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CNN Wolf Blitzer Reports
Bolton End Runs Senate to U.N. Post; King Abdullah Becomes New Saudi Ruler; Discovery Crew May Need to Repair Shuttle; Rafael Palmeiro Suspended for Steroids; Atkins Nutritionals Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Aired August 01, 2005 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now. A baseball shocker. Just months after swearing before the United States Congress that he never used steroids, superstar Rafael Palmeiro is suspended from Major League Baseball after testing positive for steroids.
Stand by for hard news on WOLF BLITZER REPORTS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): End run. The president goes around the Senate to get his man into the United Nations.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm sending Ambassador Bolton to New York with my complete confidence.
BLITZER: Angry Democrats call it an abuse of power.
Saudi succession. One king dies, and another aging ruler takes the throne. But with the price of oil and terror concerns on the rise, what's going on behind the scenes?
Lean times. The company founded by diet doctor Robert Atkins heads into bankruptcy. Was it all just another fad?
ANNOUNCER: This is WOLF BLITZER REPORTS for Monday, August 1, 2005.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Thanks very much for joining us.
It was a knock down, drag out fight. Democrats called John Bolton unfit for the job of representing the United States before the world body, portraying as an abusive, undiplomatic diplomat.
President Bush stood by him as the right person for the job of cleaning up the United Nations. Now, bypassing the United States Congress, the president gets his way for the time being.
Let's go live to our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, with the Judge Roberts confirmation process coming up, it really was a political risk here, but White House aides say that it is a risk the president felt that he could afford to take.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Expressing frustration and defiance, President Bush was clear he'd run out of patience. After a five-month impasse with Senate Democrats over his pick for U.N. ambassador, Mr. Bush sidestepped the Senate to put John Bolton in place.
BUSH: This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform. So today I've used my constitutional authority to appoint John Bolton to serve as America's ambassador to the United Nations.
MALVEAUX: The recess appointment allows Bolton to serve without the Senate's approval until January 2007. The career diplomat made a brief and humble statement before taking the oath of office.
JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: I am prepared to work tirelessly to carry out the agenda and initiatives that you and Secretary Rice direct.
MALVEAUX: Democrats, who accused Bolton of abusing subordinates, manipulating intelligence and brow beating critics, were furious. Senator Ted Kennedy called it "a devious maneuver that evades the constitutional requirement of Senate consent and only further darkens the cloud over Mr. Bolton's credibility at the U.N."
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: This is a person who has serious credibility problems. They're sending him up at a critical time: Iran, Iraq, North Korea, the Middle East, Afghanistan, reform issues.
MALVEAUX: But the White House insisted the Democrats left Mr. Bush with no choice.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It wasn't more documents that they wanted. They just wanted to play politics with this position.
MALVEAUX: Democrats and the White House deadlocked over intelligence records, which Democrats believed would have shown whether Bolton used his position to intimidate others.
The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said, after two hearings, 35 witnesses, and 1,000 pages of testimony, senators could not break the impasse.
Senator Dick Lugar said, "Although I would have preferred an up or down Senate confirmation vote, the president's appointment was necessary."
SEN. NORM COLEMAN (R), MINNESOTA: And John Bolton is not a guy to be weakened, by the way. He's a strong voice. That's what the president wants and that's what America needs right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MALVEAUX: Now, the battle over Bolton, of course, crossed party lines. That is when Senator George Voinovich of Ohio actually weighed in, splitting from the party as well as from the president. He also issued his statement today, saying he was disappointed in the recess appointment. He said that, in his words, that this would add to Bolton's baggage and his lack of credibility with the United Nations.
But Wolf, he also added that this is done, that is the president's choice, so he'll do everything in his power to support Bolton -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Suzanne Malveaux reporting for us. Thank you, Suzanne.
Angry Democrats, as Suzanne just pointing it -- pointed out, are calling it an abuse of power. But President Bush is well within his constitutional power in sending John Bolton to the U.N.
It's called a recess appointment, because it takes place when the Senate is not in session and can't do anything about it. The appointment is temporary, lasting until the end of the current full session of Congress or until the Senate confirms a permanent replacement, whichever comes first. In this case Bolton would serve through the end of next year.
Presidents take advantage of this perk all of the time. Dwight Eisenhower used it to appoint three Supreme Court justices. John Kennedy used it to send a future Supreme Court justice to a federal appeals court. Ronald Reagan made 240 recess appointments. Bill Clinton, 140, including an ambassador to Saudi Arabia, a cabinet secretary and a federal judge.
The current president so far has made 110 recess appointments. He made those in his first term alone, including two federal judges.
