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American Morning
Western Republican Presidential Debate; Day Two of Obama's Road Trip; Israel-Palestinian Prisoner Swap; Still Betting on Las Vegas; Firefighter Catches a Young Boy; Sec. Clinton In Libya; Pharmaceuticals Look Like Candy; Interview with Jon Porter
Aired October 18, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello. In 14 hours, seven Republican candidates for president will square off here in Las Vegas in a high stakes debate. A new CNN/ORC poll just released in the last minute shows Mitt Romney and Herman Cain (inaudible) statistical dead heat. We will preview the debate and break down the poll numbers just ahead.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Four hundred and seventy seven for what? I'm Ali Velshi. The lopsided prisoner exchange between Israelis and Palestinians taking place overnight. Hamas calls it a great day, but some Israelis say the price for a captured soldier is just too high. A live report just ahead.
ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. President Obama is on a mission to get Congress to pass his jobs bill piece by piece. Republicans say the president's trip is more about one job, saving his own. Now President Obama is responding on this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Good morning to you. It is Tuesday, October 18th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. A little chill in the air here in New York, but not where Carol is.
ROMANS: Yes, out in the desert. Carol Costello is getting ready for politics in the desert. Joining us live this morning. Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good morning. You know the best thing about Las Vegas right at this moment?
ROMANS: Gambling?
COSTELLO: Well, besides that. It's 3:00 in the morning here, and there's a Starbucks open.
ROMANS: At a casino.
COSTELLO: I'm loving it. Yes, and there are people around. Yes. It's just like at 8:00. I love Las Vegas. It is a fitting location, too, for tonight's Western Republican Presidential Debate, because this is the city that makes or breaks fortunes every single day.
A lot of preparation has gone into tonight's event co-hosted by CNN and the Republican Western Leadership Conference. In just three days, a 45,000 square foot set has been built from the ground up at the Venetian Sands Expo and Convention Center.
That includes two humongous monitors, an enormous chandelier and seating for 1,500 people. Look at that. Those people have been working around the clock since Friday. Yes, it's quite the political circus here in Las Vegas, of course, minus the white tents.
Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, a field of seven will be in the glare of the Las Vegas spotlight, highlighted by Mitt Romney, the steady frontrunner and Herman Cain, the lightning rod long shot. Just look at numbers in the latest CNN/ORC poll.
Romney and Cain are now in a statistical dead heat with Romney at 26 percent and Cain at 25 percent. Rick Perry and Ron Paul are well back rounding out the top four.
Newt Gingrich finished fifth with 8 percent followed by Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum. Jon Huntsman is last. He, of course, is boycotting tonight's debate and said .
Let's bring in CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser live from Las Vegas his morning. Did you go to the Starbucks open for 24 hours?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Haven't been there yet, Carol, but I'm going.
COSTELLO: I almost dumped it on myself. Let's talk about Herman Cain because it's just amazing. It seems he has holding power, does he?
STEINHAUSER: He's gone from zero to 60 in just about everybody's surveys including ours. So what is the secret of Herman Cain's success? Why is he surging in the polls? We'll look at numbers and as you said, these are brand new from CNN/ORC, out moments ago.
Which candidate among Republicans only is more likely to get the economy moving again? Look who's on top. Herman Cain, seven points ahead of Mitt Romney. Who's the most likable candidate?
Once again, Herman Cain, it's 34 percent. Just slightly ahead of Mitt Romney. You can see Rick Perry pretty far down there. Those are two reasons why Herman Cain has surged to the top and he's now basically tied with Mitt Romney.
But Romney ahs got some good attributes as well. Let's go to the next number. You can see it right here. Who's most likely to win the nomination? Well, you can see, Republicans say by far -- by far - Mitt Romney at 51 percent. Cain at 18 percent. Perry at 14 percent.
And which one has the best chance of beating President Obama next year in the general election, again Mitt Romney on top. Cain a distant second. Everybody else below him -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well, a couple of things about Herman Cain. He's likability factor is high, but talking to people around here, they say Herman Cain is funny. He says things in a way that we can understand them. We kind of like his 9-9-9 plan, but don't quite get it yet. I talked to Mayor Goodman, the mayor Las Vegas. She said, yes, the 9-9-9 plan sounds good, but seriously we need a plan that starts now. Ste doesn't believe the 9-9-9 plan would do that.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, and a lot of other people started to feel that way as well and yes, Nevada has highest unemployment rate in the nation. That's why tonight, right back there at the Venetian when the debate happens.
You're going to see Herman Cain coming under more scrutiny because when you rise in the polls, the more you say, get's under the microscope by as the media and by the voters as well. So yes, that's --
COSTELLO: And we know that Herman Cain has made a few gaffes in the last few days. So he has to be careful. He can't be quite so plain spoken anymore.
