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American Morning
Republican Wins Raise Questions about Independents, Democrats; H1N1 Vaccine Deliveries Still Delayed, Even for Military; An Inside Focus on Valerie Jarrett
Aired November 05, 2009 - 6:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. A minute before the top of the hour. It's 6:59 Eastern Standard Time on this Thursday, November 5. Thanks for joining us in the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We have a lot of big stories we're breaking down for you this morning. First, the White House playing down a disappointing election night. Claiming that Republican games are not a reflection on the President or his popularity. But, some Democrats are showing signs of worry a little bit concerned about the party's priorities and wants dependable independent voters who are now shifting to the GOP.
ROBERTS: As Americans wait in line to across the country to get the H1N1 vaccine, the Pentagon has finally started shipping the vaccine to the frontlines but not enough of it. What happens if swine flu gets out of control among the troops? We are live at the Pentagon for answers this morning.
CHETRY: She's known the first family for years. A close friend and a confidant to the President of the United States. In part four of our special series, the presidential brain trust, we look at the relationship between President Obama and his Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett.
ROBERTS: But first this hour, political heartburn. After two big election night losses in New Jersey and Virginia, some Democrats are beginning to wonder if their party is out of step with the American people.
Republicans won in both states Tuesday night thanks in large part to independent voters, the same independent voters who helped sweep Barack Obama into the White House just one year ago.
Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House, and Suzanne, despite being second-guessed by some Democrats, the administration seems determined to stay the course saying no big deal.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely they are determined to stay the course. The reason why, John, is despite the fact that there are some Democratic law makers that are urging privately and publicly for this White House to rejigger the agenda, focus on more on creating jobs and less on reforming health care and climate change, White House aides insist that this is all related, and they are also categorically pushing back hard on this idea that those Republican wins referendum on this president's agenda.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): White House strategy -- in part if you can't beat them, join them. Praise the Republican for being just like you. This about Virginia's GOP winner for governor Bob McDonnell.
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He ran a campaign a lot like Barack Obama did in 2008 and that was to appeal to the notion that you can bring people together.
MALVEAUX: Polls show people still like President Obama personally but are worried about his economic policies. That's what Republicans are seizing on.
MICHAEL STEELE, RNC CHAIRMAN: America does want the federal governor running its health care. America doesn't want the federal government buying its cars for it and telling it what cars to drive. America doesn't want the federal government running its banks.
MALVEAUX: Poll watchers are seizing on a swing by independent voters. They put President Obama in office but went for Republican by a two to one margin Tuesday. That could give moderate Democrats in Congress cold feet when it comes to towing the administration line.
But the White House says not to worry.
DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISOR: They are going to look at the congressional race that took place yesterday in upstate New York, which was the only national race of consequence.
Reporter: Of course, the Democrats won that race, proving again Washington runs on a constant spin cycle.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The off years in New Jersey and Virginia often turn out to go opposite from the year before, and I wouldn't read too much into it. Of course, if it had gone differently I would have read a lot into it.
MALVEAUX: And it is always good to get ahead of bad news, especially when it has to do with the issue voters are most worried about.
GIBBS: The White House has said for quite some time that 10 percent unemployment is a very real concern and probably one that will hit soon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And John, how soon are we talking about? About 26 hours or so, that's when those new jobs numbers will come out tomorrow about October. It is not considered to be good news. They are thinking it could hit that 10 percent mark.
What is the White House doing? They are putting the president out to try to show in real ways that they are creating jobs. I was just in Madison, Wisconsin, yesterday with the president who was at Wright Middle School, and he was talking about the fact about 10,000 or so jobs saved or created very much in the education sector, those teachers there, that that is one way that this economic recovery is really making a difference in people's lives.
But John, that is the case, a difficult case, the this White House continues to have to make -- John.
ROBERTS: Yes, and no doubt the Republicans are going to try to capitalize as much as they can on the results for Tuesday night as well.
Suzanne Malveaux for us at the White House this morning. Suzanne, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Thanks, Suzanne.
Also new this morning, the president is turning his attention back to health care reform. And sources are telling the Associated Press that President Obama plans to meet with lawmakers on the Hill tomorrow where he will make a final pitch for Democratic health care reform bill that could make it to the House floor, they are hoping by the weekend.
ROBERTS: Police have identified the first of 11 bodies found at the home of convicted sex offender -- 52-year-old Tonia Carmichael disappeared last year. Her car was found a mile from Anthony Sowell's home.
Sowell is being held without bond. He faces five counts of aggravated murder, rape, felonious assault and kidnapping.
CHETRY: Swine flu worries have sparked the largest ever demand for regular flu shots. Now there are fears there won't be enough of regular flu shots either.
The CDC says it expects 114 million doses of seasonal vaccine to be available by the end of the year, a million more than last year's record. But reports say anywhere from 85 million to 90 million doses have already been shipped, and the flu season has barely even started.
Those on the frontlines are first in line for the H1N1 vaccine that began arriving for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq this week. But there's still not enough, and the Pentagon is now taking heat for a plan to give some terror suspect the shot.
