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American Morning
Turkish Airline Crash; Americans React to President Obama's Address to the Nation; Gov. Jindal Responds to Obama's Speech; John McCain's Take on Obama's Speech
Aired February 25, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis, if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity, if we confront without fear the challenges of our time and summon that enduring spirit of an America that does not quit, then someday, years from now, our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed, in the words that are carved into this very chamber, something worthy to be remembered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All right. That was President Obama's first address to a joint session of Congress last night. He was trying to strike that balance as many said he needed to do and to restore hope and also be realistic.
So, he really did try to do that to a nation that was beaten down by, of course, all of the bad news that we've heard both in the housing markets and the banking sector and everything along those lines. But he did try to launch a new confident theme, stirring call for unity and action, in fact. And this morning, it appears that he did get the message across because we have a brand new CNN/Opinion Research poll out showing that 68 percent of people had a very positive reaction to the president's speech and it's a tone that was echoed by our iReporters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC BUXTON, CHIEFLAND, FLORIDA: Well, I've watched it. I heard it, and I've seen it. All I can say to everybody on the Republican side and the Democratic side, he's already done it.
Why don't you all just work together to benefit (ph)? I enjoyed it. Hey, for once, the pissed (ph) off Americans are actually smiling. Let's see where it goes.
MARK HOOPRICH, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA: I thought he hit it out of the park. I thought it was his best speech that he's given to date, very confident. He laid out a very ambitious agenda with items that are going to be contained in his upcoming budget. He highlighted the three areas of education, health care and energy. And I think that the Republicans in Congress really are at a critical juncture, where they're going to have to decide do they want to continue to oppose this very popular president, who is probably going to be even more popular after tonight's speech.
MANNY DORADO, OXNARD, CALIFORNIA: Let me just say that speech was amazing. It was something that we didn't even hear on the campaign trail. It was a different Obama and I think what made it different that he stood up there with so much hope and looked us right in the eye and said do not be afraid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. So we want your reaction. Go to our Web site, CNN.com/am. Send us an e-mail or an iReport.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And this morning, our iReporters are part of a big team breaking down this critical address. Candy Crowley is working her sources in Washington for us today. There she is.
Our Suzanne Malveaux here with us in the studio, dialed in to her contacts at the White House. Christine Romans and the CNN money team here locked and loaded and ready to go.
We've also got some of the best economic minds around up early and live in our studio for context and perspective on all of this. And we're teaming up with Facebook to get the pulse of what Americans across the country think about the president's address.
But first, President Obama wasting no time zeroing in on the recession last night and while the president did not sugarcoat it, he did try to strike an optimistic tone about the future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The impact of this recession is real, and it is everywhere. But while our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken, though we are living through difficult and uncertain times, tonight I want every American to know this, we will rebuild. We will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
We will act with the full force of the federal government to ensure that the major banks that Americans depend on have enough confidence and enough money to lend even in more difficult times. And when we learn that a major bank has serious problems, we will hold accountable those responsible, force the necessary adjustments, provide the support to clean up their balance sheets, and assure the continuity of a strong, viable institution that can serve our people and our economy.
I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive and this time, they will have to clearly demonstrate how taxpayer dollars result in more lending for the American taxpayer. This time, CEOs won't be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over!
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: Well, Suzanne Malveaux and Christine Romans join us now with more. We were all just sitting here laughing about a couple of things.
One very interesting part of it, Christine, the president seemed to be bracing people for more bailouts, by saying I get it. I know, you know, I get what you're saying. I hear what you're saying, but this is really for the collective good.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and he talks about how I know this is unpopular. I know that it's unpopular to be pouring money into the banks, indeed. And it is unpopular. We all know that.
We've seen the polls again and again, but he seems to be bracing people for what he would like to see as a new responsibility in the banking system, and in corporate America, quite frankly. And he also has some tough love for consumers and for people who took out mortgages.
People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed these bad loans anyway. That's all history, though. What is he going to do going forward and how are we going to reset the table and have some new rules?
He also held up the example, one of the people who was invited there last night was a banker from Florida, who sold the bank, the Florida bank to another bank and got a $60 million bonus. And he gave all of that money, that bonus, that $60 million to the people who worked for the bank, tellers, everyone worked there. Some people got $100,000. So this is a man who took the $60 million that was his bonus as a CEO for selling a company, and gave it back to the employees, and he was held up by this administration as an example of the responsibility, moral responsibility in business and banking. And I think that's the president trying to say, look, we are going to highlight the positive, the people who are doing it right.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think what you saw, too, last night was really the return of the audacity of hope, what we heard on the campaign because that was one of the things that we're trying to do is bring back a sense of confidence in the American people. I think one of the other things that he was trying to do is explain, explain to the American people why should you support this bailing out the banks.
