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American Morning
President Bush and Obama to Meet at the White House; Inaugural Ticket Mania, the Hottest Ticket in Town; Another Bailout for AIG; How to Heal the Auto Industry; Obama Inheriting Command of Two Wars; Farrakhan on Obama Win; Veteran's Appeal to the New Administration
Aired November 10, 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)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Getting to work after tough words.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: The American people can't take four more years of these failed economic policies.
ROBERTS: Today, a delicate meeting as President-elect Obama heads to the White House to talk your money, your health and more. The transfer of power begins today.
The hottest ticket in town.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: $13,000. $20,377.
ROBERTS: Want to watch Barack Obama get sworn in? You're not alone. Ticket scalpers now hunting for their cut.
HOWARD GANTMAN, JOINT CONG. CMTE. ON INAUGURAL CEREMONIES: We think it's absolutely insane to be selling those tickets.
ROBERTS: The cost to witness history on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Amazing, a bad economy like this, and people will spend thousands of dollars for a seat at the inaugural.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CO-ANCHOR: I was talking to someone in Washington the other day who runs a hotel business. He says people are already renting hotel rooms from Richmond to Baltimore.
ROBERTS: It's pretty incredible.
COSTELLO: They expect hundreds of thousands of people for that inauguration.
ROBERTS: Amazing. Hey, good morning to you. Welcome. Thanks for being with us.
It's Monday. It's the 10th of November. John Roberts along with Carol Costello this morning, who's filling up for Kiran Chetry. It's great to see you. COSTELLO: She's taking so much needed time off to be with the kids.
ROBERTS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Barack Obama heads to the White House today for a private talk with President Bush, a rite of passage between presidents and their successors that dates back decades.
It will be the first time Obama has stepped foot inside the Oval Office. He and President Bush will discuss details of the transition to power. Michelle Obama will accompany her husband to the White House where she'll meet privately with First Lady Laura Bush.
Governor Sarah Palin is blaming the Bush administration for her and John McCain's failed presidential bid. In an interview with an Anchorage TV station, the Alaska governor said the Republican ticket represented too much of what's gone on in the last eight years. Palin said she loved her time in the national spotlight and is not ruling out a run for president or vice president in 2012.
President-elect Obama's first order of business will likely be to shore up the ailing economy. Roughly 8,000 job cuts are expected at the package delivery company DHL's Wilmington, Ohio, hub today. The chairman parent company of DHL is ordering the cuts to offset rising fuel costs and more than $1.5 billion loss for the year.
And overseas, at least 28 people have been killed, dozens more wounded in three bombings in Baghdad. The blast occurred during the Monday morning rush in the northern part of the city. Police say the first explosion was in a car. Soon after a second car bomb went off nearby, and then a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt in the middle of a crowd that had gathered around the scene. It is the deadliest attack in the Iraqi capital in nearly five months.
ROBERTS: Well, back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." There is now 71 days until the transfer of power and President-elect Obama's issue number one, the economy.
John Podesta, Obama's transition team coach here told CNN's John King that Obama is pushing Congress for at least part of an economic stimulus package before taking office. Podesta also says there will be an extensive review of President Bush's executive orders and that there is a lot that the president can do without waiting for Congress to act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PODESTA, CO-CHAIR, OBAMA TRANSITION TEAM: Well, we're facing a transition like no other in probably modern history where we've got two wars going on and we've got an economic crisis, the likes of which we haven't seen since the Great Depression. So moving forward, putting a team in place, having a full White House staff in place, getting cabinet and sub -- cabinet members identified, sent to the Hill and confirmed will be a critical job during the course of this transition. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President-elect Obama will get his first look at the Oval Office today. That's where he and President Bush will meet privately. They are expected to talk about the transition of power, a long-held tradition between incoming and outgoing presidents.
And that's where we find our Elaine Quijano this morning. She's at the White House.
Elaine, it's going to be quite a scene later on this afternoon about 2:00 when President-elect Obama pulls up on the driveway there outside the South Portico and greets President Bush.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We're expecting a little bit of a madhouse. Good morning to you, John.
Well, this meeting between the president and the president-elect will be historic, symbolic but also quite substantive with the economy, two wars and national security, all pressing issues.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO (voice-over): Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George Bush will come together today for the start of a time-honored tradition of American democracy, the transfer of presidential power. This year it is steeped in history, the first transition post 9/11. The first African-American president-elect.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It will be a stirring sight to watch President Obama, his wife Michelle and their beautiful girls step through the doors of the White House. I know millions of Americans will be overcome with pride at this inspiring moment that so many have waited so long.
QUIJANO: Just as George Bush did with Bill Clinton in December of 2000.
BUSH: I am humbled and honored, and I can't thank the president enough for his hospitality. He didn't need to do this.
