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White House Admits Mistake But Criticism Goes On; California Politics: The Next Generation; Combating Rise of Islamic Extremism in Europe; Oil Prices at Six-Year Low

Aired January 13, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Is there any expectation that something and productive is going to come out of these meetings?

TAMARA KEITH, NPR: New Washington, just like the old Washington. Not a lot of high expectations here. Even Josh Earnest yesterday asked about the meetings, said well, don't want to expect some big announcement to come out of this. This is a meeting with something like 18 people, if you don't count the staff, maybe more than that, and not a lot happens in meetings that big.

I actually talked to a management consultant, a meeting designer, who said you put that many people in a room, you could brainstorm, but you're not going to come out with a bunch of action items, you're not going to agree on anything.

KING: But are you going to come out with at least a downpayment, Ed, maybe a brick in building some sort of a goodwill or some sort of relationship so when do you have to make tough decisions, at least you know each other a little better?

I was struck. We were talking about this before we came on. How can that be? I was trying to go through my email, looking through my address book, trying to find people who were working in this town the last time it worked.

When the Democrats and Republicans actually knew when you're supposed to step back, when you're supposed to take a breath, when you're supposed to see if there's a bipartisan opening. I don't think hardly anybody left in this town remembers when there were those kind of breaks.

ED O'KEEFE, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Most of the people who work for these people now, with all due respect were in college or high school the last time --

KING: Some of them weren't even born.

O'KEEFE: I'm still amazed there are such things as meeting organizers. You know, these guys know each other at this point. The only meeting that is ever going to matter at this point is when we hear that the president is having one-on-one meetings with Mitch McConnell or with John Boehner or that they've been working the phones together behind the scenes to try to get something done. Traditionally a veto threat is designed to say I'm going to veto that bill, however if you make two or three or four changes to it or put this off until later then I'll play ball with you.

If we get a sense coming out of this meeting today that that's what's up, then perhaps it will happen. They've got 63 votes for the Keystone XL pipeline thing in the Senate.

That's four short of overriding a veto. A few short in the House, you make one or two little changes, you'll convince enough Democrats to join with Republicans to make this happen. The president knows that's coming.

And he knows that there are plenty of Democrats out there who would rather distance themselves from him at this point than work with him or to appear to be on his side, when the rest of the country is saying work together and get something done.

KING: I think that's interesting question. Can the principles it has to be the president, speaker, Leader McConnell and the Democratic leaders as well, can they step back and say, OK, let's try to be a little different.

Whether it's Keystone, I don't think it's going to be immigration. They are too polarized for that, but maybe on infrastructure, maybe on some other things they can get some down payments, let's see.

This meeting will take place a day after the White House admits they made a mistake when it comes to this march, the unity march. We saw the pictures just before we came on the segment here in France.

That they should have sent somebody more high profile, perhaps not the president, there's a huge security undertaking of that, but maybe the vice president, maybe Secretary Kerry should have tweak the schedule.

So the White House is on the defensive about this and Congressman Randy Weber comes to their defense, shall I say. Politics 101, life 101 -- don't make Hitler jokes, don't make Hitler comparisons.

But Randy Weber, Republican congressman from Texas tweeted this, even Adolf Hitler thought it was more important than Obama to get to Paris for all the wrong reasons.

Obama couldn't do it for the right reasons. Can't you just say the president either should have gone or should have sent somebody high- profile instead of bringing Adolf Hitler into the equation?

KEITH: And spelling his name wrong, Adolf -- I don't know what to say, just don't do it, just don't go there.

O'KEEFE: Once again, Washington has found a way to insert itself into something it didn't need to. The White House could have sent somebody and the House Republicans yet again have somebody shooting their mouth will cause them at least a day's worth of criticism.

You would think by now that the White House would have figured these types of things out and that House Republicans or at least leadership would be telling the rank and file don't do stuff like this. It's politics 101. He hasn't taken it down.

In the most crass of moments, he's probably thinking this will only lead to good things for me. It will draw more attention to me. This isn't the kind of attention you want and it's certainly not the attention that John Boehner wants for his caucus.

KING: It's in a word, stupid. There's so much we could talk about. I want to go to California because there's a generational logjam that's broken, Barbara Boxer, 74 years old, Democratic senator, said she won't run for re-election in 2016.

Imagine, if you are a young or even middle-aged politician in California, you're thinking I'd like to be governor. I'd like to be senator. Your governor, Jerry Brown, is 76 years old. Dianne Feinstein, your senior senator is 81 years old.

Barbara Boxer is 74. Nancy Pelosi outside 74 into the void steps Kamala Harris, the attorney of that attorney general of that state. Gavin Newsom is the lieutenant governor. Word on the street in California for a long time has been that they had a private deal.

That one of them would run for Senate, one of them would run for governor when that comes up. Kamala Harris, is interesting, African- American, the attorney general of the nation's most populated state. We have to read this here.

