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CNN Saturday Morning News
President Bush Holds Saturday Morning Discussion With Top Commanders
Aired October 21, 2006 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: The news is unfolding live this October 21st. Hello, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thank you for joining us.
HOLMES: Stay the course or make a change. With growing violence in Iraq, with two-and-a half weeks left until the elections, President Bush holds a Saturday morning discussion with his top commanders and speaks directly to the American people.
NGUYEN: What to do about Iraq, that's the question and that's the issue today, at a high-stakes decision between President Bush and his top military commanders.
CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano is standing by, and she joins us live from the White House with the latest on this.
Good morning, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Betty.
That's right, the White House is trying to downplay the significance of this meeting this morning, saying that these meetings take place every week. Usually, though, these generals appear via video conference, not so today. These generals appearing with President Bush for this meeting in person, and sources have told CNN that specifically, General John Abizaid, who is head of U.S. Central Command, was essentially summoned here to Washington just for this meeting.
Now, the White House released a photo of that meeting, which wrapped up earlier this morning. In attendance with the president in the Roosevelt Room here at the White House, from left to right, Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, his deputy, J.D. Crouch. Joining via video conference, General George Casey, Iraq adviser David Satterfield in the room, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, General Abizaid, as we mentioned, and General Peter Pace, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
Now this comes, of course, at a time when the violence in Iraq is showing no signs of letting up, and the political pressure on this administration has certainly ratcheted up.
Now this morning in his weekly radio address, President Bush insisted that, while he has no intentions of changing his overall goals when it comes to Iraq, that, in fact, his administration is open to making adjustments in tactics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE. W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: We have a strategy that allows us to be flexible, and to adapt to changing circumstances. We've changed the way we train the Iraqi security forces. We have changed the way we deliver reconstruction assistance in areas that had been cleared of terrorist influence, and we will continue to be flexible and make every necessary change to prevail in this struggle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now the president's defense of his Iraq strategy comes at a particularly deadly time for U.S. forces in Iraq. October proving to be a deadly month for U.S. forces, 75 U.S. troops have died so far.
Now, the pressure on the administration to change course is coming not just from Democrats, but also from some prominent Republican voices, and Republicans in Congress who are up for re- election are certainly nervous about this issue and how it will impact those congressional midterm elections.
So while the president himself remaining publicly resolute about this goal, saying that, in essence, the administration has not wavered from its strategy of wanting to see an Iraq that can defend itself, govern itself, sustain itself, and that will be an ally in the war on terrorism, the president taking great pains to emphasize that his administration is being flexible in its overall approach -- Betty.
NGUYEN: CNN's Elaine Quijano at the White House for us today. Elaine, thank you.
Like President Bush, the Democrats also are talking about Iraq today, but as you might expect, they have a very different take. We'll bring you an excerpt from this week's Democratic radio address a little later this hour.
HOLMES: With seventeen days left until the midterm elections, President Bush's policy in Iraq is facing, as you've been hearing, increasing skepticism, in some cases from members of the president's own party.
CNN's Brian Todd has that for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The president famously quoted as saying he won't leave Iraq even if the only ones still with him are his wife and dog. Is he getting closer to that tiny constituency? Listen to key members of his own party.
SEN. CHUCK HAGEL, (R) NEBRASKA: We are going to have to find a new strategy. The American people are not going to continue to support, sustain a policy that puts American troops in the middle of a civil war. SEN. JOHN WARNER, (R) VIRGINIA: In two or three months, if this hasn't come to fruition and if this level of violence is not under control and this government able to function, I think it's a responsibility of our government internally to determine is there a change of course that we should take.
TODD: Even Senator Kay Bailey-Hutchison a loyal Republican from the president's own state says it's time to think about partitioning Iraq into three parts, Shiites in the south and east, Sunni to the west and Kurdish to the north. And in the latest CNN poll a third of Republicans say they oppose the war, the highest percentage since the conflict began.
Analysts say many Republicans who had taken a wait and see approach are at the end of that rope now with the violence spiking. They say the Iraq war is by far the number one issue in this midterm election and GOP candidates are feeling the backlash on the campaign trail. Even the insurgents are playing to the election.
MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE IRAQ: We also realize there's a midterm election that is taking place in the United States and that extremists elements understand the power of the media.
TODD: Does it all mean a full-scale hardy revolt against the president's course in Iraq?
STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: I would say not yet a mass defection. Growing doubts, growing concerns. After the election if the Republicans take the hit that many of us think they will, then I think we will start to see those massive defections.
TODD: That period after the midterm elections is also when the Iraq's study group, led by former Secretary of State James Baker, is due to present its report on what needs to be done in Iraq. If Baker's team recommends a completely new course analysts say the GOP defections could accelerate.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And coming up at the half hour, we're going to give you a closer look at the situation inside Iraq. How badly are things going? And is there some way to turn things around? We're going to talk with retired General David Grange for that.
HOLMES: North Korea's nuclear threat still the focus of intense diplomatic efforts this weekend. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is now in Moscow, after wrapping up her trip to Asia. She's holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian leaders.
CNN's Zain Verjee is in the Russian capital -- Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi T.J. It's Condoleezza's Rice last stop on her trip, a trip aimed essentially at getting action, real tough action, on a U.N. Security Council resolution that imposed sanctions on North Korea after its nuclear test. At a briefing with reporters on the plane over here, you know, we really pressed her for a little more on this meeting with the Chinese state counselor Tam (ph), who met Kim Jong-Il over in Pyongyang. We asked, did Kim say he regretted the test? Did Kim Jong-Il say he would not test again. Condoleezza Rice essentially poured cold water on that, saying Tam did not tell me that Kim Jong-Il either apologized for the test or said he would not have ever test again. She also said that she wants to discuss the real hard, practical steps Russia is going to take to implement sanctions against North Korea.
You know, Russia and North Korea used to have a very strong relationship in the Soviet Days. They don't have that much influence anymore. I mean, they do share a short border. They're involved in six-party talks. Russia has a veto at the U.N. Security Council. But at the end of the day, China is the real player that has leverage when it comes to North Korea, and not Russia -- T.J.
HOLMES: Zain, do you think she saw this -- of course, China was some tough diplomacy maybe, but as maybe the Russian trip, the trip there as maybe the toughest leg of her trip? And also, is she walking away, or coming back home thinking she got accomplished what she wanted to get accomplished on this trip?
VERJEE: Well, in an interview yesterday with CNN, she feels that she's accomplished what she wanted to, that everyone is on board with enforcing the resolution. The question is, are they really going to do it? What action will they take? The devil's in the details. And she's got to look at the nuts and bolts and how effective it's going to be in squeezing North Korea at the end of the day.
One real important and possibly tough issue here for her is Iran. I mean, that's a very important position Russia has influence on Iran, on its nuclear program. Also it's got billions of dollars' worth of contract in building nuclear reactors in a place called Mushar (ph), for example, and contracts to build other reactors throughout Iran, very, very lucrative contracts. If Condoleezza Rice wants to get the Russians onboard, she's going to have to be able to do that, if they want to push through a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing sanctions on Iran. They're going to need Russia for that.
All right, our Zain Verjee. Zain, thank you so much. You've been traveling with the secretary of state this past week. Thank you so much for that reporting you've been doing out there. See you when you get back.
We move on to rehab, resignation, regret. Doesn't sound good. The top 10 low points of the Congress coming up.
NGUYEN: That's why it didn't sound that good.
Plus, a fiery blaze. Check it out. What left these rail cars hanging off of a bridge. (WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HOLMES: Do little, no nothing. That's how some people are describing the 109th Congress. From corruption to incompetence, the list of missteps is long.
CNN's congressional correspondent Joe Johns with the top 10 complaints.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Number ten -- all pay, no work. Every member of the House of Representatives makes at least $165,000 a year. So far, they have spent only 94 days in session. That's almost $1,800 a day. Nice work if you can get it.
Nine -- what illegal immigrants? Wasn't immigration reform supposed to be about the most important issue this year? And what did they do about it? They voted to build a fence.
Eight -- what are you wearing? The skanky way Florida Republican Mark Foley is reported to have talked to former congressional pages in electronic messages. And when he got caught, like a real a profile in courage, he announced he was gay, abused as a teenager by an unnamed priest, checked into alcohol rehab and left his colleagues to sort out the mess.
REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: And he deceived me, too.
JOHNS: Seven -- oh, say can you thieve? Duke Cunningham, the former fighter jock turned jailbird, once seemed like a poster child for patriotism, until it turned out the California Republican was on the take and getting paid with just about everything but the stars and stripes.
