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Davis Execution Tomorrow Night; 2012 Candidates on the Trail; Showdown Over Palestinian Statehood; Charting Libya's Future; William and Kate Help Kids with Cancer; Storm Causes Pumpkin Shortage; Bridal Shop Gives Away 38 Dresses; Inside the Obama White House; Democrats' Doubts on Obama; Texting versus Talking; Stocks Struggle; Charlie Sheen's Big Night; Nancy's "Dancing" Debut; Fired "Housewife" Opens Up; Perry Talks Israel in New York

Aired September 20, 2011 - 09:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're at the top of the hour now.

It is the latest and likely the last twist in Troy Davis' controversial case. Clemency denied; the decision by the Georgia's Board of Pardons means Davis has less than 33 hours until he is executed for the murder of a Savannah police officer. A murder that hundreds of thousands of people aren't even sure that he committed.

David Mattingly is following the late, breaking developments for us -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra the board met yesterday. Heard from both sides in this case. And both sides came away saying they felt the board had listened to them. They asked very good questions. They seemed to be well-versed with this case. But in the end, the clemency was denied.

Today the board released a very, very brief statement, not talking about what sort of reasoning went into this. Only to point out that clemency was denied and they gave a brief recount of the crime itself.

They wrote "Officer MacPhail went to the Burger King parking lot to assist a beating victim where MacPhail encountered Davis. Davis shot Officer MacPhail and continued to shoot him as he lay on the ground killing MacPhail. Davis surrendered on August 23, 1989."

Yesterday we heard from MacPhail's family. They said they had been following this all along. They constantly believed in Davis' guilt. At the end, they said they felt like that the board was listening to them and apparently so the board siding with prosecutors and the family in this case.

Davis will go on with his lethal injection appointment, which is at 7 p.m. tomorrow night. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: And David, we will hear from Mark MacPhail's mom, Anne MacPhail a little bit later in the hour. Her reaction to the fact that Troy Davis will die tomorrow. David, thanks. Also happening right now, the campaign trail and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann taking part in a round table forum in Iowa. Frontrunner Rick Perry holding a news conference in New York. He is joined by American-Jewish and Israeli leaders.

A leading topic will undoubtedly be a potential litmus test for many Jewish voters. This week at the United Nations a showdown is looming over Palestinian statehood and the U.S. allegiance to Israel is being tested. Jim Acosta is following all that for us out of Washington. Jim --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. That's right. Texas Governor Rick Perry is the GOP frontrunner right now. He is expected to talk about this issue, the Palestinian statehood question in just a few minutes in Manhattan, just down the street from the United Nations and a day before the president is supposed to speak to the U.N. General Assembly.

And this is interesting politics that we will be watching here, Kyra, on several fronts. One is that the Texas governor is slamming this process that is about to get underway up at the U.N. in which the Palestinians may get a vote on statehood.

It is a vote that the United States is expected to block. The Obama administration is basically going to side with Israel on that question, and that's going to be a messy situation for the Obama administration, but the very fact that this process is underway is really giving some red meat to the Republicans right now.

Rick Perry first among them coming to Manhattan today and giving some remarks. A portion of which we obtained here at CNN, Kyra and he is expected to say in a few moments that we are indignant that certain Middle East turn leaders have discarded the principal of direct negotiations between the sovereign nation of Israel and the Palestinian leadership.

He goes on to say that this is all part of the Obama administration's policy of Middle East appeasement to leaders in that region and you know what Rick Perry is trying to do and a lot of Republicans are trying to do is tap into this sentiment, in some sections of the Jewish/American community who are just really unhappy with the Obama administration right now.

They don't like the fact that he hasn't gone to Israel as president even though he went as a candidate for president. They don't see him as being a strong on Israel as George W. Bush was. And I talked to, yesterday, a Jewish leader in New York about this question. He said, yes, there's some softness for the president in the Jewish community. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID HARRIS, AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: There are those who think that the president has not been close enough to Israel, has made some missteps, hasn't shown enough warmth toward Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now Mitt Romney not to be outdone is also competing in what some are calling the Israel primary. He has released a statement this morning. He is also coming down very harshly against this process at the United Nations about Palestinians statehood.

