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American Morning
White House Tries to Minimize GOP Gains; Afghan Police Corruption a Problem for U.S. Military; Eleventh Body Found in Sex Offender's Home; Residents Near Serial Killer's House Complained of Smell; Boost for the Weak; High-Risk Cheap Labor
Aired November 05, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Glad you're with us on this Thursday, November 5th. Just before 6:00 here in New York. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. Here are the top stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
The White House trying to shrug off a shaky election night claiming that voters were not making a statement about the president or his policies when they elected two Republican governors, but some Democrats are wondering if it is time for the party to reevaluate its priorities.
CHETRY: They dodged roadside bombs, driving to remote areas of Afghanistan where the Taliban hides and fights. It's just business as usual for American soldiers now training a fledgling Afghan police force that's still riddled with corruption. We're getting a first- hand look at the dangers. Our Chris Lawrence is embedded with the military unit in Kandahar.
ROBERTS: And new development on that disturbing story out of Cleveland. Another body discovered at the home of a registered sex offender. Neighbors say they've been living with the stench of rotting flesh for years. So how on earth could these crimes go unnoticed, and how we can keep better track of paroled sex offenders? We'll be talking about all that coming up.
CHETRY: And we begin this morning with a hint of anxiety taking hold in the Democratic Party. Political heartburn kicked up by two big races for governor this week in Virginia and also in New Jersey. The Republican candidates won in both of those states. Thanks in large part to independent voters.
And it was independent voters who helped sweep Barack Obama into the White House a year ago. Well now that reality has some Democrats wondering if their party's priorities are out of sync with the American people.
Suzanne Malveaux is the only reporter live at the White House this early. And, Suzanne, are any of those concerns registering on Pennsylvania Avenue this morning?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, certainly White House officials are listening to some of those concerns. Democrats are watching and very, very much concerned about what happened that last race or so. Some of them at least because of the independents. It was the independents that punched the card for the Republicans this last go-round.
Why did that happen? Because many of them looked at the biggest concern. It was the economy. They look at the fact that there was so much government spending, that there are not a lot of jobs. A lot of people out of work. That these are the kinds of things that they are worried about and what some of the Democrats, members of Congress are saying quietly to the White House but also quite publicly is, why not consider rejiggering some of the agenda items here. Don't focus so much on health care reform, on climate change. But instead, focus on bringing jobs.
Now White House officials tell me, look, there is no change of plan when it comes to the agenda per se. This is all related. They are downplaying those wins. Republican wins in Virginia and New Jersey saying those are more -- those are state races. It is not a referendum on this president. But they are making it clear here that they've got to make a better case to the American people that yes, the president's economic policies are working. Take a listen to what Robert Gibbs said yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think that the message that you take from all of this is the president is working hard each and every day to address the economy, to get people back to work.
Is there economic discontent? Of course there is. Exit polling showed that. And quite frankly, if an exit poller had asked the president on his way out of a poll whether he was feeling some discontent about the economy, he, too, would have said yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Kiran, that was Robert Gibbs on "CAMPBELL BROWN" yesterday on her show. Obviously trying to make the White House case here. And one of the big challenges they have is they have got to bring those Democrats out and they've got to convince the independents that, yes, President Obama, who the polls show people still very much like, they have to convince him of his policies here, that his policies are, in fact, working -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, and speaking of numbers, we're expecting those new unemployment numbers out tomorrow. How is the White House bracing for that?
MALVEAUX: They are already trying to get ahead of those numbers because it could reach that threshold, the 10 percent unemployment rate which a lot of people have been looking at. So the White House has actually been talking about the fact that we may see 10 percent unemployment. But one thing that they are doing, they got to get the president out there to explain that they are saving or creating jobs. I was in Madison, Wisconsin, with the president yesterday. Wright Middle School. One of the things he was talking about is the fact that the administration, they say, have saved or created some 10,000 jobs when it comes to teachers and education. That kind of thing. Those are the things the White House is going to continue to do. The president is going to continue to do. Go out there and give real live examples of how his policies are affecting people's lives -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning at the White House. Thank you.
And so now that election night has come and gone, the president is turning his attention back to health care reform. Sources telling "The Associated Press" that President Obama is planning to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill tomorrow. He'll also make a final pitch for a Democratic health care reform bill that could make it to the House floor for a vote this weekend.
ROBERTS: The House has voted to immediately slap new rules on credit card companies. It would freeze rates and fees and impose new rules that aren't set to take effect until February. Lawmakers say they've gotten all kinds of complaints from people who have seen their rates and fees skyrocket.
CHETRY: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be back in New York this weekend. She'll represent the Obama administration at Saturday's commissioning of the USS New York. The Navy assault ship contains about seven and a half tons of steel from the World Trade Center towers.
