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Obama and Clinton to Meet at Martha's Vineyard; Redskins Video Defends Team Name; Robin Williams' Friendship with Koko

Aired August 13, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Oh, to be a fly on the wall on Martha's Vineyard tonight because that's where President Obama and Hillary Clinton will have their first face-to-face meeting since Clinton slammed Obama's foreign policy in an interview with "The Atlantic". Hillary Clinton says Obama's action or inaction in Syria was quote, "A failure that opened the door to an ISIS takeover of the region." And then the President's former top diplomat went on to say the White House's self-described strategy of "don't do stupid stuff abroad" isn't a strategy at all.

That is not sitting well with Obama's supporters, including former top aide David Axelrod who seemed to take a swipe at Hillary Clinton and her vote to authorize the Iraq war when he tweeted this, "To clarify, don't do stupid stuff means stuff like occupying Iraq in the first place, which was a tragically bad decision."

So let's talk about all this. Paul Begala is a CNN political commentator and a Democratic strategist; Alice Stewart is a Republican strategist. Welcome to both of you.

ALICE STEWART, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Great to be here, Carol. Thanks.

COSTELLO: Great to have you here. So Paul, President Obama and Hillary Clinton are going to be at this birthday party and supposedly they are going to hug it out. What might that look like?

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first, maybe a few Jell-o shots or something. It's summer, you know, they can party a little bit. Look, it will be fine. They've been through worst. There is an honest disagreement.

What I like is that the disagreement occurred inside the government. Hillary was the President's secretary of state. She supported arming the rebels in Syria. The President decided not to -- that's an honest disagreement about an important issue. Hillary wrote about it in her book.

I don't think people should be surprised she talked about it in an interview. But also Barack Obama is not surprised, I'm sure. I haven't spoken to him, of course. But this is what happens in a government, at least in a smart government where you are trying not to do stupid stuff. You bring in people with different views -- right.

COSTELLO: That's what I find so fascinating Alice, that supposedly Clinton's people called the White House to warn them that there was going to be criticism in her book. That's really happens and President Obama says that's ok, no worries. That's hard to believe.

STEWART: Yes, just between you and "The Atlantic" and the rest of the world, after they read the article. First of all, my guess, being on Martha's Vineyard, they will have a little shaved ice summit for the cameras. But this will sting for quite some time because this is a serious rift between then-Secretary of State Clinton and President Obama. And the fact that his leaders and his handlers are saying her comments are horse-bleep goes to show they're offended by it and it's not going to go away.

But the thing to keep in mind here is that for Hillary Clinton to be criticizing the Obama administration for failures in foreign policy is kind of hypocritical because as secretary of state which she was for three years, she was the President's chief foreign policy advisor. She was nominated by the President with the consent of the senate. She was the person in charge of executing his foreign policy. She's just as responsible for these quote "failures" that she's now referring to as his. That was her job to execute these policies through the state department.

So it's disingenuous for her to try and distance herself from the President because in doing so, she's trying to distance herself from her own record, which is impossible to do.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So Paul, Maureen Dowd of the "New York Times" had her own take in a column today. She wrote in part "Clinton took a cheap shot at President Obama when his approval rating on foreign policy had dropped to 36 percent. As one Democrat noted, if Obama was at 63 percent, instead of 36 percent, she would be happy to be Robin to his Batman. So Paul, is this all about Hillary Clinton playing to potential voters? I mean what happened to loyalty?

BEGALA: I don't know. She's been wonderfully loyal, are you kidding me? In her book, she talks about places where they disagreed because if two people agree on everything, one of them is not thinking. And these are two very thoughtful people. I have to say, I have fall out of the habit of reading Maureen Dowd's columns. She's a Pulitzer Prize winner. She's enormously touted.

But particularly if somebody who supports Hillary Clinton, the Media Matters for America which is a progressive group that studies the media did a study on Maureen and found that in her 21 years that Hillary has been on the national stage, something like 72 percent of the columns that Maureen has done about Hillary have been negative. So this one knows.

COSTELLO: That's deflection Paul, you are not really answering the question.

BEGALA: Yes, I am. This one began with the death of Robin Williams, she wrote about Robin Williams' death and somehow used that as a spring board to attack Hillary Clinton. I thought that was a little poor taste, shall we say.

COSTELLO: Yes. That was a strange way to get into it but again what happened to loyalty, Paul Begala?

