Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Judging the Judge; Civilian Deaths in Iraq; Voter Reaction; Rosa Parks Memorial; White House Briefing
Aired October 31, 2005 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Judging the judge. Will the president's new choice get Senate approval for the Supreme Court? We're going to talk about that.
Plus, we expect the nominee to be the number one topic at the White House briefing. We'll bring it to you live.
A tribute to the mother of the American civil rights movement. Honoring Rosa Parks, one woman who forever changed how we all live.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Conservatives get what they demanded, and Republicans and Democrats appear headed for an epic battle over President Bush's latest nomination to the Supreme Court. After his first choice, Harriet Miers, was harshly rejected by many conservatives, the president nominated veteran appeals court Judge Samuel Alito today, four days after Miers withdrew her nomination. Mr. Bush says Alito has more prior judicial experience than any Supreme Court nominee in more than 70 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He understands that judges are to interpret the laws, not to impose their preferences or priorities on the people. In the performance of his duties, Judge Alito has gained the respect of his colleagues and attorneys for his brilliance and decency. He's won admirers across the political spectrum.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Alito, who is 55, has served on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of appeals since 1990. If confirmed, he would replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who has been a decisive swing vote in cases involving abortion, affirmative action and other key issues. Alito says that he holds the nation's highest court in high reference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE SAMUEL ALITO, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Federal judges have the duty to interpret the Constitution and the laws faithfully and fairly, to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans, and to do these things with care and with restraint, always keeping in mind the limits and role that the courts play in our constitutional system. And I pledge that if confirmed I will do everything within my power to fulfill that responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Wasting no time, the White House sent Alito to Capitol Hill to meet Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other key Senate leaders. If not the most important, close to it was Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: We'll be interested in Judge Alito's views on following precedence. He said in a very brief statement that he has worked hard to follow the precedence of the Supreme Court, and there is a lot more to the issue of a woman's right to choose than how you may feel about it personally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And for their part, Democrats, at least some of them, wasted no time in expressing their displeasure over Alito's nomination. Some see him and his judiciary record as too conservative. And if confirmed, a Supreme court judge who could very well work to overturn abortion rights, as well as other rulings held by -- held high, rather, by liberals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: My concern is that this nomination was more out of weakness rather than strength. We know that it was sort of the extreme right wing of the president's own party that sank the previous nominee. I think many of us want to know why they're so ecstatically happy today. What do they know that the rest of the judiciary and the American people don't know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, there will be much more talk in the coming days about Judge Alito's track record. Here are some of the opinions that have marked his career.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In 1991, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands before getting an abortion. Judge Alito dissented with that decision. He believed the law should have been upheld. Supporters of Roe v. Wade point to that as a sign that Alito would vote to overturn the ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states.
In 1999, the 3rd Circuit Court ruled in favor of a Christmas holiday display on city property in New Jersey. The ACLU challenged the display as a violation of separation of church and state. But Alito agreed with the majority of the court, saying the display was OK because it included symbols from more than one religion, and because it included plastic figures of Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman.
In 2001, that same court struck down a public school district's anti-harassment policy. Among other things, the policy kept students from promoting their belief that homosexuality is a sin. Alito agreed with the court that the policy was in violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So just who is Judge Samuel Alito? Is this Yale Law School graduate a conservative -- conservative, rather, as some critics contend? Will he be confirmed? Let's try to get some answers and more.
We turn to criminal defense and civil rights lawyer Lawrence Lustberg. He has known Alito since 1981. Larry Lustberg joins us by phone from Chatham, New Jersey.
Larry, thanks for being with us.
LAWRENCE LUSTBERG, ATTORNEY: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: I know that you are on the go today. We're lucky to have you by phone. A lot happening.
You know Samuel Alito very well. You've known him since 1981. You've even tried a case before him, correct?
LUSTBERG: Well, not before him. I mean, he was -- he's an appeals judge, so I've had many arguments before him. But I think I'm the only person who's tried a case against him, because I believe he's only had one trial in his career, and that was -- and I was the public defender on the other side of that.
PHILLIPS: Absolutely. I meant against him. And forgive me for my language.
LUSTBERG: No problem.
PHILLIPS: It's one of those days. Tell me about that case, because I took notes on it.
LUSTBERG: OK. Well, it was a pretty easy case, actually. It was -- the case was about my client. The defendant in that case had shot an FBI agent and, fortunately, the FBI agent lived.
And so there was a trial about whether that was attempted murder or not, and I argued that it was an accident. And he won. And he did a pretty good job for a guy who hadn't tried any cases before, I must say.
