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American Morning
Calls From Paris to Extinguish Olympic Torch; Yahoo! Rejects Microsoft's $44.6 Million Offer; Major Shakeup in Clinton Campaign
Aired April 07, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. Thanks very much for being with us on this, Monday. It's the seventh of April.
Good to have you along with us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to be with you this morning. And you know, a lot of troubles in Paris this morning because of the Olympic flame. I feel like every couple of minutes we have an update.
ROBERTS: This is starting to become "Where's Waldo," with the Olympic torch.
CHETRY: Exactly. It's meant to be part of the ceremony as being able to run this torch through many cities across the world. It's on a 130-day journey, but certainly meeting with some protests along the way.
And the latest in Paris right now had security officials for the second time making the call to actually extinguish the torch and put it on to a bus to get it further away along the route from these protesters.
And I said this is the second time they've done this. This second time was when the torch was being carried out of the Paris traffic tunnel by an athlete in a wheelchair. It was stopped there because of the anti-Chinese protesters, booing, chanting Tibet. They determined they didn't think it was safe.
And so, there you see video. They decided to herd some of the Olympic flame carriers on to the bus and get some of the protesters out of the way and then try to move a little bit further down that route. But again, this was a real mess for France this morning.
They were trying to avoid the situation in London. The widespread protests, Sunday, and the scuffles between demonstrators and police in London as thousands turned out in that city as well to protest China's human rights record and its recent clampdown on Tibet. So, that was one of the iconic shots yesterday out of London, where you saw the person holding the torch literally almost get ambushed there and protesters ripping it out of her hand.
Again, Paris deciding to extinguish the torch. The police doing it themselves to avoid that same situation. So, we'll keep you updated. But again, troubles and protests continuing today surrounding the carrying of that torch. You can follow it, though, as it makes its way to the U.S. on Wednesday. We have a full interactive map, CNN.com/olympics. It's going to be in San Francisco, and they are expecting again major protests there as well.
ROBERTS: Yes. Perhaps, even worse than what happened in London and Paris. So, we'll keep a close eye on that.
Now, to developments in Iraq. Security forces reported at least three militants were killed in an explosion that demolish a building overnight in Basra. An Iraqi police official says the abandoned structure was being used as a militia base and was destroyed in an air strike.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi forces are battling Shiite militants in the Sadr City section of Baghdad. Officials say at least nine militants have been killed and more than 60 wounded in the ongoing fighting.
The top U.S. commander in Iraq will deliver his battlefield assessment in a report to Congress. General David Petraeus and the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will be on Capitol Hill to testify tomorrow and Wednesday.
On Thursday, President Bush is expected to announce shorter tours of duty for U.S. forces fighting in Iraq in an address to the nation. Let's bring in CNN's Barbara Starr now from the Pentagon.
What do we know about that, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, what we know is Thursday, it may be the only piece of good news for the troops out of all of it. President Bush expected to say finally the tours of duty in Iraq will be reduced this summer from 15 months to 12 months on the ground. That has been issue number one for those troops on the frontline.
General Petraeus will start his round of hearings tomorrow morning on Capitol Hill. And he will step right into presidential politics whether he likes it or not. Senators Clinton and McCain, of course, members of the Armed Services Panel. Senator Obama on Senate Foreign Relations.
General Petraeus will try and stay out of the political fray, of course. But he knows he is going to get a lot of questions from all sides. Is the surge really working? Have the troops really been able to give the Iraqis the time to make their own security forces better? And this latest fighting in Iraq may wind up being the real report card on that question, John.
ROBERTS: Barbara, earlier this morning, we had Nic Robertson on from Baghdad who had an exclusive interview with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Al-Maliki insisting that the time is now to disband the Mahdi militia, Muqtada al-Sadr's military wing.
Let's listen to some of what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NURI AL-MALIKI, PRIME MINISTER, IRAQ (through translator): Confronting militias does still need more effort. Our readiness is not at full level yet. But what's happening in Sadr City is still less than what some people would expect militias to do. Many expected militias to have a decisive victory over Iraqi security forces. But this did not happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Barbara, in the Pentagon there, how is the whole idea of Nuri al-Maliki saying the time is now to disband these militias and his security forces are going to do that going over?
STARR: Well, I can tell you Nic Robertson's interview already has got the attention of U.S. military officials, especially when Maliki told Nic that he would not stop until there was full control by Iraqi forces in Sadr City and, of course, down in Basra.
What one U.S. military official told me this morning about all of this and he watches the situation minute by minute is they don't see the Iraqi forces really out front and center yet. They still see them not really pressing against the Mahdi Army in the way the U.S. would like them to. And that is a major concern.
The U.S. military, of course, still using many of its own troops to try and support the Iraqis in these fights against the militia forces. And all eyes really are on April 9, Wednesday. That's the day they expect a major demonstration in Sadr City. That's the day they're going to watch and see how the Iraqi forces really do --John.
