Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
White House Welcome for the Obamas; Gun Sales Spike on Fear of an Obama Presidency; Stop for Troops Gives Heroes' Welcome
Aired November 11, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Clinging to guns. Why so many gun owners are loading up and afraid of a Barack Obama presidency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't work (ph) to the average Americans to have the right to defend themselves.
CHETRY: Plus, a special look inside. The home office for history.
JACQUELINE KENNEDY, FORMER FIRST LADY: I don't think the White House makes me belong to one state. It belongs to the people now.
CHETRY: The White House opens its doors to the nation's first black president on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Welcome. It's Tuesday, November 11th. I'm Kiran Chetry on this Veterans Day. Glad you're with us.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Good morning, I'm John Roberts.
We begin today with issue number one, your money. Remember when people said that we have seen the end of $3 gallon gas? Well, it appears we have. Gasoline prices sinking to their lowest level in 21 months. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular now $2.22. That is down an additional two cents overnight. It's the 55th consecutive decrease.
More than 40 California lawmakers are calling on the state Supreme Court to void Proposition 8 which bans same-sex marriage. They contend the revision to the state constitution must first be passed by two-thirds of the legislature before it goes to voters. Supporters of the proposition called the suits "patently frivolous." Some 18,000 same sex marriages hang in the balance.
A federal judge ruling against the Bush administration in a case involving potentially millions of missing e-mails. The judge says the civil case brought by two private watchdog groups can proceed. They're trying to force the White House to retrieve the deleted messages before it's too late. The White House is reportedly missing as many as 225 days of e-mail dating back to 2003 and the run-up to the Iraq war. CHETRY: And now to "the "Most Politics in the Morning." President-elect Barack Obama is in Chicago this morning getting back to the business of his transition after a timeout for history. The president-elect and Mrs. Obama were welcomed at the White House Monday by President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.
Obama and the president met privately in the Oval Office. The "New York Times" is reporting Obama asked the president for immediate aid for the struggling auto industry.
CNN's Ed Henry is live at the White House. And is that something that the president is open to right now, Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kiran. Well, the "New York Times" suggests the president may be more open to it if Democrats sweeten the pot by adding a deal on his Colombian free trade pact which has been stalled on Capitol Hill. So when you peel this back, what's interesting beyond this one issue is the fact that it appears these two leaders just a couple of weeks ago were diametrically opposed on all kinds of issues. Now that seem to be forming what's a very surprising partnership.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): President Bush had predicted a stirring sight when the first African-American president-elect arrived at the White House, and he was right as both men appeared committed to healing any lingering tension from the sometimes bitter campaign.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: They're being gracious about it. And I think you're going to see an unusual degree of good spirit.
HENRY: So much excitement that people literally pressed their noses up to the gates to try and get a glimpse. Hours before, the two leaders took the long walk alone for the future president's first-ever visit to the Oval Office which lasted more than an hour as they discussed the financial crisis and national security.
DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I don't think any of us can understand what it's like between -- for two people who are now going to be in a very small club, who understand what it's like to be the commander in chief.
HENRY: An unlikely alliance, but the two men forged something of a bond at their first White House meeting in 2005 at a reception for freshman senators. The president warned Obama to get ready for the increased scrutiny, advise that proved pressing it. And now, the two men have an incentive to work together.
GERGEN: Automobile sales are down to the worst level in a quarter of a century. This is very serious stuff. And I think you'll see Bush and Obama working well together in the next few weeks.
HENRY: They also want to cooperate because this is the first handoff since 9/11, and both men know there were terror attacks in Spain and Scotland during transfers of power.
PERINO: We really want to make sure that we work with them through joint exercises, through providing briefings so that when we hand the baton to them they are able to move forward and continue to protect the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now White House aides say that the president has been saying in private that he sees this almost like a relay race. And he wants to make sure that two things do not happen. He does not want anyone to drop the baton during the handoff, and he also wants to make sure that nobody breaks stride. He's very concerned about al-Qaeda or some other terror group trying to take advantage of this transition -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Ed Henry for us this morning at the White House. Thanks so much.
Well, meantime, Governor Sarah Palin is back at her day job in Alaska trying to put the campaign controversies behind her. The governor giving a series of post election TV interviews and she seems in these interviews to be open to a future run for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray. I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is, even if it's cracked up a little bit maybe I'll plow right on through that and maybe prematurely plow through it. But don't let me miss an open door.
And if there is an open door in 12 or four years later and if it's something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Palin also went on to say that she neither wanted nor asked for the $150,000 wardrobe the Republican Party bankrolled.
