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Barack Obama Comments on Troop Withdrawal; North Korea President Sick; Candidates Stump in Ohio

Aired September 09, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: So investigations are under way after fans say they were roughed up by police after the East Carolina/West Virginia football game. Hang on a second. This was a home game for East Carolina, they're 2-0 for the first time in -- whoa! And that is a body slam.
So, OK, clearly the video showing here fans being knocked down, body-slammed by police. The chancellor of East Carolina says he will get to the bottom of this incident and the officers will be held accountable.

That's a bit of a beatdown there.

And welcome, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

You' will stay informed all day in the NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown for you.

The president announcing a troop drawdown in Iraq, a small buildup in Afghanistan. We will put the numbers through a CNN "Reality Check" this hour.

Born in the USA, but their parents are illegal immigrants. What happens to the kids when mom and dad are deported?

Women enshrining their pregnancies in colorful keepsakes. The art of the belly, today, Tuesday, September 9th, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Troop drawdown in Iraq. President Bush this morning announcing plans to bring around 8,000 Americans forces home over the next five months. He points to progress in the war zone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Violence is down to its lowest point since the spring of 2004. Civilian deaths are down. Sectarian killings are down. Suicide bombings are down. And normal life is returning to communities across the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, there are currently about 146,000 U.S. troops serving in Iraq. Those being withdrawn include a Marine battalion already scheduled to leave, not being replaced, plus an Army brigade and more than 3,000 support personnel like engineers and military police.

We want to take you now to Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. I understand he is still in Ohio and he's commenting now on the president's plan announced last hour, two hours ago.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They've performed brilliantly under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, and I want to commend General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker as well for the fine work that they've done.

Today President Bush announced a very modest troop redeployment from Iraq. Meanwhile, we will continue to keep nearly 140,000 troops in Iraq while our military is overstretched, which is still at or even above pre-surge levels. We will continue to spend $10 billion a month in Iraq, while the Iraqi government sits on a $79 billion surplus. In the absence of a timetable to remove our combat brigades, we will continue to give Iraq's leaders a blank check instead of pressing them to reconcile their differences.

So the presidents talk of return on success is a new name for continuing the same strategic mistakes that have dominated our foreign policy for over five years.

President Bush also announced additional troops for Afghanistan. I'm glad that the president is moving in the direction that I've advocated for four years. But the most substantial increase will come when an additional Army brigade is deployed five months from now, in February, after the current president has left office. His plan comes up short. It is not enough troops, not enough resources, with not enough urgency.

What President Bush and Senator McCain don't understand is that the central front in the war on terror is not in Iraq, and it never was. The central front is in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the terrorists who hit us on 9/11 are still plotting attacks seven years later.

Today, the Taliban is on the offensive. Al Qaeda has a new sanctuary and its leaders are putting out videotapes. Yet, under President Bush's plan, we still have nearly four times the number of troops in Iraq than Afghanistan, and we have no comprehensive plan to deal with the al Qaeda sanctuary in northwest Pakistan.

Now, the choice for the American people could not be clearer. John McCain has been talking a lot about change, but he's running for four more years of the same foreign policy that we've had under George Bush.

Senator McCain will continue the overwhelming focus on Iraq that has taken our eye off the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. Senator McCain goes even further than President Bush in opposing the sovereign Iraqi government's own support for a timetable to redeploy our troops, while offering no plan to press the Iraqis to reconcile. I am convinced that it is time to change our foreign policy. I will succeed in Iraq by responsibly removing our combat brigades and pressing Iraqis to stand up for their future. I will rebuild our military, I will finally have a comprehensive strategy to finish the job in Afghanistan with more troops, more training of Afghan security forces, more deployment development resources, more anti-corruption safeguards, and more focus on eliminating the Taliban and al Qaeda sanctuary along the Pakistan border. And I will stop sending $10 billion a month in Iraq so that we can invest in our own economy here at home.

