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American Morning
Foreclosed On, You Can Still Vote; GOP Poised for Big Gains; Countdown to Election Day; Yemen Announces Security Crackdown; The Battle for Congressional Control; Jury Selection Starts for Brian David Mitchell
Aired November 01, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: -- looking bleak for the Democrats. President Obama is campaigning hard in the final hours hoping to catch lightning in a bottle, like in 2008. He's pleading with Americans to get out and vote.
And this morning, we've got "The Best Political Team on Television" breaking down the issues and the races that will count the most tomorrow.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's see how I say it Wednesday morning when we start at 3:00.
New information this morning on the man who allegedly built the bombs found on planes headed for the United States. He could be the same person who made the so-called "underwear bomb" that was found last Christmas on a flight to the United States. Yemen is promising to make some changes to make that we don't come this close to a disaster again. Nic Robertson has got the latest information for us this morning.
CHETRY: And another powerful eruption from Indonesia's Mount Merapi Volcano, sending thousands of people that were already living in relief camps running for cover from clouds of hot ash. Many of them had returned to check on their homes and their farm animals. At least 31 people have been killed by the volcano in the past week.
(MUSIC)
ROBERTS: Well, by this time tomorrow, the negative attack ads end and it's the American people who start doing the talking, one more day before the midterm elections. And by the looks of it, the Democrats could be in some serious trouble.
We've got the "Finest Political Team on Television: bringing you every breaking development to make sure you have the information you need to make an informed choice tomorrow.
According to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 51 percent of voters asked believed that the Democrats will lose control of Congress tomorrow. Only 36 percent believe they'll hold on to it. Those kind of numbers had the president in Ohio yesterday urging everyone to vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If everyone who fought for change in 2008 shows up to vote in 2010, we will win this election. I am confident of that. And it turns out, as I said at the time, change isn't easy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Ohio is home to Congressman John Boehner and he stands to become speaker if the Republicans win the House. Boehner, who's now the House minority leader says he thinks he knows why the president is campaigning in his state in the final hours.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), OHIO: What he's really coming here for is to help himself because he knows -- he knows that in 2012, if he doesn't have Ted Strickland in office, his reelection chances are seriously damaged.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Speaking to Jim Acosta now, he's live in Washington, breaking down some key numbers in our latest CNN polling.
So, what are the latest numbers showing, Jim?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think Halloween continues for the Democrats because these numbers are downright scary, guys. If you look at what we all call the generic ballot among likely voters, those are -- those are the voters that are registered to vote are fired up about voting this midterm election, 52 percent for the Republican candidate in the race, 42 percent for the Democratic candidate. That is a huge advantage just two days before the election.
Among registered voters, it's slightly different, slightly smaller margin for the Republicans, 49 percent to 43 percent. Those are the numbers that the Democrats like a little bit more.
And when you heard the president say yesterday, if we can get everybody who voted in 2008 in 2010, they feel like these poll numbers will be sort of a moot point come Wednesday morning. But it doesn't look like that at this point.
Now, the headline of the morning might be some of these favorability numbers that our CNN polling unit ran. And we want to run those because they're pretty striking.
Let's first start with President Obama. Not so striking here. This is -- this is, you know, not to be unexpected here. Favorable, 48 percent; unfavorable, 48 percent. That's pretty much what we've seen in terms of the opinion of President Obama the last several weeks, several months.
But check this one out. This one might be the headline of the morning. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, a public figure that is generally not thought about too terribly much by voters, but she is definitely not liked in these final days of the campaign here.
In terms of her favorability, 26 percent -- only 26 percents of her favorable view, 53 percent unfavorable. Those numbers -- those are like George W. Bush/Dick Cheney numbers the 2008 election.
So, this is terrible news for Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House, and any Democrat who has an ad running in his race or her race against him or her tying that candidate to Nancy Pelosi.
Now, about the incoming -- potentially, incoming speaker of the House, John Boehner? You just heard him there a few moments ago. Check this out. Only 25 percent have a favorable view, 26 percent unfavorable, 30 percent have never heard of John Boehner before, which is sort of surprising.
John, you mentioned in the last hour, that's kind of a shame that many Americans don't know who might be the next speaker of the House. That is -- but that's where it goes to the point of what I was saying about Nancy Pelosi a few years back. The numbers on her were similar. But in the last several years, the last -- actually in the last year or so, you've seen Republicans may get to run against her and that strategy apparently is paying off.
What about the Tea Party movement? I want to how you this one final number here because a lot of people are saying this is the year of the Tea Party, what do people think about the Tea Party? A 37 percent favorable view, 37 percent unfavorable view.
That's pretty striking because this is a new political movement in this country. And yes, while they are somewhat popular, the public is deeply divided on these Tea Party candidates out there and you may have a whole slate of them, John and Kiran, a lot of them are heavily favored in some of these races around the country. People like Rand Paul in Kentucky, Ron Johnson up in Wisconsin, if Sharron Angle wins out in Nevada. You may have a whole Tea Party slate of new senators coming in to Washington.
