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Outlandish Crimes, Undetected; How Iranian Hostage Crisis Unfolded; 'Republican Renaissance'
Aired November 04, 2009 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It is the top of the hour. A quick sweep of the top stories here.
Republicans celebrate victories in two out of three high-profile elections. Left to right, Chris Christie, governor-elect, New Jersey; Bob McDonnell, governor-elect of Virginia; and Bill Owens, a Democrat who beat a conservative candidate in New York's 23rd Congressional District. That area hasn't sent a Dem to D.C. since the 1800s.
President Barack Obama in Wisconsin right now. This hour he'll announce a $4 billion investment in education reform.
We'll hear more from him live, later this hour.
And the president's main domestic priority, well, it might have to wait. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is refusing to give a timetable for when his chamber will pass a health care reform bill.
Want to go now to an incredibly dangerous threat, incredibly undetected, until at least 10 people were dead, and maybe more. That description of Anthony Sowell comes from a prosecutor in Cleveland who today persuaded a judge to not even consider bond for the convicted rapist now charged with at least five counts of aggravated murder. And that represents only half of the bodies that police have found so far in Sowell's home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE RONALD ADRINE, CLEVELAND MUNICIPAL COURT: Mr. Sowell, in 28 years of being on this bench, this is, without question, the most serious set of allegations that I have ever faced. Given the nature and the gruesomeness of the allegations that have been placed against you, as well as your past criminal history, the court believes that the request of the prosecution in this matter, that you be held and remanded without bond, is well taken and, as a result, that will be the order of the court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Sowell was arrested on Saturday, two days after police investigating a new rape accusation found the decomposing bodies of six women, five inside the house, one outside. And yesterday, police found four bodies buried in the back yard and a skull in the basement. Whatever happened, happened right under the noses of authorities, and neighbors they their noses should have tipped them off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We used to think that it was coming out of Ray's (ph) Sausage, but you smell these smells -- and I live right there. And I used to be in the house, like, "Oh." We used to come out here, like, "Oh, that smell is horrible." But I didn't know it was no dead bodies, we just think it was the sewer system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, as a registered sex offender, Sowell had to check in with the county sheriff, and vice versa. Now he sits in a jail cell while police prepare to rip his house apart, literally, in search of more victims. The county coroner plans to talk about the victims found so far in a news conference two and a half hours from now.
We'll update you on that on CNN.
And also today, in California, the California inspector general plans to answer a disturbing question -- how did Phillip and Nancy Garrido allegedly manage to hide Jaycee Dugard from Phillip Garrido's parole supervisors for 18 years? Well, he too is a convicted rapist who kept in close touch with authorities while allegedly keeping Dugard and the two daughters she bore him in his backyard compound.
A two-month state investigation is the subject of a news conference now set for 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, 5:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll update you on that one as well.
And for the Dugards, justice comes better late than never. For the women killed in Cleveland, well, it is just too late.
But the painful question remains -- why can't the system stop known offenders from offending again?
Andy Kahan has some thoughts about that. He is a director of the Crime Victims Office in Houston, Texas.
Thank you so much for joining us.
ANDY KAHAN, DIRECTOR, CRIME VICTIMS OFFICE, HOUSTON, TEXAS: How are you back?
LEMON: Let's talk about Cleveland first.
So, the big question is, how did this slip through the cracks, especially if he had to check in with folks and they had to check in with him? How did this slip through the cracks?
KAHAN: Well, part of the problem is you'll remember that the parole board deemed this man so unsuitable for release, that he actually discharged his sentence in prison. Meaning, technically, he was not under supervision, where all he was required by law was to register. And all law enforcement can do by statute is to ensure that he was residing where he claimed he was.
They had no right or guarantee. They couldn't do enter his domicile unless they had a warrant. And maybe a case like this can start people to think about putting some changes into the system where we classify violent sex offenders like Sowell to give law enforcement a little bit more tools, and at least give them the discretion of entering his residence to ensure that he's in total compliance.
LEMON: OK. So, listen, if they had to check -- and they do home checks now -- if this is a home check, do they actually go inside, or was that not the case with Mr. Sowell?
KAHAN: Not the case with Sowell. With the case with Garrido, parole officials had the right to enter his residence.
With Sowell, he was not under supervision. He had completed his obligation to the state of Ohio. All he had to do was register, which he did.
All law enforcement had to do was to ensure he was residing where he claimed he was. They had no right to enter into his residence. And that's something we've got to look at tinkering with.
LEMON: Yes.
So, listen, we're going to get to the Garridos in just a bit, so hold that thought. I want to stick now with Mr. Sowell.
You know, we always talk to profilers, people who say certain crimes have certain profiles and certain types of folks. So, do you think that law enforcement sometimes relies too much on profiles?
KAHAN: Well, look at your recent history, your beltway snipers. Everybody assumed that was a Caucasian American that was going around gunning people from all over the Northeast.
LEMON: And according to profiles, this guy in Cleveland should have been a Caucasian male as well.
KAHAN: Well, about 84 percent of serial killers in our country are classified as Caucasian, 16 percent are classified as African- American. Recent African-American serial killers include people like Corley Gene Watts (ph), Kendall Francois, Harrison Grabb (ph), and, of course, Boyd and Muhammad. And now you've got, allegedly, Sowell as well.
So, sometimes when you've got -- you know, when we look at statistics, you've got to sometimes think outside the box. This particular individual, you had the community complaining about foul smell, you had someone that allegedly claimed that he raped her.
So, you know, I think we've got to just take a little bit more, step outside the box, and do a little bit more with offenders like this, because offenders like Sowell are extremely devious, cunning. They know how to play the game. He knew enough to check in and to be at home where he claimed he was.
