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The Situation Room

Iraq Study Group Meets with President Bush; Pelosi Endorses Murtha; Interview with Steny Hoyer

Aired November 13, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories. Happening now:
The search for a solution in Iraq. President Bush meets with a bipartisan group trying to forge a consensus. Is there new hope for honing a exit strategy after the Republicans election defeat.

A Democratic power struggle is driving home the party's divisions over the war and now the House Speaker to-be is taking sides. Has Nancy Pelosi sealed John Murtha's bid to be the House Majority Leader? I'll ask the other top candidate for the job, Steny Hoyer.

Plus, midterms are over. Next comes the ultimate political test. We're studying the field of likely presidential contenders -- who's up, who's down, and probably who is out already. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

This hour, Iraq -- very high on the president's agenda nearly a week after the war in large part lost the party's control of Congress. Mr. Bush discussed the situation in Iraq with the visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today and he met with the bipartisan blue ribbon panel tapped to study what went wrong in Iraq and how to make it right.

Adding to the urgency, the unrelenting bloodshed in Baghdad and the soaring troop death toll, in addition to the political upheaval back here in the nation's capital. Our Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash is keeping tabs on the Democrats battle plans for Iraq and their internal squabbles over the war but let's turn to our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux first for the latest from there -- Suzanne

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the president met with Iraq study group earlier today. A little bit more than an hour or so in the Roosevelt Room. As you know of course, meeting with the president, but also top officials here at the White House. We're just beginning to see some folks actually leaving the White House within the last 10 or 15 minutes. As you know this is a group that is headed by the former Secretary of State James Baker, as well as the former Congressman, a Democratic Congressman, Lee Hamilton.

Now, this group is really widely seen as Mr. Bush's last chance to find some sort of face-saving way to address the failers in Iraq. The White House, as well as the members of this group, very reluctant to talk about specific ideas, but there are surely broad recommendations that are being debated. Sources telling us one of them, a controversial one, is a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops. That is of course to pull out troops perhaps in some sort of benchmark or timetable to push the Iraqis to take more responsibility. Now it's a measure that has political support from both sides of the aisle but it is one, at this point, that the White House is pretty lukewarm to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe it is very important, though, for people making suggestions to recognize that the best military options depend upon the conditions on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, Wolf, there is another controversial measure and this is one we expect British Prime Minister Tony Blair to talk about and that is the United States reaching out in these discussions with Iran and Syria to try to get them to use their regional influence in helping out the situation in Iraq. The president was asked about that. He kind of side-stepped that question but overall the Bush Administration is reluctant to do that because they don't want it to appear like they're rewarding bad behavior of those regimes. They've got a history of problems, bad relations with those two countries.

And Wolf, I should let you know as well, in talking to sources, there are some things that they have outright simply ruled out and those that look like they're going to get a pass. Ideas that are widely rejected, of course, would be immediately withdrawing the American troops as well as partitioning Iraq along ethic lines. Now some ideas that are widely supported within this group include holding an international peace conference, pressuring the Iraqi government to reconcile civil differences, and increasing training for Iraqi security forces. All of this, of course, coming together. Very secret but the next couple of weeks it will all be known when they come back to the White House to present their findings in a couple of weeks -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Two staunch allies that the president has -- Tony Blair, the British prime minister, and John Howard, the Australian prime minister, are now reaching out and suggesting maybe it's time to expand the dialogue and bring Iran and Syria into that discussion, something we've heard from some members of this bipartisan Iraq study group. The pressure clearly coming up on the president to perhaps follow suit.

MALVEAUX: And it will be interesting to see whether or not the White House will actually bend in that way. There have been some instances where they say, look, we're not going to talk with Iran specifically until it abandons its enrichment program. This may be one of those circumstances that they can say as an international body with our European allies perhaps we'll look at this situation and talk to them concerning Iraq. So I think there is some wiggle room there Wolf. BLITZER: A lot of wiggle room. When I spoke yesterday with the White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolton, he made it clear they are basically right now open to all sorts of ideas. They're willing to listen to everyone. Suzanne, thanks very much for that.

The general in charge of the U.S. military's central command made a surprise visit to Baghdad today to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The Iraqi government says General John Abizaid reaffirmed President Bush's commitment to success in Iraq.

On the streets of Baghdad though today, police say a suicide bomber blew himself up inside a bus killing ten people and 46 more bullet-riddled bodies were found in the Iraqi capital capping another day of increasing violence. The U.S. military reports 2,851 American troops have now died in Iraq since the war began some 3 and a half years ago.

