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Presidential Candidates Address the Economy; Hillary Clinton's Speech; Delta Cancels Flights for Inspections

Aired March 27, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And you have been listening to President Bush talking about the war in Iraq.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen in for Heidi who is on maternity leave today.

Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Thursday, March 27th. Here's what's on the rundown.

Fast-moving developments in Iraq. Angry protests against an Iraqi army crack down. President Bush just moments ago hailing the Iraqi strategy as bold.

HARRIS: It's broken, they say they've got the money fix. The Democrats has the economy, we're covering both candidates.

NGUYEN: Listen to this. A gunman opening a fire on Virginia interstate. Road warrior on the loose. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Well, the economy issue number one for you and me and for today at least the presidential candidates who want your votes. This morning we heard from Barack Obama on his plans to help your wallet. We will hear from Hillary Clinton shortly.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is in New York with Senator Obama.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

Well, we heard from Barack Obama talking about the problems of the economy, squarely putting it on the Bush administration, talking about the Iraq war. As you mentioned, costing billions of dollars. Also, the tax breaks he says for the wealthiest Americans are really leaving this economy in kind of this slowdown, almost a recession, if you will, type state. That is what Barack Obama is saying.

He is also talking about specific proposals that he would like to turn the economy around. He had mentioned $1,000 tax credit for working families, tax brick for retirees making less than $50,000. And he specifically talked about the housing crisis, ways to bring about bankruptcy reform and also to hold those industries to account. Greater regulation when it comes to lending, borrowing, mortgages. Here's basically his philosophy behind this proposal. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American economy does not still and neither should the rules that govern it. The evolution of industries often warrants regulatory reform to foster competition, lower prices or replace outdated oversight structures. Old institutions cannot adequately oversee new practices. Old rules may not fit the roads where our economy is leading.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: He also took a swipe at Senator John McCain and he essentially ignored Senator Clinton's plan. Went straight for McCain, saying that this was more of the same, the Bush administration policy, neglecting people, that they really need to respond and this limited government role was not responsible.

We had heard from the McCain campaign. They responded as well saying, look, his plan, he is open to many different things but his plan is about greater accountability. It is about greater transparency when it comes to stabilizing the housing market.

They say Obama's plan is more of the raising taxes, big government, very much the same. They say they want to punish those lenders who have been irresponsible. They want to help people out who are in a crunch here. But they simply do not want to add more money, more big government to the problem -- Tony?

HARRIS: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux with the Barack Obama campaign in New York today. Suzanne, thank you.

NGUYEN: Hillary Clinton addressing the economy as well with her own plan today.

And CNN's Dan Lothian is in Philadelphia.

Dan, looks like we're going to hear more about that 3:00 a.m. phone call at the White House.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. She will be speaking in Raleigh, North Carolina. She begins this six-day tour which will also bring her here to Pennsylvania and again, bring up that theme that has worked for her in the past that 3:00 a.m. in the White House call. She will talk about how sometimes when the phone rings in the White House at 3:00 a.m., it is an economic crisis and that she is the best candidate to deal with that crisis.

And then she'll take a swipe at Senator John McCain saying that she has looked at his economic plan and that really it doesn't address the mortgage crisis and the housing crisis. She says the phone is ringing and Senator John McCain is essentially not answer that phone call. She will also talk about this proposal that she has to focus on job retraining. She's talking about $12.5 billion over five years, to essentially help a lot of workers who have been displaced.

And finally, she will also talk about this theme of how all Americans need, to quote, roll up their sleeves in order to help make the economy better -- Betty?

NGUYEN: All right. Dan Lothian joining us live. We do appreciate it, Dan.

Here's a little bit more. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, this morning they're discussing their plans to fix the economy as we've been talking about. Coming up this hour, we're going to speak with someone from the Republican National Committee about Senator John McCain's economic plans. That's still ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: We warned you at the top of the newscast this would be a very busy morning in the CNN NEWSROOM with events that we knew were on the schedule. And then these kinds of events, breaking news right now into the CNN NEWSROOM, video from just a short time ago of this New York City train coalition, an eastbound Long Island Railroad train, as you can see here, has derailed. This at the Jamaica Station.

The New York City fire department says two trains bumped into each other causing as many as 20 minor injuries. You can see firefighters on the scene right now. A fire department spokesman says this was a minor low-impact collision between two LIRR trains. Again, minor injuries, as many as 20. This taking place around 9:35 a.m. this morning.

