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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Obama Aide Quits; Battle Over Iraq; Unemployment Bill Defeated; Chinese Espionage: New Evidence of Computer Hacking; Abu Dhabi Makes bid for Chrysler Building
Aired June 11, 2008 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LOU DOBBS, HOST: Wolf, thank you.
Tonight, new charges that Senator Obama lacks judgment after the abrupt resignation of one of his top advisers, we'll have complete coverage.
And tonight, disturbing new evidence of communist China's efforts to hack into computers containing sensitive government information. We'll have a special report on what some are calling China's cyber warfare.
And tonight, a bipartisan group of senators demanding an urgent investigation into a foreign hedge fund's efforts to take control of one of our strategic assets, the CSX Railroad Company. I'll be joined by one of those senators, Senator Evan Bayh.
All of that, all the day's news and much more from an Independent perspective, join is straight ahead, tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: news, debate, and opinion for Wednesday, June 11. Live from New York, Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening, everybody.
Senator Obama facing tonight facing a barrage of criticism after the abrupt resignation of a key member of his vice presidential search committee, Jim Johnson quitting the committee, that after questions about a mortgage he received from a company at the center of the sub prime housing crisis. The McCain campaign said his resignation serious questions about Obama's judgment.
Meanwhile, Democrats are blasting Senator McCain on the issue of Iraq, saying McCain is out of touch with reality, confused and misunderstanding the war. We have extensive coverage from the campaign trail tonight with an Independent point of view.
We begin with Suzanne Malveaux in Washington -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, this really is a fast developing story that ultimately the Obama camp felt it better to cut its losses and move on. One of the lessons learned from previous controversies, aides tell me, is to assess the damage and then respond immediately, which is why Johnson's resignation has been accepted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Jim Johnson, the man tapped to lead the committee to vet Barack Obama's candidates for vice president stepped down. The abrupt about face following 48 hours of criticisms from John McCain's camp that Obama was being a hypocrite for seeking Johnson as an adviser.
The controversy is over Johnson's perceived conflict of interest. Johnson, who was once chairman of the mortgage lender Fannie Mae received millions of dollars in loans from Countrywide Financial Corporation with the help of its CEO. Countrywide is now under federal investigation for its alleged role in the sub prime mortgage crisis.
There is no evidence of anything illegal in these transactions. But Johnson quickly became a political liability to Obama, who has anchored his campaign on changing Washington and going after sub prime lenders. Obama issued a statement saying "Jim did not want to distract in any way from the very important task of gathering information about my vice presidential nominee, so he has made a decision to step aside that I accept."
McCain's campaign immediately slammed Obama, saying "Jim Johnson's resignation raises serious questions about Barack Obama's judgment. America can't afford a president who flip-flops on key questions in the course of 24 hours."
Obama's camp responded "we don't need any lectures from a campaign that waited 15 months to purge the lobbyists from their staff and only did so because they said it was a perception problem." This rapid fire exchange underscores the lengths both campaigns are willing to go through to convince voters their candidate is the real agent of change.
STUART ROTHENBERG, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, "THE ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT": Campaigns are about guilt to association, who has endorsed you, who do you support, who are you embracing? It can't be stopped because we have concluded as a people that you are who you surround yourself with.
STEPHEN HESS, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Both sides are going to be holier than thou. There's nothing wrong with that. Both sides are going to pick up on anything that looks like inconsistencies. Now we're in that stage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Lou, we certainly are in that stage. Aides to Obama said the controversy over Johnson turned into a distraction right when they were unveiling Obama's economic plan, so while accepting Johnson's resignation could mean taking a hit in the short term, in the long term they believe that voters are going to return to focusing on the issues that matter to them -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, Suzanne I mean let's be, as best we can, absolutely direct on this. The issue of Jim Johnson, the vice presidential search committee. You had one of your folks reporting on there say there's nothing wrong with being holier than thou.
In point of fact, neither of these campaigns, neither of these candidates has a basis to be holier than thou. They both have got -- made all sorts of mistakes. They have very little to be holier than thou about in any case.
Why the pettiness? Why the nonsense? Do they really think that works with voters?
MALVEAUX: Both sides I think believe that they can score political points when it comes to pointing out that the other team perhaps is not being consistent when they talk about fighting the lobbyists, when they talk about the true reformist candidate that if they can find a way, whether it's a staffer, an adviser, a volunteer that somehow contradicts that main idea, that central theme in their campaign, they believe they can make some sort of political inroad. What you see here, Lou, is simply two sides competing over who is the candidate who is most likely to be the agent of change and that is because that's what voters are asking for.
DOBBS: Well that's one way to look at it. The other might be which campaign can be the pettiest. We'll see how that unfolds as well.
