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American Morning

Obama Pushes Economic Stimulus Plan; Who's Footing the Massive Economic Debt?; A-Rod Admits Using Performance Enhancing Drugs; Iran Open For Talks; Recessionwire.com Gives Laid-Off Workers a Place to Vent

Aired February 10, 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)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Breaking news, a bailout overhaul. Wall Street now sharing the risk. Are they the problem or the solution? The new plan to get banks lending and you spending.

Plus, the payoff pitch.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Investments that will save jobs, create new jobs, and help our economy grow again, now and in the future.

CHETRY: President Obama in prime time, promising jobs.

OBAMA: Because that's what America needs most right now.

CHETRY: Did he sell you on the stimulus, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And welcome. It's Tuesday, February 10th. Glad you're with us this morning. Had a chance to hear from the president in his first prime time news conference last night. He did it a lot earlier than his predecessors.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: He did. And it will be interesting to see just how many of these he does. You know, George Bush initially did a few and then sort of backed off. Bill Clinton did a number of these. He looked very poised last night as well.

You know, one of the things about running for president is people actually have to be able to see you as president. And while he was elected president, he's really got that look of a president when he walks up there on the podium.

CHETRY: He sure does. He sure does, and a lot of questions on the stimulus this morning and last night. And we're going to sort of try to figure out what parts will work and what parts won't with our financial experts today.

ROBERTS: We got a whole bunch of people to break it down today.

A shocking admission though to start this morning from baseball's most highly paid player, Alex Rodriguez. The baseball superstar now admits to using performance-enhancing drugs between 2001 and 2003 when he played for the Texas Rangers.

The admission comes after "Sports Illustrated" reported the current Yankee slugger tested positive for banned drugs in 2003. In an interview with ESPN, A-Rod tries to explain why he cheated and apologizes for it. We'll hear from him in his own words. That's coming up.

To Australia now where the death toll from those wildfires is rapidly climbing. A top official says the number of deaths will exceed 200. As many as 5,000 people are homeless and more than a thousand acres of land destroyed. Australia's prime minister is calling the fires a case of "mass murder" since it's believed that some of them were deliberately set. This morning, President Obama is offering his condolences to Australia and any help that that country might need to recover.

Back in this country, the feds are investigating a massive case of identity theft at the FAA. The agency says hackers broke into their computer system last week accessing the personal information of some 45,000 current and retired employees. The breach computer server was not related to air traffic control operations though, and officials say there's no indication that those systems were compromised.

CHETRY: Back to our breaking news, the White House readying to deliver a one-two punch today to deal with the country's economic crisis. Up first is a new plan to spend the second half of the $700 billion. Overnight, CNN's Suzanne Malveaux confirming brand new details on the program, including how it could help you land a mortgage or a loan to send your kid to college and that will be announced this morning by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

Meanwhile, President Obama headed to Florida as his second road trip in just two days. There he's going to make the case for a stimulus bill and also how it could help people in hard-hit cities like Fort Myers.

Last night during his first news conference, his first prime time news conference, President Obama spoke about the plan and says how critical it is to move the country forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Last Monday, more than a thousand men and women stood in line for 35 firefighter jobs in Miami. Last month, our economy lost 598,000 jobs, which is nearly the equivalent of losing every single job in the state of Maine. And if there's anyone out there who still doesn't believe this constitutes a full-blown crisis, I suggest speaking to one of the millions of Americans whose lives have been turned upside down because they don't know where their next paycheck is coming from.

And that is why the single most important part of this economic recovery and reinvestment plan is the fact that it will save or create up to four million jobs, because that's what America needs most right now. But as we've learned very clearly and conclusively over the last eight years, tax cuts alone can't solve all of our economic problems, especially tax cuts that are targeted to the wealthiest few Americans. We have tried that strategy time and time again and it's only helped lead us to the crisis we face right now.

The plan's not perfect. No plan is. I can't tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hoped, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans. And my administration inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion. But because we also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression, doing little or nothing at all will result in even greater deficits, even greater job loss, even greater loss of income, and even greater loss of confidence. Those are deficits that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe, and I refuse to let that happen. As long as I hold this office, I will do whatever it takes to put this economy back on track and put this country back to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: All right. It's a little bit of what the president was saying last night. Let's head to Washington. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, the only reporter live at the White House this early.

And Suzanne, the president not letting up on the stimulus from tough talk last night to another trip. He's heading to Florida today.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're right, Kiran. And what's happening here is that President Obama is really trying to take the debate out of Washington, away from what's portrayed as this food fight between Democrats and Republicans. He's using the bully pulpit, you saw it last night, to essentially say I get it. I know what real Americans are feeling. Translation, I know how to fix this problem. I know what's best for them.

