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American Morning
Asian Stocks Tumble; Revamping the Bailout Plan; Bailing out the Big Three: Dems Turn Up Heat on Pres. Bush; Sarah Palin Speaks Out; TV Ads Counter Criticism of Palin; Governors Meet to Debate on GOP's Future
Aired November 13, 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): Bait and switch.
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: As the situation worsens, the facts changes.
CHETRY: Changes to the $700 billion bailout. Remember the one we couldn't live without?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ultimately our country could experience a long and painful recession.
CHETRY: Where your money is going now and why the Dow doesn't like it at all.
Plus, Sarah Palin 2.0.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: I am who I am, though. And I call it like I see it.
CHETRY: Reshaping her image.
PALIN: And I'm not going to close any door there in terms of opportunity that may be there in the future.
CHETRY: As the party looks for a leader on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Welcome. Glad you're with us on this Thursday, November 13th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. And we begin this morning with market jitters overseas.
Stocks in Japan and Hong Kong tumbling again overnight as the White House does a sudden about face on its plan to bail out U.S. financial institutions. The news discouraged investors on Wall Street. The Dow lost more than 400 points, its third straight losing session.
European markets had been mixed so far. The Dow futures are slightly lower. We're going to have more on the latest financial turmoil just ahead. And brand new pictures coming into AMERICAN MORNING. Crowds looting in total chaos in the streets of at least 10 cities in Colombia. Police using tear gas to subdue angry mobs. Tens of thousands of protesters erupting into action after legal loan companies took their life savings and ran, allegedly getting away with millions.
Police say the fake finance companies were set up by suspected drug traffickers. Several people were injured in the street violence.
Tensions are high this morning between Pakistan and the United States. The flash point, cross border missile strikes targeting militants in Pakistan's volatile tribal regions. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke about the issue with Pakistan's president yesterday at the United Nations. Pakistan's foreign minister says the attacks are "unproductive" and that more sharing of intelligence is needed.
CHETRY: And turning now to the crisis of confidence on world financial markets. Asian stocks tanking overnight.
Japan's Nikkei index losing nearly 5.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off more than five percent, and London's FTSE is trading in negative territory right now. It all follows a 411-point drop in the Dow yesterday. It's the third straight losing session.
Wednesday's selloff triggered in part by the Bush administration's announcement that it's abandoning the original blueprint for the $700 billion bailout package. Instead of buying troubled mortgage assets, they're going to be purchasing stakes in banks instead. And hopefully that will encourage consumer lending.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: Our primary focus must be recovery and repair. Overall, we are in a better position than we were but we must address the continued challenges of a weak economy, especially the housing correction and lending contraction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, CNN's Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business." And you know, you alluded to this in some of your reporting...
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Sure.
CHETRY: ... in a week that they weren't quite sure if buying up these toxic assets was really the way to go. So what changed their minds yesterday?
ROMANS: And we talked about this yesterday as well before the treasury secretary spoke that they hadn't been buying those toxic assets and that is exactly what they sold to Congress. They went to Congress and said, look, we have to move very, very quickly to get the toxic assets off the books of the banks or else.
Senator Chris Dodd said he was in the room and the air went out of the room when the treasury secretary and the Fed chief said we got to do this now. They haven't done it. It's been five weeks and now the treasury secretary is saying what a lot of people have suspected earlier this week and that is, they're not taking the toxic assets, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP as it's called.
Well, those troubled assets will stay on the books and they're going to continue to focus the way they've been going now, which is pushing money into the banks, actually buying stakes in the banks, buying a stake in AIG, an insurance company. And then now, broadening out in this new kind of awkward second phase which is trying to shore up consumer finance. That's student loans, that's credit cards, that's auto loans, trying to look at some of those other ways.
So you know, how's the money being spent? 250 billion to the banks, 40 billion to AIG. They have 60 billion left over to spend that they've already been authorized. And then, look, there's 350 billion left. They got to go to Congress for that. And I can guarantee you that there are a lot of people in Congress who have an awful lot of questions before they're going to let any of that money be spent. So there's 60 billion left to spend.
It looks like this new phase that the treasury secretary is talking about is going to focus on consumer finance. There's been a lot of dislocations in that industry.
So what happened in stocks? Well, stocks had a really rotten reaction to this. You know, they're down five percent almost across the board for the Dow, the Nasdaq, and the S&P. And when you look at some of the other markets, the currency market and T-bills -- I mean, you look at some of these other markets frankly, and there's panic kind of coming back into these markets.
A lot of concern about the response, about the direction that we're going here, about whether they can get ahead of all of this and stay ahead of it, frankly.
