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American Morning
Just eight days until the president-elect's inauguration; Madoff may be headed to prison; Obama still pushing for quick action on his stimulus plan
Aired January 12, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Eight days away, and Barack Obama's race for change runs into a wall of reality. What will you have to sacrifice to save the economy?
Plus -- Obama, the brand.
(MUSIC PLAYING): And the world is made of energy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obama's campaign did something absolutely brilliant and almost impossible.
ROBERTS: Why corporations see big bucks in the campaign logo on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Good morning, thanks very much for being with us, Monday, the 12th of January, just eight days until the inauguration until the new administration, new president. Everybody is trying to get an angle here.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely. A lot going on this morning.
First, though, the Senate could vote this week on whether to give the incoming Obama administration access to the second half of the treasury's $700 billion bailout. Right now, about 350 billion remains under congressional control. President-elect Barack Obama promising to make better use of the bailout money, opening it up to help financially strapped homeowners and putting restrictions on banks that actually get aid.
Israel now making its deepest advance yet into Gaza. Soldiers finding an urban war field, the city of 400,000 rigged for battle. Israel says homes and mosques have been booby trapped with explosives. More than 780 Palestinians and 13 Israelis have been killed in the now 17-day war. Israeli officials say the operation may be in its final days because of the U.N. resolution for a cease-fire.
And no matter where you live, you may have to hang up the phone if you're driving. A federal safety group is now calling for a total ban on cell phone use behind the wheel. Not just having to use handsets but no cell phones at all. Six states have laws against using handheld phones. No state bans phones outright. The group compared motorists who gab to drunk drivers.
And "Slumdog Millionaire," the top dog at last night's Golden Globe Awards, taking home four statues including Best Drama. Also Kate Winslet swept Best Actress and Supporting Actress. Mickey Rourke pinned down the win for Best Actor for "The Wrestler." And Heath Ledger who died almost a year ago today was named Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Batman the Dark Knight".
ROBERTS: I saw "Slumdog" over the weekend. What a fabulous, fabulous movie.
Hey, this morning with just eight days until the transfer of power, the current and incoming administrations are now tag teaming a reluctant Congress into releasing the second half of the initial $700 billion bailout.
The request coming as President-elect Barack Obama and his team remain focused on pushing through their own massive economic stimulus plan. Yesterday, his economic team held a rare Sunday meeting with key Senate Democrats and he told ABC's "This Week" that he is open to discussions on a fast track basis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: We're not trying to jam anything down people's throats. Here's what we know though, that the sooner a recovery and reinvestment package is in place, the sooner we can start turning the economy around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us live. She's on the telephone this morning.
Suzanne, how soon could the money be released if he pushes ahead with it on a fast track basis?
VOICE OF SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, if President Bush requests the money this week, which is expected then, and and Congress doesn't lock in the next 15 days, it could become available just a few days after Barack Obama becomes president. If Congress doesn't approve this, obviously President Bush could veto the legislation and clear the way for this money or he could leave it for Obama to do that as president.
And that really is one thing they are dreading. That's the least desirable option for the president-elect to put in that kind of messy political situation where he'd really have this kind of standoff with Congress.
And that's why you're seeing these rare meetings happen even before he takes office. Look, try to get President Bush to request the money and try to convince those members of Congress not to block it.
ROBERTS: So how would he spend the money? Would he spend it differently than it's been spent so far?
MALVEAUX: That's a very good question because right now, members of Congress, I spoke with a few who are in this meeting, are asking for some details here. They got some details over the weekend about the $800 billion economic recovery package and what he wants to do with that. But they haven't heard the kind of details they want about, you know, holding these people, holding the government accountable for the bailout relief fund. I want you to take a listen to what Barack Obama said this weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've got to move quickly. We've got to make sure that any investments that we make have good long-term benefits for the economy, not just short- term. We can't set up a situation where we're adding to the structural deficit over the long-term. We can't have waste and abuse in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: So how is he going to guarantee and reassure members of the Congress that this isn't going to happen? Some really just aren't -- they're not convinced at this point that's why you see people like Congressman Barney Frank introducing legislation last week to say, hey, you know what, out of that $350 billion if you want that money, we want to guarantee that it's a part of the law that says $40 billion of that is going to help prevent people from losing their homes. We want tougher penalties on some of these folks when it comes to their salaries, the limits on their salaries. We want to be able to trace the money and where it is.
A lot of people feel burned by the first $350 billion, you know. A lot of questions about where it went and whether or not the government was accountable and those are still questions that Barack Obama has to try to answer to members of Congress.
ROBERTS: A lot of questions unanswered. Suzanne Malveaux for us from the White House this morning. Suzanne, thanks.
MALVEAUX: Hey, thanks, John.
