Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
American Killed in Afghanistan; President Debate on Wednesday; Supreme Court Begins New Term
Aired September 30, 2012 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Live from CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
The circle of voter fraud widening. New reports out of Florida that at least 10 counties are involved. We'll tell you who is behind the scam.
A mystery unfolding in Tennessee. A house burned to the ground. Two children missing, and their guardians found dead. We'll have a live report.
Debate night is only three days away. A chance for candidates to leave an impression. Even if it's not the one they intended. We'll take a look at past debate bloopers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Good morning, everyone. I'm Gary Tuchman, in today for Randi Kaye. It's 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Thanks for starting your morning with us.
We start in Afghanistan with an American service member has been killed in an unusual attack. Apparently there was a misunderstanding between coalition troops and their Afghan counterparts and that escalated into much more. There's an unknown number of Afghan casualties.
Now, remember this incident comes just three days after the Pentagon lifted the ban on joint patrols. There's a news conference scheduled in Kabul later this hour.
Earlier I spoke to Ben Farmer in Kabul, newspaper reporter, and asked how unusual it is to have the news conference to soon after an incident like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN FARMER, REPORTER (via telephone): Yes, I think it is. These conferences are being held by the deputy commander of the entire coalition, and he is set to make a statement on what happened yesterday evening and then will answer questions. It is unusual for someone so senior to give a press conference after such an event. (END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: As I said, one American was killed. That marks the 2,001 U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan since the war started there nearly 11 years ago.
Now, to politics and more allegations of voter registration fraud in Florida. The complaints center around a company originally hired by the Republican National Committee. The company is called Strategic Allied Consulting. That company did registration drives in five states, including Florida.
"The New York Times" is reporting that suspicious registration forms have been found in 10 Florida counties. We reached out to Florida Republican Party officials, but they said they could not comment on Strategic Allied. The company is owned by a man named Nathan Sproul. Sproul is the former executive director for the Arizona Republican Party. In 2004, his voter registration efforts were also investigated but no charges were filed.
Here's what the company is saying about the allegations in the Sunshine State. "Strategic has a zero tolerance policy for breaking the law. Accordingly, once we learned of the irregularities in Palm Beach County, we were able to trace questionable cards to one individual and immediately terminated our working relationship with the individual in question."
So, they fired the worker in Florida.
Meanwhile, the RNC and the state Republican Party fired Strategic in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, and Colorado. Why Colorado? Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, hi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you vote for Romney or Obama?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait. I thought you were registering voters a minute ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who are you registering? All voters?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I'm actually trying to register people for a particular party because we're out here in support of Romney, actually.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMLE: And who is paying you for this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, the -- let me see. We're working for the county clerk's office.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. You cannot come out here and register one party, lady. Are you working for the county clerk's office? I got it all on tape. Are you working for the county clerk's office?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe so, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you are only registering Republicans?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nope.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said we're only registering Romney people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we're trying to, to be honest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you're working for the county's office? What's your name?
UNIDENTIIFIED FEMALE: My name --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Well, that seemingly confused young woman did not work for the county clerk's office. Instead she worked for Strategic Allied Consultants.
The executive director of the county's Republican Party said the company's bad business practices led to that incident.
Voter registration is even more important now with just 37 days left until presidential Election Day. There could be as many as 73 million Americans who are eligible to vote but aren't registered.
But the top story of this political week is the looming showdown between President Obama and Mitt Romney. A debate happening that takes place Wednesday night.
President Obama is using John Kerry as his practice partner. The Massachusetts senator is portraying the former Massachusetts governor who is Mitt Romney.
And Romney is using Ohio Senator Ron Portman as his Obama.
CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser has more on their practice sessions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning, Gary.
You know, it's pretty obvious. One of them will definitely dominate this week in the race for the White House.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm looking forward to the debates.
STEINHAUSER: And the first of the three showdowns comes Wednesday night when President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney face off in Denver. Both candidates have a lot on the line, especially the GOP challenger, who a few days ago gave some insight into his debate preps.
ROMNEY: It's great to have Senator Rob Portman. You know, he debates me from time to time. He is playing Barack Obama in these mock debates we have. I don't like him very much anymore, all right? He keeps on beating me up and I keep on going away shaking my head.
STEINHAUSER: Romney flies to Colorado Monday to hold a rally that night before hunkering down for final preparations.
The president heads to Nevada Sunday greeting voters that night and then goes behind closed doors for his last-minute preps before flying on to Denver on debate day.
