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Obama's Approval Rating Drops; Anti-Bacterial Soap Makers Must Prove "Safer" Claims; Could Multivitamins Be Dangerous; New Details on Carnival Cruise Disaster in Gulf; More Upheaval in North Korea.

Aired December 17, 2013 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama has been sort of shaking up his inner circle a bit lately in an effort to get back on track. Time will tell, certainly, if all of this works. Here's a look at the hole he's in right now. A new "Washington Post"/ABC News poll puts his approval rating at 43 percent, an 11-point drop in this poll over the past year. Granted, he's still way above Congress's approval rating, which sits at just 16 percent. Who are those 16 percent? But this may be the most telling number of all. When asked, who do you trust to handle the main problems over the next few years, the president or the Republicans in Congress, they are tied at 41 percent.

Let's bring in our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger.

Give us a little perspective on these latest numbers, what they say to you.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: A bunch of things, and none of them are really good for the president, Wolf.

First of all, obviously, the Affordable Care Act has had its impact. While we've had good economic news, most of the American public does not feel the impact on the economy that seems to be betting better. Secondly, what we've seen, and this it is, again, as a result of the Affordable Care Act, is that people don't believe this president is as competent as they once thought he was, nor do they trust him as much as they did a year ago.

And this -- there's another number in this "Washington Post" poll that was so interesting and important to me, which is that the president is really down on the question of, who is able to protect the middle class. That has always been the president's calling card. It's what got him re-elected, I would argue. That's why he may be talking about the wage gap right now. But if the public is really -- if those numbers are declining for him, that's a real sign of a problem with his base and with Democrats in general.

BLITZER: Here's another example of that exact point you're making. Take a look at this. Who do you trust a better job when it comes to the economy, the economy, of course, issue number one. Back in December, a year ago, 2012, right after he was re-elected, Obama had 54 percent to 36 percent for the Republicans. But look at now. The Republicans are actually ahead of the president, with 41 percent, Republicans 45 percent. What a complete shift in a year.

BORGER: A total shift. And you know, when you think even back to October, during the government shutdown, the Democrats were riding high. And what scares the Democrats right now as they head into the midterm elections, Wolf, is that their generic numbers are not doing well. What that means is, you ask the American public, who would you rather have run the country and the Congress right now, would you rather have Democrats or Republicans? So right after the shutdown, the Democrats were up 8 points. People wanted Democrats to run the Congress. Now, they're up a couple of points. So that's almost a parity. So you see that shift. That combined with the president's low ratings really gives Democrats a lot of worry as they head into the midterm elections. And historically, a president who's in the sixth year of his presidency, his party does not do well anyway.

BLITZER: Especially if his job approval numbers are down.

BORGER: Is down, exactly.

BLITZER: That's going to hurt Democrats up for election or re- election. My sense is that, obviously, the roll out of the website for the Affordable Care Act was a disaster for the president, but also the repeated promises, if you like your health care plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep -- the fact he hasn't been able to live up to those repeated pledges has undermined his credibility.

BORGER: Right. And that's where, do you trust the president numbers come in. Look, we don't know yet. If the Affordable Care Act six months down the road is working really well, people like it, they feel like they're getting better health care, they feel like their rates are good, then maybe a lot of this goes away. But right now, at this point, we don't know whether the promise, if you like your health care, you can keep it, turns into another "Read my lips," as we saw with the first George Bush. So we don't know yet. That still has to play out. And a lot depends on this health care act and how it performs.

BLITZER: For the younger people, "Read my lips, no new taxes."

BORGER: No new taxes. Yes.

BLITZER: We've got to remember.

All right, Gloria, see you in "The Situation Room" later.

(LAUGHTER)

They are common products we use every day, soap and vitamins. But now there are concerns being raised about their use. We'll talk about that, update you when we come back.

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BLITZER: The FDA is putting out a challenge to the makers of antibacterial soaps and washes, prove your products are safe and effective or change your labels.

Our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, explains what's behind this latest development.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You see them everywhere, these antibacterial soaps with killer claims, but these labels might become a thing of the past. The Food and Drug Administration says antibacterial soaps may actually be actually harmful. They could pose health risks such as bacterial resistance or hormonal effects. The most common ingredient in antibacterial soaps, triclosan.

MAE WU, NATIONAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL: There are some impacts that triclosan may have on the hormone system, which could affect developing bodies like in children and infants. But if it's not doing any good, why are we putting this potentially harmful chemical in our homes?

COHEN: That's right. The FDA says there's no evidence antibacterial soaps prevent illness better than plain old soap and water. So the agency has put this demand on soap manufacturers, prove that your antibacterial products are safe and better than real soap. And if you can't, scrub off those claims.

Soap manufacturers say they're up to the task.

BRIAN SANSONI, AMERICAN CLEANING INSTITUTE: Manufacturers have presented such data in the past. And with this new proposed rule that's out will have another opportunity to present newer research that shows, again, a germ-killing benefit of antibacterial soap and data that does show that these soaps are safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: The burden will be on them.

