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American Morning
Top U.S. Commander in Iraq Says Focus Should Stay On Training Iraqi Forces
Aired November 16, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: And they're sticking with that strategy?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: They're sticking with that, one at a time, because they think they can win it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you, Ali.
VELSHI: OK, see you in a bit.
M. O'BRIEN: Next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Nature's fury was deadly. Tornadoes tore right across the South, claiming homes and preschool full of children. We're live this morning with survival stories and today's stormy forecast.
M. O'BRIEN: Straight talk express, the sequel, Arizona's John McCain taking the first step toward the White House today.
S. O'BRIEN: And male menopause: Yes, men go through it, too. And there's new research on how to treat their change of life. We'll bring that to you straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back everybody. It's Thursday November 16. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
We begin this morning with that round of deadly late-season storms in the South. From Louisiana to the Carolinas tornadoes, heavy rains, high winds, and the storm front is still on the move. The forecast from Chad in just a moment.
First let's go to CNN David Mattingly. He's in Montgomery, Alabama this morning, where those storms have passed through -- David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Miles.
You look at all the destruction this morning you have to wonder how so many people managed to avoid getting hurt by these powerful storms.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATTINGLY (voice over): All across the South, skies blackened and warnings urged people to take cover. A sweeping storm front brought deadly winds and dropped torrential rain from Louisiana to the Carolinas. In South Louisiana, one man was killed when a tornado hit his home early Wednesday morning.
In Mississippi, eight were injured; six of them when a tornado struck the community of Rocky Branch. And in Alabama, severe winds and tornadoes ripped up roofs, trees and power lines. In Montgomery, a recreation and day care center with 31 children inside was smashed to the ground.
LIBERTY DUKE, DAY-CARE OWNER: It's not what everyone talks about, the freight train sounds. It wasn't that for us, it was just devastation.
MATTINGLY: Liberty Duke led the frantic staff as they climbed through rubble to reach the huddled children, the youngest a mere eight weeks old. Duke's own five-year-old was among the injured with a cut on his head.
DUKE: There were some gentleman who came up -- I don't even know who they were -- they were there as fast as we were, and were helping us get the babies out. Over a lot of debris and metal, and rebar, and just a lot of sharp glass.
MATTINGLY: The cement block and metal framed building was no match for the violent blast of wind. Owners credit the four supervising adults for reacting quickly, and taking the children to a safe part of the building before it came crashing down.
DUKE: They did it the way they're trained to, but above and beyond, they did it because they love their class and their kids. And it was very clear today they would have died for them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And so, many parents counting their blessings this morning because of the work of the adults inside that building. Of the 31 children who were inside at the time, there were quite a few cuts and bruises, but only two, Miles, needed to be admitted to the hospital for treatment.
M. O'BRIEN: We're glad to hear that. David Mattingly, appreciate that.
We're watching some more severe weather this morning. Chad Myers in the Weather Center with that.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: President Bush is in Singapore this morning, with a call to his political foes in the U.S., within the past couple of hours. The president addressing an international audience, talking trade, talking tough, too, to North Korea. CNN's Elaine Quijano is live in Singapore this morning. Good morning, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning to you, Soledad.
President Bush, here in Asia, is trying to strike a confident and reassuring tone, after his party lost both Houses of Congress. The president just a short time ago in a speech here in Singapore essentially outlined the themes for the rest of his trip here to Asia.
The president stressing a need for cooperation on economic and trade issues, but also security matters, including the security matter that is front and center in this region. North Korea and its nuclear ambitions. But as you noted, the president also aimed part of his message squarely at Democrats back home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In this new century we see threats like terrorism and proliferation and disease that have the potential to undermine our prosperity and put our futures in doubt. Amid these challenges, we hear voices calling for us to retreat from the world and close our doors to its opportunities. These are the old temptations of isolationism and protectionism, and America must reject them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, overall, the president's speech here in Singapore meant to set the tone for his upcoming visit to Hanoi. That is where, of course, the annual summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, the annual meeting of 21 Pacific Rim leaders will be held this weekend.