Let's go to Capitol Hill now where some Democrats are eager to lay out their dueling Iraq strategies as they prepare to seize the reins of power here in Congress. Our Congressional correspondent Dana Bash is following this story for us. Lots of political intrigue going on within the Democratic soon to be majority Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and when it comes to the Senate, the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin had a lengthy press conference this afternoon Wolf, and he made it very clear that his first priority and the first priority of most Democrats is to use the election results to pressure the administration and pressure the Iraqi people. He said in the government, he said, to change source when it comes to the mission in Iraq. For Democrats, that means sending a signal through the only means they have still, even though they have control of the Senate and the House, sending a signal through a resolution saying U.S. troops need to start coming home soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: Most Democrats share the view that we should pressure the White House to commence the phased reemployment of U.S. troops from Iraq in four to six months. To begin that phased reemployment and, thereby to make it clear to the Iraqis that our presence is not open-ended and that they must take and make the necessary political compromises to preserve Iraq as a nation. We cannot save Iraqis from themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, that kind of message from Senator Levin and the same kind of thing we've heard from many Democrats is very familiar. In fact, we heard it many, many times in the months leading up to the election. The difference Democrats hope now that they have power and now they have these election results is that they can pressure more Republicans here in Congress to sign onto it. The last time the Democrats passed this resolution, non-binding resolution, no Republicans signed onto it. This time they hope that they can get some Republican support. Senator Levin says he has a senior Republican who privately said he would sign onto it, but it quickly became clear as soon as Levin was finished with his press conference that getting broad bipartisan support is going to be very hard. Senator Lindsey Graham, somebody, who has, a Republican who says that Iraq is in chaos quickly rejected the Democrats plan to start bringing troops home in four to six months. He said, "To start withdrawing troops would be equivalent to surrendering in the central battlefront in the war on terror. A misguided proposal such as this should hit a wall in the Senate."

So even with the control of power here, Wolf, as one senior Democratic leadership aide said to me, they actually still don't have very much leverage. They've taken -- using their purse strings, the power of the purse, off the table, but so they really basically just have a symbolic resolution at their control here.

BLITZER: Dana, there's a big fight brewing on the other side of Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives over the number two spot. Who is going to be the House Majority Leader. Nancy Pelosi will become the Speaker but the number two slot is shaping up as a nice little old political battle.

BASH: A big political battle, you're right. It's a battle that Nancy Pelosi actually just jumped into. Steny Hoyer has been her number two for several years now, but he is somebody who she has had frosty relations with, let's say they have been political rivals in the past and the person challenging him to be the House majority leader you see there on the left, John Murtha became very well known, of course, as somebody who was an early hawkish opponent to the war about a year ago. He was one of the first to make clear that U.S. troops should start coming home from Iraq. He is a long time confidant and ally of Nancy Pelosi, so she came off the sidelines and endorsed him, but whether or not this will have much of an impact is unclear, Wolf. She has not made clear she will make calls and lobby for John Murtha and Steny Hoyer's team still says they think they have the votes. This is a secret ballot though. It's going to happen on Thursday, so it's -- we're not going to know, the leaders aren't really going to know until the ballot is actually taken behind closed doors and in secret.

BLITZER: And some members may make a commitment to one side or both sides. We won't know how they vote until they actually vote. And we won't even know then, because as you pointed out, it is secret.

Dana, thanks very much.

And coming up, I'll speak with the Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer about Nancy Pelosi's decision to back John Murtha over him for the Majority Leader's job. That interview with Steny Hoyer, here in the SITUATION ROOM. That's coming up shortly.

Members of the lame duck Congress hobbled back to Capitol Hill for a week of work before Thanksgiving break. But their goals are limited, given the power shift on the horizon. Legislation approving the National Security Agency's wiretapping of terror suspects without court warrant appears to be dead for the year. President Bush's latest efforts to try to get John Bolton formally confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is running up against unwavering opposition from Democrats. The Senate is expected to move forward with the nomination of Robert Gates to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Defense Secretary. Confirmation hearings could begin as early as the week of December 4th.

Also on the agenda before the 109th Congress calls it quits, a number of unfinished spending bills for this fiscal year, votes on extending some popular tax breaks, an offshore oil drilling bill, normalized trade relations with Vietnam, where the president is heading in the coming days, and a nuclear cooperation agreement with India.