ROBERTS: While President Obama weighs sending more troops to Afghanistan, the U.S. military is trying to train Afghans to take over their own security. It's a challenge made even more difficult and dangerous by corruption within the Afghan national police force. The problems include Taliban sympathizers and major drug use.
Our Chris Lawrence has got that story for us this morning. He's embedded with the U.S. military unit in Kandahar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 82nd Airborne soldiers rumbled through southern Afghanistan heading to remote police checkpoints. We rode with them through an area saturated with Taliban as they dodged roadside bombs.
STAFF SGT. ANDREW JENNINGS, U.S. ARMY: Trying to follow roads and these places like we're going right now, it's just -- you know, where they want to put them.
LAWRENCE: At our first stop, we meet this checkpoint's new police chief who just took over a month ago. The last man to hold a job was arrested for housing Taliban right here at the police station.
LT. SEAN RYAN, U.S. ARMY: During the operation, when the U.S. soldiers would go out, he would bring the Taliban into his checkpoint and pretend that they were just ANP (ph).
LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Sean Ryan says he put his trust in the police chiefs.
RYAN: And you know, if they're, you know, dirty, if you owe any -- you know, if they had access to things, they could, you know, have access to government centers and stuff like that and it's absolutely deadly.
LAWRENCE: Lieutenant Ryan has developed a detailed training plan for the Afghan officers in his district, but sometimes they bring other people into the station.
SPC. LUKE ADLER, U.S. ARMY: And they have an A.K. and you wonder who are you? No ID (ph).
LAWRENCE: Some officers embrace the training. Others sleep through their shifts or don't show up at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Depends.
LAWRENCE: Sure enough, at another stop, we see an officer swaying so badly he can barely stand. His eyes are glassy. He's high.
(on camera): Less than 100 meters from the main road in the police station, farmers are growing a massive crop of marijuana. Stacks and stacks, rows and rows, just as far as the eye can see.
(voice-over): The 82nd Airborne does what it can but they aren't experts in evidence collection or investigation.
MAJOR SCOTT BRANNAN, U.S. ARMY: We don't have the skill set initially to be able to mentor how to run a police station.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That way if I'm searching him...
LAWRENCE: But Major Scott Brannan says his soldiers are patient because they have to be.
BRANNAN: People that get killed, people that quit, a lot of times you have to do the same class three, four, five times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: And there's not enough professional police officers here to help train them. Even worse, a lot of the officers say they're scared to get off their base because they get shot at when they go out. It is impossible to do community policing when you're holed up in a checkpoint -- John.
ROBERTS: Chris, you know, the military man said there they're not experts at evidence collection. But I mean, I could be mistaken but that marijuana field looked pretty obvious. Couldn't they just go in and cut it down or burn it? LAWRENCE: Well, you know, the problem is that, you know, marijuana is not illegal here in Afghanistan. And, you know, you don't want to alienate some of the farmers. Again, you're trying to do the community policing.
What's clear is that NATO and the military probably rightly so, put a lot of initial effort in training the Afghan army. They look very impressive from what we have seen, but the Afghan police force is just way, way behind them.
ROBERTS: Chris Lawrence for us in Kandahar this morning. Chris, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: And also new this morning, Kellogg's says it's going to be pulling a label claiming Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies will improve your child's immunity. The company began adding extra antioxidants to its cereal last year and advertising with that big yellow banner you see right across the box. San Francisco's city attorney called out the company over the labeling expressing concerns that it was playing into recent fears about swine flu.
ROBERTS: New questions this morning about many of the deals made under the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program. "The Associated Press" found the most common swap involved replacing old Ford or Chevy pickups with new ones that got slightly better gas mileage. The idea behind the $3 billion program was to encourage drivers to trade in their gas guzzling vehicles for far more fuel efficient ones. The government says it's investigating the transactions.
CHETRY: Well, in their first year at the new Yankee Stadium, the New York Yankees brought home their 27th World Series title last night. They beat the Phillies in game six.
They were cheering right there on the field, as you can see, in Times Square and in Tokyo for World Series MVP Hideki Matsui. "Godzilla" as he's known in New York had a two-run homer, a few run double, and also a two-run single in the clinching game. And there's going to be a parade of Broadway in the Canyon of Heroes tomorrow morning.
ROBERTS: Let me tell you they just wanted to win it at the new stadium.
CHETRY: There you go. I thought they were going to go to game seven, but they wrapped it up last night.
ROBERTS: Yes. Well, good for them. They had another notch in their belt, the first one since 2000. So, been a while here in New York.
It's been a year since President Obama was elected. David Plouffe, his campaign manager, the brilliant mind behind the Obama campaign has written a new book all about the campaign. We'll be talking to him about that coming up. Some startling revelations included in that book, too, as well as when he thinks about what's going on now. So David Plouffe coming up at our next few minutes here on the Most News in the Morning.
