Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Bush Administration Abandons Original Strategy for Bailout; TV Ads Counter Criticism of Sarah Palin; TroopTube: Love and Assurance Uploaded; A Look At Annie Leibovitz's Career
Aired November 13, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Dow futures point to a flat opening this morning, after Wednesday's 411-point loss. And the Bush administration abandoning the original strategy for the $700 billion bailout. Instead of making the decision to buy up toxic mortgage debt, they're instead planning to invest that money directly in banks and to use it to 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: And speaking of the housing correction, more bad news on the housing front. The number of foreclosure filings up 5 percent last month from September, 25 percent from a year ago. According to RealtyTrac, one in every 452 households received a foreclosure notice in October. That's nearly 85,000 homes. Foreclosures were highest in the states Nevada, Arizona and Florida.
And Wal-Mart is reporting a third quarter profit. The world's largest retail chain had quarterly revenues of almost $98 billion. 7.5 percent higher from the same period last year. Incredibly, Wal- Mart is the only Dow Jones stock that's actually higher on the year.
Sign of really what we're dealing with right now in the business world. Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And that's right. And this Wal-Mart numbers are interesting because the Wal-Mart customers, this paycheck-to-paycheck customer, Many of them are, and their budgets are very, very strap. So, Wal-Mart can actually be kind of recession proof a little bit in all of this. As people don't go someplace else, they go where the prices are the lowest. So, we're watching to see, you know, how people's spending patterns change.
We'll also watching what's changing in that bailout. Kiran told you that the Treasury secretary, the government switching gears and, in fact, focusing on on capital injections into the banks. We've been telling you that for weeks. And also focusing on trying to backstop the consumer finance. This is consumer lending. That's credit cards, that's student loans, that's auto loans. So, abandoning that original toxic mortgage strategy and that caused nervousness in the markets. You know, people want to see a steady hand at the rudder and they're concerned about the direction of things. The stock market already down before the Treasury Secretary started speaking yesterday, but, indeed, down 5 percent in the end for the Dow, the Nasdaq, and the S&P.
Germany, now, the largest European economy. Two quarters in a row where its economy shrank. So now, people are saying that economy is in recession. The OECD, that's the world's big international economics' group. They say that the world's leading develop nations are already in recession, and that next year that will continue. That's a sharp downgrade from what they were saying just back in July.
In this country, we're talking about the foreclosure crisis. Some 2,700 homes foreclosed on. Everyday, last month, there's a padlock on the front door.
And jobs, I want to tell you what Mayor Richard Daley had to say, yesterday, after a city council meeting. There you can see that foreclosure number. Homes lost to foreclosure, 84,000 last month. 279,000 foreclosure filings.
And Mayor Daley in Chicago, after a city council meeting, telling reporters, this is carried in the "Sun-Times," that big layoffs are coming to Chicago.
This is what he said, "Huge layoffs are coming in November and December and next year. There's going to be even more huge layoffs. All the corporation CEOs have come in to tell me, that's not just the beginning, it's not the end. That's just the beginning, rather, it's not the end result. So, Mayor Daley sort of raising alarm that the corporate chief in the Chicago come to him and say, you know, listen, we're going to be -- we're going to be lapping head count. We just want to let you know.
CHETRY: It's going to be tough for cities all across the country.
ROMANS: It is. And I think that that's the nervousness you're seeing in the market. You're seeing a realization that there's a global issue here in terms of the economy and the financial system. And that we don't know how it's going to play out. We don't know if policymakers are in front of it yet. We don't know how deep any kind of recession, when it comes, or if it is already here, will be, and we know that the job cuts are coming.
And I think that those comments from Mayor Daley to reporters are very telling to people. It's like, look, be prepared. This is coming to your town. Be prepared, be ready for it. We're going to hear a lot of this grim news. The most important thing people can do is just sort of batten down the hatches and be ready for what's ahead.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Christine, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Well, bailout or bankruptcy for the big three. It's a big debate going on right now in Washington. Cutting another rescue check, perhaps. Democrats say they will try to save the American auto industry with or without the president. Kate Bouldan is live for us on Capitol Hill.
