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President Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Hold News Conference; Michael Jackson Death Investigation; Congressman Pete King Calls Jackson a Pedophile; Postmark Iraq: A Lesson in Writing

Aired July 06, 2009 - 12:07   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama and Russian President Medvedev, the two men hoping to reboot relations. The two men met with reporters, as you see here, in the lavishly ornate hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace.

My goodness, that's gilded.

The leaders agreed on a new nuclear arms control framework to replace the soon-to-expire START Treaty. They also signed an agreement to allow the U.S. to reach Afghanistan via Russian territory.

Perhaps the most pressing matter, the state of U.S. and Russia relations which chilled during the Bush years.

No? OK.

CNN International Anchor Jim Clancy is here.

And Jim, how long have you been reporting on Russia?

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, since before the collapse of communism back in the mid-1980s. I made several trips into Russia, and I've watched it throughout the years here. And this was a fascinating...

HARRIS: Tell me why. You said that when you walked up here from CNN International that this was important...

(CROSSTALK)

CLANCY: Well, I think they made progress. I think, clearly, that they've made progress here.

And, you know, you talk about reducing the nuclear arsenals. Of the two countries that hold 95 percent of all the nuclear weapons in the world, reducing them 30 percent. That's an accomplishment.

You talk about the missile defense shield that's been such a sticking point. There's an accomplishment there, too. Not as clear but I think that President Obama is signaling very clearly to his Russian counterpart here, look, we're reassessing this, let's see if it works first. And then we'll sit down and we'll talk to you about all of this.

That's what Moscow wants. They want somebody to come to the Kremlin and ring their doorbell before you set things up all around Mother Russia, if you will.

So there's important points there -- cooperation on Iran, cooperation on North Korea, cooperation on nuclear proliferation. These are issues that are vitally important to the United States, and they're making some progress in this area, although it must be said, all of this is preliminary. All of this is the framework, so to speak.

HARRIS: Yes. The opening sound bites; right?

OK. So here's a question we were talking about this morning in our meeting. Where's the real power here?

Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, he still is a figure that looms large here. Is he the puppet master here? Is Medvedev really the power center of this Russian government?

CLANCY: You know, Americans love to get obsessed about all of this. And it's probably true that, you know, Vladimir Putin still has the power.

He's the former FSB, KGB guy. He's probably the most popular politician in all of Russia today. But as Barack Obama pointed out there, look, any deal that Washington makes isn't made with Vladimir Putin or with Dmitry Medvedev. It's made with the Russian government.

And as a result of that, you're dealing with both of these guys. And how they sort out the power structure in their country really depends on them. That's less of an issue that the deal that you get at the end of the day and how you can verify that deal.

HARRIS: Boy, they really seemed to -- President Medvedev seemed to be really clear about his desire to have better relations here, that these two countries need to work better to face the challenges of the 21st century.

I mean, isn't that a big takeaway, body language style, words?

CLANCY: Look, what he's really saying is, you know, we're back. We want to be back.

Now, a lot of people will say Russia will never be back.

HARRIS: Right.

CLANCY: You know? That it will never regain that superpower status, it will never again be on a par with the United States.

The Russian people and I think the Russian leaders don't like to hear that kind of language. And when he's standing there and saying, look, you need us, and we know it, we're important, just as important as you are, I think that it addresses that domestic audience, Tony.

HARRIS: Nice.

Jim, appreciate it. Thanks for your insights. Had to get you up here to talk about this. CLANCY: Great to be with you.

HARRIS: I felt it was important. Yes, good to see you. Thanks, Jim.

So there are plenty of new developments this morning in the Jackson death investigation, as well as talk of another will.

Kara Finnstrom is in Encino, California.

Kara, if you would, bring us up to speed. What's the latest on the investigation?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, some additional developments, Tony.

The "Los Angeles Times" reporting that the LAPD has issued three -- at least three search warrants, and this has to do -- oh, Tony, I'm sorry. The mike not working there.

We're told that the LAPD has issued at least three search warrants, and these have to do with trying to get more information about whether prescription drugs may have played a role in Michael Jackson's death.