We will keep an eye on this situation and update the conditions of those who might be injured as we get more information right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Bullets flying on the highway, Virginia state police searching for a suspect or suspects who shot at cars on Interstate 64 overnight. Police did shut down a 20-mile stretch of the highway between Charlottesville and Waynesboro for six hours while they investigated. At least, four vehicles were hit by bullets. Two people sent to the hospital with minor injuries. And it's still not clear if the victims were hit by bullets or flying glass.

HARRIS: Hezbollah's long reach, a new worry in Israel today. Senior Israeli defense officials tell the Associated Press Hezbollah in Lebanon has Iranian rockets with a range of 185 miles. That puts most of Israel's populated centers in the cross hairs. During a 2006 month long war between Israel and Hezbollah, Hezbollah rockets reached about 45 miles inside Israel.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: So you know if it's not the rain, it could be the planes that are causing delays and today we're talking about flight delays and frustrated passengers and in just a few moments, we'll find out from a Delta spokesperson when those planes will start flying again. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. The Commerce Department is reporting the gross domestic product increased half a percentage point, .6 in the last three months of 2007. In the prior quarter, the economy was rocking along at almost 5 percent. The GDP is the value of all goods and service produced in the U.S. and the puny growth rate for the last quarter of '07 is pretty much what economists were expecting.

And you are expecting this I'm sure because it is costing a little bit more these days to fill up your gas tank. That's not news to you. But AAA reports regular unleaded gas has risen less than a penny a gallon, national average, $3.26. Highest in Hawaii, at $3.6 $3. Lowest, Missouri, Minnesota and New Jersey all under $3.10 a gallon.

Diesel fuel prices, they are down less than half a penny to $4.02. That's after diesel hit an all-time high of $4.03 on Saturday. Remember, buses, train, trucks delivering goods, produce, all that stuff practically all of them run on diesel.

Keep watching CNN, our money team has you covered, whether it's jobs, debt, housing or savings, you can join us for a special report. It is called "ISSUE #1" all this week at noon Eastern, only on CNN.

Flights canceled, passengers stuck in limbo. Delta Airlines suddenly dropped more than 300 flights attorney expect their wiring and MD-88 and MD-90 planes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was getting ready to board the flight and they said it was canceled. So now we go up to the crown room and stand in line there for about an hour and they tell us it's not canceled. Go back down to the gate. So we go back down to the gate. We get there. They tell us it's canceled again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Delta says it expects to complete the safety checks by the weekend and flights will be effected through early Friday. The cancellations follow a similar move by American Airlines. There's concern over bungled wiring that prompted these safety checks.

With us to talk more about this on the phone, Delta Airlines spokesperson, Susan Elliottt.

Susan, thanks for being with us today.

SUSAN ELLIOTT, DELTA AIRLINES SPOKESPERSON: Thanks for having me, Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. We're learning 300 flights have been effected today. How big is this bungled wiring problem or inspection as of now? ELLIOTT: Let me clarify. Delta has only canceled 275 flights.

NGUYEN: OK. Close to 300.

ELLIOTT: This afternoon and through today. And, you know, the revalue addition, this is merely a revalidation. We are actually working in full partnership of the FAA and voluntarily offering a full compliance of the directive that we complied with earlier this year.

NGUYEN: Why cancel them now? Is this something that you could have done, you know, over the course of several weeks and several months? Why so many cancellations now?

ELLIOTT: We track very closely what was occurring in the industry. As we looked at what was happening yesterday, we moved very swiftly and aggressively to ensure we could inspect as many airplanes as quickly as possible to limit the operational impact to a minimal period.

NGUYEN: Why haven't they been inspected on regular basis? Why are we seeing this emergency response right now?

ELLIOTT: It wasn't an emergency response, Betty. This is a revalidation of a prior airworthiness directive that we had actually completed earlier this year. We wanted to go back in over yesterday afternoon and today just out of abundance of caution. Safety is one of Delta's number one priorities and we wanted to ensure that we were in full compliance.

NGUYEN: That makes perfect sense that you want to be in full compliance because people don't want to get on planes if they're not safe. As for those people, 270 flights -- 75 flights being canceled, where are all those people going? Are they simply stuck in what do you do for folks have to attend funerals, weddings, job interviews, thing like that?