CHETRY: Also, some new developments on this gruesome story we've been following out of Cleveland. An alleged serial killer now heading to court today. Neighbors had complained about the stench in the neighborhood for years. So how is it allowed to all go on so long? Our Susan Candiotti is live in Cleveland next.
It's 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twelve minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
We have new developments on a gruesome story that we've been following out of Cleveland this morning. There is no bail for a registered sex offender accused of murdering and then keeping nearly a dozen bodies of women in his home. Police say that Anthony Sowell strangled most of his victims and that some of them have been missing for up to five years. So how did he hide in plain sight for so long when neighbors complained about the stench for years?
Susan Candiotti is looking for answers in Cleveland this morning.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, so far only one of the victims has been identified. A 52-year-old mother who police say had a drug problem. But how did she wind up here inside Anthony Sowell's home?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can put the suffering to rest as far as where she's been for the last year. We know where she is. We can bring her home. We can give her a proper burial.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Wednesday night an impromptu vigil from friends of others still missing was set up across the street from Sowell's home. The shockwaves are hitting even veteran judges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty years of being on this bench, this is, without question, the most serious of allegations that I've ever faced.
CANDIOTTI: But how in the world could suspect Anthony Sowell or anyone allegedly murder so many victims, hiding at least 11 bodies in the middle of a busy neighborhood?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody knows (INAUDIBLE) seen him around here walking, scrapping, picking up cans assuming like a normal person.
CANDIOTTI: But could a normal person invite women in only to have them vanish without anyone noticing? All but one of the women dug up from a backyard and found inside the house are nameless. And until there's a DNA match, no one yet knows who they are or where they came from. The one identified victim is 52 years old from a town outside Cleveland, reported missing by her family a year ago. Sowell is an ex-Marine, a registered sex offender who spent 15 years in jail and landed in his family's home living alone.
ZACH REED, CITY COUNCILMAN: For him to have -- went to these extremes is just -- just messed up because, you know, people don't deserve to have to die like that.
CANDIOTTI: It's not that neighbors didn't smell something awful. A city councilman says even he got a call about it in 2007.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: We received a phone call from a resident that said councilman, there's a foul odor that's coming from across the street and it smells like a dead person. Not dead meat. Not dead animal. Dead person.
CANDIOTTI: But the house is next door to a sausage plant -- a smelly sausage plant. A criminal profiler says that killer got lucky.
BROWN: So they should have gone knocking, and they should have gone into that home to see whether perhaps something was amiss there.
CANDIOTTI: Police say they only investigated two calls to the house, one two years ago and the one that led to the discovery of the first bodies. They deny they dropped the ball.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're starting from the point where we got to that house on October 30th and we are working backwards and we're going to keep from the time he was in prison before that. It's going to be a slow process.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Police say they still intend to go back inside that house to look for even more evidence as people continue ask how could so many women go inside that house and not come out without anyone noticing - John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Susan Candiotti for us this morning. Thanks. And it is a good question and many are asking it today. Could police have done more to stop Anthony Sowell? What about Phillip Garrido, the sex offender who kept Jaycee Dugard prisoner in his backyard for 18 years? Allegedly.
At 7:30 Eastern we're going to discuss what lessons can be learned from these two cases.
ROBERTS: There is more help coming to people who have jobless benefits that may be about to run out of them. And also new help for homebuyers just down the pike. Our Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning. She'll be joining us to tell you all about it in just a couple of minutes.
It's now 16 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Nineteen minutes after the hour. Christine Romans Here, "Minding Your Business" this morning and help for first-time homebuyers coming down the pike, along with the extension of jobless benefits (INAUDIBLE).
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You've all - Everyone's been asking about this extension of unemployment benefits. It's probably going to happen today. The Senate passed a bill yesterday. The House is probably going to pick it up today and the word from the House is they think they're going to try to do this very quickly.
This is an extension - the third extension of unemployment benefits. If you recently ran out, if your check recently ran out or you need more time, you're probably going to get it here. It's going to happen quickly. This is a 14-week extension nationwide, 20 weeks where the unemployment rate is above 8.5 percent, so in a very high unemployment state you could get another 20 weeks of unemployment checks. This will be paid for by a two-year extension of a tax on employers. So employers will pay this through a federal tax, a longstanding federal tax.
There's also new help for homebuyers, actually more of the old help for homebuyers. This is that $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit. They want to extend this, but the Senate approved extending this. It's going to the House again today. You must close by June 30, 2010. There's a little more, though. They've expanded this homebuyer tax credit. Now there's a $6,500 tax credit for people who aren't first-time homebuyers. You got a house, you're upgrading or downgrading, you're moving over, you're going to be able to get a tax credit too.