But on the sidelines of that, of course, North Korea, continuing to be a top issue. The president will be meeting with a number of leaders involved in those talks with North Korea, including the leaders of Russia, China, Japan and South Korea. So crucial talks coming up as well as those economic talks taking place this weekend -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Thanks, Elaine.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Here in the U.S., the race to succeed George Bush is getting more crowded and interesting every day. Today Arizona Senator John McCain takes an expected step, creating his presidential exploratory committee. McCain is a front-runner of course, in the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll, more than half of those questioned, 52 percent say they like him. Candy Crowley joining us from Washington with more.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Miles. Remember when we said that the end of the '06 elections were the beginning of the '08 presidential race? We weren't kidding.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice over): To the surprise of nearly no one John McCain has officially made it not quite official, with the launch of a website, word from his PAC, and a letter to supporters, McCain let it be known he will file papers to launch a presidential exploratory committee today. Amidst the to-do about '08, McCain was in the shadow of '06, at hearings with General John Abizaid, who oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ): I regret deeply that you seem to think that the status quo, and the rate of progress we're making is acceptable. I think most Americans do not.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CENTRAL COMMAND, U.S. ARMY: Well, Senator, I agree with you, the status quo is not acceptable.
CROWLEY: As he approaches '08, McCain will need to align his "more troops in Iraq" position with an anti-war electorate. A hero in war and a maverick in politics, the senator and his straight-talk express were the hit, if not the winner of the 2000 election.
MCCAIN: Thank you.
CROWLEY: He briefly rocked George Bush's world with a huge primary win in New Hampshire. For several years after his loss in the 2000 primaries, McCain didn't seem hugely interested in an encore. Capturing lightning in a bottle twice, he said, would be difficult. But the bug is hard to shake. In the past couple of years, McCain began to lay the groundwork. He made up with Christians he offended in 2000, he courted Bush donors.
MCCAIN: Eight out of 10 major issues, David and I are in basic agreement, but in philosophy, we're in total agreement.
CROWLEY: McCain was tireless in '06, and he kept track; 346 events, 138,000 flying miles, over $10.5 million raised on behalf of Republican candidates. Raising money, campaigning, picking up chits; '08 is not so far away, not if you're a candidate who thinks maybe you can capture lightning in a bottle twice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Not at all coincidentally, McCain will give two major speeches, at least according to his office they're major. Today they're both to conservative groups. They will be about the future of the Republican Party, which, of course, McCain hopes is him -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's handicap his effort right now, Candy. What are the biggest hurdles he faces in the primary environment?
CROWLEY: At this second, and we don't know where the war is going to be, he does have his position that he wants to send more troops into Iraq at a time when most of the country seems to want to get out rather rapidly.
He would be the oldest president to take office, should he win. That could be a problem. He also has these primaries to go through, and a lot of conservatives in the party don't really trust McCain. He joined that group of 14 up on Capitol Hill that was going to try to ease the way for judicial nominations. Conservatives really wanted to fight. They think he was way too moderate on that.
So he could have some trouble in the primaries. But as you point out, he's one of the front runners, along with Rudy Giuliani.
M. O'BRIEN: Candy Crowley in Washington, thank you.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Find out later today who the Democrats are going to choose as their majority leader. Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha, or will it be Steny Hoyer from Maryland? But could old allegations in the past doom Murtha's chances. Here's CNN's Congressional Correspondent Andrea Koppel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went out, I got the $50,000.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING (voice over): January 7th, 1980, an undercover FBI agent shows off the bribe he's about to offer a couple of congressmen. One of them is Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha.
Murtha turns down the offer, but suggests he might be interested in the future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are telling me that's not what you -- you know -- that's not --
REP. JOHN MURTHA, (D-PA): I'm not interested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
MURTHA: At this point. You know, we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't.
KOPPEL: Murtha was never charged. And to this day, professes his innocence.
MURTHA: They put the money out there, and I told them I didn't want it. I was only interested in investment in my district.
KOPPEL: But on the eve of a fiercely contested leadership race for the number two position in the House, pitting Murtha against Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer, that hasn't stopped watchdog groups, and the media, from rehashing old allegations about the sting operation known as Abscam. A Murtha spokesman called news coverage of this story poor journalism. While Murtha has accused his critics of a Swift boating attack, his spokesman questions the timing of the reports. And suggested to CNN Hoyer, or his supporters, might be responsible. A charge Hoyer's office calls outrageous. Murtha's supporters chalk it up to a tight race.
REP. ANTHONY WEINER, (D-NY): And just like other campaigns unfortunately, we're seeing the Swift boating of Jack Murtha, as the man with the 37-year career in the military, someone who has been honorable member of Congress, and someone widely respected. And he's someone who's going to have the voice for our party with perhaps an unimpeachable voice on things like national security, the war in Iraq.
