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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Service Workers Union Endorse Barack Obama; Former President Bush Backs Senator John McCain; More Deadly Imports from China
Aired February 15, 2008 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Wolf.
Tonight, a key endorsement for Senator Barack Obama from a union known for its strong support of amnesty for illegal aliens and open borders. It's the two-million member Service Worker International Union.
And there's a major endorsement in Senator McCain's future as well from former President Bush. We'll have all of that, all the day's news, much more straight ahead tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: news, debate, and opinion for Friday, February 15. Live from New York, sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: Good evening, everybody.
A major endorsement today for Senator Barack Obama. The two- million member Service Workers Union endorsed Obama today. The union has a strong pro-amnesty and open borders position.
And a key endorsement expected for Republican candidate Senator John McCain. The former president, George Bush will endorse the senator next week. Meanwhile, Mike Huckabee is standing his ground. He says it would be a disservice to his party to give up and quit.
Now, we begin tonight with Jessica Yellin in Lyndhurst, Ohio, with the Clinton campaign -- Jessica?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kitty, it's another blow for Senator Hillary Clinton as Barack Obama picks up a coveted union endorsement, only feeding his momentum.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(APPLAUSE)
YELLIN (voice-over): Campaigning in Ohio, Hillary Clinton seems more determined than ever.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm asking you to hire me for the hardest job in the world.
(APPLAUSE)
YELLIN: She's offering new solutions to crack down on predatory lending and credit card abuses and generally protect working Americans.
H. CLINTON: I am a candidate of, from, and for the middle class of America.
(APPLAUSE)
YELLIN: Now she's launched a new ad in Wisconsin, one of the next states to vote, attacking Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why he voted to pass billions in Bush giveaways to the oil companies, but Hillary didn't.
YELLIN: Her back is against the wall. Obama just won a sought- after endorsement from the Service Employees International Union, whose leaders say they have 150,000 members in upcoming primary states and plan to get out the vote aggressively. And now there are questions whether Congressman John Lewis (ph), a superdelegate and civil rights giant, who endorsed Hillary Clinton, might be toying with the idea of jumping on the Obama bandwagon too. Last year, even before choosing a candidate, he made it clear he was torn even then.
REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: Well, it's a very difficult position to be in. But it's a good position to be in, but it is a good position to be in. We have choices.
YELLIN: And the Obama campaign is hitting back on Clinton's attacks in e-mails to reporters and on the stump.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's right, speeches alone don't do anything. But, you know what, neither do negative attacks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: Here in Ohio, Kitty, Senator Obama is making NAFTA an issue. He sent out a mailing saying that Senator Clinton considered the trade agreement a boom. Senator Clinton's camp says that's just not true. She never called it a boom to the economy. They're accusing him of distorting her record. It's just the kind of issue that resonates with the state's blue-collar, Democratic voters -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Jessica, the Service Workers Union is well known for its support of illegal alien amnesty and open borders. Now are they choosing to endorse Obama because they feel he's most aligned with their position?
YELLIN: They are saying that Senator Obama is aligned with their position on this issue as well on others. In a statement to CNN about his immigration position, they say, we support Barack Obama because he supports a comprehensive solution that provides an earned pass to citizenship. That's from the SEIU -- Kitty?
PILGRIM: Thanks very much, Jessica Yellin.
Well, another key endorsement for Senator John McCain is expected early next week from a former president who just happens to be the father of our current president. McCain and the GOP are quickly moving to preempt any conservative resistance to McCain in the upcoming primaries. Candy Crowley has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the latest sign the Republican establishment wants to wrap it up, party officials say former President George H. W. Bush will endorse John McCain in Houston Monday.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hope so, because former President Bush is one of the more respected -- most respected people in our party.
CROWLEY: The nod is also designed to bolster McCain in Texas, where a strong block of politically active social conservatives could embarrass him in the state's March 4th primary. It is also designed to send yet another signal to Mike Huckabee to get with the program. The former Arkansas governor was busy with Wisconsin voters when news of the Bush endorsement surfaced. But it's not likely it will move him to abandon his mission impossible. As of yesterday, Huckabee was having none of it.
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it would be a great disservice to the country and to my own party to just give up and quit because it looks like the numbers are trending toward John McCain at this particular stage.
CROWLEY: Nor is the former president's endorsement likely to impress the Republican conservatives fueling Huckabee. The so-called values voters always suspected Mr. Bush, the elder, was not wholly committed to the anti-abortion cause and the former president's tenure in office gave rise to phrases that had become part of a conservative vocabulary. No more suitors refers to a Bush Supreme Court pick, a relative unknown who has proven to be a high court liberal. And there was this at the 1988 Republican National Convention.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Read my lips: no more taxes.
(APPLAUSE)
CROWLEY: As president, George Bush did raise taxes in a compromise with Democrats on a deficit-reducing package.