Meanwhile, both presidential campaigns continue to play the expectations game, trying to lower the bar for their candidate -- Gary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Thank you very much, Paul.
The debates are the only way to see the candidates face-to-face. So let's take a look at the debate schedule. As we said, number one, Wednesday, October 3rd. You can see it live here on CNN starting 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Number two is October 16th, on the campus of Hofstra University in Long Island, New York. Our only Candy Crowley will be moderating that debate.
The final presidential debate, six days later, October 22nd in Boca Raton, Florida, and that's two weeks before Election Day.
There's also one vice presidential debate. Joe Biden and Paul Ryan square off in Danville, Kentucky, on October 11th.
Both of those vice presidential candidates are making noise on the campaign trail while the presidential candidates prepare for their debate.
Here's Vice President Joe Biden in Ft. Myers, Florida, one of the key swing states.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These people are not about to vote to reduce the national debt or have a plan if it requires millionaires to pay a cent, and the amazing thing, they're concerned.
What's even more amazing, I watched at their convention, is they discovered the middle class. It was, like my God, there's a middle class. There it is. There it is.
I never heard -- I never heard those guys use the phrase middle class more probably in their whole lives than they did at that convention.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Not surprisingly, Paul Ryan is also focusing on swing states. He made stops in New Hampshire and Ohio yesterday. In the Buckeye State, he talked about challengers to gun rights.
(BEGIN VIDEOI CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The next president is going to make a lot of judgments. The next president will appoint a lot of different judges, and these are lifetime appointments. If you want to make sure that judges respect our Second Amendment rights, you need a president who respects those rights as well. Mitt Romney and I are going to respect the Second Amendment because it's our individual right to keep and bare arms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Paul Ryan spends the day today attending fundraisers in Connecticut. Although the U.S. Supreme Court isn't set to look at any gun rights challenges, it is going to hear several high-profile and controversial cases. Tomorrow morning, the justices are kicking off the new term. It always happens the first Monday in October.
Here's Joe Johns with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PROTESTERS: Strike it down!
JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Right after the Supreme Court's health care decision in June, Chief Justice John Roberts joked to colleagues that he would find an island fortress to escape the political heat.
Here's how Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg described the eventful spring.
JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG, SUPREME COURT: The term has been more than usually taxing. Some have called it the term of the century.
JOHNS: Now three months later, the court is back, and there are no signs of it cooling down.
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, PUBLISHER, SCOTUSBLOG.COM: The justices are moving from the frying pan right into the fire. They are tackling some of the most difficult legal questions of the day. Across the board, probably the biggest term in at least a decade.
JOHNS: Cases involving the contentious issues of affirmative action, same sex marriage, voting rights and abortion are all likely to come up this term which kicks off Monday.
CARRIE SEVERINO, JUDICIAL CRISIS NETWORK: There's some very exciting cases already on the docket. There's a lot more in the pipeline that may -- the court's going to be making a decision on soon.
JOHNS: Another set of big decisions will bring even more scrutiny on the chief justice. Rumors surfaced that the healthcare ruling he authored caused a personal rift with conservative colleagues including Justice Antonin Scalia. A claim Scalia denied to CNN's Piers Morgan.
JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA, SUPREME COURT: No, I didn't have a falling out with Justice Roberts.
PIERS MORGAN, CNN'S "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": Loud words exchanged?
SCALIA: No.
MORGAN: Slamming of doors.
SCALIA: No.
MORGAN: Nothing like that?
SCALIA: Nothing like that.
JOHNS: The other big question, will the chief justice take the court in an aggressive new direction? Liberals fear a more hard line, dogmatic shift to the right.
ELIZABETH WYDRA, CONSTITUTIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY CENTER: A lot of progressives are concerned that this might mean that Chief Justice Roberts has built up some capital, some goodwill, and now will push the conservative agenda.
JOHNS: Tom Goldstein, who has argued before the court, thinks Roberts wants a more conservative court, but he'll do it gradually.
GOLDSTEIN: He's not trying to move the law radically quickly. I think Justice Scalia or Justice Thomas really want to get to the end answer as quickly as possible and make the law conform to what they really understand; whereas the chief justice is more incrementalist.
JOHNS: But conservative court watcher Carrie Severino doesn't believe anything will change any time soon.
SEVERINO: Certainly this is not a crusading conservative court. Until we have a shift I think in the membership of the court, it's impossible to call it a court that leans more to the left or to the right.
