Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Primary Night Jolt; Gulf Fishing Ban Widens
Aired May 19, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: It is May 19th, Wednesday, if you're keeping track.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Most of us are.
ACOSTA: The day after Super Tuesday.
I'm Jim Acosta, in for John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We have a lot of big stories we're breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
First, a Tea Party win, a veteran senator out, and another fighting for her political life this morning.
ACOSTA: I didn't hear about that. That all happened in one day?
CHETRY: That all happened -
ACOSTA: That's a lot.
CHETRY: -- and the message seemed to be we're sick of the incumbents.
ACOSTA: Yes, I think so.
CHETRY: Crucial primaries in three states that could signal some big losses and changes in November.
We're going to break down all of the results for you.
ACOSTA: Fear and oil spreading in the gulf. The federal fishing ban is nearly doubled, a serious blow to the local economy.
In a moment we will take you live to the Gulf of Mexico.
CHETRY: And the Dow's dive. If you've been watching your investments, since April 29th, we've seen it go down, down, down -- a tough month. More than 600 points loss since the peak back in April.
ACOSTA: Sweaty palms down there right now.
CHETRY: Oh, yes. And when are things going to turn around? Our Christine Romans is gong to join us with more.
ACOSTA: And, of course, if that's not enough on your plate, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX. I think there are a couple things to talk about this morning, and we're getting some comments about the primaries last night and people are talking about it.
CHETRY: Yes. We'll be reading them throughout the show.
But meantime, a message being sent to Washington. The crucial primaries in three states really rattling the establishment, none bigger than what we saw in Pennsylvania where voters rejected Arlen Specter, the longest serving senator they ever had. Specter was seeking his sixth term. It was his first as a Democrat. But he lost to Congressman Joe Sestak.
ACOSTA: And in Kentucky, the tea party claiming another big victory. Political newcomer, Rand Paul, Congressman Ron Paul's son, beat Secretary of State Trey Grayson, the man who was handpicked by many in the GOP.
Dr. Paul joined us earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. RAND PAUL, REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR KY. SENATE: Well, I tell people it was the perfect storm. You know, it's the mood of the country and our message being exactly equal to the mood of the country, which is: We've got to get our government back. Our government is out-of-control, spending is out-of-control, and really, the deficits are getting to the point where they endanger our country. I mean, you look at Greece right now and the chaos in Greece with the debt crisis, I don't think people want that to happen in our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And so, the best political team is here to talk about the implications of all of it. We have Jessica Yellin. She is live in Bowling Green, Kentucky, this morning. Also, our Dana Bash joins us live in Little Rock, Arkansas, where another incumbent is fighting for her political life this morning.
And we start with Jessica.
It seems the message -- both to the Democrats but also to the GOP especially is the establishment is not going to win out against this tide of sentiment that Washington is not working for the people.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. When I interviewed Rand Paul, he said, "Look, Americans want nonpoliticians in Washington now. They just don't trust the folks who have been running government." And he made it clear that applies to his own party as well.
You know, in this state, there was a divide where the establishment backed his prime opponent and he really ran an insurgent campaign of the grassroots and he won. And now they have to try to unify the Republican Party.
So, after his victory last night, I actually went up to him and asked him, look, sir, what kind of message does this send to the Republican establishment? Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Should the Republican establishment be worried tonight?
PAUL: I mean, in a friendly way. But I say, Washington, here we come. I don't mean it in a bellicose way. I think there are a lot of things -- there is a movement, though, and I think they're aware of it.
And I want to make the Republican Party believable as fiscal conservatives again. That's what I want. I think a lot of them want that, too. They just need a little guidance.
YELLIN: Do you think the people need to change or just the priority?
PAUL: Some of both. Some of both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Some of both. And, you know, one of the big unknowns here is his relationship with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who's also the state's senior senator. Both men have made it clear that they plan to make up, make good, and have a unity rally this Saturday.
But, you know, tough times in the Republican Party right now. There really is a divide between this engaged tea party and the Republican establishment that seems a little scared.
ACOSTA: And let's turn over to Dana right now.
Arkansas Democrats will return to the polls next month because of this runoff down there. Two things, Dana: One, did everybody expect this to be that close? I mean, Blanche Lincoln just swept this one out. And the second thing, I mean, I'm just curious and we may not know this -- but where's Bill Clinton? Is the former president going to go down there and help Blanche Lincoln out, do you think?
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Who?
ACOSTA: You know, the former president. That guy.
BASH: Yes. Now, I know. I'm kidding because he has endorsed the senator, but he has not been out in front for her. The president is the same way. And he certainly has backed her. In fact, she's got the backing of every heavy-hitter who has any connection to Arkansas and any connection to Washington.
But I don't think it's an accident that we're not seeing those people. It's not that they're not popular here. It's just that that would be counter to what Blanche Lincoln is trying to do right now, which is not that different from what we saw in Kentucky and not that different from Pennsylvania, which is to distance herself from all of those people who are so familiar because that's exactly what the people out there in this anti-incumbent year don't want.
