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President Obama: One Year Later; Election Day 2009; Afghan War Strategy

Aired November 03, 2009 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Time for your top-of-the- hour reset.

I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is 12:00 in Washington, where President Obama won the White House a year ago. You have rated his job performance in a new CNN poll. Across America, voters at the polls today electing mayors and governors.

And it is 9:30 p.m. in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops say, sure, they could use a few extra hands to fight the war.

Let's get started.

A year after he won the White House, how's he doing? We have some new poll numbers out today on President Obama.

In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 54 percent of Americans approve of the president's job performance, but less than half approve of the way he is handling specific issues like Iraq, health care, Afghanistan and the deficit. The president gets high marks on personal traits, but less than half think he has a clear plan for the country.

All right, so let's do this. Let's bring in our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. He's in Washington.

Paul, how does it compare to past presidents in their first year?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, Tony, let's take a look at the numbers.

HARRIS: OK.

STEINHAUSER: Right here, we looked at presidents in their first about nine and a half months in office. And check this out -- as you just mentioned, Barack Obama, in our brand new poll that we conducted over the weekend, 54 percent. How about his immediate predecessor, George W. Bush? Very high, 86 percent.

Remember, this was just in the wake of 9/11.

HARRIS: That's right.

STEINHAUSER: There was a lot of bipartisanship in the country and people were very supportive of what President Bush was doing in reacting to those 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Bill Clinton, he had a very politically tough first year. You can see he was at 48 percent almost 10 months into his first term. George Herbert Walker Bush, the first Bush, pretty popular his first year in office, at 70 percent.

Ronald Reagan, this one is interesting, Tony, because, remember, Ronald Reagan was also battling a very tough economy when he took over. You can see he was pretty close to Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan, at 52 percent way back in 1981.

HARRIS: Hey, Paul, correct me if I'm wrong here. Is this the only time people -- where we've asked them to compare the current president with his predecessor?

STEINHAUSER: Yes. In our brand new poll, our polling director, Keating Holland, asked this question. Take a look at these results.

We asked directly, this president, Barack Obama, is he doing a better job than George W. Bush? And you can see right there, 57 percent say yes, 34 percent disagree. Remember, George W. Bush was very popular early in his administration, but those last couple of years, Tony, his approval ratings were pretty low.

As for Barack Obama, those numbers you were showing, it tells a story there. Overall, he's personally popular, but as you showed on some of these key issues we talk about, he is getting south of 50 percent now.

HARRIS: OK.

Paul Steinhauser for us.

Paul, appreciate it. Thank you.

So, what do you think? How do you think the president is doing one year later? Just go to our blog, CNN.com/Tony. Leave us a comment, and we will share a few of them on the air a little later this hour.

And checking the wire and the day's other big stories.

The House could finalize the language in its health care reform bill today. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are focusing on how reform will affect small businesses.

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin says the legislation in the House and the Senate will provide much-needed relief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: Indeed, as I have said many times, under our present health care system, small business owners and the self-employed are at the end of the rope. They're sort of at the bottom of the food chain, if you'll have it that way. They get whipsawed around all the time because they have no bargaining power whatsoever.

I can tell you that under the bills that we have before us here in the Senate and in the House, I've said many times the biggest winners under this health reform movement that we have in the House and the Senate will be small businesses and the self-employed. They will be the big winners.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is making the rounds today in Washington. She had an Oval Office sit-down with President Obama. The two leaders focused on Afghanistan and next week's 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Merkel then went to Capitol Hill, where she thanked Congress for supporting German reunification. She pushed America to be part of a plan to combat global warming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): Now today's generation needs to prove that it's able to meet the challenges of the 21st century, and that, in a sense, we are able to tear down walls of today. What does this mean? Well, it means create freedom and security. It means create prosperity and justice. And it means protecting our planet. And here, again, America and Europe are called upon in a very special way to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Chancellor Merkel was sworn in just last week for a second term. There are expectations her new center-right coalition will make it politically easier for her to back U.S. positions on Afghanistan and Iran.

In Afghanistan today, newly reelected President Hamid Karzai promised to clean up government. His first term was plagued by widespread corruption. Karzai conceded it would have been better if this week's presidential runoff had taken place.

