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Iranians Remain Defiant; Next North Korean Leader?

Aired June 18, 2009 - 15:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Meet Kim Jong Il's youngest son, Un. Crazy or crazy like a fox? His story.

And Tiger's knee or Phil's heartache over his wife, which story will prevail at today's U.S. Open?

Your national conversation for Thursday, June 18, 2009, begins right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And hello again, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez with the next generation of news. As we always say, this is a conversation. It's not a speech, and it's your turn to get involved.

Are we backing off our coverage from Iran? No, we are not. In fact, the longer that this election remains unsettled, the more determined and dug in that the Iranian people are in their demands for freedom and fairness, which seem to be the two keywords that they are expressing here.

These are some of the very latest pictures that we have been following coming out of Iran today. You see there there's about an estimated 100,000 angry and frustrated Iranians that have been protesting.

Let's see if we can pick up some of the sound, Rog. Once again, those are pictures from today. These protests have been taking place now for the better part of six days.

They say the man that they voted for, Mir Hossein Mousavi, should be given another chance in another election, because many of these people that you're looking at right there are convinced the original election was fraudulent in some way.

Octavia Nasr has been following this situation probably as much as anybody here stateside. She is our senior editor for Middle East coverage.

Let me bring you into this. And there is a report I want you to watch. and I think we are all going to be able to watch this together. But, before we do anything else, let me ask you about Mir Hossein Mousavi, because a lot of people are thinking that he is a complete reformer, almost a fringe element.

He's not, right?

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SENIOR EDITOR FOR ARAB AFFAIRS: He is the son of the revolution, just as much as everybody else is the son of the revolution who is right now in the front. So, he is a reformer...

SANCHEZ: So, this guy is loyal to the clerics?

NASR: Yes, there is no doubt that he will be. And he made it very clear that his -- you know, that he -- they are his reference. That is not going to change.

The difference, the way he's a reformer is that he wants to open up to the West. He is saying what that President Ahmadinejad has done, he alienated Iran from the rest of the world. And he wants to change that.

SANCHEZ: This is where a lot of Americans get a little bit confused as to who is on whose side here. It is kind of hard to take score in a place that many Americans don't understand.

Let's stop our conversation. You and I together, let's watch this report. It was filed by one of our own. This is Ivan Watson, files this report, which in many ways will help us all understand who is who and what's going on in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Protests in the streets of Tehran, not today, but almost exactly 10 years ago. In July of 1999, Iranian students held mass demonstrations against the government.

Iranian author and activist Behzad Yaghmaian was one of the protesters.

BEHZAD YAGHMAIAN, AUTHOR, "SOCIAL CHANGE IN IRAN": You have hundreds of thousands of students pouring through the streets, basically chanting the same things that you hear today. Then, they were chanting, death to the dictator. And the dictator they were talking about was Ayatollah Khamenei. Today, again, in the streets of Tehran, you are hearing, death to the dictator.

WATSON: In 1999, it took the government barely a week to crush the demonstrations.

ABBAS MILANI, DIRECTOR OF IRANIAN STUDIES, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Ten years ago, it was localized to the students with various small signs of support from outside the campuses. The regime could easily isolate them.

WATSON: Analysts, like Stanford University's Abbas Milani, say today's uprising is very different, because it's not just the students against the government.

MILANI: There are tensions within the regime, serious fissures within the regime. WATSON: Today, the opposition includes men who were once some of the most powerful figures in the Islamic republic, people like Mir Hossein Mousavi.

In the 1980s, he was a hard-line prime minister in Iran's revolutionary government. Today, he is the face of the opposition. He is supported by Hashemi Rafsanjani, a conservative cleric and former president who has long been a pillar of the Iranian regime.

YAGHMAIAN: The conservative bloc is totally broken. There is a war, a very serious war, within the conservative bloc.

WATSON: On the other side of this power struggle, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He controls the security forces and has the support of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard. They have definitely got the upper hand. But, as the last week has shown, brute force alone may not win this contest.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: As we watch the situation, I think a lot of people are wondering, has the Iranian government acted in a restrained fashion or not?

NASR: Well, restrained in a way. But, more so, instead of talking about the restraint, it is what they allowed people to do. Now, remember, they allowed people to -- to voice their opinion through the Internet...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: So, that's restraint. China would go in and do much worse. In fact, look at Tiananmen Square.

