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American Morning

Former DNC Chair Says Public Option Is Key To Health Care Reform; Woman Is Top Commander At Drill Sergeant Training School; Small Budget, Huge Success; Secret Service Overload?

Aired October 20, 2009 - 07:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks. Well, welcome back. It's 7:00 this morning. Glad you're with us on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry. It's Tuesday, by the way, October 20th.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us. And here are the stories that we're breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes. President Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, right now hanging in the balance after the results of that country's presidential election are thrown out. We're waiting for President Hamid Karzai to respond. He's expected to hold a news conference to some time this morning. We're there for it.

CHETRY: Beating the recession? Well there's an app for that. America's appetite where iPhones, iPod, and Mac, set Apple stocks soaring in record highs in after-hours trading last night. The company's share prices more than double this year and revenues are through the roof. Christine Romans on a tech. powerhouse that tending many happy returns to its investors.

ROBERTS: People who smoke or sell medical marijuana have less to fear about the feds coming after them this morning, but new U.S. pot policy is also leaving a lot of unanswered questions. How the justice department guidelines might affect enforcement in your state.

But first, should President Obama send more troops to Afghanistan? Just who will they support? This morning, the government there, paralyzed after a U.N.-backed commission uncovered massive election fraud, tossing out about a third of President Hamid Karzai's vote. And that gives him 48%, not enough to win the election. So what now? He's got two main options. A presidential run off or a power sharing agreement between fierce rivals. We're standing by for a news conference with Karzai expected any time now. Our Chris Lawrence is live in Kabul for us. And Chris, which way does this look like it's going to go?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we spoke very recently, just lasting night, to the challenger - the primary challenger and the runner-up, and the man who would be President Karzai's opponent in any runoff. He told us that he seems willing and open to form some sort of solution, which may include some sort of power sharing agreement.

Why is this so important? Because if there is a runoff, it would primarily be American troops that would be providing security for it. It's also important in the context of whether more American troops will be sent here to Afghanistan.

The White House has seemed to indicate they want to wait for the outcome of this election to be decided, whereas Defense Secretary Robert Gates seemed to indicate that it's a complicated situation. One day, it's not going to get simple, but next day no matter what happens and how it shakes out and that President Obama may have to make his decision in the context of this election being an ongoing process - John.

ROBERTS: So Abdullah Abdullah may be open to some sort of power- sharing arrangement, but how open are the Afghan people to any type of coalition?

LAWRENCE: That remains to be seen. There could be some backlash from the south, particularly around Kandahar, which is a power base for President Karzai.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

Some of his people, they may not be open to sharing power with Abdullah. And there's also a bigger question of whether the Afghan people as a whole are open to any central government.

One military commander with knowledge of counterinsurgency told me that the U.S. may need to go through more of a regional government, putting more power in the hands of local officials, local war lords, because the Afghan people may not see any central government that they feel that they can put their trust in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Chris Lawrence for us on the ground in Kabul this morning. Chris, thanks very much. And stay with us here on the most news in the morning. Coming up in less than ten minutes, we're going to be joined by Michael O'Hanlon, he is a senior fellow with the Brookings Institution. He was on the ground during Afghanistan's election. We'll talk to him about the possibility and potential for a runoff versus power-sharing arrangement and whether or not the United States can afford to wait for a legitimate government to be established before it sends more troops in. There seems to be a bit of a disagreement between the white house and the pentagon on that.

CHETRY: All right. Well, millions of Americans are losing their jobs and their homes, but it's not stopping us from shelling out hundreds, even thousands of dollars for iPhones, iPods, Macs. Check of the numbers. If you bought $10,000 worth of Apple stock at the beginning of the year, you would have close to $23,000 to show for it now.

Christine Romans is minding your business and Apples this morning. And so Christine, the company's performance in a shaky company is something that seems to defy logic.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: There has been no recession for Apple. This company has not had a recession. If you look at just the return at the investment, I mean shareholders had been stealing this because this is a company that has delivered for its loyal customers what they want.

I mean, I want you to look at this most recent quarter. Never before has Apple sold more Macs and iPhones. iPods in the quarter - we've got a graphic here for you that shows you how many, but iPod sales were actually down 8 percent. But, still, they sold 10.2 million iPods, 3 million Macs. It's the first time they've broken the 3 million mark, 7.4 million iPhones. They've only been selling those since some time in 2007. Now you've got 7.4 million and they're going to start selling them in Asia as well.

The FT, the "Financial Times," called it a remarkable boom year and a remarkable quarter for this company. Profit in a quarter off 47 percent at a time where we're all talking about the consumer being destroyed. The niche audience of this company is definitely buying these products.

Its desktops are getting sleeker and thinner. Design buffs like all of these different products that are waiting for the next big thing. What's it going to be? What are they going to do next year? It's got an advertising campaign that has been pretty successful, where it makes fun of Microsoft for being more fuddy duddy and Apple is more hip.

The question for this company, now with the stock - In after- hours trading, the stock is up again. The stock is about $201 right now a share. What's next? Can it keep going? How can Microsoft Windows continue its dominance in this market? But, definitely, this is a company with Steve jobs back at the helm here that has been doing something right and its shareholders have been richly been rewarded over the past year.