What Jessica was talking about that's happening on the right and within the Republican Party, what is so fascinating about what happened last night is it is very much mirrored on the left and with what happened here in Arkansas. And that is that that sort of anti- establishment feeling, that's what helped -- hurt, actually, Blanche Lincoln and prevented her from getting over that 50 percent margin and pushed her into this runoff. It is absolutely the opposition to her is saying, you know, we want change in Washington.
ACOSTA: And Ed Rollins was on our show earlier this morning. And he was saying that in runoffs, that's tough on the incumbent because the momentum is going in the opposite direction.
CHETRY: And, you know, the interesting thing, Jessica, about this as well, and Blanche Lincoln is the case as well, where she was getting it from both sides. I mean, she had -- in that primary, there was somebody who was running more conservative to her and somebody that was backed by MoveOn.org and others from the left.
When it comes to governing from the middle, getting things done in Washington and even for middle-of-the-road voters, what is the message that is emerging this morning?
YELLIN: Well, you know, it's hard to know, Kiran, because during primaries, you have sometimes the most extreme versions of the parties are the loudest. And then in the general election, they have to run to the middle. That might not be the case this year because as Dana has pointed out in her race in Arkansas, here you have Blanche Lincoln, who's a moderate, and suffering for it. Here in this state, the moderate conservative, they all lost and you got the man who proudly claims to be the most conservative winning.
Now, the one point I would make is that even these people who seem to be polarized do say that they're committed to working together because they know that that's what voters want. So, for example, Rand Paul told me that he would be willing to work with President Obama on one issue they do agree on, which is campaign finance reform, changing how that works.
So, there might be opportunities --
BASH: And I just want to jump --
YELLIN: -- to work together but much more polarizing. Yes?
BASH: I just want to jump in on that, point, also, and that is that Arlen Specter, who, of course, lost last night in Pennsylvania, I interviewed him exactly a week ago in his office in the Capitol and I asked, did you just miscalculate the political atmosphere this year, running as somebody who has seniority and running as an incumbent? He said, well, no, because I am somebody who people in Pennsylvania understand works across the aisle.
Well, guess what? That is exactly the wrong message when you're running in a primary, especially when the people see you as a former Republican, not necessarily one of their own. Same dynamic that has been going on down here -- Blanche Lincoln, the Democratic incumbent, has gotten pounded for not being with the president enough on health care, for not being with unions who have spent millions and millions of dollars in ads against her, came out here, got out the vote against her, because she's not stood with them. They wanted to make an example out of Blanche Lincoln.
So, you're absolutely seeing the extremes, if you will, on both sides eating their own, if you will.
ACOSTA: Yes. Well, it's going to be fun to watch, and we've got plenty of time to go before November.
Jessica Yellin in Kentucky, Dana Bash in Arkansas -- two great states. We're not talking SEC sports, by the way. We're talking politics.
CHETRY: That's right. We'll see how it plays out.
ACOSTA: Thanks a lot, guys.
CHETRY: I mean, on one hand, you have people saying we're tired of the, you know, the lobbyists ruling and we're tied of the establishment having their say. And the other, once you get there, you see how hard it is to sort of climb out of that muck.
ACOSTA: That's right. And there's one other key race in Pennsylvania to talk about. The Democrats are going to keep a House seat in Pennsylvania that was long held by the late Congressman Jack Murtha. One of Murtha's former aides, Mark Critz, actually beat the Republican there, Tim Burns. They will duke it out again in November for a full term. This was just a special election there because the congressman passed away.
CHETRY: And it's an interesting election because that was a state that went for John McCain in 2008.
ACOSTA: That's right. And for all the primary night results and perspective and insight you can't find anywhere else, head to our special midterm election section at CNN.com/politics.
CHETRY: In 30 minutes, we're going to be joined by senator -- former senator and actor, Fred Thompson.
ACOSTA: What a lineup this morning. I'll tell you.
CHETRY: Yes. He is going to weigh in on everything that went on. But he also has a new book out explaining how he got to where he is today.
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: He's going to be talking about his life experience and how being an actor actually may have saved his life. It's called "Teaching the Pig to Dance."
Nine minutes past the hour.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
ACOSTA: And breaking news out of Thailand this morning. A blanket of black smoke hanging over Bangkok. Rioters, they set fire to banks, a mall, the city's stock exchange and a TV station. The government's declared an overnight curfew starting at 8:00 p.m. local time.
Earlier, soldiers stormed the anti-government protesters' makeshift camp. Shots were fired. Explosions echoed through the streets. The fighting killed at least five people and injured more than 60.
CHETRY: A surprise predawn attack on America's largest military installation in Afghanistan, suspected Taliban insurgents firing rockets and grenades at the Bagram Air Base. The fighting has subsided. Army officials, though, are saying at least nine U.S. service members were wounded and nearly a dozen attackers killed.