She's brilliant and she's dedicated and she's tough, no problem with that. She's exactly what you would want in anybody who is administering the law and making sure that everybody is getting a fair shake. No problem with that, here's where the Michelle meter went off she happens to be by far the best-looking attorney general in the country.

KEITH: It's hard to overstate how gorgeous she is she's also an incredibly smart woman. A good politician and one of California's rising stars. And yes, Barbara Boxer was elected. I grew up in California, when I was in junior high. So making this space for some of these politicians to come in, the democratic primary could definitely e interesting.

O'KEEFE: But -- Harris has to prove pretty quickly that she really does want this job. And isn't just doesn't this because the governorship is Newsome's to lose. Remember, Democrats have had s great history of appearing to have a sure thing and totally blowing it.

All you need in California at this point is a well-funded Republican who has a potential to cross over to independents and Democrats in that state and Harris has a race.

And remember, the jungle primary system in California is such that if she faces as Democratic primary challenger, you could have two Democrats on ballot in November 2016, which would be a real headache for the party. KING: It's been a long time since we've had a viable Republican Party in California. We'll see if breaking the logjam, crowded on the Democratic side, we'll see if someone comes up on the Republican side.

One of the things we could have talked about this morning is after Mitt Romney saying no, no, no, now he's saying maybe

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT": Mitt Romney said Friday he's considering a third, a third presidential bid. Yes. Romney said he got the idea from watching his dog repeatedly run into an electric fence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: A lot of fun to watch on the Republican side.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we'll be exploring all of that material over the come year. John, thanks so much for that.

All right coming up, combatting the rise of Islamic extremism in Europe -- do moderate Muslims have a responsibility to lend their voice to the fight? We'll dig deeper on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: A recent poll shows a shocking number of Muslims in France, express some support for the terror group, ISIS. Does that mean Islamic extremism is finding a home in Europe? And do moderate Muslims have a responsibility to speak out against radical Islam?

Let's bring in Bobby Ghosh, she is a CNN global affairs analyst managing editor of "Quartz." Good morning, Bobby. Nice to see you. Are moderate Muslims now speaking out against the terror attacks in Paris?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: They're doing nothing, but speaking out against it. If you went on Twitter, if you went on Facebook, people all across the Muslim world, but especially in France have been speaking out. Sometimes they speak in a language you don't understand. It might be French or Arabic, but speaking out is what they're doing.

CAMEROTA: Yes. You hear all sorts of public officials say that they're not going far enough. Here's a tweet from Rupert Murdoch, he is the head of News Corp, that received a lot of attention.

He says, "Maybe most Muslims peaceful. But until they recognize and destroy their growing jihadist cancer, they must be held responsible." Do they bear some responsibility for eradicating this cancer?

GHOSH: No. I think the most charitable thing I did say about Rupert Murdoch's tweet is he mistyped something. There is a whole separate discussion going on in the community about how to better keep an eye out on their angry young people, how to get better at then reporting any sign of radicalization to the right authorities.

There's concern, though, that if at a very early stage, if they report to the authorities, the authorities may overreact. There's also a fear, nobody fears radical Islam more than Muslims do. All over the world, Muslims are far more likely to be targets of radical Islamists than any other community.

So there is a certain amount of fear, which is understandable, but there is also great discussion that's taking place. We saw this happen in the UK after the 7-7 bombings from a few years ago, the London underground and bus bombings.

A similar kind of conversation I have no doubt will take place in France, where the community asks itself. These people came from us, could we have spotted them before? Could we have stopped this thing from happening?

CAMEROTA: Well, this speaks exactly to the next tweet we have, from a comedian who says in response to Rupert Murdoch, Rupes, can we get a step-by-step guide? How can my 60-year-old parents in North Carolina help destroy terrorist groups? Please advise. You know, it's funny, but it does speak to what are they supposed to do because speaking out actually isn't enough.

GHOSH: Well, it would help to stop paying attention to Rupert Murdoch that goes beyond saying. Beyond that, if the community itself is extremely alarmed, they are very conscious of the portrayal of Islam that these terrorists are giving off.

They are very alarmed about the potential backlash from the wider French and European community against them. So they don't need Rupert Murdoch to tell them to start --

CAMEROTA: What do they need them to do speaking out isn't enough. You're saying just keep vigilant, keep an eye on your community, and get more engaged with local law enforcement? Is that the answer?

GHOSH: Not just. But that's a good place to start. There are questions about when you find young people being radicalized, what is the cause of that? What is the immediate cause of that? We know there's a lot of explanation about economic circumstances, opportunities, slights, perceived and real.

But also how do you find the one mosque, the one person in the mosque who is actively radicalizing people? How do you go online and find the website or the person using the internet, who is reaching out to angry young people and trying to get them to do hideous things?

That's a very complex and long-term thing. It's a little hard, at a moment like this when we are so angry at what's happened and so distressed, and desperately want quick solutions, the sad fact is there are no quick solutions, a solution, even a long-term solution has to start somewhere.

CAMEROTA: On the flip side, this shocking poll that we showed in the intro, a poll from august of 2014, before the attacks, it found that 16 percent of people in France have a positive attitude towards ISIS.

