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Supreme Court Nominee Harriet Miers Back on Capitol Hill This Morning; In New Orleans, Hard Times Getting Harder

Aired October 05, 2005 - 07:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers back on Capitol Hill this morning trying to shore up support, but there's growing concern on the left and the right. Even some of the president's staunchest supporters say they don't know her. What's that going to mean for the president's pick? We're live in Washington on this growing controversy.
In New Orleans, hard times are getting harder. Mayor Ray Nagin says the city is broke, and he has to lay off nearly half of the city's workers, calling it pretty permanent. What does the latest move say for the New Orleans recovery efforts? We've got a live report straight ahead.

And investigators are trying to close in on the cause of that tour boat accident that killed 20 people in New York. They'll conduct a key test on that boat's twin sister, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Miles has the day off.

Also ahead this morning, former President Clinton on his first visit tour of the Gulf region since Hurricane Katrina hit.

AMERICAN MORNING's Kelly Wallace is traveling with the former president. She was the only reporter with him for him on parts of his tour on Tuesday. So just ahead, what Mr. Clinton heard from survivors in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and what he's going to be doing today in Alabama and Mississippi.

Mississippi, of course, is where Rob Marciano is today. He's reporting from Long Beach five weeks after Hurricane Katrina hit.

Government help's been slow in coming, hasn't it, Rob? Good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

You're right about that. A lot of people frustrated here in Mississippi, devastated by Hurricane Katrina, like you said, five weeks ago. But do you know, it seems like it's going dreadfully slow, but you've got to imagine, with destruction like this behind me, complete homes wiped out and established brick-and-concrete building hollowed out, I mean, it's just going to take a long time. Folks certainly are frustrated here. We're going to talk with some of them a little bit later on.

This is day three of our three-day tour across the Gulf Coast, from Port Arthur to Lake Charles, 240 miles here across the Chapeliya (ph), across the Mississippi, and we're going to talk with the mayor, residents, and also, you know, the schools, the superintendent and students. Some of the schools here completely destroyed. What happens to the kids? Where are they going to school? We'll talk about that and much more in the coming three hours -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Rob, thanks.

Well, this morning, President Bush's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court is meeting with two members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

A new CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll shows much weaker initial public support for Harriet Miers compared to the president's previous nominee, John Roberts. Bob Franken live for us at the White House this morning.

Bob, good morning to you.

How big a problem is this for the White House?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a real heavy sell going on, because, let's face it, Harriet Miers has violated rule number one of political showbiz, and that is never follow a good act. The good act in this case being John Roberts, who was so widely accepted and praised by conservatives. That same "USA Today/Gallup poll shows that among conservatives, Roberts was favorably viewed by 77 percent of the respondents. Conservatives have a 58 percent approval rate of Harriet Miers. Remember, this is an appointment by President Bush.

And the second question, does the lack of information about Harriet Miers' views on issues make you more likely to support her or less? And as you can see, the numbers are substantially in the less likely to support her.

So the president was out there saying, trust me, I know her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've known her for more than 10 years. I know her character. She's a woman of principle and deep conviction. She shares my philosophy that judges should strictly interpret the laws and the Constitution of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: At the news conference yesterday, the president was asked how much political capital he had. His response was an emphatic plenty. Sounds like, Soledad, he's going to have to spend quite a bit of it on Harriet Miers.

O'BRIEN: Sure does. All right, Bob. Bob Franken for us at the White House. Thanks.

The first test for new chief justice, John Roberts, today, with the high court taking up Oregon's assisted dying law. Kathleen Koch live for us at the White House as well.

Kathleen, good morning to you.

What's the background on this case?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Obviously, Soledad, this is a very, very emotional case, and it stems from a law that went into effect in the state of Oregon back in 1997, and it allows doctors to give -- prescribe a lethal dose of medication to a terminally ill patient who is found to be both mentally competent and within six months of death.

Now, the Bush administration is challenging the law, the only law that is tied in the country, by saying speeding someone's death is an improper use of medication and, thus, a violation of federal drug laws. Very few people in the state of Oregon have used the law.

Now so far, very few people, though, in the state of Oregon have used the law. Only 208 have chosen to end their lives this way. One, a cancer patient from the state of Oregon, though, yesterday, made a very emotional plea, saying that this is truly a choice that the terminally ill deserve.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLENE ANDREWS, TERMINALLY ILL CANCER PATIENT: I think it's much more spiritual to be around your family and around your loved ones, and be able to die knowing that they're there and not being unconscious and not being in diapers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Again, very interesting question that the Americans are deeply divided on. And much of what their opinion is on this issue depends on the wording of it, how you describe it, a very -- the latest CNN/"USA Today"/ Gallup poll found that 54 percent of those surveyed do support allowing doctors to, quote, "help terminally ill patients end their lives." But when the same survey asked if it was all right to allow doctors to help terminally ill patients, quote, "commit suicide," very different results. Just 46 percent supported that, while 48 percent opposed.

