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American Morning
Wall Street Crisis: What This Means for You and the Family; Obama Focuses on the Economy; What Voters in Key Battleground State Florida Want
Aired September 18, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Deeper in the hole. Wall Street panicked. Retirement plans hit the tank. And candidates try to cash in.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to take care of the workers.
CHETRY: Promises to fix the worse financial crisis since the 1930s.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't stir ourselves out of this crisis by taking the same disastrous road.
CHETRY: Issue number one on the "Most News in the Morning."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Issue number one for sure on this Thursday, September 18th. Thanks so much for being with us. We have a lot to talk about today as more fallout from this meltdown.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You can call it issue number one, you can call it headache number one...
CHETRY: That's true.
ROBERTS: ... you can call it waking up in the middle of the night in cold sweat number one because people are doing all of that.
Breaking news for you this morning. No let up in sight for America's financial crisis. We begin day four. Nerves are rattled, investments are broken, the world rushing to our aid now.
The Dow took another thrashing losing 449 points on Wednesday. Which way is it going to go today? Most of the major Asian markets are down overnight as global investors digest the Federal Reserve's bailout of American International Group, AIG. And there is concern about more financial failures yet to come.
Ali Velshi is going to break it down for us in just a moment. He's down there at the stock exchange.
An American high school student was among the 16 killed in the deadly terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen. The family of Susan Obana (ph) says their daughter went to Yemen three weeks ago to get married. She was at the embassy to fill out paperwork to get her husband to come back with her to the United States. The State Department says the brazen attack bears all of the hallmarks of al-Qaeda.
This morning the FBI conducting a joint investigation with the Secret Service after Sarah Palin's personal e-mail account was hacked. The McCain campaign called it a "shocking invasion of the governor's privacy and a violation of law." Some of the governor's e-mails and pictures were posted online. Critics say Palin used her personal e- mail account to conduct state business and hide information from the public.
CHETRY: Bracing for another shock wave on Wall Street after the Dow's second big dive in three days. The economic crisis is the headline news all across the country this morning and really around the world.
President Bush canceled a political fundraising trip that was supposed to be today. He's going to be meeting with his economic advisers in Washington. The spokesman says he's focused on trying to stabilize and strengthen markets and restore investor confidence.
Meantime, central banks around the world are joining forces to pump $247 billion into the world's banking systems. Asian stocks fell overnight on the heels of the Dow's 449-point freefall.
The Dow futures are up today and on Wall Street rumors are rampant about the next financial dominoes to fall. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business." He's live at the New York Stock Exchange today with more for you.
Hey, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. What a mess. You see it's the fourth day in a row now. We are getting into -- we're trying to understand what is going on with the world's financial system. That's what traders are trying to understand. And as you said yesterday, it didn't work.
We were supposed to see a day yesterday where people digested the AIG news, the fact that the government had loaned that company $85 billion. But that wasn't the reaction from markets. We saw a complete downturn. Through the course of the day, we just saw the New York Stock Exchange in the red the whole day, just kept on going, kept on going, finally ending the day 449 points lower. That's a drop of 4.06 percent on the Dow, 4.9 percent on the Nasdaq, and 4.7 percent on the S&P 500.
Take a look at that. We've just sort of sped up what happened on the markets yesterday. Look at that down 300, 400, and then all of a sudden 449 points.
Now let's see what happened overseas. When overseas markets opened overnight, they plunged but they came back toward the end. In the end, Tokyo ending just 2.22 percent lower, Hong Kong ending almost flat, and London right now is up. Why? Because of this injection of funds that you just mentioned. It's a global injection of money into the system.
The central banks of Canada, of England, of the United States, the European Central Bank, the Japanese National Bank and the Swiss National Bank have come together to inject $247 billion into the World Banking system so that banks have money to lend each other on an overnight basis and that money can continue to flow through the system. That is having some positive impact on futures this morning and it looks like we may, may I tell you, get some positive news when markets open in the next couple of hours.
I'll keep you updated today on everything that's going on this morning in money -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. We're going to be checking in with you, as well as economists and many others this morning, see how it's playing on the political stage as well. There's a lot going on with this. Thanks, Ali.
Congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle are angry about the Fed bailout of insurance giant AIG. Missouri's Roy Blunt, the GOP's second in command in the House, said that Republicans are struggling to understand "a coherent strategy about which firms get rescued and which do not." Democrats are blaming the president saying that he failed to manage the economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), HOUSE SPEAKER: As long as the going is good, all of these rich people just get richer. When the going gets bad, the U.S. taxpayer has to pick up the tab. That's just not right, it must come to an end. It's been going on for eight years, and the chickens have come home to roost.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says Congress won't change any laws to address the unfolding financial crisis because "no one knows what to do" -- John.
