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Isaac to Test New Orleans' New Levees; New Orleans Neighborhood Built Higher, Stronger after Katrina; GOP Convention Gets into Full Swing; No Fair Share; Interview with Rep. Marsha Blackburn; Big Bucks for MBA Grads

Aired August 28, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN NEWSROOM with Carol Costello begins right now. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning, everybody.

Hi, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Soledad. Thanks.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, Isaac moves in on the verge of becoming a full-fledged hurricane. The storm almost the size of Texas, threatening the Gulf Coast with a 12-foot wall of water.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm David Mattingly in Gulfport, Mississippi, where lessons of the past with Hurricane Katrina are helping people all along the coast here prepare for Isaac. I'll have that story coming up.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning from Tampa, where the two Republican rock stars arrive into town today. Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan. But it's a certain New Jersey governor that everyone is buzzing about. Mr. Chris Christie. We're going to talk about him and his big keynote speech coming up.

COSTELLO: And Samuel L. Jackson tweeting, it is unfair Republicans in Tampa were spared from Hurricane Isaac. This morning the fallout and the inevitable apology.

NEWSROOM begins right now.

And good morning. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. I'm Carol Costello. We begin right now with Tropical Storm Isaac. Right now it's growing stronger and closer and expected to be a hurricane when it charges ashore.

New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast in the crosshairs. Isaac's landfall to come late tonight or early tomorrow, the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. And it is that disaster that largely defines how prepared the city of New Orleans is today.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is at one of the levees rebuilt in Katrina's aftermath.

So is the system ready, Rob? ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, you ask the Army Corps of Engineers and they say a resounding yes. You ask some residents and they -- you know, they scratch their heads and say, we'll see, because a lot of people point out, you know, we build things as men and, you know, Mother Nature has a way of sometimes taking them apart.

Well, yesterday, we showed you up close what those pumps and levee systems and channel closures look like on the ground. But we got an opportunity to take an aerial view of them. And -- well, I'll share that video with you right now. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO (voice-over): Shortly after taking off on a Coast Guard chopper, immediately in view is the biggest pumping station in the world. Spanning across the Intercoastal Waterway, part of a $14 billion plan to protect New Orleans from hurricane floodwaters. Gates to keep the seawater from coming in and pumps to let the rain water out.

There's another 73 pumping stations across five parishes, and some are able to move water at 150,000 gallons per second.

(On camera): On the ground, the floodgates are impressive. But in the air, you really see the enormity of it. The levee system just can go on for miles and miles and miles. The question is, will it hold in a big hurricane.

If this storm strengthens to, say, a category 2 storm tonight, will you still sleep well?

COL. ED FLEMING, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEER: You know, this is the best system that the greater New Orleans area has ever seen.

MARCIANO (voice-over): Dug deeper, built stronger, and standing higher than seven years ago, there are now 133 miles of levee wall around the city. New Orleans' most exposed flank is here, on the eastern side. This seawall, nearly two miles long. And according to the Army Corps of Engineers, this barrier to the sea is ready.

(On camera): What you're looking at here is a seawall. But not just any seawall. But those pylons go down 100 to 200 feet to the ground.

(Voice-over): Sitting in this rescue aircraft reminds me that if the walls don't hold like in Katrina, the men providing this view from above may be the same guys potentially saving lives down below.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We train every day. We train how we fight and we fight how we train. And hopefully -- you know, hopefully we won't have to use those skills, but in this case we're ready. We have crews ready and available to -- to be ready to respond.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Regardless of the levees, let's not forget about those heroes that saved so many lives during Hurricane Katrina that will be standing by tonight in case things go wrong as Isaac comes ashore. And just as that piece was wrapping up, the rains now beginning to come on. Time to get the red jacket out and wait for -- wait for Isaac.

