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"Change" Hits White House Website; World View of President Obama; Presidential Farewell
Aired January 21, 2009 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Party's over. President Obama gets down to work. What he faces, his first full day in office.
And there's no inauguration bump for the markets. What's behind the latest drop and what is ahead today?
It's Wednesday, January 21st. Hi, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The music fades, the party's over. Barack Obama's dance card jam- packed on this, the first full day of his presidency. Crises loom. And executive decisions await.
Let's go ahead and check in now with CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux.
Boy, that's for sure. Maybe in years past, Suzanne, we have seen a president be able to slowly move into office, or at least a little bit more slowly than we are likely to see here.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we've been here since 5:00 in the morning, and we saw the lights on in the residence around that time. We also saw lights on in the West Wing. That's the office of the president and now there is a Marine that is stationed outside the front door.
What does that mean? It means that Barack Obama, President Barack Obama is in his office. He is at work. We saw some of his top advisors entering into the West Wing early this morning.
First and foremost, he's going to this National Prayer Service. But afterwards, it's down to the business of work meeting with his top economic team, obviously, trying to push forward that $825 billion economic stimulus package, or trying to convince members of Congress that he needs that money, he needs it right away.
And then this afternoon sitting down on the foreign policy side, meeting with top military. We're talking about the joint chiefs, Secretary Gates as well as General David Petraeus, essentially, set out a new mission here to pull out U.S. troops within 16 months in Iraq.
Take some of those troops and put them, obviously, in Afghanistan, where it's a huge mess. It is not clear whether or not the -- conditions will change. But this is certainly the new mission that he wants to convey on day -- his first day, first full day. And then, of course, Heidi, there are things that they're considering doing within hours, and those are issuing executive orders to potentially close Guantanamo Bay detention center, to ban torture, White House ethics reform. These are just a number of things that they have on their plate that can be put on the president's desk and be taken care of, really, within hours.
This is an administration and a White House that really wants to get a jump on things fairly soon, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, no question. There's an awful lot on his plate. We've been talking about it for many months now. Whoever was going to be president, they're going to have to jump in with both feet right away.
Any differences, though, Suzanne, from what he was talking about tackling by way of priority just 24 hours ago and what he's thinking now or what he's saying now?
MALVEAUX: Well, he's talked about making the economy, addressing the economic crisis, priority number one. That is something that's been very consistent. But what we're also seeing as well is that at least there's some significant symbolic gestures that he's making when it comes to foreign policy.
Likely going to be naming special envoys to help with the Middle East. That is something that is fairly new. He did not emphasize that in the campaign.
COLLINS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: There's a new opportunity there, perhaps, to seize the moment in Middle East peace, that's something that he's working on. Also reversing the global gag rule. That is something that we're also expecting within the next couple of days. It is simply reversing what President Bush put in place, a ban that would not allow U.S. dollars to go to foreign family planning groups that talk about abortion or promote abortion. This type of thing. That is also expected to be reversed on his watch within hours.
COLLINS: Interesting. All right, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us today.
Thank you, Suzanne.
And President Obama sure to keep an eye on Capitol Hill today, a lot going on as senators consider several of his Cabinet nominees. Later today Hillary Rodham Clinton faces a confirmation vote now as secretary of state. A committee vote scheduled for Eric Holder, as well, as attorney general and a hearing for Ray LaHood as transportation secretary.
But some of the toughest questions may be in store for Timothy Geithner, the nominee to head the Treasury Department. He'll have to explain his initial failure to pay payroll taxes. He could also face questions on how he will confront the banking crisis. We'll be watching that. And the troubled economy offering a harsh greeting to the new president. Wall Street has its worst showing ever on an inaugural day. The Dow Jones Industrials closed way down, off more than 330 points. Major indexes lost more than 4 percent. The reason, growing pessimism about the economy and the nation's troubled financial system.
It is "Your Money" and it is under the microscope from Wall Street to the White House. Want to take a closer look at the bigger picture, though. CNN's Christine Romans is, of course, part of the CNN money team now.
I can't even say the word money anymore, I don't know what I said a second ago. But it -- it is our money and we do talk about it every day, because there is so much out there that is going to have to come not only our your generation but many, many generations to come.
What is going to be happening first with regard to the economic team here?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, very first, I mean, I think it's really interesting that he's meeting with -- the new president is meeting with the Pentagon staff and -- and top brass at the Pentagon and then also his economic team. I mean there's two wars going on here and one of them is on the economy.
And -- I think it's incredibly important that yesterday, on his inauguration day, the Dow and the S&P, the NASDAQ had such a horrible performance. It shows you that what's happening in the economy and what's happening in our markets and what's happening around the world is not pausing for the ceremony and the pomp and circumstance of -- of a new president taking over.
