Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Clinton Under Consideration for Secretary of State; Four Countries With Big Clout; Pros & Cons of Saving Detroit's Big Three; Wildfire Rages Out of Control in California
Aired November 14, 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: 59 minutes past the hour, a look at the top stories as we approach 8:00 here in New York. You're watching breaking news right now as flames push deeper into the hills of Santa Barbara, California. So far at least 80 homes in the sea side town of Montecito have been destroyed.
Oprah as well as Rob Lowe, Kevin Costner and dozens of other celebrities own multimillion dollar homes there. At least 5,000 people have been ordered to get out. And right now gusting winds are making it tough for firefighters to gain to control of the flames.
Europe's economy is sinking into its first recession since it introduced the euro.
The European Union said that the 15 nations that use the currency saw their economies shrink for two consecutive quarters. Thanks in part to a world financial crisis. And gas prices dropping more than two cents overnight. According to AAA, now the national average for a gallon of regular is $2.15 a gallon. Since September, gas prices have plunged more than 44 percent.
And to the Most Politics in the Morning. Breaking news involving a key position in President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet. Sources are telling CNN that Hillary Clinton is under consideration to carry out the new president's foreign policy agenda as secretary of state.
The prominent Democrat remains a popular figure on the world stage since her days as first lady. But is this something she would be interested in? When asked, Monday, if she considered a post in the Obama administration, she did leave the door open.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is with us this morning from Chicago with more on what she's hearing about this possible appointment.
Good morning, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
With those who are close to Clinton say that she wouldn't be opposed to this. So, they're being a little bit coy about all this. But, of course, this is all the buzz. There are sources at least that are close to the transition team -- Obama transition team that say that she is being considered for the job. But there are those who are close to Clinton who say that she is aware of the buzz, but that they have not formally approached her in anyway to make any kind of offer. A spokesperson for Clinton also saying if there's any speculation around this, that is for the Obama team to address. They are being rather tight-lipped about all this. But if you recall, there was a lot of buzz about her possibly being the vice presidential pick. That did not happen. So obviously, a lot of people, looking at this, trying to read the tea leaves.
And there are some other candidates that are in consideration here that are very, very strong. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, as well as Senator John Kerry. Both of them in a very short list here. So, obviously, a lot of excitement, a lot of curiosity as to what Senator Clinton's future looks like -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Any other new appointments or news that we're expecting to hear from the transition team today?
MALVEAUX: You know, possibly, we could get some announcements on some other positions. We've been reporting this over the last week or so. The short list for press secretary, Robert Gibbs. He is the communications director for the campaign. Very likely to have that position.
And then also David Axelrod, is the chief strategist for the campaign. Very likely that he would follow Obama to Washington as a national White House adviser. That may happen as soon as today, Kiran.
A lot of behind the scenes work going on. And obviously, a lot of buzz over Hillary Clinton.
CHETRY: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us in Chicago this morning. Thanks.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, let's turn to the economy now. World leaders coming to Washington for this weekend's big economic summit. And now that the financial crisis has truly gone global, there's a whole lot at stake here, worldwide. Our Zain Verjee live in Washington this morning.
Zain, does the U.S. set to make room for any new economic powers at the table?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the U.S. does have to do that. They have to work with the rest of the world to clean up a global financial mess. Now, that may be giving up some of its power to a whole new gang.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice-over): B.R.I.C., the new buzz word for a new crowd coming to town -- Brazil, Russia, India, China. Their economies are exploding. They're using deep pockets to demand more power in the world's financial system. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This weekend leaders will establish principles for adapting our financial systems to the realities of the 21st century marketplace.
VERJEE: B.R.I.C. countries along with other developing nations like South Africa, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico want to say in how to fix the financial mess.
ARVIND SUBRAMANIAN, PETERSON INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS: Until recently, the system has been dominated by the United States and Europe. Now, I think the new powers, the rising powers -- Brazil, Russia, India and especially China, are going to say we have to run this very differently now.
VERJEE: The B.R.I.C. countries stretch across the world with a combined population of about 2.8 billion. They're demanding membership in the elite club of industrialized nations. They say more developing countries should be at the table, not the traditional eight.
They want to revamp the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund both created in 1944 for a smaller world economy. Some, like India, want a permanent seat on the exclusive United Nations Security Council, a privilege only cold war powers have now.
President-elect Obama won't personally be at the financial summit, but he will have to navigate this new landscape.
SUBRAMANIAN: This is going to be a long period of adjustment for the United States, that you know, no longer calls the shots exclusively. I mean, therefore, it has to work -- it's still the world's greatest power. Nothing can be done without the United States, but it will have to cooperate with the others, you know, for whatever it wants in the future.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: The developing countries also want to make sure that U.S. aid isn't cut off to them because of the financial crisis -- John.
