhoods and communities safe.
Look, they've broken a contract with the people of Jefferson County, and my job, my plan is to make sure that the governor will give us some funds to keep the deputies rolling. And if funds are unavailable, I need some force multipliers to work with my deputy sheriffs for this community's sake.
JOHNS: Give us an idea, will you, of, in your view what would happen on the streets of the country if you didn't ask for the National Guard and if this whole thing went into effect.
HALE: I think -- I think you can take a look at the night before that the court ruled against us. I had a homicide in one sleepy community, I had a homicide in another town. And in a very sleepy town on Penson (ph), I had a burglary right there at one of the main businesses.
The criminals are looking out and seeing how this county commission is funding law enforcement, and I've just got to plan to, you know what, if the county commission won't fund me, and I've got to go to the state for help, the Jefferson County deputies and myself, we're going to get the job done, and Jefferson County's going to be safe.
JOHNS: Now, they actually were talking about cutting your budget something like $1 million more than they actually did, right? How did that happen?
HALE: Look, I had $9 million left for the remainder of the year. They cut over 40 percent. They cut over $4 million.
And the county money will run out in the first of September. I have some money that my office has from serving papers. I'm going to have to pay the deputies out of my office, and that will -- I can only -- that will go until the end of October.
I can only afford to pay enough deputies to work in the jail and a very minimal force in law enforcement. So I need either funds to pay the full force, or the National Guards that I can swear in as deputy sheriffs to work with the deputy sheriffs, the small force remaining to protect the citizens.
JOHNS: You have picked up some money from drug raids, I hear, and confiscations, condemnations, and so forth. Can you use that money? Is it available to you? HALE: Absolutely. Look, I can use -- I can write checks to the remaining deputies up to about $1.5 million.
Now I have some federal condemnation money that I just got off the phone with DOJ, Department of Justice, yesterday, and that can't be used to pay salaries.
And so what this is right now -- look, we're well past buying equipment. We need to be able to fund the salaries of deputy sheriffs for the remaining of this budget year. This is what this is about.
I call it stars on the doors of these cars. The public needs to see that, the criminals need to see it and be afraid to commit a crime.
JOHNS: Sounds like quite a situation, absolutely, and we thank you for coming in right now, talking to us. And we'll be keeping up on what's going on there in the county.
HALE: Thank you, guys.
JOHNS: All right, so, another big story there down below the Mason Dixon line.
Meanwhile, one of the things we've been covering all week is whether Bill Clinton upstaged his high profile wife.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right.
Of course, as we know, we saw him over the TV yesterday after helping secure the release of the two journalists who were trapped in North Korea for months.
His wife, meantime, secretary of state, is she getting upstaged? Well, it's a question we've asked before. Carol Costello breaks it down.
It's 34 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: How about this one? Look at the little baby tootsies, right? Don't try to eat Burger King if you don't put shoes on your baby.
We're not kidding about this one -- no baby shoes, no service. A Burger King manager actually kicked out the mother of a six-month-old in his restaurant in Missouri because the baby didn't have on shoes.
In fact, the manager threatened to call the police if the child's mother didn't take their orders to go because he said the baby was violating the health code. She even put on socks on the baby, and he said that's not enough. Get out.
(LAUGHTER) Anyway, a horse and car are playing a game of chicken on an Israeli highway. Check out what happened. The horse won, actually smashing through the windshield on its way over the vehicle.
I couldn't believe that. I thought please tell me that horse is OK. Well, they say that the horse actually had minor injuries. Oh, yes, and I do care about the driver too, of course -- the driver also only with minor injuries.
JOHNS: Israel -- that looks more like Texas.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Some parts of Israel, people say, I feel like I'm in Texas, I feel like I'm in San Antonio. Anyway, everybody's OK.
JOHNS: That's funny. OK.
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNS: OK, when times get tough and money is tight, sometimes you need to get creative to get by. But can you really bake your way out of foreclosure?
CHETRY: Maybe. In this report, "Money in Main Street," Allan Chernoff shows how one woman's skill in the kitchen actually saved her entire house.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Actress Angela Logan has played many roles to earn a living. She's worked as a teacher, model, hairdresser, and is studying to be a nurse.
But when she recently fell into foreclosure on her Teaneck, New Jersey home, she turned to baking.
ANGELA LOGAN, MORTGAGE APPLE CAKE: It was a flash of desperation. And I thought, wow, we can sell these cakes, they're so good.
CHERNOFF (on camera): A major reason Angela she fell into a squeeze is that two years ago she hired a contractor to renovate the house. He took his money but he only did a portion of the work.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): To save her home, Angela set a goal of selling 100 mortgage apple cakes in 10 days at $40 each. She asked everyone she knew to buy a cake.