ROBERTS: Then you'd sure look smart if you bought it at 20 bucks five years ago?

ROMANS: Well you know, I remember walking down my street and seeing those Mac boxes all the way up and down the street, and it was at $20 a share and that I can say "wow". You're supposed to invest in what you know, and I started noticing those boxes on the street, and I've said this many times. This is one of those things. If you notice something like that around you, a trend around you, that's where people who take a risk with their money start to make some money.

ROBERTS: The Main Street finance.

CHETRY: That didn't work so well for me for the Crocs. Thanks, Christine.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Christine. Six and a half minutes after the hour. Also new this morning, a second arrest expected in connection with a fight that led to the death of University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard. He was fatally stabbed after a campus party on Saturday night. Just hours earlier, Howard had led UConn to a homecoming victory over Louisville. Police have ruled Howard's death a homicide, but they say, they have no suspects in the stabbing. CHETRY: Maybe you've noticed lately you've been shelling out a little more at the pump with the past week or so. The national average of gas jumping more than $0.8 cents over the past weeks to $2.57 cents of gallon for unleaded regular. Gas prices are the highest they've been in five weeks. Crude oil prices are now close to $80 a barrel and that's the highest level we've seen in a year.

ROBERTS: Two big playoff games end the same way with the same score. With two outs, Philadelphia Phillies, Jimmy Rollins, dramatic ninth-inning double gave the Phillies a 5-4 victory over the L.A. Dodgers. The Phillies are one win away from a world series spot for the second year in a row. And another stunner, the Los Angeles Angel Jeff Mathis hit his two-out of double in the eleventh to beat the Yankees, also 5-4. And while the Yankees lose. They still lead their series, two games to one.

CHETRY: Making enemies in the studio. Rubbing it in.

ROBERTS: I make some friends, though Some folks from Boston in this area too.

CHETRY: That's true.

ROBERTS: So Carol Costello has got a great special going on this week, talking about talk radio. Now, radio hosts obviously wield a lot of influence over their listeners. They've thinks they reeled them in by the millions and people listen voraciously to this stuff. But do they really hold the power over their voters to affect their opinions and their voting habits? That's what Carol's going to be looking at this morning. Eight minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRYT: Taking a look at our Charlotte, North Carolina, Tower cam this morning, as we say good morning to Charlotte. Twelve minutes past the hour right now and it's clear. 43 degrees. Shaping up to be a very nice day in Charlotte. It's sunny and 71 degrees.

ROBERTS: Oh, Beautiful. Very nice.

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. You know, Hawaii's budget crunch is giving schoolkids reason to smile. Public schools will be closed most Fridays for the rest of the school year under a new contract with the teachers' union. It cut 17 days from the academic calendar and gives Hawaii the nation's shortest school year. Educators are concerned it's not enough time for kids to learn. Hawaii already ranks near the bottom nationally in academic achievement.

ROBERTS: This is the same time when other school districts are talking about extending the school year.

ROBERTS: A Maryland scientist charged with spying has a federal court appearance scheduled for later on today. The Justice Department says 52-year-old Stewart David Nozette attempted to pass classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer. Nozette helped discover evidence of water on the moon. He's worked for the white house, the defense department, and the department of energy.

CHETRY: Also, a new effort to boost the housing market and help homeowners, the Obama administration is rolling out a new plan to fund state and local housing finance agencies. The goal, make it easier for first-time or lower income families to get a mortgage. It would also help get better, affordable rentals. The administration not putting a price tag on the plan, but it says that there will be no cost to the taxpayer.

ROBERTS: And happening right now in Afghanistan, American troops defending an increasingly unstable government. The results of that country's summer election were thrown out because of fraud. More than 1 million votes just tossed aside and President Hamid Karzai stripped to his win.

So what now? We're joined by Michael O'Hanlon, he was on the ground during the Afghanistan during the election, he's a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution where he focuses on foreign policy. So Michael, we're awaiting a press conference from Hamid Karzai in, which he is expected to concede that he didn't win the election and it may go to runoff or some sort of power-sharing coalition.

If it goes to a runoff, is that likely to improve confidence in the installation, or further delay the installation of a legitimate government in Afghanistan and therefore exacerbate the current problems?

MICAHEL O'HANLON: Hi John, well I think it's definitely a good thing if it happens and I want to congratulate Senator Kerry and Ambassador Eikenberry and others for their efforts. Because if you want a legitimate government, you can't get that out of a fraudulent election. You've got to have some resolution to this process that is seen as abiding by the law.

And I want to congratulate, also, the Afghan institutions that have held president Karzai accountable. That is, perhaps, the untold story here, that it is largely Afghans themselves who are making their democracy work.

Now, that's obviously not a great overall verdict, when you have the president of the country with cronies and friends who are trying to steal an election for him. So I don't want to say things are great, but there is, I think, some movement in a positive direction in these last couple of days and I hope that continues with the press conference you're expecting.

