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Three American Heroes Honored in France; China Losses Rattle Global Markets; Deadly Air Show Tragedies Caught on Video; Biden- Warren Meeting Fuels 2016 Speculation. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 24, 2015 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are truly heroes.

[05:59:16] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just kept pulling weapons, left and right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We saw him cocking the AK-47. It was either do something or die.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guy had a lot of ammo, and his intentions were pretty clear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a private meeting Vice President Joe Biden held with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could this mean a Biden/Warren ticket is in the making?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elizabeth Warren does have her tongue (ph) on the pulse on the progressive movement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Joe Biden candidacy is so much more alluring than reality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't imagine that the Clinton camp could be happy about this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A day of fun turned to tragedy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone, stay in your places, please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) blaze.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This has been an enormously traumatic incident.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: this is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Monday, August 24, 6 a.m. in the East. And we do have breaking overnight a situation that could have meant dozens killed on a train loaded with hundreds of passengers. But instead, it's about three bona fide American heroes, honored by the French. Childhood friends Spencer Stone, Anthony Sadler and Alek Scarlatos receiving France's highest honor for bravery just hours ago. Why? They took down a gunman on a packed Paris-bound high-speed train.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: What a story. The attacker is also speaking out, claiming that he's, quote, "dumbfounded" by allegations that he's connected to Islamist extremists. He insists he was on that train only to rob passengers, because he was hungry.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson live from Paris. Give us the latest, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Well, the French president here honored these three young American heroes, praising them, saying that we should be inspired by their actions, that they had avoided the ultimate carnage on this train: a train with 500 people, an attacker with over 300 bullets. That these men should be an inspiration for us all.

Spencer Stone, with his arm still in a sling from his injuries suffered over the weekend in bringing down that gunman, led the way into the French presidential palace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): This morning, three Americans arriving to a red carpet ceremony in Paris. The French president presenting them the country's highest award for bravery, the Legion of Honor. The honor came after this incredible scene was viewed around the world. A gunman hogtied on the floor of a passenger train. The close friends say they acted on instinct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was either do something or die.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was not really a conscious decision. We just kind of acted.

ROBERTSON: Twenty-three-year-old airman Spencer Stone led the charge.

SPENCER STONE, HONORED FOR BRAVERY: I saw he had what looked to be an AK-47. And he -- it looked like it was jammed or it wasn't working, and he was trying to charge the weapon. And Alek just hit me on the shoulder and said, "Let's go."

ROBERTSON: Authorities say he and his two friends, college senior Anthony Sadler, and National Guard member Alek Scarlatos, along with a French and British national prevented what could have been a bloody massacre.

S. STONE: Went down, tackled him. He hit the ground. Alek came up and grabbed the gun out of his hand while I put him in a chokehold. It seemed like he just kept pulling more weapons left and right.

ROBERTSON: The suspect is identified as Ayoub al-Khazzani, a Moroccan national who boarded the train carrying a small arsenal of weapons, including an assault rifle with at least eight magazines, a Luger automatic pistol with extra ammunition, and a box cutter, which he used to slash Stone multiple times, nearly severing his thumb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he's not dead because he took immediate action to take action to protect himself and everyone there. Plus, there being an angel in the room.

ROBERTSON: Stone's father believing it was destiny, the three men moving from coach seats to first class for better Wi-Fi.

EVERETT STONE, BROTHER OF SPENCER STONE: I expect nothing less from my brother.

ROBERTSON: According to a senior counterterrorism official, Khazzani is linked to investigations into radical Islamic networks across Europe, including a French ISIS cell in Turkey. His lawyer says he denies that he is a terrorist. Instead, planned to rob passengers on the train with weapons he found in a park.

One passenger was shot in the melee. Stone rushed to help another who was wounded in the neck.

S. STONE: I just stuck my two fingers in his hole, found what I thought to be the artery, pushed down, and the bleeding stopped.

