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American Morning
Hundreds Stranded After Irene; Families Stranded by Irene Saved; Beachfront Homes Shredded in Connecticut; Gadhafi Family Manhunt; Alabama's Immigration Law Blocked; Vick Signs $100 Million Deal; Courtroom Attack Caught on Camera; Warren Jeffs Hospitalized; Obama's Uncle Arrested; Perry's Double Digit Lead; Does Religion Matter during Elections?; Dick Cheney Unplugged; Hurricane Hype?; Dumbing Down the Debate; Most Train Service Is Back; Gadhafi Family In Algeria; Nineteen Miners Rescued; Three Still Missing
Aired August 30, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Gone in a flash. I'm Ali Velshi. Water still rising more than a day after Hurricane Irene moved out. Some people coming home to find their houses in another spot. Hundreds are still stranded and millions have no power.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: After the storm, comes the Monday morning meteorologists. I'm Christine Romans. Hurricane forecasters feeling the heat because the wrath of Irene didn't live up to all that hype.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello. Like a hurricane, Rick Perry stormed to the front of the GOP presidential pack. The latest CNN polling gives him a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney. Is the Texas governor built for the long run?
VELSHI: Well, good morning. It is Tuesday, August 30th. We are still dealing with the after effects of this hurricane. Things for a lot of people starting to get back to normal.
ROMANS: You know, the river still cresting and could happen over the next day or two in some spots. Water is still rising in parts of the country. We begin this morning with Hurricane Irene. The storm's impact will be felt for months after the winds died down.
The death toll rising sharply this morning to at least 27 people along with the estimated cost, the cost of cleaning up this mess from North Carolina up through New England.
Obama administration officials will visit three states today that were hit hard by Hurricane Irene, Virginia, North Carolina and Vermont where floodwaters are still rising, higher than they've been there in more than 80 years.
The governor saying entire communities in his state are under water with hundreds of residents still trapped. Two hundred sixty roads have been washed out by flooding in the state making the effort to reach people who need help that much harder.
Amber Lyon is live in Saxton River, Vermont this morning. Amber, the governor says in some cases, they can't even get into these towns to assess the damage. I n other cases, these towns have been wiped out.
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, that is the biggest issue facing the rescue these crews and people trying to get in and help some of the communities and here in Saxton River, if you look behind me this is one of the main roads through town.
When the local river flooded, it just caked on a layer of mud that makes this nearly impassable. Yesterday, we were trying to get about 30 miles northwest and we kept running into road block after road block.
You would see residents pulling out maps trying to figure out ways to get around the state, trading ideas with each other, trying to figure out how you can make it from point A to point B because it's nearly impossible.
Some communities in Vermont now are essentially islands after the roads and bridges leading into town and out of town have been just completely wiped out. Governor Shumlin also says that right now, many people are stranded.
They don't quite know how many people are stranded because once again, the road system has become just so devastated here. Three deaths have been confirmed after people were washed away in floodwaters being swept away. Many people still missing, although the governor was vague on the exact number.
Now unlike many states, Governor Shumlin says there were no evacuations ordered for Vermont and he says that that's because many of these cities are in low-lying areas. Also there are very few areas large areas and towns of dry land.
The governor says that it would have been impractical to evacuate many of these communities. He has come under quite a bit of criticism for that. Governor Shumlin also told CNN that today they're expecting more flooding as these creeks and brooks flow into the state's larger rivers. And rescue crews will continue to be out assessing the damage and helping the people in these communities. Christine --
ROMANS: Amber, thank you so much. Certainly the green mountain state with its beautiful mountains and beautiful valleys is trying to harness an awful lot of water right now. Thank you, Amber.
VELSHI: Twenty three people including two pregnant women and three infants have now been rescued from a vacation home in upstate New York. They were rescued by a chopper.
Bridges literally crumbled all around them in the town of Prattsville, New York on Sunday. The damage there was unexpected, almost unthinkable. A town of about 600 people almost entirely washed away.
Last night on "AC 360," Anderson Cooper spoke to one local reporter who was stranded there when the water rushed in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We arrived here probably the late afternoon. We didn't know what Prattsville looks like. I mean, this is not in our usual coverage area. But when we came here, it was all water. I would not have known there was an established community unless somebody said you see that house there, there's supposed to be other houses around there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Emergency workers also rescued close to 90 people on Sunday before 70-mile-an-hour wind gusts ground the effort. Dozens more are in shelters and are believed to be safe.