The treasury secretary said the financial system has stabilized, but there's more work to do.
CHETRY: All right. And Dow futures right now are down about 70 points. So we'll see what happens fourth day in a row of that.
ROMANS: Sure. Rough week already.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Christine.
Well, the one bright spot in this economic black hole is energy prices. This morning more promising news in an "AM Extra."
Oil just hit $55 a barrel. That's a 21-month low. The government says people will get a break heating their homes this winter predicting that heating oil will cost close to $1,700 this winter, which is more than last year but it's about $700 less than what they were projecting just a month ago.
ROBERTS: Democrats are turning up the heat on President Bush to bail out the American auto industry. The man tasked with crafting a bill to do that is Congressman Barney Frank.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), FINANCIAL SERVICES CHAIRMAN: The economy was booming and there was -- a lot of jobs out there for people. It would be a different story. We're in a very high unemployment situation. We have lost 400,000 jobs in the last two months because of the general economic problem. So this is the worst possible time for the rest of the economy to have to absorb this loss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The bill being talked about could give you a stake in the struggling automobile industry. Our Kate Bolduan is live for us on Capitol Hill.
So, Kate, we own a piece of AIG, Fannie and Freddie Mac, banks across the nation, maybe some foreign banks as well. Now we want a piece of the auto industry?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is a question that many are asking here in Capitol Hill, but let me say it won't be an easy sell. At least it's not looking to be, John.
Now despite some strong signals of no from the White House, from the Bush administration, congressional Democrats are forging ahead, putting on the pressure to bail out the American auto industry.
You heard from Barney Frank right there. He's the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, the man taking the lead in creating this automaker bailout bill. But yesterday, we started seeing some pushback not only from the Bush administration but also from some congressional Republicans.
Congressman Spencer Bachus saying, wondering aloud even, where do the bailouts -- when do the bailouts end. Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. SPENCER BACHUS (R), ALABAMA: Does it end with manufacturing? What about retail? What about Circuit City?
I've read now that a lot of Circuit City employees are even more angry this week than they were last week that they're losing their jobs, and they're seeing what's going on on Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Now Congressman Frank told me yesterday this automaker bailout bill could be ready as early as Tuesday, and it could be about $25 billion of financial assistance to automakers, money that Frank says they hope will help automakers avoid bankruptcy, keep them afloat. And he also says money that he hopes will come from the Wall Street rescue package that even Christine Romans was just talking about right there. Now we are told by one top Democratic congressional aide that part of this bill will include some taxpayer protection, including offering taxpayers an ownership stake in these automakers. So as we've been talking about, John, while there may be some gaining moments on the idea of a bailout bill from some on Capitol Hill, it's not going to be an easy sell.
ROBERTS: So, Kate, what does this all mean for next week's lame-duck session in Congress?
BOLDUAN: Well, John, it means that this lame-duck session coming up next week, it could mean a showdown between Congress and the president. Possibly the very last showdown between Congress and the president.
The Bush administration even Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had been very resistant to the idea of using some of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue package money to help out automakers. They say it's not what it was originally intended. But Barney Frank said to me very plainly yesterday, we'll pass a bill and he, the president, can decide to veto it or not.
ROBERTS: All right. It should set up an interesting battle next week.
Kate Bolduan for us in Capitol Hill this morning. Kate, thanks so much.
BOLDUAN: Thanks.
CHETRY: Also new this morning, Alaska Republican Senator Ted Stevens is fighting for his political life this morning. He now trails Democrat Mark Begich by more than 800 votes in his bid for reelection. Alaska still counting absentee ballots from the November 4th vote. Stevens is the longest serving Republican in the Senate.
Last month, a federal jury convicted him of lying on Senate disclosure forms to conceal more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations. Now if Stevens wins the race, he still could be expelled from the Senate.
Also another disgraced lawmaker, former Congressman Mark Foley breaking his silence this morning. The Florida Republican is talking about lewd messages that he sent to male teenage congressional pages. The scandal ended with Foley retiring two years ago. And now for the first time, he's offering an emotional apology to his former constituents.
MARK FOLEY, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Oh, I'm sorry. I apologize. I don't even want to be crying on set. But they deserve to know that my failings and my actions were so embarrassing to my family, to my partner, and to them, and they trusted me. And I'm sorry I let them down.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: Now in the wake of the scandal, Foley admitted he was gay and that he sought treatment for alcoholism. He's now working in the real estate business. Investigations into Foley's messages with those teens ended without criminal charges.
