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Lee Causes Flooding, Damages Homes; 1,000 Homes Could Burn in Texas; Strauss-Kahn Back Home in France; U.S. Postal Service Near Collapse; Violence Outside Mubarak Trial; Honda Recalling 936,000 Cars; Nadal Cramps Up After Open Match; Palin Sells Herself as Populist; Palin Appears in New Hampshire Today; Greene: Rockwell Belongs in White House; Rockwell Belongs in White House; Romney Stumps in New Hampshire

Aired September 05, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, guys. Good morning.

And good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Kyra Phillips is off today.

It's Labor Day but anything but a holiday for Americans reeling from extreme weather. Lee is weakened to a tropical depression, but it's still a massive rainmaker that could make travel across much of the country a nightmare.

And storms' winds have helped fuel wildfires in central Texas. At this hour, a thousand homes are in danger near Austin.

And later today, Hurricane Katia will unleash its first impact on the East Coast. We're tracking this storm and tell you where that's headed in just a moment.

But, first, we want to begin with the flooding, rains pounding the Gulf Coast since Lee made landfall in Louisiana over the weekend.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is in the city of Jean Lafitte.

Ed, good morning. So, what's it looking like where you are?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (AUDIO GAP) here, but they have shut it down because it is just after high tide here in southern Louisiana. And that means that these floodwaters are going back up. Many of the roadways in this area simply look like this. This isn't actually that deep but definitely treacherous enough for not allowing cars to go through.

And what's happening is that the water from the canals and the waterways, coming from the Gulf of Mexico are being pushed over the banks and starting to threaten and have been threatening dozens of homes in this area for the last 36 hours. So, what they're waiting for here is for the winds to begin shifting out of -- from the south and go back toward the south instead of going toward the north. That would relieve a lot of this pressure here.

And everywhere you look, you see homes like this, where the floodwaters are knocking on the door, on the verge of going in. Just a handful of homes have taken on water in this community, we're told. But as we drove around yesterday, we saw many, many homes that the water was right up on the doorstep. So, they've been frantically dropping in massive sand bags and using makeshift levee systems to try to funnel and create ways of protecting many of these buildings and homes in the lowest lying areas.

So that is an ongoing fight. They've spent more than $200,000, parish officials here, south of New Orleans, to fight all this water that's coming out of the banks. So, they will continue to do that here in the coming hours. They do hope, however, that later on this afternoon, the winds will shift, Alina. And once that happens, they feel it's just a matter of time before they've stopped seeing the worst flooding.

But, right now, it's definitely a touch and go situation. They got many of these roads are shut off, kind of just too dangerous to go through. And also, they need to be able to bring in the heavy equipment and the heavy teams to be able to do all of the work that's being done right now -- Alina.

CHO: All right. Ed Lavandera, thank you for that update.

Lee is heading east, but it's not the only storm we're watching out there. Hurricane Katia has been strengthening as well.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano in the weather center with the latest.

So, Rob, first, let's talk about Lee. How much longer will this storm be around? It's a tropical depression now, right?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You know, it's making a change into just becoming a rainstorm, and it's getting involved in the front. So, the big deal is going to be the rain. We still have the threat for seeing tornadoes. We're seeing that right now, tornado watch is in effect until 4:00 this afternoon, a good chunk of Alabama, some parts of Mississippi and then Florida Panhandle.

This storm itself, the center of it is still back through here. So, it has a long way to go, moving very, very slowly off toward the north and east, and a tremendous amount of rain already with this. Ed showed you some of that. A lot of that is tidal flooding.

As far as the flooding from rainfall, New Orleans saw over 10 inches, Pascagoula seeing over 10 inches. Jackson, Mississippi, which got a lot of it last night, reports earlier today of seeing evacuations under way and some flooded homes and apartment complexes.

Here's what's left over of Lee as a low. It will track along this front, along the Appalachians, through the Tennessee valley. About seven inches of rainfall potentially across parts of central and eastern Tennessee and then it gets involved in the northern latitudes. And look at this -- some rainfall across the Northeast, anywhere from one to three inches, potentially over the next two to three, really four days looks to be wet across parts of that area.

We are looking at this front which is going to help us push Katia. And that's what we're looking forward to here. This time last week, we were worried about it. It's heading this way. We can't give the all clear and it certainly looked menacing.