ELLIOTT: We have a plan in place when we moved to do this so quickly and aggressively. We also had a plan in place we were working to contact passengers, that were going to be impacted by this. And as of right now, we have re-accommodated 94 percent of the passengers that have impacts to their travel schedules.

We've also staffed up at our ticket counters, our gate agents and we've been working closely with our partner it is TSA to make sure security lines were running smoothly.

NGUYEN: So you've re-accommodated 94 percent of the passengers and that includes people that spent is night in Hartsfield Jackson, for example, and Atlanta, some sleeping in chairs and those sleeping on baggage claim carriers?

ELLIOTT: Well, we did our best to accommodate those passengers. You know we -- every situation was different. So we worked very aggressively to contact passengers before they even arrived at the airport, for those passengers who had actually provided us with contact information, e-mail, et cetera. NGUYEN: All right. Susan Elliott, Delta spokesperson with us today to talk about the 275 cancellations due to an inspection of a bundled wiring issue they are trying to make sure that it is in order so planes get off the ground safely. Stay with us for the latest on this story.

HARRIS: We heard from Illinois Senator Barack Obama, his plans for the economy. We expect to hear in just a couple of moments from New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

We will get reaction to the plans of both of the Democratic candidates from Frank Donatelli. He is with the RNC. That's next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are presenting their economic plans today. Now let's get the Republican viewpoint.

Joining us now, that's Frank Donatelli. He is the deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Frank, good to see you.

FRANK DONATELLI, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Good morning.

HARRIS: OK. So Frank, our vision for this segment, as you know, was to bring you on so that you could respond both plans from Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. Senator Obama gave his speech pretty much on time. Senator Clinton was scheduled to give her speech at 10:30 and there you go. Nothing yet.

So let's talk about this speech that I know you listened to this morning from the Illinois Senator Barack Obama. Here's a bit of it. And then I want you to respond. All right?

DONATELLI: Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: John McCain recently announced his own plan. Unfortunately it amounts to little more than watching this crisis unfold. While this is consistent with Senator McCain's determination to run for George Bush's third term, it won't help families that are suffering and it won't help lift our economy out of recession.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, Frank. So that is Barack Obama talking about the crisis, the crisis in this case he's referring to obviously the mortgage crisis, sub prime and foreclosures and the credit crunch right now.

It seems his idea is about a fund, $10 billion that would be made available to communities and states to buy up some of this bad paper that's out there right now and maybe some of these properties. What do you think in principle about that plan, that approach?

DONATELLI: Well, the first thing is, Tony, he has distorted what Senator McCain said. What Senator McCain said in his speech a couple days ago indeed are that there are people that need help, hard-working families who are caught in this credit crunch through no fault of their own. And they deserve help.

Secondly, there is a need for the federal government to do things. There is no question about that. We need some new regulations maybe, some tougher enforcement of existing regulations. And Senator McCain supports some of the things that the Treasury Department has already done, and we can talk about that.

However, where he disagrees with Senator Obama, and I suspect Senator Clinton when she gives her speech, is that he distinguishes between hard-working families that need help and he wants to help them ...

HARRIS: Speculators.

DONATELLI: But he doesn't want to bail out the speculators, that's right. Isn't it easy for liberal Democrats like Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, since they've already proposed $100, $200 billion health care plans to say, oh, another $30 billion for housing. I mean, that's small change.

HARRIS: Perhaps the Democrats will also say that we're all, you know, regardless of how we got here, we're all in the boat together and we need to come up with a comprehensive plan. Let me pick up on that point that you just made, Frank, and play you a bit of sound from Senator McCain from just a couple days ago.

DONATELLI: Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have always been committed to the principle that it's not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they're big banks or small borrowers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So Frank, does Senator McCain believe in your view that the quote, unquote, bailouts backed by the government of Bear Stearns was a bad idea?

DONATELLI: Well, I think there what you are looking to do was to bring some stability and some additional liquidity to the credit markets. You had a ...

HARRIS: That was a mortgage-backed securities situation, correct?

DONATELLI: Well, yes, but you were trying to bring -- you were talking about a potential run on banks which would have effected our entire financial system.

HARRIS: Some would suggest that maybe not the run on banks, that you protect against that, but the idea that one bank -- not a bank in the traditional sense, by the way, a let's make that note. That that bank, Bear Stearns, might have been just what the market needed at the time. If this is about a market-based economy, maybe that was what was needed.