Now, detectives have been for a while trying to figure out the exact chronology of Michael Jackson's medical history. There had been a number of doctors that he has seen over the years. So, supposedly, these search warrants will them help piece all of that together.

Also, Tony, just within the last half-hour, we're getting some information on a court hearing that's taking place regarding Michael Jackson's 2002 will. Now, what's happening there is executors named in that will are looking to take control of the will. And since a day after Michael Jackson's death, it has been under the control of Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine.

We do understand from a crew that is in the courtroom right now that there are about 20 lawyers in the first couple rows of the courtroom. In that will that was put together back in 2002, his mother Katherine, his three children and some unnamed charities are the beneficiaries. This hearing would be the first opportunity for either Jackson's family or any unnamed persons to actually contest that will, Tony. So we're waiting to hear whether that may come out of the hearing this morning.

HARRIS: Yes. Hey, Kara, what's the talk about there being another will?

FINNSTROM: Well, Tony, nothing confirmed along those lines, but oftentimes there are more than one -- there's more than one will. And this will was put together back in 2002.

Perhaps his family could want to hold off on actually putting this will into play because they believes others might surface. There's been some talk about that. But at this point, you know, we haven't seen another will and we have heard no official word of another will out there. HARRIS: Yes. OK.

Kara Finnstrom for us in Encino, California.

Kara, we appreciate it. Thank you.

It is about celebrating Jackson's life, and thousands of fans are at Dodger Stadium this hour set to do just that, picking up their tickets for tomorrow's memorial service.

Oh, good. Live pictures now.

Well, that's a picture in slow motion. That can't be live.

Along with the tickets -- what are we seeing here? Explain this to me.

All right. I guess these are pictures from a short time ago.

All right. They are being fitted with wristbands. You can't get in without a ticket, and the wristbands are being used to make sure there is no scalping.

Fans had until 6:00 Saturday night to register for those free tickets. More than 1.5 million people signed up. Just 8,750 got the good news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Growing up in the '70s, you know, we're big music fans. And, you know, the Jackson 5 and American Bandstand, you know, their early work, and just seeing Michael grow up over the years with all his successful albums, it's been a part of our lives. It's really interwoven in our own history, I think, in pop culture. And it's overwhelming to think that we're going to be able to be there to help celebrate his life with his other fans and family, and it's such a momentous occasion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: And if you can't be there, you should be with us, CNN tomorrow. Join us for around-the-clock coverage of the memorial, celebrating the life of this worldwide superstar as family and friends and fans say good-bye.

"Michael Jackson: The Memorial," CNN, all day tomorrow, starting with "AMERICAN MORNING" at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

You know, a New York congressman isn't happy with all the media coverage of Michael Jackson's death, but Republican Peter King may have stretched the point a bit by calling the late superstar, among other things, a pedophile.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. PETE KING (R), NEW YORK: When you cut aside all the psychobabble, he was a pervert and he was a pedophile, a child molester. None of us would let our children or grandchildren in the room with him, and yet he's getting all these front page headlines and stories, television and radio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: There's actually more to this, but our Senior Political Analyst Candy Crowley has heard it all. She's taking stock of all of this.

You know, Candy, there's been plenty of pushback that the coverage of Jackson's death has been excessive. Why do you think Representative King chose to attack Jackson in this way. This is a man who obviously can't defend himself.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, Congressman King is not known for his shyness in talking and saying exactly how he feels. We should note he was in front of an American Legion hall on July 4th weekend, and he, like many others, have looked at the coverage and thought, isn't this just slightly out of whack with the important things that are going on with policeman or firemen or soldiers or teachers?

But, you know, then, when you take it to the next step, let's face it, in his -- when he was alive, Michael Jackson in his later years was a terribly controversial figure in his private life.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

CROWLEY: But he was -- while there was a trial on child molestation charges, he was found not guilty. One of them wasn't even taken to trial. He did pay out millions of dollars to his accuser, but lots of famous people do that just to avoid a trial without implying any kind of guilt.