ROBERTS: Protesting Proposition 8. Demonstrations getting larger and louder, and Whoopi Goldberg now joining the cause. Why she says stopping same-sex marriage is against the American dream.
Sarah Palin unleashed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: I didn't call the shots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Straight talk about life on the Straight Talk Express.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: I wish I would have more opportunities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Plus, her thoughts on the sit down with Katie Couric.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: Some of those questions, you know --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Larry King's revealing interview with the governor of Alaska.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROTESTERS: Civil rights. Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right.
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CHETRY: Protests against California's passage of Proposition 8 intensifying on both coasts. Whoopi Goldberg joined demonstrators outside of the Mormon temple in New York City. The church waged a multimillion dollar campaign to stop same-sex marriages in California.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: I think people just kind of feel like they would like the rights if they want to get married that all Americans have, and that is to raise your children, raise your family, to do all the things that you want to do and achieve the American dream. And you don't have to be my idea of the American dream or even your idea. It's just the idea of the American dream.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So while it's banned in California, a different story in Connecticut. The second day that gay marriages were allowed in that state. The state's highest court ruled that excluding same-sex couples from marriage was unconstitutional.
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour. And time now to fast forward to some of the stories you'll see us covering on CNN today.
CIA Director Michael Hayden will give an update on the current state of al-Qaeda. He'll be talking to an international affairs group in Washington. We'll also be watching to see if Hayden addresses Barack Obama's transition to power.
President Bush heads to New York City today and the United Nations. He'll make some remarks at an interfaith dialogue before meeting with the king of Saudi Arabia. This afternoon the president will give a speech about the financial markets and the world economy and then he's got that economic summit Friday and Saturday.
On the heels of the president-elect's meeting, it's now the vice president's turn. Dick and Lynn Cheney will host Joe and Jill Biden today at the Naval Observatory in northwest Washington, the Bidens soon-to-be official residence. The couples will have dinner afterward.
And that's the look at what's making news today -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, Joe Biden's campaign counterpart, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, says that she regrets she wasn't more available to the media during the campaign. She's getting her message out though. Palin did two interviews with CNN Wednesday. She talked to Larry King about her controversial interview with CBS's Katie Couric.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Should you have not have done the Katie Couric interview?
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: Sure, I should have done the Katie Couric interview.
KING: Should have done.
PALIN: Her questions were fair. I should have done it, yes. And her questions were fair.
Obviously, being a bit annoyed with some of the questions. My annoyance shows through and I am who I am, though, and I call it like I see it. And some of those questions, you know, regarding "what do I read up in Alaska," were to me a bit irrelevant and my annoyance in those questions showed through. But there is nothing off base, unfair about it.
Certainly I should have done the interview. And to attribute I think that interview to any kind of negativity in the campaign or downfall in the campaign I think is ridiculous. I wish that there would be -- would have been perhaps more dilution in terms of that interview being one of many, many. I wish I could have done more interviews along the trail. And in retrospect, in hindsight, I wish I would had more opportunities or that we would have seized more opportunities to speak more...
KING: Why didn't you?
PALIN: ... to the American people through the media.
KING: Why didn't you?
PALIN: I didn't call the shots on the -- I didn't call the shots on a lot of that strategy. But I'm not going to look backwards and point fingers of blame in regards to the strategy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Governor Palin went on to say that she's not ruling out a run for the Senate or the White House in 2012. And Palin's political future is about to get a big boost in the form of a new TV ad campaign. We're going to tell you what it's all about and who's footing the bill.
Plus, another suicide blast in Afghanistan kills a U.S. soldier, making 2008 the deadliest year there for troops since the war began. President-elect Barack Obama facing big challenges in the region. What the top general says he needs from the Obama administration.
It's 16 minutes after the hour.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN")
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": She had a bunch of folks up at her house and she was cooking. Honest to God, she was cooking moose dogs.
And people say, well, can she cook? What kind of -- well, of course, she could cook. I mean, my God, she cooked McCain's goose. There you go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: But once she was camera shy it appeared. But now Sarah Palin is everywhere and just in time for thanksgiving. A conservative group is out with a series of TV ads giving thanks for Palin's service and also answering back to her critics.
CNN's Jason Carroll is following the story for us. We said -- we said it appeared she was camera shy because she wasn't rolled out a lot for interviews in the campaign. And just yesterday, she was on with Wolf and Larry.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Doing a lot. She may have been camera shy before but not anymore. And you know, the group that's talking about this, they're scheduled to start shooting that TV ad this Monday. Political analysts say this is one way Palin's supporters are trying to redefine her future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): She was once criticized for avoiding the media. Not anymore. Since the election, the public has seen much from Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, and they're about to see even more.