STEINHAUSER: True honest plan on that fence wood Mexico. He has definitely been under the spotlight.
COSTELLO: OK, Let's talk about Jon Huntsman because he will not be at tonight's debate and that's because he's protesting Nevada moving up its caucus.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, that is why he is placing all his chips, a gambling term, on New Hampshire. And he is saying unless New Hampshire moves its date, he's not going part take in the caucuses here as with some other candidate, but he's not even going to in our debate.
Some more news on the primary caucus calendar, Iowa announcing yesterday they're going on January 3rd, as we thought. So take a look at calendar. January 3rd for Iowa and January 14th for Nevada. That means New Hampshire, which is the first in the nation primary's boxed in. They're saying to Nevada, unless you move back we are threatening to move our primary to December. We'll see how that falls.
COSTELLO: Again, I talked to the mayor of Las Vegas about moving the caucus date up. She said I'm all for it and it should be here talking to people in Nevada, because this is a microcosm of the nation.
Different nationalities are here. People from all sorts of socioeconomic backgrounds. She says you can't say that about New Hampshire or Iowa. The candidates here talking face to face and you move that caucus up they're more likely going to be here for a long time.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, they want to be a player in the primary caucus calendar. We're going to seven of the eight major candidates here tonight. Talking about the calendar, talk about November.
CNN just announcing overnight, a brand new debate. Yes, another debate, National security and foreign policy though for the first time will be in the spotlight. CNN and two D.C. conservative think tanks, American Enterprise Institute and the Heritage Foundation, November 15th.
COSTELLO: Can't way. Exciting, Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much.
Stay with CNN al morning for the best political coverage on television. At 8:45 Eastern, I will be joined by Ron Paul who just released his big economic plan. He says he'll make $1 trillion in cuts to government spending and balance the nation's budget in his first year in office, a tall order.
We'll ask him about it. Join us tonight at 8:00 Eastern for live coverage of the Western Republican Presidential debate. Anderson Cooper will moderate and I'll be there, too. So we can bring you all the post debate analysis Wednesday on AMERICAN MORNING. Let's go back to New York and Christine and Ali.
VELSHI: It's going to be a good, fun, exciting morning. I hear you got a great line up including Ron Paul, but you got some others on politics all morning. Carol, we'll see you in a minute.
ROMANS: All right, for a second day in a row, President Obama hits the road to tout his jobs plan. The president will be speaking in North Carolina and Virginia.
These, of course, are two states critical to his re-election hopes, and while Republicans accuse the president of campaigning on the taxpayers' dime, the president insisted he's just trying to put Americans back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Look -- I -- I appreciate the four more years, but right now I'm thinking about the next 13 months. Because, yes we've got an election coming up, but that election's a long way away and a lot of folks can't wait. A lot of folks are living paycheck to paycheck. A lot of folks are living week to week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: He said, Ali, that maybe this $447 billion jobs plan, maybe it's altogether they couldn't get it in Congress. Take apart in little pieces so that they can pass it one by one if that makes it easier to do their job.
The president's re-election campaign is also reaching a milestone Monday. The campaign announced its received financial contributions from 1 million grass roots donors now.
VELSHI: All right, this is happening right now. A highly historic, highly controversial prisoner swap overnight between Israel and Hamas. Take a look. We're going to have live pictures here. These are live pictures from Ramallah. This is Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian authority.
The Israelis have freed 477 Palestinians. Look at that crowd. They've freed 477 Palestinian prisoners today in exchange for one captive Israeli soldier. Another 550 Palestinians are due to be released in another two months.
Meantime, that Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, is returning home as a national hero after five years in Hamas captivity. He was 19 years old when he was captured five years ago.
CNN's Kevin Flower is following the developments. He is live in Jerusalem for us right now. It looks festive on both sides, Kevin. What's the situation?
KEVIN FLOWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, five years and four months almost after the day that Gilad Shalit was kidnapped. He was released from Hamas captivity today, crossed into Egypt and then made his way from Egypt into Israel.
As you said, a hero's welcome for him here in Israel. He has been sort of at the center of a very public campaign by his family and by many supporters in Israel to have him released for years now. So there's been this public campaign. There have been on and off again negotiations to come up with some sort of deal.
Finally that deal was accepted last week. It's a deal that sees, as you said, over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners being released. So there are a lot of good feelings on the Palestinian side, in the Gaza strip and Ramallah, as the pictures we just showed.
Some of these Palestinian prisoners are coming home, but on both sides, it's tempered by the fact that this is a deal that certainly satisfies some people, but not all. There are many Israelis who say the price being paid for Gilad Shalit's return is simply too high.