So, yes, he took it that step further in calling someone guilty of being a pedophile when there was no -- absolutely no place anywhere when he was found guilty. Although, remember, this is a grown man who said, yes, that he did have young children over for sleepovers.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

CROWLEY: So, you're hearing -- you know, you are hearing, I think, less an attack -- as far as Peter King is looking at it, less of an attack on Jackson, and really more of an attack on the media and the coverage, saying, hey, there's people who are giving up their lives every day for this country, where is the coverage for them? And I think that's where you heard that frustration.

HARRIS: Boy, you take me into two different areas here. Let me start with this.

Politically, just in political terms, I'm wondering -- and I don't have anything to go on when I ask this question, but are other conservatives -- I'm thinking of in the media, talk radio, television -- taking on Jackson and the media coverage in a similar way?

CROWLEY: There's -- yes, there is, I think you will find, a lot of chatter, and we've seen it on TV as well. And mostly, again, it has to do with the coverage of it, and is this over the top? And OK, nine days later, aren't we done with this yet?

Now, part of this has to do with the fact that there's been no service yet, I think. So that kind of necessarily stretches it out for a while.

HARRIS: Boy, don't get me started on that, yes.

CROWLEY: So, yes there has been -- but we also see in the polling that if you just want to look at it from a purely political point of view, when the question is, "Were you a Michael Jackson fan?" there are far more many Democrats who were fans of Michael Jackson than Republicans. But that doesn't say much about how they felt about him as a person. Just, you know, how they viewed his music.

HARRIS: Well, in political terms, King said -- and you mentioned just a moment ago that he made that video to highlight efforts made by teachers, police officers and firefighters and that he said go so unrecognized.

Did he lose the impact of that message by attacking Jackson and the coverage, you think, in the way that he did?

CROWLEY: Probably not. And here's why.

I think people are going to look at this into where they already stand. OK? That if you like Michael Jackson and you think he was great, and you think that he was -- all the criticism and things about his private life are bogus, you're going to look at this and say, wait a minute, how dare he say this sort of thing?

If you are in Peter King's district, or if you're looking at this going, you know, what? Why are we sort of idealizing this guy who really had a controversial private life, you're going to go ahead and agree with him. And so what happens is we're talking about the video, so certainly it's probably out there more than had he just said let's pay attention to firefighters and policemen and teachers.

HARRIS: Hey, I can't let you go. We're going to do a segment in just a couple of minutes on Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Have you been able to make sense of Friday? Were you surprised by what you saw, what you heard in the presentation?

CROWLEY: You know, yes. I remain surprised by it, and I remain puzzled by it, because right now, what we have to go on, really, is basically what she said, that she didn't think she -- there were so many investigations going on, or so many people were out to get her, that it had prompted investigations and she just didn't really want to -- didn't think that she could work for Alaska anymore. But I tell you, if you listened to any of the shows over the weekend, she has even fans going, what is she thinking here? So, I just don't know that we have clarity at this point. Certainly I don't.

HARRIS: Candy, appreciate it. Thanks for your time.

Candy Crowley for us.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin stepping down with 18 months left in her first term. Reaction still to come from the bombshell announcement.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin gone fishing after stirring up the political scene. The Republican vice presidential candidate abruptly announced Friday she was resigning as governor at the end of July. The announcement shocked the Republican Party.

Palin used a basketball analogy in revealing her decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: A good point guard, here's what she does. She drives through a full-court press protecting the ball, keeping her head up, because she needs to keep her eye on the basket. And she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can win. And that is what I'm doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So what now for Governor Palin?

Our Sean Callebs is in Anchorage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin, has kept a pretty low profile since making her bombshell of an announcement just before the start of the July 4th weekend.

She made one brief, public appearance. That at a holiday parade on July 4th. Other than that, she has been spending time with her family, doing a little fishing, the family business, in the western part of the state, also visiting a couple of villages there as well.

But what is behind this? A lot of people in Alaska want to know, just like people in the lower 48.

Many here firmly believe she is simply paving the way for 2012. But what will she do in the interim? That's the big question.

Perhaps go on a speaking tour circuit, make a ton of money, be an analyst for some network somewhere, write a book. So many options out there.

And how is she communicating? How is the governor communicating? Well, the way so many people do nowadays, via Twitter and Facebook.