Suzanne, thank you very much -- Suzanne Malveaux.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Well as Suzanne reported, the McCain campaign blasted Obama over the resignation of Jim Johnson. The McCain campaign saying Obama only makes what it called the right call when under pressure from the news media. Then Obama's advisers hitting back again accusing McCain of being too close to special interests.
The Obama campaign also targeted McCain adviser Carly Fiorina, saying "she presided over thousands of lay-offs at Hewlett Packard while receiving a $21 million severance package and $650,000 in mortgage assistance." This is of course the same Carly Fiorina who I criticized more than four years ago on the issue of outsourcing of American jobs, off shoring production.
It was Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett Packard, who said famously, or notoriously, "there is no job that is America's God-given right anymore." At the time, she was the CEO of Hewlett Packard. She was defending corporate America's practice of shipping those middle class American jobs to cheap overseas labor markets.
Carly Fiorina now Senator John McCain's economic -- I can't even say it -- I apologize -- economics adviser. We'll have more I'm sure on this subject in the days and weeks ahead.
Well turning now to the sudden resignation from the Obama campaign today of course is not the first controversy over people closely associated with Senator Obama. Obama's former policy adviser, Samantha Power, quit the campaign after she called Hillary Clinton a monster. Senator Obama's economic adviser, Austin Goolsby, faced strong criticism after he met with Canadian officials and reportedly said Senator Obama's tough talk against free trade is simply political posturing. And then of course there was the huge controversy over Obama's former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright who made inflammatory, anti-American comments from the pulpit of Obama's church and at that same church, who could ever forget this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. MICHAEL PFLEGER, MOCKED HILLARY CLINTON: I'm white. I'm entitled. There's a black man stealing my show!
(APPLAUSE)
(SOUNDS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Unforgettable. Unforgettable. That's Reverend Michael Pfleger who openly mocked Senator Clinton from the pulpit of Obama's church. Captivating, don't you think? He said Clinton became tearful on the campaign trail because as you heard him say, a black man was stealing her show. He was suspended by the archbishop of Chicago. He of course protested the suspension, thinking it was undeserved.
On the campaign trail today, Democrats declaring Senator McCain to be out of touch with reality on the conduct of the war in Iraq. Democrats launched their attack after Senator McCain said it's not too important when our troops come home from Iraq. What is important is casualties.
The McCain campaign accused Democrats of distorting the truth and ignoring facts on the ground in Iraq.
Dana Bash with the McCain campaign now reports from Philadelphia on what was by any measure a difficult day for Senator McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John McCain came to Pennsylvania looking for votes his advisers call crucial to fall victory, Democrats who voted for Hillary Clinton here.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't agree with Senator Obama that they cling to their religion and the Constitution because they're bitter.
BASH: He spoke off the cuff surrounded by supporters at a town hall, instead of a planned speech on climate change. An attempt to recover from what advisers admit has been a presentation problem. Last week's green backdrop, teleprompter stumbles a day earlier.
MCCAIN: I will veto every single bill with earmarks.
BASH: But finding his general election mojo hit a bump earlier in the morning when McCain was asked if he knows when troops can come home from Iraq.
MCCAIN: No, but that's not too important. What is important is the casualties in Iraq. Americans are in South Korea. Americans are in Japan.
BASH: Not a new theme for McCain who consistently argues the emphasis should be on stability in Iraq before troop withdrawal, but Democrats heard the phrase not too important and pounced with a delude to statements. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid saying "He just doesn't get the grave national security consequences of staying the course." It was reminiscent of another McCain line Democrats made infamous when he was trying to make the same point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our staying in Iraq for 50 years.
MCCAIN: Maybe 100.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that...
MCCAIN: We've been in South Korea -- we've been in Japan for 60 years.
BASH: The McCain campaign scrambled a conference call with allies to fight back.
VOICE OF SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I view the attacks on Senator McCain this morning as another partisan attempt to distort John McCain's words.
BASH: McCain chose his words on Iraq more carefully at the town hall.
MCCAIN: Is it long and it hard and difficult and are the casualties painful to us, even one, of course.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: McCain's awkward statement that is quote, "not too important how long U.S. troops are in Iraq was viewed as a gift by Democrats, many of whom privately concede that recent progress in Iraq makes McCain's early support for the current surge strategy a bit less of a political liability -- Lou.
DOBBS: Dana, I think I have to raise the same point as Suzanne Malveaux. This is reaching a level of pettiness and puerile absurdity to suggest that Senator McCain -- it was pretty clear what he was saying just as it was when e made the comment about 100 years, over the top perhaps in rhetoric, but the meaning was clear, the context was perfectly clear.