ROBERTS: Barbara Starr for us from the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thanks -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, Yahoo once again saying "thanks, but no thanks." Rejecting Microsoft's $44.6 million offer to buy the company. Pretty big offer, but the company's chairman and CEO say they're not opposed to a deal. They just think this price is too low. Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer sent a letter to Yahoo over the weekend threatening to take his offer right to the shareholders.
Well, this week on Wall Street. Corporate earnings for the first quarter start rolling in. And you the investor get the chance to see if the economic downturn has hit your bottom line.
Ali Velshi joins us now with more on this.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That is an excellent way to characterize it, because most people look at earnings, including me by the way, because they're really very chewy. They are filing that companies give four times a year. And they're really very detailed. But it's the report card of businesses in America.
Now, what that means is over the course of the next two weeks, the emphasis on business is going to shift a little bit probably away from foreclosures and mortgages and even gas prices which are another record, to Wall Street and what stock markets do.
Because as companies report how they did in the first three months of this year -- this is the first three months, by the way, that we could have gone into a recession. This is going to affect your investments.
Now, take a look. Last year the first three months, we always measure this compared to the previous year. Last year was an 8.2 percent gain in the first three months. When the companies that you invested in your 401(k)s or IRA's make money, you make money.
This year, the estimate is that companies will be 10 percent lower than they were. And I should explain that doesn't mean that they've lost 10 percent. It means that the earnings -- whatever they earned last year, they're expected to earn 10 percent less this year. And that's going to translate into your investment.
So, it's worth keeping an eye on and I'll keep you posted over the course for the next few weeks as to how that affects markets. What typically happens is that if a big company comes in with lower earnings than were expected, it makes markets go down. If earnings are better, it will make them go up. But that's what's going to affect you.
It's a good time to take a look at your portfolio and just make sure you're balanced out so you're not too concentrated in any one area. You can expect, you know, we'll probably hear more bad news from the major banks and groups like that. But there might be some interesting surprises out there. This is where we keep an eye on what's going on the economy.
CHETRY: All right. We're also hearing those reports as we talk about the rising gas prices, record high.
VELSHI: Three dollars and thirty-four cents. That is incredible. That's 14 cents in a month, 58 cents in a year. Oil prices above $107 a barrel. So, it's unclear as to how far it goes. There's one interesting point though. And that is, at these prices, people have been pulling back on their driving. And that could just reduce some demand.
But fundamentally, this isn't a matter of me deciding to take a subway as opposed to a car in New York. It's people all over the country who really do drive big distances to work possibly in vehicles they can't sell. So, the change might take a while.
CHETRY: It would be interesting to see if it's changing people's vacation plans as well. We'll ask about that.
VELSHI: I really think it does. If you were going to do a lot of driving, I mean, it affects everybody at this point. It takes it right out of the money that you can spend for hotel or dinner or entertainment.
ROBERTS: It's a real shocker when you see the bill when you fill up the car these days.
VELSHI: Yes. It really is.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks very much.
Just two weeks now until the Pennsylvania primary. A major shakeup in the Hillary Clinton campaign. Mark Penn, the man in charge of her political playbook, is out. He was like the Clinton's Karl Rove, if you will. The architect of a successful run for the White House in 1996 and Senate in 2000.
Now, Hillary Clinton's campaign is going into the stretch run without Mark Penn at the helm. Penn stepped down after it came out that he met with members of the Colombian government last week about a trade treaty that Hillary Clinton opposes.
"The New York Times" said the Colombian government had hired Penn's firm to help secure passage of a bilateral trade treaty with the United States. Both Clinton and her rival Barack Obama have been strongly opposed to the agreement with Colombia and have vowed to vote against it. Both are also demanding renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, arguing that it's killing blue-collar workers here at home.
Presumptive Republican nominee Senator John McCain has been a consistent supporter of free trade legislation. The Bush administration completed the Colombia Free Trade Agreement in 2006 and is currently seeking approval by Congress.
CHETRY: There's a new airline quality report out this morning. And it shows that the airline industry failed last year when it came to on time performance, baggage handling, and customer service.
According to this annual survey, passenger complaints also soared up 60 percent overall. Three low-cost carriers were also forced out of business. Skybus Airlines, the most recent company to announce that they're going belly up, joining Aloha and ATA. All of them saying that high jet fuel costs helped push them over the edge.
Analysts are also saying that until there are more direct flights and more runways, the travelers could still see major flight delays, jammed planes and even higher ticket prices.
AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is at La Guardia Airport this morning talking to some of the passengers, seeing what they think about all of this.
Hey, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran, good morning.
You touched on this a moment ago. We're really talking about jet fuel prices. If you think about it, just as we're paying more to fill up our cars, the airlines on a much larger scale are paying much more to fill up their planes. Think about it.
Jet fuel prices are up a whopping 200 percent over last year. And that's affecting everyone's bottom line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Talk about going up, up and away. Jet fuel prices are sky high and climbing. A tough combination, especially for low cost airlines.