Now, last week we heard a lot of tough talk in St. Paul, but we didn't hear much about the Bush/McCain record, because after seven years -- seven years after 9/11, we are still fighting a war without end in Iraq, and we still haven't taken out the terrorists responsible for 9/11. We've still heard non explanation for why Osama bin Laden is still at large, because that's where John McCain and George Bush's judgment have gotten us. President Bush's speech today underscored that we can't afford more of the same.

Now, just one other comment I want to make, and then I'll take three questions.

I've always said that any action with respect to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needs to put taxpayers first and can't under any circumstances bail out shareholders or senior management of that company -- those companies. As a consequence, I'm troubled by the news reports that the outgoing CEOs of Fannie and Freddie may be in line to receive multimillion-dollar severance packages as part of the Treasury plan.

The legislation I supported over the summer gave the government the authority to deny golden parachutes in the event of taxpayer funds being used for the companies. Yesterday, I sent a letter to Secretary Paulson and Director Lockhart to make clear that it would be unacceptable for executives of these institutions to earn a windfall at time when the U.S. Treasurer has taken unprecedented steps to rescue these companies with taxpayer resources.

I hope that the Treasury secretary is giving this matter serious consideration. Certainly, I think taxpayers here in Dayton would not want to hear that part of their -- this package includes a multimillion-dollar bonus, particularly when so many people here are out of work.

With that, let me take a couple questions -- Richard.

QUESTION: You said that the surge was successful beyond anybody's wildest imagination. Doesn't the small-scale redeployments that we've seen today suggest that actually the security gains from the surge are easily irreversible, in which case how can you still think that they're so successful?

OBAMA: Well, what I said was, the violence, the reductions in violence I think exceeded our expectations. There's no doubt about that. Not just mine, but the Bush administration's. And that is something that we all welcome.

But what has been clear throughout this process is that until we have a political reconciliation and stabilization, that we are going to continue to have problems in Iraq. And the fact that this deployment, redeployment, is small and isn't taking place for five months, the bulk of it, I think indicates the degree to which the central problem still has not been solved, which is for the Maliki government, working with Sunni, Shia and Kurd to come together to settle on provincial elections, to deal with the issue of oil revenues, to start spending money effectively and fix these bureaucracies, many of which have become areas of corruption, as opposed to aggressive mechanisms to reconstruct the country. We continue to carry the freight.

Now, the fact that you've seen some progress in Iraqi security forces taking on more responsibility, coupled with reductions in violence, and the fact that you've seen Prime Minister Maliki suggest that a time frame is appropriate, means that we should have a comprehensive strategy for bringing this war to a close, and not what we've heard from the president today, which is essentially some tinkering around the edges and kicking the can down the road to the next president. You know, at this point what it appears is, is that the next president will inherit a status quo that is still unstable. And what's going to be required is a comprehensive strategy.

That's what I've been offering for the last two years.

QUESTION: Senator, your political advisers have tirelessly and patiently told us to not worry about the day-to-day horse race numbers in this race.

OBAMA: Right.

QUESTION: But with equal vigor, they've also said, look at the underlying numbers. Who has the advantage on the economy, who is viewed as an agent of change?

I'd like you to comment on a couple of events the last couple of days.

In a "Washington Post" poll, you had a 19-point lead on economy over John McCain in June. It's down to three after the Republican convention.

Similarly, you had a 32-point lead over McCain on change agent in June. That dropped to 12.

Do you believe structurally this race has changed since the Republican convention? And if so, what are you going to do about it?

OBAMA: Well, I do think that what's changed is that the Republican Party, which had been trying to make an argument about experience, basically got off that and came to our field. And they realized that this is going to be a change election, and they want to have now a debate about who's going to change Washington and who's going to bring about policies that actually will make difference in people's lives.

That's a debate we welcome. That's the debate we wanted to have throughout this campaign.

