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American Morning

McChrystal to Meet with President Obama Today; Judge Throws Out Drilling Ban; What's Next For Housing Market?; Lobbying for Cancer Research Funding; Rescue Boat for Oiled Wildlife

Aired June 23, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. It's 8:00 Eastern here on this Wednesday, June 23rd. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us today. We've got a lot to talk about this morning. Let's get you right to it.

The fallout could be war altering. General Stanley McChrystal has now arrived in Washington, ready to hand in his resignation today after he dissed the White House in "Rolling Stone" magazine. But will the president accept it? We're live at the White House and the Pentagon this morning.

CHETRY: And the president's ban on Deepwater drilling in the gulf shut down by a judge, but the White House will not take no for an answer. They're appealing a ruling and the Interior Department is also drafting a new drilling ban, keeping 33 rigs and thousands of workers idled.

ROBERTS: And the excitement is building this morning. Team USA takes the field in just a couple of hours for a make-or-break match against Algeria in the World Cup -- win and they advance to the so-called knockout stage.

CHETRY: And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. Go to CNN.com/amFIX.

ROBERTS: But, first, is the general getting his marching orders?

It is judgment day for General Stanley McChrystal. The man President Obama picked to run the war in Afghanistan.

CHETRY: And he'll be face to face with the commander-in-chief after he and his staff mocked top administration officials, the president's grasp of the war as well, in a "Rolling Stone" profile.

Here's what the president had to say about it yesterday:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's clear that the article in which he and his team appeared showed a poor -- showed poor judgment. And -- but I also want to make sure that I talk to him directly before I make any final decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And we're all over this developing story this morning. We have Barbara Starr standing by at the Pentagon.

But, first, to Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.

And, Suzanne, do you get the sense that this is a done deal? That the president has made up his mind? Or is there anything that the general can say today in that meeting that could allow him to keep his job?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, I don't think it's a done deal. But I definitely think that today is a game changer. I had a chance to speak with the senior administration official this morning who told me, straight up, that the White House has requested from the Pentagon a list of possible McChrystal replacements in case the president decides to fire him. They are prepared either way.

They are not -- the president is certainly open-minded, but he is definitely prepared that if that decision comes down to that meeting and president is not convinced that McChrystal is able to move forward with Afghan policy in an effective way, that this is more of a distraction than it's worth, then they've already got people in line waiting to take his place. And so, this definitely is kind of a make- or-break moment a day for General McChrystal and perhaps for the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.

What we're going to see today is, obviously, General McChrystal going to the Pentagon, his first meeting with the secretary of defense, Robert Gates. And then he'll come here to the White House and that's when he's going to have his face-to-face one-on-one with President Obama in the Oval Office.

And then, Kiran and John, he is going to go to the Situation Room with the whole national security team. That includes the president, the vice president, Secretaries Clinton, Gates, national security adviser Jim Jones, lot of the folks that they criticized and that his senior staff criticized and will have to answer to them, questions to them and present his case to them as well.

So, this is going to be a very significant development either way. This president very much prepared to replace him if he decides that's the way he's going to go.

ROBERTS: And, Suzanne, when it comes to talking out of turn, General McChrystal is a serial offender here. What he said about president -- Vice President Biden's ideas on Afghanistan, saying that it could lead to "Chaosistan." And now, this, does the president seem in the mood to give him a third chance?

MALVEAUX: You know, from his outer appearance and -- it is very typical Obama-esque, if you will, his style is to be that professor, to be that lawyer, to see all sides of the issue here, and at least to give General McChrystal a hearing. So, that is what we are getting from the president. That type of tone, that he's going to be fair. He's going to make up his mind after he gives a sense from the general himself.

Everybody around him, John, and, Kiran, have already essentially said, look, all the options are on the table. But the option it seems to be very clear is that he's not going to survive. We're going to see just whether or not the president will give him another shot at this.

So far, this is a story that's still developing and it's still unfolding. It's still anyone's guess.

CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us -- thanks.

And let's bring in Barbara Starr.

You know, you talked about the decision that the president has to make. I mean, President Obama is in tough spot because there's headaches created either way. Can he afford to lose McChrystal right now, the war commander, in an active theater?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's going to be very tough if that's the decision that's made. But, you know, what's really on the table here is the question about whether Stan McChrystal is the only man who could do the job. You know, is that really what the president wants to send as a message?

McChrystal got the job last year because Bob Gates, the defense secretary, said that McChrystal was the guy. That he was the only one who really understood this notion of a counterinsurgency strategy focusing on people instead of killing the enemy. He was absolutely vital to the war effort. Is that really still the case?