Meantime, the next generation of lawmakers is getting the lay of the land on the Hill. This is Orientation Day, as it's called, for incoming members of the House.

Coming up, we'll tag along with one future Congressman as he starts to learn the ropes, learns what Washington is all about.

Now to the Republicans, trying to regroup after their midterm failures. There's new word on who now appears set to replace Ken Mehlman as the Republican Party Chairman.

Our chief national correspondent John King broke this story. He breaks a lot of stories. He's here in the SITUATION ROOM with details -- John.

JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, an interesting pick by the White House. They have decided, as we discussed last week as a possibility, to split the duties of leading the Republican National Committee.

And the new choice for chairman, we are told -- the general chairman -- will be a familiar face. That's Senator Mel Martinez. You might remember him. He was the Housing Secretary early in the administration. He came from Cuba as a child, grew up in Florida. He's in the Senate now, the first Cuban-American in the Senate. He will be the general chairman of the party.

I'm told the president had to personally seal this deal. Mel Martinez was a bit reluctant, but they think he will be an effective spokesman for the party. They think he can help raise money for the party as it tries to struggle out of its setback in 2006 and build up to 2008. They also think he will be very effective in reaching out to Latino voters, the fastest growing population of voters in the country.

So Mel Martinez will be at the top as the general chairman, and the man who will run the party on a day-to-day basis is unfamiliar to most Americans, but very familiar to Republican activists around the country.

His name is Mike Duncan. He's the veteran National Committeeman from the state of Kentucky. He's been the RNC's general council for some time. Very well respected around the country. I made some quick calls and e-mails to people around the country. They all seem to like this decision. The White House made this call. Mel Martinez is the general chair, Mike Duncan is the number two.

So it's an interesting pairing. We'll see how it all works out. One little subplot to it. Mel Martinez, I'm told, is a John McCain guy in 2008. Mike Duncan, I'm told, is a is Mitt Romney, the governor of Massachusetts, guy in 2008. So as we try to rebuild from the losses of 2006 on the Republican side, every decision, they have to think about 2008 as well.

BLITZER: And as party leaders, they have to stay out of the immediate battle for the Republican presidential nomination.

KING: In terms of anything that happens at the party level, any mechanics, any fund raising, who gets to speak at this dinner, or gets the best table at this event, and this and that, they've promised to be neutral in that regard. But it's one of the little subplots going forward.

BLITZER: Always a lot of little subplots.

It's interesting if you look at the exit polls -- and I think they're fairly accurate this time around -- as far as the Hispanic vote is concerned, the Republicans suffered big-time. Take a look at these numbers.

In 2004, 44 percent of Hispanics voted the Republicans, specifically, George W. Bush. Only 29 percent voted Republican this time around. This, despite enormous efforts that Ken Mehlman made, the president made, other Republicans made to reach out to Hispanics. They didn't come along.

KING: One word, immigration. Anyone else would tell you that Hispanic-Latino Americans are just as upset about the war in Iraq as any other American, and Latino Americans are just as concerned about economic conditions around the country as any other American.

But when you saw the protests across the country this summer, pollsters in both parties said they did detect, from the immigration debate -- the tone of the immigration debate, not necessarily the proposal. Some Latinos -- I was down in Arizona along the border -- some Latinos down there who have small businesses, they want secure borders just as much as their white Anglo neighbors.

But the tone of the debate many Latinos took, according to pollsters and focus groups, as pushing away, if you will, as sort of making people choose sides in this country. And Republicans do believe it did hurt them among Latino voters, at least in the short- term.

One Mel Martinez's jobs as the general chairman of the Republican National Committee will be to go out to a community he knows very well and try to make the case that Republicans should be the party for them in 2008. BLITZER: I'm told by top White House officials that one of the immediate priorities right now is to get comprehensive immigration reform, including a guest worker program, a path toward citizenship. They want to move with the Democrats on that to show there's a bipartisan new era of good feeling, if you will, in Washington.

That's going to be controversial with those who are strongly opposed to illegal immigration.

John, thanks very much for that.

John King, Dana Bash, Suzanne Malveaux, they are all part of the best political team on television.

And remember, for the latest campaign news at any time, check out our political ticker, CNN.com/ticker.

Jack Cafferty is part of that excellent team as well. He's joining us with the "Cafferty File" from New York -- Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks you, Wolf.

American voters showing their disgust at the bush administration's handling of the war in Iraq last week. More violence there today. A roadside bomb killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded two others in Baghdad. Thirty-three U.S. military personnel have been killed in the month of November so far, bringing the total number of fatalities of the war in Iraq this year to 671.

