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American Morning
Fight for Afghanistan; Sen. Grassley Feels Heat from Constituents; Report Says Militia on the Rise; Officials Cite Misinformation about Health Care Reform; Retail Sales Fall More Than Expected; Black Colleges Have Trouble with Funding; 40th Anniversary of Woodstock Approaching.
Aired August 13, 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: It's Thursday, it's the 13th of August. Thanks for joining us in the most news this morning as we cross the top of the hour. It's 8:00 a.m. Eastern. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Here's what's on the agenda this morning and the stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
The fight for Afghanistan. American Marines are in a battle right now to take a Taliban stronghold in time for Afghans to go to the polls in peace when they vote for the president next week. We're going to be live with Barbara Starr at the Pentagon with more on this challenging mission.
ROBERTS: Members of Congress said the president all taking the health care debate to the people in town halls across the country. We're looking at all sides and giving you real facts about reform proposals. Plus, why one key Republican is also feeling the heat over the health care debate.
CHETRY: New report showing that right-wing militias are regrouping, driven by a hate of the government and, in some cases, by racism. Homegrown groups that thrived a decade ago -- according to this report -- are now growing again across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK POTOK, SOUTHERRN POVERTY LAW CENTER: It really has a lot to do with the rise to power of a black man. You know, for these people, for this movement in general, the primary kind of enemy is the government, the federal government. That was true in the '90s and it's true today.
But the big difference today is that the federal -- the face of the federal government is the face of a black man. So, you know, I'm not suggesting that all militias or all people involved in this movement or this ideology, you know, are really Klansmen secretly, but it is a far more racialized movement than we saw in the '90s.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Our Brian Todd is breaking down this report from Washington this morning.
But we begin the hour with the Taliban under attack in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. At least 12 militants reportedly killed in attacks by the Pakistani military near the Afghan border. Meantime, there is an intense firefight going on right now in southern Afghanistan. U.S. Marines are trying to take a Taliban stronghold ahead of next week's Afghan presidential elections.
Barbara Starr is working this at the pentagon this morning. And she has more details for us.
Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Kiran.
News cameras followed U.S. Marines right into the action in southern Afghanistan. We are just one week away from that presidential election and the marines are stepping up the action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(GUNFIRE)
STARR (voice-over): Up close with Marines on the front lines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good to get out here on offense.
STARR: Part of "Operation Eastern Resolve Two," the third major push this summer into the dangerous and lucrative center of Afghanistan's drug trade. Four hundred U.S. Marines and 100 Afghan troops jumped Taliban lines in helicopters -- to take the town of Dahaneh in Helmand province, the first time U.S. troops have entered the strategic city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dahaneh is one of the key towns in the area. All of the smaller towns defended on Dahaneh, for example. This is where the bazaar is.
STARR: The marines took part of the 21,000 extra troops President Obama ordered up earlier this year. The immediate mission: break the hold on the city and free residents to vote in next week's election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. It's to the right of the wall right there.
STARR: The Taliban have called for the boycott and threatened to ruin the election which the U.S. concedes is a challenge.
RICHARD HOLBROOKE, SPECIAL U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO AFGHANISTAN & PAKISTAN: Holding an election in a war-time situation is always difficult. But a government needs legitimacy. And this election was called for under the constitution.
STARR: In Dahaneh, commanders predict a few more days of intense fighting before the town is secured.
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: So, expect to see more fighting across southern Afghanistan for the next several days, Kiran. U.S. troops are determined to make sure that it does not, at least, appear that the Taliban can ruin the upcoming election - Kiran.
CHETRY: Barbara Starr for us this morning from the Pentagon, thanks.
ROBERTS: The White House is trying to stay on message today with its make or break push on health care reform. But the president and Democrats are not the only ones who are feeling the heat. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, who is working on a compromise with those across the aisle, is getting an earful at town hall after town hall across Iowa.
Let's bring in our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley. She is live in West Des Moines.
You know, we're used to seeing the rancor at Democratic town halls, but Chuck Grassley got an earful yesterday.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He did from all sides. I would call these pointed but polite exchanges. You know, Chuck Grassley says he's done about 2,800 town hall meetings in the 30 years that he's held -- first as a congressman, then as a senator on Capitol Hill. And he is so far off to a pretty good start this year and they are not getting any easier.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. CHUCK GRASSLY (R), IOWA: Well, if it's OK with you, I'll get started.