Here's what he had to say, quote, what we are watching unfold at the United Nations is an unmitigated diplomatic disaster. It is the culmination of President Obama's repeated efforts over the last three years to throw Israel under the bus and undermine its negotiating position.

That policy must stop now. There is good political reason, Kyra, for why the Republicans are coming down so hard on President Obama when it comes to Israel. If you look at some of the polling on this, President Obama's approval rating among Jewish-Americans has fallen to 54 percent.

President Obama had nearly eight out of every 10 Jewish voters in the 2008 election. Those were millions of Jewish voters that the Republicans would like to bring in to their tent, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Jim, thanks. You mentioned Rick Perry will be holding this news conference three in New York, joined by American, Jewish and Israeli leaders. As soon as he steps up to the mic, we will dip in. Jim, thanks.

Also this hour, President Obama is visiting the United Nations. He is due to meet with the leader of Libya's new transitional government. Brianna Keilar at the White House for more on that. Now, Brianna, what does the president hope to accomplish?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, he is trying to highlight the entry here of this Transitional Libyan government on to the world stage. The Transitional Libyan government was recently seated on the U.N. General Assembly to represent Libya.

And of course, the White House having had U.S. involvement in the mission in Libya is trying to mark the success, as they see it, of how that all of that developed. They are trying to garner support as well from the international community get by in from allies.

And so what we will be seeing this hour is President Obama meeting one-on-one with the head of the Libyan Transitional government, Mustafa Abdel-Jalil. He also will then meet with a number of world leaders.

They'll talking about the way forward for Libya. The head of U.N., Ban Ki Moon will speak. President Obama will speak and he will sort of outline, we're expecting some of the next steps that the U.S. is taking.

We know that the White House, the U.S. they are moving towards establishing, re-establishing diplomatic relations with Tripoli. There's talk of starting to lift sanctions and get some of that money freed up for the Libyan government.

But, Kyra, as the White House tries to do this, as President Obama really tries to highlight and give a boost to the Transitional Libyan government, it's really sort of an uphill battle.

Because so much attention is being paid to the issue of Palestinian statehood that you could argue very much, it is getting in the way of what the White House is hoping to achieve with Libya here.

PHILLIPS: Brianna Keilar there at the White House. Brianna, thanks.

Well, apparently the royal couple, Prince William and Kate are looking for a charity to focus their time on. CNN's Zain Verjee has been investigating from London and figuring out how they're going to make this decision. Zain, what have you found out?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, it looks like they want to be part of opening a new children's cancer center at a hospital here in the U.K. This is going to happen next month.

They are going to officially unveil a plaque. This is at the Royal Margin Hospital here. Princess Diana actually used to be president of it and it looks like Prince William is taking over that role. But they have been dedicated to charities. In fact, Kate has been kind of under the radar, Kyra, doing a lot of different charity work and just getting to know the people and groups.

For example, like homeless shelters and others. So she's decided, as has Prince William, that this is something they would be interested in doing. So this is where they are going to put some of their fire power at and raise attention to kids with cancer.

PHILLIPS: We will cover the opening that's for sure. Zain, thanks.

Well, still ahead, inside the Obama White House. A new book quotes one insider saying it was a hostile work place for women. Reaction from someone who served there.

Plus, Charlie Sheen, all over the air waves last night. Is he back to his winning ways? We have the showbiz headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross country now, Hurricane Irene is having an impact on the northeast. It washed away so much of the crop now that there are worries of a pumpkin shortage. Wholesale prices have doubled now in some places. Farmers will have to work hard to avoid a late harvest.

Military members have to pay for uniforms, but some won't be paying for their wedding dresses. Thirty eight military brides got dresses at a West Texas bridal shops military appreciation gave away. The shop's owner says it went so well they would do it again in the future for sure. A scathing new peak inside of the Obama White House paints a dysfunctional work place, filled with infighting even hostility toward the women who work there. It is called "Confidence Men," written by Ron Suskind.

And one of the most striking quotes comes from Anita Dunn, the former communications director at the White House. The book quotes her as saying this place would be in court for a hostile work place because it actually fit all the classic legal requirements for a genuinely hostile work place to women.