A new report shows that insurgent attacks are on the rise, in Afghanistan as well. According to something called the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board, which is made up of international members like the United Nations, there have been four times as many insurgent attacks each and every month this year when you compare it with last year.

The Armed Services want an additional 160 billion dollar supplemental appropriation in order to fund the two wars for the remainder of fiscal 2007. If approved, that would bring the total funding for these two wars for fiscal 2007 to more than $230 billion. That is a staggering amount of money.

The question then is this: should Congress approve an additional $160 billion supplemental appropriation for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Send your thoughts on that to CaffertyFile@CNN.com, or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Jack, thanks very much.

And still to come, much more that interparty fight between Democrats over the war in Iraq. Steny Hoyer, who is battling John Murtha for the House Majority Leader position, he's standing by to join us live. Plus, it's been less than a week since the last election, but we're already talking about the next one. We'll take a closer look at the race for the White House and which big names may soon be jumping into the ring.

And later, a bipartisan moment today here in Washington. We're going to tell you why President Bush and former President Bill Clinton have teamed up.

Stay with us. You're in the SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: In the fight to be the next House majority leader, John Murtha now has the support of the speaker-to-be, Nancy Pelosi. But the current Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer says he has the votes to win the No. 2 leadership position.

Congressman Steny Hoyer is joining us now live from Capitol Hill. Congressman, thanks very much for coming in.

REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), WHIP: You bet, Wolf. Glad to be with you.

BLITZER: I'll read to you what Nancy Pelosi wrote in this letter to John Murtha. "Your strong voice for national security, the war on terror and Iraq provides genuine leadership for our party and I count on you to continue to lead on these vital issues. For this and all you have done for Democrats in the past and especially this last year, I am pleased to support your candidacy for majority leader for the 110th Congress."

This has got to hurt. You've been a loyal deputy to Nancy Pelosi these past several years. How do you feel about this?

HOYER: Well, you know, Nancy is a very close friend of Jack's and he was her campaign manager when she was elected Whip and she gave me a heads up on this, said she was going to do this so this did not come as a surprise and very frankly I joined her in saying that I expect Jack Murtha to continue to be a leader on this very, very important issue of Iraq in the future. But I am going to be the majority leader. She has not been campaigning and my view is that no votes have been changed at this point in time, we're in good shape and we're going to win.

BLITZER: But you know, you say that, but there have been others would-be majority leaders in the Democratic and the Republican side who go into a secret vote like this thinking they're going to win. But a lot of these members when they're casting their secret ballot, they can do whatever they want.

HOYER: You're absolutely right on that, Wolf. We've all been there and done that so we'll have to see, but right now I have well over a majority of the sitting members and well over a majority of the new members saying they're going to vote for me. So yes, you're right, we could see on that, but I think that they will. I think they're honest and straightforward people and they have made an assessment of who would be the best majority leader. They've looked at the record of Nancy Pelosi and I creating the most unified caucus we've had in a half a century, working together well in partnership to create consensus and create a forward progress for our party. So I think that they're going to look at that success and say they want it continued and that is why I think I'm going to be elected majority leader.

BLITZER: I've spoken with several of your Democratic colleagues in the House over the past couple of days as this Steny Hoyer/John Murtha fight was developing.

And several of your supporters, many of them very well known were extremely disappointed that Nancy Pelosi decided to go with Murtha and create this rift within the Democratic Party at this very sensitive moment right now. They were hoping that she would talk Murtha out of running. I'm sure you've heard that from several of your colleagues, as well?

HOYER: Well I've heard that, but the important thing is when we get through this race that we bring the party together and frankly I don't think this is going to divide the party. There are two candidates for majority leader. Both think they can do a job.

But I think the party is going to come together, make a selection and understand full well that the American people voted for change. They voted to take us in a new direction, Wolf. And I think the party was united in that message and is going to be united in delivering that message. So I think we're going to be a united party.

BLITZER: Here is what was written in the "New Republic" magazine almost a year ago quoting a former House Democratic leadership aide, referring to Nancy Pelosi. "She seems to thrive on conflict. When she wins a leadership race, she never stops running against that person. She beat Steny, but she has never stopped punishing him for running in the first place."

I suppose you remember that article in the "New Republic?"

HOYER: Now that you remind me, I remember, yes. Look. Nancy and I work together very cooperatively. Nancy has said that, she said it on television just the other day, she works well with me. She works well with Jack. I think she is going to work well with me in the future as she will work well with Jack. And so I don't think that's going to be a problem.