That there are terrorists being released who could attack Israeli citizens again, and on the Palestinian side, a sense that there is still thousands of Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails who they believe should be released right away, Ali.
VELSHI: Kevin, on both sides, those folks who don't think this was a fair deal, is that a minority on the fringes? Do most Palestinians and Israelis think that this was -- that they got something good out of this deal?
FLOWER: I think so. I think both sides at this point -- the positive emotions are overshadowing the naysayers at this point. It is really hard to underestimate the impact that the captivity of Gilad Shalit has had on Israeli society.
He has become sort of an icon of early soldiers successive governments working incredibly hard to try and get him returned, and, likewise, for the Palestinian side. To see this many prisoner, almost 20 percent of Palestinian prisoners released in a two-month period is quite an achievement for the Hamas group.
VELSHI: All right, Kevin, I know you're following it closely. If anything further develops, let us know. We'll get you right back on. Kevin Flower in Jerusalem for us.>
ROMANS: All right, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, Vegas used to mean Sammy and Sinatra, but now it means Oscar and Carolyn Goodman, the strip's the power couple.
Mr. Goodman served three terms at the city's mayor then his wife took over. Do you think the GOP will deliver under those bright Vegas lights?
VELSHI: As you know, Carol is live there all this morning. Tonight's the big debate and the save of a lifetime, a little boy dangling from the window of a burning building. A firefighter waiting below with open arms. We'll tell you what happened, and hear from the hero. It's 13 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back. We are live in Las Vegas for tonight's big Western Republican Debate. Oh, take a look at the Venetian. Doesn't it look beautiful with that big Anderson Cooper head plastered all over it?
Seriously now, few places have been hit harder by the recession. Under the lights, that city that leads the nation in foreclosures, also in unemployment, people are looking for some big ideas tonight.
There's at least one couple still betting on the city's future, though, that would be Las Vegas' past mayor and its current mayor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OSCAR GOODMAN, FMR. MAYOR OF LAS VEGAS: We first acquired the building. We acquired it for $1.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Oscar and Carolyn Goodman, they're the Bill and Hillary of Las Vegas, only some say better.
CAROLYN GOODMAN, WIFE OF OSCAR GOODMAN: Don't tell them I think so, too.
COSTELLO: The flamboyant and charismatic Oscar served as mayor here for three terms. Yes, his trademark, show girls. Since the wildly popular Oscar could not run a fourth term, his wife Carolyn carried on running for mayor herself and winning.
Yes, they're glad that Republicans are debating here, but doubt they'll hear a plan that will create jobs now.
O. GOODMAN: The bottom line is we're pragmatists here. We're first responders and we haven't heard anything - any idea yet that will bring this community back to where it was as far as job creation.
COSTELLO: But Mayor Carolyn Goodman is trying. She's investing city money in health care facilities, a performance arts center and museums. In fact, we're standing in what will be Las Vegas' new Mob Museum - as in gangsters. Promotion has already begun. That's Mayor Oscar on TV's "CSI."
O. GOODMAN: Everybody raise their glass and we'll say, salute. COSTELLO: Yes. Goodman gets shot in Hollywood's version of Vegas' soon to be Mob Museum. But as they say, any publicity is good publicity if it brings attention to a city desperate to recover.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I'll let you in on a secret. Mayor Goodman didn't actually die in that "CSI" episode. In fact, he'll be back to live another day on TV, and that's just fine with his wife, the current mayor, Mayor Carolyn Goodman, because she has a tall order, Ali and Christine. She wants Las Vegas known for something other than gambling. She wants people to come here to see a great symphony or art - an art gallery that's admired around the world, or something like this Mob Museum that's in downtown Las Vegas as opposed to the Strip.
VELSHI: Right.
COSTELLO: That's a tall order. She says, yay, we love gambling and all of that, but we need to diversify so that we can get people back to work and we can get a new kind of tourism into Las Vegas.
ROMANS: I think that's already starting to happen, Carol. And when I think of Vegas, and I've, you know, and I've been there a few times.
People go to shows. People, you know, make dinner reservations well ahead of time. They're looking - I mean, I know and I'm one of them. I gamble for 15 seconds. No kidding. I don't really - I'm not a gambler and I like to do all the other stuff.
VELSHI: Because you have a certain amount of psyche (ph).
ROMANS: Yes, I know. I mean -
COSTELLO: I think because you're responsible. But there are other things, too. Great hiking an hour outside of the city. Lake Meade is quite beautiful.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: You can go to the Hoover Dam and see that wonderful bit of technology. So they're touting (ph) all of these other things and it intends (ph) to get people back. What they really need from the federal government, they like the idea of this - this infrastructure bank.
VELSHI: Yes.
COSTELLO: They want to put money into infrastructure so that they can get the construction workers who have long been out of work here back to work.