PHILLIPS: Well, so, considering that, from what you remember and that personal experience, now looking at this nomination, is this the right one for the position? I mean, talk to us about his character. Talk to us about his passions, your gut as an attorney. LUSTBERG: Right. Sam Alito is a brilliant judge and was a brilliant lawyer. He's academically -- he was incredibly proficient. He has great grasp of the law. A lot of the criticisms that were leveled towards Harriet Miers could never be leveled towards Sam Alito.
He is, and there should be no mistake about it, a very conservative man. His politics have always been, from what I believe, is to the right of center for this country. And I think that Congress will have to take a very good, hard look at that.
He's not, not withstanding this nickname that is thrown around as Scalito, he is not like Justice Scalia in the sense that I don't think he wants to change it all in one fell swoop. He's not the kind of guy who really wants to revolutionize the judicial system. I think he has too much respect for the judiciary and for the rule of law for that.
But there's no doubt about it that he's smart enough and able enough to chip away to get to a more conservative vision. And that's what we're going to see. But he will do it all with intelligence and with integrity. And he's a soft-spoken, modest man, who's family oriented and really a lovely guy to be with. But we all have to know what we're getting here.
PHILLIPS: Larry, you're a civil rights lawyer. And we've been talking a lot about just the diversity issue about the court and about this nomination. It wasn't Hispanic, it wasn't a woman. A lot of people talking about concern with regard to diversity issues and civil rights issues.
Reverend Joseph Lawry (ph) was just with me talking about Rosa Parks and her memorial service today. And he is very concerned about that and how Samuel Alito would make decisions.
What are your feelings?
LUSTBERG: Well, whether he's, you know, black or white or male or female is really not the point. There's no question but that there's reason for concern if you are in the mainstream or liberal in this country.
Sam Alito is a brilliant conservative. It might be better to have a less brilliant conservative on the bench. But he is a man who will push the law further toward the right.
I don't think that's any mystery. That's what this president was looking for, and that's what he got.
They're not going to find, as hard as anyone looks, any skeletons in his closet, because I dont believe there are any. He's a man of unimpeachable integrity. He's also a very nice guy, and he will make a terrific impression in Congress because he has vast control of the law.
But he is conservative on civil rights issues, he's conservative on criminal defendant's rights issues, he's conservative on prisoner's rights issues, he's conservative on reproductive freedom issues. He is a conservative.
PHILLIPS: Larry Lustberg, thanks so much.
LUSTBERG: My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: Appreciate it. We'll be, of course, talking a lot more about Samuel Alito as the days roll on.
Now, trying to find a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is just one of several major problems rocking the Bush White House. One at or near the top of the list, the indictment of the vice president's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, in the CIA leak scandal.
Libby stepped down Friday, as you know. And today, Vice President Cheney named David Addington to replace Libby as chief of staff.
Now, Addington has been Cheney's general counsel. And Cheney also appointed John Hannah as his assistant for national security affairs. Libby had held both of those positions.
Washington is taking some time to take a look back. A choir sang spirituals this morning as the body of civil rights icon Rosa Parks was removed from the U.S. Capitol. Police say more than 30,000 people viewed her casket, filing through the Capitol Rotunda all night.
A memorial service was held at a Washington church this afternoon, with burial scheduled Wednesday in Detroit.
Straight ahead, violence in Iraq. Strikes against the insurgents and insurgent strikes against civilians. More on that straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
And later, the choice of Samuel Alito. What does it say about diversity on the Supreme Court? We're going to discuss it more in depth just ahead on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Another deadly milestone in Iraq. Six U.S. soldiers died in two separate roadside bombings today. That brings the number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq in October to 90, making it the deadliest month for American forces since 107 were killed in January.
In the worst attack, four soldiers died when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Baghdad. Two others died in a similar blast in northern Iraq. That death toll of U.S. service members since the Iraq war began in -- or 2,023.
Suffering even higher casualties in the Iraq war, Iraqi civilians. In the latest insurgent attacks today, The Associated Press reports a total of eight Iraqis died in separate strikes in Baghdad and elsewhere in that country. Both the AP and Reuters report that several civilians, including children, were killed in a U.S. strike in the western city of Karabila, near the Syrian border. The U.S. military says that target was a senior al Qaeda cell leader.
A U.S. military spokesperson quoted by Reuters says that civilian deaths could not be verified.
More now on the war's toll on the Iraqi civilians from CNN's Aneesh Raman. And a warning, his account contains vivid images and language.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid charred debris, they stand in disbelief, a small farming community crippled Saturday by a car bomb that killed nearly 30, that destroyed the central marketplace, that stunned generations.