LEMON: All right. Let's go now to California and talk about Phillip Garrido and his wife, because in just a few minutes, the California inspector general, they're going to release a report about what they found, what went wrong.
Do you think this is going to change the way that they do these home checks, and also change the way how this is handled in the future, especially with parole officers?
KAHAN: I would certainly hope so. When I was on your program several months ago talking about Garrido, I stated right there for you, where there is one, there is others. And, of course, we just found others. And the question that begets all Americans is, how many others are there out there like that?
I would think that in situations like Garrido, where you have an aggravated sexual offender who kidnaps women and then rapes them, that you would give parole officers a mandate to thoroughly check the residence, to pop in unannounced. And maybe we ought to start looking at giving officers little smell detectors to determine if there's any unusual odors.
LEMON: Especially with Cleveland, right?
KAHAN: Oh, absolutely. Remember John Wayne Gacy. That's how they got Gacy, they went into his house.
LEMON: And there's nothing like -- a decomposing body has just a terrible smell. There's nothing like it.
Real quickly -- we have to run here, but I want to ask you, when they go to someone like Garrido's home for a home check, can they actually search the home? Where they allowed to go in the back yard, or they just sort of sit in the living room, or sit at the kitchen table?
KAHAN: Since he was under parole supervision, officers had the right to enter his residence. They can look up and down anywhere they wanted to.
Sowell, they had no right. That's the big difference.
LEMON: Hey, great information. Thank you very much.
KAHAN: You bet.
LEMON: Andy Kahan, he's a director of the Crime Victims Office in Houston, Texas.
Really good information, again. Thank you.
Iranians filling the streets of Tehran, denouncing their own government, not the U.S.
These are the opposition protesters demonstrating for the first time in nearly two months, shouting, "Death to the dictator!" in reference to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And in a stark message to President Obama, shouting, "Obama, you are with them or with us!"
Riot police rushed the crowd, firing tear gas and beating people with batons. Nearby, anti-U.S. demonstrators shouted, "Death to America!"
All this coming on the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover.
President Obama responded quickly to the violence in Tehran. He is challenging Tehran to choose a positive future relationship with the United States.
In a statement released by the White House, the president said in part, "It is time for the Iranian government to decide whether it wants to focus on the past or whether it will make the choices that will open the door to greater opportunity, prosperity and justice for its people."
Thirty years ago today, 66 workers at the American Embassy in Tehran were taken hostage. Most of them would remain in custody for the next 444 days.
I want you to take a look at how the Iranian hostage crisis unfolded right now.
On November 4, 1979, 500 Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 66 embassy workers hostage. Their demand? Extradition of the Shah, who had come to the U.S. for medical treatment.
Well, two days later, Ayatollah Khomeini and the Iranian Revolutionary Council took power. On November 17th, Khomeini released 13 of the hostages. Later, another hostage was released due to illness. Fifty-two hostages remained in custody then.
April 7, 1980, after months of diplomatic wrangling, the U.S. cut diplomatic ties with Iran and imposed economic sanctions.
April 24, 1980, eight U.S. servicemen lost their lives during a failed rescue attempt.
January 19, 1981, the U.S. and Iran reach an agreement for the release of all of the hostages. In exchange, $8 billion in Iranian assets were unfrozen.
And then one day later, on January 20th, the same day Ronald Reagan is inaugurated, the remaining 52 hostages were released and flown to Germany.
And for more of Christiane Amanpour's interviews about this subject and other political topics, make sure you watch her show at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday on CNN, or you can go to CNN.com/Amanpour.
In Afghanistan, Britain says an Afghan policeman opened fire, killing five British soldiers. The attack happened yesterday afternoon at a checkpoint in the volatile Helmand Province, where the Brits were training Afghan police.
Former president candidate Abdullah Abdullah suggests this is an example of corruption in the Karzai government. He urged President Obama to send more troops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, FMR. AFGHAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Eight years down the road we still need more troops. In the absence of a credible and reliable and legitimate partner, more soldiers, more resources are the only thing which would be resorted to. And so that gives you the picture where we are at this stage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, he is a former Marine who fought in Iraq and a former State Department civilian officer. Matthew Hoh is the first person to resign from the State Department in protest over U.S. policy in Afghanistan. He says the U.S. has made a strategic mistake because what's playing out in the war zone now is a civil war.
Speaking to CNN this morning, Hoh explained his differences with General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW HOH, FMR. STATE DEPT. CIVILIAN OFFICER: I'm not questioning the "how." I don't want to get bogged down into the mechanics or the details or the tactics of this, but the "why." Why and to what end are we in Afghanistan?
But to get back to your question, Kiran, there are parts of General McChrystal's assessment I believe in. And if I believe this mission was right, if I believe that sending more troops or keeping the same amount of troops there would defeat al Qaeda, then I will be all in favor of it. However, my view is that, with the way the situation is there, sending more troops is only going to fuel the insurgency. If we say there are 25,000 insurgents, I really believe this time next year, if we send more troops, that we'll have 35,000 insurgents, or 40,000 insurgents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Hoh served as a civilian officer with the State Department in a Taliban stronghold. He resigned after only six months on the job.
Maybe now Republicans can say, "Democrats are so last year." A pair of lens (ph) has the RNC chairman using the "R" word, "renaissance."
So how big a deal was this off-year election in the scheme of things?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, so the head of the RNC says the Republican renaissance has begun in earnest. Michael Steele talking about the governorships in New Jersey and Virginia.
Republican Chris Christie beating the Democratic incumbent in New Jersey. And the GOP's Bob McDonnell handily taking Richmond.
Then again, in New York, a historically Republican area is sending a Democrat to D.C. for the first time since the 19th century. Can you imagine that?
