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Large Protests Continue in Iran; Senator Ensign Resigns Republican Leadership Positions After Announcing Affair

Aired June 17, 2009 - 15:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Smuggled out? Yes, that could be what we are calling this, electronically smuggled out. Look at the crush of people in Tehran. They are marching in support of the man who reportedly lost the presidential election by a landslide, Mir Hossein Mousavi.

We are relying on amateur video, amateur still pictures on CNN's i-Reports, on Twitter, on MySpace, on Facebook, on our own reporters, and some plain old-fashioned e-mails. Some of the new tools of democracy, by the way.

There is still no official news from Iraq (sic) today on who got more votes or was the election rigged in some way? What we are talking about today is information and official censorship, and how we at CNN are trying to collect the words and the pictures, despite the Iranian government's best efforts to stop us.

Foreign reporters are not allowed out of their hotel rooms, we understand. Many Internet sites are being blocked and telephone lines are being cut off.

Let me take you to some of what we have been able to collect so far as we follow this story. This is some of the stuff I really want you to see.

First, some amateur video that was taken by a CNN i-Reporter. This is from Tehran. Take a listen with us to what happens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We want you to take this in now. It is cell phone camera footage. Clearly, those are uniformed officers scattering a crowd of protesters by force, batons and shields. Some of this video taken over the last 48 hours. We are told this may be new video of an incident that happened several days ago, where we understand, as we reported right here, as a matter of fact, several people were shot.

We are going to be talking to a man in Tehran, a voter that we met and got to know on Twitter. Also, the Iranian government does not want him to talk to me. I am going to keep trying throughout this newscast. Before we do any of that, I want to bring in Octavia Nasr. She has been our faithful ally in collecting as much information as we can. Octavia, as you know, is our senior editor for Middle East affairs. Octavia, thanks so much for being with us.

What is the Iranian government doing today to stop the information from getting out and why are they doing that?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS SENIOR EDITOR: What are they doing to stop the information from coming out? Whatever they are doing, I can tell you on this end what we are not able to do. Remember how we used to have communication with our Iranian contacts constantly. That is not happening. It is spotty.

Right now, for example, we were trying to -- we are still actually trying to set up a conversation with someone inside Iran, as you know. The line keeps cutting off. This is the kind of stuff that's happening. The Internet is cut off. Cell phones -- I understand that cell phones are on. But at 5:00 p.m., they are cut off. People can't use their cell phones.

SANCHEZ: I'm confused then. Is it working or is it not working? How are people getting around it, if it is being cut off by the government?

NASR: Very, very good question. Let's take the Internet. It is not working if people are not able to get on the Internet. But what people are doing, from outside Iran, they are sending them what they are calling proxy. This is a fake IP address. Basically, you take it, apply it to your computer. So when the censors are looking for IP addresses within Tehran, they don't see you, because you have an IP address from abroad.

That's how people are getting around it. Because they're getting around it this way, the communication is not that trustworthy. It's not something you can count on. So you can be talking to someone now, in five minutes, the line is gone.

SANCHEZ: It is a fraction of itself. By the way, yesterday, I was at the 140 characters conference in New York. The subject of Iran came up. I just want to share this with our viewers, that happen to be very connected. People are describing this event in Iran as the breakout moment that really took social media out of the realm of just participatory connections, and really made it almost a new sphere in and of itself.

Is that true? Are there some glimpses of that?

NASR: Absolutely. Absolutely. We watched this story develop. Remember? We were with our Iranian contacts as we were leading up to the elections, as they were going to vote, even during the campaign. Then lines were cut off. What Iranians did -- they didn't accept that fact as, there is no communication with the outside. They figured out ways to send their pictures, send their cell phone videos, any idea, any way they could grab a picture or video. They were able to upload it. Then what happens is that they were able to connect with the world through Twitter, through Facebook, and Youtube and, of course, CNN's i-Report.

SANCHEZ: That's interesting, because what you are saying is -- and I think a lot of people at home are probably watching this and saying, we often as Americans have a view of other countries in the world as perhaps not being -- well, not using the same kind of technology that we use, not being perhaps this connected. This is showing to be a society that, although very much an Islamic republic, is very modernized, very connected, and has been showing us this over the last week.