ROBERTS: We'll try to find you a camera crew because while it's always great to hear from you, it's always better to see you. Thanks, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Great (ph) to see you next hour.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: Exactly.
MALVEAUX: Thanks again.
CHETRY: It is a Monday, isn't it?
ROBERTS: Many different levels.
CHETRY: President-elect Barack Obama campaigned on some bold promises of change but with the economy issue number one on Barack Obama's mind, he's saying that some of his promises will unfortunately have to be put on hold.
CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Washington. You've got a crew and there you are this morning. Hey, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Yes, it's always nice to be here in sound and in picture. In style and substance, Barack Obama is sounding in some ways like a different president and the candidate Americans got to know during the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: This recession could linger for years.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Now the change is in him. Just days from inauguration, Barack Obama is striking a different tone.
OBAMA: Not everything that we talked about during the campaign are we going to be able to do on the pace that we had hoped.
ACOSTA: The soaring campaign rhetoric --
OBAMA: America, this is our moment. This is our time.
ACOSTA: Has given way to grim reality.
OBAMA: Everybody is going to have to give. Everybody is going to have to have some skin in the game.
ACOSTA: With the country mired in an ugly recession, the president-elect is calling for national sacrifice, warning there could actually be more job losses this year than last.
OBAMA: The estimates are that if we don't do anything, we could see four million jobs lost this year.
ACOSTA: The economy is also forcing Mr. Obama's team to reconsider some campaign pledges.
OBAMA: I don't believe in running up debt for the next generation.
ACOSTA: Such as reining in deficit spending and scrapping the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans before they expire in late 2010.
OBAMA: We have tried it George Bush's way, and it hasn't worked.
ACOSTA: Some of them it would bring is aimed at attracting Republican support for the incoming president's economic recovery plan but that could set up an early battle in the now heavily Democratic Congress.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I want a repeal of the tax cuts for the highest income people in America.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ACHOR: There would be a tax increase for those richer Americans.
PELOSI: This isn't a tax increase. This focus of the tax cuts should be on America's middle class, the backbone of our democracy who've gotten really the royal shaft in the past eight years.
ACOSTA: Mr. Obama is asking for sacrifice from Congress as well. Some political observers say the economic crisis raises the stakes.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: This strengthens Barack Obama's hand with the Congress and with the public. It's so urgent that it's going to be very, very hard I think for people who don't like parts of this package to vote against it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Mr. Obama is now in the business of managing expectations, warning Americans the country not only needs hope but hard work. He calls the task ahead a heavy lift -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Acosta, thanks.
ROBERTS: President Bush has mixed emotions about leaving office in eight days. He says he'll miss being commander in chief. Mr. Bush and his father, the first President Bush, were interviewed on "FOX News Sunday." They talked about his time in office and gave their impressions of the incoming president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIT HUME, FOX NEW ANCHOR: Now, you've watched this range of appointments that Barack Obama has announced. Your take on -- your feeling about it?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've been impressed.
HUME: Why?
G.W. BUSH: Well, because, one, he showed substance. Two, he has picked people that are capable and confident people. And I think he's had a very good transition?
HUME: Do you agree with that?
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, totally. Totally. If I didn't, I wouldn't tell you. Same policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President Bush, 41, says his son has been tested like no other president before him and has passed the test.
For the first time, a woman will lead the national prayer service following Barack Obama's inauguration. Reverend Sharon Watkins has been chosen to deliver the sermon at the National Cathedral in Washington the day after Obama is sworn in as president. Watkins is pastor of the Protestant Disciples of Church, Disciples of Christ Church, which has some 700,000 members in the U.S. and Canada.
And job seekers are flocking to the Obama administration in record numbers. The transition team says more than 350,000 resumes have been submitted online. That's nearly four times the number of people who applied for jobs when President Bush took office eight years ago. There is a supply and demand problem though. The incoming Obama administration has only 3,000 to 4,000 jobs available, so 100 applicants for every job.
And the Obama family is close to deciding on a first dog. While President-elect Barack Obama was being interviewed on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, the Obama daughters had a specific question that they wanted host George Stephanopoulos to ask their dad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS HOST, ABC'S "THIS WEEK": What kind of a dog are we getting and when are we getting it?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: They seem to have narrowed it down to a Labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Medium sized.
OBAMA: Medium sized dog. And so, we're now going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up.
STEPHANOPOULOS: So you're closing in on it.
OBAMA: We're closing in on it. This has been tougher than finding a commerce secretary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Take a look. Here are the pictures of a Labradoodle. It's a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle and the Portuguese water hound. Both said to be intelligent, popular family dogs. Not too many of those show up in shelters though. And they do fit in because of the personality to the no drama Obama theme. Unlike those little Boston terriers who are all about drama, right?
