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Ex-White House Officials Go Public with Obama Criticism; London Terror Arrests; Anxiety Rising over Enterovirus Cases
Aired October 07, 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. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Carol Costello.
He was President Obama's defense secretary and a former chief of staff, but now Leon Panetta can add another title -- critic. After taking aim at the President's policies in his new memoir "Worthy Fights", and in an interview with CNN's Gloria Borger, Panetta said the President's leadership style may not be the best fit for the nation's capital.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEON PANETTA, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: He relies on the logic of his presentation with the hope that ultimately people will embrace that logic and then do what's right.
You know what? In 50 years my experience is logic doesn't work in Washington. You've got to basically go after people and make them understand what they have to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Panetta joins a long list of former Obama officials who have publicly questioned the President's actions and policies -- everyone from cabinet members to press secretaries. Here's a sample.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Asked by the "Atlantic" about Obama's self- described foreign policy doctrine of "don't do stupid stuff" Clinton said "Great nations need organizing principles and don't do stupid stuff is not an organizing principle."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The President had spoken on Monday less about losing patience for this, which is what I do with my nine-year-old, then I think they would have a much better way of talking about this story rather than simply kind of landing on the well, if this happened then we'll look at it sounds exceedingly passive to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Afghanistan he says the President doesn't believe in his own strategy, doesn't consider the war to be his. For him it's all about getting out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was obvious when you saw the speech that that was not the way --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're an ad man --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And it all adds up to what one "Washington Post" columnist called, quote "stunning disloyalty to the President".
So let's talk about that. Kevin Madden is a CNN political commentator and Republican strategist; and Robert Zimmerman is a Democratic strategist. Welcome to both of you.
KEVIN MADDEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So Kevin, why so many of Obama's former friends criticizing him publicly?
MADDEN: I think there's a genuine frustration by so many of these former officials about the President's inability to listen to what they believe is good advice. Whether that's Robert Gates or now Leon Panetta or previously Robert Gibbs and David Axelrod, I think that there's a genuine frustration that the President seems very focused on just keeping his own counsel and sometimes that counsel hasn't resulted in the best decision.
ZIMMERMAN: But Kevin, that's not unique.
(CROSSTALK)
MADDEN: And sometimes it's led to a level of ambivalence with the big challenges that we face.
ZIMMERMAN: Kevin, Kevin --
MADDEN: So there does seem to be -- I think that's why so many are voicing their frustrations.
ZIMMERMAN: But that's not unique.
COSTELLO: Well, wait a second, Robert.
ZIMMERMAN: Sure.
COSTELLO: So you're saying it's for the good of the country?
MADDEN: No, I think it's genuine frustration. I do think that there is a certain element of it where their loyalty to the President is not just blind loyalty but instead it's loyalty to his best interest.
ZIMMERMAN: I think on that we can agree. Someone like Leon Panetta, Kevin --
(CROSSTALK)
MADDEN: It seems like he's trying to send a message to the President that he needs to change --
ZIMMERMAN: Excuse me. If I can make the point, Kevin. You know, you talk about this like this situation is unique to the Obama presidency. These types of books from former aides and cabinet members actually go back to the Reagan administration. Some of them I think make a great contribution to history.
I mean we can all agree that Leon Panetta clearly is a great patriot and a tremendous public servant and he also praises President Obama in many respects in terms of rebuilding the economy, the war on terror, his steps against the war on terrorism. You may have missed those chapters, Kevin, in your talking points.
MADDEN: Robert, I'm not offering talking points.
ZIMMERMAN: But let's also remember -- excuse me -- if I could finish my point.
MADDEN: I answered a direct question that Carol asked me about my opinion.
ZIMMERMAN: There were some issues here, though, for example like Don Regan, President Reagan's former chief of staff who wrote a book about gossiping about Nancy Reagan. That's certainly is nothing more than a cheap political spot and it's an important distinction to draw there.
COSTELLO: So Robert, in your mind, why are all of these critics coming out of the woodwork that used to be President Obama's friends? Is it for the good of the country or is it as Kevin said they're expressing their frustration or do they just want to make money?
ZIMMERMAN: Carol, I think one -- I think really in fairness they're patriots and I think to the credit of Leon Panetta or Hillary Clinton --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: We're at war, though. I mean we're at war.