JOHNS (on camera): For opinions that could be close, 5-4 decisions, attention will also be paid to Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is frequently the swing vote in some of the toughest cases.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Joe, thank you.
A mystery in Tennessee. Two children are missing after their house was destroyed in a fire. Now, authorities are asking for the public's help in finding them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: Residents in Unionville, Tennessee, are looking for answer this morning. Two young children are missing after investigators failed to find the remains in a house fire that killed their grandparents.
Susan Candiotti is following the situation. She joins us live from New York -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Gary.
What happened to those two youngsters a week after their grandparents were killed in a raging fire? Their grandchildren are nowhere to be found.
And then there's this. So far, investigators tell me they have found no evidence of foul play.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than a week after sifting through ashes and debris, investigators have found no sign of 9-year-old Chloie Leverett and 7-year-old Gage Daniel. No sign that the youngsters were there and so far, no evidence they were when an inferno swept through the home where they lived with their grandparents.
Friends and family don't understand and neither does anyone else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think something is very fishy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The more you find out, the more questions you have.
CANDIOTTI: Helicopters equipped with infrared cameras found no signs of the children in surrounding woods either. The children were last seen playing in the neighborhood about three hours before the fire started last Sunday night. Did someone take them?
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued an AMBER alert Friday night, calling the missing children endangered. Authorities don't know what caused the fire, adding to the mystery.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They said that it was not an intentional fire, but obviously there's more to it than that.
CANDIOTTI: Chloie's parents are not considered suspects according to police. MARY LAM, SISTER: We're tired but we want to continue on until we figure out what's happening to these children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: It's what everyone wants to know. What happened to those children -- Gary.
TUCHMAN: Susan, you talked about the parents. What was the relationship between the parents and the grandparents and why were the children living with the grandparents?
CANDIOTTI: Gary, that's a good question. We don't know all of the circumstances, but authorities say it appears to have been an agreed upon arrangement and the children have been living with their grandparents for years.
Now, a TBI spokeswoman says Chloie and Gage's parents do not live together and have had some legal troubles years ago. But, again, they are not considered suspects.
TUCHMAN: So what's the next step, Susan, for the investigators?
CANDIOTTI: Well, police tell me that they are talking to people at the children's school, friends, neighbors, and parents, and authorities are still sorting out, they say, where the parents say they were when the fire started and add that the parents are cooperating.
Now, as time goes on, authorities are getting, of course, more and more worried about Chloie and Gage.
TUCHMAN: It all sounds very bad. Very tragic.
Susan Candiotti, thank you very much.
In Plant City, Florida, police have arrested a teacher that was plotting to kill a former colleague. James J. Pepe of Tampa, Florida, has been charged with solicitation of first degree murder. Police were tipped off by a witness who says the defendant attempted to hire him to kill a man who once worked with him at Hillsborough County school system. Pepe currently teaches high school history in the county.
A tragic story out of new Fairfield, Connecticut. A man shoots and kills his 15-year-old son after mistaking him for a robber. It's an awful story.
Jeffrey Giuliano, who was a school teacher, grabbed his gun, he ran next door when his sister called to tell him she thought someone was trying to break in. According to police, a person in a mask came towards Giuliano holding a shiny object, and Giuliano pulled the trigger.
Tyler Giuliano was a high school student in New Fairfield. He was one with the mask. No one knows what prompted him to do what he did. No charges have been filed.
He spent 15 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. Now Damon Thibodeaux is a free man. He was convicted for the 1996 rape and murder of his 14-year-old step cousin.
After nine hours of interrogation by police, he falsely confessed to the crime. Authorities don't know why he did that, but recent DNA tests proved he could not have been guilty.
Now, 38 years old, Damon Thibodeaux says he is concentrating on moving forward.
Dry weather, skyrocketing prices -- there's a definite connection. We'll tell you what the devastating drought from the Midwest will mean for your grocery bill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: It's a beautiful day on Capitol Hill. Good morning to all of you in the nation's capital. Good morning to all of you watching right here on CNN.
On your next trip to the supermarket, you may want to brace yourself. That's because the price of meat is going up. Nobody is happy about it. Farmers aren't happy. Butchers aren't happy. You are not happy.
CNN's Athena Jones has the reasons why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE STACHOWSKI, BUTCHER: People love meat.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meat has pride of place at Jamie Stachowski's butcher shop in Washington.
STACHOWSKI: What can I get for you, my friend?