Democrats had been urging the White House to step up. And now, they are saying that if you don't do it, we will.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It seems that's the message they're sending, Kiran. Congressional Democrats are warning that without help, the consequence will be dire for the auto industry. But it seems that another bailout isn't going to be an easy sell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN (voice-over): Democrats are ratcheting up pressure on President Bush to go along with bailing out the American auto industry, despite fresh push back from congressional Republicans and the White House.
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D-MA), FINANCIAL SERVICES CHAIRMAN: We will pass the bill and then he can decide to veto it or not.
BOLDUAN: Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is the man tapped to craft the automaker bailout bill. According to a Democratic aide, the new bill will include a provision giving taxpayers an ownership stake in the automakers, raising the question of whether the government will demand reforms. A bill could be ready as early as Tuesday, perhaps $25 billion coming from the Wall Street bailout package, money Frank says is needed.
BARNEY: In its weakened question that the economy is in, a total collapse of the American automobile industry would do more damage than not doing anything.
BOLDUAN: This may make next week's lame duck session one last showdown with President Bush. Conservative Republicans are finding it hard to stomach the idea, coming hot on the heels of a string of government rescues.
REP. RANDY NEUGEBAUER (R), TEXAS: Members of Congress all have these voting cards. Right now, we're using them as credit cards.
BOLDUAN: Republicans like Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus ask, where do the bailouts end?
REP. SPENCER BACHUS (R), ALABAMA: And I'm afraid if we don't answer the question very soon, when does this stop? That it's going to stop when we run out of money. If we don't, I think the American people will simply rise up and stop us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Now, one big question is, what will happen with this bill in the Senate? Now, Democrats maintain right now a very slim voting majority there and there is skepticism among Republicans. But it's unclear right now if the opposition is enough to block the new bill -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right, Kate Bolduan for us this morning on The Hill. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Six minutes after the hour. Here in the United States, we'll address him as Mr. President. In France, he will be known as Monsieur Le President. No matter what you call him, Barack Obama will change relations between the United States and France. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will tell us how.
And you know her work. Renowned "Vanity Fair" photographer Annie Leibovitz is here to tell us what it's like shooting the most famous people on earth.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN": Now that Barack Obama has been elected president, producers in Hollywood say they think America is now ready for a black James Bond and black Wonder Woman. Yes. Yes. Hell, America may even be ready for a black Michael Jackson.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: I don't think we've come that far.
68 days and counting until Barack Obama takes over at the White House. The President-elect remains in Chicago working on his transition to power. And he is counting heavily on people with experience from the Clinton administration to make sure that the process goes smoothly.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is live for us in Chicago this morning.
Certainly, Suzanne, you want to have some old hands behind the wheel as you're trying to drive this transition through. But in some ways, this is beginning to look a little bit like Clinton two, isn't it?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There are a lot of Clinton officials who are advising Barack Obama and who are on his transition team. There are two things that he is trying to show at least in the weeks here. The comment of the financial crisis is really number one. And then, he's also trying to establish a bipartisan group reaching out to some Republicans, as well.
So, the transition team announced that former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, obviously, of the Clinton administration and Illinois Congressman Jim Leech, a Republican, the two of them are going to be representing Barack Obama this weekend at that G-20 Summit. The leaders of the 20 industrialized nations to come together with President Bush to try to figure out a way to deal with this global economic crisis. President Bush, Barack Obama, do not see eye-to-eye when it comes to a number of things, including the auto industry. What to do with the $700 billion bailout money, that type of thing. So, Barack Obama announcing that he's going to have these two heavy-hitters from both sides -- John.
ROBERTS: On Monday, we all remember the President-elect and Michelle went to the White House there to see the new digs. They actually got a chance to measure for the drapes for the very first time. And today, it's the Biden's turn. What can you tell us about their trip to Washington?
MALVEAUX: That's right. Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden are going to be greeted by the Cheneys at the Naval Observatory. This is going to happen a little bit after 5:00 Eastern Time. So, it will be an interesting picture of the body language. You may recall, John, Joe Biden had once called Cheney, the most dangerous vice president probably in American history. So, it will be very interesting to see how the two of them interact with their families.
Joe Biden -- despite the fact that he's actually been a senator for more than 30 something years, he's never actually lived in Washington. He's been commuting back and forth from Delaware through the train rides. So, this is going to be the first time he's actually going to settle in to D.C. But they say they're looking forward to it.