Dunn says that the quotes were actually taken out of context. An audiotape shared with the "Washington Post" shows that Dunn actually qualified her comments by saying, if it were not for the president, et cetera, et cetera.

She says she told the author, point blank, that the White House was not a hostile environment. Our next guest served as deputy press secretary in the Obama White House. Bill Burton, senior strategist with the Liberal Groups Priorities, USA Action and Priorities USA. So Bill, you know, you worked with Anita Dunn. Was it or is it a hostile work environment for women?

BILL BURTON, SENIOR STRATEGIST, PRIORITIES USA ACTION: Good morning. I did work with Anita. I will say that having served in the White House, I was there, Ron Suskind wasn't. I know that the president brought on some of the most talented people of this generation to work in his White House and a lot of them happened to be women.

When it came to national security issues, he went to people like Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice. On domestic issues, people like Melody Barnes and Carol Browner. So I think what the American people would want to know about this White House is that when it comes to talented women, who the president is going to and what's happening inside of the White House.

The -- it is very important to the president that he has a strong group of the most competent people on the planet, including a lot of women, including one of his top advisers Valerie Jarrett. Are there times when heads butted together?

Sure, I mean, that's going to happen in the White House. The president wants strong opinions and people to have strong feelings about what it is that they're pursuing and the ideas that they have.

PHILLIPS: So, Bill, do you think that Suskind is lying?

BURTON: I don't think that Suskind is lying. I know that he got a lot of facts wrong in his book, but I also know that I was there and that women played key roles and continue to --

PHILLIPS: You think it was an innocent mistake and just didn't have the entire quote?

BURTON: I think that -- I think that this does not reflect the president's commitment to having the best people on earth working in his administration. If you look at his administration, if you look at his record, it is important to the president that he get this right, that he have a lot of women who are surrounding him on the most important issues.

PHILIPPS: All right, Bill, let me run something else by you. An op-ed piece in the "Chicago Tribune," calling for President Obama to step aside saying the economy has actually made him unelectable.

Here's the quote, Obama might do his party a big favor. In hard times, he could slake this thirst by stepping aside and taking the blame and then someone less reviled could replace him at the top of the ticket. What's your reaction?

BURTON: This isn't the first time that a president has had rocky poll numbers in the middle of his first term. President Clinton, President Reagan, they both had about their low point right about now in the polls, but there's going to be an election. There's going to be a campaign and people are going to have a choice between the president's vision for where the country should go.

And between Rick Perry or Mitt Romney's very conservative, very radical vision for where the country should go and at the end of the day, it's going to be a tough, close fight, but I do think that the president will prevail.

PHILLIPS: Now, Obama has lost a lot of support in the Jewish community. We've been talking about this for a number of days. He is also facing criticism from African-Americans. So is his base deserting him?

BURTON: Well, if you look at any number of polls, you can see that if you go directly to the American people, directly to where Democrats are, no. He actually has very strong support among his base.

But more importantly, yes, the polls are going to go up and down, but at the end of the day, when you are a strong leader and you're doing things that you think are right on behalf of the American people and not necessarily politically popular, people are going to - there's going to be some anxiety.

People aren't going to agree with every single thing you do, but in the fall people want somebody who will look at polls and use Gallup daily track to make their decisions, they can vote for Mitt Romney. But if they're looking for somebody who's going to be a strong leader then President Barack Obama is that guy.

PHILLIPS: Do you think you're going to see President Barack Obama getting competition within his own party?

BURTON: It doesn't look like it.

PHILLIPS: No further thought?

BURTON: It just doesn't seem that -- PHILLIPS: Plain and simple you are saying no.

BURTON: Nobody has indicated any desire to run against President Obama in the primary.

PHILLIPS: Bill Burton, appreciate you weighing in on a number of issues this morning. Thanks, Bill.

BURTON: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: You bet, my pleasure.

We are still waiting for Rick Perry, GOP front runner right now, to begin this news conference in New York. We told you he's joined by American, Jewish and Israeli leaders. As soon as he starts speaking, we will take that live.

Also straight ahead, would you rather text or talk? A new study suggests that a growing number of people prefer to let their fingers do the talking. We will explain more after the break.

