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Countdown to Election Day; TSA Agents Heading to Yemen; Herb May Boost Women's Sex Drive; Brett Favre Knocked Out of Game; Lee Westwood Now PGA #1
Aired November 01, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. I'm kind of messing with my mike here. If you could just pause with me for a few seconds here so I can get this right.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": You know we had a problem with that earlier with some equipment malfunction.
PHILLIPS: Fabulous. Yes, I've got a little mike --
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": How long do you want us to go because we're going until noon on Wednesday.
PHILLIPS: Yes, exactly. I'm getting you prepped up for your big long day. OK, I think I'm good. Does it look all right, Kiran?
CHETRY: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Is it -- is it all in place?
ROBERTS: Good to go?
CHETRY: Yes. You're all set.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys.
ROBERTS: Take it away.
PHILLIPS: All right. It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. Good morning, everyone. Glad you're with us. Hope you can hear me. These are all the stories that we're talking about this morning.
You know about those explosives found on two cargo planes now. Well, today we're hearing that one of those devices may have also been on a passenger flight.
And have you heard about this? A new study calls alcohol the most dangerous drug. Worse than cocaine, even heroin.
And took it on TV. A Bill Maher panelist fires up. The debate over legalizing marijuana. We'll talk about it.
It's one day until one of the biggest midterm elections in years. Most experts predict that the Republicans will take control of the House but the Senate is still in play so besides watching the races we'll be looking ahead to what happens if the GOP takes the Senate or the Democrats maintain a majority.
Now a new CNN poll shows that most Americans believe the Republicans will grab both the Senate and the House. But most people doubt GOP control will make things better.
CNN's Jim Acosta, part of the best political team on television.
So, Jim, what exactly are the polls saying?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, first of all, what the polls are saying is that right now the Republicans have a huge advantage over the Democrats right now in this generic ballot question.
If you just put a Republican candidate on the ballot with no name, Democratic candidate with no name on the ballot, the Republican candidate has a 10-point advantage at this point. We haven't seen anything like that since 1994 when the Republicans were swept into power.
And as you mentioned, not only are voters saying in this new CNN Opinion Research survey what they would like to see happen on November 2nd, they are already talking about what they expect to see.
And let's put this up on screen. Who will control the Congress after midterm elections, according to our latest poll, the folks out there, they think the Republicans will be in control of Congress by a pretty healthy margin there, 51 percent to 36 percent.
Now obviously all of the prognosticators here in Washington are saying that it's more likely that they'll just take control of the House and not the Senate. But that distinction was not laid out in that polling number.
Now here's another very interesting question here. And it is, if the GOP wins control of the Congress, the country will be better off, worse off, or no difference. Look at that, 28 percent worse off, 36 percent no difference. You put those two numbers together, basically two out of three Americans believe that the country will be worse off or no difference if the Republicans take control of Congress.
And that's why you're seeing a lot of -- a lot of the political professionals out there saying this is sort of an unearned win for the Republicans if they do indeed get swept into power on Tuesday, because Democrats are just that unpopular right now.
And so we're just going to have to wait and see what happens. But, you know, by and large if you look at this new polling from our political unit, Kyra, people are just very, very cynical and upset and frustrated right now.
PHILLIPS: We asked, you know, a number of questions, obviously, through this polling. Were there responses that surprised you? ACOSTA: You know, to me the big lead in all of these polling numbers this morning comes down to these favorability numbers. And let's put them up.
The president of the United States right now is -- it's a mixed bag for the president, 48 percent to 48 percent favorable, unfavorable. That's not that shocking. That's pretty much where the numbers have been for the last six months.
But let's contrast that with the speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, 26 percent favorable, 53 percent unfavorable. Those are favorable numbers that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney had when they were leaving office in 2008 into 2009. Those are historically bad numbers for the speaker of the House.
And you know, why is this important? Because all across the country the Republican Party is running against Nancy Pelosi. RNC chairman Michael Steele wearing a "Fire Pelosi" T-shirt in the final days of this campaign. And in every contested House race district by district all across the country you're seeing Democratic candidates putting up on screen next to a picture of Nancy Pelosi.