CROWLEY (voice-over): Winterset, Iowa, he holds his 72nd town hall meeting of the year -- what a year.
GRASSLEY: We're here at a time when I sense that people are scared for our country.
CROWLEY: His town halls have been twice, sometimes three times as big as he's had in previous years -- so many hands in the air, so many cross currents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need to know what are you doing to these insurance companies that are putting everything in their pocket and just laughing at everybody else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Simple math, even for this southern Iowa redneck, shows that we can do -- we can cover the people who want coverage with a private policy cheaper.
CROWLEY: Making his way through the questions festering in the Iowa country side, Grassley is really in a minefield. Why does he support cuts in Medicare? He doesn't. Will he support a plan with a government insurance option? No.
And about those so-called "death panels," a term critics use to argue against a provision they say will put the federal government in the euthanasia business.
GRASSLEY: You brought (ph) up one point up here that...
CROWLEY: Grassley, a man with encyclopedic knowledge of many issues stepped where he probably should not.
GRASSLEY: I don't have any problem with things like living will, but they ought to be done within the family. We should not have a -- we should not have a -- we should not have a government program that determines you're going to pull the plug on grandma.
CROWLEY: Put him down as not on target, the program inserted in the House bill would allow federal reimbursements to doctor who give end-of-life counseling to Medicare patients who want it. Critics say the counseling may become coercive.
Grassley has a reputation as a seasoned and reasoned conservative. He works now with a small group with Senate Republicans and Democrats trying to come up with a middle ground bill. A Capitol Hill lawmaker for 35 years, he is up for reelection next year, about which he is reminded daily.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Democrat or Republican, for whoever senator or congressman that votes for this bill, we will vote you out.
CROWLEY: The senator threads his way between his core constituents angry that he's trying...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is nothing a liberal wants that I would agree to and we have to stop giving ground.
CROWLEY: ... and others who have voted for him for three decades angry he's not trying hard enough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to ask you why you won't use your strong Republican voice to clarify the outright lies that are out there about the programs that are being proposed.
CROWLEY: At day's end, Grassley was in an open air park in Adel, Iowa, for his 75th town hall meeting of the year.
GRASSLEY: Oh, I've got 16 more meetings. So, I don't want to draw a conclusion from four town meetings.
CROWLEY: August may not be the coolest month, but it's going to seem like the longest one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: As for those negotiations, Senator Grassley is participating in up on Capitol Hill, he doesn't sound very optimistic. He says he has no intention of walking away from the table, though he is getting some heat from conservatives for being there. But he says he may be shoved away from the table by Democrats who he believes may come back in September and want to go it alone -- John?
ROBERTS: Candy, we hear show so many criticisms at these town halls at the plans that are out there before Congress. Is there any single theme of criticism that's a common thread with all of these town halls?
CROWLEY: Overall, on the critics' side, it's big government, it sort of fits under the umbrella. What Senator Grassley says he's been hearing all year long, he says his crowds are two to three times as big as they have been, say, last year and the year before. And he says they're talking about the stimulus plan, the bailout, something that they think is government intrusion now into their own private lives and that is this health care reform bill.
On the Democratic side or at least on the side of those who support Obama-style health care reform, it seems to be the insurance companies. I'm getting ripped off, the insurance companies are pocketing all of this money, we need reform. So, it generally divides along those two lines.
ROBERTS: All right. Divide being the operative word there. Candy Crowley for us this morning...
CROWLEY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Candy, so much.
CHETRY: You know, she was just talking about the insurance companies, and it's very interesting because, you know, they were sort of painted as the big problem behind a lot of this. Well, it will be very interesting because we're going to be talking in a moment with a health care insider. He worked for an insurance company for 20 years. He's going to give us a view that we haven't seen before. That's coming up right after the break.
It's 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: Twelve minutes past the hour right now. A beautiful look at Washington, D.C., and the Capitol this morning, 73 degrees. A little bit later, and they could be looking at some isolated thunderstorms down there in the nation's capital; 83 degrees for a high today.
And welcome back to the "Most News the Morning."
You know, with so many Americans fired up about health care reform, we've gotten a rare chance this morning to hear from someone with inside knowledge about the insurance industry and its practices and tactics.
Wendell Potter is a former insurance company executive and once the chief spokesman from the CIGNA Insurance Company. He's now a senior fellow at the Center for Media and Democracy.
Thanks for being with us this morning.