CHETRY: Yes. Exactly. The Boston terrier look at they're snoring though. You'll never sleep.
Well, just four teams left on the road to the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the defending champion New York Giants, 23-11. They now face the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game that's next Sunday. In the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the San Diego Chargers, 35-24, which means the Steelers are going to be hosting the Baltimore Ravens for the AFC title game and the then the winners of next Sunday's games will meet in the Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLIII. Dust off your chili recipes in Tampa February 1st.
Barack Obama's banned big corporations from funding his inauguration, but wait until you see who's forking over some major cash to put on Washington's biggest party.
It's 11 minutes after the hour.
ROBERTS: Royal damage control. Prince Harry apologizing this morning for comments his critics are calling "racist." The remarks all caught on video. We have it. You'll see it ahead on the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: He's certainly got the right stuff, U2 frontman Bono writing his first piece as a contributing columnist of "The New York Times." But he didn't use his latest platform to take on global poverty or the crushing debt. Instead, he actually wrote about Frank Sinatra and his memories of meeting the music legend.
ROBERTS: Fourteen minutes after the hour. Christine Romans is back "Minding Your Business." We missed you last week.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I still remember meeting Bono on this program. Remember back then?
CHETRY: How exciting was that?
ROMANS: That was great.
ROBERTS: Here's a little secret. You go to her Facebook page. The photo on her Facebook page is her and Bono.
ROMANS: They will be --
CHETRY: They will be forever.
ROBERTS: What do you got for us this morning?
ROMANS: I'm talking about Bernie Madoff today. Today could be his last day of freedom for the first day of the future (ph). A judge will rule at noon whether he violated the terms of his bail when he sent $1 million of expensive jewelry to family and friends and some of those family and friends alerted authorities when they received them in the mail.
Bernie Madoff, as you may recall, is accused of a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. He admitted that Ponzi scheme to his family and to authorities, $50 billion. We still don't know how many people were scammed, but we've been talking to an awful lot of people who lost their money in this.
So why is he sitting in a penthouse apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side when so many people are now penniless? Well, the judge originally had ruled that he was not a flight risk, he was not a danger to himself. And so that he could be in his multi-million dollar property while he awaited the next steps in his legal proceedings. It looks like today noon Eastern time we'll find out if the judge has decided that sending the jewelry in the mail is a violation of that.
I've talked to a lot of victims who are outraged that he is sitting in luxury while they are now broke, literally broke.
ROBERTS: The fact that he obviously has some money to be able to try to send checks out to his relatives, the fact that he's got a lot of jewelry, does that suggest that some of these investors may be able to recoup maybe just a fraction of their investments?
ROMANS: Well, they're trying to figure out how much money there is. Up until the very last moment, he had $173 million in signed checks in his desk drawer authorities say when they arrested him. So the fraud was -- it looks as though the fraud was going on until the very last moment, and then sending some of the jewelry in the mail as well. His lawyers say he didn't know that would be a violation of this.
CHETRY: Isn't it basically a drop in the bucket? Didn't they do some sort of accounting at all even if you add in all of his personal assets, real estate, et cetera, it's like two percent of what was lost?
ROMANS: We don't even know -- we don't even know how much -- we don't know where they're looking offshore, they're looking at all different places to find out how much money there is. I mean, it looks as though they can account for about $300 million. $200 million to $300 million right now, but this is, he himself said it was a $50 billion scheme. Where did all the money go? Where did all the money go?
ROBERTS: You got to wonder.
ROMANS: It's a fascinating story. And I got to tell you the public outrage and the public interest in this story just doesn't go away. I mean, people really -- really are interested in all things Madoff. So today we will find out midday whether or not he's going to go to jail.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Thanks, Christine.
A royal apology from Britain's Prince Harry. See what the young prince -- see what has the young prince getting a dressing down from his army superiors.
Seventeen minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Britain's Prince Harry under fire this morning after he was apparently caught on camera making what some people believe were racist remarks. And it's not the first time that the young royal has had to explain himself.
CNN's Jason Carroll is following the story. He joins us now. Prince Harry in a little bit of hot water.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, another embarrassing episode.
ROBERTS: Sticky wicket as they say in Britain.
CARROLL: Yes. That would be an understatement I think for this one. Prince Harry could face disciplinary action from the military because of this. The video we're talking about comes from the British tabloid "News of the World."
A portion of the video is narrated by Prince Harry during a 2006 military training visit to Cyprus. Listen closely to how the prince describes two fellow cadets as he films them on two separate occasions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY, BRITAIN'S ROYAL: (Expletive deleted) me, you look like a raghead. Look at me. Look at me. Look away.