Also coming up, Nancy Grace, she strapped on some sequins and she hit the dance floor. We're going to actually check out how well she did on "Dancing with the Stars." Her big debut in showbiz headlines next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A phone call or a text message, which would you prefer? Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange is following, I guess, the trends and technology. So what are people saying?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know what? I think there's still hope for us yet because most people, Kyra, they still want a phone call, but the fact is a big percentage of people would actually prefer a text, 31 percent and that percentage has been growing over the past few years.

They say, you know what, texting is faster. It's to the point. You can avoid unnecessary conversations, but I don't know about you, but when you text, it seems like it never ends and then you think why don't you pick up the phone and talk to me and stop texting me over and over.

But you know what, a lot of it depends on your age is, the younger you are, the more you are likely to text. So take a look at the breakdown, if you're 18 to 29 year old that you text an average of 88 times a day, that is very time consuming if you ask me.

And as you get older, there are fewer texts coming out of your phone, Kyra. I don't know. What category would you fall into there? How many times a day do you text?

PHILLIPS: I have to admit, I'm really -- well, OK, I probably text more than I e-mail. Let me come clean.

KOSIK: OK. So you don't like to talk to people?

PHILLIPS: No, I'm not a phone person anymore. It is true. Look at that. It didn't even enter my mind thinking about phone calls unless it is really, really important. If you want to about something, you share some really good news or if it is heartfelt, but days of being on the phone for like an hour and a half when we were teenagers, forget about it.

KOSIK: Yes, time is short in that case.

PHILLIPS: All right, with all the debt problems in Greece and Italy, that's something else that we are talking about this morning. We can't let that slide.

You know, what do you think about Wall Street? I mean, can it realistically move past all of that and get a rally going? I mean, we've seen how it impacted us in the past weeks especially with regard to Greece.

KOSIK: You are absolutely right about that. You know, talk to analysts and they say, you know what? We're not going to see a rally that's going to stick until problems in Europe are solved. Europe is really focused on Wall Street.

Greece is close to running out of money. We also have Standard & Poors downgrading Italy's credit rating last night. It shows the debt problems are spreading. So Europe is one of our biggest trading partners, and we are connected.

So the fact is if they go into a recession, we will be affected. So you see Wall Street a little tentative today although we are in the green. The Dow is up 28 points. The Nasdaq better by 11.

We also kind of seeing Wall Street a bit on hold. The Federal Reserve begins its two-day meeting today. Everybody is waiting to see if any stimulus measures come out of it. Kyra --

PHILLIPS: All right, we will be watching. Dow Industrials as you mentioned in a little bit of positive territory right there. Alison, thanks.

Brutally slammed by your peers and fatally slammed by a train. It's pretty rough night for most of us, but a pretty good one for Charlie Sheen, right, A. J. Hammer?

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": That is right, Kyra Phillips. You know, ever since Charlie Sheen's public meltdown cost him his gig on "Two and A Half Men," we have all been very eagerly awaiting to see how the show would handle it and they didn't pull any punches.

Last night's season premier opened up with a funeral for Sheen's character as expected who apparently died a grizzly death by being run over by a train. The "New York Times" review the show said the writer seem bent on revenge and the reaction was as they put it, like watching the Iraqi people pulling a down statues of Saddam Hussein.

I do expect the show is going to have huge ratings, we'll know more on that later today. And of course, just after that unfolded on CBS, you have Comedy Central running the roast of Sheen. Critics are a bit torn as to which show delivered better digs and slams on Charlie.

On top of all that, today there are reports circulating that Sheen in the studio behind men are close to a settlement over Sheen's firing. Sheen would reportedly get $25 million, Kyra, to settle his contract and residuals and all of that from the syndication. So Charlie is actually doing just fine.

PHILLIPS: Yes, be interesting. He sure knows how to turn himself around at all the right moments.

All right, speaking of the right moment, Nancy Grace making her debut on "Dancing with the Stars." She did pretty well. What do you think?

HAMMER: No. I was really impressed with Nancy's very fancy footwork doing the cha-cha cha. She got an OK score. She got 16. That put her in back of the pack, but ahead of competitors like NBA star Ron Artest.

