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Do or Die for $700 Billion Bailout Bill; The Debate: The Day After; On the Trail: Obama in Pennsylvania

Aired October 03, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's get right to it. It is do or die for the $700 billion bailout bill, the one the Bush team says is a must to head off financial disaster. The House expected to vote in the next hour or two.

CNN's Brianna Keilar covering the story for us from Capitol Hill.

And Brianna, if this bill is to pass today, here is what has to happen. Many of the representatives are going to have to find themselves in a position of having to vote for something they voted against just Monday.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And we've been hearing on the House floor from some Democrats and some Republicans who voted no on Monday, saying, actually, "I'm going to vote yes today," and sort of laying out the reasons for why. But let me just tell you exactly what you're looking at right now.

This is, live on the right side of your screen, debate that we're watching, members of the House. This is going to go on for about 90 minutes. And at that end of that, say if it ends about 12:30, it doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to have the vote right at that point in time.

We don't have a hard and fast time for the vote. It could happen any time today, but what we're expecting is for it to happen midday today.

The big question, of course, is this going to pass? Are there enough votes? Well, take a listen to House Minority Leader John Boehner and what he said about the outlook for that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: I'm optimistic about today. We're not going to take anything for granted. We're going to continue to talk to our members, but it's time to act.

It's time to act on behalf of the American people. It's about their savings, it's about their jobs, it's about their retirement security. And we, as members of Congress, have a responsibility to do everything we can to protect the American economy and to protect our constituents. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So that was just moments ago from House Minority Leader John Boehner. But remember, he's a member, of course, of the House Republican leadership. They were on board Monday. It was the rank and file House Republicans who weren't.

You can tell he said they will continue to talk to House Republican members. Read arm-twisting, Tony. So they're continuing to do a little arm-twisting there.

You know, no Democrats or Republicans saying out right, you'll notice, that yes, we have enough votes. It's still a bit of a question. We're going to wait and see when the vote comes to the floor, because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said this bill isn't going to the floor, there's not going to be a vote, unless there's enough support.

HARRIS: Got you.

KEILAR: When we see that, it's a sign they think they have enough support.

HARRIS: Well, Brianna, remind us what's in the bill, what's different from Monday's version. And how are those changes going over with House members?

KEILAR: Well, a couple of the big things that the Senate added, one was increasing the FDIC insurance cap. You've heard a lot about that.

HARRIS: Yes.

KEILAR: Increasing it from $100,000 to $250,000. Also, $110 billion in tax breaks. That's winning over some Republicans, even some Democrats who voted no on Monday.

But, you know, there's also some people who are turned off by this, because the tax cuts aren't offset. And you know, some of those fiscally conservative Democrats really don't like that.

The other concern is some of the tax breaks include I guess what some people would consider pork, Tony.

HARRIS: Oh, we're going to get to that, yes.

KEILAR: Rum makers from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, just a sampling. So, you know, some Republicans are really against that.

HARRIS: Brianna, appreciate it. Thank you.

We're going to drill that point home right now. Oink if you love a good tax break.

Oh, yes, there is plenty of pork greasing the bailout bill. A tax break for rum makers in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, as you just heard from Brianna. NASCAR gets a tax break, too. Yes, NASCAR. And so do companies whose workers commute by bicycle.

Sometimes sweeteners smell an awful lot like bacon.

All right. Hold on a minute, Citi. It looks like Wells Fargo is buying Wachovia for $15 billion. That would combine the nation's fourth and fifth largest banks. Citi announced plans Monday to buy Wachovia. A short time ago, Citi told Wells Fargo to back off.

A Citi/Wachovia combination puts taxpayers on the hook for potential losses. The deal with Wells Fargo does not.

Staying in California a moment longer here. It appears the state is running on empty and may need a $7 billion quickie loan from Washington.

The state says it has been locked out of the credit markets for the last 10 days. California needs short-term cash to pay teachers, police and other state-funded services.

