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McCain and Obama on the Attack; Bailout Reaction from International Markets; Afghan-Taliban Talks; Can Surge Strategy Work in Afghanistan?

Aired October 05, 2008 - 18:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-AK), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's really important for Americans to start knowing who the real Barack Obama is.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The calendar says fall, but, boy, it is hotter than Hades out on the stump.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John McCain wants us turn the page on talking about the economy.

LEMON: Well, speaking of the economy, plenty of critics say it gives Wall Street fat cats a break but the skinny cats on your street may get skinned. Find out why.

And negotiating with the Taliban? A ground breaking meeting in Saudi Arabia with Afghan leaders. Who was there? What happened? Time to find out right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. It is crunch time for you and for both campaigns. And boy, is it getting hot in here. Well, mostly hot out there on the campaign trail. And getting nastier with just 30 days to the election, and only one day, keep this in mind, one day left in most places for you to register to vote.

OK, with that said, major new developments to tell you about right now. Barack Obama is campaigning without Joe Biden today. We just learned minutes ago that Biden's mother-in-law passed away from a long illness. A Biden spokesman released a statement saying "We appreciate everyone's respect for the family's privacy during this difficult time."

Meantime, John McCain is home in Arizona preparing for his second debate with Barack Obama on Tuesday. And as for Obama, he is in Asheville, North Carolina where he told voters the McCain camp is focused on smear rather than issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Because on November 4th, you and I are going to turn the page, not on talking about the economy, we're going to turn the page on the disastrous economic policies of George W. Bush and John McCain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Governor Sarah Palin started her day in California. She continues to defend her claim that Barack Obama pals around with terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The "Associated Press" called your comments about Obama yesterday racially tinged. What do you think about that? That your comments were racially tinged, unsubstantiated.

PALIN: The "Associated Press" is wrong. The comments are about an association that has been known, but hasn't been talked about. And I think it's fair to talk about where Barack Obama kicked off his political career, in the guy's living room. And he of course having been associated with that group, a known domestic terrorist group, it's important for Americans to know. It's really important for Americans to start knowing who the real Barack Obama is."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so the McCain/Palin ticket went right there and put the Obama camp on the defensive. Tomorrow, first thing, expect a new ad campaign from the Obama camp calling John McCain, quote, "erratic." We have the ad, see for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three-quarters of a million jobs were lost this year. Our financial system in turmoil and John McCain, erratic in crisis, out of touch on the economy. No wonder his campaign wants to change the subject, turn the page on the financial crisis by launching dishonest dishonorable assaults against Barack Obama. Struggling families can't turn the page on this economy. And we can't afford another president who is this out of touch.

OBAMA: I'm Barack Obama, and I approved this message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. Out of touch, palling around with terrorists, erratic in a crisis, swift boat politics. We're 30 days out from the election with an economy that's, frankly, in the toilet. Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider in Nashville ahead of the second presidential debate. Bill, shouldn't the issues, the economy, health care, shouldn't those be center stage?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes and, in fact they are to most voters. When you ask voters what they are concerned about, what they think is uppermost, should be uppermost in this campaign, I think the charges are a little farfetched. The idea that Barack Obama consorts with terrorists, part of kind of terrorist plot is going to strike a lot of voters as farfetched. It could create a backlash. But as far as the McCain campaign is concerned, every minute that we spend not talking about the economy may be a good minute for his campaign because the economy has, in fact, eroded his support, concern about the nation's economy.

LEMON: And that's what the polls are showing, that there is concern about that, right?

SCHNEIDER: Absolutely. Concern about the economy has, in fact, diminished McCain's support, contributed to Obama's momentum in this campaign. I should mention also that the charge that McCain has been erratic, I think Obama was referring to his behavior last week when he suspended his campaign for a couple of days, rushed back to Washington, said he was going to try to broker a bipartisan deal for a bailout.

He wasn't able to do that, so he went back and participated in the debate and eventually a bailout deal was worked out just after that debate. But some people think that was an unfair charge also because was he making some sort of insinuation about McCain's age?

LEMON: OK, Bill, I am just getting some information in here that the RNC plans to seek an audit on contributions to the Obama campaign. What's that about?