SAL RUSSO, OUR COUNTRY DESERVES BETTER: We'll have footage of her on the spot, but it's basically going to be people saying thank you to her.
CARROLL: The thanks coming from an organization called Our Country Deserves Better, a conservative political action committee which is creating TV spots thanking Palin for running for office. The goal? To counter negative reports about Palin leaked from her former running mate's camp.
RUSSO: We thought that was unfair. Sarah Palin has done her own interviews in the last several days. I think she's done terrific, and we wanted her to see that Americans stand behind her.
CARROLL: Sal Russo's group has released ads before supporting Palin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT)
NARRATOR: As governor, Palin took on corruption.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: That was during the campaign. But now? And for a vice presidential candidate?
AMANDA CARPENTER, TOWNHALL.COM: It's incredible that something like this is coming out for a vice presidential candidate. But it goes to the fact that Sarah Palin did a lot more to reassure conservatives than John McCain ever did on the campaign trail.
CARROLL: Some campaign watchers say the new TV spots and Palin doing more post-election interviews are steps toward building her political future.
DR. ROBERT LICHTER, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: Welcome to the world of the perpetual campaign. You know, the campaign is dead. Long live the next campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an effort to keep her in the public eye, to re-cast her and to steer the course of the Republican Party to a more socially conservative one.
CARROLL: Still unclear whether Palin's new course will help in the long run. Political watchers say the governor costs McCain votes during the election, but CNN's latest poll shows more people now think favorably of her than unfavorably.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And again, the footage of Palin will be used in the TV spots but she will not be giving a fresh interview for it. The spots should start airing around the thanksgiving holiday. Look for them to air on national cable channels as well as in some local markets.
CHETRY: All right. The campaign may be over, but we're still going to see a lot of Governor Palin.
CARROLL: She's not going away.
CHETRY: Thanks, Jason.
ROBERTS: Republican governors meeting in Miami after last week's election defeat, and they are focusing on voters everyday issues. Is the party's candidate for 2012 a member of that meeting? We'll ask one of the GOP governors about it.
And your delete button could be getting some relief. Why the amount of spam e-mail sent around the world is dropping so fast today.
It's 21 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." This morning Sarah Palin addresses the Republican governor's conference in Miami. The group has been debating what happened to the Grand Old Party and where they go after last week's stinging defeat. And the GOP's presidential candidate for 2012 could be a part of that gathering.
Joining us now from Miami to talk more about all of this is South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. He's also speaking today.
Governor, it's good to see you. Governor, Bobby Jindal from Louisiana said of the election defeat that they fired us with cause. What do you think went wrong with the Republican Party over the last couple of years that you had such defeat last Tuesday?
GOV. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Well, in simplest form, ran on the theme of being conservative and then governed a different way. And I don't think there's anything more lethal in the world of politics than saying one thing and doing another in essence not walking the walk.
ROBERTS: So whose fault was it? Was it President Bush's fault? Was it Congress? Was it everybody all together?
SANFORD: I throw everybody into the mix. And in many ways, you know, what happened began well outside of the presidential campaign because you saw election losses back in the 2006 campaign going forward. So, this is something that's, you know, the Republican Party has been doing to itself over the last couple of years. And obviously, part of the topic of today, tomorrow, yesterday here in Miami for the Republican governors has been where do we go from here in coming out of this well-deserved wilderness.
ROBERTS: The group down there among the Republican governors in Miami is a little thinner than it was in 2006. There were 28 of you in 2006, now there's 22. There's only going to be 21 next time you meet.
How damaged do you think the Republican brand is? Remember Congressman Tom Davis who retired said if we were dog food, they'd take us off the shelf.
SANFORD: I don't think it's that bad. Nothing is permanent in the world of politics. I think it's a question of one, what's the brand about, what does it stand for? In essence, Ted Stevens out in Alaska became the personification of much of what had gone wrong with the party. Not walking the walk with regard to spending.
Here's a guy who prided himself on bringing in stuff back to the state as opposed to watching that with the taxpayer. Here's a guy who stayed long enough to become ethically blind to some real breaches on that front. So I think that the rebuilding part begins with defining what you're about, and then beginning to show action on that front.
ROBERTS: OK.
SANFORD: That's not a permanent imbalance.
ROBERTS: So what are you about? You know, Charlie Crist says what you need to do is you need to broaden the base. You need to make the tent bigger. What do you think you are about? If you were in charge of rebuilding the Republican Party, where would you start?
SANFORD: I'm not in charge, but we'll have a well heated debate today and tomorrow given the --
ROBERTS: Well, give us your ideas.