Listen to what she had to say on Facebook over the weekend.

Quoting here -- "How sad that Washington and the media will never understand it's about country. And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies to the decisions I make."

A lot of people believe she's making herself the victim in all of this. But what will happen next?

We know that the FBI is not investigating her. The bureau making the very unusual announcement over the weekend, coming out and saying, "There is no investigation into the governor's activities."

A lot of this deals with ethics allegations. And hear in Alaska, anybody can make an ethics investigation. And she has had to defend herself against 15 of those here. So, it has cost a whopping sum of about $500,000. That's the big reason, she says, she's stepping down, to take away any kind of critical focus on this state so Alaska can move forward.

Sean Callebs, CNN, in Anchorage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, could there possibly be some hidden reason for this move? We'll look at what Sarah Palin's political future may look like next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Alaska's governor sure knows how to stir things up. That's for sure. Her plans to resign at the end of July have a lot of people asking, what now?

Susan Page is the Washington bureau chief for "USA Today." And Jonathan Martin is senior political correspondent for Politico.com.

Susan, let me start with you.

But thank you both for being here.

Susan, have you been able to make any kind of sense of what happened on Friday? If you have, will you explain it to us, please?

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": Well, I think it makes a lot of sense in that Sarah Palin is going to be able to make a lot of money giving speeches, writing a book, get a lot of attention, energizing Republican audiences. You know, this is a party that has a kind of muddled field in leadership going forward, and she's going to appeal to a segment of it. Now, if her desire is to win the presidency, I think that she made that task a lot harder with her resignation, but it is hard to look away from Sarah Palin these days.

HARRIS: Do I hear you agreeing there, Jonathan?

JONATHAN MARTIN, SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO.COM: I think Susan makes a lot of sense, as she always does. The fact is, this is a decision based upon the status quo in Alaska. She does not like what is happening there.

Six months back in the political minor leagues I think was enough for her. And I don't think she's calculating ahead to 2012.

She, I think, just wanted to get out of Alaska, embrace the fame and celebrity that she won last fall. And as Susan alluded to, all the sort of benefits monetarily that come with that. And as long as she's famous, as she is now embracing that celebrity, 2012 or 2016, they're still out there. And she can cross that bridge, Tony, when she gets to it.

HARRIS: Well, Jonathan, is this a total bail on -- if you're correct in your analysis here, a total bail on the people of Alaska, or a move that makes her the de facto frontrunner for the GOP nomination? It doesn't sound like the latter is true.

MARTIN: I don't think that you can rule out either. But there are a lot of folks in Alaska, certainly, that think that she is, in fact, bailing on the state. Democrats and Republicans. It's tough to argue otherwise when you're a governor and you don't serve out your full term.

As for 2012, look, she will perhaps cross that bridge and consider it. But every conventional political analysis is the same, that is that not serving out one full term as governor is not helpful to running for president because you have to have some kind of a record to point to. And I think that in doing this, it is sort of reasserting the fact that her political identity is based more on who she is and not necessarily on what she's done.

HARRIS: Yes, Susan, I really don't mean this to be in any way a loaded question, but I really want an answer to this. What are her political strengths as you see them?

SUSAN PAGE, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "USA TODAY": Her strengths are her charisma, her connection with an audience. And I'll tell you, she is now the spokesman for the anti-Washington, anti-media crowd. And that has been a powerful thread in American politics.

On the other hand, as Jonathan said, you know, to win the -- you can run for president appealing to one strand of the American electorate. To win the presidency, you need to have a broader coalition. You need to make the case that you're a serious person, that you're disciplined, that you have staying power. And she has raised questions on all of those fronts in the last three days.

HARRIS: Jonathan, jump in on this.

MARTIN: Yes, sure.

Yes, here's the thing though. Don't assume necessarily that she wants to run for president. That's fun for us to sort of speculate about. But there's a very real prospect here that she is leaving a life of politics, at least for now, and just wants to go out and sort of be an advocate, be somebody who's a commentator who's in the mix who is a prominent figure, but more of the sort of Limbaugh/Hannity strand to . . .

HARRIS: Oh, my goodness.