ROBERTS: Do they really think anything is going to get done today, or will it get pushed to the new administration?
VERJEE: Well, they think that some thinking get done in the sense that this is a small step and a process that's going to change the world financial terrain.
President Bush, as they know and perceived to be a lame duck, but is starting a process. But they're saying that the real work is going to get done when the Obama administration takes over and takes over the reins, but the meeting is pretty significant because it's going to trigger something that will be new for the world.
ROBERTS: Zain Verjee for us in Washington. Zain, thanks very much. We'll see what happens over the next couple of days. CHETRY: Well, we know that Latinos are hailed as a key voting bloc in this election. Many of them went to Barack Obama, shattering the myths of a black-Latino divide. So where did the GOP go wrong with this voting bloc. We're going to talk about it.
Also, the latest on the big three automakers controversial push for a bailout. Is the tide turning against them? Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" at six minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Breaking news this morning and live pictures from our affiliate, KCAL, as well as KCBS in Montecito, California, just outside of Santa Barbara. A little bit north and east of Santa Barbara.
The fires there continue to rage. Winds of up to 70 miles an hour overnight. One structure after another. And this multimillion dollar homes going up in flames. And in that area, not necessarily in the immediate danger zone, but in that area, is estates owned by both, Tom Cruise and Oprah Winfrey. So a lot of interest on what's happening there in California early this morning.
Our Chris Lawrence is near the fire lines and he'll be reporting for us throughout the day here on the "Most News in the Morning."
CHETRY: And we have Christine Romans joining us now. She's "Minding Your Business" this morning. As it looks less and less likely that at least this Congress and this president are going to pass any type of bailout legislation for the big three autos?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And everyday counts. If you talk to these, these big three auto-making CEOs, I mean, they say that they're -- they're really running on empty here. To use -- terrible metaphor, I guess.
All three have said that they need federal money to survive. This current slump is the worst for auto sales in some 25 years. But remember, there are issues here at play more than just what's happening right now on the economy.
I mean, they have big legacy issues. They've had a hard time adapting to foreign competition. There's a case to be made against a bailout, if you look at bad business decisions. That they didn't make cars, in some cases, that people wanted. That they have this legacy issues. And union contracts that were simply too rich.
But there's also a case to be made for a bailout. A lot of jobs are at stake. The manufacturing prowess of this country is important. This is the backbone of manufacturing. And it's something for national security that you certainly need. Also, you know, are the big three simply too big to fail? Because you have, according to at least one estimate of 3 million jobs, depend in one way or another on the big three automakers.
It's not just Detroit. It's auto parts, factories and plants all across the country. It's car dealers all across the country. So, it's a real battle going on right now. Is it throwing good money after bad, or is it absolutely necessary? And it's going to have to wait I think until the new president takes over.
ROBERTS: The legacy costs are one thing. But there has just been such a lack of vision coming out of those places.
I mean, you know, look at Toyota, right? The Camry. Biggest selling car in the world for Pete's sake. You know, where is their Camry?
ROMANS: The American car makers were the first movers. I mean, they set the standard, right? And it's almost as if, you know, whole new generations from all over the world came up and just surpassed the United States auto industry. But at what point do you have to protect it? And at what point does it just need more time to get ahead again?
ROBERTS: Yes. I mean, that's for everything to pick-up trucks, but who's buying the pick-up trucks.
CHETRY: Hey, my Chrysler minivan is fantastic, if that's any indication. Love the (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: Well, where are we going get the money? How are we going to pay for it? And where do you stop? I mean, where do you stop if you help the automakers? Do you help the retailers then because they're suffering? You know, I mean, where do you stop?
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Right. And the homeowners and the foreclosure. The list goes on and on.
ROMANS: And the homeowners, where do you stop?
CHETRY: All right, Christine, thanks.
ROBERTS: We're just minutes away now from numbers for October retail sales. And as we head into the all important holiday shopping season, consumer spending figures will be telling.
And the Republican ticket rejected by a group that they could not afford to lose. Why McCain lost the Latino vote in critical battleground states and what the GOP needs to do to make sure that it doesn't happen again. It's coming up on 11 minutes after the hour now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." The soul searching continues in the McCain camp. What critical mistakes cost them the election? Well, our Jason Carroll is here now to tell us about one very big one.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The big mistake was that they were on the wrong side of the issues that were important to Latinos. You know, Latinos voted in record numbers during the election. They helped Barack Obama in key battleground states. Now, Republicans have to work on how to win those votes back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Republican governors at their convention are looking inward and outward, asking those in the party which voters they should have done a better job at reaching out to during the campaign.
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R), ALASKA: We didn't get the Hispanic vote. That really hurt.
CARROLL: They lost the vote of people like George Herrera, who had voted Republican until now.