NASR: Very modernized, very connected, and also, very important for our audience to understand, what we are seeing today is not necessarily new. When you see these protests, when you see students in universities trying to have demonstrations, and ask for and have demands, this is not new. Iran has seen this kind of action throughout its history, even after the Iranian revolution. We have seen this. This is not something new.

What is new is the technology. What is new is that, as the government is shocked, as the government is surprised at the reaction they are getting, they are trying to cut off communication. Iranians are saying, no way. They have the technology today to handle it.

SANCHEZ: Well, let me tell you what I think, as an American, and I think what many of our viewers would probably be thinking right about now as well: if they are that connected, just like we are connected, that holds a promise for that country and that government, those people and our people and our government, being able to come together and find some kind of solution to this incredible stalemate that we have been going through for the last two decades?

NASR: Isn't it interesting, Rick. Remember --

SANCHEZ: But out of this, there is promise.

NASR: Absolutely, there is promise. Just think about the people we have been talking to. Last week, you had on your show on Friday -- you had someone who voted for President Ahmadinejad, a young woman. She's 28. She's a blogger. She wants to be a journalist. She voted for President Ahmadinejad. She has some of the most moderate opinions about the situation as anyone you and I know.

At the same time, you take someone else, someone who voted for Mir Hossein Mousavi. He is also moderate as well. These are our contacts. We've been talking to them on a regular basis. They are not the rule. They are the exception. At the same time, these are the people that you and I can connect with.

SANCHEZ: Well, I think what it says is, aside from the news that we have been covering today on whether there will be a recount or won't be a recount, I think we are all learning that no community is as monolithic as we often tend to think they are. These are not a monolithic group of people. These are people who think in different ways and are in many ways just as complex as we as Americans are.

NASR: If not more.

SANCHEZ: If not more. Maybe that bodes well for all of us. Thanks so much, as usual.

NASR: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: You and I were going to walk over there and see if we can connect with one of our Twitterers, maybe perhaps using Google mail or some other way, but it is down, right?

NASR: It is down, but we are also protecting their identity. That is something that -- we are not going to share their name. We're not going to put it out there. We will try to connect with them, try to talk to them, but we will protect their identity.

SANCHEZ: This is a fabulous conversation. I'm glad we had it. Thanks.

You are going to be hearing, by the way, from a couple of Iranian students that live here in the United States. One is an admitted supporter of Ahmadinejad. The other supports Mousavi. It should make for an interesting conversation. Stay with us. We'll have that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO CUTIE, FMR. CATHOLIC PRIEST: I have decided to become part of this new spiritual family in the Episcopal church, one within many in the umbrella of Christianity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A former Catholic priest, Alberto Cutie, makes it official. His forgiven love is now legal and out in the open. Think about that.

Later, what the president is doing to, once and for all, police -- I mean really police, he says, investors and bankers. Wait. Here is a question. Why are they, more often than not, not one and the same, investors and bankers? They are supposed to not be the same. We'll have that for you. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I'm going to read some comments to you. First of all, this one that's coming in from Twitter. Let's go to our Twitter board, if we can. This is interesting. "The people of Iran show the power of social media better than Oprah or Ashton Kutcher ever can."

I'll tell you what, if ever there has been a point well made, that one is. We thank you.

Republicans used to march in lock step with former President Bush when he reached out for US tax-payer money to fund the war in Iraq. They did so to the tune of trillions of dollars. That's a fact. So how did this happen? Last night in Washington, the House held yet another war funding vote. It barely passed, because most Republicans this time voted against funding the war effort.

Who voted to fund the war effort this time? Most Democrats, who a year ago voted against it. Who voted against the war effort this time? Most Republicans, who a year ago accused Democrats of being traitors for voting against it. Like a Felini movie, huh?

By the way, Republicans say they voted against it because it contained money for the International Monetary Fund, not because they are voting against the troops.

What a difference a year makes. And so it goes.

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SANCHEZ: A couple of interesting comments I want to share with you. First of all, let's go to MySpace, if we possibly can, John. You see there, it says, you know, "this thing in Iran could lead to a civil war. I can't imagine how brave these people are to keep protesting and keep showing the world what's going on. We need to keep helping them keep that line of communication going."

