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President Obama Criticized on Protests in Iran; Islam's Grip on Iran; D.C. Train Crash Kills 9; Ed McMahon Dead at 86

Aired June 23, 2009 - 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: OK. New developments in Iran's election crisis.

Britain's Foreign Office tells CNN it is expelling two Iranian diplomats from London. That's in response to Iran expelling two British diplomats from Tehran yesterday.

Iran's electoral body now ruling out nulling the disputed election. It says it found no major fraud in the June 12th presidential vote.

The country's top judicial official announces a special court set up to deal with demonstrators. That sounds ominous. And state-run media reports President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in to a second term, perhaps as early as July 26th.

Iran, one of the top issues President Obama is expected to discuss at his news conference. That comes your way about 30 minutes from right now, live, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A new CNN Poll of Polls shows the president with 60 percent job approval. Thirty-one percent of those polled disapprove of how the president is handling his job.

Live now to CNN's White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux.

And Suzanne, the president's statements on Iran have been measured until now. Do we expect his tone to change?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we've been told to expect some new language, obviously reacting to some of the violence on the streets against those demonstrators. The president wants to make it very clear that he understands the situation that's taking place on the ground, that he does sympathize in that way with the demonstrators.

But he is not going to announce any kind of new policy initiatives or a radically change in approach to what the United States and what the president has been saying before, that this is ultimately up to the Iranian people to determine who their leadership is going to be, that he will reiterate the importance and the international perspective, if you will, of free and fair elections, but that he is not going to be making a judgment in terms of who won those elections or who should -- whether there should be regime change. That is not something that this administration believes is helpful. So, that is going to be very consistent. But we expect these remarks about 10 to 12 minutes in length. He's going to talk about Iran, as well as some domestic issues very much on the minds of a lot of folks. That is health care reform, as well as energy -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. And we've been talking about it. I think those other agenda items are really important, and you expect him to spend some time sort of calibrating and resetting the health care debate, where it stands right now?

MALVEAUX: He's had a really difficult time here with the health care debate, because obviously he's been putting forward what he hopes is a government-run insurance package or program that's an alternative to private insurance. He's been really getting a lot of resistance from that from Republicans and now some Democrats.

The big situation here is that you've got two different Democratic ideas, packages, that are being introduced that are more than $1 trillion over 10 years, so there are even some Democrats now who are wondering. We heard from Senator Dianne Feinstein just yesterday saying that she's not sure if this president has the support he needs for health care reform because it's so darn expensive. And so he's going to have to address how are you going to save money? How are you actually going to generate funds to pay for all of this?

And he knows that this is a tough sell. He wants it done fairly quickly, so he's going to have to address that.

HARRIS: It's expensive, and neither of the plans, as we know them so far, covers everyone who is still uninsured in the country. So, you're right, a lot of heavy lifting still to be done.

Suzanne, we'll let you go to take your place.

At the White House, Suzanne Malveaux for us.

And of course you can see President Obama's news conference live this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. It is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:30 on the West Coast. And he will take questions from reporters after about a 12-minute statement.

This all coming to you from the White House Briefing Room.

When Islam dominates the law of the land, it comes as something of a surprise to see clerics among the protesters in Tehran.

Our Brian Todd looks at whether Ayatollah Khamenei is losing some of his influence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In White turbans, men who appear to be clerics march with protesters. One of them positions himself in front of a group as if to protect them. From six thousand miles away, the son of the late Shah challenges the top echelons of Iran's clergy to do the same.

REZA PAHLAVI, IRAN'S FORMER CROWN PRINCE: This has also become also a defining moment for clerics both in the interest of the nation, but also in the interest of the faith and the clerical establishment to show its complete demarcation from this system.

TODD: But is that really happening? Some experts we spoke with, including an Islamic scholar familiar with the situation in Iran, say it's impossible to know. Only a few of Iran's prominent ayatollahs have spoken out against the election results.