JONES: Ham, pastrami, stake. It's all here.
STACHOWSKI: We're a meat-eating country. And no matter what, people are going to find a way to get meat.
JONES: But with prices for pork and beef expected to rise next year --
STACKOWSKI: Ahmed!
JONES: -- this longtime meat man says consumers will have to pay more. Or get used to new cuts.
STACHOWSKI: What happened in the last increase is people went from eating a lot of primal to New York strips to porter houses. They went to eating secondary cuts.
JONES: The coming sticker shock will impact not just butchers but restaurants and dinner tables across the country.
(on camera): The worst drought in decades means higher costs for animal feed and lower profits for farmers. Farms like this one here in Maryland have already had to raise prices to keep up.
(voice-over): Julie Gray Stinar runs a small farm near the West Virginia border, where she raises hens, hogs, and cattle. A third of her cost goes to animal feed, which is mostly corn and soy. Prices for chicken and pig feed have skyrocketed since July.
JULIE GRAY STINAR, FARMER: So it's $14.77 on July 2nd, now it's $16.79. So it's gone up by two dollars in two months.
JONES (on camera): A significant amount.
STINAR: And so, then, here, we have the pig pellet, was $12.22. And now, the pig pellet is $15.06.
JONES: So it's going to get worse?
STINAR: It's going to get -- oh, it will get a lot worse.
JONES (voice-over): She's now charging a dollar a pound more for her sausage, pork chops and bacon and plans to switch from corn-based hog feed to sorghum to save money.
STINAR: It's sure requiring a lot more creativity. You have to be really good at adjusting.
JONES: Since she doesn't raise broiler chickens, the kind you eat, in winter, Stinar hoping to avoid the worst of the price spike for their feed. And unlike most American farmers, she grass feeds her cattle, meaning she won't have to worry about grain prices for them.
Back in Washington, Stachowski's customers are preparing themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The quality is worth it. I don't mind spending the money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a limit to how much any person would pay.
JONES: One tongue-in-cheek solution to the problem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eat more tofu.
JONES: Then again, tofu is made of soy.
Athena Jones, CNN, Sharpsburg, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: It is time to get you ready for the week ahead. We have our handy dandy calendar. We start off with Monday. On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will meet for the first time since the health care ruling in late June. The justices will kick off new terms. This year, they could hear some controversial cases like affirmative action, voting rights, and same-sex marriage.
Now, we move to Tuesday. As soon as I get rid of Monday. There we go. We move to Tuesday. On Tuesday early in person voting starts in the swing state of Ohio. Other states have already started mail-in absentee voting.
And then we get to an important day. And that is Wednesday. We want to you have your TV sets on because on Wednesday, it's the first presidential debate of 2012. Mitt Romney, Barack Obama face-off Denver, Colorado. We'll have live coverage on CNN.
Then we get to the end of the week. The end of the week is Friday, and this could be important for the presidential election because the September jobs report will be released. That's this Friday. This could be a critical talking point for the presidential campaigns. Only two more jobs reports will come out before the November election.
Our handy dandy week ahead calendar.
Well, have you ever tried a new religion? How about a religion about UFO's where churchgoers say if it feels good, do it. Our next guest tried it and seven other religions that stray from the mainstream.
(COMMERCIAL BREK)
TUCHMAN: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Gary Tuchman in for Randi Kaye. It's the bottom of the hour now. Here are some of the stories that we're watching.
More allegations of voter registration fraud that includes making up names and using fake addresses -- Strategic Allied Consultants did registration drives in five states, including Florida. "The New York Times" is reporting that suspicious registration forms have been found in 10 of Florida's counties. Now the RNC has fired the company and state Republican parties in Florida, Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina have also fired Strategic Allied Consultants.
Off the campaign trail and prepping for the debate, that's the story for Mitt Romney and Barack Obama with just three days to go before their first faceoff in Denver. Senator John Kerry is portraying Romney during Obama's practice sessions while Senator Rob Portman is playing the role of the President for Mitt Romney. Coverage for Wednesday's debate begins at 7:00 Eastern time here on CNN.
To Afghanistan where an American service member is among the dead after a battle between Afghan forces and international troops in the capital of Kabul; the latest in a string of so-called green on blue or insider attacks also led to the death of the civilian contractor and three Afghan soldiers. A woman who won $1 million in a Michigan State Lottery last year has died. 25-year-old Amanda Clayton was found in her suburban Detroit home Saturday. Police haven't released an official cause of death, but they do suspect a possible drug overdose.