Six -- the booze made me do it. The congressional pilgrimage to rehab that featured some household names this year, including Foley, Ohio Republican Bob Ney -- more about his later -- and Rhode Island Democrat Patrick Kennedy. People wished them well, but were left wondering if rehab isn't just an easy way out.
Five -- addicted to pork. The Congress is going to have to face it, it's addicted to pork -- bridges to nowhere, a museum to honor the folks responsible for the New Orleans levees that failed, emergency money for non emergencies, and at the end a record deficit.
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA: The fellow over here with the yellow shirt...
JOHNS: Four -- the macaca moment. Senator George Allen of Virginia called a guy of Indian decent who was shadowing him macaca, then claimed he didn't know what it meant. Well, it means monkey.
Three -- throwing in the towel. Texas Republican Tom DeLay -- he was the House majority leader -- got indicted in Texas in a case that was far from watertight, denied wrongdoing and then up and quit. What's up with that? The Capitol's tough guy, "The Hammer," gave up before fighting it out in court.
Two -- frostbite, the case of the cold, hard cash. The feds said they videotaped Louisiana Democrat Bill Jefferson accepting $100,000 then found 90 grand in his freezer. They claim they're investigating several allegedly shady deals. He hasn't been charged with anything and says he hasn't done anything wrong.
And the winner is -- number one on the list of dubious accomplishments of the 109th Congress -- Jack Abramoff and Bob Ney, the corrupt couple, the lobbyist and the mayor of Capitol Hill, united by guilty pleas, things of value exchanged for official acts, plus a passion for golf, meals, tickets to sporting events and power.
Jack is out of the lobbying game, but Ney is still a congressman, still cashing paychecks until his colleagues throw him out. At $1,800 a day, who can blame him? A tip of the fedora to old Jack, Bob and a session that many would sooner forget.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Joe Johns' reports first aired on CNN's election special "Broken Government." You can join Jack Cafferty today at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, and again tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. for encore presentations, something you don't want to miss, and something you can only see on CNN.
NGUYEN: Some political ads, well, they're meant to frighten.
Not so scary without the audio there, but trust us, they were meant to frighten, and now there is a new GOP ad out there, making some asks, are Republicans banking on a play from the past to win this election?
HOLMES: And the strategy in Iraq, what does the U.S. do next?
NGUYEN: And should adoptive parents let the birth parents have a role in raising the child? It's an important question. Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
HOLMES: A political slugfest in Tennessee just took another nasty turn. Democratic Congressman Harold Ford Jr. and his Republican opponent, Bob Corker, faced off yesterday in Memphis. They're both fighting for a Senate seat. The encounter, though, a total surprise for the Republican candidate.
Details now from WMC's Ursula Madden. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
URSULA MADDEN, REPORTER, WMC-TV (voice over): He wasn't invited but he came anyway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to get this box off our premises, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now.
MADDEN: Harold Ford Jr. crashed opponent Bob Corker's news conference in Memphis. The two shook hands, but there was nothing civil about this meet and greet.
BOB CORKER (R), SENATE CANDIDATE: I can't even talk about ethics. And I have a press conference, and I think it's a true sign of desperation that you would pull your bus up when I am having a press conference.
HAROLD FORD JR. (D), TENNESSEE: No, sir. I can never find you anywhere in the state.
MADDEN: What's desperate, says Ford, is Corker's latest ad knocking his family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has Junior ever had a job outside of politics?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Ford family business is politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But he does look good on TV.
MADDEN: Ford wanted to debate Corker on the spot, but Corker didn't take the bait.
FORD: Well, tell me, what do you think about this Iraq thing? I know you're here to talk about my family. I thought you made a promise right after...
CORKER: No, no, no, I'm here to talk about you.
MADDEN: Ford insists showing up at Corker's news conference was not a breach of campaign etiquette, nor was it a desperate move.
FORD: I mean, every pull of the country shows us running ahead. Every poll in the state demonstrates it.
Go vote early.
MADDEN: But Ford knows the lead in those polls is slim. So he rallied in downtown Memphis to push people to vote early.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: And again, that was Ursula Madden from WMC reporting for us. And both could actually run into each other again today. They both plan to tailgate in Knoxville as the Tennessee Volunteers take on the Alabama Crimson Tide.