GEORGE HERRERA, HERRERA-CRISTINA GROUP, LTD.: I am, you know, a little disgusted with this party going to a real neo-conservative mindset.
CARROLL: Herrera says he like many Latinos felt Republicans were on the wrong side of issues such as the economy and immigration. Herrera criticized Senator John McCain for backing away from his own immigration reform bill.
HERRERA: I think he was very disingenuousness in dealing with the issue with the Hispanic community. And, you know, don't insult our intelligence.
CARROLL: Similar sentiments from Latinos in Los Angeles, turned off by GOP anti-immigration rhetoric.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was a big deal for me to go with the Democrats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really -- I don't like they treat our people.
CARROLL: Political experts warn Republicans had better listen.
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Immigration, unfortunately, was probably the torpedo that sank the ship.
CARROLL: Latino votes helped Democrats flip battleground states of Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Florida. Florida's Republican governor told CNN's Wolf Blitzer his party needs to do more.
GOV. CHARLES CRIST (R), FLORIDA: We need to reach out to all people and include everyone, and include them at the table.
CARROLL: But how? Cuban-American community leader Jorge Mas Santos says don't take them for granted.
JORGE MAS SANTOS, CUBAN-AMERICAN NATIONAL FOUNDATION: Our community is traditionally a Republican community, but when there's a candidate that speaks not only to our needs, they can receive the support of the Cuban-American community.
CARROLL: Other expert advice, support pro-immigration policies and shift influence within the party coming from the right.
ANTONIO GONZALEZ, WILLIAM C. VELASQUEZ INSTITUTE: If you're going to be successful among Latinos, Republicans have to move towards the center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, the problem with moving to the center is many people who make up the Republican base want to see the party move even further to the right. So, how do you move center without alienating them. The GOP will have to use these next few years to sort this all out. They have a lot of work ahead of them.
ROBERTS: They have a lot of contemplation. An awful lot of it. Jason, thanks so much.
CARROLL: All right.
CHETRY: And who says the campaign's over? Senator John McCain's back on the trail in Georgia. He's trying to keep Democrats from getting the 60-vote filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Details on that runoff race taking place in George.
And would you buy earrings with Barack Obama's face on them? It seems everything Obama is flying off the shelves. We'll take a look at the merchandising of the president-elect, at 15-1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
It's your Friday Political Ticker now. Senator John McCain back on the campaign trail. More than 2,000 people showed up to see him at a rally for Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia. He's in a crucial runoff battle with Democrat Jim Martin. It was McCain's first political appearance since losing the presidential election.
And the Bidens meet the Cheneys. Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, posing for photos Dick and Lynne Cheney, outside of what will be the Biden's new home in Washington. Biden says he's been inside the Naval Observatory before, but after commuting from Delaware by train for decades, this will be the first time he's ever actually lived in D.C.
ROBERTS: President-elect Barack Obama has announced that he will officially resign his Senate seat as of this Sunday. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who is also a Democrat, will appoint the successor of his choice to fill out the remaining two years of Obama's six-year term.
A crowd of a million people could watch Barack Obama take the oath of office. Some lawmakers have already stopped taking ticket requests. And many D.C. hotels are already booked. People on Craigslist are looking for places to stay for cash. Some have even offered to do the dishes. I've got a basement if anybody's interested. The National Parks Service plans to clear more viewing space along the parade route. Jumbo TV screens will also line the national mall.
And for more up-to-the-minute political news, just head to our Web site, anytime, day or night, cnn.com/ticker.
Sarah Palin stealing the show at the GOP Governors Association meeting in Miami. She held a rather awkward news conference in front of people in the profession of mainstream media. Reporters asked a whole four questions. The other governors, literally, in the shadows the entire time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PALIN: As far as we're concerned, the past is the past. It's behind us. And I, like all of our governors, we're focused on the future. And the future for us is not that 2012 presidential race. It's next year, and our next budgets, and the next reforms in our states.
We are united and we understand what it's going to take to get this economy back on the right track. National security issues, immigration issues, education reform, health care reform -- those issues that we deal with every day in our states. We want to reach out to the new administration and offer our assistance, our support, offer solutions that I think will be sought by the new administration and by Congress. And we're here to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It was her first news conference since sitting the national stage. She never held one during the campaign itself -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, consumers may not be buying the way they used to, but there's one thing that's selling just fine -- anything with Barack Obama's face on it. Why people can't seem to get enough Obamabilia. It's 20 minutes after the hour.
Retailers go belly up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I would suggest people do if they have a gift card from a Circuit City or another store that happens to be in Chapter 11 right now, I would say run, don't walk to that store, and buy something quickly because you just don't know when the plug may be pulled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Millions of gift cards could become worthless and how will this impact the holiday shopping season. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 23 minutes after the hour now and welcome back to the "Most Politics in the Morning." After an Election Day thumping, the Republican Party is a lot like a crew without a captain at the moment. So, what's next? And who is likely to lead the party? Joining me now is Mike Duncan. He's the Chairman at the Republican Governors Association conference.