SANFORD: There are -- yes, my idea would be you go back to what made the party great in the first place, and that is advancing the conservative theme of lower taxes, less government, more in the way of marketplace choices. And the big umbrella over all those things is freedom.
I think freedom is a uniting theme because whether you're Hispanic, whether you're black, whether you're white, whether you're male, whether you're female, we all yearn for that notion of freedom. And it's freedom that unleashes those individual talents, individual initiatives that are key to making our economy work as well as key to anybody's personal dreams. So, I think that's where we begin and obviously that's going to be the point of much conversation.
ROBERTS: Governor Sanford, there's a lot of talk that maybe the next Republican candidate for president is one of the people whose at that meeting today in Miami. Of course, a lot of names being kicked around. One of them Sarah Palin.
She's certainly has been visible in the past couple of days. She talked with our "LARRY KING LIVE" last night and with Wolf Blitzer as well. Seems to be leaving the door open to 2012. Let's listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: It's crazy to close a door before you even know what's open in front of you. You travel this road in life and as you turn a corner and there may be something there that circumstances change. You got to call an audible (ph) and you decide to shift gears, take another direction. I'm always open for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So let me ask you point blank, governor. Is she the future of the party?
SANFORD: Sure. I don't think I'd define it that way. I think that she is among the major players that has a shot at being a part of the future of the party but that's up to her.
You know, as we sit around the governor's table today, there are a lot of other varying forms and very strongly opinionated governors who are going to want to have just as much a voice as she does. Think about Haley Barbour, Rick Perry from Texas, or you just mentioned Bobby Jindal, or go down the list.
A lot of folks that, again, admire her star power. It's well earned given the fact that she was the vice presidential nominee. But there are going to be a lot of other governors here in the conversations we're having in Miami who, again, have very strong feelings on what ought to come next.
ROBERTS: Do you have aspirations for the presidency?
SANFORD: I'm just trying to survive the week.
ROBERTS: Governor Mark Sanford, it's good to talk to you. Good luck today.
SANFORD: My pleasure. Thank you.
CHETRY: We're coming up to the half-hour now. A check of the top stories.
Stocks in Asia taking a nose dive overnight. Japan's Nikkei losing nearly 5.5 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off more than five percent. London's FTSE in negative territory right now. And Wall Street also suffered through its third straight losing session Wednesday, down 411 points.
And the economic downturn has a silver lining. AAA reporting that the national average price of gas is now $2.18 a gallon. That's two cents lower than yesterday and the 57th straight day that gas prices have decline. Gas has not been this low since February 5th of 2007.
And some good news for your inbox. There could be a lot less spam e- mail unknowingly today. The worldwide volume of junk mail failed drastically yesterday after the plug was pulled on a company that provided Internet access for major spammers. Experts say the California base service played host to firms that use e-mail to spread viruses, sell child porn, and fake designer goods and bogus prescription drugs.
Well, 68 days now until Barack Obama takes over at the White House. One of the key posts the President-elect will have to consider during the transition is Homeland Security secretary. It is the first time any president has had to fill that critical position. CNN's Jeanne Meserve is live in Washington with a look at how Homeland Security will handle the changing of the guard.
Hi, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. The Department of Homeland Security has a critical mission, but absolutely no experience with transitions. This is the first since the department was created in 2003.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): Nancy Ward heads to Capitol Hill to meet with key House staffers as she prepares to take over the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She isn't President Bush's pick for the job, nor President-elect Obama's. She is a career FEMA employee who will guide her agency while the political door revolves.
NANCY WARD, FEMA: Don't miss a beat, that there isn't a pause in our ability to serve the American people.
MESERVE: This bomb demonstration last spring was one of several exercises to prepare Ward in about 100 other career Department of Homeland Security employees to take over key jobs on an interim basis. DHS has also prepared office space for the Obama transition team. Compiled extensive briefing materials. Planned table top emergency exercises for incoming officials and refined response plans for the kinds of disasters that might crop up early in a new administration. What might those be?
Officials are mindful that the Glasgow bombing took place only days after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown took office, and that 9/11 came early in the Bush administration. Transition is, they say, a time for special vigilance.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: People are leaving, people are coming in. And that's a disruptive process for any organization.
MESERVE: At least one expert discounts the theory, that the changing of the guard increases the nation's vulnerability.
JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Just like when the mayor changes, there's no -- people don't worry about a kind of unique threat to burglary in the neighborhood because, you know, the cops are still in the beat; firemen are still in the beat. It's the same way with the federal government.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Officials say there is no credible, specific intelligence that an attack on the Homeland is imminent. Meanwhile, there have not been any meetings between the Obama Homeland Security transition team and officials in the said department. But sources indicate the first could take place before the end of the week.