Bill Owens beat conservative candidate Doug Hoffman in the 23rd district. The Republican candidate bowed out over the weekend, so maybe it is a renaissance with an asterisk next to it.
Let's talk about the big picture now with CNN's political analyst, Gloria Borger.
Gloria, it's always good to see you.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi. Great to see you.
LEMON: And this was quite an interesting election, election night. I was riveted by it.
BORGER: It sure was.
LEMON: Let's talk about the GOP. Are they really making a comeback? Is this really the "R" word, the "renaissance," like Michael Steele says?
BORGER: I wouldn't say it's a renaissance. I would say it's more like a ripple. But I think it's something you need to really pay attention to, particularly if you're at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
I mean, you look at a president who had huge intensity. His voters turned out to the polls in 2008, and Democrats were 19 points more enthusiastic than Republicans.
Now, what we saw last night, was that lots of the Obama voters stayed at home. The Independent voters, which he was so dependent on for his victory in the presidency, and Democrats were dependent on, they went, by and large, to the Republican candidate. So I think that's something they have to start paying a little attention to over there.
LEMON: And we're talking about New Jersey with Jon Corzine. My gosh, how much money did he spend again? Like, just a lot more than his opponent.
BORGER: Well, yes. I mean, tens of millions of dollars of his own money.
LEMON: Wow.
BORGER: Don't forget, also, the president put himself on the line in this state. This state is a deep blue state. And so, you know, Corzine was favored, it was a tough fight. And in the end, it's those Independent voters.
And by the way, those voters worried about the economy. Middle class voters voted for the Republicans. LEMON: Yes, they said that people didn't vote along party lines here, didn't vote along racial lines, because we had race here in Atlanta, the mayoral race, and that didn't happen.
But I wonder though if it's going to have any effect, especially when he campaigned, the president did, for Jon Corzine. Is this going to have any affect, or could it on the Obama administration?
BORGER: Well, sure. You know, sure it could.
First of all, the president remains personally popular. And what we saw in at least these races -- and again, we can't overreach here -- but we saw that the president's personal popularity did not directly translate.
Again, these are local races, but congressional races are also local races. And so, when you had those moderate Democrats who were looking at that health care bill and who were worried about getting reelected, many of them freshmen, most of them freshmen Democrats in the House, they're going to become a bunch of chicken littles. And they're going to go to the White House and say the sky is falling and I'm worried about this health care bill. And the White House may have to give a bunch of them a buy on voting for it.
LEMON: A little bit of a silver lining here, but I don't know if it has anything to do with the administration, and that is New York's 23rd district, Gloria.
BORGER: Well, it does have a lot to do with the administration in the sense that they put a lot of resources in there, they were very involved in cutting a deal, where the moderate Republican who dropped out endorsed the Democrat. But here's the issue -- it's much more of an issue for the Republican Party here, because what they have got going is a war within the party.
And if you continue to have very conservative candidates challenging the more moderate, mainstream Republicans who are running, you will split the party right down the middle, as we saw, and you will hand the seat to the Democrat, as we saw last night. And this is something that establishment Republicans in Washington are very much worried about right now, because they think they have an opportunity. But if all of their candidates get primaried, then they could have some real problems and hand the seats to the Democrats.
LEMON: Gloria, thank you.
BORGER: Sure.
LEMON: You know, pay attention to this. You and I will talk about this. I'll e-mail you, because we have an interesting mayoral race going on here.
BORGER: Yes, very interesting.
LEMON: We've got the first white mayor in 35 years, and the first white woman ever. But then, she was so far ahead. People thought that there wasn't going to be a runoff.
At the last minute, the mayor, the current mayor, voted for the person who's in second place. And then that changed the game a little bit.
BORGER: Politics is great, huh?
LEMON: Politics is great.
It was very fun to watch.
BORGER: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you, Gloria. We appreciate it.
BORGER: Sure.
LEMON: CNN's Political Ticker is all politics, all the time, whenever you want it. Numbers, analysis, it's all there. You can get analysis from Gloria and the best political team on television.
Check it out, CNNPolitics.com.
Top stories right now for you.
Police in North Dakota say there is no evidence of foul play in the deaths of three college softball players. They disappeared on Sunday, their bodies were found yesterday in an SUV submerged in a pond near the school. The three were on a star-gazing trip that night, and authorities say they likely drove straight into the water in the dark.
In Richmond, California, channeling anger into change. Teachers, students and community leaders gathered at a local high school last night to show support for the student gang rape outside a homecoming dance. School officials now say they're tightening security. Six people face charges in that case and more arrests could come.
The Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry an interracial couple has resigned. Keith Bardwell faced a firestorm of criticism over his stance. He had served as a justice of the peace for 34 years.
In refusing to marry a white woman and a black man, Bardwell said he was considering what the couple's first children might have to go through. He says he is not a racist.
Well, the Fed and interest rates and your money all in play right now.
Last week, we learned the economy is finally growing. Now we'll hear what policymakers have to say about all of this. They're weighing in.
Our Susan Losovicz is in New York with all the details.
So, Susan, what is the verdict?
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The verdict is, as expected, Don, no change. The U.S. economy is getting better, we know it almost on a daily basis. But it's not good enough for the central bank, which is going to keep its foot on the gas, pedal to the metal for an extended time. And that's really the key here.
The Federal Reserve keeping a key interest rate at a historic low of zero to .25 percent. This is a level that it has kept in place since last December, when things were a whole lot gloomier.
The Fed, in its statement released just about a minute ago, did acknowledge that things are better, that we're seeing household spending in particular appears to be improving, that housing market conditions are improving. But that credit remains tight.