KOPPEL: And Murtha is now using his voice on Iraq to undermine Hoyer's candidacy, accusing the Maryland lawmaker of endorsing President Bush's stay the course strategy, accusing Hoyer of being in step with Republicans, like John McCain, saying they advocate sending more troops to Iraq. But just this week, Hoyer told CNN:
REP. STENY HOYER, (D-MD): We need to change course in Iraq , suggesting a phased redeployment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: That was CNN's Congressional Andrea Koppel reporting. Both Murtha and Hoyer say they have the votes it's going to take to win -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: America's top general for the Middle East is rejecting calls to add or subtract U.S. combat troops in Iraq. General John Abizaid says the key is training the Iraqis to defend themselves.
Excuse me.
Abizaid making his case before some skeptical lawmakers. CNN's Barbara Starr has more.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Well, Miles, it was the first congressional hearing about Iraq since the mid-term elections and the general was determined to stay out of politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice over): The general in charge of the war in Iraq outright rejected Democratic calls for a timetable for troop withdrawal.
GEN. JOHN ABIDZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: At this stage in the campaign we'll need flexibility to manage our force, and to help manage the Iraqi force. Forced caps and specific timetables limit that flexibility.
STARR: And then he rejected the call from the Republicans for sending additional ground combat forces.
ABIZAID: I do not believe that more American troops, right now, is the solution to the problem.
STARR: But Abizaid admitted changes are needed, and he recommended a new focus on training Iraqis.
I am saying we must significantly increase our ability to help the Iraqi army by putting more American troops with Iraqi units in military transition teams, to speed the amount of training.
STARR: Abizaid was accompanied by the State Department's top diplomat on Iraq, who opened the door to another current idea, getting Iran to stop influencing Iraqi Shia militias.
DAVID SATTERFIELD, U.S. COORDINATOR FOR IRAQ: With respect to Iran, we are prepared, in principle, to discuss Iranian activities in Iraq.
STARR: But the CIA director made it clear, Iran is far from helpful.
GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, DIRECTOR, CIA: The Iranian hand appears to be powerful and I would offer the view, it appears to be growing, and Iranian ambitions in Iraq, and seem to be expanding.
STARR: General Abizaid warned that time could be running out before Iraq reaches the tipping point where the violence spins out of control.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: So, Miles, this hearing was a bit of a curtain-raiser, if you will, about that best military advice that we expect the generals, over the coming weeks, to be giving President Bush as he starts to make decisions about what to do next in Iraq -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon. Thank you.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Still stuck in the mud, the Intrepid's biggest battle might just lie ahead. Has the warship finally met its match? We'll take a look with CNN's Rob Marciano, straight ahead.
O.J. Simpson describes the murders of his wife and her friend. It's something his publisher is calling a confession. Fresh reaction and outrage when we're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Live pictures, Pier 86. New York City, the Hudson River mud still doing what Japanese kamikazes could not, stopping the Intrepid. The aircraft carrier turned museum should be in Bayonne, New Jersey right now for a face lift. But the mightiest tugboats in New York could not tug it from the muck around it's huge props. CNN's Rob Marciano is there.
Good morning, Rob. ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Miles.
Well, this warrior was worthy of all the pomp and circumstance that was scheduled for it almost a couple of weeks ago. As you mentioned, it's still here.
Take a look at this ship. It's been parked here for over 20 years, as you mentioned, through a couple of wars, and lots of service for our country. And for the past 20 or so years, it's been parked on the West Side of Manhattan. People from around the world have come to visit it, check out the airplanes on top and exhibits below.
But still, with the renovations planned last week, it's only 15 feet from where it started.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice over): This majestic ship served heroically in World War II. Launching air offenses and surviving fiery kamikaze attacks. Then it served in Vietnam. It even used to recover space ships for NASA. But last week the mighty U.S.S. Intrepid met its match, a big pile of mud.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you can see, behind us, you've got a big barge undergoing dredging operations right now to remove the silt underneath the Intrepid.
MARCIANO: After 24 years as a dockside museum, the Intrepid was due for renovations and was to be towed five miles down the Hudson River. But more than two decades of accumulating silt put a snag in the plan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to plow the driveway to get her out into the federal channel.
MARCIANO: That might take awhile considering the size of the ship. Tip to tail, it measures 906 feet. That's almost as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall. From the bottom of the keel to the top of the mast, it's 17 stories high. It drafts 28 feet, meaning it needs about 30 feet of water to float.