GENEVIEVE BROWN, SENIOR EDITOR, TRAVELOCITY: Those low fares are just simply not enough to cover the high cost of fuel.
CHO: Three airlines folded under the pressure in recent weeks, ATA, Aloha and Skybus all closed up shop leaving passengers holding their bags and looking for a way home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We decided to rent a car. That was our cheapest way to get back.
CHO: Bigger carriers are also feeling the pain. American, the nation's biggest has stopped hiring. Delta is looking to cut 2,000 jobs. Continental has hinted it could follow suit. Northwest and United say they'll fly fewer planes.
And then there are the extra fees. Checking more than one bag, be ready to pay up. An extra $50 on most airlines. Want to talk to a real person on the phone? Or bring Fido along on your flight. You got it, pay up.
BROWN: Airlines have to become more creative about how they make money. We're now paying for things that once were included in the cost of an airline ticket.
CHO: We're paying on other price too. Customer complaints shot up 60 percent last year according to new numbers from the airline quality survey. There were more delays with one out of every four flights showing up late. Airlines trying to fill flights to capacity meant more people got bumped, even though they had tickets.
And luggage, good luck finding it. The number of bags lost also up for the year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: The lost luggage. I've personally lost two bags last year. So I can tell you without reservation that this is affecting just about everybody. You know, we should mention that the airlines, as an industry, just returned to profitability last year after that rough period following 9/11. Then they are stocked with this. So it is all the more painful. And it is painful for the passenger as well.
Think about it, we are just seven weeks away from Memorial Day. If you are planning on heading to Europe, for example, you will be paying 10 percent more for your airline ticket this year than last year.
Now, Kiran, there are still a couple of deals to be had, if you are savvy and you really look. We talked to a woman just this morning who paid $137 round trip for her ticket from New York to Fort Myers, Florida. Again, there are deals, but they are few and far between -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Alina Cho for us this morning at La Guardia Airport. Thank you.
ROBERTS: And this morning, we want to hear from you between troubles at the airports and then higher prices at the pump as Ali was talking about.
Are you considering ditching your vacation for a so-called stay- cation? Stay at home. You have to spend your time off staying on the couch as opposed to the beach. Well, no, not necessarily on a couch, but just around the house. May be doing some odd jobs, hanging out in the neighborhood, go to see some museums, or whatever.
Right now, 83 percent of you say, yes, that stay-cation sounds like a good idea, 17 percent say no. You can vote yourself.
Head to CNN.com/am. We will have a final tally, coming up for you, at the end of the program before we head over to the "NEWSROOM" this morning.
A CNN exclusive, one-on-one with Iraq's prime minister after a bloody battle that spread across the country is warning to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his militia. What it could mean for the future of the U.S. mission there? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to CNN. We want to show you some new video now of the Beijing Olympic torch relay and the chaotic journey it's made through Paris this morning. Protesters protesting China. Pro- Tibetan protesters twice interrupted the progress of this torch making its way. There you see it.
It appears some protesters were actually climbing up on to the base of the Eiffel Tower there. The decision was made twice so far this morning to actually extinguish the torch, get the people in a bus, and get them a little bit further away from some of the protesters.
We did get word, though, at least according to reporters that are there now that this has resumed. The torch relay resuming once again. But here's some more video shot earlier. This was just through the course of our show this morning of protesters being dragged out of the way, trying to be held back by police. Some of them choosing to sit in the street to avoid being dragged away, and continue to make their presence known there.
But again twice this torch had to be extinguished. And some of the people that were taking part in the relay herded on to buses, moved a little bit further away from those protests. But again, the latest word that we've gotten now is that they are back on the move, making their way south of Paris this morning. And it's going to be a long journey if we see this every time. Sunday in London. Here in Paris. It's making its way, of course, to the U.S., San Francisco, not long from now.
ROBERTS: And a lot of protesters expected in San Francisco as well. So it is going to be an interesting route that the torch takes in its way to Beijing.
Seventeen minutes, almost 18 after the hour now. A CNN exclusive to tell you about this morning. Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, issuing an ultimatum to radical Shiite Cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as American and Iraqi troops try to gain control of areas used by militants to launch rockets and mortars into the green zone.
CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from Baghdad with more of his one-on-one with al-Maliki.
Good morning, Nic -- or rather, good afternoon to you.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki threatened and put out Iraqi security forces two weeks ago in a showdown with Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shiite cleric and his Mahdi militia.
They came to a stalemate. The prime minister backed down. There was a ceasefire. The prime minister has been going backwards and forwards. But now he says he has the political backing of the leading political parties in the country. He's issuing an ultimatum to Muqtada al-Sadr, either put down your gun, disband your militia, or get out of politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL-MALIKI: (through translator): A decision was taken Saturday that they no longer have the right to participate in the political process or take part in the upcoming elections unless they end the Mahdi army.