And it's going to be interesting to see what the public's view will be on the senators if they do get elected as the months go on.
CHETRY: Yes. It will be interesting what happens when the anti- establishment candidates become part of the establishment.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
CHETRY: Jim Acosta for us this morning -- thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: Six minutes past the hour right now, and the best political minds on television are coming your way in just 20 minutes. We're going to be speaking with senior political analyst Ed Rollins, political contributor Hillary Rosen, and independent analyst John Avlon, also a columnist for TheDailyBeast.com. ROBERTS: And don't forget: AMERICAN MORNING starts one hour early tomorrow. We're going to be on the air at 3:00 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday morning with all the up-to-the-minute election results. Literally, from 5:00 a.m. tomorrow right through until noon on Wednesday we're going to be going live with election results.
CHETRY: Also new this morning: a group with ties to al Qaeda is claiming responsibility for an attack on a Catholic church in Baghdad. You're looking at surveillance video of that attack which started last night after gunmen stormed the church, taking an estimated 120 people hostage. Iraqi security forces moved quickly to end the siege. The kidnappers set off explosives, killing 37 people and injuring several more.
ROBERTS: Opening arguments are set today in the trial of former House majority leader, Tom DeLay. He is accused of illegally funneling corporate money to help elect GOP candidates in Texas back in 2002. DeLay has pleaded not guilty to money laundering and conspiracy charges in the case.
CHETRY: And Indonesia's Mount Merapi volcano erupting for the second time in a week. The latest eruptions sent thousands of villagers running. Many have returned to check on their homes and farm animals after eruptions last week. The volcanic activity has killed at least 31 people.
ROBERTS: And the San Francisco Giants now just one win away from their first World Series title in 56 years. They shut out the Texas rangers 4-0 last night in game four of the series. Giants lead three games to one, and they can wrap it up tonight in game five.
CHETRY: Well, it's seven minutes past the hour, let's get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather for us this morning.
Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys.
Weather for the game tonight should be OK again. Pretty good stretch of dry weather for the World Series and also very dry across the Northeast. And chilly last night and a chilly start to this November 1st as we really cranking into the fall season. Temps in the 30s from Philly to New York, up through New Haven, and below freezing Upstate New York. So, definitely, there's a little bit of frost on the leftover pumpkin as they sit out on the stoop this morning.
As far as what's going on in the tropics -- very active. Can you believe this? October is probably going to go down in the record books as far as the number of named storms of hurricanes.
And this was a hurricane yesterday. At one point, the winds were well over 90 miles an hour. Tropical Storm Tomas, 50-mile-an-hour winds, beat up Barbados and St. Lucia over the weekend, now, about 130 miles north of Curacao, heading west. And the forecast for this thing is this: continue to head west, potentially strengthen into a hurricane, and then make an extreme right-hand turn, head north toward Hispaniola, Jamaica, eastern Cuba, all in the cone of uncertainty. And the forecast is going to get a little bit dicey as we get later into the week, guys. Forecast for days four and five are always a little bit sketchy, especially as we get later into hurricane season. And northern winds -- winds from the higher elevations get into play and gets tricky.
And, of course, with Haiti's still recovering, we don't want -- we don't need a hurricane hitting that island nation for sure.
John and Kiran, back up to you.
ROBERTS: And the forecasting too for these hurricanes has been difficult, as well. Forecasts, as you said, they'll do one thing and then they'll turn out doing another.
So, we'll see how this goes.
MARCIANO: Yes, hopefully, this forecast changes in the next few days.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob.
CHETRY: Rob, thanks.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
ROBERTS: Well, disaster narrowly averted. New information on the latest on the terror scare facing the United States. The latest search for more bombs being smuggled into airline cargo and for the person who dropped them off in Yemen.
It's nine minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twelve minutes past the hour -- an A.M. security watch now.
Overnight, security officials in Yemen announce that every piece of cargo and luggage will go through extensive searching from now on.
ROBERTS: We're also finding out that there could be link between the explosive packages that were found last Friday and the so-called underwear bomb from last Christmas.
Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is tracking all of this. He joins us live from London this morning.
What are we learning today, Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that it's the same type of explosive, PETN, a fairly inert white powder until you put a detonator, and within a minute becomes a very, very strong and combustible explosive. That was the same explosive used in the underpants bomb in Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian student tried to bring the plane down over Detroit. And it is believed that it's the same bomb maker behind it, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, a young Saudi who gave a similar type of bomb to his brother to use on a suicide mission against a senior Saudi official last year, as well, John. He's believed to be the man behind these latest printer bombs.
CHETRY: All right. Nic Robertson for us this morning -- thanks.