ROBERTSON: Over the weekend, President Obama called the men personally, commending them for their courage and quick action.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: And the French president saying that these men deserve not only commending but should be an inspiration that others should be aware that, if faced -- and here he was quoting these three young American heroes. The French president was quoting them, saying if you are presented with a crisis, then you need to act as these men did -- Chris.

CUOMO: As we both know well, Nic, easy to say, tough to do. But boy, did these people step up on this train. What a difference it made. Thank you for the reporting.

All right. So let's try and walk you through what actually happened here. OK? So we have this train route. We told you where it is. It's Paris. It's Amsterdam, Paris.

Now, just about an hour before it's supposed to gets to where it is, that's where everything starts to unfold. And as you heard from Nic, one moment, they're all on the train. The next moment they know is that one of the passengers coming out of the restroom confronts the gunman, who is preparing for this.

Remember, his lawyer says he found these weapons in the park. The authorities don't believe that. That passenger, who confronts him, gets hit.

Then, what happens is these Americans are up in the other part. They hear about it. They make a decision. And one by one, they come forward. The first guy holds him down. He starts getting slashed. He literally has his thumb severed. They had to reattach it. He also gets a wound to his face.

[06:05:09] The two buddies come and help out, to put him on the ground. The interesting part is -- of this, the aftermath is that this is the guy who was hurt, that you saw there, talking his way through it. There's the bad guy that they have hog-tied up there, the alleged bad guy.

There's another French American, a 51-year-old named Mark Mooglian. He also came up and took away the machine gun from the guy at one point. The guy reached into his pocket, grabbed a pistol, shot him and wound up getting his AK-47 back. So that is what took us through all of these different machinations of events in there. And again, Alisyn, the big lesson coming out of it is if you are brave enough and you are faced with a situation where there's so much potential harm to be done to people, you step up. And that's what we have here, and that's why we have heroes.

CAMEROTA: I would love to believe that I could do that, Chris, but I don't think that it is possible for most of us mortals. Those three guys were just made of a different stock. And we're so proud of them here today.

Meanwhile, Chris, you know, there was this New York social worker who was on that train to Paris and witnessed the horror of the attempted attack. Christina Coons joins us now to share her story. Christina, thanks so much for being on the show. How are you feeling?

CHRISTINA COONS, WITNESSED THWARTED TRAIN ATTACK: Exhausted. Exhausted.

CAMEROTA: I can imagine. I mean, all of this has been overwhelming. What -- let's go back to the beginning. What were you doing on that train to begin with?

COONS: So I had been on vacation in Europe for the first time ever, which is extremely exciting for me, and I was happy about it. And I was traveling with a good friend of mine through Italy and then Amsterdam; and then we parted ways in Amsterdam. And he went to Berlin, and I was to go to Paris.

CAMEROTA: You were on that train alone?

COONS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: At what point during your ride did you realize that something was unfolding?

COONS: I was on the train doing my makeup, actually and, you know, I had -- so I had the fold-out tray table out doing my makeup and all of a sudden, around -- between 5:45 and 5:50, I heard gunshots.

CAMEROTA: You heard gunshots in your car?

COONS: I believe after, you know, just thinking about everything that went down and the other information I've gained that I believe the gunshot actually happened in car 11. I was in car 12. But I was in car 12 near the entrance of 11 and 12.

CAMEROTA: So, when you heard gunshots, when did you realize that something terrible was unfolding and that you needed to take cover?

COONS: As soon as I heard -- as soon as I heard the gunshots, myself and everyone around me ducked under the seats. I ducked under the seat and had the tray table over my head, as well. And I was sort of doing this, and I also had my cell phone clutched in my hand underneath the seat, as well.

CAMEROTA: You had your cell phone clutched in your hand, and you were able to actually take some photos...

COONS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: ... of this entire crime unfolding. And we have those. You've shared them with us. What is this picture that we're seeing?

COONS: So, this photo is a man that, it appeared to me that his neck -- his neck was profusely bleeding.

CAMEROTA: This is the first victim, you believe, who was shot in the neck?