COSTELLO: Let's head to Rob Marciano now. It always amazes me that after, you know, the hurricane blows over, what a beautiful day arrives afterward.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It can be. It can be also really, really hot when the sun comes out. It has been very pleasant, dry and low levels of humidity, but the waters in many areas still rising.
One such place the Passaic River just west of here in New Jersey and one of our affiliates WABC had their chopper up and showing some of these flooding and preparations.
This is in Boontown, about 20 miles west of Manhattan so just the suburbs here where they're making preparations for this river, which is forecast to crest later this morning through this afternoon. You see some of the rushing waters there.
A little bit ragged video but those were live, so forgive us for that. Passaic River is expected to crest today. All the rivers in Vermont have crested, but obviously the damage done there. And we still have flood warnings out down the Connecticut River Valley from Massachusetts into Connecticut proper as the water tries to evacuate out into Long Island Sound.
All right, let's show you what's the latest on our new tropical storm. It's Katia. Way out there in the Atlantic Ocean, between West Africa and the Leeward Islands. This one already has a pretty big circulation. It's got decent organization. Winds of only 45 miles an hour.
Of course, it's a satellite estimate. But as we go through time, we do expect it to strengthen. West/northwest moving at 17 miles an hour. Here's the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center.
We accelerate it to the west/northwest and ramp it up to Category 1 status fairly rapidly potentially becoming a major hurricane by the time it does get to the Leeward Islands. It does take a little bit more of a northerly scoot than our last hurricane.
But nonetheless this bears some serious watching as we get towards that next week. It could make an approach across to the coastline of the United States. Little bit closer to home, here's what's happening.
There's your quiet weather across the northeast for the cleanup effort and the heat continues across the south. Cleanup effort, a lot of pictures of the devastation of Vermont, the flooding in New Jersey, but places like Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts, I mean the entire coastline got hit hard.
Here's some pictures from Swampscott, which is just north and east of Boston, the harbor there about 30 vessels were ripped of their moorings and thrown inland and now they're stuck. They have to wait for a serious high tide or get some tow boats out there to make it happen.
You know, so much coastline, this is such an incredible storm, guys, because we have the effects inland, the most dramatic effects inland, yet there are miles and miles of coastline that were affected by this as well and millions of people. Back to you.
COSTELLO: I know. Like Fairfield, Connecticut, for example, not many realize that's right on the Long Island Sound, like I think five houses collapsed there, lots of trees down, including a tree down on my house there.
ROMANS: No, Carol.
VELSHI: Really?
COSTELLO: Yes, but I feel fortunate because no one was in the house.
VELSHI: You're right.
COSTELLO: And you can't remove the tree, right, because it's the neighbor's tree that fell on the house and, you know -- it's her insurance that will cover it. There are all sorts of problems now.
VELSHI: Lot of hassles. But you're right, good of you -- nobody was injured, but still a pain.
ROMANS: All right, flooding has cut off communities across New England and there are new images of the destruction this morning. In New Hampshire, floodwaters left a 30-foot hole in a bridge over one river, trapping dozens of people. One witness says rocks the size of pick-up trucks were coming down the river when the storm hit. Wow.
VELSHI: And in East Haven, Connecticut, looks like they were living on a faultline. Irene tore the beach front homes to shreds. This is what Carol was just talking about. At least 25 houses have either been destroyed or will have to be torn down because of Irene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR APRIL CAPONE, EAST HAVEN, CONNECTICUT: We can say that it's just stuff, but we can say that, because it's not our stuff. And when it's your home, it's a different scenario.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: To find out how you can make a difference and help those devastated by Hurricane Irene, visit our impact your world page, at cnn.com/impact.
ROMANS: All right, to Libya now, a potential break in the international manhunt for Moammar Gadhafi's family. Algeria is revealing it has allowed the fugitive dictator's wife, daughter, and two sons to enter that country for humanitarian reasons.
The new Libyan government wants them back. And a senior rebel commander telling cnn Gadhafi's son Khamis is dead. The military commander said to have died during a battle in northwest Libya.
VELSHI: A federal judge is temporarily stopped Alabama's tough new immigration law from taking effect this week. In her ruling, the judge said she need more time to consider the legal challenges against the law. Among other things, the law makes it a crime to knowingly give a ride to anyone who is in the country illegally. Also public schools must determine every student's legal status.
COSTELLO: Talk a little sports, the comeback is now complete. Eagles quarterback Michael Vick has signed a new, six-year, $100 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. The $40 million of that is guaranteed.