That is what he is trying to convey. It's almost like an infomercial you heard from Elkhart, Indiana. That's where he was yesterday. He mentioned the town so many times explaining that those are the people who have these problems and he understands he's got way to fix it.

He is also going to be traveling to Fort Myers, Florida, essentially to convey the same thing, to talk to American people and to convey to them to push Congress that this economic stimulus package is the way to go.

The other thing, Kiran, that was interesting is to hear him in his own subtle way, in his Obama way, to go after the Republicans, to slam them, saying that they were guilty of revisionist history, that they didn't have credibility on this. The calculus here is that the Republicans are going to start to lose support and lose control over the debate if they keep saying no to this economic stimulus package and if you can connect the economic stimulus package to real Americans and convince them that that's the way to solve the problem, Kiran.

CHETRY: Interesting, he said yesterday, the president, "I inherited, it's important to remember, I inherited this crisis."

And you also broke some news on the plan for the second half of the bailout money. Any significance to the timing of the announcement that we're going to hear from the treasury this morning?

MALVEAUX: Certainly, Kiran. The White House wants to get out in front of this whole situation because this is a really tough bill for a lot of Democrats, as well as just a few Republicans to vote yes on in the Senate here because a lot of people don't have faith in the system. The first $700 billion, half of it, the money is just not accountable. They don't know where it necessarily went, that TARP fund, the federal bailout fund for the banks. And so they are saying this is a way to measure accountability here.

This is to hold those financial institutions accountable and when the president talks about this three-legged stool, one part of it, obviously, economic stimulus. The other part of it, getting credit flowing again, getting accountability. The third part you'll hear later on down the road, and that's about the regulatory system. But this is about trying to have faith and communicate to the American people, have faith in the system. It's going to be transparent. We're going to work on that part as well.

CHETRY: Suzanne Malveaux for us at the White House, thanks so much.

Also a reminder, you can see coverage live of the president's trip to Fort Myers, Florida, today. We're going to carry it here. If you're away from your TV, you can also watch it online CNN.com/live.

ROBERTS: Let's dig a little bit deeper now into the Treasury Department's new plan. Christine Romans here "Minding Your Business."

So in the summit (ph), what Tim Geithner is coming up with today, the question is, will it work? The first $350 billion, if I remember correctly, didn't do a whole lot.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, what we know is that there's going to be more transparency and more accountability because the American people just had it with the bailout, with the TARP as it's called, that first $350 billion. And so what the government is trying to do is trying to tell us that they're going to do a better job with the second $350 billion. We'll hear more about transparency, accountability, probably more about foreclosure mitigation. What they're going to do about the foreclosure crisis, $50 billion to $100 billion, as Suzanne reported.

But I've got a couple of concerns here, a couple of concerns here. One, the private/public partnership, the private entities helping with this problem of getting the toxic assets off the bank's books. I'm not sure how that's going to work. They're going to explain all of this later today, of course. There's a lot we don't know yet. I'm not sure how that's going to work.

And there's some concern, frankly, that the private enterprise has lost an awful lot of moral authority and really has lost a lot of standing and moral ground in all of this. How is that going to work and how is the government going to force them, if they are going to force them to play a bigger role in solving the problem? Listen to what Larry Summers, the director of the National Economic Council, said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SUMMERS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: If government is going to be putting money at risk wherever possible, we want to make sure that somebody in the private sector is willing to take the same risk the taxpayers are being asked to take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: What we want to know is how they're going to do that, how they're going to make them do that and how that's going to help if it's going to help. The other concern is the foreclosure concern. We don't know exactly what the details are of the plan that they're going to release about the foreclosure process.

It might be broad brush strokes. Maybe it will be just the guidelines that they're going to do. Maybe later, we're going to hear more of the specific details of how they're going to attack the foreclosure crisis. But remember even if you're talking about modifying loans or helping people who have bad mortgages, mortgages that were never meant for them, that was the beginning of the foreclosure crisis.

Now, we have a second problem and that is people are starting to lose their homes. And when you talk about trying to fix the mortgage crisis of a year ago, now you've got people who are in perfectly fine mortgages but now they've lost their income. That's a separate problem that is now getting worse.

ROBERTS: A big story that we'll be watching today. Christine, thanks for the download on that.

ROMANS: Sure.

ROBERTS: Other stories new this morning. Senator Ted Kennedy will be at the Capitol again this afternoon to show his support for President Obama's economic stimulus package. Kennedy returned to the Senate for a procedural vote on the bill yesterday. It was his first time in Congress since he suffered a seizure three weeks ago, the day of the inauguration. The Massachusetts senator has been in Florida recuperating from brain cancer surgery.