ROBERTS: I'll tell you that Naval Observatory, a lovely place to live. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning in Chicago. Suzanne, thanks so much.
And this programming note. CNN presents a special, "Flashpoint: How The White House was Won And Lost," with Campbell Brown. That's tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
Another Sarah Palin, first. The former vice presidential candidate in a television commercial. Who is selling Sarah Palin? We'll tell you. It's 11-1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It seems like Sarah Palin has been everywhere on TV since being freed from her campaign handlers. And now, 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 her critics. CNN's Jason Carroll was following the story for us.
So, she is going to be giving an interview or she has given a lot of interviews, but is she going to be interviewed for this TV spot that is airing.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No. They're just going to be using footage of her. She will not act or be granting an interview for this particular TV spots, which are scheduled to start shooting, this TV spot, this Monday. Political analysts say this is one way Palin supporters are trying to redefine her for the 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.
UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: As governor, Palin took on corruption.
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 if you want to see the TV spot, it should start airing around the Thanksgiving holiday. Look for it to air on national cable channels, as well as in some local television markets.
CHETRY: Unbelievable. It's not even an inauguration and 2012 talk. It's all over the place.
CARROLL: Yes. She's still out there.
CHETRY: Jason, thanks.
ROBERTS: Face-to-face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Instead of just knowing that, you know, your daughter graduated or had a lead in the play, you can actually see it and hear it and it makes a difference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely the next best thing to being home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: YouTube meets TroopTube. How soldiers are keeping a close watch on loved ones from the battlefield. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: For security reasons, the military banned the use of the popular video sharing site, YouTube. Many military families weren't very happy about that. So, there now appears to be an alternative. Alina Cho is here now to tell us about this new and improved, TroopTube, I guess that they're calling.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They're doing something about it, you know. Imagine, John, your loved one thousands of miles away serving in Iraq, wouldn't it be nice to be able to see them and have them see you?
Because the military banned video sharing sites like YouTube, until now, that just hasn't been possible. But wait until you see what the military rolled out just this week. As you just heard, it's called TroopTube.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOY OZMENT, WIFE: Hey, we want to give a shoutout to 3rd brigade A troop 133 cavalry.
CHO: Joy Ozment never thought she'd be able to talk to her husband serving in Iraq face-to-face, well, almost.
Thank you for all that you are doing and we can't wait to see you.
CHO: This is TroopTube, the U.S. military's answer to YouTube. The site is new. There are personal messages, music -- even a heartfelt welcome from General David Petraeus.
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. CENTCOM COMMANDER: Saying thanks for your tremendous work. CHO: Joy says knowing her husband can logon, see her and post videos, himself, takes some of the loneliness away.
OZMENT: Knowing that he sees, hey, everything's normal back at the house. I don't have to worry about the family. I can see what they're doing.
CHO: Their dad is back with them now, but says when he redeploys, he'll feel like a piece of him is still home.
SGT. FIRST CLASS CHRIS VALVERDE, 3RD BRIGADE A TROOP 133 CAVALRY: Instead of just knowing that, you know, your daughter graduated or had a lead in the play, you can actually see it and hear it and it makes a difference.
CHO: A year and a half ago, the military blocked troops from accessing video sharing sites like YouTube. On TroopTube, all videos are prescreened to make sure they're tasteful and don't compromise national security.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be safe and come home fast. We love you.
CHO: For Kristen and her husband, Sgt. First Class Chris Valverde, the videos mean the kids won't forget their dad.
KRISTEN VALVERDE, WIFE: Christmas, opening presents, birthdays, the first softball game, my son losing a tooth. Just events that he definitely would want to share with him, almost puts him there.
VALVERDE: Definitely the next best thing to being home, physically.
CHO: The only problem from Joy Ozment's standpoint...
OZMENT: They picked a terrible spot to stop the video. And I was like, oh, no, that's terrible looking.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: You know what? It's not that bad, Joy.
ROBERTS: Big smile. Big smile. That's never terrible.
CHO: Big smile. That's right. Big attraction. You know, we should tell you that Joy and Kristen's video on YouTube is -- TroopTube, rather, is the most watched after General David Petraeus' message.