NASR: Yes, but, also, Iran was caught off guard in this whole situation.

Remember, they had elections. They had campaigning. The campaigning happened a lot online as well. But Iran was not ready for this kind of reaction. And -- and even the world was not ready for this kind of reaction.

SANCHEZ: Let -- speaking of the world, let me ask you a difficult question, because I'm hearing this.

NASR: Don't make it too difficult.

(LAUGHTER)

SANCHEZ: No, but you -- you can -- you can handle this. I am hearing this on the way home when I -- on the way in, I listen to Bill Bennett. I listen to Medved on the way home, two conservative critics of President Obama's. And they seem to be suggesting that this president needs to do more, a lot more. What would happen if the United States and President Obama embraced these protesters? Would that help them or hurt them?

NASR: Well, it would hurt them in the short run. Right now, many, many people I talk to say that what President Obama is doing is enough. It is good. He is making it clear that he will stand against anyone who -- who will -- who wants -- support freedom of speech, for example.

But, at the same time, he is keeping that bridge open. He's keeping the line of communication open, because you do not know how things will turn out in Iran. If he takes a hard line, then he cannot back -- back off from it. He needs to take a medium line.

SANCHEZ: The president said -- the president -- pardon me for interrupting, but...

NASR: No, no problem. No problem.

SANCHEZ: .. the president used the word meddle, that it can't be seen to appear that we are meddling in the affairs of this country. Is he right?

NASR: The Iranian government already thinks that the U.S. is meddling. There already is that...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: But would we lose -- let me be even more clear. Would we lose -- would they lose their position, the moderates, the ones in the middle, the ones who are arguing for Mousavi, would they lose stature if it would seem like they were puppets of Obama or Bush or the United States or any other Western country?

NASR: Absolutely.

As a matter of fact, right now, they are proud of themselves for leading this basically uprising or this movement that they are -- that they are leading. They want the support of the world, but they want just that. They want support. They want -- they don't want meddling, because it is their life that they are fighting for.

It is their vote that they are fighting for. Remember, in the streets of Tehran, they are not screaming, U.S., U.S., bring my vote back to me. They are screaming, Mousavi, Mousavi, bring my vote back to me.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes.

NASR: So, they are making it clear who they want to bring results. But they want the support of the U.S. And, if things get out of hand in Iran, then the U.S. has more room to go in and do more.

SANCHEZ: That makes sense. And I'm glad you're able to put it in perspective for us, because they -- you know, these are the questions that a lot of our viewers have as they watch this situation. What do we do? What should we do? And we're going to pick up that a little bit later.

OK. Thanks so much, as usual. Always enjoy our discussion.

NASR: Any time. Any time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: On this issue, I do not believe that the president is taking the leadership that is incumbent upon an American president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, you heard what Octavia just said, from the perspective of a journalist who has been watching the region. Here is the question, politically, domestically, here in the United States. Should President Obama send a stronger message on Iran's election, as some Republicans are demanding? And what's going on with his poll numbers, by the way? We have got both of those. Some slippage? We will debate it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA WILKERSON, SECRETARY OF SAMUEL KENT: ... touching me inappropriately, groping me outside my clothes, then inside my clothes, both top and bottom, then attempting to and gaining penetration of my genitals with his hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What a story this is. Remember this convicted federal judge? He lied about sexually harassing two of his staff members. Wait until you hear how he openly referred now to African-American defendants. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It's interesting how many Americans are commenting on the situation in Iran. As a matter of fact, let's see what Janieo is talking about right now. She is on our Twitter board.

Thanks, Johnny. Good move.

"The supreme leader is not really a religious leader. His position was bought and paid for. Time for him to go."

Not a lot of fans, at least on -- not on this side of the Atlantic.

Just because you wear an imposing black robe and just because you happen to hold an appointment to the federal judge, it doesn't mean you are not a lech or a bigot. I know those are strong words, but they actually are befitting. We have told you about U.S. district Judge Samuel Kent. Kent is now a convict, not just a judge. He reported to federal prison this week to serve 33 months for obstruction of justice. His admission of guilt capped what several observers called a judicial reign of terror.

Several weeks ago, we showed you two of the judge's subordinates, both women. Both accuse Sam Kent of sexual assault, repeated unwanted kissing, fondling, threats, intimidation.