ACOSTA: Also new on this busy morning, the scope of the oil disaster grows even bigger. This morning, the government has shut down even more fishing in the Gulf.
CHETRY: Yes. Right now, 19 percent of the Gulf is off-limits, and that means an area about the size of Pennsylvania is now closed to fishing.
ACOSTA: Wow. Unbelievable.
CHETRY: Our Rob Marciano live in Biloxi, Mississippi, this morning.
And, you know, 19 percent -- it may sound like a small number. I mean, that is a huge, huge amount when you're talking about the livelihoods at stake.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Certainly. About 45,000 square miles, if you didn't mention that, that's the staggering number for sure. Shrimp boats behind me haven't really moved much the past couple of weeks. Some of them have been hired by B.P. to help with the oil slick. But most of them sit here parked.
So, yes, livelihoods on the line as they sit and they wait. And that oil spill begins to -- continues to grow bigger. Not to mention the wildlife at stake here. The fish, yes, underneath that water -- but also the birds and the animals that feed on that fish. We are now starting to see oiled birds come into some rehab centers across the Gulf coast, 35 oil birds have been recovered. Unfortunately, 23 of those have subsequently died, 12 have been cleaned. Some of those have been released.
As far as dolphins are concerned, no oil dolphins to report on. There have been 12 strandings, but they have not been related to the oil spill.
The other thing interesting unfortunately for turtles -- 156 turtles have been found dead on Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama beaches. That is way up. That is unusual.
Normally, for the month of May, you get about 47, 50 of them -- and we've seen over 150. So, three times the number. No visible signs of oil there, but they're sending out those tissue samples to get tested for oil there.
So, as this -- as the scope of this slick continues to grow, Jim and Kiran, we've certainly seen the effect on wildlife and that is not expected to stop.
ACOSTA: And, Rob, people got really worried down in Key West yesterday when those tar balls washed up on the beaches down there. What do we know about that? Have they been confirmed to be connected to the oil spill or do we just not know?
MARCIANO: No official word on that yet. They have sent those tar balls off for testing. We hope to hear that in the coming days, whether or not that's related to this bill.
There were tar balls found on Dauphin Island in Alabama, that were directly related. So, it's entirely possible.
And the other thing is, now, the southern extent of that slick is beginning to get into that Gulf loop current we've been talking about for the past couple of weeks. It's a current that brings warm water in from the Caribbean. We often talk about it during hurricane season. It does migrate from north to south from time to time.
And right now, it's very close to the southern end of that oil slick. And we do believe now that at least some of the lighter oil or sheen will get into that current and be transported towards the Florida Keys. Timing of that would be late in the weekend towards the beginning of next week and then into the Florida Straits towards the middle and end of next week.
So, that certainly is alarming, especially for the folks who live in south Florida and the wildlife obviously reserves down there. Huge amounts of wildlife reside down in those wetlands and the coral reefs, as well. So, this is beginning to get to be an environmental nightmare for sure.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: And we still are not able to cap that leak or, you know, B.P. is not able to do it. And so, a lot of frustration on the part of many people close to it, but also those who are watching it from further away. It's just a devastating situation continuing to unfold.
Rob Marciano, thanks so much.
Still ahead, we're going to have the latest on the Times Square bombing suspect finally in court after 14 days of being interviewed by federal investigators. When he showed up in the courtroom, he said one word, "yes." But Susan Candiotti is going to tell us what else happened -- still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: New developments this morning on the CNN security watch. The White House says an elite team of terrorism investigators has been questioning high-value suspects here in the U.S. and abroad for the past few months. The group's made up of interrogators from the FBI, CIA, and Defense Department. One of the suspects they've questioned is Faisal Shahzad, the man accused in the failed Times Square bombing.
CHETRY: And Shahzad appeared actually in court yesterday for the first time since his arrest more than two weeks ago. He may have considered other targets in New York and around New York City that we're learning about. Susan Candiotti was in the courtroom yesterday, and she's here now. So, first of all, it was interesting because he was talking for about two weeks to investigators and that abruptly stopped and then he was taken into the courtroom. What did he look like, and what did he say about some of the other targets?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'll tell you, you could hear a pin drop when he walked into that room because everyone wanted to see what he looked like in person. We've all seen his photographs before, but now, first time we saw him. He appeared, at least, on the outside pretty calm and collected, even smiling at his newly appointed defense attorney. For just over two weeks he talked and he talked, even about other targets besides Times Square. A senior counterterrorism official says, Faisal Shahzad told investigators he also scoped out Rockefeller Center, Grand Central Terminal, the World Financial Center, and the Connecticut Helicopter Manufacturer, Sikorsky. No word on why. In court, he wore a light gray sweat suit, and he was asked if he agreed with the financial statement that had been put together about him and he told the court, yes, he did.
