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American Morning

Has Good Iraq News Affected Bush Polls Numbers?; Improving the Los Angeles Traffic Nightmare; Cher Champions Helmet Safety in Iraq

Aired June 15, 2006 - 09:30   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Opening bell rang just a moment ago. Trading on the Dow is opening at 10,818. That's up 110 points yesterday. That's such rare news. Let's repeat it. Up 110 points yesterday.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now are you going to say it now, Soledad?

S. O'BRIEN: Up. Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Dow...

S. O'BRIEN: No, I'm not. I'm done saying that.

M. O'BRIEN: Not saying that 12,000?

S. O'BRIEN: No, I seem to jinx the market every time I do that.

Welcome back, everybody. Lots to get to this morning.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: After weeks of bad news, the Bush administration finally on the upswing in Iraq. Is it making a difference, though, to people back home? Senior political analyst Bill Schneider is in Washington, taking a look at some of the latest poll numbers.

Hey, Bill, good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's begin with whether or not the poll numbers change in this spate of good news, which we know is Zarqawi killed, we know Karl Rove now, cleared according to the prosecutor. We certainly have seen this surprise trip to Baghdad. And we have seen the president do a really long news conference where he sort of ran through a little bit of a victory lap, I think that's fair to say. Not all those points, though, made in the polls.

SCHNEIDER: That's right. These polls -- there were three polls that have been taken since the elimination of al-Zarqawi. Was there any effect on the president's job ratings? Well, in a word, no, not really. The "USA TODAY"/Gallup poll shows the president at 38 percent. That's up two points since early June. The NBC News/"Wall Street Journal" poll almost the same rating, shows the president at 37, up one point since their last poll in April. There you see it. Thirty-there percent here in the CBS News poll. That is actually down two point since mid-May. Thirty-eight, 37, 33, that's an indicator. No bounce.

Americans are under no illusion the elimination of Zarqawi is going to make an enormous difference in that war. They see it as a civil war in that country. And particularly with the sobering news now of 2,500 Americans lost in that conflict, Americans don't jump to conclusions.

S. O'BRIEN: It's really what's on the ground that's going to make a difference, I would think to voters and people who respond to polls.

Let's talk about Congress. Let's talk the numbers in the polls, looking at Congress and how voters feel about how Congress is doing. The approval for Congress, ooh, an ugly 23 percent. The disapproval 64 percent, Bill?

SCHNEIDER: That is a very ugly figure indeed. It is the lowest figure since 1994, when there was the last congressional revolution. In that case after 40 years of Democratic control, voters overthrew the majority and put the Republicans in charge. Now it's 12 years later and members of Congress are very nervous.

What's interesting about those numbers is they're very bad among both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans are just -- are even, in fact, a little more critical of the Republican Congress than Democrats are. In that CBS News poll, 62 percent of Republicans disapprove -- disapprove of the way Congress is doing its job, 56 percent of Democrats.

Immigration, they can't seem to come out with a bill. Deficit spending, out of control. They can't do anything about gas prices, corruption stories. There's a lot of anger out there at all members of Congress and almost all of them are going to face the voters this year.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes they are. We're going to be watching it closely. Bill Schneider for us this morning. Thanks, Bill.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Bill is part of the best political team on TV -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Traffic is hard to avoid, unless you get up at 3:00 in the morning. Breeze right into work. It's great. But now some people in Los Angeles think they have a way to clear up the congestion. They don't have to get up early, either. It may send you, though, into some sticker shock when you hear what it's all about. Here's Tom Foreman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So if you're right there at about San Fernando and Mission, it's and injury crash...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To the right shoulder...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's starting to slow here at Oxnard (ph) Street. Looks like that...

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rush hour in Los Angeles lasts from 5:00 until 9:00 -- that's 5:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night. And this is coming your way. Especially if you live in a large city, where studies show delays already devour 47 hours of your life every year.

But not if Mark Pisano can help it.

MARK PISANO, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION: We need to think differently how we grow and develop.

FOREMAN: He runs a southern California association, working to make bad traffic better.

PISANO: Each city cannot be an island unto themselves. They're now impacting on their neighbors. And furthermore, within large cities, the communities are impacting one another.

FOREMAN: At first glance, solving L.A.'s problem of too many people, about 18 million, and too little highway, would seem to be simple.

Solution one -- add more lanes. But experience has shown when highways expand, businesses and neighborhoods expand right along with them, eating the extra roadway as fast as it's built.

Solution two -- encourage carpools. Good idea. Problem is, carpool lanes are faster. So drivers think they can live further from their jobs. That promotes sprawl and ultimately more cars coming from afar.