CHETRY: Right.
MALVEAUX: Why should you support giving your dollars to some of these large institutions, and I do think he was trying to buy some time as well, that he was saying look, I need your cooperation.
ROBERTS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: I need your patience, and a little bit of political cover, when he did point to the fact that it was the Bush administration that he inherited the trillion-dollar federal deficit. ROBERTS: There were a lot of sort of veiled shots in there.
MALVEAUX: Oh, absolutely, absolutely, because I think he's trying to convey, I need your help here. Lend your support. Be patient with me, and realize this isn't really my fault. I'm just, you know, I'm just here. You know, I'm starting this process just like you.
CHETRY: And that's the interesting part. I'd like to get both of your takes on this. His advisers acknowledge he has the people on his side right now, but they have to ensure that that lasts. I mean, at what point is it no longer the Bush administration's fault but Obama's fault.
MALVEAUX: Well, sure, I mean, when does that happen? I mean, you talk about political capital. He's got tons of political capital.
CHETRY: Right.
MALVEAUX: He's very popular. He's very good with people. You're going to see him on the road on Friday. We don't know where he's going to be traveling, but he's obviously going to be selling this. More connections that he makes with everyday Americans, the more support he has for this plan.
ROMANS: He is a wonderful speaker at some point the optimism in the speaking and the confidence in the speaking will translate into the doing you would hope from the president, the administration and Congress. You know, you can't talk about it and hope forever. I mean, we have to start seeing that we really are on that path to progress or on that road to recovery. He laid out a blueprint. You know, at some point, we have to start seeing those marks of progress.
ROBERTS: Hopefully, it will happen.
ROMANS: Hopefully.
ROBERTS: For the better. For the good of all of us.
ROMANS: That's right.
ROBERTS: You know talking to Bill Clinton a week and a half ago, he thought that President Obama has got about a year before people start to say OK.
MALVEAUX: Start to turn on him.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: He's also -- President Obama is unveiling his budget tomorrow, right? That's when we'll see more details.
ROBERTS: Most Republicans concede the president's speech was good and don't object to some of the critical issues he addressed. It's the spending that they can't stomach, and the GOP response, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said the $787 billion stimulus package was "irresponsible and would burden future generations with debt."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: We oppose the national democratic view that says the way to strengthen our country is to increase dependence on government. We believe the way to strengthen our country is to restrain spending in Washington, to empower individuals and small businesses to grow our economy and create jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Governor Jindal has been a vocal critic of the stimulus plan. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is live in Washington now.
And, Candy, first of all, what did you think of the response from Governor Jindal? He's being hailed as a rising star in the Republican Party. Did he accomplish what he set out to do?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you we talk all the time about what an honor it is to be tapped by your party to give the response. It's also quite a burden.
Listen, he followed one of the best political speakers of his generation, who was standing at a podium in the U.S. Capitol. This is a very, very tough act to follow. He's also at this point, Governor Jindal, coming from a party that is unpopular with the American people. They are being hammered for not supporting, by and large, the stimulus bill, for being naysayers. So, he had a couple of things to do here and the first was to say, listen, we want to be bipartisan and the second was to say but we totally disagree with them on philosophy.
So, insofar as he balanced those two, he certainly did in the words. I still think it is lost in the thunder of Barack Obama in that congressional chamber.
ROBERTS: He laid out a pretty ambitious agenda that a lot of people say was long on ideas and short on specifics. Health care reform within a year, reform in education, different direction in energy -- that's a pretty -- each one of those is a pretty tall order. Can he do all of that?
CROWLEY: The president certainly hopes he can put down payments. If you talk to the people around him and sources say listen, maybe we don't get the whole thing, when we start looking at what the overall cost is going to be. But they believe that they can make large down payments in all three of these areas, education, health care, and energy.
And the timing may be right here, and timing like in life is all in politics. We remember Hillary Clinton, trying as first lady to get comprehensive health care passed. Everybody at that point was pretty happy with their individual health care so there was no real momentum behind her and she faced some pretty stiff opposition from Republicans. But right now, people are afraid they're going to lose their health care or have lost their health care or never had any health care, so the timing may be good for things like that, with education. The same sort of thing with energy, people saw those gas prices go up last year and it really came home. So the timing may really be good to make, as they say at the White House, a down payment, a big down payment on a program that he hopes to implement over four years.