WENDELL POTTER, SENIOR FELLOW, CENTER FOR MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY: Thanks for the opportunity.
CHETRY: So, you spent 20 years in the industry, as we said. You've seen a lot of things many of us haven't. And you sort of know what really works.
What do you think -- the three most important things, if you had to list them, to making our health care system work better in this country? What three things do we need to do?
POTTER: We need to have a public option, a public insurance option that provides another alternative to the private health insurance industry. Over the last decade and a half, the industry has converted primarily from a non-profit model to for-profit. So, most of the insurance companies that dominate the industry are for profit. A lot of our premium dollars are going into the pockets of shareholders.
We also need to have more regulation of the insurance industry. We need to make sure that there are no more -- it's not possible to exclude people because of pre-existing conditions, and that we should ban insurance companies from cherry-picking the healthiest.
CHETRY: And let me ask you a quick question. At the beginning of that, you said that, you know, they're a for-profit industry. So, if they're for-profit industry, they're trying to find ways to make money. And so, insuring people with pre-existing conditions would be a reason they wouldn't make money, because it would cost them a lot to care for that person.
POTTER: Right.
CHETRY: So, how do the two come together?
POTTER: Well, they don't, really. In fact, in 1993 and '94, the insurance industry was saying the same thing it is saying now, that they were opposing to pre-existing conditions being a condition for insurance or an exclusion. But they never did anything about it. They had 15 years to lobby Congress to get rid of that, but they never did.
And, you're right, the insurance industry is more accountable to Wall Street and there is this pressure from Wall Street to always bring down costs and to get rid of sick people. And it's what they do. They methodically will kick out people who get sick when they file claims and also purge small businesses from the roles when employees file claims.
CHETRY: There are people who say that a public plan, though, would kill insurance companies, the private insurance companies -- meaning that if you can get on a public plan cheaper, people eventually migrate to that. And after time, there are no more private insurers.
Is that something that you think is realistic?
POTTER: No, it's not. It's not going to happen.
The public plan would help keep the private insurance industry honest, and it would be a good alternative for people who want to enroll in a public plan and they're eligible for it. We have almost 50 million people who are uninsured and another 25 million who are underinsured because of the practices of their private insurance industry. So we need to have that. And it would provide an alternative for people who would rather not have their premium dollars going into Wall Street investors.
CHETRY: So, the other question is, we've heard a lot of misinformation out there saying that what's eventually going to happen. Well, I say misinformation, but it's almost lack of information. We don't really know yet how all of this would play out. Under some of the scenarios, though, people are saying that what they have now -- and they claim they're happy with it -- they're afraid that it's going to change.
Do we know whether or not adding a private -- a public option to the private insurance plan would actually eventually kick people off or change the way that they now get insurance?
POTTER: Not the government action. Not anything the Congress is doing. But people say that they're happy with their insurance plans, and I think that's reasonable. Because most people don't use their insurance plans on a regular basis.
What they don't understand is that the health insurance industry and employers are pushing people out of the plans they like. If they haven't been pushed out yet, they likely will out of the plans they've been used to, into what the insurance industry calls consumer- driven plans. They're not consumer-driven, they are high deductible plans created by insurance executives that shift more of the financial responsibility from insurance companies and employers onto the shoulders of employees, working men and women.
CHETRY: We talk about poll after poll where people say they're largely satisfied with what they have. Are we missing something? Do we not know how good it could be if let's say there is reform that includes public options, that includes changes to the way things currently happen?
POTTER: Very good point and it's exactly true. Because people don't know what the other options could be. We've never had a public option that could be available to people to enroll in. We've never had anything like some of the other countries around the world, the developed world, offer their citizens and that have been able to achieve universal coverage. We just don't know what we could have other than what we have now.
CHETRY: There are many experts, though, that say there is no way around it; that a public option will ultimately lead to rationing of health care.
POTTER: It will not. We have rationing right now. That's probably more insidious than anything that could happen with the -- with the government plan. First of all, the government plan does not remove options. You would still be able to enroll in the private plan if you wanted to.
What you have now is a corporate bureaucrat who is between you and your doctor, calling the shots and helping to ration care, and you have people who are uninsured or underinsured who can't afford to get care. So, that's some of the worst rationing you have anywhere the western world.
CHETRY: What about this notion of a co-op? A lot of people say that even the word public option is so politically loaded right now, that perhaps anything that comes out of Congress in a compromise would include a co-op insurance -- co-op, but not necessarily a public option. What does that mean?