And clearly, overall, the situation is fragile, because the key line here, Don, is that it -- the Fed says it expects to keep these exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. And a lot of folks interpret that to mean maybe six months down the road. That the U.S. economy still needs this kind of juice to get any kind of growth at all.
And you remember that we saw that pretty dramatically last week with the GDP growth of 3.5 percent. Well, what if we didn't have all that stimulus?
You remember, the Fed is a big provider of that. It's not only keeping those interest rates low, it's buying toxic assets, it's buying treasuries to try to support -- to keep mortgage rates low and to keep the credit markets flowing.
So, the headline here, no change, interest rates at a historic low, and they will be so for an extended period, according to the Federal Reserve -- Don.
LEMON: The economy growing, but still needs a little bit of a boost, some training wheels until it can go back to normal, hopefully, or at least go up.
Thank you, Susan Lisovicz.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome, Don.
LEMON: Working 9:00 to 5:00 with H1N1. Despite our boss' pleas, a lot of folks literally can't afford to call out, making for one costly flu season, you better believe. Now Capitol Hill is working on a cure for it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: Want to take our viewers live now to Wisconsin. And President Barack Obama about to talk about education reform.
We're going to carry it for you live on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We're going to take you to Wisconsin, and you see them preparing there for the president. The president is about to speak at any moment now. The president -- also Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke just a little bit earlier.
This is the James C. Wright middle school. It's one of two public charter schools in Madison, Wisconsin, and it's going to be a group of sixth, seventh and eighth graders. And they're going to get to meet the president. And you see a group of parents and people from the community there in that room.
We're going to take you there live as soon as the president speaks. He's going to do that in just a little moment. A multibillion-dollar initiative for schools. And the president will tell you what your school district has to do to qualify. You won't miss it. We'll get you there as soon as the president starts to speak.
In the meantime, can you believe it? One year ago Americans went to the poll for the historic 2008 presidential election. Sending the first African-American president into the Oval Office.
Well, on this first anniversary of the president's victory, we could be seeing a Republican rebound. The GOP wins the governor's office in New Jersey and also Virginia.
So, the election of President Barack Obama transcended America's borders, from Katmandu to Kenya. Much of the world seemed overjoyed. But now one year removed, has the president's global popularity taken a hit? We put that question to some of our international correspondents. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Reza Sayah in Islamabad. Here's how many Pakistanis define success when it comes to President Obama's first year in office. People here said they wanted to see peace in a country that hasn't seen it in years. They also said they wanted respect. And an overall change in tone. "A," "B," "C," "D," "F," Mr. Obama, here's your year-one report card from Pakistan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, I'm giving you this "C" grade because I think that you are not fulfilling your promises.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have promised that you will shape a new relations between Pakistan and America. But I think after expiry of one year, there are no new things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm giving you "A" for your first year, because you are conscious of the difficulties which we are expressing.
SAYAH: Mr. President, Naim (ph), Isram (ph), Abdul (ph), Rahman (ph) and Abdul (ph) give you an "F," because they say you're no different than the rest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I give you grade "B," because I think you have brought in a lot of fresh ideas.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you want that we will support you, please, do something which brings all nation of the world -- bring closer.
SAYAH: All right, there you have it: our version of a report card for Mr. Obama's first year in office. I'd say the grades averaged out to a "C." A lot of people think he hasn't delivered on his promises, but they haven't given up hope.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matthew Chance in Moscow, and what a difference a year makes. Russia and the United States have been suffering some of their most strained relations since the end of the Cold War. Until, that is, President Obama declared he wanted to reset relations with Moscow to try to find areas of common ground.
Crucially, he announced the U-turn on the missile defense (INAUDIBLE) in Eastern Europe, a plan that had been fiercely opposed by the Kremlin. The question now is will these warmer ties mean closer U.S. cooperation with Russia on issues like Iran's controversial nuclear program? It's a potential, but it's not yet realized.
JIM BITTERMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jim Bitterman in France, where President Obama's impact a year after the election comes on two levels. An emotional one; seven out of ten French said earlier this year that Obama gives them hope.
And even though that they be dropping somewhat, there's a second, more direct tactical impact. Since the election, sometimes with the help of the American ambassador and embassy here, the pace of transatlantic contacts has accelerated. Young leaders from the racially diverse suburbs of Paris have traveled to study their cultural diversity in the U.S. And American young people have visited the tough suburbs here.
For France, which is about to begin a cross-country debate on national identity, the American example will no doubt be held up by some as the American ideal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Our international reporters, thanks to them.
And meantime here at home, you see right there at the bottom of your screen, the president getting ready to speak in Wisconsin about education reform. We're going to carry that live.
Meantime, we're going to continue on with the election results here. Election 2009. Taking a look at some high-profile mayor's races now. Former NBA star Dave Bing wins another four years in Detroit. Bing was elected last May to finish out the term of disgraced mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. And in Charlotte, North Carolina elects it's first new mayor in 14 years. Anthony Foxx will also be the first Democrat to hold the seat since the 1980s.
Still undecided, mayors' races in Houston and Atlanta head for runoffs. In Houston, Annise Parker faces Gene Locke in December. If Parker wins, she would be that city's first openly gay mayor.
Atlanta's mayoral race narrows from six to two. Candidates Mary Norwood and Kasim Reed will battle for votes again next month. Norwood stands to become Atlanta's first white mayor since 1973, and the first white female to be mayor ever here in Atlanta.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ran the most expensive self- financed campaign in American history. It's estimated that he spent about $100 million of his own money. Last night, our Anderson Cooper asked our panel -- our political panel -- if Bloomberg needed to shell out all that cash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC360": Pamela, did he need to spend all that money?