SCHNEIDER: It's about some questions that are being raised about the people who have given money to Barack Obama. There is a federal limit. Barack Obama is not accepting public financing. John McCain is. So John McCain can't raise any money. Barack Obama's campaign claims that a million and a half people have contributed to his campaign. He cannot accept money from foreign nationals. The McCain campaign is charging, or the Republican National Committee is charging that there has been foreign money. They want that investigated. They are also charging that people are giving more than the federal limit to the Obama campaign by giving repeated contributions. That federal limit is $2,300. Well they are doing to have to investigate very quickly, more than what Obama claims is a million and a half contributors. That could be very tough.

LEMON: OK, senior analyst Bill Schneider - Bill, we appreciate that. We're going to follow up on that story tonight at 11 p.m. Eastern also here on CNN. Thank you, Bill.

All right so you've heard the claims, now you may be asking, just what are Barack Obama's ties to William Ayers, a man once accused of domestic terrorism? CNN's truth squad is getting to the bottom of it all. We'll have answers for you this hour live.

Tuesday night is round two. John McCain, Barack Obama in their second presidential debate live from Nashville and you'll see it all right here. It will unfold on CNN.

Issue number one for most of you is the economy and whether that gigantic government bailout plan will help your wallet. Let's talk investments now. International markets have had all weekend to think about massive Wall Street rescue package. First indications will begin about two hours from now when the Pacific markets open. But the real test will be at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. That's when London posts the latest bank to bank lending rate. It's called the Libor. Right now it's 40.33 percent. The update will give us a hint about whether the bailout plan is having the intended effect, helping to loosen the worldwide credit market.

Well let's do the math here for a second. The government signed a $700 billion bailout. The national debt is over $10 trillion and growing. You can see the national debt clock. We'll show you that for you in just a little bit. But what is the bottom line for you and for me tomorrow? Let's bring in our Jennifer Westhoven. She joins us now from New York. Jennifer, I guess the big question is the stock market didn't do well on Friday. But this is really, it's really not about the stock market, the bailout. It's about loosening the credit markets, right?

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I think that's right, Don. So many of us have gotten used to Tokyo's Nikkei, Hang Seng, we're used to hearing about those as what's going to determine the direction of our markets in the morning.

But really it's very true what you just said, that there are going to be a lot more people paying attention to this rate called the Libor, which I think it sounds remote, but it's anything but. It's tied to so many U.S. people in terms of how much debt that we've got here. It could be your home equity line, could be student loans.

But I'll tell you, it's not just going to be the reaction in terms of how is the U.S. bailout going to help, because there's a lot more focus here in terms of what's happening in Europe. There are a lot of signs that the credit crisis is spreading to Europe. There are three big companies, German, Belgium for example, financial companies that are in big trouble, much like we were just two weeks ago where they're having emergency meetings in Paris where all of these people in the finance world are getting together and trying to figure out if they are doing to have bailout packages there.

So can Europe stabilize is going to be a big part of Libor. And also I think we're going to be paying a lot of attention or thinking about what kinds of announcements come from U.S. companies in terms of how they are affected by the credit crunch. You know, you think back to Friday we got that awful report on the jobs market, 159,000 jobs lost in the latest month. So it's going to be what do these companies going to have to say about how they are getting affected?

LEMON: It seems like it's turning into an international crisis here, Jennifer. All right, Jennifer Westhoven, thank you very much and again, we'll follow up on this tonight 11:00 p.m. Eastern. All you need to know before you head into work tomorrow.

Well from Wall Street to Congress, now the financial crisis is right at your front door. We'll tell you how to keep your head above water at this hour.

All right, developing international news to tell you about. Face-to-face talks between the Taliban and Afghan leaders overseen by Saudis. That's interesting. What does that mean to U.S. troops in Afghanistan? Nic Robertson our senior international correspondent live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: CNN has learned the Taliban and Afghan leaders have been engaged in direct talks at the invitation of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is in London with the details of this four-day meeting in Mecca. And I don't know if it's too early to ask but will these talks lead to an end in the fighting, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Don, I think it's far too early at this stage to say that. We shouldn't really expect to see a drop off in the number of coalition or U.S. casualties in Afghanistan. Those numbers have been climbing.

What we have heard from the Afghan leadership, from President Hamid Karzai over the past year or so is that he's willing and prepared to negotiate with the Taliban. These talks in Mecca have been worked on for the last two years almost to try to bring the sides together. And what King Abdullah, the leader, the king of Saudi Arabia has done is say, OK, I'll host these talks to show our commitment, to show we, the custodians of the holiest place in Islam are willing to lend our weight to any solution that the Afghans can bring up.