Also a programming note. Wolf Blitzer is going to be interviewing Governor Palin tomorrow on "THE SITUATION ROOM" right here on CNN.
ROBERTS: Well, American Express is getting the go ahead from the Federal Reserve to become a bank. The move opens the door for the struggling credit card giant to apply for a piece of the $250 billion government bailout of financial institutions. American Express lends directly to its credit card consumers and has lost nearly half its market value this year because of growing credit card defaults. In September, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley also changed their status to become banks.
McDonald's making a fast buck during the economic crisis. The fast food giant reporting sales worldwide jumped more than eight percent last month beating the company's own predictions. In the United States, sales were up more than five percent. The company credits its dollar menu for helping to boost its sales.
Well, Citigroup rolling out a new program to help homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments. The focus will be on customers who live in areas where home values have fallen sharply and job losses have spiked.
CNN's Christine Romans here this morning "Minding Your Business." Good morning to you.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. And dedicating 600 sales people to help people work through their loans. It's called a mortgage workout. And Citi just the latest big bank to decide that it's going to try to do more to prevent the foreclosure crisis from getting worse.
It's initiating a moratorium on most eligible loans now that are close to foreclosure, are falling into foreclosure. And then it's going to additionally reach out to 500,000 homeowners who might be making their payments now but Citi thinks might be in trouble in the future. It's going to work out loans totaling $20 billion and extend that moratorium on foreclosures.
Now, for those 500,000 people who it's going to reach out to, you must be in your primary residence. You must be working in good faith with this company. You must be showing that you have an income and that you are capable of at least making some payment. So Citigroup joining Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase in trying to cut back on this.
Now Bloomberg with an interesting story this morning, John, that Fannie and Freddie might be considering a plan to reduce payments to people who are in trouble to about 38 percent of their income. We've got calls into Fannie and Freddie to find out more details about this. It's something that has not been announced yet. It's something that is not down on paper, but it looks like something they're considering, helping people lowering their principal, reducing interest rates, extending loans again.
Bloomberg reporting that Fannie and Freddie might be close to some kind of announcement that it is trying to reduce people's -- people who are in trouble, reduce their loans to about 38 percent of their income. This is, of course, only after they have proven that they can pay three times in a row, proven that they can pay back this loan if it has worked out.
So you can see across the industry there is a real push right now to try to get these loans modified. And to date, a lot of the programs, John, that we've had have not been quite as successful as people would have hoped.
ROBERTS: All right. Looking forward to what else you can find out.
ROMANS: Right.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.
Seven minutes now after the hour.
CHETRY: Double barrel action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says he's a friend to gun owners, and his record is completely contrary to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't work (ph) to the average American to have the right to defend themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Gun sales spike after the election amid fears an Obama administration would push restrictions on firearms.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "ARMY OF DARKNESS")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, you (INAUDIBLE) screw heads. Listen up. See this? This is my broomstick. The 12-gauge double- barrel Remington, S marks top of the line. You can find this in the sporting goods department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." In these tough economic times, it is the sporting good stores that are doing incredibly well. In the months leading up to election and in the days after, sales of firearms have reached record levels and the run on guns for the most part has to do with fears of what a new Obama administration may bring. Here's CNN's Kelli Arena with the details on that.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Good morning, Kiran.
The gun enthusiasts across the country are stocking up on firearms. Many are afraid of losing their rights.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): Barack Obama won and Kyle Lewandowski bought a gun.
KYLE LEWANDOWSKI, GUN BUYER: Every election year you have to worry about your rights being eroded away a little bit at a time.
ARENA: The Virginia resident is worried that an Obama administration and a Democrat-controlled Congress will pass tough new gun laws. And he's not alone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was here for Y2K, September 11th, Katrina. Then all those were big events and we did notice a spike in business but nothing on the order of what we're seeing right now.
ARENA: In the days following the election, gun sales went through the roof. Background checks for gun purchases shot up nearly 49 percent from the same time last year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He says he's a friend to gun owners, and his record is completely contrary to that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't work (ph) to the average American to have the right to defend themselves.
ARENA: During the campaign, the NRA warned that Obama would be the biggest anti-gun president in American history. This is what Obama has said.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: I believe that the Second Amendment means something. I do think that it speaks to an individual right.
ARENA: So what exactly are his policies? Well, Obama wants to revise and make permanent the ban on assault weapons. He supports a national ban on concealed weapons. And Obama supports the rights of local governments to set their own gun laws.
But the Obama team says that gun control is not high on its list of priorities and that it's focusing on things like the economy and health care. Still, people like Kyle Lewandowski aren't taking any chances.