The site is so new and when we asked the Pentagon to give us information about it, they actually had trouble answering the questions. In fact, the spokesman said he was happy we were doing the story so that more military families would use it.
Now, he did tell us that TroopTube was really born out of a need, that the military demographics skews young and this is something they're comfortable using. It's a way to bridge the gap between the deployed service member, of course, John, and the family back home. And the wives that we spoke to said, you know what, when their husbands come home now and they talk about Christmas and birthdays and school plays and the like, it won't be like the first time they're hearing it because they'll have seen it on video.
ROBERTS: Yes, it's great to maintain that connection. I love the fact, too, that we may have retired the "Truth Squad," but now we have you on the "Troop Squad."
CHO: I tell you, we'll be bringing you more of those reports, hopefully, in the coming weeks.
ROBERTS: Could use some of your talents there. Thanks, Alina -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, she's one of the most famous celebrity photographers in the world -- Annie Leibovitz is here live. From John Lennon and Yoko Ono to a pregnant Demi Moore on Vanity Fair's cover. What went on inside some of her most famous photo shoots?
And it may have been America's election, but news of Barack Obama's victory was heard around the world. CNN chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour talked to France's foreign minister about Obama and she joins us, straight ahead. It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. World-renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz spent her career capturing iconic images of rock stars, politicians and historic events. And in her new book, "Annie Leibovitz At Work," she takes us behind the scenes at some of the most famous photography sessions from her four decade-long career. She joins me now.
Great to see you this morning, Annie. Wonderful to have you with us.
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ, AUTHOR, "ANNIE LEIBOVITZ AT WORK": Thank you.
CHETRY: Let's talk about the very beginning. We played Rolling Stones just for you.
LEIBOVITZ: I know it. This is CNN.
CHETRY: You started out back in 1970 at the magazine and then you eventually were asked by Mick Jagger to go on tour. What was that like? How did you develop your photographic style in those early days?
LEIBOVITZ: Well, the photographic style really came from going to school at the Art Institute. You know, it was really fine art reportage. You know, actually, what's great about the book is there's a story behind every picture. And I always wanted to do a book about the making of the photographs.
So, in that section on the Rolling Stones, it's about -- it's really about how you can, you know, as a young photographer, get too close to something. You know, I had an idea that you were supposed to really immerse yourself into what was going on and that was probably the wrong idea. But the early style was really reportage. You know, very easy flowing, whatever went on in front of you, you know, you just photographed.
CHETRY: That's a picture that you said really captured it. It was Mick Jagger at the end of one of the concerts, where he used to dumped water on his head and, by the end, he was stopping when his makeup was running down his face.
LEIBOVITZ: Probably the longest time I ever spent with any subject, you know. So, at the very end of that tour, I mean, you had to, sort of, peel him off the ceiling. It was very ethereal. You know, very -- you know, not of this world, you know.
CHETRY: Why did you say, Annie, that it was the wrong thing to do to get close to your subjects?
LEIBOVITZ: It was -- you have to be, just a little bit of a warning. You have to be careful about, you know, everyone talks about the soul of the sitter and there's a soul of a photographer. You know, you have a life, too. And, you know, I always thought you should just almost become part of what, you know, you're photographing and it was a lesson to be learned to sort of, you know, keep a certain amount of distance.
CHETRY: You got some amazing pictures from that. I want to ask you also about one of your other most memorable photographs. This was John Lennon and you wanted to photograph him. He was insisting or they were both insisting, right, that Yoko Ono was also in the picture. And this is what you took. And this is one of the most famous pictures in the world. Tell us a little bit about the story behind it.
LEIBOVITZ: Again, there's two pictures in that section of the book on John and Yoko. And the first picture was taken 10 years earlier and then when we finally met to do that picture, both of them entwined with each other and John is nude. That was actually photographed the day that he was murdered.
So, in a certain sense, the story, you know, you don't get that kind of picture unless you do know someone over, you know, 10 years. And then -- so, I think of that picture as being 10 years in the making. And then, you know, it's interesting how after something like the murder happens, you know, the picture sort of takes on its own story. Which is kind of nice.
