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Rick's List
President Obama Names Supreme Court Nominee; Students Protest in Iran; Dow Soars
Aired May 10, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez.
We're getting close to 4:00, and, folks, look at the Dow. Look at the Dow for me, if you would, because I think you might be slightly impressed. Yes, up 407. There are some folk there who probably love Angela Merkel today.
And here is Poppy Harlow to tell you why.
Poppy, take it away.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, what a difference a weekend and about a trillion dollars can make.
(LAUGHTER)
HARLOW: Folks, the rebound you're seeing in this market, not just here in the U.S., Asian stocks up wildly, European stocks up wildly today. Why? Because the European nations came together and formed about a trillion-dollar -- a trillion-dollar rescue package for Greece, which you know was on the precipice.
Let's look at that video, Rick, of the rioting last week in Greece, all of this because their economy was literally falling on its knees. You remember those scenes...
SANCHEZ: Mm-hmm.
HARLOW: ... a number of deaths reported -- not this week, Rick. You had the nations coming together over the weekend, coming to an agreement late on Sunday that they will bail out Greece, and also -- and this is important -- providing stability to the tunes hundreds of billions of dollars for other ailing European nations, like Portugal, like Spain, that now have that stability there, that cushion, if you will, in case they fall into the same situation that Greece did.
That's why you see, I bet, the traders on the floor at the NYSE today cheering all across the board, because you saw stocks rising significantly because of that. Another big question, why did we see that huge sell-off we saw on Thursday? Why did that happen? What role did technology play?
A big meeting held today that we're paying close attention to between the SEC and the heads of those stock exchanges trying to figure why, Rick, but a very, very strong close on Wall Street, up 406 points now...
SANCHEZ: But it was...
HARLOW: ... for the Dow.
SANCHEZ: Just -- just -- quickly, though, because you're teasing us, and I hate when you do that.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: It was -- it was -- it was some kind of computer or technical thing, right? Maybe they haven't nailed it down exactly yet, but that's looking like what...
HARLOW: Yes. That's -- that's the question.
SANCHEZ: OK.
HARLOW: Yes. Technology definitely played a role. How big of a role, how much was it actually the market fundamentals, that's the question.
A hearing on it tomorrow, actually, Rick, we will keep an eye on that in Washington, with these same folks in front of lawmakers trying to testify about what exactly happened, what went wrong, if anything, Rick.
SANCHEZ: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: More answers tomorrow, hopefully.
SANCHEZ: You let -- you let us know. You let us know.
HARLOW: We will let you know.
SANCHEZ: A couple hundred more points, and we will be back over 11000. Looky -- look at that.
HARLOW: Yes, look at that.
SANCHEZ: Look at that.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: One minute, you're down. The next minute, you're up. That's life.
HARLOW: So it goes.
SANCHEZ: That's what Frank Sinatra said.
I'm not singing, but I thank you, Poppy.
(LAUGHTER) SANCHEZ: Hour two beginning right now.
Let's pick up the pace with today's LIST for those you just now checking in. This is crazy. Did you see this? This is -- this is a -- a spontaneous eruption of a protest in Iran, where students either heard or somebody tipped them off that Ahmadinejad, the president, was going to be showing up at their university.
They all left their dorms, left their rooms, went out to the streets and started just lambasting this guy with accusations about his government, about his religious zealots, about the Basij, you know, the groups -- those are the cops that come with clubs and have killed people who have protested against the government, because many in the government are tired of the -- of the -- the zealots that run the country from the religious perspective.
They would like to see a little more moderation, and they have been taking to the streets, and this is as big a show of protests as we have seen there in quite some time.
We're going to be all over this, by the way. We're going to continue to follow up on it and tell what you the significance is of this sudden, spontaneous protest there.
Now, number one on my LIST today, take a look. Who is happy with President Obama for choosing Elena Kagan? Moderates, thrilled. Conservatives, not unhappy. The left, apparently not so sold. They're out saying, we have got a Democrat in the White House. Why can't we get a left-wing version of, let's say, someone like Antonin Scalia or Samuel Alito?
Jeffrey Toobin is our senior legal analyst, and he's joining us now from New York.
You know, it's funny the way this is shaking down. You're almost hearing, Jeff, like -- like she's just not left enough. What can you tell our viewers about who she really is?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, there's a lot that's known about Elena Kagan. I mean, she is a Democrat. She has been a member of the Democratic Party. She served in the Clinton administration in high-ranking roles in the White House.
She's a member of the -- President Obama's team. So, no one should be under the misimpression that she's some kind of conservative or Republican. Just how liberal she is, that is somewhat unknown, but we often don't know all the details about a prospective Supreme Court justice...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: Well, we did with -- we did with Alito. We did with -- we did with the head of the Supreme Court...