So no money for teachers or police, one example of the way Wall Street, this crisis there, is becoming a crisis on Main Street. In just a couple of minutes, I'll talk to two people trying to run small businesses during a credit crisis.

And you can get all of the information you need on this financial story at cnnmoney.com. We have got all of the market news, numbers, expert analysis, and much more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN ORBAKER, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: I really don't think anybody won this debate. I think it was pretty much a draw. I'm more interested now in hearing what the presidential candidates have to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: There you go. Our iReporters weighing in on the vice presidential debate. The general consensus among analysts, both Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden performed well. Our poll, however, gives Biden the edge.

Dana Bash is live from St. Louis with more on the debate the day after.

Dana, great to see you.

You know, yesterday we talked a lot about the fine line Joe Biden had to walk in last night's debate. And clearly, you know, the strategy was to turn everything Governor Palin said back on to John McCain.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. John McCain and George Bush, and link them together.

You know, I think that's counting, basically, the number of times that Joe Biden tried to do that. And in fact, Sarah Palin, in the folksy way that she tried to come across over and over last night, finally turned to Senator Biden and said, you know, this is what you do in Washington, Joe. You know, say it ain't so. You're looking back, not looking forward.

But, you know, we also talked yesterday about where the expectations were. And for Sarah Palin, the one thing that Republicans had going for them, they admitted going into the debate, is that the expectations were incredibly low.

So while that iReport said that it was a draw, given the fact that, at least inside Republican circles, inside the McCain campaign, they're breathing a sigh of relief, that definitely is a success for them. However, I think we can play for our viewers something that is emblematic of kind of the way things went down last night with regard to how each of them answered or didn't answer the question.

Listen to this exchange on the issue of tax cuts, and specifically Joe Biden trying to get Sarah Palin to answer a question, Gwen Ifill trying to assist. But it didn't work.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes. It's a bogus standard.

But if you notice, Gwen, the governor did not answer the question about deregulation, did not answer the question of defending John McCain about not going along with the deregulation, letting Wall Street run wild. He did support deregulation almost across the board. That's why we got in so much trouble.

GWEN IFILL, MODERATOR: Would you like to have an opportunity to answer that before we move on?

GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, I'm still on the tax thing, because I want to correct you on that again. And I want to let you know what I did as a mayor as a governor. And I may not answer the questions the way that either the moderator or you want to here, but I'm going to talk straight to the American people and let them know my track record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And Tony, I think Sarah Palin's strategy was quite obvious, and it is something that we saw repeatedly last night, as she tried to look into the camera and connect with people both in how she talked and what she said. But, you know, here is the reality this morning.

This morning, we're definitely analyzing this debate, but we also have brand new numbers showing that there's another month of job loss. And that is already what the McCain campaign is worried about big-time politically, because that is part of the big reason why his poll numbers in many of these battleground states are just not good.

HARRIS: And the reality is the news cycle continues. And today we're talking about the House voting on this financial rescue plan. It just keeps moving an moving. The news cycle doesn't stop.

Dana, appreciate it. Thank you.

You know, Barack Obama on the trail this hour in Pennsylvania. He is holding a rally that is expected to start shortly.

Our latest Poll of Polls from Pennsylvania shows Obama leading John McCain by 10 points, 49 to 39 percent.

CNN's Jim Acosta is with the Obama campaign in Abington, Pennsylvania.

And Jim, it sounds like we're going to have a big old rally in a football stadium. Is the economy the message today?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is issue #1 not only for people in Pennsylvania, but across the country, Tony. And part of the reason why you're seeing those polls the way they are right now -- you just indicated that latest CNN Poll of Polls showing that Barack Obama holding a 10-point lead over John McCain in Pennsylvania.

That is a big lead for Senator Obama in this state at this stage of the campaign. So the Obama campaign has to be feeling pretty good about that.