In the past year, he's gotten nearly everything back, his starting job back. He's got new endorsement deals and now he's got that blockbuster contract to go with it. A few years ago, he was bankrupt. He was in jail and then he was bankrupt.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: Wow, all right, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, chaos erupts in an Ohio courtroom. A man attacks a judge, it's all caught on tape. We'll tell you how this wild scene turned out.
VELSHI: Former Vice President Dick Cheney settling some scores and delivering his version of events in the Bush White House. Some conflict there we want to tell you about. It's all revealed in his new memoir.
COSTELLO: This is what they call a Texas two-step. Rick Perry was the last candidate who entered the race, now he is stomping the rest of the GOP field. Is there a nomination in his future? It's 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: This is new this morning, wild attack in an Ohio courtroom. All caught on tape. Check this out. This man in Cleveland appeared for a trespassing charge last Tuesday.
He's upset. He hurled a backpack at a judge who managed to duck under her bench then officers jumped into action. They tackled the guy to the ground.
The attacker is charged with contempt of court and is going to spend 30 days in jail. Boy, judges put people in jail for 30 days for contempt of court for not things that don't involve --
ROMANS: Just for talking back.
VELSHI: I would have thought for throwing a backpack at the judge he would have got more than that. But maybe he will think twice before it does it again.
ROMANS: The polygamous leader convicted of sexually assaulting young girls, he's in a Texas hospital. Officials say Warren Jeffs was rushed to the ER on Sunday after getting sick during a fast. Jeffs is in a coma and is in a critical condition. He is expected to survive. Jeffs is serving a life sentence plus 20 years.
COSTELLO: President Obama's uncle to face deportation following his arrest in Massachusetts last week. Police on framing him say Oniangle Obama was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence. He's the half brother of the president's father. Sources say he's been in this country illegally.
VELSHI: Well, he was late to the party, but Texas Governor Rick Perry is rocking the Republican race for president. The latest CNN Poll numbers confirm that.
Joining us now from Manchester, New Hampshire, CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser. Paul, good to see you this morning. These - these numbers are kind of remarkable for a late entrant, we had seen that race be relatively tight amongst the top - the candidates. This has changed the game a little bit. Tell us about it.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It really has, Ali. Our poll just out and second straight poll to show this, the Gallup Poll last week same thing. Look at this. Rick Perry, the Texas governor, long time Texas governor, look where he stands in the -
VELSHI: Wow.
STEINHAUSER: -- brand new CNN/ORC Poll. Twenty-seven percent. You got it. This is among Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP. They say 27 percent that they would pick right now if it was held today, they would pick Rick Perry as our presidential nominee.
Look at that. Mitt Romney, who was the frontrunner, he was the frontrunner in the polls, now the former Massachusetts governor 14 percent, Sarah Palin at 10 percent, Michelle Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota at nine percent as well as Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor.
Ali, let's take Giuliani and Palin -
VELSHI: Sure. Yes.
STEINHAUSER: -- out of the equation and -
VELSHI: Because they're not declared.
STEINHAUSER: Exactly. (INAUDIBLE) but they're not declared. And take a look at this. Perry's lead now 32 percent to 18 percent over Romney. There's Bachmann at 12 percent. Gingrich at seven percent, the former house speaker, of course. And Ron Paul, the congressman from Texas, remember he's making his third bid for the White House, he's at six percent.
But you're absolutely right. Rick Perry has definitely changed the dynamics of this race for the Republican nomination, Ali.
VELSHI: Tell me how this works. Go back into your - your mind of polling and analysis and tell me what typically happens to big name candidates who get into the game late.
STEINHAUSER: The last two big name candidates who got in late did not have the staying power. Let's go back four years and Fred Thompson, the former senator, jumped into the race with a lot of fanfare. He jumped in late, immediately he jumped in the polls but didn't have much staying power. Dropped in the polls and was out pretty early in the primary process.
And go back four years earlier, Wesley Clark, on the Democratic side, the former general, former head of NATO, did the same thing. A lot of fanfare, jumped in late. Didn't have the staying power, did not do well after an initial bump in the polls, and then petered out.
But I'd say one thing about Rick Perry, this guy is a very good politician, compared to maybe those two other names we just mentioned.
VELSHI: Yes.
STEINHAUSER: But Ali, one other thing, a lot is going to happen in the next two months. You've got five presidential debates over the next two months including two from CNN. A lot will happen. A lot could change this race. Rick Perry will be tested for the first time, Ali.
VELSHI: Eleventh - September 11th in Tampa.
STEINHAUSER: September 12th.
VELSHI: September 12th. I'm sorry. Tampa. Well, we'll be there together. Good to see you my friend.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, should candidates religion matter?