And it's true, I don't spend a lot of time looking at the ups and downs of the convention. I know that after our convention, we had a bump. After theirs, they get a bump.

I think that what you're going to see settling in is that the race is going to be very close in most of the battleground states, which is really what matters. And what we're looking forward to is having a debate about how we're actually going to change Washington and who's best equipped to do it. And if that's the -- if that's the framework that's in voters' minds when they go into the polls in November, I believe that I can make a very persuasive case that Joe Biden and Barack Obama are better equipment to bring about change than the other ticket.

QUESTION: The X factor in all of this, of course, is Governor Palin joining the ticket. And in that same "Washington Post"/ABC News poll, there is a 20-point swing of white women. It was plus 8 for you, now it's plus 12 for McCain.

Do you think that the addition of Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket has attracted women specifically because of her gender? Do you wish that you had asked a woman to be on your ticket? And what can you do to attract these women back?

OBAMA: You know, I just think that the notion that people are swinging back and forth in the span of a few weeks or a few days, this generally isn't borne out. I mean, these are the same polls that had me 20 down last summer, that have swung wildly throughout this process.

There is no doubt that Governor Palin attracted a lot of attention this week. She's been on the minds of all of you, and as a consequence has been before the American people constantly for the last week, and has brought excitement to the Republican Party. There's no doubt about that.

I think that what we're going to have to do is to see how things settle out over the next few weeks when people start examining who's actually going to deliver on the issues that people care about. You know, who's got an education plan that is going to improve the prospects for our children? Who's got a health care plan that is going to help a whole bunch of women out there who don't have health insurance? Who is better equipped to change the economy so that the average person who is working hard feels like they can get ahead and see their incomes rise?

I mean, ultimately, those are the issues that I think are going to make the biggest difference in this race. But you know, there's no doubt that, you know, the Republicans are excited, particularly the right wing of the Republican Party is excited by Senator -- or Governor Palin's choice. I think that has less to do with gender than it has to do with her ideological predispositions which are closely aligned to theirs.

All right?

I'll take one more. Go ahead, Lee (ph).

QUESTION: Following that a little bit, you've characterized McCain and Palin as trying to focus so much on their biography and not so much on the issues. But are you worried that that seems to be getting some traction, that that does -- their biography does seem to resonate a little bit?

OBAMA: You know, I guess what I've -- one of the benefits of having run a 19-month race is that we have been through all kinds of twists and turns, which has been great for you guys. You get really -- it's been a good story to write about, and there's always something new.

And my general approach throughout this process has been not to worry about today's news or yesterday's polls, but to worry about what is it that I -- where is it that I want to see the country? What is it that I'm trying to accomplish? What's the core message that would drive not only our campaign but also the country if I was elected?

And, you know, I articulated that message at the convention, and I will continue to drive that message home over the next two months. And it's a message that says, we are in serious times right now.

We've got to make some serious decisions. We're going to have to make some serious decisions about hour our tax code works. Is it going to work for the -- those with the most, or is it going to work for ordinary Americans?

We've got to make some serious decisions about energy. Are we going to transform the energy economy so that we are leading the way? Or are we going to look backwards and continue with an energy policy that makes us dependent on foreign oil?

Are we going to transform our education system, as I talked about today, so that our children can be competitive?

I mean, ultimately, the reason I'm run for president is because I think that we have to seize the moment and make good, tough decisions right now. And I'm offering a very specific set of plans in terms of where I want to take the country. And I believe, I have confidence, that the American people, when the dust settles, are going to want somebody who can offer a very clear vision for how we're going to get the country back on track. And, you know, my job is to make sure that I'm being as clear as possible.

All right?

Thank you, guys.

HARRIS: And there you have it. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Riverside, Ohio, making comments, as you heard there near the end, on the tightening race for the presidency, undeniable in all the polls.