You know, it's not just the levee walls, Carol. We have to be concerned about this, the rainfall. Because as modern as those pumps are, they're only designed to pump out an inch of rain for the first hour, and then a half an inch of rain thereafter. And you know during a tropical system, it can rain a lot faster than that. So there's going to be flooding in the city. The question is how bad -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And I know you're going to keep an eye on it for us. Rob Marciano reporting live from New Orleans this morning.

The cruel lessons of Hurricane Katrina extends far beyond New Orleans, though, and its new levee system. Much of coastal Mississippi was hit by the strong side of Katrina. Towns were ripped apart by winds and then swallowed by floodwaters.

CNN's David Mattingly shows us how prepared Mississippi is today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, battered and splintered by Katrina. Bay Saint Louis today still rebuilding.

Gulfport, Mississippi, ocean front destroyed. Gulfport today, seaside lots still vacant and for sale.

The scars of Katrina are subtle but plentiful, as Isaac now bears down the same path, due to hit the same day. But Mississippians, acting on tough lessons of seven years ago, stand ready.

CORKY HADDEN, RESIDENT: You look at what's happened the past 200 years this house should be high enough to sustain anything we've seen in the past 200 years.

MATTINGLY: Corky Hadden's home on Bay Saint Louis was stripped down to its foundations by Katrina. So like others, he rebuilt stronger and higher.

(On camera): Twenty-four feet?

HADDEN: It's 24 feet above sea level.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): More than enough, it's believed, to handle Isaac.

(On camera): But nowhere are the changes to Bay Saint Louis more obvious than right here on the waterfront. When Katrina hit, the city's old seawall stood at about eight feet high. That wasn't nearly enough to stop the storm surge. So when they rebuilt, this is what they put in its place. In some places, a pile of cement and steel more than double what it used to be. (Voice-over): The U.S. 90 Bridge, a lifeline on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, broken into pieces by Katrina, also restored stronger and higher. And Gulfport's new $42 million harbor now bracing for its first test.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The one that was here before Katrina was built out of wood. This one is concrete and built like a fortress.

MATTINGLY: That confidence is everywhere. Ben Stone rebuilt in Gulfport when all his neighbors did not. A chance he's willing to take for beach front living.

BEN STONE, RESIDENT: It gets angry from time to time, but it's the most beautiful sight I can see.

MATTINGLY: This is what happened to Stone's house in Katrina. The new one was built with the next big one in mind. Windows that can withstand 200 mile per hour winds and cement walls six inches thick.

(On camera): Could this house stand up to Katrina?

STONE: Not with me in it.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: David Mattingly joins us now from Gulfport.

You always hear those brave words from people. I know there are some mandatory evacuations for some parts of that state. Are -- is anybody leaving?

MATTINGLY: Well, yes, they are leaving. And those mandatory evacuations, Carol, have been very targeted to those ever-present low- lying areas along the coast here where they knew there was going to be flooding problems from a storm surge and from the rain, which you can see we're getting some of the first bands right now blowing in. Some stinging rainfall right now.

We're looking at a high tide here in Gulfport right now as well. But we're probably going to have to get used to this because this is just the beginning. We're going to be seeing a lot more of this as the day goes on. Everyone really concerned right now about how big of a rain event this storm is going to be. We're looking at inches upon inches of rain across the Gulf Coast. We're going to see how those new systems to take care of the storm water that were put in after Katrina are going to work with this hurricane -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It has begun. David Mattingly reporting live from Gulfport, Mississippi, this morning.

Mitt Romney is expected to arrive in Tampa in just about two hours at the Republican Convention's first full day gets under way. The convention reconvenes this afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A few hours later, Romney will be formally nominated as the Republican Party's presidential candidate.

And then tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, former presidential candidate Rick Santorum will take the podium. He'll be followed two hours later by Senate candidate Ted Cruz out of Texas. And South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will also speak.

And then at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right in primetime, Mitt Romney's wife, Ann Romney, will speak. She will be followed by the keynote speaker, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Brooke Baldwin is at the Republican National Convention in Tampa.

I see the excitement to hear Chris Christie's speech is at fever pitch.

