[Chetry:] Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Secret Clinton campaign memos leaked showing what she didn't want to do to win an election. Plus, John Edwards admits to having an affair. What would have happened if this news had come out earlier, perhaps in the primary season? A lot to talk about and joining us now, liberal talk radio host, Stephanie Miller, and conservative radio talk show host, Michael Medved. Stephanie, Michael, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks.
[Michael Medved, Conservative Radio Talk Show:] Thank you.
[Stephanie Miller, Liberal Radio Talk Show:] Thank you.
[Chetry:] So, I want to ask you about this, Michael, a former Clinton communications director, Howard Wolfson, telling ABC News that if this John Edwards affair had come out earlier, perhaps Hillary Clinton would be the presumptive Democratic nominee. Do you buy that?
[Medved:] Well, it's a lot of speculation. Look, the truth of the matter is that the reason that the Edwards revelation, I do think, hurt Obama is not just because it brings up the competition again between Clinton and Obama, but because it reinforces the conviction that a lot of Americans have that the news media aren't on the level, that they're biased. Here were rumors that had been circulating and swirling literally for months and months and only the "National Enquirer" investigated them. That reinforces the idea that people are playing on the Democratic side, which most people believe anyway, I think, happens to be true. And certainly that kind of thing does hurt Obama.
[Chetry:] Do you think, Stephanie, there were whispers about this earlier, perhaps in the primary season, perhaps before Iowa that were ignored?
[Miller:] You know, Kiran, I know and love Michael and I'm tempted to say something completely unsubstantiated about his personal life right now and see if he can disprove it. You know, this is the myth again, Kiran, of this, you know, liberal media. It's ridiculous. You can't report something that you don't have evidence on, you know. Until Edwards admitted this, there was no hard evidence. It's not something that you would report.
[Chetry:] Yes. I mean and just in fairness, CNN was investigating this as well and, you know, there just weren't simply enough facts to go with it. And the other interesting thing is when you pay sources, I mean, do you get different reporting, Michael?
[Medved:] Sure. Sure you do. But the point about this is that Rielle Hunter and the principal involved have said to a number people that Edwards was father of her baby. I mean, look, this whole thing is seemly unseemly. It's unpleasant, but it does relate to Obama in another way. John Edwards is one of those guys with a very, very thin resume. When he ran for president the first time, he'd been in the Senate only one term, never elected to any other office, he made a good speech, looked great on TV. Does that sound like anybody we know? I think it does and I think that that idea of somebody being a charismatic empty suit is one of the vulnerabilities of the Obama campaign as well.
[Chetry:] Is that a fair comparison, though, Stephanie?
[Miller:] Of course not.
[Medved:] How can you say that?
[Miller:] You know, I mean, why is he ahead then? Why is he ahead, Michael? I mean, seriously, it's like I know you guys keep trying this but always an empty suit, but you know what? People like his judgment's better than McCain's, I think.
[Medved:] The reason he's ahead is because people hate the Bush administration and it should be a Democratic year. The big question right now is why is it so close? And I think it's so close because people have confidence in McCain on foreign policy like the way that he handled this Georgian invasion.
[Miller:] So, wait a minute, let me get this straight. Let me get this straight, Michael. So, the first credible black candidate in our history who nobody knew a year ago, who was a complete empty suit, who came out of nowhere is winning, but he's not winning by enough for you.
[Medved:] Well, I do think and I think you would probably agree with me that if Hillary Clinton had been the nominee, she'd probably be winning by more. This should be a Democratic year if you look at the issue set, but now with the Democrats blowing it on this issue of oil drilling...
[Miller:] You and Howard Wilson...
[Medved:] ...oil drilling, which obviously 80 percent of Americans believe that we ought to get as much oil as we possibly can.
[Miller:] Michael, first of all You and Howard Wilson need to go have a hypothetical conversation because what he said is just as demonstrably false. Obama went on to win 11 primaries in a row after Edwards dropped out. So, it's just false.
[Medved:] Most of those were caucuses, actually.
[Chetry:] All right. Let's listen to this. Speaking of hypotheticals, there's a really interesting article in "Atlantic Monthly" about what could have been if things had worked out for Hillary Clinton. Joshua Green published some of the campaign memos that were leaked, the campaign memos. Attacking Senator Obama for not having American roots was one of the possible strategies. In fact, he writes that this is what Mark Penn wrote "Obama's boyhood in Indonesia and his life in Hawaii exposes a very strong weakness for him his roots to basic American values and culture are at best limited." And he goes on, "this is a strategy she refused to employ." Stephanie, what does it say about what was going on in the campaign and how they were trying to undermine the competition by going this route about being un-American?