Our Barbara Starr has the latest developments from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Americans wait in lines across the country to get the H1N1 vaccine, the Pentagon this week finally began shipping limited vaccine supplies to troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Under Pentagon guidelines, tens of thousands of troops on the frontline and those headed to war are the top military priority to receive the vaccine. Even so, supplies are severely limited. Only half of what is needed is now on the way.
GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: Right now, we don't have enough to even take care of all of them.
STARR: The Pentagon is defending plans to offer the vaccine to detainees at Guantanamo Bay as well as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. Prisoners are considered to be high risk but a lower military priority than troops, health care workers, and civilian personnel.
STARR (on camera): I haven't heard an assurance that detainees will get it after civilians in this country.
MORRELL: But Barbara, you are presuming that I have the knowledge or the wherewithal to tell you the protocols that are being used for the general population here. All I can do is speak to what the priorities are in this department.
STARR (voice-over): Troops at home also a priority because they will be called upon to help in towns across the country if the crisis grows. The military's top homeland defense commander has teams that could move it into action.
GEN. GENE RENUART, COMMANDER, U.S. NORTHERN COMMAND: And it would be to provide things like potentially logistics movement of supplies, maybe additional health care providers that could assist in immunization.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Why is this so important for the troops on the frontlines in Afghanistan and Iraq here? Well, of course, they live in very close quarters, and hygiene is really tough when you are out on the frontlines -- you know, to be serious, you can't exactly stop in the middle of a gun battle and use hand sanitizers.
So this is a real priority, to get this vaccine to the troops out there fighting, because there's a good deal of concern if the flu has an outbreak with them, it could really sweep through the ranks -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Absolutely. You think that would be front and center besides the biggest health risk here back at home. And we saw it firsthand, our own Sanjay Gupta when he was reporting from Afghanistan, he got the swine flu.
STARR: Absolutely. And having been to Afghanistan several times, what I would tell you these troops are living in not the most hygienic of circumstances, the dirt, the dust, being out on the roads in these very remote areas. So that's the concern there.
Already, you know, they can be at risk for getting the regular flu or other respiratory diseases. So they really want to get the vaccine there. And right now only half is barely on the way to the region of what they need in Iraq and Afghanistan -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Barbara Starr for us this morning. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Other stories we are tracking for this morning. Federal officials are blasting Toyota for giving consumers, quote, "inaccurate and misleading information." The car maker is recalling nearly 4 million vehicles because accelerators can get stuck to the floor mats.
In a letter to the customers, Toyota quoted government officials, saying, "There is no defect if the car and floor mat are compatible and properly secure." But government safety officials say they are being misquoted, adding that the cars do have a real defect and that those floor mats simply cannot be secured at all.
CHETRY: The house voting to immediately slap new rules on credit card companies that would freeze rates and fees and impose new rules that aren't set to take effect until February. Lawmakers say they have gotten all kinds of complaints from people who have seen their fees and rates skyrocket.
ROBERTS: And disgraced evangelical pastor Ted Haggard says he is ready to preach again. Haggard told the "Gazette" in Colorado Springs he is holding a small prayer meeting in his home and that it's correct to call it a church.
Haggard resigned from the Denver-based New Life megachurch in 2006 after a sex scandal with a male prostitute was uncovered.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: World champions for the 27th time!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There you go. It may be the 27th time for them, but it was the first time at the new Yankees stadium. The Yankees brought home a win last night taking the World Series title from the Phillies in six games.
From the South Bronx to Times Square all the way to Tokyo, fans were filling the streets soaking in the win, maybe a little champagne as well. Millions were watching in Japan as Hideki Matsui, the man they know as "Godzilla," had a monster game. He actually earned MVP honors for the series.
ROBERTS: The Yankees win. The Yankees win.
How were things in the Chetry household last night? Somber? You had the blinds all pulled down and lights turned down low?
CHETRY: Exactly. Exactly. You know, I was taking a vow of silence during the game. I'm free to speak now. So things are changing.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Oh, well. There's always next year, or the year after that, or the year after that as well.
Independent voters, they went the other way in Tuesday's election. President Obama had narrowly split them in states like Virginia with John McCain, but wow, they went overwhelmingly Republican on Tuesday night.
What's going on? What are independent voters thinking about now? We will talk to a couple of them coming up.
It's ten minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
He is her friend, her boss, and her president. In our special series, "The Presidential Brain Trust," an in-depth look at the relationship between President Obama and his senior adviser Valerie Jarrett is just ahead.
CHETRY: Other stories new this morning -- we are getting another snapshot of the country's overall economic health. This morning major retail chains are reporting on their October jobs sales, and those figures are expected to show a second straight monthly increase after more than a year of declines.
So that could also be a good omen for the upcoming holiday shopping season.
ROBERTS: A week before his scheduled execution, attorneys for Beltway sniper John Allen Mohammed have released a letter in which Mohammed proclaims his innocence. It was written May of last year and made public after Mohammed failed to get a stay of execution.