ROBERTS: And ahead, at 6:40 Eastern today, Fran Townsend and Paul Cruickshank are going to be joining us. The serious damage that this bomb could have done and whether we've completely shut down this plot or whether there still might be some devices out there.
CHETRY: Also still ahead: minding your manners. It could help you find work in a tough economy. Alina Cho tells us about a new emphasis on business etiquette.
Fourteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Seventeen minutes past the hour. Christine Romans is here, "Minding Your Business" the day before everybody heads out there and vote, clearing up some of the misconceptions as well about who is able to vote.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right. If you are in the foreclosure process, you can still vote even, if you have left that home but it is still in foreclosure process.
This is something we talked about, you might remember in 2008. There was a lot of confusion there - there could be up to three million people who this - this could affect.
So you can vote, but you need to make sure - today is the day to make sure that you check with your local election officials to make sure that you have the right address on file or if you need to get a provisional ballot, if that's how you're going to do it. Because different states have different rules for this.
So first off, re-register if you've changed counties or you've moved out of state. That is the most important thing. If you've left your home from a foreclosure and you've moved states, you've got to - you've got to make sure that you re-register.
You can make changes of address right up until Election Day and use the address of the foreclosed property if you have no new permanent address. And be very, very careful at the polling places or even in the hours heading up to them. Don't let someone tell you that if you're being foreclosed upon, you don't have the right to vote. You absolutely do.
When you head to the - the voting booth, the most important thing here is most likely the economy. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll showing that the economy, 52 percent say this is the most important issue facing the country. No surprise there. The deficit, eight percent; education, eight percent; health care, eight percent; the wars, eight percent; illegal immigration, something that was a hot-button issue even three or four years ago, only eight percent right now; terrorism and energy, down there.
You know -
ROBERTS: That's amazing (ph). Fifty-two percent is the economy and everything else is less than -
CHETRY: I know.
ROMANS: I know. I mean, it is inevitable.
ROBERTS: When have you ever seen that?
ROMANS: And you look at, for example, Harry Reid and his very tough fight that he's facing in - in Nevada, the unemployment rate there is 14.4 percent. The most important number for - for any politician right now, and for President Obama heading to 2012, is 9.6 - 9.6 percent, the unemployment rate.
People know somebody who doesn't have a job. They might be underemployed themselves. That is the most important issue -
CHETRY: Right. And - and you say 9.6 percent, but when you've counted underemployment -
ROMANS: Oh, yes.
CHETRY: -- people who have given up the long-term search, it's - it's much - it's dire.
ROMANS: It's closer to 18 percent, when you talk about that. And there are other people who can - you throw in everything, people who are working a job that is much below their - their abilities and skills and education, you're talking about underemployment rates much, much higher.
ROBERTS: Yes. That's certainly going to be a factor when people go to the polls.
ROMANS: It sure is.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Thanks so much, Christine.
ROBERTS: And if the polls are right, Democrats are in for a rough day tomorrow when America votes. Up next, the best political minds on television are here to help you make an informed choice.
Our senior political analyst, Ed Rollins, political contributor Hilary Rosen, and John Avlon, columnist for TheDailyBeast.com.
Stay with us. It's 20 minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: If the polls are correct, Republicans are poised to gain control of the House of Representatives and make some serious gains in the Senate tomorrow. But it's the GOP that's dialing down expectations in these final hours while Democrats are predicting they're going to keep control of both Houses of Congress.
CHETRY: Well, we want to bring "The Best Political Team on Television" in right now. Senior political analyst and Republican strategist, Ed Rollins, political contributor and Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen. Hey, Hilary. And CNN contributor, John Avlon, all join us this morning.
First, I just want to start with you, Ed, because you're sitting next to me. No, I'm kidding. The GOP is trying to tamp down expectations at this point, and meanwhile you're still hearing from Republican, at least party leaders say it's not all lost at this point. What's your assessment?
ED ROLLINS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I will not - I will not tamp them down. We're going to win more than 50 seats and I think we're going to win seven or eight Senate seats and still a possibility of sweeping it all tonight.
ROBERTS: Hilary, you know, I talked with Tim Kaine last week and he's still, you know, very optimistic saying we're going to retain both Houses of Congress. I asked him how he makes that calculation and he came up with, you know, some interesting ideas.
But what do you think is going to happen? Is there any way you can hang on to the House?
HILARY ROSEN, MANAGING PARTNER, SKDKNICKER-BOCKER, A POLITICAL CONSULTING FIRM: You know, my friend, everybody keeps talking about these national polls. But, obviously, these races are district by district. And what we're seeing in, you know, 25 to 30 House seats is that there are a lot of third-party candidates that are still getting significant numbers of the votes. So, you know, Democrats can still win in - in these seats even if they don't get 50 percent. So I think we're going to see that trend a lot.