What happened? Seventeen delegates from Afghanistan, 11 representing the Taliban, two from the Afghan government, one representing a former Mujahideen commander, a U.S. foe in Afghanistan and a couple of others were there for these roundtable talks. Expectations were kept low. A lot of ice, I'm told to my source close to the talks, was broken. All sides agree that the only way for a solution was not through fighting, but through talking.

So this is really what we're seeing here is the beginning of a process. More talks are expected involving more Afghan players. So perhaps in the future this may lead to a reduction in coalition casualties. But at this stage, it really is Don just the beginning of a process.

LEMON: It's very interesting because Saudi Arabia generally deals with Afghanistan through Pakistan. So how significant is this that Saudi Arabia is involved in this?

ROBERTSON: Well, there's a lot at stake for Saudi Arabia in Afghanistan at the moment and perhaps more broadly looking at Saudi Arabia's area of interest across the Middle East. They have seen Iran gain a greater footing in Iraq as they see by the U.S. mistakes in Iraq. And they are looking at Afghanistan in the same light right now. Diplomats, officials that I talked to in Afghanistan tell me that Iranian diplomats, Iranian businessmen are very busy lobbying inside Afghanistan beginning to try to sort of play a role in that country.

Coalition commanders tell us that the Iranians are supplying weapons to the Taliban. And when Saudi Arabia looks at Iran's growing influence in the region, they recognize they need to do something about that. So by getting involved in Afghanistan, help bring an end to the fighting, helps keep their involvement and from their perspective, keeps what they see as a growing Iranian influence growing in the region, Don.

LEMON: Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. We appreciate your reporting, Nic, negotiating with the Taliban.

Can the surge used in Iraq also work in Afghanistan? During last Thursday's debate, the two vice presidential candidates offered starkly different opinions. CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre sorts it all out for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The debate over whether the surge strategy did work in Iraq is being eclipsed over the debate whether it will work in Afghanistan.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan.

PALIN: The surge principles, not the exact strategy, but the surge principles that have worked in Iraq need to be implemented in Afghanistan also.

MCINTYRE: Both presidential candidates have pledged to dispatch thousands more U.S. reinforces to Afghanistan, combats forces the American NATO commander desperately needs. Just don't compare it to the Iraq surge, he says.

GEN. DAVID MCKIERNAN, NATO AFGHANISTAN COMMANDER: The word I don't use for Afghanistan is the word surge.

MCINTYRE: In Iraq, the Pentagon says the surge was not just about more troops. Officials argue it help empower Sunni leaders who had had enough of al Qaeda.

GEN. JAMES CARTWRIGHT, JOINT CHIEFS VICE CHAIRMAN: The awakening in Anbar really set the pattern for us, as a military, to start to understand how to engage at the bottom and help grow this from the bottom and empower the locals.

MCINTYRE: That blossomed into the sons of Iraq, a program in which the U.S. military paid disgruntled Sunnis to switch sides. But General McKiernan insists following the Iraq model would be a mistake. Recruiting sons of Afghanistan or fostering an awakening, he argues, would just reignite smoldering tribal rival rice.

MCKIERNAN: Afghanistan was in the midst of a civil war when we intervened. That potential is still there.

MCINTYRE: McKiernan agrees with the basic principle behind the Iraq strategy, empowering the locals, but thinks having foreign troops in Afghanistan would only backfire. It's something he says the Afghans must do for themselves.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: At the end of the day, the Afghan from the military standpoint, the Afghan army is our exit strategy.

MCINTYRE (on camera): General McKiernan says it will take years to turn Afghanistan around because of tribal rivalries, widespread illiteracy and a weak central government. And with NATO allies unwilling to commit many more troops, the next president will find Afghanistan to be increasingly an American war. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Jamie. Hurricane Ike, thousands are still trying to recover but the weekend brings a chance to forget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm excited that there's a game today. We were scared we weren't even going to have a school.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Want to take you now to the Somalian coast where a standoff there is in its 11th day. And we just got in new pictures for you. This is the Ukrainian tanker and the crew that Somali pirates have been holding. We've been telling you about this story. It's a Russian frigate that is approaching the scene while the U.S. ships are stationed nearby. Experts say with the tanker held at gunpoint, the U.S. Navy doesn't have much choice but to wait things out there.