There've been a lot of criticism that, hey, this - this isn't fair for just - for first time homebuyers and it raises the income cap. So some of you out there - now, for couples, if you make up to $225,000, you - you qualify here. How do you pay for that? Well, it's going to be, this whole thing is probably another $10 billion maybe. That's your and my money, and critics get worried about this. They think this homebuyer tax credit thing is just a giveaway. Its a waste of money. And they point to some Treasury audits that show that 580 children have applied for the homebuyer tax credit, the youngest, the age of 4.
So whenever there's free government money, there are people who try to game (ph) the system, no question. But there are also a lot of people who are really hurting right now and these congressmen and these senators know that they've got to do more, otherwise they're going to face some trouble at the polls.
CHETRY: So even the - for the Republicans, the number one call they're getting is I haven't had a job in a year. What do I do?
ROMANS: Every one of these offices overwhelmed by you've got to help me. What are you doing to help me? But (INAUDIBLE) a Republican says, look, this is the last time. We're going to extend these unemployment benefits, but this has got to be the last time. It's three times now.
ROBERTS: You've got a Romans' Numeral this morning?
ROMANS: I do. It's 10, and it's 10 percent, and I think you guys are going to get this one.
CHETRY: When the unemployment numbers come out tomorrow, chances are we're going to be in double-digit unemployment?
ROMANS: We could see 10 percent unemployment if not tomorrow, then very, very soon, and that's why your Congress people and your senators are doing all of these things I just told you about. They're trying to blunt the pain of what is very clearly a difficult situation for people.
So a day ahead of what could be a 10 percent unemployment rate, you're going to - we could see the House vote on this today.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans, "Minding Your Business" this morning. Thanks so much.
David Plouffe, the former campaign manager for then senator and candidate Barack Obama has got a new book out. It's coming out on the one-year anniversary of President Obama's election. It's called "The Audacity to Win." It's a behind-the-scenes look at the campaign, one of the most successful campaigns in history.
We'll talk to him about some of the interesting behind-the-scenes notations that he's got in the book as well as what he thinks the administration is doing these days. Is it going as well as it was during the campaign? We'll talk to David, coming right up.
It's coming up on 23 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
We literally eat the fruits of their labor - immigrants who do the dirty work for farmers that many Americans wouldn't do or don't do at full speed.
CHETRY: This morning in an "AM Original" report, our Jason Carroll found out that a new focus on the people who hire illegal immigrants is actually threatening to put some farms out of business.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're the backbone of the agriculture industry, workers toiling in apple orchards like this one in Tacoma (ph), Washington, climbing, picking, bagging thousands of apples on this chilly morning, earning little more than minimum wage.
The orchard's owner, Rob Valicoff, oversees all 1,200 acres.
ROB VALICOFF, FARMER: Come on, guys. We don't need to pick this green crap. Noel (ph). I guess I'm done ranting and raving.
CARROLL: Done ranting? Not for a minute.
CARROLL (on camera): And you can't find domestic workers or U.S. citizens to come out and do this work?
VALICOFF: No. We've had some out here. They just don't last.
CARROLL (voice-over): Valicoff says he relies on migrant workers, many of whom come from Mexico. He checks their paperwork, but that's no guarantee they're here legally. He suspects up to 70 percent of his workforce may not be legal, and he says he's not alone.
VALICOFF: Do you think on the farms this size in the state of Washington that I'm the only farm that doesn't have anybody here that's illegally here? We all have them. We don't know who they are, because we're not - we can't by law ask them, are you a legal worker? Are you a legal citizen?
CARROLL: Immigration and Customs Enforcement Chief John Morton says the agency has shifted under the Obama administration, the focus not just on workers here illegally but on the employers who hire them.
But in an interview this past August, Morton told me the agency still wants to work with employers trying to do the right thing.
JOHN MORTON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: The only way we're going to make headway is to enter into a - a focused partnership with employers and so there is going to be a bit of a carrot and a bit of a stick.
VALICOFF: All these apples on the ground.
CARROLL: Valicoff knows agriculture and wonders where's the carrot? As for the stick, he's facing thousands of dollars in fines for his workers' documents not being in order.
VALICOFF: Very frustrating. Very.
CARROLL: Though not required, ICE says employers like Valicoff should use their system called E-verify to validate a worker's social security number. However, immigration attorney Tom Roach says ICE doesn't require E-verify because they know the reality of the workforce.
TOM ROACH, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: If E-verify was required, the farmers in America would go broke because they would find out that 70 percent of their farm workers are illegal, period.
CARROLL: Valicoff doesn't think E-verify is the answer for farmers either. He says immigration reform is.
CARROLL (on camera): And in the meantime?