I mean, you look at the Dow, the NASDAQ and the S&P, they were all down significantly yesterday. The S&P down another 5 percent.
Now, Heidi, since President Barack Obama was elected, the beginning of November, I want you to look at what has happened to the bank stocks. The situation with the banks is critical here. Citigroup is down 81 percent. Bank of America, down 79 percent. Wells Fargo is down 59 percent.
We have pumped tens of billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of dollars, into the banking system, of our money, of your money, money that eventually will have to be paid back, and we're just treading water, if -- we're kind, we say we're trading water here. And I wanted to quickly also mention that this new president, his team, Timothy Geithner, his Treasury secretary nominee, who'll be on the hill for some hearings earlier -- later today in about 56 minutes.
They have to preside over the most complicated financial rescue and the most complicated set of financial situation that we've seen in our lifetimes. Look, we've got the $700 billion troubled asset program, right?
COLLINS: Yes. ROMANS: This is something that has generated an awful lot of outcry from Americans who say why are you pouring my money into the banking system that got us here in the first place? As the outgoing president said Wall Street got drunk and main street got the hangover.
It's absolutely true. People are very angry about pouring more money in there. But, look, we have spent or committed some $7.2 trillion.
COLLINS: At least.
ROMANS: At least. That's even before the Obama stimulus...
COLLINS: Exactly.
ROMANS: ... which would be another $800 billion. Who -- this new team, Timothy Geithner, if he is confirmed, the president-elect, his whole team, Larry Summers, they have a very complicated, complicated strategy that they have to follow through on and go forward with that is extremely expensive and that simply has to work -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Yes and we're going be talking -- quite a bit more in-depth about this a little bit later on.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: So we've got the TARP, we've got stabilization, we've got stimulus and then tax relief. So we're going to talk more about that.
ROMANS: Sure.
COLLINS: Sure do appreciate it, Christine.
ROMANS: Yes.
COLLINS: Thank you.
Meanwhile, President Obama didn't even wait a day to tackle Guantanamo. His administration already ordering a halt prosecutions for suspected terrorists held at the detention center. Military judges will decide whether to approve that request.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is joining us now live from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Susan, good morning. What kind of signal here is President Obama sending by making this one of his first moves, as he said it would be?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly this is not an unexpected thing, in fact, that President Obama has now asked for a stay. And already, Heidi, it is getting results.
Just a little while ago we learned that one of the military judges in the case of 22-year-old Omar Khadr -- I'll explain who he is in a moment -- has already granted a 120 stay in that particular case. All of the cases will have to be reviewed by the judges to decide whether stays will be granted. The case of 22-year-old Omar Khadr -- he is accused of murdering a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan when Khadr was only 15 years old. He has been held here at the Guantanamo detention camps for more than six years.
Now there will be another review in a little while from now, at 10:30, when a judge in another case involving five co-defendants who are charged as being plotters in the 9/11 attacks. He also will consider a stay in that case.
That one is a little bit different, because in that case, three of the five defendants are represented by counsel, but two of them -- or rather, three are not represented by counsel, and will speak for themselves. So they will have a chance to weigh in when this is presented in court, and possibly object.
We'll see whether or not that happens. For example, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who is accused of being the alleged -- the master mind of 9/11...
COLLINS: Right.
CANDIOTTI: ... has -- speaks in court every time he shows up. The question is, will he object? So, all of this, of course, is putting into question the future of these military commissions. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice over): The specially created military commission courtrooms appear ready for mothballs. Critics say it's about time.
SARAH MENDELSON, CTR. FOR STRATEGIC AND INTL. STUDIES: If the United States goes down the path of detaining every al Qaeda foot soldier, every low-level foot soldier, we could have hundreds of Guantanamos and we will not be any safer.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): If Barack Obama keeps his promise to close the camps, what will happen to the detainees? And who will take them?
(Voice over): Only 21 of the 245 detainees are charged. The rest would have to go to the United States or another country willing to take them.
In one of the few cases that had been inching forward, accused 911 plotter Khalid Sheik Mohammed mocked the proceedings, boasting, I am the mastermind, not Osama bin Laden.
Victims' relatives flown to the base this week so they could attend that pretrial hearing said they faced evil.
JIM RICHES, VICTIM'S FATHER: These people are standing there, praising what they did on 9/11. It made me very angry. I'd like to go through the glass and get at him and tear his head off.
CANDIOTTI: If the Guantanamo camps are closed, victims' families worry how long it will take to decide how to proceed in the 9/11 prosecutions. For now, even comedians are taking notice, Gitmo's days appeared numbered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoods, blindfolds, shackles.