TOOBIN: Well, no.
SANCHEZ: ... with John Roberts.
TOOBIN: I mean, actually -- we -- I was with you on Alito. I mean, certainly, it was true that Samuel Alito, there was no mystery about how conservative he was.
John Roberts portrayed himself as a centrist, as a baseball umpire who was just calling balls and strikes. He has turned out to be far more conservative than he gave the impression of being as a -- as a candidate for the court.
SANCHEZ: Huh.
TOOBIN: So, I mean, Elena Kagan, I think, will certainly be similar in voting to John Paul Stevens, the justice she will replace if she's confirmed, but how liberal she turns out to be, I don't think anyone knows. Certainly, I don't.
SANCHEZ: She -- she -- she's getting a lot of heat from the left, Jeff, on the issue that she essentially agreed with the Bush administration, saying, look, we have a right to go, even if it's a third country, even if it's not a country where we're actually in combat, like Iraq or Afghanistan, we have a right to take people on suspicion and detain them, without having a hearing or without actually putting them through a court process, while we're in this war on terrorism thing.
Now, some folks on the left are saying that proves that she's a little out there to the right, or more so than some of them would like. What was she really doing here and what does it really mean? Can you break that down for us?
TOOBIN: Well -- well, what -- what she is doing is being a member of the Obama administration, because the people -- the person that the left really has a problem with on some of these war on terror issues, it's not Elena Kagan. It's Barack Obama.
Barack Obama has not changed as many of the Bush administration's policies regarding detention, regarding military tribunals, regarding the closing of Guantanamo Bay as much as the left would like. Elena Kagan has been part -- one of the people executing that policy, but that's an Obama decision, not a Kagan decision.
SANCHEZ: Any problems that you can foresee at this point? You heard -- you saw my conversation a little while ago with Orrin Hatch. Orrin Hatch looks like he's sold. And this guy's been around for a while dealing -- dealing with these types of judicial appointments.
Yes, it's starting to look like she's going to get the pass. I mean, she's...
TOOBIN: You know...
SANCHEZ: ... I mean, she's going to wave on, doesn't she?
TOOBIN: ... I thought your interview with Hatch was very interesting and very significant, because if you are going to defeat a Supreme Court nominee, if you are going to win, like the Democrats did over Robert Bork, you have to mobilize fast and you have to mobilize immediately.
And the Republicans are not doing that. The Republicans, they are taking, appropriately, a wait-and-see attitude. They are not committing themselves one way or another. But when you're dealing with a Senate of 59 Democrats, a major majority, to stop her by filibuster would take an enormous effort.
And there's no sign that the Republicans are mobilizing. Now, remember, John Paul Stevens was confirmed with 98 votes. Elena Kagan is not going to get 98 votes. She will certainly have 30 votes against her, but that doesn't matter if -- once you get confirmed.
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: You're saying, if they were going to be against her, they would have already had to get on the bus. And it doesn't look...
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: They -- they -- they would have had to start mobilizing and be ready to go right now.
You know, new things could come out, something in her background that's really terrible or shocking or controversial.
SANCHEZ: Right.
TOOBIN: But, based on what we know now, it doesn't look like the Republicans are motivating -- are mobilizing for a big fight.
SANCHEZ: Good stuff. Always a -- always a good conversation with you. Appreciate it, Jeffrey Toobin.
(CROSSTALK)
TOOBIN: All right, Rick. See you later.
SANCHEZ: All right, we will catch up.
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DETECTIVE SHANDY COBANE, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, POLICE DEPARTMENT: I not only embarrassed myself, but I have truly damaged my colleagues, colleagues who, without thinking twice, would lay their lives down for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: The officer, police officer, who's trying to save his career after kicking what appeared to be an innocent man in the head -- the guy did nothing wrong -- and then calling him a "bleeping Mexican." That's ahead. Also, is this guy a would-be terrorist? If not, what's going on with that contraption in his shoe? That's what police in Pakistan are trying to figure out -- by the way, this on the same day that authorities are confirming that Faisal Shahzad is connected to the Pakistan Taliban after all, the question that we had raised last week here on RICK'S LIST. The roundup list is next. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Everybody's getting in on the Elena Kagan story.
Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez. This is your LIST. This is RICK'S LIST. This is your national conversation. Senator John Kerry -- that was some guys moving furniture here in the studio, by the way.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: That was some sound.
Senator John Kerry tweeted just a little while ago. Listen to what he had to say.