POTTER: Well, it means that it would be something less, maybe public option light. But it wouldn't work. And it's something that the health insurance industry, even though is saying it wouldn't want that either, it would go along with that because a co-op would not really have any chance of succeeding in the private market, and because the insurance industry is so entrenched in all of our major markets that they -- the barriers in entering any given market is almost insurmountable. A co-op just starting out wouldn't have a chance.
CHETRY: Very interesting perspective this morning. Wendell Potter, former health insurance company executive and now a senior fellow with the Center for Media and Democracy -- thanks for being with us.
POTTER: Thank you very much.
ROBERTS: There are so many things that are being said about the health care debate that are true and so many things that aren't true. We're separating fact from fiction this morning. Bill Adair from PolitiFact.com is here with his truth-o-meter this morning. We'll run some of what's been said over the past couple weeks through the truth-o-meter.
And just how much trouble are schools in because of the bad economy? How about paying to march in the marching band? And what about instead of bringing lunch to school, you've got to bring office supplies. Christine Romans has got all of that for us.
Nineteen minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- one minutes past the hour right now.
Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business." Perhaps it's the time of the signs. We know that local governments, local school districts...
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Sure.
CHETRY: ... a lot of them are feeling the pinch of the recession and it's really having an affect on children and their families.
ROMANS: It is. When you send your kids back to school this fall folks, you're going to notice a difference and you're probably going to be paying for that difference, as well. When you talk to schools -- we've been talking to them for some time now -- about how the classroom is going to be different this fall. You're going to see many schools have larger class sizes, fewer teachers' aides, maybe fewer music teachers.
You're going to notice it as well because I was just home in the Quad Cities in the Midwest and on the front page of the newspaper it said, they were taking donations for boxes of copy paper and toner for school offices.
ROBERTS: Wow.
ROMANS: This goes beyond just bringing scissors and crayons and glue. This is really a lot of work that parents are going to have to do to help pay for what their kids are experiencing, including paying to play sports, paying to be in extracurricular activities.
We've been talking to schools, talking to the different organizations that are watching this, you can expect in many school districts to pay $100 to $350 to play on the football team or on the soccer team or on the band or to be a cheerleader. That's on top of the equipment you'll be paying for your kid, $100 on average for clubs, including -- in a few places -- paying to be a part of the national honor roll and the group of that. Also $200 to $1,000 maximum charge per family for many of the school districts we've been talking to you.
So, some places are putting in a cap, saying look, we're only going -- up to $200, you're going to pay these extra fees for your child to participate in some of these other things, up to $1,000 for some school districts.
So, I think what this tells you is that four out of five American families are going to be feeling the recession at school, and it's going to mean dig deep, folks. You're going to have to pay for it.
ROBERTS: There are some parents who struggle just to get together the $25 for a field trip. Where are they going to come up with the money for this?
ROMANS: And, frankly, in some of these districts, they are actually dropping these programs altogether. When you're talking about these fees, this is what they're trying to put just so they can keep these things. There are many, many school districts that are going to end these programs. There will not be a marching band unless the parents are going to dig deep and pay for it.
ROBERTS: You know, every day we reach into our pockets and we get $20 so that Christine can give us a Romans' Numeral, it's a number that's driving a story about your money today. What's the numeral today?
ROMANS: Five hundred forty-eight dollars and seventy-two cents. And this is a number that, according to the National Retail Federation, you're going to feel. This is...
CHETRY: Back to school?
ROMANS: Back to school.
CHETRY: Paying for all the supplies, clothing, the new shoes.
ROMANS: That's right. Not counting all of these other things that I've just given to you. The National Retail Federation says, expect to pay $548.72 per family for K-12 education back to school shopping, and that is down about 45 bucks from last year. Four to five families say the recession is going to have them pulling back.
ROBERTS: Right. But then at the same time, the recession may increase the overall burden because of what you were just telling us.
ROMANS: Absolutely right.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business" this morning -- Christine, thanks.
CHETRY: All right. Well, anti-government militias, talking about why Internet recruiting videos are actually on the rise.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Militias have been behind some of the bloodiest homegrown terror attacks and standoffs in American history. Now, armed with plenty of firepower and mistrust of the government, a brand new report shows that right-wing militias across the country are regrouping and growing.
Brian Todd is breaking down the threat from our Washington bureau this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran.