Abuse of power or one of the perks of power? I'll discuss the Bolton appointment. That's coming up with David Gergen, an adviser to four presidents. That will happen later this hour.
Crude oil shot up to a record high today, briefly topping $62 a barrel in New York before settling in at $61.57 a barrel. The jolt was due in part to the death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd and concerns over longer term Saudi policy. So far no surprises in the Saudi transition.
Let's go live to our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel -- Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Absolutely no surprise, and that's because King Fahd had been incapacitated for the last decade, Crown Prince Abdullah had been the de facto ruler.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL (voice-over): The succession was seamless and predictable.
TURKI AL-FAISAL, SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Crown Prince Abdullah has become king, and His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, has become crown prince.
KOPPEL: But King Abdullah is 81 years old, just one year younger than his now deceased brother, King Fahd. The new crown prince is 77.
RACHEL BRONSON, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: All of these guys are old. And the question is how long we have with Crown Prince Abdullah. Crown Prince Abdullah seems to be somebody that the United States can work with. And the longer we have him, the better.
KOPPEL: Saudi watchers are already looking to the next generation, the grandsons of King Abdul Aziz, the founder of the modern Saudi kingdom, for clues as to who may be the kingdom's future rulers. Among the two best known, Saud Al-Faisal, the kingdom's current foreign minister, and his brother, Turki Al-Faisal, tapped to become the next Saudi ambassador to Washington.
BRONSON: We know that the Al-Faisal family tends to be more Western looking, very comfortable interacting with the West and from a line that understands the need for reform in the kingdom.
KOPPEL: For 60 year,s U.S. dependence on Saudi oil has been the foundation of the U.S.-Saudi alliance. With gas prices in the U.S. continuing to rise, that's unlikely to change.
After 9/11, U.S.-Saudi relations hit an all-time low, but the two allies have since rebounded, broadening their relationship to include the war on terror. Now U.S. demands for more political reform have become a sore spot.
But publicly, the Bush administration says it will be business as usual with King Abdullah on the thrown.
TOM CASEY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: I'd say the state of Saudi Arabian-U.S. relations continues to be excellent.
KOPPEL: One difference, experts say: King Abdullah may not be as accommodating of the U.S. as he was under his brother's rule.
BRONSON: Abdullah is going to be harder negotiator, a harder bargainer, but I think that will actually lead to a healthier relationship, because he will be mindful of what his population can take.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: And while it may take longer to negotiate deals with King Abdullah, experts say just as oil ties the U.S. to Saudi Arabia, Abdullah knows the kingdom's foreign policy interests tie it to the United States -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Andrea Koppel, reporting for us from the State Department. Andrea, thanks very much. A very eventful day for the Space Shuttle Discovery that could pan out to be a more eventful week than expected. Space walkers successfully performed a much needed repair on the International Space Station.
Meanwhile, everyone is trying to decide what to do about a pair of potentially hazardous flaws on the orbiter's underside.
CNN's John Zarrella is following the story for us from the Johnson Space Center near Houston, Texas, with more -- John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, in fact, that's right. Two successful space walks are down. A third one to go on Wednesday. During that first space walk, of course, they changed out a gyroscope today.
As part of the third space walk, discussion going on right now and we may know in the next couple of hours, is whether to have astronauts pull out, remove two pieces of fabric, called gap fillers. And the question right now that NASA is debating is whether, in fact, they need to be pulled.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIRE STRAITS, MUSICIANS (singing): Do the walk. Do the walk on life.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): A fitting wakeup call for the crew of Shuttle Discovery, with a space walk the highlight of today's agenda.
Astronauts Steve Robinson and Soichi Noguchi spent five hours replacing a broken gyroscope on the International Space Station. The spinning wheel is one of four that helps steer the station, but recently only two of the gyroscopes have been working. Another was repaired during Saturday's space walk.
Now attention turns to the shuttle itself and another potential problem: what's known as gap fillers, which separate the thousands of thermal tiles on the shuttle's belly. The filler is sticking out in two areas, with one piece protruding about an inch, the other less.
NASA officials say anything over a quarter of an inch is potential cause for concern. But they stress that shuttles have flown safely with exposed fillers numerous times. Still, they may opt to have the astronauts fix it during Wednesday's scheduled space walk.