ROBERTS: Right. We'll see how much of that he can get done.
Candy Crowley for us this morning from Washington. Candy, it's always great to see you. Thanks for coming in this morning.
CROWLEY: Thank you, John.
CHETRY: And still ahead, your money and your concerns. The CNN money team breaks down the president's speech, also his plan. More than $1 trillion already committed and a lot more to come, so how long until you get something back? We'll talk about it.
It's 11 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. The answers to our problems don't lie beyond our reach. They exist in our laboratories and our universities, in our fields and our factories, and the imaginations of our entrepreneurs, and the pride of the hardest working people on earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's President Obama calling for a nation to pull together and promising better days ahead. But President Obama also said it's going to take more than the already committed $700 billion to rescue the troubled banks. The morning after his big speech, millions are still worried and a lot of them are talking.
And here to help us make sense of the president's recovery plan, leading economist Lakshman Achuthan, as well as Leslie Grossman from the Women's Leadership Exchange, and Eamon Javers, he's a financial correspondent for the "Politico." Thanks to all of you for being with us this morning.
And, Lakshman, I want to start with you because you were here with us yesterday and we talked about this crisis of confidence that Americans are experiences. Did businesses hear what they needed to hear? Did Wall Street? Did everyday families?
LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, MANAGING EDITOR, ECRI FORECASTS: Not completely but I think a step was made in the right direction. At the same time yesterday, you know, the markets did a little better because they were feeling a little more clarity on some of the bank rescue issues. I think the president began to link the bank rescue to the stimulus plan. He didn't fully explain the housing rescue and how it links in, but all three of these rescues are linked together and none of the rescues are going to succeed unless they all succeed. I think he was beginning to make that short term plan and, you know, people want him to succeed. They want this plan to work. They want the recession to kind of run its course. So certainly, even though this partisan debate, everybody wants a good outcome here.
CHETRY: All right. Eamon, let me ask you this question quickly. The president outlined an ambitious agenda. I mean, he talked about investing in energy. He recommitted himself again to health care. He talked about education and all of this in the same vein talking about slashing the deficit by the end of his term. Is that too optimistic?
EAMON JAVERS, FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT, "POLITICO": Yes, you know, one of the interesting things here is the president was really trying to sort of decouple the metric that we used to measure his success and he really hinted there that what you shouldn't do is look at all this and then look at the stock market and look how the Dow Jones is doing day-to-day, because he said Wall Street might be more comfortable with a plan that doesn't ask for a lot of sacrifice from Wall Street CEOs.
He really took a real shot, I think directly at Wall Street and this idea that a lot of us in financial journalism have is well, we just look at the Dow Jones and see how it's doing and that's how popular the president's plan is. He was saying from the podium last night, no, that's not true. But he does have a very ambitious agenda, and he said he's going to tackle health care and all of these other major, major issues. Other presidents have really struggled when they've tried to do more than one really big thing at a time.
CHETRY: And he talked about how this may be the time to do just that, because of the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in.
And, Leslie, I want to ask you about this as well because he also said -- it was very interesting, he talked about suggesting refinancing for a large group of people, many Americans. He said you could probably save $2,000 a month if you tried to refinance right now -- $2,000 a year, rather, if you refinance right now. But he also said that he was going to end tax breaks for the wealthiest two percent of Americans. How does that affect small business in your opinion because you started up many of them?
LESLIE GROSSMAN, CO-FOUNDER, WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP EXCHANGE: Most small businesses the owners make less than that with their family and especially right now, so it's not going to be affecting them. What's going to be affecting them, which was very good news, is if he can unfreeze lending. That's what is going to impact small business owners right now, which is really the driver of the economy.
You know, millions of people I think had a smile on their face when they heard entrepreneurs being called out, in his first words, when he got on that podium. And that is the first time in a while we've been hearing entrepreneurs singled out. We need a lot of help, and we are the driver of the economy, and so that unfreezing lending is the number one concern for small business.
CHETRY: And you know, you, Eamon, you pointed out that he sort of did slap down Wall Street if you will...
JAVERS: Yes.
CHETRY: ... calling them on the carpet about greed. It's interesting, though, because he basically said that you have to have an education. That's a foundation to be successful.
JAVERS: Right.
