Two Storms Churning Out the Atlantic
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Barack Obama is in Iraq this morning. He's talking with Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders. The Democrat hoping to show his foreign policy credentials, and the press giving him a lot of coverage. Is it too much, actually? Joining me from Los Angeles, conservative radio talk show host Michael Reagan and also here in New York, syndicated talk show host Lionel. He is the author of "Everyone's Crazy Except You and Me" and "I'm Not So Sure About You." Great title. Thanks to both of you for being here.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.</s>CHETRY: You know, it's interesting, Michael, we're sitting here talking about whether Barack Obama is getting too much coverage for his trip and we have you guys to talk more about the fact that he's getting too much coverage. But, you know, he certainly is getting a lot of attention. All three of the network anchor, nightly anchor are there following every single step of his trip. Why?</s>MICHAEL REAGAN, CONSERVATIVE RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: You tell me why? You try to figure out why they're doing this. Here's a man who chairs a committee under foreign relations who has yet to have a hearing on Afghanistan, NATO, and the military, which he has oversight on. And he probably decided to take the trip because John McCain says -- hey, you better take a trip with me. He takes the trip and the media goes crazy with this event. Pope Benedict called me this morning and said how does anyone get this publicity? I need this kind of publicity. I mean, it's nuts. It's absolutely nuts.</s>CHETRY: Lionel, weigh in for me. John McCain has been to Iraq eight times and been to Afghanistan four times since 2000, not getting nearly as much attention about it. Why?</s>LIONEL, TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I think because of the fact that he's been there so many times. Listen, let's start off with a couple of things. First of all, if you want to talk about stats, look at how many votes John McCain missed regarding certain aspects of Afghanistan and the war itself. But I've got to be honest with you. If the media's duty is to give a -- dare I say, a fair and balanced take of what's going on, clearly, that's not the case. What I have a feeling is that, people are programming news to what we like. And right now, like it or not, Barack Obama is a rock star. And his coverage in my humble opinion is nothing short of a deification of</s>CHETRY: You know, in this --</s>CHETRY: Go ahead.</s>REAGAN: It's not fair, and the fact is, I don't think the people want to make him a rock star. I think the media, in fact, has made him a rock star through all of this. They have fallen in love with this man. He did do no wrong. Right, the edification would be a good choice of words to make about Barack Obama. But he's going over there. If you want to look at this tour that he's on. It's a tour of retraction. It seems every day something is said. The next moment, somebody retracts what he said a moment ago, whether it's Reuters, whether it's Maliki, whether it's Obama. It's like the tour of retraction. What's he going to say when he gets back home? What kind of decisions is he going to make. Has he learn anything about this war, if anything? John McCain was for the surge, while Barack Obama was against the surge before the democrats before.</s>LIONEL: Now, Michael, my dear pal Michael. If ever there was the poster child for flip flopping...</s>REAGAN: Don't call me dear.</s>LIONEL: ...It is Mr. McCain, Senator McCain. And we'll go through that later on. But here's the --</s>CHETRY: Later on. How much time do you think we have?</s>LIONEL: No, no. Here's the bottom line. Nobody cares about this. We're going to get out of Iraq one day whether you call it a surge, whether you call it a timeline. What people are worried about right now is gas, and money, and the economy, and food. So, this is terrific. And what this does for Barack Obama, he looks so presidential. He looks -- it is perfect.</s>CHETRY: You know, actually, let me ask Michael about this. Because is there a danger of him looking too presidential? What I mean by that, of course, is the big dust up about him wanting to give a speech on Brandenburg Gate. Your father, of course, is where he gave his famous speech in 1987 calling on Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the wall.</s>REAGAN: Absolutely, right. I think so. I think the ego has really gotten away here to even asked to speak to Brandenburg Gate was outrageous. I addressed to the Brandenburg Gate about three weeks ago where my father did give that speech back in 1987. That has hallowed ground for special people. He is not that special. He is a junior senator from Illinois. He is the presumptive nominee. He is not the president of the United States. He is not the pope. He is not viable. Last word, Lionel?</s>LIONEL: Well, that's true. And also, keep in mind that in Germany, the popularity poll according to Bill Crystal of "Today's Times," (ph) 67 percent for Obama. About 6 percent for McCain.</s>REAGAN: They're not voting. Germany's not voting.</s>CHETRY: Yes. But Michael, how does McCain break through and get any -- I mean, one of the things is, he did support that surge initially. The surge appears to be working. He can't get that message out because of what all the coverage that Barack Obama is getting?</s>REAGAN: It's very tough, but it does stay on target. Remember, this would not be happening if Barack Obama was not running for the president of United States. He wouldn't be where he is today. He wouldn't be in Iraq today. He wouldn't in Afghanistan. He wouldn't have been in Germany. He is there because John McCain found a chink in the armor and challenged him to go with him to Iraq, and if that was not working, if the polls do not tell him, like they did last week. 72 percent of the people said John McCain would be a better commander-in-chief, he wouldn't be in Iraq this very day, sitting down with Petraeus --</s>LIONEL: But, Michael, how could he not go to Iraq? Every senator has been to Iraq. I'm sure, you go to Iraq.</s>REAGAN: Because he has -- he's been -- listen, the reason he hasn't, because it's not that important to him. He's running for president. He didn't think he'd ever go to Iraq. He was against the war. He was against this. He was against that.