Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Town Hall Tensions Rising As Health Care Debate Continues; Obama in Mexico for "Summit of Three Amigos"; Coastal Maine Drug Problems; U.S. General Says Taliban is Winning; U.S. General Claims Global Warming Poses Threat to American National Security; Fighter Drones Used to Track Drug Smugglers Along U.S.-Mexico Border
Aired August 10, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of talking going on, no question about that, Michael Ware for us in Guadalajara -- Michael, thanks so much.
Brings us now to the top of the hour. Thanks for joining us on the "Most News in the Morning" on this Monday, the 10th of August. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
We have a look now at this morning's agenda. These are the stories we're going to be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. We're still talking about the health care town halls turning into free-for-alls in some instances. Lawmakers are coming face to face with angry and aggressive crowds. And those crowds aren't the only ones losing their cool.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAVID SCOTT (D), GEORGIA: Not a single one of you had the decency to call my office and set up for a meeting. OK? Then do that! Do that!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That was Congressman Scott. In a moment, we'll be breaking down what has so many people riled up over health care reform.
ROBERTS: A dire warning from Afghanistan this morning: the Taliban is winning. That comes from the Pentagon's top commander on the ground there. We'll tell you why he plans to turn the tide and why he thinks the fighting could get even more deadly. We're talking with our national security analyst Peter Bergen just ahead.
CHETRY: All right. Also, the war on drugs playing out in coastal Maine -- a direct link to Mexico? Police say the sale and use of drugs, especially heroin, in a sleepy New England town is turning into a huge problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DETECTIVE STEVE HAMEL, KITTERY POLICE: My case load alone for heroin and OxyContin has tripled over the past two years.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's incredible.
HAMEL: Yes, it is. Cheaper than a six pack of beer for most high school kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Alina Cho has the story that you'll see only on AMERICA MORNING.
Meantime this morning, Democrats are trying to breakthrough the noise in the health care reform debate. In an editorial in today's "USA Today," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer write, "Drowning out opposing views is simply un- American." Senator Claire McCaskill planned to hold a town hall meeting in a Missouri school tomorrow. That's now been canceled. The "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" says the school district was worried about security.
So, where is all of the anger coming from?
Here's CNN's Elaine Quijano.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, the White House says it's time to lower the temperature on the health care debate, but the heated emotions are far from cooling off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It reads like something that was thought up in the early 1930s in Germany...
QUIJANO (voice-over): With lawmakers back home, anger is boiling over. Democratic Senator Tom Harkin got shouted down at this health care meeting in Iowa.
(CROSSTALK)
QUIJANO: In Georgia, signs the debate is taking its toll.
REP. DAVID SCOTT (D), GEORGIA: Those of you who are here, who have taken and came and hijacked this event that we're dealing with here.
QUIJANO: Democratic Congressman David Scott lashed out after a doctor from his district asked...
DR. BRIAN E. HILL, UROLOGIST: Why are you voting for a health care plan that is shown not to work in Massachusetts and why are you going to institute that in a state-wide -- in a nation-wide manner?
QUIJANO: At first, Scott said he wasn't sure how he would vote, then he let loose.
SCOTT: Don't come and take advantage of what these individuals have done. You want a meeting with me on health care, I'll give it to you.
QUIJANO: In Texas, for Republican Congressman Michael Burgess.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This doesn't like a mob, this looks like home.
QUIJANO: The crowd stayed calm, but some of the questions pointed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the Republicans control Congress and the Senate, why didn't you introduce and pass health care reform?
QUIJANO: In Austin, supporters of health care reform are getting fired up.
(CROWD BOOING)
QUIJANO: This crowd booed as Republican Senator John Cornyn tried leaving after touring a community health clinic.
And more fuel to stoke the fighting. On her Facebook page Friday, Republican Sarah Palin wrote, "The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is down right evil."
In his weekly address, President Obama fired back at opponents.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote Euthanasia, or cut Medicaid, or bring about a takeover of health care. That's simply not true.
QUIJANO (on camera): This week, the president heads to New Hampshire for a town hall meeting on health care. Later, he'll visit Montana, home state of Senator Baucus, a key Democrat trying to negotiate a deal on health care reform.
John, Kiran?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Elaine Quijano for us -- thanks so much.
And the frustration on these town hall meetings is being mirrored in our show hot line, 877-MY-AMFIX.
Here's a little bit of what you guys are saying.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're just a vocal minority trying to hijack a process which the majority of Americans actually support.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There needs to be some hard, fast questions, and the president of the United States or somebody needs to explain this program, because in my opinion and I'm not a smart man, it is leading to socialized medicine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just a matter of time before something happens and someone gets hurt for real.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not want thugs deciding my health care and I do not want CNN to legitimize them by covering them.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: We also want to hear what you think. So, call our show hotline, 887-MY-AMFIX.