ZIMMERMAN: Sure -- but their contribution --
COSTELLO: And as former Defense Secretary, he's coming out and criticizing the President's war strategy.
ZIMMERMAN: Well actually, he's actually praising what the President's doing right now on the Middle East and that's worth nothing.
COSTELLO: But he said it came too late.
ZIMMERMAN: He argues it came too late. Now history will make those decisions. There are many other voices that have to be heard. But I think in this situation, honestly, I think they make a great contribution to history with these books and I really ultimately don't feel that they're going to -- they become a Republican talking point. And I think the Republicans make a mistake with that tactic because it doesn't replace the lack of Republican Party having a real agenda as the Wall Street Journal pointed out or Peggy Noonan mentioned.
So we Democrats tried that during the Bush administration and I would recommend to you as required read the books by the Bush administration officials attacking Bush, but that's just me.
COSTELLO: Kevin.
MADDEN: I think many -- I think look. I think Republicans are going to sort of get out of the way and let Leon Panetta's criticism stand on its own. That's what's very compelling, I think, about Leon Panetta's criticism is that it's not bitter, it's not personal, it's not wide-eyed. It's very substantive and it's also topical considering some of the challenges that the President's faced and some of the struggles he's faced on making decisions related to the challenges.
ZIMMERMAN: But the problem, Kevin, is the Republicans like Governor Bobby Jindal are not getting out of the way, they're trying to exploit this situation. And I agree --
MADDEN: No, they're not exploiting it.
ZIMMERMAN: Excuse me. He brought it up in a partisan speech.
COSTELLO: Well, why shouldn't they -- you're talking about exploiting, why shouldn't they break it out.
MADDEN: They're not exploiting it.
ZIMMERMAN: Because when you take national security and try to make a partisan game it never works. And ultimately it doesn't replace the Republican Party, according to the Wall Street Journal or Peggy Noonan, not having an agenda for this election.
MADDEN: Look I don't make -- I always come on and I try not to be partisan. I'm trying to offer a clinical assessment here.
ZIMMERMAN: I must have missed that memo, Kev. I don't recall that, ok.
COSTELLO: Kevin, last word, go ahead.
MADDEN: Yes, you did. What so many Republicans are saying, at worst what they're saying is we told you so. We told you that this president was ambivalent. We told you that --
ZIMMERMAN: You mean the Republican Party that invaded Iraq is now going to lecture us about how to address this? This was the Bush strategy.
MADDEN: Those aren't partisan talking points at all, right, Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: That's history, Kevin. COSTELLO: I have to wrap it up here. Kevin Madden, Robert Zimmerman
-- thanks to both of you for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.
ZIMMERMAN: Thank you.
MADDEN: Thanks. Great to be with you.
ZIMMERMAN: Good to be with you. .
COSTELLO: All right, I told you earlier about these terrorists that have gone down in London. Four men arrested for suspected terrorist activity. Nic Robertson has been looking into this. What have you found out, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Counterterrorism police conducted the raid but they were supported by armed police which here in the U.K. is a significant step above the normal. It does indicate that police were very concerned about how these men might react.
They have been arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the commissioning, the instigation, or the preparation of acts of terrorism -- very serious offenses. Two men were 20 years old; the other two men 21 years old. Each one of the men, one of the 21-year- olds tried it appears to escape arrest. Police say that he was tasered during the arrest operation.
No one was injured but this does come very much hard on the heels of the raising of the terror threat level in the U.K. over the past month or so, the concerns there that young men from the U.K. might go to Syria or other countries, learn terrorist skills and come back with the aim of perpetrating and attacking the U.K. And when you listen to the language of why these men were arrested on suspicion of possible preparation of acts of terrorism, this gives you an idea here and the armed police as well that this was a serious operation where there were consequences for it to escalate.
COSTELLO: Do we know what these suspected acts of terrorism were?
ROBERTSON: You know, we have very few details at the moment. We don't have names of the men. We have no other details about them. Were they residents of the U.K.? Were they passing through? Had they recently been to the Middle East, for example? They are merely listed by the police as Man A, 20 years old; Man B, 20 years old; Man C 21; Man D 21. So you can see that the information police are providing at the moment is very minimal, which is the normal situation here for the police.