VALICOFF: Same old, same old. Look the other way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says they've been holding roundtable discussions around the country for several months with law enforcement and officials who work along the border to hear their ideas for immigration reform. The president wants to see some movement on reform on the beginning of next year, but you hear from the farmers there if they don't get the reform that they think that they need, it's just going to be turn the other way and do what they have do.
CHETRY: All right. And you hear it in New York City as well that if we really crack down as much as they say on people hiring illegals, that, you know, we - we'll be in a standstill.
CARROLL: And you hear it not just in the farming industry but in the restaurant industry as well, and so many of these industries, the garment industry - you know, this is what these people are looking for. They're looking for immigration reform and they feel like their businesses will go under if someone does not find a way to make some of these people who are here working or undocumented and get them into some sort of legal status.
CHETRY: A good piece, Jason. Thanks.
CARROLL: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, right now we're coming up to the bottom of the hour. Check our top stories this morning, the United Nations says it's temporarily relocating about 600 of its people on the ground in Afghanistan. This news comes after a deadly siege by Taliban gunmen killed five UN workers last week in Kabul. Hundreds of nonessential staffers will also be moved to locations outside of the country for up to five weeks.
A lobbying group - a powerful one at that - is set to endorse Democratic plans for health care overhaul. This morning, the AARP is expected to announce its support for the final version of a health care reform bill and House Democrats are preparing to take to the House floor. It includes a government-run public option to compete with private insurers. Lawmakers could vote on this bill as early as the weekend.
And if you're looking to buy a smartphone out of (ph) Verizon Network anytime soon, make sure that you like it before you sign a contract. Starting November 15, Verizon is doubling its early termination fee. It will cost $350 to cancel a contract. Verizon says it decided to raise those fees because its highest end phones and small wireless laptops are getting more expensive - John.
ROBERTS: It's been a year since Barack Obama wrote a massive grassroots wave of support right to Pennsylvania Avenue. One man who helped engineer that history-making run for the White House is our next guest -- David Plouffe. He managed the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign. And he's here to talk about his new book, "The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory."
An interesting book. I've been flipping through it for the past few days. A lot of stuff inside the campaign that, you know, nobody really knew about. Some interesting little anecdotes. We'll get to those in just a second, but I want to ask you about the vision of the campaign versus what's happened since.
And Arianna Huffington talked to you about the book recently, wrote this in a recent column. She says that the book comes a year after the historic election of '08. She says, "A lot has happened in that year, as the audacity of winning has given way to the timidity of governing."
You are obviously happy with the campaign. Are you happy with what's happened since?
DAVID PLOUFFE, AUTHOR, "THE AUDACITY TO WIN": Yes, and I posted about 15 minutes after I saw that, a response to Arianna.
Listen, change is hard, obviously. But I think changing and strengthening our relationships around the world, we've made huge progress on that. Trying to make the executive branch more transparent, rebuilding trust. And trying to both rebuild the economy in the short-term and as well as the long-term things, like energy and health care and education reform we need to do. Down payment on all that, made a lot of progress. A lot of -- more work still to do.
ROBERTS: And people talk about whether he has bitten off more than he can chew. Is he trying to do too much at once? What do you think?
PLOUFFE: I don't think we can afford not to. We obviously have an economy that is facing unparalleled problems, and he has done a remarkable job to get us back to growth. But we have too many people who can't find work. He's focused on that every day. But energy and health care, if we don't fix these two things, we're going to struggle for the decades to come.
ROBERTS: Well, it comes a year after the -- year after the election and on the same time as the off-year elections in which the Democrats lost the governorships in both Virginia and New Jersey. Now they did follow recent historic trends. Virginia since 1977, New Jersey since 1989. But you run on this idea of change, change that people can believe in. You promise all of this stuff. It's got to hurt when you lose a couple of those states in the first year.
PLOUFFE: Well, listen, we had a couple of wins. Charlotte *, the big congressional race in New York. There were some cyclical things that turned in Virginia and New Jersey. I think there tends to be a lot of hyperventilating and I think over reading of these. We'll see.
There's about 20 like that between now and next November. So I think we ought to -- what the president is focused on is actually not really politics. It is just trying to make progress. And Washington is obviously resistant to change, but I think we made remarkable progress.
ROBERTS: Still got to hurt a little bit.
PLOUFFE: Listen, you are going to win some elections, you are going to lose some elections.
ROBERTS: Let's get to the book, and what's inside of it. One of the most fascinating things that for people at home will be just how seriously Hillary Clinton was considered for the vice presidential slot. You write in the book, you say, the president, then candidate was talking about the potential for Hillary Clinton as vice president. He said, quote, "I still think Hillary has a lot of what I'm looking for in a V.P., he said to us. Smarts, disciplined, steadfastness. I think Bill may be too big a complication. If I picked her, my concern is that there would be more than two of us in this relationship."
If it wasn't for Bill Clinton, might she be vice president?