ROBERTS: According to the Afghan constitution, a runoff election is supposed to happen within two weeks. Do you think it will ever get to that, or do you think, because he appears to be open to it, Abdullah Abdullah, who is Hamid Karzai's main challenger, may enter into some sort of -- some sort of power sharing arrangement with him, some sort of coalition government? MICHAEL O'HANLON, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: You know, John, it could go either way. Because for one thing, President Karzai is constitutionally limited to two terms. Now, he could try to change that constitution, I hope he won't. But that means that Abdullah could hope to win the next round and perhaps he's better off being in the opposition.

So I could really see this going either way. The two men obviously have had some tensions in their relationship. They've had a difficult campaign. It's not clear what authorities Karzai would be prepared to delegate to Abdullah, who's already been foreign minister once before, so I think it's a 50/50 proposition as to what happens at this point.

ROBERTS: It could go a lot of ways. We did have term limits here in New York City up until a little while ago.

O'HANLON: Yes, indeed.

ROBERTS: In terms of how this all plays out, the election and whether there's a runoff or a power sharing arrangement, with the addition of U.S. troops, it's increasingly looking likely, at least to some people, that the U.S. will be sending more troops to Afghanistan. Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff, on Sunday, was talking to our John King about that. He insists that there needs to be a functioning government before more U.S. troops are sent in. Let's listen to how he put that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHM EMANUEL, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The end result must be a legitimate and credible government to the Afghan people. It would be reckless to make a decision on U.S. troop level if, in fact, you haven't done a thorough analysis of whether, in fact, there's an Afghan partner ready to fill that space that the U.S. troops would create and become a true partner in governing the Afghan country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So, that's what the chief of staff said on the weekend, but just yesterday, Robert Gates, the secretary of defense, seemed to indicate that the situation on the ground may not allow the U.S. to wait, indicating some kind of a split, perhaps, with the White House saying, "we're not just going to sit on our hands, waiting for the outcome of this election and for the emergency of a government in Kabul."

So, Michael, the Pentagon seems to be seeing a sense of urgency here that the White House doesn't see as so urgent. Am I reading that right?

O'HANLON: Well, it's a good question, John. You know, I'm with Rahm Emanuel on this to a large extent that I think you have to push the Afghans, but you have to be realistic about how far they can go in a short period of time as well. Maybe that's the point Secretary Gates wanted to make. You're not going to create, you know, a lily clean, lily white government over there anytime soon, and you can't wait for that.

But you can expect President Karzai to accept the verdict of these independent commissions that have said the election was not correct, not credible and needs to be redone in some way. And you can also expect President Karzai to work a little harder on clamping down on corruption.

There are a number of pragmatic steps he can take. They're not going to eliminate corruption, but they can reduce it. Because right now what happens in Afghanistan is one tribe is favored by the government, so the tribe next door says, aha, I don't like them, I want to fight with the Taliban against this kind of corruption because it's not benefiting my tribe. If you don't work at that dynamic, I don't see how you can be successful. So I think we've got to use this moment of leverage to try to get the Afghans to do a bit better.

ROBERTS: All right. And as we said, we're still awaiting that press conference with President Hamid Karzai.

Michael O'Hanlon, thanks for joining us this morning. Good to see you.

O'HANLON: Thank you, John.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Still ahead, we're going to be talking about a change in policy when it comes to medical marijuana. Will the Justice Department's policy change really make a difference on the ground? Jeanne Meserve takes a look.

Eighteen minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. They're loud, they're angry. Talk radio is full of extreme opinions on both sides of the political aisle.

CHETRY: Yes. And you can hear them talking a big game, but how much power do talk radio hosts really have? Do they influence your vote? Carol Costello joins us from Washington with more on her special series on talk radio.

Hey, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was a tough one, Kiran. President Obama said this back in January. You can't just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done. He was talking as if talk radio wields power over politician.

Well, does any talk show host have that kind of power? The answer is not so simple.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): They certainly get your attention, from the right... GLENN BECK, TALK RADIO HOST, "THE GLENN BECK PROGRAM": Ready to go. Come on.

COSTELLO: ... and the left.

RACHEL MADDOW, HOST, "THE RACHEL MADDOW SHOW": More fun than a bag full of squirrels.

COSTELLO: Sure, they're extreme, but politics in America has long been a blood sport. The question is, does that translate to real public power?

BOB DURGIN, WHP TALK RADIO HOST: We've got Obama, and he's kind of like doing the same damn thing.

COSTELLO: Bob Durgin is a conservative talker at WHP in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

(on camera): Some people believe that conservative talk radio has become too powerful.

DURGIN: I don't know how powerful we are, but I guess we are powerful to a degree, but so are all the other media. "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times," are they powerful? You're damn right they are. So why can't we be powerful?

COSTELLO (voice-over): If you measure power by energizing people already in your corner, then conservative talkers win.

Many of their listeners showed up at angry town halls and tea parties, a clear sign, some say, they're feeling a loud, conservative political movement.

CAMILLE PAGLIA, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS: There is a kind of opposition party quality to, a shadow government quality to listening to conservative radio these days. And I don't see any problem with that in a democracy.

RUSH LIMBAUGH, CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO HOST, "THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW": It's amazing how many Republicans want to come on this show...