ROBERTS: The economy pretty much all the presidential candidates are talking about. In Las Vegas, a city hit hard by foreclosures and dwindling tourism, Barack Obama is promising change while saying his opponent is no maverick, just the same old, same old.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is live for us in Vegas this morning. Suzanne, sorry to get you up so early but I don't know anybody who's sleeping well these days. I would assume that whenever any of these candidates talk about the economy these days, people are listening.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They certainly are, John. Just take Las Vegas for instance. You've got tourism that's down four percent, gaming profits down 3.5 percent, conventions down 10 percent. Three different airlines who service Las Vegas have gone out of business. So essentially what's happening here, fewer people are coming. They're staying for shorter periods of time. So it was not surprising yesterday that you had a packed baseball stadium with people simply asking the question, what is this guy, Barack Obama, going to do about it?
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SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not a Johnny come lately. I didn't just show up yesterday and start calling for change. I've been talking about change for two years now.
MALVEAUX (voice-over): It's a full-court press, rally.
OBAMA: We can't steer ourselves out of the crisis if the new driver is getting directions from the old driver.
MALVEAUX: E-mails and a new ad blitzing the air waves across the country and in critical swing states.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CAMPAIGN COMMERCIAL)
OBAMA: Our troubled economy isn't news.
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MALVEAUX: Barack Obama is on the offensive, seizing the crisis on Wall Street as a rallying cry. First, as an all-out indictment on President Bush's economic approach.
OBAMA: It's a philosophy that says that we should give more and more to those with the most, and hope that prosperity trickles down.
MALVEAUX: Obama says despite John McCain's 26 years in Washington, he doesn't blame McCain for the crisis, just for promoting more of the same.
OBAMA: He tells us that he is the one who will take on the old boys' network in Washington. What's wrong with this picture? The old boys' network? In the McCain campaign, that's called a staff meeting.
MALVEAUX: Obama is offering his own six-point blueprint to restore confidence in Wall Street, including more government oversight on banking, greater law enforcement regarding trade deals, and more cooperation between regulatory agencies.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: John, it's a message that he's going to be hitting home. Obviously, he is hitting it hard here in Nevada. This is a state they actually believe that they can turn around from Republican to Democrat. They are looking at a larger Hispanic group, as well as retirees, union members. They believe those are critical voting blocks which Barack Obama could win -- John.
ROBERTS: Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning in Las Vegas. Suzanne, thanks so much. Senator John McCain who referred to Wall Street as a casino culture is selling his economic message in the battleground state of Michigan. In his first joint town hall meeting with Sarah Palin, McCain promised to support a $25 billion government loan package for the auto industry, a package that he earlier opposed.
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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm here in Grand Rapids to send a message to Washington and Wall Street. We're not going to leave the workers of Michigan hung out to dry while the government gives billions in taxpayers dollars to Wall Street. We're not going to stand for that. We're not going to stand for it any longer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And for the first time out in the campaign trail, Governor Sarah Palin took questions from voters. One man asked her to explain her foreign policy experience. Here's her answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As for foreign policy, you know, I think that I am prepared and I know that on January 20th if we are so blessed as to be sworn into office as your president and vice president, certainly we'll be ready. I'll be ready. I have that confidence. I have that readiness. And if you want specifics with specific policy or countries, go ahead and you can ask me, you can even play stump the candidate if you want to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: But before anyone can take her up on the offer, John McCain jumped in and defended her foreign policy credentials. And since Sarah Palin joined John McCain's side, the crowds certainly have been electric. When they're campaigning alone, she actually draws bigger crowds from time to time than he does.
But former White House adviser Karl Rove says that all soon will fade. Speaking to the "Associated Press," Rove said Palin came on in a powerful way but added, "nothing lasts for some 60 odd days" -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Five battleground states that could decide the presidential race, and we have new poll numbers from them. They're painting quite a fascinating picture.
Also the $85 billion bailout of AIG, the insurance giant, doing little to ease the panic that's gripping Wall Street. Where did the Feds come up with that massive chunk of change. We're investigating.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: And welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Wow, a beautiful shot this morning of one of our bridges, George Washington Bridge. Thank you very much.
You know, our commuters know exactly which one it is because they have to cross it every morning if they're coming from Jersey. The latest, 63 degrees right now, shaping up to be a high of 73. Just gorgeous.
It's 12 past 6:00 here in New York. Rob Marciano tracking the weather for us from Atlanta. Fall starting to make the move into the northeast. The possibilities are endless if you have the afternoon free, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. And as we roll to the weekend, the stretch of nice weather I think is going to continue quite a bit.
