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Republican Presidential Ticket is Filled; White House Reaction Follows Romney Pick of Ryan; Beth Myers Discusses Romney Search for V.P.; Shades of Hate Appear Every Day; Pediatrician Accused of Waterboarding Daughter; Competition Ends at Olympic Stadium with Thrilling Moment; Romney Remarks in Manassas, Virginia
Aired August 11, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Here in the CNN Newsroom, I'm Debra Feyerick in today for Don Lemon. Let's get you up to speed on the stories making headlines this hour.
There he is. The republican candidate for vice president of the United States. Mitt Romney announced today, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan running alongside him for the White House. The two are making their next official stop as ticket mates right now in Virginia. We're live from Manassas in just a minute.
And a few hours ago, President Obama landed in Chicago to host a series of high dollar fundraisers. Ticket price $40,000 to attend the President's fundraiser tomorrow at his Hyde Park home. The President's campaign took a quick jab at Paul Ryan today saying, Ryan supports tax cuts for the wealthy that will hurt the middle class.
Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden called Ryan today to congratulate him and welcome him to the race. For the second time in less than 24 hours, U.S. troops in Southern Afghanistan are the target of a deadly attack. A man wearing civilian clothing opened fire on a base in the volatile Helmand Province Friday killing three marines. Just hours earlier in the same region three American soldiers were killed by a man in an Afghan military uniform.
At least 80 people were killed today in Syria according to opposition groups there. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says, the U.S. will start developing contingency plans with Turkish allies in the event Syria's regime collapses. Clinton says, the goal is to help end the bloodshed and President Bashar Al Assad's regime. She met today with Turkish officials and Syrian opposition leaders.
Northwestern Iran is on edge at this hour after a series of aftershocks rocked the region following two powerful earthquakes. State run news agencies report at least 180 people were killed. More than 1300 were injured when the quakes shook East Azerbaijan Province. Rescue crews have been sent to the area to search for survivors.
Louisiana officials desperately trying to find out if an underground salt cavern may be responsible for causing a massive sinkhole. The hole is as big as a football field. And it's threatening to swallow homes and trees. A hundred and fifty homes have already been evacuated. Residents may not be able to go back to their homes for as long as a month. We'll have a live report from Louisiana 15 minutes away.
Well, right now for the first time, a sign is hanging on a podium in Manassas, Virginia, that has the two names Romney/Ryan. Paul Ryan, he is the man Mitt Romney chose to accompany him on the race for the White House. Listen to Mitt Romney earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With energy and vision, Paul Ryan has become an intellectual leader of the Republican Party. He understands the fiscal challenges facing America, our exploding deficits and crushing debt and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don't change course. He combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in America's future and understanding of all the wonderful things the American people can do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Our national political correspondent Jim Acosta is in Manassas right now and, Jim, boy, the sign on the podium sort of sets it in stone. And I'm wondering who made those signs. They must have been sworn to secrecy. (audio gap) Are we having -- (audio gap).
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: -- To members of this crowd behind me, I can tell you, from crisscrossing the state today with this campaign today, Deb, that this -- these are the biggest crowds, some of the biggest enthusiasm that we've seen at Romney campaign events since the beginning of his presidential campaign for the presidency. And I have to tell you, it is very interesting to watch to see sort of the change in energy for this campaign versus what we've seen earlier in this campaign.
Now earlier today, as you saw up and down this stage Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, they started ratcheting up the rhetoric, they threw down the gauntlet on this issue of the economy trying to get the campaign to take its focus away from those personal issues going after Mitt Romney's business record and back on the issues that they want to talk about and that is the economy.
Earlier today, at one of these events here in Virginia, Paul Ryan went after one of his bread and butter issues and that is the out of control national deficit. Ryan put the debate, the subject of the national debt in these terms. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On an unsustainable path that is robbing America of our freedom and security. It doesn't have to be this way. The commitment Mitt Romney and I make to you is this. We won't duck the tough issues. We will lead.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
We won't blame others. We will take responsibility.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So there you hear Paul Ryan. And Deb, you asked for it. Here it is right here. We're holding on to it for the first time. The Romney/Ryan ticket sign is being handed out here in Manassas, Virginia. So, you'll be seeing those all over the country in the coming days. Now, as for this joint ticket, they're going to be going down to North Carolina tomorrow. And then added to the schedule of this bus tour which was a bus tour up and down the East Coast in Ohio, an event has been added for Wisconsin for tomorrow evening, so it will be sort of a home coming for Paul Ryan as they take this campaign, this ticket up to Wisconsin.