The unanimous decision agreed upon by the political powers today. And this is the first time the political powers there saved us. The solution comes from dissolution which means solving the problem comes in no other way other than dissolving the Mahdi army.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Now, a spokesman for Muqtada al-Sadr has told CNN that the government doesn't have the right to call for the disbanding of the militia. That there's no indication from the group that they will disbanded. Indeed, they are planning to hold a march in two days' time when Ambassador Crocker and General Petraeus will be giving their reports in Washington.
Potentially, putting tens, if not hundreds of thousands of people on the streets. And if that isn't enough, the battle is still going on in Sadr City. The prime minister vowing to continue to fight against the militias. It is building up, John, to be a real confrontation here.
ROBERTS: We should point out too, Nic, that your interview with al-Maliki is being watched very closely from people inside the Pentagon.
Our Barbara Starr was on just a little while ago saying that their reaction to it was that there is little evidence that al-Maliki can back up his claims, saying that they are, according to Barbara, they don't see him pressing against the Mahdi Army the way the U.S. would like. They see it as more rhetoric than reality.
ROBERTSON: Maybe some of it is rhetoric. You know, Maliki threw down the gauntlet two weeks ago by putting in the Iraqi forces. If he backs off from that, then in Iraqi eyes, he's going to look incredibly weak. Iraqis look for strong leadership. So, he's got to follow through.
But at the same time, he's told me in that exclusive interview that he can count on U.S. and British military support in Basra in the south and in Sadr City. And that's what's happening.
He is relying on the U.S. military for support. It is U.S. Army helicopters that are taking out some of those gunmen and rocket teams that are firing into the green zone and other U.S. bases here. So, he is counting on that support. There's no doubt about it.
ROBERTS: Nic Robertson, making news this morning with his exclusive interview. Nic in Baghdad, thanks very much --Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, the worst market in years to sell your home. But if you have no other choice, Gerri Willis has some good tips for you. She'll share them, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 24 minutes after the hour. Rob Marciano is at the CNN weather center tracking extreme weather. And the question that many people are asking here in New York and other places across the country, Rob, where the heck is spring?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: All right, Rob, thanks very much -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Still following issue no. 1 and that's the economy. And the spring home buying season is getting set to ramp up. But if you're trying to sell a home right now, you probably know that it's going to be pretty hard.
Experts suggest that what you really should do is try to wait to sell. But if you can't, CNN Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis can help. She has a new book out -- "Home Rich: Increasing the Value of the Biggest Investment of Your Life." Gerri is here now.
Thanks for being with us. So, how do you suggest to people to take their investment off your hands and buy it themselves? GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, job number one is to understand the comps in your neighborhood. What are other houses selling for that are like yours in the neighborhood?
Then, find out what that is per square foot. This will give you an apples-to-apples comparison. Now, keep in mind, we've seen prices really dive here, down as much as 8 percent February over February. That's $18,000.
Next thing to think about are the breakpoints. They're psychological barriers out there for buyers. They have a budget -- $250,000, $350,000. It happens in $25,000 and $100,000 increments. If you price just over that, it will be more difficult to sell your house. Understand those breakpoints and where to price your home.
And finally, beware the falling knife. Now, I mentioned before that prices are down about 8 percent nationwide February over February. But as you know, markets are different all over the country. It really depends on where you are. You need to understand your local market.
Now, if you're on one of the markets where prices are falling precipitously, you might want to get out in front of that falling knife, if you're having to sell your home right now.
Kiran, a friend of mine was selling his mom's condo and he had to really price under the market because he was afraid his deal would fall out of bed when they signed the deal at closing. So, you have to be really careful about how you price homes where prices are falling precipitously.
CHETRY: And if you decide to go with a real estate agent, should you be try to bargain with commission at this point?
WILLIS: You know, there was a point in time where real estate agents were really just porter takers in the marketplace. That time is not now. You really have to pay up on the best possible real estate agent you can these days.
And that means looking at their credentials. Do they have experience in your neighborhood? Do they have seven to eight years of experience? Because that means that they've been around since before the boom and they know how to sell houses without a little help from the marketplace.
If they actually live in your neighborhood, they'll know all the ins and outs of that neighborhood. They'll really be able to help you sell it. And what's more, they'll be able to get over to your house pronto in case a buyer surfaces.
And finally, most folks start their search on the web. You have to make sure that your real estate agent is web savvy. You can get great pleasures.
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE).
WILLIS: Yes, exactly. Did you start there?
CHETRY: We started off looking at the web because you don't want to drive to every single place especially with gas prices being high. So, you sort of narrow it down and look at it in person.
WILLIS: Exactly. You got to make sure you got the best pictures possible of that house. And you know, this is no small thing. I say get somebody with a lot of experience. But they also have to have experience on the Internet as well.