PLOUFFE: No. That was one factor, obviously. What I wanted to do there was kind of mythology during the campaign that, you know, he didn't treat her very seriously as a potential V.P. He did. I think the evidence of that is he picked her to be secretary of state. I think he settled on a choice Joe Biden who is an enormous asset in the campaign, more importantly an enormous asset today as his most important counselor in the White House.
ROBERTS: So he was considering her for reasons other than the fact that she was just the running mate and how this might look politically -- oh, not the running mate, but she was the opponent in the primaries, how this might look politically if he didn't offer her the job or at least seriously consider her. She did have qualifications that he thought would be good in a vice president.
PLOUFFE: He really did. And I think he handled this right, which is the campaign was secondary. He thought, OK, If I'm lucky enough to win the White House, who do I want by my side. And, you know, from an international set of skills she has, ability to work with Congress, you know, great skill and intellect, she had it all.
ROBERTS: So, it went to Joe Biden. Joe Biden without some serious consideration. You write about the first meeting with then Senator Biden. You said, quote, "The first meeting started with Biden launching into a nearly 20-minute monologue, which he talked about anything from his qualifications to how he'd been top dog for 36 years." You say, "Ax, which David Axelrod and I couldn't get a word in edgewise. It confirmed what we suspected. This dog could not be taught new tricks."
You go on to say that you didn't want the president coming back to you in 2010 saying, so tell me, why was this idea of getting Biden on the ticket a good idea?
How serious were the reservations about the fact that he had been his own man, you know, he's outspoken, has a tendency sometimes to go outside the lines. PLOUFFE: Well, you know, his authenticity really appealed to me in all of this. He is who he is. And we really like who he is and still do. And, you know, one of the more enjoyable parts of the campaign was dealing with him, because he's just out there, he's very authentic. And, you know, compared to Palin, you know, she got a lot more attention, but it became kind of a fascination. But Joe Biden each and every day was a huge asset to us in the campaign, which I write about in the book.
ROBERTS: Yes. You write about Sarah Palin, you write about Reverend Wright, the speech on race. You also talk about the famous Bittergate statement that the president talked about when he was at that fund-raiser in San Francisco, where he said that people get bitter, they cling to guns and religion.
You say in the book, quote, "I couldn't imagine a worse context for him to have made such bone-headed comments standing in a room full of wealthy donors in San Francisco, describing the setting, it really couldn't sound worse."
Hillary Clinton got a lot of ammunition out of that. And you suggest in the book that you were concerned that, is this going to be fatal?
PLOUFFE: Well, I think what -- it is interesting. You know, the campaign had been long enough at that point. The people processed it, and a lot of people didn't like that statement, but didn't really square with Barack Obama.
ROBERTS: But you were at the airport in Pittsburgh overhearing some conversations at a Chillies Restaurant, a couple of guys who are watching the Penguins game. One said, I don't think I like this guy anymore. The other guy said, I think I will give him a chance. And that was when you thought maybe we can survive this?
PLOUFFE: Yes. And that was during a rough part of the campaign. What's fascinating thing about the book is the primary had so many arcs, highs and lows for both of us. And that was a moment where obviously we were struggling a little bit. But the president really, listen, we had our worst moments -- losing New Hampshire, dealing with Wright, bitter. He kind of carried us through. He's got amazing leadership skills that I think come through in the book.
ROBERTS: Well, it is a fascinating book. A great read.
David Plouffe, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for coming in.
PLOUFFE: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: By the way to read an excerpt from David Plouffe's new book, go to our blog at CNN.com/AMFIX - Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Still ahead, Thelma Gutierrez has the story of an Iraq veteran's wife who is now facing deportation. Not because of anything she did, but because she was brought to the country illegally when she was a small child. Is there any hope for this family? We are going to find out.
It's 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
He's an Iraq war veteran and now on the frontlines of a new battle to stop his wife's deportation. U.S. Army specialist Jack Barrios is just one of hundreds of service members trying to legalize their spouses. The tough question -- should this even be an issue if you risk your life for your country?
Thelma Gutierrez has more in our "A.M. Original."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. Army Specialist Jack Barrios fought in Iraq. He says he is a proud American from a military family with a strong tradition of sacrifice.
(on camera): You've got seven members of your family who are in the Armed Forces?
SPC. JACK BARRIOS, ARMY RESERVIST: Right. Three have been to Iraq. Some of us twice.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Now that he's home, Barrios says he is fighting a second battle with his own government to keep his family together.
Jack's wife, Frances, was brought to the U.S. illegally by her parents. Now she faces deportation, even though she's married to a United States citizen.
(on camera): If your wife is deported back to Guatemala, what will that do to you?