And it is the national media making much of very little. Just as the McCain campaign is making much of very little of anything in the resignation of Jim Johnson. Why are we not reporting the absurdity, the pettiness and the silliness of this day-to-day squabbling between these two candidates, which is overriding the issues that are critically important to this country? BASH: Well, I think what was noteworthy in this particular case wasn't necessarily the media jumping on it, which it was that not just the Obama campaign, but so many Democrats, senior Democrats on Capitol Hill jumping on this in ways that was kind of surprising.
The kind of things that they were saying about Senator McCain being out of touch on this issue and I think what really is telling in all of this, Lou, is just obviously as we know, how volatile a political issue in general, the war is, but really, the fact that Democrats, when you talk about the issues, and let's talk about one obviously, the war in Iraq, Democrats have thought all along that the war in Iraq just like maybe in 2006 will help them get over the finish line in 2008, especially with somebody like McCain.
Maybe he supports the president's current strategy, but they're starting to think that maybe the fact that he says over and over again I criticized the president's strategy, criticized the Rumsfeld strategy, and the fact that the surge now at least right now appears to be showing some progress. Again, that might be have little bit less of a liability for John McCain when it comes to the November election.
DOBBS: Well I think we could say quite clearly, if this surge strategy continue to succeed to the point it has, if it turns out not to be an anomaly over the course of the next several months, that is if the trend continues, it will be an outright asset for Senator McCain, will it not?
BASH: That's certainly what the McCain campaign is thinking. And they're hoping obviously to be fair to everybody, not just politically, but just in terms of what everybody hopes happens in Iraq.
DOBBS: One would hope that we all hope that.
All right, thank you very much -- Dana Bash.
Well as the presidential candidates are fighting over silliness, pettiness and absurdities, the conduct of the war in Iraq remains certainly in question. Nearly 157,000 of our troops remain in harm's way; 147,000 of our troops are in Iraq.
That total number of troops is expected to decline to 140,000 next month; 65,000 of our troops, by the way, just to keep everything in context, remain in Germany now some six decades after the end of World War II; another 47,000 of our troops, by the way, remain in Japan, long after the end of the U.S. occupation of Japan; and 30,000 of our troops remain in South Korea, 55 years after the end of the Korean War.
More than 30,000 of our troops, by the way, are also fighting in Afghanistan, the highest total of this war. In all, more than half a million of our troops are now deployed overseas in more than 140 countries. You don't hear that very often, do you those facts, but they are all relevant and (INAUDIBLE). And two more of our troops have been killed in Iraq. One in combat, the other in what the Pentagon calls a non-battle related incident; 10 of our troops have been killed in Iraq so far this month; 4.094 of our troops killed since the war began; 30,182 of our troops wounded; 13,427 of our troops wounded seriously.
Up next here, a major setback from -- for Congressional Democrats on the issue of extending unemployment benefits.
Also you won't believe what the Food and Drug Administration is now saying about its investigation into the tomato salmonella outbreak, an outbreak that has spread now to 17 states.
And communist China's efforts to hack into government computers containing sensitive information may be far more extensive than anyone in government is admitting. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The House of Representatives late today narrowly defeated an effort to extend unemployment benefits, a setback for the Democratic leadership. The bill would have extended benefits for an additional three months to the unemployed.
Kate Bolduan has our report from Capitol Hill -- Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Lou.
Well you said it. This bill was narrowly defeated in the House, just three votes shy of the two-thirds majority that bill needed in order to pass. And this is a bill, as you mentioned, that would extend benefits to the country's unemployed, but despite this defeat, Democrats say they are not backing down. Jim McDermott, Congressman Jim McDermott is one of the bill's sponsors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JIM MCDERMOTT (D), WASHINGTON: You have gas prices at $4 a gallon. You have food prices going up and you have members of this House of Representatives who say to the 1.5 million people who have exhausted their benefits, I'm sorry. We don't think you need them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Now roughly four dozen Republicans crossed over to vote in support of this bill extending unemployment benefits and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, John McCain, he himself has said that he supports extending such benefits, so this is what the bill actually calls for.
It calls for extending employment benefits an additional 13 weeks in every state. It also offers up to 26 weeks of benefits to states with very high unemployment rates like Michigan, Alaska, California. It also estimated that up to four million people would be eligible for this assistance in the coming months, but critics of the bill say that this measure is far too broad and could hurt the economy more than actually help it, discouraging people from actively looking for jobs.
The White House has also threatened to veto the bill if it would pass, but the White House for the first time this afternoon is signaling that it could support a peered (ph) down version of this bill, Lou, offering extended benefits but only to states with high unemployment rates.
DOBBS: Someone actually -- even by Capitol Hill standards, it's a little breathtaking to think that anybody on that -- in the United States Congress would be dumb enough to say this could hurt the economy by discouraging people from looking for jobs that are being eliminated from the economy. You want to name names here? I mean good lord, this is amazing.