Go ahead and show me that, fellows. This is John Kerry: "Spent long time with Elena Kagan during tobacco bill negotiations. She's smart as hell and a real bridge-builder."
Now, let me show you another tweet. This is that John McCain tweet I showed you a little while ago. Now, John McCain is convinced that the United States, that the Obama administration needs to embrace these protesters in Iran, and he -- he -- he has said this consistently, by the why.
But when he said this a little while ago, I thought he was saying it in response to that video that we just showed you a little while ago, this huge spontaneous eruption of protests today in Iran. It turns out, when John tweeted this, it wasn't in response to that. He had tweeted this five hours ago. That's important, because I -- I made it sound like it was a -- something he had just put on the air after this story came out.
And, in fact, I was wrong. And, if I'm wrong, I want you to know that I'm wrong. So, I was wrong.
Now for the roundup list.
Number one: Iraq has its deadliest day in months. Did you hear? The worst attack was this one that killed 36 people in Hillah. That's just south of Baghdad. Two car bombs exploded outside a factory as workers were leaving. And then a suicide bomber blew himself up in the crowd when emergency crews arrived. In all, at least 72 people in all were killed across six provinces, the suspects all members of al Qaeda in Iraq.
Number two, this man is behind bars because batteries, a circuit and a switch were found in the soles of his shoes. Now, police are trying to figure out if they're shoe bomb parts or a foot massager. (LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Faiz Mohammad was arrested after last night in Karachi at the airport after a scanner went off. Mohammad says he bought the shoes at a market, and he didn't even know this stuff was in the shoes.
This comes as U.S. officials announce that suspected terrorist Faisal Shahzad, by the way, did have ties to the Taliban in Pakistan.
Number three...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENA HORNE, ACTRESS (singing): What have I got that the others ain't?
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: What Lena Horne had was talent, beauty and guts. Talent took her from the chorus line at the Cotton Club -- great movie, by the way -- all the way to Hollywood, Broadway, and television.
Guts led her to defy racism. Guts led her to become a passionate voice for civil rights. Lena Horne died Sunday at a New York hospital. She was 92 years old.
All right. Take a look at this. This is Oklahoma, live pictures of the sky there. We're watching for severe storms, possibly tornadic activity. Chad's watching it for us...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: ... and he's going to be filling us in on what's going on.
Chad, you want to just give us a quick tease on this?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know what? That's very close to a town near Cherokee, Oklahoma.
A KOCO airplane is flying -- the helicopter flying over it. We will get to that rotation in a little bit. We also have some spotters on the ground, Rick.
SANCHEZ: All right.
MYERS: We will see you in two minutes.
SANCHEZ: All right, possible tornadoes.
All right, Chad is going to be join us here in just a little bit. So, hang tight.
By the way, it's almost time for the list that you don't want to be on. Who gets picked every day for this list that they don't want -- nobody wants to be on this list. The Obamas aren't making the list, but the people who compared the Obamas to "Sanford and Son," well, maybe they do.
This is your national conversation. This is your LIST. This is RICK'S LIST. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
So many of you are watching, and I thank you for it, and so many are tweeting about the newscast so far, and I thank you for that as well.
When it comes to political satire, you're always guaranteed to tee off somebody on some side, right? Trust me. I know because I get, as much as anybody, satired, that is, even from the president of the United States recently. But you -- you have to be careful when you use satire. You have to be careful to not cross the line, like in today's list that you don't want to be on.
Note this recent front page from "The Smithtown Messenger." It's a weekly newspaper published in Long Island, New York. Those are before-and-after photos of each first couple throughout the last 30 years. You see the Reagans, the Carters, both President Bushes and their wives and the Clintons.
The White House is a challenging venue for any marriage, and that's the message, right? But look at what they published for the Obamas' after photo. That's a shot from an old TV sitcom, "Sanford and Son."
My kids probably know enough about computers to Photoshop an older looking President Obama and an older looking Michelle Obama, right? But, no, not these guys. They didn't go the Photoshop option. This newspaper thought it would be OK just to show another old black guy. What, any old black guy?
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: The didn't picture they used shows Fred Sanford, Fred Sanford and his sister-in-law from the sitcom "Sanford and Son." What, are you kidding?
Phillip Sciarello publishes and co-owns the newspaper. He says it was just an attempt at satire. NAACP doesn't think it was funny. Neither do a lot of folks who are upset about this. We called Sciarello for a comment. And he apologized for doing it, but he also adds that, well, since President Obama has made controversial jokes like, last week, when he suggested that he would send Predator drones against the Jonas Brothers, that he has a right to use a controversial joke as well.