ACOSTA: And why did he suddenly decide he wanted the lawyer? Where did that come from?
CANDIOTTI: We'd like to know why. I don't know. But up until now, prosecutors have said that he talked. He talked with them. Each day he was advised of his rights and he signed off on not having a lawyer present.
ACOSTA: So it's not like he thought, hey, I can just wing this without my lawyer. He was advised that, you know, this is probably something you may want to do.
CANDIOTTI: That's what the authorities tell us, and then suddenly yesterday, we don't know why, all that changed, he pulled the plug and he said I want a lawyer.
CHETRY: So, what happens now?
ACOSTA: Interesting.
CANDIOTTI: The next step would be a preliminary hearing and that's scheduled for June the 1st. Probably in the meantime a grand jury would get together and prepare indictments against him. And so that next time that he appears in court would likely be to enter a plea of one kind or the other. And of course in the meantime you've got to know that the defense attorney is going to be going over everything that has happened when she wasn't there to try to see if she can challenge anything, if everything's on the up and up, and then we'll hear from him again in court.
ACOSTA: All right. Susan Candiotti, thanks for that, appreciate it.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, we're talking about the stock market sell-off.
ACOSTA: Yes.
CHETRY: We were down about 600 points since the April high.
ACOSTA: No sudden movements.
CHETRY: No. But should we be concerned about it, and what are some of the indications especially with the European financial crisis? Christine Romans is going to be joining us, just ahead. Nineteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- two minutes past the hour. I thought we were done talking about these folks but apparently we're not.
ACOSTA: Oh no, we're never finished talking about them.
CHETRY: We are talking about the infamous White House party crashers, Michaele and Tareq Salahi. Well, apparently they now want an apology from the Obama White House.
ACOSTA: Oh do they?
CHETRY: Yes. The couple tells Radar Online they're hurt from the embarrassment after the State Dinner fiasco in November. But they have received death threats because of it and they're poised to cash in on their deal of status though because of a reality series as well as a book and a Salahi action figure, costumes as well.
ACOSTA: Maybe they shouldn't have snuck into the White House. Hello. Can I just add that in there? Sorry. Editorial comment brought to you by -- back to the small screen. Hollywood star James Frankel returns to "General Hospital" this summer. The Spiderman actor will revise his role as bad-boy artist Franco. The show's executive producer says the character's returning to take care of some unfinished business. His first episode is set to air June 30th.
CHETRY: But on a soap opera, it never ends -- unfinished business could go on for decades.
ACOSTA: That's right. That's true. Never quite dead on a soap opera.
CHETRY: There is always another scene, there is always a dream sequence. Speaking of that, twenty-three minutes past the hour. Christine Romans has been in my dreams lately because --
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Don't forget the evil twin.
CHETRY: Oh, yes. There is always an evil twin and --
ACOSTA: Evil twin for Christine Romans? Oh, you're back to the soap operas. Just a joke.
CHETRY: I'm thinking about Christine because you said something really smart, the other-- you always say smart things but you said we should not panic if you see the Dow go up and down for a while. It's been a shaky situation. But if you're dollar cost averaging, putting the same amount in each month, buy some stocks at lower prices, and you buy some stocks at higher prices, but people are still a little jittery about seeing it down since the April high.
ROMANS: Yes, and we're actually negative on the year now. So, your investment, your stock portfolio is negative on the year because we have seen all of this anxiety over what's happening in Europe. I want to show you a chart of the Dow yesterday. Yesterday the Dow closed down 115 points. This morning Dow futures are down 77 so you could see a little soft opening. But since that 18-month high hit above 11,200 back in April, the Dow has fallen 6.2%. Now we're back at 10,510, that's below where we started the year. The whole issue today, the softness today, is all about the Euro. The Euro's at a four-year low. The European currency. Why do people care if the European currency is at a four-year low? I care too, actually. And you have U.S. stocks unraveling. Why is this? Well, Europe is facing some really serious political and economic turmoil because of these growing debt problems and because of all of its issues. Euro's own issues. Quite frankly, Europe is a big destination for our products. As the dollar gets stronger, it means our exporters, our stuff becomes more expensive. And also if there is a double-dip recession in Europe, it could hurt the global recovery. So, all this matters to us. Also the new information from overnight is that Germany is restricting just raw speculation, selling against government debt in the Eurozone and also some of these banks. And that is meant to inspire confidence, but it has done the opposite. Now you've got people selling even further and you've got some concern this morning on that. So, look --
ACOSTA: We're all walking on eggshells.
ROMANS: We really are, quite frankly. Imported French eggshells actually, or maybe Greek eggshells. I'm not sure. But you're absolutely right. This is the kind of volatility, that's one of those market terms, but the kind of volatility we could see for the near term here. U.S. data has been looking pretty good. Consumer is starting to show signs of life. We're paying down our debt. Our companies are starting to make money again. But everyone's concerned about Europe.
CHETRY: All right.