All right. Blue lines on the weather map, that means cold air. All this cool air dropping down from Canada. We had a little shot of that earlier and across the eastern third. And now, we're going to get a reinforcing shot of it dropping out across Upstate New York and northern New England.
So as that happens, we won't see a whole lot of moisture out of this but we will see some frost on the pumpkins, frost and freeze and (INAUDIBLE) issued warnings posted for much of northern New England and Upstate New York. We'll see temperatures in this area drop easily into the 20s over the next two nights. So that will certainly put a little chill in the air if you're up there doing some outdoor stuff.
All right. Down to Texas, Galveston, Houston still picking up the pieces. They will be for several weeks and months to come. This rainfall trying to sneak east, but it probably will not make it all the way there today. And that's good news.
We still have coastal flood warnings out for a good chunk of the Ike-ravaged areas, for areas that really the water really hasn't drained quite yet out of this. Very low lying areas, very flat, Kiran, so as you can imagine, you know, that water comes in and sometimes can just puddle and sit for a while. It could take quite a while to drain or just dry up. So the headaches continue in the wake of Ike.
Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: Yes. Certainly difficult times down there. All right. Rob, thanks.
MARCIANO: You got it.
ROBERTS: Diner politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUTH GOLDBERG, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I really don't want Obama, but I think that's what we have to do if we don't want Bush again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The fight for the Jewish vote in Florida. John King is on the ground in a key battleground state. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Brand new polls out this morning from five of the key battleground states that could decide the presidential election. Starting in Wisconsin, Barack Obama leads John McCain 49 to 45 percent. Obama is also up by two points in Ohio.
In North Carolina, a solidly Republican state, McCain up by just one point now. McCain also ahead in Indiana, which hasn't voted Democrat since 1964. He's ahead 51 to 45 percent. Things were looking a little closer last week. He seems to have pulled ahead just a little bit.
And in Florida, look at this, a dead heat, 48-48. Even up there. The famously divided Florida is a big prize with 27 electoral votes. That is a state that could decide who takes over the Oval Office. Both campaigns are spending an awful lot of time and money there, aggressively targeting one religious group that could make all the difference. CNN's John King has got more details on that for us.
JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kiran and John, to win a close statewide race here, Democrats need huge margins among Jewish voters here in Palm Beach and in neighboring Broward County. Well seven weeks out, the race is a dead heat so that competition is especially fierce.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Early morning at a retirement community synagogue. Coffee, bagels and outreach critical to Democratic chances in battleground Florida.
HALIE SOIFER, DIRECTOR, OBAMA FLORIDA JEWISH OUTREACH: We are here today to talk about Senator Barack Obama and Joe Biden's record, and to ensure that Barack Obama is elected the next president of the United States.
KING: The turnout is proof of enthusiasm in the Democratic ranks. Still, many on hand were Hillary Clinton supporters. They say some friends are still slow to warm to Obama. Others worry aloud Obama isn't tough enough to win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He hasn't got specifics to help the American people. Let's wake up. This is what's happening.
KING: South Florida Jews are a loyal Democratic base. But there's more competition this year as Republicans aggressively remind pro-Israel voters Obama, in a primary debate last July, said he would be willing to sit down with Iran's president without preconditions in his first year in office. The campaign now says Obama favors aggressive diplomacy but with strict conditions on high-level meetings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You may hear and you may see ads or see rumors that, well, Barack Obama wants to go and have coffee with Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran. Not true. Not true. Not true.
KING: Broward and Palm Beach Counties are Democratic strongholds. The state representative, Adam Hasner, heads the McCain Campaign Jewish Outreach program he believes is making a significant dent in Obama's support.
REP. ADAM HASNER, CO-CHAIR, MCCAIN FLORIDA JEWISH OUTREACH: We do know that he wants to sit down with President Ahmadinejad. John McCain has a long proven track record on his support for the safety and security of Israel, and I think that's going to be very important to the Jewish community. And this is a year when more Jews are going to be voting Republican than ever before.
KING: At the Boca (ph) diner, there is evidence of McCain inroads. Jules Weiss voted Democratic in 2000 and again in 2004, but says Obama isn't ready.
JULES WEISS, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I think but -- it's just -- to me it's just ludicrous to have a neophyte for president and the experienced one as his assistant. That's just doesn't make sense.
KING: Ruth Goldberg was no Obama fan either, but likes McCain even less.