BOLDUAN: Well, Lou, the majority -- the House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, he came out saying pretty much that. They were just three votes shy of getting this super majority to pass this bill and he says, you know what, this is so important. They're going to try again to fight to get this bill back on the floor and they say, Democrats say they expect to have the votes to push it through this time, so this may not be over.
DOBBS: OK. Kate Bolduan from Capitol Hill.
A stunning new example tonight of just how vulnerable this country is to communist Chinese espionage. Two United States congressmen now say computers in their Capitola Hill offices were hacked by Chinese spies inside China.
Lisa Sylvester has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Representative Chris Smith who works on human rights issues says sensitive information on Chinese dissidents was accessed in March, 2007.
REP. CHRIS SMITH (R), NEW JERSEY: To think that the computer in the House of Representatives, the Human Rights Subcommittee are not sacrosanct and are not protected, I find extremely troubling.
SYLVESTER: Congressman Frank Wolf has introduced a resolution calling for greater protection of congressional information systems. Wolf says four of the computers in his personal office including e- mails, memos and legislation were compromised in 2006, he believes by sources in China. Wolf knows even U.S. military networks are not safe from prying eyes and are frequent targets of foreign cyber espionage.
REP. FRANK WOLF (R), VIRGINIA: They've gone into the Department of Defense much more sophisticated and much more effective than the KGB has on the days of the Soviet Union.
SYLVESTER: Millions of visitors are expected to travel to China for the Olympics, including high ranking U.S. officials. Raising new concerns of electronic snooping. REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN: You don't take a device, either a laptop or PDA, a Blackberry whatever that is. It doesn't take long at all, it's almost instantaneous.
SYLVESTER: Cyber experts say the danger is not only that foreign governments could learn corporate or government secrets, but could actually use the electronic incursion to launch a future cyber attack.
SAMI SAYDJARI, PRES., CYBER DEFENSE AGENCY: We're much, much worried -- more worried about the sabotage that's possible here in the United States where an attack on our critical infrastructure, for example, the power grid, banking, telecommunications that we're concerned that that can be shut down.
SYLVESTER: China had has repeatedly denied any involvement in any cyber attacks against the U.S. government.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SYLVESTER: Now the Chinese Embassy released a statement late this afternoon to the LOU DOBBS TONIGHT show stating quote, "China as a victim of international hacking activities never conducts computer network attacks against any other countries. Anyone making relevant accusations against China is welcome to submit their reliable evidence and China is ready to provide investigative cooperation. China is firmly against unwarranted and irresponsible allegations against China on this matter."
And as for the Olympics, China said political motives were behind the accusations and China will do whatever it can to make international visitors feel secure and comfortable -- Lou.
DOBBS: Warm and fuzzy I think is the way they want that to come across. Thank you very much, Lisa. It is very troubling. I mean what have these congressmen done? What have they done in terms of working with the Defense Departments, intelligence agency, State Department intelligence protesting to communist China?
SYLVESTER: In short, they have done very little. In fact, they have been reluctant even to speak out against China on this issue, which is very confusing to many cyber security experts. One reason is that they don't want to essentially get China upset about this particular issue. And China has repeatedly tried to deny this.
DOBBS: They don't want to upset China? You've got be kidding me. They ought to just -- they ought to resign their posts. I mean this is getting to be silly to the point -- what is going on in that town? Has everyone lost their minds?
SYLVESTER: Well the good news is that there are some representatives who have said look this is such a major issue. We're opening ourselves up to a cyber security attack and now they are finally coming out to the forefront and saying this is something that we need to do something about. And we need to notify the public that this is going on.
DOBBS: Incredible.
Lisa, thank you very much -- Lisa Sylvester.
Hopefully our Congress and congressmen and women there won't be put under too much pressure. It must be just unbearable for many of them. Lisa Sylvester reporting from Washington.
Well communist China poses the single greatest intelligence threat to the United States. By the way, that's according to multiple government sources including the CIA, the FBI. There are more than 3,500 in case the Chinese government is watching. I'd just like everybody there to just kind of follow along with me there in Beijing.
There are more than 3,500 communist Chinese front companies operating now in the United States. Now those front companies are specifically targeting sensitive American intelligence and information technology. Cyber attacks against U.S. military networks soared by 55 percent a year ago.
The Pentagon now reports three million cyber attacks each and every day. That's three million attacks each and every single day, of course, not all of them originate in China.
Up next here, the Bush administration cracking down on illegal immigration at the 11th hour of this administration. Why now? We'll have the report for you.