The 2002 attacks in the Washington, D.C. area, killed ten people. Jeanne Meserve spoke exclusively with Mohammed's ex-wife. We're going to have her report later on this hour.
CHETRY: The White House says it is business as usual today, shrugging off Democratic losses in Virginia and New Jersey for the governors races there, saying they are not a reflection on the president or the party and will not change the administration's agenda moving forward.
But there are some in the Democratic Party that are a little bit worried about it and think that it may be a wakeup call, a reminder that the party is losing the support of independent voters who helped put them in the White House a year ago.
Here to help us break it all down is Jennifer Donahue, political analyst and a contributor to the "Huffington Post." She joins us from Boston this morning. Jennifer, good to have you with us.
JENNIFER DONAHUE, "HUFFINGTON POST" CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
CHETRY: Good morning. And also Patricia Murphy, a columnist at politicsdaily.com and founder of Citizen Jane Politics in Washington. Good to have you as well with us, Patricia.
PATRICIA MURPHY, COLUMNIST, POLITCSDAILY.COM: Good morning.
CHETRY: Well, let me start with you, Jennifer. There's a lot of focus on these independent voters lately. These are the people who put President Obama in office a year ago and they went for Republicans by a pretty big margin, two to one, we saw both in Virginia and in New Jersey. So, what happened?
DONAHUE: What happened is that Obama and his administration have not followed up with the people and the independents that elected them a year ago. There has been no follow up. There was a movement that's gone stale, and it wasn't able to be capitalized on by Corzine, by Deeds. I think except for in New York 23rd, what we're seeing is people don't believe change has occurred and they're going to change and change and change until they see results. It's like the FedEx truck. If you pay extra money, and they don't deliver it the next day, you're not going to pay the money.
People don't feel the deliverable goods are coming through. Health care is taking too long. People are impatient. One in six realistically don't have health care because unemployment is more than 10 percent. If you look at part-time workers without health care...
CHETRY: Right.
DONAHUE: ... this is a devastating fact for Americans, and they are desperate.
CHETRY: So that's very interesting that you bring that up, and I'd like to talk to you about it as well, Patricia, the notion that change isn't happening fast enough. But at the same time, there's also some debate about whether these are really the same voters.
Yes, they're independent but what we saw was perhaps a heavier turnout among conservative leaning independents and not those that tended to vote for Obama. What drove certain people to the polls and perhaps kept others home this time around?
MURPHY: Well, I think a lot of what drives people to the polls during an off-year election like we had on Tuesday is anger and frustration and feeling like the government isn't doing, again, like Jennifer said what the government said it was going to do. In addition to health care, President Obama also said that he would turn the economy around. That hasn't happened as quickly as people would like.
People are very restless. And particularly among independents who are fiscally conservative, there is so much government spending, so much money going out the door. In a lot of ways, they were going to the polls. These two governor races aren't perfectly indicative but voters have been going to the polls and saying let's just put the brakes on this. Let's stop what's going on. Let's kind of put the brakes on all of this government spending.
And I think as important as these two races were in their own states, the reason this has national implications is because of the 2010 elections coming up. Moderate Democrats on the hill, I talked to some of them yesterday, very, very nervous. This will have implications nationally.
CHETRY: All right. Well, you're saying that moderate Democrats were nervous. But, Jennifer, President Obama all but ignored the election results. According to the White House, they said he didn't watch the returns. He was watching basketball on Tuesday night.
What do you make of that? Should he be more concerned? Should the administration be more concerned right now?
DONAHUE: I think that the statements they're making are irresponsible to say the president is watching basketball when people in his party are losing seats is irresponsible. I think the president is sending a very mixed message to America when health care was his promise and yet, the day after the election, education was his message.
He promised energy jobs, green jobs, and improving economy through stimulus spending. The stimulus money has gone to municipalities, can't be felt by most Americans. And that's not what he promised.
I'm not saying that he's doing a terrible job. I'm saying he's not doing what he promised. And I think Americans will hold him accountable and Democrats accountable until the White House gets ahead of that curve and really hears those voters again. They need to hear what Americans want and whichever party hears it louder, whichever party understands the pain and expresses that they can deliver on that pain will continue to win.
CHETRY: All right. Well -- and, Patricia, while the House, the Senate may try to get the health care vote to the floor by this weekend, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, has indicated that it might have to wait. That health care reform might be delayed and it might not happen by the year's end. What happens then during the mid- term elections if it appears that the agenda, whether people -- those for it or against it believe that the agenda is stalled?
MURPHY: Well, you may have another turnaround election. We saw this in 2006. We saw the independents leave the Republicans and head towards the Democrats.
They were frustrated again in 2008. They didn't see the change they wanted. Again in 2009, this is a very, very restless bunch of people. They're also not particularly party oriented. So whoever is making promises, whoever is making -- and whoever is able to deliver on those promises especially on the economy, I can't stress it enough they're so fiscally conservative, this bunch of independents.
