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American Morning

"Obama's Wars" Creates Buzz; O'Donnell Won't Face the Nation; Pastor Accused of Sexual Coercion; Super Salmon: Healthy or Not?; Has Obama Lost His Mojo?; Dad Who Stormed Apologizes; Smart House; First Lady Hits Campaign Trail

Aired September 22, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Wednesday morning to you. Thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. Hope you enjoyed summer because today, the transition into fall.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: What is it, 11:09 p.m.? It's all over?

ROBERTS: It's -- it's a small tragedy every year.

CHETRY: I love -- I love when fall comes. Time to buy the pumpkins.

ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts. Thanks for being with us.

CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry. We've got a lot to talk about this morning. A lot developing overnight.

One is some excerpts out from a new book by journalist Bob Woodward. He basically is describing a big internal struggle within the walls of the White House as it relates to Afghanistan. It shows that the president was searching for a way out even as they were debating putting more troops in. At odds with his top advisers, his national security team at odds with one another, some explosive details from the book "Obama's Wars" ahead.

ROBERTS: The O'Donnell camp firing back this morning. The candidate for Senate in Delaware, with the hopes of the Tea Party on her shoulders, says she did not violate election ethics and that her opponent and the national media are just out to get her.

CHETRY: Super salmon. The government is considering whether to allow a company that has tinkered with the genetic material of salmon to make it grow faster, bigger and sell it in stores for human consumption. Would you eat it? We're going to break down the bitter debate on whether it's safe for your dinner plate.

ROBERTS: And as it is every day, the amFIX blog is up and running this Wednesday morning. Join the live conversation going on right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX.

CHETRY: Yes. Let us know whether you'd eat that salmon. We've been talking about it in the newsroom this morning. Not a long of takers.

ROBERTS: You could eat a lot more of it for the same price.

CHETRY: That's going far.

ROBERTS: Would you want to?

CHETRY: Well, we begin with the big buzz in Washington this morning over a new book by journalist Bob Woodward. It's called "Obama's Wars" and it paints a picture of a president who was desperate to get out of Afghanistan.

ROBERTS: The book suggests the Afghanistan war has triggered another war, one deep within the White House. Ed Henry joins us live from the big house in Pennsylvania Avenue this morning with the developing story.

Ed, if the story is accurate and Bob Woodward is known to be accurate, this president has had a very touchy relationship with his top military people.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He really has, John. You're right. We don't have a copy of the book yet, but it's now, you know, bits and pieces of it in the "Washington Post" and "New York Times" since Bob Woodward, as you know, has a track record, published a couple dozen books, most of them considered pretty darn accurate. This is going to be a difficult story for this White House to handle.

If you go through the details of this, well, broad brush we've known that there's division. There has been division. There's division in every administration over war, policy, et cetera. The extent of it, the details now spilling out cannot be good for this White House. For example, one bit that's quoted this morning. The president at one point saying, quote, "I want an exit strategy. I can't lose the whole Democratic Party" that basically there was political pressure on him to come up with this beginning of a withdrawal date in the summer of 2011. Another point the president allegedly saying, quote, "I'm done doing this." The context being that he was allegedly facing even more pressure after agreeing to send some 30,000 more U.S. troops late last year. The military was trying to force him to send even more. And he was saying, "I'm done doing this."

Secondly, the book quotes Richard Holbrooke, one of the president's top advisers on this saying, quote, "It can't work" in terms of the president's broad strategy. Having that kind of second guessing within the administration is not helpful.

And finally at one point, Vice President Biden is allegedly quoted saying about Richard Holbrooke, quote, "the most egotistical bastard I've ever met." So some harsh language. There is back fighting between General Jim Jones, the retired general who's now the national security adviser. Other officials here. Again, we've known that there was division, but the extent of it, the details spilling out now is going to be a difficult story for this White House to deal with.

CHETRY: Yes. I mean, I was thinking about it a different way. Maybe I'm wrong, but, you know, there was a lot of criticism of the Bush administration for not having enough internal questioning amongst each other about the decision to perhaps go to Iraq or even, you know, what was going on in Afghanistan. Is this a little bit, perhaps not as bad as some are painting it out to be given the vast majority of the American public also are looking for a way out of Afghanistan?

HENRY: Sure. I mean, it's a good question. You're right, that criticism was out there about the Bush administration. I bet we'll see some Obama officials saying, look, we're hashing this out. It's messy. It isn't pretty. You know, making war policy never is. On the other hand, allegedly having people who are part of crafting that strategy and that policy second guessing whether or not it's going to work after the fact is still troublesome. Number one.

Number two, the timing of this, they've known all along this book was coming out. They've cooperated in some extent because the president did interviews. Other top officials did interviews. But in coming out now, the book has leaked out a few days early. It's supposed to be published on Monday, right before the president heads late today to New York for the U.N. General Assembly. He wants to be talking about Iran. He wants to be talking about Israeli/Palestinian peace. Instead they're going to be going to be hit by questions about division within the administration over the war in Afghanistan.