PAM GENTRY, BET.COM SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I guess if you have it, I guess why not? But, I mean, that's a lot of money. I mean, and what is it? Ten to one you know, $170 per voter, that does seem like a lot of money.
I think the thing here in New York is that Bloomberg has been, you know, this, iconic type of figure. He's almost a celebrity-type mayor in the sense that he's already this small-time millionaire. He has nothing else to do. I guess this is something he wants to do to occupy his time. And he's done well by the city of New York.
But I do think it's interesting -- I think we should at least acknowledge that Bill Thompson gave him a pretty good run for his money -- for the money, literally, and he brought in a, you know, a good showing. This race was a lot closer, I think, that any of us expected it to be.
COOPER: Yes. I think he was a multimillionaire, like, 20 or 30 years ago. We're now talking billions.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: Billionaires find that insulting, from what I understand.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Anderson, I think what was insulting was the fact that he decided to overturn the rogue voters and the supreme arrogance to say, "I want a third term, I don't care if you actually pass this. The council went along with it." I wouldn't be surprised if you look at -- whatever exit polling data, (INAUDIBLE) in terms of these close results.
Look, he blew out the last guy when he ran four years ago. For this to be this close, that's an issue there. I have a problem when you just say, the heck with the will of the people, I just want to do what I want to do. I'm sorry.
ARI FLEISCHER, FORMER BUSH WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But money isn't everything in politics, as we saw in New Jersey. Governor Corzine outspent Chris Christie by $10 million -- again, his own money. I've seen races where the rich guy loses, I've seen them where they win. Ideas and ideology are really still the dominant forces in politics.
Another local race here, but Westchester County in New York, county of almost 1 million people. A Republican won the county executive race there, running against what we call the "tax madness" of government here. So, these ideological issues still play a very powerful role.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, it certainly did pay off. Today, Bloomberg is celebrating a third win.
Workers battling swine flu without sick pay. Well, we brought you this story; now we're going to follow up for you. House lawmakers are pushing an emergency bill to guarantee five days of paid leave, or for some, some 50 million people with no sick days. That's going to help.
Meantime, a House committee is digging into the government's response to the H1N1 outbreak. They are asking tough questions about the vaccine's safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We have a very interesting, almost paradoxical, situation where you have a very hard percentage of people don't want to get the vaccine, and another hard percentage of people want to get it, and it's not particularly available where they are because of this gap between supply and demand.
So, when people say this vaccine is absolutely safe. There's nothing in the world that's 100 percent safe. You open up your door to go to work in the morning and get out on the Beltway, that's not absolutely safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the H1N1 vaccine is a precious commodity anywhere it can be found. So, it's unbelievable that thousands of doses had to be destroyed because they weren't stored properly.
That's what happened in Pennsylvania. Five thousand doses were placed in a school refrigerator for the Straussburg -- Strasburg area -- district's temperature was between 35 and 46 degrees, which is what the vaccine needs.
We want to go now to Wisconsin and President Barack Obama speaking about his education reform initiative.
(APPLAUSE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you so much. Thank you. Everybody please, have a seat, have a seat.
It is good to see all of you. Good to be back in Madison. I want to first of all just say that Jim Doyle is not only one of the finest governors we have in the country, but is also a great friend, a great supporter. His entire family has been wonderful, and so I just could not be prouder to associate myself with the outstanding work that Jim has done in the state. Please give him a big round of applause.
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OBAMA: We have got two wonderful mayors in the house. First of all, your own Dave Cieslewicz here. Dave.
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OBAMA: And Milwaukee's outstanding mayor, Tom Barrett, is in the house.
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OBAMA: I am so impressed with the work that's been done here at Wright Middle School. And I know that Principal Nancy Evans deserves a huge amount of credit, so please give her a big round of applause.
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OBAMA: And to the faculty, the staff, but most importantly, the students, who I had a chance to meet with earlier today. They are just some outstanding young people. So, if there are any parents of students in the house, you should be proud. And give them all a big round of applause.
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OBAMA: Now, it's great to be back in Madison, great to be back in Wisconsin. And I have heard great things about Wright, so I have got very high expectations for all the students here. And I told them this. I expect them to keep up the good work that you have already been putting in to make sure that you succeed, not just in middle school, but also in high school, also in college. And for the rest of your lives. And parents, I want you to stay on them. Because that is an absolutely critical ingredient for their success.
One year ago, Americans all across this country went to the polls and cast ballots for the future they wanted to see.
(APPLAUSE) OBAMA: And -- Election Day was a day of hope, it was a day of possibility, but it was also a sobering one. Because we knew even then we faced an array of challenges that we knew would test us as a country. We already saw that there was a financial crisis that threatened to plunge our economy into a great depression, the worst that we have seen in generations. We had record deficits, two wars, frayed alliances around the world.
Facing this reality, my administration had two fundamental obligations. The first was to rescue the economy from imminent collapse. And while we still have a long way to go, we have made meaningful progress toward achieving that goal.
We acted boldly and swiftly to pass a Recovery Act that has made a difference for families right here in Wisconsin. And Jim, your governor, described the difference that it's made. We have put a tax cut into the pockets of 95 percent of hard-working families. We create or saved over 1 million jobs, including 4,000 education jobs right here in Wisconsin.
We have taken steps to unlock our frozen credit market so that an ordinary American can get the loan that he or she needs to buy a home or a car to go to college or start a new business. We've enacted measures to stem the crisis in our housing market, to help responsible homeowners stay in their homes and curb the decline of home values overall.
So, all these things contributed to the first quarter of economic growth that we have had as a nation in over a year. The rate of job loss is slowing, although not nearly fast enough yet. The work continues. But we're moving in the right direction, and we are going to keep on fulfilling our obligation to do every single thing we possibly can to pull this economy out of the ditch and to make sure that people can find jobs that pay good wages. That's our top priority.