The government spending is a huge, huge problem for Democrats. Obama's very popular personally. When you get into these polls and you dig into these numbers, his handling of the economy, handling health care, spending, deficit, it's all really bad news for Democrats. You're going to see a different agenda from House and Senate Democrats going forward. Harry Reid is leading that charge.
CHETRY: And, Jennifer, it does sound a little bit like a no-win situation. I mean, at one point, you know, people are saying and Christine Romans just told us that most of the calls congressmen and senators are getting from their constituents, Republican or Democrat, is hey, I have no job. My benefits are running out. I need some help. At the same time people are leery of more government spending. So what's this administration and members of Congress to do?
DONAHUE: Well, that's exactly right. And I think there's a critical factor there which is that Obama for some reason is listening to the split in his own party. He won in the middle. That's where he won, but he's being influenced by the psychology of the far left. It's the thing happening on the Republican side but in terms of Obama, the House schedule is a vote. It should be Obama saying hey, House, schedule a vote. It shouldn't be the House scheduling a vote. Does he want a public option? Does he not?
He's looking equivocating, and the Republicans are stealing the Democratic talking points. Now you hear the Republicans calling for health care. That is a game changer. If the Democrats can't own that issue, all bets are off.
CHETRY: All right.
DONAHUE: And like playing tennis, the middle solves the riddle.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we have to leave it there. I want to thank you for being with us.
I love how we ended on a limerick or a rhyme.
DONAHUE: Do you play tennis?
CHETRY: Yes.
DONAHUE: It's where you win. It's where you win.
CHETRY: You know where I win? I win in the back right quadrant with my backhand.
DONAHUE: You do? Oh, my God. I never want to play you. You'll beat me.
CHETRY: Patricia Murphy, thanks for joining us.
MURPHY: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Wow. The middle solves the riddle. Interesting. ROBERTS: Valerie Jarrett, she is the closest adviser that the president has probably, knows him and his wife better than I think most anybody in the administration. So what's it like, you know, being a friend to your boss, to your president? We'll find out as we continue our special series, "The Presidential Brain Trust," coming up next.
Twenty-two minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. So what is like when one of your closest friends is also your boss? Oh, and happens to be the president of the United States as well.
Well, that's life for Valerie Jarrett. She's a senior adviser to President Obama. Suzanne Malveaux has part of our series, our original A.M. reporting on "The Presidential Brain Trust" featuring Valerie Jarrett.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Valerie Jarrett has called her relationship with the president a mind meld.
VALERIE JARRETT, SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: We're good friends. As you know, Suzanne, we've known each other for a very long time. You get a pretty good sense of them.
MALVEAUX: They met 18 years ago when Barack Obama was a young law professor in Chicago. Jarrett was interviewing his fiancee, the future first lady, Michelle Robinson, for a job in the mayor's office. Obama was making sure Jarrett was on the up and up.
JARRETT: When she was speaking, he would just look at her with this adoring look. But he was really tough on me in the nicest possible way.
MALVEAUX: The three became fast friends. Now, President Obama says he runs every important decision by Jarrett. Trusts her completely. Considers her family.
JARRETT: I hope because, obviously, he would trust me, the way he would a close friend. He knows I have his best interests at heart.
MALVEAUX: She laughs when I suggest perhaps she is his consigliere. She doesn't like talking about herself.
JARRETT: Can you see I'm really kind of uncomfortable with this?
MALVEAUX (on camera): I could see. You're pushing me back here a little.
(voice-over): She prefers to talk about the team and paints a picture of being in the Oval Office with the president. JARRETT: When everyone is done talking, if there have been a couple of people who've been quiet, he'll say, well, Suzanne, what do you think about this issue?
MALVEAUX: She can also read the president's body language when he's heard enough talk.
JARRETT: When he's finished with the debate, then he's finished. Then he's ready to move on.
MALVEAUX: Skeptical newcomers would pull Jarrett aside and ask her for her take.
JARRETT: What did he really mean? I know he said this, but what was he really thinking? And I have such delight in being able to say he meant exactly what he said.
MALVEAUX: Jarrett is a liaison to the business community and conducts outreach with African-Americans. But it's her role as confidant to the president that makes her the ultimate insider. She has the office once used by Karl Rove and the former First Lady Hillary Clinton. She is often the only woman in meetings with the president, but dismisses any talk of tension with the boys, as some of the male power players are referred to in the White House. Jarrett's challenge is separating her friendship with the president from her job.
JARRETT: Over in the Oval Office, I call him Mr. President. And it's very formal. I really try to compartmentalize our friendship and what we do outside of the office from my role as the senior adviser.
MALVEAUX: When they're hanging out, it's as friends, indulging in their favorite pastime.
JARRETT: Well, we like to eat. We have -- he's a very healthy eater. I'm not so much the healthy eater, but we have a lot of wonderful conversations around the dinner table.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And, Kiran, that dinner table that she's talking about obviously, clearly is the one in the residence of the White House which just goes to show how much access that she really has. She also says that these stories about the all-male basketball pickup games being kind of a central point of power in the White House, she calls that bunk. She says the real power obviously comes from the fact that the president gives people substantial responsibilities. Jarrett of all people should know. She's got a ton of responsibility in this White House.