A powerful storm in France packing near hurricane-force winds could impact your travel plans here at home. Officials temporarily shut down all airports in the Paris area overnight causing serious delays across the globe. The winds have also cut power to some 600,000 people across the northern part of France.

And he is the prince of New York City, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and the crew of US Airways Flight 1549 were honored with keys to the city on Monday. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the hero pilot "Captain Cool." The miracle on the Hudson crew will be live on "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight. And by the way, Sullenberger and the rest of the crew will be our guests tomorrow right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

CHETRY: We look forward to that for sure.

And meantime, A-Rod comes clean. Alex Rodriguez admits to using performance enhancing drugs. We're going to hear his admission and his apology and what it could mean to his future in the Hall of Fame.

Also, stimulate the economy now but pay later. So who is going to foot the bill for the billions if not trillions we're borrowing? Why some Republicans are calling it theft.

It's 10 and a half minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: If you're a fan of Major League Baseball, I think it - it tarnishes an entire era to some degree. The thing I'm probably most concerned about is the message that it sends to our kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

President Obama at his news conference last night, reacting to the a-bomb dropped by Alex Rodriguez. Alex Rodriguez admitting that for a time he used performance-enhancing drugs. He says it was limited to when he played for the Texas Rangers. Well, that revelation comes after a published report from "Sports Illustrated" saying that A-Rod failed what was supposed to be an anonymous drug test back in 2003. It's a permanent stain on his previously unblemished baseball record.

CNN's Jason Carroll is working this story and joins us now. I'm just wondering how shocked really baseball fans are with all of the news that's come out over the past several years about just how widespread steroid use was.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, there are some inside baseball who are - inside baseball, who are not shocked about all this. But once again, this was supposed to be the clean guy, the natural player.

You know, today the Yankees came out with a statement basically saying that they had urged him to be open and honest about all this, saying that he took a big step by being honest and coming out and giving a statement. Rodriguez saying he's still not sure what kind of steroid he was taking. What he is sure of is why he did it. Rodriguez says he gave in to pressure to perform.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEX RODRIGUEZ, MLB PLAYER: I did take a banned substance, and you know, for that, I'm very sorry, and deeply regretful.

CARROLL (voice-over): He was widely known as one of the clean players, an athlete who rose to greatness without using illegal performance enhancing steroids. Now, Alex Rodriguez says he's coming clean.

RODRIGUEZ: When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform and perform at a high level every day. Back then, it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth, you know, in being one of the greatest players of all-time.

CARROLL: Rodriguez admitted using steroids over a three-year period, beginning in 2001, while playing for the Texas Rangers. In 2007, in an interview with "60 Minutes" he denied ever using steroids.

KATIE COURIC, CBS ANCHOR, "60 MINUTES": For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance- enhancing substance?

RODRIGUEZ: No.

CARROLL: This past weekend, "Sports Illustrated" released a story alleging he was one of 104 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003.

SELENA ROBERTS, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": I flat out told him candidly what the evidences we had, that he had tested positive for anabolic steroids. He said, you know, "You'll have to talk to the union."

CARROLL: Rodriguez went public with his apology after a number of nasty headlines calling for him to come forward and set the record straight.

RODRIGUEZ: It was such a Lucy Goosey era that I'm guilty for a lot of things. I'm guilty for being negligent, naive, not asking all the right questions. And to be quite honest, I don't know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.

CARROLL: Rodriguez is on course to break nearly every major offensive record in Major League Baseball, including Barry Bonds' home run record. Now, his record in question as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We all make mistakes. I'm, you know, I'm a fan of A-Rod, so I'm going to say we should just forgive him and move on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He should have owned up to it a long time ago. Why hurt the New York fans and lead them on and then have this happen?

(END VIDEOTAPE) CARROLL: Rodriguez is considered by some in baseball to be one of the best all-around players of all-time. Now there's always going to be that question mark by his record.

CHETRY: Sad situation.

CARROLL: Yes.

CHETRY: All right. Jason, thanks.

ROBERTS: All right. We are 17 minutes now after the hour.

Billions and billions and trillions, oh, my. The numbers are mind-boggling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: They're robbing future generations of Americans.

ROBERTS (voice-over): But who really pays? Our kids?

OBAMA: We can't wait and see and hope for the best.

ROBERTS: A new line of Republican attacks that hits pretty close to home. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: While President Obama tries to whip up support for his economic stimulus package, many Republicans are speaking out against the proposed legislation insisting it will be our kids and grandkids who will be forced to pay back the more than $1 trillion now on the line.

