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President Obama to Make a Speech on Health Care Overhaul; President Obama's Speech to Schoolchildren Avoids Politics; Security Deteriorates at Highway One in Afghanistan; President Obama Appoints a Manufacturing Czar; Will Trigger End Public Showdown on Health Care?

Aired September 08, 2009 - 06:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Tuesday, September 8th. Glad you're with us. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for joining us on the "Most News in the Morning." There is a lot happening today and here are the big stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.

With his agenda under attack, President Obama is fired up ready to go, taking his case for health care reform to the public and meeting with congressional leaders who are now back at work. But will it help the president get a health care reform bill passed? We'll find out.

CHETRY: Well, today, President Obama will kick off the school year by speaking directly to America's classrooms. The planned speech, of course, as you probably know, sparked quite a firestorm. But now one of the most outspoken critics of the speech changing his tune after getting a chance to look at it. We're going to be live at the White House with details.

ROBERTS: And even former First Lady Laura Bush is talking about the controversy over today's school speech. In a CNN exclusive, find out if she thinks that the address is a good idea about. Plus, she's reacting to charges that the president wants to indoctrinate kids.

CHETRY: We begin, though, in Washington. Congress back in session this morning and health care is the critical item at the top of the agenda. And the president's wasting no time on that front.

In just a few hours, he'll be meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. And ahead of the speech to a joint session of Congress tomorrow, the president is putting critics of reform squarely in his sights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've got -- I've got a question for all these folks who say, you know, we're going to pull the plug on grandma. This is all about illegal immigrants. You've heard all the lies.

I've got a question for all those folks. What are you going to do? What's your answer? What's your solution? And you know what? They don't have one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Today the big player in the health care debate could be the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus. He's a Democrat pushing a new plan where there's no government-run insurance program.

Brianna Keilar is live in Washington. So we know a little bit about Senator Baucus's plan. He's trying to sell his plan by the end of the day. Any takers?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have yet to see that. Certainly we're paying attention today, Kiran, because Senator Baucus will be meeting with these Democrats and Republicans that he's been in discussions with now for months and months to see where they stand on this proposal. So what's in it?

Well, there is no public option as we expected. What there is is a health care cooperative system. This would be nonprofit co-ops governed by the patients they served. These details from a source with knowledge of this proposal, and it would also expand Medicaid.

For instance, right now Medicaid covers children up to the age of five and pregnant women who are either below the poverty level or up to 1/3 above it. This would cover under this proposal, Medicaid would cover everyone whose income level is up to 1/3 above the poverty level. So this would include more children. This would include adults who do not have children.

And then the question is how do you pay for it. Well, the big tax here that would pay for this overhaul in part is a tax on the so- called Cadillac health care plans. These high end health care plans that some say really, I guess, spur some consumers to overuse the health care system. This would be a tax on the insurance companies, not on individuals. But, Kiran, critics say that this is a tax that would just be pushed on to everyone who gets private health care insurance -- Kiran.

CHETRY: And so what happens -- you know, talking about the GOP and we heard the president say where's your idea for those who are opposed, what's your plan? So if they don't sign on, what are the risks for them?

KEILAR: Well, at this point, there doesn't appear to be much Republican support. We're not expecting there to be a lot of Republican support. And when I talked with Senate Republican leadership aides, they seem to be convince that they're doing the right thing, that this is not a plan, that the administration and Democrats are not going about this the right way, and those aides telling me they kind of feel buoyed in that conviction when they look at what happened over recess.

There still is, of course, this concentration on this "gang of six," this bipartisan "gang of six," so there's concentration there. But at the same time, if Democrats can in the end win over any of these Republicans, there is still this budget maneuver that they have sort of in their pocket, Kiran, where they can go forward with only 51 votes in the Senate.

The thing is, the question is, will Americans be OK with that considering President Obama ran on a platform of a new style of politics that included consensus.

CHETRY: Yes. It's interesting you talked about some of what they heard during the recess, which is they fired up the base and they did get a lot of re-energizing of the GOP by opposing what the president had proposed. So we'll very to see how it all shakes out. Brianna Keilar, great to see you this morning. Thanks.

ROBERTS: Well, we're also following this story from the White House this morning. Suzanne Malveaux is the only reporter there live this early.

And, Suzanne, what do we expect to see on the health care front there today?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. We know that the president is going to be meeting with the Democratic leadership, Speaker Nancy Pelosi as well as Majority Leader Harry Reid here at the White House later today. Essentially that the president is going to be talking about what he is going to say before the joint session of Congress tomorrow evening.