LEWANDOWSKI: Maybe into the second year, I mean, Clinton didn't do anything until his second year in office.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ARENA: Gun advocates fear that even if the Obama team doesn't mess with gun rights that it may hurt them in other ways, like raising taxes on things like ammunition. Now, the president-elect has not said that he would do that but many gun owners just are not convinced -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Kelli Arena for us. Thanks.
Well, parents traveling with children will be getting some special treatment at airports across the country this season. We're going to see what's in store for families at security checkpoints.
Also, a historic housewarming. A look at the Obama's first trip to their future home and the meeting between the incoming and outgoing president.
It's 13 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MUSIC: It's the most wonderful time of the year.
CHETRY: Or is it if you're traveling. Well, it's fifteen minutes past the hour.
Now just in time for the peak holiday travel season, the Transportation Security Administration is opening what they're calling family lanes at airport checkpoints nationwide. These lanes are designed to ease stress for parents that are traveling with children during the year's busiest travel period. The family lanes will be open in every large and midsize airport by November 28th, and remain in place permanently. Many will feature a system to help parents who can now also take their time through the checkpoints.
And Rob Marciano is watching the weather for us in Atlanta. You got me thinking, Rob, that you guys must love it too. You single guys with nothing but a garment bag, then you don't worry about getting stuck behind a family of six, you know.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, you got to love family. You got to love kids. But you have to pick which line to take very strategically. We stay away from the strollers, that's for sure.
Hey, Kiran, a couple of places where there are going to be some travel delays. Dallas, I think could be one of them. Houston too, except if you're traveling American, Continental, those will be issues.
Northeast looks good, but this is a nasty storm. It really stretches from almost the Canadian border all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Classic comma shape and has some good structure to it.
Dallas thunderstorms rolling in and out right or across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and this would go on for the next several hours. So it won't be just sliding right across and it'll be done. It will go right through rush hour at least.
Little Rock up through Memphis, St. Louis as well. These are your run of the mill showers and thunderstorms, but they will be hanging around for a good chunk of the day too.
The back side of this storm will have some snow. Winter weather advisories up for the northern plains as the nasty mix of rain, sleet, freezing rain and some snow; 52 Denver. It will be 50 degrees in New York, so kind of chilly. A little bit more blues sliding further south on the weather map. That's for sure.
And the Pacific Northwest, we'll talk more about this in the later hours. A pretty strong storm system moving this way. Rain, wind and higher elevations snows.
So we're getting more active in the weather department if you're traveling today. Be safe and always be patient, especially when the families are in front. Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: You sound like you work for the airlines now. All right. Rob, thanks.
MARCIANO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Whenever I go through security, I get in line behind the strollers because if anybody knows how to handle their stuff, it's a traveling mom. God bless you.
Whenever they're called, no matter the day, one group of volunteers is there to offer our troops a cheer, a handshake and a thank you. Hear their story on this Veterans Day.
And America's vice president. The constitution says little about the job's responsibility, so what role will Joe Biden play in Obama's administration? We'll find out.
Eighteen minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A live look at the Capitol building as Americans today honor U.S. troops past and present from the Capitol building to a live look now at the USS Intrepid here in Manhattan.
President Bush will visit the ship later on today to mark Veterans Day. And our Heidi Collins will be broadcasting live from there beginning at 9:00 this morning, by the way.
Meantime, at the tiny international airport in Bangor, Maine, one group of volunteers is making sure every Marine sailor and soldier who has answered the call of duty gets a heroes' welcome back home. The story now from CNN photo journalist Bob Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The plane landed a few minutes ago. Now that they are coming home we're going over. We need to welcome them home or welcome them to Bangor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And welcome to Bangor, Maine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We come out in rain, snow or shine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any and all weapons remain on board.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Greet the troops and thank them for what they do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just line up here and applaud when we see them come around the corner.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should be coming down the alley way here momentarily. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here they come.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, sir. Welcome to Maine.
Welcome to Maine, buddy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome home, buddy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you doing today, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're the main troop greeters.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we've been doing it since Desert Storm '91.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How long have you been away?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: A long time. I did back to back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then during this time (ph) in 2003.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to see the smiling faces. This is the good part. You're home.
Thank you, everyone. Thank you for your service.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, ma'am. How are you doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to be back, huh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many hands did you think you've shaken?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Half a million. I don't know.