And, Kiran, one thing that makes her also unique is that she's often the only one in the room who also really has a close connection with Michelle and so she is somebody who brings East Wing, West Wing together to make sure that there's a seamless transition in their schedules -- Kiran. CHETRY: Wow. Wow. She certainly does have a difficult job, though. Does she think that she's seen President Obama change since taking office?
MALVEAUX: That's a great question, Kiran, because she has known him obviously for 18 years plus. She says no, he really hasn't changed. The one thing that she really likes about him is that he's grounded, he's steady. She even calls him predictable. And so, she says he hasn't really changed that much since becoming president.
What was fascinating about the interview, Kiran, is that in some ways she has changed. She -- I have known her for a good couple of years through the campaign. We sat down, we've talked on quite a number of occasions, interviews. And she's quite guarded.
And the reason why is because she just doesn't like to talk about herself. She doesn't want to focus on herself. Obviously, a BFF of the president, fiercely loyal to him. She's not going to be spilling the beans, but she was able to give us some insight into being in that room with the president, what their relationship is like and how he deals with other folks.
CHETRY: Very interesting stuff. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning. Thanks.
And tomorrow we're going to be taking a look at Melody Barnes. She's in charge of the president's domestic policy council, helping the White House shapes its message on everything from education, taxes to health care. That's tomorrow and part five of our series, "The Presidential Brain Trust."
Meanwhile, we're coming up to a minute before the bottom of the hour. And here are the top stories.
The Senate has voted to extend jobless benefits for 14 additional weeks, 20 weeks in the states with the highest unemployment rates. Lawmakers also extended and expanded the tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The bill will also give a tax break to small businesses and it now goes back to the House which is expected to quickly approve it and send it to the president to sign.
The United Nations is moving some 600 people out of Afghanistan after last week's deadly Taliban attack on a U.N. guesthouse in Kabul. Five U.N. workers were killed. A spokesman says the 600 nonessential staffers will be temporarily relocated. More secure locations in and outside of Afghanistan for several weeks.
There's new questions this morning about how many of the deals made under the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program or maybe not deals after all.
The Associated Press finding the most common swap (ph) actually involved replacing old four-door Chevy pickups with new ones that only got slightly better gas mileage. The whole idea behind this $3 billion program was to encourage drivers to trade in their gas guzzling vehicles for more fuel-efficient models. The government says it is now investigating those transactions. John.
ROBERTS: Two disturbing cases in the news raise questions about the best way to keep track of paroled sex offenders. In the case of Phillip Garrido, he's accused of holding Jaycee Dugard captive in his backyard for 18 years.
A scathing report by California's inspector general says parole officers had serious lapses in that case. And in the Cleveland case, convicted sex offender, Anthony Sowell, police have now found 11 bodies at his home. What lessons can be learned from all of this?
Paul Callan is a former prosecutor and Andy Kahan is in the department of the Crime Victims' Office in Houston, Texas. He is a former parole officer himself and they both join us this morning.
Paul, let's start with you. So, the Department of Corrections got the scathing report from the inspector general, found in the 123 months that Phillip Garrido was under parole supervision, he was only ever really under supervision for 12 of those months and there were huge lapses, as long as a year where nobody would even come by and visit him. How does that happen?
PAUL CALLAN, NEW YORK CIVIL TRIAL ATTORNEY: Well, I don't know. You know, I think it is really shocking when you look at these cases because these people are registered sex offenders for a reason. We want them to have heightened scrutiny and have the police and law enforcement to be checking up on them.
ROBERTS: He wasn't just a registered sex offender. He was a parolee.
CALLAN: You bet he was. And they have the right and the obligation to inspect and make sure that nothing bad is going on with respect to somebody like this. And they didn't do it. I mean it went on for 18 years - this girl was gone for 18 years. Gave birth to two children and they didn't discover she was living in a shed in his backyard.
You know I think it is a shocking dereliction of duty by parole and probation authorities.
ROBERTS: You know, Andy, some of what we are learning from the inspector general is nothing short of shocking that Garrido was outfitted with the GPS device and it would go off any time he traveled outside of a 25-mile radius of his home. But yet even though he did that several times, nobody did anything. There were times when his GPS device wasn't working at all. How do - you were a former parole officer who supervised sex offenders. How do they have these huge lapses in supervision?
ANDY KAHAN, CRIME VICTIMS DIRECTOR, CITY OF HOUSTON: Well, you know, parole officers are only as good as the management allows them to be. And when you got blatant violations like have been alluded to, I mean, frankly the reality is this guy was only supervised correctly 10 percent of his entire duration. You had GPS violations going off. Just like an alarm system. This guy sent out numerous clues and signals, kind of like the old Batman villain on the TV. Only the system failed to pick up on it.
