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The Situation Room
General Abizaid Reacts to Changing Iraq; Murtha Continues Fight for Top House Position; McCain and Thompson Form Presidential Exploratory Committee
Aired November 15, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Lou. And 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 tonight's top stories.
Happening now, does the Rumsfeld resignation actually make a difference? Powerful senators on both sides look for new answers on the war in Iraq, but a powerful general refuses to tell them what they want to hear.
He's already one of the front runners, now Senator John McCain moving closer to actually entering the race for the White House. And he lost his bid to move into the Senate, but could a Republican rising star, Maryland's lieutenant governor, Michael Steele, be moving into the Bush administration? I'll ask him.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
A war of wills on Capitol Hill, high profile senators today took on the general in charge of running the war in Iraq. It's their first encounter since the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld. But if you think that would have signaled a change of heart, think again. General John Abizaid took heat from both sides of the aisle and stood his ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR., U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: We'll need flexibility to manage our force and to help manage the Iraqi force. Force caps and specific timetables limit that flexibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: CNN's Michael Ware is on the ground in Baghdad. But let's turn to our congressional correspondent Dana Bash first. Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, General Abizaid rejected nearly everything coming from Congress in terms of ideas for changing Iraq, whether it's the Democrats' idea to take troops out or Senator John McCain's idea to send more troops in. And in this first hearing about Iraq ironically, it was not the Democrats who were going to have control of Congress who were the toughest. It was Republicans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BASH (voice-over): Outgoing GOP Armed Services Chairman John Warner noted Iraq has lasted almost as long as World War II with little progress.
SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), VIRGINIA: We're still confronted with an extraordinary situation of civil disruption and the inability of the government to fully exercise the reigns of sovereignty. How do you explain that in simple terms to the American people?
BASH: In a political world where Iraq will dominate for the foreseeable future, some of the sharpest exchanges came from senators eyeing a 2008 run for the White House. A moment of vindication for Senator John McCain, who said from the start not enough troops were sent to Iraq.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Would more American troops have made a difference?
ABIZAID: I think you can look back and say that more American troops would have been advisable in the early stages.
BASH: And frustration when General John Abizaid more troops now is not the answer.
MCCAIN: Basically, you're advocating the status quo here today, which I think the American people, in the last election, said that is not an acceptable condition.
ABIZAID: Senator, I agree with you. The status quo is not acceptable. And I don't believe what I'm saying here today is the status quo.
Bash: Abizaid also rejected Democratic ideas to partition Iraq and start bringing some troops home. Senator Hillary Clinton lashed out, saying she sees no path to victory.
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: Hope is not a strategy. I mean, I have heard over and over again, the government must do this; the Iraqi army must do that. Nobody disagrees with that. The brutal fact is it is not happening.
ABIZAID: And I would also say that despair is not a method. And when I come to Washington, I feel despair. When I'm in Iraq, with my commanders, when I talk to our soldiers, when I talk to the Iraqi leadership, they are not despairing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: But as you just heard, members of both parties are downright exasperated. In fact, the top Democrat and Republican from the Senate Armed Services Committee said late this afternoon that they are trying to work on a bipartisan proposal to present to the president, to try to figure out a new course in Iraq. Wolf?
BLITZER: All right, Dana, thank you. And as lawmakers debate the reality in Iraq, the death toll rises among U.S. troops and Iraqis alike.
Joining us now in Baghdad our correspondent Michael Ware. Michael, we heard from General Abizaid before the Armed Services Committee suggesting the U.S. military can still stabilize the situation in Iraq and does not, repeat, does not need more U.S. troops on the ground right now. How does that stack up to what you're seeing on the ground?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it sounds very much, Wolf, like a political answer. I mean, it seems that General Abizaid, despite all the information that he has at his fingertips and his personal experience, is talking about a completely other dimension. I mean the violence here in Iraq, for ordinary Iraqis, is palpable and for U.S. troops.
Six U.S. servicemen died on Tuesday alone. So far this month, 41 Americans have been killed here in Iraq. It really doesn't feel like stabilization. And if General Abizaid can see a way to put this genie of sectarian violence, insurgent attacks and foreign interference particularly by Iran, back in the bottle, then he clearly knows something that the commanders and diplomats here on the ground are not sharing.
BLITZER: Michael, 24 hours ago we were talking about that brazen kidnapping of scores of Iraqis at that ministry of education complex in Baghdad. What is the latest information? How many of those kidnapped remain captive?
WARE: Well, the figures still continue to vary radically, depending on whom you're talking to. But most recently we heard from the minister of higher education and he said that from among his staff, now that does not include any civilians or visitors who happened to be holed within the grab, that among his staff around 40 still remain unaccounted for.