Good morning. Brings a smile to their faces, you know, that someone's here and someone cares.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: This is fantastic. These people are worth coming down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their planes come here because it's the closest point to Europe, and they refuel and food and all that stuff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All they do is put an I.D. card down and pick up a phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: Hey, pops, how's it going?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: Hey, are your home?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: We are state side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: Pick up the phone if you're there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: I'm in Bangor, Maine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: Come out here and shaking our hand is just really -- it's just a real boost for our morale.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like it's important for them to know how much we appreciate what they do for us.
Bye-bye. Take care. Travel safely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll do this until this thing ends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See you on another trip.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it ended tomorrow that would be fine. If it don't, we're going to be here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Well to see more of these unique stories about the struggles, service and success of our nation's veterans and the loved ones around them, check out Veterans in Focus at CNN.com/am.
CHETRY: A plea to bail out the troubled auto industry. How did President Bush respond to Barack Obama's request during their White House meeting Monday? Our political experts weigh in.
Speaking his mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Benefit above all others that Joe Biden will bring to the new administration is he will tell President Obama what he thinks good, bad or indifferent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Talking the talk in Washington, will Joe Biden walk in the president's inner circle at the White House?
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-five and a half minutes after the hour and welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." Barack Obama back home in Chicago today after paying a visit to his future home. President-elect met privately with President Bush at the White House and he reportedly made an appeal on behalf of financially-strapped automakers.
Joining us now from Washington, Republican strategist and CNN political contributor Bay Buchanan, and from Princeton, New Jersey, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, associate professor at Princeton.
Good morning to both of you. So we learned a little bit about what happened in that private meeting yesterday. Apparently, President-elect Obama made an appeal to President Bush to bail out the automakers. President Bush said, well, I might consider that if you consider signing on the Columbia free trade deal. Senator and President-elect Obama also pushing a second stimulus package.
Bay, does this give us some kind of an idea of how he would govern? Sounds like a lot of government intervention and involvement in our futures?
BAY BUCHANAN, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: There's no question that that is something that Obama, I think, really, we understand that's what he's going to do. Government is the solution in the mind of Democrats and certainly in the mind of Barack Obama.
I think the private meeting was private. I think that's fair that he should have a discussion with the president, encourage him to move the country already in a direction that Barack Obama wants it to go in. So, I think then it was very gracious for the president to have the meeting and to make certain they have an opportunity to talk and make certain this transition is smooth as possible.
ROBERTS: Melissa, what do you think of the idea? Will Obama have an administration where bigger government is good?
MELISSA HARRIS-LACEWELL, ASSOC. PROF., PRINCETON UNIVERSITY: Well, I mean it's a little odd that -- I mean after all it was this government, the GOP, who has created the financial crisis which is requiring some serious government intervention. This is not about big government is good. This is about crashing Wall Street, massive job loss, dying auto industry is bad. And so, you know, as a member of the government, the tools available, both to President Bush and to President-elect Obama are government related tools.
ROBERTS: Melissa, what about what Bay just said regarding the transition that it's going smoothly. According to "Time" magazine's Karen Tumulty, who'll be on a little bit later on this morning, the Obama campaign is using the 1992 Clinton transition as a model of what not to do.
HARRIS-LACEWELL: Well, that was an odd transition.. Remember, President-elect George W. Bush at that time had defeated the vice president of the Clinton administration and, of course, the Clintons had beaten George W. Bush's father, H.W. So that was a really tough transition time not only in '92 but, again, in 2000. So, yes, I think that's right. They want to bring in people who are some Washington insiders so they don't just bring sort of all their folks from Chicago who don't know anything about the city. That was the '92 problem. And they also want to be in communication and not in the way that the 2000 transition between Clinton and W. went.
ROBERTS: Right. Yes. And, of course, everything was foreshortened in 2000 as well.
Bay, does President Bush really have to be extraordinarily cooperative here? I mean, take a look at this.
His approval rating only 24 percent. His disapproval rating 76 percent. Does he have to do something good on the way out here?
BUCHANAN: No. You know, first of all, we've known that all along and he's not going to turn that around. They're upset with him because of his policies.
And, sure, this would be -- this is something the American people can respond to. Graciousness and class is something Americans expect of their president and respond accordingly.
But the key here is that is who George Bush is. He has always been, and Laura are very gracious people and they're reaching out. And they know what it's like to come into an administration where they weren't given anything whatsoever, treated awfully. The place turned upside down. That hurt them. So I think they are showing America how you really, truly should and what the American people expect of their president to treat the next fellow who also has an honor to serve in that office the way they would have expected the previous one.
ROBERTS: Right. Let me jump in really quickly here because I just want to play a little bit of this.