Also this morning, a lot of finger-pointing over the president's health care plan. In about 30 minutes, we're going to cut through the noise. We're going to break down what both sides are saying. We're going to talk to Ron Reagan and Larry Elder at 8:30.
ROBERTS: This morning, President Obama is in Mexico. And while this is a make or break month for health care here in the United States, the issues that he's dealing with in Guadalajara are equally pressing, like the drug war, the economy, and the global swine flu pandemic.
Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux is live in Guadalajara for us this morning where the president is meeting with leaders -- president is meeting with leaders from that country and Canada, our neighbor to the north as well.
Suzanne, a lot of serious issues for the three countries to tackle this morning and not a whole lot of time to do it.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Not a lot of time at all, John. When you think about it, this is a summit that's lasting, the president on the ground, less than 20 hours or so. So, administration officials are telling us they're not going to be any major announcements coming out of this.
This is really about setting the agenda for the United States and its neighbors. And it is very important to them because they say, look, you know, the countries, U.S., Mexico, Canada, so close together relating to a host of issues, whether or not it is the flu, whether or not it is jobs or even murder across the border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Dubbed the "summit of the three amigos," President Barack Obama with Mexico's Felipe Calderon and Canada's Stephen Harper. All smiles in front of the cameras, but it in the space of 20 hours, it is serious business -- starting with the swine flu, which originated here in Mexico and since has spread throughout the world. With the fall flu season expected to be even more deadly, a senior administration official says the leaders talked about the needs to coordinate their efforts to contain it.
ANDREW SELEE, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: We want to keep this cooperation going. We want to keep our borders open. But we also want to make sure our medical establishments are working with each other to prevent this.
MALVEAUX: Trade is another key issue. The U.S.'s crumbling economy has meant job losses in Canada and Mexico. How President Obama steers Americans out of the devastating recession will impact our neighbors.
SELEE: It may be the most important relationship we have. Mexico is our second largest commercial partner -- second largest destination for exports, third largest commercial partner.
MALVEAUX: Mexico is also a partner in the war against drugs -- a war Mexico's president is far from winning as the drug cartels gain strength. President Obama says the U.S. shares responsibility. It provides the market for Mexico's drugs and is the source of many of the guns that have made the cartels so powerful.
But the U.S. Congress is holding off on sending $100 million in aid to help fight the drug battle until it's reassured the Mexican military is not involved in violating human rights.
A senior administration official said Mr. Obama addressed this with Mr. Calderon, emphasizing that defeating the cartels in the long run would require the commitment and confidence of all the countries affected.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And, John, I traveled commercially to get here. One of the things we go through customs, the first thing you see is a customs agent with a bottle of Purell. They squeeze it in your hands to make sure that your hands are sanitized.
This is the one thing that we expect out of the summit is a joint statement from all three leaders saying that their countries are going to cooperate, continue to work together to make sure people have information for when the swine flu breaks out again in the fall to make sure there's no sense of panic -- John?
ROBERTS: At least they may come up with agreements on something this morning.
Suzanne Malveaux for us live in Guadalajara -- Suzanne, thanks so much.
CHETRY: When we're talking about the drug war, but in Maine, of all places...
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: ... and a small, sleepy coastal town. They have a huge problem of heroin and OxyContin. We're going to talk about where it's coming from and what any possible solutions there are for this town.
Ten minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: And last week, he was at President Clinton's side in North Korea. Today, he's back home taking on climate change, which the Pentagon now sees as threat to national security. John Podesta joins us live, coming up on the "Most News in the Morning."
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
It is a long way from Mexico, but coastal Maine, believe it or not, has become an emerging market for Mexican drug cartels.
CHETRY: They have a drugs in demand and it's heroin. It's a story you'll see only here on AMERICAN MORNING. CNN's Alina Cho is following it for us this morning.
This is -- it seems like the unlikeliest of places to have a drug problem.
CHO: Yes, bucolic Maine. You know, it surprised a lot of people, including us guys.
Good morning. Good morning, everybody.
Heroin, only a problem in big cities, right? New York, L.A., Chicago, D.C., not the case, at least not anymore. You'd maybe surprise to hear in this tiny area of New England, coastal Maine, heroin has become a massive problem, too big to contain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Picture perfect Maine, home to lighthouses, lobsters...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heroin, heroin, more heroin.
CHO: And heroin?
LEEANNE LARIVIERE, RECOVERING DRUG ADDICT: It's very available out here. It's scary.
CHO: Thousands of miles from the drug cartels of Mexico, Kittery, Maine, in bucolic New England is a new Mecca for heroin use. Detective Steve Hamel has been working narcotics for two decades. He says he's seen it all, but never this.
HAMEL: My case load alone for heroin and OxyContin has tripled over the past two years.
CHO (on camera): That's incredible.
HAMEL: Yes, it is.
CHO (voice-over): Detectives are working around the clock. Dealers are making a killing.
(on camera): It's fast cash.
HAMEL: Exactly.