BALDWIN: Plum of the plum when it comes to speaking roles, right? You think of Chris Christie, you think of this, you know, tough- talking New Jersey guy, very affable, self-deprecating humor. But the Republicans are also definitely relying on his acerbic tongue to take on the president when it comes to, as they will argue, his failed economic policies the last four years.

And you can bet they are hoping that Chris Christie will be just the ticket to sway those undecided voters nationwide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): For New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, even a late summer walk on the shore quickly becomes an event.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Governor. How are you?

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Hello, man. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you looking out for the working man?

CHRISTIE: Trying the best we can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Christie has become a Republican rock star who is about to play the concert of his life.

CHRISTIE: Nice to meet you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you. Best thing to ever happen in New Jersey.

CHRISTIE: Thank you.

I think the reason I was picked is because of the job I'm doing here.

BALDWIN: Just a week before Christie was to deliver his GOP convention keynote speech, he talked of building a middle American economy that looked a little more "Jersey Shore." CHRISTIE: I have said right from the state of the city address forward that the New Jersey comeback has begun. Not that the New Jersey comeback has arrived. Not that the New Jersey comeback has peaked.

BALDWIN: Better, bolder, brasher governance. It's a dish Republican keynoters like to serve hot.

SUSAN MOLINAR, 1996 GOP KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Americans know that Bill Clinton's promises have the life span of a Big Mac on Air Force One.

BALDWIN: And the Democrats like to dish back.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, 2004 DEMOCRATIC KEYNOTE SPEAKER: There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America. There's the United States of America.

BALDWIN: But while the Democrats never miss a keynote speech, the Republicans had none in two of the last three conventions.

PROF. COSTAS PANAGOPOULOS, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY: They have to try to avoid the risk of someone saying something they're not supposed to say. It could be risky to say.

BALDWIN: Chris Christie is different. He's popular because he's combative. He controls his storyline.

CHRISTIE: Did I stay on topic? Are you -- are you stupid? On topic. On topic. Next question.

BALDWIN: Sixteen former keynoters have run for president. Christie says he's happy as New Jersey's governor, bristling at suggestions his Jersey comeback story didn't make for a good keynote speech after the state unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent over the last three months.

CHRISTIE: The unemployment rate is a survey, a poll, of 1200 people in the state. It's not like they're out there specifically counting heads and jobs. That's not what it is.

BALDWIN: By the end of last week, his Jersey comeback theme had gone away.

CHRISTIE: There are three words that are not in my speech. On Tuesday night. The Jersey comeback.

BALDWIN: He says he's saving his new storyline for the party faithful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: So, Carol, as we await the big Chris Christie keynote speech tonight, as I mentioned in the piece, 16 keynote speakers have gone on to run for president. A little quiz for you early this morning. Two have actually won the party's nomination. You have Barack Obama and -- any guesses? Any guesses? COSTELLO: Oh, I should know this. I should --

BALDWIN: Lyndon Johnson.

COSTELLO: Lyndon Johnson. Yes. I was even alive, but just barely.

BALDWIN: There you go. A little something for you this morning.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Brooke Baldwin, many thanks to you. We'll see you in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

CNN's primetime coverage of the Republican National Convention begins tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. It will spearheaded by our own Wolf Blitzer.

Accusations of murder and anarchy. You will be amazed when you hear about the main characters, U.S. service members. We'll have that chilling story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: These numbers just in to CNN. Wanted to share them with you this morning. And they are encouraging news.

Home prices rose 6.9 percent in the last quarter according to an industry report. And of course that suggests that the housing market is in recovery mode. We'll have much more on this later.

Checking our other top stories at 16 minutes past the hour.

Prosecutors say a group of U.S. soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, planned to overthrow the government. The soldiers are charged in civilian court with the murder of a fellow soldier and his girlfriend who they considered to be, quote, "a loose end in their plot."

An Israeli court says the death of American activist Rachel Cory was an accident. Cory was killed nine years ago trying to block an Israeli bulldozer from mowing down Palestinian homes. The court said the soldier driving the bulldozer simply could not see her.

