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Romney’s faith pitch recorded behind closed doors

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney put aside questions about his Mormon faith and focused instead on what he described as his shared values with Christians, according to an audio recording of an invitation-only meeting that CNN obtained.

Romney often has spoken about his efforts to allay the fears of evangelical Christians, but the recording of the event — held Tuesday with students, faculty and alumni of the fundamentalist Bob Jones University — provides a rare glimpse into the Republican’s private efforts to court the constituency many see as crucial to his 2008 presidential bid.

I get good support from evangelical Christian leadership around the country, you know, despite a difference in religion, Romney told the audience of evangelicals at the Greenville Hilton. Go inside the invitation-only meeting

I think it was Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention who said we’re not electing a pastor in chief, and so I appreciate that support and just you remember that when you go to vote, he said with a laugh.

CNN received the recording, which was made without the knowledge of the Romney campaign or those from Bob Jones, from an alumnus of the fundamentalist Christian school who was invited to the private meeting. The alumnus requested anonymity because he did not want to anger the university community. Watch Romney address religion

We would love to have you join us for this event as Governor Romney outlines his views as a social conservative, said an e-mail invitation that the alumnus also provided to CNN.

The e-mail described the gathering as designed to specifically reach out to members of the Bob Jones University family.

The alumnus said he was frustrated at the recent endorsements of Romney by the school’s chancellor, Bob Jones III, and Robert Taylor, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, in part because of the candidate’s past support of abortion rights.

He also said he wanted to make clear that not all members of the university community supported Romney despite high-profile endorsements from the school’s leadership.

Jones and Taylor endorsed Romney in mid-October — a surprise since Jones had once called Mormonism and Catholicism cults which call themselves Christian. The endorsements were seen as a boost to Romney’s efforts to sway conservative Christians skeptical about his faith.

The Bob Jones officials may not be as well-known nationally as televangelist Pat Robertson, who this week endorsed former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, but they are influential among the evangelical Christians who make up a significant portion of GOP primary voters in South Carolina.

Romney spoke for about 10 minutes before taking questions. He was asked about Iraq, taxes, the auto industry and Darfur. Only once was there a question about his religion.

A member of the audience wanted to know about his relationship with Jones. We have different views on religion, Romney said.

I’ve met with Dr. Jones a couple of times. We’ve had good, long discussions. And we’ve talked, as you might imagine, we don’t talk about doctrines of churches, all right? Because he says, ‘Look, your church is wrong,’ and I say ‘Fine.’

Romney told the audience he had assured Jones in private meetings that they do agree on the critical nature of what the country faces right now and that he can build and fund the sort of campaign organization needed to win.

Romney asked the crowd to focus on his ability to build a strong enough organization to defeat the Democratic nominee, whom he predicted would be Sen. Hillary Clinton.

I think Hillary will get about 47, 48, maybe 49.9 percent, but she won’t get over 50 percent. I just don’t think it will happen, Romney said. But I do represent one of the candidates who is fighting for the values I think that build upon the house that Reagan built, and that will bring together the coalition that will allow us to beat Hillary or Barack [Obama] or John Edwards.

Most of Romney’s remarks closely resembled those of his usual stump speech, focusing on free trade, lower taxes and strong national security. But the candidate took time to emphasize family values and promoted his new plan to require so-called family planning clinics that receive federal funds to offer adoption advice to pregnant women.

Perhaps more illuminating than Romney’s on-message speech to the crowd was his introduction by Taylor, the college dean and a top official at Bob Jones.

Taylor tried to convince the audience that they should support Romney despite his religion. He suggested Romney’s faith is preventing many fellow evangelicals from supporting the former Massachusetts governor.

I think there’s a lot of us evangelicals that have kind of held back a little, Taylor said. They realize he’s the guy they would like to support, but they’re kind of looking left and right and seeing, ‘OK who has the courage to step out and support him and if somebody else does maybe I will, too.’

So you can probably be the encouragement to that neighbor or that other church member that’s a little concerned.

He assured the crowd that backing Romney is not an endorsement of Mormonism.

I don’t think there has ever been a time when there has been probably a bigger discussion of the actual differences there are in Gov. Romney’s religion, Mormonism and the Christian religion, Taylor said.