COSTELLO: And no one wields that political club more effectively than Rush Limbaugh. He attracts 15 million listeners a week and brings some Republican leaders to their knees. Influential? Sure, but powerful? Some say even with Limbaugh's vast audience, no.

MICHAEL HARRISON, "TALKERS" MAGAZINE: A listenership is not a vote. And this is a huge mistake that's made by the press and observers of talk radio. That somehow because 15 million people every week listen to Rush Limbaugh, somehow these are 15 million die-hard conservative voters.

COSTELLO: According to "Talkers" magazine, 56 percent of those who listen to talk radio identify themselves as independent.

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: A Rush Limbaugh endorsing a candidate for president or pushing a candidate for president is not sufficient to get that person nominated by the Republican Party.

COSTELLO: Case in point.

LIMBAUGH: If Huckabee and McCain get the nomination, there's a good chance this party is finished.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Change is coming.

COSTELLO: But McCain did win the GOP nomination in 2008. And despite Limbaugh's anti-Obama talk, Barack Obama became president. Actually, you could argue liberal talkers have enjoyed the real political power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, Senator.

SEN. AL FRANKEN (D), MINNESOTA: Thank you.

HARRISON: Do you really think that Al Franken could have gone from being a "Saturday Night Live" ex-comedian and go into the Senate and be elected in Minnesota without that stop along the way on talk radio as a host? Not a chance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shoot the sucker before he shoots you!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're scaring bejesus out of America.

LIMBAUGH: They're just too gutless to say so.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody who's trying to take away your freedom.

COSTELLO: So perhaps the real power in talk is simply this. They command your attention.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Oh, and some politicians have been accused of repeating radio talk talking points. Does that mean voters will think better of those politicians and vote for them? Michael Harrison of "Talkers" magazine says there's simply no reliable evidence that demonstrates that's true.

Take a look at the approval ratings for lawmakers. They're not so good -- John, Kiran.

ROBERTS: You know, it's just fascinating to look at this whole world, Carol. And one thing I was interested in is, if 56 percent of people who listen to talk radio identify themselves as independent, why does the meter skew in favor of conservative talk radio? Is it just that they're that much more entertaining to listen to?

COSTELLO: That's a big part of it. Michael Harrison from "Talkers" magazine says these guys are very talented. You know, they're enjoyable to listen to. Some people just listen to them to get angry. Some people listen to them to laugh. Some people are really into what they're saying. People listen to media for all different kinds of reasons.

You know, there's just this perception out there that Americans will listen to any one person and do exactly what they say, but I would like to think that Americans aren't lemmings and that at some point they make up their own minds. There's lots of information out there not on the radio.

ROBERTS: Yes. You get to the edge of that cliff, you can make a choice. Do I jump with everybody else or do I stay back here and be by myself? All right.

COSTELLO: You're alone in that voting booth. Remember? You don't have Rush Limbaugh looking over your shoulder.

CHETRY: That's right.

ROBERTS: Exactly.

ROBERTS: Carol, fascinating stuff this morning. Thanks so much.

So what do you think? How powerful is talk radio and does it influence you? Comment on what you just saw. Go to our blog at CNN.com/amFIX.

Coming up on 27 minutes after the hour. And updating our breaking news this morning, more bloodshed today in Pakistan. Pakistani police say suicide bombers are responsible for two explosions on a university campus this morning in Islamabad. They're reporting four dead and 18 injured at this hour. The bombers targeting the campus of International Islamic University.

CHETRY: Also, we now have the first confirmed case of a hog testing positive for the H1N1 virus in the United States. The Agriculture Department says the infected animal was found at the Minnesota state fair. Now, officials say the discovery does not suggest that commercial pig herds are infected with H1N1. They insist pork in this country is still safe to eat.

ROBERTS: Brazil's president is pledging $60 million in aid to Rio de Janeiro following the weekend shootout that downed a police chopper and left at least 21 people dead. The money will be used on security.

Police are blaming turf wars between rival gangs for the violence. Three officers involved in the crash were killed and now some people are questioning whether Rio has the ability to safely host the 2016 Olympics. Just the other day, it beat out a bid from Chicago, despite President Obama's pitch for the Windy City.

CHETRY: Well, people who smoke prescription marijuana in states where it's legal no longer have to fear prosecution under federal law. It's the new U.S. policy from the Obama Justice Department. ROBERTS: Basically, they're going to leave it to the states to decide what's legal and what's not. But there is debate over whether this is a real turning point in the effort to legalize and tax marijuana nationwide. Our Jeanne Meserve has got both sides this morning.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, the Justice Department is advising U.S. attorneys not to prosecute patients and caregivers that are following state medical marijuana laws. Will it make a difference? Well, that depends who you talk to.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): At North Hollywood Compassionate Caregivers, a marijuana dispensary, relief that the federal government will no longer target legitimate users of medical marijuana.

RIGO MARTINEZ, MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER: Puts less stress on us. We don't have to worry about, you know, dealing with all that. I've gotten pulled over before for it.

MESERVE: Attorney General Eric Holder says it will no longer be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws.

AARON HOUSTON, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: This is a watershed moment and a major step forward in terms of federal medical marijuana policy.