Ahh, our little Paki friend... Ahmed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Britain's opposition leader David Cameron called the comments "completely unacceptable." A spokesperson for a British- Muslim youth organization says the young royal should be ashamed of himself and called the language "sickening." The 24-year-old prince, who's third in line to the British throne, quickly issued a public apology after the videotape became public.
A spokesperson says, "Harry understands how offensive this term can be and is extremely sorry for any offense his words might cause. Prince Harry used the term 'raghead' to mean Taliban or Iraqi insurgent."
And it's not the first time he's had to say sorry for offending people. You may remember four years ago the prince was photographed at a costume party dressed as a Nazi complete with a Swastika armband. That firestorm led to a royal embarrassment and an apology from the British royal, Prince Harry.
You know, I was in east London some time ago speaking to a number of people in the Pakistani community and they are -- they were -- they kept telling me how they feel as though they're not British citizens, how they feel some British people can use these types of terms and there can be no repercussions for them. I think this is really going to hit that community very hard.
ROBERTS: Yes. Obviously completely inappropriate and offensive language used by the prince. There you would think that he would know better. And, well, maybe it's a slow learning curve but I think he's getting the message.
CARROLL: Well, let's hope so.
ROBERTS: Jason, thanks so much for that.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, 2008 was a presidential race like no other. Now the story behind the headlines from the reporters who witnessed it all.
It's 22 minutes after the hour.
Cover charge -- footing the bill for Barack Obama's massive inauguration. Big companies can't give money, but their big executives can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got people who have business in front of the federal government right now, very important business, giving massive amounts of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We're following the money and the controversy ahead on the "Most News in the Morning."
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DAVID WHITE, CNN I-REPORTER: The stage is set and those are the 30,000 seats. The rest of them are yet to be put up.
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CHETRY: CNN i-Reporter David White showing us some of the best seats in the house for Barack Obama's inauguration just eight days from now. And that historic event is the culmination of a long, long and often bitter primary campaign and general election in which Obama battled Hillary Clinton as well as John McCain. And a new book tells the inside story of the 2008 presidential race by the "Newsweek" reporters who covered it. It's called "A Long Time Coming: The Inspiring, Combative 2008 Campaign and the Historic Election of Barack Obama."
"Newsweek" editor-at-large Evan Thomas joins us now. I must say it's a great read, by the way.
EVAN THOMAS, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "NEWSWEEK: Thanks.
CHETRY: There's a lot of very interesting first-hand tidbits in there that are great. But your book really focuses on how President- elect Barack Obama did it. You know, he had far less political experience and know-how than the people he was running against, and yet he was able to remain true to himself. How did he pull off that epic win in a nutshell?
THOMAS: Well, you put your finger on. He knew himself. I mean, he really did know himself.
He was cool. He didn't panic. He stuck to his message, but I think you can never underestimate self-knowledge. You know, knowing yourself is everything. And it's easy to get rattled on a campaign and he never got rattled.
Think about it, every other campaign, every other presidential campaign is panicked, it's chaotic, you can see the stress. We just never saw the stress on Barack Obama, and I think that's why people voted for him.
CHETRY: It's interesting. You write about Obama at one point. He wasn't chilly, exactly, but for a politician he was astonishing inner directed and that could make him seem remote. You talk about him choosing to go to the gym rather than dropping on his young campaign staffers. Whereas you would have had to drag former President Clinton out the door because he would have -- he would have been there.
How does an inner directed somewhat loner personality transform themselves on the stage in speeches to be able to excite a nation as we saw Obama be able to do?
THOMAS: Well, he was a heck of a stump speaker. I mean, he had Oprah as his advance act. That helps. And he learned. He did slowly.
I mean, his initial efforts on the stump were pretty weak. He was not good in the early debates, but he is somebody who's been able to teach himself all his life and he would try out this different stump speeches. And by the time he got to Iowa, he has it going pretty good.
CHETRY: It's interesting because you also talk about how he was a relentless self-improver and for a politician very self-aware, and that he was able to acknowledge that his debating skills were a little bit shaky early on. He and David Axelrod were sort of looking over tape at some of the first primary debate saying wow. At one point you describe even John Edwards coming up on stage and saying you got -- you got to get it together, buddy.
THOMAS: We got a tape of him practicing a debate in which he's talking about it. He's just not into it. He's not -- his answered questions are ridiculous as he makes fun of Tom Brokaw asking him dumb questions. He's just kind of "why am I doing this." Unfortunately, that's early in the game and you learn.
CHETRY: This was interesting you point out that at one point, I guess one of the questions was, what have you done around your house to help combat global warning? And he had said to Axelrod me changing a light bulb doesn't solve the problem.
THOMAS: Yes. It wasn't Brokaw. It was Brian Williams, but it's the same idea. Why am I being asked these dumb questions?