Mike, good to see you. The thing I want to talk to you about, first of all, is yesterday you filed suit in court to try to overturn some parts of the McCain-Feingold Act. Now, Republicans never liked McCain-Feingold. But in doing that, is that a signal you want to go back to the bad old ways of campaign finance?
MIKE DUNCAN, CHAIRMAN, RNC: Good morning, John, and good to be with you this morning. And bad old ways is a bad way of putting this. We filed suit yesterday in two courts, one in D.C., challenging the soft money ban and the second one in Louisiana, challenging the coordinated expenditure limits.
The first, in District of Columbia, would allow us to take nonfederal money and be involved in state activities. It is illegal for me next year as RNC Chairman to go to Virginia, where there's no federal race and raise money for the candidate for governor of Virginia. That impinges on my constitutional right. And we've had six years now of seeing how this back partisan campaign finance reform act would work and we believe that it's being applied in an unconstitutional manner, and we challenged that yesterday.
ROBERTS: As you know, Mike, there was a lot of criticism about the huge pods of unregulated soft money that were going into election campaigns and how, you know, the suggestion was that people were buying influence there. The Republican Party used to be very good at small donations. You got -- many people say you got beaten at your own game in 2008 and now you want to change the rules.
DUNCAN: Well, John, we're still very good at that. We had over 1.8 million donors this time with an average donation of $77. We raised over $315 million. But what's happened in the last six years is that we have less accountability and transparency. I post all my donors, so you know who they are, you can judge for yourself.
But these 527 organizations do not do that. They don't have the same kind of constraints. They can go in and do issue ads and hide the results from people. So, we've pushed the potential corruption over to these 527 organizations. And we need to have more accountability and bring back that to the party. And that's what our lawsuit would lead us to.
ROBERTS: You know, there's still three House races that have yet to be determined. There are three Senate races yet to be determined, two of those are in a recount process -- one in Minnesota, the other one is going to be a run-off in Georgia. The RNC sent out a fundraising letter this week in which it says, quote, "The Obama-Biden Democrats and their liberal special interest allies are trying to steal these election victories from Republicans." How exactly are they stealing these victories?
DUNCAN: Well, we've got to make sure that there's not a thumb on the scale, particularly in Minnesota, where the system is being regulated by a secretary of state. It is a partisan. And we've got to make sure that we have our people in the rooms, making sure that it's a straight count. And that's what we're doing. We've deployed people up there. We need resources to be able to do that. That recount is very close. It's down to 200 votes.
ROBERTS: All right. So you said you've got to make sure that there's not a thumb on the scale. But this fundraising letter clearly said they're trying to steal these election victories.
DUNCAN: Well, we have to be careful. I mean, there have been lots of reported irregularities in this election going back to ACORN when they registered people illegally.
ROBERTS: Mike, is it accurate to say they're trying to steal these elections or did that language go too far?
DUNCAN: John, I have not got that in front of me right now, but I want to make sure that we are vigilant and do not allow anyone to irregularly out-influence the outcome of this election and we have to have resources to do that and we're asking people to help us to do that.
ROBERTS: It seems that "steal these election victories" is pretty charged language and you should have something to back that up.
DUNCAN: Do you want anyone to steal an election?
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: I don't want anybody to steal an election, but if there's no evidence that anybody is. It's just hard to reconcile how you put that language in a fundraising letter.
Let me ask you about the leadership of the RNC, because this is coming up to a vote in January. Are you going to run again as chairman?
DUNCAN: I don't know. My job is to continue this election. We have the runoff going in Georgia. We have the recount going in Minnesota. We've got two congressional elections that haven't been held yet in Louisiana. My first responsibility is to do my day job. After that, I'll make a decision.
ROBERTS: Right. Of course, there are some challenges being launched, if you do decide to seek another term, Michael Steele, former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland. He's somebody who's just thrown his hat in the ring. He talked about it last night.
He said, quote, "Voters have just lost any sense of confidence that the Republican Party holds the answers to their problems. Most Americans today see a Republican Party that defines itself by what it is against rather than what it is for." Has the Republican Party, Mike, lost its way?
DUNCAN: No, the Republican Party has not lost its way. We stand on very sound principles. The American people still believe the same values as what the Republican Party did and we've been doing our surveys to show that. We're center-right nation. We're headed in the right direction with our party. The great thing about this is we have a deep bench in the Republican Party. We have a lot of people who are interested in being RNC Chairman, and I'm very pleased to see that.