CNN's Jim Acosta is following this live for us this morning in Washington. They seem to forget about the $5 trillion that the Bush administration passed on to our kids and grandkids in the process here, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The bill just keeps piling up, John. We heard the president last night say that he's not ginned up to spend $800 billion. Yet some here in Congress said that the American people are spending money like drunken sailors. The government is throwing around some massive numbers these days, and some on Capitol Hill are calling all of this borrowing and spending theft.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Do nothing, the president warns, and the country will pay the price.

OBAMA: We can't wait and see and hope for the best. ACOSTA: But some Democrats and Republicans are asking a different question. Can the nation afford to keep spending its way out of the current crisis?

SEN. BYRON DORGAN (D), NORTH DAKOTA: This is more money that ever has been contemplated in the history of our country.

ACOSTA: Republican John McCain calls it generational theft, a transfer of wealth from future generations to today's leaders.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: They're robbing future generations of Americans of their hard-earned dollars, because we are laying on them a debt of incredible proportions.

ACOSTA: The numbers are staggering. President Obama's stimulus plan, if passed, $800 billion. President Bush's bailout plan, $700 billion. Add to that trillions promised by the government in loans and potential spending on the financial crisis and a mind-boggling sum is on the line. That doesn't even include all the interest on all that money.

(on camera): Do we know how that money is being managed?

DORGAN: Nobody knows. I mean, that's the scandal here. There ought to be complete accountability, complete transparency.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan is proposing requirements that would force the government to show how every penny is spent.

(on camera): Is it in a way generational theft?

DORGAN: But it is not this moment.

ACOSTA (voice-over): Dorgan says there's plenty of blame to go around on both sides of the aisle.

DORGAN: Fighting a war without paying for it, allowing the banks to become casinos on their own accounts. I mean, is that a theft? Damn right it is. The fact is none of us have been here before and nobody - nobody in this country really understands exactly what is the right medicine to try to fix what's wrong with this economy.

ACOSTA: Some economists say there's also risk in doing too little.

JOSH BIVENS, ECONOMIST, ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE: The single worst thing that can happen when the economy starts to get mired down is for government to sit on the sideline, pull back, start acting like a scared household, because that's a recipe for a recession that lasts, you know, a decade rather than three years.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And just to play off what that economist was saying there, you heard the president last night warn of a lost decade, the way that they had in Japan. As for all of this money, the Obama administration is promising accountability and oversight, not just in the stimulus, but in the bailout as well. And there is a growing chorus of Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill ready to hold the new White House to its word - John.

ROBERTS: You know, one of the biggest questions that people have is will this work? We spent $350 billion of the TARP money, it didn't do much.

ACOSTA: Right.

ROBERTS: Now they want to throw another $350 billion at it.

ACOSTA: That's right.

ROBERTS: This will be up almost $900 billion.

ACOSTA: Yes.

ROBERTS: Are they confident that this is actually going to do something this time?

ACOSTA: Well, I think you heard the president sound more confident last night, and also I think hit back a little bit. You know, he heard from the Republicans this past week, talk about fiscal discipline and fiscal responsibility and he threw it right back in their face and said, you know, we tried these theories of yours in the past and they didn't work. But I have to hold up "The Washington Post" this morning, John, because - and I don't normally do this. We hope that the newspapers don't get a business because we reporters like to hold them up on TV but "new bailout may top $1.5 trillion."

I'm just curious, John. You spent a lot of time here in Washington. How many times do we see the word "trillion" on the front page of "The Washington Post"? It just doesn't happen.

ROBERTS: You hardly ever see it in connection with the overall debt, you know.

ACOSTA: That's right.

ROBERTS: And I remember a time back in 1999, 2000 they were talking about retiring the debt because that plan is out the window.

ACOSTA: I think so.

ROBERTS: Jim, good to see you.

ACOSTA: Good to see you.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: You got it.

ROBERTS: Kiran? CHETRY: Well, the need for speed on the stimulus plan. President Obama uses the bully pulpit to deliver an economic ultimatum telling Congress you got to act now or else.

Also, more fallout from Chris Brown's alleged domestic dispute with girlfriend Rihanna. We've got new details on what may have happened.

Twenty-five minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Back to the Most News in the Morning.

President Obama putting some prime time pressure on Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill and fast. During his first White House news conference, the president suggested that government is the last best hope to rescue the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: It is absolutely true that we can't depend on government alone to create jobs for economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back into life. It is only government that can break the vicious cycle where lost jobs lead to people spending less money, which leads to even more layoffs. And breaking that cycle is exactly what the plan that's moving through Congress is designed to do.