This report to me was like a giant earthquake and the real question is this report certainly scathed Garrido in how he was supervised and how many other parolees are also in similar situations and how many other victims are being created by a system that apparently cared more about mathematics than public safety?
ROBERTS: Andy, can you imagine a scenario where a parole officer goes to visit the parolee at his home and does not discover that he allegedly has an 18-year-old or a woman in the back who has been in his backyard for years at that point and has a couple of children by him and not discover it?
KAHAN: You know, again, it depends on the officer that is supervising the case. And if you have diligent officers that take that extra step, you also have to have support from the management. When I was a parole officer many, many moons ago, I would uncover numerous violations. But I was basically told at that time that if you report problems, then we have to react. So it is almost like hear no evil and see no evil.
We don't have to do anything and the system, frankly, cared more about keeping people on the streets than sending them back for a violation. It is a real shame that this situation occurred and the real question is what are we going to learn from it? And how many other victims are we going to prevent?
ROBERTS: Paul, it's like the three monkeys with the hands over the eyes, mouth and ears. Well, in terms of what we are learning from this, California corrections officials say they are going to take steps to rectify the problem. Do we have any reason to be reassured here?
CALLAN: You know, I don't know. This - with sex offenders in particular, John, you know, they are four to five times more likely to repeat a sex crime than other categories and offenders. So they are more dangerous to the public, they should be scrutinized more heavily.
I think that you have to create a system where there's accountability where - parole officers, probation officers, and their supervisors, if they're not doing their job, they can be sued. Or they can be disciplined. That's what's going to have to be done and we, of course have to put money into the system as well.
ROBERTS: What about this case, Paul, of Anthony Sowell in Ohio? Ten bodies and a severed head that was found in his home. There had been smell emanating from it. Neighbors thought it was the nearby sausage factory. The sausage factory changed out its equipment. Apparently, authorities made numerous visits to his home. How does this go undiscovered?
CALLAN: Well, here is another one that just defies belief. This guy is a registered sex offender, convicted sex offender. They get a report that a naked woman had fallen from the balcony of his house. They interview her and she says she was using drugs and partying at the guy's house. And then when they go to inspect, they don't find anything wrong.
Now, neighbors had smelled a smell that was the smell apparently of dead bodies emanating from the house for weeks. How do law enforcement authorities not pick up on that? What is going on in Cleveland?
ROBERTS: And what about at the level of supervision with this guy, Sowell, Andy. He was a registered sex offender, he was not a parolee as Garrido was. Is it conceivable that authorities may have missed what was going on allegedly at that house?
KAHAN: Well, the reality is like you alluded to, he was not under supervision. Therefore, law enforcement by statute was only allowed to verify his residence. Unless they had a warrant or probable cause, they had no right to enter into his domicile. Perhaps that's something we need to tweak as far as our statutes go.
Giving law enforcement discretion on high-risk predatory sex offenders like Sowell to at least allow them to investigate their residence and see if everything is on the up and up.
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAN: Let me just add one thing that is probable cause for a search warrant. You go to a judge and say I've got a sex offender. There is a smell of a dead body coming from his house. And by the way, a naked woman fell off of his balcony and she was doing drugs there. Judge, could I get a warrant? I think most judges would give you a warrant. So somebody fell down on the job here.
KAHAN: I agree. Absolutely.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll see what the upshot of all of this is. Andy Kahan, Paul Callan, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for stopping by. Kiran.
KAHAN: You bet.
CHETRY: We're talking about another case, crime case. Remember D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad? Well, his execution is now set for next Tuesday. We are going to talk about who will and who won't be there and what his ex-wife is saying. 37 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Beltway sniper John Allen Muhammad, the man who caused 23 days of fear in a D.C. area during a killing spree back in 2002, is now scheduled to die by lethal injection next week. Now people who were wounded and many relatives who lost loved ones really can't wait for this to happen. But a person who could have been his next victim will not be there.
Our Jeanne Meserve joins us live from Washington now with this CNN exclusive. We are talking about Muhammad's ex-wife. JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Victims and their family, supporters and opponents of the death penalty may all make an appearance for John Muhammad's execution but one key figure intends to miss the final chapter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): The sniper's victims were young and old, male and female with diverse ethnic backgrounds. Many believe John Muhammad targeted this group as a smokescreen to obscure his real mission, to murder his ex-wife, Mildred, and gain custody of their children.
Mildred Muhammad has no question John intended to kill her, but she has no interest in watching him die. Even if given the chance, she will not attend his scheduled execution.
MILDRED MUHAMMAD, EX-WIFE OF CONVICTED SNIPER: I don't want to take my children to see their father die. And I don't need to see John expire like that. I'm done with John. I'm done.
MESERVE: There is absolutely nothing Mildred Muhammad wants to say to her ex-husband as he faces his death.
MUHAMMAD: My feelings detached from John when I asked him for a divorce. They were severed when he told me he was going to kill me.
MESERVE: As this old home video shows, John Muhammad was at times a good father to his three children. His ex-wife's concern right now is only for them.