In this country, do we really only have one general who can prosecute a war? That is going to be the question. And the notion that they're developing a short list of replacement candidates suggests that that is no longer the case.

But what's the problem here? The timeline in Afghanistan is brutal right now. McChrystal has promised a progress report by the end of the year -- maybe just six, seven months away, about how the war is going, how the strategy is going. And President Obama has to take that, present it to NATO and get their agreement to continue with this war. That's a constant problem.

So, there's -- there's going to be a lot of issues on the table if you put someone in that is new. But -- but -- the big question today, of course: is does the president of the United States still have trust and confidence in the commander he has or will he make the decision to replace him?

General McChrystal's first stop this morning is here at the Pentagon for a meeting with Secretary Gates and the chairman of the joint chiefs -- John, Kiran. ROBERTS: We'll get the answer to that question in probably about five hours' time.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon this morning -- thanks, Barbara.

If General McChrystal is out, who in the world would possibly replace him?

Here's an "A.M. Extra" look at the prime candidates:

Marine General James Mattis is the U.S. commander of joint forces in Norfolk, Virginia. He has command combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. Just last week, he was passed over. He's the commandant of the Marine Corps.

Marine Lieutenant General John Allen, the deputy CENTCOM commander under General David Petraeus.

CHETRY: Yes. He commanded the Second Marine Expeditionary Brigade in Iraq.

Also, Army Lieutenant General David Rodriguez -- he is McChrystal's number two. He was sent to Afghanistan with McChrystal to manage the day-to-day war operations. Rodriguez earlier served as a top military aide to Defense Chief Robert Gates.

ROBERTS: And Army General Martin Dempsey is the commander of army training and doctrine command. Martin commanded the effort to train Iraqi security forces for two years.

And last up is Navy Admiral James Stavridis. He is the top NATO commander in Europe. That's a job that was once held by national security adviser Jim Jones -- the guy who was described as a "clown" in that article that may force McChrystal out.

CHETRY: And to an "A.M. Follow-up now, a Colorado man who was on an apparent one-man mission in Pakistan to hunt down Osama bin Laden is said to be back on his way to the United States.

ROBERTS: Contractor Gary Faulkner made headlines after he was arrested with a pistol, a sword, and a night-vision equipment, and Christian books. Pakistani police picked him up on June the 13th. Faulkner suffers from kidney disease, but our source says that Pakistani officials did give him dialysis and that he is in good condition.

CHETRY: Well, an argument can certainly be made that one man, Bob Dudley, has perhaps one of the toughest jobs in America right now. BP's managing director has just been named president and chief executive officer of the oil giant's new Gulf Coast restoration organization. He'll be taking over every aspect of the company's response to the oil spill in the Gulf.

ROBERTS: And, certainly, no small challenge. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, I asked Dudley about the president's determination to keep a ban on deepwater drilling in place in the Gulf of Mexico and whether BP opposes it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB DUDLEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, BP: In terms of the political discussion around this and the decisions, I think we're -- we're certainly going to step back and let the government decide what it wants to do.

ROBERTS: So, you are no encouraging the government to lift the moratorium at this point?

DUDLEY: We are not encouraging or discouraging that. I think that's a process for the government to go through. We realize that the hardship that it caused for oil rig workers for one. And then, two, we're going to learn and there's still a lot yet that we all need to learn about the investigation of why this accident happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: The Interior Department is working on a new drilling ban for the Gulf while appealing a judge's decision to overturn the moratorium that has already been in effect.

CHETRY: The second coming is coming soon. Well, there's a new poll by the Pew Research Center and "Smithsonian" magazine, they asked Americans to look to the future, and 41 percent said they expect Jesus to return to earth in the next 40 years. If he comes back, he's going to have to fight for his own name on Twitter. Apparently, Jesus Christ is taken on Twitter and he's even following Ashton Kutcher.

ROBERTS: Wow, imagine that.

Nine minutes after the hour. Reynolds Wolf checking in with the travel forecast this morning.

What are we looking like today other than hot, hot, hot, Reynolds?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: More of the same, unfortunately -- not just in terms of temperatures but we're talking about severe weather, that possibility is going to pop up again, too. Fifty-one separate reports over 11 states in just the past 24 hours. And still, the ball keeps rolling.

Take a look at this. Up towards the Great Lakes, you got an area of low pressure, you got that frontal boundary, daytime heating and strong upper level winds could give us another bout of severe storms. Possibly some flash flooding in parts of the Midwest and the Ohio Valley also. But hot temperatures? Yes, they're going to continue, too, across much of the southeast.