CINDY BEGLEY, SPACE WALK OFFICER: I don't have all of the final details of what the team worked up, but I'll give you just an idea. The first attempt is going to be to pull it out. And we don't expect that to take a lot of force. If it seems to be taking a lot of force, then we're going to look at cutting it off.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Now, unless there is some eleventh hour change, Wolf, from everything we've been hearing, the way NASA officials the past two days have been phrasing everything, it appears they are moving in the direction of going ahead and adding, as part of that space walk on Wednesday, this effort where one astronaut will ride the robotic arm boom underneath the space shuttle and will, literally, like a dentist, go in there and pull these gap fillers out. If they can't, they can't do that, they'll file them down -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. We'll watch and see what happens. John Zarrella, reporting for us. Thanks, John, very much.
Emphatic denials, now a surprise twist. We'll show you why a Major League star is being suspended from baseball.
Also, it sparked the low-carb craze. Now a stunning turnaround for Atkins.
Plus a former vice president moves to TV. We'll show you why Al Gore -- what he's up to right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're following this developing story out of London. There were more arrests today in the London terror investigation. British police say they picked up two men in connection with last month's botched bombings in the transit system. A police spokesman says the arrests were made at homes in south London. The men are being held on suspicion of the commission, preparation of instigation of acts of terrorism.
The four main bombing suspects are already in police custody in London and Rome. More on the story as we get it
Here in the United States, one of baseball's biggest stars was suspended today after testing positive for steroids. News of Rafael Palmeiro's 10-day suspension comes less than five months after the Baltimore Orioles slugger told Congress he had never used steroids.
CNN's Kimberly Osias is joining us now, live from Camden Yards in Baltimore with more -- Kimberly.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I'll tell you, a tough day for Orioles fans. Not only did the club lose a four-game sweep to the Chicago White Sox, but star first baseman Rafael Palmeiro serving the first day of a 10-day suspension for using steroids.
What is interesting here, Wolf, is the timing. As you mentioned, he testified back in March to Congress, adamantly denying any steroid abuse, pointing his finger to the panel.
And also, just two weeks ago Palmeiro hit a major 18-year career milestone, joining the ranks of greats like Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Eddie Murray, by having 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. Those three men are in the Hall of Fame. Some discussion that Palmeiro might join those men under a bit of a cloud now.
He also spoke out on a conference call to press earlier, reiterating what he said in Congress but saying that he never intentionally took steroids. Here's a listen to what he said then and today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL PALMIERO, BALTIMORE ORIOLES PLAYER: I'll be brief in my remarks today. Let me start by telling you this. I have never used steroids, period. I do not know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never.
Yes, it is an embarrassing situation. It's very unfortunate that this had to happen to me, especially in, you know, this year, thinking that it was going to be my last year and knowing that I was going to get the 3,000 hits. And, you know, I felt good about it.
I will face it. I will face it like a man. And I will take my punishment. And I will -- and I will come back strong, and I will come back and help my team when I get back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OSIAS: And the team did speak out earlier, expressing their disappointment but saying they will band together behind Rafie. For his part Mr. Palmeiro will spend this time with his wife and his two sons -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Kimberly Osias in Baltimore with that. Thanks very much, Kimberly.
Say it ain't so. Rafael Palmeiro recently moved into very elite company in baseball's record books and has been projected, as Kimberly just said, as a first ballot Hall of Famer. What happens now?
Let's get some perspective from veteran sportscaster Charlie Steiner. He's the play by may -- play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers, now in Washington.
Charlie, give us some perspective. How big of a deal is this?
CHARLIE STEINER, L.A. DODGERS ANNOUNCER: It's a real big deal. I guess to begin at the beginning, on the stupid meter it's off the charts. Here's a guy who goes before the Congress in March and says, "I've never done steroids."
And today he comes back and says, and couches it, "I've never knowingly done steroids."
His place in the Hall of Fame, which appeared to be secure up until 24 hours ago, certainly is now very much a question mark.
BLITZER: And it says a lot about baseball. Because all of these other stars, question marks have been added to their records, to their history, and now Rafael Palmeiro.
STEINER: What's going to happen, what has happened, what's going to continue to happen is if a player suddenly has a surge in offensive numbers, if he puts on a lot of weight, if he takes off a lot of weight, for various reasons, questions inevitably will come up, whether they are innocent or guilty.
And because of today, one of the game's biggest stars, who appeared to be a sure-fire Hall of Famer up until, as you said, just a few hours ago, everything comes into question and should.
BLITZER: Is there -- is it possible, though, that he could have been taking some other medication, and he didn't know that it would show positive for steroids? I guess that's his argument, that he didn't knowingly know it was steroids, but he was taking something else that shows up in the tests as steroids.
STEINER: Well, I suppose that's -- you know, if I'm him, that would be my defense, too. But he has apparently flunked a test, flunked a ruling by an arbitrator. And now he has been suspended. So yes, there could be some innocence in all of this, but it would appear on the surface there isn't.