It has become more and more clear, John, from his aides that he's not necessarily saying that the public option, this option government- run insurance as an alternative to private insurance is essential or even the only way to go. That is certainly his preference, but he is going to be more specific tomorrow when he goes before Congress. He is going to lay out his outline, what he wants to see in health care reform, what is most important. But it is interesting to note that that public option that has really been pushed by the party base is not necessarily something that is going to be addressed specifically as essential to reform -- John.

ROBERTS: Health care and the preparations for tomorrow's night address to a joint session of Congress not the only item on the agenda today. The president is also giving that speech at noon today to students, that speech that stirred up so much controversy last week.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely, John. The speech was released yesterday, a hard copy to give it to parents, to schools, for everybody to take a look at this.

This is something where the White House aides in particular, Robert Gibbs, saying that this is simply politics. He called it an animal house food fight, that this is something that is just unwarranted and out of the mainstream.

There are critics. They took a look at the speech and some of them said, look, that initially the main concern was the lesson plan or this suggestion for students to write an essay to the president on how to help the president they felt was indoctrinating their children.

I had a chance, John, to talk with Jim Greer. He is the chair of the Republican Party in Florida, just yesterday. He read this speech and he was the one who really got all of this going saying that he wasn't going to send his kids to hear this type of speech because he thought it was a socialist indoctrination.

Well, he seems to be changing his tune. I want you to take a listen of what he said to me yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Are you going to send your children to see the speech tomorrow to school?

JIM GREER, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA: I am. My children have been taught to have the highest respect for the presidency and this president and all presidents. So after reading the text, seeing the Department of Education have told teachers they are not to lead students in the direction that they would have a week ago, my kids will be watching the president's speech as all -- I hope all kids will. I don't advocate children not watching this president's speech with this text.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: John, what was interesting, too, we had quite a bit of back and forth there about this and he said that he didn't believe that this speech, this text that was released by the White House yesterday, is actually the original speech. He believes that perhaps they changed it to help people become more comfortable with his message. The White House just thinks that's nonsense, but it does underscore the lack of trust and unease that some people with this president -- John.

ROBERTS: It certainly does. Suzanne Malveaux for us at the White House this morning. Suzanne, thanks so much.

And we want to know what you think about the president's back to school speech. We posted the full text of the speech on our blog at CNN.com/amFIX. Have a read through and then let us know what you think.

CHETRY: Also, a CNN exclusive now. Former First Lade Laura Bush reveals what she thinks about the controversy surrounding President Obama's speech to school kids today. Here's what she told us our Zain Verjee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: President Obama is giving a back to school speech and there's so much controversy over that. Do you think it's a good idea?

LAURA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY: I think that there is a place for the president of the United States to talk to schoolchildren and encourage schoolchildren. I think there are a lot of people that should do the same and that is encourage their own children to stay in school and to study hard and to try to achieve the dreams that they have.

VERJEE: The issue that's been raised by many conservatives that are critical of this, they say that this is a dangerous socialist plot that's indoctrinating schoolchildren. Some parents say, no, our kids are staying home and not going to listen to the president talk about education and schools.

BUSH: Well that's their right. You know, that certainly is the right of parents to choose what they want their children to hear in school. But I think really what people were unhappy about were the guidelines that went out with this before the speech went out. And I think those have been changed. And I think it's also really important for everyone to respect the president of the United States.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: There you go. She's siding with the administration about that, about whether or not kids should hear that speech.

ROBERTS: Well, you know, it's interesting is Jim Greer because I talked to him last night, too. He said that, you know, he's telling his children to respect the president of the United States. There's definitely been a difference of opinion over not so much the text of the speech, but this idea of a lesson plan. But it's really fascinating to see that President George H.W. Bush way back in the early 1990s said exactly the same thing, kids write me a letter and tell me how we can achieve our goals. So a little bit of disconnect there.

CHETRY: Right. And the other interesting thing is that there are some schools, some principals who are deciding not to show it, not because they disagree with it...

ROBERTS: Yes.

CHETRY: ... but because they don't want to single out kids or parents or families who aren't going to have their kids watching. So, it's unfortunately turned -- what the intention seemed to be and what it's turned into seems to unfortunately have collided a little bit.

ROBERTS: That's politics in America in 2009.

CHETRY: We're going to have much more of Zain Verjee's exclusive interview with Laura Bush throughout the morning. You're going to hear what she thinks about President Obama and also what life is like now that they're out of the White House and she and George are private citizens.