Then we go over to Twitter and get an interesting comment that's kind of the antithesis of that. Listen to what this gentlemen writes. He says, "the '60s and the '70s, the U.S. saw the same revolution for civil rights, anti-war, woman's lib, anti-establishment, anti-Nixon, corruption." Maybe it isn't a civil war.

A month ago, when this news cast interviewed my longtime Miami source and priest, Father Alberto Cutie, I never would have guessed that I would be reported this about him today. Here it is. We've got something to show you. This is the confirmation that the former Catholic priest, Alberto Cutie, is now a married man. There is his name. There is her name, Wuhama Canellis (ph). She is now Mrs. Cutie, by the way.

Few relationships have had the prying eye and public scrutiny theirs has. This is a forbidden love, of sorts. Cutie, up until the tabloid paparazzi made the relationship -- his relationship with her public by way of beach side photos, was an internationally known Catholic priest with a radio and television show.

Two weeks ago, he announced he had joined the Episcopal church and is now pursing the priesthood in that faith instead.

By the way, if total and complete hypocrisy rose to the level of being a criminal act, then a U.S. senator might be in the market for a bail bondsman, maybe a real good attorney, and certainly an extremely forgiving wife, to boot. One of the few rising stars of the Republican party appears to have dimmed dramatically, when Republican Senator John Ensign was forced to admit yesterday that he was cheating on his wife with one of his staffers.

Why did he come forward? Some published reports allege that he was about to be black mailed by his mistresses husband. Why might this scandal provide a more venomous sting for this senator than perhaps any other senator or Congressman or politician, for that matter?

Here is why? Because this senator, Senator Ensign, professes to be a born-again Christian and a member of Promise Keepers, a respected organization that promotes marital fidelity. He also has been extremely vocal in criticizing fellow senator, Larry Craig, after his arrest in a men's bathroom, and former President Bill Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, which he said that the former president should resign.

First, to deputy political editor Mark Preston, who is joining us in Washington for the very latest. Mark, another announcement for Ensign today. Not so much personal, as it is professional.

MARK PRESTON, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR: Absolutely, Rick. Just hours ago, Senator Ensign resigned his leadership position in the Senate. He was in charge of helping to craft policy for Senate Republicans. He has left that position. I'll tell you, not very good news right now for the Republican party, as they are trying to put themselves back together, Rick, and really try to put a united front against the Obama administration.

SANCHEZ: Well, wasn't Ensign at least making overtures of a potential run for the White House? How is that going?

PRESTON: You know, Rick, he did make a visit out to Iowa. He was certainly being looked at by some folks as a potential dark horse candidate in 2012. I think, given the revolution in the last 24 hours, that is probably now off the table.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's kind of humiliating, kind of embarrassing. You feel bad for the guy. This is a very difficult thing to go through, especially -- Let's face it; this is the kind of thing that regular people go through. Relationships end,some of them in nice ways, some of them in not so nice ways. Some of them are able to -- people are able to stick together, as the former president did with the former first lady.

But still when you are a public figure, this kind of thing is done out in the open. Let's talk about that.

Joining us now is Dr. Judy Kuriansky. She is a well-respected clinical psychologist, who is good enough to join us to talk about this as well.

What about that? Are we being too tough on someone like this or did he set himself up like a pinatta?

DR. JUDY KURIANSKY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: He certainly did. We are not being tough on our leaders. We expect a lot of them. Especially, as you pointed out, Rick, the hypocrisy shocks the public. Here is a man who was pledging through the seven promises of the Promise Keepers, that he would keep the sanctity of marriage, and then goes out and has an affair. Points a finger at all the other politicians who were dallying, like Clinton and Craig and the others.

But here's the point psychologically, a lot of these men are filled with tremendous ego-narcissism, entitlement. That's exactly why when they get away a little bit, they think they can get away a lot. Then they continue the behavior.

Here is the typical phenomenon. You point the finger at someone else. How many fingers are coming back at you? Three. So it's called projection. You accuse others of what you, yourself, are afraid to admit.

SANCHEZ: So you think it is a bigger story, and it has more impact, and it's more worth telling, because of the fact that it is not just about a guy who appeared to have cheated on his wife; it is about a guy who was acting in a very hypocritical way, while appearing to cheat on his wife?