Governor Sarah Palin last night in an interview with FOX News' Greta Van Sustaren, talking about a potential run for 2012. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: If there is an open door in 12 or four years later, and if it's something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation, an opportunity for me, then I'll plow through that door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Quickly, Bay, do you want her in 2012?
BUCHANAN: I think she would be formidable in 2012, if she does things. You know, if she goes back to Alaska and does a real good job up there, and then I think many, many Americans are going to be looking for her to run again, yes.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see. We got to wrap it there. Melissa Harris-Lacewell (ph) and Bay Buchanan, as always, thanks for joining us this morning. It's good to see you.
CHETRY: Well, we're just about 30 minutes past the hour now and checking the top stories.
A standoff happening as we speak in the dangerous waters off Somalia. Pirates there armed with automatic weapons and grenade launchers hijacking a Philippines chemical tanker. 23 crew members are on board. So far this year ships have been hijacked in the region, 33 of them, 12 are still being held by pirates.
Now, even the nation's wealthiest university cannot escape the economic downturn. Harvard's president said the university is looking for ways to reduce spending as the school's endowment just plummets. Although, she did not elaborate on what would be cut. Harvard is not alone. Several other Ivy League schools, including Dartmouth and Brown have announced plans to reduce spending.
Well, it's gone where no man has gone before, but the Phoenix Lander's mission to Mars is now officially over. NASA said it has not communicated with the spacecraft in a week and with the onset of winter, it probably never will. Since landing in May, the probe has analyzed the Martian soil and added to evidence that water once flowed on that planet surface.
Well, right now, President-elect Barack Obama is back in Chicago. That's where the transition of power is taking place. But yesterday in Washington, the incoming president walked side-by-side with the current president. It was Obama's first visit to the Oval Office. And in 70 days, just down the hall from there, will sit Obama's vice president -- Joe Biden. A position that has taken on different responsibilities throughout history.
Alina Cho joins me now on how Biden's world will differ from that of current Vice President Dick Cheney?
Hi, there.
ALINA CHO, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Kiran, good morning to you. You know, when people talk about the current vice president, Dick Cheney, one of the longest running jokes is that Cheney is running the country, that he is number one, not President Bush. Well, Joe Biden has promised he will be a different vice president, but exactly how different? What will his role be as V.P.?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): He was chosen for his foreign policy experience. But some who know him best say Joe Biden's greatest asset as vice president will be his candor.
GEORGE MITCHELL (D), FORMER SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: One benefit, above all others, that Joe Biden will bring to the new administration is he will tell President Obama what he thinks, good, bad or indifferent. Believe me.
CHO: Friends called Biden persuasive, charming, a man who has mastered the art of aisle crossing. But Biden's tendency to speak his mind unfiltered has gotten him into trouble.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: Mark my words, it will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John F. Kennedy.
BILL BENNETT, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: He tends to talk as he thinks. So, there's a little bit of what has Forrest Gump's line, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get."
CHO: For the past eight years, Dick Cheney has been an influential vice president. Critics argued too much so the subject of jokes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president can do nothing without checking with the vice president.
CHO: Biden calls Cheney dangerous and says he'll be different.
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: The primary role of the vice president of the United States of America is to support the president of the United States of America, give that president his or her best judgment.
CHO: Political expert Larry Sabato says Biden could learn from predecessors like al Gore who he says focused too much on pet projects like the environment.
LARRY SABATO, CENTER FOR POLITICS AT UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: You didn't see Vice President Cheney taking on a wide variety of extracurricular assignment. That just doesn't work if you want to be in the inner circle of any administration.
CHO: He says Biden, to be effective, must be in the inner circle.
SABATO: The key to a successful vice presidency is proximity to the president. Biden has been around Washington long enough to know that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Something else Biden understands, restraint. A former senior adviser told me that Biden is old school loyal. He understands the pecking order. So, just as he'll give it to Obama with the bark off, as one said, he will never speak out publicly against him. It simply not his way.
Others say he will stay above the fray as vice president. Some have said, if Rahm Emanuel is chief of staff as the attack dog and the bad cop, Kiran, Biden will be the good cop. You know, another senior adviser told me his unique skill, really, is his ability to reach across the aisle. They said that he wants to make sure that Congress is in on the takeoff so that the administration is not alone on the landing. And that, that is one of his greatest strength.