CHETRY: Yet at the same time, he's saying but if you make more than $250,000 net, meaning you're probably highly successful compared to most people.
JAVERS: Right.
CHETRY: We're going to take a little bit more away from you.
JAVERS: Yes. And one of the most vigorous lines that he really emphasized strongly during this speech was this idea that wait a second, there's a lot of misunderstanding out there of what's in this package in terms of the tax cuts. If you make more than $250,000, yes, you're going to see your taxes rise but that doesn't affect 95 percent of Americans, he said.
And then he also said look, there's a tax cut in here for most people and that's been lost in the storm. He was really trying to emphasize some of the key points that he thought, you know, in the Washington static and debate had been missed by most Americans. And this was his chance to go sort of right over the heads of Congress, right over the heads of the media and talk directly into the homes of American people...
ACHUTHAN: Right.
JAVERS: ... just trying to get those points across.
ACHUTHAN: Right. And you know, this whole thing about, you know, if you're over 250,000 you get -- you're going to get a little bit higher tax. Look, we should all have that problem and this links right back to the fundamental issue of this deficit longer term.
He's going to unveil a budget, a 10-year budget. The only way that this thing works and that you start to bring it down is if the economy regains higher trend growth over decades. We've been slowing down in each expansion. If we start to reverse that through entrepreneurship and more earnings...
CHETRY: Right.
ACHUTHAN: ... then these numbers will begin to work, but that's a big if. It's a tall order and you need a really big, big plan to do it.
CHETRY: Lakshman Achuthan, Leslie Grossman and we'll leave you with that thought. And Eamon Javers, thanks so much for joining us.
JAVERS: Thanks.
ROBERTS: President Obama making a direct appeal in his address last night, so how are Americans responding? We've got your iReports, your e-mails, and we're talking to people of all political stripes to get reaction.
It's 19 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: there is, of course, another responsibility we have to our children, and that's the responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. President Obama appealing to you and all Americans to take responsibility during these tough times, but how is that message being received?
We're using all of the resources of CNN to gauge your responses to the president's speech. Our Jim Acosta is live from Washington for us this morning.
And, Jim, we're talking about some dial testing here. Love this.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. I do, too. I feel a little bit like Alexander Graham Bell talking about dialing testing this morning between the Twittering and the Facebook and the iReports.
This seems a little old-fashioned, but in defense of dial testing, you know, you can get a lot of emotions from these folks when you see them up close gauging the president's speech and a lot of times those emotions are raw and unfiltered. And our lesson that we took from last night's dial testing? Hope works. Blame doesn't.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OBAMA: While our economy may be weakened and our confidence shaken.
ACOSTA: Time and again, the president appealed directly to a public that is frustrated and frightened. So with the help of polling firm, Luntz Maslansky (ph), we watched as a focus group, half Republican, half Democrat, rated the speech, turning up their dial testers during parts they liked.
DONNA JAMES, FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANT: I always get hope out of his speeches because that what he drives on hope.
ACOSTA: And down for moments they could live without.
DAVID GRAY, FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANT: No details. I mean, it all sounded good, big picture but when you got down to how you're going to do it and what's it going to cost, I didn't hear any details.
ACOSTA: When the president sounded hopeful, laying out his agenda for the country, our group immediately responded.
OBAMA: We will rebuild. We will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I liked was the optimism that he provided.
ACOSTA: The meter spiked when there was talk of sacrifice and personal responsibility. The dial testers nearly went off the charts when he slammed Wall Street CEOs. But watch what happens when the president noted the massive deficit he inherited from the Bush administration.
OBAMA: Surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.
ACOSTA: Republican leaders in red plummeted while Democratic green meters shot up. Our group reflected a nation that remains deeply divided, but the outrage was bipartisan when it came to those irresponsible homeowners singled out by the president.
GAIL NOREN, FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANT: I don't think I'm the only one out here who's pissed off that, you know, foreclosures are happening, because bad loans were made, and now I'm going to be paying for it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that he's on probation. It's a trial period.
MICHAEL MASLANSKY, CEO, LUNTZ MASLANSKY RESEARCH: This is a very political speech. It was a partisan speech, and a lot of ways it played out just like the stimulus vote.
ACOSTA: Pollster Michael Maslansky says the president gave voters the optimism they've been craving even if only Democrats in this focus group were sold.
ACOSTA: It seems like he just doesn't have them all on board yet.