(On camera): Right here, the stern of the boat, how deep is the water?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, based on some of the signs, it varies from 35 to some spots that are 15, 12 feet.
MARCIANO: So, not deep enough?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not right now. But that's why we're digging.
MARCIANO: Michael Herb is in charge of freeing the stuck ship. His Navy salvage team is dredging around the clock, and he says it could take as long as five weeks. I asked a member of the Army Corps of Engineers how this ship got stuck in the first place. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem that they ran into is with the propellers, which, of course, caught into a little bit of the mud in the bottom. As they tried to pull it out, pushed up a large enough pump of mud to stop the ship from moving further.
MARCIANO: Although the Intrepid is stuck for now, there's no doubt with its history, this will be a battle it will eventually win.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Still fighting this battle for sure, by the way, we're floating next to the ship here on the Hudson. Dredging operations, like we said, going around the clock. You can see them digging the silt from underneath.
Right where they're digging, right there, the plan is -- it's only about 10, 15 feet deep there. But the plan is, if they dig from there, and get enough of that dirt and silt out, then the mud that the ship is stuck on will actually kind of slough off into this area, and maybe free the boat up.
But, you know, they just don't know what's underneath there, really. They could send divers down, but they can't see very well. So they really don't know how long it will take. These barges are filling up, five, six of them a day, and taking them down to Staten Island and putting them into a nice environmental landfill. That's the positive side of the story. But in the meantime, Miles and Soledad, they just keep digging and digging.
M. O'BRIEN: Hey, Rob, you're a scuba diver, right?
MARCIANO: I can hold my breath pretty well, but no, no, not scuba.
M. O'BRIEN: Get a shovel, get down there. Get to work. What are you doing? Get the Intrepid out of there, will you?
(LAUGHTER)
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you guys.
S. O'BRIEN: They need all the help they can get. Get down there, man.
Powerful group is taking on Wal-Mart, bringing out big guns to help as well. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business", straight ahead with that story. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: There's the music, folks. You know what that means.
S. O'BRIEN: There's the man.
M. O'BRIEN: There he is. Look at that. Mr. Menopause himself. There he is.
It's Milescam day on Thursdays, as you well know by now. Milescam@cnn.com is the place to send the questions. The answers can be found 10 a.m. Eastern Time, on the pipeline product, which we highly recommend it to you. Cnn.com/pipeline, is the place to get it. You can be your own news producer there.
VELSHI: People still send questions?
M. O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
S. O'BRIEN: Yeah.
VELSHI: You're good and testy today.
(CROSS TALK)
M. O'BRIEN: Kind of a cranky day for Milescam. You never know what you might get. It could be a rather voluble segment.
VELSHI: Did you pick the tie/shirt combo yourself?
M. O'BRIEN: No, the ubiquitous question is, are we married. To which I answer yes. Not to each other. And then she hits me.
S. O'BRIEN: If he would just say no, we could --
VELSHI: You could move on and get to other questions.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, all right.
S. O'BRIEN: Whatever, let's talk business news, shall we? Wal- Mart.
VELSHI: Wal-Mart's back in the news. The company everybody kind of loves to hate. It is the country's biggest private employer. It's the target of a new campaign, again, to get Wal-Mart to pay higher wages and better health benefits to its employees.
Now, the election is over, but some prominent Democrats can be found shopping in the anti-Wal-Mart aisle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice over): Christmas, the union supported group, Wakeup Wal-Mart, is renewing its attacks on the giant retailer, and they're bringing out the heavy artillery.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) ILLINOIS (via phone): You've got to pay your workers enough that they can actually not only shop at Wal-Mart, but hopefully send their kids to college, and save for retirement.
VELSHI: Illinois Senator Barack Obama and former Senator John Edwards, two of the Democratic Party's brightest stars took part in a national conference call Wednesday, in support of a holiday campaign targeting Wal-Mart for its treatment of workers. JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC), FMR. SENATOR (via phone): Being able to earn a living wage, being able to have the health care coverage they need, that's what's at stake in this Wakeup Wal-Mart campaign.
VELSHI: The nation's largest retailer is no stranger to criticism. Of Wal-Mart's 1.3 million U.S. employees, critics say fewer than half are covered by health insurance, and that the average Wal- Mart worker earns less than $20,000 a year. Wal-Mart disputes that.
OBAMA (via phone): Wal-Mart is making a large profit, and they don't have foreign competition. What they are doing, though, is driving wages down significantly for not only workers at Wal-Mart but they're also driving down wages for competitors.