And it turns out that the assurances overnight from the ministry of interior that almost all the victims, all the kidnapped hostages had been released are not entirely true. So, it just further deepens the mystery and further adds to the suspicion that points to if not the ministry of interior itself, then certainly associated rogue or militant elements within the government security forces or the closely affiliated militias.
BLITZER: And those being the Shia militia, the Mehdi militia of Muqtada al-Sadr I assume target suspect number one. Michael, thanks very much for joining us.
WARE: Wolf, it's my pleasure.
BLITZER: They've criticized the president's policies in the war on terror, but now they'll be -- that they'll be sharing power, Democrats may have to start sharing their ideas for going after al Qaeda. For that, let's turn to CNN's Brian Todd. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, already Democrats are starting to feel some of that pressure that goes with hunting the world's most wanted man.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SHOTS)
TODD (voice-over): He has eluded capture through one U.S. presidential campaign and two mid-term elections. During this last cycle, Democrats were all too eager to take political advantage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Osama bin Laden?
TODD: Now that they're about to assume power in Congress, the question turns right around. What's the Democrats' plan to get Osama bin Laden?
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: I would want to talk to our commanders about whether or not additional forces, including Special Ops forces, would be helpful.
TODD: The incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee hits on a key Democratic talking point during the campaign, a call for doubling the size of the U.S. Special Forces. Would that pin down bin Laden? Former CIA officer Gary Berntsen was at the battle of Tora Bora in 2001. His book, "Jawbreaker" recounts how bin Laden narrowly escaped the grasp of U.S. and Afghan forces. Berntsen says Special Op teams are only one component of a hunt like this.
GARY BERNTSEN, FORMER CIA OFFICER: It's about the intelligence collection. It's about identifying him. And once he is identified, the military operation can take place, but we've got to find him first. And that's not the job of Special Forces.
TODD: And if as many terrorism experts believe, bin Laden is in Pakistan, the Pakistani government would not allow large numbers of U.S. Special Forces inside its borders. Another Democratic talking point increase America's human intelligence capabilities. When I asked aides to key Democratic leaders for more specifics on that, they said they couldn't provide them yet. So I asked CNN national security advisor John McLaughlin, a former deputy CIA director.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We should be doing more of what the intelligence community is now doing. That is hiring increasing numbers of case officers, the people who do this work, looking for people who have languages and ethnic backgrounds that allow them to blend in overseas and difficult environments.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: McLaughlin says to find someone like bin Laden, a lot of things have to come into alignment, the skill of your case officers, the access of your sources, and luck -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Always good to have luck, thanks very much, Brian, for that.
Let's check back with Jack Cafferty for "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, there's an almost constant chatter in this country about the growing gap between the rich and the poor in the United States. The conventional wisdom is that whites are at one end of the economic spectrum and minorities are at the other. Well guess again.
It's not whites, but rather Asians who have the greatest household income in this country. The medium Asian household takes home $60,367 a year. The median white household, 50,622; Hispanics, $36,278; and blacks 30,939. A big reason for the disparity is apparently education. Forty-nine percent of Asian American households there is at least a Bachelor's Degree. Thirty percent of whites have one, 17 percent of blacks, and just 12 percent of Hispanics have earned a Bachelor's Degree.
So the question is this. How do we narrow the economic gap between the haves and the have-nots in the United States? E-mail your thoughts on that to CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jack, thank you for that.
And coming up, a maverick's major move, why Senator John McCain has virtually the entire political world, at least here in Washington, talking.
Also, the nastiness over who will help lead House Democrats. There's a battle between two congressmen that just might boil over.
And the road ahead, Republican Michael Steele lost his bid for a Maryland Senate seat. I'll ask him if he's now eyeing a high post in his party, perhaps even within the White House.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: It's a mad dash to the White House already, one step at a time. The first steps are major as we learned of two more people making moves for a possible 2008 presidential bid. Tomorrow, Republican Senator John McCain will form a presidential exploratory committee. And fellow Republican, former Bush Cabinet secretary and Wisconsin governor, Tommy Thompson, says he intends to form a presidential exploratory committee as well.
Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley broke this story for us earlier today. She's joining us now with more. Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, you are right. They are coming out of the woodwork, the beginning shape of the '08 presidential field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): To the surprise of nearly no one John McCain has officially made it not quite official. With the launch of a Web site, word from his pack (ph) and a letter to supporters, McCain let it be known that Thursday he will file papers to launch a presidential exploratory committee. Amidst the to-do of '08, McCain was dealing with the shadow of '06 at hearings with General John Abizaid, who oversees U.S. forces in the Mideast.