I think much is made of the conflict that frankly both Nancy and I say does not exist. Are the differences of opinion from time to time? Certainly, there are. But Nancy had differences with Dick Gephardt. She had a close, very effective working relationship with him and we'll continue that. We'll continue it because Nancy and I are both focused on our Democratic message, our Democratic agenda and having success for our country and for working people in this country. BLITZER: I was going to say, Congressman, the big difference, at least on the surface between you and John Murtha is over Iraq. He has taken a strong stance the United States has to redeploy its troops very quickly. You've been much more I guess of a hard-liner on this issue, taking a more moderate stance if you will saying the United States can't precipitously withdraw.

HOYER: And nobody is suggest at this time a precipitous withdrawal, I think. We are suggesting a phased redeployment.

It's important, Wolf, for you to know and for your viewers to know, that Jack Murtha and I, along with the Democratic leadership in the House and Senate signed three letters to the president of the United States. One, the end of July, one in September and one in October saying first of all, your policy is not working in Iraq.

We need to change course in Iraq. Suggesting a phased redeployment, suggesting implementation of constitutional change, which would guarantee to the sectarian factions equal treatment and a piece of the pie if you will, urging the president to urge Iraqi government to disarm militia which are exacerbating the situation on the ground.

So Jack Murtha and I both signed that letter. Carl Levin, Senator Levin has now said that he wants to have a resolution, a four to six-month phased redeployment, not necessarily meaning everybody out at that point in time. But the message we have been sending is that we need to make it clear to the Iraqi government that the situation that current exists is not sustainable, that we have to have a change, that we're going to redeploy our troops, we're going to get them out of harm's way. So I think there is a greater unity than you might think.

BLITZER: I interviewed John Murtha here in THE SITUATION ROOM last Thursday. Here in part is how he made his case why he should be the majority leader. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: I've been involved in these jobs and involved in foreign policy, involved in defense, involved in synthetic fuels and alternative energy. I've been involved in healthcare for years and years. And I think those are the issues I've heard about the most and I think I could bring that kind of expertise to the leadership. And I can mold some of the more conservative members with the leadership. So working with Nancy Pelosi, I think we make a good team.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: All right, just wrap it up. Tell our viewers why you think you would be a better majority leader, very quickly, than John Murtha.

HOYER: Very quickly. The majority of the blue dogs are conservative Democrats, overwhelming majority are supporting me. The new Democrats are supporting me and frankly many of the liberals and progressives, a large number are supporting me as well.

Why? Because I've been able to bring together our caucus, create unity, working with Nancy Pelosi and that is why I think my colleagues are supporting me for this position of majority leader.

BLITZER: We'll be watching every step of the way. Steny Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland, thanks very much for coming in.

HOYER: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And coming up, is John McCain close to making a decision to run for president? Bill Schneider goes in-depth on the 2008 race for the White House. That's coming up next.

Plus, who is in the hunt for the ultimate prize? We'll take a closer look which possible candidates have momentum coming out of the midterm election. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington.

New ins and outs in the early race for the White House. Senator John McCain acknowledging he plans to set up a presidential exploratory committee. Now an adviser to the Arizona Republican tells CNN, the first step toward a White House bid actually could be taken as early as this week.

Meantime, Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin says he is ruling out a race for the White House in 2008. Feingold says he looks forward to continuing work in the new Democratic-controlled Senate to -- quote -- "undo much of the damage of one-party rule."

More on the race to 2008 -- let's bring in our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider -- Bill.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Wolf, the opening primary of 2008 just happened. How did the candidates do?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Last week's midterm was the first primary of 2008.

SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA: Thank you, sir.

SCHNEIDER: On the Republican side, Senators George Allen and Rick Santorum were once talked about as hot prospects -- no more. Bill Frist was badly tarnished as well, after Republicans lost the Senate.

Do conservatives have a strong contender for 2008? Auditions are open. Newt Gingrich has been out of the game long enough that he gets to say, I told you so. Mitt Romney's lieutenant governor lost the race to succeed him as governor. But not doing well in Massachusetts could be a plus to Republicans.

This year, we saw a big market for outsiders who can promise change. That's good news for Rudy Giuliani and for any Republican who can speak the language of bipartisanship. Here is one.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Are we doing the things, organizationally and legally, that need to be done to prepare for it? Yes.