KURIANSKY: Exactly. As you pointed out, though, Rick, it is very appropriate to say that this is not uncommon in real people too. You don't have to have a high position. It happens in real life. I have seen it many times.

SANCHEZ: Those persons wouldn't be a story on CNN. So it does make you wonder if something like this is fair, including this coverage?

KURIANSKY: It is fair, and it is important, because, in fact, it does affect a lot of people. So the fact that you are covering it, there are a lot of people at home who are watching and saying, that's happening to me. What do I do? Do I stand by my man or do I leave?

This is a major issue. We have Elizabeth Edwards, who, of course, her husband, who was running for president at one point, ends up having not only an affair but a baby. She says she is going not only to stand by her man, but that they are destined to be together forever. She excuses him, and not only that, points the finger at the other woman.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you a question about something I just heard you say that I was thinking about. It seemed to me like you are almost saying that when men become very powerful, they act out in ways that almost make it seem like they think they are too big for their own britches, and certainly too big to be with just one woman. And that there is a pattern there. Tell me about that.

KURIANSKY: Well, there is definitely a pattern, as you said. And you put it perfectly. They are too big for their own britches. Because power is an aphrodisiac. And politics and sex often go together, whether you are a celebrity in any way.

SANCHEZ: This is like a CEO complex, or a famous person complex, or a famous politician. I mean, it's no matter where you are, if, in your mind, you think you are a big shot, you will tend do this. Is that what you're saying?

KURIANSKY: Yes, I am. But here is the real twist on that, Rick, that sometimes you could feel powerless. You feel like you are a nothing, like you're a little person. And then a guy or a woman might run around having lots of affairs to prove, look how desirable I am, look how sexy I am. It's sexy when it is someone in power. But it happens to everybody at every level.

So you either think you are too big or you think you are so small that you have to overcompensate for it, we call it.

SANCHEZ: I love the way you're able to explain things. You even make me get it. Judy Kuriansky, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: It is time for that to change. I am proposing that the Federal Reserve be granted new authority and accountability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The president says that he is going to police the people who skirted ethics to create the financial mess that we are now in. OK, fine. Great idea. How is he going to do that? We are going to talk to the White House and ask them, mono a mono.

Take a look at this nine-year-old girl. She's a victim of drug cartels. Or is she really? There's an incredible twist that I need to tell you about, to explain this story to you. It will have an effect on you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's take a look at what Maria from New York City is saying to us. You know, oftentimes, as we connect with you throughout the course of the day, not only do you tell us what you like, but you tell us what you don't like. Here is an interesting comment. "Rick, thanks for not discussing Palin. There is better news out there."

I suppose there is better news. But we will certainly forgive that.

Welcome back. Let's talk about this. Things are not always as they seem, Right? I want to illustrate this now with a picture of a beautiful little girl. There she is. Her name is Bresenia Flores. Take a close look, because it may be the only way that you will be able to see this little girl.

Why? Because this little girl, Bresenia Flores, is now dead. Last May, two men and a woman broke into her home in southern Arizona, and they shot and killed her and her father. According to original reports, the killers were drug dealers. This was shaping up to be just another case of that Mexican drug gang cartel violence that we have been telling you about.

Guess what; that may not be the case at all. Here is why: Shawna Ford and two other suspects are now being held on a bond of a million dollars for the deaths of Bresenia Flores and her father. Shawna Ford is not a Mexican drug cartel member. In fact, quite the opposite. Let me tell you who Shawna Ford is. She is the executive director of a group that's called Minutemen American Defense. Police say that Ford planned the killing of the little girl and her father to steal drugs and money, and make it look like it was the work of a drug cartel. The nation's largest Minutemen group has distanced itself from Ford, we should say. And we have learned that within Minutemen circles, she is considered a bit of a loose cannon.

But you do have to wonder and you do have to ask, how did Shawna Ford -- let's go ahead and get rid of the president's picture there, if we can. Pardon us. How did Shawna Ford, a supposed fringe element, turn up on PBS as a player in the anti-immigration movement? This is a story we are going to continue to watch for you. We will tell you what we find.