PAT BUCHANAN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's go quail hunting today.
CROWLEY: Four years later, conservative Pat Buchanan took a run at Bush in the Republican primary season and beat the president over the head with the no new taxes promise.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Still, Kitty, even in politics, time does heal wounds and when John McCain stands next to George H. W. Bush Monday, it will be a powerful picture -- Kitty?
PILGRIM: Thanks very much, Candy Crowley. Thanks, Candy.
President Bush today told the president of Northern Illinois University that Americans are praying for the families of the victims of yesterday's shooting rampage. Five students, ranging in age from 19 to 32, were killed by a gunman, a former graduate student who then took his own life. Susan Roesgen has our report from DeKalb, Illinois.
Susan, what's the latest on the investigation?
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kitty, we now know that the gunman, Steven Kazmierczak, bought the first gun that was used in that shooting last August and just in the last two weeks, he bought a gun holster from the same online distributor who sold the gun to the Virginia Tech gunman. Other than that law enforcement right now is just baffled. This was a stellar student, an excellent academic record, well liked by his teachers and by fellow students.
No criminal record, no history of mental illness. But this gunman before taking his own life did kill five other students. Three are still in critical condition tonight and the survivors are in shock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I was thinking when I was like crawling was that, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, and I'm going to die. And when I got up to run, I was like now I'm going to get shot because I'm standing up and he is going to see me. Before I started crawling, I couldn't think. I just laid there looking at that girl across from me and I thought I'm just going to play dead. I'm just going to lay here and hope he doesn't come this close.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Now she was just one of dozens of frightened survivors in that lecture hall, but it's been even worse today for the relatives and friends of those who were killed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN GALAN, NIU STUDENT/FRIEND KILLED: A deep loss, because she was such a lovely and beautiful person and we're all going to miss her. Everyone in the Veteran's Club and all our friends and families and her family and the loss that we're feeling and the senseless tragedy that this is, is heart wrenching and mind blowing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Counselors are here at the university and here at the hospital behind me to help students deal with what happened. Classes, Kitty, are canceled indefinitely.
PILGRIM: Thanks very much, Susan Roesgen. Thank you, Susan. In Oxnard, California, the 15-year-old victim of a school shooting there was declared dead today. Laurence King (ph) was shot Tuesday as he sat in a junior high school computer lab. A 14-year-old suspect was arrested and charged in the case. There have been at least four shooting incidents at schools across the country in the past two weeks.
Coming up, the FDA continues to fail in its mission to protect Americans from unsafe food and medication.
Louise Schiavone will have the report on what may be the agency's latest snafu -- Louise.
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kitty, the Food and Drug Administration's inability to adequately inspect Chinese drug manufacturers is well known, now it appears possible that (INAUDIBLE) been a fatal error for some patients -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Thanks, Louise. We look forward to your report.
Also, the country's infrastructure crumbling around us, is the federal government capable of dealing with this crisis? We'll have a special report.
And the economic situation is deteriorating and millions of middle class Americans are having a hard time just paying their bills. We'll find out how bad things are when we return.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: More signs that the economy continue to weaken, despite the optimistic view taken by the Bush administration. Countrywide Financial, it's the nation's largest mortgage lender, announced a record number of loan delinquencies and foreclosures in January. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulison and several lenders including Countrywide unveiled a plan for a 30-day freeze on foreclosures for qualified borrowers. But it's not just mortgage delinquencies that are on the rise. Auto loan delinquencies hit a 10- year high in January according to Fitch Ratings Service (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN IRONS, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE: I think it is just a sign of the slowing economy. You know, both, like I said, people aren't seeing their incomes grow as fast as they're expecting, and they're also seeing their safety net. You know if people got into trouble in the past, they were able to take some money out of their home equity line of credit. Now they're unable to do that. So when they get into trouble, that's going to show up in a number of different places, including auto delinquencies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Well another place it's likely to show up is credit card delinquencies as consumers increasingly turn to the plastic for their spending. Now rating agency Moody (ph) expects delinquencies and losses for credit card companies to peak in 2009. All of these signs contribute to a drop in consumer confidence to its lowest level since 1992.
A real question tonight, if the Food and Drug Administration dropped the ball when it failed to inspect the Chinese operations of a U.S. drug company. A link to that Chinese factory is suspected and the illnesses and deaths potentially resulting from a popular blood thinner marketed in the U.S. by Baxter International. Louise Schiavone has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE (voice-over): Food and Drug Administration inspectors are planning a trip to China in the coming weeks as potentially lethal problems have come to light in a substance made there. At issue, Baxter International's blood thinner, heparin, commonly used in conjunction with dialysis, heart surgery recovery, and other chronic care needs. The active ingredient is made two hours away from Shanghai in a factory not inspected, as its own policy requires, by the Food and Drug Administration.