We've got hurricane-strength winds of 100-plus-miles-an-hour at this point. But, right now, Alina, it does appear as though it's going to make a U-turn and just head out to sea, just some big waves across the U.S. coast. Finally, you can breath a sigh of relief.

CHO: That would be some good news. But, Lee, that storm that is now a tropical depression, caused some big problems in Texas with those winds, right? And it's not getting any better, is it?

MARCIANO: You know, we were trying to get Lee over to Texas and get some rainfall over there. But it just didn't work out. And the problem with it, it's so close, with the center being back here, we've had some big winds around the back side of this. If anything, Lee has caused more problems than good across Texas, exacerbating the situation there. It's been dry and the winds, critical fire danger again today.

I want to talk about the biggest fire in Bastrop County, just south and east of Austin. This is a dire situation where thousands have been evacuated, 300 homes already completely destroyed. Another thousand are in danger of being destroyed -- 14,000 acres burned.

So, not a very large fire, but in a very populated area. And you got -- because of that, you have this major evacuation going under way. Zero percent containment with this particular storm. So, it continues to burn relatively out of control and the conditions today don't look to be any better, 20 to 30-mile-an-hour winds. And a critical fire danger with red flag warnings that are posted for a good chunk of Texas, Dallas, all the way down to the Mexican border here.

So, firefighters out there, Alina, are going to have their hands full.

CHO: Do you have any sense when it might get any better?

MARCIANO: We don't see any rainfall in the immediate future. As a matter of fact, the next tropical storm system, if there is going to be one, heads into Florida as opposed to Texas. So --

CHO: Oh, boy. All right. Rob Marciano, thank you.

And keep it here because about 40 minutes from now, Rob will come back to talk to us about the weather-related flight delays. Of course, it's a huge travel day on this Labor Day. So, keep it right here, 9:45 Eastern Time, we'll get your traffic forecast.

Now to politics -- six GOP presidential candidates are taking part in a forum today. But don't call it a debate.

Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is in Columbia, South Carolina, with a preview.

So, Paul, as I mentioned, this is not a debate. It's a forum. So, how is it going to play out today?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLTICAL DIRECTOR: Well, you know, I just bumped into Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, two-term Republican here, who's extremely influential among Tea Party types, Tea Party activists, very popular with them as well. And he is one of the organizers of this event.

And he told me, here is how it's going to happen. You're going to see all six candidates right off the bat. But, then, yes, it is a forum. So, each candidate by himself or herself 20 minutes of questioning and follow-ups. It's not a debate. They're not going to be going after each other, clashing one candidate at a time.

And, of course, we'll have live coverage of that at 3:00 Eastern.

So, who are the six candidates, Alina? Well, let's look at them. Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota; Herman Cain, the former Godfather Pizza CEO and radio talk show host; Newt Gingrich, former House speaker; Ron Paul, the longtime congressman from Texas; Texas Governor Rick Perry; and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who's making his second bid for the White House.

And for Romney, this is interesting. He was a late add to this event. At first, he said he had scheduling problems, but he changed things around.

And also last night, where did we see Mitt Romney? In New Hampshire, another crucial early voting state, just like South Carolina. He was at a Tea Party express rally up there. Between that and this event, which I guess you could say a kind of a Tea Party event, since DeMint is so popular among Tea Party types.

It seems to be a little bit of a change for strategy for Romney, who is now, you know, reaching out to Tea Party types and maybe that he's changed in the polls now. Rick Perry is in the top of most national polls with Romney second.

And, Alina, I'll say one other thing, you know why this is an important event as well? We brought out the bus. We only bring out the CNN Express if it's a big deal. It's a big deal.

CHO: That's right. Well, CNN is the only broadcaster nationwide of this event. So, of course, we're going to make a big deal out of it and, of course, our John King is going to be hosting that starting at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Interesting you talk about Romney and his turnaround, deciding to take part in this forum. You know, "The Washington Post" was reporting he will go on the attack against Perry at a time of his choosing. Critics say -- listen, this is what he needs to do. He's not in front-runner status anymore.

Meanwhile, I want to talk a little bit about former Vice President Dick Cheney. Of course, he's out with a book. He's on the book tour. He's looking to make ways to sell books.

But he made an interesting comment about Hillary Clinton. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO C LIP)

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS: Do you think Hillary Clinton would have been a better president than Barack Obama?

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Boy, I'm not sure I would have ever said that. Perhaps she might have been easier for some of us who are critics of the president to work with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: All right, Paul, so what do you make of this?