Grieving women huddled on the roadside, as children stood next to the wheels of a blown out vehicle. Witness to a sequence played out often in many Iraqi cities.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): A vehicle drove near to the mosque, but there was nobody there. So it turned back to the market, where many people were around, and it exploded.
RAMAN: It is virtually impossible to know the true civilian toll of these sustained insurgent attacks. But tucked away in a report to Congress last month, the Pentagon, for the first time, publicly estimated that 26,000 Iraqis have been killed or wounded by insurgents since the start of 2004, with an average of 64 civilian casualties daily, by early September this year.
Others put the number higher. But any estimate can be numbing. Each time, for each community, these attacks stop time and fuel sectarian divisions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Why do they kill our children? May God damn them. God revenge them in this life and after life. God send them to hell.
RAMAN: At the local hospital, the scenes are familiar as well. The wounded, like 9-year-old Ali Nasser (ph), desperately tried to stay alive. His father turned away in anguish. Hours later, Ali died, one of four children killed in the attack.
And so, as has happened before, and as will happen again in Iraq, in the village of Witer (ph), the coffins were lined up. Hasty burials carried out.
(on camera): The rising number of civilian deaths is the tragic drumbeat of Iraq's insurgency. And while it will never be known how many have died in the past two-and-a-half years, such a number would undoubtedly do no justice to the loss suffered by families throughout this country.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: And new video as we get new information about a car bomb exploding in a commercial district of Basra. We're told this happened Monday night. Of course that is evening time now in Iraq. A commercial district of Iraq's second largest city, and that's Basra, killing at least 20 people, we're told, injuring about 40.
The blast went off about 8:30 p.m. in Iraq. This commercial area is well known for shops and restaurants. Many of them packed with people that had been out for the evening during Ramadan festivities.
Witnesses reporting that they saw a number of rescue vehicles racing to the scene, trying to tend to those that had survived. There were a number of survivors, we're told, but right now reports of at least to 20 people dead, about 40 injured in that car explosion there in Basra.
If we get more information we'll bring it to you.
Meanwhile, we're talking about our other top story of the day, and that's the nominee with the strong conservative record. But does Samuel Alito fit the Supreme Court mold, too? We're going to take a closer look at the issue of diversity on the high court.
And the new Supreme Court nomination is just one of many hot topics today in Washington. We're expecting a live White House briefing.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: We continue to follow the extraordinary tributes to the late Rosa Parks. At this hour, the civil rights pioneer is being honored at a service in Washington. More than 30,000 people filed past Parks' coffin as it lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda.
Transit workers in Philadelphia walking picket lines. Having made it into work, thousands of commuters are looking for ways to get back home. The transit workers are striking for higher wages and against a demand that they contribute toward their health insurance.
From the U.N. to Syria, cooperate or else. The Security Council today adopted a resolution demanding full cooperation in an investigation into the assassination of Lebanese statesman Rafik Hariri. A U.N. inquiry implicated Syrian security officials. And today's resolution threatens further action if Syria doesn't comply.
Former White House official Scooter Libby is to answer criminal charges in federal court on Thursday. The former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney was indicted last Friday. He's accused of perjury and obstruction of justice in an investigation into the outing of a U.S. intelligence operative.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALITO: Well, I'm just looking forward to working with the Senate in the confirmation process. And I will do everything I can to cooperate with them and to discuss the -- my record as a judge, and the record of what I've done during the other stages of my -- of my legal career.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, it didn't take long for the debate to begin over Judge Samuel Alito's legal record. Unlike Harriet Miers, Alito has a long paper trail.
President Bush's new Supreme Court nominee has been a judge, a U.S. attorney and a top Justice Department official. He spent 15 years on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and is considered the most conservative member. He was the only dissenter in a 1991 abortion case, Planned parenthood versus Casey. The majority of the panel threw out a Pennsylvania law that required women seeking abortions to notify their husbands.
Now on to the CIA leak investigation. Despite Scooter Libby's indictment on perjury charges last week, the central question in the probe remains unanswered. Who first told reporters that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA operative?
Plame's husband, Joe Wilson, discussed the case on CBS last night. He says the leak ended his wife's undercover career and jeopardized her safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH WILSON, VALERIE PLAME'S HUSBAND: I don't go into security matters, but you can be sure that we've discussed security at great length with various agents. There have been specific threats. Beyond that I just can't go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: CNN's Wolf Blitzer will talk with Joe Wilson on a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Also speaking out on the leak case today, "TIME" magazine reporter Matt Cooper. "TIME" is co-owned with CNN. Cooper says the CIA leak may have been motivated by revenge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW COOPER, "TIME" MAGAZINE: I think there's no question that there was a lot of anger in the White House about Joseph Wilson. Just to set the scene, he had come back and had written this op-ed for "The New York Times" saying that the administration's claim that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy uranium in Africa to make nuclear weapons was not true, and he was being very critical of the Bush administration. There was a lot of pushing back against him. Now, whether what followed was criminal or not, or whether there has been perjury, I don't know. But like a few other journalists, I've been caught up in this case. And now I find myself as a potential witness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Cooper testified before the grand jury that indicted Libby, and he says that he may have to testify at Libby's trial.