Then finally, as you know, the White House has had so many fits and starts about finally focusing full time on jobs and the economy. Here we are just a few weeks away from these big midterm elections where they want to talk about the economy. Now another story may pull them off that track -- John and Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Ed, keep us posted on what the White House has to say about this this morning.

HENRY: Absolutely.

CHETRY: Thanks so much for getting up with us. And, by the way, we have a piece Ed does on CNN.com this morning about how the president seems to perhaps have lost some of his magic. So we're going to check in with you later for more on that as well. Thanks, Ed.

HENRY: Absolutely.

ROBERTS: To the most politics now at five minutes after the hour and a midterm race in the national spotlight. Senate candidate and Tea party star Christine O'Donnell is speaking out after sidestepping our questions about bills that she paid with campaign cash. She sat down with Sean Hannity of FOX News last night.

CHETRY: And although she could head to Washington and make decisions that affect all of us, she said that it was her last national TV interview. She also tried to clear the air about the days that she said she dabbled in witchcraft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS: Bill Maher, a friend of yours, obviously. You did his show a lot, apparently.

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: Yes, unfortunately.

HANNITY: All right. He comes up with this tape? Was it 1999 you made an appearance?

O'DONNELL: Yes.

HANNITY: Talking I guess about a boyfriend when you were a teenager?

O'DONNELL: Right, right, right, right.

HANNITY: OK. Saying that you had dabbled into witchcraft. Why don't you explain for people that may be -- what was that about?

O'DONNELL: Well, teenage rebellion. You know, some people dabble in drugs to rebel, that's how I rebelled.

HANNITY: All the talk about you've got to do this national show, that national show.

O'DONNELL: No, it doesn't --

HANNITY: Is that off the table for you?

O'DONNELL: It's off the table because that's not going to help me get votes. I instead want to go to as many town hall forums, as many candidate forums, as many church picnics that I can fit into my schedule so that I can meet the voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: We also heard from Christine O'Donnell's Democratic challenger, Chris Coons, last night on "JOHN KING USA." He weighed in on whether this talk about witchcraft is even relevant in the current race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I really don't think so. I think it's up to the voters from Delaware to decide when they go into the booth six weeks from now which of the many things they've heard about my opponent and about me are relevant when they make a decision. This really is a job interview. And what I've heard over the last nine months is that what folks want to know is what experience do you have? What ideas do you have to get us back on track and to get this economy fixed?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Coons has also been forced to answer some questions about his past, as well. He had to come out and deny allegations from conservative bloggers and radio hosts that he's a, quote, "bearded Marxist." It was based on an article that he wrote in a student newspaper back in 1985. He said it was an inside joke within his family because his family of Republicans and he was a Democrat, so they were teasing him about it.

ROBERTS: So we've got things that were done in high school and things that were written in the early days of college. Are they really relevant in 2010? CHETRY: Just wait until the whole Facebook crowd starts to run for office, right? I don't know if anyone will be able to keep up with all of that.

ROBERTS: That's why you have to be careful what you post on Facebook.

CHETRY: Very true.

ROBERTS: Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano again with us in New York this morning.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys this morning. I'm not running for public office.

CHETRY: Thank goodness.

MARCIANO: And trying to be safe on Facebook. Good morning, guys.

ROBERTS: Yes. It's just like, what's the size of the closet? You know? I have a very large one.

MARCIANO: Let's stay away from that, that's for sure.

Listen, guys, we had record highs across much of the south yesterday. And some of those temperatures are going to be sneaking up towards the east coast. So today, the first official day of fall, actually it arrives later on this evening. And these numbers reminiscent of maybe August, July. 100, Pinson, Alabama; Columbia, South Carolina, 98; Birmingham, 98; record high Louisville, and Indianapolis, as well.

We got a slow moving front that may bring some thunderstorms to the Great Lakes. Some severe weather to the northern tier. Maybe a thunderstorm to the northeast later on today, but it will be warm and toasty as fall arrives I think around 11:00 tonight. I've got to check the actual autumnal clock. But --

CHETRY: You have one up in your house.

MARCIANO: Yes, we have -- we all got one for graduating weather school. I'll have a look at that and give you the exact time later on.

CHETRY: They were extending it as long as possible. It's 11:09 or something like that.

MARCIANO: It's been a long brutal summer for a lot of folks and a lot of folks are happy to see it go.

CHETRY: All right.

ROBERTS: But, of course, here in New York, we're still going to be basking in summer temperatures for the next few days.

MARCIANO: Yes, it's going to be toasty still.

