Here’s your daily recap of the best feedback we got from YOU today. Continue the conversation below. And remember, keep it brief, and keep it clean. Thanks!
American Morning viewers remained divided regarding the torture memos released by President Obama. Those for exposing the information and prosecuting the former administration felt that “no matter how misguided the terrorists are, they are human beings and when they are in our custody, we still uphold the law of our land.”
Where do you stand on the issue of torture? Are we no better than our enemies if we implement such actions to gain information? Is the issue of torture “getting blown way out of proportion” as the first last viewer believes, or is there a double standard for the United States as viewer one believes when she says that “It seems that when we do the dirty stuff to others and hide behind legalities it is okay, but when other countries do it to us we have to retaliate!” Give us your opinion on this controversial issue.
We had a chance to talk to Senator John McCain today on the show.
He was and still is a fierce opponent of interrogation tactics used during the Bush administration. Tactics like waterboarding, which he says is torture. But this POW also says getting bogged down in a politcal blame game over the past gets us nothing.
He also weighed in on what it was like in the final weeks of the campaign when the chance of victory seemed to be slipping away. And, of course, we had to ask him about his daughter Meghan, the "new" voice for the GOP.
I'm taking a long weekend. See you Tuesday!
Kiran
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/04/24/eric.brodsky.cnn.art.jpg caption="Eric Brodsky, Technical Production Manager, manages all the shots coming into our control room in the morning."]
Each Friday in “Meet AM,” we’ll introduce you to the people who get American Morning to air.
Today, we’d like you to meet Eric Brodsky. Eric is the technical production manager here at AM, also known as TPM. This means that he is the one who coordinates all the live shots you see on our show, whether it’s Candy Crowley reporting in the field, or a guest in our Washington studio. Eric’s been with us for four and a half years.
How did you end up doing what you do?
I worked at NBC for 3 years as a Production Manager booking studios and setting up remote locations. I transitioned to a TPM when I moved to MSNBC. The biggest difference between the two jobs is that a production manager is in the field and as TPM you are in the control room managing all the live shots. I got the chance to make the switch to CNN and haven’t looked back. Working on the morning news has always been something I wanted to do. It’s great to be able to work on a show that sets the trend for the newsday.
There are new developments in Pakistan today. Taliban fighters have moved out of the contested Bruner district 60 miles west of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. It appears to be a victory for the Pakistani government. But can Taliban militants be trusted to keep their pledge to return to the Swat Valley and stay out of Bruner?
Former CIA officer Gary Bernsten says the Taliban “isn’t going anywhere.” He joined John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Friday.
John Roberts: Would you trust the Taliban to move back and play nice in the Swat Valley?
Gary Bernsten: Not at all. And clearly they may pull back just slightly for reasons of propaganda and to get the film footage. They're not going anywhere. These guys have a desire to seize control of Pakistan. That's the Taliban and other militant organizations. There are at least 25 to 30 militant organizations in Pakistan.
Bo Obama is apparently Issue #1 among third grade voters.
The first dog was a hot topic at the White House yesterday, when Michelle Obama held what she's called her “first press conference” with the children of White House staffers. The kids were invited there in honor of Take Your Child to Work Day.
One of the first questions to the First Lady was about how Bo was adjusting to his new home.
Michelle Obama described him as "a crazy dog." Bo "loves to chew on peoples' feet," she said. Mrs. Obama told a story about the night before, when Bo was apparently barking loudly in the White House residence.
"Everybody was asleep, and we hear all this barking and jumping around. The President and I came out and we thought somebody was out there. It was just Bo. And he was playing with his ball, and it was like there was another person in the house."
The first lady says that she's spending a lot of time walking and training Bo these days, but of course, he's still a puppy.