MCCAIN: I regret deeply that you seem to think that the status quo and the rate of progress we're making is acceptable. I think most Americans do not.
ABIZAID: Well, Senator, I agree with you. The status quo is not acceptable.
CROWLEY: As he approaches '08, McCain will need to align his more troops in Iraq position with an anti-war electorate. A hero in war, and a maverick in politics, the senator and his straight talk express were the hit, if not the winner of the 2000 election.
MCCAIN: Thank you!
CROWLEY: He briefly rocked George Bush's world with a huge primary win in New Hampshire. For several years after his loss in the 2000 primaries, McCain didn't seem hugely interested in an encore. Capturing lightning in a bottle twice, he said, would be difficult. But the bug is hard to shake. In the past couple of years, McCain began to lay the groundwork. He made up with conservative Christians he offended in 2000. He courted Bush donors.
MCCAIN: Eight out of ten major issues David and I are in basic agreement. But in philosophy, we're in total agreement.
CROWLEY: McCain was tireless in '06 and he kept track, 346 events, 138,000 flying miles, over 10.5 million raised on behalf of Republican candidates, raising money, campaigning, picking up chips. '08 is not so far away, not if you're a candidate who thinks maybe you can capture lightning in a bottle twice.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Not at all coincidentally, Wolf, John McCain will be giving two major speeches tomorrow, at least they are billed by his office as major speeches. You can expect to hear a lot about the future of the Republican Party. Wolf?
BLITZER: Candy, thanks for that, good report -- Candy Crowley reporting.
The leadership battle among House Democrats getting nastier. Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania is up against Maryland Steny Hoyer for the post of House majority leader.
Let's turn to our congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel -- Andrea. ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, each man claims he is best qualified for the job, but it is Murtha's candidacy, in particular, that's taking the hits over a videotape that was made in secret 26 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
KOPPEL (voice-over): January 7, 1980, an undercover FBI agent shows off the bribe he is about to offer a couple of congressmen. One of them is Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha. Murtha turns down the offer, but suggests he might be interested in the future.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're telling me that that's not what you, you know that's not what...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not interested.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry. At this point...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we do business for a while, maybe I'll be interested, maybe I won't.
KOPPEL: Murtha was never charged and to this day professes his innocence.
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: They put the money out there and I told them I didn't want it. I was only interested in investment in my district.
KOPPEL: But on the eve of a fiercely contested leadership race for the number-two position in the House, pitting Murtha against Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer, that hasn't stopped watchdog groups and the media from rehashing old allegations about the sting operation known as Abscam. A Murtha spokesman called news coverage of this story poor journalism.
While Murtha has accused his critics of a swift boating attack, his spokesman suggested to CNN Hoyer or his supporters might be responsible, a charge Hoyer's office calls outrageous. Murtha supporters chuck it up to a tight race.
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: And just like other campaigns unfortunately, it's -- you know we're seeing the swift boating of Jack Murtha. He's a man with a 37-career in the -- 37-year career in the military, someone who has been an honorable member of Congress and someone who is widely respected and he's someone who's going to have the voice for our party with perhaps an unimpeachable voice on things like national security, the war in Iraq.
KOPPEL: And Murtha is now using his voice on Iraq to undermine Hoyer's candidacy, accusing the Maryland lawmaker of endorsing President Bush's stay the course strategy, accusing Hoyer of being in step with Republicans like John McCain, saying they advocate sending more troops to Iraq. But just this week, Hoyer told CNN...
REP. STENY HOYER (D-MD), MINORITY WHIP: We need to change course in Iraq, suggesting a phase redeployment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Now both Murtha and Hoyer claim that they have the votes necessary in tomorrow's election. And just to clarify one earlier point, when you heard me quote Murtha's spokesperson as suggesting that Hoyer or his supporters might be behind this report, these reports of the 26-year-old Abscam case, well that's because they questioned the timing of these reports turning up in the news now -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Andrea, thank you. We'll watch that election tomorrow.
And he is about to take on a major oversight position in the war in Iraq. So, what is incoming Senate Arms Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin plan to do to turn things around? I'll ask him.
Plus, our own political contributor James Carville very angry right now with Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, he'll tell us why and we'll get the DNC response.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: They may have won control of Congress, but Democrats could have done even better. That's the view of CNN political contributor James Carville. He is accusing Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean of playing cheap in the campaign and he says that narrowly cost some candidates their race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: We had 14 candidates that a one percent change in the vote, they would have won ...
BLITZER: In the House of Representatives.
CARVILLE: ... in the House of Representatives. The DNC had a credit line of $10 million. They only drew down four million. That's $6 million. I campaigned with Royce Murphy (ph) in Pennsylvania. I campaigned with Christine Jennings in Sarasota, Florida. I campaigned with Tessa Hathman (ph) in Nevada.