MAJ. RON JACKSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's actually really sad that our country is -- at least our government is seen as having tortured individuals, and that other countries and even our own press and our own comedians are making fun of that issue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: And human rights groups who are represented here at Gitmo, who've been observing the hearings so far this week, are already calling what is happening the first step, as they put it, in restoring the rule of law.
Back to you, Heidi.
COLLINS: Susan Candiotti live from Guantanamo Bay naval base there. Thank you, Susan, we'll be watching that story.
And also not stopping with Guantanamo, President Obama hitting the ground running on other military issues promising changes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want to have a moment to myself and just cry. I can't put it into words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: An emotion-filled, unforgettable and historic day. The inauguration of Barack Obama takes Washington, and the world, by storm.
President Barack Obama -- first time I've said that -- just minutes after taking the oath of office he warned that bold and swift action is needed to fix America's economy. Hundreds of billions of dollars have been pumped into the financial and automotive industries, but many problems seem to be getting worse. The unemployment rate continues to rise. And few experts expect it to level off.
And as of last fall, a record 10 percent of U.S. homeowners are at least one payment late in foreclosure.
So what can the Obama presidency do and what can we expect?
Here with some answers, Jeff Rosensweig of Emory University. He's associate professor of international business and finance at the School of Business there.
Thanks so much for being with us. You know we were talking in the break a little bit more about the deficit and what these trillions of dollars mean later in life, because, you know, this is going to go past me, it's going to go past you, go past our kids, go past our grandkids.
What does that really mean? When do you have to pay a deficit off?
PROF. JEFFREY ROSENSWEIG, EMORY UNIV., GOIZUETA BUSINESS SCHOOL: Yes. Well, what's happening is, if you have a deficit, let's say it's a yearly concept, we're going to have $1 trillion or $1.5 trillion by the time we do a stimulus, but we already had $10 trillion of debt because we've been borrowing for so long, so we're going to get up to, believe it or not, Heidi, $$16 trillion of debt.
And we have to pay interest on that debt. So, so I like what you had said at the open of the show. You had mentioned that this will take generations, this won't even be in our children's lifetime. So the sad thing is what do we do? On the one hand if we spend a lot and cut taxes, we're saddling our children and maybe our great children...
COLLINS: Yes.
ROSENSWEIG: ... with, what, $16 trillion in dead and then $20 trillion. But if we don't do anything, things could spiral down.
COLLINS: Yes, for a long time. And possibly not recoverable, which nobody wants to hear, but it's worth talking about so that people understand this...
ROSENSWEIG: That's right.
COLLINS: ... this massive amount of money. In fact, listen to this, we thought this was kind of interesting. It comes to us from the Bianco Research Company. It says this, "The bailout," take a look on the screen, everybody, if you could. The bailout will cost more than the total combined cost in today's dollars of the Marshall plan, the Louisiana purchase, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the entire historical budget of NASA, including the moon landing...
ROSENSWEIG: Whoa.
COLLINS: ... according to data compiled once again by the Bianco Research Company. We had a different graphics we want to get to in a minute.
ROSENSWEIG: Stop depressing me.
COLLINS: Yes, well...
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: I know but I think it's really important that people understand.
ROSENSWEIG: Oh, it's very important.
COLLINS: And you tell us.
ROSENSWEIG: Oh yes. Yes.
COLLINS: No chunk of money at the top that's been saved for quite some time, really hard to get to...
ROSENSWEIG: Yes.
COLLINS: ... but then we can finally start going out to fix these problems.
ROSENSWEIG: That's right.
COLLINS: The money doesn't exist.
ROSENSWEIG: No. Exactly. And you know, if we print it, everyone's like, well, we print it, but the fact is when you have a lot of money printed, it's ultimately going to lead to inflation, you know? When we look 10 years down the road, we could have a lot of inflation.
People, for instance, might have money in the bank or they might have a bond, maybe a 7-year-old is afraid of the stock market, so they bought some bonds and the bonds are, we're going to pay you $10,000 in 20 years. Well, what will that be worth if we...
COLLINS: Yes, exactly.
ROSENSWEIG: ... if we print though we're losing trillions of dollars, it's, like, well, there's so many of these bonds out there, they may be almost worthless.
I guess the people I feel most sorry for are people that are 65 or 70, as you look forward, it's not clear where they should invest. And things are going to get -- we have the right president, I think he's going to lift the mood. But things could get uglier before they get better.
It's going to be a tough year.
COLLINS: And lifting the mood is one thing but actually talking about the math and the economy behind it, which we -- were -- want to show the graphics now.