GHOSH: I find that I'm a little skeptical. I'll say, because 16 percent is almost twice the proportion of Muslims in France. If that is accurate, that would suggest a very large of non-Muslim France supports ISIS.

I think you need to parse it more closely and find out what about ISIS there may be one or two aspects of ISIS that people admire. And then what were the circumstances of the nature of the questions.

We've seen in the response to these attacks, from the Muslim community in France, that there is in fact quite a lot of fear and loathing and repulsion at ISIS, at al Qaeda. And I think that is where the conversation begins.

CAMEROTA: That makes more sense. Bobby Ghosh, thanks so much for joining us this morning. Nice to see you -- Chris.

CUOMO: Good combo, Alisyn. Thank you for that. Did you know it's been nearly 20 years since the O.J. Simpson murder trial? To this day, that verdict, as you know, very controversial. Ahead, a brand- new CNN special report dissecting the trial and bringing out never before seen details, we'll tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Oil prices are at now just about a six-year low. Chief business correspondent, Christine Romans is not jumping with joy as she brings "CNN Money." Now, what did one of your sources just tell you?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: One of sources just e-mailed us and said this has gone from a good story to bad story. Good low gas prices, but bad because it's starting to destabilizing.

Oil prices plunging this morning. Crude oil just about $44 a barrel. The lowest prices since February 2009, remember that, the world was in recession. Prices fell more than 5 percent yesterday. They plunged almost 60 percent since June, one of the fastest drops ever.

Driving prices even lower overnight, the UAE oil minister said OPEC will keep output steady. He said producers outside of the group should adjust their outputs instead. That's a subtle dig at the United States.

It's a game of oil market chicken. OPEC holding its ground. American production still growing. Analysts slashed price forecast again yesterday, you guys, warning the supply glut will keep oil prices falling well into next year.

So good for drivers, but if you're producing oil, if you're an energy company, investor, it's really getting ugly out there.

CAMEROTA: It's so interesting how the tables turn so quickly in this story. ROMANS: I know. U.S. is producing a lot of this stuff. The U.S. is producing more than 8 million barrels of oil. It's a big supply glut and the U.S. is part of that.

CAMEROTA: Christine, thanks. Let's get over to Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks so much, Alyson.

The O.J. Simpson murder trial, hard to believe it was 20 years ago this month. The trial of the century got underway. A new CNN special report airing tonight revisits the trial that gripped our nation. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard a thumping noise.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many thumps did you hear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three.

PEREIRA (voice-over): Simpson's shaggy house guest, Kato Kalen.

CAMEROTA: Did you ever expect what was going happen when you got up there and took the stand?

KATO KAELIN: No. Not at all. It was my first time in a courtroom my entire life, and I think I was 35 at the time.

PEREIRA: Kaelin, four days on the stand, thrust into the national spotlight.

KAELIN: I even had co up with a thing saying never had a man done so little to be recognized by so many.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today's testimony said O.J.'s maid never really liked him. Sure. She had to work for her room and board.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why was Kato Kalein so memorable?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was an idiot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's so full of -- that's pretty harsh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a matter of fact, we were doing our deliberations. He was a no brainer. He was an idiot. You could go with or against. Null and void.

KAELIN: I was called so many things. I was called a celebrity, pariah, dummy, freeloader.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Feels like you were pretty much misunderstood for a really long time? KAELIN: It's 100 percent misunderstood. This was something I took so serious that I was making sure I answered this thing. I want to represent honest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: My goodness, Kyra Phillips is here with us, our investigative correspondent. He is 55 years old.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: I know he looks pretty amazing, doesn't he? But here's the deal, 20 years ago, I'm interviewing all correctly so I was in deep thought going, OK, answer this right, Kato. That was it.

PEREIRA: All of these characters we came to know. Tell me about Alan Dersowitz.

PHILLIPS: Here's a little tidbit, all these folks, they couldn't tell me certain things 20 ago. So I said to Alan, you know, 20 years later, do you believe O.J. did it. Come on, tell me because someone even Netanyahu when become prime minister, wanted to pull him aside and said, did O.J. do it?

He said his mother until her 90s. You know what had to embrace all the criticism that was given to me. Come on, tell me. Even Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu when he became prime minister wanted to pull him aside and say, did O.J. do it?

He said his mother until her 90s, she died in 2008 called it. She didn't want to be associated with him because she was so angry at her son.

CAMEROTA: Wow.

PHILLIPS: She said because he set a murder free.

PEREIRA: Just some of the tidbits that you'll see at the CNN Special Report, "THE O.J. TRIAL DRAMA OF THE CENTURY", airs tonight. 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN. Thanks so much, Kyra. Give peaty those -- Alysin.

CAMEROTA: Thanks, Michaela. Well, the search intensifying for possible accomplices in the three days of terror that gripped Paris. Ahead, we'll speak with Senator John McCain, who says President Obama is not doing to stop extremists at we have to go after them.

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