And then on Monday, Deb, I will tell you that Paul Ryan is going to be making his first solo trip as the top surrogate for this ticket. Besides Mitt Romney, he is going to the Iowa state fair on Monday, the same day that President Obama will be in Iowa, so this can be a very interesting to watch -- Deb.
FEYERICK: You know, and Jim, from what you're seeing and what you're saying, it really sounds as if the pick of Paul Ryan is energizing about the conservative and the ultra conservative base. What is interesting is there was a little bit of a slip of the tongue that Mitt Romney made during the announcement. Just take a little listen.
ACOSTA: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Join me in welcoming the next president of the United States Paul Ryan.
Every now and then I'm known to make a mistake.
(LAUGHTER)
I did not make a mistake with this guy. But I can tell you this. He is going to be the next vice president of the United States.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: You know, what's fascinating, Jim, is that clearly know, doing a lot of reading about this, clearly Mitt Romney feels very comfortable with Paul Ryan but also Paul Ryan is really the one who has defined the budget debate in Washington in many respects.
ACOSTA: Right.
FEYERICK: So, now, Romney is, he's throwing his hat wholeheartedly behind the Romney budget plan basically?
ACOSTA: Well, a couple things there. First of all, you mentioned that slight mishap with Mitt Romney. I will point out that four years ago, then candidate Barack Obama made a similar gaffe referring to Joe Biden as the next president of the United States had to correct himself. And then Joe Biden came out and referred to Barack Obama as Barack America. So, these things can happen out on the campaign trail especially when you're tired and there's been a lot of sleep deprivation going around on this campaign.
But I will tell you, on this issue of the budget, yes. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, laid out that blueprint for bringing the national debt under control. And at one point, he talked about partially privatizing Medicare for future seniors. That is an issue that is going to be coming up in this campaign. The Romney campaign sort of anticipating what might be a Medicare mud fight to come with the Obama campaign, put out an internal memo saying that as President Mitt Romney will come up with his own plan to bring the deficit under control and balance the budget.
So, you can see they're trying to get ahead of that somewhat. But I did talk to a senior Romney adviser earlier today, Deb, who said, you know, to the point here, that Mitt Romney selected Paul Ryan to make a statement and that statement is about the economic and fiscal situation of this country, about the entitlement situation in this country, and that it is a window into how he would govern as president of the United States.
So, they may be distancing themselves somewhat from the Ryan plan saying that Romney would produce his own plan but at the same time, I think they are embracing it to a certain extent. Otherwise, Paul Ryan would not be out here today, Deb.
FEYERICK: I mean, Jim, is the expectation that we can see we're watching live pictures behind you as Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan take the stage and, clearly, let's just take a listen at this for one moment.
ACOSTA: Yes. I got to tell you, Deb, I don't know if you're listening to me right now. This is as loud as I have heard a Romney campaign rally in this campaign, in the course of this campaign this is as loud as it's gotten. So to see this crowd on stage right now, you have Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, their two respective families. This crowd is fired up. This campaign is fired up right now.
FEYERICK: Yes. Let's take a listen. He is just about to talk. This is --
RYAN: We heard you were out there waiting in line a long time and we want to thank you so much. Guess what? Guess what?
(audience) What?
November 6th, we take our country back. All right?
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
You know, it's really nice to be here with some familiar faces. My buddy Frank Wolf, I heard he talked to you earlier today. He is a gentleman in honor in Congress. It is great to serve with George Alan and I hope you send him back to Congress and essentially serve with him again. And I'm a person who grew up with a lot of mentors in my life. One of the most important mentors to me was a man named Jack Kemp and his wife Joanne is here today and Joanne Kemp, it is really nice to see you.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
How about this awesome governor you guys have? Bob McDonnell, huh? Man.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Let's just review things for a moment. Let's see where things stand. Do you think the economy is heading in the right direction?
(audience) No.
Do you think we're getting our debt and deficit under control?
(audience) No.
Do you think the country is on the right track?
(audience) No.
Do you know why? Because President Obama is our president and he has put all of his policies in place and they're just not working.
Take a look at the results. We've had the worst recovery in 70 years. We have the largest deficit and the biggest government since World War II. One out of six Americans are in poverty today. The highest rate in a generation. Unemployment has been up eight percent for three years. And the President's answer to this is more crony capitalism, more corporate welfare, more Solyndra.
