American Morning
We Listen! Your comments – 6/25/09
Editor's Note: With President Obama’s prime time health care address on Wednesday evening, American Morning’s Thursday audience intently scrutinized the health care segments. Bill Bennett was ardently rejected as an appropriate spokesman on the topic, as his statistics and credibility were called into question. Others remarked that conservatives were against health care because they can afford coverage.
- Ralph: I could care less what those ignorant rednecks on the right "think". These fools are the same ones who want to deny me access to health care. That makes it a personal attack on me as far as I'm concerned. To hell with them.
- Bernadette: Where in the world does Bill Bennett get his statistics and 'facts'? Certainly it is not what the majority of the American public wants! 80 percent indeed. He is living in a delusional world and hopes that we are too stupid to challenge his skewed figures. Insurance companies must be pressuring him and others in his party to come on air on tout their praises. He should realize that those days are over.
- Shag: I don't understand how your are giving a fair hearing to the healthcare issue when you've got Bill Bennett and the former head of the American Red Cross on, back-to-back. I have Aetna, and the cost of my premiums and deductible eats about half of one of my paychecks. Most of my co-workers are unhappy with the insurance we've had for years. I listen to your host and they deliver softballs to the people they interview. You need to give this issue a fair hearing. We have "the best healthcare in world," for the wealthy who can afford it. Lastly, how does a man who was found to have gambled 1 million dollars quarterly, get to be an arbiter of "values."
How do you feel about Mr. Bennett’s comment regarding health care? Do you believe that health care quality will suffer under the universal plan being proposed by the Obama Administration?
Actress Farrah Fawcett dies of cancer at 62
(CNN) - Farrah Fawcett, the blonde-maned actress whose best-selling poster and "Charlie's Angels" stardom made her one of the most famous faces in the world, has died. She was 62.
Farrah Fawcett rose to fame in the 1970s, thanks to a best-selling poster and the hit show "Charlie Angels."
Fawcett, who checked into a Los Angeles, California, hospital in early April, had been battling anal cancer on and off for three years.
Ryan O'Neal, Fawcett's romantic partner since the mid-1980s, recently told People magazine that the sex symbol was declining.
"She stays in bed now. The doctors see that she is comfortable. Farrah is on IVs, but some of that is for nourishment. The treatment has pretty much ended," he said in a story posted May 7.
DC Metro crash raises subway safety concerns
The exact cause of the DC Metro crash is still unknown. Part of the cause could be faulty control circuits and authorities are asking, are some of the cars just too old to be on the tracks? CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports.
Branson's "carbon war room"
Virgin mogul Sir Richard Branson spoke with CNN's John Roberts on his newest venture to help solve the problem of global climate change.
Politicians' public affairs becoming predictable?
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford has joined the growing list of high-powered politicians who are seemingly powerless against temptation. Are we seeing a pattern here?
CNN's Carol Costello reports.
Bennett: Sanford affair hurtful to Republican Party
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/25/bill.bennet.2.cnn.jpg caption="CNN political contributor Bill Bennett says Sanford's affair is hurtful to the GOP."]
Governor Mark Sanford was a rising Republican star before yesterday's stunning admission that he was having an affair. But does his bad behavior reflect on the Republican Party as whole? Is there a credibility issue?
Bill Bennett is a CNN political contributor and radio host of “Morning in America.” He spoke with Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Thursday.
Kiran Chetry: These are things people just don't want to hear about in the midst of huge domestic problems. South Carolina has a double digit unemployment rate of 12.1% right now. Governor Sanford became the face of opposition to wasteful spending. And now his constituents find they were left in the lurch. He was in South America with his girlfriend. How does that affect the credibility of conservatives?
Bill Bennett: It doesn't help in South Carolina at all obviously and it doesn't help the Republican Party. I don't know about conservatives but it sure hurts the Republican Party. It's just too much of this, too many of these. Family values are an important part of American life. The Republican Party was founded to combat, as we said in 1854, the twin relics of barbarism – slavery and polygamy. So that was a stand for family values. But it hurts the party when you have so many, if you will, defecting from the cause. Mark Sanford was regarded as a future leader, not anymore. It’s a sad and regrettable thing. Obviously it happens on both sides. But Republicans do hold these values dear. It’s part of our charter. So it's a hurtful and harmful thing, there’s no question about it.
Chetry: You're right, it does happen on both sides. The reason I'm asking about the problem is because it's been a bad few weeks for the GOP. We heard also from Nevada Senator John Ensign, he admitted to an affair. Both of them are conservatives. And both of them not afraid to inject morality into the public discussion so then the question of hypocrisy comes in. How do you maintain that credibility when there seems to a double-talk problem?
About this Show
Welcome to the American Morning blog where you can get daily news updates from American Morning's reporters and producers. Join us for "the most news in the morning," weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET, only on CNN.
On Twitter