ROBERTS: Which is always nice. MARCIANO: Keep your bikini shorts on.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

ROBERTS: Well, the dad who stormed a school bus to stick up for his daughter now says he's sorry for doing it. You might have seen the video by now. James Jones says as a parent he felt like his back was up against a wall, but he went at it the wrong way. Have a look at what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES JONES: Now everybody sit down. Everybody sit down.

Show me which one. Show me which one. I'm going to (expletive deleted) you up everybody on this (expletive deleted). This is my daughter and I will kill a (expletive deleted) to back her. If anything happens to my daughter, I'm going to (expletive deleted) you up and everybody on this (expletive deleted).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, that outburst in which he apologized for and said it was not the right thing to do has really ignited a debate on how to handle bullies. Many can imagine as a parent knowing that your child was being teased, especially a child with a disability, which is his kids.

ROBERTS: She had cerebral palsy, right?

CHETRY: Right. And, you know, he was upset, but he could actually face jail time for that rant. He's going to be joining us along with his attorney 40 minutes past the hour with more on what happened that day, what happened to his daughter leading up to it, and how the school district is handling it.

Still to come on the Most News in the Morning, he's an influential pastor. He has thousands of followers. He's a strong voice in the conservative movement. This morning, Ed Lavandera with a CNN exclusive, sex abuse charges against Bishop Eddie Long. That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. We're following developments in a CNN story that we broke yesterday. A spiritual leader of a prominent Atlanta church now facing sex abuse charges.

ROBERTS: Two separate lawsuits allege that Bishop Eddie Long, a pastor with a 33,000-member church used his position to coerce two men into sexual relationships when they were teenagers.

Our Ed Lavandera broke this story. He's live in Atlanta this morning with the CNN exclusive. And, Ed, for those who don't know him, Bishop Long is a very big name in the evangelical church, particularly there in Georgia.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely. He leads a huge mega church. He's really created a multimillion dollar spiritual empire. He writes books. He runs several youth academies, and that sort of thing. When Coretta Scott King, the wife of obviously, the Reverend Martin Luther King passed away a few years ago, the family held her funeral in his church. So this is a man who is revered by his followers in his church. And it is one of those modern day mega churches that he leads. So these accusations and these two lawsuits brought by a 20-year-old former church member by the name of Maurice Robinson and a 21-year-old former church member by the name of Anthony Flag are very shocking indeed to the members of his church, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

And in these two lawsuits, essentially these two men accused the pastor of using his spiritual authority in the church to coerce them and manipulate them into having sexual relationships with him that started when he was 17 or 18. So we're not looking here at this point of anything that was criminal at this point. The legal age of consenting to a sexual relationship is 16 in the state of Georgia. So this is a story that is really just starting to develop. And people are starting to get their -- wrap their head around it.

Of course, Bishop Eddie Long, has also, as his power and prestige has grown, he's also become a very strong voice in conservative social politics, speaking out and leading marches in Atlanta against gay marriage and that sort of thing. So that's obviously another thing that adds a layer of texture here to this story, which is quite fascinating -- John and Kiran.

CHETRY: so what's Bishop Long saying about these accusations?

LAVANDERA: Well, we spoke with his attorney and a spokesman for him as well late yesterday. And they say that the bishop adamantly denies these accusations. They find it regretful and sad that these two men have chosen to go down this path with a legal lawsuit. They say they're still reviewing the lawsuits as well. They might have more to say after - after they do that.

CHETRY: Yes. And is there any proof? Or is this more of a he said/he said situation?

LAVANDERA: Well, the attorney representing these - these two young men say that they have e-mails and texts and - and that sort of thing. The details of it weren't really released in - in the two lawsuits. But they do in these lawsuits document a long string of - of visits and trips that these two young men had taken with Bishop Long over the years. They say that - essentially that he had bought one of the men a house and another man a car and then lavished them with trips around the world.

ROBERTS: Yes. I think we're going to be hearing more on this later on this morning. Kyra Phillips will be talking to their attorney, BJ Bernstein. So this will definitely be one of the things on the agenda today.

Ed Lavandera this morning. Ed, thanks so much.

LAVANDERA: Sure.

CHETRY: Also, coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, there may be no such thing as a free lunch, but Budweiser is looking to give you free beer, Anheuser-Busch trying to boost sales by getting young men interested in their product again.

Speaking of being interested in products, by the way, would you eat fish that was genetically modified? We're going to be talking about that as well with a food policy professor from Rutger's University.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty minutes after the hour.

All is right with the world again, thankfully. Twitter back up and running today after a security flaw affected thousands of users yesterday. Security experts say hackers put a mouse-over bug on the site.

Now, what's a mouse-over bug? When you roll over things, it automatically launches pop-ups and third party sites, including porn sites.

Twitter posted a statement on its website saying that users don't have to change their passwords. Their account information wasn't compromised. It was just a real annoyance for folks who were using Twitter yesterday.