VELSHI: Yes. That's right. That's exactly because that's where all construction workers. There was a big housing boom there.
I go - I go out with the guys. We go a motorcycle ride. You got the Grand Canyon or down into Lake Meade, it's - it's really very nice out there.
Carol, we will be back with you momentarily. Good, busy morning for Carol in Las Vegas. For all of us, of course, a busy night coming up -
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: -- with the Western GOP Debate tonight.
All right. Real drama at a scene of an apartment inferno outside of Boston. You've got to look at this. A grandmother holding a young boy out of her third floor window and losing her grip. So the firefighter, thankfully, this guy here was there to make the catch. The 6-year-old boy landed right in his arms. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GLENN MCGILLIVRAY, BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT: Because I knew she wasn't going to be able to hold him forever. So, at that point, when I got underneath, I said, go ahead and drop. I was thanking my lucky size.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Wow.
VELSHI: Yes. That was crazy.
A dozen people were hurt including two firefighters and an officer. Police arrested the man who they say started the six alarm blaze by intentionally cutting a gas line and igniting it at around 1:00 A.M. on Monday morning.
I've got to tell you, that's gutsy. Cutting your gas line and lighting it on fire. He's - he's lucky to be alive.
ROMANS: It's gutsy and, I mean, criminal.
VELSHI: -- and criminal and not a good thing to do.
ROMANS: Rob Marciano in the Extreme Weather Center. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Sounds like a Hollywood script. Good morning, guys.
ROMANS: I know.
MARCIANO: Speaking of script or at least movie-like video, check this out out of - out of Texas - sorry. Lubbock, Texas. Talk about a little bit of a brain, you know - we are looking at a dust storm out of Lubbock, West Texas, yesterday. Winds were gusting to near hurricane strength as a cold front passed through the area. Not a whole lot of rain but a lot of wind that kicked up the dust, knocked out power. Did some damage. Moved some planes around at the airport. This haboob moved through rapidly and shut down the city at least temporarily. Also some of the sparks and some of the fire - the power lines that dropped, there were some wildfires that was set as well. We're going to see windy conditions across parts of Texas today as well.
A red flag warning is up with this cluster of thunderstorms, that some of which are severe across parts of Louisiana, and heading across the Mid South and rainfall as far North as Indiana and then rain across parts of South Florida.
This is that tropical wave we've pointed out yesterday. Probably wouldn't develop into a whole lot. It's getting caught up by the jet stream. It will interact with land. It's got a small chance of becoming a tropical system. But, regardless, tropical moisture will team with this guy and it's going to create a bit of a mess heading up over the East Coast in the next couple of days in form of some heavy rain.
And here you go. The two get together. The Mid-Atlantic will see it first and then it moves up towards the northeast tomorrow with come heavy rain and then chilly conditions behind this. Temperatures will drop into the 20s and some cases 30 degrees and a lot of folks will be feeling the fall effect.
Guys, back up to you.
VELSHI: We're going to get like that up here? We're going to get 20s and 30s?
MARCIANO: Not - well, you'll get temperatures that will drop 20 degrees.
VELSHI: Oh, I see. Got it. OK, yes.
MARCIANO: Don't need to break out the winter parka just yet.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: -- 30 degrees off of what we have today, it'd be in the 30s probably. This morning it's cold.
MARCIANO: At least at night, yes.
VELSHI: All right. Nice, Rob. We'll check in with you in a bit.
ROMANS: All right, coming up, an alarming trend for Americans with credit cards. That's right. We're going to "Mind Your Business" on that next.
It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Stocks starting the week with a steep sell-off. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 all dropping about two percent. The Dow and S&P futures are also trading slightly lower because of those lingering concerns about Europe's - Europe's debt crisis and worries about bank earnings.
In less than an hour, Bank of America, which has been running up billions in mortgage related losses will report its third quarter earnings. We'll also hear from rival bank Goldman Sachs this morning and tech giants Apple, Yahoo! and Intel will report their earnings later today, so will Coca-Cola.
And speaking of Apple, it's breaking sales record with the iPhone 4S. The company sold more than four million of them since its launch on Friday. That's more than twice as many as the iPhone 4 during its opening weekend last year.
Democrats say they want a 0.5 surtax on people making $1 million or more to help pay for one piece of the president's jobs plan. That portion of the plan will provide $35 billion in aid to states to help preserve or create jobs for teachers and first responders.
One of the men who helped with President Obama's auto bailout has a new job saving the U.S. Postal Service. Ron Bloom has been hired by the National Association of Letter Carriers, the union. The Postal Service could soon run out of money and is looking to slash $20 billion by 2015.