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OBAMA: So, that was the rescue part of our job. Just solving the immediate crisis. But we also came into office with another goal, another obligation. Not simply to do what needed to be done to deal with an emergency crisis, but to make those long-term investments necessary to build our economy stronger than before.
It was an obligation to tackle problems that had been festering, problems that had been kicked down the road, year after year, decade after decade. Problems that have to be overcome for America to move forward.
See, even before the crisis, we were having big problems. We were just papering them over. Manufacturing was declining, and we weren't producing as many high-tech, high-skilled jobs as we needed to be. We had an energy situation where suddenly oil producers or speculators wanted to constrict supply, and next thing you know, you're paying four bucks at the pump. So, we don't have energy independence. Health care costs (VIDEO GAP) -- families were seeing more and more out-of-pocket costs and essentially trading away salary and wages just to keep up with their premiums. So, we had an obligation to create a better health care system that works for our people, our businesses and our government alike. That's why...
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OBAMA: ... and that's why we have been pushing so hard on edu -- health care reform. That's why we took up the cause of a clean energy economy that will free America from the grip of foreign oil and generate millions of good paying jobs in the process. Green jobs, retrofitting old buildings to make them more energy efficient, creating the batteries and other technologies needed for plug-in hybrids that can get 150 miles a gallon and will help to curb climate change.
And that's why we're taking up the cause that I'm here to talk about today. And that is offering the best possible education to America's sons and daughters.
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OBAMA: American prosperity has long rested on how well we educate our children. But this has never been more true than it is today. In the 21st century, when countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow. There is nothing that will determine the quality of our future as a nation and the lives that our children will lead more than the kind of education that we provide them. Nothing's more important.
And here's what we know. Over the course of a lifetime, those with a college degree -- and I want the young people here especially to listen to this. Over the course of a lifetime, those with a college degree earn over 60 percent more than those with only a high school diploma. Sixty percent more.
Most of the fastest growing jobs require a bachelor's degree or more. This is what we were talking about earlier in the classroom. Four out of every ten new jobs will require at least some advanced education or training within the next decade.
So, put simply, the right education is a perquisite for success. There was a time when if you just got a high school education and you were willing to work hard, you could get a job in a trade or at the factory that paid a middle-class wage. And those days are declining. The currency of today's economy is knowledge.
And yet, we continue to trail other countries in a number of critical areas. The United States, a nation that has always led the way in innovation, is now being outpaced in math and science education. A handful of states have even gone in the wrong direction, lowering their standards at the very moment that they should be raising them. We used to rank number one in the number of college graduates and advanced degrees. That's not the case anymore. Meanwhile, African-American and Latino students continue to lag behind their white classmates, an achievement gap that will ultimately cost us hundreds of billions of dollars because that's our future workforce.
Of course, these problems aren't new. We have heard about them for years. But instead of coming together to solve them, we have let partisanship and petty bickering stand in the way of progress. It's been Democrat versus Republican...
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OBAMA: ... it's been Democrat versus Republican, it's been voucher versus public schools, it's been more money versus more reform. In some cases, people have seen schools as sort of a political spoil, having to do with jobs and contracts instead of what we're teaching kids. And this status quo has held back our children. It's held back our economy, and it's held back our country for too long.
It's time to stop just talking about education reform and time to start actually. It's time to make education America's national mission.
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OBAMA: Now, I'm proud to say that thanks to one of the best secretaries of education that America has ever had, Arne Duncan, who's here today -- stand up Arne, so everybody can see.
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OBAMA: Thanks to Arne's passion and understanding of these issues and ability to bring people together, that's exactly what we're going to do. We are making this America's national mission. Improving our schools, not in unrealistic ways, not in abstract ways, not in pie-in-the-sky ways. In concrete ways, we are putting our resources behind the kinds of reforms that are going to make a difference.
In the coming weeks, states will be able to compete for what we're calling a race to the top award. We're putting over $4 billion on the table -- $4 billion with a B -- one of the largest investments that the federal government has ever made in education reform. But we're not just handing it out to states because they want it, we're not just handing it out based on population. It's not just going through the usual political formulas. We're challenging states to compete for it.
And I have to tell you, this was not an easy thing to get through Congress. This is not normally how federal dollars work. But because of Arne's tenacity and our commitment to make sure the reform happens, that's how we have structured it. We're saying to states, if you are committed to real change in the way you educate your children, if you're willing to hold yourselves more accountable and if you develop a strong plan to improve the quality of education in your state, then we'll offer you a big grant to help make that plan a reality.
Now before a state is even eligible to compete, they'll have to take an important first step. And this has caused some controversy in some places, but it shouldn't be controversial. Any state that has a so-called "firewall law" will have to remove them. Now, here's what a firewall law is. It basically says that you can't factor in the performance of students when you're evaluating teachers. That is not a good message in terms of accountability.
So, we said if you've got one of those laws, you want to compete for these grants, you've got to get rid of that law. And we'll encourage states to take a better approach when it comes to charter schools and other innovative public schools. When these schools are performing poorly, they'll be shut down. But when innovative public schools are succeeding, they shouldn't be stifled. They should be supported.
And I'm proud to say that already a number of states have already taken us up on this challenge. Across the country, different groups are coming together to bring about change in our schools. Teachers' unions and parent groups. Business and community organizations.
In places like New Haven, education and city leaders have come together to find a smarter way to turn around low-performing schools. In states like California and Indiana and Wisconsin, you're seeing steps taken to remove these so-called firewall laws so we can have a clear look at how well our children are learning and what can be done to help them learn better. States like Delaware, Louisiana, Tennessee and Illinois are all making efforts to let innovative charter schools will flourish.
