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Campbell Brown
Obama Administration Hosts First State Dinner; The Cost of Credit Cards
Aired November 24, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Breaking news tonight: almost 400 people being seated right now for the first state dinner of the Obama administration. We have got live pictures from inside the black-tie event.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: The state visits and dinners are a really important part of our nation's diplomacy.
BROWN: From heads of state to pop stars, we have got it all.
JENNIFER HUDSON, ACTOR/SINGER: I'm more excited than nervous, because, I mean, it's not every day you get to visit the White House or get invited to the White House.
BROWN: Also tonight, the great credit card scam. Americans swipe their cards 100,000 times a minute. But have you ever read the fine print? Tonight, a former credit executive comes clean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pricing was designed that it would require a degree of some sort to understand how many different ways I'm paying and what I'm paying. I mean, bottom (ph) on the credit card, nobody knows the real cost is.
BROWN: On the eve of the holiday shopping season, is the industry making an end run around reform?
And our series, "Genealogy: The Search For Answers," what your DNA reveals about you are and where you came from.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There probably are a huge number of people here in the United States who are related to each other, but just don't know it.
BROWN: Tonight, the woman who uncovered Michelle Obama's family ties will give us more detail and dig into my own roots.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This, for example, is your grandmother.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is your only source for news. CNN prime time begins now. Here's Campbell Brown.
BROWN: Hi there, everybody. We start tonight, as always, with the "Mash-Up." We're watching it all so you don't have to.
And tonight, after weeks of debate at the White House about what to do in Afghanistan, the president has made a decision. The Pentagon right now is drawing up plans to send about 34,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan. And what that means is that young men and women from around the country will be packing up and shipping out very soon.
President Obama is expected to make the official announcement next Tuesday in a prime-time address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: it is my intention to finish the job.
And I feel very confident that when the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, that they will be supportive.
ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I anticipate that as soon as the president makes his decision, we can probably begin flowing some sources pretty quickly after that, but it is a bigger challenge than certainly was the case in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: A new CNN poll shows the country is evenly split about the plan, with 50 percent in favor, 49 percent against. The big question tonight is, will the strategy work?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it depends what the president hopes to achieve. If the president wants to put pressure on the Taliban war machine, then, yes, he needs to send more troops, because, right now, with all the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban machinery is virtually untouched.
But, at the end of the day, ordinary Afghans are fiercely nationalist, and they see any foreigner as a foreigner. They see the Americans as foreign occupiers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Now, join us next Tuesday right here to watch the president's big announcement live.
And President Obama and the first lady are rolling out the red carpet at the White House right now for their very first state dinner, tonight's big event in honor of Indian Prime Minister Singh.
The who's-who guest list includes everyone from Colin Powell to Steven Spielberg, congressmen, senators, and our own Sanjay Gupta and Fareed Zakaria. It is the place to be in Washington tonight. And the White House staff is working overtime to make sure to avoid any embarrassing moments. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It's the most treasured and formal honor the president can offer. The first couple literally roll out the red carpet. The event is timed down to the second.
A state dinner is the ultimate prize. The big dinner will not be in the White House, but under a big tent on the South Lawn. Several hundred lucky guests will have the invites.
Seating is critical, deciding not just who should sit together, but who should be kept apart, especially for politicians. The White House pays close attention to every detail.
AMY ZANTZINGER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SOCIAL SECRETARY: The appetizer with the lobster...
MALVEAUX: From the silverware.
ZANTZINGER: Some people get overwhelmed by the number of forks and spoons and knives.
MALVEAUX: It's overwhelming.
To the finger bowls.
ZANTZINGER: But you can always see people looking around to figure out, what are they supposed to do with this? You just hope people don't drink it.
Don't drink the bathwater. OK.
The first lady will choose the flowers, the table cloths and the china to be used that night. She will be presented with the completed centerpieces and place settings to pick from.
Do you ever find people take the China or take a silverware as a memento.
ZANTZINGER: It's very sad. Unfortunately, it does happen and it's really upsetting because they are part of the White House history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The president will be giving the big toast to kick it all off. That's just about 15 minutes from now. And we are going to bring that to you live.