NGUYEN: That's going to get interesting.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: How do you solve a problem like Iraq? Well, the top generals meeting with the president today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: We have a secretary of defense who is not credible any longer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right, Hillary Clinton taking on Rumsfeld in a heated New York Senate debate.
HOLMES: And is Malawi bending the adoption rules for Madonna. Stick around. You're in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
TJ HOLMES: A high level discussion with very high stakes. President Bush discusses the growing violence in Iraq during a teleconference today with top U.S. commanders. In his weekly radio address, the president said victory remains his goal but he said he'll be flexible as he considers strategies to achieve that goal.
Today's Democratic response was offered by Connecticut congressional candidate Diane Farrell, who called on President Bush to fire Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and to change U.S. policies in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANE FARRELL CONG. CANDIDATE, (D) CONNECTICUT: An arbitrary departure date could be dangerous but real goals for the new Iraqi government and its army are necessary. Iraqis need a system that reflects the vast cultural and religious differences among them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Earlier today I discussed the situation in Iraq with CNN military analyst retired General David Grange and I started by asking what the U.S. can do to turn things around.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY RET.: This is not an easy task, and most of the people that criticize the strategy now don't really provide any coherent solutions to what to do. I mean, it's a tough set. It's no doubt about it. But really, what has to happen is do some things that may be a little unexpected, unusual that would keep the enemies off balance.
NGUYEN: What do you mean by that?
GRANGE: For instance, let me just give you an example, that you may reinforce in an area unexpectedly of thousands of soldiers, even if it's for a short period of time, to do something even if it's just an exercise, the appearance, the perception is that maybe you're reinforcing. You have to make sure you show these people that you're not going to just stop what you're doing and leave. It may be the decision that we leave, I don't know, but you don't want to give right now our opponents that perception, that our will is diminishing and we're getting ready to depart.
NGUYEN: Or that it's just business as usual and things are going to remain the same. But let me ask you, obviously the situation is taking precedence. There's a meeting going on right now, President Bush meeting with General Abizaid, meeting with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top generals to talk about the strategy in Iraq. This is a weekend meeting and although the White House would like to say, you know, this happens weekly, what are your thoughts about this meeting? Is it just ironic that it's occurring now with all of the stepped up violence or what do you see in the fact that this meeting is occurring right now?
GRANGE: Well, having served for 30 years, a weekend meeting is not unusual. You meet all the time to adjust what you're going to do, and so you don't Saturday and Sunday is just like a Monday and Tuesday quite often, so it's really not an unusual meeting, but the thing is that they know that there has to be some type of change. There has to be something to be done with the militias, something to be done with the way forward, because right now, the status quo troop on troop, attrition-type war is just going to continue to have casualties, and continue to reduce America's resolve to stay in the fight. Now, the casualties between the Sunni and Shia and Kurds as well, that's going to continue no matter what we do. That's not going to go away, that part of it, but our piece of it, obviously, there has to be some kind of change in status quo.
NGUYEN: Maintaining security is key. While we don't know exactly what is being discussed detail by detail in this meeting with the president and his top generals, you have access to a lot of people in the know. You served a lot of time in the military and you stay in contact with many people still serving, so what are they saying? What are the ideas being bounced around about a solution to the situation in Iraq?
GRANGE: Sure. One item that not many people want to hear anymore, especially in some of the people in Congress is that well you have to give a little bit more time. We do have to give the elected government some time and then we just monitor their resolve, their willingness to solve this, and in fact, if that starts to diminish, now that they're a sovereign nation again, we have to kind of take their lead and that may be a decision that we leave. The other is we have to keep the influence of Iran and in particular, but also Syria from interfering, which they're doing considerably right now, especially with the Shia militias. We have to continue to take down terrorists that are in the country, and the comment made earlier that it's a magnet for terrorists. That's not really a bad thing, because they're all in one place right now, not all but a good majority of them. Tactically that's not a bad thing. The other is we support the security forces of Iraq, where and when needed and then we have to keep presence in the region, because the region is a powder keg. It's going to be that way, would have been that way in we were in Iraq or not and so we have to keep presence to either destroy, disrupt or deny those that want to do things to other nation states that the world international community does not desire to happen, or us, because of the strategic importance of this part of the world.
NGUYEN: A lot of ideas, there, general. We'll see how it plays out. We appreciate your time though this morning.