President Bush's popularity was at a low ebb even before the CIA leak controversy resurfaced. Now that Scooter Libby, a member of his administration, has been indicted, how are voters reacting?
Let's check with Gallup Poll editor-in-chief, Frank Newport.
Frank, what have you learned?
FRANK NEWPORT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, GALLUP: Well, Kyra, we were out this weekend trying to get initial reaction, and I stress the word "initial reaction" to the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Here's what Americans tell us. We used this same question framework we've used for many other situations over the years.
"Was what Scooter Libby did illegal?" Well, 45 percent say that is correct. Unethical, but not legal, 31 percent. Notice, 16 percent were willing to say they don't know.
So, at least at the moment, less than half of Americans say that what he did was illegal. However, as you can see here, Kyra, I think this is very important. And I think a lot of Americans, as a lot of others around the world, perhaps, are still trying to scratch their head in figuring all this out, just 22 percent say they understand the whole complexity of this case very well.
And by the way, Kyra, when we look at those people, they're much more likely to say that what Libby did was illegal. So, at least initially those following it closely, more negative.
PHILLIPS: Well, Frank, the debate already heating up on Capitol Hill over President Bush's choice of Alito for the Supreme Court. How is the public likely to react?
NEWPORT: Well, one thing that the public will like was the fact that Judge Alito was a judge. We found that when we were talking about the Harriet Miers. And sure enough, over the weekend we found that.
Of the four things we've listed, the one which half of Americans said was essential for a new nominee was that he or she had judicial experience, which, of course, Samuel Alito certainly does. He's not a woman; he's replacing, if confirmed, Sandra Day O'Connor. But only 14 percent of Americans say that is essential.
Here's the controversy. Twenty-one percent say it's essential that he be conservative. What if he was going to overturn Roe versus Wade? Well, on the conservative side, 16 percent say that's essential. But I didn't show it to you here.
We've got over four out of 10 who say that would be a bad thing if he wanted to overturn Roe versus Wade. So there is going to be some contention down here about his ideology, no question about it.
PHILLIPS: What about the impact on the administration and President Bush now?
NEWPORT: Well, let's look at these numbers.
A lot of people, I think, if you listen to talk shows, news shows and read newspapers over the weekend and thought Bush was take go to take a major hit: he did not; his job approval ratings static. Four polls in a row now, Kyra, statistically unchanged. These aren't good numbers, mind you. We've got up to an average of 56 percent of Americans saying they disapprove, but nevertheless no evidence here that he took a hit as a result of what happened last week in our closely-timed CNN/USA Today/Gallup polls.
Bad news here, of course -- when we asked Americans, so far has he had success or failure as a president, 55 percent say a failure. But you know, Kyra, this basically just mirrors job approval ratings. The Bush administration right now has the majority of Americans looking negatively at his performance in the White House.
PHILLIPS: Frank Newport following all the polls for us. Thank you so much, Frank.
Straight ahead, remembering Rosa Parks: a memorial service held in the nation's capital for the civil rights pioneer. Our coverage continues straight ahead on LIVE FROM. Also, we're expecting a live briefing from the White House this hour. We'll bring that to you also.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN DOTCOM DESK: With Washington riveted on a new criminal case involving a top White House official, CNN.com has an inside look at the CIA leak investigation. In this timeline you can follow the investigation from the 2003 "New York Times" op-ed column by Joseph Wilson that accelerated the sequence of events leading to the indictment of the vice president's top aide on Friday. The investigation was led by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who has prosecuted cases involving political corruption, the Mafia and terrorism.
Check out key players in the case in this interactive gallery, including Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, who resigned Friday before his indictment was announced. You also can access the full federal indictment and the prosecutor's statement.
For more on the investigation, you can logon to CNN.com/CIALeak. For the DotCom Desk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Want to take you straight to Rosa Parks' Memorial Service right now in Washington, D.C. Oprah Winfrey getting ready to step up to the microphone. All day, incredibly well-known figures speaking about the life of Rosa Parks. Oprah Winfrey being one of them because of their friendship.
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: ... friends, admirers, and this amazing choir.