ROSENSWEIG: I'm sorry.
COLLINS: Yes -- no, that's all right.
Look, some of the Treasury Department programs that we have talked about a lot here, and this is just one chunk...
ROSENSWEIG: Yes.
COLLINS: ... of the overall estimated $8.5 trillion. This is under, again, the Treasury Department programs. We've got TARP, the troubled asset relief fund. So, look at this. It's a maximum commitment there the government has put forward, $700 billion. We've only spent, we know, about half, $375 billion.
Then you've got the stimulus package, which was requested $168 million. Already used that.
ROSENSWEIG: Yes. Right.
COLLINS: Stuffed that into the economy. Then the stabilization fund which they're asking for $50 billion for that.
ROSENSWEIG: That's right.
COLLINS: And they've used it apparently. And then the tax breaks for the banks, $29 billion, and they've already used that. That equals $597 billion.
It's just crazy to be talking about numbers this big.
ROSENSWEIG: Yes. Yes. Well, it's interesting because we never had a deficit until the last couple years of even $300 billion.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROSENSWEIG: So, you're right, we're talking about $300 billion here.
COLLINS: Just the last couple of years.
ROSENSWEIG: $700 billion there. But we're not even sure what we got the $375 billion the first round of TARP. We didn't seem to get anything and, you know, again, these are numbers we didn't even conceive of, you know. I've been saying, you know, $100 billion here, $200 billion there, after a while it's real money.
COLLINS: Yes.
ROSENSWEIG: Even for Bill Gates it's real money.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely.
ROSENSWEIG: You know? We've never seen anything like this. And it's not like the government will step in and spend this $8.5 trillion prints that we put up there. That $300 trillion might be backing up some loans other -- you know banks are giving to other loans.
COLLINS: Guaranteed.
ROSENSWEIG: And hopefully we get -- guaranteed. And hopefully we won't have to step in and they won't all go bad. Or something we're doing that is good we're backing up about $300 billion of mortgages, as the Federal Housing Administration...
COLLINS: Right.
ROSENSWEIG: ... trying to help people stay in their homes. So we need to do that and hopefully all those mortgages won't go bad. So the $300 billion won't all be spent.
COLLINS: Right.
ROSENSWEIG: But, you know, on the other hand, if the economy spirals down and the banking system collapses...
COLLINS: In the meantime, yes.
ROSENSWEIG: ... the government will have to step in on all those loans guaranteed. So if you've ever seen a president come in stuck between kind of the (INAUDIBLE), this is like don't spend all this money, don't guarantee all those money.
COLLINS: Right.
ROSENSWEIG: The savings might go down and if we all lose our jobs, we're not paying income taxes, the taxes don't come in anyway.
COLLINS: Yes. Yes.
ROSENSWEIG: And the deficit, fundamentally, more spending than taxes coming in. But if -- but if he does spend all his money and we do all these guarantees, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren will be saddled with all these debt. We'll have to pay interest on it.
COLLINS: Some are say, so what, better them than me.
ROSENSWEIG: Yes.
COLLINS: I hope not.
ROSENSWEIG: Those are the ones who aren't paying.
COLLINS: Yes, exactly.
(LAUGHTER)
COLLINS: All right. Well, Jeff, we love having you, we'd love to have you back because there's an awful lot to talk about and we're going to talk about for a long, long time with this amount of money.
Jeff Rosensweig, thanks so much.
ROSENSWEIG: Well, thank you.
COLLINS: We appreciate it.
Want to talk about this now. Something else that happened yesterday. Ted Kennedy's seizure. What may have been caused? And what's next for the senator? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right, you're looking at President Obama here, and you can also see the back of Senator Ted Kennedy during the inaugural luncheon at the capitol. Well, it was during that luncheon that Kennedy later collapsed. He spent the night in the hospital.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with the latest on the senator's condition now.
So, Sanjay, that was such a sad moment, because I know at least for the Obamas and the people who support them, you know, they really wanted to be joyous about this occasion, and they were clearly visibly on their faces so concerned.
They say, though, this was due -- the seizure was due to simple fatigue. How common is that?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, he has this diagnosis of a brain tumor...
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: ... so he's a little bit more likely to have seizures than -- the average person in the population. That was how his seizure -- how they first figured out he had a tumor was because of that seizure.
When someone has a seizure who has a brain tumor, you got to start sort of going through your checklist of things that it could possibly be caused by. One thing is figure out, could this in some ways be a return of tumor?
These are not Senator Kennedy's scans. This is an example of a scan that they might get to try to figure out if the tumor is coming back. They can look at these sort of scans. They can also do more functional tests to find out if there's something specific that's going on here.