BARRIOS: It will destroy me -- physically, mentally, spiritually, because she's my soul mate. She's all I've got. She is my best friend, mother to my kids. But Mark Kerkorian with the Center for Immigration Studies who lobbies for tougher laws against illegal immigrants says undocumented military spouses shouldn't automatically be granted legal status.
MARK KERKORIAN, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: What you are talking about is an amnesty for illegal immigrants who have a relative in the Armed Forces. And that's just -- that's outrageous.
JESSICA DOMINGUEZ, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: Are you grateful that some of us out there fighting for your rights, that someone is out there protecting our nation?
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Immigration attorney Jessica Dominguez says families like the Barrios are in a tough spot. There are no special laws for military spouses who are undocumented. Jack worries about supporting his family. Before dawn, he leaves for his first job as a mail sorter. Then he's off to a full-time job at an auto parts store. To complicate matters, Jack is being treated for post- traumatic stress disorder. Even so, as a reservist it's possible he could be called up again for duty.
(on camera): If you are deployed and you are deported, have you thought about what you are going to do with your children
FRANCIS BARRIOS, FACING DEPORTATION: I hate thinking about it, but I guess I have to. It's really hard and it's just painful. It's really painful.
BARRIOS: It kills me inside. She suffers a lot. She's scared going to her country that she doesn't know.
GUTIERREZ: Next month, an immigration judge will hear their case. And decide whether Francis will be able to stay with her family.
BARRIOS: I ask you, Mr. President...
GUTIERREZ: Jack making his appeal to his commander-in-chief, and says he will fight for his family as hard as he fought for his country.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Van Nuys, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Well, we've got a mixture of bad weather heading into the northeast. Rain, even snow that could cause some travel delays. Reynolds Wolf is in for Rob today. He's got the latest weather from the weather center coming up right after the break.
It's 43 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning, where lady liberty is giving a big salute to the Yankees. Oh yes, we are happy. We have the Yankees. Oh yes, we are happy.
Clearly, a city of champions today. The Yankees won the world series last night. 45 right now going up to a high of 54. Rain in the forecast a little bit later on today. And of course, as always in New York, even though you have a great baseball team, the transportation system is -- and somebody sneezes and that amount of moisture will delay things at LaGuardia Airport. Reynolds Wolf checking the forecast for us this morning. Reynolds, what are we in for today?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are looking at an area of low pressure (INAUDIBLE) off the Eastern half of the Great Lakes. That could give you some rain showers and at the same time maybe a little bit of snowfall. Now, the snow is not going to be particularly heavy especially in places like parts of I-81 near Rochester and Syracuse, even.
You might some blowing snow, though. If you happen to be in a high- profile vehicle, we're talking the tractor-trailer, maybe Winnebago, that kind of thing, you might have some issues. But in speaking of wind and travel delays, looks like there some real delays may take place right along outer banks of North Carolina. One of the reasons why, we have wind spinning counter-clockwise around this low, clockwise around this high, clinging at tight pressure gradient.
What we could see is some strong wind gusts there. Potential delays in the Carolinas back into Atlanta, maybe later on today. Sky conditions are pretty nice there. When you get across the nation's midsection, very dry for the Central Plains. It's been back out to the California from about San Francisco to Northward and Portland and Seattle. Could see scattered showers and maybe some delays there later on to the day.
Now, in terms of temperatures, very quickly, going up to 58 degrees in Washington D.C., 52 in New York, 65 in Atlanta. Summer still seems to hold in the part of Phoenix where 92 degrees will be the expected high for the today. If you want to talk about things heating up, take a look at this. Back in parts of the Caribbean. We are talking about a big storm.
This happens to be tropical storm Ida. Right now, winds are at 70 gusting to 85, but the path brings it right -- very close as we get into Tuesday. Very close to the Gulf of Mexico with winds at 50 miles an hour as a tropical storm. But a lot can change, John and Kiran, between now and next week. We will watch it carefully. Of course, we are at CNN. We are your hurricane headquarters. Let's send it back to you.
ROBERTS: All right. Reynolds, thanks so much for that.
She shown her medal as one of the TV's iron chefs. Cat Cora is a foody who feels more like a roadie with all the time she spends travel.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right. So, how does she manage to stay active and to eat healthy on the road? The competitive chef is the subject of our "Road Warriors Profile."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAT CORA, FIRST FEMALE IRON CHEF: I'm a mom, I'm an iron chef, I'm a restaurateur, and I'm a wife. I'm on the road 200-plus days of the year. Being an iron chef is intense. It is not easy being on the road especially when you just had a baby. We, definitely, are calling constantly, in touch. Sending lots of pictures through iPhone.
After the bedtime, no matter what city I'm in, I'm calling home and helping tuck my kids in bed. My strategy for jet lag is the gym because that really refreshes me. There is nothing that is going to make you crankier than being delay on a flight and not having something good to eat. Being a chef and being a foody always has almonds, pretzels, pieces of fruits, banana, orange, grapes. I pick restaurants usually by what new and exciting; chef buddies that always hook me up so I go visit them.