And we just noticed just a little while ago this morning with the latest jobs numbers coming out, 159,000 jobs lost in this country, that being the worst jobs report to be issued by the government in the last five years. So while the Obama campaign is not cheering down this economy, they are going to take this as another example, and they're going to aim this at John McCain and say, if you want more of the same, if you want more of what we've seen over the last eight years, go ahead and vote for John McCain. That is going to be the message from the Obama campaign as this campaign moves forward for the last few weeks of this campaign.

Just to do some housekeeping, just to let you know where we are, we are in Abington, Pennsylvania. This is one of those key suburban areas in Montgomery County outside of Philadelphia. This is one of those areas that Barack Obama has to do well in to obviously capture this state. And he's well on his way to doing so.

Joe Biden, who was obviously involved in that debate last night, he is not going to be here in Abington, Pennsylvania. He is going to be at a different event in Dover, Delaware. And just to tell you a little bit about that, Joe Biden's son, as we heard last night during the debate, is going to be heading off to Iraq.

As a matter of fact, he does that today. Beau Biden, the senator's son, is a member of the Army National Guard in Delaware, and he deploys today. And there's a deployment ceremony at Dover, in Delaware, today. So a busy day for the Obama campaign, Tony. After they stop here in Pennsylvania, it's on to Virginia and North Carolina. And I'll tell you what, if a Democrat is campaigning in Virginia and North Carolina at this stage of the campaign, the Democrats are doing pretty well at this point.

HARRIS: Yes. And just a quick question.

Was there any reaction, Jim, to Joe Biden's performance last night during the debate from the Obama campaign? And if it is what we would expect, then we can move on. Can we move on?

ACOSTA: I think we can move on, Tony. You know, there was a lot of talk before this debate, and the Obama campaign was well aware of it, that Joe Biden can be a gaffe machine at times. And there were some concerns about how he would handle Governor Palin. And almost instantaneously last night, not too unpredictable here, the Obama campaign mass e-mailed everybody and declared victory at that point.

HARRIS: Sure.

ACOSTA: So no surprise there from the Obama campaign. They feel Joe Biden did pretty well last night.

HARRIS: OK. So we are moving on.

All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning.

Jim, appreciate it. Thank you.

And check out our Political Ticker for all of the latest campaign news. Just log on to cnnpolitics.com, your source for all things political.

Governor Sarah Palin watched her son go off to war this summer. Today it's Senator Joe Biden's turn to say good-bye.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Take a look at the House floor now. The debate continues on the financial rescue plan, scheduled for about 90 minutes. And the vote will come sometime after that. When exactly we just don't know. But we will keep watching this for you on Capitol Hill.

Tight money, indeed, from Wall Street to Main Street. Let's talk to two people dealing with this tough economy through the credit crunch.

Fletcher Steele owns a brick company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Yesterday he was one of 14 business executives from the National Association of Manufacturers who spoke with President Bush.

Monique Hayward of Portland, Oregon, is a restaurant owner and a marketing manager.

Good to see you both.

Fletcher, let me start with you. What did you say to the president?

FLETCHER STEELE, BUSINESSMAN: We had a visit with the president. And the President wanted to know what things were like for us.

HARRIS: Yes.

STEELE: We had a dozen of us from around the country running small and medium-size businesses. And we each had our individual opportunity to talk to the president and tell him what was going on.

HARRIS: What did you say?

STEELE: Well, I told him that we are brick manufacturers, and as such, we or right in the middle of the effects of the housing crunch that is going on. And that we are seeing orders now that are 40 percent under what they were two years ago, when things were at their peak.

HARRIS: Yes.

STEELE: And that furthermore, we were seeing things that were continuing to deteriorate as far as future orders were concern. And we were very, very concerned about next year.

HARRIS: Hey, Monique, let me jump in here for just a moment and ask you a quick question. What would you have said to the president if you have that same opportunity to speak with him yesterday?

MONIQUE HAYWARD, BUSINESSWOMAN: I think I probably would have followed on what Fletcher was just describing.

HARRIS: Yes.