DONATELLI: Look, Bear Stearns took a pretty good hit.

HARRIS: That's true.

DONATELLI: It's true that they were supported by the fed, but if you look at the value of Bear Stearns six months ago and what it sold for, you can't say that there was a bailout.

HARRIS: Yes, stock priced over $100 at that time and ...

DONATELLI: I think it's $2 or $10, something like that. It's not fair to say that -- I don't think this was a bailout in the sense that some people say.

But the other thing that Senator McCain has strongly endorsed -- and again, this goes contrary to Senator Obama saying that nothing has been done, is to use the existing institution of the FHA, the Federal Housing Administration, to buy -- to guarantee mortgages much higher in value to allow more liquidity and more mortgage money into the system, which should also be very helpful.

Transparency and accountability in the mortgage market, I think, is the thing that's going to solve the problem.

HARRIS: And I think everybody would agree with that. Frank, we would give you more time if Senator Clinton had -- you know where I'm going with this. Frank, good to see you. Thanks for your time.

DONATELLI: Thank you, Tony.

NGUYEN: We are still waiting for that speech. When it happens we will bring it to you live.

But in the meantime, the war surges ahead. The fight against militants spreading in southern Iraq. I want to show you these tense images and so much more here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

HARRIS: Well, a dictator's final days. CNN gives an exclusive look inside CNN's Saddam Hussein's cell. And our Kyra Phillips and her team were the first television crew to gain to that access. So let's take you now to Kyra Phillips who joins us live from Baghdad. This was really fascinating to see, not only the cell, but hear some of what Saddam Hussein had written in his journal. PHILLIPS: Well, Betty, whether you agree with this war or not, Saddam Hussein was a key figure in this conflict, and his life, his writings and his final moments are going to be a part of history that will studied for decades.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): It was one of the last times the world saw Saddam Hussein alive. Now, for the first time, you will see where he lived out his last moments, in his cell reading from his journal and his final haunting photograph.

(on camera): So he was actually jailed in a building he built?

MAJ. GEN. DOUG STONE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Jailed in a build that he built, jailed in a building that many of his guests came and enjoyed.

PHILLIPS: Did he know where he was?

STONE: You know, initially we didn't think he did, but he actually did know. He ultimately knew exactly what he was for reasons that only the owner would probably know.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Major General Doug Stone oversees detention operations. According to Stone, Saddam also knew what was once decadent had become bare. This is the cell where Saddam Hussein slept, bathed, and spent his final morning.

STONE: So he got up. He was informed in the fact today would be the day he would be going to the execution. He bathed himself here in a very modest manner. It was winter, so it was cold. He then put on his dark suit, the one that I think most people have seen that was laying out here. He put that on. He was all ready to go. It took, I think, about a 10-minute delay. But as he went out he said goodbye to the guards, and then he got in the vehicles and, of course, proceeded on over for the execution.

PHILLIPS (on camera): What did the guard write about his final minutes before he went to the gallows?

STONE: Yes, well, just in the last 10 minutes while he was waiting he asked the guard, he said, I want to give you all my belongings, please give those to the lawyer and please tell my daughter that he is going to meet God with a clear conscious, and that he's going as a soldier, sacrificing himself for Iraq and for his people.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next to Saddam's cell, his exercise bike, examining table, basic medication, and a nickname not many people have ever heard.

(on camera): Why did you all call him "Vic?"

STONE: Ah, little-known secret. When he came here there was a debate. Do you call him, "Mr. President." No, that doesn't sound very good. What do you call him? And each detainee has an internment security number, and so we thought we're not going to call him that number either.

So one day he looked across and said, well, why do you feel those initials on there? And we said, well, that stands for very important criminal. He said, well, what does that mean? He says, well, it's Vic. He said, well, OK, that's what I want to be called.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): But, says Stone, Saddam felt much more comfortable in his garden, a garden he was allowed to grow under a watchful eye.

STONE: This is probably his favorite area. Again, not particularly too elaborate.

PHILLIPS (on camera): Do you find that odd that he wanted a garden or did you suggest that?

STONE: No, no, no, he wanted a garden. He wanted to have a little planting over here. It's sort of somewhat interesting that nothing he ever planted grew very well. And I don't know why that is, other than, you know, you can see there's still some plants left there that kind of grew up. But the kind of flowering he was hoping for, I guess, didn't flower.