CHETRY: Right. Virtual tours, that's a big thing. People love that when they're looking at homes. Gerri Willis, always great to see you. Thanks so much.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHETRY: And by the way, keep it right here to learn more about "ISSUE #1." Gerri, Ali Velshi, and the entire CNN money team every day at noon. They bring you live coverage "ISSUE #1," right here on CNN. Lot of news coming up from the economic world today. So, you want to watch them. Also online at CNNMoney.com -- John.
ROBERTS: 28 minutes after the hour. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." Bloggers -- they oftentimes slave away 24/7 surviving on little sleep and lots of caffeine. But can work on the web turn deadly?
The queen of all media, Perez Hilton, joins us, coming up live.
And we're following the Olympic torch relay in Paris. It's been in on-again, off-again affair. Officials had to extinguish the torch twice due to protesters. More on the story coming up, straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: And welcome back to CNN.
Eight thirty here Eastern time on AMERICAN MORNING. And we're following breaking news today.
ROBERTS: We are. We're watching the breaking news. The turmoil over the Olympic torch in Paris right now. Officials were forced to extinguish the torch twice this morning because of the threat from anti-China protesters. The torch relay started at the Eiffel Tower this morning. Hundreds of protesters were there. At least one was arrested, perhaps as many as four.
And you can see right there the police dressed in jogging outfits who are hustling away both protesters and hustling the Olympic torch, the torch itself on to that bus. When they extinguish the torch, they are not actually extinguishing the flame because that rides around in a separate container, they just relight the torch from the flame.
So, they are not actually putting out the flame, just the torch, which is the very public symbol of it as it makes its way through the streets of Paris. Earlier on today, I spoke with our Jim Bitterman, who explained how all the trouble started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM BITTERMAN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Basically what happened right after the flame left the Eiffel Tower this morning, the torch being carried by an Olympic runner, the cortege which was to include an air-tight security bubble with the police on roller blades and motorcycle policemen around it and that sort of thing, apparently was stopped along the way by protesters who were able to get in front of it. And police were not able to get through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: In London on Sunday, protesters tried to grab the torch and put it out. Protests are also planned for Wednesday in San Francisco which is the torch's only stop in North America. As the pressure builds from protesters around the world, the head of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge made a rare foray into the world of politics in Beijing yesterday.
He had this reaction saying, "I'm very concerned with the international situation and what's happening in Tibet." Rogge urged a swift resolution to the conflict in Tibet.
You can follow the torch as it makes its way to the United States on Wednesday, fully interactive map on CNN.com/olympics.
CHETRY: Well, in Iraq this morning, security forces are reporting at least three militants killed in an explosion that demolished a building in Basra. And Iraqi police official says the abandoned structure was used being uses as a militia base, and that it was destroyed in an air strike.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi forces are battling Shiite militants in the Sadr city section of Baghdad. Officials say at least nine militants have been killed, more than 60 others wounded there.
And the top U.S commander in Iraq will deliver a battlefield assessment in a report to Congress. General David Petreaus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will be on Capitol Hill testifying tomorrow and Wednesday. And after General Petreaus and Ambassador Crocker complete their two days of testimony, President Bush will be addressing the nation Thursday talking about the administration's decision to reduce U.S. combat forces tours from 15 months as they are now to 12 months.
ROBERTS: Is it a tactical shift in store? Now for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign that her chief strategist has resigned. Mark Penn stepped down after it came out that he and his public relations firm had been paid by the Colombian government to promote a trade deal that Senator Clinton vehemently opposes. Clinton and Senator Barack Obama both have said that they would re-examine trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement or this bilateral trade deal that the Unites States has tried to craft with Columbia.
Candy Crowley is CNN senior political correspondent. She joins us this morning from Washington.
Candy, what do you see as being the effects of Mark Penn being shunted out of the senior levels of the Clinton campaign and really to the sidelines here as an outside consultant?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Mark Penn the individual, I don't think they are waking up in Scranton this morning too worried about it. I think what you have to look at here is the kinds of voters that both Obama and Clinton are trying to appeal to in Pennsylvania and earlier in Ohio.
These are working class votes. These are some of the people who believe that they have been thrown out of a job because of these free trade deals, in particular NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement between Mexico and Canada.
They feel because environmental standards are lower in Mexico, because wages are lower in Mexico, they can ship in products that are much cheaper than those that can be made in the U.S. So therefore, they blame these trade deals on -- for the loss of jobs.
Now, insofar as Penn pushing for a trade deal and Hillary Clinton saying she's against it, I think it plays into that whole Washington theme that politicians kind of drift with the wind, and sort of an incestuous body of people who move from one position to another as it suits them.
So, if that takes hold, it's a problem. Remember in Ohio, we saw Barack Obama in a similar although not a totally parallel situation where it came to light that one of his economic advisers had met with Canadian officials and according to the Canadian officials left the impression that Obama's anti-NAFTA position, his position that he would make sure that environmental and wage laws were met by other countries.