And it appears Americans are having trouble keeping up with their credit card bills. Five of the nation's six credit card companies report that late payments were up slightly from last - up slightly last month. That would make it the first month since February of 2009, the depth of the recession that so many issuers reported an uptick in late payments.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: All right. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's about 30 minutes past the hour.
Your top story this morning:
After five years in Hamas captivity, Gilad Shalit returned to Israel this morning a free man. Shalit telling Egyptian TV he missed his friends and family, and interacting with normal people. In exchange for the Israeli prisoner's freedom, Israel released 477 Palestinian prisoners today, 550 more follow in two months. You're looking at live pictures out of Ramallah right now.
There are reports of clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinians waiting to greet prisoners who have been released in the West Bank.
ALI VESLHI, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama is turning up the heat on congressional Republicans. He is making another appearance today in North Carolina and then in Virginia to call on supporters to pressure lawmakers to pass his $447 billion jobs plan, which was defeated last week, piece by piece.
ROMANS: And with under 14 hours to go before tonight's Western Republican Presidential Debate, a new CNN/ORC poll has Mitt Romney and Herman Cain in a statistical dead heat with the majority of voters saying Cain is most likely to get the economy moving again, while Romney is most likely to win the Republican nomination and beat President Barack Obama.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, and let's talk about that debate, Christine. It seems only fitting the gambling capital of the world is the backdrop for tonight's CNN Western Republican Presidential Debate, because the stakes couldn't be higher, quite frankly. And one of these candidates might have to take a few risks in order to be a winner.
Joining me this morning is Jon Porter, the chairman of the Western Republican Leadership Conference. His organization is co-hosting tonight's debate along with CNN.
Welcome, Jon.
JON PORTER, WESTERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE: Thank you. Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, how excited are you right now?
PORTER: Oh, we're excited. What better place to be than Las Vegas mid in October?
COSTELLO: I have to tell you, it's gorgeous.
PORTER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Everything. Inside the venue is gorgeous. Outside. Lively, people seem excited.
PORTER: We're proud of what we do here in our community. We are the tourism capital of the world. So, what better place?
We want to make sure you enjoy your stay while here, Carol. Get into the casino, will you? Spend some time.
COSTELLO: That's such good advice. I like that.
Let's talk about the candidates first, because there is so much interest right now in Herman Cain. Why do you think that is?
PORTER: I think that contrary to traditional wisdom, you hear the polls Republicans haven't made up their minds -- I think all the transparency, all the debates, are making each one of these events as good as the last if not better because of all the information. So, I wouldn't doubt that we see the ebb and flow of these candidates throughout the debates.
But I think it's exciting. It's all great. It's really great.
COSTELLO: Mitt Romney has been a favorite in Nevada, right?
PORTER: Yes. The governor has been to Nevada many times, but I'll tell you, from looking at the polls, it's still early. We are fortunate as Republicans. I think we have depth in our candidates and that's another reason why Republicans are getting mobilized, and especially ground zero in Nevada and the Western states, what's happening in the economy and challenges for our families.
COSTELLO: But you say Republicans are getting mobilized, but they certainly had not made any decisions. I mean, what, two-thirds of Republicans are still undecided? What does that say?
PORTER: What's important is that the majority of Republicans are pleased with the depth of the candidacy. Right now, again, with the blogs and technology, and the Internet and news, like AMERICAN MORNING, I think the Republicans are waiting to see.
And presidential campaigns are really like a motion picture. They're not a snapshot in time, especially with technology. So, I think they're waiting for the next moment, the next move, to see what happens. And I think that's all positive.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the caucus primary war, because you can probably safely say Nevada is sort of a kind of political war with New Hampshire, because Nevada wants to move up its caucus. That's made New Hampshire mad. If you're going to do that, maybe we'll move up our primary.
So why is Nevada doing that?
PORTER: Well, again, I think what's important is that the presidential candidates see what's happening in Nevada and in the West, and I believe that Nevada wants to make sure that our challenges are heard in Washington, D.C. And, again, I think that this conversation around the caucuses will be resolved. But more importantly, all the energy and all the excitement about the caucuses and the election is going to help us in November of 2012.
COSTELLO: Is moving the caucus more about pumping money into the economy than it is about politics?
PORTER: Well, we're looking to create jobs. There's no question about it. Even our events, the Western Republican Leadership Conference, it's important for us to mobilize Republicans in the West, because our voice has not always been heard. But absolutely, it's about creating jobs and the economy.
And we love to have you come to Las Vegas, because that brings more jobs. So, it absolutely has to do with jobs, but we want to make sure that the Western states are heard. Sixteen states and territories are represented.
We have unique challenges to the rest of the country. Air quality, to public lands, to water. But also it's ground zero for job and unemployment problems.