DR. SIDNEY WOLFE, PUBLIC CITIZEN: People in the United States should be assured that before it was ever made and shipped to this country that the FDA inspected it and everything was OK. That was not done here and it is probably not done in a lot of other places in China and other countries outside of the United States. It's inexcusable and it shows really poor leadership on the part of the FDA.
SCHIAVONE: Baxter is concerned there may have been production problems with a particular batch of heparin and now the FDA is investigating four deaths and hundreds of allergic reactions. There are fresh concerns in Congress where the FDA chief and lawmakers had a showdown a couple of weeks ago over the FDA's poor record on product inspections, both in this country, and overseas.
ANDREW VON ESCHENBACH, FDA COMMISSIONER: We should be proud of the performance of the FDA, as it remains the world's gold standard as a regulatory agency.
REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: We have seen illnesses even deaths associates with unsafe foods, drugs, and medical devices.
SCHIAVONE: Baxter tells CNN that its own team inspected the Chinese facility in question within the past six months and found no problems. The company has stopped production of the 10 and 30 milliliter multi-dose heparin vials. And the FDA concerned about the important role of heparin in preventing blood clots has not called for removal of multiple-dose heparin vials still on the market. The agency is however urging medical professionals to use the lowest dosage possible and closely monitor patients.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SCHIAVONE: Kitty, the FDA says the data on the deaths and allergic reactions is quite raw and it's not clear that heparin was the primary cause of death in these cases. Meanwhile, Senator Charles Grassley (ph), who is ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, which overseas Medicare and Medicaid, is demanding that the FDA describe in detail precisely why it never inspected that factory where hundreds of heparin doses may have been corrupted -- Kitty?
PILGRIM: That is a really tough question. In fact, the FDA does not inspect overseas operations nearly as frequently as it does its domestic operations. Isn't that correct?
SCHIAVONE: That's correct. As Senator Grassley (ph) cited a figure that in 2007, there were 11 factories inspected by the FDA, while hundreds if not thousands of factories were involved in making some component of drugs sold in the United States. So the gap is tremendous.
PILGRIM: This particular drug is a tough case, Louise, because used for dialysis patients they do have to take massive doses of their medication for their condition, don't they?
SCHIAVONE: It's a very significant drug for operations like heart surgery. Also, as you say, in dialysis. It's not a drug that if you don't have it, you can just go ahead with it. Because you want to make sure you don't get blood clotting in these procedures. So now the advice is, just be ultra, ultra cautious.
PILGRIM: They certainly need to be. Thank you very much, Louise Schiavone.
That brings us to our poll tonight. Now do you believe that the FDA failed to provide even the most basic level of protection for the American people by allowing untested facilities in communist China to produce ingredients for prescription drugs in this country? Yes or no. Cast your vote at loudobbs.com. We will bring you the results later in the broadcast.
The Bush administration today wants the world to know that its plan to shoot down a damaged satellite falling to earth is not a test of an offensive weapon system. The State Department will inform governments around the globe that the reason for the satellite shoot down is to protect lives. Now, the United States claims the toxic fuel aboard the satellite could present a danger if it should hit the earth in a populated area. This shoot down could be attempted as early as next week.
Coming up, a razor blade found in a popular children's candy -- it's from China. We'll talk with three leading authorities on the rash of dangerous imports from China.
We're also headed for a population boom that will drastically change the makeup of this country in the next few decades. We'll have that story and a great deal more still ahead.
Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: As we have reported on this program for years, the country's infrastructure is a disaster. Roads, bridges, dams, all in urgent need of repair. The Bush administration has ignored the problem for years and now some critics say money being paid out in the stimulus package would be better spent rebuilding the nation's infrastructure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM (voice-over): Five months ago, a bridge collapsed in this country, killing 13 Americans. It dominated news coverage and generated an outcry over crumbling infrastructure. Bridges, dams, tunnels, and roads dangerous, in dire need of repair. But there was no mention in the State of the Union message about the incident, no administration outline for fixing the infrastructure problem, nothing.
PATRICK NATALE, AMER. SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS: After the bridge collapsed and the TV cameras were rolling, a lot of politicians on both sides of the aisle spent a great deal of time talking about what a catastrophe it was and how we needed to do something about it. But, unfortunately, when the cameras stopped rolling, the politicians stopped talking about it.
PILGRIM: There is ample evidence the country is physically falling apart. Two years ago, the American Society of Civil Engineers released a national report card on infrastructure that estimated it would take $1.6 trillion over five years to fix.
EDWARD WYTKIND, AFL-CIO, TRANSPORT. TRADES: The mental attitude we have is a patch and pray attitude. That's not the appropriate way for the American public. We ought to be investing to make ourselves safer and stimulate the economy.
PILGRIM: Some members of Congress want part of the stimulus plan to go to infrastructure, to generate jobs and reinvest in America.
SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: The money for transportation funding and areas like road resurfacing, that's work that could be done weeks and weeks before these tax rebate checks go out. Again, I want to focus on the fact those are dollars that are going to be spent here at home.
PILGRIM: But Congressional action up until now has been slow. Last month, a Congressionally-mandated commission studying the problem since 2005 came to an obvious conclusion. An efficient surface transportation system will be vital to the future economic growth, international competitiveness, and social well being of the nation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Two years ago, the American Society of Civil Engineers rated the country's infrastructure with a "D" and said more than a quarter of American bridges were structurally deficient. It would seen incomprehensible that repairing infrastructure has been all but left out of this political season.
The population of this country is about to explode, according to new projections by the Pew Research Center. By 2050, the population of the United States will reach 438 million people. A 48 percent increase from 2005. The overwhelming majority, 82 percent of the increase will be due to immigration, both legal and illegal.
The Hispanic population will triple in size from 2005 to 2050 to make up 29 percent of the U.S. population. According to Pew's protection, the white population will become a minority by 2050, at 47 percent of the population.
A mixed report on the state of public education in this country. More public high school students are taking and passing advanced placement exams, that's according to the College Board. Last year, more than 15 percent of students passed advanced placement tests. That's up from 11.7 percent in 2002.
But the news was not all positive. Black students are far less likely than white students to take or pass an AP exam. Only three percent of black students passed an AP exam last year.
Well, it is time now to take a look at some of your e-mails. Ron in Georgia wrote to us: "Lou, if Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama have the answers to fix our problems, why didn't they do that in the last four years in the Senate?"
Judy in Wisconsin: "Seems to me that while I was in high school I studied a time when many people were losing their homes to foreclosure. It was called a depression."
We'll have more of your e-mails a little bit later in the broadcast. Each of you whose e-mail is read here receives a copy of Lou's new book, "Independent's Day: Awakening the American Spirit".
Coming up, a major endorsement for Senator Obama from the union with strong pro amnesty and open borders agenda. What affect will it have on the campaign? We'll hear from our distinguished panel of political analysts.
Also, another recall of a product made in communist China. This time it is lollipops and we'll tell you why they're dangerous.
Also, "Heroes", our tribute to the service men and women serving our country. Tonight, Staff Sergeant Joshua Olson. We'll have his remarkable story later in the broadcast.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: There is another recall of a dangerous Chinese-made children's product tonight. A Maryland distributor has recalled Pokemon brand Valentine lollipops after bits of metal were discovered in the sealed lollipops. Now part of what appears to be a box cutter blade and a staple were discovered in pops brought in central -- bought in central Florida. There were no injuries reported, we're happy to tell you.
But this of course is the latest of dozens of recalls of Chinese- made products. Joining me now for more on this issue of product safety, which is very close to every American family, in Washington, Ed Mierzwinski, Consumer Program Director for U.S. Public Interest Research Group and Joan Claybrook, President of Public Citizen. Here in New York, Jean Halloran, director of Consumers Union. And thank you all for being with me.
Jean, let's start with the lollipops. Why is it that these things still end up in the hands of our children?
JEAN HALLORAN, CONSUMERS UNION: Well, the Food and Drug Administration has extremely small capacity to try to prevent problems like this. They only look at less than one percent of food imports. At many points of entry, there's no FDA inspector at all. So it's not surprising that these kinds of things are happening.
PILGRIM: Yes, it is not surprising. It's been a repeated pattern. And American consumers are basically at risk. Now, the Senate Commerce Committee just recently introduced bipartisan legislation intended to protect children and consumers from these dangerous toys.
Let's take a look at what the legislation could accomplish. I would like to outline it. And then we'll review. Because something clearly needs to be done. They want to increase funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Increase civil fines and criminal penalties for those who knowingly violate product safety standards, require third party testing and certification of children's products, and ban all lead in children's products, which seems like a no-brainer to us, but it is not banned at this point.
So, Ed, you've been keeping a close eye on the development of the legislation. How do you think this would -- would this be an attempt to solve the problem? Would this be sufficient?
ED MIERZWINSKI, CONSUMER PROGRAM DIRECTOR, U.S. PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP: Well, Kitty, this bill a major step forward. The Senate's been negotiating for months and months. The House, meanwhile, passed a bill. We'd like to take the best parts of both bills and make them into a final law. We'd like the final law to preserve the right of states to continue to fight lead and label lead hazards. We'd like the final law to have the best parts of each bill.
But clearly, the CPSC will get a massive budget increase, greater power to go after wrongdoers, there'll be less lead and there'll be more inspectors at our ports. This lollipop problem from China, we've also had in the past, I'm sorry, candy with lead in it from Mexico. It's astonishing what gets through under the current broken safety net.
PILGRIM: This issue of lead is incredible. In fact, lead in plastic is a really big problem in this country. And we've had quite a few recalls about that, and yet it's not banned. And this legislation would ban all lead in children's products. Would this clear up the issue with some of these lead contaminations?