Karzai's reelection was sealed Sunday when his runoff opponent, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out. Observers widely agree Afghanistan's presidential election in August was tainted. The Taliban today claimed a role in disrupting the vote and called that a victory.

Coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM, Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence, in the Afghan battle zone with U.S. troops.

Election Day 2009, and key votes today could test whether President Obama has coattails a year into his presidency.

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(APPLAUSE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If they held an election and Barack Obama was not on the ballot, would Democrats still win? We're about to see.

BARACK H. OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, Virginia!

CROWLEY: Barack Obama won Virginia by more than six points last year. This year, the Republican running for Virginia governor is ahead by double digits.

BOB MCDONNELL (R), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: It's a fiscally conservative state and some of these things that have been proposed by the United States Congress aren't resonating with the Virginia voters.

CROWLEY: But the president is still resonating in Virginia, his approval rating around 56 percent. He hopes a bit of that will rub off on to Democrat candidate Creigh Deeds, who has neither the Obama magic nor the money to crank up that Obama machine.

CREIGH DEEDS (D), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: And here's the thing, the president spent $70 million in Virginia last year, unprecedented. We'll spend maybe $20 million. We're trying to build on what he did as much as possible.

CROWLEY: In New Jersey in 2008, Barack Obama won by 15.5 percentage points.

OBAMA: If New Jersey votes like it voted last year, if all those folks who had felt disenfranchised and felt forgotten are reminded of the incredible power of ordinary people...

CROWLEY: If New Jersey were to vote like they did for Barack Obama last year, Democratic Governor Jon Corzine would win re- election. But he's struggling in a three-way race against a conservative Independent and a Republican. The president, the vice president, and the former president have all made their way through New Jersey to help punch up his prospects against Republican Chris Christie.

CHRISTOPHER CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: After all these stars leave it still comes down to me and to Jon Corzine and which one of us would be the better governor.

CROWLEY: New Jersey polls show Corzine leading in a race that could still go either way.

(on camera): When a party in power loses off-year elections, it's usually explained away as a contest about local issues with no national meaning. But should Democrats lose Tuesday in New Jersey and Virginia, two states won handily by President Obama, they'll be hard pressed to shrug that off Wednesday morning, and certainly Republicans won't let them.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: CNN tonight, starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, special prime-time election coverage with the best political team. One year since Barack Obama was elected president, promises kept, promises broken. And what's next in the era of Obama?

Plus, the highlights and latest numbers from all the political battles across the nation.

Don't miss prime-time election coverage tonight, starting at 8:00, only on CNN.

As President Obama considers the request to send more troops to Afghanistan, what do U.S. troops already there think he should do?

We're looking in depth at the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: President Obama reportedly plans one more conversation with national security advisers before announcing his Afghan war strategy. He is under growing Republican pressure to make a decision soon on whether to add more troops to the fight. As for those troops already in the fight, they say bring 'em on.

An in-depth look now at the U.S. war effort from Pentagon Correspondent Chris Lawrence, with U.S. forces in Kandahar Province.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No runoff election? It still means no rest for the soldiers in the small outpost well outside Kandahar. Now they're wondering, when will President Obama decide whether to send more troops?

CPL. JIMMY PARKER, 1ST BATTALION, 17TH INFANTRY: We need the help down here. Even though we're handling it on our own, we need more forces down here. This area is too big for just one company to be here.

LAWRENCE: The company is Bravo. The area is the Arghandab River Valley, part desert, part irrigated orchards, and heavily saturated with Taliban fighters.

SPC. BRIAN SCHOENBECK, 1ST BATTALION, 17TH INFANTRY: Get another battalion or brigade out here to help us out.

LAWRENCE: Specialist Brian Schoenbeck says there's too many Afghans spread over too much ground to know them personally, which is crucial for gathering intelligence.

SCHOENBECK: Well, if we have a smaller area as a result of having more troops here, it does allow us to get to know the people better.

LAWRENCE (on camera): One of the reasons for adding more troops is to add more trainers who can then beef up the number of Afghan national police in villages like this.

(voice-over): U.S. commanders say they can push the Taliban from town to town here, but that's all.