LOGAN: The hardest part was to say, can you buy my cakes? This is my problem.
CHERNOFF: A local Hilton hotel offered the kitchen so Angela could bake faster. Angela says she's baked about 200 cakes, double her goal.
And by qualifying for the federal Make Home Affordable Program, her monthly mortgage payment is dropping by nearly 20 percent.
Other Americans in a financial bind, she says, can also find creative answers to their cash crunch.
LOGAN: Find your talent. Find something that you can do that will help. I can paint fences, you know. Who needs one?
CHERNOFF: Almost any talent can generate extra cash -- teaching a skill like playing an instrument, home repairs for those who are handy, even dog walking or pet sitting for animal lovers.
LOGAN: Wow, this is incredible.
CHERNOFF: Internet retailer "Bake me a Wish" got a whiff of the mortgage apply cake and now is greasing pans to mass produce it and share the proceeds with Angela. A whole line of Angela Logan cakes is planned.
Escaping foreclosure could propel Angela Logan to a new career as the queen of cakes. But back in her kitchen, she still studies nursing, knowing from experience never to depend upon just one role.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, Teaneck, New Jersey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There you go, getting creative.
JOHNS: Exactly. You got to do what you got to do.
And speaking of that, an airline promising sunshine at your final destination or your money back. I am all ready to go and find out which airline they're talking about right now.
CHETRY: And where the heck they're going.
JOHNS: You got it. All right, well, I guess I'm not going to Alaska on that airline.
CHETRY: Nope, not this year.
(LAUGHTER)
Are you going to be doing dancing like that?
JOHNS: There we go.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: That looks like fun. Oh, goodness.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Hello. Talk about a raincheck. You can get $30 back for each rainy vacation day according to a Lufthansa, which is a European airline, promising passengers this summer. They say that sun seekers can actually get reimbursed $29 per rainy day if they fly with the airline, and it's good for up to 10 days of your trip.
JOHNS: So that's about enough to buy an umbrella.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: A real fancy one.
Well, the airline flies out of New York, Washington, but the offer applies to 36 cities, including Barcelona, Istanbul...
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Why we didn't get that shot in there. Rome, Dubai, Cairo. The airline defines a rainy day as at least one-fifth of an inch of rain for about every 10 feet. They're getting real technical.
JOHNS: Yes, well, it's better than nothing, I guess.
And speaking of weather, in the extreme weather center, Rob is there somewhere. How are you doing, Rob?
(WEATHER BREAK)
CHETRY: Is former President Bill Clinton back? We haven't seen a lot of him out on the national stage. All of that changed yesterday.
JOHNS: Absolutely. And he is probably basking in all of this, though he hasn't said too much, has he?
CHETRY: No, he hasn't.
JOHNS: Very quiet.
Well, we'll talk about that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": Our top story tonight, is it that two American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee arrested four months ago in North Korea, accused and convicted of spying, then sentenced to 12 years of hard labor, most likely making cheap toys for Chinese children to buy?
Is it that they are free? Is that they are back home reunited with their families?
No, that is not our top story tonight. Our top story tonight is the big dog is back. The big dog!
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: There you go. Well, it took a former president to bring journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee back home. We can finally laugh at it because they're safe and sound.
But a lot of people are saying that in the political world Bill Clinton is back, maybe even overshadowing his wife a little bit, Hillary Clinton, of course, secretary of state.
JOHNS: Our Carol Costello is tracking reaction from the Washington bureau this morning. Carol, is there any way Bill Clinton can do something without affecting his wife, and vice versa, even?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I don't think so. Yes, the big dog is back, and already some in the political world out there are saying that, oh, the big dog is now overshadowing his wife, who remains a little dog.
I don't think I said that right, but you get the gist. Whenever somebody says something about Bill Clinton, of course it affects Hillary Clinton. It's just this never ending soap opera surrounding the Clintons.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: It was a Kodak moment -- the best kind. And the man who made it possible...
LAURA LING, FREED U.S. JOURNALIST: When we walked and through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton.
(APPLAUSE)
COSTELLO: A rescuing angel who sat for the other Kodak moment with a man some call the devil and brought two Americans home safely.
Not only that, but some are saying Mr. Clinton's visit may also pave the way to a nuclear-free North Korea.
It wasn't long before the Hillary question came up.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Now, where is Hillary? The real secretary of state is in Kenya. Why go to Kenya unless you've been ordered to go over there and kiss Obama's grandfather's grave. Is North Korea too important to send the girl?
COSTELLO: Hillary Clinton, America's secretary of state, is in Africa on a diplomacy mission -- important, yes. But as "The New York Times" columnist Maureen Dowd writes, "Mr. Clinton's mission trumps hers. "Just as Hillary muscled her way back in to the spotlight, she was blown off the radar screen again by an even more powerful envoy: the one she lives with."