Clayton hit headlines earlier this year when she was forced to be sentenced to probation for admitting she continued to collect food stamps even after she won $1 million.
My guest for today's "Faces of Faith" is talking about how to find the right God for you. Sure you have the main religions, Christianity Judaism, Islam, but there are thousands more. Eric Weiner immersed himself in eight different religions, some widely known. Others quite obscure.
First Sufism, a type of Islam; Buddhism like the Dalai Lama; Franciscan think Catholic Friars; and then there's Raelism (ph) the world's largest UFO-based religion focused on pleasure; Taoism an ancient Chinese religion; Wicca, witchcraft and paganism; Shamanism, a tribal spirituality focused on nature and sometimes they use hallucinogens; and lastly Kabbalah a type of Judaism, Madonna practices this.
This journey is documented in a very unusual book. It's Weiner's book it called "Man Seeks God: My flirtations with the divine". And he joins us now from Washington. Eric, good morning; it's absolutely fascinating what you did. Tell us how you started this journey?
ERIC WEINER, AUTHOR, "MAN SEEKS GOD: MY FLIRTATIONS WITH THE DEVINE": Well, I started in the library actually trying to narrow down as you said these huge number of religions out there. There are some 10,000 religions and most of us don't know this. And I had to narrow it down to the eight that you just put up on the screen which was difficult. And once I did that, I made a determined effort to go out and essentially test drive these eight religions.
Not to just study them as an academic or as the journalist that, I -- for most of my life was, but to actually experience them to get into the driver's seat and as much as possible to try to figure out what it is that the followers of these faith -- faiths get out of it. What -- what -- what does it do for them?
TUCHMAN: So first of all is this disrespectful to test drive a religion? Or what does that mean test driving a religion?
WEINER: I don't think it is. And I -- I have to say that the problem I have with so much of the discussion of religion in this country is that we -- we are so afraid of offending anyone that we're afraid of discussing it and we're afraid of going out and trying it.
And of these eight faiths, everyone welcomed me with open arms. Nobody tried to proselytize and try to shove their religion down my throat. They opened their doors to me, and religions, the vast majority, do accept converts, of course. There are few that don't such as the Zoroastrians (ph), but most do and so absolutely it's ok to test drive your religion. You wouldn't buy a new car without test driving it. Why would you convert to a new faith without trying it out first?
TUCHMAN: So what kind of things did you find?
WEINER: I found that there is a lot of wisdom out there in these religions that's hidden and often hidden beneath a lot of ritual and theology that I'm going to be honest here, turns a lot of people off. I know it turned me off. And I decided to go about this and sort of in a way excavate beneath the theology, beneath the ritual and try to figure out what is the core wisdom at the heart of these religions and can you extract that make that really sort of the driving force behind your -- your religious life?
TUCHMAN: Real quickly, do you have a religious background?
WEINER: I do but not much of one. I was born Jewish, but in my family we were really gastronomical Jews. It was all about the food and not so much about God and religion. And I think I'm fairly typical that way. A lot of Jews and Christians and Muslims feel estranged from their faith, and yet we continue to have these spiritual yearnings and we want to fulfill them, so we have become in fact quite a spiritually promiscuous nation, if I can put it that way.
Nearly one out of three Americans will change their religious affiliation over the course of their lifetime, and it might be a fairly narrow modification from, say, you know, Lutheran to Methodist or it might be a big jump from Catholic to Muslim or Jewish to Buddhist. We are a nation of seekers.
TUCHMAN: I think most would acknowledge that the biggest jump would be religions like Wicca and Raelism which we just mentioned. Did you find anything valuable about those particular religions?
WEINER: On the face of it they are strange. I'm not going to deny that. And as a journalist, the journalist in me was skeptical of a lot of it but I did find in the case of Wiccans or of neo-paganism some fascinating things. One is their approach to ritual. They would speak of bad ritual, after I tended a service in the Pacific Northwest. They said, well, we've seen some bad ritual. What do you mean by that?
They mean it's ritual not where you flub the lines as you would in Catholic mass or in the synagogue but ritual that whose content does not move people. And because Wiccans are essentially making it up as they go along, trying to recreate these pre-Christian religions, they are free to write ritual, to actually write a ritual the way you might write a screen play or -- or a novel and they're trying to write it in a way that moves you.
So good ritual is ritual that gives you energy and makes you feel good and -- and raises your heights. And bad ritual is almost like a bad TV show. It's just a dud. It doesn't do anything for you. I found that quite interesting.