QUIJANO: The incoming president will have a chance to seek advice from his predecessor.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I'm going to go in there with a spirit of bipartisanship.
QUIJANO: This time as President Bush sits down with President- elect Obama in the Oval Office, the two will have a full agenda.
BUSH: We face economic challenges that will not pause to let a new president settle in. We're in a struggle against violent extremists determined to attack us. And they would like nothing more than to exploit this period of change to harm the American people.
QUIJANO: The two leaders will also have the delicate task of balancing decision making and consultation in the coming weeks.
OBAMA: The United States has only one government and one president at a time. And until January 20th of next year, that government is the current administration.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUIJANO: Now today's meeting will also allow the current and future first ladies to meet as their spouses confer in the Oval Office. Laura Bush and Michelle Obama will meet and tour the private residence behind closed doors, and it will allow Mrs. Obama to get a closer look at the place that will become home to the Obama family -- John.
ROBERTS: Elaine Quijano at the White House for us this morning. Elaine, thanks so much.
COSTELLO: Well, you heard Elaine say it. Every first family makes changes to the White House to make it their own. The Obamas will be no exception, but the transition team says White House history will definitely be respected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VALERIE JARRETT, OBAMA TRANSITION TEAM CO-CHAIR: I think Michelle and the girls will make it their own. And it's hard to say. They have to get in there and take a look at it. They respect obviously the beauty of the White House, its historic nature. Michelle will be working very close with the historians who take care of the White House to make sure that whatever she does is absolutely in keeping with its history and its style.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And CNN will bring you live coverage of today's meeting between the Bushes and the Obamas at the White House starting at 2:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: We have been talking about the economy and how it is the top of the agenda for the Obama transition team. A major concern is how to help struggling automakers. Top congressional Democrats want the White House to expand the $700 billion Wall Street bailout plan to include major U.S. car companies. The president-elect's chief of staff says they need to stabilize the auto industry, but he stopped short of endorsing the idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CBS' "FACE THE NATION")
RAHM EMANUEL, OBAMA WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: President-elect Obama has repeated that there's one president, one administration at a time. And so, you don't want to get in front of that.
Second as it relates to the auto industry, he has said throughout the campaign as recently as Friday, they are an essential part of our economy and our industrial base. Second, Washington needs to look at fast forwarding the $25 billion that has been provided for retooling the factories for basically a more fuel-efficient auto fleet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And the Obama team is looking at executive orders that were issued by President Bush during his term with an eye toward reversing them as soon as possible. They include tight restrictions on stem cell research and a push for oil and gasoline drilling, or oil and natural gas drilling rather, in Utah.
COSTELLO: Get this, 250,000 tickets have already been printed for what will be one of the most historic presidential inaugurations in American history and that has some people digging very deep into their pockets.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the hottest ticket in town, the 2009 presidential inauguration, and it's free. At least it's supposed to be.
(on camera): How much would one of the VIP seats be? $13,000?
(voice-over): Huge demand has turned what's traditionally a giveaway into a thriving online marketplace. Our quick search of the Internet found site after site, many of them legitimate ticket brokers promising a view of Barack Obama being sworn in as the next president for a precious price.
(on camera): I'm looking at reserved VIP, $20,377?
(voice-over): Howard Gantman is the Senate staffer tasked with pulling off Washington's biggest event.
(on camera): Isn't it against the spirit of the event for these tickets to be sold?
HOWARD GANTMAN, JOINT CONG. CMTE. ON INAUGURAL CEREMONIES: Well, we think it's absolutely insane to be selling those tickets. We understand some people want to try to make a buck. But for those people thinking of buying tickets, buyer beware.
KEILAR (voice-over): Ticket brokers are middle men, selling tickets they say they buy from Hill staffers or people who get them free of charge through their members of Congress. But because those tickets are only given out at the last minute, Gantman says brokers can't be sure they will get as many as they've sold.
(on camera): You can end up in a hotel room with nothing more than a refund.
GANTMAN: Quite possibly. There won't -- there are no tickets available now. The tickets will be distributed less than a week before the event.
KEILAR (voice-over): Congressional staffers caught selling theirs could be fired.
GANTMAN: We are going to be alerting all members of Congress that it is against the code of ethics for staff or for members to sell these tickets to the public.
KEILAR: But ultimately, Gantman says, it's inevitable some will be sold and some people will pay cut-throat prices to witness history.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: So you got your cash ready? You're saving up?
COSTELLO: $13,000? That's just crazy.
ROBERTS: Extraordinary. It's a historic event. And you'd never know that the economy was in bad shape when (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: I guess people are already talking train tickets to get to Washington because they want to make sure they get one. It's crazy.
ROBERTS: Plan ahead. Plan ahead.
Nine minutes after the hour right now. We'll be right back.