HAYWARD: We are absolutely in the middle. We are suffering from the dual effect of the economy having an impact on consumers' confidence in spending and banks being paralyzed with lending. And so, as you might imagine, if we are getting squeezed on both sides, where we don't have enough revenue coming in to cover our expenses, and we can't go to the bank to actually manage that through working capital with lines of credit and loans, that's a really terrible way to manage your business.

HARRIS: OK. Great.

Help me understand something that I haven't quite understood through this whole debate. And it's probably frankly because I don't run a business.

Monique, how much do you really rely on credit to sustain your business? And can you tell me why more businesses don't really operate from a healthier cash position? Is that a fair question even? I don't know. HAYWARD: I think it is a fair question. I think that certainly having access to credit is absolutely imperative for businesses to succeed, particularly with small businesses. We just don't have a ton of cash that we're sitting on.

I personally boot-strapped my business with all of the cash that I had on hand. I also begged my friends and family to invest. And I went after every credit line and loan that I could possibly get with my good credit and my good standing.

HARRIS: Yes.

HAYWARD: So you just don't have a lot of access to a lot of money when you're starting a small business.

HARRIS: Let me have Fletcher jump in on that same question.

Fletcher?

STEELE: Yes. To run a business you have cycles in the business. We buy materials. We produce brick. We have to pay for our fuel. We have to pay for our labor.

We inventory that product. We ship it out to the job site. Thirty days later we are collecting from our customers, and that cycle from top to bottom is -- from our cash position can vary by $5 million from our top to bottom. We've got to have credit to continue to be able to operate.

HARRIS: Got you. OK. Thank you for that, because I've been wanting to ask that question of real people.

Monique, you actually woke up to the news that WaMu, your bank, was being sold to JPMorgan Chase. What was that day like for you, and how much of your time did you spend sort of reassuring your employees that their money was going to be safe?

HAYWARD: Right. Well, actually, yes, Washington Mutual is one of my biggest customers, if you will, from a banking perspective. And I am always trying to reassure my employees that things are going to be OK, that they were not going to be in any danger of losing their paychecks...

HARRIS: Yes.

HAYWARD: ... that they could go to the bank and it would be just fine. So I was very pleased that Washington Mutual didn't just completely tank, that JPMorgan Chase did come in and "save the day."

HARRIS: Got you.

Hey, Fletcher, are you rooting for the passage of this rescue bill?

STEELE: I am rooting for the passage of the rescue bill. And because the way we see things, Tony, is we are in a downward spiral of confidence right now. And we need something to put a bottom under that downfall. And we think that rescue bill is what it takes to do that.

HARRIS: Got you.

And Monique, how about you?

HAYWARD: Yes, I agree. I absolutely agree that we need to have a focus not only on Wall Street being bailed out, but definitely something that increases consumers' confidence to get them spending again, because local businesses are the lifeblood of our economy.

HARRIS: Got you.

So -- and one more. So, it passes. Let's just say it passes.

How do your lives change, your business lives change, and how soon?

Fletcher, you first, and then Monique.

STEELE: Well, first of all, I don't think this is a bailout of Wall Street. Wall Street has already imploded. This is a bailout for consumers and people in small businesses all over the country. But when this passes, I do think it will give people some confidence.

The stock markets have been dropping. We have our employees coming, asking to take out money out of their 401(k) and take and put it in a mattress.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

STEELE: We need people that have the confidence in the banking system, and the confidence and ability to go out and repair their refrigerator in their house or buy a new car or get the kids in school, or clothes or whatever.

HARRIS: Got you.

And Monique, how about you? How does your business life change?

HAYWARD: My business life changes because people will finally I think have the confidence and the faith in the system that they can actually get up and spend some money again. I have conversations with other small business owners who are running salons or running retail shops, and people have just gone underground.

It has been really hard for people to pay their employees, give them the hours that they're looking for. You know, it has just been very tough out there.

HARRIS: And you brought it home, both of you. You really brought it home.

Thank you so much for your time, Monique Hayward and Steele. That's Fletcher Steele. Thank you both. Have a great weekend.

STEELE: Thank you. Enjoyed being here.