CHETRY: Very interesting. All right, Alina, thank you.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: A week after the McCain-Palin ticket lost the presidential election, Sarah Palin said she might try for the big prize four years from now. The Alaska governor says if there is an open door, she might just plow through it. And Palin blames their loss this year on an inability to separate from the record of George W. Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: There was such a desire for change across the nation. I mean, that was -- that was the given, was change, was going to be ushered in, and I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years. That Americans were kind of shaking their heads. They're going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration. How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Sarah Palin is doing a series of post-election interviews. She talked with our Gary Tuchman on Friday. She will be Wolf Blitzer's guest on "THE SITUATION ROOM," tomorrow. So make sure that you stay tuned for that. 35-1/2 minutes now after the hour.
Home sweet home. At 1,600 Pennsylvania Avenue, the future first couple toured the White House. And Obama mania hit Washington. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Hannah Montana is a hit with the young ones, including President-elect Barack Obama's two girls. And now the show is taking an interest in the new first family. Billy Ray Cyrus says Malia and Sasha Obama have been invited to appear on the show starring his daughter, Miley Cyrus. So far, no word if the Obamas have taken the show up on its offer.
The invitations to appear on television not the only perks awaiting the Obama. Even though their move in date still a couple of months away, the President-elect and his family are wasting no time preparing for that move. Here's CNN's Randy Kaye with what awaits the Obamas in Washington.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran. The Obamas aren't even packed yet, but already their big move is making big news in Washington, D.C.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SALLY QUINN, WASHINGTON POST COLUMNIST: This is the most electric place I can imagine being right now.
KAYE (voice-over): "Washington Post" columnist Sally Quinn has been part of the social scene here for decades. She offered some insight into the tone the first family will set.
(on camera): People are comparing this to Camelot. And they are comparing this to the Kennedys. What similarities do you see?
QUINN: The age, the youth of the first family. They have young children. So, I think that that spirit of hope and optimism and idealism is very Kennedyesque.
KAYE (voice-over): We dished with Sally over lunch at The Bombay Club. It was a stones throw from the White House. Great for power lunch, but what about family time?
QUINN: They said the Obamas really like Mexican food, and there are several good Mexican restaurants in Washington. And Mexican restaurants are much more family oriented restaurants. We go to the Cactus Cantina all the time.
KAYE: And you could see them going there.
QUINN: And you'd see -- yes, I can see them going there.
KAYE: Their lunch with friends, the First Lady may try the Jockey Club.
QUINN: Jackie Kennedy there lived at the Jockey Club. And so, it became the real hot spot in Washington. So, that may end up to be a place where she might go. She might feel comfortable.
KAYE (on camera): Where to send Sasha and Malia to school will be a big decision for the Obamas. In Chicago, they go to private school and may do the same here. One option -- Sidwell Friends.
(voice-over): Chelsea Clinton and Al Gore's son went here. It's known for being very inclusive. Michelle Obama toured the school today. Sally expects Barack and Michelle Obama to embrace Washington's social scene as long as it doesn't interfere with their girls.
(on camera): The Bushes apparently didn't entertain very much. In fact, they held just six state dinners here at the White House in eight years. But given the warm reception Mr. Obama is receiving around the world, he'll likely entertain world leaders a lot more.
QUINN: The world leaders will come and the world leaders will feel good about being invited to the White House and having someone who wants to reach out and wants to discuss things. KAYE (voice-over): And how will the new President work off all those state dinners? The White House has a half-court, but Obama may not be satisfied with that.
(on camera): Now, he's never played basketball here at this luxurious Sports Club/LA, but it has one of the best courts in town and it may be a place the family would join. It has a great kids program, the Bush twins used to work out here and Condoleezza Rice is a member. So the Secret Service is familiar with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The manager of that club told us, of course, they would love the Obamas to join. Let the courting begin.
John?
Kiran?
ROBERTS: At home with Sarah Palin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: That was the given -- with change was going to be ushered in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The former candidate cooks up some moose chili and serves up some shots at the sitting president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: How did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business" with some more not so great news. As we approach the holiday season, a lot of people like to look to retail jobs maybe, especially if they've lost their jobs. And you say this year, it's going to be tough.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be tough. And I think -- you're right, it's not great news. But I think people got to know this if they're going to be adjusting their plans accordingly. Because a lot of folks -- the newly unemployed, teachers, seniors, high school students, they look to retail jobs sort of for the holidays to save some money.
But don't rely on a part time seasonal retail job this year to get you over the hump or to meet that budget, because you're seeing stores closing, you're seeing layoffs, you're seeing bankruptcies for some of these companies. So, the retail hiring is just not going to be as brisk this year as it has been in the past.
And in fact, a quarter of the jobs lost over the past year are retail jobs. In the most recent months, 38,000 jobs are lost in retail. That include -- in that category they include the auto dealers and the department stores. So, expect less seasonal hiring this year.