CHO (voice-over): And the addicts are some of Maine's youngest, getting high on $5 a hit.
HAMEL: Cheaper than a six pack of beer for most high school kids.
CHO: And highly addictive.
CAROL LARSON, DRUG COUNSELOR: We tend to think a drug is a drug is a drug. One of the things that is happening with heroin is that the craving for the drug happens months and months and months after they put it down.
CHO: Treatment for heroin addiction in Maine was up 40 percent last year. Some are not able to kick the habit, like 17-year-old Bethany Fritz who died of a heroin overdose in 2004. Since then, Kittery police say another four from the area have died, all in their 20s.
Why Maine?
HAMEL: Little Kittery, Maine, people think, wow, nothing goes on up there, law enforcement's way behind the times. It's just a relaxed -- you know, I can blend in better up there.
CHO: And it never ends. The day of our visit, a heroin arrest is front page news.
(on camera): How hopeful are you that you can fight this and win?
HAMEL: We're never going to win. I really don't think we're ever going to win. But if we weren't, just think how bad it would be if we weren't out there doing what we're doing. For every one we get, maybe 10 get away, but we're going to stay in the fight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: And they are working around the clock, guys. It's really incredible. I mean, can you imagine? In the past two years they now triple the case load in terms of heroin cases. And it's incredible. I mean, the drugs are literally being mauled up from Mexico where the president is right now. As you know, drugs a hot topic of discussion as always.
CHETRY: Right.
CHO: But it's really interesting.
CHETRY: You also said the root causes at least from some of the drug counselors you spoke to have to lie in prescription medication.
CHO: That's right. It's so interesting. I was shock to hear this. You know, basically, you or I go into the doctor, you know, with back pain, you get a prescription for OxyContin. People are getting hooked. I mean, OxyContin is an opiate, just like heroin, highly addictive. People are getting hooked on OxyContin. They need more and more and more, they start to doctor shop, then they hit the streets, they realize it's $50 a pill versus $5 a hit for heroin.
And you do the math. It's cheaper to get high on heroin.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: That's right. Really incredible stuff.
ROBERTS: Interesting gateway.
CHO: That's right.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks so much, fascinating piece.
Well, what's going on in Afghanistan? General Stanley McChrystal, who is the new commander in charge there, says the Taliban is winning in Afghanistan, gaining the upper hand, and that the United States needs a real change in strategy. But can anything help to pull Afghanistan out of the fire? Peter Bergen joins us coming up next.
Sixteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Eighteen minutes after the hour. We're back with the "Most News in the Morning."
It's a headline that's catching up a lot of eyes. The Pentagon's top man in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, tells the "Wall Street Journal" the Taliban is winning there, forcing the United States to change strategy.
Let's bring in our Peter Bergen. He is a CNN national security analyst and author of "The Osama Bin Laden I know." Peter is live in Afghanistan. He is in Kabul for us today.
So, Peter, what do you make of General McChrystal's proclamation that the Taliban is gaining the upper hand there, that the U.S. needs to change strategies? How bad is the situation?
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, John, according to a map that I reported on for CNN last week, an assessment by the United Nation indicates that the Taliban either controls or is able to conduct frequent attacks in 40 percent of the area of the country.
Now, that map was from April, presumably things may have changed a little bit in the south with the 4,000 marines and their operation down there. But I think General McChrystal's assessment speaks for itself. Certainly, the Taliban feel that they are doing somewhat well. They took a hit over the weekend with the announcement by Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, being almost certainly killed in a U.S. drone attack.
ROBERTS: You know, I remember speaking with you, Peter -- it must have been maybe 18 months ago when we were looking at the situation in Afghanistan and the resurge in Taliban. You didn't think at that point that the Taliban was going to be much of a threat nationwide. Do you still believe that? Or have you changed your assessment?
BERGEN: Well, this U.N. map of the assessment back in April indicated the Taliban had, you know, most of the presences in the south and east of the country along the border with Afghanistan.
Here in the north, the west, the country is basically -- and where I am in Kabul -- you know, the country is basically very peaceful. The Taliban is not able to mount frequent raids on the capital. It's not really able to demonstrate an ability to -- for a country-wide insurrection. It's really in the Pashtun rural south that the insurgency is at the strongest.
ROBERTS: You know, when we look at the historical pattern there, over the decades, the centuries, actually, in Afghanistan -- an outside force will come in, they'll put down the opposition for a while, and then the opposition starts to regain strength again, harasses the outside force until eventually the outside nation has to leave. And we've seen that repeated with the British, the Russians.
Is that going to be the pattern here with the United States, do you think, Peter? Or can people like McChrystal and Petraeus above him change that equation?
BERGEN: I think that the equation is not like it was under the Soviets. You know, the Soviets killed more than 1 million Afghans. They made 5 million of them refugees. They inflicted the totalitarian war on the population.