Gulf Coast, a little bit of a break in the action -- far from those 90s. Not too far, actually. Eighty-nine is expected for New Orleans and Houston. But you bring in the humidity and that's the game changer. It's going to feel much warmer. Dallas, same story, 98 degrees; 100s in Las Vegas and in Phoenix, but they call it dry heat, but, guys, come on, heat is heat. Hot is hot. That certainly fits the bill. We're going to have more on that coming up.

Better news, though, for parts of the desert southwest. The firefighters today are battling the blaze. The wind should be a little bit weaker this afternoon. They'll take any help Mother Nature will dish out.

Let's send it back to you, guys.

ROBERTS: And when it comes to heat, I guess whether it's the sauna or steam bath, it doesn't really matter. It's still hot, right?

WOLF: Amen. I hear you, man.

ROBERTS: All right. Thanks.

A judge blocks the White House's ban on drilling but the White House is going to appeal it and come up with another moratorium on drilling. It doesn't sit well with some Democrats. We'll talk to one coming up next.

It's 10 1/2 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour. The president's six- month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has been thrown out by a federal judge in New Orleans. He called the moratorium, quote, "arbitrary," ruling the Interior Department failed to show an imminent threat that was posed by all deepwater drilling.

But not only is the White House promising to appeal that but Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is already preparing to draft a new moratorium.

Joining me live from Washington this morning is Louisiana Congressman Charlie Melancon. He is a Democrat who represents much of the shoreline impacted by this spill.

Congressman Melancon, what's your take on this back-and-forth by the White House? You get the moratorium lifted by a judge, they're going to appeal that -- and come out with a new moratorium in the next day or two.

REP. CHARLIE MELANCON (D), LOUISIANA: Well, exactly what you said, the back-and-forth is just like a tennis match. My concern is that if we keep this up, moratorium might look like the shorter option of the two. I'm perplexed by it.

We've obviously made our plea to the White House, to the secretary of interior, and others. I think they hear us but I don't think they're paying attention. You know, we believe that the moratorium and the legal procedures may, in fact, just collapse the economy of our region --

ROBERTS: Yes.

MELANCON: -- which has been a bright spot for the last couple of years while the rest of the nation was suffering.

ROBERTS: Is there any way to really measure the economic impact here? Because it's not just immediate, it's not just idling the rigs and the rig workers and the boats that supply the rigs, but there's a chance that if they can't make money off the rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, the oil companies will send them elsewhere.

MELANCON: Well, that's the frustration, is you take the rigs and start moving them to other countries. And what I've been told, and this is in the past, not necessarily discussions immediately, that other countries will pay more to get the rigs to their waters to work, particularly these deepwater rigs, and because of the potential for the fines there.

So losing them into the Gulf of Mexico just on the numbers for offshore oil and gas workers, that's $330 million a month, just the workers. Now that's not the service industry which is what Louisiana's forte is. That's what our expertise is. We have got the offshore service industry people that and onshore for that matter, that will be -- tremendous impact.

ROBERTS: Let me just look at the flip side of this argument for a second. You had the CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, saying to congress that the ultimate fail safe device which is that blowout preventer is, quote, "not as fail-safe as we believed it to be."

So is it prudent, congressman Melancon, to proceed with deep water drilling before we have fully investigated what happened with that blowout?

MELANCON: Well, I understand that. Having spoken with other people in the oil industry, they should have had backup blowout protectors, stacking one or two on top of each other. Because of the nature where they are drilling, BP took the minimum responsible efforts or -- procedures and that was it. They didn't have backups. And we saw that in their plan. Of course, we saw that in other plans from other companies. But from what I'm told, BP is an outlier in the industry. I can't confirm that. But that's what I'm told.

ROBERTS: Right. Your position puts you at odds with some of your democratic colleagues, including senator Patty Murray who said, quote, "we shouldn't even consider putting our environment, our economy, or our workers at risk on deepwater drilling projects until we know what caused this tragedy in the Gulf Coast. And until we understand exactly how to prevent anything like it, from ever happening again." What do you say to senator Murray?

MELANCON: Well, you know, the best I can say is that, we, back in the '80s, when three mile island occurred, we shut down nuclear energy for producing electricity. That was a mistake. We should have looked at what was going on. But it didn't mean shutting everything down and not going forward.