ROBERTS: In terms of rebuilding the Republican Party, because this is going to be a big deal for both 2010 and 2012. Newt Gingrich says, quote, "The Republican Party right now is like a midsize college team trying to play in the Super Bowl." I mean, this is the vaunted Republican Party that held power for so long. How do you rebuild the Republican brand?
Governor Tim Pawlenty said this week down at the Republican Governors Association conference it needs more than a comb-over.
DUNCAN: You do it by bringing people together. And that's the first thing that I would do if I were re-elected chairman. I would be working with the leaders in the House and Senate and the governors and local officials all over the country. And this lawsuit that we brought yesterday will get us back in the game, working in more states, being able to take the soft money will allow us to work in redistricting all over the country, to work in state legislative races all over the country. So you do it by being a national party as opposed to being just a federal party.
ROBERTS: All right. Mike Duncan, Chairman of the RNC, thanks for joining us this morning. It's good to see you.
DUNCAN: John, thank you.
ROBERTS: All right. Take care.
CHETRY: 29 minutes after the hour. We have breaking news this morning. Hillary Clinton, the Senator out of New York, may be up for a spot in Barack Obama's Cabinet. Two sources close to the Obama transition team say that Clinton is being considered for secretary of state, which is fourth in line of the succession to the White House. A Clinton source, though, is saying that no one contacted her.
Bombshell accusations of the FAA is covering up safety threats at one of the country's busiest airports -- Dallas Fort Worth. The Transportation Department is accusing the FAA of intentionally misclassifying 62 cases of planes flying too close together between 2005 and 2007. Investigators say the agency was trying to protect air traffic controllers responsible for those close calls.
And we're following breaking news out of California as a wildfire rages out of control in and around Santa Barbara. More than five dozen homes have burned to the ground. And what is going up in flames, some of the most expensive real estate in the world -- home to famous directors and movie stars like Oprah and Rob Lowe.
Our Chris Lawrence is live in Santa Barbara, give us an update on the conditions there, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kiran, we're just now getting some information that is starting to put this fire in some perspective. Fire officials now tell us this fire has burned down more than 100 homes and that one on top of the hill behind me is one of them. Also, two people have been burned, a firefighter has been burned. But right now the winds have died down and the air is a bit cooler. That's a good thing.
But then again, this fire was extremely strong. It broke out just after sun down on Thursday night in literally just quickly spread to about 300 acres. We were going through just the dozens and dozens of homes with our own eyes, burning down to the ground. This area was a very hard area for firefighters to attack, not very many places they can form a break line to stop the fire. And those winds were gusting at about 70 miles per hour at one point. Just no way to slow that fire down.
Again, this is an area some call the American Riviera, Oprah Winfrey has a $50 million mansion nearby. Actors Rob Lowe and Michael Douglas have lived here. But none of their homes appear to be damaged at this point in time. But bottom line on this fire is that about 100 families, perhaps more than 100 families had a home when the sun set last night and when the sun rises here in just a couple of hours, they won't have a home. Kiran.
CHETRY: Wow, and the pictures that we're looking at right now, Chris, KCAL, KCBS showing us some pictures of a home burning there in Montecito. Such a difficult situation for so many people. As you said before, it happened really quickly. Was there sufficient warning for some people to try to get out?
LAWRENCE: From what we heard from some of the people who were evacuating and some of the firefighters who here on the scene, there wasn't a lot of time. you know it seems that most people were able to get out, but this was a very, very frantic, rushed evacuation because this fire just came so quickly. You know this area hasn't had a fire in about 30 years. So that's a lot of time for that brush to build up and so when it did ignite, there was a lot of fuel to spur it on.
CHETRY: All right. Chris Lawrence for us and the pictures really tell the story out there. It looks like it's going to be another rough day for the firefighters.
Thanks, Chris.
ROBERTS: Well, it had to happen, first he made history, now Barack Obama's face is on everything and you can buy it all on the streets. Our Carol Costello found Obama for sale out there in many different forms, some of them, shall we say, a little embarrassing? Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some of them are. Funny, we'll put it that way, you have to have a sense of humor, but it does seem everybody is making a buck off Obama. The obvious reason he's selling because he's made history. But it's more than that. His campaign gave him a persona, an Obama brand and that's why Obama merchandise is so hot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO (voice-over): That $700 billion bailout isn't doing much for the economy so far. But Barack Obama's face sure is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which one is going the fastest?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's four dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cash only. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything with Obama's face on it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll take that one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which one?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one that has hope on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll take that.
COSTELLO: In New York City's Union Square vendors who make their Obama T's, Obama in the House, --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama jewelry
COSTELLO: Earrings and buttons made for pennies are cleaning up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was businesslike you know in the last week?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crazy. Amazing. Insane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your hottest seller?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hope button.
COSTELLO: It's not just New York either. Obama merchandise mania is inescapable.