At the same time, you're seeing stores closing like Circuit City. It's closing stores. Circuit City filing for bankruptcy. Circuit City will not be hiring these many people, although the CEO of that company, I should point out, said that they are open for business for the holidays. They are reorganizing and you can expect deep discounts as a consumer. So, Circuit City customers, there are something for you.
Starbucks is closing 600 stores. It had an earnings report yesterday that showed that its profit has been affected by underperforming stores, big expansion and a weaker consumer. And you can expect scant seasonal hiring from places like -- well, Mervyn's is going out of business, Linens-N-Things is going out of business.
The face of the American mall is changing pretty rapidly here. And restaurants and hotels are also slowing down on their hiring because they're feeling the consumers.
So, the theme here is that the consumer is pulling back because they have to, because they want to, because they're nervous about what's happening in the market and that's the ripple effects for the retail and consumer hiring.
So, you know, if you're a teacher, you're a senior, you're in high school looking for the part time job at the mall, it might be harder to get this year.
CHETRY: The bright spot is you might be able to find more deals as you do your Christmas and holiday shopping, so --
ROMANS: That's absolutely right.
CHETRY: Christine, thanks.
ROBERTS: CNN founder, billionaire and the "Mouth of the South," Ted Turner. Find out what he thinks of the government bailing out Wall Street.
Plus, was the AOL-Time Warner merger the worst business deal in history? I'll ask him. It's coming up on 47 minutes after the hour.
Burying the hatchet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Where has George Bush been? Bush has dug a deep hole for us. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Jeanne Moos takes a most unusual look at the historic White House meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They're measuring their drapes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." It is a presidential rite of passage, and at the historic White House meeting between George Bush and Barack Obama, the political adversaries made nice with each other. Here's Jeanne Moos with that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It began with Laura Bush bidding a cheery good morning...
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: Good morning.
MOOS: ...at almost 2:00 in the afternoon. We noted one air kiss to the cheek, Obama grasping Bush's arm, Laura touching Michelle's elbow and Obama putting a hand on Bush's shoulder. It was over before some of us knew it begun.
(on camera): It's too late. I might miss it.
(voice-over): The Obamas arrived more than 10 minutes early, exactly the opposite of when John McCain arrived late for his own endorsement. And the waiting President killed time tap dancing. Just imagine having to stroll past the roses with the guy you've been attacking for months.
OBAMA: Where has George Bush been?
What does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than 90 percent of the time?
Bush has dug a deep hole for us.
MOOS: They did no digging in the Rose Garden. The two met in the Oval Office, home to those famous drapes.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Senator Obama is measuring the drapes.
BUSH: They're measuring their drapes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, now, he is measuring the drapes today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's bringing the tape measure. It's for real.
MOOS (on camera): Remember that classic moment eight years ago when Bill Clinton was giving George Bush the welcome to the White House tour and reporter Helen Thomas chimed in?
BUSH: I can't thank the President enough for his hospitality. He didn't need to do this.
HELEN THOMAS, REPORTER: Yes, he did.
MOOS (voice-over): Leave it to Helen.
THOMAS: Yes, he did.
MOOS: Much as we in the press try to eavesdrop this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And let's just listen it.
MOOS: Almost all we heard was the clicking of cameras. Viewers heard a bit too much on MSNBC when host Joe Scarborough let fly the "F" word, while discussing the transition.
JOE SCARBOROUGH, MSNBC HOST: They don't go around flipping people off or screaming (BLEEP) at the top of their lungs.
MOOS: Jaws dropped, though, Joe didn't seem to know what he said.
SCARBOROUGH: Did I say the word? Great apologies if I said the word instead of the letter. My wife is going to kill me when I get home. My wife just sent me a text. Two words, "Oh, my."
MOOS: President-elect has to watch every word as we watch his every move -- from dropping off his kids at school, to being followed to the airport, O.J.'s style, to being followed to the restroom on his plane. Mr. President-elect, kiss your privacy good bye. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Well, new this morning, a big bank offer to big help -- big bank offers big help, rather, to save thousands of homeowners from foreclosure. Find out if there is help out there for you. 51-1/2 minutes after the hour.
Memo to the president. How to deal with rogue nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Develop better carrots and better sticks in dealing with these hard cases.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: Advice for the President-elect on standing up to the country's biggest threats. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Top videos right now on CNN.com. Most popular -- a newspaper in Sapulpa, Oklahoma does not report Barack Obama's win in the presidential election. We first told you about this story yesterday. The paper's editor said he expected everyone would have known the result by time the paper came out. By the way, Sapulpa is in Creek County, which went for McCain, 71-29.