MAJOR SCOTT BRANNAN, TASK FORCE FURY: Right now, it's hard to saturate and have boots on the ground because the battle space is so large. You know, Afghanistan is much larger than Iraq.

LAWRENCE: But some say there's nowhere near enough infrastructure for 20,000 to 40,000 more soldiers and Marines.

SPC. LUKE ADLER, 82ND AIRBORNE: Logistically, Afghanistan is not ready for all the troops.

LAWRENCE: Specialist Luke Adler says supplies still don't flow into Afghanistan as fast as they do in Iraq. It's better now than on his first tour here, but that's not saying much.

ADLER: We had nothing. Last winter, we had no saws in our trucks.

LAWRENCE: Adler has come to believe the Taliban can't be wiped out, not in their own country, even with more troops.

ADLER: All politicians and civilians, they just think we'll send them over there. It doesn't matter how many troops you throw, but you just can't throw massive people here. It's not going to work. It's not a war, you know. It's an insurgency.

LAWRENCE (on camera): We did see somewhat of a split. Soldiers who were training Afghan security forces were somewhat ambivalent about a troop increase, while those in front line combat missions want to see more troops added to the fight.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Kandahar Province.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: A key element of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan? Training Afghan soldiers and winning the trust of the people.

Here, again, is CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Fight the Taliban.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looking good.

LAWRENCE: Engage civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go. LAWRENCE: Train the Afghan forces.

That's the mission here. And it's even tougher than it sounds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop.

LAWRENCE: First, the Taliban don't stand there shooting, so troops are wondering, how do you fight a hidden bomb?

SCHOENBECK: When we got blown up, it's just, like, you're just sitting there thinking how much of a coward the person is to blow you up and hide and run away. And I'd much rather get into a confrontation where we can use -- at least use our tactics on them.

LAWRENCE (on camera): Engaging the population requires troops to get off their bases and out of their armored vehicles. It helps civilians see the soldiers, but also puts them at greater risk.

(voice-over): We watched soldiers walk the remote villages across southern Afghanistan. Some say villagers may know about an upcoming Taliban ambush, but are often scared to speak up.

STAFF SGT. ANDREW JENNINGS, U.S. ARMY: Right now, they're just playing the middle man, because they're afraid that the Taliban's going to kill them.

LAWRENCE: And when it comes to NATO troops training Afghans, the issue of trust goes both ways.

SPC. LOUIS LOFTUS, U.S. ARMY: A lot of these guys, new soldiers that have never been deployed. They're nervous around the local nationals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Want to pull it out...

LAWRENCE: But some say this...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... or send it back in?

LAWRENCE: .... will pay off in time.

ADLER: People in America expect nations to be built like that. You know, instantly. They don't understand our capital was burnt to the ground by the British 50 years after we existed. The Civil War, 100 years after.

LAWRENCE: U.S. Army Specialist Luke Adler grew up in Iowa and Dublin, Ireland. He says strengthening Afghanistan's own security is worth the effort.

ADLER: Whether or not it can work or will (ph) work, that's irrelevant, because it's the only way you have to do it, unless you want to us be over here doing this for decades more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy.

And look for more war zone reporting from CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence, this week, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

As President Obama considers whether to send more troops to Afghanistan, we're listening to your comments about the war.

Here's some of what you're saying.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: (INAUDIBLE), and I believe that we need to get the troops out of there, turn it over to God, and let God work it out. You can't fight in that country. You might as well come home and protect our own United States.

CALLER: Hi, Tony. I don't know what the answer is, but if they've got Karzai in and it's as crooked as they say it is, I think we should pull out entirely, or leave a skeleton crew of some sort there and put more money into Pakistan.

God, I don't know. If I knew, I'd be president. But I don't think we should be sending more troops. I definitely don't.

CALLER: My thoughts on what the United States should do next is we should continue to help over there in Afghanistan and Iraq, because we cannot just go over there, make a mess, and leave it for them to clean it up. That's just not right.

Other countries will look at us differently. That's another thing that's not good. So we are making a difference over there.

I talk to my friends that go over there. They say that it is making a difference. And as for Obama, I think he's doing a good job.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: Hey, honestly here, we really do appreciate your comments. That's just not lip service. And we'd still love to hear from you.