I saw one review of Nancy's dancing this morning credited her with a surprising amount of rhythm. After the show, she told "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," it was a humbling experience, but she is inspired by the support of her HLN viewers and she is taking the judges' criticism with a positive attitude.

The elimination episode is up next. So obviously we're going to have to wait and see if she can make the cut and keep going, but Kyra, I think she will.

PHILLIPS: I think so, too. She's a fighter and you're right, she has some rhythm. I'll tell you what. She has that good Irish teacher next to her, as well.

All right, some real housewives got cut from their show. I understand you actually spoke with one of them?

HAMMER: Yes. I had a rather interesting chat on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" last night with Cindy Barshop. She's one of the four "Real Housewives of New York." It's not coming back for this season. You have Alex, Jill and Kelly also dunked from the show. I asked Barshop if the move is something that caught her by surprise. Watch what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINDY BARSHOP, "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW YORK CITY": By the end of the show, during the finale, everyone was not getting along, like a major degree. So at this point, it was like hard to film together.

HAMMER: But isn't that exactly what the show is supposed to be.

BARSHOP: Yes, but when you start hitting below the belt, some of the girls were hitting below the belts, you don't want to go to the same charity events and so on and so forth. How can we film together?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: So, Kyra, even some drama apparently too much for the "Real Housewives of New York."

PHILLIPS: A.J. Hammer. By the way, I'd like to see you do a little "Dancing with the Stars." I bet you have some moves.

HAMMER: Not a chance.

PHILLIPS: A.J. Hammer, thanks. Just ahead the military ends its "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy, which banned gays from openly serving. We will hear from vets who were kicked out, but now want to return to service.

And Ron Suskind's new book claims there is trouble in the Obama White House. Secretary Geithner, among others pushing back hard. So who will the voters believe in the "Political Buzz" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Governor Rick Perry there live in New York about to hold the news conference. We're going to listen in as he is joined by American, Jewish and Israeli leaders.

You can see Bob Turner right over his shoulder there. You will remember that was a surprise win in a heavily Democratic area, the Republican just a couple of weeks taking that spot. Let's listen in.

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's always a great joy to introduce a person that you admire by what they have accomplished and your newest congressman fits that bill in Bob Turner.

He obviously is the leading voice on this issue we are speaking about today and I'm joined today by a very diverse group of Jewish leaders from here in the United States and abroad. They share my concern that the United Nations could take action this week to legitimize the Palestinian gambit to establish statehood in violation of the spirit of the 1993 Oslo Accords.

We are indignant that certain Middle Eastern leaders have discarded the principle of direct negotiations between the sovereign nation of Israel and Palestinian leadership. And we are equally indignant of the Obama administration and their Middle East policy of appeasement that is encouraged such an ominous act of bad faith.

Simply put, we would not be here today, at this very precipice of such a dangerous move if the Obama policy in the Middle East wasn't naive, arrogant, misguided and dangerous. It must be said first that Israel is our oldest and strongest ally in the Middle East.

A democratic ally in the Middle East, it has been for more than 60 years. The Obama policy of moral equivalency, which gives equal standing to the grievances of Israelis and Palestinians, and then including the orchestraters of terrorism, is a very dangerous insult. There is no middle ground between our allies and those who seek their destruction. America should not be ambivalent between the terrorist tactics of Hamas and the security tactics of the legitimate and free state of Israel.

By proposing indirect talks, rather than between Palestinian leaders and Israel, this administration encouraged the Palestinians to shun direct talks.

Secondly, it was wrong for this administration to suggest the 1967 border should be the starting point for Israel/Palestinian negotiations. When you consider the suggestion of those borders was made on the eve of Israel prime minister's visit, we see the American administration having a willingness to isolate a close ally and to do so in a manner that is both insulting and naive.

Thirdly, by injecting the issue of the 1967 borders, in addition to a construction freeze in East Jerusalem and the Israeli settlements, the Obama administration put Israel in a position of weakness, taking away their flexibility to offer concessions as part of the negotiation process. Indeed bolstered by the Obama administration policies and the apologists the U.N., the Palestinians are exploiting the instability in the Middle East hoping to achieve their objective without concessions and direct negotiations with Israel.