VELSHI: Wal-Mart issued a statement saying, "We are disappointed that Senator Obama and former Senator Edwards chose to participate in this politically motivated event that is clearly attacking the wrong company ... Americans know that Wal-Mart creates jobs, reduces the cost of health care through $4 generic drugs, and is a leader on the environment."
EAMON JAVERS, "BUSINESSWEEK": This is not an attempt really to damage the sales floor of Wal-Mart, this is an attempt, politically, to force Wal-Mart to allow its work force, which is the largest in the nation, to unionize.
That's what this fight is about. And that is gaining some momentum. And clearly, with Democrats in power, we're going to see only more heat on Wal-Mart going forward.
VELSHI: And Eamon Javers says the Wake Up Wal-Mart campaign is a political building block for the Obama in '08 campaign.
JAVERS: If we needed it, we just got our first piece of evidence that Barack Obama is running for president as a Democrat. He's already sucking up to the unions. They're going to be a key demographic that he'll need if he wants to win the Democratic nomination in 2008. This is politics local, early, and often.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: And Eamon makes the point that Wal-Mart gets sort of kicked around by this group around this time every year. Wal-Mart has really tried in the last year to come out with initiatives that fight back against that, the generic drugs, efforts on radio frequency identification for their pallets, more fuel efficiency for their trucks. They're trying to sort of balance this thing out.
M. O'BRIEN: Wal-Mart, in general, is not the best place in the world to work. It's a great place to shop, though. That's the trade off.
VELSHI: But they have jobs. That's one of those -- this is always the argument, that they create the jobs, they don't provide the health care as well as its critics would like, and they don't provide the wages. So this is exactly the tradeoff. Do you want the jobs or want them at better wages, maybe fewer jobs. It's a tough question.
M. O'BRIEN: The Americans want the low prices.
VELSHI: That's for sure.
M. O'BRIEN: Ali Velshi, thank you.
Coming up, we're going to put the men in menopause. You better stay tuned to this, Ali. We're talking to you, guys, talking to you, Ali. You depressed? Maybe a little less sex drive? This is the kind of thing guys never talk about. Well, it could be "the change". Dr. Sanjay Gupta pays a "House Call" that you really should listen to. I know you don't want to, but you should. New research about the treatments for male menopause coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Wicked weather, wind storms and tornadoes turn deadly in the south. There's a chance of more severe weather today.
S. O'BRIEN: Appalled and outraged, families respond to O.J. Simpson's new book that his publisher says is O.J.'s confession.
M. O'BRIEN: and relief for men, yes men, going through menopause. New research ahead this morning.
Good morning to you, Thursday, November 16th. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
M. O'BRIEN: More storm warnings and watches this morning as the southeast recovers from deadly tornadoes that claimed at least one life. Chad Myers at the CNN Weather Center with the latest. Hello Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Chad.
Happening this morning, President Bush in Singapore, just wrapping up a speech there with a call to his political foes here in the U.S. The president saying America must reject the path toward isolationism and protectionism. The president will be in Vietnam tomorrow.
Nine suspected al Qaeda and Iraq members dead after a raid south of Baghdad. Iraqi soldiers, supported by American air and artillery, conducted the raids. Meanwhile, in other fighting, four more American soldiers dead in Iraq in the past two days. Three soldiers died during fighting in the Delia (ph) province. The fourth soldier was killed by small arms fire in Baghdad.
Today, Arizona Senator John McCain takes an expected step, creating his presidential exploratory committee. McCain was President Bush's chief GOP rival back in 2000. And former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson tells CNN Radio he's thinking of throwing his hat in the ring. Thompson, the Health and Human Services secretary during President Bush's first term says he thinks health care will be a big issue in the 2008 election.
S. O'BRIEN: O.J. Simpson is back in the headlines this morning. He's got a new book. The book is called, "If I Did It." It basically describes how he would have murdered his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, all hypothetically. He's doing a TV interview as well to sell the book. And here's a little chunk of how it's being promoted. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The interview that will shock the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You wrote, I have never seen so much blood in my life.
O.J. SIMPSON, FORMER PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL STAR: I don't think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: O.J. Simpson, If I Did It, Here's How It Happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: CNN senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin has covered this case for a very long time. Jeff's also the author of "The Run of His Life, The People Versus O.J. Simpson." Nice to see you, good morning.