BLITZER: And I'm sure Major League Baseball, which conducts these tests, and the union, they all look at this very closely. And they came down and said he's suspended for 10 games.
STEINER: Baseball can -- it's been embarrassed enough by all of this. The last thing in the world they can do is falsely accuse one of its biggest stars of doing something that appears to be illegal.
BLITZER: So he comes back and let's say he tests positive down the road again. What's the next phase in the punishment?
STEINER: Somebody really, really stupid. Then he would face, as I understand it -- the negotiations are still going on between the Players Association and Major League Baseball. If it were up to the commissioner, he would be suspended for 50 or 100 games.
But at this point, no matter what happens to Rafael Palmeiro, forever now he will be stained by the steroid allegation, and he will be wearing that scarlet letter, the scarlet letter.
BLITZER: His career, he's 40 years old. Maybe -- he said this is going to be his last year. Maybe another year. I guess he just wanted to -- if in fact, he did do this, he wanted to get into the record books with a little bit better record than would have normally been the situation.
STEINER: I wouldn't even begin to try to figure out what his motives were, but all I know is, whether he likes it or not, he is forever stained with a scarlet letter and that letter is "S."
BLITZER: And let's hope that sends a powerful message out to the other ball players. This is not a good idea.
STEINER: I was with several Dodgers this afternoon before we came over. And they all had the same reaction. We can't believe it.
BLITZER: Charlie Steiner is in town to do the play-by-play for the Dodgers-Nats game, starting -- three-game starting tomorrow.
STEINER: Yes.
BLITZER: We'll be talking. Thanks very much, Charlie.
Death of a king. An aging ruler replaces another in Saudi Arabia. Can the kingdom keep the lid on oil prices and terrorism?
Gang warfare erupting after the death of Sudan's vice president. Will it lead to a renewal of civil war?
The company behind the Atkins Diet may have to slim down to stay in business. But can the diet keep you slim? Much more coming up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: With the death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah has become king. He's been the de facto ruler, though, for years. So will anything really change now?
Thomas Lippmann is with the Middle East Institute here in Washington. He's a former "Washington Post" reporter, the author of the book, "Inside the Mirage: America's Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia."
Tom, thanks very much for joining us.
THOMAS LIPPMANN, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: My pleasure to be here.
BLITZER: Give us your sense. In the short-term, does it make a lot of difference that there's a new king, King Abdullah?
LIPPMANN: I think everyone has agreed today that in the short term you won't see any dramatic changes, because Abdullah has been the architect of Saudi policy and the man effectively running the country for pretty much the last decade. In the short term, that is as long as Abdullah stays healthy, I don't think you'll see dramatic changes, internally or externally.
BLITZER: He's not necessarily all that healthy. We saw him at the Crawford Ranch with the president a few months back. The president had to hold his hand sort of to help him up some stairs.
LIPPMANN: That's true. But I saw him stand in a receiving line down there and shake 1,000 hands.
BLITZER: So maybe he's a little bit healthier than initial impressions would give?
LIPPMANN: Yes. And I think he's also healthier than his new number two, Prince Sultan.
BLITZER: The new crown prince.
LIPPMANN: The new crown prince. He's next in line.
BLITZER: He's the defense minister.
LIPPMANN: He's the defense minister. He's now the next in line designated by Abdullah, but he also has been ill. And both of these gentlemen are in their early 80's. We don't know what's going to happen after that.
BLITZER: So is there any hint at all who takes over? Is there a line of succession after this crown prince, Prince Sultan? Who takes over after that?
LIPPMANN: The law says that the most upright among the descendants of King Abdul Aziz, the founding king, and that that person is designated by the king. So it's up to the king. And we don't know. There's no obligation to designate a successor after Sultan at this point. It might be politically advisable for them to do that or it might be politically too delicate.
BLITZER: I assume U.S.-Saudi relations under the new King Abdullah basically remain the same, since Abdullah as crown prince was running the show in Saudi Arabia all these recent years.
What about the new crown prince, Prince Sultan? Is he considered someone as steadily pro-American as some of these other leaders?
LIPPMANN: I think pretty much so, but I think he's also considered to be a person who has a lot more baggage than Abdullah does. You know, Sultan has so much money and all of the questions about his ostentatious lifestyle. I mean, anybody that can put up $350 million cash to build a rehabilitation hospital, you know, is somebody who just lives in a different area.
BLITZER: The one leader in Saudi Arabia in the royal family, the House of Saud, that Americans over the years, and you know this, have expressed concern about, Prince Naif, the interior minister. Why are they suspicious of him?
