Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 3/10/08
Anderson and Erica are back!
And there's plenty to chew on tonight. Eliot Spitzer's prostitution bombshell dominated the news today. We'll also hear about Hillary Clinton's job offer to Barack Obama – and his response.
As always, we'll start posting comments at 10p ET and stop at 11p ET.
Spitzer: Breaking the Rules
Eliot Spitzer seems to be the latest in the long list of politicians who appear to be champions of morality publicly, while privately struggle with some very amoral urges.
Every person has secret fantasies. Many of these fantasies are quite normal and even healthy. There is a big difference between having fantasies or thoughts and acting on them. This means that it is normal too to have fantasies that you would never dream of acting on because the behavior would be morally reprehensible to you.
What happens then when you feel your thoughts are wrong? What happens when the urge to act on a morally bad thought is strong and it makes you anxious and guilty? Can this lead to a career of fighting the very urges you struggle with?
A tremendously conflicted thought or fantasy which is unexamined and suppressed has a lot of power. Power to make you behave in ways you normally would not act.
In addition, the mind tries extremely hard to deny such thoughts exist. This is the set up for creating a man who seems to be leading a secret life. Craig, Foley, Baker and McGreevy... all pillars of society who seemed to be the champions of a highly moral cause and all using their positions to conceal urges to break the very rules they espouse.
– Dr. Gail Saltz, Psychiatrist
Program note: Dr. Saltz is the author of "Anatomy of a Secret Life." She is a guest on Monday's 360° at 10p ET.
Behind the Scenes: The Whistleblower
When I first met Chris De Rosa, he seemed like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. If everything he’s said is true, then I can certainly understand why.
De Rosa has been a scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for close to 30 years. He’s now speaking out against his employer claiming the CDC, responsible for protecting the American people, is creating a substantial danger to public health and safety.
I thought our interview with him would never happen. The CDC has been accused of muzzling De Rosa. After many e-mails and phone calls, CNN Correspondent David Mattingly was granted permission to speak with him, but that was only half the battle.
De Rosa is a career scientist, not a spokesman. He has spent decades with the CDC behind the scenes doing research and studies, not granting interviews. He comes from a culture of deferring to his superiors and defending the CDC. Not speaking out.
Lose the wife when you tell the world you cheated
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer essentially told the world today that he cheated on his wife. And right there over his right shoulder was the wife.
When Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick told residents of the city that he did indeed have an affair with his chief of staff, he did so holding hands with his wife in their church.
When New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey told us about his adulterous affair with a man, and that he was gay, his then-wife, Dina, was right there.
Why don't these women tell these idiots to go tell the world themselves? I know the political consultants always tell the wives to "stand by your man," because it looks better for the public to see a family standing firm.
At least Bill Clinton got this right. After giving his deposition in the Paula Jones lawsuit, he spoke to the nation, alone, admitting to what was reported.
If a man commits such a sin in darkness, and it comes to light, let him have the burden of telling the world.
– Roland S. Martin, CNN Contributor
Looking back: Spitzer's Harvard roots
I met Eliot Spitzer in the fall of 1984. I was a first-year student at Harvard Law School; he was a second-year. My criminal law professor was Alan Dershowitz, who was involved in a fascinating extracurricular activity.
He was representing Claus Von Bulow, who had been convicted of trying to murder his wife Sunny, in a sensational trial in Newport, Rhode Island. Eliot was one of two students who were working as research assistants to Dershowitz, trying to win Von Bulow a new trial on appeal.
From the beginning, there was an odd contrast between Eliot and the Von Bulow case. The attempted murder trial was a sordid drama, full of tales of illicit drug use and wild sex. Eliot was the straightest of straight arrows.
He seemed so unlikely to be involved in such a matter. But Eliot and his good friend Cliff Sloan were precocious and energetic young investigators, and they helped win Von Bulow a new trial; he was later acquitted.
Dershowitz wrote a book about the case, Reversal of Fortune, and it became a terrific movie, starring Jeremy Irons. There is a composite character in the movie loosely based on Eliot and Cliff.
I’ve seen Eliot Spitzer turn into a prominent national figure in the years since, and we’ve remained friendly acquaintances. I always got a kick out of the idea that he got his start in such an unseemly drama – which was so different from what his public persona became.
So today’s news is especially shocking to me, and especially sad.
– Jeffrey Toobin, CNN Sr. Legal Analyst
Chris Rock has an answer for Hillary's VP offer to Obama
NEW YORK (CNN)– I just landed in New York on a flight from Chicago, and who did I run into before boarding? Malaak Rock, the wife of Chris Rock.
She was returning from an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and considering that she and her husband are big supporters of Sen. Barack Obama, politics was the topic of the day (as it is for everyone I seem to meet in airports these days. The shoe shine guys are really into the election!).
So when I landed and saw the chatter about Obama responding to Sen. Hillary Clinton's suggestions of him being VP, I thought of one of Chris Rock's funniest routines.