MIERZWINSKI: We'll still need strict enforcement. The problem that we have is you've got to have a CPSC with leadership that's going to sue the companies that break the law. I'm still waiting for this CPSC to issue civil penalties on Mattel for all of its recalls, and the other companies for all of their recalls that have happened this year. But you need a strong stick to hit the companies over the head with, as well as a ban on lead.
PILGRIM: Well, enforcement is absolutely critical. Joan, can I get your thoughts on this proposed legislation?
JOAN CLAYBROOK, PRESIDENT, PUBLIC CITIZENS: Well, we're very concerned that because the close Democratic-Republican majority in the Senate, just a one-vote majority of Democrats, they have had to negotiate with the republicans and cut back a lot of things that were in the committee reported bill.
So, we're not as enthusiastic as we would like to be. Because you still have a great deal of secrecy inside this agency and that will be allowed to continue. The difficulty of doing recalls, they have to go through a whole rule-making procedure that's very complicated. And before they can do a recall.
And the civil penalties are increased from $1.8 million to $10 million. But you're dealing with billion-dollar companies, and for them, that's a fly speck. So, there are lots of provisions we would like to see improve and they haven't even addressed the issue of rule making, issuing safety standards, which now the agency doesn't even do because of the complex procedures. This agency lacks the kind of authority that most other regulatory agencies dealing with health and safety already have. And it's a shame, because it has so many different responsibilities to carry out.
PILGRIM: It certainly does. Your group has been very, very in the forefront of pointing out the deficiencies in this checking system. And there's a report that you've just put out highlighting the dangerous delays in the time that it takes for the CPSC to actually zero in on dangerous products. Tell us a little bit about the findings in this report.
CLAYBROOK: Well, we found that it takes the agency at least seven months before it tells the public once it learns about a safety hazard, and it takes companies who were supposed to report immediately when they have a safety hazard, some two and a half plus years before they actually tell the agency. And the reason is clear. The penalties are so weak that it's cheaper for the companies to pay the penalty than it is to do a recall. So that's why the penalties need to be drastically increased.
And the agency also still keeps secret all of the information about the time it takes for recalls where they don't impose a penalty and we don't even know in some cases why they haven't imposed the penalty because we don't have the information to evaluate. So there's a lot more that needs to be done.
PILGRIM: Yes. That's certainly very clear. Meanwhile, American children are at risk.
Jean, I'd like to ask you. Toys 'R' Us announced it's going to implement stronger safety standards for all the products made for that chain. And particularly beginning next month, the retailer will limit the amount of lead in toys, sort of preempting the lead issue maybe before the legislation can get through. A, do you think that that's good, and is it sufficient? Will it be effective? And what prompted Toys "R" Us to do this? Because as Joan just pointed out there's no economic incentive for clearing any of this up.
HALLORAN: Well, it's certainly a positive step. We have to realize that it's only the Toys "R" Us brand name products that are going to meet these new standards of no lead. The Mattel products or any other brand name, they will still have whatever policies they are going to have and it will take some time for these new federal policies to go into affect. We really need these tough standards for lead.
We've just found one product after another. Our own testing at "Consumer Reports" found a Fisher-Price blood pressure -- toy blood pressure monitor in a medical kit on of all things, had very high lead levels.
PILGRIM: And this, we've reported extensively on it in this broadcast, this toy actually had lead in the plastic and that's actually allowed at this point?
HALLORAN: Yes, it isn't even officially illegal. Although one of the good things in the new legislation, if it gets through both houses of Congress, which we hope it does really soon, it could change that.
PILGRIM: Ed, I just want to ask you quickly about the tainted heparin, which we reported on a little bit earlier in the broadcast. I know your expertise is on consumer products, but this seems a particularly difficult thing to swallow in that this is medication that people have been taking that can potentially cause death. What's your view on this?
MIERZWINSKI: Well, Kitty, the FDA says they don't know why they forgot to test that manufacturing factory in China and they're looking into it and they can't find the answer. That's astonishing to me. If it were the CPSC, a little tiny agency, that'd be a problem.
But the FDA, it's a much bigger problem when it's medicines that you have to take and the big FDA can't figure it out. So, I hope that Henry Waxman and others keep the light of investigations going on that issue, absolutely we've got to keep the pressure on, whether it's FDA or CPSC, all these products from China need to be better checked out. Our safety system needs more money and more cops on the beat.
PILGRIM: It seems particularly appalling when the product is actually meant to be ingested that it shouldn't be checked. Thank you very much. Ed Mierzwinski, Jean Halloran and Joan Claybrook. Thank you very much for being here tonight.
CLAYBROOK: Thank you.
PILGRIM: Coming up, Hillary Clinton is positioning herself as the champion of the middle class. Will her new Populist push help her win the nomination?