Elizabeth is joining us now.

Elizabeth, I want to shift also and get your perspective on this growing controversy over the past 24 hours over multivitamins. There's a new scientific medical report suggesting they aren't as effect, at least as effective as we thought they were. They might even be dangerous. Give us the latest information about multivitamins.

COHEN: Right. So these were studies that looked to whether multivitamins helped fight dementia or heart attacks. Basically, the studies found, no, that they didn't. Now, people take multivitamins for a multitude of reasons, no pun intended. So some people might say, well, I take it because I think it makes me stronger or I think it might prevent me from getting a cold. The editorial writers at the "Annals of Internal Medicine" said, look, most supplements don't prevent chronic disease or death. Their use is not justified and they should be avoided. At least these doctors think there's really no reason for anyone to be taking a multivitamin.

BLITZER: Are they saying if you're taking a multivitamin, you should stop because it could hurt you?

COHEN: They're not going so far as to actually tell people what they should do. Whenever you're thinking about anything like this, you should always talk to your doctor. Some doctors we talked to said, look, if I have a patient to has a terrible diet, I'm tell them, you know what, taking a multivitamin, why not, go ahead, it could be a safety net for you. What you want to be careful about, if you're taking a multivitamin and other individual vitamins. You want to make sure you're not doubling up because too much of some vitamins could hurt.

BLITZER: Elizabeth Cohen, with the latest on multivitamins and bacterial soap. Who knew? I guess the changes are coming all around.

Thanks very much for that report.

COHEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: We also have new details that have come to light in last February's disastrous Carnival Cruise disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Company records show the ship was far behind in critical maintenance. We have a CNN investigation. That's coming up next.

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BLITZER: Passengers aboard the Carnival "Triumph" may have been shocked when the ship was crippled by fire last February but some Carnival executives in Miami probably were not. Internal maintenance documents reveal a ship that one attorney says was simply not seaworthy.

CNN investigative correspondence, Drew Griffin, has the startling details.

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TINA RODRIGUEZ, CRUISE PASSENGER: This is supposed to be the fun ship. And we were basically having to fend for ourselves.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tina Rodriguez and her daughter Isabel had planned this cruise for half a year. They would sail on the "Triumph" and celebrate Isabel's birthday. It was the trip of a lifetime until they will awoke to a fire alarm, smoke in their hallway, then days and days of misery. Human waste was actually piling up just outside their door.

RODRIGUEZ: Just on our deck alone, there were the biohazard bags lined up across the floor. We're talking about raw sewage at just the end of our deck alone. It was -- it was repulsive.

GRIFFIN: It was, according to Rodriguez, a nightmare. Now, made even worse because of these. The cruise line's own reports inspections and maintenance records detail the problem that had been developing on board the Carnival "Triumph" more than a year before Rodriguez and her daughter were on board.

Houston Attorney Frank Spagnoletti obtained the documents in his lawsuit against Carnival.

FRANK SPAGNOLETTI, PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY: That ship never should have set sail in February. It was unseaworthy at the commencement of the voyage. These documents tell you that the company, and I'm saying to you the corporation back in Miami, had knowledge of the fact that this vessel had a propensity for fires. That there were things that could have been, should have been, and weren't done in order to make sure that will fires didn't take place.

GRIFFIN: The first trouble with "Triumph," diesel generator number six that ended up catching fire. Starting more than a year before the cruise, it was overdue for maintenance out of compliance with the safety laws of the sea known as, SOLAS, according to the ship's own engineer. Over and over again, Carnival's own maintenance reports say the same thing, diesel generator number six, overdue for maintenance.

And during that same time period, Carnival learned about another even more alarming safety problem in the engine room, fuel lines. A dangerous pattern of leaks had emerged on other Carnival cruise ships. In fact, Carnival's "Costa Allegra" caught fire because fuel leaked on to a hot spot and ignited. It would be the foreshadowing. Consider this, Carnival's own investigation shows the fire on board the "Costa Allegra" is believed to be caused by a fuel leak on one of the generators, eerily similar to what would start the fire on board the time up one year later.

Carnival says it proactively began investigating, and found a different problem in a different type of fuel line. There have been nine incidents resulting in fuel leaks associated with flexible fuel lines in just two years.

And on January 2nd, Carnival issues a compliance order giving ships two months to address the problem, to ensure a suitable spray shield is installed for all diesel engines using the flexible fuel lines.

Mark Jackson is Carnival's chief engineer.

MARK JACKSON, CHIEF ENGINEER, CARNIVAL CRUISE LINES: After that internal study, the company came out with a new policy to again shield all of the flanges and the hoses that were below the deck plates.

GRIFFIN (on camera): But you didn't shield the one hose that wound up causing this tragedy.

JACKSON: That hose was beneath the deck plates, and it was believed that the deck plates would act as that shield. In this case, it found that gap in the bilge plates and caused the fire.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): On February 7th, with a diesel generator still in need of overhaul and fuel line shields on some but not all of its flexible hoses, "Triumph" set sail from Galveston, Texas.