When passed, this plan will ensure that Americans who've lost their jobs through no fault of their own, can receive greater unemployment benefits and continue their health care coverage. We'll also provide a $2,500 tax credit to folks who are struggling to pay the costs of their college tuition, and $1,000 worth of badly-needed tax relief to working and middle class families.

These steps will put more money in the pockets of those Americans who are most likely to spend it, and that will help break the cycle and get our economy moving. After many weeks of debate and discussion, the plan that ultimately emerges from Congress must be big enough and bold enough to meet the size of the economic challenges that we face right now.

It's a plan that is already supported by businesses representing almost every industry in America, by both the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO. It contains (ph) input, ideas and compromises from both Democrats and Republicans. It also contains an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability, so that every American will be able to go online and see where and how we're spending every dime.

What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, not a single earmark, and it has been stripped of the projects, members of both parties found most objectionable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And the Senate is expected to pass the stimulus bill today setting the stage for tough final negotiations with the House.

And it's 29 minutes after the hour right now. Coming up actually on 6:30 right now here in New York, a time for a check of our top stories. And President Obama also talks about the possibility of direct talks with Iran during his White House news conference.

This morning Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that he welcomes talks with the U.S. as long as they're in the climate of, quote, "mutual respect." Ahmadinejad's remarks came during celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the Iranian revolution.

Embattled R&B star Chris Brown has pulled out of his scheduled appearances on this weeks' NBA all-star game. Brown faces a felony charge of criminal threat after alleged domestic dispute with his girlfriend, singer Rihanna. Brown turned himself in Sunday night. He was released on bond. His court date has been scheduled for March 5th.

This morning, about 200 stranded dolphins have apparently found their way back into open waters. The dolphins became stranded off the coast of Manila in the Philippines. Volunteers used about 20 boats to guide the dolphins back toward deeper waters.

ROBERTS: Well, let's get back to our top story this morning. And the president taking his urgent pitch for a stimulus package directly to the American people, and he is making it clear, Washington must take charge of the economic debate.

Joining me now with more analysis and perspective on this, Lakshman Achuthan, the managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, and a good friend Chrystia Freeland, managing editor of "The Financial Times."

Welcome to both of you.

LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ECONOMIC CYCLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Thanks for getting up early.

CHRYSTIA FREELAND, MANAGING EDITOR, "FINANCIAL TIMES": Pleasure.

ROBERTS: It's always good to have you here.

Let's listen to a little bit about what President Obama said last night in terms of the government being the one to have to kick start the economy last night at his press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: It is only government that can break the vicious cycle where lost jobs lead to people spending less money which leads to even more layoffs, and breaking that cycle is exactly what the plan that's moving through Congress is designed to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So, true or untrue? It's only government that can do this.

FREELAND: Yes, absolutely true. I mean, what we're seeing is households, which were the engine of the U.S. economy, consumer spending. 70 percent of the economy, totally pulling back, everyone feeling like they have to save money right now. And also business is really pulling back. So who's left? It's really just the government.

ROBERTS: Right. President Obama also said last night, Lakshman, he says, I can't tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hoped. What do you think? Will this work? It's a roll of the dice? What is this?

ACHUTHAN: You know, it all depends on what the word work means. I think, and he was walking a fine line actually last night. You know, you want to get some hope that there's a term ahead, but you have to be practical. Nobody knows that. Nobody can see that. So what we know is that we're in a bad recession and then it's getting worse.

We can kind of tell that by looking in the rearview mirror a little bit. And so what you do - and you saw the other side of this line. He's trying to say I'm going to break the momentum of the recession. I'm going to try to save jobs. Jobs are kind of the essential point of the economic cycle anyway. They're so important to all of the other things that we want to see happen with the economy, so that if you can slow the pace of job loss, that's a huge start, and if that's the definition of work, there's a chance that this will do it, but again it's simply a chance. I mean, now you're in the throes of a recession.

ROBERTS: Don't we have more than a chance?

ACHUTHAN: Yes. I mean, the reality is the recession is bigger than the government. This is what we're getting at here.

ROBERTS: So he laid out a set of sign posts last night to, by which, through which to mark the success or failure of his economic planning. The 4 million jobs created, credit markets operating, stable housing market, the economy stop contracting, start growing again. You say this is deepening, Lakshman, getting worse. Chrystia, we're on a pretty steep slope to the bottom now. How soon might this begin to turn around? How soon might we pull out of this death dive that we're in?

FREELAND: I think that that's the question that actually no one who is being honest and truthful with you can really answer right now. And the thing which business and government is confronting, which is really hard is a lack of visibility. But I think your point about how we are going downhill really fast is incredibly important and seemed to me to be lost in some of the political debates last week. You know, going back to these, you know, old questions of what is better to cut taxes or to have government spending? People were forgetting the house is on fire. And I thought the president made the point really well last night that not to act right now is actually the biggest risk.