This is kind of interesting. I know this is just a regular armchair. But he was a little uncomfortable in his arms, oftentimes trying to write sort of resting his arms, couldn't rest it up on here. So this got built up and duct taped so that at the right level he could kind of continue to keep writing.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): There are writings, Stone tells, that have never been read publicly before. Here in these pages, it is clear, Saddam was obsessed with his legacy.

STONE: "Therefore, I find my responsibility of citizens in my role as a believer in the nation require putting down -- putting the dots on the letters so that the people in history thereafter may know the facts as they are and not as those who want to counter it."

PHILLIPS (on camera): So he's afraid that history will not be recorded as he wants it recorded.

STONE: As he wants it recorded, exactly.

PHILLIPS: Let me ask you about the poetry. He writes this one poem talking about Baghdad. He said, "The nights are darker after the sunset, but the smoke and the burning overwhelms the city. You will feel suffocated under its skies. My days are now nights. No stars, no moon, but lots of screams." He was writing about something he couldn't see.

STONE: Yes, it's fascinating. Even where we're located now, he would have heard things, probably could have sensed fumes (ph) and that sort of thing. But he was seeing a very different battlefield than what he physically could see or even experience at the moment. PHILLIPS: What do you think of the fact that he wrote poetry? Saddam Hussein writing poetry?

STONE: Trust me, I'm not a literary major here, but I think there's a sense in poetry, a timelessness about the sense of things. And I think Saddam Hussein through all his writings were trying to equate himself with timelessness, he was important in history and he would be important in the future. And so, linking this poetry together, all I can surmise is much like linking the rest of this together in one. He wanted people to remember him in a very poetic, large fashion.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): The empty chair, an eerie image of Saddam sitting next to us, watching us do exactly what he wanted.

(on camera): And in one part of the journal he writes, "Dear nation, get rid of the hatred, take the clothes of hate and throw it into the ocean of hatred. God will save you and you will start a clean life with a clean heart."

But this was someone that was so full of hate.

STONE: Well, he certainly was, at least those were his actions. But how we see ourselves, how the world sees us, how you want yourself to be seen in history, how you'll write about it, there's a cunningness to him, there's a sense of where he's fitting. There's a desire to sort of piece things together so that this is what you will remember.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): But this is the way many will remember Saddam Hussein.

(on camera): So, this was the last photo that was taken of him?

STONE: That's right, Kyra. This is the last picture ever taken of Saddam Hussein alive that we're aware of.

PHILLIPS: Why is he so irritated? He looks angry.

STONE: Yes, he is angry and that's very perceptive. He actually is a guy that wouldn't normally look like that. But our guards noticed it. What had happened was the Iraqi guards had written his name on the back of this white board as if to take his picture in front of the word Saddam Hussein and they had misspelled his name.

PHILLIPS: Oh.

STONE: So, he turned to them and said, I am Saddam Hussein.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): A captured moment of an angry man, a man who until the end, refused to see himself as anything other than a believer in the nation, the nation he lost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And Betty, he also had a radio that the guards would let him listen to just outside his cell and he would take meticulous notes on military operations, areas that troops were in. Not a lot of it made sense but it was like he was taking bullet points and keeping track of that.

Also, nothing about torture, he doesn't write about gassing the Kurds, he doesn't write about torture chambers, he doesn't write about assassinations. So, it's interesting. He doesn't want anybody know those things about his history come decades from now.

NGUYEN: You know, something else that's interesting. As he was headed to that execution, he said good-bye to several people. Talk to us about that.

PHILLIPS: That's right. Actually, his final good-bye was sitting in the garden smoking cigars with his brothers. They had a conversation out there. The guard said it was not emotional at all. It was just smoking a cigar, saying good-bye. And here's another little tidbit, too. His favorite snacks, doritos and cocoa puffs, go figure.

NGUYEN: Interesting. All right, Kyra Phillips with really, some remarkable reporting over there. We do appreciate it. Thank you.

HARRIS: Puerto Rico's governor in trouble this morning. Governor Anibal Acevedo-Vila and 12 of his associates facing several charges related to the financing of three of Acevedo's campaigns. A federal indictment unsealed today accuses the governor and others of conspiracy, making false statements and wire fraud. The indictment reveals some of those associates are Philadelphia area businessmen.