Here's the phone number. Give us a call now if you have a moment: 1-877-742-5760. Let us know what you think the U.S. should do next in Afghanistan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Let's get you caught up on our top stories now.

President Obama sat down with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House this morning. We're told they talked about the situation in the Middle East, climate change and the economy.

Later, Merkel addressed a joint meeting of Congress. She is the first German chancellor to do that in 50 years.

Today, in parts of Philadelphia, no buses, no trains, no trolleys. Workers from the city's largest transit union walked off the job overnight, leaving thousands of commuters stranded. They're striking over a pay raise and health care benefits.

Lawyers for the beltway sniper are asking the Supreme Court to stop his execution. John Allen Muhammad is scheduled to die by lethal injection a week from today. Prosecutors say Muhammad is the mastermind behind the 2002 killing spree that left 10 people dead in the Washington area.

We will get another check of our top stories in 20 minutes.

Election Day, 2009. And here in the CNN NEWSROOM, we are watching a handful of off-year elections that could reflect shifts in the political mood and test President Obama's coattails. Democrats have a lot at stake in two key governors' races.

Our Jessica Yellin is watching the governor's race in Virginia, and Mary Snow is in New Jersey.

Ladies, good to see you.

Mary, let's start with you.

A pretty strange race. Interesting. Strange -- I don't know -- interesting -- in upper New York that you're following as well, right, Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are following that race.

Let's start, though, in New Jersey, Tony, because this is the race that has so much suspense and is right now a tossup leading into Election Day.

What is at stake here for the president is whether or not he can mobilize voters to the support of Jon Corzine, the incumbent Democratic governor who's really been struggling in his reelection bid. His challenger is Republican Chris Christie, but also a third- party Independent candidate, Chris Daggett, ,has been somewhat pivotal in this race up until now, because he has been gaining popularity in recent weeks.

That had kind of erased some of the Republican's lead in this race, leaving to it be a tossup. So, key will be, where do those Independent voters go?

When you ask voters, though, many will say the top issue here, property taxes. However, we spoke to some Republican voters who say there are national implications for this race, despite the fact that many Democrats have been downplaying whether this is a referendum on the Obama administration.

Here's a look at what one Republican voter tells us about how he sees this race. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Health care, be it economy, be it stimulus package, Democrats are all there alone. There is very little Republican support. So, I think he needs to have at least one more year of his agenda, see if his prescription works for the country and for the world. So that was my rationale for supporting him by way of Corzine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: So, there you have one Republican voter saying he's voting for the Democratic governor to support the president's programs.

Now, here's another Republican who sees it very differently.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Do you see this race sending a message beyond New Jersey?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I believe it has national implications.

SNOW: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe the people in this country have seen the last year where the president and the Congress are kind of taking the country. I don't think a lot of people like it. It's kind of more -- you know, it's a centrist type of thing. They're trying to go so far to the left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: And, of course, Tony, the big factor's going to be on turnout. As you can see, it's a beautiful day here in New Jersey, which always helps turnout. But Jon Corzine is going to need high turnout to improve his chances in this very Democratic state. President Obama won here by a wide margin last year.

HARRIS: And Mary, if you could, touch on that race that we mentioned at the top in upstate New York.

SNOW: Yes, that is one that has been so dramatic, where they had three candidates, now dwindled down to two. And Republicans are now backing the Conservative Party candidate, Doug Hoffman, who went from the underdog to the candidate having the edge in this race.

So much attention on this, because the Republican candidate, Dede Scozzafava, as we all know now, abruptly withdrew from the race over the weekend. She had come under such criticism from conservatives for being too liberal both on social and fiscal policies. So, when she dropped out, though, she endorsed the Democrat, Bill Owens, in this race.

And what's going to be key, obviously, in this race is where those voters who were intending to vote for the Republican will go now, whether it will be to the conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman, or to the Democrat. And this is really being looked at so carefully because, could it give clues to the Republicans about the future, as there's been this rift between moderates and conservatives?

HARRIS: All right.

Mary Snow for us.

Mary, good to see you. Thank you.

And Democrats face another test as voters in Virginia pick a new governor.

Jessica Yellin, part of the best political team on television, is in Alexandra, Virginia.

Jessica, good to see you.