Today, we want to show you something else from Sam Kent's secretary, another shocking part of her testimony to the House Judiciary Committee. Let's go ahead and take a listen together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILKERSON: He mocked, made racist comments. It pains me to say that he routinely used the N-word and abused criminal defendants who came before him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Can you believe that? A federal judge. Can a federal judge be that prejudiced?

And does this story begin to make people, citizens, who trust or don't trust the system begin to wonder about the effectiveness maybe of -- other judge who may think like he does, or about the defendants that Sam Kent sent away to prison, whether they are really innocent or guilty, or did he prejudge them?

It is worth looking into. And that's what we're going to do. By the way, the House of Representatives is voting today on whether to impeach Samuel Kent. We will let you know if and when that happens.

When we come back: In 1955, a woman in Brooklyn left her son in a stroller while she walked into a store. Her 2-year-old son disappeared. Now a grown man has come forward to say he is back; he was that 2-year-old. What a story. It's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Boy, a lot of comments on that story that I just told you about on the federal judge. A lot of people are really angry at him, I suppose, both from a bigoted standpoint and from a sexist standpoint.

Let's read what Autumn. This is Autumn Meadows. She's on our Twitter board as well.

"Some people, like federal judges, think that they are too big to fail. Such are those people because of money and power" -- "with money and power," I should say.

Now, this story. Today, it would sound crazy for someone to leave a child in a baby carriage while they shop, right? But, in 1955, in Brooklyn, New York, it wasn't so crazy. People did that. It was expected. And that is how a woman had her son snatched one day while shopping.

Fast-forward now more than 50 years. Now a man is coming forward saying he is that 2-year-old boy who disappeared. And the story is captivating many Americans.

Could John Barnes, seen here in that picture, be that baby, that 2-year-old boy, or young toddler, abducted and never heard from again, possibly until now? Barnes says that he is 99 percent certain. Imagine, 56 years passing by.

He is now hoping that DNA tests will confirm that he is, in fact, that little boy. We are looking into this for you. And we hope to bring you more on this. We are planning to line up some guests. We're trying to get them today. Will likely happen tomorrow.

Let's talk about fault lines in Texas. Yes, there are dozens. That's right, actual separations of the earth, a tectonic plate in Texas, including one near Houston, which suddenly is making itself very visible. It is called the Long Point Fault. It is literally ripping homes apart there in parts of Houston, a few homes already condemned or demolished. A lot of homeowners reportedly did not know about the fault when they bought.

Uh-oh. What do they say about real estate? Location, location, location. Wow.

Up next: And a child shall lead them. Who is Kim Jong-un? We are going to tell you about the young man who is about to inherit the most dangerous country on Earth.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to the world headquarters of CNN. I'm Rick Sanchez here following things for you.

There have been now a bevy of reports indicating that the Iranian government is clamping down on reporters' abilities to cover these protests for you.

We have got a chance to talk to somebody now who is there. Joining me now is Babak Dehghanpisheh. He is with "Newsweek." He's a correspondent. And he's inside Iran.

Babak, thanks so much for being with us.

BABAK DEHGHANPISHEH, "NEWSWEEK": Thanks for having me on, Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right.

We are getting all these reports that the government is clamping down. So, I guess I should ask you, first of all, are you able to move around freely?

DEHGHANPISHEH: You know, we are able to move around. The -- the press ministry here, who basically does have oversight over reporters working for foreign news outlets, has asked us not to report on -- on protests.

SANCHEZ: Huh.

DEHGHANPISHEH: And, to some extent, they have asked us to sort of keep -- keep tabs with them on what we are doing.

SANCHEZ: I imagine -- do you speak Farsi?

DEHGHANPISHEH: I do. I do.

SANCHEZ: So, you can mingle in there pretty good. And, since you don't have a cameraman with you, they are really not even going to know you are there, right?

DEHGHANPISHEH: Theoretically, let's say yes.

(LAUGHTER)

DEHGHANPISHEH: But, you know, for the moment, I and other colleagues sort of in a similar situation as I am are adhering to the rules, let's say.

SANCHEZ: No, I understand. And I thank you for being so candid with us.

So, what did you see today, or what can you report to us that happened on the streets today?

DEHGHANPISHEH: Well...