MASLANSKY: He definitely does not. For the first bipartisan or post-partisan president, as he said in the summit the other day, he's got a lot of work to do. And he may get there, but there's a lot of skepticism among Republicans
ACOSTA: But he hasn't won them over yet?
MASLANSKY: Definitely has not won them over yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: On top of the economic crisis, the president talked a lot about change last night, whether it be the budget, health care, or education. But as we found, his audience hasn't changed much since the election -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning with a fascinating look at the president's speech last night. Jim, thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: And still ahead, he's the president's former campaign rival and outspoken critic of the stimulus plan. So what does Senator John McCain think of what the president had to say last night? He's live right now. We're going to be checking in with him in just a couple of minutes.
It's 26 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Now is the time to act boldly and wisely, to not only revive this economy, but to build a new foundation for lasting prosperity. Now is the time to jump-start job creation, restart lending and invest in areas like energy, health care and education that will grow our economy, even as we make hard choices to bring our deficit down.
GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: Democratic leaders say their legislation will grow the economy. What it will do is grow the government, increase our taxes down the line and saddle future generations with debt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a rising star in the Republican Party, responding to President Obama's speech. Jindal and many of his fellow Republicans call the president's stimulus plan "irresponsible." Do Americans agree?
We're getting instant reaction from those who say they watched the president's address. Our new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll finds 80 percent think that his plan will improve the economy, a big number, even bigger expectations as the president moves forward this morning.
President Obama made it clear that the economy is not going to stop him from trying to deliver on his campaign promises. So what did the man who campaigned against him for the presidency make of it all last evening?
Arizona Senator John McCain joining us now from the Russell Rotunda on Capitol Hill. Senator McCain, it's good to see you. Thanks for being with us this morning. I saw you last night. You described the speech as being a good speech, the right tone and delivery. So, where do the differences lie?
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Well, first of all, it was an excellent speech. I think the president laid out the challenges that we face, and yet gave, in his speech, Americans a sense of strength and optimism that we will get through this, and we will get through it.
I'm still having trouble doing the math here. He said he is against earmarks, and yet on the floor tomorrow or the next day in the Senate will be a bill with 9,427 pork barrel items, $2 million to promote astronomy in Hawaii. I mean, the spending has gone completely nuts here...
ROBERTS: But we should...
MCCAIN: ... without any restraints whatsoever. And to somehow say that we're going to be able to cut the deficit in half, which would then bring it down to "only" $650 billion, of course, is not -- does not make any sense.
ROBERTS: I mean, we should point out that the bill that you're considering is a bill that is left over from last year. It's not part of the president's new budget going forward. But you know, you criticized...
MCCAIN: Well, let me quickly respond to that. That doesn't mean it can't be changed. I mean, it's still going through, went through the House and will be going through the United States Senate. If the president said he wanted the earmarks eliminated, I'm sure that it would have a significant effect. After all, he's the president. If he threatened to veto it with the earmarks in it, as he should, given these hard economic times, then I think it would have some beneficial effect. In other words, it's business as usual.
ROBERTS: Senator McCain, you criticized his speech last night for lacking in detail, but don't addresses of this nature always lack in detail? They're typically grand visions. I don't remember President Bush having any particular level of detail in any of his State of the Union addresses, and then the details come in policy papers that follow in the coming days and weeks.
MCCAIN: Actually, I said I would like to see more details. I want to work with the administration, particularly on health care reform. There was no mention of reform of Social Security. Nuclear power was left out of the statements. That's not detail. That's issues that I think that are important. But as I say, I think this president gave an excellent speech. I think he certainly has an excellent delivery, and I think the speech was very well-received by the American people.
ROBERTS: On this issue of health care, do you think that he can get reform done within the next year? And what about this idea of his campaign promises of universal access to health care in this country? Is that something that you can sign on to?
MCCAIN: I think that we should sit down and negotiate, Republicans and Democrats and the administration, and that we can achieve health care reform in America. Yes, I do believe that if we do it in a truly bipartisan basis, sitting down across the table from one another, not the way that this, quote, "stimulus package" was done, but in the way that I've done it dozens of times, here in the United States Senate in a truly bipartisan basis, and you get a bipartisan result.
But certainly health care reform, and the president said it eloquently last night, health care in America is impacting every part of our life negatively, because of the costs, because of the lack of availability and other aspects of it that make it compelling, that we are addressing, and solve it.
ROBERTS: I was following the former speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich last night on Twitter as he was tweeting away in response to the president's speech. He said, quote, "President Obama's call for education reform is encouraging. And if he is willing to fight for it, it would be historic." Do you agree?