A new look at Mars. NASA's Curiosity rover sent over these photos or I should say sent way down these photos of Mt. Sharp, a three-mile high rock formation. The rover also received a voice message from NASA's chief and transmitted it back to earth. No one answered him, though.

NASA says it's the first time a recorded human voice has made such a journey, though.

Tropical storm Isaac is expected to reach hurricane strength and make landfall near New Orleans late tonight or early tomorrow. Some areas of the Gulf Coast could see as much as 20 inches of rain and as storm surge of 12 feet. Tomorrow marks seven years since hurricane Katrina left the region in ruins. The big question this morning, though. Will the new levees hold for Isaac? A state of emergency has now been declared in 23 Louisiana parishes. In Plaquemines Parish, several areas are under a mandatory evacuation order.

And joining me by now is a parish president, Billy Nungesser.

Welcome.

BILLY NUNGESSER, PRES., PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA (via telephone): Good morning. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. I hope you're as well as you can be this morning.

Seven years after Katrina, this is the first real test of the upgraded levee system. Are you confident?

NUNGESSER: Well, we're real confident in the north end of our parish where we have the protection. Our parish is that little finger of Louisiana that sticks out in the Gulf. So, in the north end, we are behind 100-year protection. One of the great improvement is, normally we would be bussing the hundreds of evacuees four or five hours away.

But in this event, because of that 100-year protection, we can keep them right here in the parish.

COSTELLO: Well, that is encouraging. You've been around for a long time. You have watched a lot of storms come in. How do you think this one will affect the area?

NUNGESSER: Well, because the storm is so large, and moving so slow, we will see storm surge beat up against the levee for a long time. And in the areas that are not in the 100 year protection, which are parish levees, we have some real concerns whether they can take the beating, and that's why we called for the evacuation.

You know, the night before last, we stayed up al night because we heard it was going to be a category 2 the next morning. That didn't happen.

And the fear that people in this region was they were going to wake up and have another Katrina coming ashore. And we're real glad that didn't happen. It looks like this thing is not going to be as bad as it was expected to be.

And hopefully we dodged a bullet. And Louisiana gets out of this one without a lot of damage.

COSTELLO: We hope so too. Governor Jindal, the governor of Louisiana, is upset the federal government as in FEMA is picking up 75 percent in storm assistance, and then Louisiana picks up the rest.

Is the president and FEMA doing enough?

NUNGESSER: I believe so. You know, we had a great meeting yesterday with the governor. They had a conference call with the president. And I feel confident that they have stepped up and did their part through this disaster as well as helping us with the recovery since Katrina. We're just almost back to normal here in Plaquemines Parish. And we have over $1 billion in levee improvements still to come.

We are looking forward to that. We need two or three years without another major storm to get all of those levee protection projects finished so then we won't have to be evacuating every time we have a major storm.

COSTELLO: Billy Nungesser, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

NUNGESSER: Thank you. You have a good day.

COSTELLO: You too. Or try too, anyway.

Raising taxes on the wealthy. We know what politicians think about that hot button issue. But what about the average American? We'll share that with you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, how would you describe Mitt Romney? Tonight, we get to know the real Mitt. It won't be from his lips but from his much more emotive wife Ann. She'll likely paint a picture of a loving husband who stood by her when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

But as touching as that story is, it has been overshadowed by the picture the Democrats have painted of Mitt Romney as an out of touch millionaire who couldn't care less about the middle class and who's only out of it to help his millionaire friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NARRATOR: Romney bought companies, drown them in debt, many went bankrupt, thousands of workers lost jobs, benefits and pensions. But for every company he drove into the ground, Romney averaged a $92 million profit. Now he says his business experience would make him a good president. If Romney wins, the middle class loses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Lately, the Romneys have been trying to debunk that image. They are even playing the Costco card.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANN ROMNEY, MITT ROMNEY'S WIFE: I know how to shop Costco. You go in the door. Don't -- I don't want everyone to learn this trick. You go in, take a sharp right, and just shop the outside of the aisles.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS: Really? MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She also got me one of these three-packs of shirts the other day from Costco, and they are very nice shirts.