Extreme weather, Cuba pounded by another major storm. Rob Marciano has the latest on the track of Paloma.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up on 13 minutes after the hour. This just in to CNN.
Bailout news, more of your money going to Wall Street. Christine Romans tracking it for us this morning.
Christine, this is more money to AIG.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Another $40 billion. AIG is the big insurance giant that got billions and billions already of your taxpayer money to help it weather this storm. And now, the government is announcing that it is taking a stake in the insurance giant. That's your money, by the way. $40 billion stake in the company right.
And look at this, it's in return for partial ownership. So this is coming from that bailout money, that $700 billion bailout that allows the government to take stakes directly in companies so it will come out of that recently enacted $700 billion financial package and then in exchange we get a stake in AIG. There were some rumblings about this over the weekend, and there's been a lot of talk that this company was going through an awful lot of those government loans already and that it was kind of burning through all of that money and was going to need some more help. And it looks like they're getting more help.
ROBERTS: You know, we had the CEO Ed Liddy on a couple of weeks ago and he said at that point, "We think we've got all the money we need." I wonder what happened.
ROMANS: It looks like they don't have all the money they needed, and they need another $40 billion of our money to --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Doesn't it look like this bailout isn't exactly working?
ROMANS: You know, I'm going to tell you something that people -- I mean, we're starting to go through with a fine-tooth comb over what's been happening with this bailout. What was passed, the $700 billion that was passed has change and changed again as the weeks have passed. So we're finding out that it's a bailout in a lot of senses of the word and that Wall Street and big companies are getting a massive amount of your money. Lobbyists have been circling around. We knew that from the very beginning. So, I mean, we'll see what it's going to look like in the end.
I want to talk quickly about DHL expecting some job losses there. Job losses across the board. We have that big jobs report on Friday. I wanted to show you sort of what the job situation looks like.
This is what we're fighting, right? A very weak economy with job -- these are the jobs lost this year, 1.2 million. Look at those last three months, half of the jobs lost this year come in those last three months. It's an acceleration of that trend, so every morning we're going to be hearing a couple more companies at least probably saying we're laying off a thousand here, 2,000 there.
COSTELLO: Christine, when you hear stories about people losing their jobs in Ohio and then you see AIG getting more money and those people keeping their jobs, that doesn't mean a happy America.
ROMANS: No. It absolutely doesn't. And I think that there are going to be some real questions asked about this bailout and how it's been -- there already have been real questions asked. But now, now when you're seeing the pain on Main Street and then you talk about these billions flying around in loans for some of these companies, it really -- it really raises a lot of questions.
ROBERTS: We'll have to get Liddy back and ask him what's going on.
ROMANS: I think you're right.
ROBERTS: Right. Christine, thanks so much for that. COSTELLO: I think that would be very interesting.
Thanksgiving still a couple of weeks away but Macy's is gearing up with test flights for some of its newest balloon stars. Horton, Smurf and Buzz Lightyear took flight for the first time over the weekend. They'll be a giant part of the Macy's 82nd annual parade in New York City on Thanksgiving Day.
ROBERTS: Well, no time to celebrate but a time for action. Black churches across the country are challenging congregations to help Barack Obama bring about change.
Sixteen minutes now after the hour.
COSTELLO: Danger zone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That (INAUDIBLE) right there. That ridge line right there. That ridge line all along way over there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A first-ever look at the remote outpost where U.S. troops are trying to stop Taliban forces dead in their tracks.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Once a hurricane, Paloma has been downgraded to a tropical depression. It was a major Category Three storm when it hit Cuba over the weekend with 125 mile an hour winds and torrential rain. The storm flattened homes, caused severe flooding. Paloma is expected to weaken further over the Atlantic as it heads towards the Bahamas. And Rob Marciano is here in New York to tell us more.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Carol Costello? They left the kids alone to play without supervision.
COSTELLO: I know. It's excellent.
MARCIANO: Good to see you. We'll talk a little bit more about Paloma.
This has been a historic storm in many ways. It's the fifth major storm that we've seen this year. But beyond that, we had a major storm in July, we had one in August, we had one in September, we had one October and now we have one in November and we've never done that as far as records are being kept. And Cuba has felt the brunt of it, and this is some of the damage that you see here.
Where is Paloma right now? Well, it's really weakened quite rapidly. Strong jet stream winds just tearing this thing apart as in the mountains of Cuba. There it is, about 200 miles from the southwestern corner of the Bahamas. And we're really not going to have to worry about this hopefully too much more.
All right. Northeast, well, let's talk about that. It's been a kind of comfortably cool past couple of days, dry weather.
First off, this is interesting. 2008 hurricane season, we had 60 named storms. That ties for fourth in the last 64 years, 65 years. Hurricanes we've had eight. That ties for 11.