That is how Republicans are running in this midterm election. They've made this very personal. They've demonized the House speaker and they are hoping that that contrast will lead them to victory on Tuesday -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Jim, thanks.
And speaking of Nancy Pelosi -- you heard Jim just mentioned -- GOP chair Michael Steele has been going around the country on this "Fire Pelosi" tour. He actually got off the bus long enough this morning to talk with our John Roberts about Republican hopes in the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL STEELE, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: The Senate again is always been a tougher road for us simply by virtue of the numbers, and that we have in play there and the number of seats we have versus the Democrats.
But I still feel that, you know, we're looking at least a seven or eight-seat night. There, again, could be some surprises particularly as you head further west. But we'll see.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: You can join the best political team on television as the final numbers come in. Our "Election Night in American" coverage begins 7:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow.
So let's get you up to speed on what's going on between the U.S. and Yemen this morning.
Six TSA investigators are headed there to check how mail bombs slipped past airline security and ended up on cargo planes in the UAE and also the UK. They were addressed to synagogues in Chicago.
Investigators believe that the same guy who designed al Qaeda's underwear bomb last year could be behind this plot as well.
Hassan al-Asiri is a Saudi native believed to be in Yemen. He's an expert with explosives and poisons and is one of the most wanted men in Saudi Arabia.
Now security officials in Yemen say that every piece of cargo and luggage will go through extensive searches from now on. But that country is struggling with terror. An aide to the prime minister says his country needs a lot of help to fight al Qaeda.
Let's go ahead and bring in Paul Cruickshank. He's CNN terrorism analyst.
You know, Paul, a lot of questions surrounding this situation and why the U.S. doesn't get more aggressive with Yemen. It's not like this is a surprise that Yemen is connected to this attempted terror attempt.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, for months now U.S. authorities have been very concerned about Yemen ever since the Christmas day attempt to that airline against Detroit. So they are very concerned, there are lots of meetings in the White House, security officials are very concerned about this.
Al Qaeda in Yemen has emerged as the most active of all al Qaeda's franchises. They plotted a number of attacks against the west, against the United States, and we're seeing that play out again here today.
The bomb maker in these two examples -- Christmas day and this time around -- appears to be the same guy. That bomb maker is still on the loose out there in Yemen. There's a possibility this organization may try and send more parcels.
Maybe they won't send them from Yemen next time so there's ongoing concern right now among security agencies on both sides of the Atlantic -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So why not get more aggressive with Yemen? Why doesn't the U.S. military pick up efforts to show Yemen hey, look, we mean really business here. I mean this is the second time around.
CRUICKSHANK: Well, it's a very, very tricky situation because if you are very aggressive there is a risk of a backlash in Yemen amongst the population, amongst the tribes which are the critical players here.
There is a risk the tribes will go more towards al Qaeda if you hit them too hard and that would a kind of a nightmare scenario over there. So they're trying to work very carefully with the Yemeni government to boost their capabilities, to go after the terrorists.
It's a very poor country. They have limited capabilities at the moment. They are dealing with all sorts of things, the insurgency in the north, the separatist movement in the south. And so the U.S. is trying to persuade the Yemeni government to spend more time going after the al Qaeda militants.
So it's a very difficult thing to do and there are no easy answers for U.S. officials at the moment -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We're going to talk more in the 10:00 hour as well. Paul, thanks so much.
CRUICKSHANK: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about weather. Rob Marciano is keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Tomas now.
What do you think? Could this be a problem for Haiti? That's the direction it's headed?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and you know the more computer models we run on it, it continues to show Haiti or at least Hispaniola under the crosshairs here of what's going on with Tomas which is now a tropical storm.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MARCIANO: Boy, it's chilly this morning, isn't it? It's going to be chilly, starting again tomorrow this first day, first week of November. Looks to be very fall-like. And tomorrow's vote, northwest and south will see threatening weather. Other than that, should be good weather to get out to the polls.
Kyra, back over to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Coming up next we're talking with former Governor Jim McGreevey. Six years ago he resigned in scandal. Today his old secret is his new cause -- justice for the gay community.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right, let's hit the roads see what's happening across the country.