TUCHMAN: Well let's talk about other ritual.
WEINER: Yes. TUCHMAN: Which I would think a lot of people would think is bad, and that is shamanism, one of your eight religions and the use of drugs. What did you experience with that?
WEINER: I stayed away from the drugs because I thought they couldn't lead anywhere good, but I did attend a shamanic workshop, and it's really -- shamanism like so many of these religions is all about a way of getting out of your head. That's what the mystical faiths are about, like Kabbalah and Sufism. We spend so much time in our head thinking and thinking rationally, which is a good thing -- don't get me wrong.
But in a way we do our best thinking, as you may notice, your best ideas may come in the shower or you're going for a walk. Not when you're really focused on the problem. And what a lot of these religious practices are like shamanism is doing chanting or dancing or something to get you out of your head and to get in touch with some other part of you. Call it your unconscious. Call it your soul. Call it whatever you want.
TUCHMAN: Eric, so you're not a Wiccan or Raelism follower today?
WEINER: No, I'm not. I'm a little confused. I'm calling myself a confusionist, but I have returned to my Jewish roots much more than I thought I would at the beginning of this journey. I have what I call an Ikea God. Some assembly required and I think there is value in that. There is value in taking bits and pieces from here and there provided -- and this is a big provided -- you have some sort of foundation.
For me that foundation is Judaism, but I begin most mornings with Buddhist meditation and before today is out I might -- I might whirl like a Sufi dervish, I don't know. You know it's possible to mix and match as long as you have some foundation to do it on.
TUCHMAN: Eric Weiner thank you -- fascinating book.
WEINER: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: It's called "Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine."
Google Maps takes a dive but not a bad dive. We'll tell you about the new venture that gets us a close-up view diving under water looking at a whole new world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: That was 57 years ago today.
A flight to Australia from anywhere in this country can cost thousands of dollars. You want to add in a tour of the Great Barrier Reef? Who wouldn't? That will be a few hundred more but now Google is giving you a chance to see it all for free, taking its Street View off the road and taking it underwater.
Our editorial producer Nadia Bilchik is here to tell us more about it.
So you're telling me that all these plans I've had to go to Australia to see the Great Barrier Reef, I don't need to spend any amount, I can see it for free?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: No, you don't. You're about to see collaboration and innovation at its finest because Google has partnered with scientists to come up with high definition panoramic views of huge sections of the Great Barrier Reef.
TUCHMAN: So that is something they haven't done before?
BILCHIK: Never done before --
TUCHMAN: They do a lot of stuff, Google, but this is brand new you're telling me.
BILCHIK: This is innovative, it was posted this week. You can now go on. And what's so extraordinary about it is the camera is so unique because it really models a shark in terms of speed and movement, so you feel like you are swimming along as if you were a shark and getting these panoramic views in high definition.
TUCHMAN: So why is Google doing this?
BILCHIK: Google is doing this in partnership with the scientists, and the scientists specifically are saying we want to create awareness about the reef, but also what is the impact that climate change is having on the 2,300 feet reef.
TUCHMAN: So you looked at it. How realistic?
BILCHIK: It's beautiful.
TUCHMAN: Did you get wet?
BILCHIK: Not quite.
TUCHMAN: Oh ok, ok.
BILCHIK: It would have been good. It's nothing like actually being there, but for somebody like me or you who can't get there anyway today, the fact is that it certainly provides a unique and wonderful experience.
But the head scientists of the group that's doing this said what's so unexpected is they discovered four new species of coral. They've discovered a brand new pigmy sea horse. So through this they've actually discovered all kinds of new species and also if you do go on the tour, you will see something called a dugong.
TUCHMAN: A dugong.
BILCHIK: A dugong.
TUCHMAN: And please tell us what a dugong is. It sounds very exotic.
BILCHIK: It is exotic. Now this is a marine mammal that's closely related to elephants and prolific in the Great Barrier Reef.
TUCHMAN: But these are elephants that have gills obviously.
BILCHIK: Yes. And what's extraordinary about this project is they're saying if it's successful, they will expand it to other areas of the world, so right now Australia, Hawaii, Philippines, that area of the reef. But should it work really well, then they'll go to Bermuda, the Coral Triangle, the Indian Ocean -- so an experience, an online experience.