And the reason is simple. If they perceive that they can get what they want through the U.N. without making any concessions, why should they negotiate with Israel? While the administration is right to finally agree to fight the Arab resolution in the U.N., it bears repeating, we wouldn't be here today if they had stuck to some basic principles concerning Palestinian statehood. First is that Palestinian leaders must publicly affirm Israel's right to exist and to exist as a Jewish nation, a Jewish state.

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: Secondly, President Abbas, he must persuade all of the factions, including Hamas, to renounce acts of terrorism and release kidnapped Israeli Gilad Shalit.

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: And third, Palestinian statehood must be established only through direct negotiations between Palestinian leadership and the nation of Israel.

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: By not insisting on those principles, the Obama administration has appeased the Arab street at the expense of our national security interest. They have sewed instability that threatens the prospect of peace. Israel's security is critical to America's security. We must not forget it was Israel who had the nuclear capabilities (ph) of Iraq in 1981 and Syria in 2007. And in both instances, their actions made this free world safer. Today -

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: Today, the greatest threat to the security of Israel, and by extension a threat to America, is the Iranian government and their development of a nuclear arsenal.

One thing is clear. We must stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: Economic sanctions must be tightened and increased; all options must remain on the table to stop a brutally repressive regime from acquiring a nuclear capability.

To date, we have fumbled our greatest opportunity for regime change. Average Iranian citizens were marching on Teheran in the Green Revolution in 2009. America was wasting precious time on a naive policy of outreach to both the Iranian and the Syrian governments. Who knows what leadership of Iran would look like today if America had done everything within our power to provide both the diplomatic and the moral support to encourage the growing movement of dissidents that sought freedom.

Our actions in recent years have destabilized the Middle East. We have been complacent in encouraging revolt against hostile governments and Iran and Syria. And we have been slow to recognize the risks posed by the new regime in Egypt and the increasingly strained relationship between Israel and Turkey.

It is vitally important for America to preserve those alliances with moderate Muslim regimes. And Muslim leaders must seek peace and stability in their region.

But today, neither adversaries or allies know where America stands. Our muddle of a foreign policy has created greater uncertainty in the midst of this Arab Spring. And our policy of isolating and undermining Israel has only encouraged our adversaries in their aggressiveness.

And with this end run of the Palestinian statehood imminent before the U.N., America must act swiftly. First, every nation within the U.N. must know America stands with Israel.

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: And that we stand with the Oslo principle of direct negotiations without equivocation.

Second, America must make it clear of - that declaration on Palestinian statehood. In violation of the spirit of the Oslo Accords, and that they could jeopardize our funding of U.N. operations.

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: And thirdly, the Palestinians must know their gambit comes at a cost and certainly has consequences. In particular, that America will have to reconsider the $4 billion in assistance we have provided the Palestinians in the last 17 years.

And lastly, we must close the PLO office in Washington if the U.N. grants -

(APPLAUSE)

PERRY: Israel is our friend. Israel is our ally. I've traveled there a number of times. Met with the leaders. It's not a perfect nation, but its existence is critical to America's security in the world. It's time to change our policy of appeasement toward the Palestinians, to strengthen our ties with the nation of Israel. In the process establish a robust American position in the Middle East characterized by a new firmness and a new resolve.

If America does not head off the aggression of forces, hostile to Israel, we will only embolden them. That would be a tragic mistake.

To further speak on this issue, it is my honor to introduce a powerful voice of support for America and Israel, the deputy speaker --

(END LIVE COVERAGE)

PHILLIPS: Frontrunner Rick Perry holding a news conference in New York, joined by American Jewish and Israeli leaders. We are actually going to take a little bit of what he said and throw that at our "Political Buzz" coming up just after the break.

Also, we are waiting to hear from the president of the United States. He is speaking at the U.N. General Assembly. Apparently he has met with the new transitional council there in Libya. Once he starts speaking, we will take that live as well. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: "Political Buzz." Your rapid-fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. And playing today, Democratic National Committee member Robert Zimmerman, Comcast D.C. bureau chief Robert Traynham, and CNN contributor Will Cain.