COONS: I believe, yes, he was the first. He was shot in the neck, and he had come stumbling into the train. And he fell -- he had a bloody duffel bag that I also have a photo of. And he had first dropped the bloody duffel bag in the seat right across from me, essentially, and then he had collapsed to the floor very close to where I was sitting.

CAMEROTA: Here's the picture of the duffel bag?

COONS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: So you are under your seat. You're taking cover. The tray table is down, and you see this man fall, with blood and you see that bloody duffel bag. What's going through your head while all that's happening?

COONS: I didn't know what to think. I just thought, oh, my God, this man just got shot; he's dead. Like I thought he, like, I'm like the neck, that's a severe area to be shot at, and he might be dead right now. And I thought am I next? That was my first thought, am I next? Are we all next?

CAMEROTA: So you thought that somebody was on a rampage?

COONS: Yes, I did. Right away.

CAMEROTA: You immediately thought that that's what was happening?

COONS: I did.

CAMEROTA: Was the gunman saying anything?

COONS: No, I didn't hear the gunman. Because what I believe, at this point, is that the shot was fired in car 11 and that the man was running away from the assailant, probably into car 12 and then dropped the duffel bag and fell to the floor very close to where I was sitting. That's what I believe. That's how I believe it happened.

CAMEROTA: So you and fellow passengers are cowering under your seat with the tray table down. At what point did you figure out that there were three heroes on this train?

COONS: So I had seen at least two of them while I was under my seat still and I'm snapping photos. And just to go back to that real quick. I was snapping photos but not just snapping photos. I was on Facebook chat with a friend of mine I had been traveling with.

[06:10:09] CAMEROTA: While it was happening?

COONS: Yes, while it was happening. I have the conversation. I said -- I messaged him and I said, "Oh my God, oh my God, there's a man with a gun. There's gunshots. A man just dropped to the floor in front of me bleeding." And I -- that's when I snapped the photo of the duffel bag and I snapped the photo of him on the floor. And then later on, I snapped the third photo of the assailant outside the train, being -- with his hands behind his back.

CAMEROTA: Yes, and we have that, as well. When did you realize that there were people on that train who were going to try to save you?

COONS: So while I was under there still, I had -- the shots were fired; the man was bleeding. I didn't know what to think. And then, actually, while I was under there, I saw a large rifle. And at first, I thought, "Oh, my God, is that the gunman," because I didn't know yet who he was. And I later learned he was one of the three men that saved my life and all of our lives. I believe that that was probably what he had taken from, maybe what he had taken from the assailant. He -- I know that he had to wrestle him and take the ammunition away.

CAMEROTA: Did you hear, during the process of this, we know that there was some conversation exchanged between these three Americans. Did you hear them talking?

COONS: I heard one of them say, "I'm a paramedic. Someone get this man some help." You know, he was basically trying to come to this man's rescue. So he...

CAMEROTA: The first victim? COONS: The victim with the bloody neck, the gunshot to the neck.

The only victim that I saw was the man who got shot in the neck. And he was asking passengers on -- in my car to get like neckties, men's neckties or like a woman's scarf to try to make a tourniquet around the neck to stop the bleeding.

CAMEROTA: Could you tell that there were three Americans on your car and that they were trying to quell the whole situation?

COONS: I believe I only saw two of them. I don't think I saw three. So I -- but I did come out from under -- a lot of us came out from under our seats when we realized, OK -- they communicated to us that "OK, we have the man tied up. His ammunition was taken away." So they did communicate that. So we felt a bit safer. I was still scared and shaken up. But I felt, like, a bit safer to come out of hiding, so I did that.

And also, they actually made us all go to the back of the car and then eventually made us go to the next car, car 13, because they didn't want so many people near this man who was on the floor bleeding.

CAMEROTA: What do you think it was that allowed these three Americans to run towards danger, when everyone else, naturally your reflex and my reflex would be to hide?

COONS: To hide. Fight or flight, right?

CAMEROTA: Yes.