LIPPMANN: Well, Naif, you know, keeps saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. He's the man who said Zionists were probably responsible for 9/11. Naif is a very erratic person and a very hard- line and kind of retrograde throwback to the old type of Saudi that we're not so comfortable with.
BLITZER: And that's the concern. Now there's this push for democracy, and is this going to play out? The House of Saud, how stable, how secure is it, in your assessment, over the coming years?
LIPPMANN: Even if you -- even in the manifestos of the most outspoken dissenters, there's no call for abolition of a monarchy or for any kind of constitutional change in that way.
As long as the House of Saud can keep the lid on and keep enough money flowing in, which at $62 oil they can do, I think things are likely to be stable.
There is an internal dynamic. The country is changing as its population grows up, as people get better educated. But it's not going to be dramatic in the short run.
BLITZER: And the stakes for America, for the West, for the world, are enormous -- the price of oil, as well as the whole fight against international terrorism -- given the Saudi role.
LIPPMANN: Not only that, the entire stability of the Persian Gulf is in play -- in Iraq, in Iran its new president. We don't know what he's going to do. And now in Saudi Arabia. BLITZER: We'll be watching together with you. Tom Lippmann, thanks, as usual, for joining us.
LIPPMANN: My pleasure.
BLITZER: Appreciate it.
Let's take a quick look at some other news making headlines around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER (voice-over): Christian and Muslim gangs clashed in Sudan following the death of John Garang, the former leader of rebels in the Christian south. Garang became Sudan's vice president in June as part of a peace agreement. Sudan's government says Garang died when his helicopter crashed in bad weather, but many of his followers suspect foul play.
Nuclear threat. Iranian leaders are threatening to resume uranium processing. European Union officials have been offering Iran incentives to abandon its nuclear program, but Iran says those incentives are insufficient.
Death on the rails. At least six people were killed and 30 people injured in train wreck in northeast China. Officials say a passenger train ran into the rear end of a freight train.
And that's our look around the world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: New developments in the London terror investigation. We'll have details of charges against one of the suspects in the July 21 attacks.
Also, the recess appointment of John Bolton to be the next U.S. ambassador to the U.N. We'll look at the implications with former presidential adviser David Gergen.
Plus, a new network joining the cable universe with Al Gore -- yes, Al Gore, the former vice president -- at the helm. We'll tune in to Current and see what it's all about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back. It wasn't the way President Bush wanted to do it, but he used a recess appointment to make John Bolton the United Nations ambassador. Coming up, we'll discuss that move with a former presidential adviser David Gergen.
First though, let's get a quick check of some other stories "Now in the News."
A London bombing suspect is charged with terrorism under Italian law. That comes from Hamdi Adus Isaac's attorney in Rome. Isaac is accused in the botched bomb attacks on three London Underground trains and a bus. He was arrested in Rome last week. His lawyer says he plans to fight extradition to Britain.
CNN has also confirmed that British police made two more arrests today in connection with the failed attacks. Police say the men were captured in separate residential raids.
Israeli military personnel stand in the way of a protest march into Gaza, literally. Israeli army and police have been deployed to the region to block an attempt by thousands of settlers and supporters to march into settlements there. The pullout has begun with a few families leaving Gaza two weeks ahead of schedule.
The grip of famine tightening on the African nation of Niger. The founder of Doctors Without Borders blames the U.N.'s World Food Program, saying its response to crisis was too slow. How widespread is it and is that aid too little too late? CNN's ANDERSON COOPER 360 is there. Join Anderson tonight for a live special report, "Niger Famine," 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 Pacific.
Now back to our lead story, President Bush's decision to give John Bolton what's called a recess appointment to be the United States ambassador to the U.N. The move was not unexpected. The president nominated Bolton for the post several months ago, but a Senate filibuster has blocked confirmation. Today the president side-stepped the confirmation process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform. So today, I've used my constitutional authority to appoint John Bolton to serve as America's ambassador to the United Nations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Under the recess appointment provision, Bolton can serve as U.N. ambassador without confirmation until the next Congress convenes in January 2007.
Joining to us discuss Bolton's appointment is the former presidential adviser, David Gergen. He's now with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
David what do you make of this? Good idea or bad idea for a top diplomat like John Bolton now to get this recess appointment?
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: Wolf, it's an appointment that will be welcomed by the conservative community in the United States. They thought it's long past time that the U.S. had a much harder-nosed ambassador there, someone who would stand up for American interests and push for reform, especially after the Oil-for- Food scandal.