And salmonella is spreading. We'll have the latest on what the government knows and doesn't know about the source of the outbreak and what our government can do and can't do to protect American consumers. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MCCAIN: Only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war. When I was 5-years-old, my father left for war. My grandfather came home from war and died the next day. I was shot down over Vietnam and spent five years as a POW. Some of the friends I served with never came home. I hate war. And I know how terrible its costs are. I'm running for president to keep the country I love safe. I'm John McCain and I approve this message.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The Bush administration tonight is promising to increase pressure on illegal employers of illegal aliens. What's going on here? Officials say they will step up the place of workplace raids. The government's crackdown has already sparked a barrage of lawsuits against the government led by the ACLU and other open borders advocates.
Casey Wian has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three hundred people arrested during an immigration raid at the Agriprocessors meat packing plant in Iowa last month have pleaded guilty to federal felony charges. Nearly all have been accused of identity threat or using false ID to obtain a job. Prosecutors say the Postville raid is the largest work site enforcement action in U.S. history and the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it's only the beginning.
JULIE MYERS, IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: The number of illegal aliens are stealing the identities of real U.S. citizens. That causes harm to people in our communities. We have an obligation to go out and enforce the law.
WIAN: During an interview with LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, Myers said her agency will accelerate the pace of workplace immigration raids because employers are getting the message that it's risky to hire illegal aliens.
MYERS: Now I'm not declaring victory. We haven't solved the problem, but we're seeing industries hire compliance officers and start to do things because they've seen that we've taken very aggressive action you know when we find egregious problems.
WIAN: Those actions have sparked a flurry of lawsuits and California Congressman Sam Farr has compared ICE tactics to those employed by Nazi Germany's Gestapo.
MYERS: I certainly wholeheartedly reject, you know the accusations and the insults of the men and women of this agency that work hard with honor and dignity every single day. And I think frankly that ICE takes more humanitarian steps than any other law enforcement agency I know.
WIAN: Including notifying community activists when raids are in progress and delaying deportation for parents with child care issues. ICE says it has deported more than a million illegal aliens since 2003 including 200,000 criminals this year alone.
MYERS: I think we are encouraging illegal aliens in this country to think twice. We encourage them to leave the country if they don't want to encounter ICE.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: Now Meyers disputes the idea that the workplace raids are only becoming more frequent now that the Bush administration is preparing to leave office. She says the strategy of targeting employers has been in place for more than two years and is now showing all these results, Lou.
DOBBS: All right.
Casey, thank you very much -- Casey Wian.
We have some good news to report to you tonight. The average life expectancy of an American citizen is higher than ever before. The World Health Organization reporting that the average life expectancy is now more than 78 years in this country. Women continue to live longer. They live to almost 81 compared to about 75 fore men. The average looks good for all of us. Bad news is this country lags behind about 30 other countries in longevity. Japan is number one on the list with a life expectancy of 83.
Up next, the Food and Drug Administration admits it's clueless in the search for the source of a major salmonella outbreak, another example of a completely dysfunctional administration.
And many of this country's assets now up for sale to foreigners, foreign governments and others. Many lawmakers and independently- minded voters are just about fed up. We'll talk with some of those lawmakers here next.
Stay with us. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Well, the Food and Drug Administration today saying it may never find the source of the wide-scale salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes effecting some 17 states. More than 200 people have been sickened because of that salmonella contamination. If country of origin labeling laws were being enforced in this country, laws that have on the books now for five years, we might already know the source of the outbreak. Powerful lobbyists have seen to it that that is not going happen.
Louise Schiavone has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No word yet from the Food and Drug Administration on the origin of tainted tomatoes that have sickened more than 150 Americans. One death has been associated with the outbreak.
DR. IAN WILLIAMS, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Even though we've seen 167 cases, there's likely many more infections out there that are unrecognized and have not yet been reported yet to the CDC.
SCHIAVONE: One tool that might have helped the probe, country of origin labeling, has been languishing five years unfunded until two weeks ago.
REP. ROSA DELAURO (D), CONNECTICUT: Without the implementation of country of origin labeling, we're going to have to delay and that delay causes confusion in the minds of the public as it is.
MIKE ITKIS, FOOD SHOPPER: I like to know where my food comes from because I would rather purchase food that's produced locally if possible.
CARIDAD RIVERA, FOOD SHOPPER: I think they should. They should protect us.
SCHIAVONE: Do you think they do?
RIVERA: No, they don't.
SCHIAVONE: FDA investigators have been using a process of elimination trying to first identify the states and other countries that were not a source of contaminated tomatoes.
BOB SPENCER, FLORIDA FARMER: They have not received the funding necessary to make the process speedy.
SCHIAVONE: This Florida farmer was relieved that his harvest got FDA clearance but farmers in parts of central Florida are still awaiting the FDA's OK.
The government knows that there have been 13 tainted tomato outbreaks since 1990 all involving produce from U.S. farms.
DR. DAVID ACHESON, ASSOC, COMMISSIONER, FDA: Simply putting country of origin labeling on doesn't speak to safety. It's simply saying a product from the U.S. is not necessarily going to confer safety.