GRANGE: My pleasure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Democrats certainly hoping the Iraq war will be a key issue in next month's elections. Republicans are trying to refocus the discussion. CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider has that for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republicans won the 2002 and 2004 elections on the terrorism issue. Now, the Republican National Committee has made an ad which they say will run on national cable TV, including CNN Sunday and Monday. The ad has sound effects but no spoken words. And this phrase used in the final phrase. "These are the stakes," the same words used in one of the most famous political ads in American history.
1964 POLITICAL AD: Six, eight, nine, nine --
Four, three, two, one, zero.
These are the stakes. To make a world in which all of God's children can live or to go into darkness.
SCNEIDER: The 1964 ad aired only once, but it was highly controversial. So is the new Republican ad. The Democratic National Committee calls it quote, a shameful ad invoking the image of despicable terrorists to scare the American people. Ads that evoke fear always attract attention and controversy, like this ad from the 1984 Ronald Reagan campaign.
1984 REAGAN POLITICAL AD: There is a bear in the woods. For some people, the bear is easy to see. Others don't see it at all.
SCHNEIDER: And this one, from the 2004 Bush campaign.
2004 BUSH POLITICAL AD: And weakness attracts those who are waiting to do America harm.
SCHNEIDER: We asked an advertising professional, does fear work? With some people it does.
ROBBIE VORHAUS, PRES., VORHAUS COMMUNICATIONS: They're trying to reach people who continue to believe that this war is about terrorism and that there are people lurking in the shadows, ready to take our lives. Then it's effective. If you're a person who believes as many do that we've got better things to do than worry about this type of fear, it's going to backfire.
SCHNEIDER: Now, we're in the fourth year of the war in Iraq. Voters say it has not made them feel more secure. That's what makes this election different from the last two. Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: That's Bill Schneider. You know him. He's a part of the best political team here on television. We've got John King, Wolf Blitzer, we've got a crew here.
NGUYEN: We have them all.
HOLMES: And we call them the best political team on television.
NGUYEN: Don't forget it.
HOLMES: Don't forget it. Please don't. We're not going to let you. We got complete coverage of the midterm elections of course. You can stay here with CNN for all of that.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, Senator Hillary Clinton is considered a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, but first, she is trying to get reelected in New York. She debated her Republican opponent John Spencer in Rochester last night. The subjects, well, they included the Iraq war and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D) NEW YORK: You know in the middle of the civil war the bloodiest war that our nation ever fought, Abraham Lincoln did not hesitate to change generals. We have a secretary of Defense who is not credible any longer. We need to change the secretary of Defense, to send a signal to the rest of the world that we can do better than what we're doing.
JOHN SPENCER (R) NEW YORK SENATE CANDIDATE: Here's the critical point. Abraham Lincoln changed generals. He was president. It wasn't done by senators or Congress people. The commander in chief made the decision, and let's get back to structure here. You're not president yet, Mrs. Clinton. So do not call for that. The president was put there by the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: And John Spencer is the former mayor of Yonkers, New York.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She does say that she will take that baby back to understand its culture, to understand his roots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Apparently that's not good enough for some in Malawi. We'll tell you about Madonna's adoption problem.
NGUYEN: Plus, another adoption controversy, should birth parents play a role in a child's life? The news keeps coming right here in the newsroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: In just a moment we'll talk with the author of a book on open adoption where the child keeps in touch with the birth parent. That concept is welcomed by some, criticized by others. But first, an adoption causing an international controversy. Paula Hancocks looks at the case involving Madonna and child.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): London's Heathrow airport, the baby, who last week was just another of Africa's orphans. He's now part of Madonna's world of wealth and celebrity. One-year- old David Banda with a body guard and police protection swaps poverty in rural Malawi to the pop star's central London mansion. Pop star Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie say they've been given temporary custody of little David and plan on adopting him. But human rights groups in Malawi are taking legal action, claiming Madonna's adoption application has been illegally fast-tracked. Malawian law prohibits adoptions by nonresidents. Typically people who want to adopt must spend 18 months in the country being evaluated by child welfare workers. But Madonna was granted custody of baby David last week, due to what her lawyers called quote special circumstances. Human rights organizations are furious Madonna has been allowed to take David out of Malawi.