The United States and its NATO allies is killing, you know, a couple of hundred, 300 hundred civilians a year, too many, but nothing on the scale of the Soviets. And the Afghans themselves are still in favor of international forces. According to recent opinion polls, 63 percent of Afghans want international forces to stay.
So, you know, the real question is, building up the size of the Afghan army, building up the size of the Afghan police, having the right strategy to deal with the Taliban, who are really a very small force from a military point of view.
ROBERTS: Right.
BERGEN: Twenty thousand men. They can't hold even a major -- they can't hold towns. You know, so, they are a major tactical problem. I don't think they're a strategic threat.
ROBERTS: So, on the subject of beefing up the Afghan military, beefing up the Afghan police, General McChrystal may recommend doubling the size of the Afghan army from initial assessments, doubling the size of the police force. The initial assessment weren't supposed to take place until about 2011.
So, if they decide to double the force, how long might that take? And how many more Americans would need to be brought into the country to train up that many forces?
BERGEN: Well, you know, for every one American soldier in the field, it costs several hundred thousands of dollars a year, you can field 70 Afghan soldiers. So, it actually makes sense from all sorts of point of view to build up the Afghan army.
Look, the size of the Iraqi army and police are 600,000 men in uniform. Here in Afghanistan, which is a country which is a larger, with a larger population, it's only 170,000 right now. So, just do the math. And what General McChrystal and his advisers have done is just look at the situation and said, we have to build up the army, we have to build up the police. And that, of course, is the best exit strategy for the United States and for its allies here.
ROBERTS: All right. Peter Bergen for us today from Kabul -- Peter, it's good to catch up with you. Thanks so much.
BERGEN: Thank you.
CHETRY: Images this morning from the front lines of Afghanistan. A helicopter attack team coming across men on the road. They say that they're insurgents and they're actually planting a roadside bomb. Take a look at what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a guy ton the road. It's a guy on the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys got the guy on the side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're clear to fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So then you see the explosion there. The Pentagon says it has happened in southern Afghanistan, and the video comes straight from the camera mounted on the helicopter's gun.
All right. Well, the health care battle rages on. Coming up next: We're going to be speaking with Ron Reagan and Larry Elder about the debate.
Is the president losing ground when it comes to trying to get his message across with all of the fighting that's been going on and the shouting we've been seeing at some of these town halls? But the bottom line is, will it get out of congress? And that's where, you know, the big question lies. So, we're going to talk about that.
ROBERTS: It could be a make or break month for health care. So, we'll see where they come down on it all.
CHETRY: Twenty-four minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: Welcome the beautiful shot this morning of New York City. It's beautiful outside right now, 73 degrees. But enjoy it now, because a little bit later, it's going up to 91. It's going to be a little bit muggy out and there are some isolated thunderstorms. Actually, probably be, what, our first 90-degree day we've seen this summer.
ROBERTS: Yes, could be. And central parts of New Jersey could get up into the mid-90s, as well. So, there's -- heat advisory is up and down at east coast. So, folks should take caution today.
Stephanie Elam is here "Minding Your Business" this morning. She joins us. She is in for Christine.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
ROBERTS: How are you today?
ELAM: I'm good. Voice is a little raspy.
ROBERTS: That's good. We like that.
(CROSSTALK)
ELAM: You like it?
ROBERTS: Oh, yes.
ELAM: It's so humid outside that I spent the entire time with my hair pulled back. Now, it just bad hair weather all around.
CHETRY: Why bother, right?
ELAM: Why bother, yes, pretty much.
So, here we are, early on, let's talk about gas prices around the country. And right now, on average for a regular gallon of gas, $2.64. But over the last two weeks, we've seen gas prices -- well, adding on 15 cents. So, we've seen a little bit of an uptick. This is according to the Lundberg survey.
You can blame that on crude oil prices which have been ticking up straight for the last month or so. That has been making gas prices higher. But that should level off a bit because, basically, the demand for gasoline is still not as high as it was previously because a lot of people still unemployed. So, they're not driving to work and summer demand is also down. So, that's factoring in there.
So, right now, gas is $1.20 cheaper than it was this time a year ago.
Let's take a look at where the most expensive gas is in the country. It would be right now out in Hawaii, $3.07 a gallon.
If you take a look at the whole state of California...
ROBERTS: It says $3.18.
ELAM: Really? Does it say $3.18?
ROBERTS: Yes.
ELAM: Well, we have multiple numbers here. Well, we'll figure that out. I'll get that straightened out. California...
ROBERTS: The higher one is probably right.
ELAM: Right. Yes, exactly.
California, though, that would actually make more sense, it's probably be $3.18, because California is $3.05. We're (INAUDIBLE) because a couple of weeks ago, we drove up the coast and there's lots of $3 gas that you could find out there.
ROBERTS: When in doubt, I always err in the higher number.
ELAM: Right, exactly. And if you want the cheapest number...