MESERVE: But opponents of medical marijuana found something to cheer too. A memo to federal prosecutors outlining the new guideline says, "Prosecution of commercial enterprises that unlawfully market and sell marijuana for profit continues to be an enforcement priority."

CALVINA FAY, DRUG FREE AMERICA FOUNDATION: We see these guidelines as giving clarity, allowing law enforcement to move forward and enforce our federal laws and shut down these storefront operations that are nothing more than a free ticket for drug trafficking.

MESERVE: The Bush administration prosecuted marijuana dispensaries and their customers when a federal drug law was violated. The new memo leaves open that possibility, but suggests prosecutors defer to state laws in the 14 states which permit medical marijuana.

TOM RILEY, BUSH ADMINISTRATION DRUG POLICY SPOKESMAN: People are still just as subject to prosecution, and I don't think that part of the message is just going to get out and I think it's going to make an already confused situation more chaotic.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: The Justice Department took pains to underline that drug enforcement is still a core priority, noting that marijuana distribution in the United States remains the single largest source of revenue for the Mexican cartels.

John and Kiran, back to you.

ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Jeanne, thanks. And what do you think about this new medical marijuana policy? Are these guidelines a step in the right direction or are they a retreat in the war on drugs?

Sound off on our blog this morning at CNN.com/amFIX.

CHETRY: Well, this week, President Obama is pushing his party to come together over health care reform. Democratic Party leaders are trying to bring five different bills together. There's two in the House, three -- two in the Senate, three in the House. And the real sticking point is the public option; government-run insurance to compete with private insurance.

House Democrats say they need it. In the Senate, though, Republicans and some Democrats oppose the measure and it may not have the votes. Terry McAuliffe is the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, also a former candidate for Virginia's governor and he joins us this morning.

Terry, good to talk to you.

TERRY MCAULIFFE, FORMER CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Kiran, great to be with you.

CHETRY: As we know, you're a supporter of the public option, but you did concede last week that it's likely dead in the health care debate. Now, in the past you've said that any bill that didn't have a public option would essentially be a failure.

MCAULIFE: Right.

CHETRY: Have you changed your mind on that?

MCAULIFFE: No. I was asked, would I bet my home mortgage, my whole mortgage and my five kids, two dogs and wife that it would pass? I said, I'm not going to take that bet. Listen, I've been for public option from day one. The issue that we're dealing with here, and I give President Obama tremendous credit, he wants to have competition, he wants to have choice. The status quo is not working. The bottom line, everybody knows, if we don't get everybody in the system and spread those costs out. If we're not going to do it now, when we control all 60 seats in the Senate and have we a large majority in the House of Representatives, this is our time to do it. President Obama is pushing it.

We've got a good chance we'll still get it done. We're in the legislative process. But our health care system today in America does not work.

CHETRY: Right.

MCAULIFFE: Most Americans will see the costs go up. They've seen it go up four times the rate of inflation. It's going to take half of their income of an average family over the next 20 years. We've got to fix it. This is our time.

CHETRY: I just want to ask you that. Because you said it's our time. This is the time we have 60 seats in the Senate. If it's going to happen now, it's going to happen.

MCAULIFFE: Right.

CHETRY: So, is there a danger in getting tripped up on the one sticking point of the public option. There are different factions and there are some being led by Anthony Weiner in the House who say, look, we've got to get a public option in there. Otherwise it just isn't worth it, it's not reform.

MCAULIFFE: Yes. As I've said before. I've been a big supporter of the public option. I come at it that we've got to cover, get every American in the system. I come at it as a business person also. I think if you get everyone in the system, you spread out the costs. I like competition. I would love to see a public option in there, some kind of an exchange, a co-op, however we want to call it, to give competition to the private sector, to hold them accountable, so they can't unilaterally deny people coverage. They can't increase the premiums.

We have no say today on our health care costs. I think when we finish up this process and we're going to get a health bill this year, I think we're going to get -- most Americans are going to get covered and I think we'll be happy with it. But we're in the legislative process right now. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are working their hearts out. We're bringing people together. It's the right thing to do. And President Obama said he's going to do this when I get elected president. And he's doing what he said he would do. We should be out there supporting him. Republicans have already said they don't want it.

CHETRY: Well, there have been Republicans who said they don't want it with a public option. But it is interesting. Let's take a look at the latest poll showing public support.

MCAULIFFE: OK.

CHETRY: Which, actually, has grown, since all of the town halls this past summer. Support for a public option now at 57 percent. The number of people that oppose it, now at just 40 percent.

MCAULIFFE: Yes. Good.

CHETRY: Will that bolster the lawmakers, some of the liberal lawmakers, who are fighting for this, even though there are concerns in the Senate among some of the more moderate Democrats and Republicans that they can't get it through with a public option?

MCAULIFFE: Yes. I think it will. And I think, you know, I think the summer, when we had the town hall and the tea baggers and everybody out there, I think it was the high point for the folks who didn't know exactly what we were talking about, were trying to derail this process.