The other trend we're seeing in the early voting in several states like Ohio and Nevada and others that this enthusiasm gap that everybody keeps predicting is not exactly true. We're seeing Democratic turnout being very, very strong in these early votings.
So I think the Republicans are starting to wake up and be a little more balanced and realistic about this. And I actually think that the Democrats can hold the House here.
CHETRY: Let's bring in John Avlon then, as well. I mean, you still have independents breaking two to one for the GOP -
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely. CHETRY: -- at this point. Our latest CNN Polling shows the GOP quite unhappy with the direction of the country right now - I mean shows the Independents quite unhappy with the direction of the country right now.
What's your take on what's going to happen?
AVLON: Independents have been swinging decisively Republicans now for 20 months. I mean, this has been a - you've been seeing this wave coming for a long, long time. The thing is, both parties are going to sort of spin their self-interest here. Democrats are going to say don't give up the votes and they're right to the extent, the election is Tuesday. It's not done.
And Republicans are trying to control expectations because they could gain 40 seats and still be perceived as losers. So let's, you know, cut through this spin and that's the reality. But the trend is pretty clear, independents are swinging hard for Republicans. Republicans are fired up for this election and I think you're going to see some significant gains.
ROBERTS: Do Independents want to split government?
AVLON: Yes. And this is one of the most important things. Independents tend to like divided government, they always have. Because they feel that they're going to create checks and balances that will force the two parties to work together and will stop any one party from ideological overreach. And that's one of their chief complaints back when Republicans had control in '06 and back right now with Democrats.
ROSEN: You know, I'm - I'm not sure that that's - there's a point that John's making that I'm not sure is entirely correct, which is the enthusiasm of the Independent. I think the - what we have seen across the board is a frustrated Independent not knowing where to turn and not necessarily liking the sort of the social agenda of a lot of the Tea Party folks and a lot of the Conservative Republicans that they're being presented with.
And so I think there's - that's why I believe we're going to see a lot of the none of the above votes and these third party candidates because -
ROLLINS: But those - historically people don't waste their vote in a closed race.
ROSEN: You know what, Ed, that's true, but the polls this time this week are showing that those numbers are not dropping.
ROLLINS: There's only one poll that counts and that's the one tomorrow.
ROSEN: That's right.
AVLON: But the none of the above scenario would hurt Harry Reid in Nevada and generally you're absolutely right, Hilary. Independents tend to be closer to Republicans on economic issues, closer to the Democrats on social issues but this is overwhelmingly an economic issue election. And the - and the social issues of some of the Tea Party Senate candidates are exactly why Democrats are trying to raise those. Because there are ways in which a wedge -
CHETRY: Right.
AVLON: -- can be driven between the Independents and Republicans.
CHETRY: I do want to ask Ed about -
AVLON: Sure.
CHETRY: -- one of the unusual situations that seem to be developing right now in Alaska, which is that in the primary election -
ROLLINS: Right.
CHETRY: -- the incumbent senator, Lisa Murkowski, Republican, was ousted in favor of Tea Party -
ROLLINS: Right.
CHETRY: -- candidate, Joe Miller, who had the backing of Sarah Palin. Now, that he's the Republican nominee and she's a write-in candidate, there's been some talk in these last few days that perhaps there's some buyer's remorse on the part of the GOP establishment and they're looking to see if Murkowski wins it.
ROLLINS: Well, if Murkowski wins it, which is - which is a tough uphill battle as a write-in, but she may, she's already committed to basically be in the Republican side. She's not going to be a Democrat. She's not going to be Independent. She's a ranking member on the Energy and Commerce Committee, which is very important in the Senate.
So either way, either Murkowski or Miller basically will be with the Republicans.
ROSEN: Yes. But that's a very interesting race because that's a race where the numbers for Scott McAdams, the Democrat running, could end up superseding the combination of Murkowski and Miller. You know, if Murkowski ends up winning, the numbers - that they're going be challenged. Those write-in candidates are very -
ROBERTS: Yes.
ROSEN: -- difficult. There is - I predict we're not going to know who the senator from Alaska is. This is my big election (INAUDIBLE).
ROLLINS: You're absolutely correct on that.
ROSEN: The senator from Alaska is - for several weeks.
ROLLINS: Of all the things you've said this morning, you're most correct on that one. ROBERTS: Yes. McAdams has still got some work to do. He's still running substantially behind.
AVLON: He is. All right. Look, 1954, that's the last time there was a successful Senate write-in candidate. But the numbers are right here. And one of the -
ROBERTS: But he was pretty successful.
CHETRY: Yes. That was Strom Thurmond. He's had a good run.
AVLON: Right, right. Yes. But -
ROLLINS: He was a Democrat, Republican - he was always Independent.
AVLON: And, well, he ran a Dixie crowd less credibly. But, what's significant here is that Republican Party should be learning a lesson here.