(CROSSTALK)
ELAM: It's $2.38 gallon in Charleston, South Carolina -- which usually has the cheaper one.
CHETRY: It says Honolulu $3.07, the highest.
ELAM: That's what I have, $3.07, too. So, I'll figure it out. I'm going to get back to you and let you know. I promise.
ROBERTS: We have a discrepancy.
ELAM: It's an early morning discrepancy.
ROBERTS: We'll be working on that.
All right. Steph, thanks so much.
ELAM: Sure.
ROBERTS: Twenty-eight and a half minutes after the hour.
Checking our top stories now.
It's been a bloody day so far across Iraq. Officials say at least 48 people are dead, more than 230 wounded, and seven different bomb blasts across the country. Five in Baghdad alone. These attacks along with five on Friday that killed 50 people have some Iraqis worry that sectarian violence is on the rise again now that U.S. forces have pulled out of Iraq's major cities.
Several young police officers who took part in the rescue and clean-up after the World Trade Center attacks are now battling a blood cancer that typically targets older Americans. That's according to researchers who have been studying more than 28,000 9/11 responders. Experts say it's too soon to know for sure if conditions at "Ground Zero" caused the multiple myeoloma cancer cases in the small group of officers.
And another casualty of the recession. The American Gaming Association says casinos are getting hit hard as more gamblers head to the low stakes tables or stay home together, and that means states are collecting less cash from the casinos, too. And new government figures show revenue is down in eight of the 12 states that let you hit the slots.
Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. John, thanks so much.
Well, this could be -- very well be a make or break month for President Obama's health care overhaul plans. Democratic lawmakers are trying to sell the plan back home and they're getting plenty of pushback at these town hall meetings. The debate and anger raging over health care.
In fact, Georgia Congressman David Scott lashed out at an audience member. He was holding a town hall not about health care and a question about health care was asked. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT: Don't come and take advantage of what these individuals have done! You want a meeting with me on health care, I'll give it to you!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, that's just a sampling of a lot of the voices that have been out there.
And joining us now for our own health care debate, from Los Angeles, conservative commentator Larry Elder; and with us here, Ron Reagan, host of the "Ron Reagan Show" on Air America.
Thanks for being with us, both of you.
So, we've heard about all of these town halls. We've seen some of the video, people shouting, people holding up, you know, congressmen in effigy. And President Obama yesterday tried to use his radio show to say, listen, you know, there's a lot of misinformation out there going on about health care.
But is he losing control, I guess, of the debate?
RON REAGAN, HOST, "RON REAGAN SHOW": Well, I don't know that he's losing control of the debate. But it's not really a debate anymore. What you got are a bunch of people who are, frankly, a bit ignorant, and they're being taken advantage of by people who are misleading them into thinking things like President Obama wants to sneak into your grandma's room and put a pillow over her head and snuff her out there.
That's not happening. These people are lying to these people and getting them all ginned up and sending them off to these town hall meetings. But it's not with real information.
CHETRY: And Larry, I want to ask you about that, because in an editorial today in the "USA Today" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer write about, quote, "drowning out opposing views." They call it "un-American."
Is that's what's happening at these protests that are in some cases be organized by GOP groups?
LARRY ELDER, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Well, I don't think so. There certainly are some organized groups on both sides coming out.
But in the clip that you just now played about Congressman Scott, he was yelling at somebody who turned out to be one of his own constituents who was, in fact, a doctor who had called his office several times in order to find out whether or not Scott supported a public option.
So he wasn't part of a mob and someone didn't send him up. He wasn't ginned up. People are very concerned about whether or not you're able to retain quality, provide universal health care coverage, and retain costs. People just find that against common sense, and so do I.
REAGAN: Well, Larry, people are telling these folks that Barack Obama is going to in fact, snuff out their elderly, that he's going to kill older people here, and that the government is going to take over health care.
That poor woman in Texas, I think, she was, stood up and said "Keep the government's hands off my Medicare." I mean, these people don't know what they're talking about and they're being misled and lied to by people who have radio shows, TV shows, and in some cases are congressmen. And that's just not right. If you want to have a debate, have a debate. If you want to lie to people, well, get a radio show, I guess.
ELDER: Ron, there are certainly a lot of misinformation out there and a lot of people being told things...
REAGAN: Sure, by congressmen.
ELDER: ... 85 percent of people born in America have health care insurance, they are satisfied with it. 89 percent of Americans with or without health care insurance say they're satisfied with their health care.
We've got about 45 million Americans with no health care insurance, about half of those voluntarily have decided not to do it, another large number could have it based on federal or state programs but are just not doing it for whatever reason.
REAGAN: Are you satisfied with our health care system? Are you satisfied with your health care system, Larry? You think this is the best we could have? Really, truly?
ELDER: Let me finish the point. Let me finish the point.
REAGAN: Sure.
ELDER: So when you get down to it, Ron, you're talking about 10 million to 15 million Americans long term without health care insurance out of th population of 300 million. That's not a crisis.