Not exactly your typical wedding. Forget a white wedding dress. Carrie Carnes and her new hubby ditched the traditional getup for black capes and orange accents. The two Chiefs fans got married during the Ultimate Halloween Tailgate just before their team kicked off against the Bills.
Friday night lights in Texas burned well past the usual game time. These high school football teams may have set a national record playing a staggering 12 overtimes. Yes, 12 overtimes and 5 1/2 hours. Jacksonville beat Nacogdoches by a field goal, by the way. And batter up. In Arlington, it was a presidential double hitter for game four of the World Series. Father and son team George Bush and George W. Bush threw the first pitch Sunday night. The younger Bush threw a high pitch to the Rangers' president and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. This is the first time two former presidents attended a World Series game together.
Straight ahead, Governor Jim McGreevey. It used to be a secret how he was living his life. Now it's his cause.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So what are you doing to prepare for the midterm elections? Brush up on the candidates, the issues, maybe smoke a joint? No nad -- no need, rather, to ask "The Hangover" star Zach Galifianakis about his view on California's Prop 19 that would legalize marijuana.
As you can see here on Friday's "Real Time With Bill Maher," Zach just reached into his pocket and lit up. And as he offers it to another panelist, she laughs, but she declines, but does confirm that the doobie is the real thing.
Now, after laughing about it, it actually got us thinking. Can you really do that on television? Without the fear of prosecution? James Walker is entertainment attorney who joins us live on the phone, hopefully for some clarification. So, James, what did you think? Isn't this illegal?
JAMES WALKER, ATTORNEY (via telephone): It is totally illegal, Kyra. Good morning. I thought he was trying to go for obviously the joke and the punch line, but it's definitely illegal, and my fear for Bill Maher as well as the HBO-Time Warner folks would be, is there a liability on their part?
PHILLIPS: Could they be sued? Could HBO and Bill Maher be sued? Or just HBO or just Bill Maher? How could it play out?
WALKER: It could, if you really had a zealous prosecutor or a zealous local attorney in the government office there, it could play out where they could come after Bill Maher and HBO, because it was happening on your set, on your stage, and you did nothing to cease and desist on it.
PHILLIPS: What if Bill Maher would have said, "OK, wait a minute, dude, you cannot smoke a joint on my show. This is pretty funny, but put it out. I could get in trouble." What if he came forward in full disclosure and said, "We can't do this," could that have changed the dynamic?
WALKER: It could have totally changed the dynamic, because then you don't have some kind of enabling or support or some type of conspiracy, if you will, to use that term casually, some type of conspiracy where he's actually endorsing the behavior.
If you watch the video clip, he's laughing, and he's just as tickled as the audience about it, and I just think it sends a bad message to our kids. I watch the show often, and I understand the viewpoints of Bill Maher, but I just think to engage in smoking marijuana, which is not legal.
If you watch the show, the whole dialogue was on the proposed Proposition 19 in California which would legalize marijuana. So clearly it's not legal and, therefore, you have to wonder why one would allow a guest to engage in smoking it on live TV.
PHILLIPS: And that's the question here. Did he allow them to engage, was this set up? Maher looks pretty surprised. Maher is on the record against criminalization of marijuana, but he does kind of look a little bit shocked. Then again, we really don't know. Could that play a part on whether -- I mean, what if they had planned this?
WALKER: This is Hollywood and, you know, I'm an entertainment lawyer. Nothing would shock me if this wasn't staged and this wasn't thought out by Maher and company beforehand. But obviously, we don't know that. Only he and his producers know that. But I definitely think he's not going to fight the great attention that he's going to get from this and all of the notoriety and publicity from it, as well, and endorsing his argument that marijuana should be legal.
PHILLIPS: Got it. James Walker, thanks so much.
And I want to get your thoughts on this. Do you think the incident helps or hurts the Prop 19 initiative? Or will it have any impact at all? Go to my blog, cnn.com/kyra, tell me what you think. We're going to share some of the best responses next hour.