More trouble tonight for South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. Members of the state's house judiciary committee today began debating whether to impeach him for sneaking off to see his mistress in Argentina. Sanford was basically thrown under the bus today by his own fellow Republicans, who are leading the charge to get rid of him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GREG DELLENEY JR. (R), SOUTH CAROLINA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: He left his post. He left his state. He left his country without notifying anyone in authority. He was, in effect, AWOL. The governor's absence brought -- and misconduct -- brought extreme dishonor and shame to the office of governor of South Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Governor Sanford admits to the affair, but says he broke no laws.
Tonight, Vicki Kennedy is speaking out for the first time about her husband's last days. The wife of late Senator Ted Kennedy tells Oprah that he was determined to live long enough to see Barack Obama become president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": When he said at the Democratic Convention he would be there in January, and then Barack Obama was elected, what was he saying to you privately?
VICKI KENNEDY, WIDOW OF TED KENNEDY: Oh, there just wasn't a question about it. He was in training to be there in January.
(CROSSTALK)
WINFREY: Was he?
KENNEDY: Oh, no, serious training. He was exercising every single day to be strong enough to be there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Mrs. Kennedy also knocked down rumors that she may run for her husband's Senate seat. She says she is not interested in running ever.
And now to a little morning show morality. Sometimes a, kiss is just a kiss, and sometimes it gets you canceled. Pop star Adam Lambert is finding out the hard way. ABC's "Good Morning America" pulled the plug on his live performance tomorrow morning, and it's all because of the smooch he shared with his keyboardist at the American Music Awards.
The good news for Lambert, CBS' "Early Show" booked him right away. And all of this gives us a chance to show the greatest hits of controversial kisses, most of which don't seem like that big of a deal all these many years later. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I don't know how to kiss, or I would kiss you. Where do the noses go?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So, no worries there, Adam Lambert. The careers of these controversial killers turned out just fine.
And, in other news here, other important news, octomom Nadya Suleman is extending her 15 minutes of fame with her own morning show tour. Here is what she told ABC about the chances of having yet another baby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will you ever have more children?
NADYA SULEMAN, OCTOMOM: Oh, my goodness, I won't even want to talk about that. I don't know -- if I get married some day in the future.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could see maybe having more?
SULEMAN: I have been kind of (INAUDIBLE) by choice (INAUDIBLE) for almost 10 years. And if I wanted to do it the traditional way and get married, that's like another chapter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Octomom speaking out for the traditional family.
And that brings us to the "Punchline" tonight of Jay Leno and the Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger challenging Leno to a race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: You get in the car and I beat your time.
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE JAY LENO SHOW": Do you think you can beat me?
(CROSSTALK)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
LENO: Arnold is getting scared. Arnold is getting scared, like a little girl. He knows I will beat him. Arnold knows I will kick his ass.
(LAUGHTER)
LENO: Yes, nice try, Arnold.
(CROSSTALK)
SCHWARZENEGGER: OK.
LENO: Come and get me now, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
SCHWARZENEGGER: I love it.
(LAUGHTER)
SCHWARZENEGGER: Oh.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And that is the "Mash-Up," everybody.
President Obama hosting his first state dinner at the White House right now. He is about to give the toast any moment. A little bit later in the evening, Jennifer Hudson will perform. We're going to be watching it live with you.
Stay right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: And we are watching pictures just coming in from the White House on a glamorous, important evening for President Obama. Right now, he's holding his first state dinner since taking office, the guest of honor, India's Prime Minister Singh and his wife. You will recognize many of the other attendees. It is a night of pageantry and politics. And we're going to bring you all the toasts and all the speeches live in our hour.
Meantime, our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian, is standing by, along with presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, who is with us tonight as well.
Welcome to both of you.
Dan, let me start with you on this. These dinners are highly choreographed events. Just walk us through how the night is going to play out. What can we expect?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
Well, I will back up a little bit just to tell you how all this began. Earlier this evening, we saw the guests arriving here entering through the North Portico, the White House, and through a side entrance as well. And then President and Mrs. Obama were at that North Portico waiting for the prime minister and his wife to arrive.
They greeted them and then escorted them inside. And, as you mentioned a few minutes ago, what we're waiting now is for the official toast for the evening. Then all of the guests will sit down. They will have their dinner. And then, of course, there will be this wonderful entertainment here.
BROWN: And, Dan, I know a lot of speculation about just who was going to get a ticket to tonight's dinner. LOTHIAN: That's right.