HAYWARD: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: You know, you can follow your fortunes at CNNMoney.com. We have got all the day's market news, numbers, expert analysis, and much more.

Today, in our "CNN Hero" segment, we brought in a celebrity to tell our story. Grammy Award winner John Legend tells us about a woman in Tanzania who turned poverty into profit for her community.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN LEGEND, MUSICIAN: Last year in October I visited Mbola, Tanzania. The folks in Mbola are starting with a supreme disadvantage. Most of them are living on less than $1 a day.

It's difficult for them to even survive. And that's where I met Mama.

MWADAWA RUZIGA, COMMUNITY CRUSADER (through translator): My name is Mwadawa Ruziga. I'm the leader of a group that uses local fruit to make jam, wine and juice. Before I joined the group, my life was at an all-time low. But slowly, my life changed for the better.

We sell our products at different trade shows. Now the members are more educated, and the money they make helps them to take care of their basic needs.

LEGEND: I was really inspired by her willingness to not just kind of wait for a handout, but really take an active role in helping to up lift her community.

RUZIGA: The group has really lifted my life and given me hope.

LEGEND: Mama is a leader. She's inspirational. And she's one of my heroes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And to see more of John Legend's work in Africa, or to get involved with any of our heroes' causes, just go to CNN.com/heroes. The most outstanding CNN heroes will be honored at an all-star tribute Thanksgiving night, right here on CNN.

You know, you've got plenty of questions during this financial crisis. And fortunately, your personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, is coming up next with answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let me give you the view of a couple of events happening right now. You're looking at Dover, Delaware, right now. Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden will be speaking this morning from Dover at the deployment ceremony for his 39-year-old son Beau. Beau Biden is headed to Iraq with his Delaware National Guard unit. And when Senator Biden speaks, we will take you to Dover live.

And let's take you back to Capitol Hill right now as the debate continues. Barney Frank is speaking right now. The debate continues, scheduled for about 90 minutes. And at some point after the debate ends, of course, we will have a vote.

We're going to continue to keep an eye on both of those pictures for you throughout the morning here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

OK. Hard times, hard choices. What do you do when your credit card company lowers your limit? How can you protect your 401(k)?

A couple of questions there. CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis with some answers to your financial questions. It is, after all, Friday.

Good to see you, Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, good to see you, definitely.

HARRIS: Why don't we start with Mike from Florida. Good?

WILLIS: Good.

HARRIS: OK.

"Recently one of my credit card companies reduced my credit limit by half, Gerri. I pay more than the minimum payment each month. What else can I do to keep my score up during these hard times?"

Good question.

WILLIS: You know, this is really common, Mike.

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: You know, more and more credit card companies are cutting their limits. And this hurts your credit score. Guess what? Bad news there.

Make sure you note those limits, the due dates, and any added fees or conditions that may have been tacked on to your cards. I have to say, though, good job on paying more than the minimum. That's always good news.

But another thing you can do to keep that credit score moving in the right direction, prioritize your credit cards so that you pay off balances with the highest interest credit cards first, and then spread out your balances over a few cards from time to time. This way credit card companies can't close down your account for inactivity because, guess what? That can hurt your credit score, too.

HARRIS: So not using -- OK. This credit card...

WILLIS: I know. I know. I know.

HARRIS: ... it drives me -- we talk about it. It drives me crazy.

WILLIS: Just -- you know what?

HARRIS: Yes?

WILLIS: Just keep your credit card debt at a minimum. Pay it down, pay it down, pay it down. That is the key to being successful.

HARRIS: That's it, yes.

Got another question here from Twila, who writes, "We have a 401(k), and 100 percent is in the company's stock. I have heard we need to diversify, and we agree. But we have no idea who to trust on this."

Any ideas, Gerri?

WILLIS: Wow. Wow. You know what? Having your entire portfolio in company stock, you know, it's not really a good idea.