(APPLAUSE)
I feel it an honor to be here to come and say a final goodbye. I grew up in the South and Rosa Parks was a hero to me long before I recognized and understood the power and impact that her life embodied.
I remember my father telling me about this colored woman who had refused to give up her seat, and in my child's mind I thought she must be really big.
(LAUGHTER)
I thought she must be at least 100 feet tall.
I imagined her being stalwart and strong and carrying a shield to hold back the white folks.
(LAUGHTER)
And then I grew up and had the esteemed honor of meeting her, and wasn't that a surprise.
Here was this petite, almost delicate lady who was the personification of grace and goodness. And I thanked her then. I said, "Thank you" for myself and for every colored girl, every colored boy who didn't have heroes who were celebrated.
(LAUGHTER)
I thanked her then.
And after our first meeting, I realized that God uses good people to do great things.
And I'm here today to say a final thank you, Sister Rosa, for being a great woman who used your life to serve, to serve us all. That day that you refused to give up your seat on the bus, you, Sister Rosa, changed the trajectory of my life and the lives of so many other people in the world.
I would not be standing here today, nor standing where I stand every day had she not chosen to sit down.
(APPLAUSE)
I know that. I know that. I know that. I know that and I honor that -- had she not chosen to say, we shall not, we shall not be moved.
So I thank you, again, Sister Rosa, for not only confronting the one white man whose seat you took, not only confronting the bus driver, not only for confronting the law but for confronting history; a history that for 400 years said that you were not even worthy of a glance, certainly no consideration.
I thank you for not moving.
And in that moment when you resolved to stay in that seat, you reclaimed your humanity and you gave us all back a piece of our own.
(APPLAUSE)
I thank you for that.
I thank you for acting without concern.
I often thought about what that took knowing the climate of the times and what could have happened to you, what it took to stay seated.
You acted without concern for yourself and made life better for us all.
We shall not be moved.
I marvel at your will. I celebrate your strength to this day and I am forever grateful, Sister Rosa, for your courage, your conviction.
I owe you to succeed.
(APPLAUSE)
I will not be moved.
(APPLAUSE)
PHILLIPS: Remembering the grace and the goodness of Rosa Parks. Oprah Winfrey stepping up to the mike there and sharing a few words with a number of distinguished guests as everybody today -- as the nation, as America remembers the life and legacy of Rosa Parks. More LIVE FROM right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Too spooky to Trick or Treat? Well, that's the situation in parts of South Florida a week after Hurricane Wilma. Officials there are urging parents to keep their children at home after dark tonight because of continuing power outages, downed power lines and other real life frights.
It isn't nearly as bad as New Orleans after Katrina, but some of the same sorts of problems New Orleans had to endure are cropping up across southern Florida. Just one example: medical care. CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE) RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Frank Katan (ph) fired up his chain saw to get rid of the mess in his yard. He thinks he's being extra careful, as do tens of thousands of other South Floridians trying to repair the mess brought by Wilma. But accidents happen and local emergency rooms have been jammed. So the call went out, a la Hawkeye Pierce -- now FEMA MASH units have erected tents in the parking lots of two South Florida hospitals. This one is at Memorial Hospital Pembroke.
There's Gary Eastman -- recovering from back surgery when Wilma hit, he had to put up shutters before the storm. Now, he's hurting.
GARY EASTMAN, PATIENT: It's pretty serious, and now they're talking about not restoring power for another three weeks. I can't get a hold of my doctor, the pharmacies are closed, there's no power.
ED WHITBREAD, FEMA MEDIC: What you did when you jacked off that tree, you tore it. So you tore some ligaments.
DORNIN: Robert Novak hurt himself jumping out of a tree in his back yard. FEMA medic Ed Whitbread has seen a lot of hurricane- related injuries over the last few months. He helped out on Katrina and Rita. Now he's patching up a man who sliced himself cutting a tree with his chain saw.
WHITBREAD: We're getting more and more chain saw injuries, and they tend to be pretty bad. People have been lucky, no amputations or anything, but a lot of stitches, some back injuries that could be, you know, long lasting.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: See the saline vials?
DORNIN: The call went out to bring in the MASH units last week.
(on camera) Once you arrive in the hospital parking lot, how quickly can you get this whole thing up and start seeing patients?
WHITBREAD: The whole thing -- two hours. To get things going and patients, you know, cared for.
DORNIN (voice over): The hospital's emergency room director, Susan Kramer, says it has taken a huge load off their shoulders.
SUSAN KRAMER, EMERGENCY ROOM DIRECTOR: We would be significantly overwhelmed. For our facility here, we would be seeing 200 percent of our normal volume.