Back here in the U.S., smoke and flames at a northwest Michigan marina. Several people are hurt tonight after a propane tank blew up on a boat in Traverse City. The fire spread to two other vehicles. Witnesses say one man was actually blown out of the boat that exploded. No word on the victim's conditions here.

A big storm to tell you about, a big storm system is on the move. It's now pounding the nation's midsection. Jacqui Jeras is in the CNN Severe Weather Center with the very latest for us. Jacqui?

(WEATHER REPORT)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Take a look at this live picture from KUSA. This is Clear Creek County, Colorado. If you're familiar with that area, you know that road right there, that I-70 right near the Eisenhower Tunnel. There are winter storm warnings which are in effect. It includes folks in Aspen, Vail and Snow Mass could get as much as six to 12 inches. But of course most of this is in the higher elevations up there, about 9,000 feet or snow. But this is really the first real significant snowfall that we've had this season. The system moving kind of slowly. So tomorrow we'll still see some wet weather into the Plains. Very warm and mild ahead of it and cool back behind it. Actually it's going to shape up to be a beautiful but cold day out west. Into the northeast, there's a system offshore, bringing a little bit of instability, so we have a chance of some rain showers from Boston to New York City and we do have some delays at the airport today as a result of that as well. Don?

LEMON: You know the best part pout snow and skiing?

JERAS: What?

LEMON: Warming up afterwards.

JERAS: The chalet.

LEMON: The chalet with the fireplace and the lodge.

JERAS: There you go.

LEMON: All right Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much, we'll see you a little bit later on.

JERAS: Like the vest, by the way.

LEMON: You like the vest? Thank you.

JERAS: You look sharp.

LEMON: You always look sharp too. Come over here and give me a hug. Let me read this first. It will be a love fest a little bit later.

Got a couple of traditions in Texas that you can really count on all the time. After Hurricane Ike, people are anxious to get back to them, like high school football. Here is Alex Sanz from our affiliate KHOU.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX SANZ, KHOU CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Make no mistake, Hurricane Ike did a lot to batter Galveston. What it did not do was dampen its spirit. Not along its beaches, not on the high school football field.

JAMES GULLEY, BALL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE: It's time to play. Time to play. Time to get some R&R, rest and relaxation. It's been a long time coming. Time to play some ball now. High school football is in the air once again.

SANZ: Ball High's goal was simple, win, beat rival Clear Creek High.

TENISHA BROWN, BALL HIGH SCHOOL PARENT: We've still got a long way to go, but we're happy to see them back out there.

SANZ: And pick up where it left off eight day before Ike.

BROWN: We've got it. We're talking a championship. We plan to go all the way. All the parents and a lot of people that's out here, we're all behind them.

SANZ: As high school football seasons go, this one started off high, with Ball High beating Levar (ph) 35-6. All eyes remain on the district championship.

HALEY HERRIN, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I'm excited there's a game today. Because we were scared we weren't going to have a school.

SANZ: As a lot of people did, some players lost everything. Still, hard pressed were they to let that get in the way of them giving their all.

ANDREW COLEMAN, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: You know, I think our team is coming back. I'm really happy. It's a great game.

SANZ: Ball High may have lost to Clear Creek 17-7. No matter, they tell you. They still come out strong, given what was, what is and what's ahead. From League City, Alex Sanz, 11 news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Good for them. Best of luck to everyone.

OK, so the allegations are out there. But what's the real story behind Barack Obama palling around with terrorists? The truth squad next.

Plus, the crisis on Main Street. We navigate our way from Wall Street to middle America.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, there has been a lot of focus this week, and mostly yesterday afternoon and then today about Sarah Palin's remark that Barack Obama is, quote, "palling around with terrorists." Is that really true? Our Josh Levs from the CNN truth squad has some answers. Probably a better question, Josh, is this is an old issue. Why is it coming back up again?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, because Sarah Palin just mentioned it the other day, like you were saying. Let's take a look at what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALIN: Our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who targeted their own country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: All right. Now we know Palin that was referring at least in part to William Ayers, who is a 1960s radical. He was a founding member of the Weather Underground that bombed federal buildings including the Pentagon and the Capitol in the protest to the Vietnam War. Now the FBI labeled it a domestic terrorists group. Ayers is now an education professor in Chicago. We have a graphic here laying out a few facts about Ayers and Obama. Let me trace you through that. They do live in the same neighborhood. Both worked with the non-profit Annenberg Challenge on a local school improvement project. Both were board members for a charity. Ayers hosted a campaign event for Obama when Obama was running for state Senate. But Obama's campaign says they have had no contact by phone or by e-mail since 2005.