STEINHAUSER: No fan, obviously, of Barack Obama. I think we knew that right off the bat. And he's been complimentary of Hillary Clinton in the past, in her role as secretary of state. So, you know, maybe this is a little bit more in that line of thought.

Is he hoping that Hillary Clinton would run against President Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2012 or run for president in 2016? That's not going to happen.

Hillary Clinton has been asked many a times and she keeps saying, no, no, no. She is done with running for public office. But stay tuned.

CHO: Until she's not.

All right. Deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, live for us in South Carolina. Thank you so much, Paul.

Watch our exclusive coverage of today's presidential forum from South Carolina, beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. As I mentioned a bit earlier, Our John King will host.

Turning to international news, a case we're watching very closely. American Amanda Knox's appeal of a murder conviction in Italy is now centering on DNA evidence.

Our Zain Verjee is in London with more on that.

Hey, Zain. Good to see you, as always.

So, what's the latest on this case?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Alina. Great to see you as well.

Well, this is going to be a pivotal week. This is the final stretch of the appeal trial for Amanda Knox. She left in a pretty strong position the last time around, simply because of two key pieces of DNA evidence. The first one is a knife that prosecutors had said at the time of her conviction had a small amount of her genetic material on the knife.

Independent forensic experts were brought in and they said, wait a minute. This genetic material is way too small. It wasn't double- tested and it wasn't collected properly. So, it may not be permissible as part of evidence.

The other was linking her boyfriend at the time, Raffaelle Sollecito, to Meredith Kercher, the victim's bra clasp, the metal clasp. And they essentially said, the forensics said, hang on. That can't be allowed either.

It's no credible simply because they say the bra was lying on the floor for something like six weeks. Police kind of handed it around inappropriately. It was caught on video, the way they were handling it. And it was contaminated, they said. So, therefore, it cannot be used to prosecute her.

So, she was looking in pretty good shape then. What we're going to hear for the next few days is the final arguments of both the defense and the prosecution, the rebuttals, and then a verdict -- Alina.

CHO: And all the while, she remains behind bars, right, Zain?

VERJEE: Yes. She's behind bars. Her family is sounding supportive and optimistic that this may actually be a major turnaround.

At the same time, there's a whole other side of the story going on here. Meredith Kercher's family and her sister, in fact, wrote a letter pleading to the judge in the court not to let her go. It was a very emotional, very powerful letter. They're saying just on technicalities like this, on the handling of DNA evidence, you can't let her go.

COSTELLO: It is a fascinating case. Zain Verjee from London -- Zain, thank you very much. We'll check back but with you later.

Meanwhile, did China sell arms to Libya? We've got exclusive details just ahead.

And a close encounter for a storm chaser in Upstate New York. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a little freaked out because I'm pretty sure I just saw a tornado form across the freeway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: A tornado touches down near Albany last night. We'll have more details when we go cross country after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Checking stories cross country now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't believe what I'm seeing. I can't believe what I'm seeing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: A storm chaser shot this video of a tornado in Upstate New York. The twister struck near Albany last night. It crossed Interstate 90 at one point, damaged homes, uprooted trees and tore roofs of some of those homes but no reports of any serious injuries.

Police in Phoenix are searching for a container full of explosives that apparently were stolen from the airport. They were conducting a police training exercise Friday when a cooler, packed with explosive tubes, commonly used in the mining industry, went missing. Good news is that police say the explosives cannot be detonated without additional equipment and some degree of expertise.

Police in Texas are investigating the death of a man found at the home of NFL player Antonio Smith. About 100 people attended a party at Smith's home in Houston Saturday night. The next morning, the body of a 37-year-old man was found at the bottom of the pool. Police say it appears the death was accidental.

And Arizona has slapped a $25 fee on people who visit loved ones in prison. According to "The New York Times," the one-time, quote- unquote, "background check fee" has angered prison advocates. They filed a lawsuit, saying the fee is just a pretext for raising money for the cash-strapped Arizona prison system.

The latest on Libya now. A senior member of the transitional government tells CNN that China offered to sell stockpiles of weapons to Moammar Gadhafi in violation of U.N. sanctions. Just yesterday, senior international correspondent Nic Robertson had spoken by phone exclusively with Saadi Gadhafi, that's one of Gadhafi's sons, and he told Nic that cease-fire talks have collapsed.