ACOSTA: Christine Romans, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Well, the voters are shaking up the political landscape and is it time for a little law and order in Washington?
CHETRY: Sure is.
ACOSTA: Former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson is live coming up.
CHETRY: He is going to be joining us. And meantime we're following the situation unfolding in Bangkok. Protest leaders now surrendering, 20 buildings on fire. The situation is still, the major problem is anti-government protesters taking to the streets and causing a lot of problems there and making things very unstable for the population. Sara Sidner is there. We are going to check in with her as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Well, developing right now, a surprise attack on America's largest military installation in Afghanistan. About a dozen suspected Taliban insurgents are now dead. They were killed this morning at America's Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. At least nine U.S. Service Members were wounded.
CHETRY: A primary message to Washington. Crucial votes in three states and a measure of voter mood across the country. Seems to be quite anti-incumbent. A 30-year veteran of the United States senate, Republican turned Democrat, Arlen Specter is out in Pennsylvania, and the tea party putting Ron Paul's son, Dr. Rand Paul, over the top in the Kentucky GOP primary.
ACOSTA: And the Obama administration coming under fire during hearings on the Gulf oil spill. Interior secretary Ken Salazar facing tough questions yesterday. And promised action will be taken for any federal employee who skirts the law when it comes to offshore drilling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN SALAZAR, INTERIOR SECRETARY: We have made science a benchmark of our departments since I came on board. And frankly if I find that there is someone within our department that has ignored the science, their heads will roll with respect to this incident or with respect to anything else that we have done. That should not happen. And that will not happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Salazar vowed that in the future the Federal Government would do a better job regulating the industry.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN. Breaking News.
CHETRY: And 30 minutes past the hour.
Turning to breaking news in Thailand. In just 30 minutes an overnight government curfew will be in place in Bangkok. Rioters setting fires across the city to banks, to a mall, a TV station, even the stock exchange.
The backlash is coming after today's military crackdown on anti- government protesters killed at least five people. For more, let's turn to Sara Sidner in the Thai capital. Sara, earlier we were showing live pictures of smoke just billowing out of the Thai capital. Where do things stand right now?
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's dark right now, but in a half an hour, that curfew will be in effect. It will go until 6:00 in the morning our time, so overnight all night long and then into the morning hours. The government hoping to restore order.
Certainly for a little while there it seemed that things were getting better. The protest leaders had turned themselves in. They had encouraged people to stop protesting, said they didn't want to see any more bloodshed.
But then a little while after that you started seeing some of the problems in the city, people setting fire, small riots in the area. And so you came into another issue, the government not being able to control some of these protesters.
Some people are thinking that these are a group of the protesters that were quite militant, very upset, that some of the leaders decided to call off this protest after six weeks.
But a real big mess here. And what you're going to see now is some video sent in by an iReporter a couple nights ago to let you hear the sights and see the sights and sounds of what is happening in Bangkok and what residents are having to deal with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, this is the worst.
(GUNFIRE)
It's right there. It's like right there in that area. People are running down the center of the street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: This has been going on -- off and on for the past six days, and imagine living in that area and listening to that on a daily basis. It's very frustrating for residents. A lot of people have moved out of the area before this last crackdown happened. But certainly there were still some residents around hunkered down in their apartments, some of them seeing bullets fly through their windows. So it's been a very scary time here in Bangkok.
ACOSTA: Well, thanks for that report, Sara Sidner live in Bangkok watching that developing story for us this morning. Thanks.
CHETRY: Tough situation there. We'll see if they get a handle on it. This overnight curfew going into effect in just about 30 minutes.
Meantime, voters shake up the political landscape, as we've seen from the results that came out after last night's voting in several states.
We're going to be joined by former U.S. senator Fred Thompson. He's going to weigh in on the political debate but also talk to us about the memoir of him growing up. It's called "Teaching the Pig to Dance." Fred Thompson up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 36 minutes past the hour right now.
We're breaking down last night's primary elections that took place in many states. In Kentucky it was a victory for the tea party at the end of a long run in Pennsylvania for a fixture in the Senate.
And the political landscape in America could actually be in for a shake-up if last night's primary elections were any indications of what's going to happen in the midterms.
ACOSTA: And who better to bring in on this is former Senator Fred Thompson. He joins us now. He's written a new book, "Teaching the Pig to Dance." We'll find out what that title refers to coming up in just a moment.
But first, senator, I want your take on what happened last night. There seems to be a huge anti-incumbent move. People are looking for fresh faces across the country. You were one of those fresh faces that came in --
FRED THOMPSON, AUTHOR, "TEACHING THE PIG TO DANCE": A long time ago.
ACOSTA: -- a while back.
THOMPSON: In '94.
ACOSTA: What's going on?