Major hurricanes fifth, five that ties for eight. And then the list goes on. Basically, we had a pretty active season as you can see from this list ranking most cases in the top ten.
All right. Here you go. Northeast, some snow in the upstate area, especially Lake Erie in Ontario. So lake-effect snow showers will continue throughout the day today and it will be cool across parts of the major metropolitan area. Down towards Dallas, we're looking for showers and thunderstorms there. Potentially some severe weather across the plains. Pretty strong storm system right now moving out of the Colorado Rockies where some ski resorts have opened already for the first time.
COSTELLO: No.
MARCIANO: We'll have video of that in about an hour.
COSTELLO: Wasn't it a lousy season last season?
ROBERTS: No, it was the best in decades, it's crazy.
COSTELLO: That's what I know.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes.
MARCIANO: In fact, I was so happy that there are some resorts in Colorado.
ROBERTS: Historic last year.
COSTELLO: I'm under attack.
ROBERTS: But I detected a fact-finding mission on Rob's part --
MARCIANO: Investigative report, no doubt about it.
ROBERTS: Right. Thanks, Rob.
News happening now from around the world. And here's something that you don't see everyday, a knockdown drag out fight between monks.
Armenian and Greek Orthodox monks got into it on Sunday at one of Jerusalem's holiest churches. Israeli riot police were called in. Two clergymen were arrested. Tensions often run high among the various religious groups responsible for maintaining this site. Oh, really?
In Haiti, crews are searching for survivors trapped in the rubble of a three-story school building. Officials say at least 93 people died in the collapse on Friday. About 700 people were on the school grounds when the disaster occurred.
In Russia, Navy officials say a faulty fire system was the cause of an accident that killed 20 people on board a nuclear submarine being tested in the sea of Japan. Officials say the submarine itself was not damaged and that the accident never posed any danger of a radiation release.
COSTELLO: Washington is chock-full of lawyers and plenty of them want Barack Obama to make them the next attorney general. So who's on the short list? We'll check just ahead.
It's 22 minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: Bailing out the big three.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It simply makes no sense to send that kind of message to the private sector.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Congress steps up efforts to send billions to Detroit to jumpstart automakers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PODESTA, CO-CHAIR, OBAMA TRANSITION TEAM: We need to do more to try to stabilize the industry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, like anyone in a position of power, every good president needs a good set of legal minds. For President-elect Obama, the top person on that team will be the next attorney general.
AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin is here this morning to check names that are likely to be on that short list.
Good morning, Sunny.
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.
ROBERTS: So what are you hearing?
HOSTIN: I am hearing the same names over and over and over again. At the top of almost everyone's list, Eric Holder. Eric Holder, Eric Holder, Eric Holder. Of course, he used to be the U.S. attorney of the District of Columbia where I came from, that was my office. But he also was Obama's vice presidential chair for his search. And so, that really, really goes to tell you how Obama certainly values him. He went to Columbia Law School where Obama went to undergrad.
ROBERTS: He was also deputy attorney general as well in the Clinton administration.
HOSTIN: He was -- exactly. He was a deputy attorney general. I think what's interesting is he was also the acting attorney general for a short, short period of time when Ashcroft was being confirmed. So he's done the job already and he also has support not only from Democrats but also from Republicans. So I have to say it's the name that everyone is bringing up. I've spoken to about 10 to 12 people and the first thing that they say is Eric Holder.
ROBERTS: One little issue, though, he was involved in that controversial pardon of Marc Rich at the very end of the Clinton administration. That will probably come up in confirmation.
HOSTIN: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I will say when I say to folks, they did say that that was likely to come up.
Is it a deal breaker? I don't think so. Is it going to come up during confirmation hearings? Absolutely.
He's in private practice right now at Covington & Burling, and his wife has a position. So I would say, you know, typically the jump from private practice to government is difficult financially but for him that may not be the issue. Would he turn down the job? I think it's his for the taking?
ROBERTS: You had a couple of other people on the list. Governor Janet Napolitano and...
HOSTIN: Yes.
ROBERTS: ... Governor Deval Patrick.
HOSTIN: Yes. And actually Deval Patrick is supposedly very, very good friends with our President-elect Obama. He is also a Harvard Law grad. He was the general counsel at Texaco and Coca-Cola, which is interesting, John, because that means he's sort of have this big litigation type experience running a business. And the Justice Department, most people don't realize, that's a huge, huge, huge job to be the attorney general.
ROBERTS: Right. Napolitano, she knows a lot about immigration laws.
HOSTIN: She certainly knows a lot about immigration law. People are saying, you know, she would be a good choice. We know that we've had one female attorney general, Janet Reno, who, by all accounts, did a wonderful job.