BROWN: So, give us a quick -- your quick preview of the guest list. We're sort of watching them, too, I should let you know as well. Our viewers can see many of the people arriving now.
LOTHIAN: That's right.
Well, first of all, I can point out that I'm -- as you notice, I'm out here and not inside.
(LAUGHTER)
LOTHIAN: So, as hard as I tried, I was not able to get inside. But our own Sanjay Gupta was one of the lucky 320 or so folks who did get invitations.
Here is the book, I guess, of all the invitees, 13 pages of all the names. It's really a who's-who of folks from politics to entertainment. We know that some broadcasters are also in there, Katie Couric, Brian Williams, inside, Steven Spielberg from Hollywood, actor Blair Underwood, so really some big names. Colin Powell, former secretary of state, is also here, and then, of course, members of the Obama administration, Indian delegation as well.
So, big names showing up here tonight for the event, and it's far from over.
BROWN: And you hinted at this a little bit earlier, but things like the menu and the entertainment all chosen for very specific reasons. Give us the thinking there.
LOTHIAN: That's right. Well, sort of let me lay it out for you, of course, all of you sitting there waiting anxiously to find out what they will be dining on tonight. I will sort of lay that out.
First of all, they will start out with potato and eggplant salad, red lentil soup, and then, for the main course, a choice of roasted potato and dumplings on green curry prawns.
Are you hungry yet?
BROWN: Yes.
LOTHIAN: And then, of course, here is an interesting thing. They will be having salad, and the lettuce and herbs come from the garden here at the White House.
And all of this will be served up on china that spans three presidencies here at the White House, Eisenhower presidency, the Clintons, and then George W. Bush as well, so fancy china for this great evening.
And, of course, the entertainment then, which comes after the dinner, the headliner here tonight will be Jennifer Hudson, who, of course, became known to everyone on "American Idol," but has won sort of every award that you can win out there, from an Oscar to Grammys. She will be singing tonight.
In fact, she spoke with Suzanne Malveaux earlier today and said that she will be rolling out some classics, including "The Very Thought of You" and "What a Difference a Day Makes."
And then, also, the Marine Band will be playing, and this person who is not known probably to all of us, except for one thing, A.R. Rahman -- or Rahman -- who is an Indian composer, and he scored the music to "Slumdog Millionaire." So, he will also be playing some of his music here tonight.
BROWN: All right.
Let me bring in Doug Brinkley now to give us sort of a more big- picture overview here.
Doug, what does it say that the Obama administration is extending its first official state dinner invitation to India?
DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, it tells you how important that relationship's been. And George W. Bush of course had a dinner for the Indian prime minister also.
But, really, since 9/11, India has become our great ally. They are fighting with the United States in the war on terror. Their Indian intelligence is essential in understanding what's going on along the Pakistani-Afghan border, and just trade. India has become the world's great democracy. And the United States has so much to gain.
And I might add to the list of all the celebrities a lot of Indo- American businesspeople, who are very engaged in American politics, are coming. The Republican Party's courted them with Bobby Jindal, who will be there tonight, the governor of Louisiana, but also many of them are Democratic donors, too. So, it's really an evening to celebrate this very special relationship between the United States and India.
BROWN: And, Doug, you have studied, obviously, many administrations and how they have approached this.
President and Mrs. Reagan, they love to throw parties. They had, I think, 57 state dinners. President Bush hated it. He liked to go to bed early. He had only six state dinners. Where do you think the Obamas are going to fall in terms of how they approach this and how they use it?
BRINKLEY: I think probably a little bit more of a middle ground.
A lot of times, how many state dinners you have depend on whether there's economic prosperity or not. When the economy started humming in the 1990s, Bill Clinton would throw them all the time. But, this year, for example, we have over 10 percent unemployment. And it's at taxpayers' cost, these dinners. So there's an aspect of it that's slightly ostentatious, so you want to make sure that you don't do too many, although President Obama's has been later. Usually -- he's doing this one Thanksgiving week. Usually, an incoming president has one in May his first year in office or June. Bush waited until September of 2001 to do his. So, this is a little late.
And I think it's appropriate he's doing it Thanksgiving weekend, where people are -- or heading into Thanksgiving, where people are thinking, you know what? We're all going for a meal, too, and it seems sort of right this week to have a celebratory dinner. And picking India first seems like the right choice.