(audience booing)
We don't think the secret to economic growth is politicians in Washington and bureaucrats picking winners and losers in our economy. The secret to economic growth is letting people keep more of what they earn and helping small businesses grow and compete and achieve and create jobs.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
You see, the President has shown us his aspirations for a government centered society with a government run economy. It's not working. It's never worked before. And so President Obama is not going to be able to run for re-election on his record because it's a terrible record. And he didn't change tune. He didn't moderate. He stayed hard left. So what does he have left? Not only nothing, he's going to divide the country to distract the country to try and win this election by default.
Hope and change has now become attack and blame. You know what? We're not going to fall for it. We're not going to fall for this kind of rhetoric that says to people that they're stuck in their station in life victim of circumstances outside of their control and only the government is here to help them cope with it. You know what? That's not who we are. That's not the American idea. That's not the America we know and it's not the America we're going to have, starting next year.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Somewhere out there on that horizon is the dream you have for yourself and for your children. Above the discord and the delay and the distractions of the day, it's there. It's getting farther away because the President has given us policies that have put our nation on a path to debt, doubt, despair, and decline. Here's the good news. We don't have to put up with this. We can turn this thing around. We can get ourselves back on the right track. It's going to take leadership. It's going to mean that politicians had to think about the next generation instead of their next election.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And it's going to take a person with experience in leadership. Mitt Romney in all the things he has done in his life, he is the kind of person who was made for this moment. He is the kind of man with the integrity, the experience that we need. When he ran Bain, he created jobs. He turned around failing enterprises.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
He has first-hand experience that if you have built, started, or run a small business, you did that.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
You remember the Olympics, 1999? People forgot how ugly it got for a moment. It was bloated, wasteful, corrupted, that sound familiar? When his country needed him, Mitt Romney answered the call and he saved the Olympics and made us proud.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(audience chanting)
USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!
When he was governor of Massachusetts, unemployment went down. The credit rating went up. And household incomes increased. Under President Obama, unemployment has gone up. Household incomes have gone down. And for the first time in our nation's history our credit was downgraded. The contrast could not be more clear. And the choice could not be more clear.
Here is our commitment to you. You deserve to decide. You deserve to decide what kind of country we're going to have, what kind of people we are going to be. It is our obligation to give you our fellow citizens a choice of two futures. You're going to decide. Because if we do this right, and we reapply those principles that built this country, we honor you by letting you decide the choice and the course of this country. We will get our country back in on November the 6th.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
This takes special leadership. This takes courage. This takes our country coming together and you know what? When we do this, we're going to get this done and we're going to do it because we have a man who is running for president who has the courage, the integrity, the honesty, the experience, to put us back to work, to get us back on offense, to make us proud again, to reignite the American dream.
Ladies and gentlemen, the next president of the United States, Mitt Romney.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
(audience chanting)
Thank you so much. Manassas, you are very kind to welcome us like this. This is a terrific welcome and a pretty clear indication that come November 6th Virginia is going to vote for Romney/Ryan. We're going to take back the White House.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Now today, today was a good day for me. I got to tell you. It was also a good day for America. We've taken the next step to restoring America's promise with Paul Ryan as our nominee for vice president.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
This is a man who I think you know pretty well. If you said one word about Paul Ryan, it would probably be leader. This is a man who learned leadership young because leadership is a function of character and courage. As a young man, a high schooler, his dad died and he was forced to grow up quickly. He and his family came together and instilled in him were the kind of hard working ethics that are associated with the Midwest of America.
He carries those things in his heart. He's worked in Washington over the past 14 years but you know what? In his heart, it's still Janesville, Wisconsin, small town America still defines a great man like Paul Ryan.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
He didn't go there with ambition to become something big. He went there with ambition to accomplish something big and he's taken --
FEYERICK: And an incredible reception there for Paul Ryan, the new vice presidential candidate. Mitt Romney now speaking. They have been on a bus tour speaking to various crowds. The reception, enthusiastic and incredibly overwhelming.
Well, after Mitt Romney's announcement, the White House followed almost immediately with reaction from the President's re-election team. We're going to have it, that reaction coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: We are going back now to Mitt Romney speaking to the conservative base there. Very energized. Take a listen.