Also, the new kids on the block, the block being Pennsylvania, Avenue. A look at what's in store for Malia and Sasha Obama, or as to be called by the secret service, radiance and rose bud, when they move into the White House.
And President-elect Obama getting some unsolicited advice from fifth graders in the school in Maryland. The children wrote letters expressing their concerns about the key issues. The kids were most worried about the economy and global warming. And those are the most popular videos right now on CNN.com.
CHETRY: Well, Michelle Obama is also looking at schools for her daughters. In fact, she toured two Washington area schools yesterday including the one that Chelsea Clinton attended, Sidwell Friends. Both are private schools that she toured. President-elect Obama has not ruled out public schools yet. But fifth-grader, Malia, and second-grader, Sasha, currently attend a private school in Chicago.
Well, higher education, a big theme on the campaign trail for President-elect Barack Obama. With college costs growing nearly 40 percent in the past five years, and by graduation, nearly two-thirds of students owe an average 20 grand. Two million academically qualified students also will not go to college because they simply can't afford it.
Our next guest has some suggestions for the incoming president on perhaps how to help fix the problem. Zac Bissonnette, is the editor of AOL's walletpop.com. Also, a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
Thanks for being with us this morning, Zac.
ZAC BISSONNETTE, EDITOR, AOL'S WALLETPOP.COM: Great to be here, Kiran.
CHETRY: Now, you voted for Barack Obama, but you have a pretty scathing article on "The Daily Beast," saying that his college plan actually hurts your generation. Explain it.
BISSONNETTE: Well, I think that when you look at over the past 25 years or so, college costs have risen somewhere between two and three times the rate of inflation. And one of the reasons that that's been allowed to happen is that the federal government continues to increase, you know, the Pell Grant Program and scholarships and student loans that are available for students. And that's eliminating natural ceiling on price and causing the price to keep going higher.
If you're in a situation where the federal government is going to keep offering colleges more money, why would they worry about controlling their costs. And I think that's the problem.
CHETRY: So, you think that by offering these grants and increasing these grants, basically, encouraging people to borrow more money that they don't have, you're rewarding the wrong thing. You believe that people should actually be working during college and doing all they can to save up money.
How is that possible for a lot of people out there to be able to afford skyrocketing tuition costs?
BISSONNETTE: Well, the way that the financial aid formula, (INAUDIBLE) works right now is that any earnings that a student earns over $2300 per year, they are expected -- half of the amount that they earn over that is deducted from any financial aid that they would otherwise receive.
And so what you have is a system that encourages students not to work a lot during the summer and did penalizes those who do work hard. And if you save money during high school, they deduct 35 percent of that from any financial aid that you would receive.
CHETRY: I got you. All right, so we're going to go through a couple of them. You also think colleges should be held accountable for their own costs. How would a president do that?
BISSONNETTE: Well, one way that you could do that is, you know, nearly every college and university in America participates in the Pell Grant Program and the Federal Student Loan Program.
CHETRY: Right.
BISSONNETTE: And one thing that, you know, the federal government could say is that, if you're not going make an effort to control your costs, we're not going to let schools that are, you know, wasting money participate in these programs.
M.I.T., for example, which is a great school that participates in these federal programs, recently built a new dorm with a bed cost, they spent $225,000 per bed on the dorm that they built.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Wow. So, you got to cut the pork out of the college budgets as well.
BISSONNETTE: Exactly.
CHETRY: Now, you, yourself, are paying for your college. You're going to graduate college. You're a sophomore now with zero debt. How do you pay for it? And what could kids learn from your example? BISSONNETTE: Zero debt. You know, I'm kind of an isolated example. I work a lot. I have -- you know, I have a job that I enjoy a lot. But I think that, you know, the students can work more during the summer. A lot of kids just don't put a lot of effort into working. They get, you know, the first job that they can find at the dining hall. They work it all while they're in school.
I think with more effort into kind of looking at opportunities and what interests them, kids can find better jobs that are going to not only earn them more money, but also give them an idea of what they want to do for their career.
CHETRY: Got you. You also suggest there should be some rewards given to community college for graduating more kids, letting them go there for two years and then switch to a four-year university after that
You got some great ideas. Maybe people should listen to you and they'd be dealing with less debt as they enter the workforce.
Zac Bissonnette, editor of AOL's walletpop.com. Thanks for joining us this morning.
BISSONNETTE: Thanks so much, Kiran.