That's his story, and he's sticking to it. And, for that, Phillip Sciarello is today's pick for the list that you don't want to be on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COBANE: Not only embarrassed myself, but I have truly damaged my colleagues, colleagues who, without thinking twice, would lay their lives down for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes. That's the -- the beating that he's talking about that sparked that police officer's tearful apology. It's a -- it's a bit of a shocking story, because the guy who he hit was already on the ground.
That's bad enough. He called him a "bleeping Mexican." That's pretty bad. Turns out the guy had nothing at all to do with the crime that he was investigating, totally innocent, wrong guy, wrong place. And he still got called a "bleeping Mexican" and he got kicked in the head by the cop. The ugly details, that's next.
But, first, a quick check of our celebrity list. Barbara Walters had a shock for the audience on "The View" this morning. I love "The View." It's one of my favorite shows. But I digress.
She announced that she will have heart surgery later this week. Walters has been suffering from a faulty heart valve for months. She could be off the air from one to three months. I know I speak for all of us here at CNN and many of you watching now when I say, we wish her the -- we wish her well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Boy, at the very top of our weather list, look at this. These are the skies over Oklahoma.
MYERS (singing): Where the wind comes rolling down the plain.
SANCHEZ: Chad Myers is here. You could hear him in the background.
Boy, we just hope this -- you know, you don't know what this is going to do.
MYERS: Right.
SANCHEZ: But we understand the whole -- is it true, almost the entire state is under a tornado warning right now?
MYERS: A tornado watch.
SANCHEZ: Uh-huh.
MYERS: A watch means that storms could occur that could rotate that could put down a tornado. A warning means a storm is rotating that probably is putting down a hurricane...
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: So, what are the chances? I mean, use your meteorological hat here and give us a prognosis. How -- how likely is it that some of the folks in this region here are going to get a tornado tonight?
MYERS: Oh, sure, no question about it. There may even be one on the ground very close Edna, Kansas. That storm is actually rotating more that that storm there. That storm that you see -- that you were -- you were seeing from KOCO, that was a helicopter shot of a storm near Cherokee, Oklahoma.
And that storm has been -- been rotating for most -- most of the day, at least an hour, but nothing on the ground right that we know of. I don't believe there to be a tornado on the ground anywhere in the United States right now, but I would think that 15 or 20 could be before the night's over. It's still early -- still early. It's only 3:00 -- 3:30.
It's not heated up as much as it will heat up, and the energy hasn't come out of Colorado yet. And, so, all the way from Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas corner, that ArkLaTex, all the way through Tulsa, back into Eastern Colorado and Kansas and the -- and the Oklahoma Panhandle, those are the people that are under the gun for tornadoes today.
SANCHEZ: You didn't say Nebraska.
MYERS: No.
SANCHEZ: I know a guy from Nebraska.
MYERS: Yes. He -- he used to be Harry Husker.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: That would be you.
MYERS: That would be me.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: So, you know this area.
MYERS: Nebraska is too cold today. So, they don't have the energy coming up.
SANCHEZ: Interesting.
MYERS: They -- you need the juice and the energy and the -- and the -- and the sunshine that West Texas, Oklahoma's already got and getting, and Central Oklahoma, Tulsa, will get probably in the next hour or two.
SANCHEZ: Let us know if anything changes here.
MYERS: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: All right, now to this story that I have been telling you about. It's coming out of Seattle. And it's really kind of sad.
Let me tell you what happens in this situation. You have a police officer who is on the beat. He comes across what appears to be a crime in progress, and they end up with a couple of suspects on the ground.
Now, at this point, remember, they are suspects. That doesn't mean they're guilty. Police search for the armed robbery suspects. They get these guys on the ground. All the while, there is a photographer on the other side of the street, and he's taking pictures of what's going on.
One of the police officers -- and, for reasons beyond our control, we can't show you the video today, but I'm going to guarantee I will be able to probably show to you either tomorrow or the next day -- one of the officers takes it upon himself to go over to one of the suspects who is on ground. Just as the suspect moves to like scratch his ear or move something, he kicks him in the head, kicks the guy in the head, and then he goes on to call him a "bleeping Mexican."
And then we learn the guy he kicked in the head and called a "bleeping Mexican" had nothing to do with the crime. He just happened to be in the area. The police said, "Hit the ground," so he hit the ground, totally, totally innocent.
So, what this cop did was wrong. The good news is, the cop knows that what he did was wrong, suffice it to say, from listening to this, when he held a news conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COBANE: At no time did I ever dream that I would do anything that would bring such negative notoriety.
As a result of my comment, I have not only embarrassed myself, but I have truly let down my colleagues, colleagues who, without thinking twice, would lay their lives down for me.