REAGAN: Well, actually it is a crisis because we have a lousy health care system.
(CROSSTALK)
REAGAN: We have a lousy health care system.
CHETRY: It is interesting in that there is a little bit of a schism it seems between people who say, yes, we could improve our health care system. Yet when you ask are you satisfied with yours, we di have a large percentage --
REAGAN: They have nothing to compare it with. Well, they say I have a better plan then my neighbor, so I'm OK?
(CROSSTALK)
ELDER: Ron, you asked me if I was satisfied with our health care system.
REAGAN: No, with our health care system, not your health care. But our health care system.
ELDER: And the answer -- fine, our health care system, the answer is, no I'm not. There's too much government into it. You look at --
(LAUGHTER)
REAGAN: You're saying Medicare doesn't work well?
ELDER: You look at procedures where there is no reimbursement by insurance, where there is very little government regulation like laser surgery or hair transplant or liposuction, and the prices are going down, the quality's going up. Why? The government's not involved in it.
As far as Medicare is concerned, Ron, we're talking about tens of trillions of dollars of unfunded liabilities under the Medicare system. I'm assuming you're not happy with that.
REAGAN: What would make me happier is if Medicare could negotiate for lower drug prices like private insurance industry can. That would be a good idea to save a little money.
CHETRY: I want one or both of you to weigh in on this. Although you guys are doing a great on your own, I could actually get some coffee.
(LAUGHTER)
ELDER: Sorry, Kiran. We're two radio guys.
CHETRY: I know, and I'm a caller and I'm waiting.
(LAUGHTER)
Sarah Palin, by the way, weighed in. She used her Facebook page. It has a lot of people fired up. I'd like to hear both of you, Ron, first. This is what Sarah Palin said or wrote.
"The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel.'" She also called it "evil." What is your reaction to what she said on Facebook?
REAGAN: Sarah Palin only needs a red rubber nose and some exploding shoes and she could go back to work for Barnum and Bailey. The fact that we give this clown any time at all is shocking and silly and a little bit stupid.
So, you know, I find that offensive, frankly, and Larry, it's a perfect example of the sort of dishonesty that's being peddled out there in this debate.
CHETRY: Larry, what did you think Sarah Palin's comments?
ELDER: I think, certainly, it is unfair to call her a clown and stupid.
REAGAN: Oh, I don't think so. ELDER: There are about four or give competing programs in the Congress, and we don't know what's going to come out. So I don't know what she was referring to. I suspect she was referring to one proposal that had a voluntary panel that would look at certain kinds of health care decisions.
But to call it a "death panel," I agree with Ron, is over the top, especially since we don't know what's going to come out of Congress, what's going to come out the house, what's going to come of the Senate, and then they have to reconcile the two bills when they do come out.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Larry...
ELDER: ... what the details.
CHETRY: As a conservative commentator, do you think that saying things like that takes away from the debate, just feeds into the argument on the other side that, at times, perhaps, people are greatly exaggerating what may or may not happen?
ELDER: I think any kind of irresponsible comment takes away from the real issue here, and that is whether or not you can provide universal coverage, high quality, at low cost.
Any kind of incendiary comment take ace way from that debate, just as throwing pies at people like Ann Coulter and my good David Horowitz, and William Crystal takes away from their debate. So that kind...
REAGAN: People have been throwing pies at Ann Coulter? How did I miss that?
(LAUGHTER)
ELDER: You didn't know that Ann Coulter had a pie thrown at her?
REAGAN: No, I didn't. I must have been in the area yesterday when that happened. That's kind of funny.
But death panels, Larry, really?
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: We can agree on one thing...
REAGAN: As long as it was a cream pie and nobody got hurt, you know.
CHETRY: Well, Larry Elder, I want to say thanks for joining us this morning.
ELDER: The point is...
CHETRY: We've got to go, guys, I'm sorry. But it was a great debate. Larry Elder, Ron Reagan, thanks to both of you.
REAGAN: See ya, Larry.
CHETRY: And as always, we want to know what you think...
ELDER: See you outside, Ron.
CHETRY: Uh-oh, good thing you guys are on remote. He's far, far away, so don't worry.
The town hall protests and anything else on your mind, weigh in on our show blog at CNN.com/amfix -- John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was with President Clinton in North Korea last week. Now he's talking about the dangers of climate change. We'll speak to John Podesta about both coming up.
It's 38 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 41 minutes after the hour.
We've got heat advisories up and down the east coast today because it is going to be, in the words of Arrow or Buster Poindexter, hot, hot, hot.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, we have a CNN exclusive. Predator drones, we know them being used in war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but how about patrolling over Arizona? It's the latest tool in the drug war.
It's 42 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 45 minutes now after the hour.
This was the headline in "The New York Times" on Sunday. "Climate change seen as threat to U.S. security." Politicians have said for years that we cannot ignore the environment in our public policy, but the idea that it's a threat to national security is a fairly new one and it's a growing concern.