ROBERTS: Other stories new this morning to tell you about. The deadly arson fire burning in the mountains near Los Angeles, more than half contained now, but still is putting up a tough fight. Firefighters had planned to spend Labor Day burning out brush along the fire's southern flank, but winds and low humidity caused a flare- up in the northeast corner. Officials say the cost of fighting the fire so far is nearly $60 million.

CHETRY: Mechanics for Southwest Airlines are going to be examining a plane that was forced to make an emergency landing. It happened in Tampa, Florida. A light went off yesterday during takeoff signaling a possible fire in a bathroom.

All 129 people on board were let out of the plane. They had to go down the inflatable slide. They were bused back to the terminal and then flown in Denver later in the evening. No one was hurt.

ROBERTS: And it looks like it's going to be a rough morning commute in Southern California. San Francisco's Bay Bridge will not reopen today by 5:00 a.m. Local time, setting the stage for possible gridlock on other bridges and roads and certainly a long alternate route for commuters. Transit officials say workers are not done fixing a crack that was discovered over the weekend.

Officials are urging people to work from home if they can. The 73-year-old bridge carries about a quarter of a million vehicles a day. They hope to maybe get this open by Wednesday, but they're not sure.

CHETRY: Yes. Tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. hopefully, fingers crossed.

Well, speaking of roads, there's a road in Afghanistan. It was built with U.S. dollars designed to help make things easier on the long trip from Kandahar to Kabul. It was hailed as progress.

Well, now it's been taken over by the Taliban, one of the most dangerous stretches of road in the world. Michael Ware takes us for a ride.

Eleven minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fourteen minutes past the hour right now.

As the war in Afghanistan takes center stage in U.S. foreign policy, CNN is there. All this week we have our reporters on the ground to show us what's really going on. And this morning Michael Ware travels a highway that was once a symbol of success in the region. Well, today it's back to being one of the most dangerous roads in the world, evidence the country's security situation is deteriorating quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The costs of the Afghan war are staggering, the loss of life, the billions upon billions of dollars, and yet what has it delivered? Looking around, talking to the U.S. military, it's clear this war is not being won.

(on camera): Well, for most ordinary Afghans, this perhaps is the simplest, clearest measure of that. This is Highway Number One. It's here that Kabul ends and 300 miles down that road is Kandahar and the Taliban heartland.

I remember when taking the journey from Kandahar to Kabul was more than 12 exhausting hours, but in 2004, American aid money repave this road and cut that down to a mere five or six. Now that journey is back to nine or ten hours. There's at least three known Taliban checkpoints on this American-paved highway. People are being pulled off buses and executed by the Taliban.

(voice-over): Truck driver Mohammed Qasim runs this Taliban (INAUDIBLE) once a week. He holds fuel in this tanker. The road he says is in terrible shape wrecked by explosions. Drivers are left completely exposed.

"It's been blown up by land mines and there is no security on it," he says.

A father of three, Qasim has to provide for his children. He takes his life in his hands each time he travels Highway One.

"I'm compelled," he tells me. "How else do we eat. There's simply no alternative."

Highway One looks like this, it is one of the most vital arteries in Afghanistan, rebuilt with almost $300 million in American aid money. Its asphalt rolls out from the capital of Kabul to the west towards Kandahar, the nation's second largest city and a political epicenter.

(on camera): And this is the other end of that road. Kandahar is just a short distance down there. Kabul hundreds of miles that way. But here in Kandahar, this is a city surrounded by pockets of Taliban resistance. And just a few miles down that dirt road is a Taliban-controlled district. A few miles up the highway is the first Taliban checkpoint.

The fact that the Taliban's been able to strangle the life out of this highway is a testament to the fact that there's simply not enough American, British, international or Afghan troops to secure it. What had once been an American project hailed as a sign of progress has now become a mark of a mission in crisis.

Michael Ware, CNN, Kandahar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Just amazing. And a reminder, "AC 360" is live from the battle zone in Afghanistan all this week 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 Pacific.

ROBERTS: After a make or break month on health care reform, the president is giving an address to a joint session of Congress tomorrow evening to try to sell his plan for health care reform. One of the options being kicked about these days in Congress is so-called trigger mechanism where private insurance companies over the course of, you know, two or three years didn't bring enough uninsured people under the umbrella of those that have health care. It would trigger a public option. Is that something that could work? We'll ask that question coming up next.