COSTELLO: Right.
PORTER: So, we're happy to have everyone here.
COSTELLO: Back to the candidates for just a second because there are so many candidates, even though Jon Huntsman is boycotting the debate, because of the caucus primary war.
PORTER: Don't worry. They'll figure that out, Carol.
COSTELLO: I'm sure they will. "Saturday Night Live" had an interesting skit on Saturday. I don't know if you've seen it. But we have a play. So, let's play that clip and then we'll talk to Jon on the back side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a locked janitor's closet, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and a curio from a bygone era, Newt Gingrich. Out in the parking garage, it's Texas Congressman Ron Paul. And live from a crowded gay bar in the Castro District of San Francisco, Rick Santorum.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very funny.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. It was really funny.
But the point here is, these candidates are not doing well in the polls, they're taking part in the debate. Many people I talked to yesterday feel there is so many voices in the debate right now they can't really get to know any one candidate. When might that field of debaters be wheeled down?
PORTER: Carol, again, I think this is all healthy and I think each debate is going to narrow the field a little bit more, and I think what's great about politics, we can laugh about it and we can laugh at ourselves. But we have a lot of good folks that have stepped up to the plate to run, and I think debates like we're having here in Las Vegas are going to help narrow the field and come January and the caucus world, I think we're going to be a different number of candidates running.
So, again, I think it's all about 2012, and especially during our conference here, it's about Western states and what we can do to make a difference.
COSTELLO: Well, we can't wait, 8:00 p.m. Eastern. Thank you, Jon Porter, for being with us this morning.
PORTER: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: I understand there's breaking news. So, let's toss it back to New York. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
VELSHI: We have breaking news from Libya this morning.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton just arriving in Tripoli on a surprise visit. She is the first cabinet-level U.S. official to visit the Libyan capital since it was liberated from Gadhafi loyalists two months ago. Clinton will meet with leaders of the ruling National Transitional Council to discuss Libya's political future.
Our Jill Dougherty is with the secretary and will join us for a live report from Tripoli as soon as we can establish a signal with her. We'll stay on top of that.
ROMANS: All right. Up next: Herman Cain trying to mend fences. The candidate says he was only kidding about that 20-foot high electric fence he'd build on the border with Mexico. He's apologizing, but is he sorry? And what is his immigration policy? You decide when AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The Pentagon is insisting that talks with Iraq regarding U.S. troop withdrawals have not hit a snag. Officials say talks are ongoing and no decision has been made yet on an agreement that would allow some troops to remain next year.
Currently the U.S. plan, do drawdown all troops by the end of December.
VELSHI: OK. Don't be surprised if Herman Cain stops telling fence jokes. Cain claims he was just joking on Saturday when he said he'd build a 20-foot high electrified fence with barbed wire along the U.S.-Mexican border.
Cain appeared last night on "JOHN KING, USA." And while he's not backing down from his comment, he's offering up this concession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John, yes, I haven't learned how to be politically correct yet. So, yes, it probably wasn't the right thing to say and I did not mean to offend anybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Didn't mean to offend anyone but he did say other things that suggested he wasn't joking. He also said, by the way, that he was joking when he wrote an op-ed a couple of weeks ago, or a couple of years ago saying that Tiger Woods should be the president of the United States one day.
Well, if Cain really was joking, Michele Bachmann is not laughing. The Minnesota congresswoman believes in the need for a border fence and doesn't find Cain's comments about them funny.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I also want to say that this is no laughing matter, the border fence. We've seen jokes made by presidential candidates about the fence. It is not a joke. This is a real issue. It's a serious issue.
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VELSHI: Immigration border fences are sure to be part of the conversation tonight at the Western Republican Presidential Debate. Live on CNN at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Anderson Cooper will moderate.
Carol Costello is there this morning. She'll be there tomorrow morning for all the morning after analysis.
ROMANS: Jim Acosta in about an hour is going to drop by. He's going to talk about the GOP and immigration and where it stands and the whole border fence controversy. And remember in 2005, Congress pretty overwhelmingly passed a law to build a border fence and it's been just plagued with problems and the likes.
VELSHI: Although the fence is shorthand for what sort of immigration policy you have. And that's probably the bigger issue here. What do they all think we do about immigration policy?
ROMANS: And at that time, the whole idea was, if you could secure the border first you could have a grown-up debate about changing American immigration laws, allowing more skilled workers in, making sure that you're matching people with what the economy needs, making sure you have humanitarian programs, but they never secured the border. So, all of the same, just a hot rhetoric keeps going on about immigration.
Anyway, Jim Acosta is going to be by with more on that.
Up next, though, a quick check of this morning's top stories, including the end of a divorce battle with a Major League Baseball team right in the middle of the divorce.