And the DNC -- it's a cult of the DNC not the candidates. I think this party ought to be focusing -- it's the candidates whose hearts are broken out there. It is the candidates and their families and their staffs who have been let down because we left them hanging out there. Rahm Emanuel and Chuck Schumer recruited these candidates, funded them, lived with them, died with them.
And then after this happens and they leave this money on the table and they exercise this kind of timidity when we could have picked up another 10 seats and then they come in and they say the state chairman agreed with this. This party -- the highest person in the Democratic Party or these candidate that go out and risk everything, who work their hearts out, who try to get elected and they deserve every bit of support, financial and otherwise that they can get. They got it from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. They got it from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. They did not get it from the DNC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: A DNC spokeswoman responded to Carville's accusations, saying in a statement, in part -- let me quote. "Mr. Carville simply doesn't know the facts about what the DNC did in this election. The DNC made a $30-million investment to help the candidates he mentioned and many, many others throughout the country" -- a feud going on among Democrats.
Meanwhile, as Democrats debate their internal issues, Republicans are debating the very soul of their party. Earlier I asked Republican Congressman John Shadegg of Arizona why he wants to be the number two Republican in the House leadership. This after he said his party has become, and I'm quoting now, "the party of secret backroom dealing".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN SHADEGG (R), ARIZONA: It's a damning indictment of us. I don't think you can blame just our leaders. I think -- we said in 1994 that we would be different. We would not be politics as usual. We would not allow, for example, powerful members to pull the levers of power in their benefit and yet we did.
We allowed the Cunningham scandal to happen, the Abramoff scandal to happen, Ney to get involved in it and didn't do much about Ney even after we learned of him. We've allowed an explosion in earmarks and earmarks aren't even fair, Wolf. We allowed powerful members to get huge earmarks and other members to get tiny earmarks.
That's not what we told the American people we would do. We told them we were going to be different. It was not going to be politics as usual in Washington. We were going to change the way Washington works. And then we got Washington focused, Washington centered, cozy with lobbyists, quite frankly, and lost our focus.
And I think if you're not willing to look backward in the face of this kind of defeat and assess why it happened, well then you're going to do it over again. I suppose one of the definitions of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. I think we need new leaders and we needed a new focus and that focus has to be not on a cozy Washington life for ourselves, but the concerns of the average American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Shadegg hopes to beat out the current House Republican Whip Roy Blunt -- that election Friday.
Just ahead, we'll speak with the senator who wants troops to start leaving Iraq in four to six months, but a top general is telling Carl Levin no. The next chairman of the Senate Arms Services Committee here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
And he was forced out of the Republican Senate leadership for controversial comments on race. So why is Trent Lott now being called the comeback kid?
We're back in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Happening now, small steps that are major moves -- tomorrow Republican Senator John McCain will form a presidential exploratory committee and fellow Republican former Bush Cabinet secretary and Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson says he intends to form a presidential exploratory committee as well.
Also, southern storms, violent weather has injured at least two children at a skating rink full of youngsters in Alabama, killed at least one man in Louisiana.
And let's make an $8-billion deal, U.S. Airways offering that much to buy its bigger rival, Delta Airlines. If done, it would unite two of the oldest airlines in the United States.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Democrats will soon be calling the shots on Capitol Hill, but they heard a top U.S. general make it clear today that the military doesn't want anybody else calling all the shots in Iraq.
Let's go live to our senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, members of Congress may have wanted to hear some fresh ideas for getting U.S. troops out of Iraq. But instead, what they got from the top U.S. commander, General John Abizaid, was a spirited defense of the current policy. Abizaid began his Senate testimony with a warning that his testimony should not be taken as an indication that he was favoring any major shift in policy and then he went on to reject the two big ideas for change in Iraq, saying that he was opposed to any phased withdrawal of U.S. troops over the period of four to six months as proposed by Democrats like Carl Levin, and opposed to the infusion of additional U.S. troops, such as proposed by Senator John McCain of Arizona.
In fact, he said 20,000 additional U.S. troops would only provide a very temporary benefit and only delay the time in which Iraqi forces would be ready to take over. He did try to reassure an increasingly skeptical Congress that he remained optimistic that Iraq can be stabilized.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. EVAN BAYH (D), INDIANA: With all of our assistance, all of blood and treasure and sacrifice there, at some point we have to ask ourselves the question, do they have it in them to forge one country and a common destiny or is that beyond their capabilities?
