American Morning
What's on Tap – Wednesday September 9, 2009
Today's top stories:
- In a matter of hours, President Obama will put a huge stack of political chips on the line to try and sell health care reform. The president will go before both houses of Congress and a national TV audience to make his pitch. President Clinton used the same stage in 1993 but his push for health care reform died a year later. So will President Obama have better luck... And could lawmakers come closer to an agreement on health care before tonight's speech? We have a team of reporters ready to go. Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House, Brianna Keilar's on Capitol Hill and Jim Acosta's in our Washington bureau.
- Dramatic testimony from the father of a Kentucky high school football player who collapsed on the practice field and later died. His former coach now on trial for reckless homicide. Prosecutors say his "brutal practice" led to the 15-year-old's death. We'll look at how the potentially landmark case is playing out in court.
- And lifestyles of Bernie Madoff... New pictures of the homes and boats that were seized by the feds and are ready to be sold. And our first look at the New York City apartment where Madoff spent his last days as a free man. Christine Romans has that story for us.
War zone ER: Soldiers and children in surgery
Program Note: Watch "American Morning" all week for more reports from Dr. Gupta in Afghanistan. And don't miss 'Inside the Battle Zone' tonight on "AC360," 10 p.m. ET.
Think you know what it's like inside a hospital emergency room? You've never seen anything like this.
This one's busier, grittier – possibly the most intense ER on Earth.
Our Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is inside an Afghan battlefield trauma center where soldiers' and children's lives are on the line.
Schools banning the president's pep talk
When the president gives his back-to-school pep talk today at noon, students all over America will be listening.
The text of the speech has been posted online for parents to read, but some schools still don't want their children to hear it. CNN's Gary Tuchman went out to find out why.
Program Note: Watch President Obama's back-to-school speech live on CNN at noon.
Grassley: Most don't want 'Obama-care'
Looking for a compromise on health care reform, the Senate's so-called Gang of Six, three Republicans and three Democrats will be meeting today. The six negotiators, who are also members of the Senate Finance Committee, will be considering a plan by the committee’s chairman to drop the public option and tax the priciest insurance plans.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/09/08/grassley.charles.art.jpg caption="Sen. Charles Grassley says the bipartisan approach to health care reform is the best."]
One member of the Gang of Six is Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley. He spoke to John Roberts on CNN’s “American Morning” Tuesday. Below is an edited transcript of the interview.
John Roberts: During the August recess, you said of the efforts to craft a bipartisan bill in the Senate, “I don't think it's going to be possible to work it out with the administration because they're all over the field.” Now that you're back there on Capitol Hill, are you going to walk away from this or are you going to stick with the Gang of Six and try to come up with a plan?
Grassley: Well, we won't know until we meet this afternoon at 2:30. … The good and bad of the president speaking this week is we’ve had to speed up the work of our group to have something ready. … And that's bad because we should have probably taken a little more time than just over this weekend. And then the other issue is that the president, if he does come out with specifics, probably would make up for that criticism that I gave during August that they were all over the ballpark. And they were all over the ballpark.
Will the 'trigger' end public option showdown?
We are getting down to the wire on health care reform with President Obama set to address a joint session of Congress tomorrow. It's make-or-break time as the White House scrambles to find a compromise.
Our Jim Acosta takes a look at one possibility, the so-called "trigger" option.
Laura Bush has praise for new first family
CNN
PARIS, France (CNN) - Former first lady Laura Bush praised the performance of her husband's successor Monday, breaking with many Republicans in telling CNN that she thinks President Obama is doing a good job under tough circumstances.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/POLITICS/09/07/laura.bush/art.lbush0907.cnn.jpg caption="Former first lady Laura Bush defended President Obama's decision to address the nation's schoolchildren."]
She also criticized Washington's sharp political divide during an interview covering a range of topics including her thoughts on first lady Michelle Obama, former Vice President Dick Cheney, the situation in Afghanistan and Myanmar, and life after eight tumultuous years in the White House.
Bush sat down with CNN on Monday during a United Nations meeting in Paris, France, where she was promoting global literacy, a cause she trumpeted during her husband's administration.
The typically reserved former first lady defended Obama's decision to deliver a back-to-school speech to students, putting her at odds with many conservatives afraid that the president will use the opportunity to advance his political agenda.
"I think he is [doing a good job]," Bush said when asked to assess Obama's job performance. "I think he has got a lot on his plate, and he has tackled a lot to start with, and that has probably made it more difficult."
Michelle Obama is also "doing great," she said, in part by turning the White House into a comfortable home for her family. Watch the interview 
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