What are you seeing?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, I'll tell you, it's all about turnout here, just as it is for Mary in New Jersey.

We know this an important day for Virginians, but what does this mean for the nation? It really depends who you ask.

The National Republican Party is really trying hard to say this is a referendum on President Obama and the Democrats' policy, that losses here and in New Jersey would be a devastating sign that America has, in their view, turned on the president.

Democrats see it quite differently, and a number of people we've spoken with here who are voting for the Democratic candidate say it's really about local issues, and if their candidate loses, it's because the Democrat has not run an effective campaign. That's according to the folks we've spoken with.

Here are two of the voters we caught up with as they left the polls today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all about what I said, the country's headed in the wrong direction. And I think the American people are now standing up, and we're going to change things. This president talked about change. He's just beginning to find out what change really is in America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think this is a local election, and that if we win, it will be because of Mr. Deeds' qualities. If we lose, it will be because we didn't have as effective a campaign locally as we should have had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: So, you got one view on each side of that issue there. I'll tell you, some national figures have come here to try to get their side to turn out and vote. Sarah Palin, while she didn't appear, she made a voice phone call message to a lot of voters over the weekend saying to vote your values for the Republican. And President Obama has been here twice to support Deeds, the Democrat.

Also, Tony, the operation that did such an effective job getting out the vote for President Obama during the election has geared up to try and do the same for the Democrat here today -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right.

Jessica Yellin for us.

Jessica, thank you.

And taking a look around the country, voters in Maine are deciding whether to repeal the state's gay marriage law, while an openly gay conservative candidate is up for the job of mayor in Houston, Texas. And Atlanta could actually vote to elect the city's first white mayor since 1972.

On CNN tonight, starting at 8:00, special prime-time election coverage with the best political team. One year since Barack Obama was elected president, promises kept, promises broken. And what's next in the era of Obama?

Plus, the highlights and latest numbers from all of the political battles across the nation.

Don't miss primetime election coverage tonight, starting at 8:00, only on CNN.

An Iraqi father accused of running down and killing his own daughter in Arizona. We will get the latest on this tragic story from a reporter covering the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. And once again, we like to, at this time, remind you to get the latest financial news and analysis right there at cnnmoney.com. Our financial team doing a terrific job for you every day. Once again, cnnmoney.com.

Let's get you to the Big Board now, New York Stock Exchange, three hours into the trading day. And as you can see, hmm, the Dow off 44 points. And the Nasdaq, at last check, was down 10. We are following these numbers with Susan Lisovicz all day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, another encouraging economic sign today, U.S. factory orders rose in September. The Commerce Department says orders increased by 0.9 percent. It was the fifth increase in six months and it lifted hopes of a manufacturing revival. We are watching for more news about the economy. Figures on auto sales are expected in just a few hours. And traveling for the holidays just got even more expensive. Many U.S. airlines have just doubled their surcharge for peek travel days. It will now cost you $20 each way -- each way -- on certain routes.

You know, sometimes the video that feeds into the CNN NEWSROOM really stops us in our tracks. And we are going to tell you the stories behind these images, yes, in a just a couple of minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And very quickly, let's get to Chad Myers in the severe weather center.

Chad, I'm looking behind you here. What are you following?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Hey, take a look at this, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

HARRIS: You see this forklift driver kind of losing it inside an alcohol warehouse?

MYERS: No.

HARRIS: Let's wait for it. Wait for it. Because you think it's going to end here, right.

MYERS: Ooh! What is that -- what is that falling over now?

HARRIS: And you think it's going to end here. Oh, this is alcohol.

MYERS: Oh, see, that's why I buy my vodka in plastic bottles, because they only put the good stuff in plastic bottles. They don't break.

HARRIS: Or, in my case, in a brown paper bag.

MYERS: Bada-bing.

HARRIS: So, there's this. You think it's over. And then this. You think it's over. And then it just keeps going and going and going and going. And the driver of the forklift just minor injuries.

MYERS: I hope he's OK. I guess there was a cage over the top of that forklift.

HARRIS: Yes, just a lot of good weekends down the drain here.

All right, Chad, thank you, man.