JUSTIN DZONI, CHMN, MALAWI HUMAN RIGHTS CMTE: (INAUDIBLE) If the court agrees with us, (INAUDIBLE) but to bring David back and that is more disturbing because a new life would have begun for David.
HANCOCKS: Some charities are delighted Madonna has publicized the plight of some 900,000 orphans in Malawi. Madonna pledged $3 million to help Malawi's orphans and her charity raising Malawi is setting up an orphan center.
HANNAH PERRY, HEAT MAGAZINE: She's been setting up orphanages over there. She's been doing a lot of work out there and she does say that she will take the baby back to understand his culture, to understand his roots and I think we have to bear that in mind. HANCOCKS: Adoption experts now say that Madonna and Guy Ritchie will face a tough process of checks before they're formally allowed to adopt the one-year-old. That process could take up to two years to complete. Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Madonna says she'll make sure her adopted son learns about his heritage. But there's another kind of connection some adoptive parents choose to maintain, a child's ties with birth parents. Micky Duxbury advocates this kind of open adoption and has written a book called "Making Room in Our Hearts" and she joins us now live from San Francisco. Thank you so much for being here. Why would you say this open adoption, the child has a connection of course to the adoptive parents but keeps the connection to the birth parents. Why is that the way to go?
MICKY DUXBURY, AUTHOR, "MAKING ROOM IN OUR HEARTS": Well, we're not saying that it's the only way to go or that it should happen in all circumstances. But we do know from research and studies and from adoptive people speaking for the last 50 years that many adoptive persons, throughout their lives, face psychological challenges because of not knowing who they are, in their fullest sense, knowing where they came from, why they were given up and issues around identity. Now, of course, this isn't true for all adoptive persons, but the reality is that there's many families across the country that are doing these kinds of adoptions and that some of the purpose of the book is to support them, so they can learn from each other and understand some of the ways that they can manage these very complex relationships.
HOLMES: But is it possible for them to keep those, to know where they're from, to know their history, their past, why they were given up without still having to have another family or another parent to have to go to? You can understand it and know it without having to still have that one on one personal relationship with someone other than your adoptive parents.
DUXBURY: Well, that's a very good question, because the issue is not really, these people, even though we call them birth parents, they have birthed the adoptive person, they're not parents. That's one of the biggest myths around openness is that adoptive parents won't be the real parents if there's a birth parent involved. I want to be very clear that no one's advocating in none of the families I've interviewed and I've interviewed over 100 across the country, experienced the birth parent as a parent. The adoptive parents are the parents. The adopted children and teens and young adults who I've interviewed, they're very clear. Why would be confused? I know the difference between an aunt and a grandmother. My birth parent is a friend. She's someone I know. She's someone that created me and I have a relationship with her, just like other extended family, but she's not my parent. My parents are the people that have raised me and are always there for me. So it's even though we use the same word, adoptive parent, and birth parent, there are only one set of parents. So it's really about forming relationships with the people that gave you life, and that you know some of you who are and what your identity is.
HOLMES: You're an adoptive parent as well.
DUXBURY: Yes.
HOLMES: And did you choose to go with the open adoption? How did it work for you?
DUXBURY: Actually, we did start out in an open adoption, that's some of why I wrote the book. This birth mother was not adequately really supported and educated by adoption professionals about what the challenges are of maintaining relationships over time. Some of the purpose of the book is to also speak to adoption with professionals across country, some of whom really uphold high standards of preparing birth and adoptive parents to form healthy relationships, and some of whom take a, so take it or leave it, maybe you can send postcards or photos and letters once a year. We're saying that for an adopted people, that they're knowing -- their ability to form a real relationship and it's not as a parent, but to know some of where they come from. That may not be always with a birth parent. The birth parent may not be capable of having a healthy relationship, so maybe there's a birth grandmother involved in the picture or an aunt, or sometimes there's a sibling.
HOLMES: A complex subject here, I wish we could certainly spend a lot more time discussing it with you, but again, Micky -- go ahead?
DUXBURY: I just want to say the web page is www.routledge.com and that's the publisher and they can get more information on that website.
HOLMES: All right and again the name of that book is "Making Room in Our Hearts." Micky Duxbury, really, thank you for spending some time with us and talking us through what we know for a lot of folks is a tough subject and a tough circumstance to go through, but thank you so much.
DUXBURY: Thank you.