SCHNEIDER: His strong national security credentials are no small thing, after a midterm where Iraq was a big issue.

On the Democratic side, several potential contenders can claim foreign policy expertise, Wesley Clark, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden. And John Kerry? The 2006 campaign was not so good for him. The anti- war message was powerful this year. Is there a candidate to carry that banner for 2008? Not this one.

SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D), WISCONSIN: I never reached the point where I really wanted to run for president.

SCHNEIDER: Which could clear the way for Al Gore, the Democrats' Mr. I Told You So.

Economic populism had a lot of resonance this year. That's John Edwards' message. But two Democratic senators were the clearest winners. Hillary Clinton coasted to reelection in New York.

Next question:

QUESTION: When will you address the question of whether you will be running?

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: You know, I am going to relish this victory.

SCHNEIDER: Barack Obama is the Democrats' new star -- less political baggage than Senator Clinton, outsider image.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: Nothing would happen -- nothing that happened tonight would discourage me from -- from making that race.

SCHNEIDER: His limited experience a problem? Not if the market for change stays strong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: Politics is all about the moment. Democrats clearly had the moment in 2006. But that doesn't mean it will still be there in 2008.

In 1994, Republicans had the moment and President Clinton was toast. But, two years later, Clinton easily won reelection. The moment had changed -- Wolf.

BLITZER: You know, in our recent poll on the so-called presidential horse race, Republican numbers -- we will put them up -- this is about two weeks ago -- Rudy Giuliani slightly ahead of John McCain, followed by Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Bill Frist.

These are very, very early numbers, more than two years away. These numbers were taken from an election. Given the history of this early stage in a race, how much significance should we attach to these numbers?

SCHNEIDER: Well, the significance is that you have two well- known contenders, McCain and Giuliani. Remember, those were Republicans being polled. So, you know, there doesn't seem to be a real conservative favorite. Gingrich comes the closest. Giuliani, McCain and Gingrich are the best known.

And I will tell you something. Being well-known can be a big plus, particularly when the primary calendar is front-loaded with early primaries, more significant than ever. Being well-known is a very big plus.

BLITZER: Among registered Republicans, you're absolutely right.

Thanks very much -- those were the poll numbers -- Bill Schneider reporting.

With Senator Feingold's announcement he will not make a run for the White House in 2008, the so-called liberal netroots have lost another of their favorite potential presidential contenders. Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner, also a Democrat, was the first to bow out.

So, how is the latest announcement from Feingold resonating online?

Let's bring in our Abbi Tatton. She is watching the story -- Abbi.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, Senator Feingold went on to some liberal blogs over the weekend to address the online community directly of his decision.

This is a community that's had strong support for Senator Feingold, primarily for his 2002 vote against the Iraq war. There have been draft Russ Feingold Web sites out there. He has consistently placed highly in unscientific straw polls of liberal blog readers online.

So, now that he is out, along with Warner, there are still some names out there that keep getting passed around. General Wesley Clark, John Edwards. And, soon, there's going to be a new online tool for people that want to put their money behind any one of these '08 hopefuls, these Democrats.

At ActBlue.com -- this is the fund-raising site for Democrats that's channeled over $17 million to Democratic candidates in the last couple of years -- they're soon going to have a new resource, whereby supporters can donate to an '08 hopeful, even if that person has not announced. If they do announce, then they will get the money. If they decide not to run, that money then goes to the Democratic National Committee -- the idea behind this, to use this site to encourage people to run through fund-raising -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Abbi, thank you for that.

Abbi Tatton and Bill Schneider, they are all part of the best political team on television.

And, remember, for the latest campaign news at any time, check out the Political Ticker, CNN.com/ticker.

Up next: the president's choice to replace Donald Rumsfeld. Who is Robert Gates? And will controversy dog his confirmation hearings, set to start now in December?

And, later: the outgoing Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, John warner. Will the Democratic takeover of Congress help forge a consensus on stabilizing Iraq and bringing the troops home? John Warner will join me live. That's coming up in the next hour.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: By almost all accounts, Robert Gates is not near as much of a lightning rod as the man he hopes to replace as defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld. But Gates is not immune to controversy.

Let's bring in CNN's Jeanne Meserve. She's watching this story for us -- Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, an influential senator raising questions today about the suitability of Bob Gates to be secretary of defense.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): With flawed intelligence on Iraq still a raw nerve, old questions about whether Bob Gates has skewed intelligence for political purposes may be creating new problems.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: For me, the important thing with Mr. Gates is whether or not he is independent, whether or not he is going to speak truth to power.