ROBERTS: And at the same time, Tim Geithner, Treasury secretary today, Lakshman, is going to outline his plans for the second tranche of this T.A.R.P., the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Another $350 billion. With apparently new guidelines for banks to save you, if you want this money, you got to show us that you're putting it back into the system, that you're freeing up the credit here. You're making available to people, loans and mortgages.

ACHUTHAN: Sure. And in this attempt to slow the pace of the recession, we have a stimulus package, but it won't work until the banks are functioning, the credit markets are functioning. So, you know, you can't just do a one-off and hope it will work. The Geithner plan we're going to hear today has to have some impact in terms of lending. And I think what will be key is how much transparency comes out of this. He's trying to attract private capitals so it's always buyer beware.

And the buyer wants to kick the tires, see what's under the hood. You have to have some transparency in order to do that. The thing that's lost here is that every time there's a loan made, right, one part is the bank offering money, the other part is the person wanting the money, and during the recession, businesses, households, many of them are kind of shy of taking more money because --

ROBERTS: Yes. People are skittish about buying something new (INAUDIBLE).

ACHUTHAN: Exactly.

ROBERTS: Well, we'll hear more about the Geithner plan a little bit later on today. We'll see what that vote in the Senate does later on this afternoon as well. Chrystia, Lakshman, good to see you this morning. Thanks for coming in.

ACHUTHAN: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Thirty-five minutes now after the hour.

CHETRY: Once you get over the shock of job loss...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am not the person this happens to. This happens to somebody else.

CHETRY (voice-over): Can you really turn the bad economy into a golden opportunity?

ALINA CHO, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: The same day you got hired, you got fired? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We started calling it pre-fired around here.

CHETRY: A user's guide to the recession. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN": A new study was released listing companies that might not survive 2009, one of them was Krispy Kreme.

AUDIENCE: Oh no!

O'BRIEN: Yes. Also not likely to survive 2009, Krispy Kreme's customers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Conan O'Brien with his take on the troubled economy. It's claiming businesses, it's bleeding jobs, and we're going to introduce you now to three women who took a direct hit from the recession, ended up turning their misfortune into opportunity. Alina Cho joins us now with their story.

We want to bring people this story because hopefully other's can learn from this.

CHO: Yes, they're turning economic lemons into lemonade.

By the way, Kiran, good morning. Good morning, everybody.

You know, they formed a Web site, it's called recessionwire.com. And it's really an online community for the unemployed, sadly, a growing community. Of course, these women really know what that's like so they put their heads together and they said, we are going to capitalize on what everyone is talking about - the recession.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): Recently lost a job? You're not alone. Just ask these three women, the founders of recessionwire.com.

LYNN PARRAMORE, CO-FOUNDER/RECESSIONWIRE.COM: People are commiserating. They're so excited just to have a place to vent.

CHO: The Web site is the brainchild of Sara Clemence, Laura Rich and Lynn Parramore. Sarah and Laura were recently laid off as editor of Portfolio magazine's Web site. Lynn, a freelance writer, saw her work dry up, too. So they teamed up to talk about the one issue on everyone's mind.

(on camera): Not too long ago, it seems it was taboo to talk about losing your job.

SARA CLEMENCE, CO-FOUNDER, RECESSIONWIRE.COM: When I was laid off, one of my initial reactions was, I'm not the person this happens to. This happens to somebody else. And it does happen to somebody else, but it actually happens to a lot of people right now.

CHO (voice-over): It happened to Sara twice in the span of a month.

CLEMENCE: I got laid off before I even started my job.

CHO (on camera): The same day you got hired, you got fired?

CLEMENCE: We started calling it pre-fired around here, which we did as a recession lexicon post.

CHO (voice-over): Rich material for a growing community - the unemployed.

(on camera): What is the overriding emotion that you sort of hear played out amongst your readers?

LAURA RICH, CO-FOUNDER, RECESSIONWIRE.COM: We're not hearing as much panic as you would think.

PARRAMORE: And we need ideas. We need to figure out how to cope.

CHO (voice-over): The founders call the site a place for lively but not snarky discussion. Here, you'll find features called "Lemonade Makers," "Screwed" and "Recession Concessions," also "The Cure for Aeron Chair Withdrawal," an exercise to help your posture.

CLEMENCE: You move your arms up and down against the wall.

CHO (on camera): Does it work?

CLEMENCE: It totally works.

CHO: It's hard.

CLEMENCE: It's hard.

CHO: It's really hard.

CHO (voice-over): Some ideas are still a work in progress.