However, to much of the rest of this country, and certainly to much of the world, this will be seen as a provocative appointment, one that's an in-your-face recess appointment after so much controversy in the Senate. And I think that -- well, we'll have to wait and see, but I think there's a real chance that there will be diplomatic language used at the U.N. to say, of course he'll be just as strong as if he were to get confirmed. You know, Kofi Annan came out today and said we'll welcome him. We'll treat him as a full -- you know, as we would any other new ambassador.
But underneath the surface, people measure power, and they try to determine, how powerful is he. And John Bolton will represent the administration, the executive branch, but he does not represent the U.S. Senate. And that, I think, leaves him potentially with one arm tied behind his back. It makes it harder for him to be as effective as the president would like.
BLITZER: I guess, though, the other argument you could make would be that he does -- clearly the president supports him. The president is sending him despite all of that baggage, despite all the problems. They're seen together in this photo opportunity today when the president made the announcement. I guess other diplomats will sense when they speak with him, he does represent this president of the United States.
GERGEN: He does do that. And of course Condi Rice has been effective as secretary of State because she is seen as so much an extension of the president. So I think Bolton does go with the full confidence of the president. There's no question about that. But any time, Wolf, that you come into a job in the U.N., and people know you're only going to be there 14, 15 months, they can outwait you on a lot of issues. And so it may make it harder for him to push for reforms than if he were -- if he had gone -- certainly, I think he would have been far better off and far more powerful and been far more comfortable if he had gone with an appointment of indefinite duration and with the full backing of the Senate.
So I think this does leave him in a potentially weakened position. He'll have to work hard. And one of the interesting questions is whether he'll start pulling his punches or not. I don't think he will. It is not in John Bolton's nature. And of course, one of the reasons the Democrats were so opposed was they thought he had a bad temper and he was too hard nosed.
But to the rest of the world, at a time when Condi Rice has been doing, I think, a very fine job building bridges, rebuilding bridges, John Bolton will be seen as someone who was one of the architects of the Iraq war -- hard-nosed, someone who really -- the suspicion in the rest of the world is, he really doesn't believe in the U.N. as an institution; that he's coming in to knock it about. And they'll wait and see.
Will it -- I do think one caveat. You know, this is the same kind of reaction on the part of the world to Paul Wolfowitz when he went to the World Bank. He was also an architect of the war, and he's turned out, I think, to be a very good bridge-builder at the World Bank.
BLITZER: I do remember when Bolton's nomination to be the ambassador to U.N. was made, it wasn't made by president. I was made by Condoleezza Rice as secretary of State. Even though the president showed up with Bolton today, he didn't show up at that appointment originally when John Bolton was nominated. Condi Rice did that.
Also, there was a lot of speculation, as you well know, that he was well in line to become the number-two diplomat at the State Department, deputy secretary. Condi Rice decided not to go with him there. Does this bring some baggage to John Bolton, additional baggage that he may have been a reluctant appointee, given some of his history?
GERGEN: Well, I do think it's apparent that two secretaries of State in a row, Colin Powell and now Condoleezza Rice, were not very enthusiastic about having him in the top reaches of their State Department. They both saw him as I think very much belonging to the neo-conservative, the more conservative wing of the Republican Party, someone who was going to perhaps march to a different drummer, who would be controversial within. I mean, Colin Powell, even during the appointments process to the U.N., was sending out signals that he didn't think it was great appointment.
So I do think that John Bolton has had -- there have been several people at State who would have liked to have seen him at Defense, not the State Department, to be honest about it, that he fit better over there in that crowd. And they saw him as -- at the State Department, they saw him as something of a Don Rumsfeld man at the State Department.
That may not be fair to John Bolton. He has done a lot of good things over the years in service. But he's very controversial in Washington. And I think the fact that the president threw himself behind him as he has here, is as much as anything a reflection of how much this -- about how stubborn this president gets when he's made a decision. He's going to push it.
BLITZER: All right.
GERGEN: When he's pushed, he's going to go.
BLITZER: David Gergen, as usual, thanks very much for helping us better understand what's going on.
GERGEN: Thank you.
BLITZER: David Gergen of Harvard University.
Coming up at the top of the hour: LOU DOBBS TONIGHT. Kitty Pilgrim, filling in for Lou tonight. She's standing by with a preview -- Kitty?
KITTY PILGRIM, HOST, LOU DOBBS TONIGHT: That's right, Wolf, 6:00 p.m. tonight, reporting on the president's appointment of John Bolton and we'll talk to one of Bolton's strongest critics and one of Bolton's supporters.