RUTH GOLDBERG, FLORIDA RESIDENT: It's a very difficult thing. I really don't want Obama, but I think that's what we have to do if we don't want Bush again. That's as simple as that, right?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING: And with the race so close, both campaigns are worried about a repeat of the mess here in 2000, especially here in Palm Beach County. So they're using phone banks to call supporters and urge them if they have already decided to use an absentee ballot and vote early by mail -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Passing the buck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're borrowing more money every time we do one of these bailouts.
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CHETRY: A look at where the billions in bailout money is really coming from.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The taxpayers and the government got a great deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): It's estimated that up to 40 percent of what's found in landfills is building waste materials, things like wood that flow to decay. But researchers at Stanford University say they're developing a renewable material that decays faster and could be an alternative to plastic and woods.
PROF. SARAH BILLINGTON, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: The goal is not to use natural resources that can't be easily replenished. So we're not chopping down trees.
JERAS: This artificial wood is made by stacking two different materials, a polymer or plastic extracted from bacteria and a natural fabric-like hemp. They are layered to the desired thickness, hot pressed and cut. The result? Researchers say is a durable renewable building material that is not made from petroleum.
PROF. CRAIG CRIDDLE, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: There's real reasons to get rid of petrochemical plastics if we can, and to find biodegradable substitute.
JERAS: And in a landfill, it can produce more methane gas as energy that could eventually be used to make more of the artificial wood. But research is still underway to see whether it's a viable building material.
CRIDDLE: We can align environmental interests and economic interests so that people can make money and do well for the environment. Then we really have something exciting.
JERAS: Jacqui Jeras, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I take a monthly hit and, you know, it's one of those things where it will come back and you just got to stay the course and have confidence that it will come back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a snowball going down the road. It's building up momentum but not in my behalf.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As anxious as I am about my own case, I now worry about people who are in hardships right now, who are really relying on those 401(k) benefits to live. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You know, the crisis on Wall Street is really the talk of Main Street America. A lot of scary headlines as the Dow plummeted more than 400 points yesterday. This morning central banks around the world are joining forces to pump $247 billion into the world's banking system. So what does that mean for you, for your job, your 401(k)?
I'm joined now by economist Lakshman Achuthan. He's the managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute. Thanks for being with us this morning.
LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, ECONOMIC CYCLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Thank you for having me.
CHETRY: So the headline on the heels of the Dow plummeting yesterday nearly 450 points is this injection of money from central banks around the world. What does that mean to us?
ACHUTHAN: Well, I mean, you've been seeing this happen all year where there's been these overnight announcements of big, big investments or bail outs or whatnot. And what that's doing, what they're doing there is they're not solving the problem. They're trying to keep the system together, to keep the lights on, the ATMs working all of your different checks and payment systems all working. And on that score, they're succeeding.
And I think, again, today and injecting all of this money, they will succeed in keeping the system working. That is very different from solving the problem, OK. In fact, at this point, the problem is not solvable.
CHETRY: What is the --
ACHUTHAN: It has to run its course.
CHETRY: What is the problem?
ACHUTHAN: Yes. I mean, you need a little perspective because we hit these big numbers. What do they mean?
CHETRY: Right.
ACHUTHAN: In 2006, we had a home price downturn. In 2007, that turned into a credit crunch which challenged the values of the holdings of all of these large institutions that we see dropping every day. Now, that is because of the 800-pound gorilla that everybody is focused on. What's happening is there's an elephant in the room which is a recession which has started this year. And that is driving that 800-pound gorilla of the home price downturn crazy.
And essentially, in English, people -- during a recession, people are losing their jobs, which makes foreclosures rise, which makes home prices fall, which makes everything that AIG and all of these other banks are holding worth less and less. So that a week ago, AIG was asking for $40 billion to bail itself out. Yesterday, they took 85. That's how fast.
One of the interviews you just had said it's like a snowball...
CHETRY: Right.
ACHUTHAN: ... running down the hill? It really is. And at this point, once -- since the recession has taken hold, the snowball has to roll to the bottom of the hill. It has to run its course.
CHETRY: So you're saying it's going to get worse before it gets better for us right now?
ACHUTHAN: For everybody, yes. Absolutely. For the next few months, it's going to get worse before it get better. I would batten down the hatches and be prepared for this kind of uncertainty, and mistrust for at least the rest of the year.
CHETRY: They're calling it the worse crisis since the 1930s with no end in sight. We're seeing, you know, gold jump...
ACHUTHAN: Right.
CHETRY: ... $70 in just a 24-hour period. What does all of that mean?
ACHUTHAN: Well, what's actually happening there is that these financial institutions, be it the ones that are standing which are like JPMorgan Chase or Citi or whatever, they don't trust each other. So when they come to each other at the end of the night and say, we loaned you some money. They'll say, no way. I am going to take all my marbles and go home.