They said, well, you know, they were told not to worry about that position. It hurt him in Ohio. It remains to be seen whether now this sort of similar situation will hurt Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania where they are also worried about jobs.
ROBERTS: That situation with Barack Obama lingered for some time. The fact that the Clinton campaign has cleared the decks as quickly as they have of Mark Penn, might that stem the bleeding?
CROWLEY: We, we'll see. Again, if the Clinton campaign was very good at exploiting the Obama situation in Ohio. I suspect you will see some of that in the situation reversed here in Pennsylvania. This really is Clinton territory in Pennsylvania. She does very well among the working class votes, the blue collar votes, people that make $50,000 and under, whether or not he can make headway because of this I think we'll see in those exit polls.
ROBERTS: Hey, one other point I wanted to bring up. She is, Hillary Clinton is dropping a story that she had about a pregnant woman who died after giving birth to a stillborn baby. She recounted a story that was told to her by a third party that this women was turned away from the hospital because she didn't have health insurance. She has now dropped that story after people came forward and said wait a minutes, she did die but she did have health insurance and she was not turned away from the hospital.
Again, this was a story that was related to her by somebody else, but the fact that she's dialing back on this story, there was also the Bosnia story. What kind of impact might that have on her?
CROWLEY: You know, I think the two are a little bit different. The Bosnian story is something Hillary Clinton told about her own personal experience which turned out not to be to true. There was some evidence that had hurt her in the polls, that it fed into that the image that she's a say anything, do anything kind of candidate.
This was just sort of bad backgrounding by a campaign. We have on tape the man telling her this story. She picked it up as true and moved on. Campaign says it's not going to use it anymore. I think it is a different thing than the Bosnian story.
ROBERTS: All right. Candy Crowley for us this morning from Washington.
Candy, it's always good to see you. Thanks very much.
CROWLEY: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Right now, we are going to check in with Ali Velshi, he has some contacts on free trade agreements.
Why this meeting would generate so much controversy in the beginning -- maybe shed some light.
VELSHI: This is a big problem because the Democrats have been tripping over each other to convince them, to convince everybody that they hate free trade more. This is one of those few areas in the campaign where McCain is out in front.
NAFTA is not going to go away. There are going to be more trade agreements. As we have been discussing, they were six states in the United States where manufacturing jobs were created last year. This is what it's about. It's about manufacturing jobs.
Take a look at Columbia, the idea of a free trade agreement is that tariffs, trade duties, taxes and things like that get eliminated so each country can buy and sell each other goods. Colombia is not America. Colombia has a per capita GDP of $7,000.
The United States has $46,000. But Colombia is a fast-growing economy. Remember for years, it was crippled by drug problems. Well, those have largely been eliminated. And this country has a growth rate of 6.5 percent.
Remember, we are talking about recession. Zero growth or negative growth in the United States. So, the idea is America can sell its goods or services generally speaking to a country like Colombia where there's a growing middle class and Colombia can make cheap products and sell it to America. That means we are still not getting factory jobs back in America.
The Democrats have got to refine their position on this and I would be interested to see what happens because I think after the experience with Barack Obama they might not go after Hillary Clinton as clearly on this one as -- they might not be advised to.
Because the bottom line is the Democrats have to recalibrate their message about how they are going to help workers in America. It is not likely to be, as you said, John, about bringing manufacturing jobs particularly low level manufacturing jobs, largely the kind of thing they are going to be able to do in Colombia.
We are not looking for those jobs in America. We would like to think we are. But you can't calculate raw numbers because America has lost this many manufacturing jobs they can't go to Colombia.
ROBERTS: But we have a whole lot of people who are trained for those jobs who didn't need to be retrained or find something completely different.
VELSHI: Well, that is where the presidential candidate should be talking about that. It starts with auto workers who are trained workers or mechanics or construction workers. Where are they going for jobs? We need to retrain people who are 40 and 50 years old to do something else. Because they lose a job and they are out of a job, that is the end of it.
CHETRY: It also depends on what people want to hear on the campaign trail. I mean, you remember in the primary, Mitt Romney said we will bring jobs back to Detroit and to the economy. And John McCain said you know what, there's a chance they may not come back.
VELSHI: Remember, we were in Detroit the morning of that primary. And we we're saying like what is he saying, what's he bringing back to Detroit. It worked for Mitt Romney. So, you can say these things but at some point we get to fact check them and say tell me what job you are bringing back that was going to Colombia, that's coming back to the United States.
ROBERTS: You know, we talk about business efficiencies and now, of course, people in Europe are going to be much more efficient than they are here in America because they'll be able to use cell phones on airplanes later on this year.
VELSHI: Story of the year.
CHETRY: Yes, for five more extra minutes until you lose your signal.
VELSHI: Do you realize no one will ever want to sit next to John or me on a plane in Europe?
ROBERTS: They are putting together this system where the entire flight will be able to use the phone, e-mail, text message, all of that, going further than plans here in the U.S. which were only for text messages and e-mail.