What we now know, Heidi -- at least according to the doctors' statements, is that there was no specific cause for concern that the tumor had come back. Looks like his medications were OK. So simple fatigue could be a cause of it after you rule out those bad things first.
COLLINS: Wow. Any indication, though, is it stretching too far to say that possibly this tumor could be growing back?
GUPTA: Well, you know, I think that's always going to be a concern and this is obviously a malignant tumor so doctors are always going to be thinking about that whenever there's sort of a -- bump in the road.
Let me show you one thing here that I think is important. This is, this is an animation giving a look sort of at the way that they approached Senator Kennedy's tumor. This is the brain spinning around.
If you go ahead and remove the brain tissue and click on the specific area over here, that's the parietal lobe where this tumor is likely located. Over here is the motor area and over here is the speech area.
So you really get a sense of just how close, again, the tumor being in this area versus the motor area and the speech area up here. So they are always going to look for specific symptoms that could be possibly coming about as a result of the tumor growing.
Some weakness in the arm, for example, or difficulties with speech. Again, nobody is saying that that's what happened to Senator Kennedy. We're hearing that he's probably going to be discharged this morning if he hasn't already been discharged. He was up and talking within about an hour of having had the seizure.
All those, again, very, very good signs, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, yes, very good signs. We sure do appreciate that. We'll be watching on that situation very closely.
Thank you, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
GUPTA: Thanks, Heidi.
COLLINS: Our chief medical correspondent.
Also want to let you see some live pictures now that we are getting in to CNN. Happening right now, in fact, you see former President Bill Clinton walking in the National Prayer Service today.
Everybody coming together to focus on the challenges ahead.
President Obama and the National Press Service in Washington, fresh face and a new voice will be leading the new administration in prayer. We'll bring that to you a little bit later on.
Right now, a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: President Obama's challenges in his first full day in office are on full display on Wall Street. Heightened fears about the fragile financial system pushed the three major averages down at least 4 percent each on inauguration day. But, it appears there may be some buying on the dip today.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange now with a look ahead.
Hi there, Susan. Opening bell.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Perfect timing, Heidi. Well, there was no Barack bounce on inauguration day. In fact, the Dow's more than 330-point plunge was the worst inauguration-day performance for the Dow Industrials in history. Why? Well, fresh signs that the U.S. banking system remains in deep trouble.
State Street, which is usually considered a solid financial institution, reported a more than 70 percent drop in quarterly earnings. Investors dumped the stock, it lost more than half its market value yesterday. And Royal Bank of Scotland warned it may post the biggest annual loss in British corporate history, more than $41 billion.
But, today, we are seeing a nice gain at the open. Triple digits in the first few seconds of trading. Investors are encouraged by better- than-expected earnings from IBM and United Technologies. Both of them are Dow 30 stocks. Still major concerns about the auto sector. Toyota finally overtaking GM as the world's biggest automaker in terms of sales for all of last year. A title GM has held for nearly eight decades. Even worse, a GM executive warns the company will run out of cash by the end of March if it doesn't get the second installment of government funds soon. GM is supposed to get the next $5 billion within days.
More job cuts. Ohio manufacturer Eaton will slash 5,000 jobs. BH Billiton, the world's largest mining company, says 6,000 workers will be laid off. Telecom giant Ericsson cutting 5,000 jobs. Clear Channel, in communications, is cutting 1,800, and CNN's corporate cousin, Warner Brothers, is eliminating 800 positions. But guess what, we're not cutting the Dow. The Dow is up 108 points at the open or 1.3 percent. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 also registering nice gains.
The opening bell today, Heidi, was rung by the founder of Aid for the World, which is an international humanitary organization that serves the needs of communities impacted by poverty and devastation. And it's kind of a theme that we've been hearing this week, with Martin Luther King Day, his birthday, and, of course, the inauguration day. Our new president talking about the need for everyone to be responsible for their communities and that's something that we're seeing here for the opening bell this morning.
Heidi?
HEIDI COLLIS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Susan, appreciate that, as we just barely tether above that 8000 mark there. We'll be watching the numbers throughout the day. Thank you, Susan Lisovicz.
LISOVICZ: See you later.
COLLINS: On the floor of the New York Stock Exchange there.
LISOVICZ: A new day, a new administration starting in Washington this morning with prayers at the National Prayer Service. The new president will have an opportunity to meet with leaders from different faiths. And for the first time, a woman will deliver the sermon.
White House correspondent, Dan Lothian, is live at Washington National Cathedral.