CHETRY: Right. And so, the other interesting thing was somebody like Hillary Clinton who is in that political game and understands it and really thrives in that environment, I mean, imagine how many hands she's shaken, how many pictures she's taken. But you talk about first of all, how while she was a quite effective senator that her executive skills even managing her own campaign left something to be desired. How much of an impact did that have on her ultimately losing the primary?
THOMAS: I think it meant everything. She ran a terrible campaign. She was unable to referee the disputes in her own campaign. She had these warring parties.
Her campaign was chaos. Obama's campaign was famously no drama Obama. Hillary's was chaotic and she showed bad judgment on a number of occasions. She really -- she has been a good senator, she was a good senator but she was a lousy candidate.
CHETRY: The other interesting thing as you point out, you write about this time where she was standing in her home in Washington and said, why do I want to leave this? It seemed, you know, she was accused often of being overly ambitious of wanting to be president more than anything but you talk about these moments of self-doubt where she was like I like being a senator.
THOMAS: Well, everybody has moments of self-doubt. I mean, one thing she knew she was getting into is her ubiquitous husband was going to come into play here and he undermind her campaign. And imagine how hard it is running anyways with Bill Clinton on your flank. He could do you a lot of good, but he could do a lot of harm and he really did a lot of harm before the South Carolina primary.
CHETRY: Very interesting read. A long time coming, Evan Thomas, behind the scenes and reporting by "Newsweek" staff of what went on in this historic campaign. Thanks for being with us this morning.
THOMAS: Thanks very much.
ROBERTS: Thirty minutes past the hour, and here are this morning's top stories.
President-elect Barack is assuring Congress the second half of the $700 billion financial bailout will be better spent and more closely monitored than the first half. The Senate could vote this week on providing the money. President Bush would request the additional money, but the incoming administration would have the option to allocate it.
These are tough economic times, but it hasn't stopped people from playing the lottery. More than half of all states with lotteries report an increase in sales since last July. Some researchers say financial insecurity may be driving Americans to spend a few extra dollars on the chance of a huge payoff.
Well, this morning, as Washington readies for Barack Obama's inauguration, now just eight days away, Mr. Obama is readying himself to change the ravaged economy for the better, he hopes, at least. Despite the woes of Wall Street, the record losses, layoffs and no bonuses, things may not be quite as bad as they seem on the surface after all. The biggest single source of private donations to Obama's inauguration -- Wall Street.
CNN's Stephanie Elam, on "Minding Your Business."
Do they have cash to burn or is this merely a case of, if you want to get money, you've got to spend some money?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I think it's a combination -- a bit of both here in this case, John. And if you take a look at it, when it comes to the inauguration, President-elect Barack Obama has said, no thanks, to funding by corporate donors. But Wall Street is not being shut out of this affair. Their executives are making plenty of individual donations, and some are saying it just isn't right.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAM (voice over): No doubt, inaugurations are all about the pomp and circumstance. And while the Obama transition team has limited the donations that fund the bash, the fat cats are still finding a way in.
DAVID ARKUSH, PUBLIC CITIZEN: As of now, roughly a quarter of the contributions, the private contributions, to fund the inauguration are coming from Wall Street employees.
ELAM: That's right. The people working for some of the same firms that are getting all of that bailout money. Obama has voluntarily limited individual donations to $50,000. But some are bundling their donations with their associates. A Citigroup executives' bundle totals $300,000. A bundle put together by a former Lehman exec adds up to $115,000.
In fact, of the more than $27 million Obama's inaugural committee has raised so far, Public Citizen, a nonpartisan watchdog, says 90 percent has come from large donations, including 375 individuals whose have ponied up the max.
ARKUSH: You predictably end up with a scenario where you've got people who have business in front of the federal government right now, very important business worth trillions of dollars in front of the executive branch giving massive amounts of money.
ELAM: Representative Gresham Barrett is also concerned about the influx of money.
REP. GRESHAM BARRETT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I'm not questioning that it's legal because I know it is. But I just don't think it's the right thing. And I certainly don't think it sends the right message.
ELAM: Whether these concerns reflect negatively on Obama is an open question. ARKUSH: The incoming Obama administration is doing a much better job of putting limits on contributions and being more transparent about the process of having the inauguration funded.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ELAM: Now a spokeswoman for the Obama inauguration tells CNN that they are committed to transparency and that the restrictions on fundraising are the strictest in history. In contrast, in fact, the $50,000 limit is far less than the $250,000 limit for the Bush inauguration. Obama's team also limits inaugural bundling to $300,000 -- John.
So, basically that's idea of, I've got $50,000, you have $50,000, Kiran has $50,000. And I say, I'm going to get this all together and send that out to the campaign, so they know that I'm somehow responsible for that money.
ROBERTS: Seems to be no end to their ability to raise money, though.
ELAM: Even for a big party. Let's admit it. That's what the inauguration is.