CHETRY: You rename it, or you named it The Last Kiss After.
LEIBOVITZ: I don't think I named it that.
CHETRY: That's what it became known as. LEIBOVITZ: I think you can't help it when you look at it, think of it as, you know, I mean, it is the last picture of him and --
CHETRY: That's amazing. Another one, I still remember the scandal around this at the time. This was back in 1991 and you took this photo of Demi Moore when she was very pregnant, I think with her first daughter. And the time you wrote it, it was a popular picture. It broke ground but I don't think it's a good photograph per se. It's a magazine cover. Now, were you surprised by the reaction that that photo elicited?
LEIBOVITZ: Very surprised. We had no idea that that was -- that was sort of coming. I mean, it sort of really broke ground and, you know, now you see, of course, Britney Spears. I mean, it's now very fashionable to be, you know, even fashion has sort of, you know, come out that way, which was a good thing.
Demi and I didn't really know quite what we were doing and Tina Brown had a lot to do with that, with, you know, going ahead and putting that on the newsstands.
CHETRY: You also spent some time on the trail with Senator Barack Obama. What were your impressions as you spent time with him and were able to photograph him and his family?
LEIBOVITZ: Well, you know, it's -- first of all, it's a new day. So, it's very, very exciting times, you know. But, you know, I had the -- I was really lucky to be able to photograph him over the last couple of years at different intervals. And I think what no one really -- I mean, what people try to talk about but haven't really been able to explain is when you were in the halls and, you know, for the rallies and you would be in, you know, with the audience, it was really more, you couldn't, you just knew it was coming.
I mean, the audience power and the, you know, the empowerment and just from the people watching him. But, that was actually more interesting to me almost than Obama, but he is a very graceful, consistent man and I know that campaign, the campaign made him and I saw him change and become much more sturdy. It is very exciting, exciting time. I'm probably going to be spending a lot of time in Washington in January. Looking forward to that.
CHETRY: Taking a lot more pictures. The book is just wonderful. A real treat to see the pictures and know the story behind it.
Thanks for your time. We love to have you. Annie Leibovitz, thanks.
ROBERTS: It's 30 minutes past the hour and our top story this morning breaking right now. More turmoil in the world markets after a rough day on Wall Street yesterday. Indices in both Japan and Hong Kong have closed in the red more than 5 percent overnight. Afternoon trading in Europe is mixed and new government statistics at least in Germany show that that country's economy meets the definition for a recession. To the most politics in the morning now, while she was hard to interview during the campaign, it is a lot easier to sit down with Sarah Palin now. She got together with both our Larry King and Wolf Blitzer yesterday and while talking to Wolf, Palin gave a list of reasons why she thinks the Republicans lost on Election Day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: You know, I think that there is so much blame to go around, if you will, in terms of why it was that the Republican ticket did not win. And, you know, that's being attributed to we didn't get the Hispanic vote, that really hurt. We were outspent tremendously because of course Obama took the private financing and John McCain kept to his promise of the public financing of the campaign.
Barack Obama was a great campaigner. He had a very strong organization. So many reasons. I'm not going to look backwards there again and point to just President Bush and the administration as to why our ticket didn't prevail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Sarah Palin is at day two of a GOP governor's meeting in Miami. She will speak there today. Our Dana Bash is live for us in Miami, as well.
Dana, do the other governors feel like Sarah Palin is kind of sucking all the oxygen out of the room down there?
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Quite frankly, many of them that we've talked to do. It's an open secret that several of the Republican governors here are thinking about the next presidential run, but when you talk to them, most of them, at least and say what about 2012, they're coy and they say we're not going to go there now. Well, the Alaska governor does.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Sixteen 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 it's what I represent hard-working American families and 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 Republicans way out of the wilderness and not so subtly competing to be the party's guide.
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 are going to be sitting around the same table that had just as strong an opinion as before she was a nominee? Yes. Will she be among the different strong voices? Yes. Will she be the strongest voice? No.
BASH: Governor Pawlenty is here pushing to modernize the GOP for its appeal and made a point of her minding us about the narrow scope of Palins.