The governor, a Democrat, is also a superdelegate in the race for the presidential nomination. Last month, he endorsed Barack Obama.

Let's take you to Raleigh, North Carolina, right now. And there, you see Democratic nominee for president, New York Senator Hillary Clinton has arrived, is on stage. And she will be making remarks about the economy shortly. As soon as she does, we will bring those remarks to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Also coming up, hard lesson in north west China. Firecrackers, they can kill. There are deaths, injuries and some victims still missing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Take a look. Hillary Clinton in Raleigh, North Carolina, at this hour, speaking at an event there. Of course, she's going to be talking about the economy. And we'll be listening very closely. We'll tune into that in just a moment.

But in the meantime, there's a new reading that shows the economy probably did not fall into a recession in 2007. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this.

And I know a lot of eyes are watching to see ...

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: ...what you're about to say, Susan, because some people feel like they're already in that recession.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the debate rages and it will continue to rage despite the fact that conditions are no worse than what we originally thought.

Why am I saying that? Well, we've got the final of three reads on fourth quarter GDP. That is the broadest measure of the U.S. economy. It still shows growth, but just anemic .6 percent for the world's biggest economy. But no contraction by the end of December. These can be revised higher or lower. And the growth, of course, did slow dramatically from nearly five percent in the third quarter.

Technically, well, still doesn't mean that we're not in a recession, makes it confusing. The private organization that makes that determination uses more than that. I'm going to toss it back to you, Betty.

NGUYEN: We want to thank you for that.

And then, take you now live back to Raleigh, North Carolina, where Senator Clinton is speaking right now. Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ...that our country has had in a very long time. The stakes are huge. The challenges are serious, but the opportunities are unlimited. We just have to start acting like Americans again and roll up our sleeves and get to work and start solving these problems we face because so many of you are doing your part.

You know, we have students here who are studying, who are young people ready to embark on your first career. We have parents attending classes at night, working to improve their job prospects and careers or to start new ones.

I met a woman as I came in earlier, Suzanne Mistrick (ph), she's a married mom of two, she always wanted to go to college. Well, now she is studying Web technology and graphic design. And that's exactly what Wake Tech is supposed to do. This campus is a place that helps people who have struggled to find work in a changing economy.

I know that North Carolina has lost a lot of jobs, but I also know that you've worked hard to equip people with the skills needed to try to get new jobs. And this school and its spirit really represent what's best about our country.

We embrace challenges, we don't turn away from them. We look clear-eyed at reality and say, what are we going to do to change it. We embrace hard work. The American people are the hardest workers in the world. Don't let anybody tell you any different. Our American workers work harder and are more productive than anyone. And yet, for too many here in North Carolina and elsewhere, that hard work doesn't seem to be paying off. You know, we embrace the future. We don't fear it. America has always been about making tomorrow better than today. And that's what it has to be about again. We've been stalled, I would say for at least seven years. And we need to get back into gear and move forward together.

You know, years ago when I first got involved in politics, I heard that old saying that running for office is like driving a car. If you want to go forward, you put it in D, if you want to go backwards, you put it in R.

(CHEERING)

CLINTON: So, we have to get back to our values, reach deep inside, kind of like, you know, there's 30 seconds left, there's 20 seconds left, there's 10 seconds left and the team that wins is the one that reaches down deep, right, and finds that source of inner strength. That's what we have to do as Americans.

Our economy is struggling right now, but I think it's important to keep in sight all that is right about America. And I'm looking at it right here. We can achieve incredible things when we ask that of ourselves and when we work hard together.

You know, in fact, coming to North Carolina, as I was thinking about this, reminded me of one particular moment in our history that I've talked about before and I've always thought was so emblematic.

You know, little more than a century ago, two brothers, the co- owners of a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, set out to find a remote spot with a steady breeze and soft ground to test their design for a small aircraft, just big enough to carry a single person.

Now, after a search, they found the beaches of North Carolina at Kitty Hawk. And over the next several years, armed with high school educations, extraordinary talent, and a willingness to explore even the dumbest of ideas, these two pioneers, the Wright brothers, set about successfully flying the first airplane and changing the course of history.

Now, it wasn't easy. It took pain-staking work to design, build and test model after model. It took persistence, even in the face of difficult odds. And sadly but perhaps predictably, some of their brave predecessors who invented and flew previous, more primitive models, did not survive to share their knowledge. But in the end, after countless designs and test flights, the Wright brothers succeeded.