I chose words as part of my conversations with that young man that were offensive and unprofessional.
My comments that night do not reflect who I am or what I am as a person, nor as a member of the Seattle Police Department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, I'm interested. Tweet me. I -- I would be interested to find out -- and I would share with the rest of our viewers -- what you think of this story.
He seems sincere. I mean, he's crying. He feels horrible. At the same time, you know, he's being investigated right now. His higher- ups are considering doing something while -- they just put him on desk duty right now -- while they figure this thing out.
It -- it's a heck of a story. We're going to be following up on this, by the way, during the next couple of days. And, hopefully, will be able to work through the problem, so that we can actually show you this video. Meantime, their first containment dome has failed -- failed. I mean, is it time for plan B? Is there a plan B? How about dumping a bunch of garbage on top of the leak, and maybe that will get it to stop? Who knows.
I mean, how do you even do that? We're putting these questions to BP's management. This thing in the Gulf is getting uglier by the day. And there's a lot of very legitimate questions that now need to be asked.
We thank them for coming on. Stay there, because they're going to do this in just a little bit.
Also, who's the new guy taking the mound, and why is he bringing beer with him and throwing way out of the strike zone? Who is this? What is going on at this game? Wait until you find out.
Stay right there. This gets good, folks. This is your national conversation.
This is your LIST. This is RICK'S LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back.
We are getting so many comments from you. I asked you moments ago if you would be kind enough to share your perspective on that police officer who's apologizing for what he did, and I'll tell you, they're just pouring in. I'm going to share those with you in just a little bit.
And I'm also going to be sharing another tweet that we got moments ago from our celebrity tweet list. In fact, let's -- can we do that? Let's do that.
This is Alicia Keys. All right? Alicia Keys.
She's talking about the fact that Lena Horne has passed on. "Wow!" she writes. "Lena Horne. What an incredible woman. A story of triumph. May we all know that life is a journey of possibility as long as we hang on."
Alicia Keys tweeting that just moments ago, and we understand why.
All right. Let's do this. Have you ever been to a ballgame? I mean, have you ever been to a baseball game, for example, and suddenly you see scene break out like a fight or a hockey -- no. That's -- hockey, that's different, right?
But let's stay with baseball. Sometimes things do break out in baseball games. In fact, I want to show you one.
Let's do "Fotos."
Hey, who's that on the mound? That looks like comedian Will Ferrell with that mustache. That's Austin's Minor League farm club the Round Rock Express.
Ferrell took to the mound in the sixth inning. He got in one pitch. Got into a fight, sprayed some beer on the batter, and he was -- outta here. He was ejected.
The program listed him as the Billy Ray Rojo Johnson. He's a pitching phenom supposedly from the Venezuela league with a criminal record.
The Hollywood moment was really a publicity stunt, in case you haven't figured it out yet, from the Austin team. And a nice treat for the fans while they were at it.
Moscow now and Russia's enormous annual military parade. But there's something different this year.
All right. I'm about to show you. Look carefully.
For the first time in history -- all right, those are the Russians there -- those are Americans. United States Army soldiers marching through Red Square, stars and stripes flying high.
Who would have thunk it, huh? Russia invited an American unit to help them commemorate the allied defeat of Nazi Germany 65 years ago. A British, a French, a Polish formation also marched. First time. Also for those nations, the world is changing, folks.
And this --
(SCREAMING)
SANCHEZ: Yes. He should scream.
Dude, that's what happens when you stick your arm in an alligator's mouth. Shocker here.
An alligator wrestler in Florida done got himself bit over the weekend. It was bad, too. Ugly sucker hit a major artery, and Mr. Gator wrestler started bleeding something fierce.
If you listen closely, you can hear a lady say off camera, "I don't think that was supposed to happen."
It wasn't. He'll be OK. Might need surgery. The gator wins this round, and you can, by the way, see this again.
You can see all "Fotos" that we put on the air on my blog. And my blog is, CNN.com/ricksanchez.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She is a trailblazing leader, the first woman to serve as dean of Harvard Law School, and one of the most successful and beloved deans in its history.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: Well, that's just part of the Elena Kagain bio, the formal White House vetted list of accomplishments. But what is she really like? I mean, we're going to ask a man who worked with her when they were both law clerks so that all of us here on RICK'S LIST can be better educated about who this possible Supreme Court justice might be.
That's next on THE LIST.
Also, a reminder that Kagan is no stranger to Supreme Court. Remember, she's appeared as the solicitor general in several notable cases already.
So, which cases has she argued before the Supreme Court? We know what they are. We've got the list, and I'm going to share it with you. We're all going to be better informed by the end of this hour.