And "Heroes", our tribute to the men and women who serve this country in uniform. And tonight we introduce you to Staff Sergeant Joshua Olsen. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: President George Herbert Walker Bush is expected to announce his endorsement of Senator McCain next week. In the latest step in McCain's effort to win over conservative Republicans ahead of the November elections. That and other topics will be discussed, because joining me now, CNN contributor, Michael Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winning columnist for the "New York Daily News," Keith Richburg, New York Bureau Chief for the "Washington Post," and Roger Simon, chief political columnist for Politico.com.
And thank you, gentleman, for being with me. Good week in the campaigns. Very lively. Good week for journalists to discuss.
So, let's start discussing. One of the things that's striking me is sort of a language thing with Hillary Clinton saying that her opponent, she's saying she's about programs, he's about promises, and the sort of slogans that are working their way into the campaign.
Let me start with you, Michael.
MICHAEL GOODWIN, COLUMNIST, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: She's looking for something to stop his momentum. So what are the strengths, kind of the soaring rhetoric, the big crowds, the enthusiasm. And she's trying to find something that's the opposite. What's the opposite? A little program, a kind of short stroke, a small thing that maybe people can gather around. So I think that that's her only way at this point is to try to slow him down, tie him up in details, and maybe she can -- that's why she wants to have more debates.
PILGRIM: She's very good on details. She actually has a good grasp of detail and specifics once she's discussing policy. What do you think, Keith?
KEITH RICHBURG, NEW YORK BUREAU CHIEF, WASHINGTON POST: I agree with that, absolutely. She's trying to, as you said, slow the momentum. She's got to get tougher. I think she's realized that she made some critical mistakes, one of them was skipping these caucus states, deciding they don't count. One of them was not really campaigning vigorously in places like Maryland and D.C., just writing them off, and allow him to accumulate not only this delegate lead, but also this kind of momentum.
And now she's starting to go momentum. You'll start hearing Bill Clinton saying the same things Hillary Clinton is saying. Basically, where is the beef, where is the substance to all this? Rhetoric is one thing but we need substance. And I think they're going to try to hammer him hard coming up to that CNN debate next week.
PILGRIM: That's right. That's exactly right. I would actually like to play something Hillary said about middle class, because that's her strong suit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am a candidate of, from, and for the middle class of America. Because I believe with all my heart that the middle class is the guarantor of the American dream. And it is the economic backbone of our country. It is time we had a president who is a fighter, a doer and a champion for the American middle class again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: Well, Roger, it's pretty hard to vote against the middle class. But we have Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania, they are pretty middle class voter areas. How do you think they'll respond to this message?
ROGER SIMON, POLITICO.COM: This is the same message, really, that Hillary Clinton has been selling from day one. This is the Mark Penn poll-tested focus group message, go for the middle class, that's where the votes are, not for the poor, which is where John Edwards, she believes, went wrong. And also, more emphasis, I'm a doer, he's a sayer. This is just a reformulation of that. She has not, it must be said, had spectacular success with it. And one wonders why she is hanging on to it.
Perhaps this is the problem of when your pollster is also your chief strategist. Polls reinforce the strategy, strategy reinforces the polls, and you never get anyone who steps back and says, look, guys with something is not working here. We have only a few states left. If we're going to be going to Denver competitive, we basically have to run the table, we have to win Texas, we have to win Ohio, we have to win Pennsylvania. It would be really, really good to surprise everybody and win Wisconsin. But you have to wonder if she expects to do that with the same message that has failed in the past.
PILGRIM: Yes. That's interesting.
Michael, go ahead.
GOODWIN: I'm not sure what other options there are. I do detect - I think there are two things going on. One, I think that she will be sharper and there will be more negative. She and Bill Clinton together will be more negative, all the surrogates will be. And secondly, I think the phrase that you showed, the middle class, I do think that is a more specific argument than she's been making and it's clearly targeted to a constituency where she has done well. I think what she's trying to do is expand her vote among those people, turn them out more, rather than trying to take from him, his vote, which I don't think she can do.
PILGRIM: That's interesting. You know, Clinton and Obama, as you point out, Keith, are going to debate Monday in Austin, Texas. They were very conciliatory last time. Do you think all that's over?
RICHBURG: It's hard to say. I think with Hillary Clinton, the problem is, she doesn't know how to run against this guy. Obama is the head of a movement at this point. They tried going negative in South Carolina, it didn't work. They tried all kinds of things, they tried sullying him up by bringing up this landlord deal in Chicago -- it didn't work.
They just don't know what to do. And I think they're really worried if they go negative against him, she's already losing some of the black support she had. We've heard John Lewis taking -- we don't know what he's going to do as a superdelegate. Does she really want to risk going against this guy in a viciously negative way if he's going to be the nominee?
PILGRIM: Right. We'll take a break. We'll hear what Barack Obama said to have about the economy. We'll be right back with our panel.