One of the things that this election has been under - under analyzed is that the close partisan primary with the Republicans have had with low turnout have created candidates that have a tougher time connecting with the general electorate, whether you're talking Sharron Angle, Carl Paladino, or in this case, Miller vs. Murkowski. And the Republican Party should recognize that there's an interest in opening its primaries.
ROBERTS: There's one other thing we've got to ask Ed about. We're reading in Politico, and this is Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei. They're both very, very good reporters saying that the GOP leadership is creating a Stop Sarah Palin Movement for 2012 thinking that if she becomes the nominee, President Obama gets another second chance (ph).
ROLLINS: Well, lots - lots of luck, you know? That's all I can say, is that basically it's a long ways to go, and I - if anything this election's about, it's about Washington doesn't control the grassroots. The grassroots are going to be her - her baby for the next couple of years.
CHETRY: Wow. All right.
ROSEN: Go, Sarah, go. Go, Sarah, go.
CHETRY: Hilary, we could always count on you to -
ROBERTS: And Hilary's going to be your campaign manager.
CHETRY: Thanks for joining us.
AVLON: Let's get through tomorrow first.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Hilary.
CHETRY: Hilary Rosen, John Avlon, Ed Rollins, great to talk to all of you, as always. Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: All right. We're crossing the half hour now. Time for this morning's top stories.
A different kind of gridlock in the nation's capital this weekend, more than 200,000 people turned out in the National Mall for the rally to "Restore Sanity and/or Fear" hosted by Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. It was more of a takeoff on a rally than a rally itself, and it appeared a good time was had by all.
CHETRY: And, interestingly enough, our John Avlon was there at the rally as well. When you look at the signs -
ROBERTS: Were you sane or were you fearful?
CHETRY: -- there was 420 signs. There was a lot of anti-Tea Party. There was a lot of making fun of Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell in those signs.
AVLON: There was, but the overwhelming majority of signs that I saw were not only good humor, but they were about civility. And many of them are people standing up for moderation, and saying, look, I'm one of the - the radical moderates. I'm standing up for civility.
This was a rally, really, that it - to say it was simply a de facto liberal rally, I think, is to miss the broader point. These are folks who are protesting the polarization and the false choices and the anger that have dominated our politics. They did it with humor. Let me tell you, it's one of the most heartening things I've seen in a year or two this election cycle.
CHETRY: Well, good. I'm glad we got your take on it this morning. John, thanks.
Also, under fire in Pakistan this morning, insurgents attack two tankers carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan. Police say at least six gunmen opened fire on a major highway cutting off the tankers. Three people were injured -- at least six similar attacks have occurred in the last month, and seven people were killed.
ROBERTS: And let the debate over free birth control for women begin. Panel of experts advising the White House will meet to determine whether contraception and family planning are preventive medicine under the president's new health care reforms. Many public health officials and doctors believe it is. The Catholic Church and conservative groups, though, disagree.
CHETRY: Half past the hour right now, to the Most Politics in the Morning. Just a day until elections and a vote that could switch the balance of power in Congress.
ROBERTS: Our senior political editor, Mark Preston, joins us now live inside the CNN election center.
Great to have you here for a change.
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, thanks for having me up here.
ROBERTS: Break the numbers down for us.
PRESTON: All right. Very quickly -- for the Republicans to take back the House of Representatives, they have to have a net gain of 39 seats. A lot of people of say that's doable, a lot of people say it's expected.
In the Senate, they need to have a net gain of 10 seats. Some people say it's doable. It's a little bit of tougher road for them to get there, John.
CHETRY: And what about the key races. We were just talking about Alaska and how we may not know the results of Alaska, in fact, for days because of the write-in candidate.
PRESTON: Sure. I mean, let's look at 11 seats right now that all Democratic seats. And this is why it's very problematic for Democrats, but still not quite there for Republicans. Let's start off with Arkansas, Indiana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. These are all Democratic seats that Republicans feel like they are absolutely going to win on election night. Democrats are not feeling very good about them.
Moving on, look at Pennsylvania, Colorado, Illinois, Washington state, and California. Six more seats that are very problematic for Democrats, but yet Republicans don't feel they have a grasp on all of them. And then, of course, here's the big one, out in Nevada, the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
ROBERTS: Right. So, if he loses to Sharron Angle, who is in line to become the majority leader in the Senate?
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: I'm just going to make that clear -- because indications are that the Democrats will hang on to the control of the Senate.
PRESTON: Sure, what we're having is the little inside game being played by Chuck Schumer from here in New York and Dick Durbin from Illinois. What's interesting is that they're both liberal. They both represent liberal states. They're probably more liberal than Harry Reid is right now.
If you look at what Chuck Schumer has to deliver, he was the chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. What does that mean? It means that he got Democrats elected. So, he has a lot of (INAUDIBLE).
What does Dick Durbin have? He's very close to President Obama.