JEFF TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: I've got to tell you, I mean, it's sort of a new low among lows. I personally feel, if it is as marketed, not many people have actually seen the book, a description of how he would have, you know, how it would have gone down, if he had done it. Could this, legally speaking, reopen this case in any way against O.J. Simpson?
TOOBIN: Criminally, absolutely not.
S. O'BRIEN: No way? Even if there's confession?
TOOBIN: O.J. Simpson could straight out confess. He could say, oh, you know, by the way, I have a videotape of how I killed them. Totally beyond the realm of the criminal law.
S. O'BRIEN: Because of double jeopardy?
TOOBIN: That's exactly what the double -- he was tried on this precise crime, he was acquitted, end of story forever.
S. O'BRIEN: What about perjury? TOOBIN: You know perjury -- well, he testified in the civil case, but that is more than six years ago. And I think the statute of limitations has expired on perjury. So I don't think he is at any risk for perjury either.
S. O'BRIEN: He lost the civil case, so he owes the Goldman family $33.5 million. He still gets his pension from the NFL. No one can touch that. Still has his house, no one can touch that. And the proceeds of the book, the 3-plus million dollars he's reported to be getting for this book, couldn't the Goldmans say, fine, hand us that money?
TOOBIN: They could, if they can find it. We don't know how this deal was structured, but presumably -- I mean, O.J. Simpson and his lawyers knows he owes this money, so I can only assume that they structured the deal so that the money was put in trust for his children, that it was put in some limited liability corporation, that it was put offshore, somehow in a way that he is going to try to keep it from the Goldmans. Now, it may not work. The Goldman family may be able to somehow find that money, attach it and get it for their civil judgment, but given the fact that he knows he owes this money, it's certainly going to be a struggle.
S. O'BRIEN: It is no surprise to me, at least, that the family of Ron Goldman is just absolutely horrified. Here's what Fred Goldman had to say with Larry King last night. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED GOLDMAN, VICTIM'S FATHER: Nothing would surprise me that this S.O.B. would do, but the fact that someone is willing to publish this garbage, that Fox is willing to put it on air, is just morally despicable to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: You wrote a book about the trial.
TOOBIN: I did.
S. O'BRIEN: You covered the case for a long time.
TOOBIN: Years.
S. O'BRIEN: Very, very deeply. So what do you think is going on here? Do you think O.J. Simpson is confessing, as his publisher is trying to market this? Do you think he just needs the money? Do you think he's the kind of guy who needs to be in the limelight, even if it's something that's completely disgusting to a lot of people?
TOOBIN: Well, I think it's a combination of all those things. Plus, one of the things about O.J. is that he's the ultimate O.J. junkie. He followed the coverage very closely. He knows all the ins and outs of the evidence. He wants to tell everyone that he understands the evidence better than anyone else. I bet it is not an explicit confession, and I bet it's ambiguous in many ways. I'm certain he will claim that even if theoretically he's guilty, he was also framed. I'm sure he will say, well, you know, that Mark Fuhrman, he planted the glove behind my house. That, I think, is without question --
S. O'BRIEN: His lawyer seemed surprised. His lawyer didn't seem to know about the book.
TOOBIN: I'm sure that's true. And two people I feel sorry for in this whole fiasco are Berry Schek (ph) and Peter Newfeld (ph), who were his DNA lawyers in the criminal case, who really believed in the cause, who did very honorable work on DNA, and basically O.J. is effectively saying to them, look how I snookered you like I snookered everyone else. Because it's just a way of thumbing his nose at the whole legal system and at the media that he thinks is against him. I don't think a lot of people are going to buy the book. But I bet a lot of people watch the TV special.
S. O'BRIEN: I got to tell you, I disagree. I think a lot of people are going to buy that book. I wish it were not so, but we can put money on it.
TOOBIN: We shall see.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Thanks Jeff, as always. Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad.
Lingering coughs, sleepless nights, one in 20 Americans will suffer from Bronchitis this year. What doctors are now saying about treating it, coming up.
And if Bronchitis doesn't get your lungs, smoking sure will. A milestone today for the Great American Smokeout. Dr. Sanjay Gupta pays us a House Call with that and more.