And, Soledad, the arguments in that case go forth later this morning at 10:00 a.m.

O'BRIEN: It's all in the wording, isn't it? Kathleen Koch at the Supreme Court for us this morning. Kathleen, thanks.

In his Rose Garden news conference on Tuesday, President Bush mentioned the dire threat of an avian flu pandemic spreading to the U.S. The president says a deadly event would raise difficult questions, like whether the U.S. military should be used to enforce the quarantine. Barbara Starr live for us at the Pentagon.

Barbara, good morning to you.

This is not something the military does. Is the military prepared to do it?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is the question, Soledad.

You know, ever since Katrina, the question has been, in what scenarios would the U.S. military get more involved in the aftermath of a major disaster that perhaps crossed state lines? Well, indeed, President Bush startled some yesterday at that Rose Garden press conference when he talked about the possibility that the U.S. military might have to enforce a quarantine in the event of an outbreak of bird flu. Listen to the president for a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: And who best to be able to affect a quarantine? one option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move. So that's why I put it on the table. I think it's an important debate for Congress to have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: A senior U.S. military official, in fact, tells CNN, this is exactly the kind of scenario they are already thinking about inside the military. What would they do? How would they work with public health officials in the event of this type of situation?

Now, military officials say the things that they, the military, could bring to the table are things like planning, coordination, logistics and supplies, medical facilities, and transportation, that these are the kinds of things they've learned from Katrina that the U.S. military can perhaps do best. But enforcing a quarantine, military enforcement of a quarantine, officials say they still hope it is the case that it would be the issue for the public health service, for the National Guard, not for the active-duty military -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks.

Investigators are going to conduct tests today on a boat identical to the tour boat that capsized on Sunday in Lake George. They're trying to figure out what caused that deadly accident. Twenty people were killed. There were frantic calls to 911.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DISPATCHER; 911, where's your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we got a boat tipped over, Lake George. A commercial boat, it tipped right over. There's 50 people on the boat.

DISPATCHER: 50 people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

DISPATCHER: Whereabouts are you now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right in Diner's Point (ph) in Lake George, right on the water. There are boats around to help them. (INAUDIBLE). It tipped right over.

DISPATCHER: OK, (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I saw a boat, a boat, a boat went over, just at the eastern alley (ph), just outside of Green Harbor!

DISPATCHER: Green Harbor? Can you tell me how many people there are on the boat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It tipped right over! Oh, a lot of people! They're hanging on to the boat! It went right over! Oh, please, hurry!

DISPATCHER: Green Harbor?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, Green Harbor, in Lake George, you know, Lake George.

DISPATCHER: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, please send somebody really quick!

DISPATCHER: Yes, ma'am, will do.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Investigators say one of the tests will be to see how stable the craft is when most of the weight is shifted to one side.

As many as 3,000 city employees in New Orleans are going to be laid off. The mayor says there's just not enough money to keep paying their salaries. Dan Lothian is live for us in New Orleans this morning.

Dan, good morning to you.

Obviously, bad news and worst news for folks in that city. When do these layoffs take place?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, really bad news. Expected to start taking place this weekend.

You know, ever since the scope of Hurricane Katrina became clear, the mayor was talking about how it would impact the city financially. As you mentioned, though, yesterday, at a press conference, we found out exactly what that means when the mayor announced, Mayor Ray Nagin announcing, that 3,000 city employees, about half of the workforce, would be laid off. He said this would impact the administrative -- nonessential administrative positions, but not would impact public safety workers, like firefighters and police officers. Mayor Nagin, rather, saying that he tried to look at all the other options to try to get some revenue, to try to save the jobs, but in the end, he had no other option.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MYR. RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Unfortunately, we have searched high and low. We've checked with federal sources, we've checked with state sources, we've talked to banks and other financial institutions, and we are just not able to put together the financing necessary to continue to maintain our city hall staffing at its current levels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: The bottom line, says the mayor, is that they simply have no cash. Again, they hope to save between $5 million to $8 million in monthly payroll. The mayor saying that he will work with FEMA to try to contact the impacted employees who have moved out of state -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Terrible news there. Dan Lothian for us this morning. Dan, thanks.