MESERVE: Accusations that Gates slanted intelligence date back to the 1980s. On Mikhail Gorbachev's Soviet Union and Nicaragua's Contra rebels, some accuse Gates of distorting analysis to support the policy goals of those he worked for, including then CIA Director William Casey. After an assassination attempt made on Pope John Paul II, for example, a CIA study said the Soviets were involved. But there was never proof.

MELVIN GOODMAN, FORMER CIA SOVIET ANALYST: It was politicization. It was corrupt intelligence. It was total spin.

MESERVE: Critics went public in 1991, when Gates was nominated to be CIA director.

JENNIFER GLAUDEMANS, FORMER CIA SOVIET ANALYST: Mr. Gates politicized intelligence analysis and is responsible for an overall degradation of the analytical process.

MESERVE: Gates rebutted, saying his honest assessments were why the first President Bush nominated him.

GATES: And I think one of the reasons he appointed me to this job was that he knows I'm going to tell him exactly what I think and exactly what CIA thinks, and not shade it.

MESERVE: Though 31 senators voted against Gates, he was confirmed.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: He took very much to heart the perception, whether real or not, the perception that he was slanting intelligence, and, in his performance as its director, was meticulous in ensuring that he did not do so.

MESERVE: McLaughlin says he never saw Gates skew intelligence. But Melvin Goodman believes Gates is still what he calls a political wind sock, adjusting his views to the political winds.

GOODMAN: Will he tell truth to power? He never has before. Will he do it now? Well, look, I don't know. I'm inclined to think that he can't, and that he certainly won't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Although Senator Carl Levin is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which will vote on Gates' nomination, the current betting is, Gates will be confirmed -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Jeanne, thank you -- Jeanne Meserve reporting.

And, coming up: a who's who of public officials, civil rights leaders and celebrities? We're going to tell you what they were doing right here in Washington.

And he won reelection as an independent. Is Senator Joe Lieberman back in the Democratic fold or not?

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: Carol Costello is joining us now from New York with a closer look at some other important stories making news -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it was such a touching day in Washington, Wolf.

You know, he was a groundbreaking cultural figure. Now the Reverend Martin Luther King will be the first African-American civilian to be honored with a monument on the National Mall in Washington. Just hours ago, 5,000 people were on hand for the ceremonial start of construction. A star-studded lineup of speakers paid tribute to the slain civil rights leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": I live in a state of reference for where I have come from and for the price that was paid for me to be here. Because he was the seed of free, Dr. King, I get to be the blossom, and live the dream that he dreamed for his children, for Dexter, Yolanda, Bernice, and Martin. And we all are the children of his fortuitous dream.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Here, there will be a memorial to Martin Luther King, the voice and spirit of the movement to lift the last legal racial barriers to our more perfect union.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The King memorial will span a piece of ground between the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials. And, by its presence in this place, it will unite the men who declared the promise of America and defended the promise of America with the man who redeemed the promise of America.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: It was from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream Speech" in 1963.

And, Wolf, I guess the monument is supposed to employ every sense that you have. It's going to use water, grass, and huge stones with the likeness of Martin Luther King Jr. And, of course, it will probably take a couple of years to build.

BLITZER: I watched it on TV earlier today. It was really a powerful, powerful moment in our history.

Carol, stand by. We are going to get back to you in the next hour.

On our "Political Radar" this Monday: Senator Joe Lieberman's political stripes. He is repeating his pledge to caucus with Senate Democrats in the 110th Congress, after winning reelection as an independent. But, in a television interview yesterday, Lieberman refused to rule out the possibility of perhaps crossing over to the Republican Party if he starts to feel uncomfortable with the way Democrats are running the show. That would certainly throw control of the Senate into GOP hands. Now Lieberman says he wants to be called an independent Democrat. We're going to have more on this story involving Joe Lieberman. That's coming up in the next hour.

Tennessee Congressman and failed Senate candidate Harold Ford Jr. says he has no interest in taking the helm at the Democratic National Committee. Democratic strategist and CNN political analyst James Carville had publicly suggested Ford might be good for the job. But the current DNC chairman, Howard Dean, says he isn't going anywhere. Dean is dismissing the idea that he might be ousted, citing the Democrats' impressive midterm election victories. Dean calls speculation about his future -- and I'm quoting now -- "inside-the- beltway silliness."