Former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani heads the Assembly of Experts, the only group with the constitutional ability remove Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Five members of Rafsanjani's family, including his high-profile daughter, Faezeh, were arrested, accused of provoking unrest, but later released.

Contacted by CNN, an Iranian official dismissed reports that Rafsanjani is working behind the scenes from the holy city of Kum to unseat Khamenei. The official says the two have a strong relationship and points to the supreme leader's praise of Rafsanjani on Friday.

AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, SUPREME LEADER OF IRAN (through translator): After the revolution, he was one of the most effective political figures alongside the late imam.

TODD: Experts say there may simply not be enough momentum among the top clerics right now to push Khamenei out. The head of an Iranian-American advocacy group which calls for new elections but is not endorsing a candidate talks about the possibilities if this government collapses.

TRITA PARSI, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL IRANIAN-AMERICAN COUNCIL: You could have a Mousavi presidency and perhaps reform the office of the supreme leader to be a body of clergy rather than just one single person.

TODD: Trita Parsi says another possibility is some kind of military dictatorship. He says from what we're seeing, one of the most determined groups is the Basij militia, which takes its orders from the Revolutionary Guard.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we are working to get around Iran's information blockades to bring you the latest from the front lines of the election crisis.

Let's visit with our Ivan Watson at the CNN Iran desk.

And Ivan, if you would, give us a bit of an update. What are you following?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, a letter has emerged throughout the Internet, throughout the social networking sites from a former Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami, a reformist politician who has come out criticizing the way the Iranian regime is dealing with the protesters. And in this letter it calls for every morning for people to organize protests in the main bazaars of every single city in Iran. And it also goes on to urge people to go to these bazaars, to these marketplaces, not carrying signs, not wearing green, but try to shut down the bazaars, say that they're going to shop.

This is one of the methods that activists seem to be using to try to mobilize people. We're hearing some other proposals, perhaps a rally in front of the Iranian parliament tomorrow. But as we saw on Monday, the Iranian security forces are very effective at dispersing groups of protesters trying to gather for these demonstrations. At least so far this week, Tony.

I'd like to move on to another subject, and that is that Iran's most prominent human rights lawyer, Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, is in Europe. She's trying to organize opposition to the Iranian government right now. She is actually calling for an annulment of Iran's controversial presidential election.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRIN EBADI, IRANIAN NOBEL PEACE LAUREATE (through translator): The elections must be annulled and a fresh election must be held under the supervision of international organizations, including the United Nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: She's also calling for the release of the prisoners who have been arrested over the past 10 days. She's calling for the government to allow people to demonstrate in the streets, and she's calling for political sanctions against the Iranian government, downgrading from ambassadorial relations between Europe and Tehran -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK, Ivan. Appreciate it. Thank you for the update.

You can learn more about the protests, Iran's power structure, and its feared militia known as the Basij. Just go to our Web site any time you're away from your television set. The address is CNN.com.

Live pictures of the D.C. train crash site. Crews are still in rescue mode as responders continue to look for bodies in the twisted debris.

Let me just confirm this. Are those actual live pictures?

CNN has just confirmed that nine people were killed during yesterday's rush-hour collision. Two others were critically injured.

I didn't think so. OK. And dozens of others treated on the scene. The train slammed into a parked train on the same track.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the seat came out of the walls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And the windows...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We flew. Everybody on our track flew.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was horrible. The second train, the first car, was just absolutely shredded. The second train -- or the second car, the seats were out the window. It was awful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The NTSB says it will be days before they figure out what caused the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: Our operations team is going to be looking at the train operators, their training, any records, how long they've been with WMATA. They're going to be looking at any communications that might have been going on between the control center and the operators. And they're going to be looking at the automatic train operations versus the manual operations to determine what mode the train was at the time of the collision and if there had been any instructions to the operator.

We know from WMATA that metro operates their trains in ATO, or automatic mode, during rush hour. And it was during rush hour, so we're going to be taking a close look at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The NTSB also says it warned Metro Rail of safety problems in the past, recommending the old fleet be phased out, or retrofitted, but neither was done.