The overshadowing question comes after concerns just last month that President Obama was overshadowing Secretary Clinton by meeting with world leaders himself and by sending Vice President Joe Biden to Iraq. Clinton supporters say that wasn't true, and the latest overshadowing charge isn't either.
COHEN: I don't think Bill Clinton would overshadow Secretary Clinton. In fact, if that would be the case, I'm sure he would've not done it.
COSTELLO: William Cohen, President Clinton's defense secretary, says Mr. Clinton not only worked closely with President Obama to free the journalists, but he worked with his wife, the secretary of state, too.
And besides, many analysts say this was the kind of mission more suited to former presidents.
PROFESSOR LARRY SABATO, POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: The North Koreans wanted a high-level envoy, and it was clear that it couldn't be somebody currently in government. So, you know, there were only several people imaginable, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, Bill Richardson.
And the North Koreans got the top banana, which is what they wanted.
COSTELLO: And it worked. For Laura Ling and Euna Lee, that's all that matters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: It should be all that matters. Of course, many are wondering if President Obama will use President Clinton more in this sort of role.
Larry Sabato says yes, but rarely, because it degrades the asset, so to speak. And, yes, it also raises the question about who's actually running the State Department, and that is something President Obama and Secretary Clinton surely want to avoid and surely will.
So, I guess the bottom line is, they're both big dogs.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNS: Indeed. Thanks so much, Carol Costello, in Washington.
CHETRY: And still ahead -- how about this one, a beautiful condo, 32 stories. It's in Florida. One family has it all to themselves. They don't really want it to be that way.
JOHNS: Sounds just great if you're antisocial.
CHETRY: Yes, but they're saying it's a little bit creepy, and John Zarrella tells us why.
It's 54 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: That's what it's like, around here at 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. (LAUGHTER)
No, there's someone. There you go, say hi.
JOHNS: Hello?
CHETRY: That's what it's like, actually, for one family. They're living in what seems like a dream come true. It's a vacation home, they have a pool, they have a river view, they have no noisy neighbors, but they are literally all alone.
JOHNS: But that's only because for one family, again, their only -- there are no neighbors. They're the only ones in a 32-story tower. And now they want out. John Zarrella explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, resort living. At the pool there's always a chair.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Your own private gym with state of the art equipment, and you can work out all by yourself. There's nobody here to bother you.
Look at this parking garage. You never have to hunt for a space.
And when you get on the elevator, you never have to worry about anybody getting off first.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Sounds great, right? Well, maybe you should talk to Victor Vangelakos.
VICTOR VANGELAKOS, CONDO OWNER: This is our condo and this is the seventh floor.
ZARRELLA: This was going to be Victor and his family's vacation and retirement home in the Oasis, a 32-story condominium building in Fort Myers, Florida. The New Jersey fireman closed in November, paid $420,000.
VANGELAKOS: I tell people at home and they say it's your own building. It sounds great, but it can be eerie at night. It's almost like a horror movie.
ZARRELLA: Why? Because the rest of the building is empty. This is a ghost tower.
When the housing market collapsed, Ft. Myers got hit hard. Most of the units never sold. Those that did, the owners were able to move to the sister tower next door where there are people.
But Victor's lender won't agree to let him swap his unit here for one there.
VANGELAKOS: I've called them up a couple of times, I got their law department, which told me don't leave your unit. They recommended that's abandonment. So I have to stay here.
ZARRELLA: Vangelakos attorney and the developer are trying to negotiate a solution. Nothing yet.
Victor's biggest concern -- safety. Someone got into the building a month ago. Now every night Vangelakos checks the building blocks.
VANGELAKOS: Well, I have to make sure, yes, because if I don't, what happens is they can get into this pool area through the parking garage.
ZARRELLA (on camera): The Vangelakos family has no idea how this will ultimately work out, but what's really starting to bother them is the eerie silence, when the only other voice they hear is --
John Zarrella, CNN, Ft. Myers, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: It's a really nice unit. Maybe more people will join them now.
JOHNS: Sure, I'd move in for about a week. Vacation.
CHETRY: Exactly.
Well, don't forget, as we approach the president's 200th day in office, CNN's marking the occasion with a second national report card special on the presidency tonight.
We want to know what you think. Have the second 100 days of the Obama administration been days of change, frustration? Let your voice be heard. You can cast your vote now -- CNN.com/reportcard, and then get all of the results from the best political team on television.
And CNN's National Report Card is tonight 8:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.
It's time for us to say good-bye.
JOHNS: Absolutely.
CHETRY: It's great having you with us. We'll be back here tomorrow.
JOHNS: And I'm looking forward to it, filling in for John Roberts. I hope he's having fun.
Here's CNN "NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins.