BROWN: All right, Doug, I'm going to ask you to stand by, Dan Lothian as well.
We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we expect these toasts to begin any moment now. And we will be bringing that to you live. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: President Obama's first state dinner under way right now at the White House. We are waiting for the toast to begin, which we are going to bring you live.
(NEWS BREAK)
BROWN: And we are keeping watch on the White House, on President Obama's first state dinner. Again, we are expecting the very first toast to begin in just a moment now. We're going to bring that to you live.
Also ahead, what you don't know about your credit cards could cost you big-time. In a minute, we're going to tell you if the industry is trying to make an end run around reforms just as the holiday shopping season is about to begin.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: We are waiting for the toasts to begin at President Obama's first state dinner at the White House. About 400 big-name celebrities and politicians are there now. India's prime minister, of course, is the guest of honor tonight.
Earlier today, he was behind closed doors with President Obama with some very serious business on the table.
And for more on that, we turn to Fareed Zakaria, who is host of CNN's "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS." We should mention he is also a guest at tonight's state dinner. And we spoke just before he went into the White House. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Fareed, the two leaders met one on one behind closed doors today. There's so much on the table to talk about, the economy, Pakistan. What were the most crucial issues? Walk us through it.
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN WORLD AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, the atmospherics I think were very good.
I happened to get a chance to speak to the prime minister of India Manmohan Singh, at the lunch that Vice President Biden threw for him at the State Department. And he said that they had an extraordinarily warm conversation, that Obama was a very easy person to talk to and he was a very good listener.
My guess is that what they spoke about first and foremost was the nuclear issue, kind of operationalizing the nuclear deal that the Bush administration made with India. And that means transfer of technology.
For India, the big deal is economic growth. They want to get as much technology transfer as they can. They want to get as much economic cooperation as they can.
For the Americans, they want India to play a supportive role in Afghanistan, not very difficult, because the Indian and American objectives in Afghanistan are pretty much aligned. They both support Karzai. They both oppose the Taliban.
Other than that, what India wants really is a neighborhood free of protectionism and a world free of protectionism. And they just want to grow economically. So, from their point of view, as long as they can get no terrorism, no protectionism, they're doing well.
BROWN: Let me drill down on a couple of those issues, Fareed, Afghanistan in particular, because, as you know, at this very moment, the president making final decisions, about to make a big announcement about sending additional troops to Afghanistan.
People may not appreciate that India is such a player there. So, explain sort of how they want to be influential in terms of the decision and the role that the U.S. is going to have in Afghanistan.
ZAKARIA: Well, they are supportive.
The prime minister on my television program last Sunday flatly said that he supported the American presence, he supported whatever it would take to make it more successful, which was an implicit announcement of support for any kind of additional troops.
I think that we have to understand that India is the dominant power in the region. India's GDP, just as one example, is 100 times larger than Afghanistan's. So, when Afghanistan opened up after the fall of the Taliban, the culture, the money, the cuisine, the movies, everything that flowed in was Indian.
So, there is a very strong sort of soft Indian power at work there. What I think the United States would like India to do is to play a constructive civilian role. If it gets into a more military role, you get into the India-Pakistan rivalry, which will only cause more headaches than it will solve. BROWN: Well, let me ask you, I was going to say, the president has been so focused on building and working on that partnership with Pakistan, how does that complicate the relationship and India's involvement?
ZAKARIA: It's a huge complication.
Look, the central complication of our Afghanistan strategy is that the Pakistani army has entirely different objectives than the United States. For 20 years, the Pakistani army created the Afghan Taliban, supported it, and supported it because it was a way of keeping Afghanistan weak and India on edge.
And we have entered into this rivalry and just said, well, there are good guys and bad guys. But we have actually walked into a very complex geopolitical rivalry in the region. So, for the United States, we have got to figure out how to get the Pakistani army to align its objectives with ours and to, in effect, turn on the Afghan Taliban.
They still haven't done that. They're going after the Taliban in south Waziristan, which is the Pakistani Taliban. I know this gets complicated, but they're going after the guys who kill Pakistanis. They're not going after the guys who kill Afghans or Indians or Westerners.
And that misalignment of objectives is still a huge problem for America's Afghanistan strategy.