CHETRY: Yes. The scary part is you don't even have to click on anything -

ROBERTS: Oh, yes. You just roll over it.

CHETRY: -- (INAUDIBLE) top of it.

ROBERTS: Up it comes.

CHETRY: All right. Well, obesity not only affects your health, but it affects your bottom line. Researchers at George Washington University say that the annual cost of being obese is nearly $5,000 for women and more than $2,500 for men. They say that the costs are linked to things like sick days and lost productivity.

Researchers also found larger women earn less than thinner women, and that there was actually little difference in wages for men.

ROBERTS: Well, the two best words in the English language - free and beer. The king of beers, Budweiser, trying to get its crown back. Anheuser-Busch says it plans to give out about half a million free Bud samples in bars and restaurants by mid-October in an effort to boost sales among the under 30 crowd. It even plans to partner with Facebook so friends can get a free beer on their 22nd birthday. I guess if you were to give it for the 21st birthday, that would be seen as maybe - seen maybe as too overtly promoting drinking.

CHETRY: Right.

ROBERTS: So give them a year, and then give them a free beer.

CHETRY: Because they haven't had any -

ROBERTS: You made it to 22. Here's a Bud.

CHETRY: They haven't had any before 21, so you've got to ease them in that whole year from 21 to 22 of figuring out what beer tastes like.

ROBERTS: I don't know - I don't know anyone who drinks before the legal drinking age, do you?

CHETRY: No. Me neither. I don't actually know anybody under 21 anymore.

ROBERTS: It's sad, isn't it?

CHETRY: Oh, it's sad.

Well, coming up on the Most News in the Morning, would you eat genetically altered salmon? Is it safe?

The debate heats up. We're going to get some answers from William Hallman. He's the Director of Food Policy Institute at Rutger's University.

It's 22 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty-four minutes past the hour right now.

The Food and Drug Administration is considering right now and they have been for the past few days whether to allow genetically engineered salmon to be sold in grocery stores.

ROBERTS: The industry says the genetically altered salmon which grows at a rate twice as fast as a regular salmon is safe. But critics aren't convinced. And a lot of people don't trust the whole genetically modified thing anyways.

Joining us now is William Hallman. He's the Director of the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers University. He's here to talk more about this.

We should mention you're a psychologist by training, so you really sort of get into the heads of consumers of what they want and what they don't want. But you also know the science behind this. So, the question many people may have, us included, how do they get a fish to grow so much faster than a normal fish? WILLIAM HALLMAN, DIRECTOR OF THE FOOD POLICY INSTITUTE, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: So essentially what they do is they take a snippet of a gene from an ocean Pollock, which is a different kind of fish and that - that genetic materials kind of switch. They put that switch into the genetic material of a Chinook salmon. Then they insert that genetic material into the fertilized egg of a North Atlantic salmon.

And what that basically does is allows the fish to grow both during the winter and the summer and so it puts on weight twice as fast as a - as a conventionally bred salmon.

CHETRY: So the - the positive side of this is that you can grow it faster and potentially sell salmon for - for less money?

HALLMAN: Yes. Basically it would be like a farmer who could plant two crops of corn in the same year, you could produce fish in 18 months rather than 36 months.

CHETRY: Is it safe?

HALLMAN: Well, the FDA says that it is. And what the scientists of the FDA are saying is that they can find really no differences between this genetically modified salmon or genetically engineered salmon and conventionally bred salmon.

ROBERTS: But, you know, you - you have to wonder, though, if you're - if you're bathing a fish in growth hormone 12 months of the year as opposed to staging it in seasons or cycles, might the fish - like might you'd be introducing something into the food chain there that people could react to maybe a food allergy?

HALLMAN: Well, that's a question that the FDA has really looked at. And, you know, you as a human being are bathed in - in growth hormone all the time, as well. It's just a question of - of really how much. This is a natural hormone. It's - it's not anything that's unnatural. It just allows the fish to grow winter and summer.

CHETRY: You know, there's some people that have reservations. And we asked, you know, just in the newsroom informally, a lot of people said they would want to know. They would want it labeled and that they're not really sure if they would actually eat it.

Will this be labeled genetically modified fish?

HALLMAN: Well, and that's really an essential question that the FDA is - is looking at. What the FDA has said is because they have found really no differences between this fish and conventional fish, that there's really no reason to label it. And that really to label it as genetically modified would imply something that is different about the fish that doesn't really exist.

ROBERTS: But shouldn't consumers have - and don't they want the right to know?

HALLMAN: Well, yes, and that's the other side of the argument. What environmental groups and consumer groups are saying is that consumers should have - have sovereignty. They have the right to know. They should get a chance to choose which of the - of the products they want to take home and feed to their families.