The rebels have given Gadhafi until Saturday to surrender. But Nic says the end of the war does not appear close and this could be a situation similar to Iraq.

Coming up next, back home in France -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn is home after a judge dismisses the assault charges against him in New York. The former IMF chief was once a contender to be the next president of France. Some people thought he would win. So, could he make a political comeback?

And it's also a shocking headline. This one here. The U.S. Postal Service on the brink of collapse? Could the post office shut down? We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Twenty minutes after the hour. We want to get to your showbiz headlines now.

Several media reports put Eddie Murphy as the front-runner to host the Oscars next year. Really? Well, guess what? He's not a long shot. The director of Murphy's next film "Tower Heist," Brett Ratner, is also producing the 2012 Oscars. Oh, I get it. We could hear a final decision this week.

Susan Lucci slams ABC's daytime president in her new memoir "All My Life." Lucci played Erica Cain on "All My Children." "The New Post" says Lucci calls ABC's decision to drop her show a, quote, "fatal combination of ignorance and arrogance."

And the number one show at the box office this weekend for the third straight week, "The Help," taking in about $14 million. It's based on a novel set in the '60s about black maids and their white employers. Hollywood.com reports "The Help" has already made $122 million.

The former head of the International Monetary Fund is back in his native France. Dominique Strauss-Kahn was charged with assaulting a hotel maid in New York. But a judge recently threw out the case.

Zain Verjee back with us in London.

So, Zain, this was such a mob scene yesterday when he arrived, including people who woke up at 5:30 in the morning to greet him at the airport. They were excited to see him.

So, what happened?

VERJEE: They were. He got out. And there was a huge round of applause for him at an airport in Paris.

I spoke to a French analyst today, who was also in the capital, who told me that what all of France is waiting for is for him to talk. When is he going to speak? And is he going to do it alone or will he have his journalist wife, Anne Sinclair, next to him?

It was a poll that was done, Alina, and something like 61 percent of people in France think that he should stay out of politics. Remember, this was a man who was tipped to be the next possible president of France until this whole scandal broke back in May of this year.

What many experts say, too, is that, look, this is a guy who is back in France, who's a very smart guy, deeply intellectual. There's a global economic crisis going. So, it is likely that he maybe able to maneuver and carve some kind of a political role in the future for himself, whether it's public or behind the scenes, more in an economic advisory capacity is questionable, but that there could be a chance for some kind of political rehabilitation for Dominique Strauss-Kahn -- Alina.

CHO: See, I think -- I think that he is going to stage a political comeback. That's just one woman's opinion. But anyway -- but -- I mean, before he does any of that, of course, we're all waiting for him to talk. But he --

VERJEE: Right.

CHO: But he still has to deal with the civil suit from his accuser in New York, even though the criminal charges have been thrown out. And there's another accusation in France as well, right? Talk about that.

VERJEE: Yes. That's exactly right. That is going to continue to dog him, the civil suit in New York that's still hanging over his head.

And then there was this French writer who says that years ago, Dominique Strauss-Kahn raped her. She's just come forward with these accusations. That's going to have to play through the legal system. It is also grabbing headlines.

So, he's not out of the woods yet. And the way that he maneuvers and walks this tightrope of wanting to have some type of political life and having these really serious charges still hanging over his head is going to determine his future.

CHO: Zain, I think you and I should go to Paris together and check the story out for ourselves.

VERJEE: Yes. Yes, we should go to Paris together. Any opportunity to go with you anywhere, Alina.

CHO: Ah, see?

VERJEE: You may improve my fashion sense as well.

CHO: Oh, she brings it up again.

VERJEE: Always so stylish.

(LAUGHTER)

CHO: Zain Verjee, come over to the States, will you? I miss you.

VERJEE: All right.

CHO: Good to see you.

VERJEE: I will. I'm waiting to be invited.

CHO: You're invited.

VERJEE: All right.

CHO: I'll see you soon. Bye.

(MUSIC)

CHO: I want to head to my hometown of New York. Alison Kosik is standing by with New York bureau with some troubling developments about the future of the U.S. Postal Service.

So, Alison, is it really possible that the Post Office could shut down? What's going on?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alina. It is possible because, you know, and we all know this -- things have really been pretty darn tough for the postal service for a very long time. But now what we're hearing is that the agency is so low on cash, it could actually shut down completely for the winter unless Congress does something.

Now, this is coming out of "The New York Times," saying that the USPS may not be able to make a $5.5 billion payment that's due this month.