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR. U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Let me answer that. I have been dealing with the Iraqis for a long time. Yes, they have it in them. They can forge one country. They are fighting and dying for their country. They can overcome these problems but it's not an easy thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: A more sober assessment came from the generals heading the CIA and the DIA later in the day. They said the new Iraqi government faces formidable obstacles, including divisions within Shia groups. Asked how long the Iraqi government had to bring violence under control before it was out of control, General Abizaid said four to six months -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jamie, thanks very much for that.
BLITZER: About to take control of Congress, Democrats now flexing their muscles. But as we just heard, a top military commander pushing right back. Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan is soon to become chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Senator, thanks for coming in.
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D-MI), ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: Good to be with you, Wolf.
BLITZER: You're on record suggesting over the next four to six months to begin a phased pullout, a reduction, redeployment -- whatever it's called -- from Iraq. General Abizaid didn't necessarily like that. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABIZAID: We'll need flexibility to manage our force and to help manage the Iraqi force. Force caps and specific timetables limit that flexibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Were you disappointed that he was sort of slapping down that idea?
LEVIN: No, I wasn't surprised, frankly. I was surprised by some of the other things that General Abizaid said, but not by that. He was actually kind of mild in terms of that. The proposal is that we tell the Iraqis that we're going to begin to reduce forces in four to six months, not that we reduce during this first four-month period. In other words, there would be time for planning. It would not be precipitous.
But what General Abizaid basically said, which did surprise me, is that he thinks that things are getting somewhat better in Iraq. And according to the two leaders of our intelligence community, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, who testified this afternoon, things are getting worse in Iraq.
BLITZER: Well, why is there that disconnect between the military commander of the entire Middle East region and the leaders in the intelligence community?
LEVIN: Yes, I just don't know but they were clearly much more reflective of what seems to be happening on the ground, which is the increase in sectarian violence. Why it is that there was that disconnect, I don't know that it's a major disconnect but, nonetheless, it is a disconnect.
BLITZER: I was listening, Senator Levin, very closely to what General Abizaid was saying and he was very precise. As you know, he's a precise military officer. And what he was saying was that from the height of the sectarian violence during Ramadan a few weeks back, it's gone down a little bit but he still acknowledges it's awful right now.
LEVIN: Yes, he acknowledges it's still bad, but the difference between him and the CIA and the DIA generals is that the two intelligence heads said that it has been getting worse over the last two months, even though there is a slight improvement in the last couple of weeks that, in general -- and I was very specific with them -- in general, that it is still getting worse and that is their current assessment.
BLITZER: Did you ask them -- I managed to listen to most of the hearing -- about that chaos chart that the Central Command put out a few weeks ago? It was in the "New York Times," peace on one hand, chaos on the other, and that they were increasingly moving the situation toward chaos?
LEVIN: No I did not ask it. Somebody else, however -- I think Senator Kennedy asked General Abizaid, as I remember, about that and I don't remember his answer. But that chart is a pretty dramatic chart. It is put out by that same Central Command which is headed by General Abizaid, which says that things are getting worse, that there's a move towards chaos.
But there seemed to be a very strong -- first of all, General Abizaid did say that all options are on the table, including the option that many of us have suggested, which is that the president tell the Iraqis that beginning in four to six months, there would be a phased reduction in our troops. He said that option is on the table -- he specifically said that -- as well as a possible troop increase is what General...
BLITZER: He sort of did slap down Senator McCain and Senator Lindsay Graham who want a lot more troops to go in to try to deal with this situation. He suggested that the United States doesn't need a whole lot more troops.
LEVIN: He did.
BLITZER: So he was sort of even-handed in slapping down all sides of that. He's a general that comes before the Armed Services Committee, and he speaks his mind.
LEVIN: Well, that's exactly what we want him to do. It struck me a little bit like what, frankly, Vice President Cheney was saying which is full speed ahead on the present course. That's really what General Abizaid was saying.
In fact, what he's saying is his only changes he would make would be to speed up the course, to train the Iraqis, for instance, much more quickly in terms of their own capability. That seems to me to be a status quo but just speed up the direction that we're heading.
The problem is, that that direction is not heading us in the correct way, it is not leading to success in Iraq. The American people spoke very, very dramatically about their opinion about staying the course.
And equally important, it seems to me, we've got a lot of very good thinkers now who are saying we've got to look at ways of changing this course.
BLITZER: Senator Levin thanks very much for coming in. Congratulations on the win, and good luck as chairman of the Armed Services Committee.