Next, we're taking you to the White House to learn how bankers will be policed and possibly punished. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. He had promised that he would give it a shot. Just eight short time ago, you saw it here on CNN. What are we talking about? President Obama announced his plan to prevent another economic catastrophe. We're not even out of this one yet, but as he said himself, our system of keeping tabs on financial institutions has failed with tragic results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: These aren't just numbers on a ledger. This is a child's chance to get an education, this is a family's ability to pay their bills or stay in their homes. This is the right of our seniors to retire with dignity and security and respect. These are American dreams and we should not accept a system that consistently puts them in danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I am going to talk to the White House in just a minute. Jared Bernstein is going to be joining us, there you see him, he's one of the top White House economists and generally speaking a good guy every time we have talked to him in the past. First though, a guy who's also a good guy, who will try and cut through some of the jargon for us and tell us what's really going on here, CNN's Ali Velshi is good enough to join us. Who by the way is going to be filling in for me next week.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, looking forward to that.

SANCHEZ: While I'm on vacation. I don't think it's fair to say anybody is really going to fill in for you. I'll occupy the slot while you are away.

SANCHEZ: You are too kind. All right, look, the president is coming out and saying, we have to do something about what happened over the last 10 or 20 years. Things just got out of hand, I mean they essentially let people cheat, whether it was illegal or not, I don't know. But certainly, much of what they did was unethical. They got rich. We got screwed.

VELSHI: I am going to be overly generous here and say that our financial regulatory system was built after the Great Depression, it was built like a highway system that was good for cars that went up to 25 miles an hour. Now, we have cars that go 100 miles an hour. We have largely the same system that's been tweaked and built upon here and there. It's really alphabet soup of different agencies and things are just too complicated. So this administration and by the way in fairness the last administration, Henry Paulson, attempted to try to do this. They ran out of time. But they are basically trying to streamline the system. It would not prevent what happened. It would not prevent a recession. It would prevent the depths of the recession, how extreme it was and how some of them were frauds and some of the recklessness went unchecked.

SANCHEZ: Why don't you just stay with me, let's bring Jared Bernstein in and if you have a good question, you know more about this than I do, you can jump in. Mr. Bernstein, thanks for being with us.

JARED BERNSTEIN, CHIEF ECONOMIST TO V.P. BIDEN: My pleasure. Thanks for inviting me.

SANCHEZ: It seems pretty simple. When I look at myself in the mirror, I know if I've done something wrong. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you know if you have done something wrong, whether it's legal or illegal, what is it the government will do to help convince these people that they're doing something wrong?

BERNSTEIN: You know it's an interesting way to put it. One of the things the president stressed today is that you can actually have a system that works OK, bank by bank but fails to recognize the systemic risk, the problems that beset the economic system when all the banks are kind of working together to get you in the kind of mess that we're in. So what we have failed to have in the past is kind of an overseer of what's going on in the full system. Each individual bank may be not really doing anything that's wrong based on current regulations. But put it all together and the system is so overleveraged that one domino falls and the whole thing comes down.

SANCHEZ: Look, if capitalism truly is about the weakest dying off and the strongest surviving, and being completely free, laissez- faire, all this stuff we hear, can you blame someone for wanting to make money and exploit that as long as they don't commit a crime? Does my scenario about being uncomfortable when I look at myself in the mirror really even matter?

BERNSTEIN: Well, you know, first of all, capitalism at least in terms of financial markets has never been about total laissez-faire. We have to have basic rules that you can't rip people off. People need adequate information. Consumers for example need enough protection. It really comes down to something that sounds technical but isn't, which is pricing risk. If people -- it's a basic economic principle, if people have adequate information, then they understand the risk they are taking.

But if over-the-counter derivatives are trading in such a way that even the traders don't get them, much less the investors, who are putting their money up for them, you remember the credit card discussion, you could have the same discussion about some of these credits of false swaps or derivatives. There is an information lack when one of the things the president stressed today, when a loan originator and a borrower are separated by lots of intermediaries in between, that also brings risk into the system that as we were talking about a second ago just didn't exist 50 years ago.

SANCHEZ: Ali, didn't you and I have conversations about it sounded like the police were corrupt. If the police are the guys who are supposed to be watching out over these guys for us and they are all going out to dinner and having drinks together over on Wall Street, we have a problem don't we?