Now, what's happening is the Post Office, overall, is really getting squeezed on both weak revenues and rising costs and it doesn't get any taxpayer money. And with more people e-mailing, paying their bills online, you know, billions of fewer pieces of mail are actually going through the service.

Now, the postmaster general, he's been pushing for some deep cuts to save this agency. And some of his proposals are controversial. He wants to do away with Saturday delivery. He wants to close-up to 3,700 locations and let go of 120,000 employees.

But, as you can imagine, there's tough opposition to all of these suggestions. But I'll tell you what. Missing the upcoming payment is not going to cause immediate disaster, but, Alina, it could be early next year when we could face that sort of disaster if there's no solution here -- Alina.

CHO: It's so sad. You know, I mean, I have to say, I'm one of those people who, when you get the mail, you still love to receive those letters, you know?

KOSIK: Yes.

CHO: So, you know, we've been hearing about these changes, you know, with the Post Office for so long, especially that Saturday delivery thing.

KOSIK: Right.

CHO: And it still hasn't happened. What's the hold up?

KOSIK: You name it. First of all, the agency is controlled by Congress. Need I say more there? You know, lawmakers are still dealing with the fallout from the debt ceiling debacle and they haven't been able to agree on any big solutions.

Now, as far as the USPS goes, labor actually makes up 80 percent of the Post Office costs. So, that's a huge chunk right there. And for its rivals like UPS and FedEx, it only makes up about half of that.

Another issue here is because of the Postal Service's union contract, the Post Office couldn't lay off workers, and that was only negotiated recently. So, of course, the unions vowing to fight back, to keep so many people from being let go.

Now, another sticking point here is Postal Workers actually get better health benefits than most other federal employees.

So, as you can imagine, when you pile all of this on, Alina, you know, it's all of these controversial issues that's really keeping everybody from agreeing but essentially leaving the agency in limbo -- Alina.

CHO: Let's hope they fix it.

KOSIK: Yes, I like my mail delivery, too.

CHO: I mean, my goodness, it would be awful if the Post Office shut down.

All right, Alison Kosik in New York -- Alison, thank you.

Sarah Palin having trouble on the campaign trail. Problem is she's not an official candidate yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Polls? Nah, they're for strippers and cross country skiers. But --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: The folksy Sarah Palin is back. And she's even releasing a jobs plan. But the big question, of course, is: will she or won't she run? And when does she need to decide? That's coming up after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Half past the hour. Checking our top stories now, protesters clash with police outside the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The protesters included families of those that were killed in the uprising that led to Mubarak's demise.

CNN has confirmed this morning that Honda is recalling 936,000 models worldwide. They are Honda CRV and City models. Apparently, they all have power window problems that could spark electrical fires.

And take a look at what happened to tennis star Rafael Nadal at a post match press conference at the U.S. Open last night. There he is. Nadal in such pain from leg cramps that he slid down his seat and then slid down some more and then some more until trainers finally came to help.

It took eight minutes for him to get back up. Nadal says this happens pretty often, but rarely, of course, is it caught on camera.

Just a few hours from now, six Republican presidential candidates will meet in South Carolina for a forum hosted by Senator Jim DeMint. Sarah Palin won't be there.

Remember, she is not an official candidate for president. But over the weekend, she certainly sounded like one. Take a listen to what she said about President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He wants to win the future by investing more of your hard-earned money in some hair-brained ideas like more solar panels and really fast trains.

He's shouting all aboard Obama's bullet train to bankruptcy. The only future that Barack Obama is trying to save is his own re-election. And he has shown that he is perfectly willing to mortgage our children's future to pay for it.

Polls, they're actually -- usually, I'll say, polls, nah. They're for strippers and cross country skiers. But -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: All right. Let's talk more about Palin with our political producer, Peter Hamby. He's in Columbia, South Carolina.

So Peter, as you just heard there, it was classic Sarah Palin. She even talked vaguely about a jobs plan. So give us a recap. You were there. What did she say?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: You're right, she did, kind of for the first time, offer a little bit of a economic proposal. She laid out a five-point plan. A lot of sort of conservative boiler plate, but she did talk about eliminating the corporate income tax rate completely.

For her, it was actually a very good speech. I talked to some Republicans who say this is a speech she should have been giving for the last two years after she left the governor's mansion in 2009 out there in Alaska.