I begin with this story because I think there's such a valuable lesson for us right now in 2008. In our history, we have never let challenges stop us. We have always used our ingenuity, our entrepreneurial spirit, the dynamism of our economy and we have gone forward.

The lesson of the Wright brothers is that Americans can overcome any obstacle, including wrong-headed government policies, like, for example, tax breaks for oil companies already reaping record-setting profits, give-aways for drug companies who don't have to negotiate with Medicare for lower prices, incentives in our tax code for companies to ship jobs overseas, no-bid contracts for companies like Halliburton, tax cuts for billionaires, free rides for predatory lenders, and a blind eye to firms on Wall Street at the expense of homeowners on Main Street.

And who pays the price for these wrong-headed policies? Well, hard-working, middle class Americans pay the price. You pay the price when your job is shipped overseas and a business pockets a tax advantage. You pay a price when the jobs replacing the ones that were lost offer lower pay and fewer benefits. You pay the price as we watch the shrinking of jobs that used to support families, so that now so many people are working two, even three jobs to try to make up what they have lost.

For example, in North Carolina, jobs in the industries that are growing pay about 11 percent less than jobs in the industries that are shrinking. You pay the price when you can't afford your health care bills or the college tuition or the mortgage payments, when you have to drain your wallet to fill up your gas tank. Average gas prices are about $3.25 in Raleigh. That's up more than 75 cents from a year ago.

And our children pay the price because our government is borrowing billions and billions of dollars from countries like China to pay for these special interest give-aways, to pay for the war in Iraq, to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest of Americans, instead of making the investments today in infrastructure, manufacturing, education, job training, and innovation that will supply the new jobs of tomorrow.

You know, the Bush economy is like a trap door. Too many people are one pink slip away, one missed mortgage payment away, one medical diagnosis away from falling through and losing everything. The oil companies, predatory student loan companies, the insurance companies and the drug companies have had seven years of a president who stands up for them.

I will be a president who stands up for all of you.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And it is past time that we set our priorities straight and level the playing field for the middle class and against the corporate special interest. It's time for a president who is ready on day one to be the commander in chief of our economy.

You know, sometimes ...

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: ...sometimes, the phone rings at 3:00 a.m. in the White House and it's an economic crisis. And we need a president who is ready and willing and able to answer that call. You know, I read the speech that Senator ... HARRIS: We just lost the signal, huh?

NGUYEN: And we've been listening to the Senator there speaking in Raleigh, North Carolina, about the economy. Going to get some more details on that. We apparently lost the signal to that. But if you want to continue watching it, of course, we'll try to get that back to you at CNN.com. You can see live streaming video of that.

CNN NEWSROOM does come your way at the top of the hour. In fact, we have "ISSUE #1" that is up next.

HARRIS: And our money team has you covered, whether it's jobs, debt, housing, or savings, and perhaps we will have the signal back and "ISSUE #1" can pick up the speech in Raleigh. I hear a little bit of it.

NGUYEN: A little bit right now.

HARRIS: And so, maybe "ISSUE ONE" will pick up the Hillary Clinton speech.

NGUYEN: There it is.

HARRIS: There she is. Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

CLINTON: ...enough about economics and didn't do enough for the American middle class.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: I don't think we can afford four more years of that kind of inaction. I believe we need a president who will answer the call and act aggressively to deal with economic crisis, like the ones we are seeing in our economy today. That's the kind of president we will desperately need after eight years of President Bush.

As president, I will work to rein in the corporate special interests and to rebuild a prosperous and strong middle class. I proposed a very specific agenda to end the give-aways to corporate special interests and to save the American people at least $55 billion a year.

That's money that can go right back into your pockets, through middle class tax cuts, money we can use to create new high-paying jobs, to invest in our nation's futures again. You know, from rebuilding our roads to our schools to our manufacturing sector.

And here is some of the specifics of the agenda I put forth. First, I'll close the tax loopholes for companies that outsource jobs. No company will be able to use your tax dollars to ship your overseas. Closing these loopholes ...

(APPLAUSE) CLINTON: ...won't just keep jobs in America. But it will also stop free loader corporations from avoiding $50 billion in taxes each year.

Second, we'll help create and keep good jobs right here in North Carolina.

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