MUHAMMAD: My children have had a difficult journey in understanding what their father has done. But even through all of that, they still love him. They understand what he did was wrong. They don't condone it.
MESERVE: And that, only that, is when she says makes the execution difficult.
MUHAMMAD: I feel sad for my children, you know. I really do. Because regardless, he's still their father. And they want him to be a part of their life. And that's something they won't be able to have. They have accepted it on one level. But they haven't completely accepted it yet.
They are really OK for now. I know internally they probably are going through their own little struggle. But they haven't expressed it yet. And I don't bring it up unless they do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: John Muhammad Jr. is now in college studying computer information systems but his mother has temporarily taken him out of school, brought him home, to be with her and his younger sisters so that they can support one another in what she suspects will be a most difficult time for her children -- Kiran. CHETRY: I can imagine. It is a sad situation all around. Mildred herself has a book out. What does she say in that?
MESERVE: Yes, it is called "Scared Silent." She talks about that death threat that John Muhammad made when they divorced. She went undercover for a time, even lived with a different name. She was so convinced he was going to come after her. The sniping shootings began, she didn't make any connection until the ATF showed up at her doorstep and told her the sniper was her ex-husband, John Muhammad. She said it made perfect sense to her. Back to you, Kiran.
CHETRY: Unbelievable. Jeanne Meserve for us this morning. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Last year was a big event when we launched the newly revamped cnn.com. Well, this week we are launching an entirely new web site. It's called the "CNN Challenge." And we will tell you what this is all about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Pick me. I'm much better at this sort of thing than Rick Sanchez over there. I'm your guy.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": All right. Let's go. I even trimmed my beard for this. So you better pick me.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Come on. Pick me. Wolf picks the really hard questions. I'm your guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Take the "CNN Challenge" after the break. You are watching the Most News in the Morning. It's 44 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) the "Weakest Link". It's actually way better than that. It's our new Web site.
ROBERTS: What's worse since you were (ph) to phone a friend on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire."
CHETRY: That was fun, too. That was...
ROBERTS: And you were pretty excited about that.
CHETRY: That's airing in January.
ROBERTS: And you did well too, right?
CHETRY: Yes, except for one little question, but we wouldn't talk about that.
This is our CNNChallenge.com and this is a really - if you're a news junkie, you're going to love this.
ROBERTS: Yes. And you can see how your knowledge stacks up, just playing yourself or other people, either, you know, in your neighborhood, your friends or even on the people around the world. We've got a - a really interesting new Web site, very interactive as well.
CHETRY: Yes. It's three rounds of news trivia and you get five questions per round and you get to pick your favorite anchor.
ROBERTS: Yes. I mean, there's everybody here. We - you know, we've got Rick Sanchez in here, Robin Meade, Wolf, Christiane, Soledad and of course we've got Kiran over here.
CHETRY: Hey, choose me. I'm the only anchor to ever have had Richard Simmons kiss their foot on live TV. See that?
ROBERTS: So that would qualify her to lead you...
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: ... through the CNN Quiz.
CHETRY: Let's see what John says when you...
ROBERTS: Pick me. I'm much better at this sort of thing than Rick Sanchez over there. I'm your guy.
I'm sounding a little like Clint Eastwood.
CHETRY: I love it! All right. So what we're going to do is we're going to get it started. You - there...
ROBERTS: I'm going to pick Rick Sanchez.
CHETRY: Yes. What the heck, right? All right. We hit begin.
ROBERTS: This is the Lightning Round, too, this one much more interactive than the other ones. Which head of state recently addressed a joint meeting of Congress? That would be Chancellor Angela Merkel. Let's submit that. Yes! OK.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) and all the time the clock is ticking, so you got to think. What internet company won a $711 million judgment against the Spam King, Sanford Wallace? Here you go.
ROBERTS: Now this one, you've got to actually turn things around. So I think...
CHETRY: And spell it.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Oh, good. It's space - (INAUDIBLE) get the "B" out of there. All right. There you go. Just flip the "K" and I think we've got it. ROBERTS: And in here. (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: They make this hard. Not only do you got to know the answer - oh, there you go.
ROBERTS: American Meb Keflezighi won the New York Marathon this year. When was the last time an American man won the race? Got to do some math here - 27 years ago.
CHETRY: Don't make me do the math. Come on. It's great. All right. I don't think an American has won since this.
ROBERTS: No.
CHETRY: Since this. Since - this?
ROBERTS: That's your choice. Oh!
CHETRY: Thanks, John! Thanks for the help.
ROBERTS: So it wasn't 27 years. What country's McDonalds restaurant shut down because it is too expensive to operate there?
CHETRY: Oh, we know this one. It's Iceland, but what flag? Which is the Icelandic flag?
ROBERTS: Which is the Icelandic flag?
CHETRY: Pick it, John! We're back to (ph) a thousand. Where's Rick Sanchez? I know you're supposed to help us out here.
ROBERTS: Why is the Massachusetts Supreme Court hearing arguments regarding Bristol County's jail?