MCCAIN: Absolutely. I think we all know that No Child Left Behind was a good beginning, but we have a long way to go. By the way, the No Child Left Behind was truly a bipartisan effort, led by the president and Senator Ted Kennedy. So, of course, it's absolutely vital, and I was glad to hear the president place such emphasis on it.
ROBERTS: The president appears to be -- I don't know if you saw the interview that we did yesterday with the White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs -- appears to be putting this new helicopter program on hold. Are you happy to hear that?
MCCAIN: Well, yes, because the cost overruns have been so terrible and costly. As I mentioned, the helicopter cost more than Air Force One. But I talked about it when the president and I had an exchange in context of we have to fix defense procurements. It's out of control. It's outrageous. And so, it's just an example of what we have to fix a procurement problem that was wasted billions and billions and billions of taxpayers' dollars.
ROBERTS: If you had won, Senator McCain, would you cancel that contract?
MCCAIN: Sure.
ROBERTS: And what about the resulting loss of jobs at Lockheed Martin?
MCCAIN: You can't justify job creation on pork barrel, on -- excuse me, you can't justify job creation on programs that don't work and that cost the taxpayers unnecessarily billions and billions of dollars. And by the way, you certainly not for the sake of acquiring weapons to defend the country or defend the security or maintain the security of the president of the United States. ROBERTS: I want to ask you one final quick question if I could. A lot of people have said that Rush Limbaugh is now the de facto leader of the Republican party. He wasn't a particular fan of yours during the campaign last year. Is that in fact true, what Rush Limbaugh says goes in the Republican party?
MCCAIN: No, but Mr. Limbaugh is a respected voice in the Republican Party and the conservative movement. I respect it. Obviously, I don't always agree with him, but he's a respected voice in the Republican Party. There are many voices that are respected, including Governor Jindal, who you saw last night, and many others.
ROBERTS: All right. Senator John McCain, it's good to catch up with you. Thanks for dropping by this morning.
MCCAIN: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: See you again soon.
CHETRY: So again, the president has spoken, his rivals have responded and now we're hearing from you, next, the best political team breaks it all down for us. It's 36 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. We just heard from Senator John McCain, he was responding to his former opponent's big speech last night. So we bring in the best -- well we'll bring in our best political team for reaction. It's part of the best political team. You guys are it this morning, so you can just be the best political team.
Ed Rollins, he's a CNN contributor and Republican strategist, and Democratic strategist Lisa Caputo. Great to see both of you this morning.
LISA CAPUTO, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
CHETRY: First of all, Lisa, what did you think?
CAPUTO: Well, I thought the president struck an absolutely terrific tone last night. I thought he was absolutely ambitious but he struck this great tone of hope and optimism with a can-do attitude. It wasn't all flowery. It was, you know, let's, this is a time to rebuild our country, and I thought he evoked a lot of FDR, and he didn't come out with these kind of catch phrases of a new deal, rather he talked about how he expanded the rail system in the civil war. He evoked the G.I. bill and I thought that was really smart on his part and clearly people loved it. Two-thirds of the people you all polled felt positive about it and I thought he gave a great blueprint for the country.
CHETRY: From the Republican perspective, what did you think was lacking?
ED ROLLINS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: He's a gifted communicator. And we see that over and over again. I think the bottom line is that this was -- we're in the midst of a nightmare (ph), and this was his "If I had a dream" speech. This was a speech about aspiration. There was not a strategy or the details. They may come later but it's an overly ambitious program and if you can accomplish just the financial part of it, we'll move the country forward.
CHETRY: And what about John McCain, we just heard from the Senator a few moments ago and he took issue, he said that he thought that the president should threaten to veto a stimulus bill unless all of the earmarks were out of it and all of the pork barrel spending.
ROLLINS: I don't share all of that. I think it's important to get a budget. I think I'm more concerned about the fact it's eight percent larger than it was a year ago and this is the middle of the year. We still have another budget to come. This will have a $2 trillion shortfall by the time the end of this year and probably $3 trillion next year. I think it's more than just earmarks that get it there.
CHETRY: Well, I meant budget. I had stimulus is on the brain this morning but -
CAPUTO: With regard to the budget, let's not forget that he's already identified $2 trillion of savings in his budget. So I think he's going to have a transparent budget which is right which goes to his theme of transparency and I think he's doing all the right things by saying let's put partisanship aside. I think he's right to say let's not have any earmarks and try to work to the right solution.