It's coming up now on 18 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business."

CHETRY: We look like two bumblebees this morning. I'm out. We can't wear white now, because we have to pick yellow.

ROBERTS: It's the sting that's the sweetest part.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

ROBERTS: This is an argument I have with a friend of mine all the time -- the hollowing out of American manufacturing. Shipping jobs overseas, what does it leave here? He says it's fine as long as we own the company. He says the chickens will come home to roost one of these days. And --

ROMANS: Well, tell that to the employees. Well, tell that to employees of companies who have been hollowed out, who are told, oh, by the way, well, you know, the company is still American.

Look, now we finally, 30 years after the beginning of the decline of American manufacturing employment, we now have a czar for manufacturing. The Obama administration has named a point person, a senior counselor, Ron Bloom, who used to be on auto task force and will remain there, of course. But this is a Harvard MBA, a former investment banker, someone who has advised unions, has been on the auto task force. He will be working with the trade representative, the Commerce Department, the State Department, the treasury, everyone else who has some sort of stake in American manufacturing to try to craft a manufacturing policy that's best for the United States and also puts manufacturing competitiveness front and center.

Here's what they face. Manufacturing over the past 30 years has been declining in employment quite dramatically. This, of course, is the industry that built the American middle class, which is the envy of all of the other countries in the world. Forty thousand factories have closed just in the past ten years. Five million manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2000. 2.3 million manufacturing jobs have been lost just to China since 2001.

Since China entered the World Trade Organization, our trade deficit has reached record proportions of just so far this year, I think we have imported $103 billion more than we've exported to China and that's even in the middle of a recession. And we know from the people who worked at Whirlpool that we're also moving jobs to Mexico and a lot of other countries, as well.

Why do these jobs leave? Because other countries don't have American laws. They pay 30 cents an hour. They don't have environmental standards. They can dump something right into a river. They can poison, you know, the ground water and people don't have protection, they don't have rights, and companies are very eager to get this cheaper labor and move it.

CHETRY: Right.

ROMANS: So we're going to see if now...

CHETRY: Now we incentivize bringing manufacturing back or keeping some of those jobs.

ROMANS: That's the question. And this looks as if it is...

ROBERTS: What I can't wait to see is how this administration is going to really illustrate its trade and manufacturing policy. Are they really going to do something that is going to protect manufacturing competitiveness and realize that American manufacturers say, workers say they are competitive? The problem isn't American manufacturing competitiveness. The problem is it isn't a level playing field all over the country.

CHETRY: Right. Well, that leads us to our "Romans' Numeral" this morning. This is a number that Christine brings us every day that's driving the story about your money. What is it today?

ROMANS: It's 95,667. It has to do with just this recession. We've had 20 months of a recession. Manufacturing jobs have been -- we've been losing them for 30 years quite frankly, but really aggressively over the past few years even before this recession. And now during this recession, this is how many manufacturing jobs have been lost every month during the recession.

ROBERTS: Every month.

ROMANS: Ninety-five thousand. Think of that. That's enough to devastate a whole town right there, boom -- 95,000.

So I've been to these factories. I've talked to these people. I mean, there is a real crisis here. I can't wait to see...

ROBERTS: You and I are two of those who believe you actually have to make something at home...

CHETRY: Hey, count me in. I want to be a troll under the bridge, too.

ROBERTS: You can be...

CHETRY: I think you got to build here, too. So does the mayor of Detroit (ph).

ROBERTS: You can't just own the stuff that's made overseas.

ROMANS: Yes.

ROBERTS: Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning. Christine, thanks so much. CHETRY: Thanks, Christine.

ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) We're proud members of it.

Twenty-four minutes after the hour. We've got Bill Adair with the truth-o-meter coming up. We're talking about the president's education speech today and what about those approval ratings? Are they really the worst since? We'll put those statements through the truth-o-meter.

Twenty-four minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- seven minutes past the hour now.

We are getting down to the wire as we talk about health care reform. With President Obama set to address a joints session of Congress tomorrow, it's make or break time and the White House is scrambling to find a compromise.

Our Jim Acosta takes a look at one possibility, now the so-called trigger option. He joins us live from Washington to tell us more about it.

Hey, Jim, good to see you this morning.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Trigger is not just Roy Rogers's horse, Kiran. Wednesday's speech to Congress, we're going to hear more about that trigger and that's speech is starting to look like one of the high noon moments of his presidency. Surrounded by liberals demanding the public option and centrist Democrats who want to dump the option, President Obama just might have his finger on something that can get him through this health care showdown, the trigger.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have never been this close.