In the 1990s, they were blamed for espousing the ideology put into practice by the Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Now, a new report claims anti-government militias inside the United States are making a comeback.
(voice-over): A posting on YouTube attributed to the Ohio militia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, people, things are bad. Things are real bad. It's going to get a lot worse. So, basically, the people need to wake up, start buying some of these, see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: The video is an example of how militias are making a comeback, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
POTOK: We're at a very worrying moment in my view. We're seeing the kind of perfect storm of factors that favors the continued growth of this movement. We're talking about, you know, non-white immigration, a black president, and an economy that is in very dire straits.
TODD: A homeland security assessment in April said recent arrests indicate the emergence of small, well-armed extremist groups in some rural areas.
How dangerous are they?
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: It's a number of groups far -- almost far too numerous to mention and regrettably so. But some of them, indeed, want to do what happened in Oklahoma City; that is commit violent acts within the homeland.
TODD: The government's intelligence assessment said, "Lone wolves and small terrorist cells embracing violent rightwing extremist ideology are the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States."
A leader of the Michigan Militia told us members of established militias like his, which do training on firearms and first aid, shouldn't be lumped in with violent extremists who talk about mounting attacks.
LEE MIRACLE, MICHIGAN MILITIA (via telephone): It's not something we want to tolerate. You know, we're not going to let any innocent Americans get hurt.
TODD: He described their ideology as pro-freedom and pro- Constitution, not anti-government.
POTOK: I don't mean to suggest that all of these people out there with these kinds of ideas are killers -- I think that's absolutely clearly not true. But does this movement produce people who engage in criminal actions and sometimes really terrifying? I think that's unquestionable.
TODD: Several high-profile criminal suspects have been linked to racist or right-wing ideology recently: The alleged shooter of three Pittsburgh police officers killed in April, the man charged with killing a Kansas abortion doctor in May, and the alleged gunman at the Holocaust Museum in Washington in June.
The election of the first African-American president is serving as an extremist recruiting tool according to the Department of Homeland Security. Law enforcement sources tell CNN: while Barack Obama had a significant number of threats during his campaign, since his swearing in, it's not been much different from previous presidents.
Still, a former Secret Service agent tells us...
WILLIAM PICKLE, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: I think the historical nature of this presidency is certainly something the Secret Service and the whole country's aware of.
TODD (on camera): Neither of these two reports mention left- wing extremist, but a January Homeland Security Department report focused on cyber attacks by left-wing groups and law enforcement has charged environmental extremists who have committed arson attacks.
John and Kiran, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Brian Todd reporting this morning -- Brian, thanks so much.
We're crossing the half hour now, it's 8:30 Eastern.
And checking our top stories.
A former staffer for Bill Clinton, Betsy Wright, is denying felony charges that she tried to smuggle a knife and 48 tattoo needles into an Arkansas death row prison. The Associated Press reports state police found the knife and needles inside a Doritos bag.
Wright, a vocal opponent of the death penalty who visits death row often, reportedly told prison guards she found the bag at a vending machine. Wright was chief of staff for former President Clinton when he was governor of Arkansas.
CHETRY: A sneak peek of former vice president Dick Cheney's book. "The Washington Post" reporting that it will be a tell-all that and Cheney feels former President Bush stopped taking his advice during their second term in the White House.
The former V.P. has been quoted as saying the statute of limitations has expired on many of his secrets. That book is due out sometime in 2011.
ROBERTS: And down in lower Manhattan, the Freedom Tower starting to take shape at the World Trade Center site. Crews have put in a 70- ton steel column, the largest piece so far in place.
Three more are scheduled to go up later on today. The columns take the building's skeleton several stories above street level. The Freedom Tower is set to be finished in 2013.
It's a make or break month for health care reform. And while the town hall shouters are getting lots of attention, some of the comments that the president has made are causing a big buzz too.
So we're bringing in Bill Adair, founder and editor of politifact.com, separating fact from fiction this morning, as he always does. He' got a lot of material to run through the truth-o- meter.
Bill, good morning to you. How are you doing?
BILL ADAIR, POLITIFACT.COM: Good morning, John, doing great.
ROBERTS: You all set to go here?
ADAIR: We are. We've been very busy this week, that's for sure.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: I know you have. And you'll be busy in the weeks to come.
The first thing we want to run through the truth-o-meter is something that President Obama said that generated some controversy in a town hall meeting. It has to do with the AARP and its endorsement or lack thereof of the plans making their way through Congress.