First, a reminder, to vote in tonight's poll, do you believe that the FDA failed to provide even the most basic level of protection for the American people by allowing untested facilities in communist China to produce ingredients for prescription drugs in this country? Yes or no, cast your vote at loudobbs.com.
We'll bring you the results in just a few minutes.
And coming up, much more of our panel on the race for the White House. And we'll also have "Heroes," which is our weekly tribute to the men and women who serve this country all over the world. Tonight we have a soldier wounded in Iraq now hoping to become an Olympian. We'll have his incredible story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Coming up at the top of the hour, THE ELECTION CENTER with Suzanne Malveaux.
Suzanne, what are you working on?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, thanks, Kitty.
CNN "Election Center." At the top of the hour, the Northern Illinois shooting tragedy has put the gun control issue back on the front burner of the presidential campaign. We'll hear what the candidates are saying and compare it to their records.
Also, uncovering America. It is our exclusive look at how issues of race and gender are affecting this year's campaign. I'll see you at the top of the hour.
PILGRIM: We look forward to it. Thanks, Suzanne malveaux. Joining me again is Michael Goodwin, Keith Richburg, and Roger Simon. We were right on the cusp of hearing what Barack Obama had to say about the economy, taking a swipe at Hillary Clinton. Let's listen for a second.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are not standing on the brink of recession because of forces out of our control. This was not an inevitable part of the business cycle. It was a failure of leadership in Washington. A Washington where George Bush hands out billions of tax cuts to the wealthiest few year after year after year. A Washington where politicians tout NAFTA as a success when they're in the White House, and then call it a mistake when they're on the campaign trail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PILGRIM: We all know what that's about. Keith, what do you think?
RICHBURG: Well, you know, he's shown that he's willing to come back, even when he gets hit hard by Hillary in these ads and her statements about the economy, he's shown that he's not going to roll over. He's from Chicago politics.
He's willing to hit back hard. I think for him now in this period, the danger is not to act like an incumbent, to really get out there and engage, because some people think he took a day off for Valentine's Day to go back to Chicago.
PILGRIM: Really?
RICHBURG: Yes. Some people are thinking, look, you don't have this thing wrapped up. You've got to get out there. Don't pull a John McCain. You've got to get out there and really stay aggressive.
PILGRIM: It's really interesting to take this position, though. If you say, everyone in Washington and the recession and it's really their fault, the subtext is, I could fix it, but yet, that's ...
GOODWIN: Right.
PILGRIM: ... that's really tough, obviously.
GOODWIN: One of the things you're seeing with this comment, too, is why it's so tough to get elected as being a senator. You've got this incredible long record, as Hillary Clinton does now, seven or eight years in the Senate, the Iraq War vote being one example, NAFTA being another. Those kind of things come back to haunt you a lot of the time. He's got a shorter record, so less to fire at.
PILGRIM: Exactly. Also this endorsement by the service employees union.
Roger, do you want to give us some thoughts on that too, and Barack Obama's position here?
SIMON: Yes. It's a huge union. And it's better to have endorsements than not have endorsements. But we tend to make a little too much of it, especially labor endorsements. It's good to have, but it's rather late in the game, also.
The thing about the clip you showed, this is not the most convincing argument I've ever seen Barack Obama make. I don't think, one, he's very comfortable on the attack, but two, I think there's also a sense that a bad economy might help Hillary Clinton. It helps a candidate who shows a depth and breadth of knowledge.
When you think good steward of the economy, someone who's wonky on the subject, Barack Obama does not spring to mind. John McCain, by his own admission, which I'm sure he regrets, does not come to mind. And actually a bad economy is where Hillary Clinton may have a chance to make a little movement.
PILGRIM: That's very interesting stuff. We're going to have -- It's a very tight race. We're going to have a huge battle, it appears, shaping up over these delegates in Florida and Michigan. And NAACP Chairman Julian Bond wrote the Democratic National Committee, calling for the delegates to be seated, according to the primary results.
Keith, how do you think this will play out? This could be a very divisive issue?
RICHBURG: It could be a very, very divisive issue. Also in the black leadership, a lot of which was supporting Hillary in the beginning. Now you're starting seeing a split here. People like Julian Bond saying with, you're disenfranchising voters if you don't allow Michigan and Florida to have these delegate seats. You've got Al Sharpton on the other hand saying, hang on a second. A lot of people didn't go out to vote because they were told these delegates wouldn't count. All those people who didn't vote will be disenfranchised.
So you're starting to see a real split here. And Detroit, heavily black city, it's starting to become a racial issue involved as well. What I've been hearing from talking to people is that if anything looks like Obama had a lead in delegates, pledged delegates going in and superdelegates end up taking it from him, there is going to be a real problem in the Democratic Party. It's not going to look fair, it's not going to look democratic.
PILGRIM: It's a tough call on these delegates. Go ahead, Roger.