ACOSTA (voice-over): As the president delivered one more campaign-style pitch on health care reform, the question remains whether he will make a play for the public option, the idea of giving Americans the choice of joining a government-run insurance plan.

OBAMA: And I continue to believe that a public option within that basket of insurance choices will help improve quality and bring down costs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you continue to support a Nazi policy?

ACOSTA: During that noisy congressional recess...

REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: On what planet do you spend most of your time?

ACOSTA: One of the more soft-spoken voices of the Senate, Maine Republican Olympia Snowe, was quietly talking to the White House about a compromise that would replace the public option with something called a trigger. Unlike the proposal in the House, the trigger would threaten the insurance industry with a public option down the road. The idea is backed by two former Senate leaders.

BOB DOLE (R), FORMER SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We recommend that after about five years, and if the insurance companies don't clean up their act, then there's sort of a trigger where certain things happen and we think that's a step in the right direction.

ACOSTA: Throughout the health care debate, Snowe has shied away from radical changes to the nation's private insurance system.

SEN. OLYMPIA SNOWE (R), MAINE: You know, protect those who have currently have good health care, you know, insurance plans, and they want to preserve it, they want to maintain it. And we don't want to interfere with that, nor do we want to interfere with the doctor/patient relationship.

ACOSTA: Even though Snowe's trigger could win over Senate centrist like Nebraska Democrat Ben Nelson, congressional liberals have said in no uncertain terms no public option, no deal.

SEN. BARBARA MIKULSKI (D), MARYLAND: I say there is no option but a public option. For those who say we need a trigger, I say be careful. You could be shooting down health care.

ACOSTA: Political analysts wonder whether in the end Democrats will shoot themselves.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UVA CENTER FOR POLITICS: What politicians say in September and what they do in November or December are often two different things because they come to terms with reality.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And that reality is the trigger may be the last best hope of getting a few Republicans on board. But after those rowdy town halls, liberal Democrats wonder if a bipartisan health care deal is already out the window and many in the party say the trigger just gives the insurance industry one more pass -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All you have me thinking about is the horse now. Thanks.

ACOSTA: Yes, a trigger, maybe Roy Rogers' horse, but in this case, President Obama if he's not too careful may end up like the lone ranger on health care.

CHETRY: Well, there you go. That was pretty good.

ACOSTA: I'm sorry about that. CHETRY: That was pretty good. All right. Thank you. We'll check in with you a little later.

ROBERTS: Speaking of 6:30, we are crossing the half hour, checking our top stories this morning.

Millions of kids heading back to school and on today's lesson plans, a speech by President Obama. Critics and some parents complain the speech would be political, but a text of the speech only asks students to dream big, study hard and respect their teachers.

CHETRY: Also, election officials in Afghanistan now say they're tossing out about 200,000 votes as they investigate the country's presidential election. Widespread allegations of fraud, polling irregularities, voter intimidation and also ballot stuffing are threatening the legitimacy of the election while the votes are still being counted. President Hamid Karzai needs more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

ROBERTS: Scientists say one day they'll be able to use the fat removed during liposuction to create stem cells. That means your love handles could one day be used to cure a disease and regenerate damage tissue. The stem cells from fat have many of the same basic properties as embryonic stem cells, but do not raise the same ethical questions because they have the potential to become any tissue in the body, and you don't have to destroy embryos to get them.

Returning to the president's much discussed speech to America's school kids today, conservatives have claimed that the White House is trying to indoctrinate the nation's youth.

Joining me now to put this claim and others to the Truth-O-Meter test is Bill Adair. He is the founder and editor of Politifact.com.

Bill, great to see you on this Tuesday morning.

Welcome back to school, by the way.

BILL ADAIR, EDITOR, POLITIFACT.COM: Good morning, John.

ROBERTS: So the president is giving this education speech at noon today. Jim Greer, the chairman of the Florida Republican Party, was one of the most outspoken critics of the speech. Not having seen the text of it. But mostly because of this lesson plan that had been included with it.

He said, quote, "Schoolchildren across the nation," quote, "will be forced to watch the president justify his plans for government-run health care, banks and automobile companies, increasing taxes on those who create jobs and racking up more debt than any other president."

We should point out he has since modified his opposition to the speech, but what did the Truth-O-Meter find about that statement?