Many of the polls having John McCain in the lead right now. Certainly in other polls, it's an absolute dead heat. All of the numbers seemingly within the margins of errors for all of these polls, but at the top you heard Barack Obama commenting on the president's plan to draw down 8,000 Americans forces over the next few month, over the next five months. Barack Obama making comments on that as well.

Let's stick with that point for just a moment longer here.

You know, many people are saying the new drawdown plan is not as strong or as swift as anticipated. It essentially keeps U.S. force strength in Iraq in tact for the rest of the year.

Let's go live now to Baghdad and CNN's Arwa Damon.

And Arwa, let's talk to you about a couple of things here.

We can let the politicians hash out over the numbers and the timing and all of those numbers, but let us talk about what seems to be undeniable at this point. And that is that if the surge of forces into Iraq, and particularly into Baghdad, has had a tangible impact on the security situation there? How long have you been in country there in Iraq?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I've been here pretty much since March 2003, and really over the last few months you are able to see a marked difference.

The security gains, quite frankly, are undeniable. The question is, how sustainable are they?

But what we are able to do right now is get around to parts of the capital that we really weren't able to get to before. Just think about it. How many times have we done live shots speaking about the unidentified bodies bearing signs of torture, or spoken about Shia militias taking over neighborhoods, or al Qaeda forcing families out?

What we're able to do right now, because of those security gains, is actually get to these areas that we couldn't go to before. But what we're discovering there is really the true magnitude of what the Iraqis have suffered through. And some of them are even telling us that the militias are still out there. Yes, they're not at present in the streets as they used to be before, but they're still coming by their homes and intimidating them at night.

Al Qaeda operatives are still out there as well. The U.S. military will be very frank and say that al Qaeda, sure, it's been weakened, but it hasn't been defeated.

And what we've really been able it see right now is a deeper sense of what Iraqis have really been suffering through.

HARRIS: Yes.

DAMON: And we'll never really know or fully understand, but now we're getting a bit more appreciation of it, and also a sense of understanding of where their fears come from.

When it comes to debate about U.S. troop withdrawal and dates and numbers, Iraqis have very mixed opinions on that. But many of them will tell you, you know, sure, we don't want America to stay here forever.

HARRIS: Yes.

DAMON: But at the same time, they're afraid of what Iraq is going to look like when U.S. troops leave.

HARRIS: Yes. Great. You covered it, because I wanted your unique perspective on it, as someone who has been there essentially from the very beginning on this.

You know, the surge was designed to do two things, to accomplish two goals here, which was to make the security situation at least tenable. The other side was to provide some room, some space for the Iraqi politicians to bring about some reconciliation.

Let's get to the second point here.

Clearly, the security situation has improved, but what about the reconciliation? For example, are the local elections still scheduled to take place next month?

DAMON: Tony, probably not. In fact, I would bet money on the fact that, no, it's not going to happen.

In fact, parliament was supposed to convene today to actually debate that very crucial election that would allow for the elections to take place later on this year, and they canceled their session because they didn't have a quorum. And that's really been a big issue right here, and everyone will tell you this, U.S. military, U.S. officials, that, yes, the security gains were supposed to allow for the politicians to be able to work...

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

DAMON: ... to operate. And we're just seeing it happening at an unspeakably slow pace.

It's not just the elections laws. It's also, for example, the very critical oil law that the parliament still has to pass. It's the issue of Iraq starting to spend its own money.

It has tens of billions are dollars, and quite frankly, they're barely capable of spending it. Those individuals that they have in these jobs are either ill equipped or not capable of spending the money, or they just never dealt with such vast sums.

And the politics here have really been such slow going, and it's incredibly frustrating not just for the U.S. military, but also for Iraqi civilians. I mean, they're very aware of the wealth that their country has. They still haven't seen it translate into anything that's making their lives significantly better. HARRIS: It is a very valuable perspective from someone who's been there essentially from the very beginning.

Arwa Damon, great to see you.

DAMON: Thanks.

HARRIS: And thanks for putting up with my e-mails this morning.