But what the FDA is saying is, well, if you - if you label this as genetically modified, people will interpret that as a warning label.

ROBERTS: Yes.

HALLMAN: And that's almost the kind of a false advertising, it implies something that isn't true.

CHETRY: Well, there are some critics who point to the unknowns about genetically modified food. One of the ones that really caught our eye was the corn and soy. And the studies that showed that these soy-fed hamsters who had died (ph) the largest in genetically modified soy actually had by their third generation lost the ability to reproduce. In some cases they were growing hair in their mouth, which is something that obviously should not happen to hamsters.

And it was a cause for concern that do we really know what we're getting into with what some critics have called "Frankenfood"?

HALLMAN: Right. And - and what most Americans don't realize is that they actually have been eating genetically modified foods for more than a decade, actually more like 15 years. We've all been eating genetically modified foods.

About 90 percent of all the soybeans grown in the United States are of a genetically modified variety. Between 80 and 90 percent of all the corn grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered. And we use the products, the ingredients from corn and soybeans in almost every processed food product.

ROBERTS: But this is -

HALLMAN: We've all been eating it.

ROBERTS: But this is the first genetically modified animal -

HALLMAN: Yes.

ROBERTS: -- which takes it to a new level. And another issue that some people are concerned about, what happens if these fish get out into the wild? Thousands of farm-raised fish get out, but they're just normal fish, they just happen to be farm-raised.

But they say that they're sterile -

HALLMAN: Right.

ROBERTS: -- they're incapable of breeding, but, you know, we've all remembered the line from the movie "Jurassic Park" where a bunch of female dinosaurs started reproducing. Life finds a way.

So if these -

HALLMAN: Right.

ROBERTS: -- get out, how do we know they're not going to start reproducing?

HALLMAN: Well, and - and the company has - has responded to that saying, you know, that is an important concern. And so what they are planning to do is to create, as you suggest, sterile fish. Now, the problem is that perhaps as much as five percent of the eggs could be fertile. And so what they're saying is that they will have companies grow the fish in tanks on land so that there would be no possibility of it actually getting into the ocean.

And what they also argue is that this is ecologically much more friendly than the kind of fish farming we currently do where fish are grown in pens in the ocean. And the issue there is really that - that wild fish, wild salmon and these farm salmon can interact and -

ROBERTS: Yes.

HALLMAN: -- spread diseases from - from one to another. Obviously, if you're growing these fish in a tank on land, that's - that's not possible.

CHETRY: Well, ultimately, it'll be up to the FDA and then the consumer -

HALLMAN: Absolutely.

CHETRY: -- if the consumer is informed, which I think many hope labeling will follow suit.

HALLMAN: Right.

CHETRY: But we have to wait and see.

Bill Hallman, director of food policy at Rutgers University -- thanks for joining us this morning.

HALLMAN: My pleasure.

ROBERTS: Great to see you. Thanks for coming in.

HALLMAN: Thank you.

ROBERTS: You can find out more about the debate over genetically-modified salmon in the food section of our Web site at CNN.com/eatocracy. And you can join the conversation going on our live right now. Would you eat genetically-modified animals? At CNN.com/amFIX.

CHETRY: Right now, we're crossing the half hour. Time to look at our top stories.

Corruption on steroids -- that's how prosecutors describe the staggering salary scandal happening in Bell, California. It's a story we've been following very closely here on AMERICAN MORNING.

The mayor, along with seven current and former city officials, will be arraigned today on criminal charges. They're accused of misusing more than $5 million in public funds. The former city manager was making about $800,000 a year. He alone faces 53 corruption counts.

ROBERTS: And crews trying to reach 33 trapped miners in Chile are turning to plan C, hoping to speed up their rescue. The option involves a special drill, which is normally used when drilling for oil. Officials have previously said if all goes well, they could reach the miners in late October or early November. The men have been trapped since the 5th of August.

CHETRY: Well, there's a new book out by Bob Woodward. Some of excerpts leaking out a little bit early describing some deep divisions within the White House over the war in Afghanistan, painting a portrait of a president desperate for an exit strategy and a testy relationship with top military advisers who've been unwilling to give him one.

At one point, the president abruptly telling his military brass, "I'm done doing this," while discussing troop levels, declaring, quote, "I want an exit strategy. I can't lose the whole Democratic Party."

ROBERTS: Well, it's not starting out as a very good day at the White House. A new CNN Poll of Polls shows the approval rating is near an all-time low at just 46 percent. A majority of Americans -- or close to a majority of Americans -- now disapprove of the job he's doing.

CHETRY: If you head to CNN.com this morning, Ed Henry examines how the president went from rock star status to rocky road in 20 months. Ed's live at the White House this morning.

You know, a lot of people are asking whether or not he's lost his mojo. And, of course, we know that we've been in one of the toughest economic times of our generation.