ADAIR: We gave that one a "Pants on Fire," which is our lowest rating on the Truth-O-Meter. And, you know, it was just preposterously false. Back last week when he said it, if you click through to the link the Republican Party of Florida provided, it went to a press release that said the president was going to talk about staying in school and studying hard, and that's, of course, what the speech is all about. So it was just ridiculously false. "Pants on Fire" for that one.

ROBERTS: And then now, it just so happens that last Thursday evening, I spoke with Jim Greer about that. And talked to him about his statement and your rating of it.

Let's listen to that exchange between he and I.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: PolitiFact ran that through their Truth-O-Meter, and they said, well, that's "Pants on Fire," untrue, that you just made that up.

JIM GREER (R), CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN PARTY OF FLORIDA: Well, I really don't have or believe in much credibility of Political Fact, because it's run by some left-leaning people...

ROBERTS: Oh, there we go.

GREER: ... that don't really focus on the issue.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So what do you say about that, Bill? Left-leaning people who don't focus on the issues.

ADAIR: Well, we welcome criticism, and we hear a fair amount of it. But, you know, it's just silly to say that we don't focus on the issues. We've done over 1,000 Truth-O-Meters rulings in our two years. Some of them make Republicans unhappy, some of them make Democrats unhappy. So we're all about the issues. You know, we call them as we see them.

ROBERTS: And we should remind Jim Greer, too, that it's PolitiFact and not political facts.

He should get the name right, you know?

ADAIR: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: No such thing as bad publicity if they spell the name right.

Also, the president is giving a health care speech to a joint session of Congress tomorrow night. Of course, one of the most controversial aspects of this is the public plan. President says he would like to see it. I think it's an important aspect of health care reform. Republicans say we don't like that. Some Democrats are fiercely defending it, including Democratic Congressman Anthony Weiner of New York who said, quote, "Under the plan, for the first five years, your employer not only has to keep the coverage, but you can't migrate to the public plan."

Now this would be an answer to criticism that everybody in America is going to be forced into a public plan.

What did the Truth-O-Meter find out about that?

ADAIR: We gave that a "Barely True" on the Truth-O-Meter.

He's really mangling the details here. The part that he gets right is that employers could not force you onto the public plan. But pretty much everything else he said in that statement and the more extended clip was wrong. And the five years, there's no such requirement, but there are some protections. And it's important I think this gets to the Democrat's challenge.

I don't know that they've done a very effective job at telling people how this plan would work. You know, for 2/3 to about 3/4 of the people, they would maintain their employer provided insurance coverage. The other 1/3 or so would go into the health care exchange. One of the options in that health care exchange would be the public option. So definitely mixing up some of the details there.

ROBERTS: Last statement that we want to run through the Truth-O- Meter this morning, Bill, has to do with the president's approval ratings. They are down prompting Newt Gingrich to say the other day, quote, "Since World War II, only Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton have had worst rating after seven months than President Obama."

Sounds like an interesting claim. The question is, is it true or not?

ADAIR: That one gets a true on the Truth-O-Meter.

Indeed, when you look at the Gallup results, Gerald Ford was down around 40 percent and Bill Clinton was around 45 percent, somewhere in there. Obama at the seventh month mark was at 51 percent. So Gingrich is right, and he gets a true on the Truth-O-Meter.

Bill Adair from PolitiFact.com, not Political Fact, PolitiFact.com.

Bill, it's great to talk to you this morning, and having worked with you for more than a year now all through the election campaign and everything, PolitiFact certainly does focus on the issues.

Thanks so much for being with us.

ADAIR: Thanks a lot, John.

ROBERTS: All right.

And to check out more of Bill Adair's Truth-O-Meter, head to our blog at cnn.com/amfix.

CHETRY: All right. Meanwhile, there's been some changes of photos as we've been talking about in Cuba. One of them has to do with whether or not Cubans themselves can stay at some of these Ritzy resorts there. They used to not be able to. Times are changing. Maybe because of the worldwide recession, tourists aren't coming there as much, and so it means the doors are opening up for the locals. We'll take you there.

Thirty-six minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

You know, CNN has been following the changing landscape of Cuba. For years Cubans were banned from their country's five-star hotels. The ban was known to some as tourist apartheid. President Raul Castro, though, has lifted some of those restrictions, and in the face of global, slumping tourism, hotels are now turning to locals, offering deep discounts to fill empty rooms.