So therefore, there is no liquidity. Nobody is willing to take any risk. And normally you might say, oh, you're going to start a business, I'll loan you some money. You have a nice business plan? Let's get this thing going. Today, that has stopped in its tracks. So, individuals will finds in their day-to-day life that getting money to buy a house or a car, or go to college, or even if you said to your credit card company, will you raise my limit?
CHETRY: Right.
ACHUTHAN: You're going to have -- you're going to have push back on all of that. So that's what you need to prepare for over the next couple of quarters. This will turn, but it's not imminent.
CHETRY: And then, how does the fact that it's a political season factor in? Everyone is talking we need more regulation. People are going to huddle with their economic advisers. Can they really make a difference?
ACHUTHAN: The short answer is no because again, the snowball is rolling down the hill, you can't stop it. Once that recession started, it has to run its course.
What you have is a lot of pressure for politicians to say I'm going to do something. Now, they're offering ideological mixes, you know, more government, less government, more free market, less free market. That's a good debate and that may shape the type of recovery we have, but it will not end this problem here that we're having right now. This has to run its course for the next couple of quarters.
CHETRY: You sound like a doctor when I have a cold.
ACHUTHAN: Yes.
CHETRY: Lakshman Achuthan, thank you so much for being with us this morning.
ACHUTHAN: All right. Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's like take two sleeping pills and wake me in five years, please. Just about half past the hour. A check on our top stories. Panic on Wall Street as the Dow goes into free fall again. Second time in three days. The Dow dropping 449 points. And there's no let-up in sight for America's financial crisis. Most of the Asian markets are down overnight.
Federal investigators say the engineer driving a commuter train that slammed into a freight train last week in Los Angeles did send and receive text messages while on duty. It is not clear, though, if he was texting at the time of the crash or when he went through a red light. 25 people including the engineer were killed.
Traffic this morning is moving across the new I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis. It opened about an hour ago. That new span comes 13 months after the old bridge collapsed in the Mississippi River killing 13 people. Some live pictures there for you there this morning.
When we were there in Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago for the Republican convention, they were just putting the finishing touches on it. There it is. Officials say the new bridge is sturdier than the past one and has hundreds of sensors to detect any problems.
Well, back to the breaking news we were following this morning -- the turmoil on Wall Street. The Dow taking another nose dive, almost down 450 points. President Bush canceling travel plans today to consult with his economic advisers on the crisis. The Dow's drop sent Asian stocks tumbling overnight. But the markets did gain some of that ground back on news that Central Banks around the world are joining forces to pump $247 billion into the world's banking systems.
As to which way the Dow is going to go today, futures trading points to a higher opening on Wall Street. Ali Velshi now at the Stock Exchange this morning "Minding Your Business."
Pointing to a higher opening, Ali, but not as high as it was just about an hour ago. And I think the futures were up a little more than 100 points, now they are about 60.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes and you know it's very hard to make sense of anything other than during the time it's happening in this market. Yesterday afternoon, we've all been working so long and such long hours. I went for a small nap and when I woke up -- and let me just give you a flavor in case you weren't following the Dow yesterday.
Let me show you this picture of what was going on. We had our cameras on the Dow all day taking a look at how those markets were going. We're going to give you a sped-up version of that. You see that number? It's 200's and it's in the -- you know, the one underneath all those lines of writing. Ended up 449 points lower for the day. That is probably the bad news.
Let me give you a little bit better news. I want to show you a chart of how the Dow Jones has done over the course of the last year. And it could be the Dow, it could be the S&P 500. They behaved very similarly over the last year. This could be your investment portfolio because most people are broadly diversified. You can see it is substantially lower than it was in the highs that we were setting in October, above 14,000. So, that -- it's like good news. What I mean is if you look at your portfolio and it's looking tough, that may be why.
Now, there's a little bit better news and that is that someone is always making money. So, the smart money, concerned about what is going happen to the banking sector, started to bail out of stocks once again yesterday. And we're going into other commodities like oil. Oil -- this isn't good news, but what it was is that people thought oil was a more reliable investment than the stock market. And you saw oil going $6 higher yesterday.
My point is that people are finding other things to invest in. Gold had its single biggest jump in one day, up $70 to $846 in change per ounce. So, the lesson to you is take a look around and see what might be out there for you to invest in.
Listen, there are a lot of questions right now about what people should do about their own investments and how to understand this. We're doing a special edition of "ISSUE # 1 RADIO" today at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. Take the e-mail address down at CNN Radio at CNN.com. You can e-mail me or you call in live at 11 a.m. 877-266-4189. We'll be answering your questions. People are very, very concerned and confused right now, John.