BEGALA: As I said, I'll say it again Carol. She has been wonderfully loyalty to this President. There were areas of disagreement. She wrote about them honestly in her book. She was asked about them in an interview. What's she going to do -- lie? She's been very loyal to him. Alice is right -- she carried out his foreign policy. I think it's been a big success. We got our soldiers out of Iraq. The mess still exists because we invaded, not because the President has tried to end the war. It's because President Bush started it.

COSTELLO: Alice, I will say that many Americans probably wish that George W. Bush would have had more arguments with Dick Cheney.

STEWART: Right. I think here's what we have when we're talking about huge foreign policy successes. Hillary Clinton was the one that hit the Russian reset button which was a tremendous failure. She failed to recognize Boko Haram has a terrorist group. She's failed to hold anyone accountable for what happened in Benghazi.

So it's really not accurate to say there are foreign policy success that here we have at the end of the day, she's distancing herself from Barack Obama. Like many Democrats are -- a lot of senate Democrats running for re-election are doing just the same.

But here we're talking -- this is an important issue, foreign policy, it's critical. What we don't need, we don't need a lonesome dove like we have in Barack Obama. We don't need a second-guessing hawk like Hillary Clinton. What we need in this country is a pragmatic leader, someone who will restore America to the super power that it once was. Someone that believes that we need peace through strength and that goes through rebuilding relationships that have been torn apart over the past few years with this administration. And that's what the American people want.

And I think also Hillary runs the risk of not being loyal to the President but possibly runs the risk of alienating the base from the left. Although as Paul says, she's doing well in those numbers but this may -- it's a risky move but we'll see what happens.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Paula Begala, Alice Stewart -- thanks so much for being with me.

BEGALA: Thanks. I'll be right back.

STEWART: Thanks Carol.

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COSTELLO: The Washington Redskins are responding to critics of the team's name with a new online campaign. The team has released a video on the site RedskinsFacts.com in which Native Americans say they are not only fans of the team but fans of the name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It actually makes me feel proud. It uplifts my spirit. It reminds me of my cultural background and my heritage, where I come from.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's never been an issue for myself or anyone in my family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why? Why do they want to change the name? It's not a big deal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Redskins, it's a powerful name. It's a warrior name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To break it down into something it's not, the intent has never been, never been to degrade people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. There is one important fact that's left out of that Redskins facts video. As the "Washington Post" reports many of the people in it are from the Chippewa Cree tribe in Montana and the Washington Redskins Foundation has paid for projects on the reservation to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Andy Scholes joins me now to tell us if this will make any difference at all. Good morning.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Good morning -- Carol. You know, this is another move to try to sway public opinion and once again counter what the Unida Nation is trying to accomplish. This tribe in Montana, they have no problem with the name but it maybe because they have close ties with the team.

According to the "Washington Post", former Redskins players like Chris Coolie (ph) have visited the reservation and attended the tribe's local football practices. The Redskins have built playgrounds for that community and tribe in Montana.

You know this video, it's another cog in what looks like it's going to be just a forever, unending circle of debate of whether or not the team should change the name. On one side, you have the people who think they should change the name. The Unida Nation who, you know, they put their own video during the NBA finals. They release polls showing that Native Americans do consider the name offensive. They even persuaded 50 senators to sign a letter urging Daniel Snyder to change the name. They got President Obama to say if he were the owner, he would think about changing the name. You know, I'm guessing every time Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. He gets one of these recommendations, he looks at it and he files it away with the others.

And in the meantime, you know Carol, he releases a video just like this, where he has Native Americans saying they don't mind the name. He also releases his own polling saying fans don't think they should have to change the name and that's what it really boils down to, Carol, the fans. Because as of are right now, the Redskins name hasn't caused fans to change their viewing habit.

I'm a perfect example. Whether I agree with the name or not, the Redskins, they open up the NFL Season in Houston against my Texan -- I'm going to watch every second of that game and as long as fans like me keeping watching the NFL in record numbers and the big dollars keep rolling in, Roger Goodell and Daniel Snyder, they really will not be compelled to ever change the name.

COSTELLO: Well, football season is about to begin, the real football season. Not the week pre-season. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how the NFL announcers talk about the Washington Redskins. Will they say the Washington Redskins, will they say that Washington team?