Let's listen to what the president said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have the AARP on board because they know this is a good deal for our seniors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: "The AARP is onboard." Right after that the AARP fired out this statement saying quote, "Indications that we have endorsed any of the major health care reform bills currently under consideration in Congress are inaccurate."
So the question, was the president wrong? And, Bill, the truth- o-meter says --
ADAIR: Barely true for President Obama on this one. Indeed as AARP noted, the AARP has not explicitly endorsed any particular bill. Now, the true part of the barely true is that back in the middle of July, the AARP really gushed with praise for the House version of the bill. It has since, though, since there's been a lot of protests, kind of backed away from that a little bit and even in front of the president made the point it was not explicitly endorsing a bill.
So the president gets a barely true on our truth-o-meter.
ROBERTS: At some of his town hall meetings, the president has been asked, does he support a single-payer system for health care?
And people asking that question point to a 2003 recording where then state senator Barack Obama says, and we quote "I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal health care program. I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody."
When asked this question at the town halls, here's how the president responds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I have not said that I was a single-payer supporter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The president says he's not a single-payer supporter. And Bill, the truth-o-meter says?
ADAIR: False. Yes, he -- as the 2003 statement clearly indicates, the president has said in the past that he supported single-payer.
And even today when he's asked about it at town halls, he's often asked how his ideas have evolved on a single-payer system, he says that if he was starting a system from scratch, that he would use a single-payer plan, but that that's not realistic now.
So for him to say that at the town hall in New Hampshire the other day, he really was misstating it. So he gets a false on the truth-o-meter.
ROBERTS: False of the truth-o-meter, all right.
Final statement that we want to run through the truth-o-meter from our old friend Michelle Bachmann, congresswoman from Minnesota, caught our attention with a statement on the House floor about White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's brother Ezekiel, who is a health care adviser to the president.
She said, quote, "Ezekiel Emanuel, one of President Obama's key health care advisers, says medical care should be reserved for the non-disabled. So watch out if you're disabled." What did the truth- o-meter say about that one, Bill?
ADAIR: The Truth-O-Meter gave that one a false.
And when you go back and you look at what Emanuel wrote, it was a very academic paper. And he was raising some questions in a very philosophical piece, but clearly not endorsing them. And he has made clear that he's not endorsing them now, didn't endorse them then. So she gets a false on the truth-o-meter.
It's worth pointing out that Congresswoman Bachmann, we've rated six of her statements, all of them have been either false or "pants on fire." So she has the distinction of a perfect record.
ROBERTS: We -- she gets the dreaded "pants on fire."
(LAUGHTER)
That's a great writing.
Bill Adair, it's always great to talk to you. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.
ADAIR: Thanks a lot, John.
ROBERTS: Appreciate it.
We should point out too that Rahm Emanuel's Brother Ezekiel is an oncologist as well as a bioethicist. So he is involved in a lot of end-of-life care and also writes philosophically and ethically about a lot of these issues that are facing us as we go forward with this health care.
And there are a lot of people who have pointed to some of what he said as being extraordinarily controversial. So we're bound to hear more about that in the days and weeks to come.
CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. We've been talking all morning about some signs of life that the economy's perhaps improving, a lot of economists saying that we are out of the recession.
But there are some new numbers in right now on retail sales. A decline in July, what does that really mean for us? Christine Romans is going to join us in just a moment to break it down.
It's 36 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Just into CNN, retail sales for the month of July. We thought that maybe the recovery was underway. Now some indications that, well, perhaps not.
ROMANS: The consumer might not be feeling it yet. Retail sales weaker than expected for the month of July. You can see that people were buying cars, auto sales up because of cash for clunkers.
Outside of that, the consumer still nervous and pulling in more than the consensus of economists had expected. Retail sales falls 0.1 percent. I know it looks like a little number, but retail sales dropping at a time when economists thought it would be picking up again.
The point I want to make about this number, this retail sales number and what it says about the consumer, it says the consumer is still pulling in, the consumer is still frugal, the consumer is still concerned about his or her job and about the foreclosure situation.
I think we're going to head into a period where there's going to be a lot of conflicting economic numbers that are going to show just how fragile any kind of recovery is.
ROBERTS: So auto sales were up, but almost everything else was down?
ROMANS: That's right, just about everything else was down.
CHETRY: It makes you wonder how much they'd be down by if cash for clunkers wasn't implemented and they didn't renew that program.