And nobody is trying to rub out that line, so that’s an encouragement. If that were the case, I could see where we might have a problem but that’s not the case.

Reached by phone at his office Friday, Taylor confirmed the authenticity of the recording but denied the suggestion that members of the Bob Jones community are frustrated with school leaders for endorsing Romney.

Everybody has a right to endorse a candidate, so I don’t think there is that kind of feeling at all, he said, adding that after this week’s private meeting with Romney, there were people there who were still making up their minds.

The Romney campaign said it’s impossible to expect to win over every evangelical voter.

You appreciate the support you receive, and you wish those that don’t support you the best of luck. We’d love to win every vote in this race, but we know that’s not possible, said Will Holley, Romney’s South Carolina communications director.
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Recovery teams try to limit damage from California oil spill

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) — Most of the oil that spilled into San Francisco Bay when a container ship struck the Bay Bridge will never be retrieved and eventually will be absorbed into the ecosystem, authorities said Friday.

The U.S. Coast Guard, which was heading the response to the 58,000-gallon spill, acknowledged miscommunication with local officials, but insisted it didn’t impede their efforts to corral the oil.

Tides carried the heavy fuel that poured from the ship’s oil tank under the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean, fouling miles of coastline, closing several beaches, canceling weekend outdoor events and threatening thousands of birds and other marine life. It is believed to be the biggest spill in the bay since 1988.

Oil skimmers and shoreline cleanup crews continued mopping up the damage. But as the oil spreads and dissipates, crews will find diminishing returns in their skimming efforts, said Barry McFarley, whose private recovery firm the O’Brien Group was hired by the ship’s owner to handle its response to the spill.

On Friday, 9,500 gallons of oil had been sucked up. Lt. Rob Roberts, an investigator with the California Department of Fish and Game, said by the weekend most of the oil will be beyond containment and capture. Most of the fuel will dissolve into the water, but some globules could remain and cause problems for birds for months.

Oil and feathers don’t mix, said Yvonne Addassi, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Fish and Game. This is not good for the birds.

Fish and Game officials said they have received hundreds of reports of oiled birds found on Bay Area beaches. So far, 73 live birds have been recovered and sent to a recovery center in Solano County; 17 were found dead.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Friday after meeting with state, federal and local officials overseeing the cleanup. The proclamation makes additional state personnel, funding and equipment available. Watch Schwarzenegger talk about his visit to the spill

This has done tremendous damage to the environment, to wildlife and to the birds, the governor said. We have to clean up as quickly as possible.

City officials have said they weren’t given accurate information about the size of the spill until 9 p.m. Wednesday, more than 12 hours after the accident.

A new set of Coast Guard logs that surfaced Friday suggested the agency had concluded by 4:49 p.m. that 58,000 gallons had spilled, rather than the 140 gallons reported earlier. That contradicted a different Coast Guard log obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. It said that at 4:49 p.m., the Coast Guard believed 400 gallons had escaped.

Rear Adm. Craig Bone, the Coast Guard’s top official in California, conceded the agency should have done a better job keeping local authorities informed.

That is not acceptable, said Bone, who didn’t explain the delay but insisted the Coast Guard’s response to the incident was immediate and aggressive.

Sen. Barbara Boxer criticized the Coast Guard’s response in a letter to Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen, and Mayor Gavin Newsom said the city would have responded differently if it knew the full scale of the spill.

Bone said Friday their concerns were warranted.

The ship, called Cosco Busan, had just left the Port of Oakland and was proceeding to sea when it hit a tower beneath the western section of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. It caused no structural damage to the span, but the vessel’s hull suffered a large gash.

Investigators continue to puzzle over why the ship, one of hundreds that pass under the bridge each year, struck the tower. The pilot, Capt. John Cota, was one of the most experienced of the seamen who guide massive ships through the bay’s treacherous waters.

How does a ship, with that much space available, how does a ship hit the bridge? Schwarzenegger asked Coast Guard officials as he was shown a map of the bay and where the vessel struck the bridge.

That’s what we’re investigating, answered Coast Guard Capt. William Uberti, captain of the Port of San Francisco. That shouldn’t have happened.