ROMNEY: High unemployment, no wage growth, economic calamity at the door. We want to restore the principles that made America the hope of the earth.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And so we'll do this. We're going to do five things. Five things that will get this economy going again with more jobs and more take home pay. These five things. One, take advantage of our energy resources -- oil, coal, gas, nuclear, renewable, get America energy independent.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
That's number one. Number two, we need to make sure that our people have the skills to succeed not just those in the work force today but also our kids. We will make sure that our schools are focused on the needs of our kids and the parents and the teachers and the teachers union is going to have to take a back seat.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
We want trade. That's number three. Trade that works for America. We want to open up new markets for our goods particularly in Latin America. But when people cheat in trade like China has cheated, we're going to hold them accountable. That's it. And call them on the carpet. We'll going to stop unfair trade.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
So number one, energy. Number two skills. Number three trade. Number four, we're going to finally do something politicians have talked about for years. And that is we're going to cut spending, cut the deficit, and finally get us on track to a balanced budget.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And one more. And one more. We're going to champion small business. We're going to help small business. We want low taxes for small business and regulators that encourage small business. And by the way, there is a big cloud hanging over small business today. You go ask them what they're worried about. And one of the things they'll tell you is they're worried about the cost of health care because of Obamacare. We're going to get rid of Obama care and replace it with something that works for the American people.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) The other day -- the other day, here in Virginia, the President said something I just couldn't believe -- I couldn't imagine he actually said it. You know? And I looked it up. He said, "If you have a business, you didn't build that. Someone else did that."
(AUDIENCE BOOING)
I guess he thinks that government somehow should take responsibility for all the achievements of people in this country. I have a very different view. I believe America was founded on a principle of individuals pursuing happiness as they choose, achieving and reaching for accomplishment and excellence, so when a young person, when a young person makes the honor roll, I know it took a school bus to get them to school but I don't give the bus driver credit for the honor roll.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And I know that if in your work, you spent some extra time finding a way to do the things that other people perhaps can't do at that work site and you get a promotion, I know that to get to work you had to have a driver's license. But I don't give the person at the DMV the credit. I give the person who achieved that promotion the credit.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
Now, the President -- the President says that we're taking him out of context with that quote. Go back and take a look at the whole speech. If you want to get -- if you want to get a full dose of what the President believes, you watch that whole speech. He says in there, if you're successful and you think it's because you're smart, well, lots of people are smart. And if you think it's because you're working hard, it's because -- well a lot of people that are working hard.
I wonder where he was going with this argument. You see, my own view is that we welcome and celebrate people who work hard to improve their skills and reach for achievement. This is the nature of America. America was founded on a principle that our rights did not come from government. Our rights came from the creator.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And among those rights, among those rights were life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In this country we're free to pursue happiness as we choose. And people striving and achieving at what make America the power house that it is. This is the nature of America. The President's changing us into something which is government dominated, government centric. It will not work in America. It will not work anywhere. What works here, what works around the world is free people pursuing their dreams. We want those dreamers here. We can accomplish our dreams.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
And so, and so looking at that kind of record that the President has, and contrasting it with our vision of optimism, bringing back a dynamic and powerful economy with more jobs and more take home pay, the President understandably has resorted to a very unusual campaign and that is in some respects I think he disrespects the office by taking the campaign down to the very lowest point I can recall in my lifetime. We are going to have a very different view.
The next vice president of the United States and I are going to lay out a vision for America of hope and opportunity and progress and achievement and individual accomplishment. We're going to stand for America and we're going to win.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
I love this country. I love America. I know you love America. That's what brings you here. This is not about me. It's not about him. This is about America the country we love. It's in trouble. It needs our help. We're going to take it back and make sure America remains the hope of the earth. Thank you so much.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
FEYERICK: Mitt Romney wrapping up there listening to the cheers of the crowds there to greet him and the vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. We're going to go to our break and we will meet you in a couple of minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: After Mitt Romney's announcement, the White House followed almost immediately with reaction from the president's re-election team.
Let's get to the chief White House correspondent, Jessica Yellin.
Jessica, the White House not caught off guard, but do you think the response, the reaction that we just saw in the campaign was a little surprising?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think it's clear to them and to everybody that Representative Ryan is charismatic as a speaker and is going to fire up a lot of crowds and is something to contend with. I don't think that would come as a surprise to the Obama folks. But they know that they have a fierce contender in terms of somebody who will take it to the president and really bring the attacks aggressively.