Consider Mitt Romney, once a strong frontrunner for the Republican nomination, the latest CNN/ORC Poll shows Romney slipping to a distant second. The man at the top, you just heard, Texas Governor Rick Perry, a man who loudly touts his Christian religion, remember the prayer rally?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Like all of you, I love this country deeply. Thank you all for being here. And indeed - indeed the only thing that you love more is the living Christ.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I'm not saying Perry's Christian faith is why he's on top, but Romney's not, but Romney's Mormon faith does not resonate with conservative Christian voters, voters who are a force in Republican Primary elections.
As outgoing "New York Times" executive editor Bill Keller put it recently, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman are Mormons, the faith that many conservative Christians have been taught is a cult and that many others think is just weird. Keller's magazine article also questioned how religion might influence Perry's presidency and that of other GOP candidates.
Not that religion has not been a factor in other presidential campaigns. You remember Reverend Jeremiah Wright back in 2008. Candidate Obama was forced to explain his association with the controversial preacher.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong, but divisive. Divisive at a time when we need unity, racially charged at a time when we need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Still, Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Agnostic, Atheist, what does it matter? This is America where we celebrate the freedom to believe what we choose.
So the "Talk Back" question for you this morning, should a candidate's religion matter? Facebook.com/AmericanMorning, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning. I'll read your comments later this hour.
ROMANS: Can't wait for those.
VELSHI: Such a good question.
ROMANS: Oh, yes.
VELSHI: Very excited about that.
ROMANS: Former Vice President Dick Cheney taking aim at some of his Bush White House colleagues in his new memoir. Cheney accusing Colin Powell of undermining the president on the Iraq War and he's questioning whether Condoleezza Rice was a competent Secretary of State.
In an NBC interview, Cheney was also asked about events on the eve of the war, which aren't quite the way President Bush remembers them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DICK CHENEY, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT: That's the question.
JAIME GANGEL, NBC HOST: Then makes it sound like he was in charge and decisive. Your version makes it sound like you were.
CHENEY: Well, I think there's no question that the president was in charge that day. My version is in my book. His version's in his book. We agreed that we'd authorize our pilots to shoot down a hijacked aircraft that refused to divert.
GANGEL: But you recommended it to him?
CHENEY: I did recommend it. That's my recollection of it. His is somewhat different. But that's not surprising. I mean, we were (ph) in a fog of war that morning all kinds of things going on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right. Dick Cheney's memoir "In My Time" comes out today. He promised that heads would be exploding all over Washington.
VELSHI: It's very - the promotion of this thing is sort of very tabloid-esque. It's bane (ph).
COSTELLO: He wants his book to sell and he's going to appear everywhere including on CNN very soon.
VELSHI: Which is interesting, he doesn't need the money from it, but it will probably generate a great deal of money, so -
COSTELLO: And I think he's - he wants his legacy - he wants to set his own agenda for his legacy.
VELSHI: Yes. Yes.
COSTELLO: That's what he's concerned about right now.
ROMANS: Yes. This is the definitive - his definitive story about what happened, his recollections as he says.
VELSHI: His recollections.
COSTELLO: And let's face it, what Vice President have you ever talked about like you talk about Dick Cheney.
VELSHI: Probably none during his term and probably none so much after.
COSTELLO: Right. We never even remember vice presidents.
VELSHI: We're going to do that as question of the day, which Vice President got more ink than Dick Cheney during his term afterwards? We'll do (ph) that for another day.
Coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, no question that Hurricane Irene took a heavy toll, but those dire warnings for the mother of all storms some say didn't pan out. We're going to hear what hurricane forecasters are saying about it now.
It's 22 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: "Minding Your Business" this morning.
A solid rally in stock markets yesterday. The Dow rose more than two percent, so did the S&P 500, and the NASDAQ was up about 3.3 percent. Three major factors driving markets higher, good news of a bank merger in Greece. That signaled stability in Europe. There was a solid report on consumer spending here in this country and relief that Hurricane Irene caused less damage than had been feared.
Today we get the closely watched Case-Shiller Home Price Index for June. That tracks the monthly changes of the value of real estate in 20 metropolitan areas nationwide. Is the value of your house rising or falling? We'll find out.
And a report on consumer confidence is expected a little later this morning as well. Of course, Friday is the big jobs report, so things could be a little volatile until then. Right now, U.S. stock futures are trading slightly lower ahead of the opening bell.
President Obama nominated Alan Krueger to be his top economic adviser yesterday. Lots of pressure on the White House about the ailing jobs market in this country and Krueger is a labor economist. He was also involved in a Cash for Clunkers Program if you remember that. The official appointment is pending Senate confirmation.