Solution three -- more public transit. Another nice idea, but in most cities, the number of new buses and trains it would take to make a difference is staggering.

Just ask Planning Director Hasan Ikhrata.

HASAN IKHRATA, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSN. OF GOVTS: Out of 48 million daily trips...

FOREMAN (on camera): Forty-eight million daily trips?

IKHRATA: ...we have in this region, we have about 2 percent in the public transportation.

FOREMAN (voice-over): So what can work? Well, traffic planning experts say, maybe this -- more planned communities built around jobs. Houses, shopping and recreation, all in one relatively small place. Maybe this -- more driver education.

(on camera): This allows people to test things that previously they could never test. Right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

FOREMAN (voice-over): They want commuters to see what computer models now show so well. How even one car stopped by an accident or a poor maintenance can have an enormous impact.

PISANO: About 50 percent of our congestion could be solved if we had drivers doing everything perfectly.

FOREMAN: That's right, 50 percent of congestion could be ended, not with better roads, but with better drivers.

And maybe this -- they want you -- business people, commuters, casual drivers -- to pay more for the congestion you cause through toll roads, fees on new housing developments or shopping areas. They hope this, along with soaring gas prices and tedious traffic jams will finally convince you to change the way you live.

IKHRATA: They have to live in more dense areas around transit stations. They have to use transit.

FOREMAN (on camera): Yes, but I don't want to do that. Nobody wants to do that.

IKHRATA: And I contend that if people try, they might like it.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Or maybe not. As it is, over the next 20 year, L.A.'s highways are expected to pick up another 6 million drivers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...will start to slow here just south of the 134 and from that point stay slow...

FOREMAN: Tom Foreman, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Tom's story first aired on "A.C. 360." You can see more from Anderson Cooper weeknights, 10:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

Coming up, a U.S. marine who went above and beyond the call of duty.

S. O'BRIEN: He sure did. Ran for city council back home while he was serving in Iraq, and then he won. How is he going to do both jobs? We're going to talk to him live, just ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: That's some commute.

Plus, Cher is on a new and serious mission these days. It's all about what our troops are wearing. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: For Major Mike McNamara, two tours in duty in Iraq were not enough. He also wanted to serve his city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. So he ran for and won a seat on the city council. He did it all while he was still serving on the battlefield.

Major Mike McNamara of the Marines is with us from Camp Fallujah in Iraq this morning. Congratulations to you on the big victory back at home. Thanks for talking with us.

MAJ. MIKE MCNAMARA, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Well, thank you very much. It's a humbling experience to be elected, especially from over here. But it's been great and the people in my hometown have been great. And it's my pleasure to be with you this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: Humbling experience that I would also imagine -- logistically complicated experience, potentially. Tell me why you decided to run for city council in the first place.

MCNAMARA: Well, I mean, I -- since the time I was a little kid running for, you know, little student body, your grammar school class president and stuff. And you know, I've always thought of myself as a leader. And then I think when you come here and you see the courage and the selflessness that the marines and sailors and soldiers here show every day, it kind of grabs your heart.

And whatever you feel about the country, like kind of the -- draw kind of a parallel to the Grinch's heart when he hears the Hoo people singing. I mean, you just feel it more. And I think, as a reservist, when you go home, you want to serve more. And so I was, you know, looking for an opportunity to continue my service to the country and doing it in my hometown. And really, that's what it came down to.

S. O'BRIEN: I think his heart grew three sizes that day, as it goes. How did you campaign? I mean, logistically speaking, how did you pull it off?

MCNAMARA: Well, I talked to some people that told me what I probably should do and then I created a Web site so that people could, you know, see what I thought. And then we kind of created the plan. I called it Operation Goodnight, because the local high school is named the Knights and I thought that would be a good name.

And then we set timelines, in terms of when signs would go up. And then my family went door to door and we had a little bit of a rally thing. And then when I would start calling from here. And so really that's what we did. I would get up a couple hours early and I'd come down to the phone center and I'd start calling people and asking them to vote for me and telling them I needed their vote, that I thought I was the best leader on the ballot and...

S. O'BRIEN: Were there people who got on the phone and said wait a minute, aren't you in Iraq? I mean, where are you calling from? Did you have that experience? MCNAMARA: Oh, absolutely. They -- to be -- they were a little bit shocked to get that -- to get that call. And -- but then after that went away, it was great. I mean, it was -- I didn't know -- it's kind of like cold calling. And I'm not a big fan of that. So I didn't know if I would enjoy it, but it turned out to be the best part of the whole thing, just interacting with people in your ward and hearing what's on their mind.