That's sure to be on the agenda at the National Clean Energy Summit that kicks off today in Las Vegas. John Podesta, and former White House and founder and president for the Center for American Progress is in Las Vegas, and he joins us this morning. John, it's great to see you. Thanks for being with us.
JOHN PODESTA, PRESIDENT, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: Good morning, John. ROBERTS: So, General Anthony Zinni was quoted in the article in the "New York Times" and security concerns and global warming. Here is what he said, quote, "We will pay to reduce greenhouse gas emissions today and we'll have to take an economic hit of some kind, or we will pay the price later in military terms and that will involve human lives."
Do you agree?
PODESTA: Oh, absolutely. I think that if you think about the most dangerous places in the world, they're also susceptible to dramatic changes with respect to climate change, global warming.
If you think about the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, those are places where just small changes in the -- both from extreme storms, but also from small changes in weather patterns that cause drought, famine, et cetera, create tremendous security implications for the United States.
The military, I think, is really beginning to dig into that, analyze it, understand what resources they're going to need as people start adjusting and moving and migration picks up, and there's all those stresses on the natural environment that come from climate change.
ROBERTS: The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also issued a warning recently. He said that the world has less than ten years to halt the rise in greenhouse gas emissions to avoid catastrophic consequences for people and the planet.
There are many, many people who support this idea of a green conversion to a green economy, but in the long run, it may make money, but in the short run, it's going to cost money. With the state of the economy, deficits running the way they are now, John, where's the money, and where's the will to do that?
PODESTA: Well, John, that's what we're doing here in Las Vegas. We're really talking about the energy opportunities, the ability to create jobs, to use private sector capital to create a real push towards energy efficiency, to retrofit our buildings, lower consumer costs, and put people back to work.
And, you know, we have an all-star cast here, including President Clinton, Vice President Gore, Senator Reid, and others to talk about that.
But I think there is a tremendous upside potential for our economy to really get these low-hanging fruit in the near term, and which will create economic growth and put people to work, as I said.
ROBERTS: So you're a busy man these days. You're there at the energy and climate conference in Las Vegas. A week ago we saw you at President Clinton's side in Pyongyang as you went there to pick up Euna Lee and Laura Ling. What was that whole episode like?
PODESTA: Look, it was an amazing experience, and it was an honor for me to accompany President Clinton, and, obviously, it had a happy ending. So, we were very thrilled to be able to bring back those two young reporters and reunite them with their families.
And as you saw when Euna Lee grabbed her four-year-old daughter when we got back to Burbank, California, it was just the thrill of a lifetime, which I'll always remember.
But I was glad to do it. It was a humanitarian issue to get these young women, and we were glad to be successful in doing it.
ROBERTS: That was quite a moment when Hana hugged her mom, no question about it.
What were the meetings with Kim Jong-Il like?
PODESTA: Well, I can't get too much into the details, but we met with him for several hours, more than three hours, and I think there were serious discussions. And, you know, he knew his portfolio and engaged directly with President Clinton.
ROBERTS: Did you get a sense, John, of what he's up to with all this saber rattling, the nuclear tests, the missile tests, the belligerence?
PODESTA: Well, you know, I think we'll report our findings to the people in the administration. I'm not going to get too much into it. It's really their portfolio to try to manage the relationship with the North Koreans.
But we tried to reiterate the need to get back on the path of a denuclearized Korean peninsula as they had agreed to in 2005.
And so, you know, I think that sometimes they miscalculate what the reaction's going to be, not just in the United States, but around the rest of the world. And we tried to reiterate again the need for them to keep their commitments that they made previously.
ROBERTS: You know, over that last 18 months, we've had so many analysts on the air trying to figure out what he's doing. And many of them come down to this idea that he just wants to get noticed. Was that your sense of it, or was there something behind it?
PODESTA: Again, I think they had their brief that they provided to us. We also met with -- had a separate meeting with the president of the people's assembly.
But I think that they were, you know, are -- they made their case. But again, I think that's a case that's been heard before. And what they need to do is get back to the six-party talks and complete their obligations that they previously made.
ROBERTS: Do you have any sense that they'll do that?
PODESTA: They're a tough lot, so I leave it to the people in the administration to engage with them at the diplomatic level and to work with the other members of the -- in the six party talks to kind of push hard and see whether progress can be made.
This was, again, this was a humanitarian gesture, maybe it opens up a little breathing space. But what we were really trying to do is just get these women back to the United States and reunited with their families, and we're glad that they were able to grant them special amnesty. And, as I said, I was honored to be along on that trip.
ROBERTS: We'll see what comes with it as well as your meeting there in Las Vegas. John Podesta, great to catch up with you. Thanks for taking the time.
PODESTA: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: All right, still ahead, it's a CNN exclusive. A predator drone patrolling Arizona -- how there's a new tool in the drug war.