Verizon ranks highest for overall wireless network performance. That's according to a new survey by J.D. Power and Associates. Respondents saying they experienced fewer dropped calls, initial connection issues and texting problems with Verizon's service so far in 2011.
AMERICAN MORNING will be back after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Good morning to you. Top stories now. More than a day after the storm, parts of the Northeast still suffering the worst of Irene. Floodwaters still rising in Vermont. The governor there saying entire communities in his state are now under water, with hundreds of people still trapped.
VELSHI: Obama administration officials will visit three states today that were hard hit by hurricane Irene, including Vermont, as well they'll be in Virginia and North Carolina.
ROMANS: And to Libya now where some of Moammar Gadhafi's family members have surfaced. Actually, officials in Algeria confirming they've taken in Gadhafi's wife and three children on humanitarian grounds. A senior rebel commander also tells CNN one of Gadhafi's sons, Khamis Gadhafi, he says he died in a battle in northwest Libya.
COSTELLO: They say the devil is in the details, and while hurricane Irene was devastating for many people, in other ways, the storm didn't measure up to some of the hype. So, was it a swing and miss for the hurricane center experts?
CNN's John Zarrella has that part of the story for us. He's live in Miami.
John, you are a veteran of hurricane coverage and, you know, sometimes it's right on and sometimes it isn't. We've been talking about this criticism, as you know, I'm -- I think people have to be careful, particularly in big centers like New York to say that we dodged a bullet because lots of people are dead and a lot of people didn't dodge a bullet. But it does speak to how accurate our forecasting is.
I know you've been looking into this.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's no question about it. This is a long standing issue, Ali. And when it comes to the strength of hurricane Irene, just before it made landfall, the hurricane center will readily admit they missed it. But there's a very good reason.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Max Tucker owns a bar and grill just outside Philadelphia. It flooded. Tucker says no way did the government overreact to Irene.
MAX TUCKER, BAR AND GRILL OWNER: I think we all got really lucky. It could have been a lot worse. I would rather be safe than sorry and I think that they did what was necessary. I think always better safe than sorry.
ZARRELLA: This is where the information comes from that helps keep you safe rather than sorry -- the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Here, the science of forecasting is digested, regurgitated. All that science, everything the super computers were computing, told forecasters Irene would be a major hurricane when it hit North Carolina.
BILL READ, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: A least in the guidance we were looking at, there was no indication of anything that would cause the storm to weaken. So we thought we would have a category 3 storm at landfall.
ZARRELLA: Instead, Irene was a category 1, the weakest. So what happened?
Simple. Hurricane forecasters say they're pretty good at telling where a storm will hit, but technology and science aren't there yet when it comes to forecasting how strong a storm will be. Despite all the modern day advances, they just don't fully understand what makes these storms tick.
And in every storm, Read sees a curveball.
READ: In this case, it was one where it went downhill and, Charlie, just a few years ago, is one that went uphill. Neither case did we see that coming. And that's my measure of the fact that we have a long way to go.
ZARRELLA: Aside from the might of the wind, Read says the forecast was on the money -- heavy rainfall, storm surge up the East Coast, and inland flooding. For portions of the Northeast, the rain was a one in 100 year event. In Vermont, is anyone saying there was an overreaction?
GOV. PETER SHUMLIN (D), VERMONT: I do not think that there's any blame to go around. I think that, frankly, those that got hit have their hearts broken and understand how serious this storm was.
ZARRELLA: It's estimated overall damage could reach $10 billion or more. If that happens, Irene will rank as one of the top 15 costliest hurricanes ever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Bill Read told me that they're no better now than they were a decade ago or certainly only marginally better at figuring out intensity of these hurricanes. There's a major study under way right now to try and get a better handle on it. But the fact of the matter is that emergency managers will warn their folks in the -- in their communities to prepare for a storm one category higher than what the hurricane center is forecasting for this very reason the uncertainty of the intensity -- Ali.
VELSHI: Are they -- have they been reacting? Look, a lot of criticism has been towards the media. Do they care about the criticism that the forecast was of a bit?
ZARRELLA: Yes. They absolutely do care about the criticism, but they told me yesterday, they stick by the fact that people evacuated. It was the right thing to do.
And Read said, three out of four times you're going to be told to evacuate and it won't be necessary.
VELSHI: Right.
ZARRELLA: The fourth time you're told, it's going to be Andrew, it's going to be the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas after Ike, or it's going to be hurricane Charlie in Punta Gorda.