DORNIN: As for the patients, Gary Eastman has severe muscle spasms. He got a shot and some medication, all in under an hour.
(on camera) How long did you wait altogether here?
EASTMAN: I was here maybe half an hour, 45 minutes at the most.
DORNIN (voice over): An emergency room wait that might even make Hawkeye Pierce envious. Rusty Dornin, CNN Pembroke Pines, Florida.
PHILLIPS: We haven't talked to Bonnie Schneider in a while. Let's go upstairs and check in on the weather pattern, see how it's looking.
We haven't talked about it in a while, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right, I've been waiting, Kyra.
Right now we're watching for some severe weather that's breaking out over parts of Texas at this hour. We've had reports of some strong thunderstorms, about dime-size hail, as well. Some wind gusts as high as 40 miles per hour. Taking a closer look, these yellow boxes indicate watch boxes, and look at this squall line. It's just now coming through Tyler, Texas. It is just pounding the area with teeming rain for Tyler at this hour.
We had some of that earlier in Dallas, where wind gusts were as high as 40 miles per hour, and now the storm's working its way further off to the east. It's a squall line associated with the cold front that's working its way across the country right now.
Switching gears, going back to the tropics: Here's what is left of Beta. Right now these are just the remnants working their way across Central America, eventually pushing out into the Pacific. Beta is no more a storm; it's actually just breaking apart.
Here's the front I was mentioning that is bringing the strong storms to Texas, Oklahoma -- expecting rain as well into Arkansas. And we already have a thunderstorm watch for parts of northern Louisiana, as well. Not New Orleans but further to the north, near Shreveport. And some cooler air coming in behind this.
Now, ahead of the front, it's much milder. It's actually beautiful in the Southeast -- a great day in Atlanta. Nice in Charlotte, as well, down through Florida.
But the good news is for the Northeast -- temperatures are really warming up. Ten degrees above normal for all the cities here: Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Washington -- all in the low 70s. A great way to end the month of October on a nice, warm note. And good news for tonight, trick or treaters, the weather looks pretty good, as well -- Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Good news. Bonnie Schneider, thank you so much.
Still ahead on LIVE FROM, the choice of Samuel Alito: What does it say about diversity on the Supreme Court? We're going to debate it next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Scott McClellan talking White House -- CIA leak, rather, and the investigation. Let's listen in. QUESTION: "-- unsubstantiated accusations that are made, and that's exactly what happened in the case of these three individuals, including Rove and Libby. They're good individuals, they're important members of our White House team and that's why I spoke with them so that I could come back to you and say that they were not involved." You were wrong then, weren't you?
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: David, it's not a question of whether or not I'd like to talk more about this. I think I've indicated to you all that I'd be glad to talk about this once this process is complete. And I look forward to that opportunity. But, again, we have been directed by the White House Counsel's Office not to discuss this matter or respond to questions about it.
QUESTION: That was a public representation you made to the American people.
MCCLELLAN: Hang on. We can have this conversation, but let me respond.
QUESTION: It's such an artful dodge.
MCCLELLAN: I disagree with you.
QUESTION: Whether there is a question of legality, we know for a fact that there was involvement. We know that Karl Rove, based on what he and his lawyer said, did have a conversation about somebody who Patrick Fitzgerald said was a covert officer of the Central Intelligence Agency. We know that Scooter Libby also had conversations.
MCCLELLAN: That's accurate.
QUESTION: So aside from the question of legality here, you were wrong, weren't you?
MCCLELLAN: Again, David, if I were to get into commenting from this podium while this legal proceeding continues, I might be prejudicing the opportunity for there to be a fair and impartial trial. And I'm just not going to do that. I know very --
QUESTION: You speak for the president. Your credibility and his credibility is not on criminal trial. But it may very well be on trial with the American public, don't you agree?
MCCLELLAN: No, I'm confident in the relationship we have in this room and the trust established between us. This relationship --
QUESTION: It's not about us; it's about what the American people --
MCCLELLAN: This relationship is built on trust and you know very well that I have worked hard to earn the trust of the people in this room. And I think I've earned it. I think I've earned it with the American people.
QUESTION: Let me just follow up: Does the president think that Karl Rove did anything wrong?
MCCLELLAN: I think it would be good for you to allow me the opportunity to respond to your questions without jumping in. I'm glad to do that. I look forward to the opportunity -- well, no, I have been responding to you, David. There's no need -- you're a good reporter, there's no need to be rude or disrespectful. We can have a conversation and respond to these questions if you'll just give me the opportunity to respond. I'm glad to do that.