ANNOUNCER: Get both of these brilliant uncirculated Barack Obama 24 karat gold coins. At $29.95 value, yours for just $9.95.
COSTELLO: According to the "L.A. Times," nine Obama books are in the works. One industry insider calls it the biggest thing for publishing since Harry Potter." Professional collectors have never seen anything like this. Normally after a candidate is elected interest in paraphernalia disappears. Not this time. And Austin, the Obama store. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it has Obama on it, it will sell.
COSTELLO: He's not kidding. Those Obama earrings, they are hot, hot, hot.
"SARAH," MAKES OBAMA JEWELRY: A lot of people have bought the Obama earrings and I felt bad because I wasn't donating any of the money. I always wanted to go Peru to Machu Picchu and I think Obama won't mind if I actually use the money.
COSTELLO: If you think it's crazy to spend money on this stuff you're wrong. Mark Evans is a professional collector. He says creative well made items made by artists or street vendors could be worth their weight in gold some day.
MARK D. EVANS, PROFESSIONAL POLITICAL COLLECTOR: I'm looking for things that are not mass-produced and distributed all over the country. For example when I was in Denver we found buttons that were made by street vendors, artists, and those are the sort of things we look for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just show that off a little bit. There you go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: So those Obama earrings may be worth something someday. You know, buy the unusual, skip the T-shirts. Take a look at these buttons that I have on display. These are unusual buttons that you should buy. And by unusual items like the Obama condom. I bought these on the streets of New York. Condoms. Obama condoms. And it says use with good judgment. My favorite though are the Sarah Palin condom when abortion is not an option, Palin condoms. I'm going to wrap this in plastic and keep them forever.
ROBERTS: Is the likeness just on the outside packaging?
COSTELLO: No I didn't open it because I don't want to ruin the value.
ROBERTS: There you go, you are a true collector.
Carol, thanks so much for that.
COSTELLO: Sure.
CHETRY: And just in to CNN, Christine Romans here watching your money, some retail numbers that we're getting right now. Lay it on us.
ROMANS: October retail sales down 2.8 percent, worst than expected. July, August, September, we're down, now the next month is down as well. It's very unusual that you see months in a row like that of retails sales down. We know what the problem is, falling home values, big time job losses and tumbling stock values. We've also just heard that Sun Microsystems is laying off up to 6,000 workers and the "Wall Street Journal" is reporting that Citigroup is laying off some 10,000 workers. So that's one reason why people aren't going to the mall, right, they're worried about their jobs, their home values and they're worried about tumbling stock values. That Sun Microsystems news is about 18 percent of it's work force.
You know there's no doubt that you know it's tough right now for retailers. And some of them are going out of business. The gift cards, I want to tell you about this part of the story, the gift cards they issue are some of the most popular gift items for the holidays, but in this economy gift cards can be risky.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (voice-over): Still holding on to those gift cards from the Sharper Image or Bombay Company? Too late, out of business. How about Linens and Things? Better move fast, it's closing shop and liquidating, consumers will lose $100 million this year on worthless gift cards from restaurants and stores that have gone belly up. It's tough out there for retailers. Mervyn's is going out of business for good. Comp USA has closed most of its stores. Starbucks is shutting down about 600 stores. Circuit City has filed for bankruptcy.
Todd Marks writes a blog for consumer reports called "Tightwad Todd."
TODD MARKS, CONSUMER REPORTS: What I would suggest people would if they have a gift card from a Circuit City of another store that happens to be in Chapter 11 right now. I would say run, don't walk to that store and buy something quickly. Because you just know when the plug may be pulled.
ROMANS: For now your Circuit City gift card is safe. A judge Monday said that the retailer could continued to accept them and even issue more cards while it reorganizes. And the big trade lobby says have no fear.
ELLEN DAVIS, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: Most gift cards in this country regardless if the retailer has declared bankruptcy are perfectly safe and can be redeemed.
ROMANS: In many cases the bankruptcy court allows retailers to accept gift cards even though the company is in Chapter 11.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Incredibly, though, consumer reports says a quarter of all gift cards are never redeemed in the first place. Another reason why if you've got them, you should spend them. So if you got those gift cards later on, spend them and think about it when you're going to the mall to buy a gift for the holidays.
ROBERTS: It's not like finding $50 in your pocket.
ROMANS: That's absolutely right.
ROBERTS: That will never go bad.
CHETRY: The beauty of it is the one business that you said was doing great, McDonald's gift cards.
ROMANS: There you go.
CHETRY: I'm in the clear. I'll order off the dollar menu.
ROBERTS: Well, before the election we took the pulse of one New York high school to see how African-American students and teachers were feeling about Barack Obama's chances. There was anticipation but also a whole lot of anxiety, so wait until you see what happened when we went back. 39 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most Politics in the Morning.