TUCHMAN: I think that's really great. So we no longer have to go on vacations. We can just go on Google and --
BILCHIK: Have you ever been Australia? It's a 12, 14-hour flight and then another couple of hours to get to the Great Barrier Reef.
TUCHMAN: You know on this job you go pretty much everywhere, and I have not been to Australia yet.
BILCHIK: But have you ever been diving?
TUCHMAN: Yes. I've been diving.
BILCHIK: You've been diving. So your gear could take you there, but something about seeing it in this way not also depends on your computer screen so that's where your real large area comes into play. Because if you're looking at your phone, it's not as impactful but if you're seeing it on a large screen --
TUCHMAN: We'll look at it on a large screen together later, Nadia.
BILCHIK: Yes, that would be a good idea --
TUCHMAN: Yes, let's do it.
BILCHIK: To have a Great Barrier Reef party.
TUCHMAN: Let's have a viewing date.
BILCHIK: Exactly, we'll coral, we'll see dugongs.
TUCHMAN: It's like a tour actually.
BILCHIK: We'll go down under.
TUCHMAN: Thank you Nadia Bilchik.
BILCHIK: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: It's fascinating. Well, which candidate had the funniest one-liner ever in a presidential debate? Was it President Ronald Reagan? How about George Bush, Sr.? George Bush Jr. That's George W. Bush, of course, or President Obama? We will take a look at history's greatest debate moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID LETTERMAN, TALK SHOW HOST: The debates, the presidential debates begin on Wednesday. Romney is taking two days off to prepare. You have to prepare. You can't just walk in there. You have to prepare for these debates.
So Romney is taking a couple of days off. He's going to study up. They're going to have practice debates. He is going to do that for two days. Then another full day of spray tanning, and then he will be ready to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: And even though our own Candy Crowley is moderating the second debate, I know she will be attending the first one next week. Hey Candy -- joining me from Washington. What are the expectations for this first debate, and how important is it?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST: I think from here on out with 30 plus days -- I think we're at 39, 38 days -- everything is important. Particularly an hour and a half as each of these debates are with as big an audience as they're going to get because this is as big an audience as they're going to get between now and the election time unless something happens and the President, you know, wants a nationwide address, but nonetheless, insofar as the campaign is concerned, these are very important hours and a half.
Will they change up the mix? They have the potential to do it. The expectations, well, if you ask the Obama campaign what they think, they say, oh, you know what, Mitt Romney has had a lot of practice, and he is a great debater, and he is really wonderful. And then you ask the Romney campaign. They say, oh, you know, Obama is just really a tough guy because he is a really eloquent -- so everybody is sort boosting everybody's expectations.
But here's the bottom line. Mitt Romney has the most to lose here. The guy running behind going into a debate with this many people watching is the one that has to do the best or at least be seen as holding his own standing toe to toe with the President of the United States.
TUCHMAN: Your program, "STATE OF THE UNION", is coming up next. What do you have on tap?
CROWLEY: We want to talk a little bit about the debates. Senator John McCain is here. He is -- he holds, I guess, an esteemed position of having debated both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. So we want to talk a little bit about that, but, as you know, the world seen in Libya, certainly in Afghanistan, in places like that, have been chaotic recently with Americans tragically killed so we want to get some updates from him about that as well.
TUCHMAN: Candy, it's always great seeing you. Thank you for joining us. Keep it here --
CROWLEY: Thanks, Gary.
TUCHMAN: Keep it here for Candy's program "STATE OF THE UNION". It starts nine minutes from now precisely. 9:00 a.m. Eastern time, 6:00 a.m. on the West Coast right here on CNN.
A great one liner can make or break a presidential debate. From President Reagan to Vice President Gore, comedian Dean Obeidallah joins me next to check out some of history's funniest and most memorable moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I specifically would like to know whether Governor Bush will support the Dingell-Norwood bill, which is the main one pending?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Bush, you may answer that if you like, but also I'd like to know how you see the differences between the two of you, and we need to move on.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, the difference is that I can get it done; that I can get something positive done on behalf of the people. That's what the question of this campaign is about. It's not only what's your philosophy and what's your position on issues, but can you get things done. And I believe I can.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: I remember that moment like it was yesterday. It was 12 years ago -- unforgettable moment when Al Gore approached soon to be President George W. Bush in their third and final debate back in 2000. That was quite an election year.
And given it's that time of year again this Wednesday President Obama and Mitt Romney start debating this week. We want to take a look back at some of the, well, the lighter moments from presidential hopefuls.