I think just to slightly differ with Ed's point a little bit, what Obama said last night was that the economy, health care, education and energy policy are all interrelated and I thought that was a strategy on his part and I thought it was a thoughtful strategy, albeit ambitious.
ROLLINS: It's also the first time the federal government is taking a major, major role in education. We have $59 billion in this year's education budget. We just added another $100 billion to build schools and do those things. That's never been the role of the federal government. So it's a whole new way to go and obviously if it works it may benefit the country.
CHETRY: It's interesting because he did set a goal for 2020 by being the industrialized nation that has the most people graduating.
CAPUTO: Yes and he talked about you know, Senator Hatch and Senator Kennedy, you know coming together and putting forth that proposal. And I thought that was a real smart move.
ROLLINS: Senator Hatch looked very surprised when the camera went on him.
CAPUTO: Senator Kennedy was cheering at home.
CHETRY: All right. You know, one quick point I want to ask you about, Lisa, because right now it's clear as we said from our polling that President Obama does have the goodwill of the people on his side. He mentioned and he made sure that he said this was a deficit that he inherited and it's interesting because an article today in the "Wall Street Journal" points out that his staffers are well aware of trying to make sure that doesn't shift to where it's not just that Obama has a goodwill but now he's to blame for what we're in. How does he ensure that doesn't happen down the road?
CAPUTO: Well, I think what he's doing is all the right things to ensure that that doesn't happen. You know he's gotten past the stimulus package within the first 40 days in office and I think that was a bold move. He's introducing a housing bill on March 4th. He's going to come forward with a banking regulatory reform bill. So he's doing, doing, doing to address these issues, and he's put the vice president in charge of the budget process, as far as the transparency and the savings go, kind of, you know, the oversight czar.
So he's doing all the right things. Hopefully he'll come forth with a balanced budget and you know, he wants to cut the deficit by 2010. So He's saying all the right things. He's got to do them.
ROLLINS: But more importantly, he can obviously blame Bush for a lot of things and the country will agree with him but the person jumping up and down like a high school cheerleader, the Speaker of the House has a lot more to do where the budget goes. And can she controls her members? The last two years Congress is controlled spending, it's been a democratic Congress. It still is a democratic Congress and will be for the foreseeable future. With a lot of pet project these people want, there's a lot of entitlements that people aren't willing to cut.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks to both of you for being with us. Ed Rollins and Lisa Caputo, thanks. Nice seeing you. It's 43 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Drowning in college debt.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Staggering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ROBERTS: But what kind of job can graduates get?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: College is more important than ever.
ROBERTS: In debt for decade, is college even worth it today? Our financial aid series continues. You're watching the most news in the morning.
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ROBERTS: It's 46, almost 47 minutes after the hour. We continue following breaking news this morning, the crash of Turkish Airlines flight 1951 at Schipol Airport just outside of Amsterdam. We had earlier reports today. These were coming to us from an airline official. An official from Turkish Airlines that everyone had survived this crash as the plane came down according to some reports two miles short of the runway, broke into three pieces. There was no ensuing fire, though.
Apparently, the early reports were way overly optimistic. Because we now hear from the director of the Schipol Airport nine people have died in this crash. Fifty of them have been injured, 25 of those injuries are serious. So, this really changes things on the ground there. You see the plane came in, the full flaps deployed -- it looked like a normal approach to the runway -- and then went down. Again, according to some reports about two miles short of the runway.
The weather at the time slightly misty, a little bit of wind, but temperatures 41 degrees. Icing would not have appeared to have been a problem at that particular juncture. But again, initial reports that everyone walked away from this crash were just completely and utterly incorrect. Coming to us, by the way, from the airline itself and its headquarters in Istanbul.
Now, according to the airport director in Schipol, nine people dead, 50 injured, 25 of those serious. We're going to continue to follow with the breaking news for you this morning on the crash of Turkish Airlines flight 1951, Schipol Airport in Amsterdam.
African-Americans are among the hardest hit during this recession, dealing with job cuts, the mortgage crisis and Wall Street woes. Is America's first black president doing enough to reach out to the black community? We'll ask that question. It's 48 1/2 minutes now after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. The president is getting the price of getting a college diploma has been skyrocketing for decades. And our current economic crisis has many students rethinking their future. Alina Cho continues our special look at education and financial aid. And very pertinent today because of what we heard from President Obama yesterday. He said I challenge every American to get at least one year of higher education.
CHO: Yes, but it's hard.