CLEMENCE: One of the things we were talking about at lunch was having a regular feature - signs of the recovery, which we like, only we don't have any.

RICH: We have to fill that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Ain't that the truth. Now, all good things do come to an end and so will Recessionwire.com, eventually. The founders call it a pop-up site, much like a pop-up store. So when the recession ends, so, too, will the Web site. But just in case things take a turn for the worse, they have already, Kiran, acquired the domain name depressionwire.com. Everybody is hoping they're not going to have to form that Web site, but, of course, there is that possibility.

CHETRY: Keep our fingers crossed. Let's hope not. How are they making money, in the meantime?

CHO: Well, you know, it's a new website. It was just launched yesterday. Eventually, they're hoping to have ads on the Web site, obviously, and they say there's a new economy that's been formed actually -- a recession economy, whereby companies, they're liquidating products in some cases, and they want to form partnerships, hopefully, sell those products on the Web site.

CHETRY: Good idea. Very innovative. And good luck to them.

CHO: Yes. We wish them a lot of luck.

CHETRY: Alina, thank you.

CHO: You bet.

ROBERTS: And we're following breaking news from Australia this morning. Stories of survival emerging in the aftermath of deadly wildfires there. You'll hear them and you'll see the latest pictures from the fire lines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN PRICE, LOST HOUSE IN FIRE: I didn't want to get back into that town. I just wanted to get out of there.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you actually want to go back?

PRICE: If you saw what I saw, you wouldn't ever want to go back to it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My two girlfriends said is it like a nightmare? I said no, because I'd wake up. I'd wake up and everything will be OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Incredible stories of survival in the face of those deadly fires moving so quickly in southeastern Australia.

Right now, there is a search for those responsible for igniting some of the wildfires. A top official says the death toll is expected to go above, listen to this, 200. Already, nearly 1,000 homes have been destroyed. Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says humanitarian aid is now pouring in from around the world. We'll have more on those wildfires including a firsthand iReport of the aftermath of one particular disaster, in which a fellow lost his grandparents.

Back in this country, we're following an extreme weather threat today. The chance of some tornadoes down south. Rob Marciano at the weather center in Atlanta tracking it all.

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: It's 47 minutes now after the hour.

CHETRY: It was a heroic story we couldn't get enough of.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Captain Cool" himself.

CHETRY (voice-over): Everybody wants a piece of the miracle on the Hudson. There's even a computer game. Jeanne Moos on the silly side of Captain Sully. You're watching the Most News in the Morning

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

The miracle landing on the Hudson is still being celebrated across the country. And hero pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger will be here with us tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, as well as members of his crew. But he's already enjoying his sometimes magical media tour. CNN's Jeanne Moos has been watching.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is a rare airplane crash that ends so well comedians can joke about it.

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: You can now fly half price from LaGuardia to the Hudson River.

MOOS: And now, it's the I can't believe we're alive media tour.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here are the passengers, U.S. Airways 1529.

MOOS: Some of the banter with those passengers was first class.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, back there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you? It's good to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm the first class.

MOOS: On ABC weatherman Sam Champion, submerged himself in a simulator. SAM CHAMPION, ABC WEATHERMAN: Throw it out of the way.

MOOS: But there was no simulating the man whose reputation dare not be sullied.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Captain Cool" himself...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sully Sullenberger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Salute to Sully.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Known as Sully.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sully himself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Captain Sullenberger, a.k.a. Sully as all of America knows him.

MOOS: All of America except this guy on YouTube.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The home man Skully - Skully Sugarman (ph), I think his name is.

MOOS: There was a song for Sully sung by one of the passengers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): Get some inspiration.

MOOS: There's a cocktail named after him, two shots of gray goose and a splash of water. Speaking of geese, there was survivor "Larry the Goose" on "Saturday Night Live."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In one minute we're in a perfect formation, and the next it was a complete cluster flock.

MOOS (on camera): The accident has actually spawned not one, but two online games. This one is called double bird strike. You try to avoid ingesting geese into your engines, and the other one is called Hero on the Hudson, where you try to keep the plane level, before it goes into the water.

(voice-over): The creators say it takes about three tries for most people to land successfully, amid applause as passengers come out on to the wings. It could be a long time before we have such a good news plane crash, so comedians -

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST, "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": What a mouth this guy has.

MOOS: Enjoy those airport tower tapes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you need to return to LaGuardia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the (BLEEP) is it with you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to try to land runway 13?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're (BLEEP) unbelievable. (BLEEP) man you amateur.

MOOS: Captain Sully seemed to appreciate the jokes.

CHESLEY "SULLY" SULLENBERGER, CAPTAIN, US AIRWAYS FLIGHT 1549: You know, I never heard a single story about a passenger who said get out of my way, do - you know...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steve Martin did.