BROWN: And, Fareed, before I let you know, I know you're not just reporting. You're wearing a tux for obvious reasons. You're going to the dinner tonight. What are you most looking forward to?
ZAKARIA: Oh, just having a nice time. I mean, I'm hoping obviously to meet some interesting people. Who knows, maybe Hollywood celebrities and such. But mostly -- mostly, I'm looking forward to taking my wife to what I hope will be a wonderful evening. And I'm delighted and grateful to have been -- to have been invited.
BROWN: All right, Fareed, have a great time. Fareed Zakaria for us. As always, Fareed, thanks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And we have just been told now that the leader's toast at President Obama's state dinner just a few minutes away. Again, we're going to bring that to you live.
When we come back, though, if you've never read the fine print on your credit card statement, you may not know what is about to hit you. We have really fascinating story coming up right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: It may be a jolly holiday season for U.S. merchants after all. A new report out today from the National Retail Federation predicts Black Friday shopping will spike 16 percent this year. And that is no surprise in the buy now pay later age in the American credit card.
Well, this week, some of the credit card industry's darkest secrets are exposed in a new PBS frontline documentary. It's called the card game. And watch as a former bank insider shows what's hidden in the fine print of this free credit card offers that you get in the mail. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOWELL BERGMAN, PRODUCER/CORRESPONDENT, "FRONTLINE": Open this one for me and tell me what you think. It's from Bank of America. On the back, it says zero percent intro APR.
SHAILESH MEHTA, FORMER CEO, PROVIDIAN FINANCIAL: But there is an asterisk or whatever the marks. I have to now read that footnote. I will remove my glasses to read it.
It says for this see disclosure summary insert for details, and I have to find the disclosure summary which is the one here. So on the outside, the zero percent intro APR, in here it says that my APR is 11.9, 15.9 or 19.9, right? And the APR you receive is determined based on your creditworthiness. So I have no idea which one I'm going to get when they approve me.
BERGMAN: So the disclosure you say doesn't work.
MEHTA: I mean, look how much time it takes.
BERGMAN: Exactly.
MEHTA: I think that your average consumer is not going to be able to translate what the real pricing (ph) is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And frontline correspondent and producer Lowell Bergman is joining us right now to talk more about this.
Lowell, so having just seen that clip from your report, who is the banking industry really targeting? Who's the ideal customer for them? Who are they trying to get to with these offers?
LOWELL BERGMAN, PRODUCER/CORRESPONDENT, "FRONTLINE": Traditionally, someone who will run a balance and never pay it off. That's been the model of the most profitable customer for most of the last 30 years. Although because of the economic turndown, you know, great recession that we're in the middle of, the banks are actually shedding a lot of customers who are questionable and riskier and they're looking now for people who can actually pay it off. That's becoming a new model for the industry and we're in that transition right now as well as new legislation that's coming into effect early next year.
BROWN: And let me go into a little deeper into some of this. You talk about that -- the regulations which take effect next year. The credit card insider, I know that you talked to as part of the documentary, revealed that what the banks think about their attempts to change their practices and let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAILESH MEHTA, FORMER CEO, PROVIDIAN FINANCIAL: Tell me the rules and then I will smart you up. You make the stupid laws, I'll comply and I'll make money. Its market we'll bear, you know, and there are always some desperate people who will take the product.
Lending money to people is never a difficult exercise. OK? People will take money if you're willing to give it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: What you found here is that banks are already scrambling to do whatever they can to get around these rules before they kick in. Talk us through some of the stuff that they're doing.
BERGMAN: Well, for example, a lot of people receive notification that they're going to have variable rate interest on their card. You might have gotten a card and it said 9.7 percent or 12 percent and they would have to notify you under the new -- on the new rules which actually this particular rule went into effect in August of a 45-day change in your interest rate. So to get around that, the banks have changed people's agreements so that there is a variable rate that will float with the cost of money and it will have something like 14 percent on top of whatever the cost of funds are for them.
So they're trying to lock in different situations which will get around whatever the restrictions are in the law. The law will make it illegal for the first time in February for them to stop doing what's called universal default. That means where they can change your interest rate if you are late on some other bill, utility bill, a car payment or something else. So it will make some changes in the -- where people have complained about and called amongst its most abusive practices.
At the same time there are a lot of loopholes. For instance small business cards are not covered at all, and nor does it get into debit cards which now exceed credit cards and the number of transactions that are going on and those debit card fees that mount up.