Now the McCain campaign did not respond to CNN's request for elaboration on Palin's use of the word terrorists, in plural. I have a verdict for you here, a verdict on her attack. False, there's no indication that Ayers and Obama are palling around or they have had an ongoing relationship in the past three years.

Also, there is nothing to suggest that Ayers is now involved in terrorist activity or that other Obama associates are. So Don, there you go, that's the truth squad verdict on it. Hopefully that gives you the context you were looking for.

LEMON: Yes, we should run that over and over again for both sides because you don't know what's real and what's not. And I think our viewers are saying we need to focus - the candidates should be focusing on the issues rather than just, you know, this talk.

LEVS: And that's what's great about truth squad. Just go to CNN.com, hit the fact check button at the top. You can't miss it.

LEMON: Thank you very much for that, Josh.

Are these real issues or distractions to you? Tell me what you think. Reach out to me, iReport.com, Facebook.com or Twitter.com/DonLemonCNN. I want to tell you on Tuesday night, you see that? It is round two, John McCain, Barack Obama, in their second presidential debate, live from Nashville. You see it all right here of course on CNN.

You do not have to be an economist for this one to know whether you have money troubles or not. It is a common complaint right now. So this half hour, our own mini bailout plan for you. Sit down and listen to this and hope we can help you out. What to do with your retirement fund? Chances are it's not looking as healthy as before. And you may be worried you won't be able to retire at all. A lot of folks are. And you may be confused about basic economics. You're not alone.

Our guest is an expert at schooling ordinary people, ordinary folks like you on becoming financially literate. He'll give you some information a little bit later.

New homes standing vacant. Who is responsible? And what can be done about it? OK so we start now with this. With shrinking 401(k), fears are growing, especially among Americans who want to retire and they want to do it pretty soon. But they can't. Take a look at this from CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kristine and Mike DiGiovanni are on the front lines of the financial crisis, and they say it's a scary place to be. Both are looking for work. Kristine just turned 60 but says any hopes of retiring soon are gone.

KRISTINE DIGIOVANNI, INVESTOR: We were looking, you know, maybe 62 would be a good age. Now it's like retirement? What retirement? You know, it's just not going to happen.

SNOW: Kristine says her 401(k) is now worth what it was 15 years ago when she started investing in it. She estimates she lost about $50,000 so far this year, until she recently took her money out of stocks and switched to bonds.

DIGIOVANNI: Every quarter, I get a statement and, you know, it would be $2,000 or $3,000 less than it was the quarter before.

SNOW: The couple's main investment is in real estate and includes their Madeira Beach, Florida home. But that's lost a third of its value and the DiGiovannis say they can't afford any more repair work.

Across the country in Nevada, the real estate downturn has also hurt 43-year-old Catharine Lindsay but not as much as the plunge in her 401(k) savings. She estimates her 401(k) lost 60 percent of its value this year.

CATHARINE LINDSAY, 43 YEARS OLD: I made a choice to invest in some risky stocks or things that might be considered risky now.

SNOW: Financial planner Constance Barber says her clients haven't seen such dramatic drops but she has them balance their investments in cash, bonds and stocks.

CONSTANCE BARBER, FINANCIAL PLANNER: If you're a 40-year-old and your account is down 20 percent, then you can afford to wait it out since it is a retirement account. If you're 65 or 70, you shouldn't be 100 percent in stocks.

SNOW: Barber's advising her older clients to work as long as possible and for Catharine Lindsay, that's something she's already banking on.

LINDSAY: If I'm going to continue this, I also have to accept the fact that I'm probably going to be working until I'm in my mid- 70s.

SNOW: One investment research group, Morning Star, says judging from the past, it could take most investors three years or more to recover from a downturn like this one. Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: OK, Mary, thanks. All right, I have a question for you. Are you poor, or are you just broke? There's a world of difference between the two, remember that. And it can deeply affect how you respond in difficult economic times. Are you poor or are you juts broke? My guest tonight is John Hope Bryant, he's founder and CEO of Operation Hope. It is a nonprofit group dedicated to teaching you how to manage your money, especially if you don't have any. Thank you, sir, for joining us today. So you have made this a career. You teach people to do this. What's the first thing you tell them?