CNN Shasta Darlington has the story now from Havana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASHA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You won't find any Americans dancing the congo around the pool of this five-star hotel in Cuba. Their government for the most part banned them from traveling to the communist islands. But until recently, you couldn't find many Cubans enjoying the tropical beach resorts either. For years, luxury hotels were reserved for foreigners. A much-needed source of revenue. No longer.

"We're having a great time" says Lasiandra (ph). She and her family are taking in a dolphin show on Varadero Beach. Down the road from their all inclusive resort. They used to rent a room at a local house for the holiday.

Less than two years ago, President Raul Castro lifted restrictions on Cubans staying in hotels. A move welcomed by many, although some of the most expensive destinations are still financially out of reach.

(on camera): This is one of Varadero's top resorts. You'll find sailboat, beautiful white sand beach, swimming pools and cocktails. What you won't find are a lot of Cubans.

(voice-over): But this summer faces the global slump in tourism, many resorts turned to locals, offering deep discounts to fill rooms.

JOSE MANSO, CUBAN MINISTER OF TOURISM (through translator): This has favored a lot of Cuban families who before didn't take advantage of domestic tourism and are doing it now.

DARLINGTON: Officials say this summer Cubans accounted for about 40 percent of visitors to Varadero hotels, giving a boost to the cash- strapped economy.

Joel is one of them. "I think it's good for the people," he says. "It's a positive measure for the country's economy and for people to join in."

And foreign tourists say they like the new mix, too.

JOEL, HOTEL PATRON: If you come to a certain country, it's always beneficial to learn a culture, a little bit of language, a little bit of dancing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ola.

DARLINGTON: As for Americans, those who want to join the party will have to hope U.S. Congress votes to lift the travel ban.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DARLINGTON: Now, that would be great news for Cuban's tourism industry, but some of the tourists themselves we talked to, Canadians and Europeans, say they're pretty happy having the island all to themselves - Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, that's understandable, too, because judging from the shots, it's absolutely gorgeous.

All right. Shasta Darlington, great to see you as always. Thanks - John.

ROBERTS: A couple of bills in Congress that would lift those travel restrictions -- who knows, maybe they'll have some company in the months to come.

Forty-two minutes after the hour.

We've got some tropical weather happening. Tropical Storm Fred far out in the Atlantic. Rob Marciano is tracking its path. He's got that coming up for us next.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: We have a great shot of Vegas this morning courtesy of KVBC.

Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 45 minutes past the hour. Right now in Vegas, 74 degrees, and it's going up to a sunny 98. It would be later.

ROBERTS: 3:45 in the morning in Vegas and it's that bright. Can you imagine?

Rob Marciano is at the weather center in Atlanta. He's tracking all of the extreme weather.

And we got another tropical storm out there, Rob. Is this one going to be any kind of a threat to land or more of a threat to fish? ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, right now, the fish are getting churned up pretty good.

Good morning, John.

Good morning, Kiran.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Rob, fall's not for another 20 days. No, no, actually, it's less than that.

MARCIANO: Come on, embrace it, John. It's right around the corner.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: OK. Come on, we've got another two weeks of summer, all right. Don't be rushing the season here, Rob.

CHETRY: Yes, Rob, you've just dried off from the surf, you know, and all your fun. We haven't done it yet. We haven't strapped on the -- whatever. The...

ROBERTS: The leash.

MARCIANO: The leash. We'll see you guys out there at Jones Beach. I'll be out there this afternoon.

CHETRY: Yes. You know, the surfboard as it were, and terrified eight-year-olds up and down Coco Beach. All right...

MARCIANO: Our important job, the keys still work (INAUDIBLE). So that's good news.

CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: You got it.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, we got to take a quick break. When we come back, Barbara Starr is looking into a new controversy brewing in Afghanistan, talk of U.S. troops possibly storming a hospital in search of insurgents and how top brass wants to deal with the situation.

It's now 48 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

A new controversy brewing in Afghanistan. Right now, the U.S. military is investigating claims that American troops stormed a hospital while looking for insurgents.

CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon. And, Barbara, with General Stanley McChrystal's new program to win hearts and minds, this is probably the last thing that he wants to hear about going on in Afghanistan.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. This is just another problem for General McChrystal. It is now acknowledged that U.S. troops from the 10th Mountain Division went to this hospital. They say they played by the rules. The investigation is under way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Swedish charity workers say U.S. soldiers and Afghan forces forcibly entered this hospital, breaking down doors, ordering patients out of their beds and tying up staff. It was only later they say that troops told them they were looking for an insurgent leader.

