President Obama Meets With Russian Leader
BLITZER: Let's get back to our top story -- the president of the United States meets with the president of Russia today in Moscow. Lots to discuss. Let's bring in our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley; David Frum, the former speechwriter for President George W. Bush; and CNN senior political analyst, David Gergen. All right, guys, all of you will remember what President Bush said about Vladimir Putin -- the then president of Russia -- back on June 16th, 2001, during his first year in office. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM JUNE 16, 2001) GEORGE W.  BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I looked the man in the eye and I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy. And we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul.</s>BLITZER: All right. And today, President Obama was standing right next to President Medvedev and he said this.</s>OBAMA: I trust President Medvedev to not only listen and to negotiate constructively, but also to follow up -- follow through on the agreements that are contained here today.</s>BLITZER: David Gergen, are those words potentially likely to embarrass President Obama, as President Bush's words about Putin certainly embarrassed him?</s>DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: I think so, Wolf. I think they -- I think where he may come to regret those words. We'll have to wait and see. You know, the standard position of most new presidents over the last years has been the one that President Reagan famously took with regard to the Russians -- trust but verify. And I'm surprised that President Obama didn't embrace that notion here because, of course, he's -- President Obama is under some attack. And often the attack line on him is that he's too weak in standing up to authoritarians and authoritarian regimes and he needs to be a little tougher and a little less trusting.</s>BLITZER: What do you think, David Frum?</s>DAVID FRUM, FORMER BUSH SPEECHWRITER: President Obama always chooses his words carefully. He chose them, I thought, quite carefully today -- that is, much less than a ringing endorsement. He didn't say he trusted President Medvedev, he said he trusted him to do certain things. And trusting him to honor his signed commitment is, I think, an expression of hope. The real problem with this president, as always, is not what he says, but what he does. He has gone to Russia with fundamentally the wrong goal. He thinks that we can somehow inspire other countries to reduce their nuclear arms by reducing the American nuclear stockpile. And, meanwhile, he is giving up a very important American right, which is to continue testing nuclear weapons so that we can replace aging weapons with a new generation of smaller and more accurate weapons.</s>BLITZER: You know, the words that were exchanged at that news conference, Candy, today between these two presidents were very, very positive.</s>CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they were. And that's because there is something in it for both the United States and for Russia. People tend to get very chummy in their language when they're both trying to get something out of each other. And they are. And I agree with the second David, because I do think that President Obama's words were much narrower in scope than President Bush's were. I mean he was talking specifically about the agreement that they were agreeing to on this day, as opposed to, in general, I trust this man. So I think it's -- it's a narrower focus here. But as far as their cordiality toward one another, it is their first sort of full length session over there. And I think it's the kind of thing you can expect, certainly from the Obama administration.</s>BLITZER: All right. Let's talk about the vice president for a moment. David Gergen, I'll start with you. This is what Vice President Joe Biden told Gloria Borger and me when we interviewed him back on April 6th. The question involved Israel and Iran. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM APRIL 6, 2009) BLITZER: How worried are you that the new government of Israel, under Prime Minister Netanyahu, will launch a strike to take out Iran's nuclear facilities?</s>JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I -- I don't believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu would do that. I think it would be ill-advised to do that.</s>BLITZER: All right. Now, this is what he told George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THIS WEEK," JULY 5, 2009, COURTESY ABC) BIDEN: Israel can determine for itself, as a sovereign nation, what's in their interests in what they decide to do relative to Iran or anyone else.</s>BLITZER: All right. It sounded to me like, obviously, a difference, although the White House spokesman, Tommy Vietor, says: "The vice president refused to engage in hypotheticals. He made clear that our policy has not changed. Our friends and allies, including Israel, know that the president believes that now is the time to explore direct diplomatic options." David Gergen, what do you think?</s>GERGEN: I think he misspoke. And he clearly went off the party line out of the White House, which had been pretty consistently that that's something we will discuss down the road, but we clearly don't want the Israelis to strike. And it has been a matter of great concern in foreign policy circles now for some time that the -- Israel and the United States have a somewhat different view. The Israelis see this as an existential threat to them if Iran gets a nuclear weapon. And, you know, there are people who worry, inside the administration, that Israel will strike. But there has been a clear sense within the administration that they would try to put a great deal of pressure on the Israelis not to do that. And that's why there is such pressure on Obama -- President Obama -- to come up with some sort of breakthrough on the negotiations in the next few months, because Israel -- you know, Iran's too close. And the window is starting to get very narrow. So that's why the Obama administration is moving the way it is. I think the vice president, in retrospect, would have expressed it the way he did to you and Gloria if he had a second chance yesterday.