VELSHI: There's definitely, and Rick, you and I have had unfortunately too many opportunities to talk about this and Jared it's Ali, I just want to get your take on this. There really is a sense that there has not been a culture of regulation that has been really about creating a fair playing field in the last couple decades in Washington. Is this really about saying, it can be fair but regulators have to regulate? They have to keep it fair. They can't be part of the same problem.

BERNSTEIN: I think that is exactly right. We have had two problems. One is that you have had some out and out fraud, the Bernie Madoff case or something like that, where regulatory failure was just extremely obvious. But other cases where we simply didn't have the rules in place such that regulators could implement the kinds of oversight that's necessary with systemic risk, with new instruments, with consumer protection.

SANCHEZ: This thing will have teeth is what I think I hear you saying?

BERNSTEIN: Absolutely. We now have the Federal Reserve as well as the financial oversight council really sitting above that group in this space to keep a very careful eye on these institutions and the institutions themselves have to have plans. If there is a problem with interconnectedness. They have to explain to these regulators how they are going to deal with it so you don't have that weakened where everything is melting down.

SANCHEZ: Well I hope it works. I really do. I think most Americans who are watching us right now have their fingers crossed because they feel like over the last 10 years, maybe 20, things kind of went to hell in a hand basket.

BERNSTEIN: We're confident that it will.

SANCHEZ: My best to both of you, thanks for being with us. Ali good to see you, good luck, next week.

VELSHI: Thanks, Rick. SANCHEZ: This next story had us all talking about the Alfred Hitchcock movie "Psycho" and the character Norman Bates. Imagine a man dressing like his dead mother. This is not a movie, folks. This really happened and that was her that you were just seeing right there in that beautiful red dress on the left. Wow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. When Norman Bates is your inspiration, you are in trouble. I will show you some pictures. See that sweet little looking elderly lady on the left side of that picture right there. Take a good look. You see the sunglasses that she is wearing. According to the "New York Daily News," that is not a sweet little old lady. That was a man. That's right, police say 49-year-old Thomas Parkin impersonated his dead mother to keep the social security checks and rent subsidies rolling in for six years. That's what he looks like. That's what she looked like or that's what he looked like trying to be she or her. Wow, strange story. The other man seen in the photos by the way is Parkin's alleged co-conspirator.

Here is some surveillance camera video we found of this identity challenged pair. All right now we see the movement. He's at the Brooklyn, New York Department of Motor Vehicles where he was successfully getting a driver's license as his mother. He is accused of grand larceny, forgery and conspiracy. They say that he cheated taxpayers out of more than $100,000.

Cheating Iranians out of a fair election. Is that what Iranians in America say has happened. We are going to be joined by two students. As a matter of fact, I'm flanked by both of them right now, here's one on the right, one on the left. They take this situation from very different perspectives. We are also going to try and hook up with an Iranian who is joining us now live in Tehran. Stay with us. This will get interesting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: As we continue to follow the very latest out of Iran, we're going to be able to do something in just a little bit. Throughout the day, I have been connecting with folks on Twitter, MySpace and Facebook, trying to get reaction from Iranians, not only here in the United States but also actually in Tehran. I am told, Johnnie follow me if you can, I'm told we have an opportunity to do that right now. I am going to go over to our international desk. I am going to try to make contact with someone. There is a lot of commotion here. Pardon me. I am going to try to make contact with somebody who is in Iran right now who we've established some communications with in the past. Octavia, how are you?

OCTAVIA NASR: I am good. How are you?

SANCHEZ: All right, is she there?

NASR: Yes she's there.

SANCHEZ: All right, we are not going to give your name. But we do want to talk to you. Can you hear me? This is Rick Sanchez.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, hi Rick.

SANCHEZ: Hi, how are you? What is the situation in Tehran right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Tehran right now, everything seems more calm. The Mousavi supporters tried to stay away from this (INAUDIBLE) in the city. The Iranians are peaceful. They don't come out at night. Just some groups after 10:00 p.m. they come out and fire everything, destroy everything like that and it's dangerous to go out.