We are getting ready to do the same kind of thing on fossil fuel. Some people that are in my -- my party believe fossil fuels need to be shut down. We can wean ourselves off over time into the lean energy. But it is a combination of things that we are going to need and we will need fossil fuel for a long time to come.

So we have been a producer, our people -- learned to live with it. We enjoy a lot of the benefits that come from New Orleans from being down there. And but at the same time, we -- I understand where they are coming from. But don't tell me what we should be doing in our region. I won't tell what you to do in your region.

ROBERTS: You know the only way to know what happened with this blowout is when they get that blowout preventer up off the ocean floor, and that probably won't be until August at least, should we -- at least wait until then before proceeding with deepwater drilling?

MELANCON: You know, what we have got down on the single right now has nothing to do with what lies on the ocean floor in the other riggs. Mr. Salazar inferred the other day in a meeting I had with him, that in fact, they didn't think they could check these BOP's once they were down there. But he's being told now that that is a possibility.

So if that is a possibility, what we could do, is allow for these rigs, go ahead proceed in drilling. They have go 5,000, 8,000 feet through the water. And then 18,000, 20,000 feet through the rock and salt and whatever else is down there. Allow them to proceed with moving forward with drilling. Find out if there are outliers like BP if, in fact, there are. Don't allow those to go forward. Start inspecting those immediately. Allow the other ones to continue drilling and until they get to -- right before they end in the formation that they are trying to penetrate. And make sure that they are inspected before they get to that.

The equipment on the floor of the Gulf is inspected to get to that. And then we can maybe do this in a manner that doesn't shut down an entire industry and entire region of the country and allows us to continue forward.

ROBERTS: All right well we'll see you -

MELANCON: In a safer manner.

ROBERTS: All right well we will see what the interior secretary has to say on that very soon.

Congressman Charlie Melancon, good to talk to you this morning, thanks for joining us.

MELANCON: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: Well still ahead, home prices, where is the value of your biggest investment headed now? Christine Romans joins us with an update. Also at the must-win soccer game today. Less than two hours away, it's U.S. versus Algeria. Our Richard Roth and Max Kellermann weigh in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART": Way to play it close to the vest, McChrystal. You know I may be a four star general and you may be a reporter for some hippie magazine but I feel like I can trust you. He may be resigning and he may just disappear. But unfortunately, the "Rolling Stone" cover will live forever. Now there are so many things --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: There you go. Lot of people scratching their heads about that "Rolling Stone" article. We will see what happens today when the SITUATION ROOM at the White House is packed with the deciders. Well 22 minutes past the hour. Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning and joins us with more. You always say to us, what's your most valuable asset, your home.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is, and you live in it and you rely on it. Many people think their home is the thing that will help put them over the edge when they retire. It is the biggest thing you will ever buy. It is most likely the biggest debt you will ever have. And it could potentially be the biggest investment you ever have.

So this is why you care so much about what's happening in the housing market. And recently after a spring awakening, we have seen signs of concern. Existing homes in may, these are -- this is the big bulk of the housing market, fell 2 percent. We are expecting a home sales number today. New home sales number that will be pretty ugly. Maybe down 20 percent will be the worst decline in something like 15, 16 years. Why is this? Well the home buyer tax credit expired.

You know critics said that it should be a sugar rush, it would simply be a sugar rush into the housing market. Others said it would be very important to help stabilize and interrupt a very big decline in home prices. So no matter what you think about the home buyer tax credit, it is done now. And we are all trying to figure out just how healthy or unhealthy the housing market is.

It is interesting, Robert Schuler, somebody who puts together really important seminal numbers about the housing market. He said that 56 percent of housing market participants that he surveyed think that home prices will continue to decline this year. That is worst than just in May. So you have got this feeling that after some activity in the spring, the home buyer tax credit expired a little bit more pessimism. Still there are a lot of economist and such who think that next year you will see stabilization and maybe even some increases in home prices. The big, big unknown here is the jobs market. If you can start to get some private sector jobs created, that will be good news for the home market. And for the middle class guys, the two biggest things we care about the most. Right? Our personal economy driven by the paycheck every week. And every month. And then our house, you know, millionaires are being minted. I mean we've got all these surveys showing the millionaires are on the comeback.

Well for the middle class we are tied to two things that are still kind of muddling along there, housing and jobs. So you know, not many -- middle class and millionaire being minted these day.

ROBERTS: It seems as though it is the perfect thing for you to have a Roman numerals on.

ROMANS: It is. I do. And my Romans numeral is $65,700. Sixty five thousand seven hundred dollars.

ROBERTS: Average family income in the United States.