Let's change our view a bit and bring the story a bit closer to home. What's ahead for Hurricane Ike?

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

The war in Iraq, front and center this hour. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Bob Woodward accuses President Bush of not being forthright with the American people as violence escalated in Iraq. Woodward writes about it in his new book, "The War Within." He discussed the president's decision to increase troop levels in an interview with CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": And would you agree that the surge, successful as it is, is a reaction to failure.

BOB WOODWARD, AUTHOR, "THE WAR WITHIN": Well, that's an interesting question. For at least six months, the president knew it wasn't working. He was trying to figure out what a new strategy should be. What is interesting, if you try to sum all of this up, is that he never found a way to level with the American people and say, look, I know it's not working. We're going to fix it. He would go out and say it's tough, but then he would say things like, we're absolutely winning, we're winning, when he knew we were not, when the generals knew we were not.

KING: You assert no your book that "the president rarely was the voice of realism on the Iraq War." The obvious question then is, why? Was he not well-informed?

WOODWARD: No. He wanted to fix it, but they didn't want to come out and say, hey, look, this is a mess. They said it was difficult. But you compare the public language with the private language and the memos and the discussions and the meetings and it's -- it couldn't be more different.

And, you know, the question of why is, as I say in the book, I think -- I never questioned the president's sincerity here, but there was an avoidance of conflict within the team in the White House and the cabinet. He never -- as best I can tell from everyone, including himself. I asked him. I said, did you ever say to General Casey, did you ever say to Rumsfeld, hey, this isn't working. Hey, Don.

And the president said, I don't remember those meetings, discussions. I don't have any recollection of that. Well, here is where the rubber meets the road in war. This isn't preparing for war. This isn't the aftermath of a war. This is right in the guts of a war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And as you know, President Bush, today, announced plans to withdrawal 8,000 U.S. troops from Iraq by February and send about 4,500 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. What does this mean for troop levels in Iraq? Does it bring us back to the number we had before the so-called surge? CNN's Josh Levs joins us with another reality check.

Run the numbers for us, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, I just want to put it in some context for you because, obviously, there's a lot of political significance to this idea of 8,000 troops leaving. But what about numerically? I'm going to show you, it's hard to see the numbers, but there's this massive list kept by the Brookings Institution of how many U.S. troop are in Iraq each month. And I have a good graphic for you. Let's go to this first one.

I'm going to start off with May 2003, which is when they start. A couple months after it. Look at these numbers. About 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq then. Then the numbers trickled down. In February 2004, it was 115,000. Then in December 2005, it was up to 160,000. So you can see numbers were already fluctuating.

Now I want to go to this next screen here because this brings us to January 2007. That is when President Bush announced the surge. One hundred and thirty-two thousand troops then. The numbers kept going up and up and it peaked October 2007 at 171,000. And, Tony, now we're back down to about 146,000.

So let's leave that there for a second. If you think about it, 8,000 troops leaving. It still puts us technically ahead of where we were just before he announced the surge. But keep in mind, despite all the political significance, really these numbers have kept fluctuating throughout the time that the U.S. has been there -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right. U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan.

LEVS: OK. You know, we have about 36,000 troops in Afghanistan. About half of them are part of NATO's ISAF force, the International Security Assistance Force. About the other half are working with the U.S. lead coalition. There's 36,000 total. So if we add another 4,500, it will be just over 40,000 U.S. troops there.

HARRIS: Got you. All right, Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: Thanks.

HARRIS: And now an update on the man who wasn't there. North Korea's Kim Jong-Il failed to show at a major event today. What does that mean for the leadership of this secretive nation?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIC SWIMMER: Hi, I'm Michael Phelps. I'm in the NEWSROOM with my northwest Baltimore friend Tony Harris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: That's what I'm talking about. Solid gold. There he is, Michael Phelps. He was there in New York at the New York Stock Exchange ringing the bell. So there's a moment there, a Mount Washington meeting. That's Michael Phelps meeting Walbash (ph) and Belvedere. That's Tony Harris.