JOHN HOPE BRYANT, CEO, OPERATION HOPE: You just mentioned, there is a difference between being broke and being poor. Being broke is economic and being poor is a disabling frame of mind, in a depressed condition of your spirit. You must vow never to be poor again. And that will dictate a lot of your habits. If you have low self-esteem, you tend to guy on a buying frenzy as a way to make you feel better. All that stuff has to stop. That party is over. If you buy two packs of cigarettes a day, it will cost of $6,000 over a year's time. It's a lot of money. It's a third of some people's income.

LEMON: Mr. Bryant, I've got to tell you, people are probably watching going, you know what, it's bad and I don't really know of anything I can do, so I may as well just ride it out. I'm going to just see what happens and keep spending and not change my ways. People feel they are at the end of their ropes right now. Any better advice than just to change some small habits?

BRYANT: Well, I think you cannot have a rainbow without a storm first. The Great Depression did not break this country. At the end of the day, it made us stronger. The FDIC came out of the Great Depression, Social Security came out of Great Depression, the SEC came out of the Great Depression. You know, preschool education came out of the Great Depression. So not everything - I mean, this is not the end of the world. It's a turning point. Some people are losing their homes. And that's really tragic.

LEMON: Yes, it's awful.

BRYANT: The other side of that, though, is it's going to bring down-home prices and make it affordable probably for the first time people who found they could not afford to have a home. If you're a firefighter in a city like L.A. or Atlanta, Georgia, you should be able to buy a home. You couldn't do that before.

LEMON: But if your credit is ruined by - you got involved in a bad mortgage now or you've got too much credit card debt, then you won't be able to get a home.

BRYANT: Not to worry, your neighbor's credit is ruined, too, it's an equal opportunity discriminator this crisis was. Everybody is doing to have the same stains. I think the question becomes what was your credit before this crisis? How did you behave under normal circumstances and what's your credit after this crisis? I think we also need to learn the lesson that after this crisis is over, the question America is going to be asking is, how do we make sure this never happens again? That's a massive level of financial literally.

LEMON: I've got to tell you this because this is pretty strong here. I was just reading what you said to one of my producers. You said, "this name bailout, is a crappy name." That's your quote and you said, "this was made for the fat cats," talking about the bailout, "for the fat cats on Wall Street and the skinny cats on your street won't see relief from this."

BRYANT: Actually, just the opposite, actually. This bailout was actually not about the fat cats on Wall Street. They already got their money. They didn't get it on an installment plan, I guarantee you. If this bailout didn't go through, it would be skinny cats showing up on your street. It's really about the credit markets. The credit market has seized up. It's like robbing a car with no oil in the engine. A week ago this crisis, before the bailout bill had been passed, the second largest student loan lender said no mas, no student loans. The eighth largest student loan vendor said no mas. So short version, the small business that is employing most people in the country couldn't make payroll because they had no line of credit.

LEMON: OK, I've got to ask you this and I know you don't have a crystal ball and I'm really out of time here, but Mr. Bryant, how soon before every day person sees some relief from this?

BRYANT: Oh, you'll see it tomorrow because your credit card will still work. Because you're not on a cash basis. That was about making sure the credit market didn't implode. That's all it was.

LEMON: People don't realize what could have happened because it didn't happen.

BRYANT: Absolutely.

LEMON: John Hope Bryant, thank you very much for that sound advice. We appreciate you joining us on this Sunday.

No sale. Carmakers feeling the pinch and lots fill up - ad slots fill up with unwanted autos. We'll tell you about that just seconds away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. We're taking time to try to break down the crisis on Main Street for you, give you some information that you might find helpful. "Forbes" magazine has published an interesting list though, the top 20 cities most expensive to heat, something you need to know as we approach winter. Now take a look at the No. 1 city and how much it costs. Can we get a drum roll here? Thank you.

If you live in Boston, it can cost you darn near two grand a month to keep the cold out, two grand. That's a whole lot of cash. Minneapolis and Buffalo are in second and third place. I'll spare you the sticker shock there. It is very expensive. They left out Chicago. It's expensive there, too.