A. ROMNEY: The Kirkland shirts, he's wearing them all the time now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A Pew Research poll shows just 44 percent of Americans are even interested in hearing Romney's convention speech. You have to wonder is it because of that old saying is really true -- Americans like a guy in the White House they could chug a beer with, and that's just not how they seem to feel about Mitt Romney, at least not yet.

So the talk back question for you this morning, how would you describe Mitt Romney? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Your comments later this hour.

If Mitt Romney wants to win the election, he absolutely needs to close the gender gap -- at least a little bit. The Republican ticket down 12 percentage points among women voters. I'll ask Republican congresswoman and convention delegate what she thinks Romney ought to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.

It's just about 30 minutes past the hour. We want to take you live to Pensacola Beach for just a second. You can see the iconic water tower there as you drive into Pensacola, drive out of Pensacola toward the beach. As you can see Isaac is churning up the waters now. There is wind and some rain. But as you know, Isaac is slowly, slowly making its way past Mississippi and onto New Orleans. We'll keep you posted.

Also this morning, we're watching the opening bell on Wall Street. The U.S. markets could see small gains as investors wait for the Fed chairman's comments later this week.

Ringing the bell today: British Open champ Ernie Els and Deutsche Bank America CEO Seth Waugh.

Former Senator Arlen Specter is battling for his life. That's according to a source close to his office. Specter has had previous battles with cancer and was recently diagnosed with a new form of cancer just about six weeks ago. A source telling CNN specter suffered a big flare-up of the disease last night.

The rich don't pay enough in taxes. That is the opinion of 58 percent of Americans surveyed by the Pew Research Center last month. Sixty- five percent think the gap between rich and poor has grown. That's because it has. And 63 percent say the Republican Party favors the rich over the middle class and the poor.

Republicans are hoping to attract the attention of more Americans with their convention. Mitt Romney arrives in Tampa in less than two hours, and he will receive the party's formal nomination as the party's presidential candidate. Also tonight as you know, his wife, Ann Romney, will give a primetime speech. She will be followed by the keynote speaker, the New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Let's get back to Ann Romney, though, because it is a big day for her. Not only does she have to paint a warmer, more compassionate picture of her husband, she has to assure women throughout the country there is no Republican war on women. As sort of a preview, the governor's personal assistant sent out this TwitPic of Ann Romney baking her family famous welsh cakes. In case you don't know what they are, they are kind of like stones and they look pretty delicious to me.

Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn is here to set the stage and talk about women in the Republican Party. Welcome.

REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: Thank you. Good to be with you.

COSTELLO: So can you imagine how Ann Romney is feeling right about now?

BLACKBURN: Well, I think Ann Romney is very well prepared. And I think she's probably a little bit excited, don't you? She's going to be able to talk about her husband. And talk about their life, and how they have reared these children, how they have built these businesses. Talk about the importance of those grandchildren in the life of their family.

So big day for her. And I think an incredibly exciting day.

COSTELLO: The Democrats have managed to paint a pretty grim picture of who Mitt Romney is. Even some Republican analysts say that the Republicans have let that go on too long. I mean, what can Ann Romney say tonight that will change the perception in Americans' minds about her husband?

BLACKBURN: Well, I think she's going to talk about what makes Mitt Romney unique. And talk about the relationship that the two of them have. And what he can do for the country, his commitment to his country. And, you know, I have to tell you, Carol, I think women are really waiting to hear what we have to say about Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, and their plans to turn this economy around. It is issue number one, with female voters.