Financial troubles really everywhere the hurricane struck. Let's get right to Rob Marciano. He's in Mississippi this morning.

Good morning to you, Rob.

MARCIANO: Hi, Soledad.

You're right about that, that's going to be a huge issue here in Long Beach, Mississippi. Most of the buildings right along the lakefront here are huge contributors to the local economy, and 75 percent of the tax base is thought to be wiped out, so the city is afraid of going bankrupt. On top of that, things are dreadfully slow to recover as they start to pick up the pieces.

We got into town late yesterday afternoon. We managed to meet up Alderman Richard Bennett, and he took us around town and gave us a little look around town. Why don't you take a look here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD BENNETT, LONG BEACH BENNETT: The water came through, and as can you see, it destroyed the church. We haven't been able to find any pews. We don't know where the pews have gone. We don't know if they washed back out into the ocean. But all of the debris field you see all around it, we have not been able to find any pews.

MARCIANO: My goodness.

BENNETT: But if you look in this church, all four of the stained-glass windows are still here. None of them broke. They're not cracked or anything.

MARCIANO: Look at that.

BENNETT: This was a beautiful church. And can I tell you, the church is still here. The building is gone, but the church is still here.

MARCIANO: It's been over a month now. What kind of progress has been made in all this?

BENNETT: Tremendous progress has been done on our cleanup. As far as -- where we're walking right now, you couldn't walk. All the streets had 12, 14 feet of debris. And the cleanup is going great, but as you can see, there's still a lot to be cleaned up, a lot of rebuilding. Down in this area, the infrastructure, it will be more than a year before we get the water and sewer down there for our businesses to come back.

I'm hoping that, as you see down this main street, that our electrical wires and stuff will go underground. All of our utilities underground and come up with some nice lighting down Jeff Davis. And now is the time to do it. We'll never be able to do it again.

This is our elementary school. If you look from the other side, you would think that it's OK. It's still standing. But as you can see, once you get over here, there's not much left to it. To start school, we had to have our teachers back, too. A lot of them had moved on. But they've come back and they're staying with friends, they're waiting for trailers, and we're hoping to have a FEMA trailer park full of teachers, and it just hasn't happened yet, because FEMA hasn't given us the trailers. We've got the spot, and we're ready to move.

MARCIANO: A lot of criticism of the federal government. Tell me what they've done for Long Beach.

BENNETT: I don't think FEMA knows there's a long beach. But every time we talk to someone from FEMA, they give us a different answer. We've got one FEMA person saying that's the way to do it, and the next day, they're saying, oh, no, you're doing it wrong, and we just need FEMA to work with us a little more than what they're doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Good people here in Long Beach, obviously, frustrated, but who wouldn't be with the devastation that has been strewn about for sure.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, former President Bill Clinton visits hurricane victims in Louisiana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: I try not to forget that what someone like me or former President Bush can do. It's not just raise money and spend it, but also just be available to listen. A lot of these people have lost everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Mr. Clinton getting a firsthand look. AMERICAN MORNING's Kelly Wallace is with him.

Her one-on-one interview with the former president up next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Former President Bill Clinton's tour of the Gulf Coast takes him to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama today. On Tuesday, he met with victims in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

AMERICAN MORNING's Kelly Wallace was the only reporter with Mr. Clinton for parts of that tour, and she's in New Orleans this morning.

Hey, Kelly, good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

As you were mentioning, the former president starting his day just outside New Orleans. He's going to meet with some of the folks who are preparing meals for relief workers, and then on to Mississippi and Alabama, wrapping up what has been described as a fact-finding mission, but something that has presented plenty of opportunity for Mr. Clinton to do what many say he does best.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE (voice-over): A former consoler-in-chief consoling once again.

CLINTON: I'm really sorry for what you've been through, and I'm honored to be here.

WALLACE: In his first visit to Louisiana since Hurricane Katrina, former President Clinton huddled first with some of its victims.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the difference? Why we couldn't get the attention and the help that Texas got, when a whole -- I mean, from the east bank to the west bank was destroyed?

WALLACE: For two hours in Baton Rouge, Mr. Clinton listened to their stories and complaints about a lack of housing and still no money from FEMA.

CLINTON: I try not to forget that what someone like me or former President Bush can do is not just raise money and spend it, but also just to be available to listen. A lot of these people have lost everything.

WALLACE: He said he came to figure out how best to spend the nearly $100 million he raised for Katrina relief with former President Bush, who visits the region next week.