SANCHEZ: The protests we saw looked relatively peaceful.

DEHGHANPISHEH: It was -- it was another day of protests. The protests were very large. There were, you know, by some estimates, hundreds of thousands of people out. It was slightly different than the previous days, in that the people had come out to -- to commemorate the dead.

They were basically mourning the people who had been killed in the protests earlier in the week. They were wearing black. And a lot of people were carrying candles. But it was, as you said, largely peaceful. There were some -- some reports of sporadic violence here and there.

But, in general, some of the, you know, sort of bloodier incidents that had been reported earlier in the week, particularly on Monday, shootings and so on, have not been reported today.

SANCHEZ: Who -- who are -- Babak, who are these protesters? Can you, I mean, break them down for us as best you can, demographically? What are their interests?

DEHGHANPISHEH: You know, I think they're really -- they are Iranians of all stripes. They are people from across -- you know, this is a movement that's cut across different classes, different -- you know, different social classes.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Well, then, let me ask you the question this way. Why do they want change? What do they want to change?

DEHGHANPISHEH: I mean, basically, they are the people who -- who voted for Mousavi. At the very basic level, these are -- these are people who participated in the elections a week ago, and they feel that, you know, their votes were not heard, that there was rigging at the ballot box, and that, you know, the candidate that they voted for who they think, you know, received the majority of votes, is not -- is not going to get -- get his place.

(CROSSTALK)

DEHGHANPISHEH: So, that's, you know, essentially what they are -- what they are out protesting about.

SANCHEZ: It makes sense.

We are talking about Babak. He's a "Newsweek" correspondent who is actually inside Tehran. And it's a bit of a rare opportunity for us. As you know, we have been trying to hook up with people who could take us through this story there. He is doing so.

Is there any sense there or any inclination of what the government is going to do to settle this situation, or if they are even interested in settling this situation? There is talk of a recount. But, of course, people say they are not going to be happy until they have a revote, right?

DEHGHANPISHEH: Exactly. Exactly.

And that's -- that's the big question here, how those two sides are going to reconcile that. You know, there is a sort of a -- a track that's being followed into looking into these reports of irregularities in the elections. The supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has asked the Guardian Council -- this is a body that has some oversight over elections. He's asked them to -- to look into these reports of irregularities.

They, in turn, have come around and said that they -- they will look into it. It is not going to be any sort of mass recount, certainly not a recount of all the votes, but that they will crack ballot boxes in areas where there were reports of high regularities and -- and look into that.

And it is still not clear how that is all going to shake out or if even that process will be accessible to these supporters of Mousavi.

SANCHEZ: When we look at the pictures here --and, obviously, you know, you're looking at just a moment in time -- but it seems at times like things could possibly spin out of control. Is the feeling there among Iranians that that could happen, or do they see this as just a people grieving -- or a people sharing their grievances, letting their opinions be known, and that is all it is?

DEHGHANPISHEH: I don't get a sense that things are going to spin out of control.

Certainly, this is unprecedented. I mean, you have had four or five days in a row where there are hundreds of thousands of people out in the street. I mean, the crowd on Monday, I think, was more -- more than a million people. I mean, this is certainly unprecedented, amazing stuff inside Iran.

But we have to remember that what they are asking for right now is not, you know, an overthrow of the regime. They are basically asking for their votes to be recognized. They are asking for the person who they voted for, who they think rightfully got the votes, to be -- to be put in the role of the president.

So, you know, it -- I don't think -- right now, I don't get the sense that things are going to spin out of control. And the violence, to some extent, from the side of the government has been tamped down. The security forces are not, you know, reacting as harshly as they did with the protesters back on -- like, on Saturday and Sunday, it was quite -- quite harsh and bloody.

But that has -- that has been toned down, to some extent, also.

SANCHEZ: Babak Dehghanpisheh, thank you, sir, for giving us a perspective that Americans don't get an opportunity to see, given that you are there, you have been able to move relatively freely around Tehran. And we will hopefully continue to check in with you. Stay safe. Thanks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: We're not meddling in any country's affairs when we call for free and fair elections and the ability of people to exercise their human rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It is the politics of Iran, President Obama getting ripped by the right for not doing enough, saying enough about Iran's election. We are going to bring you that debate.

By the way, there are new polls out showing how the president is doing on foreign policy with independents and in general. We will share it with you.