ROMANS: This is, it is actually pretty close to that, as the matter of fact. It is the decline in the median home prices since the peak.

ROBERTS: Yes.

ROMANS: So if you are just -- average Jane and Joe like we are, boom. This is how much less your house is worth than it was at the peak. And I think the way you can take good news out of this is no one is predicting we are going to lose that much more again over the next three years. I mean, that pain has already been suffered and has been done. The question is now do we hold steady, do we start to gain a little bit more or do we have a little bit of a pullback.

CHETRY: And it is so -- the first time home buyers, right? I mean still that you can - you can probably afford a home.

ROMANS: You know what, and I just checked. Yes. And I just checked. Bankrate.com has a 30-year fixed rate mortgage average overnight $4.76 percent.

CHETRY: Unreal.

ROBERTS: Wow.

ROMANS: Thirty-year, 15 year, 4.14 percent. I mean, rates are very, very low. This is -- if you are borrowing money to buy a house -- I just -- doesn't get cheaper for that.

CHETRY: When my parents bought their first house, I think it was at 17 percent.

ROMANS: Right I mean you talk to people who bought a home in the '80s -

CHETRY: This was in the '70s - ROMANS: They had to put in 25 percent down, 18 percent interest rates. If you have the money saved and you are a first time home buyer, even without that tax credit, there will be some affordability tricks and treats out there for you.

ROBERTS: Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning, thanks. Team U.S. in a must have-win against Algeria. Yes, we are talking about World Cup soccer. And who better to talk about it, who better to butt heads this morning, than our own Richard Roth and Max Kellermann. Stay with us, 26 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Well just in to CNN. General Stanley McChrystal is at the Pentagon right now. He was called back to Washington to meet with President Obama after he mocked the White House in the "Rolling Stone" magazine. General McChrystal has apologized for poor judgment. But sources tell us that he is ready to resign. We will check in with our Barbara Starr in just a few minutes time.

CHETRY: Also even though a judge has blocked the president's six-month ban on deepwater drilling if the Gulf, 33 idle rigs will remain shut down while the White House appeals the ruling. Meantime, interior secretary Ken Salazar is insisting that a moratorium is necessary and he is drafting a new ban despite pleas from political leaders in Louisiana to accept the judge's decision. And move on.

ROBERTS: American Airlines is advising other carriers to inspect their Boeing 767s more often. The reason, mechanics say they found two cases of cracks in the part that secure the plane's engines to the wings. Test are being conducted right now. Boeing says it does consider this to be a safety issue.

CHETRY: All right. Are you ready to play football? Excuse me, soccer. We are talking World Cup. Just an hour and half from now, it is game on for the U.S. team, which is playing Algeria.

ROBERTS: If they win the Americans are in the round of 16 so- called knockout stage. Joining us for soccer talk, our own no-hands team, CNN contributor Max Kellermann who covers the sports world for us, and or resident soccer guru, Richard Roth, who actually brought a ball with him this time and not a globe representing a ball.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: John, you gave it away. I don't know why this story wasn't the lead in the show. That's my first impression here. But the United States needs to win or get a tie against England and hope England -- if the U.S. tie doesn't get the same amount of goals. Otherwise they may decide --

ROBERTS: England? I thought they were playing Algeria.

ROTH: England is the other match.

CHETRY: Simultaneously.

MAX KELLERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: With the endless two-hour ties, they start counting goals. That's why England somehow factors into the game between the United States and Algeria.

CHETRY: Although, in Richard's defense, you have to play seven games before you win the NBA championship.

ROTH: Thank you.

KELLERMAN: And decisively -- one team or the other win.

ROTH: Are you picking on the sport because you don't like the sport? Or there are or problems with the American --

KELLERMAN: No, I'm picking it because I'm not allowed --

ROTH: If you use your hands I will give you a yellow thumb.

KELLERMAN: We have opposable thumbs. A sport that insists you cannot use these, that you must not use these, I think is less interesting to watch than one that insists you do use these.

ROTH: Because you are use thing with your TV remote all the sometime? Can't we have the beautiful game be played out, a game that many Americans and increasing number of Americans are getting interested in, a team game.

And I think what's underrated is the anticipation factor, buildup as this society goes to instant gratification. This is what I think is the essence of the game. The value of each goal, unlike basketball, 2,000 points, tune in the fourth quarter --

KELLERMAN: I would say that would be true if there was such a thing truly as possession in soccer like in football. Football was designed by the deans of the Ivy League who watched soccer matches and said no one is watching this. No one cares. It is hard to follow and it's not that interesting.