ROBERTS: Yes. Thanks, Stephanie.
ELAM: Sure.
ROBERTS: Good to see you this morning.
CHETRY: Well, one of our own, Wolf Blitzer, holding his own with Ellen DeGeneres. As always, she plays the music, but Wolf actually did some dancing. Look at that. Got down with the comedienne. He taped an episode of "Ellen" that airs today. Wolf's got some moves. Well, Ellen is not only a fan. She's also worried about making sure Wolf stays warm on inauguration day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST, "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW": I just want to make sure you're taken care of because I care for you.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.
DEGENERES: So we want to give you some Ellen ear muffs.
BLITZER: Thank you. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
DEGENERES: I want to give you -- one of a kind...
BLITZER: Can I keep this?
DEGENERES: Of course.
BLITZER: Yes? Thank you.
DEGENERES: Ellen mittens.
BLITZER: Good, perfect.
DEGENERES: This is -- this is my personal. I'm giving you mine. This is an Ellen flask and a...
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: Very nice.
DEGENERES: And then, of course, the Ellen color -- the muffler that you can put around.
BLITZER: I'm not sharing this with Anderson Cooper.
DEGENERES: No, no. You don't need to. He can get his own stuff.
BLITZER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Knowing Wolf, he'll put Evian in the flask. Well, again, you can see Wolf on Ellen's show today. And, of course, it's on CNN, part of the "BEST POLITICAL TEAM ON TELEVISION." Good dancer, too. Shocking us.
Well, get ready for a cold one. We could be in for the coldest week of the season. Rob Marciano is tracking it all for us in the CNN weather center.
He's going to need those Ellen ear muffs, don't you, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And then some and a little bit more than Evian for sure.
We had cold air in Alaska, record breaking cold. And now it's being released down into the continental U.S. and everybody pretty much east of the Rockies is going to get a piece. We'll go over when the "Most News in the Morning" comes right back. It's 35 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: All right. We're 37-1/2 minutes past the hour. Rob Marciano watching extreme weather for us.
And it's going to get extremely cold, it's safe to say, right?
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CHETRY: Maybe they should have been playing football yesterday, because it looked like the Giants and Eagles had some trouble because of the cold. MARCIANO: Yes. Giants have no excuse for that. It was a sad day for the "Big Apple" for sure.
CHETRY: The only excuse is, it was very cold and windy. Poor guys. All right. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Well, it appears as though the airline industry has something to celebrate. "USA Today" reports that it has been two years since a single passenger died in a U.S. carrier crash. It's the first time that that's happened since the dawn of the jet age.
ROBERTS: It's the first time that that's happened since the dawn of the jet age. And analysis of government and industry data found passengers died in accidents in 2007 and 2008. During that period, commercial airliners carried 1.5 billion passengers.
Ahead of Barack Obama's history making inauguration day next week, we're looking into the top five issues facing the incoming administration. Ahead, we delve into the military challenges facing Obama from the Mideast to Iran and Afghanistan.
It's 40-1/2 minutes after the hour.
The job of a lifetime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God, wouldn't it be great to open up that letter and they're -- you know, telling you congratulations, you've been selected to work in XYZ -- you know, XYZ office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: An army of applicants hoping to get hired by team Obama. But how hard is it? Wait until you hear just how many people applied and how many will get an offer, ahead on the "Most News in the Morning"
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE UNITED STATES: America's greatness was not crafted in skyscrapers alone, but on the ground, by those who could see what needed to be done, volunteers who in service stepped forward onto the dust of the moon, the levee in the heartland, the marble steps of a dream. You may ask yourself, where's my moon, my levee, my dream? Well, it's here, with you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: President-elect Barack Obama putting out a new public service announcement urging people to get involved. The ad is running on a Web site that connects volunteers with causes. Right now, resumes are flooding a Web site created for applicants eager to land a spot in the Obama administration. But as CNN's Kate Bolduan shows us, the applicants are facing long odds.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, when George W. Bush took office eight years ago, about 90,000 people applied for jobs in his administration. Well, that's about a quarter of the people who are looking for way into Obama's administration.
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BOLDUAN (voice over): Fadel Lamen, a seasoned professional specializing in Middle East affairs.
FADEL LAMEN, CHANGE.GOV APPLICANT: And this is an historic opportunity.
BOLDUAN: And Loryn Wilson, a recent college graduate and former Obama campaign volunteer.
LORYN WILSON, CHANGE.GOV APPLICANT: You're being a part of a new wave of leadership in this country.
BOLDUAN: Two people at very different places personally, but they share a similar professional goal today.
WILSON: Ideally, I would be working with either on the White House side or maybe working for Michelle Obama in her communication shop.
