Flip-Flop on "Axis of Evil"; Bill Clinton is Back
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Happening now, Bill Clinton says he'll do whatever he's asked to do after a nasty primary campaign. The former president is now back and he says he's ready to help Barack Obama become the next president of the United States. New hints that the Bush administration might be ready to open up a diplomatic outpost in Iran. As Iran works feverishly on its nuclear program, is President Bush flip-flopping when he comes to his axis of evil comment? And my exclusive interview with the, House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. More of it coming up. I'll ask her when she took impeachment off the table, why she said Hillary Clinton would never be on a so-called Democratic dream ticket and whether she's changed her own stance when it comes to Iraq. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. But we begin with Iran -- a major development. Suddenly, America is ready to talk to Iran directly. And three decades after the seizure of American diplomats in Tehran that led to open hostility and amid Iran's rush to go nuclear, is the Bush administration also ready to set up shop, diplomatically speaking, in Tehran? Let's bring in Brian Todd. He's working this story for us. Brian, there seems to be a rather significant change in U.S. policy.</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does, Wolf. And some people believe that this is an effort by the White House to carve a more positive legacy on Iran before the president leaves office. Now, the administration is doing that. But this does seem to be a sea change from the way the White House dealt with Iran for a long time.</s>TODD (voice-over): For years, the United States and Iran haven't been on speaking terms -- unless you count speaking like this.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: States like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil.</s>TODD: Tough talk on Iran and its leader that continued from president to president into this year.</s>BUSH: His policies are what's creating the deprivation inside Iran.</s>TODD: Now, what could be a dramatic reversal. The White House isn't denying a report in the British newspaper "The Guardian" that it plans to establish a diplomatic post in Tehran for the first time since the 1979 hostage crisis. The administration is not saying much of anything about it.</s>SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We're not going to discuss internal deliberations of the U.S. government. But it -- it is quite apparent from our efforts over the past several years that we have a real interest in reaching out to the Iranian people.</s>TODD: CNN has previously reported the administration was considering setting up a diplomatic office in Tehran. If this is in the works, it would come after another diplomatic breakthrough -- a U.S. envoy's meeting with Iran's top nuclear negotiator this weekend. Since the hostage crisis, U.S. administrations have worked back channels with Tehran, but never went as far as setting up a diplomatic post. Is this a flip-flop? For years, the Bush White House said all options are on the table with Iran. But for a long time, the military options seemed more likely with both sides flexing their military muscle in the region. Now, with about six months left in office, administration officials deny they're watching the clock -- scrambling to leave a positive legacy on Iran. Analysts are skeptical.</s>SUZANNE MALONEY, SABAN CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST POLICY: This is a top tier issue for the administration. And if they are to leave office without having moved the ball forward in a significant way, I think it will be considered as a major problem in terms of the historical legacy.</s>TODD: But the White House also knows how receptive the Iranians are toward this. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said recently he's in favor of a U.S. diplomatic post there. An Iranian official at the U.N. told me the same thing. And the Iranians also might have an eye on legacy here. President Ahmadinejad is up for re-election in less than a year, Wolf. So he's thinking about the future, too.</s>BLITZER: And this diplomatic office or mission in Iran would be what's called an interest section, similar to what the United States has had for years in Havana.</s>TODD: That's right. Not a full blown embassy, not a consulate, but an office to help set up visas for Iranians to travel here and cultural exchanges. The Iranians desperately want that. But let's also be honest, it's a place where you can have ears on the ground and maybe pick up some intelligence, as well.</s>BLITZER: To get U.S. people there on the ground -- U.S. diplomats. We'll see what happens. Brian, thanks for working the story. He was a lightning rod for criticism, dished out plenty of his own in a nasty Democratic primary campaign. But after disappearing for a while, Bill Clinton is now prepared to start helping Barack Obama.</s>WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And he said he wanted me to campaign with him. And I said I was eager to do so. And I, you know, but he's busier than I am, on politics, anyway. So I just told him whenever he wanted to do it, I was ready.</s>BLITZER: Let's bring in CNN's Dan Lothian. He's working the story for us. All right, we heard from the former president today, Dan. What is he up to?</s>DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, talking about campaigning for Barack Obama. But right now he's been spending time focusing again on his foundation now that he is off the campaign trail. He's back in the role of senior statesman, this time tackling malaria.</s>LOTHIAN (voice-over): Stumping for his wife, Bill Clinton said he was fighting to save the country. Now he's fighting to save the world -- his foundation working to make a life-saving malaria drug more affordable and available.</s>W. CLINTON: Our foundation, working with the government of Tanzania, has demonstrated a model of how we can reduce retail ACT Prices.</s>LOTHIAN: It's a return to his old days after a bruising primary season, where, at times, some say he appeared unpresidential.