LEVIN: Thanks so much, Wolf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: He's back. That would be Republican Senator Trent Lott, making a power grab in the Senate after some controversial comments on race that cost him his high Republican post. So what does one rising Republican who's African-American think about Lott's return? I'll ask Michael Steele of Maryland about that, and whether he's interested in working at the White House. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Republican redemption. A senator haunted by words from his past makes a daring attempt to step out of the Senate's shadows and exercise some political ghosts. Now, some are actually calling him the comeback kid. Once again, our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley. Candy?
CROWLEY: Wolf, whoever said what goes around comes around surely must have had some political experience.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY (voice-over): The political world loves them, yet another comeback kid.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: It is my great pleasure to present to you our newly elected assistant majority leader, Trent Lott.
CROWLEY: Lott, who used to be the Senate's top cat, was downright demure in his first moments as number two.
SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: I'm going to shock you by starting off with the right frame of mind. I defer on this occasion to our leader.
CROWLEY: A Mississippi senator for 18 years, Lott was Republican leader for six and a half. Then he was drummed out of the corps for his salute at a birthday party for the late Senator Strom Thurmond, a one-time segregationist.
LOTT: When Strom Thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years either.
CROWLEY: It caused quite a blog-driven storm. Lott was accused of embracing Thurmond's past. He attempted to explain. He apologized, but it was too big and his Republican colleagues pushed him out of the leadership.
Lott resented it. He re-emerged as a maverick, a critic. But here he stands now, number two on the team. And if Lott has neither forgiven nor forgotten, he's not talking. Comeback doesn't mean look back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, do you feel vindicated by the outcome of today... s MCCONNELL: Why don't we -- unless you want to...
LOTT: No, no.
MCCONNELL: Yes, thanks. Talk to you later.
CROWLEY: Lott beat Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander for the job. Alexander told reporters he thinks it's the comeback thing. But it is more.
LOTT: I'm honored to be a part of this leadership team, to support Mitch McConnell and all of my colleagues, to do a job that I've always really loved the most, count the votes.
CROWLEY: Republicans now have fewer votes to count, but the strength of a Senate minority is in making things not happen. And Lott is a brass knuckled player, who wields power with precision. They need him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: An excellent vote counter and arm twister, Lott also has years of experiences as a deal maker, something the minority party needs if it is to claim any accomplishments, say, next the election -- Wolf?
BLITZER: And he doesn't have to worry about Bill Frist being in the next Senate either.
CROWLEY: No.
BLITZER: Candy, thank you for that. He lost his bid for a Senate seat, but Maryland's Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele remains a winner to many Republicans and a lot of other Americans as well. He has a lot to say about the election and today's political headlines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Let's talk a little politics -- a bunch of issues that I want to go through.
LT. GOV. MICHAEL STEELE (R), FORMER MARYLAND SENATE CANDIDATE: Sure.
BLITZER: But the news that right now John McCain...
STEELE: Yes.
BLITZER: ... saying today tomorrow he'll file this exploratory committee paperwork.
What do you -- he is a good Republican...
STEELE: He's a good Republican. I think it's good. I think it's fresh and exciting. It gives the party something now to look forward to and to think about as the various camps begin to form. And, you know, after this loss last Tuesday, now folks are getting motivated to think to the future, which they should. I gave my staff about 24 hours. I said you've got 24 hours and then we've got to get ready for the next thing, whatever that is.
And I think with John McCain and Tommy Thompson and Rudy Giuliani now positioning and moving, I think it's good for the party.
BLITZER: Do you like any one more than the other of those three?
STEELE: No, not yet. I want to sit down and talk to all of them and get a sense of where their head is and how they see this country moving forward.
BLITZER: Because at some point they're going to come to you and ask for your support.
STEELE: Yes, absolutely. And I'll be prepared to give it to the one I think is going to be the best president of the United States.
BLITZER: Trent Lott, the comeback kid we're calling him...
STEELE: I know. I know.
BLITZER: ... in the Senate today. He's going to be the minority whip. Four years ago, he made some controversial comments, as you well remember, about Strom Thurmond.
STEELE: Yes.
BLITZER: And he had to step down as the majority leader.
What do you make of this?
STEELE: I think, you know, again, that episode behind him. I think he asked for forgiveness and received it from the party and from the country. And I think he's going to make a good leader in the Senate.
BLITZER: Do you forgive him?
STEELE: Absolutely. I mean, you know, you can't hold stuff like that against him. It was a birthday event, you know? The guy's sitting there in the chair.
What are you going to say?
You say nice things. You get caught up in the moment. Folks know where his heart is and I think he's going to be a good leader in the Senate.
BLITZER: Some people are floating your name right now as a leader in the Bush cabinet, perhaps, if there is an opening, or maybe some other job.
What are you looking at right now?
STEELE: Well, you know, I'm taking time to get reacquainted with my wife and the kids. You know, it's funny to see your picture on the refrigerator saying, "Anyone see this man, send him home," you know?