Do you know why? Because you're doubling your risk. Not only are you vulnerable to company stock not doing well -- it goes down, it hurts your 401(k) -- but if the company goes bankrupt and you lose your job, well, double jeopardy there. Consider spreading out your risk by investing in different stocks and bonds. If you want to set it and forget it, you don't want to have to follow stocks, consider life cycle funds. These types of funds rebalance themselves according to your risk tolerance, your age, the amount of time you have until retirement.

HARRIS: Gerri, you have time for one more?

WILLIS: Sure.

HARRIS: OK. Lora from Indianapolis writes, oh Gerri, "Is there an advantage to having a checking account in a credit union versus a bank?"

WILLIS: Right. I'm getting this a lot, Lora. You know, people who are thinking, maybe I should just pull out of banks all together. But, I have to tell you there's no real advantage there. It's really your personal percentage.

Money at credit unions and banks are insured up to the same limits. neither banks of credit unions have escaped this credit crunch freeze. Generally, at credit unions you can get better interest rates on accounts and fewer fees. But sometimes credit unions don't have a large network of ATMs or branches, so it's hard to find them when you need them. So, it's really your personal preference here. You're not going to get any more security by going to a credit union. And if you have any questions, money questions for us, send them to us at top tips@CNN.com. We love hearing from you and we answer those questions right here every Friday.

HARRIS: Well, let me ask you something, Gerri. Is there an opportunity that maybe we can set up some kind of system where folks can send you their e-mails on the bailout on the debate that's going on Capitol Hill right now? Because I'm getting the e-mail and I want to direct them to you and to Ali, and the rest of the money team.

WILLIS: Absolutely. Send us an e-mail to issue1@CNN.com. We're going to be reading those e-mails. We want to know what you think of the bailout. This is your chance to sound off about the bailout. Issue1@CNN.com

HARRIS: Look out, here comes the e-mails right now. A tsunami of e-mails on the bailout.

All right, Gerri. Appreciate it. Thank you.

WILLIS: I'm waiting.

HARRIS: World markets react. Investors around the globe are watching American lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. Let's take you now to Abington, Pennsylvania, where Barack Obama is holding a rally.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, there are a lot of noteworthy moments in that debate last night. But there's one that sticks out this morning. It's when Senator Palin said to Joe Biden -- or Governor Palin said to Joe Biden, that our plan to get the economy out of the ditch was somehow a job-killing plan. This is what she said.

I wonder if she turned on the news this morning. Because it was just reported that America has experienced its ninth straight month of job loss, nine straight months. Just since January, we've lost more than 750,000 jobs across America. 7,000 in Pennsylvania alone. This is the economy that John McCain said just two weeks ago was fundamentally strong. This is the economy that my opponent said made great progress under the policies of George W. Bush.

And those are the economic policies that he proposes to continue another four years. So when Senator McCain and his running mate talk about job killing, that's something they know a thing or two about. Because the policies they've supported and are supporting are killing jobs in America every single day. And Abington, I am here to tell you that we can't afford four more years of this. Enough is enough.

(APPLAUSE)

We cannot afford four more years because where I come from, and I think where you come from, there's nothing more fundamental than having the sense of purpose, a sense of meaning that comes with showing up at work in the morning. There's nothing more fundamental than being able to put your kids through college or the pride of having supported your family and having health care when they get sick and being able to retire with security. There is nothing more fundamental than a good-paying job.

And that's why we're here today. Because we need to do what we did in the 1990s and create millions of new jobs and not lose them. We need to do what we did in the 1990s and make sure people's incomes are going up and not down. We need to do what a guy named Bill Clinton did in the 1990s and put people first again.

(APPLAUSE)

And that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America. To create jobs all across Pennsylvania, and all across America.

(APPLAUSE)

I mean the fact is, we've tried it their way, Pennsylvania. We've tried it their way and it hasn't worked. It didn't work then, it won't work now.

But let me tell you what will work. What will work is investing $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable sources of energy like wind and solar and biodiesel. Reopening old steel plants like Governor Rendell has done to create wind turbines. Opening old plants to make solar panels. Working with farms to create the cellulosic ethanol that will fuel our cars in the future; an investment that will generate five million new jobs that pay well and can't ever be outsourced.