All right. Take a look. The Dow down 75 points and the Nasdaq I believe is down about 20 points as well. Twenty-one points at last check. We're following the markets with Susan Lisovicz in just a couple of minutes right here in the NEWSROOM.

Word today that North Korean President Kim Jong-Il may be gravely ill. A U.S. intelligence official says he is suffering from serious medical problems and may have actually had a stroke. Kim was not at a parade in Pyongyang today to celebrate the country's 60th anniversary. We want to understand what this could mean for North Korea and the world. Jim Walsh, we love him, he is an international security analyst with MIT.

Jim, as always, great to see you.

JIM WALSH, INTL. SECURITY EXPERT, MIT: Always good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: OK. That's the basic question. If he is gravely ill, if he is seriously ill, look, if he is incapacitated in any way, what does this mean for North Korea and what does it mean for the world?

WALSH: Well, it's unfortunate timing. I think what it means is you're going to have North Korea pull back. They're going to be nervous. They'll be afraid foreign enemies or internal enemies might try to take advantage of this situation. So they're going be on edge. They're going to pull back. They're going to have to decide who takes over, because that is not clear to anyone who would take over if Kim died or became incapacitated. And, of course, the outside world isn't going to want to pressure them especially hard right now if things are delicate and sensitive. So add all that up together and what you get is things come to a grinding halt in terms of the six-party talks there.

HARRIS: Sure. Jim, is Pyongyang, is Kim Jong-Il attempting to restart that facility there at Yongbyon?

WALSH: Well, that's the report this week, Tony. And you put your finger on what is an unfortunate timing issue. We had been making such great progress with the North Koreans over the course of the past year. You'll remember the North Koreans agreed to stop that reactor which produces material for nuclear weapons. And the U.S., in turn, promised to take them off the terrorism watch list and the Trading with Foreign Enemies Act, that sort of thing. We have not taken those steps because we had concerns about verification, but we promised to take those steps. The North Koreans say, well if you're not going to follow through on your end, we're not going to follow through on our end.

HARRIS: Yes. Why didn't we follow through on our end?

WALSH: Well, because the big -- the 800-pound gorilla in the room, any time you're dealing with the North Korean nuclear program, is verification and the accuracy of that declaration. Now different people disagree. I think we needed to continue to move forward, because we were making great progress and we'd essentially capped that program, which was a success. But right now we're starting some backsliding on both sides and it comes right at a moment now, if these reports are true, and we want to underline if, it comes at a time when the whole thing may come to a grinding halt because of the leadership problem.

HARRIS: And a lot of critics are out there saying, you know what, we could never really trust the North Koreans. And, you know, folks like Jim Walsh had us -- they had us believing that we could make big strides with the North Koreans and look at where we are today. Seals are being broken, presumably, on some of the doors and some of the equipment there at that Yongbyon plant. And look at where we are. I mention former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton comes to mind.

WALSH: Yes, of course. I think John Bolton would take that view. Others might take the view that, well, had we not wasted the first four years, we would have made more progress by now and we wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. But, you know, of course, when it comes to North Korea, you want verification. Trust and verify, as Reagan said.

But we had -- the fact of the matter is, despite all the doubters talk, we had a success in this past year. We've had more success in the past year than we've had in eight years. We had actually stopped the reactor. No reactor means no plutonium. No more plutonium means no more nuclear weapons. So that's a success (ph).

HARRIS: All right, Jim. Great to see you. Thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

WALSH: Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: Both John McCain and Barack Obama are talking to voters today. Find out what they're saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We are bringing you more of what the presidential candidates are saying in their own words. Earlier this hour, we heard from Barack Obama about the troop reductions in Iraq. Now here's John McCain on the trail in Ohio today vowing to fight wasteful spending and boost energy independence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've fought corruption and it didn't matter if the culprits were Democrats or Republicans. I fought big spenders who waste your money on thinks you neither need nor want. And I want to assure you again, I'll take this old ink pen and every single pork barrel earmarked bill that comes across my desk as president, I will veto it. I will make them famous and you will know their names. You will know their names! You will know they're names.