SANCHEZ: You are, by the way I should let our viewers know, throughout the day, we have been trying to do everything we can on social media to try and reach out to people who are actually in Tehran. It has kind of been a hit and miss and sometimes failed proposition but now we have been able to make contacts. We are going to stop what we are doing. That's why I walked over here to see if I can have this conversation with you. I am being very careful for security reasons to not give her identity, where she is or her password or any of that other information or her I.D. You are a supporter of Ahmadinejad. Would you still like to see some kind of resolution to this election conflict, either a revote, a, or, b, some kind of hearing or recount to determine what actually happened? Final question on that, do you think that will appease the general population?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that a recount is a very smart way for this, for solving these issues, actually. Because if there is a -- we have this option in our law. We have Guardian Counsel that has put this system that they can accidentally choose voting boxes almost 1,000 for example said Mousavi's opinion. They can see if the results are based on truth or not.

SANCHEZ: Do you trust --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think people want it to be over. It's getting too long.

SANCHEZ: Do you trust that this government can do an adequate recount that will be accepted by Iranians? Maybe not just yourself but other Iranians. Do you trust them?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it is the Guardian Council. Because Mr. Mousavi is part of this system, he was prime minister before, sure. He trusts this system and trust the Guardian Council results.

SANCHEZ: Ok.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he is part of this system.

SANCHEZ: Yes, he is from all indications, as a matter of fact, he's a man who is very devoted to the Islamic Republic as an Islamic Republic, which is something a lot of Americans probably need to understand. My thanks to you for joining us. Stay well. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: All right, let's do this. I want to go back to the main set now. We use that place, by the way, because that's the place where we are able to make that connection and actually hear that audio and not another one. I am being joined now by a couple of guys who are going to be taking us through this. As a matter of fact, as we follow these images, as we look at these images that are coming in from Iran, we forget sometimes that for many people who live in the United States -- I was just talking to her, she's in Tehran. But for people who live here in the United States, this is not an international story. Joining me now are two students who fit that bill. They are both Iranians but they are coming at this from very different viewpoints. Let me begin with you if I possibly can. You support Ahmadinejad?

KAVEH MANIZAD, STUDENT: Yes sir.

SANCHEZ: Do you think this election was fair?

MANIZAD: I believe it was.

SANCHEZ: What do you say to people who are protesting in the streets, seven who have been killed arguing that it wasn't fair?

MANIZAD: Well, even if it wasn't fair, there are legal ways for them to pursue it. It's not -- I think it's not a right choice to just get into the street, vandalize public property and expect to get something nice in return. You cannot attack a military post and not

SANCHEZ: Hold on a minute. This is dissidents. You are not saying -- we, as Americans, hold true to the belief that we have a right to oppose our government when our government does something wrong. We believe, and we respect the people in Iran who are doing that right now. Why shouldn't we?

MANIZAD: Well, here is the thing. I really think Iranian people should respect the law more than what they are doing right now. I am not saying they are not respecting it.

SANCHEZ: What is disrespectful about protesting, something you think is wrong?

MANIZAD: These protests were bandied to begin with. So they couldn't really get out, get into the street an start protesting.

SANCHEZ: They were banned?

MANIZAD: They were banned, yes.

SANCHEZ: Should they be banned? It is the people's right to say what they think?

MANIZAD: That's true. You are dealing with a government. I am not saying the Iranian government, the Iranian laws are the freest law in the world. SANCHEZ: Right.

MANIZAD: I'm not totally --

SANCHEZ: So, what are you saying?

MANIZAD: I'm saying that if they approach it legally, if they go to their guardian council if they come up with detail of their perspectives --

SANCHEZ: That creates a bit of a prior restraint, something we, as Americans, are a little bit afraid of. You have to tell the government your plans before you do something, you are basically cluing them in. I want to bring you now into this as well. Let me start with the same question. He says the elections were fair. Can you say they weren't? And provide us something more than just an opinion?

FARHAD FARZBOO, STUDENT : This time, more than 80 percent of the people came out to vote and it was unprecedented, I can say, in the last 20 years. But the repeated counting of the votes was much faster. It was -- they announced the votes and the final results by the next morning and they couldn't do that, it's like if they did they dropped 10 times faster.

SANCHZ: You think it was predetermined?

FARZBOO: Yes, and this is the graph that shows --

SANCHEZ: Can you get a shot of this, Johnny? We were talking about this earlier, go ahead and explain what the significance of this is?

FARZBOO: This is the vote as they are counted. You see that it is almost linear. It is like you engineered the votes, that the outcome would be, for example, 65 percent to 30 percent.