ROMANS: They'd be down about 0.6 percent I think if you didn't have that cash for clunkers number. So there you go.
CHETRY: All right. Christine Romans for us this morning. Thank you.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Also, these tough economic times are taking a toll on historically black colleges where many students rely on financial aid to get their education. In this "Money in Mainstream" report, Sandra Endo shows us what's happening to help keep these kids in school just in the nick of time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA ENDO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sophomore Zakiya Williams found a perfect fit at Spelman College.
ZAKIYA WILLIAM, SOPHOMORE, SPELMAN COLLEGE: This place is meant for me.
ENDO: But when the though economy hit her and her family hard, she packed her bags, ready to drop out.
WILLIAMS: I wasn't able to get loans. Neither were my parents.
ENDO: It's a familiar story at colleges across the country, but especially at historically black colleges and universities where in some cases up to 95 percent of students rely on financial aid to fund their education.
President Barack Obama has moved to increase financial aid with stimulus and budget funds. But still, many black colleges expect enrollment rates to keep shrinking as families and students struggle in the economic downturn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Many students want to come, but will they be able to afford to come?
ENDO: Since 2004, $238 million of federal funding was earmarked annually for historically black colleges, and in the last two years, those institutions also benefited from an extra $85 million each year under the College Cost Reduction Act, which ends in May of 2010.
So those institutions may feel the squeeze even more.
CARLTON E. BROWN, PRESIDENT, CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY: We're under-resourced. We try to keep our costs as low as possible. That means that our margins are always very tight.
ENDO: In the Atlanta area alone, Morehouse College laid off 25 adjunct professors. Spelman is eliminating 35 jobs next year, and Clark, Atlanta University's budget acts fell with 70 professors and 30 staff members let go.
The White House Budget Office says President Obama's budget calls for a 5 percent increase in permanent funding for historically black colleges.
MICHAEL LOMAX, CEO, UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND: We're saying you're moving in the right direction, but unfortunately, in these tough times not far enough.
ENDO: For Zakiya Williams, a scholarship came through at the last minute. And she says the struggle to stay at a historically black college was worth it.
WILLIAMS: I was completely relieved, and now I'm focusing on my studies.
ENDO: Sandra Endo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right, so for more stories of people thriving in a tough economy, watch for more "Money and Main Street" reports tonight right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: Rob Marciano's tracking the extreme weather today. We've got something brewing out in the Atlantic Ocean. Could it turn into the season's first tropical storm? Rob will be along to tell us.
It's 43 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Don't forget, every Friday Rob leaves the office, heads the outdoors for something new we're calling "Rob's Road Show." We'd like to send Rob to someplace really fun, and we'd like you to help us out. If you've got an idea for his next trip that's like much more interesting than yo-yoing in Orlando, head to our Web site, CNN.com/amfix. We would love to send Rob there.
CHETRY: We would.
All right, well, meantime, Woodstock 40 years later, one man who promoted the ideals of the '60s generation. A lot's changed in four decades. Carol Costello sits down with him, next.
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ROBERTS: Shot of Columbus Circle outside of our headquarters here, where it's cloudy and 70 degrees, not going to be much warmer than that, today, only a high of 73 and some scattered thunderstorms.
We're back with the most news in the morning.
And the artist who helped make Woodstock famous, the music you're hearing in the background, now remembering those three days of peace, love, and music back in 1969. It was August 15th 40 years ago.
CHETRY: It may seem like yesterday, but yes, this weekend marks the 40th anniversary of the mega-music festival.
And one of key players, folk singer Arlo Guthrie is still speaking out on politics and war and even health care reform. He sat down with Carol Costello, and she joins us from Washington with more on what he's up to four decades later. Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran, I've met a lot of famous people, but never any as real as Arlo Guthrie. He's down to earth, he's funny and thoughtful. We talked about everything from Woodstock, to family, to politics, and why a hippie of the '60s known for an antiwar song has long been a registered Republican.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Woodstock 40 years ago now, when hundreds of thousands immersed themselves in mud, music, and many of them drugs, hoping their shared experience would change the world.
COSTELLO (on camera): What do you remember from those days being at Woodstock?
ARLO GUTHRIE, FOLK SINGER: I remember getting there.
COSTELLO (voice-over): In the movie "Woodstock," 22-year-old Arlo Guthrie seemed a bit overwhelmed.