VELSHI: You know, Carol was pointing out some of the criticism that had surfaced was that at some point people will say, they told me it was going to be that serious and I've evacuated. The next time I won't.
COSTELLO: I'm telling you, the next time it's forecast for New York City, the way people reacted here, maybe people won't leave because it was hard to get New Yorkers to leave anyway. But yes, there is a sense of that boy who cries wolf, or yelling fire in a crowded theater kind of theory out there.
ROMANS: John is to the point when he says that if people know that three times out of four nothing is going to happen.
VELSHI: Then you'll know.
COSTELLO: People don't know that.
VELSHI: He's telling us.
COSTELLO: I mean, he can tell us all he wants but --
VELSHI: That guy has stood in more hurricanes than anyone I know. Whatever John says I'm listening to.
John, thank you for doing that. It's been a question on our minds and appreciate you're doing that story.
COSTELLO: Talk about NASA now. It's a move that has NASA talking about evacuating the space station. Russia says it's delaying a manned mission to the International Space Station which was scheduled for next month after the crash of an unmanned cargo spacecraft last week that uses the same kind of rocket. Russia, as you know, is our ride up there now after the retirement of the shuttle program and NASA official says they may have to bring astronauts home from the space station if manned missions don't resume by mid- November.
There are six astronauts aboard the International Space Station right now. Two of them are American.
VELSHI: We're told they have a lot of food, though.
COSTELLO: I hope so.
ROMANS: Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING: Rick Perry -- Rick Perry suddenly the clear frontrunner for the GOP presidential race and he now has a Texas-sized bull's eye on his back.
It's 36 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Rick Perry is sitting pretty in the latest CNN/ORC poll with a double-digit lead over his nearest competitor Mitt Romney. But you pay a price for being in first place and this week, Perry is getting some bad press.
First, the poll numbers. Perry leads Mitt Romney by 13 points, the only other announced candidate up there is Michele Bachmann and she's at 9 points.
As for the bad press, how about this headline? This is on "Politico," "Is Rick Perry Dumb?"
Boy, did that spark a debate on "The Sean Hannity" on FOX News last night. But they asked a different question. They asked if President Obama is dumb. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS: Liberals like yourself refer to Reagan as amiable duds. You constantly attack Michele Bachmann's intelligence, Sarah Palin's intelligence -- wait a minute -- George Bush's intelligence and then all of a sudden, every liberal is a genius that drives the economy into a ditch and then you say this guy is brilliant?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got to say that's a hard point to argue with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: There you have it. Of course, you're probably wondering, is it that debate that's really dumb?
Well, we'll explore that.
Sasha Issenberg is a man who knows Rick Perry well. He's the author of "Rick Perry and His Eggheads" and "The Victory Lab." Sasha joins us live now. She's in Washington.
So, when you listen so that debate, what goes through your mind?
SASHA ISSENBERG, AUTHOR: I mean, I don't think anybody is making a claim Rick Perry is an intellectual or, you know, particularly sophisticated thinker about policy or political ideas. One of the things I learned about writing about his world is that he's comfortable surrounding himself with smart people and experts and once he trusts somebody he puts a lot of responsibility into them.
I told a story of how they brings in the four political scientists he never met before and allows them to run experiments on all the aspects of his 2006 campaign to sort of measure what works in a campaign. And there are not a lot of politicians that would be comfortable bringing in academics and give them that level of freedom and authority.
COSTELLO: OK. Maybe you can answer the question for us. Why is this stuff going on, number one? And number two, is Rick Perry dumb? Because surrounding yourself with smart people doesn't sound all that dumb to me.
ISSENBERG: No. I mean, we've seen Perry's grades, they weren't that impressive. We saw Perry compare himself to George W. Bush by saying he went to Yale and I didn't, I went to Texas A&M. And I think Perry has sort of thrived on the idea he's sort of a good old boy and, you know, he -- one thing that surprised me when I learned that he had brought two Yale political scientists into his campaign was that I heard him in speeches take knocks at -- I don't need Ivy League professors to tell me how to run an economy.
So, I think a lot of it is Perry has happily cultivated that image and I think the rise in the polls that you saw is in part because he's been able to bridge this gap between the sort of Washington establishment and to some degree the Republican intellectual elite and this more populist outsider --
COSTELLO: Right. I was going to say there's a difference between portraying yourself as an intellectual and as somebody who's smart in a common sense kind of way.
ISSENBERG: Right.
COSTELLO: And that certainly appeals more to conservative Republicans than the intellectual thing does.
Let's talk about the upcoming Republican debates because Rick Perry has never debated on a national stage. How do you think he might do?