On the other hand, they do think they have a message to hit back with and that's what they did right out of the gate. Campaign Manager Jim Mussina released a statement attacking the Ryan budget, which, you know, he released and has been very public about saying it's a new budget. But tax cuts for the wealthy are what it is filled with adding greater burdens on the middle class and seniors. They described Ryan as the architect of the radical Republican House budget.
So you are going to hear from the Obama team the word "Ryan" inside the phrase Romney/Ryan budget a whole lot between now and November. FEYERICK: Talk about the YouTube video already targeting Romney/Ryan, the Romney/Ryan ticket.
YELLIN: One of the things we keep hearing is Democrats are going to pounce on Ryan because he's proposed Medicare changes that upset seniors, could upset seniors. This new video from the Obama team shows -- it's only online -- shows they believe it'll target -- they can use the Ryan budget to send a message to women, the elderly, we've mentioned veterans, students and middle class families that his budget also includes cuts that would hurt them and they plan to campaign on that message as well -- Deb?
FEYERICK: It's so interesting. Clearly they're taking a lot of people. You heard Mitt Romney a few moments ago saying the teachers union is going to take a back seat. Clearly, also appealing to the teachers vote. The vice president has reached out to his opponent -- Joe Biden, reaching out to Paul Ryan. What did he say?
YELLIN: That's right. The vice president, his office released a statement today saying that the vice president called Representative Ryan to congratulate him, and said that he should enjoy today with his wife, and that he looks forward -- here it is. The vice president "urged Congressman Ryan to enjoy the day with his family and said that he looked forward to drawing strong contrasts with him in the days to come on the campaign trail."
Essentially, have fun today, because I'm going to be taking a lot of hits in the weeks to come.
#: What's so interesting is this is definitely going to be a very substantive race with both sides, clearly defining what they see as the future.
Jessica Yellin at the White House, thank you so much.
Conservatives raving about Ryan. Democrats? Let's say they're less impressed by Mitt Romney's pick for vice president.
Ahead, a member of Ryan's own delegation tells us where she thinks Romney went wrong.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: It has been just hours since Mitt Romney announced his vice presidential running mate, a decision some are calling a bold and risky choice, but what went into the process to select Congressman Paul Ryan?
Chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, sat down a few days ago with Beth Myers, the key person heading the Romney campaign's vice presidential search team.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH MYERS, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN VICE PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH TEAM: Mitt Romney is very methodical at making his decisions. What he wants is a couple things. First of all, he wants all the information. And we went about a very thorough process in making sure we had a lot of information about a broad group. He also doesn't like to rule anything out until he has to. So, you know, the first swath was broad. We got a good cut of information about a lot of people. He then narrowed it down and we got even more information. We got personal information from each of the potential candidates. And at that point, again, we had some attorneys look through and go through everybody's record to make sure there was -- you know, I didn't want to miss anything about them. And then Mitt Romney took these candidate dossiers and he thought about them. He read all of them, word for word. I had talked with each of the candidates personally. He had obviously been campaigning with a lot of the candidates personally. He had obviously been campaigning with a lot of the folks that he was considering. And he read the dossiers. We narrowed it down once again. And we did, you know, an even more deep dive on them, and then gave him the final product. And he's thinking about it now.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Does he solicit your advice or --
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: He solicits the advice of a small group of his advisers. But then he asks, I think, everybody he meets, you know, what's your thought on this.
BORGER: And he listens?
MYERS: He listens. He asks, you know, sort of people you wouldn't think he'd ask --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: And Gloria Borger joins me now from Washington.
Gloria, just watching the two men on the campaign trail I was really struck. Here you have Mitt Romney, no jacket, very confident, strolling across the podium. And then Paul Ryan, who is sort of like the junior partner. You know, he has his jacket up, not a hundred percent comfortable, but so thrilled to be up there. What was the key ingredient do you think that made this a perfect match?
BORGER: Well, I think part of it is personal, as you heard Beth Myers talk about. In many ways, you used the phrase "junior partner." Some Republicans have said that, in fact, Paul Ryan is kind of like a guy that Mitt Romney might have hired at Bain Capital. He thinks he's innovative. He thinks he's smart. And so he is, in a sense, the perfect junior partner.