And this young man is Kim Jong-un. He is the next heir to lead the most dangerous country in the world, North Korea. How did he get there? Who is he? What might he possibly do? Questions we are asking of someone who is in the know for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: All right, here's the breaking news. I think you heard Kyra make mention of this in the previous hour, but now, apparently, we are getting some more information about the U.S. military following a North Korean vessel that may have some weapons on board which, according to the United Nations, we have a right to inspect, our military.

Obviously, there's always a threat with a situation like this that there could be some kind of a showdown. So, let -- let me bring you the -- the information as we have it right now. And I will share it with you.

CNN has confirmed that the U.S. military is tracking this North Korean ship believed to be carrying elicit weapons, is the word that we're using, or some type of technology. The ship is called the Kang Nam. The U.S. will not, at this point -- this is important -- not, at this point, forcibly board the ship. But as per recent as I mentioned a while ago, as per recent United Nations resolutions, will request permission to search the ship or press any port the ship docks to inspect all illegal materials, so says the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"If a vessel like this is queried and doesn't allow a permissive check, they have to then direct it to a port. We expect compliance," says the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mullen.

Obviously, a situation that at this point doesn't seem to be tense. But certainly could become one. I want to bring in a guest now if we could to talk about this. We had, in fact, a plan for some time now to talk about what's going on. Joining me now from New York is one of the foremost experts on North Korea, Gordon Chang. He's the author of "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On The World."

You know, it's interesting because I had invited you on today because I wanted to ask you about Kim Jong-Un, the young man who apparently is the heir apparent who is going to be the leader of North Korea. Instead, we have this piece of breaking information coming to us. So let me use you to get us through this. What do you think is going on here?

GORDON CHANG, AUTHOR: Well, clearly, the United States has been concerned about North Korea and proliferation. But during the Bush administration, not very much was done. And we found out that a lot of North Korean nuclear technology ended up in Syria and probably Iran as well. So we need to somehow inspect this vessel, either on the high seas or at some port.

SANCHEZ: Are you insinuating that this vessel is carrying -- or if it is carrying elicit weapons, as it says in this report, that I just read, that they're actually being passed along to a third country?

CHANG: Well, it wouldn't be a surprise because about three or four years ago, a vessel, which was German flagged was actually caught with centrifuge parts coming from North Korea. So clearly, this has happened in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if this vessel also has some sort of technology or some sort of weapons that shouldn't be transported.

SANCHEZ: What kind of strength does the government have right now? Let's suppose, let's take this to what I hope is not its logical or illogical end. If the United States says, I'm sorry, but we have a right to inspect this vehicle and we are going to go on board and we want you to do this peacefully and get your permission and they say, no. Then what?

CHANG: Well, they will say no but they don't have the means to stop the U.S. Navy from doing so. North Korea is powerful because of its friends, China and Russia. I don't think China and Russia are going to intervene because they don't want to be seen to be on the bad side of this. Everyone is concerned about North Korea and proliferation in the Middle East. So right now, nobody is going to go to North Korea's help. So they are going to be alone.

SANCHEZ: You mean if the United States eventually pushed them, they could all but -- I guess I should ask the question this way. Do you know of a case or do you expect that anything will happen where the United States would forcibly impose its will on a ship, a vessel like this at sea, whether it is at sea or they actually are able to coax it into port somewhere?

CHANG: The only thing North Korea could do is retaliate against South Korea and Japan. They have threatened to do that so many times in the past. I don't think they would do that because although they could inflict massive casualties, they know that would be the end of the regime, because the United States and our allies would be able to put the North Koreans back in the box militarily.

SANCHEZ: But wait a minute, what would China do though? That is really the wild card in all this, isn't it? It's not just taking on North Korea. China has declared itself an ally of North Korea. What would they do?

CHANG: China doesn't want the United States or South Korea inside North Korea because they don't want us to see certain things and know about the relationship between the two capitals. But I'm sure that before we acted, we would be talking to China about the limits of what we would be doing. And I think probably we could get China to do the right thing and to sort of back off because they don't want to be seen supporting proliferation of nuclear technology to Iran and Syria and other dangerous regimes.