COONS: So you know, I know that a couple of them have military background. And so, I mean, I guess -- I don't have military background myself, but my understanding is that, you know, if you have that training, that's probably what you are kind of programmed to do, essentially.

I don't know what it was, but I think they were very, very brave. I owe my life to them. I'm incredibly, incredibly grateful to those three men. They are fantastic human beings, and we are all grateful for what they did for us.

CAMEROTA: What do you want to say to them?

COONS: Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. I don't feel like I'm -- you know, the thoughts that were running through my mind were, am I going to die? I'm not ready to die. That's really how I felt -- thought -- I felt. Excuse me, I'm getting a little emotional.

And you know, I feel like I have so much more to do with my life. I'm only 28 years old. And I have goals, and everybody else on that train does, as well. And they saved us. You know, they are heroes. And if they don't think they are heroes, I mean, they're very humble and I respect that. But they are heroes. They're truly heroes. And my mom wanted to say thank you so much. She's very grateful that they were on that train. CAMEROTA: As are all of your loved ones and everyone on that

train's loved ones. Christina, we're happy that you are safe.

COONS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: And that you survived this and that you came on to share your pictures and your story with us.

COONS: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

COONS: No problem.

CAMEROTA: Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Just an incredible account there, Alisyn. Thank you for that.

We turn now to breaking news. Stock markets in Asia and Europe falling sharply on fears of an economic slowdown in China. China's Shanghai Composite seeing all its gains for the year wiped out as the global sell-off that sent Wall Street into correction territory Friday bleeds into Monday. So what does it mean for our U.S. markets today? We've got the woman on the job. Christine Romans joins us now with a look at this.

What can we expect?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: It's going to be ugly. Right now, you've got Apple shares lower. You've got Facebook shares lower. You've got a lot of pre-market action in U.S. stocks.

[06:15:07] This is what it looks like around the world. I mean, you've got big losses in Europe, and Shanghai closed down 8.5 percent, wiping out all the gains for the year and a dramatic day for the year. Look at that. That is a plunge. That is really an ugly market.

Futures here in the U.S., S&P futures down 2 percent. That's a big move. A 2 percent move is a big move. So we're going to see more pain for your 401(k) today.

Why do I say more pain? Because Friday was terrible. The Dow Jones Industrial Average down 3 percent, 16,459. It's now below 17,000. It's the lowest level since last fall. But these were some of the worst losses in four years for the market.

Commodities, a big loser, too. I mean, take a look at oil here, now below $40 a barrel. Look at this. Six year lows for oil. That means you're going to have lower gas prices, Michaela. Probably by Halloween, I'm thinking you're going to have $2 gas. So that's the upside for consumers. But it's a lot of unease for anybody who's got energy stocks in their 401(k), for example, which is probably all of us.

And it's really unsettling for countries that depend on oil for their revenue. That could add some instability.

Three hours until the markets open. Looks like it's going to be another ugly open. The weekend was not a speed bump, you guys, for the selling. The selling is out there in full force.

CUOMO: Correction? What do you think the duration is?

ROMANS: I don't know. It is a correction for the Dow so far. The S&P 500 hasn't quite hit it yet. It will hit it here this morning. It's a good point, Chris, because the stocks have been going up for six years without a real solid correction. So some say that could be healthy for investors.

CUOMO: All right, Christine. We'll keep an eye on it. Thank you very much.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CUOMO: So ISIS is on a rampage in Syria. They just blew up the Baalshamin temple that stood for nearly two millennia in the ancient city of Palmyra. It's one of Syria's most important historical sites. And that is what these terrorists want to do, is erase civilization. Last week, ISIS terrorists beheaded an 82-year-old Syrian scholar who worked for more than five decades as head of antiquities in Palmyra.

PEREIRA: A scheduled third day of protests in Beirut postponed by organizers after two days of violent demonstrations rocked the city and left hundreds of people injured. Thousands pouring into the streets over the weekend, demanding the Lebanese government resign over weeks of uncollected garbage piling up on the streets of Beirut. The country's prime minister threatening to do just that, warning that his country is on the verge of collapse.