MOOS: On "Letterman" Steve Martin claimed to have been a passenger.

STEVE MARTIN, ACTOR: Where's the VIP rescue boat?

MOOS: At least we all have first class seats to watch the media tour.

MARTIN: Excuse me, I was in first class.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Is your state in trouble? Bring in the stars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off my lawn.

CHETRY (voice-over): Help from Hollywood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michigan will be the next film capital of the world.

CHETRY: One state story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Show me where it's lost money or show me where a state has gone manic bankrupt to this and we're so sorry we did it.

CHETRY: Plus, President Obama said this.

OBAMA: We also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression.

CHETRY: And he said this...

OBAMA: The plan that we've put forward will save or create three million to four million jobs over the next two years.

CHETRY: Prime time claims, we're fact checking the president. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

The president hits the air waves and the road selling his stimulus bill, but a lot is riding on President Obama's plan as he tries to save millions of jobs and also slam the brakes on the country's recession. But even the president admits that some parts of the bill may not work as anticipated.

Joining me now is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

Governor, great to have you with us. Thanks.

TIM KAINE, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Kiran, great to be back.

CHETRY: I want to ask you about this. President Obama made the case to the American public last night about the stimulus. And then today when you read the different op-eds from some of the economist and say, listen, it's not big enough to put a dent in what we're facing. Others say that we're not going to see an immediate stimulus and that it won't be targeted where we need it. So how convince are you that this is the right measure at the right time?

KAINE: Kiran, I'm absolutely convinced, and I know something for sure, and I think the president have said this, if we do nothing, we're going to watch this economy continue to slide 1.8 million jobs lost in the last three months, which is as if every job in the state of South Carolina suddenly disappeared. We can't let the economy keep going in this direction.

But the stimulus package has this three basic components - infrastructure spending on roads, bridges, and alternative energy projects to put people to work and build a platform for greater success, tax cuts for working Americans, working families that make less than $150,000, so they can pay bills, put food on the table and start to spend again in this economy. And finally, help for hard-hit people through Medicaid and unemployment insurance to help people who have been damaged by this job losses over the last three or four months. These are the right elements.

You know, you can debate about what should the size of each of the elements be, but they are the right elements. And we need a conference report and action immediately.

CHETRY: I want to ask you because you did note as well the job losses, the steep job losses that we've been facing. He said last night, President Obama, the stimulus will save or create four million jobs. Now the country's already lost 600,000 in January alone so what a cost of about $1 trillion when all is said and done, is four million jobs really the goal we're looking for here or could that be passe in just a couple of months?

KAINE: Look, if we don't act it will be. But the president has said this bill has to be one when it gets to his desk that saves or creates three million jobs. And that's what Americans need. Just use Virginia as an example. Our unemployment rate even though it's two points less than the national average, we've seen unemployment claims triple in the last year at the same time as declining state revenues have caused us to have to lay off workers in our unemployment offices that help people who have lost their jobs.

And so, this stimulus is critically important to put people back to work and to help with unemployment benefits so we can, you know, rehire some of the workers that are needed to process unemployment claims from all these Americans who are out of work.

CHETRY: And I want to ask you about that, because part of this consensus in the Senate by some of the moderates on both sides was to lob about what 40 billion off of aid that would have gone to the states. Are you disappointed that happened?

KAINE: I am although I recognize the conference process. You know, I think they took the House package that had aid directly to states, which would have been very useful. They reduced the amount and then they made it more pass through aid to localities.

And look, our mayors and folks on our county boards of supervisors, they need assistance as well. But I think giving some discretionary aid to states and not pinning everything down to a line item would be very helpful. And I hope in the conference process they might find a middle ground between those two positions. But the key is act now, this is urgent. We can't let the economy continue to slide.

CHETRY: Governor Tim Kaine out of Virginia, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

KAINE: You bet, Kiran.

CHETRY: John?

ROBERTS: It is now coming up to the top of the hour, and here are this morning's top stories. After almost three decades of the diplomatic silent treatment, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says his country would welcome face-to-face talks with the United States if they are done in a, quote, "Fair atmosphere with mutual respect." The remarks come just hours after President Obama said the U.S. is looking for opportunities to talk with Iran. And Mr. Obama said he still has deep concerns with Tehran's actions.

In Australia, one official says the death toll from the scorching wildfires will top 200. Officially, the toll now stands at 181. But official say another 50 bodies have yet to be identified. Thousands of homes are gutted and more than 900,000 acres burned. Since officials suspect arson, Australia's prime minister calls the disaster, quote, "murder on a grand scale."