And by the way, the point has been made without a compelling narrative on the field, it is hooliganism, the likes of this. People don't pay attention.

ROTH: The hooliganism rate is down.

KELLERMAN: In that case --

ROTH: Way down. There you go.

CHETRY: In your defense as well, it wasn't is soccer fans that set the cars on fire in Los Angeles, right?

KELLERMAN: That is true. I will say this. There is anticipation in soccer as opposed to "The Simpsons" episode where the Americans are watching a soccer game, deadly boring, and nothing is happening. Now they are describing the action. They chance to the Spanish language station describing the exact same stuff but completely animated doing it.

ROTH: You like baseball, right? You are a Yankee fan like me, right? 1-0 happens in baseball.

(CROSSTALK)

KELLERMAN: Two things about baseball. One, I acknowledge the reason that Americans -- I include myself there, are so interested in baseball is a cultural prejudice. It's very difficult to introduce baseball compared to basketball around the world.

And I think the same is true of soccer. Soccer you love if you grew up with it. As a culture kind of --

CHETRY: And increasing number of children are playing soccer in this country. Matt Taibbi had an interesting tyke why. He wrote, quote, "Moms want their kids to play soccer because in soccer no child ever suffers gruesome individual failures like the last-inning bases loaded strikeout. Moreover, nobody ever gets concussed or has his femur snapped in half or gets any boo-boo at all.

CHETRY: Great participation.

ROBERTS: Injuries aren't part of the game of soccer although pretending to get hurt is.

KELLERMAN: Brain damage is. People who are serious about soccer, mid 20s, absolutely, suffer pugilistic dementia.

ROTH: Listen, speaking of dementia, this is way off the mark. I mean, the sport is growing. The culture, society, demographics of the United States, I believe when we have this debate 30 years from now in this location if the building still exists we will be showing how soccer is really one of the top three or four sports.

KELLERMAN: I don't believe that's the case because it is crowded out by, I think, sports like basketball, baseball, football with more compelling narratives, and basketball, which is really the evolution of soccer.

But if it is the case, it will still demonstrate my point. It have taken 60, 07 years, three generations of huge participation, billions of dollars invested, immigration from all over the world from soccer-loving countries, decisions of people I positions of power who themselves like soccer before that happens.

ROTH: Look, it takes time for good things. What was that slogan? It takes time -- you know what I mean.

ROBERTS: Sell no wine before its time.

ROTH: There you go. John is a man of culture.

KELLERMAN: So soccer, you let age 100 years and open the bottle.

ROTH: We can attack all the other sports. Baseball, too long, games are too long. People in America are watching --

ROBERTS: And now they're talking about instant replay. ROTH: People in the United States are watching more British soccer, the best players. They are get thing pumped in. They are learning more.

You know more -- I'm telling you, there are fans in the United States that know the Chelsea wingers names more than they know the shortstops on the Houston Astros or defensive backs --

CHETRY: We need to continue this.

KELLERMAN: Yes.

CHETRY: At 10:00 we will be watching the U.S.-Algeria game. Who is England playing?

KELLERMAN: England is playing Slovenia.

KELLERMAN: Who we drew with --

(CROSSTALK)

ROTH: Max, I'm inviting you to watch the World Cup today with me at a bar in midtown Manhattan. Do you want to come?

KELLERMAN: I would be honored to watch the World Cup with you.

ROTH: A very diplomatic answer. Let's see if he shows up. There are a lot of people I would like to introduce you.

ROBERTS: Basketball is soccer with opposing thumbs, perfect.

KELLERMAN: And with goaltending.

(CROSSTALK)

ROTH: Wait for the roars today when the U.S. and England --

KELLERMAN: Both end in a tie and they have to start counting goals.

ROTH: You took my breath away with this.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: We are going to take a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 39 minutes past the hour. The top commander in forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has now arrived at the Pentagon. He will be meeting with Defense Chief Robert Gates before he heads across the river to the Oval Office.

ROBERTS: Where he will be face to face with the president for the first time since he slammed the administration in a "Rolling Stone" magazine article. Our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon right now. And what are the whispers in the hallway saying so far about this visit, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The whispers in the hallway, John and Kiran, now involve General McChrystal and Admiral Mike Mullen. I can tell you that I ran into them just a few minutes ago down the hall from where we are, both men deep in conversation with each other in the hallways surrounded by aides.

Noticing that I was there, obviously, they -- I was shooed away by staffers. They are about to go into a meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates to talk about all of this before they head over to the White House and General McChrystal sits down with the president to learn his fate.