It's 51 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: On the Arizona border, Homeland Security is doing everything it can to keep drugs of the United States.
CHETRY: That's right. And the border's actually using them, the Border Patrol using these high-tech drones, the same kind that the military uses to nab terrorists. But they're using it to get a bird's eye view of terrorists.
Our Deb Feyerick was given full access to this operation, and she's here to tell us what the drug war looks like late at night when the human eye cannot spot.
FEYERICK: Absolutely. And that's what makes this predator so fascinating. It's really like peeling back the darkness.
But the surveillance planes are usually used to find and take out high-value targets in war zones. The same urgency now exists on the border, federal agents working hard to at least reduce the seemingly endless flow of drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the middle of the night, and this unmanned surveillance plane, the Predator B, is about to take off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Altitude 279, 175.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These guys at 20.83.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have got -- they are carrying packs.
FEYERICK: Not in a war zone like Iraq or Afghanistan, but in the Arizona desert.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think those are suspects. They are running. Did they hear something?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead and mark these coordinates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know what they heard but they are getting out of Dodge.
FEYERICK: Dodge in this case happens to be the 260 southwest border separating Arizona from Mexico, and the runners are suspected drug carrying 40 to 80 pound packs of high-grade marijuana.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's where they were yesterday, a group of 22.
FEYERICK: Pete McNal and Rich Riviera are pilots with the Customs and Border protection elite air unit.
RICH ROUVIERE, SUPERVISOR, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: This aircraft really has a significant impact on that, because we have the ability to watch them from the time that they drop the contraband until the actual arrest.
FEYERICK: Because the predator can track suspects as far as 18 miles away and stay airborne up to 25 hours, most times smugglers and illegal immigrants don't even realize they are being watched.
PETE MCNALL, DIRECTOR AIR OPERATIONS, UAS-AZ: It is a video game. But the difference between the video game is there is an 8,500 pound aircraft on the end of the string.
FEYERICK: That's worth $10 million.
MCNALL: That's worth $10 million.
FEYERICK: Since the predator was deployed three years ago, border a little seized more than 32,000 pounds of drugs and arrested nearly 10,000 people.
The agents know that while they are working to develop intelligence on the drug smugglers, chances are high that the drug smugglers are working on to develop intelligence on them and the border operation.
ROUVIERE: The one thing that they don't know is where we're going, what altitude we're working at, and what exactly we're looking at.
FEYERICK: The increased surveillance has forced drug traffickers to become more creative. Agents say smugglers have started using ultra-light aircraft, virtually undetectable, brazenly crossing from Mexico 40 miles into U.S. air space.
As the sun rises, the predator zooms in on a coyote, a human smuggler paid to guide illegal immigrants across the border. Pilots say he will likely cross again, and next time the predator will be waiting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: And it really is a game of cat and mouse. We stayed up all night watching these agents monitor vast expanses of border.
Drug traffickers are relentless. They may send in 20 guys in incredible shape -- they can run at night -- with the expectation that at least half the drugs getting in by foot will go on the market. But it really just doesn't end.
ROBERTS: So, they figure a 50 percent delivery rate is a success for them.
FEYERICK: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Wow.
FEYERICK: Absolutely. It's still billions.
ROBERTS: Fascinating stuff, Deb. Thanks so much.
FEYERICK: Of course.
CHETRY: Thanks, Deb.
ROBERTS: So, Hillary Clinton, dancing? It's all caught on tape? How does she compare to President Bush?
CHETRY: Right.
ROBERTS: Or President Obama?
CHETRY: And who else? We have President Obama, former President Bush, and our secretary of state -- hey, they all groove.
ROBERTS: A little dancing by the stars coming up right after this.
It's 58 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It is serious business for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her tour of Africa. But the not so serious part of it, her dancing has made her a YouTube sensation. Secretary Clinton was cutting loose with the locals in Nairobi, Kenya, last week.
CHETRY: And it reminds us of some other memorable video.
We can't forget this one, can we? It was President Bush, and he was hanging out during a malaria awareness event at the White House back in 2007. He was doing some free-styling -- there you go -- and then he actually decided to try his hand at the bongos.
(LAUGHTER) There you go. That was pretty impressive for his impromptu dance there, right?
ROBERTS: Yes, there you go. He's got a little bit of the robot in there, as well.
And then there was President Obama who was then Senator Obama showing off his moves, looking very liquid here on the "Ellen Degeneres Show" during the campaign.
CHETRY: Yes. He actually looks the most natural on the dance floor.
ROBERTS: He does. He's got groove, no question about that.
CHETRY: We want you to continue the conversation on today's stories. Go to our blog at CNN.com/amfix.
And we're glad you're with us today. Hope you'll join us again tomorrow.
ROBERTS: All right, thanks very much for being with us.
Right now, the news continues with "CNN NEWSROOM" and Heidi Collins.