President Obama is getting ready to talk about the wide spectrum of challenges he faces. I'll ask our correspondents and political analysts about the issues he wants to keep at the top of his agenda.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Here is the latest on Iran today.

The British Foreign Office tells CNN it has expelled two Iranian diplomats from London. This in response to Iran expelling two British diplomats from Tehran yesterday.

Iran's Guardian Council says it will not nullify the presidential election despite days of protests. The council says it found "no witness of major fraud or breach in the election," and state TV says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in to a second term between the end of July and mid-August. There are no major protests in the streets today, but activists have said if Ahmadinejad takes office, protesters would resort to general strikes and civil resistance.

We are just a few minutes away from a presidential news conference. Reporters are sure to hit President Obama with questions about Iran, as well as a few other pressing topics.

Let's get a preview from CNN White House Correspondent Dan Lothian. Our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here, and Jim VandeHei, executive editor at Politico.com.

And Dan, let me start with you, and let's start with the economy.

So, as you know, there is a new -- and then, Jim, we'll come to you on the same question.

There is a new "Washington Post" poll indicating that barely half of Americans are now confident that the president's $787 billion stimulus measure will boost the economy. So, we know that Iran, health care, North Korea are all important issues. But again, Americans want the president to fix this economy.

Isn't the real political danger here for the president losing the public's confidence in his approach and ability to turning this economy around?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it really is, Tony. I mean, obviously, the economy is what drives, you know, folks to the poll. We've heard this so many times, that people tend to vote with their pocketbook. And so people want to feel good about whether they have a job, you know, whether they're going to lose their home. So, that really is important.

They want to hear what the president has to say about health care. They want to hear what he has to say about Iran or North Korea. But ultimately, they want to know how they're going to hang on to their homes or how they're going to hang on to their jobs. And so that's very critical for the president, not to let the economy sort of get behind some of these other more pressing issues. And you hear that from the White House.

They keep pounding again and again that the stimulus will create jobs. They'll tout 150,000 jobs that have been created. So they are really pushing that because they know that's important to the people.

HARRIS: Hey, Jim VandeHei, take this issue on, that we know that there are a lot of really pressing issues for the president, but the economy is still issue number one for just about every American.

JIM VANDEHEI, CO-FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, POLITICO: Big time. And there's a couple of warning signs out there for President Obama that he wants to confront.

One, people are very concerned about government spending and how high these deficits are going.

HARRIS: Yes.

VANDEHEI: They're also very concerned about that stimulus bill.

Earlier in the year, the Obama administration said that if we can do the stimulus bill, we can hold unemployment to hopefully below eight percent, and definitely below 10 percent. Well, now Obama himself is saying that unemployment is likely to go above 10 percent.

HARRIS: Yes.

VANDEHEI: So, people, said, OK, we spent all this money, more money than we've ever spent on a stimulus bill, and it didn't work. And now you're asking to us do health care and to spend more money than we've spent at any point in a long time on a domestic program. Why should we tell you that that will work? At that is the big, big challenge for President Obama.

Remember in the beginning of the year he had this sort of big bang theory of legislating. Let's do all these big things simultaneously -- climate change, financial re-regulation, health care. All of them costs a lot of money and all of them are coming to a head right now when people are concerned about spending money. So, this is a tricky one for him.

HARRIS: And Elizabeth, let's bring you in on health care, because we know that the president will get several questions on health care, and it's going to be part of his opening statement at this news conference in just a couple of minutes.

What are the remaining obstacles to bringing some kind of bill together on health care reform by the end of the year?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The big question is how are we going to pay for all of this?

HARRIS: How are we going to pay for it? Yes.

COHEN: How are we going to pay for all of this? Because actually, when you look at it, the Democrats and the Republicans have a lot of things in common...

HARRIS: Right.

COHEN: ... that they believe. But still, the question is how are we going to pay for it?