THOMPSON: Yes, I was a part of a sweep at that time. I didn't realize it until a month or two before the election. This time I think the indicators are coming on stronger and faster. I think it's going to be good for Republicans in November. These elections last night, there is some indication of that, but since they're primaries and so forth you can't tell as much about them. I don't think it was a very good night for the president. I think he clearly knew what was going to happen to Arlen Specter. He kind of skipped out on him there at the last minute.
But that was an anti-incumbent thing, too, in large part. But another interesting thing, the Democratic Party, they seem to be kind of moving to the left a little bit. Sestak was actually to the left of Specter. And Arkansas, Blanche Lincoln --
ACOSTA: Eked that one out.
THOMPSON: Just barely eked that one out against someone who was to the left of her. Conversely, in the House race in Pennsylvania, you had a conservative Democrat who actually was to the right of the Republican on some issues, he was so --
ACOSTA: He tried to point that out from time to time.
CHETRY: And you could argue, though, the same thing happened on the Republican side. I mean, look, the GOP establishment did not want Rand Paul winning in Kentucky.
THOMPSON: Exactly.
CHETRY: They were backing their state attorney general. And in the end, you had the tea party having some effect, at least, on helping Rand Paul who when we interviewed a year ago was considered a long shot.
So what does it mean if the GOP establishment is not necessarily ruling what happens in these elections, and the same could be said with the Democrats?
THOMPSON: I think that's exactly right. I think it answers itself. They're being perceived, both parties -- the Congress has about a 25 percent approval rating now, and the Democrats control Congress right now, but it's both parties.
And I think that the animosity is mostly towards the Democrats. They're running things, they passed the health care bill, et cetera, et cetera. But the Republicans have to take a lesson from this, too, because the problems we have today have been building for a long, long time.
And people are just saying, look, we all figure out who's responsible, what percentage and so forth. So all we know is that we don't like it and we're going to change it. And I think that's a lesson for both parties.
ACOSTA: And I remember when you were a senator in Tennessee, I used to work in Knoxville, Tennessee, my first job, and I remember in those days there were more than a few Democrats who supported Fred Thompson for the United States Senate.
THOMPSON: Yes.
ACOSTA: But it looks like what's happen across the country is both parties are being pulled to their extremes. You have people on the right calling the president a socialist. You have people on the left attacking Sarah Palin every day. How did we get to this point?
THOMPSON: Well, I don't know that it's that much worse than it's been in times past. There were some pretty hard things said about George Bush, didn't get quite as much coverage as they do nowadays. But there's some harsh rhetoric out there.
ACOSTA: You don't think it's as extreme as --
THOMPSON: It may be a little bit more than it has been, but the circumstances are even more dire than they have been. People are now understanding I think for the first time that we're spending ourselves into oblivion. They're looking at the streets in Athens and seeing what's going on over there. They're looking to $1 trillion dollar a year deficit as far as the eye can see.
And they're seeing their kids coming home from college now with big debts over their heads and no jobs. And so circumstances really rule the rhetoric in many cases.
CHETRY: I want to ask you, though, about this Pennsylvania district 12 race, because it did go to the Democrat, Mark Critz, a staffer for the deceased John Murtha. But national Republicans poured millions of dollars into this. He was considered a conservative democrat. This was the only district that went from Kerry in 2004 to John McCain in the presidential election in 2008.
And Republicans couldn't pull out a win there. Does that bode as something that should be a concern to the GOP come the midterm?
THOMPSON: No. I think kind of on the contrary. That's a heavily democratic district, and a Republican almost won. And the Democrat only won by being very pro-life, pro-gun, and saying he was against the president's health care bill.
ACOSTA: And tell us about your book, "Teaching a Pig to Dance." I guess, first of all, you have to tell us what that title is all about.
THOMPSON: There's a saying where I come from that when you're engaged in a totally meaningless, fruitless activity it's like teaching a pig to dance. It's a waste of your time and it irritates the pig.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: Is there some comparison with Washington there?
THOMPSON: It's a comparison with me, Washington, too, not to mention the pork part.
But I was a hard-headed kid growing up, made a lot of mistakes, barely graduated from high school, probably would have gotten thrown out of high school if justice had prevailed.
And so I'm sure that's the way my teachers and parents and everybody thought about me in trying to teach me Latin or anything else for that matter, because I wasn't up to it. I wasn't ready for it.
But I had some things happen to me that turned my life around and laid the groundwork. I flash forward and talk about how I got into movies, but I don't get into the Senate, I don't get into the movies really or other things I've done.
I talk about what happened to me when I was in a little town called Lawrenceburg, Tennessee, and being a country lawyer there for two years and how that kind of laid the groundwork and how, you know, when you do bad things, bad things happen to you. In a little town, you've got your parents that hold you to be responsible for your own actions and things like that, it finally catches up with you. Finally it soaks into a hard-headed pig sometimes.
ACOSTA: Those values could go pretty well these days.