GOV. TIM PAWLENTY (R), MINNESOTA: Out on the campaign trail she generated a lot of excitement. Again, for all of us, the question is, it's great to have good Republican rallies, but the real challenge and opportunity is, we have 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 are 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 and being held accountable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Now that non-answer did not go unanswered among some of Palin's colleagues here who admire her star power but wonder if she has the policy to be the leader for the long haul for the Republican Party. John, Palin may be able to answer the question later on this morning. She's going to be on a panel, her first one here at this convention with some of her colleagues and the panel is about moving forward for the GOP. In fact, it's called the GOP in transition. That is after her first official press conference this morning.
ROBERTS: All right. Looking forward to seeing what she has to say this morning. Dana Bash for us in Miami this morning.
Dana, I'm awfully jealous of your location today. Thanks.
CHETRY: Just in to us now, the latest report on jobs. Our Christine Romans minding your business.
Hi, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kiran.
This is a report on weekly jobless claims. We get it every week and it's showing a pretty grim number. It's showing jobless claims in the latest week at a seven-year high. That means more people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time than we've seen any time in the past seven years and when you look at the four-week average which smoothes out all these economic fluctuations in the number, that is the highest in more than 17 years. So, we know that the unemployment line is lengthening by the weak.
What states are the hardest hit? Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Arizona saw the biggest gains and the number of people lining up for jobless benefits. Just how many? 516,000 people lined up for the first time at the unemployment office last week. Economists have been expecting less than that. Anything under 400,000 frankly is considered a sign of a weakening market. When you have a number like 516,000 it is cause for pause in this economy and it tells us what we have been saying for weeks now, the trend about jobs is just not very good here.
Again, the four-week average, that's a number that is a little longer term, that's the highest in over 17 years and, again, more people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time last week and more people than any time in the past seven years -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Christine Romans for us with those numbers. Thanks so much.
Still ahead, for the first time in almost 30 years, survivors of the Jonestown tragedy tell their story.
It's 36 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: That was the chilling voice of the Reverend Jim Jones asking for the container of Kool-Aid laced with arsenic and cyanide that hundreds of his followers would drink until they died. Some took it willingly, many, including children, were held down and forced down to drink the poison. Next Tuesday marks the 30th anniversary of the Jonestown tragedy and tonight, CNN special correspondent Soledad O'Brien brings you untold stories from the survivors and new details of the massacre. She's here now with a preview.
This story is fascinating to me and I can never see too many iterations of it. Looking forward to this tonight.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much.
Part of it I think is because one, there is an NBC crew there that was rolling on families trying to get out of Jonestown. And two, that audiotape Jim Jones recorded a lot of what he did so I think a lot of the fascination is there is so much history to literally go through. You can literally hear the screams of children as they're giving out the cyanide. You can hear that on the audiotapes. It's a remarkable thing.
One thing we discovered in our reporting was that he had been stockpiling cyanide even before Jonestown church members had got there he had been stockpiling cyanide and we spoke to many survivors one of them was Leslie Wilson who even years later is struggling to come to grips with what happened there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Leslie Wilson was waiting for her first chance to run away.
LESLIE WILSON, JONESTOWN SURVIVOR: I remember going to the kitchen and grabbing a butcher knife.
O'BRIEN: A small group of black members hoped to walk out that morning to go on a picnic. So, they said.
WILSON: And to say I was panicked was, I was horrified, I was so, so scared.
O'BRIEN: Nine of them left. These five adults, us three young daughters in one family and Leslie's 3-year-old son.
WILSON: I started carrying him with a sheet on my back.
O'BRIEN: They heard a truck approaching as they reached the thick jungle near the entrance to the compound.
WILSON: Diane who worked in the pharmacy had made, this is so ironic. A cocktail of Valium and Kool-Aid for children to keep them calm.
O'BRIEN: The truck passed and Leslie's group found the railroad tracks nearby that led to another town 30 miles away.
WILSON: We didn't have a clue if we were going to make it the next town, if we were going to live, if we were going to die but we knew that we had to leave.
O'BRIEN: That railroad is now gone, ripped up, the jungle reclaiming the route. All that remains is this railway bridge, which Leslie remembers with dread.
WILSON: I recall a bridge, I have a horrible fear of heights, horrible and there was an area that we had to cross and I had to get on my hands and knees and cross it. I couldn't sit up, I just couldn't.