Good morning to you, Dan.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning, Heidi. As you know, President Barack Obama has always talked about the role that faith plays in his life, and so he does begin his new administration by coming here for the National Prayer Service.
This is tradition dating back to George Washington, and since Ronald Reagan and his second term, they've been coming here to the National Cathedral, although Bill Clinton instead opted to go to an African- American church here in Washington.
But, again, the president, vice president also expected to be here and other dignitaries for the service. And as you pointed out, nothing unusual in this tradition other than the fact that this is the first time that a woman has delivered the service -- the sermon at this service. It is Sharon Watkins. Not a name that is well-known nationally or internationally. But President Obama did meet her on the campaign trail when he sat down with some spiritual leaders to go over what was on their minds and to talk about spiritual issues during the campaign. And he was impressed, according to aides, by the way that she was able to kind of unite everyone through prayer. So, she was invited to deliver the sermon here this morning.
Sermon expected to last anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes. And she will bring up some of the tough issues that President Barack Obama will be facing during his four years in office. And will encourage him to be strong. But this is the -- a service that will have hymns and prayers and mainly a prayer for the nation, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, Dan, very, very quickly, he's made some interesting choices along the lines of faith. For the opening prayer at the kickoff to the inauguration, he chose an openly gay bishop from the Episcopal Church, Gene Robinson.
LOTHIAN: That's right.
COLLINS: And then for the actual inauguration itself, there was a lot of talk about Rick Warren, and now the female on National Prayer Services. This is something that the Obama administration is saying is truly going to be threaded throughout their administration?
LOTHIAN: It really is. I mean, from the beginning on the campaign trail, President Barack Obama has really stressed the issue of diversity. And it has been -- you've seen that in his cabinet. And you've also seen that in his choice for various inauguration events. And this just continues that theme. And aides saying that this is something that will be seen throughout his administration.
COLLINS: Very good. All right, Dan Lothian, right outside. Still cold there, huh, Dan?
LOTHIAN: It is very cold.
COLLINS: Thanks so much.
From citizen to commander-in-chief, President Barack Obama, made a stop and a few steps at the Commander-In-Chief Ball last night. But today, it's all business. On the schedule is a planned conference with his top military commanders.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joining us live now this morning with more on that.
Hi, there, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi. Now the work begins of the real commander-in-chief, not just at the party, and the work of turning campaign promises into Oval Office decisions. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): President Barack Obama gained a second title on Tuesday, now, of course, he is also commander-in-chief.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Barack Obama, just by taking the oath, went from becoming a private citizen to the most powerful citizen on the planet.
STARR: By now President Obama has been told by the military how to launch nuclear weapons. A military aide with the launch codes is now never more than a few steps from his side. This command center at the U.S. Northern Command, tracks the president's location, the military will reach him instantly in the events of a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. Now, he starts each day with an intelligence briefing.
GERGEN: Somebody comes in with maps and charts and says, Mr. President, this is what we know in the last 24 hours. This is what we've learned.
STARR (on camera): As commander-in-chief, there is also that responsibility of making the decision to send troops into harm's way.
(voice-over): President Obama is living up to his campaign promise, telling his commanders he wants combat forces out of Iraq in 16 months.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: When I am commander-in-chief, I will set a new goal on day one. I will end this war.
STARR: Senior U.S. military officials insist they are ready to give the president their recommendations for troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the big question? Do they think a 16-month withdrawal is a good idea? And while President Obama is expected to act on another promise, to close the jail at Guantanamo Bay, it could take more time than the president may have thought.
MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Sure, you could say to the world on day one that we are closing it. As long as you give yourself 6 to 12 months to do so. And you need to figure out some recourse for handling those 50 to 100 most dangerous people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: But, Heidi, today may really be the turning-point day for a decision on Iraq. Barack Obama expected to meet with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General David Petraeus, and possibly Defense Secretary Robert Gates, this afternoon to give them his marching orders that he wants combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months. It remains to be seen what the Chiefs, what the top commanders, have to say back to him about all of that in terms of their best military advice on whether that's doable.
Heidi? COLLINS: All right, very interesting. Barbara Starr sure do appreciate that, our Pentagon correspondent, this morning.
Also, we want to let you know, tomorrow something really interesting. We're going to be talking more about the military challenges that face President Obama with the former Joint Chiefs Chairman, General Richard Myers. He's going to be on our show tomorrow in the 9:00 a.m. hour, so stick around for that.
White House Website makeover. Change has come to the president's Internet home. We'll take a tour, just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: An estimated 1.5 million people braved freezing temperatures to see the inauguration in person. First aid stations, in fact, set up at the National Mall saw hundreds of people. Some were suffering from hypothermia, while some others were just looking for a place to warm up. An agency spokeswoman says 31 people were taken to area hospitals.