SCHIAVONE: That's not what the stores are hearing from the customers.
PETER ROMANO, FAIRWAY SUPERMARKET: They want to know where the stuff is grown. So we go out of our way to give them that information.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE: Lou the latest word from the FDA, two dozen states, Puerto Rico and six countries, those countries not including prime supplier Mexico have been ruled out as a source of the salmonella problem but lots of states and countries still to go.
DOBBS: Let's imagine that this was something even far worse than salmonella in which lives are being lost every day as this contamination spread. The Food and Drug Administration is basically saying, because of the political viewpoint, they don't want to be responsible for country of origin labeling, or for developing a system with full funding so they can trace the outbreak in whatever the produce might be or whatever the contaminant might be. That's the height of irresponsibility and arrogance.
SCHIAVONE: What's interesting about the way this thing is developing is that towards the end of the Bush administration, we finally von Eschenbech who is the head of the FDA saying Congress, he wrote a letter to Senator Arlen Specter a month ago saying, look, we really can't do the kinds of things we have to do to keep our foods and our drugs safe unless we have $275 million more which is why earlier in the week we finally had that request for that money but it's all happening so late.
DOBBS: To support the country of origin labeling?
SCHIAVONE: That's going to be an expensive thing for them to do and that was not funded just until a couple of weeks ago. DOBBS: Well I have to say that the legacy of the administration and the FDA commissioners, it's going be a horrifying legacy because they have acted with absolute indifference to the welfare of the American consumer. This is not about politics, partisan nonsense or ideology. They have a responsibility to protect our consumers. It's not complicated. This administration is a structure, an architecture of utter fools and incompetents.
The sooner they leave the town of Washington, D.C., the better off the country will be. I have to say it's embarrassing, it's disgusting what they have done to the American people. Let's hope it never happens again.
Thank you very much, Louise.
Time now for our poll. The question is: Do you believe the country of origin food labeling laws should be enforced immediately?
Yes or no? Cast your vote at LouDobbs.com. We'll have the results here later in the broadcast.
Up next, Senator Evan Bayh joins us. He's demanding an investigation of a foreign controlled hedge fund and its efforts to take over one of our strategic assets, a major railroad. Sentaor Bayh joins me here next.
And federal lawmakers want to make certain our airlines don't put profits ahead of safety. What have they been waiting for? We'll have an Independent perspective on this absurdity next.
Stay with us. It gets better.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: We've been reporting here on the national security situation of a foreign hedge fund's investment in one of this country's largest railroads. A federal court today ruled that the hedge fund's investment did violate securities law but then the federal district court judge took no action against the fund, effectively saying whatever they want to do is just fine, that any regulation must originate with the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Justice Department.
Senator Evan Bayh and five other senators demanding a federal investigation now of the TCI fund's actions, Senator Bayh joins us from Capitol Hill.
Senator, good to have you with us.
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: Good to be back, Lou.
DOBBS: The fund is as you well know, the Children's Investment Fund, British owned and controlled and they want to raise their investment and make certain demands on CSX Railroad. "The New York Times" points out that you and I are completely mistaken in our concerns. How do you feel about that? BAYH: Well, first I feel I'm in good company with you, Lou.
DOBBS: That's very kind of you, Senator. Me too.
BAYH: But more importantly than that, look, we welcome investment in this country. That's good for us. When it comes to national security assets like a rail road that carries nuclear materials, it's important to make sure that the foreign investments don't undermine the nation's security. That's No. 1.
No. 2, we've seen the rise in recent years of sovereign well funds, basically foreign government controlled investment vehicles that are now investing billions and soon to be trillions of dollars, and we need to make sure and I understand there is some sovereign welfare money in this British hedge fund. We need to make sure that the hedge funds in these intermediaries are not being used to obscure foreign government control of critical U.S. infrastructure.
DOBBS: Senator, one of the problems we have in this country is that we're not regulating hedge funds themselves. That's a problem in every degree but your concerns that you raise about CSX Railroad, your concerns should be determinant in what happens here. This is not simply a matter for whim in the marketplace. As you point and as other senators, Congresswoman Brown points out, this is a strategic U.S. asset.
Do we raise our hands and say please? Whatever you wish?
BAYH: No, absolutely not.
There's a process in the government. It's a long acronym designed to review these types of acquisitions. Following the Dubai port deal situation, we specifically changed the law to include critical infrastructure like railroads. It's up to the treasury department to decide how to implement the law and whether it will just continue to be a toothless tiger or will it have teeth? The reason for the letter to the treasury was to say look, this is the very kind of situation we contemplated when we wrote this into the law. Please go forward and implement it accordingly.
DOBBS: You're being modest, the smart and secure foreign investment act, you lead the way on that. You were very modest to say "We." Although your colleagues of course did vote on it but it was your initiative and you deserve great credit for it.