Stay right there.
Oh, and thanks for the tweets. They are just rolling in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Let's talk more about Elena Kagan, if we could.
Welcome back, by the way. I'm Rick Sanchez.
Some of these legal types can talk forever when it comes to the law. And maybe that's why this caught my ear when Elena Kagan said it. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELENA KAGAN, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Law matters because it keeps us safe, because it protects our most fundamental rights and freedoms, and because it is the foundation of our democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: "Because it is the foundation of our democracy." "Because it keeps us safe." "Because it protects our rights." "Because it protects our freedoms."
Joining me now from Princeton, New Jersey, is Harry Litman. He and Elena Kagan worked together as law clerks for Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Thank you, sir, for joining us.
HARRY LITMAN, CO-CLERKED WITH ELENA KAGAN: My pleasure, Rick.
SANCHEZ: Her definition makes the law sound simple -- keep us safe, protect our rights, protect our freedoms. I mean, is that an answer given for the benefit of the media, ors is that the real Elena Kagan that you know? LITMAN: I think it's the real Elena Kagan. She is a total straight shooter. And look, she's saying that the goals of the law are simple. That doesn't mean legal issues are simple. But I think she really is someone who, from early on, has focussed on the law's impact on people's lives, and that's why this is a fulfillment of a dream for her.
SANCHEZ: She's being touted as a consensus builder, gets along well with everybody, can make people come together, has the right temperament.
Is that a big deal for someone on the Supreme Court?
LITMAN: Yes. I think it is a big deal, especially for the current court, which is pretty polarized. She is that, and she's done that throughout her career.
I also want to say she's someone who is certainly able to get her views across. I think she may grow to be a leader on the court in time, but first and foremost, she's someone who's not going to be afraid to mix it up and listen hard and try to take account of the other view. But she'll really, I think, be thinking hard about the consequences of her decisions for people's lives.
SANCHEZ: What do we not know about her that you do and that you believe we need to know?
LITMAN: Well, she's really a down to earth, unpretentious person. I've been to baseball games with her. She's the kind of person you like to go to a baseball game with.
SANCHEZ: Does she drink beer?
LITMAN: Yes, drinks beer. She plays poker.
SANCHEZ: Eats bratwurst?
LITMAN: I can't say that for sure. But ribs, fried chicken I think she goes for.
SANCHEZ: Let me ask you a question about the court in general. I was talking with a colleague about this earlier today.
You know, when we used to think about the Supreme Court, we thought white guys. You know, waspy guys -- white, Protestant, Anglo-Saxon men. And now you look at this court and there's and Hispanic, there's a bunch of women. In fact, I don't think any of them are Protestant anymore. They're all Jews and Catholics.
What's going on here? What's the difference? And how does she fit into that?
LITMAN: Well, I think the last few presidents, and not just Democrats, have really thought it was important to make the court be more in touch with America and look more like America. So, the big story here isn't just that the justices aren't all white Anglo-Saxons Protestants, but the country isn't. And you hopefully have justices who are responsive to the law, of course, but who also have a sense of its impact on people's lives.
SANCHEZ: That's interesting. That's the kind of newscast we've had today, comparing the way things were to the way things are, and maybe the way things will be in the future.
Good interview. Hey, thanks for joining us.
And you still live in Jersey?
LITMAN: I do. I'm in Princeton.
SANCHEZ: Oh, good. I was in Mahwah for a long while and I really loved it. What a great state.
Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.
LITMAN: Thanks, Rick. Bye.
SANCHEZ: All right.
What a mess. The latest plan to clean up the Gulf oil has been a bust. Will Plan B or C or D be any better? We're going to talk with a BP executive who's probably taking a lot of Tylenol these days.
Also, the answer to our Kagan question. Her top cases before the Supreme Court, what were they?
That's next, right here on THE LIST.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Man, you guys are vicious. I told that story about that Seattle cop a little while ago, the one who kicked some guy in the head, according to witnesses and video. And the guy had nothing to do with the crime, and then he called him a "bleepin'" Mexican.
And I asked you -- because he seemed very sincere in his apology. I mean, he was crying, he was filled with tears.
I asked you what you thought about it. And you guys have generally been vicious with this guy.
Let me read some of the responses. Ready? Go.
"That cop is just another reminder as to how easy it is for police to misuse their power. Finally, someone's paying attention."
Number two, "The cop is sorry now since he's been caught. So would the cop be sorry if he wasn't caught? Once a racist, always a racist."
Number three, is the cop sorry for his actions or sorry there's video footage?"
Four, "That cop is sorry he got caught. How many other minorities did he abuse off camera?"