MYERS: All right. You bet, Tony. HARRIS: One more picture we want to show you very quickly here. A TV news chopper catches a wreck on camera. This car, take a look here, plows through an intersection and swipes a minivan. Oh, I missed it. Talk about right place at the right time. The helicopter from our affiliate KNXV in Phoenix was over the scene because, get this, another collision happened at the same intersection just an hour earlier.

All right, a check of your top stories is straight ahead. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And let's get you caught up on our top stories now.

Voters go to the polls. Official in both parties are watching for a possible shift in the political wind. Key governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey could tell the tale.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged today to clean up corruption during his second term, but he didn't spell out specifics at a Kabul news conference. President Obama says he wants to see action, not words. One western diplomat suggests that Karzai should offer up a few heads on a platter.

And take a look here. That's German Chancellor Angela Merkel addressing a joint meeting of Congress this morning. She told lawmakers that a nuclear bomb in the hands of Iran is "not acceptable."

And a shocking story takes a tragic turn. A 20-year-old woman allegedly run over by her father has died. Police say the Iraqi woman's father ran her over with a car because she had become too westernized. Noor Almaleki died yesterday from her injuries. Another woman was injured, but is expected to survive. The father is in custody in Phoenix. And Dustin Gardiner is a reporter with the "Arizona Republic," who has been covering this story, and he joins us from Phoenix.

And, Dustin, as we were talking about just a moment ago, you know, a lot of us are still trying to understand the hows and the whys of this story. What have you learned about why this father did this? And I guess I should mention here, police are saying he has confessed to this, correct?

DUSTIN GARDINER, REPORTER, "ARIZONA REPUBLIC": Yes, the county prosecutor in the case says that he has admitted to it and that he's hiding behind some sort of moral argument that he has that this was justified as an honor killing because his daughter had dishonored the family by not holding up traditional Iraqi and Muslim values.

HARRIS: Do we know how long this family has -- this father, this family, has been in the United States or even in Arizona?

GARDINER: We know from family members that they have been here from about the mid-'90s. We don't know the specific date. HARRIS: OK.

GARDINER: But what family members are saying is that he had been frustrated with his daughter for some time. Apparently she had married a man in Iraq and returned to Phoenix to live with a boyfriend and his mother.

HARRIS: And just so that I'm clear, she married a man in Iraq. Moved back to Phoenix and has a boyfriend in Phoenix.

GARDINER: Right. Yes.

HARRIS: OK.

GARDINER: So she had left the man in Iraq to be with the boyfriend here.

HARRIS: OK. Does the father show any remorse for what he's done here?

GARDINER: Apparently not. From what the prosecutors said over the weekend, he's admitted to it. He's hiding behind this moral justification. And he thinks, I guess, that it was the right thing to do because she had dishonored the family.

HARRIS: And you talked to some experts, I understand, who say honor killings are accepted practice in Iraq. Share some of the insights that you gleaned from those conversations.

GARDINER: So, some of the social experts that our reporters have talked to have said is that in Iraq, tribal society in some areas I guess it's accepted. It's acceptable for male family members to kill a female member of their family if she dishonors the family by not following -- following traditional values. For example, if she, you know, has consensual sex outside of marriage or in some cases even if she's raped.

HARRIS: Wow. OK. Dustin, I have one more quick one for you here. And this is -- let me be careful with this question. Was it clear that the young woman -- and I don't know where we would get this, but I just have to ask it -- who was killed here, the victim here -- and this is in no way a question that's about -- in any way can be construed as blaming the victim for what happened here -- but in your reporting, was it clear from friends of the victim that she was aware of her family's view of her relationship and the cultural issues it raised?

GARDINER: Yes. From family members it seems pretty clear that there had been an ongoing problem between them. That there had been a tense relationship for some time. We don't know if there's anything that indicated he might take such drastic action.

HARRIS: All right, Dustin Gardiner for us.

Dustin, appreciate it. Just trying to get a little better handle and maybe some understanding on what happened there. Dustin, appreciate it. Thank you.

GARDINER: Yes.

HARRIS: It's in plastic baby bottles, and now researchers conclude it's in canned foods, too. The latest on the chemical BPA, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Got to tell you a new study has an eye-popping conclusions. Half of U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some point in their youth. And Josh is here to break this out for us.