What is behind the numbers besides the obvious?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kiran, it's interesting, you say and put it that way because, you know, Robert Gibbs and other White House officials say, look, this whole frustration that we're seeing, especially over the economy is 10 years in the making -- and not just to blame it on the previous administration -- but say, look, when you see the poverty numbers that came out last week, worst poverty rate in decades and the fact that there was sort of this lost decade of incomes for the middle class, that was something that was long in the making and Robert Gibbs points out, look, this is not going to change overnight.

But the frustration you saw spilling out into CNBC town hall a couple of days ago. You interviewed one of the questioners yesterday about all that. And she was saying, look, I'm an Obama supporter, but this is just not turning around quick enough.

Well, I found the same. I went down with my producer Shawna Shepherd to southeast Virginia. We picked Virginia to sort of look at how the president is doing two years later because he won that state, first Democrat to do that since 1964 back in 2008. And yet we found Republicans and then Democrats, independents, who voted for the president in 2008 who are just saying, this is just not moving, turning around quickly enough.

And one of the people we spoke to is reverend -- Pastor Mariner. He's from the Grove Baptist Church. And he said a lot of his parishioners, including African-Americans who were proud to support the president in 2008, are just saying, what happened?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People don't seem excited about voting. They don't seem energetic. What difference would it make? We've got the first African-American president in office, but look at where we are now.

HENRY: What do you tell them when they seem disappointed that the first African-American was elected? They had a lot of hope, but now, they're disappointed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't know if they're disappointed at him, disappointed in the process. I think they're disappointed in overall dysfunctional attitude in Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: And that's an important point to make because I heard that from other voters, as well. Even some Republicans say they voted for McCain in 2008. They said, look, they think President Obama is a good man. They he's trying to bring some new ideas to the table. But they just feel like maybe he took on too much too fast in the first 20 months and that maybe the process has sort of gotten beyond his control. They're not blaming this completely on him.

But look, we just saw in the last 24 hours, there's going to be some more turnover here. Larry Summers, the president's top economic adviser, announcing he's going to be leaving after the midterms -- that follows Peter Orszag and Christina Romer -- now, three big changes in the president's economic team. The only real person left from the original team is going to be Tim Geithner, the treasury secretary.

And this just shows that this White House realizes that while Larry Summers was planning to go back to Harvard, this has been long in the making, that they're going to have to make changes comes out of these midterm elections because that frustration has not gone away and it's palpable even among some of the president's supporters -- John, Kiran.

ROBERTS: Ed, one of the other things that the White House is facing this morning is this new book from Bob Woodward, which paints a lot of arguments in the White House about the war in Afghanistan. It's called "Obama's War," the president looking for a way out of Afghanistan. Any reaction from the White House at this point?

HENRY: You know, I've been e-mailing with top aides since after 5:00 a.m. this morning. And so far, they're not offering any comment. I had one top aide shooting back to me saying, do you have a copy of the book? You know, or basically, are you seeing the full context here?

And we've got to admit, we don't have the book yet. It's not supposed to be published until Monday. It's leaking out in "The Washington Post" and "New York Times." We're actively trying to get it.

But it's out there already and this White House, you know, cooperated in some extent with this book, the president interviewed, top aides interviewed. And so, they're not offering any reaction yet because they want the full context to be out there, not just partial bits.

But the fact of the matter is, Bob Woodward, as you know, has a sterling reputation. There's been no allegation that what he has is wrong here.

And I think there's probably frustration inside the White House as when this is leaking out, how it's leaking out, just as the president's about to go to the U.N. to talk about other foreign policy issues. Now, they've got to deal with questions about divisions here whether people like Richard Holbrooke inside the administration don't believe the strategy's going to work.

And especially as we were just talking about jobs and the economy, that's what they want to be talking about, not division over Afghanistan, John.

ROBERTS: All right. We'll see if we can get somebody to a bookstore today and see if we can get an advanced copy, as well. Ed, thanks.

HENRY: That's right.

CHETRY: Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning: A dad who stormed his daughter's school bus in frustration after allegations she was being bullied. He says he's sorry, but he couldn't stand what was happening anymore. He could end up doing time for the rant.

We're going to ask him why he was so upset and exactly what happened. And what the school district's planning to do now.

It's 37 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Many of you have seen the video of a father storming on to a school bus, yelling at his daughter's classmates and confronting the bullies who tormented her the day before. Here is a look if you didn't see it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES JONES, THREATENED DAUGHTER'S BULLIES: Now, everybody sit down. Everybody sit down. Show me which one. Show me which one. I'm going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you up and everybody on this (EXPLETIVE DELETED). This is my daughter and I will kill (EXPLETIVE DELETED) to back her. If anything happens to my daughter, I'm going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you up and everybody on this (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, now, the dad in that video is apologizing for that rant.