Number five, "He hid behind his badge to commit a hate crime. He is sincere, all right. Sincerely upset that he got caught."
Number six, "If they policeman didn't already have bias in him, where did it come from and what made it manifest itself?"
There you go. All of you not happy with his behavior nor his apology.
All right. I want to tell you now about the cases that she has tried before the Supreme Court -- or argued, I should say, which is more likely the term that's used when you argue before the Supreme Court. Here are the cases that Elena Kagan has argued.
Number three, Citizens United v. FEC in 2009. Congress tried to limit spending by corporations and unions in federal political campaigns. The Supreme Court ruled against the FEC.
Number two, Salazar v. Buono. In 2009, questioning whether a war memorial shaped like a cross should remain on government park land or does it violate the constitutional separation of church and state? After all, the park land belongs to the government. Justices ruled for the government, saying that the cross should remain, that it doesn't violate the separation of church and state.
And number one on our list of Kagan's notable cases and her most recent case, Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project in 2010. This questioned whether the government's power to criminalize material support of a terrorist organization goes too far in restricting civil liberties. . The Supreme Court ruling on this one? It is still pending.
THE LIST scrolls on with Wolf Blitzer and the political reaction to Elena Kagan's nomination. Wolf started working late last night on this story. He was on the air then, he was on the air this morning, and he's going to be on the air with us in just a little bit.
Stay there. This is your list.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Wolf Blitzer is joining us now.
Man, you've been going -- you've been going at it since, what, yesterday afternoon? I saw you on TV last night. I saw you on TV last night. I saw you on --
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's a big story, Rick. Lots of history involved whenever there's a Supreme Court vacancy.
SANCHEZ: Hey, I got some folks here that want to say hi, as usual. You know, on Mondays, a whole bunch of people come in, and they want to take part in the show, and they're all big fans of yours. So I'm going to have them wave at you. OK? BLITZER: All right.
SANCHEZ: You ready, guys? Wave at Wolf.
That's the official Wolf wave. You see that?
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: They love these new digs we have here in the studio.
BLITZER: I love your new set down there in Atlanta. It's really great.
SANCHEZ: Finally, you're jealous of me, huh? Finally.
BLITZER: I know. You've got a great set there.
SANCHEZ: After you've had that whole "SITUATION ROOM" going.
What do you think -- you probably watched that Orrin Hatch interview I did a little while ago. It seemed like Senator Hatch was more than willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. It almost seemed like he kind of liked her.
BLITZER: Well, he voted to confirm her as solicitor general over at the Justice Department. Jon Kyl, the number two Republican, voted to confirm her as solicitor general as well. She got more than 60 confirmation votes.
Bu tit's one thing for a political job like that to be confirmed. It's another thing for a Supreme Court associate justice, which, of course, is a lifetime job. So they're going to have a little tighter scrutiny for her this time.
SANCHEZ: But Jeffrey Toobin, I had him on a little while ago, and he said, "Rick, if they were going to start going after her, they would have had to start already."
BLITZER: Right.
SANCHEZ: Because, you know, that's the only way -- they would have to have been on the bus, Gus -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Well, you know, there's no doubt that she's well liked, she's highly respected. There are some controversial issues.
For example, when she was the dean of the Harvard Law School, she didn't allow the U.S. military to recruit on campus, like some other law school deans, because of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. That will come up during the confirmation hearings.
SANCHEZ: Right.
BLITZER: So a few other issues. But by and large, I think she's off to a pretty good start.
SANCHEZ: My partner, Wolf Blitzer, in afternoon television news. "THE SITUATION ROOM" will be starting in just a few.
Wolf, look forward to it.
BLITZER: All right. Thanks a lot, Rick.
SANCHEZ: All right.
A special containment contraption hasn't worked. Have you heard? So now they're thinking about dropping a whole bunch of junk. Really, it's like junk, to stop these oil leaks.
I mean, what's going on? I mean, you know, I feel bad, but it's my job to ask the tough questions. So when we come back, I'm going to try and ask the tough questions of some of the BP executives who are courageous enough to volunteer to come on this show and explain to the American people why this fiasco is still not under control.
Stay right there for my interview with a BP exec.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: All right. You probably heard this containment dome thing that they were going to put down there to try and catch the leak and the oil that's coming out of the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. Didn't work. Sorry.
All right. So -- and by the way, why didn't it work? It didn't work because some form of hydrates -- in other words, the natural gas coming out, 5,000 -- right, 5,000 feet below the ground?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, right.
SANCHEZ: Five miles, or whatever it is.
MYERS: One mile.
SANCHEZ: One mile -- 5,000 feet below the ground. It was so pressurized that is crystallized. And when it crystallized, it created almost like a clog and it didn't let the oil come out.