BROWN: Well, it's -- I know you've done a lot of research on this and a really interesting look at what's going on. Lowell Bergman from PBS, I appreciate your time tonight. Lowell, thanks so much.
BERGMAN: Thank you.
BROWN: Have you ever wondered what you would find if you dug into your family tree? More and more Americans are taking DNA tests and getting some pretty surprising results. You'll see next in our special series, "Genealogy: IdentityQuest." Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: As we have been telling you, we are waiting on the big toast to begin there at the White House. The president and Prime Minister Singh expected to begin just a few minutes from now.
Tonight's breakout, though, first. Jennifer Hudson the Oscar and Grammy-winning actress and singer is headlining tonight's state dinner at the White House. And earlier she sat down with our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux and offered us a musical preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Did you ever imagine that you would be performing at the White House before the president.
HUDSON: No, I didn't. I mean, it's such an honor, you know, to be able to go to the White House and sing for the president. So I'm just honored. I'm just excited.
MALVEAUX: Now that's amazing that go you're excited because you've done "American Idol." You did the Super Bowl. You performed at Michael Jackson's funeral. And now this is another opportunity. Do you actually get nervous?
HUDSON: Yes. I'm more excited than nervous. I mean, it's not every day you get to sing at the White House or get invited to the White House. So, you know, it's exciting. But the nerves haven't really kicked in yet. Maybe later I'll be nervous.
MALVEAUX: And what about the song. What are you performing?
HUDSON: I'm going to sing standards. This is my first time singing standards. So I'm going to sing "The Very Thought of You," "What a Difference a Day Makes" and "Somewhere."
MALVEAUX: Give me a few bars. For those of us who don't have tickets and can't go to the dinner, you have to sing.
HUDSON: Well, we have to call -- call the president and tell him to get them in there so you guys can hear me sing. If you sing it with me, I'll sing it.
MALVEAUX: Go ahead. You start.
HUDSON: Are you serious?
MALVEAUX: Sure, go ahead.
HUDSON: Oh, Lord. There's a place for us somewhere a place for us. Peace and quiet and open air, wait for us somewhere.
I think that's enough.
MALVEAUX: That's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
HUDSON: Thank you. Thank you. MALVEAUX: Now tell me a little bit about the Obamas have used their own personal story to inspire others. You have been through triumphs. You've been through difficult times. What do you hope to inspire when you perform?
HUDSON: Wow. Well, I think in a way the song says it all. That's part of the reason I chose the song like "Somewhere" because it's like no matter what you're going through, when you're going through it, there is a place of peace and quiet, and we're all on a mission to get somewhere and somewhere better. And, you know, so I guess that's my message.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Jennifer Hudson with our very own Suzanne Malveaux.
And as we said, we're awaiting this toast. We promise they're going to begin any moment now and when they do happen we're going to bring it to you live.
A big night of pomp and pageantry at the White House all coming up when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: And we are back. You are looking right now at a live picture, a very dark picture inside the tent at the White House where the state dinner is underway. We're told that toast is going to begin any moment now.
The president, Prime Minister Singh arriving into the room. They're going to seat their wives, and then stand up and make a toast before the actual dinner begins. And then, of course, as we have told you earlier, you'll hear Jennifer Hudson when she gives her performance right after dinner tonight. CNN will be carrying that live as well.
We want to bring in historian Doug Brinkley who's been standing by for us to talk to us a little bit while we wait for those toasts to begin.
And, Doug, it is Obama's, as we've said, first state dinner but they have certainly hosted quite a number of social events there at the White House since the Obamas took office. Talk to me a little bit before the toasts begin about how they're trying to use the White House to shape their image in terms of the social settings compared to previous presidents.
DOUG BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, President Obama and Michelle, the first lady, they've had a very open White House. They've tried to bring in a lot of different people. In fact, it's been a revolving door of people from whether you're in engineering or medicine or the history field like myself, so it's been open.
That's because after 9/11 I think the Bush White House went into lockdown mode. We had the barricades around the White House and it felt somehow that the president's home was removed from the American people, and I think the Obama administration ran on a new transparency in 2008. So since inauguration day, it's been very open whether it's -- and they've kept traditional things.