CHETRY: Why?
CHO: Because it's expensive. I mean and I know you should be saving for your two kids. You got a while. I'm sorry about that. But think about it, guys, good morning. If you're struggling financially, you really have to be resourceful if you want that higher education. You apply for scholarships and you hope for grants and oftentimes you get that six-figure loan. The idea is college is expensive, but it will pay for itself some day. Not so fast. IN this economy, jobs are scarce. College grads are drowning in debt. And when you start to do the math, you really wonder is college worth it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): Ask Michelle Destruge the cost of college and she'll tell you. Six figures.
MICHELLE DESTRUGE, COLLEGE GRADUATE: Probably.
CHO: Staggering.
DESTRUGE: Yes. It is.
CHO: Her four-year education at Fordham University has saddled her with $119,000 in student loans.
DESTRUGE: When you think about it, it's a large sum. You start to feel, you know -- you start to feel hopeless.
Hi there, how are you doing?
CHO: The 25-year-old works as an administrative assistant, making about $40,000 a year, but more than half her salary goes towards paying down her college debt. You must lose sleep over this.
DESTRUGE: I did. For a little while. I did lose sleep, and then when you start not paying your loan as well as you should, the companies make sure you lose sleep on it.
CHO: According to the college board, two-thirds of four-year college grads have student debt, more than $22,000 on average. And salaries are not keeping pace. After adjusting for inflation, those with bachelor's degrees are actually making less than they were in the year 2000. Leaving many with debt they'll be paying off for decades. So, is college worth the expense?
BEN KAUFMAN, BUSINESS OWNER: I learned more a day out of the classroom working at my business than I can learn in an entire semester.
CHO: Ben Kaufman dropped out of college after one semester to start his own business selling iPod accessories. The 22-year-old is now starting a second business, with no regrets. Yet experts say, college is still a good investment.
LAUREN ASHER, INSTITUTE FOR COLLEGE ACCESS AND SUCCESS: College is more important than ever for getting into and staying in the middle-class in this country. In some ways it's replaced the high school degree even for entry-level jobs.
CHO: Destruge admits she probably could have gotten her job with an associate's degree. She's living with her parents again, hoping to pay off her debt in 10 years. Her dreams like buying a home, starting a business, even marriage are all on hold. Was it worth it?
DESTRUGE: I have to say yes.
CHO: What do you really feel, though?
DESTRUGE: I feel that it was a mistake to leverage myself, but I have to say it was worth it in the end.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Now, part of the problem right now is that Michelle is paying back four separate loans. One federal and three private. Listen to this, the big difference is that with private loans they're essentially like credit cards, there's no cap on the interest rates and the debt is never forgiven even after you die.
Now, with federal loans there are some important borrowing protection, so that's the difference. Now, if you're just about to graduate from college, something important you should know, starting July 1st there's a new federal program that college grads can take advantage of. Basically, if you have student debt, your monthly payments will be capped at what you can afford, and after 25 years, Kiran, anything you still owe will be forgiven.
And listen to this, if you're in public service or you work for a nonprofit, that debt could be forgiven within 10 years. So, it's a really incredible program that's going to take effect on July 1st that people should know about it.
CHETRY: Oh boy, it makes you think 25 years and you're still paying for that four-year education.
CHO: That's right. And you know, Michelle said, listen, you know, by their calculation, I'll be in my 50s by the time I pay it off, but she's really aggressively trying to pay it off, pay more than the minimum. She hopes to do it within 10 years and certainly I hope she does it. I wish her a lot of luck.
CHETRY: Absolutely. All right. Thanks so much, Alina Cho.
And we're going to of course check in with Alina tomorrow as well, edging out college all together. Experts say 600,000 kids who have the grades don't go on to earn even a two-year degree and way too many come from minority and low-income families. The problem is only getting worse. You can follow all of these the stories online, head to our Web site, cnn.com/am. It's 55 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Empowering the people.
OBAMA: And our economy will recover. We are not quitters.
ROBERTS: The impact of the president's words on you.
OBAMA: We will rebuild. We will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before.
ROBERTS: This morning, the best economic minds in the country, on the critical next move.
Plus, the mad, mad Michigan mayor. You heard him here before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR VIRG BERNERO, LANSING, MICH.: I disagree. I disagree vehemently.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Mayor, let's have a conversation about it.
BERNERO: We are victims of currency manipulation --
VELSHI: It's not an infomercial, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Can the president's plan save his town? He's back! You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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