SIMON: That's absolutely correct. In fact, it can't happen. Michigan and Florida will never be seated if they're going to change the outcome of who people voted for in the primaries and caucuses. Exactly the same with superdelegates. It would just split the party in an irreparable way.
It would be the Democratic Party telling its most loyal voters, black voters, oh, yes, Barack Obama was going to be the nominee and maybe the next president, but we found this little escape clause here. We found these superdelegates and we found these two rogue state delegations and we're going to overturn that result. I don't see that happening.
PILGRIM: Michael?
GOODWIN: I was going to say, I think the issues are somewhat different. I think the superdelegates on one hand and set aside Michigan and Florida for a second, but I think the superdelegates, neither Obama nor Clinton can get a majority without superdelegates now. So they're going to -- the superdelegates are going to decide this one way or another, primarily because of the apportionment thing. Neither one is going to get to the 2100 on their own.
SIMON: That's not the point I was making. The point I was making is that the superdelegates can't overturn the decision. Yes, they're going to vote, but they have to vote in lockstep, I think, with how people voted in the primaries and caucuses.
PILGRIM: Look, this divisive issue with the Democrats. While John McCain is just soaring ahead and getting endorsements by Mitt Romney, former President Bush, it just seems like a really unfortunate moment for the Democrats to again be divisive over this issue. We should continue this. This is very, very, very -- but we will because it's not going away.
So thank you very much, gentleman. Michael Goodwin, Keith Richburg, Roger Simon.
Still ahead, we have "Heroes", our tribute to the men and women who serve this country. And tonight we have Staff Sergeant Joshua Olson. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: And now, "Heroes." Our weekly tribute to the men and women who serve this country in uniform. Staff Sergeant Joshua Olson was awarded the Purple Heart for his service and injuries in Iraq, but he didn't let the loss of a leg hold back his army career. Sergeant Olson is making history and representing his nation once again with the Army's elite marksmanship unit. Philippa Holland has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILIPPA HOLLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Staff Sergeant Joshua Olson was a squad leader in the initial phase of the war in Iraq. Six months after his arrival, he was caught in a firefight that changed his life. During a patrol, insurgents fired two rocket- propelled grenades at his vehicle. Olson was hit in the leg yet his focus was on the other members of his squadron.
STAFF SERGEANT JOSHUA OLSON, U.S. ARMY: I was looking around trying to cheer everybody up, hey guys, relax and I kept trying to sit up to look and see what they were doing, see if I could help. And they kept holding me down. I knew I was in trouble at that point but I just didn't know how bad. HOLLAND: Surgeons in Iraq amputated his right leg. A week later he woke up at Walter Reed for the start of two tough years of recovery and rehabilitation. But rather than retire, Olson decided to apply his skills to a new career with the Army. He earned a spot in its elite marksmanship unit, making history as its first amputee. He now serves as a shooting instructor at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he also trains for international competition.
OLSON: Ever since day one in the Army, I was always taught if you still have air in your lungs, you're going to fight. You never stop, never stop. I might not be in Iraq boots on the ground but I'm still working hard here to save lives and save my fellow soldiers over there.
HOLLAND: In May, this veteran will compete for another chance to represent the Army and his country. His goal, a spot on the U.S. Paralympic team in Beijing.
OLSON: My first deployment, in Kosovo and in Korea and Iraq, they told us to represent the United States, you're an ambassador. So if they never ever meet another American in their entire lives, leave an impression on them that you're a professional. And to this day I'm still going to do it. When I go overseas, it's -- that's what I am, is an ambassador to the United States.
HOLLAND: Philippa Holland, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: A remarkable person. We wish him every success.
And now, our poll results. And 98 percent of you said the FDA failed to provide even the most basic level of protection for the American people by allowing untested facilities in Communist China to produce ingredients for prescription drugs in this country.
We do have time now for some more of your thoughts. And Brenda in California wrote to us: "Lou, thanks for rescuing the word 'populist' from the politically correct trash heap. 'Of the people, by the people, for the people' always struck me as a populist sentiment."
And Ronald in New York wrote: "I for one am sick and tired of the endorsements given to candidates by other politicians, labor unions, entertainers, and the news media. Because of these influences, once again we are only voting for those the power mongers want in office. No matter the outcome of this election, it will be another four years of broken campaign promises at the expense of the middle class."
Karen in New York wrote to us: "Lou, if President Calderon believes we are symbolically holding illegal aliens hostage, why don't we release these hostages to him so they can return to Mexico. I'm sure he will gladly receive them and give them jobs and tax benefits under his generous leadership."
We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs.com. Each of you whose e-mail is read here receives a copy of Lou's new book, "Independents Day: Awakening the American Spirit."
Thanks for being with us tonight. Please join us tomorrow. For all of us here, good night from New York. The "Election Center" with Suzanne Malveaux starts right now.
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