And the days before America elected it's first black president. Our Lola Oguinnake stopped by one Brooklyn high school to capture the roller coaster of emotions, especially among young African-Americans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You wake up November 5, guys and he has not won. You didn't even let me finish and you started shaking your head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it would be just devastating. I'm at a loss of words right now even thinking about it like you brought reality back to me and I'm like, wow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So how the they feel now that he is the president- elect? Lola went back to get the voices of the election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NAOMI LYNCH, STUDENT: And we're just watching CNN and I looked at the screen and it says Barack Obama wins the election. I just dropped my phone. I was like OMG.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mother lives in Texas and she was on the phone the whole time and she was screaming.
OGUNNAIKE: It's interesting because my parents called me too and they're from Nigeria but they just became citizens last month so they were able to vote. And my mother and father, both on the phone like - he did it, he did it? Lola, he did it.
RAHDEL CLAUSE, STUDENT: When we won, I mean, I'm eating this sandwich -- You know according to the Barack Obama -- like turkey, cheese, some pickles and all that good stuff on there.
JOHN DARGEN, STUDENT: When the votes were coming in, John McCain was going to lead for one minute because he had eight and Obama had three. And my sister almost had a heart attack when she saw that. She was like oh, gosh, Obama 's going to lose
OGUNNAIKE: So what do you think the win means for the future of America.
CRYSTAL BELLE, TEACHER: Obama being president does not change the history of America. Obama being president does not change the fact that we do have race relations issues. We do. And it's a fact.
My life will still be the same. He is going to do things for poor people like raise minimum wage and stuff like that, but for me on a personal level, when he won, I was just sleeping.
NATALIE THADAL, STUDENT: When I baby sit little boys, African- American boys, or whenever, when I just look at the TV or whatever, they're like I'll be president one day. I always shake my head like, no, you won't. So when he won, I can actually tell my baby sitting kids that you probably will be president.
CAMILLE ADOLPHE, STUDENT: I was happy to see a strong black family actually in the White House. I was just speechless the whole time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Lola is here with us now. So some of those young people do think that this message of change will actually change a lot of lives.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes. Their lives already changed. They're saying that they feel a lot more optimistic. One boy in the piece said he wasn't really considering going to college before but it's something that he's really thinking about and he also wants to go out and buy a suit.
ROBERTS: Well, that's good. Good for him. Did your parents know that you make fun of them -
OGUNNAIKE: No, I don't make fun of them. That's a lovely interpretation of their accent. Not making fun.
ROBERTS: You're like Margaret Cho.
OGUINNAKE: Except that I don't have my own show.
ROBERTS: There you go. Keep working on that. Lola, thanks so much. Kiran.
CHETRY: It's like one of those things. All children of immigrant parents try to master their accent.
ROBERTS: Come on. Do your Dad. Do your dad. CHETRY: A wonderful show today as always.
All right. Thanks, guys. Just when you thought that a pregnant man sounded bizarre, comes another strange twist to the story. Oh boy, more family drama in the home of the pregnant man.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We got 20 reports of tornadoes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crews are fighting fires on several fronts.
TAD AGOGLIA, DISASTER RECOVERY COMPANY: The most critical phase of a disaster is the first few days. That's when you have to find the people that are in desperate need of medical attention, food, water, but you see a building lying in the middle of the road, or if 20 miles is under water, how do you get all those resources to those people?
I got this crazy idea to use one of my cranes to respond to a disaster and just open up roads so that the real heroes have the resources they need to continue to serve. My name is Tad Skylar Agoglia. I provide help and hope to those in their greatest hour of need.
There's people who are going to die if they don't get there.
I put together a crew that stays on the road 12 months out of the year and responds to disasters all over America. As soon as we see a threat striking anywhere in the united states, if we feel it's severe enough, we leave immediately.
Oftentimes I am asked why I do this and I can't help but think, why aren't more people doing this?
ANNOUNCER: Vote now, cnn.com/heroes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: That's right, now you only got five more days to get in your vote before voting closes on November 19. So you go to cnn.com/heroes right now to vote for the hero that inspires you the most. It's 49 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Some breaking news this morning, the political world has been abuzz about the possibility that President-elect Barack Obama would tap his primary campaign rival, Senator Hillary Clinton for the Secretary of State position. Our Suzanne Malveaux has been doing some digging and she has new information for us this morning.
Hi, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Hi, Kiran.
Well, two sources who are familiar with the talks between Senator Clinton and Barack Obama have told me this morning confirming that the two actually did meet here in Chicago yesterday, late afternoon, that Clinton was told and it was at the invitation of Barack Obama was told whether or not that there would be any kind of role in the Obama administration. This source also saying that she went to this meeting, essentially she had heard these rumors before about the Secretary of State position.