VELSHI: It's going to be like the old smoking versus non-smoking areas, right? If you're in the row behind where those cell phone chat is, no sleep for you.
ROBERTS: But what about these protestations that they affects the navigation system?
VELSHI: Thank you. I'm waiting to hear the answer to that one. Because that's what everybody told me it's a safety hazard.
ROBERTS: They can do it Europe but still can't do it here. That is the old Europe too.
Ali, thanks.
VELSHI: All right.
CHETRY: Well, keep it here to learn more about "ISSUE #1, the economy." Ali, Gerri Willis and the CNN money team. "ISSUE #1" noon, all this week. Also on online, CNNMoney.com.
ROBERTS: Bloggers celebrate and humiliate everyone from politicians to celebrities 24/7. But are they sacrificing their own health for their blogs? We are talking with celebrity blogger and self-professed queen of all media, Perez Hilton, coming up next.
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CHETRY: Well, the world of professional blogging, it's a caffeine-fuelled, always-on career. But the pressure of being first can often take a toll on a person's health. In the past three months, in fact, two well-known bloggers have died of heart attacks.
Others complained about dealing with weight gain and exhaustion. Joining us is blogger Perez Hilton, the founder of perezhilton.com. He says he often works 16 to 18 hour days. And this morning, he is up with us already. It is only 5:45 in the morning from his home office webcam in Los Angeles.
Perez, great to have you with us this morning. Thanks for being here.
PEREZ HILTON, BLOGGER, PEREZHILTON.COM: Thank you. I'm usually up about 4:00 a.m. Pacific time every day, except Saturday and Sunday when I sleep in until maybe 8:00.
CHETRY: Well, I don't know when you sleep because we check your blog a lot. Your blog is controversial but you can't help yourself, you have to look at it. You have new stuff posted all the time. You work solely by yourself?
HILTON: Yes. And it's a lot of pressure to constantly keep it updated because I think I've spoiled my readers into expecting that. I think one of the reasons why my Web site is so popular is that, you know, the Internet, you know, it's all about eyeballs and they want new information constantly.
CHETRY: Yes. And the other thing with the blogs is that as you said there really is no time that you put it to bed. There's no newspaper, OK, we're going to print right now. We get a little bit of a break. It's a 24-hour situation and it exploded.
People look to blogs for their information and for exchange of ideas. Why then are we not seeing more of these bloggers and more of these Web sites hiring additional people, for example, why haven't you expanded your staff?
HILTON: Well, I did, I hired my sister to be my assistant. So, I'm starting off slowly. You know, I think for a lot of bloggers they start to blog for fun. And for some lucky bloggers it kind of turns into a way that they can make money. On the flipside, there's also people that will start blogs with the sole intention of making money.
And some of the people in this "New York Times" article that ran this past weekend that passed away fell into the other category where they were working for other people. So they were bloggers for hire. And I think that could add a little extra layer of stress. I feel really lucky that I'm my own boss and I work so hard because I want to work so hard.
CHETRY: Well, let me ask you about, speaking of level of stress, because not only do you have to post all the time, you have to somehow keep track of all of these celebrities that you cover in not only Los Angeles but in New York. But you're also controversial, you get in trouble at times, right? You got a couple of lawsuits, you got photographers claim that you've posted pictures of theirs that are copyright.
So, you have to deal with, I guess, criticism and controversy as well. Does that add to the stress of what you do?
HILTON: Not really because I have really good lawyers. So, they take that stress off of me. I honestly love what I do. And the reason I'm not as stressed as others is because maybe some other bloggers some, some other Web sites are obsessed with their traffic. I'm not.
All I'm concerned about is having a good time and entertaining my readers. And thankfully, I have yet to reach a point where my Web site traffic has plateaued. I mean, it kind of amazes me that I'm getting between eight and nine million readers a day worldwide every day.
CHETRY: Yes, it is amazing that you are still doing that by yourself. Do you buy into this article, the premise of the article that this career track or this path is perhaps more detrimental to one's health than other jobs where people spend a lot of time working on their career?
HILTON: No, I definitely think there's some validity to it. And I'm actually taking it to heart. You know, in the past couple of months I've made some changes in my own life to really focus on my health. You know, one thing that bloggers do have in common that work full time on the Internet is that they are chained to their computer.
So, I personally like some of the people mentioned in that article, did gain a lot of weight. So, I have been working out with a trainer, getting my meals delivered, because I want to get healthy and in shape because, you know, I don't want to have heart disease or want to die earlier than I should.
CHETRY: And I want to ask you one other quick question because I've always been curious. Do these celebrities contact you especially the ones that you are really tough on, the ones that you write not so nice things about? Do they e-mail you and ask you to remove those or interact with you as well?