The other big stumbling block is, can he get the Republicans on his side about having a government-sponsored health insurance option? Not requirement, but option out there on the table?

HARRIS: And somehow getting the American people on board with what he wants to do with health care reform. That's still a hurdle for this president. COHEN: Well, it's still something he definitely needs to think about. And there was a "New York Times"/CBS poll this weekend that I think got to the heart of this matter, so let's take a look at this.

What this poll found is that 77 percent of Americans say that they're satisfied with the quality of their health care. So if you're satisfied, do you want reform? Well, it's interesting. Eighty-five percent said that they do feel that the system needs to change. But if you -- so, they feel it needs to change, but they're happy.

If these folks who are happy, which are most Americans, get an inkling that somehow they're going to lose their good insurance, they might not like it so much. Now, Obama says, don't worry. If you're happy, nothings going to change. But those the other side people say not so fast. If health care reform goes through, you might suffer a bit.

HARRIS: Let's do be a big pivot here quickly to Iran.

And Jim VandeHei, what have you been struck by in the president's handling of this crisis? And what do you expect to hear from him today, in just minutes in this news conference?

VANDEHEI: I don't think we'll hear that much different than we heard from over the weekend, where he talks about trying to condemn the violence and make sure that the government over there doesn't get out of control in cracking down on all of this, but also stopping short of sort of intervening in their elections.

And I think a lot of Democrats in the foreign policy establishment think that it's the smartest way to do this. Republicans are obviously hitting them, saying, listen, let's fight for the reformers, we have a chance to have a different government to overthrow Ahmadinejad.

HARRIS: Let me stop you right there, Jim. Let me stop you right there.

And then, Dan, jump in on this, and we'll have to wrap it there.

Do you know -- do we know how the president views the demonstrations overall? Does he see it as an attempt to overthrow the Islamic rule, the Islamic government that's in place now, or does he see this as simply a reform movement?

VANDEHEI: Probably more of a reform movement. I think he sees it that there's a younger generation of Iranians who want a different form of government, and that sort of the rhetoric that you heard from Bush and that you hear now from Obama about getting more democracy or more say for the people in the process over there, that that is starting to resonate.

You know, if you look at the polling numbers and you look at the reality of the region, is it enough to make big change right now? Probably not. But he feels like the seeds have been planted, and the last thing he wants to do is, in his own words, become a foil. HARRIS: Yes.

VANDEHEI: I think a lot of Democrats are supportive of that position, though he is under a lot of pressure from Capitol Hill to push just a little bit harder.

HARRIS: And Dan, very quickly -- yes, jump in, Dan.

LOTHIAN: Yes, I just wanted to say I do agree with that, that the administration really sees this as a fight for justice. And the president has been watching the videos and the various different pictures we see coming out of Iran, and he's talking about how he has really been impressed by that fight for justice, and especially the women who have been going out there and willing to put their lives on the line to get that justice.

But one other thing that I have found kind of striking from this administration is that, at least according to senior administration officials, is they don't feel the pressure. They're saying that they don't feel the pressure to change the language that we've heard from the president over the last few days, whereas, you know, not saying anything stronger to support the demonstrators and not saying anything to condemn the Iranian government, they still hold that line.

And they say despite what they're hearing up on Capitol Hill from Republicans and others, they are not feeling pressure to change that language. We might hear a little tougher language today, but certainly the policy won't be changed.

HARRIS: Boy, and our thanks to all of you. First of all, our CNN White House correspondent, Dan Lothian. Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. And Jim VandeHei, executive editor at Politico.com.

Thank you, all.

You know, he is famous for the man he introduced each night. We will look back at the life and career of Ed McMahon, America's favorite sidekick.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And here is the latest on Iran today. The British foreign office tells CNN it's expelled two Iranian diplomats from London. This in response to Iran expelling two British diplomats from Tehran yesterday.