So we're taking some time right now, just sort of down time.
And then we'll have conversations with whoever wants to have a conversation.
BLITZER: Has anyone from the White House approached you yet?
STEELE: Not yet. I mean, they've got -- they've had a lot on their plate. The president is over in Vietnam and a lot of travel planned up for him.
I'm going to probably talk to them at some point and we'll see what lies ahead.
BLITZER: But you're open, once you give -- mid-January you end your tenure as Lieutenant Governor...
STEELE: Yes, yes.
BLITZER: ... and you're free and clear?
STEELE: A free agent.
BLITZER: Yes. You can go out and...
STEELE: I can go anywhere.
BLITZER: ... do whatever you want.
STEELE: That's right. That's right.
BLITZER: So you're ready to move on.
One of the things that some pundits suggested had you decided to run in Maryland against Ben Cardin not as a Republican, but as an Independent...
STEELE: Right. Right.
BLITZER: ... in other words, take the Joe Lieberman route...
STEELE: Right. Right.
BLITZER: ... were you ever thinking of doing that?
STEELE: No, because, you know, that would be -- I couldn't walk away from the values that drew me to the party in the first place. And, yes, the party was -- it was tough being a Republican in this cycle and I made comments to that effect earlier in the year and it was borne out on Tuesday a week ago.
But at the end of the day, I want to see this party succeed. I want to see a viable two party system in Maryland. I think it's healthy for the state. I think it's important for governance purposes.
And so I will continue to build that out and do the same nationally, because I think our party right now needs to pick itself up, look each other in the eye and say we're going that way and we want to take America with us.
BLITZER: There was some hanky panky in this campaign. There's always a little dirty tricks going on.
STEELE: Oh, yes. Yes. Yes.
BLITZER: That ballot that was distributed -- you saw that, right?
STEELE: I saw that after the fact.
BLITZER: We put it up there behind you. STEELE: Right. Yes.
BLITZER: And it had a Democratic sample ballot. The "Washington Post" reported it. And it had you listed as U.S. Senator Michael Steele.
STEELE: Yes.
BLITZER: Did you have anything to do with this?
STEELE: No, we didn't. No, not at all. Not at all. In fact, I did not see that ballot until a couple of days after the fact. I heard about it during the Election Day but did not really see it until a couple of days later.
And, like you just said, those things are tactics that are done. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. The Dems have engaged in such behavior in the past. And so we're -- you know, people were upset about it...
BLITZER: But you denounced this kind of tactic?
STEELE: Oh, yes. Yes, I mean at the end of the day, it's silly. And it doesn't really achieve the objectives that you want anyway, because people are smart enough to figure out, you know, who's on their -- who's on the Democratic ballot.
BLITZER: Is there anything, looking back -- because we're almost out of time -- you wish you would have done that you think could have made a difference?
STEELE: No. I don't have any regrets about this, man. I put it all out there. I ran hard. I looked America in the eye, I looked my state in the eye and said this is who I am, this is what I believe and I want to go to the United States Senate, trust me to get something done.
It's nice to hear everybody talking the Kumbaya language now. Now it's time for them to step up and get something done. And that's what people in this country want.
BLITZER: He's a star in the Republican Party.
Michael Steele, thanks for coming in.
STEELE: Thank you, sir.
Good to be with you.
BLITZER: He also happens to be my Lieutenant Governor...
STEELE: I sure am.
BLITZER: ... because I'm a resident of Maryland.
STEELE: That's right. And I'll make sure your taxes stay low for you, at least another two months.
BLITZER: They're very high.
Thanks very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Up next, Jack Cafferty wants to know, how do we narrow the economic gap between the haves and have nots here in the United States? And forget about "People" magazine's sexiest man alive. Our Jeanne Moos wants to know who's the sexiest politician alive? She's got some ideas. Stay with us, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Jack's in New York with the "Cafferty File" -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Wolf, this hour we're looking at the following: how do we narrow the economic gap between the haves and have nots in this country?
It seems to be a constant subject of discussion. And in some circles, you could get a consensus that the gap is widening.
John writes: "We need to find a way to make tuition affordable for all families, make student loans more than just a money pit so anyone with a drive and ability to get a college degree can get one."
Of course, that all requires families to sacrifice the big screen TV and the new SUV in order to put their kids in school.
Sandra in Georgia writes: "Your breakdown tells the tale right up front. Take the corporate welfare out of the system. Use it to increase Pell Grants, lower interest rates on student loans and make higher education accessible to more and more U.S. citizens."