All right, our talker today was a huge talker back in 2004. Do you remember this moment?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MCGREEVEY (D), FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY: My truth is that I am a gay American. I am also here today because shamefully I engaged in adult consensual affair with another man, which violates my bonds of matrimony. It was wrong, it was foolish, it was inexcusable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Governor Jim McGreevey of New Jersey admitted that he is gay and that he had an affair with a man. Big scandal in a year where homosexuality was a wedge issue in the elections. He left office a few minutes -- or few months later.
Fast forward six years. Gay issues still weigh heavily in this country, and the former governor is back in the public eye to address them. McGreevey is a board member of Faith in America, a group tackling what they call religion-based bigotry against the LGBT community. Jim, thanks for being with us.
MCGREEVEY: Thank you, Kyra. I won't be as exciting as the Bill Maher interview, though.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Do me a favor and don't smoke a joint, because then you and I and my company could be in big trouble, Jim
MCGREEVEY: I'm a former prosecutor. I'll refrain.
PHILLIPS: You know better than that.
MCGREEVEY: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Your sexuality went from being your biggest secret but -- to now one of your biggest causes. What made you decide to get active again, Jim?
MCGREEVEY: Well, Kyra, I think all of us as Americans believe in the promise of the American dream, that we can be a better community, a better nation. And over throughout history, whether it's tackling the question of religious liberties, whether the question of women's rights, battling racism, battling sexism, anti-Semitism, America has moved always moved forward on the arc of civil liberties.
If you will, to go from someone who is perceived to be straight, and have the full array of liberties, the right to marry who you will, the right to serve in the nation's armed forces, and then to be in a position where you don't have any of that, simply because of your sexual orientation, is frustrating.
And then, to hear elected officials, be they Republican or Democrat say, "Well, it's because of my religious beliefs," and somehow rely on scripture, I think is a wrong notion. And you know, for me and Faith in America, we understand that faith can be a powerful force for transcendental change for goodness, for compassion.
But there have been times in history where we've relied on scripture to be racist, to be sexist, anti-Semitic. And we've well moved past that as a culture, as a civilization. Yet, somehow, we have a pass to be homophobic. Or at a minimum, not to afford the lesbian and gay and transgender community the full array of rights that every American has.
PHILLIPS: I want to talk -- I'm going to talk about that with you in just a second with a couple of candidates that spoke out recently and pretty much shocked a lot of people. But let me ask you first. The LGBT community went big for Obama in 2008. But the feeling now seems to be more like disappointment than hope and change, with things like you mentioned, the administration's challenge to getting rid of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Is that what you're seeing?
MCGREEVEY: Well, you know, it would be presumptuous of me to speak for the gay community. But what my frustration is, is that when you look at other nations whether it's Israel, all throughout Europe, we've all gotten past this question of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
There's something basically disingenuous about saying to a member of the armed forces, where America from the time I tell my -- our children, you know, the importance of telling the truth, we're telling our armed -- our service people, you can be gay but you have to be closeted. Which to me cuts against a core American value. And the most recent polling from the service members, polling nationally, and the success of fully integrating gay and lesbian personnel in our armed forces, it's past the debate.
And Kyra, I would also make the argument that whether you look at Afghanistan, you look at Iraq, that when we dismiss translators, when we dismiss people with serious specializations and subject matter expertise simply because they are gay, we don't have the luxury to do that as a nation. So, I think the argument is, the culture accepts it, service members accept it. We need to do what is right and get past the posturing and do what, frankly, is in the interest of our armed forces and of the nation.
PHILLIPS: Let me move into politics and the candidates. Two in particular, Ken Buck running for Senate in Colorado, Carl Paladino running for governor of New York. Take a listen to what these two had to say recently.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL PALADINO (R), NEW YORK GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Don't misquote me as wanting to hurt homosexual people in any way. It would be a dastardly lie. My approach is live and let live. I just think my children and your children will be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family. And I don't want them to be brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid or successful option. It isn't.
DAVID GREGORY, MODERATOR, "MEET THE PRESS": In a debate last month, you expressed your support for "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which we talked about with Mr. Gibbs, and you eluded to lifestyle choices. Do you believe that being gay is a choice?
KEN BUCK (R), COLORADO SENATE CANDIDATE: I do.