Jacqui Jeras standing by now to talk a little bit more about the nation's weather. And, yes, it was cold. Still is cold.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: OK, good. Excellent tease. All right, Jacqui Jeras, thank you, we'll check back a little later on.
Barack Obama has just become president, but dramatic change has already happened when it comes to the White House Website. The Obama administration unveiled the whole new site designed to get the Americans involved.
Our Josh Levs already involved and here to walk us through it.
Hey, there, Josh. What's it look like?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, there's revolutionary change from what was there before. And I don't know if you know it hit the exact minute he was taking his oath.
COLLINS: I didn't notice that, yes.
LEVS: It's incredible. I mean, as it was going, we got the e-mail. Whitehouse.gov is now up. Take a look. Let's zoom in. I want you to see some of this. It plays right off the themes of what his campaign Website was all about, in the way that he harnessed the Internet then.
What you can see here is it follows the color scheme of what he was using then. Also, he talks about change a lot. And when you take a look at this -- and we can look at the photos here, you see that these photos make a statement. And those who design Websites know that color and symbology and where your eye will go to are the first things to understand for a homepage. Well, this right here makes a big statement going out of what he said in his speech yesterday, and that is everyone is going to have to work for his plans to actually work. So we're seeing that here. You can also click to get all sorts of information about any part of his agenda, what he plans to do.
Now, I want to bring you over to here. This is the "Contact Us" page. And this is very interesting. Now, if you scroll down, there's a place for you to type in up to 500 characters. What do you want to know? What do you think? That's not a new concept. But think about the political significance here. Not only are you having ostensibly having your voice heard, this also gives the White House, this huge database of people to contact next time they want to say to you call your lawmakers to help push the agenda through. That's significant.
One more thing, let's check this out. This is a blog post that was there as soon as the Website came up from the man who is in charge of it. I have a graphic here for you. What he's saying about this. Let's go to this full screen. The first thing he said is that one of the first changes that this administration is carrying out is the White House' new Website, which will serve as a place for the president and his administration to connect with the rest of the nation and the world.
He goes on to say here, millions Americans have powered President Obama's journey to the White House, many taking advantage of the Internet to play a role in shaping our country's future. Whitehouse.gov is just the beginning of the new administration's efforts to expand and deepen this online engagement.
And Heidi, we'll tell you more next hour other ways to take advantage of this, more ways to get involved.
COLLINS: All right, very good. Josh, we sure do appreciate that. Thanks so much.
LEVS: Thanks.
COLLINS: Quickly, we want to get now to some of the other news of the day. He promised change, and the people are now expecting it. High hopes for America's new president all around the world.
And here at home, some kids at an elementary school in New Orleans are dreaming of their chance to be president, and what they would do if they were in charge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAYLIE SERINGE, FIRST GRADER: When I become president, I will help people take care of our planet.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I will give money to the poor.
AARON SEUBE, FIRST GRADER: If I were president, I would be really happy and jump around.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Also, we want to get to this story now. Our congressional correspondent Dana Bash on the line with us to tell us a little bit more about Eric Holder, President Obama's nominee now, of course, for Attorney General. We've been watching the confirmation hearings at least last week.
Dana, what's the news out of this now?
VOICE OF DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I think you reported earlier that we expected a possible vote...
COLLINS: Exactly.
BASH: ...in the Judiciary Committee on Eric Holder this morning. Well, the committee just postponed that vote, and the reason, at least according to a spokesperson for the committee, is that many of the senators actually wanted to get to the National Prayer Service that is going on. That you've also been reporting on, sort of the final inaugural event for President Obama.
So, they are hoping inside the Judiciary Committee to have the vote later today. So, we're certainly going to look for that. But there's also kind of an interesting committee rule that we're going to be watching for. And that is that when the committee convenes, to hold this vote, it is possible that one senator could object and delay the vote for another week. We're going to see if any senator does that. We don't know that anybody is going to actually exercise that right. But they do have that right.
So, little unclear when this vote on Eric Holder is going to happen. Certainly President Obama wanted to get, you know, all of his team, especially the -- the big players in his cabinet, in place very soon. And this is one that we will -- we will have to wait and see what happens perhaps later today.
COLLINS: Yes, and interesting, too, Dana, that the National Prayer Service has probably been on the agenda for quite some time at the same time as this vote was to take place. I'm just wondering why they wouldn't have changed it earlier?