And the man behind Borat is fighting back. He's taking on those who say he made them look like fools, when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
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M. O'BRIEN: Here's a subject you won't hear guys in a locker room talking about, male menopause. But guys, you might want to listen up, because it may be the reason you're depressed, or a little less randy, shall we say. It's getting a little hot in here. Dr. Sanjay Gupta from our Atlanta studios. Sanjay, first of all, male menopause, define it for us, because I think a lot of us are under the perception that only women have menopause at the cessation of their cycles.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes, you know, it's interesting, male menopause for some time has been sort of this ill-defined thing out there. There are people who sort of know it existed, but couldn't quite define it. And now we're starting to get a better understanding of it. It is not sort of the traditional menopause that women go through, the mood swings, the hot flashes, things like that. It does appear to be more gradual, but it does appear to be a real thing, males going through a sort of menopause because of decreases in testosterone, that's the male hormone obviously.
The question for a long time is, what do you do about it. I mean, there was some skepticism about actually replacing testosterone. Could that cause some problems. And now hot off the presses, a new study from the "Journal of the American Medical Association" actually looking at testosterone and say you can replace it. It does not have appear to have adverse effects on the prostate gland, does not appear to increase your likelihood of developing prostate cancer. Those were the two biggest concerns.
So, if you are developing any of those symptoms that, Miles, you were just talking about, you can go to your doctor, get your testosterone levels checked and get some extra testosterone if your levels are low.
M. O'BRIEN: I see. You have to go to a doctor. It's not something you can buy at the GNC or whatever, you have to get a prescription?
GUPTA: You should get a prescription. You should also make sure that your testosterone levels are low. Not all men will have low testosterone levels. If yours are low, you can get it replaced.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on. Let's talk about a report on Bronchitis today. Bronchitis is obviously something that a lot of people get. And frequently Antibiotics are given to them by doctors. Maybe that's not the right idea, huh?
GUPTA: Yes, you know, it's so interesting -- there's a new article coming out of the "New England Journal" of medicine specifically about this. What I found so interesting was that the article existed at all, because we in the medical community have known for some time that most of these upper respiratory infections are caused by viruses.
Such an important point, they're caused by viruses, and Antibiotics treat bacteria. They're not going to work for viruses. They could potentially be a problem, because they create resistance in the community. Again, we're seeing another article, sort of, touting this same, well-known fact and that's because there's still a lot of misperceptions out there.
M. O'BRIEN: Even among doctors? Are they just trying to get patients out of their office? Here, have a prescription, go, go, leave me alone.
GUPTA: I think there is some of that, honestly. I think that a lot of patients come in and say I want the Z-Pac (ph) or I want X Antibiotic, and doctors, in the back of their mind, might know it's a viral infection, but they just give it anyway. It's just not the right thing to do for the community or for the individual. M. O'BRIEN: All right, that's a good point. Now, 30 years after the Great American Smokeout began, today, marking a big anniversary. Is it truly a success or has it been a bit of a gimmick, or maybe both?
GUPTA: Well, you know, it's interesting, it is 30 years today. You can look at some of the numbers. You can look at some -- first of all, some of the PSA ads from, you know, 1970s, when this first started -- when they started having these Great American Smokeouts there was a PSA ad specifically about the Surgeon General's warning, saying people shouldn't smoke. I think we might have that, maybe not. But if we don't, another way that you can actually measure that is -- there we go.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, she's certainly losing her appeal there. Oh, my god. That's a good spot. Okay.
GUPTA: Making a bit of a statement there.
M. O'BRIEN: This is your brain, this is your brain on drugs, kind of thing. That's pretty good.
GUPTA: The messages have transformed, but if you look at specific numbers, the one I found most interesting was how many communities actually have actually have smoking bans now, as compared to then. Back then it was about 500 or so, less than that even, and now in 2006, 2,300 communities have smoking bans. Also, for the first time, you have more former smokers, about 46 million in this country, versus current smokers, about 45 million. So at least judging by those two parameters, you do appear to be having some success. Whether you can contribute it to the Great American Smokeout, I don't know, but at least we're heading in the right direction.
M. O'BRIEN: I don't want to be half empty here, but I can't imagine 45 million smokers still after all that has been said and written and done about this, amazing?
GUPTA: And some of them are very hardcore. They have no interest in quitting. It's remarkable.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they're all bundled up outside, even as we speak, smoking away. All right, Sanjay Gupta, thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks Miles.
S. O'BRIEN: Forty six minutes past the hour. If you're about to head out the door, let's first check the travelers forecast with Chad. Good morning.
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M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Chad. We were watching it closely. That's for sure. Thank you very much.