James Jones and his attorney, Natalie Jackson, join me this morning with more on what happened and what might be ahead in the future.

Thanks for being with us this morning, Jones. I know it's a difficult time for you and your family. First off, explain how your daughter is doing. As we understand it, she has special needs and she's actually been hospitalized for stress and may be coming home today. How is she doing?

JONES: Well, she's -- she's on the medications. She suffered with cerebral palsy. We'd like to let everybody know that cerebral palsy is out there and kids do suffer with that. And right now, we are just -- hopefully, when she comes home we can get on with our lives with this.

CHETRY: And tell us a little bit about what led up to your words on the bus, your screaming.

JONES: Well, basically my daughter was not -- wasn't catching the bus, my wife was just taken her to school. She was getting up late. She was dragging around the house.

And then, all of a sudden, the day when we were headed out there, she finally opened up and told me what was going on. And from there, you know, being a dad just loving my daughter, and just loving all my kids, you know? I just -- that point, my heart was broke when I seen her standing there, you know, wasn't going to get on the bus crying. And I was like -- you know, a dad is a dad. And I was -- I was going to be her protector that day.

CHETRY: What was going on on the bus, by the way?

JONES: Well, when the bus pulled up -- actually, the bus was like 20 minutes late before it even got there. So, we had time to stand there and just -- and, you know, my initial thing was just to go and maybe talk to the bus driver -- actually to talk to the bus driver. But when I got there, the bus finally pulled up, the bus was like so crowded. It was like a circus coming right to you.

And there was so many people all over the place. But it's not all kids' fault how they act and stuff. It was just -- you know, we all have to look at a lot of things how we parent our kids and everything like that also.

NATALIE JACKSON, ATTORNEY FOR JAMES JONES: Yes. It's important to remember this did not happen in a vacuum. This had been going on for a three-week period, the bullying of his daughter on that bus. It was a new school. It was the first time she'd taken that bus. And her bus stop was the last stop on that route.

So, by the time that his daughter got on the bus, the bus was full. So, there were things like denying her a seat. There were things like hitting her and punching her, calling her names. And this went on for a three-week period. School started August 16th here in Florida, and the incident in the video happened on September 3rd.

CHETRY: Yes. And, Natalie, you're his attorney, just so people understand. The Seminole County School District is saying that none of this was reported to them. Is that true?

JACKSON: The bullying incidents, the specific bullying incidents -- no, they were not reported. Mr. Jones did not find out about the specific bullying incidents until that day, when his daughter finally broke down and told him.

And that's common among kids that have been bullied. They feel that it doesn't matter if they tell authority figures. They feel lonely and helpless. What they did notice was that their daughter had become increasingly distraught --

CHETRY: Right.

JACKSON: -- and also distant from them.

So, she would come home and close her door. They would try to talk to her. She was depressed.

The mother -- Mr. Jones' wife took -- that week of the accident, she started driving the daughter to school because the daughter would purposely miss the bus. So she had to drive her to school. The first day --

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: I got you. And, Natalie, moving forward, is your client -- is James going to face any charges in connection with this?

JACKSON: Right now, he was arrested. He was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction of a school function. In Florida, those are both second-degree misdemeanors. The state attorney had to file in this case. In Florida, the state attorney is the person who moves forward with charges.

CHETRY: And --

JACKSON: At this point, there has not been any formal charges.

CHETRY: I got you. But I understand there is surveillance video appearing to show this incident where James' daughter had an unwrapped condom thrown at her head. Is this -- are students being investigated in connection with this? And could they also be facing some trouble here?

JACKSON: Sure. Students could be facing trouble if parents move forward to make police reports against students. I don't think anyone has. I think, right now -- and I know I've spoken to Mr. Jones and his family, and they want to talk about prevention --

CHETRY: Right.

JACKSON: -- not arresting children.

CHETRY: Well, James, just the last word here. What do you hope comes out of all of this?

JONES: Well, I hope a lot of people start -- look at National Bullying Prevention Month coming up next month. We need to start getting into the more resources and helping the kids out, going and checking them to schools and make sure that the kids, you know, are educated on this thing because this is not just in one school. It's all over. It's all over the world. It's not just right here and my little town and stuff. That's all.

NATALIE JACKSON, ATTORNEY FOR JAMES JONES: And he'd like people to be aware of centers like the Pacer Center, which helps kids who are being bullied. You can go to their website at pacer.org.

CHETRY: All right. That's --

JACKSON: Kids and parents can get resources.

CHETRY: That's some good advice as well. And James, we wish you the best, and we hope that your daughter is able to get over this whole situation and, you know, has a bright and happy school year. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

JONES: Thank you.

JACKSON: Thank you so much.

JONES: Thank you very much.