All right, guys. You were probably just listening to Rick Perry speaking in New York. He called the Obama's administration policy on New York, "arrogant, naive, misguided and dangerous." Is this a growing problem for the president? Robert?

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERT TRAYNHAM, D.C. BUREAU CHIEF, COMCAST NETWORK: I think there is a larger narrative going on right about now with whether or not the president is a friend of Israel or not and whether or not that will impact the Jewish vote, specifically in the presidential swing state of Florida.

Look, we expect Republicans to say this about the president. They have always said this about any Democratic president. The question becomes -- is whether or not the narrative won't gain traction, if you will and whether or not or not Jewish voters out there specifically will heed the call. Time will tell.

PHILLIPS: Robert Zimmerman, sorry about that. I forgot we had two Roberts. Z!

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, MEMBER, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: That works.

No, look. Some issues that have to be above partisan politics and partisan games. The security of the state of Israel has to be one of them, not just for Israel's sake but for our own government's sake. And to listen to Governor Perry at the -- at this critical time of United Nations delegation meetings where the U.S. and Israel are working together to block the state of - a Palestinian state recognition, is just inexcusable. I have never seen such a brazen, partisan maneuver to undermine our government working with Israel to block a Palestinian state.

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

PHILLIPS: Will?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I will take issue with one thing that Robert Traynham said just a minute ago, that time will tell on this issue. I'm thinking time has already told. When Bob Turner was elected to Congress in New York a week or two ago, it revealed several issues that are a referendum on the Obama administration. From the economy to possibly on gay marriage, but definitely on the issue of Israel. That district is full of Orthodox Jews. And the country is not as Jewish as that population is.

But if Obama can be seen as siding with Palestine and not with Israel, the one democracy (ph) in the Middle East, it is an issue for Obama.

PHILLIPS: All right, guys, next question. Ron Suskind's new book, he describes the president being undermined by his aides in a White House that is hostile toward women. Secretary Geithner among others, though, are pushing back hard. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHY GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I haven't read this book, but to borrow a phrase, I live the reality. And the reports I have read about this book bear no resemblance to the reality we live together. No resemblance.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: What do you think? Whose version will voters believe? Robert Zimmerman?

ZIMMERMAN: Well, maybe I different from Robert and Will, but when I think of people I want to gossip about, Anita Dunn and Peter Orzsag and Larry Summers just they don't make the cut. So, I know the book will be a great fascination in the Beltway because after all, the Beltway finds itself fascinating.

But for the rest of us, we will focus on putting America back to work, the very critical meetings in the United Nations and making sure our nation is competitive again.

PHILLIPS: Will?

CAIN: Not Tim Geithner. That's who voters will believe.

And by the way, the Obama administration needs to be very careful because apparently Suskind has all kinds of quotes to back up the contentions in the book.

I would disagree with Robert on one thing. This aspect of Suskind's book becomes a paint brush, a stroke and a larger picture, along with the "Rolling Stone" article about General McChrystal a year or two ago that paints the Obama administration as sort of inexperienced in management. And that kind of picture can resonate with voters as it starts to come together.

PHILLIPS: Robert Traynham.

TRAYNHAM: I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Probably both are telling the truth and probably both sides are telling little white lies.

Look, if in fact some of the women in the Obama administration that went on record, quote/unquote, and if it is recorded that this is exactly what they said, well, I don't know how you dispute that. However, I can easily the see the author kind of taking it out of context or perhaps embellishing quotes and so forth.

So, I think the truth lies between. But look, at the end of the day President Obama will be up for re-election. His name will be on the ballot, but even more importantly his policies will be on the ballot. We will see what the American people decide -

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

TRAYNHAM: -- whether it's going to be him, Perry or Romney.

PHILLIPS: All right, guys. Final --

ZIMMERMAN: You guys have a think about gossiping about Anita Dunn. I can tell.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Oh! Maybe -- we will save that for the next debate.

All right, guys, here's the final question. "Don't ask, don't tell" officially over today. So, what does this say about where we are as a country about gay rights? Will?