And by the way, we can end our dependence on foreign oil in the process and nothing will help our economy more than that. Nothing will help our national security more than that. Nothing will help deal with global warming more than that. And that's what we're going to do when I'm president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

Let me tell you what else will work -- making an investment in rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges and schools. Laying broadband lines in rural communities so they have access to the internet. Creating a new electricity grid so we can take the renewable energy that we are creating and get it to population centers. Governor Rendell, Bob Casey, they've been talking about this. But we haven't had leadership in the White House.

We can create two million more jobs for Americans. We can put people who've been laid off from the construction industries right now, put them to work. And if people tell you we can't afford it, then you just remind them we are spending $10 billion a month in Iraq, when they've got a $79 billion surplus. We can rebuild America on that money. We can rebuild America.

My opponent supports giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas. But what will work is giving those tax breaks to companies that create jobs here at home. My opponent supports tax havens that let companies avoid paying taxes here in America. Tax havens that cost $100 billion every year. You know what will work? Shut down those tax havens. Close corporate loopholes. Use that money to get the middle class back on its feet. What will work --

HARRIS: We're going to leave the Barack Obama event right now and take you to this event in Dover, Delaware. Sending his son off to war. Vice Presidential candidate Joe Biden speaking at his son's deployment ceremony right now.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: General Vavola (ph), members of the National Guard. I have come here many times before as a Delawarean, as a United States center. But today I come as you prepare to deploy as a father. A father who got some sage advice from his son this morning, dad, keep it short, we're in formation.

(LAUGHTER)

I always listen to my general. So, let me simply say, like all of the family members that are here today gathered on this green, my heart is full of love and pride. My wife Jill and I, and our whole family, like every family member here, have hearts full of love and pride.

We take comfort in the knowledge that you are the best trained, best prepared group of citizen soldiers our country and this state has ever sent into harm's way. You have a proud tradition in this guard unit, in this guard of tracing the history of the guard back over 350 years. Never before has a Delaware guard unit been deployed that is better qualified.

You are the best demonstration of both our nation's greatness and equally as importantly our people's goodness. As you serve and look out for your brothers and sisters in arms, your families here at home, I promise you we'll look out for one another.

So, let me simply say, thank you. Thank you for answering the call of your country. Thank you for doing what brave women and men have always done in uniform and always do. So stand strong, stand together, serve honorably, come home to your families that love you. May God bless you and may he protect you.

(APPLAUSE)

HARRIS: Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden there, as you can see, speaking this morning from Dover, Delaware, at his son's deployment ceremony. Beau Biden is a member of the Delaware Army National Guard unit that being deployed to Iraq. His unit leaves today for training in Texas. And then it is on to Iraq.

We're going to take a break and come back with more CNN NEWSROOM in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's see. Scott Garrett, he is the Republican representative from New Jersey, is speaking now as the debate continues over this $700 billion -- are we calling it a bailout package, are we calling it a rescue plan? Does it really matter at this point? We will continue to follow the debate on the House floor.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

HARRIS: They're rock stars, flat out rock stars. Oprah's chat with CNN senior business correspondent, Ali Velshi, airs later today in most areas.

OK, a quick look now at our international desk. Our team there has been working really hard here gathering today's top stories from around the world and frankly, you know, it's been a little tough getting those international stories into the newscast this week with all of the -- what -- the financial news, the political news, and our Veronica De La Cruz joining me with some of the international headlines.

What are you following, lady? Good morning.

(CROSSTALK)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. It's nice to see you, as always.

Susan Lisovicz there from the floor on the New York Stock Exchange in the U.S., so we want to go ahead and start with what the markets are doing overseas, Tony. Markets in Asia finished down after nervous investors sought safer investments ahead of today's House vote on the government bailout plan here in the U.S.

Japan's Nikkei, finished the week down 216 points at 10,938. Tony, that is a new three-year low -- a new three-year low.