ANDERS FANGE, DIRECTOR: They didn't find any insurgents in the hospital and they didn't hurt any of the -- any of the -- of the staff. Still, this is a clear violation of internationally recognized principles and rules.

STARR: NATO is investigating, but it couldn't come at a worse time for General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S and NATO forces. He's trying to convince Afghans that foreign troops will protect them against the Taliban. But for now, he's busy trying to explain NATO's actions.

McChrystal personally inspected the site where a pre-dawn air strike on two hijacked fuel trucks killed perhaps dozens of Afghan civilians, and he promised another investigation.

GEN. STANLEY MCCHRYSTAL, U.S./NATO COMMANDER IN AFGHANISTAN: From what I have seen today and going to the hospital, it's clear to me that there were some civilians who were harmed at that site.

STARR: Afghans are already upset by civilian casualties caused by NATO. McChrystal may soon be asking for more troops to deal with the rising Taliban threat and then informing Afghans more foreign forces will be on their soil.

Those familiar with McChrystal's thinking say perhaps his most urgent worry -- the Afghan view that the ongoing counting of votes in the presidential election is riddled with fraud and Hamid Karzai may not win the people's support. Without it, it will be tough to ask others to invest in Afghanistan's future.

STEPHEN BIDDLE, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: We need, at the end of the day, to have a degree of support for the legitimate government of Afghanistan that at least exceeds the support for the Taliban.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Well, we now know that the Afghan Selection Commission has ordered a partial recount of the votes because of so many fraud allegations. But that is really the bottom line problem for Stanley McChrystal right now.

It's going to be very tough for him to ask NATO and even the U.S. Congress for more support for Afghanistan, even more troops if Hamid Karzai's government is not seen as being legitimately elected - John.

ROBERTS: And, Barbara, the State Department yesterday, the ambassador to Afghanistan, met with Karzai, urging him to let this election commission conduct a free and fair investigation.

STARR: Absolutely. Really an unprecedented meeting, calling Karzai on the carpet, looking him right in the eye and saying, we believe there is the possibility of fraud in this election. You have to fix it. You cannot take office and have the Afghan people believe this was a fraudulent election. It will be impossible for the allies to support that over the long-term. So...

ROBERTS: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thanks so much for that.

CHETRY: You know, a big challenge in prison, of course, is keeping the contraband out. One of the most prized things is to be able to have a cell phone in prison. And they're using some really creative tricks to smuggle them in. Well, now, guards and corrections officials are trying some very interesting technology to fight back.

Our Jeanne Meserve is going to show us what they're up to.

Fifty-four minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Fifty-six minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

You know, across the country, prisoners are using some pretty clever tricks to sneak cell phones passed guards. And they're using them on the inside then to commit more crimes the guards say. So now corrections officials are using their own technology to fight back.

Our Jeanne Meserve has the story from Washington this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Using dogs and searches, Maryland corrections officials ferreted out for than 900 contraband cell phones last year. Across the country, inmates have used cell phones in extortions, escapes, drug deals, even murders.

In 2007, a Maryland prisoner used a cell phone to order a hit on a witness who was about to testify against him in a homicide case.

GARY MAYNARD, MARYLAND SECRETARY OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES: We want to use all the technology available to detect, to jam, to discover.

MESERVE: Jamming is illegal, but some other technologies recently got a tryout at a closed prison in Jessup, Maryland. One product claims to detect a cell phone every time the phone is used or even turned on.

KATHY HOFFMAN, COMPUCAT USA: And then they will know exactly where that cell phone is, and they can go and retrieve it.

MESERVE: Another company says its product can selectively block unauthorized calls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I tried twice on basically an AT&T network, and it didn't go through.

MESERVE: If legally authorized, it can also collect information about calls and even record them.

JAY SALKINI, TECORE NETWORKS: If Mike is calling John and Mike sends tell them, kill Sam, we know exactly who said what.

MESERVE: Some say a more effective solution would be to jam all cell phone calls in and out of prisons. But critics say that could block legitimate users nearby, even emergency calls.

JOHN WALLS, CTIA, THE WIRELESS ASSOCIATION: Maybe that 911 call for somebody who needs urgent help right away right now, and that would be tragic if that call was blocked by jamming technology.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Congress is considering changing the law, banning jamming to make exceptions for prisons. Many corrections officials favor that idea, but say they would like an array of tools to fight what has become a pervasive and dangerous problem.

John and Kiran, back to you.

CHETRY: All right, Jeanne Meserve for us. Thanks so much.