She thought it was surprising and even silly considering that there was all this buzz about the VP spot, vice president spot, never approached by Obama, so she decided to go to this meeting yesterday. She sat down with Obama we are told that they discussed possibilities. These two sources however saying that they cannot confirm whether it was specifically about the Secretary of State position, but that they did sit down one-on-one and talked about any kind of interest or any possibility of a role in the administration -- Kiran.
CHETRY: And if you could just give us a tiny little bit of background on this type of situation, would he slice his primary campaign rival to talk about something else? Would there be a possibility that they would just be meeting to discuss policy?
MALVEAUX: Well, no, according to a source who is familiar with Senator Hillary Clinton's thinking, she went into this meeting aware that they were interested in finding out what were her thoughts, what were her ideas, whether or not there was any interest in having a role in the administration, if this is an initial talk between the two. So this is not just kind of a policy meeting here.
Clearly there was a lot of rumor that was out there about the Secretary of State position. She wanted to find out what was going on. Barack Obama invited her to come down to Chicago to actually talk about if there was any interest in any type of role, not specifically Secretary of State, according to these two sources, but clearly just to try to clear the air, if you will.
A lot of buzz and perhaps even some hard feelings from last time around when there was so much talk over whether or not she would be considered for the vice presidential slot and then they never formally or officially approached her. They didn't even talk to her about it. This was a one-on-one, a sit down between these two discussing whether or not there would be any interest involved in a role in the administration. Kiran. Clearly, this is interesting to note here. A lot of buzz about the Secretary of State position, but the two sources not confirming specifically that that was going to be the job that they were discussing.
CHETRY: The possibility of another cabinet level job, perhaps the health and human services secretary?
MALVEAUZ: Well, you know, that's a possibility. I don't have those details about whether or not that's something obviously she has talked about having some sort of role, even Barack Obama has talked about tapping in on her expertise on health and human services because of her health care plan. I don't know specifically whether or not that was a cabinet member post that they had actually discussed.
CHETRY: All right. We do know though that you were able to confirm that there was this meeting. And it was requested by Barack Obama. Well, probably find out more details throughout the morning.
Suzanne, thank you.
ROBERTS: Well, in a tough economy it can be hard for struggling families to afford to eat and that can be a real problem for growing kids. But some schools are stepping up to the plate, the lunch plate.
CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this week's "Fit Nation."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the economy in a downturn, the burden is falling on schools in many areas to provide nutritious and affordable meals for kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nutrition is critical for children's success. If children are well fed, well balanced, our children achieve well.
GUPTA: But just getting enough food can be an issue for some families, so getting healthy and often more expensive food becomes an after thought the end result of those decisions can be devastating.
CARLA HARRIS, TEACHER: We do have several children that are obese. We do have several children with diabetes. We have children with rotting and decaying teeth.
GUPTA: But there is some good news, a study in the journal of pediatrics shows that small steps can make a huge difference.
SANDY SHERMAN, THE FOOD TRUST: We reduced the incidents of students becoming overweight by 50 percent just by making small changes.
GUPTA: And like any good education, it starts in the classroom.
SHERMAN: We did training of teachers. We did classroom education, and then we just helped to make some alterations in the lunch room.
GUPTA: Changes like replacing soda with water and skim milk, taking candy out of vending machines and teaching kids to make better choices. It's a program that makes teachers, parents, and students alike very happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have seen an increase in test scores and a decrease in behavioral issues. HARRIS: They love it. I don't know if you saw them attack the fruits, they actually like it. I think if they were more accessible, they would be more willing to try it.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. And before we leave you, I want to thank you for being with us this entire week. We have special birthday. Tomorrow is John Roberts' birthday and I was doing a little walk down memory lane in your office. This is my absolute favorite picture. Could you please tell the story behind this one?
ROBERTS: This was the --
CHETRY: A little younger John Roberts.
RORB This was in my previous life. It was 1985 in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. I was covering the Rocking Rio Festival and that's Ozzy Osborne fresh out of the Betty Ford Clinic. We sat down and we did an interview over the drugs and everything -- at the Betty Ford Clinic, that was back when he had blond hair as well. That's an interesting memory. Yes, I think I was 27 years old, at that time 26, 27.
CHETRY: I love it. It's very cute. You know, you really do look the same. Different hair do, that's about it.
ROBERTS: So does Ozzy.
CHETRY: Well, Ozzy had had quite a little bit of a tough time of life than you.
ROBERTS: It's dangerous if I leave my office unlock in the morning. Thanks so much for joining us in AMERICAN MORNING. We will see you back here again, bright and early on Monday.
CHETRY: Have a wonderful birthday, by the way, tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Thank you. Appreciate it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy birthday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy birthday.
CHETRY: Here's "CNN NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins.