So, what we're seeing in this little game being played behind the scenes. They don't want to come out openly and talk about it because if they do that, it looks like they're trying to walk over Harry Reid's grave.
CHETRY: All right. Well, Mark, great to have you with us. We'll check in with you in the next hour as well.
Meanwhile, you can check out the political news any time by heading to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
ROBERTS: Well, a bomb plot that may have just barely failed. How Yemen missed mail bombs that could've blown a plane out of the sky and whether we completely shut down that plot. Fran Townsend and Paul Cruickshank are going to be joining us.
Thirty-three minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour -- an A.M. security watch for you now.
Yemen promising big changes for the way it handles airline security this morning, promising to check every piece of cargo and luggage after bombs hidden in the mail made it on to planes late last week. Investigators say they now think these bombs may have been made to go off by themselves and perhaps to blow a plane out of the sky.
ROBERTS: Joining us now is former White House homeland security adviser and CNN national contributor, France Townsend. She is a member of both the DHS and CIA external advisory committees. And CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank is with us as well.
So, the British, Paul, were the first ones to float this idea that the bombs were designed to go off from the sky. John Brennan, our counterterrorism adviser says he agrees with that.
Do you agree?
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: It looks like it could be that, but this could have been triggered by a mobile phone. They could have phoned it up in midair and sent a text message to trigger this device as soon as the coverage comes back when this is in the air, John.
CHETRY: What stands out to you most, Fran, about how we found out about this plot in the first place, which was from Saudi Arabian intelligence?
FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Kiran, you know, it's interesting. For the billions of dollars post-9/11 that we've spent, we still rely on our foreign allies to give us tactical intelligence.
Obviously, the Saudis are closer to the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. That's who they've been fighting inside Saudi Arabia, that's who they've seen across the border in Yemen. And so, they got the intelligence. We have the relationship with them now, that they knew to pass this quickly so we could act on it.
ROBERTS: So, Paul -- I mean, this goes well into the realm of speculation. But if there were two devices out there, are there more that haven't been found yet?
CRUICKSHANK: That's the great concern that there could be more devices out there, or more devices in the pipeline. The bomb maker is still believed to be out there, Ibrahim al-Asiri. He could make new bombs, give them to new people and go to new UPS places, not only on Yemen but anywhere in the world and deliver them.
So, there's a lot of concern right now because of this, John.
CHETRY: And that's the interesting part -- this person who's also been linked -- Asiri has been linked the underwear bomber that did not go up, as well, the failed Christmas Day bomb attack. How do you screen? And how do you try to secure, you know, our ships -- perhaps, you know, our places of worship and business here in the United States from PETN, this so-called explosive device?
TOWNSEND: Very difficult because, you know, you need such a small amount and it's so volatile. It's very difficult to screen from -- screen for. It's virtually odorless. And so, it's not the sort of thing like a traditional explosive that you can screen for using dogs and the typical sorts of ways.
The other thing, Kiran, is worth noting, he also is the same bomb maker that put the bomb in the underwear that was used to try to assassinate Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the Saudi official who passed us this intelligence.
So, these guys know how to do it. They're adaptable. He's quite a sophisticated bomb maker.
ROBERTS: And what -- they keep trying, too. One way, and if that doesn't work, it's another way. And what about this lingering obsession with airplanes? Everything -- not everything, but so much of what al Qaeda does is linked to aircraft.
CRUICKSHANK: It's the most dramatic, spectacular form of attack. You know, Operation Bojinka back in '95, jihadists trying to explode American aircraft over the Pacific, 9/11, Richard Reed in 2001, the airline plot in 2006, Abdulmutallab, Christmas Day, 2009, and now, another attack on airplanes.
This is the hardest target to go after it. But they're trying to go after it again and again, John.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: You would think that because they have failed so many times that they might turn their sights to something else.
CRUICKSHANK: They may feel they're getting closer to it. (INAUDIBLE) the most dramatic sort of attack that creates the most sort of fear and it could be the most damaging for the international economy, John.
CHETRY: That's the other question, though, about the -- this plan to try it in cargo, because we've seen, you know, a real clamp down on the passenger jets. The other question, though, is the same thing we've talked about before when it comes to cargo on ships. I mean, that's still not 100 percent screened.
TOWNSEND: No. And, in fact, the legislation here in the United States requires 100 percent screening of cargo by 2012.
CHETRY: Is that going to happen?
TOWNSEND: Well, the problem is: this administration and, frankly, the Bush administration all said we can't meet that deadline. We need an extension.
Hopefully, this sort of an event will prompt people to take action. But we should say, Kiran, even on the passenger -- when you put one of these packages into the system, it's not clear whether that's going to go on a cargo plane or a passenger plane. And it may be that the bomb makers and the terrorists were hoping that this would be on a passenger plane, in the belly of a passenger plane when it exploded. Imagine that.