Iran's Guardian Council says it will not nullify the presidential election despite days of protests. The council says it found "no witness of major fraud or breach in the election." State TV says President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in to a second term between the end of July and mid-August. There are no major protests in the streets today, but activists have said that if Ahmadinejad takes office, protesters will resort to general strikes and civil resistance. And once again, the president's news conference scheduled to begin in, oh, about five minutes from the briefing room. We will, of course, bring you that news conference live. Expect a number of questions on Iran, health care, North Korea, and more.

Ed McMahon, for 30 years he introduced NBC's "The Tonight Show" with "Here's Johnny!" and punctuated Carson's punch lines with a booming "Yes!"

McMahon died early today in Los Angeles, reportedly suffering from bone cancer. He was 86.

CNN dialed up Joan Rivers, who frequently sat in for Johnny Carson at "The Tonight Show" desk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: I remember him with great affection, and I remember him with very solid -- whenever I hosted the show, which I did for many years, he was always there and always -- when you needed him, he was a rock, a real rock. I think he invented the form of the second banana.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: In addition to "The Tonight Show," McMahon searched for stars, laughed at bloopers and handed out big sweepstakes checks.

Brooke Anderson takes a look back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED MCMAHON, TV PERSONALITY: Here's Johnny!

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 30 years, Ed McMahon was a fixture in American households as Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" sidekick. In that role, he played announcer and Carson setup man.

MCMAHON: I hold in my hand the last envelope.

ANDERSON: He was a loyal source of laughs and always knew his place.

MCMAHON: You had to know how to do that, how to be the second banana. To be in when you needed to be, out when you weren't needed.

ANDERSON: McMahon got his start in radio, and in the early 1950s hosted a number of TV shows in Philadelphia. His long association with Carson begin in the late '50s, culminating with their final "Tonight Show" together in 1992.

JOHNNY CARSON, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": I want to thank the gentleman who shared this stage with me for 30 years, Mr. Ed McMahon.

ANDERSON: Even before Carson retired, McMahon had branched out with his own ventures. Among them, hosting "Star Search." He co- hosted TV's "Bloopers and Practical Jokes" with Dick Clark.

MCMAHON: We've got a lot of things planned tonight.

ANDERSON: While always genial on air, McMahon's personal life was not as charmed. He went through two divorces, and in 2002 he sued after toxic mold was found in his house. In 2007, he broke his neck in a fall, leading to more lawsuits.

With all the money he had earned over a lucrative career, it came as stunning news in 2008 that a lender had started foreclosure proceedings on his house.

MCMAHON: If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. And it can happen. You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that, and, you know, you know, things happen.

ANDERSON: Notoriety from his mortgage problems did lead to some commercial opportunities, including a 2009 Super Bowl ad.

MCMAHON: Now's the time to send your unwanted gold for cash.

ANDERSON: McMahon will forever be remembered for his work in late night, which earned him a place in television history, alongside Johnny Carson.

CARSON: Who did you take to the high school prom?

MCMAHON: Madeleine Mason (ph).

CARSON: You remember?

MCMAHON: Got to her before you did.

(LAUGHTER)

MCMAHON: All of a sudden, you did 30 years, and you kind of look back and you see this monument he created. And I helped put in some of those stones with him. It's wonderful.

ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And in new developments in Iran's election crisis, Britain's Foreign Office tells CNN it is expelling two Iranian diplomats from London. That's in response to Iran expelling two British diplomats from Tehran yesterday.

Iran's electoral body now ruling out annulling the disputed election. It says it found no major fraud in the June 12th presidential vote. The country's top judicial official announces a special court setup to deal with demonstrators. And state-run media reports President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be sworn in to a second term, perhaps as early as July 26th. And we are just moments away, we understand, from the start of the president's news conference. His fourth news conference. Some of the agenda items for the news conference today, certainly the economy. The pace of economic recovery will certainly be discussed today. And then one of the hot topics, of course, will be Iran. Will we get new language from the president? A new tone from the president in responding to the post-election demonstrations in Iran?