A new poll shows President Bush's approval rating hitting a new low of 31 percent in the same week his party lost control of Congress. The "Newsweek" survey is the first since the midterm election, in which many voters said they were sending an angry message about Mr. Bush's performance.

And, remember, for the latest political news at any time, check out our Political Ticker at CNN.com/ticker.

Up next: orientation day. We will tag along with an incoming House member as he begins to learn the ropes on Capitol Hill.

And is there hope that Democrats and Republicans can get along in the 110th Congress? In our next hour, Paul Begala and Bay Buchanan , they are standing by for our "Strategy Session."

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: You can bet there are plenty of snapshots and nervous smiles on Capitol Hill today, as the incoming members of Congress are welcomed for orientation day.

Our congressional correspondent, Andrea Koppel, followed one of those freshman around -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, and when that new member says there is a new sheriff in town, he really means it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRAD ELLSWORTH (D), INDIANA CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: OK, let's pinch each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, what's going on?

ELLSWORTH: Is it real?

KOPPEL: It's early Monday morning. And Indiana's congressman- elect Brad Ellsworth still can't believe it. A week after crushing Republican incumbent John Hostettler in Indiana's 8th district, Ellsworth, a sheriff from southern Indiana, arrived in the nation's capital with at least 50 other freshmen lawmakers to start his new job.

ELLSWORTH: Obviously, if you said, it didn't make you nervous, it -- it would be a lie.

KOPPEL: A conservative Democrat, Ellsworth was one of three Indiana Democrats to help their party regain its majority in Congress.

ELLSWORTH: It was refreshing to me, on those positions, that people, when I would go to Democratic rallies, and people were kind of saying: We're so glad that you're -- you're pro-gun. We're so glad you're pro-life.

KOPPEL: But the same conservative values that helped Ellsworth and a number of other new Democrats, like North Carolina's Heath Shuler, win in traditionally red states, are likely to put him at odds with many in his own party.

Ellsworth says Nancy Pelosi, the likely next speaker of the House, has already told him not to worry.

ELLSWORTH: She said, always do what the people of the 8th District of Indiana want you to do. Those are the people that sent you here. And those are the people that will send you back home.

KOPPEL: And, so, even on his first day on the new job, Ellsworth is busy trying to forge alliances.

ELLSWORTH: I'm in southern Indiana.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Southern Indiana.

ELLSWORTH: South of the western -- the western-southern part of Indiana -- a lot of beans, a lot of corn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ELLSWORTH: And, yes, if we want to solve the dependency on foreign oil, come to my backyard.

To have the chance to make a difference and be one of the ones to make a difference in the way the country works and the direction, what an honor. And -- and people that mess it up, you just want to smack them and say, what were you thinking?

(LAUGHTER)

KOPPEL (on camera): That's not what you expect hear a congressman say. They -- you expect a sheriff to say that.

ELLSWORTH: Well, you know, and I have still got a little bit of that in my -- 25 years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOPPEL: And, after this week's orientation is over, Ellsworth will return to Indiana, to the 8th Congressional District, where he will be a sheriff, Wolf, for another month, before returning back with the rest of the congressional class for the start of the 110th Congress on January 3 -- Wolf.

BLITZER: We will welcome the sheriff to Washington.

Thanks very much, Andrea, for that.

Still to come: Should the new Democratic-controlled Congress agree to put more money into the war in Iraq? Jack Cafferty is standing by with your e-mail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Jack Cafferty is back with "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: The question is: Should Congress approve an additional $160 billion supplemental appropriation for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

Joe in Milton, Delaware, writes: "Yes, but no more until hearings are held and a strategy is adopted. 'Stay the course' is dead and amounted to no plan at all."

Tony in Indianapolis writes: "I don't think we should appropriate one more penny in Iraq or Afghanistan, unless it's to finance the return of our troops. Bring home our troops, redefine our mission for the war on terror, and then take it from there. Anything else is a waste of our time, money, and the lives of our soldiers."

Emilio in Georgia: "Until our troops are out of harm's way, we should not make any attempt to defund the wars. We could, however, stop giving Halliburton a blank check to not provide the services that they are currently not providing."

Denise in Florida writes: "It's my understanding that we, the USA, don't have the money. Someone needs to take the credit card away. Congress should only approve funds to bring all of the troops home."

Grant writes in New York: "Of course we should, but there must be oversight. War profiteers are the worst kinds of traitors."

And Ray writes in Lubbock, Texas: "It's like the rent or heating in the winter. Do we really have a choice?" -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jack, thank you.

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