Kiran?
CHETRY: All right. Jeanne Meserve for us. Thanks.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: 20,000 more troops to Afghanistan. That's what the top NATO commander David McKiernan in the country says is needed. His call comes as a new suicide blast takes the life of a U.S. soldier.
And a reminder, there's still time to vote for CNN's hero of the year. Head to cnn.com/heroes, read their stories and make your pick online. Then, join Anderson Cooper on thanksgiving night when we reveal the big winner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Breaking news now out of Afghanistan. At least 21 people are dead including an American soldier after a suicide bomber targeted a U.S. Convoy outside Jalai Abad in eastern Afghanistan. New pictures right now of the aftermath. 74 people were wounded in that blast. The soldier's death brings the total number of troops killed in Afghanistan this year to at least 148. That is the highest number since the war began in 2001.
That attack emphasizing what the top NATO commander is now saying. He needs more troops to go after insurgents. CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr traveled to the unstable region to get a closer look from general's on the ground there. She filed this report from a base that was rocketed 41 times last month. More than the past three years combined.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I flew with these young marines into southern Afghanistan into a war that has seen some of the most fierce fighting since it began, a war that is now President-elect Barack Obama's problem.
At the top of this isolated hill, Brigadier General Mark Milley shows us the danger facing U.S. Forces.
(on camera): At this base that we're at, you're surrounded by, if not insurgents here, at least surrounded by trouble on all sides? BRIG. GEN. MARK MILLEY, 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION: This particular area that you're looking at in the camera is an area that has a significant amount of enemy on the southern edges of Kabul that we are rooting out.
STARR (voice-over): The insurgents are now openly operating within a stone's throw of U.S. troops.
MILLEY: They got areas where they can sleep, where they can eat, where they may have contacts and couriers come and deliver money.
STARR: But there aren't enough U.S. troops to go after them. General David McKiernan, the top NATO commander, promises straight talk to his new boss about what's needed.
GEN. DAVID MCKIERNAN, NATO/ISAF COMMANDER: They will hear my best military advice which is that we need to provide more capabilities to this campaign in Afghanistan.
STARR: First he wants 20,000 additional troops to go after insurgents and work with local Afghan forces who still cover their faces for fear of Taliban retaliation. The next step? Get Pakistan to crack down on militants and get the Afghan government to talk to insurgent groups about laying down their arms. But the head of central command, General David Petraeus warns unless the U.S. can significantly reduce the amount of violence in the region, talking with the Taliban maybe a tough sell.
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. CENTCOM COMMANDER: Candidly, it's best done from a position of strength, and I don't know that that characterizes the situation in some parts of this country relative to the Taliban.
STARR (on camera): The U.S. believes the insurgents call is to continue to create a sense of insecurity across this country and that the insurgents believe now all they have to do is wait out the United States.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Still ahead, a shocking admission from disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard. He's speaking out for the first time in two years about why he sinned. 39 minutes after the hour.
Pure ecstasy -- from the dance floor to the psychiatrist's office.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's embarrassing to be in your 30s and they're afraid to go into your house, you know, or to be alone in your house.
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CHETRY: Healed by a common street drug. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I fought it once, and it never happen again.
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CHETRY: We're paging Dr. Gupta. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, that's the sounds of Kenny Chesney. He's took country music's top prize yet again, winning "Entertainer of the Year."
ROBERTS: Not a big surprise, huh?
CHETRY: I know. He's really a dynasty.
ROBERTS: 19 years running?
CHETRY: I know. Well, it's his fourth win in five years. He's now tied with Garth Brooks for winning "Entertainer of the Year" most times. Carrie Underwood also winning big. She got her third straight "Female Vocalist of the Year" award.
ROBERTS: Last time he won, didn't he (INAUDIBLE)?
CHETRY: It was a year ago today. This just goes to show you how time flies, John. A year ago today --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes. I doubt he's on the treadmill today. I think he's tucked into bed at this hour.
ROBERTS: Come on. I mean, he can't be out partying after winning it for the fourth time.
CHETRY: Well, if you're up, Kenny, call us. We'll definitely take you again. Congratulations.
Meanwhile, we have Rob Marciano off today. Reynolds Wolf is in the Weather Center. We think Reynolds' tractor is sexy as well.
Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I'm so glad to get duty this morning. I got a feeling that Marciano is probably partying with Kenny Chesney. That made perfect sense. I think that's what's going on.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Making the grade. The incoming president faces a country with an education system in tatters. Will the Obama administration pass the test when it comes to fixing America's broken schools? We'll ask the question. 44-1/2 minutes after the hour now.
Canine candidates.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we can. Yes, we can.
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ROBERTS: Lining up to get into the White House dog house.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's black, white and brown.
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ROBERTS: Jeanne Moos looks at the wackiest contenders to be the future First Pet. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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BELLO NOCK, ON THE ROAD 50 WEEKS A YEAR: Hi, I'm Belo Nock. I'm a comic daredevil and I am travelling with the greatest on earth 50 weeks out of the year. Because I travel so often, I don't go on vacations. My job is a vacation. A lot of people ask me how tall my hair is. About a foot tall, see?
Being in a different city every week, the biggest challenge is the thing that you may take for granted. And that is the post office, the grocery store and the bank. Where they are, what the teller's name is and where things are in that.
The things that I would prefer to carry with me and then there are things that I have to have with me. I would prefer a pen and paper because to me I think writing something down means much more than the text, the e-mail and the phone call.
And then the one thing that I have to have with me -- my Kenra hairspray. You want some? Everyone's doing it.
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JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": When they move into the White House, Barack Obama is going to get a dog for his daughters. You heard about this. And he's very clear. You know, he's very strict. He said, you're going to have to feed it, you're going to have to give it water and you're going to have to clean up after it. Do you understand that? And Joe Biden said, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: The race for the White House may be over but the canine campaign is reaching its peak now. And as CNN's Jeanne Moos tells us, there is no shortage of nominees for the dog that President-elect Barack Obama has promised to those lovely first daughters of his.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just when you thought the campaign was over --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes we can. Yes we can.
MOOS: The canine candidates for "First Dog" are barking and the lame duck Barney is surly. Owners are practically auditioning their dogs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a Border Collie. He watches the border real good.
MOOS: Even pointing out similarities between the President-elect...
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: A lot of shelter dogs are much like me.
MOOS: ...and Shadow, the Border Collie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's black, white and brown.
MOOS: They're making videos showcasing doggie skills.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good boy.
MOOS: They're sending photos captioned "Please pick me," "Did you say White House?", "Bullies for Obama," or lobbying for their breed from the Bichon Frise in high heels to the Irish Wolfhound gigantic enough for Sasha and Malia to ride. There's even a nominee for "secretary of da fence." Everybody is making suggestions.
LENO: President Clinton said the Oval Office is a great place for a husky female. He said that's fantastic.
MOOS: While Bill Maher joked about accusations Barack Obama's enemies might make.
BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": How do we know this isn't a dog that pals around with terriers.
MOOS: As in any campaign, there are dirty tricks being played with dogs on both sides lifting their legs and there are countless polls. What breed should the Obamas get a purebred or a rescue? Obama already had a strong doggie base.
There's even a dog with the unfortunate name "Herpe" trained as supposedly speak Obama's name. Folks are suggesting names for the first dog and there's a clear favorite.
(on camera): Here Maverick, come here Maverick, here boy. The John McCain and Barack Obama doggie key toys, perfect for the White House pet.
(voice-over): From as far away as Peru came a suggestion of a hypoallergenic breed called the Peruvian hairless.
But why insist on a first dog? Why not a first llama? The Obama llama. Wouldn't she look cute on the White House lawn asked her owner? And for a less labor intensive pet, may we suggest the one making the rounds on the Internet.
A White House must have a piano and popcorn.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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CHETRY: Confessions of a disgraced pastor.
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UNIDENTIFIED PASTOR: Pay attention to me, I'm your pastor.
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CHETRY: The mega church founder and the male escort for the first time since the scandal, Ted Haggard talks.
Plus, a radical new treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder using the drug Ecstasy.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Did it work?
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CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: Taking a look now at the top videos on cnn.com right now. Most popular is a dog name Faith. An absolutely heart-warming and inspirational story. Faith was born without front legs. But as you can see, it has not slowed her down one bit. She actually hops, similar to how a kangaroo gets around on her hind legs.
Also a stunning interview. Former Congressman Mark Foley says he was abused by a Catholic priest as a boy. Foley resigned his House seat in 2006 after reports he had sexually explicit online chats with underage congressional pages. He calls the experience, quote, "torturous, difficult and embarrassing."
And Sarah Palin unleashed with the election over. She's talking a lot to the press, sitting down with both CNN's Larry King and Wolf Blitzer, yesterday. She had a lot to say, including the fact that she does not regret her interview with Katie Couric. Those are your top videos now on cnn.com. ROBERTS: Well, as Kiran mentioned, Sarah Palin sat down twice with CNN yesterday. In her conversation with Larry King, she talked about whether or not she hurt the Republican ticket during the election campaign.