LAMEN: Either at the State Department where we deal with diplomacy, international politics and also at the White House where somebody can provide the right advice.
BOLDUAN: They're in good company. Two of the more than 350000 people the transition says are crossing their fingers, hoping to land a job in the Obama administration.
Federal employment specialist Kathryn Troutman hasn't seen that kind of interest in years.
KATHRYN TROUTMAN, FOUNDER, THE RESUME PLACE: I had a lot of experience right after 9/11 also with people who wanted to come in the government. We were getting calls then from people who wanted to give up on the private industry work and work for the government. And it was exciting to them. We have the same thing happening right now with Mr. Obama.
BOLDUAN: But with only an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 total positions to fill, applicants like Fadel Lamen and Loryn Wilson know it's nothing short of a long shot.
WILSON: God, wouldn't it be great to open up that letter and they're -- you know, telling you congratulations, you've been selected to work in XYZ - you know, XYZ office. That would be fantastic. But I also know that -- you know, that may not happen, and that's fine. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: The transition has about 50 people dealing with the flood of applications. They're put into a database, so the team can search by specific expertise, experience and qualification. The lesson here? If you want the job, be thorough in filling out that application form, to say the least.
John --
Kiran --
CHETRY: From politics -- to Pepsi. Big business takes a page from team Obama and embraces the message of hope.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're not going to show a guy saying my car is underwater and my house -- you know, mortgage is falling apart. But I want to have a Pepsi.
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CHETRY: But could ads full of optimism really be a recipe for disaster? Insight from an expert, ahead on the "Most News in the Morning"
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CHETRY: Well, more and more companies are thinking yes, we can make a buck off President-elect Barack Obama. From campaign logos to slogans, it appears that nothing is off-limits. CNN's Alina Cho is following the story for us.
Hi there.
ALINA CHO, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hi there.
CHETRY: Good to see you this morning.
CHO: Good to see you, Kiran. Good morning. Good morning, everybody.
You know, we're not talking about the products that showcase the likeness of Barack Obama -- the t-shirts and the mugs and the like. We're talking about subliminal advertising or maybe it's not so subliminal. Think about it. Obama is a winning product and he won on the promise of hope. So maybe it's not so surprising that companies like Pepsi would want to use the same message in their campaigns, but will it work? One thing to sell a candidate using hope. But soda pop?
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CHO (voice-over): Commercial or campaign message? It's all about optimism with a logo that's all too familiar, but this has nothing to do with Barack Obama. It's an ad for Pepsi.
LINDA KAPLAN THALER, CEO, THE KAPLAN THALER GROUP: I think it's different because there's such enormous hope and optimism in this country now for Obama, and I think people can't help but trying to sell their product in the same voice.
CHO: It's called the Pepsi Optimism Project or POP. And just like Obama's campaign, change is the message from Ikea. Starting Monday, it's showcasing a replica of the oval office using Ikea furniture. Both Pepsi and Ikea tell CNN there's nothing political about their ads, but the Pepsi and Obama logos are strikingly similar, both use swirls of red, white and blue. So can you sell a product in the same way you sell a presidential candidate?
BARBARA LIPPERT, AD CRITIC, "ADWEEK": You wouldn't buy anything unless you had some hope. And they're not going to show a guy saying my car is underwater, and my house's mortgage is falling apart, but I want to have a Pepsi. Unfortunately, a soda can really can't change your life or give you hope.
CHO: One area where Madison Avenue has learned from Pennsylvania Avenue is how to target an audience.
THALER: Obama's campaign did something absolutely brilliant and almost impossible. He captured the youth market. He went to the people who don't vote.
CHO (on camera): And you say that goes against everything that advertising is about.
THALER: It goes against advertising 101.
CHO (voice-over): Like trying to sell a cookie to a person who's never tried one, it's just not done. But maybe change is coming.
(on camera): If we're talking about a country that is half Democrat and half Republican.
THALER: Oh, you know what, we're all behind the president. And on the day of the inauguration, everybody in this country is going to be rooting for this man.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Now after dreading the thought of four more years of ads about hope and change blanketing the airwaves, don't worry, it's not going to last. Branding experts say we as consumers have a very short attention span, imagine that, Kiran. Something else will come along, or something will come along, and advertising will start parroting that.
Also remember, it's not such a stretch to advertise on the message of hope if you think about it. If you're buying a product, Kiran, you are hopeful that it will change your life in one way, shape or form.
CHETRY: That's true. Everything except new Coke, they had to go back to classic.
CHO: They did. They did.
CHETRY: People didn't like that change.
CHO: In the bottle, too. That's the way I like it.
CHETRY: I know. Right the throwback with the mini bottles.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Blasts in Gaza. Echoing around the world. This morning, new signals that Israel's assault could be in its final days.
Plus -- changing the game.