What in the world is going to happen there? What is the attitude, the mood in the Senate, to put up with a snarky little investment fund that calls itself the Children's Investment Fund, refuses to arrogantly to disclose anything of its ownership, its investment and then demand of CSX that it perform at a different level when it's already increased its stock price over the course of three years by two and a half times. This is pretty amazing arrogance.
The Japanese, "The New York Times" didn't point out, the Japanese told these little snarky Britishers with their fancy little hedge fund attitudes to go stick it. Why don't we find way to expeditiously do the same?
BAYH: We should. And if the treasury is not willing to implement the law, we'll have to take a careful look at requiring them to do it in the future because it will be a dereliction of their duty if they don't. That's number one. Number two, with regard to these sovereign well funds, there need to be some kind of rules that guarantee that their investments are made solely on economic grounds, rather than for political reasons. I would have the same concerns in our own government were trying to get five seats on the board of CSX.
DOBBS: The same people that would accuse us of being xenophobes or whatever are the ones railing about the sale of the Chrysler building. Who cares? It's not a strategic asset. Buy it as you wish.
We thank you very much. It's also nice to see a few dollars come back to the country.
Senator Evan Bayh, thanks for being here, good luck.
BAYH: Good to be with you, Lou.
DOBBS: Up next here, more American assets on the block, a New York landmark up for sale. We'll tell you who is bidding for it, the flat iron building and a few others.
Airlines outsourcing your safety and mine, a proposal to ensure foreign maintenance facilities are safe. We'll have that report. Reason will prevail.
Stay with us. We're coming right back.
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DOBBS: Well, foreign investors buying up, apparently with a good shopping list, some of New York City's landmark buildings. An Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund reportedly negotiating a deal to buy a 75 percent stake in the famous Chrysler building. Under the deal, the Abu Dhabi Investment Counsel would pay $800 million for three-quarters interest in the building.
And a strong euro and a weak dollar making it all possible for an Italian real estate investor to buy up a huge chunk of the historic flatiron building in Manhattan. The Sorgents (ph) Group now owns 53 percent of the famous flatiron building.
And now, you're going get really upset. Another American icon may soon have a foreign owner. This is no minor item. Anheuser- Busch, the brewer of Budweiser, today saying Belgium based InBev making an offer to buy the company, an unsolicited offer. InBev offer $48 billion for Budweiser, the maker of Budweiser and other brands controlling about 50 percent of the country's beer market. Anheuser- Busch said it will evaluate the bid but did not give a timetable for making any kind of decision.
Another piece of this country's infrastructure may be up for sale as well. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell wants to lease out the Pennsylvania turnpike to a U.S. Spanish consortium.
Joining me now for this brilliant idea, two Pennsylvania state senators; Dwight Evans, he's a co-sponsor of the proposal to do that and Joseph Markosek who opposes that deal. They both are in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania tonight.
Gentlemen, good to have you with us.
REP. JOSEPH MARKPSEK (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Thank you.
DWIGHT EVANS (D), PENNSYLVANIA STATE HOUSE: Thank you. Good to have you too, Lou.
DOBBS: Senator Evans, let me ask you. I mean Ed Rendell is usually a pragmatic fellow but I don't see how the state comes off selling what are taxpayer assets, government owned assets and doing a private deal? What's going on here?
EVANS: We have an infrastructure problem, Lou. We have over 6,000 bridges with potential problems. We need to come up with some money. And the reality of it is, if we had to fix that problem through the gas tax, you would be talking about 25, 30 cents more a gallon. We can't afford to raise the gas tax. I think the governor's idea deserves to be explored. We should have public ears and have the discussion. You're talking about maybe $13 billion would potentially be available. And we're talking about leasing it, not selling it.
DOBBS: For how long?
EVANS: Seventy-five years we're talking about leasing it.
DOBBS: Well you know a lot of people would look at that as that's a pretty long rent. But the reality is, Senator, I mean, where does the state get off doing this? Where do you find the authority to do it?
EVANS: Well you know obviously, we have to go through a process and basically the process would be public hearings allowing the public to have input to this process but the governor is taking a bold move. He's trying to realize to do something about the roads. We're supposed to protect the public. That's what I hear you talking about. And protecting the public, we have to fix those roads and we have to fix the bridges.
DOBBS: How in the world did Pennsylvania get by over the last half century with all those roads and all those bridges? You haven't been building a lot of things. What's the problem?
EVANS: We've gotten by because every governor had raised the gas tax. With gas at $4.50 a gallon, at $139 a barrel, you know for yourself, you can't raise the gas tax, nor can you raise enough money.
DOBBS: There's no toll on the Pennsylvania turnpike?