DJ in Irmo, South Carolina: "No secret the U.S. tax laws are stacked in favor of the wealthy. I know the rich pay a high percentage of income taxes, but a significant amount of their earnings come from non-salary based wealth, such as capital gains, which is taxed at a much lower rate. These means of wealth are not as accessible to the have nots. Why not close those and other tax loopholes so all Americans are paying their share?"
Marie agrees in Illinois: "The rich ought to have to pay proportionate taxes to the rest of us. I make $45,000 a year and have to pay taxes on every penny. Make $250,000 a year> Pay taxes on all of it. Make $1 million a year? Pay taxes on all of it. Time to collect Social Security? Take a means test."
Bruce in Delaware: "The haves are not the Asians. The haves are the elite globalists who suck all our money out of the country, receive exorbitant interest rates on our debt, as our global banks, big pharma, big oil and military contract con artists." And Allen in Dallas, Texas: "Narrow the gap? Sure, guaranteed minimum income, free college education, universal health care paid for by taxes on the wealthy and the corporations. That should narrow the gap a bit."
If you didn't see your e-mail here, you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile and read more of them online -- Wolf.
BLITZER: See you tomorrow, Jack.
Thank you very much for that.
Let's check in with Paula to see what's coming up right at the top of the hour.
Hi, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Wolf.
Coming at you about seven minutes from now, top of the hour, we're going to hear from the nation's first commissioned officer to refuse orders to serve in Iraq. Why did he do that? And what does he face tonight?
And then we move on to our top crime story, which has the whole country buzzing. O.J. Simpson has just written a book called "If I Did It".
So just what is he really trying to tell us about his wife's murder?
There are some people, Wolf, who think he's confessing to that.
BLITZER: Paula?
ZAHN: But of course, we haven't read the book yet. We'll all be getting it shortly and we'll make our own judgments.
BLITZER: I'm sure there will be a big splash when that book comes out.
Thanks, Paula, for that.
Still ahead, who is the sexiest politician alive? Who better to find out than our own Jeanne Moos? She's coming up next.
Stay with us.
You're in the SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: They say power is an aphrodisiac, but some lucky leaders are just plain handsome to boot. So who is the fairest of them all?
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos to tell us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If they clone anyone, it should be Clooney, not once, but twice "People's" sexiest man alive. But why does sexiest man get all the fanfare? With the mid-term elections still in the air, who is the sexiest politician alive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sexiest politician? That's a toughy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I honestly cannot think of anyone.
MOOS (on camera): Just say stop when you see someone you think is sexy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. No, I don't think he's that sexy. No.
MOOS (voice-over): It's the sexiest politician alive part that prevents JFK from winning hands down.
Among lesser-known faces, San Francisco's mayor seemed to have attracted admirers. The same goes for...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks gay.
MOOS (on camera): He looks what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gay.
MOOS (voice-over): Obama's not gay, but Jim McGreavey might win for sexiest gay former politician.
In the campaign, Republicans used Harold Ford, Jr.'s sex appeal against him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Harold, call me.
MOOS: He lost in Tennessee, but not by much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vote for him. He's cute.
MOOS: In this contest, term limits didn't apply.
(on camera): Who is the sexiest politician alive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bill Clinton.
MOOS: How about this guy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, no.
MOOS: Arnold?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. He's just an action hero.
MOOS: To have been a contestant vying for Arnold on the "Dating Game".
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: Lady Number One, I am a man and you are a woman. Now, where do we go from here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. Maybe we should go to another planet.
MOOS: Hey, he was Mr. Universe.
Back in the year 2000, "People" magazine named John Edwards sexiest politician.
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": If you had been fortunate enough to be elected vice president in 2004, who would you have accidentally shot in the face?
FMR. SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, (D) NORTH CAROLINA: Dick Cheney.
MOOS: Edwards is still perhaps the favorite for sexiest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the guy I think.
MOOS: Ask someone who's seen him really close-up, someone who put makeup on him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like, 1,000 watt smile and he had nice eyes.
MOOS: And though this year, "People" didn't name a sexiest politician, they did include Stephen Colbert in the section called "Sexy Surprise".
And for a real dark horse, how about New York's governor-elect?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I liked Spitzer at that Caribbean island.
MOOS (on camera): We're talking sexy here, though. Did you see him in his swimming suit the other day?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Bright eyes. He looked in love with his wife. That's sexy to me.
MOOS (voice-over): At least he was wise enough not to go full Speedo ahead.
Jeanne Moos, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thank you, Jeanne.
And remember, we're here in the SITUATION ROOM weeknights 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Back again tomorrow also, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Among our guests tomorrow, John Edwards.
Till then, thanks very much for joining us.
Let's go to Paula, she's in New York -- Paula.
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