ROBERTS: They certainly are, Ali, and they can use all the help and advice they can get. Thanks so much for that. We'll check back with you soon.
CHETRY: So, the government's stunning $85 billion bailout of AIG has done little to stem the bleeding on Wall Street. And the nation is now sinking deeper into debt. So, who's really paying for this loan and what does it mean for you? We're going to talk about that still ahead.
Also, new battleground polls in the presidential horse race. John is going to show us how they could affect the magic electoral map. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SANDY ALOMAR SR., BENCH COACH, N.Y. METS: My name is Sandy Alomar Sr. and I travel at least during the regular season 85 to 87 days. The hardest thing there is to leave your family behind. I got a booklet when I got married, that was in 1963, that a priest gave me and that is something that I always bring with me. It is what I pray with. And on that booklet, I have my wife's picture and my daughter's pictures.
I like to read the self-help books. These are the books that were to turn me around. Travel with "Positive Thinking." And I have another booklet -- oh, here it is, "Six Attitudes for Winners." The biggest attitude for the winner is to understand what winning means. The sacrifices that people have to make just to become better.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": This bear market has just got Wall Street in turmoil. You know, there's nothing worse than a bear market. Show what happened on Wall Street today. Take a look. We had a camera there. Unbelievable. (BEAR ROARING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That was Jay Leno trying to find some humor in this huge headache for Wall Street. The government agreeing to loan more money to Wall Street. Members of Congress were quick to point fingers as taxpayers quickly became saddled with debt. CNN's Allan Chernoff joins us with a closer look at what the AIG loan means for you.
Allan, thanks for being with us.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, given the reaction that we saw on the market yesterday to the bailout of AIG, I would hate to see what an AIG failure would have meant. But at least this morning some people are smiling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): AIG employees are relieved the government bailed their company out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is glad it's happened. We're very, very happy.
CHERNOFF: And AIG insurance policy holders, who were on edge before the rescue, have new security. But for the average American, Uncle Sam's lifeline to the nation's biggest insurance company, has so far failed to bring financial stability. Not only did stocks sink but the nation is now $85 billion deeper in the hole.
(on camera): Where will that chunk of change come from? The Treasury Department has already started raising the money, borrowing $40 billion, Wednesday, by selling one month Treasury bills to investors around the world, especially those with dollars to spare.
ACHUTHAN: Literally, the people who are giving us money, literally if you're counting the pennies that are transacting tonight, it's going to be China and the Middle East.
CHERNOFF (voice-over): But Washington has to raise funds for more than just the $85 billion AIG rescue loan. It's kicking in $200 billion to support mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That's on top of the $29 billion the Feds put on the line to facilitate an emergency purchase of broker Bear Stearns.
ACHUTHAN: We're borrowing more money every time we do one of these bail outs. Absolutely.
CHERNOFF: While the U.S. went deeper into debt to help AIG, it may turn out to be a good deal as some AIG employees argue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the taxpayers and the government got a great deal. They got for putting up $85 billion.
CHERNOFF: AIG has to repay the loan with an interest rate that currently tops 11 percent and the government gets 80 percent of the insurance giant, which has assets that are worth hundreds of billions.
BILL VELTO, AIG: The company that they invested in is one that's well-diversified, has a great deal of financial strength, great deal of assets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: AIG will now try to sell some of those assets including its aircraft leasing division, and hopefully it's going to be able to raise enough money to pay us back.
CHETRY: That's right. All right, Allan Chernoff, thank you.
ROBERTS: Sarah Palin's pet project.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She really was very, very passionate about this.
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ROBERTS: Building Wasilla's sports complex. Randi Kaye talks to critics who are crying foul.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't done correctly, and now we have more debt and more legal fees and more problems.
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ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." We've got some new polls out to tell you about this morning. So, just playing with the magic wall a little bit to give you an idea of what it all means. Let's first of all go to the electoral map.
The states that are in yellow are the states that we have designated a swing states. Just to give you an idea. The rest of the coloring states that are in this light pink color are ones that lean Republican. The brown color ones that are solidly Republican. On the converse side of that, light blue ones that lean Democrat. Dark blue ones that appear to be, at least for the moment, solidly Democrat.
Now, we had been thinking that maybe in the last couple of weeks or so, the State of Indiana had gotten a little bit closer than it was before. So we've got some new polling data out here, and here's what the polling data shows about Indiana.
John McCain with 51 percent. Barack Obama with 45 percent. So John McCain still has a fairly healthy margin there which is why we're leaving this in the lean Republican category. But why is it significant? Take a look at what happen in the 2004 election. George Bush beat John Kerry by 21 points. So the fact that that's down to six now may be significant in terms of the general election.