But aside from the personal side of it -- and these two do get along very well, and they clearly click and their families click -- there's also the presidential campaign side of it, which is not to be under estimated. And that is I think the Romney campaign took a look at where they are. And they probably said to themselves, you know what, just running against President Obama and the lousy economy wasn't getting them a presidential lead. So what they decided to do in the choice of Paul Ryan, what that does is it focuses the presidential race, sharpens it to the fiscal issues, to the deficit issues, to entitlement reform, and allows Mitt Romney to take a message of what he will do in the future to help salvage the economy to the American people. Because when you run for president, you can't just be against somebody. You have to be for a vision.
FEYERICK: Sure.
BORGER: I think this helps Romney, in a way, shape his own vision. Now, it's not without risk because the vision is controversial. But it's a vision.
FEYERICK: Yes. Absolutely. Gloria Borger, it is. You have the businessman on one hand, and you've got the budget watchman on the other.
BORGER: Right.
FEYERICK: Together they make a whole.
All right. We know you'll have a lot more at the top of the hour in "The Situation Room," and we look forward to that. Thanks.
BORGER: Thanks.
FEYERICK: Hate is an emotion we all see far too often, from the Wisconsin temple shooting to the campaign trail. It's part of life. We'll look at the root of hate and what it means for all of us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FEYERICK: After last week's temple shooting, we've been hearing the phrase "hate group" a lot, but hate isn't just the purview of the extremist groups. We see shades of it every day. Political opponents demonize each other, like this attack ad against Florida Congressman Alan West. See there? Or in sports. The passion of a team's fans can mean a passion against their opponents that, well, borders on hate.
Wendy Walsh is a human behavioral expert.
And, Wendy, hate has been associated with an adrenalin high. So are some people simply addicted to hate or those feelings of hate?
WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIORAL EXPERT: I think we have to think about what hate is. Hate is anger targeted at a specific object or person or group. But I like to think of all anger as being really a mask for fear. This is a natural kind of fear impulse to take flight or fight.
FEYERICK: You know, it is fascinating. I remember once having a conversation with someone who said people don't get angry from a position of strength. They get angry from a position of weakness, of fear, essentially. Are we wired for hate? You said this fight or flight, is it survival? WALSH: It is. That is a great way to put it, is that anger is usually -- in negotiations, obviously, whoever gets mad first often is the loser when it comes to business negotiations. So being able to keep your cool and being able to be intellectual and rationally debate things is a lot healthier.
But, yes, you know, we're all ingrained with this natural survival instinct to either take flight or fight. And what happens is we can use fear -- in our culture it's used by Madison Avenue to sell us products, of course. If you don't take this, you'll get that. You'll get old. You'll die. We can use fear to overcome an opponent. And fear, and this kind of reactionary hate, is kind of an impulsive thing that can be used very wisely in the polling station.
FEYERICK: On some levels, you're saying, it is a little strategic I suppose but what about external factors. Can a bad economy lead to a rise in acts of hate? What about even this gunman in Wisconsin? You know, he had broken up with his girlfriend. He had moved out of his house. He had left his job. What external factors can contribute to it?
WALSH: Absolutely. The external factors and the environment, the kinds of things like economic problems, the stresses that so many American families are feeling right now, tends to cause historically a rise in things like racism because people are looking for a target for why they're suffering so much. So, yes. It can happen from environmental stresses.
And isn't it interesting that whenever times are really tough, and there seems to be a lot of hate around, there is also a surge in popularity of super heroes, from "The Avengers," down on. We now have them all in one movie. Because this is what people have hope for, some kind of savior when this happens.
FEYERICK: Exactly. Maybe that's what we're going to be looking for in the presidential election. Who is the ultimate savior?
Wendy Walsh, thank you so much. Really appreciate your being here and filling us in on that. Appreciate it.
WALSH: Good to see you.
FEYERICK: A pediatrician is accused of waterboarding his own daughter as punishment. The young girl claims her mother stood by and didn't even stop the alleged abuse. Holly Hughes is here. She's joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SISTER TESA FITZGERALD, CNN HERO: Across our nation, there are thousands of mothers behind bars. I've never met a woman inside who said, gee, I'm going to go out and I'm going to really mess up again.
(on camera): What's your lesson you learned here? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not to ever come back.
FITZGERALD (voice-over): The depth of her guilt, what she's done to this child, is unbelievable. And they want to do everything to make it right. But they're always unsure whether it's really going to work.