"Role Call" wrote yesterday that the Republicans now, they want to delay it, they to define it in a bad way. And then, you know, ultimately, they want to get rid of it. I think, most Americans say that's not the way we want to go. And I think for moderate Democrats and for everybody, and God Bless Olympia Snowe for doing what she did, and I hope more Republicans come in. We want to make sure our government money is spent efficiently. At the end of it, when we finish this process, if we have a bill that Americans get covered, they have choices, quality care, it's more affordable. And however that comes out of it, it's good for America and that's what we all ought to support, Democrats and Republicans. Let's not make this a partisan political issue. Let's cover Americans. We're the greatest country in the world. We ought to be able to do it.

CHETRY: I don't disagree with you on that. But the Tea Party protesters, and there are others who say, we just can't afford this right now. Look, we've bailed out all the banks, we've bailed out the auto industry, bailed out AIG...

MCAULIFFE: Yes, I agree, good point.

CHETRY: And there are concerns about cost, are there not, with the public option?

MCAULIFFE: Absolutely. And I can tell you this, I support the public option, but I don't want a public option that's going to bankrupt our country. Nobody does. Part of this process and the challenge now for Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi, and the rest, are to show the American public that we can get a public option. The CBO, bipartisan - nonpartisan came out the other day and said that the bill that Senator Baucus got through his committee actually would lower the deficit.

CHETRY: That's right. And there's no public option in that one.

MCAULIFFE: But that's a good starting point for us to begin the process and for the other people who want the public option. Let's prove to everybody how we get a public -- the bottom line, quality care, everybody gets covered. Right now all those millions of people who today who get sick, without insurance, they go to an emergency room. Who do you think pays for that? We do. If you get everybody in the system, right now it doesn't work. A public option, or however we want to call it, I want competition.

The insurance companies are making billions of dollars. They're trying to stop this process. They're doing ads. They're doing misleading data with audits that they're having done. Forget it. When there's so much money at stake, that's why they're fighting so hard. Let's fight for the American people. Let's get everybody covered, competition and choice. President Obama's goals and we're going to get it, however we do it, we're going to get it by the end of this calendar year.

CHETRY: You sound very confident. It's great to talk to you today. MCAULIFFE: I do.

CHETRY: Terry McAuliffe, thanks for being with us.

MCAULIFFE: Thanks, Kiran. Great to see you. Thank you.

CHETRY: It's 36 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: We're back with the Most News in the Morning.

It's no surprise that the Army's new top drill sergeant idolizes old George Patton, Old Blood & Guts.

CHETRY: Yes, but consider this, the new commander is a woman. She is the first female to run one of the military's drill instructor schools. And Jason Carroll is here with her inspiring story.

How did she ultimately get to this place?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, she's still wondering that. That's one of the things she told me. She still pinches herself every morning sometimes, wondering, how did I get this position?

ROBERTS: Did she beat the stuffing out of you?

CARROLL: You know what, I'm pretty tough, but actually I think she might be tougher.

The person in charge of overseeing drill sergeant training for the entire Army, no longer a he, it's now a she. And in this new role, she will have a say in the training of every enlisted soldier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice over): Historically, this is the image of a military drill sergeant, a tough guy, immortalized in movies like "Full Metal Jacket."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will not laugh! You will not cry!

CARROLL: That was then.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's go!

CARROLL This is now.

At 48, Command Sergeant Major Teresa King is the first woman to lead the Army's drill sergeant training school.

(on camera): What are you looking for? I mean, because it all pretty much looks like everybody's exercising to me.

CMD. SGT. MAJOR TERSA KING: I'm looking for attention to detail, conformance.

CARROLL: Before sunrise at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina, King readies her drill instructor candidates for a rigorous run.

What's wrong with that...

KING: That's too big, Top. You need to break it up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fall out!

CARROLL She leads by example. King runs the five-mile course from the front of the pack. Outperforming men half her age.

STAFF SGT. LERON DELANEY, U.S. ARMY: She's older than me, so if I fall out and she's still running, I feel bad.

CARROLL: Extinguishing those who think a woman can't be commandant.

SGT. 1ST CLASS MICHAEL CHILDS, U.S. ARMY: We've got to stay on top of our game even more than we used to, but for her, because she's that sharp.

CARROLL: King says she wakes up some mornings still shocked she is commandant.

KING: I had never considered it, although I've been in training for about seven years. But I never considered it, the drill sergeant school.

CARROLL: King's first Army job some 30 years ago was postal clerk, but her hero, General George Patton, inspired her.

KING: I saw that he had the respect of his men. And I saw he was resolute.

CARROLL: King eventually rose through the ranks, excelling at training infantry men, and paratroopers alike.

KING: I'm doing what I've always done. It's just now, people are paying attention to it.

CARROLL: And to her opinions. The military prohibits women from serving in front line combat roles. King trains men for combat and thinks it's time to train qualified women.

KING: I think if they can do it, they should be allowed to do it.

CARROLL: The reality, women make up 14 percent of active soldiers in the Army. Some women question how many others will follow in King's footsteps.

OPERATIONS SGT. ANGELA ANDREWS, U.S. ARMY: I wouldn't say it opens the door, but it may crack it somewhat.

CARROLL: King says she will continue to lead by example.