We also have some polling data that came in from the State of Wisconsin, the state that was won by one point by John Kerry. It's a very close state. During the summer time, Barack Obama was substantially ahead of John McCain but our new polling data shows that Barack Obama has got now 49 percent in Wisconsin, compared to 45 percent for President Bush.
So, again, while it's still leaning for President Bush -- for John McCain. So for the moment while it is still leaning Democrat, it's a very close race as it has been which is why Wisconsin is an important swing state.
North Carolina, we also got some data for. George Bush beat John Kerry by 12 points in 2004. Our latest polling data from the State of North Carolina shows that it is a very close race. 48 percent for John McCain, 47 percent for Barack Obama.
Now we should tell you that this polling data was taken in just about the past three days, which may show in effect of the economic news on the data because of poll of polls taken over a longer period. The 8th of September to the 16th of September shows a much wider margin. John McCain with 52 percent, Barack Obama with 42 percent. So, not sure where that polling data is going but if we take this as being the latest snapshot, it may show the race is closing up just a little bit.
Now another very important swing state, of course, is the State of Florida. John McCain had been up some seven points in the State of Florida. There were some Democrats that were thinking that maybe it was all lost. Significant state here. George Bush won it by five points in 2004. It was the battleground in 2000. That's where Al Gore lost by a very narrow margin. Here's what our polling data shows here right now. 48 percent to 48 percent. So for the moment, it is all even up in the State of Florida.
And one other quick snapshot as well in the State of Ohio here, which of course is an important battleground state. Our latest polling data has got it 49 percent for Barack Obama, 47 percent for John McCain. Significant because George Bush won that by three points in the year 2004.
And if we take it back now to our electoral map things pretty much stay the same. But let's just say for instance if Barack Obama were to take Ohio, if he continued to trend up, we'll turn that one light blue, he would have 253 electoral votes to John McCain's 189. On the converse side of that, if John McCain took it, it would be 233 to 209. But for the moment everything has to be left pretty much exactly the way it is with all these states in swing, some of them leaning and some of them solid. We'll be right back with more on the "Most News in the Morning." Stay with us.
CHETRY: Parrots talking politics. Jeanne Moos looks at a most unusual conversation between Ralph Nader and a bird.
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RALPH NADER, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I get more media if I just dress up as a panda.
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CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Polly wants some media attention. Well, you might think that Ralph Nader has run in a few too many presidential races when you see who the third party candidate is using as a sounding board in this year's election. Here's Jeanne Moos.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Birds of a feather...
UNIDENTIFIED PARROT: Hello.
MOOS: ...campaign together.
NADER: Thank you Cardozo (ph) for keeping me company.
MOOS: The last time he ran for president, Ralph Nader used action figures of his opponents.
NADER: Neither George W. Bush nor John Kerry has an exit strategy.
MOOS: This campaign, Nader's put out a video communing with a friend's parrot to make a point.
NADER: National television just black out the Nader-Gonzales campaign. Sometimes I think I get more media if I just dressed up as a panda.
MOOS: Well it sure worked for the so-called hurricane bear doing coverage of Hurricane Ike. Cameraman had to be ordered to get off the bear.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yes, we're watching a person in a bear suit right now. That's a first. But you are correct. Gus, if you could swing back over that way so we can show the folks at home what's left of this pier.
MOOS: Hurricane Bear ended up with his own Web site with over half a million hits and his own T-shirt. No wonder Nader is joking about dressing up as a panda and heading for the zoo.
NADER: Cast 'amorous glances' at female panda.
MOOS (on camera): You know, it's getting harder and harder in this campaign to find a non-partisan parrot.
UNIDENTIFIED PARROT: Barack Obama. Yes we can. Yes we can. Yes we can.
MOOS (voice-over): At least "yes we can" doesn't make folks call the police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They heard somebody is yelling for help. Help me. Help me.
MOOS: Authorities broke down the door of a Trenton, New Jersey home only to discover that help me came from Luna, the cockatoo. Ralph Nader is right. We in the press can't resist an animal story. The only thing more alluring than pandas is a Guinness record story like the 2.5-inch smallest man posing with the woman with the longest legs. Now, that gets global media attention. So, while Nader amuses --
NADER: To be or not to be a panda.
MOOS: It's too bad he couldn't pander to both the shortest voters and those with the longest legs.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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CHETRY: Broken school. A city with a high dropout rate lowers the bar.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's tough out there. We're already (INAUDIBLE) enough for our kids. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Whether the kids could learn the hard way in the real world.