NGUYEN: We're making room in our hearts and space up here for Fredricka Whitfield.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you? So far away. I can't get to you. There's a lot of stuff down here.
NGUYEN: You got a lot coming up.
WHITFIELD: I still feel close to you guys.
NGUYEN: That's what matters, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up in the noon hour, all right, so he was convicted, 10 counts of fraud, but why the late founder of Enron, Ken Lay, is now dying an innocent man. You better believe a lot of his former employees want to know, are they still going to be able to get their money? And why a 67-year-old lawyer who was sentenced to 30 years for assisting her terrorist clients, how she got her sentence significantly reduced. This is indeed a complex case. We'll be able to explain to you exactly why this happened and what it all means. All that coming up at the top of the noon hour.
NGUYEN: That's good stuff. Fred, we'll be watching. Thank you. See you then. And coming up next, do you want to go along for a wild ride?
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) What exactly are --
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: Climatologists are saying something like this. We're going to talk to Veronica.
NGUYEN: Veronica de la Cruz has the latest on this.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like you were just saying, climatologists are saying that you may have to come along for that wild ride, whether you like to or not. I've got the details next. You want to stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And of course that animation means we're going to see what people are watching online.
NGUYEN: Is that what that means?
HOLMES: I'm learning.
NGUYEN: Veronica de la Cruz joins us now.
DE LA CRUZ: You're so hard on him. You're just cracking the whip over there. I thought I was hard on you.
NGUYEN: You're going to love me for it later.
DE LA CRUZ: And Fredricka saying it too.
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE)
DE LA CRUZ: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: See?
NGUYEN: ... peanut gallery.
DE LA CRUZ: We need to lay off, all right TJ.
HOLMES: Thank you all.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, dot com desk, we're keeping our browsers pointed to the weather right now. A couple of stories that I wanted to share with you on that front. Let's go start with this one in Buffalo. You might remember all that snow that they had there last week. Well, this is a picture of the cleanup. A couple of the 100- year-old maples that line the street didn't make it. You can see trees upon trees, stacked on top of each other and this picture was sent to us by I-reporter Lea Militelo (ph) who says that they had to call on the National Guard to help clear all the debris.
From the cleanup in buffalo to the snow in Colorado, take a look at this video. Skiers, snowboarders, they are loving it!
NGUYEN: Oh, yeah.
DE LA CRUZ: They are loving it. Some ski resorts are saying that people are already lining up to buy ski school passes which normally doesn't happen until mid-November. So what's going on here? Why is this happening so early in the year? You guys have any answers?
NGUYEN: I defer to Reynolds Wolf.
DE LA CRUZ: All right and the climatologists who are pointing to global warming. This story, which is one of the most popular right now on cnn.com, it talks about all the extreme weather, why it's taking place. It says the world, especially the western U.S., the Mediterranean and Brazil, will likely suffer more extended droughts, heavier rainfall, and longer heat waves over the next century. The study will be published in the December issue of "Climatic Change." And of course, you can find all of the stories online at cnn.com and that probably is a question that we want to pose to Reynolds Wolf, see what his take is.
HOLMES: Where is Reynolds right now?
DE LA CRUZ: Where is Reynolds Wolf?
NGUYEN: Reynolds is working very hard. We can't exactly find him. But you know what? We'll think about it and get to it tomorrow. You'll have to watch for that. How is that for an extended piece?
DE LA CRUZ: The newsroom continues with Fredricka Whitfield.
NGUYEN: She may have the answer to it.
DE LA CRUZ: Putting Fredricka on the spot now.
NGUYEN: Sorry, what was the question, is what she says. Sure you didn't hear it, Fred.
HOLMES: She's looking that up right now and going to get to that after the break.
First up though, Gerri Willis is going to tell you how to save some money on your electric bill this winter. We will see you back here tomorrow.
NGUYEN: Have a great day. GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Knowing thousand read your electric meter could pay off big time this winter. Start monitoring the meter yourself. This will help you get a better idea of when you're using the most electricity and where you can cut back. Most electricity bills only show the breakdown by month. OK, so most electric meters have five dials. The unit of measurements is the kilowatt hour.
Read the dials from left to right and if any arrows fall between two numbers, record the lower of the two. Be aware of rate fluctuations between day and night time hours and plan your energy consumption accordingly. I'm Gerri Willis and that's your tip of the day.
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