According to chief investigator G. Ross Wheatley, the pilot and the shipping company could face civil penalties. He said Cota had answered every question asked of him.
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Derailment dumps coal cars into D.C. river

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A CSX freight train derailed on a bridge over the Anacostia River on Friday, dumping 10 rail cars carrying coal into the chilly water.

No one was hurt in the incident in southeast Washington, but a witness called it very frightening.

It was a loud noise, a big thump, Alice Spann said.

And then, the train just started going up in the air. The wheels separated from the train. Then the track went over, the rails went up in the air. I never saw anything like it before, she said.

I thought the world was coming to an end. Watch her describe how the train split in half

Several fireboats and other emergency vehicles responded, including some engine companies with hazardous materials units that came to the scene as a precaution.

Ten of the train’s 90 cars were in the water.

The crash dumped coal into the river, along with hydraulic fluid and oil from the train cars, District of Columbia Fire Department spokesman Alan Etter said.

The environmental impact, we’re hoping, will be minimal, he said.

Booms were in place to prevent any hazardous materials from moving downriver, said Assistant Fire Chief Lawrence Schultz. He said the water had a sheen, indicating some petroleum products, but pH tests have been neutral.

It could be something as simple as brake fluid from the train, he said.

The train was parked with no one on board when another freight train rear-ended it, said Gene Maestas of the U.S. Coast Guard.

But the Fire Department said the cause was unknown, and federal agencies were being called to investigate.

The National Transportation Safety Board is en route, and we expect them to be here shortly, Schultz said. We’re just not sure what happened. When the investigators get here, they’ll do a full investigation.

Structural engineers were assessing the bridge and eventually wanted undamaged rail cars removed to try to get some weight off the bridge, Schultz said Friday.

We believe there is some structural damage to it, he said.

Bob Sullivan, a spokesman for CSX, said the train was carrying no hazardous materials.

Maestas, however, said that coal qualifies as a hazardous material.
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Campaign diary: Two days, three Republicans and one giant ‘Eddie’

Peter Hamby is CNN’s 2008 campaign producer based in Columbia, South Carolina.

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (CNN) — Three front-runners for the Republican nomination brought three very different campaign styles to South Carolina this week, ping-ponging around the Palmetto State trying to win over the crucial mass of primary voters still unsure about which Republican is the real conservative in the race.

One candidate with a gravelly, Southern drawl talked about grits and accused his Massachusetts rival of trying to buy South Carolina.

That rival was also in the state, managing to work in five campaign stops in just over 24 hours, including a speech in front of a 40-foot indoor plastic sculpture named Eddie, a giant interactive children’s museum exhibit touted as the world’s largest child.

And a former mayor from New York City jetted in at the last minute for about an hour, shook some hands, then turned around and left.

It began Tuesday morning in Columbia, when Fred Thompson was nearly 30 minutes late to an event at the State House, where he was to announce a Vets for Fred coalition with several decorated military veterans who were not, apparently, supporting decorated military veteran Sen. John McCain.

A dedicated South Carolina field organizer for the Divided We Fail campaign looked at his watch and mulled over going back to the office.

Some of us got work to do, he said.

Thompson, a former senator from Tennessee, finally showed up to meet several dozen of his eager fans, speaking for 10 minutes about American exceptionalism while six American flags whipped in the breeze behind him, before jumping into an SUV to head up the street for a local TV interview.

One hundred miles away, in Greenville, the hard-working Mitt Romney showed up, touring the Carolina Hope Adoption Agency.

Outside, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who is Mormon, waxed biblical on the value of children, attempting to quote the New Testament.

As it says in the Book of Psalms, what is it?, he asked. A hundred and twenty-six. Where did, I think it’s the 126 chapter of Psalms, it says effectively this … I’ll be loose …

Someone in the crowd corrected him.

One twenty-seven! I was only one off. A hundred and twenty-seven chapter of Psalms, it says, ‘Children are an inheritance of the Lord, happy is he who hath his quiver full of them.’

Romney quickly moved on.

With that, we’re happy to take any questions you may have on this topic or, unfortunately, on others, he said.

CNN then learned Romney would be holding a private lunch with member of the Bob Jones University family, but the meeting between the Mormon candidate and a group of fundamentalist Christians was closed to the media.

After that, a stop at a deli in Anderson.

In the meantime, Thompson had made it up to the town of Fort Mill, just south of the North Carolina border.

It seemed Thompson had downed a Red Bull since his morning speech. It was a lively event. At the Beef O’Brady’s restaurant, Thompson dished out some conservative red meat to the packed-in crowd, telling of his opposition to gay marriage, illegal immigrants and activist judges.

Then Thompson, pacing around with his hands clasped, showed some unusual gusto and issued arguably his harshest attack yet on a Republican opponent. Now, the governor of Massachusetts has apparently spent $20 million of his own personal fortune, and apparently a good chunk of that in South Carolina, he said. All I got to say is: Governor, you can’t buy South Carolina! You can’t even rent South Carolina.

Lazy? Thompson brushed off the label.

Sometimes, I’m asked whether I have sufficient fire in my belly, he said. But ultimately, the American people have to ask themselves, do you want someone with his finger on the nuclear button who has fire in his belly?

Polite but unsure laughter on that one.

Thompson took some questions from the media, then went to Spartanburg for one more campaign stop.

Romney got up early the next morning to speak at the Children’s Museum in Columbia in front of a somewhat unsettling backdrop — Eddie, the 40-foot interactive indoor sculpture of a child.

According to the Children’s Museum, You can climb his vertebrae to his brain, crawl through his heart, bounce around inside his stomach and slide out his intestines.

Romney didn’t take the plunge, but he did rattle off his CEO pitch to the early morning crowd.

Eddie, all lips and teeth behind Romney, seemed like a big fan of the former Massachusetts governor’s no-nonsense approach.

Open markets and free trade? Eddie grinned. Tax credits for home schooling? Eddie grinned. Fighting the jihadists who want to establish an Islamic caliphate? Oh, yes.

Romney took several questions from the media about the news of the day, smiling his way through questions about Pat Robertson’s endorsement of Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Sam Brownback’s endorsement of McCain. You can’t get ‘em all, he said.

Then, just like magic, he was gone, off to New Hampshire for more rapid-fire campaigning.

Thompson finished his South Carolina swing the same morning at Tommy’s Ham House in Greenville, where, according to The Associated Press, he gazed longingly at a plate of sausage, biscuits and grits and said, It’s mighty good to be back in God’s country.

Thompson flew back to his home state to hold a fundraiser in Nashville.

And so then, there was one: Giuliani, his campaign mum on the details, was supposed to show up somewhere in Columbia in a matter of hours.

It turned out he would visit his state campaign headquarters, housed in a drab brick building on Sunset Boulevard in West Columbia across the street from Rent-A-Wreck.

Hizzoner’s appearance, being last minute, brought in only a meager crowd.

The mayor appeared through a back door, hustled in by aides who initiated the applause.

Giuliani, in pinstripes, spoke briefly and took some questions, including one from a reporter who asked about Robertson’s endorsement, and how the host of The 700 Club had once declared that 9/11 was God’s wrath for homosexuality and pornography.

I am very, very pleased to have Pat Robertson endorse me, and I think those comments he explained a long time ago, Giuliani said. Gosh, I’ve had explain lots of comments of mine at different times.

Before leaving, he hoisted a small boy, about 3 years old, in his arms and tickled his belly. With the cherubic boy anchored on his shoulder, Giuliani pivoted and took on a decidedly un-cute topic.

Let me take a poll, he said. How many of you think illegal immigrants should get a driver’s license?

The assembled crowd, waiting to take a photo with the mayor, looked around. With no one biting on the Hillary Clinton bait, Giuliani coaxed a Go Gamecocks! cheer out of the boy instead.

Outside in the parking lot, after Giuliani had been whisked back to the airport, a man in a Giuliani mask waved a FREE BERNIE sign, a reference to Bernard Kerik, the former New York police commissioner whose pending indictment had just been reported in the national media.

When asked which rival GOP campaign he worked for, the masked protester remained silent and kept waving to no one in particular.
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Ex-Giuliani protege Kerik pleads not guilty

WHITE PLAINS, New York (CNN) — Former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik said Friday that he’s ready to fight federal charges of conspiracy, tax fraud and making false statements.

I’m disappointed that the government has brought forward this case, Kerik said on the steps of federal court in suburban White Plains after pleading not guilty to a 16-count indictment against him.