CAMEROTA: Investigators this morning working to find out what caused two deadly air show accidents in Europe this weekend. The death toll continues to climb in England after a relic military jet plunged onto a busy highway, killing more than 11 people. And in Switzerland, audiences watched in horror as two planes collided mid- air.

CNN's Ian Lee is live in Shoreham, England, with the latest details and new video -- Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, this is about as far as they're letting us get to the crash site here in the -- in southern England. It's just on the other side of this airfield here. Authorities saying that there is still dangerous conditions because of jet fuel that's there. But today, they're expecting to remove the body of the aircraft, and they expect to find more bodies with that.

That's coming as we're seeing new video being released, showing us exactly how this happened. One from a dash cam on a car that was traveling down the highway. And the majority of these people -- these people who died were people who were commuting back and forth. This has really devastated this small community. We're expecting that death toll right now, standing at 11, to rise further. That according to police.

This is also coming as there was another deadly air show incident in Switzerland, in northern Switzerland, where two airplanes crashed. One pilot died there. The other one was able to get out of the plane and parachute.

But for here, this investigation, still ongoing, still trying to figure out what exactly happened -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. Thank you very much, Ian.

This morning, Joe Biden could be one step closer to a run for the White House. Why? Well, CNN first reported Biden held a private meeting with Senator Elizabeth Warren on Saturday. CNN's White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski, joins us now with more.

Obviously questions: Was this a planned trip? Does the administration know about it? Why would it be her? Are they close friends? What do you think?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Chris. Right.

This is interesting. I mean, it was last minute. It wasn't originally on his official schedule. But even if this is were just what the public sees, this does step things up a notch.

I mean, two weeks ago, we saw the vice president go on this very quiet vacation to South Carolina, but we knew he was talking to his advisers. Then last week at home in Delaware, meeting with advisers. But then this meeting on Saturday here at the White House with Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, the hero of many liberal Democrats and progressives. Some are seeing that as him leaning toward making this run.

[06:20:01] But what sources are telling CNN is that he's taking this seriously, yes. But the decision still has not been made. They say that he wanted to get her take on Iran, make sure that she knew where he stood on the issues, especially the economy.

But of course, now there is that Draft Biden 2016 super PAC. It says it's already drafting talent, looking at fund raising. And in this e-mail that it sent to Democrats around the country, it said that they've been "drawing on a growing voter appetite and groundswell of grassroots interest in his candidacy. Draft Biden 2016 will continue this aggressive positive campaign to build the necessary framework for the vice president to launch a successful bid for the nomination and eventually the presidency."

So that group is laying that framework. Although, you know, not everybody in the Democratic Party sees a potential Biden run as that great of an idea. He is seen, of course, as a viable alternative, potentially, to Hillary Clinton. But others see it as, you know, possibly down the road, they're going to have to choose where their loyalties lie -- Michaela. PEREIRA: All right, Michelle. We'll have more on this coming up

on NEW DAY. And in fact, we'll talk about Elizabeth Warren. What was that conversation about? Is he thinking about asking her to be a running mate?

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:12] CUOMO: All right. So we have the known tang of the unknown in politic this is morning. Here's the known.

CAMEROTA: Which part do I get?

CUOMO: You get the unknown.

CAMEROTA: I know.

CUOMO: CNN was first to report that Vice president Joe Biden held a meeting with Senator Elizabeth Warren this weekend. OK? The unknown is why and what does it mean to his future?

Let us discuss. We have political reporter from "TIME" magazine, Zeke Miller; and Errol Louis, CNN political commentator and political anchor for New York One.

Errol, do we know that they have some pre-existing relationship? Is there any reason? We heard from Kosinski that this wasn't on his schedule originally. Spin away.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, they -- look, they have some kind of relationship. As the vice president, he would have sworn her in at some point, right? I mean, it's not as if they have a close relationship.