Some of the stories we're following for you right now. Allegations of cheating among baggage screeners at San Francisco International Airport. Who tipped them off to secret undercover tests of security designed to see if they're really looking for bombs in luggage?
And the man behind Borat speaks out about the lawsuits and all the unhappy, unwitting co-stars in the film. Stay with us for more from Sasha Cohen.
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S. O'BRIEN: It's like Miles times two. Miles, big miles and little Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: It's kind of impressive, in a way.
S. O'BRIEN: It absolutely is.
Michael Jackson out of hiding and on the stage last night in London at the World Music Awards. It was billed as a comeback for Jackson and a comeback for his 1982 hit "Thriller," but listen to this.
That's not "Thriller." That's "We Are The World." So much for the comeback for "Thriller." He did eventually -- he just stopped. It seemed like he was having a little trouble hitting the high notes on that song. He did speak a little bit after he received the Diamond Award for selling more than 100 million, 100 million albums.
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MICHAEL JACKSON, DIAMOND AWARD WINNER: There have been so many who have loved me and stood by me throughout the 42 years that I have been in the entertainment business.
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S. O'BRIEN: It was his first performance since he was acquitted of mild molestation charges, which happened back in June of 2005.
And then there was this guy, the guy who's traveled the country, making millions of people laugh and making a bunch of enemies too, along the way. The man behind Borat is breaking his silence. He, of course, is the British comedian Sasha Barren Cohen, talking to "Rolling Stone," says he's kind of surprised that his movie is getting under so many skins. He says that Borat is fictional -- about that fictional and very offensive reporter from Kazakstan.
Cohen says he thinks that people who take offense are misinterpreting his humor, and some of the real people, of course, who are sort of co-stars in the film are now suing. It seems like they didn't read the fine print in their contracts.
M. O'BRIEN: Well yes, and it's -- they thought they were talking to a Kazak journalist and they thought this would never air in America and so on and so on. And all of a sudden they see themselves the butt of a joke.
S. O'BRIEN: In a very popular movie.
M. O'BRIEN: And they're not getting any of the proceeds. Maybe that's what those suits will get for them.
Some of the stories we're following for you right now, tornadoes, strong winds, soaking rains across the south. More severe weather in the forecast today.
And Arizona Republican Senator John McCain forming a presidential exploratory committee today. It is the first step on a bid to the White House in 2008. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
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S. O'BRIEN: Would you buy a coffee table book that costs ten times as much as your coffee table cost, and is almost the same exact size? Ali Velshi is Minding Your Business this morning. This is pretty darn cool.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: With white gloves to handle this, which is the Super Bowl Opus. Take a look at this thing. This thing weighs 88 pounds, 850 pages. And it is being sold for 4,000 dollars.
M. O'BRIEN: Four thousand dollars?
VELSHI: Four thousand bucks. I mean, it's a big book, but, you know, the good word of Jesus doesn't cost this much, 4,000 bucks. There are going to be 20,000 copies of this. This is for the guy who has everything, or the woman who has everything. The company that's putting this out, on behalf of the NFL, says that they've sold a quarter -- they've pre-ordered. This thing goes on sale on Monday. They've got a pre-orders for a quarter of these already and there's a special edition, only 400 copies, of one of these, signed by every living super bowl MVP. That's going to be 40,000 dollars.
S. O'BRIEN: Is it too heavy to pick up like this, to give everybody a sense of how big it is?
VELSHI: It's -- what is this -- what did we say, 88 pounds? Let me give it an effort. Yes, I wouldn't want to be carrying this too far. A good, heavy book. So, you've got to have the place for it. And if you're the kind of person who would spend on this kind of thing, you've probably got the kind of house and coffee table that suits it.
M. O'BRIEN: Talk about the fan who has everything kind of gift.
VELSHI: Yes, that's exactly what it is. And we know sports memorabilia and paraphernalia, I mean, people buy crazy things for crazy prices, but yes, 4,000 bucks for that.
S. O'BRIEN: Well 40,000 for the one with signatures. That's insane. VELSHI: But then again, if you're buying 40 and you've got every Super Bowl MVP's signature, you've probably got fantastic boxes at the stadium and you're spending at that level. But this is available to all of us. There are 20,000 of them
S. O'BRIEN: Right in time for the holidays.
VELSHI: Right in time for the holidays. If you need something for the guy who has everything, Opus, or gal who has everything, yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you Ali.
S. O'BRIEN: Hope you're going to get that for me for Christmas.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm all over it.
S. O'BRIEN: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
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