We need to let this legal process continue -- the special counsel indicated the other day that it is ongoing -- and that's what we're going to do from this White House. That's the policy that we have set for quite some time now.
QUESTION: In the year 2000, the president said the following, "In my administration, we will ask not only what is legal, but what is right. Not just what the lawyers allow, but what the public deserves."
Doesn't the American public deserve some answers from this president about the role of his vice president in the story and what he knew and when he knew it and how he feels about the conduct of his administration?
MCCLELLAN: The American people deserve a White House that is committed to doing their work. We are focused on the priorities of the American people. As the president indicated Friday, we got a job to do and we're going to do it. We're going to continue to focus on our efforts to protect the American people and to spread prosperity here at home.
We are going to move forward on the Supreme Court nomination.
People in this White House fully understand what's expected of them. We are expected to focus on the people's business, first and foremost. And that's what we always do.
We're also expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards. People understand that in this White House. That's what the president expects and that's what the American people expect.
And we've got a great team here and we'll continue to adhere to those standards.
QUESTION: Scott, on the subject of rude, my apologies for my unfortunate choice of words this morning to you. But I think the question bears asking again, and that is that the president said repeatedly when he nominated Harriet Miers that she is the best person for the job.
Does that in any way indicate that, while Sam Alito may be well- qualified for the Supreme Court, he is not, as was described to Harriet Miers, the best person?
MCCLELLAN: He's extremely well-qualified. When the president selected Harriet Miers, he was taking into consideration what members of the Senate had said, that he should look outside the court.
But we recognize now that, in the culture of today's confirmation process, it is very difficult to nominate someone who comes from outside the court and has little public record on constitutional issues to be confirmed. That's something we recognize.
The president looked at someone to fill this vacancy at this time, and he believes Judge Alito is the best person to fill this vacancy at this time based on his extensive experience and his judicial temperament.
QUESTION: The other thing -- you said the president, when...
MCCLELLAN: And I would just point out, he is someone that is very well-versed in constitutional law and has a very public record for people to look at.
QUESTION: The other thing is, when announcing Harriet Miers and in supporting her nomination, the president repeatedly made a virtue of her lack of judicial experience, made a virtue of the idea that she was someone outside the judicial monastery.
Now when we hear you talking about Sam Alito, all we hear about is the virtue of experience.
MCCLELLAN: Well Harriet Miers -- we felt Harriet Miers was very well-qualified to serve on our nation's highest court. But I think I've just answered your question in the previous response I gave you.
QUESTION: Scott, let me follow up on what he was asking. You say we know you, and we do, but we can't vouch for you. That's not our job. And I wonder: Do you really think, after...
MCCLELLAN: Well, wait a second. Let me just interject there. I think there are many people in this room I see expressing their own commentary on TV all the time, not just reporting.
You do a job to report the news as well, but many people in this room also go on the air and express their views and their commentary. And I've worked with many of you for quite some time now. So...
QUESTION: I don't follow that. I can't go on TV and say: America believes Scott McClellan. That's not my role.
MCCLELLAN: No. You go on TV, though, and engage in commentary about views and things that are expressed here at the White House.
QUESTION: Right. But what I can't do is carry your water for you. And I wonder...
MCCLELLAN: I'm not asking you to.
QUESTION: Yes, you are. MCCLELLAN: I'm just asking you to speak to who I am. And you know who I am.
QUESTION: There's been a wound to your credibility here. A falsehood wittingly or unwittingly was told from this podium.
And do you really believe that the American people should wait until the conclusion of all of this process and just take on trust everything that comes from that podium now without the explanation and the answer that you say you want to give?
MCCLELLAN: There are a lot of facts that still are not known in this investigation and in this legal proceeding that is ongoing. We also have to work under the presumption of innocence in our legal system.
And, again, the reason I can't comment further is because, if we were to get into that, we could be prejudicing the opportunity for there to be a fair and impartial hearing.
And we don't want to do that from this podium no matter how much I may want to talk about this issue. And I think you know that I would like to talk further about it. But I have enough confidence in my relationship with you all -- and you all report the news to the American people -- to know that we have a good relationship that is built on a foundation of trust.
And I have worked hard to earn that trust and I think I've earned that trust with you all. And it's your job to duly report to the American people. And I'm confident that you all will when you look at the facts and look at everything that's been said and where we are today.
And, at some point, I look forward to talking more about it. But let me step back for a second, too, because part of my job is to be an advocate for the president. And I'm going to vigorously defend his decisions and his policies and help him to advance his agenda.
But I have another important responsibility, as well. It's something that we all, I think and hope, share in this room. That is to make sure that the American people get an accurate account of what's going on here in Washington, D.C. And I work hard to meet both those responsibilities.