Plus, Saudi Arabia's King Fahd dies. What does that mean for oil supplies and the war on radical Islamist terrorists? We'll talk to the former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Also, global warming. Is this making hurricanes more destructive? We'll have a debate tonight on why hurricanes are more frequent and more deadly. All that at the top of the hour, but for now, back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Kitty. Thanks very much. We'll be watching. Just ahead, new evidence the low-carb craze is really truly over. Is there new evidence? The company that Dr. Robert Atkins founded is going on a forced-financial diet. We'll have details.
And remember Al Gore? Of course you do. We'll tell you why he's replaced politics, now, with television.
And our picture of the day. An art museum where paintings aren't the only things on display.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: It helped millions of Americans with their battles against their bulge, now Atkins is struggling. The company that sparked the low-carb craze is filing for bankruptcy.
CNN's Chris Huntington is joining us now, live from New York with details -- Chris?
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Wolf, thank you.
I'm outside a federal bankruptcy court where a short time ago, Atkins Nutritionals filed for bankruptcy. (INAUDIBLE) lost $40 million last year. It completely mis-gauged how low-carb dieters (ph) would spend their money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): Atkins Nutritionals learned the hard way. You can lead a horde of people to low-carb diets, you just can't make them eat their products. Ninety percent of Atkins' sales comes from its Advantage Meal bars and low-carbohydrates shakes. But a company spokesman concedes, "these products are not critical to the Atkins Diet." Atkins filed bankruptcy because its limited product line could not keep up with the revolution the company helped to create.
LYNN DURNBLAZER, FOOD MARKETING CONSULTANT: It has to be very challenging for a company like Atkins that's focused in one very narrow area of the marketplace.
HUNTINGTON: The late Dr. Robert Atkins, sold his company to a private investment group in the fall of 2003, just about the peak of the low-carb market bubble when hundreds of food companies launched thousands of products and marketing campaigns singing the virtues of a low-carb lifestyle. But while low-carb diets are still the rage, specially-formulated low-carb foods are not.
DR. ERIC BRAVERMAN, PATH MEDICAL: You have to separate out the idea of carbohydrate restricted diets -- cutting down sugar, junk food, white flour -- from the success of management and finance. Almost any company can get in trouble if it has too much debt.
HUNTINGTON: A member of Atkins' board of directors tells CNN the booming market for low-carb offerings just couldn't be sustained, because rather than buy special products, carb-conscious consumers can simply avoid starchy food.
Krispy Kreme and the pasta restaurant chain Olive Garden, have blamed low-carb diets for their slumping sales. Interstate Bakery, the maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies, cited the low-carb craze when it filed for bankruptcy last year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTINGTON: Now, Atkins has filed what's known as a pre-packaged bankruptcy and what that means, is that the lenders have already agreed to take an ownership stake. They hope to bring the company out of bankruptcy by the end of the year, with a much wider array of food offerings, not simply focusing on low-carb products -- Wolf?
BLITZER: Chris Huntington, thanks very much. Despite the company's financial problems, Atkins remains highly popular and influential. CNN's Mary Snow has that part of the story.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brad Pitt is on the A-list of Hollywood celebrities; the Atkins Diet list, that is, along with actress Hilary Swank and singer Gwen Stefani. Atkins Nutritionals say those are some of the stars who've tried Atkins products.
But the company says there's no way of knowing the total number of people who have tried the low-carb-high-protein diet, that allows to you eat bacon if you stop eating bread. But at one point, the Atkins Diet was a craze. The big question is: Does the diet work? The answer, it depends.
KATHERINE TALLMADE, AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSN.: Bottom line -- any time you cut calories, whether it's through a low-carb Atkins-style diet or a low-fat diet or the cabbage-soup diet, you're going to lose weight if you taking in fewer calories than you burn.
SNOW: Even Atkins Diet detractors say the plan has been effective in short-term weight loss, but critics say the risks outweigh the narrower waistline.
NEAL BARNARD, PHYSICIANS FOR RESPONSIBLE MEDICINE: There's not other diet that has so much cholesterol and saturated fat in it. And no other diet that causes these terrible spikings of your bad cholesterol in your blood test.
SNOW: Proponents say the risks to health are exaggerated.
STUART TRAGER, ATKINS NUTRITIONAL MED. DIR.: It doesn't cause a spike of bad cholesterol. In all of these studies, what we've seen is people's cholesterol numbers actually go down. The Atkins approach has been shown in repeated scientific studies to be both safe and effective, and to give many people an alternative. SNOW: A study done at the University of Pennsylvania two years ago, showed that people on the Atkins Diet did lose more weight in the shorter term of six months, but the difference was insignificant after a year. More in-depth research is now being conducted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And nutritionists say that one side effect of the Atkins Diet is that more Americans now are watching their carbs even though they may not be following the Atkins Diet strictly -- Wolf?