THOMPSON: I think it's very timely. I think it's a good graduation book for kids. I think it's also a good Father's Day book. I talk a lot about my father. There's a lot of humor in it. He's the funniest guy I ever met. And my grandparents --
CHETRY: You talk about your grandparents, too. One thing you said, your grandfather was actually the only Republican that you knew. You came from a family of Democrats and you considered yourself a Democrat until college where you heard about this gentleman named Barry Goldwater and said maybe he's on to something.
Is that, beside your grandfather, how did you end up becoming a Republican?
THOMPSON: Yes. That's -- all that is true. I was in college, and when John F. Kennedy was shot, it was a very traumatic experience for all of us. And LBJ, I thought, you know, here's a southern guy, I like the way he talks and so forth.
But I got to listening to Barry Goldwater, reading the "National Review," William F. Buckley. And they talked about individual responsibility and talked about what you could do and talked about opportunities, people not telling you what to do. That appealed to me as a college student -- independence.
It had nothing to do with my poverty circumstances at the time, but it had all to do with what I planned to do and wanted to do someday and opportunities. I didn't know exactly what it was, but it was opportunity. It appealed to me.
And then a little later on I met Ronald Reagan, too. So that was kind of the capper and set me on my way.
ACOSTA: We've got to wrap it up here, but very quickly, any chance you'll run for president in the future? THOMPSON: No.
ACOSTA: No way, no how?
THOMPSON: I gave at the office, and I was glad to have the opportunity. But, no. I did that. I still have a chance to hopefully have some kind of an impact. I have a daily radio show and occasionally write a book.
CHETRY: So in the end, did the pig learn to dance?
THOMPSON: I hope the pig -- the pig definitely learned some things.
ACOSTA: A few steps.
THOMPSON: A few steps, and learned how to behave himself. I must say that after a long, arduous process. Teachingthepigtodance.com.
CHETRY: You know what else, it's great to talk to you this morning. We linked a little excerpt of your book to our Web site. Check that out at CNN.com/amfix. Thanks for being with us.
THOMPSON: Thank you very much. I appreciate being with you.
ACOSTA: Thanks, Senator, appreciate it.
CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, more tornado threats in Oklahoma and Texas; Jacqui Jeras with a look at extreme weather for us.
It's 45 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: OK, you're looking at a live picture right now of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It's cloudy and 66 degrees there and I'm talking John Mayer, eat your heart out.
CHETRY: Keep talking.
Welcome back. It's 47 minutes past the hour.
Jacqui Jeras is following extreme weather for us, possibility of some tornado activity and hail. What a mess out there.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, really has. And we're talking big-time hail makers. You know, baseball-plus size will be possible along with strong, violent tornadoes, the kind that stay on the ground for a long period of time. We have a moderate risk across pars of Oklahoma and into northern Texas, into the Red River Valley.
And, you know, things are really going to be picking up this afternoon. In fact, SPC is saying potentially they might have to upgrade this to a high risk. This is one of those days where conditions are just really, really favorable for severe weather to occur. That's going to be maybe by mid-afternoon into the evening hours.
Now, we've got some nasty storms already at this hour moving across northern Oklahoma. These are more like wind damaging storms and maybe some smaller hail makers and the size of around an inch or so. And it's very, very wet; a lot of moisture with this storm. So we could see a good 1 to 3 inches of rainfall as this moves from Kansas on into Missouri. And we've already got very saturated ground here so 1 to 3 inches will be easy and that could aggravate the flooding situation.
The northeast dealing with the remnants of our area of low pressure here; mostly just a nuisance more than anything and that's going to cause some travel delays for you today.
One other note I want to pass along, guys. Remember those tar balls that were found the other day in the Florida Keys? We just had word now from officials that they are not related to the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. They're not sure where they came from but not related to the oil spill.
That's some good news because we were concerned is we're getting that little trickle that little pendant (ph) starting to move into that loop current we've been talking about. Some good news, it has not made it that far south yet.
ACOSTA: Those would have been some fast tar balls if they hopped in that loop current already ahead of everything else, I suppose.
It's a naturally occurring thing; it's something that does happens from time to time. I guess it shouldn't be too surprising.
CHETRY: Yes. All right. Well Jacqui, thanks for that update.
Still ahead, we're going to be talking -- there's been so much emphasis put on whether or not kids are on Facebook too much, they text too much.
ACOSTA: They are. Yes. How true.
CHETRY: But now there's a claim, at least in one study that perhaps they could be healthier because of that.
ACOSTA: No, no, no.
CHETRY: Do you believe that? Do you buy that?
ACOSTA: No, I don't.
CHETRY: Well, we'll find out more.
It's 49 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Fifty-two minutes past the hour right now. There's a report in your "AM House Call" today by an environmental health group showing the concerns about the chemical Bisphenol A (ph), or BPA. They say it was present in almost every can of food they tested, 46 out of 50.
They say that it can pose a health risk to infants and pregnant women. In animals, the chemicals have been linked to behavior issues and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. There has still not been any conclusive research about whether or not it's harmful to humans but there are many who think it is, which is why they seek out products that do not contain BPA. The FDA right now is not commenting on that report.