SANCHEZ: Boy, you're good. You really have written the book on this, you know your stuff. Let me ask you before I let you go about this other issue that's going on now, this Kim Jong-Un. Apparently he's the youngest son. Kim Jong-Il has decided he wants him to be his heir because one of his sons has done some crazy stuff, like disappearing into Japan and trying to get into Disney World. The other son apparently he says is too "effeminate" to be his heir, heir apparent. So he's chosen this Un young man. And his brother, the one who wasn't chosen because he tried because he tried to go to Disney World was recently caught up with reporters. It's a very short snippet, but let's watch this together and then I want to get your reaction. Here it is. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM JONG NAM, SON OF KIM JONG-IL: I hear that news by media and I think it's true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That's one of the Kim Jongs, I suppose they are called, reacting to the news that his brother had been chosen. He seems as confused as anybody else. What's going on here and who is this kid?

CHANG: Well, Kim Jong-Nam who is from that snipped, is the oldest brother. He once was the designated heir. He was the one caught going into Japan on a false Dominican passport with wives, mistresses and a lot of cash and kids. But Jong Nam thinks that Jong- Un, the youngest brother, will be the leader. And apparently Kim Jong-Il has run out of songs, because they all are for one reason or another, unsuitable. The only person who is going to really be a good one of his kids is his daughter. But in a patriarchal society, she has no chance. So she's not eligible.

SANCHEZ: Well, his father has been described as a bit of an eccentric, if not somewhat nutty at times. How about the son? What do we know about Un?

CHANG: Well, Un went to school in Switzerland. He went there under a pseudonym. He was supposed to be the son of the driver of the North Korean Embassy. So they really tried to keep him under cover. But we know that he speaks four languages, including English. He idolizes Michael Jordan and Jean Claude Damm. You know, he skateboards, rollerblades, he does all of this stuff. But nonetheless, he is very ruthless.

SANCHEZ: Strange situation. And I am so glad we had you to take us with us, take us through this. Good luck on the book.

CHANG: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Is America's honeymoon with President Obama waning? New polls suggest Independents seem to be dropping off. We are going to explore that. Why? Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Hey Johnny, do me a favor and shoot hawk eye over there. He's on the Twitter board. He's making a comment about what is going on in that interview we did about North Korea moments ago. He says, this is a viewer talking. "I have a feeling that this North Korea situation is only going to get worse before it gets better." I imagine there are a lot of Americans who look at something like that.

By the way, just one quick correction moments ago. Not a big deal. But if it was wrong, we should say so. That story I brought you a little while ago about the 1955, a woman left her son in a stroller outside a store in Brooklyn and the child disappeared and now a man has come forward saying that he is that child. Well, it turns out, it wasn't Brooklyn. It was Long Island, not Brooklyn. It was Long Island. I apologize for the error.

Do you know what today is? The 150th day of Barack Obama as president of the United States. Results from two new polls suggest solid support still backing him but also there's some evidence of erosion. Here is what I mean by this. Let's take this apart as best we can.

A "New York Times"/CBS News poll earlier this week shows roughly the same approval rating for President Obama as back in February. But some of those don't knows have moved into the disapprove category. Where is the slippage? It is definitely among the self-styled Independent voters who in seven weeks have changed course in many ways from 60 percent, seven weeks ago, to an approval of now just 46 percent. This poll conducted by NBC News and the "Wall Street Journal."

Some of those disapprovals may be tied to President Obama's foreign policy which has been under fire with Iran's post-election dissent of the past six days. The political complexities of the Islamic republic, how does this president handle it? Is he handling it correctly? His critics are saying, he needs to be doing more. But what would be the backlash of that? We are going to be picking up that argument when we come back, stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Funny comments coming in on some of the questions that I've raised for you. Let's go to Dick Smith over here. He's watching now. He says, "President Obama handling Iran OK. Let Iranians bring changes," he says. "Previous U.S. administrations, CIA, got us alienated by Iran."

And then there's a comment on North Korea just below that there Johnny, see it? "North Korea is like a culling society. They don't like something, they make it disappear. Stop that crazy Kim Jung!"

Which one? A minute ago, I gave you some job approval figures for the president. Still strong, but with a little bit of slippage among Independents for sure. Here is one more. Indulge me for just a second. I am talking now about how Americans polled by the Pew Research Center see President Obama's handling of foreign policy, including and up to Iran. Well, up and down and sometimes mostly up. In February, 52 percent of respondents approved of the new president's foreign policy. It spiked in April, then settled down to 57 percent this month. The president is on record as saying he doesn't want to be seen as, quote, "meddling in Iran" as aforementioned.