So, a Race to the Top has begun in our schools, but the real competition will begin when states apply for the actual "Race to the Top" grants. See, they had to make some changes just to even join the race.
But now the race starts. And we're going to start seeing even more interesting changes at the local level. So, we'll take a hard look at state's applications to determine whether they measure up. We'll take a look at a state's track record to determine whether the steps they have taken have had real results when it comes to their students' education. We'll take a look at whether states are taking an all-hands-on-deck approach when it comes to reform.
And in particular, we'll take a look at how states are doing when it comes to four key measures of reform. And I want to get into some details about this because I want you as parents as well as the educators to understand what the data and the science and the studies and the research show actually make a big difference in terms of school improvement. Because that's what we're basing this stuff on. We didn't just kind of make it up. We didn't just do it because it sounded good. This is what the research shows is really going to make a difference.
The first measure is whether a state is committed to setting higher standards and better assessments that prepare our children to succeed said in the 21st century. And I'm pleased to report that 48 states are now working to develop internationally competitive standards. Internationally competitive standards, because these young people are going to be growing up in an international environment. Where, you know, they're competing not just against kids in Chicago or Los Angeles for jobs, but they're competing against folks in Beijing and Bangalore. This is something I called for earlier this year, and I want to commend the leadership of the governors and school chiefs who have joined together to get this done.
And because of these efforts, there will be a set of common standards that any state can adopt beginning early next year. And I urge all our states to do so and to upgrade what's taught in our classroom accordingly to meet these international standards. I also challenge states to align their assessments with high standards. Because we should not just raise the bar, we should prepare our kids to meet it. There's no point in having really high standards but we're not doing what it takes to meet those standards.
And I want to be clear. This is not just about more tests, because I know that in the past, people have been concerned about, you know, is this about standardized tests? Or are we going to have our young people being taught to the tests? That's the last thing we want. But what we want to do
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OBAMA: ... but what we want to do...
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OBAMA: What we want to do is finally get testing right. So it's not about more tests, it's about being smarter about our assessments. It's about measuring not only whether our kids can master the basics, but whether they can solve challenging tasks. Do they have the skills like critical thinking and teamwork and entrepreneurship? Assessments that don't just give us a snapshot of how a student is doing in a particular subject, but a big-picture look at how they're learning overall. Assessments that will help tell us if our kids have the knowledge and the skills to thrive when they graduate.
So, we're not just interested in can they fill out a bubble, right? What we want to do is take a look generally, are our kids learning the -- and gaining the critical thinking skills that they need to succeed? These are the kinds of assessments that our states should be putting in place, and we're setting up a separate competition where they can win grants -- extra grants to help them do just that. So standards and assessments,
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, standards and assessments, that's the first measure. Are we doing that well? If the state wants to get a Race to the Top grant, they have got to do that well.
And because we know that from the moment our kids enter a school, the most important factor in their success, other than their parents, is the person standing in front of the classroom, the teacher, the second measure is whether a state is committed to putting effective teachers in its classroom and effective principals at the helm of its schools.
Now, it's time to start taking this commitment seriously. We have got to do a better job recruiting and preparing new teachers. We have got to do a better job of rewarding outstanding teachers. And -- I have got to be honest -- we have got to do a better job of moving bad teachers out of the classroom, once they have been given an opportunity to do it right.
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OBAMA: And that means creating alternate pathways to teaching for talented young people, by expanding programs like the one used in Boston, where aspiring teachers work side by side with effective mentors in a yearlong residency.
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OBAMA: It means bringing quality teachers in -- it means bringing quality teachers to the neighborhoods that need them the most, because, right now, a lot of what happens is, is that some of the best teachers, as they get seniority, they move on to the places, the school districts that pay better, and, frankly, are easier to teach.
And we have got to give them some incentives to stay, so that the kids who need the most help are getting some of the best teachers.
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OBAMA: It means boosting the number -- the numbers of quality teachers who can help our special education and English-language learners meet high standards.
And you have done that here at Wright. So, congratulations on that.
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OBAMA: It means improving instruction in science, technology, reading, math, and insuring that more women and people of color are doing well in those subjects.
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OBAMA: So -- so, that's the second factor.
Third factor, third measure we will use in this Race to the Top competition is whether states are tracking the progress of our students and teachers to make sure every child graduates ready for college and a career.
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OBAMA: So, as I said earlier, as I said earlier, before a state can even apply for a grant, it has to change any laws that prevent us from factoring in the performance of students when they're evaluating their teachers.
But that's not enough. If a state wants to increase its chances of actually winning a grant, it's going to have to do more. It's going to have to collect information about how students are doing in a particular year and over the course of an academic year, and make this information available to teachers, so they can use it to improve the way they teach.
One of the things that teachers get so frustrated about is, these standardized tests come at a time when it's too late to use to actually help the students improve their performance.
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OBAMA: So, if we're going to collect -- if we're going to collect data on how kids are doing, let's make sure the teachers have it in usable form, so that they can actually start doing a better job.
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OBAMA: Now, that's -- that's how teachers can determine what they should be doing differently in the classroom. That's how principals can determine what changes need to be made in our schools. And that's how school districts can determine what they need to be doing better to prepare our teachers and principals.
Now, even with stronger standards, better assessments, outstanding teachers, some schools will still be difficult to turn around. I want us to be honest about this. There are some schools that are starting in a tough position, a lot of kids coming from impoverished backgrounds, a lot of kids coming in that may not have gotten the kind of head start that they needed. They start school already behind.