SCHOLES: Well, on the broadcast, they certainly will Carol because they basically work for the NFL. They're going to be on national television come Monday night when they take on Johnny Football and the Cleveland Browns. That's going to be a very interesting game for the NFL because it's going to be basically more evidence for them in this fight because Johnny Football has brought record numbers in the pre- season thus far. He played your Lions last Saturday and that was a record for an NFL pre-season game on the NFL Network, record viewership.

And I'm sure they're going to get that again as Johnny Football takes on RG3. Again this is more evidence for the NFL, hey record people are watching. The Redskins name is not really affecting anything.

COSTELLO: I get it. It's all about money.

SCHOLES: Yes.

COSTELLO: Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

We'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: Hollywood is mourning the death of iconic actress Lauren Bacall. During her decades' long career, Bacall won two Tony awards, an honorary Oscar. She was nominated for three Emmys. She was one fierce woman. She was 89 years old.

We're also learning more about the way actor Robin Williams death. Officials now confirming what many had feared that the beloved comic hanged himself inside his California home. Toxicology results on whether Williams had drugs or alcohol in his system are weeks away.

Robin Williams' brand of humor though touched people across the globe. His performances seemed to affect people regardless of class, race or even species.

Jeanne Moos has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sure, Robin Williams made us smile. But what made him smile? Tickling an ape?

ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR/COMEDIAN: I tickle her and she's --

MOOS: It was an encounter he called mind-altering, holding hands with a gorilla named Koko, famous for understanding sign language taught by her surrogate mom, Dr. Penny Patterson.

DR. PENNY PATTERSON, SURROGATE MOM: Who is that?

MOOS: Profiled by PBS, the cover girl in "National Geographic", then in 2001, Robin Williams asked to pay a visit.

PATTERSON: She was very drawn to him.

MOOS: She took his glasses and ended up wearing them. She picked his pocket, investigated his wallet, but mostly she asked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tickle, tickle. She wants you to tickle.

MOOS: And they tickled and tickled and tickled.

Ellen DeGeneres noted Robin's hairy arms.

ELLEN DEGENERES, TV HOST: Koko, the gorilla --

WILLIAMS: She actually looked at me and went, where have you been?

MOOS: Years later, he was still using the encounter as material but at the time of the visit.

PATTERSON: He was so quiet and respectful and just present.

MOOS: Perfect manners for making a gorilla swoon.

(on camera): Though this was their one-and-only face-to-face meeting, Koko was already familiar with Robin Williams.

(voice-over): She had recently watched the documentary he did on dolphins and she watched "Awakenings" over and over.

WILLIAMS: But it was interesting to me, you know, hit on by another species.

MOOS (on camera): Koko is known to have a bit of an obsession with a certain body part.

WILLIAMS: She did this and her translator said she wanted you to lift your shirt and I lifted my shirt and she reached out and grabbed both my nipples. I went, I like you.

MOOS (voice-over): But their relationship was nipped in the bud.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't hit. Sweetheart --

WILLIAMS: All of a sudden she grabs my hand and tries to take me in the back, and all of a sudden, I see her translator going, "Koko, no, Mr. Williams doesn't want to play bump, bump."

MOOS: Funny stuff, but try making a gorilla laugh. Back in 2001, Koko was 30 years old and sad about the death of her companion ape named Michael. She hasn't smiled in six months until this funny man tickled her fancy.

Penny Patterson says Koko knew something was amiss.

Listening to phone calls Monday.

PATTERSON: I just said, Koko, we've lost a dear friend. You remember Robin.

MOOS: How could she or we forget him?

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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COSTELLO: Checking some top stories for you at 55 minutes past the hour.

In Gaza, efforts are under way to rebuild and get the water flowing again, amid a three-day Mid East truce due to expire in six hours. Egypt is pushing the Israelis and Palestinians to extend the cease- fire. The Associated Press reports Egypt's proposal calls for easing part of the Israeli blockade in Gaza.

Also -- wow, amazing footage from a hospital in central Nebraska as a wall of water crashes through a window Saturday, breaking through glass, damaging the cafeteria and kitchen. The water piled up to nine feet. The Good Samaritan Hospital says most services are back up after this spate of flash flooding.

The funeral for dirt track racer Kevin Ward, Jr, will be held tomorrow. Visitation is today in Boonville, New York. The 20-year- old was killed on Saturday night after being run over by NASCAR star Tony Stewart. The investigation in to his death could take two weeks. In the meantime another driver from that race says the accident could have been avoided. (inaudible) telling NBC News that he saw Kevin quote, "clear as day" and no one else hit him.

Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" after a break.

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