COSTELLO (on camera): How did it change you?
GUTHRIE: I never participated in anything or indulged in anything before a concert again.
COSTELLO: Why? GUTHRIE: Because at the same time that it was wonderful double- edged sword where I was in no shape to be performing, and at the same time, it was the performance of my life. That's freaking Shakespearean to me.
COSTELLO (voice-over): He calls Woodstock a single unifying icon that's come to symbolize bigger, more important movements of the times, like the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement.
And Guthrie is perhaps more well-known for his anti-war anthem in film "Alice's Restaurant" than he is for "Woodstock."
And yes, this is the Alice's Restaurant, really a deconsecrated church. Guthrie bought it and has turned it into a spiritual community center.
If his life sounds like one long stereotypical hippie trip, you're wrong.
COSTELLO (on camera): You know, when I told people that I was going to come up and talk with you, the first thing people said was, oh, my god, isn't he a conservative now?
(LAUGHTER)
Are you?
GUTHRIE: I'm never a conservative.
COSTELLO (voice-over): But he is a registered Republican.
COSTELLO (on camera): Did you vote for John McCain?
GUTHRIE: No. My political sort of voting record is not up for public discussion.
COSTELLO: Sarah Palin?
GUTHRIE: I think she's fun.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Guthrie admires her anti-elitist spunk. You could say it mirrors his own. He's actually a family values kind of guy, married to Jackie for 40 years, plays in a band with his own kids, lives in the same house he bought with profits from "Alice' Restaurant" back in 1969.
And as a Republican, he fears a Democrat-controlled country. Besides --
GUTHRIE: I have always been more comfortable being a loyal opposition than a rah-rah, yes, let's go get them, we're in power now kind of guy.
COSTELLO: That said, Guthrie is still a child of the '60s, still vehemently anti-war, anti-establishment, beliefs born at Woodstock that have not changed with time. GUTHRIE: It revived your faith in human beings. It made you feel like you could trust your buddy even though they were telling you you couldn't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Something else interesting Guthrie told me. You know he was watching Barack Obama's inauguration, and he looked at it as sort of a validation for the Woodstock generation. It's a large part of what they fought for.
As a Republican, he doesn't much like President Obama's stimulus package or health care reform, but he does wish Republicans would come up with better ideas rather than just saying no.
ROBERTS: An interesting mix of politics going on in the same person, Carol.
COSTELLO: He's a complex, interesting guy. I had a great time talking with him.
ROBERTS: Excellent. Great piece.
CHETRY: Thanks, Carol.
ROBERTS: So you heard of all you can eat buffets, right?
CHETRY: Heard of them, put a hurting on a few.
ROBERTS: Early bird special. What about flying all you can? We'll tell you about an all you can fly deal coming up next.
It's 56 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: All right 58 minutes past the hour.
New this morning, those summer shoes you love have a dirty, perhaps even deadly little secret. Two New York reporters, newspaper reporters, put their flip-flops to the test after wearing them all around the city for four days. Lab tests revealed tons of bacteria, including a germ that could be fatal if it gets into the bloodstream and goes untreated.
ROBERTS: Sounds a little obvious, doesn't it?
CHETRY: Yes, but why blame the flip-flops? The New York City streets.
ROBERTS: Why would you expose anything to New York City streets bare?
You've heard of all you can eat buffets, so how about all you can fly? Hoping to get business travelers back in the air again, JetBlue announcing a new promotion allowing customers to fly as much as they want between September the 8th and October the 8th, for $599.
This buffet in the sky deal lets you book any available seat on a flight as long as you give three day's notice ahead of departure. Not a bad deal.
CHETRY: All right. Hopefully you'll arrive on time, as well, every time you fly.
Well, if you like that deal, then you're going to like this one, although it really wasn't a deal for very long. It was advertised wrong on Best Buy's Web site that you could get a 52-inch flat screen HDTV plasma for $9.99. Yes, that was a mistake.
Best buy says it will not honor the advertised sale price because it was wrong. It was supposed to be $1,800. The company says it was an online error. They've correct the price.
As for all of the people that raced to buy it, they're getting their $10 back.
ROBERTS: There you are.
Continue the conversation on today's stories. Go to our blog at CNN.com/amfix.
And that's going to do it for us. Thanks so much for joining us this Thursday morning. We'll see you again tomorrow.
CHETRY: In the meantime, the news continues, "CNN NEWSROOM" with Rick Sanchez.