VELSHI: And sweet tarts of thumbs. Could your kid pick out the candy between -- can they choose between the candy and the medicine just by looking at it? Probably not, according to a survey conducted by a couple of sixth graders. We'll tell why their findings has drown national interest.
It's 44 minutes after the hour.
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NATHAN WILLET, COLD WAR KIDS: Hello. We are Cold War Kids. And we spend about six months of the year touring on average.
The things that we cannot leave home without -- iPods are a big one. Now, you have the whole world on your phone.
MATT MAUST, COLD WAR KIDS: Check out some Twitter feeds. Twitter is the most amazing thing where you have, like, this instant connection with your fans.
WILLET: I'm reading David Byrne's book, "Bicycle Diaries." That book is really -- it's opened my eyes to the positive things about being a tourist. Being somewhere for one day and admitting what you have no idea about but still finding kind of purpose in it.
MAUST: I make it a priority to buy as many postcards as possible at museums. My postcard collection is pretty mean. It's growing. I make it a point to find as much new visual art at possible.
I buy a lot of posters on tour. Prints. I'm a print guy. My tour manager hates to buy these because they get ruined and I get stressed about how to take them back on the airplane.
WILLET: We're Cold War Kids. Thanks for spending the road with us on tour.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's about 15 minutes to the top of the hour. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
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ROMANS (voice-over): Breaking news out of Libya. Secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, arriving in Tripoli this morning on a surprise trip. Clinton will meet with leaders of the ruling National Transitional Council to discuss Libya's political future.
It's the first phase of a massive, massive prisoner swap between Israelis and Palestinians. 477 Palestinian prisoners were freed by Israel today. In exchange, Hamas released Israeli soldier Galid Shalit who says he hopes the deal with lead to Mid East peace talk.
Herman Cain and Mitt Romney are in a statistical dead heat in the race for the Republican nomination. A new CNN/ORC poll has Romney with 26 percent of the vote, Cain with 25 percent.
For a second day in a row, President Obama calling on Congress to pass his jobs bill piece-by-piece. The president will speak again today in North Carolina and then Virginia, two key states in the presidential race.
Los Angeles Dodgers owner, Frank LaCorte, will keep the team as part of a divorce settlement with his wife. The split dragged the Dodgers into bankruptcy. The LaCortes have been accused of recklessly using the team's cash on their own personal spending.
And The New York Jets demolishing the Dolphins on Monday night football. 24-6. Jets' quarterback, Darrelle Ravis, had to interceptions, including one he returned a 100 yards for touchdown. The dolphins now 0-5 on the year.
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ROMANS (on-camera): That's the news you need to start your day. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this.
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ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. As part of their school science project, two Cincinnati sixth graders found that both kids and teachers had about the same degree of difficulty trying to tell the difference between candy and certain medications. Their research has drawn the attention of pediatricians concerned about unintentional ingesting of medication when you think you're having something else.
Their findings were presented at a national conference in Boston yesterday, and one of the students, Casey Gittelman, joins us now along with her father, Dr. Mike Giddleman, who is instrumental in all of this. Welcome to both of you. Thank you for being with us.
Thanks.
CASEY GITTELMAN, 12-YEAR-OLD: All right.
VELSHI: This -- you had a box here. This is the -- is this the test? It's called the medicine cabinet or candy box?
CASEY GITTELMAN: This is the test. Inside, there's 20 pairs of candy/medicine look-alikes.
VELSHI: Wow. OK. So, the top row here is medicine. This is candy, this is medicine. It's unbelievable. They look almost identical.
CASEY GITTELMAN: Yes. People had a really hard time telling the difference between them.
VELSHI: Now, in theory, people would have, not a difficult time if things were properly labeled. If you saw chocolate in a chocolate container, you know, a chocolate wrapper or medicine in a medicine container, that wouldn't be a problem?
CASEY GITTELMAN: We don't think it would be a problem, unless, the kids can't read.
VELSHI: Right.
CASEY GITTELMAN: Then, it would be a lot harder.
VELSHI: What you found, which is also interesting, and I can't understand this now is that some of the teachers had trouble with this. I mean, I could certainly see if I didn't see these in packages, how would I know this isn't a jelly bean when in fact it's medicine, maybe cough medicine or something?
CASEY GITTELMAN: A lot of the teachers had trouble telling the difference, too, But I think if the medicines were properly put in the correct containers, the adults would be able to distinguish.
VELSHI: And kept in the right place, right?
CASEY GITTELMAN: Right.
VELSHI: Like a medicine cabinet for the medicine and somewhere else for the candy.
CASEY GITTELMAN: Yes.
VELSHI: Why did you think that this was a problem? Why did you think to start doing this?