ROBERTS: It turns out that it was. At least of one --
TOWNSEND: That's exactly right.
ROBERTS: Paul, when it comes to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is that the greatest threat facing the West right now? Or are there a number different threats from Somalia and Pakistan, Afghanistan, all of them equal?
CRUICKSHANK: Unfortunately, there are a number of threats right now. Al Qaeda is the most operationally active, but al Qaeda in Afghanistan is a real problem. Just a few weeks ago, they plotted an attack in Europe, Mumbai-style attacks. That wasn't carried through. But there's still a great threat in Pakistan.
And the problem now is we have multiple fronts where this threat is coming from. And that is a great concern to counterterrorism officials at the moment, John.
CHETRY: All right. Well, I want to thank both of you, Paul Cruickshank, Fran Townsend, as always for your insight this morning. Thanks.
Coming up: A good resume counts. But what could really help get you hired in a tight job market? What if it came down to table manners? Alina Cho says some people are banking on that and they're trying to learn the proper etiquette.
ROBERTS: And after a chilly Halloween, it's going to be a chilly start to the day in the Northeast. Rob Marciano has got this morning's travel forecast coming up right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Forty-five minutes after the hour. New this morning: a group with ties to al Qaeda claiming responsibility for an attack on a Catholic church in Baghdad. You're looking at surveillance video of the attack that began last night after government stormed the church, taking an estimated 120 people hostage. Iraqi security forces moved quickly to end the siege, but the kidnappers set off explosives. Those explosives killed 37 people and injured 57 others.
CHETRY: Jury selection starts today in Salt Lake City for the man accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart. Smart was snatched from her bed in the middle of the night back in 2002, and she was found nine months later with Brian David Mitchell and his wife. Mitchell was charged with kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines. His wife, Wanda Barzee, pleaded guilty to those charges last year and is serving a 15-year sentence.
ROBERTS: The University of Iowa reportedly allowed two basketball recruits to meet two of the school's celebrity fans, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. Such a meeting would be a violation of NCAA rules. The Des Moines Register says the movie star couple met the recruits at a home football game in September. Iowa's athletic director says he hopes the NCAA will determine that they were quote "unintentional secondary violations."
CHETRY: It's 46 minutes after the hour right now. We got a quick check of the weather headlines with Rob Marciano. He's in the Extreme Weather Center for us today. Hey, Rob.
MARCIANO: Hey, so, is that like considered payment to meet a celebrity?
ROBERTS: Yes.
MARCIANO: That's the violation?
ROBERTS: Yes, it's a perk.
MARCIANO: As long as nobody got punked.
ROBERTS: Same as getting a car.
MARCIANO: Exactly. I never got that offer in college, strikingly.
ROBERTS: No, not that I said (ph) that.
MARCIANO: Boston, New York, Philly, D.C., nothing on the radar scope here at least along the I-95 corridor. It is on the chilly side, however. Temperatures in the 30s and then below the freezing mark. You go upstate New York and parts of Northern New England, as well. Shot of D.C. for you where temperatures right now in the mid to upper 30s. We are going to fall back this weekend. So, it will be a little bit lighter come this time next week as the sun rolls out of bed an hour earlier with the rest of us.
Good shot there. You will see clear skies for today, although a chilly start, temperatures will rebound nicely into the 50s. We got a little disturbance that's rolling across the Rockies. It's going to dive down the south, just some showers here, random stuff, but the core of the energy is going to drive into Texas and it kind of sits here and fester, I think, for a good couple of three days here. Heavy rain from Southeast Texas and to parts of Louisiana eventually to the rest of the southeast. Not necessarily a bad thing.
It's been unusually dry fall, and in some cases, pretty bad drought. So, we will take the rain where we get it. There'll be above average temperatures here for today and across the northern tier and below average as you're sitting right now across the northeast. High pressure in the Ohio River Valley driving in that cool, northerly flow, and you'll have that again for another day or two. Fifty-one degrees for the high temperature in New York, 79 degrees in Dallas for the game tonight, shouldn't be too shabby, 87 in Houston as you start to pump up the humidity there.
As far as what's going out on the tropical storm Tomas. This was a hurricane over the weekend. I know if you were disconnected you say what's going on here? Well, it was one of those disturbances that rolled into Barbados, beat it around a little bit, same with St. Lucia, and now, it's about 120 miles or so just to the north of your south heading to the west, and these waters are very, very warm. So, it probably will strengthen. This time of year, though, you get complications as far as stronger, higher-level winds and that will sometimes create some issues.
Here is the forecast, however, and it could be issues for Haiti as we get towards the weekend, unfortunately. That nation may be under the gun with a category one hurricane. Hopefully, this forecast and forecast track changes as we go through the next few days. John and Kiran, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Rather odd sort of meandering path that it's taking, isn't it?