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GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: I personally don't think that I, Sarah Palin from Alaska, the V.P. pick, I don't believe that I caused the outcome to be what it was. I think the economy tanking -- tanking a couple of months ago had a lot more to do with it than the V.P. pick.
But, you know, I think, too, not winning the Hispanic vote and being outspent so tremendously in this campaign. John McCain had fulfilled his promise in just keeping with the public financing of the campaign. And Barack Obama went on to accept the private donations and contributions that allowed us to be very, very greatly outspent.
There were a lot of contributing factors. And I'm not going to point the finger right back at me and say that I was the cause of the outcome, but there were a lot of contributing factors.
But again, you know, if I caused even one person to shy away from electing an American hero, John McCain, to the presidency, then I apologize.
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ROBERTS: Sarah Palin is attending the second day of a gathering of Republican governors in Miami. Our Dana Bash is live for us this morning.
Dana, the mood in Miami is usually terrific. But how is it there at the Intercontinental Hotel, where they are all meeting?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, if you get somebody in a candid moment, without a camera pointed at them, John, they will tell you that it is quite depressing.
Having said that, this is really the place to come to find the potential next presidential candidate. But you talk to most of these Republican governors about it. They are coy. They say they won't even entertain a 2012 idea except for the governor from Alaska.
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BASH (voice-over): 16 Republican governors are gathered for a conference in Miami. But there's only one generating this crush of cameras -- Sarah Palin. Always happy to discuss her future.
PALIN: I think what I represent is the everyday hard-working American families, a woman on the ticket that perhaps represents that. It would be good for the party.
BASH: Palin is one of many GOP governors who represent rare bright spots for an otherwise depressed party. Popular figures like Florida's Charlie Crist, Louisiana's Bobby Jindal and Minnesota's Tim Pawlenty. All here debating the Republican's way out of the wilderness and not so subtly competing to be the party's guy.
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford came preaching a return to fiscal responsibility. And bristles at the suggestion that Palin is suddenly the leading voice here.
GOV. MARK SANFORD (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: There are a lot of other governors who can be sitting around the same table, who have just as strong an opinion as ahead before she was the nominee? Yes. Will she be among the different strong voices? Yes. Will she be the strong voice? No.
BASH: Governor Pawlenty is here pushing to modernize the GOP, broaden its appeal and made a point of reminding us about the narrow scope of Palin's.
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: Out on the campaign trail, she generated a lot of excitement within the Republican Party base. But again, for all of us, the question is it's great to have good Republican rallies, but the real challenge and opportunity is we got to grow the party beyond just the base if we're going to be successful.
BASH: Most of these Republican governors are eager to share their prescriptions for their ailing party. So, Wolf Blitzer asked Palin for her ideas.
PALIN: Nothing specific right now. Sitting here in these chairs that I'm going to be proposing. But in working with these governors who, again, on the front lines, are forced to and it's our privileged obligation to find solutions to the challenges facing our own states every day, being held accountable.
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BASH: Now that non-answer didn't go unnoticed here among some of Sarah Palin's colleagues, who certainly admire her star power but wonder if she has the chops to really lead the party forward.
But you know, John, she is going to potentially be able to answer that later this morning. She's going to be on a panel with some other Republican governors and that panel is looking towards the future GOP in transition.
John?
ROBERTS: Dana, reflecting back on what Governor Mark Sanford told you in that piece, and he told us about the same thing about a half an hour ago, behind the scenes, you know, not for public consumption, what are these governors and their aide saying about Sarah Palin taking so much of the spotlight this week?
BASH: You know, you can tell that there is a lot of tension about it. In fact, some of the governors who I talked to, you know, again, with the camera not pointing at them, you know, said, you wouldn't be here without Sarah Palin, here, would you? And I said no, no, no. The Republican story is a big story. And they sort of said, yes, right.
They realized that she is sucking a lot of the oxygen out of the room. And there definitely is tension about that. Because a lot of these governors feel that they have various background and, yes, they weren't picked for the national stage, but they feel like that they have a lot to offer and want to get attention for it.
ROBERTS: Yes. It's going to be an interesting four years of jockeying to see who becomes the nominee. Dana Bash in Miami for us this morning. Dana, thanks.
CHETRY: Well, it's 7:00 here in New York. Breaking this morning, global market plunged. Hong Kong and Japan is hosting more than 5 percent losses after the Dow dropped more than 400 points.