CLINTON: I wish we could of come together, but as I said, I had to come this week, and President Bush couldn't come until next week, and that is on my 30th wedding anniversary, and I want to spend that day with Hillary.

WALLACE (on camera): That would be problematic at home? CLINTON: Yes, as much as I'm devoted to this task, I think I need to be home.

WALLACE (voice-over): We traveled along with the former president as he choppered from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, and as he toured one of the hardest-hit areas, the lower ninth ward.

(on camera): On a personal note, what was it like for you? We drove with you through the Lower Ninth Ward. As someone who loves this city, what was that like?

CLINTON: Well, it was very emotional because I mean, you know, this is the first city I ever visited. My family's I guess only out- of-state vacation my family ever took when I was a boy was here and the Gulfport and Biloxi. Ironically, we went to New Orleans, Gulfport and Biloxi when I was 15. So I've loved this place all my life.

WALLACE (voice-over): And the place he loved gave him a New Orleans welcome. Along the way, he steered clear of criticizing the Bush administration's response to Katrina and how he thinks the president should roll back tax cuts for the wealthy to help pay for rebuilding the Gulf Coast.

(on camera): You have a relationship with former President Bush. Do you ever say to him, here is what I think the president should do? And why not?

CLINTON: No way. He knows what I think. But I've talked to the president about this. I have a good relationship with him, but I don't -- you know, I'm past the point in my life when I'm just always mad at people I disagree with. That's just not -- I just disagree.

WALLACE (voice-over): He says his focus is mainly on what he and former President Bush can do to help New Orleans rebuild.

CLINTON: It's been a great city for a very long time, and I expect it to be a great city for a very long time after I leave this Earth, and I hope I can do a little help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: And the former president told us in our interview last night, that when he arrived at his hotel and he saw the neon lights and saw some activity in the French Quarter, he said to himself, I know this is going to work.

So, Soledad, he says he's going to be leaving Louisiana with a glimmer of hope.

O'BRIEN: Lots of people are optimistic, but they're also frustrated, Kelly. They'd like to see more aid. They'd like to see it a lot faster. What does the president think is the number-one thing that needs to be done right now?

WALLACE: And he heard an earful of that, Soledad, definitely yesterday. One thing he said, is he believes there needs to be at least one person with sort of decision-making authority at all of the shelters in Louisiana, and Mississippi and elsewhere, people who are on the ground and can answer questions for people and help them get the aid that they need. He talked about how he's always been a big advocate of, you know, online government, e-government, but he says that sometimes when you go online or you get on the phone, you just run into a lot of busy signals and a lot of problems. So he said if you have one person on the ground at each shelter -- possibly Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco's idea is to ultimately have one person assigned to each family, a family-resource corps really, to help these families to maneuver through this process and get the aid they need. He felt like that was the real thing he heard yesterday, and hopes that that's one thing that the federal government can do sometime soon.

O'BRIEN: It is so frustrating for the people there, just so -- you know, victimized, and I think they really feel victimized again.

Kelly, thanks. Terrific interview. Thank you for sharing it with us. Appreciate it.

WALLACE: Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business." He's going to tell us why the Fed is getting worried about inflation. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Fed is worried about inflation. So is Wall Street. Andy's "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning.

I think the question for millions of Americans is, are interest rates headed up? And I think the answer is, it appears so.

Yesterday, two top Fed officials saying that they were very concerned about inflation. And with higher inflation, you get higher interest rates. One of them saying that inflation was at the maximum tolerable rate. That means, Soledad, it's extremely likely the Fed will continue to raise interest rates to curb the economy, to keep it from overheating.

The real question was, before the hurricane, we were concerned about inflation anyway, with higher energy prices. And after the hurricane, the question is, would that slow the economy down or keep inflation rising? And it appears now, there's no question that prices are higher because of the hurricanes. And you don't have to have an economist to see why. Obviously, higher energy prices, higher oil and gas prices. That means higher prices for plastic for things like plastic, but also things like steel and lumbar that are being used to rebuild that area. Prices are increasing there as well.

And that reaction on Wall Street was not at all favorable. Yesterday, stocks tumbled on the news these Fed officials were concerned. You can see here the Dow was down almost a hundred points. So it's a signal to the markets, Soledad, when the Fed has people out there saying, be careful about inflation, be concerned. That really means that interest rates are going to tick up.

O'BRIEN: That's a warning to everybody and Wall Street, too.

SERWER: It is.

O'BRIEN: All right. Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the mayor of Long Beach, Mississippi joins us. He says, five weeks after Katrina, help has been slow to come. We'll ask him why. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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