You know, she really hit a lot of Tea Party themes. She also veered into specifics and drew some contrasts with her potential Republican rivals, if she does decide to run. You know, Palin has sort of done a little bit of damage to her brand over the years.

CHO: Namely, Governor Rick Perry, right? She didn't mention him by name, but certainly anyone who follows politics knows that that's who she was talking about, right? What did she say about that? HAMBY: Absolutely, yes. She was talking about crony capitalism and she hit that repeatedly throughout the speech. And Palin allies made it clear to me, you know, before and after that this was directed at Rick Perry again, an attempt to sort of carve out some space for herself in the Republican field if she does decide to run.

She hit Rick Perry, you know, again, veiled attacks for kind of giving his political allies and donors government contracts. She said that's more of the same, that's the status quo. She sort of made this appeal to the Tea Party Movement that the government needs to return to the people, not the special interests, Alina.

CHO: Peter Hamby, live for us in South Carolina -- are you in South Carolina? Where are you? Columbia, South Carolina.

HAMBY: I am. South Carolina, yes.

CHO: Lost my mind for a moment. Thank you, Peter.

Palin is certainly on the move. CNN will have live coverage of Palin's event in New Hampshire during the noon eastern hour.

We want to get more on what's happening in politics, including whether or not Sarah Palin is going to run. CNN contributors Will Cain and L.Z. Granderson are here.

So, is she or is she not going to run and if not, why is she torturing us in doing all of this?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't think she is going to run.

CHO: Really?

CAIN: But I got to be honest, my knowledge is the same as everyone else's. She's in, she's out. She's teasing with it. I can't honestly know, but I think all the teasing suggests to me that the status quo is what we'll continue with that she won't run.

But, you know, talking to Peter about that speech, I will say this. Sometimes we dismiss Sarah Palin. You know, she makes her gaffes and she doesn't have a ton of executive experience, which means she's not really set up to be an elected leader.

But she is charming. She is eloquent and she did say some things in that speech worth listening to. She seems to be evolving into this activist, which is actually -- again, I'm not dismissing her, I'm defining her, which is actually a valuable role, being an activist, the voice of the movement.

CHO: That's right. L.Z., you have to give the woman credit. It was pouring rain. She still can draw a crowd.

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. She can, like a pop star. Like a reality TV star, like a celebrity. Not necessarily as a politician. I just see all of this as her just reminding everyone, particularly those in the GOP that if you want to get voters to get behind a candidate, you have to kiss my ring.

I think this is what this weekend was all about. It was to remind to them that she has a lot of influence, still. And even though she won't run for president, whoever runs for president on the GOP ticket needs to get her approval and she was just demonstrated why.

CAIN: That's a little too dismissive because Sarah Palin's speech wasn't just self-serving, LZ. She had some valuable things to say such as the quote Alina and Peter just talked about wherein we don't need to elect another person who's subject to crony capitalism. Whether that's aimed at Rick Perry or not, and it probably is. That's something voters need to think about.

CHO: Let's talk about Rick Perry.

GRANDERSON: I agree with that.

CHO: Go ahead, LZ.

ANDERSON: I'm sorry, go ahead. No, I agree with that. I mean, it was a strong speech. But everyone keep saying for her and the reason we keep saying for her is because the bar is so low. We don't have great expectations for her. So we were impressed for her.

CHO: Boy. OK. All right, let's talk about the Republicans. Obviously a big day, forum in Columbia, South Carolina, six of the candidates will take part, including Rick Perry who is now enjoying front-runner status.

This is sort of the first time we'll get to see him on stage. You know, there have been -- there has been inside talk, Will, that his people are working with him to soften his language in the wake of what he has said about Bernanke and how it would get ugly if he would come to Texas and so forget.

You know, listen, what does Perry have to say or do to look presidential and to keep that front-runner status?

CAIN: You know, Alina, I've said that I think Rick Perry will be the next president of the United States. And I think that not as a cheerleader just as an analyst. I look at and see a president who's very vulnerable and a guy who potentially can straddle populist vote and establishment vote.

That being said, I should have given the caveat as long as he doesn't shoot himself in the foot and over the past couple of weeks, he's been busy on loading his gun at the floor.

So I would say he needs to do this week is color in between the lines. If you say a bold statement, that's OK. If you say Social Security and Medicare need to be dismantled, fine.