[Miller:] Well, you know, it's disgusting and clearly John McCain's camp has picked up the playbook. You know, his very first ad was John McCain, the American president that Americans have been waiting for. You know, they certainly have taken a page out of this. And I think it's disgusting.
[Medved:] I agree. I think it's also disgusting. And I don't think McCain has been doing that. What McCain has been focusing on is not Barack Obama's roots, but Barack Obama's future and America's future. It's worrisome to the American people when Barack Obama tells 200,000 cheering Germans; I'm a citizen of the world. We want a president who's a citizen of the United States who puts America's interests first, last and always.
[Chetry:] Michael before you leave. I just want to ask Michael to please elaborate a little bit on what you said earlier. You said that Rielle Hunter was telling people that John Edwards was the father of her child.
[Medved:] Yes, she was. I mean, again, that's what she said.
[Chetry:] According to whom?
[Medved:] According to the "National Enquirer" and actually according to a number of people who came forward and said that they had heard from this lady who after all got $114,000 from the Edwards' campaign for making videos that for which she had no experience and traveled around the world, to Africa and elsewhere with Edwards. Edwards is irrelevant right now. He's not going to be on the ticket. I think he probably will have a political future after he we go through this whole process of forgiveness and what have you. But I do think that Edwards' situation illustrates to people why it's important to look at somebody who isn't completely narcissistic driven by ego and self love and self regard and that's a weakness for Obama. People do have a sense that this is a guy who's rather deeply in love with himself and that's not necessarily a good feature in a presidential nominee.
[Chetry:] Stephanie, I know you don't agree.
[Stephanie Miller, Host "the Stephanie Miller Show":] That's brand-new in politics, someone with an ego. Wow.
[Chetry:] I want to thank both of you for being with us. Stephanie Miller and Michael Medved, thank you.
[Miller:] Thank you.
[John Roberts, Cnn, Anchor:] 31 minutes after the hour. New this morning, at least 12 people are dead in Pakistan after a bombing on a Pakistani Air Force bus. Another 15 were wounded. The bomb was placed inside a car under a bridge and remotely detonated. It happened near the border with Afghanistan in an area populated by Islamic extremists. Pakistan's president facing growing political pressure to quit this morning. Another one of Pakistan's four provincial assemblies passed a resolution calling for Pervez Musharraf to step down. A similar measure was passed yesterday. Musharraf has made it clear that he has no plans to resign. Despite claims by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he has called off military action in Georgia, there are new claims that Russian war planes have attacked two villages outside of the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Right now, Medvedev is meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy who's also the current president of the European Union. And more video now of that huge pro-Georgia rally happening right now in downtown Tbilisi. Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has appeared with the demonstrators. Earlier this morning, Russia's president said he had halted military action against Georgia, but within the last hour, Georgia says again that jets have attacked two villages. President Bush back from Beijing and responding to Russia's attack on a close ally. Our state department correspondent Zain Verjee is live for us in Washington. And very tough talk from President Bush yesterday toward Russia. Tougher than I've ever heard before, Zain.
[Zain Verjee, Cnn State Department Correspondent:] Extremely tough words from President Bush. We're also learning from the state department, from a senior U.S. official that says that the Russian invasion was actually planned for some time and suggests that Russia could be retreating to its old Soviet ways.
[Verjee:] Russia advances inside Georgia, showing off its power on the world stage. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appearing to dare the U.S. and the west to stop him. President Bush pushes back, warning Russia not to attack Georgia's capital, Tbilisi.
[Pres. George W. Bush, United States Of America:] These Russian actions would represent a democratic and brutal escalation of the conflict in Georgia.
[Verjee:] Mr. Bush says Russia's bent on getting rid of Georgia's president.
[Bush:] Russia has invaded a sovereign neighboring state and threatens a democratic government elected by its people. Such an action is unacceptable in the 21st century.
[Verjee:] Unacceptable, but what can the U.S. do to stop it? Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is working with world leaders, sending envoy Matthew Bryza to Georgia to get a cease-fire. But the U.S. and NATO have made it clear they won't intervene militarily to defend their allies. One that President Bush has made a point of visiting and holding up as a beacon of democracy.
[Bush:] The American people will stand with you!
[Verjee:] Those close ties with the former soviet republic have angered Russia.