First this round of meetings, some very serious business here at the Pentagon this morning. No one is giving any hint. Everyone says that this will be up to the president to decide. John, Kiran?

CHETRY: Barbara Starr for us this morning. We will have to wait and see. Thanks.

ROBERTS: Heat across the country, some of it very intense. That always means we have a chance for pretty powerful storms. Where might those pop up? Reynolds Wolf is tracking the forecast for us and he's got the details coming up.

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ROBERTS: There's nothing like a 90-degree day in the big apple. It will be even hotter across the country. Reynolds Wolf tracking the forecast.

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CHETRY: And still ahead, pancreatic cancer; it is one of the most deadliest cancers. Yet it gets few federal dollars relatively speaking. Well, some lobbyists are heading to Washington trying to change that. They want more money for research. We're going to talk about what they are doing there.

Forty-six minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: Well, always seems to know when the camera is going to be on.

ROBERTS: Yes.

CHETRY: It's 50 minutes past the hour. And welcome back to The Most News in the Morning.

Time for your "AM House Calls", stories about your health. And it's one of the leading cancer killers, yet, very little federal money goes towards pancreatic cancer research.

ROBERTS: A group of advocates is lobbying Congress trying to change that.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is following the story for us and she's live in Washington for us. What are you finding out, Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Kiran, these are some every day Americans who realize simply that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So driven by their cause, they asked for face time with their members of Congress and they went up to Capitol Hill to lobby.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR (voice-over): A purple army descending on Washington determined to raise awareness about pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Among them, a rare survivor, Maija Eerkes.

MAIJA EERKES, PANCREATIC CANCER SURVIVOR: Unfortunately, also a lot of the prominent people we've known like Michael Langdon and Patrick Swayze, they don't survive it very long.

KEILAR: Another pancreatic cancer victim, Randy Pausch the man behind the YouTube phenomenon, "The Last Lecture", an uplifting message, just months before he died.

RANDY PAUSCH, PANCREATIC CANCER VICTIM: We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.

KEILAR: In Randy's place, his son Dylan.

DYLAN PAUSCH, SON OF RANDY PAUSCH: This is a job we have to complete. So let's complete it.

KEILAR: The job is lobbying Congress. Pancreatic cancer kills 95 percent of the people it afflicts but only gets two percent of the federal government's cancer research dollars. Without a high-profile spokesperson, it's up to Maija and hundreds of volunteers to change that.

EERKES: Right up here. We've got long work behind me. And then Rayburn is right next door.

KEILAR (on camera): How does it make you feel that pancreatic cancer does not get a lot of research money?

EERKES: It really makes me mad. It makes me mad, it makes me angry. It makes me sad and it's not right. It just simply is not right.

KEILAR: And is that what you're going to be telling these lawmakers?

EERKES: Yes, of course.

KEILAR (voice-over): Maija heads for the office of her Congressman, Washington State Republican Dave Reichert.

REP. DAVE REICHERT (R), WASHINGTON: Maija, how are you? Good to see.

EERKES: It's good to see you.

KEILAR: The issue hits close to home for Reichert.

REICHERT: My mother has just gone through -- through this. She was diagnosed, I think, about a year ago with pancreatic cancer.

KEILAR: He already supports their cause. But Maija asks for more.

EERKES: Encourage your fellow Congressmen.

REICHERT: Oh, yes. Right.

EERKES: And colleagues in the state of Washington to co-sponsor. You are the only Republican Congressman from our state that has done so thus far.

KEILAR: But in a time where more government spending is a hard sell, Reichert tells it like it is.

REICHERT: But the reality is the money part is a tough -- is a tough one. And, however, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Now, even though the money part is a tough one, as you heard Reichert say there, these volunteers certainly didn't come to Washington in vain. They got a commitment from Reichert that he will write a letter to the National Cancer Institute asking them to reallocate some research dollars for pancreatic cancer.

So certainly you can say, John and Kiran, that coming here to Washington, they've certainly been able to make at least a small difference to help promote their cause.

ROBERTS: They sure have a powerful advocate in Randy Pausch's eight-year-old son, too, he's great.

KEILAR: Sure. He is. He is adorable. And as well Randy Pausch's wife, Jaye, was there. And certainly when they talk to members of Congress and they have such a message that comes from the heart, I think it is fair to say that members of Congress listen.

CHETRY: Right. You know, and the other thing that's fascinating about this is that oftentimes -- it is, you know, private citizens building these private organizations. I mean, the Susan G. Komen Foundation and what it has done to bring attention and awareness and money to breast cancer research as well. Is that something they are also trying do?