But tell us how you want to replace it. He needs to be substantive, back up his bold claims and kind of color in the lines. CHO: LZ, isn't this what the Democrats want? I mean, listen, this early on in the race for the Republicans to start fighting with each other? I mean, Romney may start going after Rick Perry and there would be fighting in the GOP. Isn't this good for the Democrats then?

GRANDERSON: Yes and no. I think that if you do see a lot of significant infighting, what will end up happening is that the better candidate may actually come up from all of this. I think what was better for the White House was having everyone be nicy, nicy and letting someone like Rick Perry kind of walk through unchallenged.

Then by the time you got through the general election, he gets torn apart because he hasn't had to deal with a tough campaign. So I actually think that the tougher it is during the primaries for the GOP, the better their chances are to overtaking the White House.

CHO: LZ Granderson, Will Cain, my main voyage with you guys. I enjoyed it. Lots of fun.

CAIN: Alina, it's post Labor Day. Is LZ wearing white pants or putting them on moth balls?

CHO: You're not going to make me answer that question, are you? Fashion Week doesn't start until Thursday, right? Let me wait until Thursday. All right, Will, thank you. LZ, thanks to you as well. We'll talk about white later.

A Norman Rockwell painting new to the walls of the White House shows U.S. marshals escorting a young black girl near her a rotten tomato above her a racial slur. She's 56 years old right now. That's her with President Obama.

My next guest says the painting should be in the White House. We'll tell you why it's so important next.

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CHO: She was just six in 1960, when U.S. marshals escorted Ruby Bridges into her newly integrated elementary school. Norman Rockwell captured the moment on canvas. Bridges, who's now 56, met President Obama when the painting was recently revealed and brought to the White House.

The image graphically depicts the civil rights struggle and it's one that cnn.com opinion writer Bob Greene says has a place in the White House, an important one. Bob joins me now. Bob, tell me first about the painting. What does it depict?

BOB GREENE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that was based on Ruby Bridges, trying to go to school in New Orleans in 1960. What you don't see in the picture are the crowds taunting her, throwing things at her. What you do see, of course, in the background is that violist of words and the tomato smashed against it.

Norman Rockwell painted the painting for "Look" magazine. It appeared in January of 1964 and of course, we all see art different ways. First of all, you see the terrible word there then you see the bravery of the child.

But to me, the magnificent thing about the painting -- Rockwell had this wonderful eye for detail, for the telling detail. Look how the United States Marshalls are cropped at their shoulders. You did not see their faces. You just see these four tall men escorting this child to school.

And, to me, the message of that is, yes, that's four men taking her to school. That's four individuals, but that's the United States of America providing safe passage. That is the United States of America saying right will prevail.

And the lasting power of the painting is that. This country has its flaws and its struggles from time to time. In the end it usually comes out on the side of justice. That's what you see in that painting.

CHO: Bob, Bridges herself she told "Politico," I did feel if anyone would hang the painting, it would be him, of course, talking about President Obama. But you think that the painting should have a more permanent place at the White House, right?

GREENE: Yes, I think future presidents for centuries to come would do well to invite that painting back into the White House because the message transcends are all of our usual Democrat versus Republican, liberal versus conservative squabbling.

The message of that painting -- the painting is called "The Problem We All Live With." That in showing that justice in the end will prevail. It really shows the glory we all live with and I think that message is one that never gets old and always there as repeating. It should always be welcome in any White House.

CHO: And what an amazing moment for this woman, Ruby Bridges, you know, to see that painting of her, now 56 years old, and to meet the President -- just an amazing moment. Bob I was fascinated, reading your piece.

And we want all of you to read it as well at CNN.com/opinion. If you like, you can also join the conversation and leave a comment for Bob Green.

Bob, thank you.

Coming up talk about the wrong day to miss work, an Ohio man misses out on his co-workers lottery pool. Well, guess what. Now he wants a part of that $99 million jackpot and he's suing to get it. We'll explain.

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CHO: We want to take you live now to Manchester, New Hampshire where GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is attending a pancake breakfast. He is answering questions. And right now he's talking about taking care of military veterans. Let's listen in. MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- is for our military. And I'm not going to cut that. Now, you might say well, there's a lot of wasting in the military. And there is. There is a lot of waste. There's a lot of bureaucracy. There's a lot of opportunity to cut out the waste.

But I want to cut out that waste and not use it to pay for new social programs, but instead use it to make sure that our troops have the best armament in the world and weapons systems, that we have as many troops as we need and that means more, and we properly care for our veterans when they come home.