ISSENBERG: And he's debated not a whole lot on the Texas stage given the number of races he's run there. I mean, his campaign in 2010 did a lot of things differently. They cut back on a lot of traditional communications. He didn't meet with editorial boards. One of the things he didn't do in the fall 2010 was he didn't debate.
So, in that respect, he's a little unproven and he's going to go in an unusual position of being a target for many people on stage in his first debate.
And people in his own campaign in 2006 were surprised when he came off a little better than they had expected because he didn't have a reputation necessarily as a guy with a sort of wide command of policy or being particularly quick his feet on complex issues.
COSTELLO: Michele Bachmann did quite well in the debate.
ISSENBERG: Right.
COSTELLO: And he's stomping here right now. So what is she likely -- what is she likely to attack Rick Perry on to gain what she's lost because of Governor Perry?
ISSENBERG: I assume at some point in this campaign, she makes a sort of a stronger push towards social issues. In the couple of months before he got into the race, she tried to stay away from social, cultural issues. There's this issue about the vaccine that he mandated in Texas as governor for teenage girls. And I think that's the type of issue where she might be able to bridge two of her critiques, statewide health care mandate she attacked Romney over, but also has the kind of family values component where she feels comfortable.
I think that increasingly, she's going to find the only way to find growth in this field is to drive harder on the social conservative issues. And I don't know whether she'll do that, you know, in September or wait a little later in the campaign. But I assume that's the place where the space is for her.
COSTELLO: OK. So you know Rick Perry well, you've written two books about him. So, what is your prediction for his staying power?
ISSENBERG: I mean, I think what we've seen and your poll numbers show it, is that there was -- that the assumption that Perry's advisers made when they decided that he could get into this race, there was space between Bachmann and Romney for him. I think it's clear that he's filled that space an in addition, been able to take a eat it and bite out of the support that both Bachmann and Romney have.
This test, as you say, which we'll start to see in the debate as to whether he can, you know, show a sort of command and credibility around national issues, and he's been very comfortable not reaching outside of the sort of boundaries of his state, not necessarily taking on national or international themes.
And Romney's success to some degree, thus far, is that Republicans see him as a plausible president, and I think Perry has a few months to prove to people that he looks like somebody who could be president, too.
COSTELLO: Yes. We'll see on September 13th. Sasha Issenberg, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
ISSENBERG: Thanks.
VELSHI: Very interesting discussion.
ROMANS: Oh, yes. Oh, yes.
VELSHI: All right. Coming up -- at 8:10 eastern, we're going to talk with Ohio democratic Congressman, Dennis Kucinich, also a prior presidential candidate, about why he thinks General Electric's boss, G.E. -- General Electric's boss, Jeffrey Immelt, who's the head of the president's council on jobs and competitiveness, should resign from that job.
ROMANS: Also at 46 minutes after the hour, this morning's top stories straight ahead, including a former NBA player now facing murder charges. VELSHI: It's 45 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRAD PAISLEY, SINGER: Hey. I'm Brad Paisley, and I spend, I don't know, about 100 days a year on the road.
(SINGING)
PAISLEY: Being on the road the hours aren't anything like what you're used to at home. The most important tool to survival is coffee. We've got various kinds. There's Kona that we get sent from Hawaii. Coffee we bought up in Canada. Don't tell them, I don't think we paid any duty on that. This is the monkey poop stuff, personally tested by a lemur. It's pretty ridiculous how really set up we are to make coffee. We carry some workout equipment for whenever we don't have a gym available.
You can't neglect that, but if you're able to say, I'm going to carve out a little time everyday to exercise as if it's as important as eating, then, hopefully, you can stand shake on the road. The good thing about traveling is that it makes you take stock of what's important, because if you're the kind of person who's home everyday with your family, you never go anywhere. You're there every morning when they wake up and every night when go to bed, and you never miss that. Then, you never miss that. You spend your time wisely, and maybe, that's the trick to life itself, really.
Hey, everybody, I'll see you on the road. Thanks for hanging out a little bit today. We'll see you somewhere in America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Forty-nine minutes past the hour. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): This tape just in from Little Falls, New Jersey. More than a day after Irene floodwaters are still raging in many places, at least 27 people have died as a result of this storm. Millions are still without power, entire communities are under water, and hundreds of residents are still trapped.
New York City subways fully back in service this morning after an unprecedented shut down that affected five million people. Some commuter train service north of the city remains suspended. Amtrak is also resuming service between New York and Boston.
Former Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi's, wife and three kids have fled the country. They're now said to be in Algeria. Libya's new government is demanding they be returned.