I'm Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, and I happily work with incarcerated mothers to keep their families together and to rebuild their lives. When women come out of prison, they're so vulnerable.
FITZGERALD (on camera): What's the hardest part?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not having the money, not having a, job. It feels like there's no way out.
FITZGERALD (voice-over): A home is the heart of what's going to make their life possible.
(on camera): So good to see you! How are you? You're back home.
(voice-over): We give them a lot of love, a lot of support. Around her, is a community who have seen growth and change.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby, trust me, it's going to be all right.
FITZGERALD (on camera): Over time, broken bonds have been mended, and there can now be a wholeness to their life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, it's Kelly from the mentoring program.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a crackhead. I gave birth while I was still incarcerated. I just didn't know how I was going to change my life. Sister Tesa didn't just save me, she saved my entire family. She made me proud of who I am today.
FITZGERALD (voice-over): It's everyone's right to live the best life that they can, and when I start seeing that take place in the women that I work with and that I love --
(on camera): Very proud of you.
(voice-over): -- that makes it all worthwhile.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: And that was our "CNN Hero."
Now, accusations of waterboarding against a Delaware pediatrician, and the alleged victim, his 11-year-old daughter. The man arrested is Dr. Melvin Morse. His daughter accuses him of holding her face under a running faucet. She told police he called it waterboarding.
Holly Hughes, here with us.
First of all, Holly, this is disturbing on so many levels. Even if it's not waterboarding, technically --
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: Right.
-- it's very disturbing.
HUGHES: Of course, it is. And this is one of those cases that illustrates for us the fine line between abuse and discipline. And this little girl is saying he used it as a form of discipline, but if what she is alleging happened, happened, it's straight-up abuse. And that's why he's charged with multiple felonies, he and his wife.
FEYERICK: That is remarkable, actually, that his wife simply stood by and watched this happen.
HUGHES: Right.
FEYERICK: So what about her? She's an accomplice, essentially?
HUGHES: Yes. Basically, it's what we call party to a crime. And the whole concept is real easy. In for a penny, in for a pound. So if you're going to stand around and you're going to watch this occur and you're going to sort of encourage it by not interrupting it, yes, she's charged with the exact same thing he is, because she also has a duty to that child, to protect and safeguard.
FEYERICK: So what's amazing, an 11-year-old girl -- she's 11 years old. She has a 5-year-old sister. So where are the two of them now?
HUGHES: Right now, they are in the custody of whatever the state agency is called. Some call it DFACS, Division of Family Services, protective services. But they have been removed from the parents' custody at this time. And both parents have been told, in bond orders, to have no contact. So that's the important thing, that the children have been removed to a safer environment.
FEYERICK: And the one thing that is really remarkable also is that this man is a doctor. So what happens to his practice?
HUGHES: Well, he's a pediatrician, Deb, which is even scarier, right?
FEYERICK: Very, very.
HUGHES: And he's written a book on children and their near-death experiences. So when you hear this story, you have to think, is he experimenting on his own child?
And with respect to his license, there was an emergency hearing held on Thursday, and the medical board in Delaware has temporarily suspended his license, pending the outcome of this investigation.
FEYERICK: Wow, fascinating. All right. Well, we wish the best for this 11 and 5-year-old as authorities try to sort this out and figure out exactly what happened.
HUGHES: Yes.
FEYERICK: Holly Hughes, thank you for your insight, as always.
HUGHES: Thanks.
FEYERICK: Appreciate it.
The U.S. was hot on the heels of Jamaica's relay team at the Olympic. Did the Americans past the fastest person on the planet? More from the Olympics on the other side.
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FEYERICK: Competition ended today at London's Olympic Stadium, with a thrilling moment for Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt. He led his team to a gold medal and a new world record in men's 4 x 100 meter relay. The U.S. team won the silver medal. Bolt has won three gold medals in the London Olympics. Earlier, he won back-to-back 100-meter and 200- meter titles. The U.S. scored gold today in the women's 4 x 400-meter relay. The American team finished nearly four seconds ahead of the Russians. Jamaica won the bronze.
So far, the U.S. has won more gold medals than any other country. The U.S. scored 44 gold medals, 29 silver medals, and 29 bronze medals. That is a total of 101 Olympic medals. Team U.S., doing very well there, as they compete. More games later.
I'm Deborah Feyerick at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I will see you back here one hour from now.
In the meantime, we are going to "THE SITUATION ROOM," live with Wolf Blitzer.