</s>LIONEL: Yes. And by --</s>REAGAN: He wouldn't have a hearing on Afghanistan</s>LIONEL: And John McCain would have probably skipped that as well.</s>CHETRY: All right, you two. We got to leave it there. But I want to thank both of for being with us. Great discussion. Lively discussion this morning. Michael Reagan and Lionel, thanks.</s>LIONEL: Thanks.</s>ROBERTS: 30 minutes after the hour. Two storms we're watching this morning. Cristobal in the Atlantic and Dolly in the Caribbean. Tropical storm Dolly's effects are already being felt in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Rain and winds struck the popular tourist spots overnight. Some low lying areas said to be evacuated. The storm is expected to intensify and then head into the Gulf of Mexico. For the first time since World War II, the government will begin a military war crimes trial today. Salim Hamdan, once a driver for Osama Bin Laden, he is charged with conspiracy in supporting terrorism. The government acknowledges that he is not a so-called high-value detainee. One military law, experts say, people will be watching for missteps that could call the trial's fairness into question. A female soldier from Texas missing from Fort Bliss since Friday found wounded but alive. According to her sister, Army Private First Class Janeesa Lewis was stabbed twice in the legs, beaten and choked. Her husband Clinton W. Lewis has been charged with aggravated kidnapping. Police in El Paso say there were signs of foul play in the couple's apartment. General David Petraeus says Al Qaeda may be switching its focus back to Afghanistan. He says fighters heading to the border with Pakistan in order to cross over into Afghanistan. Both candidates talking about redeploying troops there. And as Elaine Quijano tells us this morning, military officials are dealing with renewed violence in the country.</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a region where terrorists planned the 9/11 attack, the threat is gathering again. And the Pentagon's top military officer worries that threat will go steadily along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border could emerge stronger than before.</s>ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: The joining, a syndication of various extremists and terrorists groups which provides for a much more intense internal to Pakistan as well as the ability to flow greater freedom to flow forces across that porous border.</s>QUIJANO: Already in Afghanistan, the Taliban had stepped up the fighting with deadly results for American troops. A week ago in a remote eastern province of Kunar, nine American troops were killed by insurgents firing machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen acknowledged violence is up but he stopped short of saying the U.S. was losing the fight.</s>MULLEN: I would say the progress is mixed there, but I am not concerned at all at this point that we're losing in Afghanistan.</s>QUIJANO: For the presidential candidates whose campaigns have differed sharply on Iraq, both men agree on a need for more help in Afghanistan.</s>SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe U.S. troop levels need to increase, and for least a year now have called for two additional brigades, perhaps three.</s>SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our enemies are on the offensive. And it's precisely the success of the surge in Iraq. It shows us the way to victory over the Taliban.</s>QUIJANO: Complicating the picture, Pakistan where extremists continue to find sanctuary.</s>QUIJANO (on-camera): U.S. officials say Pakistan's government is working to rein in the terrorists but say more needs to be done. A point the candidates agree on as well. Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.</s>CHETRY: Alina Cho joins us now with some other stories new this morning. Good morning, Alina.</s>CHO: Hey there, guys. Good morning again. Good morning, everybody. New this morning, it could be the latest case of the human form of mad cow disease but health officials say it's highly unlikely that a Massachusetts patient has it. Only three cases of the human form of mad cow disease been confirmed in the U.S. in the past several years. It will be several days before we know for sure if the Cape Cod patient has it. A new tax on cigarettes, seems to be helping people kick the habit. Several programs in New York City are seeing more people sign up and many say their main motivation is the city's $1.25 tax increase per pack. That amounts to $10 a pack in some cases. The tax took effect on June 3rd. The Centers for Disease Control says the tax increase well is of the most effective ways to get people to quit. The "Dark Knight" sets a new record at the box office. The latest Batman movie earning more than $155 million in its first three days. The movie, of course, got a lot of buzz from Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker. The previous record was $151 million earned by "Spiderman 3" last year. And two fast driving females got into a bit of dust up at an Indy car race in Ohio and one of them was Danica Patrick during practice Saturday. Patrick complained that Milka Duno cut her off several times. So she went over to chat with her about it.</s>DANICA PATRICK: What the hell!</s>MILKA DUNO: You're slow.</s>PATRICK: When you're in the [bleep] and you turn down -</s>DUNO: Please go away, go away!</s>CHO: You know it's a good one when there's a bleep, right? Patrick has had confrontations with at least two other male drivers in the past. She placed 12th and she's a little upset. She's used to placing first.</s>CHETRY: What was her name? Milka Duno?</s>CHO: Duno.</s>CHETRY: She didn't throw the towel in. She through the towel at.</s>CHO: That's right. Right in her face. Yes, she didn't appreciate that.</s>ROBERTS: What a slam. It's not my fault, you're slow.</s>CHETRY: It's the ultimate --</s>CHO: All caught on tape.</s>ROBERTS: Alina, thanks so much for that. Well, tough times these days for sin city. Fewer blackjack bets even though more people are visiting the casinos. Why the house says it's still going to win in the end, though.</s>CHETRY (voice-over): The Iraq war. Here in America -</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the Mojave desert in Southern California, the Army had constructed a fake Iraq.</s>CHETRY: A military training facility creates a faux war to prep troops on U.S. soil. You're watching the most news in the morning.