ACOSTA: Go ahead. Have that juicy steak. Sink your teeth into that cheeseburger. A new study from the Harvard School Of Public Health says we have it all wrong when it comes to red meat and heart disease. Doctors say salt may be the problem, not so much saturated fat. So processed meats like franks, bacon and sausage may pose a bigger threat than steak, hamburger, pork chops and lamb; if you put all that together, it makes a delicious sandwich, by the way.
CHETRY: That's so wonderful.
Maybe all that Facebooking, texting and Twittering isn't so bad for your kids after all, at least, psychologically speaking. Psychologists studying 13- and 14-year-olds found that 86 percent of the children who use social media sites, a number that reflects a national average --
ACOSTA: Go on.
CHETRY: -- they were -- they say that participants who were better adjusted in their early teens were more likely to use social media in their 20s regardless of age gender, ethnicity, or parents' income. Do you buy that?
ACOSTA: I don't buy that. That's not true.
CHETRY: This study was brought to you by Facebook.
ACOSTA: It could be. I don't know.
CHETRY: Well, you know what? We don't know yet.
ACOSTA: I'm not a scientist here.
CHETRY: The kids are using the texting --
ACOSTA: These kids today.
CHETRY: And stay off my lawn with your laptop. Anyway, we'll have to see. We don't know yet.
ACOSTA: I would like to see some further studies on that, doctor. Thank you. Tom Foreman on the CNN Express, "Building up America"; solar power energizing the local job market in Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Building up America" Tom Foreman -- that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Hi. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. New Mexico is a state with a lot of technological know-how and a lot of sunshine. We know all of that. That combo is bringing in all sorts of energy companies in giving a real jolt -- get it --
CHETRY: A jolt --
ACOSTA: -- to the job market.
CHETRY: I get it. How about that? Why not harness all that sunlight, right? Our Tom Foreman is with the CNN Express. He joins us live from Santa Fe, New Mexico. We're going to get jealous when you tell us how many days on average New Mexico gets sunlight.
FOREMAN: Well, it's a lot. I'll tell you that. If you live here, you know it. If you visited here, you've noticed it, not just here but around the west. That is really has a lot of people out here thinking that that can be a motivator for big-time jobs out here, especially if they keep building on it.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: With easily more than 300 days of sunshine each year, New Mexico is one of the sunniest states in the country. And there's a wave of solar energy companies coming to set up shop.
One of the biggest, Schott Solar; and ever since this German- owned company opened this massive complex on the south side of Albuquerque, they have been energizing the local jobs market.
Amid the whir of robots in this 175,000-square-foot plant, workers are turning out solar cells and related technology as fast as they can. And their products are going out the door just as quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a growing technology and there's a demand for it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We basically sell everything that we produce.
FOREMAN: You feel good about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personally, I see a future here.
FOREMAN: It's no accident. Up in the capital, Santa Fe, another fellow believes he can see the future, too.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D), NEW MEXICO: Am I always right or what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FOREMAN: Governor Bill Richardson is pushing his state hard to recruit more and more solar companies.
RICHARDSON: I just concentrated like a laser on saying any solar entity, please come to New Mexico. We will do everything we can to recruit you. And it's working.
FOREMAN: The governor's philosophy is simple. His state has long been home to some of the federal government's most advanced scientific and military labs, a great deal of technical expertise is already here. Combine that with new companies on the leading edge of a green revolution, and the result -- 2,500 new jobs already this year as more companies follow Schott Solar's lead.
JIM STEIN, SCHOTT SOLAR: Well, Governor Richardson and his cabinet rolled out the welcome mat in a lot of ways. They provided all manner of incentives for us. They provided tax incentives on the property, training incentives.
FOREMAN: What is your best hope for all of this? What do you hope people say 20 years from now about this idea?
RICHARDSON: That New Mexico, despite its small size, became the solar capital of America. That's my goal. And I think we're on our way.
FOREMAN: Solar is still a tiny sliver of the U.S. energy market. But this state is intent on grabbing a big share of that, convinced it will mean a lot of jobs, money, and bright days ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: And this really is in many ways a strategy for survival. You heard the governor mention the small size of the state. The simple truth is economically and in terms of population it's not a big place. They know that if they want to move ahead here and compete against some big, powerful neighbors like California, for example, they have to innovate, they have to diversify, and that's how they think they're going to build up the state here -- Jim, Kiran?
CHETRY: It's good to hear they're giving it a try. Hopefully it will works out.
Thanks so much, Tom Foreman. Great to talk to you this morning.
ACOSTA: Thanks, Tom. And continue the conversation on today's stories; go to our blog at cnn.com/amfix.
CHETRY: That's going to do it for us today. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
Meanwhile, "CNN NEWSROOM" with Fredricka Whitfield starts right now.