GREGORY: Based on what?
BUCK: Based on what?
GREGORY: Yes. Do you believe that?
BUCK: I guess that you can choose who your partner is.
GREGORY: You don't think it's something that's determined at birth?
BUCK: I think that birth has an influence over like alcoholism and some other things. But I think that basically you have a choice.
GREGORY: That put him outside the mainstream of views on this?
SEN. MICHAEL BENNET (D), COLORADO: I absolutely believe he's outside the mainstream of views on this.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: So, Jim, if guys like this get elected, what had does that mean for LGBT issues?
MCGREEVEY: It's so disheartening. I don't have a choice to be gay any more than Ken Buck has a choice to be straight. And the same way that he wants to marry or he married and raised a family, that's what I want.
And I can only speak for my own personal experience. I knew, I was gay when I was 6, 7 years of age and I had the same feelings, you know, growing up. So, what I would say to Mr. Buck, what I would say to Carl, is that we want the same things. We want to be married, we want to raise children. And for me, this is who I am.
So to ask people to be disingenuous, or to compare it to alcoholism, which is such a terrible tragedy. Because Kyra, the message that it sends to young gay youth all across America that have a high degree of suicide, is that somehow you're intrinsically worth less than every other child. And somehow, you're deficient.
That's simply isn't true. We're part of God's creation, we are who we are and, God willing, America steps forward to accept and afford gay Americans the same civil liberties and rights that every American has. And that's part of the American dream and, God willing, that's part of the America's promise.
PHILLIPS: Jim McGreevey, I hope we get to talk more. Time is always limited, and it's tough for me, especially.
MCGREEVEY: Thank you. And thank you for caring about these issues.
PHILLIPS: We appreciate you coming on today. Look forward to talking to you again. Thanks, Jim.
A new day, week, month, on Wall Street. And what a week it's going to be. Investigate -- or, investors, rather, watching to see how those midterm elections go. But that's not all.
Alison Kosik from the New York Stock Exchange with details on what's happening on Wall Street -- Allison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
You know, it's just about show time and just like the rest of America, Wall Street is waiting to see how the midterm elections go tomorrow. You know, it could mean a shift in power, could mean stocks could be affected as well.
But that could take a back seat for investor who is say the big show will really be on Wednesday afternoon, and that's when the Federal Reserve is expected to announce how much money it will pump into the economy.
Then, on Friday, the monthly jobs report, it's one of the most important economic reports that we get.
Checking on the early action now -- the Dow Industrials up 31, the NASDAQ down about 13.
And finally, Kyra, you know, we remember AIG, right? Well, here's something we love to hear. The company is paying back its government bailout. AIG has raised almost $37 billion by selling one of its subsidiaries and taking another one public. And the proceeds will go back to the government.
AIG got one of the biggest bailouts of all at one time, totaling almost $180 billion. So, paying back and trying to win back its reputation as well -- talking about AIG.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Alison, thanks.
GOP chair, Michael Steele, going around the country on a "Fire Pelosi" tour. Well, he got off the bus long enough to talk to our John Roberts. We'll hear what Steele had to say in our A.M. extra.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Stories that we're talking about right now.
Those two package bombs destined for the U.S. could have been on passenger jets at one time. The packages were found last week, one aboard a cargo plane in Britain; the other, on a cargo plane in the United Arab Emirates. Airline officials in the UAE say that those packages could have travelled on passenger planes to get there.
The sky is falling in Indonesia. At least two more eruptions from a volcano that's been erupting off and on since Thursday. Those eruptions have forced thousands of people to flee that area.
And Tom DeLay, the man who once was the most powerful Republican in Congress, also a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars," actually goes on trial today in Austin, Texas. DeLay is accused of money laundering and conspiracy.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: We're just one day away from one of the most watched midterm elections in years. Most experts predict the Republicans will take control of the House. But the Senate is still in play.
So, besides watching the races, we're going to be looking ahead to what happens if the GOP takes the Senate or the Democrats maintain a majority.