And so I'm going to use that money to do the right job for the U.S. military. Thank you.

I'll take one more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much for choosing me. I just want to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for choosing me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May it be so. I wanted to ask, what do you see are the issues that unite the Tea Party Republicans and the more traditional Republicans? What are the issues that unite us and how do you see yourself fitting the bill in -- bringing together the Republican Party?

ROMNEY: Well, that's a great question. And let me -- let me give you a warning.

We -- we all like to read things that show some conflict. It's just interesting. We watch TV. We like to see something exciting on TV. No one wants to watch a TV story that says Mr. So-and-So came and spoke to a group and he was well received. I mean, no one wants to read that story. I mean, what you want is Mr. Romney came to speak at this group and -- and there were two protesters that yelled at him. I mean that's interesting.

All right, here is what they said. I mean that's -- it makes it interesting. And -- and so naturally there is great interest to say oh, the Tea Party, oh and the mainstream Republicans, oh they are fighting and they are different.

Look, the Tea Party has as its center core, a belief that government is too big. Sound familiar? That's what we've been saying for years and years as a Republican Party and they are saying it well and loud. The Tea Party is a powerful movement saying government is too big, and I couldn't agree more.

And so Republicans -- you're going to see us, we're going to come together -- we got Republicans of all different backgrounds, some on the middle, some on the right, some on the left. But all of us are convinced that government is out of control, that it needs to get out of the way of the private sector. That more freedom for enterprise and for individuals will put more Americans to work than a federal jobs program ever can, and those principles combined with lowering taxes for the American people, those things will unite us.

We'll come together in this fall, I can't -- I mean, I know that our Democratic friends, and I appreciate they're -- they're going to try and tear us down, and make it look like we're at each other's throats.

The truth of the matter is, I'm that stage up there when I debated last time, I looked around and I said, I'd rather have any one of those fellows and gals than the person that's in the White House right now. I'll work for them, will fight for them. We're going to come together.

We are going to take back the White House. I'm convinced, by the way that our best shot at taking back the White House and our best shot at turning around the country is if -- this will sound a little self-serving, because it is -- is if we select someone whose experience is not just politics. Who understands the economy because he -- I have worked in the economy for most of my life.

I don't think a career politician can fix what career politicians have messed up. I think it's going to take someone outside of politics and I am to a great degree and I'm going to use that experience to get America working again. I love this country. We're coming together. We're going to be united. We're going to say good-bye to President Obama thank him for his four years but goodbye and let's get America back on track.

Thank you, guys. It's great to be with you this morning. Thank you.

CHO: Former Massachusetts Governor Rick -- Mitt Romney rather speaking at a pancake breakfast in Manchester, New Hampshire. He said the best shot at success in this country is not to select someone who is a career politician, but someone who has experience outside of the political sector, perhaps veiled criticism at Governor Rick Perry who has held some sort of political office since 1985.

Later, Romney will head to Columbia, South Carolina, for a GOP forum hosted by Senator Jim DeMint, who is somewhat of a Republican kingmaker; that begins at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. And you can watch it; our exclusive coverage of today's presidential forum beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Our John King will host.

We're back after this.

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CHO: I want to fast forward now. Checking stories making news later today. Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin speaks at noon Eastern time at the Tea Party Express rally in Manchester, New Hampshire.

At 1:15 eastern, President Obama is in Detroit to speak at a Labor Day event sponsored by the United Auto Workers Union and the Detroit Central Labor Council. And at 3:00 p.m. several Republican presidential candidates, six to be exactly, take part in the Palmetto Freedom Forum in Columbia, South Carolina.

We're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Ed Lavendera. First, actually we're going to talk to Ben Wedeman in Libya -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've got another batch damning documents out of Tripoli, this time about an arms deal between Libya and China. More at the top of the hour.

ZAIN VERJEE, ANCHOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL: I'm Zain Verjee. I will tell you about the pivotal week; it's the final stretch for the Amanda Knox trial. Details in just a few minutes.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Lavandera in Crown Point, Louisiana. Floodwaters are threatening dozens of homes here in this community in the nearby town of Lafitte, Louisiana. We'll tell you what locals are doing to fight back the water.

CHO: Glad we got you back, Ed. Thank you so much. Thanks guys.

Coming up in our next hour as well, CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen tells us about a new drug of choice on college campuses. Students are apparently taking Adderall for better grades. That story is next.

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