JACKSON: We were totally in compliance with all the rules and regulations. We had our regulating bodies on board the vessel less than two weeks prior that had certified the ship safe to sail. Obviously, you learn things on a situation, on incidents such as the "Triumph."

GRIFFIN: Three days later, off the coast of Mexico, fire breaks out in diesel generator number six when fuel sprays from a flexible fuel line, a line that was less than six months old.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: While the company insists what happened on the carnival triumph was just an accident, cardinal has dedicated $300 million in a fleet-wide safety upgrade, specifically focusing on detecting and preventing the very type of fire that crippled the Carnival "Triumph" earlier this year.

As for the passengers of the "Triumph" now suing, Carnival's lawyers say if they look at the fine print of their ticket, it would show them that they have no case because Carnival says it never guaranteed a safe trip, a seaworthy vessel, or even sanitary conditions.

If you have an idea for a Drew Griffin story and CNN investigations team to go to that story, go to CNN.com/investigations. We'll follow up.

Upheaval in North Korea. There are now more questions today about the fate of Kim Jong-Un's family members. All this while he awaits the arrival of his close friend, Dennis Rodman, on the way to North Korea. That's next.

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BLITZER: We may be in store for more saber rattling from North Korea. A member of South Korea's parliament says their northern neighbors may be ready for a fourth nuclear test, may be ready to launch another missile soon. Yesterday, the North dropped warning leaflets on the South Korean island threatening to annihilate a South Korean military brigade stationed on the island.

Today, North Koreans marked a solemn anniversary. It's been two years since the death of the long-time leader, Kim Jong-Il. His son, North Korea's current leader, Kim Jong-Un, led the memorial. At the event, political and military leaders also publicly pledged their support for Kim Jong-Un.

Joining us now is our own Brian Todd. He's been looking into this.

He's getting ready, Kim Jong-Un, to welcome his pal, Dennis Rodman, the NBA all-star, who's on his way back for a second visit to North Korea. What's going on here?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's more of the bizarre world of North Korea. Kim Jong-Un has just executed his uncle. He's purged other top officials. He's not meeting with any foreign dignitaries, not even his friends, the Chinese, not close to meeting with any U.S. officials. Yet, here comes the worm, Dennis Rodman, coming to North Korea. Probably getting there on Thursday. What we're told is this is sponsored by an Irish online betting company called Patty Power. They're the sole sponsor of this trip. This is all about basketball. He's going to go there to set up a basketball exhibition that Rodman hopes will bring former NBA players to North Korea to have a basketball exhibition match with some North Korean basketball players, possibly next month, during Kim Jong-Un's birthday celebration. But we're told that politics will not come up on this visit. That's what we know right now. This is a visit to his old friend, Kim Jong-Un. It's at least his second, possibly his third visit there. Of course, it comes at a strange time.

BLITZER: We also know there is an American, Kenneth Bae, a missionary, who's been held for a year in North Korea. He's been arrested, convicted. Is there a possibility -- I know that people are speculating, given Dennis Rodman's statements over the last six months in favor of releasing Kenneth Bae, that the North Koreans might let Kenneth Bae leave with Dennis Rodman. That would be encouraging.

TODD: There are North Korean analysts who say there could be a shot at this. Everybody who you talk to, from U.S. officials, they're not saying anything about it. They'll only say he's going there as a private citizen, we've got nothing to do with it. The people at Patty Power, the sponsor, are saying this is only about basketball. This is not about politics. Kenneth Bae will not come up and neither will the uncle. However, Korea analysts say, given Dennis Rodman's relationship with Kim Jong-Un and the closeness that they've exhibited -- and remember, Dennis Rodman is the highest-profile American ever to meet with him. There is a chance possibly he could advance Bae's case, possibly bring him back. That's a long shot. But he could advance the case.

BLITZER: He should at least raise the case and tell his pal, Kim Jong-Un, let this man go.

TODD: Sure. He tweeted that back in May --

(CROSSTALK)

TODD: -- after he visited. He said, I call on my friend, Kim Jong- Un, to release Kenneth Bae. Of course, nothing has happened. But this could advance the case.

BLITZER: Maybe he'll come out with him.

But a little of the dynamics within the family. What's going on?

TODD: Well, the speculation now turns to Kim Jong-Un's aunt. Her name is Kim Jong-Kwi (ph). This is the wife of the man who was just purged and executed. You'll see a picture of her there. According to "The New York Times," on Sunday, she appears to have survived this purge. She is a four-star general. She is the sister of Kim Jong- Un's father. She appears to have survived this purge and appears to be safe for now. But again, not seen in some of these recent pictures. We don't know what's happened to her. BLITZER: All right, Brian, I know you'll work the story for us in "The Situation Room" later today as well.

TODD: Yes.

BLITZER: Thank you.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. See you at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you so much.