SANCHEZ: You're saying in normal circumstances, that would be --

FARZBOO: American standards it is like all the states, when they start counting, no matter if they are red or blue, the result is Obama is winning in every other state and as the count --

SANCHEZ: Where do you think this -- before we let you guys go, because we are running out of time, where do you think this thing is going to end up? What would satisfy you, a recount or a new election?

FARZBOO: New election.

SANCHEZ: Only?

FARZBOO: Well, actually, I'm going with whatever they decide. I mean, the other three candidates.

SANCHEZ: Do you think a recount could be fair? Do you trust the clerics? FARZBOO: To be honest, no.

SANCHEZ: OK, we'll leave it at that. We will bring you guys back because we are running out of time. My thanks to both of you guys for a spirited discussion.

FARZBOO: Thank you.

MANIZAD: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: When we come back, keeping our kids in school? A new push. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: So many interesting stories coming out of Washington today and Wolf Blitzer is the man who is going to be taking you through those stories I should say. He is joining us now to bring us up to date. Wolf, what do you have planned?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks Rick. We're going to certainly stay on top of what's happening in Iran right now. We'll be in Tehran, we'll also get the latest from the Obama administration, including the president on what's going on. Other important news we are following, the president announcing a whole new series of regulations involving the financial world. We will have complete details of what this means for you. Also, he is going to be signing a new executive order, making it easier for same-sex couples who work for the U.S. government to get increased benefits. We will have coverage of that in the oval office. That is coming up. And the Israeli foreign minister has just emerged from a meeting with the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, saying there will not, repeat not, be a complete freeze of Israeli settlement activity. All that and a lot more, Rick, coming up right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

SANCHEZ: All right, go get them, Wolf. We look forward to it.

Here is something that's important to all of us, every 26 seconds a child drops out of school. That is two dropouts a minute. Think about it. I want you to see now how one school is solving that problem. Here is CNN's special correspondent, Soledad O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look on page 15 in your book.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Willie Thornton is a teacher.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her passion is just like respect.

O'BRIEN: Who sounds like a preacher.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you please check on a student --

O'BRIEN: And sometimes acts like a cop. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is not in school today.

O'BRIEN: Every morning, Thornton, who was hired to help lower the dropout rate at Alabama's Greenville High School checks absences for the 70 at-risk kids in his program. If they are not there he will go get them.

[ knocking ]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on out.

O'BRIEN: Nineteen-year-old Desmond Dunklynn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need for to you show up, OK?

O'BRIEN: A meeting and Desmond promises to return Monday morning.

: My mama want me to graduate, but I can't get a job and stuff if I don't graduate.

O'BRIEN: The day before Thornton was pursuing Desmond, he was attending a meeting of educators, business leaders and grass roots groups brainstorming ideas to crush the high school dropout program. The featured speaker, Alma Powell.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for your efforts.

O'BRIEN: The chairwoman of America's Promise Alliance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every 26 seconds, a child drops out of school.

O'BRIEN: The alliance hopes to raise awareness and find solutions with more than 100 of these dropout summits across the country.

(On camera): What's keeping you up at night?

ALMA POWELL, CHAIRWOMAN, AMERCAS PROMISE ALLIANCE: We cannot afford to let one go.

O'BRIEN: You can't give up?

POWELL: You cannot give up.

O'BRIEN: Giving up is something Willie Thornton never does. [ knocking ] On Monday morning, when Desmond doesn't make the bus, Thornton goes to get him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Desmond.

O'BRIEN: Two months later, Desmond, at graduation. It is not a diploma, it's a certificate. A real diploma requires more classes and more tests. So, what good is a certificate? WILLIE THORNTON, GREENVILLE HIGH SCHOOL: The benefit is for student to say that I can and that I am brave enough and self-esteem enough, because most of them in their heart have already quit. If there is hope then their s much to be gained.

O'BRIEN: But Desmond says he is done with school. Mr. Thornton has lured him back before. Maybe, just maybe, he can do it again. Soledad O'Brien, CNN, Montgomery, Alabama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: This story really has, this Iran story, has really captivated the social media. It's obvious from some of the tweets that we've been following. We will stay on top of it and continue the conversation. Here now in Washington is Wolf.