The Australian Securities Exchange fell about 1.5 percent to 4,702.

Hong Kong Hang Seng dropped nearly 3 percent to 17,682.

U.S. nuclear envoy, Christopher Hill, is back in Seoul, South Korea after wrapping up two days of talks with North Korea. He calls his meetings there lengthy and very substantive, but has yet to discuss what progress was made in persuading the north to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. North Korea started distantly its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon in August but stopped after Washington refused to take the country off its list of states that sponsored terrorism. And now to Iraq. An agreement there has been reached on a law that paves the way for U.S.-backed provincial elections. The spokesperson said the law gained unanimous approval, would be signed today. Elections in Iraq's provinces could be held by the end of January.

And that's what is happening around the world. Tony, I'll get it back to you.

We had this great video of this bear in Canada.

HARRIS: Of this bear ...

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Don't tell too much because we're going to try to get that --

DE LA CRUZ: We are. OK.

HARRIS: In just a couple moments.

All right, Veronica. Appreciate it.

DE LA CRUZ: We're going to grin and bear it -- to get the bear story on for you.

HARRIS: The punisher.

All right. Thank you, Veronica.

Gauging the pulse of America in tough economic times. Well just weeks away from an historic election, CNN's Don Lemon joins us now with his sign of the times.

Don, the pulse of America has been racing a bit over the last week or so.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you see that right behind me, Tony?

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

LEMON: We wanted to check that out because we've heard about everything that is happening on Wall Street in New York City and Washington, D.C. We went to the heart of the story, we went to New York City, the financial capital of the world. Look at that. That is the national debt clock. You see that? $10 trillion.

That man you're looking at right now, his father put up the national debt clock in New York City back in 1989. But guess what? $10 trillion -- you saw it there -- it doesn't have enough digits to hold that number. This is the third time that they've run out of digits for that clock. And ironically they're running out right now.

That $700 billion bailout -- made them have to rush to put this sign up, because originally they were going to have do it in the spring of '09. Now they are rushing to do it now. Now we have talked to some people right on the street about the heart of the matter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To think that -- you big that number is and how many -- how much dollars it is between each man, woman and child in the United States -- even my kids are aware of that number. They talk about it in school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I try not to look at it. Sometimes I try and come to the other side, but it's kind of one of those -- like a car crash things where you can't look away. It's just so awful you have to look.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And Tony, it's really interesting, when you talk to those people and you also talk to the family who put that clock up and what it means to them now. They were known for real estate, now they're known for that clock.

That's going to air on weekend prime 5:00 p.m. tomorrow.

HARRIS: Terrific.

LEMON: Also Tony, if you're going to watch the debate, who are you going to watch it with? Hockey moms.

HARRIS: Oh good.

LEMON: We watched it with some hockey moms. We'll see them 5:00 and 11:00 tomorrow night. See what they have to say about Sarah Palin.

HARRIS: Can't wait. All right, Don, appreciate it. Thank you.

LEMON: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: If you're in the northeast or the northwest get your rain gear. Reynolds Wolf is tracking storms throughout the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The corruption trial of veteran Alaska senator Ted Stevens in recess until Monday. Thursday, the judge rejected a vigorous bid to toss out criminal charges against Stevens or declare a mistrial. Defense attorneys claim prosecutors withheld information favorable to his case. The judge agreed, but said it was made available in time to be used as the trial proceeds. The veteran Alaska senator has pled not guilty to filing false statements on mandatory financial disclosure forms.

Searchers are back at it today looking for more clues in the crash of millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett's plane. That crash site in California Sierra Nevada mountains. At an elevation of 10,000 feet, a piece of a human bone was found by searchers. It is being analyzed right now and could take days for the results. Officials confirmed late Wednesday night that the plane was Fossett's. In February a judge declared Fossett dead.

Let's get a check of weather now. Reynolds Wolf is in the weather center.

And Reynolds, a moment ago we were talking about some rain in the east.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: All right, Reynolds, appreciate it.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.