The very funny Dean Obeidallah joins me now from New York City. Hey, Dean, thanks for joining us.
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN: Sure. Thanks for having me.
TUCHMAN: So what did you think of that moment? Did you watch it live 12 years ago? What did you think of that moment with Gore?
OBEIDALLAH: I did. I have followed politics for a long time. I think that was a great moment -- watching again. It's funny because you have this awkward moment. The whole audience is watching. Al Gore walks over like Frankenstein or a school yard bully, and George Bush has the reaction that we all had like what are you doing here, buddy. And I think it's funny too and it shows a glimpse into the Bush we got to know over the years like, "Hey, what's up? How are you doing?"
That kind of stuff like that so, I think it was a great human organic reaction, and that's why it creates a connection with the audience at home. Like, what is Gore doing?
TUCHMAN: Also, in 2000 George W. Bush has this pretty good line. I'm going to read it to you. It goes, "I'm beginning to think not only did he invent the Internet" -- referring to Al Gore -- "but he invented the calculator as well. It's fuzzy math." Now, were all these moments just fun, or do they have a real impact on votes?
OBEIDALLAH: I think this one goes to the narrative the Bush campaign was running. Al Gore had said -- he never said I invented the Internet. He said while in Congress I took the initiative in creating the Internet, saying he worked at it. The Bush people have turned it into saying you invented the Internet; you're a boaster and a bragger. And this joke just furthers that narrative, and it's funny.
Comedy is a great way of endearing yourself to the audience. It builds a connection with people. People are laughing and smiling and like watching you. It's a great tool to use, and that was a funny moment by Bush.
Also, I think Bush is bad at math, so when he said it's fuzzy math, he's talking about he can't really add -- so that part of that.
TUCHMAN: Ok. Well, I'm going to do some math here and tell you that 28 years ago we're going to go back to a debate between President Ronald Reagan against Walter Mondale. Here's how Reagan handled criticism that at the age of 37 at the time he might be too old to serve as president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD REAGAN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want you to know that also I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Now, that is a famous line all these years later. That really worked for Reagan, didn't it, Dean?
OBEIDALLAH: That is one of the greatest comedic lines in all of the debates. President Reagan at times got rid of what his greatest weakness was. I mean the economy was turning around at this point. His greatest weakness was his age, 73 years old. Was he smart enough? Did he have it all together?
He did a joke. It killed. Everyone laughed. It's a great move to do. I think it effectively closed the door on that issue.
But I'll tell you, I'm a comedian. Telling a joke is risky. If I bomb, believe me, it sucks in front of a couple of hundred people. You do it in front of two million, five million, 10 million people and all of a sudden you don't look as approachable any more. You don't connect with people and the late night comedians will be mocking any candidate that does it.
I think comedy from Romney or Obama if done well about an issue, make people laugh at their own follies, perhaps, is a great way to engendering goodwill.
TUCHMAN: Dean, 20 years ago, this is one of my favorite moments in debate. Admiral James Stockdale, he was the VP candidate for Ross Perot. He had his own moment right off the bat. Listen to his opening statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADMIRAL JAMES STOCKDALE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Who am I? Why am I here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: This poor guy back then. I mean he got hammered after he said "Why am I here? What's going on?" That's classic too, right?
OBEIDALLAH: That's a classic. It's a question I ask myself often when I start in the morning, when I'm up this early. Who am i? Why am I here? He was just trying to make a point and trying to connect with people. Nobody knew Admiral Stockdale. He was Ross Perot's running mate. He was a third party candidate. He was trying to be funny, but the debate went on to be this guy was a little off- base on a lot of things.
That was really funny, but not a good way. There's a difference. There's jokes at your own expense or jokes cutting your opponent. This just paved the narrative that the guy was a little bit -- a little lost at times.
TUCHMAN: So the final thing really quickly, Dean --
OBEIDALLAH: Sure.
TUCHMAN: -- we're looking for some humor this Wednesday, right?
OBEIDALLAH: I am.
TUCHMAN: All right. Let's hope for some humor, some substance -- OBEIDALLAH: I'll be tweeting jokes, believe me. Go to Twitter @DeanComic during the debate. I will be mocking both of them almost equally. If you want some humor, and I'm hoping Obama and Romney will take a page like Ronald Reagan did or George Bush did.
TUCHMAN: Dean Obeidallah, thank you very much. It's nice.
OBEIDALLAH: Thanks, Gary.
TUCHMAN: Thank you very much for watching us today. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.