KING: I have vision. And I believe I can cause people to do some things that they thought they never could do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLLL: She has vision, all right. At one point in her 30s, King was married to another soldier. That marriage failed and King turned to the Bible for inspiration. Actually, she considered joining the ministry as early as this year, but then, of course, that terrific promotion came up.

And you know, just to expand a little bit on women in the military, and serving in combat roles. I mean, basically what king told me later is, she said, you know, I don't want them to lower their standards, in any way, shape, or form, but if a woman can meet the same standards as a man, they should be out there fighting like them.

ROBERTS: And you were telling me, while we were watching your piece, she can, like you said, you're a pretty tough guy but...

CARROLL: Yes, and she was checking out my arms and she was sizing me up a little bit. But you know what, I wouldn't try to take her!

ROBERTS: What did she say?

CARROLL: I wouldn't try to take her!

ROBERTS: What did she say?

CARROLL: They don't need to know that!

ROBERTS: Yes? What did she say?

CARROLL: I don't remember.

ROBERTS: She said, I could take you in an arm wrestling match.

CARROLL: Yes, she probably did. And I think she might be able to.

CHETRY: Although, you are very, very strong biceps. Very defined.

ROBERTS: This guy has guts.

CARROLL: I say her are bigger.

ROBERTS: He's got bazookas.

CARROLL You don't want to mess with this woman.

(LAUGHTER)

CARROLL: Did you say "bazookas"? ROBERTS: Yes. Nice.

CHETRY: Thank you so much. Good job, Jason.

CARROLL: Thank you.

CHETRY: Still ahead, you know this movie, "Paranormal Activity" costs $11,000 to make, now it is a box office hit, raking in millions. What's the secret? We'll find out. Kareen Wynter joins us soon. It's 43 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Good morning St. Louis, where it's mostly cloudy and 56 degrees right now. Later on today, though, beautiful day. You could just see the hint of that coming over the horizon. It's going to be sunny and 71.

Jacqui Jeras tracking the extreme weather across the country today. We're waking up a little chilly here in the northeast, Jacqui, but supposed to be a lovely day when things get going.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. What - you guys have all these great sunrise shots this morning. It is just gorgeous out there.

ROBERTS: That's the great thing about morning is you get these beautiful sunrises.

JERAS: I know. I'm going to have to get up this time of the day more often, I guess.

Hey, cool across much of the East, and this is going to be the big story to start you out with is that temperatures are flirting with the freezing mark and we've got frost and freeze warnings in effect across parts of the southeast, especially, where the wind chill index and the temperatures down in the 30s. Look at that, 39 in the Charlotte area. You got 40-ish in the Atlanta metro and freeze warnings for you in Knoxville, where it's feeling like 37 degrees at this hour.

But the air is really dry, so that allows the temperatures to heat up very quickly, so we're going to bounce back today. Look at these high temperatures. Really nice, low to mid-60s across the northeast, we'll see plenty of 70s across the southeast. A little chilly, though, across the upper Midwest as you've got some clouds in place here.

Lots of sunshine to go around, so we're seeing those nice sunrise shots this morning, but we will see some wet weather across the nation's midsection here. There you can see, we've got a new frontal system moving in, so wet across the mountainous areas, snow in the higher elevations and then the upper Midwest we'll start to see some of that weather move on in.

So not a lot of travel delays, but, hey, we've got a travel story for you. Check out this picture of a coyote. There was a car that was traveling along the interstate, along I-80 along the Utah-Nevada border and it hit the coyote and it got trapped right there in its car rail for an 8- to 10-hour ride. They got out of their car around Sacramento and discovered that the coyote was in there, but it was a- OK, believe it or not. It traveled all those miles and made it safe.

John and Kiran.

CHETRY: I need to see one more picture to make sure he's OK, because actually he (ph) didn't look OK.

JERAS: I know! Yes, well here you can see it's OK. This was in a cage after they got it out, though. Yes. There you can see its head, right inside the car.

ROBERTS: A minivan miracle.

CHETRY: There are many, you know - Jacqui, thank you.

ROBERTS: Every day when you get home safely, it's a minivan miracle.

CHETRY: Exactly.

Well, I remember the days of a rectangular-shaped pizza, the little hockey puck-like fish cakes. These are all part of school lunches, right? Well, are they nutritious enough? Maybe this is the olden days month (ph). I think they've improved them since.

New choices? We're going to talk to one of the doctors involved in a study on school lunches in our next out (ph).

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doors are locked, alarm is on - if anything looks through here, it's going to leave a pretty good footprint.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, we've seen that (ph) there's no footsteps in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This woman, the same thing's happened to her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop following me with a camera!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in control (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: I'm scared. How about you?

CHETRY: Yes. ROBERTS: We're back with the most news in the morning. It cost $15,000 to make, but the underground hit "Paranormal Activity" is making millions - and we're not just talking millions, we're talking tens of millions of dollars at the box office.

CHETRY: It's a huge hit. So is it part of a new trend? Our Kareen Wynter shows you how this small budget thriller is scaring Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, good morning! This small budget film is scaring off the competition, but could it trigger a new trend in Hollywood?

WYNTER (voice-over): When it comes to horror, suspense...

HEATHER DONAHUE, ACTRESS, BLAIR WITCH PROJECT: I'm so scared.