She's a former U.S. attorney. For that job, for attorney general, you really need federal prosecutorial experience. She has that. She's been Arizona's first female attorney general, University of Virginia's School of Law graduate. She would sort of lend some gender balance to the president-elect's cabinet. People are mentioning that, but I got to say my pick, Eric Holder.
ROBERTS: Holder's name comes up for another potential position as well, up here (INAUDIBLE) attorney general, White House counsel.
HOSTIN: Yes, yes. It's interesting because I asked also, you know, about White House counsel. Eric Holder's name comes up again. Either job I think is his for the taking. Mark Alexander's name comes up. Robert Bauer's name comes up, but Eric Holder at the top of that list as well.
ROBERTS: Just quickly, brief us on on who Alexander and Bauer are.
HOSTIN: Sure. They are both, I think we have a full screen here. They both have exceptional experience. Mark Alexander, Robert Bauer, both attorneys. I think though I have to say top of the list, Eric Holder.
ROBERTS: Right. Well, they got political experience as well, because Alexander led Corey Booker's campaign. He also worked in the Bill Bradley campaign.
Robert Bauer, a powerful attorney in Washington, lot of people know him. He was on the Bill Bradley for President Committee as well.
HOSTIN: That's true. They both have very, very good, you know, political experience and they're also legal minds. And you want that certainly as White House counsel.
ROBERTS: All right. Sunny Hostin for us this morning. Sunny, thanks so much for that.
HOSTIN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: But it's going to be Eric Holder.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Well, not for White House counsel.
COSTELLO: No, not for White House counsel but for attorney general.
It's 29 minutes after the hour. Here are this morning's top stories.
Just in to CNN, another bailout for troubled insurance AIG. It will receive another $40 billion from the government in return for partial ownership. That money will come from Congress' recently passed $700 billion bailout package.
Could be a Black Monday for some 8,000 employees at package delivery company DHL's Wilmington, Ohio, hub. The German parent company of DHL is ordering job cuts to offset fuel costs and more than $1.5 billion losses for the year.
Promising new research for those with heart disease. Scientists said Brigham and Women's Hospital give patients preventative doses of statin, a drug normally used to lower cholesterol. The result, heart attacks and strokes cut by 50 percent. The study spanned 26 countries and almost 18 thousand people.
The National Heart and Lung and Blood Institute will consider the findings the next year, as it revises its heart disease treatment guidelines.
Now the problem facing President-elect Obama, the troubled U.S. auto industry. How can it be fixed? Does it deserve a federal bailout?
CNN's Brooke Baldwin has more.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Carol, good morning. Executives at Detroit's big three say their situation is urgent. They say they need a federal government bailout to survive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN (voice-over): At the White House today, the first meeting between the President-elect and the President. At the top of the agenda, the economy. According to one member of Barack Obama's transition team, among the questions, how to heal the ailing automotive industry.
JOHN PODESTA, OBAMA TRANSITION TEAM: The President-elect has said that we need to do more to try to stabilize the industry as we begin to come up with a program so that they become stable companies once again. They're the backbone of the American manufacturing industry.
BALDWIN: Friday, two of the big three posted third quarter losses in the billions. Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary asking Henry Paulson to consider a quick cash infusion for car companies. They suggest the money could come from the $700 billion bank bailout, an idea Secretary Paulson previously opposed.
The letter read, "Congress granted you broad discretion to purchase or make commitments to purchase financial instruments you determine necessary to restore financial market stability. A healthy automobile manufacturing sector is essential to the restoration of financial market stability, the overall health of our economy, and the livelihood of the automobile sector's workforce."
PETER MORICI, ECONOMIST, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have been some of the worst-run companies in America. That's why they're in the fix that they're in.
BALDWIN: Economist Peter Morici contends a bailout is more like a handout. He says Detroit's big three have hemorrhaged billions through the years. So, sending these car companies quick cash, Morici says, conveys a terrible message to the rest of the country's private sector.
MORICI: That you can pay your workers too much, you can have sloppy management, you can be slow to the market with new products and the government will bail you out. It simply makes no sense to send that kind of message to private sector in America.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: The Treasury Department's spokesperson has responded to Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid's letter, saying, quote, "We continue to work on a strategy that most effectively deploys the remaining TARP funds to strengthen the financial system and get lending going again."
TARP is an acronym for Troubled Asset Release Program and President-elect Barack Obama has already pledged his support behind the ailing automotive industry. The question now is when will that support come and when it does, will it be too late -- John, Carol.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks very much, Brooke Baldwin this morning.
We are hearing the first on plans for the war in Iraq since Barack Obama won the election. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid talked exclusively to our John King, saying that bringing American troops home must be a priority.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: I think we've all had enough of the war in Iraq. As we speak, this little short interview, the American people are paying $5,000 a second every hour of the day, every week of the month, every month of the year. $5,000 a second. $10 or $12 billion a month. So, we're going to bring our troops home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Reid also said the U.S. forces will have to be brought home on a timeline. Iraq is only one of two wars under the new president's command. Battles in Afghanistan continue to rage, especially along the country's lawless border with Pakistan. Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr gives us an exclusive look now at the mountains dividing the two countries, where few people dare to tread.
Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, Carol, we came here to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border get a firsthand look at the challenge this war poses for President-elect Barack Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): This is one of the most dangerous areas in the Afghanistan war, the border with Pakistan. We are in a heavily- armed helicopter with Major General Jeffrey Schloesser, landing on top of a 7,000-foot mountain peak. This is combat outpost Malakashay.
Just a few dozen of Schloesser's 101st Airborne Division troops defend this tiny plot of land. CNN is the first news crew Schloesser has brought here.
MAJ. GEN. JEFFREY SCHLOESSER, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION COMMANDER: That's Pakistan right there, that ridge line right there, that ridge line all along the way over there.
STARR: All along these mountain passes are insurgent rat lines. Taliban and foreign fighters in Pakistan take these routes into Afghanistan. The soldiers try to stop them. Schloesser's men have been in firefights with shockingly bold insurgents.
SCHLOESSER: They came up here and they attacked this outpost.
STARR: We are sitting on sandbags on top of the guard tower. Underneath us, more soldiers keep their eyes and weapons trained on the border.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: You see that one leaving to the left?
STARR: Attacks are up 30 percent in this region since last year.
SCHLOESSER: Still it's far more than I'm willing to accept.
STARR: Schloesser says foreign fighters crossing the border are better trained and better equipped than ever before. He has identified six areas in eastern Afghanistan where insurgents gather and train. Schloesser's message to President-elect Barack Obama, send more troops and deal with the problem on both sides of these violent mountains.
SCHLOESSER: The potential solution here is going to have to be a regional solution.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all know that you're far out here at the end.
STARR: Schloesser is one of the few generals who has already briefed Obama when he came to Afghanistan earlier this year. There's one thing he wants the President-elect to know about the men of combat outpost Malakashay.
SCHLOESSER: What I would want him to know that at 7,500 feet with 40 pounds of gear on and literally at the edge of the frontier, that there are young Americans out here doing incredible things.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Thanks for an awful lot of work.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Thank you, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: All right.
(END VIDEOTAPE) STARR: U.S. commanders really are unanimous in one recommendation to the President-elect -- more U.S. troops alone will not win this war. It will take more Afghan troops and billions of dollars in aid and reconstruction -- John, Carol.
COSTELLO: And another Republican has re-emerged after last week's thumping at the polls -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He sat down with our John King for another exclusive and talked about what it's like living with his wife Maria Shriver, who is an Obama supporter. And it's a fair to say, John wasn't exactly ready for what the governor would say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Thank you for your time, to begin with.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: You're welcome.
KING: Is Maria has bragging rights in the house right now, is that a fair statement?
SCHWARZENEGGER: Oh, I would say so. I think that Maria is gloating now for these last few days and it's been very tough for me because she's running around the house with a cutout, a life-size cutout of Obama. You know, we won, we won, Obama won. All of those kind of things. So -- but then, luckily, I can get back into the bedroom. So, that's the big advantage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And he's saying hallelujah this morning.
ROBERTS: I didn't know he was sleeping on the couch for so long.
COSTELLO: Maria was hard-core. She was sleeping with the Obama cutout.
ROBERTS: Oh my goodness.
COSTELLO: I'm just kidding.
ROBERTS: There you are.
Controversial figure puts his voice behind Barack Obama. With the election over, what does the support of Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan mean for the President-elect? We'll tell you.
COSTELLO: What can Barack Obama do for American veterans? They're using Veterans Day to appeal for change in the new administration.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: That's what you do with your trash. You toss it at the camera. Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning" After months, controversial minister for the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan is breaking his silence over the election. Now he says Obama must reach out once in office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, NATION OF ISLAM: I believe President- elect Obama is going to have to get everyone involved because the job of helping him is not just with his cabinet or Congress, the job of helping this nation out of its condition is a responsibility that everyone has something to do about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: During the early stages of the campaign when Farrakhan spoke out in support of Obama, his campaign was quick to distance itself from the controversial minister who has now admitted that he stayed quiet fearing his support would hurt President-elect Obama.
COSTELLO: And after breaking ties with their church and its controversial pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, in May, the Obamas did not attend services yesterday in Chicago. But on the first Sunday after the election, black ministers across the country celebrated Obama's victory from the pulpit and challenged their congregations.
Our Chris Lawrence visited with parishioners in Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): What we're hearing from the black churches is a real message to the community on what to do now that the election is over.
(voice-over): Across the country, black churches are celebrating.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President-elect Barack Obama, thank you, America!
LAWRENCE: From the pulpit and pews, there's a renewed sense of patriotism.