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OBAMA: An economic crisis unlike we have seen in our lifetime.
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ROBERTS: Barack Obama finding out some campaign promises may be easier said than done. What that could mean for your money on the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Just eight days until Barack Obama's inauguration. And in Washington, all of the focus is on the president-elect's economic recovery plan estimated by some to cost up to $1 trillion maybe even over that. And now Obama and his team are hinting that some other campaign promises will be put on the back burner for now at least. For more, we turn to Democratic strategist Lisa Caputo and Republican strategist and CNN contributor Ed Rollins.
So with some new warning, did with George Stephanopoulos yesterday on "This Week" that he may have to hold off with some of those campaign promises.
LISA CAPUTO, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Right.
ROBERTS: How much of a surprise that would take?
CAPUTO: No, no, no. He doesn't want to get any kind diversion politically if he can't, start on some of these campaign promises like immigration reform, like re-negotiating NAFTA, like repealing don't ask, don't tell. We saw what happen with President Clinton when he started his administration with gays in the military, it got off track on the wrong foot. President-elect Barack Obama needs to focus on the economic stimulus package and not have any diversions. ROBERTS: What do you think, Ed? Is it going to be much of a political problem for him? He's coming in with such high expectation for so many people that if he says, well, you know, we might not be able to raise taxes on the rich, we may not be able to cut carbon emissions, we may not be able to do some of these things because of the economic straits that we're in. Does he get a pass on that?
ED ROLLINS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I don't think he gets a pass on. I think it depends on what kind of progress he makes on the stimulus. And if there is some improvement in a short period of time, which I don't think anybody anticipates, the more significant problems with the members of his own party.
Does a Ted Kennedy, who basically is maybe in the last throes of his Senate campaign career, basically does he want to push health care? He's not going to basically put it off for a year or two. His going to want -- that's his landmark legislation. Someone like Daschle obviously will do what the president wants, but at the end of the day, I think there's a lot of things, a lot of pent up frustration out there that people want.
ROBERTS: How much is this riding on this economic stimulus plan? A panel of "New York Times" reporters yesterday suggested that Barack Obama could be a one-term president if this doesn't work. If the economy is where it is now four years from now, that maybe it for him.
CAPUTO: Well, I think we have to remember, he started to set those expectations on the day he was elected. Saying that this could take, you know, not four years but it could take much longer. And so, I think, you know, we're on the verge of something that rivals the Great Depression. And he's been very clear about that. He said on "This Week" yesterday, everybody has got to have skin in the game. And I think he's working hard.
You saw his people over the weekend on Sunday on Capitol Hill having two hour meetings with members of Congress. Now making some concessions on the energy tax incentives and on the tax credits for businesses who hire employees. So they're trying to move this in the right direction.
Also, they're promising transparency on the T.A.R.P. funds. And that's important. And Geithner will probably come forward with a letter of assurances so as to prevent any kind of legislation going forward that could stall things. They don't want to have stalling of that T.A.R.P. funding.
ROBERTS: I mean, certainly, he's working hard on this. His entire team, Ed, is working hard on this. But in politics, do you get points for working hard or do you get points for results?
ROLLINS: Results. I mean, I think at the end of the day, I think it's way too premature to basically before the man is inaugurated to say he's not going to be re-elected. But more important, I think that he has a very short time frame. He doesn't have four years to get it done; he has two years. If this not improves dramatically in two years, he got a midterm election, and certainly by the section part of this first term, this economy better be moving or he's got real problems.
ROBERTS: You know, also yesterday, he talked about a new policy of engagement towards Iran, as he wants to try to forge a Middle East peace agreement as quickly as possible. Is he going to have support?
I mean, obviously, there were some people who are not going to like this idea of engagement with Iran. The Israeli lobbyists probably not going to be happy with it. People on the Republican side of the fence will not be happy with it. Does he run into some problems by coming out and saying even before he takes office, new policy of engagement with Iran?
CAPUTO: Well, he's saying new policy of engagement because he wants to repel the current policy of engagement with Iran which is nonexistent. And so, you know, all these things are going to be an act of diplomacy and negotiation.
And I think he's starting off on the right foot. Certainly with Israel, he has said what's going on in Gaza is, you know, in Israel's self-defense, and they are right to move forward. So I think what he's doing is trying to pivot on his front foot.
ROLLINS: More fundamental I think is the problem he's going to have in Afghanistan. If he's putting 30,000 troops in Afghanistan and we are not getting out of Iraq quick enough, the left wing of his party is going to basically be very upset.
ROBERTS: You know, it's never easy is it when you become president.
CAPUTO: No.
ROBERTS: Ed Rollins, Lisa Caputo, good to see you this morning. Thanks.
CAPUTO: Nice to see you.
ROLLINS: Great, thank you.