Again, this is in the center of London. They're now being questioned by police at different police stations in the center of London. Police say they continue to search several premises and vehicles in the center and the west of London where the arrest operations took place -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know I'm asking you a lot of questions you probably don't know the answers to yet because you've just started digging but any idea what led authorities to these men?
ROBERTSON: In situations like this, it's often because somebody close to those men involved has been an informer for the police or has provided information to the police. We don't know if that's the case in this situation. Certainly I mean huge amount of increased activity by the security services in the U.K. right now, focused on groups of individuals like this who might perpetrate terrorism acts, particularly people coming back from Syria.
There's also electronics eavesdropping as well, a huge operation going on of that type -- phones, e-mails, anything electronic if you will. So we don't know if this is human intelligence picked up from the community or if it's some kind of electronic information that was picked up which caused police to focus on these men.
What we've often found in the past is that they've probably -- we don't know for sure, but probably -- been monitored for some time. The police coming in at that moment, where they think that the group may go operational -- that is, about to perform an act of terrorism because here in the U.K. that is the only way that the police are going to get a successful conviction. So they may watch and monitor for some time before moving in -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. I'll let you get back to it. Nic Robertson reporting live from London.
I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A scary virus which has infected hundreds of school kids nationwide has already been found in more parts of the country. Enterovirus is already believed to have killed this four-year-old New Jersey boy. The only symptom this little boy had was a possible case of pink eye when he passed away in his sleep two weeks ago.
Now, the virus may be responsible for several other deaths. This current deadly strain of enterovirus is the most dangerous with more than 500 cases reported in 43 states. Dr. Anne Schuchat is director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Good morning.
DR. ANNE SCHUCHAT, CDC NATIONAL CENTER FOR IMMUNIZATION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Should we be more worried about enterovirus than we are Ebola?
SCHUCHAT: Enterovirus-68 is spreading pretty widely here in the United States. The vast majority of children who are getting this infection have mild symptoms but some are getting severe illness -- extremely severe and, of course, the tragic case of the child in New Jersey who passed away is on all of our minds. COSTELLO: Well, it's very scary because the boy's parents said they
put him to bed, they thought he had pink eye and then he never woke up. I mean how could that happen with enterovirus?
SCHUCHAT: You know, that was every parent's worst nightmare. What I can say is this is a relatively new virus and it causes a spectrum of illness ranging from mild or almost asymptomatic infection to difficulty breathing and pneumonia. We do, with enteroviruses, sometimes see pink eye or conjunctivitis and we do believe that it can sometimes probably cause neurologic syndromes.
But we're investigating a handful of deaths around the country and in most of these what we know is that the children died with the virus but it's unclear whether the virus was the cause. In the New Jersey instance, we know that the investigation did suggest the child died from an enterovirus infection.
COSTELLO: So I can imagine every parent -- because pink eye is pretty common, right? So if your child gets pink eye, what should you do?
SCHUCHAT: You know, the most important thing for parents to know is there are steps they can take to keep their kids healthy. Washing their hands and having their kids wash their hands frequently is a really important step. It sounds so simple, people discount it but it's a really good way to protect your kids from respiratory infections and to protect them from spreading respiratory infections to others.
Another thing parents can do is disinfect commonly-touched surfaces like toys that the kids are playing with or doorknobs. Then another thing is to keep your child home if the child is sick and try to keep sick people away from the child. Those are important steps.
Last thing I want to mention is that we know there's a lot of discussion about the enterovirus circulating but we're entering the season when other viruses will be spreading as well and influenza vaccination is strongly recommended to protect your kids from complications from flu.
Last year, tragically, over 100 children in the United States died from influenza. Very few of them had gotten the vaccine. We really want to get as many people vaccinated against influenza as possible. And the flu vaccines are out in doctor's offices and pharmacies and so forth already this season.
COSTELLO: I already got mine. Dr. Schuchat, thanks so much, I appreciate it.
I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking top stories for you at 50 minutes past the hour.
There's a possible break in the manhunt for an alleged cop killer, Eric Frein. Officials believe they found a handwritten letter by the 31-year-old survivalist. They say it essentially amounts to a confession detailing his ambush of two Pennsylvania state police troopers back on September 12 and how he planned on evading police in the woods. The letter, however, does not offer a clear motive.