O'BRIEN: Look closely and you'll understand her fears. You can see straight through the railroad ties to the river below. How difficult was the walk carrying a child on your back, three other little kids?
WILSON: It was a tough walk, but, too, it was a freedom walk. It was a walk to freedom.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: In a way she's still walking, even 30 years later. She's had many ups and downs in her life. Same story for many survivors, drug problems, criminal court --
ROBERTS: You can imagine.
O'BRIEN: Also a great sense of shame. They didn't want to tell people they were Jonestown survivors. ROBERTS: You were there on the ground, has the jungle regained the compound?
O'BRIEN: Has regained a lot of the compound. You can tell it was once cleared but, actually, the jungle is probably about waist high now.
ROBERTS: Was it eerie to be there?
O'BRIEN: For me, not at all. For the young woman who was 12 years old when Jonestown happened, Tracy Parks went back she was a survivor, too. She asked and she begged to come with us because she wanted to make sure there was nothing there. To her in her mind she said I need to know Jim Jones is not alive and there is nothing here. There is nothing there in the jungle. You can see the marks where Jonestown was.
ROBERTS: Fascinating, looking forward to it tonight. Soledad hosts "Escape From Jonestown" tonight 9 p.m. eastern right here on CNN, don't miss TV.
CHETRY: From the city of light to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, what does the election of Barack Obama mean for U.S./French relations? Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will be here next with the answer.
It's 44 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Good morning. Six minutes after the hour and welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Many predict the election of Barack Obama will be a game changer on the international stage. We're joined now by CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour who just sat down with the France foreign minister Bernard Kouchner.
So what was the reaction?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The reaction was very positive and as you say, many believe it will be a game changer because what they want is to go back to a sense of compromise with the United States and Europe rather than having the policy sort of thrust down their throat, as you saw they felt during the years of the Bush administration, most particularly over Iraq. That's the thing that I think caused a lot of trouble between the United States and its allies.
When I asked Bernard Kouchner, also Nobel Peace laureate, he explained what they hoped would happen in an Obama administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BERNARD KOUCHNER, FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER: We are expecting dialogue and partnership, dialogue with the rest of the world in Afghanistan and Iran and everywhere and I know this is not so easy to get and easy to say. And in between Europe and United States partnership, not only being part of the decision, being part of acting together.
AMANPOUR: No more unilateralism. Is that what you're saying?
KOUCHNER: Exactly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: That's the bottom line, they want to, again, go into a compromise situation with the U.S. to try to get some of the very important things done and he listed off a whole group of challenges as well, of course, of this financial crisis that they're in the middle of.
ROBERTS: When Sarkozy was first elected he was that just an act?
AMANPOUR: No, in fact, Bernard Kouchner spoke very importantly about this. It was Sarkozy after the friction between Jacque Chirac and President Bush that brought the American/French relationship back to one of friendship and partnership. They want to build on that. So, Sarkozy actually did quite a lot to bring that back to a normal and even keel.
ROBERTS: The French are saying very nice things about President- Elect Barack Obama. Elsewhere in Europe, we're seeing mixed signals and some comments such as the one from Silvio Berlusconi. Saying he has a nice suntan.
AMANPOUR: That caused a huge amount of trouble in Italy. People jumped down Berlusconi's throat for that. In general, the leaders and the popular reaction to the Obama election has been very positive for precisely the reason reasons that Kouchner said.
But, yes, in Europe, there still is this issue of racism amongst certain quarters and in France, for instance, which so positive towards Obama, they have virtually no black elected officials, just one in the national assembly. And a lot of minorities around Europe, which are very underrepresented are saying maybe this is our time, too. We now have to push.
ROBERTS: Certainly the first lady of France is trying to go down that road, as well. Inspired by this win. What do you think his biggest foreign policy challenge is? What is the first thing he has to do? Other than Iraq and Afghanistan.
AMANPOUR: Those are the huge ones. How are they going to maintain that and win that given his election promises and in Iran how will they face an Iran with its nuclear program and plus in Iran they want to engage with and then, of course, trying to do all these things within this huge financial crisis, talking to Bernard Kouchner. You know, he almost put his head in his hands, so much, but how are we going it do it with all this financial crisis?