S. O'BRIEN: How are you going to be a city councilman from Iraq? How much longer -- do you know approximately how long your tour of duty is going to last this time around?

MCNAMARA: Well, I hope to be home on about the first of September. And...

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, so you don't have too much time. I mean, are you going to be working -- will you be...

MCNAMARA: I lost them.

S. O'BRIEN: Did I lose you? Can you still hear me, Mike?

Oh, it looks like we've had a little satellite difficulty there, audiowise. Major Mike McNamara. Could you imagine?

M. O'BRIEN: Leaving the question unanswered. How is he going to do it?

S. O'BRIEN: Well, the truth is, he just said he only has to really do it until September. He doesn't have a lot of time.

M. O'BRIEN: So in the meantime -- he'll take care of it...

S. O'BRIEN: Hey, just going to do it by phone.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, e-mail, Internet.

S. O'BRIEN: What a great story.

M. O'BRIEN: It's a small world in which we live. That is a great story.

S. O'BRIEN: And what a -- how great to be motivated to public service because of what you see around you and the people around you who are selfless and really working to make a difference. Good for him.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, that's one way...

S. O'BRIEN: They need more people like that in public service.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, we do. We honestly do.

S. O'BRIEN: And less of the other kind, if you know what I mean.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I do know what you mean. I think we all know what you mean.

Cher. One word says it all. And I know you've been wondering what she's been up to since that "Do You Believe in Life After Love?" thingy a few years ago. Well, she is out of the woodwork and in Washington of all places, sharing her concerns about our troops.

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The singer known for flirtatiously playing with sailor's hats has turned her attention to helmets. Cher likes to wear her own outrageous headgear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look lovely as always.

MOOS: Now she's worried about what soldiers wear.

CHER, SINGER: It's the a difference between life and death.

MOOS: Man the battle ships, Cher has come to Washington to fight for the fighting men and women. Her weapon, the quietly serious "C- SPAN."

CHER: The helmet becomes a weapon in itself.

MOOS: Cher has teamed up with a group called Operation Helmet, dedicated to supplying soldiers with padding that improves helmets. The Army has already upgraded theirs, but the other services tend to have old-fashioned webbing instead that allows the helmet itself to strike the head in an explosion. When fitted with the new padding, watch what happens. Remember Sonny and Cher, well now it's Bob and Cher.

BOB MEADERS, FOUNDER OPERATION HELMET: She is the real thing. I can tell you that. She has a heart as big as Texas.

MOOS: Retired Navy physician, Doctor Bob Meaders founded Operation Helmet because the military couldn't come up with the money to upgrade existing helmets. Cher herself donated over $100,000. She's been visiting wounded soldiers.

CHER: That one boy really touched my heart so much.

MOOS: When she went to autograph a picture for the boy in the hospital...

CHER: ... How do you spell your name? And I looked over and he had to look at his wristband because he had head injuries.

MOOS: This isn't the first time that Cher has been on "C-SPAN." On Memorial Day Weekend, she called in at 4:30 in the morning without mentioning who she was until she asked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And is this Cher?

CHER: Yes.

MOOS: Which prompted "The Daily Show" to use an "I Got Through Babe" graphic. Cher is an unabashed liberal, who opposes Bush administration policies.

CHER: I just cannot bare these people for another moment.

MOOS: Cher will join Doctor Meaders when he testifies about Operation Helmet before a congressional subcommittee. A performer whose own head gear turns heads may have soldiers tipping their hats to her.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Ah, right. Jeanne's report first aired on "THE SITUATION ROOM," where they always believe in life after love. And you can catch that program weekdays, 4:00 Eastern, 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Daryn Kagan at the CNN Center. Big fan of Cher.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And Wolf Blitzer.

M. O'BRIEN: And Wolf Blitzer.

KAGAN: Yes. I got you, babe.

M. O'BRIEN: Wolf and Cher. Both one name things. Wolf, Cher. You don't need the last name in either case.

KAGAN: Absolutely.

We also have a lot coming up in the next hour, Miles.

Wanted in Iraq. We're seeing the first picture of the man thought to be al-Zarqawi's successor. New unfolding details and a live report from the Pentagon.

Also ahead, free falling at more than 60 miles an hour. This climber fell nearly a 100 feet, crashed into a mountain floor. He survived, but he's an amputee, and now he is climbing again. His story and more. Miles, he says his life is better now than it was before the accident.

S. O'BRIEN: Really?

KAGAN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow.

KAGAN: And incredible, incredible "Your Spirit" segment.

M. O'BRIEN: Tune in for that one.

KAGAN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Daryn Kagan, good to see you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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S. O'BRIEN: Short break. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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