Well from home heating to home building, seems everybody is feeling the crunch in this economy. And CNN's Dan Simon spoke with a California homebuilding CEO whose company had to lay off 100 of its 140 workers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They built these houses but couldn't finish them. The money dried up. These 12 unfinished homes outside of San Diego are a symbol of the nation's financial crisis.

NICK PATTINSON, CEO, BARRATT AMERICAN: This would be the kitchen area here, family room over there.

SIMON: Nick Pattinson is the CEO of Barratt American, a California home builder. He says his company had to stop construction in March after his bank, Bank of America froze the company's $125 million credit line. He claims they were current on their payments when the funding stopped.

PATTINSON: I'm angry with the way we've been treated. We and many other home builders like us have been good customers to these banks for decades. And the way we've been treated is unconscionable.

SIMON: Pattinson calls himself a classic victim of the mortgage meltdown. He says his lender like a lot of other banks got spooked by the home real estate market.

PATTINSON: The banks have made a bad situation worse. Let's not forget that this sub prime crisis was created by America's lending industry.

SIMON: We called Bank of America. The company didn't get back to us. Barratt American was one of the top 200 home builders in the country. It received numerous industry awards, built 500 homes and brought in $250 million in revenue. Now its offices are empty after laying off 100 of its 140 employees. Pattinson would like to see language in Congress's bailout package that would help companies regain lost credit.

PATTINSON: Home building is one of the key drivers of the American economy. If we just bailout banks and the banks do what they have been doing and sit on this money, then we didn't achieve anything.

SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, Carlsbad, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right Dan, well not only are fewer homes being built, fewer cars are being bought, too. That's sending shivers through the auto industry. Check out what CNN's Mary Snow found out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice-over): Robert Cristafi didn't need to see the latest auto sales numbers to know the picture is grim. A dramatic drop in used car sales has put his 25-year-old business in jeopardy.

ROBERT CRISTAFI, AUTO DEALER: Nobody buying cars, finance companies aren't financing. People can't get loans. SNOW: From car dealers to carmakers, the credit crunch is dealing a devastating blow citing very tight credit conditions. Ford says its sales plunged 35 percent in September. Chrysler dropped 33 percent and GM 16 percent. Japanese automaker Toyota had its worst monthly drop in 21 years. Tightening credit, say analysts, took a bigger toll than expected.

TOM LIBBY, J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES: Six of every 10 new vehicles are purchased with a loan. That portion of the market is now being pulled back. You're seeing major declines and frankly credit has to be loosened for the industry to come back.

SNOW: And it's an industry that was already struggling. High gas prices cause consumers to pull back earlier this year and that dented sales. On Tuesday, the president signed a $25 billion loan package for troubled automakers. But the worst may not be over.

CHRIS ISIDORE, SENIOR WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: The traffic the last 10 days of September was far worse than the first 10 days of September. So it seems to be an accelerating problem for them.

SNOW: While the industry faces potential plant closings and job cuts, car dealers are being squeezed. Car Max, the nation's largest used car retailer, announced 600 layoffs.

(on camera): The National Automobile Dealers Association says so far this year 600 auto dealership have closed down and more are expected. Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Mary, thanks. Industry wide, last month U.S. auto sales fell below $1 million for the first time since February 1993.

Coming up tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, we'll get our first real indication of whether the $700 billion bailout is working. That's 11:00 tonight, we'll get our first indication about that. Asian markets open in just a few hours. And we'll tell you live -- we'll that you live to Beijing and Hong Kong to see if stocks there take a jump or a dip. That's tonight, right here at the CNN NEWSROOM 11:00 p.m. Eastern.

Hollywood goes south, deep south. That midnight train from L.A. to Georgia brings some of the biggest names on the big screen. You are in for a ride.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Of course we have news for you tonight at 11:00. We have a really special treat for you. He is a soul singer, song writer and much, much more.

That is Robin Thicke, he is son of veteran actor Alan Thicke. He has a new album out. It is a good one. It was a good one inspired by this historic presidential election, he tells me. I caught up with him in New York City earlier in the week and you can see my conversation with Robin Thicke tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

Actor, director Tyler Perry literally rolled out the red carpet for some real A-listers. Look at that, Will Smith, Sidney Poitier, Gladys Knight, just to name a few, joined him for the grand opening of his production studio right here in Atlanta. Ashley Hayes from our affiliate WSB was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASHLEY HAYES, WSB CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Southwest Atlanta, it is an unlikely place for the bright lights and sounds of Hollywood. And yet this abandoned Delta Airlines building behind Greenbriar Mall is precisely where Tyler Perry wanted to be.