In one of his Emmy Award-winning stand-up DVDs, Rock blasted the talk of Colin Powell joining Bob Dole's ticket in 1996. For Rock, he thought it was absurd that folks would want Powell to be the number two to a man he could beat!
Last I checked, Obama is leading Clinton among states won and pledged delegates, but her campaign continues to toss out such nonsense. As CNN's Jack Cafferty said on his blog post, what "chutzpah."
I wonder who Clinton will offer the VP post to next? Al Gore? Jimmy Carter?
Let's play a game. If there were an opportunity for Clinton to choose a running mate from previous Democrats who were President, who would she pick? And no, they don't have to be alive.
We might as well have some funny with this silly notion of a Clinton-Obama (and as I wrote previously, an Obama-Clinton) ticket.
– Roland S. Martin, CNN Contributor
Afternoon Buzz
What an afternoon!! New York's governor Eliot Spitzer is accused of meeting with a prostitute. He spoke to reporters just a couple hours ago. And, the Vatican has a NEW list of sinful behaviors. Are you GUILTY? Here's your afternoon buzz:
Top Stories
Sources: N.Y. Governor under prostitution investigation
New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is under investigation for allegedly meeting with a prostitute in a Washington hotel, two sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN.
Cheney to visit Mideast, promote peace
President Bush, dispatching Vice President Dick Cheney to the Middle East, said the goal is to get Israelis and Palestinians to hold firm to the promises they've made toward peace.
Spike in gasoline prices has only just begun
Gasoline will hit a new record high price – perhaps as early as Tuesday – and experts say it will likely continue to soar in tandem with the skyrocketing price of crude.
Raw Politics
Obama rejects being Clinton's No. 2
Sen. Barack Obama Monday flatly rejected suggestions he would be a vice presidential running mate for Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Ron Paul says he's still in the race
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is still in the presidential race ... sort of.
McCain working to fill campaign coffers
Sen. John McCain worked to replenish his campaign cash reserves Monday, attempting to narrow the fundraising advantage Democrats are expected to have going into the general election.
Crime & Punishment
Police seek second 'person of interest' in UNC death
A shadowy figure in the back seat of an SUV in surveillance photos is a second "person of interest" in the slaying of the University of North Carolina student body president, police said Monday.
K-9 officer accused of starving dog
A Miami K-9 officer surrendered to police Monday for allegedly starving his police dog to death.
What YOU will be TALKING about TONIGHT
Vatican lists new sinful behaviors
A Vatican official has listed drugs, pollution and genetic manipulations as well as social and economic injustices as new areas of sinful behavior.
Ledger's will leaves nothing to daughter
Heath Ledger's will leaves nothing to his former girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter because...
Beat 360° 3/10/08
Bloggers!
Happy Monday! Time for a little thing we have called 'Beat 360°' Everyday we post a picture – and you provide the caption. Our staff will get in on the action too.
Tune in every night at 10p ET to see if you are our favorite! Can you Beat 360°?
Here is today’s “Beat 360°” pic of the day:
Have fun with it.
Make sure to include your name, city, state (or country) so we can post your comment.
Erica’s News Note: Scandal and Power
Today’s breaking news about New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer brought my original News Note to a screeching halt.
Yes, I am still fired up about the AP findings on water (can you get the drugs and chemicals out of the tap water?? Bottled water and rural water weren’t tested… should we be worried?), but these allegations about Gov. Spitzer’s possible involvement in a high-end prostitution ring can’t be ignored.
A lot of jaws dropping when this news broke because of how Sptizer has always portrayed himself – he is the man who went after corruption with a vengeance, and he did it loudly.
As N.Y. Attorney General, he even prosecuted at least two prostitution rings. If the allegations are true, so many questions tonight, including how long this has been going on, and how he got involved.
As another 360° staffer said earlier, if Spitzer is a part of this scandal, just imagine who else may be listed in those files. This isn’t the type of service you look up in the phone book.
Scandal and power never seem to be far apart. Tonight, I’ll take a look at others who have been burned by their indiscretions and taken that hard fall from grace.
– Erica Hill, 360° Correspondent
Eliot Spitzer Shocker
In news, expect the unexpected. Always.
Case in point – right now.
We lined up a solid show for tonight. The rundown on the whiteboard has the segments all layed out: Candy Crowley starts things off with the democratic showdown in Mississippi, followed by some smart analysis from our panel of guests.
But then we got wind of the New York Times report on Eliot Spitzer. Sprinkled in the report were phrases like “prostitution ring” and “canceled his scheduled public events.”
Hmm. Sounds interesting.
Right now, we have no idea what Spitzer is going to say at his hastily called news conference. We’re being told he’ll make an announcement.
As the story unfolds, we’re going to watch, wait, and determine how to handle it this evening.
– Gabe Falcon, 360° Writer
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