COSTELLO: It is issue number one, the economy. But of course the abortion issue has crept into this race. And I have to ask you about this. Another Republican sticks his foot in his mouth. The man running for the Senate in Pennsylvania, he kind of did a Todd Akin. Let's listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

TOM SMITH (R-PA), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: I lived something similar to that with my own family. She chose life, and I commend her for that. She knew my views. But, fortunately for me, I didn't to -- she chose the way I thought. No, don't get me wrong. It wasn't rape. REPORTER: Similar how?

SMITH: Having a baby out of wedlock.

REPORTER: That's similar to rape?

SMITH: No, no, no, but -- put yourself in the father's position. Yes. I mean it is similar.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: In essence he compared to getting pregnant when you're raped to becoming pregnant out of wedlock. Something he probably should not have said. I mean, does that make it more difficult for Republicans, that those kinds of missteps keep happening?

BLACKBURN: Well, I could not hear what was being said on the tape very clearly, and I haven't heard the remarks. But I'll just say this -- when somebody in the Republican Party does a Bidenism, you see us deal with the issue. And I think that just as with Mr. Akin, you will see the same type response, appropriate response, for whatever the remarks were.

And the point remains that the number one issue for women is jobs and the economy. The number two issue for women is repealing Obamacare and getting that off the books. And moving toward a patient-centered health care system. And those are the things as I am meeting with women all across the country.

And, you know, primarily women, are independent voters. They look at the issues. They look at what is happening out there. We have an opportunity to get this message out to female voters.

You know, there's no doubt about it. There is a gender gap, if you will, for women, with our Republican candidates. But bear in mind, there's a gender gap for Barack Obama. And it is with male voters.

COSTELLO: But the gender gap among women is much greater than the gender gap among men with the Democrats.

I just want to ask you one more thing about this Todd Akin controversy. Just this morning, the DNC took out this full-page ad in the "Tampa Tribune" and brought up again this issue of abortion, abortion rights.

You know, another thing that's come up, Mike Huckabee, who has been a big supporter of Todd Akin, he will speak at the Republican National Convention. There are people out there saying he should not speak because he's been so supportive of Todd Akin.

BLACKBURN: Well, you know, I'm not one of those making the decisions on who speaks or who doesn't speak. But when you have a president and vice president that cannot run on their record, 42 months of above 8 percent unemployment -- you are going to have that party trying to deflect and move to issues that they think that there's something there that they can go tie to. Some of the women that I was getting emails from today kept saying, you know, look, that was talked about 30 years ago. Let's talk about jobs and the economy. I'm a small business owner. I'm having trouble getting access to capital. I'm having trouble keeping the doors of my business open. I can't hire employees.

Those are the issues that women are focused on. And this is an opportunity for us to reach them with a very strong economic message and to make certain that they understand the GOP is the great opportunity party, and that I are very welcomed and very much at home in our party.

COSTELLO: Congresswoman, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

BLACKBURN: Thank you. Absolutely. Good to be with you.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much.

Samuel L. Jackson -- oh, is he upset. He's upset that tropical storm Isaac skipped over the Republican convention. He vented about it on Twitter. It was pretty bad. We'll tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)(

COSTELLO: OK. We're going to take you live to Gulfport, Mississippi, for just a short time. Remember all that rain that was falling during David Mattingly's live shot about 20 or 30 minutes ago?

As you can se now, it's sunny, which kind of illustrates those bands of rain that pass over and then go away. It was raining like cats and dogs and the wind was blowing just about 40 minutes ago. And now it is sunny in Gulfport, Mississippi.

But of course the danger has not passed. The storm is only predicted to get worse. We'll keep you posted.

Isaac as you know is causing lots of people to flee and some to go just a little bit crazy. Samuel L. Jackson, the guy who most recently played Nick Fury in Ironman, let loose a little fury by Twitter. He tweeted it was unfair that tropical storm Isaac had spared the GOP convention.

"Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer is here to tell us more. Why?

A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Well, Samuel L. Jackson calls it like he sees it, anyway. He got a little political. But then, Carol, in his own words, he stirred up a hornet's nest with this series of tweets on Monday. The actor sarcastically wondered aloud why tropical storm Isaac appeared to be heading for New Orleans rather than Tampa, site of the GOP convention.