And the cold shoulder. New proof that emotion and body temperature are really connected.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 56 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Hillary Clinton has thrown her support solidly behind Barack Obama, but not all of her backers have followed suit. Our next guest is a prominent Democrat. One of Hillary Clinton's top fund-raisers. But now, she is crossing party lines to vote for John McCain.
Lynn Forester De Rothschild joins me now.
It's good to see you, again. You know, to say that you were a prominent Democrat really is an understatement. You and I first met sitting at President Clinton's table at a state dinner for King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia of Spain. You were a huge friend of Bill. You were a big Hillary Clinton supporter. You were on the Democratic Platform Committee.
Why are you going with John McCain?
LYNN FORESTER DE ROTHSCHILD, JOHN MCCAIN SUPPORTER: Well, I thought about it a lot. This is not an easy decision for me. I looked at all four candidates, and I believe that right now we need a president who is going to make tough decisions, who knows how to lead, who will reach across party lines and who will take on special interests. And John McCain has a record of doing that. And Barack Obama has the rhetoric of doing it. And right now, we need a person who has actually done the tough work.
ROBERTS: Now, we talked about people who are Hillary Clinton supporters, potentially crossing party lines. We have polls out that suggested about 27 percent of them might do just that. Yesterday, she was on the campaign trail employing her supporters to vote for Barack Obama saying that John McCain was not the person for the job.
Let's listen to what she said yesterday.
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SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And in 2008, he still thinks it's OK that women aren't earning equal pay for equal work. No way, no how, no McCain, no Palin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: I should point out that that was Sunday in Akron, Ohio. But she says no way, no how, no McCain, no Palin. Her office says that she disagrees with your decision. Did you talk to her about this?
DE ROTHSCHILD: No, I didn't talk to her at all. She would tell me that and I would say no way, no how, no Obama. But let's talk about the equal pay. That is so bogus of an attack. And I would tell her to her face.
John McCain has more women on his staff in higher positions than Barack Obama. Women working for Barack Obama make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes. Women for John McCain make more than men on average, OK. Remember Tailhook, the terrible sexual abuse story? Well, that woman went to John McCain to talk about what happened to her. He went to the floor of the Senate, and he said this has got to stop. He took action. So, trying to tag John McCain as not good for women is just insane.
But can I tell you what I really think it's important we elect John McCain right now. With everything that's happening in the financial world, there is not an easy solution. And we know the solution is going to take a person who can make tough decisions. People care not about Wall Street, they care about their pocketbooks. Food and fuel. Two examples of taking on special interest.
John McCain went to Iowa and he said to the Iowa farmers, corn subsidies are immoral. They raise food prices and they are bad for the environment. That's such courage on energy to bring fuel prices down. He voted against George Bush's fuel bill while Barack Obama voted for it.
ROBERTS: But then at the same time he was very much in favor of the deregulation that people are now pointing to as the cause for what's happening on Wall Street. Let me just --
DE ROTHSCHILD: He is theoretically in favor of deregulation, because regulation for regulation sake is a bad idea. Two years ago --
ROBERTS: But he was a prominent deregulator. Can I just switch gears for a second because I wanted to ask you about this? You have said also that you don't want to vote for Barack Obama because he is a quote, "elitist." And you have an op ed in the "Wall Street Journal" in which you say, "In spite of his lofty liberal rhetoric, Mr. Obama is not connecting to millions of middle and working class voters as well as women voters of all classes. Not only is his legislative record scant on issues that make a difference in their lives but his current campaign is based mainly on an assumption of his transcendence."
How is he elitist?
DE ROTHSCHILD: He's -- an elitist is someone whose state of mind is that they're better than the rest of us. And my point in that piece was that while Barack Obama wants crowds and he is the one, he's calmed it down because the polls show people don't like it. But, he's going to resort to me, if he's ever made president. And as president, he will be very full of himself. So, that is elitist, OK. To be privileged is not elitist, is the point I made in that piece. John McCain grew up in a privileged background. Family of admirals.
ROBERTS: Because some Democrats on Capital Hill have suggested that it's kind of ironic, that somebody with a last name of De Rothschild, is accusing Barack Obama of being an elitist.
DE ROTHSCHILD: I know, I know. Let's get beyond the label. I am a girl from New Jersey, a middle-class family. My father worked two jobs. Four kids went to college, law school. I earned a good part of the fortune that we have. So, I know the American dream.
ROBERTS: You are certainly making a lot of noise out there in the political world.
Lynn Forester De Rothschild, good to see you again. Thanks for coming in.
DE ROTHSCHILD: Thanks. Great to see you.