Nineteen coal miners were rescued from a flooded mine in China early this morning, but three more are still missing. The men have been trapped underground for a week after they accidentally drilled into another flooded mine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (on-camera): That's the news you need to know to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING back right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day, and this was the question, should a candidate's religion matter?
This from Matt, he says, "The candidate's religion should be a none issues, and it should be for one of two reasons. One, this is a secular nation where anyone can practice any faith they wish without interference from others. And two, it's no one's business what anyone else's religious views or faith are. I think it should be an automatic disqualification to appeal to or pander to religious ideologies to win an election."
This from Tony, "Religion should matter up to a point when you believe a higher being is telling you you are doing the right thing or you base your decisions on the alignment of the planets, we have problems."
And this from Jeremy, "Whatever religion they want to believe, and it's their business. Religion has nothing to do with their job performance."
Keep the comments coming. Facebook.com/americanmorning. We'll read some later on on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: All right. I just got a breakfast sandwich.
VELSHI: I am quite aware of that.
COSTELLO: What does it have to do with my question?
ROMANS: It has to do with -- because I love it. It's like a religious experience for me. No.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: All right. It's a new subliminal marketing technique.
VELSHI: What is that? To make me want to eat breakfast because you continually order breakfast, and all I do smell it all morning.
ROMANS: No, think of the subliminal marketing, the smell of bacon in my breakfast making you more productive.
COSTELLO: Oh, my God.
ROMANS: This is something a technique that they're actually using in a Brooklyn supermarket chain, filling the aisles at the scents of chocolate, fresh fruit, and bacon. VELSHI: So, the idea is that these artificial smells boost their sales. Felicia Taylor looked into it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you're passing the sour pickles, it smells good. We buy the olives here, they're delicious.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: About 75 percent of what we sense as taste actually comes from our sense of smell. It's a pretty important detail when it comes to selling food, and the folks here at Net Cost Market have figured out a way to actually boost that scent, and here it is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't eat a lot of product. They cannot attract me by package. So the scent, that's what can attract me. That's why I brought this idea.
TAYLOR (voice-over): Five machines are mounted on the wall throughout the store and pump out artificial scents like bread, chocolate, bacon, and grapefruit.
TAYLOR (on-camera): We wanted to test the power of the aromas. So, we asked Tonya, one of our producers if we could blindfold her and take her through the store and see what she can sense. And keep in mind, she's never been in the store. She has no idea exactly where we're going or what aisles we're in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I smell meat.
TAYLOR: You smell meat?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got a whiff of meat.
TAYLOR: That's amazing. That's exactly where we are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
TAYLOR: And again, there's the device. Something changed?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Are we like in the bakery section? Dessert aisles?
TAYLOR: Desserts, yes. Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yum.
TAYLOR: Yum?
(LAUGHTER)
TAYLOR (voice-over): Customers had a similar reaction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I do smell different like bread smell different, like cooked foods smell different, you know, even like bakery smells different, you know? TAYLOR: Does it make you want to buy more things?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is so yummy and you want to buy everything.
TAYLOR: The company has stores in New York and Pennsylvania, and already has plans to install the machines in all other stores besides this one in Brooklyn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The goal is very simple, to increase the sales by making our customers hungry, satisfied, and happy. Everybody will be happy.
TAYLOR: For the folks at Net Cost Market, they've already seen results with sales up about five percent in the last three months. And that adds up to the sweet smell of success.
Felicia Taylor, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: That's why Ali's such a good television anchor, because I have bacon over here.
VELSHI: Is that what is making me perform better.
ROMANS: Makes me perform better. There you go.
VELSHI: And it gives him a stomachache.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: I order things, if I'm watching TV and I see an ad for pizza, I'll order pizza.
COSTELLO: You will?
ROMANS: He is really susceptible to --
VELSHI: I've ordered most things that are as seen on TV, ped egg, one sweep.
ROMANS: You've ordered those
VELSHI: Everything.
ROMANS: What's the ped egg.
VELSHI: A guy showed up on TV once and you get abs for doing nothing like you just dance and get ads, I ordered the whole set.
COSTELLO: What does that have to do with bacon?
VELSHI: The suggestion, the power of suggestion. COSTELLO: Oh. Got it.
VELSHI: If there's a smell of something, I will order it and eat it, which is why I look like me.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: All right. Next hour, what turns Rafael Nadal into a scaredy cat. Carol sat down with one of the brightest stars in tennis. If he can start (ph) to defend his U.S. Open title and some of the questions and answers might --
COSTELLO: Awesome!
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