Let me read to you what he tweeted Monday afternoon that started this whole thing. There's quite a bit of profanity so I am cleaning it here. He said, "Unfair expletive. GOP spared by Isaac./ Nola probably expletive again. Not understanding God's plan." Well, he followed that up half an hour later with this apology. Poked a hornet's nest, huh? Apologies to God, Tampa, the GOP, and Isaac.

And as the online backlash continued, Carol, he told his more than 1 million followers to leave the path of danger if asked and instructed them to be safe wherever they are, whatever their politics.

COSTELLO: Whether they were Republican or Democrat. That's better, at least.

Let's talk about the convention itself, and something exciting about the convention. A lot of celebrities are expected to attend.

HAMMER: A lot. And like a lot of RNC activities, though, some scheduled concerts including Sunday's Skynyrd concert was cancelled or moved because of Isaac. But this party is still going on, celebrities will abound and the shows will continue. They are doing a rescheduled Skynyrd show and the Oak Ridge Boys been rescheduled as well. Country star Trace Adkins is going to do a show tonight in a downtown Tampa space called Liberty Plaza. Gavin DeGraw is performing. So is duo Montgomery Gentry. They're going to headline separate invite only events tonight.

Now, Kid Rock, always a big draw at RNC events, he's scheduled for a few appearances with an invite-only show on Thursday, according to "Rolling Stone." So the music will continue, despite a little schedule changing.

COSTELLO: That's a good thing. A.J. Hammer, thanks so much.

Join A.J. tonight for "Showbiz Tonight", 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Isaac creeping ever closer to the Louisiana coast. We want to get the latest from CNN meteorologist Karen McGinnis. Good morning.

KAREN MCGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And good morning to you, Carol. Yes, the latest information from the National Hurricane Center. That came just about an hour and a half, just under two hours ago. Still at tropical storm strength, but don't worry, it has slowed down. And it also is deepening, meaning the central pressure has dropped.

We are looking at a live image from WEAR. The winds are fairly gusty. We're seeing some winds now along the coast gusting up over 40 miles an hour. They are steadily increasing. The winds associated with tropical storm Isaac now at about 70 miles an hour.

At 75 plus, we are looking at hurricane intensity. The biggest problem we're expecting with this as it makes landfall sometime during those overnight hours is the storm surge and the heavy rain.

In Lake Pontchartrain, we could see those wave heights as high as 10 feet. But as it makes its way onshore, perhaps as a Category 1, we are looking at the potential for this to make its way towards the city of Baton Rouge, losing a little bit of its intensity.

But a lot of those areas along the coast, from Grand Isle to Morgan City, to Chalmette and into Metairie are still looking at some very high winds but that storm surge is going to be very critical.

We have been tweeting about this information. And take a look at this, developed exclusively for CNN. Lots of tweets coming within a minutes time period. So Carol, we'll monitor that and keep everyone updated.

COSTELLO: I know, sometimes you get the best information from those Twitter users. Thank you so much, Karen.

MCGINNIS: Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: New Orleans Mayor has not issued an evacuation order, but he is urging people outside of the city's protective levees to get out. Of course, not everyone is heeding the call to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been in awhile, I've seen animal floating, everything, so they don't faze me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we are, tied up. A beautiful day. And we got a thunderstorm out in the Gulf. That's the way I look at it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CNN's Soledad O'Brien is in New Orleans French Quarter. This is forecast to be a Category 1 storm. Pre-Katrina, that would not have been a big deal. But is it now?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, I think people's senses are heightened. They're worried, they're anxious, and certainly because the timing is kind of ominous. Obviously, it falls on the same anniversary as Hurricane Katrina. But you know Katrina was seven years earlier.

So the timing I think makes people a little anxious and nervous. But the truth is the Category 1 with the improvements they've had in the levee systems here, we've been told by numerous officials it had a lot to do with the funding of that that was improvement that it's supposed to be able to withstand Category 3 and higher.