And even though there are heroic teachers and principals in many of these schools, the fact is that they need some extra help. And that's why the fourth measure we will use in awarding Race to the Top grants is whether a state is focused on transforming, not just its high-performing schools, not just the middle-of-the-pack schools, but the lowest-performing schools.
We will look...
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OBAMA: We will look at whether they are able to remake a school, from top to bottom, with new leaders and a new way of teaching, replacing a school's principal if it is not working and at least its half the staff, close a school for a time, and then reopen it under new management, even shut down the school entirely and send its schools -- send its students to a better school nearby.
There's always excuses for why these schools can't perform. But part of what we want is an environment in which everybody agrees., from the governor, to the school superintendent, to teachers, principals, and, most importantly, parents and students, that there is no excuse for mediocrity. And we will take drastic steps when schools are not working.
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OBAMA: So -- so, these are the kinds of vigorous strategies that are necessary to turn around our most troubled schools, transforming our lowest-performing schools, using timely information to improve the way we teach our children, outstanding teachers and principals in our classrooms and our schools that are getting the support they need, higher standards and better assessments that prepare our kids for life beyond a classroom.
These are the challenges, the four challenges, that states have to take up if they want to win -- win a Race to the Top award. And these are the four challenges that our country has to meet for our children to outcompete workers around the world, for our economy to grow and to prosper, and for America to lead in the 21st century.
Now, let me just close by saying this. As -- I have said before, but I never miss an opportunity to impress this upon an audience. Lifting up American education is not a task for government alone. It will take parents getting more involved...
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OBAMA: It will take parents getting more involved in their child's education. It will take schools doing more to reach out with parents. It will take students -- students -- accepting more responsibility for their own education.
I was explaining to them that education is not saying where -- you know, you just tilt your ear and you just pour it in your ear.
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OBAMA: You have got to be an active participant in wanting to get an education.
These aren't my prepared remarks, but I think it is important to note that Malia and Sasha are just wonderful kids. And Michelle is a wonderful mother. But, in our own household, with all the privileges and opportunities that we have, there are times -- there are times when kids slack off. There are times where they would rather be watching TV or playing a computer game than hitting the books.
And part of our job as parents, Michelle and my job, is not just to tell our kids what to do, but to start instilling in them a sense that they want to do it for themselves.
So, Malia came home the other day. She -- she had gotten a 73 on her science test.
(LAUGHTER) OBAMA: Now, she is a sixth-grader. Now, there was a time a couple of years ago when she came home with like an 80-something, and she said, I did pretty well. And I said, no, no, that's -- I said, our goal is -- our to goal is 90 percent and up.
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OBAMA: So, she -- but here is the interesting thing. She started internalizing that, so she came and she was depressed.
"I got a 73."
And I said, "Well, what happened?"
"Well, you know, the teacher -- the study guide didn't match up with what was on the test."
"And, so, what's your idea here?"
"Well, I'm going to start -- I have got to read the whole chapter. I'm going to change how I study, how I approach it."
So, she came home yesterday. She was -- got a 95, right?
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OBAMA: So, she's high-fiving.
But -- but here is the point. She said -- she said, "You know, I just like having knowledge."
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OBAMA: That's what she said.
And what was happening was, she had started wanting it more than us. Now, once -- once you get to that point, our kids are on our way. But the only way they get to that point is if we are helping them get to that point.
So, it is going to take that kind of effort from parents to set a high bar in the household. Don't just expect teachers to set a high bar. You have got to set a high bar in the household all across America.
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OBAMA: It will take teachers unions and parents and elected leaders working together as partners in common effort, not seeing each other as antagonists, but all of us having the same goal.
It will take each and every one of us doing our part on behalf of our children and our country and the future that we share. Now, I will never forget a moment many years ago. This is long before I ran for president, before I ran for elected office. I was just start out as a community organizer in Chicago. And we had set up a meeting to figure out how to rebuild our neighborhoods that I was working in, very impoverished neighborhoods on the South Side. And nobody showed up to the meeting. This was my first big meeting. Nobody showed up.
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OBAMA: So, I was pretty depressed. I had some community leaders, some volunteers who had helped me try to organize this thing. And they were depressed. They felt so defeated, they were talking about quitting. Everybody was too apathetic, they said. There's no point in trying.
But then I looked outside as I was listening to them talk, and I saw some young boys playing in a vacant lot across the street. And they were just throwing rocks at an old apartment building that was boarded up.
And those boys reminded -- reminded me of me, who didn't have a father in the house, and who got in some trouble when he was young. And I turned to those volunteers and I said, you know, before we quit, I want to ask you a question. What's going to happen to those boys if we quit, if we give up on them?
And I thought, if we can't see that we have got a stake in those young boys, if we're not willing to do our part on their behalf, if we fail to recognize that the fight for their future is the fight for our own future, well, who's going to do it?
And, so, one by one, those volunteers, they stayed. Family by family, we reached out to the community. Slowly, people started coming to meetings. Block by block, we helped to turn those neighborhoods around, and helped to improve some of those schools in the area.
And that's the common spirit, the spirit of common purpose that all of us have to have in America today.
And I'm absolutely confident that, if we are all willing to come together and embrace that spirit in the living room, in the classroom, in the statehouse, on Capitol Hill, then not only will we see our students reaching farther, not only will we see our schools performing better, not only are we going to help ensure our children outcompete workers abroad and that America outcompetes nations, but we are going to protect the dream of our founding, and give all of our children, every last one of them, a fair chance and an equal start in the race to life.
Thank you very much, everybody.
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OBAMA: All right. Thank you. God bless you. God bless the United States...
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The president of the United States in Wisconsin talking education reform.
And that is it for me here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Rick Sanchez takes it away right now.
