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American Morning
Romney Wins Michigan Primary; Interview With Mitt Romney; Market Tumble: Recession Fears; Tiger Attack: Police to Look at Survivors Car and Phone; Workplace Revolution: New Trends
Aired January 16, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: While that may be true, Las Vegas is the place that keeps on rocking all night long. The music still pumping out. The Planet Hollywood Casino behind me here. We're on the patio of the Trader Vic's Restaurant there overlooking the Las Vegas strip. Just a beautiful vantage point here. And our thanks to the folks here for allowing us to use it, staying up late to help us out this morning. Very much appreciate it. And lots of news to talk about this morning on the political front, Kiran.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. And boy, you're right. It still is hopping for 3:00 a.m. out there in Nevada this morning. Well, Mitt Romney, that's the big story. He pulled up a victory he so desperately needed in his home state. And now, it's a three-horse race on the Republican side. No clear frontrunner, as all of the candidates now head to South Carolina.
Romney won the Michigan primary promising to bring jobs to the state with the nation's worse economy. John McCain came in second followed by Mike Huckabee. We're going to be speaking with winner, Mitt Romney, live in just a moment.
Meantime from the Democrats, Senator Hillary Clinton won Michigan, but she was the only major candidate on the ballot. The others were protesting Michigan moving up the primary date. It could build some momentum, but Clinton did not get an actual delegate out of it. Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards all debated late into the night in Las Vegas. The Nevada caucuses are this Saturday and the truce held.
Clinton and Obama backing off from recent comments over race all drawing some distinctions between them, over Iraq, energy and economic policy. And we're going to show you some of those highlights ahead. But first, we go back to John in Las Vegas.
ROBERTS: Hey, thanks, Kiran. And now, to the winner of the Michigan primary. Former Governor Mitt Romney joins us now live from Detroit. Governor Romney, good morning to you. Thanks for being with us early on this Wednesday morning. Congratulations to you on the win. What was it do you think that put you over the top?
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think it was a sense of optimism that our campaign brought over the Washington-style pessimism which seem to permeate from Washington over the last several weeks. This is a state that's had some tough times, and they wanted to make sure that they had somebody who is going to be their leader who would fight for them. I'll fight for any state in America that's going through a one-state recession.
ROBERTS: Your clear message there in the state of Michigan was on the economy. You believe that that was the most important issue. You also campaigned on this promise to revitalize the auto industry, saying you could bring jobs back. When you look at your economic plan though on your Web site, a good deal of that deals with retraining, which is the same message that Senator John McCain was putting out. Were you just telling Michigan voters what they wanted to hear in terms of those jobs coming back?
ROMNEY: No. I think it's very important for the nation to recognize that as we head into turbulent economic waters, the key is not retraining. Of course, there will always be retraining for people who are without work, but the key is to be able to rebuild the economy. And I spent my life in the private sector. It's something I have done. I've traveled around the world doing a business. I understand why businesses and jobs come and go and I will use all that I've learned to try and strengthen our economy, and whether it's in the transportation sector or other sectors.
You simply can't look at a major sector of America and just write it off and say it's gone, particularly when it continues to employ hundreds of thousands of people directly and possibly millions of people, and that's true for industries across America.
ROBERTS: Governor Romney, you're running as the CEO candidate, in fact, if I can use that phrase. As a CEO, when you look at the state of America, what kind of shape is it in?
ROMNEY: Well, right now, I'd say it's in a very fragile state and need this very steady hand at the tiller. You don't want to see America fall into a severe recession particularly at a time when we have so many other challenges, when our budget is widely out of balance, when we need health care for our citizens who are facing global jihad. It's important for us not to go into recessions although I think a number of economists suggest we're already there.
ROBERTS: When I talked to you on Monday morning there in Detroit, you said you didn't have a plan for economic stimulus that would prevent the United States from either dipping into recession or softening the blow ones it got in. When do you plan to come out with that idea?
ROMNEY: Well, that will be coming out soon. Of course, the key here is that you recognize that the stimulus of the federal government is a small part of the economic strength of the nation. The keys that I've described are the most elemental and most important which are, first of all, stopping the continued decline in the housing market through shoring up the subprime mortgage market and the mortgage market overall. That's a credit matter, and that's something which the Fed has begun to do but we've got a lot more work to do there.
Number two, showing our willingness to be confident. And then number three, helping people make investments in the future. Just giving people money only in separate dollars going off to the oil producing nations. Let's give people money in a way that they could save and help rebuild our capital base. That's why I proposed a middle income tax cut based upon savings. No tax and interests...
ROBERTS: Yes.
ROMNEY: ... dividends and capital gains. That's the right beginning.
ROBERTS: Governor, last night in your victory speech, and no question it was a big win there for you in Michigan, you invoked a couple of your most aspiring figures. Let's take a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: We do have a great government. But that's not what makes us the best nation, the strongest nation, the greatest nation on earth. What makes us such a great nation is the American people. I take my inspiration from Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So you say there, Governor, you take your inspiration from Ronald Reagan and from the first President Bush. Is President Bush the right person to be taking inspiration from, in a year when the economy is bad? If memory serves me correctly, he lost the 1992 election because of the economy.
ROMNEY: Well, I think George Herbert Walker Bush is one of the great figures in this country, as beloved in this country. And you know, presidents, I think, are known not just because of their policies or whether they happened to be in office when there are recessions or booms, but instead whether the nature of their heart and their character inspired us and lifted us. And I think both President Reagan and President George Herbert Walker Bush were such men of honor, and of courage, and of sacrifice that this entire nation was inspired by them. And I hope that if I'm president, I can likewise inspire the nation to overcome the challenges we have.
ROBERTS: Of course, the next big contest in this race is South Carolina. Obviously, it becomes even more important because now, three separate Republicans won the first big three contests here in this nomination race. Last night, Senator John McCain had just come out to give his concession speech in the state of Michigan and congratulate you.
When you came out to give your victory speech, the networks all switched to you, kind of taking away John McCain's moment there. What happened there? Was that a breach of campaign etiquette?
ROMNEY: I think it was a breach of broadcast coordination. We were given a time when they wanted us to go up and it was right after the Huckabee speech. And so, we got our time and they rolled it out there. We did not know that Senator McCain was about to hit the floor or already hit the floor. But I appreciate the fact that he and Governor Huckabee and I chatted last night. Also, Mayor Giuliani and, of course, I'm happy to have Senator McCain get his opportunity to offer his speech. And one more thing I want to mention, don't forget Wyoming. A number of folks don't remember Wyoming, but I'm pleased that we won Wyoming. Now, we've won Michigan. I have more delegates than anybody else in this race. I have a lot more votes for president than anyone else in this race, and there are a lot of contests going ahead.
I think South Carolina is a lot tougher for us. I'm not looking at a fist-place finish there necessarily. But we're looking at Nevada as a key state for us and on to Florida.
ROBERTS: Yes.
ROMNEY: So I'm cautiously optimistic.
ROBERTS: All right. Governor Romney, thanks very much for joining us this morning. We are in Nevada, and I know that you are one of the Republicans that's really trying to make a play for this state. Thanks for being with us this morning. We'll see you again in South Carolina.
ROMNEY: Thanks, John. Good to be with you.
ROBERTS: All right. Take care.
And coming up, the candidate that finished fourth in Michigan but has high hopes for South Carolina. Fred Thompson is our guest coming up at 8:15 Eastern. Right now, let's go back to New York and here's Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much, John.
Well, John McCain and Mike Huckabee were on the ground in South Carolina even before the polls closed in Michigan. McCain staying positive despite his second place showing in Michigan. He says his campaign has gotten pretty good and doing things the hard way. And Huckabee who finished third in Michigan is also predicting a victory in South Carolina. He told supporters they can put a flag in the ground Saturday when voters go to the polls.
The Democrats, as we said, debated last night in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses Saturday. The tone was polite, but Obama, Clinton and Edwards did clash on the issue of removing combat troops from Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to protect our embassy. We do need to make sure that, you know, our strategic interests are taken care of. But it's not only George Bush. The Republican candidates running for the presidency are saying things that are very much in line with President Bush. You know, Senator McCain said the other day that we might have troops there for 100 years, Barack. I mean, they have an entirely different view than we do.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is dishonest to suggest that she's not going have troops there to protect the embassy. That's just not the truth. You may be great political theater and political rhetoric, but it's not the truth. There is, however, a difference between us on this issue, and I don't think it's subtle. The difference is I will have all combat troops out in the first year that I'm president, and there will be no further combat missions and there will be no permanent military base.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: At one point, Obama accused Clinton of using terrorism to score political points. Clinton has said that Al-Qaeda may test the next president early on and that he or she must be prepared.
Well, it's the fight over race and history, both Obama and Clinton praised each other's work in fighting for racial equality and they pledged, while debating on Martin Luther King's actual birthday, to put the matter behind them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that what's most important is that Senator Obama and I agree completely that neither race nor gender should be a part of this campaign. It is Dr. King's birthday. The three of us are here in large measure because his dreams have been realized.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Race has always been an issue in our politics in this country. But one of the premises of my campaign and I think of the Democratic Party, and I know that John and Hillary have always been committed to racial equality, is that we can't solve these challenges unless we can come together as a people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: After Nevada comes the South Carolina primary for the Democrats where more than half of the Democratic voters are African- American -- John.
ROBERTS: So from here in Las Vegas, the most politics in the morning heads next to South Carolina. We're going to be there for Friday morning. We're hitting all of the battleground states and the road to Super Tuesday, talking with voters, candidates and focusing on the issues. The goal -- to give you the information necessary to make a wise choice for president.
Are police closer to finding the marine accused of killing a marine who was 8-months pregnant? See what they found and what the marines are saying now about their investigation into the suspect's past.
Plus, dramatic 911 calls from the day a tiger got loose at the San Francisco Zoo. For the first time now, we're hearing from one of the brothers who was mauled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DISPATCHER: I need you to understand that if the ambulance people --
DHALIWAL: What do you want me to understand? My brother is going to die out here.
DISPATCHER: OK. Calm down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Those frantic tapes in the investigation takes a new turn. It's all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirteen minutes past 6:00 here on the east coast. Stephanie Elam in for Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business." It's only 13 minutes past 3:00 where John is this morning in Vegas, though.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's true.
CHETRY: We got the longer straws this morning.
ELAM: The longer straw. Exactly.
CHETRY: Good to see you this morning.
ELAM: Good to see you. Unfortunately, not a good day for the markets if you take a look at what happened yesterday. Out of the trading days we've seen so far, five of the first 10 trading days on the Dow have been losses of more than 200 points. And yesterday was the biggest of them all, losing 277 points. Losing about two percent, more than two percent. Nasdaq and the S&P losing about 2.5 percent.
They are growing concerns about a recession or the fact that the U.S. markets may already be in a recession. This, obviously, has freaked the markets out yesterday. We saw a big loss. Also, retail sales for December, they came in really, really weak. And, you know, obviously that includes the holiday shopping season. For the full year of 2007, retail sales were actually up just four percent. That's the worst showing in five years. That gives you an idea of what's been going on here.
Also, Intel, the world's largest chip maker coming out with their numbers, and they mixed expectations. That came out after the bell yesterday and that also freaked out world markets. So let's take a look at what happened across the globe.
Australia dropping more than 2.5 percent. In Japan, off 3.4 percent. Hong Kong taking a big slap there, a 5.6 percent overnight. Right now, we're poised for a weaker opening. Kiran, it does not look like things are going to change right now, this weaker information. It is earnings season so if somebody comes out really, beats expectations that could help. But right now, it looks really weak.
CHETRY: All right. Stephanie, thank you. Meanwhile, other headlines this morning. President Bush is wrapping up his Mid-East tour right now in Egypt. He's meeting with President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm el-Sheikh, and we're expecting to hear from President Bush in the next couple of minutes actually. His eight-day visit was intended to get Israeli-Palestinian talks, peace talks, back up and running again and also to build support against Iran's growing influence in the Middle East.
Right now in Georgia, police are searching for two men accused of shooting and killing two off-duty police officers overnight in DeKalb County. Investigators said that the officers were working security in an apartment complex near Atlanta. They were responding to a call about a suspicious person when they were shot. One officer died at the scene. Another died on the way to the hospital.
The marines are speaking out and defending how they handled a rape accusation before a pregnant marine turned up murdered. They say Maria Lauterbach told them that she never felt threatened by Corporal Cesar Laurean, a colleague now wanted in her death. Lauterbach accused Laurean of raping her and was about to testify against him when she disappeared in mid December.
But investigators say Laurean never violated the military protective order directing him to stay away from her. Laurean's truck was found yesterday at a motel north of Jacksonville, North Carolina. Laurean wasn't there but a late-night hotel employee told Nancy Grace that the FBI was asking whether he checked in under a different name.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF SHERRY JOINER, EMPLOYEE, MICRO-TEL HOTEL: The FBI did come to the front desk and gave me all the aliases of Mr. Cesar, and we looked it up and I couldn't see where he had stayed here.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: So he had several aliases?
JOINER: Yes, ma'am.
GRACE: Wow, do you remember any of his aliases.
JOINER: No, ma'am, I'm sorry, I don't.
GRACE: Wow. How many did he have that they told you about?
JOINER: I was told at least three or four.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: An autopsy shows Lauterbach died from blunt force trauma to the head.
And there are also some new details this morning in a Christmas day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo. For the fist time, we're hearing a 911 call that was made by one of the brothers just minutes after the attack. Also, a judge has ruled the police now have legal authority to examine the car and cell phones belonging to the survivors. Alina Cho is following all the developments for us live today with me in the studio. Hi, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran, good morning. A major development. You know, those 911 tapes are seven-minutes long. They're disturbing. They're dramatic. And make no mistake, this could be key evidence as investigators try to piece together what happened in the moments before and after the attack. Now, take a listen as one of the brothers injured in that attack calls 911 pleading for help, warning authorities a 300-pound Siberian tiger was on the loose.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DHALIWAL: It's a matter of life and death. How long is it before they get permission to go there?
DISPATCHER: OK. No. I understand that but at the same time we have to make sure the paramedics don't get chewed out because if the paramedics get hurt then nobody's going to help you.
DHALIWAL: I saw it here.
DISPATCHER: OK. I understand that. All right?
DHALIWAL: (INAUDIBLE)
DISPATCHER: OK. The ambulance is staging. I need you to understand that if the ambulance people...
DHALIWAL: What do you want me to understand? My brother is going to die out here!
DISPATCHER: OK. Calm down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Just incredible. The Christmas day attack killed 17-year- old Carlos Sousa, injured brothers Paul and Kubir Dhaliwal. Unclear at this point which one of the brothers made the 911 call. What we do know is that the tiger somehow climbed over or jumped over the wall surrounding its pen. Also today in a separate civil case, a court hear will be held where a judge will decide whether police will have access to the Dhaliwal brothers' cell phones and car.
Now, officials say they could contain evidence that the victims somehow taunted the tiger prior to the attack. They're also looking into whether the victims may have been drunk. A zoo spokesman says an empty vodka bottle may have been inside the car. But, Kiran, a lawyer for the brothers says the tiger was not taunted. That it took 30 minutes for the brothers and Sousa to get any sort of help and that city officials are on a smear campaign against the brothers right now. So anyway, dramatic development. We'll have to see.
Just a week ago, remember? Police officials had said that they were going to essentially close the case. That there was not enough evidence to charge the brothers.
CHETRY: Yes.
CHO: Unclear at this point whether these new developments will mean a reopening of that criminal investigation.
CHETRY: And whether it means any liability on the part of the zoo.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Or if the tapes do appear to show the desperation in the voice of the brothers and not so much on the other side.
CHO: That's absolutely right.
CHETRY: Alina, thank you.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, Rob Marciano joins us right now. He's tracking extreme weather for us. And there's snow to talk about at least around here.
ROB MARCIANO, METEOROLOGIST: Well, you're really upset about that, aren't you?
CHETRY: We're seeing all the pretty pictures coming in...
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: ... of beautiful snow in many other parts of the country. We have a little envy here.
MARCIANO: You know, I was at a green Christmas here, but not so white and we'll try to maybe -- maybe we can get a white Easter for you, but that's long way off.
Let's start you with what's coming up in the pike in the Gulf of Mexico. This is some serious moisture. You know, good news for folks who live say east of Lafayette, Louisiana, where you need the rain so you will take it for sure. But Houston is getting pounded with some heavy rain right now. This is all moving into -- well, pockets of cold air and because of that, especially dammed up against the Appalachian Mountains there, we're going to have a number of advisories, watches and warnings that are posted.
Extreme northeast Georgia, watches and warnings there but most the action, I think, will be along the I-85 corridor and to the north and through Asheville. And from Asheville to Winston to Salem, we could see a quarter of an inch of ice build up. That's on top of an inch to three, maybe four inches of snow in some of the mountainous areas. So slick go beginning and later on this afternoon and tonight and to the overnight.
Now the back side of this system, there are now winter storm watches that are posted for parts of the Midwest. Iowa through parts of western Wisconsin with three, four to eight inches of snow possible in those areas where there is already snow on the ground, namely across parts of Kansas, a blowing snow advisory in effect. And the big story going forward for just about everybody east of -- well, everybody east of maybe the sierras as we head towards the weekend.
The coldest air of the season will be plunging southward. It may not bring a whole lot of snow to the New York area, but at least you can wear those cute winter outfits, Kiran, that you've been saving, you know, for the winter time. It will be chilly over the weekend.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: One of the celebrities in Los Angeles. They wear them anyway.
MARCIANO: Right. And 75-degree weather.
CHETRY: Yes.
MARCIANO: As long as you look cool.
CHETRY: I saw your kids. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Right.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Hey. Thanks, Kiran.
It is a workplace revolution. What new hires and even the old guard are looking for in companies. Not more money, not more perks. Find out what's drawing them in now, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 25 minutes after the hour. And somebody need a belly rub in your "Hot Shot" now.
Germany's newest polar bear cub was so full after being bottle fed that well, she just passed out. The cub is now five weeks old. They do now know that it's a girl. She opened her eyes for the very first time yesterday. You know, even though, it would appear that she promptly closed them. And vets say that she's already begun teething. You know, polar bears are just the cutest animals on the face of the earth.
If you got a "hot Shot," send it to us. The address is amhotshots@CNN.com. Be sure to include your name, where you're from, a little bit about the picture or the video. And one more thing, make sure that the image is yours and not someone else's.
Kiran, they are so cute and cuddly. Who wouldn't want one?
CHETRY: Until they grow up and then you got to stay away from them. But for the time being, they are so cute.
All right. Thanks, John. Well, there's a new generation of worker emerging that may care more about giving back than getting a corner office. And they're also a lot of people who've been at their jobs for decades who want to feel like they're doing more than earning a paycheck. And our Polly Labarre is here with another workplace revolution for us. Is there any job where I can work with small polar bears available?
POLLY LABARRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I hope not.
CHETRY: News from the zoo.
But when they're little, they're so cute.
LABARRE: Yes.
CHETRY: There's an interesting study that often shows says that 92 percent of college graduates choose a green company over a nongreen company. Something that's very, very important to people that are emerging into the workforce.
LABARRE: Absolutely. Last year was the year of the green consumer. I think this year might be the year of the green employee. Increasingly, especially young folks are looking at the green credentials of a company when they're making their decisions about where to work.
So big companies are taking notice and making this part of their sales pitch to recruit. General Electric, for instance, launched this ecoimagination initiative 2 1/2 years ago, vast initiative to invest in clean technology, reduces carbon footprint. It also launched something called the ecoimagination challenge teamed up with MTV, which is an unlikely partner for General Electric and launched this challenge on college campuses around the world saying, can you come up with a high-impact initiative to do something green on your campus?
A 100 people, 100 teams participated. And the winning team, MIT, biodiesel you see here, got an earth-day concert for all of their friends on their campus.
CHETRY: Well, the most popular kids at school.
LABARRE: Exactly.
CHETRY: There you have it.
You know, and there's people who have been in their jobs for a long time. They climbed up the corporate ladder, and they want to be able to feel like they could do something that involves helping the world around them but they don't want to give up their careers.
LABARRE: Sure.
Success doesn't mean just money, security, climbing up the ladder. As you said, it means waking up in the morning and saying I'm doing good work. So Accenture, the global consulting firm, has really taken noticed of this emerging reality and they created something called Accenture Development Partners, a one-of-a-kind model, where they take their top performers. They give them a 50 percent pay cut. This is a perk.
They put them in a developing country for three to six months and they work with an NGO or a nonprofit partner on a real project, whether it's creating a mobile health care system in Rwanda or a hunger prevention program in India.
And they come back from this program, they get an assessment. It's part of their career. They could do it again in the course of their career. Two hundred fifty people have done it, and hundreds are lined up to try and do it in the future.
CHETRY: So the plus is they're still getting paid and they're still getting benefits even though they're taking a slight pay cut, and they can come back to the job they held before.
LABARRE: Absolutely. Yes. And they give a little bit in the sense of that pay cut. And actually the NGOs pay as well. And the point is, everybody is giving a little bit, getting a lot. And I think what happens is they get a lot of awards in terms of motivation, learning, retention, and everybody wins in this situation.
CHETRY: A changing workplace for sure. And thanks for highlighting some of the most interesting parts for us.
LABARRE: Thanks, Kiran.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Well, first it was the Golden Globes, Kiran. Now, the Grammy Awards could be the next show victimized by the writers strike. We'll tell you what the union is saying about the Grammys coming up. And the three Democrats debate with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama calling a truce on the issue of race. Who's got the edge heading into this weekend's all important Nevada caucuses. That story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Look at that. It is 3:30 in the morning on the Vegas Strip and its still looks like its happening. You can see a line of cars going up and down. Hey, Vegas never shuts down for the night, does it? This shot coming to us courtesy of KVVU. Right now, 39 degrees, partly cloudy. Shaping up to a high of 48 today on this Wednesday, January 16th. Welcome to a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING, I'm Kiran Chetry.
You know I thought for sure, John, that you would get some nice warm weather at least heading out west as your campaign trips roll on.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, maybe just about 40 degrees but it's a lot better than it would be in Iowa at this time of day. It would be minus 20 in Iowa. So 40 above, I'll take it. Hey good morning, I'm John Roberts live in Las Vegas, Nevada. We're outside the Trader Vic's Restaurant here on the Patio overlooking the Strip. Our thanks to them for hosting us today. The stakes are higher than ever coming up in this weekend's Nevada caucuses.
But even the odds makers are having trouble calling both sides in the race for president. Voters are said going to be caucusing here on Saturday. It's the first time that Nevada has played this big, of a part in the nominating contest. And last night, there was a debate between the three Democratic contenders here. It immediately addressed race. The candidates try to put it to rest but Nevada is expected to be the first real gauge of the minority vote here in this nominating process.
The Republican race completely up for grabs. Mitt Romney won the Michigan primary last night. Senator John McCain came in second followed by Mike Huckabee. Now, three different winners in three key states so far. Of course, Mitt Romney likes to remind he also won Wyoming.
On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton won in Michigan. We should point out though that she was the only major Democratic candidate on the ballot because of the state's decision to hold the vote so early. 40 percent of the voters came out to file uncommitted ballots.
And just a few minutes ago, I spoke with Mitt Romney, the winner there in Michigan. He told me that the economy is in a fragile state. So I asked him what he would do as president to stimulate the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Of course, the key here is that you recognize the stimulus of the federal government is a small part of the economic strength of the nation. The keys that I've described are the most elemental and most important which are, first of all, stopping the continued decline in the housing market through shoring up this subprime mortgage market and the mortgage market overall. That's a credit matter and that something which the fed has begun to do. But we've got a lot more work to do there.
Number two, showing our willingness to be confident. And then number three, helping people make investments in the future. Just giving people money only ends up with dollars going off to the oil- producing nations. Let's give people money in a way that they could save and help rebuild our capital based. That's why I proposed a middle income tax cut based upon savings. No taxes on interest, dividends, and capital gains. That's the right beginning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Romney says that he's not looking at a first-place finish in South Carolina which is the next Republican contest, the next big Republican contest but he has the most delegates so far and is cautiously optimistic about winning the Republican nomination.
Kiran?
CHETRY: All right, well the campaign trail led home just in time for Mitt Romney. The exit polls showed that his win was powered by roots. 4 in 10 voters said that factored into their decision. That meaning the fact that he's from Michigan. He left Michigan decades ago. But his dad was governor there. Voters who choose on the economy and illegal immigration also favored Romney. Moderates and independents choose John McCain but fewer non-Republican voters showed up to the polls as compared to 2000 when McCain beat President Bush in Michigan.
Well, South Carolina also a crucial test for Fred Thompson's campaign. He'll be joining us live at 8:15 Eastern right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
John?
ROBERTS: Thanks, Kiran. And last night's Democratic debate here in Las Vegas, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards made nice for the most part and made peace in their campaign fight over race. CNN's Jessica Yellin joins me now. You were watching the whole thing last night. George Bush, President Bush was back on the table again. They didn't make nice all night but it was a lot different tone than we've seen over the last week.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Surprisingly, congenial wasn't it? And fascinating because we saw both Obama and Senator Clinton set aside sort of this tit for tad, this back-and-forth they've had over this race question. Clearly, both campaigns agreed that it wasn't helping either of them. And they really wanted to have a truce on it. Let's listen to what they said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that what's most important is that Senator Obama and I agree completely that neither race nor gender should be a part of this campaign.
BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't solve these challenges unless we can come together as a people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Another moment that's going to have some reverberations on the trail, I expect, was when Senator Obama was asked what his greatest weakness is. He said he's not a great systems guy. He needs other people to sort of organize and run the bureaucracy around him. Well, Senator Clinton later leapt on that as an excuse to sort of point out, he doesn't have the experience. He doesn't have the know- how to really run the government during, let's say, an al Qaeda attack.
Now, Obama suggested that was sort of playing the fear card but Senator Clinton has mentioned it even after the debate and I expect to hear more of that on the trail. But of course the big boogieman last night was George Bush. They all leapt on him instead of each other.
ROBERTS: So back to this issue of race, did the Obama and Clinton campaign see a potential schism here in the Democratic Party because of the way that they were going back and forth to each other and said, wait a minute, we could be doing a lot more damage here than we're doing ourselves good.
YELLIN: Absolutely. And some important members of the Democratic Party spoke up and said none of us benefits from this. The party losses. It could even benefit the Republicans next year. Let's all make peace and try to set this aside and focus on the issues.
ROBERTS: We'll going to see how long the peace lasts. Jessica Yellin, thanks very much.
Here's a quick look at what lies ahead for us now on the primary calendar. On Saturday, it's the Nevada caucuses. That's both the Democrats and the Republicans though would appear much more important for the Democrats at this point.
The South Carolina primary is also on the same day for the Republicans only. The Democratic primary in South Carolina is the following Saturday, the 26th. And then, Florida closes out a busy month. The Florida primary, Tuesday, January the 29th. All of that setting up for February 5th and that big Super Tuesday.
All of the Democratic candidates are waking up in Nevada this morning. Mitt Romney is on his way to South Carolina. John McCain arrive there overnight. Romney's win is making the outcome even harder to predict there. Fred Thompson fighting hard to have his voice heard in the south. We're going to be speaking to him live from South Carolina in our final hour of AMERICAN MORNING.
Kiran? CHETRY: All right. Well, we saw the fate of the Golden Globes. Now, the striking Writer's Guild of America is unlikely to grant a waiver for the Grammy Awards either. And that means the Grammy's with its schedule for February 10th would have to go on without the writers, the way the Golden Globes did on Sunday. The stars would not cross the picket lines and the Golden Globes were reduced to a news conference. The final decision on the Grammy's waiver will be made by the West Coast branch of the writer's guild.
Simon, Paula, and Randy were back. And so were a lot of the terrible singers. We're going to show you one of the worse -- well, some of the worst "American Idol" had to offer.
Also talking oil and peace in the Middle East. President Bush arriving in Egypt early this morning for important meetings with President Hosny Mubarak. We're expecting to hear from President Bush, live in the next couple of minutes ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: Check it out. They don't call it "the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field," for nothing. Checking out the dedication for the Green Bay fans. They answered the call for volunteers to dig out the legendary home of the Packers for Sunday's NFC championship game. It should be a great one. Game time temperatures though are expected to be around 3 degrees when the New York Giants come to town. It's a kind of weather that Brett Favre thrives in. And it could be the 38- year-old quarterback's last game in front of his home crowd. The winner has a spot at the Super Bowl.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Look at you with your NFL analysis.
CHETRY: Well, we were just talking about it. I said, you know, why don't they build a dome like they do for the Vikings and you said no. Green Bay wants it to be snowy, the advantage.
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ROBERTS: As strong as possible. You know, particularly when you're broadcasting here on the Vegas Strip at 3:00 in the morning. You need a strong cup of coffee.
Hey, Nevada's caucuses are going to put a new spin on the presidential campaign. The state is different because it's a real test of the minority vote. It really is the most diverse state of any of them so far in this early nominating contest. Our Chris Lawrence joins us now to help breakdown this particular voting block. Good morning to you. What do you found out?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you really get the feeling that a national campaign really begins here and right now. And by that, I mean Iowa and New Hampshire were overwhelmingly white. Now, some of these candidates, especially the Democrats, who skipped Michigan, now will have to put their message before a wider diverse group of voters. So what we're going to see, if you take a look at some of the numbers, you'll see that nationally, Hispanic voters make up about 9 percent of the voters. Here in Nevada, they are 12 percent. The Democrats will have to address this group. The Democrats who want to win, that is.
ROBERTS: You know, the demographic keeps on changing. It's almost 1 in 5 people in this state are Hispanic. And traditionally, how does that block votes? I know in the city of Miami, the trends are a little bit different. But out here, out west, how do they typically vote?
LAWRENCE: Right. It's always -- you never want to generalize and say Hispanics in general. Because you know, Puerto Rican voter in New York, on the East Coast, a Cuban voter in Miami, and maybe a Mexican-American in the southwest on, I'm thinking very different concerns and their concerns are cut across all of the lines.
But when you look at some of these here in Nevada, the Republicans have won eight out of the last ten elections. The two exceptions, no surprise there. Bill Clinton both times. But Democrats will look at these national numbers. Hispanics identify with a party. In 2006, there was a huge gap, and it's only gotten wider last year. Now, 57 percent identified with the Democratic Party. On 23 percent with the Republicans.
And what the Democrats will be hoping is that a very large turnout of union voters here as well as the rising Latino population could shift the state to them. We know Barack Obama got the endorsement of the Culinary Union. But we're going to go out today and we're going to try to talk to some folks to see if the leadership of the Culinary Union has endorsed Obama. Does that necessarily mean all those workers are going to vote that way? We're going to check that out later today.
ROBERTS: All right. Chris Lawrence, looking forward to the results of that. Chris, thanks very much.
Well, the Food and Drug Administration says that cloned meat and milk are safe. But not everyone is convinced. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to be along in just a little while to tell us how the clones differ from regular products and why consumers may have a hard time telling them apart.
And television's biggest show is back and is it about to get bigger. Why "American Idol" could get a boost in its seventh season? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Ten minutes to the top of the hour. You're looking at a live picture from Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. President Bush stopping by to talk to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Wrapping up his six- nation tour of the Middle East and Arab countries and on his way back to Washington.
President Mubarak speaking right now as soon as President Bush gets up to the podium. We'll dip into that live. Of course, Israeli- Palestinian peace one of the big issues there. Stay with us. We'll get back to this just as soon as President Bush comes up. But right now, back to New York. And here's Kiran.
CHETRY: That's right and boy, changing gears? How about it? "American Idol" is back. And that means some of the worst singers you've ever heard. Listen.
I love how two of them have to turn away but Simon just stares very annoyed. So what does the writer's strike mean? Could this be the most watched season of "American Idol" ever? This is the seventh season. Our Lola Ogunnaike joins us now. You're laughing too. I felt -- I watch it last night -- were some of these people joking? I mean -- I mean were they...
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He was actually very serious, by the way. And he even sang another song in the hopes that they would pick him but they didn't. He was a tour guide from Philly. His co-workers suggested that he show up and audition.
CHETRY: Because they don't like him?
OGUNNAIKE: I think, they were setting him up actually. Guess, he could not be serious. You know what was so interesting though last night, Kiran, Simon Cowell was actually relatively nice. He was really subdued. I mean, he had a few harsh comments. He said one woman's voice reminded him of a nightmare that he had the previous week. But for the most part, he was really tame.
CHETRY: Including this poor contestant. We just saw it for a second. Temptress, the 16-year-old linebacker for her football team. She said she was doing it for her mother. They told her no and she was crying and it turned into a group hug.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes. It turned into a group hug. Simon didn't participate but he did walk, Temptress, out to her family. So that was a really kind gesture, something that you would not have seen in the past before. But people are worried about, you know, the show being too nice because that's the reason people tune in. In addition to seeing this people humiliate themselves (INAUDIBLE) Simon be mean. You don't have to worry about that going anywhere because they all know that's the draw.
And the executive producer has also said, look this is a music business, you better get used to harsh criticism. And if you can't take it on this show, then you're not going to be able you take it in the industry.
CHETRY: That's right. You know, I think there's two different types of "Idol" watcher. One who would like to tune in for the early parts of the show just to be able to laugh at the contestants and then those that are really die hard that the end they want to see.
OGUNNAIKE: Put me in the first spot.
CHETRY: All right, Lola, thank you.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: All right, Kiran, let's go back live to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. President Bush now at the podium speaking. Press conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, as the president wraps up his six-nation tour in the Middle East and the Arab countries. Let's dip in and take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: And so I appreciate the chance to talk. We also talked about Lebanon, and we agree it's important for nations in this region to support Prime Minister Siniora. It's important to encourage the holding of immediate and unconditional presidential elections according to the Lebanese constitution. And to make it clear to Syria, Iran and their allies they must end their interference and efforts to undermine the process.
We talked -- and by the way, when it came to the Israeli- Palestinian peace talks, I want to thank you for your support of Annapolis. It was important that you were there. As a matter of fact, you didn't hesitate, because you knew that both those parties had to have supportive people in the region. And I thank you very much for that.
And we spent time on Iraq. The President asked me how I thought things were going there. The decision to send more troops is working. Violence is down. Secretary Rice came back from Iraq yesterday and briefed me that she was able to see life returning back to the streets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, President Bush there speaking at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt alongside of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak talking about the situations in Iraq there and improvements he says on the ground. Also talking about the importance of making sure the Democratic elections take place in Lebanon which has seen so much strife over the last few years as the Siniora government tries to be a partner with the United States in forging a lasting Democracy there. Our apologies for the audio problems that we're having there. And we'll try to work those out for you the next time.
The FDA clears the way for cloned meat to end up on the dinner table. Cloned meat and milk. How will you be able tell that the meat that you're eating is cloned or made the old-fashioned way. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us at the top of the hour.
And we are learning more about the deadly Christmas day tiger attack at the San Francisco Zoo. The dramatic 911 audio. Plus new details about the police investigation ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: About two minutes before 7:00 here on the East Coast. Stephanie Elam in for Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business." We're talking Oprah who has the mightiest touch and she is launching a new venture.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that is exactly it. Ms. Winfrey is getting her own network. She's partnering with Discovery to get this to happen. It's going to debut in 70 million homes in 2009. It's actually a partnership between Harpo and Discovery Channel. So it's going to take over actually Discovery Health Network. And this 50-50 venture is designed to entertain, inform, and inspire people to live their best lives. That's what they're saying. Programming about money, health, weight, and also raising children, and relationships. They're saying it's not a network for just women here.
She'll have complete editorial control here of this new network and she said that she was contacted by Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav and he was looking for ideas for Discovery Health which was not performing well and then his wife handed him a copy of "Oprah" magazine. Surprising here is she had written about 15 years ago and she wanted to have her own network. That she would one day have her own network and look at that. Again, mightiest touch, she wrote it and then it happen.
MARCIANO: I didn't even know that the Discovery had a health channel, so maybe this will put them on improvement.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I know, but you don't want to see babies being born and that type of stuff. Do you?
MARCIANO: No, it's fascinating.
ELAM: It's not the Rob Marciano Network.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Stephanie. We'll see you in the next hour. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
ROBERTS: Wide-open fight. Romney wins Michigan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I'm cautiously optimistic.
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ROBERTS: Three big states, three different winners. The Republican race are free for all.
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