ROBERTS: Obviously, the wrong thing to do, but you can understand his frustrations as a parent, disabled child getting bullied, it's terrible.

CHETRY: It's awful.

ROBERTS: Coming up on the Most News in the Morning. It can turn on the lights, lock up after you, even make you your morning coffee. We'll take a look at a smart house that could be coming to a neighborhood near you. Stay with us.. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Time for a quick check of weather. Igor hits parts of Newfoundland, Canada yesterday and scooting off to the Northern Atlantic. And actually, this flood threat across parts of the Four Corners, that's from a tropical storm in the pacific, Georgette (ph). Some of that moisture will get into the desert southwest for some flooding there.

Some rain across Texas and severe weather threat across the northern tier as this slow moving cool front tries to cool things off. But ahead of it, it's going to be kind of toasty. 85 in New York today, 91 degrees expected in D.C., 89 in St. Louis. There were a slew of record highs yesterday, and even though tonight fall arrives, the heat will continue.

All right. Listen to this, a group of students from the Virginia Tech, they won a competition in Europe. It's called a solar decathlon. They were able to prove that they could build a solar- powered house and at least be sort of comfortable. Check it out in this week's "Edge of Discovery."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO (voice-over): Welcome to the home of the future. When you wake up, the cold concrete floor warms up, your favorite music starts playing, and coffee begins to brew. And as you drive away, the house locks itself.

ROBERT DUNAY, VIRGINIA TECH: The Lumen house is the solar house that gets all of its energy from the sun.

MARCIANO: A group of Virginia Tech students designed Lumen house to be completely automated. It even has installation panels that adjust on their own to the changing weather outside.

JOSEPH WHEELER, VIRGINIA TECH: The house is autonomous. So, it operates on its own. It will maintain 100 percent energy efficiency. However, no one likes to be completely controlled by computer.

MARCIANO: So, you can override any command using an iPhone or iPad. Inside, the house is about 600 square feet, but the small spaces are all multi-functional.

DAVID CLARK, GRADUATE STUDENT: You really have to convince people because it's so small that they could live in here. So, the space-saving solutions are big selling point for us.

MARCIANO: In the bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room.

WHEELER: When these sliding doors are open and you open the area up to the decks, you triple your square footage.

MARCIANO: Even the water can be reused using outside recycling ponds. Designers say homes like this could be on the market in just a few years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO (on-camera): Yes, get your iPad out and you can control everything from the desk here.

CHETRY: Pretty cool. Nice. 600 square feet are three times the size of a Manhattan apartment.

ROBERTS: Does it let the dog out too?

MARCIANO: Probably. I'm sure they're working it out.

CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

CHETRY: All right. Will the White House calls First Lady Michelle Obama the closer? And she's about to hit the campaign trail for a handful of Democrats in tight reelection battles. So, how will she deliver? The best political team on television has details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's five minutes now to the top of the hour. We're back with the Most Politics on this Wednesday morning.

CHETRY: Yes. Let's check in with our senior political director, Mark Preston, with a check of what's crossing the Political Ticker this morning. Hey, Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning, Kiran. Good morning, John. Let me rip through some of the top headlines that are crossing as we speak. Michelle Obama, she has a 62 percent approval rating beloved by Democrats. She is hitting the campaign trail. She will be campaigning for at least nine Democratic candidates in five states over a two-week period.

She'll also be raising money for the DNC and the DCCC and expect more dates to be added. Michelle Obama, a much sought after get on the campaign trail.

Up in Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, the Republican who lost her bid for re-election staging a writing campaign. She's now on the air with a commercial. She is asking Alaskans to give her a second chance that she has the experience and the know how to be returned to Washington. A very difficult, very tight for Lisa Murkowski up in Alaska.

And of course, heading to Delaware to Christine O'Donnell. Christine O'Donnell seems to be the politician that's been in the spotlight the last week. Well, her insurgency candidacy has now seemed to take on an establishment feel. She has brought on an old Washington hand, Cleta Mitchell, to help with her campaigns, specifically, the allegations that she misused campaign funds. She also went on Sean Hannity show last night said that she will no longer be doing national interviews. She wants to be focusing all of her efforts on talking to Delaware voters.

So, the Christine O'Donnell insurgency campaign really seems to be taking on this establishment feel -- Kiran, John.

CHETRY: All right. We'll see how that strategy works. Apparently, you know, Sarah Palin said to her don't do it, you know. Don't set yourself up by giving a bunch of interviews that could turn into gotcha interviews.

PRESTON: Yes, you know, smart of her because, at this point, the only thing that can happen to her in her mind is that she can be tripped up. So, we'll see what she does over the next couple of weeks.

ROBERTS: All right. Mark, thanks so much. We'll see you back next hour.

CHETRY: And for all the latest political news, go to our website, CNN.com/politics.

ROBERTS: Top stories coming your way right after the break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)