This is not the first major kind of White House event like this ceremonial. We had the Easter egg rolls and other world leaders obviously visiting the White House. But this is the -- tonight it's in the South Lawn tent. When it was held in the White House, it would only be about 150 people there. So they're bringing it outdoors and have about 400 guests, so it's special.
BROWN: All right, Doug. We're just getting an announcement that the program is about to begin so I may interrupt you. But I'm going to let you at least start on your next answer.
Just talk to us very briefly about the guest list because there is a lot of docking to try to get a ticket to an event like this. You said they moved it outside so they could invite more people. But how do they make the decisions and how do they deal with the fallout from those who don't get the invite?
BRINKLEY: Well, remember, you know, this is a Broadway play tonight. We're all watching what dresses people are wearing and how they act and it's a very social event. But people in Washington take it very seriously. There are a lot of wounded people in Georgetown or Capitol Hill feeling a little bit snubbed tonight for not being on the invite list.
I think what the White House tends to do is put the must-have guests. You have to have Vice President Biden there. You have to have John Kerry, head of the Senate and Foreign Relations Committee, for example. There are some political people you have to have.
Then you have to take care of your base, some people that are donors that maybe earned a spot. I saw Rahm Emanuel's brother who's a Hollywood agent is going to be there. And Rahm Emanuel probably has worked hard this year to earn that slot for his one brother, but his other brother didn't get invited. But I think its -- people want to be able to say they're at the first and part of it is just to get the invitation. It's part of history.
We celebrate the presidency in this country a great deal and these state dinners are events that people watch. That's why you're covering it live.
BROWN: And obviously, there's a huge Indian contingent attending the dinner tonight. How does the White House handle sort of the diplomatic challenges involved here to try to make sure all the protocol is followed?
BRINKLEY: Well, by following all the protocol. I thought Fareed Zakaria did a marvelous job earlier on your program explaining how serious things are between the United States and India. We have this great friendship, but the president today is looking like he may be sending more troops to Afghanistan and we need India as an ally. So this is not just a superficial state of the union. I was looking at a presidency project today and saw, for example, FDR having the president of Iceland coming to the United States in 1944 and FDR saying how much he loved Iceland. We may hear these toasts in that way but today behind closed doors and tonight even and tomorrow, this is a very important state meeting between India and the United States as to the war in Afghanistan may get escalated soon.
BROWN: And stand by if you will, Doug. We've got just a minute here. So I do want to check in with Larry King before we go to the speeches. And talk to us, Larry, a little bit about what you got tonight.
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Campbell, we're going to have more on the state dinner, who's there, what they're wearing, eating and talking about Jennifer Hudson, and Deepak Chopra is going to join us from the inside. And then we're going to discuss the Afghanistan options you just mentioned and something a lot less serious, too, a little about flying hams. You're wondering, huh? All next on "LARRY KING LIVE," Campbell.
BROWN: I know what you're talking about. I saw that Paula Deen video. I love Paula Deen. So I -- I was very worried about her. I hope she's doing OK.
We're going to go back to Dan Lothian now who's at the White House.
And, of course, Dan, I know you've been there all day. Give us a sense for the dynamics of the White House today, given the serious nature of the talks that were going on behind closed doors especially in advance of the Afghanistan announcement that we're expecting from the president next Tuesday in contrast to the party planning which is happening as well.
LOTHIAN: You're right. It really was an interesting dynamic here at the White House today because you had a lot of the Indian media here to cover not only the big event tonight, but also the bilateral meeting between the two leaders, and also the very heady issue that you've been talking about, the relationship between the United States and India, how India can help the United States on the global scene and in particular in Afghanistan. So you have that and you counter that with sort of the pageantry of tonight with everyone with their tuxedos, their black ties and their beautiful dresses and all of the musical lineups tonight. So, yes, it really has been a balancing act here today of the very serious and also the entertainment factor as well.
BROWN: And, Dan, Doug made reference to this earlier but, you know, state dinners are these big, ostentatious events, and here you have it happening in the middle of a recession. How much do you think the White House took that into account when they were planning?
LOTHIAN: Well, certainly it was a consideration but as he also pointed out, this is a week that a lot of people are thinking about celebrating because of Thanksgiving so it does sort of diffuse a lot of that and it makes it a little bit more palatable, again, because this is a holiday week.