QUESTION: But don't you think, Scott, that that second part of your job has been damaged, your credibility has been damaged by this?
MCCLELLAN: For me to even respond to that question would force me to talk about an ongoing investigation and legal proceeding, and we have been directed not to do that.
Whether or not that puts me in a difficult position is another matter. But I have enough confidence in the relationship that we've built over the last few years to be able to move forward and for you all to know that what I'm saying from this podium is based on the facts and based on me working to provide an accurate account of what's going on here in Washington, D.C.
QUESTION: Is Karl Rove back at work...
MCCLELLAN: Let me finish.
In other words, you can't answer that question without it being viewed in the context of an ongoing investigation and an ongoing legal proceeding, and that's why I can't go further than that at this point.
QUESTION: But doesn't then that make it impossible for you to do your job with as much credibility as that podium demands?
MCCLELLAN: No, not at all, because of the relationship that we've built between me and the press corps, and I think that I've earned with the American people, too. I've tried worked hard to earn that trust and I think I've done my part to maintain that trust.
QUESTION: Could you just update us on Rove's status? Is he back at work? What issues...
MCCLELLAN: Yes. He's the deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to the president and he continues to do his duties.
QUESTION: The president has confidence in him?
MCCLELLAN: People that work here at the White House have the confidence of the president.
QUESTION: Scott, can you rule out the possibility that the president would consider pardoning Mr. Libby, either preemptively or if there were a conviction or a guilty...
MCCLELLAN: I'm not even going to try to speculate about things because that assumes certain things at this point. Let's let that legal process continue.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
MCCLELLAN: I'm just not going to -- I'm not going to try to speculate about things. Let's see how things go and then...
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
MCCLELLAN: No, I'm just saying that I'm not going to speculate about things. It's way too early to start speculating about things like that.
QUESTION: On the Alito nomination today, can you talk about what you see happening in the Senate, what will happen if, in fact, there is a filibuster?
QUESTION: Are you daring Senate Democrats to come out and fight, in effect?
MCCLELLAN: First of all, I haven't even heard any discussion of a filibuster as you said. I haven't heard anyone say that. I would certainly hope that there wouldn't be, but that's up to members of the Senate whether or not there will be. The president wants to see a civil and dignified process. And there's no reason why there shouldn't be. This is someone who has been confirmed twice by the United States Senate and unanimously confirmed in both instances.
So we think that the Senate can move forward in a very prompt manner because he has such an extensive public record. It will be easy for the Senate to look at the public record, to look at his judicial temperament because he has 15 years of service on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
And if you look back in the early 1990s when Justice Ginsburg was going through her confirmation hearings, she is someone who had 13 years of experience on the bench. And the Senate gave her a confirmation hearing within a month and then confirmed her shortly thereafter because they recognized that her qualifications and experience met the standard to be able to serve on our nation's highest court.
And that's what this should be based about -- qualifications and experience and judicial temperament. And that's what we'll continue to push.
QUESTION: Do you have an agreement from Senate leaders to try to get this through by the end of the year? They would like to leave town.
MCCLELLAN: Well, Senator Frist expressed that he wanted to see the confirmation hearings move forward promptly last week. I think he made such comments. I haven't heard the comments today. I'll be glad to check to see if there's any additional information. Obviously, it's the Senate prerogative. But we think there's no reason why they cannot move quickly on this confirmation.
QUESTION: Scott, when he nominated Harriet Miers -- on the talking points that you put out -- part of what you said about her is that she was a trailblazer as a woman. James Dobson says that Karl Rove, when he called to pitch Harriet Miers, he said the president's first priority was to pick a woman. That's why he picked Harriet Miers. Why wasn't his...
MCCLELLAN: I don't know about that characterization. I do know that everything that the president said and that I said from this podium was focused on her qualifications and experience and her judicial philosophy. And that's why he selected her.
Now the president, at any time he considers people for the bench, he looks at a diverse group of potential nominees. And that's what he's always done.
He certainly in the last few instances when there have been vacancies has carefully considered women that might serve on this vacancies too. But he appointed the person who he felt was the best person to fill this vacancy at this time.
QUESTION: And did Laura Bush or even Sandra Day O'Connor who had made it very clear publicly --
PHILLIPS: We're going to continue to follow Scott McClellan there at the White House, as he talks about everything from the CIA leak investigation to the future of that position of chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, in addition to the nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court.
That wraps up this Monday edition of LIVE FROM. I'm Kyra Phillips at CNN Center in Atlanta.
Wolf is going to monitor this now. He's live in "The Situation Room."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