CHETRY: Oh! Oh, OK. Because, because, because they're having an excessive number of inmates?
ROBERTS: Oh! That was not right.
CHETRY: Where's Rick Sanchez? I thought we're getting help?
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: All right. So...
ROBERTS: 1982. That was 27 years ago.
CHETRY: All right. All right.
ROBERTS: So (INAUDIBLE) said, we had to do the math.
CHETRY: Let's bring in Reynolds, OK? So you see how wonderful we did in the lightning round. I think we need a little bit more Red Bull here. But Reynolds, we have to ask you this. We know you're going to know because you're a big space buff. The name of NASA's new rocket flight tested for the first time on October 28th. What's the name?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Let's take a look. OK. Let's expand this a bit. It is the Aries 1-X, right?
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: Yes. Reynolds, come on.
WOLF: I'm serious (ph).
ROBERTS: We asked you a science question.
WOLF: Yes, but, I mean hey, Richard Simmons didn't kiss my feet.
CHETRY: See that? And you didn't have to decipher the Icelandic flag either.
WOLF: All right. Absolutely. I mean...
ROBERTS: Head to CNNChallenge.com by the way and try it out for yourself. You know, we got to do that. And - and, you know, we're doing remedial math as well.
CHETRY: That's right. It's hard to add this early in the morning.
Hey, Reynolds, finally, as we're coming to the tail end of hurricane season, we've got a hurricane.
WOLF: Yes, I know. I mean, it's been kind of slow going and all of a sudden things starting to heat up once again. We're talking about Ida which a short while ago was a tropical storm, but now we've switched gears. It is now a hurricane. The very latest on that storm. I want to show you the big stuff. And here it is, winds of 75 miles an hour.
Remember, the threshold is going to be right around 74, so once it gets from 73 to 74, it's classified as a Cat 1. That's the latest with this storm. It is gusting at 85. It is moving to the Northwest at 7 miles per hour.
OK, so we got that information. Now the big question is where is this thing going? Well, to give you a better idea where that's expected, we're going to expand this, put this into motion and the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center brings it just to the far east of Nicaragua and Honduras. If it occurs (ph) in that, if that happens and it goes over land, it is expected to weaken because of course it's going to be away from its primary power source, being that warm water of the Caribbean. Now if it goes a little bit farther into land, it's going to interact not just with flat surface, but possibly with some of the mountains, say, in Nicaragua and Honduras and weaken considerably.
Right now, though, it's expected to drop with winds of 30 then restrengthen as it gets back over open water into Sunday, Monday, and then into Tuesday, and here's where it gets interesting, by Tuesday possibly going to the northern half of the Yucatan Peninsula, North of Cancun as a tropical storm with winds of 50 miles per hour. After that it moves in the Gulf, if it's still holding together.
The very latest on your forecast very quickly around the nation. You got a storm that's been moving into the Northeast. You could see some scattered snow showers in the Northeast, some scattered showers - rain showers in parts of the Northeast. Sunshine for the Southeast and Southwest and more rain possible for the Pacific Northwest.
That is a wrap on your forecast. Let's send it back to you in New York.
CHETRY: Sounds good, Reynolds.
ROBERTS: You know what I refuse to believe that 1982 was 27 years ago.
CHETRY: All right. I'm going to add that up and get back to you.
ROBERTS: Yes. I'm - gosh. Time just flies.
CHETRY: Exactly. Especially when you're a marathon runner.
Fifty-two minutes past the hour. This morning's top stories are just minutes away, including the White House dismissing the results of some key wins for Republicans on election night, saying, you know what? They're local races and local issues. But behind closed doors, is the president a little worried?
ROBERTS: Fighting swine flu in the front lines, vaccines finally arrived in the Middle East for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, but not enough of it. What happens if they're called to fight a health emergency here at home?
CHETRY: Also, they work hard, they don't watch the clock, they don't ask for much, but farmers could pay big time for putting illegal immigrants on the payroll. A change that has them worried. Those stories and more at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Twenty-one percent - the Centers for Disease Control says that's how many adults 18 and older were smokers last year. And checking last year's population numbers, that comes out to more than 48.3 million adults 18 and older who smoke here in the United States.
So those numbers show that quitting certainly isn't easier - or isn't easy, but it turns out if you're switching to so-called lighter or low tar smokes to try to kick the habit, you're not doing yourself any favors. For more, let's bring in our Senior Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. Good morning, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
John, this new study that's come out looking at 30,000 smokers reveals that when people switch to those so-called light cigarettes, they actually are 50 percent less likely to quit smoking. Now, what's the reason? Well, doctors think it's all in their head. They see the word "light" and they think, oh, I can keep smoking these. I don't need to quit. Wrong. These cigarettes are just as bad for you as regular cigarettes. You need to quit smoking no matter what it says on the label - John.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks very much. Appreciate that. Elizabeth Cohen for us.
CHETRY: And the White House is biting back at the Republican wins in Virginia and New Jersey. We're going to get our top stories for you in just 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