But between the songs and sermons, pastors are challenging their churches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doesn't mean that yes, we can is now yes, we did.
LAWRENCE: After a record number of African-Americans voted, the question is what now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) our participation.
LAWRENCE: Pastor John Hunter lowered expectation for Obama's first 100 days. He told his congregation not to expect economic miracles or special treatment. JOHN HUNTER, PASTOR: We need to be reminded within the African- American community that Barack Obama is going to be everybody's president.
LAWRENCE: Hunter told black voters to find their place within the diverse coalition that Obama assembled, and on Sunday, pastor singled out one such group for praise.
HUNTER: That were it not for the support of Hispanics and Latinos, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and even parts of California could not have been carried.
LAWRENCE: The sermons focused on personal responsibility. Some say while discrimination still exists, it can't be blamed for not succeeding.
BENNY REEMS, PARISHIONER: I don't think that's apropos now. We've got to say "I can".
RUBY BROWN, WORSHIPPER: We have to do away with all the excuses that if you can ascend to the presidency, you can ascend to anything.
LAWRENCE: That was always the hope as Martin Luther King's sister explained in Atlanta.
CHRISTINE KING-FARRIS, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S SISTER: He said, I may not get there with you, but we as a people will see the Promised Land. This is symbolic of the Promised Land for us.
LAWRENCE (on camera): One of the pastors seemed to sum it all up when he told the congregation, inspiration is nothing if it's not followed up by greater aspirations. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Warning shots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The economy overshadowed the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Veterans call for big changes from the new administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't see that somebody is emotionally disabled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Veterans Day is tomorrow. And this year, the men and women who fought for this country want to make sure that its new President-elect will be fighting for them. CNN's Kate Bolduan has got that story for us this morning.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John, Carol, Veterans Day is a time to honor all of the men and women who have served and fought for this country. And Veterans are hoping this attention will stretch far beyond just one day into the new administration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
This is the one in a million that, you know, is basically why I'm still standing here today, but you can see literally where the bullet went.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): During Todd Bowers' second tour of duty in Iraq, he narrowly missed death by less than an inch. He knows how much veterans risk.
TODD BOWERS, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: It is so critical for the American public to understand that the sacrifices that we make to keep our country in this amazing place where we are.
BOLDUAN: Bill Crandell served in a very different war, Vietnam.
BILL CRANDELL, VIETNAM WAR VETERAN: There's a very long time when it felt like just yesterday.
BOLDUAN: But like Bowers, Crandell hopes this administration is a new opportunity to refocus attention on their priorities like revamping the Department of Veterans Affairs.
CRANDELL: There's a tendency of presidents and their staff to see this as basically an operation that you don't have to pay attention to.
BOLDUAN: President-elect Barack Obama and his wife campaigned on a promise to help the country's service members.
OBAMA: Now we must ensure that our brave troops serving abroad today become the backbone of our middle class at home tomorrow.
BOLDUAN: Bowers says the top priority should be better funding to help the thousands of aging veterans and the thousands more new veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. He also wants more money and emphasis placed on mental health issues.
CRANDELL: The VA has always had something of a bias towards visible injuries. You can't see that somebody is emotionally disabled.
BOLDUAN: Another priority, fully implementing the new GI bill which expands veterans education benefits. But even with wars raging in Iraq and Afghanistan, there's concern among veterans that these issues will get pushed aside.
BOWERS: The economy overshadowed the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and veterans returning from those conflicts as a whole.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: The first decision for Obama is leadership. Who will be the next secretary of Veterans Affairs? Two names considered real responsibilities are Max Cleland, who held the position in the Carter administration and Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war vet who's the director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs -- John, Carol.
ROBERTS: Creating a wired presidency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I know this change is possible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the days of a just a Saturday morning radio address and an occasional press conference are over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: How the Obama administration is reaching out to you. It's politics 2.0.
And paying for the promises -- tax cuts, health care, energy, as the debt stacks up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can Democrats deliver on those promises?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And will you get hit with the tab? It's our memo to the president. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Governor Sarah Palin is blaming the Bush administration for losing the Republican ticket. She said the national debt and the Iraq war are reasons why voters were disenchanted with the Republican Party. She also reacted to insults from some anonymous McCain campaign staffers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: That's cruel. It's mean-spirited. It's immature, it's unprofessional and most guys are jerks if they came away with it, taking things out of context and then try to spread something on national news. It's not fair and not right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, just how are conservative women reacting to these attacks on Palin? Joining me now CNN political analyst, Tara Wall. She's in Washington. And in New Orleans, Julia Reed, who's with wowowow.com. She's a contributor there.
Welcome to both of you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Good morning.
COSTELLO: So Sarah Palin made no bones about. She called these anonymous sources jerks. And she's not going away any time soon. She has more interviews scheduled. She's talking a blue streak.