Now, Senator Obama says that he is the agent of change, my friends. Tell me one -- one time he has taken on his party. Never. I've taken on my party every time when it's necessary for the good of the American people. He -- I have never asked for nor received a single earmarked pork barrel project for my state of Arizona. In the short time that he's been in the United States Senate, he has asked for nearly $1 billion in earmark pork barrel projects for his state. Nearly $1 million for every day that he's been in office.

And that's change? My friends, don't be fooled. Don't be fooled. He says -- he was the one who sided with the president and Congress to pass our current energy policy with a bill that was loaded with $2.8 billion in corporate welfare for big oil companies. I voted against it, my friends. I will continue to close that.

Now, let me say to you, my friends, we have to become energy independent and we have to embark on a great national mission to do so. We can do it because we're Americans and we've faced every challenge that we have faced. And we have met it, and we have -- and we have defeated it.

My friends, we've got to stop sending $700 billion a year overseas to countries that don't like us very much. We must stop that. We must stop it. We must. And there's the sign over there. Hold it up. Drill, baby, drill. Drill, baby, drill. Right there. There it is. Yes. We must -- we must drill offshore. We must do that, my friends, and we must have wind, tide, solar, natural gas, automobiles that are in flex fuel, hydrogen and battery. And we must have nuclear power. Nuclear power has to be part of any solution to this problem. And it's clean and it's safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: John McCain in Ohio today. The Democratic and Republican Conventions are over, but the independent convention is in full swing. Join host Lou Dobbs tonight at 7:00 Eastern on CNN. Your home for politics.

Their parents have been deported. The stories of children who are U.S. citizens facing a terrible choice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A teenager born and raised in the United States, her family deported after an immigration raid. Going back to Mexico with them was like going to a foreign land to her, but an American family offered her a very difficult choice.

Thelma Gutierrez has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Julie Quiroz is American. She was born in Washington state. In one day, she says, she lost everything. Her friends, her school, even her country. Last year, immigration agents arrested her two older brothers and her mother, Anna, who was working illegally cleaning hotel rooms to support four children.

JULIE QUIROZ, DAUGHTER OF DEPORTEE: I was there when they handcuffed her. I was there when they took her down.

GUTIERREZ: It happened on her mother's birthday and the day of her elementary school graduation.

QUIROZ: Once you get there, (INAUDIBLE).

GUTIERREZ: Julie's family was deported to Mexico City. She and her little sister, Shareece (ph), also a U.S. citizen, had no choice but to follow.

Did you ever feel like you belonged in Mexico?

QUIROZ: I never belonged there.

GUTIERREZ: Did you ever have friends there?

QUIROZ: I had -- no.

GUTIERREZ: How did you do in school?

QUIROZ: Really bad. I'd just come home, sit down, cry and said, mom, I can't do it.

GUTIERREZ: Why?

QUIROZ: I can't read or write Spanish.

GUTIERREZ: At 13, she was a stranger in a foreign land.

QUIROZ: I felt like there was no more dreams for me.

GUTIERREZ: Then Joe Kennard, a land developer from Texas, heard about Julie's plight and the three million other American kids who have an undocumented parent like Anna, Julie's mom.

JOE KENNARD, LEGAL GUARDIAN: You can make the argument that, you know, she deserved what she got because she was an adult, she made the choices, she knew the consequences, et cetera. But why the children? They're innocent. And they're born here. They're U.S. citizens. GUTIERREZ: The Kennards reached out to Julie's mother in Mexico and said Julie could live with them in Texas and enroll in school. Julie's mother made the incredibly painful decision to implore Julie to go. An unbearable decision to leave her family for her country.