CASEY GITTELMAN: Well, both of my parents are physicians. And I hear a lot of stories about these types of problems., And this project was originally for the science fair. And I wanted to do a project that involved candy and pediatrics. So, I decided to combine the two topics.
VELSHI: What a good idea. Dr. Mike, thank you for being here. I suppose, in some cases, we have spent many decades designing medicine to look more appealing, and perhaps, like candy?
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN, CASEY'S FATHER: Yes. The majority of ingestions that are unintentional to kids occur to children less than five years of age. And so, many of them see something. It's shiny, and they want to put it in their mouth, and as a result, they end up having an unintentional ingestion.
VELSHI: What is the best and simplest solution to this? I mean, should candy -- should medicine designs be changed or should parents be more vigilant as to where they put candy? Is there something for kids to learn out of this?
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: Since most of the ingestions occur to one and two-year-olds, they'll put anything in their mouth, the best thing to do is to lock up the medicines. So, keep it out of the children's reach. Keep it in its original container and lock it away.
VELSHI: What did you find, Casey when you were talking to kids, teacher, anyone else, about do you think most people have good rules at home about where they keep candy versus medication?
CASEY GITTELMAN: I don't think so. When we surveyed the teachers and the students and asked them if they locked up their medicines, 78 percent of the people said that they didn't.
VELSHI: We have a couple of -- you showed us some of that, but we've got some pictures of things. There's a medicine that looks like M&Ms. I don't know if we got a picture of that. And that, you know, that was one of those very -- so, this is the actual medication on the top, and the bottom is an M&M.
We've got another one that looks like a Reeses piece. It's -- I guess, it's sign up. It's a sinus medication. Medication, I would assume, when kept in its proper containers, there's less of this problem. Kids aren't going into -- opening up a medication, particularly small kids who can't open them?
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: Right. I mean, if they have safety closures, the kids can't get into it, it helps. The problem is still a parent might leave the medication on the table.
VELSHI: Right.
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: They rush to the counter. They do something else. The phone rings and the child gets into it. So, the best thing is take your medicine, then lock it back in its container, and put it out of their reach.
VELSHI: How do we get kids to know what to do? I mean, mostly, this is going to have to be the parents' responsibility, but is there some message that kids can have out of this?
CASEY GITTELMAN: Kids need to make sure that their medicines are locked up at their house, and they need to know, like, not to take things that -- like especially not to take medicines that are not prescribed by a doctor.
VELSHI: Where are we in this -- I mean, look, a lot of kids are on medication. Do a lot of them take their own medication? I mean, should we be sort of emphasizing that for kids who are on medication, that it should be administered by an adult or around an adult?
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: More children are on medications today, and as a result, we're seeing more of these unintentional ingestions.
VELSHI: Right.
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: The most important thing is, a parent should give the medicine to the child. They shouldn't just leave the container out.
VELSHI: Right.
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: Because, unfortunately, kids might end up taking too much of it.
VELSHI: And frankly, if you look at adult medications that are not designed to look like candies, there's still a great deal of confusion. I mean, for some reason you don't have it in the container in which it came, with the prescription or with the name on it, I couldn't tell a medication apart.
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: You're right. And so, that's why it's really important. A lot of people put them in a mixed container and take pills for the day. You really should keep it in its original container. And then, after you've taken it, lock it back up.
VELSHI: It's a little less convenient but a lot safer.
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: That's true.
VELSHI: All right. Dr. Mike Gittelman, he's a pediatric ER physician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He's also, by the way, a chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics section on injury and poison prevention. So, you know a lot about this. And Casey Gittelman, one of the students who created the science project, thanks for doing that. This is helpful. I've learned a lot from it. Good to have you both here.
DR. MIKE GITTELMAN: Thanks for having us.
VELSHI: Let's go out to Las Vegas. Carol Costello is standing by. Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I see big things for that little girl. She was serious, wasn't she? Very smart kid.
We'll have more live from the Las Vegas trip in the next hour. Ahead, tonight's main event, the GOP western presidential debate. Voters here saying they don't want to see a Vegas show. They need answers, because the economy here, well, frankly, it's not all that great.
It is looking at my watch, oh, about 55 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
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ROMANS (voice-over): Showdown on the strip. Las Vegas, the backdrop for tonight's big CNN western Republican debate. Too many voters went bust in the city, and they want jobs now. Will they hear solutions?
VELSHI (voice-over): Herman Cain going into tonight's debate as the GOP frontrunner according to a brand new poll released an hour ago, but do you really know the man behind the 9-9-9plan? We'll speak to someone who hired him and someone who worked for him.
ROMANS: A reality TV star revealing her battle with breast cancer and raising questions about whether fertility treatments had anything to do with it on this AMERICAN MORNING.
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