Chad, can you explain?
Chad Myers is here.
Explain to us what happened.
MYERS: A can of air spray. I would clean out your computer with it.
SANCHEZ: Right.
MYERS: If it's on the bottom of the ocean and it's an oil drill, oil comes out. Right?
SANCHEZ: Look at that. Yes.
MYERS: Now, I take it here. I take it to this thermometer. This thermometer in the studio right now is 68 degrees.
I do that, and this thermometer -- for, what, five seconds? I'm down to 8 degrees, 4. Now I'm below zero. I'm down 25 degrees below zero right now.
SANCHEZ: So it's cold down there.
MYERS: It's cold because the gas escapes. And when the gas escapes, I can freeze my finger. This is what's coming out of the ground. It's expanding when it comes out of the ground. As a gas expands, it gets colder.
SANCHEZ: And it --
MYERS: Blow off your soup. That's what you're doing. You're making your mouth do this.
SANCHEZ: Oh.
MYERS: Blow off your soup, your air gets colder.
SANCHEZ: So it has more --
MYERS: Talk to this BP guy. He knows.
SANCHEZ: --- of a chance of crystallizing.
MYERS: Absolutely. So cold down there. Never been this deep.
SANCHEZ: Let's bring in, as you say, the BP guy.
This is John Curry. He's the director of external affair.
Mr. Curry, it's very brazen of you to come on, because I know you guys are getting a lot of guff right now. Aren't you?
JOHN CURRY, DIRECTOR, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS, BP: We are trying very hard, Rick. And yet, there's always an opportunity to try harder.
SANCHEZ: Listen, I was talking to a couple of engineers last night, and they said, you know, we kind of had a feeling this wasn't going to work, because when you go down that low, at 5,000 feet, you're going to have problems like crystallization.
Is there -- some people would say you should have known that. If they knew that, you should have known that.
Why didn't you know that?
CURRY: Well, we did. We knew there were some issues with hydrates. It could be issues with hydrates at that water depth. And we talked about it, but the large amount of volume inside that containment dome caused the rapid buildup of hydrates within it, and it caused it to be a bit clogged and a bit buoyant. So now we're going with a smaller containment stone. SANCHEZ: What about the beginning of this? I mean, you know, it almost is starting to look like we were trying to pump oil so low -- obviously you guys have had a lot of success, people all over the world have, with pumping out oil at maybe depths that weren't quite a mile below the surface. But now, when you have a problem a mile below the surface, you're more apt to have all of these problems.
Did you truly take all of this into account when you decided that you were going to be drilling all the way down there among them, as they say down in the South?
CURRY: We definitely took all the requirements and rules and regulations and the application process with the MMS. And so now our focus is really trying to figure out what we can do to stop the flow of oil at the source.
SANCHEZ: And you don't have an answer for that.
CURRY: We are continuing to development options. We have the --
SANCHEZ: Options? You know, I just -- as an American and as a person, as a newsperson, when I hear you say you're continuing to develop options -- Chad, how many barrels are being released, or how many gallons are being released if they're considering options?
MYERS: Well, there's still 200,000.
CURRY: And, Rick, the disappointment and anger is certainly understandable. And those of us here who are trying to work very hard to stop the flow of oil certainly empathize with that.
This is really kind of unprecedented at this level. at the 5,000-foot level. So we are doing everything we can to come up with viable options that we can engineer and vet with the Coast Guards and the other unified command folks here so we can stop it.
SANCHEZ: I get it. Look, and I know this is not the time to beat you up because you're in the middle of this thing, still. But as a guy who grew up in Florida and who loves my beaches, I feel for the folks down there, because they're looking at the possibility that they might not have the same beaches they used to be in.
Chad?
MYERS: Hey, John. This is Chad.
This is not the deepest well you've ever dug. Right?
CURRY: The industry has gone deeper, correct.
MYERS: Sure.
SANCHEZ: But not you guys?
CURRY: No, we have. We've gone deeper.
SANCHEZ: You have gone deeper?
MYERS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: So you can do this?
CURRY: We can do --
SANCHEZ: I mean, you feel like this is a viable option of drilling this deep, or is this an anomaly, this situation that we're in now?
CURRY: The industry has drilled much deeper for a number of years. The industry has continued to step out from the shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico into deeper and deeper and deeper waters, and to provide the energy that our country needs.
SANCHEZ: John Curry, we're out of time, sir, but my thanks to you, nonetheless, for being on and trying to take us -- good luck. We're all pulling for you, obviously.
And here's Wolf Blitzer now. He's in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