HILTON: Yes. I mean, I've had everything from both extremes. I've had Avril Lavigne calling me really upset that I'm writing not so nice things about her. And then I also have those celebrities that pitch me stories and want me to write about them.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right. Its -- we've come a long way from just "Entertainment Tonight," right and "People Magazine." Perez Hilton, blogger, perezhilton.com.
Thanks for getting up with us this morning. We appreciate it.
HILTON: My pleasure. I would love to do it again.
ROBERTS: Now, here's an idea. Remember how we had those stories about the radiologists who were reading scans while on a treadmill. Blog on a treadmill. Set your computer up there.
CHETRY: But for the entertainment bloggers it is hard to blog on a treadmill and be at a nightclub in L.A. as well.
ROBERTS: Take the treadmill with you on the road.
"CNN NEWSROOM" just minutes away. Tony Harris is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.
Good morning to you, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Boy, hard enough for me just to breathe while on a treadmill much less blogging.
Good morning, John. Good morning, everyone.
Riding the airline in the NEWSROOM this morning, an annual report card on airline quality out this morning. Passenger complaints surge and late arrivals get even later.
Intense fighting in Baghdad. U.S. and Iraqi troops trying to stop attacks on the zone housing the American embassy.
And the Olympic torch runs into more trouble, this time in Paris. Will show you what happened when protesters get a bit rowdy.
Politics too, new more turmoil inside the Clinton campaign kin the NEWSROOM top of the hour, right here on CNN.
John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Tony, we will see you then, just what is it? Nine minutes from now.
HARRIS: Nine minutes away.
ROBERTS: Thanks. See you then.
Eighty thousand jobs lost in the United States last month. Nearly 250,000 since New Year's. What are bosses looking for in their new hires? There's hope for the nice guys out there and for those who are sick of jerks at work, find out why ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Six minutes to the top of the hour.
Dramatic job losses have a lot of people looking over their shoulders and asking is my job next? Where do I find a new one? Well, there are some evidences out there that bosses are looking for more nice guys and fewer jerks at work. Our Polly Labarre joins us now.
Whatever happened to nice guys finished last.
POLLY LABARRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think we need to.
ROBERTS: It's like come on in.
LABARRE: review this statement. There's actually a growing body of evidence that selfless, humble, cooperative behavior actually has the most winners. Studies coming out of Harvard, Berkley et cetera. At the same time there's a widespread epidemics of jerks, bullying and bad behavior in the corporate world.
I don't think we need data, 37 percent of Americans have experiences/behavior to understand the emotional toll of gossip and ridicule and back-stabbing and e-mails. I think all of us have experienced that in the corporate world.
ROBERTS: Yes, you've interviewed several CEOs, who have adopted this nice guy's policy. How do they enforce this policy?
LABARRE: Actually, rather than nice guys it's a now jerk rule. In fact, they've use saltier language than that that we can't use on television. But I talked to a Lars Dalgaard, the CEO of SuccessFactors, a fast growing software company in Silicon Valley as well as Paul Purcell who is the CEO of R.W. Bear which is a 90-year old company in Minnesota that does global wealth management.
Both of them have an explicit no jerk rule. You must respect individuals. They say there's a real business case for it. It's about efficiency. It's about not looking over your shoulders and acting out a fear and self protection.
ROBERTS: But you know, there are some exceptions to the rule though in terms of nice guys can be more successful. "Fortune" magazine and "Wired" magazine here Steve Jobs. Apparently, I didn't know this, notorious jerk who is just doing fantastically well.
LABARRE: Well, there are a couple of arguments, you know. He is (INAUDIBLE) fascinating because he's such a genius. He has changed the game in so many industries from personal commuting, to the music, to the cell phone, to consumer electronics yet he's known for tirades and bad behavior ranging from parking in the handicap zone to you know, back-dating stock options. I think the point is he's in a stratosphere.
For those of us who are mere mortals, I think the rule applies, even if you are talented and you are a jerk, you're still a jerk. So, it's really not, if you succeed, but how you succeed.
ROBERTS: All right. How about this for seconds. It's been terrific having you here today and looking forward to seeing you next time.
LABARRE: Thanks very much.
ROBERTS: Polly Labarre thank you -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, are high gas prices changing your summer vacation plans? What you, the viewer, had to say about whether or not the high price of gas is causing you to rethink your vacation.
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CHETRY: Let's get a check of our "Quick Vote" now. All morning we have been asking you: Are airline troubles, as well as higher gas prices, causing you to maybe consider a stay-cation when you spend time off at home, instead of traveling?
Eighty-three percent of you saying yes this morning, 17 percent saying no. So, wow, we talk about the change in habits because of the higher gas prices and you know, some don't want to deal with the headaches in airports.
ROBERTS: I got a few things that I'd like to do around the house because I don't get back there much. So, maybe a stay-cation.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: I could hear my daughter screaming right now.
CHETRY: No, they want to go away.
ROBERTS: They want to go to the beach.
CHETRY: Well thanks so much for joining us this morning. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Betty Nguyen begins right now.
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