Time for A.M. extra now. Earlier today, CNN "AMERICAN MORNING's" John Roberts actually spoke with Republican Party chair, Michael Steele, and asked him about unnamed Republican leaders in Congress, saying that they wanted to stop Sarah Palin from running for prez in 2012. Steele had some harsh words for what he calls "shadow Republicans."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": There's another little interesting piece of intrigue that pops up in "Politico" today. Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei, two of the best political writers in this country, have said that the Republican leadership may be trying to orchestrate a stop Palin campaign, thinking that if she becomes the nominee for president in 2012, that that could give Barack Obama a second term.
Would you be happy with Sarah Palin being the nominee for the Republican Party in 2012?
STEELE: If she goes through the process and the Republican primary voters vote for her -- absolutely, I would be happy. Why wouldn't I be? And again, another point here: you know, these Republican leaders who don't put their names in print but make comments in shadows need to shut up. We're focused on winning elections tomorrow night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Steele says that he anticipates Republicans will pick up seats not just in Congress but in several state legislative races.
Join "The Best Political Team on Television" when the final numbers come in. Our "Election Night in America" coverage starts at 7:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow night.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here to comment, political strategist, Mr. James Carville.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello there.
(CHEERS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, you're not threatened to see Tea Party members take office?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I mean, the Tea Party are like fun, cooky parents that your friend had when you were kids, you know? They let them stay up all night and watch Cinemax. And then, one night, you sleep over there and they don't have any food. It's just expired peanut butter.
They fight and listen to weird records and their dog is like 30 years old, and they are staring at you. And you're like, man, it's creepy. I kind of want to go home, you know?
All I'm saying is, if you elect these Tea Party cookalooks (ph), you're going to be calling Harry Reid in two months saying, "Dad, can you pick me up?"
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: James Carville, everybody.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: That's a pretty good James Carville.
We're just one day from an election that could change the balance of power in Congress.
Our senior political editor, Mark Preston, at the CNN election center in New York, out of Washington, to talk about the latest from the campaign trail -- Mark.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Kyra. Can you imagine they let me out of Washington, here to New York, especially since I'm from Boston? But I haven't got beaten up yet.
Let me just tell you quickly a couple of the headlines crossing the Political Ticker.
President Obama yesterday in Cleveland, implored Democrats to get the vote out. It's something we heard from him over and over again -- over the past couple of weeks. He was in Cleveland, of course, a very important governor's race. He is trying to get out the vote there. He is not on the campaign trail today.
But who is on the campaign trail? Michelle Obama. She's headlining a rally out in Nevada for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. She then gets on a plane, comes across the country, and will close out the night holding a rally in Pennsylvania -- again another big Senate seat on the line in Pennsylvania.
Whoever thought that down in Florida, the race for governor would be so tight as it is right now? But Alex Sink and Rick Scott are now tied statistically, Alex Sink, 44; Rick Scott, 43, according to the new Quinnipiac University poll.
This is a very, very divisive race going on down there. In fact, we had these two candidates on CNN last week for a debate. Not a lot of love lost between these two. But they are heading down to the wire in Florida for that very important governor's race.
And then a Democrat saying that the Tea Party is on his side or was on his side. Well, Jimmy Carter just said that yesterday on CNN. He told our own Howie Kurtz that, in fact, he said he didn't have any criticism for members of the Tea Party. He said, in fact, that a lot of these same people 30 years ago helped put him in the White House. Be interesting to see what some of the current Tea Partiers have to say.
He said the problem with the Tea Party is that they don't realize that the movement right now is being financed by big oil companies -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Mark Preston, thanks so much.
We'll have your next political update in just about an hour. And reminder: you can always get all of the latest political news on our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
Well, men have Viagra. But what about women? How about an herb high in the Andes? It could be the answer. Women have used it. They call it a hot plant.
We're going to have the hot details coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So, it could possibly be Viagra for women. It's a natural aphrodisiac in Peru and it may be the solution for women with low libidos. It's untouched and unproven but scientists are definitely taking notice.
CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen has a look at this herb and its impact on women.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When a woman in the United States is having problems with sex, she goes to a doctor or to a therapist. But here in Peru, she goes shopping.
(on camera): What do we have here that can help a woman who's suffering from sex problems?