And, Josh, this is pretty disturbing.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And, you know what is even more surprising to a lot of people, this is actually not a response to the economic crisis.

HARRIS: Huh.

LEVS: It's actually a look at how much in America, over the years, kids have been on food stamps. And using that kind of as a basis for predicting the future. You can see a headline here from "USA Today," a lot of people talking about this.

Let me do this. I have a graphic for you that gives you the basic statistic. Let's go straight to that. I want you to see it.

What this study found, and you can see there it's been published in this magazine, 49 percent of kids, up to age 20, at some point in their youth, up to age 20, will be in a home that is receiving food stamps and that's based on the way things have been in the past.

And let's go to the next one because talk about eye-popping. Ninety percent of black children, if history is a guide here, 90 percent of black children in America at some point their homes will be on food stamps. Thirty-seven percent of white children.

And, you know, let's go to the third one, too, because "USA Today" also pulled a helpful stat out of this. We were talking about, at some point, they are pointing out one in five children rely on food stamps for a number of years.

So, Tony, what we're seeing here is larger than a lot of people ever realized. The food stamp need is in America. Large numbers of Americans counting on this just to get by and feed their families at some point.

HARRIS: All right. And maybe you can remind us again of who is eligible for food stamps.

LEVS: Yes, let's do that. I got some information for you from the government. I have one more graphic for you and I'll show you just one of the things. Now there are various needs, but one of them is limited monthly income. So if your household size is three people total, you've got a monthly income of $1,984. You can see a household size four, monthly income $2,389.

So, you know, those are the income levels, but then there are other things too. You can only have a certain amount of money in the bank. And I've got a good interactive here for you. Before you go, let's take a look at it. This is from right here, at cnn.com. And we actually have a story that tells you about food stamps. This is from a few months ago. It talks you through who qualifies, and dos and don'ts when you're on food stamps. How the program works and also tells you about where the program comes from in the first place.

And I've got links for you. Let's go to my graphic. I put it all up for you. It's at cnn.com/josh, FaceBook and Twitter, joshlevscnn. We'll add to those right away.

And I'll tell you, Tony, a lot of people apparently from what I'm reading today, large numbers of Americans who could qualify for food stamps don't realize it and never go get them. So it's a good idea if you think you might possibly qualify to take a look and take advantage of something the government might owe you in that respect.

HARRIS: OK, Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: You got it, Tony.

You know, schools are doing a better job of identifying students who are eligible for free or reduced prices lunches. That's according to a report by the agriculture department. The results showed 78 percent of schools identified eligible students by using government records of households already getting aid. But the report also notes there's a wide difference among the states.

And new fuel for the debate over BPA safety. A new "Consumer Reports" study shows that high levels of the chemical known as BPA can be found in almost all canned foods. Foods you probably have in your kitchen right now. CNN's medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here to help us understand this.

So the FDA is taking another look at -- let me keep my letters straight here -- BPA.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You got it.

HARRIS: Probably in part because of studies like this.

COHEN: Right. Exactly. There's this "Consumer Reports" study where they looked at canned food and, not surprisingly, found lots of BPA. Everything they looked at had BPA. And also studies that have shown that when -- that there might possibly be links between high consumption of BPA and diseases like heart disease, fertility problems, even aggression in toddlers.

Now, the Food and Drug Administration says, all right, by the end of November, by the end of this month, we're going to take another look at BPA and think about redoing the safety standards. They haven't done those safety standards since the 1980s and many people think they are just completely out of whack.

HARRIS: All right, because we've got some choreography going here.

COHEN: We certainly do.

HARRIS: So should I ask you where we can find BPA or does that dovetail into the question of how we can avoid it if we want to?

COHEN: It does dovetail into it, so let's do it all at once.

HARRIS: OK. All right. Let's do it.

COHEN: You can find BPA pretty much everywhere. I mean if you take a look, these are vegetable cans we have here. Here is a tuna fish can. This is a can of soup that has a top that's lined with material that has BPA. It is, in fact, extremely hard to avoid it.

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: But if you want to avoid it, here's what you want to do. You want to try to buy things that are in glass containers and store things in glass containers. You want to buy fresh or frozen food. And look for labels that say "BPA-free." Right now you mostly find those on things like baby bottles and sippy cups, but I wouldn't be surprised. This is really catching on. And I wouldn't be surprised now if food manufacturers start changing their ways and bragging about the fact that they're BPA-free.