But she represents an important part of the party. I mean, to me that's what the meeting said, more than anything else. That there actually is an Elizabeth Warren wing of the party and that you've got to talk to her if you want to talk to certain kind of progressive donors, progressive activists, progressive consultants, and see where that part of the Democratic Party, where their heart is. And so it would be sensible for Biden or, frankly, anybody else to get a sense of that.

CAMEROTA: So Zeke, is there any other way to interpret this meeting than the idea that Biden is getting his ducks in a row for a run?

ZEKE MILLER, POLITICAL REPORTER, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, Joe Biden is certainly signaling that he's thinking about running for president. Does that mean he actually will run is a totally different question. Because he sort of has to build up expectations, one way or another.

If he were to announce yesterday that he wasn't running before he leaked this meeting, that would be a very different story for him. Now after a month -- another month of expectations, people wondering will he or won't he? If he were to announce that he's not running, he'd get a lot more attention for that, which is exactly what he wants, ultimately, one way or another. He either wants to be president and he needs this meeting, needs to reach out to Elizabeth Warren; or he doesn't want to be president but wants to get the maximum amount of attention for that. A meeting with Elizabeth Warren is a really good way to do that.

CUOMO: Zeke, why do you say he leaked the meeting and that he's looking for attention? Why?

MILLER: Because that's certainly what the people around Joe Biden have been trying to do for the past several weeks, several months, in fact. Leaking -- people close to Biden saying that Beau Biden, his late son, had wanted him to run.

His whole organized effort around people not necessarily in the immediate Biden circle, but sort of the ring around that one saying, you know, the -- trying to build -- lay the groundwork for a presidential run, should he want to do it. Or certainly for the post- vice presidency, to lay the groundwork for that. So there -- all the incentive is with the vice president right now.

CAMEROTA: Errol, what do you think about that theory, that this is more of an attention-getting stunt? Or equally. That it does increase his cache even if he doesn't run?

LOUIS: I think Joe Biden has been planning this for a number of years. You heard talk in the 2012 re-elect effort, that they needed Joe Biden out on the road, campaigning for the ticket.

Somehow he found his way to Iowa. Somehow he found his way to New Hampshire more often than -- you know, which are not swing states, frankly -- more often than some of the campaign staff really wanted. It was clear that he wanted to be considered. It is clear that he wants to be considered. This leaked meeting, some of the other efforts that he's made.

I mean, I'll tell you the conversations I'd really like to hear about are the calls that he's making to donors and what they're saying back to him. Because that's going to really determine his ability to put together a campaign.

And we shouldn't be so cynical as to -- to dismiss the idea that the people are going to decide this, not the donors, the consultants and Elizabeth Warren.

CAMEROTA: On a scale of one to ten, how likely is it, do you think, that he runs?

LOUIS: I think it's an open question. The polls suggest that it would be negligence for him, it would be malpractice politically for him to say, "Oh, I'm going to just walk away, even though in the polls I do better against -- in several match-ups against Republicans than Hillary Clinton. I am more likable within the Democratic Party within -- than Hillary Clinton, according to some of the numbers." And if he can get donors and some operatives to put something together, why not?

CUOMO: But he knows that you're always most attractive before you're actually in the race.

Zeke, do you think that the obstacles to entry are a larger issue than the enticements? The organization, the number of people already working for Hillary, the pockets that have been tapped for Hillary. The party's disposition towards Hillary. What do you think?

MILLER: I mean, that's certainly a huge factor here. You know, his poll numbers are riding sky high precisely, as you said, because he's not right now in the political game. It's sort of where Hillary Clinton's poll numbers were two or three years ago when she was at the State Department. When you're not involved in the direct life of politics, your numbers are higher.

But you know, the fact that so many Obama veterans from, you know, the president's former campaign manager, are working, you know, with the Hillary super PAC, there's a structural problem there to get enough talented, qualified operatives in such a small amount of time for the Iowa caucuses on February 1. Things are going to get really hard for the vice president. Hillary Clinton has a very large head start, maybe an insurmountable head start for any Democrat right now.