CHETRY: Looks like it's wobbling around a bit right now.
MARCIANO: We hope it wobbles further south maybe just dies a slow death, but we'll see what happens.
ROBERTS: That would be good. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
CHETRY: Coming up, business etiquette, it's all the rage for young people just out of college and looking to stand out in a difficult job market. Alina Cho has the story for us next. It's 48 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: No denying the job market is tough these days. Nearly 1 in 10 Americans unemployed now.
CHETRY: A lot of people are wondering, what can I do to set myself apart, to really get the attention of a potential boss? Well, would you believe etiquette counts. Etiquette classes are all the rage these days for 20 something just out of college. AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho went to one of these classes recently. So, you've wonderful manners, anyway.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I learned a thing or two about how to dine properly, right, you know, about how to send an e- mail properly. We'll get into that in a little bit. You know, we started to wonder, though, with these classes being so popular, what exactly do table manners have to do with scoring a job?
Maybe a lot. With the job market so tight these days, not enough to have a stellar resume. We're finding companies want workers with manners, too. If you think about it, business is the largest social environment in the world. It's a big reason why etiquette classes are booming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's four steps. Let me show you. One, two -- quietly, three.
CHO (voice-over): What does this -- have to do -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope to lean over a little bit, is that OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can tilt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
CHO: With getting a job?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. That's a big bite, Sarah.
CHO: Would you believe etiquette counts for a lot?
PATRICIA FITZPATRICK, THE NEW YORK SCHOOL OF ETIQUETTE: 85 percent of success in life and getting a job is people skills. 15 percent is technical skills or what you know.
CHO: So, how do you improve your people skills? By taking a class.
FITZPATRICK: Welcome to outclass the competition, this is etiquette.
CHO: In just a year, Patricia Fitzpatrick says her business has doubled, and she charges $200 per person for a two-hour group session.
FITZPATRICK: One, two, three shakes is OK. Four is getting strange, and five is creepy.
CHO: Others etiquette classes are going gang busters. And the students are younger, 20 somethings just out of school looking for a job and an edge. LINDSAY YUHASZ, ETIQUETTE SCHOOL STUDENTS: I want to be the person that they're like this girl is great. When she came in, she smiled, she was confident, she shook my hand well. I want to be that person.
CHO: Which is why these young women are learning how to properly dine, communicate, and network. All the little things that can show a potential employer you're up for the job.
FITZPATRICK: First of all, you don't go to events to eat, OK? You're not there to eat. So, eat something before you go.
CHO: Make eye contact in the area Fitzpatrick calls the triangle. Anything lower is too personal. Once you get the job, know how to eat. There's always a business lunch. Number one rule, eat with the backside of your fork, cross your utensils while you rest and leave them parallel at 10:20 like a clock when you're done.
So many details, does it really matter? Anna Post is the great, great granddaughter of Emily Post, the woman who literally wrote the book on etiquette.
ANNA POST, THE EMILY POST INSTITUTE: This will quit you apart from the crowd. There are so many qualified resumes. This is a way to show that the boss can send you out and have absolute confidence that you won't embarrass them in front of a client, bottom line.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (on-camera): That's why these classes are so popular. And guys, another reason why it's so popular is because everyone's on Facebook and Twitter these days. There's less social interaction, right? So, people aren't learning this. There are fewer family dinners. That's the other thing. One of the most important things you can learn is how to shake a hand. So --
CHETRY: I'm Ready.
CHO: Doesn't matter whether you have a small hand, you're shaking a giant hand, it's got to be web to web, that's what they say, right? So, web to web.
CHETRY: One, two, three, four is getting weird and five is creepy.
CHO: Let's try it. Web to web. And the reason why this is so important is because they say -- now you can let go. Now, you passed creepy. They say, you know, if you think about it when you're meeting someone within the first five to ten seconds, people are getting -- making judgments. All they know is what you look like and your posture.
The most important thing is that handshake. When you're shaking fingertips --
CHETRY: Wishy washy. CHO: Wishy washy, people will underestimate you. You're not seen as a strong candidate.
ROBERTS: You know what I hate is when you meet somebody and do a handshake and they go like this. And they get your fingers before you get a chance to get all the way. I wanted to do -- and they beat me too it.
CHO: You've got a strong handshake. You're very web-to-web, you're very good.
ROBERTS: It's like a male competition.
CHETRY: Really?
ROBERTS: I'm going to grab his fingers before he gets all the way in, you know?
CHETRY: Yes. The new thing too, though, I mean, this is really unsanitary, shaking hands and cold feet, and you really should fist pump.
CHETRY: Don't do that in your etiquette class.
CHO: In a social setting, perhaps. Maybe not if you're --
ROBERTS: Don't fist pump if you're employer, right?
CHO: Not a good idea.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.
All right. We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories in just a couple of minutes.
ROBERTS: Nice to meet you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