</s>DAVID MARK, SENIOR EDITOR, POLITICO.COM: And he seemed to have lost some of his political sharpness and edge. He made real misjudgments and errors.</s>LOTHIAN: In case you forgot, let's rewind a bit. In New Hampshire, Clinton criticized Barack Obama's early opposition to the war in Iraq this way.</s>W. CLINTON: Give me a break. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.</s>LOTHIAN: In South Carolina, some thought Clinton was unfairly bring up the issue of race when he said this.</s>W. CLINTON: Jesse Jackson won South Carolina twice, in '84 and '88, and he ran a good campaign. And Senator Obama has run a good campaign here.</s>LOTHIAN: The former president later said he was misinterpreted. It wasn't just Obama that he went after -- the press was also in his crosshairs -- an angry side the public had rarely seen.</s>W. CLINTON: Shame on you. It's sleazy. He's a really dishonest reporter. But he's a real slimy guy.</s>LOTHIAN: Even when the dust had settled and Obama was the clear winner, Bill Clinton seemed to take his time extending a warm embrace. He finally did endorse Obama. Some political observers say Clinton is now trying to polish his image.</s>MARK: I think slowly but surely, he's trying to rebuild his own brand. But it's going to take time.</s>LOTHIAN: Clinton supporters downplay the image problem. They say he has a lot of political capital from his successful years as president and his foundation work only builds on that.</s>DOUG HATTAWAY, DEMOCRATIC CONSULTANT: It's from doing substantive good work. I think that's what will really come to the forefront as passions from the primary continue to die down.</s>LOTHIAN: And, again, Wolf, the former president, as we talked about earlier, says he has now eager, willing and ready to campaign for Barack Obama, even though he says he hasn't been personally asked. It's one more step forward and away from a tough primary season.</s>BLITZER: But, as you say, the main purpose of his news conference today was to talk about his foundation's work on behalf of millions of people around the world suffering from malaria.</s>LOTHIAN: That's right. And, you know, in the past years he has talked about AIDS and bringing prices down so that people can afford the medication, have access to the medication when they're suffering from AIDS. And this is another example he hopes to do the same thing with malaria -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: He's saving lives, that foundation. And he's going to be heading off to Africa soon, as well. We'll watch that trip. Dan Lothian working the story for us. All right, let's go back to Jack. He's got "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.</s>JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: When Barack Obama travels overseas to Europe and the Middle East, he's not going to be alone -- not by a long shot. Obama's trip is turning into a media extravaganza. All three broadcast network anchors will join him, broadcasting their nightly newscasts from stops along his route. Also along to record Obama's every move are top political reporters from major newspapers and magazines all over the country. Two hundred journalists requested to accompany Obama on the trip. But the campaign says they're only going to be able to accommodate about 20 percent of that number, or around 40 or so. Meanwhile, Republican John McCain has taken three foreign trips in the last four months -- and not a single network anchor has gone on any of them. It's causing some concern among Republican that the news media is not giving balanced coverage. They might have a point. The three broadcast network newscasts, which have 20 million viewers combined, spent about 114 minutes covering Obama since June, compared to 48 minutes for McCain. Obama's been on the cover of "Time" and "Newsweek" 12 times in the last three years. Five for John McCain. In the last few weeks, Obama has also landed on the cover of "Rolling Stone" and "Us Weekly." And, of course, there was that interview with his family, including the girls, on "Access Hollywood." The television executives, of course, have lots of reasons for why the Obama trip is such a big deal. It's his first overseas trip since becoming the presumptive nominee, he's a fresh face in politics. His campaign is historic and he's the first African-American to ever head a major ticket in the run for the White House. And there is an overwhelming interest in Barack Obama overseas. Those are all valid reasons. But that doesn't mean John McCain has to like any of it. Here's the question: Why does Barack Obama get more news coverage than John McCain? Go to CNN.com/caffertyfile and you can post a comment on my blog. I was reading on that Gallup Web site this afternoon that this trip, according to Gallup, has the potential to change race. Those are their words.</s>BLITZER: Change on his -- for his -- on his behalf or against him? What are they suggesting?</s>CAFFERTY: Well, I guess it would have the potential to go either way. But I got the feeling, reading what they were writing, is that if he doesn't make any huge mistakes, he could do himself a lot of good here.</s>BLITZER: Because you know he's going to be very, very enthusiastically received in Europe. There's no doubt about that.</s>CAFFERTY: They can't wait. I mean it's like the Rolling Stones tour coming to town.</s>BLITZER: Yes. It certainly is. All right, Jack, stand by. We've got lots to talk about. Washington, D.C. residents start registering their guns, but the man who spearheaded it still isn't happy. Plus, Al Gore's warning. He says the country's survival as we know it is at risk. Also, lights, camera, action -- as Jack just mentioned, Barack Obama's trip will be a media extravaganza. We're taking a closer look at what John McCain can endure as far as his coverage is concerned. And our I-Reporters demanding answers from the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, about the war in Iraq. Her answer and what she says about impeachment proceedings.</s>REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I ruled out impeachment before the election.