HARRIS: Which is really -- just really tough to avoid it altogether. I mean, come on.

COHEN: Oh, it's used in so many different things. I don't know how -- I don't know how you could avoid it.

HARRIS: Yes.

COHEN: What's interesting is, in Japan, when they made a rule that said, take it out of cans, and then they measured people's BPA levels in their body, it plummeted.

HARRIS: Oh.

COHEN: It went down very, very quickly. So if you take it out, your levels of BPA go way down. Now in Japan they did that more than 10 years ago. We're a little bit behind them.

HARRIS: OK, Elizabeth, appreciate it. Thank you.

COHEN: Thanks.

HARRIS: The choreography worked out. All right.

He's learned to tap dance like Fred Astaire, bob and weave like Muhammad Ali. The president's media manager sits down with CNN.

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HARRIS: All right. Let's get another check of weather now. Chad Myers in the severe weather center.

Chad.

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HARRIS: One year after he won the White House, we asked you to share are thoughts about how President Obama is doing.

Heather says, "I am disappointed in the job that Obama is doing. I did not vote for him, but hoped that he could make a positive difference. So far the 'change' that I see him promoting is not going in the right direction."

From Bianca Walker, "I am pleased with President Obama's initiatives. Let us not forget that the deficit, the economy, health care, and other key issues were laid into his lap."

And Alan says, "I think the president is doing the best he can for this country. After all, he inherited this mess from the previous administration. No one will be the perfect president."

And from Rose, "this president is not ready to run a country. He has done nothing for America. In fact, it's worse now than when Mr. Bush was president and he still keeps on blaming him. He does not care about our troops."

And thank you for sending in those responses.

You know, he speaks for President Obama and he also has the president's ear. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is part of the White House inner circle. In an exclusive interview with our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian, Gibbs talks about his role and his relationship with President Obama.

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DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert Gibbs is rarely on time for his daily briefings.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Sorry for being late.

LOTHIAN: But he's always ready to spar.

GIBBS: I'll plead guilty to counter-productivity.

Is there any evidence currently going on that I'm controlling the press?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

GIBBS: Poorly, I might add.

LOTHIAN (on camera): You like to use wit, humor, sarcasm sometimes. Is this an effective strategy?

GIBBS: You tell me. Look, I will say this. I think there's no doubt that using a little humor to get out of a bad few questions isn't an altogether bad technique.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): Gibbs likes to dance around a question, handing out yes-or-no answers sparingly as he tries to avoid a minefield.

GIBBS: There's a certain high-wire element to the whole thing. My father likes to remind me that he always thought my mouth would get me into some sizable amount of trouble, which it can on any given day.

LOTHIAN: He reveals part of his safety net involves speaking fairly frequently with former White House spokesmen.

LOTHIAN (on camera): So even now?

GIBBS: I talked with Mike McCurry yesterday on -- to get his feedback on a question that was sort of nagging me a little bit. And . . .

LOTHIAN: And what was that question?

GIBBS: I'm not going to get into that, but good try.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): Gibbs started working for Mr. Obama in 2004, during his Senate race, following a stint on John Kerry's presidential campaign. They clicked and grew close. In the tight circle that now surrounds the president, Gibbs is in the inner bubble, giving him more access than recent press secretaries.

GIBBS: I can walk in and ask him a question at any given time, pick up the phone and talk to him about something at any given time. I think makes my job easier on me and hopefully better for those that are asking the questions.

LOTHIAN: He tries to think like him, talks for him, and breaks news to him in the middle of the night.

LOTHIAN (on camera): You're the 3:00 a.m. wake-up call.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): It was Gibbs who informed the president of a North Korea missile test and that he'd won the Nobel Peace Prize.

GIBBS: Trust me, it is -- it is a job I would gladly give to anybody who would volunteer.

LOTHIAN: But it's part of his portfolio, which has everything but sleep.

GIBBS: It is always there. That is -- is certainly a challenge. It can wear you down. If you didn't enjoy the job that I had, it would be the worst job in all of Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: And we are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM"with the man, T.J. Holmes.