CAIN: It doesn't say anything. The "don't ask, don't tell" issue wasn't or properly shouldn't be a civil or gay rights issue. The issue is, is the military in prime position to kill our enemies and defend our country? And the debate over whether gays should serve openly or not was geared toward that, how it served the military.

If you want a referendum on what the status of gay right in our country right now, just look at the New York marriage law.

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

PHILLIPS: Robert Z?

ZIMMERMAN: Ok, look, this issue like most shows the public is far ahead of the politicians. Most of the politicians. Certainly, the repeal of "don't ask don't tell" was overturned through a massive grassroots movement and by the gay and lesbian community and the heroic work of Congressman Patrick Murphy.

The next challenge, in my opinion, is marriage equality. It is a national issue that the president should be standing with the majority of Americans in supporting.

(BUZZER SOUNDS)

PHILLIPS: Robert T?

TRAYNHAM: My parents and grandparents were children of the Civil Rights Movement, and they jumped for joy when the Civil Rights Bill was passed in 1964. As a gay American today, I jump for joy that finally, gays and lesbians, people that look like me and people that choose to sleep with whomever they sleep with are allowed to serve openly in the military.

PHILLIPS: Gentlemen, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Well, the United Nations now targeting diseases on the rise in countries least equipped to deal with them. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains right after the break.

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PHILLIPS: For only the second time in its history, the United Nations has placed a health topic on its agenda. Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta live from the U.N. So there is a really sense of urgency among world leaders at the general assembly this week. So, explain to us what the issue is here with regard to combating these diseases.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Last time it was on the agenda was ten years ago, Kyra, and it was about HIV/AIDS at that time. And you know, a lot of people know the progress that's been made on HIV/AIDS over this past decade.

What they now realize is that while the issue of HIV/AIDS there's still work that needs to be done, what are called noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, lung disease, cancer, cause more deaths anywhere than in the world than infectious diseases. So, three out of five deaths they predict now being caused by these types of noncommunicable diseases.

The sense of urgency comes, I think, Kyra, is in part not only because of the scope of the problem being better identified, but there are solutions that are available, solutions that work in terms of preventing these diseases on most places on earth. They were thought to be the diseases of affluent, of developed countries and now we find they affect people just about anywhere.

So, I think there is a real sense of urgency in terms of health and the economics of it as well, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Sanjay, stay with me. We are looking at live pictures not far from where you are of the president. Had a chance to the meet with Libya's new government, the transitional council and we will take him live as soon as he steps up to the mike.

So, while we wait for him to do that, let me follow up. One more question with you, if we have time here. With regard to the action plan from this point on, with regard to, you know, the trajectory of cancer, diabetes, lung disease, all the diseases you have been talking about.

GUPTA: Well, some of it will sound familiar, frankly, Kyra. Tobacco, there's 1.3 billion smokers in the world. The number is expected to come up. Countries are coming together to basically address that. But also realizing when it comes to heart disease, when it comes to cancers so much of it can be prevented. It is affecting younger and younger people all over the world.

Cancers, for example, Kyra, you know, vaccines to prevent hepatitis, to prevent human papillomavirus. Both those viruses can lead to cancer. If vaccines are more readily available, again, everywhere on the planet, you can start to not just catch these diseases early but prevent them from ever taking hold.

Millions of dollars now to save trillions later on was how Ban Ki-moon put it in his opening address. So there is that sense of urgency again, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes. Thank you so much, Sanjay. You must mentioned Ban ki-Moon. We are actually looking at live pictures of Ban Ki-moon there at the U.N. What you are seeing, is the U.N. flag and Libya's new flag. This is the flag ceremony as Libya takes on the new government, the transitional council. The president is right there in the room. We are expecting him to speak once the ceremony concludes. So, we will take that live as soon as it happens.

Also coming up, no clemency for Troy Davis. Due to die by lethal injection tomorrow. We'll get reaction from the mother of the police officer that Davis is convicted of killing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: I want to remind you to stay with us. The president of the United States is getting ready to speak at the United Nations. Ban Ki-moon conducting the flag ceremony. The new flag that you are about to see of Libya. The president had a chance to meet with the members of the new transitional council, and we will brief you on that and take the president live at the top of the hour.

We will take a quick break. Suzanne Malveaux picks it up where I leave it off.

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