But I also wanted to touch on something that you were talking about in the conversation with Doug earlier about how this White House has really been open to not only just the big names but also ordinary Americans. They've really tried to go out of the way to sort of break through what we typically see here which is sort of the White House bubble where big names, dignitaries, get to come here.
We've seen how they've reached out to the young people in the community here for Halloween. They invited D.C. schoolchildren to come here and trick-or-treat. Even with the garden that was planted here, D.C. kids got a chance to help in the planting and also harvesting of the vegetables, so this has really been an open White House in this community. Even tonight, some young people from D.C. involved in waving the American and Indian flags taking part in the ceremony as well.
BROWN: All right, guys, stay with me. We are going to take another quick break as the camera there focuses in on Senator John Jerry.
Again, the toast about to begin. They've just asked all of the guests to take their seats at the table. We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: And we are back as we have been telling you watching a live picture. You're seeing it right there of the state dinner. The Obamas' very first state dinner taking place tonight to honor the prime minister of India. This is being held in a tent outside on the White House lawn. As Doug Brinkley told us a moment ago, they can handle a lot more guests when they do it this way, which is obviously their goal. Quite a party.
The president and the prime minister are going to be giving toasts in just a moment. Then we're going to lose our picture of the room and our insight into what's happening while everyone enjoys their dinner. And then when they come back, we're going to hear from the lovely and talented Jennifer Hudson who's going to be performing tonight.
This is earlier. You saw the arrivals and a bit of breaking news to share with you.
The first lady is wearing a strapless floor-length champagne- colored gown, as you can see there, stunning, with silver detail, by an Indian born designer named Naeem Khan (ph). Her hair, according to my, again, breaking news bulletin, is swept back. She is also wearing a bunch of choori (ph), which is traditional, sparkly Indian bangle bracelets. I did not know that. You learn something new every day.
Let me bring back Dan Lothian and Doug Brinkley just for a moment or two before the toast begins.
Dan, talk to us about the logistics of doing this outside on the lawn. This is quite a big operation compared to what they're probably normally accustomed to handling these types of dinners in the East Room at the White House.
LOTHIAN: That's right. They typically have -- they have a lot of concerts here during evenings but this really is a big event, and they've been working at it now for quite some time to set up this massive tent on the South Lawn. And we've been watching the parade of trucks and the workers who have been coming in here to make this happen and, you know, it's a good thing that they have such a strong tent because the weather has not been cooperating over the last couple of days.
And I was watching last night when the rain was really coming down, I was wondering if perhaps that tent could actually hold up all that water that was coming down. So this really has been a difficult, I guess, a complicated operation to get all of this set up and then, of course, they'll come together or put together that list of names, the 320 folks who have been invited here tonight. A lot of people as you've been talking about left off that list, probably not very happy tonight. So in addition to just setting up the logistics of this, figuring out who to invite tonight also was a complicated effort.
BROWN: All right. Listen to -- we have a sound bite from Michelle Obama. This is her earlier today talking about tonight's dinner and what was going into the planning and everything. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
M. OBAMA: The state visits and dinners are a really important part of our nation's diplomacy. Throughout history they've given U.S. presidents and the American people the opportunity to make important milestones in foreign relations. So these dinners and events are really critical to what we do internationally, and they've helped build stronger ties with nations as well as people around the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And let me bring Doug Brinkley back. You know, Doug, these are often a huge moment, these events, these state dinners for first ladies in terms of defining what their image is going to be, how they handle it, how they present it. What do you think this means for Michelle Obama, the message it sends?
BRINKLEY: Well, this is -- you know, I think there have been a few events where she's been able to do this. She went abroad, of course, with President Obama and is being embraced by the world. But tonight just as you were mentioning, what dress she's wearing and the designer and who get's to -- it's not the pecking order that people start caring about. It's not just even now who's been invited but who's sitting at the president's table.
For Michelle Obama, this is sort of her event. The first lady's staff in many ways choreographs all of this. Incidentally, I've noticed that you have a lot of people from Hollywood here, Spielberg and many others and, of course, India is all watching tonight and Hollywood is very popular in India. They have Bollywood, and so there's a bit of a Hollywood cast to some of the people there.
BROWN: All right. All right, Doug. I have to interrupt. We want to listen in as the president and prime minister come into the room.
(INTERRUPTED BY CNN COVERAGE OF LIVE EVENT)