[Robert Hunter, Rand Corporation:] This is a moment for the Russians to take a deep breath and say, are we going to be a real great power in the post-cold war era, or are we just going to go back and play hegemonic games, but frankly lead to their isolation over time.
[Verjee:] And President Bush says Russia's actions have already damaged its standing in the world.
[Bush:] And these actions jeopardize Russia's relations with the United States and Europe.
[Verjee:] Washington's been pushing the U.N. security council to act, but, John, that's not likely to go anywhere because Russia's got veto power there. Also important, the U.S. needs Russia to help put pressure on Iran's nuclear program. And as you know, Iran is a top foreign policy priority for the Bush administration. John.
[Roberts:] Just to set the geography here, Zain, Georgia is hard against the southern border of Russia there. It's a democratically elected government. How much of this invasion is about battling the U.S. for influence in that region?
[Verjee:] It's pretty significant. I mean, Russia's been feeling threatened because the U.S. has been increasing its own influence in Russia's backyard. The U.S. supports Georgia and Ukraine's entry into NATO. The U.S. also has missile defense plans in Poland and the Czech republic. So what experts are saying is that Russia really feels encircled and they're seeing U.S. actions in their region as really hostile. So the message that Russia's sending the U.S. in part is that Russia's in charge in this area and that the U.S. can't do anything in Russia's backyard without thinking about Russian interests. John.
[Roberts:] Zain Verjee for us this morning from Washington. Zain, thanks very much.
[Chetry:] And Alina Cho joins us now with some other stories new this morning. How you doing?
[Alina Cho, Cnn, Correspondent:] Hey there, guys. Good morning, again.
[Roberts:] Good morning.
[Cho:] Good morning, everybody. New revelations about the lengths to which China went to put on their best face for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Apparently a seven-year-old girl was replaced in the ceremony by a girl considered cuter, seen there, who lip-synched the song. A Chinese official, Ashley Simpson on "Saturday Night Live," way back when. I was actually at that show. Chinese officials say the move was, "in the national interests." There were also reports that China digitally enhanced the fireworks for television. Despite reports of major pollution problems in Beijing, China, of course, has been eager to present a perfect image to the world during the Olympic games. New concerns about online privacy. "The Washington Post" reports that several internet and broadband companies admit that they've tracked people's web surfing behavior without their consent. The paper says google uses the internet tracking technology to better target customers. Microsoft and Yahoo! have also acknowledged using the practice. The revelations come in response to a congressional investigation. And Massachusetts democrat Ed Markie plans to introduce legislation for an online privacy bill of rights. The humpback is making a comeback. Humpback whales are no longer threatened with extinction. That's according to the International Union for Conservation of nature. Their latest red list of endangered species will classify the humpback as "least concerned." The whales previous rating was vulnerable. Commercial hunting of all whales was banned in 1986. And you can't miss this story. An Iowa weatherman had a close encounter with a large snake while reporting at a state fair in Des Moines. He agreed to kiss a python, that was his first mistake. The second, turns out the python had other ideas. Take a look.
[Unidentified Male:] This is how it all comes to an end, Steve. This is how it all comes to an end.
[Unidentified Female:] Oh, my god!
[Unidentified Male:] Only at the Iowa state fair, right. I better you never knew, did you?
[Cho:] Well, what do you say after that?
[Chetry:] It's up his shorts?
[Cho:] Yes. That's KCCI meteorologist Curtis Gertz, by the way. He laughed and joked.
[Chetry:] How did they get the python out?
[Cho:] No, I don't know. He laughed and joked through the thing. You know, I've covered my share of state fairs, but nothing quite like that has ever happened to me.
[Chetry:] I mean, that's what they do, those things. You know.
[Cho:] Yes, they do.
[Roberts:] Run into a bad corn dog once in a while. Nothing like that.
[Cho:] Poor thing.
[Chetry:] Poor snake.
[Roberts:] Thanks, Alina. Oh, goodness me.
[Chetry:] We'll tell you how it ends tomorrow. Maybe he's still there, for all we know.
[Roberts:] You better do this?
[Chetry:] He's crying. All right, fine. Find out about the python for us though.
[Cho:] I will.
[Roberts:] Actually, I'm all right now. All right. Here we go.
[Chetry:] Go for it.
[Roberts:] Yes. Cause to boycott Ben Stiller's new comedy, "Tropic Thunder", advocates for the mentally disabled say they're offended by the film's liberal use of the "r" word. But the studio says it's making no changed. We take a look at the movie and the controversy.