KEILAR: You know there are a number of cancers where volunteers are doing this. And the -- the point that pancreatic cancer volunteers will make about, say, breast cancer is that when you look at survivors over five years, more than eight in ten people survive that cancer. There are a lot of survivors with really great stories.

And the struggle for these pancreatic cancer volunteers is they have very few survivors. So they are trying to build some momentum and have some of the success that those breast cancer advocates have had.

ROBERTS: And anyone who has neither seen nor read the last lecture certainly should do either. You can get it online or -- the books are fabulous --

KEILAR: You have to check it out. It is amazing.

ROBERTS: Absolutely. Brianna thanks so much.

KEILAR: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Our "Building up America" series continues this morning. Tom Foreman looks at a Florida boat company where the owners have designed a special boat to save oily wildlife.

He has the details coming right up.

It's 54 minutes after the hour.

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CHETRY: Fifty-seven minutes past the hour. In today's "Building up America", it was a big idea drawn up on day two of the Gulf oil spill that could save hundreds of its most innocent victims.

ROBERTS: It's like an ambulance for oiled wildlife, able to reach even the most tangled marshes in the bayou if they can get around all the red tape. Tom Foreman is live for us in Panama City Beach, Florida this morning. Tom, tell us about this idea.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey John and Kiran. You hit the nail right on the head. This is a great idea. We have all had ideas all over this country about what to do down here.

This, however, is a case where some guys had a great idea, they put it into place and you're absolutely right. If they can just get around that red tape, it is going to make a difference.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): in the searing heat of the Gulf, Mark Castlow and Jimbo Meador are launching an idea --

MARK CASTLOW, CO-OWNER, DRAGONFLY BOATWORKS: Ok, Jimbo let me throw a light on.

FOREMAN: -- a boat designed for a desperate time.

JIMBO MEADOR, CO-OWNER, DRAGONFLY BOATWORKS: But the main purpose is to recover oiled wildlife. That's what it's designed for.

FOREMAN: As co-owners of Dragonfly Boatworks, they spent their lives on the water and were sickened by pictures of animals dying in the catastrophe. So they set out to dramatically modify a line of their boats to come to the rescue.

(on camera): And you drew this thing up on a cocktail napkin?

CASTLOW: Yes. It was a quickie.

FOREMAN: Where are you in the process now?

CASTLOW: We're trying to produce a boat like every seven days right now for this.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Completely funded by donations and on their own time, the men consulted wildlife biologists to produce what they believe is the first boat ever made specifically for this work.

(on camera): The basic problem with many boats is they just can't go into shallow marshes.

CASTLOW: Right because of the --

FOREMAN: Areas where wildlife would be.

CASTLOW: It draws too much water.

FOREMAN (voice-over): These boats operate in less than a foot of water, slipping up silently on injured animals. A big work table allows instant care instead of a long ride to a cleaning station first, while an adjustable shade canopy and mist nozzles lower the crushing temperatures. The boats are even wired for Internet access. It's a labor of love.

CASTLOW: Really it's challenging on our business, but this is what we should be doing right now.

MEADOR: We can defend ourselves but they don't even know what's happening.

FOREMAN: The biggest trouble? They've been unable to get approval from BP and the government to put their boats to work.

After we made a half dozen calls, the unified command center admitted that juggling all the offers of help has been a problem.

MEADOR: It's the most frustrating thing I've ever been involved in.

FOREMAN (on camera): Do you think you can overcome all of that and actually get these boats working on the water?

CASTLOW: Yes, we will.

MEADOR: Yes, we will. CASTLOW: We will do it.

FOREMAN (voice-over): So the Dragonfly team says they will keep turning out their innovative boats confident, in time, they will prove to be life savers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Right now it is just a maddening situation. But I'll tell you this, John and Kiran. Having seen a lot of this kind of thing, it is a simple idea but I think if they can just get the federal authorities and BP to look at this, this will not only help immensely here but this vessel might become a standard rescue vessel that we see in all sorts of the we wetlands work in the future because it can genuinely make a difference.

ROBERTS: A lot of great ideas out there. Tom Foreman with one of those this morning. Tom, thank so much.

CHETRY: Thanks Tom.

Well, we invite you guys to continue the conversation on today's stories by heading to our Web site. Our blog is cnn.com/amfix.

That's going to do it for us. Thanks so much for joining us today.

ROBERTS: The news continues on CNN with Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM".