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Democrats are in South Carolina; Republicans Ready for Florida; Waiting for Tax Rebate Checks
Aired January 25, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MATTINGLY: Dr. Burger says only one in four of his patients has the deficiency and has prescribed HGH as part of a broader treatment program. That leaves many seeking a shot from a fountain of youth disappointed and surprised that all those Hollywood hard bodies still be demand good diets and lots of work.
David Mattingly, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Heidi is off today.
HARRIS: Tony Harris.
NGUYEN: Are you using some of that?
HARRIS: Welcome, everyone. Stay informed all day in this CNN NEWSROOM.
Here's what's in the rundown.
Tax rebate checks to boost your bottom line. When and how much? Gerri Willis with answers about the economic slowdown.
NGUYEN: Republicans keep it civil before the Florida debate. Democrats -- well, they are getting ready for tomorrow's showdown in South Carolina. Our guests fill us in.
HARRIS: California's major North-South highway shut by a snowstorm. Will Interstate-5 get rolling again today, Friday, January 25th?
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: Well, the road to the White House heads south this weekend. Today candidates from both parties are focusing beneath the Mason-Dixon line. The Democrats are bracing for tomorrow's big primary in South Carolina. Republicans who faced off there last Saturday are looking ahead to Florida. That critical primary scheduled for Tuesday.
HARRIS: Sudden exposure, Republicans stepped from the debates to edge into the Florida battleground. CNN chief national correspondent, John King, is in Boca Raton this morning.
John, great to see you. So how were the final days of this Florida campaign shaping up for the candidates?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's fascinating, Tony, because this is the most diverse -- geographically, ideologically, economically the most diverse state the presidential candidates have had to contest insofar.
Let's break down the Republican race if you will. Let's start with Senator John McCain. Four days left of campaigning here. Enormous stakes for John McCain. He just won the South Carolina Republican primary. He could bring some clarity to the Republican race. It would finally have a frontrunner if he could back up South Carolina with a win here in Florida. His challenge, answering skeptics in the conservative movement who still question his record and his history and trying to get the nearly two million military veterans here in the state of Florida to rally to his side.
If you look at the polls the chief competition for McCain at the moment is the former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. He believes the issues debate has turned in his favor. He was a businessman before he was a politician. He says he has the turnaround experience to help the U.S. economy at a time that seems to be teetering on the verge of recession. He is very much counting on the economic message to help him and what a big win it would be if Mitt Romney could win in a state where all his other rivals are competing. He did win in Michigan, went out to the Nevada caucuses, but this is the first time he is competing against every one else in a state that's critical to him.
Mike Huckabee is competing here but he doesn't have much money. There is not a big strong evangelical base. So he's probably looking at a third or fourth place finish and then hoping that he can rebound again and reignite his campaign off in the south.
And Tony, the stakes perhaps the biggest for Rudy Giuliani. He skipped -- he's 0-6 in the early contest. He has spent more than $30 million on his campaign. Wasn't much in New Hampshire, wasn't in South Carolina at the end because he was here, 53, 54 days he has spent campaigning in Florida. At the moment he's at 15 or 16 percent in the polls. For him to lose here would be a stunning repudiation of that skip-the-early-contest-wait-down-in-Florida strategy.
Rudy Giuliani says he thinks he has a comeback in his blood like the Giants did last weekend. But boy, Tony, that is the big question mark. If Rudy Giuliani cannot win here he will not get that big springboard he had hoped for into super Tuesday, February 5th, when you have 20 states voting.
HARRIS: John, it was supposed to be the firewall for Rudy Giuliani. Florida or bust, and maybe that's how it turns out.
KING: It is. It's been interesting to watch. And he's been here. He had the stage to himself when the other guys weren't here.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
KING: But in the polls -- you see this not just in Florida but more and more as Republican voters engage and get closer to voting days. His standing falls among conservatives. Plus, he's not getting the big buzz in media attention. You know, McCain lives in South Carolina, comes in here and gets a bit of a buzz. And there were many from the beginning who said, you can't do that, you can't wait for Florida. And now they say they're right. Giuliani says he's going to prove them wrong. But only four more days, Tony, to turn things around here.
HARRIS: Wow.
And there he is, CNN chief national correspondent, John King. John, appreciate it. Thank you.
KING: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, "The New York Times" has handed out its endorsements in the presidential primaries. And among Republicans, the paper is backing John McCain. It says he's the only candidate from his party who, quote, "promises to end the George Bush style of governing from and on behalf of a small angry fringe."
It also blasted its former hometown mayor Rudy Giuliani saying he, "shamelessly turned the horror of 9/11 into a lucrative business." And it went on to call him a narrow, obsessively secretive, vindictive man. Wow.
HARRIS: Wow.
NGUYEN: Well, among Democrats the paper praises Hillary Clinton. It says she's used her years in the Senate to immerse herself in national security issues and has won the respect of world leaders and many in the American military. It reserves some praise for her main rival as well though. Barack Obama, describing him as, "the incandescent if still undefined senator from Illinois." Michelle Obama trying to stay on the high road and becoming an increasingly important asset to her husband's presidential campaign.
Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: Are you all hungry for some change?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a campaign getting nastier by the sound bite she strikes tone of civility.
M. OBAMA: My deep hope is that people will base their decision on who they think they can trust, who's got a vision for the country, who's bringing a different, you know, tone to politics, and who's going to really take this country in a different direction. And quite frankly, I think the only person that comes close to that is Barack.
TODD: Seen as inherently decent, down to earth, straightforward and tough, Michelle Obama says she can talk about her husband in a way he never would. It's certainly not how Bill Clinton is talking about her husband.
B. CLINTON: And he put out a hit job on me.
TODD: Analysts say Michelle Obama's striking contrast to that kind of attack is a huge boost to her husband. And with Barack Obama getting drawn deeper into verbal combat with both Clintons they say she's crucial to keeping his message in play.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: To be able to have somebody on the campaign trail who is consistently emphasizing unity, emphasizing one nation, one voice, one agenda, that is critical.
TODD: Harvard law grad, successful attorney in her own right, Michelle Obama was reluctant to get into race, friends and aides tells us, at first didn't want her husband to run. She's fiercely protective of their young daughters back in Chicago.
M. OBAMA: Our kids are hilarious, just like many people's kids, they keep us grounded.
TODD: Her platform, helping people balance family and work. Aides say she won't delve into policy if she becomes first lady. But will she go on the offensive if her husband keeps taking body blows?
VALERIE JARRETT, OBAMA FAMILY FRIEND: I've never seen her in an attack mode or anything like that.
TODD: But this remark was seen by some as a dig at the Clintons.
M. OBAMA: If you can't run your own house, you certainly can't run the White House.
TODD: Michelle Obama's chief aide says she was only talking about her own family, about the partnership between she and her husband, not insinuating anything about the Clintons.
(on-camera) Analysts say it's crucial now that she not go negative. They say it will not only make the campaign look bad but the Clintons will likely counter her very directly.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Showdown in South Carolina. We are surveying the political landscape for tomorrow's primary. Which Democrat has the most to lose? We will take a closer look in just a couple minutes.
The Democratic field thins by one. Later today, Dennis Kucinich will announce the end of his long-shot bid to the White House. It was his second try. The Ohio congressman tells the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" that he will announce a new direction. Kucinich is facing a tough fight to hold on to his House seat.
NGUYEN: Well, checks in the mail, money in your pocket. Tax rebates, the centerpiece of a plan to boost the sagging economy. A legislation goes before Congress next week, so how much can you expect and when?
Well, here's how it shakes out. Individuals earning less than $75,000 will get a $600 rebate, $1200 for couples who earn less than $150,000. And families will get an additional $300 per child. And those who don't pay income taxes but earn at least $3,000 will get a $300 rebate.
The treasury secretary says the checks could be in the mail about 60 days after Congress passes the bill. So look for a check sometime in the spring.
HARRIS: Overseas this morning, stemming a human flow with human chain. Egyptian soldiers in riot gear take up positions along the border with Gaza. They're apparently trying to hold back several thousands of Palestinians crossing over to buy supplies. The troops also used water cannons and rolled barbed wire along parts of the border.
But Palestinians knocked over new sections of the wall which militants blew open just two days. Gazans are short on food, medicine and other necessities. One week after Israel sealed their borders, Israel said it took the action to hold rocket attacks from Gaza.
NGUYEN: Well, also unfolding this hour, look at this. Southern California just paralyzed by a brutal winter storm that just will not go away. Snow blanketing mountain areas for a fifth straight day. Hundreds of drivers were stuck on I-5 which is a major interstate. Most were guided out yesterday, but part of the road remains closed with officials giving no estimate on when it will reopen. And in lower elevations, rain is the problem there. Some areas got more rainfall yesterday than all of 2007. Can you believe it?
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
NGUYEN: At least one tornado. Yes, a tornado even touched down tearing off the roof of a building at a naval base. No one was hurt.
HARRIS: I believe it started as a water spout and then just came...
NGUYEN: It's a mess.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: The FBI says he wanted to hijack a plane and crash it. The alleged plot and the 16-year-old suspect ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Betty Nguyen.
He stole from the homeless so the judge made him homeless for a day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED JUDGE: You find out and you figure out where you're going to spend the night. You figure out where you're going to eat. And you figure out where you're going to stay warm, just like they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: We've got the street smarts in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: I see we're about -- Betty, about an hour into the trading day, get away day, Friday. Getting ready for the big weekend. The Dow, boy, it would be nice to finish up the last couple of days to the trading week. It would be nice if we could just...
NGUYEN: Not too bad of a start, though.
HARRIS: Exactly. The Dow up 50. The Nasdaq, we understand, up 17 points. Again, inside an hour into the trading day. We're checking in on the market with Susan Lisovicz throughout the morning right here in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: All right. Let me run through the list for you. Bankruptcy, college funds, credit reports, some of the topics that you are asking about.
Well, here to answer your e-mails is CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis. We always appreciate your advice.
So let's get straight to it, Gerri, shall we?
OK, James in Kansas is asking this question, "I wanted to get college fund started for the kids this year. Should I invest in a 529 plan or a Roth IRA? I thought you could take money out of your Roth for education and not be penalized for that." What do you suggest, Gerri?
WILLIS: Well, hi there, Betty.
James is right about the Roth. But you're better off with a 529 plan because they're better tax incentives. Look, while you want be penalized if you take money out of your Roth for education purposes, the money you take out will affect your child's ability to get financial aid in a 529 savings plan. This just isn't true.
Plus, you should know many states, including Kansas, let you deduct your contribution to 529 from income taxes. That's very important. For more information check out Savingforcollege.com -- Betty?
NGUYEN: All right. Here's another really good one. This one from Randy and here's what Randy wants to know, "How do I remove old collections off of my credit reports that have been paid years ago?"
WILLIS: Well, great question. Here's the bad news, Randy. Paid collections don't get removed simply because they've been paid. But those old collections -- yes, I get asked this all the time.
NGUYEN: Yes.
WILLIS: They don't get removed automatically. But they will be taken off after seven years by the credit bureaus themselves. And remember, as the collection ages it loses negative value. So your scores will improve over time even if nothing ever changes on your credit reports.
NGUYEN: But you have to wait seven years for it to completely go away.
WILLIS: It's a long time.
NGUYEN: Wow.
WILLIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: All right. Judy in Texas has this question for you, Gerri, "Are there any legitimate work-from-home sites that we can use to earn additional income because they all seem too good to be true?"
I agree with that. You watch those commercials and you think, oh man, I can make a ton of money just sitting at home.
WILLIS: Absolutely right. You know, Judy, you're right to be skeptical. But there are legitimate opportunities out there. Check out companies like Alpineaccess.com or Liveops.com.
Remember, legitimate work-at-home sponsors should tell you in writing what is involved in the program and find out if you'll be paid a salary or by commission and get the total cost of the work at home program. That includes supplies, equipment and membership fees. And of course, check in with the Better Business Bureau if you're thinking about signing up with a company.
NGUYEN: Yes. And get all of that in writing, too, and make sure you'll really get paid.
WILLIS: Yes. You bet.
NGUYEN: Shawn in Maryland has this question for you, Gerri.
"I recently filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I now face the hurdles of life after bankruptcy. What steps do you recommend to quickly recover and recapture a more favorable FICO score?"
WILLIS: That's a tough situation, Sean. The good news is there is life after bankruptcy. The most important thing you could do, pay your bills on time. And that counts the most in your FICO credit score.
Then you also want to keep your balances low on your credit cards. You don't want to go out and open a lot of credit cards but you shouldn't necessarily close old ones because the length of time you've been using credit also counts on your credit report. And don't worry, Sean, in time the bankruptcy will count less and less against your credit score. And if you have any questions send them to us to toptips@cnn.com. We love to hear from you. And we answer those questions right here, every Friday.
NGUYEN: And we do love your answers, Gerri. Thanks for your time today. Appreciate it.
WILLIS: My pleasure, Betty.
NGUYEN: Tony?
HARRIS: A cyclist over the edge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The next day I know I wake up an hour later like, where am I? What am I doing?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Life throws her a curve. She talks about it right here in the NEWSROOM."
ANNOUNCER: "Gerri's Top Tips" brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. South Carolina. One week after Republicans faced their tests there, Democrats are bracing for their presidential primary. That's tomorrow. Joining us with a preview, political analyst Keli Goff in New York.
Keli, great to see you.
KELI GOFF, POLITICAL ANALYST: Great to be back.
HARRIS: Boy, this is -- boy, a couple of days in a row here, Keli. Maybe a little bit too much Tony Harris for you.
And in Washington, Michael Fauntroy, professor of public policy at George Mason University.
Michael, great to see you.
PROF. MICHAEL FAUNTROY, GEORGE MASON UNIV.: Thanks for having me.
HARRIS: Michael, let's start with you. Has the Democratic primary in South Carolina become a primary about race politics?
FAUNTROY: Well, you know, Tony, race is the undercurrent in America's ocean of culture. And I don't see how race could ever have been avoided in this. Race is...
HARRIS: I am so with you on that, Michael. FAUNTROY: I think that race was a part of this as soon as the candidate field was set. It was latent. It was an undercurrent if you will. But it was eventually going to rear its head and I'm not at all understanding why people are so surprised.
HARRIS: So Keli, what do you think?
GOFF: Well, I think that you can't have a presidential race in which you have the wife of the first so-called black president running for office and the man who could actually become the real first black president...
HARRIS: Yes.
GOFF: ...and not have someone mention race.
HARRIS: But Keli -- but you know what's interesting? The suggestion here is not, hey, let's have a frank and open conversation about race in this country. It's, hey, you're using the race card, you're using race to divide. And that's not helpful. For example...
GOFF: Well...
HARRIS: Go ahead.
GOFF: Well, I was going to say that, Tony. You know we've never really had a frank and open discussion when it comes to race politics if you think about it because, you know, when I think about the fact that you have the Bradley effect, which we've talked a lot about, you have, you know, the effect in which, you know, white voters say one thing during polling, before elections, and then actually do something different in the voting booth. And I only mention that to say that no one really likes to talk about race politics out in the open. You're disciplined to do that.
HARRIS: So are you disappointed -- are you disappointed that you have first real legitimate, everyone-is-excited-about black candidate for president and this candidate for..
FAUNTROY: And Tony, I am.
HARRIS: ...a lot of people seems to not want to talk about race.
GOFF: Well...
FAUNTROY: Tony, I'm completely disappointed by this because, as someone who does research and teaches about race and politics, there are so many things that we could be talking about rather than who said what, when and how and who was offended by it. You know, what I see going on here is somewhat akin to a transition from adolescence to adulthood in which it's sometimes awkward and other times it's contentious but it has to be done. We have ground-breaking candidates running. And somebody has to be first. So there's going to be this tension.
HARRIS: Yes. FAUNTROY: What I'm hoping for is that we can have an intelligent discussion about this tension...
HARRIS: Keli, jump in.
FAUNTROY: ...and not use it as a reason to throw mud at each other.
GOFF: Well, of course, I'm disappointed. But you know, here's the thing, Tony, is it's not that I'm surprised because that's just the reality of politics. I think like a lot of voters, I'm probably more surprised...
HARRIS: What do you mean by that, it's reality of politics? That the reality of politics is that you don't want to talk about it. You go to South Carolina where a huge portion of the voting population is African-American, and there you don't want to talk about...
GOFF: Well, actually -- well, no. What I was going to say, Tony, is that I'm not surprised that things have taken a negative tone and I'm -- so as the voter. It's hard to sort of get disappointed about something you expect.
I think what -- like a lot of voters I'm disappointed about to see it happen so early in a Democratic primary between people who should know better and who should be above that. I think that when you have someone like the Clintons who has such a long legacy on things like civil rights and then to see the tone of the campaign fall so far so fast. I think that's what's really surprising.
HARRIS: Keli, so are you blaming the Clintons? Are you blaming the Clintons for injecting race in a negative way into the campaign?
GOFF: Well, look, they certainly bear some of the responsibility and I'm clearly not the only one who thinks so because today when "The New York Times" endorsed Senator Clinton even they said that she needs to be the one to take the lead on improving the tone of this campaign that's gotten so ugly so quickly. There are clearly some enough responsibility to go around, but definitely I do think they bear some of the burden.
FAUNTROY: But Tony, wait a second. I think it's important not to take too short a view here. This is still very early in the process and South Carolina is not going to be dispositive one way or the other. We still have a long...
GOFF: Right.
HARRIS: Yes. I think you're right.
GOFF: It's early but there's going to be a lasting...
FAUNTROY: We still have a very, very long time to go before we find out who the nominee will be. And it's quite likely that by the time we get to the convention, all of this could be sorted out in a way in which Democrats can become united and run toward November. GOFF: I completely disagree, Michael. I mean I think you would have been correct perhaps last presidential campaign but we're in the age of what I like to call YouTube election in which things are not forgotten because they last forever now. And I think that it's going to be a really tough road for whoever the nominee becomes because they've spent so much time bloodying each other up. And they basically, essentially written GOP advertisements for the GOP already.
HARRIS: Yes.
GOFF: Last week the campaigns have essentially written the ads for John McCain or whoever becomes the nominee.
HARRIS: Well, let's...
GOFF: I mean last night -- in fact, the Republicans candidates last night already started using the words of the Democratic candidates to help beat up on (INAUDIBLE)...
HARRIS: All right. Keli, let me jump in because we're running out of time.
You've seen -- you both have seen this MSNBC, McClatchy, Mason- Dixon, ABC, all -- every organization seems to be involved in this polling here -- among likely African-American voters or voters in South Carolina. Fifty-nine percent of African-Americans support goes to Barack Obama as you can see here. Senator Clinton gets 25 percent and John Edwards gets four percent.
Can you tell me what it is, Michael, that Barack Obama has done or said to win that kind of support from the African-American community in South Carolina?
FAUNTROY: Well, Tony, let me say first that I don't think 59 percent is a necessarily overwhelming number.
HARRIS: OK.
FAUNTROY: Let me say that first.
GOFF: It's higher than it was.
FAUNTROY: That's fine. I don't dispute that. But I think the point that has to be noted here is when Barack Obama got in the race he was largely unknown in South Carolina. And as the campaign continues and as he becomes more of a presence in the state, it stands to reason that people who were initially somewhat unsure of themselves became more comfortable with him...
HARRIS: Yes.
FAUNTROY: ...as they got to know him. So I'm not at all troubled by those numbers. In fact, I would argue that those numbers would be exactly the same even if Bill Clinton, for example, had not said a word and hadn't been this firestone of coverage.
HARRIS: That's interesting.
Hey Keli, ten percent of...
GOFF: I slightly disagree...
HARRIS: Ten percent of whites in the Democratic Party who call themselves Democrats likely to vote, support Barack Obama?
What's going on here if this were to become about race?
GOFF: Well, support has actually slipped among white voters in the last week. And so there's definitely an argument to be made that the Clintons helped bloody him up. But I would actually slightly disagree with Michael's side just a little bit because I think that the numbers have gone up for Barack in the last two weeks or so and I think what you've seen is a shift in which the Clintons going negative has definitely helped them -- or help -- it's hurt Obama among white voters. But it's also, I think, helped him a bit among black voters who are sitting on the fence.
HARRIS: So you believe, Keli, that the Clintons have muddied this race in South Carolina. You believe that, don't you?
GOFF: Absolutely. Absolutely. I don't think that's without question. And like I said, I think that it's telling that "The New York Times" is endorsing her, even noted that she -- the one thing she needs to improve upon is the tone of this campaign.
HARRIS: All right. Let me leave it there.
Michael, great to talk to you.
Keli, as always, great to see you.
GOFF: Good to be back.
HARRIS: Well, I hope I set that poll up correctly. So many organizations involved. All right.
Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning, I'm Tony Harris.
NGUYEN: Yes, hi, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Heidi Collins.
Well the F.B.I. says he wanted to hijack a commercial plane and crash it to commit suicide. He's just 16 years old, and we are hearing reports he could appear in court later today. The teenager arrested last night after flying from Los Angeles to Nashville on a southwest Airlines flight. Authorities say nothing threatening happened during the flight, but they say the teen had handcuffs, duct tape and rope.
Two CNN affiliates in Nashville are reporting the teen wanted to crash the plane into a Hanna Montana concert in Louisiana. But. an F.B.I. spokesman says, he has no information on that. HARRIS: Hillary Clinton invoked his name to go after Barack Obama, but who is Tony Rezko and is he a problem for the Obama campaign? We're keeping them honest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Here's a thought for you. When schools fail, should the teachers be flunked? Well one city's plan is going to test the instructors.
HARRIS: OK, everyone wants to know the answer to this question today. Where's my tax rebate check? And how much?
NGUYEN: Yes. Show me the money.
HARRIS: CNN's -- yes, show me the money -- CNN's Ed Henry fills us in on Washington's big deal of the day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president was quick to declare victory on the stimulus package that will pump $150 billion into the sagging economy.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This package has the right set of policies and is the right size. The incentives in this package will lead to higher consumer spending and increased business investment this year.
HENRY: The deal came after around the clock negotiations, Congress moving at record speed.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: I think this is a remarkable package because it is about putting money in the hands of America's working families.
HENRY: It gives $600 rebate checks to individuals making under $75,000, $1200 for couples who earn less than $150,000 per year. Couples with kids get an extra $300 per child. In a concession to Democrats, workers who make at least $3,000, but don't pay taxes, will still get $300 checks.
In return, Democrats dropped calls for an increase in food stamps and an extension of unemployment benefits. Republicans also secured tax breaks for small businesses who can write off 50 percent of purchases of plants and other capital equipment.
REP. JOHN BONER (R), MINORITY LEADER: The speaker gave some, as she said, and Republicans gave some. But I think it's a good compromise that will benefit the American people.
HENRY: There's one reason for the bipartisanship; it's an election year and both parties are desperate to show they're doing something about the sliding economy.
BUSH: This agreement was the result of intensive discussions and ...
HENRY: While the president does not have to face the voters in November, he has a legacy to fret about. That's why White House officials say the economy will be a major focus Monday, when he delivers his final State of the Union address.
BUSH: I know Americans are concerned about our economic future. Our economy is structurally sound, but it is dealing with short-term disruptions in the housing market and the impact of higher energy prices.
HENRY (on-camera): But this is not a done deal. Some senators are talking about adding more money for food stamps and other priorities, which might slow all of this down. And the Treasury Department says that even if Congress finishes by mid-February, it might not be until summer until all of the checks have reached all of the mailboxes, raising questions about how quickly the economy will be boosted.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well the road to the White House heads South this weekend. And today, candidates from both parties are focusing beneath the Mason-Dixon line. Democrats are bracing for tomorrow's big primary in South Carolina. Republicans, who faced-off there last Saturday, are looking ahead to Florida. That critical primary scheduled for Tuesday.
OK. So, Chicago power broker, Tony Rezko, if you haven't heard of him before this week's Democratic debate, you have now. So who is he and what is this connection to Barack Obama?
CNN's Drew Griffin keeps them honest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He could have held back, but instead, Hillary Clinton hit back.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was fighting against those ideas when you were practicing law and representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, no, no, no, no. I'm happy to respond.
GRIFFIN: Senator Obama explained it was just legal work on a low-income housing project. And Tony Rezko, just another client.
OBAMA: I did about five hours worth of work on this joint project. That's what she's referring to. Now...
GRIFFIN: But keeping them honest, there is a lot more to it than that. Tony Rezko has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy, influence peddling and demanding kickbacks from companies seeking Illinois state business. He's given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Illinois political power brokers. He's done multiple real estate deals with politicians, even their wives. And his indictment has Illinois politicians nervous, including officials in the administration of Illinois's governor, Rod Blagojevich. Think of Tony Rezko as the Jack Abramoff of Chicago politics.
JAY STEWART, BETTER GOVERNMENT ASSN.: That's a pretty close analog, yes. He wasn't a registered lobbyist as Jack Abramoff was. But in terms of a wheeler and dealer who had influence over Blagojevich the administration.
GRIFFIN: The investigation has reached closer and closer to Illinois's governor who has not been charged with a crime. There has been nothing linking Illinois's senator to anything illegal. So what's this all about? Money, of course. Rezko has been a major money raiser in Chicago politics and he saw a star before the nation took notice.
STEWART: Tony Rezko was his first significant campaign contributor. So, you know, that certainly helped start Senator Obama's career.
GRIFFIN: But the federal indictment alleges Rezko was giving tainted cash, some illegal, some just unsavory.
(on-camera): So you guys made the decision that...
TIM NOVAK, CHICAGO SUN TIMES REPORTER: We decided --
GRIFFIN: ... that he was a slumlord.
NOVAK: Right.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): "Chicago Sun Times" investigative reporter, Tim Novak, helped label Tony Rezko a slumlord. One of Rezko's businesses got government loans to develop low-income housing. Barack Obama worked on some deals as a lawyer and wrote letters supporting some deals as a state senator. The "Sun Times" found two- thirds of the building were foreclosed on, boarded up, or both.
NOVAK: The city and the state have told us they never had other low-income developer go that bad, that quick, that much.
GRIFFIN (on-camera): This is one of those buildings, and it does seem to fit the description. At the same time tenants in this building were complaining about the heat being turned off, the building's owner, Rezko, was actually giving money to the Obama campaign.
NOVAK: Now, the senator says he doesn't know, he did not know any of this stuff.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Now that he does know, the senator is donating Rezko's donations to charity, $86,000 so far. But the bigger embarrassment for Obama was his own land deal with Rezko. Shortly after his election to the U.S. Senate, Obama bought this house at $300,000 below the asking price. Perhaps not coincidentally, the very same day, Rezko's wife bought the lot next door for full price. Months later, Barack Obama would buy a sliver of the Rezko land to expand his own yard.
(on-camera): There was nothing illegal about the deal and nobody is alleging that there was anything illegal. But the deal happened at the same time that Rezko was knowingly under investigation. And for that, the senator says, whatever the deal was, was bone-headed.
(voice-over): His campaign declined to talk about this story. Senator Obama may regret ever getting involved with Tony Rezko.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The problem with Chicago politics is it's hard to say 110 percent perfectly clean.
GRIFFIN: Drew Griffin, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, for more on the presidential candidates and their next stops, go to cnnpolitics.com. It is your one stop shop for all things political.
HARRRIS: Taking the fight to al-Qaeda. Iraq launching a major offensive to root out insurgents in Mosul. Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki announcing troops are going into that northern city. At least 37 people were killed in separate bombings there this week. The offensive is seen as an example of Iraqi troops, not U.S. forces, taking the lead.
NGUYEN: Well ahead, he stole from the homeless so the judge made him homeless for a day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You find out and you figure out where you're going to spend the night, you figure out where you're going to eat and you figure out where you're going to stay warm, just like they do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Street smarts in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: How about this? Walking a night in their shoes. An Ohio man who stole money from a Salvation Army kettle got this choice from the judge: three months in jail or three days in jail. But to gets the lighter sentence he had to be homeless for a day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE MICHAEL CICCONETTI, PAINESVILLE MUNICIPAL COURT: You figure out where you're going to spend the night, you figure out where you're going to eat and you figure out where you're going to stay warm, just like they do.
NATHAN SMITH, SENTENCED TO HOMELESSNESS: It's not a harsh sentence. I did it, and now I have to pay the consequence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes, you do. Well, Smith served the freezing part of his sentence last night. Wind chill factor, down to four degrees. A court officer plans to check up on Smith to be sure he found a shelter, and he is due back in court this morning. Maybe he's thawed out by that time.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
NGUYEN: We all want to take short cuts when we can, right?
HARRIS: Well?
NGUYEN: Well, not when one leads to a long drop and biker falls 40 feet down an embankment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK, so one second she's enjoying a nice bike ride. Everything's great. The next, she is flying down a 40-foot embankment. Reporter Amy Frazier of affiliate KOIN reports on the rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY FRAZIER, KOIN REPORTER (voice-over): After nearly two hours at the bottom of a steep cliff --
NIKKI CAMPBELL: You couldn't see me from the road.
FRAZIER: Portland firefighters towed 24-year-old Nikki Campbell to safety.
CAMPBELL: I'm really lucky I was wearing the bike helmet, because it was crushed, I guess.
FRAZIER: The law student took a popular shortcut through River View Cemetery on her way home from Lewis and Clark College on Wednesday. She hit a sharp curve and went flying, landing 40 feet down an embankment.
CAMPBELL: The next thing I know I wake up an hour later, like where am I, what am I doing?
FRAZIER: Injured and unable to move, Nikki struggled to figure out what happened.
CAMPBELL: I was in the middle of the woods, like on this hill and my bike was like up a few feet from me, like on a slant. And one of my shoes is, like, way down to the right of me. FRAZIER: That's when she spotted her cell phone and called a friend. 911 operators eventually used her cell phone to track her location and send help. Nikki's mom flew in from Alaska after seeing the rescue on the Internet.
NANCY CAMPBELL, MOTHER: I could see the top of her helmet. And the next thing you know, I was, like, freaking out. I mean, that totally freaked me out. I was like, ah, no!
FRAZIER With some cuts and bruises, Nikki has been released from the hospital, thankful to be surrounded by family and friends.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And of course, Nikki wanted to thank people who rescued her. She's a lucky lady.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
All in the family, one graduate -- no, that's candidate.
NGUYEN: yes.
HARRIS: ... is getting a lot of help from home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Pink slips for bad teachers? Well, the head of a big school system wants to hold staff members accountable.
CNN's Susan Roesgen explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Next year at Chicago's Harper High School, the hallways and lockers may be the same, but all 130 teachers and support staff could be gone.
ARNE DUNCAN, CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPT.: We have a moral obligation to come in and do something dramatically better for those children now. We cannot wait.
ROESGEN: Chicago's school superintendent wants to fire bad teachers at eight failing public schools. So he's willing to lay them all off and make some reapply for their jobs. Last year at this one high school, 95 percent of the students flunked the state academic exam.
(on camera): Here at Harper High School the principal says the prospect of getting new teachers is fabulous. The teachers union says, not so fast.
MARILYN STEWART, CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION: How can you blame the teachers when everybody -- I mean, there's accountability all up and down the line. There's parent accountability, there's district accountability, there's a principal accountability, there's teacher accountability and there's student accountability. So how can you just blame a teacher who has a child for six hours a day. We're doing our job.
ROESGEN: Firing the teachers is not a done deal. Chicago's school board will vote on the plan next month.
Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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