The man he beat to the White House says, why not, let's meddle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Of course not. Nor is it in keeping with the tradition dating back to Woodrow Wilson, what we call Wilsonian principles. We are not meddling in any country's affairs whom we call for free and fair elections and the ability of people to exercise their human rights and when they disagree with a flawed or corrupt election as the Iranian people have to be beaten and even killed in the streets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right, now, watch this. The president stating his anti-meddling policy on Iran and why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Not productive given the history of U.S./Iranian relations to be seen as meddling, the U.S. president meddling in Iranian elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: It's a healthy argument, isn't it? Well, I want you to see one more thing. This is a report that we prepared for you here at CNN. Brian Todd is the correspondent, he files on the president's first real overseas test. Iran and the people who think he is actually getting it wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Walking, perhaps, the most unsteady tightrope of his young presidency, Barack Obama finds the Iranian crisis one of the toughest to nuance. He's repeatedly said he doesn't want to be seen as meddling. But the Iranian government complains of just that -- telling Swiss diplomats who handled U.S. business in Tehran that America is interfering in the election process. Others say the United States is not doing enough. A senior Israeli official tells CNN the administration's response is "not strong." The Israelis have long pushed for a tougher line on Iran, but their statements give the current backlash against the president some critical mass following challenges by some Republicans in Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "AMERICAN MORNING")

MCCAIN: I am, in fact, frankly incredulous that anybody should say we should abandon our advocacy for free and fair elections anywhere in the world, much less Iran, which is ruled by Muslim clerics who are obviously extremists.

TODD: The White House also finds itself defending the president's comments that the difference between Ahmadinejad and Mousavi, in terms of their actual policies, may not be as great as has been advertised.

Says one long time Middle East observer...

DAVID MAKOVSKY, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: There's clearly differences for the non-reformer. And I think he went a little too far to the edge and he can walk that back.

TODD: White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was asked to pin down what the president meant by that comment. ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Regardless of the outcome of what we're seeing, the United States still has two principal national interests as it relates to the Islamic Republic of Iran -- the state sponsorship of terror and their support of terror, as well as their pursuit of a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

TODD: On the overall criticism for not bringing more pressure to bear on the Iranian regime, another White House official told us the administration simply cannot be drawn too deeply into this post- election fight. It could empower the hard-liners in Iran, this official says, and could even be seen as a justification for a tougher crackdown. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is now a half mile wide. It is huge. Oh, we've got debris coming up. We have got structural damage. We have damage on this building that's tearing this building apart. Debris in the air. It's tearing this building apart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: This is one of those pieces of videos that makes you ask, why? Why are you doing this? Why would someone drive their car into a tornado? At some point, shouldn't you say, oh, my goodness, look at the size of that storm, I better turn around and go back. We'll watch it together.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's start with a funny tweet if we possibly can. Let's take Anthony Lorenzo who says to us, "Fault lines in Texas, eh? I guess they really want to secede."

And then look at DomoRoboto, I'm going to share his question, because we get this question a lot on the show from people who work late, aren't able to watch at 3:00 or are traveling, or are out of the country, people in Europe. "Hey, Rick. How can I watch your show in Europe? I'm leaving on Monday." Going on vacation, huh? A couple of things. First of all, there's something called Slingbox you can use, which you can then -- I'm not going to explain. Just look up Slingbox and then you can also go to CNN.com/RickSanchez where Dave Johnson will file some of our best reports and you can catch up with us that way if you really need to know. Or better yet, just enjoy your vacation and forget about it.