TYLER PERRY, DIRECTOR/ACTOR: This was the promise land for me when I came here in 1992. And to be here is really fantastic. So to be on this side of town, what I'm hoping will happen is that people will see that the Greenbriar in southwest Atlanta is not a bad place to be.

HAYES: For that, Atlanta's elite are singing his praises.

GLADYS KNIGHT, SINGER: The fact that Tyler has chosen to come here is just amazing. And where he put it, you know what a statement that makes?

EVANDER HOLYFIELD, BOXER: What he's doing, he's giving the city an uplift.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This means an awful lot, not only to Atlanta but it means a lot to this part of the city. Southwest side of town, we never have anything happen on this side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Tyler Perry coming here is absolutely a blessing.

HAYES: And so because of Perry, Hollywood's giants are together beneath Georgia's pines celebrating an African-American who chose Atlanta to make his mark.

SIDNEY POITIER, ACTOR: This is the reward that I have that means the most to me.

WILL SMITH, ACTOR: I mean, this is an American first, and you know, a first in the universe.

PERRY: It's fantastic things, to have them here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, that was Ashley Hayes from our affiliate WSB television reporting. Tyler Perry Studios is the first African- American owned studio not just in Atlanta, but in the entire country. Go, Tyler. So you're parked in front of a police car on the side of the road and then this happens. Yep, well, you know you want to hear more about this, seconds away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, this is all caught on camera. My gosh, ouch. No matter how bad a day you had, it probably wasn't this bad. A 71-year-old driver was pulled over for speeding in Illinois. Police say the driver got so mad he threw it into reverse and, bam, you saw what happened, right up on the squad car. Not a smart move, I can say. That earned him a $220 ticket and a reckless driving charge.

All right, how about this guy? Filling up at a gas station and kaboom, woo. He was hit by lightning. Here's another view from inside the store of what happened. This afternoon in the town of Barker in upstate New York. The motorist was knocked out for a few minutes but otherwise not seriously hurt. Man, lucky for him that he wasn't hurt.

And got a sweet tooth for one of the candidates? A candy shop in Nashville is turning out chocolates with the likeliness of both presidential candidates - both presidential tickets. That should say likenesses of both presidential tickets. Nashville of course hosts the second presidential debate on Tuesday night and you can see it live here on CNN. Can you bite into that? Can you bite right into, I don't know, John McCain's face, or Barack Obama's face? Or one of those ? I guess you can, right?

JERAS: Eat 'em up. My jaw was literally down to the floor on those first two, the lightning strike and the car.

LEMON: Yes and the guy wasn't seriously hurt.

JERAS: And the guy was mad, it wasn't an accident?

LEMON: Unbelievable.

JERAS: Yikes, anger management classes right there.

LEMON: Watch your temper, it will get you in trouble every time.

JERAS: It will, absolutely.

LEMON: Kind of like a big, bad storm that's pounding the nation.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: All right, Jacqui Jeras. So you told me about what Jon Voight yesterday campaigning for John McCain, right?

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: OK, well we have The Boss. The Boss has spoken so take a look, Jacqui.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, SINGER: (SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was this afternoon in Columbus, Ohio, Jacqui. Yesterday you and I were commenting it was Philadelphia because Bruce Springsteen is campaigning...

JERAS: So he's touring with him?

LEMON: ... For Barack Obama. I don't know, is this the Bruce Springsteen tour or the Barack Obama tour?

JERAS: I don't care who he's stumping for, I'd see him no matter where he was.

LEMON: They're going to separate places, we know that. The producer was like, they're going to separate places. We know that. The Boss added a few more stops to his campaign gig in the schedule. He was in Philly yesterday, as I said. Also hit Michigan before his big Obama fundraiser with Billy Joel. Jacqui Jeras, it's always nice to see The Boss, don't you think? Yeah, so maybe we should go to a concert soon?

JERAS: I love the harmonica.

LEMON: We'll go to a concert together soon. You can leave the kids at home, we'll hang out, go to a concert. So I'm Don Lemon, that's Jacqui Jeras. Our political team, our money team and Robin Thicke, all of us here tonight. He's not live, he's on tape, but we'll be here live tonight at 11:00, we'll see you then. Have a good night.