My life has been marked by challenge, Kerik said, citing adversity he said he overcame as a New York police officer and during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

This is a battle I am going to fight.

Prosecutors said Kerik received about $255,000 in renovations to his Riverdale, New York, apartment from a company seeking to do business with the city of New York and concealed the income from the Internal Revenue Service.

The indictment also alleges Kerik made false statements to the White House and to federal officials.

It is a sad day when this office returns an indictment against a former law-enforcement officer, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said in announcing the charges, particularly one who served in positions as high as those held by Bernard Kerik.

If convicted on all 16 counts in the indictment, Kerik could face a maximum sentence of 142 years in prison and $4.7 million in fines, prosecutors said.

Moral relativism is not an appropriate yardstick for our public officials, said David Cardona, special agent in charge of the New York FBI office. The only acceptable level of corruption in a trusted government official is zero.

Kerik, 52, surrendered to officials Friday morning. He later was released on $500,000 bail. Kerik said he would use his New Jersey home as security. Watch Kerik turn himself in

Kerik was ordered to turn over all firearms and their licenses, to have no contact with government witnesses and to surrender travel documents. Kerik already had relinquished his passport; his travel is restricted the Southern District of New York and New Jersey.

Kerik is a longtime friend and former protege of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the Republican presidential front-runner in national polls.

He was frequently by Giuliani’s side in the days after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, and his role as the city’s police commissioner propelled him into the national spotlight.

With Giuliani’s backing, President Bush nominated Kerik to be secretary of homeland security after the 2004 election. (Kerik campaigned for Bush’s re-election effort, speaking at the Republican National Convention in New York.) But Kerik withdrew his name amid allegations that he employed a nanny whose immigration status was questionable.

After the allegations about the nanny, Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson began investigating allegations that Kerik had traded payment on repairs to his Bronx apartment for favors, including city contracts.

The ex-chief pleaded guilty in 2006 to accepting tens of thousands of dollars in gifts while he worked as city corrections commissioner. He was fined $221,000 and avoided jail time under his plea agreement.

At least one of Giuliani’s rivals for the Republican nomination used Giuliani’s endorsement of Kerik to question the former New York mayor’s judgment, a part of Giuliani’s strategy of presenting himself as a strong leader.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Kerik did a questionable job when he was sent to Baghdad to train Iraqi police in 2003, which should have given Giuliani pause.

That should have been part of anybody’s judgment whether to recommend that individual to be the head of Department of Homeland Security, McCain said.

And, In a statement released Friday, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said, Rudy Giuliani’s history with Bernie Kerik is a story of poor judgment.

A president’s judgment matters, and Rudy Giuliani has repeatedly placed personal loyalty over regard for the facts, Davis said.

Giuliani called his earlier patronage of Kerik a mistake during a campaign stop Thursday in Iowa.

I made a mistake in not clearing him effectively enough, and I take the responsibility for that, Giuliani said.

Kerik was Giuliani’s driver during his 1993 mayoral campaign. Giuliani later named him the city’s corrections commissioner and police commissioner and made him a senior executive of the management consulting firm Giuliani founded after leaving office.

Time magazine political analyst Mark Halperin said even though the two were thick as thieves, Kerik doesn’t seem to be hurting Giuliani’s standing with voters so far.

There’s still a problem for Giuliani, but I don’t think this is going to be a problem just because we’re talking about it, Halperin said on CNN’s American Morning. Someone else — some Republican, some interest group, some Democrat — is going to have to try to make this an issue.

If it doesn’t happen, Giuliani’s handled it brilliantly so far. He said he made a mistake. I don’t think this is going to be decisive, though, unless somebody steps forward and tries to use it to attack Giuliani.

Before tapping Kerik for a Cabinet post, Bush dispatched him to Baghdad to train Iraqi police after the U.S. invasion. Kerik left three months into an expected six-month stint, with Iraqi officials telling reporters that he had completed his assignment.

According to the indictment, Kerik lied to federal officials who were vetting him for a position as an adviser to the president’s Homeland Security Advisory Council, for the Iraq position and for his nomination as homeland security secretary.

Time and again, Kerik was asked specific questions about his financial dealings, and time and again he lied, Garcia said Friday.
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