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper called the legalization of marijuana in his state a quote, "reckless decision". The Democratic incumbent who's in the middle of a neck and neck race spoke out against weed at a debate sponsored by Politico. 55 percent of Colorado voters approved legalization back in 2012.
USA swimming has suspended Michael Phelps for six months. The most decorated Olympian ever was charged with DUI last week. It says -- which the team says violates its code of conduct. The 29-year-old also will not be allowed to compete in world championships next year.
New developments in the Veterans Administration scandal over long waits for medical care first exposed here on CNN. Four senior executives now in the process of being fired. They include directors of V.A. hospitals in Pennsylvania and Georgia and a regional hospital director in Alabama. The moves are the first since Congress passed a law making it easier for the V.A. to fire officials suspected of wrongdoing.
Samsung profits are plunging. One of the world's largest smart phone makers is reporting a massive 60 percent drop in profits from just a year ago, results far worse than expected. The tech company has been losing its mobile war against Apple as well as upstart smart phone makers in China.
Singing in public is tough; singing in public while on ice skates is tougher; singing in public while on ice skates and dodge a patch of carpet might not be as hard as you think.
Here's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mark Donnelly was doing what he always does, singing Canada's national anthem at a hockey game.
When he found himself skating on thin carpet.
True to his nickname, "Mr. O Canada", Mark kept singing, leading some to sing his praises -- a lesson in showmanship.
MARK DONNELLY, SINGER, "MR. O CANADA": The thing is those carpets were supposed to be up by the time I started skating around.
MOOS: Did it hurt?
DONNELLY: I landed pretty hard on my left knee.
MOOS: But nothing a little extra-strength pain reliever and icing couldn't cure, though he did have to skip his own hockey league game. He plays goalie. Even his chair almost fell --
DONNELLY: Oops.
MOOS: As he sat down for his interview. An icy fall hasn't got this much attention --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sorry.
MOOS: -- since a Canadian singer messed up the words to the U.S. national anthem, left, then came back to her downfall.
Twice in recent years, we've seen Miss USAs hit the deck.
We've seen Jennifer Lawrence trip over traffic cones, and Conan O'Brien bang his head while racing actress Teri Hatcher. Conan suffered a concussion.
Beyonce caught her heel on her hand and took a dive, but like a diva she came up swinging her hair.
Even Lulabelle the camel fell into the pews at a Christmas pageant rehearsal.
And when Carmen Electra went down on the runway, her would-be rescuer also wiped out.
Mark thinks there's a message in his mishap.
(on camera): It could have been worse, there could have been a lot more of Mark to fall. He used to weigh 370 pounds, and managed to lose more than half his body weight.
DONNELLY: If I went down, I don't think I would have been coming up.
MOOS (voice-over): Perseverance in weight loss, perseverance in performance. That's what Mark hopes will be the takeaway from being taken down.
(on camera): Do you have a message for the guy who laid the carpet?
DONNELLY: Thank you?
MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Thanks for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. Be sure to watch tomorrow when Mike Rowe will be here with an inside look at his new show "SOMEBODY'S GOTTA DO IT".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our next stop will be the wardrobe department. Let's say this is probably the most expensive department here to run. And it falls under technical. The costumes here, like anything, can only live so long in the water.
If you took your bathing suit and swam in it five times a week for a period of time, within a few weeks it's going to -- there's no color left in it.
MIKE ROWE, CNN HOST: They get funky. They start to smell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's a shoe technician painting our tango shoes that are used in the show. There's a total of about 60 pairs of these active and they have to be touched up every single day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the attention to detail that we do for all the departments.
ROWE: How many shoes would you say you've touched up over the last eight years?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I won't even go there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It's a cool show. Mike Rowe right here on NEWSROOM tomorrow, 10:00 a.m. Eastern time, live and in person.
"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Persuasive truth or stunning disloyalty? President Obama under attack from a man who used to be a trusted member of his team.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN HOST: A Chicago teenager allegedly tries to leave the U.S. to join ISIS in the Middle East. What federal agents say they found in the family home and how terrorists are recruiting Americans from half a world away?
BERMAN: A frightening new case of Ebola. A health care worker catches the disease after being in the room with a sick patient just twice.