ROBERTS: Christiane, it's always great to talk to you. Thanks for dropping by this morning.
AMANPOUR: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM just moments away Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.
Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Kiran. Here's a check of what we're working on for the NEWSROOM today.
Three straight days of Dow drops. This morning troubling signs it could send traders selling again. We'll stay on top of it for you, though.
Doing it right, but not doing it fast. Why Barack Obama is cautious bout cabinet picks and back in the saddle, soldier blown 90 feet in the air by a bomb. Incredible story you're not going to want to miss.
Now, rodeo riding with no legs. We get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Heidi, thanks. Great job, by the way, with President Bush yesterday. Nice interview.
Well, the doctor is in from swimming with these kids to dealing with cluster headaches, Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here and is going to open his mailbag to answer your medical questions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We're always on top of the latest medical news here on AMERICAN MORNING and as a result, you often have questions for us and so every Thursday we dig into Dr. Gupta's mailbag and Sanjay joins us this morning.
It's good to see you. Before we dive into the mailbag, I want to get your take on that new study of arteries of overweight kids and these are 10 year olds they're talking about showing that they have the arteries of 45, 50 year olds. It's really an eye opener about obesity.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Every parent should sit up and take notice. We are starting to see the ramifications of the obesity epidemic. Think about that. Actually looking at the arteries of a 10-year-old and they're looking like the arteries of someone who is 30, 40 years older. You are as old as your arteries. That's what heart surgeons and cardiologists will tell you.
We'll see significant problems with these obese children later on in life in terms of needing bypass surgery and we're already hearing about 8 year olds taking statin medications. This, as you point out, Kiran, should be an eye opener for everybody and try to curb this obesity epidemic.
CHETRY: The study, don't assume your children will lose baby weight as they get older. At that age they're looking like they're obese, that's not going to change. What do you do?
GUPTA: We have some good predictors now. If people get up to 8 or 10 years old and they're still having significant problems with weight, pretty good predictor they'll have problems with their weight in the long run. So, really try to control that. Not simply thinking that it is going to go away on its own and thinking about obesity and overweight in young children, as well.
CHETRY: We'll go to our mailbag right now. It comes from Cairo, Egypt, what exactly is a cluster headache?
GUPTA: Well, there's all sorts of different headaches. People typically hear about tension headaches, one of the most common. Migraine headaches, as well. Cluster headaches are some of the most intense headaches. As the name might suggest, they come in clusters, several over a few days or a few weeks typically associated with pain on one side of the head.
Take a look at the image here. There is a nerve that sort of supplies the sensation to the side of the face, people think that nerve is acting up in some way and that's what's causing the pain. It can be treated oftentimes successfully with pain medications and also steroids and like using 100% oxygen and breathing that in seems to make a difference, as well.
CHETRY: Sounds good. All right Sanjay. We're out of time but we'll try to get some more next week. Thanks, Sanjay. We'll get more of the questions in when we check in with you next time.
57 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
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. He was very clear, he is very strict, you are going to have to feed it, give it water and clean up after it, do you understand it? Joe Biden said, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. We leave you today with a little story to make you go awe. Two rare white male tiger cubs and they're getting motherly love from a 3-year-old chimp. See, I knew you'd do it. You know, John, you're not a huge monkey fan, are you?
ROBERTS: I'm a bigger tiger fan.
CHETRY: See that, they're adorable. These are beautiful white tiger cubs, very rare. Actually, almost on the brink of extinction and they came to this Florida jungle park and that little chimp knew that they need maybe some tender loving. So, apparently, she plays with them and gives them her finger to suck on like a pacifier and they sleep and play together and, unfortunately, of course -- unfortunately, of course, the tiger is going to outgrow the chimp and so they're not going to be able to be together forever.
But in the meantime, she's pretty good with that bottle.
ROBERTS: Yes. The chimp may be in danger in about six months or so. I held a white tiger once, Siegfried and Roy came by, and it's just the most amazing thing to hold in your hands.
CHETRY: Gorgeous. Just gorgeous. See, I knew you'd say awe.
ROBERTS: Awe.
CHETRY: And that's going to do it for us this morning. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you right back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Right now here's "CNN NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins.