EVANS: There's a toll on the Pennsylvania turnpike but one of the ideas that the governor has is to toll I-80. We're waiting for the federal government to give us permission to toll I-80.
DOBBS: Why do you oppose this? Senator Evans thinks the way to do this is to go ahead with it.
MARKOSEK: Well Lou, it's a bad deal financially for the commonwealth. It's a bad policy decision. We've done a study that shows that the turn spike over well worth $26 billion. The bid is about half of that. And you would have to scrape off the top some of the obligations we already have. We have about $7 billion left to invest that has to last for 75 years.
In the new world order where it's hard to know who is your friend and who is your foe, I think leasing the turnpike for 75 years to a foreign consortium is a bad, bad idea for the united states and for Pennsylvania. It's a bad deal for the commonwealth.
DOBBS: Let me ask you both this last question. If you can't support a toll road with tolls, what is the heck is wrong in Pennsylvania?
MARKOSEK: We have Act 44 that we both worked to get passed last year, we want to toll Interstate 80. We found that Act 44 will get us about two-thirds of the way there. We don't have to raise taxes or license fees at all. I think Act 44 needs to be allowed to continue. That will solve a big part of the problem.
DOBBS: You get the last word Senator Evans.
EVANS: The bottom line is safety for the people of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 6,000 bridges need to be fixed, many miles of road. The time has come. We need a discussion about this.
DOBBS: All right. Look forward to more of them.
Thank you both for being here.
Up at the top of the hour, the "ELECTION CENTER" Campbell Brown.
Campbell, what are you working on?
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Just ahead in the "ELECTION CENTER," it's another day, another broken record for gas prices. Another day of Washington's Democrats and Republicans blaming one another over it. Tonight we're going try to get beyond blame game and see if somebody can do something to lower gas prices.
Also tonight, we have got embarrassments for both the McCain and Obama campaigns we're going to talk about.
And then the story of a governor, his wife, and his girlfriend. We're not talking about the ones you might think. All of that ahead in the Election Center, Lou.
DOBBS: You got it. I love politics. Campbell Brown up at the top of the hour.
Up here next, more of your thoughts and the results of our poll. Stay with us. We're coming right back.
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DOBBS: And the results of our poll tonight. 99 percent of you responding that you believe country of origin food and labor laws should be enforced and enforced immediately.
Let's take a look at your thoughts.
Coleman in North Carolina said: "In 1973 we sat in long lines to get gas. What has the Congress done in the last 35 years to rid of us of the dependence on imported oil? What new plans have been made? Why are the elected officials not being held accountable?"
Don't worry, we have a presidential election. They'll both have it all solved for us by the time they step into office in January.
Terry in Florida: "Dear, Lou, unfortunately I'm a registered Democrat with an Independent heart. I'm afraid to register as an Independent because I have zero confidence that our Florida election system would allow me to vote in November. I will probably re- register has an Independent after the election. You are our voice, Lou. Keep holding the politicians feet to the fire."
We'll do our best, and good luck come November.
Debbie in Florida said: "Lou, I love in Florida and my vote now has not counted for the past two elections. Today, however, my vote counted. I drove 15 miles to the supervisor of elections office and changed by party affiliation from Democrat to Independent. I only weigh 114 pounds, but I feel 2,000 pounds lighter. Thanks, Lou."
Well, thank you and welcome aboard.
William in Mississippi: "Way to go, Lou. You make more sense than anyone else on TV. I just joined the Independent Party because I'm sick and tired of the direction our country is headed. Thanks for all your efforts to get the truth out."
We keep trying.
Bill in Illinois: "Lou, thanks for telling it like it is, whether the topic be illegal immigration or the economy. Millions of people, such as myself, appreciate your dedication to telling the truth."
Mary in North Carolina said: "Lou, foremost of my adult life, I was a 'yellow-dog' Democrat, then I became a staunch Republican. Now I'm a fierce Independent. Keep up the good work."
You, too.
We love hearing from you. Send us your thoughts at loudobbs.com. Please remember to join me on the radio Monday through Friday for "The Lou Dobbs Show." Congresswoman Corrine Brown of Florida joins me tomorrow. We'll be talking about the presidential race and the efforts to -- takeover CSX railroad. Keith Richburg of "The Washington Post" also joins me. And Jerome Corsi and I will be talking about the country's failed free trade policies, and oh yes, the North American Union.
Please go to loudobbsradio.com for the local listings.
Thanks for being with us tonight. Join us here tomorrow. Arizona state representative Russell Pierce will be among my guests. He wrote Arizona's employer sanctions law, a law challenged now by big business and business interest groups in Arizona and nationally.
For all of us here, we thank you for watching. Join us tomorrow.
Good night from New York.
The "ELECTION CENTER" with Campbell Brown begins right now -- Campbell.