MARTIN: Mention a different network, if you will -- than somebody who is actively seeking elective office. But, look, as long as the prospect of her running for president is out there, we, in the media, will cover her. And so I think she knows that and she will go out there . . .

HARRIS: Well, there you go. That's my next question. Jonathan, you brought it up, so answer the question for me.

MARTIN: Sure.

HARRIS: How do we report on her particularly now that, you know, she's giving up the statehouse. Is she politician? Is she a celebrity? How do we cover her?

MARTIN: It's a great question. I think you answer it this way. Until she says no and makes clear that she is not running for president, you have to cover her as somebody who, I think, one day may run for president. There's a similarity here. Pat Buchanan, during the '90s on this network, you know, often times was a commentator, but somebody who also ran for president. And I think a similarity there between those two figures.

HARRIS: Huh. Susan, any thoughts on that?

PAGE: Pat Buchanan never won the presidency. I mean I assume that Sarah Palin would like to actually be president. It doesn't look to me like she's someone who likes only to talk, although, you know, talking is fun and it can be well paying and it can . . .

MARTIN: Right.

PAGE: I'm not saying talk's a bad thing. But Pat Buchanan, to use that analogy, I think that's a good one, actually did affect the course of American politics when he challenged the elder George Bush. He made a pretty serious run there. So maybe that's a good analogy to use.

HARRIS: Susan, good to see you. Thanks for your time.

PAGE: Thanks.

HARRIS: Jonathan, as always, great to talk to you.

MARTIN: Thank you, sir.

HARRIS: All right. Let's take a look at some new video into CNN just moments ago. There he is, Senator-Elect Al Franken. Does he take a question or something here? Let's listen in very quickly. Nothing? OK. Senator-Elect Al Franken in Washington today. His swearing in ceremony later this afternoon. He tells our CNN producer he is eager to get to work.

The nation's longest serving and perhaps most vilified defense secretary died today. Robert McNamara remembered derisively as the architect of the Vietnam War. McNamara lead the Pentagon under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. Like Johnson, he was denounced by young, anti-war protestors. McNamara accepted responsible for failure in Vietnam in his memoir, admitting he realized in 1965 or '66 that the war could not be won. McNamara was 93 years old. He had been in failing health for some time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. So we get some relief from the, boy, sweltering temperatures here, the heat in the south.

Can I tell you something, Reynolds, I actually heard someone say, oh, 80 degrees for a high today in Atlanta?

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hold their first summit in Moscow. The leaders approved the new framework for a treaty to replace the expiring Start nuclear treaty. They also agreed the U.S. could use Russian territory to reach Afghanistan. And the two men pledged to improve relations after the chilliness of the Bush era.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I won't pretend that the United States and Russia agree on every issue. As President Medvedev indicated, we've had some frank discussion and there are areas where we still disagree. For instance, we had a frank discussion on Russia -- on Georgia and I reiterated my firm belief that Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. Yet even as we work through our disagreements on Georgia's borders, we do agree that no one has an interest in renewed military conflict. In going forward, we must speak candidly to resolve these differences peacefully and constructively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Now tomorrow President Obama has breakfast with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Our foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty is joining me now from Moscow.

And, Jill, the president says he has never met the prime minister, but that he is very much looking forward to that first meeting.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He is. And there's a good reason, of course, because Vladimir Putin used to be the president of Russia. Now he's the prime minister. And many people here and in the United States believe in Mr. Putin still pretty much calls the political shots here. So it will be very interesting to see that meeting tomorrow because, after all, right before President Obama came here to Moscow, he made a statement that did not go down well here among the Russians. And that was he said that President Putin in contrast to -- Prime Minister Putin, in contrast to President Medvedev, has one foot in the past and one foot in the present. So that, again, did not go over well. And yet, at his new conference, it was a first question that was asked by an American journalist of the president. Let's hear how he answered it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tomorrow I'll be having breakfast with Prime Minister Putin. I have not met him before. I'm looking forward to that meeting. My understanding is that President Medvedev is the president. Prime Minister Putin is the prime minister. And they allocate power in accordance with Russia's form of government, in the same way that we allocate power in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DOUGHERTY: OK. So a diplomatic answer by the president, Tony, there. But you'd have to say that Mr. Medvedev, the president, and President Obama seem to be getting along quite well. They do -- you know, they're both the same generation. They're young. They're lawyers. And that is important.

HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. All right. Jill Dougherty for us.

Jill, appreciate it. Thank you.

And still to come in the NEWSROOM, a soldier and a little boy write to each other from far away, but they become more than just pen pals, they become teacher and student.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know our parents support us, our teachers help us, of course, but sometimes it is a complete stranger who makes all the difference. Dave Delozier of 9News in Colorado met a boy from Dillon whose life was changed by a man he had never met.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACOB HALL: You know, just sitting and hoping and waiting.

DAVE DELOZIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Which is the hardest part.

NORA HALL, JACOB'S MOTHER: It was just like the minutes can't tick away fast enough.

J. HALL: 12:55, that's when he gets here.

N. HALL: I know. So how many -- we have about 40 minutes yet.

DELOZIER: But then again, waiting is how this whole story started.

N. HALL: Well, we didn't know for sure how it was going to turn out. We had no idea if the soldier would even write back. And I desperately just wanted something to help my son.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make sure it's your best handwriting.

DELOZIER: You see, last fall, Jacob was in the third grade, but his reading and writing skills weren't.

N. HALL: And I was informed he was nowhere near close to a third grade student.

DELOZIER: His mother had tried everything.

N. HALL: He would not, would not pick up a pencil. Would just -- would refuse to write.

DELOZIER: So at wit's end, she tried one last thing, a pen pal program called Adopt a U.S. Soldier. It was worth a try.

N. HALL: At first when we sat down to write a letter, he did struggle to write a couple sentences.

DELOZIER: Those first few sentences were sent to one Gunnery Sergeant Baltazar Pineda, a Marine stationed in Iraq along the Syrian border. They mailed that first letter and then they waited and waited.

N. HALL: Sure enough, one day before school, I went out and checked the mail and there was a package from Baltazar Pineda.

DELOZIER: Gunnery Sergeant Pineda not only wrote back, but he sent a message that changed everything for Jacob.

N. HALL: It was wonderful. It was to my child. It was talking to his level and it told him that he -- it was important to learn to read and write.

DELOZIER: And Jacob did. Every week for months and months they exchanged letters and e-mails.

N. HALL: Are you nervous?

J. HALL: Kind of.

DELOZIER: Jacob is no longer wait are for them. He's waiting for the real thing.

N. HALL: We've waited so long.

DELOZIER: Long enough that Jacob is no longer struggling in school.

N. HALL: He did excellent in school this year. He got a lot of Es.

DELOZIER: That's E as in excellent. And now on his own he'll even . . . N. HALL: Pick up a book and read on his own.

DELOZIER: So after waiting so long . . .

N. HALL: OK, Jake, start looking.

DELOZIER: It was time.

N. HALL: Hi, Baltazar.

GUNNERY SGT. BALTAZAR PINEDA, U.S. MARINE/PEN PAL: How are you doing?

J. HALL: Good.

PINEDA: Nice to meet you.

DELOZIER: It was a chance to exchange more than words, but also a chance to realize how important his words had been.

PINEDA: It was overwhelming. You know, I didn't think that, you know, a couple of words to a young person, you know, could do so much for him. And, you know, I was ecstatic. I was really proud of him.

N. HALL: Give him a hug, son.

DELOZIER: Waiting might be the hardest part, but waiting on a letter or the chance to finally meet the sender is worth every minute.

N. HALL: With one letter. It started with one little letter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: How about that? Best story of the day.

Well now that Gunnery Sergeant Pineda is state-side, Jacob has adopted another soldier serving in Iraq.