Julia, what is she trying to do?
JULIA REED, CONTRIBUTOR, WOWOWOW.COM: Well, I think she's fighting back from -- I mean, the McCain campaign really sort of mismanaged her from the very beginning. And she's certainly not going to sit still. I mean, she's the governor of a state. She's not going to sit still while people, like you say, anonymous sources and not so anonymous sources from the McCain campaign tell "Newsweek" and other publications, you know, sort of call her a hillbilly from Wasilla and that kind of stuff. I mean, I think she's right to snap back, attack. It's ridiculous to have her blame for the demise of the McCain campaign, when they did that very handily down their own. And there's no way that he could have had Jesus Christ running with him and he wouldn't have won for presidency.
COSTELLO: Well, Tara, let me ask you this. I mean, Sarah Palin is partly to blame for the mistakes made in the campaign. I mean, she's blaming everybody else. She's blaming the media, she's blaming people on the McCain staff. Isn't some of this her fault?
TARA WALL, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first of all, I don't believe that she's so much blaming others as defending herself and trying to defend and salvage her reputation. I think, you know, this pettiness if you even believe half of it, really is indicative of just, you know, sour grapes of folks who are looking for jobs and wanting to point fingers.
That being said -- I mean, she did start off a bit handicapped, and that she didn't have the national foreign policy, that kind of experience needed for a national campaign.
COSTELLO: So why doesn't she just come out and say that? Say, look, I wasn't prepared for some things. Instead -- I mean, she's using the gender card a lot, don't you think?
WALL: Well, I think that -- look, I'm shocked that more feminists, so to speak, have not come by her side and defended her. I think there have been legitimate concerns that she is raised as relates to how she has been covered and whether sexism has played a role. I think it does get to a point sometimes where it does sound a bit whiny, but she is -- after this, she is in the midst of trying to salvage herself and her reputation. At some point she has got to say down and say, OK, enough is enough, let's move forward, enough of the campaigning.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: In fact, Julia, I want to ask you about John McCain because privately he has said some things in defense of Sarah Palin, but he hasn't said it in a public way. Should he do that?
REED: Well, I think it doesn't matter anymore. I mean, John McCain is now no longer really relevant in this party as the leader. I mean, there's no way he'll ever run for president again. I mean, Sarah Palin and young governors out there are the future of this party.
But to back to your gender thing, she was victimized by, you know, the gender card a little bit in the beginning. I mean, feminists who did not like the way she thought. You know, pro-life. I mean, you know, they objected the fact that she was a pro-life candidate. They attacked her for not being the right kind of woman.
And, you know, now -- I don't think it's quite all right to say she's playing the gender card. I think she's defending herself a little bit just like Hillary Clinton did, saying, you know, all these guys are up on the stage picking on me. I mean, this is only the second woman ever in the history of the country to be on a ticket. I mean, Hillary Clinton was not actually the nominee. I mean, it's hard to balance it.
(CROSSTALK)
WALL: And whether you agree with her or not --
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: Tara, before we go on, I really want to get this question. It's because I'm interested in this. The Republicans were trying to attract women to the McCain campaign, to the Republican Party by naming Sarah Palin the vice presidential candidate. Now, Republicans are attacking Sarah Palin. Won't this drive Republican women from the party even more?
REED: No, no, no, that's ridiculous. I mean, I don't think that -- I mean, like I said, the election is over now. Nobody is going to leave the party. This woman has gone back to being the governor of Alaska. People aren't going to leave the party because she was the nominee. McCain did -- you know, they made it sort of a last-minute choice with her. They thought it would energize the party. It could -- if the campaign had handled her better, it could have -- looked at the convention bounce that he got largely because of the Palin pick. And there are women out there in the country that really have come to her defense.
Not even necessarily, though, that agrees with her. On our Web site right now, there's a conversation led by people like Marlo Thomas who were huge Hillary supporters, who have come to her defense and say, look, she is dynamic. She's moved the needle a little bit forward. She was, in fact, you know, a vice presidential nominee which has not happened in the party before. COSTELLO: Well, Tara, last word in. I mean, and by -- what I was trying to say is because some Republicans are attacking Sarah Palin, will that alienate Republican women who are loyal to the party?
WALL: I think there are some conservative women that are independents who have had concerns with her. And this certainly does not help to feed into the perception that Republicans have problems reaching out to women. And I think that what the party needs to do once it gets a new leader is really rally behind her and determine what role she will play in future Republican politics. I do think that she is a rising star. She will be a bright star in the party -- within the party. They now need to set aside all the partisan bickering between themselves, and put it aside, and move forward as a party to unify.
COSTELLO: Yes. We'll see what happens. Tara Wall, Julia Reed, thanks so much for joining us.