CHRIS KILHAM, ETHNOBOTANIST: We have maca. This is really the sexual power herb of the Andes.
COHEN (voice-over): Chris Kilham travels the world. He calls himself a medicine hunter. One of the herbs he found, maca, used by women in Peru and other parts of the world to get their sex lives going.
(on camera): If I took a scoop of this maca powder, threw it in a smoothie, every morning what would it do to me sexually?
KILHAM: Sexually, it might cause Chinese New Year's fireworks in your pants.
DIANA MOERBECK, MACA USER: It works like a charm.
COHEN (voice-over): Diana Moerbeck (ph) grew up in Peru and now lives in the United States. She has been taking maca for a year.
MOERBECK: It increases your sexual drive I would say from 30 percent before to good 95 percent.
COHEN (on camera): How high up are we? KILHAM: Well, I figure right now we're probably at about 10,500; 11,000 feet.
COHEN (voice-over): Maca needs altitude to grow so Kilham is taking me more than 14,500 feet up into the Andes mountains to see the aphrodisiac's origins, Peru's maca field.
(on camera): There it is.
KILHAM: This is a maca root. This is a fresh maca root.
COHEN: Who would think something so ugly could lead to such pleasure. I mean really. It's not so beautiful.
(voice-over): Kilham sells maca as well as other supplements. Some of my studies have found the maca is an aphrodisiac but there's no major human studies; no strong scientific evidence that it works in women.
Maca products earned $5 million in U.S. sales last year. Supplements like maca don't require approval by the Food and Drug Administration.
(on camera): Now, Chris, I got to say some people would say look, this is hooey, nobody has ever done big studies on maca and women. How do we really know that it works?
KILHAM: People who take it get a sexual effect, non-Peruvian women eat maca and say wow, this has made a huge difference in my sex life. That's what matters to me.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. Elizabeth is joining us. Did you try some?
COHEN: I had some maca muffins and I have to say I didn't feel anything but they said it wasn't a high enough dose and you have to -- you can't just have one muffin.
PHILLIPS: You have to eat -- add a little more maca to the muffin.
COHEN: Exactly -- you have to eat the muffin, you know, for day after day, week after week. It's not like a drug. It doesn't happen instantly.
PHILLIPS: So what's the best way to consume it then?
COHEN: Well, there are maca supplements and you can buy or there's maca powder and you can put it in a smoothie. Or you can sprinkle it on your cereal. There is a wide variety of ways.
PHILLIPS: It's like wheat germ in the protein drink.
COHEN: Exactly. PHILLIPS: You have to see your shake.
Is it safe? Of course that's what -- herbs sometimes are not safe.
COHEN: Right. You want to know. You want to know. Absolutely. Well, it's not -- there haven't been any big, big studies to prove that it's safe but the studies that have been done have not found any problem with it. And the folks who are proponents of this, it's an herb, how bad could it be? But of course, you always do want to ask that question. But again, the studies that have been done show that there aren't any safety problems.
PHILLIPS: Ok. We will continue to, I guess -- well, now I'm not going to say that. I was about to say follow up on the story, but maybe that's not the right expression to use.
Thank you very much Elizabeth. I'm going to close my mouth.
COHEN: Oh. Ok.
PHILLIPS: Renewing your wedding vows as the minister calls you a pig and your children illegitimate. It's true. We're going to tell you why the government on one island paradise is doing some serious damage control.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Topping our "Morning Passport" talking smack down under.
We begin in Sydney, Australia. Federal police say they made the biggest heroin bust in years confiscating 160 kilograms of the drug. It was found stashed in a shipment of doors. Police say the load's street value hundreds of millions of dollars.
Voters in Brazil elect the nation's first female president; her name Dilma Rousseff. And she's no conventional politician. She's a former Marxist guerilla, once branded a subversive Joan of Arc. After her arrest in 1970 and years of torture, she resumed her education and rose within Brazil's political ranks. And her victory speech last night, the president-elect says her mission -- to eradicate poverty.
And take a listen to these wedding vows.