So they feel very comfortable with Category 1 and maybe even Category 2, is what might be expected here. So they feel that not having evacuation of folks in the levee system for those who lie outside the levee system, they say, yes, it's a mandatory evacuation especially in Plaquemines Parish for example.

But I think people are feeling, who are residents, feel like they understand what's going on. They've been hearing a lot from their parish officials, they're watching the weather very closely. They're watching the storm and they feel comfortable with the decision to stay. COSTELLO: Well, it's deserted there in the French Quarter. They did a good job boarding up those windows. The main concern I would assume --

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Yes it's not as much as you might think, though, Carol.

COSTELLO: Really?

O'BRIEN: You know I mean, here they have -- yes but what's -- and again, I think that's a testament to the fact that people don't think of a Category 1 as a -- as a major, major event. If you look down here, this is boarded up. And there they boarded it up. But this one is not. And down there is not. And down there is not.

COSTELLO: Oh, and certainly not down there not. Oh we lost Soledad O'Brien. We lost Soledad O'Brien. And if we can get her back, we'll go back to New Orleans.

We wanted you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, "How would you describe Mitt Romney?" Your responses next.

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COSTELLO: Business school, pretty much a great idea if you want to make some bucks, MBAs are pulling in big money. But of course, not everyone can get into schools like Harvard, but there's a new study out that shows how much money MBAs make when their MBAs is from Harvard.

Maribel Aber is at the New York Stock Exchange to share. Good morning.

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey good morning, Carol. Well let's share here, Harvard is out with stats on the MBA class of 2012. And you know what, the numbers are pretty impressive. The median salary for business grads came in at $125,000 a year. So if you add in signing bonus, and like other guarantee compensation, we're talking about median pay that tops $170,000.

So just to be clear, this is Harvard of course, the top-ranked business school in the country and only 13 percent of applicants can even get in, but because these are the best and the brightest we're talking about, salaries for grads at top schools can be two to three times the starting salary of lesser known schools, but MBAs they overall are doing pretty well.

Median salaries for all MBAs come in at about $90,000. And Carol in general MBAs still make about $40,000 more than those with the bachelor's degree.

COSTELLO: Ok so you're talking now about MBAs for people who can't afford Harvard and go to maybe public universities. ABER: I -- I -- you know, we're talking about the top schools. This was U.S. News and World Report. You know we're talking about Stanford and what not. But you know, there is a little bit of difference if we're talking about you know, which jobs let's say you're going for. Harvard is saying that the biggest paycheck for say grads who jump into private equity, again, you know another field here those firms who invest in company, we're talking Bain Capital, Mitt Romney, how he made his millions.

You know, they got paid a lot of money there; and also hedge funds in consulting jobs, also getting paid. Not so well paid here Carol, not a shocker, government and non-profit jobs.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much.

We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, "How would you describe Mitt Romney?"

This from Aaron. "For sale. There's never been a candidate that has ever been so blatantly for sale."

This from Anabel, "Uncomfortable and pathetic in his way to be seen in any other way than he actually is."

This from Paul. "I know Romney, not well, but I did go to church with him and his family. My mother knew his parents very well when we lived in Michigan. Romney is a real person and he cares deeply about people."

This from Sherry. "Closed-minded. Can't make a decision of where he stands. Has no idea what it's like to be middle class."

And this from Paul. "Well-intentioned, but detached and ouch of touch. Running for president strikes me as just an achievement for him, a way of finishing his father's quest."

This from Darren. "Wealthy and successful. Two things liberals hate. Devoted family man and financial genius."

Keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/carolCNN. I'll have more of your responses in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

Isaac, as you now, on the verge of becoming a hurricane. It set its sight on the Gulf Coast. We're standing by as President Obama prepares to talk about Isaac. That will happen just moments from now. Of course, you recognize the Superdome, the newly rebuilt Superdome in the city of New Orleans. We'll be right back.

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