BLITZER: All right. Mary Snow in New York. Good information. Appreciate it very much.
Making the jump to television. Find out how former Vice President Al Gore is involved in cable's newest channel. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: It's a big day for the former vice president, Al Gore. His new network joining the cable universe today. Our Brian Todd is joining us now with the story -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, consider Al Gore a new competitor. The former VP says this is not a partisan undertaking, and his new network says he won't be on the air. Nonetheless, Al Gore is generating some buzz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): Gone are the earth-tone suits and ties, post- election facial growth and firebrand speeches. For now, Al Gore is darkly attired, open-collared, appealing to a new constituency.
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm making a long-term commitment to the future of this network, and I don't expect to ever be a candidate for office again.
TODD: The former vice president and Democratic standard bearer no doubt hopes this venture might work a little better than his endorsement of Howard Dean.
Current TV, which just launched, features Al Gore as chairman, and touts itself as America's first network created for, by and with an 18- to 34-year-old audience.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go everywhere, meet everyone, do everything, try it all once.
TODD: Current seeks to grab those young viewers with stylized news and social features, introed by MTV-ish hosts, some with journalistic backgrounds, others like Johnny Bell, whose previous experience, according to the network, consists of surfing and working on a banana farm.
JOHNNY BELL, CURRENT TV: You ever feel like hanging your boss over a tall building by his toenails, see how well they're attached to his feet? Well, if you have, you should probably chill out.
TODD: Bell and his cohorts aren't wrapping around traditional programs, but so-called pods, short-versed stories lasting anywhere 15 seconds to 15 minutes. They are all over the scheduling map -- a mixed blessing, according to TV writers.
PAUL FARHI, WASHINGTON POST: Television viewing is very habitual. People like to sit down at a certain hour, flip around and see something that's familiar to them. This thing is going to shake up the whole model altogether.
TODD: About a quarter of the content is produced by amateurs with their own cameras. While some programming is political, Gore promise it won't be partisan, and network officials say there are generally no plans for the former vice president to appear on air.
Still, could it be a platform for future ambitions?
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Even if he's not on air, people will be talking about Al Gore's television network, Al Gore's station. What's going on. The point is he has got to keep part of the debate, keep himself part of the debate. This could be one way of doing that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: In its debut, Current reached some 20 million homes on three major satellite and cable systems. TV writers and critics say that's a good start. But to really find a niche, Current will have to find a greater distribution, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Brian Todd, reporting for us. Thanks, Brian, very much.
Now, to another high-profile Washington figure. As part of CNN's 25th anniversary series, "Then & Now," CNN's Anderson Cooper looks back at Madeleine Albright and where she is today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: This is not cojones. This is cowardice.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Determined and quick- witted, Madeleine Albright was the first female U.S. secretary of State. The daughter of a Czech diplomat who fled the Nazis and the communists, she was 11 when she came to the U.S. with her family.
ALBRIGHT: I felt very strongly at a very young age that the United States was a very special country.
COOPER: Albright followed her American dream, earning a Ph.D. and becoming an expert in world affairs. She served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. before being named secretary of State by President Clinton.
ALBRIGHT: I think every time that I sat in the Oval Office with the president or at the cabinet table, I said to myself, can you believe it, that you are secretary of State?
COOPER: Now 68, Albright runs a global strategy firm and teaches at Georgetown University. She still travels extensively.
ALBRIGHT: I love what I do. And I get energy from doing a great number of things.
COOPER: After leaving office, Albright published a memoir. She's currently working on a book about her collection of broaches.
ALBRIGHT: It all kind of started as a joke, when Saddam Hussein called me a snake. I happened to have a snake pin. Then it kind of got to be a thing in itself, but I now have a lot of them, and they mostly have wonderful stories attached to them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Our "Picture of the Day "is slightly scandalous. An Austrian art museum's exhibition of early 20th century erotic art featured nude figures, and not just on canvas. Museum-goers could get in free if they showed up wearing swimsuits or, get this, nothing at all. A Vienna man who took advantage of the offer, said -- and I'm quoting now -- "we're born naked into this world. Why can't we walk around in it without clothes from time to time?" That's what he said.
Remember, you can always catch us 5:00 p.m. Eastern at this time. Don't forget, though, our new program, THE SITUATION ROOM, starting one week from today next Monday, August 8th. It airs from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
Until then, thanks very much for joining us. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington."LOU DOBBS TONIGHT starting right now, Kitty Pilgrim sitting in for Lou -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Thanks, Wolf.
END
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