It sounds sweet, doesn't it? Well, actually, the officiant (ph) is he is cursing the couple, calling them swine, infidels and their children illegitimate. But now the Maldives government is apologizing and making stiff new guidelines on wedding ceremonies. Obviously this marriage renewal ceremony was spoken in the native language and not translated. Police say that the alleged resort minister and an assistant were taken into custody.
We're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go ahead and check in first with Stephanie Elam -- Steph. STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Kyra. Well, taxes and spending are big issues on the ballot this election with nearly 100 statewide questions for voters to decide on. We'll take a closer look at some of the key measures to watch. That's coming up in the next hour.
KATIE CAPERTON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Mel Gibson is back in the news making headlines. I'll tell you why plus the latest Hollywood headline.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. It's November 1st, and we have our 12th hurricane of the season, now a tropical storm, but Tomas poses a serious threat. We'll go over the forecast track in the next hour.
PHILLIPS: Thanks guys.
Well, it beats crack, heroin and ecstasy, and it's legal. A study by a British medical journal names alcohol as the most dangerous drug. We're going to find out why in the next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Oh, yes. A bit of a smack down right here. Oh, with Brett Favre in yesterday's Patriots Game. That hit knocked him out of the game and the Patriots went on to win. You know what the guy was saying, "That's for this text. That's for this text."
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You went there? That was good.
PHILLIPS: "Your wife sent me for this text."
HARRIS: You know what? Jenn Sterger is going to finally talk to the NFL about this whole thing --
PHILLIPS: Really?
HARRIS: With her attorney, but she has to produce a whole bunch of documentation. She has to tell the story now. So, you know, we will find out if there's something really there. We think there is but she hasn't spoken yet.
PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, Favre, two ankle fractures?
HARRIS: Yes. But this was vicious. This was vicious. Here's the thing and I say it all of the time -- 25, 26 years old, 330 pounds with 4.5, 4.6 speed will always win --
PHILLIPS: Are you saying Brett Favre is old and he's out living --
HARRIS: He's 41. He's 41. Twenty-six and a girlfriend is always going to win out over 41 and married with a family. Hello.
But you know, he made his 292nd start. That's an incredible record. I don't even think he's playing for the record per se, but there is a mindset when you come to work every day and that's your routine. I think it's more about his routine and what he is used to doing in his life than about some number trying to get to 300 consecutive games started.
But this is a vicious hit. No one is suggesting that this might end it for Brett. If he is playing on a cracked ankle, he can play with a cracked jaw, right. So I think probably, if he's ok, he probably moves forward. I feel bad for the offensive line man who let the rusher through. You know, it was ugly. It was really ugly.
PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about something else that's ugly.
HARRIS: Tiger?
PHILLIPS: Yes. Tiger Woods. You have Brett Favre and Tiger Woods, both pretty bad personal lives if you ask me.
HARRIS: Kind of a bad boy streak --
PHILLIPS: Yes. Kind of bad boy streak -- they stray. What can I say? Hey, look, when you are a player --
HARRIS: What is this? I don't know what I am going for here.
PHILLIPS: Tony has also been -- always been a faithful man. When you are a player, you eventually lose the game.
HARRIS: Well, here's the thing. I mean this kind of brings to a conclusion a terrible year for Tiger, right? We know the personal trials and tribulations, right?
PHILLIPS: Messes with your head and messes with your game.
HARRIS: But how about this? I don't know that any of us saw this coming any time soon, but after five years, Tiger Woods starts, wakes up today, and he is no longer the number one player in the world.
Now, again, as we were just mentioning with the streak and the numbers of the streak, I don't know how important being number one is to Tiger. You know, number one has its privileges, right?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
HARRIS: But the number he is going for is 18 and 19. He wants to pass Jack Nicklaus and be the all-time Majors winner. You're a golfer; you know how big a number that is?
PHILLIPS: We are both golfers.
HARRIS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: You use to whoop me many times on the course.
Well, Lee Westwood has taken over his number one. That's probably --
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: He's number one; Westwood did it.
HARRIS: That's a really good -- that's a really good redemptive story. This is a guy who was a top ten player for a lot of years, and then he fell off the golfing map, off the radar, right. He was big, overweight and just lost his game.