</s>BLITZER: Because, David, from -- sources close to the vice president said to me: "There's no contradiction there. Yes, Israel is a sovereign, independent nation. They can make up their own mind. But at the same time, the U.S. clearly does not believe Israel should go ahead and launch any sort of preemptive strike. FRUM It's like Vice President Biden has offended the political gods and they've put this horrific curse on him, where he is condemned to blurt out the truth at regular intervals and to say what he really thinks, which is very damaging to him. Israel is a sovereign country and it can do what it wants. And the United States can pressure it, the country -- you can never pressure another country into committing suicide. What is most tragic about all of this is, from the American point of view, the possibility that Israel might strike is a good thing. And the idea that you're going to shame Iran somehow into giving up nuclear weapons, by the United States building down, rather than muscle them into giving up weapons through this kind of pressure, that's completely wrong. The vice president's answer was a better answer than the president's answer.</s>BLITZER: All right. Unfortunately, guys, we've got to leave it right there -- right there, because there's a developing story happening right now.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>BLITZER: All right. Let's go to CNN's David Mattingly. He's joining us from Gaffney, South Carolina. What's going on -- David?</s>DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Gaffney, South Carolina, the scene of a string of serial murders -- five people dead in recent days. Now, authorities say they believe they have their man. It happened at a shootout in North Carolina this morning. A suspect was killed and now, hours later, they're finding out that the ballistics have come back. The gun -- the bullets in that man's gun who was killed this morning in North Carolina match the murders here in South Carolina. So, needless to say, people here in South Carolina are breathing a huge sigh of relief, knowing that a serial killer is now off the streets -- in fact, dead; not able to hurt anyone else at all. And here with me is the top cop for South Carolina, Reggie Lloyd, the head of SLED, the State Law Enforcement Division. How long was it before you actually knew this was your man?</s>REGGIE LLOYD, SOUTH CAROLINA LAW ENFORCEMENT DIVISION: It sort of played out as the day went on. They -- we -- we got a call from North Carolina authorities very early this morning, right after the shootout. They recognized certain descriptions of a vehicle.</s>MATTINGLY: He sort of matched the description that you had and his vehicle?</s>LLOYD: He sort of matched the description, as well as the vehicle, as well as the firearm that he was using. And we sent agents up there. They worked with North Carolina agents. And we began to send evidence back to South Carolina for processing.</s>MATTINGLY: And it was the bullets -- the bullets from his gun?</s>LLOYD: Right. Right now, there's ballistic evidence that we feel really good about that links him here. And there's some other evidence that we're trying to confirm right now, that we believe put him in the vicinity of each of these murders here in South Carolina. So we're -- we're just confirming that evidence. But right now, we feel really good that this is the individual.</s>MATTINGLY: Case not closed, but a killer is off the streets.</s>LLOYD: We believe a killer is off the street. And, you know, at this point, we're working backwards to make sure we collect all the evidence and nail this case down. We're also trying to confirm his prior record in not only South Carolina or North Carolina, but we believe he has an extensive record in some other states.</s>MATTINGLY: OK. Thank you very much. And now working backward, Wolf, there's going to be a lot of work to do with that. There's going to be a news conference a little bit later today and we're going to find out more about this suspect, his I.D. and his past history with the law. So this story essentially just beginning on who this man is -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right. Let's check back with you. Thanks very much, David Mattingly, for the breaking news out of South Carolina. Let's check in with Lou to see what's coming up right at the top of the hour -- Lou, what are you working on?</s>LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Right, Wolf. Tonight, at the top of the hour, we'll have the latest on the -- the killing of that alleged murderer in North Carolina. And Michael Jackson's mother losing control of her son's assets, at least temporarily. A judge has given Jackson's attorney and a friend control of the estate. The courtroom drama unfolding as Los Angeles and the world preparing for tomorrow's spectacle of the Jackson memorial. Also tonight, Governor Sarah Palin giving a hint of her political ambitions after her stunning resignation. She also has fired a warning shot at the liberal media establishment. And chaos in Honduras -- the ousted president trying to return to power, but his plane is blocked from landing. Tonight, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez blames the United States for his ouster. Please join us for all of that, all of the day's news and more, at the top of the hour -- Wolf, back to you.</s>BLITZER: Thanks very much for that, Lou. We'll see you in a few moments. It's the most talked about resignation speech in recent memory, with everyone trying to read between the lines. CNN's Jeanne Moos takes a "Moost Unusual" look at what people are saying about Sarah Palin's surprise announcement. That's coming up. (</s>BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY KTUU) GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: ...the ball and pass the ball when it's time.