I'm Cat Cora. Remember, keep cooking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Good thing to take you own food on the road just like that because how many times do you sit on an airplane and say would you like the peanuts or do you want...
CHETRY: I know, right
ROBERTS: What a meal. I'm so hungry here.
CHETRY: I carry beef jerky with me. I don't think the people that sit next to me appreciate it.
ROBERTS: Yes, you open up the peppered beef jerky to go. Can somebody...
CHETRY: I know, OK, sorry. But, it is healthier on the road than cookies.
ROBERTS: If you like salt. Good stuff.
CHETRY: Yummy. I love Cat Cora, by the way. She is a great iron chef. Good for her. Still ahead, we're talking about swine flu. As we know, we haven't been able to get as much of this vaccine out there. How about the troops? You want them to be able to make sure they are immune especially if they're going to be in places where there are more vulnerable to getting it, as we know. Our Anderson Cooper and Sanjay both got swine flu in Afghanistan. We're going to talking about that still head.
ROBERTS: Yes. And our fourth installment of our special series this week, the presidential brain trust. We talked to a person who probably knows Barack and Michelle Obama better than anybody. Their closer adviser and confidant, Valerie Jarrett. That's all ahead. Nine minutes now to the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Six minutes down at the top of the hour. If you like the new cnn.com, you are going to love this. This morning, we are unveiling a brand-new Web site, cnnchallenge.com.
CHETRY: This is really fun, actually. It is for all the news junkies out there to see how much news you are actually watching. What are your, you know -- What's your knowledge? How does it stack up? You can compete against yourself, your friends or others from around the word. And we have all of our anchors lined up here. Three rounds of news trivia. Five questions per round.
ROBERTS: And you get to pick your favorite CNN news anchor as your host for the challenge. Everybody is here. For example, if you want to pick Kiran... CHETRY: I have an advantage. I'm on the air earlier than most of these other anchors, so I have been chugging red bull since 3:00 a.m. Pick me.
ROBERTS: It is like the last thing that you would think she would ever need is a can of red bull.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: We get up pretty early. Let's see what John says. Pick him as your host.
ROBERTS: You know, I used to be a VJ years ago. I have some sweet skills. I can use you.
CHETRY: All right, there we go. Oops.
ROBERTS: Put him back. Go away. Oh, no. Now we have done it. We double tapped him. just go to the next screen.
CHETRY: Can we tap -- there we go.
ROBERTS: Happening now. You picking me to host your quiz. All right. So, let's say we go neutral and we pick Wolf Blitzer for the quiz. How does it all work?
CHETRY: Begin here. And Wolf is now your host. And here's the first question. Who do the Southern Christian leadership conference elect as its first female president? -- John
ROBERTS: You got 26 seconds left. Oh, there you go.
CHETRY: We are right. Going to the next question.
ROBERTS: Southern Christian Leadership Council was co-founded by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. So, next question. Here we go. Lot of fun. What company filed for the fifth-largest bankruptcy in U.S. history? If you were watching Christine Romans the other day you know the answer to this question, CIT. All right. On to the next question.
CHETRY: Okay, here it is. President Obama will lift a ban on the entry into the U.S. for people infected with HIV/AIDS. When was this ban enacted? 1987.
ROBERTS: There you go. Another correct answer. We're doing well so far. You drink lots of Red Bull.
CHETRY: Exactly. Also U.S. officials agreed to re-establish a peace corps program after a 15-year absence in which country? let's take a look, let's take a look. Which we try.
ROBERTS: You know which one. Sierra Leone. There you go. All right. We are doing well here today. So, we got to do a little faster because I think the faster you do it the better your points are. What cause the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge to close for almost a week? We know that one.
CHETRY: Pieces of steel.
ROBERTS: Pieces of steel the answer. Where we go? And now, we're on the round two. Here we go.
Now, that's it. OK. Go on to round two.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": See, picking me was a wise move. Look at that score. Wow. Okay. Ready for round two?
ROBERTS: There you go. Picking wolf was a wise move. He was a lot of help during that whole thing.
CHETRY: Yes, right. No, but it is pretty cool. And we have a lightning round. We are going to show you a couple more neat little programs that this has. And we're going to pick somebody else in the next hour.
ROBERTS: Right. It's the cnnchallenge.com. Try it all out for yourself. It is an awful lot of fun. You see how much you know about the news and how closely you have been watching.
The White House is saying that, you know, the results of the off-year election, not too bad. But the President says he wasn't even watching. He was watching a basketball game, but is the white house in denial? We are live with the all the big stories coming your way in 90 seconds. Stay with us.
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