BASH: That is an excellent question. It seems as though the chairman might have gotten some late notice from senators on the committee that -- that they really had hoped to go to this breakfast -- to this service, I should say. But that's a really, really good question. Because there are other things going on on Capitol Hill at the same time, other hearings so --
COLLINS: All right, Dana. We're going to be watching that very closely. And also, of course, Ted Kennedy on that committee as well. So, obviously, after what happened yesterday, we will be watching this very, very closely. Again, the Eric Holder vote for his confirmation as Attorney General has now been delayed. We will stay on top of it for you. Quick break here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Euphoria and high expectations for America's new president. Those are feelings people are expressing around the world. We'll take you to Nairobi and Paris, but first stop London. And CNN's Phil Black.
Hey, there, Phil.
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Big headlines across British newspapers today, and pages and pages of coverage. And to give you an idea of just how excited people are in this part of the world are about this inauguration, one of the British newspapers likened this event to the freeing of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's heroic leader from 27 years of jail, that historic event.
And now the newspaper editorial said that President Obama's inauguration allows us all to feel hopeful about a better future. I was at one of the many inauguration parties across London last night. And there were many across London, across Europe, as well. And I was watching British people cheering passionately for America's new president. And when I asked them why they were doing this, many of them said that they believed that this man can indeed make the world a better place.
Today on the streets of London, early this morning, we spoke to some more British people about how they felt about the Obama presidency. It's a cold, chilly morning, their thoughts were a little bit more sober, but essentially still very optimistic. Let's hear some of those thoughts now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's going to be a long road. I just hope that he starts -- he starts just improving relations with the rest of the world, and then also improving the economy within the U.S.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope that he reaches out to the greater world, and that he sort of brings a peace to the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope he's going to lead to a more stable -- more peace in the world and more stable economy, and just basically things are going to get better. That's what I hope.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACK: You heard the word "hope" there a lot. Certainly Obama's message of hope and optimism has cut through here in Europe as well. But it has to be said that part of the excitement about President Obama is that he is not President Bush, who over his two terms grew to be a deeply unpopular figure in this part of the world.
Heidi?
COLLINS: CNN's Phil Black for us this morning. Thank you, Phil.
High hopes, too, from the French. Our senior international correspondent Jim Bitterman has their view, while CNN's David McKenzie talks to people in Kenya, home of Barack Obama's father.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). It was very, very exciting. It was very exciting. I really -- I mean, it's very difficult to put words to it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For me, it's been like a roller coaster, an emotional one. And I still feel it in my inside. It's like an overwhelming thing. It's like bubbling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just felt like he was a brother, like one of our own. And you know how you get proud of somebody, you felt like you've known him for a lifetime. You feel like he relates to you. You just feel so close to him. And we just wish him all the best. We wish -- we just hope the world changes.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A truly exciting night for Kenya, and not just Kenya, for Africa and the world, because for lots of people here, Obama means the promise of change. And they even started a new beer here, that's a special edition and it's called President. Cheers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cheers!
MCKENZIE: David McKenzie, CNN, Nairobi, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the Paris City Hall, the mayor invited more than 1500 guests to watch America's transition of power. No one could ever remember that ever happening before. But the mayor said in a brief speech that Obama inspired people everywhere. No one seemed about to question spending local taxes to celebrate and no one needed translation to understand the French politician's best wishes.
MAYOR BERTRAND DELANOE, PARIS: (SPEAKING IN FRENCH)
BITTERMAN: The Golden Gate Quartet brought a little American atmosphere to the scene and a little history, as well. Its oldest member, 80-year-old Clyde Wright can still remember singing at Franklin Roosevelt's inaugural in 1941.
CLYDE WRIGHT, GOLDEN GATE QUARTET: God is great and God is looking. And I think we have the greatest thing that ever happened in this century.
BITTERMAN: Jim Bitterman, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Votes and hearings, the cabinet confirmation process continues on Capitol Hill. We've got it live for you in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: We'll have some great pictures there. Final turn, and a last wave goodbye marked the end of another era in the nation's history. After inaugural ceremonies, a fitting farewell. The former President and First Lady were escorted by the Obamas to a marine helicopter and new life as private citizens. The former First Couple landed in Waco, Texas where they received a warm welcome and after thanking a large crowd, they headed off to midland where he and Laura grew up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So tonight I have the privilege of saying six words that I have been waiting to say for a while, it is good to be home. History will be the judge of my decisions, but when I walked out of the Oval Office this morning, I left with the same values that I took to Washington eight years ago. And when I get home tonight and look in the mirror, I'm not going to regret what I see.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Mr. Bush says the most important thing for him is coming home happy and satisfied with who he was during his presidency.
Poise to be a key player on the Obama money team. Could he be benched for a personal tax foul? Live this hour, Timothy Geithner hearing.