Now this, from the "what were you thinking?" department. All right, granted, this massive twister videotaped yesterday with a girth of a quarter of a mile was quite a sight to behold. And I think any one of us that would have seen this would have probably gone, my goodness. It was powerful, too. It damaged a pet food plant. What gets me about this is, why would the person behind the wheel continue to drive, in the event that something bad could happen to him? Maybe it's great insurance. Maybe it's poor judgment. Let's go ahead and listen to this for a little bit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDNETIFIED MALE: it is tearing this building apart! I am literally 400 yards away from it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: You're literally 400 yards away from it? Maybe it's a darn good time to turn around and head back. What do you think? Am I crazy or what? All right, hit it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MICKELSON, GOLFER: The fact that my normal support system, Amy and the kids and so forth, aren't going to make the trip this week, I'm kind of hoping to have that, or feel the support to kind of help me through the week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Phil Mickelson. Man, talk about a guy whose getting a lot of attention and a lot of sympathy, really. He's referring to his wife, who has as you may know, has cancer. Tiger Woods, by the way is back for the first time since his surgery. U.S. Open golfers facing more challenges than just the course. The U.S. Open begins today. It's news. We'll bring it to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: U.S. Open starts today. Wolf Blitzer still doing politics, though. Unless maybe he takes a little break and goes up there and watches what's going on. Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It would be nice, wouldn't it? But -- that's why we have television, is that right? We also have television to report what's going on in Iran right now. And we're getting ready to speak, Rick with, our man in Tehran, Reza Sayah, he's going to be joining us live and telling us what's going on today. It's a huge, huge day. What's happening on the streets of Tehran and other major cities throughout the country, getting ready for a major address tomorrow by the Grand Ayatollah. This is a real fluid situation, Rick, as you know, and CNN is all over it. We'll have complete coverage coming up in "The Situation Room."

SANCHEZ: All right, Wolf Blitzer, the best of the best. Thanks, we'll look forward to it. By the way, I just mentioned Bethpage a little while ago, the fact that this golf tournament, considered by many to be the premiere golf event, and I snuck, turned the channel for a little while today just to see what was going on. Torrential downpour, trying to watch -- even Tiger couldn't hit a golf ball straight in this stuff. I mean, it was ugly. It was real ugly. There's some of the shots that we've been getting now probably from hte "Associated Press." Hey, Chad Myers, show us what this thing looks like on a map, will you?

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: I want you to watch another part of this story because this is not just about golf. This is just not a sports story. This is a story about Tiger Woods and everybody else who's ever had any kind of major operation, being able to come out of it. Can he be the old Tiger? We'll find out, tomorrow.

As well as the story of Phil Mickelson and the fact in his wife is going through cancer. And it seems like everybody on tour is seeing him now as the sentimental favorite because of it. Two of these human stories inside a sports story as told by CNN's Larry Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If there are any doubts about how tough the Black Course at Bethpage State Park is, you need to look no further than the warning given at the first tee. But if the course isn't hard enough, several contenders will be battling burdens beyond the massive Bethpage rough.

Tiger Woods is the defending champion and last won a major a year ago, surviving a 19-hole playoff on a badly damaged left knee that required reconstructive surgery a week later. It he thought winning the surgery on one leg was hard, try repeating as champion. Something no one has done in 20 years. He will be looking now to recapture the magic of his 2002 Open victory at Bethpage.

TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: I think just the overall atmosphere is what I truly remember here, because it was extraordinary. I hadn't seen anything like it and probably never will.

SMITH: Phil Mickelson has long been a New York favorite and left as the sentimental favorite this week. Fresh off his 39th birthday on Tuesday, Mickelson will be playing just two weeks before his wife Amy begins treatment for breast cancer. The Californian has three major championships but has long claimed the title he wants most is the U.S. Open crown and he doesn't need any extra motivation to win it this week.

MICKELSON: I'm putting everything I have into this week because I don't anticipate being able to play for a little while, and the fact that my normal support system, Amy and the kids and so forth, aren't going to make the trip this week, I'm kind of hoping to have that -- or feel the support to kind of help me through the week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: All right, that's going to be fun to watch. By the way, your comments before we go. "Dude," on MySpace, "This is a tornado. Do not drive into the dark, dude."

Thank you very much, MySpace. Let's go over to Twitter board now and see how many of those we can get in.

"Rick, we are enjoying your show." Johnny, back up just a little bit so I can see what's going on over there, thanks so much. "When I go to Mexico on vacation, I have no problem following your show there." Interesting. "You can watch CNN on livestation.com on your laptop. No need for Slingbox. What's the name of the program you mentioned to the guy that wanted to follow you in Europe? Again, it's Slingbox. That's what's being recommended to me by the guys in my ear who are right now in that control room behind me.

My thanks to you for being with us. That's our show. We'll see you again tomorrow. Meantime, here's Wolf Blitzer in Washington.