WYNTER: Hollywood has a history of getting more bang for its buck, low-budget films acquired by studios that become blockbuster hits. While these big-screen breakouts rarely happen, "Paranormal Activity," a new thriller from Paramount, is breaking rules in Hollywood and getting noticed.

MICAH SLOAT, ACTOR, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: My girlfriend, Katie, she thinks there's something in the house.

DANIEL MYRICK, CO-DIRECTOR, "THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT": You don't need to spend a ton of money to turn a profit.

WYNTER: That could be Hollywood's new motto, says Daniel Myrick, especially in this economy, where studios are counting pennies. Myrick directed the 1999 surprise blockbuster, "The Blair Witch Project," shot on a $30,000 budget. The horror flick eventually grossed $140 million domestically.

Box office experts say within the last decade, no other microbudget film has come close to "Blair Witch's" success. But that could change.

SLOAT: This looks like something bit you.

WYNTER: "Paranormal Activity" which cost $15,000 to make, has already reeled in more than $30 million in four weeks.

MYRICK: Studios realize that you don't need to spend a ton of money on marketing and talent and production values to generate profit, and I like to think the economy is going to force these studios to kind of re-evaluate.

WYNTER: Experts say Paramount Studios used a creative strategy that shifted from the classic marketing of print and broadcast to social media Web sites like Twitter.

WYNTER (on camera): The grassroots viral campaign e-mailed and tweeted people, asking them to demand that "Paranormal Activity" be shown in their town.

WYNTER (voice-over): Still, "Variety" magazine's Ted Johnson cautions against calling "Paranormal's" blueprint the new norm in Hollywood.

TED JOHNSON, MANAGING EDITOR, "VARIETY": It remains to be seen whether we're going to see this big rush of people trying to find - snap up these $10,000, $20,000 movies. The ones that are really good are far and few between.

WYNTER: Besides, he says, marketing a movie on a meager budget, is one formula Hollywood is still trying to figure out.

WYNTER (on camera): Another point Johnson makes, and this isn't to take away from the film's success, but Halloween is right around the corner, so filling seats at a scary movie isn't the most difficult thing -- John, Kiran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: You know, also, too, the - the two films that have been really successful have both been in the same genre, the horror film, you know, where - where that type of grainy, shaky camera thing really works.

CHETRY: Like "The Blair Witch Project" and this one.

ROBERTS: Yes. I mean, if you could watch "The Blair Witch Project" without getting nauseated, just because of the way that the camera moved - that was a real challenge.

Counterfeiting, fraud, identity theft, security at special events - that's what the Secret Service is responsible for, but they also have to protect the president. Are they stretched too thin? Some people are asking that question.

Our Brian Todd gets to the bottom of it, coming up.

It's 55 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back. It is about two minutes till the top of the hour. A live look at Washington, DC - look at the sun shining. It's very pretty out there today. Forty-three degrees a little bit later, going up to a high of 69 degrees.

Well, they're the agents in the shadows - the Secret Service, trained to take a bullet for the president, but, of course, trying to prevent that, as their first goal. But it's not their only mission. They track cases of financial fraud, they protect your identity, and it has some asking, is it just too much?

Here's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They shadow the president at every turn, protecting him, the vice president, their families, dignitaries. They move ahead of the president to handle security on his trips and investigate threats against him.

Could those crucial missions be compromised by so-called mission creep? The U.S. Secret Service also investigates financial crimes, including fraud, identity theft, and even counterfeiting. That was, in fact, the agency's first mission when it was created in 1865. But now it even helps track missing children, and a recent Congressional report suggests the service may be overstretched. Quote, "If there were an evaluation of the agency's two missions, it might be determined that it is ineffective for the USSS to conduct its protection mission and investigate financial crimes."

The author of a recent book on the Service has already determined that.

RON KESSLER, AUTHOR, "IN THE PRESIDENT'S SECRET SERVICE": The fact is that the - the Secret Service is totally overloaded. They have so many extra duties that they're performing and the number of agents has not really increased.

TODD: Contacted by CNN, a Secret Service spokesman strongly disputed those assessments, saying the agency is not overstretched and that its ranks have increased. The spokesman says last year while agents protected several candidates during the longest and most expensive campaign in American history, the Secret Service also had its biggest haul ever of financial assets seized from criminals - $141 million.

A former Secret Service officer we spoke to says agents shouldn't be just bodyguards.

WILLIAM PICKLE, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT IN CHARGE: After a number of years in protection, you need to send those agents back out to do criminal work, to stimulate them, because what we found is good criminal investigators make very good protection agents.

TODD: But is the Secret Service dealing with increased threats to the president? A report last spring by the Department of Homeland Security says, "Right Wing extremists have capitalized on the election of the first African-American president and are focusing their efforts to recruit new members." But that same report also says those groups "have not yet turned to attack planning."

And the Secret Service spokesman we dealt with says contrary to recent media reports, President Obama is not receiving more threats than other presidents.

(on camera): The spokesman says Mr. Obama's threats spiked right after his inauguration, but that right now, they're within the same range as his two immediate predecessors.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Thanks, Brian.