General Motors ready to emerge from bankruptcy. So what's next for the company? What do you think about GM's future? That's our blog topic for today. Sound off. Just go to my blog here, cnn.com/tony.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. We've been telling you about New York Representative Peter King saying we should spend more time focusing on American troops than Michael Jackson and the representative calling Jackson a pedophile. Our Mary Snow just finished interviewing the congressman. Here's a bit of the interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETE KING, (R) NEW YORK: I understand the impact he's had on pop culture. Having said that, I don't see how we can ignore the deviant part of his life which affected innocent young kids. I don't care what people do between consenting adults, but this was such a large part of his life. And the whole bizarre lifestyle and to have him glorified this way was bothering me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Stay tuned as we push forward to the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Mary Snow will have more in the 1:00 p.m. hour.

So General Motors is a big step closer to emerging from bankruptcy. A judge has approved plans for the automaker to sell its best assets to a new government-run GM. So, what's next? Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has "The Breakdown" from New York.

Good to see you, Poppy. What is next?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Tony.

You know, the real goal here and what is ahead is what is so important. This is just the beginning in a very long process for General Motors. The goal here, be lean, be profitable. They are trying to do that. They're closing down more than a dozen factories. They have announced closing up to 40 percent of their dealerships. They're focusing on those four core brands you hear so much about.

But analysts that we spoke with are really still skeptical, Tony, of whether GM can really make a true comeback. One analyst told us, this might just buy General Motors time by erasing debt, not fixing some of those fundamental problems.

The key fundamental problem here is the declining market share. Let's take this full so you can see this chart because it goes from 1985 until today. We saw 40 percent of all U.S. cars on the road in 1985 were General Motors vehicles. Tony, the first half of this year, less than 20 percent. So this has been a challenge for more than two decades for GM.

Their labor force costs, all those workers, still an issue because they're still union workers and some of them have gotten pay cuts, but that's really focusing on the future workers are going to make a lot less at these automakers, not the current workers, Tony. And GM is shrinking. They're not bringing on a lot of new employees. So the big question is, how you cut down those labor costs significantly.

Tony.

HARRIS: Yes, how do you cut down the labor costs and what does GM ultimately have to do, in your view here, through your analysis, to turn this around?

HARLOW: You know, first thing is, make people want to buy their cars. And I want to clarify something, because a lot of people say, well no one wants to buy GM cars. That's simply not true. GM sells more cars in the U.S. than Ford or Chrysler.

What is true is that fewer people are buying them. And the CEO now at the helm, Fritz Henderson, has said to me, one-on-one in Detroit, it's about going back to the basics. It's about exciting customers again with your product lineup. He thinks he can do that with the company. He thinks that naturally will change the public's perception of this company. And he said in a statement today, after this favorable bankruptcy ruling, he said, "now it's our responsibility to fix this business and place the company on a clear path to success without delay."

This man likes to move very quickly. But did the court make the right decision? Was the judge right to do this? Because, Tony, in the next four days, they're going to hear hundreds of opposing arguments against this. So it's yet to be all done. We want you to weigh in on FaceBook. Go to facebook/poppyharlow. I put a question up there. Let us know what you think. We'll bring you those answers later.

HARRIS: Hey, great minds think alike. We did the same thing with our blog.

HARLOW: Your blog, yes.

HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. So we're going to get to some of those comments.

Poppy, appreciate it. Thank you.

HARLOW: Sure.

HARRIS: As Poppy just mentioned, General Motors ready to emerge from bankruptcy. So what's next for the company? We've had that discussion, a bit of it. We asked you to head to our blog and to tell us what you think about GM's future. We've also added a new fangled way for you to talk to the show, which I actually like a lot. So let's hear what you're saying to us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON (via telephone): My name is Don and I'm calling from Lexington, Kentucky. I really believe that GM will not become number one again.

JERRY (via telephone): My name is Jerry. I'm calling from Toronto, Canada. And in terms of the GM question, I think it will take a really, really long time for them to gain that level of success.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): You're joking. GM is now making a station wagon. Cadillac station wagon. Who needs a Cadillac station wagon. GM is not going to make it. There's nothing they make that I'd buy.

STANLEY (via telephone): This is Stanley from Grenada, Mississippi. Yes, I believe in GM. I believe they'll make a good comeback.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right. What do you think about GM's future? Too much of my picture. Let's get that out of there or something. That's our blog today. OK, sound off. Cnn.com/tony. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And we are pushing forward now with the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM with Melissa Long.