QUIROZ: The thing I like about Texas is that it's so beautiful, wonderful.

GUTIERREZ: Julie now lives with Joe's family near a lake. She's in eighth grade and adjusting to all the changes. When she's alone, she says it still hurts.

QUIROZ: I want to be in my mom's arms.

GUTIERREZ: The dream that keeps her going, now determined to become a lawyer to fight for kids who were forced to endure painful separation.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Waxahachie, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And giving life to art. A mother's gift.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, it's not every day that you hear about an art form like this one. A keepsake of sorts for pregnant women to celebrate what they look like at the height of their pregnancy.

Josh, can you tell us about this?

LEVS: Have you seen these picture?

HARRIS: No, I haven't.

LEVS: Let's take a look at video. It's pretty cool. Apparently this is this new thing that more and more pregnant women are doing now. They're getting these casts made of their bodies while they're pregnant and then it gets designed.

HARRIS: You can't automatically tell that that's oh, that's better. That's a better take (ph). OK.

LEVS: See. This is the originalbellyworks.com. And they sell these things that you can order. And apparently this is a fancier version, because you make that, then you ship it to them. They fiberglass it and design it.

HARRIS: So they create a mold. OK. OK.

LEVS: In fact, we have some sound now from the creator, Tisha DeShields.

HARRIS: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TISHA DESHIELDS, BELLY ART CREATOR: Women, over the past few years, have been taking pride in being pregnant. You see it everywhere. I mean, you know, four years ago women were -- they were wearing tent dresses and hiding and, you know, they were ashamed or just -- it wasn't a pleasant experience for them. And that's what society had dictated at that time. But we're living in a different age and a different time and women are just proud to show the world that they're pregnant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: How about that?

LEVS: So, as a guy, we'll never have the opportunity to take part in this, but it's nice to celebrate, right?

HARRIS: Well, not in the pregnancy part.

LEVS: Not the pregnancy part.

HARRIS: But the belly part? Absolutely. So I like that as an idea. So maybe, you know, I've been sitting here for two hours.

LEVS: Please, don't make a cast of that.

HARRIS: Pulling this belly in. Pulling in this Buddha.

LEVS: You don't have to announce that to everyone. We know your secrets. They don't need to know. Come on.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That was Tony's baby picture.

HARRIS: (INAUDIBLE). That's nice.

PHILLIPS: He had a full head of hair when he was . . .

HARRIS: Back in the day. How long ago was has?

LEVS: This is so wrong. I'm so out of here!

HARRIS: But Kyra's back. It's all going to be wrong. Are you kidding me.

LEVS: Oh, no, welcome back, Kyra.

HARRIS: Kyra's back.

LEVS: Thank you for taking over at 1:00.

PHILLIPS: The HR nightmare is back. Hello, gentlemen!

HARRIS: Yes. Yes. Good to see you, lady.

PHILLIPS: So, Michael Phelps.

LEVS: I love this guy (ph).

HARRIS: How about that little shout-out.

PHILLIPS: Giving you a little shout-out. Let's take a listen.

HARRIS: Yes. Oh, wow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHELPS: Hi, I'm Michael Phelps. I'm in the NEWSROOM with my northwest Baltimore friend, Tony Harris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Well it's not just for northwest Baltimore, OK? That's for Pigtown (ph), that's for Highlandtown, that's for all of our peeps from Baltimore. (INAUDIBLE) ringing the bell.

PHILLIPS: You were a swimmer? Were you a swimmer?

HARRIS: I was a diver.

PHILLIPS: You were a diver.

HARRIS: Yes. I wasn't a swimmer.

PHILLIPS: Really?

HARRIS: There's a joke there I just can't figure it out.

PHILLIPS: I was just waiting for that.

I was really good at the breast stroke.

HARRIS: Were you really? OK.

And -- and good night, everyone.

PHILLIPS: See you tomorrow.

The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.